The visitor gradually walked in, and Shao Xun also got off his horse.
"Greetings, Sir." The group of people saluted in unison.
For the owner of the manor, servants, and guests, you can call them "lord" and "master".
But Shao Xun is young and can also be called "Langjun".
If he is older, he can still be called "male".
If he is a high official or famous person, he is called "Ming Gong".
"No need to be polite." Shao Xun said warmly with both hands on his hands.
"I'm an old man, Pei Jin. Now I'm the chief of the Shao Mansion. Sir, please come with me and meet the people living in the village." The leader took two steps closer and said respectfully.
"Okay." Shao Xun didn't show any pretense. After throwing the riding whip to Chen Yougen who was rushing over, he stepped forward and asked casually: "How many people are there in the house?"
"The good teacher knows that the Shao Mansion has one official, one accountant, two servants, four servants, six guests, eight servants, and twelve maids." Pei Jin said.
Shao Xun's expression changed and he said, "How can I support so many people?"
"Don't worry, Sir." Pei Jin said: "Zhuangzi has two water basins, thirteen hectares of fields, and more than thirty households of villagers. The output is enough to meet the expenses."
"Where did the banker come from?" Shao Xun asked.
Thirteen hectares of land is 1,300 acres, which is really not a small amount. How can the Huangfu family be so ruthless?
He recently read a book and learned that after Zhou Chu died in battle, the court "posthumously gave General Pingxi a million dollars in money, a hectare of land for burial, 50 acres of capital land as his title, and five hectares of farmland near the Wang family."
At this time, it was only seven years before Zhou Chu was executed. In just seven years, Huangfu Shang, who was the confidant of King Sima Ji of Qi and King Sima Yi of Changsha, had acquired more land than Zhou Chu. Is it because he really had a high status or was it because of the society? The atmosphere has deteriorated. Officials and ministers no longer pay attention to their appearance and speed up mergers?
Maybe a bit of both.
More than a thousand acres of land, in the suburbs of Luoyang, was something I couldn't even imagine before.
"Lang Jun has become famous in Beijing, and there are many bankers who are willing to join him," Pei Jin said.
His tone was matter-of-fact, as if this was a matter of course.
Troubled times have arrived, not to mention the troops passing through the border. The deteriorating public security situation and bandits everywhere have posed a serious threat to the people.
It is natural to live together to protect oneself.
Shao Xun's reputation in the capital is not small. He was rewarded by the manor, and after publicizing it, there were still people who were willing to join him - giving up the ancestral land, fleeing with his family, attaching himself to Wubao Manor, and becoming a banker. The society is normal, and the ancestral land they gave up will naturally be taken away by others.
"Shao Jun, you have to get used to it." Mi Huang smiled and said, "If you are really worried, I will send you a letter to bring your family from the East China Sea and ask them to help manage the manor. You can just concentrate on training."
Pei Jin lowered his head.
After Shao Xun thought for a while, he said: "Okay, I'll ask my eldest nephew and third brother to come over and follow Pei Dianji to learn how to manage Zhuangzi."
The eldest nephew is the son of his deceased eldest brother, named Shao Shen, who is thirteen years old this year.
The third brother's name is Shao Fan, he is sixteen this year.
It is indeed more reassuring to have his own family come over, but he will not touch Pei Jin's position for the time being. This has nothing to do with anything else, it is just a matter of human nature.
"Let's go into the garden." Shao Xun looked up at the relatively new fence and gatehouse and said.
The entire mansion covers an area of ​​about thirty to forty acres, and there are only a few dozen people inside, so it's empty and shabby.
Shao Xun's attention mainly focused on the overall structure of the manor.
First of all, there are dozens of houses in front and back, which are used for the residence of the master and his servants. There is a tall building with three floors in the northeast corner, which is regarded as the commanding height of the entire manor.
There is a large forest on the left side of the house. According to Pei Jin, there are probably thousands of trees, with many kinds and many birds.
There is a small natural lake behind the woods, with streams flowing in and out of it, and it seems to have been artificially diverted to circle around the manor.
There are still woods on the right side of the house, but they have been artificially transplanted.
Shao Xun looked carefully and saw that there were jujube, peach, plum, apricot, pear, persimmon, chestnut, rose apple and other fruit trees. There were more than a thousand trees in total.
A wooden house was built in front of the forest to serve as stables, woodsheds, warehouses and other facilities.
Behind the house is a large bamboo forest and a man-made garden. Two small ponds were dug in the east and west and lotus plants were planted.
According to Pei Jin, there are carp, crucian carp, eel and other fish inside, which sometimes jump out of the water, which is quite interesting.
There are also some other unit areas. Shao Xun took a tour of them and looked at them for a while, which was an eye-opener.
Huangfu Shang is not actually a high official...
But the estate he built is of such a scale, and it is still located around Luoyang, where land resources are relatively tight. People can't help but wonder: What is the situation in other states now?
"Zhong Changtong of the Han Dynasty once said, 'The envoys lived in fertile fields and a large house, with mountains at their backs and streams, surrounded by ditches and ponds, surrounded by bamboo trees, with fences in front of the buildings and behind orchards behind the trees. Boats and carts were enough to take care of the hardships of walking, and the envoys were able to rest for four days.
The battle of the body. Raising relatives requires both care and attention
With the food, the wife and children will not have to work hard.'" Mi Huang followed and walked around, then looked at Shao Xun with complex eyes and said: "Little Langjun, now that you have an official and a manor, you are no longer a
I’m just an ordinary person. My family——”
At this point, Mi Huang stopped.
He originally wanted to say, "I have a daughter at home," but he thought about it and forgot about it.
Concubine Pei arranged a marriage for his eldest son Mi Zhi. The woman was born in the Zhuge family of Langya. She was dignified and virtuous, knowledgeable and courteous. She was regarded as marrying into the Mi family. Mi Huang was very grateful. When she thanked her, she mentioned that Shao Xun was seventeen years old.
Concubine Pei didn't seem very happy about marrying his daughter to him, so Mi Huang didn't mention it again.
He is a smart man and feels that Concubine Pei must have other plans, and this matter is not something he can interfere with.
When I saw this manor today, I started to have some thoughts again, but in the end I still didn't dare to say anything.
"Although my family's manor occupies a large area, it is not as good as the house in Luoyang, which has a lot of land and a lot of money." Seeing Shao Xun looking at him in confusion, Mi Huang laughed and said.
The manor is where the aristocratic family lives.
If Zhong Changtong of the Eastern Han Dynasty put forward a standard model for the layout of aristocratic manors, he also had a passage that pointed out the essence of the manor: "Above a lifetime of freedom, looking between heaven and earth. Not subject to the nobility of the time, but a period of eternal life." .If this is the case, you can reach the heights of the sky and transcend the universe. How can you envy me to enter the imperial family?"
In short, with the manor in hand, I own the world.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the aristocratic family estates had "boys and servants forming an army, the gates were closed as a market, the cattle and sheep covered the plains, and the fields and ponds were spread thousands of miles away."
The manor controlled by the aristocratic family is completely self-contained. All kinds of daily necessities and production materials can be traded internally, forming a market, just like a small city.
The buildings where the sons of aristocratic families lived were even comparable to Shanglin Garden and Taiji Hall: "The garden is modeled after Shanglin, but the hall is arrogated to Taiji."
Even, let alone aristocratic families, a place with no family status is still very powerful: "The wealthy man's house has hundreds of buildings, the farmland is full of fields, thousands of slaves and maids, and thousands of people are attached to them."
The above is from before the Western Jin Dynasty.
After a series of wars in the Three Kingdoms, and decades of peace in the Western Jin Dynasty, the aristocratic families intensified, reaching their peak in the middle of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Xie Xuan's manor is "bordered by the Yangtze River on the right, mountains on the left, flat tombs and bridges, and a clear lake with a distant mirror... A road has been built in the lake, and it leads out of Qushan Mountain in the east. The road is very straight..."
A manor owned by Kong Lingfu in the Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasty was "33 miles around, with 265 hectares of water and land, two mountains, and nine orchards."
With such capital, when we unite together, we can indeed confront the imperial power, and changing the emperor is not a problem.
Compared with them, Shao Xun's new manor is nothing worth mentioning.
After all, this is Luoyang, and even the famous Jingu Garden cannot compare with the land area and population of wealthy families from other places.
"Lang Jun——" Seeing Shao Xun, Mi Huang stopped talking, and Pei Jin continued to introduce: "Beyond the river is the farmland of Fuzhuang, which usually grows millet, wheat, and beans. It is too late to recruit villagers this year, and it is too late. When planting millet, I only planted some beans and other miscellaneous grains. When the harvest was complete, I could cook bean porridge, which Shi Chong often used to entertain guests."
"There are also cattle and sheep in the village. If you want to eat milk cakes, you can come here at any time. If you want to eat marrow cakes, it is best to wait until next year. There are still a few livestock."
Milk cakes are made from milk or goat milk and flour, and are eaten by more people.
There are much fewer marrow cakes, because they are made from the bone marrow of cattle, sheep and other animals plus honey and flour, and are generally food for nobles.
"If you want to drink, brew some more this year, and your husband can taste it at any time."
"Thousands of fruit trees bear many fruits. My husband has been training his troops hard, so his servants will regularly select fresh fruits and send them to the army for his entertainment."
Pei Jin introduced a lot in one breath, showing his familiarity with the manor and his capable management capabilities.
Generally speaking, when the manor owner hears this, he will definitely be elated.
"How much is the balance of the manor every year?" Shao Xun suddenly interrupted him and asked.
"This is the first year, but I don't know." Pei Jin answered honestly.
"Should we be able to support more people?" Shao Xun asked again.
"Dozens of people can still do it." Pei Jin was a little confused, what is Lang Jun going to do?
During the Wei Dynasty, the owner of the manor had "more than a thousand guests" and would often form an army to attack and plunder merchants.
In fact, there were some in this dynasty. Shi Chong liked to take Zhuangke Buqu out to rob, and gradually became the most famous wealthy family in the Jin Dynasty.
Could it be that——Lang Jun also wants to...
"Luoyang has been in war for a long time, and the people have been displaced." Shao Xun said: "Find a way to recruit some children and teenagers, preferably ten to fifteen years old, and take them to live in the manor. Just find people, and I will send someone to arrange for these children.
.Limited to one hundred people, that’s it, as soon as possible!”
Pei Jin was stunned at first, and then said: "Lang Jun, Zhuangzi is gritting his teeth. It is not impossible to raise a hundred children and teenagers, but this way there will be no balance, and it may even be a loss. Lang Jun is only seventeen years old, and there will be more money in the future."
If you want to start a family and start a career, if you can't accumulate wealth as soon as possible, I'm afraid that in the future..."
"That's enough, just do as I say." Shao Xun raised his voice and said: "How long the manor in Luoyang can exist is a question. If you are brave, organize the bankers to occupy more wasteland.
Mostly no one cares about Pan Garden in the east of the city. I cultivated it there a year ago. After I moved away, I heard that it is still empty. The war is in chaos, and the people of Luoyang don’t have much thought about farming. You don’t need to worry too much, just follow the instructions.
That’s fine.”
"No." Pei Jin reluctantly agreed, and at the same time he was a little frightened. The current situation seemed to be a bit like what Xiao Langjun said.
Mi Huang watched from the side without interrupting.
Cultivating guests and training the tribe is what every aristocratic family is doing. As the situation continues to collapse, they have even accelerated this process. The combat effectiveness of the tribe's bankers is getting stronger day by day, and they are always doing their best.
Preparing for war.
What Shao Xun did was not fundamentally different from them, and it seemed to go a step further - through this army reorganization, Mi Huang once again confirmed that Shao Xun was training officers.
In fact, this is nothing, everyone is doing it.
Some people are doing it in the imperial army, some are doing it in their own estates, and some are cultivating private individuals in prefectures and counties.
To put it bluntly, everyone did not have much confidence in the Jin Dynasty and subconsciously wanted to do something. And the things they did seemed to be constantly digging into the roots of the Jin Dynasty and accelerating its decline.
Shao Xun's mind is very clear, his goals are very clear, and he uses almost every penny of his capital to the extreme.
As soon as he was rewarded with a manor, he immediately used the remaining output to raise young men, teach them civil and military skills, and cultivate private party members.
He always seemed determined and always knew what he was going to do.
Considering his age, Mi Huang was a little scared and even a little excited.
The three words "Liu Xuande" slowly floated through his mind.
This person is a past that the Mi family doesn't want to mention.
After failing once, the Mi family is lucky to still exist and even develop.
But what will happen if it fails this time?
Shao Xun's background is incomparable to that of Xuande Gong.
Although Duke Xuande might not necessarily have enough to eat when he was in poverty, he was, after all, a clan member of the Han Dynasty. Once this identity was recognized, it had considerable appeal. After all, people would unconsciously think of Emperor Guangwu who revitalized the Han Dynasty.
Wait a moment, Mi Huang took a deep breath.
The princess is smart, wise, and far-sighted. When she considers problems, she abandons emotional factors, which is what Mi Huang admires the most.
The princess is not related to Shao Xun, so she can evaluate his abilities and future without any emotion. If the princess is optimistic about him, then it is not impossible for Mi to work harder and invest more.
That’s it!
Chapter completed!