Chapter 467 Escape Method
Soochow gave Ma Su the greatest respect. After hearing the news, Wu general Lu Shu, who was responsible for the siege of Xiangyang, gathered his armor that day and night.
At this moment, Ma Su's reputation had reached the point where the generals of Jingzhou in Soochow wanted to flee. This kind of treatment is already much better than that of Zhang Liao in Hefei. In a few years, once Ma Su shows up, Soochow may abandon the city and leave.
So, Ma Su went to Fancheng to fight his loneliness. Facing the military pressure that had ended, Ma Di could only curse and return to Xinye, preparing to deal with the refugee problem in Nanyang with Li Hui.
At this moment, Li Hui was still wearing a beheading uniform. Although a year had passed, he still looked sad. But after seeing Ma Di coming back from Fancheng cursing, I still couldn't help but laugh.
"Li Shishi, long time no see." Ma Di stepped forward and saluted Li Hui, and said calmly.
"We were separated from each other in Chengdu in the past, but we haven't seen each other for ten years now."
"Youchang, you have changed so much." Li Hui looked at Ma Su carefully, and Ma Su, who was already wearing a military uniform, said softly.
After Zhuge Liang conquered Nanzhong, Li Hui and Zhuge Liang went to Chengdu to receive rewards. The Ma Di I met at that time was frivolous and dressed as a scholar. He looked unreliable no matter how he looked at it.
Now...it's like a different person.
"It's all because I was forced to do nothing. It doesn't make any sense." Ma Di shrugged and dismissed the matter lightly.
"Li Yi's matter... I'm sorry that I didn't catch up."
"It doesn't matter, life or death matters." Li Hui shook his head gently, and then without saying a word, he opened his official business directly,
"Since Youchang has come to Nanyang, I need you just in time. Now Nanyang is no longer suitable for large-scale farming. There are so many refugees who cannot afford to support them, so they have to move to Guanzhong."
"Youchang, you are from Jingzhou. You should be somewhat famous there. I need your help for these things."
"Wait a minute... What do you mean Nanyang is no longer suitable for large-scale farming? I'm a local, don't scare me." Ma Di interrupted Li Hui's words and asked suspiciously.
The climate and land in the Nanyang Basin are extremely suitable for farming, and countless fertile fields are available for cultivation. Logically speaking, this should be a good farming area, but why did it become unsuitable for Li Hui?
"That's all in the old days. It's not an ordinary difficulty to farm in Nanyang now." Li Hui rolled his eyes and said.
"But before..."
"The past was before, and the present is now. You Chang, you haven't been here for too long and don't understand it anymore." With that, Li Hui spread out the map and explained to Ma Su calmly.
After Li Hui's explanation, Ma Su probably understood the specific situation in Nanyang.
Today's Nanyang is roughly divided into three areas, Wancheng, Xiangfan and Xinye. Among them, Wancheng and Xiangfan are the front lines of the battlefield, and the people will not be happy even if you farm here.
When the war breaks out, the people will all flee.
The only area suitable for farming is the Xinye area in central Nanyang. All the infrastructure here has been severely damaged, and there are no roads or canals left.
In particular, the infrastructure damage on the Xinye front line was not mainly caused by war, but was deliberately destroyed.
This was Cao Wei's work again. In order to prevent the enemy's northern expedition in the direction of Jingzhou from obtaining supplies from here in the future, Cao Wei artificially destroyed the local infrastructure. A large number of canals were blocked, roads were destroyed, and many fields were forcibly plowed with horses.
Historically, this was during the time when Sima Yi was in power. Deng Ai proposed and began to use the power of Guandong to colonize the fields in Nanyang, Huainan. It took more than ten years for Nanyang to regain its popularity briefly.
And because of Ma Di's butterfly effect, Deng Ai went to the north to herd horses, Sima Yi went to Nanpi to retire, and Nanyang has been abandoned.
"It will take too long to rebuild this place. During this period, so many refugees have to be raised in Nanyang. I can't afford it." Li Hui threw the pen aside and spread his hands to Ma Su.
"There are now tens of thousands of refugees near Xinye, and the locals can no longer support these people."
"So you mean...let them escape?" Ma Su frowned and tapped the table rhythmically.
"Yes, the only option now is to encourage the refugees to flee." Li Hui nodded and confirmed Ma Di's guess.
So far, Nanyang has been overwhelmed, and it even needs Hanzhong to subsidize grain every year to maintain it. If so many refugees were brought to open up wasteland, the cost would be beyond what Nanyang could afford.
On the Guanzhong side, on the other hand, although the war caused the land to be abandoned, the water canals and infrastructure are still there. In addition, there is a large amount of farmland and a lack of population there, so it can be considered that the resources are fully utilized.
"So no matter how you look at it, this is the most appropriate way now. The only difficulty is how to prevent the people from fleeing northward. This needs you, You Chang, to handle."
Ma Su could understand what Li Hui meant, but for a moment Ma Su's face turned into a bitter smile.
"They have to flee north again... I don't know how many more of these refugees will die."
"It's really in line with the old saying, when things prosper, the people suffer; when they die, the people suffer..."
"When did You Chang become sentimental? This isn't like you." Li Hui raised his eyebrows and glanced at Ma Su in surprise.
"But there is nothing we can do about it. What can we do about the evil done by the counterfeit Wei?"
"Let's do our best now. We don't have time to be as emotional as those Confucian scholars."
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Less than three days after the withdrawal of troops from Soochow and the end of the Xiangfan war, the Nanyang Escape Law was promulgated.
As a native of Jingzhou, Ma Su personally stood up and appealed to the displaced and homeless people in Nanyang. The refugees were encouraged to flee northward and go to Guanzhong to eat and farm.
"Folks, there are frequent wars in Nanyang, and the government cannot organize farming and reclamation. In addition, the puppet Wei Dynasty destroyed this place before, and if you continue to stay here, you can only wait for death."
"But now Guanzhong in the north has been recaptured by the Han Dynasty. The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty personally organized farming there. As long as everyone arrives in Guanzhong, everyone will have enough to eat and be assigned a field, which is guaranteed to support their families!"
This is what Ma Su promised to the people, and at the same time guaranteed that the counties along the way would fully provide food.
At the same time, Ma Di also pulled Liu Xuan out and asked the prince to stand up and appease the people. And as the prince, he promised that the court would try its best to ensure that as few people as possible escaped from the famine.
"Your Highness, look at these sallow and skinny people. These are the subjects of the Han Dynasty." Ma Di encouraged the people to flee and turned to look at Liu Xuan.
"If His Highness takes the throne in the future and wants to enjoy it, just recall what happened today."
Liu Xuan's expression was equally depressed. After all, wherever he looked, there were victims of the disaster who were half-clothed. Just from their appearance, you could tell how bad their lives were.
Are these civilians under war? This is indeed not how people live.
Just when Ma Su took the prince and encouraged him to escape in the name of the East Palace, an accident suddenly appeared.
Amid the commotion, Ma Su suddenly heard the sound of a crossbow being cocked! As a veteran who has been on the battlefield for many years, Ma Di reacted immediately,
"Cover Your Highness! There are assassins!"