Royal Road

Chapter 329 Severe drought

“Patriarch, this season’s winter wheat, I’m afraid it won’t survive…”

In fact, there is no need for others to say this, Zhao Liang also knows it well. Most of the sparse wheat seedlings in the field were green, yellow and soft, while the others were dead and clean. From the beginning of spring to now, there have only been two rains, and the ground has not been watered. Even if the wheat has seedlings, it will inevitably not be able to hang its ears. As a result, the farm’s harvest has been cut by more than half…

Suppressing the panic in his heart, he asked: “Where is the millet?”

“It depends on whether it rains.” The person beside him whispered, “If it doesn’t rain, the corn harvest will be reduced by a third.”

This is still the situation where the river at the head of the village is constantly flowing. As the patriarch, Zhao Liang is quite proficient in farming. Seeing the drought and no rain, the farmer had long been rushing to plant a batch of millet. Wadi and waterlogged beans, and only millet, can survive the severe drought. But no matter how cold it is, it also needs water!

If it still doesn’t rain this month, can these grains in the fields be kept? Without the grain harvested in summer, what would the tribe depend on for a living? There have been two sacrifices to the Dragon King Temple. Do it again, can you ask for rain and dew?

Drying his lips, pursing them tightly, Zhao Liang was thinking hard about a solution, and suddenly there was a loud voice in the distance.

“Brother! The thieves, the thieves are here!”

Looking at the fourth brother who came running wildly, Zhao Liang said in surprise, “Where are the soldiers? Where is Sun Jiapu in front?”

Their Wubao was built against a mountain, and there was also a family with a family surnamed Sun who built a fort in front of them. As a result, their entire clan escaped Wang Mi’s rebellion and barely survived. Why did thieves come again at this time?

“It’s the soldiers and horses of the Jie thief! Sun’s surrendered!” The opponent had already ran sweaty, and his face was even greener.

“It’s that Hu locust…” Zhao Liang’s expression also changed. Jie Ren Shi Le has now become a disaster star in the hearts of people in Yu and Yan. Wherever you go, you swept across. If he were to invade Wubao and take away the stored food, how would they survive this disaster year?

“Order all the young men of the clan to go to the top of the city!” Zhao Liang gritted his teeth and said fiercely, “Our Wubao is very small. If it is difficult to attack, they will retreat!”

In any case, we have to hit a dozen. There are still millet in the field, maybe after this, it will be better.

As long as you can survive…

“General, the Wubao in front has been attacked. The food is not too much, only enough for half a month.”

Shi Le frowned upon hearing his confidant’s reply. Yuzhou doesn’t seem so wonderful either.

After returning to Yanzhou last year, he first spent a lot of effort to wipe out the Jin Guoxing platform that suddenly appeared. Finally, the puppet emperor and Gongqing in Taichung were killed, and several counties were breached. Before I could catch my breath, I ran into a severe drought.

Within a few months, there was no rain in Yanzhou. The crops in the field died in drought, the soil was cracked everywhere, and some tributaries were cut off from water. If this continues, there will be famine.

Shi Le also planted land himself, and was traded as a slave because of the drought in the state. He even affected the people by the drought. So immediately led his troops to attack Yuzhou. Before Yuzhou was plowed by Wang Mijun, although Zhoujun was broken, there are still many Wubaos. These days, both families and villages like to live together in castles. If it is attacked, it will be able to support the army’s grain and grass.

But the idea was good. When he arrived in Yuzhou, he realized that the drought was also serious here. In the Wubao of the generals, there is no food in stock at all. And Wubao is no more difficult to conquer than the city. If we continue to fight like this, some of the gains outweigh the gains.

We still have to fight the gentry! Yuzhou is similar to Yanzhou, and is where the Sima clan’s relatives and aristocratic families settled. If these people know each other to offer the city, they can spare their lives. If not, stepping is the case.

He set the direction in an instant, and Shi Le waved his whip: “Continue to attack the city! Before the summer harvest, be sure to accumulate more food and grass!”

Taking advantage of these people’s hopes, build troops as soon as possible. If there is no rain, Xia confiscated hope, fearing that there will be a wave of refugees. At that time, the four fields were empty, where did he go to raise food?

The army, like locusts, set out again and attacked another city.

※

The weather is life-threatening.

Zutaizhi stood on the embankment, sweating profusely, and felt that his clothes were soaked with sweat. It has only been a few months, and the sun is so venomous. In addition, there is no rain for a long time, and the air is dry, which is even more difficult.

Thanks to the master’s plan. If it is later, I don’t know what the situation will be.

“The ancestors joined the army, the channels in front are dug, can you break the cofferdam?” Below, a subordinate officer asked.

“Don’t panic. Wait until Dr. Pei and the others see it.” Zu Taizhi said, walking towards the pergola built under the embankment.

In the shed, a group of people are lying on the high table writing and painting. The conditions are simple, there is no place to kneel, everyone is not strict, sitting on a high stool. Adding to the dusty body, describe how embarrassed it is.

Zu Taizhi doesn’t think it is strange, let alone these people, even he himself is not like this now? He stayed on the construction site for a full four months, plus the preliminary inspections and later inspections, and he had never settled for half a year.

Fortunately, it’s almost finished.

The bottom of my heart was slightly loose, Zu Taizhi said: “Dr. Pei, the channels are all repaired, how are you looking at it?”

After being named by Zutai, a young man raised his head: “I’m looking for you, the last paragraph seems to be something wrong.”

Upon hearing this, Zutai’s expression immediately became solemn: “What’s wrong?!”

A water conservancy project of this scale is a catastrophe. Who dares to be slack in the slightest?

The man did not hide it, pointing to the southwest corner of the map: “This place is shallow, which is not conducive to sand removal. If things go on like this, it is likely to block the channel, and a lot of manpower will be needed to dredge each year. It must be repaired!”

What he said was decisive, and Zu Taizhi’s expression was not very good-looking. It took a lot of effort to repair this channel, and if it was rebuilt, I don’t know how long it would take. It’s almost reaching the jointing period of the crops. If you miss the replenishment time for ears and grouting, even if the channels are completed, they will not be able to keep up.

I quickly calculated that, in the end, Zu Taizhi still gritted his teeth: “If it is to be repaired, can it be completed in five days?”

“Yes!” The other party replied simply, “The channel has been dug, just adjust one or two. As soon as possible, transfer some servants, and if you can catch up!”

“Then fix it!” Zu Taizhi immediately made a decision, turning his head and instructing the officials around him.

Seeing that he agreed with his plan, the young man also breathed a sigh of relief. Raising his hand to wipe off the sweat on his head, he found that his hand was full of carbon black. Nowadays, Bingzhou draws and checks calculations and uses more charcoal. This situation is inevitable. Only a few years ago, could he expect that he would sit in the arbor on the river beach, covered in dust and black hands?

This person is Pei Ruo. Hedong Pei’s direct branch. Back then, just curious about the new chapter of “Nine Chapters Arithmetic”, Pei Ruo went to Shangdang alone and entered Chongwenguan. Who would have thought that after a few years, things will change like this.

The Pei family’s territory in Hedong has been taken by the Huns and the pseudo-Han. Half of the people in the family voted for the Huns, and the rest were displaced from the South. Pei Ruo did not migrate with the tribe, but chose to stay in Shangdang, and then went to Jinyang to become a doctor in the Academy of Knowledge.

The longer you stay in the School of Knowledge, the harder it is to leave the intoxicating environment. The family business was lost, and the capital of the country went south. For a few years, everything I knew was turned upside down. But in the sea of ​​learning, it will never make people lonely or disappointed. The calculations of Bingzhou can be described as rapid progress, and there are new results from time to time. And the “six cartography” that he learned from his ancestor Pei Xiu has also become the cornerstone of the first subject of geography.

If possible, he would indulge in books and maps and never ask the world again. However, by coincidence, there were signs of a severe drought last year in Binzhou, and new water conservancy works needed to be built. Zu Taizhi, a worker who joined the army, found himself.

Taking up this task, at first it was just a matter of interest. Since the Pre-Qin Dynasty, Zheng Guoqu and Du’anyan have irrigated an unknown number of fertile fields. If he can also lead the completion of such a channel, will it be left in history?

However, when he actually arrived at the shore of Jiuze Lake and began to survey, Pei Ruo realized that this was completely different from what he had imagined. For hundreds of miles, one must walk everywhere, and the criss-crossing waterways must be found out one by one. Just the preliminary preparations, the tortured person strips off a layer of skin. However, this difficult journey made him discover for the first time how hard it was for farmers to cultivate the fields.

He came from a family, and all he came into contact with was the pavilions, towers and pavilions, the Huayu mansion. Even if I have been to the farm, I still appreciate spring flowers and taste the fragrance of rice. How do the fields be cultivated, and how do the farmers work? He actually didn’t know anything.

And this severe drought completely unraveled the hazy veil. An old and young family rotates their backs, hoping to give the wheat seedlings more chances of survival. Groups of villagers were killed by fighting with weapons, just to grab a waterway that was about to dry up. In this field, where the wheat is planted, it is clearly **** and tears!

It is clear that the big lake of Jiuze is right in front of you, but the fields are still dry three or five miles away. What if there is a channel? What would a large canal that can irrigate fertile land look like?

Pei Ruo sank completely. I am immersed in the work of drawing drawings and scrutinizing geography. The demeanor of the once aristocratic family has been left behind. Running around with a group of surveying and mapping school officers every day, writing and calculating. It never stopped for a day.

Therefore, there are immediate results.

Watching the sweaty servants who are still moving the sand and piles of soil in the river. Pei Ruo clenched his fists and suddenly said to Zutai: “Ancestor joins the army, I will go with you.”

Zu Taizhi was already preparing to go to the last construction site, when he suddenly heard this sentence, he was quite surprised. But soon, he nodded. This project is too important. Naturally, the more people who can use it, the better. The two of them did not delay and rushed to the construction site.

Seven days later, the cofferdam standing in front of the canal was finally cracked open. It only took a moment for the gurgling stream to turn into a roaring water dragon, breaking through the weir and into the ditch! The silver water ribbons flowed in the cheers of countless people, rushing to the long-dried land.

The author has something to say: Duanyan is Dujiangyan, called by the name of the county at that time.

Book of Jin: In May of the third year of Emperor Huai’s Yongjia, there was a severe drought, and the Liangshuidan pond in Xiangping County was exhausted. The river, Luo, Jiang, and Han can be visited.

The Yellow River, Luoshui River, Yangtze River, and Han River have all dried up. It is conceivable that this is a huge drought across the country. It was also this drought that sounded the death knell for the Western Jin Dynasty in history.