Chapter 763 Pingyang Supplements (Part 1)
After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Shao Xun summoned Liu Runzhong at Chongming Temple in Jianshi Hall and comforted him a lot.
Liu Yena did not come forward because she was pregnant and was not feeling well.
Her daughter, who was born in the twelfth month of the 10th year of Yongjia, died of illness in November last year.
This is Shao Xun’s second child who died in infancy.
We have been fighting, patrolling, training troops, and managing politics all year round, and we have never met him more than once. As a result, we are separated from each other, which is a pity.
After meeting Liu Runzhong, he gave a lot of property from Ningshuo Palace because he heard that Liu Runzhong had bled a lot for this marriage.
The groom's name is Sun Jue. Although he is not a relative of the Sun family in Zhongdu, his family situation is not very good. I heard that he has become a farmer.
Sun Jue was still a concubine, and wanted to marry into a wealthy family, but there was no way, and people didn't think much of the Sun family in Zhongdu, which was declining in the country. The whole family only had three to four hundred households, which was extremely poor.
So, when he was twenty-two years old, he still failed to marry a wife despite being unable to achieve high or low results.
The daughter Liu Runzhong married was his legitimate daughter. She was fifteen years old this year, seven years younger than Sun Jue. She also had a fortune of tens of millions and lived a prosperous life.
Although Shao Xun was happy to see this kind of thing, he was still shocked when he heard all the details.
Some things are not impressive enough without personal experience.
The upstarts' crazy pursuit of old money reminded him of the obsession of upstart capitalists with aristocratic women during the Industrial Revolution. They were so wealthy and powerful that they did not hesitate to bleed a lot of money to marry into aristocratic families whose financial situation was deteriorating. .
Forget it, the eldest brother doesn’t talk about the second brother.
Although he doesn't lick now, he paid great attention to pleasing women when he started.
Liu Runzhong loves as much as he likes.
This is the trend of the times. From top to bottom, everyone is enthusiastic about it. It cannot be changed by one person in a short time.
Overall, it is probably progress.
The corrupted old gentry themselves have been shuffled and updated to a certain extent.
The land and population in the hands of the gentry were less, and the resources directly under the imperial court were more.
The number of noble clans has increased and diversified, and their average strength has declined.
It is not easy to make any progress.
After Liu Runzhong left Chongming Temple, he immediately sent people back to the Shangdang on flying horses to convey the message.
Liu Quan, the general of Heqing Town who was celebrating the New Year at home, took charge on behalf of his father. He counted his family wealth and chose 200 slaves, 300 horses, 2,000 cattle, and 50,000 sheep as dowry.
After the news spread back to Pingyang, it caused a huge sensation.
Especially when I heard that the betrothal gift promised by the Sun family was only more than a hundred volumes of books, the disparity between the two made the marriage even more popular.
For a time, there were some who ridiculed, some who envied, some who reviled, and some who thought deeply.
On the whole, most people laugh at the Sun family in Zhongdu, saying that they are crazy about money. Doesn’t this ruin Sun Jue’s life?
He works hard in Taiyuan and makes a living by himself. Others still praise him as a benevolent man. What does it mean to marry a Hu girl for money now?
If the Liu family of Shangdang had not had a strong background and the support of the King of Liang, the prospects of the Sun family in Zhongdu in the officialdom would definitely be affected - those who break hundreds of years of stereotypes will inevitably be criticized. Compared with the marriage between Sun and Liu, If there is a second or third marriage in the future, the pressure may be much less.
But no matter what, as a big news in the first month of the fifth year of the Divine Turtle, this matter was excerpted by someone who wrote "Pingyang Supplements".
******
After not seeing each other for a year, my parents are getting older, but they are still in good spirits.
But they are not used to living in Ningshuo Palace because there is no place to grow vegetables here.
There was no other way. In early February, Shao Xun personally carried a rake and uprooted some of the precious flowers and plants collected by Liu Cong, clearing out a vegetable patch for his mother.
For older people, sudden changes in the way they have lived for decades may not be a good thing.
Furthermore, my parents only grow a few fruits and vegetables as a source of sustenance. The labor intensity is greatly reduced compared to that of growing food in the past, and it is actually not that tiring.
"February is over, are you going out again?" Mother Liu asked as she took out the salted water from several water tanks under the eaves and washed it.
"Yes." Shao Xun kept turning over the ground and said.
"You are good at farming." Ms. Liu glanced at her and said, "If there was no chaos in the world, with your body and your skills in farming, it would not be a problem to marry a good and well-raised girl in the countryside of Donghai."
Shao Xun looked at Yang Xianrong, who was making tea at the side, and the two looked at each other and smiled.
Working on the coast of the East China Sea? Where can there be true peace in this world? To the end, a locust plague will bring hunger to the chest. I dare not think about what will happen in the end.
After Yang Xianrong made the tea, he hesitated.
Shao Xun gave her an encouraging look.
Yang Xianrong's eyes were red. He gritted his teeth and walked up to Mr. Liu with the tea bowl in hand. He said softly: "Madam, please have some tea."
Mr. Liu was stunned for a moment. .
Shao Xun gestured to his mother with his eyes.
Ms. Liu reacted, took the tea with both hands, and said, "Changqiu, sit down quickly."
Yang Xianrong bowed and sat down gracefully.
Shao Xun smiled at her.
Yang Xianrong has never made or served tea for his mother. Today is the first time.
Her identity is "Queen Hui", and her mother Liu's title is "Mrs. Liang Guotai". Which one is older and which one is younger is self-evident - to be honest, there is no systematic system of married women in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In one respect, it is not even as innovative as Liu Hanhui’s system. In addition, Yang Xianrong's family background is top-notch, and the pride she has developed since childhood does not allow her to be condescending. Being able to do this today is simply unprecedented, and it also reflects Shao Xun's continuous improvement in status.
“Bang!” Shao Xun raked with his backhand, breaking the hardened mud ball, and continued to loosen the ground.
It’s spring time today and it’s slightly warm.
Eating the food cooked by my mother at home, flirting with my lovely wife and beautiful family for a while, and listening to the sounds of children playing, such peace is indeed not common.
But this is his back house, just a corner of the world.
The tranquility here means nothing.
While the troops are busy, you can take a break here, release your desires, cultivate your sentiments, and change your mind, but after all, you should not be too nostalgic.
"Auntie, what will you grow in this vegetable field this year?" Shao Xun asked casually after loosening the soil, sitting behind the special tea table, washing his hands first, and then pouring himself a bowl of tea.
Yang Xianrong and Liu had a great chat.
Actually, as long as you put down your airs and think things through, with Yangyang's emotional intelligence and knowledge, it won't be a problem to please Mr. Liu.
"Of course we plant leeks in early spring, but it's a pity that you don't come back to eat them." Ms. Liu complained.
“What did you sow from spring leeks?” Shao Xun asked, drinking tea comfortably and bathing in the cold spring breeze.
"Grow whatever you want." Mrs. Liu said, "Maybe let Cai Shangshu help build some bamboo frames and plant courgettes."
Shao Xun almost spit out his tea.
The dignified Cao Shangshu is here to set up a cucumber stand for you?
Yang Xianrong's eyes turned around, and his eyes were full of smiles.
"Plant some okra in autumn, and some turnips in late autumn..." Ms. Liu counted them one by one.
"I brought over some evening seeds from Guangcheng Palace. These seeds were cultivated in the green garden at the foot of Kongtong Mountain." Yang Xianrong said softly: "When the king was in Lishi Mountain, I sent several carts. It’s very sweet and refreshing.”
“It’s really delicious,” Shao Xun said.
The hybridization of turnips and cabbages can produce many strange things.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a saying of "picking Feng, picking Feng, east of Shouyang", and Feng was the predecessor of water spinach. The ancestors planted various vegetables without knowing it. The vegetables naturally hybridized, and then they were selected by chance and continued to be planted.
In the Han and Wei dynasties, people continued to grow cabbage and turnips. The long period of natural hybridization has caused the sage to continue to mutate. By the Western Jin Dynasty, Chinese cabbage was a leafy vegetable very similar to rapeseed and green vegetables.
Historically, during the Northern Wei Dynasty, a kind of water woaf that could withstand severe frosts suddenly appeared in Luoyang.
Compared with the traditional Chinese cabbage, this plant is much larger and is called "big Chinese cabbage". Its color has also changed, no longer pure green, but a little white.
Emperor Xuanwu of Wei sent a boat to Nanliang. After the prince Xiao Tong ate it, he was full of praise and wrote "Xie Chilai Henan Cuisine Qi" and "Xie Chilai Da Songqi" to express his gratitude. Since then, it has become popular all of a sudden - there is a big difference in style between Da Siong and later generations of cabbage. Rather than looking like cabbage, it is more like rapeseed, or baby cabbage.
Shao Xun has always wanted to make cabbage.
In ancient times, it was slowly discovered through the long-term process of natural hybridization. Sometimes new species even appear but are ignored. You know, seeds will degenerate. In history, in the Tang Dynasty, some people brought big cabbages from the south to the north to plant them, and after two years they all turned into turnips...
Cuiyuan has been artificially growing turnips and cabbage for nearly 20 years, and finally developed a large cabbage that can withstand severe winter frosts, and its properties are stable and will not deteriorate.
In this way, people will have another fresh dish on their winter tables.
"This thing is called 'Xiaobaicai' or 'Dasong'. Whichever you think is better, call it." Shao Xun put down the tea bowl and said: "Winning a few battles will not be remembered for thousands of years, but small Cabbage will make everyone remember you."
Yang Xianrong covered his mouth and smiled.
She was just playing around with the man. She could do whatever he wanted and just play with him. But she didn’t expect to actually play something new, and she was very happy.
"Forget it, just plant some big sativa this year, put it away after the frost, and wait for you to come back to eat." When saying this, Mrs. Liu looked at Shao Xun with earnest eyes.
"Okay." Shao Xun nodded.
Ms. Liu smiled happily.
"In a few days-" Yang Xianrong said.
"In a few days, I will plow the spring with the Huangtou Army men and stretch my hands and feet." Shao Xun said: "After the spring plowing in Pingyang, I will go to Lishi. It will be a little later over there. Kelan and Taiyuan counties last year After planting winter wheat, I'm going to take a look. I may also patrol the river to see if I can find an opportunity to give Liu Yang and Shi Le a try so that they can attack Shuofang without any worries."
"Can the army come back after crossing the river?" Yang Xianrong was not an ignorant person. She understood military and political affairs, so she asked.
"The big army can't come back, but it's not difficult for a small group of people. I will transfer the raw-catching army and the mule army over and slowly play with Shi Le." Shao Xun said.
"Shi Le is really unlucky for eight lifetimes when he meets you." Yang Xianrong said with a smile.
"You accompany me during the spring plowing time." Shao Xun said.
Yang Xianrong was surprised at first, then snorted slightly, his face flushed with embarrassment.
"There is also Wenjun." Shao Xun said again.
Yang Xianrong’s face suddenly changed.
Shao Xun pretended not to notice and drank tea leisurely.
The spring is warm and the breeze is blowing. This lazy atmosphere almost makes people think that we are still in a peaceful and prosperous age.
On the fifth day of the second lunar month, the army capturing the dead marched westward from Heyang to Pingyang.
The Mule Army also began to inspect equipment and sent scouts north to explore several ferries in advance in order to formulate a battle plan.
Shao Xun came to the southern suburbs of Pingyang and started spring plowing.
(End of this chapter)