Chapter 432: Journey to Runan
Chapter 432: Journey to Runan (Part )
The north wind blew all night.
In the early morning, the courtyard inside and outside was crystal clear and very beautiful.
The sound of pine waves could be heard not far away.
The branches are vigorous and strong, standing proudly without fear of the severe cold.
When the wind blows, the snow on the pine needles flutters down, forming large patches of dreamy mist.
After Shao Xun got up and washed, he came to the kitchen, and the servants bowed to him one after another.
The decoration of the dining room is quite exquisite, and the most eye-catching thing is a painting.
The theme of the painting is a spring outing, and it is unknown who painted it.
There are more than ten men and women in the painting, all of whom have "delicate and clear images". The lines of the characters are drawn with the sharp and vigorous brushstrokes that were highly praised by people at that time. The brushstrokes are so fast that the characters have a "wind-moving" effect.
In terms of the expression of connotation, exaggerated painting techniques are used to better express the characteristics of the characters, such as the man drinking happily and unrestrainedly in the bamboo forest, and the woman wearing gorgeous clothes.
There is also a red seal in the corner of the painting.
The size is larger than the average seal, at least one size larger than Shao Xun's Pingdong General Seal. In addition, this seal is positive text, not the common negative text. The outline of the characters is clear and deep, and the seal is gorgeous and graceful. Both the seal and the seal are perfect.
This Xiangcheng Princess Seal is not simple.
Due to the relationship between materials and craftsmanship, negative seals have been used since the Qin and Han dynasties, and positive seals are rarely used. The reason is that the lines of the handwriting are not clear enough, and the latter requires a knife to clean the bottom of the seal. It is very troublesome to clean it every time you print.
The seal of Princess Xiangcheng is so clear, which shows the exquisite craftsmanship.
"The painting was created by a painter in the palace, and the seal was made by a craftsman in my house." The voice of Princess Xiangcheng came from the door.
Shao Xun turned around and saw that Sima Xiuwei was wearing a loose tì (tì) robe.
The clothes are painted with birds, beasts, the sun and the moon, which are elegant, simple and solemn.
Inside the gown is a fur coat that seems to be made of white fox skin. It has excellent warmth-retaining effect and gives people a sense of luxury and holiness.
There seemed to be a blue skirt underneath the white fur coat, the hem of the skirt dragging on the blanket, the complexity of the folds and patterns was simply dazzling.
Overall, this is a majestic, dignified, mature and beautiful noble lady. Standing there gives people a feeling of worshipping her.
The only thing that destroyed this temperament was probably the woman's growing belly.
"Mr. Chen." Sima Xiuyi bowed with the help of his maid.
"Mrs. Sima." Shao Xun returned the greeting.
Hearing Shao Xun's address, Sima Xiuyi glanced at him.
Shao Xun felt a little embarrassed and turned his eyes away.
He could call Sima Xiuyi a princess, because she was the emperor's favorite daughter. He could also refer to her other identity, Lady Sima, the wife of Wang Dun.
Sima Xiuwei's mouth curled up slightly, and he gave a few more instructions to the maid.
After a while, breakfast was served one by one.
"I sent someone to make a high table and a Hu bed according to your preferences." Sima Xiuyi sat down: "I didn't expect it would be convenient for me at this time."
"Princess, you're right." The two were polite to the point of being a little strange, which made Shao Xun a little confused.
After borrowing the seeds, you kept your distance from me?
But think about it, she has such a big family business, she can live a leisurely life without me. Before, she was afraid that someone would seize her family property, but now she seems not to be afraid anymore.
fraud!
He cheated me and did business under my name. That's too much.
At this time, he finally understood that he was not a succubus, and that the women who approached him all had their own agenda.
"This is the 'frog-croaking rice' grown on my farm. The porridge made from it is moist, smooth and fragrant. You can eat more." Sima Xiuwei took two sips of the porridge, wiped his mouth with silk and said.
Shao Xun glanced at the silk handkerchief and found that the material seemed to be similar to the one he was wearing.
Well, the clothes he was wearing were also from the princess’s house, which he changed in the morning when he went to the toilet. The material was of high quality and was not something that ordinary powerful people could own.
From this we can also see how much it costs for ordinary aristocratic families to maintain their status - no wonder some declining nobles in later generations in Europe had to borrow money from businessmen in order to maintain their social life. It is not easy to maintain so-called decency.
The princess's toilet had dried dates to plug her nose, spices to remove odors, beautiful maids to hold the covers, and someone brought new clothes for her to change into. Even silk was used to wipe her butt, although it was of ordinary quality.
But Shao Xun was not too envious.
He was indifferent to these enjoyments. After all, he was a person who had experienced modern convenient life and his threshold was very high.
Good days are experienced, and bad days are experienced as well.
When you are away on a military expedition, your body is covered in dirt, your head is covered in oil, your complexion is very bad due to irregular work and rest, and you don’t change your clothes for a long time. Isn’t it the same?
If you really feel tired, just come to the princess's house and stay for a few days to relax. Can she really drive the child's father away, even though Shao Huangmao stayed in the guest room last night.
Well, let’s not talk about that. The porridge was indeed delicious and Shao Xun finished a big bowl of it very quickly.
The maid brought another bowl with perfect timing, obviously she had been estimating how fast he would drink it, and the porridge was neither lukewarm nor hot, just the right temperature.
Two of his favorite side dishes were added in front of him, and I probably knew what he liked more.
What you think of, others have thought of.
What you didn't think of, others have thought of for you. This decadent life is really...
No wonder Liu Bang couldn't hold back when he first entered Xianyang and was directly obsessed with the Xianyang Palace.
After finishing the second bowl of porridge, Shao Xun asked, "I heard that you opened a ranch in Runan? Do you have so many livestock?"
"It's not all pasture." Hearing that they were talking about business, Sima Xiuyi stopped eating, wiped his mouth, drank a bowl of tea to rinse his mouth, and then said: "The Internal History of Runan built a pond in the east of Shenyang, called 'Longbi'. This pond can irrigate 3,000 hectares of good farmland, 300 hectares of which belong to the King of Runan. I asked for it to grow millet and wheat. Outside Longbi, there is a vast marsh, which also belongs to the King of Runan, and is used to raise donkeys and mules."
"Whose donkeys are the ones sold in the donkey shop?"
"I collected it from the people of Runan."
Shao Xun nodded and said, "Mares are not allowed to be sold, and mules are not allowed to be sold either."
Sima Xiuyi heard this, covered his mouth and chuckled, then stroked his belly and said: "The profit from trading a donkey is only two pieces of silk, and the profit from trading a mule is only three pieces. If you want it, I won't sell it."
Shao Xun felt a little embarrassed.
Mules are large animals and a cheap alternative to horses, so they are not cheap.
People are just borrowing your power to do business, but you want them to lose everything. That's really too much.
Previously, Shao Xun sent Jiang Ke, the former leader of the 8th Battalion of the Silver Spear Army, to the south, and then assigned him more than 20 newly graduated student officers to ride mules and teach him how to fight.
Their army, with more than 500 people, had 200 mules, all of which were purchased by Princess Xiangcheng. The expense was actually very high.
"We seized some crude items in the Zhamati camp this time, and it's hard to value them. I'll send someone to deliver them to you in a few days, and you can handle them as you see fit." Shao Xun said.
Sima Xiuwei nodded and didn't care much.
"I will send letters to all the counties to transfer a batch of money and silk. You can send someone to receive it." Shao Xun said again.
Sima Xiuyi then became serious.
"Allocation" actually means apportionment.
The man in front of him seemed poor and had little money, but he could distribute money and food to the noble families, and it was difficult for them to refuse. From this perspective, he was not poor at all.
He asked his retainers and servants to run a donkey business and sell livestock.
The man personally managed the Silver Spear Army and sold security.
It's obvious who earns more.
"Money and silk are enough." Sima Xiu said, "Some places have not fought much, so they are still willing to accept money and silk. I will ask someone to collect some more mares and donkeys."
"How many are there now?" Shao Xun asked.
"About a hundred mares, six or seven hundred donkeys, and more than five hundred mules," Sima Xiuwei replied.
"Guangchengze also has only 4,000 horses, of which there are only a few hundred mares. You really have a lot." Shao Xun said with emotion: "Longpi should be pretty good, right?"
"The place is cool, and the grass and water are abundant. It's really good." Sima Xiu said, "We can get twice as many cattle, horses and donkeys, and four times as many sheep. By the New Year next year, we should be able to breed hundreds of donkeys and mules."
To be honest, Shao Xun was a little disappointed.
This time he asked Wu Qian and Wei Fu to go to Qinzhou to buy horses, and specifically asked them to buy more mares and only a few stallions.
Mares are the key to expanding the population. Whether it is a horse or a donkey, they can give birth to colts.
If we want to fight against Liu Han in the north, wouldn't it be ridiculous if we don't have the ability to maneuver? Can we build cities one by one to the doorstep of the enemy? Well, it seems that the Northern Song Dynasty did this. After Liu Yu got off the ship in Xuzhou, he also built a city every thirty miles to maintain the grain route.
But how can I put it? Even if Shao Xun's troops are mainly composed of infantry, they cannot be without any cavalry.
In the previous Battle of Zhamati, after crossing the river at Xishijin, he sent cavalry to clear the way and quickly defeated the harassing Xiongnu light cavalry, allowing the main force of the infantry to maintain a speed of thirty to forty miles a day.
Without this cavalry, the Xiongnu would use all means to harass you. In extreme cases, you could only walk five or six miles a day, or more than ten miles at best, which would be very passive. By the time you reach your destination, the situation may have changed. This is the problem caused by insufficient mobility.
Even in the 21st century, the military's mobility remains a very important indicator.
In this indicator, the Huns had a huge advantage and he almost got zero points.
"Tomorrow I will go to Runan, or maybe to Shenyang." Shao Xun said, "You..."
Sima Xiuyi quickly shook his head and said, "I will send my family to go with you."
She is five months pregnant and definitely doesn't want to travel any further and get a miscarriage.
Having a child at this age, it is not too precious for you to treasure the child. You will depend on this child to accompany you for the rest of your life.
"That's it, I'll go by myself." Shao Xun nodded and said, "You - Madam Sima, just rest assured and take care of your pregnancy."
Sima Xiuwei laughed quietly again.
Men can be quite childish sometimes. Did they make the distinction between the two too clear this time?
There was no way she could go to the Shao family's backyard.
How wonderful it would be to be a free and wealthy princess. Would you really give your property to that young lady Yu Wenjun? Dream on.
If she had to keep in touch with him, she wouldn't even go on a trip.
This man is sometimes very smart and sometimes terribly stupid, haha.
(End of this chapter)