I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 62 Winter Wheat

Liu Bian found that among the people he met, wheat was grown in the middle and upper-class fields.

Winter wheat is sown after the autumnal equinox, and in normal years it is harvested in May of the following year. There is not enough time in between to plant another season of corn or rice, so soybeans with low yields can only be planted.

When he asked why they didn't plant corn or rice, the people couldn't explain the reason. They only knew that in recent years, everyone planted winter wheat and soybeans, and the government also encouraged the planting of winter wheat.

It was Cai Yong who read a lot of various books, including agricultural books, that gave Liu Bian the answer.

Cai Yong's statement is: "Yin and yang change positions. When it is warm, it turns cold. There is always a miserable wind in spring, and there is frost and hail in summer."

Ultimately, it’s a climate issue.

Cai Yong said again: "In the past, the farming in Liangzhou could still supply the inner counties. When Guangwu regained Liangzhou, the yield per mu of land was greatly reduced, and grain had to be transported from the inner counties. However, in Guandong and Hebei, there was less rain in spring and winter, and more rain in summer and autumn, and even The same place can have droughts and floods in the same year."

During the reign of Emperor Wu, winter wheat had been clearly promoted at the national level. The biggest reason at that time was that the growth cycle of winter wheat could just avoid floods in summer and autumn, and it could better adapt to cold and dry fields, and make better use of land after disasters.

This is also the advantage of winter wheat today. Summer and autumn are the grain filling and fruiting periods of rice. Once there is long-term rainfall and lack of light, the yield will be greatly affected.

Although corn is more drought-resistant than wheat, its planting and harvesting periods almost overlap with those of rice, and the fruiting period will also be affected in the same way.

In addition, the amount of water in northern rivers used for irrigation is also reduced due to climate change.

Although the ancients did not understand the scientific principles, they were able to summarize their experience.

In the past, rice and corn were grown in paddy fields and dry fields together, and the overall output was more than winter wheat and soybeans. Now it is helpless to give up.

In the past, some dry lands that could grow corn can now only grow soybeans.

Soybeans are good. The growth cycle is only three or four months, and there is not much land to pick. However, the yield is low.

During this period, Liu Bian met with Luoyang Nannan Wei who came to visit on behalf of local officials and gave him some advice.

He said that every year before March, he would work with the three elders and Youyou in the local area to inform every household to be careful and guard against thieves.

Liu Bian was stunned, and then thought that many people would run out of food in March...

What a high emotional intelligence!

Afterwards, many people came to watch the excitement after hearing about it. In addition to nearby villagers, they also included students from Taixue.

Guo Sheng planned to send Yu Lin Wei to disperse them, but Liu Bian refused.

Considering safety and time, Liu Bian finally chose to say goodbye to Zheng Xuan, Cai Yong, Zheng Yi, and Cai Yan one by one.

He also asked Cai Yong if he was returning to Luoyang with him. Cai Yong did not refuse and followed Liu Bian in his own carriage.

……

In Hedong County, Yang Feng and others surrendered with more than 40,000 Baibo bandits, most of whom were old, weak, women and children.

Gai Xun registered them in accordance with the agreement, settled them in and around Baibo Valley, distributed land, and applied to the court to exempt them from taxes this year.

Later, Gai Xun received an order from the imperial court to send him to lead troops into Bingzhou to fight against the remaining Baibo bandits.

Even though Yang Feng and others seemed to sincerely surrender, Gai Xun still selected a thousand strong men from the more than 40,000 people who surrendered to serve as temporary county soldiers, dispersed them among the army, and ordered Yang Feng, Li Le, and Hu Cai to He followed the army into Bingzhou.

Although Yang Feng and others were unwilling, facing Gai Xun's question of "the Han and the traitors are not at odds with each other", they could only honestly join the army.

By this time, Huang Zhong had also arrived for several days.

Gai Xun then led Liu Bei's two thousand assault cavalry as the vanguard, and Huang Zhong led his own army with a thousand men under his command. The army totaled seven thousand and chased Guo Tai and other thieves away.

By the time the news that the prince would be canonized on March 6th reached Gai Xun, they had already found the Baibo bandits who had just looted a place. At the same time, he also met Niu Fu of Dong Zhuojun.

Going back to attend the canonization ceremony was certainly out of the question.

Liu Bei suggested to Gai Xun: "Today we must destroy the bandits and congratulate Your Highness!"

Gai Xun didn't object, not because he was celebrating, but because he had caught up with Mrs. Guo, so he naturally had no reason to let him go.

"Go quickly and invite Captain Niu to come here to discuss matters."

Previously, although the imperial court ordered Gai Xun to enter Bingzhou to fight against thieves, it did not say who would take charge during the encounter.

But now that Dong Zhuo is gone, Niu Fu alone is obviously unable to equal Gai Xun.

However, Niu Fu was not willing to attack together with Gai Xun, but said: "The general has been ordered by the emperor to take charge of the military affairs of Bingzhou. He will arrive here the day after tomorrow. It is better to wait for the general to arrive before discussing how to attack."

Gai Xun said: "The fighter plane is fleeting. Two days later, the Baibo thieves' defenses will be more complete and their attack will be easier to block."

Niu Fu still refused.

Zhang Fei, who couldn't hold back, said angrily: "How can I talk to you with good words and good words, just like a piece of wood, only knowing the same thing?"

Niu Fu glanced sideways at Zhang Fei and saw that he was just a commander of the army, so he said: "I have long heard that the master of the government is good at governing. Now that I have seen it, it is true..."

Liu Bei quickly stopped Zhang Fei, who was about to get angry again.

Niu Fu added: "Since Mr. Fu has come to Xihe, my general should fulfill his duty as a landlord. And Mr. Fu is a guest from afar. How can there be any reason in the world to use a guest to deceive the master?"

The day after tomorrow, the general will discuss with the prince how to attack the Baibo bandits. "

After that, Niu Fu said goodbye and left.

Gai Xun didn't stop him and let him go.

After he left, Zhang Fei calmed down his anger and asked puzzledly: "This man uttered evil words, why didn't you see the prince angry?"

Gai Xun asked, "Why are you angry?"

Zhang Fei opened his mouth, but only said: "He has a bad attitude."

Gai Xun said: "I am not his superior officer. This time he must have thought that I wanted to take away his superior officer's credit. Moreover, he is Dong Zhongying's son-in-law. His behavior is understandable."

Zhang Fei felt strange, but couldn't refute Gai Xun.

At this time, Guan Yu said: "This is an act of abolishing the public service for private purposes. How can we lose the chance of fighting because of greed for merit?"

Gai Xun affirmed: "This statement is justified. After this war, I should write a letter to the central government based on this."

In the past few months, Liu Bei had learned a lot about the ways of writing letters when he was the Councilor. Hearing this, he reminded Gai Xun: "At that time, he will definitely use the lack of troops as a pretext for the imperial court, and may even oppose the Lord Shenfu's greed for merit and advance rashly."

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has his own decision to make! It's just that I have only one army, so the strength is a little weak." Gai Xun turned to ask Huang Zhong, "Han Sheng, how many people in the army sneaked out of the barracks to interact with the Baibo bandits?"

Huang Zhong replied: "More than ten people were let go. The one with the highest military rank was a corps commander. Yang Feng, Li Le and Hu Cai were all silent. In addition, there was another person who I don't know whether he was loyal or traitor... …”

"Yang Feng has a subordinate who was originally reused, named Xu Huang. He came to me earlier today and said that he caught a person who was instructed by Hu Cai and wanted to contact Guo Tai secretly, but the person who was caught But he claims to be innocent.”

Gai Xun said: "We will know tomorrow whether he is loyal or treacherous. We must gather the troops tonight and pretend to attack at night. I want to see if Mrs. Guo knows whether she will defend her tonight or not!"

(End of this chapter)