Dominate the Country

[Thanks to 'Xia Bao Bao' for the 500-coin reward]

"Your Highness, Yan Xishen is waiting at the dock..."

When Chen Ming's team heading north arrived at Qujiang, Shaozhou Prefecture, the starting point of water transportation for the Beijiang River, a tributary of the Pearl River, Chen Ming, who had not yet disembarked, was the first to receive a request for an interview from Yan Xishen.

"He is indeed a man who knows the rules..."

"Send him aboard."

Chen Ming did not delay and immediately sent someone to summon Yan Xishen. This is the future governor of Guangdong!

As a native of Guangdong and a big shot in the Lingnan literati, Yan Xishen can at least play a role in stabilizing people's hearts. Although the position where he can really make great achievements is definitely not in Guangdong. After all, the avoidance policy in officialdom has a long history. These officials who were promoted from the province do not avoid the existence of provincial governors directly in the province. They are all "transitional"!

He cut off his braids, wore a plain Hanfu to show that he was still in mourning, and wore a square scarf on his head. The 42-year-old Yan Xishen had a handsome face, a clear and dignified temperament, a generous demeanor, and a rare calmness in his every move.

This was his first time to meet Chen Ming. With his identity and past, he was able to keep his composure when meeting Chen Ming, which immediately won a good impression on Chen Ming.

It's good to keep your composure. If you can't keep your composure and calm down as an official, you can't stand loneliness and temptation.

Yan Xishen, who was less than 42 years old, was just 38 years old when he was in mourning for his mother, and he was only 34 years old when he was promoted to the governor of Fujian. At this age, Han officials have already reached the deputy provincial level. If it were Chen Ming's previous life, it would really scare the people of the whole country, and the "people" would have to call him "second generation, third generation, ******".

"Please stand up, Lord Jingshan."

Yan Xishen bowed deeply when he saw Chen Ming. Chen Ming extended his hand to make a false support, saying "Please stand up", but Yan Xishen acted as if he had not heard or seen anything, and continued to perform the ceremony of paying homage to him in a proper manner. This was also considered a complete etiquette between the monarch and his subjects.

"As a Cantonese, Lord Jingshan knows the customs of the people in Guangdong. How to govern this fertile and stinky land, I would like to hear your opinions." Without wasting any extra time, Chen Ming got straight to the point and expressed his thoughts. And this time Yan Xishen came to Qujiang to wait for him, it was obvious that he also had a lot of "strategies" to tell Chen Ming.

For Yan Xishen, whether he sat on the throne of the governor by his "real ability" or just by his influence in Guangdong - and this influence was mostly due to his high position in the court of the Qing Dynasty, which made him sit on the throne of the governor, that was completely different.

"Your Highness, the affairs of Guangdong are most important to the Guangdong Customs."

"The Guangdong Customs is most important to Guangzhou. If Guangzhou is safe, Guangdong will be safe."

Yan Xishen knew that he would not be able to stay in the position of Guangdong Governor for long, but he still wanted to do a good job as a "transitional official". This is not only for his own future, but also for the benefit of his hometown.

For ancient literati officials, "benefiting the hometown" is a very high and beautiful pursuit. That will not only make their reputation spread in their hometown for a long time, but also allow their descendants to receive a longer legacy.

Chen Ming and Yan Xishen talked until the afternoon. Yan Xishen was in filial piety and did not attend the welcome dinner organized by the prefect of Shaozhou, but the next day Chen Ming invited Yan Xishen again, which made Yan Xishen win the attention of countless people.

It is conceivable that Duke Lu valued Yan Xishen, otherwise why would he summon him for two consecutive days? In fact, the second conversation between Chen Ming and Yan Xishen was not related to the overall situation. This time, Chen Ming just wanted Yan Xishen to "recall" the friendship of his old colleagues. He had jumped on a new ship, so he couldn't just watch his old colleagues fall into the water and remain indifferent, right? Should he do more work for his old colleagues?

These words were actually an order. Yan Xishen was summoned to play a counter-play. Yan Xishen knew that Chen Ming was deliberately trying to make him look good.

Chen Ming stayed in Qujiang for two days before the guard of honor and the team continued to advance towards Hunan. Such a pause will be a common occurrence on this road in the future. Chen Ming went back to Lushan by land, wasn't it just to get a detailed understanding of the work results of Huguang in the past year?

From the warm Lingnan to Hunan, the temperature dropped sharply as soon as he crossed Lingnan.

At the same time, in Lushan County, water turned into ice, and the cold wind and snow in Lushan County were in the northwest, and Tumenji was even further to the mountains in the west. The camp in Funiu Mountain built by the Chen family as the last retreat has now changed greatly.

The farmland that was painstakingly opened up around Qingfeng Village, Hutou Village, Niutou Village and Tiezhai has been completely destroyed, replaced by rows of labor dormitories and rough smelting workshops, and blast furnaces have been built.

The number of people in the four camps has far exceeded the original design. Now, among the four camps, Niutou Village, which has the least manpower, has 7,000 to 8,000 men and women. Because the land was converted to other uses, the food and clothing needs of 40,000 to 50,000 men and women in this most fundamental metal smelting base of the Fu Han Army all depend on the outside world.

Obviously, this is the Chen family's constraint on the four camps in the mountains, which are becoming increasingly large in scale. But it is undeniable that Chen Han, who controls food, cloth, cotton, needles and thread, salt and medicine, has not weakened his control over the four camps because of the increase in young and strong laborers in them.

"Ding ding ding..."

In the cold wind, the bronze bell on the bell tower was struck hard. Three melodious bell sounds spread far from the bell tower, from the camp to the different mining areas, from the big bell to the small bell, from the small bell to the gongs and whistles everywhere.

"It's time, it's time to get off work, it's time to get off work..."

The shouts with different meanings rang in the ears of people of different identities in iron mines, coal mines, transportation lines, smelting workshops, and other different places.

"Eat, rest, rest..."

The workers who had worked hard for five hours breathed a sigh of relief. They got up early at 6:30, ate, and went to work at 7:30, and then worked for five hours!

This morning has passed again. Next, they will have an hour and a half of rest time. In addition to eating, everyone can also sleep in the quilt. As the first place to implement the 24-hour time system, the workers in Funiu Mountain have deeply memorized the hours and minutes in their minds.

Every day they get up at 6:30, and the canteen opens at 6:40. Mixed flour steamed buns, mixed grain cakes, steamed bread, corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes and other coarse grains, salty soup, porridge, dregs porridge, and pickles. This is the basic configuration for the workers on the construction site. Those who perform well will also be rewarded, such as eggs, duck eggs, or stir-fried dishes and stews that supervisors and team officers have.

Chen Han does not treat them badly in terms of food. These people are all heavy manual laborers. Judging from the food and clothing alone, the laborers here live better than most farmers under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The life and death danger he faces is more about emergencies on the construction site.

Because as long as they can eat, the Fu Han Army will not be short of their food. In addition to coarse grains and coarse grains, there are also fine grains, and there must be a meal of meat within five days. And the common people under the Qing Dynasty, or including Chen Han, there are hundreds of millions of farmers in China, and there are too many families who have not tasted meat for three to five months.

Don't be too many people who are reluctant to cut a piece of meat during festivals!

Reality and time are the two magic weapons that are most likely to wear away people's sharpness and strength. These hard laborers who were escorted back from Jiangnan and Huguang saw that the Fu Han Army did not use them to death as they imagined, but fed them well and clothed them warmly, and "served" them like farmhands. No matter how intense their resistance was at first, they had become soft as steel.

They had long given up the idea of ​​escaping, making trouble, and causing trouble. For years or even longer, the Fu Han Army not only treated them like farmhands, but also had strict disciplines - the latter was warned by bloody lives.

Their only thought now was to endure the long prison term, and then, and then, go home to be Chen Han's obedient citizens. If their homes were still there at that time.

Chen Han also promised that as long as they worked honestly for two years, he would send people to contact their families according to their hometowns and home addresses. As long as they could contact them, they could communicate with each other in the future, and even their families could come to visit them.

This is the carrot that fell in front of the donkey's mouth. With "hope", these prisoners of war turned coolies were allowed to honestly and conscientiously mine the iron and coal mines needed for the Fu Han Army.

The aroma of meat wafted into Zuo Fengsheng's nose. Zuo Fengsheng didn't know if his nose was an illusion. He not only smelled the aroma of meat, but also felt that the aroma of meat was particularly strong today. This is not a day when meat is eaten every five days. And there is not only the smell of pork, but also the smell of chicken soup, fresh fish, and beef.

The saliva overflowed in his mouth reflexively, and Zuo Fengsheng swallowed it hard. The hand holding the rice bowl couldn't help but hold it tighter. Don't say that Zuo Fengsheng didn't care about his dignity. In this Funiu Mountain, his dignity as a scholar was not more precious than meat.

Zuo Fengsheng, a native of Jiangyin, Hunan, organized a militia and followed the Hunan militia minister Gong Zhaolin to aid Hubei. As a result, he and his fellow villager Zeng Yansheng from Changsha Prefecture, as well as Tao Xiaoxin, Hu Duoji and many others from other prefectures, were captured by the Fu Han Army in Wuchang City. At that time, the Fu Han Army still recruited "virtuous and good people". Zuo Fengsheng, Zeng Yansheng, Tao Xiaoxin and Hu Duoji had their own merits and were once wooed by the Fu Han Army. But Zeng, Zuo, Tao, Hu and others at that time were very strong-willed and sternly argued, and then they were all thrown into Funiu Mountain.

When time and suffering smoothed their "integrity", they wanted to surrender, but there was no way. The Fu Han Army breathed a sigh of relief, how could they care about some scholars?

Among the group of scholars captured in Hunan, Zeng, Zuo, Tao and Hu had the best relationship. And their family backgrounds were not very good. Although the four were all scholars, and the ancestors of the Tao and Zuo families were rich, things have changed.

When the four were thrown into Funiu Mountain, they were worried about their families. If their families spread the news of their deaths in battle by mistake, how could the family survive? But now, more than a year has passed, and the four weak scholars have become strong laborers. Their lazy bodies have become full of lumps of flesh. The daily hard work has left them with no extra time to think about their families. Except for the rest time and the New Year holidays...

They all look forward to the end of the two-year period so that they can contact their families early.

If they can get out of Funiu Mountain, the four dare to swear to the sky that they will never go against the Fu Han Army and Chen Han again.

A handful of bitter tears, talking about them can soak their whole bodies.

Behind Zuo Fengsheng was Hu Duoji. Although the four people entered the same team, they were divided into three platoons. The squad leader in the mine doesn't need brains, just strength, and management is the captain's job. So even though the four of them are all literate, none of them has gotten a job.

"Red Braised Pork..."

"...That's chicken soup, right..."

“There’s also fried and braised fish.”

"Oil cakes, and oil cakes!"

"Big buns, stuffed with meat..."

"What's going on today? The food is already in time for the Chinese New Year..."

When the noon cooking cart was pulled out of the large kitchen, the workers in the front row immediately exclaimed. Zuo Fengsheng's eyes bulged out when he heard this, and he stretched his neck to look forward, but he was short.

"Dang, clang, clang..." The gong sounded, and all the sounds disappeared in an instant, and all the people who craned their necks to see stood up obediently.

"Listen up, today is my young master's third birthday." The battalion commander of Zuo Fengsheng camp cleared his throat, glanced at his more than 430 workers with a contemptuous look, and raised his hands and clasped his fists He arched towards Lushan.

"The King of Han was delighted and ordered that the prison sentences of prisoners of war working in the mines be reduced by one year." The prison sentences of prisoners of war who built bridges and roads were reduced by half a year. It's a small pardon. The eyes of all the coolies present were bulging. If the discipline in the venue had not been so strict, no one would know how many people would have shouted out in surprise.

Chen Hui’s precious grandson turns three years old. By the standards of this era, that would be four years old.

Chen Hui, Gao Shi, the old lady Huang, and even the entire Lushan County, everyone felt very happy. Of course, a four-year-old child is not considered safe, but he is finally out of the danger of being 'floated' away by the wind, right?

Chen Ming has only one son so far.

I went on a military expedition at the beginning of this year, and for more than half a year, there was not a single woman by my side. Then of course there would be no children.

There is a reason why Chen Hui attaches so much importance to her grandson's third birthday.

The battalion commander's words made the more than 400 prisoners of war below suddenly shake their heads and move away from their meals. Zuo Fengsheng looked at their battalion commander without blinking. The King of Han commuted the sentence by one year, so they could contact their families?

"You can also contact your family." All the prisoners of war had written down their names and addresses before entering the labor camp. As for whether some of them made mistakes on purpose, he was left to his own devices now.

"If it's from Hubei and Hunan, and the address is detailed and true, it can take as little as ten days and a half, or as long as a month, and you should be able to receive the news before the New Year." The battalion commander did not mention that the address was simple and untrue. Whatever you do, you must bear the consequences yourself.

"The Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, and the Duke's Wife." This last title refers specifically to Li Xiaomei within Chen Han. When the battalion commander said the last four words, his voice suddenly rose. "As a reward, we will reward you with three days of hard work in the labor camp." Each of the officials in the labor camp also has a set of winter clothes, a pair of cotton gloves, a pair of cotton shoes, and a cotton hat.

"You bastards, from now on, your good days are coming."

The battalion commander blinked. A three-day reward. In previous years, labor camps were not so generously provided during the holidays.

The first reaction in the battalion commander's mind was not to complain about the past, but to truly feel that Chen Han had become stronger.

"Long live the King of Han, may my young master live a long life..."

"The Queen Mother and the Queen are a thousand years old, and the Duke and Madam are a thousand years old..."

The battalion commander left, leaving only more than 400 prisoners of war who were so excited that they couldn't control themselves, shouting and howling with tears streaming down their faces.

Zuo Fengsheng ate the fatty braised pork as if chewing wax, his whole mind was absent-minded.

Opposite him is Hu Duoji. Hu Duoji, who is in his thirties, eats a meat bun and his clothes are dripping with oil? He is thirty-six years old, not three years and six months old!

They were all stunned by the 'good news' spoken by the battalion commander. Their hearts were pounding. Everyone couldn't help but think of their families and relatives. No matter how good the food was, it was no different than wood in their mouths.

The sorrow of one family brings sorrow to all the people.

"The moon shines crescent over Jiuzhou, some families are happy and some are sad. Some couples are sharing tents, and some are wandering outside?..."

Not far away, tears flowed down from Zeng Yansheng's eyes unconsciously, flowing down his cheeks, corners of his mouth, and down his chin.

…

Lushan, Lugong Mansion.

The excitement above was still going on. Three days before Xiao Chen Ding's birthday, the entire Lu Gong Mansion began to be decorated. Snow sculptures and ice lanterns were also piled up in the yard. In the winter, the small Lugong Mansion cannot be decorated with flowers, so the only thing to do is to use the winter scenery.

Because the man of the house was not at home, the carriages and horses that gathered in front of the house from all over the country were just for delivering gifts, and people were leaving. The only people who can actually go to the backyard to have sex are the female family members of the three surnames and the family members of high-ranking officials. And among the people in Duke Lu's mansion who could go to the courtyard to spend time with his family, there was only Liu Wanyun who was qualified.

The remaining Zhang family, Lin family, Zheng family, Shi family, Yao family, etc., those people can only stay in their rooms and cannot go out of the small courtyard. What if I bumped into someone?

After all, Chen Ming has not yet taken the position of leader. Of course, his head wife is extremely noble. Even a good concubine like Liu Wanyun appears on an occasion like today. It is because behind her is Liu Dezhao, his father who is about to become the governor of Hubei. support.

The prince's concubines and the emperor's concubines are two completely different species.

Yao lay softly on the bed. It had been a whole morning since she greeted Li Xiaomei in the early morning, but as soon as she closed her eyes, what flashed in her mind was Li Xiaomei's bright red dress.

What is clearer is Xiao Chen Ding, who is dressed like a Fuwa doll in a New Year painting. She is fair and fat, with a pair of big eyes as bright as black pearls, and a pair of dimples exposed when she smiles, which is really charming.

Yao suddenly felt like she wanted a child.

When the Yao family was still a top family in Taiwan, Yao had had a red dream more than once, marrying a handsome, gentle and talented husband, and the couple treated each other as equals, and gave birth to a pair of lovely children, and she would serve her parents-in-law and raise the children, and she would have nothing else to ask for in her life. But the reality is so cruel...

"Bring me a cloak, I want to sit with Sister Zhu."

Yao couldn't calm down, and she only ate a few bites of lunch listlessly, and asked the maid to eat some for her. Otherwise, someone would spread a rumor: On the day of the young master's birthday, Aunt Yao looked depressed. If the words were to reach the ears of the lady, Yao didn't dare to hope that Li Xiaomei would not care at all.

She wore a yellow brocade cotton jacket and a pleated cotton skirt, a five-color palace ribbon with a long tassel tied around her waist, and a pink satin jacket with a white fox fur lining and a stand-up collar. She also wore a mink lining cloak. Yao also held a heater in her hand. There was no other way. She grew up in Taiwan and was very afraid of the severe cold in the north in winter.

This time, although it was only a few steps away, she was wrapped up tightly.

There was a plum blossom planted in Yao's left hand outside her room. As soon as she went out, she could smell a faint fragrance, which was very refreshing with the coldness that came to her nose. The plum blossoms were in full bloom at this time of year, as red as rouge,...