When the two palaces in Qingshou Palace talk.
On far away Xihe Road, the situation has already undergone a qualitative change.
Wang Daxu, riding a horse and leading the men and horses under his hands, patrolled the kapok fields.
In Xihe in May, the sun shines directly on the earth.
The gurgling stream flows down from the mountains and merges into the Tao River.
A waterwheel has been set up in front of the canal that was just repaired this year.
In the spring of this year, Gao Xiang, two national relatives, took advantage of their connections and borrowed a large number of craftsmen from the Duzuo Temple from Yongxing Army, Luoyang and even Bianjing under the pretext of building Zisheng Zen Temple.
The arrival of these craftsmen brought a large amount of advanced technology from the Central Plains to Xihe.
One of them is this waterwheel.
As early as the Zhenmiao era, waterwheels, which had begun to appear widely in the Central Plains, first appeared in remote areas like Xihe.
The waterwheel, which is more than ten feet high, continuously draws river water from Taoshui to irrigate the kapok fields.
Wang Daxu liked to see this scene very much.
Because he also has a share of these kapok fields.
Not much though!
But it is the foundation for his livelihood.
"Wang Tiha..." Far away, Wang Daxu heard a familiar voice.
He followed the sound and saw a man in green clothes running towards him from the kapok field.
"Guo Gui!" Wang Daxu laughed: "What's the matter?"
Guo Gui smiled flatteringly and asked: "Tiha, why do you have time to come to the cotton fields today?"
Last year, Wang Daxu achieved military success by welcoming Ren Duo Baozhong and other party nobles into the country.
Moreover, because he is a subordinate of Xiang family.
Therefore, his merits were truly reported, and he obtained an official status from the Privy Council.
Now, he is a serious military minister.
Although he is only a minor envoy, he is also the lowest ranking among the minor envoys, borrowing his post from Class 3, Grade 9.
But in the Song Dynasty, this was a class jump!
How many unworthy military ministers would have to spend a lifetime just by grinding and training, before they could be favored by the court and gain the title of a third class loaner when they were old.
Forget about being sent.
Wang Daaxu is different!
Now he is not only a serious military minister, but also under the operation of his benefactor Xiang Zongji, he has received a serious mission from Xihe Road to appease the system and set up a department - Quan Fa sent Xizhou Didao to inspect
Envoy, this was his benefactor’s mission to Zongji.
Therefore, he deserves to be called a "discipline" by others.
"Today, I came to inspect Didao under the military order of the governor, and took a look at the cotton fields..." Wang Daxu rode on his horse and said to Guo Gui, and then he asked: "Last month, the Tubo leader Xi
How did the Tibetan hired workers sent by Bawen perform in the cotton fields?"
Not only Wang Daxu is paying attention to this matter now.
Many big shots above are also watching.
It is said that even literary stars like Mr. Jing Lue seem to attach great importance to this matter.
Wang Daxu didn't quite understand the thoughts of those big shots.
His idea was simple - Tibetan workers were very cheap, even cheaper than the Qiang and Dangxiang people in the past.
If they can use it, then some time later, Wang Daxu will also plan to go to the governor to seek connections, hire dozens of Tibetan workers, and arrange for his cotton fields.
Guo Gui reported with a smile: "Reporting to Tiha, those Tibetan people are a bit stupid. In the beginning, they even weeded with their hands and didn't know how to use iron tools..."
"But they are all quite honest and diligent..."
"Now, I'm slowly getting used to it!"
As he spoke, he pointed to the busy figures in the cotton fields: "Look at Tiha, these Tibetan hired workers can even do better than the Qiang and Dangxiang people now."
Wang Daxu looked around and saw countless figures busy in the vast cotton field.
The village leaders armed with whips and wooden sticks walked on the field ridges to supervise those people.
They were all really hard-working. Wang Daxu had been observing for a long time, but he didn't find anyone being lazy.
This really surprised him.
"Why is it so useful?" Wang Daxu was moved.
Guo Gui smiled and said: "Tiha doesn't know what kind of life these Tubo people lived in the past?"
"I heard them say..."
"They all used to grow highland barley for the Tubo nobles in Taozhou and Minzhou..."
"They are over there. Let alone being full, it is common for them to be hungry for five meals in three days!"
"In recent years, many people have starved to death due to drought..."
Wang Daxu was silent as he listened.
Since coming to Xihe, his three views have been refreshed again and again.
He originally thought that the evil-hearted workshop owners in Bianjing City were already the most evil people in the world - these people often owed money to their hired workers. When he was a child, the most he heard was that so-and-so owed others money.
No more, so-and-so took the whole family to XX's house and blocked the door to ask for wages.
But after all, the people of Bianjing are paid to start work.
Moreover, the price is not low.
One hundred or even one hundred and twenty dollars a day!
But here on Xihe Road, it doesn't matter if copper coins turn into iron coins.
A month’s wages are only three to five hundred cents!
If converted into copper coins, it would only be a few dozen!
As for this, both the Qiang and Dangxiang people are still willing.
Because, the cotton field manor of the Song Dynasty included food and accommodation!
Even though I eat rice cooked with bran, soybeans mixed with other whole grains and served with pickles, I may not be able to get a bowl of oily bone broth in a month.
We lived in a thatched house built of rammed earth, with seven or eight people often crowded into one room, and all they wore were old, patched clothes.
But those people are very satisfied.
He just likes to be lazy and cheat when doing things - the twenty or thirty Qiang people currently employed in Wang Daxu's cotton field will come every three to five.
Give him a headache!
Some people would even take the opportunity to negotiate terms with him.
I want to have a good meal, or I want some more pieces of peat for warmth.
Wang Daxu has a good heart. Under normal circumstances, as long as the trouble is not too much, he will agree to those people.
After all, people do work very hard.
But now, seeing the appearance of the Tibetan people in this cotton field, Wang Daxu felt that the Qiang people employed by his family were no longer good.
no way!
There are two types of Qiang people, one is cooked Qiang and the other is raw Qiang.
The Shu Qiang are people who are used to getting along with Han people and can speak Chinese, while the Sheng Qiang are those who hide in the valleys and herd sheep.
But now, there are not many living Qiang left.
If you look for it again, you have to go to Hengshan to look for it.
The familiar Qiang people are already very accustomed to dealing with Han people.
They were even led astray by Han sharecroppers and hired workers.
They all know how to bargain with employers, and have also learned Chinese skills such as laziness and pretending to be sick.
Wang Daxu’s employees are all familiar with Qiang, and they are all very shrewd!
Wang Daxu didn't take it seriously either.
Anyway, their price is not high.
One month, food and accommodation are provided, and three to five hundred cash in iron money is enough.
Compared with the wages in Bianjing, he only had to spend one-thirtieth of the wages in Bianjing, or even less, to hire a hired worker willing to work for him for a month.
Wang Daxu was already content!
But now...
Listening to Guo Gui's words, his heart was shaken.
He thought of his mother in Bianjing City, his wife, and even those children.
Wang Daxu swallowed his saliva.
He looked at the Tibetan people working diligently and thought to himself: "How much money will I save if I hire such Tibetan people?"
"After one year, I'm afraid it will be enough for Dalang to practice."
His eldest son will soon reach school age.
Although Wang Daxu is not good at reading, he hopes that his descendants will not have to be like him, licking blood with the tip of a knife and working hard with their heads tied to their belts.
Therefore, he always wanted his children to study.
In addition, he has two daughters.
He has to prepare dowries for them!
In the Song Dynasty, when a woman got married, she had to bring a sufficient dowry, and in accordance with traditions and customs.
Generally speaking, the dowry given by a woman when she gets married must be equal to the property that her son will receive when the family is divided in the future.
Only in this way will you not be bullied by your husband's family after you get married.
Only in this way can a woman have the confidence to speak in her husband's family - the dowry is the personal property of the married woman, and neither her aunt nor her husband has the right to interfere.
Therefore, there is a custom of drowning female infants in many places.
I really can’t afford it! I don’t dare to raise it either!
But Bianjing people don’t.
Bianjing people will do everything they can to provide for their children, preparing family property and dowry.
So, he looked at Guo Gui and asked: "These Tubo people have always been so diligent?"
Guo Gui replied: "Reporting to Tiha, they have indeed always been like this!"
Wang Daxu didn't understand.
He thought of his brother Big Gun.
In the past, when Wang Daqiang was fighting against the enemy in Bianjing City, he would try his best to be lazy and take a rest whenever he found an opportunity.
The Qiang people in Xihe, the Dangxiang people and the local Tubo people are all very hardworking, much harder than his brother.
But they can also be lazy and cheat to get benefits.
Some people even want to raise wages.
But these Tubo people in front of me were completely beyond imagination.
Don't be lazy, don't be a cheater, work hard...
What do they think?
Wang Daxu couldn't think clearly.
He was too lazy to continue thinking, so he said to Guo Gui: "Go and do your work!"
"No!" Guo Gui immediately lowered his head: "Tiyaha, walk slowly!"
This official was someone he managed to get onto with great difficulty.
Guo Gui watched Wang Daxu ride away on horseback and lead the people away.
He let out a slight breath.
"Brother Big Gun!"
"Thank you very much!"
He began to recall the fellow countryman he met on JD.com who went gold mining with him last year.
They once fantasized about their daily lives after getting rich suddenly. They also searched for traces of gold in the mountains and forests of Denglai. They also dredged silt together on construction sites in Hebei. They also listened to music together in the goulan and gambled in the tiles.
.
I also lost everything and still owe a lot of debt.
Finally, the two people escaped overnight, but were captured by those damn Qiu Ba on horseback with vicious dogs.
Then Guo Gui chose to come to Xihe.
As for Wang Daqiang, it seems that he chose to go to Guangnan West Road.
When Guo Gui was escorted to Xihe, he was sent to the cotton field.
Only then did he realize that Wang Daqiang's choice was the right one.
It's very cold and desolate here.
Apart from the Qiang and Dangxiang people, there were only poor people like him who had to come here to work to pay off their debts because they owed money to the officials.
Fortunately, he was lucky and met Wang Daxue soon.
Then, through deliberate approach, he learned that Wang Daxu was Wang Daqiang's biological eldest brother.
Through this relationship, he finally managed to get ahead.
From being a tenant farmer working in the fields, he became a farmer.
"I wonder if Brother Daqiang found gold on Guangnan West Road..." Guo Gui thought.
He started to get scared.
What if in the future, Wang Daqiang really gets rich, returns to Bianjing, and marries a county lord.
And he returned to Beijing alone and naked. How embarrassing it must have been for the two of them to meet on the road!
"no!"
"I have to get rich too!"
"I want to marry the county lord too!"
But in this Xihe, where is the place to make a fortune?
Do you rely on growing kapok?
Can kapok make you rich?
…
Wang Daxu rode his horse back to a walled city near Didao.
This place is called Nanguan Fort. It was captured from the Tibetan people when Wang Shao opened the border.
In the following more than ten years, the Song Dynasty continued to strengthen this stronghold, making it a key fulcrum for Xizhou to control Didao.
Back in the fort, Wang Daxu asked someone to take his horse to feed, and he couldn't wait to go to the Zhibao official office in the fort.
"Xiang Du Superintendent!" Wang Daxu entered the official office and went to the back house of Xiang Zongji, his benefactor and immediate superior. Now he had been promoted to the deputy superintendent of soldiers and horses in Xizhou and knew the affairs of Nanguan Fort. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Xiang Zongji.
Zongji was wielding an iron whip and waving it fiercely, and immediately bowed and saluted: "I'm back."
When Xiang Zongji saw Wang Daxu, his favorite general, he immediately put down his iron whip and asked, "Daxu's inspection is over?"
"Well!" Wang Daxu lowered his head and said, "I'm here to report to the governor that Didao is safe and sound today. I also went to the cotton fields to take a look at the new Tibetans who arrived last month..."
"Oh?" Xiang Zongji asked, "How is it? Are those Tibetan people still diligent?"
"I think they are more diligent than the Qiang and Dangxiang people. I watched them for a long time and didn't find anyone being lazy."
Xiang Zongji laughed loudly: "That's not true!"
He said proudly: "I begged my uncle for a long time to get this group of Tubo people!"
With that said, he drew a cake for Wang Daxu: "Get ready, Daxu! There will be a war soon! If I have done meritorious service, I will go to the uncle Guo and say good things to Daxu, and I will arrange a few jobs for Daxu next year."
Ten Tubo people!”
"Thank you, Inspector, for the promotion!" Wang Daxu immediately thanked him and was truly grateful to Xiang Zongji.
Without this person who promoted the people of the Queen Mother's family, where would he be today?
only……
Is there going to be a war?
Wang Daxu raised his head and looked at Xiang Zongji.
Xiang Zongji did not hide anything from him, and said: "My husband, Mr. Jinlue, issued a military order last month, saying that we should be on strict alert to be on guard against Tibetan invaders at any time!"
"Zhong Zhizhou from Hezhou and You Zhizhou from Xizhou met two days ago. They both said that the chief of Tubo, Qingyi, is ready to make a move and seems unconvinced!"
"The two prefects have already issued general orders, asking us to be more careful and not to give Qingyi a chance to take advantage of the ghost seal!"
After saying that, Xiang Zongji cursed: "Qingyi Jie Guizhang is a rotten sheep head. I didn't beat him to any pain last month!"
"How dare he refuse to be convinced!"
Last month, Zhongpu, the magistrate of Hezhou, and Quanfa sent You Shixiong, the magistrate of Xizhou, and others. Following the military orders of the two countrymen, they sent out three thousand troops, put on Tibetan clothes, and cooperated with Xibawen who came out of Xige City.
Soldiers and horses fought several battles in Taozhou, Minzhou, Huangzhou and Qingyi.
He was given a severe lesson and thousands of poor Tibetan serfs were rescued.
At the same time, it also opened up many key roads between Xizhou, Taozhou, and Hezhou, making it easier for those poor Tibetan serfs to seek asylum in the Song Dynasty.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!