On the same day, the officials of the county town gave out all the money and cloth that had been given to the horsemen, and the horsemen were all in high spirits. When they were away on the expedition, how could they have imagined that they would be so rewarded? Most people were amazed and delighted, and carefully wrapped the reward in cloth and tied it tightly to themselves, while the cloth of the reward, neatly placed on the bunk where they slept, looked at it again and again, and simply loved it. Ma Ping and Li Yanzhao didn't care about those things. Each of them gave their own reward money, brocade and other things, Li Yanzhao gave two horses to each of his subordinates, and tied the remaining ten horses with hemp rope. After lunch, he went to Du Jie, the governor of the thousand people, with Ma Ping, to say goodbye, and Li Yanzhao and Ma Ping went to the stable to lead the horse. The ten brocades were placed on the horse's back, and then carefully fastened with hemp rope.

Ma Ping looked at Li Yanzhao's actions, but he was quite puzzled. Under questioning, Li Yanzhao smiled and did not answer. Ma Ping had no choice but to press the doubts in his heart, led the horse out of the camp with Li Yanzhao, and then turned over on the horse, and the two rode straight towards the county seat.

The camp is only more than ten miles away from the county seat, and the two of them are galloping on horseback, but in less than two quarters of an hour, the county gate is already in sight. When the two men approached, they greeted the guards at the gates, and then led their horses into the city and headed for the county guard's house.

Li Yanzhao came to the gate of the vermilion lacquer county guard mansion again, but looking at this familiar vermilion lacquer gate, Li Yanzhao couldn't help but feel emotional. At this time, he no longer had the panic and anxiety he had when he first came twice. Facing this door, he already has a sense of calmness and calmness.

Ma Ping stepped forward and knocked on the door, and a small official came out, heard the intention of the two of them, and immediately went to the back hall to report. After about half a pillar of incense, the little official returned to the front door. A dozen miscellaneous servants were summoned, and their horses were led to the stables. Li Yanzhao untied the brocade on the horse's back and hung it on his back with a twine. Seeing this, Ma Ping couldn't help but say that he took a few horses and carried them on his shoulders, and the two of them walked through the front yard under the guidance of the little official and went straight to the back hall.

The two of them carried the brocade and walked to the back hall panting, but Xin Taishou had already seen the two of them looking slightly embarrassed, and couldn't help but stroke their beards and chuckle. When the two of them entered the door of the back hall, Taishou hurriedly summoned two servants, removed the brocade from their shoulders, and set them aside. Then he said to Ma Ping, who was so tired and red, that he said with a pleasant face: "Ma Duwei is promoted, Xin is here to congratulate." ”

Ma Ping clenched his fists and bowed and said: "Ma's talent is limited, and he is fortunate to be cultivated by Fujun." Taishou Xin Fei smiled faintly and said: "The matter of high promotion is to thank the chief next to you." ”

Li Yanzhao's face turned red when he heard this, and he hurriedly bowed his hand and said: "The work of the subordinates is not enough. ”

Taishou nodded, but said, "Your proposal in the school field in the morning, Xin also had a plan. In the near future, craftsmen will be mobilized to select a site in the county town to set up a shrine for the fallen soldiers of our Guangwu Army. In your opinion, how should this ancestral hall be named? ”

Li Yanzhao thought about it, and thought of a few names in his heart, but he repeatedly denied it, weighed it, and said to Taishou: "Yufu Jun, why don't you name it 'Loyal Martyrs' Shrine'?" ”

"Oh, Martyrs' Shrine. It's a good name, so let's name it as you say. Mrs. Xin kept his words and glanced at Li Yanzhao deeply: "Your actions on the school field have made Zuo Sima a little unhappy. I'll try to exonerate you, presumably Zuo Sima won't bother anymore. It's just that you need to pay more attention in the future. ”

When Li Yanzhao heard this, he bowed as a courtesy: "Thank you to your subordinates." Yan Zhao thought about it for a long time, before making such a move, I hope that the officers will pay attention to the dead robes in the army, so there is such a move, at this time, Fang knows that his subordinates have not considered it, and I ask the prince to forgive me for the collision. When subordinates speak in the future, they must think twice. ”

Taishou nodded: "If you understand, it would be better." Yan thought for a while and said, "Since today is for Ma Duwei, I won't talk about these unpleasant things." You two sit down. The two of them found a few cases according to their words, and then sat down on the futon. Xin Ke, bring the wine. Xin Taishou walked to the top and sat down, and then shouted into the back hall.

Not long after, the servant named Xin Ke carried three small jars of wine, carried three small bowls in his hands, walked to the three of them, put the bowls in his hands and the wine jar respectively, and then bowed to the three of them. The three of them also nodded in salute, and watched him turn back to the back hall.

Lord Taishou first opened the wine jar, poured a bowl of wine out, and said to the two: "Today, I will put aside miscellaneous things, and I wish to get drunk with you!" Two of you, please! ”

Li Yanzhao opened the wine jar with Ma Ping as he said, poured a small bowl out, and the wine smelled sweet and fragrant, faintly smelling of mash in the later life. Li Yanzhao and Ma Ping also raised the wine bowl, and saluted the Taishou lord at the top, and then the three of them brought the wine bowl to their mouths, and the sweet and fragrant wine flowed through the throat and went straight to the stomach.

After Li Yanzhao drank a bowl, he couldn't help muttering in his heart: "It's really a mash!" He was not good at wine in his later life, but he did not invent the distillation method to make wine in this era, and the wine was such an ordinary rice wine, sweet and sweet. For example, those high spirits in later generations are not available.

The three of them drank wine and talked about some gossip. Ma Duwei talked about the bitter battles he had experienced since he joined the army, and the two of them couldn't help but have a worried look on their faces when they heard it. Later, Taishou asked a lot about the counterinsurgency. Since the Guangwu cavalry squad returned to the camp, Taishou has never seen the two, and this time when it comes to counterinsurgency, the three of them have a warm chat. Li Yanzhao remembered something, and then asked Taishou: "The subordinates dare to ask the prince, how does Gu Zang plan to settle those thieves and their families?" ”

"Above the court, most of them still advocate that those thieves and their families be released to their original places and left to fend for themselves, alas. These people only focus on the present, and few can think about the long term. Speaking of this, Taishou lowered his head and sighed.

"That Fu Jun thinks that if it is my county, can we properly settle them?" Li Yanzhao couldn't help asking.

Taishou Xin Fei heard this, but sighed again: "It's difficult, these people have long been accustomed to nomadic life, and there is not much pasture in my county, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to provide for the nomadic needs of these tribes." In these days, there are more displaced people entering the county, and the grain stored in the county warehouse and the county warehouse in each county is also stretched, and I am afraid that it is not enough to supply these tribes for winter. ”

Food has been a big problem since ancient times. Hearing what Taishou said, Li Yanzhao also ran out of ideas. He felt that if there was food, then it would not be a problem to settle these thieves. However, there is no food and no pasture, and if we want to forcibly resettle, I am afraid that in the future, when those nomadic tribes lack food and clothing, it will cause big problems. Don't say that Li Yanzhao can't afford to take this risk, even the Taishou, who is the military and political chief of a county, who is sitting at the top at the moment, can't afford it. For thousands of years in recorded history, this question has been a primary one hanging over the heads of the ruling class. How many families have been ruined because of lack of food, how many wars have collapsed because of lack of food, and how many dynasties have fallen because of lack of food. These historical facts all remind Li Yanzhao, as a later generation, how critical and severe the problem they are facing.

Liangzhou has been in charge for nearly 20 years since the Zhang family was in charge, but due to its remote location, the population is not prosperous. The agricultural economy, with grain as the main body, has not yet formed a perfect and virtuous circular system. So after the Yongjia year, Shenzhou Lu sank, and when the people of Guanzhong and even the Central Plains had no hope of crossing south and moved west to Liangzhou, this system with a meager surplus was finally severely tested.

In other words, Liangzhou is now very poor, very poor. Not to mention ordinary people, even the state apparatus controlled by the state pastor Zhang is only unwilling to struggle on the food and clothing line. If Liangzhou is not rich, it will move eastward and recover Guanzhong, which can only be empty talk. A regime that cannot afford to raise many soldiers is not easy to defend its territory, so how can it talk about opening up its territory?

Li Yanzhao suddenly realized that this issue, which had not attracted much attention to him, would become the biggest constraint to restrain him in the future. However, Liangzhou is located in a barren area, and it is not possible to reclaim a large amount of fertile land for agricultural production in a short period of time like Guanzhong and the Central Plains. As a result, we have to explore ways to produce more food on top of the limited arable land, and at the same time, we can consider conscripting displaced people to reclaim wasteland.

Thinking of this, Li Yanzhao couldn't help but ask: "Fujun, but I don't know what kind of crops are sown by the people in the county now?" ”

Taishou raised his head and thought about it, and then said: "In this county, most of the fertile fields are located in the lower reaches of the reverse water, with a basin of nearly three hundred miles and thousands of hectares of fertile land. The common people have a variety of drought-tolerant crops such as wheat and corn. However, the variables are unpredictable, if it is a dry season, the yield per mu is only eight or nine stones. In the year when the wind and rain are smooth, it is better, and the yield per mu can reach 134 stones. ”

Li Yanzhao heard this, but said: "I don't know if there are two seasons in a year?" ”

When Tai Shou heard this, he said with a difficult face: "Corn and wheat are both sown in spring and summer. Two seasons a year is indeed difficult. ”

"What if you sow winter wheat in the autumn and corn in the summer? Irrigation is convenient in the backwater basin, and even in dry years, a partial harvest can be guaranteed. Li Yanzhao didn't give up and asked.

When Tai Shou heard this, his expression couldn't help but perk: "This method can be tried, and if it is feasible, it can be promoted." Now that the end of autumn is approaching, I try to grow wheat in one of my own fields. ”

When Li Yanzhao heard that it was feasible to keep his words, he was also relieved. If he harvests two crops of grain a year, there is no doubt that the pressure on him caused by the problem of eating will be greatly reduced.

Li Yanzhao thought about it, took out a drawing from his arms, but got up and handed it to Taishou.

Taishou saw that Li Yanzhao's drawings had a semi-circular thing, but he didn't know what it was, so he couldn't help asking, "What is this?" ”

Li Yanzhao replied: "This thing can be made of iron, called stirrups, and firmly tied to both sides of the saddle, so that the rider can obtain a stable fulcrum, so that he can free his hand on the horse's back, open the bow and arrows, or swing the knife to chop, it is undoubtedly much more convenient, and the rider does not have to worry about his unstable center of gravity and thus falling off the horse." ”

Taishou was overjoyed when he heard this: "Can there be a real thing?" When Li Yanzhao heard this, he lowered his head and replied: "The real thing has not yet been manufactured." Today, I will present this drawing to the king, which is to ask the king to find a good craftsman and create this thing. ”

Tai Shou said: "If this thing is as magical as you say, it is not a problem to build it." Tomorrow I will go to the Ordnance Department in the city, and instruct the officials to order the blacksmiths to build this thing according to the map. ”

"Mansion Jun Mingjian, if this thing is successful, it should be able to make a small fortune." Li Yanzhao smiled at Taishou. When Tai Shou heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he realized: "You mean, if this thing is successful, it can be sold to the outside world and make a profit?" ”

Li Yanzhao bowed his hand to Xin Taishou: "That's right." If this thing is completed, the prince can send an envoy to bring a few pairs of exquisite saddles to Gu Zang Mushou and others. If the shepherd says yes after using it, he is worried that others will not buy it? Li Yanzhao thought to himself that it was time to instill some business ideas in Taishou. However, such a profit can not last long, as soon as this thing comes out, others will inevitably imitate it when they see the benefits. The government can order the Ordnance Department to rush to make a batch. After selling, you can continue to make this item and equip our county cavalry with a profit. Subsequently, the Ordnance Department had to work hard to study the method of mass manufacturing. The product must be convenient and reliable. When others see the beauty of this thing, the demand will inevitably increase. We have to produce more and be of better quality than elsewhere for the business of selling this to last. ”

Taishou solemnly took the drawings back into his arms, but raised the wine bowl again: "Tomorrow, Captain Ma Du will go to his post, and with this jar of thin wine, I congratulate Captain Ma Du, and wish Captain Ma Du to make new contributions elsewhere!" ”

Li Yanzhao also raised the wine bowl: "The subordinates congratulate Ma Duwei, and wish Ma Duwei another new meritorious service!" ”

"!" The three of them raised the bowl together and drank the wine in the bowl.