Chapter 793 Nostalgia
The eleventh month of the lunar calendar is also called "Midwinter".
Generally speaking, this is the month when there is less farming, and it is also the month when the government soldiers and peasant soldiers train. But there was no drill this year, and there was no convening at all, because the superiors did not send food or pickles, so it was cancelled.
Everyone is so happy.
If you don’t have enough to eat, who can still think about training? Why not save some energy and see if there is any farm work at home that needs help.
The river has frozen.
The child stood by the river and carefully stepped on it with his toes, but soon the peasant woman grabbed his ears and started crying.
A group of women broke open the thin ice with stones and began to wash vegetables.
Another group of women tried the river water and found it was too cold, so they carried wooden basins and shamelessly went to other people's wells.
"No more porridge this year?" Four or five women sat around the well, chirping to the host.
"No need." Mrs. Zhang, the housewife, sighed and said, "When King Liang came to Bianliang, all the Longxiang mansions sent food there, saying they were 'borrowed', but I don't know if they have been returned."
"My family also has food, alas." Another woman, Li, who was washing vegetables, said: "The king of Liang gave this big cabbage, but took away ten handfuls of grain, which is still the best corn. , Ouch, I almost lost my breath at that time.”
“A few years ago, when King Liang came to inspect, you said he was stronger than ordinary men, so he must be very strong.” The woman He joked. .
Another burst of laughter.
While laughing and joking, bucket after bucket of water was hoisted up to repeatedly clean the garlic, turnip, mallow, and mustard that had just been picked from the field. Some of them even had stains on them. Hoarfrost.
It is an old tradition to make salty rice noodles between October and November.
When food was relatively plentiful in the past few years, a new method was introduced from Yiyang and Luoyang, that is, soaking winter vegetables in salt water for three days, then adding the clear juice from the porridge to make it salty. It becomes sour due to fermentation and tastes better.
The other way is to soak it directly in salt water. The color is not so golden, relatively green, and not so sour.
Xian Ying is a very important food. When going on an expedition, along with tempeh, it was an important source of salt supplement for the army. It was also used as a meal and consumed a lot.
“Tens of thousands of hungry people have come, have you said we can buy people?” the woman Li asked while washing vegetables.
"Maybe someone is willing to sell it." Zhang thought for a while and said.
She didn’t ask why she bought it.
If there are any families in Henan who can have enough to eat at this time, Fu Bing is one of them - Buqu can't have enough to eat, but the family of Fu Bing is fine because they can't collect food. on their heads.
There are so many hungry people from Hebei that it doesn’t cost much to buy one person. To put it bluntly, when they buy people, they actually save them. It is no exaggeration at all.
"Crash!" Another bucket of well water was pumped up, steaming.
At this time, a woman with a red face from the cold came outside the door, looking timidly at the people in the yard.
Ms. Zhang stepped forward, took her hand, and asked a few questions in a low voice.
The woman didn’t seem to be from Jin, she was talking and gesticulating, and her face was even redder with anxiety.
"Okay, I'll teach you." Mrs. Zhang figured it out and led her in directly. She placed a small horse next to the well and motioned for her to sit down.
The woman nodded repeatedly, delighted, and then brought in the basket of turnips placed outside the door.
"Ten families of Xianbei people came up from the river ditch in front." Mrs. Zhang explained to the other women: "People's families."
The women suddenly realized that it was no wonder they had strange faces.
In the past few years, more than ten households of Wuhuan people were even resettled. I heard that they were the slaves of some Hu official, who were released and settled as civilians.
They are not soldiers, they are just people living near Longxiang Mansion.
As for why they were dispersed one by one near the gathering place of the soldiers, they probably wanted to keep an eye on these barbarians. After all, the soldiers could fight.
This Xianbei woman did not wear that ridiculous high hat, and the clothes she wore were very different from them. If you didn't open your mouth, you really wouldn't know that she was a Hu.
It seems that today we are here to learn how to make salty rice?
When an outsider came, everyone stopped talking and washed the dishes in silence.
Zhang was quite enthusiastic. He first took out the smaller turnips from the woman's basket, leaving only the larger ones, and then taught the woman to clean and cut them.
After finishing all this, he took the woman to the large water tank at her house, first opened the lid, and then took out the large stone that was pressing on the salt water, talking non-stop , the general idea is to teach Xianbei women how to tie, how to place, how to soak, how to seal, etc.
The Xianbei woman listened very carefully, but judging from the confused look in her eyes, she didn't seem to understand much.
Zhang deliberately slowed down her speech and spoke in detail.
When the women washing vegetables by the well saw it, they also gathered around. At first, they watched the excitement. Then gradually, some people began to give directions. There was even one who was particularly enthusiastic and said he would take her to his home. See how to do it.
After the Xianbei woman slowly figured it out, she was a little moved. She muttered something, and then ran home quickly.
A moment later, he ran over again panting, carrying a black hare in his hand.
The hare was frozen hard and had arrow wounds on its body.
The Xianbei woman gestured a few times and said a few words.
After Ms. Zhang listened carefully, she said to everyone: "She rode the family horse and shot this rabbit in the wild, and gave it to me."
One of the women Listen, I am even more happy.
After some discussion, some people went to get the seasonings, and some people went to get the winter bamboo shoots. A pot of stew was prepared, and everyone shared a share.
While talking, snowflakes began to fall outside.
After the winter month there is the twelfth lunar month, and after the twelfth lunar month is the Chinese New Year, and the festive atmosphere is getting stronger and stronger.
Festivals and related folk customs are definitely an important part of culture.
This Xianbei woman was one of the 20,000 tribesmen Duan Mobo brought south from Youzhou.
After several years of pulling and pulling, he finally released more than 500 tribesmen and handed them over to the counties of Chenliu County for dispersal and resettlement. For this, he received a batch of cloth as compensation.
The five hundred families of Xianbei people who were dispersed lived together with the Jin people. Over time, customs and habits will slowly change. After all, people have a herd mentality.
After two generations, almost no one will mention their Xianbei status anymore. Unless there is another chaos in the Central Plains, the Xianbei people move south in large numbers to reawaken their national consciousness. Otherwise, they will be like water droplets flowing into a river and eventually become part of the river.
Today’s scene is a beginning.
******
Pingqiu Longxiang Mansion, Feng Family.
Feng Bachi had a shallow scar on his forehead, and his face was already full of flesh and ferocious appearance, which made him look even more scary.
In the raid behind enemy lines, they captured and killed more than 12,000 men, women, and children, and also lost more than half of them. Is it worth it?
Doesn’t sound like a good value.
Those who can go deep behind enemy lines are all good men, who dare to fight and fight hard, and have sophisticated equipment. One exchange for five is a loss. But that's not what it says.
In the first battle of Hexi, Huo Qubing led the most elite cavalry of the former Han Dynasty, and the soldiers led by all the generals were not as good as him. As a result, 7,000 of the 10,000 most capable warriors with the best equipment died, and the result was only 8,000 or 9,000 people from the Xiongnu's vassal tribes, including a large number of old, weak, women and children. It was a complete loss.
But the big man can't afford it. If he hurts others with his own strength, he can even kill the Huns.
The Jin Dynasty can also afford to lose. The Luoyan Army, Yi Congjun, and Fubing can all recruit new soldiers and improve their organizational structure. With the old leading the new, the combat effectiveness can be restored to its original state after two or three years.
Of course, the above are all from the perspective of King Liang and senior officials and generals. For lower-level officers like Feng Bachi, it is not so wonderful, because in the eyes of senior officials, you can lose, part that can be restored.
But he doesn’t really care.
People who go to the battlefield and risk their lives to fight don't think so much.
After thinking so much, I didn’t dare to risk my life to fight.
His brain circuit is different from yours.
After luckily surviving and returning home successfully, his wife Han was almost frightened to death and cried for a long time.
Feng Bachi's first thought was "she has me in her heart", and he was overjoyed.
It has been several months now, and everything has calmed down long ago.
After visiting the home of his old brother who failed to come back, Feng Bachi walked around the field ridge and returned home.
The tribesmen were summoned to help his family move wood.
The wood was purchased from Bianliang. The source was giant pines washed down from the Taihang Mountains during floods last year.
Han was very good at managing his family business. He bought a lot of wood from Erdao dealers in Bianliang and prepared to expand his house.
His house was bought from the powerful Li Hu, with eight acres of ponds, four hundred and thirty-six acres of fields, thirteen villagers, thirty couplets of houses, and nineteen cattle. Now it has been slightly expanded.
In addition, the Han family gave birth to a son and a daughter, so the family grew. The couple are not very old, and they will probably have children in the future, so they must think about it in advance.
By the way, Li Hu and his nephew Shao Shen, the general of Huwei in the West, died in the attack on Shaanxi City and failed to gain official status.
A wealthy family that had dominated the countryside for three generations fell apart.
Now in this land, the Feng family is the largest, and it is like a new powerful one. But this family has only been around for a few years, and one has to lament how dramatic the changes have been.
"Brother-in-law." When he walked to the door of his house, a young man saw Feng Bachi and immediately saluted.
Feng Bachi nodded and asked, "Are you getting used to living there?"
"Brother-in-law's home is quite nice." The young man replied shyly.
Feng Bachi's vanity suddenly exploded, and he couldn't stop grinning.
My wife’s family can only be said to be a side branch of the Han family in Anping. After the disaster, they could no longer survive, so a group of relatives quickly packed up the food and clothing, rode an ox cart south to Pingqiu, and defected to Feng Bachi. Just arrived a few days ago.
"Study hard." Feng Bachi took on the role of his brother-in-law and warned him: "Don't be like your brother-in-law and I. I can't read a single Chinese character. If the director of the Longxiang Mansion is available, it won't be my turn."< br>
"Isn't my brother-in-law going to be a deputy general?" the young man asked.
"Don't talk nonsense. Hu Heizi is just lost. If he comes back, he will still be a deputy general." When talking about this, Feng Bachi couldn't help but sigh.
In this battle, Pingqiu Longxiang Mansion dispatched 300 people, which was the department he led. He was assigned a deputy general and the chief of the department, Shi Xixia, to lead the team. As a result, neither of them came back. , one was injured and unable to move, and was abandoned, and the other was intercepted and separated by the Xianbei people outside Tianchi, and his whereabouts were unknown.
In the end, Feng Bachi packed up the rest and retreated to Tianchi with the support of the Jieren cavalry.
War is so cruel, and it is also the ladder for warriors to rise.
The deputy general and chief historian are both eighth-rank officials. Now that they are vacant, Feng Bachi has a great chance. He might have been appointed years ago.
For now, his family is still very thin.
As a refugee, he has lost his parents and brothers. He has two young children, and he is the mainstay of the family. Once his two former bosses fail to come back, the family will fall into ruin.
Feng Bachi's situation is actually the situation of Liang Wang Shaoxun. He rose too fast, had a weak background, and had an unstable foundation.
He is the epitome of the new martial artist.
“I heard you said you were going to Shilou after the New Year?” Feng Bachi suddenly thought of something and asked.
"Yes." The young man replied: "I have read poetry and books for ten years, and I am still qualified to teach Hu people to read."
"Shilou County has only been established for a few years. No, there are a lot of mountain beards, you really want to go? You are also a son of a famous family. If you can't, just settle down in Pingqiu. My brother-in-law will go to Longxiang Mansion to change your family and study hard. "Feng Ba. Chi couldn't help but said.
The young man shook his head and said somewhat dejectedly: "It has been three years since the disaster in Anping and my family's fortune has been destroyed. It is better to go to Shilou to try my luck. Your Majesty will set up county doctors and county teachers in the land where Hu Feng is strong." , there must be something to point out, maybe there is a way.”
There are also three, six or nine levels within a noble clan, and there is also competition. The life of the children from the side branches is really not as good as imagined.
There are only so many places for Xiaolian in a county. Several county names compete for it. The number of places allocated to the head of a family is very limited, and then the allocation is decided internally.
Menyin’s official quota must also be allocated internally. Furthermore, the Hebei gentry did not have much merit, so how could there be many opportunities for people to join the officialdom?
As for the recruitment of high-ranking officials, it depends on how many Hebei people are serving as officials at the central and even state and county levels.
There are many high-ranking officials from Hebei, so they will recruit more scholars from Hebei. Now - it’s difficult!
The most intuitive example is Taiwei Wang Yan.
Whoever he says good things about will be recruited by high-ranking officials.
Over the past few decades, he has accumulated so many favors and managed so many officials that it would scare people to death just to mention them. As a result, a large number of Qingxu scholars moved closer to him, gradually forming a huge political group.
Lu Zidao originally came out of Hebei, but unfortunately he was far less famous than Wang Yan. In addition, he had a reputation for being narrow-minded and very censorious. It was difficult for him to work outside Hebei. His ability to operate an official position was inferior to that of Wang Yan. Big cut.
There is a faint voice in Hebei. It is really impossible to let the Cui family of Qinghe take over. This can be seen from the fact that the Fan Yanglu family abdicated the throne and gave way to others.
The Anping Han family's status in Hebei is not high. As a descendant of a side branch, don't expect much help from the family.
The best way is to use the Anping Han family name, rely on your own ability, social circle and even a little luck to gain the appreciation of senior officials - Taiyuan Wenqiao is a good example, winning the king Yan appreciated her and made friends with Princess Liang's brother Yu Liang, and she rose to the top in one step.
If nothing else works, find a way to become a mentor and expand your network.
Unfortunately, neither of these roads was possible for him, so he could only try his luck in newly established counties and villages where barbarians gathered.
Feng Bachi didn't quite understand the tricks played by the nobles, but he understood that it was very difficult for people with poor backgrounds to climb up, regardless of whether they were civil or military.
If the King of Liang did not tear open the dark iron curtain and open the way for the lower-level literati and military men to rise, there would be absolutely no chance for them to gain momentum.
In the final analysis, people like them just want to unite and support King Liang, otherwise the world will still be dominated by Wang Yan and others.
(End of this chapter)