Chapter 26, resettlement of refugees, starting a business in Yanzhou
On the edge of the Yellow River, Cangtingjin was originally named after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao in the history of the Three Kingdoms.
Now, it is a gathering of refugees and is known to everyone in Dongjun.
Originally, the right way to digest the population was to disperse the refugees to various counties in Yanzhou.
But upon arrival, in all areas of Yanzhou, only Juancheng, Fanxian, and Dong'a are still under the control of Cao Jun.
Secondly, Fang Guang, the most popular Yellow Turban captain recently, advocated that the Xuzhou people be resettled in Cangtingjin, so the Xuzhou refugee camp was placed not far from the military households in Qingzhou.
Military households naturally have a much better status than refugees.
There is no shortage of fields in the land of Dong'a. In addition to the fields confiscated by the Chen Gong clan, there are also riverbanks formed by the impact of the Yellow River.
The military households were overbearing and occupied all the good land, leaving the slightly poorer fields on the riverbank to the migrating people of Xuzhou.
The founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty started when Wang Mang failed to control the Yellow River and all the people in the north were displaced.
Although the fertility of the riverbank land is actually relatively high, there is a severe drought this year. Farmers in the north are afraid of not cultivating the riverbank land.
This theory is naturally invalid for Fang Guang.
Before coming to this world, Fang Guang happened to have done intensive research on the Yellow River waterway.
He knew that there were many floods in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, and the changes in the course of the Yellow River made the people miserable.
However, it took a full thousand years for the next major change in the Yellow River waterway to occur in the Song Dynasty until 1100 AD.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, although there were floods in Yuzhou, it was not at this time. The Yellow River floodplain was close to the water source and the silt was highly fertile. It was the most important granary before he started to double-crop wheat and rice in the south.
It is difficult to control the refugees as they come, not to mention that the refugees now accumulated in Cangtingjin were all kidnapped by Yu Jinlejin.
So today, when Fang Guang brought Dian Wei to the place where refugees gathered, countless strong women and children looked at the General Cao Ying in their hearts with hatred.
It was a time of turmoil, and Yanzhou was in even greater turmoil at this time.
On the bank of the Yellow River, there was a row of wooden villages about dozens of miles long. Although Fang Guang asked Dian Wei to send a lot of grain and grass from Dong'a and Cangtingjin to accommodate the people, it was still a drop in the bucket.
There was a desolate scene everywhere in the refugee camp. Children and old people beside the wall of the wooden village looked at Fang Guang riding on the tall horse with horrified eyes.
There is a fierce anger hidden in the eyes of the strong men.
"Lord, be careful. These people are not innocent people. I came here a few days ago and heard from Yu Jin, the captain who was guarding the city, that there are people in Xuzhou every day who want to escape from here even if they jump into the river!"
"The soldiers guarding the refugee camp will be attacked every few days!"
Fang Guang was on the horse, listening to Dian Wei's words, he nodded slightly.
In front of Muzhai, he jumped off his horse, commanded the troops behind him, carried grain bags, and came to the village.
"Why did Mr. Datong allocate food and grass again? Everything in Yanzhou is not easy now. The soldiers in Xuzhou's lord are scrimping on food and clothing. The little food stored in Dong'ana is the last hope of hundreds of thousands of people in Yanzhou. How can it be used here?"
"I originally expected them to cultivate wasteland, but since there are changes in Yanzhou, why not..."
When Yu Jin saw Fang Guang carrying grain, he looked disapproving and walked to his side and whispered softly.
Fang Guang glanced at Yu Jin lightly, and saw that the captain in front of him was very strict in managing the army. He once suppressed the chaos of the Qingzhou army and was deeply liked by Cao Cao. Of course he knew this.
But Fang Guang also knew that among the five good generals, it was the captain who made the biggest fool of himself in the end!
There is a murderous intent in Yu's forbidden words, which is what should be expected in these troubled times. After all, by next year, there will be people in the world who can eat each other miserably!
"Wen Ze, since Duke Ming has asked me to be in charge of the political affairs of Dongjun, you are only responsible for guarding this place. Don't talk about these trivial matters!"
"The world is so big, how can there be any reason why people must die?"
Fang Guang's eyes slowly became gentle when he said this. He looked at a little Xuzhou girl huddled in the corner, no older than the president. Although her face was sallow and skinny, she looked at him with wide eyes and couldn't help but chuckle.
He took a few steps forward, touched the girl's head, and spoke to the people of Xuzhou who were waiting with bated breath for him to speak.
"The people here are all from Xuzhou. I know that in your eyes, Yanzhou is a tiger's den. You will leave your hometown and die without a chance of survival!"
"It's just that I, Fang Guang, want to say that in fact, Xuzhou is a place where people are struggling to make a living. Yanzhou, with the abbot Minggong, is now the place where the Han people can live and work in peace and contentment!"
Fang Guang said a few words, and the people in the refugee camp all looked unbelieving.
He turned a blind eye and continued to speak.
"From today on, the food rations for the women, children, old and weak in the refugee camps are the same as those of our Dong'a garrison. It's just that the world is difficult, and Yanzhou East County will naturally not be able to support you!"
"The camp is strong, and 30% of them went with Colonel Dian Wei to the workshop south of the Yellow River to make bobbin carts, which were placed next to the canals to protect the wheat harvest!"
"If there are still 50% healthy, dig canals and divert water from the Yellow River south to irrigate the fields!"
"There are still 20% healthy. Follow me to prepare to plant beans after harvesting wheat. You and I will form a village of fifty people, and the old and weak people will be stationed here. We will use our Yanzhou cattle farming tools to cultivate, and sixty-four people will be divided into grains, six officials and four!"
"Before the beans mature, all the grain must be consumed, and all of them will be included in the harvest!"
Fang Guang talked eloquently, and the plundered people in Xuzhou gradually listened.
Although most people are not optimistic about planting beans on riverbanks, they are still holding back. At least until the beans mature in March next year, this high-ranking official of Cao's army has guaranteed everyone's food rations.
"Sir, this is Master Datong, sir. We are working hard to plant, but if this riverbank land cannot produce beans and wheat, what will happen to our rations?"
Among the people in Xuzhou, an old man with a white beard boldly asked slowly.
The old man obviously has great prestige among the people of Xuzhou, and many men and women echoed his words.
Fang Guang had long expected that someone would ask this question, and he chuckled lightly with confidence in his eyes.
"How to farm the land, I and Mr. Zaozhuan, the commander of Dongjun, will make careful arrangements. You can do your best. If the land is flooded, the river bank is insufficient, or there are other natural disasters, and your income is less than a hundred catties per mu, Yanzhou will give you a handful of dendrobium."
No wheat or beans!"
"Of course, if you deliberately trample the crops and become an enemy of Duke Ming, then you will be punished accordingly!"
Fang Guang's words were like adding a handful of firewood to the boiling water.
Whether the people of Xuzhou could hear it or not, what was relayed by fellow villagers couldn't help but get excited together.
All the people here have been cultivating the land for a long time. You can tell by looking at the fertility of the land. If you count the riverbank land, 60% of the harvested beans will definitely not be enough to produce a hundred catties.
In their opinion, if what Fang Guang said is true, it means that this high official does not understand the way of farming and mulberry at all and is just showing off here.
"Sitting and talking, alas, it's better to be famous than to meet!"
Behind Fang Guang, a faint voice full of disappointment suddenly came from behind.
Xun Sheng turned around and saw a man in a turban and long robe. He was obviously not a Xuzhou citizen. He was wearing clean clothes and had clear eyes, shaking his head at Fang Guang.