Chapter 962 What matters most (Part 1)
"What's going on over there in Zuo Guoyuan?" Shao Xun asked casually, standing in the yard.
"Yesterday I came to report that the spring sowing has begun." Wang's second son Badger Lang (Shao Gui) said respectfully.
"But horse farming?"
"Exactly." When mentioning this matter, Shao Gui became more interested in talking and said: "I followed the method shown by my grandfather and selected three hundred strong draft horses to plow the fields on the river bank. It was two times faster than the oxen. Three times. Although the plowing is shallow, the people in the garden say it is enough."
"What are you planting?"
"Millet, wheat, millet, and beans are all available."
"How was the harvest?"
"Wheat is the highest. If you put the upper, middle and lower fields together, you can harvest more than two dendrobiums per acre."
"How much is left?"
Shao Gui thought for a while and said: "Let's fight two or three times."
"Two dou or three dou?" Shao Xun said displeasedly: "One dou difference is a lot. Now a dou of wheat can be sold for thirty yuan in Luoyang Nan City. It is still a newly minted Yongjia Tongbao. If you exchange it for It’s useless to make old money from Wu and Shu. Did you know that when farmers go to the market to sell some spring leeks and garden sunflowers, they can only get ten or eight cents at a time?”
Shao Gui was stunned.
"Hmph!" Shao Xun snorted coldly and said: "This will have to be reported to my subordinates, not yours to personally verify."
Having said this, he poked the second son's forehead with his finger and said: "I don't know what I am doing day by day. Do you feel dirty? Do you feel tired? Some things can be borrowed from others, but some cannot. My father has been working hard since he was young. Your grandparents You are still growing vegetables when you are almost seventy years old, so why are you so squeamish?”
"Grandpa, I also plowed during spring sowing." Shao Gui lowered his head and said.
Shao Xun was speechless and sat down on the stone table under the tree angrily.
Just at this moment, Lu Xun came over with two bowls of water and cakes, and said: "It's noon, let's eat first."
Shao Xun smelled the familiar aroma and looked at the slight white hair on Lu Xun's temples. His heart softened and he stopped scolding. He pursed his lips to his son and said, "Sit down and eat."
Shao Gui responded and sat on the other end of the stone table. After Shao Xun moved his chopsticks, he started eating slowly.
Shao Xun was eating as fast as a soldier. After a storm, he pushed the bowls and chopsticks, and his own soldiers stepped forward to take them away.
"Xun Niang, sit next to me." Shao Xun said.
Lu Xun sat down with some embarrassment.
Shao Gui lowered his head to eat and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"After all these years, I still remember the Shuiyin Cake from Liuhuayuan." Shao Xun said with emotion.
Lu Xun also recalled what happened back then, and his face turned slightly red.
A woman in her thirties had no children, and even though she had some money, she was lonely and helpless. She once thought about whether her adopted heir would be able to fulfill her filial piety and provide for her in her old age.
At that time, the world was in chaos and I fled to Guangchengze to take a breather. However, the family officials despised her, enriched their own pockets, and embezzled property. The generals also had hidden evil intentions, which made her terrified.
All this is the result of the chaos of the world, the loss of people's hearts, and her childlessness.
Gritting his teeth, he thought that taking advantage of others would be better than taking advantage of Shao Xun.
He coveted her beauty and the huge wealth that King Fan Yang brought back from his conquest of Hebei.
She covets his protection and hopes to live a peaceful life without fear.
As the saying goes, everyone gets what they need, half push and half done.
Finally, the middle-income family was overjoyed when they got a son.
The moment she held Badger Lang in her arms, her tears couldn't stop flowing down. This son was her lifeblood, so much so that the man called her "a loving mother but a loser."
Today, the child was scolded, and she felt a little uncomfortable, so she couldn't help but want to persuade him.
The man is now in a high and powerful position, and his prestige is growing every year. Fortunately, he still misses the old relationship...
Shao Gui also finished eating. The soldiers took away the bowls and chopsticks, wiped the stone table, and served tea.
Shao Xun picked up the bowl and rinsed his mouth, and then said: "You should go back to Zuoguoyuan. I originally wanted you to be a county magistrate, but after more experience, I think it's better to forget it."
Areas such as Shanglinyuan and Zuoguoyuan are not small and cannot reach a county, but they are still as large as several townships. There are also civilian households among them. For example, there are more than a thousand households in Shanglin Garden, and the same is true in Zuoguoyuan.
But the "ecology" of the garden and the county is different after all.
The gardens are all atomized households, similar to the society of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
There are nobles and powerful people in the county, and it is a non-atomized society.
Being able to manage a garden can only be said to have passed the basic skills.
But to govern a county, more comprehensive capabilities are needed.
Erlang still needs to practice again.
At the same time, I also sighed a little, the second generation was different after all.
He worked as a farmer, worked as a slave, experienced battlefields littered with corpses, faced overwhelming arrows, slept on ice and ate snow, killed people without blinking an eye, could play with heads, and argued with scholars.
The second generation grew up well-fed and well-off, with a different living environment and different life experiences. After all, there is a generation gap between father and son. Sometimes he also wonders whether his demands are too high.
Perhaps, the second-generation emperors in the past dynasties were almost like this.
They were not born with knowledge, they also made mistakes, and were beaten and scolded by the founding emperor. They also grew up through continuous experience, continuous learning, and correction of mistakes.
History books will not record the times when they were deficient and scolded when they were young, but will only record their actions after ascending to the throne. Before that, they will only mention it briefly, such as "less smart" and so on.
People will grow and change. We cannot completely deny them because of their shortcomings at this time. We need to observe more.
Thinking of this, Shao Xun softened his tone and said: "Can there be any gain when implementing the method of horse plowing?"
"Yes." Badger Lang saw his mother looking at him with encouraging eyes, and he felt calm and said: "There was horse dung falling on the field. The barbarians said that horse dung hurt the ground, so he asked someone to put it on the back of the horse's buttocks. "One bag to collect horse manure." "Also, as my father said, adding one or two horses in front of the cattle can make plowing a lot faster. The cattle are too lazy and are forced to speed up. , working hard to cultivate the fields.”
This is the volume! The oxen were too lazy. They obviously still had energy left, but they were just slow and unwilling to plow the fields. After adding a horse in front, the oxen was forced to roll up, and the efficiency was greatly improved.
"What else?" Shao Xun asked.
"When I was in the garden, I set the rules. The Spring Festival, Cold Food Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Winter Solstice, December Day, and Zhengdan festivals must be celebrated by both Hu and Han people." Shao Gui said: "Now the Xiongnu and Zahu It has changed, and it has gradually become like the people of Zhongxia.”
"Are they influencing each other?" Shao Xun said.
"Father is right," Shao Gui said: "The Han people learned from the Xiongnu, and the Xiongnu learned from the Han people. However, all counties in the world are Han people, and their customs are also different."
"It's good that you have this understanding." Shao Xun nodded and said: "Starting from this year, you will have more contact with Kelan, Xihe County and Shanyu Duhufu. Whether it is farming with oxen or farming with horses, in short, teach more and find ways to do it. let them settle Come down. Nowadays, many tribes still have nomadic farming and nomadic phenomena, which is not conducive to their transformation into kings. Please pay more attention and stop staying in the Zuoguocheng all day long. Engaged in the title of Zhonglang.”
"Yes." Shao Gui responded quickly.
"Zuo Guoyuan can be slightly expanded. The land is lush with vegetation. Excellent horses were produced during the Han Dynasty. There were also pastoral officials during the Xiongnu period." Shao Xun added: "I intend to set up a pasture here to cultivate cattle, horses, Draft horse, find a good place as soon as possible.”
"Yes."
Shao Xun thought for a while and found that he had nothing to explain for the time being, so he said no more.
"Your Majesty." Lu Xun said softly: "Xiaohe has found a house in the plains, and Liuhuayuan is back, why not——"
"Liuhuayuan is too big." Shao Xun said: "With Badger Lang's official position, he can only occupy twenty-two hectares of land."
"Liuhuayuan is not in Liang State." Lu Xun said, "It doesn't matter."
"That's what I say, but it's not beautiful after all." Shao Xun said thoughtfully.
As the sons grow up and go on errands, they have to support staff, retainers, bodyguards, and, if they get married, a large family.
According to the habit of paying for one's own work these days, the cost is not a small amount. It is impossible to support it with that salary, and it is also difficult to manage the area under its jurisdiction because the official system is very imperfect and the finances are even more unhealthy.
To put it simply, if you don’t have a mine at home, don’t become an official, because you won’t be able to support the people under you.
But if you are an official, it is difficult for your family to have a mine.
Some people have mines at home, but not enough, so they need the support of the entire family. Correspondingly, you need to support the entire family.
This is a medieval characteristic and must be tasted.
Lu Xun is right. Before the court's income is abundant and it can support more officials and improve the official system, you can only rely on your own money to support people and make up for the shortcomings of the system for the court.
Badger Lang used to live in Zuoguoyuan and support himself. This was not a big problem, but if there was an intersection with Xihe and Kelan counties and the Shanyu Protectorate, the cost would increase sharply.
"Badger Lang hasn't gotten married yet. Let Liuhuayuan be handed over to the Shaofu. I'll let the Shaofu spend some money." Shao Xun said.
"That's fine." Lu Xun nodded and said.
"Badger Lang, I will stay with your mother in Beijing for a few days, and then return to Zuo Guoyuan. If you want to travel far, bring enough guards." As he spoke, Shao Xun couldn't help but ask: "Zuo Guoyuan Dingzhuang, have you ever practiced? ?”
"I have practiced." Shao Gui replied: "Practice thirty days every year."
"What else?"
"There are still a hundred people in Youzhou Tuqi, and they train on their own."
"Is the equipment complete?"
"Human armor, vest, and bow are all complete."
"It's not like you don't know how to ride a horse and do archery. You have to lead them to practice. Don't always rely on your uncle's family." Shao Xun said seriously: "What your uncle gives you is yours. If you don't practice with them, who will you listen to in the future?" ? Take the families of these hundreds of people to Lishi and give them land. ”
"Yes."
"Go back." Shao Xun waved his hand and said.
Shao Gui bowed and left.
"You scared Badger just now." Lu Xun complained.
Shao Xun said helplessly: "What I gave him was a serious job, one of the three things I care most about in my life, but you... you are such a loving mother and a loser!"
"I only have a son..." Lu Xun said quietly.
Shao Xun wanted to say something, but was speechless.
The beauty that made him so anxious back then is gradually getting older and no longer looks as good as before.
Now, he was indeed more attracted to fresh and tender flesh.
He doesn't have much conscience, but he still has a little.
Xun Niang once brought him unparalleled happiness, and he still likes to eat the food she cooked.
He gently grabbed her hand and said, "Walk with me."
"After the founding of the country, I will patrol the north and south to let Li Yuan in the world know that there is a new king." Shao Xun said: "At that time, we will go to Guangchengze Liuhuayuan to have a look. I went to Liuhuayuan for the first time that year and ate The food you cooked is still fresh in my memory to this day.”
"When Hua Nu brought you here, I was shocked." Lu Xun covered his mouth and smiled, saying: "The eyes were as bright as a cat at night, and he always looked at me secretly. I almost regretted it at that time. Here comes the vulgar warrior.”
"How could that happen..." Shao Xun said awkwardly.
Lu Xun didn't answer, but gently held his hand, looked up at the sky, and said: "The sky is so beautiful today. On the long embankment of Guangchengze in the past, I just held the infant Badger Lang and walked. Let’s go. In the blink of an eye, he has grown up. The first time he called you grandpa, you smiled from ear to ear..."
Listening to the woman's soft words, Shao Xun also had some memories.
After a long time, he sighed softly.
He kills people like crazy, has a kind face and a dark heart, but he also has weaknesses.
(End of chapter)