big song poppi

Chapter 106 0103 [Accumulate food widely, become king slowly]

The sun is fierce.

Zhu Ji rode a horse on the official road, with a long motorcade behind him.

A bullock cart is loaded with coal.

A while ago, I went to Shouguang County to help Han Zhen purchase coal, but I was lucky enough to escape.

At this moment, Zhu Ji still didn't understand what happened. As he approached the county town, he finally noticed a clue.

On the banks of the Xiaodong River next to the county seat, there is a scene of excitement.

It seems that the embankment is to be dug to irrigate the wasteland.

When they came to the gate of the city, the guards guarding the city also changed, replaced by new faces.

And each of them is wearing bamboo armor, with a long knife on his waist and a long spear in his hand.

Raising his head, there was a faint shadow on the tower, and a group of patrolling soldiers could be vaguely seen.

Seeing a caravan, Hu Zhong took a vigilant look.

He recognized Zhu Ji, after all, Zhu Ji had visited Xiaowang Village several times before.

But Hu Zhong still reached out to stop him.

"Reason!"

Zhu Ji didn't put on airs, and after a smile, he ordered his servants to provide proof.

Hu Zhong couldn't read a few words, but it was issued by the county government, with unique pictures and seals on it.

Just by looking at these things, you can know the truth and falsehood.

Otherwise, with so many counties and counties in the Northern Song Dynasty, could it be possible that the soldiers and officers on duty at the gates of each city could not be literate?

As for the grounds for falsification...basically none.

First, official seals are carved by specialized craftsmen, and such craftsmen have served the imperial court for generations, and ordinary people have no access to them.

Secondly, he was arrested without Lu Yin, and he was arrested as a rogue and imprisoned for a few years. Fortunately, the government pardoned the world and he would be released soon.

But if you forge road guides and official seals, it is a serious crime of beheading.

The difficulty of counterfeiting is high, and the penalties are severe, so few people are willing to do so.

And powerful people don't need to fake at all, such as Zhu Ji, who is under the care of the county magistrate, doesn't Luyin open casually?

After checking the grounds, Hu Zhong waved his hand to signal that they could go in.

Riding a horse into the county seat, Zhu Ji could clearly feel that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the county seat.

I came all the way to the county government office with a feeling of apprehension, and saw that the thin hall on the right was very lively, with scribes and tax collectors coming in and out from time to time, and their footsteps were hurried.

In the lobby, Chang Zhixian is sitting in the lobby and writing.

"Oh, Yuanchen is back."

Hearing footsteps, Chang Zhixian looked up, then lowered his head and continued writing.

Zhu Ji held his temper and waited until Changzhi County put down his pen before asking, "Brother, did something happen in the county?"

Changzhi County took a sip of the teacup and replied casually: "The peasants rebelled the night before and entered the county."

"what?"

Zhu Ji was startled.

Suddenly, he found that his brother-in-law had also changed.

On the originally sophisticated and smooth cheeks, there is actually a bit of high spirits at the moment.

In a daze, he couldn't help but recall the heroic posture of his brother-in-law when he was a Jinshi in high school, pointing out the country and writing passionately.

Seeing him staring at him blankly, Chang Zhixian asked, "Why does Yuan Chen look at me like this?"

After recovering, Zhu Ji couldn't help laughing and said, "It's just that my brother is a little different."

"Is there?"

Chang Zhixian was taken aback.

Zhu Ji joked: "It's a bit of the demeanor of high school back then."

Hearing this, Changzhi County had a complicated expression.

I have to admit that he had a very pleasant time these two days, and the thoughts that could only be suppressed in his heart can finally be realized now.

With no constraints, the entire Linzi County was left to his drastic transformation.

Constructing water conservancy, rectifying subordinate officials, paying lightly and paying poor taxes...everything he wanted to do but didn't dare to do.

Zhu Ji seemed to have thought of something, and said pleasantly: "By the way, the eldest brother should have done a great job in suppressing the rebellion. In addition to the previous credit for suppressing the bandits, he should be promoted."

Promotion?
It is not bad to be able to leave Linzi County alive.

Changzhi County smiled wryly, and told what happened last night.

After listening, Zhu Ji looked horrified, and lowered his voice, "Brother, now that Han Er is in charge of the county, won't we lose our lives at any time?"

"Don't worry, Han Er still needs to rely on me to help him cover up, and the refined salt business cannot do without me."

Changzhi County saw it very thoroughly. If Han Zhen wanted to kill him, he could have done it when he entered the county government the night before.

Zhu Ji was still worried, and said in a worried tone: "Then Han Er is afraid that he has a big conspiracy. If he raises the flag of rebellion at that time, he will definitely hurt big brother."

Chang Zhixian shook his head and explained: "This person is not an idiot. He knows the meaning of accumulating food widely and slowly becoming king. I think he has insufficient soldiers, armaments are not full, and food and grass are scarce, so in the short term, he will never take the initiative. against the flag."

"By the time he rises to power, we've already taken the money to get promoted. If he rebels against him, it has nothing to do with me."

At that time, instead of blaming him, the imperial court may reuse him.

After all, when I, Chang Yukun, was here, Haiyan Heqing in Linzi County ruled Anping.

If it's a different person, there will be wars everywhere. Against the backdrop of the two, doesn't it show that he has the ability to govern the world and his methods are clever.

……

……

With more than 300 young and strong prisoners of war being incorporated into the army, the number of soldiers expanded to nearly 700.

Many veterans were promoted and served as team leaders and capital leaders.

On the barracks grounds, Nie Dong was teaching recruits how to recognize military drums and battle flags.

Right now, there are few people, and they are all small-scale operations. We don't need these for the time being, but we won't necessarily need them in the future.

There are several types of drums alone, and they are matched with different flags to play the role of commanding the army.

For example, it is often said that Mingjin withdraws troops.

When the golden drum sounded, it indicated that they would retreat.

But how to retreat, whether to withdraw quickly or slowly, to lure the enemy or to be defeated, which army retreats first, and which army is the last, needs to cooperate with the Golden Drum Banner.

Otherwise, drums alone would not be able to convey such a complex signal.

It sounds complicated, but it's actually not bad. After a long time, the soldiers will naturally remember it.

Moreover, the army is also equipped with special messengers.

On the other side, in Xiaowang Village, Han Zhen is starting construction with more than 2000 new villagers.

Some of them built residences, and the other part built assembly line salt ponds.

In response to industrial expansion, lime kilns and brick factories were also expanded.

The number of lime kilns increased from the original three to twelve, and two brick factories were added. Fortunately, during this period of population explosion, there were sufficient workers.

Today, work has become the main source of income for most villagers, and the fields are not so important.

Xiaowang Village has gradually begun to show the trend of shifting from farming to working.

In the village, there are no children playing.

All were sent to school by their parents.

The sun sets.

Every household in Xiaowang Village lit up smoke.

"Get off work!"

As the supervisor shouted, Lu Jiu stopped his movements.

After rubbing his sore arms, he handed the tool back to the supervisor, and then walked down the mountain talking and laughing with two workers.

He was originally a fleeing household in the mountains, and he came to Xiaowang Village very early. His family was allotted two acres of barren land and five buckets of rice.

I heard that the fugitive households who come here no longer divide their fields, and only give them a bucket of rice.

Every time I think of this, Lu Jiu feels lucky.

Back then when he was on the mountain, the group of fleeing households laughed at him for being dizzy, how could such a good thing happen.

Now, those fleeing households who laughed at me at the beginning are all regretful.

When the lime kiln first recruited workers, he didn't come, so he missed it.

It was not until the second batch of recruitment that they were finally selected.

Lu Jiu is very satisfied with his current life. His mother-in-law looks after the two acres of land at home. Although it is two acres of dry land, he can still have a harvest of one or two stones in a year.

He worked in the lime kiln, took care of two meals a day, and was paid three hundred cash.

Next year, only [-]% of the land tax will be paid, and life will get better and better in the future.

When I came to the lime kiln at the foot of the mountain, I dug out my own bowls and chopsticks, and lined up to get the meal.

Tonight is still wheat rice, but there is an extra tofu soup.

Finding an open space to sit down at random, Lu Jiu ate voraciously.

A worker commented: "Today's vinegar chestnuts are good, very good for dinner."

"really."

Lu Jiu nodded in agreement.

After eating two bowls of barley rice and a bowl of tofu soup, Lu Jiu patted his stomach contentedly.

His home is halfway up the mountain, but every time after work, he would go to the river at the head of the village to take a bath.

When passing by the market, Lu Jiu couldn't help feeling a little dazed.

Not long ago, this place was just a wasteland, but it has become the busiest and most prosperous place in the whole village in a short period of time.

The changes in Xiaowang Village are too fast, changing every moment.

At this moment, the worker on the side scratched his head and asked doubtfully, "Damn it, when will you open another shop?"

Hearing this, Lu Jiu realized that there seemed to be another shop in the market.

Yesterday, there were still six rooms, but counting today, it has become seven rooms.

The newly opened shop is not big, with a flag hanging at the door, with a huge Chinese character "wine" written on it.

Sniffing his nose, he could faintly smell the aroma of wine.

Another worker seemed to know the inside story, and said in a sour tone: "This wine shop is opened by Zhang He's family."

When they heard that it was Zhang He, everyone immediately understood.

Who doesn't know now, in the whole Xiaowang Village, the gang of soldiers are the richest, and houses with blue bricks and red tiles have begun to be built in every family.

It is said that two days ago, another reward was issued.

It's a pity that the village chief is no longer recruiting soldiers in the village, otherwise Lu Jiu would definitely apply.

After washing off the dirt on his body by the river, Lu Jiu returned home with tired steps.

"The master is back."

At the door of the simple thatched hut, the mother-in-law is cooking in a crock pot.

"I'll squint for a while, remember to call me when it gets dark."

After Lu Jiu gave an order, he walked into the thatched shed.

The woman replied, "Understood."

He also has to go to the village school to take an hour-long night class at night.

The village head said that as long as he can write and do arithmetic, he can apply for scribes and stewards.

The supervisor of the lime kiln, just because he could read a little bit, was paid an extra [-] yuan a month, and he didn't have to do any shit. He just supervised them digging stones and writing and drawing on paper every day.

……

……

Han Zhen, who had been busy all day, returned to the house, walked through the hanging flower gate, came to the hall and sat down, before he had a sip of herbal tea.

Mrs. Han Zhang immediately came forward and reported in a soft tone: "Uncle, there is not much food in the granary."

Although the summer harvest was just a few days ago, there are thousands of people in Xiaowang Village now, so the consumption is naturally not the same.

Han Zhen asked, "How long can you hold on?"

After counting with her fingers, Han Zhang replied: "If you save some food, it can last for ten days."

"Well, I see."

Han Zhen nodded.

He has entrusted Changzhi County to go to the south to purchase grain, but it will take half a month to transport it from the south, even by water.

It seems that we can only transfer a batch of emergency from the county government granary first.

After the purchased food is delivered, the gap will be filled.

As soon as the processing here was finished, I saw Xiao Chong running over in a hurry.

"Second Brother Han, the coal has run out, and the brick kiln will have to stop working after the bricks in this kiln are fired."

Han Zhen frowned and said, "Zhu Ji hasn't delivered the coal yet?"

Xiao Chong shook his head.

Han Zhen ordered: "You go to the county seat on horseback, and remind you."

"it is good!"

Xiao Chong responded, turned around and went out the door.

(End of this chapter)