A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 25 Competition
Jingbian Fort has a certain scale, and the construction of the outer city wall cannot be completed in a short while.

At this time, Wang Dou has put all his energy into the reclamation and construction of the wasteland around the castle, trying to reclaim a certain amount of land and build a certain amount of water conservancy before the spring of next year, so that the military households in the castle can farm as soon as the spring begins.

From the west of Jingbian Fort to the Dongfang River area, there are actually several silted and abandoned canals. If they can be used, this area can be turned into good land. However, Wang Dou lacks financial resources, so he can only recruit some military households to dredge one of the canals. A section, and then a little repair, can use the water source temporarily.

For the rest, Wang Dou plans to spend 100 taels of silver to build five deep masonry wells in various places, and all military households will draw water for use together. Before the spring of next year, a batch of land will be cultivated first, and each household will be divided into dozens of acres. .

During this period of time, Wang Dou sent Qi Tianliang to lead some military households to conduct a detailed investigation of this piece of land. They have carefully understood where there is a lot of wasteland and where the land is fertile.In the end, Wang Dou decided to reclaim wasteland on both sides of an abandoned canal called Baihu Canal on the west side of Jingbian Fort, dredge the canal, and then drill several deep wells around the canal to roughly solve the water problem of the fields.

At this time, in addition to the twenty or so men of the Han Dynasty who were still quarrying stones on the mountain of Shunxiang Fort, Wang Dou now had about 80 men and more than [-] strong women. In this era, women also To work in the fields with men.And after these days of recuperation, everyone's complexion has improved a lot. Although most of these men and women are old and weak, it is undeniable that they are very motivated.

Among these people, apart from Wang Dou being led by Yang Tong, and some people were assigned to dredge the Baihu Canal, the rest followed him to reclaim wasteland and make profits in the surrounding area.

For many days in a row, everyone came out at dawn and returned at night, working hard every day. Seeing that Wang Dou took the lead every day, sweating profusely, and looking very desperate, all the military households were a little surprised, a little moved, and felt that Mr. Wang It is really rare to see a Shangguan like Qi.

And Mr. Wang took the lead in the work every day, so naturally no military household dared to be lazy behind.

Every day, Qi Tianliang, Han Zhong, and Zhong Rong also followed Wang Dou's side hard.Wang Dou also secretly observed that Yang Tong, he took some military households to dredge the Baihu Canal, but he did his best.The sorted out silt is also picked up to one place, which will be used to fertilize the fields in the future.Wang Dou nodded, this Yang Tong can still be used.

Early in the morning, all the military households quickly finished their breakfast. Under the leadership of Wang Dou, they went out of the castle again. Each of them was carrying a pickaxe or a hoe, and some women carried Dustpans, baskets and other things went together, and some military households drove the dozen or so cattle to open up wasteland, which doubled the speed.According to manpower, each male can only reclaim half an acre a day, but with cattle, he can reclaim an acre or even more a day.

Wang Dou saw that Zhong Rong was also following him with a pickaxe on his shoulder. Today he was wearing a short robe and padded jacket. His sparse beard was blown up by the cold wind from time to time, but his tall and thin figure was still straight. The literary temperament in him.These days, he also went to work in the fields with everyone every day. Wang Dou was quite surprised that he, a literati, could afford such hardship.

Thinking of Zhong Rong's use of it quite effectively these days, he is the only scholar in the castle who can write and count. Wang Dou didn't want him to be exhausted, so he would have to find a scribe again.

He glanced at Zhong Rong, and said with a smile: "It's freezing cold, sir, a gentle scholar, how can he suffer such hardships with us old bastards? If not, sir, let's go back to the castle to rest."

Zhong Rong stopped, and he solemnly saluted Wang Dou: "Students are not talented, and they are loved by Wang Zongqi. Now the village is starting up, and everyone is working hard every day. How can Zhong Rong be lazy alone and make everyone ashamed?" Embarrassed? Zhong Rong is determined to follow the crowd."

Wang Dou praised: "Okay, the fort will be prosperous in the future, and Wang Dou will never forget Mr.'s contribution."

Zhong Rong saluted deeply: "Thank you, my lord."

He straightened his back, followed Wang Dou without gnawing, and although he came to Wang Dou for a short time, he already felt a vigorous momentum, this feeling made him intoxicated, and Wang Dou appreciated him , several of his subordinates also respected him. Compared with the days in Dongjiazhuang Castle in the past, Zhong Rongji couldn't leave here.

……

Everyone arrived at Baihuqu, where a large piece of land had been reclaimed. Wang Dou took a pickaxe, and smiled at Qi Tianliang, Han Zhong, and Zhong Rong, who were beside him: "Old Qi, Brother Han, Zhong Rong Sir, do you still dare to compete with me today?"

Han Zhong shouted: "Comparison is comparison, whoever is afraid of whom."

Qi Tianliang also shouted: "My old Qi thinks that he is a good plower. I don't believe that he will lose to you Wangtou today."

Zhong Rong also said: "Students are willing to accept challenges."

The four of them stood in a row with pickaxes or hoes in their hands, all of them looked serious.Wang Dou's eyes were deep and he just looked forward, Han Zhong gritted his teeth and opened his eyes wide, Qi Tianliang opened his mouth wide with a ferocious expression on his face, Zhong Rong also pursed his mouth tightly, but held the hoe firmly with both hands.

Suddenly Wang Dou shouted, "Ah!"

Holding the pickaxe high, he rushed out first.

Then Qi Tianliang, Han Zhong, and Zhong Rong also blushed, shouting and rushing out behind Wang Dou.At this time, an old man next to the ground who was in charge of beating the gong to boost morale also rang the gong in his hand at the same time.

While beating the gong vigorously, the old man hissed loudly: "Work hard, everyone work hard!"

Rows of men and women rushed out following Wang Dou and the others, all of them holding their hoes high.

……

Swinging hoes like rain, Wang Dou hasn't straightened up since his pick fell to the ground, Zhong Rong is also doing it silently, Qi Tianliang keeps waving his hands while watching the three people's results, Han Zhong But he worked hard for a while, and laughed when he saw that his grades were ahead, and when he saw that he was behind, he scolded a few times and hurriedly caught up again.

They worked like this until noon, when Dow's loud voice came from afar: "It's time to eat, everyone is taking a break to eat!"

It was Dow and Liu who led a few women to deliver the food. In order to improve efficiency, everyone ate in the field, and Dow led a few women to prepare the food in the fort and deliver it.

Seeing that it was time to eat, Wang Dou stood up and said with a smile, "It's time to eat, everyone, let's rest!"

Zhong Rong, Qi Tianliang, and Han Zhong also straightened their backs. Zhong Rong suddenly staggered, and Qi Tianliang who was beside him hurriedly supported him and said, "Mr. Zhong, are you alright?"

Zhong Rong waved his hands and said repeatedly: "It's okay, I'm fine!"

He tapped his waist and sighed, "I haven't done farm work for a long time, and my bones are loose."

Wang Dou also asked him a few words with concern, telling him to pay attention to rest, Zhong Rong thanked him again and again.

Then Wang Dou said with a smile to everyone: "How about it, what do you think of winning or losing?"

Sure enough, today is Wang Dou number one again, Qi Tianliang sighed: "Wang Tou's ability, my old Qi really wants to bow down."

Zhong Rong also smiled at the side, while Han Zhong said unconvinced: "Let Wang Tou take the first place again, and we will compete again tomorrow."

Wang Dou smiled slightly and said, "Okay, let's rest, let's eat."

Everyone put down their farm tools one after another and gathered together to have a meal. Today, there are big buckets of rice, big buckets of clear soup, several plates of vegetarian dishes, and plates of meat dishes. Everyone is smiling. After hard work, the most enjoyable thing is beauty. I'm full.

According to Wang Dou's regulations, it has always been meat for one day, vegetarian for five days, breakfast porridge in the morning, and a spoonful of wine for every ten people on seven days, so that they can eat enough after work, and Shangguan doesn't beat or scold them, and they are with each other every day. They share joys and sorrows, and this kind of life makes many people laugh in their dreams.

Although Jingbian Fort has been established for a short time, it has quickly become a cohesive group.

Wang Dou and the others were also looking for a place to sit down and eat, when Yang Tong appeared in time, this guy would come over from the Baihu Canal every time it was time to eat, and eat with Wang Dou and the others to show that he was also in the circle people mean.Wang Dou understood Yang Tong's thoughts, smiled and beckoned him to sit down, Yang Tong happily sat beside Wang Dou, and pushed Han Zhong aside, Han Zhong glared at him angrily.

While eating, suddenly Wang Dou saw a small figure timidly appearing in front of his eyes, Wang Dou gasped, "Xiu Niang?"

(End of this chapter)