April.
"This is it, Brother Niu."
The caravan traveled eastward and spent half a month arriving at the edge of a large river.
On the river at this moment, several merchant ships were docked.
The Yellow River runs from east to west and has countless tributaries, and this river is the big river flowing to Bohai County.
If it weren't for the checkpoints on the water, Hei Niu and his family could have left by boat early, instead of having to wait for serious merchant ships like now.
Of course, the purpose of the merchant ship coming here was not just to wait for the Heiniu family. They had received a letter from Liaodi and were exploring a safe waterway.
"Niu, where are you taking us?"
Compared with Niu's father who was well prepared, Black Niu's second uncle seemed very uneasy.
We have been walking for more than half a month, why are we still walking, both by car and by boat, which makes Uncle Hei Niu, who has never been out of Sanshi Village in his life, extremely uncomfortable.
Hei Niu smiled softly, and without answering first, he greeted everyone to get on the boat.
After the ship started to move, he said to his second uncle.
"Second Uncle, I'm going to take you to a place where you can have enough food just by farming. Don't worry, Second Uncle, my nephew will not harm you."
"You can eat enough by farming, so how much farmland do you have to farm? Hei Niu. My second uncle is old and can't do much work."
"Don't worry, second uncle, you won't be too tired."
Hei Niu smelled the wind blowing while the ship was sailing, with a look of relief on his face.
Treating outsiders was far less impactful than treating his own family members. What his family members suffered made him extremely angry for a time, but now, after boarding a merchant ship, he finally felt relieved.
The speed of waterway is many times faster than that of land.
The merchant ship headed northeast, passing several checkpoints, and finally entered the sea and traveled between heaven and earth.
In the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, merchant ships filled up their sails after going out to sea and sailed at a faster speed than in rivers.
Daijun, Shanggu, Yuyang, and Youbeiping passed through many places, but the merchant ship had a clear goal, heading eastward.
Passing through western Liaoning and entering eastern Liaoning, enter from the mouth of Liaohe Bay and go upstream.
As we go deeper into Liaodong, the climate becomes bit by bit wet and cold. Occasionally, ice floes swim down the river, but they are simply knocked away by the well-prepared sailors.
"It's so cold here."
After staying in the cabin for a long time, Heiniu's family members all came out to have fun.
They were wrapped in fur coats, but these people who were accustomed to the inland climate still couldn't bear it.
"Hahaha, you get used to it after staying here for a long time. March and April are the coldest spots here. By May, it's not that cold anymore. It's no different from East County."
The closer he got to his own territory, the more energetic the black bull became.
Making up his mind to take his family away this time was the right thing he thought he had done in his life.
"Grandma and grandpa, look at what a big boat it is!"
Brother Heiniu's son Gou'er pointed to the river and saw hundreds of three-masted sailboats heading towards the seaport in an orderly manner.
On the first boat, a young man wearing a large cloak also looked here.
"Master Hu Qi?"
Hei Niu was stunned. He recognized the person on the first boat, and then there were hundreds of people on each three-masted boat.
The sailboats behind were mostly horses, cattle and sheep.
"Where are you going?"
Question marks appeared in Black Bull's mind.
It’s people, cattle, sheep and horses, and it’s by boat.
The black cow couldn't guess, but the dog kept cheering for the big ship.
Indeed, compared to the merchant ship, the three-masted sailing ship is twice as big, and the height is much higher, giving people the feeling of a father watching his son.
The two fleets passed each other.
Soon, the river was empty again.
Not long after, the merchant ship also sailed to Wuhuan Pier.
With their feet on the flat ground, the whole family felt relieved after spending all day digging in the fields.
"Awesome, we've arrived at the right place."
After getting off the boat, Hei Niu's mother kept holding Hei Niu's hand. Never had the little old lady who spent all day looming in the house seen such a scene.
The spacious road is straight and the green plants planted on both sides are dry but tall. The vehicles passing by are constantly transporting supplies, giving people a look that they cannot understand but feel that it is very powerful.
"When we get to Aniang, let's go back to the city first. My son has a small courtyard in the city. Although it's not big, it's enough for us to live in for the time being. After we rest for a long time, my son will take you to register in the afternoon."
"Hey, I listen to you."
No one had any objections to Hei Niu's arrangement. Hei Niu was the only one who was unfamiliar with the place and was a relative, so he became the backbone of everyone.
After renting two carriages, Heiniu asked the coachmen to set off towards Wuhuan City. With the carriages, they arrived at Wuhuan City very quickly.
He greeted everyone to get out of the car, including his father, mother, eldest brother, sister-in-law, nephews, second uncle and second aunt, cousins-in-law, as well as his cousin's daughter-in-law and son who had been dragged away to the army and did not know whether he was alive or dead.
"Excuse me, this is the fare for the car."
The familiar person gave two money invoices, and Heiniu took his grandfather and mother to greet everyone into Wuhuan City.
The militiamen guarding the city just checked Heiniu's token and let him go. The people behind him also roughly knew what was going on.
"Son, don't you need to pay to enter the city? I heard from people in the village who have entered the city that you have to pay to enter the city."
Hei Niu's second uncle asked cautiously.
These farmers and women, who had never left Sanshi Village in their lives, had never seen such a huge and neat city. After entering, they were very nervous, fearing that they had gone wrong.
"No need, Uncle. We don't have any harsh taxes here. We only have business tax, land tax, and head tax. That's why I want to bring you here."
Hei Niu was beaming with joy. It was only when he returned to Wuhuan that he felt like he had truly returned home. His home in the Han Dynasty was really like hell.
From the information I have collected, I have seen that there are refugees every year in the Han Dynasty, every year!
At first, he didn't feel anything was wrong. It wasn't until he was sent to Dongjun this time and returned home during his break that he clearly realized the difference between Junshang here and Han Dynasty.
"There really aren't any other taxes?"
A group of people couldn't believe their ears.
Hei Niu nodded seriously: "Really, and the wasteland opened here is supported by farm tools and livestock. The wasteland opened up does not need to pay taxes in the first two years. It is up to you to grow as much food as you want. In the next two years, the field tax will be halved. Even in the future, the land tax will only be one out of ten."
"And not only farming, there is a shortage of people to work in the two places of Wuhuan and Xianbei. If you don't want to farm, you can save hundreds of dollars just by working a year, which is enough for the family to have enough food and clothing."
As he walked, Heiniu introduced every detail of Wuhuan City. He had seen the city rise with his own eyes and had deep feelings for it.
"I, I just farm, I don't know how to do anything else."
Uncle Hei Niu hesitated, saying that after being a farmer all his life, he could only farm.
(End of chapter)
