Northern Dynasties

Chapter 466
Today's Shangyuan is completely different from when Li Tai first settled down, and the population of Shangyuan Village has grown from more than 100 at the beginning to more than 5000 households in Fuzhuang now. There are as many as tens of thousands of people who have settled here for a long time.

The growth of such a large population is due to the fact that Li Tai captured soldiers and prisoners through various wars, including the Qiangliang bandits from various places in Guanzhong, and Jihu Dingkou captured by the northern Shaanxi states.The second is that with the improvement of the business environment in Shangyuan, the natural inflow of businessmen and tourists from other places.

There are very few bands who are really sheltered and expanded locally. This is of course because Li Tai is well aware of the truth that rabbits don't eat grass by the side of their nests.

Shang was originally under the watchful eyes of Huazhou Bafu. If he openly sheltered a large number of people, causing the loss of state and county registered households, it would be a blatant provocation to the official power here.

Although the county magistrate of Wuxiang, including the governor of the state and county, has a lot of friendship with him, but if he relies on his friendship and violates other people's power without a bottom line, such friends will soon lose their faces.

However, it is an open rule for military generals to capture people through war and recruit them into the army. As long as they don't kill good people and pretend to be meritorious, or rob the government's regular households, it is not a taboo.

As for the influx of people from other prefectures, they are not under the jurisdiction of the prefectures and counties here. Although the prefects of the prefectures and counties also have the political performance needs to recruit refugees, it depends on the specific situation.

Huazhou has a lot of people and a narrow land, so there is not much wasteland that can be used to appease refugees and grant land to households. These people were recruited by Li Tai to work in his workshop, which not only stabilized the local law and order, but also the government could obtain from him The government is also happy to see a part of the tax revenue.

As for the gathering of tens of thousands of people in the village, whether it will arouse the vigilance and expulsion of the Tyrant Mansion, this is too much to worry about.

Although the area of ​​Shangyuan is not too big, it has a diameter of tens of miles from east to west, from north to south, and there are many rich manors and mansions scattered here. Tens of thousands of people are distributed here, and it is not tens of thousands of armored people who gather on a mountain all day long. In fact, it's not very noticeable.

What's more, Li Tai has a lot of industries. These people usually work in workshops or transport materials to and from various places. Even he himself has to look through the manor's books to understand the exact situation, and it is even more difficult for outsiders to fully understand.

Having said that, with the increase of population, the living environment of Shangyuan has also undergone great changes. The original manor houses in front of the slope are no longer enough to live in, and the nearby oil workshops have also been transferred to other places for employment. It is used to expand the manor house.

Fortunately, the valley villa that Li Tai had previously built for He Basheng’s recuperation was preserved, and many circles were expanded outward along the valley.As for the scope of those expansions, Li Zhusheng and other core stewards of the manor lived there.

This mountain villa also carries many memories of Miaoyin. When revisiting the old place, many memory images settled in the mind quickly become vivid again.

It's just that after seeing those additional buildings beyond her memory, she felt a little unhappy. When she heard that it was due to the increase in population and the lack of land on the plateau, the little lady generously pointed to the east of the valley and said : "There is still a lot of idle land in Zhuangzi in the east of the plateau. People who can't be accommodated here can be placed there."

Hearing what the little lady said, Li Tai remembered that he was not the only rich man in their family, and the little lady's dowry was also very generous.The manor on the east side of Shangyuan is also one of its dowry properties.

Although the garden industry is not better than Li Tai's, but they are adjacent to each other, so they can complement each other nearby. Nearly half of the entire Shangyuan area has become their family's industry. Naturally, it is much more convenient to adjust the personnel industry. .

Li Zhusheng and other old people in the household also showed joy when they heard that the young mistress was so forthright, and they all sighed that the husband and wife are of one mind and the family is prosperous.

Li Tai sent his wife to the other inner hall, leaving Li Zhusheng's wife and other women in charge of the village to accompany him, while he went to the outer hall to sit with the crowd and have a good chat.

As an old family member who followed all the way from Hebei, Li Zhusheng took care of the housework in an orderly manner even though Li Tai was away all year round.

Wu Jingyi, Zhao Dangzhang and other leaders of the Qumeng also obeyed Li Tai's instructions and plans, established themselves in the village, and actively developed the affairs of the Qumeng, which greatly expanded the personnel scale of the Qumeng.

Li Tai's authority was limited before, so it was difficult to give them more attention in terms of fame and status. Now that the mansion has been established, they each have a position in the mansion, which not only brings them closer to each other, but also allows them to boast in the village.

Du Yun, the county magistrate of Wuxiang, had previously been transferred in rank, and Zheng Man took up the post of county magistrate with the support of Li Tai. After eating, what he was feeling was his own fate: "A poor official in a certain county, if he hadn't been lucky enough to meet Mr. Lang back then, how would he dare to look forward to the beauty of today's people..."

Seeing that Zheng Man lost his composure with excitement, Wu Jingyi raised his glass and said with a smile: "The county lord's words are too modest. Heaven rewards hard work and has always been proven! If the county lord hadn't worked so hard to go to the village back then, so that Mr. Lang could After settling down in this township, how can there be people and land in the future, and the hometown sentiment will be greatly improved!"

After everyone heard the words, they all laughed and echoed, toasted Zheng Man and thanked him for attracting the sound of phoenixes to the village, and thus the great benefits of the countryside today.

All the villagers are happy and satisfied with the current rural order, but some people are not satisfied with the present.

As the banquet progressed, several young people, including Zhao Jingzhi and Yang Yu, who were previously left by Li Tai to manage various industries in the village, came forward cheering each other, and saluted Li Tai expectantly and said, "Master Lang!" The meritorious deeds abroad are stronger and the reputation is higher. The servants and others look up to the Lord’s protection, but the young and strong were idle in the countryside. I am really ashamed.

Seeing their earnest faces, Li Tai nodded and agreed with a smile. His official position is getting stronger and stronger, and of course the more civil and military subordinates, the better. Give them opportunities to practice performance.

Now his family school has been open for several years, and the first batch of apprentices are also taught one by one. Although the family business is cumbersome, it is not complicated. It is suitable for honing those newcomers. Form a law of talent ladder appointment.

On this day, the manor feasted and had fun. With the social theater stage set up on the plateau, and the flowing water table spread out, it was also very lively. The villagers gathered here to sing and dance, which was even more joyful than the New Year's Day.

The atmosphere in the countryside is always a bit less intriguing than in the outside world. Li Tai also let go of his restraint this night and drank to his heart's content. In the end, he didn't know how the banquet ended. He just saw it at night when he was half awake and half asleep. As the lady walked in and out of the tent to fetch water and things, the restlessness in her heart gradually disappeared and turned into peace.

The next day Li Tai slept until the sun was high, and after getting up and washing up, Zhang Shinu came to tell Zhou Changming to visit.

When Li Tai learned about it, he hurriedly ordered people to be invited into the hall, and he also walked to meet him.Just before he entered the hall, Zhou Changming strode over, followed by a man in his 30s with a strong build.

"I haven't seen you for a long time, before the gentleman's demeanor was even better. I was going to come to the hall to congratulate yesterday, but I was afraid that I would disturb the gathering of all the villagers, so I came today."

Zhou Changming is now the official superintendent of the Chinese army in the Overlord's Mansion. His rural temperament of the past has gradually subsided, his figure has become more muscular, and his demeanor is quite dignified. However, when facing Li Tai, he still shows a lot of intimacy in a respectful manner.

Li Tai was also worried that Zhou Changming's official authority would make the villagers feel uneasy, so he deliberately refused to let him come over yesterday. After meeting today, he stepped forward and raised his arm to punch him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "What between you and me?" Using these official clichés, you have been in charge of the village regiment for a long time, and the villagers will be timid when they look at you, so yesterday you were not allowed to enter the house to attend. But today, I only treat one person, and I will go to the hall to have breakfast together."

While speaking, he turned to look at the person behind him again, and Zhou Changming quickly introduced: "This General Guo was elected as the governor of the state last year. Jun."

"The last general, Guo Yan, has met the Duke of Xihe! The late general has been famous for a long time. How dare you call him the prestige of his hometown in front of the gentleman? It's just because the mansion is because of his name, so he secretly called him to make him laugh. Lord Xihe please forgive me."

This Guo Yan hastily stepped forward to salute with fists in his hands, his attitude was quite respectful, he didn't dare to be proud of himself as the leader of the state.

Li Tai had looked at Guo Yan with some familiarity at first, and after he finished his self-introduction, his eyes lit up, and he immediately smiled and said, "Did General Guo serve in the Yu Department before, as a Lang Guan?"

"Duke Xihe actually knows the last general?"

After Guo Yan heard this, he also nodded in surprise and said: "The last general was indeed a doctor of the Yu Department, and he was busy with affairs, so there is nothing to praise."

"General Guo's remarks are too modest. I also praised Daxingtai to Daxingtai before in the mansion. The Yubu Shanze Atlas is complete and exquisite, and the official in charge is really talented."

The Ministry of Yu is in charge of the Shanze Garden and other matters, and Li Tai has previously raised money and materials from the Taiwan government's proposals, and as one of the executors, he has bought and sold the resources of the mountains and rivers in prefectures and counties. , Because the relevant information is complete and orderly, it saves a lot of time, so when I saw Guo Yan, the former head of the Yu Department, I had a good impression of others.

After Guo Yan heard that Li Tai expressed his appreciation to him, he immediately showed joy, but when he entered the hall and just sat down, he suddenly turned over, kowtowed in front of Li Tai's seat and said in a loud voice: "The last general is in charge of the state soldiers, I belong to a foreign army, although I say I'm the first one, but the name is not worthy of the name, and there are not enough battalions so far, I implore Xihe Lord to look down and speak up!"

(End of this chapter)