Chapter 1134 Protecting the Xianbei Chief

Chapter 1134 Protecting the Xianbei Chief

Chapter 1134 Protecting the Xianbei Chief

After the death of Yu Hua, the Minister of the Imperial Household, Shao Xun carried out drastic reforms on this institution.

First of all, the rank was raised. The chief official, Shaofujian, was promoted from the third rank to the regular third rank, and General Cai Cheng of the Left Cavalry Guard was transferred to serve as Shaofujian.

Since the Shaofu controls many gardens and parks, there are naturally many forests, so a wood officer (fifth rank) is appointed, and the current officer is Wu Li.

This person was the eldest grandson of Wu Qian, the former magistrate of Pingyang County and the county magistrate of Chengji County.

When Shao Xun was on a tour to Jingzhou in the south, Wu Qian died of illness at the age of nearly 80, which was considered to be a very long life. Because his eldest son died early, his eldest grandson inherited the title and stayed at home in mourning before entering the Shaofu.

In addition, the post of General of Material Officers was no longer established after the founding of the Daliang Dynasty. In fact, Shao Xun didn't care, but the court officials were very political and never nominated a candidate for this position, so it remained vacant.

In the Jin Dynasty, the military officer in charge of timber was in charge of all the timber in the world.

This is not an exaggeration, because in theory the mountains and forests all belong to the imperial court. When Sima Rui and his group went to the south of the Yangtze River, they initially resettled the accompanying people by "banning the mountains and forests."

In the imperial dynasty, the military officer in charge of materials was only in charge of the garden materials and wood under the name of the Shaofu, and was also in charge of "matters related to craftsmen and civil engineering". Of course, the scope of his authority was still limited to the jurisdiction of the Shaofu. Matters outside the Shaofu came under the jurisdiction of the General of Works - the Chief Craftsman of Works. It was a permanent position in the Han Dynasty, and was abolished in the Jin Dynasty when "there was something to do and nothing to do".

Wu Li was also present at today's hunting trip and was called over by Shao Xun.

"You go to Youzhou." Shao Xun said bluntly.

"Yes, sir." Wu Li replied.

After that, wait quietly for the next step.

"There is a piece of land near Jundu County that has been vacated. It is over a hundred miles in circumference and has mountains, forests, hot springs, grasslands, and farmland. I will also set it up as Yanshan Garden and recruit 3,000 gardeners." Shao Xun said, "You go there to build a garden, and the governor of Youzhou will recruit men and give them money and food."

"The minister obeys the order."

"The gardeners don't have to participate in the construction all the time. Set aside five days every month to practice military formations. They are all descendants of the military farms, not farmers. You trained the county soldiers when you were the prefect of Puyang, so you will lead the training this time as well." Shao Xun ordered.

"Yes."

The main source of Shaofu garden households was the old military farm troops, mostly surrendered soldiers and criminals.

Among this group of people, those who were lucky have become ordinary people, and those who were unlucky have become soldiers of the government. Currently, there are more than 44,000 households left, scattered in various gardens. The largest number is in Guangcheng Garden, with 10,000 households, and the least is in Shanglin Garden, with more than 1,500 households left.

The status of the gardeners was quite special. They were neither registered commoners nor slaves. They were allowed to keep their personal property, marry freely, and were exempt from taxes and labor service. Compared with the Cao Wei garrison soldiers and the Sima Jin hereditary soldiers, the life of the Shaofu gardeners was much better.
However, they need to be managed and controlled by the Shaofu, and are considered one of the various ethnic groups in this era with strange personal dependence relationships. Their main livelihood is to manage various industries for the Shaofu, including but not limited to farming, grazing, fish farming, logging, construction, and textiles.

For example, the Zhenguan Office under the Shaofu's jurisdiction was mainly responsible for making bricks and tiles, which was done by the Shaofu's gardeners.

For example, the farmland in Guangcheng Garden was also cultivated by gardeners.

What they produced did not belong to themselves, but to the Shaofu, who then paid them "wages" in a unified manner.

Those under ten years old are considered "small mouths". Small mouth boys are given a cloth shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair of shoes every spring; small mouth girls are given a cloth shirt, a skirt, and a pair of shoes in the spring; every two years in winter they are given a cotton coat, a pair of pants, a pair of winter shoes, and a felt blanket.

Those over ten years old and under seventeen years old are considered "middle-class people", and those over eighteen years old are considered "adult people". Every spring, boys are given a headscarf, a cloth shirt and a pair of pants, and a pair of leather boots; girls are given a headscarf, a cloth shirt and a pair of skirts, and a pair of shoes. Every two years in winter, they are given a cotton coat, a pair of pants, a pair of winter shoes, and a felt blanket.

The daily ration for adults is 6 liters, the daily ration for middle-aged people is 4.5 liters, and the daily ration for small people is 1.8 liters, which are converted and paid monthly.

From this perspective, it's like being a slave, and you can foresee the end of your life.

However, if one takes into account the various surpluses distributed from time to time - for example, some fruits, fish, meat, eggs and milk that were not consumed in time - their lives were not necessarily worse than those of ordinary households. At least they could have enough food and clothing.

Shao Xun transferred 3,000 gardeners to Yan County, and he must have distributed rewards regularly, after all, these people had to participate in military training.

If you want to go to the battlefield, you have to pay more...

After Wu Li left, Shao Xun looked at Cai Cheng again and scolded him with a smile: "Look at your eyes rolling around, you must be criticizing me in your heart."

"I dare not." Cai Cheng said quickly.

Cai Cheng was one of his personal soldiers, and when he went on an expedition, he often ate from the same pot, so they had a special bond and spoke in a more casual manner.

However, Lao Cai himself became more and more cautious. Perhaps he had read the historical materials about Liu Bang teaching his old brothers who were still laughing after the founding of the country. The rules were not so strict at the beginning of any dynasty, and the hierarchy was not so obvious. Some founding heroes were even quite unruly until their death. Because he had really seen the emperor getting nervous, anxious, fearful and even embarrassed when he started his business, he knew that he was also a human being, not a god.

"Parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run." Shao Xun patted Cai Cheng's shoulder, looked at the faint white hair growing on his temples, and sighed, "You are getting old too."

"Compared to my old brothers who died on the battlefield, I am already very lucky." Cai Cheng said.

Shao Xun nodded and said, "After Yanshan Garden is settled, all the grain, meat, fruits, vegetables, eggs and milk produced will be used to support the gardeners. The Shaofu should not get involved. Let these people practice more."

"These gardeners will certainly be grateful to Your Majesty." Cai Cheng said.

There were no taxes or labor service, the place was large enough, and the land output was enough to feed one's family with plenty of surplus, so the young men could eat as much as they wanted, and their lives suddenly reached a new level.

However, Shao Xun glanced at Cai Cheng and said, "Really?"

Cai Cheng didn't know how to answer.

Didn't he guess something? No, he had a vague idea.

If each of the three thousand garden households has one male soldier, that would be three thousand soldiers. They would have surplus food at home, meat and milk to eat, and they could train more frequently. If they were equipped with sophisticated equipment, wouldn't this be an army of servants that the aristocratic families provide with good food and drink?

Whose troops are these prepared for?
It's not that he couldn't think of it, he just didn't want to think so. He was already a third-rank official, and although he was not a high-ranking official in the court, he was in charge of the imperial court and was a close minister to the emperor. Why should he get involved in the affairs of the royal family?

The Cai family is a small family, and it is not easy to have the status they have today, so they should cherish it.

"There are still three months until the end of the year. You should sort out the Shaofu carefully. It will be of great use to me." After giving the order, Shao Xun left.

A rack had been set up by the river to roast the meat. Shao Xun found a place to sit down and watched quietly.

The prey is gutted, the meat is salted, smoked, and then cut into pieces.

The soldiers sat on the ground, whispering to each other, talking and laughing.

The emperor has already given all the meat away as a reward. They can take it home or sell it to someone else.

Various animal skins were also distributed as rewards, but tanning them took time and there were not enough to go around, so they had to be sold.

If you calculate the expenses on the way to the war, and then calculate the meat, skins, money, and silk rewards you get, it won't be a big loss. It's only once every four years, so it's completely affordable.

The most regrettable thing is that I didn’t get the chance to go on the expedition.

I heard that Shu is a rich land with wealth everywhere. If I can break in and grab a lot, my life will be better in the next few years.

It's such a pity to miss this opportunity. I don't know which talented people in the military office got the chance to go to the war in accordance with the imperial edict. I have to ask around when I get back.

Princess Xiangyang Shao Zhen came over with a pot of fish soup and said, "Grandpa, I made this myself."

Shao Xun turned his head and was actually a little flattered.

Mu'er is the best. Fu Bao would never do that. He took it with a happy look on his face, asked someone to bring a bowl and spoon, and drank it slowly.

Shao Zhen sat down and watched his father drink fish soup with a smile.

"Your wife's skills are quite good." Shao Xun praised after drinking a bowl of wine.

Shao Zhen smiled embarrassedly.

"Did you go to Zhaoyang Palace yesterday?"

Shao Zhen hummed lightly.

"You're already married, why do you keep entering the palace?"

"My daughter wants to see her mother."

"What did your mother say?" Shao Xun asked.

"My mother told me not to be arrogant and to be considerate of my husband," Shao Zhen said.

"You have chosen a son-in-law, and your parents have done what you want. You know whether it is good or not, and your parents can't say much." Shao Xun said, "The son-in-law's family is ordinary, but his martial arts and military strategies are quite impressive, and he is a talent that can be cultivated. There are many people in the capital who are jealous of him, so you have to protect him and don't let him be humiliated."

"My daughter understands." Shao Zhen responded obediently.

"But..." Shao Xun stared into the distance and said, "It's not easy to be my son-in-law. If he can't get over it, that's it."

"The prince consort has a strong mind." Shao Zhen said softly.

"That's good." Shao Xun asked again: "Nothing else?"

Shao Zhen's face turned red and he opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

Shao Xun looked at her and smiled gently, saying, "Your sixth brother is quite quick-witted, not bad. When Yao Yizhong's daughter comes to Beijing, you can take her to have more sightseeing."

"Okay." Shao Zhen laughed.

"Is it hard to help your brother pass messages? You are not good at these things." Shao Xun teased.

Shao Zhen blushed.

"It's been a long time, Mu'er has grown up and married." Shao Xun said with emotion: "You are all my children, I watched you grow up with my own eyes. How could I be really angry about what you did? I just hope you are healthy and live a happy life."

Speaking of this, he felt a little melancholy.

When he was alive, perhaps he could see brothers being friendly and sisters living in harmony, even if they had to pretend.

But what will happen on the day he is gone?

Different ages have different mental states and different standards for looking at people and things.

He was hard-hearted, even perverted, when dealing with his enemies, but he was always soft-hearted when facing his wives and concubines who had been with him, and the children he had grown up with.

In my previous life, I always thought that emperors were high-ranking power animals, majestic and dignified, but as I have walked through this life, I know that this is not the case.

Perhaps this was the case for Emperor Taiping, who grew up in the hands of women in the deep palace and was immersed in the world of power, but it was not the case for the founding emperor.

They laughed and cursed.

Some people urinated on their hats, some could make up rhymes, some liked prostitutes in the city, some were humorous, some wrote swear words in imperial edicts... and the list goes on.

They are more like human beings rather than gods. They will not wrap themselves in the cloak of divinity, act mysterious, or play tricks on others.

He also wanted to maintain his human side, but being human means having weaknesses.

On October 12, Shao Xun issued an edict: Yang Chen, the governor of Youzhou, was appointed concurrently as the General of the Guards of the Xianbei, and was in charge of the affairs of the Yuwen and Duan Xianbei tribes. Shao Yu, the Prince of Yan, was appointed as the Chief Clerk of the General of the Guards of the Xianbei, and was to take office immediately.

(End of this chapter)