Han Xiufeng spent the Lantern Festival in his hometown of Zouma, and returned to the county seat on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month with his wife and children, Fei Erye and Pan Er.

I don't know when I'll be able to come back when I go out again, and the place I'm going to is not very peaceful, so I don't plan to take Qin'er and the two babies, and I don't need Fei Erye to accompany me. was about to have a reunion dinner with his father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and other relatives, as well as Guan Bantou, Wang Jingcheng and other uncles who watched him grow up, but he didn't expect to be approached by an uninvited guest who was both familiar and a little strange as soon as he arrived home.

"Zhixing, you didn't expect it to be me, right? As soon as you say goodbye to the capital, it has been four years in the blink of an eye, and your official fortune is prosperous, and you are already in the fourth grade. Not only did I still get rid of the five products, but even the Wuchang Mansion general judgment that I had done so hard was dismissed! ”

It was actually Qian Junchen, wearing a crumpled old official uniform, looking much thinner and older when he was in the capital. His hair is gray and his forehead is full of wrinkles, and if he encounters them on the street, he may not be able to recognize them.

Looking at his tearful appearance, Han Xiufeng felt that everything was so unreal, and he didn't know what to say, Qian Junchen looked at Pan Er again: "Changsheng, we met again, I heard that you are also soaring, acting as the salt ambassador, and a few years ago, he made a contribution to the suppression of thieves by organizing a group, and he was rewarded with the top belt of the seventh grade, and the title of Jiazhi County!" ”

Pan Er felt like he was seeing a ghost, and he paused for a while before he arched his hand and said, "Master Qian, when did you come back, what...... Why hasn't I heard from you for so long? ”

"Yes, Brother Qian, when did you come back?"

"I just came back for two days, and I didn't have time to go home to see it. But it's nothing if you can't go back, and there's no one at home anyway. ”

Duan Jiqing realized that he was the legendary Qian Junchen who borrowed money and didn't pay it back, but thought that he and his son-in-law were not only old acquaintances, but also from the same Jinshi, so he hurriedly said: "Zhixing, it's not a place to talk outside, do you want to invite Master Qian to the flower hall?" ”

"Yes, yes, Brother Qian, please."

……

The three of them came to the flower hall and sat down, and Qian Junchen talked about the bitter things of the past few years.

Finally did the experience of Hubei Buzheng Division, as a result, Long Hair killed from Hunan to Hubei, he was lucky to be assigned to raise food and salary for the officers and soldiers who were blocked, Wuchang escaped when he fell for the first time, but after he took office, he sent someone back to receive Wuchang's wife and children, I don't know whether he was coerced by Long Hair to Liangjiang or killed by Long Hair, anyway, there has been no news so far.

Later, Changmao abandoned Wuchang and went down the river to attack Jiangning, he followed Xiang Shuai's army to "recover" Wuchang, and when the city was broken, the original civil and military officials died and fled, and he was entrusted with the important task of acting on the Wuchang Mansion.

There are three unfilial pieties, and no queen is great. I didn't find a wife and children, so I married a woman from a Shanxi merchant family, and later climbed to the high branch of Chonglun, the governor of Hubei at the time, and was planning to find a Zhizhou to do, but Changmao actually killed a horse gun and re-invaded Hubei, and besieged Wuchang.

Chonglun was greedy for life and afraid of death, and when he saw that the long hair was powerful, he proposed to "go out".

The lessons of Chengpo's past are there, and his ex-wife and two sons are nowhere to be found, and he also feels that Wuchang is not a place to stay for a long time, so he helped connect a group of civil and military officials who don't want to fight with the long hair. As a result, Wu Wenrong, the governor of Huguang at the time, resolutely refused to allow it, so he could only hold on for a few months, and finally God had the eye to hold on.

Later, the governor impeached the governor, the governor impeached the governor, and finally Chonglun won, the emperor thought that Wu Wenrong was really closed to the city, and avoided the battle, so he ordered Wu Wenrong to lead his troops to attack Changmao and recover Huangzhou.

At that point, he had no turning back, he could only listen to Chonglun.

At that time, Wu Wenrong only had more than 4,000 horses under his command, and there were as many as 40,000 long-haired soldiers and horses, which was not enough for long-haired soldiers and horses. Wu Wenrong sent several official documents to Wuchang a day asking for grain and grass and soldiers. These civil and military officials who stayed in Wuchang spoke in unison with Chonglun on the pretext that the road was impassable, and they did not send food and grass, or reinforcements.

Sure enough, Wu Wenrong was defeated in Huangzhou shortly after leaving the army, and then committed suicide. And they helped Chonglun hide the news of Wu Wenrong's death in battle, saying that he was missing.

As a result, it didn't take long for Changmao to besiege Wuchang again, Chonglun saw that the situation was not good and fled, he also took his wife and children to flee for his life, but he didn't dare to run with Chonglun to Shaanxi, after all, Chonglun has the responsibility to defend the land, once the court knows that Wuchang is lost, Chonglun's crime will be cured, so he fled to Yichang in one breath.

"And later?" Han Xiufeng asked.

Qian Junchen wiped away his tears and said in a choked voice: "I was not in good health, not only was I frightened, but I also contracted the wind cold on the way to escape, and I ...... the day after I arrived in Yichang He left me and the baby who could just talk and left. I am a man with a baby, so I can only foster the baby at a friend's house in Yichang. ”

In just three years, two wives and two sons died, and the white-haired person sent the black-haired person, in other words, no one could withstand such a big blow, Han Xiufeng really didn't know how to persuade him for a while.

Although Pan Er sympathized with the plight of his wife and children, he felt that this was retribution, and thought to himself, who let you frame Lord Wu with that greedy for life and fear of death!

has fallen into such a field, Qian Junchen's mind is full of revenge, and he is not afraid of Han Xiufeng and Pan Er's jokes, wiped away his tears and gritted his teeth and said: "The revenge of killing his wife and children is not shared, as long as I, Qian Junchen, still have a breath of air, I will fight to the death with Changmao!" ”

"Brother Qian, what are you going to do to avenge the blood and the sea of blood?"

"Run errands for the imperial court and serve Lord Hu! Zhixing, I came back this time on the order of Lord Hu Linyi Hu to handle salt and grain. Didn't the imperial court order Sichuan to help Hubei 120,000 taels, and Lord Hu asked him to take out 40,000 taels to buy salt and grain in Ba County. I will do it personally, personally bargain with those merchants, and personally send it to Hubei after all the purchases, if anyone dares to be greedy for a tael of salt or a pound of grain, I Qian Junchen will work hard with him! ”

Looking at his loud appearance, Han Xiufeng believed that his words were from the bottom of his heart. Because he has only one son left, who is still fostered at a friend's house, he can see and feel that he is open-minded.

was secretly sighing for such a huge change in him, Qian Junchen took out another official document: "By the way, this is the official document of Lord Hu ordering me to come back to purchase salt and grain, I have already visited Wang Daotai and Feifutai in the past two days, and they said that you plan to wait for the silver from the state capitals to be transported to Ba County, and personally lead the delegation to Hunan and Hubei, so as soon as I heard that you are back, I will hurry to find you." ”

"I was in a hurry to go back to my hometown for the New Year, and I didn't bother to go up to meet Lord Wang when I passed by Ba County, Brother Qian, how is Lord Wang?"

"Coincidentally, he is also a Jiachen Kejinshi, and I happen to be the same year, he is a native of Luling, Jiangxi, and his living habits are similar to those here in Ba County, where everything is fine."

"No wonder Lord Hu sent you to buy salt and grain, it turns out that Lord Hu knows that you are the same year as Wang Daotai."

"Brother misunderstood, Wang Tingzhi has just arrived a few days ago, how can Master Hu know this when he is far away in Hubei, the reason why I was ordered to come is because I am from Chongqing Prefecture and I am more familiar with Ba County than others."

"I see," Han Xiufeng thought about it and asked, "Then where have you lived these two days?" ”

"Huguang Guild Hall, just live in your door."

"So you've already seen Jiang Zonghai and Guan Yunzhong?"

"Yes, the guest governors of the eight provinces have seen it, and the procurement of salt and grain is inseparable from them, even if you can't think of it."

"There are a lot of attachés for such a big event as the procurement of salt and grain, right?"

"The war in Hubei is tight, and those who can go into battle will go into battle, and the remaining money and food will also have to be used on the blade, so I brought six Xiangyong, and they all lived in the Huguang Guild Hall."

Seeing that he not only worked for Hu Linyi with iron heart, but also helped Hu Linyi with careful calculations everywhere, Han Xiufeng couldn't help but secretly praise Hu Linyi's way of employing people, after all, it was too easy for Hu Linyi to inquire about Qian Junchen's personality, such a big thing as buying salt and grain, ordinary people really didn't dare to let Qian Junchen, who had a bad reputation, do it, but Hu Linyi entrusted him with a heavy task.

Pan Er also felt that Hu Linyi, who had been a Guidong Daoist in Guizhou, was not simple, and couldn't help asking: "Master Qian, you have brought six attachés, and you have to transport so much salt and grain, is it easy to walk this way?" ”

"I just met Lord Wang, and Lord Wang said that he would order all states and counties along the way to send young and strong escorts, and when they arrived in Hubei, they would naturally have the main halls of Hubei states and counties to help transport them, until the salt and grain were transported to the camp and handed over to Bao Chao."

"Bao Chao, this name is a little familiar, it seems that someone has mentioned it to me." Han Xiufeng groaned.

Without waiting for Qian Junchen to speak, Pan Er said in a low voice: "Fourth brother, what Du San told you, I have also seen it, and I had a relationship with Bao Chao when I came back from Shanghai and passed through Hubei a few years ago. He is also a fellow townsman, his hometown is Kuizhou, his father and his uncle were all soldiers of the right battalion of Kuizhou Association before his death, and he also ate food in the green camp.

The little food and salary in the green camp was not enough to support his family, so he helped escort the grain and grass to Hubei, and happened to meet Xiang Shuai to build the 'Sichuan Yong Camp', and served under Xiang Shuai for a few months. Later, because of the lack of food, Xiang Shuai could only dismantle the 'Chuanyong Battalion', and he became a jobless vagrant again. Later, when Zeng held a group training, he defected to Zeng and served under Zeng Daren. ”

"Come to think of it, Du San told me." Han Xiufeng reacted and asked curiously: "Brother Qian, so Bao Chao is now in charge of being a camp official?" ”

"Not only did he become a battalion officer, but he also saved Lord Hu's life a few years ago. Later, Kefu Chrysostom, he made the greatest contribution, because of his courage, loyalty and bravery, he won the respect of Lord Hu, first promoted guerrilla, and gave the name 'Zhuang Yong Baturu', before I came back, Lord Hu just recommended him as the chief soldier of the water division. ”

An unemployed vagrant who couldn't even eat was actually a second-class soldier in just three or four years, Han Xiufeng secretly sighed that the times really made heroes.

Pan Er couldn't help but sigh: "Liangjiang has Xiang Shuai, Huguang has Bao Chao, who said that I don't have talents in Sichuan!" ”

Qian Junchen has been in Hubei for the past few years, especially last year, and he has been playing in front of the battle, and he knows very well that Bao Chao, the chief military officer, is really fighting with his life. Every time he fights, he takes the lead, and every time he comes down from the battle formation, he looks like a bloody man, injuries are commonplace, and he can't help but smile bitterly: "Zhixing, although Bao Chao has become the chief soldier, his officer is still not comparable to you." ”

"Why can't I compare, he is already the second grade, and I am only the fourth grade, not to mention that I am worrying about the system, and I am not even an official."

"He is a military attaché, you are a civilian official, can a military attache be compared with a civilian official? Besides, you are not an ordinary civil official, you have been a 'small military machine', and you have entered the general political department of the center, although you are worried in the township now, but the emperor has not forgotten you, and ordered you to supervise the regimental training in eastern Sichuan! Thinking of those days in the capital, Qian Junchen sighed again: "It's ridiculous that Ren He actually wants to compete with you, not to mention that he may not be able to test Chinese style this year, even if he can be named on the gold list, he can't compare with you in this life." ”

"Speaking of Ren He, I think of something."

"What's the matter?"

Han Xiufeng smiled and said, "Brother Qian, you must know Master Huang Zhongyin Huang, he didn't go to our Chongqing Hall much before, but then he went almost every day. He is now promoted, and he received a letter from Master Ji a few years ago, in which he said that Master Huang was released to Guangdong, acting Lei Qiongdao. Unexpectedly, a few days ago, Master Ao asked Ri Shengchang to bring back a letter, saying that the emperor ordered Master Huang to go to Guangxi again and act as the envoy of Guangxi. ”

"A few levels in a row, this is really good news!"

"So as soon as I received the letter, I sent someone to his house to give the good news."

"Lord Duan, do you know?"

"I know, I also sent someone to Jiangbei to report to Lord Duan, but I didn't expect that my Chongqing Mansion has not only produced a minister in the past few years, but also a political envoy and an envoy!"

If he had been put aside a year ago, seeing that other people's official fortunes were so prosperous, Qian Junchen would have been very envious. But now it's not a year ago, Qian Junchen didn't envy at all, and said expectantly: "Zhixing, let's get down to business, Lord Hu's food and salary are tight, but the salary and silver from Chengdu and other prefectures have not been transported to Ba County until today, you are the minister of regimental training sent by the emperor, and you can talk to the Lord of Taiwan, can you help me send a letter and ask Lord Zheng to help urge?" ”

"Brother Qian, it's not that I don't want to help, but I really can't open my mouth about this matter. If I really write this letter, then Chen will be interfering in local affairs. Han Xiufeng paused, and said helplessly: "What's more, you don't know the situation in Sichuan, not only to prevent and block the bandits in Guizhou, but also to help Guizhou, Yunnan, Hubei, Hunan and even Liangjiang grain and wages. ”

"Yes, Master Qian, other states and counties can't be compared with Ba County, if Ba County is not a land and water rush, and there is no card draw, let alone Ba County, I'm afraid even the Daoku is empty." Pan Er lost no time in saying.

"It seems that I am a strong man, two forgive sins, I am ......"

"Brother Qian, I know you are in a hurry, but you can't be in a hurry for this kind of thing."

"Looks like we'll have to wait."

"Brother Qian, you just said that Master Hu ordered you to take out 40,000 taels to buy salt and grain, and there should be 40,000 taels in the Dao Library. Lord Wang is the same year as you, so he shouldn't be able to help with this favor. Han Xiufeng groaned.

Lord Wang said that there were originally tens of thousands of taels in the curry, but those tens of thousands of taels of silver were taken away by Huang Zhitai years ago. Now he has no money, so he can only wait for the gold bureau to hand over the money. But this Chinese New Year, how can the businessmen's business be as good as the previous year, they can't draw much a day, and it is estimated that they will have to wait at least two months! ”