I

Li Quan shook his head and said: "No. Later, when we were looking for water sources, we happened to see the women of this tribe fetching water. After talking for several days, I probably figured out that the indigenous people are really inviting us to dinner. They are very kind and enthusiastic. , but can't eat cooked food, and don't even know how to make a fire."

Zhao Kuanghuan felt that it was unbelievable that there are people who can't even light a fire.

Li Quan said: "We lit a fire and roasted an animal that looked like a big mouse, was as tall as a human, and had a pouch on its stomach. After it was roasted, we sprinkled salt and invited the natives to taste it. The natives were very happy after eating it. Learn how to make a fire with us, and exchange skins for salt."

Zhao Kuanghuan said: "The natives who don't know how to light fire also know how to treat guests to dinner. It seems that not all raw people are evil. In the future when colonizing this island, we can routinely educate them, choose good and good people and tame them."

Chapter 1057 [The prince understands the people's sentiments]

Prince Zhao Kuanghuan landed at Lushunkou.

When Zhu Yuanzhang regained Liaodong, he landed across the sea here, and renamed Shizikou to Lushunkou.

Lushun means smooth travel.

In the entire Ming Dynasty, Lushun was the most important seaport in Liaodong, and a large number of Northeast local products were transported to Shandong from here.Commodities from the north and the south were also transported from Shandong to Lushun, and then spread to the entire northeast region.

The Datong imperial court immigrated to the Northeast for many years, and registered Jurchen and Mongolian households as Qimin. Today, there are more than 100 million people in Liaoning Province.Although the population is definitely not as good as that of the Ming Dynasty, the business is more prosperous, which can be seen from the prosperity of Lushun Port.

Before Zhao Kuanghuan got off the boat, he saw the bustling scene of the pier.

There are no lever cranes here yet, everything is moved by hand.And the wages are comparable to Shanghai. After all, Liaoning is full of land waiting to be cultivated. The population of cities and docks is not large, and there are few people willing to carry out contract labor.

Pearls, furs, and even Siberian specialties from the Heilongjiang River Basin are mostly imported to the mainland through Lushunkou.

Before the prince entered the port, there were already warships clearing the harbor, and all merchant ships had to get out of the way.After all, merchant ships are allowed to carry six small cannons. What if there is someone who doesn't have a good eye and fires a few shots at the Prince's ship?

Immediately afterwards, the pier also opened up a channel, and the busy commercial activities stopped instantly.

Under the protection of the guards, Zhao Kuanghuan slowly came to the shore.Seeing that everyone was driven away, he felt a little unhappy, but he also understood the guards' work.

"That tall man, call him over." Zhao Kuanghuan pointed to a coolie in the distance.

The coolie was brought in front of the prince, he was nervous but also a little excited, subconsciously wanted to kneel down and worship him, Zhao Kuanghuan supported him with his own hands.

"How much is the monthly salary?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

The coolie replied: "When it is more, it is five or six yuan, and when it is less, it is two or three yuan."

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "How is the grain price this year?"

The coolie replied: "Baking rice costs two cents a catty, and wheat seven cents a catty. Both are more expensive than last year."

"What is Baomi?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

The attendant at the side whispered, "Your Highness, rice is corn."

Zhao Kuanghuan asked again: "Where is the rice?"

The coolie said: "Liaoning has few rice growers, and the price is so expensive that poor people can't afford it."

Zhao Kuanghuan asked again: "How many people are there in the family?"

The coolie gradually became less nervous, and said like beans poured out of a bamboo tube: "My father came here in the sixth year of the Republic of China. The government helped marry my mother. My mother used to be a slave of the Tartars. There is an elder brother in the family, and several younger brothers and sisters." , I got allotted land in the countryside. I’m not good at farming, and I’m not good at reading, so I come here to carry bags. Although I’m a bit tired, it’s much faster than farming. I also got my wife three years ago and got married for two years I have no children, I gave birth to twins not long ago, and my wife is still confinement at home."

"Can one person support a family?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

The coolie grinned and said, "It's a good day. My wife is confinement, and I bought her chicken stew to eat. Back home in the country, I will bring money back to honor my parents during the Chinese New Year. I have already saved more than ten yuan in Datong Bank. I can still eat bank interest every month. I am renting a house now and plan to buy a house next year."

"It's a good day to have a wife, a house, and children." Zhao Kuanghuan laughed.

The coolie smiled and said, "It's all thanks to the blessing of the Long Live God."

After going back for dozens of steps, Zhao Kuanghuan pointed to a middle-aged man and called him over for questioning.

"What do you do for a living?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

The middle-aged man replied: "Reporting to Your Highness, Cao Min is running the business for the owner."

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "What kind of business are you running?"

The middle-aged man replied: "In the beginning, I collected wild ginseng in Shenyang and Liaoyang, and shipped it to Lushun for sale. Later, I started to collect fur, and the owner's business grew bigger and bigger. A few years ago, I even went to Hailan to make a split. Number."

"I didn't ask my boss, I asked yourself." Zhao Kuanghuan said.

The middle-aged man said: "Caomin is the third treasurer of the Lushun branch. He specializes in dealing with southern merchants and selling goods from the northeast to the south."

The first shopkeeper can be understood as the general manager, the second shopkeeper is equivalent to the director of finance and administration, and the third shopkeeper is responsible for sales and operations.

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "How much is your monthly salary?"

The middle-aged man replied in detail: "The monthly salary is 15 yuan, and there is a red reward at the end of the year. If it is a big business, the boss will give you another reward."

Zhao Kuanghuan smiled and said, "Then you are considered rich."

The middle-aged man also said: "Thanks to the blessing of the Long Live Lord, we have caught up with the good times. When the grassroots were young, there was chaos everywhere, and business could not be done at all. Fortunately, His Majesty swept the world, and the current good times come."

Zhao Kuanghuan asked again: "How many children are there in the family?"

The middle-aged man said: "Four daughters and one son, the son is only in his 30s. However, the grassroots are not pampered, and they still have to be beaten. Now they have graduated from elementary school. They are not bad at studying, and I guess they can get A high school diploma. If you don’t pass the public-funded examination, you can go to university at your own expense, and maybe you can become an official in the future.”

"Then I wish Mr. Ling to be named on the gold list." Zhao Kuanghuan cupped his hands and said.

The middle-aged man hastily bowed down: "Oh, Your Highness has ruined the common people. With His Highness's auspicious words, if the dog can be named on the gold list, he will definitely be a good official who is loyal to the emperor and serves the country."

Zhao Kuanghuan invited several people to inquire again, and found that Lushun was thriving.

The main reason is that Liaodong was destroyed in the late Ming Dynasty, the land was sparsely populated, and land taxes were reduced or exempted for many years. Farmers can live well by farming.As for the city, especially the wharf, there are many peasants who go to the city, just because the city and the wharf make money quickly, they are more motivated than planing food in the soil.

I also asked two merchants, and they both said that the officials did not exploit them, and they paid the shop tax every year according to the rules.

Continue north, passing a village.

Zhao Kuanghuan first called an old farmer and asked, "Old man, where is your ancestral home?"

The old farmer replied: "Caomin came from the south, Korean ethnicity. But I heard that the hometown of Caomin has also been included in Liaoning, and it was brought down by Long Live a few years ago."

"Then you speak Chinese very fluently." Zhao Kuanghuan said.

The old farmer said: "When the grass people were young, they were captured by the Tartars to farm in Liaodong. They were whipped every day, which is not a human life. Later, they went to Hebei with the Tartars, and they still farmed for the Tartars. Back in Liaodong, finally He was rescued by the imperial court, and his wife was also given the land. The life of the grassroots was given by the Lord Long Live."

"There are many Koreans in the village?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

The old farmer stretched out a palm: "There are only five people whose hometown is in North Korea. There are also twelve locals from Liaodong, three from Jiangsu, two from Anhui, two from Jiangxi, and one from Zhejiang. We were the only ones in the village earlier. At that time, there was wasteland everywhere, all of which were reclaimed by us people. Later, more than ten households were moved into the village, and the village head also came there. The village head is a lame Datong army, leading the whole village The elders dug the canal, and the canal was dug through, and more grain was harvested."

"Where is the village chief?" Zhao Kuanghuan shouted.

A middle-aged farmer came running lamely, with mud on his trouser legs, he should have just returned from the field.He came to the prince, stood up straight, fisted and crossed his arms in front of his chest, and saluted the prince: "The former No. 13 division, one brigade and one regiment sergeant Li Baogui of the former Datong Army, see His Royal Highness!"

Zhao Kuanghuan happily said: "Okay, you are energetic, you have trouble with your legs and feet, please sit down and talk."

"Yes!" Li Baogui sat up straight.

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "Are there any difficulties at home?"

Li Baogui said, "No."

Zhao Kuanghuan asked: "Your official speech is good, where is your hometown?"

Li Baogui said: "My hometown is in Anhui."

"Have your parents brought you to Liaoning?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

Li Baogui said: "My father has passed away, but my mother is still here. She was taken care of by my elder brother in my hometown, and I didn't come to Liaoning. After Datong Bank opened the postal remittance, I sent money to my old mother every three years. The money is not much, it's out of my heart. "

"Really filial piety," Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "Do you have a wife and children here?"

Li Baogui said: "Yes, my wife is a concubine of the Tazi nobles. She was caught by lottery when she was in the army. She is very fertile. She has three sons and four daughters, all supported."

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "How many acres of land is there?"

Li Baogui said: "More than 40 acres."

"A lot, can you grow them?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

Li Baogui said: "I couldn't plant it at first. The eldest and second child in the family are in their teens. They can help now."

Soldiers who have retired in Liaodong, if they want to stay in Liaodong, there are resettlement fields, and they are all good fields.Wasteland is everywhere here, and Li Guigui's children, as long as they are 12 years old, can apply for land allocation when they register for household registration.

When his seven children are all grown up, it is estimated that the family's field will be nearly a hundred acres, and they will be considered small landlords in a few decades.

Zhao Kuanghuan asked: "Did the government oppress the common people and distribute excessive and miscellaneous taxes indiscriminately?"

Li Baogui smiled and said: "I don't know about other places, Liaoning definitely doesn't have one. Basically, every village has one or two veterans. Veterans are both village chiefs and captains of farmers and soldiers. Which corrupt officials dare to mess around? "

"Hahahaha." Zhao Kuanghuan laughed out loud at these words.

It can only be said that there are too many veterans in Liaodong, some are disabled and some are old.The society here is relatively pure, not as complicated as in the south. If something happens, the veterans really dare to bring farmers and soldiers to confront the officials.

It is not enough in the southern provinces, and veterans are not counted, so it is more convenient to find certain jobs.

"Is there a school in the village?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

Li Baogui said: "There was none before. Firstly, it was difficult to find a teacher, and secondly, there were not many children in the village. A small school was built five years ago, and the government did not pay much. Every brick and tile was built by the villagers. The school Here, there is only one teacher who teaches from the first grade to the third grade...not very well."

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Baogui said: "It has been five years, and there are two batches of those who have completed elementary school, but only one child has received a graduation certificate, and the rest are all school certificates."

Zhao Kuanghuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, the teachers here were really not good enough.

Whoever makes elementary school graduates has an elimination rate of more than 50%. It is not possible to graduate with any test.

Chapter 1058 [Recalling the past]

To the south of Liaohetao, there is a Xining Fort.

The fort is adjacent to the Sancha River and the Great Wall of Liao Dynasty. It is a small water and land hub.

Around Xining Fort, there were many military households living in the Ming Dynasty, but now they have changed.The fort is still there, the water and soil will last forever, and the residents living in this land have completely changed into a new look.

The Liao State Mansion was built next to Baozi, which used to be the house of the Pang family.

After Pang Chunlai retired and returned to his hometown, he has been looking for his relatives and fellow villagers.I really couldn't find my relatives, but my fellow countrymen found a few, and I felt a little relieved.

In early summer, the weather is just right.

There was a reclining chair in the yard. The guards carried Pang Chunlai to the courtyard, and with the help of several servants, carefully placed him on the reclining chair to bask in the sun.

The Duke of Liao was paralyzed, and even lost his mind in severe cases.

The spirit seemed to be better this day, Pang Chunlai grinned, and his words were a little awkward: "Qingya, do you still remember that we went to Shandong together to catch the exam?"

Li Mengsi, whose name is Qingya, like Pang Chunlai, is a descendant of a hereditary military officer of the Ming Dynasty.

When the Tartars came, Li Mengsi fled to Guannei, and then to Shaanxi, where he went to his father's old robe.At that time, Li Mengsi was also in the army, and Li Mengsi was also in the army. Later, he returned to Shaanxi and went south to avoid Li Zicheng.

Going around, Li Mengsi became a citizen of the new dynasty, returned to Liaodong in response to the immigration policy, settled in the land, and worked hard to study.

Due to the lack of educated people, the local officials even hired him as a teacher when they learned that Li Mengsi had been a juren.

From the newspaper, Li Mengsi knew that his former classmate had become the Duke of the state, but he was still teaching in a country primary school.The county opened a middle school, and Li Mengsi was transferred to teach in the middle school. When he retired, he was already the principal of the county middle school.

Li Mengsi's body is still in good health. He took the tea from the maid, looked at the blue sky and fell into memory: "At that time, other scholars all went by sea, and we went by land together. We traveled all the way to the rivers and mountains of Daming. Shanhaiguan, visit North Zhili, take the canal from Tianjin to Shandong."

A smile appeared on Pang Chunlai's face. Due to hemiplegia, the smile was rather stiff: "Do you still remember the daughter-in-law of Pingshan Wei Deng's conductor?"

"Why don't you remember?" Li Mengsi also laughed, "Your father and Commander Deng are old acquaintances. When you passed through Dongchang Mansion, you went to pay a visit with a famous badge, and Commander Deng stayed with us for a few days. The daughter of the Deng family, young Fang Shiwu is not yet married. When we met for the first time, your eyes were straight."

Pang Chunlai wanted to laugh, but he didn't open his mouth wide: "Your eyeballs almost fell to the ground."

Li Mengsi shook his head amusedly: "You and I fought over jealousy. I had no engagement at the time, and it was time for me to pursue a beautiful woman. You have an engagement, but you still want to rob me. It's really shameless."

Pang Chunlai recalled: "I still remember that she was wearing a green lake silk blouse, which was a new style popular in Yangzhou. The sleeves were narrower, fresh and neat. The hair accessories were not cumbersome, only a jade hairpin was inserted, and the pendant was It is a lake pearl, swaying with the wind when we walk. We rushed in the door recklessly, and almost bumped into her..."

Li Mengsi said: "It seems that you are sincere. Decades have passed, and you can still remember it so clearly. I have forgotten the appearance of Younger Brother Deng, and I can't remember what clothes she was wearing. I can only vaguely remember her rolling her eyes. That pretty appearance, cute and cute, hahahaha!"

"Oh, I don't know if she is still alive now." Pang Chunlai sighed.

Li Mengsi said: "I hope the old man is well."

Pang Chunlai asked someone to inquire, only to know that his first love married to Yanzhou, and fled to Jiangsu with his husband's family.At that time, the soldiers were in turmoil, and the plague was still prevalent, so it was unknown if he died on the way.

The two were silent and no longer spoke.

After a long time, Li Mengsi suddenly said: "I have often dreamed in the past two years. I dreamed that I would return to the last year of Wanli. When the snow melted in spring, we, a classmate of Wei Xue, met to go for a horseback ride. We talked about killing Tartars and serving the country with a smile. My brother Li Mengzhou , it seems that he has never turned to Tartar for treason, he is still the hot-blooded boy back then."

"Don't mention... mention him, cough, cough, cough!" Pang Chunlai suddenly became agitated, and his facial muscles were trembling.

Pang Chunlai has adopted four sons and a daughter, the daughter is married, and the three sons are working as officials in other places, only the youngest son is by his side to fulfill his filial piety.

At this time, the youngest son helped him to sit up, and patted Pang Chunlai's back to calm him down.

Li Mengsi was in tears, as if recalling the unbearable past.Suddenly, Li Mengsi covered his face with his hands, and his whole upper body lay on his lap, sitting there sobbing and crying alone.