Lonely non-good minister

Chapter 316 The Price of Wrong Decisions

Song Yuan asked directly, and they didn't even react immediately. They were stunned for a while before showing joy and couldn't help it. Zhang Xi's lips trembled even more excitedly: "The people in Jiuquan are scattered, and most of them feed on tree bark and grass roots in cold winter. If every family Every household can have dozens of catties of grain, and life will be easier."

He only dared to ask for dozens of catties of food for each household, fearing that he would be rejected if he said too much, so he was very careful with his words and expressions.

Song Yuan became more and more sad: "In such a poor place, what to eat and drink depends on God's face. How long can a few jins of grain last? You can count on [-] jins of grain for each household. Give me the number so that I can allocate it uniformly." .”

"One hundred catties?" Zhang He was very surprised, but soon his eyes turned red and excited: "Even if it costs 30 catties of grain."

After finishing speaking, he took another careful look at Song Yuan. He knew how low the grain production in the Northwest was, and he knew that the people in the Northwest couldn't even be self-sufficient, and it was impossible to get the 30 catties of grain out.

Song Yuan frowned: "There are only three thousand households in Jiuquan County?"

"The war is chaotic and poverty-stricken, those who died died, those who fled, and those who left didn't leave. After the cold winter is over, I'm afraid there will be even fewer people. Some people will die if they can't make it through." Zhang Yun's face was full of sorrow. , as a county magistrate, in such a barren land, there is really not much he can do.

Song Yuan became more and more sad: "It is not a solution for three thousand households to be scattered in such a barren land, but if there is no walking and living for them, this place will be eaten away by the Huns sooner or later."

"Indeed, the lower officials have also moved the common people collectively to a place close to Zhangye. In this way, even if the crowd gathers, they will not be able to farm the land, but they can also have contacts with Zhangye's merchants, so that they will not be isolated like they are now. The border is isolated from the world." Zhang Yun sighed: "It's just that the idea was rejected by the Situ Mansion, and the reason is that the border must not be without people, otherwise it will be invaded by foreign races for a long time, so it can only be so."

Song Yuan also sighed: "I'll write down the food first. After the autumn harvest, the grain will be adjusted immediately. As for how to deliver it to the people, it's up to you to figure out a way."

"Yes." Zhang Yun became excited again. As long as there is food, the people can survive the cold winter. It is a happy event for him to save one person from starvation.

Song Yuan got up: "Where's your grain depot? I'll go and have a look."

Even though she knew that Jiuquan would not be able to eat any food, checking the grain depot was a necessary step, so she had to take a look.

Zhang He hurriedly led the way, leading an official with him, and took Song Yuan to the back of the hut. He removed the baskets on the ground to reveal a plank, and then removed the plank to reveal a hole that could only accommodate one person.

"This is the grain depot. Jiuquan is really poor and doesn't need much space, and the Huns often invade. The grain depot built on the ground is too easy to be robbed and burned, so we can only dig holes to hide here." Zhang He explained, So he asked people to go down first with the candle, and he himself looked up from above, and after confirming that the candle was not extinguished, he looked at Song Yuan: "My lord, please."

As soon as Song Yuan lifted up her clothes and was about to go down, Wei Yan went down first, holding the ladder below to let her down slowly, and Zhang Yun also brought the officials down.

The so-called grain depot was indeed pitifully small. Rather than a warehouse, it was just a hut with a few bags of grain piled against the wall, and nothing else.

"Open it and have a look." Song Yuan was not hopeful about those bags of grain. The imperial court required the counties and counties to store a certain amount of grain every year for emergency use. Obviously, the few bags of grain in front of him could not meet the standard at all.

The official opened the bag, and the millet in the bag was old, Song Yuan put his hand in and took it out, his hands were covered with a lot of dust.

"How long have these grains been piled up?"

Zhang He hurriedly said, "Three years."

"If you don't eat it, it will go bad, and if it goes bad, it will be wasted." Song Yuan wiped his hands, then pinched the other bags: "Let's distribute it to the people first, sometimes a mouthful of porridge can kill people, when the food arrives You recharge the bank again."

Zhang He breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes, I will take the order."

He has long wanted to distribute the grain from the grain depot to the people for the winter, but the imperial court's regulations are there, and the officials who inspected the grain depot in previous years were not accommodating. If the grain is taken out, if it is not delivered for a year, the grain in the grain depot will not be moved, and there is no way to do it.

Coming out of the grain depot, Song Yuan was also covered in dust. She looked around and asked, "Where is Mr. An? Please come."

"Yes." The guard went to invite him immediately.

Song Yuan explained: "This Mr. An is a good plowman. I brought him here just to ask him to see if you can grow anything in the water and soil here. If you can grow it, then try to find ways to grow it. , don’t be afraid of wasting your energy, if you can’t grow it, then consider other ways out.”

When Zhang He heard this, he became even more excited. When he saw the guard coming in with An Zhou supported, surprise and disappointment flashed across his face, but he still rushed forward three steps at a time, bowing his hands very politely.

"Thank you for your advice, Mr. Lao."

An Zhoushi was shocked by his actions and hurriedly bowed in response. Zhang Yun was very eager to learn, so he immediately invited An Zhoushi into the room, offered to sit down, and he spoke.

"Jiuquan is dry, and has been harassed by the Xiongnu all year round. The people are scattered, and those who are left can only grow some grain in the valleys and valleys to make ends meet. I hope you can point out the way out." Zhang He bowed again.

An Zhoushi hurriedly helped him up: "My lord, you are welcome. It stands to reason that Jiuquan can grow a lot of things, including wheat, corn, flax, potatoes, and cabbage. It is really a must-have place."

"I know wheat and flax, but it's just the corn." Zhang He looked at Song Yuan, he had never heard of this thing, and neither had Song Yuan, so he had to turn his attention to An Zhoushi.

An Zhoushi hurriedly said: "It's pretty good to be able to grow these two things."

Song Yuan asked a question: "Jiuquan has almost no water conservancy, can it grow wheat?"

"Wheat does not require much water, and the conditions in Jiuquan are sufficient." An Zhoushi tried to keep it simple: "Northwest is actually very suitable for growing wheat, but I am facing."

He shut up in time and gave Song Yuan a worried look, but Song Yuan didn't mind, and finished the sentence for him: "After our dynasty forced the Han royal family to retreat to the south, after the founding of the country, we allowed the rich and powerful to destroy good farmland, and turned many places It was turned into a pasture, and after more than a hundred years of reform, the official system was restored to Sinicization, and then people were encouraged to cultivate again, but most of the farming skills were lost, so many places could not grow various crops as they did more than a hundred years ago.”

"I have also heard the old man say that Jiuquan once planted wheat." Zhang He didn't dare to follow Song Yuan's words. It was a mistake in the royal family's decision-making. It's okay for them to complain in private. ?

(End of this chapter)