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

Chapter 171 Return of the Livestock Bandit Suppression Army

Yang Zhichang rubbed his sore knees, feeling absolutely displeased, just now he was scolded by Wang Dou for a while, and he had to be trained respectfully.

He lamented in his heart that there was really no way to mess around in this Baoan Prefecture. It was just a matter of encroaching on some acres. For such a trivial matter, Wang Dou mercilessly scolded him. What was before, what is now.

However, no matter how severely Wang Dou punished someone for crushing someone to death, he could not show any dissatisfaction on his face, otherwise the crime would be more serious.

He stood up dejectedly, Wang Dou gave him a meaningful look, and shouted: "Get down!"

Yang Zhichang was even more surprised, and quickly retreated.

Walking out of the conference hall, Yang Zhichang heaved a long sigh, this Baoanzhou is Wang Dou's world, he should find a way to transfer it away.

Looking at Yang Zhichang's back, Wang Dou was silent for a while. Among the farmland statistics this time, Zhangjiabao and Wubao had the most problems. However, Shi Min, Zhangjiabao's defense officer, could be saved. More than 300 mu of land, he was so frightened that he said it all when he scolded him for a while.In the background of Daming, he is only a small problem, only Yang Zhichang's bad habits are too deep, and I will replace him sooner or later. Wubao is a good place, and he can't be said to come to occupy the bird's nest.

Soon, Wang Dou issued a strict order on the matter of farmland statistics, daring to have soldiers and generals who dare to steal money and grain, and hide land property, regardless of military and civilian officials, they will all be severely punished.In the next few days, the Ministry of Officials strictly verified the documents, and many officers had been punished, and the city was awe-inspiring.

……

This April, Lai Mancheng's [-] head of farm cattle finally arrived, attracting all the soldiers and civilians in the city to go out of the city to watch. Seeing the densely packed farm cattle, the soldiers and civilians were amazed. I realized that buying a thousand cattle at one go, with these strong cattle and those well-irrigating water trucks, everyone's farming land will be guaranteed.At this time, the last trace of worry in their hearts disappeared, and everyone admired Wang Dou's methods.

There was joy inside and outside the prefectural city, and Li Zhenyu, the magistrate of the prefecture, also took his officials to visit secretly. After returning to the mansion, he was amazed, but kept asking: "Where did Wang Dou get the money?"

Lai Mancheng went out for a run, hei lost some weight, he used to have a greasy face, but now Wang Dou saw that his face was quite weathered.According to Lai Mancheng's own introduction, in order to get together the thousand cattle, he traveled to many places, and finally fulfilled his mission and got all the goods that Wang Dou wanted.

Wang Dou bought [-] cattle from Lai Mancheng. Except for thirteen cattle that died accidentally on the way, most of the rest were strong and sound, and they were all good cattle.Lai Mancheng also told Wang Dou that for the dozen or so cows that died, he, Lai Lai, would be responsible for compensating for the loss, so that Wang Dou would treat him differently. Regardless of his playboy image, this guy has a good character.

Wang Dou ordered Zhang Gui, the officer in charge of the station, to temporarily settle the cattle outside the city. He called Lai Mancheng back to the Chengshou mansion. I will give you a letter, asking Xie Yike to lead you to Shun Township Fort to find Lin Daofu, the defender of Shun Township Fort, and he will give you 5000 taels of cattle price."

Lai Mancheng was overjoyed and said repeatedly: "Thank you sir."

Unexpectedly, Wang Dou would give 5000 taels of silver as he said, which made Lai Mancheng re-evaluate Wang Dou's strength.In fact, he made a lot of money by doing this business after excluding various costs. This is also the biggest transaction he has made in his business career.

Wang Dou made a little calculation. At this time, he had 530 and 690 cattle in Shunxiangbao, and 220 and 100 cattle in Zhoucheng. Including the nearly [-] cattle he bought, he had a total of more than [-] cattle. In addition, Wubao and Zhangjiabao each have more than [-] cattle.

However, in Wang Dou's opinion, it is better to buy some cattle. After listening to Wang Dou's words, Lai Mancheng waved his golden fan. It's not right to say it."

Wang Dou said, "Say it."

Lai Mancheng said: "The villain estimates that the adults have a lot of farm cattle, which should not be less than [-]. Looking at the number of these cattle, even in the inland states and counties of Ming Dynasty, the number is considerable. In fact, it is unnecessary Buy cattle again."

"I heard privately that my lord intends to distribute a cow to each military household under my rule. The villain thinks that it is difficult to afford one cattle for each family with fifty acres of fields. The cattle are the same as horses. It’s not easy to raise, and the villain suggests that every three or four households should give one cow a cow.”

Wang Douqi asked, "Cows are not easy to raise?"

Lai Mancheng smiled and said: "It depends on whether the adults want to raise them well or abuse them."

He said: "When you talk about raising cattle, you are very knowledgeable. First, let's talk about the cowshed, which is cleaned regularly on weekdays. The cow dung is frequently produced, not to mention the bedding, and the cattle need to be cleaned frequently, twice in the morning and evening. Omissions. Especially in hot summer, the ventilation and freshness of the cattle pen is essential. In winter, it is necessary to take the cattle outside, choose a place with a leeward sun, and let the cattle bask in the sun while eating food, so that the cattle will be strong. "

"In terms of feeding, not to mention hay and stalks on weekdays, soybean bran cakes are even more indispensable when cattle are used. Drinking water is also very important. Drink water at least five times a day, and clean water is required. It is best to add an appropriate amount of salt. Such as cattle To drink water in winter, you need to supply warm water, add salt and bean powder..."

He was eloquent, and Wang Dou was dumbfounded. Is this raising cattle or serving the ancestors?He frowned: "Is it so troublesome?"

Lai Mancheng laughed and said: "So the little ones say whether adults should raise them well or over-raise them. If they want the cattle to be strong, they need to do so. The peasants and foolish women are ignorant. The cattle they feed are emaciated because they are not properly fed. Some Although the common people understand the truth, they are powerless, and raising cattle requires a lot of money, and ordinary people simply cannot afford it."

Wang Dou pondered, relying on Man Cheng's words, if he distributes the farm cattle to the common people of the military households, they may be suspected of not taking good care of them, and it will also increase their burden.

Lai Mancheng said: "Not only that, sir, with one thousand or hundreds of cattle in hand, it is like a big treasure."

"Just think about it, my lord. Nearly half of the thousands of cattle are cows. They give birth to calves, and the number of cattle will be increased by at least [-] a year. The cattle do not need to be cultivated for most of the year, and they can be bred every year. Once, the calf grew into a strong cow for only five years, after a few years, the adults may have thousands of farm cattle in stock, and the young ones will ask the adults if any farm cattle have been sold."

Speaking of this, Lai Mancheng laughed.

Reminded by Lai Mancheng, Wang Dou remembered that Shun Township's Fort Farm cattle seemed to have given birth to some calves in the past two years. Hit or kill, who cares if the cow will have a calf?He took a look at Lai Mancheng, he was a nice guy, he would not persuade himself to buy cattle just to make more money, and his evaluation of Lai Mancheng was even higher.

At the same time, Wang Dou thought more about the pigs, sheep, mules and horses in Shunxiangbao. The pigs and sheep can breed twice a year. The pigs can breed nearly ten heads each time, and the sheep can breed six each time. He had more than 1000 pigs and sheep. The big sheep have eaten a lot, but it seems that they have bred a lot of piglets and lambs in the past two years. When they grow up, there will be a considerable number.There are also mules and horses. I have more than 500 in Shun Township Castle. The growth period of horses is also five years. After five years, my mules and horses will increase a lot.

Thinking of this, he already had the idea of ​​opening a livestock farm and collectively feeding cattle, sheep and horses. Baoan Prefecture has superior forestry resources, and there are many alpine meadows in the southwest.At this time, the local people in Baoan Prefecture called Wufu Mountain, Xiling Mountain, Dongling Mountain and other places, and there were many good pastures, so I could set up livestock farms in those places.

Wang Dou glanced at Lai Mancheng and said, "Brother Lai is so good at animal husbandry, why don't you come over and manage the cattle farm for me."

Lai Mancheng shook his hands wildly and said, "Don't, don't."

He smiled wryly and said: "My lord, the little one sells cattle and horses on weekdays, so you can speak the truth clearly and logically. If you let the little one raise them yourself, it's better to kill the little one."

He thought for a long time, and said: "I have a few good men under my command, who can come and be cowherds and horsemen for your lord."

Soon, Wang Dou recruited Zhang Gui, the prefectural urban management official, and Lin Daofu, the Shunxiang Fort defense officer, to discuss with them the establishment of many livestock farms in the southwest of Baoan Prefecture...

……

In April of the tenth year of Chongzhen, Qing generals Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi and others attacked Tieshan Pidao. Deputy General Jin Riguan and his soldiers fought fiercely with the Qing soldiers for seven days and nights. Finally Pidao fell, and Jin Riguan and others all died in battle. .In the fourth month of leap, there was a severe drought, and there was no rain for a long time. Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict to blame his ministers for their crimes.At the beginning of May, the Qing general Kong Youde was named King Gongshun, Geng Zhongming was King Huaishun, and Shang Kexi was King Zhongshun. These were King Sanshun.

On the sixth day of May, in view of the fact that the drought in various parts of Ming Dynasty became more and more serious, and Baoan Prefecture was also greatly affected, Wang Dou worried that there would be plagues after the disaster, especially the plague, which was a very terrifying thing.Since the Wanli year, plagues have broken out in various places in Ming Dynasty. Especially during the Chongzhen period, many rounds of plague broke out in Shanxi, and many places were empty of people.

The plague developed rapidly, and it was said that it would die sooner or later.Especially in the 16th year of Chongzhen's great epidemic in the capital, the city of Beijing was empty, and the Beijing camp of tens of thousands of people was also empty.Wang Dou was sure that if the plague broke out in Baoanzhou, the city might become an empty city overnight.

The outbreak of plague has a lot to do with environmental sanitation. Take the Great Ming Dynasty as an example.In the early and mid-Ming period, the Ming government was relatively affluent, and the ditches and ditches in the capital were well managed. People said that the streets and alleys of the capital were the cleanest and widest. However, since the late Wanli period, the ditches in the capital were all blocked, but there was no money to clean them up. During the reign of Chongzhen, the street environment in Beijing was even worse. It was dusty on sunny days, and muddy and difficult to walk on rainy days.

In addition to the dust and mud, the streets were full of excrement. The capital once stipulated that carts and cattle were not allowed to enter the city. In the late Ming Dynasty, this regulation became empty talk.The lack of government management is reflected in the appearance of the city. The capital in the late Ming Dynasty was littered with rubbish. Every summer, flies and gnats were infested, and dysentery and plague were rampant. This caused the plague to spread throughout the city in the 16th year of Chongzhen, and it was completely dead. , but there are no coffins, and the sunrise of the nine gates reaches ten thousand coffins.

Dirty sanitation is an important source of the outbreak of the plague. Therefore, on the sixth day of May, when Song Yingxing wrote "Starting Work and Opening Things", Wang Dou joined forces with Li Zhenyu, the prefect, to mobilize the entire city to clean up, especially to kill All rats.They also forcibly housed all the refugees and beggars on the street.

After several days of cleaning, Baoanzhou City was completely cleaned up and down, and everything was clean. The nearly [-] truckloads of garbage that were swept out were all transported outside the city for incineration and deep burial.Not only that, Wang Dou also took out money and food, planning to build many deep wells in the city of Zhou, and build many public bathhouses and public toilets.

In Wang Dou's plan, the public bathhouse charges are extremely low, so that the soldiers and civilians in the city can afford washing. In particular, several bathhouses for women will be established in the city of Xie Xiuniang in the name of Xie Xiuniang, only accepting female guests.The northern land of Daming had inconvenient water, especially due to the drought and water shortage in various places, so it was naturally difficult to take a bath. With these bathhouses, it was not only clean and hygienic, but also reduced the prevalence of various diseases.

Although the construction of a women's bathhouse has caused some people to discuss it, it was built quickly in the name of Wang Dou's strict epidemic prevention orders.

A few days later, when Wang Dou was busy building a bathhouse in the state city, Han Chao, Han Zhong, and Sun Sanjie led the sergeants A, B, and Ding to return after victoriously suppressing the bandits and gaining a lot.

(End of this chapter)