Chapter 1176: Traveling Thousands of Miles

Chapter 1176: Traveling Thousands of Miles

Chapter 1176: Traveling Thousands of Miles (Part )

The rain finally stopped, and there was jubilation outside the Longxiang Mansion in Jingling.

Zhang He stood on the undulating hillside with his hands on his hips, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Behind him was a pond that was almost overflowing, and in front of him was an endless field.

This pond was built bit by bit by the military government, which gathered able-bodied men and women, and spent several years to build it.

Water gathers from the mountains, fills the lakes, then pours down through sluices into the dense network of irrigation canals, nourishing the fields.

In the good weather and harvest season, this pond is very gentle, with gurgling water flowing down from a high place, and there is no need for water trucks to carry water, and it can directly irrigate farmland. But in the rainy season, it is more troublesome, and it is really possible to flood farmland and villages.

After taking a look, Zhang He walked down the hillside and into the village.

Someone in the village was holding a funeral, and it was Li Gua at the west end of the village.

When the Right Jinwu Guards went to war in Shu, most of them returned, but some died in battle or from illness. Li Gua was one of them.

He had boiling gold liquid poured over his head under the city of Yangguan. His iron armor was of no use at all and he died before the night had passed. His body was hastily buried between the mountains and rivers of Bashu.

His comrades brought back his luggage, armor, and a compensation.

The family could only use the clothes he usually wore to hold the funeral. At one point, they even invited a Taoist priest to perform a soul-calling burial, but they were dissuaded from doing so, saying that it was useless and a scam, so they gave up.

When they arrived at the door of Li Gua's house, the young man Tang Rong who had gone to the war with him was busy running around without stopping.

He volunteered to help.

When he was attacking Shu, he was hit by a stray arrow. Everyone thought he was dead, but Li Gua discovered that he was still alive, carried him back, and he actually survived in the end.

This is a life-saving favor, and I must repay it.

Zhang He sighed and walked away.

Li Gua was unlucky. All the millet he planted this spring was destroyed, resulting in a huge loss.

The two sons were young, no more than ten years old, and the oldest was the daughter, fourteen or fifteen years old, and yet they had to help with the funeral arrangements with their mother.

The soldiers from the government came from far away and settled down in Taiyuan, but they didn't have time to form a clan. It was so difficult.

After returning home, his wife, who had just come back on a bullock cart, sighed when she saw Zhang He, "My husband, there is too much yellow and fine cloth in the county, and we can't sell it at a good price. The market will open in a few days, and I will go and have a look."

Zhang He nodded.

"Speaking of this fine cloth, it is really good. The people of Shu are so dexterous. They can put it into a tube and make summer clothes. It is not much worse than hemp cloth. Why doesn't anyone buy it?" The wife was still chattering.

Zhang He was also a little disappointed.

This cloth is indeed light, soft and slightly yellow in color. It is made from male hemp produced in Shuzhong, and does not seem to be the same type as the hemp in the north.

After the Shu people had woven this kind of cloth, they rolled it up and put it into a bamboo tube, which was called "cloth in a tube". A large tube could hold six meters of cloth, while a small tube could only hold four meters.

As the Sima of a separate department, Zhang He received relatively more. He did not choose silk at that time, but took all the yellow and smooth fine cloth, which amounted to ten large tubes, or fifteen pieces.

Before the expedition, there were rumors in the army that a piece of fine yellow cloth from Shu was worth "several gold coins". After entering Shu, everyone found that something was not right. There was a lot of cloth in Shu, but only a small amount was shipped out.

When returning from the expedition, some people suggested that they use it up on the way to avoid losing its value. Zhang He did not do so and now regrets it.

Zhongling County is a small place. Who will buy so much yellow and smooth fine cloth pouring in at once?

Don’t say that this kind of cloth can be used as money. In fact, only gold, silver and copper are real money. The others are "half-money" or "fake money". The longer they are kept, the less valuable they become.

"Does anyone want the jade?" Zhang He asked, subconsciously lowering his voice.

The wife was also startled and stammered, "I didn't dare to take it out."

Zhang He was speechless.

It is definitely not allowed to privately store spoils of war, but it is actually difficult to prevent it. Zhang He also encountered a thief official while chasing the enemy in Jiangzhou. He shot him to death with an arrow from a distance and then touched his jade belt.

I dare not take out the jade belt as a whole, but it is not impossible to peel off the jade on it and sell it slowly.

But as I said, Zhongling is a small place and it won’t be sold in a short time.

"Forget it." Zhang He waved his hand and said, "If you can't sell it, forget it. Leave it to my son as a family heirloom."

After hearing this, the wife responded happily.

Seeing her look, Zhang He also laughed.

He still hasn't figured out who the rogue official he shot to death was. Since he had a jade belt, he should be a descendant of a noble family in Shu. Unfortunately, his martial arts skills were mediocre. The other party shot him first, but the arrow missed the target. He didn't even aim and killed him with just one arrow.

With this little ability, why go to the battlefield!
"What did my husband discuss at the military residence last night?" The ox cart rumbled into the yard, and his wife took Zhang He's hand and strolled at the door.

"The King of Qin is here, and the Emperor will be here soon," said Zhang He.

"Ah!" The wife exclaimed, covering her mouth.

Zhang He looked at his wife with pretended disdain and said, "Why are you so nervous? You brought back so many rewards from the expedition. The whole family will have enough clothes for several years." "Yes, my husband is the best." The wife chuckled and said, "It's worth it that I forced you to marry me back then."

After hearing this, Zhang He was speechless.

They were both from Xiangcheng and had grown up together. The Zhang family was still a bit inferior in status, and the father-in-law was unwilling to marry his daughter to him, but his wife was unwilling to marry anyone else and had set her sights on him, so the situation came to a standstill.

Until the war against Tuoba Xianbei, he killed several people in the chaos and rode in the same carriage with the emperor after the war. After taking leave and returning to Xiangcheng, he directly showed his official uniform and seal, and the matter was resolved.

He was one of the warriors who defied fate and changed his destiny in this chaotic world, and he was full of gratitude to the emperor.

It had been less than a month since the soldiers of Jingling Longxiang Mansion returned from their campaign, but Zhang He wanted to follow the emperor north again. Even if he couldn't loot much from the Tuoba Xianbei, he still wanted to go and take a look.

"The King of Qin is here to provide disaster relief." When they reached the pond, Zhang He said, "Tomorrow I will go to each defense area to inspect and see how each family is doing. General Wu will give us a rough idea of ​​how much apology was received, so that he can go to the King of Qin to speak."

"Can't you go and tell the King of Qin?" asked the wife.

Zhang He smiled and said, "General Wu only said that. He is trying to flatter himself. He is only the commander of the Longxiang Prefecture in Jingling. Whether he can meet the King of Qin is still uncertain."

"What official position did the King of Qin get?" his wife asked again.

"Transportation envoy, pacification envoy."

"Official? Or honorary official?"

"You are at least a family member of an official. Remember this in the future..." Zhang He took a deep breath, raised his chest slightly, and said, "Officials with the word 'shi' in their name are appointed for a specific task, and will be dismissed when the task is completed."

"Oh." The wife looked at Zhang He with admiration.

Zhang He suddenly became vain and said, "The pacification envoy has the responsibility of disaster relief, and the transport envoy has the important task of transportation. According to General Wu, after the families affected by the disaster receive the relief food, they should just send troops to follow the emperor to the north. Farming cannot make up for the losses caused by the hailstorm, so it's better to go and rob cattle and sheep."

"Can you fight?" The wife subconsciously grabbed Zhang He's arm.

"It's hard to say." Zhang He didn't have much fear in his heart. It seemed that fighting was an opportunity to make a fortune for him. His desire for war was very strong. He continued, "It shouldn't lead to a big fight. The Dai Kingdom is like that. We killed them before, so what if we kill them again?"

The couple walked along, crossing the small bridge, crossing the fields, passing the almost completely collapsed and abandoned rural earthen wall, and climbed up to a high ground.

A hailstorm could not overwhelm Taiyuan, which was almost full of government soldiers.

This is the foundation of kingship and hegemony.

******
Shao Jin has arrived at Dongwo Longxiang Prefecture in Yuci County.

Halfway through the journey, he ordered all the mansions in the name of the pacification envoy to open their granaries and release grain, and then replenish the stock after the relief grain was delivered.

These warehouses were not under the jurisdiction of the counties, but were large warehouses placed by the Sinong Temple at strategic locations, such as the Yangchang Warehouse in the northwest of Jinyang and the Dongwo Warehouse in Yuci County.

When the officials saw that someone was responsible, they no longer hesitated and immediately distributed food to relieve the disaster.

However, this amount of food is definitely not enough. Only a part of it can be distributed first to provide relief to some victims. The bulk of the food still needs to wait for the food from Henan to be shipped in.

"Your Highness, I just inspected more than ten households..." The voice of Qin Wang Wenzhi Guo De came from outside the thatched pavilion beside the post road: "Many soldiers have stored grain at home. After returning from the expedition, they have a lot of money and can buy grain. Is it inappropriate to distribute disaster relief grain to them?"

Upon hearing this, Shao Jin did not speak at first, but looked at other people.

Yuan Dan, the left attendant, thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, in addition to the people in the military, there are also registered civilians. They are not as well-off as the soldiers. Many of them are descendants of gentlemen. When the Jin Dynasty was destroyed, their country was ruined and their families were ruined. They could only farm to feed themselves and were extremely miserable. Yesterday, I saw the Linghu family. They lost their parents when they were young and lived in hardship. In addition to farming, they never stopped studying. However, after the hailstorm, the crops were destroyed and they could no longer make a living. They-"

Shao Jin continued to look at Lieutenant Chen Kui.

“Your Highness may wish to summon Linghu to come and examine his knowledge. If he is talented, you may reward him with food and silk, or promote him to a position. This will also be a good story if it gets out,” said Chen Kui.

Shao Jin looked at Lieutenant Sima Yuwen and saw Xi Baxiong.

Xibaxiong didn't want to speak at first, but when the King of Qin looked at him, he could only say, "Your Highness, what does the emperor rely on to accomplish his mission?"

Shao Jin's heart moved.

"Who can we rely on if we want to gain a foothold in Jinyang? The lands of the Wang family of Taiyuan and the Wang family of Qi have been divided out for many years." Yuwen Xibaxiong said again.

Shao Jin nodded slowly and said, "The situation in Bingzhou is complicated, with Hu and Han people living together. The government soldiers are the pillars of the country, and we must not treat them lightly, or we will lose the support of the people. My first priority in Taiyuan is to provide relief to the guards to show the court's favor.

"Besides, the government soldiers have to prepare their own food, fodder and equipment when they go to war, which is very costly, so relief is still needed. Let's not talk about this anymore. If the registered people have no food to eat, they should go to Jinyang first and listen to the order to repair the roads and provide relief in exchange for work. When the grain and beans from Henan are transported, the problem will be solved."

Since he has said so, it is not appropriate for others to say more.

After Yuwen Xibaxiong finished speaking, he stood aside, very low-key.

Guo De sighed slightly.

The gentlemen were in such difficult circumstances, yet they still insisted on studying, which made him feel sympathetic. However, in the end, the warriors were given priority in receiving relief.

"Yan Dao, take some food and silk from the carriage and give them to the sons of the Yuci scholars." Shao Jin added, "It is really pitiful that such a great family, well-dressed and well-dressed gentleman, has ended up in such a situation. Your Majesty, when you go north to Pingcheng, don't conscript these people, and give them some dignity."

"Yes." Yuan Dan was convinced: "When the scholars of the world hear about this, they will definitely praise the king's virtue."

Yuwen Xibaxiong lowered his eyes and disagreed.

(End of this chapter)