At the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was a feudal town, but in Western Europe

"I hear what you mean, this caravan is secretly smuggling herbs and spices?"

"Of course, they are Saxons, and that Feng is from Siris, and the Sires will never allow them to do business with us."

"Hmph!" Widukind snorted through his nose, "That's not necessarily true, let's go, let's meet them."

Chapter 100 Forced Marriage and Trading

The raindrops fell on the oilcloth, making a crackling sound, and the smell of mud in the air was getting heavier and heavier. The Saxon soldiers in coir raincoats or animal skin ponchos, with sallow faces, lined up neatly in two rows and stood in front of the tent. buy medicine.

Aisa took out a large scale, hung a lamb on the scale, measured it for a while, and took out a bag of herbs from the bag behind him: "Your sheep is too thin, so I couldn't change it, but for the sake of my wanting to eat lamb today, you take this medicine first, and give it later when you have money."

"Thank you, thank you." The tall soldier had a stupid mouth, and he only had these two sentences after talking for a long time.

Aisa handed him the herb: "Put it in a clay pot and soak it for a while, then add water and then boil it. Don't get the order wrong. If you don't know how to do it, you can spend a few deniers to ask our people to help make it .”

"I can do it, I can do it, I helped my brother fry it."

"If you know how to do it, go back and fry it by yourself, the ones coming up later, don't get in the way."

Turning around, he threw the sheep into the sheepfold behind and asked someone to take care of it. When Aisa turned his head, under the construction of the oil lamp, a huge shadow blocked Aisa's sight.

"How do you sell this medicine?" the man asked gruffly.

"A Solidar, but if you want to buy it, I can give you a pack for free." Aisa replied respectfully.

Vidukind bent down in front of the Aisa counter with a half-smile: "Why do they want a Solidar, but I can get it for free? If so, can I buy all your herbs for free? "

"I give you free because you are the Duke of Saxony, Gore of Westphalia, the great war leader, and the Great Chief Vidukind." Aisa firmly suppressed the fear in his heart, "Of course you can buy all the herbs for free, but I may encounter losses. In that case, I will have no capital for the next trade, so I beg you not to do this."

Vidukind raised his chin slightly, and his sunken eyes fixed on Aisa's face: "Are you threatening me?"

"How dare I do such a thing, Vidujin Degaur, I'm just begging you humbly." Aisa squeezed out a flattering smile.

Vidukind slowly moved his face closer to Aisa until the distance between the two was only five or six centimeters. He suddenly chuckled, straightened up again, waved his hand, and all the soldiers in the tent were driven out.

Pulling a mazar, Vidukind sat in front of Aisa: "I ask you, are you from Han?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"Do you know my son-in-law, Feng the ruler of Han?"

"Of course, the lord has met me before, and he trusts me very much."

"He trusts you so much, but you want to disobey his orders and smuggle medicine and weapons?"

A few drops of cold sweat flowed from Aisa's head: "Winter is coming, and many people in our village died in the previous Viking invasion. We need to buy slaves to cultivate the land, and more importantly, we need winter clothes, so we just Take the risk..."

"Okay, stop talking nonsense... I know you are a spy sent by Feng, what is Feng doing recently?" Vidukind raised his legs.

After thinking about it, Aisa finally did not respond positively to Vidukind's accusation against the spy. He bowed cautiously and said, "The lord is currently building roads and docks, and he needs to sell some goods to Britain."

"Hmph." Vidukind exhaled disdainfully, and said sarcastically, "Of course he needs to sell 'goods'... Then is he married to my Gisela?"

"No."

There was a sudden silence in the tent, and Vidukind had a sullen face. About four or five seconds later, he stood up, drew the armed sword from his waist, and walked towards Aisa in silence.

"Wait, Your Excellency the Duke, wait a moment." Aisa's legs and feet softened instantly, and he held the counter to support himself.

"boom!"

He grabbed Aisa's head and pressed it on the table. Vidukind hung his sword around Aisa's neck, and said to Aisa's frightened attendant: "Give this man's head to Feng Sen, and ask him, I gave him my greatest respect, but he refused to accept even this small kindness. Why, why did he despise me so much?"

"No, no, sir, the lord has never disrespected you. Look, if he really despised you, how could he allow me to smuggle weapons and herbs." Aisa's tears and snot filled half of the table, and he choked up, "Your Excellency, Your Excellency Gisela is a nun. She prides herself on her chastity. Who can force her to marry?"

"This is not a reason." Vidukind continued to raise the long sword in his hand.

Essa immediately cried incoherently: "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, Gisela has not yet married the lord, I can persuade her, I can persuade her to marry, really, really, Your Excellency..."

The cutting speed of the long sword suddenly stagnated, and after half a minute of dead silence, Aisa felt the big hand holding his head firmly withdraw.

"I want all these herbs." Vidukind patted the sack containing the herbs with his long sword, "Go back to Han alone, and bring my letter to him. If he still fails to marry my daughter, I will I will kill all his caravans, and immediately lead troops to attack him, as promised, next time I come, bring more herbs, and I will accept it for a pack of ten deniers."

Walking on the muddy ground between the tents, Vidukind looked up at the gray cloudy sky, then lowered his head, staring at the yellowish ground.

"Gisela..."

Vidukind muttered in his mouth that years of war had taken away all his sons, and his only remaining son had been put under house arrest to the monastery in Aquitaine.

In Saxony, his only bloodline is Gisela, and he will not really pass on the kingship to Albion. He is going to pass on the glorious title of King of Saxony to his future grandson.

He was in his early fifties and had few good years to live. He desperately needed Gisela to give birth to at least one child who could inherit the throne, and best of all, this child could have a strong father to protect him after his death.

It has to be said that as an enemy, Feng Sen makes people feel intimidated, so Vidukind appreciates him.

At the same time, Vidukind also knew that Feng Sen's so-called "Seris Tribe" had a small population, and his foundation in Saxony was very shallow. He could only maintain his territory with Charlemagne's protection and support.

If Charlemagne could no longer protect him, he had only one choice, and that was to be loyal to himself.

Vidukind knew that Feng Sen was a mercenary and unscrupulous army leader, smart and cruel, he was not one of those idiots who were dazzled by the so-called heavenly father, and would really give everything for Charlemagne or Isaiah.

As long as there are enough benefits, Vidukind is sure that Feng Sen can be tied to his chariot.

In addition, he still has the smallest thought in his heart, that is, if he loses, with the existence of Feng Sen and Gisela, his blood can at least be passed on, and the last spark will be saved.

But, what should Albion do?Perhaps, give him a duke and let him balance Feng Sen's power?

Speaking of Abi, when Abi arrived, Vidukind had just lifted the curtain of the tent, and the first thing he saw was Albion limping in front of him with a cane.

"Father, Uda's messenger is here again." Tilting his head, Albion struggled to speak vaguely with his half-open mouth.

"What did that damned swineherd say?"

"As before, he asked you to hold an election with him for a war leader before winter, in Dannenberg."

Throwing the belt around his waist aside, Vidukind stuck the dagger on the table: "Tell that messenger that Uda is not worthy, just say that, according to my original words, when I defeat Charlemagne, I will personally Come and take his head."

"But our battle situation is not optimistic, father." Albion walked to Vidukind's side worriedly. "I think, maybe we can try to appease them first. Besides, your prestige is unmatched. Even if you choose the leader of the war, it may not be you."

"Abby, you don't understand." Vidukind's eyes showed a bit of disappointment, "It doesn't matter if I am, but whether I participate or admit it is important."

Albion still stubbornly said: "But we need to gather the strength of all the Saxons. If possible, I am willing to serve as an envoy to persuade those Gowers."

Vidukind scolded impatiently: "You stupid donkey! Go if you want! Get out, get out!"

Holding on to his crutches with difficulty, the stubborn Albion walked out of the tent and stood by the door curtain. He stopped in his tracks. Before he finally left, he looked back at Vidukind, who was undressed and about to take a nap. Laughed.

Chapter 1 This year is a good year

The sticky black soil squeezed out from the gap between Han Gang's toes, rubbing against the soles of his feet coolly.

Bending down, Han Gang picked up an ear of wheat, put his nose up, took a deep breath, and a scent of wheat with a little smell lingered on the tip of his nose.

He straightened his waist, and the vigorous and undulating wheat waves swayed on both sides of his body. The smell of mud and wheat smell penetrated from every pore of his body, straight to the sky.

For a whole year, the old and new fields have a total of over [-] mu, and now they are covered with wheat. When the breeze blows, the whole wheat field will make a neat creaking sound.

Simultaneously with the sound of wheat, there was the singing of the crowd. Several Saxon aunts were carrying bundles of harvested wheat. They sang rough songs loudly and walked side by side on the field ridge.

Han Gang looked at the stretches of fields proudly, and his heart was filled with the joy of a good harvest.

In his eyes, the tall straws were even as high as the trees. Sometimes a gust of wind would blow the straws in the field down, revealing the strong Frankish and Saxon boys standing in a row.

The young men were either shirtless or wore a linen vest. They stood in a row with sickles in their hands and sang songs while cutting the ears of wheat with the sickles.

This singing may be due to the joy of harvest, but it is more to relieve fatigue and lift the spirit.

In the vast wheat field, not only the Franks, but also the Saxons, and even the Bannermen and the Han people, they rarely lost the distinction between upper and lower, and waved their sweat together, harvesting the heavy wheat.

If these ears of wheat want to turn them into edible grains, it is not enough to just cut the wheat, but also to thresh the wheat, which requires special attention. The first thing is to pile up the wheat stacks. It looks simple, but this is a technical job, not everyone can do it.

A Karelian girl is skillfully tying wheat. She is like a tin soldier who has been wound up.

She first grabbed a handful of ears of wheat, pushed them neatly by the heads, then took out a straw and put it in the middle of her knees, put the ears of wheat with both hands on the straw, and tied them together firmly with straw from both sides .

Beside him, a Han Chinese veteran stepped on a wooden leg and took the bundled ears of wheat from the girl's hands. The tips of the ears of wheat were facing upwards, and the straws were inclined downwards. They were stacked layer by layer, forming a giant wheat mushroom.

These wheat mushrooms need to collect all the wheat first, then untie them, and put them together on a concrete floor that Feng Sen has laid in advance. The spikes are neatly arranged.

These ears of wheat need to be exposed to the sun for three to five days. During this period, people need to use a rake to turn them over to ventilate, and disperse the piled ones. After the skins of the ears are completely dried, the wheat can be threshed.

In the wheat field, women, old people and children are all working hard. They swing their flails and beat the ears of wheat fiercely, forcing these greedy guys to spit out the grains in their mouths.

However, the wheat grains taken are not yet usable, and impurities such as husks and sand must be removed first.

A sturdy old man held a dustpan made of wooden strips and bark in his hand. He first scooped a large basket of wheat grains from the bag and bumped it up and down in his hand. While shaking, the old man blew into the dustpan. gas.

In this way, sundries such as sand and mud will leak out of the tiny pores in the dustpan, while the lighter skins of wheat ears will be blown away by the old man in mid-air, while the wheat grains will not be blown away because they are relatively heavy. And fell into the dustpan.

Bag after bag of wheat is packed, stacked neatly, and then transported to the barn, counted by a few small officials from the Zhongshu Division, recorded on paper, and then put into storage. This is considered complete.

After leaving the field, Han Gang found a stream at random, took off his muddy sandals, soaked his feet in the water, and washed the mud off his feet.

A few bees circled around his head, then hurriedly rushed towards the bushes and fruit trees, while a few fat-headed perch chased and passed Han Gang's feet.

This year is a bumper year.

"Han Dalang is very interested." A familiar voice sounded, "Can you write a poem?"

The bearded Feng Sen led the horse and stood with several minor officials, smiling.

Han Gang quickly stood up and saluted: "People from the countryside can't write articles."

"Hahahaha, I think you are very good at writing. Water and fertilizer are ink, and fertile soil is paper. Dalang has made great articles. You don't need to be inferior to Luo Binwang Han Yu." Feng Sen laughed loudly.

"Ashamed, it's just a matter of Nongsang..."

"Nongsang is a major national event." Feng Sen waved his hand, "Don't be modest, I plan to build the Tuntian Division next year, you prepare, and you will be the Tuntian Division's prime minister next year."

"Here." Han Gang hesitated for half a second, and finally replied with cupped hands.

"Come on, walk with me, and tell me about the harvest by the way."

"Here." Han Gang walked to his little donkey, and pulled out a few rolls of paper from the bag.

"From August 2000th to today, a total of five days, we dispatched a total of 80 people to collectively harvest and thresh wheat. We have basically harvested all the wheat in the [-]-mu wheat field, and only the last [-]-mu The harvest has not been completed." Han Gang turned a page, "Continue to say, the current estimated harvest is more than [-] catties of wheat."

"That is to say, the harvest-to-seed ratio has already exceeded five?"

"Yes, but this year there is neither drought nor flood, plus there are many sunny days and enough sunshine, so it can basically support it. The harvest of the Frankish people is not low, and it may not be so next year. It can be maintained well, and even There is a possibility of going backwards." Han Gang followed Feng Sen step by step, "But Commander, I think that the limit of [-] mu of fields will be reached next year, and the remaining land will either be too wet on the edge of the swamp , or it is located in the forest, which is not easy to cultivate."

"Then what do you think about the rotation situation I mentioned earlier?"

"I have sent a caravan to the Avars to search for alfalfa seeds, but it will take a year and a half from cultivation to use."

Empty the forest, drain the swamp, buy alfalfa, and develop animal husbandry, or two nurseries for livestock and one nursery for farming?Tsk, this is another thing.

If the [-] mu reaches the limit, it can only be discussed in the context of farming. If there is a high yield of food, there are only three points: improved seeds, fertilizers and water conservancy. At present, Feng Sen has almost made the fertilizer, leaving water conservancy and improved seeds.

Then the agricultural goals for the next year should be water conservancy and improved seeds.

"My lord, my lord." An old and obsequious voice sounded head-on, Feng Sen raised his head, only to see the old Hans in the red hat who had been appointed by Franklin before, riding his Hanover pony with great difficulty. .

"So it's Old Hans, what do you want me for?" Feng Sen skillfully switched the language to Frankish.

Old Hans rubbed his hands, arched his back and smiled, "Lord Lord, actually I am still here this time on behalf of the Frankish free people. They want to ask you, how do you pray on weekdays?"

A hypocrite like Feng Sen doesn't pray on weekdays, at most he just pretends when he's with Gisela. Feng Sen's question is really fooled by this question.

"You ask me why I pray?"

"Hey, look, you planted the land with us, but your wheat is much taller and stronger than ours. You must be blessed by the heavenly father, so..."

"Hahaha." Feng Sen's laughter interrupted him, "Although the heavenly father is blessing, but the main thing is the farming technique, come here, let's talk closer..."

Chapter 1 Future Planning

In late August, Feng Sen's newly built barn and cellar were filled with grain, and the autumn harvest work was over. After the autumn harvest, I don't know if I could smell the aroma of wheat. By the beginning of September, Feng Sen had stored [-] grains. Early Saxon and Frank refugees.

At the moment when houses were urgently being built for refugees outside the city, Hamburg, oh no, the generals, officials at all levels and the captains of the dental soldiers in Hanyi were gathering in the mansion to start the group discussion in September.

The content of this group discussion is that the first is about the treatment of soldiers at all levels, and the second is whether to use troops against Lune.

Feng Sen has always been very willing to hold mid-military meetings with the middle and lower ranks of the Han soldiers. For an army, implementing a certain degree of democracy in the military is the secret to improving combat effectiveness.

Although the military of the late Tang Dynasty was on the verge of ruin, its combat effectiveness was still very high. This is because when the army of the late Tang and Five Dynasties made a decision to fight, it was often a joint decision made by military leaders at all levels after consultation and discussion—of course, the opinion of the commander was also very important, and sometimes even played a decisive role.

When fighting a war, due to common interests, all people tend to have a unified mind, and there will be no chaos in combat.

But this is also flawed, that is, the short-sightedness and ignorance of military leaders often lead to a series of wrong decisions and bloody incidents, but this is not what Feng Sen needs to consider at present.

"So far, our Jingnan Army has harvested a total of 82 catties of wheat. The harvest is gratifying. After the harvest, we plan to continue planting rye and harvest it in the spring of the coming year. Based on the current yield per mu, the output can reach more than 100 million catties, which is more than enough to supply the army. There is no need to import food anymore!"