Zhang Fu's dream cannot be realized in this plane because of the appearance of Zhong Jinwei.
It's just that at this point in time, not only Zhang Fu didn't know the outcome, but even Zhong Jinwei, who had warned Emperor Chongzhen in advance, didn't expect the final outcome of the restoration.
At this time, Zhong Jinwei was traveling day and night with his guards.
Since the caravan stayed in Yulin, they did not have this hindrance and their speed was fast. In just a few days, Zhong Jinwei and his party crossed the Loess Plateau and entered the Guanzhong Plain.
The Guanzhong Plain, also known as the Weihe Basin, or the Eight Hundred Miles of Qinchuan. Since the Zhengguo Canal was built by the Qin State during the Warring States Period, it has become a treasure land rich in products and one of the most important grain-producing areas in China since ancient times.
After Zhong Jinwei entered the Guanzhong Plain, he saw that the scenery in front of him had changed. From time to time he could see large expanses of green, which made him feel better after seeing too many high loess slopes these days.
Although it is now the Little Ice Age, the temperature is low, and the Qin region is mostly dry, the irrigation facilities in the Guanzhong Plain are still relatively complete, so the trees seen on Zhongjinwei Road have not been peeled off.
Zhong Jinwei thought that if the eight hundred miles of Qinchuan were like the wheat he saw and grew well, the output should be able to support northern Shaanxi.
After all, it was the first time Zhong Jinwei came here and it was difficult to confirm the output during the Ming Dynasty, so he did not dare to draw accurate conclusions.
Thinking of this, he slowed down his horse, straightened his upper body, stretched his aching body, then turned to the left and said to Gu Baichuan: "Look at this wheat, it's not bad! If Qinchuan is basically like this for eight hundred miles,
How much do you estimate you can get, will it be enough for the people of Qin to survive the disaster years?"
When Gu Baichuan heard that Marquis Zhongxing asked such a profound question, he couldn't help but replied with a little embarrassment: "Master Marquis, if you ask your subordinates, the officials here seem to be suspected of committing crimes, and I can answer with confidence."
Your answer is definitely close to ten. But if you want to ask my subordinate about this farm work, I really can’t answer it.”
Zhong Jinwei thought the same thing. Gu Baichuan was from the capital, came from Jinyiwei, and worked in Dongchang. How could he know about these agricultural issues!
So Zhong Jinwei smiled at Gu Baichuan and said, "Understood."
Then he turned his head to the other side, wanting to find someone to ask again.
Ma Xianglin, who was on his right, saw Zhongxing Hou turning to him and said with a wry smile: "Master Marquis, don't ask the general. The general is only good at killing enemies in battle, and he knows nothing about farming."
Zhong Jinwei was speechless, pretending to be sullen and training: "How can that be done? Aren't you Shizhu chieftain? You should be able to mount a horse to fight, and dismount to govern the tribe. How can you only know how to fight!"
Ma Xianglin was speechless. It makes sense for Marquis Zhongxing to say so. But his temperament is that he likes dancing with guns and sticks, and does not like pen, ink, paper and inkstone. It is really difficult for him to do what Marquis Zhongxing said.
Fortunately, Zhong Jinwei did not continue to discuss with him about the dismounting meeting to govern the tribe, but shouted: "Li Laosi!"
Li Laosi was right behind the three of them. When he heard Marquis Zhongxing calling him, he quickly replied: "The villain is here."
"You seem to be from a peasant background. Please answer the question I just asked." After Zhong Jinwei finished speaking, he listened carefully to Li Laosi's answer.
After waiting for a while, Zhong Jinwei still didn't hear Li Laosi's answer. He thought it was the sound of horse hoofbeats that was too loud to cover up Li Laosi's answer behind him, so he said loudly again: "Li Laosi, I can't hear you clearly.
You have to be louder."
Gu Baichuan heard clearly from the side and answered Zhong Jinwei's words with a smile: "Master Hou, the fourth boy didn't answer at all."
Zhong Jinwei was speechless and had to ask again: "You Li Laosi, you don't even reply to my words, you are so brave!"
Li Laosi didn't dare not answer, and replied with a sad face: "Master Hou, how much is eight hundred miles?"
After Li Laosi finished speaking, it became very quiet, only the sound of horse hooves could be heard.
Zhong Jinwei thought of the joke that Mr. Li Laosi made when he was teaching 1, 2, 3, and 4. He was so uneducated, so pathetic!
After he recalled Li Laosi's deeds, he said loudly: "Li Laosi, I have decided that after returning to the capital this time, I will lock you in the Marquis' Mansion and let Uncle Yu's grandson teach you to read and write.
Don’t go out without going out."
Gu Baichuan listened on the side and burst into laughter immediately. At the same time, there was Wang Peng's laughter, but Zhong Jinwei also laughed. They laughed so hard that Li Laosi's face turned red, while Ma Xianglin was confused.
Just talking and laughing while walking on the road, it also reduced a lot of fatigue during the journey.
Wang Peng's eyes were sharp. When he saw someone in the distance, he said to Zhong Jinwei: "Master Hou, there is someone in front of you. You might as well ask the locals. I may not be able to give you an answer."
Zhong Jinwei looked up and saw people on the roadside in the distance, and there were also some people working in the fields.
So, with the sound of "drive", he immediately urged the horse to run fast, and more than three hundred people galloped away together at high speed.
Not long after, people over there also noticed a cavalry troop approaching on the road, which scared the people on the roadside and ran into the fields.
However, they didn't run for long before they discovered that the flags of Zhong Jinwei and his group were regular Ming troops. They stopped, but still looked at Zhong Jinwei and his group, and did not return to the roadside.
When Zhong Jinwei and his party ran to the roadside where those people were originally staying, they found some stools, tables, a large umbrella, and teapots, teacups and other objects dumped on the ground.
It can be seen that the landowner or steward here should be supervising the farmers' work.
Without Zhong Jinwei's signal, Wang Peng shouted loudly to the people in the field: "The imperial envoy, Marquis Zhongxing is passing by here. I have something to ask you. Come here quickly, don't keep the Marquis waiting for a long time."
People in the fields saw the cavalry troops on the road, riding on horses, neatly lined up in a long line without any other unnecessary movements. They also saw that Zhong Jinwei and his party were all well-dressed and must be the elite troops of the imperial court.
.
I just happened to hear Wang Peng's shout again, so I didn't dare to neglect and hurried over to pay my respects.
Zhong Jinwei saw that all the people who came over looked nervous and frightened, so he smiled and said to them: "Get up and stand and talk."
After these people got up, they all lowered their heads, as if they were young girls going on a blind date for the first time, too shy to look up.
In order to ease the atmosphere, Zhong Jinwei said kindly: "I'm sorry to disturb you, but your teapots and teacups have all fallen to the floor."
These people didn't expect that Zhong Jinwei would say such a thing, and they were all surprised. The leader quickly raised his head, waving his hands wildly and said: "I don't care about the adults, it's the common people who are timid."
Gu Baichuan and others were already numb to Zhong Jinwei's actions of being close to the people with his identity, so they were not surprised. They just kept an eye on these people to guard against anything detrimental to Zhong Jinwei.
"I have nothing else, I just want to ask you a question." Zhong Jinwei continued to maintain his previous tone and said to the leader.
"I don't dare to take it, I don't take it. If you have any questions, just ask." The man's hands were waving randomly again.
Zhong Jinwei knew that he couldn't be too polite, as being too polite would scare them, so he asked this person the question he just asked his subordinates again.
When the man heard this, he raised his head, looked at Zhong Jinwei, and said with a little pride: "Sir, the grain produced in the eight hundred miles of Qinchuan, not to mention Qin, but also the surrounding provinces, if the harvest is good, it can be
If there is any surplus grain, transport it over and sell it.”
"What about the harvest situation in recent years?" Zhong Jinwei asked.
The man did not hesitate and answered directly. It can be seen that he is still very familiar with things in the field: "Sir, if we go by the harvests in the past few years, we will have no problem at all just feeding the Qin Dynasty.
.”
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he was surprised and continued to ask: "Then why do so many people starve to death in northern Shaanxi, and many people are even forced to become bandits?"
The man was obviously stunned for a moment, and then he replied calmly: "Sir, you are talking about the situation where wheat is grown in Qinchuan, an area of 800 miles."
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he realized that it was his own problem, so he asked instead: "In addition to growing wheat and other grains in the eight hundred miles of Qinchuan, what else is grown now?"
"Sir, I still grow cotton." The man replied immediately.
"Oh, that's true. Cotton is indispensable in the North, otherwise people will freeze to death." Zhong Jinwei muttered to himself after hearing this, and then asked: "Are we planting too much cotton?
People are starving to death, why do we need cotton?”
The man didn't answer immediately this time. People who have land don't care whether others are hungry or not, they only care about what they can grow to increase their own income.
However, he was quiet for a while and immediately replied: "Sir, we don't grow much cotton."
"Oh, we don't grow much cotton, so what else are we growing?" Zhong Jinwei asked immediately when he heard this, thinking about what else is necessary for life, and he has to occupy farmland.