New Shun 1730

The first day of winter.

Northwest of Handoli Acropolis, in the woods on the upper reaches of the Songhua River.

A group of Handoriwei soldiers were cutting wood there.

"The mountain is falling!"

Two strong men pulled the big saw, making a tooth-piercing squeaking sound. The sawdust fell on the white snow, like butter sprinkled with bread crumbs.

Accompanied by the creaking sound of the big saw, the red pine as thick as half a man had begun to explode and make a gurgling sound.

The old soldier shouted at the top of his lungs to remind the rest of the people on the mountain not to be hit by the falling tree.

You have to shout when the tree is about to explode, and you have to shout again when the tree really falls down.

These are all lessons learned with the blood of our ancestors, and we have become accustomed to them.

With a bang, the fine red pine wood fell to the knee-deep snow.

The jade fragments on the branches were all over the sky, and when the west wind blew them, they fell everywhere.

A fire had been set up near a stone not far away. Several military men were sitting next to it, roasting their soaked clothes. There was also a young man sitting next to it.

The young man was seventeen or eighteen years old. He was holding a torn copy of "Measurement Law" translated by Xu Guangqi in his hand. He was holding a wooden stick in the snow next to him and was rowing on the "Measurement of Measurement" mentioned in the book. To make an extension line, and between two parallel lines, make a solid line as shown in the figure above..."

Covered by the splashing snowflakes, the picture I had finally drawn was immediately ruined.

Thinking about the terms "acute angles, obtuse angles, extension lines, parallel lines" and so on in the book, I became even more angry. I stood up and yelled: "What the hell!"

The surrounding soldiers laughed loudly. The young man finished his anger, threw the broken book on the stone, and suppressed the words in his mouth.

What he just meant was Sang scolding Huai, not the snow that covered the picture, but Emperor Taizong of Dashun.

Damn, are you sick? If you want to be an official, instead of taking the imperial examination, you have to learn the elements of geometry and the meaning of measurement. If it is not for being an official and entering the Wude Palace, who would learn these things? Is there any use for eggs?

The young man thought to himself that Taizong Li Guo died early. If he had died a few years later, he might have come up with something weird and left some weird legacy.

Li Guo died of illness before he could return to Beijing. Only then did he pass the throne to Gao Yigong, and then came the lineage of Li Laiheng.

Although Li Guo died, he left behind many lessons.

The imperial examination remained unchanged, for fear of provoking the wrath of the world, we could only tell what Western science such as geometry should be studied in the Wude Palace. It was also stipulated that in the future, the Wude Palace must take exams such as "Elements of Geometry" and "Measuring Law".

Young people learn very well, but they really don't like these parallel lines, acute angles, circles, inscribed polygons and the like at all.

Classical Chinese with geometry, so sour and refreshing...

Classical Chinese with geometry and no punctuation marks, so refreshing...

If it weren't for entering the Wude Palace, or for becoming an official, who would learn this thing?

The young man thought to himself that it was a good thing that these books were published later. If they had been available in the Song Dynasty, the story of Fan Wenzhenggong cutting cold porridge and studying hard would be like cutting cold porridge and measuring the volume of the cold porridge. Isn't this right? Not ridiculous?

Nowadays, there are a lot of "Geometry Exercises" in the capital, which makes the booksellers rich. They print more copies every year in order to test the Wude Palace. It's really unfair that it's not easy to get a book in this bitter cold place.

I finished cursing the eight generations of Taizong Li Guo's ancestors in my heart, but I didn't dare to curse out my mouth. I could only put away the broken book angrily and muttered: "What are you laughing at? I will have the opportunity to take the Wude Palace exam next year. When you see me in the future, you won’t be able to call me Junmen.”

The military gate is the gate of the camp, and only the governor and governor can be called so. When he said this, everyone laughed even harder.

This young man's name is Du Feng, his ancestral home is Yuncheng, Shandong Province. His ancestors also participated in the Xie Qian and Yuyuan Army uprising.

If you talk about it, it can be regarded as a famous figure in history - Sun Zhixian, who submitted a letter to shave his hair. After being caught by the rebel army, he pierced his whole body with an awl and stuffed his hair into the holes of the awl. The name is: Give You grow your hair!

The awl used to pierce Sun Zhixie was the one his old lady used to pick up the soles of his shoes. Although it cannot leave a name in history, it can still be a family heirloom and a source of conversation for future generations.

Due to historical changes, these Yuyuan troops did not give Zhang Cunren a chance to flood the Yellow River embankment and flood the Yuyuan troops. This can be regarded as destroying the reputation of Hou Fangyu, one of the four princes of Fushe.

There is no chance that the excrement basin of the Yellow River embankment will be held on the head of this young man who restored society, otherwise, even if it is controversial, it cannot be cleaned by just a copy of "The Peach Blossom Fan".

After Dashun conquered the world, these remnants of Xie Qian and Yuyuan's army participated in the Northern Expedition to Liaodong. About 100,000 old Shaanxi, Henan and southwestern Shandong Han people died in Liao.

Afterwards, some of these people were collected into the main force of the fifth battalion, and some stayed in Liaodong, northern Liaoning and even the Songhua River to guard the border and enrich the population.

Du Feng's father is now the Lieutenant of Zhechong in the Handuoli Zhechong Mansion. He broke his leg and cannot be promoted, so he can only become the Lieutenant of Zhechong.

The military system of the Tang Dynasty was restored on both sides of the Songhua River, and Captain Zhechong was also a fifth-rank official, neither big nor small.

In Handoli Acropolis, there were many officials who were demoted here due to the struggle between the DPRK and China. Du Feng grew up here since he was a child, and also learned from some people the knowledge needed to pass the Wude Palace.

A certain gentleman who completed Xu Guangqi's unfinished work and translated the last six volumes of "Elements of Geometry" was also thrown here because of his involvement in the prince's dispute. It can be said that it is a place full of talents.

Du Feng is skilled in bow and horse. Although he hates the pain of classical Chinese and geometry, he can learn it very well in order to stand out in the future.

The soldiers of Handoliwei only need to pay the blood tax, and there are Dingkou fields that cannot be bought and sold, and all other taxes and labor are exempted.

The only things to do are cutting trees in winter and practicing on weekdays.

The soldiers on both sides of the Songhua River are Dashun's best irregular light cavalry.

The gangster spirit is so strong that hedging may not be able to defeat the regular "Three Walls" five battalions of elites, but reconnaissance, sneak attacks, flag capture, looting of grain roads, hunting down broken troops, etc. are beyond the reach of soldiers elsewhere.

Since the year before last, the Songhua River Defense Envoy has been giving orders to all Zhechong Prefectures to cut down more wood and pile up wood in the winter. I don’t know why.

This year the task is heavier and requires a lot of wood.

Fortunately, the timber here is all over the mountains and is close to the Songhua River. Take advantage of the winter to cut down the branches, prune them and pile them up by the river. When spring comes and the river turns into water, it's just a matter of putting the wood down along the current. It's not that tiring.

This year's task has been completed on the first day of winter, and today is the last few.

Ordinarily, Du Feng's father was going to come forward at the last moment, one to offer sacrifices to the gods, and the other to thank the mountain gods for protecting him from being smashed to death this year.

However, his father had broken his leg and felt uncomfortable in winter, so he asked Du Feng to go through the process.

Although he is the son of Captain Zhechong, Captain Zhechong does not have much power. Dingkou Tian is his own, and Captain Zhechong does not care about military pay and the like.

If there wasn't a fight, Captain Zhe Chong's fart would be loud, but it wouldn't be loud enough to silence people, and no one would be afraid to joke with him.

Seeing that the last piece of wood had fallen to the ground, Du Feng put away the broken book, took out a piece of red cloth from his arms, and tied the red cloth around the last piece of wood.

This year, thanks to the blessing of the mountain god, no one was killed by a log all winter, which is really something worth celebrating.

"Let's light up the cannons. Thank you to the Mountain God for your blessing. Grandpa Tian, ​​Grandma Earth, and Lady River, have blessed us with a safe year."

A dozen strong men knelt in the snow and kowtowed to the frozen Songhua River in the distance.

Du Feng held the firecracker, lit it, exploded it halfway, threw it into the air, and knelt down with everyone and kowtowed.

The empty mountain echoed with the sound of firecrackers exploding, and a flock of resident birds that were too lazy to fly away burst out, calling out a glimmer of winter vitality.

When the echoes subsided, the foreman directed everyone to hang "little pigtails" on the wood, which are hemp ropes used to lift the wood.

The knotting of this hemp rope is tricky, and where to tie it requires more than ten years of experience. It is easy to cause trouble if it is slightly staggered.

Fourteen strong men from the frontier army separated into two rows, waiting for the leader to shout.

This slogan is not shouted randomly. Every sentence must be on point. Otherwise, if the fourteen people take the wrong steps, something will easily happen.

In the mild case, the leg was broken and the waist was crushed. In the more serious case, the person lost his life.

"Bend and hang up!"

With a loud shout, a dozen strong men raised the crossbar on their pigtails in the snow and responded: "Hey, hey, hey, hey, get up!"

"You gentlemen of the capital! There is a Nuan Pavilion."

"Hey adults in Jiangnan! There is a spring breeze."

"Hey, our soldiers are on the border! There is Bing Ling."

"Put your hands on your waist and hold on to your pigtails!"

"Be careful where you step! Just hide under the trees."

"Whoever can't move his legs is the most fucked up!"

Du Feng had heard such rhythmic chants countless times this year, and he was full of complaints.

He didn't have to carry it, he was here just for formality.

The sound of trumpets echoed, and some people who did not need to carry wood gathered around the fire. Du Feng also took out his corncob pipe, took out the cigarette pouch his sister had sewn for him, and poured out a handful of tobacco leaves.

It is not easy to supply supplies in Handoliwei. In summer, hawkers with the army come by boat from the upper reaches to sell. It is not easy to smoke a cigarette here. It is said that Emperor Taizong also smoked, and his favorite was this small corncob pipe.

Shaking the cigarette purse, each person shared some.

Green smoke came out of the corn cob pipe, mixed with the heat coming out of the mouth, and curled up. The sun shines brightly on the snow, which is a bit dazzling.

The chanting on the mountain continued. Du Feng squinted his eyes in an attempt to avoid the dazzling snow light and looked at the people carrying timber below.

After a while, I will go down the mountain and return to Leng. When spring comes, I will set out rafts along the river and pass the points. That will be the end of my worries.

The military man blowing the green smoke squinted his eyes and said: "It's a pity that there is no good business this year. It would be nice to catch up with another wave like last year. A family can have a good year if we divide it into a dozen taels."

What military men call trading is robbing caravans.

Last year, they were lucky enough to catch up with a group of North Korean businessmen. There were not many of them, and they killed them all. Forty percent was given as tribute to the Songhua River defense envoy, and the rest was divided among each other, with a dozen or so taels.

Du Fengxin said it was hard to tell whether there was any business, as it wasn't even the Chinese New Year yet.

There are hidden rules for the division of this kind of "sale and purchase". The bulk of the money will be given to the defense envoy, and the rest will be given to whoever finds it first and whoever holds it back will get dozens more taels.

Thinking about taking the Wude Palace exam in the future, I will spend money everywhere in the capital, not to mention up and down management. Even if it is difficult to live in the capital, it will also require a lot of money.

Since his father was the captain of Zhechong, he had his own confidants and went to various rivers early to inquire about news.

Patrolling the border and complaining, but no one complains about this kind of thing.

There are even people who can squat in the frozen mountains for a month with just one horse and one gun.

But if it was a border patrol and it was so hard, I would have scolded my mother a long time ago.

Du Feng thought that if there was any news, it would only be in the past few days.

Seeing that the matter here was over, he knocked his pipe under his feet, stood up, patted the snow on his butt, and jumped on a maroon horse next to him.

"I'm going back, it's none of my business."

"Go back. Let me tell you, Captain, you don't need to come. It's better to stay at home in the cold weather."

The soldiers waved their hands at him, indicating that nothing could go wrong.

The work of assembling the piles is carried out by experienced hands. Yesterday, the numbers were clearly counted, there were only a few more, and there were no mistakes.

Just wait for the river water to melt in the coming spring, put these logs into rafts, and send them downstream to the Acropolis along the river.

After gently pulling on the reins and wrapping the leather robe around him, Du Feng descended the mountain. I wonder if those brothers have discovered anything. If they can do something this year, they will have enough money to give gifts when they go to the capital in the future.

Newbie, new book, please give me some votes.