Chapter 74: We Have Food In Our Hand

"Before Chen Xi came, all the people in Taishan were hungry and had raggedy clothes. Now, under the rule of Chen Xi, half a million people are considered to have surplus food, and they have no doubts about eating." Liu Bei walked in from outside the gate and laughed when he heard Chen Xi's words, "Zhao Yun did not make any mistakes in carrying out government affairs, and he even ran around the county. For the people's food rations you did not have the slightest slack. The people are grateful to you and return the favor with seasonal fruits and vegetables. Why do you not eat?"

"My lord, you do not know that when I was running between the villages, I discovered the sufferings of the people, and also came to realize the capabilities of military advisor. I only have meager ability, but I enjoy the people's gift. I, Zhao Yun, can't have a clear conscience." Zhao Yun said with a hesitant face. He couldn't have a clear conscience like Chen Xi. He didn't think he did better than Liu Bei or Chen Xi.

"Eat your gifts. You can eat what is given to you. If you are not at ease, you will be at ease next year. Now that its here, isn't it nonsense not to eat. Are you waiting for it to be destroyed? Their intentions are also to urging you to do better. Eat quickly. After eating, think about how to make the people life better, instead of complaining that you're not doing well enough." Chen Xi handed over the basket of jujubes to Zhao Yun, "And remember to carry these things back. When eating, think about it, how to do better next year!"

Zhao Yun stopped talking. It seems that he has made up his mind to do better. As for Liu Bei, he has no special feeling that such a peerless and powerful general is engage in farming all day long. After all, Zhao Yun has done quite well, and as for powerful general, Liu Bei is not lacking now. So he thinks it is necessary to let Zhao Yun lay the foundation of Taishan, especially since Zhao Yun is happy to do so.

Liu Bei also squeezed a red date and ate it with a peace of mind. After all, Chen Xi follow him to Taishan. Now that Taishan is rich, he can take pride in it.

Zhao Yun ate the jujube a little bit stiffly, still looking a little sad, but he was not as dead as he was before. In other words, if he carries a spear and argues with Chen Xi like last time, Chen Xi will definitely let him send it back without saying a word. That kind of distance is not far away, Zhao Yun can afford it~

"Chen Xi ordered someone to notify me but is there something important?" Liu Bei sat in the main seat and kicked Chen Xi to the his left. He raised his teacup, took a sip of tea, and raised his head to ask.

"There are some things that need to be carried out. Although I can do it, I still ask Liu Bei to confirm it. Of course Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Hua Xiong, and Yu Jin will also come back, and we can finally proceed with the second step of the plan." Chen Xi nodded, turning over the subject of gift giving.

When everyone saw Chen Xi being so solemn, their hearts were shocked. Even Zhao Yun, who was hesitant, put down his guilt first, and began to wait for the arrival of Guan Yu and the others.

It didn't take long before Guan Yu and the others arrived one after another. After seeing Liu Bei who was sitting in the main seat and all the other people who looked solemn, they all sat in their seats solemnly.

"Xu Chu, you personally guard the gate, and the government building is guarded by your tiger guard. As we sort out this year's affairs and decide the move forward for next year, do not allow anyone else to come in." Chen Xi cupped his hand at Liu Bei, and then solemnly said to Xu Chu who was standing behind Liu Bei.

"Obey!" Xu Chu walked out with a big knife in his hands.

"Let's talk about our current situation first. In May of this year, we entered Taishan and collected a large number of refugees through work-for-pay relief. After that, Hua Xiong and Zang Ba joined forces to put down the Taishan bandits. We have a large amount of people, which is regarded as ours. To build the foundation of Taishan, in the past four months, we have basically built all the houses for the winter, and built roads between the villages..." Chen Xi slowly reported the achievements of these four months. Under Chen Xi's deployment, the entire 500,000 people in Taishan was directly used for construction work, and it was only in this way that he barely achieved his goal in four months.

"Thank you again Chen Xi for your help." After listening to these reports, Liu Bei finally had a clear understanding of his territory. For the first time he knew that he was so wealthy.

"It sound like a lot, but in fact, it is only a little bit for half a million people. It is barely enough." Chen Xi said helplessly, "There is no way, our land is still somewhat small, but 10 million stones of food is barely enough. Let's implement the plan and take it slow."

"Chen Xi seems to have forgotten that 10 million stones is just from grain production, and taxation only accounts for 4 million stones to 4.5 million stones." Lu Su pointed to Zhao Yun and said.

"Yes, I know that Zhao Yun Tuntian order is not 50% taxation. It is 40% in the first three years, and then it will be 30% afterwards." Chen Xi glanced at Zhao Yun and said, "This method is not bad, at least it can easily attract more refugees. After all, we need more people to produce more, and talents in this era are the most precious resource."

Chen Xi had already expected the grain yield of 10 million stones. After all, he remembered that the grain yield during the peak of the Han Dynasty was about 1.2 billion stones, and that's only 24 stones per person for the population of more than 50 million people, which is not too much.

And the 1.2 billion stones of grains were mainly provided by Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Jizhou. So Xuzhou and Jizhou that have not been destroyed are very wealthy places. This is why Tao Qian can give food to Liu Bei so easily. This is also the reason why Yuan Shao's hundreds of thousands of troops were not short of food during the battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao at Guandu, but Cao Cao's troops were hungry every day.

The advantage of the Central Plains hinterland lies in this. The most important food production areas are these five states. It can be said that as long as these five states have good harvests, all other states in the Central Plains can survive without producing grain, but the most tragic thing in the Three Kingdoms era is that these five states were all destroyed in the end...

As for the so-called large-scale production in Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Yizhou, there are no tigers in the mountains and monkeys are kings. Anyone with a little bit of common sense knows that Jingzhou and Yangzhou, which is the large area south of the Yangtze River, are in the development period. It was major grain producer in the Tang Dynasty. Before the Tang Dynasty, maybe seven or eight out of ten places were barren. It was a place where criminals were exiled.

Of course, for Yizhou it can be admitted as a good place. The strength of Liu Yan and his son can only make people admire them, for they have successfully transformed Sichuan. But it's just for that place.

Everyone attaches great importance to the matter of food, and they don't panic if they have food in their hands. Especially in the years of war, food plays a vital role in the stability of the political situation. With more than 4 million stones of food in hand, many things can be implemented. Yes, Qingzhou was a big state in the past. Even if we can't swallow it, who knows if we can eat a little bit of it with the lure of food? What can you do if people want to surrender? We are compassionate toward others. Restrain the refugees, and give them the soil for survive on. How noble we are~