The Sun and the Lion

Ibrahim did not stay in Kermanshah for too long. After symbolically awarding outstanding officials and obedient clans respectively, Ibrahim thought that everything was in order and he no longer disturbed the normal life and work of local officials and people.

Continuing westward from Kermanshah you will reach one of the most important provinces - Arab Iraq.

This large plain where the Euphrates and Tigris rivers flow has a long history, but its past glory is no longer the same. Even if we do not trace back to the damage caused by Hulagu and his Mongolian Western Expedition and the environmental degradation caused by global climate change and long-term development, the frequent wars and unstable political environment in the past century have had a profound impact on the local production order. It continues to inflict damage, just like the wounds of a hemophiliac that are difficult to heal.

Therefore, when Ibrahim led his followers to defeat his cousins ​​and collect this part of his grandfather's inheritance, this plain was no longer the sacred land that could become the core of Iran's Shahr. Although the Mesopotamia area he took over at that time could not be said to be thousands of miles away, he could not escape if he was waiting for something to be done.

The water conservancy supervisor who took office previously conducted a systematic and comprehensive inspection of Iraq's remaining water conservancy projects and related shipping and irrigated agriculture. In his report to Ibrahim, he described the current situation this way: The water conservancy projects that are still functioning normally are There are less than half of the facilities. Many canals and water channels have been completely blocked by siltation. Most of the remaining ones are not properly maintained and are only usable. At the same time, due to the damage of water conservancy, many cultivated lands in Lower Mesopotamia have been damaged by excessive salt. Having been accumulated and abandoned, improving and reusing these lands is also a top priority...

In short, there were many problems in the Mesopotamia at that time. For this reason, Ibrahim tried his best to squeeze out funds to invest in the Iraqi economy, and the repair of roads and water conservancy facilities was the first priority.

After the team descended westward along the mountain road to the plain area under the jurisdiction of Arab Iraq Province, Ibrahim began to see with his own eyes the results of the continuous investment and construction in the past ten years.

Because it is a plain area, the cost of building roads is much less than in mountainous areas. In addition, the province has received more funding than other administrative regions. Due to the large size of the parade itself, Ibrahim can clearly feel the roads here. The carrying capacity is significantly higher than that of Lorestan Province and almost comparable to Gyeonggi Province, which is also a key construction site.

At the same time, the number of settlements increased significantly. Ibrahim recalled the scenes along the way to Baghdad last time, and then compared them with the present. The original large areas of enclosures and even wasteland have been transformed back into irrigated farms with more output due to the repair and expansion of canals, with patches of barley, wheat, chickpeas, flax and other crops grown, as well as small and scattered patches of non-staple food. Fruits and vegetables, date palm trees are dotted on the edge of the river or in a small open space. Fallow farmland has been turned into temporary pasture for raising cattle, sheep, donkeys, camels, etc. According to the experience of the past thousand years, the excrement of these livestock will be collected in time and mixed with human excrement as compost to maintain soil fertility. Larger pens and stables were moved to the edges of villages and other areas where water canals had not yet been extended.

The repair of water conservancy facilities has won the support of residents from all over the country. Both new immigrants and landowners can see the benefits of agricultural restoration, especially since the project expenses will be borne by the government, and the requisitioned laborers will still receive wages.

The water conservancy engineers sent to the two river basins not only want to restore the old facilities, but also plan to make improvements during the repairs, such as improving the drainage system to slow down soil salinization and building a large number of rivers to cope with unstable water flow. Embankments and reservoirs.

When it comes to repairing water conservancy facilities, we have to mention the new manpower. There are laborers to build river embankments and canals and farmers to take care of the land. In addition to relying on the locals to support themselves, the only way Ibrahim can implement is to rely on immigrants to fill the gap.

The immigrant population is diverse, including Shiite immigrants from the West. They hope to escape the sectarian strife in their hometown out of admiration for the emerging Shiite regime - especially those in power are mostly Sunnis. And the two holy sites of Najaf and Karbala are in Lower Mesopotamia, which increases Iraq's attractiveness to religious immigrants. The settlements around the holy land became their first choice for settlement. The influx of immigrants made local residents feel uneasy. Fortunately, the government's proper resettlement did not cause huge conflicts between the old and new residents.

In contrast, the majority of the settled nomads and mountain people came with more purely economic interests - the land planned to be reused was directly allocated to labor, and draft animals could be rented from the government. There were no taxes, and there were banks that offered loans that were much more conscientious than landowners.

At the same time, Ibrahim also issued some decrees to protect farmers that were difficult to fully implement, including mandating land rent ceilings and reducing forced labor. Looking for books www.zhaoshuyuan.com However, due to the environment where labor is still scarce, the constraints of land have not been reduced, and the migration of farmers has been restricted.

These favorable conditions successfully promoted the economic growth of Lower Mesopotamia. Its crop output and population increased every year. Grain trade became active again. Caravans transported grain produced in the two river basins in exchange for local products. Exporting less goods such as construction stone, lumber, fuel and metal.

At the same time, the increase in agricultural production has also led to the expansion of mills, such as the expansion of Baghdad City and the construction of several water conservancy mills to ensure that the flour processed every day can meet the new demand. After the real estate survey was completed, the rental income from these mills and bazaars was transferred to the local mosques as part of the religious fund.

The repair of water conservancy facilities not only saved the dying irrigated agriculture, but also improved shipping conditions. Various waterways connected the entire Lower Mesopotamia. Cargo ships shuttled to any river port between Baghdad and Basra through natural rivers and canals. Imported goods from the Persian Gulf and reeds, fishery products and cane sugar from the swamps were sent upstream to the provincial capital for consumption or transported and distributed by merchants to other places.

The increasingly active waterway transportation naturally attracted the attention of tax collectors. They set up cards to collect tolls just like on land, thus increasing revenue for the palace finance in a timely manner.

The closer to Baghdad, the richer and more prosperous the settlements Ibrahim saw, and most of the supplies consumed by the team on the way were provided by the areas they passed. Compared to the mountain settlements in Lorestan, there were obviously more villages in Lower Mesopotamia that could collect supplies, which reminded him that this trip was for a tribute patrol.

Seeing the familiar Round City of Baghdad again and the people and officials who came to greet him, Ibrahim was welcomed into the city in a relaxed mood, ready to learn more about the Arab Iraqi Province that had been turned upside down.