Number of People

  Chapter 2134 The layout of the Guizi scroll is second-hand, methodical

The two rebellious armies of Modren and Qiu Zixiong moved westward and southward and caused a mess in the entire Yan'an Mansion, but Pan Ruzhen soon saw the clues. Every time the rebellious army succeeded, they would be chased away by the following officers and soldiers, leaving a large number of people behind. Money, goods and food, especially food, were reaped even more, and the local powerful gentry were also swept away.

   This almost made the government take advantage of it for nothing, and Pan Ruzhen vaguely understood that there was something tricky here, but if there was no trick, how would the hundreds of thousands of people in Yan'an Mansion live?

   Even so, the collected food is not enough to allow the victims of the entire Yan'an Prefecture to survive this year. Without the help of the outside world, the chaos will continue or even worsen.

  But he also heard that the governor should have a strategy and plan in advance, and a smart woman can hardly cook without rice, so if you dare to come, you have to bring something.

"Your Excellency, do you mean the grain from the east of the river?" Pan Ruzhen was also a little surprised. The situation in Shanxi is not very good either. It also suffers from a severe drought, but it is slightly better than that in northern Shaanxi. It is shipped from Datong, which means that this It should be food from Beizhili, and the cost is too high.

"Well, a batch will come from Henan soon, but they won't be given to Yan'an Mansion. I'm afraid Xi'an Mansion, Qingyang, and Pingliang will also need some. It's hard to say in this situation. We can only Do your best, so the food you get back, whether it was taken back from the "rebellious army" or brought in by foreign enemies, Zhenpu, you have to ask the people below to arrange for it to be returned. If there is any corruption, I will be the first I can't forgive you, understand?"

  Feng Ziying is not very angry, but Pan Ruzhen understands that this is the bottom line, and it is also the highlight of the governor's achievements in the future, starting from Shaanxi governor and returning to Beijing.

   "Don't worry, my lord, the lower officials know the seriousness, and will definitely send the safest and most innocent people to do these things, so as not to make any mistakes." Pan Ruzhen bowed and accepted the order.

"Well, it's good that you understand the pros and cons. In addition, I have already sent a batch of potatoes, corn and sweet potato seeds from Beizhili. These planting experts have helped Shaanxi to start planting this high-yield crop that is hardy and resistant to barrenness."

Feng Ziying is well aware that although some officials in this era are relatively proficient in farming, they are generally quite rare, and they are even more skeptical about newly introduced crops. To vigorously promote the planting of these crops and quickly produce results, only To use official power, if you want to use the method of guidance and persuasion, you don't know that it will take a year of the monkey to see the effect.

"Let the prefectures and counties select a group of officials who are proficient in farming and old farmers in the countryside, and they will come to learn how to plant. Northern Shaanxi is barren and lacks water, but these three things are imported from overseas. They do not choose places and are drought-tolerant. It is resistant to barrenness, and can be planted in mountainous, sandy, and dry lands, and the yield is quite high. Although the taste is somewhat different from the corn and wheat we eat every day, after a while, it will taste even better than corn."

"My lord, I have also heard that Master Xu is cultivating this kind of crops in Shuntian Mansion. In these years, it is a great joy to be able to fill the stomach and not starve to death. How dare you expect extravagant taste and taste? The key is If you want to be able to tolerate drought, you don’t choose the field, and the other is whether the yield can be high. This is the key. I’m afraid that potatoes taste similar to beans but grow in the soil? How much is the yield per mu?”

  Pan Ruzhen still has some knowledge. Xu Guangqi is a well-known official in the imperial court. It must be extraordinary to be able to resign and live in seclusion in Tianjin Wei to cultivate such crops imported from Western Yi, so he is still very interested.

  Especially the conditions in northern Shaanxi are so harsh, if there are really high-yield crops that are drought-resistant regardless of the land, then it can be popularized for the magistrate, and the risk of future chaos can be greatly reduced.

"The yield of potatoes still depends on the quality of the soil, but the most barren mountainous land, or even the thin land where corn cannot be grown, can produce at least ten stones of potatoes." Feng Ziying is also not clear about the current agricultural level. Planting potatoes can yield per mu. How much, but he has roughly seen an unverified data, probably in the Qing Dynasty, the yield of potatoes per mu could reach 2,500 catties, which is about 16 shi, so the 40% discount for him may be about the same.

   "Ten stones?!" Pan Ruzhen was taken aback and almost hit the teacup in his hand, "Can it be so high? Anywhere can produce such a high output?"

"I guess there must be seven or eight shi in thin land, and about twelve or thirteen shi in good land, but this stuff is different from corn and wheat. Wheat and corn lose only 20 to 30% after being harvested and dried, but potatoes cannot be dried. So it is not so hungry, but in any case, potatoes are much better than corn and wheat in many thin and mountainous lands, but this one is enough." Feng Ziying replied with certainty.

"If there is such a high yield, Yan'an Prefecture should promote planting anyway, especially if it is resistant to cold and barren, let alone." Pan Ruzhen was also a little excited, "My lord, if the seeds are delivered, you might as well apply them on the skin now. The three counties of Ganquan, Ganquan, and Ansai are trial planting, and the lower officials of these three counties are sure that they can be promoted and implemented quickly, and the effect may be seen next year."

  Fushi, Ganquan, and Ansai counties are the three counties where Pan Ruzhen has the strongest control. They are located in the central region, and the soil quality is not bad. If they can see the effect, they can also quickly expand to the north and south.

"Well, I think it's okay. You can arrange it specifically. I just want to see the effect." But Feng Ziying is still very satisfied with Pan Ruzhen's attitude. beginning."

Pan Ruzhen nodded. It seems that Xia Zhiling is quite suitable for the governor, but it doesn't matter to Pan Ruzhen. There are more than ten counties in the whole prefecture, and any of them is in a difficult situation. It is also for me to solve the problem of one more county. good thing.

Hearing two good news, Pan Ruzhen was also in a good mood, and asked about Feng Ziying's itinerary by the way: "My lord, I heard that the chief envoy is also urging you to go south as soon as possible, and Mr. Lu may be a little anxious too. .”

   "Oh?" Feng Ziying laughed, "Is there news about Zhen Pu in Xi'an?"

Pan Ruzhen didn't hide anything, "Returning to my lord, I still have a few friends. The letter also mentioned that Lord Lu is not in a good mood these days, and the situation in the counties to the east of Xi'an Mansion has not improved. The orders given to him by the lord must be Hold the Puzhou-Tongzhou line, but now I heard that the rebels around Pucheng are attacking fiercely, and the guards are somewhat unable to resist, although Pucheng has not yet fallen, but if it continues, it will be hard to say."

  Feng Ziying actually knew about this situation. The line he drew for Lu Chuan and Sun Yijie was that Tongguan-Pucheng-Tongzhou-Huazhou should not be lost. He even considered that Tongzhou could be lost, but Pucheng must not be lost.

Once Pucheng is lost, the rebellious army will approach the front line of Yaozhou-Fuping, which will directly endanger Xi'an City, but now it seems that Xi'an failed to do so, and it cannot be entirely blamed on Lu Chuan and Xie Zhenye. It's really trash, the army of the guard has really been abolished by him all these years.

Tongguanwei's army should be able to pull out a dozen, but neither Xie Zhenye nor Feng Ziying dared to make this decision. Once Tongguanwei was in trouble and was controlled by the rebellious army, the throat of Shaanxi out of the Central Plains would be blocked. That is a great disaster.

For such a result, Feng Ziying is also very helpless, and can only hope that Lu Chuan and Xie Zhenye will force the Xi'an government to do more. The other is to see the speed of Qiu Zixiong's southward movement, but taking Qingjian is only a short distance away from Baishui and Chengcheng The front line is still far away, and it will not be possible to reach the territory of Xi'an Prefecture in two or three months, so this is a bit extravagant.

   "How about Xu Liangyan?" Feng Ziying asked suddenly.

Pan Ruzhen was shocked, and thought carefully before slowly saying: "Xu Liangyan is from Chenzhou, Henan. He was a Jinshi in the thirty-sixth year of Yuanxi. Then he was transferred to Suzhou Tongzhi, and then he was promoted to Sichuan Chief Envoy Siyou Counselor, and three years ago he was promoted to the prefect of Xi'an Prefecture."

   "Well, from Chenzhou." Feng Ziying nodded, he also knew that, it belonged to Kaifeng Prefecture, not too far from the Hou brothers and Lian Guoshi's family, "How does this person do things?"

"I still have the ability to do things, but it's not easy to be a magistrate under the noses of the chief envoy and the inspector." Pan Ruzhen smiled faintly, "Master Xu is also in a dilemma inside, and has suffered a lot. The crime of grinding, fortunately, Mr. Xu is meticulous and sophisticated, so Mr. Lu and Mr. Sun are both passable,..."

What Pan Ruzhen said was similar to Wang Wenyan's understanding. Although Xu Liangyan could not be both right and left, he managed to do both without offending, but it also meant that Lu Chuan and Sun Yijie didn't like him very much, but the position of the magistrate of Xi'an Prefecture was unusual. It's not that Lu Chuan and Sun Yijie can move whatever they want, and Xu Liangyan is so experienced in doing things that he didn't make any mistakes, so he can stabilize for a while.

  But if the situation in the eastern part of Xi'an Prefecture continues to deteriorate, although he, the prefect, is actually not very responsible for military affairs, but if Lu Chuan really wants to make trouble, he may not be able to find it.

   "I see." Feng Ziying nodded.

   After Pan Ruzhen left, Feng Ziying recruited Wang Wenyan, took out the letter brought by Xu Liangyan's personal staff last time, and read it again, "Wen Yan, do you think this Xu Liangyan is usable?"

"For the time being, even if you are not sure, you can only use it once." Wang Wenyan pondered: "The magistrates of Xi'an Prefecture must be registered by the Ministry of Officials, unlike Pan Ruzhen who has no roots, my lord You might as well use it, as for the future, you don’t have to worry too much about it.”

Feng Ziying thinks so, don't expect everyone to bow to him when they see him, Xu Liangyan must have a background in the court, otherwise it is impossible for Lu Chuan to clean up, so he doesn't have to be too demanding, of course, if things can't be done Well, I will not be polite.

  (end of this chapter)