"Princess, Third Master, Fourth Master and Fifth Master are here to pick you up!" Ye Fei said, looking in front of him.
Xia Jing naturally noticed the three galloping horses and the people on the horses.
"Xu~"
"Mother, you have had a hard journey!"
Li Chengmu took the lead and was the first to cross the guard camp in front and run to Xia Jing's horse.
Xia Jing welcomed his arrival with a smile on her face.
Li Chengmu's eyes scanned Xia Jing's body like a radar, and he said with a smile: "Concubine, you are cheating!"
The smile on Xia Jing's face was slightly stagnant. It was true that this was Li Jingfu's son. Could she pack it up and send it to him? It wouldn't be heartwarming at all!
"Mother concubine."
"Concubine, welcome back!"
Li Chengyi and Li Chengli rode over.
Xia Jing smiled at them: "During my absence in the capital, you brothers have worked hard. Is everything okay in the capital?"
Li Chengli looked back at the city gate of the capital and said with a smile: "Everything is as usual, except that the farming has ended, and the repairs of the city walls and the palace are nearing completion. Once the repairs are completed, several main roads in the city can be renovated."
Xia Jing nodded and looked at the slowly advancing team: "That's good, let's go to the city first."
Li Chengmu squeezed next to Xia Jing and said, "Mother, my trip to the grassland this time has yielded a good harvest. Have you brought any gifts for your son?"
Xia Jing controlled the horse to move forward at a steady speed. After listening to his words, she glanced at the two stepsons beside her who had their ears pricked up, and pointed back: "There are two thousand horses behind, including many thousand-mile horses. The three of you brothers can
Go and choose one as a gift from me!"
Li Chengmu's face was filled with joy, "Son, I would like to thank my mother and concubine for your generosity first!"
Xia Jing was very happy at what he said, "Hey, what did you say? It sounds like I'm stingy. If you don't like this gift, you don't have to choose it. It just so happens that I can add one more cavalry to my team!"
Li Chengmu listened to Zhi Le: "You actually heard my hidden meaning, but Son Ma will still choose. If someone gives you a gift, why don't you want it!"
The mother and son bickered all the way and soon returned to the palace.
After Xia Jing washed up, she lay on the bed and felt that all the bones in her body were about to fall apart, "I'm so tired!"
"Hongmei, don't let anyone disturb me, I want to take a nap to replenish my energy!"
"Princess, I understand!"
The next day.
Everyone had a good sleep and felt full of energy.
Xia Jing ordered the foremen of the military camp to kill cattle and sheep, and the whole army celebrated their triumphant return.
The cattle and sheep brought back from the grassland can improve the food supply of the military camp for a long time. If they are well raised, the sheep may be able to give birth to lambs, and the big cows may give birth to calves, and the reproduction will continue.
Then they will have endless mutton and beef to eat.
At this time, there was no such thing as beef cattle and farm cattle. Cattle raised on the grasslands were also common breeds. Dairy cows had not yet been introduced to the grasslands during this period.
It is difficult to train the big cattle brought back from the grassland into working cattle. Some calves mixed with them can be trained for a period of time, and maybe they can be trained into working cattle.
Another point is that adult cows have adapted to the climate of the Central Plains, and when they give birth to calves next year, they can also be trained into farm cattle.
Long Yutian looked through the bubbling mutton hotpot and looked at Xia Jing, who was sitting at the top: "Princess, how do you plan to arrange the Beidi herdsmen who are escorted back this time?"
Xia Jing put a piece of tofu into the bowl. After listening to his question, she stopped what she was doing: "These herdsmen are ordinary herdsmen without herds. They are the lowest class of people living on the grassland.
Help the leader herd the cattle.
I don’t have a herd, so you can imagine how difficult life is on the grassland. Now that Dayu has come, I, Dayu, have vast tracts of farmland that are uncultivated. If we rent some fields for them to cultivate, I believe they will be very happy to stay.
Life of Dayu."
You must know that herdsmen have no fixed residence in the grassland and live wherever they like.
Now that they have come to Dayu, they don't have to live in tents, they have a fixed residence, and they can get a few acres of land. I believe they can settle down in Dayu.
Long Yutian stroked his beard, thought for a while and asked: "If we rent fields to them for farming, will the herdsmen know how to farm?"
Xia Jing glanced at him and said, "If you don't know how to learn, let the farmers teach you. As long as you are not a fool, you will learn one day!"
Li Chengmu swallowed the delicious mutton in his mouth, and after listening to their words, he asked: "Concubine, you rent fields to herdsmen, what percentage of the rent do you plan to charge?"
Xia Jing had already made up her mind about this matter. Now when her son asked about it, she told the people present her thoughts:
"The population loss in the Gyeonggi area is serious. I originally wanted to carry out land reform, but I didn't want the powerful family to directly help me make the choice. Since they voluntarily gave up the industries in the Gyeonggi area, it was just right for me to take over them all. From now on, all the fields in the Gyeonggi area will belong to me.
If anyone wants to rent a plant, they will charge 20% of the rent."
When regaining the lost land in Gyeonggi, Xia Jing issued a notice to the world at that time. Anyone with property in Gyeonggi area could return their property if they came to Gyeonggi area to register within one month.
On the contrary, if you do not come to the capital to claim your property after one month, it will all return to the public. It will be impossible to get your property back later, unless you use money to buy it back from the Yamen.
After hearing this, Long Yutian glanced at Li Chengli and Li Chengyi. When the two brothers heard the announcement, they wrote directly to Jiankang and asked his wife to directly send over the land deeds for all the properties in the Gyeonggi area.
In response to this announcement, there was no damage to any of the rooms in the palace.
The only ones who suffered losses were probably the powerful families. They thought they were well-established and did not take the court seriously. They ignored the announcement and ignored it. When they came to their senses, they might regret it!
Long Yutian didn't like the powerful family at all. They were unlucky, but he was happy to watch the show!
Li Chengyi also asked: "Mother concubine, the Beidi herdsmen have come to Dayu. If there is no one to guard them, are you not afraid that they will escape back to the grassland?"
"I give them preferential treatment policies, they have houses and fields, and they can live and work in peace and contentment. If they still want to escape back to the grassland, then I can only say that they are born to be servile and despicable. No one can help them and they can only fend for themselves in the grassland.
Bar!"
For the people of Dayu who were kidnapped by Beidi, they were rescued this time. Those who wanted to return to their hometowns could return to their hometowns, and those who did not want to return to their hometowns could live in villages arranged by the government.
If you don't have any land, you can rent government land. You only need to pay 20% of the output every year and you can keep planting.
This comparison is much more cost-effective than renting the land from the landlord's house.
Moreover, when you rent government land for farming, you don’t have to pay any other taxes after harvesting. The 20% rent includes taxes.
When the people down there heard about such a good policy, they were simply overjoyed.
They feel that at least they have a head start in the future, and they no longer have to wake up and waste all their courage just to live a difficult life.
When Xia Jing returned, Wei Dong, who was already busy measuring and counting land, was so busy that he hit the back of his head with his heels.
The rescued people of the original Dayu need to be resettled, and the Beidi herdsmen who were brought here also need to be resettled. This year, they can no longer even think about farming their own land. In order to get a ration of food, they can only help the government manage the fields.
That is, the fields that Ding Dazhuang is responsible for cultivating. The crops in these fields are in urgent need of personnel to manage them. The herdsmen and Dayu people brought back from the grassland have solved his urgent need!
The Batu family were ordinary herdsmen who were brought from the grassland this time. They traveled through mountains and rivers to the capital of Dayu. They thought that the fate of the family would be to spend the rest of their lives in the mines.
But they never thought that Dayu's government treated them as ordinary people. They not only gave them houses, but also gave them fields to cultivate, according to the officials.
Within a few days, their family and several families of herdsmen were assigned to a village at the foot of a mountain. They were accompanied by more than a dozen families of Dayu people who did not want to return to the remote villages.
"Master, no one lives in this village?" someone asked when they arrived at the entrance of the village.
The officers and soldiers who sent them here took a look at the desolate village, "There has been a drought for three years, and everyone who is panting has run away. How can there be anyone in the village? However, the princess made an announcement some time ago, and some people returned to Gyeonggi, but they are not
People in this village."
Batu pointed to the houses scattered throughout the village, "Master, how should these houses be distributed?"
This is very important. They are herdsmen who were captured from the grassland. According to the xenophobic behavior of the Dayu people, if he does not make it clear now while the official is present, he is afraid that when the official leaves, they will live in the worst place.
Thatched shed.
"You can count the houses that can be occupied by people, and then draw lots together to decide, or draw lots and sort them, and everyone will choose the houses in order, and the house in the front will be chosen first!"
The officers and soldiers suggested that of course it was up to them to decide.
Batu clasped his fists at the officers and soldiers: "We also ask a few officers to bear witness for us!"
Seeing this, the leading officer and soldier could only nod. If he disagreed, if they left, there would be trouble between these herdsmen and the people of Dayu.
Under the supervision of officers and soldiers, Batu chose a house on the outskirts of the village, with three rooms and a small courtyard. Although it was a little dilapidated, such a house was quite satisfactory for the herdsmen who lived in the grassland without a fixed place.
.
Houses were selected one after another, and it was inevitable that some of them were satisfied, but even if the officers and soldiers were present and were dissatisfied, they did not dare to nag.
Before the officers and soldiers left, they gathered everyone at the entrance of the village.
"Now you have settled down. The large fields outside the village need people to manage. If you are interested, you can find a manager. Your wages will not be owed or withheld."
After hearing his words, the villagers' eyes lit up.
"My lord, if we manage the crops in the fields, will we be paid by the day or by the month?"
Officer and soldier: "It's all fine, it's all up to you!"
The entrance to the village suddenly boiled.
They settled in the village and were worried about their family's livelihood.
The government decided to hire them to manage the crops in the fields. The more good things like this, the better.
The officers and soldiers clapped their hands to signal everyone to be quiet.
"Now you have settled down and have your own home, but the officers and soldiers still have to fight the rebels. If any of you wants to live a better life for your family, you can sign up to join the army.
As a soldier of Dayu, as long as you make military exploits, you will be rewarded by the government, promoted to a higher rank, fertile land and herds, gold, silver and jewelry. Obtaining any of these things can make your family live a better life.
For a good life, think carefully about it for your family. If you think carefully about it, you can go to the Yamen to sign up!
But remember, you only have ten days to register for the military draft!"
When Batu heard this, he felt disturbed. He felt that this policy was completely prepared for the Beidi herders.
You must know that the grassland herdsmen have innate riding and shooting skills. It can be said that when they are on horseback, they are well-trained cavalry, and when they are off the horse, they are qualified herdsmen!
If he served in the army and made meritorious service, and the government really rewarded him with fertile land, his family would basically be able to take root in Dayu, and their life would get better and better.
There were many herders who had the same idea as Batu. Within five days, the recruitment registration office had recruited 500 prairie men.
Five hundred prairie men are like five hundred cavalry. They don't even need to train, they can be directly brought to the battlefield and become the main force of the battle.
When this news came back to Xia Jing, she knew the number of people and was very happy.
She smiled and said to Long Yutian: "It seems that it is necessary for us to raid the grassland tribes. The life of ordinary herdsmen in the grasslands is not easy. We will organize several more times to rescue them in the future!"
After hearing what she said, Long Yutian felt happy in his heart, but the corner of his mouth still twitched, "The princess is right. If we run to the grassland a few more times, it will be easy for us to form a cavalry force of tens of thousands."
"Heroes think alike!"
Xia Jing was really thinking about when she would go to the grassland again. She could not only get horses but also people. The most important thing was that grassland herdsmen were born cavalry.
This temptation is a bit big!
Just as she was planning to conquer the grassland again, Jiankang's messenger sent Jiankang's letter.
"Mother, concubine, what did the father say in the letter?" Li Chengmu asked.
The meeting was interrupted, Xia Jing simply opened the letter in front of everyone, read every line at a glance, and pressed the letter on the desk.
"The emperor wants to send officials to govern the Gyeonggi region. Do you have any different views on this matter?"
Li Chengmu's eyes flashed with surprise: "My father actually compromised with the courtiers? He actually came up with such a bad idea. Who does he want to govern? Without military power, no matter who governs, they will not be able to secure this position."
The Gyeonggi region is surrounded by tigers and wolves, and not everyone has the courage to serve here.
Li Chengyi looked at Li Chengmu: "How did Xiao Wu know that his father had compromised with the courtiers?"
"It's no big deal. According to my father's temperament, he won't go to great lengths to plot against my mother and concubine."
Li Chengmu wanted to say that he didn't have the guts or the brains, and the most important thing was that he was too lazy, otherwise how could he have become a dandy among the dandies in the capital.
Xia Jing sneered: "Even you can see the problem clearly, but your father didn't see it, and he complied with the courtier's wish and wrote to inform me. It shows that he has been living too carefree these days and is a bit drifting!
"
I don’t even know how much I weigh, but I dare to pick her wool!
Li Chengli was very curious about how Xia Jing would respond, "Mother and concubine, if officials come, what will you do?"
Xia Jing raised her eyes and glanced at him, and said coldly: "If you know what's going on, go back the way you came. If you don't know what's going on, there will be a worker in my mine!"
"Pfft!" Li Chengmu gave a thumbs up to his mother-in-law.