Zhi Xuan

In the early morning, just after dawn, the city gate of Zhixian County was opened wide, and dozens of carts lined up in a long line and came out of the city.

The car was loaded with dried grains of millet porridge, as well as pickles and broth.When passing by the city, the soldiers on duty couldn't help sniffing, and their stomachs began to growl.

On the leading cart, a young waiter took the reins, took out two grain cakes from the basket beside him, and handed them to the soldiers who kept swallowing.

"Young master has a life. Recently, you have worked hard to defend the city, and I will give you a meal every day."

Zu Wu could hardly believe his ears.The steaming multi-grain cake was handed in front of him, and the tempting aroma wafted into his nostrils. He still couldn't believe that he could get a full meal just by waking up an hour earlier.

The waiter rushed to the construction site. Seeing that the soldier did not respond for a long time, he directly stuffed the miscellaneous grain cakes into the other party's hand, then looked at him a few more times, silently counted the number of people on duty today, and carried half a basket of miscellaneous grain pancakes out of the car. There was also a small jar of pickles left.

"go!"

After completing Zhixuan's order, the waiter waved his whip and continued to leave the city with the convoy.

Watching the vehicle leave, the soldiers and Wu looked at each other. They didn't know who started it, and they rushed to the basket on the ground together, and divided up the miscellaneous grains and cakes in a blink of an eye.

Before Zhixuan died, they seldom had enough to eat.It is good to have a bowl of millet porridge for two meals a day.

After Zhixuan was granted the fiefdom, he organized manpower to carry out large-scale construction in the fiefdom.The soldiers stood at the top of the city every day and saw with their own eyes that wooden houses rose from the ground, and a large amount of wood was transported from the mountains and piled up in the open space by the forest, and then a forest farm was built.

The common people and slaves worked on the construction site, and they could eat two full meals a day, and the common people could receive a bowl of corn and occasionally meat after work.This kind of treatment is really enviable, and many soldiers are starting to feel excited and want to work on the construction site.

As the progress of the project accelerated, common people in the city and surrounding villages were mobilized to work on the construction site after finishing their work in the fields.There are also some Chinese people who, after Zhixuan gave the order, took the initiative to go to construction sites and forest farms to undertake security work, which can be used for military service and receive a certain amount of remuneration.

The soldiers watched very eagerly, but no matter what their responsibilities were, they could not leave their posts without authorization, and they couldn't go even if they wanted to.Going home every day, seeing the neighbors working on the construction site happy and full of food, and my family members still hungry, the feeling is indescribably uncomfortable.

For this kind of situation, Zhi Xuan didn't think about it at first. It was only after being reminded by the doctor named Ding Bao that he realized that he had overlooked a lot of problems.

"Do not suffer from widowhood but suffer from inequity."

Ding Bao was born in a clan, and his ancestors were once wealthy, so he has the strength to aspire to the top of the Liuqing.It's a pity that the future generations are not up to date, and the family fortune has fallen. Apart from the glory left by the ancestors, there is nothing left, and they have no right to speak in the court.

The reason why he reminded Zhi Xuan was that his family had a similar experience.In the process of developing the fief, a big mistake was caused by negligence.After that incident, the originally thriving family began to decline, but after three generations it was reduced to what it is today.

After listening to Ding Bao's explanation, Zhi Xuan quickly woke up, and immediately summoned the government order to re-arrange the matter.

"The army of soldiers was changed to a rotation duty, with five people in a team, and five days as a period. On the day of duty, each person was given a meal. When they were not on duty, they were allowed to work outside the city."

Zhi Xuan's order was quite timely. Before a bigger problem broke out, it directly extinguished the symptoms and did not cause the problem to expand further.

He reminded his subordinate doctor Ding Bao to be reused, and he was directly separated from the construction site to take charge of the forest farm.The work at hand was divided among the other two subordinates, and a doctor from Yi was added as a supplement.

For such an arrangement, Ding Bao was very happy, and the people who worked with him did not have any dissatisfaction.Ding Bao's promotion and reuse depended on his own ability. If they wanted to catch up, they had to work harder.Jealousy and jealousy are the actions of villains, even if the family declines, they don't bother to do it.

Zhixuan's order was issued, and Ding Bao quickly took office.

The government order also acted quickly, dispatching several clever servants to be responsible for reading orders and distributing food to the soldiers.Among them was the servant who had helped him in the Western Capital City.As the waiter thought at the beginning, he worked hard to perform, and he was reused.

On that day, the convoy left the city on time, just like before.The difference is that the pawns guarding the city gate are given extra food.There are two palm-sized multigrain cakes. Each person gets two, and eats half by himself. The rest is reluctant, so he puts all of them in his arms and prepares to share them with his relatives when he goes home.

Although it was only two grain cakes, it was very precious to Zuwu.In times of food scarcity, such a meal can even save a family's life.

The monarch gave Zhixuan three fiefdoms. Except for Liangdi, Zhi and Feng had a lot of land, many of which were cultivated.However, there is not much production, and it is impossible for the subordinate people to have enough to eat. When there is no harvest, it is common to be hungry.

This is a very common situation, and it is the case in Xiyuan country, and it is no different in other large and small vassal states.

Seeing it with your own eyes is far more powerful than listening to it.

Knowing the life of the subjects in the fief, Zhixuan's desire to develop grain production became more urgent.

It's just that the meal has to be eaten bite by bite, and the road has to be walked step by step.

Before proceeding with the plan, enough houses must be built so that those who follow him can move out of the sheds and tents and live in new homes.In this way, they have a sense of belonging to Zhidi and are willing to take root and live here.

By digging into the corner of Marquis Xiyuan, Zhi Xuan learned how important population is.

Letting these thousands of people stay completely, and no one can dig it away, is the foundation of his plan.Otherwise, no matter how good the plan is, it cannot be realized without people.In the end, maybe also made a wedding dress for someone else.

After the convoy left the city, it followed the newly widened dirt road to the construction site.

At that time, the sky gradually brightened, and the construction site became lively.

For the convenience of work, many ordinary people don't want to travel every day, so they spontaneously build work sheds, eat and live on the construction site every day.

The waiters arrived with their vehicles, and the construction site was already full of people's voices. Many people crowded by the pond, fetching water to boil in the shed, and prepared to drink it during the day's work.

They didn't have this habit in the past, even though Zhi Xuan gave repeated orders on the way to the seal, and they couldn't see it at a glance, there were still many people drinking raw water.

In desperation, Zhi Xuan approached the mulberry doctor and the witch doctor who were instructing the medicine servants to turn over the soil, and explained it to the two of them, and borrowed the hands of the two to find the herbal medicine that can repel insects, and in front of everyone , and poured it down to a few men who looked very strong.

Needless to say, after that, everyone started to boil water obediently, and no one drank raw water casually.

Finding the effect was good, Zhixuan simply did not do anything, and asked Sang doctor and witch doctor to cook a decoction, and each of them had to drink a bowl.When Dr. Sang made the pills, the nearby villages would also send special personnel to deliver them, especially children. No one would be left behind.

In the next few days, almost all the people in the city and on the construction site turned blue.

Doctor Sang and witch doctor said that Qingcai is good, and Qingcai proves that the medicine works well.

After several doctors took the decoction, they specially came to ask Zhi Xuan for advice, and when they returned, they kept a respectful distance from many of their favorite dishes.Especially raw meat, whether it is running on the ground, flying in the sky or swimming in the water, as long as it is raw, it is all rejected.

Since then, the officials and subjects in Zhixuan's fiefdom have become independent. Anyone who visits from other places will find that the eating habits of the people here are very special, and they can hardly find any raw food on their tables.

When the convoy arrived at the construction site, the waiters jumped out of the car, raised their strangely shaped horns, and shouted: "Come and get breakfast!"

Everyone on the construction site heard the sound and hurried into action.According to the rules set by Zhi Xuan, each lined up in a long line, holding wooden bowls and chopsticks, waiting to receive their breakfast.

During the queuing process, no one pushed, and there was no noise.The newcomer was a little overwhelmed, and was pulled over by familiar people and asked them to follow behind him.

When the line is lined up, the waiter will lift the wooden bucket full of porridge from the car and put it on the raised stone slab.The lid was lifted, and the hot air wafted with fragrance, and the thick corn was bright yellow, and a spoonful was enough to fill a bowl.

"Each person has a bowl of porridge and two cakes, if you don't have enough, you can take it!"

The basket with cakes is placed next to the porridge bucket, the stuffed ones are scones, and the ones without stuffing are steamed cakes.

The common people were all given scones, took a bite hard, ate the meat residue in the cake, and drank a big mouthful of porridge, squinting their eyes in satisfaction, eating without looking up.

All the slaves ate were steamed cakes, the shells were not fully removed, the color was black, the taste was not very good, and they even scratched their throats.For them, this is a delicacy that they can't even dream of.

The Chinese on the construction site also have a jar of pickles and a small bowl of oil residue, which can be eaten by themselves or taken home to improve the food for their relatives.

All the food brought was finished, and there was no voice on the construction site, and everyone was busy filling their stomachs.

After breakfast, the common people and slaves began to work.Today they have to put beams on the second batch of row houses and lay stone foundations. Their job is not easy.

The waiters put away the wooden barrels, jumped into the car, and did not leave immediately. They were going to wait for the vehicles going to the forest farm to return, and then return to the city together.

As work progressed faster than expected, there was insufficient lumber on the site.It's not that the loggers are lazy, but that the trees cannot be used immediately after felling, and need to be dried before being sent to the construction site.

After the doctor Ding Bao took charge of the forest farm, he has been trying to solve this problem.Building materials cannot tolerate cheating. There is really no other way but to report the truth to Zhixuan, and then hurry up logging. Recently, I have been more nervous to ensure that the later projects will not be delayed.

In the forest farm at this time, common people and slaves who felled trees had already been summoned, and the fellow countrymen were also fully armed.

The location of their logging is relatively fixed. Every time before starting work, the Chinese will take a step ahead to disperse the nearby wild animals to prevent accidents in the middle.

The vegetation in the forest is dense, and the logging team will step out of the trail, and it will be covered with weeds in a few days.

The Chinese who led the team were very cautious. There was a strange noise in their ears. Realizing that something was wrong, they immediately raised their arms to signal everyone to stop.

"how?"

"Not quite right."

Several Chinese people have been on the battlefield, have lived in Zhi County for generations, and are quite familiar with this woodland.

The sound coming from their ears was too unfamiliar, and they immediately became alert, quickly opened their bows and arrows, drew out their long knives, and stood back to back, alert to possible dangers at any time.

The logging team was a distance behind, and when they saw the actions of several people, they immediately became vigilant.

There was a loud noise in front, as if a giant beast was running in the forest, rampaging and breaking the tree trunk blocking the way.

"It's coming!" The Chinese warned, the bowstring in their hands was already full

Before the words were finished, a tree with a thick bowl mouth began to shake not far ahead, the leaves fell off one after another, and the trunk tilted to one side.Amidst the creaking sound, the 20-meter-high tree body fell from the sky, and when the canopy fell, it almost hit the vigilant Chinese.

The next moment, a huge figure appeared from the forest, with two pointed horns, one large and one small, standing on the ground with all four feet on the ground, and the body was like a hill, rushing straight towards the logging team.

Seeing this gigantic monster, the common people and slaves all showed shock, and the people of the country were also shocked, blurting out a single word: "Rhinoceros?!"

The rhinoceros seemed to be enraged by something, facing the bow and arrow and the blade, it still rushed forward regardless.

The people of the country shot arrows together, and then the horizontal knife was in front, blocking the rhinoceros for a while, and then shouted loudly, telling the crowd to disperse and run away.It is difficult to capture this rhino with their numbers and weapons, and they are more likely to be killed by the opponent. Running away is the only way.

Fortunately, the terrain in the forest is complicated, the plants are dense, and the rhino was distracted halfway, so everyone escaped by chance.

The logging team returned in embarrassment, and some people were still injured in the forest. Ding Bao immediately reported the situation to Zhi Xuan.

The presence of rhinos is no small matter.

Legend has it that a human king once used a rhinoceros to pull a chariot and defeated another lord who rode an elephant, and later established a state dynasty that lasted for hundreds of years.

It is said that the first Marquis of Xiyuan personally hunted a rhinoceros and sent it to Zhongdu as a tribute.Since then, there has been no news of rhinoceros in China.Unexpectedly, he would appear in Zhidi.

"Rhinoceros?" Zhi Xuan was incredulous when he heard the report.

On second thought, in the historical materials he had read, there were records about elephant herds in the Xiyuan Kingdom, and it was not surprising that a rhinoceros suddenly appeared.

Who dictates where rhinos must live?

In the era when there were more wild beasts than people, perhaps people liked forests and enjoyed the feeling of four distinct seasons.

However, allowing this giant beast to stay in the forest will not only threaten the logging team, but also the forest farm and even the construction site.In case of panic, it is likely to hinder the progress of the project and disrupt his plan.

Zhixuan summoned the magistrate and several senior officials to inquire in detail about the hunting of rhinos by the first Marquis of Xiyuan.It doesn't matter if you are sure hunting, as long as you send the rhinoceros skin to Zhongdu, you will make a decision immediately, call for those who are good at shooting and strong, and go with him to the forest to take down this giant beast!