GBP Chapter 34 is more timely than rain from the heavens!
Chapter 34 is more timely than rain from the heavens!
Yang Shaofeng kept hoping for rain, even if it would delay spring plowing and weeding, and even if it would slow down the progress of digging irrigation ditches.
But it was all for naught. Unless the heavens gave the Dragon King an order, not a single drop of rain would fall in Ningyang County.
However, to Yang Shaofeng's great surprise, instead of receiving rain, he received another batch of cattle, horses, mules, and other large livestock, as well as a large number of farm tools such as plows, hoes, and picks, sent by Xu Da and Chang Yuchun.
According to Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, "Heaven won't let the Dragon King of the East Sea send rain to Ningyang County, and there's nothing we can do about it. No one can change that. But we can send more cattle and horses to Ningyang County so you can save some manpower and dig some large pits to store water in advance, so that even if there's a drought, there won't be no water at all."
In addition to sending cattle, horses, and farm tools, Xu Da also sent someone to tell Yang Shaofeng, the magistrate of Ningyang County, that as long as he could ensure that the people of Ningyang County would not rebel, continue to supply some fodder, and manufacture more lighters, Xu Da would take care of the rest. Even if Ningyang County really encountered a drought, Xu Da could transfer grain from Jiangnan to Ningyang County.
Even if Yang Shaofeng wasn't a mind reader, he could at least guess what Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were up to.
The first purpose is to buy horse bones with a thousand pieces of gold.
However, this time, the horse bones were no longer just Yang Shaofeng's, but all the people of Ningyang County had become part of the "horse bones".
It should be noted that ever since that bastard Shi Jingtang, the puppet emperor, handed over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun to the Khitan, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun had been outside the sphere of influence of the Central Plains. It was not until Emperor Zhu Chongba took them back that they were recovered, a period of four hundred years.
Compare a certain island and a certain port, which have become such a wretched state in less than a hundred years. What will the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun become after four hundred years?
In addition, with the Yuan Dynasty's three- and four-class system, the Jiangnan region no longer considers the North as one family, and the North does not consider the Jiangnan region as one family either. It is not an exaggeration to say that the two are not only estranged but also hostile to each other.
However, the potential drought in Ningyang County gave Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and even Emperor Zhu Chongba and all the officials of the Ming Dynasty, big and small, hope of completely winning over the hearts and minds of the people in the north.
How did the Yuan Dynasty deal with famine back then?
They levy exorbitant taxes and oppress the people!
How is the Ming Dynasty now dealing with disasters?
Allocate grain to provide relief to the people!
In contrast to the ugly face of the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's act of transferring grain from Jiangnan to Ningyang for disaster relief was all the more touching.
Therefore, it's not that Ningyang County is actually experiencing a drought, but rather that it won't. Only if Ningyang County does experience a drought, preferably to the point of complete crop failure, will the Ming Dynasty have the opportunity to put on a show for everyone, especially for the people of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, to see how the Ming court treats the people suffering from drought, thereby winning over the hearts of the people in the north.
Secondly, both Xu Da and Chang Yuchun needed a stable rear area.
Xu Da and Chang Yuchun's northern expedition was part of a comprehensive plan, with the ultimate goal of completely capturing Dadu (Beijing) and driving the Yuan Dynasty back to its homeland in the Mongolian steppe.
The first step of this overall plan was to "first take Shandong and remove its shield," then "turn the army around to Henan and cut off its wings," followed by capturing and defending Tongguan, securing its gateway, and then advancing on the Yuan capital, marching westward, sweeping through Yunzhong, Jiuyuan, and the Guanzhong Plain.
In other words, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun did not lead their troops from Jiangnan all the way north, but first led their troops north from Jianghuai to attack Shandong, and then marched their troops to Henan.
This resulted in Shandong being sandwiched between Hebei and Henan. Shandong could be seen as a strategic buffer zone that allowed the Ming army to focus its efforts on attacking Henan, while also serving as a temporary rear base for the Ming army.
If Yang Shaofeng hadn't accepted Limpy Five's suggestion and hadn't turned those weeds into fodder and sent them to Xu Da and Chang Yuchun's army, then Shandong, or rather Ningyang County, would have been a strategic buffer zone for Xu Da and Chang Yuchun. However, once Ningyang County was able to transport fodder to the army, it became a rear area where fodder supplies could be obtained.
Although it was impossible to directly requisition grain from Ningyang County, and there was no other county in the entire Shandong Province that dared to make such a fuss as Ningyang County, for every extra cartload of fodder Ningyang County sent to the army, the imperial court could transport an extra cartload of grain from Jiangnan.
How many kilograms of hay are in a truckload?
How many kilograms of grain are in a cart?
Transporting one more cartload of grain would allow the soldiers under his command to eat one more bite, and with one more bite, they might be able to kill one more Tartar.
Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, two veteran soldiers who had led troops in battle for many years, could calculate such a simple account perfectly.
The last reason is probably that both Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were interested in the lighters from Ningyang County, or rather, they were interested in Yang Shaofeng's ability to tinker.
Although Yang Shaofeng never considered the flint and oil version of the lighter to be a good thing, for the Ming army, which was equipped with a large number of firearms, even the simplest lighter was better than a tinderbox and a flint and steel. Even if it could gain a moment's advantage on the battlefield, it could change the outcome of the entire war.
What if Magistrate Yang Shaofeng comes up with something good again?
That's why Xu Da and Chang Yuchun sent cattle and horses and made promises.
Of course, these messy reasons were not important to Yang Shaofeng. What was important was that Xu Da and Chang Yuchun had actually sent people to deliver large livestock such as cattle, horses, and mules.
Without the help of oxen and horses, one person can cultivate fifteen acres of land; with the help of oxen and horses, one person can cultivate fifty acres or even more land.
This means that what used to require all the able-bodied men in Ningyang County to complete land reclamation and spring plowing can now be done with just a few dozen able-bodied men, allowing the remaining able-bodied men to be reassigned to other tasks.
For example, dig an artificial lake that can hold water, instead of having each village and community dig irrigation ditches around the land in the fields.
"A timely rain! This rain is even more timely than the rain from the heavens!"
After sighing to himself, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng simply summoned Lame Wu and ordered him directly: "Have someone summon the heads of the eight communities and sixteen villages and have them distribute these cattle and horses among themselves. Then let the people of each community and village use the cattle and horses to plow the land."
"In addition, each village and neighborhood should gather three hundred able-bodied men for me to be on duty at the county office early tomorrow morning. They should also prepare tools such as shovels and picks. Oh, and leave ten oxen and horses for me, and prepare ten carts as well."
"Also, tell Zhang Wangshi and the others that starting tomorrow, they should prepare 9,000 buns and 900 bowls of soup for me every day, and deliver them to the places I ask them to deliver in the morning, noon and evening. I will also have my brothers help them deliver them."
As Yang Shaofeng, the eldest young master, issued a series of orders, Limpy Wu was completely dumbfounded.
Ningyang County was already short-handed, and now they want to draw another three hundred able-bodied men from it. What is the county magistrate planning to do?
Faced with Limpy Five's doubts, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "Of course, we should dig a large lake before the drought to store water."