activa-t Chapter 220 It turns out that the memorial was late
Chapter 220 It turns out that the memorial was late
"Ahua and Hongyan must record everything in these houses and where it is placed, and put it back in its original state when returning it to the owners." Yang Biao asked everyone to take shelter under the corridor first, and let the two of them go in to record.
"Is there anyone else among you who can read?" Xia Weiwei felt that the two of them were recording too slowly and wanted to send more people.
"Girls are more careful. Xiaoran, Minzhi, you two hold umbrellas and follow me to another house to record." This is an ordinary house that can't accommodate more than 90 people. Yang Biao took an umbrella in each hand, held it for both of them, and went to another house where no one was.
The food purchased on the car was covered with waterproof tarpaulin, so there was no need to worry about it getting wet in the rain. It was pushed directly to the corridor. Everyone settled in their own residences before changing their wet clothes.
"Jiang Sheng, bring your people and follow me!" Yang Biao, who was sitting in the house, watched the rain getting heavier and heavier. He felt something was wrong, so he hurriedly put on his hat and raincoat and rode to the river.
"Lu Gang, go and see how many soldiers Dai Yu and his men have recruited, and bring them all here." He had just arrived in Qianpu Prefecture when it encountered heavy rain, and he had to clear the mud and ditches as soon as possible. There was no heavy machinery in ancient times, so more manpower was needed to handle these things.
As the saying goes, "After a severe drought, there will be a severe flood." Natural disasters occur alternately, and it is difficult for consecutive disasters to occur. However, historical data shows that similar situations have occurred in many areas.
Groundwater is scarce in arid and barren areas such as the Loess Plateau in the north. Maepo Prefecture has suffered from drought for more than three years. High temperatures will evaporate more surface water, and when warm air absorbs more water, heavy rainfall will occur.
There were heavy rains in Qianpu Prefecture for seven consecutive days. Yang Biao led his men to reinforce the riverbanks on both sides of the river and dug several large pits in the low-lying areas to store water. After closing the sluice gates on the dam, water from outside could not come in, and the only new water came from rainfall.
"The rain has finally stopped!" Xia Weiwei looked at the rising sun in the morning. Yang Biao should come back today.
"Clean the mud and sand attached to the leaves." Yang Biao was still directing everyone to clean up the silt in the river, ensure the smooth flow of drainage ditches, keep the drainage ditches fully unblocked, and drain the water in the rice fields to prevent root rot and seedling death.
"If there are dead seedlings in the fields, they have to be replanted or changed to other varieties." Some crops are seasonal and it will be difficult for them to grow if you miss the right time.
By storing rainwater and concentrating on land management, we can achieve a significant increase in per-acre yield, thus meeting everyone's food needs.
The work of composting also needs to be done. If the fields are fertile, high grain yields can be achieved.
"Everyone has been busy for so many days. Let's kill two pigs today to nourish everyone's body." Jiang Sheng was shopping all the way to Qianpu Mansion. He even bought other people's live pigs. Fortunately, he had these supplies, otherwise everyone would have to starve.
"Wow, that's great. I've been eating dry food these days and I'm almost choking to death." What's more, he cheered. Soaking in water every day has caused his skin to ulcerate.
Xia Weiwei boils medicine for everyone every day, trying her best to prevent them from getting skin ulcers and inflammation.
"Master, we recruited 5,000 people on the day the rain stopped, which is more than the previous seven days combined." In the evening, Dai Yu came to report to Yang Biao on the day's recruitment situation.
"Okay, He Kuang and Lu Gang will be responsible for the training of new recruits, Dai Yu and the other three will continue to recruit, and Jiang Sheng will be responsible for the public security of the city." Yang Biao was writing a memorial to the court, requesting that it recruit soldiers to suppress riots and solve the problem of banditry.
"Your Majesty, we just received news from the front that heavy rains have been falling in the north for several days in a row. Serious floods have occurred in five places, including Hejian Prefecture, Guangshu Prefecture, Beigao Prefecture, Sifang Prefecture, and Mulin Prefecture. Officials from these five places have written to the court requesting that funds be allocated for disaster relief as soon as possible." During the morning court session, the Minister of Revenue stood up.
"I remember that Qianpu Prefecture has the lowest terrain in the north. Why did these five places all suffer from floods but only this one?" Ying Jian asked curiously.
"Your Majesty, a memorial has been sent from Qianpu Prefecture." Prime Minister Wang Weiyan took out the newly arrived memorial and handed it to Emperor Tianqi with both hands.
"That's what I said. How is it possible that the high-lying areas were flooded while the low-lying areas were not? It turns out that the memorial arrived late." The person recommended by Ying Jian was not that great, Zheng Jingxin, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, said loudly.
"Yang Biao wants to recruit soldiers locally to suppress the riots and solve the bandit problem. Do you have any objections, my dear ministers?" Emperor Tianqi gave Yang Biao's memorial to Ying Jian and asked all civil and military officials to circulate it.
"Your Majesty, I think what Yang Biao proposed is feasible." The Minister of Revenue quickly stepped forward to respond. As long as someone was not asking for money, he was his good friend.
Everyone in the court was arguing fiercely about whether Yang Biao should be allowed to recruit soldiers.
"He's not here to ask for disaster relief money." Zheng Jingxin was a little disappointed. Seeing Ying Jian deliberately puffing out his chest and holding his head high with smugness, he was so angry that his teeth were about to break.
"Yang Biao already has 20,000 soldiers who followed him to Qianpu Prefecture. Why does he need to recruit more soldiers?" Someone was unwilling to do so. He already had enough manpower.
"Duke Anguo, the original 100,000-strong army of Qianpu Prefecture was wiped out by the mob. Yang Biao had to stop the riots and eliminate the bandits, so what could 20,000 soldiers do?" Ying Jian stood up and refuted his statement.
The civil and military officials started arguing again, and both those who were in favor and those who were against were arguing with red faces.
"Okay, pass on the order and approve it!" The local soldiers' food and wages will be solved by local finances, and Emperor Tianqi has made the final decision.
"Xiao Ran, the carpenters' wages will be paid daily," Yang Biao instructed Qin Xiaoran, who was wearing men's clothes, in order to be able to use the new government office as soon as possible and to increase the carpenters' enthusiasm for work by paying them daily.
"Okay, how about we use our own money?" Qin Xiaoran asked him as there was not much money left from the bandits.
"No, you can never do this at any time." What a joke. You bring your own food and beg for tea, and spend your own money to do things for the court. If you are not careful, the emperor will kill you directly, and you won't even have a place to cry at his grave.
"Okay, but we don't have much money now." Qin Xiaoran was worried about where to find the money.
"Don't worry, I will find a way to solve it. Besides, the house we live in should be built with our own money and the best wood, okay?" Yang Biao smiled and pinched her fair face, and she returned to her former chubby look.
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Qin Xiaoran hugged him and enjoyed such a warm moment.
"Mei Yongle, have you found out?" Yang Biao asked him to find out if there is any rich and unkind villain who colludes with officials and businessmen nearby, so that he can lead people to rob the rich and help the poor.
"Master, I have already scouted the route. There is a rice seller named Zhai Fu in Hejian Prefecture. He funded the mob to kill the prefect of Qianpu Prefecture and injured the prefect, just because these two people blocked his way to make money." Mei Yongle used to be a scout in the army and was very good at gathering information.
"Oh, he actually paid the mob to kill the official. Where is he now?" To be able to do such a thing, the rice seller must be so rich. It must be ill-gotten gains. He has no psychological burden to rob.
"Master, when it rained for two consecutive days, he went out to buy food, and just returned to Hejian Prefecture last night."
Ever since he knew that he was the one who instigated the mob to kill officials, Mei Yongle had already sent spies to keep an eye on him.
"It turns out that Hejian Prefecture is right next to us!" Yang Biao took out the official map and found the location of Hejian Prefecture.