The group first headed north along the Luoshui, and the first target was Chengcheng County, which is located in the upper reaches of the Luoshui.

Luoshui is one of the most important rivers north of Weishui in the Guanzhong Plain, and the area through which it flows is also rich in land and developed agriculture. The acres of fields seen along the way stretch like patches of tiled green brocade.

The only thing that spoils the peaceful atmosphere of this cultivation in the field is the military buildings such as dock walls and forts that appear every once in a while, constantly reminding people that this world is not a peaceful and prosperous world where they can sit back and live and work in peace and contentment.

The award of rewards for the loss of Daxingtai has basically been completed, and the recruitment and mobilization of rural soldiers in the countryside is also being gradually implemented. Therefore, from time to time in the fields along the way, you can see groups of village soldiers either rushing to the garrison or gathering for exercises.

Nowadays, it is the turn of summer and autumn, and the levy of a large number of strong men naturally hinders agricultural work.

But this is also something that can't be helped, a big defeat in Bishan almost crippled the six armies that Yuwentai had accumulated for several years, and the military strength can be described as unprecedentedly weak, and it may not even be as good as the period before the founding of the Western Wei Dynasty and the battle of Xiaoguan.

After all, before the Battle of Xiaoguan, Yuwentai and the warriors of Zhubei Town still had a large number of elite troops. And these Xianbei veterans suffered even greater losses in the Battle of Bishan.

Therefore, Yuwentai urgently wanted to restore his military strength and integrate the rural armed organizations as soon as possible. In such a state where the army must be put first, it is difficult to take care of all the farming and farming affairs.

Previously, Zhou Changming was awarded the commander and governor of Wuxiang County, and Li Tai also learned from his conversation with him that the idea of reorganizing the army in the Western Wei Dynasty this year was mainly aimed at the long-existing township soldiers and township regiments and the powerful tribes of Zhuhao, and did not take Juntianhu as the target of requisition.

Later generations talked about the demise of the government military system in the Tang Dynasty, and it was mostly discussed in connection with the collapse of the Juntian system.

However, when the government military system was first established, it had nothing to do with the Juntian system, and there was no provision for awarding land for military merits.

The inclusion of government soldiers in Juntian did not begin until the Sui Dynasty. In the early Tang Dynasty, most of the government soldiers were small and medium-sized military landlords, and it was also the period when the government military system developed to its peak and its combat effectiveness was the strongest.

When the group walked to the northern boundary of Wuxiang County and the border with Chengcheng, the Luoshui River channel was narrow, but the water flow was even more scarce.

A weir is set up to barrage the river, the water level difference between the inside and outside of the weir is obvious, and the water flow that is artificially raised rushes down along the gap in the weir and hits the wooden wheel erected next to the river.

Those wooden wheels are connected to houses of different sizes, and these houses are called water mill houses. The mill can be used for grinding rice and other materials, such as crushing ore, clay, processing pulp, etc.

Seeing the rows of water mills on the riverbank, Li Tai's envious saliva almost flowed down.

In ancient times, if you want to carry out large-scale industrial operations, water resources can be said to be an indispensable key element. Whether there is the use of water power or not, it is a qualitative difference!

He Batsheng rode his horse while looking at Li Tai's line of sight, and when he saw those water mill industries, he also sighed: "Zhao Gui and others entered the customs early, and the beauty industry occupied first, which is indeed enviable. It is even more rare to meet a good neighbor, Liang Qianqian can be described as a rare humble gentleman among veterans. ”

In addition to the many water mill houses erected along the river, a large area of land from the river bank to the west belongs to the scope of Zhao Gui's manor, at least with an area of hundreds of hectares.

The canals dug in the manor are like cobwebs, irrigation tools such as water row trucks are scattered, fertile fields stretch out, and large houses are lined up. At a glance, it is enviable.

On the east bank of Luoshui is the garden of Kaifu Liangchun, located between two plateaus, and the area of the manor is much narrower than that of Zhaogui Manor, probably between forty or fifty hectares. Moreover, there are also not many hydraulic facilities along the river, only a small water mill house is erected on the channel where Luoshui leads to the manor.

Compared with other garden industries, this manor is certainly not bad, at least it is much more magnificent than Li Tai's own Shangyuan Zhuang. But compared with Zhao Gui's manor on the other side, it is even more shabby.

The two manors that are also next to Luoshui, but the construction of the industry is so different, Li Tai asked with some curiosity: "Could it be that it is because of the intimidation of the slaves of the Zhao Gui family that the family of Liang Kaifu did not dare to lead Luoshui to work?" ”

"Zhao Gui is indeed a little arrogant and greedy, but it is also related to Liang Chun's temperament......"

He Batsheng smiled and explained, compared with other Beizhen martial artists, Liang Chun can be described as a humble and indisputable person, and he is compassionate to his subordinates, so he was evaluated by He Batsheng as a gentleman among veterans.

After hearing this, Li Tai thought about it and kept these things in his heart. In the future, if he wants to get ahead in the Western Wei regime, he will inevitably have to deal with these Beizhen warriors, and it is not a bad thing to know more about these people.

After bypassing Liang Chun Manor, the group entered the territory of Chengcheng County. After walking along Luoshui for a few more hours, after crossing the river at a ferry, we arrived at the first destination of the trip.

"This manor was granted seven years of unification, and then 300 parts were dispatched to cultivate here......"

He Batsheng rode into the manor while introducing Li Tai with a smile.

Li Tai is also carefully looking at the environment of this manor, the manor is also located on the west bank of Luoshui, with an area of seventy or eighty hectares, and there is also a river on the west bank, about ten meters wide, which is Baishui, a tributary of Luoshui.

The whole estate, half river alluvial plain, half undulating soil slope hills, is not only flat with crops, but also some terraces have been opened up on the hillside, and some hardy crops and mulberry trees are planted. It can be seen that the manager of the manor here is also a diligent farmer, and he is reluctant to waste the land of the manor.

"The day before yesterday, I learned that the lord was coming, and the servant waited eagerly, so that the son went to the front ferry to meet ......"

When the group came to the gate of the manor, there was already a group of strong men waiting here, and a middle-aged man in his forties stepped forward, raised his hand to hold the bridle and helped He Batsheng off the horse.

"This person's name is Zhu Ziyong, an old servant who returned with me from Jiangnan, who is good at medicine and stones, and is also a good doctor."

He Batsheng first explained to Li Tai with a smile, and then motioned to the attaché to hold a wooden box and handed it to the steward Zhu Ziyong and said: "Your second brother is still staying in the court, and the new woman in the family has not yet returned, Zhu don't complain about me being mean, give you a little bit of thin things, and hope to be healthy for a long time." ”

Zhu Ziyong was even more moved after hearing this, and hurriedly beckoned his daughter-in-law holding the child to come in front of the ceremony, and He Batsheng personally took out the gift from the box, which was a golden little Buddha statue of demon subjugation, and placed it in the arms of the doll who had fallen asleep.

A group of people walked into the manor, the evening breeze blew, mixed with the smell of some medicinal herbs, there were many medicinal herbs drying in the fence walls of the manor, and clusters of vigorous perilla and other plant medicinal materials were planted in the shadows along the wall.

In front of the big house in the center of the manor, several large stoves have already been erected, and bonfires are blazing, or steaming cereals, or roasting lambs. The sound of abundant food poured into the nostrils, making everyone who had been on the road for a day can't help but move their index fingers.

Li Tai and the others followed He Batsheng into the hall and sat down, and it didn't take long for a servant woman to serve the wine and food one after another, although the dishes were not exquisite, but the portion was sufficient. A large earthenware bowl of cooked mutton, a pot of fragrant fish bream, air-dried mountain fowl, and a large box of vegetables.

He Batsheng looked at a few dishes on the dining table, and his expression was entangled for a while before waving his hand and said: "Disperse this mutton and fish to another table, and serve me a bowl of corn, and only eat tonight, don't drink!" ”

Zhu Ziyong, who was accompanying him on the side, heard this, half surprised and half surprised: "The servant advised the lord to avoid his mouth before, but the lord always didn't listen, why ...... today?"

"Some people laugh at my shallowness and promise me that I will serve delicious food diligently, and I am waiting!"

When He Batsheng heard this, he laughed and nodded Li Tai with his eyes.

When Li Tai saw this, he stood up with a smile, walked to He Batsheng's food table, took out a small bamboo tube from his waist, pulled out the stopper, poured out the white crystal particles, twisted them with his fingers and sprinkled them into the box, and then mixed them with chopsticks, pushed them in front of He Batsheng and said with a smile: "Uncle, please try it, is this box more delicious than usual?" ”

He Batsheng was not worried that Li Tai would poison him, and when he saw this, he picked up some chopped vegetable leaves with chopsticks and put them in his mouth, and after chewing slightly, his eyebrows suddenly rose, and he swallowed the dish in a few bites, pointing to the bamboo tube that Li Tai had not put away in surprise: "What is this?" How can you make the food so delicious? ”

"I call it monosodium glutamate, which is precipitated from tempeh, and the older the clay pot is, the more delicious it is, precisely because of this."

Li Tai sat back at his table and explained with a smile.

Of course, the bamboo tube is not monosodium glutamate, at least not the monosodium glutamate purified by the industry in later generations. Sauce products such as tempeh, after being stored for a long time, will be air-dried, and some salt crystal particles will be analyzed, and the main composition of these particles is naturally salt, but there is another substance in addition to this, that is, monosodium glutamate.

Monosodium glutamate is the main component of monosodium glutamate, and it is also the main reason for the freshness of monosodium glutamate.

The grains of this small bamboo tube do not seem to be much, but they are scraped dozens of old clay pots for storing tempeh before they are collected, and the freshness ingredients in it are naturally not as good as the monosodium glutamate purified by the industry in later generations, but the improvement of the taste has also been quite significant.

With this local method of monosodium glutamate to enhance the flavor of the meal, He Batsheng also had a great appetite, and no longer minded that there was no wine and meat, so he ate two large bowls of corn rice with that box of rice, patting his stomach and feeling hearty and satisfied.

After dinner, the sky was already completely dark, and He Batsheng explained to Zhu Ziyong: "Li Lang is close to my juniors, and he has the wisdom to support his family and manage his business. In the past, in order to maintain this livelihood, let your father and son live separately all the year round, but now take him into the village, and the village can go to him, and Ziyong can follow me in the future, and there is no need to live in the village. ”

After Zhu Ziyong heard this, he hurriedly nodded and said: "My lord, please rest assured, I will definitely cooperate with Li Lang and deliver the details of the village as soon as possible!" ”