Emperor Ming Dynasty

Ordinary Mongolian herdsmen need to participate in the Naadam Conference, which is held every three years. After hard work, they can enter Beijing and become an imperial guard.

As long as they are Mongolian nobles above Taiji, they can recommend their children to join the capital and become guards. Although they are not imperial guards, this qualification should not be underestimated.

At the level of a county prince, the children directly go to the imperial palace and guard with the princes and nobles, becoming people close to the emperor.

For this day, Batya trained day and night, coupled with his extraordinary talent, he barely managed to stand on the same starting line.

"What's the waiting time for your home?" Batya felt her throat was a little dry.

"First-class Taiji!" Zhebu said casually: "The court only gives 200 yuan a year, and the iron sheep's money is only a thousand yuan, which is not very interesting!"

"This time I go back to inherit the title. If I come back to have a drink with you, you will be the only one who likes me in Beijing!"

After speaking, he sighed: "When I come back this time, I have decided to buy a house in the capital to live in. Chahar is far worse than the capital."

"Why doesn't the imperial court create a mansion?"

"I have the final say at home and I have decided to buy a big house. Then you can come and stay at my house and drink every day!"

After saying this, Zhebu left in a swaggering manner.

When Batya arrived at the door, he saw two servants standing respectfully.

Batya was extremely envious of Taiji's pomp and circumstance.

On the grassland, the nobles were divided into three classes: Tabunang, Taiji and Khan.

Tabunang refers to the nobles below the thousand tents, the ones between the thousand tents and the three thousand tents are Taiji, and those above the three thousand tents are the Khan kings.

Taiji is divided into three levels, and the privileges they enjoy are much better than that of Tabu Nang.

As far as he knew, there were about a hundred families in Tabunang in Chahar, but there were only about twenty families in Taiji, and the Khans only had the king of Chahar and the king of Beihai.

"When can I become a noble?"

Batya watched him leave and couldn't help but murmured.

The Ouchi guard's sense of satisfaction immediately dissipated.

"Hey, let's go to the feudal country!"

At this time, the guard from the same hospital ran over and said with a chuckle: "It is extremely difficult for the imperial court to make achievements now. Military achievements are all in the vassal state. Let's sign up together when the time comes."

"As long as you are not afraid of hardship and become a baron, what does a viscount mean?"

Batya turned around and said, "Can you knight the grassland?"

"You have a beautiful idea!" The man laughed and said, "Just because you are a Mongolian?"

"The title of the grassland is hereditary and will neither increase nor decrease. After all, people return with their tribes."

"We are knighted, just running along the fifth-class knighthood!"

"Alas!" Batya sighed elegantly.

"In this time of peace, if there is no war, we can only suffer on the border!" the man continued.

"Yes, the world is peaceful, but it is difficult for us warriors!" Another person also came over and sighed.

After saying goodbye to his friends, Zhebu left Beijing in a carriage.

He came with six horses and two attendants, but returned with only one horse, two mules, and a carriage.

Things in the capital were too expensive, horses were better fed than people, and stables were rare. He couldn't afford to serve them, so he had to sell them and exchange them for mules.

"Master, can this mule reach Chahar?"

"Don't worry, mules are hardworking and not as precious as horses."

Two attendants mounted a mule cart, carrying the salute, and followed the carriage along the official road.

Today is a peaceful and prosperous time, and it is the capital of the capital. People and cars are coming and going on the official road, which can be said to be extremely lively and busy. The inn next to the post station is almost overcrowded.

The three of them walked for half a month before arriving at Chahar.

With the accelerated Hanization of Chahar, the number of cities has also increased. From Chifeng, Chengde, Kuanhe, Pingquan, Daning, Heicheng, Chaoyang, Bahrain, and Luanping, the number of Han residents has exceeded 70.

The Han people from Zhili continued to move northward and reclaimed tens of thousands of hectares of cultivated land. It can be said that this once nomadic place of royal tents in Chahar has turned into an inland state and county.

In terms of culture and education, after a fellow Jinshi was born in the 19th year of Shaowu, last year, in the 22nd year of Shaowu, two more were born.

For Chahar, it can be described as an unexpected surprise.

On the contrary, this further promoted the popularity of writing style.

Along the way, Zhebu could almost see private schools in every village and town he met, and the sound of reading made him feel a little dazed.

It seems like this is still the mainland.

The vast grassland only brought him back to reality.

"Master, these Han people like to study!" The attendant said disdainfully: "Then we will have no choice but to be bullied."

"Making a horse and shooting arrows is what makes a real man."

Zhebu shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Wrong, Chahar is in peace now. Reading is more useful than riding a horse!"

Seeing that the latter was puzzled, he was enthusiastic about this person who had been his companion since childhood: "The Naadam Conference is held every three years. There are only 300 people at one time, but there is no promotion of talents. If you fail to pass the exam, it will remain the same."

"Studying is different. A child has changed. A scholar has made a big change. He has many more opportunities than the Naadam Conference."

"Go back and let your son study!"

After a trip to the capital, he no longer looked at the sky from the bottom of a well as before. He saw the operation of the Ming Dynasty and the huge power structure, and he was deeply aware of the importance of the imperial examination.

Naadam Conference?It's nothing more than throwing bones at these fools to give them hope and prevent them from rebelling.

Even the martial arts that are gaining momentum now are just a foil.

Although his family property was still more than eighty miles away from Chengde, he went to Chengde first and found the county government.

As a noble, his right to inheritance does not require the consent of his family, but requires the seal of the court.

The eldest son inheritance system has been running through Chahar for more than ten years, and has gradually become a custom and is unanimously recognized by everyone.

His home is in Chengde. The comfort in the city has taken away the hearts of the nobles, but the family property is waiting to be inherited on the grassland.

This is also the characteristic after many years of implementation of Tie Yang Qian.

When he arrived at the grassland, dozens of servants knelt down to salute. Then, under the witness of the steward, officials, and nearby civilians, he inherited the land, cattle and sheep.

"Master, our family has 12 acres of grassland, raising [-] sheep, [-] cattle, and [-] horses."

The housekeeper proudly introduced to Zhebu: "28 servants are grazing, and the cubs are growing very fast, and not one of them has been snatched away by wolves."

“How much can you earn from selling wool, cattle and sheep in a year?”

Zhebu smelled the smell of sheep and cow dung, couldn't help frowning, and asked directly.

"Sheep costs one dollar each, and in the autumn they have to be sold for about three hundred. Cows cost five dollars, and they sell about a dozen a year. Horses cost ten dollars, and they sell five or six heads. Wool costs ten cents a pound, a year. It can be sold for more than [-] kilograms..."

"If you have silage for the winter, not many will die."

The butler spoke carefully and tediously, and finally said a number:
"About five hundred yuan!"

"Excluding the monthly fee for grazing, sir, you can collect 400 yuan!"

"Four hundred!" Zhebu concentrated and took a breath.

12 acres of grassland, if converted into cultivated land, would have to be doubled at least a hundred times. It should be easy to earn 4 to [-] yuan a year.

"Does Ziyun Ying know?"

"Master, I don't know!"

"Let me tell you, this is a good kind of pasture, and it can also fertilize the land. The more we plant, the more cattle and sheep we can raise, and the ones we can't eat can be sold to other families to make money!"

Zhebu revealed the new news brought from Beijing, and then showed everyone the purple vetch.Fortunately, this is a kind of grass seed, which can be planted by just scattering it, but it is more troublesome to plow the ground and weed it.

This is an important step in changing your family’s income!
Zhebu gritted his teeth and cheered himself up.

In addition, he is also planning to purchase some white pigs, which can also be fed with milkvetch and alfalfa.

And the black and white cows produce so much milk, how much milk wine and milk skin can be made?

If this is really done, the price of the family will be doubled several times.

"When I'm in the capital, I can buy a few more houses!"

He was thinking happily.

……

In Beijing, with the emperor's nod, Yang Tingjian, the governor of Shuntian, began to transform the capital, to be precise, it was to dredge the capital's population.

That is, the east city will be expanded outward to accommodate more people.

The emperor also approved of building a satellite city near the Yongding River.

Shortly after the beginning of spring, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs directly allocated silver coins and asked the Ministry of Industry to build a number of palaces near the Yuhe River (Tonghui River).

The Yuhe River, together with the moat, then goes all the way east to Tongzhou, 160 miles long, and is an important lifeline of Beijing.

Materials from all over the world, whether transported by canal or sea, must be transported from Tongzhou to Chongwenmen in Beijing through the Yuhe River.

The palaces of the twelve kings who had just been enthroned not long ago were located eighty miles in the middle, and a palace street with an area of ​​ten acres began to be built.

Although people won't live there for too long before they become feudal lords, once they are built, they can be used by future brothers.

The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are rich now, so they are very generous about this matter.

This time, it immediately detonated the market in the capital.

Timber and masonry rose in response.

The royal merchants had a clear division of labor and divided up the feast.

They do not harvest trees directly, but collect valuable wood from timber dealers and earn the price difference.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is quite used to it.

After all, if something happened to the timber, just arrest the responsible royal merchants, so as not to look around for those timber merchants.

Money comes second, and responsibilities must be clear.

In addition to the palace, Shuntian Mansion hired thousands of workers and began to dig underground trenches and build various courtyard houses.

Of course, the warehouse of the Ministry of Revenue will naturally be expanded here.

Construction of a spacious and flat official road has also begun.

A few days later, this place was named Dongha County, which belonged to the five counties of Gyeonggi and was managed by Shuntian Prefecture.

It should be noted that Donghe County does not have city walls and is an open urban area.

For Ming Dynasty, this was the first time in history.

But the responsibility of Donghe County forced him to do this.

As an expansion area of ​​the capital, its geographical location close to Tongzhou provided a place for people to stock up on the daily needs of the capital.

The daily consumption of grain, wine, vinegar, cattle, sheep, and cloth was large, which blocked the canal for a long time, and a transfer station was urgently needed.

At the same time, the space in the capital is limited, and the granary cannot be isolated too far. Donghe County is not far or close, and a half-day journey is most suitable.

The establishment of the county, plus several major projects, required tens of thousands of laborers and consumed hundreds of thousands of money and grain. The huge capital city boiled almost instantly, and the bustle doubled.

Zhu Yixi, looking for a rare opportunity, left the palace and went to the public for private visits incognito.

After leaving Chongwen Gate, he looked at the river and chuckled: "Donghe County is newly built, and materials are stored here. It helps that Chongwen Gate is not blocked, and the long queues are finally relieved."

He was talking to himself, while Men Dongzi, the eunuch who followed closely beside him, pursed his lips and remained silent.

Compared with the previous Liu Afu, Men Dongzi is more clumsy, but he is equally quick in doing things, and each has its own advantages.

Wei Cheng, the capital of Dongchang, narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "I care about the people and make the people in the capital feel a lot more comfortable. I heard that the price of food has dropped by half!"

"If we can store more food, it will naturally be cheaper."

Zhu Yixi had a smile on his face. He was quite satisfied with this immediate result.

After all, it’s right under your nose!

After a while, several people boarded a passenger boat. Although they traveled slowly, they arrived in Donghe County in less than an hour.

Stepping on the pier, looking at the bustling place and the strong smell of sweat, Zhu Yixi couldn't help but frown, shook her head and sighed:

"Everyone in the world is here for profit. I'm afraid there are no less than 3 to [-] people rushing to Donghe in the past few days."

Seeing all this, Zhu Yixi felt a sense of pride in her chest, and she truly felt the arrogance of power.

It is up to him to decide whether to build a town from a flat ground or not.

Looking up, the most conspicuous thing is the Yamen under construction.

This represents order, and the tentacles of the court.

Sweating like rain on the busy construction site, Zhu Yixi walked and felt relieved to see everyone working hard.

Behind every person is a family, and the struggle of tens of thousands of people means that the families behind them will not go hungry.

It is true that real estate rejuvenates the country.

Of course, this is because of the bidding. If the imperial court came in the past, the people would have to do corvee work and have to bring their own dry food.

Promote business?

Don't be stupid, materials and supplies are all bought at low prices from merchants. Businessmen without background will be ruined.

This is why large-scale construction projects in ancient times were considered harsh governance, and it was really a headache for officials and the court to make money from prostitution for free.

"What the hell, do you want to die?"

"Who asked you to come here to do this?"

At this time, several big men in front of me chased a man and beat him in the street, cursing and beating him.

Pedestrians turned a blind eye.

"Old man, what's going on?"

"Young man, it's nothing, it's just that this person is greedy for cheap and came to work here without joining the guild. He broke the rules, so he will naturally suffer!"

The old man said casually.

"Guild?" Zhu Yixi frowned.

"It's a guild. Those who pick dung have a dung trade, and those who sell cloth have a cloth trade. Those who work hard here as handymen are naturally capable."

The old man explained: "If you don't join the guild and ask for food, then you won't be able to complain about being beaten!"

After saying that, he shook his head and left.

Zhu Yixi cast her eyes towards Chu Yu, the commander of the Jin Yiwei behind her.

The latter said truthfully: "Nowadays, every industry has a guild. Pay money to join the guild, abide by the rules, and help each other."

"However, practices like this are usually controlled by ruffians who wantonly oppress the people..."

(End of this chapter)