Chapter 763: Pingyang Relics
Chapter 763: Pingyang Relics (Part )
After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Shao Xun summoned Liu Runzhong to Chongming Temple in Jianshi Palace and comforted him greatly.
Liu Ye didn't show up because she was pregnant and not feeling well.
Her daughter, who was born in the twelfth month of the tenth year of Yongjia, died of illness in November last year.
This was Shao Xun's second child who died young.
We were always fighting, inspecting, training troops, and governing the country, and we only met a few times. Now we are separated by the Yin and Yang, which is a pity.
After meeting Liu Runzhong, he gave him a lot of property from the Ningshu Palace because he heard that Liu Runzhong had spent a lot of money for this marriage.
The groom's name was Sun Jue. Although he was not a distant relative of the Sun family in Zhongdu, his family situation was not that good either. I heard that he had even fallen to the point of farming.
Sun Jue was still a bastard's son and wanted to marry into a powerful family, but he had no connections. People also didn't think highly of the declining Zhongdu Sun family - the entire family consisted of only three or four hundred farmhands, which was extremely shabby.
So, he waited until he was twenty-two years old, but still failed to find a wife.
The daughter that Liu Runzhong married off was a legitimate daughter. She was fifteen years old this year, seven years younger than Sun Jue. She also had a huge family fortune and lived a rich life.
Although Shao Xun was happy to see this kind of thing, he was still shocked when he heard all the details.
Some things are not impressive enough unless you experience them in person.
The new rich's madness in clinging to the old money reminded him of the infatuation of the new rich capitalists with aristocratic women during the Industrial Revolution in later generations. They were so wealthy and powerful that they were willing to spend a lot of money to marry into aristocratic families whose financial situation was deteriorating.
Forget it, the eldest brother won’t talk about the second brother.
Although he doesn't lick now, he was very careful to please women when he started out.
Liu Runzhong can do whatever he wants.
This is the trend of the times. From top to bottom, everyone is enthusiastic about it. It is not something you can change in a short period of time by yourself.
Overall, it's probably progress.
The corrupt old aristocracy itself was reshuffled, and there was a certain degree of renewal.
There was less land and population in the hands of the gentry, and more resources directly under the imperial court.
The number of noble families increased and their diversity increased, but their average strength decreased.
It is not easy to make even a little progress.
After Liu Runzhong left Chongming Temple, he immediately sent someone on horseback back to Shangdang to pass on the message.
Liu Quan, the general of Heqing Town, who was spending the New Year at home, took charge of his father's affairs and counted the family property. He selected 200 slaves, 300 horses, 2,000 cattle, and 50,000 sheep as a dowry.
When the news reached Pingyang, it caused a huge sensation.
Especially when they heard that the betrothal gift promised by the Sun family was only a hundred volumes of books, the disparity between the two added another layer of heat to this marriage.
At that time, there were those who ridiculed it, those who envied it, those who cursed it, and those who pondered deeply.
On the whole, most people laugh at the Sun family in Zhongdu, saying that they are crazy about money. Doesn't this ruin Sun Jue's life?
He worked hard as a farmer in Taiyuan and supported himself, and others praised him as a kind-hearted man of ancient times. So what's the big deal about him marrying a Hu girl for money now?
If it weren't for the strong background of the Shangdang Liu family and the support of King Liang, the prospects of the Zhongdu Sun family in officialdom would definitely be affected - people who break hundreds of years of conventions will inevitably be criticized, and compared with the marriage between Sun and Liu, if there were a second or third marriage later, the pressure might be much less.
But no matter what, as big news in the first month of the fifth year of Shengui, this incident was excerpted by someone who wrote the book "Pingyang Shiyi".
******
After not seeing them for a year, my parents looked older, but they were still in good spirits.
However, they were not used to living in Ningshuo Palace because there was no place to grow vegetables here.
There was no other choice, so in early February, Shao Xun personally carried a rake and removed some of the precious flowers and plants collected by Liu Cong, clearing out a vegetable plot for his mother.
For older people, suddenly changing the lifestyle they have lived for the past few decades may not be a good thing.
Furthermore, my parents only grow a little bit of fruits and vegetables as a means of comfort. The intensity of the work is much lower than when they grew crops, so it’s actually not that tiring.
"After February, are we going out again?" Mother Liu asked as she took out salted radish from several water tanks under the eaves and washed them.
"Yes." Shao Xun said as he kept turning the ground.
"You are a good farmer." Liu took a look and said, "If there were no chaos in the world, with your physique and farming skills, it would not be a problem for you to marry a good and fertile girl in the countryside of Donghai."
Shao Xun glanced at Yang Xianrong who was making tea nearby, and the two smiled at each other.
Working as a farmer on the shore of the East China Sea? Where in this world can there be true peace? In the end, a locust plague would starve you to death. I dare not imagine what you will do in the end.
After Yang Xianrong made the tea, she hesitated for a moment.
Shao Xun looked at her encouragingly.
Yang Xianrong's eyes turned red. She gritted her teeth, walked to Liu with a tea bowl, and said softly, "Madam, please have some tea."
Liu was stunned for a moment.
Shao Xun signaled to his mother with his eyes.
Liu reacted, took the tea with both hands, and said, "Changqiu, please sit down."
Yang Xianrong bowed and sat down with confidence.
Shao Xun smiled at her.
Yang Xianrong had never made or served tea for her mother before. Today was the first time.
Her status was "Empress Hui", and her mother Liu's title was "Lady of Liang". It was self-evident who was more important. To be honest, there was no systematic system of women of noble birth in the Wei and Jin dynasties, and they were not as innovative as the Liu Han Dynasty in this regard. In addition, Yang Xianrong's family background was top-notch, and the pride she had developed since childhood did not allow her to lower her status. It was unprecedented to be able to do this today, and it also indirectly reflected the continuous improvement of Shao Xun's status.
"Bang!" Shao Xun used his backhand to rake and broke up the compacted mud, then continued to loosen the ground.
The spring weather is nice today, and it’s slightly warm.
Eating meals made by my mother at home, flirting with my wife and other beautiful women, and listening to the sounds of children playing, such peace and tranquility is indeed rare.
But this is his backyard, just a corner of the world.
The tranquility here doesn't mean anything.
After a busy life, you can take a break here, release your desires, cultivate your sentiments, and change your mind, but you can't linger too much.
"Mother, what should we plant in this vegetable garden this year?" After loosening the soil, Shao Xun sat behind a specially made tea table, washed his hands first, then poured himself a cup of tea and asked casually.
Yang Xianrong and Liu had a very pleasant chat.
In fact, as long as Yangyang puts aside his pride and thinks things through, it won't be a problem for him to please Liu with his emotional intelligence and knowledge.
"Of course we plant leeks in early spring, but it's a pity that you don't come back to eat them." Mrs. Liu complained.
"What should we plant after harvesting the spring chives?" Shao Xun asked as he drank tea comfortably and bathed in the cool spring breeze.
"Just plant whatever you want." Liu said, "Maybe let Minister Cai come and help build some bamboo racks and plant cucumbers."
Shao Xun almost spit out his tea.
Is it true that the dignified Minister Cao in the palace is just building a cucumber rack for you?
Yang Xianrong turned her gaze over, her eyes full of smiles.
"Plant some okra in autumn, and some turnips in late autumn..." Liu counted them one by one.
"I brought some late cabbage seeds from Guangcheng Palace. They were grown in the Cuiyuan Garden at the foot of Kongtong Mountain." Yang Xianrong said softly, "When the king was in Lishi Mountain, I sent someone to deliver a few carts of them. They are very sweet and refreshing."
"It's really delicious." Shao Xun said.
When turnips and cabbages are crossed, a lot of strange things can be produced.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a saying that people “picked radish, picked radish, east of Shouyang”. Radix radish is the predecessor of cabbage. Without knowing it, our ancestors planted various vegetables, which naturally hybridized and were then picked out by chance and continued to be planted.
During the Han and Wei dynasties, people continued to grow cabbage and turnips. The long period of natural hybridization caused cabbage to continue to mutate. By the Western Jin Dynasty, cabbage was a leafy vegetable very similar to rapeseed and green vegetables.
During the Northern Wei Dynasty in history, a kind of cabbage that could withstand severe frost suddenly appeared in Luoyang.
Compared with traditional cabbage, this one is much larger and is called "big cabbage". The color has also changed, no longer pure green, but with a hint of white.
Emperor Xuanwu of Wei sent a boatload of cabbage to Southern Liang. After eating the food, Crown Prince Xiao Tong praised it highly and specially wrote "A Letter of Thanks for the Gift of Henan Cabbage" and "A Letter of Thanks for the Gift of Large Cabbage" to express his gratitude. From then on, large cabbage became popular all of a sudden - the style of large cabbage is very different from the later cabbage. It is more like rapeseed or pakchoi than cabbage.
Shao Xun has always wanted to get some cabbage.
In ancient times, they were discovered slowly through a long process of natural hybridization. Sometimes new species even appeared, but were ignored. You know, seeds can degenerate. In the Tang Dynasty, someone brought southern cabbage to the north to plant, and two years later, all of them turned into turnips...
Cuiyuan has been artificially intercropping turnips and cabbages for nearly twenty years, and has finally developed a type of cabbage that can withstand severe winter frosts and is larger in size, with stable traits that will not degenerate.
In this way, people will have one more fresh dish on their winter tables.
"This thing can be called 'Little White Cabbage' or 'Big Cabbage', whichever you think is better." Shao Xun put down the tea bowl and said, "Winning a few battles won't be sung for a thousand years, but Little White Cabbage will make everyone remember you."
Yang Xianrong covered her mouth and laughed.
She was just playing with the man. She let him do whatever he wanted and she just played with him. She didn't expect that they would actually come up with something new, and she was very happy.
"Well, let's plant some cabbages this year, harvest them after the frost, and wait for you to come back to eat them." As she said this, Liu looked at Shao Xun with eager eyes.
"Okay." Shao Xun nodded.
Liu smiled happily.
"In a few days--" Yang Xianrong said.
"In a few days, I will do spring plowing with the Yellow Head Army and exercise my hands and feet." Shao Xun said, "After the spring plowing in Pingyang, we will go to Lishi, which will be later. Kelan and Taiyuan counties planted winter wheat last year, and I want to go and take a look. I may also patrol the river to see if I can find an opportunity to give Liu Yang and Shi Le a chance. We can't let them be comfortable and attack Shuofang without worries."
"After crossing the river, can the army come back?" Yang Xianrong was not a person without knowledge. She understood military and political affairs, so she asked.
"Even if the main army can't come back, a small group of people can. I will transfer the capture army and the mule army over there, and slowly play with Shi Le." Shao Xun said.
"Shi Le is so unlucky to meet you." Yang Xianrong said with a smile.
"You will accompany me during the spring plowing season," Shao Xun said.
Yang Xianrong was surprised at first, then she hummed lightly, her face blushing a little.
"And Wenjun." Shao Xun said again.
Yang Xianrong's face changed suddenly.
Shao Xun pretended not to see anything and drank his tea leisurely.
It is a warm spring day with a gentle breeze. This lazy atmosphere almost makes people think that we are still living in a peaceful and prosperous era.
On the fifth day of February, Zhuosheng's army marched westward from Heyang and headed for Pingyang.
The Mule Army also began to check their equipment and sent scouts to explore several ferry crossings in the north in advance in order to formulate a battle plan.
Shao Xun came to the southern suburbs of Pingyang and started spring ploughing.
(End of this chapter)