Chapter 881: Spring Plowing
In the blink of an eye, it was mid-February. The weather in Ganzhouwei began to warm up, and spring plowing began in various places.
Guard Command Headquarters.
The five thousand-household officers under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou Guard came to collect seeds. In previous years, Xia Jianren was in charge of these matters, but the guard station warehouse was now under the supervision of Xiao Yeyang, so he directly asked the five thousand-household officers to go to Xiao Yeyang.
Xiao Yeyang was watching the military training with several officials from the garrison. When he heard that the five thousand households had arrived, he looked at Fan Tong and said, "Master Fan, come and watch."
Fan Tong didn't expect Xiao Yeyang to call him, and nodded instinctively: "Okay." After agreeing, he felt a little awkward. He had previously threatened that he would ignore Xiao Yeyang.
Xiao Yeyang is not as old as him, has less experience than him, and holds a lower official position than him. Why should he listen to him?
However, after watching Xiao Yeyang's military training for some time, he had changed his opinion of this arrogant prince of the royal palace who threatened to take over Ganzhou Guard as soon as he arrived.
After his training, the morale of the military households is completely different from before. If the military households before were like non-aggressive sheep, they now look a bit like wolves.
He still believed in Xiao Yeyang's military training.
Looking at Xiao Yeyang striding away, Fan Tong did not hesitate. He took over the training task and stared seriously at every soldier on the field.
"Xiao Yeyang is just a pacifier, should we really listen to him?"
"He's the prince of the royal palace. Even though he's been demoted to Ganzhou Guard, we can't treat him as an ordinary pacification officer. Haven't you seen that the other officials in the guard station are worshipping him? We should just follow their lead."
As soon as Xiao Yeyang came over, he saw five thousand households whispering to each other. Without saying hello, he went straight into the commander's office.
When the five thousand households saw this, they looked at each other and walked in quickly.
In the room, Xiao Yeyang was looking through the military ration account books submitted by the five thousand households in recent years, and ignored the five people who came in.
The captains looked at each other, and the oldest one stood up with a smile: "We are here to meet Master Xiao. We are here to..."
Xiao Yeyang looked up and interrupted him directly: "This account book in my hand shows the amount of grain handed in by the thousand households under your jurisdiction over the past five years. The court has regulations on the amount of grain handed in. I've taken a look and found that in the past five years, not a single thousand households has handed in enough grain to meet the standards."
"Most of the best farmland in Ganzhouwei has been designated as military farmland, yet you can't even supply rations to the border troops stationed here. I'd like to ask, how do you do it?"
Immediately, a captain evaded the question, saying, "Master Xiao, this is not our fault. You just arrived in Ganzhouwei and don't understand the situation here. The grain production here is really pitifully low."
Before he could finish his words, Xiao Yeyang threw the account book in his hand onto the table with a loud 'bang' and looked at the five people with a cold face: "You may only know that I am the prince of the palace, but you may not know that I was once the commander of the Jinling Guard. Do you think I would tell you all this for no reason?"
Upon hearing this, the five thousand households were shocked.
Indeed, they only knew that Xiao Yeyang was a prince of the royal palace, and had never heard that he had served as a Jinling Guard.
Thinking of the reputation of Jinling Guard, sweat broke out on the foreheads of the five people.
Xiao Yeyang looked at the five people in silence until their expressions became tense and they no longer showed the indifference they had when he came in. Then he continued, "I don't want to dwell too much on the past, but now that I have taken over Ganzhouwei, you must do things according to my rules."
It was the oldest captain who reacted first and said quickly, "Master Xiao, from now on we will obey your orders."
Jinling Guards have always been invincible in investigating cases. If Xiao Yeyang really wants to investigate, then they will definitely be in big trouble for what they have done.
The others came back to their senses and echoed the sentiment.
Xiao Yeyang's expression eased slightly. It was because the Jinling Guards reported that these five military households had only embezzled some food and had no other major faults that he was willing to continue using them.
"The grain seeds have been prepared long ago. They are all high-yield grain seeds shipped from the capital. The land in Xiliang is a bit barren, and the yield per mu may not be as good as that of other inland provinces, but the Xiao Mansion has also reclaimed some barren hills and wastelands. During this year's autumn harvest, the best military farms must not be inferior to the barren hills and wastelands."
The five thousand households quickly said no.
Xiao Yeyang looked at the five people and continued, "I have prepared five high-yield grains. This year, the military farms under the jurisdiction of each thousand households will be divided into five parts, and wheat, corn, cotton, potatoes, and rapeseed will be planted respectively."
One of the captains said with embarrassment, "Master Xiao, we haven't grown three of the five kinds of seeds you mentioned. What if they're not suitable for cultivation here?"
Xiao Yeyang: "If the harvest is poor because it's not suitable for planting, I will take the responsibility."
Upon hearing this, the five thousand households fell silent.
Xiao Yeyang thought for a moment and continued, "The five of you who have been able to climb to the position of Qianhu must be clear-headed and honest people. You should know that only when Ganzhouwei gets better and better will you get more and more benefits. As long as you work hard, I will not treat you unfairly."
The five thousand households quickly said, "We will all follow Master Xiao's orders."
Xiao Yeyang looked at them and said, "I hope you won't disappoint me." Then he called Defu over and said, "Take five thousand households down to get the seeds."
The five thousand households walked out of the room and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
What an intimidating aura, is this a member of the royal family?
Defu smiled and waited for the five people to calm down before leading them towards the warehouse. Along the way, he kept talking about how high and good the harvest per acre was from the fields planted with high-yield grains.
The five captains were excited when they heard this. They had been a little greedy over the years, but as Xiao Yeyang said, only when Ganzhou Wei became better and better, they would get more and more benefits.
On the other side, at the Xiao Mansion, Daohua also handed the prepared seeds to Yan Shouhou.
Today, two barren hillsides have been transformed into terraced fields. The terraces have clear lines and spread down from the top of the mountain in rows, which is particularly spectacular.
"Sow seeds first, and continue with the other three barren hills after spring planting is finished."
After giving Yan Shouhou some instructions, Daohua went to the ranch.
The growth cycle of forage grass is short, and it grows very vigorously in less than a month.
Because the grass yield is relatively high and its regeneration ability is strong, Daohua asked Cao Chuan to buy more lambs and calves, as well as some adult cattle, sheep and camels.
Cao Chuan hired a dozen experienced herdsmen to work on the ranch. With them watching over them, the cattle, sheep and camels quickly adapted to the ranch and no serious illnesses occurred.
This time, Daohua brought a batch of forage seeds produced in the space. After handing them over to Cao Chuan, Cao Chuan asked people to plant them.
"From now on, this ranch will be managed by you. After the second batch of grass grows, you can buy some cattle and sheep as needed. Don't buy any camel calves. A hundred or so adult camels will be enough for the ranch."
Daohua looked at Cao Chuan and said, "By the way, do you have any horses for sale?"
Cao Chuan nodded and said, "Yes, there are, but very few. Most of the horses are in the hands of the garrisons and the army."
Daohua: "If you see something suitable, try to buy as much as possible. We are short of supplies here in Ganzhouwei. We will have to travel inland frequently in the future, so horses are indispensable."
Cao Chuan nodded in agreement.
As the number of cattle and sheep increased, the ranch became more and more lively. The nearby ranches were extremely envious when they saw the thousands of cattle and sheep running on Qingyang Ranch.
"Do you think the Xiao family will refuse to sell us fodder?"
"That shouldn't be the case. High-yield grain seeds are already on sale, so there's no reason not to sell forage seeds."
"The Xiao family has only been in Ganzhouwei for a few months now, so it's understandable that they don't have many seeds."
Shiqukou.
Wang Qi was leading his people in spring planting when Wang Wu suddenly ran over and said, "Sir, please follow me. I've made a discovery."
Wang Qi glanced at Wang Wu, who looked excited, and just as he handed the seed bag in his hand to a tribesman beside him, Wang Wu eagerly pulled him away.
"What's going on?"
After walking a distance, Wang Qicai asked.
Wang Wu didn't answer, but pulled Wang Qi forward quickly.
A quarter of an hour later, the two arrived at the halfway point of the back mountain.
"Sir, look at those people."
Wang Qi looked down the mountain, his pupils constricted.
ordnance!
Looking at the dozens of carriages loaded with military equipment, Wang Qi couldn't help but be shocked.
Wang Wu pulled Wang Qi and asked, "Sir, where are these weapons going?"
Wang Qi had come back to his senses. He observed the transport team and said, "It's going to Ganzhou City."
Wang Wu's expression brightened after hearing this: "Sir, I thought so too. It's obvious at first glance that those people are not from Xiliang."
"First, they shipped a large amount of food, and now they've shipped so much military equipment. It seems that Lord Xiao didn't just come to Xiliang for a visit and then leave."
"Sir, you should go and seek refuge with him. He is the son of the prince of the capital and will definitely not be afraid of the Wei family."
Wang Qi glanced at Wang Wu and said, "What you say is what you say. Let's not talk about whether they will accept me if I go and seek refuge with them. I also want to see what kind of person and ability Mr. Xiao is. I have to wait and see before I make any decision."
Wang Wu was anxious: "Sir, with your ability and knowledge, how could Lord Xiao not accept you? Didn't you say before that you wanted to assist someone who could change Xiliang?"
"I think that Lord Xiao is the right person. Our Wang family has been suppressed by the Wei family to such an extent that all our family members have been reduced to hiding in the mountains to find shelter. We must seize this opportunity."
Wang Qi sighed. In the past, the Wang family was as famous as the Wei family in Xiliang. However, because of their different ideas from the Wei family, they were suppressed by the Wei family for decades.
Thinking of his tribesmen, whose numbers were dwindling and who couldn't even afford to eat and sleep, Wang Qi felt immense pressure: "Let's wait and see."
After saying this, no matter how much Wang Wu tried to persuade him, Wang Qi remained silent until the transport team left the mountain, then he turned around and went back to continue farming.
(End of this chapter)
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