"Crackling—"

In the early morning, with the sound of firecrackers waking up the whole world, the New Year of the Ming Dynasty arrived as scheduled.

Compared with the bustle of the Central Plains and the south of the Yangtze River, some places with few Han footprints have also begun to celebrate the New Year with Han customs.

Xijiang, located in the western part of Yunnan, is located in the valley between Ganya Province and Manmo County.

It used to be called Gura Village, and it was inhabited by hundreds of Tai people in white clothes.

However, with the end of the Ming army's pacification of Daoganmeng, hundreds of Tai whites here naturally became the people directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty.

As the only place in Yunnan to the central Burma Plain, Wang Xuan was comforted by the dry cliffs and gradually prospered.

Many of the exiled ministers were exiled here and became local people.

Because of this, after the arrival of their group of crepe sinners, Gura took on a new name...... Xijiang.

Although Xijiang is only a market town, the Ming Dynasty has invested a lot of resources here, and many white clothes have also been recruited to live here.

Among the thousands of Xijiang people, most of them were Han Chinese who were sent here in Jingnan, and the rest were Baiyi and other ethnic groups.

Because of these diverse ethnic groups, the architectural styles of Xijiang are also colorful, and after integrating the Han people and various ethnic architectural styles, a unique local architectural style has been formed.

The architectural style of the white walls and tiles and the cornices and corners of the Xijiang market town not only has the simplicity of the Central Plains architecture, but also has the national characteristics of the border.

Looking out of the market town, tens of thousands of acres of trees that once served as battlefields have disappeared, replaced by a large area of farmland.

The farmland has not yet been planted with any crops, otherwise it is very pleasing to the eye to look at in a green place.

"There should be a dream, don't forget your hometown, linger in ......"

It was as if the poetic charm of Jiangnan suddenly appeared and spread around the mountains and forests.

On the cement road at the foot of the mountain, several young men dressed as Han Chinese and with dark skin heard the sound, but saw a group of Confucian scholars in the Buddhist temple in the middle of the mountain not far away, who were reciting poems and discussing things that had nothing to do with the New Year.

"Jianghuai, look at it, these people have started again, they have been here for so many years, and they still want to go back?"

The young man with his hands on his chest on the cement road couldn't help but complain, standing beside him, the slightly delicate young man looked at the Buddhist temple and chuckled:

"Gaoguan, when you moved here from Manyun before, you were also looking for death and life, Manyun has never been here for 200 miles, this group of Jiangnan people migrated here, thousands of miles away from home, and it is normal to be homesick."

Although the two teenagers are dressed as Han Chinese, their slightly accented official dialect reveals their identity as young people.

However, in this southwestern border of the Ming Dynasty, every household claims to be the people of the Ming Dynasty, but does not particularly emphasize the situation of the nation.

This kind of phenomenon was demanded by Wang Xuan, the commander of the same knowledge, in the early years, but anyone who violated the law and was reported would be punished and fined, and the amount was not small.

In the last decade or so, few people have dared to break these rules.

Even though the ban was lifted in the lunar month of last year, under the long-term rules, people no longer emphasize ethnic issues.

This situation, coupled with Wang Xuan's opening of local government schools, made most of the second-generation young people have the opportunity to read and write.

Therefore, young people like Gao Guan and Jiang Huai did not feel that they were any different from the Han people.

"On New Year's Day, don't you stay at home and go to the temple to be a monk?"

Gao Guan ignored Jiang Huai's ridicule of himself, just followed the ridicule of those people in the temple, and walked towards Xijiang Town with Jiang Huai.

The sturdy cement road is two feet wide, stretching all the way from the dry cliff to the Xijiang River, and then from the Xijiang River to Manmo.

However, the road to Manmo is rugged, so this cement official road from Xijiang to Manmo was built in the fifth year of Yongle and has not been built until today.

"This Western Barbarian official road, do you say that it can be repaired this year?"

Gao Guan turned around and walked backwards, looking at the cement road in front of him that stretched into the mountains and forests, very curious.

"I don't know, but I hope he repairs a little longer."

Jiang Huai glanced at it and sighed slightly: "With this road, my father and mother can make money, and I don't have to help with farming." ”

"But I heard that this road is only ninety miles, and after so many years of construction, it should have been built a long time ago." Gao Guan pouted.

"It seems that some barbarians in the mountains always come out to interfere, didn't Wang Du command Tongzhi to lead troops from the town a few days ago?"

Jiang Huai explained, and there was a hint of yearning in his eyes: "It's a pity that I was in class at the time, otherwise I really wanted to go and see it." ”

"That's right." Gao Guan also sighed, thinking the same as Jianghuai.

The policies of Ganya, Longchuan and other places in western Yunnan are exactly the same as those of the New Deal, so the government school must be studied, whether it is Han or Shaomin.

Although the two teenagers were only fourteen or fifteen years old, they basically lived under Tusi until they were seven years old.

Although their memories were very vague, they still remembered them clearly.

At that time, they had to help with work when they were five or six years old, it was simple to serve tea and water, and some even had to cook, and they had to be the followers of the young toast, and the clothes they wore were some torn clothes, which could not cover their bodies at all.

Before the age of ten, it was common to have a bare buttocks, because there was no cloth to wear.

Their parents had to go to work before dawn and not come home until dark, day after day, year after year.

In Jianghuai's vague memory, it seems that it was not until Wang Xuan led the army to break through their stockade in the third year of Yongle and moved them to Xijiang that their life was slightly better.

"By the way, how much grain did your family collect last year?"

Gao Guan asked Jiang Huai, and Jiang Huai was also surprised: "What's wrong?" ”

"My father and mother are also going to work for the yamen, and they are going to rent out the land to others for planting, so I'll ask you."

Gao Guan explained the reason, Jiang Huai nodded after hearing this: "Twenty acres of land, more than 3,600 catties were collected, the third father's family gave my family 2,000 catties, and my family handed over more than 360 catties of land endowments, leaving more than 1,600 catties." ”

"That's enough to eat." Gao Guan nodded thoughtfully.

Although it is only the fourteenth and fifth-year plan, in this era, they are already the little masters of the family.

Jiang Huai's parents went out to repair the Western Barbarian official road all the year round, and there were only him and his younger brother at home, so he basically did everything by himself to rent the land, weigh the grain, pay taxes and other things.

"Your family has eight people and forty acres of land, how are you going to rent it?"

Jiang Huai asked Gao Guan, and they said that these lands were all cultivated land directly distributed to them by the Ming army after migrating to Xijiang.

The cultivated land was reclaimed by prisoners of war, and the common people who migrated to Xijiang, whether Han or Shaomin, were unified with five mu per person.

There are relatively few families of eight people like Gao Guanjia, and forty acres of land almost make it impossible for the whole family to do other things.

When it was time to farm properly, Gao Guan's parents had to go to the yamen to ask a few prisoners of war to help with sowing, and the same was true during the autumn harvest.

"Beep-"

Suddenly, the whistle sounded not far away, and the two hurriedly walked to the side of the official road.

Behind the archway of Xijiang Town in front, hundreds of Ming troops wearing mandarin duck battle jackets and leading horses and camels to transport armor and weapons are walking out.

On the official road, taking advantage of the New Year's distraction, the people also stood on both sides of the official road like Jianghuai and them.

There were not many people on the official road, and at a glance, at least more than 100 people were scattered on both sides, stretching their necks to look at the army that was hurrying.

After a while, the team rushed towards Jianghuai and them, and the hundred household officials who led the team paused after coming to their side and gave Gao Guan a kick.

"Go home and help!"

"Auntie, where are you going to go for the New Year when you're not at home?"

Gao Guan was not angry after being kicked, and asked the thirty-year-old Baihu official with a smile.

"There is wolf smoke on the stone ladder, I will bring people to support, you go home quickly."

As soon as the words fell, the hundred household officials hurried away with the team.

The New Year's holidays are not the time when the Ming army can relax, especially the Ming army in the southwest, always have to encounter a lot of barbarians who are in trouble.

The prisoners of war in Xijiang Town were taken from among these barbarians.

These prisoners of war were the property of the Yamen in Xijiang Town, and they were usually required to work for the local Yamen for three years after being captured.

The yamen held them on weekdays, sent them when they needed to build roads and bridges, and occasionally used the prisoners of war as manpower to lease them to the townspeople in exchange for an income.

The price of renting a prisoner of war for a day is 5 wen, which is half the daily wage of 10 wen in Xijiang Town.

"Aunt Ling is married to a good person, I heard from the neighbors that your aunt killed the enemy bravely back then, and then was pardoned from the prisoners of war and made a soldier."

"!" Hearing Jiang Huai's envious words, Gao Guan ruthlessly punctured this rumor:

"My aunt said that he was thinking about running for his life, but he ran in front of the royal governor."

"Shengpu in the south happened to kill Wang Dudu's horse, but my aunt thought that Shengpu was going to kill him, so he picked up a shield from the ground to block the spear, and then he was pardoned as a soldier."

"Huh?" Hearing this, Jiang Huai was stunned, he didn't expect that Li Baihu, who stood up to the sky in the hearts of the people of Xijiang Town, would actually get an amnesty because of such an oolong thing.

"Of course, I heard that the horse of the royal governor was given by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and is worth a thousand gold."

"You say, shouldn't you save such a horse and get an amnesty?"

Gao Guan said proudly, but Jiang Huai scratched his hair: "That's really right......

"Stop talking, go home for dinner." After patting Jiang Huai on the shoulder hard, Gao Guan sped up his pace to return home.

After a short time, they walked into the archway of Xijiang Town, shuttling between the white walls and tiles.

Among the thousands of people in Xijiang Town, nearly half of them were former ministers of Jingnan.

They have a bad reputation, but they are really talented.

For students, a good learning atmosphere is more important than anything else, and walking on the streets of Xijiang Town, there is almost everywhere the sound of reading aloud.

Even if you can take a break in the New Year, there are still many students who recite some poems and verses about the New Year while playing.

It is hard to imagine that a small town in the southwest of the Yangtze River like Xijiang would show a learning atmosphere that is not inferior to that of Jiangnan and Jiangzuo.

In such an atmosphere, JAC and they also quickened their pace to go home, and finally parted in front of an alley.

Gao Guan returned to his home, and Jianghuai also returned to his home.

The houses in the entire Xijiang Town are built in a unified manner, and even the Jianghuai family, who used to be Tusi serfs, can now live in a small courtyard with white walls and tiles.

Pushing open the hidden door, Jiang Huai smelled the fragrance and heard the smell of the iron pot stir-frying before he walked in.

Raising his legs and walking into the courtyard, Gao Guan saw his father sitting by the patio with his younger brother in his arms.

Jiang Huai's father was dark-skinned and not very tall, barely five feet, and even two inches shorter than Jiang Huai.

He was holding a doll about seven years old at the moment and was teasing him.

Seeing that Jiang Huai was back, he also quipped: "Where did you go to find the girl?" ”

He spoke the language of his own people, and Jiang Huai smiled helplessly after hearing it: "I'm going to find Gaoguan." ”

Jiang Huai spoke official language, and his father could listen to it, but he couldn't speak it.

"Looking for a man for the New Year, you can't do this, you want to find a little girl, I already knew your mother when I was your age."

Although he was only thirty years old, Jianghuai's father looked old because he had been a serf for Tusi since he was a child, and he worked all year round and looked like he was in his forties.

Previously, he did not have his own surname, only Da Ri as his name, and Jiang Huai's name was given by him on the first day of his official school and familiarity with the Bai language.

His original name was Dahe, and after hearing about it, the teacher gave him the surname Jiang and named him Huai.

His teaching is a man who is missing an arm, he claims that he has fought with the current prince of the East Palace, and he is unwilling to stay at home after breaking his arm, so he studied for five years and passed the teaching examination, from his hometown Bohai, to this land in western Yunnan.

He felt that Jianghuai Tianwei was the last line of defense in the north of the capital, so the name was very powerful.

However, judging from Jiang Huai's own study for four years, he always felt that his name was not as strong as his father's "Jiang Dayi".

"Don't talk nonsense, I only graduated this year, what's the panic."

Jiang Huai sat aside and hugged his younger brother Jiang Hu into his arms.

He chose the name Jiang Hu himself, because he always felt that his name was feminine, so he used tiger as his brother's name, although he had never seen a tiger.

"Didn't I watch you play with the little girl of the Qi family on the street every day?"

Jiang Dari looked at his son with a wicked smile, and Jiang Huai was speechless when he heard this: "Don't talk nonsense, the Qi family has been a big official before." ”

"I know!" Jiang Dayi raised his voice: "Qi Jingzong's brother used to be a scholar, but so what, my son is so good-looking, what's wrong with his family?" ”

"Don't talk about it." Jiang Huai looked at his father helplessly, and was silent for a moment before saying:

"Xiao Qi Niangzi and the little young master of the Huang family in Longchuan County next door have a marriage match."

"That can't be helped." Hearing that his favorite daughter-in-law and the county people had a marriage match, Jiang Dari suddenly lost his temper.

In the final analysis, as a serf under the rule of Tusi, he can still get along well with people of the same status as himself, but once he meets someone who is higher than himself, he is a little cringe.

In his opinion, the town and the county are two worlds, and although his son is good-looking and very good at reading, he is still much worse than the county.

In fact, this is why he doesn't know what official position Shangshu is, if he knows what official position Shangshu is, he probably won't instigate his son to find the so-called Xiao Qi Niangzi.

"It's time to eat!"

Not long after, a sturdy woman shouted at the kitchen door, and the father and son quickly got up, hugged Jiang Hu and walked into the kitchen.

At the dinner table, the family enjoyed a rare reunion, and Jiang Huai's mother was called Jin Mei, a sturdy peasant woman who loved to laugh.

"I bought cloth in the town, and I made clothes for you two brothers in the past few days, and when the Lantern Festival passes, we will leave."

After all, having lived in the town for so many years, the Lantern Festival, a festival of the Han people, has also penetrated into the hearts of Jin Mei and other young people early.

"Are you going to work this time?"

When Jiang Huai heard that his parents were going out after the Lantern Festival, he couldn't help but feel a little reluctant.

"I'm going, but it's going to be fast this time, I heard that there are still twenty miles of mountain roads to be repaired, and at most I won't live this year after I finish it."

Jin Mei's tone was pleasant at first, but when she said it, she was a little melancholy.

Although Xijiang Town can support itself by farming, farming is much more boring than building roads, especially when cleaning up weeds, and the back is sore at the end of the day.

In comparison, road construction is at most a physical exertion, and after a day of rest, you will be refreshed again.

Besides, after a year of farming, in addition to what you eat, you can save at most three or four yuan, and you have to spend it all to buy some clothes and spices.

However, building roads not only manages food, but also has a daily salary of ten yuan, even if it rains and does not start work, it is not wrong, and in a year, the two couples can at least save seven or eight times.

Six years have passed since such a day, and this year is the seventh year, and the family has saved a lot of money.

"My family has saved a lot of money, and it will be much easier for you to go to secondary school."

Jiang Dari said the reason why he saved money, but Jiang Huai shook his head and said, "We don't have a middle school here." ”

"Isn't there Ganya and Longchuan?" Jiang Dari didn't understand this, so he was stunned and asked.

"No, there are none in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou, and now it seems that only Liaodong, Shandong, and Bohai have them."

Jiang Huai shook his head and explained, but in Jiang Dayi's limited culture, he didn't know how far away these places his son said, and said with a smile: "Then we will go to these places to study then." ”

"Not necessarily." Jiang Huai said, sandwiching vegetables for his parents and younger brothers.

Although it was the Chinese New Year, there was only one plate of meat dishes on their dinner table, and the other three plates were vegetarian dishes.

Jiang Huai's words made Jiang Dari lose his appetite and motivation.

In his opinion, making money for his son is to let his son live a good life.

The scribe of the road repair team told him that he could learn to be a scholar, so he gave it to his son.

Last year, the scribe told him that he could go to middle school after completing official school, and that he could become a clerk after completing his studies, and he came up with the idea of continuing to provide for his son's secondary education.

The reason why he works so hard is nothing more than to let his son live better, not like himself.

Now that his son says he can't go to middle school, he is at a loss.

"Okay, I'm done eating, mother, you put the bowl away, and I'll come back and wash it later."

Jiang Huai stood up after eating, and Jin Mei hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?" ”

"I'll go out for a walk and eat less." After Jiang Huai finished speaking, he left with a smile.

When he walked out of the yard, before he could close the door, he heard his parents discussing in the kitchen.

"Can't you go to middle school?"

"I can read it, and when the Lantern Festival is over, I will ask the Wang scribes in the team, and they must know how to read it."

"Will it cost a lot of money?"

"If you sell the field, I will provide it to him!"

Standing at the gate of the courtyard, listening to the sound coming from the courtyard, Jiang Huai closed the door with a low emotion.

He walked out of the alley, meeting classmates and some neighbors along the way, all of whom barely managed to squeeze out a smile and say hello.

However, when he came to the gate of a courtyard on the street, which covered an area almost three times the size of the ordinary courtyard, he saw a lady of the Qi family who was saluting a middle-aged Confucian scholar and knew him well.

The lady of the Qi family is beautiful, tall, and gentle.

After she saluted, she saw Jiang Huai standing on the street looking at her in a daze, and immediately smiled:

"Idiot, but you can't call people?"

"No ......" Jiang Huai reacted and hurriedly said: "Miss Qi, Mr. Qi." ”

The object of Jianghuai's salute is not only the lady of the Qi family, but also the middle-aged Confucian scholar.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar's name is Qi Jingzong, the little lady of the Qi family is his youngest daughter, and his brother is the "notorious" minister Qi Tai.

"Xiao Jiang Langjun is here?"

Qi Jingzong greeted Jiang Huai with a smile, he was actually very optimistic about Jiang Huai.

As a person who only started school at the age of nine, Jianghuai became the first in the whole class of Xijiang official school in the third year of school, and still maintained the first place in the whole class last year.

This talent from behind made Qi Jingzong see an opportunity.

If his daughter can be with Jianghuai, then in the future, Jianghuai High School Jinshi may be able to bring his family back to Jiangnan.

Because of this, Qi Jingzong allowed his daughter to play with Jianghuai.

It's a pity that the plan can't catch up with the changes, last winter, his brother's old friend, Huang Jing, the son of Huang Zicheng, was promoted in the township examination last year, and fell in love with his own daughter.

Between Jianghuai, which has not yet risen, and Huang Jing, who has risen, Qi Jingzong undoubtedly chose the latter, and the latter brought him very rich resources.

Not only did he help himself buy the yard of his neighbor's house, but he also combined three yards into one, which can be regarded as a slight restoration of some of his former glory.

Because of this, Qi Jingzong became more and more determined to become Weng's son-in-law with Huang Jing.

It's just that when he thinks of Jianghuai, he still feels a little regretful, so when he saw Jianghuai, he didn't hinder the contact between the two juniors, but just reminded his daughter: "Just talk in front of the mansion, and go back for a while." ”

"Yes......" The lady of the Qi family didn't dare to disobey her father's words, but just lowered her head and responded.

Seeing this, Qi Jingzong also said hello to Jiang Huai, and then left in a carriage.

Seeing the carriage leaving, Jiang Huai didn't know how to speak, so the lady of the Qi family whispered: "My father is going to Longchuan County......"

"Well......" Jiang Huai responded silently, and the little lady of the Qi family lost her temper when she saw this: "Don't you want to say something to me?" ”

"I ......" Jiang Huai wanted to speak and stopped, and that appearance made the little lady of the Qi family clench her fists.

"I'll leave if I don't have anything to say."

When the words fell, the little lady of the Qi family took a few breaths of Jiang Huai, and when she saw that he still didn't say a word, she turned around and walked into the house.

As the door was closed, Jiang Huai showed a little uncomfortable.

Once upon a time, although he could also feel the temperament of the Qi family's scholarly family, he was confident that he could make himself worthy of the other party by studying in the future.

It's just such self-confidence, as he knew that the Qi family had a relationship with Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department back then, he completely gave up all ideas.

For a son of a serf like him, even if the Qi family is lonely, it is not something that a family like him can contaminate.

Raising his head, Jiang Huai looked at the mansion in front of him, which was three times larger than his own, and couldn't help but think of the topic that his parents were discussing in the kitchen just now.

"Middle School ......"

Jiang Huai muttered in a low voice, and then seemed to be firm in something, and left the street step by step in the direction of official learning.

(End of chapter)