Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

Zhang Heng's "Nandu Fu" of the Eastern Han Dynasty highly praised the prosperity of Nanyang, and this was indeed the most glorious moment in the history of Nanyang area.

In the farming society of the Middle Ages, if any region wanted to achieve rapid development and become prosperous, the most fundamental thing was that agriculture must be developed. Agriculture is the root of all industries, and only when agriculture is prosperous can all industries prosper.

Nanyang's development naturally benefits from its superior geographical environment and resources, and water conservancy is what can fully develop and utilize environmental resources. In ancient times, in areas with developed agriculture, there must be excellent water conservancy projects, such as Zhengbai Canal in Guanzhong, Dujiangyan in Sichuan, etc.

Nanyang's prosperity and development are also inseparable from this. Zhao Xinchen, the prefect of Nanyang during the Western Han Dynasty, was the earliest local official to systematically build water conservancy fortifications in Nanyang during his tenure. During his tenure, he built six gate weirs in Nanyang. Dozens of water conservancy facilities, including Nanyang District, have systematic water conservancy and irrigation facilities, which can be said to have contributed greatly to regional development.

Du Shi, the governor of Nanyang during the Eastern Han Dynasty, greatly repaired the water conservancy facilities in the area based on the previous dynasty, and invented various water conservancy and agricultural machinery such as water drainage, which further promoted the development of productivity.

Nanyang was able to become the prosperous and prosperous southern capital of Han Dynasty because of the contribution of these two good officials. Therefore, Nanyang people praised it as "Zhaofu in the front and Du Mu in the back." The prefecture and county civil servants were called "parent officials", which is why they were named Come.

However, with the decline of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Nanyang no longer had the scenery of the Southern Capital Imperial Home. Except for the emergence of Yuan Shu in the late Southeast Dynasty, it could not be called anything. By the time of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was only one of the farming districts of the northern regime.

The Northern Wei Dynasty established Jingzhou after seizing the land of Miobei, but it only regarded it as a front town for confrontation with the Southern Dynasties, and did not actively restore and promote agricultural production in the Nanyang area.

The Nanyang area that Li Tai now takes over can be said to be the lowest period of decline in this area. Taking the most basic population indicator as an example, there are only more than 8,000 households registered in Jingzhou today, totaling more than 40,000 people.

At first glance, this number does not seem too small, but you must know that Nanyang’s population reached more than 2.4 million during the heyday of the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Yuan Shu period at the end of the Han Dynasty, there were still more than one million people here. Even in the Southern Dynasties and Song Dynasty, During the period of the barbarian advance, there were still more than 80,000 people.

In other words, the temperament of Jingzhou under the rule of the Western Wei Dynasty was very consistent with the consistent image of the Western Wei regime, with nothing but a poor shell!

On the one hand, there is an extremely glorious past history, and on the other hand, it is an extremely bad and messy reality. Li Tai also knows that it is not easy to reverse the regional decline and pull Nanyang out of this trough. It is destined to be a long and arduous journey. .

Everything is difficult at the beginning. Only by finding the right entry point can you get twice the result with half the effort. There are many reasons for the decline of the Nanyang area, the most critical of which is the damage caused by the war to productivity and production environment.

Now Li Taixian shocked the Southern Liang Dynasty with his attack on Xiangyang, but the Eastern Wei Dynasty was still trapped in Hou Jing's rebellion and the Southern Liang Northern Expedition. Even Wang Sizheng of Yingchuan had to be ranked behind, and naturally he had no time to take care of Jingzhou.

Therefore, Li Tai also secretly set a small goal in his heart, that is, in the next year, the state's resident population must reach at least 100,000, and it must control at least 50,000 hectares of land. Good farmland.

Neither of these two small goals is easy to achieve. Together with the nearly 10,000 soldiers and civilians who moved from Fancheng, the population under the jurisdiction of the state increased to 50,000. However, if the population is to be doubled in just one year, unless there is a war or a relatively thorough expansion of household registration, Tian, ​​otherwise it is very slim.

As for the land that the state capital can control now, it is far less than 10,000 hectares, and the gap between Li Tai's small goal is even greater.

When they heard that Du Zhaohui suggested that the money should be used to repair Liumenyan, the reaction of the people present was not very enthusiastic. Although a few people spoke in agreement, the vast majority remained silent. Obviously, this was not what everyone expected. proposal.

Li Tai took in everyone's reactions and was not surprised by this. The reason was very simple, that is, they didn't have much demand for it.

It should be noted that the Nanyang Basin could support a population of more than two million in its heyday, so a developed water conservancy system was needed to promote agricultural development. Nowadays, even if there is a large hidden population in the territory, including registered residents, it is estimated that it will never exceed 200,000.

The place is still the same, but the population it carries has shrunk by more than ten times. The demand for water conservancy facilities has naturally been greatly reduced. Natural irrigation by the naturally existing rivers within the territory should be able to meet the current population size.

Years of war and turmoil have left these local tycoons with no need to expand production scale. After all, not everyone is as rebellious as a time traveler like Li Tai, who always wants to start his own business and subvert the regime. Most people in troubled times just want a peaceful life.

These powerful men are satisfied with the status quo, but Li Tai is not satisfied, especially because they know that the Southern Dynasties will be in chaos, and a large number of refugees will be displaced in the Jianghan area to avoid the war.

If the supporting facilities in the Miobei area can be adequately prepared, they will definitely be able to accommodate a large number of displaced people, greatly replenishing the vitality of the area, and also providing a refuge for these poor Jiangnan people.

He waited for a while, and seeing that no one made any further comments, he waved his hand to stop Du Zhaohui, who was still waiting to persuade him, and immediately said with a smile: "What Du Mingfu said is indeed a deep sense of nostalgia. Water can benefit all things without fighting, and if there is virtue in the countryside, If this is the case, it is not a good idea. But breaking the ground and using it will inevitably lead to heavy labor. If it goes too far, it will be cruel to the people."

After everyone heard this, they all nodded in agreement, with a more positive attitude than before.

After all, they do not have much demand for water conservancy, and they are well aware of the lack of people in the state capital. Even if the new envoy contributes money, the specific personnel must be shared by various families in the country. Of course, they are not very willing to find trouble.

If I put it more clearly, it is that they are relatively satisfied with the current rural order and are not very happy for the government to intervene in adjustments and changes. Even on the good side, they are wary.

"It is easy for the people to be abused, but it is difficult for the heaven to deceive you! Even if you regulate the earth's temperament, but it loses harmony, that is not benevolent government. You are all heroes on earth and examples of local righteousness. You are not ordinary and mediocre people. I don't know how to have two Teach me the complete method?”

Li Tai looked at the crowd and said with laughter again, and after hearing this, everyone shook their heads and waved their hands, not daring to accept the compliment, lest they get into trouble just for the sake of vanity.

Seeing their tacit reaction, Li Tai sighed to himself. No matter whether the nostalgia between them was good or bad, but when he came, this tacit atmosphere would be gone. From now on, only his own rules can exist in Jingzhou.

He learned from Da Xingtai that no matter how powerful an individual is, the best way to fight is never to fight against the masses, but to let them involute.

"You are too humble. You may not be able to catch up with me when it comes to defeating the enemy and declaring the government and enforcing the law. But when it comes to understanding the local situation and caring for the people, I am not as good as you. Today, Du Ming Mansion said that the good deeds of repairing the canal weir are very good. Although he is willing to carry out the work, he has the resources and resources to do it, but his intelligence is limited and he does not know how to show sympathy to the people. This matter requires the wisdom of the crowd. "

At this point, Li Tai stood up, walked slowly to the door of the hall, pointed to the pile of property outside the hall, and said: "Whether you are an official or a citizen, who here can help me rebuild Liumenyan without causing trouble." The public’s complaints are all related to the materials outside the hall!”

"Do you mean what you said is true?"

Before Li Tai finished speaking, the crowd in the hall suddenly started buzzing with discussion, and many excited people rushed forward to ask for confirmation.

Looking at the excited and excited expressions of these people, Li Tai couldn't help but secretly sigh that Guo Zhenren was just trying to make money, no one was doing the money-losing business, and everyone was rushing to do the beheading business. On the pile of property outside, the blood of the three families had not yet dried, and they suddenly became the target of others' competition.

"I dare to ask the envoy, is the repair of the six gate weirs mentioned only limited to the pond weir in the east of the city, or does it include the canals and ponds that run through the three counties?"

Someone else asked, please confirm the specific size of the project. If it is the latter, the amount of the project is really too large. Some of the canals and ponds covering hundreds of miles have been completely damaged, and the consumption of labor and materials is very alarming.

But if it is the former, then this business is very promising. It should be noted that there are not only the nearly 30,000 pieces of silk and the 30 kilograms of gold in the state capital, but also the wealth accumulated by three local tycoons over several generations and decades. The wealth!

Naturally, Li Tai would not be responsible for explaining the specific project. Seeing that they all showed great interest in it, when even he decided to form an official bidding agency, Chief Shi Cui Qian, Wan County Magistrate Du Zhaohui and others were the first to propose. Anyone who is interested can put forward their own plan, and the government will ultimately select the best plan for construction.

This method of cooperation between the government and the people immediately aroused everyone's interest, especially those who were already interested in this fortification. They frequently asked questions to understand the details, and Li Tai patiently explained them one by one.

If you want the fish to take the bait, you have to put enough bait. Not all powerful people can handle such a large amount of work. Seeing that those who were small but interested in the project were distressed, Li Tai enthusiastically suggested that several of them could join forces to bid.