"Zhao Chenhan almost defeated the Qianlong Army in the first battle. At the critical moment, the Qianlong Army set fire to the mountain stronghold and forced the cavalry of the Zuo Yulin Guard to retreat."

Zhao Lin received the intelligence, took a quick look at it, and threw it aside.

With Song Huaian's ability, Zhao Lin didn't think Zhao Chenhan could gain any advantage.

Zhao Lin’s current focus is still on military farming.

"So far, a total of one million mu (approximately 1,000,000 acres) of land has been reclaimed. Of this, 89,000 mu is high-quality land, 574,000 mu is medium-quality land, and the remainder is low-quality land. Although high-quality land is scarce, on average, each mu yields 450 to 500 kilograms (approximately 1,000 to 2,000 jin) of rice. This means that after sowing in the spring, by the end of the autumn, we can harvest 450 to 500 million kilograms (approximately 1,000 to 2,000 jin) of grain."

Pi Pengxing reported to Zhao Lin.

"Five hundred million jin of grain? So much?" Sudi was surprised.

Pi Pengxing smiled and said, "This is just an estimate. Depending on various circumstances, the amount may be more or less. But no matter how little, it will not be less than 400 million jin."

Sudi sighed, "How many people can survive with 400 million kilograms of food?"

Pi Pengxing said, "A strong laborer needs to eat about two or three catties of rice a day. Taking the average value of two and a half catties, 400 million catties of grain is enough to feed 10,000 people for 16,000 days, 30,000 people for more than 5,000 days, and 100,000 people for 1,600 days."

Zhao Lin was surprised and said, "Master Pi's calculations are quite good."

Pi Pengxing smiled and said, "I've been interested in this since I was young, and this is my duty, so I've already figured it out."

Zhao Lin nodded and said, "That's thoughtful."

Pi Pengxing asked, "There's still some time before spring plowing. Do we still need to cultivate the farmland?"

Zhao Lin said, "No need. Let them dig ditches and build canals. They'll be used during the spring plowing."

One million acres of farmland, even if the yield is low, the annual grain output is enough to supply the Qingzhou military for several years.

Besides, it’s not only produced for one year.

Just wait for a year, no, half a year, and the Qingzhou army will no longer be controlled by others for food.

It can also recruit more soldiers.

When recruiting soldiers now, besides not wanting to be discovered that the number is too large, food is also a limitation.

Anyone with an eye can tell how many people an army has by looking at its food consumption.

Therefore, Zhao Lin could not purchase large amounts of food from outside.

Moreover, you can’t buy it whenever you want, and you may be strangled at a critical moment.

Therefore, Zhao Lin wanted to take advantage of the current stability to cultivate land and grow crops.

"The problem now is not the amount of grain produced, but the fact that with so many fields, it's easy for others to envy us."

Zhao Lin said thoughtfully.

"Feng Siyuan?" Su Di asked.

Zhao Lin shook his head: "Feng Siyuan has this idea, but he dare not, nor can he do it. It is the gentlemen in the court who have to do it."

Sudi was surprised and asked, "They are here to grab this?"

Zhao Lin sneered, "Land is the foundation of everything. The officials in the court don't even let go of the few acres of meager land in the hands of ordinary people, so how could they let go of our one million acres of fertile land? Just wait and see. They don't know yet. Once they find out, they will definitely use all means to seize it. We must prepare for this early."

Sudi said angrily, "We have cultivated the land with the hard work of tens of thousands of soldiers. Anyone who steals it will be killed."

Zhao Lin smiled and said, "Don't be so angry, but you are right. Whoever dares to steal our things will be killed."

Pi Pengxing lowered his head and pretended not to hear.

…

"Waste! Trash! If you can't even win like this, what are you still living for?"

Zhao Chenhan was very angry and cursed at the cavalry commander.

I thought I was going to be rewarded based on my merits, but there was a shocking reversal and I was kicked out.

Now the Qianlong Army is putting out the fire and repairing the camp at the same time, so it will not be so easy to fight again.

The cavalry commander Wu Fenghua looked grim and said, "You are so powerful, why don't you go?"

"How dare you talk to me like that? Come on, take him down." Zhao Chenhan was furious.

Immediately, several followers stepped forward and tried to capture Wu Fenghua, but Wu Fenghua just sneered, and the cavalry behind him all stepped forward, scaring the followers so much that they dared not move.

"What do you want to do? Do you want to rebel?"

Zhao Chenhan was shocked and furious. He shouted angrily, "I am now the commander of the Left Yulin Guard. You must all obey me. Anyone who dares to oppose me will be guilty of disobeying my order and will be punished with the punishment of all nine generations of his clan."

There was a commotion among the cavalry.

Wu Fenghua sneered, "This is the Zuo Yulin Guard, not the Zhenbei Army. It's not your turn to act recklessly."

Zhao Chenhan swiftly drew his sword and threw it to the ground: "Anyone who dares to resist will be executed on the spot. Take him down."

Han Renjie did it himself. Wu Fenghua moved his fingers but did not dare to resist and was tied up.

Zhao Chenhan said coldly, "Cavalry Commander Wu Fenghua was ineffective in combat and disrespectful to his superiors. He is hereby dismissed and investigated. He will be dealt with upon our return to Beijing. Han Renjie will now be the cavalry commander. Does anyone have any objections?"

Everyone looked at Xu Zhong.

Xu Zhong's expression was indifferent. He said, "General Zhao is right. We have no objection."

Zhao Chenhan was a general appointed by the emperor himself, and he was also given the status of a guerrilla general. Even though Xu Zhong didn't like Zhao Chenhan, he had no intention of going against him.

Anyway, if I win, I will be credited with the victory. If I lose, it will be Zhao Chenhan's fault and it has nothing to do with me.

"We will continue tomorrow. We must capture the enemy stronghold and annihilate them. Anyone who dares to retreat without orders will be made an example of."

Zhao Chenhan chopped off the tree trunk next to him with a sword.

"Don't worry, General. Today's incident was just an accident. We will be able to capture the enemy camp tomorrow and capture the enemy leader for you to deal with." Han Renjie said.

Others echoed.

The Left Yulin Guards set up camp on the spot.

Zhao Mingya ordered the maid to bring hot water for Zhao Chenhan to soak his feet and take a bath.

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