Chapter 121: Selecting Troops and Generals
On the fifth day of March, the weather turns warm and everything comes back to life.
The air in the Guanzhong region is still very cold, but the soil begins to thaw under the sun. Trickles of water seep out of the soil, turning into streams that converge into rivers and flow into the river.
Zhao Yuanxi stared at the green spots emerging from the treetops in the yard and smiled brightly.
Farmers are ready to start farming this year.
Zhao Yuanxi also did not rest. The people sent by Zhisu Nei Shi had made rapid progress in just one month.
Zhao Yuanxi needs to conduct large-scale experiments on corn seeds to understand which areas in Qin are suitable for growing this variety of corn.
These people will go to various counties in Qin State on her behalf, distribute the seeds, and instruct farmers on how to plant them.
Ying Zheng had received the news long ago and asked Zhisu Nei Shi to assist her in doing this.
Zhao Yuanxi met Sun Li, the Internal History of Grain, again and looked at him deeply. She still remembered how he almost dug a big hole for her!
Sun Li didn't know why the Queen Mother looked at him like that. Was it because he dressed too smartly today and she noticed him?
Or was it that the person she sent made the Queen Mother very satisfied?
Sun Li's face was wrinkled with smiles, and he said expectantly, "Empress Dowager, everyone is here. Do you have any instructions?"
Zhao Yuanxi curled his lips and simply chose to ignore him. He said to the farmers below, "Everyone, you have studied for so long, and now is finally the opportunity to display your talents. These seeds will give new hope to the people on this land, and you are the ones who will sow this hope..."
Chen He had not dared to look up at the Queen Mother before, but what she said was so touching that he wanted to know what Queen Mother Zhao looked like.
In the crowd, he secretly raised his eyes and finally saw her appearance clearly.
A woman over forty years old cannot be said to be very beautiful, but the vitality between her eyebrows and eyes makes people ignore her age and makes people want to follow her.
Not only him, but others couldn't help but look up.
With just that one glance, as if it were destined, they felt like they had grasped something that was carrying them forward.
Zhao Yuanxi noticed their gazes and smiled back.
Everyone's faces immediately turned red with excitement.
They must be dreaming!
More than a month ago, they were just farmers working in the countryside, but now they appeared here, listening to the Queen Mother's words of encouragement.
They had all served in the military for at least two years and should have been accustomed to this kind of pre-war mobilization, but after hearing the Queen Mother's words, they felt that they were burdened with a heavy responsibility.
The Queen Mother is the general, and they are the soldiers under her command.
But this time they were not going to fight with soldiers from other countries. Instead, they were dedicating their energy to the land on which they depended for their survival, producing more food so that everyone could have enough to eat.
Zhao Yuanxi talked a lot and finally had a chance to rest for a while. He pursed his dry lips and saw that their eyes seemed to be shining. He couldn't help but smile again.
Most people have a simple idea, they just want to have enough to eat.
Sun Li wiped the sweat from his forehead. He felt as if he had misjudged the Queen Mother's thoughts, or he had misunderstood the King's instructions.
The Queen Mother didn't just want some farmers to farm for her, she planned to farm all the land in Qin according to her rules!
He felt as if he was redundant here, and he even didn't understand some of what the Queen Mother said.
He was the Minister of Grain, but he didn't even know the basic farming techniques.
Sun Li felt that the hat on his head seemed a little unstable.
"Sun Nei Shi, it's up to you to decide where they're going." Zhao Yuanxi was not very clear about the land distribution of Qin State, so where these people were going depended on Sun Li.
The Qin State now has Ba County, Shu County, Hanzhong County, Longxi County, Beidi County, Shang County, Hedong County, Nan County, Sanchuan County, Taiyuan County, and Dong County. The climatic conditions and planting conditions in different places are different.
Finally having room to perform, Sun Li straightened his clothes, cleared his throat, and read out the personnel list he had already prepared.
There were eight people in total. Sun Li divided them into four groups and sent them to other counties.
Chen He was assigned to Nanjun.
Nanjun was originally part of the State of Chu. In 278 BC, Qin general Bai Qi led his troops to attack the city of Chu and captured the present-day Nanjun.
Chen He was originally from Chu, and his home was in Nanjun. Now that he went back, he could be considered making a contribution to his hometown.
Tu was with him. They were from the same hometown and were now assigned to the same place.
Sun Li made such arrangements because he had learned about their origins. Instead of letting them go to an unfamiliar place, it would naturally be better to keep them as close to home as possible.
Zhao Yuanxi had no objection to this.
The eight people bid farewell together, took the seeds distributed to them by Zhao Yuanxi, and set off with the officials.
Xu Yi stared at their backs for a long time without coming back to his senses.
Zhao Yuanxi smiled and said, "Are you worried about them?"
"Yes! After all, they have only just learned those things. I am worried that they may not be able to solve those problems."
For fear of missing the farming season, Xu Yi almost lived and ate with them these days, and taught them everything he knew.
He has tried his best, but he is still a little worried.
It's not that I don't believe in their abilities, but I'm worried about the difficulties they will face. After all, these people come from poor backgrounds, and when they go to a strange place to supervise farming, they will definitely face pressure from different people.
Queen Mother Zhao had once shared with him her experience in Lugewu. If a queen mother had to face such doubts, what about them?
If they encounter powerful local gentry, I don’t know if they can handle it.
Xu Yi expressed all his concerns.
"You should believe in yourself, believe in them, and believe in the Qin State." Zhao Yuanxi said with a smile.
There will indeed be difficulties, but they are not so difficult that they cannot be handled. The reason why Zhao Yuanxi pulled Zhisu Nei Shi over was to ask him to support these people.
The orders issued by Zhisu Nei Shi represent the will of the King of Qin. Anyone with a little tact would not choose to make things difficult for them.
If those seeds can grow successfully, they can even be recorded in the officials' merit book.
Xu Yi understood the Queen Mother's intention and apologized, "I was just worrying too much."
"If you worry more, I'll have less to worry about." Zhao Yuanxi winked at Xu Yi. "Their affairs have come to an end, but we still have a lot to do!"
Xu Yi laughed. They indeed still had a lot to do.
In less than a month, Xu Yi received messages from those people one after another. Seeing that they were making smooth progress, he breathed a sigh of relief and laughed from the bottom of his heart.
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