After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 767 - 757 Heavy Disaster

Initially, in Youzhou and Jizhou, Wang Jun and Liu Kun returned after the war, both of them happily set up banquets to celebrate the expansion of their territories with their subordinate generals and staff.

Wang Jun celebrated for a whole month, with daily performances of music and dance, taking the opportunity to meet officials from Youzhou and Qingzhou, showcasing his impressive martial prowess and strength to them and his staff.

Only by winning their approval could he further his ambitions, ideally having them mention the idea of him establishing himself as a king someday.

Thus, despite being the time for spring sowing, he did not pay much attention to it.

Spring sowing, well, farmers plant crops every year, don’t they know what to plant and how to plant? Moreover, the county magistrates are there, why would an Inspector like him need to worry?

Therefore, he paid no heed to the matters of spring sowing, even when officials reported that the climate was abnormal this year, with snowfall since winter being about thirty percent less than previous years and only one spring rain since the onset of spring, he didn’t think much of it and directed officials to follow standard practices.

With orders issued, by the time county magistrates disengaged from Wang Jun’s celebratory banquet and turned to organizing drought preparation efforts, it was already too late.

The farmers had already plowed the land and sowed wheat seeds, and it was too late to switch to more drought-resistant crops like millet, beans, and sorghum. All they could do was organize efforts to dig wells and excavate channels...

However, some areas were poorly organized, expending a large amount of manpower and resources inappropriately, which instead encroached on labor and time needed for land irrigation, leading to widespread grievances among the people.

After seventy days without rain in Youzhou, such resentment and fear of natural disasters erupted, with people in Youzhou beginning to attack the county government over disputes involving water.

The situation in Jizhou was not much better than Youzhou.

While Wang Jun’s month-long celebration missed the golden period, it was different for Liu Kun, as song and dance were routine for him, making every day a feast.

After conquering half of Jizhou, he established channels for information dissemination, but not urgently, as he was known for his carefree and relaxed approach, unwilling to rush his subordinates.

This resulted in slow information flow in Jizhou, but fortunately, he acted immediately upon receiving the news.

After some deliberation, he also initiated efforts to dig wells and build water channels to ensure farmland irrigation, but slow communication coupled with Jizhou being newly recovered led to poor coordination among officials, with local people more inclined to follow local gentry rather than his commands.

Furthermore, pervasive banditry plagued various areas, which Liu Kun did not address, causing Jizhou’s counties to act independently, defying his orders.

The gentry and officials across various regions felt large-scale waterworks would squander manpower, hence merely dispatched individuals to locate places for digging wells.

But there were few knowledgeable about well-digging, even fewer who could find water sources. The lack of effective organization similarly wasted much manpower, yet resulted in futility.

By the time they realized the shortage of rain this year, wheat had already been sown, and amidst the clamorous well-digging efforts, they missed the timing for planting millet and beans...

In Youzhou, Jizhou, and most of Bingzhou, spring wheat was generally grown since winter was too cold for winter wheat planting. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Wheat is more drought-resistant than rice, but not as much as sorghum, millet, and beans.

Zhao Hanzhang, recalling this major historical disaster, began preparations years earlier.

Each year she commissioned channel clearance and waterworks construction tasks, organized several teams of well-digging experts, and ensemble talented individuals adept at finding water sources.

After taking Luoyang last year, she further instructed Fu Tinghan, under the title of Minister of the Ministry of Industry, to extensively recruit experts in locating water sources and weather forecasting, including a disheartened yet skilled feng shui master.

These individuals accompanied well-digging teams in searching for and digging wells, disregarding profit and loss, with all expenses, provisions, and travel compensated by Zhao Hanzhang, who also offered them high monthly salaries and promised education and workshop job opportunities for their children in the future.

Their treatment was particularly generous.

Last year, Zhao Hanzhang enjoyed chatting with Xiahou Yan and Zhang Xie, inviting them to stargaze at night, also consulting imperial officials from the Astronomical Observatory via Zhao Zhongyu. Earlier in the year, during her visit to Fu Zhi, she sought advice on celestial phenomena, and queried numerous veteran farmers, receiving responses indicating potential drought this year.

Therefore, before spring sowing, Zhao Hanzhang wrote to Liu Kun, advising him to prepare more drought-resistant seed varieties and to commence drought preparations early.

However, back then, Liu Kun was in Jinyang, dealing with Liu Cong and Wang Jun’s dual attacks, facing existential threats, how could he concern himself with spring sowing months later?

After the hostilities ended, Zhao Hanzhang wrote again reminding him and asking if he prepared the seeds, offering support if insufficient.

Liu Kun gladly accepted at the time, but distributed the received seeds to people in Jinyang. Thus, the most disaster-stricken area of northern Jizhou had no preparations, nor did it receive supplies or support.

Conversely, the southern areas seized by Zu Ti fared better; first, it experienced two additional spring rains compared to some northern parts; second, Zu Ti ceased combat during spring sowing, methodically organizing people for well-digging drought resistance; third, Zhao Hanzhang similarly supported him with numerous drought-resistant seed varieties, ensuring their planting by the populace.

This year they reduced the sowage of spring wheat by acres, increasing the acreage for drought-resistant crops like beans, millet, and sorghum.

Similarly, upon witnessing Zu Ti’s sowing actions and land acquisition pause during spring, Shi Le promptly acquired a batch of bean seeds for his people to plant.

"Last winter was very cold, yet only five snowfalls occurred, of which two were so minor they melted by morning. Since spring’s arrival, rain and snow have been scarcer," remarked Shi Le, "Zhao Hanzhang has many skilled individuals under her. She must have foreseen drought early on, hence advising Zu Ti to reduce wheat planting. Already planted wheat cannot be uprooted, but we can plant beans afterward. If drought proves severe, we can ensure harvest."

The officials below agreed, paying close attention to civilian irrigation matters.

Zu Ti’s possession upstream had prompted fears of water cutoffs, unexpectedly, Zu Ti not only refrained from shutting water but mediated the upstream-downstream water disputes, persuading upstream residents to release water for downstream irrigation.

This matter was reported, greatly impressing Shi Le, who said jealously, "With such individuals under her wing, Zhao Hanzhang is truly unstoppable."

Shi Le dispatched two generals, both defeated by Zu Ti, clearly recognizing all the military equipment in Zu Ti’s army was supplied by the Zhao Family Army.

The Zhao Family Army boasted fine weaponry, notably its spears and sabers, whereas Shi Le, originally a bandit, relied on plundering for initial armament, later receiving some from Liu Yuan, yet were mediocre.

Now he self-imposed taxes and crafted his own weapons, yet lacked comparable skilled personnel to Zhao Hanzhang, producing weapons far inferior to those of Zhao Family Army.

The Zhao Family Army’s ability to repeatedly defeat the brave and battle-hardened Shi Le’s Army and Xiongnu Army was partly attributed to Zhao Hanzhang’s command and partly to its weaponry and equipment.

Therefore, upon receiving reports that almost everyone in Zu Ti’s army wielded weapons from Zhao Family Army, Shi Le knew it was Zhao Hanzhang’s strategic move.

Perhaps only the Jin Court remains unaware now?

With a cold smile, Shi Le planned to reveal this "good news" to the Jin State Emperor and Gou Xi during the summer solstice sacrificial ceremony, adding to the scene’s intrigue.