Chapter 101 The weather is sunny and the summer rain is cool
After welcoming the arrival of the old camp, in order to settle the hundreds of thousands of families, women and children, the Zhuang envoys from Li Laiheng to the grassroots level of the Huguang army and the envoys to catch the thieves all started running around.
Li Guo proposed that many of the confiscated gentry houses be directly given to Laoying's family members to live in, but Li Laiheng had other considerations.
At this time, Fang Yiren, who served as secretary-general, and De'an Yin, Chen Kexin, who also served as the deputy capital camp field envoy, were busy abolishing all guard military fields.
This land-based military system once mobilized huge energy to repair the land of North China that had been devastated by the Mongols.
But today, the military system of the guard station has been completely destroyed, and the remaining military fields of the guard station on the land of Sanchu have become an outdated and negative asset that will reduce administrative efficiency.
Of course, these things have become the "remnants of Zuozhen" that Li Laiheng demanded to be completely eliminated.
He deliberately combined the resettlement work of the old camp with the task of destroying the guard camps. Under Li Laiheng's arrangement, the old camp of the Chuang Army will no longer be like the past, with more than 100,000 or hundreds of thousands of people all gathered in one place.
, but were dispersed and deployed to the various state capitals in Huguang.
These old, weak, sick and disabled people will share the administrative pressure of the grassroots officials such as village envoys, bandit envoys, inspectors and other intruders on the corpses of the guards, and fully promote the work of clearing land and reclaiming wasteland. Originally, due to the left army
The prefectures and counties in the Han River Basin that were destroyed and turned into wastelands, as well as the royal palaces and garrison wastelands that were confiscated by the intruders, will slowly flourish again.
This was undoubtedly a frightening thing for the local gentry in Huguang. Especially in Xiangyang, Jingzhou, Hankou and other places that had just been occupied by the invasion army, people couldn't help but become suspicious.
It's just that this fear, in the absence of external military support, is not enough to evolve into a major rebellion. At least for now, Li Laiheng's village system and public-private partnership have given the gentry a way to survive, leaving them no choice but to
Without hesitation, when the conditions for military rebellion are very lacking, is it a better approach to conduct limited cooperation with the insurgent army?
However, most of the family members of the old camp of the Chuang Army were from Shaanxi and Henan. Li Laiheng would also be worried. Will the sudden arrival of people from Qin and Henan in Huguang land cause doubts and dissatisfaction among the local indigenous people?
Fortunately, the Hungry Ghost Festival, which is coming soon, has eliminated this layer of doubt.
Since the war has basically been calmed down, the copycat armed forces in the countryside have either been eliminated or incorporated by the Protagonist army, and the remaining officers and soldiers have all been pacified. The security situation in the areas controlled by the Protagonist army has greatly improved. Originally, due to the war, there were already many people in eastern Hubei.
The plague, which had been prevalent for nearly a year, gradually stopped after the rule of the Chuang Army was completely settled.
The Kendeji merchants who supported Chuangjun's foreign trade system were originally mainly Jiangyou merchants who were active in Hankou and Jiujiang. Among the Jiangyou merchants, the largest number were medicinal merchants, such as Xiao Weisong, the chief shopkeeper of Kendeji
I am a medicinal herb dealer from Zhangshu Town. Their efforts to purchase medicinal herbs from Jiujiang, Nanchang, Anqing and other places are also a major reason why the plague in eastern Hubei gradually subsided.
During the Hungry Ghost Festival, from Suizhou to Xiangyang, from Jingzhou to Hankou, thousands of residents and farmers from the surrounding countryside go to cities or nearby markets to worship those who died due to long-term plague, drought, famine and war.
family.
Green smoke is rising everywhere around Xiangyang, and the city is decorated with lights and colorful decorations. In front of every shop, there is a small flag with the word "Chuang" painted in "Yangwu Blue" and fluttering in the wind. In the streets and alleys, there are also doors of every house.
There were countless small pieces of yellow paper posted in front of the street. Some yellow papers were hung on the street with almost invisible strings, with the four words "Fengtian Advocate for Justice" or "Suppress the Troops and Contain the People" written on them.
Farmers from the four townships poured in from nearby city gates, huddled together with their livestock and vehicles on the street. From Zaoyang came mule carts with very thick wooden wheels, loaded with summer grain;
What came from Gucheng was a small donkey cart that was convenient for walking in the mountainous areas. It had a three-foot-square cart board, and there were often one or two children sitting on it who were watching the excitement in the city.
The main thing that attracts farmers to the city is the various entertainment activities organized by Li Laiheng in the old camp. Among them, the Bangzi Opera sung by Shaanxi people is the most popular.
The content of Bangzi Opera is mostly funny stories close to the daily life of farmers, while others tell the story of the invasion army's experience from setting up troops in northern Shaanxi to lurking in Shangluo, then advancing into the Central Plains and southward to Huguang.
Not only were people singing, but there were also people dancing. The border residents in northern Shaanxi did not taboo girls showing up outside. Many women from the old camp danced in the Bangzi Opera. Although the dance movements were simple, these free and beautiful scenes were enough.
It was an eye-opener for the villagers of Zaoyang and Gucheng.
There are still a few plays left, which mainly tell the various dramas that happened during the Yingtian reform: the content mainly focuses on the attempts of some local powerful men to undermine the new Yingtian law. Generally, it will be set up as a soldier general from Zuozhen and the local tyrants who are accomplices, and a
The peasants are afraid that the new law on farming will make them pay more to the government, and that there will be a small scholar who sneaks into the army to betray the farmers and please the rich. In the end, of course, there will be an envoy to the army to catch thieves or envoys.
Inspectors, they will get the help of local people, tell the farmers the benefits of the new law on farming, and finally deal with the local tyrants and rebels.
Most of the lines of these Bangzi operas were written by Xie Zheng, a scholar from Tidian, and some new writers who had just passed the festival examination. According to Li Laiheng's standards, they were all unreliable people. Therefore, Li Laiheng did not allow them to express themselves freely.
, but gave a very rigid template, requiring that all plots must unfold on these templates he appointed.
In fact, the acting skills, movements and enthusiasm of the family members of Laoying Opera who perform Bangzi Opera are not very good. Many of them actually come to Huguang to have a good time and have the plan of being the uncle and the young lady, but they are forced to sing in the opera by Li Laiheng. Of course, their enthusiasm is not good.
high.
But even so, for the simple ordinary people in the prefectures of Huguang, this year's Ghost Festival is still an eye-opener for them. Those shows with awkward plots and poor acting have added endless laughter to the farmers.
There was a lot of noise and noise, thousands of country people were bustling around, and vendors from Hankou were selling steaming rice soup, sweet fruits and finely made cotton cloth.
According to the time agreed upon by everyone, Li Guo will lead his troops northward and leave Huguang on the fifth day after the Ghost Festival, which is July 20th. Li Laiheng will lead his troops northward and leave Huguang on the second day after Li Guo goes north, which is July 20th.
On the 22nd day of the lunar month, they attacked Yunyang.
So Li Guo regarded this grand gathering of the Ghost Festival as a farewell ceremony. He looked at the endless flow of hundreds of carts carrying grain, and was impressed by the strong sense of unreality.
"The prosperity of Jingxiang is really due to the contribution of the young tiger commander. After the commander-in-chief returns to Bian, he should report this matter to the Lord to show the merits of the young tiger commander in governing Chu."
Niu Quan, who had just been sent by Niu Jinxing to serve as the Yin of Xiangyang, was relatively honest. He knew that the peaceful situation in Xiangyang was all thanks to the new Huguang system created by Li Laiheng. He praised him nonstop, which made Li Laiheng look at him with admiration.
.
Li Laiheng was still modest about Niu Quan's praise and said: "The fact that Xiangyang settled down so quickly is not my fault, but the credit of many township officials."
"I have served as the county magistrate for the Ming Dynasty for several years. I know that the difficulty of governing the Ming Dynasty is that it does not attach importance to rural affairs. All rural affairs are entrusted to the hands of the village elders and squires. Once something happens, the magistrate's order cannot leave the city wall."
Now the nominal leader of Xiangyang, Jingxiang Jiedu Envoy Chen Xin once served as the magistrate of Laiyang County for several years. He got to the point of the imperial court's bad political practices:
"The imperial court does not have the administration of rural officials. This is one of the root causes of the problem that the imperial court is helpless today. I heard from Wen Gu that Marshal Shaohu had already set up a school for rural officials in Suizhou. Chuangjun focused on rural administration, which was really the best way to refresh the administration of officials.
I think the township official school can’t just be located in Suizhou. Now there is a shortage of manpower everywhere. Xiangyang should also set up a township official school.”
While everyone was talking, there was a monkey entertainer on the street who attracted many people's attention with his movements. The dexterous little monkey leaped and flipped in the air, and the large crowd of spectators burst into astonishing cheers.
Li Guo, who always had a serious face, couldn't help laughing at this time. He clapped his hands repeatedly, then turned to Li Laiheng and said:
"The Generalissimo has been worried about you fighting alone in Huguang. Will you be able to handle everything well? It seems that he is really worrying too much. Originally, the Generalissimo and Niu Military Advisor thought that the successive destruction of Song Yiniao and Zuo Liangyu was the result of their destruction.
You are the subordinate of Zhang Xianzhong, but you don’t know that it is all your fault. Moreover, the Huguang army not only has great military exploits, but also has such good political performance. Wang Chen said that the administration of rural officials is very good. After I return to Kaifeng, I will definitely report the situation in Huguang.
Report everything to the Generalissimo, and don't let them have any more misunderstandings about you."
As he spoke, Li Guo patted Li Laiheng's shoulder again. He thought that not long after he reunited with his adopted son, he was about to go north to join the war because of Sun Chuanting. Thinking of the separation, Li Guo couldn't help but narrow his eyes. He controlled his emotions.
Emotionally, he let out an inaudible sigh.
In the vast and clear sky, white cotton-like clouds floated to the southeast in the wind. As the clouds swayed, a few drops of rain fell.
Li Laiheng gently touched his wet felt hat and said with a smile:
"The weather is fine and the summer rain is cooling. After I uproot Yunyang, I will join forces with my adoptive father in the Central Plains...or Chang'an."