Chapter 227 They are all here to buy food (New Year's
In the Yangtze River Basin, rice-wheat rotation is often adopted, with two crops a year, that is, winter wheat is planted, and after one harvest, rice is planted again to harvest the same year.
In other words, summer grain is mainly wheat, while autumn grain is mainly rice.
Li Shanchang led his six local officials to collect taxes and grain, which was more than enough. Zhang Ximeng didn't need to care too much, but soon Zhang Ximeng discovered a problem. There were really a lot of people staring at Zhu Jiajun's summer grain.
First of all, there is Fang Guozhen. This guy sent his son Fang Guan here. This young master Fang goes around eating and drinking all day long, entertaining guests, and trying his best to curry favor with everyone in the Zhu family army. Of course, they are mainly civil servants who can manage food.
Chen Youding from Fujian also sent people over. The price was negotiable. They also wanted 200,000 shi.
Besides Chen Youding, the most surprising thing is that Zhang Shicheng also sent someone over. This person did not mention the affairs of Hangzhou, nor did he care about Miao Bing, or even the world-famous painting. Zhang Shicheng only talked about the original division of the Huaihe River between the two sides.
They made a covenant and sent Huai salt, hoping that Zhu Jiajun would give them a batch of grain, the more the better!
Three families have already come to get food. The one with the biggest appetite is Liu Futong's Han and Song Dynasty regimes. They are very rude and ask for two million dan in one mouthful...
No matter what the conditions are, as long as there is food, they will agree.
Liu Futong acted like he was doing the surgery casually, and I was the one who came to be slaughtered. You have the final say!
Looking around, except for Tianwan, all the other forces are here, and they can all form a mahjong table.
No matter how slow Zhang Ximeng is, he still knows that things are not simple.
Although food shortages are common, the shortage is astonishing.
Zhang Ximeng felt that he could not take it lightly, so he immediately invited Jia Lu and Zhu Sheng, and then Wang Guangyang. Let's quickly discuss what happened...
"According to my estimation, in the land south of the Yangtze River and north of the Yangtze River, you can get more than 1.8 million dan for summer grain alone. But no matter how much grain there is, it can't hold up so many mouths... And now it seems that grain is already a piece of food.
It’s a very important weapon. We need to know how powerful this weapon is, but don’t sell the gold for copper!”
When Zhang Ximeng said this, several people were excited. Zhu Sheng was the one who proposed building walls high and hoarding grain widely. His views on grain were naturally very wise.
"Fang Guozhen and Chen Youding, they may not be short of food. Although there are many mountains and few fields along the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian, they still have enough to support themselves. If I am not wrong, they get food not only for their own use, but also to sell it at a high price.
, after all, they all have a fleet! It is also possible to send it to Dadu."
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "Yes, now that the Yuan Dynasty has cut off the grain supply from the south of the Yangtze River, it has to raise troops and fight wars. The food gap is indeed very large. I remember that before the liberation of the Southern Expedition, the price of food in most cities soared ten percent.
Times, I'm afraid it won't be cheap now. No matter how much we charge, these two second-rate dealers can make back money doubled."
Zhu Sheng nodded, "Indeed, the next one is Zhang Shicheng. I think his situation may not be that simple... Zhang Shicheng swallowed Suhang. There are millions of people in these two cities alone. In the land of Suhang,
Although there is no shortage of land, Zhang Shicheng is greedy for profit. Not only will he not stop overseas trade, he is afraid that he will intensify it. In this way, the food gap will become obvious."
Zhu Sheng was a little confused when he analyzed this point, "These three families are both greedy for money and profit. There is nothing difficult to understand... But Liu Futong occupies the land of the Central Plains. I heard that he also engaged in some frivolous corvee and small gifts.
Regarding the granting of land to the people, it seems that his food gap should not be so large, what is the problem?"
Wang Guangyang pondered and said: "Mr. Fenglin, I have been to Bozhou, and I heard people say that floods and droughts have been constant in recent years, the yield of fertile fields has been reduced, and the wind, sand and salt are very serious. The people are fleeing and begging for food everywhere. They would rather beg for food.
I don’t want to plow the fields either… In short, it’s really difficult for Liu Futong!”
Listening patiently to Wang Guangyang's description, Zhang Ximeng subconsciously looked at Jia Lu. If he guessed correctly, these situations sounded familiar, and Jia Lu should know it best!
Sure enough, Jia Lu let out a long sigh, his face full of helplessness and misery.
"People's livelihood is difficult, and it's because of the Yellow River... I feel ashamed of the common people!"
Jia Lu took out a map, and several people came over, including Zhu Sheng. He didn't understand much about these things, so he pricked up his ears and listened carefully.
"Look, once the Yellow River bursts and floods the Central Plains, what will happen? Is it a flood?"
Wang Guangyang said: "Sir, water and fire are ruthless. Isn't it the most serious flood?"
"No!"
Jia Lu shook his head, "Let me tell you, this flood is still the least serious, and terrible things are yet to come!"
Zhu Sheng was also curious: "People often say that after a major disaster, there will be a major epidemic, but a plague?"
Jia Lu still shook his head, "This is all temporary, and the real danger is yet to come. Half of the water in the Yellow River is filled with sediment. When the river bursts its banks and the sediment overflows, it will flood the fertile fields. When the water recedes, the sand will remain.
.These sandy soils are the real problem!”
Zhu Sheng's heart moved and he couldn't help but said: "Can you explain it in more detail?"
"The sandy soil has covered the original fertile soil. If we continue to grow food, the yield will be reduced. Moreover, the sandy soil has another problem. When it rains, it cannot hold water and cannot grow vegetation... The result is that every time there is a drought,
, you will farm when there is a drought, but when there is a flood, the water will be stronger!”
Zhu Sheng took a breath and said, "Is there still such a thing?"
Jia Lu said solemnly: "Not only that, if there is more sand and soil, wind disasters will increase, and the dust will be blown up, and the food grown will be lost. In addition, wherever there is a lot of sand and soil, locust plagues will also increase. This is the truth.
I still can’t understand it for the moment!”
Zhang Ximeng, who was listening patiently, suddenly coughed, "This... is related to the habits of locusts. They lay eggs in sandy soil and hatch larvae, causing a locust plague."
Jia Lu was also surprised. Seeing Zhang Ximeng's certainty, he also knew that this young man's family background must be reasonable, so he would ask for advice when he was free.
"In addition, some states and counties are low-lying, and floods accumulate and cannot be discharged. Over a long period of time, the ground is similar to the salt ponds in Shaanxi and other places. The saline-alkali is barren, making it impossible to cultivate! Once we reach this point, we will really be at the end of our rope.
Even if you plant food, you may not be able to harvest it, let alone paying the land tax, it will be very difficult to support yourself."
Jia Lu patiently explained, and Zhang Ximeng interrupted from time to time. Gradually, they analyzed the experiences of the Central Plains clearly... The source of everything is on the Yellow River, and the disaster caused by the Yellow River burst was by no means a flood that destroyed the whole country.
It’s as simple as a house or how many people were washed away.
After the Yellow River overflowed, it destroyed the entire ecosystem and caused all-round disasters. As the most powerful water conservancy expert in the world, Jia Lu also saw all aspects of the matter.
When sediment floods, the first thing to destroy is fertile farmland...Although nutrient-rich river mud can be used as fertilizer, this is not the case with the massive amounts of sediment washed down by floods. These sediments do not carry many nutrients and cover the land.
Cause soil desertification.
The sandy soil cannot store water and cannot grow dense vegetation.
The result is death from drought and death from waterlogging.
After soil desertification, sandstorms and locust plagues followed one after another. In addition, water accumulated in some places could not be drained out, causing salinization.
Disasters one after another have all fallen on the heads of the people.
Therefore, the consequences of the flooding of the Yellow River are very serious, and usually it may not be solved for decades or hundreds of years.
Today's flooding of the Yellow River can be traced back to the Yellow River breach in the Northern Song Dynasty... And in the battle to return to the river in the Northern Song Dynasty, the Yellow River was only tormenting the land of Hebei.
Then Duchong of the Southern Song Dynasty dug up the Yellow River and showed off his ability to use water as a substitute for troops.
As a result, the two Huaihe River areas also suffered from floods.
In the Central Plains, a huge fan-shaped yellow flood area appeared.
This area stretches for several provinces, and tens of millions of living beings suffer miserably because of this Yellow River.
The lessons of history lie here. How could a certain Huayuankou God of War feel so embarrassed!
Otherwise, Lankao is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains. It should be a treasure land with beautiful water and fertile soil, but it has been plagued by salt-alkali, wind and sand, floods and droughts all year round. The reason is the ecological collapse caused by the Yellow River burst.
Even if you try your best, it will take several generations to regain some strength.
It’s really hard to understand the hardships without actually being there.
"I originally blocked the Bei River, dredged the South River, and diverted the Yellow River water from its old route into the sea, just to save thousands of lives. However, because of my control of the river, it caused a huge disaster. Countless people fell into the pain of war. All the Central Plains were devastated.
The displaced hungry people...I am guilty of this crime! I don’t deserve a good death!”
When Jia Lu said this, he burst into tears and was speechless.
Zhu Sheng took a deep breath. Only then did he understand that the flooding of the Yellow River was so terrible, and how important it was to control the Yellow River!
"What has happened so far is that the Yuan court was ignorant and caused endless disasters. Sooner or later we have to find a way to clean up the mess... By the way, the Yellow River is also overflowing in Haozhou and other places. How is the situation?"
Zhang Ximeng said: "Since a few years ago, when the fields were first divided, water conservancy projects were built... At the same time, the Lord encouraged the planting of fruit trees, mulberry and hemp. Every household planted at least a hundred trees, which can barely sustain... From the past few years,
Judging from the amount of grain produced, the impact is not significant. But in other places, floods are more important, and no one has managed them. Coupled with frequent wars, the people are suffering from dire straits and suffering!"
Zhang Ximeng paused and said: "When we unified the world in the future, we must make every effort to control the Yellow River, grow more trees in the Central Plains, and maintain water and soil. This scourge cannot continue to exist."
Several people nodded together.
Zhang Ximeng added: "But what should we do now? Liu Futong is indeed short of food, but no matter how much food he buys, he will probably use it for the Northern Expedition, and he will not care about the lives of the people."
Zhu Sheng frowned and suddenly said: "Then force Liu Fu to take charge of the people... If we sell him 100,000 shi of grain, we will use 50,000 shi to relieve the people and control floods! If he doesn't listen, we won't sell the grain.