"Look, there's a peach blossom there!" Hearing the voice, several people ran over to see it together, and they were amazed.

He straightened up, looked at the group of people, and said disdainfully: "In front of you is the post station under the horsehair mountain, there are many people coming and going, what a peach blossom is amazing!" Most of the ones that grow on the side of the road do not bear fruit, but only bloom beautifully. ”

Ding Xiaozhong said: "If it doesn't bear fruit, who cares about it!" Everyone is just looking at the flowers! Come over in the yellow sand and see the peach blossoms, how rare! ”

After speaking, together with a few workers around him, he slowly went over to see the peach blossoms.

Lai Lai Youliang said to the people around him: "These Han people, what kind of insects, fish, flowers and plants do they like the most, as if they can really see something." There is a post station in front of us, and we went to find saliva to drink. When you have enough food and drink, hurry up and tighten the screws on the rails. ”

Some people go with the friendship of Xia, but some people don't, they want to see the peach blossoms. From Juyan to here, it is all desert, and it is not easy to see a flower, of course, you have to take a good look. It's been more than two years, and now it's different from when I was captured, everyone is a prisoner of war, and everyone is equal. Anyway, they all work under the guidance of Song Jun's technicians, and which one is more meat than the other.

The tribes of the White Horse Prison Military Division originally lived in the desert west of Helan Mountain, and were annihilated by the whole army in World War I, and after the Song army occupied Lou Bobei and Juyan, most of them had moved away or were annexed. Now that the people have been released, there is no home to return to, so they can only be a camp population.

In the past two years, Lai Youliang has become accustomed to this kind of day. From the arrogance of the first capture, to the later suppression, to the final calmness. For more than two years, I have gotten used to it all.

When he arrived in front of the peach blossoms, he saw that it was a small tree, only a dozen flowers bloomed, blooming in the bright sun, Ding Xiaozhong said: "This peach tree, I don't know when the caravan passed by, someone ate a peach, threw it here and grew a tree." Although it grows thin, it also blooms. ”

Another said, "Isn't that a bit like us?" As a prisoner of war, the food is worse than that of the Song army, and he did not come out of Shengzhou, but built the railway all the way here! In a few days, the railway will be repaired to Yizhou, and we will be released as good citizens. ”

Hearing this, they cheered and looked forward to the days to come. Seeing that Ding Xiaozhong was silent, someone asked him: "If you are a good citizen, and there will be land, isn't this kind of life much stronger than before?" My brother's face was displeased, and for some reason. ”

Ding Xiaozhong said: "What can be the reason? It's nothing more than remembering the days ago, when there was a field in Liangzhou, the family was complete, and they lived in peace and happiness. Now that he is a good citizen, even though he has a field, he cannot go back to the old days. ”

The man next to him: "What do you sigh about?" I was originally a regular soldier of the White Horse Prison Army, and my family had land, livestock, and a few slaves to help me do the work! Now that I am a good citizen, but my home is no longer there, isn't it more difficult to start all over again? ”

After speaking, he sighed heavily. Most of the auxiliaries who were captured at that time were born as slaves, and many of them had no wives and children. They gave them the land, and they lent them the tools and the grain, which was exactly what they had dreamed of. The regular soldiers are different, their homes are long gone, whether they are farming or grazing, and the original tribes have fled. Now it is good, and it cannot be compared with the previous days.

Looking at the peach blossoms in front of them, the white clouds in the sky, everyone was in different moods. Thinking of the days after the railway was built to Yizhou, some people rejoiced, and some people were secretly worried. But either way, those days are coming to an end.

At this moment, someone shouted, "It's time to eat!" Come and eat! ”

The person watching the peach blossoms shouted, and quickly ran to the meal point not far away. Working hard, everyone is happiest when they eat.

Each took his own rice bowl, lined up according to the formation, and stepped forward to serve food in turn. Their equipment is somewhat similar to that of the army, but it is more rudimentary. A large enamel jar and an enamel bowl with the name of Hequ Road written on it. The jar is used to hold meals, and the bowl is used to hold soup or porridge. As prisoners of war, their food was not comparable to that of the army, but it was much better than when they were soldiers in the party.

When he arrived at the place where he was cooking, Ding Xiaozhong saw that there was mutton and tofu stewed radish in the big basin today, and his eyes couldn't help but light up: "How can there be meat today?" ”

Hu Laosi, who was cooking, served him vegetables, and said: "Not only do you have meat, but you also eat rice today." As mentioned above, it is a great thing that the railway has been repaired to Horsehair Mountain, and meat is added today. If you repair it a little faster, you may be able to eat better food in the future than before. ”

Ding Xiaozhong thanked him and said: "Last winter almost didn't stop, it's already rare, how fast can it be?" ”

Hu Laosi ignored him, and after the dishes, he beckoned the next one to come over.

Ding Xiaozhong took the dish and went to the other side to make soup, and when he saw that it was winter melon bone soup, he couldn't help but be surprised. Although the bones in the soup are basically not seen at all, it is bone broth after all, and it is rare and delicious. It seems that the railway is repaired to Horsehair Mountain, and it is really important to watch.

Holding the jar and bowl, Ding Xiaozhong stepped aside, squatted on the ground, and Meimei ate it. The meat is so sweet and delicious that it makes people forget the hard work of the previous days. What a good day it would be if we had meat to eat every day.

Commander Ruan, who was in charge of this place, walked here with his own jar in his hand. Ding Xiaozhong saw it and hurriedly got up to greet him.

Commanding Ruan returned the salute, squatted down himself, and ate the food. When Ding Xiaozhong saw it, he also hurriedly squatted down, and then ate.

After eating a few bites, Commander Ruan said: "The above instructed that after arriving in Yizhou, all the people who built the road will be released as good citizens." You people, too, want the river meandering road, and Yizhou too, and choose your own place when the time comes. ”

Ding Xiaozhong said: "I heard that I was going to Yingtian. Is the commander the division of land, the loan of seeds, and the tools of farming? ”

Commander Ruan nodded: "Yes, the Shuai Mansion has allocated money for you people." I heard that in the early days, each village was 50 acres of public land and 10 acres of private land. The grain was collected in the public field, and four were transferred to the envoys, four percent were kept for themselves, and two percent were kept for the camp field. In the future, if the farm management is abolished, the public land will be sold to private individuals. But that was later, there was no official document, but I heard that this was the case in Suizhou. ”

Ding Xiaozhong ate happily and said: "It is already rare for those who farm to get forty percent, and the party couldn't do it before." Besides, there are ten acres of private land, in which grain is harvested, aren't they all their own? ”

Commander Nguyen said, "That's true. However, there is one more thing, after the railway is completed, the imperial court hopes that there will be people to protect the road. ”

Ding Xiaozhong knew what it meant when he heard it: "The commander came to me, hoping that I would not go to the camp and do field work, but stay as a road guard?" ”

Commander Ruan nodded: "Yes, you are careful and flexible. I've been building the road for two years, and I've done all the work, so it's perfect to protect the road. This envoy was voluntary, not forced by the imperial court. I've come to tell you, think about the rest of the days. ”

Ding Xiaozhong said: "Commander, how is the treatment of the people who protect the road?" Can it be compared to the field work? ”

Commander Ruan smiled and said, "The people who protect the road are selected from among you, and of course the treatment is better than the camp and field affairs. You don't have to do farm work, and you can make a lot of money every month, which is much easier than farming. And you know Chinese characters, so you are a rare candidate. ”

Ding Xiaozhong thought for a while and said, "It turns out that I have thought about it, and after I go to the camp to do the field work, I will open a private field and plant something." You have to have vegetables, you have to have fruit trees, you have to plant some grapes, and so on. The commander said it now, so I don't know what to do. ”

Commander Ruan said: "It's okay, the Xingxing Gorge where the roadbed was built just now is not long ago, and it will take a month or two to reach Yizhou." You have to think about it these days, and tell me when you think about it. It is better to protect the road on the railway line than to go to the countryside to be a farmer. ”

Ding Xiaozhong agreed, and asked about the road protection, thinking secretly in his heart.

The tens of thousands of prisoners of the party, after two years of road construction, can already be counted as part of the Song army. They are good, and they are actually similar to the original battalion and field army, but it is easier. With the experience of camping on Jingxi Road, there is no trouble in doing these on Hequ Road. If it's just a good farm, you can imagine the days, it's just a matter of working hard to see how much money you can save.

The army of tens of thousands of people, all capable men, is not easy to put on the local level. Now the plan of Hequ Road is to follow the habit of building the road, and assign these people to the camp and field affairs of the Han people, and let others manage them. The population of Hequ Road is too small, and there are tens of thousands of people at once, and it is very troublesome for these people to marry wives and have children in the future. Fortunately, the management of party items is chaotic, and most of them are familiar with this kind of life.

The two wars against the party caused a large number of people to move and the tribes disappeared. What will happen to these women in the future, what will happen, no one can say clearly. Du Zhongxiao didn't know, he could only hand over these things to time and look forward to time to solve them.

Ding Xiaozhong thought about the future situation and what would happen in the future, and he couldn't give up on the words of Commander Ruan for a while. I can only put it aside for the time being, and listen to what others say and what kind of choices to make.

After eating, Ding Xiaozhong put away the dishes and chopsticks, straightened his waist, and looked at the horsehair mountain not far away. The Horsehair Mountain and the Qilian Mountain in the south are sandwiched between the south and the north, forming a vast Hexi area. Precipitation is so scarce that it can only be formed in the desert by rivers that flow down from the high mountains. After the wars of the late Tang Dynasty and the large decrease in population, they have become vast and sparsely populated areas. In such a place, as long as you are willing to contribute, you will always have a bowl of rice to eat. But now that the Song Dynasty is bursting with vitality, not to mention the nascent affairs of the railway, there are many opportunities.

Stretching his waist, Ding Xiaozhong watched everyone go to work one after another, and no longer thought about this. In the future, let's finish the road first.