Chapter 34                                                             �

Throughout March, Datong was busy. Men, women, young and old who were plowing in spring could be seen in countless fields.

Zhou Mengchen and Yang Jisheng rode on horseback, surrounded by a group of people, and walked on the path in the fields.

Yang Jisheng's face was no longer a smile. He said, "Brother Zhou, this year is not easy. Since spring started today, there has not been a rain. Last winter, it was not very cold. There was little rain and snow. The drought has begun to appear this year. I have even heard of the situation in Shanxi and Shaanxi. I am afraid that the northern summer grain will be much less this year."

After hearing this, Zhou Mengchen looked at the small canal by the field and didn't have much water at all. He sighed in his heart.

"Three years of prosperity, three years of apologies, six years of a small disaster, and twelve years of a big disaster." Zhou Mengchen sighed casually and said, "God is enough to take care of me. If there is a major disaster in Jiajing in 30 years, it is hard to say what Datong will be like. Fortunately, we still have some spare time to provide disaster relief."

Yang Jisheng said: "Brother Zhou, it's not easy to deal with. This year, the rivers have dried up. The military farms near Datong have rapidly narrowed the range of watered fields. I estimate that they only exceed 50,000 hectares. Although a lot of land has been reclaimed this year, the output is probably not as good as last year. Even if it is not good, the situation is even harder to deal with-----"

Zhou Mengchen sighed and said, "I know what Brother Yang means. I just want to work hard on farming?"

Zhou Mengchen wants to determine the overall plan for the development of Datong in the next few years. This matter may be kept secret for others, but it is impossible to keep it secret for Yang Jisheng. After all, Yang Jisheng is his right-hand man, and he can even be said to be his right-hand man.

It’s just that there are some differences in future plans between the two.

The biggest difference is investment in agriculture.

Zhou Mengchen knew very well in his heart that Datong agriculture was inherently restricted. To be honest, all places in Datong were outside Yanmen Pass, and in the Song Dynasty they all belonged to the Great Wall. Because of the dimension, they did not have an advantage in agricultural production.

To be honest, both sides of the Sanggan River are more suitable for grain production than Datong.

Zhou Mengchen did not want to invest too much resources in grain production.

But Yang Jisheng is different. Yang Jisheng is a good official. He is a good official in the traditional sense. He came from a poor family. Before studying, he let go of a cow and went to the land. He is well aware of the sufferings of the people and is honest and self-restrained. This is very different from Zhou Mengchen. Zhou Mengchen's integrity and self-restrainedness are established. Zhou Mengchen's own wealth is worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. In modern times, at least one billionaire is at least one billionaire. Although it is incomparable to a real boss, Zhou Mengchen as long as he does not want to be wronged. The general food and clothing cost can still be guaranteed.

But Yang Jisheng is different.

Yang Jisheng really lives on his salary. He wears a civilian clothes and the best clothes are the official uniforms. This official uniform was issued by Zhou Mengchen in the court configuration. If Yang Jisheng bought it himself, he would definitely not buy it himself. Therefore, Yang Jisheng wore official uniforms almost in any occasion.

There is nothing else, except for official uniforms, there are all coarse cloth clothes. Although it cannot be said that the clothes are not covered, the words of going out to meet people will be despicable to the court.

Zhou Mengchen didn't want to give Yang Jisheng some funding. But Yang Jisheng flatly refused. He felt that he was not right, so why did he behave properly? While suppressing the officials below, he did not rely on his salary to live on his salary. If the people below were allowed to be honest and self-righteous, he would let everyone in Datong know that the court's salary was lower. But he could still support a family of several people. The low salary was not an excuse for corruption and abuse of power.

Zhou Mengchen had nothing to do.

To increase Yang Jisheng's salary, we have to increase the salary for all the officials in Datong. This is not something Zhou Mengchen can afford now. Don't look at it, Zhou Mengchen has about 500,000 taels of silver in his hand. It seems a lot, but it may not be enough to really invest in the construction of Datong.

Not to mention increasing the income of Datong officials.

I can only wait for Datong to develop better in the future. Maybe I can add a little more.

In the heart of Yang Jisheng, a traditional good official, food is the most important thing for the people, agriculture is the main thing for all industries. Everything is based on grain production. Therefore, Yang Jisheng disagreed with some of Zhou Mengchen's actions. This time he led Zhou Mengchen out, and it may not be impossible to persuade him.

Yang Jisheng said: "That is, Datong has a million people. Since the pass, many people have come from Shanxi and Hebei, and there will probably be more and more people in the future. Just these years, it is the least for at least three million stones of food. In addition, animals and other uses, it can be said that after Brother Zhou started a large-scale killing and launched a large-scale farming, Datong was considered self-sufficient."

"Now, this is the priority for everything, and the Tartars must not trust it. Once there is a great famine in the pass, are there no unworthy people who lead the Tartars south? But everything that Brother Zhou has worked hard will be wasted."

Zhou Mengchen said: "I know, but Datong's natural conditions are here. To be honest, I even cut off the Sanggan River in Datong. No drop of water is allowed to flow down. It can alleviate the drought in Datong. But how much does it cost? It doesn't cost two million taels, so don't even think about it. Now I grit my teeth and have the 500,000 taels. This is the only capital. Never invest in water conservancy. I don't know how many years it takes to make a profit."

Yang Jisheng said: "Return to the foundation? The people are the foundation of the world. Brother Zhou, this is what you said, take it from the people and use it for the people. How do you say that you should return to the foundation?"

Zhou Mengchen was speechless for a moment.

Indeed, some projects are destined to be unable to recover. But this is what the government should do. Zhou Mengchen also discussed these concepts for Yang Jisheng.

However, it can even be said that the 500,000 taels that Zhou Mengchen got from Shanxi merchants cannot be said to be from Datong Town, but is just a deposit. If these Shanxi merchants are not planning to do border trade, they will be refunded according to the regulations set by Zhou Mengchen himself.

Of course, there are also new players who will naturally make up for this margin.

It is almost equivalent to the funds of Datong Town itself.

Zhou Mengchen actually thought about water conservancy projects. He calculated that if he wanted to alleviate the drought around Datong, the best way was to build a river dam on the Yu River and find a place to build a reservoir on the Yu River. Although this process cannot be said to be too mature, with the joint efforts of Pan Jixun and Xu Gao, the technology of this cement dam is almost enough.

If used in the south, it is naturally absolutely absolutely not possible. But it may not be possible in Datong. There is nothing else. The water volume of northern rivers and southern rivers is not at the same level.

Zhou Mengchen smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Yang, you are not a person who is not a practical person, why should you speak out? Do you know what I want to do? A good cook cannot cook without rice. These 500,000 taels are my only handful of rice. Sprinkle here. Where will I get the second handful of rice from in the next few years?"

"There is priority."

Yang Jisheng said: "There is priority. Not bad. Brother Zhou, you can't help but wonder what will happen if Datong is defeated this year?"

Zhou Mengchen was slightly stunned and said, "Not it?"

Yang Jisheng said, "I know, too. But Brother Zhou is an official family and has lived in Wuchang City since he was a child. He probably saw the worst thing that was just a road to fall. But I have seen that the situation of severe drought and harvest is not the case with me. Why are the farmlands in Datong repeatedly prospering and failing? It is because the bureaucrats in Datong ahead are not as good as you and me? Obviously not. Datong is really too short of water. I think some places in Datong are even far inferior to Fengzhou Beach. Fengzhou Beach is still leaning against the Yellow River? What are we here?"

“There is too little water flowing in the Sanggan River.”

"You also said that the two common years ago were God's eyes open. But God will not always be open. What should Datong do if there is a major disaster?"

Zhou Mengchen fell into deep thought.

Needless to say, Zhou Mengchen actually knew that the so-called wasteland he reclaimed was actually abandoned by the original arable land. Therefore, the speed of reclaiming was so fast. If it was really raw land and mature land was reclaimed, it would take several years.

However, Datong's military farming is not good. Although there are external troubles, there are also insatiable officials and tyrannical officials. However, Zhou Mengchen had to admit that this is also due to natural conditions. The Ming bureaucrats in the mainland may not be better than those in the border areas. So why is the famine in the mainland not as serious as here?
Chapter completed!