books44 Chapter 182 Promoting New Grain
Chapter 182 Promoting New Grain
What is a great victory?
That would surely frighten the enemy to the point of being defeated, or leaving them with no power to resist.
Obviously, this is the scene on the banks of the Liangshui River today.
A month ago, a new weapon suddenly appeared in the hands of the Northern Army, which was specifically designed to restrain the barbarian heavy cavalry.
Their invincible advantage on the vast grasslands is gone.
Half a month ago, the Northern Army made another surprise move.
A series of small bamboo tubes were thrown into the barbarian camp, causing heavy losses to the barbarian army, which seemed unconcerned at first.
Even their new Khan had an arm blown off.
Curse.
The barbarians naturally didn't believe that a few thin bamboo tubes could produce such great power.
Only divine punishment can have such destructive power!
They just wanted to herd their horses south, cross the Liangshui River, and head to the Yuan Dynasty where there was abundant food and fodder, but they didn't expect to bring down heaven's punishment!
After suffering heavy losses, the barbarian army's morale was shaken.
Even though he had witnessed the power of the thing called "Thunderbolt Fireball" early on, Xiao Yan couldn't help but be deeply shocked by the tragic scene on the other side of the river.
He tightened the spear in his hand.
All the Thunderbolt Fireballs brought this time must be left on the battlefield and cannot be brought back to the Northern Frontier.
And after this, he also had to warn the little girl not to make this thing again...
The good news from the border spread throughout Anbei City in just one morning.
The people cheered and were all happy.
Oh, except for the third prince who is also waiting for good news.
"How can it be!"
"This is absolutely impossible!"
The barbarians dispatched nearly 100,000 troops, while Hubei City could only mobilize 60,000 troops.
Not to mention that the barbarian heavy cavalry was invincible.
How could Xiao Yan possibly win in such a short time? !
He had just contacted the royal court and everything was just beginning to be arranged.
How could there be a great victory at the border?!
How did we achieve such a great victory?
But in the huge Anbei City and the General's Mansion, everyone except them was immersed in great joy.
Many years have passed since they last defeated the barbarians.
During the years when the barbarians were recuperating, they continued to invade several cities on the border.
Even though it was difficult for the Northern Army to survive, they still firmly guarded this land.
This time, the barbarians returned with great force, and everyone thought it was the biggest crisis in the northern border.
Because they have food and grass, but have not yet reversed the current food shortage situation in the entire northern border.
If the war is prolonged, where can we get such a large amount of food?
As early as two months ago, people started leaving Anbei City, and a month ago, many relatively wealthy families left.
The ones who truly stay on this land, sacrifice their lives and blood, and live and die with this land are always the ordinary people.
But fortunately,
God has eyes.
After many years, their general once again drove the barbarians back to the northern wilderness.
How many more years of peace can the northern border gain...
And five days later,
The people of Anbei City will welcome their triumphant warriors with the most grand welcome ceremony.
The Third Prince, furious in the General's Mansion, didn't know that Xiao Yan's return would be his end...
at the same time,
Zhou Lingling also received the second good news from Han You.
The potatoes are ready to be dug.
The beauty of April has faded, but people in northern Xinjiang have just taken off their cotton-padded jackets and put on slightly thinner spring clothes.
Now the house cleaning and kitchen work are officially shared by several sisters-in-law of the Tang family, while Meixiang stays more in the inner courtyard.
Chen asked Meixiang to come to Zhou Lingling's yard on the grounds that she was not used to being served.
Zhu Qing also followed him and moved to Zhou Chi's yard when he was seven years old.
Zhou Lingling thought about it and agreed.
Although she was not used to being served, she had been going out more and more frequently recently, and someone had to do the packing of clothes and cleaning of the room.
This also reminded her that although there were members of the Tang family in the family, these people were not her own family after all.
It’s hard to say whether one of the reasons why my mother didn’t let Meixiang stay in the main courtyard was because she was not of the right age.
When she is free, she will look for two older maids and servants.
Everyone will definitely have more things to do in the future, and we can't always make a trip in person to pass on a message.
Although not a pure ancient person, Zhou Lingling really has no objection to buying people.
Perhaps it was because she never took the so-called servants seriously from the beginning to the end, but just changed to another way of cooperation that made both of them feel at ease.
Like Meixiang, she has already said that when Zhuqing grows up, she can set her free.
So Zhou Lingling quietly added the task of buying a servant for the family to her plan book.
Early the next morning,
It was rare for Zhou Lingling not to sleep until she woke up naturally.
Before going to the north of the city to dig potatoes, she still had to arrange things at home.
When she got up at around seven o'clock, Meixiang came to tell her that the guests next door had been waiting for a quarter of an hour.
Zhou Lingling could only speed up her washing.
"Sister Meixiang, please send breakfast directly to the front hall. My uncle and his family came so early, they probably haven't eaten yet."
Meixiang smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Miss, everything is ready."
Tang Da and Sang Lin haven't been home often in the past couple of months, so cooking at home has become much easier.
The aunt who was cooking in the front yard has already gone back.
The Tang family has four daughters-in-law, two of whom work in the big kitchen in the front yard and two in the small kitchen in the back yard. According to this division of labor, they are responsible for cleaning the front and back yards respectively.
The host family was kind and the courtyards at the back were not cleaned every day. The young lady's courtyard was cleaned by the mistress and herself personally, so the sisters-in-law were not tired.
Except for Aunt Zhao and a few little kids like Hu Zi, everyone in the family received a monthly stipend, which provided them with food and shelter. It was not like they were selling themselves, so they were even more grateful to the Zhou family.
Aunt Zhao is not idle either. She helps take care of her grandson and helps her daughters-in-law with laundry and cooking when she is free.
Even the Sun family members who followed the Tang family are now quite satisfied with their lives.
Sun Yan had studied for two years and had been in charge of the accounting matters for the canal construction for the past two months. After the canal was completed, he returned to the mansion to work as an accountant.
Old Master Sun felt that he had been guarding the gate for several months, and the Zhou family did not treat him unfairly and compensated him for all his previous monthly wages.
The old man refused again and again, but finally accepted it with tears in his eyes at Chen's insistence.
Because of her poor health, Old Mrs. Sun can only stay at home and help her pregnant daughter-in-law take care of her grandson.
Everything is the best arrangement.
This also applies to the Chen family and the Zhou Zhuo family.
My uncle only knows how to butcher pigs, but my aunt has some business acumen. I think my second cousin takes after my aunt.
So after breakfast, Zhou Lingling didn't waste any time and got straight to business.
"I want to open a shop in Anbei City and sell grain seeds."
"At the beginning of the year, I planted two potato fields in the north of the city. Uncle Han You and his group reported that although the yield is not as high as Yunshui County, it can still yield 1,000 kilograms per mu, so growing potatoes in northern Xinjiang is completely feasible."
"The soldiers and civilians of Northern Xinjiang have suffered hardships and hunger for a long time. Now that the first batch of experiments has been successful, the weather is warm, and you, uncle and aunt, are here, I have seeds and reliable people. It's time to promote this matter."
"In addition to Anbei City, I plan to promote potatoes to another thirteen cities in the Northern Frontier within this year. The General's Mansion and the other cities will also fully cooperate..."
She will leave this matter entirely to Uncle Chen's family.
Of course, this does not include my eldest cousin, as he and Zhou Zhuo have other tasks.
Completely different from Uncle Chen and his wife who were so surprised that they were silent, Chen Jiakang was rubbing his hands and eager to try.
Open a shop!
It’s a shop selling grain seeds!
It will also be opened throughout the entire northern border!
Isn't rounding off just about spreading the grain all over the Yuan Dynasty?!
Chen Jiakang suddenly felt that his cousin was worthy of being his mentor, as she trusted him so much.
Chen Jiakang, immersed in his own "rounding off", completely ignored the fact that this matter was entrusted to three people, his father, his mother and himself.
In fact, Zhou Lingling really thought so.
My uncle and aunt had a good harvest but not enough exploration, and my second cousin just made up for it.
Leave this matter to them, there will be no problem!
As for Zhou Zhuo and his cousin.
"Although the Northern Frontier isn't a barren land, I've never heard of anyone entering the civil service through the imperial examinations. 'Officials' here are either earned through fighting on the battlefield or sent by the imperial court."
"So I want to build a school in Anbei City. This school will be different from the schools you attended before. It will teach only one subject, the classics, history, and literature. It is also the foundation for all students. After completing two years of basic courses, they can choose to continue studying the classics, history, and literature and take the imperial examination, or they can choose to study agriculture, industry, business, mathematics, medicine, embroidery, and other ten subjects."
"Also, admission is not limited to girls..."
This is the task Zhou Lingling gave to her cousin and Zhou Zhuo.
A task that is even more shocking than just opening a grain shop and selling grain seeds.
So what kind of school should this be...
Chen Jiaan and Zhou Zhuo couldn't help but ask in their hearts.
But at the same time, the two looked at each other, and an inexplicable impulse arose in their hearts.
Such a unique school will be created by them...