From Weizhenbao all the way south, you have to pass through Pingyu City, Yaofu Fort, Li Gangbao, Zhang Liangbao and other places to reach Ningxia City. The surrounding areas of this route are all objects that Xu Xingxia wants to carefully inspect. There are some things that you still have to see with your own eyes before you can trust them.

In Pingyu City, Xu Xingxia inspected in detail the various facilities in the city, as well as the situation of grain production. After the white-clothed army conquered Pingyu City, the craftsmen in the city all moved to Zhenshuo Fort to help with the local construction. Therefore, in Pingyu City, there is no industry for the time being, and all the people living here are cultivating the land. Of course, there are also a lot of small foreign traders, and the various commodities they sell have greatly enriched the material life of the people. In the era when there was no big business involved, they seemed to be very active.

As the core of the original Thousand Households, the distribution of fields before Pingyu City was very chaotic. Most of the land was occupied by officers at all levels. Military households with their own land account less than one-tenth of the number of military households. The vast majority of military households are tenants of military officers, who rely on helping others farm for a living, and they live a miserable life. If you encounter an officer who has done a lot of evil, such as Peng Feng and Zhang Qiuqing, it will be even more miserable.

After the white-clothed army conquered this place and killed those officers who had done many evils, the military households of Pingyu City formed a committee, selected members and standing committee members, and discussed the redistribution of the fields. Some of the officers who slipped through the net were also arrested by them and severely punished. The end result is that each person gets about eight acres of land. Relatively speaking, this number is very large. This fully shows that there is a sufficient amount of land around Pingyu City for distribution. At the same time, this shows that the population of Ningxia Town is still a bit small.

One person was given eight acres of land, and the average family has several people, and the smallest number of five people is forty acres! In the era of mechanization, it was quite challenging for a laborer to cultivate eight acres of land. A little laziness can lead to the abandonment of the fields. If the fields are left uncultivated, they will be confiscated. Therefore, the people of Pingyu City went to work in the fields almost before dawn, and could not return until it was dark. Some people even simply built a shed in the field, and the food and housing were all in the field.

When Xu Xingxia arrived, the people of Pingyu City were nervously harvesting rice. It's the job of the big heads. There are also a small number of farmers who are busy harvesting wolfberries. Goji berry is a traditional medicinal material in Ningxia Town, many people have planted it, and the purchase price of foreign merchants has always been good. This year's rice harvest, wolfberry harvest is also abundant, the two just collided together, it is really tired of the local people, night after night work, are too busy!

Fortunately, even if they are tired, the people's minds are sweet. So much rice, so many wolfberries, all of them belong to them. Except for a small amount of taxes, everything else belongs to them. It can be said that they have never had so much grain and wolfberries in their lives! In the past, I used to work for others, and I could only get a little hard money, which was not enough to stuff my teeth.

Not only has Pingyu City changed greatly, but also the entire surrounding area of the Black Mountain Camp and the northern part of Ningxia Town have changed greatly. If Zhu Zhizhi came here, she would definitely think that she had gone to the wrong place. Everything here is not the same as before. Some of the merchants who came here from Ningxia City sometimes felt as if they were in a dream, and they felt that they had arrived in a new world. If it wasn't for the down-to-earth, I really thought it was a dream!

The fields that were once barren are now all reclaimed and planted with different crops. If there is enough water for irrigation, rice is planted. Where only part of the water is irrigated, wheat is planted. If there is not enough water for irrigation for the time being, crops such as corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans, potatoes, and tobacco are planted. If you can't grow anything, plant alfalfa. If you can't even grow alfalfa, then plant weeds, fruit trees, and whatever you can.

Anyway, what Xu Xingxia means is that as long as there is vacant land, whether it is on the plain, or halfway up the mountain, or in front of the house, you will plant food for me. If you can't grow food, you can grow grass. Alfalfa is a great grass. If he finds that there is a vacant land that has been abandoned, the local committee will definitely be reprimanded. If the chairman of the committee is really angry, it is still very terrifying. Don't forget, he's an executioner with Tartar blood on his hands!

It is undeniable that Xu Xingxia's regulations are indeed very domineering and unreasonable. If it was in the world of Ming Cook, he would be scolded to death and knocked off the stage. However, in this world of reading talents, it does work very well. The committees in various regions did not dare to touch the mold of Old Demon Xu. They are very cautious and do not dare to let the fields in their jurisdiction appear deserted, even the fields in front of the house and behind the house. Whatever you plant, plant it first. Whether you can use it now or not, you can plant it first.

Such a hegemonic regulation has naturally brought about a rapid increase in the area of cultivated land. According to the latest data sent by the Stewards' Committee, the area of rice harvested in July was about 2.6 million mu. The harvested area of wolfberry is about 80,000 mu. The most optimistic estimate is that by next year, the sown area of rice is expected to exceed 5 million mu. The sown area of wheat is also expected to exceed 3 million mu. That's definitely a remarkable number.

It must be known that the original area of Ningxia Town is not very large, and the area of 8 million mu of cultivated land is already very amazing. Moreover, this does not include the area of dry land. According to official figures, the cultivated land in the entire Shaanxi region is only about 30 million mu. If you don't count Hanzhong Mansion, this number is even more discounted. With the further improvement of the land reform in Ningxia Town, more wasteland has been developed, and the area of cultivated land will be further expanded. Eventually, it is expected that more than 10 million acres of cultivated area will be cultivated.

What is the concept of 10 million acres of cultivated land? According to the average yield of one and a half stones per mu, that is the output of fifteen million stones! According to the basic tax rate of two buckets (0.2 stones, about forty catties) per mu, the white-clothed army can also collect a tax of two million stones. Such a tax is enough to support the expansion of the white-clothed army to more than 100,000 people. And Ningxia Town's grain production is estimated to be no problem to feed three million, or even five million people.

Originally, the animal husbandry industry in Ningxia Town was very developed, and there were many horses, cattle and sheep, but now, the grain planting industry has also reached a new level, and Xu Xingxia is completely relieved. The great man said it well, he has food in his hands, and he does not panic in his heart. With a gun in one hand, a grain bag in the other, and a money bag tied around your waist, you'll be free to do so. Of course, Xu Xingxia can't be blindly optimistic. In the long run, Ningxia Town's grain production is still a bit insufficient.

In the troubled times at the end of the Ming Dynasty, food was critical. Where did so many rebel armies come from, weren't they forced to join the rebel army just because they didn't have enough food? If there is food to eat, they will not participate in this dangerous game. Why did the Ming court struggle because everything went wrong and grain production was repeatedly affected? There is not enough money and food to support, and many beautiful plans are all in the sky!

In fact, Xu Xingxia currently has only such a piece of land on hand, which can produce more grain. He should be lucky enough to cross over to the south of the Yangtze River. If it's a trip to Gansu Town, that's the trouble. With God's favor, if you don't even do a good job of such a piece of land, the future of the white-clothed army will be affected. It seems that in the arid and barren places of Yansui Town, Gansu Town, and Guyuan Town, Xu Xingxia doesn't expect to produce much grain, and it doesn't need to fill in the big holes.

Of course, in the long run, Xu Xingxia is not without the means to control more arable land. Around Ningxia Town, there are actually some places where grain can be produced. Areas such as the Bayannur Grassland and the Tumut Plain can be developed into cultivated land. The problem is that it will take time for these areas to be developed and utilized. Not to mention the Bayannur grassland for the time being, the Tumut grassland is still under the control of Lin Dan Khan. If the two sides do not fight fiercely, it is impossible for the white-clothed army to grab the Tumut grassland.

Except for these two grasslands, there is no need to think about other places for the time being. In the northwest region of the Ming Dynasty, including the whole of Shanxi, as well as the northern and northwestern parts of Shaanxi, the grain production was very low. Most of these areas are arid and have a severe lack of rainfall. As for the distant Shaanxi Xingdu Division (Gansu Town), it is even more not. When the white-clothed army entered here, most of them only had expenditures and no income.

Unless the white-clothed army enters Chengdu Mansion and controls Sichuan, it can obtain another high-quality grain producing area. As a country of abundance, Sichuan's grain output is still very large. Among them, the cultivated land area of the Sichuan Basin alone has 30 to 40 million mu! Moreover, the Sichuan Basin is not affected by the Xiaoice period, and even during the Xiaoice period, it can produce grain normally. This is definitely a great advantage in the late Ming Dynasty.

In fact, the most affected by the Xiaoice River period are Beizhili, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Huguang and other places. These places are also the places where the rebel army has fought the most in the later period. If the white-clothed army enters here, it is affected by the Xiaoice period, and it is estimated that the pressure is also very great. As for the distant Jiangnan, it was not affected by the Xiaoice period, but unfortunately it was too far away. If the white-clothed army goes to the south of the Yangtze River, it is estimated that the unification of the whole country is already in the process.

…… The roads from Pingyu City to Ningxia City have been connected by cement roads. This is a standard four-lane road, and at first glance, it is very spacious. This road was originally straight, but when the cement road was laid, it was specially straightened, and it looked even straighter. At that time, there were no cars or the like, let alone overloading, so the quality of the cement road only needed to be able to withstand the load of a four-wheeled carriage. To put it simply, three inches of concrete is sufficient. Even, in some places, it is only an inch thick, which is basically enough.

The biggest advantage of the concrete road is that the carriage travels fast and does not bumpy. When it rains, it won't be muddy and won't obstruct the passage of vehicles. This was definitely a great blessing for the transportation industry at that time! The bigwigs in the transportation industry are most afraid of rainy days. It is precisely by relying on the cement road as the backbone that the materials of Ningxia City can be quickly transported to the Black Mountain Battalion. The raw materials from all over the country can be quickly concentrated in Ningxia City.

"Da Da Da!"

The horse's hooves made a crisp sound as they stepped on the top of the concrete road.

On both sides of the concrete road, from time to time, there are some two- or three-storey buildings. These buildings are standard brick and concrete structures, which are much stronger than ordinary brick houses. These brick and concrete houses were also advocated by Xu Xingxia. Its main role is to be able to garrison musketeers in case of, well, really in case, there is a large number of enemy invasions, and resist the enemy's attack step by step. Of course, at the moment, it seems that there is no need for this.

The offensive of the officers and troops has obviously failed. Since the Leopard Cavalry suddenly appeared in Yansui Town and besieged Yulin City, the entire battle plan of the official army has been completely disrupted. The army in Yansui was scattered. Relying solely on the army of Guyuan Town, they naturally did not dare to attack. And the army in Gansu Town has not even completed its assembly. If there were no accidents, the imperial court would definitely not launch a second attack so quickly. The court can't afford it!

A comprehensive analysis of various sources of intelligence shows that the previous offensive should have been organized by the trilateral governors. In other words, the war was still confined to the four towns in the northwest, and the mobilization of resources was also limited to the four towns in the northwest. The previous military transfer must have consumed a lot of resources for Huang Kezhang. Whether it is the expenditure of military spending or the consumption of food, it is a great pressure for him. As the governor of the tripartite, he did not have many resources at his disposal.

Of the four towns in the northwest, Ningxia Town originally had the largest reserves of money and grain. Relying on the production of the Ningxia Plain, the trilateral governors could barely maintain the basic situation of the four towns in the northwest. However, now, if something happens to Ningxia Town, the other three towns will not be able to support themselves. As time goes on, the pressure on Wong will increase. Without enough money to spend, how did he plan the crackdown? Xu Xingxia even felt that the desperate Huang Kezhang might consider recruiting An.

After all, among the four towns in the northwest, the only one that Huang Kezhang can control at present is Guyuan Town. Ningxia Town and Yansui Town are both controlled by the white-clothed army. The situation in Gansu Town has always been unclear, and it is not known what is happening there for the time being. Perhaps, the town of Gansu has been controlled by the Eyesight Society. Huang Kezhang, who only has a town in hand, what can he do to suppress him Xu Xingxia? On the contrary, he Xu Xingxia concentrated the main force of the white-clothed army, and it was not bad to counterattack Huang Kezhang.

In fact, with the current combat strength of the white-clothed army, the enemy can be easily defeated at the border of Ningxia Town, and it is impossible for the official army to reach Ningxia City. Especially after the white-clothed army took control of Yansui Town, the situation of the officers and troops in Shaanxi was very dangerous. Whether you can keep Yulin City, Guyuan City, Xi'an City and other three places, you have to say two.

(To be continued)