In Daning in mid-April, the late spring drizzle has filled a stream under the remaining veins of Dadingzi Mountain. The water flowed through the river bed covered with yellow and white sand, and hit a large piece of water beside the river. When the stone falls, a clear song of joy will burst out.
The men of Huojia Village, who pushed fifteen carts and two carriages from Shandong and traveled thousands of miles on foot, finally arrived at their destination. At this time, all their clothes had turned into beggar's clothes, and the smell on their bodies could kill someone.
Wang Peng, who had accompanied him all the way and was so tired that he almost died in a bear's mouth, touched the long scar on his face, smiled and said to the small flag officer sent by Daning Mansion: "Master Xiong, the land of the Huo family has been determined by the mansion. Get off, right here?”
The officer smiled and said: "Exactly, haven't you seen it a few times before?"
Wang Peng, whose pseudonym was Huo Peng, said with a smile: "I didn't expect Mr. Wang to really give this flattest piece of land to the Huo family. I can't believe it."
Xiao Qi, surnamed Xiong, laughed and said: "Haha, Mr. Huo is joking. You can make a stone shed tears by talking about the sufferings of the Huo family along the way. In the end, you moved the adults' compassion, this place I just gave it to your family."
"Student Huo, please take a look. This river runs north to south, and is bounded by the east and west banks. A hundred steps on both sides of the river, including the river, is public land. We are in the east of the river. Then go east to the bottom of the mountains over there, and to the south to the bank of the water. A hundred steps north to the feet of you and me, there are a total of 30,000 acres of land, all of which belongs to your family. If your whole family comes here next year, the 30,000 acres of land behind us will also belong to your family."
Old Mrs. Huo couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes as she listened. While crying, he said with a smile: "Master Xiong, there are fifty-six of us here this time. Why did the court give us thirty thousand acres?"
Xiao Qi, surnamed Xiong, laughed and said: "Haha, there is plenty of land in Daning. You came first, so you should take advantage. This is also to compensate you for being neighbors with the Jurchens, so I was given an extra two thousand acres. Old man, please put the boundary stake on my horse Take it off and nail it on yourselves.”
The old lady rolled her eyes and quickly called some of the Huo family members. They took their heads and wooden boundary stakes and followed Xiaoqi's instructions to nail the boundary stakes. Xiong Xiaoqi shook his head and signaled that the four cavalrymen who came with him followed the Huo family man on horseback.
Xiong Xiaoqi pointed to the other side of the mountain again and said: "Under the mountain here, there is a Jurchen family there, and there are seven or eight strong men in his family. Don't make trouble and cause trouble. There is a river branch over there. Son, the land south of the river branch all the way to the foot of the mountain belongs to their family."
Old Mrs. Huo smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Xiong, for your advice. This little old man knows." After saying that, he yelled at Huo Lin, "Why don't you call your wife here and let Mr. Xiong take a look?"
Huo Lin blushed and shouted twice at Hebangzi: "Yu'er! Yu'er!"
Not long after the roar subsided, two horses rushed out of a forest on the other side of the river branch. The two riders jumped on their horses and whipped their whips, heading straight for the Huo family.
Xiao Qi, named Xiong, was stunned when he saw this. He looked at Wang Peng and asked, "What is this?"
Wang Peng cupped his hands and said with a smile: "This is also a fate made in heaven. When the Huo family came to see the land in the first two days, Huo Lin was attracted by this family and wanted to betroth their daughter to him. The one who was riding in front was this family. The male owner’s name is Tong Chun. The one behind is his youngest daughter, her name is Yu’er.”
Xiong Xiaoqi looked at Huolin up and down, and then touched the beard on his face. He sighed first, then raised his thumbs up and cursed: "You idiot, you... you are awesome!"
During a cup of tea, two horses arrived. Xiong Xiaoqi looked at the girl first. She was fourteen or fifteen years old, with a round face and slender eyes. She was very charming. It's just that her hair and clothes are messy and dirty, covering up her beauty.
After looking at the girl, and then looking at Huolin's beggar-like dress and dark appearance, Xiong Xiaoqi spat, feeling that Tong Chun was blind.
The Jurchen man named Tong Chun dismounted and greeted Xiong Xiaoqi first. He didn't know Chinese or Han etiquette, so he knelt down and kowtowed with a bang.
Seeing this, Xiong Xiaoqi quickly knelt down and returned the salute. He stood up and muttered: "This Jurchen kowtows when she sees us, but the top official strictly orders us to bow in return. I don't know how many times I kowtow this day."
After Wang Peng heard this, he danced a Jurchen poem and said: "Etiquette." He also performed a ritual ceremony and showed it to Tong Chun.
Tong Chun understood, smiled naively, and saluted Xiong Xiaoqi again. Xiong Xiaoqi laughed out loud when he saw how different he was. After returning the gift, he turned around and took out a butt without a handle from his horse, handed it to Tong Chun, and said in Jurchen words: "Well, here you are."
When Tong Chun saw it, his eyes were red, as if he was about to cry. He quickly turned around and took out two bear paws from the leather pocket on his horse's back. He was speaking Jurchen dialect and gesticulating for Xiong Xiaoqi to accept it.
Xiong Xiaoqi was secretly happy, thinking to himself, this Huo family is really our lucky star. It turned out that the Taining garrison was scattered all over the country and during the period of guiding the Han people to enclose the land, someone discovered that salt, tea, farm tools, cloth and other items could be exchanged for the mountain goods in the hands of the Jurchens. When Xiaoqi heard about it, he took a few of them on his horse. As expected, a handsome man made a profit today.
At this time, the girl had walked aside with Huo Lin, gesticulating and speaking Chinese characters. Huo Lin was pointing to things around her and teaching her.
Tong Chun signaled to Wang Peng that there was nothing on the horse and he would go home to get it later. Huo Peng knew that he brought this bear paw as a gift to Mr. Huo, but he didn't expect that Xiong Xiaoqi would exchange it for a handful of paws. He secretly cursed this bear paw for being a nuisance.
Xiong Xiaoqi didn't notice at all, he took out five documents and a writing brush from his arms, and said to Wang Peng: "Which one of you will sign the deposit?"
Wang Peng took it and motioned for the old lady to come over. The old lady came over, dipped her fingers in the ink pad box, and made fingerprints. Wang Peng took the old lady's hand again and crookedly wrote the word "Huo" on all the documents.
Xiong Xiaoqi said: "According to the official of the imperial enclosure, the grass, woods and wild animals on this land are yours, and the houses built on it are also yours. But if a mine is found underground in the future, it will belong to the imperial court. If roads and mines are built in this land in the future, you may be moved away. At that time, we will exchange money for houses and land for land, and we will once again provide you with five years of harvest."
Before Wang Peng could answer, the old lady answered from the side: "Master Xiong, do you know how much money the court can compensate us if it moves us away in the future?"
After hearing this, Xiong Xiaoqi burst into laughter and said: "You want me to say that the imperial court is doing something unnecessary. How can someone come here to look for mines and build roads in the year of the ox and the horse? I heard from the people in the enclosure that if this house is exchanged for silver, it will be calculated based on the future cost of the house. The court will pay three times the compensation. Except for mining and road construction, this land belongs to Yongye. No one can take it away unless you sell it yourself."
Wang Peng answered from the side: "Don't worry, old lady, these are all written in the land deed in your hand. I have confirmed it." Old lady Huo was relieved.
Pointing at Wang Peng, he said: "You guys can camp here. I'm going back. It's almost noon. It's not possible to walk at night in this place."
Then he pointed to the carriage driveway of the Huo family: "You must not lose these five walking bows, ten waist knives, and ten spear points - the government will send officers to check at any time. If they are lost, they will be fined heavily." Huo Lin agreed hurriedly. .
Xiong Xiaoqi then explained: "There are no cattle in Tongdaning now. Only corn and soybean seeds can be given to you. The government said that I will definitely give you five cattle next year. This year you can only work on your own. Do you have enough food? ?You can’t eat the seeds.”
Wang Peng pointed to the carriageway with a wry smile: "Fortunately, the old lady was thoughtful and we also brought some vegetables. Well, there is only half a cart of food left. How can there be enough food for fifty-six men?"
Xiong Xiaoqi smiled bitterly when he saw it and said: "There is no way. Daning is short of food. If you have money, there is no place to buy it. The imperial court asked merchants to transport old ginseng and dongzhu, but the food is still not enough. Now you can only find a way at home. I guess I have it. Could it be better in June or July?"
Pointing to Tong Chun who was about to ride home, he said: "You can learn to hunt and catch fish from them. I heard that there are a lot of silly roe deer, rabbits, foxes and so on around here. There are also bears and wild boars in the mountains and forests over there. If you can If you hunt a hundred or so, it will be enough for you to chew grain until autumn. Use all those weapons, how about keeping the pups?"
After Wang Peng heard this, he agreed and sent Xiong Xiaoqi to mount his horse. Then he asked in a low voice: "Master Xiong, do you know anyone on the west side of the river who can come over?"
Xiong Xiaoqi listened and said: "I heard that a family named Li from Shaanxi came over. Just like your family, Bai Duoding came first and half of them. Their family is not backed by Xun family or officials - they can come the day after tomorrow. You guys can come the day after tomorrow. The two families are getting along well, don't bully others." Wang Peng was completely relieved after hearing this, and replied with a smile, "Don't worry, we are all Han people, who can bully whom?"
Xiong Xiaoqi stared and said: "You can't bully the Jurchens! Let me tell you, if any Jurchens go to the land enclosure to complain, and it is verified, your family's land will be reduced. If one is injured, the land will be reduced by 500 acres, and the medical expenses will be compensated. For one stone of grain, if there is no grain, another 500 acres will be reduced. If one Jurchen is killed, the land will be reduced by 3,000 acres! If ten are killed, not a single inch of your 30,000 acres will be left!"
Wang Peng stared and said, "What if one of our people is killed?"
Xiong Xiaoqi listened and sneered: "If a Han, old or young, is beaten to death, ten strong men from the Jurchen tribe who killed the Han will be buried with him! If a single family like Tong Chun's family does not have ten strong men, all the chickens and dogs will be left behind!" All the Jurchen tribes in Northeast China have been notified beforehand, no one dares to fly their wings, just don't bully them."
After Xiaoqi got on his horse, he shouted, and four cavalrymen came on horseback and joined him, regardless of whether the boundary stakes were nailed yet.
Xiong Xiaoqi was on the horse, and finally turned around and said to everyone in the Huo family: "You nail this boundary stake yourself. Others will come to check later - don't go too far! Drive!" He clamped the horse's belly and led the cavalry away.
When he disappeared out of sight, the men of the Huo family could no longer suppress their excitement and roared to the sky. The tears rolled down their faces and fell into the black earth covered with green grass at their feet!
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