When Zhao Xin received Deng Fei's telegram, he had already left Heilongjiang City and was stopping briefly at the mouth of the Huma River.
Today's Huma River Estuary is no longer the size of a military station plus more than 30 wooden houses a few years ago. With the great improvement of transportation conditions, more and more Daur and Oroqen people have settled here, and even a few
The Mongols, coupled with the immigrants who settled here, turned this village, which is only 160 kilometers north of Heilongjiang City, into a "small town" with more than 600 households and a population of more than 3,000.
Although the local mountainous areas in the west and north are rich in gold, coal and quartz sand, the civil government only arranged for small-scale coal mining, mainly for heating in the winter.
The current economy of the entire town is still based on agriculture and fishery. You must know that in Huma in another time and space, the county's cultivated land area exceeded 400,000 acres. In this time and space, a total of more than 30,000 acres were cultivated, which is far behind!
In order to better protect the gold mines in the entire Northeastern and Siberian regions - in fact, to keep an eye on his own pocketbook, Zhao Xin plans to set up a special gold force next year, whose main task is to inspect and protect gold mines everywhere.
Resource points to prevent new immigrants in the customs from poaching.
Zhao Xin had to visit every settlement he passed along the way north this time, and coming to Humar Town was no exception. He took A Miao and Wu Long with him and ate them early in the morning under the covert protection of several guards.
After breakfast, I wandered around the town and chatted with whomever I caught. The purpose was to learn more about the actual living conditions of the people in Humar Town and the views of the border residents on the ethnic policies of Beihai Town.
Because Zhao Xin had a beard and a straw hat, the local people did not recognize the tall man in front of them as the prestigious "Prince Zhao" and thought he was someone from the civil affairs department who came down to inspect farmland and water conservancy.
In the afternoon, he met several Daur people who came to sell grain together at the Beihai Trading Company in the town, and they struck up a conversation.
In recent years, under the guidance of technicians sent by the civil affairs, the Daur people first bought high-yielding rye seeds through a five-year interest-free loan provided by Beihai Trading Co., Ltd., and at the same time changed the extensive planting methods in the past. And because the Daur people raise horses at home,
(An important sign that distinguishes the rich from the poor among the Daur people is the number of livestock.) The civil administration provided them with advanced horse-drawn farm tools and taught them intensive farming. In the past two years, the agricultural production level of the Daur people has improved a lot compared to the era of Manchu rule.
, the grain harvested from fifty acres of land every year could not be eaten except for repaying the loan, so he went to the trading company to sell grain in exchange for daily necessities.
The days were getting better and better, which made the Daur people very grateful to the officials of Beihai Town. They saw that Zhao Xin had no official airs, so they talked more. Zhao Xin was very happy chatting, so he bought some cigarettes and alcohol as a souvenir.
Give them gifts.
The simple Daur people were not as humble and courteous as the Han people. They accepted the gifts generously. One of them, a man named Fu Mingtai, invited Zhao Xin and his entourage to visit his home, and Zhao Xin and his entourage happily went.
Fu Mingtai's family was the first batch of residents after the completion of the Humar Military Station. At first, they lived in a single-room wooden house provided by Beihai Town for free. As he became more affluent in the past few years, he moved to a sloping land at the west end of the town.
A new house was built, and the original wooden tiles were given over to the new arrivals.
His yard is surrounded by a half-person-high wicker fence. On the east side of the yard wall are several livestock sheds, which house more than a dozen Mongolian horses, two cows and a dozen sheep. There is also an open area in the yard.
In the small vegetable patch, I planted some eggplants, beans, pumpkins and green onions, and also raised a few chickens.
The main building in the courtyard is made of wood-carved pine wood. As the Beihai Trading Company provided a large number of steel tools to the border residents, logging became an easy task, so wood-carved buildings were also spread throughout the Northeast.
However, the houses of the Daur people have a typical Manchu style of architecture, with front porches at the back and four thick pine wood pillars standing in front of the doors. As their saying goes, "wolf fangs emerge from the front and beasts emerge from the rear."
Fu Mingtai's wife saw the guests and invited everyone to sit in the west room. Following Oolong's advice, Zhao Xin and others first said hello to Fu Mingtai's father who was sitting on the south kang as soon as they entered the room.
"Hello, old man!"
The old man, who was over sixty this year, was sitting cross-legged on the kang and smoking a pot. When he saw Zhao Xin reaching out, he knew that this was the "new etiquette" for Han officials, so he put down his pipe and raised his hand to shake it with Zhao Xin.
Got it.
"The distinguished guest is here! I'm sorry, I only have one arm left."
At this time, Fu Mingtai on the side quickly explained that his mother's name was Amusu, and he had served as a soldier for the Manchu Qing Dynasty since he was a boy. In the 24th year of Qianlong's reign, he followed Zhaohui to participate in the war to pacify Huo Jizhan.
He lost an arm during the "Siege of Blackwater Camp". Zhaohui thought that he fought bravely and killed many people, so he wanted to take credit for him. However, Amusu felt that his life was not long, so he asked for credit in exchange for returning to his hometown in the Northeast.
Zhaohui agreed without much thought. After Amusu returned to the Northeast, his injuries gradually improved under the treatment of the tribal shaman. Then he married a wife and started a family with the money he had accumulated over the years.
According to the custom of the Daur people, the west room of the main room is on top, and the south kang is the first place, which is for the elderly in the family. The younger people sit on the north kang. When guests come, they have to sit on the west kang.
As soon as he sat down, the old man took out the cigarette pot and asked Zhao Xin to smoke a pack. Zhao Xin also took out cigarettes and asked the old man to smoke. The problem was that the cigarette pot was too strong. After taking two puffs, Zhao Xin choked.
Hiccups made A Miao, who was standing nearby, giggle.
Because Zhao Xin was a civil affairs official and a guest, his status was like that of an elder; when he was talking to Amusu, Fu Mingtai could only stand under the kang and talk with him while his wife went to
He went to the kitchen to prepare a meal, and soon he brought out the home-made dried milk and milk tea, and then went to prepare the meal for the guests.
Daur people are sincere and warm to others, and they are not just empty-headed people. As long as they come, they are guests. Even if the poorest people come to visit, they have to kill chickens and have a good meal, and they will never be slow to say anything. And if the guests don't eat,
That was the greatest insult and disrespect to the host. Sure enough, after a while, several chickens screamed in the yard...
Amusu was getting old, and while chatting, he started talking about the old events of the Western Expedition with Zhaohui. Fu Mingtai was a little worried at first, fearing that Ama would offend Zhao Xin by talking about the Qing army, but after a while he
Seeing that Zhao Xin listened with great interest, he felt relieved.
"It was really hard to fight against the Blackwater Camp! It lasted from October to the first month of the next year. It was freezing cold for three months, and within a few days there was not enough food to eat. If the returning troops couldn't get in, they went upstream to break the river.
During the camp, we dug trenches outside the city to release water. When thousands of people fired, it was like thunder on the ground. People on both sides shot at each other, and the muskets hit each other as if they were splashing water. Many people died just like that.
.It's too awful!"
"Then what happened next? How did you get through it?" Zhao Xin was fascinated by what he heard, and unconsciously took another puff from his cigarette pipe. The spicy smell of tobacco made him roll his eyes.
"The commander-in-chief still has a way! We hid in the woods during the day, and at night, the commander-in-chief asked us to cut down the trees and take out the muskets fired by the returning soldiers from the trunks..."
The old man then told how there was no food or water at that time. The Qing army first killed the horses. Later, in order to ensure the number of horses, they had to remove the leather from the saddles and roast them. If it were not for the fact that they later dug out two rooms from the ground when digging a well.
Without food, thousands of people would starve to death. At that time, everyone said it was God’s help and the Emperor’s blessing.
"Alas! My arm was broken by a musket when I broke out of the siege. It has been almost thirty years."
After listening to the old man's words, Zhao Xin couldn't help but picture the scene of the vast sea and the smoke of war. You must know that the Qing army is not the Northern Navy armed to the teeth. Thousands of people went deep into the enemy's rear, surrounded by tens of thousands of enemy troops, and built a city of earth.
Isolated and helpless, he was able to persist for nearly three months in such harsh conditions.
Regardless of their positions, Zhaohui and the Qing troops who participated in the siege of the Blackwater Camp are definitely role models for soldiers. Without the bloody battles of the Qing troops, there would be no 1.9 million square kilometers of Tianshan South Road, and there would be no "indispensable force since ancient times".
"Partition"!
Thinking of this, he looked at Old Man Amusu with eyes filled with respect.
Alas, just because Zhaohui is a Manchu, if he were a Han, he would not be allowed to be blown up to the sky by some people from another time and space. I think Li Rusong was beaten to death and wounded at the Biti Pavilion at a cost of 4,000 to 20,000.
There were more than a thousand Japanese pirates, and they were praised as gods by some people.
Just as Zhao Xin was deep in thought because of Amusu's story, he heard a loud voice shouting from outside: "Is Brother Fumingtai at home?"
"Here he is!" Fu Mingtai hurriedly went out of the house and saw that it was a few familiar Ewenki hunters standing outside the courtyard gate. Because Zhao Xin's guards were all staying in the courtyard, the Ewenki people didn't know what was going on.
He didn't dare to come in.
At this time, Zhao Xin said a few words to Amusu, then stood up and came out. He saw three strong men wearing roe deer leather jackets standing at the door of the yard, with muskets on their backs, and a wooden frame hanging on their shoulders.
wild boar.
Fu Mingtai smiled and explained to Zhao Xin that these three were his good friends. Today he killed a wild boar and wanted to come over and exchange some food with him to take back. Beihai Trading Company collects furs and mountain medicinal materials from border residents, but wild boars are not
You should know that Beihai Town itself has opened five pig farms.
They were all guests. After Fu Mingtai finished speaking, he greeted the other party to come in. However, Zhao Xin's guard wanted to stop him, but saw Zhao Xin shaking his head slightly and stopped.
Several Ewenki people put down their prey and first went to the west room to say hello to Amusu. So many people came and there was no room to sit in the room, so Zhao Xin suggested going to the yard to sit and chat, since the weather was not cold now anyway.
Everyone worked together, first setting up a Kang table in the yard and using wood as stools. Fu Mingtai also lit a bunch of wormwood in the open space to drive away mosquitoes.
Amusu saw the wild boar and said happily: "The shaman God has given me a blessing to celebrate the New Year in advance!"
The hands and feet of the three Ewenki hunters were very fast. It only took an hour to pluck out the hair, disembowel and clean up. After Fumingtai's wife stewed the pork, they came to sit on the ground and drank milk tea.
Zhao Xin took out cigarettes from his pocket and motioned for them to help themselves. Several Ewenki people did not hesitate and lit one each, and smiled at Zhao Xin. Xiao Wulonggang, who was acting as the translator on the side, stretched out his hand and wanted to have one too.
As a result, Zhao Xin slapped him back.
"Children with big butts don't learn well!" At this moment, Prince Zhao had completely forgotten that when he learned to smoke, he was only fifteen years old.
"I'm not young anymore, I'll be sixteen after the New Year." Oolong lowered his head and muttered, showing a hint of dissatisfaction.
Zhao Xin slapped the back of the other person's head twice and said, "I'll talk to you after you turn 18!"
The Ewenki hunters laughed when they saw this, so Zhao Xin introduced himself as a civil affairs clerk from Heilongjiang City, and chatted with the three of them. He learned that the three Ewenkis were named Dawa, Nayanzhuo and
Wubuli lived in the nearby mountains and did not settle down in Humar Town. Zhao Xin was a little surprised and asked why he didn't settle down in the mountains.
Dawa puffed out mist and said: "My lord, the government not only sent people to build a house for us, but also built a circle and dug a well to provide water for the animals to drink. Ordinarily we have to thank the official. But sir, the animals can drink."
This thing is used to drinking mountain spring water, and it will stick to its mouth with water drawn from the well and will not drink at all."
Zhao Xin knew that the "銴" in the other person's mouth refers to reindeer, so he asked curiously: "Is it so difficult to raise?"
"Alas! I listened to the government and went down the mountain with my twenty-odd animals. Six of them died of illness in three months." After Dawa finished speaking, he raised his hand to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes.
He is really distressed!
After hearing Oolong's translation, Zhao Xin patted the other party on the shoulder sympathetically, and then asked: "How are you doing raising sika deer now?"
"This is good!" Wu Buli, who is in his forties, said: "I have raised more than ten sika deer. Last year, I made a lot of money just by cutting the antlers and selling them to Beihai Trading Co., Ltd. This year I plan to sell all the sika deer at home.
Raise sika deer.”
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! As soon as these words came out, Dawa and Nayanzhuo showed envy on their faces. If there were not too many reindeer in the house and it was too difficult to take care of, they would also like to settle down and raise them.
Sika deer. In the past two years, the sika deer antlers cut by border residents have been purchased by Beihai trading companies, and then sold to the south and island countries by the Ministry of Trade, as much as they want.
"Compendium of Materia Medica" says that deer antler produces sperm and marrow, nourishes blood and yang, strengthens muscles and bones, and can cure all kinds of weakness, deafness, dark eyes, dizziness and dysentery. It has been a precious medicinal material since ancient times.
Zhao Xin didn't understand anything about velvet antler at first, and thought they were all the same. Later, he casually said a few words while having dinner at Shen Jingdan's house, and Wu Xianning, who happened to be visiting, gave him a lesson. Only then did he learn about velvet antler.
The emphasis is on tenderness, and the fewer bones, the better. Sika deer antler has the least bones and the best medicinal properties, followed by red deer, and reindeer the worst.
In the past, due to the Qing Dynasty's ban on the Northeast, the supply of deer antlers in the south was not large, so some drug dealers used red deer antlers from the Shaanxi-Gansu area to sell them as sika deer antlers. Wu's pharmacy was once fooled. Later, Wu Xianning was in
When I was running a clinic in Heilongjiang City, I heard that some Sauron people raised reindeer, so I asked someone to cut some antler. Unexpectedly, when I tried it on a patient, the medicinal effect was worse than that of red deer.
Zhao Xin said to Dawa and Nayanzhuo: "Did you hear that? Why do you have to raise wild animals? Wouldn't it be better to raise sika deer? Besides, each family will be given fifty acres of land to settle down the mountain. The civil administration will give you seeds, tools, and canals."
I've fixed it all for you."
Dawa just kept silent after hearing this, and was really unwilling to ask him to give up dozens of animals. Nayanzhuo hesitated for a moment, and finally plucked up the courage to say: "My lord, I have to say this badly, but the imperial court also
We were allowed to farm in Zhaoerisu, but we were not allowed to do it after only three years, and they drove us back to the mountains to let wild animals hunt."
After hearing this, Zhao Xin quickly asked. Na Yanzhuo saw that the other party was not angry, so he simply told the story.
It turned out that in the 20th year of Qianlong's reign, Hu'erqi, who was the general manager of Hulun Bu'er at that time, was ordered to lead the officers and soldiers of Sauron and Baerhu troops on an expedition to Xinjiang. However, when they returned in triumph five years later, they found that the local Sauron and Baer were
The livelihood of the tiger people is very difficult. Many people have been reduced to fishing for a living, and some even beg to survive.
So Huerqi petitioned Qianlong, requesting for reclamation and farming in Hulunbu Yuer. Although the attitude of the military aircraft department was ambiguous, Qianlong still agreed. After that, the Qing government allocated seeds, repaired canals, and returned livestock.
They also specially transferred "Tali Yaqin Huizi" from the northwest to teach them how to farm.
Although the Sauron people are not good at farming and their harvests are not high, they can still solve the problem of food and clothing, and they are getting better and better every year. But in the third year, the imperial court suddenly issued an order to withdraw the "Talyaqin"
The cultivated land that has been cultivated by Huizi and the oxen issued by him will not be cultivated again after the harvest of that year, and the farmland will be returned to grazing.
After listening to this, Zhao Xin roughly understood what was going on, so he smiled and said: "The Manchu and Qing court did not allow you to farm because the Manchus in the pass are no longer able to fight. They are all eating, drinking and having fun, but what about you? You are here all the year round.
Living in the mountains and forests, you make a living by hunting all day long. What you encounter is either wild boars, bears or tigers, and you are as tough as ever. That’s why they don’t let you learn to farm, so that you can continue to work as soldiers for the Manchus. But we in Beihai Town
No, the better the people live, the happier we will be."
Dawa suddenly said: "What's the difference? Hunting is a skill passed down from our ancestors! Besides, didn't the Beihai Navy recruit hundreds of people from our tribe? My brother went there."
"Haha, brother Dawa, you are still a member of the military! Do you know that in addition to training, they also have to learn Mandarin and read and write every day?"
"What! Are you teaching them how to read? Then can my Wen Dai become a scholar in the future? My family can also become a scholar!" Dawa didn't know Chinese characters, and he didn't even open the letter Wen Dai sent before leaving for Nanyang. At this moment
After hearing what Zhao Xin said, his mouth opened in disbelief. The shaman of the clan once said that scholars are all stars in the sky descending to earth.
"Of course, after a few years when they are discharged from the army, they can go to work in factories or towns, and they will never go hungry again. Look, now there are openings in Heilongjiang City, Yaksa, and even Nerchinsk
School. Even if you don’t want to live in Heilongjiang City, you can still go to Yaksa and Nerchinsk? The civil affairs department will send people to teach you how to raise sika deer and teach you how to grow rye and sugar beet. Isn’t this life better than hunting and herding wild animals? "
Along the way, Zhao Xin's biggest feeling is that he has to teach the border residents advanced agricultural technology to help them come out of the mountains; the other is to popularize education and spread Chinese culture.
Advanced productivity and strong culture are the driving forces for the integration of minority groups. Coupled with intermarriage, within a hundred years, most of the border residents on this land will become members of the Han nationality.
In the evening, Fumingtai's son and daughter also returned home from school in Humar Town. Zhao Xin and his party and three Ewenki people had a hearty meal of wild boar meat and stewed chicken at Fumingtai's house.
Zhao Xin thought that the most delicious thing was the bowl of mixed willow sprouts. He had to drink two glasses of white wine and couldn't drink anymore. If A Miao hadn't stopped him and said that Zhao Xin was not in good health and couldn't drink more, he would have been kicked out.
The guards carried it back.
However, Zhao Xin felt that this time was enough, and he would not eat anything next time. Not to mention that the pig hair on the meat was not completely pulled out, so Lao Amusu came up and put both chicken heads into his bowl.
It is said that only distinguished guests can eat chicken heads.