Men, listen, grab the top of the mountain and stand in the center position

In September, the war situation in the north changed. The general was one step behind, and the sixth major battle between the two sides ended with him retreating another city.

Jizhou won a tragic victory, while Jingzhou, south of the river, was calm.

The Jing River flows eastward to the sea. Although its flow is slow, it will eventually reach the sea. If people want to realize their ambitions, they must work hard in just a few decades before they can succeed.

After the couple returned from a day trip on the boat, Qin Xiuyuan began to conduct additional training for the guards in the mansion. Three days later, he decided to personally lead troops to the vast area south of Jingzhou and would set out soon.

Ji's father and mother parted the clouds to see the sun and the moon, but when the sun and the moon shone brightly in the sky, they did not dare to open their eyes to look.

Privately depressed, oh my! In front of his daughter and son-in-law, he could only act like a fool. When Qin Xiuyuan came to ask the two elders to help look after their two children, Ji's father blurted out to his son-in-law who was urgently preparing for war and heading south at any time, "Xiuyuan, are you really going to listen to Shushu?"

Qin Xiuyuan supported his knees with his hands, sitting steadily, and answered his father-in-law's question flawlessly, "As the old saying goes, brothers united in purpose can break metal. Xiuyuan has no brothers or sisters, and I am fortunate to be married to Wangshu. Naturally, husband and wife united in purpose can break metal."

Father Ji: Haha! "Shushu is good at business, but..."

Qin Xiuyuan stood up and poured tea for the two elders. "Father-in-law, among the scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans, who is the smartest?" He asked himself, and then answered, "Xiuyuan thinks it's the merchants. Scholars have power, farmers need to use the land to support everything, and artisans need to have the skills. Only merchants can analyze everything in detail and leverage it."

Father Ji: ...

"The child is still so young!" Ji's mother felt that the decision was too hasty. "Xiuyuan, why did you decide so hastily?"

If given a choice, who would be willing to leave their wife and children and rush to an unknown future? "Mother-in-law, thank you for distracting me."

Ji’s mother:… “Good.” There was nothing else to say except “good.”

Main house.

"Three months." Wangshu, who was feeding her daughter, pointed at the man who was wiping his armor. Before the armor was put on, the man turned around and sucked her pointing finger. He was given a cold look and tried to suck his baby daughter's little feet, but was pushed away.

"This is the third time you've said that, Shushu."

You must return before December. Winter in the south is rainy and forested, making it difficult to keep warm. Cold rain can easily lead to hypothermia and freezing to death.

The armored man kissed her from a distance, then kissed his daughter, and sighed, "You want to go home before you even leave the city gate." He straightened his face, "Shushu, be careful."

After saying this, he held up his armor, without looking back, and strode out of sight.

Wangshu looked at his daughter blankly.

A few days later, Han Batian, who was about to be stationed in Bazhou, came running to the door, holding the eldest child for a while, and then the second child, "Oh, I really want to take you to Bazhou!"

"That won't do. Women in Bazhou faint when they see Brother Han! It would be a waste of time if we followed him."

Han Batian felt embarrassed now, "Haha, sister-in-law, please give me some face!" Don't laugh at him in front of the children!

"Okay, General Han, it's better to be careful." The northwest suffered a series of defeats, without the Jingzhou army, Yongzhou slowly grew stronger, and the situation was delicate.

This is also the reason why Han Batian wants to return to Bazhou. He dispatches troops from various places and brings a group of planting experts over to guide technical exchanges along the line and distribute iron farm tools!

"Don't worry, sister-in-law! Big brother will go back and have people plant lotus roots. Next time you pass through Bazhou, you'll know that the people there not only have enough to eat, but they can also eat tender lotus stems!"

Wangshu took the eldest brother's hand and applauded him, "Uncle Han, well said!"

The man's face suddenly turned red. "Sister-in-law, don't worry too much about Brother Qin. He's a great leader and a good fighter."

"Okay. General Han, be cautious and safe. It's easy to avoid an arrow, but hard to guard against one hidden."

At the end of November, Wangshu officially weaned both babies.

Rice porridge, spinach and meat porridge, cabbage and meat porridge, without salt and with a drop of oil. She made a long low table and placed two bowls of porridge on it. The eldest child, who was a little over half a year old, supported himself on the ground with his hands and quickly climbed over the mountains and forests with his knees moving left and right, running as if he were in a 100-meter race. The speed was so fast that it caused sparks to fly from the wooden floor, as if he had been starving for three days and three nights.

Wangshu held his hand to grab the spoon and taught him slowly. The second child, who could only sit for a while, sat down obediently and waited for his mother to come over. She ate whatever was fed to her. She couldn't sit for too long. After a while, she began to sit on the ground and finally leaned in her mother's arms, eating in small bites. The years were quiet and peaceful without any rush or impatience.

"Madam." Tang Bo knocked on the door and came in to hand over the information about the harvest stored in the warehouse. The boss immediately rushed over and hugged his legs.

The large side hall was half carpeted and half wooden. It held a long, low table with rounded corners and three sets of bowls and chopsticks. The two townspeople were there for a day out. The eldest, who had mastered the knee-forward technique, dominated the crowd, while the younger sister, still in her dainty and stable basic stage, would occasionally lie there, chewing her feet or twiddling her toes.

Wangshu, sitting at the dinner table with his children, read through the entire process quickly, "Are these fifty-eight households unwilling to pay the government taxes?"

"They said it was earned through hard work, or they were relatively poor, and they had already asked for payment three times."

Irrigation facilities, the best agricultural tools, and seeds were all provided by the government. "How was it handled in the past?"

Tang Bo thought for a moment and said, "We've posted a list and forbid soldiers from helping these people open up private fields. We won't be issuing them farming tools either."

That's still a quick and easy confiscation. "Send someone to their clan elders and explain the situation clearly. For rogues, read out the announcement publicly and confiscate the money on the spot, punishing them for non-compliance. For those from impoverished families, arrange for them to work desilting the river to pay off their debts. We must enforce the order and prevent rogues from slipping through the net."

Every year after the harvest, a large amount of dredging work is done on canals, ditches, and rivers, and many farmers who are not working on the farm would like to come out and earn extra money for their families. This year, the army has been mobilized, and the dredging task has become even more intense in various places.

"Okay. Once the new granary is built, what date should we set for the grain shipment from various locations? Also, the Liang family wants to discuss purchasing grain from us. They're offering this price for one bushel of grain."

Tang Bo counted.

Wangshu turned his head and stared at his daughter, who was sitting and playing with a ball in slow motion. His son threw the ball far away with one hand, then crawled over to pick it up. He threw and picked it up himself. He couldn't walk yet, and he was afraid that his knees would be calloused from crawling.

"What's your request?" It's good to have business. The South is poor, so there should be more merchants exchanging what they have with each other!

"We need new grain from Hangzhou County."

No way. "Rejected."

Tang Bo choked.

Hangzhou County has a canal that runs north and south, but it hasn't been silted in years. Now that Qin Xiuyuan is heading south to lead his troops, she intends to connect the southern water network to facilitate water transportation.

This reminded her of something. "Hang County...ordered the construction of a granary in Hangzhou County. From now on, grain will be transported to Hangzhou County from the east of Jingzhou. Is Wanting's husband the one in charge there?"

"Yes, Lord Military Commander. Build two granaries?"

When Zhang San came over, the three of them looked at the two babies, one moving and one still, and stared at the topographic map. Some people answered the questions without missing a single one.

Before leaving, Zhang Sancai gave Wangshu the message and token from the front line, "General's message: Sun Tao will depart today. Reduce the number of troops by 1,000."