"Your Highness! We are back!"
Spring passes and autumn comes, and time flies by, and more than a month passes.
As time came to the end of August, in Jilin City's eagerly awaited arrival, Zhang Chun and other 200 people finally escorted Yang Bin, more than 2,000 horse-drawn carriages and thousands of people from Liaodong Dusi to Jilin City.
Zhu Gaoxu was in the palace when they arrived, so when he heard Zhang Chun's voice, he immediately put down his pen and ran to the study window to watch.
While waiting and watching, Zhang Chun walked into the palace courtyard surrounded by Yi Shiha, Lin Su, and Fu Rang.
Zhu Gaoxu waved to everyone, then walked back to the main hall.
When he reached the main hall, everyone also entered the hall.
"Last General Zhang Chun, may your Highness be blessed with good fortune and good health!"
As soon as he entered the hall, Zhang Chun bowed and was about to kneel down. Zhu Gaoxu also stepped forward to hold his hands and said with a smile:
"Having been to Jiangnan, have you forgotten my rules?"
"I was confused for a moment." Zhang Chun was not very old after all. He smiled and scratched his head, causing Fu Rang and others next to him to laugh.
"Sit down first. Where is Yang Bin?"
Zhu Gaoxu asked them to sit down, and he also took the main seat. When Zhang Chun sat down, he replied: "I will come from Jixi Fort first. They will probably not arrive for more than ten miles."
"Your Highness, Yang Bin didn't do what you asked this time." Zhang Chun said with a smile:
"He paid for it out of his own pocket and made up for it all the way to Jixibao. There was still 30,000 shi of grain in the car." At this point, Zhang Chunye said with an embarrassed look on his face:
"It's just that the officials were hard to find. We found more than sixty of them, but they returned the money and left all the way north. Now they only brought thirty-one..."
Zhang Chun seemed to feel a little guilty for not completing what Zhu Gaoxu had told him, and couldn't help but lower his head.
Zhu Gaoxu had been prepared for a long time and could only comfort him: "It was Yang Bin who asked you to come back and tell me first, right? It's okay. I have expected this situation. If you can bring thirty-one, that's enough." Not bad.”
Although he comforted Zhang Chun, the other three people who knew him well could hear some regret in his words.
In order to prevent the atmosphere from continuing like this, Fu Rang took the initiative and said, "You came at the right time. We are planning to train for a few more days before going to avenge you."
"Revenge?" Zhang Chun was confused for a moment, but quickly realized what he was doing. He stood up excitedly and bowed, staring at Zhu Gaoxu:
"Your Highness, I am willing to be the vanguard and go straight to the lair of Hana slave in Xiyang!"
Obviously, the prosperous Jiangnan could not corrode Zhang Chun's desire for revenge, and he did not even expect that it would happen so quickly.
Regarding his behavior, Zhu Gaoxu smiled and raised his hand to signal him to sit down, and then said:
"Don't tell me you want to be a pioneer. Even I want to be a pioneer. But this time we are taking this path that only Commander Fu can lead, so you have no choice but to be a pioneer."
As Zhu Gaoxu said this, Lin Su also explained to Zhang Chun the route of the northern expedition.
Hearing that Fu Rang and Zhu Gaoxu were actually planning to take the overland route to Boyanbao, Zhang Chun thought it was a little difficult at first, but after hearing Lin Su say that there were more than 900 draft horses in the city, he immediately changed his mind.
"Although I couldn't collect a thousand horses, it was enough."
Fu Rang said this, and Zhu Gaoxu also took the opportunity to say: "This time we sent out troops, Lin Su led 227 people to stay in Jilin City, and Wang Yi led a hundred people under his command to lead the boats and pretend that we were going to march by water. Fu and I Rang, Yishiha, and Zhang Chun led 400 cavalry and 600 horse infantry to attack Yishiha's lair."
"There are still 200 people left. I want 100 people to stay behind to guard the three mines, and 100 people to escort Yang Bin south."
As Zhu Gaoxu spoke, he looked at everyone. Among them, Fu Rang, Lin Su and Zhang Chun were in high spirits. Only Yi Shiha obviously did not expect that he would really follow Zhu Gaoxu into the battlefield.
He was not afraid, but rather eager, but he really didn't expect that he, a eunuch, would be lucky enough to go to the battlefield.
"This time it is best to kill the old slave of Hana in Xiyang and take his head to pay tribute to the brothers in Jilin City who died in the previous battle. By the way, we can tell the tribes outside the pass who is in charge of the place under their feet. !”
Zhu Gaoxu has a heroic spirit. He must fight and win this battle, because he has a reason to win and there is no way out.
"I am willing to serve as a front-line soldier for His Highness!"
Hearing this, everyone stood up and sang the salute. Only Zhu Gaoxu returned to normal after saying these words:
"We'll wait for Yang Bin to come and store the food in the warehouse first. There isn't much food in the warehouse now."
Zhu Gaoxu smiled, but everyone smiled bitterly. After seeing this and asking, Zhang Chun learned that in exchange for these more than 600 draft horses, Jilin City had paid more than 3,000 shi.
Including various other supplements, medicines and furs, Jilin City's treasury, which had more than 50,000 shi in May, now only has more than 20,000 shi.
Even if Yang Bin and the others brought 30,000 shi of food, the total would only be enough to last until June of next year.
If the unpaid soldiers' salaries are deducted, they can only eat until mid-April.
Although Liaodong Dusi comes to Jilin City every year to transport grain in early April, if they are a few days late, Jilin City will face the risk of running out of grain.
Therefore, the attack on Xiyang Ha was not only for revenge, but also to plunder food and population.
After understanding everything, Zhang Chun said nothing more.
However, after talking about the business, everyone's conversation became more relaxed, and they basically asked Zhang Chun about his feelings about going to the south.
Although Zhang Chun is from Shandong, he was moved to Liaodong when he was five years old. When he was eleven years old, his predecessor Qianhu was transferred from Jilin City, so he came to Jilin City with his father to take office.
I just didn't expect that in just three years, father and son would be separated by nature.
Zhang Chun had already passed the sad moment, so he told everyone about his experience of going south.
Like Zhu Gaoxu and others, Zhang Chun always lamented that there were so many people in the south on the way south. After arriving in Jiangnan, he felt that there were people everywhere around him, and he felt a little uncomfortable.
He went to the Governor's Mansion to report on his work and was told that in order to inherit his father's official position, he had to go to the university to take the exam.
Considering that he was a serving military attache and also a frontier military attache, the Governor's Office arranged for him to take an examination with several veterans.
The examinations for military attachés were very easy for Zhang Chun, a military boy who had been practicing horseback archery on horseback since he was a child. He passed all the examinations in just one day, and then went to the Governor's Mansion to officially receive his new military seal.
At the same time, the Governor's Office also posthumously awarded Zhang Chun's father Zhang Ben the title of Governor Qianshi, and Zhang Chun inherited the title.
Therefore, Zhang Chun's current official official position should be the governor of Qianshi, rather than the former Qianhu.
But Zhang Chun didn't care. Although he often stayed with his father, he didn't fight many times. Starting from Qianhu was already a big challenge for him.
Fortunately, in the past few months since he went south, he has been able to skillfully command about two hundred soldiers and horses, so he is still very confident about this surprise attack on Xiyang Ha.
After talking about all this, there was a buzzing sound outside the hospital. It was obvious that Yang Bin and the others had arrived in Jilin City.
Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu stood up and greeted: "Let's go out and take a look at the things shipped this time."
"Yes!" Everyone stood up with a smile and prepared to go out with Zhu Gaoxu, but Zhang Chun stood up and bowed: "Your Highness, I have something to talk to Your Highness."
"Huh?" Zhu Gaoxu was a little suspicious, but still greeted Fu Rang and the others: "You go first."
Although Fu Rang and others were also confused, they still left Chengyun Hall.
After making sure they left, Zhang Chun stepped forward and whispered to Zhu Gaoxu:
"Your Highness, among the brothers there are people from the south..."
Zhang Chun noticed that there were people from the Jin Yiwei in Jilin City. This was something Zhu Gaoxu did not expect. He instinctively attracted the Jin Yiwei. Zhang Chun guessed: "Are they looking for you?"
"No..." Zhang Chun shook his head: "I found that a few brothers from the south often go on the deck in the middle of the night, and after arriving in Nanjing, they left the big church with the excuse of going to drink with their former brothers."
"But then I became interested and followed them for a while, and saw them getting into a carriage made of fine sandalwood."
"Based on their military registration records, it's absolutely impossible to know anyone who can get into a car like that, so..."
Zhang Chun did not continue, but Zhu Gaoxu continued: "So you think they are from the southern court?"
"Hmm..." Zhang Chun looked worried. He had not been deeply involved in the world before, but the behavior of military attachés from Liaodong Dusi who came to Jilin City from time to time to inspect could also know that officialdom was dangerous.
This time when he went south, he saw many ugliness that he had never seen in Jilin City.
He didn't know whether he should say that his father protected him too well, or that his father had not experienced that either.
In short, after experiencing those things, Zhang Chun cherished Zhu Gaoxu's days in Jilin City even more.
If someone else came instead of Zhu Gaoxu, Zhang Chun couldn't even imagine what Jilin City would be like now...
"Just write down the names of the people. There is no need to expose them." Zhu Gaoxu patted Zhang Chun on the shoulder and said with relief:
"Don't worry, we can walk and sit upright without fear of being watched by others. They can't possibly kill me."
Zhu Gaoxu smiled and comforted Zhang Chun, but he didn't know in his heart that Lao Zhu might not want his life at the moment, but after Lao Zhu died...
Suddenly, Zhu Yunwen's face appeared in his mind, but he didn't think about it deeply, but called Zhang Chun to follow him.
Not long after, the two of them left the palace and came to the treasury in Jilin City, which was already crowded with soldiers returning from the south.
Not only them, but many soldiers who had just finished studying in the academy also came over, joking and joking with the soldiers who had gone south.
They talked about the scenery of Jiangnan, but they talked more about the women of Jiangnan and the prosperity of Jiangnan.
The people nearby were mesmerized by what they heard, but were soon awakened by those who had been there.
"Well, although the south is better, it's better for us to stay here in Jilin City."
One of the Baihu officials who gave the explanation sighed, and the people next to him became anxious when he heard it: "Why?"
"You don't know..." Baihuguan sighed and said the bad things he saw on the way to the south.
Needless to say, there is no need to talk about the clichéd matter of the military households in the guard station working in the fields and handing over grain. They discussed more about the Confucianism of the southern guard station.
In the Confucian School of Wei in the south, where there was a large population and a large area, there were generally only three or five professors who taught reading, so the only people who could get the teaching were high-ranking military officers. The children of military households like them had no chance to study.
Even though some health centers have opened schools for military families because of the large number of professors, such a school is often crowded with hundreds of people, and a child of a military family can only attend classes once every three days.
Even if they could go to lectures, the children of military households would learn nothing at all while listening to the professors walking and talking.
In comparison, they had previously thought that the crowded Jilin City Academy was a paradise. Not to mention that they had recruited thirty-one more officials this time when they went south to the palace. I am afraid that the number of people in their academy would soon drop.
Beyond that, take fields.
Although the fields in the south had high yields per mu, and the imperial court also allocated wasteland to military households as spare fields for reclamation and cultivation, the imperial court was not responsible for the grain used during the reclamation period.
Without extra food, the military households could only rely on the twelve shi of monthly rations and the three to five shi of line rations each year to clear up wasteland.
This small amount of food can support a family of three to survive for several months. In a few months, they can only open one or two acres of land, and 30% of the next year's harvest will have to be given to the guards as taxes.
In comparison, Jilin City, where each person was given six buckets of rice every month, and the reclaimed land was evenly distributed to military households, was a place where they could live a prosperous life.
Not only that, but there are also many injustices and differences in front of them, making many of them even more reluctant to leave Jilin City after going out.
Hearing the shortcomings of the south described by military households who had been to the south, other military households were very sad and no longer wanted to go to the south.
Indeed, the south is prosperous, has a good climate, and has a high grain yield per acre...
It's just that no matter how good all this is, if it can't make them live comfortably, then no matter how good it is, it won't have much to do with them.
The military households changed the topic, and while they were having a lively discussion, Zhu Gaoxu also brought Zhang Chun to the treasury.
At this moment, Yi Shiha was entertaining thirty-one officials who were traveling north, while Fu Rang and Lin Su were directing military households to carry grain and baskets of copper coins.
Yang Bin stood next to Fu Rang and was talking to him about something. When he saw Zhu Gaoxu's figure, he quickly stepped forward and bowed:
"Your Highness, I have brought you 30,000 shi of grain and 10,000 guan of money, not a penny is missing."
"Well..." Zhu Gaoxu nodded with a smile, looked at the treasury, turned to Yang Bin and smiled:
"How is it? Are the goods in the treasury satisfactory?"
"This..." Yang Bin was stunned and pointed at himself: "Are these goods for me?"
"Haha, you are the only businessman in my name, who else could it be if not you?"
Zhu Gaoxu teased Yang Bin and greeted Fu Rang not far away with a smile: "Move all the goods into the car. I'm afraid Yang Shanren can't wait to go to the south to do business tomorrow."
"Okay!" Fu Rang also smiled and turned around to tell the military households to move things. This scene was like a dream in front of Yang Bin.
Looking at Yang Bin who had not recovered for a long time, Zhu Gaoxu patted him on the shoulder:
"The price of these goods is the same as before. We have calculated and handed you almost 150,000 yuan. As for how much you can sell when you take it to the south, that is up to you."
"150,000 guan?" Yang Bin almost bit his tongue. You know, based on the previous price, if the palace takes 150,000 guan, then Yang Bin can earn at least 40,000 guan.
Forty thousand dollars...
This is an amount that many wealthy families in Huai'an cannot afford. Even in Nanjing City, they can buy several streets.
If Yang Bin didn't have any ambitions, he could buy a few streets after completing this business, and he could live well by collecting rent for the rest of his life.
"His Highness has been very kind to me. I wonder if there is anything else His Highness needs?"
Yang Bin reacted and immediately knelt down. Zhu Gaoxu supported him as always and pulled him to a secluded place.
After Zhang Chun saw it, he naturally stood guard for Zhu Gaoxu and the two of them, and Zhu Gaoxu also took Yang Bin to a secluded place and said honestly:
"Did your purchase of grain this time attract the attention of the local government?"
"Of course." Yang Bin said without thinking: "After buying more than two thousand dan of grain, the local government came to look for the grassroots. The grassroots showed the royal family's seal, and then they were able to continue buying grain."
Yang Bin said this, and Zhu Gaoxu also pondered:
"I'm afraid it won't be easy for you to sell or spend the 150,000 yuan I have this time..."
"Don't worry, Your Highness." Yang Bin was afraid that Zhu Gaoxu would not give him business, so he hurriedly said:
"The grass-roots people also thought of a way on the way here, and that is to ask His Highness to send ten more seals. At that time, the grass-roots people will distribute the seals to the guys below and let them go to the place to collect grain."
"These ten guys go to collect grain with twenty guys. Each guy goes to a town, and each person only collects five hundred shi. In this way, one seal guy can receive 10,000 shi of grain, and ten guys are one hundred thousand shi. "
"At that time, they will transport the grain in batches and stagger the time, so the government will not notice it."
Yang Bin didn't know why the government was so concerned about Bohai Prince's purchase of grain, but he had his own way to avoid it.
"One hundred thousand stones, I'm afraid that's not enough..."
Zhu Gaoxu spoke softly, and Yang Bin was struck by lightning. He did not expect that His Highness would be so generous this time.
"Then Your Highness wants to..." Yang Bin asked cautiously. Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while before speaking:
"I want to buy 200,000 shi of food. In addition, you can find me 200 to 300 scholars who can serve as officials. The conditions are still 20 yuan of annual salary. It's okay if I bring my family with me. If I come to Jilin City, I will give them to them in the next year." Land will be distributed uniformly, no poll tax will be collected, and there will be ten land tax and two tax."
Zhu Gaoxu said what he needed, and Yang Bin felt a little suffocated after hearing this.
It is not easy to transport 200,000 shi of grain, even if he has the seal of the Bohai Palace.
"Don't worry, I'll send a hundred people to escort you south this time, and I won't require you to transport it to Jilin in one go."
"You can start shipping in batches in early April and have it delivered before winter."
Zhu Gaoxu said this, but he also knew that excluding the winter period, there was only six months left for Yang Bin.
This difficulty is equivalent to transporting more than 30,000 stones of food every month. Although it is much easier, it is easily noticed by others if it is done more often.
"The Grassroots Association has tried its best!"
Faced with the temptation of 40,000 yuan of profit, Yang Bin still couldn't bear it, and finally took the job.
Seeing what he did, Zhu Gaoxu said nothing more and just asked him to go to the palace to rest, while he himself walked to Yishiha's side.
"how?"
The thirty-one officials whom Yi Shiha greeted had already been led to his newly built courtyard by the soldiers. Zhu Gaoxu came to inquire just to know their level from Yi Shiha.
"They are all children, but I didn't expect to be able to recruit scholars."
Yi Shiha smiled and said the level of these people, and Zhu Gaoxu was relieved. At least Yang Bin didn't just find some people to deceive him.
For Jilin City, a child who has read the Four Books and Five Classics and is proficient in arithmetic is enough.
In the entire Hongwu Dynasty, only a few thousand people could pass the examination every year. There were countless yamen that needed these people, and I might not be able to grab a few of them.
Having hundreds of children can already help Jilin City a lot at this stage.
Not to mention hundreds, even the thirty-one newly arrived children can make Zhu Gaoxu and the others' work a lot easier.
"Of these thirty-one children, thirteen are working under you, and the remaining eighteen should be transferred to the academy to teach."
"After they are transferred there, there will be forty teachers in the academy. They will just teach the children of military families in the academy in the future."
"But now that there are more people, the previous classes seem a bit crowded."
Zhu Gaoxu thought for a moment, and then continued:
"The soldiers are still the same as before. They study in the morning and train in the afternoon. They are divided into twenty squads of fifty-one people each. They study and work in shifts."
At present, the soldiers in Jilin City need to be on duty at city defense, Fortress Mountain, Taoyuan Mountain and three fields. About 500 people are needed. Each business trip basically takes about a month. Therefore, the academy only needs to fix 20 teachers and teach 1,000 soldiers. enough.
Yi Shiha didn't have any objections to Zhu Gaoxu's arrangements.
After explaining the military science, Zhu Gaoxu then talked about the children's school: "The children's school is also divided into twenty classes, and the teaching is fixed."
Zhu Gaoxu really wants to make the children's school into small classes, but the current conditions do not allow it, so he can only make it the same as the military school.
In the coming year, if Yang Bin can really find hundreds of children, Zhu Gaoxu will be able to start studying in small classes, and there will probably be a lot of girls studying in Jilin City by then. Language is a big problem.
Thinking of the language problem, Zhu Gaoxu also said to Yishiha:
"The officials of the Military Academy don't have to go to the palace to do business in the afternoon, so they have classes at the Military Academy."
"Class?" Yishiha was a little surprised: "What are you studying?"
"Learn the Jurchen language..." Zhu Gaoxu chuckled and looked at the dozen Jurchen servants brought by Yishiha ahead.
Seeing this, Yishiha also thought of the reason why Zhu Gaoxu did this, and after Zhu Gaoxu finished explaining, he took Yishiha, Fu Rang and others back to the palace.
When they arrived at the palace, the two chefs hired by Zhu Gaoxu on the way north had already begun to pack the ingredients.
Although their cooking skills are not as good as those of the imperial chefs, they cannot guarantee the freshness of the ingredients.
Bear paws, pheasants, silly roe deer, Songhua River fish and other top-quality ingredients are cooked in their hands. No matter how mediocre their skills are, the food they make is extremely delicious.
Not long after, Zhu Gaoxu had already called his close friends, and he and Yang Bin began to exchange cups and cups in the palace.
As time went by, the sky gradually darkened, and it was not until Yang Bin was finally knocked unconscious by Zhu Gaoxu that Zhu Gaoxu turned to Fu Rang, who had not been drinking, and said:
"Privately tell the thousand brothers who have been selected to set off in three days and follow me to surprise the old slave Xiyang..."
(End of chapter)
