Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 186 Going to the countryside to talk about farming
In the 11th year of Jian'an, July.

Wuhuan raised troops to invade the border, but there was also a lack of progress in the southern war.Cao Cao gave up the idea of ​​​​conquering Wu Chu and ordered Zhang Liao and Zhang He to rush northward.

Both sides mobilized tens of thousands of troops, although no large-scale military war broke out.But it made Cao Cao clearly realize that the unity of Wu and Chu was a terrifying military force that could compete with the north.

Liu Biao, who was seriously ill, forced Cao Cao back and told the Wu and Chu soldiers and people that as the overlord of Wu and Chu, he was still capable of protecting them, which greatly boosted Bo's morale.

Those Jiangzuo scholars who surrendered to Liu Qi and Liu Bei also seemed to realize that Er Liu, who had replaced the Sun family's rule, was more powerful and more legitimate than the Sun family, and they gradually returned to their hearts and served Er Liu seriously. .

For Liu Bei and Huo Jun, this military conflict that has lasted for several months can be regarded as a simulated military exercise.I sharpened those sergeants and explored the true strength of Cao Jun.

Generally speaking, after more than two years of fighting, the veterans have become the most brave elite.It can also be used by those sergeants who have been fighting for about a year.The sergeants who had recently joined the army could hardly compete with Cao's army except on the boat or on the ground.

After Xia Houyuan withdrew his troops, Gan Ning, Wei Yan, and Lu Meng returned to Danyang to resume their duties.Huo Jun dismissed [-] sergeants and returned home, but retained [-] sergeants.Two thousand sergeants were stationed in the cities north of the Yangtze River, and five thousand sergeants were commanded by Gao Xiang, Xu Sheng, and Yu Shao, and were stationed at Ruxukou to prevent Xia Houyuan from recruiting carbines.

Huo Jun stayed in Ruxukou for several days to ensure that the enemy troops retreated. Because the infantry trainer was about to give birth, he rushed back to the county to govern Wancheng.Returning to Wancheng, she met the handsome Bu trainer, who put her mind at ease and stayed with him for a day or two.

Huo Jun and the county officials inspected the agricultural situation around Wancheng. It was different from the abandoned state when Wancheng was first moved to the city. After two years of reclamation, the fields were crisscrossed and people were working in the fields. It was quite a lively scene.

After all, only four years had passed since Wancheng was abandoned by Sun Quan in the fifth year of Jian'an (AD 200) and then reactivated by Huo Jun in the ninth year of Jian'an.Although fertile farmland was abandoned, it was different from starting from scratch.On the basis of the original people's life, they spent time renovating the houses and reopening the abandoned fields. The city of Anhui gradually regained its vitality, and at first it looked like the peaceful years.

In the fields, the heat has subsided and autumn is approaching.

The old farmer wore a bamboo hat on his head, felt the coolness in the air, and wiped the sweat from his head.The summer harvest was over and he was planting turnips.He raised his head and glanced at his playful grandson, and a smile appeared on his old face.

Their family is a military household. In their early years, they were looking for a living in Poyang Lake and were coerced by Peng Hu.After being defeated by the army led by the county governor, his son joined the army and they were moved here to live.The ruler of the mansion, Rende, was exempted from taxes because his son joined the army, and was given a hundred acres of land, so he lived here.

Food rations were scarce when they first arrived here. In addition to the relief provided in the city, they dug weeds and fished for fish and shrimps in the river. The family survived hard.Relying on fire plowing and water plowing, they obtained the summer harvest rations relatively easily.Although there was not much food and grass, they were able to survive the autumn and winter through subsequent busy work.

In the early spring of this year, my son was at home and helped out for a while.Because there was a war in the army, he left again, but fortunately the war did not affect Wancheng, there was a good harvest in the summer, and there was food at home.He immediately hoped that his son would return safely.

"Anu!"

Seeing the children playing around seemed to disturb the officials in the city, the old farmer hurried up and saluted the noble man and begged for mercy.

"I hope you will forgive me if you have any conflict."

As he said this, the old man was about to whip his grandson, cursing and saying, "I told you to calm down, but you won't listen..."

"No need!"

Huo Jun stretched out his hand to stop him and said, "It's just a kid playing around. It doesn't disturb us, so there's no need to get angry."

The grandson was frightened and kept crying.But the old man nodded, bowed, and said with a smile: "The prince is kind, and the old man apologizes for his grandson."

"nothing!"

Huo Jun looked gentle, touched the thin child, and asked: "Did the war in the past few days delay the summer harvest?" Seeing Huo Jun's kindness, the old farmer felt relieved, and seeing that no official around him was glaring, he smiled truthfully and said: " Fortunately, thanks to the protection of the Lord, the war has not affected us. This year’s rice field farming has another bumper harvest, and we have enough food rations this year. If we save it for a few years, we can also save some savings at home."

In ancient agricultural societies, annual savings and income were calculated not on a monthly basis, but on the basis of the year when crops were harvested.It often takes three years of farming to accumulate a year's worth of food.This year's rations do not mean they can be spent, but they are used to prepare for future disaster years.To avoid droughts and floods, which may lead to reduced crop yields and no food at home.

Huo Jun walked to the old farmer's field, looked at the fields with his hands on his hips, and asked: "The fields are considered fertile. How much grain will be harvested this summer?"

Seeing that Huo Jun was interested in asking, the old farmer replied seriously: "Please tell me, there are three people in a certain family: me, an old woman, and my daughter-in-law. The old farmer can cultivate nine acres, and the old woman and her daughter-in-law cultivate twelve acres together. We will get rice this year." There are more than seventy stones, and the rice seeds that have been abandoned for cultivation are also more than sixty stones."

In the Han Dynasty, there was a difference between large acres and small acres. Generally speaking, 1 large acres equaled 2.4 small acres.In the south, fire farming and water plowing are convenient, and an adult man can often cultivate nine to ten acres.The amount of rice sown per acre is about two and a half bushels. The yield of paddy fields varies, ranging from 2.5 to 4 shi. The land in Wancheng is fertile and there are canals for irrigation. The general yield per mu is about 3.3 shi.

Each person eats one and a half stone per month. A family of three people plus grandchildren needs at least four and a half stone per month, that is, 54 stone per year.After a year's savings, after deducting the amount of sowing each year and the amount of sowing reserved for the next year, the family can't actually save much food.

Of course, after the summer harvest, every family will plant other crops in the autumn, such as turnips, garlic, and shallots, or fish in the river and pick up river mussels as supplements.

This is a family in the south of the Yangtze River in the Han Dynasty. They relied on fire and water, and no one was cold or hungry, and there was no rich family.Generally speaking, due to the vast land, sparse population, and lack of advanced farming technology and important cattle, Jiangnan is generally neither rich nor poor.

After thinking about it in his mind, Huo Jun sighed and said: "If there are strong men at home in the spring and summer, the farming season will not be affected, and the family can have more savings."

The old farmer touched his grandson's head and said, "Your Majesty is already benevolent. He doesn't charge taxes for conscription. We can earn something after working for several years."

During the war, military households were not levied taxes, and their fields were distributed as normal, so their families had something to eat. They seemed lucky.But if a disease strikes or a disaster occurs, it's another matter.

Huo Jun sighed, led the county officials away, and said: "Under the rule, the people can only eat with fire and water, so it can't be called rich. In the past, it was difficult to move to Wancheng, so the people were allowed to farm with fire and water. , to get through these difficult times, we need to let the people learn farming skills and increase the yield per acre."

The current farming technology in Jiangnan during the Han Dynasty was only one harvest a year. There was neither a wheat-rice rotation system nor a two-crop farming technique.

The double-cropping of rice a year was the basis for the economic development of Jiangnan. Before the Song Dynasty, most rice in the south was harvested once a year, and the varieties of rice were different.Since the Song Dynasty, rice has only been grown twice a year in the south of the Yangtze River. With the rice-wheat rotation system, the south can have two to three crops a year. Compared with the north, which still has three crops every two years, the south has almost crushed the north.

After coming to the Three Kingdoms, Huo Jun gradually understood that the farming methods in the south were completely different from modern times.The southward migration of people mentioned in history books is not at all an important reason for Jiangnan's economic take-off.The key factor that really makes Jiangnan's economy take off is that its crop yields far exceed those in the north, which is enough to feed more people and more idle people.

Here comes the problem. Huo Jun doesn’t understand the evolutionary history of rice at all, and he doesn’t know how rice with two crops a year came into being.But fortunately, he also knew that he could try wheat-rice rotation. After harvesting the rice in the summer, let the people plant winter wheat, thinking that the crop rotation would increase the yield per mu.

Sima Zhi nodded and said: "Master Fu, regarding farming skills, Zhi often takes people to the countryside to encourage farmers. If farming is done intensively, there will still be a shortage of oxen. Without oxen, people need to carry plows."

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said: "There is a shortage of farming cattle, so Jun has asked Jingchu to buy them. Jun has been observing farming for a long time, and he secretly thought that after the rice fields have a good harvest, he can let the people sow wheat for the next year. Two crops a year, the people can get Abundance.”

"Growing wheat?"

Sima Zhi said thoughtfully: "People in the Central Plains sow beans and millet, and in autumn and winter they plant permanent wheat, which is harvested in the next year, and in the second year and third year. If wheat is planted in the south of the Yangtze River today, rice is planted in the spring, and permanent wheat is planted in the autumn. , that is, two harvests per year.”

As he spoke, Sima Zhi's eyes lit up and he said, "If it can be done, the harvest per acre in the fields will increase by several percent!"

　There were major problems with the farming methods in the previous book, which I didn’t discover until later in the writing.For this book, I carefully studied the history of crop changes in our country again to write this chapter.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)