Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1599
"Come back!" A boy riding a horse in the west of Shule City shouted loudly.

The people who were busy with the autumn sowing in the field raised their heads and looked to the west.

At the end of the post road, a camel appeared.It has a lot of luggage strapped on its back, but it doesn't feel much strain, and it walks firmly with a leisurely attitude.

Then came the second head, the third head...

Wagons also appeared, some with people sitting on them, and others full of sacks.

There were gratified smiles on the faces of the farmers.

Well, not just peasants, in fact they are also warriors.

Generally speaking, warriors are of course unwilling to farm.But what if you work for your own home?

What's more, these people are all children of the Forbidden Army who have never been soldiers, and they are not so resistant to doing farm work.

"There are not many cattle and sheep this time, but all goods?" Someone threw a rake, stood on the ridge of the field, and looked around.

"There is still food, what a crime." The other person also stopped and said.

He said that "doing evil" must not be the poor people of Bahana.More likely, it is a pity for the food eaten by draft animals on the road.

"It's just a business without money." Someone said, "It's okay if the cattle and sheep are not brought back, but the fodder may not be enough."

Fodder is also a resource, and its value is not small.

Mountains of fodder piled up on traffic lines can remove more than half of them as soon as the army passes by.After going through the army twice, it almost bottomed out.

Farmers also need fodder, especially for those military households who have just distributed their cattle and sheep—the cattle and sheep are not given for free, but they can be repaid within five years, which is actually a great virtue.

At present, there are 500 soldiers in Shule Township, and they are basically the new batch of children of the Forbidden Army who arrived in the Western Regions. When they heard that the imperial court was recruiting soldiers, they signed up one after another.Among the 4000 people, only [-] of the best were selected as the first batch of Shule town soldiers.

The second batch of town soldiers set off from Luoyang in mid-July, dragging their families with them. It is estimated that they will arrive in March next year, which will catch up with the end of spring sowing.

The third batch was not much later than them, and departed from Chang'an, and it was estimated that they would arrive in March or April.

There are [-] soldiers and more than [-] households. It is nothing to pass along the way, and the expenses are affordable, but what to eat after arriving in Shule is a huge problem-of course, it has been solved now.

This is the magic of zero yuan purchase.

In Shao Shude's original plan, the first batch of 3000 town soldiers set off this year and arrived in the first half of next year, and there might not be enough food.In June, he was still carefully calculating how much surplus food Shule would have next year. If it was not enough, he would have the cheek to ask Li Shengtian to sponsor him.

But after going out to fight and sweating, his appetite suddenly increased.

Six thousand town soldiers and their families all set off.

Not counting this, another [-] outstanding young students were recruited.

Recently, they are even considering whether to further expand the scale of the Shule Township.After all, it was different from that of the former Tang Dynasty. Shule's status among the four towns of Anxi in the Daxia version rose sharply. If nothing else, it would become the place with the largest garrison.

The officials who accompanied them on the expedition were also "proud" and suggested expanding the army of Shule Town to [-]: [-] infantry and [-] cavalry.

They consider more, not only the military level, but also the demographic structure that is related to long-term stability.

After the capture of Shule, there was a population census, and there were about 6 to [-] people, mainly in the form of torture, and other ethnic groups such as Uyghurs and Turks, but they did not add up.

Who is Xiangmo?With a high nose, deep eyes, and a lot of beards, he looks different from you.

There are so many tribes in Shule. Strictly speaking, the Uyghurs and the Han people are relatively similar in appearance, but the number of Uyghurs is also small, and the mainstream is still the high-nosed and deep-eyed group.

All in all, if [-] Central Plains town soldiers and tens of thousands of family members relocate and settle here, it can greatly change the population structure of Shule. This is a difficult thing to publicize, but everyone knows it well. matter.

There was basically no resistance to this matter, so it was settled.

******
In a blacksmith's shop outside Shule City, Zhu Shishi looked at the farm tools that had just been made and was very satisfied.

He is from Heyang, his ancestral home is Guanzhong, and he has been blacksmithing with his uncle and master Zhu Sanxue for many years.I was scolded every day, and over time, my confidence was scolded, and I almost gave up the craft of blacksmithing.

Unexpectedly, after coming to the Western Regions, dozens of pieces of iron farm tools were forged one after another, and everyone praised them, and everyone was grateful.

To be honest, Zhu Shixi felt a little guilty, because he felt that several of them were not done well.If the master sees it, he will definitely have to rework.But in Shule, no one accused him of being unskilled. Could it be that the local blacksmiths used to fool people like this?

The newly married woman brought the meal.

Zhu Shishi wiped his hands on the greasy cloth, sat down, grabbed a naan bread and gnawed it.

This daughter-in-law has only been married for a month and cannot speak official language. The couple's daily communication can only rely on gestures and guessing.

But Zhu Shishi didn't care.As soon as it gets dark and the door of the shop is closed, just push the daughter-in-law down on the couch and just work hard without saying anything, okay?
And the bride is good at housekeeping.

The imperial court said that they would allocate land to him, but it was actually a piece of wasteland. They built an earthen house and gave them a batch of old stoves, anvil hammers, bellows, iron tongs, etc. that they did not know where to get. Firewood, iron materials, dropped a few bags of wheat, patted his ass and left.

On the first night, Zhu Shiyi looked at the unhulled wheat and didn't know what to eat for dinner.

Fortunately, everything survived.

After marrying a daughter-in-law like this, everything in the family is in order.

The weedy yard was cleared and planted with vegetables and melons.

The bride even plans to pick a few good grape vines from her natal family and plant them in the spring of next year. There will be grapes to eat in the future, and wine can also be made. There is also a shaded place in the yard, where she can lie on the grapes when she is tired. Take a nap under the shelf, I don't know how comfortable it is.

At the beginning of the month, the army from the western expedition to Bahana brought back the first batch of spoils, causing a sensation in the city.

Zhu Xi took a special day off, took his bride, ran to the city to watch the fun, and bought a few sheep by the way—this was also the wife's request.

She built a simple sheepfold in the backyard by herself, and kept a few skinny sheep in it, taking good care of them.Then he took a puppy back from his mother's house and kept it by the sheepfold.

Unknowingly, this once empty little home became a little more angry.

When Zhu Shishi took a break between blacksmithing, he would often giggle unknowingly.The daughter-in-law, who was watering the vegetable bed, saw it and chuckled.

At this time, silence is better than sound. Although the young couple could not understand each other, they could understand each other's mind.

"Eleventh Lang, Master Wang is back again." Zhou Zhou Lang pushed open the door and said loudly.

"Oh?" Zhu Shiyi stood up abruptly and asked, "What good things did you bring back this time?"

Zhou Zhoulang is also from Heyang.

His father was a helper in the Yamen of Huaizhou, and he often went to his master Zhu San's blacksmith's shop to receive goods. We knew each other very well, and they also came to the Western Regions together.

He learned arithmetic from elementary school and knew how to settle accounts, so he found a job as an official in the Yamen, which was different from Zhu Shishi.

But after all, they are from the same hometown, and they don't forget their old feelings. The two have a very good relationship. They both live in the same village and communicate frequently.

"I heard that there are hundreds of carts of goods, all of which were snatched from the market in Bahan. Go and have a look, maybe you can buy something useful. I see that your house is still lacking in decoration." Zhou Zhoulang said with a smile: "I heard people say that there is a candlestick made by a Persian craftsman, and younger brothers and sisters stay up late at night to mend it. It is really inconvenient not to have a candlestick."

"How can my family afford candles?" Zhu Shiyi waved his hands repeatedly.

"Hey, I said Eleven Lang, take a look at your wealth, how can you find a blacksmith who is better than you?" Zhou Zhou Lang sighed: "If you don't want to use candlesticks, there are copper lamps. Carpets are always needed, right? Light stands? What about scissors? By the way, there are still a lot of furs. It’s best to have a fur in winter, otherwise it will be too cold.”

"Is it expensive?" Zhu Shixi asked a little moved.

"It's not expensive. Just give food." After Zhou Zhoulang finished speaking, he smiled cheaply again, and said, "I heard that there is also a little official lady from Bahan. I'm thinking about buying one."

Zhu Shixi shook his head and laughed, and said, "I'm going to carry two sacks of wheat, do you have a car?"

"The donkey cart has already been borrowed. Let's go." Zhou Zhoulang said: "Oh, speaking of donkey carts, you can also buy a donkey."

"Go and see first." Zhu Shishi gestured to his wife twice, but she didn't expect her to hold his hand and wanted to go together.

"Hey, let's go, let's go together." Zhu Shixi couldn't hold back his wife, so he took her hand and went out together.

******
By the Chishui River (Kashgar River), there are too many sheep to fit.

The folk husbands who were busy with the autumn sowing were conscripted, slaughtered sheep and cattle, and made dried meat.

This is the carrying capacity of oasis agriculture.Even though they had tried their best to prepare fodder, but the army of the Western Expedition sent back more and more livestock, and it was impossible to feed them all, so they could only slaughter some of them.

If it is dried and made into dried meat, it can be stored for a long time. When the new immigrants arrive next spring, these can be used as their rations, which can greatly reduce the consumption of grains.

The people of Shule are not working for nothing, in fact, they can keep a small part of it as wages, so everyone is happy and dedicated.

At the same time, the fear in their hearts deepened.

The male camel king failed to defeat the Persians, and was defeated repeatedly.

It is useless for Satuk to take refuge in the Persians, and he is also a worthless guy.

Now it seems that only Supreme Khan is the most powerful.

He defeated Satuk, occupied the capital of the Great Uyghur Kingdom, and even went further west, looting back a large amount of property, livestock, food and even slaves.

With such a mighty profuse sweat, it is best to put away those little thoughts that you have and don't have, so as not to humiliate yourself.

The sky in the Western Regions has finally changed.

On the post road by the river, many pack horses and camels came.

The people who were killing the sheep looked up, then lowered their heads and continued to work.

That is a businessman from Central Plains, who has seen a lot these days.

Merchants seek profit, as long as you give enough money, they will send you anything.

When the Supreme Khan captured Karasa, he seized a large amount of gold and silver treasures.The Great Khan didn't love money, so in addition to rewarding his ministers and warriors, most of them were given to merchants to find ways to transport food.

The merchants moved upon hearing the news, some went to Gaochang or even further away to transport grain, and some were quick-witted and went east to Khotan to buy grain. As a result, the merchants in Khotan also knew about it, and they transported grain over one after another in exchange for goods—— It's not that ordinary people are unwilling to transport food thousands of miles or even thousands of miles, the key is not to prostitute for nothing.

The caravan stopped in an open space in the north of the city, not far from here.

The officials staying in Shule carefully inspected the millet and wheat unloaded from the camels, weighed them and put them into storage.

The merchants began to inspect the goods and value them on the spot.

There are many kinds of goods, originally agreed to be the treasures of the Shule Palace, but now there are many spoils shipped back from the Western Regions.

The most amazing thing is that the merchants accept everything, even Turkic and Slavic slaves are willing to ask for a price, which is really eye-opening.What kind of corrupt life did those noble people in Luoyang and Chang'an lead!

Someone is killing sheep, and it feels like grass has grown in my heart, and I can't calm down.

They straightened up and subconsciously looked west.

Why didn't Supreme Khan conscript in Shule?I can also fight for the sweat!The days of farming under the scorching sun all day were really hard.It's better to go to the west to grab one, and when you have enough, come back and continue farming.

The strong wind raised dust, covering the whole world.

The storm caused by Shao Shude's conquest of Khanna had just reached Shule.But inadvertently, his imprint has been deeply engraved on this oasis.

He is the Supreme Khan born wise.Where the iron hoof tramples, it has always been conquered from the outside to the inside.

(End of this chapter)