Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 199 Advanced Experience
After several years of development in Wuzhai Fort, since the military households have solved their food and clothing problems, a preliminary civic culture has formed in the fort.

Like many big cities such as Beijing, Taiyuan, Suzhou and Hangzhou, there are more and more teahouses in Wuzhaibao.Especially in the cold weather right now, it is also a kind of enjoyment to enter a hot tea shop, drink a pot of hot tea, and then listen to books.

Especially the military households in the original fort are the generation who have become rich first. From this year onwards, they generally have some spare money in addition to living expenses.In addition to owning houses in the fort, these military households also had their own houses in various farms outside the fort.

At present, the farms are developing steadily, and it is slack, so many military households gather in the fort, drinking tea and listening to books all day long, enjoying themselves.Of course, most of those storytellers were talking about how Huang Laifu was so brave in the past few years, and how he defeated the Hulu in Wuzhai Fort and Ningxia City. It also earned a lot of income.The content of these storytelling, in addition to being loved by the soldiers and civilians of Wuzhaibao, is also loved by the people in the surrounding Junbao prefectures and counties, and has even entered the Taiyuan market.

In addition, the development of Wuzhai Fort, the increase of workshop workers, and the acceleration of the pace of life have also added another culture, that is, the prevalence of fast food culture.

Since last year, there have been a lot of cake sellers in the castle, specializing in steamed cakes, porridge cakes, pig and sheep blood soup, wontons, noodle rolls and the like.Especially all kinds of noodles are even more abundant, such as pork and sheep noodles, silk chicken noodles, three fresh noodles, fish skin noodles, salt fried noodles, bamboo shoot noodles, fried chicken noodles, boiled noodles, and sub ingredients. Shrimp dry noodles, etc., have everything you expect.

The emergence of these foods met the needs of military workers inside and outside the fort to eat quickly.Faced with the fast food trend, several restaurants in Wuzhai Fort are not far behind, and they have researched many fast cooking techniques.

For example, a very popular dish in Wuzhai Fort: stir-fried kidneys is one of the representatives.Its approach is that the raw materials have already been cut, and as long as the guests enter the restaurant, they can be put into the boiling oil pan, quickly and briefly fried, and cooked into dishes, which is easy to do.Under the influence of this culture, various fast food dishes in various restaurants and restaurants in Wuzhai Fort compete for beauty like clusters of flowers.

The development of fast food has also promoted the continuous emergence of fast food utensils, such as frying pans, ovens, models for making puff pastry, wooden beds that can be pressed into thin strips and have leaks, etc., appearing continuously.

On the one hand, it is eating, and on the other hand, it also reflects this characteristic.Now in Wuzhaibao and various farms, every household burns coal, and no one burns firewood.The widespread use of coal not only promoted the expansion of the Shenchibao Coal Mine, but also promoted the emergence of related convenient furnaces.

I don't know when, a thing called Liaolu appeared in Wuzhaibao, and it was widely used by residents.This kind of wood frame on the outside of the stove can be moved freely without manpower to blow the fire, the furnace door is pulled out, the combustion is full, the firepower is very strong, clean and smoke-free, safe and fire-proof, and saves time, manpower and fuel. It is long-term flame-resistant and easy to control. The heat is quite advanced.

Huang Laifu vaguely remembered that this kind of burning stove appeared in Tokyo in the Song Dynasty. At that time, millions of people in Tokyo relied on coal, so burning stoves were popular at that time. Unexpectedly, this kind of thing appeared in Wuzhaibao again.

“What a leisurely and rich place.”

Looking at the bustling scene in Wuzhai Fort, merchants gathered and business was booming.The military households, with their wives and children, went shopping leisurely, and the teahouses in every street were full, Ye Mengxiong couldn't help sighing.

Just now Huang Laifu led Ye Mengxiong and others to visit the medical center and nursing home in the castle. Ye Mengxiong was quite moved by what he saw.Ye Mengxiong and Mei Guozhen both spoke highly of Huang Laifu, a military man, who paid so much attention to civil affairs.

Ye Mengxiong even said to Mei Guozhen in private: "It is heard in the castle that the army and the people are happy, there is no one who is cold and hungry, and those who are widowed, lonely, and sick are all supported. The sage said that the rule of three generations is nothing more than this."

After seeing the situation inside Wuzhai Fort, Ye Mengxiong was even more eager to know the answer to why Wuzhai Fort developed in such a way, so he urged Huang Laifu to take them outside the fort to have a look.

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"Mr. Xiong, the most important reason why my Wuzhaibao farmland can harvest every year is because of water conservancy irrigation."

Outside Wuzhai Fort, beside the Qinglian River, beside Huang Laifu's Dashui vehicle, Huang Laifu spoke to Ye Mengxiong and the others.

Along the Qinglian River, the huge Huanglaifu waterwheel, which has become the symbol of Wuzhai Fort, keeps turning, and the rushing water is continuously drawn up and poured into the canal on the bank for storage.But after some time, the river will freeze, and the Huanglaifu water truck, which has been busy for several months, will also stop working and take a good rest.

Looking from here, there are dozens of large water tankers standing along the river, constantly irrigating the fields on both sides.However, in Wuzhaibao right now, the autumn harvest has already been completed, especially now that there is a piece of slack farming, and there are not many people walking around in the fields of the farms.

"The old man understands."

Ye Mengxiong pondered for a while, then sighed: "It's just that such a huge waterwheel and canal will require a lot of manpower, money and food, right? I'm afraid there are not many people in the prefectures and counties of Ming Dynasty who have this ability."

Huang Laifu said: "Mr. Xiong's great opinion is right in one sentence. Ordinary people really don't have the ability to do this, and most of the local governments don't have the financial resources. If they are forced to use force to remind them, they may stir up civil uprisings."

Huang Laifu murmured: "Perhaps, the people of each Jia and Li can unite and contribute money and work together, so that if there are more people and more money, it may be possible to handle it."

Ye Mengxiong thought for a while, and finally sighed: "It's difficult."

Only Li Rusong's eyes flickered. As the chief soldier of Xuanfu Town, he had plenty of soldiers and food, and controlled many military households. The method of Wuzhai Fort might not be a problem for him.

Afterwards, under the leadership of Huang Laifu, everyone visited various workshops, ice storages, and food factories in Wuzhaibao, especially the fertilizer workshop in Wuzhaibao. Everyone's eyes were wide open.

No wonder Wuzhaibao has a bumper harvest every year. With a complete irrigation system and various fertilizers and pesticides, it is hard to imagine a bumper harvest.Li Rusong was thinking about whether to buy some fertilizer from Wuzhaibao in the future, and use it as a weapon for farming in the future.

There is also Wuzhaibao Woolen Mill, which also left a deep impression on everyone.With thousands of workers in the factory, Ye Mengxiong and others were at a loss.In the workshops they saw before, there were dozens of people at most. How could they have seen such a huge flow of people?They only heard that it is possible to have such a large-scale factory building in the south of the Yangtze River, but they have never heard of it in the north.

Ye Mengxiong was a little uneasy and said, "General Huang, will there be trouble if so many workers gather together? If someone with ulterior motives instigates it, I'm afraid it will be another source of chaos."

Huang Laifu smiled and said: "Mr. Xiong is too worried. These workers came to Wuzhaibao just to earn some money and food to support their families. They will not ruin their way of making a living. Besides, my Wuzhaibao army is in the fort. Inside, if there are any ulterior motives inciting troubles, the steel knives and firecrackers in my hand are not vegetarians."

Father-in-law Ma Jiuying managed to seize this opportunity, and hurriedly said, "Master Ye is really ignorant. I have been running a wool spinning factory in Wuzhaibao for several years. After several years, I have never heard of anyone trying to make trouble in the factory. You know, Our wool spinning factory is not just for anyone to enter, and those who can enter the factory are envied by many people, so they are reluctant to ruin their jobs."

Hearing Eunuch Ma Jiuying's tone, Mei Guozhen's face immediately changed.Li Rusong and the others regained their spirits immediately, and stood aside, waiting to watch the show.

But seeing Ye Mengxiong's expression was calm, he just smiled and said: "Elder-in-law has a good opinion, the old man has been taught."

One tall and one short, one fat and one thin, the two looked at each other, only laughing at each other.

As if nothing happened, Ye Mengxiong and others, led by Huang Laifu and Yi Ma Jiuying, visited various parts of the wool spinning factory.Father-in-law Ma Jiuying has also devoted a lot of effort to the wool spinning factory in recent years, so when he talks about everything in the factory, he also feels quite complacent.

After carefully visiting, Ye Mengxiong and others naturally found many good things, not to mention the various woolen fabrics and cloth, especially those cashmere clothing cushions, etc., the surface is as smooth as silk, warm and luxurious, Ye Mengxiong, Mei Guozhen and others, In the past, when buying these commodities in various places, you have to pay a lot of money, and there are often prices but no market.Now that these items are in front of them, everyone's eyes are wide open.

Everyone laments that this kind of woolen mill is really a money-absorbing monster, no wonder Huang Laifu is so slack.Huang Laifu was also heroic. When they left the wool spinning factory, they each presented a set of cashmere products, which made everyone very happy, especially the military generals, who laughed so hard that they couldn't see their teeth. Only Eunuch Ma Jiuying was very reluctant.

Next, everyone visited the Wuzhaibao Orchard, the Wuzhaibao Livestock Farm, and the Horseshoe Po Sheep Farm.Everything here is amazing again.When visiting these places, everyone generally felt a sense of grandeur. It seemed that Huang Laifu was very heroic in everything he did.That kind of generosity made everyone a little ashamed, and everyone reflected on whether they were too petty in doing things in the past.

Moreover, the Wuzhaibao large livestock farm and the underground heating circle in the horseshoe slope sheep farm also aroused everyone's curiosity.There are also piglets and lambs produced by domestic animals who hatch their eggs in soil vats and slightly steamed in cable cages. It is also an eye-opener for everyone. It turns out that this can be done without a mother hen for hatching eggs.

At present, the Director of the Animal Husbandry Bureau of Wuzhaibao is Wang Qinian. With this breeding expert, Huang Laifu is very relieved, and the scale of the livestock farms and pastures is getting bigger and bigger.By this time, Wuzhaibao had raised more than 4 sheep, more than 2 pigs, and countless chickens and ducks.Due to the dual insurance of captive breeding and free-range breeding, coupled with effective epidemic prevention, the survival rate of each animal has always been very high.

The various captive farms are already amazing. The free-range breeding method in Wuzhaibao has also given everyone a lot of insight. The pasture here is actually divided into small pastures, and the middle of the small pastures is fenced by some thorn trees. Separate them, and then graze for a few days in each pasture area, and rush to the next pasture area.There are some deer and rabbits raised in these pastures, which surprised everyone again.

Wherever Ye Mengxiong and the others went, they felt extremely fresh, and they consciously learned a lot.

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The current Wuzhaibao Military Artisan Workshop has been moved outside the fort, and its scale has expanded a lot. There are about a thousand military artisans and soldiers. Every day, it is full of tinkling, making firecrackers and armor. It is extremely lively.

Regarding Ye Mengxiong, Li Rusong and others' requests for visits, Huang Laifu did not hide his secrets, and took them to see them one by one.Sure enough, as Huang Laifu said in Ningxia City, there is nothing special, but he pays special attention to quality issues. If the quality of firearms and armor is slightly substandard, they will definitely not be accepted.This resulted in the advantage of Wuzhaibao's army firearms.

However, with the eyes of Li Rusong and Ye Mengxiong, it is natural to see that Wuzhaibao Military Workshop has a different reward and punishment system from other places, so this is the crux of the problem.

It's just that when everyone thinks about the environment they are in now, they all sigh inwardly: "It's difficult."

Finally, everyone came to the Wuzhaibao Vegetable Garden.

The big vegetable garden is at the foot of Qinglian Mountain. At this time of season, the cabbages, radishes, etc. have already been harvested.At present, the vegetables grown in the vegetable garden are all cold-resistant vegetables, such as broad beans, peas, and shepherd's purse.

Here, there are vegetable fields surrounded by fences and creepers, and Huang Laifu's hand press wells flow out clear water from time to time, plus elms, mulberry trees, willows, etc. planted by the ponds, it is quite idyllic view.So here, there are quite a few thatched cottages built by literati with elegance.

This kind of scenery also made Ye Mengxiong and others very interested, after all, they were also literati.However, the weather is getting colder now, and the number of elegant literati has gradually decreased, and most of them have gone to teahouses to drink tea in the castle.

At this time, besides the gardeners, only the students of Wuzhaibao University Hall were active in the big vegetable garden.

Wuzhaibao University Hall is located on a hill not far from the vegetable garden, surrounded by elegant scenery.Since the university hall was built at the end of last year, it has enrolled more than 50 students and hired more than [-] professors and Xuezhengs. It can be called a huge scale and ranks first in Shanxi Province.

This school is the pride of Wuzhaibao people, but after confirming the teaching content of the university hall, it has aroused discussions among some literati in Wuzhaibao and nearby, because the university hall not only teaches the traditional rituals, archery, calligraphy, and mathematics of the Ming Dynasty. In addition to class, there are knowledge about agricultural technology, business, martial arts and so on.This naturally made many literati unacceptable.It has been relying on Huang Laifu's prestige in Wuzhai Fort to suppress it.There were also some university teachers who suspended classes to protest, but they were all driven away by Huang Laifu.

In Wuzhaibao University, the labor practice class is very important. Each class has its own vegetable field, or farmland, orchard, etc., or it can be studied in a factory.Every child must combine theory with practice and work in person.Especially after a year of teaching, the regulation of the university hall is now very standardized.

No, at this time, beside a vegetable field, there are some children who are busy with something under the leadership of the teacher. Everyone is excited. To be honest, compared with the boring class, the labor practice class very popular.Every time they come to the vegetable field, the children are always very happy, especially seeing that the things they planted grow slowly and are finally ready to eat. Everyone always has a sense of accomplishment.Only the gentlemen were a little reluctant, thinking it was degrading.

However, in the eyes of Ye Mengxiong and Mei Guozhen, this situation made them extremely shocked. Ye Mengxiong pointed at those people, and said to Huang Laifu in a stuttering voice: "General Huang, this is..."

Huang Laifu groaned and explained with a smile.

Ye Mengxiong just looked at Huang Laifu solemnly.

Mei Guozhen couldn't help but said: "General Huang, aren't you insulting gentlemen? How can we come to such a place after learning the subtle words and righteousness of saints?"

Huang Laifu smiled and said, "Agriculture and mulberry are the foundation of the country. Why not let the students learn more about farming and make the country rich in the future?"

Mei Guozhen said: "That can't let the students learn about merchants in class."

Huang Laifu said: "The sage once said that there are six arts: ritual, music, archery, imperialism, calligraphy, and numbering. Isn't business planning also a kind of numbering? As for martial arts, it can also be classified as the way of archery and imperialism."

Mei Guozhen frowned, Ye Mengxiong sighed: "General Huang, you are young and promising, your future is limitless, don't go astray."

Huang Laifu said: "Ask Mr. Xiong, Guochao has tens of thousands of scholars who take the exam every year. How many people are selected every year?"

Ye Mengxiong pondered for a while, and said, "Less than a hundred people."

Huang Laifu said: "There are less than a hundred people every year. If there are thousands of troops and horses crossing the Independence Bridge, you can be called lucky. However, among the rest of the scholars, how poor are they? If they can't be elected, how can they make a living? I Wuzhaibao students will be like this in the future, out of a thousand people, how many people will be able to win the exam? The lower officials see this and teach them how to make a living. In this way, even if they fail to win the exam, they will be able to win the exam in Wuzhai in the future. If you can get a job and support your family, why not do it?"

Ye Mengxiong sighed and was speechless. At the same time, he felt that Huang Laifu was eloquent, saying that he was a martial artist, but he didn't look like him at all.I was almost deceived by his appearance.

Li Rusong just murmured silently, Li Rubai, Li Ruzhang and the others saw Huang Laifu arguing with Ye Mengxiong, and they could also argue about being ugly and Yinmao, they all opened their eyes wide and secretly admired Huang Laifu.

When they returned to Wuzhaibao in the evening, Ye Mengxiong and the others were in complicated moods, thinking about the school.That night, Huang Laifu ordered to kill pigs and sheep to reward the army stationed outside the fort, which made everyone out of the tens of thousands of soldiers outside the city have a very good impression of Wuzhai Fort.

They believe that other states and counties are all reticent, and only Huang Laifu is the most arrogant, and he only supplies them with rice, wine and meat.They came all the way, and it was the first time they felt that they had such a good meal. Wuzhai Fort is really a good place.

What makes people feel particularly happy is that Wuzhaibao also has a publicity singing team from the Propaganda Bureau to sing ditties for them.This naturally made them overjoyed.The songs of those little girls came out one by one, and the cheers of the crowd became louder and louder, and the atmosphere gradually reached a climax.

What is the last song called camel bell?
"Send off comrades-in-arms, embark on a journey, cry silently, with camel bells ringing in my ears, the road is long, foggy..."

When this song came out, not to mention Li Rusong and other military commanders, even Ye Mengxiong and other civil servants could also listen to it with fascination...

On the second day, Ye Mengxiong, Li Rusong and others led the army and left Wuzhai Fort.

(End of this chapter)