Although the Red Turban Army occupied almost the entire Shandong East Road (Song Mingjing East Road), the current overall situation was no longer something that could determine the prosperity or decline of one or two battles, or fundamentally reverse it.

Fight for internal affairs, fight for diplomacy, fight for population, fight for material production, fight for weapons and equipment, and fight for the people's back...... The Jin people and the future Mongolian army are now facing not only a Meng Jiucheng, nor just a group headed by him, but the awakening and outbreak of a nation.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, toe, toe, toe, toe, to......e, to

The hoarse sound of trumpets drifted across the river, and groups of unkempt and ragged slender men bent over, carrying stiff ropes on their backs, and strode forward with heavy steps, and a large boat in the middle of the river slowly sailed through the shallows.

In the age of sails, ships relied on manpower or wind power to move their boats. The inland river is narrow, and the wind power is limited, so there is a temporary pull of a sail, and more often it is a manpower to swing the oar or pull the fiber.

And the boat is sometimes slower to propel by rocking than on foot, so there is a fiber pulling.

The big truck was loaded with four tons of cargo, and it was impossible for one person to pull it. And a ship loaded with four tons of cargo, one person can pull it away.

In this way, the ancients usually set up fiber roads next to inland rivers, that is, small roads on the bank for slender men to walk.

In particular, many inland water transport, some sections of the water are shallow, and can only be dragged through flat-bottomed boats, and the big guys with deep drafts can only be dragged through the shallow water area by slender men.

The long road, one step at a time, is like an old ox pulling a plow. In summer, with the scorching sun on his head and his feet on the hot road, beads of sweat drip down in strings; In winter, the cold wind blows the thin clothes, the snow falls on the shoulders, and the feet step on the cold and hard road, but the head is bubbling with hot air.

There is no romance of brothers and sisters, year after year, the slender men carry the heavy fiber rope, measure the river in the ups and downs, and try to pull the fiber rope step by step, a lifetime is endless sweat and endless road.

But what is different from the past is not only that the long-lost inland river is busy again, but also that the slender men have a livelihood and a hot meal, and that there is a renewed hope and longing for life.

Every dozen miles, there are tents, hot porridge and hot rice, and relief tickets stamped with red seals. One acre, two acres, three acres...... The slender men are contributing to their families, sweating for their future, and moving forward so that they can no longer engage in this hard work in the future.

Only when there is income can there be motivation; Only by participating in it can we hope for the victory of the Red Turban Army and hope for a happy future.

What's more, today's government is indeed different from the past, and the people on both sides of the river, and even the hungry people in the newly recovered areas have been able to survive because of the government's soup kitchen.

Once upon a time, the government was so sympathetic to the suffering of the people? The so-called soup soup is just a window dressing in the short term.

Indefinitely, how bold, how benevolent, and how rich is that?

He Tiejiao's pace was more powerful, and then forward, forward, and soon he was about to pass the shallow water area, and another red seal of the government was stamped up, two acres of land, more than ten miles of dragged and pulled fiber, it was worth it, it was worth it.

Not far away, the tent became clearer and clearer, and on the side of the river was a thick rice porridge with dried fish and dried meat, served with cakes and small pickles...... He seemed to smell the sweetness in his nose again.

The tent farther away is even more crowded, whether it is men, women and children, as long as they come, there will be a porridge field that opens every two hours, and the multigrain porridge is also a rare delicacy for the hungry people.

What's more, it is served three times during the day and once at night, as long as you line up in a regular manner, you can eat several times, not only will you not starve to death, but if you have less activity, you may not even have a hunger pang.

Yes, queue up! He Tiejiao grinned, reminding himself once again not to forget. The new officials are good, but they are also demanding, and if they do not follow the rules, they will have to suffer.

Well, it's actually pretty good, wasn't that scoundrel second dog who was used to bullying the weak tied up and taken away. Obeying the rules is really a good thing for an honest person like him.

The new order is not only a constraint, but also a redistribution of wealth.

When the founding of the country was founded, at least in China, it basically meant the redivision of land, and the government that regained the initiative was no exception.

Officials with money, gentry and bullies, as well as ownerless fields, as well as large tracts of land forcibly occupied by the Jurchens, will be measured and distributed by the government as a benefit to the common people.

Although it is necessary to convert the population of the new recovery area into productive forces and make full use of its resources, it will take a period of buffer and recuperation.

But the government is not like Ginting, and only sees it as a tax payer. And because the people wanted to possess the necessary means of subsistence, they turned to regard them as a burden.

Because if you want to defeat the enemy, you have to sacrifice the common people at the expense, which is not Meng Jiucheng's style.

Let others selflessly sacrifice for their own causes, except for saints, they are crazy, and Meng Jiucheng admits that he does not belong to these two categories.

He Tiejiao finished this section of shallow water pulling work, sat in the shed and tasted porridge and rice, and was satisfied with a piece of paper stamped with a red seal, and finally accumulated his own six acres of land, and began to look forward to the life prospect of building a house and farming.

After more than ten years of hard work, in addition to the hard cocoon of his feet without shoes and not afraid of stones, he only has one shack to live in.

Now—well, hurry up and eat, take advantage of this opportunity to make a few more trips and earn a few more acres of land.

Not far away, the flat field where the soup was given to the common people was already full of people, some in groups of 351, and some alone, waiting for the soup kitchen to begin.

Some of the vigilante warriors with red hoops on their arms and short sticks in their hands were responsible for maintaining order.

Seeing that the crowd was a little restless and noisy, a red hoop was unhappy, and stepped forward and shouted: "The meal will start at noon, and there is still a quarter of an hour to go." The rules are repeated and must not be violated, otherwise they will ......"

"Mother, the man said, you don't need money to eat." A little yellow and thin girl seemed to have just finished washing her hands and face by the river, led by her mother, passing by the tent of the slender men, and said happily as she walked.

"Good girl, you can eat a full meal later. Let's hurry up, or we won't be able to grab it. ”

The woman touched her daughter's head lovingly, and at the same time felt unspeakably hungry, and looked forward to eating and drinking porridge immediately, but in a hurry, she stumbled and was about to fall.

He Tiejiao hurriedly stretched out his hand to help, and comforted him with kind words: "Don't grab it, you have to queue up." Well, it's one after another, and you have to be beaten with a stick if you grab it! ”

…………

"Boom!"

The gong sounded and the crowd was noisy. A red hoop shouted: "It's time to eat, queue up, line up people, everyone has it, it is strictly forbidden to fight." ”

A few more sturdy red hoops, armed with short sticks, stepped forward and unceremoniously beat some of the homeless young people who wanted to squeeze to the front, until they did not dare to squeeze any more.

The flow of people slowly moved in front of a dozen porridge pots, and the thick multigrain porridge was filled into the bowls in the hands of the people one by one.

Well, except for the two mothers, there was only a broken crockpot with a side, and he walked timidly to the pot.

The handyman who scooped the porridge was a little stunned, looked up and down at the mother and daughter who were thin but seemed to have washed their hands and faces, looked at the little girl licking her lips with her eyes, and couldn't help twitching the corners of her mouth, and filled three spoonfuls in a row until the broken crockpot was filled, and also advised, "You have been hungry for a long time, don't eat too quickly, and the porridge will be opened again in two hours." ”

"Thank you, thank you." The mother thanked her without saying anything, and hurriedly walked to the side with her daughter carrying a crockpot, and the little girl's eyes kept staring at the steaming porridge without blinking.

"Eat slowly, eat slowly—" The mother endured hunger and instructed her daughter, the appearance of gobbling up was distressing.

"Well, mother, you can eat too." The little girl ate her mouth full, and she hadn't forgotten her mother.

"Let's eat together, and we'll have it later!" The mother smiled with satisfaction, although her face was yellow and thin, she still showed a bit of beauty.

Bang, bang, bang...... There was a gong sound, and then several red hoops began to shout again behind a row of tables.

"The one who built the house comes; This side of the road and bridge is coming; This side of the dredging canal comes; This side of the weaver will spin and weave; This side of reading and literacy comes; The one who knows how to count the accounts...... The rice is full, one thin and two dry, and there is a salary of two liters of rice and two taels of salt......"

There is no such thing as a free lunch, and while the war is still ongoing, the government is also facing material pressure.

In order to alleviate the pressure and enable the people in the new Guangfu area to create productive forces as soon as possible, cash-for-work is a good way.

Of course, the price of labor at this time was also the cheapest, and the rice and salt were given to the rice, which made the people flock to it and be grateful to Dade.

Although you can't starve to death by drinking porridge, it is quite tempting to work as much as you can and get rice from it.

After all, there are still a few lazy people who just want to drink porridge and live together, and the old, weak, sick and disabled are not among them.

Two liters of rice is more than four catties, and a person working outside the home not only manages the food and is full, but even the family can at least eat porridge and rice, which is a long-term livelihood.

Jane's eyes lit up as she listened to the shouting. But looking at the little girl beside her, she hesitated a little. Daughters are dependent on each other, but on the other hand, they are also a small burden.

…………

Zhu Ming came to this soup kitchen site with a few entourages, occupying such a large territory, the government affairs work must be followed immediately, and the stability can be achieved in the fastest time in order to reduce the financial burden.

"The settlement work should be accelerated, and spring plowing will begin in more than a month, so we must not miss the agricultural time." Zhu Ming's face did not have much joy, but was a little worried.

In Zhu Ming's view, it is gratifying to attack the city and seize the land, but it also carries a heavy burden.

Now we have to consider not only the issue of food, but also land distribution, spring ploughing and other issues, and this month or so is destined to be very busy and difficult.

"My lord, there are a lot of people who do this work, but not many of them can read and write." A small official stood up from behind the table, arched his hand and said, "This is a naturalization, a distribution of labor, and a measurement of the fields......"

Zhu Ming sighed softly, although he brought a group of officials, some small officials without rank, such as scribes, officials, miscellaneous servants, etc., all had to be recruited from the local area.

Obviously, this is still difficult at the moment. In other words, in a short period of time, I am afraid that it will not be so easy for the little officials to get together.

"Then transfer a group of personnel from Juzhou and Mizhou." Zhu Ming shook his head with a wry smile and said, "It seems that there is no other way now, let's temporarily settle down this most chaotic place!" Fortunately, there are many fields, whether they are cooked land or wasteland, they are all their own, and the people must be happy. ”

The dynastic changes in Chinese history are almost always like this, the population is smaller, the land is more, the social contradictions are eased after the redistribution of wealth, and the people also seek stability and work with peace of mind, and it is a so-called "prosperous era" coming.

But few people think about the deeper question, why does the cycle of chaos and reincarnation always continue, and why do we always seek a stable period in the sea of corpses and blood?

It is precisely because Meng Jiucheng does not regard the social relaxation after the population reduction as any merit, and precisely because he has always imperceptibly promoted his concept of valuing life and sympathizing with the people's suffering, and the officials below naturally do what he likes.

Zhu Ming very much agrees with Meng Jiucheng's proposition, if he were not a conscientious person, he would not resign angrily.

"Literate, I can spin and weave, but this-" Zhu Ming walked very casually to the back of the table to recruit literate people, just in time for Zhen Niang to lead the little girl and look at the little official with a sad face and shake her head with a wry smile.

Obviously, Zhen Niang is similar to the one who just spun and weaved, and they all think that this little girl is in the way, and there are also recruits who are literate Although they haven't explained, maybe they want women?

"Although the child is small, he is very sensible. The folk girl is literate, can settle accounts, and can do rough work...... I just want to earn more food for the child, just drink porridge-" Jane Niang bit her lip and explained in vain, which was also a repetition of what she had just said.

Zhu Ming looked Zhen Niang up and down, and then at the place where female textile workers were recruited. Obviously, it is still not very traditional for women to come out to work, and there are many women who are involved, like Zhen Niang.

"No!" The little official shook his head and sighed, pitying the mother and daughter, but there was no way.

Zhen Niang's eyes lit up, she bit her lower lip, and led her daughter to turn around and walk away slowly.

"Wait a minute." Zhu Ming suddenly remembered something, stopped Zhen Niang, but turned to the little official behind the table and asked: "The weaving factories are all women, and it is not appropriate to use men for management and bookkeeping." It is estimated that there are many displaced people in their situation, so they took some old women to relieve them of their burden. In this way, there are fewer idlers, and they can support themselves. ”

After a pause, Zhu Ming said again: "Moreover, the government will soon implement compulsory education, and there is an extreme shortage of teachers, and the requirements for men and women are not strict. You count all these people, and the government arranges them. ”

"Humble duty understands." The little official turned to look at Zhen Niang and said with a smile: "Don't hurry up and thank Master Zhu, you have been hired, and you are still a female steward!" ”

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Zhen Niang was overjoyed, knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, and the little girl did the same, kowtowing twice on the ground.

Zhu Ming waved his hand lightly, feeling sad in his heart.

He has experienced too many tragic scenes of war, and how many refugees have fled, although this Zhen Niang is dressed in tatters, but her demeanor can tell that she is very likely to come from a solid family.

War, how many families have been destroyed and displaced!