Chapter 1114 The whereabouts of the Youqiao clan
Luo Chong and Dashu were drinking tea and discussing national affairs while the train was moving at a constant speed. It ran from early morning to dusk, and finally they arrived at the temporary station where the Youqiao clan lived outside the capital.
A
whistle sounded from the front, and the train began to slow down slowly. At this time, a guard came up to ask.
"Chief, we have arrived at the Beijing Suburban Station, and it is time for dinner. Should we stop here to rest for a night, or continue to the capital after a little replenishment?"
"Stop here to rest for a night, arrange for everyone to rest, and continue on the road tomorrow morning."
Hearing this question, Luo Chong didn't even think about it. Just now he was still discussing with Dashu about the Youqiao clan joining the Han tribe. Now that they are here, of course they have to meet this clan and have a good talk with them.
What's more, it is already evening now. When he arrives in the capital, it will be dark. What can he inspect at the construction site in the middle of the night? It is better to rest here at the Youqiao clan residence, at least there are fresh vegetables to eat.
"Yes!" The guard bowed and left.
Soon, the train stopped at the station, and Luo Chong followed Dashu and the others out of the carriage.
Standing at the door of the carriage, the first impression Luo Chong got from the scene in front of him was that it was simple.
It is called a station, but in fact it is just an earthen platform built with rammed earth beside the railway, with a layer of wooden boards on it, and a simple shed made of bamboo poles and straw on top. This is a platform that cannot be simpler.
Moreover, there is only such a platform in this station. Other waiting halls, dispatching rooms and the like do not exist at all.
However, when everyone saw the houses in the residential area not far away, they immediately felt that it didn't matter if the station was simple.
Even the common people here live in rammed earth adobe houses. Do you still want to build a station with bricks and tiles? !
After getting off the train and coming to the platform, many people from the village have gathered around, mostly children, who are running around in front of the train. Behind them, some women are shouting and calling their children, fearing that these naughty kids will be hurt by the steel giant in front of them.
At this moment, in front and behind the carriage where Luo Chong is, rows of soldiers in dark green and crimson uniforms also get off the train. They hold bayoneted rifles in their hands and quickly line up on the platform of the station to guard a safe area for Luo Chong.
All of them are in good order and silent. They wear uniform military uniforms, with sophisticated rifles standing on the side of their bodies, and rows of bayonets flashing cold light. Anyone who takes a look can see that they are professional soldiers.
Such a scene immediately scared the children and they dared not come forward. Even the women hurriedly held their children, fearing that they would bump into the soldiers in front of them. At the same time, three people walked out of the crowd of villagers and walked quickly towards Luo Chong and his group.
The three people were Qiao Yan, the current patriarch of the Qiao family, who was also the head of the village, and the former elder, as well as Zhang Fan, the chief of the ten immigrants who were moved here by Dashu. He was responsible for teaching the Qiao family farming and other production and living techniques.
The three were very surprised to see so many warriors. They had only seen the Jinwu Guards in the capital, and the Jinwu Guards were all wearing armor, carrying bows and crossbows and swords.
Some of the warriors in front of them were wearing the iconic crimson uniforms of the Han army, but they were not wearing armor. The other part was wearing dark green clothes, which was even more strange. Even these people's weapons were different, which was very strange.
Fortunately, Zhang Fan, the chief of the immigrants, had seen Dashu several times in Takuhai County and knew that he was the governor of Takuhai County.
But now, Dashu, who was of noble status, was standing half a step behind a young man, faintly showing a submissive look.
What is this? !
In the Han tribe, he was higher in status than the county governor, and could make the tree so obedient. Looking at his age, appearance, the hair crown on his head, and the guards around him, Zhang Fan immediately guessed Luo Chong's identity.
He excitedly pulled Qiao Yan and the elders forward, and hurriedly bowed and saluted.
"Zhang Fan, the head of the immigration team of Tuohai County, greets the leader and the county governor Lin."
Qiao Yan and the elders were stunned when they heard Zhang Fan's words. Since they were picked up by the general flag of the Jinwu Guard and arranged to settle here, until now, they have only met the biggest figure in the Han tribe, that is, You Zhi, the commander of the Jinwu Guard. It was something they dared not think of that a county governor would come here today and recruit the leader of the Han tribe.
The two did not have time to take a closer look at Luo Chong's appearance, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute.
"Elder Qiao (clan leader Qiao Yan) greets the chief and the county governor."
Seeing this, Luo Chong immediately smiled and raised his hand to support them. "No need to be polite."
After the three stood up, he continued.
"Zhang Fan, what a good name. You said you were an immigrant from Tuohai County. How is your life here?!"
Zhang Fan was flattered. This is the chief, and he actually took the initiative to ask about his well-being as an ordinary citizen? !
He hurriedly said respectfully, "To the chief, we live well here. Although this is all newly reclaimed land, it is close to the river and easy to irrigate. Moreover, all of us immigrants can be promoted to a higher rank, and the land we are allocated is doubled compared to before.
"This is a newly established village. We can still be tax-free for three years. In addition, we can sell vegetables to the capital, so our income is much higher than before. Even if we need any other supplies, we can ask the caravans traveling to the capital to help bring them from Tuohai County.
"These people of the Qiao family study hard and treat us very well. Now, they can speak some Chinese, farm by themselves, and sew clothes and shoes."
Luo Chong nodded with satisfaction after hearing this. He looked at the villagers here and saw that they were all dressed neatly and wearing linen shoes. He knew that what Zhang Fan said was true.
If the people had a hard life, they certainly couldn't afford cloth shoes. It would be good to have a pair of straw shoes on their feet.
However, this was just superficial work. What he really wanted to see and hear was the life experience of the Qiao family members themselves, so he looked at the young man named Qiao Yan.
"You are the patriarch of the Qiao family here, Qiao Yan?"
Qiao Yan answered quickly. He imitated Zhang Fan and said, "To the leader, that's right."
Luo Chong nodded, looking at the setting sun and the wisps of smoke rising from the village, and asked again, "Where do you live? Can you invite me to your home?"
Qiao Yan was not familiar with Luo Chong, but he knew he was the leader, so he did not dare to disobey him. He had to step aside to make way for him and invited him, "Chief, I am so happy that you can come to my home. Please follow me."
Luo Chong nodded and said casually to the guards beside him, "Go, bring two boxes of beer. I can't eat and drink for free when I'm a guest."
After that, he followed Qiao Yan and others to the village.
This village can only be regarded as a temporary resettlement site. Although the people with the Qiao family were given land and houses according to their household registration and titles, they were all adobe houses, and they were not built in the style of permanent residences. Brick and tile houses, so they looked very simple, but not shabby.
Following Qiao Yan to his courtyard, the courtyard was simply fenced with a fence, and even the gate was made of fences. However, there was a pig pen and a sheep pen in the courtyard, where three pigs and more than a dozen sheep were raised, and there were black chickens unique to the Han tribe running on the ground.
There were four large houses in the north of the courtyard, all with adobe walls and thatched roofs, but the windows and doors were very exquisite, and they were all covered with thick window paper. An independent kitchen was built in the east wing. At this time, someone was cooking in it, and there were several iron farm tools leaning against the wall outside the kitchen.
Such a family, except that the house itself was not built of bricks and tiles, was a wealthy family even in the entire Han tribe.
Qiao Yan brought Luo Chong, Da Shu, Zhang Fan and others to his yard. He quickly asked the two children in the family to move the table and take the long benches. After they were set up in the yard, he greeted Luo Chong and Da Shu.
"Chief, County Governor, our house is small and can't accommodate so many people. We can only entertain the chief in the yard. Please don't be disgusted."
After saying that, he turned back to greet the woman in the kitchen, "My child's mother, the leader of the Han tribe is here. Go and cook a fish, kill two rabbits, and cook more rice. I'll go to Brother Zhang's house to borrow a few bowls."
Luo Chong watched him busying around, smiling and not saying anything. However, the elder of the Qiao family next to him looked at Luo Chong nervously and asked.
"Excuse me, chief, I wonder why you came to us this time?"
The elder was very nervous when facing Luo Chong. He respected and admired the leader who founded the Han tribe in the legend.
He lived here for a year, and naturally heard a lot about this leader from the caravans going to and from the capital.
The leader of the Han tribe is a great man. The farming and breeding methods that these people learn were all created by the leader, as well as the Chinese characters that can transmit messages and record everything, as well as those magical vehicles and ships, and even the railway and train that were just built recently.
Luo Chong looked at the old man and answered casually, "Oh, I went to the capital city for inspection this time. When I passed by here, I remembered that you have the Qiao family, so I came to see you.
"I heard that you are the elder of the Qiao branch. How about living in the Han tribe for more than a year. Are you used to it?"
The elder said immediately after hearing this, "Used, of course I am used to it. We had a hard time with the Qiao family before. When we were in our tribe, we only knew how to gather and hunt. Although the men in the tribe can capture a lot of prey by hunting, it is not a long-term solution after all. "
When he said this, he seemed to be lost in memories, and he muttered to Luo Chong.
"The chief doesn't know that although hunting can obtain a large number of prey, the prey in one place is limited after all, and with food, the population will increase. With more people, the prey will not be enough to eat.
"We have the Qiao family, but they don't know how to farm and raise livestock, so we can only keep migrating the excess population out. The tribesmen left, scattered, and died. I don't know how many of us are so lucky to join the Han tribe and learn farming techniques."
Luo Chong was interested when he heard him talk about this, so he continued what he said and asked.
"Since the old man doesn't want the Qiao family to have such a hard time, why don't you send someone to contact them and let them all join the Han tribe? As long as they come to the Han tribe, they can naturally live the same good life as you do now. Isn't this better?"
The elder sighed when he heard this.
“Chief, you don’t know that although we have a large population of the Qiao family, they are very scattered. A large tribe of the Qiao family lives in the northwest, which is two or three months’ journey from here.
“Although it is called a large tribe, there is actually no village with a population of more than one thousand. Instead, it is composed of a series of villages that stretch for several days. Each village has only four to five hundred people, because they don’t know how to farm or raise livestock. If they all gather together, they will not be able to eat enough.
“But even if all those villages are added together, the population will probably not exceed three to four thousand. Most of the rest of the population have migrated to unknown places like us.
“The reason why our tribe was able to get here is because we heard a piece of news that was brought back by a person who had left the tribe. He said that there is a kind of millet in the east where the sun rises, which can feed many people. That’s why we had the opportunity to come to the territory of the Han tribe. "
When Luo Chong and Dashu heard this, their eyes suddenly lit up. The Qiao clan had joined the Han tribe for such a long time, and finally they heard that they had the specific location of the Qiao clan.
Moreover, the population of the headquarters alone is three to four thousand. For the Han tribe that lacks population, this is not a small number. How can it not make people excited.
Dashu asked excitedly, "Old man, has your Qiao clan reached the lake?"
"The lake?!" The elder looked puzzled.
Dashu immediately added, "It is to the west of your tribe, in the direction of sunset. Is there a stretch of water that stretches as far as the eye can see? This water is the big lake. You live near the lake, right?"
The elder only reacted after hearing this. He nodded and said, "So you are talking about that place full of water. Some of our Qiao clan did migrate to live there, but the place where our clan used to live was not there, but further east. As for how many villages there are by the lake, I am not very clear about this. "
Da Shu and Luo Chong looked at each other and understood what the other meant.
Found it!!!
From the capital to the northwest, on the east bank of the lake, isn't this the virgin land that the Han tribe has not explored yet?
The Han tribe has explored the entire grassland west of Honghu Lake, and even now occupies half of the grassland. They also established the capital and Tuohai County on the plains in the south of the east bank of the grassland.
However, the Han tribe has never carefully explored the large area east of Honghu Lake, west of Liuyang River, and north of the southern plains.
At present, an elder of the Qiao family revealed a piece of news. In this area, there are three or four thousand people in the Qiao family alone. What about those tribesmen who migrated outward? They should not have gone far, right?
Moreover, this area is so large. In addition to the Qiao family, is there no other tribe? It seems impossible.
There are not many settled people in the capital city yet. If we want to fill up the huge capital city, where will all these people come from? It seems that we can only start from this area in front of us.
(End of this chapter)
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