"Oh, oh, oh! You mean that place?" Duan Tingxuan understood and nodded, "I know, although it is desolate and mostly inhabited by Jurchens, it is the territory of my Great Seal and officials will be sent there to govern. A few years ago, the emperor took pity on their heavy tributes and reduced some of them. Local officials even wrote a petition to the capital to express their gratitude for the emperor's grace."
"Sure enough, it's true, that's great." Su Nuannuan was excited again, holding Duan Tingxuan's hand tightly and asked: "Then...then Sakhalin Island, Xing'an Mountains, Lake Baikal... No, the entire Far East region, 1.56 million square kilometers of land, are they still ours?"
"Are you talking about... the Sea of Baikal? It was called the North Sea in the Han Dynasty, where Su Wu grazed sheep? The Greater Khingan Range... is that the big forest? What is Sakhalin Island? I only know about Kuyi, and I heard that it is full of mud..." The young marquis was really confused. He had no idea why his wife was so excited about these bitter and cold places in the north. She even shed tears.
"Yes... It's right there. Sakhalin, the Baikal Sea, the Xing'an Mountains... That's it."
Su Nuannuan nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. She always selectively forgot the pain of modern history and never wanted to recall it. However, when she accidentally learned the news today, she couldn't help but feel the long-lost sadness and anger: Fortunately, the Far East of this era still belongs to Great India, fortunately, the Great India Dynasty has begun to pay attention to the development and competition of sea routes, fortunately, the descendants of Yan and Huang in this era should no longer suffer the heart-wrenching humiliation and pain in the modern history of their own time and space.
"Nuan Nuan, what's wrong with you? It's just the bitter cold in the far north, why are you so sad?"
"Duan Tingxuan, you must remember what I told you, remember it firmly. Don't neglect the rule of that place just because it is desolate and remote. It is a very precious wealth of our China. Although we don't need it now, countless future generations will benefit from it in the future. You must do everything you can to strengthen the emperor and the court's attention to that place, so that it will always be our territory. Don't think it's insignificant and let people occupy it at will."
"Nuannuan, what are you talking about? Although it is desolate there, since it is the territory of India, we will fight for every inch of it. Even the Northern Huns have not dared to touch that place until now, I don't believe there is anyone who would dare to do so. It seems that you are very interested in it. After returning to Beijing, I will ask Mr. Guo to come to the mansion to give you a few lessons. He was the commander of the Nurgan Dusi in his early years, and he served for twenty years. He is very familiar with the local customs and people there, and he especially likes to talk about topics about it on weekdays. It's a pity that there is no confidant in the whole court. You like to hear stories about it. He will definitely be happy to tell you."
"Yes, yes, okay." Su Nuannuan nodded repeatedly, her eyes sparkling. In addition to wanting to know about the Far East of the Great Yin Dynasty, she also hoped to arouse Duan Tingxuan's interest through Mr. Guo's story. After all, her husband is still so young and already in a high position, and he is a close friend of the crown prince. As long as he pays attention to the Far East, this influence will be far-reaching. For the history of China in this time and space, this is definitely a good thing with no harm but only benefits.
"Wait, Nuannuan, weren't we just talking about... the Northeast Plain? Why are we talking about Nurgandusi again?" Duan Tingxuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Naturally, the young marquis was most concerned about the grain-producing areas. It was not that he was not far-sighted enough, but the current India is still an agricultural society, and grain is the top priority. The Far East is really useless except for being a drag.
Su Nuannuan could also understand Duan Tingxuan's urgency, so she smiled and said, "I have gone off topic without realizing it. Remember what you said. When you return to Beijing in the future and Lord Guo comes, you must listen to me. Then you will know that the Far East actually has its advantages. Okay, let's continue talking about the Northeast Plain. As far as I know, there are large tracts of fertile black soil in the entire Nurgandusi area. Note that it is black soil, black soil. It is not a symbol of mold, but the most fertile land. The grain-producing land in the southern Liaoning region is almost incomparable to that there, but it may be because there are too few people in the north, so those lands are all abandoned. If they can be developed, the grain produced in that place will be no less than that in Huguang, Suzhou and Hangzhou. However, the current climate is not suitable for growing rice and wheat, but it is very suitable for growing corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other foreign crops."
"is that so?"
Duan Tingxuan nodded slowly, then pondered and said, "I understand. First, it is bitterly cold there, and sparsely populated. Second, most of the people living there are Jurchens, Oroqen and other ethnic groups. Those people only know how to fish and hunt, and they don't know how to farm at all. They live in the mountains and forests all year round. Most of the tributes such as ginseng and leather from the Great Yin Dynasty are from them."
After he said this, Su Nuannuan immediately remembered and nodded, "You are right, this is why the Northeast Plain is still desolate. In our time, it was because during the war, many people from Guanzhong fled there, and then slowly developed and multiplied, and finally turned it into a big granary. Although India is prosperous now, the disadvantages of landlords occupying a large amount of land and people losing a large amount of land have gradually emerged. In addition to Luzon and Ryukyu, you might as well use your brains in the Northeast Plain to see if you can find a way to get a group of people from Guanzhong to go there. Even if everyone complains at the beginning, as long as they have land and can eat and wear warm clothes, they will soon discover the benefits of this place."
"Okay, I'll keep this in mind. If it's true as Nuannuan said, you really helped me a lot." Duan Tingxuan held his wife's hand tightly. As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Su Nuannuan snort coldly: "What? Would I lie to you?"
"Yes, I said the wrong thing. I'm used to it. I don't trust everything I don't know. But I forgot that you can't lie to me. Hahaha, I apologize to you. Madam, don't be sad." Duan Tingxuan smiled and apologized, but saw Long Pingzhang and Chu Xiu coming over and muttering, "I've seen you guys whispering here all the time. What's going on? Have you figured out a way to solve the problem of starvation among the disaster victims?"
"There is no solution at the moment, but in the long run... hehe!" Duan Tingxuan laughed. Before he finished speaking, a yamen runner walked out of the yamen. Seeing them sitting on the steps, he couldn't help but said in panic: "How can the prince and Lord Long sit with these people? Please come into the mansion quickly. The commander has something to discuss with the prince."
Duan Tingxuan stood up and went into the government office with Long Pingzhang. When they reached the second hall, they saw Cang Jian, the commander of the Jinzhou Guard, walking around in the hall. When he saw them coming in, he didn't even bother to greet them. He grabbed Duan Tingxuan's arm and cried out, "My prince, what should we do? Will the imperial court's food come? The heavy rain has stopped for two days, but the victims won't go home without food. It would be fine if they all gathered on the streets of Jinzhou, affecting the appearance of the Jinzhou Guard, but these are all mouths to feed. From the third day, I have used up the military rations since days ago, but these peasants are eating more than my soldiers. The soldiers can eat five days of rations, but they are not enough for one day. If the imperial rations don’t come, even the soldiers will have nothing to eat. By then, not only the victims will want my life, but even the soldiers will not spare me. My prince, everyone says that you are the Wenquxing and Wuquxing from heaven, you have to make the decision for me… Where the hell did all these victims come from? When I was collecting the skins of the prey, I didn’t see so many people.”
Duan Tingxuan no longer had the energy to point out Cang Jian's ridiculous mistake of putting both Wenquxing and Wuquxing on his head at the same time. Even though he was the prince, he was helpless facing a group of hungry victims and thousands of soldiers who were about to run out of food, unless a god could conjure up a lot of food out of thin air. However, that was impossible.
Duan Tingxuan turned to look at Long Pingzhang and asked softly, "Has the person who was sent to welcome the imperial envoy not returned yet?"
As soon as he finished speaking, two yamen runners ran in from outside the door. They knelt down as soon as they entered the hall, crying, "Sir, it's bad. The imperial grain cart was robbed at Qingsha Ferry. The imperial envoy is gathering nearby officers and soldiers to attack Cangming Island to take back the grain. But at this moment, I'm afraid there will be no relief grain."
It was really like a house leaking in the rain, Cang Jian felt his eyes go dark and he almost fainted. When he woke up, this brave but reckless commander was completely numb. Looking at the situation in front of him, the officials he relied on were all sent out to inspect the victims and the disaster situation. None of them were around. The only one he could rely on seemed to be this nobleman from the capital.
Duan Tingxuan and Long Pingzhang were also shocked, and then they were furious. However, the imminent food shortage problem would not change at all because of their fury. When they were thinking hard about countermeasures, they saw another person running into the second hall. He was covered in mud and did not kneel when he came in, but just bowed to salute. It turned out that he was an official. He said anxiously: "Prince, Lord Long, Lord Zang, a large group of disaster victims were found on the Tuer Mountain near the Fuzhou Haizi. There are at least a thousand people. I am afraid they have been starving for several days. If we don't send people to rescue them, they will surely die."
"I don't care if they die."
Cang Jian was furious. To be honest, this commander was not a cruel person. This could be seen from the fact that he was willing to follow Duan Tingxuan's command, open military rations to the victims, and send people to patrol the disaster area to rescue the victims.
However, the imperial court's rescue could not arrive for a while, the military rations had been eaten half, and the streets were filled with victims crying for food. In this situation, it was said that there would be another thousand mouths to feed. For Cang Jian, this was like a threat to his life. Either he died or the victims died, so it was understandable that he could shout this sentence.
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