Chapter 694: We are also short of people

Shengze paused, "Can these seeds be planted at any time?"

"That's definitely not the case. What you saw just now were the original seeds. I have to transform them before I can use them. Besides, some seeds are very picky about the solar terms and will not work if they are out of season." Shen Qingqian sighed.

On the surface, it seems that she now has two hundred bags of acceleration fertilizer, which seems to be a lot, but in fact, all of this acceleration fertilizer has been used up, and the stored food is not enough for the Hubei Northern Army to have military rations for half a year.

Therefore, she had to mobilize the power of the masses, and after she produced high-yield seeds and seedlings, she would plant and promote them in northern Hubei in batches and according to different types.

Nowadays, the irrigation water for most areas in northern Hubei comes from the magical spring water from Chengjin Mountain. The benefits to crops are real. Shen Qingqian is not worried about the survival of seeds or seedlings at all.

What she is most worried about now is that she has the seeds and the magical spring water to ensure the growth of crops, but no one is planting them.

The permanent population of northern Hubei is 300,000. Excluding the urban population of 50,000 to 60,000, 250,000 people need to farm for a living.

But among these 250,000 people, excluding the elderly, children and those who cannot farm, there are only a few hundred thousand left.

Some of these hundreds of thousands of people were conscripted to perform labor service, and now only tens of thousands of people are left at home to farm.

In such a large area of ​​northern Hubei, if we want to expand the planting area, we need to open up more wasteland while ensuring the original land planting rate. To open up wasteland, we need to build more canals for irrigation, and building canals requires manpower.

Shen Qingqian just thought about this cycle in her mind, and her solar plexus began to throb.

"We are not only short of money, but also short of people!" She said what was in her heart without paying attention.

Shengze was silent. How could he not know that northern Hubei was short of people?

But the north of northern Hubei is outside the Great Wall, and the south is blocked by the Lanjiang River. Even if they wanted to move the people from the six northwestern states there, there was no way.

To the east is a towering mountain, the top of which no one has ever seen. It is surrounded by clouds and mist all year round and is called the Mountain of Death. To the west is the Jiji Mountain, and across the mountain is the territory of the Jun tribe.

In this way, there is basically no solution to the shortage of people in northern Hubei.

"Unless we take Chenzhou, the shortage of people in northern Hubei cannot be solved in the short term." Sheng Ze said in a deep voice.

Even if northern Hubei starts to have enough food and clothing now, it will take at least fifteen years for the population to be sufficient.

Shen Qingqian's eyes rolled when she heard this. "That's not necessarily true. We're short of people because many things have to be done manually. But if we vigorously develop basic industries, replace manpower with machinery, and free up our hands, wouldn't we have extra labor?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Sheng Ze felt as if he had been enlightened.

Yes, when there are few people, we should find ways to improve the efficiency of machines, such as weaving. As far as he knows, the first industrial revolution in Shen Qingqian's world seemed to have started with the improvement of looms.

Thinking of this, Sheng Ze suddenly became excited. He tightened his grip on Shen Qingqian's hand slightly and looked at her with burning eyes, "Qianqian, please help me!"

"Uh," Shen Qingqian was a little puzzled, "Don't we have Mr. Qin and Mr. Su to help you with the mechanical matters?"

Sheng Ze shook his head. "No, I know you have a way. You..." He paused. "You are the granddaughter of the Grand Tutor. Your vision and knowledge are unmatched by others. If you can help us with all your strength, Ebei will definitely be able to solve the problem of its lack of people!"

"You trust me so much?" Shen Qingqian suddenly became curious. Where did Sheng Ze's confidence in her come from?