The grass grows, orioles fly, and the warm sun shines high.
With the arrival of April, spring has suddenly arrived in the entire north, and the coldness of winter is gone in an instant.
At Gubeikou, more than a thousand cavalry galloped in, bringing with them bursts of dust. No one dared to block the entire official road, and it flowed unimpeded.
"Stop, stop, stop -"
As the horses relaxed and the cavalry galloped, there was a sudden pause.
The leading guerrilla general couldn't help but turn his head and slowly walked to a young man.
I saw that he was dressed in fine clothes, the materials used on his body were all exquisite, the patterns were extremely exquisite, his facial features were three-dimensional, and his face was handsome, but a look of tiredness appeared on his cynical face.
"Fourth Master, what's wrong with you?"
The man asked with a wry smile.
"I'm tired." King Liao said feebly: "The inner thigh is rubbing so hard that it feels like the skin is about to be scratched. Why are you walking so fast?"
"Have a rest and find a post station to rest your feet."
"But it's only thirty miles away from Gubeikou..."
"We have to rest for thirty miles. We can't bear it anymore, let alone the horse on our lap? Why don't we have any compassion at all?"
Hearing this, the King of Liao was quite indignant: "We train on weekdays and occasionally breed horses. How can such vigorous riding be cruel to the horses?"
"Yes! Yes!" The guerrilla general was embarrassed and could only obey.
He had long heard that the King of Liao was responsible for breeding horses, but he did not expect that His Highness the Prince would still have feelings for horses.
In the Beijing camp, although the number of cavalry is small, its status has always been higher than that of infantry, and is almost the same as artillery.
Therefore, in terms of organization, the cavalry did not follow the principle of one battalion of five hundred men, but one battalion of one thousand men and one team of one hundred men.
In this way, you can perform better on the battlefield.
Therefore, leading a thousand people cannot be a camp commander, but a guerrilla general.
Guarding the King of Liao, the group came to a post station.
Since this official road leads to Gubeikou, there are many caravans passing by, so the post station also appears to be very large.
There are no less than thirty tables for eating alone, and the stables are even more exaggerated, able to accommodate two to three hundred livestock at a time to rest and eat.
Facing such a large army, Yi Cheng frowned and lowered his head slightly: "The county government and the Ministry of War have not issued an order. I wonder which army your army is?"
Hearing this, the guerrilla general was embarrassed.
Their troops originally planned to arrive in one day, and had no intention of stopping. Where did they get the order to conduct an inspection?
At this time, the King of Liao got off his horse, his legs twitched, and he couldn't help but breathe in the air: "Stop talking nonsense, I just want to rest today, and I will leave in half an hour."
"You prepare food and horse feed first."
Yi Cheng was stunned for a moment, he was so loud.
Without an order, the money he spent could not be reimbursed at all. This was equivalent to paying out of his own pocket. How could he be happy?
He raised his head and said righteously: "If the general wants to take a rest, that's fine, but please leave some words for investigation in the future."
"As for food, your army has nearly a thousand men and a large number of war horses. It will definitely not be ready in a while. I'm afraid we will have to stay until dusk."
"If you don't care, I will prepare it for you."
"Dusk? The day lilies are all cold."
The King of Liao didn't like it, so he immediately ordered: "Wei Wu, there is no order, let the brothers rest on the spot and eat some cold food."
"There should be some hot water, right?"
"Of course there is." Yi Cheng was stunned for a moment, shocked by his demeanor, and responded hurriedly.
The King of Liao nodded slightly and then went upstairs to rest.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and the King of Liao went downstairs, hired a carriage, and continued northward with the cavalry.
It wasn't until dusk that the group finally arrived at Gubeikou.
The King of Liao took a breath and finally arrived at Gubeikou before dark.
Gubeikou is an important pass on the Great Wall north of Beijing. With the trade between Chahar and Chahar, this pass has become increasingly prosperous, with countless caravans traveling from north to south.
There is naturally no shortage of money, food and materials, so supplying this cavalry is naturally easy.
The next day, when the sky was slightly bright, King Liao, who was sleeping soundly, was woken up by Wei Wu: "Your Majesty, the outpost has come to report that Governor Sun has set off from Luanping City and will arrive at Gubeikou in two hours."
"Really?" King Liao said sleepily: "Call me again in half an hour. I was too tired after running all day yesterday."
At this time, Sun Changzhou, the governor of Chahar, led a team and moved slowly.
This time he left Chahar to return to Beijing to report on his work.
After staying here for several years, he has completed his merits and it is time to enjoy his blessings.
Accompanying him were the soldiers from the Beijing camp who were returning to Beijing after changing shifts.
There was joy and excitement along the way and everyone was happy.
Although the rotation system of Beijing-based border guards was only implemented for a few years, under the emperor's vigorous promotion, it has been fully implemented in the border areas.
The Beijing camp entered the border, and the border troops entered Beijing.
In just a few years, hundreds of thousands of border troops were semi-integrated into the Beijing camp system, and the emperor and the court had stronger control over them.
Sun Changzhou sat on the carriage, looked back at Luanping City, closed his eyes slightly, and showed a smile at the corner of his mouth.
He governed Chahar for nearly ten years, and his greatest contribution was to appease the Chahar tribe, and to extensively reclaim farmland and build cities to collect grain.
By the 19th year of Shaowu's reign, the entire Chahar Governor-General Region already had six cities: Luanping, Chengde, Chifeng, Heicheng, Jianchang and Pingquan.
The number of Han people reached nearly 400,000.
The cultivated land area reaches 20,000 hectares, which is enough to feed the entire Mongolian and Han people in Chahar.
Moreover, with his efforts, the size of the Khan tent has continued to expand, and it has occupied nearly 40% of the grassland of the Chahar grassland.
More than 70% of the nobles have received iron sheep money, handed over their tribes to the jurisdiction of the Governor's Mansion, and enjoyed themselves in the city.
In other words, almost 60 to 70% of the tribes are completely under the control of the Governor-General's Palace. There are countless officials from hundreds or thousands of households, acting as the tentacles of the Governor-General's Palace, controlling the Mongolian people.
It can be said that due to its proximity to Beijing, the degree of centralization of power in Chahar is even greater than that in Yunnan, Guizhou and other places. Except for the Beihai County Prince, the two Chahar County Princes also keep to themselves.
Sun Changzhou can confidently say that he laid a good foundation for the imperial court to rule Chahar. In less than thirty to fifty years, it will be the same as that in the mainland.
As for Luanping City, because it is close to Gubeikou and the first stop after leaving the Great Wall, its prosperity is no less than that of some large cities in the mainland.
At least in Sun Changzhou's view, it was even better than his previous Xuanfu.
At noon, the group arrived at Gubeikou.
On the official road, hundreds of people have been waiting for a long time.
Taking a quick look, I saw a young man in the lead, wearing a smart uniform and full of lazy and leisurely temperament. He stood out among the soldiers.
"My grandma——"
The King of Liao hurriedly greeted him and personally helped Sun Changzhou out of the car. Every move he made was full of intimacy.
"Why are you here to greet me?"
Sun Changzhou smiled broadly: "My majestic prince, why do you have to do this?"
"As a junior, my grandson is the most suitable person." King Liao said softly: "You have made great contributions, and it is fitting that I should be here."
"The mother-in-law has been thinking about this matter for a long time. She is concerned about it, so naturally my son will have to worry about it."
Sun Changzhou shook his head and was helped into the city by him.
Among the officials in Gubeikou, he just nodded slightly and did not say much.
As an important minister of the imperial court, a high official in the border areas, and more than 90% of the people in the entire Ming Dynasty, he did not need to look good.
Only when you enter the fortress can you truly enter the pass.
Just for a moment, Sun Changzhou felt different.
The wind seems to have softened a lot.
"Thank you for your hard work this time."
Sun Changzhou smiled and the wrinkles on his face relaxed a lot.
"My grandson is happy." King Liao said hurriedly: "When I return to Beijing this time, my grandson will definitely be put in a good position!"
"I'm old." Who knew that Sun Changzhou shook his head and said without hesitation: "I am almost sixty years old. The cold wind of the grassland has been blowing for many years, and my bones seem to be much lighter."
"When people get older, they no longer have ambitions."
In this regard, King Liao wanted to say more, but he wisely stopped.
Sun Changzhou's employment in the imperial court and local governments has more advantages than disadvantages for him as a vassal king.
If nothing unexpected happens, he will go to Jufan next year. In such a desolate place as the Western Region, he really has no confidence.
He looked at Sun Changzhou, whose temples were gray and his face was full of wrinkles, and he felt sympathy for his body.
After staying on the grassland for so long, although I have great power, who can understand the hard work?
Because there were old people like Sun Changzhou, it took the group two days to go back.
At this time, in Beijing, the imperial court announced that Fu Zhiyuan, the imperial minister of the Imperial Academy, would be the chief examiner, and Dr. Yiqian, Si Ye, Jian Cheng, and idle veterans such as Guanglu Temple would serve as co-examiners.
The policy of restricting the seat teacher system is still implemented.
Moreover, according to the usual practice, this group of people serve as examiners. After working as examiners, they will be promoted to one level at the end of the year and directly enter the official service for retirement.
The cabinet and the eight ministries regret once again.
Sun Changzhou wanted to see the emperor, but was told that the emperor was on inspection in Changping.
This happened to be the place he passed by when he came back, so he simply missed it.
Changping, in an imperial mansion.
After staying in Beijing for a long time, Zhu Yixi thought about civil affairs again. If he wanted to understand the people deeply, he had to investigate.
Private visits via incognito servers are undesirable and unnecessary.
He was still wandering around the capital this time, and the civil servants were used to it, so they just asked for safety and left him alone.
After leaving Beijing, Zhu Yixi felt as if she had been freed from layers of heavy shackles, and her whole body felt much more relaxed.
Outside he can do whatever he wants, fight on horseback, in the field, or in chariots, and no one dares to criticize or oppose him.
The vast flat land allows him to run around.
After being ridiculous for a while, he got tired and started to do things seriously.
The village in front of you has only about a hundred households, living along a small river. It has about a hundred acres of irrigated land and about three hundred acres of dry land. It is considered average in the entire north.
However, due to its proximity to Huangzhuang, it is more receptive to new things than other villages.
As the tentacles of the emperor, Huangzhuang naturally had to implement his will and always be the pioneer of agriculture.
For example, corn, sweet potatoes, etc. were basically implemented by Huangzhuang first, and the people nearby followed suit after seeing the benefits.
Just like the windmill mill, it has been implemented in the entire Shuntian Prefecture for many years. Basically, any wealthy gentry will build a windmill mill. This has caused it to bloom throughout the north and spread like grass seeds.
Water resources in the north are very scarce, which makes it difficult to popularize the use of water power. Even the time-saving and labor-saving water mill is a scarce resource in the entire Shuntian Prefecture.
In the past, manual shelling was the mainstream.
Therefore, in the north, it is difficult for people in the south to eat fine grains every now and then. Coarse grains are the mainstream.
Even the landlords cannot have as good a diet as the ordinary people in the south.
The windmill has adapted to the water-scarce environment in the north, and the cold wind on the grassland is its biggest help.
"Old man, are there many sweet potatoes grown in the village?"
When we came to the village land, during spring plowing time, no one had time to spare. Even the children who had just learned to walk were wearing crotchless pants, pulling weeds and picking up stones.
The village chief is forty-seven or eighteen years old. He is very old, with white hair and beard. The wrinkles on his face are droopy, showing his old age.
The emperor was only a few years younger than him, and standing together, they looked like two generations.
Years of pampering and working in the fields are obviously two different things.
"There are hundreds of acres of sweet potatoes grown there, but if you don't care about the land, they just taste heart-burning."
The old man laughed along with him. Although he didn't know who the person in front of him was, he must be a big shot and couldn't be offended.
"I heard it can be made into powder!"
"It's not worth spending money to grind it." The old man said hurriedly: "We won't even use the wheat!"
Zhu Yixi sighed.
Whether it is a stone mill or a windmill, the cost is relatively high.
After ordinary people work hard to harvest, they are exploited by paying taxes, being exploited by selling grain, and even if they want to get food into their mouths, they have to be exploited by mills.
Apart from the land, the most valuable thing in a village is probably the millstone.
Many gentry controlled the countryside not only by relying on land, but also on many means of production.
Such as mills, waterwheels, oxen, iron plows, etc.
Even if all the land is divided equally, the gentry who own the means of production will quickly control the civil order and annex the land again.
Just like those agricultural books and equipment books in ancient times, how can ordinary farmers understand them? Even if they understand them, how can they have the financial resources to do them?
Even the most common stone grinding mill costs three to five silver coins, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Therefore, these agricultural books basically serve the landlords.
Only landowners can read books and have money to do it, and then use advanced production means to control the countryside.
Then it spread to the countryside through landlords.
Zhu Yixi walked around again and found that there were many beets planted in the village, which made him very happy.
The village chief said that they planted these because some people wanted to harvest them, and they could get three cents per pound, so they planted some. After all, they could still make vegetables and eat them even if they didn't harvest them.
"The children like to eat this the most. It's sweet. It's right called beet."
The village chief sighed with emotion, took out the tobacco rod from his arms, and looked at the dry tobacco: "This year is much better than before. The tax is low and life will be easier. In the spring of this year, there are several more kids in the village..."
Listening to the old man's nagging, Zhu Yixi gradually calmed down.
Low field taxes need to be maintained for a long time.