Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 338 Horse Farm (Part Two)

This went too smoothly!

Magistrate Ji, who had been trying to persuade him until he was hoarse, laughed: "You agree so easily? Aren't you afraid I'll lie to you?"

The dark-skinned farmer laughed, "Why would the magistrate lie to us? Besides, the general himself has come; how could it be fake?"

“I’ve toiled in the fields my whole life. In the past, we had to hand over half of the harvested grain. In recent years, the general has only collected 30% of the land tax from us, and all those other miscellaneous taxes have disappeared. When there’s a lean season, we can borrow grain from the county government. When we run out of seeds, the Shi family’s grain shop lends us seeds. When the Xiongnu barbarians come, the general leads his troops to fight to the death.”

"Without the general, we wouldn't have the good life we ​​have now."

"The general took our land for free and even gave us silver. If I still disagree, would I be human?"

Magistrate Ji was in a good mood and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to be so reasonable. Don't worry, the general will not only provide the money, but also instruct the county government to find some wasteland for you. Reclaiming wasteland is not an easy task, so there will be no land tax for the first five years."

The same thing happened with the second and third households. As soon as the general was mentioned, the farmers immediately wanted to put their fingerprints on the document.

Occasionally, some people would be reluctant to give up their land, sighing and complaining, but when they heard that they would be compensated with silver at market price, they would agree to it.

In just two days, Magistrate Ji led the officials in the county government to complete the task.

Magistrate Ji brought a thick stack of land registers to see Pei Qinghe.

Pei Qinghe looked through the documents and was very satisfied: "Tomorrow, I will summon all the farmers to the county government and give them silver."

The following day, farmers who came to collect their silver from the county government lined up in a long queue outside the government office.

One by one, the farmers went in, then came out beaming with joy, carrying thick bags of silver. The onlookers, somewhat envious, asked, "Did you see the general?"

"Of course. The general personally gave me the silver and even spoke to me." The farmer proudly puffed out his chest, his dark face glowing red.

The onlookers were filled with envy: "Why haven't they taken our land?"

No one wanted to sell the land they depended on for survival. However, since the general wanted to buy it, none of them objected.

After a busy half-day, several boxes of loose silver were distributed to more than two hundred farmers. Pei Qinghe was in charge of distributing the silver and appeasing the people, while Steward Shi was busy keeping accounts on the abacus, his fingers almost cramping from typing.

Once this matter is settled, there's another one to come.

The abandoned fields outside Quanzhou County were also discovered. Magistrate Ji measured the wasteland, marking it out with white lime lines. Then, the farmers drew lots to determine which plot they would get, entirely based on luck.

Some farmers were lucky and drew relatively flat wasteland with few weeds. Others were unlucky and drew pitted, overgrown wasteland, requiring a lot of effort to cultivate, and they might not be able to harvest any crops for one or two years. They could only lament their bad luck.

One household, having drawn a plot of barren land deemed too poor, made a fuss and demanded a replacement. Jiang Huiniang, who had accompanied Magistrate Ji, drew her sword menacingly. The farmer, terrified, turned pale and frantically waved his hands, retreating, shouting, "No, no, no, I won't exchange it. This is the only piece!"

Jiang Huiniang, mimicking the general's manner, raised an eyebrow and sneered: "Are you really sure about this?"

The farmer nodded frantically: "Yes, yes, yes, I've thought it through. I was out of my mind just now, I'm nothing but a fart, let me go!"

Everyone laughed. A few farmers, who had been looking worried, secretly patted their chests, secretly glad they hadn't jumped out to cause trouble.

Magistrate Ji was meticulous and thorough in his work. He brought over oxen and iron plows from the county office and lent them to the farmers. While the farmers were using the iron plows to clear the land, construction also began on the designated horse ranch.

The craftsmen from Peijia Village were summoned, along with a large quantity of timber and bricks. First, they used the timber to enclose a large area of ​​land, then built rows of houses with bricks. The seedlings in the fields were harvested, the land was leveled, and it needed to be fertilized before sowing grass seeds. In just one month, the horse ranch had begun to take shape.

“General, Zhan Qi is keeping an eye on the horse farm. I need to lead another trip to the border.” Zhan Fei volunteered: “Right now, we don’t have enough warhorses. It takes at least three years to raise the foals from the mares. I want to go and buy another batch of mares.”

The grandson stayed behind, while the grandfather traveled far and wide. Even if the caravan buying horses met with misfortune on the grasslands, the Zhan family line would not be severed.

Pei Qinghe didn't waste any words and nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll send two hundred men with you. Be careful on the road."

The Xiongnu barbarians suffered a crushing defeat, enraging the Xiongnu Khan. The Jingchao merchant caravans traveling into the grasslands were also implicated. Several caravans subsequently reported being attacked by Xiongnu "bandits."

Such danger was unavoidable. What Zhan Fei understood, Pei Qinghe understood even more clearly. To buy horses, this risk had to be taken.

……

After returning to Peijia Village, Pei Qinghe summoned Fang Datou: "The situation on the grassland is more dangerous than before. This time, someone else will go. You stay here."

For the first time in his life, Fang Datou disobeyed the general's order: "No, I'll go. I'm familiar with the terrain and climate of the grasslands, and I know how to deal with the herdsmen. I can also speak a few words of Xiongnu and Xianbei languages, and I can pretend to be a bandit. In Pei's army, no one is more suitable than me."

Pei Qinghe didn't put on airs, and sighed softly, "Of those who have followed me for seven years, there are very few left. This trip is too dangerous, and I do have some selfish reasons; I don't want anything to happen to you."

Fang Datou's eyes reddened, but his expression grew even more resolute: "Without the general, I would have died seven years ago. General, let me go! I'm not afraid to die!"

Pei Qinghe remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

Fang Datou strode out of the military tent, looked up at the sky, and felt that the sky was blue and the air was fresh, which made him feel particularly happy.

Besides a general, who else would give important positions to a one-armed veteran?

Fang Datou joined the army in his teens. He wasn't very bright and was often bullied and ridiculed. It wasn't until he arrived in Peijia Village that he finally held his head high and gained dignity and pride.

He was going to continue to the grasslands to buy warhorses for the general.

"Brother Fang!" A familiar, stiff voice rang out from behind.

As usual, Fang Datou replied with a sour face, "Call me Chief Fang."

Hemu walked over: "Chief Fang, I'll go to the grassland with you."

Fang Datou's eyes widened like copper bells: "You've only been here a short time, and you're already trying to escape?"

Hemu knew Fang Datou's temper, so he wasn't annoyed by these words. He said in a deep voice, "I am the one who knows the grasslands best. I will lead you there, so we can avoid the Xiongnu. I will take you to the Xianbei tribe to buy the best warhorses."

"All sixteen of them will stay behind, but I will go with you alone. If you find anything wrong with me, each of you can chop me into mincemeat."

Fang Datou stared at Hemu for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll take you to see the general."

"Hemu, you'd better not tell another lie. If you dare to deceive me again, I'll skin you alive with a knife!"

(End of this chapter)