In the fields, farmers are still busy working nervously.
This year's grain harvest has actually been greatly affected, because even in the nearby Youdu County, there has been a bloody rebellion. Houses were burned, wheat fields were trampled, people were killed, and order and life suffered serious consequences.
destroy.
Farmers whose harvest has failed are so desperate that they can only earn food for their families by doing odd jobs. However, such job opportunities are also very limited. There are only a few post roads that need to be renovated, and there are only so many ponds that need to be built.
How many people can be hired?
After Shao Shude got off the plateau and before entering the village, he saw many people leaving the village with their young and old in tow.
"Where is the stick man going?" Shao Shude stopped a man and asked.
The old man was a little impatient and looked anxiously at his neighbor who was speeding up his pace to the east. But standing in front of him was an official in a green robe, and there were several armored warriors next to him. At first glance, he looked like he was killing people.
He was a veteran, so he didn't dare to leave, so he could only say with a grimace: "Go to Zhoucheng."
The prefecture city is the prefectural city. Youzhou has been promoted to the northern capital of Beiping Prefecture, but ordinary people don't know it and are still accustomed to calling it prefectural city. Chen Cheng took out a cloth bag and handed it to the old man.
The old man took it doubtfully, opened it, and saw seven or eight pieces of Hu cake. He was overjoyed and quickly handed it to his son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter behind him, thanking him endlessly.
Shao Shude glanced at Chen Cheng approvingly and continued to ask, "Why are you going to Zhoucheng?"
"The emperor from Kansai wants to build a palace, and he will be given three liters of food a day. The little old man is in a hurry, but if he is late, he will be gone." Because he got the Hu cake, the old man's attitude became much better, and he answered all questions.
"Why don't you plant the land at home?" Shao Shude asked: "You don't plant winter wheat anymore?"
"We already planted winter wheat last year. If we plant it again this year, we won't be able to produce much grain. We have to take a year off." The old man also broke off a piece of biscuit and ate it slowly.
In the third crop, they could not grow staple crops, but could grow miscellaneous crops. The real reason was that their family was now running out of food and could no longer persevere, so they had no choice but to flee the famine.
"Building a palace city is hard work." Shao Shude said; "Is three liters of food enough?"
"The old man can't get three liters anymore. He has to be strong and strong. The eldest and second sons of my family can do heavy work and get three liters of grain. It's enough for the family to save on food." The old man replied.
The salary of three liters of grain is actually quite generous. When a sergeant goes on an expedition or for training, he only eats three liters of rice and noodles a day. Youzhou has experienced the devastation of the war and the local production is insufficient. These grains are all transported from Henan through the Yongji Canal, and the loss is not small.
——Thanks to the Yongji Canal, if it were transported by land, the cost would be even more staggering, and I am afraid it would not be able to support an infrastructure project of this scale.
"In the past, Youzhou Town couldn't pay so much for building post roads, ponds, and city walls, right? Isn't the emperor very benevolent?" Shao Shude asked expressionlessly.
The old man hesitated for a moment, maybe because of the bag of biscuits, or because the official standing in front of him nodded, and said: "Since ancient times, there has never been anyone who has provided work-for-relief relief so generously."
When Shao Shude heard this, although he knew that the old man might not mean what he said, he was still very happy and asked again: "How many people in the countryside are in a situation like yours?"
The old man couldn't answer for a while. After thinking for a long time, he replied: "There are many Fan villages, but not many Han villages." Shao Shude knew what he was doing and said goodbye to the old man and his family.
"Officer." The old man just left and came back. "What's the matter?" Shao Shude turned around and asked.
Xia Luqi and Chu Shenping were on the left and right, and their hands that were originally hanging down had been lifted up.
The old man glanced at them and said with a wry smile: "Don't touch the knife. I know the rules and won't offend the noble man." Shao Shude laughed loudly and asked: "The stick man has also touched the knife?"
"I've been around for half my life, and I even went to other towns to kill people. It's all in the past." The old man shook his head, as if he didn't want to mention the bad things in the past, and only reminded: "It was a mess outside a while ago, and there were quite a few murders everywhere.
The young man stole the bow and knife at home and ran away. Later, some came back, but those who did not come back were dead or something else. The little old man just wanted to remind the noble man that it is not peaceful outside, and there are many desperadoes scattered in the mountains and forests.
You still need to pay more attention."
Shao Shude was silent.
Chen Cheng looked at him and then stepped forward
Asked: "Zhang Weng, do you know that we are also from Kansai?"
"You can tell by the accent." The old man said, "Those who can be officials in Youzhou do not have local accents. At this juncture, they are either from Henan or from Guanxi."
"Do you hate the Kansai people?" Chen Cheng asked. The old man didn't want to answer this question and hesitated.
"Zhang Weng is an honest man." Shao Shude already knew the answer and ordered his entourage to bring a piece of silk and give it to the old man. The old man thanked him profusely and left.
"Actually, it's not bad." Shao Shude suddenly smiled and said, "Li Keyong suppressed several rebellions, and I don't know how many Yan Di thorns were killed by Jin soldiers. What's left now is just that, and it's nothing to worry about.
.Moreover, we are fighting here and have made a mess in the countryside. The whole family has no food and clothing. Why don't we allow others to hate us?"
The Yan people, the most rebellious and powerful people, have been completely destroyed in the successive anti-Jin rebellions. When the king of Daxia entered Youzhou, if it was not necessary to organize the people into households, there would not be many rebellions.
Li Keyong and Shao Shude, the sworn brothers, took over the management of Youzhou. What they did was actually similar to the process of the Five Dynasties Dynasty in history. They first eliminated the apparent separatist army, then eliminated the potential rebel forces by suppressing the rebellion, and finally
Escort by force, take deep control of the counties and villages, step by step tame the feudal towns that had been in power for more than a hundred years, reverse the trend of separatism, eliminate the soil of separatism, and the glory of unity once again envelopes the entire territory.
******
After officially entering Fan Village, Shao Shude actually saw several families of farmers tending their crops. After talking to them, he learned that they were from Guanxi.
"From Longquan County, Suizhou?" Shao Shude felt very cordial when he heard the origin of these immigrants.
Suizhou was the first territory he got, and he left a very good memory. At that time, Suizhou was still very poor, and even the entire Xia Suiyinyou was very poor, but a disproportionate number of troops were stationed, all thanks to the cooperation of the Chang'an court.
Pay. After he left Suizhou and entered a broader stage, he took a large number of troops with him and at the same time initiated agricultural reforms, which eased the burden of the people of Suizhou and increased their income, which gave them a big sigh of relief.
Suizhou is actually a microcosm of the entire Guanbei.
The new agricultural production model has brought higher food production. The obedience of party items has brought stable order. More than 20 years later, Guanbei can actually export immigrants.
Very good, very good. Shao Shude felt that his twenty years of hard work were not meaningless.
The fragile ecology of Guanbei is not suitable for an overly dense population. The export of immigrants is what it should be.
"Guardian, there are sixteen households in Fan Village, all from Longquan County." The farmer said, "The most have been in the battle four times, and the few have been in the battle once or twice."
"Have you been in battle?" Shao Shude asked in surprise.
"I only went to war once, when I followed Shidu to attack Yunzhou." The farmer was a little embarrassed and said, "Those who have never been in battle will not be allowed to come out." "You and others are all voluntary recruits?" Shao Shude asked.
"Yes." When he said this, the farmer was also a little depressed: "Back then, before the saint left Guanbei, he said that he would not allow the family to be divided. All the land in the family was given to his brother. There was no wasteland in the county, so he had to come out.
To make a living."
What? Did I say this again? Shao Shude was so confused that he didn’t even remember it.
Even if I said it, it was just a whim, a casual remark, and I didn’t expect it to be carried out by the people below. Damn, when I asked you to do other tasks, I didn’t see that your execution ability was so strong?
According to this person, Suizhou's land resources have already reached their limits, or even exceeded them. A lot of land that is not suitable for development has been developed, causing damage to the ecology.
The land of each family is inherited by the eldest son. If the other sons want to live, when the potential of the land is exhausted, they have no other choice but to emigrate.
"After coming to Youzhou, how much land was given by the county?" Shao Shude asked again.
"Thanks to the saint, I have forty-two acres of farmland and five acres of homestead." The farmer replied. "It's not bad, but has it been connected into one piece?"
"It's connected." "Is there any common land in the village?"
"That lake is right next to it. I heard that there are floods every year and no one wants to cultivate it, so it was turned into public land.
There is also a small plateau to the north of the village, which is also designated as public land."
"Have the cattle and sheep I rented to you arrived?"
"Seven days ago, nine sheep were sent, and yesterday a cow came. It looks like a beef cow on the grassland, and it has a very bad temper. But now there are no cattle."
"Are we short of farm tools?"
"No. But we have some among the dozen or so households. We use them in rotation, so we can make do." "What are you growing in the fields?"
"Mung beans, harvest a little before the snow falls." "Okay." After hearing this, Shao Shude felt quite satisfied.
The rations for the sixteen Suizhou immigrants in Fan Village were provided by the government in the first year, halved in the second year, a small amount in the third year, and the subsidy was not canceled until the fourth year.
Compared with the Youzhou natives who fled famine, they had food in their hands and were not panicking, but their situation was much better. "Aren't you afraid that the Yan people will steal your food?" Shao Shude asked with a smile.
"There are government patrols passing by from time to time, but it's not a big deal." The farmer also laughed and said, "Besides, it's not like every household in Fan Village is without food. There are still very few people who have no food to eat. All sixteen of our households have been there.
Array——"
Having said this, the farmer pulled out a bright big knife from under the carriage.
Xia Ruqi stood calmly between him and Shao Shude.
"We have bows, knives, and guns, but are we still afraid of those Yan Hu?" The farmers seemed confident and not afraid of others overtaking them. They even looked forward to it.
"Shiro from Orimayama's family can make leather armor. Before I left, my grandfather gave him a pair of horse leather. When I got free, I asked Orishiro to make a pair of armor for me." He gestured with the knife again.
He said: "When I have A, I'll see which brat dares to cause trouble."
"Ahem!" Xiao Yu coughed twice.
The farmer suddenly woke up and felt that his previous actions were too extreme, and his tone became a little arrogant. He immediately hid the knife under the carriage with an embarrassed look on his face.
Haha! Shao Shude couldn’t stop laughing. These gangsters are arrogant and unruly, but isn’t that great?
He was not yet at ease with the honest and bad-tempered people coming to Youzhou. Only these kind of countrymen who had been in battle could survive in Yandi, where the people were fierce.
"I don't think Zushiro's armor is good," Shao Shude joked.
"Official, three generations of Zushiro's family have made armor with exquisite craftsmanship." The farmer muttered.
"If I say no, I can't." Shao Shude looked at the farmer and saw that he was big and round. He obviously grew up in a decent family, had never been hungry, and was in decent physical condition, so he said, "Zhe Shiro's armor is not as good as mine.
"
While they were talking, the two sergeants brought a pair of iron armors over to them. "It's for you!" Shao Shude said with a smile.
The farmer was dumbfounded and froze on the spot. After a long while, he finally came to his senses and came forward, caressing his left and right hands. He said in a trembling voice: "Thank you, sir! With this armor, when the saint calls me, I will wear the armor and carry a sword."
Go to the capital and chop to death those who make trouble."
Shao Shude put his hands behind his back, smiling and saying nothing.
Chu Shenping observed the words and expressions and knew that the saint was happy, so he brought another piece of silk over and said, "This silk is also for you." Shao Shude suddenly felt that this brother-in-law was indeed good. He could lead troops in war, was good at observing words and expressions, and the key was that he was loyal enough.
.The interests of the Chu family have also been deeply bound to him, and Chu Shenping can be reused.
The farmer took the silk and thought he was in a dream. He subconsciously turned his head and looked to the west. Is there smoke coming out of the ancestral grave in Longquan County?