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

Chapter 6
Wang's field is located in the southeast of Xinzhuang. Due to inconvenient irrigation, the land here is relatively barren.

Only in the northwest and southwest of Xinzhuang, where there are rivers and canals for communication, the land is relatively fertile, but most of the fields there belong to the Li family and some wealthy families in the village.

It was the season of winter wheat plowing, and many villagers were busy in the fields, plowing, watering, transporting fertilizer, and sowing seeds. It was a busy scene.

Wang Dou followed his mother to his field, and a smell evaporated from the dry field.In later generations, Wang Dou once worked in the farmland, and with the skills inherited from this body, farming was not a problem.

He drove the cattle, pushed the plow, and plowed the wheat field deeply. His mother Zhong then used the rake to level the plowed soil, and his young wife, Xie Xiuniang, carried water to irrigate the field.Due to the drought in the field in recent years and insufficient moisture, we had to water to create moisture, otherwise the emergence rate of wheat would not be high.

The nearest stream was two miles away, so I had to go there to fetch water if I wanted to water it.More than [-] mu of land needs to be soiled, and it all depends on Xie Xiuniang to carry water. One can imagine the hard work. She is small and weighs two heavy buckets, walking back and forth without saying a word, working hard, but her little face The more you see, the weaker and paler you are.

In fact, there used to be some pools and canals in the southeast of Xinzhuang. They were originally built for water conservancy during the Wanli period.It is very labor-intensive and costly to dredge the silt and mend the leakage, unless the government or the entire Xinzhuang power is mobilized.Of course, Xin Zhuang doesn't have this ability right now, and now that the Li Changjia head system in the village is abolished, he doesn't have the organizational power.

Rivers, ponds, and canals are not counted on, so many families in Xinzhuang dig wells to irrigate the fields for people and animals to drink.However, due to the drought, the water output of the simple small wells that cost two or three taels, or the small brick wells that cost seven or eight taels of silver, is getting less and less.

As for the masonry deep well, the material and labor costs alone cost eight or nine taels of silver, and even deeper wells cost more than ten taels of silver. A waterwheel also costs more than ten taels of silver, and it needs to be pulled by animal power.The various costs are calculated to be more than 20 taels of silver, but this kind of masonry deep well can irrigate more than [-] mu of fields per well. If the family is large and wealthy, it is still cost-effective to dig such a deep well.

It is useless to dig a small well, and the Wang family can't afford to dig a deep well, so they have to rely on the most primitive manpower. In fact, there is another option, hiring manpower to carry water.There is now a kind of water carrier in Baoan Prefecture, who specializes in helping people carry water. At first, there were three copper coins per load of water, but now it has risen to twelve coins per load, and it is not easy to find.

Needless to say, Qian Zhongshi was reluctant to part with it.

The three of them worked until noon, sweating profusely. The older Zhong was, the paler Xie Xiuniang's face was, and the thinner her body looked.

The three rested under the big locust tree on the field, and ate some dry food and wheat cakes with cold water. Wang Dou said to Xie Xiuniang: "Xiu Niang, don't go fetching water in the afternoon, and rake the ground with your mother on the field, watering the ground." Well, I'll come tonight."

Xie Xiuniang said: "Brother, you have to plow the ground during the day and carry water at night, isn't it too hard?"

Wang Dou said: "It's okay, if you are free at night, you are also free."

Xie Xiuniang said, "Brother..."

Wang Dou frowned: "If I told you not to carry water, then don't carry water. Why are you talking so much?"

Xie Xiuniang responded meekly, but she was very happy in her heart.

The Zhong who was next to him didn't say anything, but he felt relieved: "That's right, this silly boy is sensible and knows how to love his own woman."

The three of them continued to work in the afternoon, Wang Dou drove the cattle to plow the ground, while Zhong and Xie Xiuniang plowed the ground.

After raking and creating moisture, Xie Xiuniang sowed fertilizer in the front, and Zhong planted seeds in the back, and then suppressed it with a rake.When the sun was setting in the west, Xie Xiuniang went back to make dinner, and then brought it in a hurry, along with Wang Dou's bow and arrow and spear.At present, Tartar bandits are rampant, and one must guard against them in the wild!
The three of them still ate dinner on the field. After eating, Zhong and Xie Xiuniang went back and drove the cattle back to feed them. Wang Dou continued to carry water on the field. He ran back and forth time after time. The open fields on all sides.

A feeling of desolation welled up in his heart, and Wang Dou stood on the spot with a dazed expression.

……

In the next few days, we will continue to plow the ground, water and sow seeds. It will be high-intensity labor for several consecutive days, but people can work, but cattle cannot.One cow can only plow two or three mu of land every day, and they have to rest one day every three days. Fortunately, the Wang family rented two cows from the head of the village, Jiang An, so that the progress of farming can be maintained.

After the more than [-] acres of land have been plowed, and after adding soil preparation, fertilization and seeding, it is already the end of August, but the work on the ground is all done, and the whole family is relieved.

Farm work is very tiring, but also a lot of exercise. Wang Douhei has grown a lot, but his body is stronger and his eyes are more steady. That sentence is right: "Heaven will send a great task to the people, and you must first work hard on your heart and muscles. , hungry for his body!"

Wang Dou believes that the hard times will eventually pass.

……

On August 24, the seventh year of Chongzhen, Wang Dou returned to Jingbiandun.The few people in Dunnei were still the same, but now it was the autumn sowing season, except for the two women, everyone else had gone out to grab the sowing time, and they didn't come back until late in the evening.

Seeing Wang Dou, everyone's eyes were very strange, Zhong Dayong snorted heavily, but he didn't dare to shout at Wang Dou like before, just ignored Wang Dou with a straight face, and occasionally talked carefully. eyes twinkle.Yang Tong's health improved a bit, but his front teeth were gone forever, and when he saw Wang Dou, his eyes couldn't help being resentful, but he only dared to mutter something behind his back, saying that even Wang Dou couldn't hear clearly.

Qi Tianliang, Ma Ming, and several women in Dunnei were in awe of Wang Dou, and when they met Wang Dou again, they shouted very affectionately.Han Zhong always circled around Wang Dou, as if he had a long tail behind him, only Han Chao still looked lazy, but Wang Dou noticed that he secretly watched him from time to time.

In the evening, everyone in Dunnei built a fire to make meals, and a smoky smell enveloped the space inside the wall. From the meals everyone ate, we can see the living status of everyone in Dunnei.

Jiachang Zhong Dayong and his wife ate white noodles, while the rest Dunjun and his wife ate a small amount of sorghum and corn mixed with a lot of wild vegetables. The same is true for the Han and Korean brothers.The black-faced scones that Wang Dou ate had already attracted envious looks from several people.However, Wang Dou actually ate the food brought from his family. According to the military salary, he can only eat bran swallowed vegetables now.

He suddenly heard the sound of "哐", but it was Han Zhong who dropped the bowl in his hand. He stood up and muttered: "Damn, eating these crap all day long, I can't live like this. If we haven’t paid rice for a month, are we going to starve to death?”

He looked at Wang Dou: "Brother Wang, why don't we go to fight for pay, anyway, it's a death, even if it's beheaded, it's better than starving to death!"

His movement was so loud that everyone looked at him in shock.Wang Doudan didn't move, but Han Chao yelled at him in a low voice: "Nonsense, you forgot about obeying the platform? Do you still want our brothers to go into exile again?"

His voice was very low, only Wang Dou who was close to him heard him, and suddenly Wang Dou remembered an event in history.

In the second year of Chongzhen, Zunhua camp soldiers had a massive upheaval in wages. At that time, the southern soldiers were paid one or two or five dollars a month, and the original color rice was five dollars. There is only one rice and one stone for one tael of silver every month, which is already injustice.Coupled with the lack of payment for several months, the soldiers were desperate, and the battalions heard about the wind and asked for payment. On the eighth day of February, they gathered outside the west gate of Zunhua, felled trees and built a stronghold. The army and the people are in chaos.

Afterwards, the governor of Shuntian, Wang Yingzhi, was arrested and sentenced to death for the drastic change in salary. Of course, the leading troublemakers were also arrested and beheaded afterwards.

This incident is very big and famous in history. Could it be that the Han and North Korean brothers were also one of the leading troublemakers back then?

Wang Dou glanced at the two meaningfully, but found that Han Chao's gaze was also looking at him, and the two of them avoided it as if nothing had happened.

Zhong Dayong coughed and said: "As the imperial court officers and soldiers, how can we say such rebellious words? Stop talking nonsense."

Han Chao made a complaint, and Dunnei became quiet again.

That night, Wang Dou slept in his simple hut. Of course, this kind of hut is not equipped with soundproofing equipment. He could hear every movement in his ears, especially the sound of fierce battle between Ma Ming and his wife Shi Shi from a few rooms away. , the details are heard clearly.

These two couples have a good relationship, but it's strange why these two people are so enthusiastic about this matter, they have to do it at least once a night?It seems that there were no recreational activities in ancient times, and there was no other way except to go to bed early and make children.

Wang Dou shook his head, calmed down, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

……

The next day, Wang Dou and Han Chao brothers were on duty on the pier.

Looking from the pier more than ten meters high, you can see the figures of Juludun and Chafangdun in the distance from a distance. Standing here and looking at it, it feels really good. When the autumn wind blows, there is a feeling of ecstasy .No wonder Jiachang Zhong Dayong likes the position of the pier.

Wang Dou looked at it for a while, then narrowed his eyes habitually, thinking in his heart, it will be the eighth month in a few days, and the time really flies by.

A voice came from behind, but it was the Han and North Korean brothers talking softly. The two were discussing for a few days to find an opportunity to go out and do some business, sell some goods and so on.In fact, the Ming Dynasty strictly prohibited Dunjun from all over the country from leaving the letter without authorization, selling goods, etc., but these strict punishment regulations have long been a dead letter, and a large number of Dunjun who could not survive openly violated the prohibition.

Leaving the land without permission is a trivial matter, and even many border troops secretly communicated with the Mongolian Jurchens outside the Great Wall, not only selling cloth, needles and threads, iron pots and other contraband to them, but even selling arms, and some even sold them to the Jurchens outside the Great Wall. The enemy revealed all kinds of information about the frontier fortress in exchange for some rewards.

The Han and North Korean brothers only intend to go out to do some business, and they are already very law-abiding.

Hearing that they had finished their discussion, they mentioned a few more words: "Brother Wang." Then footsteps came towards Wang Dou, it seemed that the two were planning to drag Wang Dou into the water.

All of a sudden, they heard a gunshot, followed by the sound of "bang bang" desperately. The three of them trembled and looked towards the direction of Juludun, only to see a bunch of wolf smoke rising straight up there. So eye-catching.

The three of them looked at each other, and they all saw a message in each other's eyes, the Tartars are coming!

(End of this chapter)