"Back!" A young man riding a horse shouted loudly in the west of Shule City.
People who were busy sowing autumn seeds in the fields raised their heads and looked to the west when they heard the words.
At the end of the post road, a camel appeared. There was a lot of luggage strapped on its back, but it didn't feel strenuous. It had a leisurely attitude and walked firmly.
Then came the second head, then the third head...
Carriages also appeared, some with people on them and some filled with sacks.
The farmers had happy smiles on their faces.
Well, they are not just farmers, in fact they are also warriors.
Generally speaking, warriors are of course not willing to work in the fields. But what if they work for their own family?
What's more, these people are all children of the Forbidden Army who have never served in the army and are not so resistant to farm work.
"There aren't many cattle and sheep this time, it's all goods?" Someone threw away the rake and stood on the ridge of the field, reaching up and looking around.
"There is still food, what a sin." Another person also stopped and said.
When he said "committing evil", he definitely didn't mean to feel pity for the people of Bakhna. More likely, he felt pity for the food that was eaten by draft animals on the road.
"It's just a business without capital." Someone said: "It doesn't matter if you don't bring back the cattle or sheep, the fodder may not be enough."
Forage is also a resource and is of great value.
If the army passes by, more than half of the mountains of fodder piled on the transportation line can be removed for you. After passing by the army twice, it will almost bottom out.
Farmers also need fodder, especially for military households like them who have just divided their cattle and sheep. The cattle and sheep are not given for free, but as long as they are paid back within five years, it is actually a great virtue.
At present, there are 500 soldiers in Shule Town. They are basically the new batch of Forbidden Army children who have arrived in the Western Regions. When they heard that the imperial court was recruiting town soldiers, they signed up one after another. Among the three to four thousand people, only 500 of the best were selected in the end.
As the first batch of Shule town soldiers.
The second batch of soldiers set off from Luoyang in mid-July, bringing their families with them. It is estimated that they will not arrive until March next year, which will catch up with the tail end of spring planting.
The third batch was not that long behind them, and set off from Chang'an, probably arriving in March or April.
A total of 6,000 soldiers and more than 5,000 households were able to carry out meals along the way. The expenses were affordable, but what to eat after arriving in Shule was a huge problem - of course, it has been solved now.
This is the magic of zero-dollar shopping.
In Shao Shude's original plan, the first batch of 3,000 soldiers set off this year and arrived in the first half of next year, and the food might not be enough. In June, he was still carefully calculating how much food surplus Shule would have next year.
If it's not enough, shamelessly ask Li Shengtian to sponsor some.
But after he set out to conquer Bukhanna, his appetite suddenly increased.
All six thousand town soldiers and their families set off.
Not counting this, we have recruited another 500 outstanding young disciples.
Recently, I have been considering whether to further expand the scale of the Shule town troops. After all, it is different from the former Tang Dynasty. Shule's status among the four towns in Anxi, Daxia, has skyrocketed. If nothing goes wrong, it will
It became the largest garrison.
The officials who accompanied him on the expedition were also "heroic" and suggested that the army in Shule Town should be expanded to 10,000: 6,000 infantry and 4,000 horsemen.
They consider more, not only the military aspect, but also the demographic structure related to long-term peace and stability.
After the capture of Shule, there was a population census, and it was estimated that there were about 50,000 to 60,000 people, mainly Yimo people. There were also other ethnic groups such as Uighurs and Turks, but together they were not as large as Mo people.
Who is Yang Mo? He has a high nose, deep eyes, and a long beard. He looks different from you.
There are so many tribes in Shule. Strictly speaking, the Uighurs are relatively close to the Han people in appearance, but the number of Uighurs is also small, and the dominant group is still the group with tall noses and deep eyes.
All in all, if there are 10,000 Central Plains soldiers and tens of thousands of family members relocated here, the population structure of Shule can be greatly changed. This is something that is not easy to say, but everyone knows it well.
matter.
There was basically no resistance to this matter, it was just settled.
****
In a blacksmith shop outside Shule City, Zhu Shiyi looked at the farm tools he had just made and was very satisfied.
He is from Heyang, his ancestral home is Guanzhong, and he has learned blacksmithing from his uncle and master Zhu San for many years. He was scolded every day, and over time, his confidence was lost and he almost gave up on the craft of blacksmithing.
Unexpectedly, after arriving in the Western Regions, I made dozens of iron farm tools one after another, and everyone praised them and expressed their gratitude.
To be honest, Zhu Shiyi felt a little guilty, because he felt that several of the pieces were not done well. If the master saw it, he would definitely rework it. But in Shule, no one accused him of not being good at his craftsmanship. Could it be that local blacksmiths used to be like this?
A trickster?
The newly married woman brought the meal.
Zhu Shiyi wiped his hands on the greasy cloth, sat down, grabbed a naan cake and ate it.
This daughter-in-law has only been married for a month and cannot speak Mandarin. The couple can only rely on gestures and guessing to communicate in daily life.
But Zhu Shiyi didn't care. As soon as it got dark and the shop door closed, he just pushed his wife down on the couch and fucked her hard. No need to say anything, okay?
And the bride is very good at taking care of the house.
The imperial court said they would allocate land to him, which was actually a piece of wasteland. He built a mud house and gave him a batch of old stoves, anvils, bellows, iron tongs and other items that he didn't know where to get. Several more cars were delivered the next day.
He bought firewood, iron materials, threw down a few bags of wheat, patted his butt and left.
On the first night, Zhu Shiyi looked at the unhulled wheat and didn't know what to eat for dinner.
Fortunately, everything got through.
After marrying such a caring wife, everything in the family became in order.
The yard overgrown with weeds was cleared, vegetables and melons were planted.
The bride even plans to pick a few good grapevines from her parents’ house and plant them in the spring next year. Then she will have grapes to eat and make wine. There will also be a shady place in the yard where she can lie down on the grapevines when she is tired.
Take a nap under the stand for a while, I don’t know how comfortable it is.
At the beginning of the month, the army from the western expedition to Bakhna brought back the first batch of loot, causing a sensation throughout the city.
Zhu Shiyi took a special day off, took his bride to the city to watch the excitement, and bought a few sheep when he came back - this was also his wife's request.
She took matters into her own hands, built a simple sheepfold in the backyard, raised several skinny sheep in it, and took good care of it. Then she picked up a puppy from her parents' home and raised it next to the sheepfold.
Unknowingly, this once empty little home became a little more alive.
When Zhu Shiyi was taking a break while forging, he would often giggle unknowingly. His wife, who was watering the vegetable patch, saw her and chuckled along with him.
At this time, silence is better than sound. Although the young couple cannot understand each other's words, they can understand each other's thoughts.
"Eleventh Lang, Master Wang is back again." Zhou Lang pushed open the door and said loudly.
"Oh?" Zhu Shiyi stood up suddenly and asked, "What good things did you bring back this time?"
Zhou Lang is also from Heyang.
His father worked as a helper in the Huaizhou Yamen, and often went to his master Zhu San's blacksmith shop to receive goods. We all got to know each other very well, and we all went to the Western Regions together.
He had learned arithmetic since elementary school and knew how to calculate accounts, so he found a job as an official in the government office, which was different from Zhu Shiyi's status.
But after all, they are fellow villagers and have not forgotten their old friendship. The two have a good relationship. They both settled in the same village and often communicated with each other.
"I heard that there are hundreds of carts of goods, all of which were stolen from the Bahan market. Come and have a look, maybe you can buy some useful things. I think your house still lacks decorations."
Zhou Lang smiled and said: "I heard someone said that there is a candlestick made by a Persian craftsman. My brothers and sisters stayed up late at night to mend it. It is really inconvenient not to have a candlestick."
"How can my family afford candles?" Zhu Shiyi waved his hands repeatedly.
"Hey, Shishilang, take a look at your net worth. Where can you find a more outstanding blacksmith than you from all over the country?" Zhoulang sighed: "If you don't want to use a candlestick, there is a copper lamp.
You always need a carpet, right? You always need a lamp stand, right? Where are the scissors? Oh, and there are a lot of leathers. It’s best to have a fur coat in winter, otherwise it will be too cold.”
"Is it expensive?" Zhu Shiyi was a little moved and asked.
"It's not expensive. Just give me food." After Zhou Lang finished speaking, he laughed mischievously and said, "I heard that there is also a young lady from the official family in Bahanna, so I'm thinking about buying one."
Zhu Shiyi shook his head and laughed, and said: "I'm going to move two bags of wheat. Do you have a car?"
"The donkey cart has been borrowed a long time ago. Let's go quickly." Zhou Lang said: "Well, speaking of donkey carts, you can also buy a donkey."
"Let's go and take a look first." Zhu Shishi gestured to his wife twice. Unexpectedly, her daughter-in-law took his hand and wanted to go together.
"Hey, let's go together." Zhu Shiyi couldn't resist his wife, so he took her hand and went out together.
****
On the banks of the Chishui River (Kashgar River), there are so many sheep that it can’t be packed.
The peasants who had finished their autumn sowing were recruited and slaughtered sheep and cattle to make dried meat.
The carrying capacity of oasis agriculture is like this. Even though we have tried our best to prepare forage, there are more and more livestock sent back by the Western Expedition, and it is impossible to feed them all, so we can only slaughter part of them.
If dried and made into dried meat, it can be stored for a long time. When the new immigrants arrive next spring, these can be used as their rations, which can greatly reduce the consumption of grains.
The people of Shule did not work for nothing. In fact, they could keep a small part as wages, so everyone was cheerful and worked hard.
At the same time, the fear in their hearts deepened.
The male camel king failed to defeat the Persians and was defeated repeatedly.
Sartuk was so useless that he took refuge with the Persians, and he was also a useless guy.
Now it seems that only the Supreme Khan is the most powerful.
He defeated Sartuk, captured the capital of the Great Uighur Kingdom, and even went further westward, plundering a large amount of property, livestock, grain and even slaves.
With such a powerful Khan around, it's best to put away those petty thoughts that may or may not exist, lest you bring shame on yourself.
The sky in the Western Region has finally changed.
On the post road by the river, many pack horses and camels came.
The people who were killing the sheep looked up, then lowered their heads and continued working.
That's a businessman from Central Plains. He's seen a lot these days.
Businessmen pursue profits, and as long as you give them enough money, they can give you anything.
When the Supreme Khan captured Karasha, he seized a large amount of gold and silver treasures. The Great Khan did not like money. In addition to rewarding his ministers and warriors, most of them were given to merchants and asked them to find ways to transport grain.
The merchants heard the news, and some went to Gaochang or even further places to transport grain, and some were quick-thinking and ran east to Khotan to buy grain. As a result, the merchants in Khotan also knew about it, and they shipped grain over one after another in exchange for goods——
It’s not that ordinary people are unwilling to transport food thousands of miles or even thousands of miles, the key is that they can’t go whoring in vain.
The caravan stopped in an open space in the north of the city, not far from here.
The officials who stayed behind in Shule carefully inspected the corn unloaded from the backs of camels, weighed it and put it into storage.
The merchants began to inspect the goods and value them on the spot.
There are many kinds of goods. It was originally promised to be the treasures in the Shule Palace, but now there are a lot of trophies shipped back from the Western Regions.
The most amazing thing is that the merchants will accept anything, even Turkic and Slavic slaves, which is really eye-opening. What kind of decadent life do those nobles in Luoyang and Chang'an live?
Some people are killing sheep, and their hearts are like grass growing, and they can never calm down.
They straightened up and subconsciously looked to the west.
Why doesn't the Supreme Khan recruit troops in Shule? I can also fight for the Great Khan! It's really hard to work in the fields under the scorching sun all day. It's better to go to the west to grab a handful, and come back when you have enough
Continue to farm.
The strong wind stirred up sand and dust, covering the whole world.
The storm caused by Shao Shude's western expedition to Bakhanna has just reached Shule. But inadvertently, his mark has been deeply engraved on this oasis.
He is a supreme khan who is born wise. Wherever the iron hoof tramples, he always conquers from the outside to the inside.
