Chen Hu only quoted prices and did not sell guns, and Cao Shuzhong had to wait for Han Xiufeng to come back from Jiangbei even if he had money. Just when he summoned officials from the Chongqing Prefect, the Tongzhi of the Jiangbei Department, and the Governor of Ba County to arrange for the prevention of bandits in Guizhou, Duan Dazhang, who had been living in seclusion after returning to his hometown, actually entered the city with Sun Wuye of the Sun family in Ciqikou, stayed in Dongchuan Academy, and sent invitations to invite local officials, local gentry and businessmen from eight provinces to discuss Binxing matters.

Han Xiufeng went to the eighteenth ladder with Wang Zaixing, helped Zhuzi and his sister, Gu Tenon, and Zheng Yuanbao to visit their families, and sent the silver they helped to each family, and after dinner in the coffin shop, they were reluctantly sent off by a group of uncles and aunts who were doing dead people's business, and returned to their new home behind the Huguang Hall.

The second brother went back to the horse, and the second sister-in-law and the third sister-in-law who came to help were inconvenient at home. So Aunt Guan and Wang Zaishan's wife Zhang came over to help cook the rice together, Chen Hu and the others were full of wine and food, and they were sitting in the main hall drinking tea and chatting with He Yong, the general manager of Zuoying Qian, Guan Bantou and others in Chongqing Town.

Seeing that Han Xiufeng and Wang Zaishan had returned, everyone got up one after another to sit down.

"Sit down, sit down, and continue to talk, what's so rare today?" Han Xiufeng sat down and asked with a smile.

"Fourth Master, you just left this morning, Lord Cao and the two Wu masters came to see the gun, I opened a box and took out a few shots for them to see, it seems that they really have the heart to buy, and the two Wu masters even plan to pay 10,000 taels."

As expected, Han Xiufeng nodded slightly, and asked again: "What about Du San and Changsheng, are they here today?" ”

Without waiting for Chen Hu to speak, He Yong put down the teacup and said: "They are in the pawnshop, and they called me to eat wine at noon, saying that it is inconvenient to come here, if there is something to ask you to send someone to the pawnshop to spread the word." ”

"It's really inconvenient for them to come here," Han Xiufeng looked up at his new home, which still felt unfamiliar, and sighed lightly: "This house is very good, but it is too close to the Provincial Bureau, the government office, the county government and the Huguang Guild Hall." I used to think that the more lively the place, the better, but now that I think about it, it is really better to live in the countryside and quiet, no wonder Lord Duan is reluctant to live in the city. ”

Guan Bantou suddenly felt that Duan Jiqing seemed to have done something wrong with good intentions, and muttered: "If you think about it carefully, this place is really suitable for businessmen to live, and it is really not suitable for you to live here like you, Siwazi!" ”

"Let's stay for now, I won't be able to live for a few days anyway."

"Yes, yes, this weather is getting hotter and hotter, and when it gets hot in the summer, people can't stay in the city, how can it be cool in the countryside." Zhou Shansong, the manager of the military room of the Provincial Department, said with a smile.

He Yong didn't care about the family routine, and said eagerly: "Fourth master, I just received the news this morning, the thieves in Tongzi are getting more and more fierce, and they have all been killed in Qijiang. I heard that the emperor had just issued an edict a few days ago to reprimand Jiang Feiyuan, the governor of Guizhou, and Zhao Wanchun, the governor of Guizhou, saying that Jiang Feiyuan led troops out of the province to garrison Zazuo, and Zhao Wanchun galloped to Zunyi, but the suppression was not successful, so that many of the remaining bandits escaped into Sichuan. Jiang Feiyuan was dismissed and retained, and Zhao Wanchun was dismissed and left in the barracks to see the after-effects, and ordered our Sichuan Governor Wanfu to lead troops to Guizhou to quell the chaos, and all Guizhou officers and soldiers were under the command of Wanfu! ”

"The bandits have been killed in Qijiang?" Han Xiufeng was taken aback.

"I was startled when I first heard about it, but then I inquired with someone who had just returned from Qijiang, and I realized that it was a small group of bandits, and I realized that those bandits had only attacked the two towns next to Tongzi in Qijiang."

"No wonder the Wu brothers are in such a hurry, it turns out that the bandits have really arrived at his doorstep." Han Xiufeng thought about it and asked: "The imperial court ordered Wanfu to lead troops to Guizhou to quell the chaos, can you raise the standard and now have soldiers?" ”

"A lot of them have been transferred a few years ago, and the battalions that have been raised have already been emptied, and there are few soldiers in the town standard, so they can only be recruited temporarily. As soon as the official documents of the Taiwan Yamen and the Titai Yamen arrived, they ordered us to send 600 soldiers from the left, center, and right battalions of Chongqing Town. ”

"Uncle He, you don't have to go."

"I'm so old, even if I want to go to Zhentai, I won't let me."

"That's good."

Referring to the bandits in Guizhou, Zhou Bingsong, who was busy transporting ordnance and food these days, couldn't help but ask: "Four children, the bandits have attacked Qijiang, what did Lord Duan think, it was when his old man presided over the anti-blockade plan, but his old man actually sent invitations at this juncture, inviting gentry and businessmen from eight provinces to discuss Binxing!" ”

"Uncle Zhou, what does Binxing do?" Chen Hu couldn't help but ask.

Binxing ...... Binxing invited the lords and gentry of the yamen to eat and drink, and discussed how to sponsor local scholars to gain fame. ”

Seeing that Zhou Bingsong couldn't explain clearly, Han Xiufeng added with a smile: "This year is the year of the township examination, and it is estimated that in a few months, the imperial court will simply select the chief examiner and deputy examiner of this year's Sichuan township examination." The examination room is far away in Chengdu's Gongyuan, and the poor students in various places, especially in remote areas, are often embarrassed, so every year of the township examination, regardless of the Zhengke and Enke scholars, each of them will subsidize 6,000 yuan for the journey.

The government examination and the examination are the same as the funding, compared to the subsidy of the road fee, the poor students who participate in the government examination need to subsidize the test paper fee, because the test papers are all for students to spend money, which is also the most complicated one in the name of Binxing, probably there are volumes, rolls, rolls, papers, volumes, gold and yuan volumes, etc., and some states and counties even have a volume bureau or a righteous volume bureau. ”

It was the first time Chen Hu had heard of these things, and he couldn't help asking, "Will you try?" ”

"If you go to the capital to take the test, the subsidy will be more, it used to be 30,000 yuan, but now it seems to have increased to 60,000 yuan."

"Do we have Binxing in Taizhou?"

"You don't seem to have it in your hometown, but as far as I know, it seems that we have this tradition in Sichuan."

Wang Zaishan is also half a scholar, thinking that although Sichuan can't pass the imperial examination in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, there is finally one stronger than Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so he added proudly: "This is a big deal, not only the academies of all sizes have to contribute, local officials have to donate, the gentry and businessmen of the eight provinces have to donate, Rongchang and other counties even increase taxes every year of the township examination, which is specially used for civil and military affairs." ”

"Martial arts exams are also funded?"

"Yes, it's just not as many as scholars."

"Fourth master, do you want to donate?" Ge Erxiao couldn't help but ask.

"Of course, and you can't donate too little." Han Xiufeng knew very well that Duan Dazhang was a drunkard, and he seemed to have summoned the local gentry and merchants from the eight provinces to participate in the prosperity, but in fact, it was to mediate the dispute between the local and the guest. Thinking of the local gentry's biggest opinion on the merchants of the eight provinces is not because the money was earned by others, but because the quota of the government examination, the middle quota of the township examination, and even the middle quota of the examination were occupied by the merchants of the eight provinces, I couldn't help but sigh: "The Wu brothers will be very embarrassed if they participate in the Binxing Meeting, and it is estimated that the guns we brought back will have to be bought by them in the end, not only 10,000 taels." ”

"Four babies, you mean ......"

"His family's 'Brother Sanjinshi' is very honorable, and can even be immortalized, but they occupy the quota of Qijiang during the government examination, the median quota of our prefectures and counties in Chongqing Prefecture during the township examination, and the median quota of our Sichuan during the examination. When their brothers are prosperous, others will have to fall first, and it is reasonable for the local gentry to have opinions about them. ”

Looking at the thoughtful looks of Zhou Shansong, Wang Zaishan and others, Han Xiufeng continued: "The imperial court allowed all localities to donate more than 1.9 million taels the year before last, and my Sichuan gentry donated more than 1.9 million taels, and a total of 19 township test quotas were added, and these dozen or so were only for this year's township test, and in another three years, if you want to donate the same as this year's township test, you will have to donate again." Therefore, they can't just take advantage of the situation and not suffer losses, they have to do something to dissipate the local gentry. ”

"But are they willing to pay?"

"This time is different from the past, now it is not peaceful today, the bandits have been killed at the doorstep, Qijiang is in danger, and even Ba County is in danger, they should know very well in their hearts that they can no longer fight like before, and they have to work together with the local gentry." Han Xiufeng paused, and said with a smile: "Jiang Zonghai has only been in Ba County for a long time, and he was actually elected as the guest chief of Huguang, which shows that Lord Duan has long wanted to resolve the dispute between the Turks and customers, otherwise he will never support Jiang Zonghai as the guest chief of Huguang." ”

"I think of this, Jiang Zonghai was elected as the guest chief by those Huguang businessmen because he had been a friend of Master Duan!"

"So this time Binxing must be very interesting, Uncle Wang, my father-in-law can't come back for a while in Zouma Township, you will take his invitation to the banquet tomorrow."

Wang Zaishan wanted to go very much, but when he thought that all the people who could participate in the Binxing Festival were people with heads and faces, he couldn't help but ask: "Is it appropriate for me to go?" ”

"If I say it's appropriate, it's appropriate, just go with your ears, and I don't need you to speak."

"You're not going?"

"I'm keeping filial piety and mourning, and it's better to be less involved in this kind of thing."

"Okay, I'll go, I'll help you find out the news."

At the same time, Duan Dazhang was at Dongchuan Academy to Gong Ying, the Wu family brothers, Cui Huanzhang, Yang Yiqing, Jiang Zonghai, Guan Yunzhong, and other gentry and merchant Jia Nian Han Xiufeng's letter about the Guangdong Tuke Arms Fight in the afternoon.

"The most effective person in killing the Cantonese people is the martial arts gentleman Ma Conglong, who asked for the permission of Ye Mingchen, the governor of Liangguang, to slander the natives as bandits in the name of leading the guests to clean up the remnants of the Hongbing soldiers, and wantonly killing, so that this vendetta of revenge against the natives spread to many counties in Guangdong!"

In order to maintain the situation, the two sides made a poisonous oath: whoever starts the war first will be punished by the extermination! However, no matter how poisonous the oath was, it could not stop the general trend, and only a month later, the Cantonese natives took the lead in a place called Huoyaoliao in Chixi and killed a guest. The end of the war began, and it was out of control. Chixi is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and the north is a place where Cantonese people gather, and the guests have no way to escape, so they can only fight......"

Duan Dazhang's tone was calm, as if he was talking about an insignificant matter, but Gong Ying and the others were terrified when they heard it.

After Duan Dazhang finished reading, Sun Wuye put down the teacup, looked around at everyone and pretended to be relaxed and said: "Everyone, my Sun Wu is so old and still wants to ask for a good death, but I don't want to die in the Tuke fight like those gentry in Guangfu, and I don't want the descendants of my Sun family to 'abandon the pen and follow Rong' and face you with swords and guns." ”

Seeing the old club's gloomy face, Jiang Zonghai hurriedly got up and said, "Fifth Master, what are you talking about, this is Ba County under the rule of Chongqing Prefecture, not Guangdong, and that kind of thing will never happen again in my Ba County!" ”

"Won't?" Sun Wuye dared to say anything, and he dared to make any jokes, and he didn't have as many scruples as Duan Dazhang, so he stared at Jiang Zonghai and asked: "Little brother, the entrance of your Huguang Guild Hall is the wharf, do you really don't know or pretend not to see it?" What has happened to the Tea Gang and the Sichuan Gang? ”

"Fifth master, late born ......"

"A slap doesn't make a sound, the old man doesn't blame you, and as for the tea warriors you recruited, the old man doesn't think there's anything wrong with it. If it weren't for the suppression of those Chayong Gang officials and soldiers, the steady stream of slender men and Huguang refugees would have rebelled because they couldn't survive. ”

Sun Wuye took a sip of tea, and then said: "What the old man wants to say is that the lessons of Guangdong's past are there, and the situation in my Ba County and even the entire Chongqing Prefecture is precarious. If you let the scheming gangsters or thieves sow discord and trigger a fight between the Turks and the Turks, once they face each other with swords and guns like Guangdong, they will only lose both sides, and they will only cheapen those bandits! ”

"What the fifth master said is extremely true." Wu Junxiang thought so.

Wu Kuixiang said even more solemnly: "When is the time for retribution, we not only have to take warning, but also ask the Provincial Department and the government to take precautions." Whoever dares to belead the public with fallacies, and who dares to sow discord, must be dealt with strictly! ”

"Brother Wu, you are treating the symptoms but not the root cause." Duan Dazhang took over the conversation again and said bluntly: "The local gentry and the merchants of the eight provinces have been in a gap for a long time because of the school quota and the median quota, and the three brothers of your Wu family have borrowed their nationality to take the exam, accounting for my Chongqing Mansion and my Sichuan median quota, but they don't regard themselves as Chongqing Mansion people, do you say that the local gentry can have no complaints in their hearts?" ”

"Master Duan, Kui Xiang is ashamed." Wu Kuixiang was extremely embarrassed, and he couldn't wait to find a crack in the ground to get into.

"I can't blame you for this, my classmate and friend Huang Yonghuan is the same, the top priority is to do something to make up for it." Duan Dazhang didn't want to go around in circles with them, so he looked around at everyone and said straight to the point: "If you are willing to give me Duan Dazhang face, then donate more at tomorrow's Binxing meeting." In addition, I have been peaceful for a long time, and the green camp is not of great use, and if I want to prevent and block the bandits in Guizhou, I can only recruit young people to run group exercises, and group training cannot be without food and salary, and all those who are able to work hard should also donate more. ”

"Your Excellency is right, I'll wait...... I'll wait ......"

"Don't worry, what's more, this is not just your business," Duan Dazhang looked at Gong Ying and the other local gentry, and said meaningfully: "Brother Gong, as the fifth brother just said, if it weren't for the suppression of those Chayong Gang officers and soldiers recruited by the Baojia Bureau, there would be no need to wait for Changmao and the thieves from Guizhou to kill them, and my Ba County would be in chaos first." So the old man thinks that in this eventful season, those who have money must contribute, and those who are powerful must contribute! ”

"What Master Duan said is extremely true."

"Don't be extreme, the top priority is to persuade those students to focus on their careers, and stop making trouble with others. Brother Cui, Brother Yang, next year is the year of the exam, and you should also take care and make some preparations. What are you studying hard for, isn't it just a title for the gold list? ”

Hearing the news of the battle between the Turks in Guangdong, Cui Huanzhang and Yang Yiqing were terrified, how could they have the heart to fight for power and profit with the merchants of the eight provinces, Duan Dazhang said this, and the two hurriedly got up and said: "My lord is right, after the late life goes back, he will study hard behind closed doors." ”

"No matter how anxious you are in the past two days, you two will be indispensable to Binxing tomorrow."