Zhang Yanling nodded slightly, his eyes moved along the river, and he made a secret calculation in his mind. Indeed, agriculture must not only rely on weather and seasons, but also must have some artificial guarantees. If it relies entirely on natural harvest, it will never work. The manor
The output is not good, and the people cannot pay the rent. In the final analysis, it is because the supporting farming guarantee cannot keep up. If the seedlings cannot be rid of insects and cannot be watered, how can there be a harvest? It means tearing the bones of the tenant farmers.
Sell it, I'm afraid it won't help.
"Old man, look at the opening to the south of Wild Dog Ridge. There is half a hillside sticking out. What do you think about using this slope as a barrier to dig a small reservoir? I see that there is grass all around the bend of the river. There should be
It's a tidal flat, it shouldn't be difficult to dig." Zhang Yanling pointed to the bend of the river below the hillside and said.
"Dig a reservoir? What does the boss mean?"
"That's right. Flood disasters are actually a matter of water level adjustment. Build a small reservoir to block water during floods and use it for irrigation during droughts. It doesn't need to be big. Just dig up the tidal flat of about fifty or sixty acres.
It's done. Two to three feet of water is enough to irrigate my Xishan Manor. It may not be able to cure the flood disaster when the flash flood breaks out, but at least it can reduce the disaster. If we want to cure the flood, we have to dredge it, but that project is too big.
, I'm afraid it can't be done. But it is still possible to dig a reservoir. It only requires a few hundred strong laborers and it will take two or three months to succeed. What do you think?" Zhang Yanling said.
Zhao Laoji couldn't close his mouth for a long time. The owner actually wanted to build a reservoir. This was serious. Even digging a small reservoir would cost a lot of manpower and material resources. The owner was willing to spend such a large sum of money?
"That's good, that way, the drought can be solved. Speaking of which, we are actually short of water here. Floods are mainly flash floods in the mountains, which are not common. With reservoirs to store water, it can be greatly alleviated. But..."
"That's it, don't think about anything else. Let's go down and survey the terrain in detail to see if it's feasible." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
When they came down from the beacon tower, everyone was stunned when they learned about the grand plan of the Marquis.
Ma Quan and others thought: The Marquis is really different. How could the previous Marquis do such a thing? Not to mention that he would not think of these things, even if he is asked to come to the manor, he is not willing. But
The present Marquis seems to enjoy this endlessly. But this idea is too outrageous, isn’t it? How much money will it cost to dig a dam? Aren’t you here to collect rent this time? Why do you have to spend money everywhere? On this account
I'm afraid that several thousand taels of silver will be wasted soon.
Tan Ruqing had a different opinion after hearing Zhang Yanling's plan. In just two or three days, her opinion of Zhang Yanling was changing rapidly. She knew that Zhang Yanling actually wanted to produce more for his own estate.
, but this move is obviously also beneficial to the people. Being willing to consider the people, this alone is worthy of recognition.
"He doesn't seem to be the kind of person he is rumored to be. Why is he so notorious? He doesn't look like it, but the last time he was injured was because he was jealous of others. This person is really a bit strange. He is not old, and he has a lot of thoughts in his head.
There are so many ideas.”
…
The results of the on-site survey are satisfactory. Using a small low-lying valley on the southwest side as a prototype, a large area that can accumulate water can be formed by clearing and connecting the grassy beach and several low-lying pools at the river bend. The only difficulty is probably
This is the construction of the dam. Half of it is a natural mountain ridge, but the other half needs to be built as a high dam. This is a large amount of work.
After returning to the village, Zhang Yanling spent almost all his afternoon designing the construction of the dam and the planning blueprint of the entire Xishan Manor.
The construction of the dam requires first digging an alternative river channel from the side to divert the water, and then dredging the main river channel. At the same time, the dam is constructed with stones and mud bags, and a row of operable outlet gates are reserved to adjust the water level for water storage.
Or drainage.
In fact, the normal flow of this river is not large, and the water volume is not turbulent. It is a small reservoir, and the safety requirements for the dam do not need to be so strict. A dam made of rammed earth and stone with a width of about six to seven feet can be enough to block it.
Living in the river water. In fact, the most difficult thing is the consumption of human and financial resources. Zhang Yanling calculated an account and found that it would cost five to six thousand taels of silver to build this dam. Although the amount is not large, it currently only has enough money in the account of his house.
Three thousand taels of silver, I'm afraid I have to spend all of it.
Zhang Yanling had a headache. He originally came to solve the problem of the manor's output and wanted to get more money. But he didn't expect to spend so much money. However, Zhang Yanling is not a short-sighted person. He knows that once the flood disaster and insect infestation are solved,
The question is, the income brought by Xishan Manor will be huge. If we can collect the rent in full, we will have an income of ten thousand to twenty thousand taels a year, and it will allow the tenants to live and work in peace and contentment. It is really a win-win situation. As the saying goes, grinding and grinding
If you want to increase the income of the manor, it is worthwhile to spend some investment. After all, it is something that will make profits every year.
Zhang Yanling also thought a lot about the utilization of the large uncultivated uncultivated mountainous land in the manor. The manor covers an area of 100,000 acres, but the arable area is only more than 20,000 acres. Most of the barren mountains and wild lands are idle. This is a huge waste. You have to think about it.
There are ways to make use of it. In addition to Wild Dog Ridge, there are several slopes with weeds and trees under its jurisdiction, which can be used. In short, it is necessary to maximize the land output benefits of the manor and increase income.
Based on these assumptions, Zhang Yanling thought carefully, compared the area and topography of the manor, and based on his own experience, he made an overall general strategy.
The sun was setting and it was approaching dusk. People in twos and threes had begun to gather in the open space in front of the manor courtyard. After inspecting the terrain in the morning, Zhang Yanling asked Zhao Laoji to help him summon the people to come to the manor courtyard for a meeting in the evening. Zhang Yanling
He is talking about promoting the successful trial method of eliminating pests in rice fields, which is of course a great thing for the people. Knowing that his boss is really determined to help tenants solve their problems, Zhao Laoji is naturally very enthusiastic. He has a good reputation in the villages.
, the people still trust what he said. Furthermore, the owner did not harass the people or did anything out of the ordinary during the two days he came to Zhaojiazhuang, and the people's vigilance was also reduced a lot. On the contrary, the owner did not look for them.
, on the contrary, they were unsure and rather curious.
The old blacksmith spent an afternoon going from village to house to invite the tenant farmers to attend the meeting, and brought the pile of corpses of pests caught last night as evidence. Although the people were doubtful, they were also curious about how this was done.
. In addition, the old blacksmith patted his chest and assured that his employer was not here to press for rent this time, so the people came one after another. Although they were anxious, they also had expectations.
The open space at the entrance of the courtyard was soon filled with people. People from the four villages of the manor and the other three villages except Zhaojiazhuang also arrived one after another. Although there were only one or two people from each family, there were three or four people in one place.
There were hundreds of people. When there were more people, it became lively. The people squatted or stood in twos and threes and whispered to each other. They greeted each other and talked about the growth of the seedlings and some relevant topics about the Zhang family and the Li family.
Many people were silent and hid in the far corner of the venue without saying a word. They were all people who owed rent, and they always felt that they were going to get into trouble tonight. After all, they farmed their employer's land.
If you can't pay the rent, you can't feel at ease.
What made the people even more uneasy was that Ma Quan and Huang Si, the two housekeepers of the owner's house, actually had smiles on their faces when they came out to see everyone. These two guys never came to the manor to collect rent.
There is no good tone, and he is always beating and scolding, but he is so harmonious today. There is definitely something wrong here. The tenant farmers vaguely smelled an ominous sign. This is too abnormal.
The sun slowly sets, and the heat between heaven and earth gradually subsides. The west-slanting sunlight shines on the field from the gaps in the treetops, and the gray-headed tenant farmers seem to be covered with a layer of gilding. But even this can hardly hide them.
Sad face and ragged clothes.
At the gate, several people walked out slowly. The young man leading them was tall and handsome, with a smile on his face.
"The boss is coming out!" someone shouted.
Everyone immediately stopped talking and focused their attention on Zhang Yanling. They had not seen this boss many times, and he only came here a total of two or three times. And even if he came, he would only look around and then leave. The common people
They never had the chance to look at him up close. They only knew that their boss was Uncle Guo or a Marquis, who was an unattainable figure. When they saw his boss up close today, they didn't expect him to be such a young man.
, the attitude seems very friendly.
"Master!"
"My boss..."
"My boss."
The tenant farmers stood up and saluted, and some even knelt down on the ground and kowtowed.
"Hello, fellow villagers." Zhang Yanling bowed his hands and saluted, and ordered someone to pull up those who were kneeling on the ground and kowtow.
"Come here, bring some stools and let these old people sit down." Zhang Yanling ordered.
Several servants brought a bench and set it up, and arranged for the old man to sit down, while the others remained standing.
Zhang Yanling turned around and asked Zhao Laoji beside him: "Are everyone here?"
Zhao Laoji said: "Most of them have come, at least one from each household. There are still some who refuse to come, but they are in the minority."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Okay, thank you for your hard work. Please take a seat."
Zhao Laoji thanked him and sat on a bamboo chair nearby. Zhang Yanling looked at the ragged people in front of him, their disheveled hair and bare feet, and felt something in her heart.
These people support people like themselves, working hard and exhausted, but they can't even feed and clothe themselves. It's really miserable. The Ming Dynasty has been in existence for more than a hundred years, and the Hongzhi Dynasty is even called the
It was a prosperous era, but from the perspective of these people, they were still in dire straits. Land annexation was the original sin. The root cause of all this was the system, the greed of the powerful aristocrats, and the short-sightedness of the ruling class. I traveled through time to rule.
As a member of the class, he may not be able to do much else, but he still has to feed and clothe the tenant farmers on his estate.