Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 203 Leisure ([-])

To the north of Xiazhou, beside the Wuyan River, was once the pasture of the Tuoba tribe.In the first battle of Shao Shude's northern expedition to the grassland, it was this tribe that was destroyed, and more than ten thousand cattle and sheep were captured.

A few years have passed, and now this pasture with abundant water and grass has become Shao Shude's private hunting ground, with many kinds of animals.

Marshal Shao loves shooting and hunting. He often invites the generals of the military government and the heads of the tribe to hunt. This is a more popular way of socializing in Xiazhou—the way of socializing among warriors.

Sometimes civil servants also participated, but not many, mainly those who came from aristocratic families.For example, Xiao Mao, a member of the Lanling Xiao family who just came to vote, is good at riding and shooting, which is very eye-catching.

Xiao Mao didn't have the honor of Jinshi, he was just a tribute student of the Imperial College, which made Shao Dashuai feel a little unhappy.Not for Xiao Mao himself, but for Xiao's attitude.Sending a branch of the branch to help me will be greatly discounted.

However, Xiao Mao himself has good talents, knows a lot of miscellaneous knowledge, and is not very old, in his 30s, he was directly appointed as the construction judge.

His only shortcoming is probably that he is arrogant about his talents and looks down on his colleagues.After all, the noble ancestors can be traced back to Xiao Xun's branch. His heavenly ancestor Xiao Heng married Xuanzong's daughter, Princess Xinchang, as his wife. There are people in the family who have been officials for generations, including prime ministers and relatives of the emperor.For example, Gao Zu Xiao Sheng married Princess Gao, his brother Xiao Fu was prime minister, and Xiao Shi, the daughter of Xiao Sheng and Princess Gao, became the concubine of Prince Dezong.

It's a pity, at the time of the rise, everyone thought that the Xiao family would have another queen, but they didn't expect that because the crown prince (Tang Shunzong) was ill, he was given death to hate the disaster.However, it cannot be said that luck was bad, because Shunzong was forced to abdicate by the eunuch Ju Wenzhen and others, and then collapsed.If Concubine Xiao had not died and became Empress Xiao, the Xiao family might not be able to get rid of the ties.

Xiao Mao's branch is not as comfortable as Xiao Yu now, and he is the Duke of Chu.

"Judge Xiao is good at riding, but I don't know how archery is compared to my boy from the Northland." Chen Xi, the officer in charge of Si Kongmu, rode over and said with a smile.

Xiao Mao glanced at him.This person is a relative of Chen Yishen, the magistrate of the Department of Collections, a local scholar in Xiazhou, who had no intention of studying, so he went to the shogunate to find a job.That is to say, there was a real shortage of people at that time, and he did a good job among the driving officers, so he was promoted to be the Kongmu officer.

Xiao Mao could see that he had vague hostility towards him.

The first batch of civil servants in the Xiazhou shogunate were basically from small landlord families who were not even considered humble, such as that Chen Yishen.Most of them were born in the local area and neighboring places like Fufang, Linshengfeng, etc. In Xiao Mao's view, they had neither talent nor manners, and the only good things were diligence and loyalty.

"How much did Officer Chen Kongmu hunt today?" Xiao Mao asked.

"I caught a sand fox." Chen Qi mentioned the prey and said with a smile.

"Congratulations to Officer Chen Kongmu, this thing is cunning, and it's hard to hunt." Xiao Mao hadn't caught anything yet, and his face was a little uneasy.

"Perhaps it's because the ban on arrest in Guanzhong is strict, Judge Xiao must have given birth." Chen Qi said with a smile: "When you arrive in the north, you need to practice more. The commander likes athletes who are good at riding and shooting, even if we are the shogunate Liao Zuo. Also, monks and nuns are not welcome in Dingnan Qizhou, judge Xiao should not learn from them."

Xiao Mao's expression immediately fell when he heard the words, but Chen Qi had already rode away, not giving him a chance to attack.

Monk?Ha ha.These words are implying.

There are too many monks and nuns in the Xiao family.Guang Xiaoyu has four daughters and one son who have become monks in one school, the so-called four bhikkhunis in one school.The Xiao family, almost all of them worship Buddha, from generation to generation.

As for the so-called prohibition of arrest in Guanzhong, there is indeed a fact, that is, fishing and slaughter are prohibited on the tenth day of every month and the third long Ramadan.Although the implementation is not very good, but Buddhist eminent monks often fooled many emperors to reaffirm the decree.

There were regulations in the Xuanzong Dynasty, such as "every year on the three yuan days of Zheng, July and October, and from the [-]th to the [-]th, slaughtering, fishing and hunting are prohibited";

During Suzong's reign, he added: "Three long Ramadan and ten days of fasting, and it is advisable to ban slaughter, which will always be the norm."

Later, Emperor Dezong, Wenzong, and Xuanzong all made decrees to reiterate.And it's not just talking about it, but people are going to be arrested and sentenced, just like the religious police.

The so-called ten fasting days refer to the ten days of holding the eight-pass fast, that is, the ten days of the first, eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, eighteenth, 23rd, 24th, 28th, 29th, and thirtieth of each month. : Do not kill, do not steal, do not commit sexual misconduct, do not lie, do not drink alcohol, do not adorn your body with fragrant flowers, do not sing, sing, dance, sit and lie on high and spacious beds, and do not eat unseasonable food.

Three long Ramadan, namely January, May and September.

There are only 30 days in a month, but you can't do this or that for ten days, and you can't do any of these things for three full months. Can ordinary people bear it?

Originally, festivals are a time for everyone to relax and have fun. Isn't it right to drink and eat meat?Even ordinary people will find ways to get some meat to eat, but you banned it?joke!One can imagine how the execution will be.But no matter what, the more people were caught, the effect was still there in the end, and many festival foods of our nation became vegetarian, but it was not like this before.

Xiao Mao felt a little isolated.Perhaps it was because of his own conduct, perhaps because he was entrusted with the important task of participating in the supervision of the construction of Huaiyuan New City, but it was more likely because of his family background.

Is the struggle between the aristocratic family and the poor family inevitable in the Dingnan Army?

"Judge Xiao, why don't you go up and fight for the prey, you see how much fun those boys are fighting for." Shao Shude galloped over surrounded by his own soldiers, and asked with a smile.

"I'm a little tired." Xiao Mao replied.

"You have to take care of your health. The supervisor of Huaiyuan New City has high hopes, and Judge Xiao needs to work harder." Shao Shude got off his horse and ordered: "Bake the meat and let Judge Xiao make up for it."

Seeing the soldiers dragging the bloody wild deer and gazelle over, Xiao Mao's face turned pale.

"After the new Feng'an and Xinquan armies were built, a certain person will have to raise more than [-] troops. Can Judge Xiao know how many household registrations there are in the seven prefectures?" Shao Shude asked suddenly.

"I don't know." Xiao Mao replied.

"From the beginning of seeking Huangchao, a certain person has tried his best to immigrate from various places. It has been seven years now. Thousands of households are uninterrupted every year. Last year, 26 civilian households and nearly 46 artisan households were relocated at one time. At the same time, the agricultural party project was compiled. Enrolling in household registers, coercion by force, temptation by money and silk, and even massacre of tribes who dared to disobey orders. All means have been exhausted. Up to now, there are nearly 20 households with a population of more than 20 in [-] counties in seven prefectures. In addition to the seven prefectures, there are [-] Hengshan Dangxiang, [-] Pingxia Dangxiang, nearly [-] Hexi Dangxiang, and tens of thousands of Tubo in Huizhou." Shao Shude said.

"It's not an exaggeration for a million people to raise more than [-] troops." Xiao Mao said after thinking for a while.

"It can't be calculated like this. The tribute paid by one person from the Tibetan tribe is not worth a Han people. Moreover, the party items are rebellious and impermanent. The Hengshan party items and the Pingxia party items are better. The Hexi party items have not returned to their hearts, and the tribute is very little. There are ten thousand people, but it has nothing to do with the goods that the million people in the East can contribute."

In fact, if I hadn’t persevered in emigrating for seven consecutive years, and at the same time organized the households of the weak farming party and changed customs, there would be only 20 Han people in the seven states, which is equivalent to a loss of more than 26 out of thin air.

There are really too many foreign people in the Seven States of Difficulty!In the five years of Guangzhenguan, more than 20 Hu people in Neifu were relocated at one time, and a few years later, there were another [-] people, who did not know how to support them.After the mid-Tang Dynasty, the Dangxiang people made a large-scale internal attachment, and gradually became the dominant ethnic group in the [-]-mile area of ​​the Hequ area.

Now my own territory is still far from that of Xixia, Lin, Sheng, and Fengzhou have not been won, and the land of Helong is also missing a lot.At the peak of Xixia, it was said that the population exceeded 300 million. I didn't believe it, but there should still be more than 200 million.If you exclude the number of Han people in Guanzhong and Guandong that you have acquired with your own desperation, there is still more than 100 million people short of the complete population of Xixia, which will fall on the Tiande Army, Zhenwu Army, and the old land of Helong, and there is a long way to go.

But then again, the quality of the population of more than two million people is not comparable to that of the Kanto states, which is mainly reflected in the tribute.From a military point of view alone, the problem does not seem to be a big problem. There are hundreds of thousands of strong men in the Han Dynasty, and they are relatively brave in battle, so the source of troops is sufficient.The main reason is that there are few goods that can be provided, the level of industry and agriculture is low, the internal ethnic groups are complicated, and the tribal system is backward, so it is very troublesome to govern.

"Telling this to Judge Xiao is not to complain, but mainly to let you know that the construction of Huaiyuan new city requires a lot of money and the people of the Han people, and the town is not rich, so it is really not easy." Shao Shude said: "In this case As for the matter, Judge Xiao is about to suffer a lot. Don’t pay attention to the little gossip of others. As long as the construction of Huaiyuan New City is completed, it will be a great achievement, and I will not hesitate to reward you."

"The commander-in-chief is so confiding, how dare you not do your best!" Xiao Mao got up and said, "This time, we will work together with the other Caos to build Huaiyuan New City to be second to none, so as not to fall into the prestige of the commander-in-chief."

"Okay, Judge Xiao said so, so I feel relieved." Shao Shude called his soldiers to get a yellow lamb leg, cut and grilled the meat himself, and said: "When you arrive in the Northland, you have to get used to eating meat and milk. There is no meat. Sweeter than meat on the bone, this yellow sheep runs swiftly, and the meat of the leg bones is extremely delicious. After it is roasted, Judge Xiao can taste it. I, today is one of the three Ramadan months in Buddhism, and Judge Xiao can eat it Yellow mutton?"

"Of course you can." Xiao Mao said: "How dare you let the commander-in-chief roast the meat himself."

"You can eat as you please." Shao Shude skillfully turned over the roasted meat, and said, "We will be able to deal with difficulties, and we don't stick to customary etiquette, just get things done. Such a mess, with so many Han people, if we are poor all day , this day will not pass.”

Xiao Mao smiled lightly when he heard this.He once heard that Wang Fu of Lingwu Commandery came to Lingzhou and asked a steer about how much manure it produced every year. This is indeed a practical general.Moreover, it is very rare to not disable the people and be courteous to the corporals.

When he was hunting just now, he saw some rude prairie men and chieftains of the tribe, showing off their riding and archery skills in front of Lingwu County King, and snatching their prey.The king of Lingwu County just laughed, and he didn't hesitate to reward him. He had a heroic feeling that all the heroes in the world had fallen into my trap.

Perhaps only this kind of hero can rule over so many Han people.

"I heard that your father was in the river for the order of Yongle, did you say anything recently?"

"Wang Shuai of Hezhong collected silk from various counties and obtained [-] pieces of silk, which were presented to the imperial court."

"Hmph, Yang Fugong is greedy. How many of Wang Shuai's [-] pieces of silk can the sage and officials get? Someone also sent someone to donate a thousand good horses, and I don't know who is taking advantage of it." Shao Shude said.

After the killing of Tian Lingzi, the power of the imperial court was revived, and the number of prefectures and counties offering offerings to Chang'an gradually increased. Even Hexi Town, as far away as Liangzhou, offered thousands of cattle, sheep, horses and camels.

However, Yang Fugong's eating habits were too bad, and he caused a second incident of moving the town, which was a bit unsightly for the court.If you let him continue to toss, you don't know what will happen.

"Has Xiao Xiang been doing well recently?"

"Yang Fugong is domineering and has no one in his eyes. Only the Ximen family can compete with him. The Yang family has 600 fake sons, dozens of them are sent to the prefectures and counties. I also switched to Yang Fugong, I am alone and lonely, life is really sad."

Shao Shude handed the roasted meat to Xiao Mao, and Xiao Mao quickly expressed his thanks.

"Xiao Xiang is not as good as Mingzhe to protect himself and let Yang Fugong torment him. Otherwise, if he is demoted from Beijing, it will be too late to regret."

In fact, Shao Shude is not very optimistic about Xiao Yu's future.But I also feel that it is not very appropriate if Beijing and China do not have checks and balances from court officials.What he needs most now is to maintain stability in Chang'an and buy himself time.

Yang Fugong, don't go too far!Should I let Simon give him a message?
However, Xiao Yu is actually not a prime minister.Huang Tao, the official of the shogunate, once told himself an interesting story, that is, a scholar named Pei Yun proposed to Xiao Yu's daughter. After asking her birthday, he won the Jinshi within a few days.Luo Yin, who had failed many times, found out about this, and wrote a poem on the spot: "It's really interesting to look closely at the moon. I know that Qinggui is close to Chang'e."

Guochao's Jinshi scientific examination is simply a child's play, completely reduced to a toy of the aristocratic family.Scientific research is a good thing, but it cannot be controlled by the aristocratic family, and as long as this bottom line is adhered to, it seems that the demise of the aristocratic family is inevitable.The knives of Huang Chao and Zhu Wen cannot actually wipe out the family from the root, but scientific research can.

In the town, Tianshui Zhao family, Hezhong Feng family, Xihe Song family, and Lanling Xiao family have come to vote, and the power of the family has increased, although they are not considered top-notch families.

The aristocratic family brings not only management and internal affairs talents, but also an intricate network of relationships and various population resources.For example, they have mastered a lot of agricultural population, business talents, various craftsmen, etc. that they urgently need.If you can cooperate and contribute a part, it will be extremely helpful to your great cause.

Next year, they will conquer Lanzhou. After conquering that land, the number of aboriginal people in the area under their rule will increase, and a large number of Han people are urgently needed to balance it. Doesn't this require the cooperation of these noble families?
Therefore, the proper balance must be grasped.In the entrepreneurial stage, you need to cooperate deeply with them, but you must also pay attention not to be monopolized by them in your official career.

(End of this chapter)