Han Shizu

Chapter 1298 Shou Guo Gong

Jizhou is located in the middle of Hebei, about 150,000 miles away from Damingfu. Its jurisdiction is not large. It only governs five counties and has a population of less than [-].Previously, due to the geographical location of Daming Mansion in the southern part of Hebei Province, which was too remote and increased administrative costs in terms of issuing government policies and implementing government orders, some officials suggested moving the Hebei government to the central region, and Jizhou was under consideration.

However, due to some resistance from inside and outside, this discussion was shelved, which also made Jizhou, a central state, miss the opportunity to re-emerge.

In autumn, Hebei has already ushered in the harvest time. The vast plains have been dyed golden. The weather this year is good, and there are no disasters or harms. At least the people of Hebei don’t need to suffer other force majeure effects other than war.

On the dark yellow dirt road, a group of knights galloped quickly, throwing away the fields and woods along the way.There are a total of thirty knights in this team. Apart from the obvious guards, the most eye-catching one is a middle-aged man from Lan Jin.

The high-speed Mercedes-Benz caused the robe to be lifted up, making a sound of hunting under the action of the wind.After a long time, he slowed down until he stopped, reined in the reins, and observed a field beside the road.

The autumn wind blows, rolling up waves of wheat waves, and the rustling sound is so pleasant.Among the wheat fields, there are some farmers scattered, and they are burying their heads and laying the wheat seriously.

Although it is the harvest season, the atmosphere is not as relaxed and cheerful as in previous years. Apart from sweating on the foreheads of the farmers who are working, they also seem to be shrouded in an indelible haze and worry.

In the fields, in addition to the sound of wind, wheat harvesting, and animal screams, there will be a burst of crying children from time to time, coming from the backs of peasant women working in the fields.

It can be found that young and middle-aged farmers account for more than half of the farmers who are busy harvesting in the fields, and the rest are old farmers, healthy women and teenagers.As for where the men in the family have gone, it can be easily concluded that they are either serving military service or labor service, basically serving the Northern Expedition. On weekdays, if the government wants to recruit corvee, it will not choose such a season of.

Looking at the desolate and busy scene in the fields, the middle-aged man on the side of Zhuma Road seemed to be affected a little bit, and sighed: "It's not just that the farmland has been planted less than in previous years, and the harvest is strong. Labor is also visible to the naked eye!"

"Shougong, the situation here in Jizhou is not serious. With a little organization, you can be busy and you can always deal with it. It is the northern prefectures and counties that have mobilized the most people and are the most affected!" The elegant old man with a goatee showed obvious respect for the middle-aged man in his words.

The status of middle-aged people in the Han Dynasty is noble, not only the relatives of the emperor, but also the 24 ministers of Qianyou, the Duke of Shouguo, and Li Shaoyou, the governor of Hebei.

more than 20 years later, he was a libertine in Jinyang, and now he is still bearded and haired, and his hair is dyed. At the age of five, he can no longer see the chic appearance of his early years. I can vaguely find some shadows of the past.Even though he has been pampered all the year round, the years have left some marks on Li Shaoyou's face.

Especially the good wine and sex have brought a lot of burden to Duke Shouguo's body. Even though there was an act of dismissing concubines in the early years, until now, there are still 11 people in Li Shaoyou's mansion with wives and concubines combined.However, as he grew older, Duke Shou also began to pay attention to restraint and keep fit.

Of course, the exhaustion on Li Shaoyou's face at this time is not only due to the hard work of the journey, but also due to the high-intensity work in the past few months.Hebei is the most important logistics base of the Northern Expeditionary Army on the Eastern Road. As a chief officer, he has to dispatch the financial resources of local people in all aspects, and the energy required to consume will naturally increase greatly.

This time, he was inspecting and mobilizing the north-central states and counties. He was originally investigating the production and transshipment of medicinal materials in Puyin. When he learned that Emperor Liu had visited Hebei, he hurried to the road.Although Emperor Liu didn't specifically summon him, it didn't affect his active behavior and positive attitude. After all, since the Queen Mother passed away, the pair of cousins ​​hadn't seen each other for some years.

"This is already in Jizhou!" Li Shaoyou asked.

The political attendant next to him called the guide and reported: "Mr. Hui, it is true that this place is under the jurisdiction of Hengshui County. The county seat is in the southeast direction. About thirty miles to the south is Xindu City!"

"Shougong, after traveling day and night, do you want to stop at Hengshui or Xindu for a night?" the political candidate asked for instructions.

"No need! Can His Majesty wait for us?" Li Shaoyou shook his head, waved his hand, and ordered, "Get off the horse and rest right there! Go, call the local Li Zheng!"

"Yes!"

Soon, Lizheng from Hongxiang arrived, a standard Hebei man, with a rough face full of signs of time, showing a rough and bold air, two fingers missing on his right hand, obviously he had been on the battlefield.

In the village, Lizheng, who can talk a lot and can be domineering, behaves well in front of Li Shaoyou, honestly like a quail.

Not to mention the strong and ruthless knight who found him, it was the aura naturally exuded by Li Shaoyou and his group that shocked the "well-informed" Li Zheng, which is definitely not what the county officials can show Yes, he is definitely a dignitary in the state, no matter how high he is, it is beyond his cognition.Even when he was in the army, the highest-ranking officer who had social relations was just a battalion commander of the army.

"I don't know where the honored guest comes from. If you call me down, what can I teach you?" Probably he has experienced the upper class of the county and the township. He is obviously a rough man. Exposed, it seems to show off its experience.

Seeing the cautious and shrewd performance here, Li Shaoyou smiled lightly, handed him a water bag in his hand, and said: "The old man is from the Daming Mansion, passing by your place, please ask me if you have anything to do! Have a couple of drinks, this is for you in Hengshui." liquor!"

Hearing this, Li Zheng's eyes lit up, he hesitated for a while, but still couldn't help his greed, he took the exquisitely crafted wine bag, and took two sips, his eyes widened even more as he entered the mouth of the wine. Soon he showed an expression of enjoyment.

Respectfully handed it back, tsk tsk praised: "This wine is quite old, even in Hengshui, not ordinary people can drink it!"

"Hengshui's wine is famous in Hebei and even the whole country. My family has a small amount of assets, so I can buy some!" Li Shaoyou replied.

But Li Zheng shook his head and said: "Although I'm just a countryman, I also know that honorable guests can use this wine as a drink on the road, and have these warriors as guards, it is definitely not ordinary people!"

Li Shaoyou: "Oh! According to your knowledge, what is the identity of this old man?"

Li Zheng chuckled: "It must be a dignitary, the distinguished guest doesn't want to reveal his identity, and I don't ask too much!"

"You are a shrewd person. With Li Zheng like you, the local governance of this town should be very stable!" Li Shaoyou said.

"It was fine in the past, but now that there is a war in the north, [-]% of the village's young adults have been transferred out. There are fewer troubles, but the work in the fields is difficult! I heard that in some places, some labor has been released. , None of the people who went out from our village have come back yet!" Li Zheng said calmly.

"After all, it is to support the soldiers in front!" Li Shaoyou nodded in understanding, and asked, "What do you think about the Northern Expedition?"

"What can we small people think? The court wants to fight, and the government wants to conscript military service. We have to obey. What's more, we are still fighting Khitan people. If I have this hand intact, I may also lead people to the front line. My father still has two. Brother, he died at the hands of the Khitan people," Lizheng said.

Although this is just a family opinion, and even the shrewd Lizheng deliberately caters to him, Li Shaoyou is still pleased with his "awakening", and said with a smile: "Could it be that your severed finger was caused by fighting with the Khitans?"

"Exactly! More than ten years ago, during the first Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty, they fought against the Khitans at Nankou. They failed to escape and lost two fingers!" Li Zheng felt a little complacent.

Li Shaoyou was a little awed, and said with emotion: "The battle at Nankou was very fierce, and many soldiers died at that time!"

"Yes!" Li Zheng seemed to recall the bloody and cruel battle back then, and replied: "I was under the command of General Han (Han Lingkun) at that time, I was lucky, I survived, more than 20,000 brothers in the former battalion Well, not much left after the war! I cut off the heads of seven Khitan people, and I was awarded honors and returned to my hometown to be a village official. Lao Li was retiring, and I was appointed to the official position here."

"Two more bites!" Li Shaoyou handed him the wine bag again.

Although a little embarrassed, Lizheng couldn't help his greed, took two more sips, his face almost showed an intoxicated expression, and sighed: "I'm a local, these days, I want to drink some Hengshui Alcohol is not easy!"

Li Shaoyou seemed surprised: "Why, it is still difficult for Hengshui people to drink Hengshui wine?"

"The county government has issued a strict order that wine is not allowed, and the grain is collected. Except for tax revenue, everything else must be sold to the government!"

Hearing this, Li Shaoyou nodded slightly, and said with a smile, "It's more important to fill your stomach in this extraordinary time!"

"It's just pity for those breweries. There are quite a few of them who brewed wine without permission, and they were all detained and convicted by the county!" Li Zheng said with emotion.

Li Shaoyou was even more satisfied. The wartime work in Hengshui County seemed to be done fairly well.

"There are a lot of strong laborers in the village. It is difficult to work in the autumn harvest. Is there time?" Li Shaoyou asked again.

Li Zheng replied: "It's a bit difficult, but the harvest has already been done ahead of time. The difficulty is for those who have been transferred to the labor force. A strong laborer, during the busy farming season, what a strong laborer can do, cannot be replaced by healthy women and teenagers." Got it. However, the county has issued a decree to let all townships and villages organize the remaining young men to help these families, and the county will bear the cost of employment."

"Oh?" Li Shaoyou became more interested.

I asked some more about the local farming situation, and just put it inside and went back. Since I was satisfied with his performance, I gave him a bag of wine.

"Who is the ruler of Hengshui County?" Before leaving, Li Shaoyou asked.

"The magistrate is called Zhang Qixian, and he is a Jinshi who has been in the treasure for four years!"

"When the Northern Expedition is over, you can be promoted!" Li Shaoyou ordered.

(End of this chapter)