I studied in modern times

Chapter 741: Drought Recurs
Two days later, Bao Shou had settled down in Xizhou City.

I also got to know my colleagues.

The prefect You Shixiong was a member of the Hengqu School. He was decisive and resolute in his conduct and was often not in the prefecture government office. Instead, he went down to the local areas to inspect cotton farms and supervise water conservancy and canal construction.

The military commander of Xizhou was Xiang Zongji from the Xiang family.

This man went horseback riding and hunting with the children of wealthy families in the state every day and lived a very happy life.

He ignored the military affairs, troops, training, and inspection in the state and left them all to his subordinates.

However, this royal relative is very easy to talk to.

He would help the state civil servants if they needed his help.

Therefore, he has a good reputation among officials in the state.

Everyone, from top to bottom, was very satisfied with him.

However, the Empress Dowager's family member's mind was obviously no longer on Xizhou.

Xiang Zongji's deputy was Zhong Jianzhong from the Zhong family.

This person does not look like a military official. He has a strong scholar-official temperament and speaks and acts in an elegant and gentle manner.

of course……

The premise is that you are not in the military!
If you see him in the army, you will see another side of him - domineering and strict.

Zhong Jianzhong was in charge of the training and inspection of Xizhou's troops.

Except for these officials appointed by the court.

There are still a large number of foreign officials in Xizhou.

For example, his relative Bao Shun, the patriarch of the Xizhou branch of the Bao family in Luzhou, was the Rongzhou militia commander and inspector general appointed by the imperial court.

Several of his sons and brothers were also generals holding high positions.

Since Bao Shou took office, his "relatives" have often visited him.

His words revealed his intention to stop by Luzhou to pay homage to his uncle on his way back to the court to report on his work.

Bao Shou, having received the imperial order, readily agreed.

So the host and guest enjoyed themselves.

In addition to the Bao family, there is another foreign official family in Luzhou - the Zhao family.

This is the family of descendants of the Tibetan king, who was given the national surname by the late emperor.

Their original family has moved to Qinzhou.

But in Xizhou, there are still forces existing.

In addition to these two local powerful families, there are also twenty or thirty large and small Tibetan, Qiang and even Dangxiang families.

As a result, there are very few real Han Chinese residents in Xizhou.

Oh……

wrong!

The Xizhou Bao family is now included in the Luzhou Bao family genealogy.

Bao Shun has also become the half-brother of Bao Zheng, the father of Bao Shou.

Therefore, in Xizhou now, Han people account for more than 60% of the population!
However, most of them can't even speak the correct rhyme, let alone understand the rhyme book.

But this did not prevent the young men of the Bao family from wearing Confucian robes and hats, and imitating the clothing and daily life of the literati of the Song Dynasty.

They also followed the example of Fan Wencheng and established charity houses and charity schools in Xizhou.

What's even more exaggerated is that the Bao family took the lead and joined forces with the Zhao family of Xizhou and other Qiang, Fan and Hu families to build a large-scale provincial school in the capital of Xizhou.

Now, the construction of this state school has started.

Bao Shou went to see it and found that the area alone was more than one hundred acres!

It is said that the ultimate goal is to build 300 school buildings and 50 teaching buildings.

This is a super state school that can accommodate at least thousands of students and more than fifty scholars giving lectures!
The scale of the provincial school in Luzhou, Bao Shou’s hometown, is not even half the scale of the provincial school in Xizhou!
To be honest, Bao Shou didn’t quite understand it.

Isn’t it said that Xihe is cold and poor?
He is already prepared to endure hardships!

result……

This really was beyond his expectations.

So, on the day off, Bao Shou arrived at You Shixiong's doorstep.

Xizhou City is very small, and the provincial government is also small.

Therefore, the residence of Bao Shou, the Tongpan, and the residence of You Shixiong, the Zhizhou, were actually in the same place.

There is only a wall between the two.

"Brother Jing, are you home?"

You Shixiong was playing chess with his staff at the moment. When he heard Bao Shou's voice outside the door, he quickly stood up and responded, "But Jun Hang?"

"It's down!"

You Shixiong hurried to open the door.

In the past few days since Bao Shou took office, You Shixiong has noticed that the son of Lord Bao Xiaosu does not behave like a yamen official at all.

On the contrary, this is a person who really wants to do things and is willing to do things.

This earned him great respect.

After opening the door and welcoming Bao Shou in, You Shixiong asked, "Is there anything wrong with Jun Hang?"

"Yes!" Bao Shou bowed and said, "I was just about to ask Uncle Jing for advice. I hope Uncle Jing will be generous with his advice!"

"Jun Hang, you are too kind!" You Shixiong invited Bao Shou to his home.

Seeing this, the aide who was playing chess with You Shixiong apologized and retreated.

You Shixiong brought Bao Shou to his study, asked him to sit down, and ordered the servants to serve tea and snacks. After Bao Shou took a sip of tea, he asked, "What's the matter, Junhang?"

Bao Shou bowed and said, "These days, what I have seen and heard in Xizhou City..."

You Shixiong smiled: "Junhang is curious about Xizhou's financial resources?"

"Yes!" Bao Shou nodded and said, "Before I took office, I worked in the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue and looked at the tax situation in Xizhou in the seventh and eighth years of Yuanfeng..."

"If I remember correctly, in the eighth year of Yuanfeng, Xizhou reported that the total amount of the two taxes, exemption money, etc. for one year was only 13,000 strings of iron money!"

"For this reason, the Ministry of Revenue needs to allocate tens of thousands of strings of cash every year to help Xizhou's expenses."

And this does not include the money allocated by the Xihe Lanhui Road Border Defense Finance Bureau.

In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, the imperial court allocated more than five million strings of cash to the Xihe Lanhui Road Border Defense Finance Office for buying horses, guarding the border, and military expenses!

This is also the reason why there were frequent voices in the court calling for the abandonment of Xihe.

It’s too expensive here!

It costs millions of strings of cash every year to maintain it.

Once the war breaks out, the cost could reach tens of millions of strings of cash!

The country's annual revenue is only more than 60 million strings of cash!

Economically speaking, it's irrational.

You Shixiong picked up the teacup and took a sip: "What Junhang said is indeed the truth!"

"In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, I was appointed as the governor of Xizhou by the emperor. When I first took office, the whole area of ​​Xizhou was wasteland and grassland..."

"Nomadic people graze their livestock wherever they go, living wherever there is water and grass... Only a few families will settle down and cultivate land..."

"At that time, the people of Aligu of Tubo would sometimes bring their livestock into Xizhou, Hezhou and other places for nomadic life..."

"Then why?" Bao Shou was puzzled.

"Did Junhang see the fields in Xizhou when he came here?" You Shixiong asked.

Bao Shou nodded.

"Then Jun Hang, do you know what are the main crops grown in Xizhou now?"

Bao Shou shook his head.

"Cotton!" You Shixiong uttered a word softly.

"Last year, there were more than 10,000 mu of cotton fields in Xizhou. The cotton bolls picked from each mu were 12 jin, which was worth 1,200 coins!"

"Moreover, according to the imperial decree, the Xihe Lanhui Road will be exempted from taxes and military service for five years if it is reclaimed from wasteland!" "For this reason, the entire Xihe Road is now reclaiming wasteland to grow cotton!"

"This spring, in Xizhou alone, there are thousands of hectares of cotton fields!"

Bao Shou's eyes widened as he listened: "One thousand hectares!?"

This number is incredible even in his hometown of Luzhou.

"Yes, in addition to cotton fields, there is a similar amount of land planted with alfalfa, soybeans, mung beans, barley, highland barley, etc...."

"Just by growing cotton, Junhang's clan may earn hundreds of thousands of strings of cash by the end of this year!"

Bao Shou listened and swallowed his saliva: "Hundreds of thousands of strings of cash?"

"Hmm!" You Shixiong said, "Jun Hang's family is not simple!"

"The Baoshun clan not only reclaims wasteland in Xizhou, but also has cotton fields in Lanzhou, Hezhou, and Huizhou!"

"There are already more than 20,000 hired workers working for them. If we add the young and strong people in their own tribe, there are 50,000 to 60,000 young and strong people working day and night in their cotton farms!"

Bao Shou was stunned, and then he remembered something: "The total number of households in Xihe Road is only about 150,000 to 160,000, less than one million..."

"That was in the past!" You Shixiong said, "Now the population of Xihe Road has reached nearly 300,000, almost 1.5 million people!"

"Ah!" Bao Shou opened his mouth wide.

In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, Xihe Road had a population of only one million.

In just two years, the price has increased by half a million?
"Uncle Jing..." Bao Shou asked solemnly, "How did you do this?"

You Shixiong smiled: "Of course it is to recruit the surrendered and the rebels, and to tame the distant people..."

Then, he began to give Bao Shou a detailed introduction to the past two years, mainly the Xihe policy of last year.

After hearing this, Bao Shou was so shocked that he was speechless.

He could never have imagined that this place, which was considered a bitter and cold place by people all over the world, would be considered a money-losing place in the eyes of court officials.

Xihe Road has undergone such changes in the past two years!
Moreover, the people in Xihe are incredibly brave!
For example, You Shixiong told him that Zhao Xie of Lanzhou was now actively trying to recruit Jie Wagou, the son of Jie Guizhang of Qingyi who was captured last year. Once Jie Wagou surrendered, Xihe Road would immediately be able to obtain hundreds of thousands of young and strong laborers!

After listening to You Shixiong's introduction, Bao Shou was silent for a long time. After a long time, he asked: "Uncle Jing..."

"The hired workers in Xihe's cotton farm...are they really hired workers?"

You Shixiong nodded: "Of course it's a hired worker!"

All the deeds have been signed and filed with the government.

of course……

Most of the hired workers are illiterate.

At the same time, the deeds of many people were signed by their leaders on their behalf.

But, they are all hired workers.

Although the contract period was longer, and although the employers exploited the employees to the utmost, the working environment and conditions of the employees were more difficult, and the mortality rate was a little higher.

But no matter who checks, they are all hired workers, 100%!
Bao Shou lowered his head. As a scholar-official, he felt that his three views were deeply shocked.

Seeing this, You Shixiong said softly, "Since Junhang has come to Xizhou, you should get used to it."

"The government has high hopes for Jun Hang!"

Bao Shou nodded: "Yes!" He faced the direction of Bian Jing and bowed: "Your Majesty's grace is deep, I will repay you with a hundred deaths!"

He was killed by the emperor himself!

The emperor has high hopes for him, and Old Taishan has already analyzed this with him.

Let him come to spread culture and education and to promote Confucianism.

Therefore, he was also assigned to be the principal of Xizhou Provincial School.

You Shixiong looked at Bao Shou, sighed and said, "Jun Hang is not used to it?"

"Ok!"

"I wasn't used to it at first, but now I am!" You Shixiong said, "At least, Xihe Road is no longer a burden to the world!"

"The money saved from Xihe can save countless people in the world!"

This is exactly what he and his fellow students used to convince themselves.

Bao Shou nodded and said, "Thank you for your advice!"

He remembered what Lao Taishan had told him before he left: "Shou! Your father lived an upright life and brought grace to the people..."

"Remember, do not let your father's reputation down. You should work for the world, for the people, and for the country!"

Old Taishan’s earnest teachings are still ringing in my ears.

Bao Shou closed his eyes and made up his mind.

Since he is an official here, he must do something for the people here!
No matter what, do something!
Let’s start with education!

He believed that as long as the Qiang and Di nobles in Xizhou read the books of sages and learned about propriety, righteousness, benevolence and forgiveness, the current chaos might be completely changed.

……

On the twelfth day of the third month of the second year of Yuanyou, it was another sunny day in the city of Bianjing.

Zhao Xu walked in the imperial garden, looking at the scorching sun, scorching the garden, and he sighed.

Since the beginning of March, God has been making trouble again.

It hasn’t rained for ten consecutive days!

The court officials immediately recalled the severe drought last year that spread across most of the Song Dynasty and almost cut off navigation on the Grand Canal.

Everyone began to tremble.

But before the ministers could get anxious, the monks had already become anxious.

One by one, they had PTSD attacks and were shaking all over.

Jin Zongzhi, who had just returned from Huainan in the first month of the year, wrote to Zhao Xu as soon as he heard that the court was discussing a possible drought, requesting an audience with the emperor.

"This great monk is really something!" Zhao Xu took the letter from Jin Zongzhi, walked into the pavilion of the imperial garden, and sat down: "Am I so scary?"

Although, he was quite cruel to the monks last year.

All the pawnshops in the temples in the capital, including that of Daxiangguo Temple, were swallowed up by him in collaboration with his external relatives, royal family members and meritorious officials.

Not only did it swallow up their treasure house.

He also took advantage of the Investigation Bureau and the Bian Jing Xin Bao to conduct preliminary investigations on these pawnshops and recruited all the monks who presided over and were in charge of the pawnshops.

Even the accountants and liaison officers in each pawnshop were not spared.

It is equivalent to swallowing up the quality warehouse, industry, channels and sales in one go.

The modern third brother is an expert.

Of course, Zhao Xu would never admit it.

Because he at least left 30% of the shares to the big monks!

"Feng Jing!" Zhao Xu ordered Feng Jing who was following him, "Send someone to Kaibao Temple to appease Master Sanzang..."

"Tell the master not to worry, this is a peaceful place in Buddhism, no outsiders will disturb us!"

"Yes!" Feng Jing took the order and went down.

Zhao Xu slowly leaned against the fence of the pavilion and looked at the colorful flowers in the garden that were gradually blooming under the sun.

He knew that this year was still a drought year.

It’s just that the disaster will be less severe than last year, and the extreme situation of the Grand Canal being cut off from navigation will not occur.

This was the reality of ancient China as an agricultural society.

Floods and droughts come and go in cycles.

Since the beginning of written records, there have been very few years when God has been truly kind and the weather has been good and the harvests have been good.

What's more, the Song Dynasty was unlucky and happened to encounter periodic changes in the earth's climate.

The curse known as the Little Ice Age has arrived.

The evidence is that there are no more wild plum trees in the north today.

The scene of plum blossoms blooming all over Chang'an City during the Tang Dynasty will never return.

The climate will become colder and natural disasters will become more frequent.

(End of this chapter)