The August night was already a little cool. The breeze blew across the pool, bringing a hint of coolness and moistness to the water surface. In the long corridor, two maids were leading the way with lanterns in front, and a faint orange-red light filled the way.
Behind was the Princess Pei Minqiu, carrying an exquisite snack box, wearing a fine linen white skirt, and a short-lived child. She was covered with long red silk on her shoulders, swaying her steps and light demeanor.
Pei Minqiu frowned slightly. Her husband almost didn't move his chopsticks for dinner today. She thought he had eaten in Jinyang Palace, but when asked about his personal soldiers, he found out that he had not eaten in Jinyang Palace. The personal soldiers said
He was a little worried, which surprised Pei Minqiu. What happened?
When he walked to the inner study room, Pei Minqiu knocked on the door, "Husband, it's me!"
"Come in!" Yang Yuanqing's voice came from the room.
Pei Minqiu pushed the door and saw that the room was dim and there was no light. The window was on, and a moonlight spread into the room, giving the room a layer of silver and white. Her husband leaned against a belt back.
On the soft couch, he could vaguely see his golden crown above the soft couch.
Pei Minqiu smiled and shook her head. Is it so poetic? She put the food box on the table and lit the lights. The soft light immediately filled the entire room.
Seeing that there were a few mosquitoes in the room, she hurriedly stepped forward and put down the screen window, turned around and smiled, "Do you think of chanting poems or feeding them to the mosquitoes?"
Yang Yuanqing took photos of two mosquitoes and smiled bitterly, "Did I bring the food?"
"What do you say!"
Pei Minqiu asked her husband coquettishly, opened the food box, placed a few plates of side dishes and a bowl of rice in front of him, and took out a small bottle of rose apple wine and a cup from the food box.
"Eat it while you are!"
Yang Yuanqing was really hungry. He picked up the chopsticks, picked up the rice bowl and started eating. Suddenly, he stopped the chopsticks and asked, "How much does it cost to make rice now?"
"About forty cents! Wheat is a little cheaper, I heard it is thirty-five cents."
"This price is not cheap either!"
Yang Yuanqing frowned. He remembered that before the Central Plains War, it was twenty-five cents per dou, and in a few months, it actually increased by fifteen cents.
Just as pork prices are now an important indicator for measuring prices, in the Sui and Tang Dynasties and even for a long time, the price of grain was the direct standard of prices. People took food as the target, and if they had no food to eat, they would rebel. Therefore, rulers of all dynasties all regarded it.
The price of grain is more important than the sky.
Yang Yuanqing pondered for a moment and asked his wife: "Do you think this year is really a disaster?"
He knew that his wife was not pampered in the deep courtyard, and she often communicated with her servants and was very familiar with the outside world.
Pei Minqiu then realized why her husband had no appetite for dinner. It turned out that she was worried about Danian. She also sat down, picked up a small wine bottle and poured a glass of wine for her husband, and advised him softly: "Isn't Danian very normal?"
There is no reason to have a bumper harvest every year. If the grain is bad, life will be tighter. If the grain is bumper, everyone will be more prosperous. For thousands of years, haven’t you been here? Why should you worry so much?"
"But this year is extraordinary. The Sui Dynasty has two major burdens, Hebei and the Central Plains, and there may be a hungry wave in Qingzhou. Maybe it will rebel again."
"In fact, if there is one thing that the people can survive, no one will want to rebel. The key is that the government needs to provide effective disaster relief. Don't be like the end of the Sui Dynasty. Even though there is food in the official warehouse, they refuse to release food, which forces people to rebel. My grandfather is
That's what I told me."
A sentence reminded Yang Yuanqing that he would visit Pei Ju and listen to his opinions when he had time.
Thinking of this, he picked up his glass and drank it all, and said to Pei Minqiu: "Tomorrow morning, I will go outside the city to inspect the farmland to fight against drought. I am going to take Ning'er to inspect."
...
After passing a village in the south of Taiyuan, there are endless farmlands. According to the equal-field system of the Sui Dynasty, in addition to ordinary farmers, officials of the Sui Dynasty also had Yongye fields and ranks, and were divided into nine grades and ten grades according to their official ranks.
Level 8.
The highest is the prince, only Yang Yuanqing, and his Yongye field is 10,000 acres. However, Yang Yuanqing had two farms in the past, one in Yanshi County and the other in Jiangning County in the south. However, these two farms were not included in
New Nagatachi.
How to distinguish between old fields and new fields has always been a matter of heated discussion in the court, and most officials believe that the old fields cannot be considered when dividing new fields.
This is also a reality. Because of his special status, Yang Yuanqing did not dare to touch his farmland because of his special status.
Other officials were not so lucky. With the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty, most of the officials' old fields were deserted or had their owners changed. Yang Yuanqing finally agreed to the opinions of most of the officials and allocated new Yongye fields.
Don't consider old fields.
Although the official Yongye Field system was introduced last year, and officials at all levels can go to the Ministry of Revenue to collect their own Yongye Field, in fact, most officials have not made any noise, which is not because they are half-disciplined.
Instead, they knew that Taiyuan would not be the capital for too long. The officials wanted to collect Yongyetian near the capital after Xindu was confirmed to leave it to their descendants.
And if you don’t receive Yongye Field, you will get a monthly lumi. If you receive Yongye Field, the lumi will be reduced by half. If you receive another position and land, then the lumi will be gone. Now it’s considered.
After harvesting the land, it is difficult to find tenants, and the gain is not worth the loss.
Therefore, officials of the Sui Dynasty were not very enthusiastic about collecting Yongye fields and vocational land. Among the endless land in southern Taiyuan, almost all the farmers' own land was the same, with an average of about 50 acres per household.
At this time, the Taiyuan area, like Hedong and even the entire Central Plains, encountered the worst drought in Daye in six years.
There is a proverb in Hedong, saying that "there is the beginning of the small year" is coming, and the families and families will be on the market in the twelfth lunar month.
This means that if the summer harvest meets the Little New Year, then the autumn harvest is likely to be a disaster year. Now this situation is indeed encountered. The drought has lasted for three months, and only two light rains have occurred in the past three months.
The rivers were at the bottom, the land was dry, and the rice was growing low and thin, weak. There were busy watering farmers everywhere in the fields, and they also saw officials from time to time, carrying water with the farmers to irrigate the land.
At this time, a team of hundreds of cavalry slowly stopped on the not far away official road. The head of the official was King Yang Yuanqing of Chu. He turned over and dismounted, and another personal soldier carried Yang Yuanqing's eldest son Yang Ning down from the horse.
.
Yang Ning is only seven years old this year and studied under Li Gang. He has been studying for more than two years. He is well-educated and polite, and has a sense of a young man.
He didn't talk much, and knew that his father took him out not to play, but to inspect the people's conditions, so he was not as naughty and naughty as ordinary children in the wild. Instead, he followed his father, pursing his lips tightly, and his expression was very serious.
Yang Yuanqing glanced at his son and saw that he was wearing a fine linen white robe, a leather belt, and a flat scarf on his head. He was dressed very plainly, no different from the children of ordinary families.
But his expression was serious and nervous, and he was not as funny as a seven-year-old child. When he saw a Bai Ao flying through the air, his black eyes would also stare at Bai Ao, and his eyes showed the heart of a young child.
A hint of pity surged in Yang Yuanqing's heart. Sometimes, he would rather his son catch grasshoppers like other children, climb trees and dig bird nests, and enjoy the happiness of young children.
But after all, he is the eldest son of the King of Chu, and he has too much burden on his shoulders. Yang Yuanqing sighed secretly and extended his ho to him.
Yang Ning held his father's generous and warm palm, and a feeling of attachment arose in his heart.
"Dad, I can ride a horse. It's not the pony my father gave me, but a big horse I gave me, which is a little smaller than my dad's horse."
Yang Yuanqing touched his son's tender little head and smiled, "Do you know why Dad didn't come out in the carriage?"
"I know, Master said that the court now has rules, and elderly people can only ride carriages. Dad should set an example, so he should ride a horse during official business."
Yang Yuanqing was relieved and laughed: "I said it very well, starting a business is difficult, and I must be more frugal. Have your master taught you?"
"My master also warned his child yesterday that if he strengthens his foundation and uses it for simplicity, then the heavens will not be poor. This is Xunzi's words, and he should keep it in mind. Master praised his father's call for frugality. He said that this is the foundation of a strong country."
The father and son: While talking, they came to the ridge of the field, and the young officials who helped the farmers here had already seen Yang Yuanqing, and they all came up and bowed, "See Your Highness!"
"Thank you all for your hard work, which temple are you?" Yang Yuanqing asked with a smile.
This is a resolution made by Ziweige. All officials under the fourth rank and under the age of 40 must go to the fields to assist farmers in drought resistance, while the rest of the officials will take time to help farmers depending on the situation.
Several young officials quickly replied: "We are officials of Dali Temple."
Yang Yuanqing nodded. He walked to the bucket and saw that there was most of the bucket of water in the bucket. The water was quite clear, but an irrigation canal nearby had already reached the bottom, leaving only a little turbid mud. It was obvious that the water in the bucket was not obtained from the irrigation canal.
Come.
"Where did this water come from?" Yang Yuanqing asked, pointing to the bucket.
"Report to your Highness, we helped the farmers dig a well, right in front of the land, and now we are irrigating with well water."
A young official came forward to show his example, scooped up a scoop of water and poured it slowly on the roots of the rice. "That's all, watering a little bit of water for a rice plant. Although it's very tired, it can at least save the food.
Yang Yuanqing stood up and looked around. He saw farmers watering everywhere in the endless rice fields, but the rice was very thin. He frowned slightly, "In this way, how much can acre of land be found by autumn harvest.
harvest?"
An old farmer stepped forward and replied, "Your Highness, the drought in the sixth year of Daye is similar to that now, but when the drought is not strong, the yield is reduced by 80% in the end. Most of the rice grows empty shells. This year, everyone is strong in drought resistance.
A bad harvest is a foregone conclusion, but at least 50% of the harvest can be saved.”
Only 50% of the harvest was achieved, and this was still in Taiyuan. If it were other places, it would be even lower, not to mention the abandoned states controlled by Geng Jiande.
Yang Yuanqing finally understood why Du Ruhui was so worried, afraid that the victims of the seven counties in Qingzhou would flock to Hebei and the Central Plains, and the great disasters and wars in Qingzhou would be inevitable.