A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 169
On the fifth day of April in the tenth year of Chongzhen, there had never been such a lively scene outside the city of Baoan Prefecture. A large number of military households and civilian households, led by their respective military officers or workshop chiefs, just went to work in the wilderness outside the city.

This is the first time in recent years that the army and civilians in Baoanzhou City have been organized to work on a large scale. Since the Lijia system was abolished, who has seen such a lively scene outside Baoan City?
The reclaiming of wasteland by the soldiers and civilians in Baoan Prefecture was basically over. According to Wang Dou's reclaiming standards, each family of four to seven people could reclaim [-] mu of wasteland, and these fields would belong to their family in the future.Under the upsurge of land reclamation, not to mention ordinary military households and civilian households, even the landlords and gentry in the state city, state officials and small officials, also hurriedly separated their families to reclaim wasteland.

With much anticipation and anticipation, the two adults in Zhoucheng finally started to build irrigation wells for everyone. In the current situation, if each family does not have well irrigation, the reclaimed cultivated land will still be wasteland.Well, that day has finally come.Mr. Wang, the integrity officer of Bao'an Prefecture, has already said that we should gather everyone's strength to build irrigation wells for each family. As long as everyone comes out to work, everyone will have enough to eat.

Help dig wells for your own family, and have food, why don't you come out as soon as possible?Under the leadership of the military officers, and the civilian households under the leadership of the workshop chiefs, they just went to various fields, surveyed the water source, determined the location of the well, and then dug the well.

The groundwater level of each field varies from high to low, and some are shallow. It is enough to dig a simple small well or a small brick well, but it is only two or three feet.If the groundwater table is deep, it is necessary to dig a deep masonry well, sometimes as deep as tens of feet.

This kind of collective labor does not count artificial money, as long as food is provided, but building irrigation wells and making waterwheels requires a lot of green bricks, wood, bamboo tubes, stone cubes and other raw materials.Making bricks is relatively easy. Open a brick kiln and a skilled worker can make 1 yuan of brick embryos a day, and it doesn't take long to fire them.However, stones and bamboo tubes can only be harvested in the mountains, and some old wood for making waterwheels needs to be purchased from outside or contributed by various companies.

In order to increase the enthusiasm of everyone, Wang Dou stipulated that after surveying the water source and estimating the depth of the irrigation well, if there are people who provide wood and stone, they will give priority to building well irrigation water trucks for their family. The more they provide, the higher the priority. Otherwise these people will have to wait in line.

Outside Baoan City, Wang Dou and Zhizhou Li Zhenzhen patrolled the fields back and forth. The two walked in the front.Behind the two, there are a large number of civil servants and military generals in Baoanzhou City.

Seeing the hot scene in front of him, Li Zhenzhen had a refreshing feeling, and the officials behind him were also amazed.Li Zhenyu stroked his long beard and nodded again and again. In the future, the fields here will be prosperous, not to mention the appreciation of the officials, even if he himself will leave a lot of money in the annals of Baoan Prefecture.

Unexpectedly, the construction of irrigation wells in the subdivision of Baoan Prefecture was finally carried out. In the past, these things were inconceivable to Li Zhenzhen. Not to mention anything else, Li Zhenzhen did not have the cost of water trucks for irrigation of wells and food supplies for the military and civilians. method, but Wang Dou implemented it with ease, this warrior is really not easy.

Thinking of this, Li Zhenzhen glanced at Wang Dou secretly, and it happened that Wang Dou also looked at him with a smile, and the two looked at each other, both laughing.

Wang Doudao: "After the irrigation wells are dug everywhere, one well can irrigate tens of mu of fields, and the wilderness of Qiuxu will become good soil. It all depends on the benevolence of Master Zhizhou!"

Li Zhenyu, the magistrate, said reservedly: "Your integrity is too high. The government of Bao'an Prefecture depends on your hard work. I and all my colleagues can't help but admire it."

The two flattered each other a few words, and then looked away, each with their own concerns.

Wang Dou looked at the fields in front of him and sighed, "Drought, the severe drought that has spread in Shanxi has already spread to the land of Baoanzhou. Looking around, on both sides of the Sanggan River, many grasslands and green trees have dried up. Even the water level of the Sanggan River has dropped a lot, and a little farther away from the river is a large piece of cracked land.

Because of the drought, the irrigation wells built in various places are getting deeper and deeper, which consumes a lot of manpower and material resources. In fact, compared with irrigation wells, Wang Dou prefers to use bobbin trucks, especially the Lanzhou water trucks.Irrigation of wells requires the use of manpower and animal power to lift water, while drum carts pull water into the drums, pour it into the soap, and flow into the fields day and night. Compared with irrigation wells, the efficiency is too high.

However, those fertile fields near the river have been occupied by civil and military tyrants, and it is too troublesome to use the bobbin cart and build canals and pools, so let's use irrigation wells.I hope that there will be a good harvest in the fields next year. No matter what, I have tried my best.

……

Since the beginning of the year, a large number of refugees have flowed into Baoan Prefecture from various places. By the beginning of April, it is estimated that the total number of refugees flowing into Baoan Prefecture has reached more than 2000.

In the past, the refugees went to various places, and most of them had no food or clothing. If they were lucky enough to find a job as a coolie, it was very good. Most of them sold their sons and daughters, and even robbed and stole for a living, and finally turned into mobs.Wang Dou already has a lot of experience in helping refugees. He sent soldiers to direct these refugees to build shacks, latrines, and porridge factories outside the city. .

Baoan Prefecture is now vigorously digging irrigation wells, and Shunxiangpu has opened various lumber mills, iron factories, stone factories, coal factories, mines, and various new brick kilns, lime kilns, etc., requiring a lot of manpower. As long as they have a bite to eat, they are willing to do any work.Once the young men among them were recruited, the chances of the refugees becoming mobs were nippled in the bud.Among them, the old, the weak and women, those who can do active work, Wang Dou recruited them to clothing factories, gunpowder factories and other places.

Those who can't work, they use gruel for relief at the porridge factory, so although there are many refugees, they are in good order.For example, at the beginning of the ninth year of Chongzhen, the hungry people in Baoanzhou died of illness and starvation everywhere.

Wang Dou, Zhizhou Li Zhenzhen and others came to the refugee shack outside the city. The dilapidated shack was quite large, but the inside and outside of the shack were clean, and all the garbage was cleaned up in time, so the refugees living inside would not look so bad. Poor, it's all because of timely relief, so that these refugees can live effectively.After being diverted from various factories, mines and construction sites, there are not many people in this refugee shack, only a few hundred old, weak, sick and disabled live here.

But near noon, the flow of people in the refugee shack increased. People who went out to work near the city of Zhou came back one after another, and brought back some steamed buns and pancakes to some family members in the shack area.Seeing Wang Dou and others approaching, they all calmed down. Looking at the official uniforms on everyone and the tall guards behind them, they must be some high-ranking officials in the city. The people's fear of officials is always deep in their bones. Yes, seeing these officials coming, how can anyone dare to say anything?
Wang Dou saw a few refugees in front of him looking at him timidly, and he asked one of the old men with a smile: "Old man, where are you from? Are you used to living here?"

The old man knelt down with a plop, and said in a strong Weizhou accent: "The young one is from the Baishubao family in Weizhou. Because of a disaster at home, he heard that the people in Baoanzhou are benevolent and righteous, so he fled here, hoping to ask for a meal. live."

He continued: "The adults here are really benevolent and kind. They set up a porridge factory for relief, and even recruited young people to work to support their families. The old man planned to go to Shunxiang Fort after all the irrigation wells in this state city were dug. Find a factory and mine to work for a living, and after a few years have money and food, I hope to reclaim some wasteland and settle down in Baoan Prefecture."

Having said that, he opened his mouth and laughed, full of hope for the future life.

The refugees behind him also said one after another: "Yes, yes, the government of this place is benevolent, and villains have never seen it before. Baoan Prefecture is under Qingming, and there is no banditry. It is a place of peace and happiness. We all hope to stay here in the future." In the state, it becomes a registered permanent residence."

Listening to what the refugees said, Wang Dou nodded with a smile. The old man looked at Wang Dou, then at Li Zhenzhen, and asked tentatively, "May I ask you two adults?"

Zhang Gui, the officer behind Wang Dou, said in a loud voice, "This is Mr. Wang, the integrity officer of our Baoan Prefecture, and Mr. Li, the magistrate of our Baoan Prefecture."

All the refugees exclaimed, and said repeatedly: "Master Qingtian."

They all came to kowtow to thank, and many of them looked at Wang Dou in amazement. Many of them had heard of Wang Dou's reputation, but they didn't expect that the well-known integrity officer of Baoan Prefecture was so young.

Seeing the grateful faces of the refugees, Zhizhou Li Zhenyu was also quite contented. He coughed and said: "You don't need to be too polite. I and Mr. Wang are officials of the imperial court, parents of the people, and the people are in trouble. Why don't you take care of them?" The reason for relief and settlement? Don’t wait until you get to the state border, thinking of the government’s favor, you need to keep yourself safe and live your life well.”

The old man and others even claimed to be.

At this moment, the voice of the refugee was suddenly heard: "The wives have come out to give porridge again."

Immediately, the refugees in the shack became agitated, and went there one after another.Wang Dou looked over, but saw a large number of officials and wives, led by Xie Xiuniang and the young wife of Zhizhou Mansion, surrounded by their families, carrying rice poles, coming towards the refugee huts.

At the beginning of March, as the number of refugees increased, Xie Xiuniang decided to come out to comfort the hungry and give porridge to the refugees. Her plan was first responded by Mrs. Zhang Gui, the prefectural urban management official, followed by Mrs. Qian Zongtian Changguo Responding immediately, followed by Mrs. Zheng of the Han Dynasty, Mrs. Li Xiaoniang of Mrs. Han Zhong, and all the wives and concubines in Wen Fangliang's family responded one after another.There is also the wife of an official in the mansion of integrity who is not far behind.Even the wives of Lin Daofu, Gao Shiyin, Sun Sanjie and other families who were far away in Shunxiangbao also rushed from Shunxiangbao.

At this time, they were all crowded behind Xie Xiuniang, with kind smiles on their faces, and they came step by step.In order to compete for the ranking behind Xie Xiuniang, the wives actually fought openly and secretly, and the final result was that Mrs. Tian Changguo and Mrs. Zhang Gui were victorious in the second and third place.

Of course, Wang Dou agrees with Xie Xiuniang's approach. At the same time, he feels that Xie Xiuniang has matured a lot and knows how to solve her husband's problems.Xie Xiuniang's actions won Wang Dou a good reputation among the refugees, and at the same time in the city, everyone praised Xie Xiuniang's actions.In the end, the magistrate couldn't sit still. In the middle of March, the wives of the civil servants in the state, headed by the young lady, also picked out rice to give porridge to the hungry people.

For the refugees, the daily relief from the porridge factory can only guarantee their survival. When the officials and wives come out to give out porridge, it is full of thick porridge that "will not fall when you insert the chopsticks, and will not disperse when you untie the cloth bag", which is naturally very popular. They welcome.

Not long after Xie Xiuniang and the young lady came over, the steam and the aroma of rice porridge came out from the large pots in front of the shack. Experience, lined up one by one to get the porridge, and thanked them endlessly.

Seeing the order in front of them, Wang Dou and Zhizhou Li Zhenzhen smiled and nodded.Giving porridge to charity, this is a great benevolent government, if it is spread out, it will be an excellent reputation for both of them.

Wang Dou looked at Xie Xiuniang over there. She was not outstanding in appearance, but she had a gentle smile on her face, but she was quite friendly, especially because she was the wife of the mansion. Young Madam, her demeanor is quite luxurious and calm, although she stands with a smile, she seems to have a taste of repelling people thousands of miles away, and the refugees are more in awe of her.

The young lady served the porridge for a while, then went down to rest, and replaced it with a charming woman, who is a wife and concubine, she smiled at the refugees: "Come, come, everyone, come to get the porridge, everyone Yes, don't worry."

She glanced at Xie Xiuniang over there, and saw that she was still not resting, and was still giving porridge.He couldn't help chuckling, and said to a helping woman beside him: "Look at Xie Xiuniang's great energy, after working for so long, she still doesn't feel tired."

The woman was in her twenties and was rather chubby. She sneered and said, "Then Xie Xiuniang came from a lowly family background, and her wife is honored by her husband, so she became a moral wife and was flattered by others. In fact, she is just a woman at heart. It’s just an ordinary country woman, how can a country girl and a country woman have no mental strength?”

The two laughed, the two of them thought their words were light, but unexpectedly they lost their composure, not to mention Xie Xiuniang and others who were nearby heard it, but Wang Dou, Li Zhenyu and others who happened to come over heard it.

Xie Xiuniang bit her lower lip lightly, her face was a little pale, Wang Dou was furious, and shouted: "Bold, which family are you two women from? You speak so disrespectfully, without respect or inferiority? Come, let me slap these two women." twenty."

(End of this chapter)