Chapter 333: Preparation is the key to success, but lack of preparation leads to failure
Tanzhou in Yan area.
If there is one place in the entire Yan area that has been thriving from the beginning to the end, it must be Danzhou.
At this time, while many people in Yanzhou were considering whether to go to Jizhou, the people in Tanzhou had already started winter ploughing, preparing for planting crops in the spring of next year.
Du Yu, the deputy governor of Tanzhou, picked up a hammer and ran to the fields early this morning to help his father take care of the few acres of land passed down from their Du family.
Du Yu's father had been farming for his whole life. He was willing to give up everything. For the sake of his children's education, the old man sold everything in the house. He ate brown rice and even vegetables, while his children ate and drank well! For the sake of his children's education, he even sold the big house passed down by his ancestors. In order to ensure that his daughter's dowry would not be left behind, he even sold the house he lived in. He himself built a wooden shed on his few acres of land to live in.
Even though Du Yu and the old man's daughter knew about this and wanted to take their old father to the city, the old man refused to go and just guarded these acres of land.
In his own words, "where you live is not important, as long as you have land to eat, you can survive. If you lose the land, you lose everything."
People in the same village laughed at the old man for not knowing how to enjoy his life. He had suffered all his life and raised a noble official, a female teacher who teaches in the city, but instead of enjoying himself, he was still busy working in the fields.
When the old man heard this, he just said, "That's their own fate. It has nothing to do with me. Without these acres of land, they wouldn't be here now. I'm just a farmer. I grow crops so I can have food."
Even though Du Yu is now the deputy governor of Tanzhou and is in charge of the territory of this continent, the old man does not enjoy his life and still lives on his few acres of land. At least Du Yu forced someone to build a few houses for his father, which is better than living in a shed.
Moreover, the old man doesn’t hire anyone to farm the land. He does it by himself and doesn’t ask his son-in-law, daughter, or son to come over.
As for Du Yu, although he was unable to help his father most of the time, he would always squeeze out time to help whenever he had time, especially during winter ploughing, spring planting and autumn harvest.
However, Du Yu had a bad reputation, so those who didn't know him well labeled him as unfilial. Some officials even deliberately framed him and wrote a letter to accuse Du Yu.
But in the end, nothing came of it.
But after so many things happened, there are still many people who don't understand and are too lazy to understand, so they simply regard Du Yu as unfilial. No matter how those who understand explain, they just ignore them, just like scolding an official for a few taels of silver. After scolding, they feel so happy!
Next, no one knew where the rumor came from, but Lord Du Yu had a pointed face and monkey cheeks, and didn't look like a good person. He also looked exactly like the corrupt officials in those storybooks, so the rumor spread more and more, and his reputation became worse and worse.
As for these things, Du Yu didn't say much to others and never punished those who cursed him.
Although Du Yu was forced by his father to study since he was young, he was still good at farm work. After all, he was a farmer's son.
So in the field, Du Yu wore an ordinary linen jacket, rolled up his trouser legs, and loosened the soil with a hammer. He looked like an old farmer, except that he lacked the temperament of working with his back to the sky and his face to the ground.
Du Yu's father was an ordinary-looking farmer with a skinny body and dark, rough skin. He was holding a hammer in his hand and looking down at the turned-over and slightly frozen crops in the field, with a hint of joy on his face.
There is a lot of snow this year, and if we turn the land over, it will probably grow good crops.
A few more snowfalls would be even better, but I just hope it won’t be too much.
Thinking of this, Grandpa Du narrowed his eyes and looked at his son's posture, then looked at the land that Du Yu had turned over, and the old man shook his head with some dissatisfaction.
But at this time, several people from the same village also went to the fields to cultivate the land. Seeing Du Yu working hard in the fields, they all looked at the old man and said politely: "Uncle Du, why do you let our brother Yu do it by himself?"
The people in the village grew up with Du Yu, and the man who was speaking was the one who played with Du Yu naked, so they spoke with respect, but the address remained unchanged. In fact, this was also what Grandpa Du asked, that one should not forget gratitude. The village is so small, and every family has helped each other since childhood. For their family's affairs, many people in the village also helped. Now they have become officials and have high status, but there are some things that cannot be forgotten.
When Mr. Du heard this, he shook his head and said, "Everyone has his own job. He insists on doing it even though he can't do it! I can't stop him! I'll take a break and clean up the places he didn't do well later."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man laughed and said, "Take a rest, old man. I don't have much here. I'll go help Brother Yu after I'm done."
Mr. Du waved his hand: "No, you guys go about your business."
Seeing the old man say this, the middle-aged man didn’t say much. This old man is famous for being stubborn in the whole village!
But the middle-aged man looked at Du Yu working in the distance, pursed his lips, looked at the old man, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
But in the end, he turned around and went about his own business.
After walking a few steps, his wife couldn't help but asked why he didn't ask whether it was true that he had accepted more than 100,000 taels of silver from others. Moreover, people outside said that Du Yu had other silver besides this, and was still recruiting soldiers, etc., and they also said that people outside said that Du Yu was making money by using various names!
The middle-aged man listened, told his wife to shut up, and even scolded her directly.
When Mr. Du heard these words, he didn't think much of them. He had heard such words so many times that he didn't care anymore.
He also knew that some people in the village were cursing his son behind his back.
But what does it have to do with him!
He sold everything he had and forced his two children to go to school, and then left this place and no longer relied on this for a living. That was enough for him.
Now both of them have left. As for the rest, it has nothing to do with him and he doesn't understand it, so he doesn't get involved. Whether he is a good official or a corrupt official, as long as he doesn't harm the farming people, he will never say a word to his son.
After resting enough, the old man picked up the hammer and walked towards Du Yu. Looking at the land that Du Yu had turned over, the old man didn't say much and started working directly.
Du Yu noticed his father's actions and smiled helplessly. Without saying anything more, he returned to where he started and started turning the soil again.
Old Master Du glanced at it, still with disdain in his eyes, but he said nothing.
But at this time.
There was the sound of horse hooves.
Old Master Du squinted his eyes and looked over. It turned out to be an acquaintance, his son's subordinate, who often came here.
But the old man just glanced at the person who came and continued to work. He had to finish working on this acre of land before dark today.
When Du Yu saw the old man, he bowed to his father and said, "Dad, I'll go take care of it first."
Mr. Du didn't look up, but nodded.
Du Yu came to the farmland, picked up the kettle and poured a bowl of water, then looked at the young general who came to his side.
"grown ups!"
The general looked less than 30 years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. After he got off his horse, he first clasped his fists towards Old Man Du, and then looked at Du Yu and clasped his fists towards him.
Du Yu handed the water in his hand to the young general.
After taking a sip, the young general said, "More than 400 people want to return to Jizhou. Someone is still deliberately deceiving them. We found out that they are from Yanzhou City. It should be arranged by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Hearing this, Du Yu smiled helplessly: "The sky is going to rain, and the mother is going to marry. If they really want to leave, there is no need to persuade them. If they want to stay, no matter how you persuade them, it will be useless. Just let them go. Take out some silver from the money you got in the past few days and give it to those who are leaving. As for the land and houses that are vacant after they leave, ask the people in charge to erase their names and give them to other people. Have the land turned over quickly so as not to delay the spring farming. As for the money, still put it in the name of the court and say it was taken from the Tanzhou treasury."
Without waiting for the young general to speak, Du Yu looked at him and asked, "How are you finding out about other things?"
The young general immediately said, "The situation in Zhuozhou is the same as what you think. Lord Meng is trying his best to encourage the common people and has even proposed a way to solve the dilemma. According to the information from the provincial government, more than 100,000 people have signed up, and more than 30,000 have already gone to Jizhou. In other states, many people are also bewitched by people from Yanzhou. The exact number is still unknown, but the spies have sent back news that other states are happy to go just because they heard that they can live directly in Jizhou City and get farmland and even silver for free. I think there should be tens of thousands of people in all states combined."
Du Yu frowned: "What about Jizhou? Did Meng Biejia do anything?"
The young general shook his head and said, "I went to inquire, but nothing has been done yet. But I heard from the Zhuozhou government office that Lord Meng is only sending his men over to settle things down a bit. The specific arrangement is to wait until everyone is there before going to Jizhou to settle the people. It is said that there are not many people going there now, and if we start settling them down, it will be a mess. It will be a natural thing to do if we settle them all together, and there will be no chaos."
Du Yu frowned even more tightly, "Everything is prepared, otherwise it will fail. Such a talented person, but he doesn't understand this? He just talks a lot of nonsense. What will the people who go there first eat and do? What's more, if the people who go there now are not settled well, it will be more chaotic for the people who come later! When there are too many people, it will be even more difficult to settle them! Moreover, if we don't arrange to reclaim the wasteland and plough the land in winter, and start planting in two or three months, the land will be barren and useless, and the harvest will be poor. What will all the people eat!"
But at this point, Du Yu frowned, "That's not right. Your Highness didn't say anything? Even if Your Highness is young and didn't see this, the palace staff should have seen it. It's such a simple principle, it's impossible that no one would say anything."
The young general shook his head and said, "I haven't heard of these things, but it is said that His Highness is very supportive, especially knowing that Lord Meng encouraged so many people to go to Jizhou. His Highness even went to Zhuozhou in person to praise Lord Meng. I think that since His Highness has agreed, others dare not express different opinions."
Hearing this, Du Yu clenched his fists and an anxious look appeared on his face!
But after saying that, the young general said: "I also learned that the garrison in Jizhou was withdrawn to Yongshan Camp by Your Highness, saying that there is no war now, so they stayed there to snatch food from the people, and the people are the most important thing now."
Du Yu was horrified when he heard this: "How can you let the garrison withdraw? That's what the Eighth Prince did in the beginning, and that's how the Mobei barbarians took advantage of the situation! How can you do this? Your Highness gave the order that the garrison must not be withdrawn without authorization no matter what!"
Du Yu said this with an anxious look on his face, and then immediately ordered: "When you go back, immediately ask Zhongshan to write a letter to the Prince of Yan's Mansion in my name, saying that the troops cannot be withdrawn! If there is not enough food, we can use it from the prefectures, so how can we withdraw the troops! Isn't the previous incident a warning to us?"
After saying that, Du Yu frowned again: "We also need to send it to the prince in the capital. No, it's too late, and..."
When he said this, Du Yu looked puzzled, and then seemed to have thought of something, and immediately looked at the general: "Wei Shan, you go to Jizhou in person, secretly, and find out what the specific situation is over there!"
The general named Wei Shan nodded immediately: "Yes!"
Du Yu looked at Wei Shan and instructed: "Go and see how the people are doing, and then see if there is anything wrong around. Ever since His Highness ordered this to happen that night, I felt that it was too hasty, and now His Highness is still so anxious, especially the behavior of this great scholar Meng, who is really stupid, but His Highness did not say anything, but praised him instead, just like he was anxious to transfer the people to Jizhou. Although this is a good thing, after all, it will quickly restore Jizhou, but it is not right, I always feel that something is wrong."
Wei Shan listened to Du Yu's words and nodded: "It feels like His Highness has been rushing to get people in."
But after saying that, Wei Shan looked at Du Yu and said, "But sir, the prince..."
Du Yu shook his head: "No, Your Highness wants to do such a big thing. The people in the palace must have reported it to the prince. And I don't know why. Every time I mention the prince, I feel very uneasy, especially."
At this point, Du Yu looked at Wei Shan and said, "Especially, don't forget what the Mobei general who we killed when we rescued Jizhou said."
When Wei Shan heard this, he immediately remembered.
At that time, they launched a surprise attack, catching the opponent off guard.
When the general saw them, he said, "You fooled us! Why are there Han officers and soldiers here? Didn't we agree that there would be no Han officers and soldiers here?"
Du Yu and his men did not think much of this at the time, but after several surprise attacks, several Mobei generals said similar things, which made Du Yu confused. However, the situation at the time did not allow him to think too much, so there was no other possibility.
but.
After thinking about it carefully later, Du Yu felt that what had happened before was extremely strange. After all, the Yan territory had not been broken for a hundred years, but the gate was suddenly broken open, and the barbarians from Mobei marched straight in. The troops in the Yan territory had evacuated one after another for various reasons before that.
Du Yu couldn't help but think about it, but even if he did, he didn't find anything after all, so he just threw it away. At least everything was peaceful!
But now
Still evacuating!!
This made Du Yu suspicious again.
The next moment, Du Yu looked at Wei Shan: "Still no news from the capital?"
Wei Shan shook his head: "If there is, it should still be on the way. The fastest time will be at least a month."
Du Yu nodded. A series of things made him a little uneasy. However, looking at Wei Shan, Du Yu continued, "We need to work harder on recruiting soldiers and keep up with the training. The Queen Mother of Mobei is ambitious. They are attacking the Huihe tribe right now. Maybe they are doing this to eliminate the worries behind them. Most of the money collected these days can be used for the army! Then tell Liu Chunfang that he wants to be an inspector. I will recommend him."
After hearing the last words, Wei Shan frowned and said, "Sir, if you accept the money, you may be impeached again, and the people will know that you are..."
Du Yu shook his head: "I can't care so much. It's fine if I don't think about it, but the more I think about it, the more I feel that something big is going to happen. To prevent nothing from happening, soldiers and horses are the most important. Now there are 10,000 soldiers in Tanzhou. You should try to expand it to 30,000 before the spring. Nothing is more important than protecting the people's fields."
Wei Shan frowned again, but looked at Du Yu and clenched his fists. Danzhou looked wealthy, but all that wealth was bribes earned by Lord Du Yu's reputation!
In the Yanyun area, each state was self-sufficient. Even if the court allocated money, the prince would use it to support the army! The money given to each state to actually spend on the people was very little!
As for what was said before, the barbarians from Mobei had invaded their Danzhou before.
That's because when they were approaching Danzhou, Lord Du Yu personally led people to stop them and then fought back!
Otherwise, how could there be such a peaceful scene in Tanzhou now?
The more prosperous Danzhou becomes, the more jealous other states become, and the more crazy things they say!
As for the Eighth Prince, he only saw the reason behind this, so he never said anything to Lord Du. After all, he sent a lot of food every year! And the Prince should also know that without Lord Du, Tanzhou would not be the Tanzhou it is today.
There are various other things, so even though there are so many rumors, the Eighth Prince never touches Lord Du.
but!!
Wei Shan frowned and looked at Du Yu.
Du Yu frowned, and did not look at Wei Shan, but thought about this matter. However, after thinking about it, he still knew too little, so he looked at Wei Shan and said, "Go back immediately, and after finishing the things I told you to do, go to Jizhou to have a look. If there is nothing unusual in Jizhou, send someone to tell me immediately, and then you set off for Zhuozhou and tell him what I just said. The people's affairs cannot be tolerated. If we don't settle them now, there will be more chaos in the future. If we cause chaos, it will not be worth the loss."
Wei Shan immediately clasped his fists, without any further ado, jumped on his horse and left.
Du Yu looked at Wei Shan's back.
In order to save food, it is actually understandable to give some of the military rations that should have been sent to the disaster-stricken people in Jizhou.
but.
Why were they in such a hurry to send the people over there, and even secretly sent people over to deceive and spread the news?
Thinking of this, Du Yu sighed.
Du Yu was far away in Danzhou, and all he knew about the affairs of the court was hearsay, so he didn't know much.
But here in Yanyun
It's a mess.
Ever since the barbarians from Mobei invaded, everything has become strange.
And now that I think about that invasion carefully, there are many suspicious points.
While thinking this, Du Yu raised the hammer in his hand and continued to turn the soil.
Grandpa Du looked at Du Yu working worriedly and said, "If you can't sort out what's going on in your heart, turning over the land will only cause trouble for me. It's better for you to go home and think about it carefully."
Hearing this, Du Yu looked at his old father who was walking towards him and said, "Dad, don't think about it anymore. Let's get back to work."
There are a lot of things to do, and they are very messy.
But after all, I have no idea what to think now, and it's really a bit of a dead end.
So Du Yu didn't think too much about it.
But Mr. Du lowered his head and turned the soil vigorously and skillfully: "Things need to be thought about slowly and sorted out slowly, just like turning the soil. I don't understand your big things, but I can't bear to see you standing in my field with your bad things, so go home."
Du Yu smiled bitterly.
But Mr. Du continued, "There are steamed buns and pickled vegetables in the room that I gave you with water. Send them over when you go back."
Du Yu smiled bitterly again, but he felt a little reluctant when he saw his father working. However, he knew that he could not persuade him, so he bowed deeply and said, "Yes."
Then he turned around and walked towards the house.
But after walking a few steps, Du Yu turned around and looked at his father's back.
What exactly happened?
Du Yu didn't know, but he watched his father plowing the land and then looked at the people around him doing winter plowing.
Du Yu was a self-aware man. He couldn't say what he would do for the people of the world, but as a governor of a state, he had actually tried his best. He knew that the limit of his ability was just that.
It is important for people to know themselves.
But people who know themselves sometimes want to do something bigger.
Looking at his fellow villagers working in front of him, Du Yu clenched his fists.
I hope it's just an ordinary mistake. Yandi can't stand it anymore.
(End of this chapter)
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