Yang Sheng and his brothers worked together and managed to clean up the house in one day. They laid reeds on the roof, nailed the wooden door, and locked it with a big lock, indicating that the house was now owned by someone else.
After returning to the city, Yang Sheng took out his reward money and took a few brothers to go to a restaurant.
It was called a restaurant, but in fact it was just a small stall on the roadside. Several people were squatting at a low table next to the stall, heads touching, each with a bowl of spicy soup and two pieces of pot cakes, and they began to feast on the food.
This was the first time in their lives that they spent money, sat at tables and chairs, and had their food warmly served by the stall owner.
As Yang Luhou was eating, he began to wipe away his tears.
"This is so damn delicious. It's like a dream. I felt like I was a slave who couldn't even get half a piece of black, hard Hou cake yesterday. How come I can sit here and eat with a bowl in my hand today?"
The brother beside him patted his forehead and said, "Alright, alright, you are so useless and you are crying. Now we have met a good master. As long as you follow our brother Sheng and get along well, you will have a good life sooner or later."
"I, I, it's because the soup is too thick. It washed away my feelings."
"Look over there." Yang Sheng broke the bread and threw it into his mouth, his eyes fixed on the street not far away.
There was a post station on the street. There was a long queue outside the door. All of them were soldiers from the barracks. Everyone was in high spirits and held something in their hands.
"That's the post station." The owner of the food stall was already used to this phenomenon. While serving the freshly baked Guokui, he explained to them, "The Lord has added a lot of post stations, which are dedicated to traveling between Bianzhou and Jiangcheng. Soldiers in the city can bring letters and things to their families in Jiangcheng. You all look like military officers, too. If you want to send a message to your family or bring some things, you can go there. There are special post stations to help write letters, but if you want to bring things, you have to spend a little more money."
In the long line, A Yuan, his fellow villager A Huang, and the captain Han Shen were standing in line.
When it was their turn, A Yuan and A Huang gave way to Han Shen. Han Shen was no longer polite. He walked forward, took out two thousand big coins from his pocket and placed them in front of the postman who was receiving him.
The post office asked Han Shen about the address and quantity of the items he was sending.
Then he took a piece of paper, folded it in the middle, and copied it twice. He stamped a flower seal in the middle and asked Han Shen to press his fingerprints on the amount before cutting the paper in half.
One copy for Han Shen and one copy for record.
"Do you have anything you want to pass on?" the postman asked, picking up his pen.
"Thank you for your concern. Please tell my mother to keep the money and not to be too stingy. His son is now a captain and can earn a lot of money. If my wife is disobedient, just teach her a lesson and don't get angry with herself. Wait until my son returns and then take good care of her in her old age."
The postman wrote down his words and put them together with the two thousand coins.
Han Shen paid the handling fee and stepped aside to wait.
Ah Huang stepped forward and touched his head: "I have nothing, so I have to take a message to my father, mother and elder brother. Tell them that I am now a duke and have been allocated a hundred acres of land and a piece of land for building a house. Ask them if they want to move here together. Just say that we have our own land here, and the masters here are not so fierce, so it is easy to make a living here."
The post office recorded everything in detail, charged him the corresponding handling fee, and gave him a receipt.
When he arrived at Yuan's place, he blushed and took out a piece of blue floral cloth and a small packet of coins from his bosom. He had not received a title, nor any reward, and these were two months' advance military pay, of which he did not keep a cent, but gave them all to his family.
Ah Huang whistled: "Wow, he only sent a piece of floral cloth, but this guy only thought about his wife."
A Yuan suppressed his embarrassment and said to the postman with a red face, "Please tell my wife A Juan that everything is fine with me in the military camp and ask her to take good care of my mother and the children. When I win military merit and receive a title, I will bring them to Bianzhou."
Yang Sheng looked at the lively scene and leaned back. "See? Most of these soldiers are from the surrounding areas of Jiangcheng. This time, the lord sent troops to Qi County in order to open up the passage between Bianzhou and Jin State. They are definitely more hardworking than us."
He waved his hand and asked several brothers to come over: "I don't care what they do. After this battle, our team must win first-class merit. If nothing else, all of you must at least become public officers. By then, everyone will have land, a house, a wife, and a few children. Then we will be considered the same as them."
At this moment, in the camp where Cheng Qianye was stationed,
Cheng Qianye was sitting at the desk, listening to Xiao Jin's report on the situation after the implementation of the new policy.
"All males over 18 years old who have fled from other countries and settled in our Great Jin can be allocated a piece of land of 30 mu. I will have the officials arrange and settle the refugees inside the village gate, so that they live side by side and in alleys. We will appoint village heads and village chiefs to supervise and educate them. This will prevent the people from migrating at will and allow them to farm in peace."
Cheng Qianye asked, "Isn't this thirty acres too little? I went to Xishan today and asked the old farmers on the roadside about the harvest. It turns out that one acre of land can only produce two to three stones of grain. After deducting taxes, it is not enough to eat. Our Bianzhou and the surrounding counties are all sparsely populated. Why can't we give them more?"
Xiao Jin laughed: "My Lord, it is a good thing that you care about the people and show kindness to them. But now is a time of war, and the interests of the country should be the first priority."
"All the soldiers of our army are recruited from the military households of our country. I personally think that the most important thing for these foreign immigrants is to encourage them to engage in farming and provide a large amount of tax revenue for our Jin army."
Cheng Qianye understood: "You just want to attract them to Jin State, but at the same time make their land less fertile so that they can rent more land to pay taxes?"
"My lord's new policies and the system of conferring titles for military merit are now being implemented and are showing results. My lord has a broad mind and brilliant ideas, and I have to admire them. These two policies are the cornerstones of the country's prosperity."
"The military households were awarded titles for their meritorious service and were granted large tracts of land. But most of them had no time to cultivate the land. The new farmers just happened to rent the military households' land to cultivate. If it weren't for the fact that they had to pay a lot of rent for renting land and didn't keep much for themselves, they wouldn't necessarily rent so much land at once. This way, our tax revenue would definitely be much less."
"I can't tell." Cheng Qianye said with a smile, "Our Xiao Sikou has a special talent in money and grain accounts."
Xiao Jin bowed and said, "My lord has great ambitions. I am your servant and I share your worries. I believe that only abundant food reserves can guarantee our great army's conquests. It is the cornerstone for you to rule the world."
Cheng Qianye was stunned. When she first came here, Xiao Jin was the only person she could trust.
Moreover, it is not very reliable.
During that period, she stayed around Xiao Jin every day, trying every way to make Xiao Jin think more highly of her and stop treating her as a temporary substitute, but it didn't have much effect.
Today, she no longer cares about this and no longer focuses on what others think of her.
Focus on doing what you can do and take the path you want to take.
But unexpectedly, I received the sincere recognition of this individual.
When we first met,
The man once threw a dagger in front of her and advised her to commit suicide as a weak woman to avoid humiliation.
Now, he is still in front of me, but he bowed his head sincerely and began to assist me sincerely, working towards a common goal.
"Xiao Sikou," Cheng Qianye said, "From now on, the task of perfecting the new policy and formulating laws will be entrusted to you. Although this task is arduous, it is related to the lifeblood of the people of our Great Jin, and will benefit future generations. I hope you will not refuse."
Xiao Jin's eyes flashed, he straightened his sleeves, and bowed solemnly.
At nightfall.
The cool sound of the moon filled the gauze window. Cheng Qianye sat in front of the window, tuning the zither and playing a song called "The General's Order".
As she walked step by step to her current location, the view became wider and wider, and many people gradually caught up with her.
There was no one to guide her on the road ahead.
She needs to explore and take each step on her own.
But at this moment, she felt very safe in her heart, not panicked or confused.
Perhaps, it is because of these trustworthy friends, these loyal generals, and the many people who look up to her.
Her fragile heart became firmer and more steady day by day.
…
Mo Qiaosheng lay in the shadow of the eaves.
There is a bright moon in the sky above my head.
The sound of the piano reached his ears.
It is the lord who is playing the piano.
He closed his eyes, and his heart resonated with the passionate zither music.
He understood his lord's lofty ambitions.
What the lord thinks in his heart is also what he wishes. He will mount his horse with a gun in hand, break through the dark night, and usher in the bright world that the lord expects.
"Qiaosheng."
Mo Qiaosheng opened his eyes and stuck his head out from the eaves.
The man was standing under the porch pillar, looking up at him with a smile.
"Why are you there?" Cheng Qianye waved at him, "Come down quickly and come to me."
Mo Qiaosheng recalled the embarrassing moment he made in the hot spring during the day because he lost control of himself.
His face flushed red, and after a long while, he finally climbed down from the roof and barely stood in front of Cheng Qianye.
Cheng Qianye took out a triangular tortoise shell nail. There was a small hole in the translucent nail and a black rope was tied to it.
"Come." She hooked her finger.
Mo Qiaosheng obediently lowered his head, which was still red with red clouds on it.
Cheng Qianye stretched out his hands and tied the black rope around his neck.
"I don't have anything I wear all the time. This nail piece is what I use when I play the piano. I'm giving you one. When you wear it, it will be like I'm always by your side."
She pulled the rope, pulled Mo Qiaosheng's head down a little, and pointed at his nose with her finger: "What about you? Do you want to give me something?"
The author has something to say: Gong Xinwen: Interview, Qiao Sheng, I heard that in addition to the nickname of crybaby, you have another nickname, General Miaokoukou
Mo Qiaosheng: I, I was just too excited at the moment. Please give me another chance and I will definitely clear my name.
Gong Xinwen: What's the point of redressing your reputation? To prove that you can cry and do something at the same time
Moqiaosheng: QQ
Cheng Qianye: You typographer, better behave yourself. How dare you bully my people
Gong Xinwen: Your Majesty, I was wrong.