In the eighteenth year of Shaowu's reign, in mid-April, Yuquan Mountain.
The town that arose because of Yuquan Villa had already built a three-foot-high wall, a city gate, and a government office.
The entire Yuquan Town is extremely prosperous, with countless merchants coming and going. The southern and northern accents gather here and become the leading town in the north.
At this time, people often praise: "The four famous towns in the world, Jingdezhen porcelain sells well at home and abroad, Foshan Town is the best in the world for ironware, Hankou is the thoroughfare of nine provinces, Zhuxian Town is prosperous on land and water, but it cannot compare with Yuquan Town."
"That's right, Yuquan Town entertains the emperor, can it be the same?"
In terms of water and land transportation, Yuquan Town is only connected to railway carriages. It only takes an hour to go to Beijing, which is very convenient and fast.
Because it entertained the emperor and princes and nobles, Yuquan Town was proud of it and ranked itself first among the four major towns.
Although it is still some time before the emperor takes a summer vacation, there are already a lot of merchants coming and going in Yuquan Town.
A large number of carriages, horses and mules gathered, transporting a large amount of treasures. At the same time, a large amount of grain, cloth, salt and other daily necessities also gathered.
Dongzhu and Haidongqing from Heilongjiang, ginseng and mink from Jilin, snow clams from Changbai Mountain, wool blankets from Monan, Mongolian horses and yellow sheep, yaks and argali from Qinghai, fresh fish from Dongting Lake, cantaloupe from Anxi, and Lingnan Lychee etc.
All kinds of delicacies and tributes gathered together just for the consumption of the emperor and nobles.
Outside the city, in a large house covering an area of more than 20 acres, there are red doors with copper nails and two stone lions squatting in front of the door, looking very powerful.
The two servants stood at the door, neatly dressed, heads held high, not to mention very proud.
The plaque on the door, with the word "Zhu Zhai" written between a dragon and a snake, is extremely crisp and clear.
Suddenly, a man came in a hurry, with an anxious look on his face, and entered through the side door. As soon as he entered the hall, he knelt down and said, "Madams, the two young masters have come to see you from the capital."
"This little heartless guy went to the capital to study for two months and didn't even know he was coming back..."
The woman sitting on the main seat has radiant eyes. Although she is older, her skin is still delicate. Time seems to have left no trace on her delicate facial features, and her eyebrows are as if she is in her thirties. .
The peony bun on her head, her long, fluffy hair, which is seven inches high, and her temples, which are fluffy and smooth, make her smiling face even more charming.
Of course, the most conspicuous thing is the burden on his chest. Even if he is covered with several pieces of clothes, he is still towering, trembling like a snow-capped mountain, and it is extremely cold at high places.
The servant knelt and lowered his head, not caring about the slightest glance.
"Brother Li, they didn't do it on purpose."
At this time, the woman sitting next to her chuckled and said, "It's great that I came back just after the imperial examination."
The woman has a slender face, fair and rosy skin, and a pair of slightly thin lips, but her slender neck makes it difficult to look away, and her clear voice is as sweet as an oriole.
"Just face them." At this time, another woman on the side stood up directly from the chair. Her pair of straight and round long legs were extremely conspicuous, and her height was comparable to that of an average man.
There was a hint of blame on her cold face: "It's all you who have spoiled them. Boys have to be beaten, otherwise they will be ineffective."
"Okay." Bian Yujing, who was sitting in the main seat, shook her head, her chest was also moved, and she felt a force pulling her, and she quickly stopped:
"You should be happy that your sons are back. Don't let your servants see the joke."
In this way, Li Xiangjun and Kou Baimen finally stopped.
"Go down!"
The servant stood up in a hurry, bowed slightly and left very quickly.
It was too torture to just listen to the sound but not see it in person.
The Zhu residence here is the annex of the current emperor Zhu Yixi, and also the residence of Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, and Kou Baimen.
Because they liked the tranquility of Yuquan Mountain, the girls moved to the foot of Yuquan Mountain, lived together, and raised their children.
The emperor was happy to see this happen.
After all, there are too many people in Beijing, and it is inconvenient to see many people.
The three girls were pretty and had their own strengths and weaknesses in character and appearance, making the emperor play with them over and over again without getting bored.
Because of this, the women also had many children.
Bian Yujing gave birth to a son and two daughters, Li Xiangjun gave birth to two sons, and Kou Baimen gave birth to a twin of a boy and a girl.
There are seven children, the oldest is almost seventeen years old and the youngest is ten years old.
Since he was an illegitimate child, his generational lineage could not be used, so the radical of his name could only be used as the radical "木".
In recent years, although the emperor often visited them, he did not allow them to have children in view of their age. After all, their old age would consume too much energy.
Compared with Gao He, who was born in a noble family, he could inherit a duke at the beginning and engage in martial arts.
The third daughter took the business route, relying on the emperor's resources, mixing in salt, iron, tea, horses, and sugar, and she has become a millionaire in the past ten years.
Gao He's net worth is not that much.
Naturally, after getting rich, his son will naturally go to school, and then get a good name. Even if he is not good enough, he can go into business and live a wealthy life.
Several daughters have already had their way out, either by being engaged to noble sons or from scholarly families.
Obviously, this one has taken hold, and its impact cannot be underestimated.
Soon, brothers Zhu Li and Zhu Fan, who were studying abroad, came back out of breath. When they saw the three girls, they kowtowed and saluted:
"My son, give your regards to your mother, second mother, and third mother (eldest mother, mother, third mother) -"
"Get up!" Bian Yujing said with a smile: "It is our greatest blessing that you two brothers have returned safely."
"That's right." Li Xiangjun said concisely.
Kou Baimenze said with a tigerish face: "You didn't cause any trouble, did you? Don't be like those prodigal sons, looking for flowers and willows, and wasting your studies."
"The sons dare not."
The two shook their heads hurriedly.
The eldest son, Zhu Yue, said: "After the sons passed the government examination, they hurried back to Yuquan Mountain to prepare for next year's college examination."
"Okay, you go back and rest."
Bian Yujing chuckled and said: "After two exams, I'm afraid I'm very tired. It's just a good time to come back and rest. Let's make some delicious food for you to make up for it."
The two brothers said a few words of joy and went to rest.
"You said, if they also had a title to inherit, they wouldn't have to study so hard."
Bian Yujing said distressedly: "They are all his sons. Some are crowned kings, some inherit dukes. They have been nobles for generations. Our son is the only one who studies hard."
"Why are you still bringing this up?" Li Xiangjun shook his head and said, "It's done. It's good enough that the emperor allows you to keep your son by your side."
"If you want your son to be crowned king, he must be adopted by others since he was a child. How can he be taken care of like this?"
"Yes!" Kou Baimen nodded in agreement: "Everything has its own gains and losses. The most important thing for us now is to do business."
"It is the right thing to save more money for our sons."
"No." Bian Yujing refused to give up, and the pagoda shook: "When the emperor comes, I will tell him, we are all sons, how can it be so unfair!"
"When the eldest and the second eldest are admitted as scholars, let them go to the Imperial College to study."
Li Xiangjun and Kou Baimen thought this request was very good, unobtrusive and reasonable.
Moreover, only when there are crying children can they have milk to drink. They work so hard without complaining, and I am afraid that the emperor will forget his sons.
…
Here, the Beijing camp began to prepare for rotation with the border army, preparing to send some people to Liaodong.
In order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the Beijing camp and at the same time ensure the imperial leadership of the border army, a rotation system was implemented between the border army and the Beijing camp.
Every two years, the Beijing Camp will send some troops to replace some of the border troops, and then the border troops will enter the Beijing Camp.
Anxi, Gansu, Suiyuan, Ningxia, Xining (Qinghai), Chahar, Jinzhoufu, Liaodong, Jilin, and Heilongjiang.
Although the border troops are replaced every two years, for the Beijing camp, it is replaced every year.
After all, the Jingying family is near the capital, so how can they keep guarding the border?
After several times, the emperor and the cabinet decided that it would be most appropriate to send 30,000 replacements every year.
These people are neither too many nor too little, accounting for only about 30% of the frontier army, and at the same time they will not affect the combat effectiveness of the frontier army.
At the same time, these Beijing camps selected from various places will be mixed, disrupted by border regulations and re-trained, so as to truly integrate into the Beijing camp.
The same is true for those who were sent from the Beijing camp to the frontier army.
The trouble is a little more troublesome, but it can sweep away the warlordization of the Beijing camp and the border army. It is feasible no matter what.
Even, in the emperor's imagination, local patrol battalions must be rotated.
But then I thought about it and gave up.
The patrol battalion is weaker than the Beijing camp in terms of training intensity and treatment. After the rotation, they may all become weaklings.
Moreover, there are so many prefectures and counties in the world with inconvenient transportation. The current bureaucratic system must not be able to adjust well.
In fact, I am afraid that some people who have been exchanged for some reason will become bold and rebel directly, or rob the people.
After many rotations, in these years, although the Beijing camp and the frontier army are two groups, they are actually one.
Nowadays, Chahar has a governor, almost all of whom belong to the Ming Dynasty. Liaodong can be regarded as inland to a certain extent. Except for the large number of savages, it is very peaceful.
Among the nine borders, Anxi was the most painful for Beijing Camp. It was thousands of miles away and it took half a year to go back and forth.
In other words, distance does not count as time. If they are rotated half a year in advance, they have to serve for two and a half years.
Therefore, when a group of people go to Anxi in the spring, it is very uncomfortable, and the family members also burst into tears.
The prince was in the capital camp, sitting and watching the soldiers, but he was puzzled by the soldiers going to Anxi to suffer: "There are many soldiers in Anxi, but it is a good opportunity to make meritorious deeds. How could they not be happy?"
"My captain," the deputy captain sighed. Sure enough, he came from a rich family and didn't know the sufferings of the people: "Although there are many brave people in the army, there are always some who fall into trouble after they get married and start a career."
"Although Anxi has many military exploits, soldiers die the most in wars. It is the generals who are responsible for promotion and wealth."
"Moreover, compared with Heilongjiang and Jilin, it's far behind!"
"Oh?" The prince was stunned and looked puzzled.
The Deputy Baihu could only continue: "In the three northeastern regions, there are fewer savages in Liaodong, and they are all mature women. They not only pay taxes, but they can also study, just like ordinary people."
"But Heilongjiang and Jilin are full of wild Jurchens, wild Jurchens, and savage tribes. You can earn merits by just beating them. There are also many mountain treasures such as ginseng, animal skins, herbal medicines, and deer antlers. You can just collect them and bring them back." Can make a fortune."
"You don't have much merit in beating those people!"
Zhu Cuqu said with emotion: "Tatar heads are most useful."
"The imperial court was afraid that they would take credit for killing the enemy, so they even only rewarded them with money and no merit."
"Money is good too!" the deputy captain was sighing:
"Today, the Beijing camp divides the border troops into three levels. The first level is for the superior areas, Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaodong; the second level is for the flat areas, Jinzhoufu, Suiyuan, and Chahar."
"The last ones are the poor places, Anxi, Ningxia, Gansu, and Xining. These places are poor and remote, and there is no place to make money."
"Aren't there cattle and sheep in Xining and Ningxia?" Zhu Cunqu was puzzled.
"But it's too far away, so I can't bring it to the capital! It's not easy to bring either."
The two of them chatted freely about the slang of Jingying, and it was quite enjoyable to get used to it.
Because their group will be rotated to a first-class place like Liaodong!
The deputy team leader was lamenting with great interest that if he could buy as many good things as he wanted, he would be able to make a fortune.
Zhu Cunqu shook his head.
The Crown Princess was not pregnant last month, so I am afraid she will have to take her to Liaodong this time.
Several concubines and concubines should also be brought along, and it is important to spread their branches and leaves.
For a moment, he became distressed.
People's joys and sorrows are not the same.
In May of the eighteenth year of Shaowu's reign.
A regiment of 3,000 people from the Beijing camp headed straight for Liaodong.
Before leaving, the emperor repeatedly told him to protect himself, listen more, watch more and learn more.
The prince was moved and expressed his understanding.
In his understanding, listening more means finding out more about some generals in the army who are worth winning over; watching more and learning more means learning the ways of generals to win over people and control their subordinates.
These are all the techniques of the emperor!
When they arrived in Liaodong, everyone was amazed:
The entire Liaodong is covered with mountains and forests.
The villages are thirty to fifty miles apart. Compared with the inland areas, they can be said to be sparsely populated.
The huge city of Shenyang, with only about 100,000 people, looked empty.
The camp was ready-made, and the pots, pans, and bedding were all brought over, so we settled in directly.
As the captain of the team, Zhu Cunqu doesn't have much time, but who gives him a good father?
Half a month later, he was suddenly promoted from the position of commander of the Beijing camp to the commander of the patrol battalion, also known as Yingzheng.
Only then did he truly understand the situation in Liaodong.
The land is vast and sparsely populated, with many women and few men.
The total area of one province only has two million people, which is less than one prefecture in Shandong.
You know, Suzhou Prefecture in Jiangsu Province now has a population of four million, which is the largest prefecture in the world, equivalent to the population of twice Liaodong.
It was precisely because of the sparse population that there were few tenants and high asking prices. The court required rent and interest reductions, with the land rent not exceeding 30%, while in Liaodong it was as low as 20%.
At the same time, due to the war that year, Liaodong suffered a huge population loss, with the largest number of men dying, resulting in more women than men.
After many officers from the Beijing camp came to Liaodong, they took in concubines within two or three months.
Even the imperial law requiring a childless person over forty to take a concubine was ignored, and anyone with a little bit of money would take a concubine.
In the countryside, many women appeared in public, driving carts and tending crops. They were all readily available and constituted an important labor force.
As a result, men in Liaodong don't like those delicate women very much, but prefer strong women who can work.
ps: I’m tired of repeating it every day, and I don’t have enough time, so I’ll just delay posting it for a while!
