In a blink of an eye, it was the day for the military market to open. Before dawn, Evan Zhao was woken up by Henry Hu.
The brazier burned all night, and only embers remained at the bottom of the brazier, which was soon taken out by Henry Hu. The wind came in through the crack in the door, and even through the screen, Evan Zhao still shivered and wished he could wrap the animal skin blanket back around him.
"My dear, please have some millet porridge first."
After Evan Zhao gritted his teeth and washed his face and rinsed his mouth, Henry Hu brought him a bowl of millet porridge and two hot pancakes that were baked to a golden brown outside and soft inside. The pancakes made by the maid were all made of leavened dough, which was unique in Yunzhong County. However, most of the border residents now eat millet and soybeans as their staple food. Except for the Wei family and the prefectural governor's mansion, the method of making leavened pancakes has not been promoted and there is no condition for it.
After breakfast, Evan Zhao put on his short brown clothes and wolfskin jacket again.
Henry Hu observed the weather and thought it would not snow today, at least not heavily. But the wind was still cold, even colder than when it snowed heavily.
Evan Zhao specially put on a sheepskin vest under his short brown coat and padded his leather boots with wool. He jumped on the ground twice and felt that his whole body was hot. Then he ordered his strong servant to prepare the horse and headed to the livestock farm about 15 miles away from the village.
After seeing Evan Zhao off, Henry Hu closed the wooden door, bolted it, and went to the side room used to grow bean sprouts.
There is only one small window in the house, and the wooden door is a little low, so it is inevitably a little dim even in the daytime.
The previous furnishings had been removed, and two water jars were placed on the ground, with five or six pottery basins beside them. The basins contained previously soaked soybeans, some of which had already sprouted, while others had already rotted.
The maid took a piece of wet fine cloth and carefully covered the soybeans with sharp teeth. Then she picked up the rotten ones and prepared to take them out of the house along with the pottery basin.
"Has it sprouted?" Uncle Hu opened the door to let the maid pass.
"After four pots were taken out, the rest are all rotten. What a pity for these soybeans." The maid carried the pottery pot to Uncle Hu. The pottery pot was more than half a meter in diameter, and it was filled with water and beans. It was not light, but the maid handled it with ease, as if it was not much.
"Is this made with water?"
"right."
Henry Hu took a look inside the pot, then carefully examined the sprouts, then nodded to the maid.
"Soak more soybeans, find a cracked pottery basin, and go to the storehouse to get some fine cloth. Watch over it carefully. Once this is done, I will talk to my husband and let your son learn skills from Ji Bao."
The maid was delighted and thanked him repeatedly.
"But I have to say this in advance. This method was taught by you. You cannot tell others without your permission. You are kind-hearted. I am already half buried in the ground. I don't have many taboos. If anyone dares to betray me, I will kill him!"
The maid's face turned pale and her joy gradually faded.
"You have nothing to say to me?"
"I..." The maid gritted her teeth and finally told him that her step-uncle had come to her house and asked about the farm and the family. She felt that it was wrong and she glossed over it all. But she also concealed the matter and did not tell anyone else.
"Is that true? No lie?"
"I would never dare to do that!" The maid's face turned even paler.
"If this happens again, don't hide it!"
The maid responded repeatedly, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on her back, but she knew that the previous incident had been exposed, and her heart finally settled down. As for her step-uncle, she no longer cared about it. Thinking that he might implicate her family, a surge of anger rose from her chest. If he dared to come to her house again, she would definitely let her husband beat him out with a big stick! He was not her biological brother, so it was better to cut off the relationship!
Henry Hu nodded with satisfaction, asked the maid to take good care of the bean sprouts, and went to the front yard to make wooden slips.
Evan Zhao intended to let the villagers exchange work for food, but verbal agreements were always unsafe, so he carefully worked out the rules and recorded them on wooden slips. When the time came, it would be clear at a glance how much grain they would exchange for according to the wooden slips.
The new magistrate of Shaling County came with bad intentions. Evan Zhao didn't want to cause any trouble and wanted to avoid it if possible to avoid being caught.
While Henry Hu and the maid were busy at home, Evan Zhao had already ridden his horse to the livestock farm.
Victor Zhao was rewarded with a noble title and four hectares of land for his meritorious service in killing the enemy. After a practical investigation, Evan Zhao allocated more than half of the land for raising cattle and sheep, and divided the rest into three plots for planting corn, soybeans and wheat respectively.
In the Han Dynasty, one mu was about 460 square meters. One hectare was 100 mu, and four hectares were more than 180,000 square meters, equivalent to 25 or 26 football fields.
The numbers might not seem like much when they are written on paper, but it was only when he actually rode his horse around the border that Evan Zhao suddenly realized that the number was neither big nor small, and he could be considered a landlord.
However, although there is a lot of land, the output is really average.
Even experienced farmers, under existing conditions, could only produce two to three shi of corn per mu after working hard all year round. In bad years, they could not even reach two shi. Using later measurement methods, the average yield was less than 300 jin.
Even if Evan Zhao no longer paid attention to agriculture, he knew that the yield of hybrid rice per mu in later generations could reach more than 1,500 kilograms. Even millet could yield 700 to 800 kilograms per mu, and the highest could even be close to 1,000 kilograms.
Such a huge gap made Evan Zhaoya feel sad, but he also thoroughly understood how hard life was for farmers in ancient times. Similarly, before improving agricultural tools and farming methods, it would be a fantasy to increase per-acre yield on a large scale.
Relatively speaking, Yunzhong County's climate and environment make it much more suitable for developing animal husbandry.
After counting the land left by his father and learning from Uncle Hu about the resources he could use, Evan Zhao decisively gave up farming and chose to raise cattle and sheep.
Fortunately, he had a loyal servant who was good at animal husbandry and had some knowledge of livestock diseases. In the process of Evan Zhao establishing the livestock farm, this old man named Xiong Bo played a significant role.
It took four years to finally get the cattle and sheep ready for slaughter. Evan Zhao thought he had the capital, and could start planning plans such as upgrading farm tools, using ox-drawn plows, and expanding breeding. However, he never expected that just as things started to get going, someone would jump out to reap the rewards.
For Evan Zhao, it was like his breath was stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down, it was so uncomfortable.
There was a fence outside the farm. When Evan Zhao arrived, Xiong Bo and the villagers who were in charge of the farm were already guarding the entrance to the fence. Behind them, a large number of cattle and sheep were driven together, ready to be released from the fence and driven to Yunzhong City at any time.
"My dear!"
Several young men held up torches, and five or six strong women held bows and arrows. Three or four strong old men stood aside and saluted when they saw Evan Zhao.
Evan Zhao dismounted from his horse and walked in front of Xiong Bo.
The latter was already over fifty years old, with gray hair and beard, but still in good shape. He had broad shoulders, a thick neck, and the tendons on his arms and chest were enough to make young people envious. Standing in front of Evan Zhao, he looked like a human iron tower.
"Some strange faces have been seen around the livestock farm recently. Have you received any news about this, sir?" Xiong Bo asked.
Evan Zhao nodded, glanced around, and asked, "Do you have any idea of his intentions?"
Xiong Bo grinned, revealing his sharp fangs, looking more like a ferocious beast.
"I was just about to tell you that I had captured those criminals and locked them up in the sheepfold. I had just whipped them and before I could ask them, you came."
"Caught?" Evan Zhao was stunned.
"Caught." Xiong Bo nodded.
"They were probably sent by the county magistrate."
"My dear, are you talking about the new Shaling County Magistrate?"
Evan Zhao nodded.
"In that case, after I finish questioning you, I will clean up the mess and make sure no one will find out what happened." Xiong Bo said with a smile. Judging from his tone and words, he did not take Magistrate Zhang seriously at all.
Evan Zhao pondered for a moment and acquiesced to Xiong Bo's approach.
In the eyes of County Magistrate Zhang, he was just an ant that could be crushed to death at any time. What he had to do was to try to protect himself from being skinned, flesh torn, bones to suck out the marrow, so he had no time to pity others. When people were ready to cut him, he still hesitated, clearly wanting to die!
After figuring it out, Evan Zhao followed Xiong Bo into the fence and came to the place where the thieves were tied up.
It was freezing cold, and even the breath they exhaled could freeze into ice chips. Two men of medium build and unremarkable looks were stripped of their outer clothes and tied to pillars used to tie cattle and sheep.
There were several whip marks on the chests and backs of both men, with purple rafters. Probably because it hadn't been long, although they were shivering from the cold, they were in good spirits. When they saw Evan Zhao appear, their eyes flashed with murderous intent.
Evan Zhao frowned slightly, Xiong Bo uttered a "hey", and immediately two young men came forward, each holding a long whip, and whipped the thief fiercely.
"Who sent you? Why are you sneaking around outside the farm? What are your intentions?" Evan Zhao asked after the whip came to an end.
The thief didn't say anything. The young man wanted to whip him again, but Xiong Bo shook his head and gestured for two buckets of water.
When they saw the bucket, their expressions changed noticeably.
Xiong Bo carried the bucket in one hand, walked up to the two men, and without saying a word, poured water on one of them. In less than two breaths, the thief's face began to turn blue, his lips turned purple, and a thin layer of ice covered his chest.
"Did you see that?" Xiong Bo said to the other thief, "If you don't tell the truth and keep talking nonsense, it will be your turn next!"
Having said that, he picked up another bucket and pretended to pour water.
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Seeing the miserable state of his companion, the thief finally collapsed.
"It was Magistrate Zhang who sent the two of us here!"
"The new Shaling County Magistrate?"
"Yes." Having already spoken, the thief had nothing to hide and told everything he knew like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.
"The county magistrate ordered the two of us to find out the boundaries of the pasture and the number of cattle and sheep. We reported it a few days ago, and the county magistrate ordered us to find the land."
Tian Feng?
Evan Zhao's expression changed slightly, and he vaguely guessed what the other party was going to do.
"The county magistrate said that once we find the land, we will destroy it immediately and build a new one somewhere else."
Hearing the thief's words, Evan Zhao's face turned ugly, Xiong Bo and others also gritted their teeth and their expressions changed drastically.
The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system. After dividing the fields, they would pile up earth and stones at the four corners of the fields. If conditions permitted, they would also dig ditches or build low walls around the edges to mark the boundaries of the fields.
Changing the location of land without authorization is a violation of the law.
The border counties are vast and sparsely populated. After the fields are demarcated, they are usually just piled up with earth and stones. Basically, no one will bother to occupy other people's land.
However, the law is the law.
If you move the land without permission, the other party will take advantage of the situation and accuse you of a crime. Although you will not be punished like in the previous dynasty, the possibility of your land being taken away or you being imprisoned for a year or two is not small.
As the saying goes, if you want to accuse someone of a crime, you can always find a pretext. Even if Evan Zhao fenced off the fields again, County Magistrate Zhang would still find thousands of ways to accuse him of a crime.
This plan had no technical content at all, and was even full of loopholes. It was easy to figure out. But the other party had the county magistrate's seal, and with the evidence, he could decide his life or death.
All the other party needs is an excuse, an opportunity to strike.
As long as they acted quickly and concluded the matter before Evan Zhao asked for help, it would be useless for the governor of Wei to intervene. Moreover, in Nathan Zhang's opinion, the governor of a border county would not necessarily go to war for the son of a guest.
The Prime Minister is standing behind him!
Guan Fu could not personally intervene in the border counties, but since he had evidence that "Wei Shang openly violated the law and protected criminals", he would certainly not let it go easily.
No wonder the land has to be measured, and recently!
Evan Zhao gritted his teeth.
Let the thieves investigate the number of cattle and sheep, so that they can clearly know the profit of raising cattle in captivity. After reclaiming the land, arrest Xiong Bo and his strong servants, and obtain the methods of raising cattle and sheep in captivity and taming oxen. You don't need to report all of them, just report them to Guan Fu, and let him operate them, and you will have both the inside and the outside.
With this "great achievement", Nathan Zhang will certainly be transferred away from the border county and will no longer be under the jurisdiction of the Wei governor. Before leaving, he will definitely step on him again and kill him completely, leaving no trace of trouble.
Thinking of this, Evan Zhao rubbed his face vigorously twice.
It seems that this county magistrate is trying to pick the fruit by force. He is really shameless!
etc!
Evan Zhao suddenly got an idea and said to everyone, "Xiong Bo, send someone to check on Tian Feng immediately. Since the other party is well prepared, they will definitely not send only two people!"
Xiong Bo agreed, and all the young men and strong women mounted their horses and dispersed in all directions.
Evan Zhao ordered his strong servants to drive the cattle and sheep to the military market to trade with the merchants. He himself rode on a horse and planned to rush to the city first to pay a visit to the residence of Wei Taishou.
The other party was so blatant that he didn't even want to think of any strategies. It was obvious that he treated him like an ant and thought he was easy to bully!
If the other party succeeds, his character Zhao will be written upside down!
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