Xu Yongnian led the people of Yanzhou to start spring plowing in full swing.

Farmers received fresh sweet potato seedlings from the government office and learned planting methods and techniques under the guidance of government officials and Laobashi.

There have been no traces of sweet potatoes in Dazhou, so the people don't know what kind of food these green vine seedlings can grow.

If the fields had not been so dry that normal cultivation was impossible and grains were so scarce that they had no way to buy them, they would not have taken the risk and tried unknown grains, just to survive this calamity year safely.

"With such a severe water shortage, can this thing really survive? By the time the autumn harvest is over, only a piece of dead vine will be left, and then all we can do is eat soil and chew trees."

"The prefect said that this sweet potato is extremely drought-tolerant. When the soil is fertile, it can produce a yield of 10,000 kilograms per mu! Even if there is a lack of water and fertilizer, it can still bear fruit successfully, but the yield may not be as expected."

"Ten thousand pounds of yield per mu?! What a fantasy! You can't be so arrogant when you brag! We farmers should be down-to-earth and not make unrealistic fantasies!"

"Are you ignorant about this? I heard that high-yield grain varieties appeared in Yuzhou and the capital, with a yield of more than 6,000 kilograms per mu. It was a sensation in the government and the public at that time. The emperor even specially rewarded the breeders. It is a pity that the Dingbei Hou Mansion was

After the house was confiscated, the mysterious breeder also disappeared. The high-yielding grain varieties were said to have declined after three seasons, and now they no longer have that amazing yield per acre. What a pity! What a shame!"

"So it is actually possible to grow sweet potato seedlings to produce a yield of 10,000 kilograms per mu? But now it is a year of severe drought, and we cannot verify it ourselves."

"I'll be satisfied if I can get a yield of over a hundred kilograms per acre! These potato seedlings are a gift from Liuhe Villa. There will definitely be no problem if they survive and bear fruit. After all, it's a business without capital, so what's the harm in giving it a try?"

"Produced by Liuhe Villa? That's worth looking forward to. If it weren't for the locust-killing spirit and the insect-eating alfalfa, I'm afraid we would all have to leave our homes and go south to survive!"

"Yes! The Bodhisattva is really alive in Liuhe Villa. I have set up a longevity tablet for the owner and his family. I burn incense and pray every day without slacking off. I hope that these good people will be blessed and live a long life, and that the people of Yanzhou can also live a good life."

day."

The farmers in the fields were sweating profusely and chatting about their daily lives while working. Similar conversations were common throughout Yanzhou, and Liuhe Villa gained a very high reputation because of this.

This was originally a happy event, but the person involved was frowning at the moment.

Everyone in the meeting hall gathered together, sighing and discussing the sudden change.

Xu Yongnian brought bad news. The Chief Envoy of the Western Qin Dynasty announced that an increase in taxes would be imposed. He said that due to the tense war on the front line, it was necessary to collect grain on the spot to supplement the food and fodder of the frontier army.

However, there was a severe drought in western Qin last year, and the grain harvest was poor and people were struggling to make ends meet. This year, there was no rain at the beginning of spring, and farmers had no food at all.

The Yanzhou Prefecture is able to maintain its current stability thanks to Yu Yalan's donation of space to store food. They were all caught off guard when the chief envoy suddenly issued such a decree.

"First check how much is left in the government's inventory, and submit last year's tax grains first. The villa's grain stocks are in too good condition to be handed over to the Chief Envoy."

The grain in the village is produced in the spiritual field of space, and the variety and quality are far superior to the grain in Dazhou. Handing it over as tax grain will inevitably arouse suspicion, so Xu Yongnian can only ask Xu Yongnian to hand over the inventory of the government office, and then she will use the villa

The grain reserves supplemented the government's shortfall.

Xu Yongnian had no objection, nodded and talked about his itinerary.

"The Chief Envoy has notified the prefects to go to the provincial government to report on their duties. In three days, I will have to go to Xijing with the tax rations and tax money. If the government needs officials to do things, just give Woody and the others direct orders."

Yu Hongxuan held his chin in deep thought, slightly puzzled by the Chief Envoy's order.

"Why did he choose to raise taxes at this time? Could it be that the Chief Envoy and Tan Ziqian successfully reconciled and decided to be kind and levy grain to support Yu Lin's army?"

Xu Yongnian frowned and wondered when he heard this, "I don't know, if General Tan is like this, maybe he can alleviate the crisis, Yu Lin's house can avoid the danger of destroying the city, and the sworn brother can also reduce some pressure, but Yu Lin will definitely be in Xijing."

Passing through Yanzhou, no messengers or letters have been found between the two places recently."

Something seemed to flash through Yu Hongxuan's mind and disappeared before he could catch it.

"Then is he raising food and grass for Yu Lin's border army? Is it possible that he is levying excessive taxes to satisfy his own selfish desires? Can the chief envoy swallow the blood and tears of taxes and food in the year of drought?"

Yu Yalan intuitively felt that things would not be that simple, so she thought about it again and again and called Mu Yang in.

"Send someone to contact the secret guards of the Lei Group in Xijing, and ask Lei Bin to pay close attention to the recent movements of the Xijing prefecture and the Qinxi Chief Envoy, and investigate why the Chief Envoy suddenly requested grain and grass."

"Yes." Mu Yang bowed and accepted the order, then immediately went out to make arrangements.

"My brothers and sisters suspect that the Chief Envoy has other agendas? So maybe the food levy will not reach General Tan?"

Xu Yongnian's face instantly became solemn, and he didn't want to hand over the tax money and tax grains in his hands.

The chief envoy Fan Yuanqing is indeed a greedy and cunning evil official. He has been in Yanzhou for many years and he knows this clearly. Could it be that this time is really just an excuse to collect food and reinforcements, but in fact it is to enrich the Fan family's personal pockets and plunder the people's wealth?

Yu Yalan also thought of Fan Yuanqing's character, pursed her lips and said coldly: "I'm afraid there may be other forces involved behind this, otherwise how could they suddenly levy food at such a strange time? You can reduce the tax on food and money as appropriate.

, I don’t have to hand it all in as per the rules, I want to see what secrets the chief envoy has hidden, and how he has abused his power and neglected people’s livelihood!”

Xu Yongnian frowned and responded, then returned to the government office with a heavy heart to arrange the work report.

The Yu siblings continued to stay in the meeting hall, talking seriously about spring plowing.

"There has been no normal rainfall since spring plowing, and the sweet potato seedlings planted are in a state of extreme water shortage. How about we send some liquid fertilizer to the farmers, at least to stabilize the early growth of the sweet potato seedlings."

Yu Hongxuan has been paying attention to the progress of spring plowing recently, and is annoyed by the dry and sunny weather every day.

Yu Yalan raised her eyebrows and glanced at her brother, as if she was a little surprised that he would care about the situation in the fields.

"I plan to find opportunities to implement artificial rainfall to alleviate the long-term drought in Yanzhou. The newly planted sweet potato seedlings also need irrigation. The next artificial spring rain should give farmers a lot of confidence."

Yu Hongxuan's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he quickly expressed that he also wanted to participate.

"Me too! Artificial rainfall, I haven't played with it yet! It feels like a dragon god, it's fun to control the wind and rain!"
Chapter completed!