Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 669 Crack

As soon as February passed, Guanzhong started to get busy.

The children were organized into households, with five households in one group, and every tenth household in ten. They repaired the fields in Guanzhong and dug canals.

"Guanzhong is dominated by wheat and millet. When wheat grows, salt will be produced. Therefore, if you plant wheat for one year, you must plant millet for another year. The canals are not only used for irrigation, but also for washing away the salt in the fields. Otherwise, next year's output will be reduced. If you want to increase the yield, you need to use ridge farming, which can provide ventilation, light, and facilitate fertilization and irrigation. This year it will be ridges, next year it will be furrows, and farming will be done in turns to conserve soil strength."

Fang Kuang patiently explained to Li Jian.

The method of ridge farming existed in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Han Dynasty, combined with iron farm tools, grain production was greatly increased, and it was possible to feed a population of 50 to 60 million people.

"So how to deal with the pests in the fields?" Li Jian was originally going to return to Luoyang at the end of the first year of Hongxing's reign, but he benefited a lot from being a farm worker under Wang Meng, so he wrote to Li Yue asking to stay longer.

"The main thing in the field is scale insects. Take cooked dodder seeds, add a pebble to a bucket of water, add a liter of salt, boil it, and sprinkle it on the seedlings to get rid of the scales. When the crops emerge, you can also remove them manually."

Farming is not easy these days. Farmers stay in the fields day and night.

In addition to natural disasters and insect plagues, there are also various wild beasts.

A wild boar can destroy three or four acres of farmland in one night.

Wild boars usually live in groups.

There was a sudden "pop" sound next to them, alarming the two of them. One of the pavilion chiefs whipped a child, and scolded fiercely: "What are you looking around for? If you look around again, I'll dig out your dog's eyes!"

Although he was yelling and scolding, his voice was fierce, and the scars on his face were extremely ferocious, as if he was about to draw a knife and kill someone at any time.

The lazy Qiang boy shivered with fright and started working hard.

Regardless of how honest these people are now, once they are out of the custody of the pavilion chief and servants, they will commit murder and arson.

Two days ago, Li Jian saw several Qiang and Di people fighting with each other just over the order of eating. They picked up stones and wood and threw them on each other's heads, killing three people on the spot...

Their folk customs are so fierce.

But after seeing more of Li Jian, the childishness and innocence in Li Jian are quickly fading away.

In such a huge Guanzhong, if there were not these pavilion chiefs and servants, they would have been killed long ago and their blood would flow like rivers.

It is not an easy thing to change customs.

But under Wang Meng's powerful methods, these people gradually adapted and succumbed.

Those who do not adapt and do not surrender have long since become a withered skeleton. Most people still want to survive, and survival is always the first choice.

Wang Meng did not just use force on them. At least two meals of porridge and a few mouthfuls of pickles were indispensable every day. Those who performed well could also drink a sip of broth. He also set up a large number of public schools in Guanzhong to educate their next generation.

"It's getting late, so we'd better go back early." Being disturbed like this, Fang Kuang suddenly lost interest in explaining.

The prince's safety comes first.

The thousands of servants and slaves in the field really got into trouble, and it was really difficult to deal with it for a while.

"Listen to Fang Sima's arrangements."

The two mounted their horses, accompanied by thirty-six black cloud elites, and ran towards Chang'an together.

The whole of Chang'an is also busy, with city walls being repaired and residential buildings being built in full swing.

"The Zheng family wants to marry the envoy?" Fang Kuang asked in surprise.

Over the past year, Li Jian and Wang Meng have had a close relationship. They are emperor and subject, as well as master and disciple, and they do not shy away from many things.      Governing a country and running an army requires teaching, and overt and covert fighting is naturally indispensable.

Wang Meng's self-defeating plan of retreating in order to advance was carried out in front of Li Jian.

Li Jian also read the edicts, government orders, and private letters between Chang'an and Luoyang.

His ability to mature so quickly was inseparable from Wang Meng's careful cultivation.

At their status, family affairs are no longer just private matters, especially for Wang Meng, an important minister of the Liang Kingdom. Others will not come to their door for no reason.

"What do you think, Your Highness?" Wang Meng turned to Li Jian.

"How can I allow my nephew to talk too much about my uncle's family affairs?"

"If you don't want to say anything, you just have something in your mind. There are no outsiders here, so you might as well talk about it." Wang Meng encouraged.

"My uncle's drastic actions in Liangzhou must have alarmed the Kwantung gentry. In addition, my uncle's purge of the Central Plains, promotion of land transfer, and investigation of Dingkou offended many people. My nephew thinks that Zheng has ulterior motives, so he must be cautious about this matter."

"Hahaha, His Highness can see this, which is considered a great progress. Now there are many factions in the court, with the Kanto noble clan being the most important, followed by the common people of the Han family. Hei Yunxun has never been involved in it, and the generals of various countries have kept a low profile and tolerated it. , the gentry in Guanzhong have not completely returned home. In recent years, His Majesty has promoted paper writing and opened imperial examinations. The common people of the Han family have risen, threatening their power. As long as the ministers are included and turned into gentry, the power of the common people of the Han family in the middle of the court can be curbed. .”

Wang Meng saw through Zheng's intentions at a glance. If he became a powerful nobleman, he would not be able to attack the Guandong nobles in the future.

This is a long-term impact, and right now, as long as Wang Meng agrees to the marriage, he will lose the emperor's trust.

Wu Qi lost Wei Wenhou and had no choice but to defect to Chu. Shang Yang lost Qin Xiaogong and his family was destroyed.

The source of all Wang Meng's power comes from Li Yue. Without Li Yue's trust, it would be difficult to get where he is today.

Li Jian said: "The nobles only care about their family and have no regard for the common people."

Fang Kuang shook his head and said: "The Zheng family thinks they are a famous family, but each generation is not as good as the last. In the current situation, they actually dare to make trouble."

"There must be someone behind the instigation." Wang Meng glanced at Li Jian.

Some things are not said out loud, but everyone knows it.

The Cui family is the crown prince's mother clan, and they seem to be the leaders of the Northern Kingdom's gentry. They were not involved in such a big event. If they told it, no one would believe it.

"Recently, your Majesty has appointed Cui Xuanbo as the governor and pastoral supervisor of Shuozhou. Your Majesty is attacking the nobles of Guandong." Fang Kuang said.

"Uncle..." Li Jian lowered his head and muttered.

Wang Meng said: "If the gentry becomes stronger, the country will become weaker. This was true in the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties."

Li Jian raised his head and asked, "Is there no way to eliminate the powerful nobles?"

"In those days, His Majesty's cavalry was able to overcome the difficulties with the full support of the Cui family of Qinghe and the Zheng family of Xingyang. For example, these retired and meritorious soldiers had land and people in the local area, no shortage of food and drink, and no shortage of others to rely on, so they worked hard to cultivate their children. It only takes one person to become a powerful person and become an official in the court. After a few years, he will become a powerful man. If his descendants rise to prominence and enter the court, they will become nobles in two or three generations. How can your highness eliminate this?"

The power of the nobles is deeply rooted in the blood of the dynasty, and almost every dynasty has similar groups.

Wang Meng's words left Li Jian speechless.

"There is nothing wrong with the nobles being powerful, but what is wrong is that they should not form cliques for personal gain, annex land, and hide their household registrations. Therefore, they need to be restrained and suppressed. Anyone who exceeds the limit will be punished. I have shallow intelligence and can only see this step. However, with your Majesty, A man with great talent and great strategy should have a way to solve it."

Wang Meng pushed the ball to Li Yue. After all, he had done many impossible things...

(End of this chapter)