Chapter 875 Youth
New Year's Day.
Pingdengbaozi, Tongdeng Township, Menxian County, Wu'an Prefecture, was full of joy. Every household was decorated with lanterns and festoons. They invited door gods to buy new peach charms, and even asked the teacher from Baoli Primary School to write the now fashionable Spring Festival couplets.
Last year, there was chaos, and the entire Yongjiao was in chaos. At first, everyone was quite worried, but the progress of the matter was surprising. Juding was defeated. Although Zuoximan defected to Judingman, he was defeated and fled. Returning to the imperial court, the heads of each family and the young children of the family were recruited for a time, but there were not many casualties in this mission, but the rewards of spoils were very generous.
Before the New Year, both the Governor's Office of Wu'an Prefecture and the Duke of Wei's Mansion had implemented the rewards and pensions for military exploits. For those who made meritorious service, the officials in their own counties and townships led the servants Ding Cha to beat gongs and drums to the countryside to award them. Disability benefits are also generous.
The boy Liu Xiaosan went out for half a year, but he has matured a lot after he came back. He likes the name Liu Yanlu given to him by joining the army, so now when he returns home, he is called Liu Yanlu in the castle, and he no longer likes the name Xiaosan.
Liu Yanlu is wearing a red pleated hakama, which is the military uniform style of the Tang army. Last time he was called out, he fought with the army to Gaoping, and participated in the defense of Gaoping. The tribes finally reached the bank of the Nongren River.
After eating the farewell banquet given by Duke Wei in Wenshan Prefecture, which was newly established by the Nongren River, he and his companions in the same castle returned to Wu'an Prefecture with many rewards, and finally returned to Baozi before the new year.
The pleats on his body are not the formal military uniforms of the Tang Army, but after Xiaosan and the others returned home, they took the silk cloth they gave as a gift and asked their mother to cut and sew it. Wearing this clothes, he seemed to be much more airy.
In front of the wooden huts and thatched sheds of every household, red lanterns were hung, there were new peach charms, and there were even red Spring Festival couplets in front of the gates. On them were the Spring Festival couplets written by the husband with a brush. Liu Xiaosan was illiterate, but remembered The content on the Spring Festival couplets at home,
The New Year is Nayuqing, and the name of Jiajie is Changchun.
It is said that this sentence came from the mouth of Wei Gong, and many people in the castle wrote this sentence.
In order to get this pair of Wei Gong’s Spring Festival blessing couplets, Xiaosan also specially gave the husband two pieces of dried meat, which is also one of his rewards.
The smell of pork came from afar.
Years ago, many pigs were slaughtered in the village. In addition to selling the fat pigs in the pen to the county and township, almost every family also slaughtered pigs. Giving gifts, this is always reluctant to part with in the past, but this year everyone is extraordinarily generous.
It's because almost every family in the castle has two or three men recruited this year, and they all got some rewards. Lucky guys like Liu Xiaosan even fought all the way to Nongren River, the old nest of Juding, so the rewards are even more special. rich.
Every family has a lot of new year's goods, and the women are also happy to cut silk cloth for the old and young in the family to make new clothes, new hats and new shoes. Usually, they are reluctant to part with it. There are many children in the family, and it is even more so when the eldest wears the second child, and the third child has to wear it after the second child wears it. Even the uncle wears it for the younger nephew. In the end, the tattered ones have to be tidied up and used for making. Shoes and socks, or made jackets and so on.
In short, not a single piece of cloth is wasted, nor an old garment thrown away.
Carefully bypassing a piece of mud, Liu Yanlu looked down at the new boots on his feet, and then turned his head to look at the trousers behind his legs. He was satisfied that he was not stained before continuing on.
Going out for half a year, luck is very good, except for the hard work and tiring, and occasional fear, in fact, basically I have never fought against the barbarians, and a few times I just stayed behind to help prepare for the battle, but I also got credit for it.
After returning home, the family summed up the calculations carefully and found that it was really rich.
Among them, I got three Kaiyuan silver coins alone, and I got five thousand Kaiyuan Tongbao copper coins. In addition, there are many silk, cloth, cotton, rice, and noodles.
Of course, what pleased the family the most was a Juding female barbarian slave and a horse that Liu Yanlu brought back directly from the Nongren River.
That female barbarian slave is from the Juding Nong tribe, about twenty years old, very ugly, with tattoos on her face and blackened teeth, she looks like a ghost or ghost, and can't listen I understand, but I am good at doing things. The whole family has been carefully trained. Although Liu's mother is worried about her use of the loom, she can't do it, but she can do many clumsy things.
Although the horse is relatively short, it is said that this kind of horse is used by caravans here. It is good at walking in mountains, has good endurance, and can even be a good helper in farming.
After discussing with the family, the woman and the old horse decided to stay. It could help the family reduce a lot of labor burden. If they sell it now, the price is not very good. The team shipped barbarians and cattle and horses from there to here, and the price fell again and again.
Father Liu was not recruited last year because of a leg injury. He was very lucky at the time, but he regretted it later. Seeing others get so many rewards and taking back so many spoils of war, he himself got nothing. Although the two sons did not get as much as Xiao San, they also brought back some rewards, which finally made him feel better.
The Liu family plans to buy a one-year-old buffalo in the spring of next year. After feeding it, he will teach him how to plow and work with the old horse to cultivate the family's field. Save a cow rent. Besides, the old horse is a mare, and it can still give birth. If I buy another heifer, it will also be able to give birth in two years, and it will add a lot of income to the family.
After the service is done, if there is one calf and one pony a year, it will at least increase the income by two or three thousand dollars.
The eldest brother proposed that next year he would be able to spend some reward money to build three houses in the open space next to him, not to mention a single-door courtyard, which is equivalent to building a side house. He is not too young, so he hopes to ask someone to talk about the door Ask for a daughter-in-law. The old Liu and his wife agreed with this, and the second child was a little envious, but they also knew that although the family got a new sum of money, it was impossible to marry their two sons at the same time.
I can only wait for the boss to ask for a wife first, and then he waits.
Lao Liu felt that most of the bounty was earned by the mistress, and now that he wanted to use it to buy cattle and build a house for the boss to marry a wife, he couldn’t help but owe him a little, so he simply suggested that the mistress should directly take the barbarian back to his house.
Lao Liu said that he would make do with it first, and after a few years, when the eldest and second child had both promised to marry each other, he would also propose a daughter-in-law to him.
The second child is a little jealous, this is to give the female barbarian slave to the third child as a concubine.
Of course, because the third child is not an honorary officer, he is not eligible for bigamy and taking concubines as a white man, so he does not have the status of concubine or anything, that is, he is a housemate.
Liu Laizi ignored the second child's dissatisfaction.
The female barbarian is in her twenties. According to herself, she was married long ago in the village and had three children, but now the village has been destroyed and her husband and family are separated. She doesn't know where her husband is. up. Regarding the Liu family's decision, this woman, who could barely understand a little bit of Chinese, just accepted it with dim eyes.
Inappropriate associations will be beaten. Although the Liu family is not the kind of vicious people, they will still beat and scold disobedient slaves, ranging from starving to being beaten with bamboo whips. In this immigrant village of the Tang Dynasty Here, the barbarian, like the other slaves, sees no hope.
Although Liu Xiaosan felt that the barbarian was old and ugly, with tattoos on his face and black teeth, but when the barbarian moved into his room at night and slept on the same bed, the boy still didn't mind. Hold it back, anyway, under the dark lights, you can't see the appearance of this barbarian, but the feminine smell emanating from her body makes the young man hot and unbearable, and he still can't restrain himself after all.
The woman just resisted a few times symbolically, and after being slapped twice by Liu Xiaosan, she stopped struggling in the darkness. She lay on the bed like a dead fish, letting the boy's impulsive and impatient actions, that clumsy His appearance even made her not hate him so much, remembering that he was brought to this boy from the Nongren River, and then all the way east, it was this boy who took care of her. Although he couldn't speak the language, he was still good to her.
For a long time, listening to the boy's depressed sigh in the dark, the woman stretched out her hand, but took the initiative to lead him into a mysterious new world...
Zhao Siyuan led a horse over, saw Liu Yanlu, smiled and took out a piece of taro, "I just dug it out of the stove, it's still hot, and it's roasted deliciously."
Liu Yanlu patted the ash on the taro and peeled it, and asked, "Where are you taking the horse?"
"Walking!" Zhao Xiaoer said proudly, this horse was also his reward, it was also brought back from Nongren River, compared to Liu Yanlu's horse, his horse is younger and more handsome, although it is not comparable The war horse was tall, but at least it was much stronger than Liu Yanlu's.
"Going to show off again?" Liu Yanlu said with a smile. Although they came from different places, they lived together in this castle for several years. Last year, they were called to carry guns together. They lived in the same tent for half a year. The relationship between the two became closer.
"I heard that Qian Bingcao has been promoted. His wife is very happy. She specially invited an opera troupe from Jiaozhou to sing for three days. There is also a juggling troupe. Many vendors from far and near also come to set up stalls. Therefore, people from all over the world will come to watch the show. When the time comes, you think, there will definitely be many young ladies who will also come. Let’s tidy up and show off? There may be a good marriage waiting. It's on."
"My family is talking to my elder brother," Liu Xiaosan said helplessly, "If my elder brother can succeed this year, then I have to prepare for my second brother. It will probably take a few years for me to wait for it."
Zhao Siyuan is the second child in the family, but his elder brother has already married a wife, so now the family is making arrangements to propose marriage to him, and now everything is ready, just waiting for the matchmaker to arrange.
"I heard that your grandfather brought you back and arranged for that woman to sleep in your house?" Zhao Siyuan asked curiously.
Liu Xiaosan blushed slightly.
"Are you asleep?"
Liu Xiaosan hesitated, looked around, and finally nodded.
"How does it feel?"
"It feels like I can melt away my bones. I grew up so big. I never thought that it would be so comfortable to sleep with a woman in my arms in winter."
"Just cuddling and sleeping?"
"Fools only sleep with their arms around."
"Tell me quickly, how do you feel, and how did this happen?"
"The boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge. You will know it when you hold it in your arms. That feeling is so beautiful!" Liu Yanlu is not without a bit of pride, although in fact, at the beginning, he was sweating profusely , couldn't get in through the door, and then the woman took the initiative to guide him, but he suddenly fell like a mountain, which made him feel ashamed and annoyed. Fortunately, the woman had experience, and he quickly regained his glory. Got a taste of a man.
Zhao Siyuan looked at his aftertaste, feeling a little helpless, "I should have known that I shouldn't have let my father sell that woman. My slave is much younger than you. I only changed a buffalo. It's a shame."
He sighed, "On the way back, the lieutenants were too strict, and they just didn't let me take a chance, otherwise I could have a taste of it."
Liu Yanlu comforted him, "Your family sold that woman. Didn't it give you a cow and get the money back? Didn't it also buy you a wedding gift? When the time comes, which family's little girl will you be talking about? Your childhood was really beautiful." Lie."
The two teenagers were wearing brand new red military robes, and they were very conspicuous in the village. Soon, the other eight teenagers who went with them last time also gathered together, attracting many teenagers and children in the village to circle around.
"Have you heard, our lord Qian Langjun is going to be promoted, it seems that he is going to be promoted to the magistrate of Qixi County."
"Our Mr. Qian Lang was originally a soldier of Wu'an Prefecture Cao joined the army, and now he is re-elected as the magistrate of Qixi County. Is it a promotion or a demotion?"
"Although Bing Cao Canjun is an official of the state government, he is only a subordinate of the seventh rank, and he is only a member of the staff in the state, but he is an officer in the county."
A young man asked, "Qixi County is newly established. It should be a lower county. The magistrates of the lower counties only come down from the seventh rank. If it's just a small county magistrate, it seems that they are only on the eighth rank."
The prefectures and counties of Datang are divided into upper, middle and lower levels, which are basically determined according to the number of households, and they are also subdivided according to Jifu Wangjin.
The ranks of upper, middle and lower ranks are different, and the grades of governors and county magistrates are also different.
The magistrates of Xiaxian counties are only lowered from the seventh rank, but if it is a particularly small county, it is not even called a county magistrate, but a county magistrate is set up, and its rank will be lowered by another level.
The state soldier Cao Canjun's full name is the state soldier joins the military, and it is really powerful from the seventh rank, and it is quite powerful to judge a state soldier Cao affairs.
"Whoever said that Qixi County is small, it is a new establishment in a barbaric land, but it used to be called Qiyuan Prefecture, but now it has been reduced to a county. The barbarians who belonged to them were scattered and resettled there, and even many Dangxiang Qiang, Turkic Hu and other southward migrants were resettled there. Once Qixi County was established, the number of households has exceeded 10,000."
The counties of Datang are set up as Chi, Ji, Wang, and Song, with three levels of upper, middle, and lower. Except for Chi and Ji, which are generally the capital of Kyoto and Jifu, the rest of Wangjin are also awarded by the key points of Guanjin and other places. General counties It is still only divided into upper, middle and lower levels.
(end of this chapter)