The training of the soldiers is completed

Chapter 22: Training of the Guards Completed

"Then I'll accept it without hesitation!" It's amazing. The taste of lychees in ancient times is different from that in the previous life. Chu Huaibei used to eat more than ten kilograms of lychees every summer, so getting a sore throat was no big deal.

Now both ministers were satisfied and set off for the military camp. Today Chu Huaibei planned to visit Chen Sinong to collect grain taxes, and also to ask whether they would leave the wheat roots in the fields under the current planting conditions.

After entering the barracks, Chu Huaibei first went to see the teacher teaching, then took his deputy to the Sinong Office. He saw that only two people were left to look after the house, and the others were out collecting taxes. After asking them to look after the equipment, Chu Huaibei and his deputy hurried to the military camp. He didn't expect Chen Sinong to be so old and still come to work so early. One time, Chu Huaibei was curious and asked, and learned that Chen Sinong was 68 years old this year! He was considered a long-lived person.

Arriving at the military settlement, they saw everyone gathered in the large drying yard, with the agricultural officers weighing the grain from house to house. Everyone noticed Chu Huaibei and immediately saluted, but Chu Huaibei signaled them to do as they pleased and not to bother with her.

There were several booklets on the table that Chen Sinong had prepared temporarily. Chu Huaibei took one of them and flipped through it. He saw that it recorded fifty acres of sample fields selected from four directions. The total wheat yield of each acre was recorded, and the average yield per acre was calculated to be 93 jin, which was similar to last year. Then, 60% of the grain tax was collected in proportion, and the remaining 40% was kept by the garrison troops.

Don't think it's too little. Soldiers get paid, and if they cultivate some land, they can keep four layers of the harvest for themselves. The barracks provide all their tools. The families of soldiers stationed in military settlements live much better than ordinary civilians. The only risk is if a soldier in their family dies in battle, but they still receive a fairly generous pension.

Chu Huaibei was quite pleased with Chen Sinong's thorough and thorough work. During lunch, she asked Chen Sinong and several soldiers who had come to pay their grain taxes what they did with the wheat roots in the fields. They all gave a unanimous answer: they pulled out all the roots, dried them, and used them as firewood.

Chu Huaibei felt relieved. He was just worried they'd just plow the wheat roots into the ground and then plant. This wasn't the current practice of returning straw to the fields. Besides, the planting was due in September, and plowing started in July. If they really plowed the wheat roots in with them, they wouldn't have time to rot in two months, becoming a breeding ground for pests and affecting the growth of the wheat seeds.

Chu Huaibei told them to get on with their work and ignore her while she took her deputy to the fields. She first roughly inspected the ditches she had been ordered to dig and found that there were no major errors. This made her even more impressed with the people at the Sino-Agricultural Office. They were the boss's favorite employees. As long as the boss gave a general idea of ​​the direction, the employees would automatically complete the plan, often going further than the boss expected.

During this time, I saw many people pulling wheat roots in their own fields, a mix of young and old. Wheat harvesting is a physically demanding task that requires a quick deadline. After the main labor force is done, the remaining tasks, such as pulling out the roots and collecting the remaining wheat ears in the fields, are handled by other family members.

After an inspection, Chu Huaibei was very satisfied and returned to the military camp with his deputy general.

The last ten days of July were the final exams for the personal guards. Including this one, they had taken the exam four times in total. The prince had promised that those with excellent grades would receive promotions and raises. The personal guards studied diligently. Even being the leader of a team of ten was a good option; when the battle came, they would receive more military merit than usual.

When the final results came out, those who were promoted were all outstanding people who were recognized by everyone. No one was dissatisfied this time, and the literacy campaign ended. By the way, a group of hundred-household and thousand-household personnel were also trained. Now these people looked at Chu Huaibei with such enthusiasm that she could not resist.

During this period, the palace soldiers also finished their studies. Their situation was slightly worse than that of the personal soldiers. After all, the palace soldiers would not go to the battlefield and had no military merits to earn. However, they had basically escaped the category of illiteracy and achieved Chu Huaibei's original goal.

Starting from August, Chu Huaibei asked her personal soldiers to implement her previous patrol plan, selecting one person every day to inspect various places in Youzhou, not just Youyun City.

Three days after this move, the aristocratic families communicated with each other and knew what King Zhenbei meant. Chu Huaibei did not try to guess what each family was thinking.

On this day, the mother of Zheng Wenxiao, the Tongpan of Northern Territory Prefecture, Mrs. Xu, celebrated her sixtieth birthday, and prominent families from across the Northern Territory gathered to celebrate. The accountant, seated at the doorway, welcoming the guests, had been working with his brush ever since the first guest arrived. A red gift slip, cut into two palms wide, fell from the tabletop onto the bluestone slab, bent and folded several times.

It was not until the end of the Si hour that the arrival of the prefect Zhou Ming ended the two-hour welcome ceremony. At this time, a servant was helping to sort out the gift lists next to the accounting office. The three-foot-long gift lists were neatly folded, and when they were piled up one by one, they were actually one foot high.

At the master's signal, the accountant first arranged the pile of gifts next to the screen wall in the storeroom according to the order of the gift list, and then slowly sorted them out. The accountant took his leave and, accompanied by his usual servant, began to sort the things on the floor in an orderly manner.

As the gate of the mansion slowly closed, the sight of the people on the street watching the excitement was also cut off.

The cheapest of these gifts is enough to cover the expenses of a family of five who work on the land for ten years.

Lunch began after everyone sat down. The Zheng family's ancestor liked to watch plays, so the mistress of the house, Liu, had prepared a troupe early and ordered people to practice the plays that the ancestor liked to watch thoroughly to ensure that the ancestor would enjoy the show today.

Luoxia Courtyard, where the Zheng family entertains guests, has a quiet environment, a nine-curve corridor, and a different view at every step. In the middle of the courtyard there is a lakeside pavilion, which is quite large and can still accommodate an entire opera troupe. Today's short opera will be performed here, so both the male and female guests can see it.

Today, the Imperial Censor Fan Liang sat next to the Co-magistrate Wang Jing. In between toasts with everyone, the two chatted for a few words, toasted each other with a glass of wine, and seemed to be immersed in the banquet like everyone else.

The banquet lasted from noon to the end of the afternoon. In the end, both the host and the guests were happy and everyone went home with great satisfaction.

The Zheng family's ancestor was very pleased with today's banquet. He praised the mistress Liu in public, then left the three sisters-in-law to rest, and told the rest of the younger generation to go back to rest. Today's banquet was both a birthday party and a matchmaking party. The male and female guests were seated across the lakeside pavilion facing each other, so that the families could see each other more easily.

The reason for keeping these three was to ask which youngster they had taken a fancy to. If all went well, all the young men and women of the Zheng family would be married off one after another. Liu was the first to speak. She had taken a fancy to the prefect's legitimate daughter and wanted to marry her to her eldest son as his wife. The child was beautiful, polite, and gentle, making her a good wife.

After hearing what Liu said, Second House Wife Jin secretly rolled her eyes. "Miss Zhou, can you marry her just because you want to? What kind of person is your legitimate son? He can catch the eye of the prefect. It's a foolish dream."

The Zheng family has three branches. The eldest and second are legitimate sons born to Xu, and the third is born to a concubine. However, the concubine was in poor health and passed away before her sons got married. Therefore, the third child was the youngest, and there was no rush to get married, so she didn't say anything.

Jin waited for Liu to finish speaking, and then answered when her mother asked her: she had taken a fancy to the younger son of the Tongzhi family. Her legitimate daughter was of the same age as him, and they were a perfect match. Besides, she had already asked her daughter today, and she had nodded. As long as the other party was interested, the matter would be settled.

Xu recalled the children she had seen when the Tongzhi's wife brought people to pay her respects. There was a handsome boy who was said to be quite gifted in studies. He was already a scholar at such a young age. That was quite good. Xu nodded to Jin and agreed to go to the Wang family to test the waters.

Liu saw that her mother definitely didn't want to go to the prefect's house to help her son with his fortune, so her face darkened. Xu saw this and knew that the eldest daughter-in-law was about to start making trouble again. It was her fault that she had agreed to the marriage at her son's request. Liu was indeed smart and capable, but as a daughter of a humble family, she was not very far-sighted and often made jokes. Fortunately, her words today were only heard by her family. If any lady from a noble family heard it, she would definitely laugh at her from the street to the back of the alley.

If she has this idea, she might as well help Jin Yue to find a partner. Her marriage can't be delayed any longer. Her family can't embrace the big Buddha like the King of Zhenbei.

Then Xu asked her, "Among Jinyue's sisters, do you have any favorite candidates?"

Liu was stunned by the question. She had been so busy looking after the daughters of various families today that she had forgotten about this matter. But didn't her husband say that Yue'er should enter the palace? Why did her mother ask this again?

"Mother, since Uncle Yue'er said he wanted to enter the palace, I haven't seen him again. I will take a closer look at the rest next time. There's no rush." ​​Liu replied.

Xu guessed that she was still planning to enter the palace, so she immediately dispelled her thoughts: "Forget about the palace. Even if you really get in, can you tolerate Yue'er being treated coldly all year round? Do you still expect to act like your mother-in-law in front of the King of Zhenbei? I'm afraid you haven't woken up yet. There are several banquets to be held recently. You should take good care of Yue'er and settle her marriage as soon as possible. She is not young anymore and can't wait any longer."

Liu was scolded by her mother. Thinking of the two other people present, her face turned red with embarrassment. She did not dare to blame her mother, but instead resented her two sisters-in-law, who came to laugh at her!

"Yes, daughter-in-law knows." Seeing that she had listened, Xu Shi relaxed her tone and said that she would find someone to find out the magistrate's wife's opinion in private, but don't hold too much hope. The chances of this happening are slim. You should also think about it from her perspective. It is more important to find a suitable one in other families.

This statement made it sound as if her legitimate son was insignificant. Wasn't he the eldest grandson of the Zheng family? His status wasn't bad either, so why did she look down on him so much? This was probably a common problem among mothers. They all thought their sons were the best, and any daughter would be blessed to be with him. How could they possibly refuse? Even if they did refuse, it was because others were blind.

Liu snorted inwardly. Seeing that she had said enough, Xu told the three of them to go back and rest. She sighed softly towards Nanny Li, who had been with her for most of her life. Nanny Li stepped forward, put her hand on her head, and gently massaged her acupoints to help her relax. "Madam, please take care of yourself. With you watching over us, there's nothing to worry about in this mansion."

Xu raised her hand and patted Nanny Li's, nodding. They were a bunch of troublemakers. At his old age, he still made her worry so much. Perhaps she really did something wrong.