Chapter 60 Chu Yan Comes to Surrender
But he had already run away, and stopping now would seem like an attempt to cover up his mistake.
Cai Yong calmly grabbed a handful of mulberry ears from the tray, then took two steps towards Qiao Yan and said, "Lord Qiao is very far-sighted in choosing mulberry trees. Although mulberry ears may not look elegant, they are as delicious as meat."
After Cai Yong finished speaking, as if to verify that his praise for Qiao Yan was indeed sincere, he ate two pieces of the steamed mulberry tree spike in his hand.
Cai Zhaoji looked at her father with her eyes wide open. She didn't expect that her father was actually quite capable of making excuses for himself in such a serious manner. However, using this ability to snatch food made her cover her head involuntarily.
Out of sight, out of mind, she simply grabbed a handful herself.
Of course, what Cai Yong said was also correct. The mulberry tree spike did lack elegance in appearance and looked a bit like a bug.
Before this, not to mention that no one would put this thing in front of a great scholar like Cai Yong, the Taishan Yang family they relied on was a noble family after all, and they would not collect this thing for food.
But in Cai Zhaoji's opinion, at this time of year, people can just eat to satisfy their hunger, so why should there be so many rules and regulations that would be unethical.
The mulberry tree spikes are the flower spikes of the mulberry tree. According to Qin Yu's instructions, some of them were kept on the tree, some were picked and distributed to each household, even those from the Black Mountain Labor Camp were not left out. The rest had to be kept to ensure the harvest this year.
Before Qiao Yan came back, Qin Yu had already prepared a pot of cold soup.
Because there was no immediate superior, and Leping had almost completed all the farming work that needed to be done in recent days, everyone took a break from their busy schedule and sat here.
While sitting in the circle, I heard Qin Yu say that the reason why the mulberry tree ears are not picked completely is because the tree is dioecious, and the remaining ears have to be used for pollination to produce the fruits that will grow after the trees bear fruit. Although this thing tastes astringent to the tongue, it is quite effective in improving eyesight.
In addition, the seeds are easy to grow and survive as trees, so if they in Leping want to continue their mulberry bark clothing business for the past few years, they cannot take all of them away.
But just half of the flower spikes were enough for them to satisfy their cravings.
So I changed my approach.
While they were waiting for the freshly steamed mulberry ears of flour to come out of the pot, they listened to Qin Yu continue to talk about how even the leaves of the mulberry tree can treat tinea pedis and tinea manuum, and that the sap of the mulberry tree is the glue used by county officials for papermaking.
Cai Zhaoji couldn't help but ask why no one had used the paper mulberry tree like Qiao Hou before. It sounded like the tree was full of treasures.
Cai Yong interrupted and replied: "There are many people here, and it is also used for making clothes and paper."
Especially clothes.
The greatest needs in this world are food, clothing, housing and transportation. Previously, many places regarded the paper mulberry tree as a bad tree because it grew too fast and had no corresponding uses.
But Leping is different. The naturalization of the Black Mountain bandits has caused the population density here to be no less than that of a big city. The demand for clothing, papermaking and firewood is enough to quickly consume the mulberry trees and clear out the overgrown parts.
Afterwards, the leaves of the mulberry tree are used as medicine, and the ears of the mulberry tree are used as food. In autumn, the mulberry fruits are used as medicine or planted. This is a complete chain for their thorough utilization.
As a result, this evil tree and the equally notorious Black Mountain bandits in Leping Town actually complement each other.
Therefore, what Cai Yong said at this moment about Marquis Qiao's foresight could not be regarded as a casual remark made to exonerate himself.
Of course, in his opinion, the greatest value of the mulberry tree is still in making paper.
Is it true that he can't leave now? Not really.
The inscriptions written for Qiao Xuan had been completed long ago. He attended the funeral and participated in the erection of the monument and the construction of the temple. As an old official, what he did could be said to be extremely thoughtful.
Even if we care about the descendants of the former chiefs——
Just by looking at how successful Qiao Yan was in Leping, he knew that he didn't need to worry about anything.
If he could say that he was restricted by heavy snow and mountain closures in the first two months, he did not have such trouble this month.
The reason he stayed here was that, apart from supplying the county government, the mulberry paper basically fell into the hands of him and his daughter.
Cai Yong took advantage of the situation and even wanted to pick up and rewrite the "Dongguan Hanji" that Qiao Yan had mentioned to Cai Zhaoji before.
Mud paper is much easier to preserve than Caihou paper, and more convenient to write on than bamboo slips. It is simply the best thing for people like him who need to compile history books.
Is this the food he was praising? What he praised was clearly paper.
Cai Yong became more open-minded after thinking this, especially when he saw that Qiao Yan had no intention of exposing him. He just smiled and took a handful of mulberry leaves from Qin Yu, then sat down on the steps like them.
Sitting like this, she seemed to be only a few years older than Cai Zhaoji, but she was the chief of this gate after all. Then they heard Qiao Yan pointed at Zhang Yang and introduced him, "This is the new employee recruited by Leping, Uncle Zhang Yang. I intend to make him Zilong's deputy. Anyway, there are not so many rules now, so just treat it as a welcoming party."
"But after we finish eating, we should get down to business. The proceeds from the mulberry leather clothing that we settled with Tang's company during our trip to Jinyang have all been exchanged for pots and pans for daily necessities... and four thousand axes. How should these axes be distributed and managed? How can we ensure that those who get the weapons don't think of running away with them? Yuan Zhi—"
As soon as Xu Fu came back from tying up his horse, he heard Qiao Yan calling his name.
"You, Zilong, and Zhishu, come up with a written charter within five days."
Xu Fu had learned a lot from Qiao Yan and Cheng Li, but this was the first time he was required to submit a report in written form.
He was suddenly entrusted with such a heavy responsibility, and he felt a little flustered in his heart. But he saw that Mr. Xi, a guy who was usually not serious, gave him an encouraging look, not to mention his mother who had taken on the heavy responsibility earlier than him...
Without thinking twice, Xu Fu immediately responded in a loud voice: "Don't worry, Lord Qiao, Xu Fu will not let you down."
"Pfft... The tone of voice makes it sound like he is not asked to control the knives, but to suppress the uprising." Yang Xiu couldn't help but mutter.
However, he soon discovered that the large basin in front of him containing the mulberry trees ears was moved to Dian Wei's hands, and the look in Qiao Yan's eyes seemed to imply "Even if there is food available, you can't stop eating it, so you might as well not eat it."
"......?" Yang Xiu compared his physique with Dian Wei in a daze, and felt that they seemed to be collectively bullying a child.
But then he heard Qiao Yan ask, "Yang Xiu, how about I give you a new task?"
"Let Young Master Yang invite the doctor back to visit the Black Mountain Army and record the symptoms one by one... It's thanks to Lord Qiao that he thought of it." Qin Yu and Qiao Yan chatted as they strolled on the ridges of the fields.
"Yang Xiu, with the help of Mr. Bo Ji, has already completed the long poem for literacy and put it into use in the county government. But I am still hesitating whether to expand the number of people who will learn from it. It is useless to do so when the basic needs of life are not fully met. It is better to settle the people who are already in our hands first."
Qiao Yan added: "The residents of Leping County have mulberry and fur clothes to wear during the winter, and they have some spare money, so it is not difficult for them to see a doctor. However, the people in the Black Mountain Army do not have such good conditions. They have accumulated some savings in the past six months, but as Mr. Xi reminded me, they have not yet completed the transformation from captives to residents."
"Letting Yang Xiu do this can, on the one hand, temper his character and allow him to communicate more with the Black Mountain Army so that he can listen to other voices. On the other hand, it can also be regarded as our Leping County Government's... let's call it humanistic care for them."
Although Qin Yu had never heard of this word before, it did not prevent her from hearing that Qiao Yan took a small step forward after accumulating a little more money in the Leping County Government.
However, this step did not make any leap forward, but was still at the level of basic needs.
Moreover, taking this step first would undoubtedly be of great benefit to Xu Fu's subsequent weapons control.
She is now valued by Qiao Yan and entrusted with farming matters, but she has no intention of giving up on her son's education and cultivation.
Although when she thinks about her thoughts when she first came to Leping and compares them with her thoughts now, it still makes people feel a little bit like a dream.
Just as she thought of this, she suddenly saw Qiao Yan squatting beside a ridge in the mountain field.
"Look here."
Qin Yu looked in the direction that Qiao Yan pointed, and saw a hint of green emerging from the sparse surface soil, which was then mostly covered by the soil on top.
If Qiao Yan hadn't had sharp eyes, they would have missed the signs of the seedlings breaking through the soil while walking.
Seeing this thing, Qin Yu couldn't help but reveal a hint of joy on his face.
Although Qiao Yan had previously said with certainty that the growth rate of yam from tubers would be slower than that from yam beans, neither the Black Mountain Army who were responsible for planting yam in the mountains, nor Qin Yu, who was in charge of supervising this matter, had ever actually cultivated yam artificially, nor did they pay attention to the growth cycle of yam in the mountains.
During the few days when Qiao Yan went to Jinyang, she mostly imitated Qiao Yan and acted calm, which made these black mountain bandits, who felt that their livelihood came from the yam fields, behave themselves.
The psychological pressure involved is difficult to explain to outsiders.
Fortunately, this sprouting scene is an excellent start.
The two of them walked forward a little further.
Perhaps because Qiao Yan came back at the right time, he actually saw several new buds popping up.
Although we haven't seen a whole row of green growing out of the ground yet, it's enough to make people happy.
It seems that the emergence of seedlings is obviously not a special case, but the right time has come.
This couldn’t be better!
"When the yam seedlings have completely broken through the soil, we will have people move the support over and reinforce the door every two meters. When the support is laid, we will have people collect bean cake fertilizer from the county and add another round of topdressing."
Qiao Yan pushed away the loose soil and looked at the condition of the new seedlings.
The new seedlings swayed twice in the breeze and were still in a weak state, but considering the solid tubers underneath, they were not as weak as they seemed. They were indeed somewhat similar to Leping today, and they were pleasing to the eye.
She immediately looked up at the sky again.
Bingzhou, or Shangdang, has a climate with rainy and hot seasons, but it is not the right season yet.
But perhaps because of the good weather, the sky she saw at the moment was gloomy, and there was a sense of impending spring rain. Thinking that yam was afraid of waterlogging but not too dry, natural rainfall would be enough.
"You must keep an eye on them," Qiao Yan pointed at the people walking in the yam field, "and never allow them to water the plants too much in order to do more work."
If all of them had experience in farming, she wouldn't be panicked.
However, some of the people summoned by Chu Yan and Zhang Niu Jiao were like Xu Fu from the beginning. They were knights-errant and were accustomed to gathering together to fight.
Now they are suddenly asked to "return to the fields", and it is obvious that they will have food to eat as long as they cultivate the land. Qiao Yan feels that hidden dangers may arise no matter how he looks at it.
Fortunately, Qin Yu not only has the courage to suppress these guys, but also has the meticulousness that Qiao Yan admires. Now that all the orders have been given, she will naturally pay more attention to the execution of this matter.
"Let's go. Come with me and come again in five days." Qiao Yan clapped his hands and shook off the dirt on his hands. He planned to wait until all the yam seedlings sprouted before determining the survival rate.
Given the Han Dynasty's ability to disinfect yam tubers, it would be unlikely to achieve full germination and survival, but with this planting range, as long as the survival rate can reach 70%, it would be a considerable harvest in the fall.
Qin Yu quickly responded with a "good".
Of course, she was looking forward to the harvest, but she had been away from Leping for more than ten days. Although Cheng Li, the Prime Minister of Leping, was in charge of all official affairs, there were still some things that needed her to decide. After inspecting the yam fields, she still had a lot of things to do, and Qiao Yan no longer had the idea of staying here.
Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she suddenly heard a voice behind her shouting, "Lord Qiao, please stay."
She turned around and looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a young man nimbly crossing the yam field. He crossed over again and again without stopping at the planting area, and arrived in front of her in a flash.
Without waiting for Dian Wei who was following her to intercept her, the young man had already stopped about ten steps away from her.
"The nickname Feiyan that others gave you is really well-deserved..." Qiao Yan sighed as he watched him running.
Who else could this person be but Chu Yan from the Black Mountain Army?
Previously, when these Black Mountain troops were divided into different groups to prevent them from contacting each other, Qiao Yan heard from the people in charge of various tasks that Chu Yan was an exceptionally good learner and handyman, and this was also true when it came to planting yam seedlings.
If we were to select a model work role model among these people, Chu Yan would definitely be on the list.
And now he will find——
"Lord Qiao, you are too kind," Chu Yan bowed to Qiao Yan without changing her expression after hearing Feiyan's teasing. "I came here to ask Lord Qiao, is there any shortage of staff in the Leping County Government?"
Are you short of manpower?
Although this intention is unexpected, it is also reasonable.
Chu Yan, the leader of the Black Mountain Army, is an outstanding commander.
You have to know that he now has only four or five thousand people, but in his heyday he had a million followers. Although there are only forty or fifty thousand elite soldiers who can fight among them, it is also a very astonishing number.
However, he was not overwhelmed by such support. Instead, he chose to ask the court for the title of General Pingnan, and was promoted from a bandit to an official. This shows his ability to judge the current situation.
So now that Leping has demonstrated clear competitiveness, it is not surprising that he chooses to surrender as soon as possible.
However, Qiao Yan admired him very much, which did not conflict with her behavior at this time.
After Chu Yan finished speaking, she met Qiao Yan's calm gaze.
Seeing this decisive county lord at such a close distance in broad daylight, Chu Yan was shocked to realize that his mentality was very different from what he had thought on the night he was captured. However, the only similarity was his judgment that the other party was no ordinary person, which had not changed in the past six months.
Although the other party was young, he was somewhat unsure of her attitude.
Especially yesterday, he heard that Qiao Hou had brought back another military commander and thug from outside. This made him even more uncertain about how much chance he had to convince the other party to treat him not as a prisoner, but as a subordinate who could be entrusted with responsibility.
He knew in his heart that if he chose to surrender, he should naturally be a loyal minister who could see clearly when his lord was still in a low position and only controlled a county, rather than just being an ordinary errand boy who deserted the dark and joined the light.
Now is the best time.
But when he really arrived in front of Qiao Yan, he couldn't help feeling nervous.
Qiao Yan's momentary silence after hearing what he said probably added to the pressure brought by the gloomy weather.
"Chu Yan," Qiao Yan raised his eyes and finally spoke: "Of course we are short of manpower, but please tell me, why does it have to be you?"
Why do we have to use a thief leader?
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