Because Zhou Shiqi had served as a local official and had some administrative and organizational skills, and the Zhou family was considered a wealthy family in the local area and was very popular. In addition, his son was working as an errand in the county, so the county magistrate wanted to give him some money.
In order to save face, it was very convenient to build houses, build villages, and open up wasteland for farming. In just over three years, Qingshui Village had gathered 454 households, with a total of 2,077 people, and owned a total of 1,000 acres of land.
More than 12,000 acres, of which more than 5,000 acres of farmland belong to the Zhou family. They can be considered a big landowner.
However, Zhou Shiqi was a pretty good person. Although he received some extra money when he was an official, it was just enough and not excessive. At the same time, he was more considerate of the people. When he was the county magistrate, he was able to organize the county people to build water conservancy projects and reclaim wasteland.
Very popular with the people.
After retiring, in order to establish Qingshui Village and gather Longlong refugees, he also took the initiative to spend a lot of money to build water conservancy projects and purchase cattle farming tools. The land rent charged to tenants was not too high, so he was very popular in the countryside.
The respect of the villagers. Because he was an official and his son was born in Juren, he did not have to pay taxes. Some people also took the initiative to sell their land to the Zhou family and became tenants of his family. Almost half of Zhou Shiqi's land was obtained in this way.
of.
Therefore, the entire Qingshui Village is also very prosperous under his management. In addition, the disasters in Shandong have not been so serious in recent years. Now the village can not only afford its own taxes, but also has a lot of surplus. Even if it encounters another
In a year of great disaster, we can cope with it for a while.
While listening to the introduction, we walked. Because we were all riding horses, we walked much faster. The more than 40 miles of distance only took most of a day to complete. After noon, we arrived at Qingshui Village.
However, after leaving the mountain, there were desolate places all along the road. Obviously, the sequelae of the looting suffered more than three years ago have not completely recovered. Only after approaching Qingshui Village did things gradually change. On the road leading to the entrance of the village
Both sides of the avenue are full of farmland, but it is already late autumn and winter is about to begin, so the crops in the fields have basically been harvested, but a considerable part of the fields have been replanted with winter wheat, and there are still many people.
Working in the fields.
Qingshui Village is located more than 20 miles northwest of Yishui County, on the east bank of Yishui River. The village is built with its back to Yishui River, and is surrounded by a five- to six-meter-high fort wall, as well as fort walls, suspension bridges, gate towers, and urn walls.
There are all kinds of city defense projects, and it looks like a small castle. However, in order to prevent bandits, most villages have been built in this castle-like look. And beside the village wall, a village defense river has been dug to introduce
The river that protects the village from Yishui is about six to seven meters wide and more than three meters away from the village wall. On the one hand, it protects the village, and on the other hand, it diverts water to irrigate farmland.
After entering the village, the street buildings are relatively clean and tidy. Along both sides of the main street are some businesses, taverns, and a row of temples including the Temple of Wealth, the Temple of Fortune, the Dragon King Temple, the Guanyin Temple, the Five Grains Temple, and other temples.
There are countless people. There are many pedestrians coming and going on the street, and the atmosphere is quite lively.
This was the first time for Shang Yi to come to a real village, so he felt very fresh, as if he was watching a costume TV series. However, he observed carefully and saw that the spirits of the passers-by were pretty good, although many of them had facial expressions.
Laise, but this was mainly due to the lack of meat. After these few days of supplementation, Shang Yi knew that in this era, it was indeed very good to have such a village.
Tang Zhen, who was beside him, also let out a long breath and said: "Brother-in-law, I remember coming to Qingshui Village once three years ago. At that time, it was still a simple and simple village. I didn't expect that it would change drastically in three years.
I think even in Qingzhou Prefecture, it’s nothing more than this.”
Zhou Shiqi was also quite proud and said: "There is a small village in Guanhui District with a population of several hundred households. I can't even talk about it."
At this time, a group of people walked through an open space on the side of the road. They saw dozens of young and strong men standing in a large square formation in the open space. Under the command of a rather tough-looking man, they seemed to be performing martial arts.
On the weapon racks on both sides, there are also some weapons such as swords, guns, swords and halberds. On a stool in the middle, there is a man sitting, holding a bowl and drinking water.
Following the command of the commanding man, these villagers punched and kicked, causing dust to fly. They coordinated with the movements and made some shouting sounds from time to time, which was quite impressive. It also attracted many passers-by to stop and watch.
.
When passing by this empty field, both Shang Yi and Tang Zhen turned to look at it. Only Zhou Shaohuan dismissed it. Zhou Shiqi also obviously found that they were paying attention to the drill of these villagers, and said to the two of them: "These are the villagers of our village.
They are practicing martial arts." He pointed to the tough man who gave the order and the man who was sitting, "These are the two martial arts teachers we invited. My brother-in-law and my nephew Shang Xian, what do you think?"
A slight smile appeared at the corner of Shang Yi's mouth, but he did not answer. But Tang Zhen curled his lips and said: "It's all empty airs. If it's for digestion and body building, it's good, but if you want to protect the village,
People, it is impossible to resist the thieves. My brother-in-law is a cheap teacher from there, and we and the others are simply defrauding you of your money."
Zhou Shiqi gave a bitter smile and said: "Do you think it's easy to find a martial arts teacher? If you have the ability, you don't want to submit to our small village. It's useless no matter how many incompetent people there are. These two are considered pretty good. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done it myself.
I’ll go to the mountains and ask you to come out.”
Tang Zhen said with a smile: "Don't drag me into this. Now we have to find a way to retain Shang Yi. His ability is much better than mine, and the two teachers you hired are incomparable."
In fact, from the moment they arrived in the small mountain village, Tang Zhen and Zhou Shaohuan had been praising Shang Yi. He also knew that Tang Zhen and his son did not praise people easily. And after meeting, Zhou Shiqi saw that although Shang Yi was young, he spoke well and acted steadily.
Jian is indeed different from ordinary young people, but after all, he has never seen his martial arts with his own eyes, so he is still a little skeptical. Of course, he also hopes that Shang Yi is as outstanding as Tang Zhen said, and that would be the best.
At this time, a group of people came to a large house and saw a young scribe standing at the door. As soon as he saw them arriving, he immediately went up to greet them, grabbed the reins of Zhou Shiqi's horse, and said, "Dad, you are back."
After Zhou Shiqi dismounted, he said: "Why don't you go and pay homage to your uncle?"
The young scribe came to Tang Zhen again, bowed and said: "Uncle, you are willing to leave the mountain."
Tang Zhen helped him up and said with a smile: "Shaoqing, I didn't say I wanted to leave the mountain!" You pulled Shang Yi over and said, "This is the person your father wants to invite."
Of course Shang Yi knew from scriptures that this young scribe was Zhou Shaohuan's elder brother Zhou Shaoqing, and also knew that he was now in charge of Bo in the county, so he also bowed and said: "Master Zhou Bo."
Zhou Shaoqing was a little confused and didn't know who he was, so he quickly returned the greeting: "Don't dare, don't dare, this young master is..."
Zhou Shiqi immediately responded: "This is Shang Xian's nephew Shang Yi. He is a fellow villager of your uncle. He is also the person who was highly recommended to me by your uncle and your brother to be a teacher in the village."
Only then did Zhou Shaoqing realize it, but after hearing his father call Shang Yi his wise nephew, he immediately changed his title and said, "It turns out to be Brother Shang, whom I have admired for a long time."
Zhou Shiqi said: "Okay, let's talk after we go inside. We haven't had lunch yet, so hurry up and ask the kitchen to prepare food and wine to welcome your uncle and nephew Shang Xian."
After all, it was the landlord's house, so meals could be served at any time. After a while, the food and wine were put out. More than a dozen large plates were placed on a large table. Zhou Shiqi, Tang Zhen, Shang Yi and Zhou Shaohuan were all seated, although Zhou Shaoqing had already eaten.
Lunch, but also sitting with each other.
After drinking for three rounds, Zhou Shiqi said: "Nephew Shang Xian, on the way here just now, Shaohuan also explained the situation in the village to you in detail, and now that you have gone into the village to see it, I don't know what else you need to know.
Yes? Just ask!"
Shang Yi nodded. In fact, from what he knew, this village met his requirements. First of all, this village had a good climate and had a certain ability to be self-sufficient. And judging from the situation in the village, Zhou Shiqi's village
The manager does a good job, much better than those landowners who are rich and unkind, so the cohesion of the village is also good. At the same time, their family still has people in the county and some connections in the state capital, so many things will be easier to handle.
, you can find ways to accommodate some things that you can and cannot do, which is indeed a good place to start. However, Shang Yi also knows that there is not much time left for him, so it depends on how much support Zhou Shiqi can give to the militia.
At what point, this is the most critical place.
Therefore, Shang Yi said: "Uncle Zhou, what role do you hope the militia in the village can play?"
Zhou Shiqi hadn't spoken yet. Zhou Shaoqing was a little surprised and said: "Of course it is to protect the village and the people and resist the bandits and thieves? What does Brother Shang mean by asking this?" He didn't know the details. He just felt that Shang Yi was so young and had nothing to do with me.
He was not a militia teacher, and the question he asked was puzzling, but he didn't understand why his father said he was recommended by his uncle, so he sounded a little annoyed.
Zhou Shiqi smiled and said, "Shang Yi must have a deeper meaning when he asks this. I wonder if he can explain it more clearly. Shaohuan respects you as a teacher, and I don't regard you as an outsider, so there is no need to speak."
If you are hiding anything, just say it."
Shang Yi nodded and said: "Okay, Uncle Zhou, let me tell you the truth. Protect the village, protect the people, and resist bandits and bandits. This is too general. Bandits and bandits are also divided into many types. There are ordinary small bandits.
, such as what we met in the village this time, but there are also giant bandits like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. Although they have not yet arrived in Shandong, no one can guarantee that there will be no such giant bandits in Shandong. And except for thieves and bandits,
In addition, we have another threat, which is the Tatars outside the customs."
Zhou Shiqi and Tang Zhen stared at Shang Yi, obviously very surprised by what he said, and at the same time they couldn't help but pay more attention to him.