To the north of Lishi County, where Shizhou was stationed, and by the Dongchuan River, many people who had fled here gathered. They built shacks and lived in shabby conditions, surviving on food provided by the army. Although life here is simple and difficult, it is much better than before.
Kong Silang got married today, and the entire shantytown was lively and filled with joy.
"Qianxia is here! Qianxia is here!" Huzi, who was greeting the guests at the entrance of the village, ran across the street like the wind, shouting as he ran.
Father Huang was taking two stools with missing legs from his house. Watching Hu Zi pass by, he couldn't help but frown: "Which Qian is in charge? Who can invite him?"
As he spoke, he shook his head repeatedly.
When I walked to the street, I saw a group of people surrounding a young general walking towards the end of the village. The general was really young and had a childish look on his face, which didn't seem to match the general who should have been on the battlefield for a long time. Several soldiers gathered behind him, looking like they had a very high status.
Father Huang curled his lips and followed the team towards the entrance of the village.
Seeing how the people welcomed him, Zhang Jun felt comfortable and nodded to the people on both sides from time to time.
As soon as they passed through the village, the groom got the news and hurried over to greet him.
Kong Silang began to hear that Qiaojie was coming, but he didn't pay much attention. The reason why I invited Jiang Min was just to help me explore the place when the army first came, and I happened to get to know Jiang Min. I also wonder, as the commander-in-chief of an army, how could Jiang Min come? It will be enough to send an officer when the time comes.
After hearing Huzi's introduction, he was startled and hurriedly came out to welcome him.
Zhang Jun saw a strong man running toward him with a big chrysanthemum planted sideways. When he arrived, he hurriedly saluted. He said: "Kong Siliang, a young man, married a woman today. I bother Qianjia to come here in person. It's really a terrible death!"
Zhang Jun said: "Since you sent the invitation, how can you justify not coming? But the governor is busy with affairs, so don't mind if I come instead."
"Don't dare! How dare you!" Kong Silang said, asking Zhang Jun to go first.
Zhang Jun walked on the road and looked at the houses on both sides. Most of them are houses built with local materials, branches and thatch. There is little rain in the area, so there is no need to worry about water leakage. It's just that winter has entered, and the measures to keep warm are not good. Most people collect reeds to keep warm.
When we arrived at the head of the village, most of the people in the village had already gathered here. Seeing Kong Silang coming with an officer surrounded by him, he hurriedly saluted.
Zhang Jun asked everyone to help themselves and sat down at the table in the middle. The men brought a sheep, two chickens, two ducks, and two five-pound carps for everyone to slaughter and count them as lunch dishes.
Kong Silang comes from a poor family. He slaughtered a sheep today and borrowed the money. Fish were caught in the nearby river. Although there were many, there were no big fish. The gifts Zhang Jun brought were very rich for a hardworking family.
Regardless of whether they were scholars or tenants, they all watched the sheep being slaughtered there happily, without any discomfort from the smell of blood. These people haven't eaten meat for a long time. Having meat today is better than anything else.
Although the sheep here are cheap, these people have no money, and the bargains are not something they can eat.
Kong Silang took a cup of hot tea, put it on the table, and said to Zhang Jun: "Qianji, drink tea!"
Hedong is not as good as the Central Plains, and the tea quality is poor. The tea I ordered was extremely turbid and sandy, like mud.
Zhang Jun smiled and said: "I forgot, the gift I brought included tea. In the Central Plains, making tea is now popular, so it's not as troublesome as ordering tea. Come, bring the tea leaves and brew them for you to taste. Tea making This method is said to have come from poor families, but now everyone uses this method regardless of whether they are rich or poor, high or low."
The men under his command took out the tea leaves and brewed a bowl of tea for Zhang Jun using a large porcelain bowl from Kong Silang's family. Then he took a kettle, poured tea into it, brewed it with boiling water, and let everyone drink.
Zhang Jun watched his men busy and asked Kong Silang casually: "I wonder who the bride is? She happens to marry you."
Kong Silang said with some embarrassment: "To be honest, the bride comes from a wealthy family. She is originally from Mengzhou. Because she was beautiful, she married a member of the imperial family as a concubine. When the Jin army comes, it is inevitable that the family will be ruined. , was kidnapped by a Jin army general. Later, when the Xuanfu army came north, the Jin general died in battle, and she drifted away with everyone. When she came to Shizhou, life was really difficult, so she married the younger one."
Zhang Jun laughed after hearing this: "You are lucky, you got a little girl for nothing."
Not long after, in addition to stew and other dishes, wine and food were initially prepared. A banquet was set up at the entrance of the village and Zhang Jun was invited to take a seat.
Zhang Jun did not refuse and took a seat at the top.
Kong Silang was busy and asked several older and respected people to sit with Zhang Jun. He said: "Today is our wedding day. Please come to have a banquet and be a witness. Thanks to the love of the army, Zhang Qianha comes here today. It is really brilliant! Qianha is an extraordinary person. Ask him to lecture you!"
Zhang Jun stood up and said with a smile: "Why is it a lecture? Today is a good day for the groom. On behalf of the army, I am here to express my congratulations. Yesterday, when I first arrived in the army, the commander-in-chief specially told me that Kong Silang was the first to arrive in the army. I have contributed a lot when I was there, so don’t miss the time today. I explained the military affairs in the morning, and then came over in a hurry. I said so much because my fourth brother has contributed a lot to the army, so I had to come, and the others Don’t take this as an example.”
Kong Silang nodded repeatedly and said happily: "What kind of person is Qian Jie? How can you just say please? Don't worry, everyone knows it well!"
Zhang Jundao: "As far as I know, one commander is now in charge of a thousand households. If you have any weddings or weddings, please ask the commander or supervisor in the future, and they will come. Within a month, they will tell you which commander the corresponding commander is."
Kong Silang asked: "This commander is just like a county magistrate, right?"
Zhang Jun shook his head: "No. Because there are too many people nearby and there are no officials, it is difficult to control them, so the commanders are asked to organize them. After they are organized, they will find ways to reclaim the surrounding land and build villages."
Kong Silang shook his head repeatedly: "We are all poor people with nothing. Even if there is open land in the wild, we can't cultivate it——"
Zhang Jun said: "Even if you are not poor people, you still have nothing now. Since you are asked to cultivate the fields, the government will naturally provide farm tools and divide the land. We must let everyone have land to cultivate and be able to support themselves."
Kong Silang said: "Is there such a good thing?"
Zhang Jun said with a smile: "Why isn't there such a good thing? The government provides farm tools and seeds, otherwise how can we farm? Of course, the farm tools and seeds provided are your loans to the government. We can't give them to you for free, right? Grow food, Just pay it back slowly."
"That's how it should be." Kong Silang nodded. Looking at the people around, they all nodded, obviously agreeing.
This is one of Zhang Jun's tasks today. Let the people know about the follow-up arrangements and see how they respond.
If the eight thousand people cannot be organized, they will be in disarray. Only when it is organized, whether it is camping or doing other things, can it be a powerful force. Due to the lack of officials, it could only be organized temporarily by military officers. If one camp manages a thousand households, it does not require more than a few camps.
Generally speaking, the population of a household in the Song Dynasty was about three people. Of course, children don’t count. However, the population of the families who fled was smaller, with eight thousand people living in about four to five thousand households. According to common sense, one thousand households constitutes a county, which is a large scale.
(I dare not say any more nonsense. I can only say that the sequelae of the new coronavirus are very severe, and it has not been resolved yet. But starting from tomorrow, I will try to keep it updated.)
