The eleventh month of the lunar calendar is also called "Midwinter".
Generally speaking, this is the month when there is less agricultural work, and it is also the month when the government soldiers and peasant soldiers drill. But this year there was no drill, and it was not called at all because the superiors did not send food and pickles, so it was cancelled.
Everyone is so happy.
If you don't have enough to eat, who can think about practicing? Why not save some energy and see if there is any farm work at home that needs help.
The river has frozen.
The child stood by the river and carefully stepped on it with his toes, but soon the peasant woman grabbed his ears and started crying.
A group of women broke open the thin ice with stones and began to wash vegetables.
Another group of women tried the river water and found it too cold, so they carried wooden basins and shamelessly went to other people's wells.
"No need to make porridge this year?" Four or five women were sitting around the well, chirping to the host.
"No need." Madam Zhang, the housewife, sighed and said, "When King Liang came to Bianliang, all the Longxiang mansions sent food there, saying they were 'borrowed', but I don't know if they have been returned."
"My family has also produced grain, alas." Another woman, Mrs. Li, who was washing vegetables, said: "The king of Liang gave this big cabbage, but took away ten handfuls of grain, which was still good corn. Oops, at that time
I almost lost my breath."
"A few years ago when King Liang came to inspect, you said he was more muscular than ordinary men. He must be very strong." The woman He joked.
There was another burst of laughter.
While laughing and joking, bucket after bucket of water was hoisted up to repeatedly clean the cabbage, turnip, mallow, and mustard that had just been picked from the field. Some of them were even stained with white frost.
It is an old tradition to make salted rice noodles between October and November.
When food was relatively plentiful in the past few years, a new method was introduced from Yiyang and Luoyang, which was to soak the winter vegetables in salt water for three days, then add the clear juice from the porridge to ferment the salted cabbage and turn it sour.
It tastes better.
The other way is to soak it directly in salt water. The color is not so golden, relatively green, and not so sour.
Salted water is a very important food. When going on an expedition, it is an important source of salt supplement for the army, along with tempeh. It is also used as a side dish for meals, and its consumption is huge.
"There are tens of thousands of hungry people here. Did anyone say we can buy people?" the woman Li asked while washing vegetables.
"Maybe someone is willing to sell it." Zhang thought for a while and said.
She didn't ask why she bought it.
If there are any families in Henan who can have enough to eat at this time, Fu Bing is one of them - Bu Qu cannot have enough to eat, but the family of Fu Bing is fine because the food levy cannot be collected from them.
There are so many hungry people from Hebei that it doesn’t cost much to buy one person. To put it bluntly, they are actually buying people to save people, which is no exaggeration.
"Crash!" Another bucket of well water was pumped up, steaming gurglingly.
At this time, a woman with a red face from the cold came outside the door and looked timidly at the people in the yard.
Madam Zhang walked up to her, took her hand, and asked a few questions in a low voice.
The woman didn't seem to be from Jin. She was talking and gesticulating, making her face even redder in anxiety.
"Okay, I'll teach you." Ms. Zhang figured it out and led her in straight away. She placed a small horse next to the well and motioned for her to sit down.
The woman nodded repeatedly, filled with joy, and then brought in the turnip basket that had been placed outside the door.
"Ten families of Xianbei people came up from the ditch ahead." Mrs. Zhang explained to the other women: "People's families."
The women suddenly realized that it was no wonder they had strange faces.
In the past few years, more than ten households of Wuhuan people were resettled. I heard that they were the slaves of some Hu official, who were released and settled as civilians.
They are not soldiers, they are just people living near Longxiang Mansion.
As for why they were dispersed one by one near the gathering place of the government soldiers, they didn't know, maybe they wanted to keep an eye on these barbarians, after all, the government soldiers could fight.
This Xianbei woman didn't wear that ridiculous high hat, and the clothes she wore were very different from them. If you didn't open your mouth, you really wouldn't know that she was a Hu.
Today I seem to be here to learn how to make salty jelly beans?
When an outsider came, everyone stopped talking and washed the dishes in silence.
Zhang was quite enthusiastic. He first took out the smaller turnips from the woman's basket, leaving only the larger ones, and then taught the woman to clean and cut them.
After finishing all this, he took the woman to the big water tank at her house, first opened the lid, and then took out the large stone that was pressing on the salt water. He kept talking to the effect that he was teaching the Xianbei woman
How do people tie them, place them, soak them, seal them, etc.
The Xianbei woman listened very carefully, but judging from the confused look in her eyes, she didn't seem to understand much.
Zhang deliberately slowed down her speaking speed and spoke again in detail.
When the women washing vegetables by the well saw it, they also gathered around. At first they watched the fun, and then gradually, some people began to give instructions, and one was even very enthusiastic and said he would take her to his home to see how to make it.
After the Xianbei woman slowly figured it out, she was a little moved. She muttered something and then ran home quickly.
A moment later, he ran over again panting, carrying a black hare in his hand.
The hare was frozen solid and had arrow wounds on its body.
The Xianbei woman gestured a few times and said a few words.
After Mrs. Zhang listened carefully, she said to everyone: "She rode the family's horse and shot this rabbit in the wild, and gave it to me."
When the women heard this, they became even more happy.
After some discussion, some people went to get the seasonings, and some people went to get the winter bamboo shoots. They prepared a pot of stew, and everyone got a share.
While talking, snowflakes began to fall outside.
After the winter lunar month comes the twelfth lunar month, and after the twelfth lunar month comes the Chinese New Year, and the festive atmosphere becomes more and more intense.
Festivals and related folk customs are definitely an important part of culture.
This Xianbei woman was one of the 20,000 tribesmen brought south by Duan Mobo from Youzhou.
After several years of pulling and pulling, he finally released more than 500 tribesmen and handed them over to the counties of Chenliu County for dispersion and resettlement. For this, he received a batch of cloth as compensation.
The five hundred families of Xianbei people who were scattered and resettled mixed with Jin people. Over time, customs and habits will slowly change. After all, people have a herd mentality.
After two generations, almost no one will mention their Xianbei identity. Unless there is another great chaos in the Central Plains, the Xianbei people will go south in large numbers to reawaken their national consciousness. Otherwise, they will be like water droplets flowing into the river, and eventually become
part of a large river.
Today's scene is a beginning.
****
Pingqiu Longxiang Mansion, Feng Family.
Feng Bachi had a shallow scar on his forehead. In addition, he already had a sinister face and a sinister appearance, which made him look even more scary.
In a surprise attack behind enemy lines, they captured and killed more than 12,000 men, women, and children, and also lost more than half of them. Is it worth it?
Doesn't sound like it's worth it.
Those who can go deep behind enemy lines are all good men, who dare to fight and fight hard, and have sophisticated equipment. One exchange for five is a big loss.
But that's not what it said.
Huo Qubing led the most elite cavalry of the Han Dynasty in his first battle in Hexi, and the generals led by him were not as powerful as him. As a result, 10,000 of the most capable and well-equipped warriors died, and 7,000 of them died, and the result was only the Huns' vassal tribes.
Eight or nine thousand people, including a large number of old, weak, women and children, suffered a huge loss.
But the big man can't afford to lose. If he hurts others with his own strength, he can even kill the Huns.
The Jin Dynasty can also afford the loss. The Luoyan Army, the Yi Congjun, and the Fu soldiers can recruit new soldiers and improve the organization. With the old leading the new, the combat effectiveness can be restored to its original state after two or three years.
Of course, all of the above are from the perspective of King Liang and the senior officials and generals. For lower-level officers like Feng Bachi, it is not so wonderful, because you are the part that can be lost and recovered in the eyes of the senior officials.
But he doesn't really care.
People who go to the battlefield and risk their lives to fight don't think so much.
After thinking so much, I didn't dare risk my life to fight.
His brain circuit is different from yours.
Fortunately, he survived and returned home successfully. His wife Han was almost scared to death and cried for a long time.
Feng Bachi's first thought was "She has me in her heart", and he was overjoyed.
Now that several months have passed, everything has calmed down.
After visiting the home of his old brother who had not returned, Feng Bachi walked around the field ridge and returned home.
The tribesmen were summoned to help his family move wood.
The wood was purchased from Bianliang and came from giant pines washed down from the Taihang Mountains during floods last year.
Mr. Han was very good at managing his family business. He bought a lot of wood from Erdao dealers in Bianliang and prepared to expand his house.
His house was purchased from the powerful Li Hu, with eight acres of ponds, four hundred and thirty-six acres of fields, thirteen farmers' houses, thirty couplets of houses, and nineteen cattle. Now it has been slightly expanded.
In addition, Mr. Han has given birth to a son and a daughter, so the family has expanded. The couple are not very old, and they will probably have children in the future, so they must consider this in advance.
By the way, Li Hu and his nephew Shao Shen, the general of Huwei in the West, died in the attack on Shaanxi City and failed to gain official status.
A wealthy family that had dominated the countryside for three generations fell apart.
Now in this world, the Feng family is the largest, and it seems to be a new powerful one. However, this family has only been in existence for a few years, and one has to lament the dramatic changes in the situation.
"Brother-in-law." When he walked to the door of his house, a young man saw Feng Bachi and immediately saluted.
Feng Bachi nodded and asked, "Are you used to living here?"
"Brother-in-law's family is very nice." The young man replied shyly.
Feng Bachi's vanity suddenly exploded, and he couldn't stop grinning.
My wife's family can only be said to be a side branch of the Han family in Anping. After the disaster, they could no longer survive, so a group of relatives quickly packed up the food and supplies, rode an ox cart south to Pingqiu, and defected to Feng Bachi, just a few days after arriving.
"Study hard." Feng Bachi took on the role of his brother-in-law and warned him: "Don't be like your brother-in-law and I. I can't read a single Chinese character. If the director of the Longxiang Mansion is available, it won't be my turn."
"Isn't my brother-in-law going to be a deputy general?" the young man asked.
"Don't talk nonsense. Hu Heizi is just lost. If he comes back, he will still be a deputy general." When talking about this, Feng Bachi couldn't help but sigh.
In this battle, Pingqiu Longxiang Mansion dispatched 300 people, which was the division he led. He was assigned a deputy general, and the division chief Shi came down to lead the team. As a result, neither of them came back. One of them was injured and could not move.
Abandoned, one was intercepted by the Xianbei people outside Tianchi and separated, and his whereabouts are unknown.
In the end, Feng Bachi packed up the rest, and with the support of the Jie people's cavalry, they returned to Tianchi.
War is so cruel, and it is also the ladder for warriors to rise.
The deputy generals and chief historians are both eighth-rank officials. Now that they are vacant, Feng Bachi has a great chance. He might have been appointed years ago.
For now, his family is still very thin.
Born as a refugee, he has lost his parents and brothers and has two young children. He is the backbone of the family. Once he fails to come back like his two former bosses, the family will fall into decline.
Feng Bachi's situation is actually the situation of Liang Wang Shaoxun. He rose too fast, had a weak foundation, and had an unstable foundation.
He is the epitome of the new martial artist.
"I heard you said you were going to Shilou after the New Year?" Feng Bachi suddenly thought of something and asked.
"Yes." The young man replied: "I have read poetry and books for ten years, and I am still capable of teaching foreign people to read."
"Shilou County has only been established for a few years, and there is nothing. There are a lot of mountain husks. Do you really want to go? You are also a son of a famous family. If it doesn't work, just settle down in Pingqiu. My brother-in-law will go to Longxiang Mansion to change it, so that your family can be spared.
Just pay taxes and study hard." Feng Bachi couldn't help but said.
The young man shook his head and said somewhat dejectedly: "It has been three years since the disaster in Anping and my family's fortune has been completely destroyed. It is better to go to Shilou to try my luck. Your Majesty will set up a county doctor in a place where the Hu Feng is strong. The county's teachings must have some guidance.
Maybe there is a way."
A noble clan is also divided into three, six or nine levels, and there is competition. The life of the children of the common people is really not as good as imagined.
There are only so many places for Xiaolian in a county, and several counties compete for it. The places allocated to the head of a family are very limited, and then the allocation is decided internally.
The quota for Menyin to become an official must also be allocated internally. Furthermore, the Hebei gentry had little merit, so how could there be many opportunities for Menyin to become an official?
As for the recruitment of high-ranking officials, it depends on how many Hebei people are serving as officials at the central or even prefectural and county levels.
If there are many high-ranking officials from Hebei, they will recruit more scholars from Hebei. Now it's hard!
The most intuitive example is Taiwei Wang Yan.
Anyone he said something good about would be recruited by high-ranking officials.
Over the past few decades, he had no idea how many favors he had accumulated and how many officials he could manage. It would scare people to death just to mention it. As a result, a large number of Qingxu scholars moved closer to him, and gradually formed a huge political group.
Lu Zidao originally came out of Hebei, but unfortunately his reputation was too much inferior to that of Wang Yan. In addition, he was notorious for being narrow-minded and censorious.
There is a faint voice in Hebei. It is really impossible to let the Cui family of Qinghe take over. This can be seen from the fact that the Fanyang Lu family abdicated in favor of a worthy person.
The Anping Han family's status in Hebei is not high. As a descendant of a side branch, don't expect much help from the family.
The best way is to use the Anping Han family name, rely on your own abilities, social circles and even a little bit of luck to gain the appreciation of senior officials - Taiyuan Wenqiao is a good example, he was appreciated by Wang Yan and made good friends with him.
Princess Liang's brother Yu Liang rose to the top in one step.
If nothing else works, find a way to become a mentor and expand your network.
Unfortunately, neither of these roads was possible for him, so he could only try his luck in the newly established counties and villages where foreigners gathered.
Feng Bachi didn't quite understand the tricks played by the gentry, but he understood that it was very difficult for people with poor backgrounds to climb up, regardless of whether they were civil or military.
If the King of Liang did not tear open the dark iron curtain and open the way for the lower-level literati and military men to ascend, there would be absolutely no chance for them to gain momentum.
In the final analysis, people like them just want to unite and support King Liang, otherwise the world will still be dominated by Wang Yan and others.
Chapter completed!