Three hundred and seventieth chapters barren fields
"What's the matter?" Seeing that everyone else had left, Xu Mu asked.
"Has Xiao Jihuai mentioned marriage to you?" He Qizhou asked straight to the point.
"No, he was in a hurry and we didn't have much of a conversation."
"That's good." He Qizhou let go of his worries for the time being.
"He just asked me to wait for him to return to Beijing together. He said he could be back here in half a month at the earliest."
"I estimate that we will be able to move as usual in six or seven days. Aren't you in a hurry to go home? Let's leave early."
"Well - okay, as long as your injury really improves, we can leave as early as possible!" Xu Muxue hesitated and then nodded.
"Oh, then you go and eat."
"Well, I'll see you again tonight."
"Hey, wait a minute."
"what happened again?"
"Can, can you kiss me again?"
"cannot!"
"Just for a moment."
"I'm a man now! No!"
"Half a minute."
Xu Muxue, who was almost at the door, walked back to the bed in three or two steps, tapped He Qizhou's cheek with her red lips as if using a slow step, and then ran out of the door like a fly...
Two days later, Zhang Wei led his army back to Yuzhou City. Thirty thousand troops were stationed in two camps on the east and west outside the city. He originally wanted to stay a few more days, but because Yuguan was too small to accommodate so many people, Xiao
After Ji Huai came, he had nowhere to stay, so Zhang Wei generously entrusted the important task of recovering Zhenbeiguan to the Xiao family.
On this day, He Qizhou was walking in the courtyard with Xu Mu's support. The annoying Zhang Lei arrived uninvited, and with him was the even more annoying Jiang Shuo.
"Wuzhuang Wu is really extraordinary, I admire you, I admire you." Zhang Cheng's voice came first before he entered the hospital.
"Who are you?" He Qizhou didn't know the other party.
"Cousin!" Xu Mu shouted in surprise.
"It's my cousin, my cousin!" He Qizhou hurriedly bowed and saluted. He was pinched hard on the back by Xu Mu beside him.
Zhang Wei, who was dressed in casual clothes, was in his forties and had a clear face. He was not like the rugged Zhang Cheng at all, but was somewhat similar to Zhang Mufeng. He was a little overwhelmed by being called such by He Qizhou.
"General Zhang, He Qizhou is joking. Neither he nor I are serious people. Don't mind." Jiang Shuo hurriedly got out of the situation, and of course she would not miss the opportunity to insult him.
"It turns out to be General Zhang Wei. He Qizhou hasn't thanked you for saving my life!" He Qizhou did not take away his bowed hands, but bowed deeper. If Zhang Wei hadn't sent reinforcements in time, his life would have been almost certain.
Just handed it over.
"Please get up quickly, please get up quickly! It was Zhuangyuan Liang who saved the people of this mansion and the crisis of this dynasty. Mu'er has already told me that I came here specifically to thank you. How can I accept this from you?
Pay your respects?" Although Zhang Wei is leading a partial army, he has a large number of people. He is a real second-grade general, and his rank is even higher than that of Zhang Cheng and Han Chong.
"Cousin, let's talk inside." Xu Mu was worried that He Qizhou would be tired from standing for a long time, so he invited everyone into the house.
"If I want to thank you, I have to thank you two. If I really lose Yuguan, let alone my head falling on the ground, maybe the old man will be implicated." Jiang Shuo put away his smile after entering the room and sitting down.
Speak seriously.
Zhang Wei smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, you are serious. Who are the people coming from the Northern Zhou Dynasty this time? Can you persist in reporting the enemy's situation in advance these days? If we lose the defense again, it will be my fault. How can the emperor punish you? Come to think of it,
, weren’t you the one who saved me?”
"Is it over yet? Why doesn't anyone thank me?" Xu Mu shouted.
"Thank you, of course. Mu'er, how are you doing? And you, He Zhuangyuan? The military doctors under my account are quite scary." Zhang Lei asked.
"He can't die, I'm fine." Xu Mu replied briskly: "Cousin, your supervisor didn't take a copy of you, did he? It's a good thing you trust me."
"I didn't participate, I'm still waiting to receive the merit. Who are you? How dare I disobey you? Aren't you afraid of being reckoned with by your ancestors? Besides, how similar are we? More similar than your own uncle, right? By the way, your father
We are building cities and roads in Shanxi in preparation for the great war in the spring, and I have already sent someone to inform him of your return."
Zhang Lei joked. People close to the core of the Zhang family know that as long as Xu Mu speaks, the ancestor who has always been uncompromising will always obey his words. The Xiao family has pushed for marriage several times, but the ancestor has suppressed it.
"Thank you, cousin. Do you know what's going on with my uncle?"
"Zhang Cheng was injured a little, and it seems to be a little serious. The latest news is that the Northern Zhou Dynasty retreated at Jiayuguan, so I don't have to go anywhere. Just rest and recover. If you need anything, please let me know. My big account
It will be set up in the West Camp thirty miles outside the city. When Xiao Jihuai comes back, you can go back to Beijing together. By the way, He Qizhou, there are many people who care about you. Do you want me to use the military post to avenge you?
Peace?"
"Thank you, General Zhang. I wrote a few letters the day before yesterday and Magistrate Liu has sent them for me." When Zhang Qi mentioned Xiao Jihuai, He Qizhou immediately felt that the other party was not so cordial.
…
On the fourth day after leaving Yuguan, I drove all the way to the southeast. The loess hills and gullies were finally no longer visible outside the car window. Large flat lands appeared on both sides of the official road. As far as the eye could see, a huge dragon-like mountain range stretched across the sky in the east.
The dragon's spine is covered with mist and white snow.
"Isn't the Taihang Mountains ahead?" He Qizhou stuck his head out of the car window, enjoying the feeling of the cold wind blowing on his face, without the ubiquitous dust in the cold wind.
"Well, it's estimated that it will take two days of walking to reach the foot of the mountain." Xu Mu, who was also in the car, replied in a low voice.
"Xu Mu, look at the fields beside the road. Why do some fields have distinct rows and look like intensive cultivation, while others are overgrown with weeds and in disrepair? Is it because someone in the family is in the army and no one is farming?"
"How do I know that?" Xu Mu replied softly.
"I know! Those barren fields..." There was another person in the carriage, Jiang Damin, Jiang Shuo's personal attendant.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't interrupt when I asked you to sit in?" He Qizhou glanced at Jiang Damin with disgust. Originally, the two of them could have had a good time making love to each other in the carriage, but this guy barged in.
After eight days of recuperating in Liufu, Yuzhou, news came that Xiao Jihuai had regained Zhenbeiguan, and He Qizhou clamored to return to Beijing. In fact, the injury was still serious, and he had only recovered 20%. Xu Mu understood his intention and did not
Wanting to face Xiao Jihuai, they bid farewell to Liu Xizhou and Jiang Shuo together.
Liu Xizhou couldn't win over the two of them and agreed to let them go. Since Yuzhou is located in northern Shaanxi, it seems that the journey south to Chang'an and then to Luoyang is relatively short.
The route back to the capital is to go eastward to Shanxi, cross Taihang from Jingxing to Hebei, and then go straight to the capital on a smooth road. Not only will it help the two of them recover from their injuries, but it will also take a lot of time.
Jiang Shuo knew that both of them were suffering from injuries, so he tried his best to send Jiang Damin, who was relatively good at fighting, to escort them, along with two third-line coachmen.
He Qizhou knew clearly that Jiang Shuo wanted to get rid of the talkative Jiang Damin so that he could have a romantic relationship with Miss Liu, but when he thought that he and Xu Muxue could no longer easily work together, and could not resist Jiang Shuo's "kindness", he "
"Endure the pain" and agreed. Unexpectedly, that guy's favorite thing to do was to pester him and chat with Xu Mu.
He Qizhou's convoy returning eastward consisted of two cars and two riders. He and Xu Mu each occupied a carriage. Jiang Damin was supposed to be escorted on horseback, while Xue Longma followed alone at the end. However, at this time, he and Jiang Damin squeezed into Xu Mu's car.
Following the two carts were two empty horses.
When Jiang Damin heard what He Qizhou said, he suddenly felt aggrieved and said: "I am not kind enough to accompany you to relieve your boredom. You see, the wounds on my hands are not healed. I have already said that I will never argue with Lin Chuan again..."
Xu Mu said hurriedly: "Ignore him, I really want to know why so many fields are left uncultivated when there is such a shortage of food."
Jiang Damin became energetic again and said hurriedly: "You two don't know something. Those uncultivated lands and cultivated lands belong to Prince Han."
"Why does he want half of the land to be cultivated and half to be left uncultivated?" Xu Mu asked.
"There is a mystery to it. Most of the land being cultivated is his family's fiefdom, which can be exempted from taxes. However, the original owner of the wasteland could not pay taxes due to natural disasters, so he had to pawn the land to the King of Han at a low price and sell his own labor.
Go and become a tenant farmer of King Han’s family.”
"We have a similar situation in Jiangling Prefecture, except that the fields will not be left idle." He Qizhou added.
"Yes, why not plant it if you have land?" Xu Mu was still puzzled.
Jiang Damin said proudly: "The rain is limited. In this year, of course all the labor is used on his family's fiefdom, and there is no need to pay taxes. Let alone this place. As you look along the way, every prince's family is not
Is this so? Because the taxes that each county has to pay every year are basically fixed and cannot be levied from the tenant farmers. They can only be imposed on the people who still have land. This forces the people with land to become tenant farmers, so this wasteland
There are more and more of them, and they have all become pastures for the princes and their families to raise cattle and sheep."
"No wonder the Ministry of Household Affairs has no money, and the land where taxes are paid has been hoarded by princes. Jiang Damin, let me ask you, your family is the largest landowner in Shanxi, is this the same?" He Qizhou asked angrily.
"If my prince were like those fat pigs, Shanxi would have been doomed a long time ago!" Jiang Damin replied firmly: "My prince's land was originally in the fertile Henan Province, but he was forced to move it here by the emperor. Not only did the prince not take over the fields of the nearby people, he also
Pay taxes on their behalf. The year's output is either spent on the people or on the border troops. Next time you have a chance, just go north and you will know. Although the land there is barren, it has the largest arable land.
! The common people are also the most courageous to fight against those Zhou Qi who are fighting against the autumn wind."
"Well, King Jin is indeed the pinnacle of stability in the north. He Qizhou, the best proof is that he placed Jiang Shuo in Zhenbeiguan, the most dangerous place. Don't question King Jin's character anymore." Xu Mu said.
"Oh, it's a pity that a prince like him is too rare." He Qizhou nodded and said.