Chapter 804 Only King Liang can save you
The sky was dimming, and the sound of creaking and turning could be heard in the courtyard.
While wiping his sweat, the old man pushed the stone mill hard to grind the newly harvested wheat into flour.
A group of people were waiting in the courtyard, making a lot of noise.
"It's better to buy an old horse from Liu Buda, it's cheaper." Someone squatted on the ground and said loudly.
The old man smiled and said nothing.
How many years has it been since Zhongshan was hit by the disaster? The clothes worn by the children at home are still ripped from the bodies of dead people. Where can they get the money, food, cloth and silk to buy horses?
If you have any leftover grain, why not save it and plant less grain next year and grow a few acres of hemp so that you can make clothes from linen.
The old woman opened the door of the chicken coop and drove out seven or eight roosters and hens with a few "oohs".
The rooster immediately jumped onto half of the tree trunk in the courtyard, holding its head high and its chest high, showing its majesty.
The hens found a centipede and immediately surrounded it, even flapping their wings to fight for it.
The old woman got out of the chicken coop full of chicken feathers and feces, holding a few eggs in her hand, and walked carefully to the west room.
There is a grain store made of bamboo inside the house. It was originally empty, but now it has some grain.
The old woman placed the eggs in a familiar location and covered them with wheat.
After thinking about it, I felt it was inappropriate. So I brought a jar, put a little wheat in it, and then put the eggs in one by one. After a few days, sell the jar of wheat and eggs together and bring back some daily necessities.
The old man's son carried the rake and said hello to everyone before getting ready to go out.
The soup cakes I had in the morning had a lot of soup and very few cakes. Not long after I finished eating, I felt a little hungry.
Hunger is something engraved in the bones of people in Hebei, especially those who have experienced three years of floods, and their memories are extremely profound.
After the wheat harvest in May, the family finally had some food. But because I have never planted wheat before, the harvest is not high, so I still have to seize the time to plant some miscellaneous grains. I will plant them in mid-June at the latest, and I will be able to harvest them by the end of September.
At that time, maybe you can open your belly a little and eat a few more mouthfuls, provided that the government no longer requisitions food.
Next door to the farmyard, Su Shuyan had just gotten up.
This is a courtyard with several fronts and backs. Because it is relatively large, several families live in it. It is said that they all ran back from other places after the flood receded. They can barely be regarded as belonging to the same clan. Everyone lives together.
However, they were all kicked out at this time, and the house was "borrowed" by the barbarian chief Shi Su Shuyan and his followers.
“It’s really a rain after a long drought.” A follower with a Nashi background said with emotion: “Last year, I came to Hebei with the king to provide disaster relief, and everything was devastated. After more than half a year of peace, I actually recovered a lot of strength.”
Hearing what they said, Su Shuyan was also very emotional and said with a smile: "When I was young, I was grazing in Guangning. Because it didn't rain for a long time, the sky was filled with wind and sand, and the grass and trees fell. Wherever the sheep passed, there was no grass and it was extremely desolate. . But when it rains in June, the mountains and fields turn green, and I don’t know where the grass comes from. In these troubled times, the common people are just like the weeds. In fact, there is no need to be nice to them, as long as they are not excessive. Squeeze, if there are no disasters one after another, it will recover slowly."
As soon as these words came out, the attendant officials all looked at Su Shuyan in surprise.
I didn’t expect that Chief Hu could not only read and write, but also speak such profound words.
Su Shuyan laughed when he saw them like that.
He is not good at writing and cannot speak very beautifully, but he understands the basic principles.
During the drought in Guangning, the river flow stopped and it was difficult for people and animals to drink water, so wells were dug. Later, there was no water in the well, so they had no choice but to go south to plunder.
The current situation in Hebei is probably to ensure that next season's grain harvest is mediocre. There is some water in the well, but it is still incomparable to what it was before the drought.
As for restoring the dried-up rivers and lakes, it will not take a year.
"What Chang Shi said makes sense. But if the king of Liang did not provide disaster relief, the scene would not be like today." A follower from Hebei said: "If we do not provide disaster relief, refugees will be everywhere, attacking and killing county officials. The people who could barely survive were dragged in, causing severe damage. Although Henan has been filled with complaints after three years of disaster relief, Hebei has retained more vitality and recovered faster. "
"That's right." Su Shuyan was startled and immediately nodded in agreement.
These people are all his subordinates, but after all, he is from Wuhuan, and he faces more or less strange eyes as an official in Han Dynasty.
The people below may not respect him much, they may ridicule or even curse him in private.
His life is destined to be difficult to achieve much, and most of his son's generation will not be able to do it either. Maybe his grandchildren can truly integrate into the Han scholar community and no longer be regarded as an alien by them - if his grandson still If you can be an official.
"Let's go after breakfast. I'll send someone to inform you about the Xianbei envoy." Su Shuyan ordered.
After saying that, he sat on a wooden pile and prepared to eat.
It is said that so many giant trees washed down from the Taihang Mountains have been used on a small scale since last year. There has been no big movement this year, but after the summer planting is over, someone should go out to collect, process, resell, and transport them. In exchange for grain and cloth, they can subsidize the family.
God has harmed the people of Hebei, but he finally got some gold coins: millions of big trees.
The entourage quickly brought breakfast - it was actually dry food, just roasted over the fire.
Of course, Su Shuyan and the accompanying officials can also have some hot food.
Someone collected some yellowish or even black flour from a civilian’s house and steamed him fresh bread, which tasted much more delicious than rough dry food.
There are already farmers outside the compound carrying farm tools in preparation for summer sowing.
In the small farmyards in front and behind, there were also people working in the vegetable patches, hoeing out the overgrown weeds.
This life is not easy, but the farmers’ faces are full of satisfied smiles - in the first two years, even if you wanted to hoe weeds, there was no place for you to hoe, and there was yellow mud soup everywhere.
Su Shuyan finished his meal quickly and greeted everyone to set off.
Before leaving, he seemed to hear something and turned to look.
Under the eaves, a nest of young swallows was chirping, with its mouth wide open, asking its mother to quickly feed the insects.
He seemed to be hit by something and stood stunned for a long time. During the disaster two years ago, countless houses collapsed. After these swallows returned home, they didn't know how they felt.
All things have spirits. Perhaps, the creatures on the land of Hebei are slowly recovering.
I wonder if they still remember the man who went east to Hebei twice and led them out of trouble.
Su Shuyan thought of the Wuhuan Wang family again.
Why don't you surrender? King Liang treats people as human beings, no matter Hu or Han.
******
The grasslands in summer are magnificent.
Atop the scattered mountains, there are waves of pines and waves.
The mountains are full of wild flowers, vying for beauty.
Foxes and rabbits hang out in the bushes, and variegated wild fruits can be seen everywhere.
The winding river extends into the distance. On both sides of the river, pastures grew as tall as half a man, and cattle, sheep, horses and camels appeared among them, devouring the food they depended on for survival and constantly multiplying their offspring.
In the mountains and dense forests farther away, there are faint sounds of tigers and wolves. That is where men show off their courage and archery skills in autumn.
“I miss you so much!” Su Shuyance immediately climbed up the slope. Looking at the familiar scene, his thoughts were already far away.
A gorgeous chariot came from afar.
The knights galloped out, roaring.
They did not take out weapons, their attitude was very friendly, and there were many carriages behind them, and they seemed to be carrying welcome gifts?
Su Shuyan didn’t know what was going on at Yu Mi’s place. Was the reception as grand as that of Wang’s and Shi Yiqian’s mother and son?
He rode his horse down the high slope, then dismounted, straightened his clothes and robes with his entourage, and waited quietly.
Not long after, the chariot approached.
Mrs. Wang got off the carriage with a child in her arms and said: "I am taking the crown prince to pay homage to the envoys of the great powers."
"Meet Su Changshi." Behind Wang's mother and son, there were dozens of people, headed by Wang Feng. , they will all bow down.
"Princess, please get up, all the ministers, please get up." Su Shuyan first looked at Mrs. Wang, then at the baby in her arms, and finally looked at the group of ministers - oh, acquaintances Quite a few.
After everyone stood up, they also looked at Su Shuyan.
As one of the once all-powerful Wuhuan leaders in Guangning, Su Shuyan gradually moved away from grassland affairs after becoming Wang Jun's son-in-law, putting more energy into the Central Plains and even migrating many tribesmen. The mouth goes to Shanggu, Fanyang and Yanguo.
But his legend is still spread in Guangning, and there are also people he is familiar with. Although these people defeated his son, Huaihuang Town General Su Zhongyi last year, to be honest, they did not kill him, they just killed him. It's just driven into the upper valley.
"Su Changshi." Wang Feng took a step forward and said with a smile: "We went hunting together in the past, and the past is still vivid in our minds. Unexpectedly, we have been separated for so many years. It is a pity that we will never see each other again in this life. , I didn’t expect it, haha! Now we have prepared some wine, so we can talk about our farewells.”
Wang Feng is very young, not much older than the Wang family. Because his parents died young, he inherited the great cause at a young age.
However, although their family calls themselves the "Guangning Wang Family", they have moved there since acquiring Daijun - Daijun is also a large settlement of Wuhuan, as well as Jie people, Xianbei, The Xiongnu and Han people are a place where both barbarians and Han people are mixed. There are many barbarians and few Han people.
Because Wuhuan had long-term contacts with the Han Dynasty, there were tribes, but there was no strict tribal organization. People like Su Shuyan and Wang Feng are more like family leaders than tribal leaders.
Traditional tribes are often composed of multiple clans, and people often call the tribe after the clan in power.
For example, there are dozens of clans in the Hedouling tribe, and the Hedouling clan is just one of them. However, because they have been in power for several generations, they have "been the masters of the tribe for generations", so over time they were called Hedouling. Mausoleum.
But in theory, all clans in the Hedouling tribe are equal, and tribal leaders can be elected and replaced. Tuoba, the leader of the tribal alliance, theoretically has no right to identify the leaders of the Hedouling tribe.
The Wuhuan people are half-cultivating and half-grazing in Guangning and Daijun. They no longer migrate much. The powerful clans began to send retainers and cronies to manage other clans. The characteristics of centralization are obvious, especially for some settled areas. This is especially true for the farming Wuhuan clan.
Some nobles in Tuoba Xianbei naturally saw the benefits of centralization and were very envious of it. This is one of the reasons why they sided with the New Party - I don't like you to elect tribal leaders yourself, I like to appoint them directly. .
Wuhuan in Guangning and Dai County are subordinate to Dai State, but Dai State does not have the posts of prefects and county magistrates here. They like to appoint various generals with local surnames or leaders of large tribes. This is a typical tradition of integrated military and civilian control.
Wang Feng is now in charge of Daijun. Of course, he also has great influence among the Wuhuan group in Guangning, especially after the fall of Guangning last year.
"General Wang, do you know that Tuoba Yihuai has contacted the King of Liang and is willing to use Shi Yiqian as a pledge to live in Pingyang?" Su Shuyan looked at Wang Feng, who actually had a look that was neither humble nor arrogant. He immediately laughed and said: "I also heard news on the way that the Shiben family has turned to Tuoba Yinhuai."
"What? How could the Shiben family turn to Yinhuai?" Wang Feng said in surprise. .
The Shiben clan is also a large tribe, grazing in the Ruyuan area, not far from Guangning and Daijun.
The Shiben clan was later changed to the Han surname Feng, and Tuoba Yiyi and Tuoba Yilu's mother, Concubine Feng, was born in this tribe.
Many years ago, the concubine Feng passed away, and Tuoba Yiyong held a funeral for his mother. The Jin Dynasty sent officials to attend the funeral, and the princes and ministers of the border areas also sent people to attend. There was no shortage of people from all the grassland tribes, far and near. Two hundred thousand people attended the meeting.
The feudal tribe is also a tribe under the jurisdiction of the former Eastern Lord, and its strength cannot be underestimated - Tuoba Xianbei kings have lived in the west for a long time, but they all like to choose wives and concubines from the east. It is more likely to maintain the country in this way unified.
"The Feng tribe has defected to the Yibi locust tree, how can the Dugu tribe still turn to you? The Lan tribe will probably follow the crowd and defect to the Yibi locust tree." Su Shuyan shook his head and said: "As for the adults in the west, do you think they think highly of you? A newcomer? "
This is a dry humor.
The Wang family in Guangning is obviously from the new party, but because she married a woman to the leader of the old party, she is now forced to side with the old party.
Looking at it this way, it turns out that grandma doesn’t care and uncle doesn’t love her.
Tuoba Yihuai was naturally contacted by He Lan Aitou, a die-hard old party member. What should you, the Wang family in Guangning, do?
The new party is now leaning towards Mrs. Qi and her son. Can they still help you? It's good to guard one-third of an acre of land in Daijun and Guangning. It's hard to say what will happen in the end.
Anyway, Mrs. Qi wanted to kill Shi Yijian. As for Yi Huai, he was a "brother, friend and brother respectful" and could not do anything to kill his brother, so he was only willing to send his brother to Jin as a hostage. .
It's hard to say whether he will consider his younger brother's situation if he seizes the throne in the future and turns against Jin.
"Only King Liang can save you." Su Shuyan looked at Wang Feng, then at Wang's mother and son, and whispered.
(End of this chapter)