"Among the sergeants who died last month, thirteen of them were from our Kangguo."

Kant stroked the white rice paper with his hand, and said with a solemn face: "I want to personally write a letter to their relatives to express my condolences. "Most of the area in the river was under the direct jurisdiction of the Xia State, and the Kang State ruled only a small area around the Kangju City, and many of them had families who had been merchants for generations, and they were merchants who did not farm. Therefore, the sacrifice of more than a dozen sergeants in a month is also a big deal for Kang Guo. Kang Deyi, as the prince of Xia and the prince of Kang, must be taken seriously. The royal family usually does not meddle in specific affairs, and word of mouth is built up little by little.

"Ah Xiu," Kang Deyi beckoned to the door, "you send the princess back first." ”

"Yes, Your Highness." Ah Xiu bowed in response, but stood motionless at the door. Based on her experience, when the opinions of King Kang and his wife are to the left, it is far from being something that can be decided by the prince in one sentence. Like most Sogdian women, Kang Yina was as active as most Sogdian women, and although she received a court education and was well versed in Chinese calligraphy, she was not in the least constrained by the etiquette of the Central Plains, and she had known Kant before her wedding. Ina is the Sogdian word for "favorite person", and when the two were brother and sister, she often used soft grinding and hard soaking to achieve her goals. Ah Xiu even suspected that Kang Deyi went to Liaodong and came back with a big nail, which was already in the princess's calculations.

Sure enough, instead of complying with the order, Kang Yina turned around lightly, sat on Kant Yi's lap, and then put her arms around his neck. "But," Kang Yina tilted her head slightly and pouted, "Brother, I just can't sleep." She is delicate like a flower, and her air is like an orchid, and as long as Kant lowers his head, he just touches her cherry lips. After getting married, Xiao Nizi retreated from shyness, and liked to play with him, Kant knew that she was deliberate, but his heart was hot, he held his waist lightly, patted her round buttocks, and coaxed: "Go back obediently, I'll finish my business and come later." ”

"No, no." Kang Yina didn't follow, she said coquettishly: "Can't you do it tomorrow?" It's not good. She pleaded as she twisted her body. Kanderyi hugged his warm delicate body, felt the fat and plump writhing, and his heart rippled. He coughed lightly and glanced towards the door, Ah Xiu hurriedly lowered his eyelids and bowed out. This situation is indeed not suitable for outsiders. Kangina also glanced towards the door, only to see the hidden door.

Ah Xiu has always been very considerate. Since Bianliang was rescued, she has been following Kant Yiyi. In the past, there were always traffickers who sold the beauties of Kang to you as slave girls, and it was not strictly forbidden until the Xia Kingdom occupied this place. Ah Xiu's plight was generally sympathetic, and Empress Kang also liked her loyalty, and looked at her differently, so that she had always followed Kang Deyi, in addition to taking care of food and daily life, she also regularly reported to Empress Kang the situation in the court of Kangjuguo.

In March, it was still cold in the wilderness, but it was warm as spring inside. "Brother," said a slouchy voice, "you Han people also say that there are three unfilial pieties, and no queen is the greatest." Kangju's biggest state affair is to continue the bloodline, so ...... You have to work hard. Someone almost choked on saliva, coughed, and said, "This...... However, persuading farmers is a major event of the year, and we have to get up early tomorrow. "Yes." The lazy voice said in a low voice, "Don't blame me if you can't get up, you yourself are a big lazy worm." ”

Outside the door, the spring rain was dripping, as if someone was sighing softly.

Since the continuous migration of the Xia Kingdom to the river, more and more land has been cultivated, and the ceremony of persuading farmers has become more and more grand and solemn year by year. Kang Guo's son for the old king to do the agricultural ceremony, this year is already the second year, the spring rain is as expensive as oil, on the eve of this day sprinkled a spring rain, people are regarded as an auspicious omen from the sky. A high platform outside Kangju City is full of dignitaries, there is a piece of land of about 100 acres under the high platform, and the land is already crowded with people, and people are talking about it.

"Look, that's His Royal Highness the King of Xiaokang."

"Hey, there are only old and weak women and children left in the village these days, and there are so many great young men!"

"yes, there aren't even enough cows and horses."

"Why aren't they holding on to a plow? What kind of farm tool is that? ”

On the edge of the farmland, the people surrounded the water, and a string of firecrackers were lit, and after the thunderbolt sounded, the people on the periphery cheered loudly. In addition to the officials and ordinary people who participated in the ceremony, there were many tricks, acrobatics performed on the periphery, and the hawkers shuttled in the meantime, and the sound of hawking and noise was endless, and the scene was very lively.

This year's persuasion is different from previous years, because a large number of adult men in the river go out to fight, and most of the spring sowing has to be completed by healthy women, old people and teenagers. After several deliberations, the Prime Minister's Office decided to gradually promote the no-tillage method in the river to save manpower and animal power. This method of arable land was proposed by Xu Fang, a scholar of Chang'an Bachelor's University, and has been experimented with and promoted on a small scale in Chang'an for nearly a decade, but has not been vigorously promoted because it is very different from the traditional farming method that advocates deep ploughing. Manpower will be tight in the river for the next few years, but the prime minister's office has finally made up its mind to promote no-till in the river.

From Xu Fang's experience, the no-tillage method does not need to harvest straw, and does not need to plow the land many times before sowing, which can greatly save manpower and animal power, and can also nurture the fertility of the land and increase the grain output slightly. The disadvantage is that it is overgrown with weeds, and the number of pests and diseases will increase year by year. There is a shortage of manpower to cultivate the land in the river, but there are still many old and weak women and children left, and we can make up for it by pulling more weeds in the next few months. Pests and diseases will not get out of control, and if you plough again after a few years to destroy the eggs lurking in the soil, you can prevent them from happening. In short, although there are certain risks in promoting no-tillage, it is the best decision that the Prime Minister's Office can make in the current situation.

"Your Highness," the palace official asked carefully, "is it okay to begin?" ”

"That's it." Kant nodded, and held the plow of the planter with both hands.

He was in plain peasant attire, with a thin cotton shirt and trousers. Although the weather is not warm, it will naturally not be cold after getting to work. Beside Kanther, more than 20 sergeants each supported their own farm tools. Every time he promoted a new technology, he first taught the sergeants, and then used the sergeants to guide a large number of shady households. In order to use no-till to sow seeds at the Peasant Persuasion Ceremony, the sergeants, including Kant, practiced many times to make sure that they did not make a false first impression on the onlookers.

At the time of Xu Fang's experiment, the farmer and animal husbandry Cao had also been trying to make agricultural tools that matched the no-tillage method. Kant held on to this seeding machine, which could be pulled by a horse, and the strength of an ordinary woman could be manipulated freely. This is the planter that has spent nearly a decade repeatedly optimizing the planter. Its function is to cut off the straw that flowed in the ground last year, and to sprinkle the seeds while turning over the shallow ditches. After sowing, the seeds are deeply fertilized and then the seeds are completely buried in the ground with a horse-drawn mulching machine. This year, the Prime Minister's Office plans to promote no-tillage on nearly 30% of the land in the river. These new machines were made by the workshop last year, hoarded in the Kawanaka treasury, and were distributed to the remaining sergeants before the spring arrived, and they were lent to the shade to use when the spring begins.

"Knock", "knock", "knock", the drums are like spring thunder, announcing the official start of the ceremony.

"Drive—" Kant shouted, drove the horse, and helped the seeder straight forward.

With Kant as the midpoint, the sergeants formed a long snake formation, each driving the horse, and the horse went straight in unison, pulling the seeder forward, and the sergeant controlled the speed of the horse while controlling the speed of the horse, and at the same time controlling the speed of sowing seeds through the connecting rod. The planter left two shallow furrows behind it, and the spring seeds had already been sprinkled. Persuading farmers is a real physical work. From morning to night, Kant was about to complete the cultivation of this hundred acres of land, even if there were horses and farm tools available, they would have to sweat profusely at the end of the day.

On the high platform, Kang Yina pointed to the distance and said, "Look, that's His Royal Highness the Prince." ”

At the Persuasion of Agriculture Ceremony, a group of beauties pointed to the field, if in previous years, in the Persuasion of Agriculture Ceremony, those who followed King Kang to farm were all nobles from all over the Kangju country. This year is different, not only Kangguo, but most of the nobles in the entire river are fighting on the front line, so most of the sergeants who followed Kang Deyi are ordinary sergeants who stayed behind, although their status is far less than before, but they are all physically strong, vigorous and far better than those in their thirties and forties. It is said that after the spring sowing is completed, they will also go to the front line to rotate the next batch of sergeants who will return to their hometowns to recuperate.

"Sister, I heard that His Royal Highness the Prince will also go to Tiemen Pass to garrison, but is it true?"

Kang Yina frowned slightly, nodded, and looked at Kandeyi's figure, her beautiful eyes rarely revealed a trace of sorrow.

"This war," Cao Yun'er sighed, "I don't know when it will be over." Hu Lishu also said: "Yes, at this time in previous years, there were people around me, and I couldn't be annoyed." But this year, it's deserted everywhere. "These noble ladies are chattering, causing a lot of fiery eyes from afar, Kang Guo lives on the main road of east and west, and has always been rich in beautiful women. The group of colorful noblewomen around Kang Yina are even more of the best, and this spring is too lonely for them.

"Except for the military government, where can you find so many strong young men." The crowd of onlookers also let out a sigh of admiration, and many people sighed that there was no manpower for spring ploughing, and many families had to rely on women and the elderly to go up. This year's harvest can only be blessed by the gods and Buddhas. In a crowded place, the white-robed guards formed a small circle, and several brocade-robed old men stared at the scene of Kant cultivating and persuading farmers, and the outside discussions kept coming into their ears, but their conversation was only audible to each other.

"When you start a war, the first thing you have to think about is how to end it." Chen Ang sighed and said in a low voice: "The captain of the Protector Mansion will do everything to fight this battle with the Great Food Princes, do they have any plans in their hearts to end?" If you don't destroy the Roma Turks, you will be ready to exhaust the manpower and material resources in the river? Seeing that the Liao and Song dynasties were fighting each other and becoming a stalemate, if they continued to fall into such a muddy position, the great opportunity for the east to dominate the world would be missed. ”