Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 100 Generous tears stained with tassels (1)

"This official, Fu Zhiren, is the inspector of Cao Xihe on the road to the Prime Minister's Mansion of the Xia Kingdom." Fu Zhiren dismounted from his horse, and according to the rules, first informed the two fugitives of his identity, lest they make random guesses.In order to screen out spies, and to make the people of Song State adapt to the environment of Xia State as soon as possible, Lu Cao, the Prime Minister’s Mansion, set up a special resettlement center, where the fleeing people from Hedong also told how they crossed the border. Gui Mocha's channel to cross the river is well known.

Zhao Xingde and Li Ruoxue looked at each other, then cupped their hands and said, "Zhao De from Guandong, this is his wife, Mrs. Li, please refer to inspector Fu." Fu Zhiren was wearing a gray cloth robe with a wolf fur waistcoat on his shoulders, and he was walking on foot suitable for long distances. Trekking thick-soled boots, riding a horse with a bow, a long sword hanging on the side of the saddle, and a blanket bag tied behind the saddle.Zhao Xingde originally thought that he was Mr. Xia who patrolled the border, but who knew he was a subordinate of the prime minister's mansion.

Fu Zhiren smiled slightly, and bowed his hands to Zhao Xingde and Li Ruoxue respectively.He had known that there was a group of Kanto peasants crossing the river, and after seeing that they were safe and sound, he didn't hurry, so he rested here for a while, who expected to see the whole process of Zhao Xingde and Li Ruoxue crossing the river.

"Why do you two take the risk of crossing the river by this iron cable?" Fu Zhiren asked slowly.Mrs. Zhao De's wife is gentle and polite, and she doesn't seem to be forced by livelihood.However, Xia Guo has always been very lenient in identifying escapees from the Guandong, and Fu Zhiren only asked casually out of curiosity.

"Well," Zhao De and Li Shi seemed a little embarrassed, they both lowered their heads, and after a while, Zhao Decai raised his head and said, "We two had a marriage contract long ago, and we fell in love with each other, but we were forced by the wicked to leave our hometown." Li Ruoxue leaned on Beside him, the young couple looked like they depended on each other for life and death.

"Oh." Fu Zhiren nodded slightly.The river water had already washed away the black ashes on Li Ruoxue's face, her skin was as creamy as fat. One could tell at a glance that she was not a farmer's woman who had been working for many years, and Zhao Deyan did not talk like a farmer either.Seeing their age and demeanor, he guessed that they eloped, but Zhao De said it in a more subtle way.

"According to the government order, people coming from Hedong must first go to the resettlement center for screening, and teach them to know our country's system. Let me go with you two." Fu Zhiren said sternly.The national system, Zhu Guo Mansion promulgates laws and regulations, Hu Guo Mansion decides national policy, Prime Minister Mansion formulates government orders, Emperor's Mansion issues military orders, and the General Mansion issues military orders. The names and effects are different.Fu Zhiren retired from the Imperial Guards and Cavalry Army only last year. In order to pass the inspection of inspectors, he also had a headache memorizing the laws.The officials in the prime minister's mansion have certain rules in how they do things and speak, so they should not be taken lightly.

Zhao Xingde supported Li Ruoxue to stand up, but before he could take a step, Fu Zhiren signaled Li Ruoxue to ride on the horse.

Zhao Xingde's eyes showed a look of wariness, Fu Zhiren handed him the reins, and explained: "When it's not in war, the sergeant will not ride a horse by himself, but let the women and children go on foot."

Zhao Xingde hesitated and said: "You and I don't know each other before, aren't you afraid that we will take the horse and run away?"

"You can try it," Fu Zhiren said with a smile, "this horse has been with me for seven or eight years, even if you kill it, it will not go with you." After finishing speaking, he whistled, then The horse seemed to be human, and snorted, lowered its head and rubbed against Fu Zhiren's body, one person and one horse seemed extremely intimate.

The two couldn't evade it, so they found a remote rock and changed their clothes one after another.With the help of Zhao Xingde, Li Ruoxue rode on the horse. She was still wearing men's clothes, but she didn't smear black grease on her face to cover up her appearance.

Zhao Xingde led the horse and walked forward, Fu Zhiren walked side by side with him. After walking for a long time, he felt that the trees on both sides of the road were getting denser. Huge trees surrounded by several people could be seen everywhere, and there were many squirrels foraging in the forest. , Songbirds are melodious, and there are eagles hovering in the sky from time to time, and there is no impression of "eight hundred miles of dusty Qinchuan" in Zhao Xingde's impression.About half of the flat and wide fields are farmers driving horses to prepare the land for the planting of winter wheat at the end of the month, and a small half of the fields are covered with pastures. From time to time, there are stables and fences where hundreds of cattle and sheep are raised. .

After walking for less than two hours, he passed seven or eight clear streams and canals. The narrow ones are only for irrigation, while the wider ones can be used for small boats. Zhao Xingde saw a small boat full of neat coals, docked On the wharf, nearby farmers drove their horse-drawn carts to buy them back for heating in winter.Zhao Xingde was surprised to find that there was a wooden track leading directly to the charcoal field at the wharf, and there were horse-drawn charcoal carts parked beside the trestle bridge, and several strong men divided the charcoal into packages, then loaded them into small boats, and transported by water Go to various places in the countryside, and then be transported back by the farmer in a horse-drawn cart.

Seeing Zhao Xingde looking at those huge trees along the way, Fu Zhiren said with a smile: "These big trees have grown for almost a hundred years." He pointed to the boat transporting charcoal and said: "In order to avoid indiscriminate felling of trees for firewood, the Prime Minister's Mansion has planned a number of well-connected roads. Channel transportation, decades of hard work by millions of people in Guanzhong, finally let most people warm with coal, and relieve the misfortune of one party." He was quite proud in his speech. Before he joined the army, Fu Zhiren was under the sergeant organization Undertook the labor of dredging the canals, the woods maintain the water and soil, and the canals are the lifeblood, and both are indispensable, which has been known by everyone in Guanzhong.

Zhao Xingde nodded with emotion. Hundreds of thousands of households in Bianliang also used coal for heating in winter, but before that, the surrounding forests had been cut down.However, most of the rural areas are far away from the main canal of water transportation, so the transportation of coal is inconvenient.Every winter, in order to keep out the cold, the common people would even cut down the mulberry elm, and the imperial court issued a ban, but the law did not punish the public. Nowadays, it is rare to see such thick and dense forests in the densely populated places of Kanto.

"The price of this charcoal is not cheap, can ordinary farmers afford it?" Zhao Xingde murmured. As far as he knew, even in Bianjing, Kaifeng government sold hundreds of thousands of catties of charcoal to the poor every year. Rao In this way, things that freeze people to death in winter often happen.

"The price of charcoal and firewood is about the same," Fu Zhiren thought for a moment, and explained, "The price of coal dug from the ground is mostly due to the freight. After the channel is opened, this has been greatly reduced. According to the law, logging For firewood, you have to plant a sapling nearby, and after ten years, it will grow into a big tree before you can cut down the original big tree. With this effort, it’s better to buy coal.” He paused, Dao said, "Some forestry businessmen can spend ten years planting trees and obtaining wood, but most of them are used to build houses and utensils, and they are reluctant to burn them."

"It is very difficult to implement the prohibition of random logging for firewood." Zhao Xingde sighed.This era is colder than later generations, and the Song Dynasty also forbids the excessive growth of trees for warmth, but in the event of a cold winter, the law does not punish the public, and even the Fengshui forest near the imperial mausoleum is secretly cut down by the people, let alone other places.

Fu Zhiren also said with emotion: "Yes, the winter is bitter and cold. Cutting wood for firewood can solve the urgent need and leave the world's worries. If the prime minister's government hadn't made a policy to build channels year by year to reduce the cost of carbon transportation by replacing firewood with charcoal, The masters of the scholar's residence have taught the common people the advantages and disadvantages of it for more than ten years, and millions of soldiers and people are convinced, it is really not easy to carry out."

Zhao Xingde is a scholar from the Kanto region, and Fu Zhiren is also polite to him. As long as it does not involve military affairs, he will explain it to him in detail. While talking, the two came to a house with rammed earth walls and thatched roofs. At a glance, Zhao Xingde saw that the dozens of peasants who had crossed the Yellow River before him were already standing in the yard, and they were lining up in front of a table doing screening and registration.

"The law does not allow idle refugees. Anyone who comes from the Kanto must register their whereabouts, and they are not allowed to wander freely in the country." Fu Zhiren explained with some apology, "My colleagues will, according to the situation and wishes of the refugees, I will arrange a place for you to go." He and Zhao Xingde were able to talk, so he added another sentence: "Born in sorrow, die in peace, when you ask questions, you have to remember."

Pan Shaowei, a subordinate of Lu Cao, was born with a harmless and kind face. He looked at the honest Kanto peasants in front of him, and he was repeating the question tirelessly: "The first place to go is to stay in the Guanzhong workshop. Eat, take care of your housing, work is also simple, and you can get money every month. The second destination is to arrange for you to do part-time jobs in the farm workshops along the way to earn money. If you are lucky, go to Shishan, and if you are not lucky, go to Xiaohai. If you want to eat and sleep in the open, it is certain that the barbarians will burn, kill and fight there, and you will not be guaranteed to return home. The third place, if you have a skill, the prime minister's mansion and the general's mansion can select the best for employment, or send it to the police. I will go to the city within three months to find my own way of life, and if I can’t make a living, I will follow the orders of the prime minister’s office.”