Hanhou

Wang Xin and his entourage arrived in Yunzhong County, passed Zhenling and Yangshou counties, and entered Shaling County.Because he needed to get to Yunzhong City as soon as possible, Wang Xin accepted the suggestion of his entourage, did not stop on the way, took shortcuts along the way, and happened to pass through Zhao Jia's field.

The millet in the field has matured, and the full-starved ears bend the stalks.Dressed in short brown, young men and servants walked to the field, put down their farm tools, gathered together in twos and threes, picked up wooden bowls, and gulped down the clear water.

The women rushed to the carts and took out large buckets of corn and rice and baskets of steamed buns from the carts.The children and teenagers stepped forward to help, two of them held the rabbits in their hands, and ran excitedly to the leading woman, gesticulating and saying something.

Sitting in the car, Wang Xin couldn't help but recall the scene in the countryside when he saw this scene.Seeing a woman open the rattan basket, Qing Zhuang and servant Geng took out food that looked like steamed cakes but were very different from it one after another, they couldn't help asking curiously: "What is that?"

The family boy next to the car heard about it, looked at the crowd twice, and replied: "Patriarch, servant to ask?"

Taking a look at the attendants in the team, Wang Xin hesitated.In the end, curiosity prevailed, and he nodded to the house boy.Before the latter left, he took out a cloth bag, poured out a string of copper coins, and said: "The corn and wheat in the border county are precious, so don't be arrogant."

The family boy promised, took the copper coins with both hands, and strode towards the field.

It wasn't Wang Xin's pretentious posture, intentionally doing it for others to see, but because of his early experience.Just like he carried copper coins with him, instead of carrying gold pearls and silver cakes like other nobles, some habits have been formed long ago, completely out of nature.

The family boy went to the field, and Uncle Xiong was discussing with Uncle Chang about harvesting millet.

Both of them were holding a wooden bowl in one hand, filled with millet and rice, and the rice was covered with sunflower and mutton, and they were holding fist-sized buns in the other hand, discussing while eating.

The same is true for most of the young adults and servants around.

Some people ate so fast that they had already eaten two or three buns plus a whole bowl of millet rice.Still not full, he took out the steamed cakes from the rattan basket, scooped out a bowl from the wooden barrel of mutton soup, and swallowed without slowing down.

From far away, the family boy could only get a rough look, but when he got closer, he was surprised to find what Qing Zhuang and servant Geng were eating.Not to mention steamed cakes and millet rice with mutton, eating with an open stomach like this, even the nobleman's farmer can't do it.

When the family boy was in a daze, Wei Qing and Zhao Ponu walked across the field and put the empty barrel back on the car. They were reminded by the three-headed body holding a thick rope. They turned their heads at the same time and saw a stranger standing not far away. , Doubt and vigilance rose at the same time.

"Is there something wrong with this elder?" Wei Qing discussed with Zhao Puonu, the latter turned to look for Uncle Xiong, and the former walked up to the house boy and asked.

The family boy lowered his head and saw the handsome and heroic boy, remembered Wang Xin's instructions, and quickly explained the matter.

"Elder, you can't take charge of this matter, please wait a moment."

Seeing the child wiping off the hot sweat on his head with his backhand, Wei Qing turned around and fetched a clean wooden bowl, filled it with warm water, and said, "It's hot, elders please drink."

Seeing the clear water in the bowl, the house boy suddenly felt his throat was thirsty, and was about to thank him when he took the wooden bowl, when Uncle Xiong and several young men came over.The family boy came from Chang'an, and he had seen a lot of strong and strong troops. The young and strong men in front of him still made his eyes shine, and he secretly praised "good guy".

After the family boy explained his purpose, Uncle Xiong looked at the convoy not far away, and gave Qing Zhuang some instructions.The latter went for a while, and soon brought half a basket of steamed buns and steamed cakes.

"There's no need for so much." The house boy quickly waved his hands.

"Some food is nothing, it's for entertaining passing guests." Zhao Jia walked out from behind the crowd, and asked Qing Zhuang to take two more marinated and roasted hares, plus a clay pot of sunflower seeds.

"It's good that the nobles don't dislike things from the countryside."

The family boy didn't dare to call the shots, so he returned to the motorcade immediately and reported the matter to Wang Xin.Wang Xin was also unambiguous, and handed the money bag to the house boy, and asked him to bring a few guards to bring back the rattan basket and clay pot.

An attendant in the team wanted to speak, but was pulled from behind by his colleagues.

Along the way, Wang Xin's performance is obvious to all.Now I am just curious about the food in the countryside, and I have given money, it is not a robbery, one thing more is worse than one thing less, it is best not to stop it.

"The Taizhong doctor is the right envoy."

No matter how you say it, Wang Xin is the righteous master with the imperial decree, and they are all attendants.Wang Xin is willing to listen to their suggestions, because he is approachable and modest. If he doesn't know how to advance and retreat, he will intervene in everything, and he will inevitably lose his duty.

The house boy brought back rattan baskets and pottery pots, took tableware from a car, put steamed cakes and steamed buns in separate containers, dismantled the rabbit meat, picked out half a bowl of sunflower, added a whole bowl of hot soup, And send it to Wang Xin.

"The name of this thing is Baozi?" Picking up a chubby bun, Wang Xin squeezed it unconsciously.The buns are a little cold, but the smell of wheat and meat is still attractive.

Wang Xin took a bite, chewed it in his mouth, and swallowed it with a thud, his eyes lit up immediately.

“Very delicious!”

After eating the steamed stuffed buns in two or three bites, Wang Xin didn't take his chopsticks, but grabbed a meat-stuffed steamed pancake with his bare hands, and chewed it with sunflower seeds. The crust was crispy, the inside was soft, the meat sauce was thick, and the barbecue was burnt. In Chang'an, there has never been a similar meal.

This is the way the women came up with. The steamed cakes are baked on the fire, which tastes better and has a longer shelf life.Ms. Sun asked a servant who knows crafts to build a stove, which can bake more than a dozen steamed cakes at a time. Every time the fire is lit, the fragrance of wheat wafts away. Young and strong servants will swallow their mouths unconsciously when passing by.

After Wang Xin ate a steamed bun, two steamed cakes, and drank a bowl of hot soup, he still couldn't get enough of it.Look at the food in the rattan basket, and look at the attendants in the team, let the house boy divide the buns and steamed cakes, so that everyone can try something new.

As the convoy gradually moved away, Zhao Jia stood at the head of the field with a pensive expression on his face.

"What is Mr. Lang thinking?" Wei Qing walked up to Zhao Jia, handed Zhao Jia a bowl of water, and asked with his head raised.

"I wonder who is in the car." Zhao Jia took the wooden bowl and drank it down, rubbing the top of Wei Qing's hair with one hand.

Wei Taishou likes to ride a horse, and the driver stays in the mansion all year round to collect dust.Zhao Jia was only seen once in the warehouse when Wei Yue was using him as a stove.In contrast, the people in that carriage should have high official positions, at least rank higher than Qianshi.

This team came from the south, looking at the direction, the destination should be Cloud City.

Zhao Jia patted Wei Qing and motioned for the children to play by themselves.Then he picked up a stone from the ground and drew some messy lines.The viewers were all confused, and only Zhao Jia knew it. He was sorting out the thread and trying to deduce what would happen in Yunzhong City next.

Due to the limited information at hand, there was no result after pushing and pushing.

Zhao Jia threw away the stone, stood up, clapped his hands, and laughed at himself.Sure enough, he is not a political material, but he should honestly develop farming plans, just be a responsible farmer.

"Your Majesty, I have discussed with the eldest uncle that we will start harvesting the wheat field today." Uncle Xiong strode over and said to Zhao Jia.

"Start today?"

"Someone in the farm can know the weather, and it may rain in the near future."

"So, harvest as soon as possible!"

Zhao Jia made a decision, and Qing Zhuang and Gong Geng immediately acted.

"All the wheat is harvested today, and the millet will be harvested tomorrow."

Under the arrangement of Uncle Xiong and Uncle Chang, everyone had their own division of labor and started to work in an orderly manner.Some women also picked up sickles, wrapped their hair in cloth towels, and walked into the field with Qing Zhuang.

Zhao Jia picked up the sickle and tried to join the labor force.

To cut wheat, one had to bend over all the time. It didn't take long for Zhao Jia to feel that his eyes were dark and his back was so sore that he couldn't straighten up.Looking up, Qing Zhuang and Gong Geng were ahead, and he was left behind by a large margin.

"Your Majesty, take a rest and come here."

Xin Zhao took the sickle from Zhao Jia's hand, grabbed the straw with one hand, and cut it down.

The young man was already about the same height as Zhao Jia, his body grew stronger and stronger, he was no longer as skinny as when he first saw him, he still looked thin in his clothes, when he took off his shirt, he could already see strong lines on his shoulders and back.

According to Mrs. Sun, if Xin Zhao continues to grow, he may not be able to become a big man of eight or nine feet.Gongsun Ao is not convinced, his appetite has been increasing recently, just because he is taller than Xin Zhao.

However, unlike Xin Zhao's slenderness, Gongsun Ao is also tall, but more of a horizontal development, as strong as a calf.

Xin Zhao cut the wheat at an extremely fast speed, gradually catching up to the distance he was falling, and finally he and several servants kept pace with each other and reached the end of the field almost at the same time.

From noon to evening, the servants worked together with Qing Zhuang, and half of the wheat fields were harvested.The harvested wheat is bundled into several bundles and loaded onto carts in batches to be transported back to the livestock farm.

In the livestock farm, a large open space was cleared early as a place for drying grain.The craftsmen made more than 20 flails and placed them side by side in front of the grain field.

A flail is a agricultural tool for threshing. It consists of a long handle and a set of side-by-side wooden sticks. When the stick is swung during work, the wooden sticks will rotate accordingly and hit the ears to make the grains fall off.

After modification, this kind of farm tool can also become a weapon for defending the city. It is recorded in "Mozi" that it is called a stile.

In addition to the flail, the craftsman also made three mills, which were placed together with the previously made stone mill, waiting to shell the corn and grind the wheat into flour.

The carts came back from the fields, and the bundles of wheat were unloaded and piled up in the grain yard.

The young men and women in the livestock farm took turns threshing, and every time the flail was swung, golden grains of wheat fell off.There are more and more wheat grains, and everyone works harder and harder, without feeling tired at all.

After the whole day's work, the boy and the young man took off their shirts and gulped down water.Wei Qing and the three of them carried wicker baskets on their backs and picked up the fallen wheat ears and grains in the fields.Five or six field mouse holes were found in the process.

"I come!"

Zhao Puonu and Ah Man immediately regained their spirits, grabbed the wooden shovel and ran over to see the location and size of the mouse hole, and then started to lower the wooden shovel.

After digging a few times, a fat field mouse ran out of it.

"Catch it, grab it quickly! This is edible!" Ah Man said loudly.

"What to eat!" Xin Zhao clenched his fist and slapped Ah Man, "Your Majesty said you can't eat indiscriminately, and it's not on the grassland, so why don't you have a long memory!"

Ah Man scratched his head and grinned.

Zhao Puonu turned his head, actually he wanted to shout too, but Ah Man took the lead.

Field mice ran wildly in the Longjian, and several big dogs barked excitedly and ran around chasing their targets.There was a loud cry in the air, and then, a dark brown figure swooped down. The vole didn't even have time to scream, and was killed.

The golden eagle dealt with the spoils on the spot, Zhao Ponu and Wei Qing looked at each other, feeling a little depressed.

Ah Man came over and poked Zhao Poonu with his elbow, curiously said: "Didn't you say you want to tame the eagles, what's the matter, ask Ah Jin to come over and have a look?"

What is which pot is not opened and which pot is lifted?

This is!

Zhao Ponu bared his teeth and let out a growl, grabbing Ah Man's collar and throwing it hard.Ah Man stood up from the ground, not feeling angry, but a little baffled, not understanding why Zhao Puonu got angry suddenly.

Xin Zhao patted Ah Man to comfort his companion who was aiming at the muzzle of the gun.

The golden eagle was completely unaffected, and ignored the depressed teenagers and children at all.After killing seven or eight voles in a row, another fox that was hiding was driven out, and with a proud cry, it flew into the sky with its prey.

Wei Qing stood beside Zhao Puonu, staring at the golden eagle together with him, the black air lingering above his head was almost tangible.

Witnessing this scene, many young adults and women laughed.

Ji Bao smiled and said to the two: "I'll catch you an eagle and let the old man teach you how to tame it."

This golden eagle is too arrogant, it is impossible to tame it with just two people.It's better to catch a little eagle for them to play with. With the help of the old people in the village, it won't take long to become tamed.

"No, I want to tame the eagles!" Zhao Ponu looked up at the sky with firm eyes.He is even more stubborn than Wei Qing, as long as he keeps his eyes on the target, he will never give up until he reaches his goal.

Wei Qing also stared at the sky, without making a sound for a long time.Like Zhao Puonu, he was unwilling to give up.But things never progressed, and he began to think differently.

If you want to tame Ah Jin, it is obviously impossible to use the previous method.It is indeed time to ask the elders who are good at taming falcons, learn from them, think of ways, and there will always be a day of success!

Hearing everyone's laughter, Zhao Jia turned his head, glanced at Wei Qing and Zhao Ponu, then turned to the sky, looked at the golden eagle that flew away and then suddenly came back, and said with a smile: "This eagle is interesting. "

"Indeed." Uncle Xiong nodded with a smile.

Don't look at the golden eagle ignoring Wei Qing and Wei Qing, but it is of great benefit to the livestock farm.All the little beasts that escaped everyone's sight and sneaked into the farm could not escape its eyes.

"I heard from Mrs. Sun that this eagle lives in a wooden house?" Zhao Jia said.

"The wound on the wing was healed earlier. It flew away for a while, but for some reason it flew back and lived in the house where the wound was recuperated." Uncle Xiong explained, "When the chicks and ducks hatched, the women were very worried. Okay. If it is not close to the chicken coop, it will chase away the passing hawks and catch a few weasels."

"It also catches weasels?"

"Catch." Uncle Xiong nodded, "Earlier, I even caught half a gazelle and threw it in front of the stove, scaring the women."

Recalling the scene at that time, Uncle Xiong couldn't help laughing out loud.It's really rare to see Mrs. Sun and others who can make horseback riding and archery as good as young and strong.

But who would have thought that an untamed golden eagle would bring back its prey and distribute it to everyone in the farm?

Hearing Uncle Xiong's narration, Zhao Jia became more and more interested. He took out the jerky he was carrying with him, and when he saw the golden eagle swooping down again, he could not help but whistle.

Unexpectedly, the golden eagle chasing the field mouse suddenly turned around, flapped its wings, and flew straight towards him.

Zhao Jia paused, half a piece of jerky hung from his mouth, and his heart began to pound.As a result, the distance was less than five meters, and the golden eagle turned again, accurately bypassed Zhao Jia, and grabbed a hare hiding behind Tian Long.

Watching the golden eagle fly away, Zhao Jia twitched the corners of his mouth in embarrassment, and continued to gnaw on the jerky.

As for the arrogance of domineering or something, he really thought too much.

When Bianjun was busy with the autumn harvest, Wang Xin and his entourage entered Yunzhong City, first met Wei Taishou, and conveyed the emperor's will.Then he sent someone to send a message to Lan Ji, asking everyone in the mission to pack their bags and prepare to leave for Chang'an.

Although Wei Shang has regrets about the court's decision, he cannot openly resist it.However, it was difficult for Lan Ji and others to leave just like that.

After dinner, Wang Xin avoided the crowd, took out a secret decree, and handed it to Wei Shang face to face.

He didn't know anything about the content of the secret decree, and he had no intention of exploring it.It is precisely because of his character that Emperor Jing granted him the official position of Taizhong doctor, and even ordered him to come to Bianjun to pass the decree for the first time.

Wei Shang removed the seal, unfolded the bamboo slips, looked at them from beginning to end, a gleam of joy flashed across his face, then restrained himself, and said solemnly: "Please report to the Son of Heaven, I will obey the will!"

Wang Xin didn't ask any more questions, let alone glance at the bamboo slips. After finishing what he had to do, he prepared to return to the place where he stayed.Before leaving, he stopped suddenly, hesitated for a while, and then said solemnly: "Wei Shijun, I have a heartfelt request."

"please say."

"I don't know if the chef in the mansion can give up?"

Cook?

Wei Shang's expression was numb.

Seeing that the other party was so serious, he thought it was a big deal, but it turned out to be a cook?

After listening to Wang Xin's explanation, Taishou Wei smiled and said, "It's better to let the chef teach the cooking method to the family boy in the house."

If it were someone else, Wei Taishou would not be so careful, but Wang Xin is not only the doctor of the Taizhong, but also the prince's uncle.His identity is too sensitive, and as the prefect of the border county, it is really inappropriate to get too involved with his relatives.

Wang Xin thought about it, and felt that this was more appropriate. He thanked Wei Shang immediately, and said that he would send someone over later, and left in a good mood.

After the door was closed, Wei Shang took out a lacquer box and opened the lid to find caramel inside.

Picking up a piece and putting it in his mouth, Wei Shang fell into deep thought.

The queen's brother and the crown prince's uncle are completely different from the former Taizhong doctor who dared to stretch his hand into the border county.Either they really have no talent and want to be a clay sculpture safely; or they are deeply scheming and pretend to be humble when they are not in power.

"Which one is it?"

Tian Fu and Wang Xin are both uncles of the prince. The former was dismissed from office, and the latter was first rumored to be a Marquis, and then replaced the former as a doctor of the Taizhong.

The more Wei Shang thought about it, the more he felt that the Son of Heaven did it on purpose, but the main purpose... Wei Taishou shook his head. In the final analysis, this is an internal matter of the royal family and foreign relatives, and it is not him, a border county official, who should intervene.

Thinking of the emperor's secret decree, Wei Shang pushed the lacquer box aside, wrote a letter, and told his loyal servant to rush to Yuanyang City, and deliver it to Wei Yue face to face.

When Wang Xin and Lan Ji set off to leave Yunzhong City, the team that chose Liangjiazi also set off from Chang'an, and went to Bianjun under the order of the Queen Mother.The accompanying guards were sent by Changle Palace, and the leader was recommended by Princess Guantao, Zhang Cigong, the current guard Cheng, who had a relationship with Zhao Jia.