Late Tang

(Thanks to Dongxie Sudu, 丨Di丨Haotian, Mo Meiyao, Nanyanghuo, Li Luoqing, Ning Shi Chunqiu for their rewards and comments, thank you everyone.)

A penny stumps a hero, and now the Li family is stumped by the distribution of more than 500 pennies.

The last time Li Jing went to the town, he was not only caught in an innocent prison, but also confiscated the last bit of money and food that the family had at that time.Later, in order to save him, the Li family was manipulated by Wang Liang. Not only did he take the last [-] mu of land from the family to rescue Li, but he also lost [-] mu of land from Wang Tiejiang's family.

The current Li family really has nothing but a courtyard house.For a large family, the last bit of food was also used for Li Jing's wedding ceremony yesterday.There are currently eight people in the Li family, and in a few days there will be no more rice for cooking.At this time, how could the Li family still pay out more than 500 Wen.

Guiniang was also very aware of the current situation of the Li family. She took Han's hand and said, "Aniang, the daughter-in-law also has the gold hairpin, armlets, and bracelets for the dowry. They will be exchanged for money at the old village head's house later." Bar."

Women in the Tang Dynasty basically had one or two sets of jewelry and rings. The rich ones would be gemstones and jade, and the lesser ones would also be red gold.Even ordinary people's homes will put a few pieces of silver jewelry.Most of these are the dowry prepared by the women's natal families, and some are even passed down from generation to generation, from mother to daughter, and from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law.This kind of thing is very precious, and it belongs to the women's private house completely, and the husband has no right to manage it.At this time, Mrs. Han saw that Gui Niang had just started, so she wanted to sell her dowry jewelry to manage the house, but she was moved but refused to accept it.

"It's not your turn to sell jewelry. I still have a few pieces of jewelry in my house, which were passed down to me by Sanlang's grandmother, and they were supposed to be passed on to you in the future. Hey, I have to sell them now to survive Let’s talk about this.”

Li Jing saw that his sister-in-law also wanted to sell her jewelry, and felt both moved and guilty.

Couldn't help saying: "Mother, there is something I would like to ask my mother to agree to."

"If you have anything to say, just say it, and ask for anything."

Li Jing said solemnly: "I've made up my mind, I'm going to be drafted into the army."

Han Shi and the others were all stunned for a moment, unable to speak.

"Mother!" Li Jing said seriously like never before: "Mother, the eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law, as well as the fourth and fifth sisters, Waner, and Guiniang. I have actually thought about this matter for a long time. I plan to join the army myself."

Mrs. Han held Li Jing's hand, "Son, why do you have such an idea? A good man doesn't serve as a soldier, not to mention you are a villager who has read so many books. Although it is a hurdle right now, we can still find a way In the past. It really doesn’t work. Selling a house and selling jewelry, we can all get through this hurdle for the time being. You are a tribute, and you delayed the exam earlier. But as long as you calm down and review your homework, how can you fail the exam with your knowledge. This year now It’s already almost November, so I missed it, but the imperial examination is held once a year, so prepare now and wait for the capital exam in October next year, and you will definitely pass. As long as you win the Jinshi, then our family will have a bright future.”

Not only Mrs. Han thought so, but also the other sisters-in-law and sisters. Even Gui Niang persuaded him to concentrate on studying in order to pass the imperial examination next year.

Li Jing shook his head with a wry smile. It turns out that although Li Jing's knowledge is not from the official school of the imperial court, county, and central government, he is also self-study seriously.His academic ability is still good. A few years ago, he got the letter of recommendation from the state and county officials and obtained the qualification to participate in the imperial examination.In terms of talent, Li Jing believed that he was five or six points sure of being a Jinshi.

Just what time is it now?The imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty were not only about talent.The Tang Dynasty implemented an unambiguous examination, and it was necessary to find the appreciation and guarantee of the court officials in advance.Today's Tang court is extremely powerful, he is a small commoner, it is not easy to think about the single-plank bridge of the imperial examination.

What's more, even if he could pass the exam, Li Jing was not willing to take this path.It's the end of the Tang Dynasty now, and next year will be the great uprising at the end of the Tang Dynasty initiated by Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao.In a few years, even the emperor had to flee the capital in a hurry and go to Chengdu in the middle of Sichuan.

In the last years of troubled times, the real way out is not to become an official through the imperial examination, but to be a soldier.At the end of Tang Dynasty, it was the world of warlords, large and small.

"Aniang, the world is getting chaotic right now. You can't even protect yourself as a civil servant. How can you protect your family? I've made up my mind. I'm going to join the army and become a general. I want to protect my Li family's prosperity."

Although the Li family had been military generals for several generations, the Han family still hoped that their son could become an official through the imperial examination instead of becoming a martial artist.However, after Li Jing laid out the urgent situation of the Li family, the Han family could only nod helplessly.

The Li family is in too much distress now, not only is the family running out of food, but the Li family can't afford even the thousand five hundred wen.What's more, if Li Jing wants to take the imperial examination, he will have to pay to get through the state and county joints and get a letter of recommendation from the state and county.Then I had to go all the way to Beijing ahead of schedule, and I had to call on officials in Beijing.How could the Li family afford these money, gift money, etc.?

"Son, mother is sorry for delaying your life." Han cried.

Li Jing comforted Han Shi a few more words, and then asked the two sister-in-laws and Gui Niang to go back together first.Then he went directly to the old village chief Wang's house in the east of the village. As soon as he entered the door, everyone in the Wang family was also worried.

Village head Wang Lao is the first householder in Wangli Village, and even the richest man in Qingning Township.His family has a thousand acres of fertile land, and there are seven or eight horses.Many families in Wangli Village don't have much land, and they are still working on their farms.The Wang family has three big houses connected together at the east end of the village, like a manor.In Chishan Town, the Wang family also opened a food store, which can be described as a big business.

Mr. Wang, the village chief, has been busy all his life. Two years ago, he also planned to hand over the family business to his eldest son and enjoy his own happiness.As a result, unforeseen events happened, and the boss of the Wang family was robbed by pirates at sea when he was transporting rice in the Jianghuai River.The cargo was robbed, and Boss Wang was also buried in the bottom of the sea.

The old village head asked the second son to take over the family business, but the second son of the Wang family once competed with others in the brothel in the town to get jealous, but accidentally offended Cui Zhenjiang's son.As a result, the second son of the Wang family was beaten half to death by Cui Zhenjiang's son. Although he survived after being carried back, he became disabled and paralyzed half of his body.The old village head had only two sons, one dead and one disabled all at once.Although the remaining two families have sons, the oldest of the grandsons is only fourteen or fifteen years old, not yet mature.In recent years, the Li family's agriculture has been managed half by the old man and half by the girl from the Wang family.

Village Chief Wang's daughter is only 25 or [-] years old. She left the court ten years ago and married the son of the owner of a cloth shop in the county.It's a pity that that person was not a blessed one. He passed away within a few years of marriage, but he still hasn't left a son.Not two years after her husband died, her parents-in-law passed away one after another.The family members of her husband's family came to make a fuss, trying to drive her out of marriage so that they could take home the property and divide it up.After two or three years of trouble, I don't know how to reach a negotiation in the end.She divided the property of her husband's family into two, and returned half to the husband's family.The other half belonged to her, and the husband and family members were no longer allowed to come to her.

However, Wang Yueying is very business-minded. Over the past few years, the business of Lifeng cloth village under her control has grown bigger and bigger, and it has surpassed the scale of her husband's family before.Now that the old village chief Wang is unable to manage the family business, Wang Yueying began to help manage the Wang family's family business.

The Wang family is rich, very rich.However, this time, the Wang family got an ink-stained pebble.Mr. Wang, the village head, had already left his crutches and couldn't walk, and his grandchildren were still young.The only Ding Nan was a disabled person lying on the bed.

Just now, Village Chief Wang had called several Zhuang Ding and the tenants of Dian Wang's farmland, and proposed to ask someone to enlist in the army on his behalf, but no one was willing to agree.He made several conditions, but still no one would agree.

"Twenty acres of land, which one will accept the Ding for my family, the old man is willing to give him twenty acres of land. Which one is willing to go!" Seeing that his wife agreed, the old village chief gritted his teeth and once again said a very tempting price .

"I am willing!" A clear voice sounded outside the hall, causing everyone to look sideways.

"Old village chief, my nephew is willing to relieve the old village chief's worries and replace Wang's Yingding." Li Jing walked into the hall loudly.