Liu Zhuo, together with several commanders, went out to distribute officials. Du Zhongxiao and Su Song took Dai Dujian to see the prepared food.

The first impression given to the coming Xiang Jun is very important, and this meal tonight can make them eat to their heart's content, and can avoid many troubles in the days to come. Don't underestimate eating, whether it's the army or the workshop, food will directly affect morale.

When I arrived at the east wing, I saw two large rows on the ground. In the front row is a wooden basin with a mountain of white flour steamed buns, and in the back is a large wooden barrel containing boiled meat. The meat is not boiled in plain water, but with a variety of condiments, it looks fragrant and delicious. On both sides are large pots of pickles, all pickled radish, cut piece by piece.

Du Zhongxiao said to Dai Dujian: "Dujian, how are you prepared here?" Is it good or bad compared to what the soldiers usually eat? ”

Dai Dujian said: "How can this be compared? In normal times, such a meal would be good for me and the commanders. How can the soldiers below eat meat? It is rare for them to be able to have rice to fill their stomachs and not to be hungry. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, roughly knowing it. The army is not good at this, most of the family members are unemployed, and they all rely on the non-commissioned soldiers to make ends meet. The army is meager, and it is good to say that if you are single, you will be hungry and full if you have a family. This is the difficulty of the imperial court at this time, the number of troops is too large, and the amount of money and rice is countless every year. It really goes to the soldiers, because they have to support their families and still have a hard time.

At this time, why is it that the morale of the local army is sometimes higher than that of the forbidden army? Although the money spent on them was small, most of the soldiers' families did not live on more than just a living income, they had other livelihoods. On the contrary, it is the forbidden army, as well as these long-standing van troops, because they live in camps, there is no other means of livelihood, and after having families, Yulu cannot let them have no worries about food and clothing.

Du Zhongxiao thought of this problem before, because this kind of thing is not only in the army, but also in places like iron prisons, where industries are concentrated, will also happen. In this era, except for a few places such as weaving, printing and dyeing, it is unrealistic to recruit a large number of female workers. After the operation of the iron superintendent, the people who worked in it also faced the problem of a large number of surplus labor in the prison family. If they have nothing to do, no matter how much they pay their workers, they may not be able to live a prosperous life.

Why was such a large barracks built? Three thousand people living together is nothing in the Hereafter, but this is a great event. 3,000 households is already a large county, and 3,000 households live in an iron-smelting center in the Iron Supervisor, which is very densely populated in this era. This arrangement is to find some suitable jobs for their families in the future, so that they can rely on side jobs to have income, not all on the wages of one or two people in the family. The size of the population formation, whether it is textile or other industries, is easy to arrange.

After reading the food arranged for the soldiers, Dai Dujian was very satisfied. Such conditions, not to mention peacetime, even if the forbidden army is facing the enemy, it may not be able to eat so well. There are a lot of things that can be seen in the details, and it seems that here in the iron prison, it is much better than in the army.

Coming out of the wing, I met Liu Zhuo who arranged to dismiss the officials and return to the yamen.

Du Zhongxiao said: "In a while, we will work together to deliver the prepared meals to the soldiers." On the other side, wine and food were prepared, and all the heads of the army came over to have a glass of wine together. Let them arrange the following, and with the officials of their own team, take the soldiers to live in the house over there. Now the barracks over there are arranged according to the team, and there are exactly five households in a row before the road. In front of the house and behind the house, there are small alleys. Each team has a total of 10 rooms in two rows, with five households in the front and five households in the back. If the team is not satisfied, the house will be vacated, and someone will be arranged to live in it later. As for the battalions, they may not be next to each other, and this is clear to them. All the houses are the same, and there is no quarrel and noise, but every man goes back to his house and cleans his own house. ”

Dai Dutou couldn't help but be moved when he heard this, and said with his hands crossed: "It turns out that those barracks are really for soldiers to live in. When the lower officials came, they saw that the houses were beautifully built and neat, and they were much better than the earthen houses in the nearby countryside, and they dared to think that they were places where soldiers lived. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The iron prison has a place to burn bricks and tiles, which is nothing more than hiring some people to build houses. In the future, the barracks of the iron prison were arranged in this way. ”

Dai Dutou thanked him again and again. Such living conditions, where have I seen them before. Most of the soldiers' barracks were mud and grass houses, and even the garrisons in some places did not even have barracks, so they rented civilian houses to live in. The scale is not large, with three main houses, a typical small family, roughly equivalent to the middle and lower class households of the people at this time. The factory is not as good as farming, and it does not pay attention to living in a group, and it is mainly a small family.

Suddenly remembered, Dai Dutou asked: "Judgment, these houses are so exquisite, it is not a day's work. These people brought by the lower officials were only the first to arrive, and I don't know if the same is true for those who came later? Even if the iron supervisor is hard-working, how can he afford to build so many houses? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "You are right, the iron prison is not capable of building it all. There are only so many barracks that have been built now, and all of them have been arranged for the people you have brought with you. When they settle down, in addition to doing the work of the iron prison, these people also have to arrange for people to build houses for those who come after. ”

Dai Dujian nodded, relieving the doubts in his heart. According to the scale of Du Zhongxiao's performance of the imperial court, more than 10,000 people came later. How could such a small place in Ye County spare so many people to build a house. It can only be the first batch to be built, and then the first to come to the last to prepare the barracks. If the quality of the construction is not good, maybe the house will be replaced, and who will not make the effort to live in the poor house built by themselves.

Several sergeants carried large wooden barrels and large wooden basins, followed behind Du Zhongxiao and his party, went out of the yamen, and arrived in front of the soldiers in the empty field.

At this time, a large row of tables was lined up in the open field, and in front of each table, a long line was formed under the command of officials and junior officers. This was all arranged, and the officials conveyed it to the head of the capital of the city to maintain order together.

Liu Zhuo arranged for the soldiers to put the wooden basins and barrels on the table, and a large stack of bowls was piled up next to them, and when he gave the order, he began to put the rice. The soldiers looked at the white-flour steamed buns and the large pieces of meat in the wooden barrels, and many of them couldn't help but drool and cheer together.

Du Zhongxiao ordered all the heads of the capitals to come over, and let the deputy heads maintain order for the time being.

Everyone came to Du Zhongxiao and sang a promise with their hands crossed.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Today is your first day in the Iron Prison, and two things are the most important. The first is to eat well and well. You can see the food over there, white flour steamed buns, meat and pickles, a bowl of wine for men, and a big bowl of porridge for women and children. Another thing is to arrange accommodation. You all have scribes and scribes, and you have commanded them where you live. When you get to your own place, you should make your own decisions, and all the houses will be the same, and you will not quarrel and fight. The water and firewood from each house have been prepared, and you will clean up the rest. The Iron Prison has always thought about you and done everything he could. Each of them went back and instructed the people in the capital not to make any trouble today, otherwise they would be severely punished! ”

Everyone looked at the meal, they were overjoyed, listened to Du Zhongxiao's words, and agreed in an uproar.

Du Zhongxiao said again: "Go back and make arrangements, you follow your own command and come to the yamen." The yamen has prepared some food and wine to catch you and wash the dust. In the future, when you work in the iron prison, you can't do it in the army, and everyone obeys the rules. ”

When they heard that there was a separate wine feast, everyone was overjoyed, and they all went back to maintain order.

In the army, the head of the capital is not important, the army is based on command. Only when we have achieved command can we have the opportunity to take charge of our own affairs. This kind of organization is similar to the battalion company platoon in later generations. The actual management and command is regiment to company, company to squad, and the battalion and platoon in the middle are fictitious. But without this middle-level establishment, the army would not function well, and officers would lack the opportunity to reserve and train. When they arrive at the localities, they are different from those in the army, and according to the specific work, the basic units will inevitably break away from the shackles of the battalion and the capital, and form another system. When these people entered the iron prison, the first officer to be drawn out was the first rank. All of these people will have to leave their posts after a few days and be reassigned.

As officers, they are inevitably treated differently from others, and white-flour steamed buns and meat do not make them overjoyed. There was a wine feast prepared at the yamen, which was much more sumptuous than outside, and that was the place to catch the wind for the officers.

From infrastructure to personnel treatment, the iron supervisor has invested a lot of money, Du Zhongxiao only hopes that these people will not let themselves down, so that the iron supervisor can produce smoothly as soon as possible and make money back. Now that the iron supervisor has borrowed a circle of foreign debts, and there is no large amount of money in a few months, Du Zhongxiao will not be able to hold on.