The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 347 Food, lodging, and matchmaking included

At this moment, everyone had gone ashore, and the thousand veteran soldiers of the Northern Song Dynasty who were waiting for Gong Erniangzi on the shore immediately came to greet them.

These veterans from the Northern Song Dynasty all joined when Yue Wenxuan first started paying attention to sand table modeling.

Several hundred of them were veterans of the Jimo rebels, some joined the rebels in Dongmiaozi Village, and others were veterans who returned after Xin Qiji killed Zheng Qi and Zhang Jiu.

These people joined early, fought many tough battles, and naturally had the best equipment and morale.

As soon as he approached, he exuded a powerful sense of oppression, which frightened Qin Hui and his entourage into shrinking back.

Yue Wenxuan said, "Lord Qin, what do you think of my troops? How do they compare to the Jin army?"

Qin Hui's gaze swept over the group of soldiers, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He rarely saw such imposing presence among Song soldiers. But after surveying them, his eyes still held a trace of evasion: "The Northern Song soldiers are truly elite. Defeating the Jin barbarians is a piece of cake for them. Victory is assured! Victory is assured!"

Yue Wenxuan understood that he was just being polite. He didn't think these soldiers were as good as the Jin soldiers, but he didn't dare say that in front of the Northern Song soldiers, for fear of being torn apart.

Yue Wenxuan didn't expose him, but pretended to be very pleased: "Next, I would like to ask Lord Qin to make a trip to Chuzhou."

Qin Hui's expression stiffened slightly upon hearing the words "Chuzhou".

Chuzhou and Qin Hui are somewhat related!

Last year, Chuzhou was besieged by the Jin army. Song general Zhao Li led the entire city's soldiers and civilians in a desperate defense of the city.

After the Jin army failed to capture the city for a long time, Talan had Qin Hui write a "letter of persuasion to surrender" to Chuzhou. Qin Hui earnestly advised Zhao Li that the Jin army was very strong and that he should not resist but surrender obediently in order to save his life.

Zhao Li couldn't be bothered with him at all.

Later, the Battle of Chuzhou became the most heroic defensive battle. Under Zhao Li's command, the soldiers and civilians of the city, despite running out of food and reinforcements and eating tree bark and grass roots, still held their ground and refused to surrender. On the day the city fell, the soldiers and civilians "suppressed their pain and fought in the streets, even women and children tried to pull the enemy away and drowned themselves."

Now that Qin Hui hears the words "Chuzhou," how could he not feel guilty?

He thought to himself: Could it be that they'll take me to Chuzhou and let the local people tear me apart alive? No, no, no, I only wrote a letter of persuasion to surrender. I didn't kill anyone. It's not like they would hate me this much...

I was terrified!
I was nervous all the way.

In a few days...

We've arrived in Chuzhou!

As soon as they reached the outskirts of Chuzhou City, Qin Hui sensed something was wrong; there were many carriages on the official road…

The trucks were all carrying cotton, and each one was loaded with snow-white cotton.

The people rushing to catch the train had smiles on their faces, and their whole being exuded a feeling of wanting to fly.

Qin Hui couldn't help but ask, "What's going on? Why is there so much cotton in Chu Prefecture?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "Go ask the common people yourself, so you won't disbelieve what I tell you."

Qin Hui felt a lot of pressure talking to Yue Wenxuan, and he really preferred to talk directly with ordinary people.

He trotted up to a cotton truck and asked loudly, "Fellow villager, where did you get so much cotton here?"

The farmer in the carriage, seeing that he was wearing official robes, did not dare to be negligent and respectfully replied, "Sir, is this your first time in Chuzhou? This spring, after the Northern Song military officers arrived, they arranged two thousand acres of cotton fields in our Chuzhou, and now it is harvest season."

Qin Hui: "Huh? Arranged this spring? It's only been a few months, how could you have reaped the rewards so quickly?"

The cotton commonly planted in the late Northern Song Dynasty had a very long growth cycle, sometimes even several years, so in Qin Hui's view, it was simply too late. The farmer grinned, looking very happy: "We have the protection of the agricultural god of the Northern Song Dynasty. The agricultural god bestowed upon us celestial seeds, which will grow into celestial cotton. From sowing to harvest, it only takes about a hundred days."

Qin Hui: "!!!"

Holy crap! That's terrifying!
The farmer picked up a cotton boll from the cart and grinned, "This cotton not only grows fast, but it also grows well. Feel it, how good would a cotton coat made from this cotton be?"

Qin Hui had no idea whether cotton was good or bad, so touching it was pointless; he was just completely bewildered.

The farmer continued, "We not only have celestial cotton, but also celestial grain, which will mature in about a hundred days. This year is definitely going to be a bumper harvest, and no one will go hungry."

Qin Hui's mouth dropped open. Did this mean that the Northern Song Dynasty had no shortage of military provisions?
"This is amazing."

The closer they got to Chuzhou City, the more numerous the carts and horses became on the road, a vast and imposing procession carrying cotton, grain, timber, stones, and more...

Construction of Chuzhou City is still underway, so a large amount of building materials are still being transported into the city.

Everyone's face was filled with anticipation for a new life.

Qin Hui was very good at reading people's expressions, and he could tell that the people here were genuinely happy.

This is incredible!
He rarely saw such an expression on the faces of ordinary people in the Song Dynasty, and he saw it even less so in the Jin Dynasty.

As soon as he reached the city gate, he saw a man dressed like a shopkeeper sitting behind a table with writing implements on it. A servant was beside him, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Hiring! Hiring! The Jiang family textile workshop in the north of the city is hiring cotton ginners, cotton carders, spinners, weavers, porters, and guards..."

Next to it was another table, where a shopkeeper was also sitting: "Hiring! Hiring! Li's Textile Workshop in the west of the city... is hiring gabbro workers and cotton carders..."

The two shopkeepers had hired the same workers and were sitting very close together. They couldn't help but stare at each other at the same time, their eyes meeting in mid-air with a snap, sparks flying.

“Hey, Li’s family, don’t go too far.”

"What? You think only the Jiang family is allowed to do business, but the Li family isn't?"

The two sides were on the verge of war, but then the city gate guards lowered their heads and shouted, "No arguing! The young master said that only healthy competition is allowed, not malicious competition."

The two shopkeepers immediately fell silent and stopped arguing.

Then, the shopkeeper of the Jiang family whispered a few words, and then the shop assistant shouted, "Everyone, look carefully! The owner of our Jiang family textile workshop is the famous Jiang Ziliang from Xixi... When you buy grain from the Jiang family, you call yourself 'Ziliang'! Isn't that honest? The imperial court once commended our master, granting him the title of Marquis despite his humble origins. Our Jiang family treats its workers and fellow villagers well... If you work here, you won't be bullied by the owner. It's much better than the Li family."

Manager Li: "Damn it! You're using this as an excuse?"

He quickly whispered a few words, and the waiter shouted loudly, "Li's workers earn twenty more coins a month than Jiang's workers."

Jiang: "Food and lodging included! And matchmaking service too!"

Li: "What the hell? That's ruthless? You even arrange marriages for people like that?"

Chiang: "What? You're not convinced? Come and fight!"

The two shopkeepers are about to go to war...

Qin Hui's mouth gaped open: "Huh? You can do that?"

He had never seen such a scene before, not even in Bianliang, the most prosperous city in the Song Dynasty.

Seeing this scene in a rebuilt Chuzhou city after its destruction, I felt like my brain couldn't keep up.

(End of this chapter)