Du Zhongxiao looked at the map for a while and had a rough idea of the layout of the village. Mulberry fields and vegetable gardens are mostly arranged nearby, Pitang is by the river, and around Pitang is idle fields and grasslands. The reason for this planning is that Pitang also has the role of regulating the amount of water in the river.

The scope of rice cultivation is closely related to water conservancy facilities. In order for water conservancy facilities to fully function, they must form a system that depends on geography, climate and artificial environment. A few hundred years later, rice was rarely cultivated in this area, and it became a dry farming area. Not only that, but there are also frequent floods in the rainy season and droughts in the spring, which is because the water conservancy facilities of agriculture were destroyed during the Yuan Dynasty. There is a lack of a large number of ponds along the river, and even if a large number of canals are built, it is impossible to guarantee the harvest during drought and flood. In addition, the destruction of vegetation in the mountains has increased the sediment content in the river, the canals have been silted, and the water conservancy has been slowly abandoned. At this time, a large number of ponds left by the Han and Tang dynasties were still there, and almost every village had ponds, and the conditions for growing rice were superior.

Letting a few officials sit down, Du Zhongxiao said: "Let's see that it's about to be the time for spring ploughing, and in recent days, the ploughing cattle we bought from Jinghu Road will be delivered one after another." You organize properly, receive the ploughing oxen, take them with the prints, and don't miss the farming time. ”

Commander Sun and others said yes together.

The cattle on Jinghu Road are extremely cheap, only two or three dollars per head, not far from here, and the transshipment department came forward and sold a lot of them.

Du Zhongxiao said again: "Most of the people who cultivate the fields here are slender men, and they don't know how to marry. The Yingtian Yamen selected some old farmers who were good at farming from the local area, taught them in a unified manner, and sent them to various villages to teach you how to farm. These are the farmers, and those who teach you to eat should be courteous and not neglectful. Who can be patient and learn more about farming, so that they can plant well on the spot in the future. ”

After speaking, Du Zhongxiao saw the lazy expressions of several officers, and sighed in his heart. As a box army, the slender man is already lazy, and when these petty officers are pulling fiber, they are just a little more lucid and can't manage much things. Most people don't have a sense of responsibility, and when they get to the place, they don't want to take care of so many chores. That is to say, he is reluctant to be reluctant, and he has to take care of his official position.

When the Xiangjun was recruited, it was mainly idle people in society, not hard-working people, coupled with poor management, and the organization and management still needed a lot of hard work. It's just that the agricultural season waits for no one, everything is too late, and I don't know what the grain harvest will be in the early future. Now it seems that this year, they will be able to feed themselves with the food they have grown, and they will have completed their task. Wait until the farm is slack, and then work hard.

After talking about spring ploughing, Du Zhongxiao and Cui were in charge, and with Sun commanding a few people, they went to the fields outside to check the land.

The land is still full of thorns, and it will take a lot of effort to open up the wasteland. This time, the time is too urgent, and I don't even have time to make my own farm tools, so everything is hastily created. Du Zhongxiao ordered a batch of wasteland ploughs, but I don't know if they can be delivered in time.

Landmarks were erected in the land, and the land was divided into paddy fields and dry fields, and they were distributed to each family. The landmark is to bury the earth, sprinkle lime underneath, and then erect wooden poles. This is what Du Zhongxiao clearly asked all villages to do in a unified manner, so as to avoid the trouble of Fang Tian in the future.

Apart from these landmarks, there is nothing left in the fields and it looks extremely desolate.

Du Zhongxiao rode on the horse, looking at the endless field, and couldn't help but feel a little dazed. When I built a camp in Yongcheng back then, the scale was relatively small, and there were many people available under my own hands, and everything was in order, where was this. Sometimes I can't help but hesitate in my heart, whether to give up this season's grain, fully prepare, and wait until the autumn grain is planted. It's just that I can't explain to the other side like that, so I have to bite the bullet and prepare all kinds of things.

The capital brought more than 20,000 people, and if it was really counted as an army, it was a very strong force on the front line. Scattered hundreds of miles of camps, they have more than enough to do but not enough power, and they feel that they can't manage it.

After watching for a while, Du Zhongxiao returned to the village and asked Commander Sun to report what to plant and what to prepare for each plot.

Commander Sun pointed to the map hanging on the wall and said, "The most important thing now is to cultivate the land and plant it. According to the instructions of the Yamen, this year's paddy fields are only flat fields, and there is no rush to plant, only dry fields are planted. We plant millet in the east of the village, beans in the west of the village, and hemp in the south of the village, each with a number of acres. Other miscellaneous grains should also be planted as appropriate. The most important thing is millet, which is what we eat all year of the year, and we are particularly conscious. ”

Du Zhongxiao listened, knowing that he said it casually, and he hadn't checked the terrain at all. Not only that, but even the number of acres is probably a casual estimate. Although the plot was established as a landmark, it had already passed the field, and the number of acres should be recorded.

If you do it yourself, you definitely won't be so careless. But what can Du Zhongxiao do? He is already so busy dealing with official documents every day that he really can't spare the energy to take care of the details below. These model villages, if they keep an eye on themselves, they can only make an appearance, and other places can be imagined.

Knowing that he didn't meet his own requirements, Du Zhongxiao had no choice but to nod his head, indicating that he knew, to hide his dissatisfaction. The problem of the Xiang army, he can't fight a war, and he can't do other things, but he can do what he specializes in.

Listening to Commander Sun's report on the planning of this area, Du Zhongxiao thought about the future method. Neither the organization nor discipline meets the requirements, and we can only rely on future education. The Xiang Jun of Fiber is good for this, they used to have a single job, and their life was monotonous, so they were lazy, but there was no mess. As long as education is properly managed, it should get better soon.

After Commander Sun finished speaking, Du Zhongxiao said: "There are still a few places in your yamen here. The first is the grain field, which is convenient for the villagers to threh and dry the grain. There is also a warehouse, and there is a transit place for tax and grain collection. Another is the place where farm tools are placed, and now the villagers who are clearing the wasteland are mostly rented, and there must be a warehouse in the village to keep and repair them. There is also a place to raise large livestock, cattle and horses, which is convenient for farmers to rent. ”

Sun commanded: "Judgment, it's too late, those can only wait until later to build, and now everything will be done." Livestock and farm tools are first brought back by the farmers themselves, and compensation is made according to the price if they are damaged. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "It's really too late, so I have to do this, it's just easy to cause trouble." ”

According to past experience, it was very troublesome for farmers to rent farm tools and ploughing cattle from the government, and when they returned them after use, the officials said that the cattle were thin, and the farm tools were bad, and the money had to be deducted at every turn. As a result, some peasant households rented official cattle and lived with them, serving the elderly like raising them, for fear that they would be fined for a little damage. According to Du Zhongxiao's idea, it is best to have cattle in every family, but it can't be done for a while.

After thinking about it, Du Zhongxiao said again: "There is another thing, your ten villages are together, there are many households, and there should be a village school." The camp will recruit Mr. Muraxue from the nearby state army to enlighten the children, and you will build a house. ”

Several commanders laughed together: "Judge Yun joked, it's not easy for us to farm and make a living by ourselves, where can we afford to teach?" Even in the nearby big villages, there is no village school, except for the big men with a group of servants. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "We don't care what happens locally, the village that operates the field must have a village school." In the future, not only children will be enlightened, but also all kinds of officials and servants, all who do things for the yamen, must read, know a few words, and be able to read and write official documents. This matter cannot be shirked, and the yamen will invite people and distribute them in a unified manner, and you can provide the school and a place to live. ”