Chapter 273 Drought
In the new year, the situation in the capital became increasingly tense. To relieve the pressure on the capital, the emperor forcibly transferred troops stationed in the northeast.
After the northeastern garrison was withdrawn, the Western Rong were indeed forced to retreat, saving the capital. However, as soon as the northeastern garrison was withdrawn, the Rouran, who had long been eager to make a move and also wanted a piece of the action, immediately launched an attack on the Great Zhou.
The Emperor of the Great Zhou had no choice but to recall the troops stationed in the northeast. However, it was too late to return, as the Rouran had already taken advantage of the lack of troops stationed in the northeast to break through the defense line.
The Western Rong launched another attack, hoping to capture the capital in one fell swoop.
Although the Western Rong had been relying on robbing the people of the Great Zhou to subsidize military supplies, the looted property alone could not meet the military needs. The long-term war put the Western Rong's treasury into a tight spot.
The Xirong Emperor was eager to end the war quickly.
The Great Zhou was even more difficult than the Western Rong.
The Western Rong could still rob the Great Zhou and subsidize its military supplies by fighting to support the war, but the Great Zhou suffered a series of defeats and had no place to rob.
In addition, due to a series of defeats, many cities were captured, large tracts of farmland became barren, and tax revenue was reduced again and again.
The Zhou court once again increased taxes on the people.
Before the war, the burden of various exorbitant taxes and levies was already suffocating the people. After the war, the burden was even more severe. This was already the third time the imperial court had increased taxes since the war.
Even if the weather was good and the people did not eat or drink, they might not be able to pay the taxes required by the court even if they worked in the fields for a year.
Not to mention that this year is a very bad year. In many places, there has not been a drop of rain since the beginning of spring. The crops that should have been planted in spring have been delayed due to the dry weather.
Many people who were overwhelmed simply fled, but more people who were full of resentment towards the court joined with the refugees, formed an anti-army, and began to resist the court.
This rebel army, under the banner of "the punishment from Heaven for the incompetence and licentiousness of the Great Zhou Emperor Xiao Ye Ma," gained support from many refugees and quickly grew from a few thousand to over 20,000 men.
As the disaster worsened, the rebel army continued to grow.
The more than 20,000 refugee soldiers did not dare to attack the capital, but when Xiao Ye heard the rebels' slogans, he was so angry that he vomited blood and fainted.
Although Xiao Ye was not in danger of death after being treated by the imperial physician, he needed to stay in bed to recuperate.
After Xiao Ye fell seriously ill, the princes did not think about how to drive away the foreign enemies or deal with the internal troubles, but instead fought among themselves for the throne.
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Lingnan was also hit by drought this year, but fortunately Jiang Tangtang had been working hard on infrastructure construction for the past two years, and now the countryside of Lingnan is dotted with rivers and canals.
The people temporarily relied on river channels and canals to draw water and sow spring seeds.
Jiang Tangtang issued an order to the Ministry of Agriculture in advance, asking the people to plant drought-resistant crops this year.
For example, sweet potatoes, millet, etc.
Of course, if it doesn't rain, even drought-resistant crops may face harvest failure or reduced yields.
Compared with Lingnan, Cangwu and Baiyue areas are much more difficult.
These places started to build water conservancy projects later, and now the canals in many places have not been completed.
For land close to water sources, people can plant their crops by carrying water.
But for those who live far away from water sources, they are powerless even if they want to.
Moreover, crops in a season need water not only when they are planted, but there are many other places that need water later.
Many people knelt on the ground and cried. Some people came to Jiang Tangtang and asked if Jiang Tangtang, the immortal disciple, could ask the immortal master to send some rain to save everyone.
Jiang Tangtang naturally had no way to make it rain, but she thought of a crop that was more drought-resistant than sweet potatoes and potatoes - canna.
Canna is basically grown as an ornamental plant in modern times, but in fact the rhizomes of canna can be eaten.
The rhizome of canna contains a lot of starch, which can fill the stomach like sweet potatoes and potatoes.
The key is that it is cold-resistant, heat-resistant and drought-resistant, and easy to maintain.
In addition to canna, Jiang Tangtang also plans to grow drought-resistant crops such as cassava.
Jiang Tangtang cultivated a large number of cannas in the space, intending to find an opportunity to distribute them to the common people. He also ordered people to transport the cassava seedlings previously cultivated in Baodao to Cangwu and select a suitable place for cultivation.
In addition to finding solutions to crops, she also gathered people to find ways to solve the drought problem as much as possible.
Lingnan is close to the sea, so it would be great if we could make better use of the seawater.
It’s a pity that at that time, not only did we not have the advanced modern equipment to convert seawater into fresh water, but even if we could do it, there was no transportation equipment.
Jiang Tangtang still focuses on seawater cultivation and breeding.
Originally there was only one kelp planting base in Baodao, but this year it has expanded to ten.
In addition to the two new bases built in Taiwan, seven other bays suitable for growing kelp were found on the beaches around Lingnan for cultivation.
The common people who were unable to grow crops due to drought were summoned to grow kelp.
In addition to expanding the kelp planting base, Jiang Tangtang also recruited a large number of common people for training, and then the government led the team to go out to sea to fish.
Do your best to prepare for drought.
Jiang Tangtang had recently opened several dried fish processing workshops, sending all the newly caught dead fish to the workshops to be dried and used as food during times of famine. If there were any fish that survived, they would be sent to the newly planned fish farms.
These fish will first be placed in a pool mixed with sea water and spiritual spring water to recuperate, and only after they have recovered their vitality will they be put into fish farms for breeding.
Jiang Tangtang's fish farm modeled its cages after modern ones. Of course, these cages couldn't match the scale or quality of modern ones, so she could only give it a try. She wasn't sure if they would succeed.
Moreover, because the materials used for weaving nets in this era were not as good as those used today, the nets of the cages had to be replaced every few months.
But you can't give up just because you feel there is little hope and you have invested too much.
There is drought everywhere now, so this is at least a way out.
Lu Shili also temporarily postponed his departure and led his team out fishing. He said this was a good opportunity to train his men so that they would have a better chance of success when they were more experienced.
Jiang Tangtang naturally agreed with this and told Lu Shili to read the book she gave him carefully.
Lu Shili did read the book Jiang Tangtang gave him carefully, but there were some parts he couldn't understand. "Sister-in-law, what is this theodolite mentioned in the book?"
Jiang Tangtang blinked and tried hard to think about how to explain the theodolite.
She felt that since she traveled through time, she had studied harder than she had in the college entrance examination, and had read more books than in all her previous lives combined.
After all, in the past she only needed to understand it herself, but now because she has to answer questions for others, she not only has to understand it herself, but also has to express it so that others can understand it.
It is not only important to make people understand, but also to teach them how to actually do it.
Jiang Tangtang talked and gestured to Lu Shili for more than half an hour, and finally explained clearly what the theodolite was.
I took the book and talked to him for more than an hour before I explained how to measure the latitude using the altitude of the sun.
Jiang Tangtang remembered reading on a certain website that ancient sailing teams invented the "gimbal" to help measure dimensions.
The Chinese also invented a similar device, namely the aromatherapy ball used to fumigate clothes and bedding in ancient times.
Because the center of gravity of the small bowl of the two annular movable shafts of the device is at the bottom, the concentric annular movable shafts play a role of mechanical balance. Therefore, no matter how the fumigation ball rotates, only the two annular movable shafts rotate with it, and the small bowl can always remain in a horizontal state.
And such aromatherapy balls were also used by many wealthy families in the capital at that time.
Jiang Tangtang immediately asked someone to find a master who made aromatherapy balls, intending to make a gimbal for sailing in this era.
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