As long as there are people, all the problems mentioned by Zhou Mu can be easily solved."
Lu Ji said: "For example, if farmland is damaged and ditches are damaged, if you want to solve it before spring plowing, you have to have someone. When Xuzhou's cattle, farm tools, and grain seeds are transported, you have to cultivate the land and open up wasteland, and you have to have someone to do it."
I think the lack of labor is actually a problem."
Zhang Zhao on the side pondered for a moment, then stroked his beard and said: "What Governor Lu said is true, people are the foundation of agriculture. The problem of insufficient labor needs to be solved urgently, and should be solved first. However, let's not discuss it first.
How to solve this problem? Suppose we can solve this problem and call in labor from elsewhere, but another problem will arise. I wonder if Governor Lu has considered it?"
Lu Ji looked sideways and asked, "What problem is Mr. Zhang talking about?"
"Lack of food!"
Zhang Zhao said in a deep voice: "Nowadays, all the official warehouses and warehouses in my lord's territory are insufficient. Before my lord sends envoys to ask for food from Jingzhou, even if we call in labor, what will be used to feed it?"
"Besides, there was a lot of rift between Yuan Shao and Liu Biao in the beginning. Now, although the lord of Jiangdong has been replaced by the lord, even though the two sides had formed an alliance before, it has not changed the situation that Yangzhou and Jingzhou are adjacent to each other. Liu Jingsheng's intentions are unpredictable. Our side
Even if the envoy arrives in Jingxiang, whether he is borrowing or buying, it is still unknown whether the other party is willing to donate generously."
"If we call for labor, but Liu Biao refuses to bring me grain, what should I do?"
In Zhang Zhao's view, because the farmland was damaged and the ditches were damaged, which delayed the autumn harvest, there was a shortage of food. However, without food and unable to recruit labor, the current situation cannot be changed. The next spring plowing will continue to be affected, and we will enter a new era.
A negative cycle that adds insult to injury.
Lu Ji was speechless for a moment, but Guo Jia on the side disagreed and said loudly: "Isn't it because of what Prime Minister Zhang said that he gave up eating because of choking?"
"If we don't call for labor, there will still be insufficient food in the coming year. If we call for labor, we will spend it hard, and one winter and one spring will pass. This way, at least until autumn, I can relax and recover."
"President Mu, I think it is imperative to call for labor, and we cannot delay it! The two most important things in Jiangdong right now are asking for food."
Hearing this, Zhang Zhao glanced at Guo Jia and expressed disapproval.
To get through the tight situation, don't you mean to transport grain and fodder from Xuzhou first? The key is that in his opinion, it is too risky to recruit people when there is a shortage of food. Once there is a shortage of food, there will be a gap and the supply will not be available.
Caused civil unrest, and when he was about to speak out to defend himself, he suddenly remembered the undercurrent that had arisen under the king's politics recently. His heart moved, and he finally swallowed the words that were on his lips, and said with a smile: "Guo Jijiu said this, haha
, which is not unreasonable.”
The so-called "undercurrent" that Zhang Zhao remembered was none other than the "equal wife" proposed by Wang Zheng.
Bu Wan'er, a maidservant, was chosen by Wang Zheng as his wife, and was on an equal footing with Lv Bu's daughter. Not only did this go beyond Lv Bu's expectations, but Zhang Zhao was also extremely surprised. He was in Xiapi at the time and didn't know the ins and outs of it. Lai Shouchun
During this period of time, I already had a general understanding.
Guo Jia took the initiative to suggest that Wang Zheng make Bu Wan'er his wife, and he even played a big role in it!
Many people privately believe that if the person recommended was not Guo Jia, Wang Zheng would never have done such a ridiculous thing. From this, it can be seen that Wang Zheng has such deep trust in Guo Jia that he simply obeys his words.
And when Bu Wan'er comes to marry him next year, Guo Jia, the matchmaker, no, should be said to be the benefactor, will probably be even more popular!
Zhang Zhao, who supports Lu Qiling, is privately very dissatisfied with Guo Jia's move. However, the situation is stronger than the people. In today's Xuyang Jiu County, the sky is huge and the earth is big, and the king's power is the biggest.
Wang Zheng regarded Guo Jia as a humerus, so Zhang Zhao naturally did not want to easily have any conflicts or discord with him.
At least I would never do it openly.
So as soon as Guo Jia spoke up, even though the discussion was about a major matter related to the national economy and people's livelihood, Zhang Zhao chuckled, took the initiative to retreat, complimented Guo Jia a few words, then sat aside and stopped talking.
Wang Zheng, who had seen all this, was speechless. Zhang Zhao had always behaved well under his command.
Smooth, not as tough as Sun Quan in history. This made Wang Zheng quite helpless. He turned to Mi Heng on the other side and asked, "What do you think of Zhengping?"
"The worries of both Zhang Gong and Fengxiao are justified."
Mi Heng has now restrained all his sharp edges, looking calm and calm: "Jiangdong is now short of both food and labor. It is indeed very difficult."
"I have read the statistics of Governor Lu before. Within Jiujiang, the shortage of labor is currently the most serious in Shouchun, Dangtu, Yinling, and some counties and villages around Chengde. These places were also the places where Yuan Shu used food and grass and recruited troops most frequently.
, it can be said that out of ten households there are not six left alive. Among the people left alive, most are old, weak, women and children."
"As for Lujiang County, which was invaded by Sun Ce's bandits this year, the food shortage problem is actually not much better. However, relatively speaking, the shortage of labor is not obvious. However, under the invasion of Sun Ce's bandits, the farmland suffered
The damage to the ditches was equally serious."
Wang Zheng raised his eyebrows when he heard this, "To restore all the damaged farmland and ditches in two counties and dozens of counties, the amount of labor required would probably be extremely huge, right?"
"Exactly."
Mi Heng said: "But if it is not solved in time before spring plowing, the food shortage will become more serious. Therefore, in my opinion, what Fengxiao said seems to be more reasonable. Although we are short of food now, labor is indeed uncalled for."
No, otherwise we will have to use the power of several counties in Pengcheng and Beihai to support the two states next year?"
Mi Heng was the first counselor to join Wang Zheng's staff. He was a well-deserved minister of Conglong. He had participated in many such meetings earlier when he was in Langya. He actually understood Wang Zhengyuan's post-war construction concept very well. In his opinion, Come on, Wang Zheng should also agree more with Guo Jia's opinion in his heart. The so-called short-term pain is worse than long-term pain.
Sure enough, Wang Zheng nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "That's right, but Prime Minister Zhang's worries are not unreasonable. Recruiting labor when there is insufficient food may lead to instability in the people's hearts, and I can't bear it."
Can't we recruit people if we don't have food?
In the eyes of most princes in this world, this is not a problem at all. I have no food but I have weapons. If I put a knife on the necks of those ant people, how dare they not work?
But Wang Zheng was unwilling to do this unless he had to.
Along the journey of Iron and Blood, he was naturally no longer a good person, but Wang Zheng never forgot that his family had been born in the grassroots for both generations, and he still had a certain amount of empathy for the people at the bottom.
At this time, Liu Ye on the side suddenly interjected: "Zhou Mu does not necessarily have to use grain. How about using fields as bait?"
"Although Sun Ce's rebellion had a big impact on the people's livelihood in Jiangdong, because of this incident, many powerful people in Lujiang County destroyed their families. When my lord conquered Shouchun, he also killed many local nobles who were stubbornly resisting.
Adding the two together, the amount of farmland returned to government ownership is indeed quite large."
"Just like Shouchun, things are better inside the city. It's very rare for a family to have a hundred acres of farmland in the countryside outside the city."
Liu Ye said: "I heard that when my lord was in Pengcheng, he used fields as bait to attract a large number of refugees. If this old practice is followed, the people in Jiangdong, the surrounding refugees, and even some Shanyue people may be attracted to do this.
Our labor."
In fact, not only did the Heavenly Army kill many powerful people on the way to the restoration of Shouchun, but they later conquered various counties and counties in Jiujiang. Although there were many smart people who turned their backs on the wind, there were also many who did not know it was because they were very loyal to Yuan Shu.
I still have too much contempt for Wang Zheng, the yellow turban thief, and there are actually many die-hards.
Of course, in the end, they all died in the hands of Huang Zhong, Wei Yan and Qiao Wan who divided their forces for conquest. If calculated according to the proportion, the most deaths were in the hands of Da Qiao, a powerful man who was also from the Jiangdong gentry. Jiujiang Neng
They all returned to the royal government in just a few months. The ruthlessness of these generals is not without credit. However, they killed too many noble families. On the day Huang Zhong and Wei Yan returned to Shouchun, there were local officials who wanted to do this.
He wrote a letter of impeachment, saying that these generals killed too much and damaged the reputation of the state pastor.
Wang Zheng naturally nodded repeatedly in front of them, saying that what these people said was right, and promised to reprimand and punish these people severely. However, he turned around and comforted Huang Zhong and Wei Yan with gentle words, and said it clearly.
"The killing is good, the killing is wonderful, the killing is croaking".
After all, in his heart, he actually wished that all the nobles and nobles under his rule would die, even those who had taken refuge there, not to mention those stubborn and die-hard elements?
It’s not that Wang Zheng didn’t know the importance of the gentry class and the literati and Confucian scholars, but what about the centrists who could be won over, but who couldn’t be won over? Naturally, they had to be killed.
He had just occupied Jiujiang not long ago, and the war was over. In order to stabilize the situation, he naturally felt merciless towards those who were determined to oppose him, just like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. There was also another consideration in this.
If we say that the territories currently controlled by Wang Zheng are the strongest, they are naturally Taishan, Langya, Pengcheng and Beihai. What these four territories have in common is that Wang Zheng used force to push them down, and Lujiang was not a blessing to Sun Ce.
Too bad.
In comparison, the occupation process of places such as Donghai, Xiapi, and Jiujiang was extremely smooth. On the one hand, it reduced the time, energy and losses, but at the same time, it still had a considerable influence on the gentry and gentry within the territory.
force.
From this point of view, Huang Zhong and others helped to clean up some of the gentry forces first, which he was happy to see.
After hearing Liu Ye's answer, Wang Zheng's eyes lit up: "It's a good idea to follow the old example in Pengcheng. But in addition to using the fields as bait, can the soldiers be sent to farm in other places?"
"See you tomorrow, Mu Zhou."
Liu Ye happily said: "In Shouchun City alone, there are now nearly ten thousand surrendered soldiers, most of whom are new soldiers. Their combat strength is already unbearable. In this case, I think it is better to recruit the best of them and form another army."
, use the old and weak to replenish the farmland. The number may not be too many. After all, they are all soldiers originally, but they can still be restrained by military law and used uniformly to renovate farmland and repair ditches. It is expected that the effectiveness will be better than usual
The people are much better off."
"Of course, the reorganization of Yuan Shu's old ministry is related to military affairs. I am a senior official and I dare not say anything about it. I have a simple opinion and ask the state pastor to decide whether it is feasible or not."
Liu Ye was a smart man. Even though there was no war during the year, Wang Zheng still left a large number of Xuzhou troops inside and outside Shouchun City. He had already guessed Wang Zheng's intention and intended to reorganize the Yangzhou Army and proposed this plan.
It was precisely in order to go with the flow that the army was reorganized and the problem of labor shortage in Jiangdong was solved. It could be said that it killed two birds with one stone.
Wang Zheng laughed: "Military affairs are naturally not within your responsibilities, but Ziyang's proposal is still a good one and can be considered."
"However, this matter is of great importance and should not be dismissed lightly. Al Fang, please discuss the regulations with Feng Xiao and others first and come out to see it, and then we can talk about it."
Having said this, Wang Zheng turned to look outside the hall to see how the night was getting darker. A few cold stars were hanging far away in the sky. The cold wind was blowing, sometimes covered by clouds, and the stars were disappearing and appearing, as if they were on the verge of falling. He didn't feel it.
With his heart in mind, he sighed softly: "Unconsciously, I have become a man who has been forced to redeem his military skills."
"It's just that when we live in a time of great strife, we are like sailing against the current. If we don't advance, we will retreat. Sometimes if we don't fight, how can we get peace?"
Everyone in the hall looked at each other in silence.
Time flies by so fast, day by day, and before I know it, it will be the second year of Jian'an.
Although Sun Ce died and Yuan Shu was defeated, Liu and Cao, the two biggest enemies in Wang Zheng's heart, were still alive and well. Of course, there was also Yuan Shao, who was now very high-spirited and arrogant!
This gave him a sense of urgency that he could not wait for me.
If the damage suffered by Lujiang and Jiujiang due to successive military rebellions is not healed within a short period of time, Political Commissar Wang is really worried that people will see what is true and false, and another wave of challenges will arise.
A few days later, a rare sunny day appeared, and even the wind became warmer, giving Jiangdong a rare brightness at the end of October.
A column of cavalry galloped out from the east gate of Shouchun and headed to the dock. About a hundred people boarded a medium-sized dinghy and left the Shouchun area in less than half an hour, heading south along the wide Shao River waterway.
A tall young man stood upright on the bow of the boat, put his palms on his forehead and looked back, murmuring: "With the favorable wind, the speed of this tender boat is unexpectedly fast. It only takes half an hour."
Then you can no longer see the shadow of the city."
"Is the favorable wind only good for ships?"
At this time, Lu Su, who had ordered the soldiers around him, also got on the bow and said with a smile: "Isn't it very comfortable for you and me to be blown by the autumn wind? At this time, I feel refreshed all over my body and my spirit is lifted.
"
"I heard that my lord also likes autumn the most. He even wrote a poem. Since ancient times, autumn has been a sad and lonely time. I said that autumn is better than spring. Hey, it turns out to be clear."
As he spoke, he smiled casually at the young man: "Do you think so, Gong Jin?"
The young man was none other than Zhou Yu, who was dragged here from Xiapi by Lu Su holding high the banner of friendship. When he heard this, he glanced at Lu Su and said calmly: "I don't want you to call me your lord, brother Zi Jing, who has only been in the official position for a few months."