The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 267: There will be a bloody disaster at the beginning of the new year

In the agricultural reclamation area, there are low-rise brick houses surrounded by an earthen wall, and a vertical sign is hung on one side of the fence gate, which says the town office of the agricultural reclamation area.

Deep inside the earthen courtyard, there is a single courtyard with two entrances, which is the "official residence" allocated to the mayor of the agricultural reclamation area.

This residence was the simplest official residence Xu Xuan had ever lived in since he became an official, but it gave him the most relaxing and happy experience of being an official.

The folk customs in the agricultural reclamation area are simple, and the villagers here speak with different accents from seven miles and eight towns. Fortunately, most of them belong to the Guanzhong language family, so it is not troublesome to identify them.

After more than a year of running-in, the production and life in the agricultural reclamation area have basically stabilized. The relocated households have been allocated fields and resettled some belongings, and their lives are on the right track.

In the future, new schools will be built in the agricultural reclamation areas to vigorously popularize literacy education, and then charge low tuition fees to recruit a group of students who are willing and able to study.

From now on, education work will be the main project of the town office in the agricultural reclamation area. As soon as the news came out, many villagers came to the office to inquire. Every time Xu Xuan went out for an inspection, he would be surrounded by a large group of enthusiastic villagers, chatting. Baba asked questions about the baby's reading.

This is also due to Jingzhou’s vigorous promotion of the concept of reading, educating people, and becoming successful. In Jingzhou, if you can read and do some simple arithmetic, you will not have to worry about finding a job, and the wages are often higher than those simply working hard.

Take the salt factory and the water conservancy construction team as an example. To be a worker, you only need to have a lot of strength. But if you want to be promoted to positions such as production team leader, production area manager, construction team leader, etc., you need to be assessed on cultural knowledge.

Once promoted successfully, the salary can be doubled several times, and the various benefits are even more coveted.

Jingzhou daily life tabloids often publish some inspirational articles about a certain poor and illiterate village man. After realizing the importance of cultural knowledge, he determined to work hard to make money. First, he worked in a salt factory or a construction team to earn money. Then use the money you earn to enroll in a private school in the county, or hire a teacher to give regular lectures, starting from literacy, then reading through articles, to being able to write production reports, and then successfully passing the recruitment exam, from worker to squad leader, Then he was promoted to the manager of a certain production area, married the daughter of a large businessman in the county, and reached the pinnacle of his life.
You don't need to learn enough to take the imperial examination. You only need to be able to read government notices, understand newspaper content, and do some simple arithmetic problems. You are already the talent that various units are looking for.
The positions of salt factory production captain and construction team leader are beckoning to you.
Similar inspirational articles are popular among young people in Jingzhou. The protagonists depicted in the articles seem to be themselves. They are from ordinary farmers. Because their families were poor when they were young, they had to work for food and did not have the conditions to study and study. When they grow up, they do not want to be trapped in the fields. , I want to do something in the county.
The young people in the small village felt that the good life described in the article was the direction for their efforts. From the county town to the surrounding villages, a wave of literacy and reading was launched for all the people.

In the past, the poor old scholar who could only rely on writing family letters for others suddenly turned into a highly sought-after private school lecturer. Countless old and failed scholars wiped away their tears and lamented that the beautiful era of scholars has finally arrived.
The rise in the status of literati has not affected the enthusiasm of young people in Jingzhou to join the army. On the contrary, the Zhangyi Army implemented a grade system for first-class soldiers last year. First-class soldiers can become low-level officers through assessment, and the assessment content is mostly related to cultural knowledge.

Once this system was launched, it caused a great sensation among ordinary soldiers.

In the past, soldiers only ate food to find a way to survive and earn a living. Now, if you serve as a soldier and make meritorious service, you can still hope to become an official.

Of course, if you want to be promoted from the most basic auxiliary soldier to the first-class armor soldier, you need to achieve it with real military exploits.

The Zhangyi Army attaches equal importance to both civil and martial arts, and there is a clear path for advancement no matter whether it is literary or martial arts, which brings a lot of hope to the youth under its jurisdiction.

The agricultural reclamation area was also affected by the craze for reading and learning among the people. Xu Xuan himself, from his appearance and demeanor to his inner self-cultivation, showed a strong style of a Confucian scholar from the south of the Yangtze River.

After Xu Xuan took office, many legends about him appeared in the agricultural reclamation area.

He was said to be full of knowledge, and even Shi Jieshuai humbly asked him for advice.

It is said that he is a well-known author of Jingzhou lifestyle tabloids and has written many articles that have made headlines.

It was said that he came from a water town in the south of the Yangtze River. His family owned a thousand acres of fertile land and more than a dozen manors. He also served as an official in the court in the south of the Yangtze River.

In short, Xu Xuan became a star figure in the agricultural reclamation area and was popular among the villagers.

Yesterday, on New Year's Eve, Xu Xuan and Li Congjia participated in the grand bonfire party held by the town office and the villages. They had a great time and had a lot of fun until late at night.

The enjoyment of the officials and the people together has been a major feature under the rule of the Chang Yi Army. On major festivals, celebrations of varying scales will be held from the Jiedu Prefecture to the counties and villages.

The world is hard, and people need some unique celebrations.

Last night, Xu Xuan drank a lot of wine. Taking advantage of the drunkenness, several village elders and their eldest daughters who had not left the government surrounded him in the name of "toasting Mr. Xu."

Xu Xuan knew what the enthusiastic village elders wanted to do. He was so panicked that he pretended to be drunk and collapsed to the ground. He was sent back to the official residence by the government officials to escape the disaster.

Near noon, Xu Xuan got up and took a basin to the courtyard to get water to wash his face.

Li Congjia pushed open the fence door with a basket on his back and said with a smile: "Did you sleep well, sir?"

Xu Xuan's face was stunned, he patted his forehead and smiled bitterly: "Drinking will cause trouble. Don't dare to drink too much in the future."

"If sir had not been drunk last night, I'm afraid he would have become Tang Sanzang who accidentally fell into Pansi Cave and would never come out again!" Li Congjia put down his backpack and smiled on his fat face.

Xu Xuan finished rinsing his mouth and asked curiously: "What kind of allusion is this? Why haven't I heard it?"

"It's not an allusion, it's Mr. Siyou's new masterpiece, based on Master Xuanzang's "The Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty"," Li Congjia said.

Xu Xuan remembered what Chu Xun had told him the last time he went to see the young envoy.

"This 'Standing into the Pansi Cave' is one of the plots of "Journey to the West of the Tang Dynasty". This strange drama was first serialized in the newspaper, with only one article every three issues. Now it is only the second one. 'Understand the true and wonderful principles of Bodhi, cut off demons, return to the origin and unite with the soul'. The plot of Pansi Cave was specially copied and given to me by Chu Xun years ago."

Li Congjia muttered, brought the chopping board, took out the pork and green onions from the basket, and prepared to chop the meat and stuff it. Today is the first day of the new year, and they will make dumplings to eat in the afternoon.

"Sir, is Mr. Siyou really the young envoy of Zhangyi Army?" Li Congjia still couldn't believe it.

He had met Shi Xiangwen, and the image of Mr. Siyou in his mind was completely different.

Xu Xuan smiled bitterly and said: "Strictly speaking, Mr. Siyou should be the mentor of the Young Master. He is an elite scholar who lives in seclusion in Tanzhou."

"Then is the real author of "Journey to the West of the Tang Dynasty" Mr. Siyou or the Young Envoy?" Li Congjia asked doubtfully.

Xu Xuan smiled and said: "Whether it's Xuefeng or Journey to the West of the Tang Dynasty, it doesn't matter who created it. What's important is that the young envoy needs to use this title to earn fame for himself."

Li Congjia grinned and said: "I understand, sir, instead of exploring who wrote such a shocking masterpiece, it is better to simply appreciate the article and enjoy its mystery."

"Not bad." Xu Xuan smiled. It seems that the little prince has improved a lot in his worldly sophistication during these days of helping out in his residence and studying in the school.

Li Congjia poured out the flour to prepare the noodles and said with a smile: "Today I will make dumplings stuffed with pork and green onions. It would be great if Chu Xun was here. He likes to eat the meat stuffing I mix the most."

Xu Xuan rolled up his sleeves and came to help, "The people in the Central Plains call these dumplings 'Jiao'er' and 'Wonton'. In our Jiangnan, they are more commonly called wontons. Here in Jingzhou, they are called dumplings. I heard that they also came from that person." The name came from the mouth of the young envoy."

"I didn't really like eating in Jiangning before, but I didn't expect to eat it a few times in Jingzhou, and I found it really has a unique taste. Taihe Building also has shrimp dumplings, egg yolk dumplings, and fried dumplings. Each one has its own characteristics."

When it came to eating, Li Congjia became interested and discussed with Xu Xuan endlessly about how to make and eat dumplings.

An official stood outside the fence, stretched his neck and shouted: "Mayor Xu, Mayor Xu!"

Xu Xuan looked up and waved for him to come in.

"What's the matter?"

The subordinate pushed open the fence and trotted over, Xu Xuan said with a smile. "I'm reporting to Mayor Xu that several caravans came to the market and brought in a large amount of farm tools. I've seen them, and they are all needed for plowing the fields in our agricultural reclamation area after the new year.

The vendors asked the mayor to discuss with them, and the price could be even cheaper. "The official said with his hands raised.

Xu Xuan washed the flour pimples on his hands and said with a smile: "Let's go, take me to see it."

Li Congjia also hurriedly wiped his hands and said, "I'll go too. There's still a lot of meat stuffing left. I'll buy some flour to wrap more and take it back to Chu Xun."

The two of them followed the officials and left the government office and rushed to the market.

On the flat dirt road, the people he met would greet Xu Xuan warmly, and Xu Xuan responded politely.

Even though it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, the market was quite lively. There were also gong and drum troupes and juggling performances. A large group of men in coarse linen clothes drove dozens of mules and horses. The mules and horses pulled carts with piles of Some farm tools.

Xu Xuan looked at these men from a distance and couldn't help but slow down.

He felt that something was wrong with this group of outsiders. He couldn't tell what was wrong specifically, but he just felt that they looked a little nervous.

"Mayor Xu of our agricultural reclamation area is here! Please come and talk with your caravan stewards." The subordinate official stepped forward quickly and smiled at the group of traders.

If we can buy this batch of farm tools at a low price, we will not have to worry about running out of farm tools for plowing in the reclamation area after the New Year.

"I am Xu Xuan. How much does this batch of farm tools cost? Please ask the person in charge of your family to come forward and speak."

Xu Xuan looked at the mule and carriage. These farm tools were all newly made and looked pretty good.

A 30-year-old scribe walked out from among the vendors, and he turned out to be Su Zhenchang.

Su Zhenchang stared at Xu Xuan closely, revealing a heart-stopping smile.

He looked at Li Congjia who was following Xu Xuan and looking around.

After seeing Li Congjia's distinctive features such as his double pupils and side-toed teeth, his eyes were filled with sparkle, and he was absolutely certain that these two people were exactly the people they were looking for!

Xu Xuan looked at Su Zhenchang and suddenly felt that this person looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

"One step."

Xu Xuan raised his hands and was about to speak when Su Zhenchang's expression suddenly became fierce, pointing at him and Li Congjia and yelling: "These are the two people, take them down quickly!"

The vendors gathered around immediately showed fierce expressions, and several men immediately rushed forward and grabbed Xu Xuan and Li Congjia.

A few others rummaged through the farm tools and found bright steel knives and distributed them to their companions. They cut the ropes of the mule and carriage, and the two of them mounted the mule and horse.

The sudden change only happened in an instant, and the official hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "Bold! Let Mayor Xu go quickly! You want to rebel, but you can't"

Before he finished speaking, a vendor dressed as a Feilong Army sergeant stabbed the official's waist and abdomen with a knife. The official screamed and died on the spot with blood spilling.

Xu Xuan was frightened and angry, and struggled hard. Li Congjia was frightened. He never expected that this group of people would be so vicious.

"Tied! Let's go!" Su Zhenchang got on the horse and shouted.

The mouths of the two were gagged, tied with hemp ropes, and each was carried by a soldier. A group of people rushed out of the market, overturning countless street stalls along the way, killing and injuring more than a dozen innocent people, and rode on horseback. In the crowd, people were slashed with knives.

There was chaos in the market, and people fled in all directions.

Su Zhenchang led his men out of the agricultural reclamation area and retreated to the Qihuodaoshan Col in the southeast direction of Yangjinchuan.

After a while, several fast horses rushed to the county seat. A beacon on the hill to the north of the agricultural reclamation area lit up thick smoke, which meant that a major change had occurred in the agricultural reclamation area, and they asked for help from the nearest salt factory garrison.

When this beacon was built, no one would have imagined that it would come in handy so quickly.
~~~
In Jiedu Mansion, Zhu Xiu was playing poker with Shi Lingyan and Yan Ping, while Pei Jin sat aside and complained.

"When selecting personnel from various government agencies in the future, I also ask the young envoy to think more of the lower officials and allocate more personnel to the lower officials' departments.
The accounts of the Chang Yi Army are increasing and the terms are becoming more and more detailed. The existing manpower is simply not enough.
Young Master, take a look, in the past six months, I have gained more than half of my white hair! "

Pei Jin turned his head, fiddled with the hair on the back of his head, and complained aggrievedly.

Zhu Xiu glanced at him and said with a smile: "Isn't that Su Zhenchang under your command quite capable? How about promoting him to be your deputy?"

Pei Jin said angrily: "This Su Zhenchang didn't know what was wrong with him. He claimed to be sick and took leave half a month ago. When I saw that he was late in reporting, I thought he was seriously ill, so I went to visit him at his residence in person. Unexpectedly, he failed. It was someone who emptied the house and has not been seen yet!”

"Huh?" Zhu Xiu frowned and did not come on duty for no reason. This has never happened before.

"But there was an emergency and you went back to your hometown?" Zhu Xiu asked doubtfully.

Pei Jin said angrily: "I didn't even leave a letter. Who knows where he went!"

Zhu Xiu put down the poker in his hand and felt that this matter was a bit strange.

"Have you ever carefully examined this person's background?"

Zhu Xiu looked at Yan Ping and asked.

Yan Ping said: "After the Young Envoy asked last time, I went back to check the files. Su Zhenchang is indeed from Liquan, Guanzhong, and there is no problem in the review result."

Zhu Xiu pondered for a moment: "Send someone to Liquan to check whether his place of origin is true or false."

Yan Ping muttered in a low voice: "It's not worth traveling so far just to investigate someone."

Zhu Xiu reprimanded angrily: "Everyone who joins the Jiedu Mansion must find out their origins and have a clean background. This is the rule set at the beginning!"

"Yes, I humbly obey the order!" Yan Ping smiled mockingly, stood up and bowed before going down to make arrangements.

"Mom~ Starting today, my eyelids have been twitching non-stop. It's so unlucky to celebrate the Chinese New Year~"

Zhu Xiu rubbed her eyelids, stood up and stretched her waist, preparing to lie down on the couch and rest for a while.

(End of this chapter)