Fu Song

Chapter 657

He said he sat down, but in fact only one-third of his butt was sticking to the chair.

Zhang Ren, who had written poems and Fu and killed the chieftain, still felt nervous in front of Xiao Cheng.

No matter how kind and approachable Xiao Cheng appears to be.

In the mouths of many people in the south of the Yangtze River, Xiao Cheng is a bully who does all kinds of evil, a powerful minister who takes the emperor's self-esteem;
In the mouths of those veterans who came from the southwest, Xiao Cheng was an indomitable hero, a leader who led them invincible and invincible. In the mouths of these veterans, Zhang Ren had never heard of any officialdom. .

In the hearts of the lowest-level farmers and craftsmen, Xiao Cheng is a wise chief assistant who brings them a relatively stable life and aspirations for a better life in the future.

Everyone's standpoint is different, and the angle of view of this person is naturally different.

And Zhang Ren is just a person who straddles these several ethnic groups.

In fact, up to now, Zhang Ren can't express clearly what kind of feelings he should have for this person in front of him.

"Your father did a good job in Yunnan. He led everyone to reclaim wasteland and farmland. After one year, [-] mu of wasteland was reclaimed." Xiao Cheng smiled and said: "This year's harvest is quite good. Your father is very prestigious locally. Your elder brother originally I plan to come to Jiangning to take the Jinshi examination this year, but because I have to help your father with some official duties and also work as a teacher in a local school, I have no time to withdraw. This delay will take three years."

"My father is a courtier of the Great Song Dynasty, so he should do his best to be loyal to his duty. The elder brother is benevolent and filial. In order to prevent his father from being overworked, it is only natural to share his worries!" Zhang Ren said carefully.

"It's a matter of course!" Xiao Cheng praised: "If the subjects of the world can take it for granted and do their best to do their own things well, then why worry about my Song Dynasty being unprosperous? When barbarians come and go, why worry that the world cannot be unified? But ah, the difficulty lies in this as it should be!”

Zhang Ren didn't dare to respond anymore, he felt that this was not a topic he could talk to.

"Of course, we can't let loyal ministers who work hard." Xiao Cheng continued: "So, the imperial court decided to give your elder brother a background as a Jinshi, and help your father handle local government affairs first, and wait until everything is straightened out. After thinking about it, he also has his own understanding of how to be a magistrate of a county, and then he will make arrangements at that time. For an official like your father who has worked hard and has made outstanding achievements, it will be a matter of time before he gets promoted."

It's not just about making yourself look like a human being, it's about making your own family look like a human being!
Zhang Ren smiled bitterly in his heart.

But he still had to stand up and bow in thanks.

My elder brother's knowledge is not very good, and in the local area, he can only be regarded as an average person, but in the terrifying competition field of the Great Song Jinshi Examination, it is very difficult to pass the Jinshi exam.

Like my father, he became a manager and joined the army because he was not born as a Jinshi and struggled all his life.The reason why he became the magistrate of a county was because he seized the limelight this time and simply fell to Shoufu.

Although being the same Jinshi is not nice, it has the same treatment as the Jinshi.

Of course, according to past traditions, it is impossible to become the ruler of the current dynasty without being a good scholar.

But can these past traditions survive?
not necessarily.

Didn't you see that many traditions have been messed up by the chief minister in front of you?

Taizu said that he would rule the world with the scholar-bureaucrats.

What now?
Shoufu had already put the scholar-bureaucrat's face on the ground and rubbed it repeatedly.

You have to be a soldier, you have to pay food, you have to pay taxes, and you have to serve corvee.

The special treatment given to the scholar-official class in the past is being abolished one by one.

Whether this is good or bad, Zhang Ren still can't tell for a while.

Will those who have been deprived of special treatment really swallow their breath and let the chief assistant ravage them?
Those people are not small families like their Zhang family, they have great power.

The patience in front of him may be the accumulated strength before the outbreak!
If the first assistant has been going smoothly like this, those people certainly dare not make mistakes, but when will the first assistant lose?

For example, if there is a big defeat ahead, will these forces rebound?

But one thing Zhang Ren knows is that with the current treatment their family is receiving, Xiao Cheng is really about to be overthrown, and their family is definitely not doing well.

"Compared with last year, how much tax did your family pay more?"

Zhang Ren thought for a while and said: "My mother mentioned this in the letter. Compared with last year, this year I paid nearly two hundred guan more in taxes. This also includes the family tenants, servants, and weavers. Poll tax, exemption money, etc. for these people.”

"Do you think it's too much?"

Zhang Ren's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said: "It seems that you have paid more, but you have also earned more. In comparison, this year's income is even higher than last year. So my mother is still very worried. satisfying."

Xiao Cheng nodded, and said with a smile: "That's the reason. Your family has paid more than in previous years, but the income has not decreased, but increased instead, so your mother is also very satisfied, and she is not dissatisfied with the court, is she?"

Zhang Ren nodded again and again.

"There are many families like yours." Xiao Cheng said, "They pay more, but also earn more, because the imperial court also gave them more opportunities to make money when formulating various policies. The so-called Of course, open source is more important.”

"What the chief assistant said is absolutely true!"

Zhang Ren didn't understand why Shoufu wanted to tell him this, but if, as Shoufu said, all families like theirs were in this situation, instead of being the only one in their family, it would only mean one thing, The seat of the chief assistant in front of me will be very stable.

After all, families like them occupy the vast majority.

After all, big families like the Si family, Liu family, and Xu family are in the minority.

They must have lost a lot.

After all, under the New Deal, their family has become unstable, and the originally huge family has begun to split up.

It's easy to divide the family, but once divided, it will be difficult to get together again.

It is not an easy task for a scattered family to maintain the cohesion of the original influence.

What's more, the imperial court is still trying to create conflicts among these big families!

Seeing Zhang Ren's appearance, Xiao Cheng suddenly smiled and said, "Do you think that I will kill my enemies immediately?"

Zhang Ren was horrified. Is he qualified to discuss these words?

"The Chief Assistant is kind."

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Cheng waved his hands and said, "Don't talk nonsense, I know myself, and I'm not kind at all."

Zhang Ren was speechless for a moment.

"In fact, they shouldn't be considered my enemies." Xiao Cheng said pointedly: "It's just that sometimes, it's just that the way is different. But we actually have many ways to solve everyone's conflicts, and finally achieve the same goal by different routes. Purpose."

Zhang Ren stared at Xiao Cheng with wide eyes, he really couldn't understand.

"One pancake is so big." Xiao Cheng compared and said: "If ten people share it, each person can only get a small piece! But what if this pancake is this big?"

Looking at Xiao Cheng's arms folded, the cake looked like that was probably several times bigger than the previous cake.

"It's still divided among ten people, so what everyone can get is bigger than the original one pie!"

"High opinion from the Chief Assistant!" Apart from agreeing, what else could Zhang Ren say!

However, he felt that what Shoufu said seemed to make sense.

But it seems that it is not an easy task to make this pancake bigger.

"What are your plans for the future?" It seemed that he finally remembered the person in front of him, who was just a mid-level officer who had just been promoted, so Xiao Cheng brought the topic back.

"It is the duty of soldiers to obey orders!" Zhang Renhuo stood up.

This made both Xiao Cheng and Yang Wanfu laugh.

"Look, our army is really a melting pot. Compared with Zhang Ren a year ago, Zhang Ren now is completely two people!" Xiao Cheng said: "However, since you are specially set up by us If you look like a human being, then I still need to listen to your personal opinion. Yang Shilang is an opinion, I hope you will give lectures in Jiangning martial arts in the future, you have been on the battlefield, have actual combat experience, and you have read well."

Yang Ren was stunned.

Go to Jiangning to teach martial arts?
This is indeed a good job, at least I don't have to work hard on the battlefield. If my mother knows it, I think she will agree with it very much.

But, why do I feel so awkward in my heart!
Is the imperial court afraid that he will die like this?
Indeed, on the battlefield, death is really a very simple matter.

"Are you willing?" Xiao Cheng asked with a smile.

"If I could choose, I would like to return to the army!" Zhang Ren took a deep breath. "I think the battlefield is my home!"

Xiao Cheng laughed loudly, "Yang Shilang, I told you, this will be the result!"

Yang Wanfu just smiled and didn't make another sound.

"Okay, if you want to go back to the army, go back to the army." Xiao Cheng waved his hand: "Your experience will become the best example for those from good families and the children of officials and eunuchs. Zu Wu, I hope you can become a great general in your own right in the future."

Seeing this, it was almost time to end the meeting. Zhang Ren was about to salute and leave, but suddenly there were hurried footsteps and exclamations from the corridor outside.

He couldn't help being shocked, this is the outer city of the imperial palace, the first auxiliary official gallery, and the offices of various ministries!
After hearing the shouted voice, Zhang Ren was even more shocked.

Because that's obviously an official name!

"Official, run slowly!"

The footsteps are getting closer, but the sound is getting clearer.

Not only Zhang Ren, but even Xiao Cheng and Yang Wanfu in the room were obviously stunned.

Small officials rarely appear here.

But today not only did he come, but he also came in such a hurry that he came running.

In the outer room, there was a sound of hurriedly pushing away the tables, chairs and benches, and the sound of documents falling on the ground. The small official's house came, and the scribes in the big room outside stood up and saluted one after another, in a hurry.

Before the people in the room could react, the door was pushed open with a bang, and the flushed face of Zhao An, a junior official, appeared in everyone's eyes.

"Official, what happened?" Even Xiao Cheng, who is as calm as Xiao Cheng, couldn't figure out what made the small official appear in front of everyone like this. When asking questions, he took a look and ran behind. Liu Fengkui, who came, saw that the other party was still happy, and Xiao Cheng felt relieved.

At least not a bad thing.

Liu Fengkui was really old, and was pulled far behind by the petty officials. Now that he was getting close, he could still hear his wheezing.

"Master, look at this!" Zhao An, a junior official, raised both hands.

Zhang Ren saw that the little official was holding a red-skinned thing that looked like a root of a sweet potato in one hand, and in the other hand was holding a one-foot-long yellow thing covered with grains, like some kind of crop. .

The small official family is obsessed with the cultivation of crops. This is something that everyone in the world knows. The Anmin No. [-] and Anmin No. [-] rice seeds cultivated by the small official family are now being promoted all over the world. The yield per mu is higher than that of seeds per mu in the past The output of nearly one hundred catties has been increased.

And the small official family also has a very high reputation among the people.

Probably the little official's family came up with something new!
But Xiao Cheng's reaction was far beyond Zhang Ren's expectation.

He actually snatched the thing away from the Xiaoguan's hand, and then held it in front of his eyes, carefully looked at it over and over again, and then he even pinched off a piece with his nails, and then put the thing in front of him. Put it in your mouth and chew it.

Then, Xiao Cheng laughed like crazy, he hugged the little official's family regardless of etiquette, and laughed loudly while turning around.

"That's it, that's it, found it, found it! Great!"

He was laughing, so were the petty officials, and so was Yang Wanfu.

However, it seemed that Yang Wanfu smiled inexplicably.

Liu Fengkui was also laughing, and while laughing, he closed the door of the Shoufu Hall tightly.

After all, at this moment, the little official's family is still being hugged by the chief assistant and going around wildly!
Zhang Ren shrank to the corner of the wall. He felt as if he had seen something he shouldn't have seen. He lowered his head and didn't dare to make a sound. If there was a crack in the ground, he would definitely get in without hesitation.

The laughter in the room finally died down, Xiao Cheng let the little official down.

"Officials, where did they come from, where did they come from?" He asked repeatedly.

"The Zheng family's fleet is back." Zhao An, a junior official, said excitedly, "They brought it back."

"Impossible!" Xiao Cheng was full of doubts: "Even if I gave them a general route, but counting the time, even if they arrive at the destination without incident, it is impossible to do so. Come back quickly!"

"They never arrived at the place you mentioned!" The little official shook his head and said, "They encountered a big storm on the way, and there were only two of the ten large ships in the entire fleet. After the storm, they didn't know that they were They were blown there, and they could only search for land as supplies at sea, and when the fresh water on board was about to run out, they found an island."

"These were found on the island?" Xiao Cheng asked.

"Yes, they were on the island and saw these things drawn by you, Master." The little official said, "Master, is there anything wrong?"

"It's them, it's them that I want all my heart and soul!" Xiao Cheng was so happy that he shed tears.

(End of this chapter)