Chapter 53 Zhang Xutuo's Advice
A system message suddenly appeared in Li Ji's mind: The reward item card has been activated.
He looked up and saw a UFO flying in the distance, like a violent storm.
The leaders didn't know what was happening outside. When they turned around, they were stunned.
A large pile of sacks appeared in the courtyard outside the yamen .
Li Ji ordered: "Yucheng, go open it and see what that is."
Yu Cheng hurried out the door, opened a sack and exclaimed:
"Wow, sir, this is wheat."
When Li Ji saw that the system had already paid out the reward of wheat seeds, he felt much more at ease.
He thought, "A good cook cannot cook without rice. Now that I have 'rice', I don't have to worry about cooking anymore."
He cleared his throat and said:
"This wheat seed is the treasure of our Xingyang Camp. I have already figured it out. This year is the twelfth year of Daye, so we will call it Suiyang No. 12."
He glanced at the leaders present and asked slowly:
"Leaders, do you have any other good names?"
Ji Hua hurriedly said, "Let's call it Suiyang No. 12. I like it."
As soon as Ji Hua said this, everyone followed suit.
"My Lord, this is a good name!"
"Master Li, this name has a profound meaning!"
You and I spoke one after another, and no one said another name.
Li Ji thought, I should just speak a little later, does the leader want me to speak last?
He was very happy, stood up and ordered loudly:
"All leaders, listen up and quickly take back the wheat seeds and start planting tomorrow . If you have the conditions, you must do it. If you don't have the conditions, you must create them and do it well."
He said in a stern voice:
"Farming is also a war. We have to fight against the barren land and against damn poverty."
The leaders were in high spirits, and they shouted in unison: "Yes, my order!"
Li Ji immediately ordered officers and soldiers from each battalion to take the wheat seeds back.
He personally led the soldiers of his personal guard camp to measure and divide the land around Dahai Temple.
The land was allocated according to the number of troops in each battalion.
For several days, Li Ji took Yu Cheng to live and eat in Dahai Temple.
That evening, the setting sun was blood-red.
In a room of Dahai Temple, Li Ji was walking slowly with a feather fan in his hand.
He thought that since we were just planting the crops now, it would take several months before the wheat could be harvested.
In the days of scarcity, not only the common people have a hard time, but I'm afraid my Xingyang camp will also have difficulty holding on.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers need to eat every day. Only when they are full can they farm and fight. How can you let your brothers weed and hoe the fields on an empty stomach?
If the Sui army really attacks, what will you have as a backup?
If bandits come to harass you, how can you command your soldiers to charge into battle?
Li Ji was hesitating when Yu Cheng came in with Zhang Xutuo.
"General Zhang, excuse me."
"Master Li, you are too polite."
Yucheng poured Zhang Xutuo a cup of tea and turned to go to the door.
"Lord Li, rewarding farming and warfare and cultivating the land in Dahai Temple is truly a wise move."
Li Ji smiled and said:
"General Zhang, I have no choice but to do this. Why can't you just steal and rob all day long?"
Zhang Xutuo said: "Master Li is right. Beating, smashing and looting are not the behavior of a civilized army. However..."
Li Ji saw that Zhang Xutuo hesitated to speak, and immediately said sincerely:
"General Zhang, you are already my staff, but you can say whatever you want."
Zhang Xutuo asked: "There are still several months left, and there is a shortage of food. Do you have any solution?"
Li Ji sighed, "To be honest, I haven't thought about it yet."
Zhang Xutuo smiled mysteriously and whispered, "Why not borrow grain from the government?"
Li Ji thought, now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to take action.
Zhang Xutuo continued:
"The granary at Luokou is full. If we lead the people to seize it and give relief to the poor, people from far and near will surely come to join us. By then, a million masters can gather together."
Li Ji also thought of attacking the government’s granary. Was it the Liyang granary in Weizhou, the Heyang granary in Luozhou, or the Changping granary in Shanzhou?
When Zhang Xutuo mentioned the Luokou Granary in Gongyi, Li Ji was stunned.
He had been thinking about which granary to choose to attack.
He knew that the closest warehouse to Xingyang County was Luokou Warehouse.
Since General Zhang had pointed out Luokou Warehouse to me, I would have locked onto Luokou Warehouse.
Zhang Xutuo continued:
"With food, it will be easy. As the saying goes, 'whoever gives you milk is your mother'. As long as you occupy the world's granary, it will be easy to conquer the world."
When Li Ji heard Zhang Xutuo's words, he admired him from the bottom of his heart.
I thought I had used the right trick.
In the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the first thing to do was to get talents, and the second was to get protection.
Talents provide strategies, and security provides power.
Who has the most say? Of course, those who control the talents and have the food.
When it comes to governing a county, the key is to have food.
Only when the granaries are full can people know etiquette.
When he came back from the countryside, he also saw the miserable scene of people suffering and misery.
However, if we want to change the world, we must firmly grasp the land, the foundation of people's livelihood.
He smiled and said to Zhang Xutuo:
"General Zhang's words are like thunder in my ears. I, Li Ji, need to be tempered by experience at my age and experience level. It seems that what I learned from books is always shallow. I must practice it myself to know it thoroughly."
Zhang Xutuo nodded repeatedly. Lord Li was very smart and understood it immediately.
Li Ji ordered Yu Cheng to arrange for the kitchen to prepare meals.
After a while, four dishes were served on the table, and Yucheng took out a bottle of "Mengtxiang-Sorghum Red" from the warehouse in the back.
Li Ji filled the glass, picked it up, and said with a smile:
"General, come, I'll give you a toast."
Zhang Xutuo picked up the wine glass and thought to himself, in the last days, I should choose a wise leader. Isn’t this young man in front of me the wise leader in my heart?
"Master Li, please!"
The two men raised their hands and drank a glass of wine in one gulp.
After dinner, Li Ji returned to the back garden of Xun Mansion under the escort of Yu Cheng.
The garden is full of lights, as bright as day.
Maids and servants were coming and going in groups.
The first gate was closed. When the guard saw Li Ji arriving, he quickly opened the gate.
Yucheng led the way and came to the second round door. The lights inside gradually dimmed.
This is the inner residence of the Xun Mansion, and outsiders are generally not allowed to enter.
"My lord, I'm waiting outside!"
After Yu Cheng finished speaking, he walked towards the first gate.
Li Ji walked along the corridor through the mountain and when he turned a corner, he saw the maid Chunhong standing at the door waiting for him.
"My lord, the young lady has just finished her bath."
Chunhong's face was full of smiles, and she murmured , which made Li Ji tremble all over.
He followed Chunhong to the outer corridor of the Yongmei Poetry Society, and a whiff of fragrance from the room wafted over.
In the outer room, the maid Chunhong helped Li Ji take off his coat.
When he looked up, Li Ji saw that Chunhong's face was also very special.
A pair of mysterious eyes, very long.
The long eyelashes are flickering, and the ends of the eyebrows are slightly curled upwards, giving a somewhat curved feeling.
His eyes seemed to be filled with water, bright and sparkling with ripples.
There is a slight red blush around the eyes, and the pupils appear to be squinting upwards from time to time.
The boundaries between black and white are blurred, and seem to hide many secrets.
Li Ji suddenly remembered three words from physiognomy to describe the charm of these eyes.
"My Lord, would you like some tea or a bowl of honey?"
At this time, Chunhong had a shy look on her face, and her voice sounded like the sweet chirping of an oriole.
Li Ji's heart tightened, and Chunhong's eyes seemed to be about to shed tears...
