"How many mu of official farmlands are there in total in Huanzhou Province, Kangzhou Province, Ningzhou Province and Military Province?" Zhang Tie asked as he drank.
"There are 13.8 billion mu of official farmlands in Huanzhou Province, Kangzhou Province, Ningzhou Province and Military Province!"
"Since the second half of last year, many commoners and major clans have evacuated from the four provinces. Does that affect the farming of official farmlands?"
"Since demons invaded, a batch of commoners have evacuated from the four provinces. In the second half of last year, some farmlands were indeed abandoned in some places. As a result, the land prices across the country declined sharply. However, the official farmlands were cultivated by border residents who had entered Taixia Country. Border residents didn't have the right to evacuate at will. Therefore, it didn't affect the farming of official farmlands!" Lu Yanyu answered Zhang Tie fluently.
The welcoming banquet held by the Peacewest Farming Administration had been halfway through. All the fluorite lamps in the banquet hall had been lit. Just now, Zhang Tie didn't put on airs at all. Starting from the major officials of the Peacewest Farming Administration, all the Weiji envoys from the other provinces and prefectures came forward to propose a toast to Zhang Tie one after another. Zhang Tie's capacity for liquor was as great as that of the ocean. After hearing their names and official positions, Zhang Tie had drunk at least a few kg of liquor in a short period of time. Watching the major official's capacity for liquor, the atmosphere in the banquet hall became fervent. All the Weiji envoys on all levels finally relaxed.
After drinking a few kilos of fine liquor, Zhang Tie's face turned rosier while his eyes turned brighter. He didn't feel drunk at all. Closely after that, Zhang Tie started to inquire about official affairs. After that, the noises in the banquet hall gradually turned lower. Gradually, only Zhang Tie and Lu Yanyu's voices could be heard in the banquet hall. All the other Weiji envoys just listened to them quietly on their seats and dared not interrupt.
"How to deal with the abandoned farmlands?"
"Some of the abandoned farmlands are listed for sale. Those that are not listed for sale are all managed and cultivated by the Peacewest Farming Administration according to the decrees of the theater of operations. They are distributed to those commoners who insist on staying in the theater of operations. On the condition of not increasing labor force, the Peacewest Farming Administration only increased the input of agricultural machines so that fewer people could cultivate more farmlands. In this way, the greater part of the abandoned farmlands have been solved."
"Did the various provinces experience a crop failure last year?"
"Yes, many official farmlands and private farmlands failed in Huanzhou Province, Kangzhou Province, Ningzhou Province and Military Province, causing a panic in a certain range!"
"How to solve the grains seeds across the provinces this year?"
"This year, the grain seeds in the official fields within the territory of each province are directly allocated by the Ministry of Land Resources and transported from other provinces by airboats and airships. They could be sown as soon as spring comes. We don't use the storage of the top six warehouses in each city!"
After hearing this, Zhang Tie let out a sigh at once as he became reassured. It would be easy as long as the grains seeds in the four provinces were safe.
Previously, Zhang Tie was most worried about the grains seeds across the four provinces. Even though he had Castle of Black Iron, the grains seeds in Castle of Black Iron could barely meet the demand of over 10 billion mu of land in the four provinces. If the grains seeds in the four provinces had problems, the garrisons across the four provinces couldn't solve the food problem nearby. As a Weiji General, Zhang Tie would have a hard time. If he had to transport grains from other provinces to meet the demand of garrisons across the four provinces, the consumption of grains, transportation cost and manpower would be astronomical figures. If he couldn't even fill his stomach, how could those corps of Taixia Country fight demons?
Thankfully, Xuanyuan Hill was clear about the consequences if there was a grain problem in the territory of Peacewest Military Region. Therefore, the Imperial Financial Bureau directly solved the problem of grains seeds across the four provinces.
The grains produced by the Imperial Financial Bureau were the best varieties in Taixia Country. Basically, they were tributes to the imperial households of Taixia Country and all the dignitaries in Xuanyuan Hill. Additionally, the agricultural bases of the Imperial Financial Bureau were under the direct jurisdiction of the Imperial Financial Bureau. Each link was under the control of the Imperial Financial Bureau. They would never purchase grains seeds from outside; neither would they allow the demonized grains seeds of Heavens Reaching Church and demons to flow in. Therefore, the grains seeds under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Financial Bureau would never have any problem in the grain disaster.
Everything in the Imperial Residence was originally a privileged item. When it came to privileges, many people would hate it. However, these privileged items were not completely bad. Sometimes, they could play a big role.
"But …"
Watching Zhang Tie's relaxed look, Lu Yanyu became hesitant as he revealed a bit concern …
"But what?"
"But the grains seeds allocated by the Imperial Financial Bureau could only meet the demand of 13.8 billion mu official fields in Huanzhou Province, Kangzhou Province, Ningzhou Province and Military Province this year. After this year, the Imperial Financial Bureau would not allocate any more grains seeds to us. We have to solve it ourselves!"
"Can't we solve it with grains seeds?" Zhang Tie asked as he played with the glass and slightly squinted his eyes.
Lu Yanyu gritted his teeth as he said, "It's not possible for the grains seeds allocated by the Imperial Financial Bureau to us. However, many official fields in Huanzhou Province, Kangzhou Province, Ningzhou Province and Military Province had failed last year. Many soils in the fields have been damaged by demonized grains seeds. As a result, the soils tend to harden. It's a big problem to recover the fertility of the soils. The Weiji envoys on all levels are not sure whether the official fields could have a good harvest. It's not that this humble official is afraid of difficulties. It's a problem that all the Weiji envoys on all levels in the theater of operations are worried about.
After hearing Lu Yanyu's words, all the Weiji envoys at present nodded inside with a sad look. Lu Yanyu's words were exactly what they were worried about. If there was any problem in the grain production of each province and prefecture this year, it might affect the supply of the army. Many of them at present would be killed.
At this moment, Zhang Tie knew clearly why the commander-in-chief insisted on having him be the Weiji General. Because the grain harvest of the official fields in the four provinces was related to the stability of the entire theater of operations. He could only succeed. As long as the grains in the four provinces failed again, even the Imperial Financial Bureau might not be able to rescue them again. This time, the Imperial Financial Bureau must have spat out blood and gritted its teeth to allocate 13.8 billion mu of grains to the four provinces. It was a one-time deal. It was almost impossible for the Imperial Financial Bureau to allocate another grain seed as the Imperial Financial Bureau didn't have such a large reserve.
Therefore, the grain production and guarantee in the four provinces had become the top priority for the Weiji General in the theater of operations. (To be continued.)
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