Chapter 1052, Drought
March, Xiliang.
As the earth warmed up, Daohua took the rice and the twins to Daoxiang Village to inspect the spring plowing progress.
Daohua doesn't want to raise her three children to be lazy and ignorant of the different crops, so she hopes that by interacting with the farmers, she can make them understand the hardships of life.
After several years of operation, the barren wasteland around Daoxiang Village has been developed. With a large number of people migrating here, the surrounding area has now developed into a small town called Daoxiang Town.
After arriving at the village, after Daohua said he could move freely, Daozi hurried to find his friends. Of course, he did not forget his younger brothers and sisters.
Under the intentional or unintentional cultivation of Daohua, Daozi has now consciously played the role of an older brother, and never forgets to take care of his younger siblings wherever he goes.
After Sanxiao left, the village head took the initiative to report to Daohua about this year's spring plowing situation, and then talked about his concerns.
"Princess, the weather this year is a bit abnormal. Logically speaking, in March in Xiliang, even if we no longer wear cotton wool and cotton pants, we should still wear two more coats."
"But this year, as soon as March began, the little ones only had to wear light clothing when they went to work in the fields."
"The weather is a bit too hot this year. I'm a little worried."
Daohua frowned: "What are you worried about?"
Zhuangtou: "I'm worried that this year might be less water-intensive than in previous years. So, I think we should plant more drought-resistant crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn in our fields this year."
Daohua thought of the heavy snow that hit various prefectures in Xiliang last year. There is a saying that there will be a severe drought after a snow disaster. Now that the village head mentioned it specifically, she immediately took it seriously.
"Regarding the planting, let's do as you say. Plant more drought-resistant crops."
The village head nodded and took note of it.
After the head of the village left, Daohua thought for a while, got up and went to the field, checked the sowing progress, and chatted with the old man in the field.
Older people are always more sensitive to disasters. As soon as Daohua started talking, the old people started talking at once.
"Last year, the snow was really heavy here. But in recent years, people's lives have gotten better. Houses have been reinforced, and families have some food stored. Fewer people are freezing to death or starving to death."
"After the spring this year, I realized that the weather was not right. I thought we might have another drought."
The elderly people all had the same opinion and felt that there might be a drought this year.
Daohua felt that this matter was very important, so she stayed in the farm for one day and then took Daozi and the twins back to the palace. She had to tell Xiao Yeyang about this as soon as possible.
If a drought is really possible, we must prepare early.
Apart from anything else, spring plowing has just begun, and people can grow more drought-resistant crops.
On the day Xiao Yeyang returned to the palace, Daohua immediately told him that the weather was not right this year.
After hearing this, Xiao Yeyang did not show any surprise. Obviously, he had known this for a long time, and he also told Daohua that some provinces had not seen rain since the first month of the year.
Rice Flower's expression changed: "Will a drought really happen?"
Xiao Yeyang nodded solemnly: "Based on the current situation, there are already signs of this happening. I just hope that the drought won't spread too far."
He said, then paused.
"Do you still remember the previous Governor Wu of Ninglu?"
Daohua nodded. "Of course I don't remember. He was a relative of Governor Wu's. When we first arrived in Xiliang, we even borrowed food from him. Wasn't he transferred back to the capital a few years ago?"
Xiao Yeyang: "He was transferred back to the capital, and his position was taken over by a good friend of his, the current Governor Chang. He sent me a letter yesterday with the Wu family's business card, asking for my help."
Daohua raised an eyebrow: "Looking to borrow food from you?"
Xiao Yeyang shook his head: "It's not grain, it's seeds. He was the one who informed me so quickly about the possibility of drought in other provinces."
"For the sake of the Wu family, we have to lend him some money, but not too much."
"If a drought does occur, it may not have a significant impact on Xiliang. The grain varieties we promote here are relatively drought-resistant, so there won't be a complete crop failure. But the same cannot be said for other provinces."
"By then, Uncle Huang might ask me for grain seeds. I have to reserve some."
Rice Flower sighed, "There are still too few high-yield grain varieties. I hope that one day I can spread all four-season grain varieties throughout Daxia."
Xiao Yeyang patted Daohua's hand and said, "You've done a great job. Think about Xiliang in the past. Although the people in Xiliang can't be said to have enough food and clothing now, at least the situation of hunger has improved significantly."
"Nowadays, the granaries built by the government are almost never empty. Every year after the autumn harvest, my favorite thing to do is to inspect the granaries everywhere."
"Xiliang is vast and sparsely populated. Once all the wasteland is utilized, Xiliang might even become the granary of our Great Xia."
Daohua smiled and said, "If that were the case, it would be wonderful." Then, after a pause, she said, "There are still too few people in Xiliang."
Xiao Yeyang smiled and said, "There's no need to rush this. Now that life is better, the population will naturally increase."
As time goes by, the drought in various places becomes more and more obvious and serious.
Capital city, imperial palace.
The emperor looked at the memorials piled on his desk regarding the drought in various places, and his face became very heavy.
July is almost here, and the drought is still continuing in the provinces of Ninglu, Fenjin, and Qin'an. Many places have not seen a drop of rain since the beginning of the year.
This drought is the most severe since he ascended the throne.
Soon, Prime Minister Yang, the six ministers, and several princes came to the government hall together.
Prime Minister Yang was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, this drought has affected several provinces. Disaster relief efforts must be put on the agenda as soon as possible."
The Emperor: "I called you here today to discuss disaster relief. Please share your opinions."
The eldest prince looked at everyone and took the lead, saying, "Father, drought has hit Ninglu and other places. While disaster relief supplies must be prepared, in my humble opinion, the most important thing is to transport drought-resistant crops to these areas. Only in this way can we truly help the people survive the drought."
Seeing the emperor nodding in agreement, the eldest prince was delighted and continued, "Father, Xiliang has developed quite well in recent years. This year's drought actually affected Xiliang as well, but Xiliang didn't submit any memorials."
"The main reason for this is that the crops grown in Xiliang are all drought-resistant."
"Father, I, your son, request your permission to go to Xiliang to collect drought-resistant grains to alleviate the drought in Ninglu Province."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers present couldn't help but look at the eldest prince.
Everyone knows that Prince Ping's Mansion and the eldest prince are not on good terms. The eldest prince proposed to go to Xiliang at this time, probably because he wanted to suppress Prince Weiyuan.
The eldest prince used other people's achievements to build his own merits and then rushed up to step on their faces. This move was really cruel.
The emperor did not comment and continued to ask other ministers for their opinions.
After all the ministers had expressed their opinions, a eunuch entered the hall holding a memorial in his hands: "Your Majesty, Prince Weiyuan of Xiliang has just sent a memorial."
The Emperor took the memorial, read it, smiled, and looked at the eldest prince: "You don't have to go to Xiliang. Yeyang sent a memorial saying that the people of Xiliang are willing to donate 100,000 dan of grain to the several provinces affected by the disaster."
The eldest prince's face froze. In order to get this job, he lowered his status a few days ago and begged his younger brothers not to compete with him, but he didn't expect Xiao Yeyang to do this!
Not only did he not expect it, but no one else did either.
The main reason is that Xiliang’s starting point is too low. Even though it has developed well in recent years, it is still far from being a wealthy provincial government.
Who would have thought that Xiao Yeyang would come up with such a large batch of grain seeds when the drought in the north was so severe.
Before everyone could express their surprise, the emperor spoke again: "Yeyang also said that Xiliang is vast and sparsely populated. If Ninglu and other provinces are unable to provide relief to the people, they can relocate a group of people to Xiliang."
After hearing this, Yang Shoufu couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, can Xiliang support so many people now?"
When the emperor thought of the news reported by Jinling Guard, there was some surprise between his brows. Yeyang dared to relocate the population in the year of drought, mainly because the yield of crops such as potatoes, corn and sweet potatoes was too high.
(End of this chapter)
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