First Prince of Ming Dynasty

After dinner, most of the officials went back to deal with their work. Only some high-ranking people stayed with Zhu Biao to discuss and plan the land reclamation for the people.

The prefect of Fengyang means that since there are still nearly 100,000 people, instead of setting up villages scattered, it is better to build a larger town in one place, so as to concentrate manpower and material resources.

The map of Fengyang Mansion was placed on the table, and the villages and towns had to be carefully drawn on it. The originally empty villages were filled by more than 100,000 people in front, although some more could be squeezed in.

However, the natural resources near a village are limited, and there are only a few pieces of fertile land. No matter how much wasteland is unsuitable for farming, there is nothing to do. Besides, Zhu Biao’s plan is to stimulate population development, so he has to leave rations for newborns. Every household in a village must not have too little cultivated land.

Seeing that Zhu Biao had no objection, the prefect of Fengyang made gestures on the map. There are only two places where large towns can be built. The terrain needs to be relatively flat, with cultivated land and rivers nearby, and not far from the official road, which is suitable for transporting building materials. The only disadvantage is that there are no villages around and sparsely populated.

Zhu Biao nodded. The matter was no small matter, and he said that he would go to see it in person tomorrow. The prefect of Fengyang had already made two trips in person, but it was impossible for him to stop Zhu Biao.

The officials saw that Zhu Biao was a little tired, so they all quit in a sensible manner, saying that they would come to see them again tomorrow, Zhu Biao asked Liu Jin to send them out, and only the direct descendants he brought from the capital were left in the house.

Zhu Biao cheered up and looked at Zhang Fan. Since the parting after the heavy rain, Zhu Biao would miss those lonely women and children every day. Zhang Fan felt the prince's gaze and immediately bowed and said, Thanks to His Royal Highness, those women and children have arrived here safely.

Zhu Biao nodded in satisfaction: You have done a good job, and you have lived up to my trust. I am still very worried. After all, those children are too weak.

Zhang Fan also smiled, he has spent a lot of time in order to complete this matter perfectly, now that the crown prince is satisfied, the hard work will not be in vain, and he bowed and replied a few words.

Zhu Biao was in a better mood, looked at Zhu Bian and said, Third brother, you have worked hard this time, you are not tired.

Zhu Yan said with a smile: It's really not easy. In fact, my younger brother is alright, and the elder brother is the one who really worked hard.

Zhu Biao asked the rest of the people again. These people went from Nanjing to Shanxi with him, and now they are walking back to Fengyang. Zhu Biao was very strict with them on the way, and now there is only the end, so they should be encouraged up.

When it was getting dark and everyone retreated, Zhu Biao rubbed his face and relaxed his facial muscles, and Liu Jin brought a bowl of chicken soup with distress: Master, you just ask them to retreat earlier, the journey is exhausting. , why bother with them again.

Zhu Biao glanced at him, and was sure that he said this sentence only because he felt sorry for himself, otherwise Zhu Biao would have to reprimand him a few words, and he really has no strength today.

Liu Jin also knew that she had said the wrong thing. After watching Zhu Biao finish drinking the chicken soup, she hurried out to bring another basin of footwashing water and added some medicinal materials given by the imperial physician.

Zhu Biao soaked his feet in the hot water and sighed comfortably. Sure enough, it was not easy to do anything. During this journey, Zhu Biao had to worry about all kinds of things every day, which was different from that during the Northern Expedition. At that time, Zhu Biao only needed to In charge of the generals, the soldiers have their own military discipline.

Orders and prohibitions are enough, and this road is full of ordinary people, and most of them are illiterate. There are many people who have never left their villages in their lives.

No matter what he said to them, he couldn't understand. At the beginning, Zhu Biao ordered the soldiers not to be violent easily, and to appease the people.

Zhu Biao tried to change, but finally found that the whip was indeed more useful than reason, and the effect was extremely fast. In the end, Zhu Biao could only comfort himself that they were already like this, which was the limitation of the times.

Early the next morning, Zhu Biao led the officials to the land planned by the prefect of Fengyang. After inspecting various conditions on the spot, he finally determined that this place was really good and suitable for building a county.

After receiving Zhu Biao's instructions, the prefect of Fengyang, Damahuicheng, immediately went to arrange labor and organize craftsmen. The young and strong brought by Zhu Biaodang had a place to use. First, let them cut trees on the spot, and then they will be their new home. Naturally, it is up to them to do the work.

Leaving Xu Yungong, Changmao, Guo Chong and others in charge, Zhu Biao led Zhu Bian to look at the people who had settled down again, saying that the settlement was actually just a broken house, and they were still relying on the army to provide food, and the village The arable land has not been cultivated for many years and has long been abandoned.

After Zhu Biao took a look around, he ordered Zhu Yan to bring the officials and soldiers together to gather all the people. The old and weak, women and children stayed at home to tidy up, and the rest worked together. Anyway, the fields are not divided yet.

If they were allowed to sweep the snow in front of their doors, I am afraid they would not even be able to survive the winter. They had to do things in an organized way, and there were definitely not enough officials. Zhu Biao could only give priority to picking out literate gentry children to help with management planning.

After Zhu Biao gave the order, he laughed at himself, no matter how suppressed he was, he still had to rely on others when he had to do things. Zhu Biao had realized the helplessness of the kings of all dynasties, and it was really hard to do anything without them.

Fengyang Mansion has also started the autumn harvest. The imperial court ordered that this year’s Fengyang Mansion’s grain tax does not need to be handed over to the household department, but to be reserved for resettlement and emigration. Zhu Biao was also lazy to test the conscience of the officials, and directly sent Xungui with a knife to stare at them. , who dares to be greedy for a grain of food, he will be killed immediately!

Zhu Biao basically arranges errands in the morning and walks around the villages in the afternoon. The men who work are easy to say, and they can do whatever they want after they have enough food, but the women in the village are in trouble.

The trivial things never stopped, and the conflicts between the local guards and the soldiers were inevitable, and the children of the aristocratic families who were elected to manage them wanted to take care of the relatives if they had some rights.

There are all kinds of things, as well as the shortage of building materials in the county, which also requires Zhu Biao to apply to the court. Recently, I don't know what disease the livestock have, and they have started to infect each other.

Hundreds of cows fell down, and Zhu Biao ordered that as long as they were found, they should be isolated in one place. Their body temperature was very high, and they could not eat anything. There was still a cloudy liquid in their noses. It can't be cured, and there is no way to treat livestock in Fengyang Mansion.

Zhu Biao ordered to kill them all cruelly. You must know that there are tens of thousands of cattle here. If they are all infected, the loss will be too great. Zhu Biao does not dare to take this risk, but it is inevitable to feel bad. too precious.

The rest of the people felt even more distressed. The people who watched were crying, and Fu Zhong's tears also flowed from the corner of his mouth. Zhu Biao gave him a stare and ordered that no one should eat the meat.

The specific reason is unknown, but the disease is obviously contagious. Although Zhu Biao is not sure whether it will affect people after cooking, he still does not want to take risks.

Zhu Biao said a few more times seriously, the background of the people around him would not be greedy for such a little meat, Zhu Biao frowned and looked at the soldiers and common people around him, their eyes were shining brightly.

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