Chapter 205: Land Reclamation and Canal Digging
The woman no longer refused and shared the porridge among her three children. She took one last sip herself and handed it back, "I'm done."
Liao Sheng felt a pang in his heart, "Then let's eat together."
The two of them drank the remaining half bucket of corn porridge as if they were eating delicacies from land and sea.
The man who had been talking to Liao Sheng before made a sound of clicking his tongue, threw his bag behind him, patted his butt and walked away.
Bah! You can't even eat in peace!
Because these refugees had been given a few days' supply of food in advance, no one starved to death on the road. Some of the elderly, weak, sick and disabled could not bear it and could not walk any further, so they were arranged to sit in horse-drawn carriages or ox carts.
During the trip, Liao Sheng's father fell ill and fortunately was treated by a doctor. It was inconvenient to decoct medicine on the road, but as long as he arrived at a rest stop, Liao Sheng could always get the medicine for his father.
It took the group twenty days to finally reach their destination.
Although some people died during the migration, most people were in good spirits after arriving.
Liao Sheng hadn't expected to get here so smoothly. He hugged his wife and burst into tears again, "Aqing, we're finally here!"
The woman patted Liao Sheng's back, feeling deeply moved. "Yes! We are going to have a new home."
There is an endless green land in front of me, with various wild flowers in full bloom, rivers and lakes running through it, many birds flying through the reeds, and wild horses and deer drinking water on the shore. Because of the sudden visit of people, they scattered and disappeared on the grassland.
In the distance are the Yinshan Mountains, undulating forests, and the winding Zhao Great Wall stretching across them, blocking the approach of the Huns.
Zhao Yuanxi arrived a few days earlier than these people. During this time, she had already surveyed the nearby land. It was indeed an excellent piece of land. No wonder it was known as the Jiangnan of the Great Wall.
The horse farm built by King Wuling of Zhao is still there, with countless fine horses, all of which are well-bred and healthy.
After the Qin army took over this place, these horses became Qin's.
Zhao Yuanxi took advantage of this time to learn how to ride a horse. Although he couldn't run very fast, it was enough for traveling.
There are not many roads in this place, and the few roads that are there are very rugged. People have to travel either on foot or on horseback. Zhao Yuanxi has adapted to the local customs.
She was riding on horseback, wearing riding clothes, leading everyone back to the camp from the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Seeing another group of people coming, she reined in her horse and asked, "Which group is this?"
The team leader bowed and saluted, "This is already the fifth batch."
There are about 15,000 people in one group. Now there are at least 70,000 people who have arrived at the Xitao Plain. In two or three days, everyone will be there.
"Thank you for your hard work. Bring them back to the rest area. Someone else will take over. You can rest for a few days."
"promise!"
Zhao Yuanxi rode away on his horse, his fluttering red shirt seeming to transform into the setting sun, disappearing among the green grass and trees.
Liao Sheng took a quick glance, and a huge wave of thoughts surged in his heart. Was that the Queen Mother of Qin? Thinking about how everything they had eaten and used these days was given by this Queen Mother, and even this place they lived in was found by her and her people, Liao Sheng couldn't help but want to remember what she looked like.
It’s a pity that the red figure disappeared too quickly and I didn’t have time to see it clearly.
But those who were closer to the leader could see it clearly. Many of them had the same idea as Liao Sheng and asked about the appearance of Queen Mother Zhao.
Someone took this opportunity to show off and praised Queen Dowager Zhao to the highest level.
Zhao Yuanxi didn't know that her image among the people of Zhao had changed again. Before, she was a princess of Zhao who returned home after suffering many hardships, but now she has become a goddess who protects the people of Zhao.
She led her men back to her tent, spread out the map, and pointed along the Yellow River towards the Hetao area. She explained, "Although this area is rich in water and grass, the irrigation conditions are still quite poor. I plan to have a canal dug along this area to bring in the river water, like the Zhengguo Canal, so that the Yellow River water can naturally irrigate this area."
Li Mu: "Digging a canal is not an easy task. Could it be that the Queen Mother is also capable of this?"
"Of course not!" She could dig a small ditch, a job that required little technical skills, but such a large ditch still required professionals. However, she had already considered digging ditches when planning the development of Hetao.
"That man should be arriving soon. Let's gather the workers first and then start the work after he arrives."
There were about 100,000 Zhao people who moved to Hetao, but some refugees did not choose to come here and stayed in Handan.
Although there are 100,000 people, less than half of them can be mobilized. Zhao Yuanxi has to ask people to cultivate farmland and keep some people to dig ditches.
She couldn't help but sigh. It would be difficult to handle with too many people, and it would be equally difficult to handle with too few people!
As expected, she was not cut out to govern a country. Just 100,000 people were enough to give her a headache.
"How many troops are guarding the border?" Zhao Yuanxi set his sights on these people.
Border defenders often had to farm their own fields, but there weren't many people living here before, and the land they cultivated was only enough to feed the soldiers.
Li Mu: "There are about 50,000 people now."
There are 20,000 people who can farm, plus the people she brought with her, they can barely gather 30,000 people. 50,000 people will farm and 30,000 people will dig canals, which is almost enough.
However, this was not the duty of these defenders; digging canals and reclaiming wasteland were even more difficult labor.
"Mobilize 20,000 garrison troops, plus the people we brought with us, and have them lead these Zhao people in clearing wasteland and digging canals. Give them double the military pay."
Meng Tian couldn't help but ask: "Where does this money come from?"
Zhao Yuanxi's hand trembled, and ink dripped onto the white paper. Seeing this, she felt heartbroken. The picture she had worked so hard to draw was ruined. "If I don't ask the king for it, do you think he will ask me for it?"
We can't ask her to do both the work and the money!
Now these are all the people and soldiers of Qin. Ying Zheng has occupied such a large area of Zhao, and now he will own the fertile land of Hetao. If he doesn't pay some money, will he just eat for free?
Meng Tian immediately shut his mouth. He suspected that if he continued speaking, Queen Dowager Zhao would overturn the table.
"I will submit this letter to the king immediately."
The guard outside reminded, "Your Majesty, there is a man claiming to be from the State of Zheng who wants to see you."
After waiting for so long, she finally got the talent she had always dreamed of!
"Please come in quickly!"
The tent was opened from the outside, and a white-haired old man walked in. Seeing the people inside, he bowed his head and saluted, saying, "Your servant Zheng Guo greets the Queen Mother, Lord Yanmen, and General Meng."
"Zheng Shuigong, please don't be so polite. I've been waiting for you for a long time!" The more Zhao Yuanxi saw him, the more he liked him, as if the person in front of him was not a person, but countless fertile fields in the future.
After the construction of Zhengguo Canal was completed, Zheng Guo stayed in Qin State. His daily job was to repair the canal. He thought that this would be his life, but he never expected that one day he would be summoned from Qin State by Queen Dowager Zhao to Yunzhong County thousands of miles away.
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