After seeing off Song Yingxing and his family, Liu Hongjian was worried.

There is another drought in the north. It has been more than a month since early July to the present. Shuntian Prefecture, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong and other places have not yet rained.

Song Shiyi, the second son of Song Yingxing, sighed even more. He had studied a lot of celestial phenomena. Judging from the current situation, it was impossible to rain within ten days.

In the second season of this year, sweet potatoes have just been planted for more than a month. It is the critical time when water is needed to grow. People are eagerly waiting for the rain, but facing the dry land.

"Why are you upset about your husband?" Sun Xiuxiu lay beside Liu Hongjian. Seeing Liu Hongjian sighing softly, she frowned slightly.

Since her husband came back from outside the pass, not only did he become tanned, but he seemed to be more profound than before. She knew that the burden on her husband was heavy, and she wanted to share the burden, but found that she was powerless.

What can she, a weak woman, help?

"The north has a severe drought, and the people's lives are not going well this year." Liu Hongjian sat up and took off his coat.

To mourn the hardships of people's livelihood, this damn Glacier Age!

"The drought in the north has lasted for more than ten years. God is not good enough, even Your Majesty can do anything. Don't be so anxious, husband." Sun Xiuxiu sat gentlely beside the bed, pinching Liu Hongjian's shoulders to comfort him.

"God? What is it? Heaven and earth are not kind, so you will go against the will of heaven and change your destiny for your husband!" Liu Hongjian suppressed the depression in his heart.

Xiao Bingheji didn't say that he could pass by it, but since he came, he would definitely not be able to wait for God to give alms. Three points are destined to heaven, and seven points are determined by hard work. Who knows if he doesn't try?

"It's my little baby, you've been drought for several days, so I'll give you some rain." After Liu Hongjian said that, he turned over and pressed Sun Xiuxiu under him.

"Ah! Husband..." Sun Xiuxiu was surprised by her husband's disrespect for God. She never expected that she would be attacked suddenly and exclaimed in surprise.

In fact, her heart is still sweet. Compared to her deep husband who was unable to get close to, she prefers the domineering, simple, and sleeping in.

...

The next day, Liu Hongjian didn't sleep in for the first time. He didn't even eat early in the morning and greeted Niu Dabangchui, Liu Hu, Liu Bao and other seven servants out.

Seven men and seven horses came out from the east gate of the capital and headed north to Tangshan Villa, Changping County, Beijing.

Although the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, the heat has not diminished. The dust has been rolling along the way, and the weeds on both sides of the road have been wilted by the sun. Liu Hongjian frowned while walking.

When they arrived at Detangshan Villa, Xu Baishun, the head of the village, was calling on the farmers to carry buckets to water the farmland.

"It's the prince, the prince is here, hurry up! Pay a visit to our great benefactor!" When he saw the great benefactor coming, Xu Baishun threw away the water load on his shoulder and ran to Liu Hongjian's horse and bowed down.

"What's the point of Xu Zhuangtou? Get up quickly!" Liu Hong was getting off the horse and hurried to help the old man with gray hair.

"The prince cannot do it. The old man's body is dirty. Don't dirty the prince's hands." Seeing this, Xu Baishun hurriedly got up by himself, bent over and hid behind for a while.

"Why is this? I am not worse than you when I work on farm work.

Let's take me to the village and call all the farmers, and I want to ask questions." Liu Hongjian knew that he was too noble to these people, but he had no choice but to use these farmers.

There are more than 180 households in Tangshan Villa, all of whom are tenants who have been farming for the royal family for generations. The farmland surrounds Tangshan Villa, and it is a flat mountain in a radius of several miles.

Just hold people shouting on the ground, and soon the farmers returned from the fields one after another and gathered at the entrance of Tangshan Villa.

In the years of severe drought, the farmers used their physical strength to carry water to water the fields in order to save them. Even women had shoulder poles hanging down, and they were all sweating profusely.

"Xu Zhuangtou, tell me about the spring harvest." Liu Hongjian waved his hand to stop the farmers' kneeling and said to Xu Baishun on the side.

"When I go back to the prince, there are 616 hectares of fertile land in Tangshan Villa. According to the prince's instructions, all of which are planted with potatoes and sweet potatoes.

The potatoes and sweet potatoes harvested a total of 98,039 stones. The spring and summer seasons this year are pretty good. The remaining 110 hectares of wheat also harvested more than 3,480 stones.”

Xu Zhuangtou knew that Liu Hongjian was going to ask about the harvest, so he had already prepared the accounts and handed them to Liu Hongjian.

"Well, the harvest is pretty good. How much rice has Song Zhangban distributed to you? Is it enough to eat?" One mu of sweet potatoes produced about 2,000 kilograms. Although it was slightly lower than Liu Hongjian's expectation, it was considered an unprecedented success compared to wheat with a yield of more than 200 kilograms per mu.

The entire imperial village in Shuntian Prefecture was under the jurisdiction of Song Yingxing's two sons who were good at farming, including the collection of crops and the distribution of rice and grain from tenants.

"I'm going to send it back to the prince. Song Zhengban is kind and each household has given him 300 kilograms of sweet potatoes." Speaking of this, Xu Zhuang's brows stretched. Compared with the surveillance officers in the palace in previous years, the two brothers of the Song family were really good to them.

In previous years, tenants were busy for a year, and the rice and grain they gave were basically not enough to eat. The most difficult thing was in winter, when the cold weather was frozen and it was impossible to cultivate. In order to save food, many farmers did not go out.

Even so, starvation and freezing will occur every year.

"How can three hundred kilograms be enough? Xu Zhuangtou will go to find Song Shiyi tomorrow, and each household will get five stones of sweet potatoes and one stone of wheat. I will inform you later that all the farmers in my hands can get them!"

Liu Hongjian looked at the rice and grain distributed in the account and frowned.

"The prince is kind, the people of the old man Xu kowtowed to the prince!" Xu Baishun's tears came down instantly when he heard this.

Although Song Shiyi had an additional 300 kilograms, the weather is currently dry. If it does not rain anymore, the crops in autumn may be reduced as much as in previous years, which also means that the farmers may not be able to share rice and grain before winter.

How to spend this winter?

His Highness the Prince only glanced at the account and ordered each household to issue another six stones, six stones! This is the life-saving food for the people in the village!

A stone in the Ming Dynasty was about 153 kilograms. If it were calculated based on 500 grams per kilogram in later generations, it would be about 181 kilograms.

If you can really get these six stone grains at home, even if there is no harvest in autumn, each household will have some use left, which will be enough to survive the cold winter.

"The old farmer thanked the prince! My son, I won't have to go hungry again this year. The prince will never forget the kindness of the old farmer." Rows of farmers knelt down, even if Liu Hongjian tried to stop him, it would be useless.

For tenants who are counting on food to survive, food is heaven, fate, and everything.

Liu Hongjian's eyes were a little sore, and even Niu Dabangmao was a little cramped.

These simple people just want to live and pass on their bloodlines, and are willing to sweat all their sweat for this.

But the world is not kind, and the noble landlords who are arrogant and blessed are not caring about it. Why punish these already miserable people?

After all, Liu Hongjian finally persuaded all the people. Xu Zhuangtou wiped the old tears cheeks and seemed to be a little reluctant to speak.

Liu Hongjian thought that this old man had something unspeakable, so he asked him to speak out and help him solve it.
Chapter completed!