Lonely non-good minister

There were too many casualties, and the yamen could only count so many people who had been kidnapped.

"One thousand, three hundred and twenty-seven people." Song Yuan looked at the names on the list: "Women and children account for the majority of them." There is no need to say clearly what will happen to these abducted people.

The busy officials came back one after another, all looking tired. Even so, no one was lazy. They all came to the main hall to wait to report today's progress.

The yamen servant brought the food, wild vegetable steamed buns made with sweet potato noodles, and oily cabbage soup. If you were lucky, you could get a few pieces of meat from the bowl, but at this time, no one would have an appetite after seeing the oily smell. Everyone looked ugly while eating.

Song Yuan took two bites of the wild vegetable steamed bun. The rough meal was really scratching her throat. She took a big mouthful of hot water before swallowing the steamed bun. She was exhausted but had no appetite at all.

"The northwest is already short of people. More than 300 people were kidnapped, which is a huge loss to the northwest. However, the conditions offered by the Xiongnu are too many. So many things are completely required by the northwest in a year. harvest."

"Not to mention more than 300 people, even more than 300 people can be saved. If we let it go, wouldn't it be a loss of people's support? This is something that cannot be exchanged for many things."

"If you give it this year, will they give it again next year? According to my opinion, if you don't give it, just fight. The Huns who were able to fight before stopped the war and asked for peace, but they can do it now. Instead of using things to support the enemy and destroy themselves If you don’t have enough ambition, it’s better to let go of your fists and take advantage of this anger to declare war.”

They started talking as they ate, each of them had an idea, but no one accepted it.

Song Yuan silently chewed the steamed buns in her mouth. In the past few days, there were many folds sent to her desk asking for war and peace. Before the imperial decree was delivered, the officials and bachelors in the northwest couldn't hold it in. Everyone's heart They are all holding a fire.

"If a war really breaks out, according to the current situation, the Wei Dynasty can also supply the food and grass needed for the war. But if the war breaks out, farming in many places in the northwest will suffer." Someone analyzed it very calmly.

As soon as the actual facts were mentioned, the angry people calmed down, and someone immediately said: "A lot of new farmland was cultivated this year, and the people benefited last year. This year, a lot of cotton was planted spontaneously, and even other crops were planted." A lot has been planted, and if there is no war, this year’s harvest will be better than last year’s.”

"Is Zhangye the only one growing grain this year?" Song Yuan took a sip of hot water. She didn't want to go through last year's predicament again. If there was really a war, the merchants would not risk transporting grain to the northwest. Moreover, the imperial court A large amount of food was collected to supply the army, and there would not be too much food left for merchants.

Someone immediately said: "This year, each county has allocated farmland for planting. Last year, most of the farmland was partially destroyed due to insect infestations and other diseases. This year, improvements have been made. So far, there have been no major pests and diseases. Another farmland has been built." The water conservancy has been put into use, and although we are not completely self-sufficient in food, the situation is better than last year."

"It's enough to be better than last year. Increasing grain production is a step-by-step process. Growing grain depends on God's face. Don't worry. There is still grain in the warehouse, right?" Song Yuan broke the buns in his hand into small pieces. , throw it into the tea soup and let it soften before eating, which will make it easier to eat.

"Both of them are. The imperial court requires that the warehouses must have enough grain. The subordinates dare not disobey." She nodded: "We who are engaged in civil affairs can only make suggestions whether it is war or superiors. We must listen to the imperial court's decision on specific decisions. , if we really need to start a war, we cannot delay the supply of military supplies, the most important issue of food and grass must be supplied first, which is a huge expense, and if we are not fully prepared, it will delay the war."

"Yes."

"Since the food in the warehouse is still there, there is no need to worry. When it is really needed, it is important to allocate it immediately. Right now, we have to settle the people who were attacked first, and then rebuild the destroyed towns and villages. Yes." She looked at everyone: "If there is really going to be an attack, we have to be prepared for food shortages."

Each of them looked solemn, and after thinking for a while, they nodded one after another.

"However, this incident also reminded me that there are few people in the northwest, and they are scattered so unevenly. Even if the military strengthens inspections, it will be difficult to cover everything. The small number of people means insufficient defense capabilities. Once encountered, The Huns' scattered cavalry were unable to resist the sudden attack."

"The northwest is vast and sparsely populated, and there are not many fields that can be farmed. In order to survive, most people gather in places where they can farm and herd, so they are scattered. There is nothing we can do about it. If we really want to gather people, we can't. Live a normal life.”

Song Yuan waved his hand: "No, that's not what I mean. What I mean is that the people are scattered unevenly because of the uneven distribution of farmland. This is something that cannot be solved for the time being, but it can be solved with a small number of people. I have seen the situation in the northwest There are only a few thousand children registered in the household registration book every year, and most of them will not live to be ten years old. According to my inspections, most of them are old people, which is not a good phenomenon."

"If you want to increase the population, you just need to have enough food and clothing, and only if you can give birth to people to feed the common people, you will be willing to give birth. Otherwise, you will not be able to feed the people. The previous dynasty once forced a woman to marry if she is seventeen, and if a man does not marry if he is twenty, Fines of silver are used to force people to get married and separate households as soon as possible. However, this measure is feasible in other places, but it is particularly difficult to implement in the northwest. People are too poor. If they really want to fine them silver, the whole family will not be able to survive. There are also The same thing happened when the court forced marriage. Two paupers got together and couldn't raise a child. They made the woman pregnant for ten months in vain. Not only did they waste energy and time on farming, but they also lost one of them if they were not careful."

Song Yuan nodded: "That's true. I don't think these two methods are suitable. It's not that you can't give birth. The key to the problem is that you can't afford to give birth."

"Someone had suggested before that it was okay for the common people to give birth to the imperial court and raise them, but how could the common people be willing to leave their newborn children to the yamen to take care of them? If the common people were to take care of them, it would be ugly to say that the rations given to the children would not be enough. The child couldn’t eat a bite, so it was rejected.”

They have used their brains to do these things, and have thought of all the ways they can think of, but even small-scale experiments cannot be successful, so they can only give up.

Song Yuan thought deeply. This was not the first time that the idea of ​​increasing the population in the northwest had come up, but there was really no good way to solve the current situation.

"Let's keep these in mind and think carefully about countermeasures. The top priority is to stabilize the epidemic prevention and people's livelihood first." After she finished eating, she poured a bowl of warm tea soup and said: "The situation is unclear now. If there are still survivors outside the city, Put all the people into the city to prevent the Huns from coming again."