Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 59 The war is coming
“Pah…Pah…Pah…”

"Hit it gently, don't let the corn fly away!"

"Haha, with so much corn, life is getting better and better!"

"These straws and millet husks are enough to feed tens of thousands of poultry!"

"Raising poultry! Yes! I have never eaten poultry that I raised myself in my life!"

"Me too, haha..."

Outside Shandan City, the activity was in full swing.

Thanks to God's favor, there has been no rain in Shandan since mid-August. This climate has accelerated the ripening of crops outside the city.

Seeing the crops turning yellow in large numbers, Liu Jilong, who was already worried about changes in Shanzhou, did not dare to delay and immediately led the military and civilians in the city to start the harvesting work.

"Don't worry, this year is a good year!"

Standing in front of the South City Gate Tower, Ma Cheng and Geng Ming both smiled and looked eagerly at the grain carts that were continuously being transported into the city.

Outside the South City, hundreds of soldiers and civilians were busy harvesting. The ripe crops fell down one by one under the sickles.

"Are the drying mats and threshers ready? Has the barn been checked?"

Liu Jilong asked the question with a smile on his face. Cui Shu, who was standing in the corner, stepped forward and answered: "Everything is ready. The thresher you made is really amazing. It is much better than a stone mill."

"Yes, yes, yes. There is also the Hexi plow. It is much better than the plow we used before. It will be much more convenient to plow the land after the spring!"

Seeing Cui Shu flattering him, Ma Cheng also quickly followed suit and boasted about Liu Jilong's inventions.

In response, Liu Jilong did not interrupt them, but he did not get complacent either.

Many agricultural tools in the Tang Dynasty were still slightly behind those in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

After all, Liu Jilong grew up in the countryside, and many manual agricultural tools were deeply engraved in his memory. When the need arose, he naturally invented them.

Standing in his position, he could also see a huge waterwheel beside the Dan River not far away.

That waterwheel was not the one seen in the Tang Dynasty, but a waterwheel.

This type of waterwheel was more efficient, three or four times as efficient as the waterwheels used in the Tang Dynasty at that time.

"Thank God, it hasn't rained since the Mid-Autumn Festival. We estimate that we can harvest 20,000 dan of corn this year!"

"I hope..."

Listening to Cui Shu's words, Liu Jilong couldn't stop smiling.

From early morning to dusk, cartloads of corn were harvested and transported into the city.

Fortunately, Liu Jilong had made preparations in advance and had enclosed the uninhabited yards around the granary with a wall.

Even so, these granaries converted from courtyards are still filled with continuous grain loading.

"This hospital has 565 shi of grain in stock, which is registered."

"Straightforward reply, remember this."

"Well, the next one..."

It was already completely dark, and the people in the granary were still registering the stored grain. Liu Jilong did not dare to sleep either, and sat in the yamen waiting for the completion of today's grain registration.

It was not until midnight (23:) that Cui Shu returned with a thick document, exhausted.

"General, this is the first day's food inventory, with a total of 3,652 shi, 7 dou, and 3 jin!"

The excitement on Cui Shu's face could not be concealed. Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong hurriedly stood up, took the document and started to read it.

"Okay!" He said, and then looked at Cui Shu:

“How do you deal with the straw?”

"According to your instructions, we will first transport it to the horse farm in the city for storage. When it reaches 100,000 shi, we will give it to the people to use for raising poultry."

Cui Shu responded and continued, "Based on today's speed, we will be able to harvest all the corn in four days. The remaining beans, hemp and other crops should be harvested before the middle of the month."

"Well, thank you for your hard work." Liu Jilong breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the sky outside the hall.

The bright moon is hanging high in the sky and the cloudless sky seems to indicate that tomorrow will also be a good day.

"Don't worry, you should rest too."

Seeing that Liu Jilong had not yet gone to rest, Cui Shu couldn't help but try to persuade him.

Liu Jilong nodded, and after giving some instructions, he walked back to his yard on foot under the escort of two soldiers.

As I walked out of the yamen, I heard sounds of laughter coming from the houses not far away.

This situation occurred not just in one place, but laughter could be heard faintly from every household.

According to Liu Jilong's policy, the granaries were filled and counted first, and then half of the yield per acre was distributed to the farmers who owned the land.

As for those pure herders, the government issued rations to them, and they only had to help the government to herd the animals.

Although the grain was stored in the government warehouse, the people who had experienced the rush to harvest during the day knew that this year was a bumper year for Shandan, and Liu Jilong, who governed Shandan, was particularly famous in the city.

Liu Jilong walked around the street for a while and didn't return to the yard until midnight. When Cao Mao saw him coming back, he hurriedly stepped forward to take off his outer robe, and at the same time ran into the kitchen, first brought a basin of hot water for him to wash, and then returned to the kitchen to prepare the meal that had been prepared early.

"Don't worry, the food is here!"

Cao Mao brought the food with a smile, and soon stewed chicken, fried wild vegetables and a small bowl of rice were placed on the table.

Only Liu Biejiang, the third most powerful man in Shandan, could enjoy such a meal. After all, there were many cattle and sheep but few poultry in Hexi, let alone pigs.

A few days ago, Liu Jilong asked Cui Shu to count the poultry and livestock in the city. The result was that excluding cattle, sheep and horses, there were only more than 800 poultry and more than 60 native pigs in the city, and they were the slow-growing eight-browed pigs.

Although the Eight-browed Pig is a native pig of the Northwest, it grows slowly. Starting from a piglet, it only weighs about 80 kilograms after one year of breeding, and it takes at least three years to grow to 200 kilograms.

The feed used in these three years is enough to raise dozens or even hundreds of poultry. No wonder Hexi pork, which tastes so bad, can be sold at such a high price.

"After the autumn harvest, we will also promote the technology of fanning pigs."

Looking at the food in front of him, Liu Jilong planned what he should do next in his mind.

Cao Mao noticed his appearance and asked carefully, "Bie Jiang, have you eaten outside?"

"No, sit down and eat with us."

Liu Jilong picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and while eating he recalled the memories of his past life.

Since September, he has been worried about the war between Shang Bibi and Lun Kongre, so he took people to harvest the crops outside the city two days in advance, for fear that the war would spread outside the city.

But he waited for a long time, but there was no news from Qi Liancheng.

After more than half a month, he began to wonder if he had remembered the time wrong, or if Secretary Shi had made a mistake.

"Don't check! Don't check!"

"What's wrong!"

Liu Jilong had only taken a few bites when he heard Ma Cheng's anxious shouting.

He stood up to respond, and the door at the entrance was opened. Ma Cheng hurriedly ran in and bowed: "The Tangqi from Qilian City came outside the city, saying that there is something important!"

"Is the city gate open?" Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong hurriedly picked up the robe hanging beside him and put it on, preparing to walk out.

Ma Cheng quickly stopped him: "Geng Ming used a hanging basket to hoist them up to the city, and is bringing them here now."

As he spoke, he helped Liu Jilong put on his robe and hat.

When everything was done, Geng Ming appeared at the gate of the courtyard.

"come in!"

Liu Jilong interrupted Geng Ming who was about to salute. Seeing this, Geng Ming walked in with a team leader.

The man was covered in dust and his lips were dark purple in the firelight.

"Give him a bowl of chicken soup first."

After Liu Jilong gave an order, Ma Cheng poured a bowl of chicken soup from the stewed chicken on the table, hurried down the stairs and handed the chicken soup to him.

"Thank you, General Brigade..."

The team leader was shivering with cold. He took the chicken soup with a grateful look, and at Liu Jilong's signal, he picked up the bowl and drank it all.

After drinking a bowl of chicken soup, his trembling body immediately stabilized.

He took out the fish talisman from his chest, presented it with both hands, and said, "Pass on the military order from Zhang Sima, asking General Liu Bie to harvest the crops outside the city as soon as possible and prepare enough food and grass."

"What happened?" Liu Jilong took the fish talisman with both hands. He already had a premonition in his heart, but he still couldn't help asking.

"It was Shang Bibi from Shanzhou who sent someone to deliver the letter. The content is unclear, but after reading it, Sima Zhang asked us to come and tell the other generals to harvest the grain and grass."

"In addition, Sima Zhang also sent troops to Zhangye, and I heard that he was asking for help."

The team leader explained everything he knew, and Liu Jilong's face darkened when he heard it.

He was not panicked because he had gone through all of this in his mind countless times.

He turned his head to look at Ma Cheng and Geng Ming: "Pass my order, from now on, all men and women in the city will be divided into three teams, and they must harvest all the crops outside the city within five days!"

"I obey your command!" Ma Cheng bowed to Geng Ming. Liu Jilong turned around to look at the group leader and patted his arms.

"Go to the barracks and rest. I'll have someone prepare enough soup and rice for you. You've worked hard on this journey."

"Thank you very much, General!" The captain bowed in gratitude. After Liu Jilong gave a few instructions, he let them all leave the yard.

After everyone left, Cao Maocai said with a worried look on his face: "Don't worry...are we going to have a war?"

"Hmm..." Liu Jilong walked to the main table in the hall, pulled out the horizontal sword that had just been made on the table, held it upright in front of himself, and looked at the blade carefully.

"Will they attack Shandan?"

Cao Mao looked nervous, but Liu Jilong had a burning gaze.

“They can’t get in!”

(End of this chapter)