Li Siye got off his horse and walked past him, looking around at the layout of the city. There was only one main road, and there were dozens of mud houses on the left and right. The roofs were all covered with thatch. There were stables in the northwest corner of the city wall.
There are dozens of skinny horses tied up, there is a blacksmith shop, a small wine shop, and then there is the thatched hall of the Shouzhou envoy's residence facing north and south, and the connected building houses, granaries and fodder yards are distributed on both sides of the residence. The entire residence.
The size of Shouzuo City is equivalent to the Novice Village in the game.
Tian Zhen and Fujimaki followed him, with a slightly disappointed look on their faces. They had prepared for the worst when they arrived, but in the end, their imaginations were still limited.
Yu Gou followed them step by step. Li Siye walked into the thatched hall, looked up at the beams, stopped and asked, "How many people are there in total?"
"Is the guard asking about the total population or the number of soldiers?"
"Soldiers, of course."
"A total of one hundred and sixty-three people."
Li Siye nodded. As a guard, he was only equivalent to the commander of a strengthened company.
"What about the total number of people?"
"Together with women, old people, newly-born children, and merchants who have lived in Congling, there are more than 500 people in total."
Oh, he also serves as the village chief of Novice Village.
"Are all the soldiers here today?"
Yu Gou hesitated for a moment before reporting truthfully: "There are still six people who have been working as guards outside and have not yet returned."
"Shou Zhuo Lang?" Li Siye asked in surprise.
Yu Gou quickly explained: "There are a few people who spend a lot of money and the salary they are given is not enough to spend, so they run outside and are employed by caravans and so on..."
Generally speaking, I just do private work during working hours.
Li Siye walked around the thatched hall and looked at several adobe houses. There was still a lot of old rice in the granary, but not much fodder. However, it was already spring and summer, so the horses could be kept free, and they could be hunted in autumn and winter.
Horse grass reserves.
He looked up and noticed the straw rope hanging from the beam, with knots tied into it.
"What's this?"
"Oh, this is a knot, used for accounting."
"Are you illiterate?"
As if he was humiliated, Yu Gou waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Although I didn't pass the Jinshi examination, I took the Mingshi subject instead and passed the examination. How can I not be literate?"
"Qixi paper is too expensive, and I can't afford an account book for large-scale accounting, so I use the knotting method to tie the outgoing and incoming accounts once a month, and then record them in the account book."
He took out the account book from the bamboo basket in the warehouse and opened it one by one for Li Siye to read. The small characters were densely written, which really saved paper.
They visited the city again. The soldiers put down their weapons and became residents of the city, pounding rice, tanning leather, and coaxing children. It was like a beautiful scene of men farming and women weaving.
Although Li Siye felt very unhappy, this was the normal situation for border soldiers. Work was life. They had already sacrificed part of their freedom and were ready to sacrifice their lives at any time. Can they still be deprived of their lives?
Li Siye took a casual look and saw that the wives of these sergeants, including Han Chinese and Hu Ji, lived together in this city. It was actually more like a village. They were both neighbors and comrades. He, Li Siye, was a dignified subordinate.
A high-ranking military attache is in charge of the people of such a village and the land covering hundreds of miles in radius.
He stood on the top of the city guarding the city and suddenly turned around and asked Yu Gou: "Has the superiors come to inspect our place?"
"Inspection?"
"It's just a visit from a superior official."
"It seems that I have been here before. Du Siam, the protector of Anxi Province, came here more than ten years ago when he inspected the trade routes. However, he did not enter the guarding city. He only took a close look. At that time, he seemed to have said something. It turns out that there is another building here.
Shouchuo City should be preserved."
Li Siye held on to the wall with both hands. It was indeed too remote and desolate. If he expected the imperial guards to come down to inspect, he would have to wait for a long time. If he expected military success, it would be impossible. Even if the Tang army wanted to fight, the regular troops from the four towns of Anxi would be mobilized.
The garrison has nothing to do with their border guard post.
The most important thing is that the more than one hundred and sixty men under his command are not even equipped with armor. How can they fight?
Where have all their armor gone?
There are three things that a new official should do when he takes office. The matter of questioning the armor should be arranged for the second thing.
"Where is Gao Sifang, the former guard who died of illness, buried?"
Yu Gou stretched out his hand and pointed: "There are many earthen bags on the other side of the mountain. The destination of all of us will be there in the future."
Li Siye was in awe, and immediately ordered: "Pass on my military order, all the troops from the top to the top are wearing armor, and they will go with me to worship Duke Gao, and also to worship the brothers who died at the border."
…
Li Siye and three others rode out of the city, followed by more than a dozen riders, including sixteen captains and two team captains. Among these sixteen captains, three were managed by Lord Bo Yugou, who was responsible for guarding and escorting the logistics of grain and fodder.
These people were anxiously riding on their horses. They couldn't figure out where the new envoy Shouchu was. Logically speaking, Shouchuo City was a retirement home for military officers. Few young people were transferred here. Li Siye looked too young.
And he looks very high-spirited.
They like officers who are more sophisticated and sophisticated, and do not like people who are motivated and try their best to climb up. As the saying goes, civil servants rely on political performance, military officers rely on dead people, and if guards want to climb up, they will be unlucky.
The two team members were riding horses and fell behind Yu Ge. They lowered their voices and asked quietly: "How is it? This new envoy looks very motivated, which is very bad."
Lord Bo Yugou looked back at the two of them and said in a low voice: "Don't talk about it here, we will talk about it when we get back."
They came to the cemetery and got off their horses. The graves were arranged neatly, even when they were buried in the ground. Li Siye did not bring any paper money or incense, but only a small jar of Sanle pulp.
Kaifeng mud is poured on the graves one by one.
He took the lead in paying homage to these dead Tang soldiers, and at the same time, he quietly turned around and glanced at these people. There were quite a few people who were moved, which was enough to show that they had a deep relationship with Gao Sifang, the commander of the army who died of illness.
The fire is burning properly.
After the worship was completed, the two captains and Yu Gou took the initiative to come forward, crossed their hands and said to Li Siye: "Li Shou is the new envoy today. According to our practice, we should drink and celebrate first. The brothers have already hunted the prey.
, and wine has been prepared, waiting for your approval."
Li Siye nodded and said with a smile: "Okay, since it is everyone's wish, I will naturally accept it, but I have to wait until night."
The group returned to Shouchuo City again, and Li Siye went to rest in the thatched hall. The ambition and pride that Tian Zhen and Teng Mu had accumulated when they arrived seemed to have been extinguished by a basin of cold water.
"Look what kind of place is this? There is no human habitation within a few hundred miles, so what's the use of having a guard and capture city here?"
"There are still people inhabiting it. There is a country called Shini in the lower reaches of the Miduo River. Its king was named General Jinwuwei by the court. He is located in our Congling Guarding Station."
Tian Zhen was very irritated, turned around and sat on the ground and snorted dissatisfied: "Don't fool me, in a place like Qixi, a village or a small tribe can establish its own country, and then wait for the saint to confer a general."
Li Siye did not refute, but smiled affirmatively: "You are right. If you do nothing and just wait, you will never be promoted. There is still a lot to do here."
Tian Zhen and Fujimu didn't understand. Li Siye said there was much to be done. Where did he get the confidence?