Chapter 788 Reconstruction

Chapter 788 Reconstruction

Chapter 788 Reconstruction (Part )

After mid-to-late July, the first batch of grain was transported to Jinyang.

Guo Shi rushed back to Yangqu from Puzi to visit his family.

After the merger of the three counties, the county seat of Yangqu was moved to the location of the former Langyu County, and more than 20 families of the Guo clan were divided here.

When Guo Shi arrived, he saw his uncle Guo Jing arguing with someone.

"This land is 40 hectares, 67 mu and 200 steps in total. It was originally the ancestral property of the Guo family. What's wrong with asking you to contribute something?" Guo Jing looked at the large group of dusty people and said loudly, "Give five dou of rice to each family. Pay it all within three months, and the matter will be over. The Guo family will not bother you again in the future. With such generous conditions, what else do you want?"

Guo Jing became more and more angry as he spoke, and he cursed: "Some of you are still servants of the Guo family. When the Xiongnu attacked Jinyang, you came to us crying and shouting, saying that you would not hesitate to become slaves or maids. How come you have forgotten what you said back then?"

The common people did not dare to look him in the eye, because wars were frequent in the past and they really could not survive. They had to rely on wealthy families to survive. But now it is different. King Liang redivided the land of Yangqu County and settled those who were redeemed from the Xianbei there, allowing them to support themselves.

Of course, there were also some people from the emerging counties who looked down on Guo Jing.

They were not guests of the Guo family, so they naturally did not need to treat him well.

The Guo family in Yangqu was a large clan after all, but after being captured by the Xianbei people, their fate was even worse than theirs. Now the King of Liang has not returned the farmhands and retainers, including all the Guo family members, totaling more than 12,000 people, organized into 4,000 households, all of which have settled in Yangqu.

We are all the same, why should we be afraid of him? The people in the land where the Hu and Han people live together are not so easy to talk to. If they are pushed to the limit, they will kill all your Guo clan members with knives at night, and then change their names and go to other places to become refugees. They can also register again. What do you think?

"Uncle." Guo Shi listened for a long time and basically understood what was going on, so he coughed and shouted.

Guo Jing turned around and saw that it was his nephew. He became even bolder and shouted, "This is my nephew Guo Shi, the thief catcher of Puzi County. If you continue to make trouble -"

"Uncle." Guo Shi pulled him and asked in a low voice, "Isn't uncle in Wu County? Why are you here?"

"It's no longer called Wu County, it's called Pingyao now." Guo Jing sighed and said, "I heard that my clansmen were returning north, so I came to send them some food and household items. Although we have separated, we are still one clan after all, and I can't bear to see them become so desolate."

"So that's how it is." Guo Shi understood.

This uncle ran a fortress in Wu County. At the beginning, his family business was not large. After all, he was born out of wedlock and from a side branch, so he got very little.

But he was very diligent. Besides practicing martial arts, he often worked in the fields himself. As a member of the Guo family, he even carried manure.

Some people in the tribe laughed at him for being obsessed with money and valuing food, cloth and land more than anything else, but he didn't get angry.

When he was in Wu County, he had a good relationship with the villagers.

When the war was at its most intense, people from all over the country even urged him to take them to Hebei to beg for a living, but he finally declined.

Now that the Guo family members in Yangqu are in trouble, he has brought his troops and farmhands and escorted dozens of carts of supplies to send them over. This can be said to be a righteous act.

"Guo Jizi, you were good friends with Shi Le in the past, and you fed him many times when he was penniless. Does King Liang know about this?" someone suddenly shouted in the crowd.

Guo Jing's face turned pale, and his momentum suddenly weakened.

Upon hearing this, Guo Shi glared at the crowd.

The man who was shouting became frightened when he saw his ferocious appearance and quietly retreated back.

Guo Jing sighed, shook his head, and said, "Forget it, let him be. This world is like this, alas."

After sighing, he ordered his men to unload the food and daily necessities and distribute them to the Guo clan members.

Guo Shi helped out.

The houses were divided up, but no one knew which family they belonged to. Guo Shi went to each house and put down their pots, bowls, chopsticks, farm tools and other items.

In the afternoon, he and his uncle Guo Jing went to the old site of Yu County in the north, where there were still several members of the Guo family.

They lived together with hundreds of other families, all locals who had just returned from the mountains to escape the war.

In addition to these people, Guo Shi also saw a number of Hu people with their hands tied.

What’s strange is that the people who escorted and guarded them were also Hu people.

There was a young man crying and cursing in the Xiongnu language.

Guo Shi could speak Jie language and only knew a little bit of Xiongnu language, but he didn't understand it.

Suddenly, a Hu soldier came over with an angry face, grabbed the boy, and slammed him against the wheel of the carriage. Then he drew out his knife, placed it horizontally on the boy's head, and gestured with the wheel.

After a moment, he slapped the boy in anger and walked away.

The boy seemed frightened by this. If he grew a little taller, he would be as tall as the wheel, and then the man would kill him without violating the ancient tradition.

Are you sweating profusely?

The young man covered his face and squatted on the ground crying.

"I just asked someone and found out that the tribes in Kelan, Taiyuan and Xihe counties rebelled." Guo Jing walked over, glanced at the Xiongnu boy and said, "King Liang led the Silver Spear, Yicong and other troops to stay in the rear, and listed the names of more than ten tribes, saying that their crimes were unforgivable. He allowed the remaining tribes to advance and divide up their people, cattle, sheep and pastures. I don't know how many have been wiped out, but I heard that quite a few have been wiped out. The tribes received benefits and jointly presented a part of their people, cattle and sheep to King Liang, and then they were escorted to Taiyuan as slaves. I don't know what to do with them next, but most of them will be used to farm and graze for the government." Guo Shi was shocked.

He went to Pingyang a month ago to deliver an official letter, then visited an old friend, and then came to Jinyang to visit his relatives, but he didn't know what was going on with Pu Zi.

It shouldn't be a big deal. Although the tribes over there did not really submit to King Liang, they were relatively well-behaved and did not openly rebel.

The situation in Bingzhou is really complicated. Either you kill me or I kill you. If you are not careful, you will die and your clan will be destroyed.

After distributing food, farm tools and household items to the Guo clan members in their old home in Yu County, a certain elder was very enthusiastic and insisted on inviting them to stay for dinner.

Guo Jing and Guo Shi looked at each other. How could they have the nerve to stay when the other party was in such a difficult situation?

In spite of the elders' repeated attempts to persuade him to stay, Guo Jing sighed, called a member of the guard, and asked him to kill an old draft horse that had been injured on the way and had a lame leg, so that they could have a good meal together.

Guo Shixian was extremely bored, so he went for a walk nearby.

A few miles to the north there is an earthen city, located on the southern foot of Shiling Mountain. It is the headquarters of Shiling Longxiang Prefecture.

There seemed to be figures moving outside the city, but it was not clear from a distance. However, he knew where those palace soldiers came from - 300 were selected from the Zhongwu Army, 300 were selected from the Xuchang and Yanzhou hereditary soldiers, and the remaining 300 were from the Qingzhou soldiers of Liu Ling's army guarding Jinyang.

The grain, which was transported from Henan at great cost, was mainly consumed by these people.

The 1,200 soldiers of Shiling Longxiang Prefecture will most likely need to take turns guarding Shiling Pass.

Sanjiao Longxiang Prefecture is located in the northern suburbs of Jinyang, which guards the core of Bingzhou.

There are only these two Longxiang Mansions. Prince Liang is really poor now.

However, the situation is getting better little by little.

Just like after a long drought, the cracked earth is slowly moistened by the gurgling spring water.

In time, Taiyuan will get better, and Bingzhou will get better too.

King Liang now does not dare to settle the people in the five counties of Xinxing, allowing them to become barren and overgrown with grass. But after Taiyuan is tidied up, he can march north to take over Xinxing and Yanmen counties. By then, with the protection of Yanmen Pass, he can safely settle the people in these two places.

Setting up local soldiers is indeed a good way to stabilize a place.

Guo Shi turned and looked at the same time.

As the sky gradually darkened and a thin mist rose, the countryside of Yangqu County was so peaceful and comfortable.

But who would have thought that just two months ago, this was where the Xianbei people grazed their horses and sheep?
There are field ridges, irrigation canals, ponds, mulberry forests and orchards everywhere in the countryside. It would be a pity to use them for grazing.

After staying in Yangqu for one night, Guo Jing and Guo Shi, uncle and nephew, returned south together.

"Uncle, I heard that the general recommended you for an official position?" Guo Shi asked on the way back.

"The commander is really stupid..." Guo Jing smiled bitterly and said, "Last time you asked me to join the army in Luoyang, I declined. This time you want me to go to Loufan, I'm afraid I can't refuse."

"What position does the general recommend?" Guo Shi asked curiously.

"Loufan County Magistrate." Guo Jing said, and then gave a brief explanation.

Bingzhou was sparsely populated. Some counties were merged, but a new county with almost no population was established, namely Loufan County, which was governed in the old city of Loufan and belonged to Kelan County.

If the county magistrate's deputy is the county magistrate's deputy in theory, then the county lieutenant is the county magistrate's actual deputy. The execution of various affairs depends on the county lieutenant, and the county magistrate only makes decisions.

In addition, Loufan's geographical location is very important, and there are excellent hilly pastures nearby. It is possible that a pastoral supervisor would be set up here to raise horses in preparation for future wars.

Therefore, although Loufan had few people, the chief official of the county was not a "chief" but a "ling", whose rank was higher than Xiurong.

"This Loufan County Lieutenant will most likely be involved in battles and wars." Guo Jing sighed, "I originally only wanted to work as a farmer in the countryside, but the Taiwei insisted on recommending me. What can I do?"

"Will my uncle take people to Loufan County?" Guo Shi asked.

"You are quite clever." Guo Jing glanced at him and said with a smile, "I will take 200 households with me, and that is all I can afford. The Grand Commandant said that Wang Clan of Langya will pay for me to recruit 500 households of farmers in Hebei and send them to Loufan. I will take care of everything."

"Uncle, there aren't many families in Taiyuan that can afford to support two hundred farmhands for free." Guo Shi said, "Some big families look good on the outside, but they are not as wealthy as yours. They are far behind in terms of managing property."

"I am a farmer, I just like farming, I really don't want to do this kind of fighting." Guo Jing shook his head helplessly, and then said: "But some things are unavoidable. After the Xianbei invaded, I also realized that it is impossible to farm peacefully in this world. I let the boys at home practice martial arts, so as not to be wiped out in the future."

"In addition, King Liang is doing everything he can to raise food and fodder to support Bingzhou. I am also very excited to see this." Guo Jing continued, "Then let's go to Loufan to settle down and see what King Liang can do and whether he can stabilize Bingzhou."

After hearing this, Guo Shi nodded repeatedly.

He suddenly thought of something. When he was in Pingyang, there was a rumor that the nobles in the Central Plains who were willing to raise their own food, agricultural tools, and seeds and send their sons and daughters to Bingzhou to guard the border would be given priority for official appointments.

Perhaps, this was the background that enabled my uncle to become the Magistrate of Loufan County.

(End of this chapter)