Chapter 58: Trip to Yi Town (I) Update
The autumn of the ninth year of Tianxi.
Liu Ziye brought a group of people and successfully marked and settled another iron mine and lead mine in the fiefdom she asked the prince for according to the map left by the King of Xiguan.
In addition, because of the large amount of construction projects she planned to carry out, she also selected a quarry and a timber yard.
However, she currently lacked the energy and manpower to build these two sites. After confirming the location of the two quarry and timber yards, she immediately wrote a letter detailing her location and plans for the site and sent it back to the Xiguan Marquisate.
Stone and wood were the most common materials used by people of this dynasty.
She didn't need to devote as much effort to the construction of these two sites as she had to the iron ore mine. Du Hui would arrange the work according to his abilities upon receiving her letter.
In her plan, once steam engines boosted engineering power, she would inevitably mass-produce cement, the ultimate weapon for infrastructure construction. At that point, stone would become an essential material.
At this time, Liu Ziye was stopping his horse on the high slope of a hill.
From where her horse rested, she gazed out across the boundless grasslands of the northern Zhou Dynasty, home to the eight Rong and Di tribes. In late autumn, all she saw were withered, yellowing weeds and tents with yellow and white roofs.
It looks like a big trumpet flower blooming in autumn.
The improved application of steam engines, the opening of new mines one after another, and Du Hui's arrangements in various places in Yucheng in the past one or two months made her clearly feel the recovery of the growth rate of points.
My nerves, which had been tense for many days, finally relaxed a little.
Liu Ziye dismounted here and, facing the mountain breeze, asked, "Based on the direction we're heading, this must be the territory of the Di people, one of the eight tribes of the grassland, right?"
Jin Jie also dismounted behind her.
Hearing Liu Ziye's question, he took a few steps closer, looked at the grassland in front of him for a moment, and nodded, "Yes."
"You have a good sense of direction." Liu Ziye praised.
After hearing this, Jin Jie nodded again and said, "But I learned all this from the young marquis."
"Before you came to the palace, you were from Yi Town in Xiguan County, which is arguably the closest village in Xiguan County to the border of the Eight Tribes. Have you ever walked through this mountain range and visited the Eight Tribes?"
“No.”
Jin Jie replied.
Liu Ziye turned her head and looked at the expressionless face of her private guard captain.
"Could you say a few more words? You're so frugal with your words when you're talking to me, Lord Marquis?"
"Young Marquis, please forgive me."
Jin Jie obediently apologized and added, "There are people in my town who, for reasons of livelihood or because of relatives' invitation, have crossed this mountain to seek a living among the Di or Qiang tribes. But my family, firstly, has been Han Chinese for generations and has blood ties to the Han court. Secondly, we are not good at socializing and don't know people from outside the county. Leaving our homeland rashly to seek a living in an unfamiliar land is not a good choice. Therefore, I have never had the opportunity to go to the other side of this mountain since I was a child."
"What about you? Now that you're taller and longer-legged, have you ever thought about it that way?"
Jin Jie pondered for a moment and shook his head: "No. How can the Eight Tribes compare to the Great Zhou Dynasty?"
The view from the top of the hill is excellent, so Liu Ziye and his men stopped here to rest for a while.
Although it is autumn, the ground is covered with golden fallen leaves, and the refreshing breeze makes people feel happy.
Liu Ziye thought of Yizhen, one of the thirteen towns in Xiguan Commandery, the closest to this place. Going down this mountain, walking back a hundred miles would lead to the entrance of Yizhen. Of course, this so-called hundred miles meant that the road was quite difficult to travel.
This is a medium-to-high altitude area. After descending this mountainous region, one must cross a tributary of the Shuo River by boat. Due to the terrain, this tributary flows rapidly along the border. This area, both mountainous and water-filled, has become a natural border between the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Eight Tribes.
She asked Jin Jie, "You are from Yi Town. Last winter, when we passed through Yi Town, I didn't even hear you mention it."
"Young Marquis, you have important matters to attend to. How can you let these trivial matters delay your schedule?" Jin Ji said.
Liu Ziye nodded and said, "In ancient times, when Dayu was controlling the floods, he passed by his home eight times without entering. Today, Captain Jin demolished houses to open a mine, and he passed by his home twice without entering. So, my captain of the guard will also be a great sage in the future!"
Hearing Liu Ziye say this, Jin Jie knew that she was just relaxing and entertaining herself with him.
He smiled faintly, "A great sage serves a wise master. Then you, young marquis, are the wise master."
After hearing this, Liu Ziye suddenly turned his head and looked straight into Jin Jie's eyes, as if he was trying to figure out how much of a joke there was in Jin Jie's words.
Jin Jie looked back at her sincerely, as if he was just speaking casually in response to her words.
Forget it, Liu Ziye stood up.
On a whim, she said to Jin Jie, "How long has it been since you've been back to Yi Town? Why don't you go back and take a look?"
Jin Jie was stunned when he heard this.
"What's wrong?" Liu Ziye saw his unusual reaction and said with a smile, "Are you feeling homesick?"
“Not really.”
"What is that?" Liu Ziye asked.
"It's just that Yi Town is not as good as the Marquis's Mansion in Yucheng, and apart from a quick trip back with the young Marquis last winter, I haven't been back to the town in a long time. The house has been vacant for a long time, and I'm afraid the young Marquis is not used to living there."
"What is there for me to be unaccustomed to? Look at me, I've been sleeping in the open air for a long time, haven't I?"
Liu Ziye said nonchalantly, "Besides, if we go back and take a detour to Yi Town, it can be considered on our way. Can I really let my captain of the guards pass by my house three times without entering again? Hurry and lead the way."
"yes."
Jin Jie nodded, and the team packed their luggage and set off towards Yi Town, led by Jin Jie.
Arriving at the ferry crossing on a tributary of the Shuo River, this river, somewhat like the Great Zhou Dynasty's border, had always been garrisoned by border troops. Liu Ziye's group was small, and because of her status, the garrison soldiers vacated the best boats on the riverbank and escorted the young Marquis of Xiguan and his entourage, including their horses, to the other side.
Two days had passed from the day Liu Ziye said he would take Jin Jie back to Yi Town to the day the horse team clattered on the yellow grass and fallen leaves, passing by a tilted "Yi Town" stone tablet.
Xiguan County has a vast territory, covering thousands of miles.
Aside from the two main cities of Qingcheng and Yucheng, which were situated on a fertile, flat plain, the other thirteen towns were not only scattered but also lacked such a large plain. Furthermore, unlike the other counties of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the inhabitants of Xiguan Commandery were notably more ethnically Han Chinese.
In Xiguan County, the proportion of pure Han people is actually lower than that of mixed-race people.
At the same time, the border inhabitants here were not distinguished by clan bloodline. For example, the Yucheng Fu clan was supposedly the largest clan in Yucheng, but in reality, many of them were not descendants of the Fu clan for generations, but rather absorbed a number of outsiders who had just arrived in Xiguan and were willing to join the clan with the surname Fu.
Over the years, everyone has been living together, and gradually there is no distinction between you and me.
This is especially true for the Thirteen Towns.
Every town has existed for a long time, but if you trace your ancestors back to the townspeople, you will find that each of them has their own origins.
Liu Ziye stopped his horse in front of the town stone tablet.
Jin Ji's horse was behind her and had to stop.
Liu Ziye: "Lead the way, Captain Jin."
"Yes, young marquis." Jin Ji nodded in response, then kicked his horse's belly and led the team towards the town.
Yizhen is located in a remote area. The entire town is actually the size of a medium-sized village, with a population of only about 400 to 500 households. There is only one main street, and the rest are just a few random winding paths connecting the various households in the town.
By this time, the harvest has been completed and the seeds for the coming year have been planted. It's a relatively quiet time of year, but only relatively so. In the past, this was the time when people mostly prepared for the winter, spinning cloth, mending clothes, drying grain and meat, and so on.
Most of the people in each household in the town do not need to go out.
But this year, when the group entered the village, they saw only a few children playing in the street and old people starching cloth and drying clothes.
Liu Ziye was well aware of this, and she recruited all young and able-bodied workers, both men and women, with a single "recruitment order." Based on her previously recorded "Xiguan Engineer Roster" and their newly demonstrated skills, she first sorted them by specialty, then determined their technical level, and finally, finalized their wages and work contracts, assigning them to different mining areas and workshops.
If she still sees someone doing nothing and not earning enough to live, she will start to blame herself and wake up!
Seven or eight children were playing games together by a shallow pond beside a gravel road. However, the sound of their horses' hooves was so noticeable that the children all looked over.
Even the children were impressed by Liu Ziye, who once swept through every village and town like a whirlwind.
As soon as they saw Liu Ziye, they started whispering to each other: "The Lord Shashen is here!"
"No. My mother said he is not the Marquis of Shashen!"
"Yeah, my grandfather also said that this young marquis saved our lives, so we shouldn't call him that anymore!"
"Okay, okay, here comes the Marquis!"
A few people whispered a few words, then pushed each other a few times, and the child who spoke first ran out and chased Liu Ziye's horse, which was just moving slowly, and shouted behind him.
"Young Marquis! Young Marquis!"
Liu Ziye had already noticed the children, looking at her with their little eyes and muttering to herself, but she didn't take it seriously. But she didn't expect them to chase her horse after their muttering. She stopped her horse and looked over.
The child who had the courage to call her suddenly stumbled the moment he faced her.
"You...you...are so pretty!" said the child.
Liu Ziye raised his eyebrows: "Thank you for the compliment. Do you have anything else to do with me?"
The child blushed at her gentle response and continued, "That's right. That's right, we want to give this to you..."
As he spoke, he spread out several colorful and shaped stones in his hand for Liu Ziye to see: "There are six of us in total, and each of us has one. These are our favorite stones that we have saved up and carry with us every day."
"Oh? Why did you give it to me? Is it because I'm pretty?"
"That's not true! No, no, no... Our parents both said you saved us. Besides, they're both working at the place you're hiring. They sent me a letter saying the wages are high, the food and accommodation are good, and they even sent me some sweets!"
"You're not as bad as they say! You're a good person! That's why we gave you our most precious thing."
After listening to this, Liu Ziye stared at the child and smiled, then raised his head to look at several other children who were leaning against the wall, looking over here.
She leaned out from her horse and took a handful of stones from the little boy's hand.
"I took away your most precious thing. You won't come to me crying to ask for it back in the future, right?" Liu Ziye teased him.
When the child heard this, he immediately stretched his neck and guaranteed, "Of course not! Don't underestimate us, even children keep their word!"
"Okay, I'll remember this. If anyone cries to me in the future, I won't give away anything I've got!"
Liu Ziye shook the stones in his hand, then turned around and prepared to rein in his horse and move forward.
However, at this moment, one of the children lying at the foot of the wall stood up and shouted in the direction of their group.
"Big brother! Big brother, you're back!"
The boy's face was full of joy. He hesitated and stood out from behind the corner, shouting eagerly, but he didn't dare to walk towards their group without permission.
Jin Jie turned around, dismounted, and said, "Yes, I'm back."
He waved in the direction of the child: "Come here."
Hearing this, the boy first looked at the young Marquis of Xiguan who was too dazzling to be ignored, then he took a few steps nervously and ran towards Jin Jie.
Jin Jie rubbed the top of the child's head, then raised his hand and led him to his horse. He also sat back down and said, "Let's go. There are guests coming to our house. Let's go back first."
The boy focused on the three words "guests".
He stole a glance at Liu Ziye, who wasn't looking in his direction at all, and leaned closer to ask Jin Jie in a low voice, "Guest, guest, is this young marquis?"
Jin Jie agreed: "Yes."
After hearing this, the boy stopped talking and just sat on the tall horse, his eyes uncontrollably looking at the young marquis again and again.
Liu Ziye seemed unaware and turned around to ask Jin Jie, "Have we arrived at your house yet?"
Jin Jie pointed to the fork in the gravel road ahead and said, "Turn in from this fork, and it's the third house."
"OK."
The other children were all stunned when they saw that the young Marquis of Xiguan was actually going to visit Si'er's family. Of course, they refused to leave and just followed the group, running all the way here.
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