Chapter 112: Matters of the Summer Harvest and Military Farming

At dawn, Liu Chengxun woke from his sleep, and the palace eunuchs accompanying him had long since prepared hot water and towels for his washing. After a day and two nights of adjustment, much of the fatigue from the arduous march over mountains and rivers had been relieved, though the lingering drowsiness of early rising was still unavoidable.

Liu Chengxun was ordinarily a self-disciplined man. He washed up as usual, ate a light breakfast, then read for a while, and afterward, as if timing it precisely, went to find Liu Chengyou. After a night of consideration, he had decided to support his younger brother, but he intended to have another talk with Liu Chengyou first.

The surroundings were quiet, and the sky was not yet fully bright, still carrying the dimness of early morning. Only when he reached the courtyard where Liu Chengyou resided did he learn from the guards that Liu Chengyou had already gone to the front hall to handle affairs. When he got to the front, he was told that before dawn, Liu Chengyou had already taken people out of the city to inspect the summer harvest work.

With the summer solstice having passed, almost as if Liu Chengyou had been waiting for it, the wheat planted on the Central Hebei plains could finally be harvested. To the west lies the Taihang range, and the northwest is mostly mountainous, so the farmland within Zhenzhou's borders is concentrated mainly in the eastern and southern directions.

An endless sea of wheat fields, a golden expanse, wheat stalks bent low under the weight of heavy ears. The summer breeze blew through, stirring wave after wave of wheat. Farmers, bodies bent, swung their sickles, harvesting diligently, honest faces brimming with happy smiles...

Such a scene did not exist at all.

The destruction war had wrought upon the fields and crops was simply too severe. On the great plains, wheat fields were sparse and scattered. Take Luancheng, for example — its arable land was not much to begin with, and with insufficient population, not much grain was planted either. After that battle, of the wheat fields that had not been destroyed, fewer than three or four out of ten remained.

However, the Chengde Military Governorship administered the four prefectures of Zhen, Shen, Ji, and Zhao. The territory was large enough and the land fertile enough, and with Liu Chengyou having stabilized the situation in time, once the summer grain entered the granaries, it would greatly alleviate the current food shortage.

To show how much importance he placed on it, Liu Chengyou had already dispatched several Fiscal Commissioners with the army, leading troops to each prefecture to supply military needs, though in truth they were also there to oversee the grain. Liu Chengyou had truly been frightened by the lack of food.

In the wheat field, Liu Chengyou wore plain hemp clothing, a straw hat on his head to shield from the sun, sleeves rolled up to his arms, holding an ear of wheat in his hand — plump and substantial, glistening in the sunlight. If Liu Chengyou had also revealed a genuine smile, the advertising effect would have been achieved.

"The wheat has grown well, but it's a pity so much was destroyed by the war!" Li Gu, the Administrator of Zhenzhou Prefecture, walked along the ridge, stepping through the stubble to Liu Chengyou's side, speaking with some regret.

"Man-made calamity is already like this; fortunately, no natural disaster came to join in the fun!" Liu Chengyou said.

The wheat was winter wheat, growing for nearly ten months. During that period, the Khitan had destroyed the Later Jin, and the Central Plains and Hebei had fallen into great chaos. Under such turbulent circumstances, to still produce a harvest was truly no small feat.

Sitting down on the field ridge, Liu Chengyou took the water, drank a mouthful, then handed it to the drenched-in-sweat Li Gu, asking: "How fast is the harvesting going?"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Li Gu expressed his thanks, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and replied: "One able-bodied man can harvest about one and a half mu per day. At this pace, with both men and women working, the summer harvest in Luancheng can be finished in twenty days."

"What's the yield per mu?"

"Your subordinate has asked the old farmers. The most is about two hu, and the least is barely one hu!" Li Gu said.

"A bit low!" Liu Chengyou sighed, then said: "Conscript some able-bodied young men from Luancheng and send them to the various prefectures to help with the harvest, and finish the summer harvest as quickly as possible!"

Upon hearing the order, Li Gu reminded him: "Your Highness, the yield is not much, and the local labor force is already sufficient!"

A sly glint flashed through Liu Chengyou's eyes, and he said with a somewhat mercenary tone: "Naturally, it won't be free help. They'll be fed, and a commission ought to be charged..."

These farmlands all had owners, after all.

Li Gu was stunned for a moment, then quickly caught on and couldn't help but laugh. Looking at Liu Chengyou's sun-darkened face, he couldn't help but feel some emotion — who would have thought that an imperial prince could be so "calculating" as to covet even this small advantage. Yet even as he marveled, a trace of inexplicable admiration rose in his heart.

In Li Gu's eyes, this prince Liu Chengyou, though young in years, possessed both benevolent governance and love for the people. Li Gu had entered official service at thirty, and in over ten years since, he had rarely seen an imperial noble like Liu Chengyou.

"Once the summer harvest is finished, the summer planting should be organized as soon as possible!" Liu Chengyou continued his instructions.

Li Gu concealed the slight emotion in his eyes, drank some water, wiped his mouth, and replied: "Your subordinate has already sent people to survey the land. Within Zhenzhou's borders there is much unclaimed wasteland, and in Shen, Ji, and Zhao there is even more, and it is more fertile as well. At that time, we can distribute it to the refugees from various places, letting them open up the land for military farming. Having large numbers of refugees concentrated in Zhending is ultimately not a solution!"

After hearing Li Gu's reply, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but look at him, his eyes full of approval. Originally, Liu Chengyou had employed him because he had rendered meritorious service after the war, was a former Prefect of Cizhou with some reputation, and had been recommended by Xiang Xun. But after this period of time, Liu Chengyou discovered that this man truly had ability — a jinshi degree holder, accomplished in both civil and military affairs, with exceptional strategic insight and rich experience in both military service and governance.

"I had long intended this!" Liu Chengyou nodded.

Seeing this, Li Gu took the opportunity to make a request to Liu Chengyou: "But to implement it, we will need Your Highness's support."

"Speak."

"At present, much farmland lies abandoned, and there are refugees to supply labor, so land and manpower are not a problem. After the summer harvest, we should rotate to planting millet, but seeds and farming tools are in short supply. I hope Your Highness can allocate some funds and grain to purchase them. Additionally, those cattle seized in Luancheng..."

"You've been eyeing those seized goods all along, haven't you!" Liu Chengyou interrupted him.

Li Gu clasped his hands in salute and revealed a smile.

After thinking it over, Liu Chengyou said: "After returning to Zhending, I will naturally allocate a portion. As for farming tools, we have collected a large amount of broken and discarded weapons previously — we can find blacksmiths to melt them down and forge new ones. As for the plow oxen, how many do you want?"

Receiving Liu Chengyou's response, Li Gu's expression gradually brightened with joy. He silently calculated for a moment in his heart, then looked up and said: "The refugees number roughly seventy thousand. Settled across various places, I intend to have eighty households share one ox. It need not be many — I only ask for two hundred head of cattle!"

Li Gu was indeed a capable official. Liu Chengyou, hearing this, also did a quick mental calculation, then raised an eyebrow: "Calculating six people per household, by your method, one hundred fifty head of cattle would suffice. How did you arrive at two hundred?"

"This..." Li Gu was somewhat taken aback — who would have thought Liu Chengyou could calculate so quickly. Looking slightly embarrassed, he immediately explained: "This was only a rough calculation by your subordinate, and the refugees are not all full households with full members, so—"

"Enough!" Liu Chengyou waved his hand, interrupting him: "I'll give you one hundred eighty head of cattle. Though the seizures were considerable, apart from what we retain for Hebei, the rest must be sent to the Eastern Capital. The prefectures of the Central Plains, after being plundered by the Khitan, urgently need support!"

Liu Chengyou's tone and expression at this moment lacked only the four characters "concerned for country and people" written across his face. Li Gu was also moved by the sentiment and respectfully bowed: "Yes."

"By the way, the distribution of military farming harvest between the government and the people still needs Your Highness to determine!"

"Hm?" Liu Chengyou pondered for a moment, then asked: "What do you think?"

"How about seventy percent to the government and thirty percent to the people?" Li Gu said.

"Isn't that... too much..." Liu Chengyou couldn't help but stroke his chin, glancing sideways at Li Gu. He hadn't expected his consideration to be so harsh — by this ratio, one could imagine how squeezed those farming settlers would be.

But Li Gu said: "The land, plow oxen, hoes, and even seeds are all provided by the government. There is nothing improper about this distribution method!"

Liu Chengyou thought it over — it did seem to make sense.

"Your Highness is benevolent. Once everything is stabilized, it can be gradually reduced year by year!" Li Gu added.

Hearing him say this, a complete set of policies for making the farming settlers willingly accept exploitation had already flashed through Liu Chengyou's mind...

"Then let it be so. The military farming matters will be entirely your responsibility. Afterward, draft a set of regulations and submit them to me!" Liu Chengyou said.

"Yes!"

Having finished his instructions, Liu Chengyou also felt some emotion. In every era of chaos, military farming was always a "great killer weapon" — never outdated, always effective when tried.

"Let's go look around elsewhere!"

Nearby, there were several hundred mu of wheat fields. Watching cart after cart of golden wheat ears being hauled to the village threshing grounds, Liu Chengyou had never felt the joy of a bountiful harvest so vividly as he did at this moment.