met free Chapter 262 The Charm of Spices
Chapter 262 The Charm of Spices
In the secret letter that Li Xin sent to Li Jixian, he asked him to lead an army of 200,000 and, when passing through some villages and towns, if he found anyone willing to settle in Weizhou or other places, he could bring them over.
This is exactly the idea Zhao Sheng came up with.
It was not easy to go to Weizhou via Mayi, especially since Li's army was already exhausted. This decision caused a lot of dissatisfaction in the army.
Yu Lei approached Li Jixian and asked, "General, we are less than 300 miles from Dingzhou. Why did we have to take a detour of 400 miles?"
"General Yu, this detour may seem arduous, but it's actually a training exercise. Even if we reach Dingzhou, we still need to move forward; the total distance will be the same. Furthermore, there's another important task on this detour; if we can accomplish it, it will be a great achievement."
Li Jixian revealed part of the content of the letter to Yu Lei. When he mentioned that the people taken to Weizhou also needed women in order to appease the soldiers' hearts to settle in Weizhou, Yu Lei's eyes suddenly lit up.
"General Li, is this true? If so, our brothers will have hope." Yu Lei said excitedly.
Li Jixian nodded, "Of course it's true, but this matter needs to be planned carefully and no news should leak out."
Yu Lei nodded repeatedly, "Of course, then what should we do next?"
Li Jixian pondered for a moment and said, "First, send people to the surrounding villages to investigate and see if there are any suitable women. But remember, don't force them, so as not to arouse public outrage."
Yu Lei responded, "Understood, General, don't worry."
So Yu Lei led his men to investigate, but their actions caused panic among the villagers.
"What should we do? Those soldiers want to snatch our daughter away!" said an old man with a worried look on his face.
"We can't just sit there and wait for death. We have to find a way to deal with it." A young man stepped forward.
While the villagers were discussing countermeasures, Yu Lei and others were gradually approaching these villages.
The area north of Bingzhou was in constant conflict with the Huns. Although the people lived a hard life, they were quite tough.
After Yu Lei's soldiers arrived at the village, they did not rush into the village, but found a villager to ask if the village chief was there.
When the village chief came, he was accompanied by several elderly villagers, and then he came to meet him tremblingly.
"Don't be afraid, village chief. We are just passing by here to inquire about something. We have obtained permission from officials from the county and prefecture to go to the countryside to inquire." The leading officer explained to the village chief in a gentle voice.
"Oh? May I ask what the sir wants to ask?" The village chief asked, feeling a little bolder.
"Our army is heading to Weizhou. I wonder if you've heard that Weizhou is recruiting workers, including blacksmiths, carpenters and other craftsmen. If you register as a craftsman with the local government, you can start writing."
The elder who came with the village chief's eyes lit up and wanted to step forward to ask something, but seeing that the village chief's eyes were wandering, he did not dare to act recklessly.
"Not only artisans, but also the workshops and towns of Guangchang County need weavers, porters, transport workers, and miners, as well as other craftsmen. The land in both counties is currently publicly owned, with collective farms and soldiers guarding the harvest."
When the soldiers were promoting the idea, they were moved. When Yu Lei was promoting it to them, he mentioned some things about the planned economy and the rationing system, which made some soldiers think that they could even be allocated wives.
"Master Jun, Weizhou will accept everything you said, right?" Finally, an old man couldn't help but ask.
"What I mentioned above is the scope of recruitment. Next, I will talk about who can go."
The general was getting impatient. He coughed lightly, moistened his dry throat, and continued, "Families with registered craftsmen, young and old, are welcome to come. Whole families are welcome to move, regardless of age. Ruffians and those with serious illnesses will not be accepted!"
After the general finished speaking, someone brought him a bowl of warm water and handed it to him: "Sir, you have worked hard, please have some water!"
At this time, the general found that more and more people were listening to his speech.
The general took a sip of water, cleared his throat, and continued, "Also, if you're an only child, don't come. We can't let their family line be cut off. Also, priority will be given to those who can read and write; they'll be useful over there."
Some people in the crowd began to murmur, and a middle-aged man asked, "Sir, what guarantees will we get after we go there?"
The general put down the water bowl and said loudly, "When you get there, there will be a place to live and fields to farm. As long as you work hard, you will definitely live a good life."
At this time, a young man squeezed to the front and said, "Master Jun, I want to go, but I have an old mother at home who needs to be taken care of. What should I do?"
The general frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "If your mother has no one to take care of her, then you should stay. We can't neglect filial piety."
The discussion in the crowd grew increasingly noisy, and the general raised his voice and shouted, "Everyone go back and think it over carefully. When you've made up your mind, come here early tomorrow morning to sign up!"
After saying that, the general turned and left, leaving everyone whispering and thinking...
Such scenes continued to unfold in many villages below, and Li's army did not resort to violence.
At first, only those families who were struggling to make ends meet or who had extra labor but no land to farm would sign up.
As the group moved forward, the men and women were separated. At first, there were more women than men.
In order to prevent trouble, Li Jixian formed a mixed security force. The personnel were men recognized by the women, mixed with a small number of military officers, who guarded the women's camp day and night.
From the initial thousand people to tens of thousands later.
The further north you go, the more people follow you. Some people even follow the team without any promotion, for no other reason than to have something to eat.
With such a large team, the problem of food gradually became prominent, and Zhao Sheng was already aware of this problem.
"General, the prince sent us spices and asked us to exchange them for some food here. The price is not low, so we can sell them at a low price."
When the visitor spoke, he emphasized the word "sell at a low price", and Li Jixian understood it instantly.
In this era, spices are additives for cooking meat. The key lies in the Ajinomoto and salt, which can instantly make ordinary bland dishes delicious, not to mention the smell of mutton.
These spices are as precious as cash at the border.
Li Jixian was delighted to hear this. After thinking for a moment, he said, "This matter must be handled with caution. No complications should arise."
The man replied, "Don't worry, General. I understand."
Afterwards, they began to quietly search for buyers in the local area. Once the news spread, many wealthy businessmen came to negotiate.
What is currently in short supply is food and some vegetables, and spices are used directly to exchange for these urgently needed supplies.
This move greatly alleviated many problems such as food, and the army was welcomed by local wealthy businessmen wherever it went.
Zhao Sheng sent a lot of spices, and the carriages that came were used to cooperate with this migration. The empty carriages were loaded with some people's luggage and other items, so that the elderly and children could also ride in the carriages.
There were no special obstacles along the way, and he mostly negotiated with Li Jixian about ready-to-eat foods and spices that were as expensive as gold and silver.