In sharp contrast to the fire of hope that had just been ignited in Han Yi's stronghold was the dead silence and despair that shrouded most corners of the apocalypse.
The scorching heat, hunger, mutated beasts, and human hearts that are even more terrifying than the mutated beasts are ruthlessly devouring the remaining civilization.
However, outside the east gate, Daqin was welcoming a grand autumn harvest.
The endless golden wheat waves rolled, the heavy rice ears bent the farmers' waists, and the ridges of the fields and the orchards were full of busy and happy figures.
This is not the kind of small-scale celebration confined to greenhouses before the end of the world, but a grand celebration that truly belongs to the entire Qin Empire and covers all cultivated areas!
What is different from the past is that between the ridges of the fields, countless people are no longer wielding the heavy and inefficient old sickles.
A new type of harvesting tool that is lighter, sharper, and even has some mechanical assistance has quietly become popular through the combination of modern technology and the wisdom of Qin craftsmen.
“Swish!”
Accompanied by uniform sounds, the golden wheat waves fell at an unprecedented speed, and the harvesting efficiency increased by several times. The originally expected long autumn harvest schedule was greatly shortened.
Sweat soaked their clothes, but everyone's face was filled with smiles from the heart.
Before the joy of the autumn harvest had completely subsided, an imperial edict from the Xianyang Palace spread like thunder to every corner of the Qin Dynasty, quickly igniting the enthusiasm of all the civilians.
"The First Emperor issued an edict: 'This autumn has yielded abundant harvests, and Heaven has blessed Great Qin. To relieve the people's fatigue and give them a rest, all the common people in Great Qin shall be exempted from land rent! The head tax shall be replaced with forced labor, which shall be conscripted as needed and shall not be harassed. Officials and merchants shall be exempted from this! This is my decree!'"
When officials in brand new official uniforms read out the imperial edict aloud in various villages and communities, and posted the yellow silk notice with the bright red jade seal in the most conspicuous place, the whole of Daqin was instantly boiling!
"What? Free land rent?!" An old farmer scratched his ears in disbelief, his cloudy eyes wide open.
"Forced labor instead of poll tax! Oh my God! Is this true?!" A man nearby grabbed the old farmer's arm excitedly, his voice trembling.
"It's clearly written on the notice! Your Majesty is wise!"
After a brief moment of silence, there was a thunderous ecstasy!
In the fields, village markets, countless farmers who had worked hard for a year were stunned in disbelief at first, and then broke into earth-shaking cheers!
They threw away the farm tools in their hands, hugged each other, jumped and danced, and some old people were even so excited that they burst into tears and knelt on the ground and kowtowed towards the direction of Xianyang Palace.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"Long live the First Emperor! Long, long live the First Emperor!"
"Long live the Great Qin! The whole world is united!"
The voices gathered into a torrent, washing away the resentment in people's hearts.
At this moment, they are no longer ants struggling to survive, but the true people of the Qin Empire who are blessed by the emperor!
The reason why the First Emperor dared to issue such an order that benefited the people was certainly not out of passion.
This confidence in looking down on the end of the world first comes from the earth-shaking changes in the Qin Dynasty itself.
Those high-quality seeds sent by Yu Bai, which have been carefully screened and mutated and are strong enough to withstand harsh environments, have already taken root in the vast land.
Combined with the fertile and healthy special fertilizers she also provided, which could improve poor soil and promote crop growth, as well as the new agricultural tools and farming methods that borrowed from modern agricultural technology and were improved by Daqin craftsmen, Daqin's agriculture has been transformed.
With these, the First Emperor had enough confidence that the future of the Qin Dynasty would be a prosperous era with abundant granaries and everyone having enough food and clothing.
Because of the war, the people have suffered too much and struggled for too long. They need a little hope.
This little spark of hope is enough to ignite a prairie fire in their hearts and condense into a tremendous force that can change the world.
The second reason is more direct - the Qin Dynasty's treasury is now fuller than ever before!
Carts of golden wheat grains and bags of plump rice were continuously transported from modern times to Daqin, filling the official granaries, enough to feed the entire Daqin army and civilians for several years!
Not to mention the mountains of dried meat, fruits and vegetables and other strategic materials.
Such a rich family background gave the First Emperor and the entire Qin Dynasty's top leadership the confidence to deal with any changes calmly.
Behind all these brilliant achievements, Yu Bai is indispensable.
It was she, like a mysterious and generous treasure house, who could always, at the most critical moment, through that hidden space, deliver massive amounts of supplies to Daqin, far exceeding the imagination of this era.
Especially the special military rations specially provided for the Qin army made the First Emperor and Fusu even more powerful.
Speaking of military rations, the initial opportunity came from the vast number of books that Yu Bai gave to Fusu.
Among that all-encompassing knowledge, there are several inconspicuous books related to modern military logistics, which describe in detail the production and functions of "military compressed biscuits", "individual self-heating rations", "energy bars" and various "military canned foods".
Fusu was so smart that almost the moment he saw these contents, he keenly realized their revolutionary significance to an army!
Imagine that in the ever-changing battlefield, when the enemy is still cooking and troubled by logistics, the elite soldiers of the Qin Dynasty can enjoy hot, high-energy meals anytime and anywhere. What a huge advantage this will be!
"If all the soldiers of the Great Qin could feed themselves with this, why would we worry about the hardships of long-distance raids? Why should we fear the enemy's strategy of fortifying their walls and clearing the fields?"
Fusu held the pages of paper in his hands, his eyes shining with excitement. He immediately contacted Yu Bai and tentatively ordered a batch of samples.
As a result, things got out of control!
When the first batch of tin cans with unfamiliar labels and strangely shaped self-heating meal packs appeared in the Qin military camp, the sensation they caused was phenomenal.
For the first time, the soldiers who had only been able to gnaw on dry wheat cakes and swallow cold dried meat tasted such convenient, delicious and energy-rich food.
Morale is unprecedentedly high!
Since then, orders have been pouring in to Yu Bai.
From the initial small-scale trials, to the later large-scale equipment of elite troops, and now, the demand for military food almost accounts for half of the total material exchange between Yu Bai and Daqin!
Its importance even surpassed those advanced weapons drawings and industrial equipment at one point.
Faced with such a huge and continuously growing demand, Yu Bai tried his best.
After all, these military rations are different from ordinary supplies that can be purchased directly from supermarkets. They require specific production lines and processes.
In desperation, Yu Bai had to turn his attention to the food processing factory.
After some screening and investigation, she reached a "cooperation agreement" with a large food processing factory.
From then on, the factory ran at full capacity, producing all kinds of military rations day and night, which were then quietly transported to Daqin by Yu Bai.
A secretive and efficient supply chain was quietly established.
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