Chapter 50 The evening scene is desolate

Chapter 50 The evening scene is desolate

"The soil here is loose, Li Lang, be careful and proceed slowly."

On the rugged mountain road, Zhu Ziyong walked in front and led the way, while Li Tai followed carefully behind with a bamboo stick in hand.

"There are sixty-eight hectares of gardening here, half of which is hillside and half of land. There are 26 hectares of fertile flat land and 13 hectares of dry land on the slopes. There are 832 mulberry trees and 300 peach, plum, apricot, and jujube fruit trees..."

While walking, Zhu Ziyong explained the details of the manor's industry to Li Tai. Some specific figures came out of his mouth, which showed that he was really concerned about the management of the manor.

Li Tai stood on a high place, looked around, and said, "Isn't the garden area large? I heard that the officials in Daxingtai are fierce in governance..."

"It's true that there are more, but the main reason for the strict supervision of Daxingtai is people and things. The reward of land is still tolerant. After all, only if you cultivate, you will have wealth. The people are willing to expand the land and cultivate diligently, which is also a good thing that benefits the family and the country."

Zhu Ziyong is worthy of being a man who has traveled far and wide and seen the world. In one sentence, he elevated the occupation of farmland to the perspective of justice.

It seems that this issue is also a normal situation in the world. Yuwentai may not be aware of it, but for some reasons he has not paid attention to it yet.

After all, the local powerful people in Guanzhong have their own industries, and the ones who really get a lot of land grants are the Beizhen warriors and Neifu Xinke. If you treat these people too harshly, it will not be conducive to unification and win-win.

This should be regarded as a contradiction in the development and growth of the Western Wei Dynasty, which was strict in administration but vaguely handled.

"May I ask Master Zhu, why is the soil here so gray and white, so different from other places?"

When yesterday evening arrived, Li Tai noticed that the soil on these slopes was mostly gray-white. Now that he was climbing up, he could see it more clearly.

The soil here is indeed white, with a very grainy texture when you twist it with your fingers, but the soil is fine and smooth, somewhat similar to the clay that Yang Heili found on the slopes of Shangyuan.

However, the slopes of Shangyuan are often dotted with lumps, unlike here where almost the entire slope is covered with such soil. So much so that the white water flowing through here is of pure quality, which is probably why the river got its name.

"The soil here is a treasure, and the finished products of fired pottery are quite good. The fine powder is sifted and mixed with water to cure diarrhea. In times of famine, bran and bran are mixed into cakes to satisfy hunger..."

When Zhu Ziyong heard Li Tai's question, he stopped, pointed at the soil on the slope and explained with a smile.

Li Tai's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this. It can cure diarrhea and can also be used to satisfy hunger. Isn't this Guanyin soil?

Guanyin clay, also known as kaolin clay, contains a certain amount of montmorillonite. In later generations, montmorillonite powder was one of the commonly used drugs for treating diarrhea.

Eating Guanyin soil can indeed make you feel full, but eating too much can kill you. In addition to satisfying hunger during famine years, this kind of soil is the best quality clay.

In addition to the conventional use of firing ceramics, clay also has an important role as a filler for papermaking.

There are inevitably gaps between the fibers of the paper material. Applying high-quality kaolin slurry with water on the surface of the paper can not only increase the delicate, smooth and flexible texture of the paper, but also increase the brightness and ink absorbency of the paper.

Xuancheng, which was famous for papermaking in later generations, and Jingdezhen, which is famous for porcelain, are geographically very close. One of the reasons is that the area is rich in high-quality kaolin clay.

There are abundant reserves of kaolin here. If you look around at the soil slope at Li Tai's feet, you will see that the nearby hills and high hills are full of this soil color, which may be dark or light.

"There is such good land near the manor. What kind of pottery can be done in the manor?"

Li Tai observed the environment and asked again.

After Zhu Ziyong heard this, he pointed to the mouth of a valley on the west side of Poling where Baishui flows and said with a smile: "There are two kilns there. Dozens of people from the village are sent to smelt utensils here during the off-farm period. Dazu uses them at home." . There are also graphite deposits in the upper reaches of Baishui, which can replace firewood..."

Li Tai became even more excited when he heard this. There are high-quality kaolin piled into mounds, and there are coal resources nearby. Such a superior resource environment cannot be too perfect!

"Uncle asked me to manage my business. Don't be careless. Go and take a look ahead!"

Li Tai was already very excited at this moment. He walked down the slope first and walked upward along the Baishui River. He didn't feel tired even after walking for more than ten miles.

Baishui originates from the remaining veins of Ziwu Ridge and flows east-west into Luoshui River. The area it flows through is already located on the northern edge of the Guanzhong Plain. In addition to the river mouth where it flows into Luoshui River, there are also some flat fields. Going up to the left and right are mostly plateaus and hills. .

But the watershed is indeed rich in natural resources. In addition to kaolin suitable for making porcelain and papermaking, you will encounter many coal soil humus layers a short distance up. You can even see caves further down the hillside. People digging pits to mine coal.

The only drawback is that the nearby transportation environment is really underdeveloped. Most of them are winding paths trampled by the villagers over time, but there are no straight roads.

Although there is a river like Baishui, the river channel is shallow and wide, and the water flow is not abundant. There are many traces of river water erosion on both sides of the river beach. When it is full, it overflows, and it can hardly carry boat transportation.

There are mostly block-shaped plateaus on the left and right sides of the river basin. During the busy farming season, villagers often dig canals along the river. As a result, the river downstream of Baishui becomes shallower and even frequently cuts off.

Li Tai originally wanted to continue upstream to check, but he saw that Zhu Ziyong and others who were traveling with him were out of breath, and he himself had gone out since dawn and had not taken a break to eat until now. He was also hungry, so he He gestured to return without saying anything.

On the way back, he asked He Basheng curiously about the current operating status of these industries.

When he was in Chaoyi before, he had a rough understanding of He Basheng's business. There are more than 3,700 soldiers, which seems to be a large number, but there are also many properties in their name, including nearly a thousand hectares of manor land.

Even though a considerable part of the land in these manors is farmed for Daxingtai, the remaining amount is also extremely considerable.

Li Tai's manor in Shangyuan is actually only more than thirty hectares, and more than half of it is hilly and mountainous. The size of the tribe is already less than 600 people.

Although he is still running in debt, Li Tai is confident that by the spring of next year at the latest, his manor operation will be able to turn a profit. Not only can he settle external accounts, but he can also achieve considerable profit output.

Even if He Basheng's property is discounted again and again, even if he only has 300 hectares of land that can be cultivated and weaved, he can still have enough food and clothing. Moreover, as a general in charge of the army, He Basheng will definitely have other income.

So Li Tai was a little confused. He Basheng was not so poor that he couldn't take the blame, so why should he be entrusted to help run the industry? Could it be that he thinks he is handsome and caring, so he wants to hand over his power to Li Tailai to inherit?

"Well, in the final analysis, my lord is still too kind and compassionate..."

When Zhu Ziyong heard this, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh and began to talk about He Basheng's current dilemma in family management.

Although he has more than 3,700 people under his name, the actual labor force is far less than this number. Excluding the old, weak, sick, disabled, women and children, there are less than a thousand real strong men, and not all of these strong men can be put into production. At least nearly half need to be trained off-the-job and followed in combat.

In the previous battle of Mangshan, He Basheng led 600 private soldiers to participate in the battle. He Baxi and Zhu Meng, whom Li Tai had met at Chaoyi Manor before, were the two leading troops in the tent. As a result, only 200 of these 600 people were defeated, and many of them were disabled.

There are more than 3,700 troops, which are enough for the most basic food and clothing needs. They also need to maintain the rations and armor staff consumption of at least 400 to 500 armored soldiers.

In addition, there are disabled soldiers who also need long-term support. He Basheng grew up in Beizhen, and has been on the move all his life. Now, including himself, he is suffering from old age and illness. The extended medical treatment for the disabled, old and sick is another expense.

In addition, every time they go to war or travel to Taiwan, He Basheng and other Beizhen generals also need to make donations to maintain military and national expenditures. On the surface, the property given is quite generous, but after discounting it by 20% or 20%, the savings are really not much.

After saying this, Zhu Ziyong waved his hand and retreated to the few followers behind him, and whispered to Li Tai: "My lord's affectionate love for your husband is observed with my humble eyes, and I secretly believe that the love is true. Even if I am also living in Guanxi, The nephew and nephew of my lord have never been so close to each other..."

After Li Tai heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned, while Zhu Ziyong continued to sigh: "At the beginning of the year, my lord suffered from a severe cold and illness. He summoned the late Taifu Wuzhuang Gong to the court for a rest, and wanted to give a brief explanation of what will happen next. However, it is too late for the two. The delay in coming makes the master even more sad. He often sighs in the crowd, saying that when the time comes, he doesn't know who to entrust to the sick and injured old slaves..."

Li Tai realized after hearing this that he was talking about He Buyue's sons.

It was related to other people's family affairs, so he didn't want to comment too much, so he just said in a low voice: "Teacher Heba died before he was born, and Daxingtai nested this old trend, and his career was successful. The two gentlemen did not want to rely on this old favor to show off. Deeds should be measured carefully.”

Yu Wentai inherited He Dayue's power and became the boss of Guanzhong. Even if he was just grateful to He Dayue and had no other distractions, He Dayue's sons should also be cautious and self-defeating in order to enjoy peace.

"The gentleman is deeply aware of the matter, but the servant is not an old servant of the master's family in Beizhen. Seeing this poor relationship, it is inevitable that the master will be sad. The two husbands may be cautious, but they are not alienated from goods. When the master returns, Later, he took pity on this young orphan and often gave him generous gifts. It has become a rule now that he has to give instructions when something happens, but he refuses to come forward to be disciplined. How can he not make the onlookers feel sad?"

Zhu Ziyong shook his head and sighed again, expressing his congratulations on whether the victory was worth it. He then looked at Li Tai and said sincerely: "There are not enough close relatives to do the work. How can the lord not worry about his subordinates? Kuang Zhu's relatives and heirs are still stranded in the East." Zhou, if we can reunite in the coming year, we will need someone to help us establish a foothold...

I sincerely ask you, sir, not to be estranged because of the outdoors. Since the master trusts the family affairs, we and the loyal soldiers also deeply hope that the master can help the master to become a good person and keep the thoughts of his life and death! "

When Li Tai heard this, he couldn't help but feel sad. He Basheng's life was full of ups and downs, but in his later years, he was also in a miserable situation that was visible to the naked eye. Just watching Zhu Ziyong pour out his inner thoughts to him, one can see that not only He Basheng, but also his loyal servants are very pessimistic about the future.

"Don't worry, Zhu Weng. I am a new guest from Dongzhou. My uncle has shown favor to me out of righteousness, so I should repay him righteously! Once you have given me something, I will keep it. Unless my uncle is far away from me and abandons me, I will never be timid because of the distance." Take responsibility and let this matter go to others!”

Li Tai was silent for a moment before speaking.