stubborn thief

Chapter 418 Wang Jinzhong

August [-]th of the sixth year of Chongzhen.

In Pingrong Xiangbao, east of Xining, the fields near Pingrong Mayi are full of golden fields, and a young man is walking slowly along the country road with a black and shiny Guanzhong donkey.

He was born strong and powerful, with a black hair scarf on his head, a pair of black cotton trousers and a short jacket with earth-colored horizontal seams, indigo-dyed linen on his calves, a pair of leather quick boots, and a waist knife across his waist. The donkey also carried two large bags of luggage and bows and arrows on its back.

There have been many people with this kind of attire appearing in the Hehuang area recently. Their cotton-padded jackets and trousers are covered with hard leather on the chest, back, knees, elbows and elbows. They are Shuaifu soldiers who just finished fighting the Mongols in Hexi.

The young man walked all the way along the country road until he came to a Zhuangzi. At the fork in Zhuangzi, there was a piece of bluestone half a person's height. On the stone, three large characters were carved in ink - Xiatubao.

It was almost dusk, and under the setting sun, the peasants rushing to harvest in the countryside were pushing a cart full of grain to the village, and the people were beaming.

The men were sweating profusely, and their clothes were wet from the back of their necks to their waists. The strong women carried sickles and food boxes, and the dirty children who played in the field ran around the car with their wooden guns, chasing and running around. little lamb.

When people saw young people, they couldn't help saying hello and asking how the young people of the same ethnic group were doing.

Everyone was very happy that the food was delivered without disaster, but after walking a mile, he had three drinks with his neighbors.

Outside the Sanjin mansion with the plaque of the Pingrong Township Security Office, a full load of grain trucks blocked the rammed earth road, and the mature grain spread the drying yard golden.

The young man looked thoughtful from a distance, as if he had a feeling of nostalgia, until he heard the sound of the villager's children reading aloud from the rural security office, then he shook his head and smiled, and continued to lead the donkey towards home.

This place used to be called Wangjiazhuang, and the two baos with thousands of people were all surnamed Wang, and the eight surrounding baos all had properties of the Wang family. The ancestors of the people were uncle Wangyou of Qingyuan, and the hereditary commander of the Xining guard. The soldier's name is Wang Cheng'en.

Nearly half of Zhuangshang's descendants followed General Wang to join the army as servants, and there were more than a dozen military officers with more than a hundred generals.

The young man's name is Wang Jinzhong, and he is no exception. He used to be Wang Chengen's servant, but now he changed his family with the general and became a soldier of the Marshal's Mansion Huben Camp.

Walking along the mountain road at the southernmost edge of Xiatubao for a while, Wang Jinzhong saw several dilapidated loess yards, with a crooked-neck tree protruding from the side of the earth wall, approaching the house, and his steps were faster and faster.

Through the half-person-high wooden fence gate, he saw his father hunched over and feeding in the newly built cowshed. He immediately pushed open the gate and took a step forward to kneel on the ground, bowing his head respectfully.

"Big, I'm back!"

The old father turned around with joy on his face: "Ah, the loyal baby is back!"

After kowtowing, Wang Jinzhong raised his head and took a closer look. The smile on his face froze instantly, and he almost lost his breath.

Where is his father feeding the cow here? He is holding a jug in one hand and a pottery wine bowl in the other, feeding the old cow with drunken eyes.

Even though he was kneeling on the ground, Wang Jinzhong was justified when he questioned his father: "Brother, why do others collect the grain, but you don't collect the grain when you have a cow, and you still drink alcohol for the cow? What do you do if you drink to death?"

The old father didn't take it seriously, put down the jug and bowl cheerfully, walked over and pulled Wang Jinzhong up and said, "Tch, why don't you collect the grain, the village knows that you are fighting for the handsome man, and the family doesn't have any strong labor, so they have sent you a long time ago." The three descendants helped our family collect the food."

As he said that, he pointed to the yellow muddy house, and the joy on his face could not be more obvious: "Eighteen mu of grain land, and the [-] catties of rations borrowed from the township security were returned, and six large grain tanks were filled! "

After saying that, the old father smiled and said, "You still drank every day when you were young, and you didn't even have two letters for more than half a year when you went to war. Where did you have the money to buy wine when you were young, and you only had to pay for food to drink. Get up quickly." Let me have a look at you, are you injured from the battle with the Tartars?"

Hearing this, Wang Jinzhong got up with a smile on his face, turned around and said with a smile: "It's okay, we all followed the commander in the Huben camp, and shot an arrow in the chest to the Tartar thief, piercing a piece of skin, and the scab has scabbed, it's okay. "

Hearing what his son said, Father Wang noticed that there was a prismatic arrow hole piercing obliquely in the hard leather chest protector of Wang Jinzhong's chest.

Wang's family has been a general for generations, even if Wang's father has never been in the military all his life, he still has some understanding of military affairs under the influence of his ears and eyes. Seeing this arrow hole, he couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise: "Ah, a piercing nail!"

This made him angry and said: "I heard people say that the General Ma you followed was a coward, and hundreds of people rushed to him for thousands of dollars!"

After finishing speaking, he turned his anger into joy again, and patted Wang Jinzhong's cotton-padded jacket on his chest: "This leather is quite hard, and it can block the penetrating nail, amazing!"

"Where can a piece of leather block it? We still have cloth face armor outside. Don't worry, the commander treats us well. If the armor piece is broken or missing, we can change it. However, the armor and the horse must stay in the army when you come back from vacation. If you let me take it home, if you don’t let me let you have a look, you have been hit with seven arrows and two knives in total, and you can only leave a mark on eight of them.”

Wang Jinzhong patted the hard leather chest protector with a smile: "Just this arrow pierced through the seam of the armor, but if there is no piece of leather, the chest will probably be pierced... Ouch!"

He was about to be led into the house by his father when he said that, when he remembered that his donkey was outside, he ran out quickly, but luckily the donkey didn’t run away, so he hurriedly led it into the yard, startled his father, and asked, “Why don’t you carry it?” Come back with all these things?"

"I bought it, and it's only five days off. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, I have to go back to the camp. I guess it will be Chinese New Year when I come back."

Wang Jinzhong carried one of the two big bags in each hand, instead of putting them in the house, he opened them on the stone mill in the yard and said, "It's getting cold now, bring new clothes to honor you."

As he said that, he first took out a small money bag from his body and handed it to his father: "My son has made meritorious service in beating the Wara Tartars. I will reward you with 30 taels of silver. I will keep ten taels of money for use. Here is 20 taels of money. You can take it and save money."

"I have nothing to spend. This year is a good year. Our family has land, cattle and sheep, so you don't have to worry about it."

yo!

Listening to this, Wang Jinzhong opened his mouth but said nothing.

In the old Wangjiazhuang, he was probably the most famous lazy man in the whole village, and his food and drink depended on him serving as a soldier to send some food to his family. I heard him say that he doesn't need to worry about the family?

He smiled and said: "You don't have to worry about it. Anyway, you can keep the money and save money. It will be good this year, maybe it will not be next year."

"When will Hehuang not pass by?"

Father Wang said this, and Wang Jinzhong also smiled and said: "Our team is all soldiers from northern Shaanxi, and I am the only one from Xining. They tell me all day that God wants to recruit people. Anyway, I am prepared. I don't have to worry about it in the army. , the boss takes care of my clothes and my food."

After finishing speaking, he took out a thick cotton-padded jacket and trousers, a pair of brand-new straight-seam cowhide boots, and compared them to his father: "Well, when it gets colder, you can change into these and these boots. It was issued by the commander-in-chief, I wear a suit and you wear a suit, all of which are new cotton, warm, I changed it with someone else, try to see if it fits you."

"ah!"

Father Wang fell in love with the boots when he saw them, but he didn't pick them up, and said with embarrassment: "These boots, ordinary people can't wear them, will the commander let you?"

Wang Jinzhong was also in trouble, and muttered, "I'll take it back?"Then he shook his head and said: "It should be fine. I haven't heard of the fact that the commander-in-chief's mansion doesn't allow people to wear boots. Then you can leave them at home. If someone else wears them, you can wear them. When someone comes to see you, you can say mine." , it shouldn’t be difficult for anyone.”

Then he smiled, took out a small package from the package, carefully held it to his father, and said, "Young lady, open it and have a look, what kind of clothes are these?"

When Father Wang took the package, he felt that it was quite heavy, perhaps weighing four catties, and wondered what kind of clothes it was.

When I opened it, I saw a blue half-sleeved double-breasted smock. The left and right sides of the skirt covering the calf and the back were open, and there were two inches of red and blue colored tassels hanging from the bottom edge. This is a very common military uniform.

As early as the time of Emperor Taizu, there was a regulation that, except for cavalry, anyone wearing this kind of clothes would be punished.

The difference of this hood is that it is made of wool, heavy and thick. Two pieces of cloth inscriptions are sewn on the left and right sides of the front. , Yongchang Wang Jinzhong.

Wangjiazhuang has always had its own family history, and there are no illiterate children in the family, even lazy people have read books, but Father Wang doesn't know Ben characters, so he just said pleasantly: "What's the matter, have you been promoted?"

"We have twelve soldiers and four captains. We can't be regarded as officials, but this woolen jacket is so long that it was sent to keep out the cold. My cotton armor can still be worn. You can keep this woolen jacket."

Wang Jinzhong then took out a bunch of odds and ends from the package in different ways, such as paper-wrapped dried meat from the Shuai Mansion, salted fish from the Navy’s Yamen, and kumiss brewed by Longjuyuan, and brought them back for his father to try.

There was also a croissant jug seized from the Vala nobles, which made Father Wang so happy that he could not close his mouth from ear to ear. He quickly said that he wanted to find a neighbor and asked for two eggs to order. When he came back, he fried and ordered dishes. The father and son had a good meal.

Wang Jinzhong also happily strolled around the house to see the changes brought about by the Shuaifu after taking over Hehuang.

In fact, it seems that the changes are not big. Even because Wang Chengen's family was forced to move to Xining, the village lost the backbone of the past, and even felt that the hometown lacked some prestige.

But for their family, the good changes were very real. They built a cowshed and a sheepfold, with one cow, six sheep, and even two pigs.

In the past, I couldn’t say that I didn’t dare to think about it, but the premise of thinking about it was that he would become an officer, let alone work in the brigade for a few years, buy dozens of acres of land, and hire a permanent worker before he could consider raising pigs.

Pigs are different from sheep. Sheep are full when they go out for a stroll, but pigs have to live in pens to grow meat, and they cannot live without farming.

For example, his family used to have no land, and his father herded sheep for others. If he got a reward from the court, it would not be a big problem to raise a few sheep, but if he didn't have land, he couldn't raise pigs.

Now that their family has land, they have naturally raised pigs, and maybe they can build another house for him in the future... Wang Jinzhong shook his head. He still has something to discuss with his father when he comes back this time.

Not long after, the father cooked delicious scrambled eggs with chive flower sauce and some newly harvested broad beans. Wang Jinzhong also took off his military uniform. drank up.

After taking two sips, Father Wang couldn't hide the joy on his face, holding the wine bowl and said with emotion: "Don't look at your handsome background as a thief, you will not steal or rob anywhere, and you will be promoted. Let our family have hope in life, Zhongwa, you have to work hard with the commander in chief!"

"Yes, Da. I came back this time to see the situation at home and see how the village takes care of our family. I am relieved."

Wang Jinzhong also picked up the wine bowl. Alcohol is not allowed in the army, not to mention that he wasted his livelihood because of his father's alcoholism, and he never liked drinking.

But the leek flower sauce is also spicy, making it even hotter in the mouth.

After he regained his composure, he put down the wine bowl and said, "Big, I want to go out for a few years."

"How many years?" Father Wang had just taken a big sip and was almost choked. He put down his wine bowl and asked, "It's fine in the commander's mansion, where are we going?"

Wang Jinzhong knew that his father would definitely react like this when he heard his words, so he lowered his head for a moment, then raised his head again and said, "Tianshan."

"where?"

Father Wang noticed that something was wrong, frowned and moved the broken stool to the side, stretched the trouser legs of the torn cotton trousers, raised his legs, put one arm on the dining table, and asked seriously: "Tianshan, what kind of mountain is it?"

Xining's military affairs focused on guarding against pirates, and pirates were not really banned until Liu Chengzong entered the sea. Therefore, Xining's army has never been transferred far away.

"Northwest, the hometown of the Oirat Tartars. This time, many leaders of Oirat were able to survive because they surrendered to the commander. The commander's mansion will garrison troops in Tianshan Mountain. They will set off next year, and they will probably guard the border for three..."

"Don't go!"

Before Wang Jinzhong could finish speaking, Father Wang had already rebuffed: "I can't go, Zhongwa, since you are the only son, you died in Xining, and you can go and collect your body. If you died in such a place, It's a hellish place for the Tartars, even if you cry, you won't be able to collect your corpse!"

Wang Jinzhong took a deep breath, but ignored his father's refusal, and just continued: "For three to five years, the army will select [-] officers from veterans. Selected among veterans in Huang, learn Mongolian and Rakshasa in Xincheng for half a year."

"I have learned Mongolian language from Dashuai Wang's soldiers. General Ma said, those who are willing to go there will be promoted to the first level before departure. After three years of guarding the border of Tianshan, they will be promoted to another level. upgrade."

"People say that they should suffer in the past, and the commander-in-chief is already preparing thicker clothes for the border troops."

Wang Jinzhong pursed his lips, gritted his teeth slowly, looked at his father and said, "Brother, I am now a first-class Huben and Shizhang official, with a monthly salary of seven coins and silver, and a monthly ration of seven buckets, with tea, oil, sauce, and dried meat." , dried fish, in charge of twelve soldiers."

"I was born as a soldier, and I will not go to Tianshan Mountain. After half a year, I will be the third class of Xiaoqi, and I will be transferred to the five towns of Hehuang as a civilian and strong management team for a year, with a monthly salary of one tael and one stone of monthly grain; Very long, the food and salary will increase by two yuan, and in three years, at most, he will be a township commander in the five towns of Hehuang."

"That's not good?"

Old man Wang stared and spread his hands, thinking that his son's thoughts were wild enough. In the past, his highest expectation for his son was to be able to become a hundred households in Xiningwei.

Unexpectedly, Wang Jinzhong shook his head: "If you go to Tianshan, Xincheng School will be promoted to the first level in half a year, and the Tianshan military management team will be newly formed. Our three hundred officers will lead troops to guard the border for three to five years. As long as we come back alive, the handsome man will guarantee our background. "

"What origin?"

Wang Jinzhong swallowed his saliva, his eyes were burning: "Xunguan Yunqi Lieutenant, casual rank from the fifth-rank Xuanwu Lieutenant, the deputy chief of the five towns of Hehuang, the chief of the official battalion, and the deputy of the field battalion are always missing. Let us make up for them." , Those are real military officers.”

　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)