lady, please calm down

The year 1366 was the first year of the founding of the Great Chu.

After several months of rest, in the twelfth month, the founding Duke Peng Er, with the Marquis of Zhengnan Han Shizhong as the vanguard, took the land route from Guangnan West Road into Jiaozhi; the Marquis of Dingyuan Xin Qiji, assisted by the naval commander Shi Dalang, took the sea route and landed in Wu'an Prefecture in Jiaozhi.

The northern border of Jiaozhi was blocked by the Changshan Mountains, and the Han army did not make smooth progress at first.

However, Jiaozhi Chen had a large number of troops on the northern defense line, so the rear was naturally empty. When Xin's troops, who were very good at mobile warfare, suddenly landed in Wu'an Prefecture, nearly 100 miles away from Thang Long City, the entire Jiaozhi was shocked.

The defenders on the Changshan line were all shaken, and then Peng Er led the main force to break through the center line and directly capture Liangzhou, an important town in the north of Jiaozhi.

According to the original plan, they had to wait until the main forces of Peng and Er came south to join forces at the city of Thang Long. However, after a feint attack and artillery bombardment by Xin's troops, the city fell into chaos without a fight. The Li family, who usurped the throne and proclaimed themselves emperor, were captured by the descendants of the Li family, and the emperor and three kings all became prisoners.

As a result of this battle, the territory was expanded by 900 miles, and the fertile alluvial plain in the north of Jiaozhi became Han territory.

The progress was so rapid that Jiang Huaixiong's second-tier troops in the rear did not gain any advantage.

In February of the following year, Chiang's troops received an imperial edict and suddenly turned westward from Guangnan West Road and stationed troops at the Dali border.
In just a few years, Qi, Jin, Zhou and Jiaozhi were successively destroyed. Although Western Xia had not yet submitted to the country, its military, political and financial power had fallen into the hands of Fan Gongzhi, Duke of Zheng of the Great Chu. It was only a matter of time before the country was abolished and a county was established.

When the Duan royal family of Dali saw the Chu army approaching, they successively sent their princes as hostages, arranged marriages with their princesses, and took the initiative to pledge allegiance, which temporarily left the Chu court with no reason to go to war.

China has been a country of etiquette since ancient times. When conquering Jiaozhi, one could say that they were harassing the merchants of Da Chu first, but Dali was indeed an impeccable and well-behaved person, and the situation was temporarily deadlocked.

There was no more territory to fight in the southwest, so the Chu court turned its attention to the northwest.
In the autumn of the second year of the founding of the Great Chu in 1367, Fan Gongzhi, the governor of the northwest appointed by the Great Chu with full powers, issued an ultimatum to the Xixia court, ordering the royal family to move to Tokyo and Xixia to establish a prefecture.
On the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, New Year's Eve, Li Renxiao, the Xixia emperor, who had nowhere else to go but did not want to be kept as a mascot in Tokyo, hanged himself in his bedroom. He was 29 years old.

The same age as the Emperor of Great Chu.
The difference is that one person committed suicide, while the other has gradually reached the peak of his life.

In 1368, three years after the founding of the Chen Dynasty, Chen Chu appointed the Western Xia prince as Marquis of Yongle, and moved his entire family inland and settled near Tokyo.

At this point, the Western Xia Dynasty was destroyed.

Fan Gongzhi stayed in the bitter cold of the northwest for six years, and he was considered successful. Chen Chu, considering his advanced age, specially invited him back to the court.
But although Fan Gongzhi came back, the army stationed in the northwest did not return. In the same year, he ordered Zhe Yanwen to be the commander-in-chief of the northwest army, and Qin Shengwu and Yang Erlang as deputy generals. They established farmland and trained their troops in the local area, with an obvious intention of advancing westward into the Western Regions.

Since the turmoil at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Western Regions have been separated from the Central Plains for hundreds of years. In fact, the Great Chu was founded three years ago and has been at war every year. Although some pedantic literati privately discussed that the emperor was warlike, support for expansion was the mainstream opinion both in the court and among the people.

In recent years, every time the Chu State expands a territory, a large number of officials are needed to serve in the local area.
The opportunities to make achievements on the frontier are far greater than the opportunities to stabilize the interior.

After serving as a local official in the frontier for one or two terms, one will often be promoted above his level after returning to the court. For young officials with political ambitions, this is a good place to make a leap.

At the same time, after the expansion of the territory, the people were also able to get some benefits. For example, the precious medicinal materials and curios such as Liao ginseng and Dongzhu, which were originally more valuable than gold, were almost halved in price due to the annexation of Liaodong. They gradually changed from exclusive supplements for wealthy families to life-saving medicinal materials that middle-class families could also afford.

Taking Liaodong as an example, there is another attractive policy. After the inland areas gradually completed the land reform, except for some sparsely populated areas with vast land, most people's families did not have more than 50 mu of land.

Since the arable land is owned by several agricultural reclamation groups and cannot be traded, the possibility of the arable land changing hands is eliminated.

However, due to the huge disparity between the area of ​​cultivated land and the population in Liaodong, each household was allocated an average of 300 mu of cultivated land. Compared with the densely populated Central Plains and Jiangnan regions, the bankrupt farmers who originally went to Liaodong suddenly became small landlords.

In the same year, it was the twelfth lunar month again.

Ximen Gong, the governor of Liaodong, organized a group of people who had moved from the Central Plains to return home to visit their relatives. His purpose was to use these people as live advertisements to attract more immigrants.

When the people learned that the travel expenses for returning home to visit relatives would be paid by the governor's office, they signed up enthusiastically.

First of all, it's winter and I can only stay at home in Liaodong and can't do anything. It's better to go back to my hometown.

Secondly, the first batch of people who moved to Liaodong left their hometown in the first month of the sixth year of Xuanqing in the previous dynasty Liu Qi, and it has been exactly three years until now, at the end of the third year of the founding of the country. Compared with the previous desperate situation where they had no place to stand and no roof over their heads, their lives have undergone earth-shaking changes.

If you don't return home when you are rich, it's like walking in the night in fine clothes
So much so that Ximen Gong had to make restrictions and select only 600 households from the thousands of households that registered to return home.

On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, Jiang Ertou, a former unemployed scoundrel in Tokyo, returned to Zhupi Lane in the southwest of Tokyo with his concubine who was nearly ten years younger than him and his one-year-old son.

His parents died early, and he had no brothers or sisters. He was alone. His ancestral home, which originally consisted of a dilapidated house, was sold to a neighbor when he left Beijing.

Today, when I came back, three years had passed in a hurry. Jiang Ertou was filled with emotion. Standing in front of the old house that had changed its owner, he wanted to recite two lines of poetry to express his complicated feelings at the moment, but due to his limited talent, he racked his brains but could not come up with a complete poem. He could only sigh "Ah~Ah!"

The son, who was in the arms of his own woman and was at the age of learning to speak, pointed at the newly dug ditch in Zhupi Lane and the busy workers babbling. The Korean woman who gave birth to a son for Jiang Ertou was teaching her son to speak Korean, which the former could not understand.

Jiang Ertou's face darkened and he scolded, "Teach him Chinese! What's the point of my son learning your bird language? He is a Chinese!"

"Yes, Lao Ye."

The Korean woman seemed a little afraid of Jiang Ertou, and hurriedly lowered her head and replied in unfluent Chinese.

Just at this moment, a scholar about fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a dark blue gown and a dark-faced middle-aged man carrying a wine gourd passed by the alley.

Zhupi Lane was originally only six feet wide, but now for some reason a group of people had dug a trench more than four feet deep on the left side, leaving only enough space for two people to pass sideways.

"Dad, does my mom know that I got a scholarship?"

"Hehe, how could I not know? Your mother can't keep secrets. Since she made a fuss this morning, all the neighbors in the alley know about it. She just bought two pounds of meat and a Yellow River fish. I also bought some wine. You three brothers will have a couple of drinks with dad later! Hahaha."

"No, the school has a rule that you are not allowed to drink alcohol before the age of 18. It will damage your brain."

In the past, the world was in turmoil, and people wanted to enjoy themselves while they could. It was common to see children in their teens drinking with their parents.

But after hearing his son's words, the middle-aged man smiled happily and said, "Well, the teacher in the school will not be wrong. When my son graduates from the national school, he will serve His Majesty, so he must not hurt his brain."

The boy was embarrassed by his father's words and whispered, "Not all students who graduate from national schools can become officials. Some work as technicians, some do business, and some go out to sea to travel."

This time, the middle-aged man raised his eyebrows and said dissatisfiedly, "We can't be conscientious. You study in the national school without paying tuition or food. If you work hard, you can get a scholarship. If it weren't for your majesty's good policy, how could my family afford to support you to study in the early years? You have been favored by your majesty. What else do you want if you don't serve your majesty?"

"."

The young man knew that he couldn't explain it to his father. If he wanted to be an official in the imperial court after graduation, he would not only have to take an exam, but also have to serve as an official at the grassroots level for a year for selection. Not everyone who wants to serve His Majesty can do so. He just said, "Dad is wrong. The National School was founded by Madam Zhao, and Madam Zhao has been raising funds for the school over the years."

"Ms. Zhao is the Empress's sister! Isn't she also from the same family as Your Majesty? If Your Majesty and the Empress hadn't repeatedly cut the ribbon for the newly built national school, how could those wealthy families and businesses be so enthusiastic in donating to support education?"

The middle-aged man retorted, but he made his point very clearly.

While the father and son were talking, they had already walked to the side of Jiang Ertou and his wife. The middle-aged man, whose attention was all on his son, just said, "Excuse me, excuse me."

Jiang Ertou had noticed the father and son for quite some time. When they passed by him sideways, he smiled and said, "Brother Zhou, we haven't seen each other for three years. You don't recognize me?"

The middle-aged man named Zhou Zhen felt that the voice sounded familiar, he looked up and recognized the other person immediately. No one remembered his original name, but because he had a tumor the size of a fist on his neck, he was nicknamed "Two Heads". Over time, Ertou became his name.

"Jiang Ertou!"

Zhou Zhen was startled and subconsciously protected his most proud young son behind him.

This guy was not a good person in the past. Although he didn't have the courage to commit big crimes, he did a lot of petty thefts, cheating and extortion. He formed a sworn brotherhood with more than ten people around him and were known as the Twelve Vajras. They were a real headache and all kind-hearted people would avoid them when they saw them.

But Zhou Zhen's third son, who was studying in a national school, looked at Jiang Ertou calmly and whispered to his father: "Dad, why should you be afraid of him? This is not the previous dynasty anymore. Does he still dare to bully us in the street? If he dares to touch us, I will report to the police and make sure he will be punished!"

Although it was just a whisper, Zhou Sanlang's voice was loud enough for Jiang Ertou to hear, and the latter couldn't help but look embarrassed.

But most of the hooligans who have been on the streets are smart. He quickly turned around and said to his woman, "This is the Brother Zhou I often told you about. He always helped me when I was down and out. Come and meet me."

The woman, who was about twenty years old, bowed quickly to Zhou Zhen and said something in a babble. Zhou Zhen only remembered "Smecta".

But Zhou Zhen had no time to ask about the woman, but looked at Jiang Ertou with surprise. This guy couldn't be said to be of average appearance, but at least he had a rat-like face, a tumor on his neck, and was a poor man. Not to mention the daughter of an ordinary family, she had been a secret prostitute in her early years. She had to charge an extra 30% "disgusting money" to entertain Jiang Ertou.

How could such a man actually marry a wife? And a young, somewhat pretty woman at that?

How strange!

Perhaps he saw something in Zhou Zhen's expression. Jiang Ertou, who had been wanting to impress his neighbors, turned around and ordered, "Go to the carriage outside the alley and bring me the gifts for the neighbors."

The woman was very obedient. She handed her son to Jiang Ertou and walked to the entrance of the alley. After a while, she walked back into the alley carrying a lot of bags.

Zhou Zhen was surprised again and again. It would have been better if Jiang Ertou had not gone to other people's homes to beg for money in the past. But now he actually brought gifts to his neighbors?

Seeing that the woman was carrying a heavy object and staggering, Zhou Zhen kindly said, "Ertou, why don't you go and help your wife carry it?"

"Well, she is not my wife, but a concubine."

When saying this, Jiang Ertou was obviously a little proud.

Nowadays, taking a concubine or even keeping a mistress is not uncommon, but that is the privilege of the rich!
But this Zhupi Lane is located in the southwest of Tokyo City, right next to the most dirty and messy artisan camp in the past, and is inhabited by people who have been poor for several generations. If you look at every family in this lane three generations ago, you will not find a single family that has the experience of taking concubines.

Seeing Zhou Zhen's unbelieving expression, Jiang Ertou smiled and explained, "The Korean woman I bought is not my brother. I didn't make her my principal wife because the Liaodong Administration Office has a decree that if a person moves to Liaodong, a girl other than a Han woman cannot be his principal wife. Fortunately, my son can be a Han citizen!"

Jiang Ertou smiled foolishly as he looked at his son who was stretching out his little hands in his arms. His appearance had indeed changed a lot compared to his early years.

Zhou Zhen only noticed the clothes of the three people at this time. The coats were all made of Huaibei fine cloth, and the inner collar of Jiang Ertou's Korean woman was actually made of silk cloth. It seemed that although Jiang Ertou was bossy to this woman, he was willing to spend money on her.

"It seems that my biceps are well developed, hahaha."

Although he had a bad impression of Jiang Ertou before, he was returning home with gifts today after all. As a neighbor, Zhou Zhen raised the wine gourd in his hand and invited him, "Let's go to my house and have a couple of drinks."

"Hey! No problem, Brother Zhou, please."

The group walked back to the Zhou family's house chatting and laughing. Because Zhou Sanlang had won a scholarship, all the neighbors gathered at the Zhou family to congratulate him.

In their eyes, Zhou Sanlang's scholarship was probably similar to the scholars who passed the imperial examinations in the previous dynasty. Zhupi Lane had not produced many serious scholars in decades, so it was naturally worth celebrating.

Jiang Ertou showed up unexpectedly, and after the neighbors got over their initial shock, the atmosphere in the courtyard became even more lively.

Although everyone's life has been much better in recent years, material shortages are still the current situation for most of the lower-class people. As the Chinese New Year is approaching, Jiang Ertou brought dried grouse, dried fish, dried venison, dried wood ear mushrooms and other foods that are very rare for the people of Tokyo.

Ten days later on New Year’s Eve, everyone’s reunion dinner will be much more sumptuous.

Especially the venison, which is said to be a delicacy that only emperors could eat in ancient times.

At this point, everyone, who had prejudices against Jiang Ertou in the past, became enthusiastic.

Zhou Jiasanlang had heard his teacher talk about the court's plans to develop Liaodong and the Northwest several times in school, so he was very interested in Liaodong and asked in detail about the local situation.

Jiang Ertou, who had been hated by everyone for the past thirty years and had never been surrounded by people like a star, laughed and said, "Take my family as an example. Forty miles west of Xianping Prefecture, we have 140 acres of paddy fields and 190 acres of dry fields. They are all top-quality black soil."

"Oh my God! Your irrigated and dry fields combined must be more than 200 acres, right? Wouldn't that make you a landlord?"

Someone exclaimed, but this person obviously didn't know math, so Zhou Sanlang, who was sitting next to him, corrected him, "It's three hundred and thirty acres."

Today Zhou Sanlang is the Wenquxing of Zhupi Lane, so naturally no one doubts the numbers he reported, and everyone is shocked.

But some people didn't believe it and asked doubtfully, "Ertou, you only have a husband and wife and a young child at home now. You can't finish cultivating 330 acres of land even if you die of exhaustion, right?"

"Of course I can't do it. In the spring of the sixth year of Xuanqing in the previous dynasty, when I first went to Liaodong, the government office assigned me fourteen Korean slaves. The money for buying the slaves was paid with the harvest the following year. They will do the farming, and I just need to look around."

This is a heavenly life. You have more than 300 acres of land and others are helping you farm it.
"So what do you do on a daily basis?"

Zhou Jia Erlang, who had not found a job yet, became more and more interested as he listened and squeezed directly next to Jiang Ertou.

"In spring and summer, I go fishing in the river and picking mushrooms and ginseng in the mountains. In autumn and winter, I go to the mountains with the migrants from the same village to hunt roe deer and grouse. During the slack season, we also go to the local government office to report and participate in the military training of the militia."

"Do we still need to report to the government office?"

"Of course! I am where I am today because of the imperial court. Not to mention military training, even if I was asked to carry a knife and fight the Koreans, I wouldn't even frown!"

In the past, when Jiang Ertou, who was known to everyone as being wretched and sloppy, spoke these words, there was actually a hint of awe in his voice.

Everyone couldn't help but become more curious about Liaodong.

Especially Zhou Jiaerlang. Because his family was not registered as farmers, they were naturally benefited when Kaifeng Prefecture reformed the land.

The entire family lived on a one-and-a-half-acre vegetable plot outside the city. Thanks to the population size of Tokyo, the vegetables grown at home could be sold at a high price.

Although I may not be rich, I can always have enough food and clothing.

But. There are three sons in the family. If nothing unexpected happens, the eldest brother will inherit the main family property, and the third brother will be admitted to the National School. Even if he cannot become an official in the future, he can still get a decent job in a business or a trading company.

Only he, the second son, has not found a place to go.

No one knows a son better than his father. When Zhou Zhen saw his second son pestering Jiang Ertou with questions, he immediately guessed what his son was thinking. Although Liaodong is not bad, Jiang Ertou has indeed been reborn.

But Zhou Zhen had a strong sense of hometown and did not want his family to be separated. Moreover, he could not bear to see his son go to Liaodong to live alone. That place was two or three thousand miles away from Tokyo. It was said that the winter was extremely cold. If he went there alone, no one would care about his well-being or worry about his food and clothing.
No matter how good it is outside, it’s not as good as home!

Zhou Zhen said tactfully, "No matter how good Liaodong is, can it be better than Tokyo? Now, a ditch is being dug in our alley. I heard that His Majesty wants to install running water for us."

Liaodong is extremely cold in winter and the population is scattered, so there is no condition to install running water. When Jiang Ertou first heard about this, he subconsciously asked, "What running water?"

Seeing Jiang Ertou being treated like a star and looking very proud, praising Liaodong as unique in the world, Zhou Zhen had been unhappy for a long time, so he paused deliberately to whet Jiang Ertou's appetite.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Erlang said first: "It is a thing that can make water flow when you turn on the tap. If you install it at home, you don't have to run a mile to get water. Tomorrow, I will take Uncle Jiang to the World Expo, where there will be real tap water and its working principle."

After three years away from home, Jiang Ertou was a little confused about Zhou Erlang's words. What is a faucet? What is an international expo? Can water flow into the house by itself?

Zhou Sanlang next to him said something that he didn't understand even more, "Build a water tower in each of the eight neighborhoods in Tokyo City, and use the water pressure difference to deliver water to each household. The principle is not difficult."

Most people present didn't understand, but Sanlang's mother, who was greeting the ladies in the courtyard, praised him, "My son knows so much, no wonder His Majesty gave him a scholarship!"

"."

Amidst the compliments, Zhou Sanlang blushed again. It is true that there is a scholarship, but how would His Majesty know me, and how could His Majesty give me a scholarship?

Seeing Jiang Ertou's confused expression, Zhou Zhen continued, "Tokyo is still the best. It is said that this expo has delegations from Dali, Laos, and Brunei in the south, Goryeo and Ryukyu in the east, Tubo and Western Liao in the west, and even Zaohuamo, a country 5,000 miles away, to participate."

After all, he grew up under the emperor's feet, and he is well-informed when talking about the countries surrounding Da Chu.

But Zhou Sanlang whispered to remind him: "Dad, that is Khwarezm, not jujube flower buns!"

"Oh! Who cares what he's called? We're all here to pay our respects to our Emperor!"

Zhou Zhen became more and more interested as he spoke, and continued, "There are many novelties at this World Expo. Not to mention the iron guns and cannons displayed for people to see, there is also an iron bull that can run on two iron rods, and it spews black smoke and makes a 'woohoo' sound when it runs."

Zhou Zhen glanced at his second son and said earnestly, "I still remember that there will be an international sports meeting after the New Year. In the eleventh year of Fuchang in the previous dynasty, His Majesty, who was still the King of Chu, held a sports meeting in Tokyo! It was very lively. Such a good thing can only be seen in Tokyo. No matter how good Liaodong is, it is not as good as Tokyo!"

"Brother Zhou, that's not the way to put it. Is it more important to watch the fun, or to leave a family heirloom for your children and grandchildren?"

Jiang Ertou immediately refuted, and Zhou Zhen did not give in, "Watching the fun? This is called gaining knowledge"

On the side, the women headed by Zhou's wife were surrounding the wife brought by Jiang Ertou and asking them all kinds of questions. The Chinese people are gentle and kind in their bones. They just heard Jiang Ertou say that the wife was bought, and even the person who plowed the fields for him was bought.

He subconsciously regarded this Korean woman as Jiang Ertou's slave. Otherwise, how could such a young girl marry Jiang Ertou, such an ugly man.

So Zhou's wife took the initiative to say: "Second, she has left her hometown and her parents are not around, you can't treat her like a beast of burden, she has given birth to your son, you need to treat her well."

Jiang Ertou, who was arguing with Zhou Zhen, turned around and grinned, "Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? Although Yuanying was bought by me, she volunteered."

"Voluntary?" Zhou's wife and other women did not believe it.

"That's not the case with Goryeo, where the mountains are high and the forests are deep, and where poverty has long existed. I heard that even the Goryeo emperor only ate a few dishes of pickled vegetables with his meals every day. Yuanying follows me, and she can eat meat from time to time. Even if I chase her away, she won't leave, haha."

No one knew the situation in Liaodong, but just by looking at the gifts that Jiang Ertou brought back home, one could tell that his family was doing well.

But seeing Jiang Ertou's smug look, Zhou Zhen couldn't help but retort, "That sounds nice, but the Korean slaves who plowed the fields for you, were they also willing?"

"."

These words made Jiang Er pause, and he smiled awkwardly. The Korean slaves were either soldiers captured by General Yang, the Zhendong General, in several conflicts with Goryeo, or Goryeo civilians captured by the border troops who crossed the border.

They were indeed not there voluntarily. Moreover, officials from the governor's office reminded everyone several times on the way back home not to say that Gao Linu was captured, so as to avoid bringing bad reputation to Governor Ximen and Marshal Yang.

But even if he didn't admit it, everyone could see some clues from Jiang Ertou's expression.

Only Zhou Sanlang suddenly remembered a discussion organized by the school two years ago: whether the human trafficking should be abolished in the laws of the Great Chu.

At that time, the students on the opposing side read from the script and only said, "Development problems can only be solved by development."

These were His Majesty's exact words, so it was difficult to refute them. But everyone didn't understand at the time.

Thinking of this now, doesn’t it open up a way for the development of Liaodong, Nanyang and other places?

Afterwards, Zhou Sanlang recalled the speech given by Duke of Korea and Prime Minister Cai Yuan at an open class in the academy this autumn. It was not uncommon for high-ranking officials to give lectures in national academies in various places. Even His Majesty often went to the academy to talk with everyone about the future development direction of the country, and asked students about their expectations for the future of the court, etc.

If the superiors like something, officials at all levels below will naturally like to follow suit.

But in that speech by Han Guogong, which caused great controversy and shock in the school, there was a sentence: "Primitive accumulation is bloody. If this process cannot be avoided, then this bloody process can only be passed on to the people of other countries."

Such blatant and cruel words are totally inconsistent with the long-standing manners of a country of etiquette.

But today, after seeing Jiang Ertou, who looked like a newborn, Zhou Sanlang felt for the first time that what Han Guogong said made sense! (End of this chapter)