Back To The Beginning Of Ming To Do Charity

I heard the news of Xu Shouhui again in March of the following year. Qishui County, the capital of Tianwan, was captured. Xu Shouhui's capable subordinate Peng Yingyu died in battle. .

At this time, it has been Zhizheng 14 years, and the news I got is the news at the end of last year.

"Liu Futong's situation is good." Lin Yuan said with a smile.

The Yuan army gathered troops from several provinces to deal with Xu Shouhui, which is enough to prove that the Yuan army attached great importance to Xu Shouhui.

However, in other respects, the Yuan army did not take advantage of it.

In the 12th year of Zhengzheng, 30 troops attacked the area of ​​Runing Mansion where Liu Futong was located. As a result, they suffered repeated defeats and suffered heavy losses.

In the 13th year of Zhizheng, an army of 6 came to attack Gaoyou, and was finally defeated, with a loss of nearly [-].

There are not many people in Xu Shouhui's hands, but the court still failed to wipe him out in one fell swoop.

Zhu Yuanzhang said at this time: "Yuan court is exhausted, and we can go further this year."

Lin Yuan smiled at him: "That's exactly what I mean."

They have now occupied Taizhou, Gaoyou, Changshu, Changzhou and Songjiang. Standing in front of the map, Lin Yuan said to everyone: "Everyone come to discuss."

Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Bosong had a very unified opinion. They believed that now their soldiers were strong and their morale was high. The original 30 soldiers had increased to [-]. Lin Yuan still feels that this increase is terrible. Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Bosong are responsible for the recruitment , These two people did not show their eloquent side in front of him, but judging from the number of people, their eloquence must be very good.

Or the staff in their tents are all good.

They think they can take Pingjiang Road directly now.

However, Song Shizhao thought that instead of only taking Pingjiang Road, it is better to take two roads in parallel, taking Pingjiang Road on the one hand, and Pingjiang on the other.

Pingjiang Road was the administrative division of the Yuan Dynasty, including Kunshan, Changshu, Wujiang and Jiading.

Pingjiang is a separate place name, which is later Suzhou, Jiangsu.

Brother Dao couldn't understand, he was looking at his fingernails, Lin Yuan glanced at him, and he quickly said: "I can do it, I don't choose!"

Everyone in the room laughed.

Yang Zian said: "I can lead a group of people to Pingjiang."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "I can go to Kunshan."

Chen Bosong: "Jiading."

Brother Dao: "... Then, only Wu Jiang is left?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "I'll leave it to you. If you think it's not good, just tell them and tell them to change it with you."

Brother Dao waved his hand: "That's not necessary."

Lin Yuan set the time for the battle to be at the end of the year, that is, winter.

Although it seems that this time is not conducive to war, it is beneficial to them. Most of the financial expenditure is now on the purchase of cotton. Lin Yuan did not allow the people under his rule to grow cotton, preferring to spend money to buy it outside.

He wanted to ensure the food sources of the people and ensure that his soldiers had sufficient supplies of food and grass.

Before winter, they had to work overtime to prepare.

The garment workshop is very busy now.

Women work almost six hours a day. This is just the foundation, and sometimes even more than seven hours. If it was in modern times, someone would definitely sue Lin Yuan for oppressing labor.

But in this emergency period, no one will feel hard. The women sit in the house and are protected from the cold wind outside.

In summer, there is an ice basin in the house.

The ancients knew how to make ice a long time ago. The skill of making ice with saltpeter has always existed, but poor people have never seen ice in summer. Fortunately, Lin Yuan has a lot of saltpeter now. He doesn’t want anyone to suffer from heat stroke during hard work. .

He doesn't want to lose anyone right now.

The soldiers had to train outdoors, Yang Zian and the others almost all led the team out to kill bandits and bandit villages.

The larger villages have not been able to escape, and now under Lin Yuan's rule, there is almost no danger in the wild.

Businessmen are also more and more fond of doing business in Gaoyou, and many of them even come to settle in Gaoyou with rich family assets.

As long as people come, people spend money, and people earn money, the economy can develop.

Aunt Qian was sewing cotton padded clothes. The weather was getting hotter. She was wearing a thin cloth, but she still felt stuffy. The sweat dripped from her forehead quickly, and the cloth of the cotton padded clothes was wet. Fortunately, there was only a little bit of it.

Just after Mrs. Qian was so hot that she poured a cup of cold tea—it said it was cold tea, but in fact the tea is still lukewarm no matter how long it is left.

The cheers of the girls finally came from outside.

"Ice is here! Today's ice is here!"

"We need at least three loads!"

"Come on, how many people do you have? I have more than 30! I need five loads!"

The young man who was driving the ox cart to deliver the ice knew them very well, and said with a smile at this time: "Aunts, please forgive me. burden."

Women bargain: "My girls are big!"

"One can be worth three!"

The young man had no choice but to say, "Then it's useless for me to say it. The person in charge has to take off a layer of my skin."

Seeing that the manager didn't come with them, the women had to ask someone to bring the ice back to the house.

As soon as the ice arrived, the women in the house felt much cooler. They rolled up their long hair and tied it with wooden hairpins, and the work under their hands became faster. Every house has a female teacher who teaches needlework The manager and the manager, whichever room does a good job, she can get more rewards, but if she enriches her own pockets and bullies the employees, there will be an anonymous complaint box at the manager's place. Parade.

No one dares to do it even for the sake of face, especially women's skin is thinner than men's. In addition, life is getting better and better, and the income of female teachers is not low, so the complaint box has not been received yet An anonymous complaint.

The room is full of snow-white cotton and navy blue fabrics. The women's stitches are very good, and the cotton clothes they make are getting better and better.

The previous grass fleece was replaced. After all, grass fleece is not as good as cotton, and it is just a stopgap measure.

They chatted while working, and the children who worked part-time and part-study brought them tea and water.

"It's a really good life." Aunt Qian said to the young girl beside her, "I didn't even dare to think about living the life I am now. At that time, I couldn't get enough to eat. Who cares about whether it's hot or cold."

The young girl smiled at her: "My salary can also buy some ice for the family."

"Is your father okay?" Aunt Qian asked her.

The girl's father fell and broke a leg a few years ago, and became a lame man. He couldn't get off the ground, and he couldn't do heavy work. It hurt unbearable to walk a few steps. Fortunately, both her mother and her family can earn money. Life is not difficult.

"My dad can walk around the yard now," said the young girl.

Aunt Qian sighed: "Fortunately, Nan Bodhisattva is here, otherwise..."

The girl also looked rejoicing: "Otherwise, my family would not be able to survive."

The working house is always very lively. There is a kang in the house, and winter is better than summer. Once the kang is fired in winter, the whole house is warm, which is a bit useless.

"time to eat!"

When it was meal time, the women stopped their work one after another, and some of them were still working when they were about to finish. They walked out of the house in groups of threes and twos, and went to the cafeteria to eat.

Now they eat sweet potatoes and potatoes the most, but there are many ways to make them. Their favorite is mashed potatoes, which can be eaten as rice with some salt and sauce.

Vegetables are stir-fried vegetables, and there are special oil factories to extract oil. Now a lot of rapeseed is planted in the field outside the city. After harvesting the rapeseed, the oil supply has become larger. The owners of these oil factories are basically businessmen. Well, Lin Yuan didn't directly monopolize these channels, and the merchants could do whatever they wanted, as long as they paid taxes.

And because there is a chamber of commerce, the oil price is the same in the places under Lin Yuan's rule, and no one maliciously lowers the price, nor maliciously drives it up.

As for how much they sold outside, Lin Yuan didn't care, as long as the tax revenue was good.

Those who can still afford oil in this world are basically rich families, and poor people are still struggling to fill their stomachs.

"This is delicious." Aunt Qian said to the young girl, "You didn't know it, this kind of wild vegetable is the most fragrant when fried."

The young girl bought a plate of wild vegetables, ordered another bowl of mashed potatoes, then ordered sweet potato rice, and sat down with Aunt Qian at an empty table.

They are always at their best when they are eating.

Aunt Qian ate very slowly. She used to be so hungry that now she would feel sick to her stomach if she ate faster.

The young girl eats very quickly. She eats very cleanly without wasting anything. If she doesn't think it looks ugly, she might even have to lick the dishes again.

Aunt Qian was surprised and said: "I see you are so thin, but you can eat so well."

The girl's face was a little red: "I have a bigger appetite than others, and I made you laugh."

Aunt Qian quickly said: "What's the matter? When I was your age, if I didn't have to eat, I might have eaten more than you."

"I see you are fifteen this year?" Aunt Qian asked suddenly.

The girl nodded: "I will be fifteen years old."

Aunt Qian looked at her lovingly: "Is it okay?"

The girl shook her head, and said shyly, "You can't live without people at home."

If her family was missing her, her mother alone would not be able to support her family.

Marrying into someone else's family as a daughter-in-law, and then going to subsidize her mother's family, will always be poked in the back.

Aunt Qian quickly said: "I have a nephew. On the way his family came to Gaoyou, their parents disappeared. If you want, I will match you two. It's fine to ask him to come to your house when the time comes. As long as you have a son His surname, leave a queen for his family, and the rest will be your surname."

The girl was taken aback for a moment, apparently not expecting such an option.

She thought that her future was to become an old girl, and then find someone to marry.

Aunt Qian looked at her expression, and said, "You can use your family name as well. I'll talk to him when the time comes."

The girl lowered her head and said in a very low voice, "Ma'am, come to my house for dinner at night."

Aunt Qian said repeatedly: "Okay, I'll go over after work."

The only daughter in the girl's family was her. Her father was injured when he was on the way, and he couldn't have any more children. He had been worrying about this for a long time, but now he heard that he could have a son-in-law at home, and all but one of the children would follow his family name. , her father agreed almost immediately.

But her mother was more cautious, and asked Aunt Qian: "I don't know what kind of talent that child is? I'm afraid that my girl is soft-tempered, if I recruit someone with a bad temper..."

Aunt Qian: "My nephew is a solid-minded person. He has great strength, can eat anything, and doesn't talk much. I'm not boasting. He is now an apprentice blacksmith. His master has already said that he will be able to become a full-time worker next year." .”

Her mother: "I'm afraid my family won't be able to keep such a good talent."

Aunt Qian smiled and said: "His parents are gone, and now he lives alone, he just wants to find someone who knows the cold and the hot, has a family, nothing else, and is filial. If Mrs. Zheng is not at ease, I will take you in tomorrow." Go and see."

Only then did her mother say, "It's better to meet you."

The girl blushed by herself.

If she recruited a relative, she wouldn't have to leave home, and she could support her parents without being stabbed in the back.

At the beginning, it was not very popular to have a surrogate. After all, people at that time paid attention to raising children to prevent old age. The more sons, the better. Even if everyone starved to death together, they must have sons. If the one is not a son, then continue to have children , live to old age, have to have a son.

Even in modern times, many impoverished mountainous areas and places still have patriarchal thinking.

In order to have a son and avoid the fine, that is, when the family planning was implemented, people with jobs in the city tried every means to have a son.

Only when the economy is more developed, the society is more stable, people's thinking is more advanced, and jobs are more equal to men and women, will there be less patriarchal phenomena.

Lin Yuan still remembered reading a scholar's exposition before.

The original reason for patriarchal society, apart from the patriarchal society, is that in ancient times, there were no machines and only manpower was relied on. Men were born stronger than women, and their voice in the family came from their ability to earn money.

The reason for the least patriarchal areas is that most of these areas are not farming areas, and most of them rely on handicrafts to make money. Handicrafts have the lowest requirements for men and women, and women can also earn money to support their families.

The economy determines the status of the sexes.

The more developed the economy, the smaller the difference in earning ability between men and women, and the more equal they are.

As for Gaoyou, the difference between men and women is getting smaller and smaller now, because women can find work, and Lin Yuan has also given them the right to own private property.

Once women have private property, their vision will become higher when choosing a partner.

And in many families, they only have one only daughter, so many people choose to recruit.

The trend of attracting extramarital affairs is prevalent.

But it's probably to keep men from being too conflicted. This kind of recruiting usually means that men don't need to change their surnames. The child born will have a man's surname, and everyone is happy.

The common people have the wisdom of the common people. In order to prevent the children of men, that is, children who do not follow their own family names from getting all the family property, they also made regulations, saying that the division of family property must be as even as possible, and no one can have more and the other less.

This wind first blew in Gaoyou, and then it blew to several other cities.

The family surnamed Zhao in Changshu was the first family in Changshu to hire a new wife.

Zhao's father originally had three sons and two daughters, but all three sons died, and only one of the two daughters survived. He himself was 50 years old, and seeing that he could not have a son, the roots were about to be cut off from him. Relatives, they can't even be adopted, if adopted—he feels that all his family's wealth has been given to outsiders.

As his daughter grew up, and when he was old enough to marry, he often couldn't sleep, couldn't close his eyes all night, had pustules on the corners of his mouth, and was absent-minded when working.

Seeing that he was restless, his co-workers asked him a few words, but he was not a person who could hide his words, so he said what was on his mind.

The worker said to him: "Then you might as well hire a surrogate. I heard that there are quite a lot of households in Gaoyou who recruit a surrogate. When the time comes when your daughter has a child and your family name, you will have a root."

Father Zhao: "Can this be done?"

Since ancient times, not many men are willing to "marry" to a woman's family.

Worker: "Why can't it be done? Look at those poor families who have seven or eight sons, and they can't support them. When the time comes, you can give his family a dowry, won't it be done?"

The worker just said this casually, but Zhao's father remembered it in his heart, and couldn't sleep at night, so he said to his old wife: "The second mother is getting old, it's time to talk about someone else."

Old wife: "I can't bear to part with her... She's the only one. Thinking of her getting married and being tortured by her husband's family, my heart is like being roasted on fire..."

Father Zhao's eyes lit up: "I don't want to part with it either. I'm just such a girl. Tell me, how about we get married?"

The old wife was a little scared: "Our family is old and weak, if we recruit someone who refuses to be disciplined, wouldn't we..."

Father Zhao didn't expect this, and he was a little worried when he heard what his old wife said. He sighed: "I'll ask the matchmaker tomorrow. I heard that a matchmaker just came back from Gaoyou. .”

The matchmaker naturally had the same idea. She smiled and said to Zhao's father, "Don't be afraid. In ancient times, there were divorces, and now husbands. If your family is not satisfied, you can just divorce. What are you afraid of? Besides, there are still people today. The Women's Federation, that is, the Women's Federation, if he dares to do something to your daughter, he will be sent to prison, beaten, and kept honest."

"Gaoyou recruited a lot of relatives, and there was one who retired before."

Father Zhao was taken aback: "Then can she still find it?"

Matchmaker: "Why can't I find it, is this man hard to find?"

Father Zhao whispered, "I'm not innocent anymore!"

The matchmaker was surprised: "How many years of old age, how much is innocence worth? Those bachelors have never seen a woman, and they despise him for being innocent, and they still look down on him. Tell me, there is no shortage of men now, but there is a lack of men." woman."

"There used to be two families marrying girls from one family." Seeing that they could make a match, the matchmaker naturally went on and on, "If you trust me, I'll find one for you, and I promise to be honest."

Father Zhao quickly said: "Then I will trouble you, and..."

Matchmaker: "What else?"

Zhao's father looked around to make sure no one could hear him, so he whispered, "It's good to have a big weapon, so you can have a son."

The matchmaker covered her mouth and smiled: "Naturally, I will ask my kid to go and see it when the time comes, and keep you satisfied."

As a result, the market of the "big" men improved immediately. As long as they are not the boss of the family, they are basically willing to recruit, and the family agrees. After all, there are dowry gifts, which are quite a lot!Besides, even if you don't hire a wife, even if you have so many sons in your family, you won't be able to marry a daughter-in-law.

If the son stays for a long time, he can also become enemies. There are also some bachelors who have no father and no mother, so they are more willing.

The matchmaker quickly found someone and brought him to Father Zhao.

"This kid's surname is Li, and he's the most honest person." The matchmaker first praised, and then said, "His family doesn't want a dowry gift, as long as your family treats him better."

Father Zhao first looked at the other person's stature, and then at the other person's physique. Although he was thin, he did not look weak.

He whispered to the matchmaker: "Have you seen that thing?"

The matchmaker also whispered: "My kid has seen it and said it has one and a half fingers."

Father Zhao is satisfied.

Li Si probably guessed what they were talking about, and his face turned red.

There are six brothers in his family. Although life is easier now, they cannot marry a wife.

Even the eldest brother in the family has no daughter-in-law.

This time the matchmaker came to the door, although it was to recruit a wife, but his father agreed after smoking a few sticks of tobacco.

He was also afraid that his parents would not agree. He was eighteen this year, and he had already reached the age of wanting a woman. Besides, there were so many brothers in the family, so he was not taken seriously.

Although it is said to "marry" to someone else's house, after giving birth to a son, he still has a surname according to him, and there is no need to change the surname. It is similar to marrying a daughter-in-law, except that he does not live with his parents.

Even if he married his wife, he couldn't live in his house.

——Not to mention whether you can marry a daughter-in-law!

They didn't do much to get married, so they invited relatives and neighbors to have a meal, and the young couple lived in the same house.

Li Si is very satisfied with this wife, she has a good temper, earns a lot of money, treats him tenderly and considerately, and doesn't look down on him because of his marriage.

Six months into their marriage, his wife conceived a child.

The first child was a boy, and the wife asked the boy to take his surname regardless of his parents' opposition.

Li Si was even more devoted to his wife.

There are more and more recruits in Changshu.

But in the past, women were afraid of being divorced, and they could bear it no matter how hard it was. Now men are afraid of being divorced.Now that there are so few women, who can marry a daughter-in-law?Play a lifetime bachelor!

Therefore, the families who recruited relatives had a good life.

When Lin Yuan knew about it, he felt that his thinking was too outdated - he was a man, and he knew the psychology of most men. He thought that many men would not be able to accept such a thing as a married woman.

But looking at it now, it turned out to be quite acceptable.

There are also two men vying for one wife, fighting over who gets married, and they are still brothers of the same family.

Lin Yuan understood that they were crazy about women.

Brother Dao said beside him, "Why didn't anyone come to me?"

Brother Dao frowned, and said, "I'm also a bachelor!"

No one introduced him to a wife, and no one asked him to marry him. He asked Lin Yuan: "How can a good man like me not be in their eyes?"

Lin Yuan: "...or do you think you have a woman?"

Brother Dao: "..."

He seemed to have shown off to the soldiers under his command that he was very popular with women.

As a boy chicken, Brother Dao looks like a tall and burly man, plus he is a general, everyone thinks that he will definitely not lack women, not to mention that Brother Dao himself is full of trains, so it is not bad to call himself a prostitute Countless.

God knows he just said it casually.

The family who originally wanted to marry their daughter to him lost their thoughts when they heard this.

After all, apart from Brother Dao, Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Bosong or Yang Zian all seemed much more reliable than him.

Brother Dao: "...Can't they hear that I'm bragging?"

Lin Yuan looked at him.

Lin Yuan said to him, "It's really a bachelor based on strength."