Brothers Tuoba Yimin and Yichao are working hard to harvest crops in the fields.
It’s mid-May, and the winter wheat planted last fall is already in harvest season.
They were so clumsy that they couldn't cut more than a few rows all morning. Their neighbor Liu San couldn't stand it anymore and offered to help, on the condition that he would pay part of the harvested grain or simply pay money and silk.
The brothers were overjoyed and agreed without any hesitation.
They are really not short of money.
My father, Tuoba Renfu, disappeared inexplicably. Fortunately, his family was not implicated, and his property was only confiscated. It seems that after so many years, some things have gone unresolved, and the Great Xia Sage has no intention of pursuing them. Thinking of this, my father can run away.
But that's too silly.
Under the arrangement of Aweng (Tuoba Sijing), more than ten members of the Tuoba family moved to Tianxing County, Qizhou. Using their old official connections, they bought a piece of public land, about an acre, and started farming.
.
The money to buy the land was all provided by Aweng. But Aweng passed away last year and gave them a lot of property. At least in Houfu Township, Tianxing County, the Tuoba family is the leading family.
Large households also have to farm their own land because they can't find tenant farmers. In the north, there were once a large number of Tubo, Qiang and Dangxiang people in Xingning and Jingyuan. They either divided the land themselves or were moved to unknown places.
Nowadays, it is difficult to find tenants, which is really frustrating.
In addition, the neighbors are also very angry about the Tuoba family's purchase of public land, making it even harder to find people.
The so-called public land literally means land that has not been allocated by the government.
Public land has many uses. In the former Tang Dynasty, for example, part of the public land was used as "office land" to provide subsidies to officials. That is, all or part of the income from this land was distributed to the corresponding officials. Officials no longer enjoyed the benefits after leaving office.
This treatment will be replaced by the next person.
The post field of the post station is also a kind of public land. The income of the post field belongs to the post station as part of the court subsidy. After the post general leaves office, he will naturally not be able to use this part of the income.
In addition, sacrificial fields, pastures, mountains and forests, imperial mausoleums, forbidden gardens, palaces, etc. are all considered public land, and there are still many names.
The management of public land was not strict. At this time, there were few people and plenty of land, and there were not enough people to cultivate it, so most of it was left uncultivated.
Naturally, the surrounding people will not just watch the public land become useless. They will drive their domestic livestock to graze to increase family income. Some people even deliberately sprinkle grass seeds so that better and more productive feed can grow on the wasteland -
- For farmers, grass is also a resource, and it is a relatively important resource. The government often collects hay when collecting taxes.
The Tuoba family bought less than an acre of public land, which naturally made the nearby people very dissatisfied. However, they did not dare to act rashly because it was rumored that Tuoba Sijing and the governor of Qizhou were close friends. Such people were difficult for them to
Provocative.
The two brothers Tuoba Yimin and Yichao were not fools. Of course they felt this vague hatred. But they had no choice but to take the land back? How could it be possible? Therefore, the relationship was so frozen.
It's really a blessing to meet a neighbor who is willing to help today. This is not only a matter of money, but also represents the issue of whether they can integrate into their hometown.
At noon, the two wives came to the fields with baskets to deliver water. They were both from Yangzhou, with good backgrounds, and they looked tender and tender. They did not look like farm wives at all, which attracted many people.
look.
Tuoba Yimin thought for a while and asked his wife to distribute some food to the neighbors.
These people's families are not wealthy. Because they have to do farm work, the family specially bought pig paste and mixed it with flour to make steamed cakes. They must have been hungry all morning.
The lady was not happy, but Yi Min insisted and went.
"Thank you, Mrs. Tuoba." Liu San took a cake sprinkled with sesame seeds and chewed it carefully.
He ate very quickly and in a hurry. When he was done, he picked up the sesame seeds scattered on his legs one by one and put them in his mouth to eat.
His son was also nearby and was given a small pot of soup stewed with dried salted fish.
"Leek in the morning and rice in the evening. Du Juan's craftsmanship is good." Tuoba Yimin also sat down and wolfed down the fish soup.
"Could this fish be caught in some wild ditch? Why is it so big?" Liu San asked after drinking some water and looking at the fish soup in his son's hand.
"No." Tuoba Yimin said truthfully: "I bought it from Changxia Trading Company last winter. It is said that it is Liaodong turtle head. The price is slightly more expensive than carp, but this kind of marine fish is not available locally, so the high price is justified.
But the fish is actually very hard and old, and it also has a strange smell. If it weren't for the spices to cover it up, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to eat it."
Liu San looked at Tuoba Yimin with incredible eyes.
He didn't know where Liaodong was. The furthest he had ever been was Hedong, or Li Keyong had guarded Qinzhou as a soldier of the Guanzhong Tuan Regiment a year or two after his death. From Tuoba Yimin's tone, it should be farther than Hedong.
.
Such a long distance was probably transported through the Yellow River and the Wei River, and it had to be late autumn, a month or two in early winter before the rivers froze. After being transported to Chang'an, the section of the Wei River to the west may not be easy to travel, and most of the time it can only be
Land transportation. When we arrived in Tianxing County, the price was actually only slightly more expensive than local fish. So how cheap is Liaodong fish?
"Haha!" Seeing Liu San looking like he had seen a ghost, Tuoba Yimin smiled and said: "Actually, Changxia Commercial Bank shipped a batch of dried tuna over here, because the long-distance transportation cost a lot.
The price was set too high, so I couldn't sell it. The dried fish, which had a strange smell, was more expensive than local fresh fish, so of course I couldn't sell it. In the end, I had to accept a loss and lower the price, so I bought a batch back."
In fact, dried fish is salted, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a bit more expensive. But the price of salt in northwest Beijing is really nothing, and not many people take advantage of this bargain.
"I see." Liu San nodded and said, "Actually, the road is better now. When I went to Hedong, the ruts on the post road were as deep as ditches and criss-crossed, and I would sprain my foot if I wasn't careful.
New roads will be built today, all leading to the state, right?"
"Actually, there is no universal traffic." Tuoba Yimin said: "There is only a part of the road between Chang'an and Tongguan. In some places, large carriages can be driven, but in some places it cannot. To the west of Chang'an, only Chang'an to Qianzhou is fully accessible.
It is accessible, but it is not the case heading west from Qianzhou. Some counties and villages have repaired it, while others have not."
"Tuoba Dalang knows a lot." Liu San said.
Tuoba Yimin was a little depressed when he heard this. When I was in Huainan, I was from a family of a general, so I didn't know much more than you, a farm servant? But then again, Liu San had been to Hedong, so he had seen the world.
"Besides, Changxia Trading Company is actually the property of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Does the Ministry of Internal Affairs know about it?" Tuoba Yimin asked.
Liu San shook his head.
"It is the yamen that makes money for the emperor." Tuoba Yimin explained briefly, and then said: "They transported dried fish to Guanzhong, but it was actually a failure. They should not do this again in the future. But they lucked out a few days ago.
I brought in a batch of walrus ivory and it was quickly sold out, making me crazy."
Liu San thought nothing of it, but his son Liu Dazhuang was fascinated by it: What does an elephant look like living in the sea?
Tuoba Yimin noticed Da Zhuang's look and said, "If you want, you can become a warrior. Ping Haijun is always recruiting people."
Liu Dazhuang was a little moved.
Liu San slapped him directly and scolded him angrily.
Tuoba Yimin and Yichao were laughing so much.
There was a sound of horse hooves on the post road not far away. Then came a large group of carriages and horses, carrying people and goods, there were always hundreds of them.
Tuoba Yimin was stunned, and subconsciously stepped forward to watch, thinking in his mind, could it be that he came north from Sichuan?
Because they came from the south, and the post road leads to the middle of Shu...
Xia followed the Tang system and did not restrict the migration of people.
"Liu Dian of the Tang Dynasty" states: "In the Yueqian system, those who live in narrow villages are allowed to be lenient; those who live far away are allowed to be close; those who live in places with light labor are allowed to be lenient."
Before the Anshi Rebellion, people's migration was still subject to considerable restrictions, because at that time tax collection was based on taxation and government soldiers were also popular. However, there were still a lot of people migrating across the country, mainly to Huainan and the south bank of the Yangtze River.
After the Anshi Rebellion, the imperial military system was already over, and the two-tax law was implemented for tax collection. Population migration became more frequent. In addition, the border military states between the two capitals that were previously strictly restricted were gradually liberalized, and the conditions for population migration became more relaxed.
But there is one thing to say, the system allows you to move, but there are still a few people who really have the ability to take action, unless the war is burning.
"Dare to ask..." Tuoba Yimin stepped forward and was interrupted mid-sentence.
"Moduo said that Nanzhao's troops crossed the Dadu River with such ferocity that even Lizhou City was captured."
"Yazhou is coming soon. When we arrived in Chengdu, people from Yazhou had already fled, saying that they were about to be surrounded."
"Yazhou will definitely not be able to be defended. This time the officers and soldiers fought too poorly. They collapsed at the first touch. The thieves are so powerful that they pursue them again and again."
"I don't think Chengdu can be saved."
"Chengdu can't be saved. Nanzhao won't kill Hanzhong, right?"
"It shouldn't be so. But who are the Shengjie Army? They usually show off their power, but when they go into battle, they are beaten to such a pulp."
"I don't know how long the fight will last. Can this business be done? Oh, by the way, brother, where are you going to the city? I am in a hurry to sell goods."
It turned out to be a businessman!
Tuoba Yimin smiled and asked: "You dare to go out to do business, but you are still so panicked. What can you do?"
The person who asked the question looked a little embarrassed and argued forcefully: "You have never seen an army of three hundred thousand. It is full of pits and valleys. It will scare you to death."
"Nanzhao has 300,000 troops?" Tuoba Yimin didn't believe it and said, "What kind of goods are they?"
"You don't want to buy, why are you asking so much?" However, the merchant still said briefly: "They are all things that Li and Yazhou are rich in, such as bran, pepper, hemp, musk, bezoar, and tea."
"Twenty miles straight north along this road, there is a lacquered square pavilion, which is a place for farewell drinking. Not far past the lacquered square pavilion, you will reach the state city." Tuoba Yimin said.
"Thank you very much." The merchant saluted. When he looked up, he saw the wheat fields being harvested and praised: "What a peaceful and prosperous time. This is how people live."
Tuoba Yimin glanced at him sideways. A small businessman would be satisfied with this life. Changing places, he had already wielded a spear in the two states of Li and Ya to fight for wealth.
"Wait a minute!" He grabbed the merchant who was about to leave and asked, "Have you ever seen a sergeant with a Huainan accent in Shu?"
"No." The merchant broke away slightly, took two steps back, and said: "I have only seen warriors with Henan accents in the Longjian Second Prefecture. They had been stationed there for a long time, and they seemed to be breaking up camp and heading south. The Huai soldiers ?Never seen one."
"Oh, then let's go." Tuoba Yimin stepped out of the way and said.
It seems that the troops from Huainan did not go to Shuzhong.
Alas, a hundred thousand troops once fell apart and are now scattered across the South China Sea and the North.
He was born in Ziqing, but grew up in Yangzhou, and has a deep affection for Huainan. Because his father served as a cavalry general in the shogunate, he had many friends in the Huai army, so he was naturally concerned about their situation.
He had heard before that the Huai army had been transferred to the southwest, but now there was no news, which made him a little sad.
Will the King of Yan fight? No, let me go. I mount my horse and charge for a while. I don’t believe that the barbarian beasts will not be defeated. Thinking of this, Tuoba Yimin actually had an impulse: I used to look down on Liu San’s husband, but now I am also a farmer. husband?
Farming is so troublesome, and there is no point in being a farmer. Instead of wasting time like this, why not go south and join the army, have a good fight with the Nanman, and maybe get rich?
Why doesn’t the imperial court recruit troops in Qizhou? I’m almost dying of anxiety waiting!