Go to ancient times and engage in construction

The eastern sky was extremely pale, and the rooster in the farmer's house began to crow. A middle-aged couple who were snoring in a thatched cottage was awakened by the crowing of the rooster.

"Mother, get up!" The middle-aged man rubbed his eyes and woke up the woman beside him.

"Oh!" The woman got up with a grunt, and quickly put on the kudzu clothes on her body. After putting on the clothes, the woman smoothed her hair casually, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast for the whole family.

After getting dressed, the middle-aged man first went to his own latrine to relieve himself. The latrine at home was newly dug. It turned out that the whole family defecated in front of and behind the house.Since March, after a technical guide came from the village, the middle-aged man dug a latrine for his own house. This latrine is for saving fertilizer.

The middle-aged man is a native of the throat. His ancestors have lived here for hundreds of years. However, no matter whether he is a middle-aged man or his father and grandfather, he has planted a field all his life, but he never knows that he can use manure to improve the field. fertility.His grandparents used crop rotation to accumulate field power, that is, if the family planted [-] acres of land, they would only plant [-] acres each year, and [-] acres of grass would be left uncultivated. The fields that have been planted are then vacated to restore their fertility. This farming method is called crop rotation.

The technical guide from the village knows a lot. As long as the farmer asks for advice on something he doesn't understand, the technical guide can always find the answer for the farmer as long as he looks through the books in his hand.Under the guidance of the technical guidance, the villagers' yield per mu in summer harvest is much higher than in previous years.Knowing that the field can be maintained by watering the manure and livestock manure, the middle-aged man planted crops in all his fields, but the crops he planted were potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn instead of soybeans and millet in previous years. , the original traditional crops were only soybeans, and millet was not planted again.

The ownership of the [-] fields in the middle-aged man's family has also changed. The original land was owned by a feudal lord in Weiguo. The middle-aged man is regarded as a renter. He has to pay [-]/[-] of the harvest of the land to the lord every year. In addition to paying taxes on the land, They also have to undertake corvee service and auxiliary military service. After this place was occupied by the army of Wu State last winter, most of the land was owned by the State of Wu State. After the spring, the newly appointed young county guard redistributed the land. It turned out that half of the fields were like this for most of the farmers in the village. The extra fields were temporarily abandoned, and it was said that they would be allocated to refugees and retired soldiers.

The farmer's family lost half of the land at once. I had a lot of opinions at first, but the land tax collected by the new county guard is very low, only one-tenth of the income, and the farmer does not have to perform corvee or military service. You can apply for a loan from the government to raise cattle, horses, and sheep.

Farmers can still afford to raise sheep, but they cannot afford to raise cattle and horses, because the value of cattle and horses is very high, and it costs a lot to buy cows and horses, and raising livestock requires technology. The death of livestock is tantamount to the bankruptcy of the family. Farmers who have money dare not take this risk, not to mention the guards in the throat, who are still struggling on the line of food and clothing. Farmers simply dare not have such an idea.Cattle and horses have always been livestock that only noble families can afford.

After the new governor came, he posted notices on the city walls of Qucheng and Yanhoukou City, encouraging farmers to raise cattle and horses. As long as the farmers have a letter of credit issued by a prestigious local person, they can go to the official to receive cattle, sheep, horses or pups. Cubs can also receive a feeding loan. The money and loan for cattle, sheep, horses, and cubs should be paid off within three years. If the livestock dies during the feeding process, the government will help bear half of the loss. After the cattle and sheep are raised, The government will purchase at the market price, and farmers can also buy and sell freely in the market.

Middle-aged men are not proficient in raising cattle and horses, but the government will voluntarily provide farmers with breeding technology publicity, which makes middle-aged men emboldened. Middle-aged men love to daydream, always fantasizing that their family will be prosperous one day Food.If he succeeds in raising cattle and horses, he will be paid more than the income from the field. His two sons and two daughters have gradually grown up. The eldest son is fourteen and the eldest daughter is twelve. , There is no money and silk at home, how can I find a good wife for my son and a good wife for my daughter?

In order to live a better life in the future, the middle-aged man asked the patriarch to guarantee him, and went to the official to get a mare and a foal, and five sheep came back to raise them. In the middle-aged man's village, only middle-aged men have the courage go do this.

After the middle-aged man had a pee, he ran to the side room to wake up his children. The youngest child was seven years old and could do some work for the family.Hearing the sound of the children getting dressed, the middle-aged man left the side room, went into the stable for the mare and foal, took some soybeans to the manger to feed the two babies, and put the hay I sprinkled some to the five sheep next to the stable. Four of the five sheep were ewes, all of which were pregnant with lambs. In a few days, the lambs would be born, and the number of livestock in the middle-aged man's house would increase.After the children get up and have breakfast, the mare and foal will be led by the children to the grassland outside the village to graze.The middle-aged man loves the mare and foal like eyeballs.

The middle-aged man took care of the livestock at home, and there was a melodious horn sound in the distance, which was a signal for the soldiers at the throat to get up. At this time of the day, the soldiers would listen to the horn and get up for training.

The middle-aged man squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. He was very envious of those soldiers. The treatment of those soldiers made the middle-aged man very envious. Unfortunately, he was not included in the recruitment requirements, but his brother-in-law was lucky. , was recruited into the army, and now he is well fed and clothed in the army, and he can get hardware and military pay every month. When he retires at the age of 25, he will also receive a retirement fee, and at the same time, he will be allocated 30 acres of fertile land for farming. Like him, the good land allocated is for a period of [-] years. During this period, you only need to plant crops and pay taxes every year. If you don’t plant them and waste them, the land will be taken back by the government, and your children and grandchildren will never have the opportunity to divide the land.

The brother-in-law of the middle-aged man is burly and has joined the army as a swordsman. He trains every morning, learns calligraphy at noon, and continues training in the afternoon.Last month, my brother-in-law was on vacation and came to visit with a gift. The middle-aged man found that his brother-in-law had lost weight and darkened, but his spirit was better than before.

"Father!" The eldest son of the middle-aged man came out after getting dressed, and hurriedly greeted his father when he saw him.

"Big cub, after breakfast, take your younger brother and put them far away when grazing. The grass near the village is not tender." Only middle-aged men in the village have the courage to go to the government to borrow livestock on credit and come back to raise them, but in the surrounding villages, there are several The farmers also borrowed their livestock on credit. When there were too many livestock, the grass near the village would not be enough for the livestock to eat, so they had to graze farther away.

"My son understands." The eldest son of the middle-aged man responded to his father's request and wandered into the latrine to urinate.

The middle-aged man looked at the elder's thin body and sighed slightly. If the elder is strong, the middle-aged man would like to let his son serve as a soldier in two years. Unfortunately, the malnutrition since childhood made the elder's development slow. very thin.I heard that next year a school will be opened in the throat city, and all children over the age of six can go there to learn to read. My eldest child will only be fifteen next year, so he is not considered an adult, so can he go to school?If you have learned Chinese characters, you can become an official, and the salary of being an official is also very good. It is a pretty good path for the frail elder. Even if the elder cannot go, the younger is still under the age.Going to school to learn how to read not only does not require you to study, but you can also have a free meal at noon. An eight-year-old child can't do any heavy work at home, so it is not a problem to run more than ten miles to the city to go to school.

The middle-aged man was thinking about his two sons. As for the two daughters, he didn't think too much about them. One is that the daughter will belong to someone else's family when she marries, and the other is that the two daughters can help the family with work, which is already indispensable. Help, he earns more money in the future, buys more dowries for his daughters, and finds them a good family, which is the greatest responsibility to them.

The middle-aged man went to wash his hands and face, and when he returned to his room, his wife had already prepared breakfast. When the middle-aged man sat on the mat, the woman had already served the breakfast on the wooden board in front of the mat. There was no record in their family. A few days ago, the food was placed on the board, and the family ate around the board.

Not only did the middle-aged man’s house not have much furniture, but he didn’t even have many bowls and chopsticks. He basically served food in large pottery basins, and the whole family shared the food with their hands.

After the middle-aged man sat down, his four sons and daughters came one after another and knelt down on the cattail mat under the father's head, which was woven with grass.

"This corn smells so good!" The middle-aged man's three eldest children made no sound while eating, but the younger one was lively and always said while eating.

"Don't eat too much." The middle-aged man smiled and told Xiao Er, who was the youngest and loved by his wife the most.If children eat what they like, they will eat too much and eat bad stomach.

The breakfast at the middle-aged man's house consists of boiled potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn. The potatoes are from May, and the sweet potatoes were harvested just yesterday.

"Father, we will have these foods every day at home." The child devoured the corn, which was tender and sweet, and tasted better than the potatoes and sweet potatoes that he thought were very delicious. Potatoes were eaten from May to September. During the month, the child was already a little tired of potatoes, but he dared not say that he was tired of potatoes. After all, at this time last year, the whole family was still hungry and often had to eat bitter wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger.

"It should be better, and it will never return to the original." The middle-aged man stopped his hand, and now he can eat enough every day, which is a treatment that a middle-aged man has not enjoyed in the past five years.

"Father, it's the market today. You can bring some sweet potatoes to the market and exchange for some salt. Well, it would be better if you can exchange some cotton cloth. It's getting cold, and the child needs to make some thick clothes." The woman came out of the kitchen , brought a pot of boiled water for the family, the technician from the village said that if you don’t drink raw water, you will get sick less. Since the villagers listened to the technician’s words and changed to drinking boiled water, the chance of stomach pain is much less .

"Wait, I'll borrow a wooden cart from old man Wang." The middle-aged man nodded. Old man Wang is a farmer in the village who knows carpentry. The wooden cart was the one he saw from other wooden carts, and he built it himself when he returned home. Yes, it is very labor-saving to carry things and walk long distances.

"Old man Wang will definitely go to the market himself. If our family wants to change things, so will theirs." The woman pouted and reminded her husband.

"Then I'll pick two baskets to exchange, and I'll pick another two baskets to exchange in the middle of the month. Anyway, there is a market every ten days." The middle-aged man didn't care that he couldn't exchange all at once.

"That's okay." The woman thought about it, and felt that it could only be this way, but she added: "I will go with you in the middle of the month, and I will also pick two baskets to go. There are too many sweet potatoes at home, so I will exchange them for money and silk. It's good to wear it."

When the middle-aged man’s family harvested potatoes in May, because the yield of potatoes was very high, he didn’t want to wait until the sweet potatoes were harvested. The yield was more than that of potatoes, and he paid one-tenth of the tax. It’s almost the same, sweet potatoes have not yet started to be sold, and in more than a month, there will be another potato harvest. Potatoes can be planted twice a year, and corn will also be harvested.

The bazaar is located in the state of Wu on the side of the border between Zhao and Wu. It was established after the arrival of the newly appointed sheriff. It is stipulated that the beginning, middle, and end of each month are the trading days. Commodities and crops are traded in the market, and the merchants and people of Zhao State will also come to trade through the Zhao State Checkpoint. There is a fee to pass through the Zhao State Checkpoint, but Wu State does not charge. They just set up stalls in the market. To pay taxes, there are two tax officials who specialize in collecting taxes there. Those who have paid taxes will receive a card with a date on it, which is only valid on that day and will become invalid later. If you do not pay taxes in the market, Will be punished by confiscation of trade items.Because the tax paid is not much, farmers can afford it, and there are not many tax evaders. Of course, if they evade taxes, the end will be very sad, and the tax officials are very dedicated.

The middle-aged man carried two baskets of sweet potatoes, walked more than ten miles to the market, paid the money at the gate of the market, received a tax card, entered the market, found a conspicuous place, put down the sweet potatoes, and waited. People trade with him.The middle-aged man put away the sweet potatoes, looked around, and found that there were more people in the market than last time, and the number of merchants who came to trade seemed to have doubled.

"Rotten elm, there are a little more farmers who come to trade crops this time, what if they can't sell them?" On the hillside not far from the market, two people rode their horses to watch the market. Here comes a knight in a soldier's costume.

"Don't call me rotten elm!" Huo Sizhong glared at Wei Qing angrily.

"Oh, well, Governor Huo, the farmers in the throat have a good harvest, what if they can't trade?" Wei Qing changed his words leisurely.

Hearing Wei Qing addressing his position, Huo Sizhong somehow felt that Wei Qing was making fun of him.

"Why can't it be traded, some merchants will buy it."

"Businessmen from the Zhao country?" Wei Qing asked. Most of the Zhao country's merchants went to the market to buy salt, cloth, and various department stores produced in the Wu country. They didn't buy crops.

"No, it's our businessmen. Two businessmen have opened factories in Yanhoukou and Qucheng. They are processing sweet potatoes and potatoes. They will buy a large number of these agricultural products. Well, in the future, rural products will probably not be all In the market, farmers will go to their factories to trade directly." Potatoes and sweet potatoes can be ground into flour, made into wide noodles and vermicelli, and sweet potatoes can also be processed into dried potatoes. After processing, these things are more convenient for transportation and storage. For a long time, it can be sold to Tianzidu and other vassal states through Zhao Guo.

"Rotten Elm, you have a lot of taxes, can you allocate more money to the army, first help the throat to build a military camp outside the city." Wei Qing's face was a little flattering.

Huo Sizhong frowned: "Not this year, the income and expenditure of Northwest County can't be balanced, let's wait until next year, and in the second half of next year, I can help you build a military camp outside the city."

"That's too late. It needs to be repaired in the first half of next year. Otherwise, there will be no place for the soldiers I recruited." Wei Qing protested. Cooperate with local finance.

Wei Qing and Zeng You only brought more than 3000 soldiers to the north to conquer and occupied the two cities of Qucheng and Yanhoukou. The defensive force was too small, so they recruited everywhere. Now there are 5000 soldiers in Qucheng, and Wei Qing has more than 4000 here. Throat is a very important pass in the state of Wu, and the guards must have more troops than Qucheng. Wei Qing has already reported to Chu Chaohui that he plans to recruit 5000 soldiers. The barracks in Throat City can accommodate up to 8000 People, [-] people, can't stay no matter what.

For the sake of border security, Wei Qing plans to build a new barracks at the corner of the throat, which not only accommodates newly recruited soldiers, but also echoes with the throat to defend against Zhao's invasion.

"The first half of next year, then I have to think of a way." Huo Sizhong stroked his forehead, Northwest County was financially strapped, and now, like Zheng Yuming, he dreamed that money would fall from the sky.

Seeing Huo Sizhong, Wei Qing agreed to find a way, and based on his understanding of Huo Sizhong, he knew that things would probably work.

"The local nobles invited us to a banquet tonight, you have to go this time." Wei Qing tapped his palm with a horsewhip, and squinted at Huo Sizhong.

"This kind of entertainment is the last thing I want to do, but I have to." Huo Sizhong frowned.Although half of the nobles in Yanhoukou and Qucheng had been wiped out, half remained. The power of this group of people should not be underestimated in the local area. As the local administrator, Huo Sizhong had to establish a good relationship with them.

Huo Sizhong's government office was not set up in the throat, but in Qucheng. However, Huo Sizhong attached great importance to the market in the throat, and spent half of his time in the throat city.Huo Sizhong would usually decline invitations from the nobles on the grounds of going to another city for business.But it doesn't work if there are too many excuses, you have to go to the last one after three invitations.

Wei Qing looked at Huo Sizhong with a grin. He could already imagine Huo Sizhong's expression after the banquet, because this time the nobles would be too enthusiastic, which would make this old-fashioned rotten wood too much.