In fact, it was not just Shen Bing and others who were in trouble. Wang Jian and Yang Duanhe were also anxious.

Shen Bing's guess was correct. This problem in Takata was not limited to the artillery division, but was the same in all official fields.

Before Ying Zheng left, he ordered Wang and Yang to work in the fields.

Wang Jian and Yang Duanhe originally thought that farming was not a big deal, and even if it was a big deal, it was a matter for soldiers.

It's not a big deal even for soldiers, but it only takes a little effort to move a hoe. How can it be more difficult and dangerous than going into battle to kill the enemy?

Unexpectedly, as soon as I sent someone to investigate, they would say something bad.

"General, the Zhao Kingdom was hit by a drought immediately after the earthquake."

"River water in various places has either changed its course or is seriously lacking water."

"As a result, most irrigation facilities cannot be used."

"If you want to farm, I'm afraid..."

Wang Jian was stunned when he heard this.

Wang Jian had a lot of experience in farming and knew what "the river water changed its course and the water volume was insufficient" meant.

He even knew that this influence and this difficulty were beyond human power.

So I hurriedly called Yang Duan and his colleagues to inspect, and after looking at several places on site, it turned out to be the case.

Wang Jian frowned and sighed:

"The king ordered me to plow the land first."

"He organized grain teams to transport millet seeds from various places one after another around half a month."

"Then we can sow seeds before the farming season."

"But now..."

How could Yang Duanhe not know this situation? He nodded and replied:

"What the general said is true."

"If these cultivated lands can be irrigated normally, it will not be difficult to sow seeds before the agricultural season."

"But now large areas of official farmland have been turned into high fields due to lower water levels."

"We need manpower to collect water for irrigation...it will be difficult to sow the seeds as scheduled."

In fact, Yang Duanhe still puts it lightly.

This is not only "difficult", it is simply as difficult as climbing to the sky.

Most of the official land allocated to the army is high land, and the few low land is in the hands of the common people...

This is not because the government or the officials who allocate farmland are caring about the people, but because of their own interests.

You must know that official land is settled by the army, while private land is settled by the common people.

The biggest difference between army farming and civilian farming is that the former is to complete tasks while the latter is for survival.

In order to complete the task, we naturally seek more, faster, and less effort.

In order to survive, we strive for perfection, excellence, and high yields.

Because high yields are directly related to the vital interests of the people, after deducting grain taxes, more yields are more than less yields.

Therefore, it makes sense to allocate fertile farmland to the people, but allocating it to military camps is almost a waste.

As a result, very few irrigation systems in official fields can flow water normally.

The problem was thus put into the hands of Wang and Yang:

How to cultivate this field?

Use clay pots to collect water one by one?

I'm afraid even one-tenth of the progress won't be caught up, especially since it doesn't make much sense...

It's impossible for the army to collect water for the fields all day and night, right?

The army has to practice and there will always be a time to go out to fight, right?

If you go out for ten and a half months and come back and find that all the wheat seedlings have died of drought...then why are you still cultivating fields?

So Yang Duanhe thought about it and suggested:

"I believe that for the present, we should not rush to sow seeds."

"I will major in irrigation this year, and then consider sowing and harvesting next year, and the year after that..."

What Yang Duanhe said makes some sense.

Under the current circumstances, it is almost impossible to sow as scheduled, and if you try to sow, you are not expected to have a good harvest.

In this case, just give up sowing and fix the irrigation system first, and then think about other things.

However, before Yang Duanhe could finish speaking, he was rejected by Wang Jian.

"This is the king's order." Wang Jian said, "But it is not something you and I can change at will."

Yang Duanhe nodded yes.

After a pause, Wang Jian sighed again and then said:

"General Yang, does he know why the king is so eager to cultivate fields in Zhao and strive to sow seeds this year?"

Yang Duanhe replied:

"I don't know."

Wang Jian cast his gaze on the dry land in front of him and said thoughtfully:

"General Yang, do you still remember the scallion pancake?"

Yang Duanhe suddenly realized.

Whether sowing can be done this year will directly determine whether Zhao will have food next year.

Whether Zhao has food will directly determine whether Qin has the ability to send troops to attack cities and seize territory in the coming year.

…

Therefore, the king will not easily change this strategic direction and give up sowing seeds.

If Shen Bing heard this, he would probably slap himself in the face a few times.

Those special scallion pancakes are just scallion pancakes. What’s the point of setting up the Longmen Formation properly?

How good is it now? With a pile of dry land in front of us, can we still expect it to grow crops next year?

Encouraging production must be done slowly, right?

Historically, it only took four years to regain the strength to destroy Wei, but you little guy wants to do it in one year!

Just when Wang Jian and Yang Duan were looking at the fields and sighing, they saw a cavalry galloping towards them and presented a bamboo slip.

"The king's order, please take a look at it, the general."

Wang Jian took it respectfully with both hands, opened it and couldn't help but smile.

"It turns out that the king has already made arrangements."

"He has promised that he should be the governor of Su Neishi and come to Handan all night long to help us with the farming."

"Ask me to go and greet you tomorrow."

Hearing this, Yang Duanhe also breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"The king is wise."

"You've been promised to come and help us, so why worry about not having water to farm?"

No wonder Wang and Yang were so relieved.

This Xu Ying is the descendant of Xu Xing, the founder of the peasant family among hundreds of scholars. The development of Qin's agriculture depends on the guidance of Xu Ying and his students.

At this time, Yingzheng sent him to handle the area in Handan, which was like a timely rain.

The next day, Wang Jian personally led a group of people to the city gate to greet him.

The "group of people" Wang Jian brought was not a random "group of people", but an "elite" whom he had painstakingly selected.

When professionals like Xu Ying came to Handan to manage agriculture, Wang Jian couldn't just find some people from different religions to follow him, right?

It’s useless even if craftsmen, scholars or businessmen come!

What Xu Ying was talking about was the principle of farming, and it was an urgent matter at the moment, so of course we had to be more cautious.

So, Wang Jian first called in two masters.

After thinking about it, I felt it was not enough, so I added two more backups.

They were responsible for writing down what Xu Ying said, verbatim.

Then he invited all the county lieutenants, county guards and supervisors of the three newly established counties.

The county lieutenant is in charge of the people, the county guard is in charge of the military, and the censor is responsible for supervision.

During this extraordinary period, both the people, the army and the supervisory authorities must engage in agriculture.

So it’s okay, come and listen to Teacher Xu Ying’s lecture.

Only when you understand, understand, and look back will you know how to solve the problem, and then you will be able to teach your subordinates how to solve it.

In addition, Wang Jian also summoned several Li Dian as representatives of the people... (Note 1)

Wang Jian knew very well that this was a farm, and there were many difficulties and problems that people in high positions like them could not understand or imagine. It was necessary to have someone familiar with the farm to interact with Teacher Xu Ying.
Chapter completed!