Chapter 764: Pingyang Remnants

Chapter 764: Pingyang Remnants (Part )

Ancient ritual: The emperor personally tilled the land in the southern suburbs, and the empress personally raised silkworms in the northern suburbs.

Specifically, the emperor went to the field to hold the plow and plow the field three times, and the empress or queen went to the mulberry field to pick three leaves, which were all symbolic.

Farming usually takes place in February, while silkworm rearing takes place in March.

On the eighth day of the second lunar month, Shao Xun personally went to the fields to work - real work, not just symbolic work.

The family he chose was a family of Yellow Head Army soldiers.

The soldier had just recovered from an illness and was too weak to plow the fields, so Shao Xun took over.

A teammate of the same team was growing winter wheat at home and did not need spring plowing, so he came to help. Shao Xun did not pretend and just asked everyone to work together.

"This village is nice." Shao Xun said, "I think you should not live in the manor, just live in the village, it's pretty good."

The farmlands are right in front of the village, stretching from east to west.

Across a small river, there is another field of farmland to the south.

One of the two fields is at a lower level, while the other is at a higher level. The lower field is irrigated by gravity canals, which has a higher yield, while the higher field requires manual irrigation, which is relatively troublesome.

Further south, there is a small river, and the other side of the river is full of reeds and bamboo forests, and then there is another village.

Liu Han occupied Pingyang for many years, and the situation was relatively stable. Slowly, more and more people came out of the fortress and lived in the village. This was because living in the fortress was really inconvenient, the place was small, dark and damp, and it was really troublesome to walk a long way to work every day.

During the season when fruits and vegetables are ripe, many people live directly in the fields, or return to abandoned villages, simply tidy up their homes and live there to facilitate farm work.

However, if the enemy comes to plunder or the situation becomes tense, the residents of the fort will quickly pack up their belongings and hide in the fort.

"Yes." After hearing Shao Xun's words, more than ten people responded in unison.

"Good, very energetic." Shao Xun laughed.

Although they were all registered as farmers, not as hereditary soldiers, garrison troops, or tenant farmers, they were certainly not ordinary farmers. After the spring ploughing was completed, they were given ten days or half a month to deal with household chores, and then they would begin to gather, train a few times, and then be sent back home.

If there is a war in the future, they will be logistical support soldiers serving the combat troops. They will also be used as combat troops when necessary, or as garrison troops to suppress newly occupied areas.

Therefore, Shao Xun did not hesitate to give them his best efforts to win them over.

Having given them materially, we also need to win them over spiritually to further consolidate their support.

"After the spring plowing, come with me to hunt in Luliang Mountain, and we'll drink and eat meat together." Shao Xun said again.

Everyone agreed.

There is nothing much to say, I just like staying with King Liang, he is the backbone of everyone.

Without him, the Yellow Head Army as a collective would not be so stable and everyone’s interests might be harmed.

Shao Xun was busy until noon when he finally arrived at an orchard.

More than ten carriages were parked here.

Yang Qin, who is about to leave office, is standing guard for the last time and asking his personal soldiers to prepare meals.

He also had a small government office in Pingyang, which he shared with Liu Ling, Yuan Xi and Zheng Dong.

This is the yamen of the Wansheng Army.

Shao Xun was appointed as the commander of Wansheng Army, but he did not have much time to deal with military affairs. Generally speaking, the four newly promoted deputy commanders were in charge of 10,000 people each.

Yang Qin, the commander of the imperial army, was transferred to be the deputy commander of Wansheng Army.

Liu Ling still retains his post as a military officer and concurrently serves as deputy governor. The more than 10,000 Qingzhou soldiers under his command will be disbanded this year. Shao Xun wants to see whether he is willing to do so and whether he dares to cause trouble.

Zheng Dong was the former Lieutenant General of the Right Guard of the Imperial Guards. He was an old subordinate of Shao Xun when he was selecting generals in Luoyang.

Yuan Xi resigned from his post as lieutenant of Nanyang and took up the post of deputy governor of Wansheng Army.

The Wansheng Army was civilians when not recruited, and soldiers in times of war. For these four people, it was like giving up their military power. From their point of view, it was hard to say whether it was worth it, but they had no choice but to come to Pingyang to take up their posts.

The commander of the imperial guards has also recruited a number of new men, and now there are 1,500 of them.

Almost all the original officers and veterans were transferred to the Wansheng Army, and those who stayed behind were given opportunities for promotion.

Tong Qianjin, the "one-eyed dragon", Xue Yong, who brought more than a hundred brave warriors to join the army, and Huang Zheng, the son of Huang Biao, the commander of the three divisions of the left guard of the imperial army, were appointed as the leaders of the flags.

As for the position of commander of the imperial army, Shao Xun thought about it and decided to let Huang Zheng take on the position temporarily.

After this adjustment, both the Royal Army and the Wansheng Army need to adapt and familiarize themselves again. Fortunately, there is plenty of time, so just take it slow.

The lunch was simple. Shao Xun, Yu Wenjun and Yang Xianrong sat on the carpet and finished their meal quickly.

After a short rest, Shao Xun took Yu Wenjun's hand and publicly inspected the farmland under Yang Xianrong's stunned gaze.

"This patch of reeds is also useful." Shao Xun pointed to the dense reeds on the river bank and said, "Reed fluff can be used to make cotton-padded clothes to keep warm. Reed stalks can also be cut down and used to weave chicken coops, duck houses, or even as courtyard gates."

Yu Wenjun listened to these novel things quietly, with a smile on her face, but it was not because she was interested in these things, but because of the people who were talking.

"Your Majesty." Those who were sitting on the edge of the field eating fell to the ground one after another.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your meal." Shao Xun said with a smile, "Everyone sit down."

After saying that, he leaned over to Yu Wenjun's ear and whispered a few words.

Yu Wenjun nodded obediently, then called the servants and gave them some instructions.

A moment later, servants pulled over several carriages and distributed the jerky, cheese and even wine stored in the carriages to the soldiers of the Yellow Head Army.

Everyone was a little shocked at first, and then they smiled happily.

"The princess thinks of your hard work and has specially gifted you with wine and meat." The servants said loudly.

"Thank you, Princess, for your reward." Everyone shouted in unison after hearing this. When the news spread far away, voices of "Thank you, Princess, for your reward" could be heard one after another.

Yu Wenjun looked at Shao Xun happily.

Shao Xun asked with a smile: "Are you happy?"

Yu Wenjun nodded.

"If you make the soldiers happy and Li Yuan happy, you will be happy too." Shao Xun said, "When I am not around, you must remember these things. The 40,000 men of the Wansheng Army, bound by kindness and loyalty, can protect the descendants of the Shao family for two generations."

Yu Wenjun nodded slightly, and then couldn't help but look at Shao Xun.

Shao Xun looked at her with encouragement, but secretly sighed in his heart: Yu Wenjun really has no subjective initiative, and many times she needs his encouragement and motivation before she will do something.

Sometimes he is as patient with his wife as he is with his daughter.

She is born to hide and doesn't like to take on heavy responsibilities. She finds it too annoying and is afraid of difficulties.

However, after many years of marriage, thanks to his efforts, Yu Wenjun finally had some changes.

At least, she was already quite skilled when it came to dealing with the ladies.

Shao Xun once had a serious discussion with her, and the final conclusion was that some things may seem difficult, but they may not be that difficult to do in reality. Don't be afraid, just be brave to try.

Yu Wenjun basically agreed with this conclusion, which was a great improvement compared to when she first got married.

But she would always look at Shao Xun from time to time. When she found her husband was around, she would calm down and often perform well at this time.

In fact, Shao Xun quite likes her appearance. Both men and women like the feeling of being needed.

The two then turned around the river bend, looked at the lush wheat fields, crossed the gray wilderness, and walked through the peach blossom forest that was already showing signs of budding.

Wherever they passed, the Yellow-Headed Army soldiers and their "new families" saluted them.

Yu Wenjun also plucked up the courage to respond and said a few words, which deepened everyone's impression of the princess.

When they returned to the lunch place and saw that there was no one around, Yu Wenjun gently hugged Shao Xun and said, "I'm so tired."

Not physically tired, but mentally tired.

Shao Xun gently wiped the sweat from her nose and said, "For our child, what does it matter if we are a little tired?"

"I'm doing this for you." Yu Wenjun said softly.

Shao Xun was helpless. I am paving the way for your son, and you are doing this to me?

Although he has not yet determined which son will inherit the family business in the future, the eldest son always has priority.

The Yu family had a poor foundation and few talented people, which was both advantageous and disadvantageous to Shao Xun.

In the past, we attached great importance to this point, fearing that it would overshadow the main business and be used as a backdoor listing by others.

Now I am slowly realizing the disadvantages.

Forget it. If you are angry, you can't vent it on your wife whose heart is devoted to you. Just hit her.

He held a grand banquet in Pingyang during the first month of the year. It was really too high-profile. What level were the officials who showed goodwill to him?

******
As the sun sets, the day's spring ploughing finally comes to an end.

Shao Xun washed himself briefly by the river, took off his linen clothes, put on a brocade robe, and left in a carriage.

The soldiers of the Wansheng Army packed up their farm tools and went home in groups of three or five, chatting as they walked.

When they reached the village entrance, everyone was stopped.

The leader of the team, Zeng Yi, knocked on the carriage parked there with the back of his knife and said, "One bushel of grain per person. Go home quickly to get bags to pack it."

"Captain, where does this food come from?" someone asked.

"After the spring ploughing, we will gather the troops for training. The princess, thinking of our hard work, specially asks the king to grant us a bushel of grain." Zeng Yi said, and at the end, he added: "The owner of the building said so."

"The princess is such a kind person." Everyone looked delighted.

During the period of lean years, every family faces difficulties.

Last year, Hedong, Pingyang, Xihe and other places did not suffer from disasters, but after so many years of war, the people had to provide food and drink for the tens of thousands of troops stationed there, and they were also extremely poor.

One hu of grain may not seem like much, but it really helped a lot. Otherwise, I would have no energy to train.

"Captain, when will we practice? Where will we practice?" someone else asked.

"I heard it's the end of February or the beginning of March." Zeng Yi said, "If it's too early, there will be too much stuff at home and I won't be able to leave. Besides, there will be no food if it's too early."

"Captain, you said more today than you did in the past month." Someone laughed.

"The captain has a lot of family affairs, and the couch has been broken."

"The team owner is indeed different from last year, like a completely different person."

"Get out!" Zeng Yi cursed.

After everyone dispersed, he chuckled.

Life in Pingyang was similar to that in Changshan, perhaps even slightly worse, but he did not feel it was bitter. On the contrary, he gradually felt a surge of energy.

This enthusiasm did not come overnight, but rather it has been gathering from the bottom of my heart little by little over the past two months.

The two pieces of silk given by King Liang last year have been spent, and he now needs more silk, the more the better.

He actually wanted to rob and plunder.

(End of this chapter)