Chapter 106: Autumn Harvest Scene

After another day and a half, Li Yanzhao returned to the county town from Guzang with two of his subordinates. Back at the boundary of Guangwu County, the three of them didn't care about resting, so they went to the county government. Li Yanzhao reported to Xin Fujun on the situation of going to Guzang, and talked about the arrangements that Zhang Yuanjun intended to make in view of the current situation.

Fu Jun didn't care about this, and wanted Zhang Yuanjun to send 10,000 elites in the direction of Guangwu County, and did not ask for the transfer of Guangwu County soldiers to Han Pu, the leading general, to assist. Presumably, Zhang Yuanjun also has a deep understanding of the situation in Guangwu County. With such a large county, there are only more than 4,000 county soldiers, and it is more than enough to protect themselves and arrest thieves, but if you want to talk about attacking Longxi Henan, it is not enough.

Taishou Xin Peng sat in front of the case, but after hearing Li Yanzhao's report, he was a little worried. If the army comes out from Guangwu and captures the borders of Longxi, it will inevitably be borne by Guangwu County for some of the military resources such as grain and straw. It's just that there are many people entering the country this year, and if the state sends another 10,000 elites to the expedition, I'm afraid that Guangwu County will have a food shortage.

In order to settle a large number of displaced people, Taishou had ordered a large-scale reclamation of various counties. The land that can be reclaimed now has become fertile land. However, the displaced people who sow summer grain will not be harvested until the end of autumn. And in order to calm the hearts of the displaced people, the county government has made a decision to exempt summer grain from tax this year.

Moreover, the main crops of summer grain are corn and soybeans. The yield of summer corn is only about half of that of spring ploughing. Soybeans are mainly soybean-based cash crops. Although it can also be used as food, its economic value is greater than its practical value. It is a crop that Li Yanzhao suggested to the government to plant in order to test the production of soybean oil.

Xin Fei followed Li Yanzhao's advice at that time. Under the county government and the three counties, hundreds of acres of land were set aside to plant soybean crops. And most of them are the fields of the original inhabitants of each county. This means that these crops are also taxed by the government. And if the households wish, the government can buy these crops from them.

As a result, the harvest of these summer grains after the autumn harvest will inevitably reduce the grain for consumption. If the army crosses, I am afraid it will be really difficult to support.

10,000 Liangzhou elites, according to the daily ration of two catties of grain per person, the daily consumption of grain for these 10,000 people is about 1670 stones. You must know that in Guangwu County last year, the balance was only more than 6,000 stone grain. In such a county, the surplus of a year can only support the soldiers who go out on the expedition for more than a month.

Although a lot of wasteland has been reclaimed this year, and a large number of displaced people have been accommodated, the county's agricultural productivity is far from comparable to last year. However, in the face of such a large military operation, the support that Gwangmu County could provide was still very limited. Even if Li Yanzhao's two-cropping method works, the next crop after the autumn harvest will not be harvested until next spring.

In this way, Zhang Yuanjun's hasty decision to use troops in response to the grim situation was really embarrassing and heavy from the perspective of Guangwu County.

"The prince doesn't have to worry too much, it will take several months to come to Zhang Yuanjun to mobilize the army, prepare the equipment, and prepare for the many complicated affairs of the expedition. This year's autumn harvest is likely to cause the soldiers to assist the people in harvesting grain. Therefore, when the army sets out, it must be in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Li Yanzhao saw that Xin Fei was worried, so he spoke out to comfort him.

"This time the envoy mobilized the army, which can be called the festival of life and death in Liangzhou. How can we not do our best for such a big event? Xin closed her eyes slightly and rubbed her aching temples with her index fingers.

"Han Sima is cautious in his use of troops and never rushes forward. Therefore, the consumption of grain, grass and ordnance is quite huge. The envoy must have known his actions, and most of Han Sima's army was to take the strategy of sticking to Jincheng, and he would not easily advance. The financial resources of our county will make the king must also have a plan in his heart, and he will not assign too many burdens to our county, which will make the people's resentment boil. ”

Li Yanzhao also had a face-to-face discussion with Zhang Mao, so he still has a bottom in his heart about Zhang Mao's pragmatism. Guangwu County was not rich in the first place, but now it accepts many displaced people, and the situation is already very prone to turmoil. If Zhang Yuanjun forcibly apportioned the apportionment, resulting in the instability of Guangwu, then the door of Guzang Prefecture will inevitably be opened. It is impossible for a decision-maker at his level not to see what is at stake in this matter.

Xin Fei stopped rubbing his hand on his temples, then stared at Li Yanzhao seriously, lowered his head and sighed: "I hope so." Later, I will give Zhang Zhijun a presentation and tell him about the current situation in the county, hoping that Zhijun can understand the people's feelings and reduce the amount of money. ”

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At the same time, the blacksmith workshops in Guzang Prefecture have begun to work in a hurry to make and repair weapons. The tens of thousands of Liangzhou elites stationed around Guzang also followed Zhang Yuanjun's orders and began to move and perform frequently.

In August, although the weather is still hot, all counties and counties in Liangzhou have organized households to start harvesting autumn grain. Within two days, the county soldiers from various counties also joined the ranks. After the government organized the soldiers to harvest their autumn grain, they were ordered to concentrate on assisting the county households to harvest the autumn grain.

At this time, Li Yanzhao led a group of brothers from the cavalry battalion to harvest wheat in the fields of the people in Yongdeng County. As far as the eye can see, the eyes are full of golden wheat fields, and the figures in the fields are either leisurely and leisurely, or serious and hurried.

Although it was autumn, the sun was still very hot. Although Li Yanzhao was wearing a short shirt, he was still sweating like rain. He carefully took the sickle and harvested the wheat in front of him, and after harvesting a handful, he put the wheat in the pocket beside him, and when it was full, women and children naturally came to pick it up, and then took the raw wheat to thresh and dry it. Perhaps it will not be long before these golden wheat will become the flour of white flowers.

The children of the families were powerless to help, but at this time they also followed the wheat harvesters very carefully, regardless of the wheat stalks, and followed the soldiers one by one, carefully picking up the wheat grains that had fallen into the soil one by one.

Li Yanzhao bent over and kept harvesting for more than half an hour. At this time, I only felt backache and leg pain. He straightened up with his scythe and stretched wide.

The child who was picking up the wheat grains behind him saw him stop at this time, so he also stopped and looked up at him, with a pair of clear eyes, staring at Li Yanzhao tightly, as if asking him why he stopped. The cloth pockets sewn in front of the children's clothes already contain most of the wheat grains they have picked up. Obviously, it was Li Yanzhao, who had just followed the wheat harvest, who had harvested most of the day.

Li Yanzhao squatted down, stretched out his right hand and gently rubbed the child's little head wearing a tiger head hat, and then said gently: "Ergou, uncle is tired of cutting." Then let my uncle rest for a while before continuing to cut. How about helping my uncle buy a bowl of herbal tea? With that, he handed a few copper coins to the child's little hand.

The little child who was called the second dog by Li Yanzhao took the copper coins handed over by Li Yanzhao in a daze, and then looked at his mother who was sitting on the ridge of the field and sorting out the wheat in his hand.

A bunch of women sat around the ridges, pulling the household utensils and arranging the wheat in their hands. This year has been a good year, so everyone has a look of joy on their faces. When the woman saw Li Yanzhao teasing her child, her face was not only annoyed, but full of kindness.

Before the Guangwu Army helped the people to reclaim the famine, Li Yanzhao's reputation as the chief officer who led the team had already spread among the households in Yongdeng County. But all the outcasts who saw him received his kindness, and they all praised him. The women here already knew that this young general, who was only 23 or 4 years old, had not yet married, and many women in private said that they wanted to find a family affair for Li Bairen.

Li Yanzhao didn't have time to care about what those women were talking about. It's just that at this time, Ergou looked at his mother, so he also turned his head, waved at the woman, smiled, and the woman's voice was heard from afar: "Ergou, what General Xiao Li gave you, you can't take it casually!" So saying, he got up and walked towards his child.

At this time, the child pinched a few copper coins in his chubby little hand, and looked at his mother with a face full of grievances, and Li Yanzhao also got up and said apologetically: "Fang Cai has not been cutting wheat for a long time, and his mouth is thirsty at this time, ask Ergou to help buy a bowl of tea and soup, don't blame the lady." ”

When the woman heard this, she said with a smile on her face: "General Xiao Li has a lot of care for us, and we are thirsty at this time, how can we let the general break the bank." Yan took the copper coins from Ergou's hand and forced them into Li Yanzhao's hand. Li Yanzhao didn't expect that she was a woman, but her strength was amazing. After pushing and conceding, I saw that the woman's attitude was resolute, so I had to take back the copper coins.

The woman confessed her guilt to Li Yanzhao, and then went back to the group of women and whispered a few words, so the women got up and left. After a short time, he took charcoal, tea and other things from home, and temporarily set up a tea soup shop next to the ridge.

After a short time, the tea soup was boiled. Then the women brought water from the well at home and mixed it with the tea soup, and the tea soup that had been boiling did not take long to become herbal tea.

After accomplishing this feat, the women went to the fields and called for herbal tea from the soldiers who had helped their families to harvest the autumn grain. For a moment, the sergeants rushed to the tea shop that the women had temporarily supported. In a matter of moments, it becomes lively.

Li Yanzhao looked at his soldiers with a smile, looking anxious to die of thirst. When he was smiling happily, the second dog lady had already come to him with a bowl of herbal tea, and presented it to him with both hands, and said: "General Xiao Li is hard, and the slave family is barren, so he has to be so weak tea, General Wanwang should not be disgusted." ”

Li Yanzhao took the tea soup with both hands, then thanked the woman, then brought the bowl to his mouth and drank it.

Although the tea soup is called tea soup, it has been diluted by the cool well water, and the taste is no different from white water. However, Li Yanzhao, who was extremely thirsty, still used this bowl of weak tea soup as elixir and jade dew, and drank it all in one gulp. After handing the bowl back to the woman, she wiped her mouth with great satisfaction.

Seeing Li Yanzhao's appearance, the woman smiled invisibly, and then took the bowl and filled a bowl of tea and soup, turned around, and gave it to Li Yanzhao.

And so on. Li Yanzhao drank three bowls of tea soup before stroking his belly and thanking the woman for her hospitality, and then turned around and picked up the sickle, returned to the field, and worked hard to harvest the wheat.