Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 169 Urging marriage
Zhang Xian stood with his hands behind his back on a high platform next to the silo.

Chen Bo, the foreman who worked there, ran over. He was one of Zhang Xian's chosen tenants and had extensive experience in both animal husbandry and slaughtering.

He was originally a helper in a butcher's household, and had been doing this job for nearly 20 years. Later, he was selected during the population census in Jinyang.

Seeing the old man running towards him, Zhang Xian asked.

"Uncle Chen! Which columns are we lining up in today?"

Old Chen looked up at the sound, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and replied in a strong voice, "Master! According to the rotation schedule you set, we can produce five pens of chickens, five pens of ducks, and fifteen pens each of pigs and cattle today!"

Zhang Xian nodded: "Then go and call someone."

"Yes, Master!" Old Man Chen responded and went to call for help.

The farmland and pastoral area is now spacious, so Zhang Xian arranges for slaughtering twice a month. This reduces the workload significantly and allows the remaining livestock to give birth and fill the pens after slaughter.

Maintaining this pace ensures a continuous supply of livestock in the homestead, eliminating the need to bring in livestock from outside.

He nodded as he watched the crowds gradually gather in the pastoral area, and then headed towards the agricultural area on his own.

The nearly half-acre farmland is planted with a wide variety of crops.

Sugarcane, cotton, beans, wheat, sorghum, alfalfa, ginseng, and other medicinal herbs are all available.

Sugarcane and cotton are still the most widely planted crops, accounting for three-quarters of the half-acre area.

The current planting area is 288 square meters, with nine crops per square meter, which means 2,592 crops can be planted.

In terms of economic value, using all of it to grow sugarcane would be the most cost-effective.

Each plant is counted as one stalk, and a single stalk can weigh five pounds when mature. After removing the head and tail, it can still weigh about three and a half pounds when used for sugar making.

In agricultural areas, each round lasts ten days, and there are three rounds a month.

When there were fewer planting stalls, the sugar production was only three to four hundred catties a month. Now that the area is larger, the monthly output for sugar production alone has exceeded two thousand catties.

The same goes for cotton. In the past, the amount of cotton cloth produced in a month was enough to provide clothing for about twenty people. Now, it can provide cotton clothing for about two hundred people every month.

Moreover, the cotton has mutated and become more cold-resistant. Spring sowing in southern Bingzhou is about to begin, and he plans to promote cotton planting this year.

I wonder how much cotton will grow in Bingzhou after the two cold-resistant cotton varieties that have undergone two mutations in the Jiayuan agricultural area.

It took Zhang Xian half an hour to finish taking care of all the crops in the agricultural area.

Weeding, fertilizing, and pest control—he works in the agricultural area just like any other farmer, perhaps only a bit more handsome and dashing.

After the agricultural areas were cleaned up, the slaughtering in the pastoral areas was also in full swing.

The boys, summoned by Uncle Chen, tied the duck's and chicken's feet with straw ropes.

They moved with practiced ease, quickly subduing the plump chickens and ducks and tossing them into the large bamboo baskets prepared nearby.

Forty-five chickens and ducks were packed into baskets long ago, leaving feathers scattered all over the ground in the five chicken and duck sheds.

Over there, in the designated slaughtering area, rows of hooks, hot water buckets, and large pots for plucking hair were already prepared.

Slaughtering ducks and chickens, bleeding them, scalding and removing feathers, gutting and processing them... the assembly-line-like operations were carried out skillfully by a dozen women.

Chicken and duck meat and offal were sorted and placed in different basins. Chicken and duck feathers were also collected. Chicken feathers could be used to make arrows and crossbows, while duck feathers could be used to stuff down. All of these were useful materials.

Chicken and duck skeletons and other scraps were piled up to the side, waiting to be processed.

When Zhang Xian arrived, the racks were already full of white, bald chickens and ducks.

"Master of the house."

"My lord."

Among those handling the chickens and ducks were servants hired by Zhang Xian, and others were ordinary people who came to earn a wage. They greeted him with bows, and Zhang Xian nodded in response.

"Thank you all for your hard work. Let's hang these chickens and ducks to freeze for a while, and then we'll load them onto the truck with the pork and beef."

"You can also take some of these chicken and duck skeletons back and cook them into a soup to warm your body."

"Thank you, Master (Lord)."

Several teenagers and some women expressed their gratitude.

Not only do they get paid for working here, but their master, the magistrate, also often lets them take some scraps back with them.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they're scraps; there's still some meat on them, and you can even get a lot of oil from the bones when you cook them.

The women, along with their young boys, each took a few chicken and duck skeletons. With each of the dozen or so people taking two or three skeletons, there were still more than half of the skeletons left.

These skeletons are also arranged to be ground into a fine bone paste using a stone mill, then mixed with some flour or something similar and deep-fried to make a unique meat dish.

He has eaten it several times already, and the taste and texture are not much different from the starch sausage he used to love, but the meat flavor is stronger.

It's a decent dish, though ordinary people might not be able to afford to eat it like this, since it involves deep-frying.

But it was manageable for him; producing it in Jinyang and then transporting it to the Taihang Mountain construction site could provide nutrition for the workers repairing and reinforcing the dangerous roads.

the other side.

The slaughter of pigs and cattle continues.

Fifteen pens of pigs, fifteen pens of cattle.

One hundred and thirty-five of each is quite a lot.

There were also dozens of people who were wielding knives to slaughter them.

The slaughtering area was piled high with chunks of pork and beef, thick, white lard and fat, as well as piles of pig and cow heads, pig and cow trotters, and cleaned offal.

The blood was collected in bucket after bucket.

The air was filled with a strong, fishy stench and the aroma of grease.

Even so, three-quarters of the pigs and cattle are still waiting to be slaughtered.

It's impossible to kill them all in a short time; we'll be busy until at least tonight.

After watching for a while, Zhang Xian stopped lingering. Chen Boneng had arranged the slaughtering. Most of the meat was sent to Qiangyin, some to Taihang Mountain, and the last small portion was left in Jinyang for consumption.

Winter transportation has its advantages, namely that the meat can be slaughtered before being transported, and the cold weather can ensure that the meat does not spoil during transportation.

If the weather gets warmer, then it will only be possible to transport animals live, which will reduce the speed significantly.

However, once spring arrives, there will be no shortage of meat in Qiangyin, and the grazing tax for the new year will also need to be paid. Huang Zhong, who is stationed there, will arrange the distribution of this grazing tax, and Zhang Xian will only need to replenish some grain from there periodically.

It was around ten o'clock when they returned to the Jinyang County government office. Xun Yu and a group of clerks had already started their official duties, and the scene was even more lively than usual when they worked in Luqi.

Upon seeing Zhang Xian enter, everyone stopped and bowed in greeting, to which he nodded in acknowledgment.

"My lord has arrived." Upon seeing Zhang Xian, Xun Yu also stood up to greet him.

Zhang Xian waved his hand: "Wenruo, there's no need for formalities. Don't you know what kind of person I am?" Xun Yu smiled: "I know my lord is easygoing, but we still need to show proper etiquette."

He sat down again. He had been in Bingzhou for four or five months and had gotten used to chairs and stools. Although he sometimes felt that it was against etiquette, it was really comfortable to sit on.

He flipped through the papers on the table, and soon took one out and handed it to Zhang Xian.

"My lord, look at this document. Brother Yuanfang has already started the 'New Regulations for Examination and Selection' on February 2nd."

“Yangqu, Lüsi, Yuci, Mengxian, Yangyi, and other counties have recruited a number of reserve officials. At the same time, in accordance with the lord’s wishes, some junior officers have been transferred from the army. These are the official and unofficial transfers.”

Background checks were the highest priority rule set by Zhang Xian, so when Xun Yu pointed behind him, he saw several stacks of tall booklets.

Zhang Xian nodded and glanced at the official document. The new regulations for recruiting officials, presided over by Chen Ji, were progressing smoothly. The judicial officer in Taiyuan had carried out a large-scale crackdown, freeing up countless people and fields.

Similarly, many positions have become vacant.

If these newly recruited officials don't have too many problems in their backgrounds, they will soon be embarking on their official careers.

He took the official document, casually found a chair to sit down, and after reading it, looked at Xun Yu and asked.

"The background check was fine, right?"

Xun Yu shook his head: "Under severe punishment, no one dares to abuse their power. These people have clean backgrounds, including those from humble families and soldiers. Their backgrounds are clear. Before leaving for Taihang, Clerk Gu left behind a group of secret agents. These background checks can prove it."

"That's good." Zhang Xian nodded, casually picked up a few books from the stack of books he was checking, and looked at them. There were indeed no major problems. He even saw many familiar faces, all of whom were genuine farmers.

He then picked up a few more books and looked at them, discovering that he recognized more and more of the people in them.

"So many people were admitted to Luqi?" He put down his book.

Xun Yu stopped writing, looked up and smiled helplessly: "My lord, how could you not know the situation in Lüqi? The popularization of literacy classes has greatly increased the literacy rate of the people in Lüqi County. Previously, Brother Gongzhi also discussed arithmetic, general knowledge and craftsmanship. Now, the other counties in Taiyuan Prefecture combined are not as good as Lüqi County. After Brother Yuanfang went to Lüqi, he even doubted whether he went to the wrong place."

"That's true." Zhang Xian nodded slightly.

Luqi was, after all, his base of operations in Bingzhou. He had already started literacy campaigns when he arrived in Luqi County to serve as the county magistrate, with a focus on arithmetic. It can be said that the people of Luqi County now have a level of arithmetic that is almost equivalent to that of a junior high school student.

If the "New Regulations for Examination and Selection" are truly fair and just, then the recruitment of arithmetic officials is indeed more suitable for those who are more capable.

He pondered for a moment, then finally nodded: "Since it is fair and just, then so be it. Let Chen Ji arrange for these newly recruited officials to be placed in charge of a month of training, and then assigned to various counties to mentor newcomers for three months, which is called the internship period. There will be an assessment during the internship period, and those who pass the assessment will be assigned to various places to govern."

"only."

Xun Yu cupped his hands in greeting and continued with his official duties.

Zhang Xian also took some money and helped with the process.

After handling official business at the county government office for an hour or so, presiding over agricultural promotion and education, Wang Lie returned to Jinyang to report back.

Upon entering the county government office, he couldn't help but stroke his beard and sigh in admiration when he saw the two officials at the head of the table, who were handling matters with utmost seriousness.

With these two talented individuals in Taiyuan, how could it not prosper?

He felt deeply that accepting Xun Yu's invitation to serve was the right thing to do.

He coughed lightly twice, stepped forward, and bowed.

"Wang Lie, the lower-ranking official, greets the county magistrate and the magistrate."

Upon hearing the sound, the two men at the head of the table simultaneously raised their eyes, then stopped writing and stood up.

"Your Highness!"

They also had to show respect to Wang Lie as juniors.

Zhang Xian first walked down the steps and helped Wang Lie up, saying, "Your Excellency must be tired from your travels." Then he led him to a seat.

Xun Yu arrived later, carrying a teapot and cups. He poured a cup of tea for Wang Lie, saying, "Please have some tea to relieve your thirst."

Seeing the two of them like this, Wang Lie felt a surge of relief and comfort.

What a fine young man! He's ambitious and capable. No wonder the landscape of the various counties in Taiyuan looks so different now compared to a decade or so ago when I was promoting agriculture there.

“Your Excellency, Your Excellency, there’s no need for such formality. Now that I’ve entered officialdom, I am your subordinate, and it is I who should be respectful.”

“How can this be? You are not only the county magistrate but also an elder. We should learn more from you.”

Zhang Xian smiled, waved his hand, and returned to his seat with Xun Yu.

"Your Excellency has returned to Jinyang today, which means the matter of encouraging agriculture in all counties has been completed?"

When it came to business, Wang Lie sat up a bit straighter. This chair was really good, saving his old arms and legs from having to struggle.

He nodded respectfully and said, "I have not failed in my mission. All counties in Taiyuan Prefecture have completed the promotion of new agricultural tools and crops. Before last winter, the winter wheat in each county was also planted. The oxen and curved plows of the prefecture have also been distributed to each county. If there are no natural disasters or wars this year, it should be a bumper year."

Zhang Xian nodded upon hearing this: "Lord Wang is experienced in handling affairs. With spring planting approaching, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you again."

"It is only right. As the county magistrate, how can it be hard to talk about being in charge of agriculture and sericulture? Last year, I did a good job in persuading farmers. This year, I am just inspecting."

Wang Lie smiled broadly.

"Furthermore, Yuanfang has done a good job, and the number of officials will increase significantly this year, making things much easier."

Xun Yu chimed in at the opportune moment: "I don't know how many officials the princes need. My lord and I both believe that agriculture is the most important thing, so the personnel allocation should prioritize officials who promote agriculture."

Wang Lie waved his hand: "Not many, not many. I have more than two hundred people here and that will be enough manpower."

"It's not much, but the new officials will probably have to work hard to be taught by the princes."

"It's natural."

After a brief conversation in the county government office, Xun and Zhang returned to their official duties.

Wang Lie, however, did not leave. Instead, he drank his tea and occasionally helped with the tasks.

Looking at the two diligent and earnest young talents at the head of the table, his affection for them surged up once again.

When his gaze fell on Zhang Xian once more, he suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke again.

"How old are you, my lord?"

Upon hearing the question, Zhang Xian hadn't reacted yet, but Xun Yu, standing to the side, brightened up and turned to look at his lord.

?

Zhang Xian was taken aback, but still replied, "I reached adulthood at the age of four."

"Your Excellency is twenty-four years old, why are there no family members in your household?" Wang Lie stroked his beard and smacked his lips.

Xun Yu's eyes lit up even more. He had wanted to advise his lord on this matter for a long time, but he hadn't thought of a suitable way to bring it up.

Unexpectedly, the prince helped him get to the heart of the matter as soon as he returned!
My lord, get ready, Yu is about to start pressuring you to get married!

(End of this chapter)