Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 421 Bashang Jiangnan
"Crackling——"

In the early morning, with the sound of firecrackers waking up the whole world, the New Year of the Ming Dynasty arrived as scheduled.

Compared with the liveliness of the Central Plains and Jiangnan, some places with few Han footprints have also begun to celebrate the New Year with Han customs.

Xijiang is located in the western border of Yunnan, in the valley between Ganya Prefecture and Manmo County.

It used to be called Gu La Village, and there were hundreds of white Tai people living there.

However, after the Ming army defeated Daoganmeng, the hundreds of white-clothed Tai people here naturally became people directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty.

As the only way from Yunnan to the plains of central Myanmar, it was carefully managed by Ganya Xuanwei envoy Wang Xuan and gradually prospered.

Many of the exiled criminal ministers of Jingnan were exiled here and became local people.

Because of this, after the arrival of these sophisticated criminals, Gu La had a new name... Xijiang.

Although Xijiang is just a market town, the Ming Dynasty invested a lot of resources here, and many white clothes were recruited to live here.

Among the thousands of people in Xijiang, most are Han Chinese who were sent here in Jingnan, and the rest are Baiyi and other ethnic groups.

"But I heard that this road is only ninety miles long. After so many years of construction, it should have been completed long ago." Gao Guan curled his lips.

It was as if the charm of Jiangnan poetry suddenly appeared and spread around the mountains and forests.

The solid concrete road is two feet wide and stretches all the way from Ganya to Xijiang, and then from Xijiang to Manmo.

"It seems like some barbarians in the mountains always come out to interfere. Didn't the commander of the royal capital just lead his troops through the town a few days ago?"

Their parents have to go to work before dawn and don't come home until dark, day after day, year after year.

Gao Guan asked Jiang Huai, and Jiang Huai also said in surprise: "What's wrong?"

The policies of Qianya, Longchuan and other places in western Yunnan are exactly the same as those of the New Deal. Therefore, official education must be attended, whether it is Han people or minority people.

"That's true." Gao Guan also sighed, thinking the same as Jiang Huai.

Looking outside the market town, the tens of thousands of acres of trees that once served as battlefields have disappeared and been replaced by a large expanse of farmland.

Before the age of ten, it was very common to be naked because there was no cloth to make clothes.

Therefore, young people like Gao Guan and Jiang Huai do not feel that they are any different from the Han people.

Although the two teenagers were dressed as Han Chinese, their slightly accented Mandarin revealed their identities as young men.

"Gao Guan, you were looking for life and death when you moved from Man Yun. Man Yun has not been here for 200 miles. These people from the south of the Yangtze River have migrated thousands of miles away from home. It's normal to be homesick."

"I don't know, but I hope he can cultivate for a longer time."

"My parents are also going to work for the government, and they plan to rent out the land to others for farming. Let me ask you."

Because of these diverse ethnic groups, the architectural styles of Xijiang are also colorful, and after integrating the architectural styles of Han people and various ethnic groups, a unique local architectural style has been formed.

"Do you think this Western Barbarian Official Way can be mastered this year?"

In Jianghuai's vague memory, it seems that their life became slightly easier until Wang Xuan led an army to attack their village in the third year of Yongle and moved them to Xijiang.

Gao Guan explained the reason, and Jiang Huai nodded after hearing this: "Twenty acres of land, more than 3,600 jins were harvested. The third father's family gave my family 2,000 jins, and my family paid more than 360 jins of land tax. More than 1,600 kilograms.”

However, the road leading to Manmo is rugged, so the cement official road from Xijiang to Manmo was built in the fifth year of Yongle, but it has not been built until today.

On the cement road at the foot of the mountain, several dark-skinned young men dressed as Han Chinese looked over and saw a group of Confucian scholars at the Buddhist temple in the middle of the mountain not far away. They were reciting poems and discussing topics unrelated to the New Year.

Even in the twelfth lunar month of last year, local government offices announced the lifting of the ban, but under the long-term rules, people no longer emphasized ethnic issues.

Jiang Huai explained, with a hint of longing in his eyes: "It's a pity that I was in class at the time, otherwise I really wanted to see it."

Gao Guan turned around and walked backwards, looking very curiously at the cement road in front of him that extended into the mountain forest.

"On New Year's Day, why don't you stay at home and go to a temple to become a monk?"

Over the past decade, few people have dared to violate these rules.

The architectural style of Xijiang Market Town, with its white walls, dark tiles and cornices, has both the simplicity of Central Plains architecture and the ethnic characteristics of the frontier.

This phenomenon was strictly required by the commander Wang Xuan in his early years. Anyone who violates the regulations and is reported will be fined, and the amount will be quite large.

No crops have been planted in the farmland, otherwise it would be very pleasing to the eye if it were green.

Gao Guan ignored Jiang Huai's ridicule to him, just teased those people at the temple, and then walked towards Xijiang Town with Jiang Huai.

At that time, when they were five or six years old, they had to help with the work. Serving tea and water was simple, and some even had to cook. They also had to be Shao Toast's followers. The clothes they wore were just holes in the clothes, which could not cover their bodies at all.

This situation, coupled with Wang Xuan's establishment of local official schools, gave most second-generation young people the opportunity to read and write.

Jiang Huai took a look and sighed slightly: "With this road, my parents can make money, and I don't have to help farm the land."

"You should have dreams, don't forget your hometown, and linger..."

However, in this southwest border area of ​​the Ming Dynasty, every household calls itself a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, and there is no special emphasis on ethnic status.

"Jiang Huai, look, these people are starting again. They have been here for so many years, and they still want to go back?"

"By the way, how much grain did your family confiscate last year?"

Although their memories are very blurry, they still remember them very clearly.

Although the two young men were only fourteen or fifteen years old, they basically lived under the rule of the chieftain until they were seven years old.

The young man with his arms folded on the concrete road couldn't help but complain. Standing beside him, the slightly delicate young man looked at the Buddhist temple and chuckled:

"That's enough to eat." Gao Guan nodded thoughtfully.

Although they are only fourteen or fifteen, in this era, they are already the little masters of the family.

Jiang Huai's parents went out to practice Western barbarian officialdom all the year round. He and his younger brother were the only ones at home, so he basically did things like renting land, weighing grain, and paying taxes himself.

"You have eight people in your family and 40 acres of land. How do you plan to rent it?"

Jiang Huai asked Gao Guan, and they said that these lands were farmland directly distributed to them by the Ming army after they moved to Xijiang.

The cultivated land was reclaimed by prisoners of war, and the people who migrated to Xijiang, whether Han or minority, were given five acres per person.

There are relatively few families of eight like Gao Guan's family, and with forty acres of land, the whole family can hardly get away to do other things.

During the busy farming season, Gao Guan's parents had to go to the Yamen to ask a few prisoners of war to help sow the seeds. The same was true during the autumn harvest.

"Beep--"

Suddenly, a whistle sounded from not far away, and the two of them quickly walked to the side of the official road.

Behind the archway of Xijiang Town ahead, hundreds of Ming troops wearing mandarin duck war coats and leading horses and camels to transport armor and weapons were walking out.

Seeing this, the common people who were on the official road taking advantage of the New Year's breakup also stood on both sides of the official road like Jiang Huai and the others.

There were not many people on the official road. At a glance, there were at least a hundred people scattered on both sides, stretching their necks to look at the troops on their way.

Not long after, the team rushed towards Jianghuai and the others. Baihuguan, who led the team, stopped when he came to them and gave Gao Guan a kick.

"Go home and help!"

"Uncle, where are you going to celebrate the New Year if you're not at home?"

Gao Guan was not angry even after being kicked, and asked the thirty-year-old Baihu official with a smile.

"There is smoke on the other side of the stone staircase. I will bring people to support you. You should go home quickly."

As soon as the words fell, Baihuguan hurried away with his team.

Festivals are not a time for the Ming army to relax. Especially the Ming army in the southwest always encounters many barbarians who make trouble.

The prisoners of war in Xijiang Town were captured from these rebellious barbarians.

These prisoners of war are the property of the Xijiang Town Yamen and are usually required to work for the local Yamen for three years after being captured.

The Yamen detained them on weekdays and sent them out when roads and bridges needed to be built. Occasionally, they would also use these prisoners of war as manpower and lease them to the townspeople in exchange for an income.

The price of renting a prisoner of war for a day was five cents, which was half lower than the ten cents per day wage in the market in Xijiang Town.

"Auntie is married to a good man. I heard from neighbors that your uncle was a brave man who killed enemies before being pardoned as a soldier from a prisoner of war."

"Shit!" After hearing Jiang Huai's envious words, Gao Guan ruthlessly exposed the rumor:

"My uncle said that he was trying to escape for his life, but ended up running in front of Governor Wang."

"The Shengpu in the south was about to kill the King's Governor's horse, but my uncle thought that Shengpu was going to kill him, so he picked up a shield from the ground to block the spear, and then he was pardoned as a soldier."

"Huh?" Hearing this, Jiang Huai was confused. He didn't expect that Li Baihu, who was respected in the hearts of the people in Xijiang Town, would be pardoned because of such an unfounded incident.

"Of course. I heard that the King's Governor's horse was given by His Highness the Crown Prince and is worth thousands of gold."

"You said, saving such a horse, wouldn't it be appropriate to receive an amnesty in exchange for it?"

Gao Guan said proudly, but Jiang Huai scratched his hair: "That's really appropriate..."

"Stop talking, let's go home for dinner." Gao Guan patted Jiang Huai's shoulder hard, and then quickly returned home.

Not long after, they walked into the archway of Xijiang Town and shuttled among the white walls and black tiles.

Among the thousands of people in Xijiang Town, nearly half of them are former sycophants of Jingnan.

They have a bad reputation, but their talents and learning are real.

For students, a good learning atmosphere is more important than anything else, and walking on the streets of Xijiang Town, the sound of reading aloud can be heard almost everywhere.

Even though they can rest during the New Year, there are still many students reciting some poems and verses about the New Year while playing.

It is hard to imagine that a small southwest border town like Xijiang would actually exhibit a learning atmosphere that is not inferior to that of places south of the Yangtze River and Jiangzuo.

In this atmosphere, Jiang Huai and the others also accelerated their pace home, and finally separated in front of an alley.

Gao Guan returned to his home, and Jiang Huai also returned to his home.

All the houses in Xijiang Town were built uniformly. Even the Jianghuai family, who were once chieftain serfs, can now live in a small courtyard with white walls and black tiles.

Pushing open the ajar door, before Jiang Huai walked in, he smelled the aroma and heard the sound of stir-frying in an iron pot.

Lifting his legs and walking into the courtyard, Gao Guan saw his father holding his younger brother and sitting by the patio.

Jiang Huai's father has dark skin and is not very tall. He is barely five feet tall and is even two inches shorter than Jiang Huai. He was currently holding a doll about seven years old and teasing him.

Seeing Jiang Huai back, he even joked: "Where did you go to find the girl?"

He spoke the language of his own nation. After hearing this, Jiang Huai smiled helplessly and said, "I'm going to find Gao Guan."

Jiang Huai spoke Mandarin, which his father could hear but couldn't speak.

"You are not good at looking for a man during the Chinese New Year. You want to find a little girl. When I was your age, I already knew your mother."

Although he is only thirty years old, Jiang Huai's father looks old because he worked as a serf for the chieftain since he was a child and worked all year round. He looks like he is in his forties.

Before that, he had no surname of his own, only Da Ri as his first name, and Jiang Huai's name was given to him by a teacher who was familiar with the Bai language on his first day in official school.

His original name was Dahe, but after his teacher heard about it, he named him Jiang and Huai.

His instructor was a man who was missing an arm. He claimed that he had fought with the current Prince of the East Palace. After losing his arm, he did not want to stay at home, so he studied for five years and became an instructor. He came to Yunnan from his hometown of Bohai. The land of the west.

He felt that the Jianghuai natural barrier was the last line of defense in the north of the capital, so the name was very powerful.

However, judging from Jiang Huai's four years of study, he always felt that his name was not as majestic as his father's "Jiang Dari".

"Don't talk nonsense. I just graduated this year. Why are you panicking?"

Jiang Huai sat aside and held his younger brother Jiang Hu in his arms.

He chose the name Jiang Hu himself because he always felt that his name was feminine, so he used Tiger as the name of his younger brother, even though he had never seen a tiger.

"Didn't I see you playing with the little girl from the Qi family on the street every day?"

Jiang DaRi looked at his son with a smirk on his face, while Jiang Huai was speechless when he heard this: "Don't talk nonsense, the Qi family has had high-ranking officials before."

"I know!" Jiang Da Riba raised his voice: "Qi Jingzong's brother was a minister before, but so what, my son is so good-looking, what's wrong with his family?"

"Stop talking." Jiang Huai looked at his father helplessly, and after a moment of silence he said:

"Ms. Xiao Qi is married to the young master of the Huang family from Longchuan County next door."

"There's nothing we can do about it." When Jiang Da Ri heard that his beloved daughter-in-law was getting married to someone from the county, Jiang Da Ri immediately lost his temper.

After all, as a former serf under the rule of a chieftain, he could still get along well with people of the same status as himself, but once he met someone higher than himself, he became a little timid.

In his opinion, the town and the county are two different worlds. Although his son is good-looking and very good at reading, he is still much worse than the county.

In fact, this was because he didn't know what kind of official position Shangshu was. If he knew what kind of official position Shangshu was, he probably wouldn't encourage his son to find the so-called Miss Qi.

"time to eat!"

Not long after, a strong woman shouted at the kitchen door. The father and son quickly stood up, hugged Jiang Hu and walked into the kitchen.

At the dinner table, the family enjoyed a rare reunion. Jiang Huai's mother was called Jin Mei, a strong peasant woman who loved to laugh.

"I bought cloth in the town and made clothes for you two brothers in the past few days. We will leave after the Lantern Festival."

After all, after living in the town for so many years, Han Chinese festivals like the Lantern Festival have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of Jin Mei and other young people.

"Are you still going to work this time?"

When Jiang Huai heard that his parents were going out after the Lantern Festival, he felt a little reluctant.

"I'm going to go, but it's coming soon this time. I heard that there are still 20 miles of mountain road left to build, and the road will be finished this year at most."

Jin Mei's tone was pleasant at first, but then she became a little melancholy.

Although farming in Xijiang Town can support oneself, farming is much more boring than building roads, especially when clearing weeds. At the end of the day, my back is so sore that I can't stand straight up.

In comparison, road construction is just physical exertion at best, and you will be refreshed after a day of rest.

Besides, after a year of farming, apart from what I eat, I can save at most three or four thousand dollars, and it will be all spent on buying some clothes and spices.

On the other hand, road construction not only provides food, but also earns ten coins a day. Even if it rains and the work stops, they will still be paid. After a year, the couple can save at least seven or eight coins.

They have lived like this for six years, this year is the seventh year, and the family has also saved a lot of money.

"My family has saved a lot of money, and it will be much easier for you to go to middle school when the time comes."

Jiang DaRi talked about the reason why he saved money, but Jiang Huai shook his head and said: "We don't have a middle school here."

"Aren't there any in Ganya and Longchuan?" Jiang Da Ri didn't understand this, so he was stunned for a moment and then asked.

"No, it doesn't exist in Yunnan, Sichuan, or Guizhou. Now it seems that it only exists in Liaodong, Shandong, and the Bohai Sea."

Jiang Huai shook his head and explained, but in Jiang Da Ri's limited culture, he didn't know how far away these places his son mentioned were, and he smiled and said: "Then we will go to these places to study."

"You may not be able to go." Jiang Huai said, picking up food for his parents and younger brother.

Although it was Chinese New Year, there was only one plate of meat on their dinner table, and the other three plates were vegetarian.

Jiang Huai's words made Jiang Da Ri lose his appetite and motivation.

In his opinion, making money for his son is to let his son live a good life.

The scribe of the road construction team told him that studying as an official would improve his skills, so he sent his son to study.

Last year, the clerk told him that after completing the official school, he could go to middle school and become a civil servant, so he came up with the idea of ​​continuing to send his son to middle school.

The reason why he worked so hard was just to make his son live a better life and not be like himself.

Now that his son said he couldn't go to middle school, he became confused.

"Okay, I've finished eating. Mom, please put the bowl away. I'll come back to wash it later."

After Jiang Huai finished eating, he stood up. Seeing this, Jin Mei quickly asked: "Where are you going?"

"I'm going for a walk to eat." After Jiang Huai finished speaking, he left with a smile.

When he walked out of the yard, before he could close the door, he heard his parents discussing in the kitchen.

"Can't you go to middle school?"

"If you can read it, go to the team and ask Scrivener Wang after the Lantern Festival. They will definitely know how to read it."

"Will it cost a lot of money?"

"I will pay him even if the land is sold!"

Standing at the courtyard door, listening to the sounds coming from the courtyard, Jiang Huai closed the door in a low mood.

He walked out of the alley and met his classmates and some neighbors along the way. They all forced a smile and said hello.

However, when he came to the door of a courtyard on the street that occupied an area that was almost three times the size of an ordinary courtyard, he saw a lady from the Qi family whom he was familiar with, who was bowing to a middle-aged Confucian scholar.

The wife of the Qi family is beautiful, tall, and has a gentle and virtuous personality.

After she saluted, she saw Jiang Huai standing on the street looking at her blankly, and immediately smiled and said:

"You idiot, but you don't know how to call people?"

"No..." Jiang Huai came to his senses and bowed quickly: "Miss Qi, Mr. Qi."

The recipients of Jiang Huai's salute were not only the Qi family's wife, but also the middle-aged Confucian scholar.

The name of the middle-aged Confucian scholar is Qi Jingzong, the young lady of the Qi family is his youngest daughter, and his brother is the "notorious" sycophant Qitai.

"Is Mr. Xiaojiang here?"

Qi Jingzong smiled and greeted Jiang Huai. He was actually very optimistic about Jiang Huai.

As a person who only started schooling at the age of nine, Jiang Huai became the first in his class at Xijiang Official School in his third year of school, and he still ranked first in his class last year.

This talent of coming from behind allowed Qi Jingzong to see an opportunity.

If my daughter can be with Jianghuai, then in the future Jianghuai High School Jinshi may be able to bring her family back to Jiangnan.

Because of this, Qi Jingzong allowed his daughter to play with Jiang Huai.

It's a pity that the plan couldn't keep up with the change. In the winter of last year, Huang Jing, the son of Huang Zicheng, an old friend of his brother, passed the provincial examination last year and fell in love with his daughter.

Between Jiang Huai, who has not yet risen, and Huang Jing, who has already risen, Qi Jingzong undoubtedly chose the latter, and the latter brought him rich resources.

Not only did he buy the neighboring yards for himself, but he also merged the three yards into one, which restored some of his former glory.

Because of this, Qi Jingzong became more and more determined to become Weng's son-in-law with Huang Jing.

Just when he thought of Jiang Huai, he still felt a little regretful, so when he saw Jiang Huai, he did not hinder the contact between the two juniors. He just reminded his daughter: "Let's chat in front of the mansion and go back in a while. "

"Yes..." The wife of the Qi family did not dare to disobey her father's words, so she just lowered her head and agreed.

Seeing this, Qi Jingzong also greeted Jiang Huai and then left in a carriage.

Watching the carriage leave, Jiang Huai didn't know what to say, so the wife of the Qi family whispered: "My father is going to Longchuan County..."

"Well..." Jiang Huai responded silently, and the young lady of the Qi family got angry when she saw this: "Don't you want to say something to me?"

"I..." Jiang Huai hesitated, his expression made the young lady of the Qi family clenched her fists.

"I'll leave if I don't have anything to say."

After the words fell, the young lady of the Qi family looked at Jiang Huai for a few breaths. Seeing that he still didn't say a word, she turned around and walked into the house.

As the door was closed, Jiang Huai showed a bit of discomfort.

Once upon a time, although he could also feel the temperament of the Qi family's scholarly family, he was confident that he could make himself worthy of the other party through study in the future.

It was just such self-confidence that once he found out that the Qi family was related to Qi Tai, the then Minister of War, he completely gave up all his thoughts.

For a son of a serf like him, even if the Qi family is already lonely, it is not something that a family like his can contaminate.

Raising his head, Jiang Huai looked at the mansion in front of him, which was three times the size of his own home, and couldn't help but think of the topic his parents were discussing in the kitchen just now.

"Middle school..."

Jiang Huai murmured, then seemed to be determined for something, heading towards the official school, and left the street step by step.

(End of this chapter)