Chapter 211 Wei Zhubo is dead
That night, Jinsui set up an extremely warm little nest in his tent, and took out a floral blanket and a silk quilt from the space, so that Yingniang could have a good sleep.
Before going to bed, he gave the little girl a sleeping pill because she was too excited and kept crying. Jin Sui somewhat understood how Gu Changxiao felt when he drugged her that day.
After the little girl fell asleep, she looked at the tattered book of Thirty-Six Strategies for a long time without moving, until she saw a figure moving outside the tent, and then she walked out.
Sure enough, it was Gu Changxiao, and he couldn’t sleep either.
"Gu Changxiao, I'm thinking about something."
Gu Changxiao looked at her quietly, waiting for her to continue.
"You know what? Before today, I decided that the most important thing for myself was to build a navy and pacify Japan.
But just now, looking at Yingniang sleeping and thinking about Wei Zhubo, I suddenly felt that rather than pacifying the Japanese pirates, I wanted to rush back to Chang'an and avenge Wei Zhubo!
Completely eliminate those who are behind our backs! Otherwise, no matter how hard we work in the border town, we will never be at peace."
Gu Changxiao nodded heavily: "Then let's go back to Chang'an first. We must first stabilize the outside world! When Daxia is at peace, we can think about foreign wars later."
Jin Sui pointed at the refugees and said, "Aren't you worried about not having soldiers? Prince Yu has personally sent the soldiers to us."
Yan Jiu calmly came behind the two and said softly, "The food will be provided by Yan."
Jin Sui and Gu Changxiao turned around to look at him at the same time, and the three of them smiled at each other, reaching a tacit understanding.
Cheng Yu returned to the border town first. The refugee camp was ready. Files were created for all refugees and militarized management was implemented. The elderly, the weak, women and children were moved into the farming camp. Young and strong men were allocated land, and then all the people underwent military training.
Gu Changxiao was responsible for training the soldiers, Jinsui earned military rations and salaries, and the construction of the academy was left to Grandpa Ling to supervise.
The refugees didn't understand why they were all trained like new soldiers? They didn't have to do hard labor or corvée service. But since they had two meals a day and all the young and strong people in the border town were training, they certainly had no objection.
The food is good, the elderly and children at home are taken care of, and women can join the workshops to earn money. There are no officials forcing them to do hard labor, it's just training. Who wouldn't be willing to do that?
They changed their previous tone on the road and said that they made the right decision to come to the border town, and fortunately they did not stay in the scholar family's house as tenants halfway.
Being a tenant means you have to be in charge of the gentry and give birth to children for generations. How can this be better than living as a commoner and dividing the land yourself?
The refugees felt sorry for their fellow countrymen who died on the road. They were unable to reach the border town and did not have a full meal.
Of course, there were also coolies, those troublemakers who wanted to stir up civil unrest. Cheng Yu picked them out and sent them all to do coolie labor.
There is no need to be soft-hearted towards these people. If they dare to escape, their legs will be broken. They will be really broken. If they escape again, they will be killed to serve as a warning to others.
After training, the refugees will be taken by the team leader to visit the scenic spots in the border town. However, the scenic spots in our border town are different from those in other places.
The captain excitedly introduced the place where the land was so black and red that it seemed like blood would flow if he stepped on it:
"This is where our Highness the Prince of Li burned down the old city and killed three thousand Tartars!"
Some people exclaimed: "Didn't they say that 10,000 people were burned?"
Captain: ...The rumor is getting more and more outrageous! I was bragging when I said 3,000, but I didn't expect it to become 10,000 when it spread to the Central Plains.
"A total of 10,000 people were killed, and 3,000 were burned to death!"
"Oh!" Thinking about that scene, everyone looked at this land as if it were a ghost town.
Then we went to the border to enjoy the scenery. There was the forest of corpses that had frightened Yan Shier Niang unconscious. The rotten flesh had been pecked away by vultures, and the corpses had turned into bones, but they were still hanging in the woods.
Before the spring buds sprouted, the bones were just decorations on the trees. The forest looked like a ghost, and except for the army, the civilians did not dare to walk through it during the day.
The captain pointed proudly and said: "This is where we killed the bandits! It is also the corpse burial forest. No bandits dare to approach our border anymore!"
Some people fainted, some people's legs went limp, and some people vomited. The captain was speechless: "What are you afraid of? You are afraid of living people, but what's so scary about dead and rotten bones?"
Someone asked tremblingly: "Is it true that even an extremely powerful enemy cannot be buried after death?"
There's a fire over there, and a bunch of people are dead over here. The King of Li's methods are really tough!
The captain sneered, "Being buried in the ground is for peace. You dare to mess with our Infinite Strength City, and you still want to rest in peace after death? Impossible!"
"So, all the people under the command of the King of Li, all the people in the border town, straighten your backs! Here, no outsider should be afraid of us, we are not afraid of anyone!"
"Don't say you are not from Border Town. To tell you the truth, there are no locals in our Border Town!
Among us there are refugees, displaced persons, herdsmen, tenants who have redeemed themselves from the hands of the nobles, and those who have fled from other places. There is not a single local; even our prince was an exile.
But what does it matter? As long as we treat this place as our home, as our hometown, we can build the border town into the largest city in the world! Everyone has food to eat, clothes to wear, and a house to live in.
You don't have to work like a slave for the nobles, and you don't have to worry about being robbed by Tartar bandits. As long as you are loyal to the prince, the prince will lead everyone to live a good life!"
After the refugees had experienced fear and panic, they only had courage and hope in their hearts. Border Town is really a city of hope. No matter who comes here, there is a way to survive.
When the border tariff law was officially announced, the nobles of Yan area crossed the border in large numbers to do business in the northern border. There was an endless stream of caravans coming and going, and the refugees became more and more proud.
When the imperial court said it would send us to the border town, everyone felt hopeless.
The northern border is a bitterly cold place with extremely long winters, low grain harvests, and tyrannical nobles. The princes of fiefdoms were often exiled to the border, and the Tartars often kidnapped people.
What hope is there for life in a place like this? If you don't come, you will die of starvation or disease, and there is no way to survive.
After coming here, I realized that seeing for yourself is better than hearing a thousand words from others. This border fortress is completely different from what people say! When the willow branches sprouted and the land thawed, Grandpa Ling's Taoist temple and Jinsui's academy officially started construction, and the Tuntianying led the people to open up wasteland.
After a month of training, Gu Changxiao formally asked tens of thousands of refugees if they were willing to join the army. They would be allocated land and homesteads, and their families could also join the military camp and be assigned jobs.
The elderly and children were also provided with accommodation. Of course, those who did not want to join the army were not forced to do so, and could join the farmers.
Jinsui estimated that half of the people were willing to join the army, and Hanxing said at least 60%. The two were about to make a bet, and the answer came out quickly: fully 80% of the people were willing to join the army!
The number of people reached over 30,000.
Even Li Heng, who was watching from the sidelines, was stunned: "In other fiefdoms, when conscription was carried out, the people complained bitterly, and one man from every five households was required to join the army. There were often families that fled. I never thought that the people in our border town would volunteer to join the army.
Your Majesty is truly a wise king who wins the hearts of the people!"
Hei Hu asked directly: "Master Li, when did you become a citizen of our Border Town?"
Li Heng stroked his beard... he had no beard anymore, and touched his chin: "I have long been loyal to the prince, so I am naturally considered a border town native."
Jin Sui laughed at the side, "Shameless!" However, now that the Commercial Law has been officially issued, Li Heng is responsible for supervision. This is a job that offends the gentry. Jin Sui plans to let him take the blame to promote land reform. So he is much more polite to Li Heng.
Once we have soldiers, we need weapons and equipment to keep up! Logistics must be guaranteed.
This is another point that makes the refugees dumbfounded. There are such high-yield new crops in the border town! Potatoes and sweet potatoes, let them see what real high-yield crops look like!
Many people cried with excitement when they saw the bumper harvest in the Tuntianying. If there were such crops in their hometown, why would so many people starve to death?
When they heard that they would be allocated land and could grow these things, and that newly reclaimed land would be tax-free for three years, they became more motivated.
In just over a month, the spirit of the refugees has completely changed, and the eyes of women and children are no longer dull and numb.
The children had grown fatter and their faces were rosy. The refugee office provided clothing and hair according to the people, but the soldiers who joined the army had two sets of clothing in addition to the one provided by the refugee office.
The female workers also had work clothes when they entered the workshop. Since the adults were reluctant to wear them, they would alter the clothes to smaller sizes and give them to the children. All the children had shoes and no longer had to go barefoot with frostbite.
Li Linfeng was very angry because he was not yet old enough to join the army. He wished he could join the army!
But he was noticed by Grandpa Ling, who said that he and the group of beggars had a connection, so he accepted them all as his disciples and had them live in Ji's house.
A few of them went to work as odd jobs at Zhongyuan Stew. The children liked this job very much because they could eat meat until their bellies were round every day. It was just like a dream.
There were a few smart ones, including Li Linfeng, who studied and practiced martial arts with Jin'an.
What’s funny is that the child said to Grandpa Ling very seriously: “I don’t want to be a Taoist priest, I want to be a soldier!”
Grandpa Ling rubbed his head and said, "You have to study even if you are a soldier! Don't worry, you are not cut out to be a Taoist priest!"
Wei Yingzhi was raised by Chen Yunniang. At first, she lived in Ji's house with Jinsui, but Jinsui was too busy, and everyone in the Ji family was busy.
The little girl often stares into space during the day, either thinking about her family and crying, or feeling lost as to what to do.
Jinsui took her to Chen Yunniang's place, where there were many girls of the same age. They could learn weaving, embroidery, making snacks, and reading. Whether adults or children, they would feel more fulfilled when they were busy.
Jinsui promised her that he would take her home, and the little girl gradually began to smile.
Cheng Yu started drinking again. Chen Yunniang said that he often drank in the middle of the night, but he would toast three glasses first.
He respected Wei Zhubo. They had hated each other in the border town but supported each other for so many years, so naturally they had a deep relationship. When Wei Zhubo died in Chang'an in such an unclear way, Cheng Yu's mood could be imagined.
No one said explicitly that they wanted to return to Chang'an to avenge Wei Zhubo.
But everyone felt pressured, including the soldiers of the Black Feather Camp. They trained more fiercely and treated the new recruits more seriously.
Time flies. With the start of spring plowing, trade with northern Xinjiang becomes more frequent, and the first batch of goods from northern Xinjiang returns to the border town.
Then the merchants from Yan sold the products throughout the Sixteen States of Yan. The aristocratic families in the Sixteen States who had been waiting and watching united together, and the large aristocratic families formed their own caravans. The Yan family's door was crowded with people, all of whom came to find Yan Jiu to join the trade in the Northern Frontier.
The commercial tax collected by the border town this month is higher than the tax collected in the previous three years! The more prosperous the business of the Yandi nobles is, the more they find a big problem: lack of people! Too much lack of people!
It was the spring ploughing season, and no one dared to let the people give up farming and become workers, but the workshop could not be opened, and the orders from the northern border were delayed again and again. One less order would cost money! The heads of the families were so anxious that blisters appeared on their mouths. Jin Sui thought it was time for land reform. As long as the King of Li issued an order to take back the land of the gentry and turn farmers into workers, there would definitely be many people willing.
Cheng Yu said that it was not the right time yet. The meat was just cooked but not tender. If we took the initiative to launch land reform, it would arouse the suspicion of the gentry. Besides, many people were not yet mature enough to give up their land and money.
Just wait a little longer, and the business in northern Xinjiang, among the Hu people and even overseas will all become prosperous.
As the trend of the times rolls forward, without us having to propose it, the gentry will take the lead in turning farmers into workers. Only then will we be able to carry out land reform without any effort.
During this period, the Northwest Army returned to the Northwest and brought back more than 30,000 people. These were the people who had no way to make a living because of the exploitation of the new officials sent by Prince Yu.
In just a few months, the border town's population increased by as much as 100,000. The imperial court's troops inquired in Yanzhou City, and as long as they found that the King of Li had sold people into slavery or exploited the people.
There will be numerous official documents condemning him immediately. Prince Yu has a plan that will either cause great damage to Prince Li's reputation in order to divert the attention of the Northern Frontier delegation from damaging his reputation in Chang'an.
Or he would eat up the granaries in the border towns and have them ask the court for food, then he would have new ways to control the border towns.
As a result, after waiting for a long time, there was no news of disaster in the border town. Instead, someone reported to Prince Yu that the border town had high-yield new crops and was not short of food at all.
But Prince Yu didn't believe it! If you told him that there were crops from the Western Regions that produced 800 kilograms per mu, Prince Yu might be skeptical.
But if you tell him that there are crops that produce 2,000 kilograms per mu, Prince Yu will just think you are treating him like a fool! How is that possible?
How could the royal family not know that there were such high-yield crops in the world? Why were they only planted in the border towns? Would the nobles in Yan not plant them? When the Northwest Army returned, they not only brought back the people, but also the oil that Jin Sui had been dreaming of.
She told Grandpa Ling that she was going on a business trip for half a month, and brought raw materials for oil and gunpowder to build a military base on the side of the mountain.
Gu Changxiao was not allowed to enter because it was extremely risky and unsafe, so not too many people were allowed to enter.
Gu Changxiao grabbed Jinsui and said, "Then don't research Suisui anymore. We just have fish oil. We don't need this new weapon!"
Jin Sui smiled and said, "I'm fine. This was made in our Taoist alchemy furnace. I have experience."
She has shitty experience and is just relying on the laboratory to save her life.
Nowadays, even fireworks shops often cause explosions and deaths, let alone researching gunpowder.
In addition to gunpowder, she also found out the information about the matching catapult. In fact, our ancient people had done in-depth research on gunpowder, and the musket was already very powerful, but unfortunately the research was discontinued after the Ming Dynasty.
Give the information about the catapult to the Ministry of Industry and let them make it first. They can test it once the gunpowder is available.
She adjusted the formula in the space first, and at the same time, oil was refined in the space. The simplest kerosene was produced first, and asphalt was used for road construction.
In the blink of an eye, it is March, spring is in full bloom, but who would dare not be in the mood to enjoy the scenery and flowers?
Even Yan Shiyi was busy, and he even felt guilty, thinking that he had been wasting his time for the past ten years.
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