In mid-May, the summer harvest in Anhui will begin, and all the work of the government will make way for the summer harvest. Cadres from all over the country have been enriched to the front line, including the troops.

The summer harvest is the most important harvest in Anhui, and it is also the beginning of more than half a year of hard work. After the summer harvest, Anhui entered the rainy season, and the flood control work began. It doesn't take long after the rainy season to end for the new autumn harvest to begin. There are still a few autumn floods after the autumn harvest, and the pressure is slightly less than in summer, but it should not be taken lightly. After the autumn floods, the land is leveled, fertilizer is accumulated, and winter wheat is planted. After all kinds of things are done, the time is almost the Spring Festival. As soon as the Spring Festival ends, spring ploughing officially begins, and the new year will come again like last year. For thousands of years, Chinese peasants have been working day after day, year after year, experiencing the changes of the four seasons, and experiencing the changes of good years, disaster years, and famine years.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, peasants were very receptive to disaster years. Everyone will curse the advent of the disaster year, just like Chen Ke at the beginning of the 21st century when he played cards online, sometimes he couldn't help but scold. But scolding and scolding, as long as Chen Ke continues to play cards, he has to accept the existence of various teammates. It's like farmers have to accept a year of disaster.

Xia Harvest wants just one word, fast! If the rainy season comes early, everything will be over. Race against time to harvest, race against time to store grain. Even in the 21st century, before the summer harvest, it is a peak period for migrant workers to return to their hometowns. The same is true of the People's Party base areas, and during the summer harvest season, the originally small cities lose their popularity. But in the summer of 1911, the situation in the fields changed slightly, at least in the state farms.

Harvesting wheat hunched over is very hard work, not to mention the burden on the body. In terms of tools alone, if you have iron farming tools, you will be faster, and with high-quality iron farming tools produced by the People's Party, it will be faster. However, the sudden roar of the farm walk-behind tractor with the harvesting equipment accumulated over the years of experience cut the ears of wheat and cut down the straws neatly. The harvester is about twice as efficient at cutting down wheat straw as the most capable harvester. But if you add the work of cutting the ears of wheat, you will become four times as good as a harvester. The most important thing is that no one of the most capable harvesters can do this from early morning to dusk. Not to mention the one who operates the tractor, and is not an expert harvester.

"That's at least three days earlier than before! No, five days at least! Liu Sangou, the director of the farm, was flushed with excitement. This cadre, who was born in the countryside and became a soldier and a professional farm director, said loudly to Xiao Wall, director of the Anhui Department of Agriculture, who came to inspect.

"Don't just pay attention to this good, I heard from the agricultural machinery department that the loss may be a little bigger. When gleaning the ears of wheat, look at the loss. ”

Liu Sangou didn't care about this matter at all, he couldn't close his mouth with a smile, "Political Commissar Xiao, if you can advance these days in advance, that's better than anything else." You see, these tractor drivers who are responsible for harvesting are old and small. This year, I finally don't have to catch up. And you also know that Company Commander Liu of our agricultural machinery department has a temper, and if I make irresponsible remarks, he dares to come to the door and scold my whole family. ”

"Then you'll have to figure out how to improve efficiency. You are the one who farms, not him. Xiao Wall smiled bitterly.

"Give me two more days to be happy and happy, just two days." Liu San's mouth couldn't be closed.

"It won't take two days, you'll be done in two days." Xiao Wall really wanted to go up and kick Liu Sangou a few times, "Tomorrow, according to the regulations, you will leave a few pieces for testing." Hear no. If you don't work hard, before you start work in the morning of the next month, you will give me self-criticism in public every day. ”

"Okay, okay! Commissar Xiao, I see. Liu Sangou replied with a smile.

Not only this farm, but also the state-owned farms in the base area are equipped with newly developed harvesting equipment. Chen Ke also gritted his teeth. Harvesting equipment is actually a big idle resource, and at this stage, this thing is only used once a year. Moreover, it also involves maintenance work, and there will be rust problems with hundreds of knife edges on a harvesting equipment, which must be prepared and polished before use every year. In the unlikely event that a knife is broken in the harvest, the loss rate will immediately increase.

It was on the farms of the People's Party that this new type of mechanical tool could be introduced, and if it were ordinary people, they would have gone crazy because of such complicated work. The so-called industrial chain is such a thing, and each link must have a special person to be responsible. Chen Ke's mother worked in a diesel engine factory, and every summer during the summer harvest, technicians would go to the countryside to help with maintenance and train maintenance personnel. According to the oral accounts of these technicians, many of the equipment damage is caused by the farmers in Pingsuri who never repair it regularly. As long as regular repairs and maintenance are carried out according to the instructions, many problems will not occur at all. However, when the peasant masses use it, they will use it to death, and there is no need to count on repair and maintenance at all.

Later, Chen Ke finally understood one thing, and it was actually quite difficult to understand "there is a beginning and an end". Treating maintenance costs as a necessary input is too much for farmers in a smallholder economy. This is true not only for mechanical repairs, but also for basic water conservancy construction.

Xiao Wall also agrees with Chen Ke's idea. His starting point was life experience in the military. Behind every battle, there are dozens or hundreds of times more preparations. A gun is usually disassembled and kept dozens of times, and it may not be really used on the battlefield once. Behind the combat units are huge logistics units. The work of his inspection this time is not only front-line production, but also maintenance and basic water conservancy construction.

Xiao Wall has already seen the situation of the state farms, and the situation of the state farms is basically the same anyway. Families with weak labor force are forced to work in desperation, and are relatively willing to work on state farms. Comrade Liu Sangou said that "the old and the young are small," and this is the general situation of state farms at present. As long as they are not weak labor families, they are generally willing to cultivate their own land. If it's neither, then it's not willing to farm at all. They chose to work in handicrafts or to work in the city.

The shortage of labor on state farms will be alleviated to a certain extent after the end of the busy farming season. At that time, ordinary people finished planting their land, and some of the wealthy laborers would choose to work on the farms.

After inspecting several farms in succession, the situation was very different after using harvesting equipment. Farms that used to have to be helped by the army to harvest before the rainy season have now solved the problem on their own. The harvest is even faster than that of ordinary people.

"The troops can finally invest in basic water conservancy construction on a large scale." Xiao Wall was very happy about this. This was also one of the tasks of his current inspection. The People's Party's plan for the Great Conscription was to form an engineering corps. Roads, river embankments, reservoirs, irrigation systems, and drainage systems have to be built. Even if a simple job can be done on a large scale, design and measurement work cannot be done by the masses.

Most of the state farms are located far from the river, which were not originally irrigated land. The masses prefer areas close to the river for easy irrigation. This is the biggest reason why the BJP was able to easily incorporate these original dry lands into its hands. Although the drainage system in the Huaihe River area has not yet been fully constructed, the irrigation system has finally made great progress. Irrigation canals in the fields have become widespread. Xiao Wall and the engineering staff went all the way north to investigate, and if there were not so many problems this year, this work would have to be carried out after the conscription.

The group rode horses, and the vast fields were full of harvested wheat and rape fields, as well as large cotton and rice fields.

"Director Xiao, according to this, next year will still have a good harvest. This year, the average yield per mu of the farm is more than 300 catties. "The young water conservancy engineers who were traveling with me were quite excited.

Xiao Qian, a young director of agriculture who is not yet 30 years old, is not so simply optimistic: "That's not necessarily, the purpose of water conservancy construction is to ensure that these harvests can be harvested every year." To increase the harvest, we still have to rely on improved seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. The farm's harvest depends on these three things. The synthetic ammonia shipped from Wuhan is just enough for the seed base, and the farm only dares to use a little bit when it is planted. We've got a lot of work to do. ”

As soon as he mentioned these, Xiao Wall couldn't help but think of the high-level meeting on agriculture in the base area held by Chen Ke. At that meeting, Chen Ke described a picture of the future to the agricultural management cadres. If they hadn't seen the actual effects of improved seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides with their own eyes, these comrades who came from farming would have accused Chen Ke of joking.

The young water conservancy engineer did not feel such a heavy feeling, he was completely fascinated by the good harvest he saw, "Director Xiao, when I was at home, I never thought that there would be such a harvest on such dry land. When I go home this time, I try to convince my family to come to work on the farm. Working on a farm is much easier than farming yourself. The income is also higher. ”

"Then do it!" Xiao Wall encouraged.

As he spoke, there was a faint sound of horses' hooves behind him, and when he turned his head, he saw that two soldiers in military uniforms were galloping towards him on horseback and whip. The water conservancy engineering personnel were a little confused, but Xiao Wall and the guards sank when they heard it. They already felt that something must be wrong, out of the habit of being a soldier.

The two horses really came to chase Xiao Wall and his party, and the soldier stopped the horses in front of the team, "Director Xiao, please don't go forward for the time being." ”

"What's wrong?" Xiao Wall asked with a frown.

"We don't know, but we got a telegram asking you to return to the county for the time being."

Out of the habit of a soldier, Xiao Wall's mind already had a map of the neighborhood in mind. Less than a hundred miles further north is the border of Henan. If there is something that makes Xiao Wall have to change his itinerary, it can only be a matter from the north. With the current military strength of the People's Party, it should be satisfied if it could not go south to the southern provinces. And there has been no recent news of a large-scale overall war.

"Okay, let's go back with you." Xiao Wall replied.

On the way back to the county, he met two groups of communication troops who came to look for Xiao Wall. But they only knew that there was an order, but they didn't know what was going on. Back in the county, Xiao Wall finally got a formal explanation.

The secretary of the county party committee answered Xiao Wall's question with an extremely excited look, "The local people at the junction of Henan and us have asked to join our base area. The matter is quite big, and I heard that the masses in Henan have killed officials and rebelled. ”

Xiao Wall was not so happy, his face even became solemn. Chen Ke actually didn't want to see this kind of situation. At least for the time being, I don't want to see that. At the provincial party committee meeting in Anhui, it was widely believed that a conflict over water sources with neighboring Henan was very likely. The masses in the surrounding areas of the base area spontaneously wanted to join the base area, and it would take two years before they could appear. After all, the local clans and landlords would never support the People's Party.

Swallowing the question of "what the hell is going on", Xiao Wall knew that the answer to this question would not reach the county so quickly.

"What the hell is going on?" Chen Ke asked. He wasn't angry, he just felt sorry. Henan is Yuan Shikai's territory, and the cooperation between the People's Party and Yuan Shikai has just begun. However, it is impossible for the People's Party to sit idly by and watch the Henan government send troops under the nose of the People's Party to suppress the spontaneous protests of the people. If this is done, the BJP will no longer have to shout about revolution. What's the hell about this? Directly complicit with the reactionary government.

"Collect taxes." Qi Huishen gave a very ordinary explanation. Since 1909, when Beiyang entered Henan to confront the People's Party, the tax burden of the masses in Henan has been continuously increasing. When Yuan Shikai was there, the Beiyang soldiers were in the country, and the people resisted slightly, and they were immediately exterminated. Taxation has always been able to rise and fall, even if Yuan Shikai evacuated Henan with the Beiyang Army, the increased weight will not be lowered for you. Yuan Shikai borrowed all the money from the head of the People's Party because of lack of money, how could he let go of Henan's taxes?

It was the people of Yongcheng who revolted in close proximity to the base area. At one time, it was the front line, and the taxes were extremely heavy. This year's harvest in Yongcheng is really not good. The people couldn't pay their taxes and simply revolted.

"I haven't heard of any natural disasters over there." Chen Ke was a little surprised.

Qi Hui blinked deeply, he also felt strange. However, Qi Huishen quickly changed the topic, "The representatives of Yongcheng who came to ask for merger into our base area this time are all local landlords and gentry. Did the local cadres ask them if they supported land reform? These people said that if the Beiyang government collects 70% of the tax, and our base only collects 30% of the tax, they will do it. ”

......After listening to this information, Chen Ke suddenly remembered a sentence, reality is often more magical than fiction. Just like during the War of Liberation, under the policy of Chiang Bald, the landlords went bankrupt, and even the landlords' militias defected to the Communist Party.

The matter has come out, and Chen Ke can only choose to face it. "First, Beiyang will never be allowed to suppress the people under our noses. If Henan is going to take military action, we must stop it. Second, he telegraphed Yuan Shikai and asked him what he had done. Yuan Shikai must not be allowed to speak first. Third, immediately send someone to investigate what really happened. ”

"It's up to the owner to beat the dog. If we have a conflict with Beiyang, will it have too much impact? Qi Huishen was a little worried.

"It's right to beat the dog to see the owner. But this kind of thing can't be avoided in the future. Only Yuan Shikai let it, we can't let it. Chen Ke also made up his mind. The foundations of the revolution should not be shaken by the fear of a temporary conflict. Besides, as long as the People's Party strikes first, Yuan Shikai will not trigger wrong associations.

Yuan Shikai really didn't cause wrong associations, and after the People's Party's telegram was sent to Yuan Shikai's desk, Yuan Shikai quickly understood what was going on. Before he left Henan, he did confess that he would lower the tax. Obviously, this is not the case at the local level. It is well known that the People's Party collects a 30% tax, and Beiyang has always believed that the People's Party will not last long, so it does not care about the contrast between the two directions. The BJP is clearly holding on, so it is not uncommon for the BJP to rebel over tax issues. The priority now is how to stop this linkage, rather than dwelling on the matter with the BJP.

However, Beiyang's finances have reached such a point, and Yuan Shikai is really powerless. What if no taxes are charged? The economic benefits of the People's Party's investment in the north are obvious, especially after linking up with Beiyang, whether it is bank loans or tax revenue, we can see a very good change. This made Yuan Shikai moved.

Of course, Yuan Shikai also has his own other choice, and the sudden change in China's situation has aroused the attention of the world's financial community. The Russian government instructed the Russo-Asian [Daosheng] Bank to form an institution to compete with the banking syndicates of the four countries; On January 24, 1911, the Russo-Asian [Daosheng] Bank gathered some British, French, and Belgian capitals that had nothing to do with the banking group of the four countries to formally form this international consortium, and as soon as it was established, the Warbi Bank lent money to the government of Yuan Shikai. The contract stipulates that the interest on the loan is 5%, 97% deduction, and the payment will be made 15 days after signing the contract; China secured the loan with its usual revenues and the net profits and property of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, and agreed to give the consortium a priority of £10 million in lending.

In addition, Chen Ke took out money to temporarily solve Yuan Shikai's urgent need. If he can get this money, Yuan Shikai will be able to have a lot of money. At this time, it is extremely unwise to tear your face with Chen Ke.

After thinking about it, Yuan Shikai made a decision and invited Chen Ke to Beijing.

When Chen Ke received this invitation, Qi Huishen reported to Chen Ke with a wry smile, "Yongcheng bought a large batch of seeds from us the year before last, but didn't buy them last year. ”

It took Chen Ke several seconds to understand what he meant, although this matter involved relations with Beiyang, but also the actual interests of the people. However, Chen Ke also wanted to smile bitterly, although he finally held back.

It took a great deal of effort to disseminate agricultural knowledge in the base fields, and the display of some experimental fields, so that the masses could barely accept the fact that the yield of the second generation of improved varieties in ordinary fields was very low. What I never expected was that the improved seeds actually flowed to other regions, and it was obvious that they had produced considerable results.

"Who did this?" Chen Ke asked.

"It must have been done in the area bordering Yongcheng. I'm afraid that the first batch of good seeds will be sold for a good price. Whether it's a millistate or a region, we'll investigate in depth. Qi Huishen replied.