prosperous age

Chapter 67 Chapter 67
"Can you take us to Jiujiang by the way?"

A classmate hastily said.

"It's not a big problem. Do you bring the servants? It should be fine if there are only a few more people."

Wei Guangde thought of the big boat he took when he went to Jiujiang Mansion before, it was more than enough to carry 30 people, but he didn't know if his classmates would carry private goods.

After all, there are two classmates who are in business at home, and it would be very troublesome if they brought the shopkeeper or something to Jiujiang to purchase goods.

"I'll just bring a follower, and I won't make things difficult for you."

"Me too."

"I'm alone, and the servants you bring will take care of me when the time comes."

"No problem, just a word."

"That's five more people, no problem, we will set off together then."

Hearing what they said, Wei Guangde figured it would be three classmates and five servants from the two families. It would be good if he stopped by, as there would be someone to talk to on the way.

"Guangde, did the county say something before you came back?"

At this time, another classmate asked, and his voice was also lowered, feeling mysterious.

"What do you say?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously, those days because of the expedition, Wei Guangde either accompanied his father or wrote in the study, he really didn't go out much.

That is to say, on the day when I went to visit the county magistrate, I went to drink with my cousin, Zeng Yuanrui and a few others. They were all well-to-do families in the county town. At other times, he really didn't care much about what happened outside.

"It's about that guy Zhang Haochu. This time he passed the county examination as the chief case officer. When he left the county seat, I heard some people say that he was the case chief by bribing the county magistrate."

"what?"

When Wei Guangde heard that it was Zhang Haochu, he also remembered that guy.

"What does it matter if he wins the case leader? Even if there is something tricky, it's normal. In Pengze County, their Zhang family is still quite powerful.

I have met Zhang Haochu, and I have heard people say that his literary talent is average, otherwise he would not have failed the government examination twice in a row, and would have to accompany us to continue the county examination.

This time, even if the county dignitary is really exalted, it is actually reasonable. After all, the county donates to support education and so on, and it needs the support of big families like the Zhang family. "

Wei Guangde smiled after thinking about it: "Actually, it doesn't necessarily mean how much money is given. As long as the Zhang family expresses in private that they will donate more to the county, repair bridges and repair roads, give the case chief, and guarantee him to pass the government examination. The folks in the village take advantage.

But, I still don't think so, Tang Xianzun has always been well-reviewed in Peng Zefeng, he is not a corrupt official, and he has never scraped land. "

When Wei Guangde said this, he first pointed out that Tang Xianzun was not a corrupt official. For money, a corrupt official might really sell the county chief, but he was not.

Wei Guangde would not say that the county lord might have cheated in the county exam. Speaking of that, the candidates who passed the county exam this time might be disgraced. Zhang Haochu might have done this, but what about the others?
Wei Guangde would not admit it, although he did bring a serious salute after passing the exam, but that is also a routine, everyone has to take this step.

For the county examination and government examination, the magistrates and magistrates who are in charge of the examination are generally more reserved, and they usually don’t accept gifts or meet them. It was also said by my cousin Wu Dong.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde also felt that it was hard to tell what benefits the Zhang family had really given, so that Tang Xianzun raised his hand.

He said no, but combined with his cousin's words, Wei Guangde actually believed three points in his heart. At least the Zhang family should have offered some benefits that Tang Xianzun could not refuse, so he ordered Zhang Hao to be the head of the trial case in Chu County. He passed the government test.

When the time came to April, there was news from Zhenjiang that more than a thousand members of Jiujiang Wei had successfully arrived in Zhenjiang, but they had been resting and training there, and they did not rush to Songjiang Mansion in a hurry, and naturally no soldiers were transferred to Zhejiang.

At the same time, the news came back that the troops of the Xuanzhou Guard did not rush to Zhenjiang, but moved to Taicang with the troops of the Suzhou Guard, and together with the Taicang Guard formed a troop of three to 4000 people.

Taicang is very close to Songjiang Mansion, just next door, so it is naturally very quick to enter the guard for support.

When Wei Guangde heard the news from his eldest brother, he naturally wanted to understand it.

Now the Minister of the Nanjing War Department named Zhang Jing should know the soldiers. The troops are mobilized and drilled first. Obviously they know what the guards are. I am afraid that big things will happen if they are pulled up. It is better to practice and drill to prepare for the battle. The need of the day.

It is said that only the guards in Zhejiang have all moved forward and moved into the prefectures and counties along the coast.

It seems that the first thing that the Nanjing Ministry of War thinks of is to ensure the safety of Su Song's Second Mansion, after all, it is the focus of money and food.

"Su Song's wealth is half the world" is not blown out. After all, it involves different historical periods, especially when the dynasty changed and the war just subsided, the social production of the whole country was destroyed. At this time, the money and grain of Suzhou and Songjiang were the empire. The main source of fiscal revenue, even in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it made sense for Su and Song's second government to be the best in the world.

Suzhou Mansion and Songjiang Mansion are also well-known wealthy mansions among the Jiangnan mansions, so the court's emphasis is naturally different from others.

Songjiang Mansion alone has to hand over nearly 100,000 taels of silver to Beijing’s inner government a year, as well as tens of thousands of shi of white grain, and send hundreds of thousands of shi of grain and a large amount of silver to the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Industry, and Guanglu Temple. .

The most terrible thing is that it is reported that the Japanese pirates gathered on the island near Zhoushan, which is only a few days away from Songjiang Mansion, so it is really hard to say whether the target of the Japanese pirates gathering is Zhejiang or Nanzhili.

But these have nothing to do with Wei Guangde. On April [-]th, he went down to Pengze County under the escort of his elder brother Wei Wencai and lived in his uncle's house.

Uncle is not here, so naturally my cousin Wu Dong is in charge.

The three classmates who were traveling together lived in an inn near the pier, so it was good for Wei Guangde to ask someone to inform him before boarding the boat.

Wu Dong naturally had no objection to taking a few people with the boat.

"Zeng Yuanrui is also going with us this time, and Yuan Shu will pick him up at the Jiujiang pier."

Wu Dong said after hearing Wei Guangde mention that three of his classmates went to Jiujiang Mansion to take part in the government examination together.

The eldest brother only stayed in Qianhu's residence for one night, and rode back to the Bengshan Castle on horseback early the next morning after sending them on board.

There were a few more candidates on the boat, so it was naturally very lively. Cousin Wu Dong also came here, so he was naturally asked by a few classmates about the matters that should be paid attention to in the government examination. The journey was not lonely, and it was very lively.

When the evening approached, the official ship arrived at the Jiujiang Mansion Wharf. A group of people on the shore had been waiting eagerly, and the leaders were naturally Zhang Hongfu and Zeng Yuanshu.

Zeng Yuanshu and Wu Dong were good friends, and when Yuan Shu arrived in Jiujiang Mansion, Wu Dong naturally had to contact his cousin Zhang Hongfu to take care of him.

Although Zhang Hongfu has not yet entered the officialdom, he is considered number one in the second-generation circle of Jiujiang Mansion, at least he can guarantee that Zeng Yuanshu and Zhang will not be bullied in Jiujiang Mansion.

(End of this chapter)