Northern Dynasties

Chapter 49
The group first went north along the Luoshui River, and their first goal was Chengcheng County located in the upper reaches of the Luoshui River.

Luoshui is one of the most important rivers north of the Weishui River in the Guanzhong Plain, and the area it flows through is also rich in fertile land with developed farming.The acres of fields seen along the way are like pieces of green brocade.

The only thing that disrupts the peaceful atmosphere in the field is the military buildings such as the Wubi Fortress that appear every once in a while, constantly reminding people that this world is not a peaceful and prosperous world where people can sit back and relax and live and work in peace and contentment.

Daxingtai's rewards have basically been issued, and the recruitment and mobilization of rural soldiers in the countryside is also being gradually carried out.Therefore, in the field during the journey, from time to time, groups of rural soldiers can be seen either rushing to the garrison point, or gathering for drills.

Now it is the turn of summer and autumn, so the enlistment of a large number of strong men will naturally hinder farming.

But this is also something that can’t be helped. A big defeat at Mangshan almost disabled Yu Wentai’s six armies accumulated over the years. The military strength can be described as unprecedentedly weak, and it may not even be as good as it was at the beginning of the founding of the Western Wei Dynasty and before the Battle of Xiaoguan. a period of time.

After all, before the Battle of Xiaoguan, both Yu Wentai and the warriors of Zhubei Town had a large number of elite trilogy.And these Xianbei veterans suffered even greater losses in the Battle of Mangshan.

That's why Yu Wentai urgently wanted to restore his military strength and incorporate rural armed organizations as soon as possible.In this state where the army must be the first, it is difficult to take care of farming and mulberry farming.

Before Zhou Changming had to be the commander-in-chief of Wuxiang County, Li Tai also learned from the conversation with him that the Western Wei Dynasty's army consolidation this year was mainly aimed at the already existing township soldiers, township regiments and various powerful tribes, and did not regard even households as conscripts. The goal.

Later generations talked about the demise of the Fubing system in the Tang Dynasty, and discussed it in connection with the collapse of the land equalization system.

However, when the Fubing system was first established, it had nothing to do with the land equalization system, and there was no provision for awarding land for military merit.

It was not until the Sui Dynasty that the government soldiers were incorporated into Juntian.In the early Tang Dynasty, most of the fubing groups were small and medium military meritorious landlords, and it was also the period when the fubing system reached its peak and its combat effectiveness was the strongest.

When the group reached the northern boundary of Wuxiang County and the junction with Chengcheng, the Luoshui River was narrow, but the water flow was even rarer.

A weir was built to block the river, and the water level difference between the inside and outside of the weir was obvious, and the artificially raised water rushed down along the gap in the weir, hitting the wooden wheel erected beside the river.

Those wooden wheels are connected with houses of different sizes, and these houses are water-pipe houses.The pestle placed inside can be used not only for pounding rice and grinding noodles, but also for grinding and processing other materials, such as crushing ore, clay, processing pulp and so on.

Seeing the rows of shuijiao houses on the river bank, Li Tai almost drools with envy.

In ancient times, if you wanted to carry out any large-scale industrial operation, water conservancy resources can be said to be an essential key element.Whether or not hydraulic power is used is completely a qualitative difference!
He Basheng rode his horse and followed Li Tai's line of sight. When he saw those water reed industries, he also said with emotion: "When Zhao Gui entered the customs early, the beauty industry took the lead. It is indeed enviable. Shallow. It is even rarer to meet a good neighbor, and Liang Qiannian can be described as a rare gentleman among veterans."

The Luoshui River Basin intercepted by the weir here, and the west bank is Zhao Gui's manor industry. Except for the many water mill houses erected along the river, the large area of ​​land from the river bank to the west belongs to the scope of Zhao Gui Manor, at least hundreds of hectares in area.

The canals dug in the manor are like cobwebs, and irrigation tools such as water drainage drums are scattered in scattered distribution. There are stretches of fertile fields and large houses.At first glance, it is enviable.

On the east bank of Luoshui is the garden of Kaifu Liangchun, which is located between two plateaus. The area of ​​the manor is much smaller than that of Zhaogui Manor, only about [-] to [-] hectares.Moreover, there are not many hydraulic facilities along the river, only a not too big water-piercing house is erected on the channel where the Luoshui flows into the manor.

Compared with other gardens, this manor is certainly not bad, at least it is much more grand than Li Tai's own Shangyuan Manor.But compared with the Zhaogui Manor on the other side, it is set off to be even more shabby.

The two manors that are also close to Luoshui have such different industrial constructions. Li Tai asked curiously: "Could it be that because Zhao Gui's slaves are domineering and intimidating, the family members of Liang Kaifu dare not lure Luoshui to work?"

"Zhao Gui is indeed somewhat arrogant and greedy, but it also has something to do with Liang Chun's temperament..."

He Basheng smiled and explained that compared to other Beizhen warriors, Liang Chun was a humble and uncompetitive person, and he was considerate of his subordinates, so he was evaluated by He Basheng as a gentleman among veterans.

After listening to it, Li Tai was thoughtful and kept these things in his heart.In the future, if he wanted to get ahead in the Western Wei regime, he would inevitably have to deal with these Beizhen warriors. It would not be a bad thing to learn more about these people.

After bypassing Liangchun Manor, the group entered Chengcheng County.After walking along Luoshui for several hours, after crossing the river at a ferry, they arrived at the first destination of the trip.

"This manor has been awarded for seven years, and after that, three hundred parts will be assigned to cultivate here..."

While riding his horse into the manor, He Basheng introduced Li Tai with a smile.

Li Tai is also carefully looking at the environment of this manor. The manor is also located on the west bank of Luoshui, with an area of ​​[-] to [-] hectares. There is also a river on the west bank, about ten meters wide, which is Baishui, a tributary of Luoshui.

The whole manor is half river alluvial plain and half rolling hills. Not only the flat land is full of crops, but also some terraced fields have been opened up on the hillside, where some cold-resistant crops and mulberry trees are planted.It can be seen that the manager of the manor here is also a diligent farmer, and he is not willing to waste the land of the manor.

"The day before yesterday, I learned that the lord was coming, so I waited eagerly, so Erlang went to the front ferry to meet him..."

When the group came to the gate of the manor, there was already a group of strong men standing there waiting respectfully. A middle-aged man in his forties walked forward, raised his hand to grab the bridle of the horse and helped He Basheng off the horse.

"This person's name is Zhu Ziyong. He is an old servant who came back with me from Jiangnan. He is good at medicine and stone, and he is also a good doctor."

He Basheng first explained to Li Tai with a smile, and then signaled his attendants to hold a wooden box and hand it to Zhu Ziyong, the steward, and said: "Your Erlang is still staying in Chaoyi, and the new wife at home has not yet returned. Blame me for being mean, I will give you some small things for your little grandson, I hope you will be healthy for many years."

Zhu Ziyong was even more moved when he heard the words, and hurriedly greeted his daughter-in-law who was holding the child in front of him. He Basheng personally took the gift out of the box. in the arms of the doll.

A group of people walked into the manor, and the evening wind blew, mixed with some medicinal herbs. There were many medicinal herbs drying in the fences of the various houses in the manor, and clusters of vigorously growing perilla and other plants were planted in the shadows along the walls. herbs.

In front of the big house in the center of the manor, several large stoves have already been set up, and the bonfire is blazing, either cooking rice or roasting lamb.The rich food poured into the nostrils, making everyone who had been on the road all day couldn't help but move their index fingers.

Li Tai and the others followed He Basheng into the hall and sat down. After a while, servants brought the food and wine one after another. Although the dishes were not exquisite, they were quite substantial.A large pottery bowl of cooked and cut mutton, a pot of fish with strong aroma, dried mountain poultry meat, and a large box of vegetables.

He Basheng looked at the dishes on the food table, and after a long while he waved his hands and said, "Scatter the mutton and fish to the other table, and serve me a bowl of corn rice. I only eat tonight and don't drink alcohol! "

Zhu Ziyong, who was accompanying me at the side seat, was half surprised and half pleasantly surprised when he heard this, and said: "I used to advise my lord to avoid eating, but my lord never listens, why today..."

"Someone laughed at my shallow taste and promised me that they would serve delicious food diligently. I'm waiting for it!"

He Basheng laughed when he heard the words, and nodded Li Tai with his eyes.

When Li Tai saw this, he stood up with a smile, walked to He Basheng's food table, took out a small bamboo tube from his waist, unplugged it, poured out the white crystal particles, twisted it with his fingers and sprinkled it into the tube. Put it in the box, mix well with chopsticks, push it in front of He Basheng and said with a smile: "Uncle, please try it, is this box of rice more delicious than usual?"

He Basheng was not worried that Li Tai would kill him with poison, so he picked up some chopped vegetable leaves with his chopsticks and put them in his mouth. The bamboo tube that hadn't been put away in time was surprised: "What is this? How can the food be so delicious?"

"I call it monosodium glutamate, which is precipitated from fermented soybeans. The more aged the fermented fermented soy sauce, the more delicious it is, precisely because of this."

Li Tai sat back at his table and explained with a smile.

Of course, the bamboo tube is not monosodium glutamate, at least not the industrially purified monosodium glutamate of later generations.Sauce products such as tempeh will dry out after being stored for a long time, and some salt crystal particles will be resolved. The main composition of these particles is naturally salt, but there is another substance besides that, which is sodium glutamate.

Sodium glutamate is the main component of monosodium glutamate, and it is also the most important reason for the freshness of monosodium glutamate.

This small bamboo tube does not seem to have many grains, but it was collected by scraping dozens of old earthen pots for storing fermented soybeans. Naturally, the freshening ingredients in it are not as good as the MSG purified by later industries, but the taste is also improved. has been quite significant.

With this local method of MSG to enhance the flavor of the meal, He Basheng also had a big appetite, and he no longer minded the lack of wine and meat, so he ate two full bowls of millet and rice with that box of glutinous rice, patting his stomach with a face full of satisfaction.

After dinner, the sky was completely dark, and He Basheng confessed to Zhu Ziyong: "Li Lang is my close junior, and I have the wisdom to support the family. In order to maintain the livelihood here, I let your father and son relatives live all year round. Separated, now bring him into the village, the village can pay him, and Ziyong can follow me in the future, no need to live in the village anymore."

After Zhu Ziyong heard this, he nodded quickly and said: "Please rest assured, my lord, I will cooperate with Li Lang and deliver the details of the estate as soon as possible!"

(End of this chapter)