Chapter 842: Resettling the Militia
After dropping all their weapons, everyone continued to follow the team forward. After walking about two miles, they saw a simple camp. There was a bonfire in the camp, and many calcium carbide lamps were hung, making the whole camp as bright as day.
Some of the militiamen of the Xin tribe saw the calcium carbide lamp for the first time and were amazed. Some of them had seen it at the mission, but had never seen so many lamps put together at once. These people were also very surprised and envious. The life in the Han tribe was so good. There were so many calcium carbide lamps in a simple military camp!
At this time, a lot of tent materials had been prepared in the camp. The bamboo poles were all cut freshly, and the tent canvas was also ready. After the militiamen entered the camp, the officers began to organize everyone to set up tents and rest.
Some of the militiamen were uneasy, while others were full of novelty. They looked around here and there, but overall it was good. At least the Han tribe had prepared a place for them to live. They didn't just give them a large field. Otherwise, it would feel like a collective execution.
Xun Ge'er also set up his own tent with others, and then called two people to follow him. After waiting for a while, he brought four large buckets back. One person carried cold boiled water, and the other carried cornmeal cakes and a small jar of pepper fish sauce. This thing is not valuable, but it goes well with rice.
When the militiamen in this tent saw so much food, they were completely relieved. The Han tribe arranged a place for them to live and prepared food for them. They would not kill them again, would they?
Someone immediately came over to scramble for it. One hand grabbed several corn cakes, and the other hand directly used the corn cakes as a spoon to dig a piece of pepper fish sauce from the earthenware jar and spread it on the cake and started eating.
"Don't rush, don't rush, it's late today, don't eat so much, we just went to the kitchen area and saw that there is still plenty of food. We guarantee that everyone can have enough food every day. Brothers, stay here first and wait for the Han tribe to take us back to grab our wives, children and our food. Then we can go home together." Brother Xun stood in front of several barrels, distributing food to people and comforting everyone.
"Hiss, what did the Han tribe put in this fish meat? Why do I feel like eating charcoal after eating it?" Someone ate chili for the first time, and took a big bite without knowing the truth. He hissed and laughed immediately because it was so spicy that he couldn't speak. However, after complaining, he couldn't help but take another bite, muttering in his mouth, "The taste is a bit strange, but I didn't expect it to be more fragrant and more delicious the more I eat."
Chili really goes well with rice. After taking a bite of chili, my mouth was so spicy that I couldn't help but take a few bites of pancakes. Before I ate much chili, the pancakes in my hand were eaten up. It felt that my appetite was a bit bigger than usual.
"I heard from the delegation that this is called chili pepper. Every family in the Han tribe grows this kind of thing. It is eaten with rice. It is very fragrant. It is the most common food in the Han tribe." Someone who knew about chili peppers immediately introduced it to everyone.
"Chili peppers?! Can we grow them in the future?" A young man who liked chili peppers asked expectantly while wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Yes, we can. After this battle, we will be the people of the Han tribe. I heard from the Sima of the Han army that after this battle, we will also popularize various foods, fruits and vegetables, and various livestock breeding in the Han tribe on Zhudao Island. By then, what is available on the other side of the sea, we will also have it here." Hearing this question, Xun Ge'er immediately came out to publicize the policies of the Han tribe to everyone, so that they would have more expectations and yearning for joining the Han tribe in the future.
After hearing this policy, everyone couldn't help but discuss it again.
"I heard that the rice of the Han tribe needs to be planted in water to grow. There are few places with water on our Bamboo Island, and I don't know how much land can be used to grow rice."
Xun Ge'er continued to explain after hearing this, "Once we join the Han tribe, the Han tribe will give each of us a piece of land. For places near the river, we can divert water and dig canals to transform more paddy fields. For places near the mountains, we can continue to grow corn and wheat. In short, the tribe will not ignore everyone.
The Han tribe is different from our Xin tribe. The Han tribe is in charge of everything. The leader has local officials in every city and every county. They teach everyone how to farm and how to raise animals. The local officials will also organize local people to dig canals to divert water and transform paddy fields. The government also has a lot of oxen and farm tools. Even if you don't have them at home, you can rent them from the government."
"Ah? The Han tribe is so good? Do they also collect food from the people like Commander Xin?" someone in the crowd asked.
"That's right. The Han tribe distributes land to the people according to the number of people. Adult men are given 20 mu each, which is used to grow food. Adult women are also given 20 mu, which is used to grow vegetables, hemp, mulberry and silkworms, grass and lacquer, and cotton and cloth.
The seeds, technology, and land are all provided by the tribe, but when the harvest comes, you have to give a share of the harvest to the tribe." Brother Xun continued to introduce the situation of the Han tribe to these people.
"Then how much do you pay to the tribe?" Someone began to ask worriedly.
The Xin tribe also has to pay grain taxes, but there is no fixed amount every year. Even if there is a fixed amount, there are many ways to deal with it. This is mainly because the Xin tribe does not have a unified measurement system. There are no units of volume, length, and weight. How can you calculate how much grain there is? Therefore, there are many loopholes.
"Hey, I don't know how much they paid, but I heard from the people in the delegation and the caravan that even if the people of the Han tribe paid the agricultural tax, they still had food left over at home. In addition to keeping their own food, they had to sell the remaining food for money. I think they didn't pay much." Xun Ge'er continued to explain.
"So that's the case. That's fine. As long as there is some left, it's fine." An older middle-aged man said while sucking the hot sauce on his fingers.
"In short, the future will definitely be better. Everyone, don't worry. Do you see the hanging lamp? It's that kind of good thing. Every family in the Han tribe has several." Xun Ge'er pointed to the calcium carbide lamp hanging on the aisle of the camp not far away and said to everyone.
"Every family has several? Is it issued by the tribe?" A young man couldn't help asking.
"How is that possible? The people bought it themselves. Although the lamp is not cheap, every family can afford it, which shows that they are rich. That's what I mean." Xun Ge'er spread his hands helplessly. No matter how good the tribe is, it is impossible to give you everything.
"Xun Ge'er, what if you don't want to farm and want to sail like those people in the Han tribe? I have never been on a boat. It would be great if I could have a boat of my own." A young man asked with longing.
"I'm not sure about this. If you want to learn how to build a boat, the tribe should select people to learn it. If you build a boat for the tribe, the tribe will give you money. If you want to learn, you can sign up when the government selects people in the future.
As for getting your own boat, this is difficult. I heard that those boats are expensive, so basically they are all owned by the tribe. There are very few private boats. Even the people of the Han tribe can hardly afford them.
However, I think the price will definitely drop as more and more boats are available. And if you want to buy a boat, you have to see how big it is. You definitely can't afford a big boat, but we people have a chance to buy a small single-masted sailboat. Let's wait and see." Brother Xun agreed carelessly. In fact, he himself didn't know how much the boats of the Han tribe cost.
Everyone chatted about their future lives while eating corn cakes in their hands. The militiamen settled down temporarily.
On the other side of the Qingqing Gorge hillside, as the militiamen had all evacuated, the three guards commanded by Xue Tu, with a total of 9,500 elite infantrymen, also began to encircle the 2,000 Xin tribe soldiers on the top of the mountain.
(End of this chapter)
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