Chapter 392 Market

Chapter 392 Market

Chapter 392 Market
It was the last big market before the Chinese New Year, and Weicang in the south of Yanling County was very lively.

Many carts came carrying grain, cloth and other goods for exchange.

Perhaps it is a tradition that has been passed down, and each type of goods has a fixed location.

Yu Chen walked on the narrow streets, savoring it slowly.

The Yu family manor is just seven or eight miles north of Weicang. Two days after returning, I had nothing to do, so I went out for a walk.

At this time, he was walking through a vegetable stall and a meat counter. Pheasants, wild ducks, wild rabbits, wild deer, etc. could be seen everywhere, and the sounds of hawking were heard one after another.

When the hunters and meat stall owners saw Yu Chen, they shouted even louder.

Even though the New Year was approaching, even though the harvest was good this year, and even though Yingchuan had not suffered from war this year, ordinary people were reluctant to exchange cloth and grain for meat.

There are only a few types of people who buy meat now:

The Wubao tribe were not slaves, they could marry wives and own private land, so they were not so tight on money.

Craftsmen and artisans make a living by their skills, especially blacksmiths who make weapons and farm tools. Whether they work for the fort commander or work on their own, their lives will not be too bad.

In times of war and chaos, if merchants wanted to go out to do business, they would generally gather anywhere from one hundred to several hundred guards. Most of these people were from the local area, and they would give them some wine and meat as a token of their appreciation during festivals.

The last category is naturally local tycoons like Yu Chen, who sometimes even buy up all the meat in a market.

"I have been in Ji County for several years. The countryside is deserted and empty. Let alone the market, I haven't even seen many people." Yu Chen stopped and looked at the crowded market. Suddenly, it felt a little unreal.

Ji County and Yingchuan seem like two different worlds.

Of course, he also knew that Yingchuan was richer than Ji County and its market was more lively, but the huge gap still shocked him.

The destruction caused by war on people's livelihoods is truly enormous.

"Since Grandpa has left Hebei, why should we miss him anymore?" Yu Liang, who was following behind him, said, "Liang State is very close. We should take good care of it. It will be useful in the future."

During this invasion of the Xiongnu, Liang also suffered, and it was far worse than Chenjun. Not only was the Qihuo army defeated, but the counties and towns were also looted. Many people were discouraged and prepared to cross the river to the south.

According to Mr. Chen's method, a large number of refugees must be resettled in Liang State.

My father brought back more than 2,000 households from Ji County. They are currently resting in Puyang and will head south to Liang State in the first month of the year.

The remaining 3,000 families of the Beggars' Army have already been resettled. From now on, they are all citizens of Liang State and no longer belong to one army or another.

In the future, there will probably be military farming troops.

After these steps, Liang State will gradually undergo profound changes, and Yu Liang has already seen all these changes in Chen County.

The people who are in charge of Chenjun and Liangguo will only be the most trusted among the trusted. Needless to say, their future is beyond description. Moreover—

"Grandpa, brother, I bought a piece of jewelry, it's so beautiful." The voice of sister Yu Wenjun sounded from behind.

Yu Chen glanced at his daughter and smiled bitterly.

You are about to get married, but you are still so naive.

He was too lazy to care about these and continued walking forward. When he saw a lot of daily necessities, he stopped.

Cheap linen, combs, rakes, earthenware jars, water tanks, clay vessels, wooden barrels, bamboo baskets and even various farm tools...

After pondering for a moment, he called an attendant and asked him to go back to the house to call for help.

Some of the Ji County officials who fled south with him stayed in Puyang, and some lived in his family's farm.

When he retreated, he also brought some money back from Ji County. He planned to buy all the daily necessities in the market and distribute them to the people who followed him south.

Although these daily necessities seem insignificant, they are indispensable in life. Since they are available at the market, you might as well buy them all. To be honest, they may not be enough.

He kept walking.

Yu Liang had no idea what his father was thinking, and he was busy describing the bright future of the Yu family: "Grandpa, you don't know, after I took over the post, my colleagues from the shogunate came to visit me every day. Yesterday, Zhou Mo from Ancheng Zhou Clan even sent a cart of gifts, saying that there were some misunderstandings in the past, haha."

Yu Chen stopped.

Yu Liang was confused and looked at his father.

"What have you done for Mr. Chen recently?" Yu Chen asked.

"In the past two months, we have been recruiting new soldiers for the Silver Spear Army. There are more than 2,790 people in total. They were recruited a few days ago and are currently undergoing training outside the city of Xuchang."

"Is Mr. Chen satisfied?"

"Of course I am satisfied." Yu Liang was not lying.

Having followed Chen Gong, Wu Qian and others in recruiting new soldiers several times, he now knows what kind of people are suitable to recruit.

When the new recruits' families moved in, everything was arranged in an orderly manner.

He was very competent in these mundane affairs, and Mr. Chen praised him several times.

"In the future, you--" Yu Chen thought for a moment, sighed, and said, "Let's talk about it when we get back."

Yu Liang felt that his father was not very happy and nodded silently.

As I was walking, I fell behind a little to see what my sister and the others were doing.

Yu Wenjun and her four little sisters wore hats, their faces flushed, and they were extremely excited.

He refused to ride in the carriage and insisted on walking, looking around as he walked, and then bought I don't know how many things he hadn't wanted.

But they were in high spirits, talking and laughing, and their youthful vibe was almost overwhelming.

To be honest, most of the people in Shao Xun's harem are mature and stable, and there is not a single one like the five little white rabbits in front of him.

You know what, sometimes it can work wonders. After strolling around the market until almost noon, the group took a car back to the manor.

After lunch, the five little white rabbits came into Yu Wenjun’s boudoir, put their heads together, and looked at a picture album that was hidden at the bottom of the box.

The name of the book is "Dowry Painting", which is a compulsory subject for women from wealthy families before getting married.

The little white rabbits blushed more and more as they looked at it.

Dowry paintings, as the name suggests, teach the wife how to have sexual relations with her husband.

There are many reasons why aristocratic families teach their married daughters about this knowledge.

First, tell them not to be afraid.

For this reason, the women’s expressions in the paintings would be painted very beautifully, as if they were enjoying themselves very much, and some erotic songs would be added to dispel their fear of these things.

After reading it, Yu Wenjun handed it to her cousin Guanqiu, then lay on the couch, covering her face and laughing.

Guanqiu was a little more courageous, but his face also turned red. At the end, he asked stupidly: "Didn't you say it hurts a lot?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the other little white rabbits all trembled, looking quite pitiful, shivering.

Yu Wenjun stopped smiling and her face turned pale.

However, her expression soon became firm, and even had an expression of heroic sacrifice.

"Wenjun, you pinched my leg and it hurt." Guanqiu complained.

Yu Wenjun blushed and quickly withdrew her hand.

"I heard that after Mr. Chen returned from his expedition, he stayed in Kaocheng for more than a month." The female Zhuge Xun handed the dowry painting to the next person and said.

Yin took the dowry painting, took a look at it, and immediately felt ashamed.

After feeling embarrassed, I couldn't help but take another look.

Then he looked away embarrassedly, and stole another glance...

"What are you doing in Kaocheng?" Yu Wenjun pinched her cousin's thigh again and asked subconsciously.

"Yuan Gui once let it slip that the Concubine Dowager of Donghai..." Xun said calmly.

Everyone looked at Xun with surprise. The female Zhuge was indeed the female Zhuge, but...

Yu Wenjun pinched even harder.

Guanqiu was in so much pain that tears were about to come out, but she looked at her cousin worriedly and held her hand tightly.

"Actually, there's no need to worry too much." Yin quietly put away the dowry painting and said in a low voice.

Everyone turned their eyes to her again.

Yin became even more nervous and stammered, "Yingchuan... Yingchuan nobles are originally one, and Mr. Chen is a wise man."

After saying this, his head almost lowered to his feet.

Xun couldn't help but look at Yin twice more. Her childish and dignified little face showed a little unhappy. After all, she had not yet cultivated to the point where she could remain calm.

After sorting out her thoughts, Xun continued, "Just now when I returned home, I saw people from the Xuchang Chen family coming to visit. Chen Liangfu is the governor of Yingchuan, and the former Shouchun Duzhi school lieutenant Chen Yan ran back and joined the shogunate as an assistant. Their family will not support anyone else but their own people in Yingchuan."

"Some time ago, the Zhong family of Changsha came to our house and wanted to form a marriage alliance with Shu Yu (Yu Yi), but they would not support outsiders."

"Qiniang's elder brother..." At this point, Xun patted Yin on the shoulder and said, "He has brought his own troops to join the army and is going to serve Lord Chen. Pu Tao's two elder brothers are teaching martial arts to students for Lord Chen. Even Xuanzhu's family is going to buy goods from the south of the Yangtze River for Lord Chen and bring them to the north to meet military needs. Don't be afraid."

Just as Xunzi said, the three families of Yu, Xun and Yin have expressed their support for Chen Gong through practical actions.

The Guanqiu family, far away in the south of the Yangtze River, also sent people to Yanling. After the new year, some of them will serve in the shogunate or counties, and will also help establish trade routes between Yuzhou and Jiangdong.

In addition to these families, the nobles of Yingchuan and even the entire Yuzhou were all rushing to Xuchang, because they would not spend the New Year there. Before arriving in Xuchang, without exception, they would make a special trip to Yanling to pay a visit to Yujiazhuang.

Some people win without any effort, because Shao Huangmao's roots are in Yuzhou, especially in western Henan.

His father was the internal historian of Liang, his uncle was the prefect of Gaoping, his other uncle was a minister in the court, his eldest brother was a military officer in the shogunate, and his third brother was a minor official in the court and was about to go to Yangxia to serve as a county magistrate.

The sisters in the girlfriends group and their families are also contributing to Mr. Chen's career in various ways...

After Xun finished speaking, Yin quietly raised her head and stuffed the dowry painting into Yu Wenjun's hand.

Yu Wenjun glared at her but still put it away quietly.

At critical moments, the sisters who have grown up together are still reliable.

It was snowing outside, hitting the window frame.

As the wedding date approaches, the five little white rabbits are finally no longer so heartless. The dowry painting makes them realize that they will soon become wives of the Shao family. From now on, no one will pamper them or accommodate them unconditionally. They will start a new life in an unfamiliar environment.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, and there was an endless stream of carriages and horses on the road outside the Yu family manor.

Henan gradually completed a new political reshuffle, and the aristocratic political group represented by Yingchuan took shape again.

Almost at the same time, Shao Xun was constantly collecting land, settling the government soldiers, expanding the recruitment of soldiers, and slowly building a military merit group. The landmark event was the recent recruitment of more than ten injured and retired Silver Spear Army and government soldiers to serve as junior officials and clerks in the Xuchang Shogunate and Chenjungong Mansion.

And after the shogunate has passed through, there will be less resistance when they are resettled in the counties.

When soldiers have a way to get promoted, a political group gradually takes shape.

Relying on the support of the gentry and marrying into their families, but also trying every means to cultivate political forces outside the gentry, Huangmao is indeed a rebellious person.

(The donkey is foaming at the mouth. The production team, please get some carrots to save it...)
(End of this chapter)