Jizhou is located in the middle of Hebei Province, about three hundred miles away from Damingfu. It has a small jurisdiction and only governs five counties with a population of less than 150,000. Previously, due to the geographical location of Daming Prefecture in southern Hebei, which was too remote and increased administrative costs in issuing information and passing government orders, some officials suggested moving the Hebei administrative seat to the central region, and Jizhou was under consideration.
However, due to some resistance from inside and outside, the proposal was shelved, which also caused Jizhou, a central prefecture and county, to miss the opportunity to re-emerge.
In autumn, Hebei has already ushered in the harvest time. The vast plains have been dyed golden. The weather is good this year, and there is no disaster. At least the people of Hebei will not have to bear the impact of other force majeure other than war.
On the dark yellow dirt road, a group of knights galloped quickly, throwing away the fields and woods along the way. There are about thirty knights in this team. Apart from the obvious guards, the most eye-catching one is a middle-aged man named Lan Jin.
The high-speed running caused the outer robe to lift up and make a sound under the influence of the wind. After a long time, he slowed down until he stopped, reined in the reins, and observed a field beside the road.
The autumn wind blows, rolling up waves of wheat, and the rustling sound is so sweet. There are some farmers scattered among the wheat fields, burying their heads in the wheat fields carefully.
Although it is the harvest season, the atmosphere is not as relaxed and cheerful as in previous years. In addition to sweat on the foreheads of the farmers at work, there also seems to be a layer of indelible haze and worry.
In the fields, in addition to the sounds of wind, wheat harvesting, and the chirping of animals, from time to time there would be a burst of children crying, coming from the backs of peasant women working in the fields.
It can be found that only more than half of the farmers busy harvesting in the fields are young adults, and the rest are old farmers, healthy women and teenagers. As for where the men in the family have gone, it can be easily concluded that they are either serving in the military or doing hard labor, basically serving the Northern Expedition. On weekdays, if the government wanted to recruit corvees, they would not choose it at this time of year. of.
Looking at the desolate and busy scene in the fields, the middle-aged man standing by the road seemed to be somewhat affected by his emotions. He sighed: "Along the way, not only have there been fewer farmland plantings than in previous years, but the harvest has also been vigorous. The lack of labor is also visible to the naked eye!”
"Shou Gong, the situation in Jizhou is not serious yet. With a little organization and busyness, we can always deal with it. It is the northern states and counties that have mobilized the most people and have been the most affected!" The elegant old man with a goatee treated the middle-aged man with obvious respect in his words.
The middle-aged man's status in the Han Dynasty is noble. He is not only a relative of the emperor, but also the twenty-four ministers of Qianyou, the Duke of Shou, and the chief envoy of Hebei, Li Shaoyou.
More than twenty years have passed, and the former libertine in Jinyang now has a flamboyant beard and dyed hair. At the age of five, he can no longer see the chic appearance in his early years. He can only look at it from the indescribable temperament. I can vaguely find some shadows of the past. Even though he has been pampered all year round, time has left some traces on Li Shaoyou's face.
In particular, his love of wine and sex put a considerable burden on Duke Shou's body. Even though he had dismissed his concubines once in his early years, there are still eleven concubines in Li Shaoyou's house today. However, as he grew older, Duke Shou also began to pay attention to restraint and health.
Of course, the fatigue on Li Shaoyou's face at this time was not only due to the hard work of traveling, but also due to the high-intensity work in the past few months. Hebei is the most important logistics base for the Eastern Route Northern Expeditionary Army. As a chief officer, he coordinates local people and financial resources in all aspects, so the energy he needs to expend will naturally increase greatly.
This time, he was already inspecting and mobilizing the central and northern prefectures and counties. He was originally investigating the manufacturing and transshipment of medicinal materials in Puyin. When he learned that Emperor Liu had visited Hebei, he hurried to the road. Although Emperor Liu did not summon him specifically, it did not affect his proactive behavior and positive attitude. After all, the cousins had not seen each other for some years since the death of the Queen Mother.
"Is this already in Jizhou?" Li Shaoyou asked.
The political advisor next to him summoned his guide and reported: "My lord, it's true that this place is under the jurisdiction of Hengshui County. The county seat is in the southeast, and about thirty miles to the south is the capital city of Xin!"
"Shou Gong, you have been traveling day and night. Do you want to stop for a night at Hengshui or Xindu?" the political participant asked for instructions.
"No! Can we still let His Majesty wait for us?" Li Shaoyou shook his head, waved his hand, and ordered: "Dismount and rest on the spot! Go and call the local Li Zheng!"
"yes!"
Soon, Li Zheng from the hometown arrived. He was a standard Hebei man, with a rough face full of traces of time, and a rough and arrogant air. Two fingers were missing from his right hand. He had obviously been on the battlefield.
In the countryside, Li Zheng, who kept his word and could be domineering, was also well behaved and as honest as a quail in front of Li Shaoyou.
Not to mention the strong and ruthless knight who found him, the aura naturally displayed by Li Shaoyou and his entourage frightened the "well-informed" Li Zheng. This was definitely not what the county officials could show. He is definitely a powerful person in the state. No matter how high he is, it is beyond the scope of his knowledge. Even when he was in the army, the highest-ranking officer he had ever interacted with was just a battalion commander of the army.
"I don't know where your distinguished guest is from. I've called you down. Do you have any advice?" He probably has experienced the upper class society in this county and his hometown. He is obviously a rough man and speaks in a refined manner. When he clasped his fists, he deliberately held his shortened fingers. Revealed, as if to show off his experience.
Seeing the careful and shrewd performance here, Li Shaoyou smiled softly, handed him a water bag in his hand, and said: "I am from Daming Mansion, passing by your place, I have something to ask! Take a few sips of wine, this is your Hengshui's liquor!"
Hearing this, Li Zheng's eyes lit up, he hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't help being greedy. He took the exquisitely crafted wine bag and took two big sips. As the wine entered his mouth, his eyes widened even more. He soon showed an expression of enjoyment.
He handed it back respectfully and exclaimed: "This wine must be quite old. Even in Hengshui, ordinary people can't drink it!"
Gu "The wine of Hengshui is famous in Hebei and even the whole country. My family has few assets, so I can buy some!" Li Shaoyou replied.
Li Zheng shook his head and said: "Although I am just a countryman, I also know that the distinguished guest can use this wine as a traveling drink and have these warriors as escorts. He is definitely not an ordinary person!"
Li Shaoyou: "Oh! According to your opinion, what is my identity?"
Li Zheng chuckled: "It must be a powerful person. The distinguished guest does not want to reveal his identity, and I will not ask too much!"
"You are a shrewd person. With your integrity, the local governance of this town should be very stable!" Li Shaoyuan.
"It used to be fine, but now there is a war in the north, and 40% of the people in the village have been transferred out, so there are fewer troublemakers, but the work in the fields is difficult! I heard that in some places, some laborers have been released "No one from our village has come back yet!" Li Zheng said calmly.
"After all, it is to support the soldiers fighting at the front!" Li Shaoyou nodded to express his understanding and asked: "What do you think about the Northern Expedition?"
"What can we ordinary people think? The court wants to fight, and the government wants to collect military service. All we have to do is obey. What's more, we are still fighting the Khitans. If I had this hand intact, I might have to lead people to the front line. My father still has two Brother, we all died at the hands of the Khitans back then..." Li Zheng said.
Although this was just a family rumor, and even the shrewd Li Zheng deliberately catered to himself, Li Shaoyou was still pleased with his "awakening" and said with a smile: "Could your broken finger be caused by the battle with the Khitans?"
"Exactly! More than ten years ago, during the first Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty, they fought with the Khitans at the south entrance. They failed to escape and lost two fingers!" Li Zheng was a little proud.
Li Shaoyou was a little in awe and said with emotion: "The battle at Nankou was very fierce. Many soldiers died at that time!"
"Yes!" Li Zheng seemed to recall the bloody and cruel battle that year, and responded: "I was under the command of General Han (Han Lingkun) at that time. I was lucky and survived. There were more than 20,000 brothers in the front camp. , there wasn’t much left after the war! I beheaded seven Khitans at that time, and then I was awarded the title and returned to my hometown as a local official. Lao Li retired, and I took up the post of chief here."
"Take two more bites!" Li Shaoyou handed him the wine bag again.
Although he was a little embarrassed, Li Zheng still couldn't help but take a few sips, with an almost intoxicated expression on his face, and sighed: "I am a local, these days, I need to drink some Hengshui." Even wine is not easy!”
Li Shaoyou seemed surprised: "Why, it's still difficult for Hengshui people to drink Hengshui wine?"
"The county government has issued a strict order not to make wine, and the grain must be collected. Except for tax revenue for personal use, everything else must be sold to the government!"
Hearing this, Li Shaoyou nodded slightly and said with a smile: "In extraordinary times, filling your stomach is more important!"
"I just pity those brewing shops. There are several brewing shops privately, but they have all been imprisoned and convicted by the county!" Li Zheng said with emotion.
Li Shaoyou was even more satisfied. The wartime work in Hengshui County seemed to be done quite well.
"There are a lot of strong laborers in the countryside. The autumn harvest work will be a little difficult. Is it too late?" Li Shaoyou asked again.
Li Zheng replied: "There are some difficulties, but they have been harvested in advance. The difficulty is that for those families whose labor has been transferred, a strong laborer in the busy farming season cannot do what a strong laborer can do, but not those strong women and young people can replace it." That’s okay. However, the county has issued a decree, asking all townships and villages to organize the remaining young people to help these families, and the cost of employment will be borne by the county..."
"Oh?" Li Shaoyou became more interested.
After asking some more about the local farming situation, he just returned home. Since he was satisfied with his performance, he also gave him a bag of wine.
"Who is the leader of Hengshui County?" Li Shaoyou asked before leaving.
"The county magistrate's name is Zhang Qixian, he is a Jinshi in the fourth year of Kaibao!"
"When the Northern Expedition is over, you can be promoted!" Li Shaoyou ordered.
