Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 83 Daida Law

Mr. Wu replied, "There are still eight families who cannot afford to buy mulberry seedlings."

Yan Yi pondered for a moment. He had originally intended to provide financial assistance to these impoverished people, but he worried that this would make them dependent, and even more worried that other people would develop a mentality of getting something for nothing and feeling resentful of inequality. So he instructed Cao Qiu, "When building canals and city defenses, give priority to recruiting those from difficult circumstances."

Unlike using money and copper to drive the people and refugees to build fortifications for free, he provided financial subsidies when he used these laborers.

Whether it was digging ditches and building canals or constructing city defense fortifications, it was a project that took several months. As long as the poor people actively participated, it would not be a problem to support their families, and they could also save some money.

People's livelihood is under the jurisdiction of the Household Department. Cao Qiu did not dare to be careless and quickly agreed.

Mrs. Wu said with gratitude, "I, on behalf of all the villagers, would like to thank you, Young Master. You always think of us common people. I don't know how I can ever repay you for this kindness."

"As the magistrate of Yuncheng, I will properly accommodate you. There is no need to thank me." Yan Yi smiled faintly and turned his eyes around. He came out to inspect the house today just to solve the problem on the ground. You must know that the army will be going out soon and he can't stay in Yuncheng for long.

After observing for a moment, he pointed to a dilapidated section of wall in the distance and asked, "If the wall is damaged, why isn't anyone repairing it?"

Walls are a powerful barrier against thieves. Whenever the walls in the village are damaged, the village head should organize the villagers to repair them as soon as possible, otherwise he would be derelict in his duty.

Mr. Wu fell to his knees with a thud and kowtowed, saying, "I have failed in my duty. Please punish me, young master!"

Yan Yi personally inspected the village, not only to investigate the situation but also to see if the newly appointed officials were competent. Upon hearing this, he said, "Tell me first, why haven't you repaired the village wall?"

Mr. Wu bowed his head and said, "The spring rains are almost over. I'm worried that if spring planting is delayed, the autumn harvest will be delayed, so I'm organizing the villagers to plant rice seedlings first. I originally wanted to raise money to hire some laborers from other places to repair the wall, but all the money in the village has been raised to buy mulberry seedlings, leaving no money left. I saw that the bandits in the area have been annihilated by the young prince, and public security has been very good recently. I want to wait until most of the seedlings are planted before organizing manpower to repair the wall. Therefore, it has been delayed for some time, but people have been arranged to guard the night every night."

Yan Yi was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Things have their priorities. You're making arrangements based on the facts, and there's nothing wrong with that. However, repairing the inner walls can't be delayed either. Zi Ji, allocate 20,000 coins to each village for wall repairs." He then turned to a lieutenant beside him and said, "Have You Jiao notify all the pavilions and increase inspections in villages with damaged walls."

Cao Qiu and Wei Congzuo agreed at the same time.

Yan Yi then asked Wu Fu, "Is there anything else that needs to be resolved in the village?"

Wu Fu said respectfully, "There are still a few families whose families are small and who lack people to support them."

"Allow another 20,000 coins per village to support the orphans and widows." Yan Yi instructed Cao Qiu without hesitation, and then instructed Wu Fu: "You must also take good care of the orphans and widows in the village on a daily basis."

Wu Fu said with gratitude, "Don't worry, young master. This is my duty. I will do my best."

Yan Yi nodded slightly. Seeing that there was nothing else to do in the house, he walked towards the inner gate and said, "Come with me to the fields."

Cao Qiu, Wu Fu and others hurried to follow.

Yan Yi rode on Xuelibai outside the earthen bridge and gently pulled the reins. The warhorse under his crotch neighed and raised its front hooves high. Sitting on the horse's back, he looked back and saw that all the people in the village had followed him to the outside of the bridge and were kneeling on the ground.

"Everyone, get up and go back to your hut!" Yan Yi shouted loudly, whipping his horse lightly on the hip. The warhorse quickly accelerated and galloped towards the Jiuqu River. The people of the hut bowed, raised their heads, and silently watched his departing back. After a long while, they stood up one after another and returned to their hut.

Soon, Yan Yi, escorted by the knights, arrived near the river, dismounted, and walked towards the fields along a small path connecting to the official road.

The air was filled with the smell of moist earth and the faint fragrance of wild grass and wild flowers.

Yan Yi looked up and saw fields scattered in an orderly manner among the low-lying fields, with paths crisscrossing like a chessboard.

Barefoot farmers were working bent over in most fields.

Compared to the captives and slaves who worked the land for the wealthy, those who worked here were mostly common people and refugees who had just been allocated land. Judging from their expressions, although they were tired, they were in good spirits, and their eyes sparkled with earnest hope for the future.

A few fields have not yet been tilled and are being plowed with oxen.

The plows on the necks of these oxen are straight and heavy. Each plow is pulled by two oxen moving side by side.

This is the straight-beam plow commonly used in this era.

Yan Yi stood on the ridge of the field and watched for a while, and found that this straight-beam plow farming method was indeed less efficient and consumed a lot of oxen's energy, unlike the curved-beam plow, which could be pulled by an ox or even a person.

"Science and technology are the primary productive forces." He sighed inwardly, looked at the neat rows of ridges below him, and asked, "Is this the Daitian method?"

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture nearby replied, "Exactly. This method divides the arable land into one-foot-wide and deep ditches and one-foot-wide ridges. It's most suitable for wasteland with declining soil fertility. In the first year, sow seeds in the ditches, then dig in the soil from the ridges to bury the roots. In the second year, convert the ditches into ridges, and then the ridges into ditches, and continue sowing in the ditches, repeating this cycle. Because the fields are divided into cultivated and fallow zones, soil fertility recovers quickly, and it's also more effective in protecting against wind and drought."

The Daitian method was summarized and promoted by Zhao Guo, the commander of the Souri Commandery during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It is very suitable for reclaiming wasteland. Yan Yi casually asked, "Compared with ordinary farming methods, how much can this method increase productivity?"

The official from the Ministry of Agriculture replied without hesitation, "It increases production by about 20%, sometimes even more. However, this method requires a high level of labor and tillage, so it's not widely used in this dynasty anymore. It's generally used more for reclaiming wasteland."

Yan Yi had learned a lot of agricultural knowledge of the era and was not unfamiliar with farming methods. In addition to the Daitian method, the Qutian method, which emphasized more intensive farming, had also been promoted throughout the empire. This method could effectively increase per-mu yields, but it also required high levels of manpower and material resources, making it difficult to popularize in large-scale agricultural production.

No matter how good the farming methods are, without the support of production technologies such as farming tools, seedlings, irrigation, seed cultivation, fertilizers, and management, it will be difficult to significantly improve farming efficiency and grain yields.

Yan Yi sighed slightly in his heart, and once again felt an urgent need for the curved plow.

But the curved plow is only one type of farming tool. In order to significantly improve farming efficiency and grain production, he must also explore and develop in other areas.

The Sino-Agricultural Supervisor was the agency he established specifically to achieve all this. It was a sharp offensive weapon that was no weaker than other war tools.

(End of this chapter)