"Use extraordinary measures in extraordinary times!"
"My subordinates think we should implement rationing!"
Yang Duanhe couldn't help but wonder:
“What is rationing?”
Rationing systems have actually been used in many countries, but mostly in modern times.
For example, Germany used it when supplies were in short supply during World War II, and the United Kingdom used it when it was blockaded by Germany.
Shen Bing explained:
"In short, it means collecting all grains into state-owned enterprises for unified distribution."
"This way we can keep as many people alive as possible."
This is very obvious.
The amount of grain stored in the hands of the people is different, some are more and some are less.
Secondly, the number of disasters is also different.
If there is not much food stored and it is flooded, it may take a few days for the food to sprout and become unsustainable.
Then wait to starve to death? Or watch the grain grow into wheat seedlings and then rot?
On the other side, there are people who have stored a lot of food and are unwilling to give it out for relief.
It is obvious what the result will be if this continues. There is still food, but people continue to starve to death. There will even be many disputes, such as stealing food, robbing food, etc.
Implementing a rationing system can prevent this from happening as much as possible.
Because everyone has no food in their hands and is waiting for distribution.
What's more important is...
"If rationing is implemented, then we can distribute flooded food first."
"Or do something with it, such as trying to dry it."
"The food that has not been flooded will be used later, which can increase the duration."
Yang Duanhe nodded and said:
"It makes sense, we should indeed implement a rationing system!"
As he spoke, Yang Duanhe raised his head and ordered to Li Yan who was standing beside him:
"Pass this order down. All people, regardless of their status or family background, must hand over all their food and not keep it secretly."
"There will be people rationing food for them later, so don't worry!"
Li Yan cupped his hands in response and went down to make arrangements.
This is not difficult to do, because now the sword is in the hands of the Qin army, and the people of Wei are worried about whether the Qin army will go on a killing spree. At this time, they are ordered to hand over food and dare to resist. Of course, they have no way to resist.
However, this is still quite dangerous in the early stages.
Because this move will definitely cause panic among the people.
There is a saying that food is the most important thing for the people. The people store food to survive the winter. Now to take away their food will almost kill them.
Although Qin Jun promised to ration them in the future, who knows whether what Qin Jun said is true or false?
What if you lied to them?
So if you are not careful, you will force the people to rebel.
It would be even worse if the people captured the prison again and released the 200,000 Wei troops.
But things will get better after a while.
Because they found that the Qin army fulfilled its promise to distribute food to them... so they slowly let down their guard.
Not long after Li Yancai went down, he saw Wei Wei coming up in a hurry.
He rushed to Yang Duanhe and cupped his hands and said:
"General, I heard that the general wanted to collect grain, and my subordinates thought it was absolutely impossible."
"If the people don't have food in their hands, they may cause chaos. At this critical moment..."
Yang Duanhe felt more relieved after hearing what Wei Yao said.
Yang Duanhe was not stupid. He knew that if Wei Wei faked his surrender, he would not care whether the Qin army aroused public anger.
Even if the Qin army aroused the anger of the people, it would be a good thing. When Wei Wei raised his arms and called out to the people, they would obey his orders.
But now that Wei Wei came to remind Yang Duanhe as soon as he knew about this, it was enough to prove that he was thinking about the problem from the perspective of the Qin army.
Yang Duanhe smiled, raised his head towards Shen Bing and said:
"This is what the stingy man means."
Only then did Wei Wei see Shen Bing sitting aside, with a puzzled look on his face, as if he didn't believe that Shen Bing would come up with such a bad idea.
After Shen Bing explained it, Wei Wei suddenly realized.
"What the stingy man said makes sense. We should indeed implement a rationing system."
Shen Bing comforted Wei Wei and said:
"Don't worry, General Wei."
"At this time, our army is actually in the same boat as the army and people of Daliang."
"The common people live for the sake of our army; the common people rebel against our army and perish."
"How could we be so ignorant and seek death?"
Shen Bing’s words are a hint:
If one day the Qin army cannot defend Daliang in the end or civil strife breaks out in Daliang, it will lead the people and prisoners to death as soon as possible.
In fact, this is indeed the case.
The first is the prison where prisoners are held, which is a camp built by the Wei army...
Even in the huge city of Daliang, there is no prison large enough to hold 200,000 people.
So the Wei soldiers were actually imprisoned in a mountain col, with wooden fences sealing both ends. There was an inland river not far away, and there was an artificial river dug directly into the mountain col.
Of course, this artificial river was also dug by Wei soldiers.
As long as something goes wrong, the Qin army can flood the Wei army prisoners at any time.
The family members on the other side are gathered in a group of wooden houses. The Qin army only needs to set a fire to turn them into ashes...
This is not to say that Yang Duan is cruel, but that sometimes you have to do this to save your life.
There is a saying that "you must dare to fight to stop the war."
It means that if you don't dare to fight, everyone will bully you, so the trouble will only increase.
The same was true for the Qin army at this time.
They must have enough intimidating power to seize the prisoners of the Wei army, so that they can achieve peace instead of killing.
When Shen Bing said this, Wei Wei felt relieved.
Human psychology is so weird sometimes. The more you say nice things when there is danger, the more scared he will feel.
On the contrary, the smell of gunpowder will make it feel at ease.
Wei Wei cupped his hands and replied:
"This is a very good method for a stingy man, but my subordinates are too worried."
"However, General... I have an unkind request."
"Can this matter be left to my subordinates?"
"I will explain the situation to the people and collect all the food."
Shen Bing turned his attention to Yang Duanhe. This was not a decision he could make.
Yang Duanhe thought that it would be appropriate for Wei Wei to do it.
Wei Wei's reputation in Daliang is already good. If he were to explain the situation to the people at this time...of course it would save a lot of trouble. Why not get the best of both worlds?
So he nodded in agreement:
"I can trust General Wei, so I will leave it to you!"
Wei Wei hurriedly paid his respects:
"Thank you, General."
Then he whispered to Shen Bing:
"Thank you, stingy husband."
Shen Bing quickly returned the gift.
After Wei Wei left, Yang Duanhe asked:
"What do you think of Wei Wei?"
Shen Bing replied:
"It is said that he led the troops to attack Guangwu Mountain?"
Yang Duanhe nodded:
"indeed so."
"The arrow wounds on his body were from that night."
Shen Bing praised:
"He is a rare military commander who is brave and resourceful."
"It's a pity that the King of Wei is so ignorant that he has such a general but doesn't know how to reuse it, so he loses unjustly."
Yang Duanhe nodded sympathetically and asked again:
“Is this person available?”
Shen Bing was quite surprised. Can Yang Duan and this general ask him?
However, Shen Bing still replied:
"I thought it would be available, but not at this time."