Dongting Lake.

It is like a huge pearl embedded in this land.

Eight hundred miles of Dongting, facing the Yangtze River, connected to the Xiangjiang River and other four major rivers, the water waves are vast.

This was originally the land of fish and rice, but this year's drought has also involved here, the 800-mile Dongting Lake, has shrunk by two-thirds, and many of the original water waves are now like deserts.

There are cracked holes everywhere, and from time to time you can still find sun-dried fish and shrimp snail shells on the fiery white earth, and some fishing boats lie on the dry and cracked ground, like stranded fish.

"It's really a drought that hasn't been seen in decades."

"It's still a big locust plague that hasn't been encountered for decades, you see, you can't see a trace of green at a glance, it's all eaten up by locusts."

Several Hunan Provincial officials accompanied Xiangguo Qin Qiong on the inspection.

Qin Qiong arrived at Dongting Lake at the end of March, and with him came 12,000 elite soldiers.

Kan Ling, Wang Xiongdan, Ximen Junyi, Xu Shao, Huang Junhan and other generals all personally led troops into the country.

Under the threat of a Qin army, the military leaders of the counties in the original Xiaoliang territory all wanted to return to the wind and set up Qin flags one after another.

They used to have a good time fighting with Xiao Miao, but when they faced Daqin, they became a plate of loose sand, and they didn't have the courage to resist at all.

In addition, the current drought and locust plague have made them anxious, and they are not even enough military food, so how can they fight, they have to count on Daqin's support everywhere.

The counties were taken over by the Qin army, and according to the plan of the imperial court and the Privy Council, the Qin army that entered the country soon began to set up new guard camps in the counties.

Jinyiwei and the Imperial City Division are also very hard, they have gone deep into almost every county and township, but they have all contacted and talked about any patriarch who has a little soldier in his hand, or a patriarch who has a little prestige in the local area.

Whether it was a promise or a threat, the counties on both sides of Dongting Lake had no resistance to the entry of the Qin army, and they even looked forward to and welcomed it.

Because the Qin people promised, there will be food coming over next, and everyone will not have to starve, no need to leave their hometown to ask for food, and no cannibalism.

Next, the land will be divided equally, and everyone's taxes in the future will be the same as the people of Daqin in other places, and the burden will be several times lighter than now.

Since the end of the Great Cause, in fact, everyone's life has become more and more miserable, Xiao Mo and his military leaders control here, taxes are higher than in the past, military service is also higher, and the people are miserable.

Even the barbarians in the mountains such as Dabie Mountain and Hengshan can personally experience the difficult times in the past few years.

To the south of Dongting Lake, there are many barbarians.

In fact, in the Three Gorges, there are also many barbarians, even in the Dabie Mountains, there are also many barbarian tribes, but in comparison, the barbarians in the north of Bahan Lake are relatively more civilized.

At this time, the barbarians south of Dongting Lake are much more backward, especially the further south, the more barbarians are backward.

Guiyang, Yuanling, Lingling, and Hengshan counties are actually not much different from the situation in Lingnan, all of which are Han and many, and most of the Han people are concentrated in the flat land, while most of the barbarians are gathered in the mountainous areas, and there are many of them.

"Hubei and Hunan are now attached to Qin, and we will be a family in the future, whether it is Han or barbarian, according to our Great Qin system, we must settle down, we can divide the land and grant land, and the property registration will be issued to the deed. You don't have to worry about the high taxes and heavy labor after naturalization, my Daqin's taxes are lighter than those of all previous dynasties, and the labor is less. After naturalization, the tribes with difficult conditions in the mountains can also move to the plains, where they will be given fertile land, and even their children can go to school for free, and those who are over 60 years old can receive free salt every year······"

The most important thing is that in the current catastrophe food shortage, you can receive disaster relief food by registering for naturalization.

Qin Qiong has tens of thousands of Qin troops in one hand, and a steady stream of grain in the other, so it can be said that he has both hands hard.

Along the Han River, the Yangtze River, and then through the Xiang River, the Qing River, the Huangshui, the Yuan River, the Zijiang River and other rivers, Qin Qiong's army and grain can lead to the big cities of the counties, and form a line with points and spread a net.

Those military leaders had no food in their hands, so they could only accept Qin Qiong's conditions, accept a new official position, and then either enter the court or go to other places to take up a new position.

The troops under the leaders of the armies can't eat enough, and naturally no one wants to continue to be soldiers, and the officers can still retain their ranks to go to the military department to elect the marquis, while the ordinary soldiers simply took off their military uniforms and received a dismissal from Qin Qiong and went home.

The vast majority of the soldiers were disarmed, removed from the army, and after receiving severance pay, they accepted Qin Qiong's employment and temporarily acted as a grain transporter, pulling fiber or carrying grain in the river.

If you do a day's work, you will be given a day's food, and this work will be energetic.

Truckloads of relief food were transported to the counties and counties through the rivers, and many hungry people who did not come and fled their hometowns finally got something to eat.

And many people who fled the famine were also asked by Qin Qiong to accept relief on the spot and not to wander anymore.

This kind of fishy relief food is very popular in Hubei and Hunan, and the hungry people found that although this thing can only be boiled into paste and lumps, it is quite full and hungry.

Even after eating it for half a month, I can still feel that my complexion has become more ruddy.

"How is the naturalization situation of the barbarian going down the mountain?"

Qin Qiong inspected the counties, and now in Hubei and Hunan, 12,000 soldiers have been deployed in each province, with 24 battalions in each province.

The yamen of the government offices at all levels in Daojun and county have basically resumed operation.

Nowadays, along the river, many transshipment granaries have also been set up.

The situation is improving, and although swarms of locusts can still be seen flying by, at least the people are able to eat, have settled down, and are no longer wandering around.

As for the crops gone, no one cares now.

Qin Qiong is now more concerned about the large number of barbarians in Hunan Province, who were actually not naturalized in the past.

Qin Qiong planned to take advantage of this disaster relief to lure Tuman down the mountain to naturalize.

The barbarians in the mountains were better off, after all, they relied not only on farming, but also on hunting. However, this year's drought is too severe, and the locust plague is serious, and at this time, the barbarians in the mountains are not having a good time.

Living in the mountains, many barbarians have been cut off from drinking water, which is very difficult. The stored grain is almost eaten, the mountains are dry, hunting is more difficult, and as for fishing, the rivers and streams have dried up, and there is still any fish.

The county town and township pavilion under the mountain are piled up with a lot of relief grain, and every day people go into the mountain to persuade the barbarians to come down the mountain.

"There have been more and more barbarians going down the mountain, and the Lingnan side has also begun to respond to the call of the imperial court, transferring grain into Hunan for rescue, crossing the Ling Canal from Guilin County into the Xiangjiang River, and transporting grain into Lingling and Hengshan, and the counterpart of Qianzhong Road supports Yuanling and Changsha, and Bahan Road supports Qingjiang and Yiling County."

"There is a real grain there, and many barbarians have come down to the mountain to join, especially those barbarian tribes of the same origin from the surrounding provinces have come forward to persuade and say the truth, they have already believed in the benefits of naturalization, and now there are more and more people who come down to the mountain every day to naturalize and receive disaster relief food."

Qin Qiong nodded.

It is crucial to seize the opportunity of this disaster relief and lure the barbarians down the mountain to naturalize.

"Is there any movement over there in Jiangxi?"

Jiangxi and Hunan are bordered by mountains, but there are still many roads that are connected.

"Yes, many Jiangxi people close to Hunan, as well as some barbarians, have come here to receive relief food."

"As long as they come, we will also give them relief food, remember to register."

"But some people refuse to leave when they come, these people are Lin Shihong's people, if it makes Lin Shihong angry, isn't it?"

Qin Qiong sneered a few times, "Lin Shihong himself has no ability to help the people, his people came to us to beg for food, how can we care?" If he thinks anything about it, I'm here to help. ”

"I'm afraid that Lin Shihong's soldiers will be hungry, and they will be able to do everything at that time."

"We just don't cross the line, and if they cross the line, that's their business." Qin Qiong said.