Wei Wuji sighed and said: "I think that at the beginning of the founding of Great Qin, the world was in order, and I was studying at that time, and they all said that Great Qin would go to a prosperous era under the leadership of the emperor, but I never thought that in just twenty years, the world would be ......!" With a puzzled look on his face, he shook his head, full of regret.

"The world is in turmoil, and the northwest will not be peaceful." Pei Ji's expression became serious, staring at Chu Huan, "Second brother, there is a wolf in the northwest, he has been waiting for the opportunity, and now the time has not come, once the time comes, he will inevitably open his bloody mouth and devour the northwest." ”

Chu Huan understood what Pei Ji meant, and knew that the "wolf" that Pei Ji said could only be Zhu Lingyue, the governor of Tianshan Dao.

"Chu Du, in fact, I didn't come to the northwest this time to seek refuge from adults." Wei Wuji hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Wei actually wants to ...... is to be under the command of Chu Du, to show his ambitions, although the road to the career of Mowgli has never been smooth, it is very bumpy, but ...... But Wuji thought that Chu Du was generous, and Wuji might be able to do something for adults in the northwest......! ”

Chu Huan knew that if he wanted to govern Xiguan, what he lacked was a large number of outstanding talents, although Wei Wuji was down, he still seemed to be quite talented, and it was not difficult to arrange an errand for him in Xiguan, and he even immediately thought that the new salt bureau was now understaffed, although the salt road was not yet operational, but after the factory was built, he would immediately start making salt, and the new salt bureau would soon become one of the busiest yamen in Xiguan.

He was about to mention the errand of the New Salt Bureau to Wei Wuji, Wei Wuji saw that Chu Huan was silent, and Chu Huan was embarrassed, and had already said: "Chu Du, Wuji came to the northwest from Hebei and entered the territory of Xiguan, but along the way, he saw many fields that were barren and uncultivated, Chu Du had thought about how to solve these problems?" ”

Chu Huan was stunned.

In addition to dealing with the Zhu Party and the Beishan gentry, he has to devote the most energy to several things at present, one is to build a factory to make salt, one is to build an army, and one is to deal with the plague at present.

As for the fields, he also knew in his heart that after the Xiguan War, a large number of fields were barren, although the gentry of Beishan and many local gentry in Xiguan had cultivated the land and planted, but the cultivated land in Xiguan was huge, and the advantages and disadvantages of the fields were different.

"Xiguan has just gone through the war, when the war was chaotic, hundreds of people in Xiguan died under the iron hooves of the Xiliang people, plus many people were displaced to other places, although some people have returned to their hometowns, but there are still a large number of people left out." Wei Wuji said: "Xiguan Sandao, when it comes to area and population, Xiguan is naturally in the first place, but Chu Du should be aware that a large number of people in Xiguan are living in Tianshan and Beishan, and the population of Xiguan can no longer be compared with before the war. ”

Chu Huan and Pei Ji glanced at each other, their eyes were the first to show surprise, this problem, the two of them have not been unaware, but there is a specialization in the art industry, Chu Huan wants to eradicate the hostile forces in Xiguan and revitalize the economy of Xiguan, and Pei Ji's focus is to build an elite army for Chu Huan that can stabilize the foundation in Xiguan.

Wei Wuji mentioned the population issue at this time, which is actually a fundamental problem.

Wei Wuji saw that Chu Huan and Pei Ji were both looking at him seriously, obviously listening carefully, and immediately said, "If Chu Governor wants to revitalize Xiguan, population is indispensable. The two of them don't know if they have heard, the pre-Qin reform law, the Qin State Daliang made the merchant martingale once said, the people over the land, the land over the people, in fact, there is no benefit, the land is wide and the people may not be rich and strong, and the land is narrow and the people are widowed, and they may not be poor and weak, if you want to be strong, the most important link is whether you can effectively play the role of population and land. ”

Chu Huan's eyes showed brilliance, his previous impression of Wei Wuji was that he was a rather affectionate reader, but after saying these few words, Chu Huan suddenly felt that he was very likely to underestimate this scholar who had been depressed.

"What is the opinion of Mowgli Child?" Pei Ji asked with a smile.

"If Chu Du wants to restore the vitality of Xiguan, it is naturally indispensable to be lightly punished." Wei Wuji said solemnly: "But if you want Xiguan to be rich and strong, you should make full use of the population and land, so that they can best combine and produce the greatest utility." The population of the northwest, relative to the Guannei, is already vast and sparsely populated, Xiguan has gone through wars, countless casualties, coupled with a large number of refugees outflow, although Wuji first came to Xiguan, but Wuji thinks, the current Xiguan, the situation of vast land and sparse population must be inevitable, this is the Daliang stoma said that the land is too people, the cultivated land is not fully utilized, and a large amount of wasteland appears, which is absolutely not beneficial to the revitalization of Xiguan. ”

Chu Huan said thoughtfully: "What does Wuji mean that Xiguan is short of manpower now?" ”

"With all due respect, the sharp decline in population is even a disaster worse than war for Xiguan." Wei Wuji's expression was solemn, "After Wuji entered the customs, he passed through Qingzhou, Beishan, and saw many Xiguan refugees in Qingzhou, and Wuji also chatted with many people at that time, asking them why they didn't return to their hometowns, and I also knew a little about their thoughts. ”

Chu Huan bowed his head and said: "When I came to take up my post, I also saw a large number of refugees in Qingzhou, and looking at their situation, it seems that they are not ready to return to their hometowns. After a pause, he asked, "Wuji Gongzi, could it be that they are worried that the Xiliang people will come again?" ”

Wei Wuji raised his hand and waved his hand, "Chu Du has never cultivated the land, so he doesn't understand the feelings of the peasants about the land. Suddenly felt that his words were a little abrupt, and said embarrassedly: "Chu Du, I mean ......!" ”

Chu Huan had already smiled and said: "Wuji Gongzi has something to say, but it doesn't hurt to say it, let's sit here and talk now, just friends, no restraints." ”

Wei Wuji's heart was relaxed, and then he said: "Just like a scholar's pen and a merchant's scale, this field is the lifeblood of the common people. ”

"Then why don't they return to their hometown?"

"In fact, the reason is very simple, many people think that even if they return to their homeland, they will not be able to live." Wei Wuji sighed: "There is land but no food, and there is no land." How many people are dying of starvation, and the common people are not afraid of knives and guns now, but afraid of not having food. Xiguan Sandao, Xiliang soldiers invaded our Qin State, almost occupied the entire territory of Xiguan, but the Tianshan Mountains and Beishan were not in danger, and the Xiliang iron hooves did not enter their territory, so their production was not destroyed. How many land gentry in Xiguan were ruined and their property was looted, while the gentry of Beishan and Tianshan, although they were expropriated with money and grain during the war, their vitality was not ......! After a pause, he said: "Otherwise, it is impossible for the gentry of Beishan to have such financial resources to pour into Xiguan and spend a lot of money." ”

Chu Huan bowed slightly, and Pei Ji was also thoughtful.

"So when the autumn harvest comes, the harvest in Beishan and Tianshan will not have much impact, at least they will not starve to death. The displaced people in Xiguan also said that if they stay in the north mountain of the Tianshan Mountains, even if they beg, they are afraid that they will be able to get a few mouthfuls of food, but when they return to Xiguan, they will not even have a place to beg. Wei Wuji smiled bitterly: "Most of the people who returned to Xiguan were small farmers with their own few acres of thin fields, and many of the tenant farmers who rented land stayed in Beishan and Tianshan to farm for the local landlords and gentry. At the beginning, those tenant farmers farmed for the landlords and gentry, and at the end of the year, they could still leave a few percent, but now the refugees in Xiguan farm on their side, the conditions are harsh, and they can't get a bucket of grain at the end of the year, but the employer can give them some soup and water every day to let them survive. ”

Chu Huan sighed, he had not studied this before, but he also knew a little, the people at the bottom of the empire were divided into small farmers and tenant farmers, small farmers all had their own fields, but the number was very small, after paying taxes, how much could they still leave the grain in the warehouse, and the tenant farmers, who did not have their own fields, could only farm for the wealthy families, in fact, they rented land to grow grain, compared to small farmers, in addition to paying taxes to the government, they also had to pay most of the harvest to the employer as rent, and at the end of the year, there was little left, barely making ends meet.

As for slaves, they are like cattle, sheep and livestock, free to buy and sell, and their own bodies do not belong to them, let alone their own things.

Pei Ji listened for a long time, and suddenly spoke: "What Wuji Gongzi said is right, population is important, whether it is production and construction, even if it is conscription, a large number of people are needed...... This is by no means a good thing for Xiguan. ”

Chu Huan was a little distressed and said: "The refugees are out, can't they tie them back with a rope?" He smiled bitterly and said, "There are many people who have already settled in it, and I am afraid that they have lost the heart of returning to their hometown." ”

"Since Wuji Gongzi has talked about this issue, he must have been thinking about this issue for a long time." Pei Ji looked at Wei Wuji, "What is the best way for Gongzi Wuji to resolve this situation?" ”

Wei Wuji sighed: "Actually, many years ago, Master Chen and I ...... Oh, Master Chen is a family teacher, and at that time he said to Wuji, the Holy ......! It seemed that he felt a little inappropriate, looked at Chu Huan, and didn't dare to continue, Chu Huan said again: "Wuji Gongzi can speak freely, don't have any restraints." ”

Wei Wuji then said: "The saint is obsessed with cultivation, and taxes are increasing day by day, and the family teacher said at that time that in the long run, the prosperity at the beginning of the founding of the country will soon change, and the common people will not have enough food and clothing, so they will never have the heart to engage in production, and what the ancestor said has come true, since a few years ago, many lands in the empire have begun to be barren, and many people have been forced to become bandits......!" ”

"Where is the Lingshi now?"

Wei Wuji smiled bitterly: "The ancestor passed away three years ago, and after he passed away, Wuji went to the capital, intending to serve the imperial court, but it's a pity that he ......!" Shaking his head and sighing: "People are soft-spoken, Wuji has the heart to serve the country, but there is no way to serve the country, the plan of governing the country left by the ancestor has not been useful, and then left Beijing to Hebei, I wanted to show my ambitions in Hebei, but ...... Still inactive ......! ”

Chu Huan immediately asked, "What is Lingshi's plan to govern the country?" ”

Wei Wuji raised his head, his eyes shining, "The great plan of the ancestor is to deal with the current situation in Xiguan, Wuji came this time, only hoping to show his ambitions under the command of Chu Du, Wuji believes that as long as Chu Du adopts this strategy, it will not only allow the displaced Xiguan refugees to return one after another, but also solve the current situation of a large number of barren fields." ”