Chapter 52 Worry

"Now at the beginning, the disadvantages of a single military unit are obvious."

Ying Yi had his own thoughts: "The spearmen have almost no defense against long-range killing methods. But it would be much better if the entire army wore iron armor and eight-petal helmets. It's a pity that I even have to equip them with long spears." After waiting for more than ten days, the armor will become a mirror image. Once on the battlefield, you will have no choice but to risk your life."

"Time, resources...eh..."

He thought for a long time.

"I have two million taels of silver. If I can put this money to practical use, I may not be able to equip the army in a short time. It's just that I have nowhere to spend the money."

He was thinking about this, and he had a lot of thoughts in his mind.

"It would be great if I could get in touch with a big businessman."

The thought passed away in a flash.

The day passed like this.

After dinner, Ying Yi organized a competition between the entire army, which he had just thought of.

Military training is training to the point of death and is extremely depressing to soldiers. It had only been ten and a half days, but the army already seemed silent. Although military training is to turn soldiers into machines, it is not good to go too far. It can easily cause disgust and rebound emotions, so it needs to be resolved.

Ying Yi organized this competition after much thought.

What about singing and dancing? This is not hundreds of years later. On the contrary, it is a competition, which is more practical.

Taking the establishment of a hundred households as a unit, they each form a circle and light a fire. Those who are willing to compete can participate on their own. Those who win will be recorded and given priority in future military promotions. As soon as this benefit was proposed, the soldiers enthusiastically supported it.

Zhu Bingkun guest records, there is no way, there are only a few literate people in this army.

Ying Yi also thought that when he had time, he would organize the entire army to become literate, but it would not be easy if all the troops were illiterate. In addition, he has asked people to send messages to scholars, recruit some literate people in Crescent Valley, and send them to serve as secretaries and manage military law and logistics and other matters.

The waves of applause, laughter, and uproar set Xiaowangzhuang on fire. Ying Yi walked slowly between the fires, and the soldiers competed with each other from fist to flesh. Although he could not catch his eye, he was slightly relieved to see the soldiers' emotions being released.

"In the future, we can fix it and hold a big competition every once in a while." Ying Yi said to Zhou Li beside him: "Firstly, to see if the soldiers under my command have improved, and secondly, to relieve suppressed emotions and enhance the relationship between the soldiers. "

Zhou Li only understood half of the sentence, but he blindly trusted Ying Yi and said, "My lord is wise."

Ying Yi couldn't help but smile: "Is there any arrangement for outlying sentries?"

Zhou Li said: "Don't worry, sir, I will never fail in my duty when I respond to overt and covert surveillance."

"That's good." Ying Yi said: "At any time, the army cannot relax its vigilance. This must be remembered. Many powerful figures in ancient times have been defeated by negligence. We must learn from it."

Zhou Li nodded silently.

While talking, the two walked all the way to the sweet potato field.

In the night, the sweet potato field looked pitch black. More than ten days have passed. Due to drought, the sweet potatoes are not growing vigorously, but are wilting. But food has already been provided to the soldiers.

I cut a hundred pounds of vine leaves every day and stir-fry them in a big pot. Although the taste is not very good, it is already very good.

Looking at the dark night, Ying Yi sighed: "The drought has been going on for a long time. I don't know when it will rain. If it doesn't rain, even if the bandits are defeated and the people move out, they won't be able to farm."

Zhou Li is also heavy. He was born as a commoner and had a profound understanding of farming. He said: "Sir, there will be big locusts after a severe drought. If... well..."

Ying Yi was silent.

Droughts are often accompanied by locust plagues, which is almost inevitable. From the beginning of autumn last year to now, there has been no rain for more than half a year. The land has dried up and cracked, making it difficult for crops to grow. If there is another locust plague, the impact on the people will be unimaginable.

"There has been little sunshine in the past few days." Ying Yi didn't know whether to comfort himself or Zhou Li: "Maybe it's going to rain."

Zhou Li shook his head: "In recent years, there have been either severe droughts or severe floods. After the severe drought, before the people were happy, the severe floods came again. Sir, it may rain, but I'm afraid it will keep raining."

Ying Yi was immediately speechless.

As a visitor hundreds of years later, most of his knowledge of the climate of this era remained in books and vague memories. Although it has been more than half a year since I came to this era, apart from some experience of the current severe drought, there is not much else.

But he knew how the sufferings of this era, natural and man-made disasters, had caused Zhu Xialu to sink.

Droughts, floods, locust plagues, and military disasters all wreaked havoc in turn. The people were miserable, and China was wailing.

Yingyi sighed for a long time: "People can't be suffocated to death, there is always a way out." He cheered up: "Thousands of years ago, our ancestors faced an environment that was probably even more severe than now. But they all persisted and overcame all obstacles to create such a large living space for us descendants. If we can't persist, how can we have the face to meet our ancestors in the future?"

He said: "No matter whether it is drought or flood, we have no way to resist it. Water conservancy construction is the way to resist it. How many big rivers are there near Ye County?"

Zhou Li was startled and said: "I know there is a sand river in the north of Ye County, and this river..." He pointed to the dry stream outside the village and said: "It should be a tributary of Wuhe River. But Wuhe River It goes to Wuyang. In addition, there is another river, the Feng River, which originates from the northern foot of Fangcheng Mountain, and also flows through Ye County. Our area is roughly between the Shah River and the Feng River."

"Shahe, Fenghe..." Ying Yi nodded slightly: "What is the water volume of these two rivers?"

"I definitely won't do it." Zhou Lida said, "I haven't done it in these years."

"That's good." Ying Yi's eyes lit up: "You think, if we can use these two rivers to dig some canals and waterways, can the problem in this land be solved?"

Zhou Li was speechless, and then he said cautiously for a moment: "Sir, this is no small matter."

Ying Yi nodded: "I know it's not a trivial matter. Only when you plan in advance and have a good plan can it be realized."

He looked at the night sky with faint eyes, not knowing what he was thinking.

"I'll go back to the mountains in a few days."

Suddenly Ying Yi said: "I don't know if I have any clues about the Tengjia thing that the scholar mentioned earlier. When the time comes, you and Zhu Bingkun will watch it, remember to be careful."

Be cautious, Ying Yi reminded me of this sentence countless times. But no matter how many times I win, it never feels too much. The enemy is right under your nose. The enemy is strong and we are weak. If you lose all caution, what else is there to think about?

Zhou Li cupped his fists and said, "Don't worry, sir."

"I just don't worry." Ying Yi laughed at himself: "Back then, when I was alone, I had the courage to rush into Kaifeng to find a tiger for revenge. But now that I am not alone, I have more worries. I have Zheng County Zun under house arrest. We must shoulder our responsibilities and not be lazy at all.”