Chapter 370: Binzhou War, People's Hardship
"Yun Ran, take care of yourself!"
"sister in law···"
"lady···"
Zhao Yuping and the Yan family all unconsciously chased a few steps and shouted instructions at the carriage. Although Shen Xiangwan did not move, his mood was not very high.
"Mom, let's go back."
Wei Chengyi stepped forward and hugged his mother's shoulders. The latter wiped her tears and nodded, letting him hug her and turned to walk home. On the other side, Shen Xiangwan also said to the people of the Yan family, "Don't worry, Uncle Yan and Jun Ling are both in the capital. They will take good care of Yun Ran."
"Um."
Looking up at her, everyone nodded in unison, and the sadness of parting was much alleviated.
As long as Mu Yunran and the others taught those people surgical skills, there would be no need to worry about the military medical care. After they left, Wei Chengyi and his wife turned their attention back to the busy farming season.
Among the three high-yield crops of potatoes, corn and sweet potatoes, only potatoes have the shortest growth cycle. In addition, all the ones that Shen Xiangwan took out were excellent varieties that had been improved in later generations. If the conditions were right, the harvest could be done in more than two months instead of three months.
Therefore, except for Datong County, all other counties chose to grow potatoes, while the military fields grew sweet potatoes and corn.
On the other hand, Yuan Yue Yuanying spread the news about what Zhang Sheng and his wife had done, and that the Wei family would no longer cooperate with the kiln factory. As expected, all the people who worked for them came to their house and forced them to pay their wages. In order to raise money, they went to Shen Xiangwan several times in a row, but each time they were thrown out before entering the village.
When Yuan Yue came to them, they wanted to ask her for a price, but she did not indulge their habits and directly quoted them a price that was not even enough to cover the capital. If they were willing, it would be a deal, otherwise forget it. At first, Zhang Sheng and his wife refused to agree, but under the pressure of the workers, they agreed to sell it after a few days. The money they got was barely enough to settle the bill with the raw material suppliers and pay the workers.
"Defeated again?"
At the end of June, reports arrived from the Binzhou battle. The rebels had lost another city, leaving only one struggling to hold on. "Well, this time, the Binzhou army suffered heavy casualties. The rebels are made up of suffering civilians. After hearing that the imperial court still hadn't provided relief for the drought, they unleashed an unprecedented fighting force. It's obviously impossible for the Binzhou army to continue their efforts and defeat them in one fell swoop."
What Wei Chengyi didn't mention was that the Binzhou army's heavy casualties were also closely tied to their unstable morale. Soldiers were also made up of civilians, and the nationwide drought had undoubtedly affected their families. But with the court indifferent, how could they possibly fight with such undivided attention? If it weren't for the exceptional leadership of Wanqishan and his son, the outcome of this battle would have been uncertain.
"well···"
Shen Xiangwan sighed deeply. The entire country was suffering from a drought, and the imperial court would rather spend money on the army to suppress the rebellion than provide relief to the victims. Isn't this a tragedy? In the end, it is still the people who suffer.
"Don't worry. As early as next year, or the year after, at the latest, we will fight back and overthrow the emperor's rule."
Reaching out and holding her hand, Wei Chengyi said firmly that he knew his wife was worried about the people.
"Well, don't rush into anything, be sure to proceed steadily."
Not wanting him to act rashly because of her little bit of kindness, Shen Xiangwan looked him in the eye and said in a serious tone that any normal person would feel pity when seeing the people in such a miserable state, but she would not lose her mind because of this. At present, they could not save all the people in the world, and being able to protect the people of Chenzhou was already the most they could do.
"I know."
Tightening his hand around hers, Wei Chengyi nodded with a smile. He would not joke with everyone's lives. If they decided to start a rebellion, it must be because they were already prepared.
"Let's not talk about that anymore. Have the people planted their crops?"
The topic of war was too heavy, so Shen Xiangwan waved her hand to change the subject. Recently, she had not forgotten to study drugs to promote the healing of bones and meridians and blood vessels, so she inevitably paid less attention to other things.
"Well, almost all of them have been planted."
In order to ensure that all the people can grow high-yield crops, the county magistrate of each county went to the fields in person. Yan Junling even ran around the counties, teaching the people how to plant and fully deploying all the seeds. He has not been back for a long time.
“Now we just have to wait for the crops to be harvested.”
After the harvest, they will no longer be short of food.
"What do you think about this?"
Wei Chengyi picked up a memorial and handed it to her. Shen Xiangwan took it and looked at it. "Sure, we're not short of food for the time being. As for handing it over to the court, let's forget about it. I'd rather feed the food to dogs than give it to the dog emperor!"
The content of the memorial was to request the exemption of the people's taxes this season. Although the Chenzhou area was not like other places where there was almost no harvest, the people in other counties still harvested about 20% less. If the taxes could be exempted, they should all be able to survive until the second season's grain harvest. At present, the Chenzhou political power is almost in their hands, and whether to exempt taxes or not is just a matter of their words.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
Taking the memorial again, Wei Chengyi wrote the word "approved" with a brush. As for the copy submitted to the court, he could just make up a reason that the drought caused the crops to fail. It didn't matter whether the emperor believed it or not. The important thing was that the emperor was far away and he couldn't interfere even if he wanted to.
“I heard that many wells in some villages have no water?”
With one hand supporting his head on the table, Shen Xiangwan asked casually, "As the weather gets hotter and hotter, the water supply becomes more and more scarce, and the price of food outside is getting higher day by day. The people who have land to farm are fine, as they have more or less harvested some crops. However, the life of those city dwellers who have no land to farm is really too difficult."
"I have sent people to search for water sources wherever possible and dig deep wells."
At this point, Wei Chengyi couldn't help but sigh deeply. Even if they had people with water abilities, they couldn't guarantee that every village would have abundant groundwater.
"Is it not raining this year? Do you have any memory of this?"
Shen Xiangwan couldn't help but frown. It was only the end of June, and the hot weather would continue for at least two or three months. If it didn't rain, they might not be able to withstand the drought just by digging deep wells. You know, they also had to ensure the needs of the crops in the fields. Only in this way could they truly overcome this drought.
"It was so long ago that I can't quite remember."
Facing her expectant gaze, Wei Chengyi shook his head helplessly. In his previous life, he had always been in a ghost state and was not affected by these things at all. It was really difficult for him to recall.
"well···"
Shen Xiangwan sighed and lay on the table. They had done everything they could. They just hoped that God would not be so cruel and send down the rain soon to give the people some hope.
[End of this chapter]
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