In the late Jian'an period, Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao in Liangzhou. In order to prevent Cao Cao from coming back, Liu Bei moved to Tianshui, Longyou and other Han people to Hanzhong to expand the population of Hanzhong.
It was at that time that Jiang Wei was moved to Hanzhong with his mother. Since he was a child, he loved studying and liked Zheng Xue. When he grew up, he studied Shen Xue diligently and became quite talented. Therefore, he was recruited by the county for the past two years. Responsible for data statistics.
At this moment, he came to Shen Chen, raised his hands to Shen Chen and said, "Grand Governor, there are now 1,770,000 acres in Hanzhong and 220,000 acres."
"That's all?"
Shen Chen frowned: "I remember that during Zhang Lu's time, the population of Hanzhong was more than 400,000. Later, His Majesty moved more than 100,000 people from Liangzhou."
Jiang Wei replied: "Yes, but later Hanzhong was divided into Hanzhong County and Shangyong County, and the population and land were divided."
"oh."
Shen Chen slapped his head and said, "It was my negligence that I forgot about this. What about the two counties combined?"
"The combined farmland of the two counties is 2.57 million acres, with a land area of 440,000 acres."
"Where have the more than 100,000 people gone?"
"Moved to Bashu."
"Is this all the land in Hanzhong now?"
"Yes."
Jiang Wei replied: "This has been managed by the deputy prime minister. Before it was managed, there were fewer acres of land."
"Are they all big acres?"
"Yes."
"Where's the little acre?"
"There are 2.65 million acres of small acres, totaling 5.22 million acres."
Hearing this sentence, Shen Chen frowned.
It shouldn’t be, the Hanzhong Basin actually only has so much land?
An acre of land in the Han Dynasty was different from that in later generations.
At that time, one hundred steps equaled one acre, which was about 140 square meters.
Then two hundred and forty steps equals one acre, which is approximately 465 square meters.
In later generations, one acre is 666 square meters.
According to records in "Hanshu Shihuo Zhi", one labor force cultivates about 50 small acres, or 20.83 acres, or 14.4 acres today on average; each household has 100 acres of land, or 41.66 acres, 28.8 acres today; Each farm occupied 20 small acres, or 8.332 large acres, which is equivalent to 5.76 urban acres today.
In other words, if a family of five wants to solve the basic food, clothing and tax problems, it must cultivate 28 acres and 666 square meters of land to maintain its livelihood. Basically, the farming ratio per Dingkou is 1:8 Han acres.
At present, the total farmland in the Hanzhong Basin is only 5.22 million acres, which amounts to 3.37 million acres of land. Based on the proportion, it can only support 420,000 people.
certainly.
In addition to large and small acres of land, there are also a large number of vegetable fields, ponds, mulberry forests, and breeding lands. These are also classified as cultivated land and can also produce food.
If these are included, the total amount of farmland in Hanzhong can support 500,000 to 600,000 people.
This is probably Zhang Lu's limit in Hanzhong in history.
However, the Hanzhong Basin is 5,000 square kilometers and the plain area is 1,400 square kilometers. In terms of acres, there should be nearly 3 million acres of farmland, and this is calculated based on the calculation of one acre of 666 square meters in later generations.
If calculated in terms of Han acres, under normal circumstances, only counting plain areas, the maximum cultivated land area in Hanzhong can be more than 5 million acres, which is far from reaching the limit.
So Shen Chen asked: "Hanzhong is still very large. Can we continue to cultivate land?"
Jiang Wei replied: "It can be cultivated, but it is limited by water sources."
"I see."
Shen Chen immediately understood the reason.
In the technological era of later generations, industry was developed, and it was easy to build rivers.
In ancient times, the level of technology was backward and all work was done by manpower.
Therefore, even though Hanzhong is rich in water resources, it is still very difficult to get water sources to penetrate every plain, and it requires a lot of manpower and material resources.
The problem that arises is that although there is still a lot of plain area that can be reclaimed, it cannot be expanded due to insufficient water resources.
Thinking of this, Shen Chen nodded, walked at the front of the team with his hands behind his back, and said to Huang Zhong, Li Yan and the others next to him: "In the future, when His Majesty is planning the Northern Expedition, we will send troops from Hanzhong to attack Guanzhong, and Hanzhong will become a provider of food and grass. However, at this time, Hanzhong was only self-sufficient and could afford to station tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. However, once the Northern Expedition mobilized a large number of civilians to work, food and grass would have to be provided by Bashu. The road to Shu was inherently difficult, although we were not short of food and grass. , but this is too heavy a burden on the land of Bashu, so we must try to hoard a large amount of grain and grass. In peacetime, we hire a small number of civilians from Bashu to transport grain to Hanzhong like ants moving. At the same time, we must also vigorously develop agriculture and do a lot of work. When we get to the two counties of Hanzhong and Shangyong, we will support our Northern Expedition."
Li Yan said: "But Governor, now the cultivated land in Hanzhong has reached its limit, and it is difficult to cultivate new fields."
“When you encounter difficulties, you have to find a solution.”
Shen Chen said: "There are water sources everywhere deep in the mountains. It depends on how we use them. Have you heard of the terraced fields in Ailao County, Yongchang County?"
"Terraces?"
Everyone looked at each other. In this era of underdeveloped information, let alone in the deep mountains and old forests of Yunnan in later generations, they didn't know where to go.
"good."
Shen Chen nodded: "The temperature in Hanzhong is suitable, suitable for growing northern millet and wheat, and it is also suitable for growing rice. Moreover, the groundwater here is rich and the precipitation is abundant. Rice is easier to grow than millet. If you want to cultivate agriculture, you need to dig more ponds and build more Aqueducts are used to dig out groundwater. The two are farming in the mountains and creating terraced fields in the upper reaches of rivers in the mountains."
As a hussar general who is deeply rooted in the grassroots, Shen Chen can not only lead troops to fight on horseback, but also manage and secure the country when dismounted. He can also work in the fields. Let’s not talk about his past life as a design dog, traveling all over the country to collect architectural styles. At the same time, I also learned about some rural living conditions and crop cultivation.
Just talking about the environment he lived in before and after the time travel, he was exposed to the countryside and knew about farming. Before the time travel, his family was also from a rural background. When he was a child, he followed his parents to plant rice in the fields and go up to the mountains to herd cattle and sheep. According to their local dialect, , plowing the land every spring is called "doing Wu". Seedlings must be planted on dry land first, and then inserted into paddy fields.
And more importantly, he was born in a small mountain village in a poor county in central and southern Hunan Province. Their family's fields were terraced fields, and there was also the famous Ziquejie Terraced Fields Scenic Area in his hometown.
Therefore, Shen Chen is actually no stranger to terraced fields, and plans to promote them in the south, so that the population and food production can be increased.
After hearing his words, the disciples who followed Shen Chen immediately started taking notes.
When entering Xichuan this time, Shen Chen did not bring many soldiers and horses from his headquarters, including the Ganning tribe. However, he brought Huangmen soldiers, Zhou Tai, Deng Ai, Huo Yang, Wu Dang, Wu Tao, Shan Yi, etc. Among the capable disciples who joined the army, Xie Hui, Zhang Li, Hu Mian, Li Qiu and others were civil servants and had been transferred to other places and were no longer with him.
Jiang Wei was originally a senior official and an official who recorded data. When he saw Deng Ai and the others writing, he wanted to write too, but when he touched his body, he discovered that he didn't have any pen or ink with him at all.
He immediately looked at Deng Ai and their eyes with a different look.
My husband's students are smart. It turns out that they should always carry pen and paper with them when they are with their husband.
But he didn't have a pen, so he quickly picked up a stick of firewood on the ground, dipped it in some mud, and started to write down it on paper.
Li Yan said at this time: "If this is the case, we should investigate the water sources in various places."
"Um."
Shen Chen nodded and said: "Farming in the mountains is not as good as in the plains. It will be scattered a lot. However, if you can find a relatively flat place near the water source in the mountains, you can build a village. For people who are willing to go into the mountains to open up wasteland, we will They should also be supported, reduced or exempted from corvee taxes, and encouraged to be productive. If Hanzhong Shangyong can have eight million acres of farmland and one million people in Dingkou, why worry about not having enough food for the Northern Expedition?"
As they talked, everyone headed north into Nanzheng County.
Shen Chen called a meeting with Hanzhong generals and officials that day. Now Liu Bei's group is mainly resting and recuperating, but as the front line, they must be ready for war at all times.
The problem in Hanzhong is that it is difficult to transport grain. Historically, Bashu has always been a large granary under Zhuge Liang's governance, and there has never been a shortage of grain. Zhuge Liang also used Hanzhong as a grain and grass base, but even so, he often had to stop due to lack of grain. Northern Expedition.
This shows how serious the food channel problem is for Southwest China.
At the meeting, Shen Chen summarized some of the difficulties Hanzhong is currently facing, such as poor grain transportation roads, low grain productivity, and few households. Once a war breaks out, the transfer of corvees and civilian laborers will almost empty Hanzhong of young people, etc. question.
Logically speaking, he had just arrived in Hanzhong and did not understand the actual situation, but he directly talked about these things in a meeting, which inevitably made him feel lofty and unrealistic.
But no one thought what he said was wrong.
Because these are things that Xu Shu summarized, Zhuge Liang also visited Hanzhong and believed that these were indeed Hanzhong's dilemma.
So what Shen Chen said is actually a cliché and a shortcoming that has already existed in Hanzhong.
So how to change it?
Shen Chen did not give any guidance at that time, but believed that he should first inspect Hanzhong and visit various places in person before making any conclusions.
After the meeting, Shen Chen summoned the chief planner of Hanzhong County named Jiang Wei.
The backyard of the Hanzhong Prefecture.
It was late afternoon and the sun was almost setting.
The weather is gloomy. As a basin deep in the Qinling Mountains, precipitation here is very abundant, and the upper reaches of the Han River are also collected by rainwater.
It hadn't rained yet, so Shen Chen stayed here temporarily after holding a meeting with the generals and officials in the afternoon.
The soldiers they brought were led by Zhao Yun and Pang De and were stationed in the military camp outside the city.
Except for the bodyguards Shan Yi, Wu Dang and the outstanding disciple Deng Ai, everyone around Shen Chen has now returned to the military camp and assumed their responsibilities and obligations as mid-level officers.
In the corridor of the courtyard, Shen Chen was sitting cross-legged on the ground, with Deng Ai sitting next to him and Jiang Wei sitting cross-legged opposite him.
Jiang Wei looked a little nervous.
Because he studied Shen Xue, in addition to Zheng Xue, he also studied "Zhuzi Yan" and "Shen Shi Jing".
Now the person who wrote these two books is sitting in front of him. This feeling is like a later law student who suddenly looked up when he was in class and found that the old professor who taught him today was the law-maker of our country.
"what's your name?"
Shen Chen asked.
"Jiang Wei, courtesy name Boyue."
Jiang Wei answered honestly.
Next to him, Deng Ai was making tea. He looked at him and smiled, then handed the brewed tea to Shen Chen and made another cup for Jiang Wei.
"Since you are in charge of planning in the county, I think you have some opinions on the affairs of the county."
Shen Chen said: "Now that the Han Dynasty has perished for the second time, Your Majesty followed the example of Emperor Guangwu in inheriting the rule in the south, and is determined to conquer Cao Wei in the north and restore the Han Dynasty. The purpose of sending me to the northwest is to attack Guanzhong and return to the old capital. Do you think Can we do it?"
"able!"
Jiang Wei said without hesitation.
"Why?"
"Because as long as Mr. is here, I can definitely do it."
"oh?"
Shen Chen laughed: "Do you believe me so much?"
Jiang Wei kowtowed and said: "I also studied "Zhu Ziyan" and "Shen Shi Jing". From them, I can see that Sir has great wisdom, so Wei believes that as long as Sir is here, he will be able to do it."
Flatterer.
Deng Ai and Shan Yi Wu Dang, who was standing guard next to him, both rolled their eyes.
Shen Chen laughed loudly and said: "Hahaha, since you study "Zhuziyan", then I will give you a test. In the third year of Jian'an, Xu Zi asked: "How can things outside be the same as body, mind, mind, and knowledge?" How did I answer?"
Jiang Wei thought for a while and said: "Sir, the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, limbs, and body cannot be seen, heard, spoken, or moved unless the mind is at ease? The heart desires to see, hear, speak, and move without ears and eyes. The mouth, nose, and limbs cannot. Therefore, if there is no mind, there is no body, and if there is no body, there is no mind. But it refers to the place where it is filled, it is called the body, it refers to the place where it dominates, it is called the heart, it refers to the place where the heart is activated, it is called the mind, and it refers to the place where the heart is activated, it is called the mind. The bright and clear part of the mind is called knowledge, and the thing where the mind is involved is just one thing. The mind is not hanging in the air, it must be attached to things, so if you want to be 'sincere', you can place it on something and check it at will, and get rid of other people's desires. But if it comes down to reason, then those who have conscience in this matter will be able to achieve it without any obstruction. This is the skill of 'sincerity'."
"good."
Shen Chen nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "This shows that you have indeed learned well. You haven't answered my previous question. What do you think of the affairs of the county?"
Jiang Wei said: "The grain transportation problem you mentioned is indeed an old problem, and you are also thinking of a solution. If you ask me, in addition to the grain transportation problem, there is also the inconvenient transportation between Liangzhou and Hanzhong, which makes it difficult for soldiers and horses to rapid communication, and the army is increasingly neglecting training and lax armaments."
"Um."
Shen Chen sighed: "There is nothing we can do about this. Since the Battle of Guanzhong, Hanzhong has not fought a war for two years. It is not easy to maintain training status for a long time. We must provide the soldiers with sufficient food. This is also a saving." A way.”
If soldiers train every day, they will consume a lot of physical energy. They must ensure adequate food and grass supplies, and the consumption will be very high.
Therefore, training is reduced. For example, it used to be three days of small training and five days of one major training. Now it is changed to ten days of small training and fifteen days of one major training. Soldiers can usually do farm work, which can reduce the consumption of soldiers and save more food. .
"But now that I'm here and preparing to capture Chang'an, I naturally have to change this situation. I will stay in Hanzhong for a few months to solve some problems in Hanzhong and then go to Liangzhou."
Shen Chen looked at Jiang Weidao: "I heard that you are from Liangzhou, are you willing to come with me?"
"Of course I do."
Jiang Wei was overjoyed and bowed his head and said, "I teach Shen Xue, and I hope to always be by your side and listen to your teachings."
"Ha ha ha ha."
Shen Chen smiled and said, "Since you have learned my teachings, you are also considered my outer disciple. Are you willing to worship me as your teacher?"
Jiang Wei's eyes widened, and then he was ecstatic and kowtowed without hesitation: "I am very willing, Jiang Wei, to meet my master!"