pappabearbooks Chapter 109 Small-Peasant Mentality
Chapter 109 Small-Peasant Mentality
He walked back to the desk, picked up a document that had been sent from various places in the past few days, turned to a page, and pushed it in front of Li Feng.
"Take a look at this."
Li Feng looked down and saw a report on agriculture sent from Siwu County. It read, "Since the beginning of summer, there has been little rainfall, the water level of the Si River has dropped, and many fields along the river are showing signs of drought."
His expression gradually turned serious.
"This is just the beginning."
Li Sheng's voice was low and deep.
"This year's drought is much more severe than everyone thinks. When the autumn harvest comes, you will see what 'a thousand miles of barren land' really means. At that time, crops will not grow, and even tree bark and grass roots will be fought over for food. If we do not prepare in advance, we may not be able to survive, let alone save the people."
Li Feng's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
"But General... who can predict the celestial phenomena? What if we spend all the grain, but the drought doesn't come...?"
Seeing his hesitation, Li Sheng understood that Li Feng was not acting out of personal motives.
This man, who had fought his way up from Dongping Village, had now risen from a commoner to a local official. Although Li Feng's status had changed, his mindset was still evolving. He still harbored the peasant's mentality of "saving grain and living a peaceful life."
It's not his fault.
Anyone who suddenly finds themselves sitting at the desk of someone in charge of the administration of Xiapi County, going from a rural peasant struggling to even have enough to eat, would inevitably have their eyes still on the piles of real grain in the granaries.
Every grain of rice and every drop of water is hard-earned; a single word, "allocate grain," and thousands upon thousands of bushels of grain would flow out of the granary. Li Feng naturally felt the pinch; this was not just grain, but also the wealth that the Taiping Army brothers had fought and won.
However, Li Feng's vision is currently limited to Xiapi's harvest this year, while what he sees is the situation for the next three or even five years.
First of all, mobilizing displaced people to build water conservancy projects is a major positive development regardless of whether a drought occurs.
He remembered reading the Xiapi County Annals before. During the reign of Emperor Zhang of Han, Zhang Yu, the chancellor of Xiapi, built water conservancy projects, opened water gates, and facilitated irrigation. In the same year, hundreds of hectares of cultivated land were reclaimed. By the following year, the cultivated land had increased to more than 4,000 hectares, yielding more than one million bushels of grain. Even poor people from neighboring counties brought their families to join him, and the houses were connected, forming a small market.
It's clear that water conservancy projects have nothing to do with whether it's a famine year or not. In a famine year, water conservancy projects can ensure the livelihood of the people in a county; in a bumper year, water conservancy projects can increase the county's harvest by several times. Either way, it's a highly profitable business.
Secondly, it also brought many benefits in mobilizing displaced people.
If we leave those people who fled from the south alone and let them roam freely outside the city, trouble is bound to break out sooner or later. But if we organize them into laborers, give them tools, and have them repair irrigation canals, dig ditches, and build dikes, firstly, they will have something to do and won't be idle and cause trouble; secondly, since they are eating the Taiping Army's food and working for the Taiping Army, they will naturally remember the Taiping Army's kindness, making it easier to organize and manage them in the future; and thirdly, once the irrigation canals are completed, next year's harvest will be guaranteed.
It can be said that the construction of water conservancy projects is a truly great thing.
However, it's not enough for me to understand the benefits of this myself; I also need to explain it to Li Feng so that he can understand as well.
After all, I am not fighting alone. Only by cultivating these people can I better establish a peaceful world in the future.
So he patiently explained the pros and cons to Li Feng, hoping that he could understand the key points.
"..."
"So, did you understand?"
After a long while, Li Feng finally slowly raised his head.
His eyes were much clearer than before.
"General... I was shortsighted. I understood what you meant by building canals to accommodate displaced people."
Li Sheng looked into his eyes and nodded.
"It's not a bad thing that you're thrifty. But we're going to build a much bigger empire in the future. Right now you're in charge of a county, so you can't just focus on the granaries in front of you; you have to think about the long-term future of the county. If you become the governor of a prefecture in the future, you'll have to think about the long-term future of the prefecture. You have to have a long-term vision."
Li Feng stood up, solemnly clasped his hands in a fist and bowed.
"I understand, thank you for your guidance, General."
"Go."
Li Sheng waved his hand.
"If you're unsure about anything, feel free to ask me. This is a big undertaking, and you can't handle it all by yourself. Promote someone who can help you; you don't have to do everything yourself."
Li Feng responded and strode out of the county government office.
Li Sheng watched his departing figure and nodded slightly.
Li Feng is a man of exceptional intelligence, cautious nature, and diligence; he always handles tasks assigned to him perfectly. With proper training, he will undoubtedly become a great general!
With Li Sheng's attention, the reconstruction of water conservancy in Xiapi County progressed rapidly. With the assistance of the county's water management department, a plan was quickly designed.
On the morning of the third day, notices were posted simultaneously at all four gates of Xiapi County.
The notice was written in plain language and its meaning was simple and clear: The Taiping Army is recruiting laborers to build water conservancy projects. Two meals a day will be provided. Those who work will be given dry rice, while the elderly, women and children will be given thin porridge. Anyone who is willing to come will be accepted, with priority given to refugees.
As soon as the notice was posted, a large crowd gathered at the city gate.
Those who could read stood in front and read aloud, albeit haltingly, to the people behind them.
When the phrase "two meals provided" was read out, a buzz of discussion erupted from the crowd, and the eyes of the refugees who had fled with their families lit up.
"Two meals provided? Really?"
"The Taiping Army keeps their word; they even distributed dry rations to us the day before yesterday!"
"Let's go give it a try! We're just waiting to die anyway!"
The crowd stirred, and some impatient people had already shouldered their bags and rushed toward the registration location written on the notice.
The news spread like wildfire among the refugees.
By the afternoon, a long queue of people had formed to register. The clerk in charge of registration was so busy that he couldn't even lift his head. He dipped his brush again and again, and the names in the registration book were densely written on more than a dozen pages.
An elderly man with white hair came to register, leaning on a cane. The clerk looked at his gray hair, hesitated for a moment, but still registered him. He couldn't do heavy work, but he could do something light, even if it was just handing over tools or boiling water, he could still get a ration to support his family.
Some teenagers came with their parents. The adults took the pickaxes and shovels, and the children followed behind, carrying small bamboo baskets to pick up stones.
Although the family was exhausted and covered in sweat, their smiles remained.
Li Feng was so busy at the construction site that he barely had time to rest.
He organized the refugees into teams based on their villages and towns, with each team having a captain in charge of fifty people. Above them was a general captain who oversaw ten captains.
In this way, although there were several thousand people, there was still a basic order, and things didn't turn into complete chaos.
The tools were requisitioned from the county treasury and the countryside. If there wasn't enough, the blacksmiths would work harder to make more. The blacksmiths' furnaces burned day and night, and the clanging of hammering metal echoed from morning till night.