Chapter 282 Going to the Grassroots

Chapter 282 Going to the Grassroots

Chapter 282 Going to the Grassroots

Everything is normal in Green Willow Garden.

But to outsiders, this mansion with a bit of nouveau riche atmosphere has become the political center of Henan - at least one of the centers.

A few days before the Chinese New Year, Shao Xun went out again: visiting the grassroots during the Spring Festival!

Lu Xun, with a big belly, helped him tidy up his clothes carefully.

Le Lanji packed his luggage for him.

Looking at the two beautiful faces, Shao Xun was so satisfied!
After returning from the expedition, he quietly asked his mother and learned that the two princesses seemed to be at odds with each other. But Lu Xun was with her, and Lan Ji was polite to her on the surface. As for what she thought in her heart, Shao Xun was embarrassed to ask, and she would not tell.

Le had been pardoned as a relative of the King of Chengdu, and Shao Xun officially took her as his concubine.

As for Song Yi, she is now just a tool for Shao Xun to vent his sexual desires when his taste changes, and she has no status.

To be honest, she has good looks, talents, and is still young, but she is really unlucky to have met a man like Shao Xun who is unwilling to spend time on her. If she had been in another family, she would have been spoiled.

"That's enough. When I went to meet the emperor, I didn't need to be so particular." Shao Xun said with a smile.

Lu Xun took two steps back, took a closer look, then stepped forward to adjust the position of the bow tip. When she saw the colorful knot she had made hanging on the handle of her sword, she felt delighted.

"My dear, you have made your mark as a warrior. So when you go to meet the soldiers, it's better for you to act in a majestic manner, because you will have to rely on them to fight bravely in the future," she said.

Shao Xun embraced her, kissed her forehead gently, and said: "Xun Niang is right. To conquer the world, we have to fight with swords and guns. Soldiers are the most important."

"My husband is more important." Le came closer and said in a low voice.

Shao Xun smiled smugly, hugged the two women in his arms, and said shamelessly: "In the past, King Hu of Fanyang was also brave and decisive, but he did not live long enough. King Ying of Chengdu won first but became arrogant, and was imprisoned, and eventually died. My dear, you have a destiny, and nothing will happen to you."

Before he could finish his words, he was pinched on both sides of his waist.

Le and Lu blushed, looked at each other, and laughed. For a moment, they felt a sense of sympathy.

Shao Xun felt very happy.

He is not a masochist, but he just feels very good and proud.

There is nothing to say. When the Yellow-haired God comes, we have to toast him.

"You two should discuss the family affairs together." Shao Xun said, "If there is anything difficult to decide, just ask my mother."

Both women hesitated to speak.

"Tell me now before I leave."

"My third brother has moved to Liang County..." said Le Lanji.

Shao Xun understood immediately, so he said: "If Hongmao is not satisfied with Situ's work, he can come to the Marquis' Mansion and be a temple master first."

The temple chief is in charge of sacrificial affairs, which is actually quite good.

"My adopted son Li has come to Luoyang..." said Lu Xun.

"Sima Mo's son? Coming to steal the family property? Haha, ignore him." Shao Xun waved his hand and walked out of the house directly. When he got on his horse, he waved to the two women and left with a big laugh.

Shao Xun’s first stop was still the townships of Liang County, where the Silver Spear Army soldiers gathered.

When we reached the entrance of the village, the men who had received the news came out to greet us.

"Zhao Huai!" Shao Xun threw the whip to Tang Jian and said, "In the battle of Jianshui, you beheaded two people, right?"

"Greetings, Lord Chen." Zhao Huai, leader of the Silver Spear Army, stepped forward and saluted.

In the Battle of Jianshui, the original team leader was unable to return to the team after recovering from his injury, so squad leader Zhao Huai was promoted to team leader and took his place.

He was one of the few people who climbed all the way up from a soldier to the position of team leader, because this level was usually held by student officers.

"Have you received the silk and cotton reissued by the Marquis' Mansion?" Shao Xun looked at Zhao Huai's house and asked.

"I received it. Ten pieces of silk and five kilograms of cotton." Zhao Huai's face was filled with joy when he heard it.

Shao Xun entered his yard.

Zhao Huai was from Luoyang. After coming to Liang County, he occupied this abandoned house. It looked very shabby at the time, but after a lot of effort to renovate it, it has a brand new look.

Shao Xun took a closer look.

The courtyard wall is a fence made of bamboo and wood, which is roughly divided into two large areas on the left and right. There is a road in the middle that leads directly to the main house.

On the outermost side of the road on the left side is a sheepfold, which houses seven or eight sheep of different sizes.

To the north of the sheepfold was a woodshed filled with dead branches and rotten wood, as well as a lot of hay that had not yet been chopped.

Further north of the woodshed is the kitchen, where smoke rises as lunch is being prepared.

There are several fruit trees in front of the sheepfold, woodshed, and kitchen, two of which seem to have died, probably due to the severe drought in spring and summer this year.

On the right side of the road is a neatly maintained vegetable patch with a well dug in the middle and covered with a lid.

There was a small door at the northernmost end of the vegetable patch, which was open at this time, revealing the piles of firewood and hay outside.

Behind the firewood pile is the toilet, and outside the toilet against the wall there are a lot of new and old feces piled up, covered with a thin layer of soil.

It is a typical farmhouse, and it is a farmhouse that has been run by at least one generation.

Zhao Huai was lucky to be able to pick it up.

"Not bad." After reading it, Shao Xun nodded, and then, under the guidance of Zhao Huai, he entered the central hall and sat in the first seat.

Zhao Huai's ten-year-old eldest son brought the warmed wine.

Shao Xun was not polite either. He picked up the wine bowl, took a sip, and said, "Good wine."

"This is the rice wine for sacrifice, brewed during the Spring Festival. If Lord Chen likes it, you can drink a few more cups." Zhao Huai said.

"Sit down and drink together." Shao Xun called out to Zhao Huai and several other Silver Spear Army soldiers who had followed them to sit down together.

Everyone tried to decline, but when Shao Xun insisted, they sat down and drank together.

Zhuo is a high-proof liquor that requires a long time to brew, and may even be brewed twice or three times.

Ji Mi Zhu, as the name suggests, is a high-proof liquor brewed with sacrificial rice. It also contains seasonings such as eggplant peel and dried ginger, and has a very special taste - at this time people not only like to add various things to tea, but also to wine.

"Starting next year, you will have 50 mu of land as a stipend. After the wheat harvest in May, the soldiers will bring the harvested wheat to you." Shao Xun said, "You should prepare a stone mill at home, and it would be best if you could raise one or two donkeys, mules, and horses."

"Thank you, Lord Chen, for your reward. I cannot repay your kindness even if I die." Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai immediately stood up and saluted, his eyes moist.

When pulling the boat on the river, the boatmen could only get a small amount of fish in a day, and it was difficult to support their families. Moreover, the boatmen were often injured and had a short life span. Those days were really unbearable.

After joining the Silver Spear Army, life gradually improved.

Although life was hard during the time they lived in Yunzhongwu, the family was able to have enough to eat.

After moving to Liang County, he not only got this small house, but he was also promoted from a squad leader to a team leader. He could receive 36 hu of grain, 10 pieces of silk, 5 jin of cotton, and mu of land as salary every year.

If the battle was won, the spoils could be shared - the Lord of Chen was never stingy in this regard.

Zhao Huai's life has changed dramatically. Some people in Luoyang wonder why the Silver Spear Army is so high in morale and dares to fight. This is the reason.

There is no love or hate without reason in the world. Zhao Huai is a beneficiary of the military and political group established by Shao Xun. He has the impulse to spontaneously maintain this group. The soldiers know why they are fighting, and their combat effectiveness is already extraordinary.

No one can take away such an army!
"After the Spring Festival, you will come with me to Chen County to let the people of Yuzhou see the elegance of the Silver Spear Army." After drinking two bowls of wine in a row, Shao Xun stopped Zhao Huai from pouring wine for him and said, "I've had enough wine. That's enough."

Zhao Huai sat down and said, "I will follow your orders."

"We will follow your orders, my lord." The others responded in unison.

As they were talking, Zhao Huai's wife brought fruits, snacks and tea porridge.

Shao Xun couldn't refuse, so he took the tea and porridge and started eating, and asked his personal soldiers to bring some fruits and snacks as well.

Tea at this time is generally called "Tu".

Tea as a commodity did not become widely popular until the middle and late Tang Dynasty, to the point where tea could be sold in small places and peddlers could drink it for a few cents.

Among the "commercial poems", a major school of poetry in the Tang Dynasty, there are countless poems related to tea.

At this time, tea is not as unpopular as people imagine.

Needless to say, many families of scholars would serve tea to guests.

In big cities like Luoyang, tea is also a popular commodity.

During the reign of the previous emperor, Crown Prince Sima Yi once ordered his subordinates to sell tea, vegetables and other items, so much so that the Crown Prince's Groom Jiang Tong submitted a memorial to advise against it.

There was an old woman from Shu selling tea and porridge in the market of Luoyang. Her utensils were broken by the officials in the market, which caused a dispute.

These are all businesses for the general public, and at least there is a certain consumer base in big cities.

Tea porridge was popular until the Tang Dynasty, when it was called "Ming porridge". Later, tea-soaked rice was developed, which is considered a major traditional food.

Shao Xun didn't like tea porridge very much, because it contained a lot of messy spices and medicinal materials, and the taste was very unpleasant.

But this time at Zhao Huai's house, he ate without changing his expression and praised the meal repeatedly, which made Zhao Huai very happy.

After eating, he stopped bothering and stood up to leave.

Before leaving, he grabbed Tang Jian and gave him a few instructions.

After a while, the personal soldier Yang Qin led a horse into the yard and said, "Captain Zhao, this is a horse given by Lord Chen. Please accept it."

Zhao Huai was surprised and thanked him repeatedly.

Others also looked at Zhao Huai with envy. He just ate and drank at your house and then gave you a horse as a gift. It was such a good deal.

Shao Xun smiled, turned and left.

The Xianbei horses in Guangchengze are seriously "aging". Some horses are completely unsuitable for riding, but they can help farmers with work and are perfect as rewards.

After leaving Zhao Huai's house, Shao Xun went to the home of a soldier named Ren Na who died in battle at the east end of the village.

Ren Na's parents are both gone, leaving behind only his wife and three children, as well as a younger brother and a sister.

When Shao Xun and others arrived, the whole family knelt down on the ground trembling with fear.

Shao Xun helped them up one by one and said, "Ren Na is an old soldier. He was very brave in battle and achieved many successes. You don't need to kneel."

After a few people stood up, they stood aside stiffly.

Shao Xun walked around the yard casually, then looked at the furniture in the house and the food in the kitchen.

"Have you received this year's pension?" he asked, looking at the woman in her thirties.

"I got it." The woman replied softly.

"How much did you get?"

"12 hu of wheat, 5 hu of millet, and 3 hu of beans."

"Take me to see it."

The woman nodded, turned around and led the way, but she stumbled because she was too nervous.

After arriving at the grain storage in the west room, Shao Xun took a careful look.

The grain storage is basically empty, with only a little bit left.

There was still grain in several sacks placed in the corner, which should be the pension delivered before the New Year - the pension was distributed in two batches, the first batch in autumn after the summer harvest, and the second batch before the New Year after the autumn harvest.

"Have you planted in autumn this year?" Shao Xun asked.

"I planted a little," the woman replied.

Shao Xun frowned, it seemed that not much was planted.

In fact, it is completely conceivable that there is only one woman in the family, plus two children aged seven or eight. Renna's brothers and sisters are not too old to do heavy physical work such as farming.

"Are there no tribesmen?" Shao Xun asked.

"My family originally lived in Chenggao. After I was recruited, I first moved to Tanshanwu and then to Liang County. I have no relatives here," the woman replied.

Shao Xun glanced at Tang Jian.

Tang Jian understood and left.

After a while, several personal soldiers brought in a few bags of wheat, about seven or eight hu in total.

After putting it down, he took a few iron farm tools and placed them in the corner - there was not a single decent farm tool in this house.

Shao Xun looked at the woman and the boys and girls behind her, and said gently: "Ren Na killed the enemy for me, I can't treat his family badly. Take these grains and farm tools. There is also a horse tied in the yard. It has been trained in Guangchengze and can be used for plowing. I will give it to you as a reward."

After hearing this, the woman covered her face with her hands, shrugged her shoulders, and tears flowed out.

Everyone felt pity.

Shao Xun sighed, and asked someone to bring two pieces of silk and put them on the table outside, saying: "Live a good life, and endure these few years. When the children grow up, you will have a future."

"My husband's death was not in vain..." The woman cried, "Since ancient times, there has never been a prince who treated his soldiers so well."

"My soldiers cannot shed blood and tears." Shao Xun said, "Life will get better."

After saying that, he left the house.

In the next few days, he inspected the three counties of Liang, Jiacheng and Xiangcheng, randomly visited dozens of families of the Silver Spear Army, gave them gifts one by one, and helped them solve some practical difficulties.

It was not until New Year's Eve that he returned to Green Willow Garden and reunited with his family.

After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he would also visit the families of the soldiers of the Yamen Army. They were mainly distributed in Liang, Yangdi, Yangcheng, Fucheng and other counties, all of whom had moved here in the past one or two years.

After finishing these things, we will prepare to travel east.

(End of this chapter)