Chapter 847 Preparations for war

  When the Yellow River reaches the Tanyin Ferry, the water surface becomes open and the water potential becomes gentle. It is a good place to cross the river.

   But here, there is a hill rising abruptly, which has become a natural military fortress.

  Climb up this hill, and you can see dozens of miles around the ferry.

  West of the Yellow River, you can see a lot of cattle and sheep, and there are herdsmen riding horses, running around the flock, and at the same time there is a faint sound of barking dogs.

  Those scattered haystacks that resemble domes are actually silage silos.

  On this side of the Yellow River, a large number of oxen are plowing the ground with eight oxen plows.

  There is a ditch at the foot of the mountain, which is the Ferry Avenue.

  At the end of Ferry Avenue, a wide pontoon bridge made of pontoons spans the east and west banks.

  On both sides of it, there are two small pontoon bridges composed of sheepskin rafts as auxiliary bridges.

   "Brother-in-law, look, Xu Erniang's plan is that the west bank of the big river should not be disturbed for the time being. You can first sow some alfalfa seeds and make a semi-captive pasture."

   "The first thing we want to reclaim is the large area on the east coast..."

  The little lady of the Zhang family made an introduction to Feng Junhou with a straight face.

   Feng Junhou looked at her small face and knew that she was sullen.

  He beckoned and shouted to the guard: "Bring an oil umbrella over here, don't wink!"

  The guards who were far away quickly climbed up, handed Feng Junhou an umbrella, and then quickly disappeared on the mountainside.

  Feng Junhou opened the umbrella, held it above Zhang Xiaosi's head, and then said with concern: "Si Niang, I see that your face is sweating, come, let me wipe it for you."

  Clearly knew that this guy had bad intentions, but the little lady of the Zhang family couldn't hold back her tense face. She gritted her teeth, kicked him a few times, and cursed angrily:

   "Death without conscience! Death without conscience!"

  Feng Guiwang was tall and strong, Zhang Xiaosi's fists and feet were not as powerful as General Guan's, and he didn't kick people cruelly.

  Ghost King Feng grinned, "Ouch" twice, as if to give Zhang Xiaosi a face.

  The two were flirting, and the personal guard led people up the mountain again.

   "I've seen Junhou, I've seen Mrs. Zhang."

  The Xu family's second wife and Li Tong and his wife bowed their heads together.

   Feng Yong nodded, pretending to be a serious person, and said:

   "Get up. Mrs. Li Xu, I didn't mean anything else by calling you here this time. I just wanted to ask about the reclamation situation on the east coast."

   As he said, he pointed to the foot of the mountain, "From here to Zuli, how much wasteland can be opened up, have you calculated it?"

  Xu Erniang was wearing a narrow jacket with tight sleeves handed down from Nanxiang. From the shoes to the trouser legs, there were also some spots of mud. It seemed that she was a hard worker.

   She stroked her hair on the sideburns, as if to clear her mind, and then said slowly:

   "Dare to ask the king, does it include the west side of the river?"

  Feng Yong heard the words and looked at the west bank of the Yellow River again, "Since the west side of the big river is not moving for the time being, it is naturally not included."

  Xu Erniang nodded: "If it is not included, about 300,000 mu of fertile land can be developed from the ferry to Zuli County."

   "300,000 mu of fertile land? Are you sure? It's not Zhongtian?"

   This number slightly exceeded Feng Yong's expectations.

  Xu Erniang nodded and said affirmatively: "Hui Junhou, it is indeed good land. Among the 300,000 mu, there are more than 70,000 mu, which were cultivated in the early years to grow Yutou, so this year can be directly cultivated."

"There are more than 100,000 mu, and beans need to be planted first, and then grain is planted in the second year. In the last 100,000 mu, alfalfa fertilizer land must be planted first, so that the raw land becomes mature land, and beans can be planted for another year before grain can be grown. .”

   "But as long as food can be grown, it will eventually become a good field. I can guarantee this."

  What Xu Erniang said is the basic process of opening up wasteland in Xinghanhui.

  And this set of procedures starts from the time when Hanzhong was reclaimed and Feng Yong became Wei Cheng of the Diannong School in Hanzhong.

  Fengjiazhuang had a bumper harvest of grain, and harvested a lot more grain per mu than other families. Coupled with the introduction of Quyuanli and Baniuli, Feng Langjun was considered an expert in farming at that time.

  In half-cooked fields, beans are planted first, and grains are planted in the second year, so that the grains can grow better.

  Many people who went to Hanzhong to reclaim the land tried it dubiously, and then gave thumbs up in the second year, thinking that Feng Langjun is a good person.

   This trend started at that time.

   Then, after two years, the prime minister marched south and the Xinghan Association was established. With the relationship between the second generation of power in the association and the new thing of wool, Huishou Feng almost monopolized the beans in the Han territory.

  Especially Ludou, which was looted by the Xinghan Society, and then transported to Nanzhong to support the army of the Southern Expedition.

   That is to say, by taking advantage of the opportunity of Nanzheng, Xinghanhui will gain a firm foothold in an instant.

   After this wave of operations, not to mention outsiders, even the insiders of the Xinghanhui felt that Feng Huishou was simply planning foresight.

   Earlier, some people laughed at him for revealing those farming skills foolishly, but they had planned it in advance.

  But no matter what, if you plant some beans on the newly opened wasteland, or when the fields are rotated, and then sprinkle some manure on the next year’s cultivation, you can always harvest a few more buckets of grain, which is a good thing.

  So this method of farming has become a popular practice of Dahan farming.

   As for growing alfalfa, let alone.

  When he was bald and went to the Ju County trading market, if he hadn't brought alfalfa seeds with him, how could it be so easy to get Feng Langjun's sincere friendship?

   To open a grassland and raise livestock in captivity, silage is indispensable. If you want to silage, you must have enough forage. If you want enough forage, alfalfa is a must.

  At the same time, alfalfa also has the ability to improve soil fertility.

  The royal family can now lie down and enjoy the dividends. It is still due to the empress's unique insight that she lent the tens of thousands of acres of Huangzhuang owned by Hanzhong Metallurgical Corporation to Feng Langjun to plant grass.

  This kind of favor is not insignificant to Feng Langjun, who started his business.

   Again, no matter whether it is the former Xinghanhui or the current Xiaowei Mansion, all strong expansions are based on sufficient supply.

  Whether it is for people or livestock.

  People eat food, and livestock eat grass and beans.

  Wherever the pasture is open, the pasture will be there, and wherever the pasture is open, alfalfa will be planted. This is the most basic.

  Feng Huishou has not returned to Jincheng for so many years, but as long as he asks for something, the brothers in the club will support him even if he sells his underwear.

   Over the years, it is not that no one has thought of hooking up with the core figures in the Xinghan Club, but they all failed without exception.

   Not only because of King Feng's current status, power, and the benefits he can bring to Xinghan Society, etc., the awe in everyone's hearts is also an important aspect.

   After all, anyone who looks back afterwards will feel a chill in his heart.

  Being in the game for so many years without knowing it, it was only afterwards that I suddenly discovered that there are many things that my brother has arranged unconsciously from the beginning.

  So it really takes the courage to face death as home to fight against your brother.

   After all, it is still too difficult for the boys in their twenties in the Xinghan Club to fight against a **** who is good at digging holes at least a few years in advance.

  Of course, Feng Junhou doesn’t know what others think, but he has his own ideas:

   "For the 300,000 mu, just use 100,000 mu to grow grain, and the remaining 200,000 mu to grow beans first."

  Speaking, Feng Junhou looked at Zhang Xingyi again, "After returning, Si Niang will draw up an official document and set the rules."

  Zhang Xingyi nodded, expressing understanding.

  100,000 mu of fertile land sounds like a lot, but if you do a rough calculation, it can only feed a thousand or so families all year round, and at the same time have some surplus for sideline business.

  The Colonel's Mansion has a lot of autonomy, so it doesn't need too much arable land, this is what the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty said.

  Feng Junhou said that this logic...is perfect, and he raised his hands to show his approval.

  Besides, by this time next year, there will be at least 16,000 more usable mules in the Captain's Mansion. With the addition of war horses, the demand for beans will further expand.

  So this needs to be prepared in advance.

   "There is also the area on the west bank of the big river. Let's turn it into a grassland for the time being, and forget about the cultivated land."

  Feng Yong turned around and looked to the west, the slightly undulating north of the wilderness, he didn't know if it was his own illusion, it seemed that he could faintly see the Great Wall.

  Although the water and grass in Longyou are still lush at this time, after crossing the Yellow River, the further west you go, the changes in water and soil can already be seen with the naked eye.

  When the food supply is sufficient, it is better to keep that piece of wasteland as pasture than to develop it as arable land, even if it is to leave some environment for children and grandchildren to toss about.

  Xu Erniang glanced at Feng Yong in surprise, as if she didn't understand why Feng Junhou wanted to restrict farming, but the amount of livestock under the Xiaowei's Mansion was huge, and beans were almost as important as food.

   Besides, there is always food coming from the rear, so it is not incomprehensible to grow beans.

  So she responded: "No."

   After Feng Yong finished speaking, he glanced at Zhang Xingyi.

  Zhang Xingyi understood, and then asked:

   "Li Langjun, how is the scale of livestock bees this year compared to last year?"

  In just two years, the application of manual printing has been promoted within Xinghanhui at an extremely fast speed.

   Just the test papers of several schools, the tabloids in the army, and the communication of various government orders from the Xiaowei Mansion and Yuexuan County made the beeswax extremely tight.

   It is foreseeable that with Feng Yong serving as governor of Liangzhou, the demand for beeswax will skyrocket.

   After all, who is used to hand-printing, who wants to copy by hand?

   It is easy to make mistakes and omissions, but the most important thing is that the efficiency is not high.

  Before Ah Mei got out the manual mimeograph machine, all official documents had to be copied one by one from Xiaowei’s Mansion to the county, then from the county to the township, and finally from the township to the pavilion, and then to the village.

  If the county copy something wrong, and the township copy some more omissions, it is not impossible for it to become the opposite policy when it is spread to Tingheli.

  Printed by hand, as long as one copy is made, hundreds of copies can be printed directly.

  Wars are fought not only on national strength and resources, but also on mobilization efficiency, organizational capabilities, and so on.

  Feng Guiwang beat Cao Da Sima, in addition to relying on surprise, advanced arms, etc., the strong organizational ability of the officers and men of the Colonel's Mansion withstood the huge pressure in the early stage, which was also an extremely important factor.

  So the beeswax, which affects the organizational efficiency of the Captain's Mansion, can also be regarded as a war preparation material.

  When there is a major festival or dinner in the Captain's Mansion, a few candles will be lighted.

  Usually they light oil lamps.

  The Feng family is not rich either!

   Even the little lady of the Zhang family, who used to be able to show off her wealth with candles made of beeswax, now has to light tung oil lamps.

  The quality of life has declined, and the young lady of the Zhang family must be dissatisfied, so she must work hard to increase the scale of beekeeping.

   Li Tong didn't know if he felt the sun was too big, so he wiped the sweat from his forehead:

   "Ms. Zhang, although some new bee colonies have been expanded this year, but a month ago, the bees were attacked by insects, so, so..."

  When Zhang Xingyi heard this, his little face sank.

  Unbelievable guy!

   Doesn't give me a long face at all!

  No Promise!

  …

   Feng Junhou, on the other hand, knows that the risk of breeding is too great for ordinary people to bear. Even ordinary wealthy families can only raise them sporadically.

   Immediately, he quickly smoothed things over, "Natural disasters and insect disasters are beyond human predictability. You can't blame you for this, but you need to be more careful in the future and pay attention to the surroundings of the beehive."

  Li Tong responded quickly: "Yes, yes, the villain understands. After the villain returns, he will arrange it himself and take the lead in inspecting all the beehives."

  Now Li Langjun has a happy family, a happy life, and some small power in his hands, so he can be regarded as a decent person.

   Not to mention all the things he experienced in the past, he cherishes the little life now, how dare he be a little bit stabbed?

  Zhang Xingyi snorted, but it was hard to say anything else.

  Feng Yong asked some more about the farming under the Xiaowei Mansion. After learning about the situation, he gave some more instructions, and then let Li Tong and his wife go down.

   "Okay, this Li Tong has done a good job, there is no need to be so angry."

  Feng Junhou saw that Miss Zhang was still unhappy, so he spoke.

  At least in terms of meat supply, the Captain's Mansion is not lacking, and Li Tong is also credited.

   "What's good, I can't even light a candle at night, is that not bad?"

  The young lady of the Zhang family said unreasonably.

   "Let's be reasonable, who doesn't know that at least half of the big man's honey is in the hands of the little lady of the Zhang family?"

  Feng Junhou avoids the beeswax, and comes up with a trick to avoid the truth:

   "This honey is more expensive than brown sugar. Just for the supply of honey, I don't know how many people owe you favors."

   "Not to mention the income of honey, how many big men are worth more than you? Are you not satisfied?"

   This rainbow fart was so good, Miss Zhang finally had a smug expression on her face, "I earned that by myself!"

   Then he squinted at Feng Junhou again, "It is true that there are not many people who are richer than me, but which one of the few people around me is not more than me?"

  Feng Junhou coughed, and said with a straight face: "Nonsense! At most, there is only one comparable to you!"

  It's good that Feng Junhou didn't say this, but when he said this, Zhang Xingyi immediately became furious, and she gritted her teeth:

   "Why do I compare myself to others? I just want to compare with her!"

   "Si Niang, forget it, let's not compare, we can't compare..."

   "No!" Zhang Xingyi glared at Feng Junhou angrily, "I have no guts! If you don't help me, I will find a way by myself. One day, I will definitely surpass her!"

  Feng Junhou pretended not to hear.

  The women of the Feng family all have their own spheres of influence.

  Li Mu controls Nanxiang's economic lifeline, at least half of the cash flow of the Feng Mansion is provided by her.

  Although Amei seems to be extremely low-key, she is addicted to the sea of ​​knowledge and cannot extricate herself. She has an extremely important influence on the various equipment used in all aspects of the Captain's Mansion.

  At the same time, she is also responsible for training the engineers needed by the Hanyang Manufacturing Bureau. In the future, if the Hanyang Manufacturing Bureau really wants to take shape, then she will be the actual founder.

  As for the wife of the Feng family, let alone.

  Because the goal of the young lady of the Zhang family has always been the general Guan.

   It’s just that General Guan is in charge of the Feng Mansion, and Miss Zhang wants to compare with General Guan, that is to compare with the entire Feng Mansion...

   Feng Junhou is very supportive of her courage, but he is not optimistic about her struggle.

  Alas, hope is too slim...

   "Si Niang, it's too hot, let's go down first, how about I accompany you to the riverside to see the scenery?"

  Feng Junhou coaxed, "Or I will cook tonight and make you a dish."

   "I want to eat tofu!"

   It is estimated that the talk about beans just now made the little lady of the Zhang family feel something, so she made such a request.

   "No problem, what kind of tofu do you want?"

   "What do you think?"

  (end of this chapter)