Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 302 Three Months in Chang'an
March in Chang'an.

The spring day is warm and pleasant.

Outside the city, the canals flow gently, reflecting the sky and clouds, nourishing thousands of acres of fertile fields along the banks. Between the canals and the fields are rows of new villages, which are the residences of the Yingyang Army.

The soldiers of Yingyang Prefecture are now divided into regiments of two hundred men each, living together in one place. In peacetime they are neighbors, and in wartime they are comrades who share life and death.

Wei Xing, the valiant cavalry captain of Yingyang Prefecture, had an outer residence at the foot of Chang'an. The area where the outer residence was located was named Guanghan Tuan by the emperor, which was undoubtedly an honor bestowed upon the Wei family by the emperor.

With a blade of grass between his teeth, Wei Xing, the bearded man, led his foal for a stroll along the edge of the field. While the horse grazed, he would lean against a tree root and sit gazing at the sky—a daily routine for him.

It was mid-March, and the wheat seedlings planted last October had already sprouted by the twelfth lunar month. By the end of January and the beginning of February, the seedlings had gradually turned from withered yellow to bright green. The Prime Minister called this "returning to green," which was a sign that the wheat was resuming its growth.

Wei Xing didn't understand.

After all, his family used to grow millet, planting in spring and harvesting in autumn, while wheat was planted in winter and harvested in summer, which made him both curious and uneasy.

It's understandable to feel anxious. For generations, we've been growing millet for hundreds of years, and now we're suddenly planting wheat, especially in October, which is usually planted during the off-season.

Nobody knows whether this thing can survive the cold winter, what the yield will be, whether it can withstand drought, insects, and wind, or whether millet is nutritious.

Fortunately, the wheat survived the harsh winter that Wei Xing, a southerner, almost couldn't endure.

Now it's mid-March, the greening process has passed, and the wheat is turning a darker green.

In recent days, Wei Xing was surprised to find that the wheat was visibly growing taller every day. Today, when he touched it, he could clearly feel that the wheat seedlings had nodules bulging on their roots.

According to the agricultural official, this is called "jointing".

The agricultural official also said that the wheat enters the heading stage from late March to early April, and the wheat harvest is in May.

In this way, another crop of soybeans or millet can be planted in the field in June, and can be harvested from the end of September to before the first frost in October, and then wheat can be planted.

Back when millet was planted, it was planted in spring and harvested in autumn. By winter, almost no crops could grow, so it was the off-season for farming, and only one harvest of grain was made each year.

Soybeans and millet, these miscellaneous grains, are usually planted when weeding or hoeing the fields. If any millet seedlings are short, withered, or dead, they are simply patched up to salvage some of the losses.

Nowadays, people plant a crop of wheat first, and after harvesting the wheat, they plant a crop of beans and millet, so they can harvest grain twice a year.

Even though wheat yields are slightly lower than millet, the soybeans and sorghum harvested in June make up for it, resulting in a total yield that is 60-70% higher than if only millet is planted for one season.

With such a hectic schedule, there's absolutely no time for leisure in farming.

Busy.

But being busy is good!
A gust of east wind blew, ruffling Wei Xing's thick beard, blowing the foal's fine mane, and causing the wheat fields to ripple, creating a vibrant scene.

"Chang Wei, don't be lazy!" Wei Xing shouted to Chang Wei in the field, feeling quite pleased with himself. He was finally enjoying the life of being able to boss people around.

"Uncle, I wouldn't dare to slack off!" Chang Wei, who was picking insects in the field, quickly responded and held up a caterpillar in his hand to Wei Xing.

Seeing that Wei Xing didn't take it seriously, Chang Wei continued to weed and catch insects. After a while, he got up and went to a nearby field to check whether the other Wei family servants were working carefully.

He had just returned from the south.

The Wei family still has three retainers following Wei Qi in the south. Now, including him, there are six retainers in Chang'an.

Chang Wei, as the only one among the six sergeants who had been on the battlefield, risked his life, brought back a lot of wealth for the Wei family, and even met the emperor in person, was completely different in spirit and energy from the five sergeants who stayed in Chang'an to farm.

Now, he has naturally become the leader of these six parts.

Wei Xing generally didn't concern himself with the trivial matters of farming at home. Wei Xing's parents were also honest and simple farmers who only knew how to farm and weave cloth, but didn't know how to manage their retainers. They were often kind-hearted and would only scold the retainers when they saw them being lazy.

After Chang Wei returned, he used his military achievements and prestige from the southern expedition to become the head of his troops and also acted as a villain in the Wei family. Whenever he saw several other troops slacking off in the fields, he would go up and kick them hard while cursing and urging them on.

Wei Xing's parents initially felt uneasy, but after a few days, they saw that the servants were indeed working much faster than before.

Originally, the five men could manage ten acres of land a day, but now that Chang Wei has returned, he can manage fifteen or sixteen acres a day. Moreover, he works very carefully. So, we let Chang Wei take advantage of the situation, but from then on, the food was divided among the servants a little more.

Wei Xing abandoned Chang Wei, led his colt along the ridge of the field, and walked slowly, his gaze sweeping over the neat fields around him once more.

This is the land owned by his brothers Wei Xing and Wei Qi!
It covers a full 350 acres, stretching as far as the eye can see! Looking at this field every day fills me with a deep sense of peace and security.

"Dad! Mom! I'm going back now!" Wei Xing called out to his parents in the distance, then headed back towards the Guanghan Regiment's camp without looking back.

Upon arriving at the training ground of the Guanghan Regiment, Wei Xing stopped. Two squads of soldiers were gathered there, divided into red and blue formations, simulating a real battlefield duel with blunt weapons made of sticks.

Because their family's fields were mostly managed by their retainers and the parents and brothers they had brought with them, the soldiers of Yingyang Prefecture usually either ran alone, lifted stone weights, practiced archery and horsemanship, or gathered together to drill military formations, honing their killing skills through martial arts exercises and battles.

Don't be fooled by the fact that it was a martial arts exercise. At first, it was all real fighting and people could actually die. Later, the emperor issued a strict order that no one was allowed to maim or kill anyone. Otherwise, they would be stripped of their military qualifications, their land, and imprisoned. Only then did the soldiers finally learn to be more restrained when they were fighting in the exercise.

Besides practicing martial arts, the soldiers also had to take care of their own steeds and the foals that had been born in the spring and were now stumbling and learning to run.

Wei Xing briefly greeted his brothers in the drill ground and continued walking towards the outer residence. However, after walking only a few steps, the far-reaching and inspiring Eagle Soaring Army Song suddenly came from another village.

As Wei Xing listened, he also started to howl like a ghost, which drew sidelong glances and chuckles from the women washing clothes and vegetables along the canal.

Wei Xing, however, ignored everything and shouted even louder in his off-key voice, startling the little colt behind him.

"The sky is vast and blue, the wilderness is boundless!"

"Sharp arrows whistle, tigers gaze, eagles soar!"

"Heaven's might is awe-inspiring, and your holy virtue is manifest!"

"What does it matter if I die where the dragon banner points!"

Not long after, Wei Xing led his colt back to his own plot of land, singing as he went. There, he had just started a small vegetable patch where he was currently planting some shallots and spring leeks.

A plump woman dressed in coarse cloth, her large belly protruding, squatted there, clumsily using a wooden ladle to scoop water from a bucket beside her and carefully watering the vegetable seedlings.

As Wei Xing watched his wife's increasingly plump figure, his slightly rusty movements caused a slight smile to appear on his lips.

He led the horse over in long strides, casually tied the reins to a willow tree nearby, and said, "Alright, I'll do it!" Without another word, he took the wooden spoon from his wife's hand.

The wife looked up at the bearded man, obediently got up and moved aside, whispering in a refined Central Plains accent completely different from that of ordinary peasant women, "My husband is back."

She patted the dirt off her hands again. "Then... I'll go cook."

"Okay, go ahead." Wei Xing grinned and quickly scooped water to water the vegetables. His movements were far more skillful than those of his well-educated wife. Back in their hometown in Sichuan, he had done many of these chores.

His wife turned and walked towards the outer courtyard not far away. Looking at his beautiful wife's back and thinking about the two children in her belly, Wei Xing could no longer be satisfied.

This wife was bestowed upon him by His Majesty; she was originally the concubine of a Wei army officer in Chang'an.

She had an unusual appearance, and her skin was much fairer than that of ordinary village women. More importantly, she had given birth to children before, but unfortunately, they all died during the plague in Chang'an, leaving her all alone.

Wei Xing was very satisfied with this. His two previous wives had both died in childbirth, leaving him without a child, which had been a source of great worry for him.

Now that the bride has given birth, it means she is capable of giving birth again, and most likely will not suffer the terrible ordeal of childbirth.

This alone gave him much to look forward to in the future.

When His Majesty first bestowed the marriage upon him, he was so engrossed in his work that he didn't leave his bed for more than ten days in a row. When he finally went out on the second day, his legs were so weak that he could hardly straighten his back. All this was so that he could have as many children as possible with his new wife, preferably as many boys as possible.

Wei Xing was a trusted general who made great contributions to the Han Dynasty and His Majesty, and was even bestowed the name "Guang Han" by His Majesty.

This vast family business must have a few sons to inherit it. We must choose the strongest and most intelligent one to pass on his skills in killing on the battlefield, so that the Wei family can continue to serve the Han Dynasty and His Majesty in the future.

After watering the vegetables, Wei Xing threw the wooden ladle back into the bucket, walked to the willow tree, untied the horse's reins, and led the foal toward the canal not far from the courtyard gate.

This was a canal he had dredged himself. The water was clear and cool. He took a brush from the side bag on the foal's back and carefully washed the foal's dark coat. The horse snorted comfortably and affectionately turned around to rub against his arm.

Wei Xing felt ticklish from being rubbed, so he burst into laughter.

Besides this newborn foal, he also had a warhorse and a nag.

The warhorse was obtained through his military exploits.

The nag was a gift from the imperial court to the soldiers. Although they could not charge into battle, they were sturdy and strong, and were used to pull carts and carry goods on ordinary days. During the off-season, they would ride to various households to report for duty or take them to the training ground for training.

One charging warhorse, one cull horse carrying heavy loads, and one foal. The horse expert said that the foal was also warhorse material. In this way, Wei Xing had three horses, making him a true cavalry general!

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from the opposite bank of the canal. A dozen or so soldiers rode on slow horses, galloping along the official road on the opposite bank.

Those were soldiers from another regiment. When they saw Wei Xing from afar, they all greeted him with smiles.

"Brother Guanghan, are you brushing your horse?"

"Brother Xing! Where is your bride?!"

Wei Xing responded with a laugh and a curse:

"Get lost! If you try to peek at my wife again, I'll gouge out your eyes!"

The group of soldiers laughed and rode away into the distance.

Although Wei Xing was cursing, he wasn't really angry. These rough men meant no harm and wouldn't dare to have any evil thoughts. They were just curious and envious.

After all, although many soldiers of the garrison were granted marriage by the court after conquering Chang'an, how many of their wives could compare to the beauty of Wei Qi's new wife, Zhou Zheng? And how many of their wives could conceive twins in one pregnancy?
He sometimes felt like he was dreaming. Back in Sichuan, he was lucky to have enough to eat. He never thought he would own his own land, horses, and servants, and even marry such a good wife.

After cleaning the foal and tying it to a wooden stake outside the yard so it could graze on the grass, Wei Xingcai stepped into his own small courtyard.

Smoke rose from the chimney, and the aroma of millet porridge and chives wafted from the kitchen.

His wife, heavily pregnant, was busy at the stove. Although her figure was plump, Wei Xing had no other thoughts but a sense of peace.

"Uncle, I'm going to school!"

Wei Yougen, or rather, Wei Siye, passed by outside the door, casually put the "Agricultural Book" woven from Chang'an paper back into his bag, and politely greeted his uncle.

Primary school students only attend classes for one afternoon; in the morning, they can help out in the fields.

"Hey!" Wei Xing replied with a smile, "Have you eaten yet?!" He then took a cornbread from the stove and stuffed it into Wei Siye's hand without saying a word.

"Uncle, I've already eaten!"

"It's alright, eat more! Studying takes a lot of brainpower. You're the first scholar in our Wei family, you're destined to be an official!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Siye blushed. He was very slow at studying and often couldn't understand his teachers' lectures. He was hardly cut out to be an official.
He subconsciously stuffed the millet cake his uncle gave him into Wei's bag, but when he touched the book inside, he quickly took the cake out and hid it in his chest.

A moment later, he reached into the bag and took the book out, reading it aloud as he walked briskly toward Qingming Gate in the east of the city.

Wei Xing and his wife were sitting across from each other drinking porridge, wondering whether to go to the drill ground in the afternoon to practice martial arts and military formations with the other soldiers, or to stay at home and take care of his old iron sword and powerful bow and crossbow, when a voice came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Is Brother Wei home?!"

Wei Xing turned his head and saw that it was Zhao Heizi, the regimental commander from the neighboring regiment, who was standing outside the fence with a rickety horse, peeking out.

"Hey, come in, Hei Zi," Wei Xing said casually.

The Eagle Banner troupe member known as Zhao Heizi pushed open the wooden gate of the Wei family and walked in. He was slightly shorter than Wei Xing, but equally wiry, with a simple and honest smile on his scarred face.

He glanced in the direction of the kitchen first, then lowered his voice and said to Wei Xing, "Brother, I heard that the palace guards are going to transfer a regiment of soldiers for rotation? Is that true?"

Wei Xing nodded:

"That's right, we need to select a group of people to take turns working in the palace for a month."

Previously, the palace guards were the newly recruited Tiger Warriors, but after the New Year, the court began to order the transfer of personnel from the outstanding Eagle and Vanguard troops to assist in the defense.

It should be noted that the Yingyang Army was, in principle, a type of civilian settlement composed of retired soldiers, and was not part of the imperial army. Apart from receiving some rewards when they first became soldiers, they no longer received imperial rations.

The soldiers of the Zhechongfu (a military unit) came from all directions and signed up on their own. The imperial court did not give them any rewards. They were self-sufficient in all their food, armor, horses, and troops. If you did not have these things, you could not become a soldier of the Zhechongfu.

Obviously, the Zhechong soldiers were not part of the official military establishment, unlike the Yingyang soldiers.

Now, the imperial court has issued an order allowing the Yingyang and Zhechong garrison troops to participate in the palace guard duty. For the garrison troops stationed right at the foot of the imperial city, this is undoubtedly a sign of trust and honor.

Upon hearing that the matter was indeed true, Zhao Heizi's face immediately showed an urgent and sincere expression:

"Brother, everyone knows that you are now a favorite of the Emperor and have influence even with the Prime Minister. I wonder if you could bring our group of brothers with you this time?"

He rubbed his hands nervously.
"Training in the camp all day long is really boring."

“Since the founding of the Yanwu era, we have often heard that the soldiers of the government who went to the south to fight against Wu have always won many battles with fewer troops and made great achievements. The brothers are itching to go, but they are not fortunate enough to go to Jiangnan to fight. Now, it is good to be able to stand guard in the palace.”

Wei Xing nodded repeatedly, but did not agree immediately.

Seeing his hesitation, Zhao Heizi became even more anxious and turned to shout towards the kitchen, "Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law!"

Hearing the noise, Wei Xing's wife came out of the kitchen, wiped her hands on her apron, and looked at Zhao Heizi with some doubt.

Zhao Heizi turned around and rushed out of the courtyard to his old horse, which he had tied to the roadside.

He took two bolts of Shu brocade from his horse, ran back, and respectfully handed them to Wei Xing's wife, who was dressed in coarse cloth.

"Sister-in-law, these are two bolts of Shu brocade that His Majesty bestowed upon us last year. The color is just right!"

"My wife said that of all the soldiers, only Sister-in-law Wei is well-educated and reasonable, and is most suitable to wear clothes made of Shu brocade."

"I also heard that you have twins. It would be perfect to make two outfits for your future nephew and niece!"

Wei Xing's wife looked at the two pieces of Shu brocade, which were fine in texture, bright in color, and intricate in pattern, and looked at Wei Xing with some helplessness.

Wei Xing frowned, stepped forward and shoved the two bolts of Shu brocade back into Zhao Heizi's arms, saying gruffly:
"Hey, what are you doing? Take it back!"

"Brother, I..." Zhao Heizi held the two bolts of Shu brocade, somewhat at a loss.

Wei Xing interrupted him, his tone softening slightly, but still leaving no room for argument: "I know you want to go. Don't worry, even without these two bolts of brocade, it would have been your regiment's turn for duty this time. We're all brothers who fought side by side on the battlefield, so naturally, we'd prioritize our own brothers when the opportunity arises."

He paused, looked at Zhao Heizi, and then said:

"Besides, my brother Wei Qi just had someone bring back a lot of money from the southern front half a month ago, so the family doesn't lack this."

"Keep these two bolts of brocade for yourself, for your wife, or for your children in the future. If all else fails, you can take them to the city and exchange them for cattle, horses, salt, and iron. Wouldn't that be better? How could you use them for something like this?"

Holding two bolts of Shu brocade, Zhao Heizi listened to Wei Xing's words and stammered, "Brother, I...I didn't mean that."

"Alright, alright." Wei Xing patted him on the shoulder.

“I appreciate your kind intentions. Go back and tell the brothers to get ready. They will probably be leaving in the next few days.”

"Once you're on guard duty in the palace, you all need to be on your best behavior and not disgrace the Eagle Feather Guard!"

"Hey! Don't worry, brother! I promise I won't embarrass our Eagle Banner troops!" Zhao Heizi, the regimental commander, nodded heavily and left happily with the two bolts of brocade in his arms.

After seeing Zhao Heizi off, Wei Xing turned around and saw his wife still standing there looking at him, her eyes filled with a gentle light she didn't usually have.

"What are you looking at? The rice is almost burnt!" Wei Xing deliberately put on a stern face.

The wife exclaimed "Oh!" and hurriedly turned around and went back into the kitchen.

Wei Xing watched her retreating figure, shook his head, but felt quite pleased with himself.

Although Wei Xing was sometimes cunning, he always tried to act with a clear conscience. Since His Majesty had given him such a promising future, he couldn't break the rules himself.

He walked to the whetstone in the courtyard, sat down, picked up the iron knife his younger brother had brought back, and began sharpening it, preparing to train the troops in the afternoon.

This was Wei Xing's golden age. He had fields and a house, horses and a wife, and a promising future. He needed to sharpen his sword, cultivate the land carefully, feed the horses meticulously, and hone his martial arts skills in every way possible.

Everything he has is a gift from His Majesty. In order not to let His Majesty down, to protect the hard-won wealth of the Wei family, and to bring greater prospects to the Wei family, it would be worth dying for, since the Wei family has descendants.

Once the woman gives birth to her two children, the family will be firmly established in Chang'an.

(End of this chapter)