Chapter 8: Farming Is Impossible

Northern Xiurong, Taiping Village.

Jia Sixie was deeply depressed.

In the first few days after arriving, Jia Sixie was still moved by the Taiping villagers' warm hospitality, while also worrying whether his staying over would cause trouble for them.

After all, in this era, even a landlord's family didn't have much surplus grain!

But very soon, he realized he was overthinking it.

This village had herds of cattle and sheep, warehouses piled high with vast amounts of grain, and most crucially, the villagers here truly were, just as Li Shuang's vassal had said, not farming.

The villagers spent their days wielding swords, spears, halberds, and other weapons, cultivating martial arts and horsemanship.

Jia Sixie understood; he hadn't entered a village at all, but had blundered into a bandit den!

With matters come to this, it was too late; now, if he wanted to leave, he feared he wouldn't be able to.

Hou Jing walked in carrying a bowl of millet and a plate of mutton, smiling.

"Mr., you're up?"

Looking at the fierce Hou Jing, Jia Sixie asked anxiously:

"I have already delayed here for a long time; I wonder when I might depart?"

"Mr. can leave at any time!"

Hou Jing's words made Jia Sixie full of doubts, and he couldn't help but ask in return:

"Really?"

"Of course; my lord hasn't detained Mr. at all."

"Then I, Jia, shall take my leave!"

Jia Sixie grabbed the travel pack he had already prepared and, taking three steps as if they were two, tried to walk out, only to see Hou Jing draw a blade.

"What are you doing?"

"I was ordered by my lord to entertain Mr.; since Mr. has resolved to depart, I naturally cannot obstruct him. But I also bear the burden of my lord's trust, so I can only atone with my death!"

Saying this, he raised the blade to slash his own throat.

Jia Sixie was rather kind-hearted; having never seen such a scene, he hurriedly stopped him.

"No, no, I won't leave, is that okay?"

Hou Jing, who had just worn a resolute expression, broke into a smile and brought the food over.

"Then Mr. should eat early; my lord instructed that during Mr.'s leisure time, he may teach the villagers agriculture."

Hearing these words, Jia Sixie wore a bitter expression.

"It's not that I won't teach; it's simply that..."

Jia Sixie came from a family with deep scholarly traditions and had served as an agriculture official for many years, mastering techniques in farming, horticulture, forestry, sericulture, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, breeding, brewing, cooking, storage, and reclamation of wasteland.

He was a good teacher, but alas, the villagers of Taiping Village were not good students!

"How outrageous! I will go with Mr. and see who dares to disrespect Mr."

With Hou Jing following behind Jia Sixie, the villagers of Taiping Village all showed respect, gathering obediently under Jia the teacher's lesson plan, and many were young children.

Since entering Taiping Village, this was the first time Jia Sixie had seen so many students, and he was very happy in his heart.

"Fellow villagers, what do you all wish to learn?"

"What can Mr. teach us to learn?"

Hearing the innocent children below ask questions, Jia Sixie replied:

"I will teach you to divert water and reclaim wasteland, to enrich the soil's strength, so that henceforth you need not suffer for your livelihood or wander everywhere; how about that?"

At this, an innocent child asked:

"Then, within ten years, can I afford armor and horses?"

"No!"

"Won't learn, won't learn!"

"Then I will teach you to plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms, to brew wine and raise livestock; how about that?"

"Then, within ten years, can I afford armor and horses?"

"No!"

"Won't learn, won't learn!"

Jia Sixie's expression changed; he thought to himself, why do the children in this village always want to buy armor and horses?

"Then I will teach you to read and write poetry, to distinguish rare treasures, and to broaden your knowledge; how about that?"

"Then, within ten years, can I afford armor and horses?"

"No!"

"Won't learn, won't learn!"

At this moment, Hou Jing became angry.

"You brats, you won't learn this, you won't learn that; what exactly do you want to learn?"

"We want to learn to ride horses and bend bows, to march and fight, to go into battle and kill enemies!"

Looking at these young children, Jia Sixie, in a daze, felt somewhat stunned.

Since the start of the Yongjia Disturbance, for hundreds of years the Han people have lacked Wu De, having been bullied by the Hu Ren; he never expected that today, he would feel abundant Wu De in these young children.

Jia Sixie's expression became much gentler.

"You want to go into battle and kill enemies; for what reason?"

"To snatch money and snatch women!"

The innocent words were shouted out in unison; Jia Sixie's face turned pale, and Hou Jing, standing nearby, coughed once and quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Who taught you all this?"

"Didn't Uncle Hou and my father say it while drinking?"

Hou Jing flicked the child's forehead, then glanced awkwardly at Jia Sixie.

"Nonsense, you brat! How dare you slander me! I, Hou Jing, possess pure integrity; all I have ever learned is to protect my family and country, to defend the common people at dawn. There is nothing else!"

The child who had been struck was also stubborn; he covered his head, pouted, and looked very unconvinced.

"I'm not lying. You even said that if you had the chance, you would seize Luoyang and Jiankang, and that you even..."

Hou Jing clamped his hand over the child's mouth. Seeing Jia Sixie turn and leave with a sweep of his sleeve, he quickly whispered a reminder in his ear:

"Next time someone asks, say it was for fame and love. Understood?"

The child nodded. Hou Jing hurriedly chased after him.

"Mr., children's words carry no weight, children's words carry no weight!"

Southern Xiurong.

Blue sky, white clouds, green grass stretching everywhere.

On the earth, beside the rivers, tents stretched endlessly.

The young members of the General Er Zhu clan gathered together to listen to Li Shuang impart advanced work experience.

The General Er Zhu family was a great clan; among those in the tents were not only General Er Zhu Rong's nephews and grandnephews, but also General Er Zhu Rong's younger brothers.

As they listened, most of the General Er Zhu clan members grew restless and slipped away to go hunting.

Only General Er Zhu Tianguang, General Er Zhu Rong's cousin-nephew, and General Er Zhu Dulu, General Er Zhu Rong's cousin-brother, listened until the end, though their faces still showed some confusion.

General Er Zhu Tianguang sat in the front row; he was fair-skinned and chubby, and the flesh on his face trembled as he spoke.

"Third Uncle, will learning these tricks allow us to deal with those tribal chieftains?"

"More or less. In most cases, yes."

"What about the minority of cases?"

Li Shuang patted General Er Zhu Tianguang's head and shook his head.

"For these tricks to succeed, there must be one prerequisite: the tribal chieftains you are dealing with must not wish to rebel!"

General Er Zhu Dulu, sitting in the second row, was thin, small, and sharp; he retorted:

"What if the other side wants to rebel?"

Li Shuang said nothing, merely letting out a low chuckle.

Southern Xiurong.

When General Er Zhu Zhao, holding the tally staff, walked into the main tent as usual, he sensed a completely different atmosphere.

General Er Zhu Zhao put on airs and continued to threaten:

"Wan Ziqizhen, why do you not bow when you see the tally staff?"

Wan Ziqizhen sat in the chieftain's seat and poured himself a cup of wine.

"General Er Zhu Zhao, how much money have you made with this trick, how many women have you stolen? Is it not enough?"

"I was serving the court, collecting military grain, and fighting the rebels of the Liuzhen!"

Wan Ziqizhen sneered disdainfully.

"Rebels of the Liuzhen? Which one among the people of the Liuzhen was not once a hero for the country and the people? Yet how did the court treat them?"

Seeing the other's demeanor, General Er Zhu Zhao's momentum faltered, yet his words remained harsh.

"Wan Ziqizhen, do you also wish to rebel?"

"Exactly!"

Wan Ziqizhen shouted loudly, swept the vessels before him to the ground, climbed onto the table, and looked down at General Er Zhu Zhao from above.

"I will tell you the truth: I have decided to pledge loyalty to the True King and rise up against the Luoyang court."

General Er Zhu Zhao's heart panicked, and his subordinates rushed forward.

"Army Master, what should we do now?"

"I don't know. Brother Daye didn't teach that!"