Northern Dynasties

Chapter 50
"The soil here is loose, Li Lang is careful and slow."

On the rugged mountain road, Zhu Ziyong walked ahead and led the way, while Li Tai followed carefully with a bamboo stick in his hand.

"There are sixty-eight hectares of horticultural property here, half of which are divided into half and half, two to six hectares of good flat land, and [-] hectares of dry land on slopes. There are [-] mulberry plants, and [-] peaches, plums, apricots, and jujubes..."

While walking, Zhu Ziyong explained the details of the manor industry to Li Tai, and some specific figures came out of his mouth, which shows that he really cares about the management of the manor.

Li Tai stood on a high place, looked around, and said, "I'm afraid the area of ​​the garden is not enough? I heard that Daxingtai's officials are fierce..."

"It's true, but Daxingtai's strict governance is mainly based on people and things, and the reward of land is still tolerant. After all, there is farming to produce, and the group is willing to expand the land and work hard. It is also a good thing that benefits the family and the country."

Zhu Ziyong is worthy of being a person who has traveled far and wide and seen the world, and in one sentence he elevated the occupation of land to the perspective of justice.

It seems that this problem is also a normal state of the world, and Yu Wentai may not be unaware of it, but it has not been paid attention to for some reasons.

After all, the local tycoons in Guanzhong have their own industries, and the ones who really get a lot of land grants are the warriors from Beizhen and the new customers from within. If these people are treated too harshly, it will be unfavorable to integrate and win over.

This should also be regarded as a contradiction in the development and growth of the Western Wei regime, which was strictly governed by officials but vaguely handled.

"Excuse me, Mr. Zhu, why is the soil here gray and white, and there are other differences?"

When the evening came yesterday, Li Tai noticed that the soil on these slopes was mostly gray-white, and now he could see it more clearly when he went up and down.

The soil here is indeed whitish, and it has an obvious grainy feel when you rub it with your fingers, but the soil is fine and smooth, which is somewhat similar to the clay that Yang Heili found on the hillside of Shangyuan.

However, the hillsides of Shangyuan are often distributed in lumps, unlike here where almost the entire slope is covered with such soil.So much so that the white water flowing through it is pure, which is probably why the river got its name.

"The soil here is a treasure. The finished pottery is quite good. The fine powder is sieved and mixed with water to cure diarrhea. In famine years, mixing bran to make cakes can satisfy hunger..."

When Zhu Ziyong heard Li Tai's question, he also stopped, pointed at the soil on the slope and explained with a smile.

Li Tai's eyes lit up when he heard this, and it can cure diarrhea, and it can also be used to satisfy hunger. Isn't this the Guanyin soil?

Guanyin clay, also known as kaolin, contains a certain amount of montmorillonite. In later generations, montmorillonite powder is one of the commonly used drugs for treating diarrhea.

Avalokitesvara can indeed give you a feeling of fullness, but if you eat too much, you will die.In addition to satisfying hunger in famine years, this kind of soil is the best quality clay.

In addition to the common use of firing ceramics, pottery clay also has an important role, that is, as a filler for papermaking.

The gaps between paper fibers are inevitable. Applying high-quality kaolin to the surface of the paper with water slurry can not only increase the fine, smooth and flexible texture of the paper, but also increase the brightness and ink absorption of the paper.

Xuancheng, which is famous for papermaking in later generations, and Jingdezhen, which is famous for porcelain, are located very close to each other. One of the reasons is that the area is rich in high-quality kaolin.

There are abundant reserves of kaolin here, and the soil slope under Li Tai's feet alone looks around, and the hills and high hills nearby are often covered with this earth color, which can be dark or light.

"There is such good land near the manor, what kind of pottery can be done in the manor?"

After observing the environment, Li Tai asked again.

After hearing the words, Zhu Ziyong pointed to a valley mouth on the west side of Poling where Baishui flows and said with a smile: "There are two kilns there. .There are also graphite deposits in the upper reaches of Baishui, which can replace charcoal..."

Li Tai became even more excited when he heard this.There are high-quality kaolin piled up into mounds, and there are coal mine resources nearby. Such a superior resource environment cannot be too perfect!

"Uncle entrusted me with my career, don't be careless, go ahead and have a look!"

Li Tai was already very excited at the moment, so he walked down the slope first, and walked up along the Baishui River, and he didn't feel tired after walking for more than ten miles.

Baishui originates from the remaining veins of Ziwuling, flows into Luoshui in an east-west direction, and the area it flows through is already located on the northern edge of the Guanzhong Plain. In addition to the estuary where it flows into Luoshui, there are also some plains and fertile fields, and most of them are hills on the left and right. .

But this watershed is indeed rich in natural resources. In addition to the kaolin that is suitable for firing porcelain and papermaking, there are many coal-soil humus layers when you go up a certain distance, and you can even see digging holes on the hillside farther away. People digging pits to mine coal.

The only fly in the ointment is that the surrounding traffic environment is too underdeveloped.Most of them are small and winding trails trampled by villagers over a long period of time, but there is no straight road.

Although there is such a river as Baishui, the river channel is shallow and wide, and the water flow is not abundant. There are many traces of river water erosion on both sides of the river beach, and it overflows when it is slightly full. It can hardly carry boat transportation.

The left and right sides of the river basin are mostly block-shaped plateaus. During the busy agricultural irrigation season, the villagers often dig canals along the river, so that the lower reaches of Baishui become shallower, and even frequently stop flowing.

Li Tai originally wanted to continue to go upstream to check, but seeing that Zhu Ziyong and others who were with him were already out of breath, and he himself had been going out since the dawn of day, and he hadn't had a break for a meal until now, and he was also hungry. He motioned to go back with a lot of meaning.

On the way back, he asked He Basheng curiously about the operating status of these industries.

Before in Chaoyi, he had a general understanding of He Basheng's trilogy industry.Shiwu has a population of more than [-]. This number seems not small, but there are also many properties under his name, with nearly a thousand hectares of manor land.

Even though a considerable part of these manor lands were cultivated for Daxingtai, the remaining amount is extremely considerable.

Li Tai's manor in Shangyuan is actually only more than [-] hectares, and more than half of it is hilly and mountainous, and the scale of the trilogy is already less than [-] people.

Although he is still running in debt, Li Tai is also confident that by the beginning of next spring at the latest, his manor operation will be able to turn losses into profits, not only be able to settle external accounts, but also achieve a considerable profit output.

Even if He Basheng's property is discounted again and again, even if there is only [-] hectares of land that can be cultivated and weaved, he can still live comfortably.Moreover, as a general in charge of the army, He Basheng must have other sources of income.

So Li Tai couldn't figure it out, He Basheng would never be so poor that he couldn't get rid of it, why did he entrust him to help run the property?Could it be that he thinks he is handsome and caring, so he wants to hand over his power to Li Tailai to inherit?
"Hey, after all, the lord is too benevolent and sympathetic to everyone..."

Hearing this, Zhu Ziyong couldn't help heaving a long sigh, and began to talk about He Basheng's current difficulties in managing his family affairs.

Although there are more than [-] members under his name, the actual labor force is far less than this number.After deducting the old, weak, sick, disabled, women and children, there are less than a thousand real strong men, and these strong men cannot all be put into production, at least nearly half of them need to be off-duty for training and follow in combat.

Before the Battle of Mangshan, He Basheng led [-] private troops to join the battle, with He Bayan and Zhu Meng whom Li Tai had met in Chaoyi Manor before as the leading troops in the left and right tents.As a result, the [-] people were only defeated and fled back to more than [-] people, and most of them were disabled.

There are more than [-] parts, just the most basic food and clothing needs, and there are at least [-] to [-] armored soldiers to fight and consume.

In addition, there are disabled soldiers who also need long-term support.He Basheng started in Beizhen and lived a life of ups and downs. Up to now, including himself, he is plagued by old illnesses.It is another expenditure for those disabled, elderly and sick to seek medical treatment.

In addition, whenever there is a battle or an illness, He Basheng and other Beizhen generals also need to make donations to maintain the consumption of the military.On the surface, the gifted property is quite generous, but with [-]% off and [-]% off, the savings are really not much.

After talking about this, Zhu Ziyong waved his hands to screen the retreating followers, and said to Li Tai in a low voice: "My lord's intimacy and love for your lord, I am watching with humble eyes, and I secretly think that the love is true. Even if I live in Kansai The lord's nephew has never been so close to the lord..."

Li Tai couldn't help being taken aback when he heard the words, but Zhu Ziyong continued to sigh: "At the beginning of the year, the lord suffered from a severe cold and illness, and he once called the old grand master Wuzhuang Gong to the court for two breaths. He wanted to explain a few things in the future. However, it was too late The delay makes the lord feel even more sad, and often sighs with the group, when the luck comes, I don't know who to entrust the wounded and sick old slaves..."

After hearing this, Li Tai realized that it was about He Bayue's sons.

It was related to other people's family affairs, and he didn't want to comment too much, so he just said in a low voice: "Teacher He Ba died before he became successful, and Daxingtai nested in the old situation, and his career was successful. The two gentlemen don't want to rely on this old favor to ostentatiously The deeds are also carefully measured.”

Yu Wentai inherited He Bayue's influence and became the boss of Guanzhong. Even if he is only grateful to He Bayue and has no other distracting thoughts, He Bayue's sons should be cautious and self-preserving in order to enjoy peace.

"Your lord has seen things deeply, but the servant is not a former servant of the master's family in Beizhen. Seeing this weak relationship, he will inevitably feel sad for the lord. The lord may be cautious in his own defense, but he is not alienated from the goods. The lord returns. I feel sorry for this young orphan and often give generously. It has become a rule so far. When something happens, I have to give instructions, but I refuse to go to the front to receive training. Can the onlookers not feel sad?"

Zhu Ziyong shook his head and sighed again, his words were quite unworthy of He Ba's victory, he turned to look at Li Tai and said sincerely: "The close relatives are not enough to take care of things, can my lord not worry about the group? Besides, all the relatives are still stranded in the east. Zhou, if we want to get together in the coming year, we need someone to support us...

I implore you not to see each other because of the outdoors. Since the lord trusts in family affairs, I and other loyal veterans also hope that the lord can help the lord to be considerate and keep a thought of life and death! "

Hearing these words, Li Tai couldn't help feeling touched by Dasheng. He Basheng's life was full of ups and downs, but at the end of the day, he was in a miserable situation that was visible to the naked eye.Just looking at Zhu Ziyong pouring out his thoughts to himself, it can be seen that not only He Basheng, but even his loyal servants are very pessimistic about the future.

"Don't worry, Zhu Weng. I'm a newcomer from Dongzhou. My uncle cares for me because of righteousness, and I should repay him according to righteousness! Once the matter is paid to me, I will keep it. Unless my uncle is far away from me and abandons me, I will never be afraid because of estrangement. Yu is responsible, let this matter go to others!"

Li Tai was silent for a moment before speaking.

(End of this chapter)