stubborn thief

Chapter 292
The female shopkeeper of Shisanjia Guozhuang looked at Liu Chengzong, the leader, and wanted to give him a baby.

Earlier, the chieftain of Muya sent someone back to send a letter, saying that they were ready to receive the general of the Qinghai Marshal's Mansion. When they heard this name, people couldn't help but imagine an old general in his 50s.

After all, the word "marshal" is not a nonsense. Generally speaking, the commander-in-chief can only be called a commander. For example, Hou Liangzhu, the commander-in-chief stationed in Yongning in Sichuan, went to Shenbian once after being dismissed the year before last, and his hair and beard turned white.

The shopkeepers could only think hard in their hearts, this must be a very attractive handsome man, to bite the bullet and come to see him.

Who knows that if you don't say anything else, the handsome man is born well, young and tall, with broad shoulders and a broad back, and a square silver face. He looks very manly. I heard that he is still a good man who can shoot left and right. The more you look at it, the happier you are. .

Is there any harm in giving birth to him, among other things, a girl will inherit Guozhuang in the future, and someone will protect her for the rest of her life; A marshal can be a chieftain with his own flesh and blood.

I never expected that they looked like a nice person with weird hobbies. They wanted people to speak Mongolian language, but when they heard that they couldn't speak it, they simply looked for young scholars.

But they couldn't control this matter, and they were all very disappointed, and asked someone to go to Guozhuang to call those scholars out.

After a while, the men in coarse cloth and velvet jackets put down the goods they were carrying and walked into the official village one by one. Some of them stood cautiously in the official village with the handkerchiefs of the waiter and the bag for buying cattle and sheep on their shoulders. yard.

Mu Ya was very dissatisfied with how these people dressed, so she ran over to ask Ajia for an explanation, and came back a while later, explaining to Liu Chengzong: "Master, don't look at their shabby clothes, they are indeed students from Chengdu. I know the leader, Yang Wanchun, and he is indeed a student."

Looking along Mu Ya's hand, Liu Chengzong saw a man who was the leader of the students, wearing a satin robe with dark blue patterns, he was not too young, he looked like a rich man.

Liu Chengzong went down from the official village, glanced at the men gathered in the courtyard, there were less than 20 people, and asked, "Are you all students?"

At this time, Yang Wanchun, the leader, already knew that it was Marshal Qinghai who called them over, and he was still surprised when he heard Liu Chengzong's words in northern Shaanxi, and he stepped forward and said, "General, we are all students. I came here a few years ago. Furnace City is here, and they all come here in summer, so their clothes are inappropriate."

Including Yang Wanchun, there were seventeen people in total. After Liu Chengzong asked them one by one, he finally confirmed that these people were indeed scholars.

Moreover, they are not Tongsheng, Juren, and even Jinshi. They are all students from Sichuan, and most of them are from Chengdu.

Seeing this group of students who looked like pawns and traffickers more than scholars, Liu Chengzong was full of doubts. Is it because lust is only limited to the group of scholars?
And he looked at the appearance of this group of people, they didn't look like they went to Guozhuang to seek pleasure, but they seemed to have left their hometown to make a living.

It was very cold in the courtyard, Liu Chengzong didn't care if these people were lewd or not, anyway, he was very happy to see a group of students, so he immediately summoned Muya to kill sheep and cattle to prepare food and drink, and borrowed the hall of Guanzhai to let these students come with him Sit down and chat.

The Ajias in Guozhuang were happy, because Liu Chengzong not only ordered them to prepare food and wine for the students, but also to prepare meat and vegetables for the troops accompanying the Marshal's Mansion, and they slaughtered sheep and cattle to entertain the soldiers.

Liu Chengzong's accompanying cavalry were all big-bellied men, even if they only sent cattle, sheep and vegetables to the camp, it would be enough for Guozhuang to make a fortune.

Anyway, Chieftain Muya had told them a long time ago that the Marshal's Mansion's troops can do whatever they want when they come, and all expenses will be settled by the chieftain's yamen.

Needless to say, just Liu Chengzong asked Mu Ya to prepare wine and meat to entertain the students, which made these trembling scholars very happy.

When they sat down to chat, people became more courageous. After chatting a few words, Liu Shizi probably figured out the identity of the old scholar Yang Wanchun.

It was very fate, Yang Wanchun was from Chengdu, when She Chongming's son-in-law Fan Long led Ah Liu to besiege Chengdu, he was playing outside the city, when he met Daliang's army, he ran away and ran all the way to Dajianlu.

When he came, he never left. He became Guozhuang's door-to-door son-in-law. Originally his wife was Ajia, but after he married him, the old man handed over Guozhuang to him, and Ajia was replaced by his sister-in-law.

In Dajianlu, there are many door-to-door son-in-laws like him, but the students in the official village are all different from him.

"It's not like they are fascinated by Ajia. Many of them are my friends. In previous years, when they played in Furnace City, I would entertain them. It wasn't until the summer before last that they came to join me."

Yang Wanchun raised his finger to pass the students, and then said to Liu Chengzong: "They are just like those monks who lost their temples in Lucheng, they just make a living."

Liu Chengzong sat cross-legged on the couch blanket, supported the armrest of the couch with one hand, and propped his chin with the other hand to think carefully. He frowned and said, "They ran here to make a living?"

"Of course some people also want to be a door-in-law son-in-law. Ajias are all able to manage the house and are rich, and they are born generous." Yang Wanchun laughed, and then said: "But more people are here for two dumplings a day. Ba, there is a shelter from the wind and rain, where they can study and pass the exam."

Liu Chengzong thought about it, but still found it strange: "Although there are many students, there is nowhere in the world to find a place to shelter from the wind and rain to study. Why did they come here? I see their appearance... It seems that they are still waiting for the students. Guozhuang as a helper?"

Yang Wanchun couldn't help showing a wry smile when he heard the words, nodded and said: "I'm afraid the commander-in-chief didn't know what happened to the court the year before last, otherwise he wouldn't have said such a thing."

Liu Chengzong thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I was busy with military affairs at that time, so I don't know what happened."

In the summer of the previous year, he defeated the army of He Huchen, the general of Ningxia, at the Huanglong Mountain Road.

After that, he traveled all the way west, and didn't have time to inquire about the court.

But in the final analysis, these people are not Tongsheng, the scholar is in charge of food in the county school, and they are from Sichuan, not the students from northern Shaanxi.

If in northern Shaanxi, the imperial court could hardly afford to pay the officials, but in Sichuan, the imperial court would give them food every month.

Although the living conditions are not good, there is no need to come here to make a living like those rogue monks who lost their temples, and sometimes go out to help Ajia butcher a cow and bring tea.

He prefers to believe that these dicks are all lustful.

"In the twelfth lunar month of the previous year, Houjin broke through the customs and entered. The imperial court confiscated the towns and border troops. The emperor felt that the funds were insufficient, so he issued an edict to recruit students with preferential treatment and no silver, so as to increase the treasury's income by nearly 50 taels."

Yang Wanchun said: "There are so many students in the world, five to six hundred in big prefecture counties, and two to three hundred in small counties. It is easy to collect money...but it is not easy for students to find jobs."

Liu Chengzong sat up straight, leaned back slightly, raised his hand and patted on the armrest twice: "Go on."

He knew that in the matter of disgusting the world, he could always trust Emperor Chongzhen, that the students were free from silver, and that the emperor was wise!

50 taels, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of millions of taels of border guards' salaries, but it's enough to disgust poor scholars.

Indeed, in the status of a scholar, there are many people from the wealthy class, and it is nothing to them to make up for the service money that the imperial court itself has exempted.

But for young people from small families and small households, after ten years of studying hard to become a scholar, they have not yet earned money from your court, and all the benefits and exemptions are gone.

The most critical issue is that the preferential exemptions for civil and military officials disappeared during the Tianqi period, and the court increased taxes by more than [-] taels, leaving only the preferential exemptions for students.

Civil and military officials have their salaries and do not rely on preferential exemptions to live, but many students themselves rely on this preferential exemption to live on, and now they are gone.

This made Liu Chengzong think of the set of sixteen methods given to him by Xiao Lazun for no reason.

The Sixteen Laws are nothing progressive, except that they are clearly written in black and white. This set of Tibetan laws exists to protect the rights of slave owners and aristocrats.

Liu Chengzong pondered, what is the foundation of Daming in the eyes of the present imperial court?

Is it a farmer?Unlike, the tax in Shaanxi has not been exempted until now.

Is it a soldier?It's not like, otherwise I wouldn't owe two or three years of military pay.

Is it an official?Liu Chengzong once believed that the foundation of the court was officials.

But if the emperor thinks that the loyalty of three or four million freshmen in the official reserve army is not as good as three or four million taels of silver, then they must not be regarded as the foundation.

After all, the imperial court's funding gap is not three or four million taels of silver, and the annual military expenditure is already around 40 million taels.

What did the emperor think of the foundation of his court?

Liu Chengzong didn't know.

"We are all from common people. There is no land in Sichuan, and the land there is sparsely populated. Since the Tianqi period, the head tax has been pasted into the land tax to pay the silver. The money is usually paid by the tenants."

Yang Wanchun introduced the basic situation to Liu Chengzong, waved his hand and said, "So since last year, all of a sudden, hundreds of students in Chengdu Prefecture have been looking for work. How can there be so many things for them to work? They just came Play Jianlu, have food, drink and a place to sleep, and if you are lucky, you can be a door-to-door son-in-law like me."

"The Ajias are also willing to take care of them. These people may become Juren, Jinshi, and become high-ranking officials in the future. Instead, they can become the reliance of the Ajias."

Liu Chengzong nodded slowly, and then asked in a low voice: "Don't the chieftains recruit these talents?"

"Recruitment, cold side, and Changhexi, all recruit scholars, but recruiting is recruiting, how can so many people be used." Yang Wanchun sighed: "Which student does not want to be an official, who is willing to give to the chieftain?" Be a teacher!"

After Liu Chengzong heard it, he almost jumped up.

Aren't these students tailor-made for him?
"What about you?" Liu Chengzong asked Yang Wanchun, "You also want to be an official?"

Yang Wanchun laughed a little embarrassedly, shook his head and said: "It's fine if you get admitted to Juren, now it's good in Guozhuang, with no worries about food and clothing, and you can show your talents. Although there is no official status, there are many barbarians here. A scholar is enough to be respected."

"It's considered that everyone has their own ambitions, so they have lived here for a long time, so they should understand the Western language?"

Yang Wanchun nodded. In fact, he had already guessed what Liu Chengzong wanted to do. In the past six months, although Liu Chengzong was far away from Dajian Furnace, he was a man of influence here.

After all, Dajianlu is not only on the edge of the Man family, but also the edge of the Han family. When people hear that a group of Han people have created a world in the northwest and southwest, no one is not excited.

Yang Wanchun replied truthfully: "Back to the commander, I know more or less."

"That's enough. You can ask them later. If anyone is willing to be an official for me, just follow me. I have seven counties. , it is not impossible to improve to a higher level in the future.”

Yang Wanchun had been waiting for him to say this, and when he finished speaking, he immediately nodded excitedly and said, "Okay, I'll tell them in a while."

After all, this old scholar can't help worrying about gains and losses.

He was very embarrassed, just like he said to Liu Chengzong, where is there anyone in this world who doesn't want to be an official?

After all, an official is not a petty official who is called around by others, but any official of the lowest rank can be called the parent of tens of thousands or even more than a hundred thousand people in the local area. What kind of power and responsibility is that?

But Guozhuang's affluent life is indeed hard to let go, but when Yang Wanchun was secretly anxious, he suddenly heard Liu Chengzong laugh.

Liu Chengzong knew what the old scholar was thinking.

At first, he was worried that these Sichuan talents would not want to join him because he was born as a thief.

But now it seems that they are even willing to work in the chieftain's Guozhuang, and they don't have to consider whether they are willing to become officials in their own place.

On the contrary, this Yang Wanchun actually has a good relationship with him, the two of them were scholars in the same year.

The only difference is that Yang Wanchun is 12 years older than him.

He said to Yang Wanchun: "What about you, do you want to work with me? I'm in Dajianlu. I may not be able to give you an official position for a while, but it doesn't affect your life here. If you do something for me, I will give it to you later." How about your official position?"

Yang Wanchun's eyes lit up all of a sudden: "I don't know what the commander wants me to do?"

"Simple, you have lived here for many years, you have many friends, and there are many students in Sichuan who have nothing to do, call them all, call as many as you can, learn Western and Mongolian languages ​​with you, and when you are finished, you can Come to me."

As Liu Chengzong said, he thought that he would simply learn languages ​​here, and it didn't matter if he was a scholar or not, so he said: "Common people are also fine. The land is being reclaimed here. The Han people called me. I will plant the fields and do this well." , it’s all your credit.”

Isn't it easy for Yang Wanchun to hear this? He has been here for so many years and has known so many businessmen. Isn't it easy to ask businessmen to send landless farmers here?

It's just that he was afraid that too many people would be pulled over, so he said, "How many lands does the commander have?"

"Hi!"

When Liu Chengzong heard it, he almost burst into laughter, leaned forward, raised his hand and said on the couch: "From Xining to Changdu, it's all mine. How much land do you think I have?"

Yang Wanchun got up abruptly, and immediately gave a big gift to Liu Chengzong, then got up and entered the state: "Commander, then I will store food and grass in Lucheng."

The old scholar was full of fighting spirit, and seeing Liu Chengzong felt very comfortable, he waved his hands and said: "Yes, so, I got some land from Mu Tusi, and there are a lot of familiar land in it. You can hire me a tenant, and half of it will be stored in your Guozhuang. How many immigrants can you recruit for me to eat on the way to immigration?"

Yang Wanchun was not in a hurry to say big things, he thought for a while and said: "The commander-in-chief waited for me to take a look at the land. The land has been reduced by a few hundred households a year, and the land has been increased. It is not impossible for tens of thousands of households a year."

　good afternoon!Happy New Years Eve everyone!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)