Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

Everyone had a banquet here and then left one after another. Magistrate Zhou did not leave, but talked with Zixuan in the study.

"Zixuan, the imperial court's garrison in Hanzhou needs food and grass again this time. You said they only have 50,000 people, so why are they using up so quickly?" Prefect Zhou talked about the army's food requisition.

Zixuan was also a little puzzled. He only sent food and grass last time. It was only a month ago, right? Why do you want food again? "My lord, I don't understand this matter. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be changed so quickly. Why don't you delay it for a few days and report the situation to the court? How can an army of 50,000 people be used like this?" How much food and grass are there now that the two countries are at war? Although our Northeast has fertile soil and rich products, we can't ask for it so much. It's not enough to support the army. "

What Zixuan said is correct. A while ago, Mo Hongfan sent someone to say that the army was stationed in Hanzhou and the sergeants were suffering. There are many grasslands here in Xizhou, and I heard that many people here raise cattle and sheep. I want to collect some cattle and sheep from here to reward the army. At that time, Zixuan was still thinking, after all, being a soldier is quite hard, and since everyone has said so, it is not good to not give him any face. So, they got a hundred cows and five hundred sheep from Jinghan's pasture and sent them over.

Compared to 50,000 people, this is indeed not a lot, but this is the limit of what Zixuan can do. We can’t just clear out all the pastures, right? How could Zixuan be willing to requisition things belonging to the common people? It's all the blood and sweat of the people.

As a result, Mo Hongfan was still not satisfied and sent someone to come again. Zixuan did not give anything else this time, but just told the visitor that the people's lives in Xizhou have been very difficult due to natural disasters in the past two years, and they really can't give it away. The visitor got angry and left.

"Sir, I wonder if there is something fishy here? The imperial court is responsible for the food and salary of these 50,000 people. The Holy Lord is a wise king. Over the years of his reign, the people have been able to rest and recuperate. The national treasury is also very rich. , there will definitely be no shortage of food and salary for these troops, why would they reach out to us again?" Zixuan felt that it was strange. Although a war broke out now, the number of troops currently used is not very large. The imperial court will not be unable to provide food and salary for these troops. Since this problem does not exist, then why did Mo Hongfan repeatedly ask for food and grass from the local state capital?

"I told you because I couldn't figure out the key here. Zixuan is right. You should write to the court and ask for instructions on what to do. Otherwise, even if our Northeast is rich, so what? We can't bear this kind of expense. I'm afraid we will be emptied by these ancestors before Beiyuan Kingdom comes over." Magistrate Zhou and Zixuan had the same idea, so they decided to write the book when they returned.

"By the way, sir, from the current situation, there may be a big battle in the spring next year. In the past, I always felt that Beiyuan Kingdom was deliberately testing. They don't seem to have the intention of a decisive battle yet. This is a bit strange. When sending troops, isn't it about momentum? But it doesn't look like that. , will be the time when the war breaks out." Zixuan has been paying attention to the changes in the situation since the war between the two countries began, and naturally has some opinions of his own about things on the battlefield.

Magistrate Zhou nodded, "Zixuan's words make some sense, but I really don't know anything about this kind of thing. Thinking about what happened on the battlefield, it's still difficult for us literati to understand. In this way, I won't delay you anymore. , Return to Longzhou immediately.”

Zixuan didn't persuade him to stay. They were all people with official business and couldn't stay away for too long. "It's cold outside and the road is slippery. Please take care on your way, sir." Zixuan followed him out of the mansion and watched Magistrate Zhou get on the carriage, and the group walked further and further away.

Zixuan returned to the courtyard behind, just as the female guests had dispersed. Jinghan was holding her child and chatting with Ms. Xue and the others. As soon as they saw Zixuan coming back, Mr. Xue and Mr. Qian both left, leaving some space for Zixuan and his wife to talk for a while.

Zixuan sat next to Jinghan and looked at his daughter in his wife's arms, feeling infinitely satisfied. He put his arms around his wife and said, "I finally gave birth to this little thing safely. You don't know how scared I am. I've always been worried about the Beiyuan Congress coming. Fortunately, the war did not spread here. , and our daughter was born safely." Zixuan said with emotion. "Jinghan, thank you for your hard work."

Jinghan smiled when she heard Zixuan's words, "Mr. sir, this is our third child, you will say this every time." A feeling of happiness filled her heart. Some men are very moved when their wives give birth to their first child, and they also treat their wives with tender care. But when you have more children, this kind of state of mind will no longer exist, but will gradually become accustomed to it. At that time, they will think that women are just for giving birth, so there is nothing special about it.

"No matter how many children I have, I will say the same thing. Every time I see you with a big belly and busy with all kinds of things, I just think, just forget about having this one, and never want any more." Zixuan He said a little apologetically. "But when the children were born, when I saw how cute they were, I felt that there were too few." Zixuan said with some distress.

Jinghan couldn't help but laugh, but she still held little Qingning in her arms, so she had to try hard to hold it in, shaking her shoulders. It took a long time before I could hold back my smile. "Ms., I like children. The more the better. Don't worry about this. We are going to have a lot of children, and the family will be very lively." This is Jinghan's true words. She was lonely in her previous life. It feels like she doesn't want to have it.

The two of them just cuddled together, looking at the little girl with pink makeup, and felt very satisfied.

Jinghan remembered what her mother had just said, and said to Zixuan, "My mother just said that Wenxuan and Ziwen have to stay here this time. The family doesn't trust us, so we asked them to stay and help. You Do you think it’s okay?”

Zixuan thought for a moment, "Aren't there still people from Qiuwei next autumn? Aren't they going to participate in the exam?"

"I don't know either. You should ask them about this. However, Wenxuan has been more lively since he was a child. Although he is good at reading, he is not as diligent as his elder brother and Wenchang. On the contrary, he is quite interested in practicing martial arts. Maybe, He really doesn't want to take the imperial examination." Jinghan couldn't figure out what her brother was thinking. She always felt that Wenxuan and Ziwen were not too keen on the imperial examination.

"Well, let me ask them about this when I have time. If you really don't want to take the imperial examination, there is no need to take this path." Zixuan did not express any objection. Regarding the brothers, they both had similar opinions. Wenxuan and Ziwen are both grown up, and they know how to take their own paths, so there is no need to help them plan or anything.

The couple chatted some more words of respect, and then the child peed. Jinghan changed the child's diaper, and Zixuan went out to find Wenxuan and Ziwen.

After talking with the two of them for a long time, he realized that these two people really had no intention of taking the imperial examination, and Zixuan did not force it, so he agreed to let the two of them go to the garrison in Xizhou for some training. Xizhou originally had a garrison sent by the emperor, but there were only five thousand people. In the past few years, Zixuan has always had a good relationship with the guard there, so he sent the two documents and propaganda there.

Zhixin and his wife stayed for a few more days and then set off to go home. After all, the Chinese New Year was coming soon and there were a lot of things at home. Before leaving, Zhixin also told Zixuan not to be too accustomed to propaganda, and he should be allowed to suffer a little and exercise. Zixuan agreed one by one, and then sent Zhixin and others out of the city.

In the twelfth lunar month, every household is busy celebrating the New Year. Naturally, Jinghan and the others couldn't go home this year, so they took the others and started to buy New Year's goods in preparation for the New Year. Due to the war this year, Jinghan did not allow the winery to continue making wine until new grains arrived in the fall, so the business of the winery was slightly worse. There is also a sugar mill, because there are too few beets planted this year and there is no profit. Jinghan didn't care, she just sent the sugar shop's stewards and others elsewhere, and the sugar shop was temporarily closed.

A lot more grain has been planted this year, and grain output everywhere is not low. Zixuan ordered the people to store more grain, and the state government would purchase the rest and then store it all. Preparing for war and preparing for famine is not an empty talk, it must be paid attention to at all times.

The people of Xizhou are also relaxing after this year of tension. The streets and alleys are decorated with lights and colorful lights and are very lively.

This year, because of the affairs of Beiyuan Kingdom, the people were panicking, and they felt that their life was not going well at all. Although the battlefield is far away from the northeast, Xizhou is at the border after all, and it is somewhat dangerous after all. In the past few years, the people of Xizhou have finally had a better life, and everyone is confidently looking forward to a good life. However, because of the Northern Yuan Kingdom, every family has suffered some losses this year.

It’s the New Year, and people are coming out to buy new year’s goods. It's winter, so I guess you won't brave the cold to attack Beiyuan Kingdom, right? So people packed their homes with things in large and small packages to prepare for an auspicious new year.

Because Jinghan's child was too young, she naturally had no chance to go out on the streets, so she could only send her mother-in-law and boys at home to buy things for the New Year. The girls and boys in the house are busy all day long, but they all have happy smiles on their faces, which makes people feel good just looking at them.