The eighth day of the first month to worship the ancestors.

On the ninth day of the first month, a banquet was held in the township.

From the tenth to the thirteenth of the first month, the stage was set up and the troupe was invited to sing for three consecutive days.

Fourteen, ask Han Si's uncle, my sister's uncle, as well as the township covenant, Baozheng, and Jiachang to testify, and pass Han San to the second room.

Fifteenth, the dean of the Zouma Academy and the gentleman of the private school in Zhuangli were invited to the banquet, and after eating, they each gave thirty taels of silver, bothering them to help the old Han family repair the genealogy in their spare time.

Sixteenth, please ask Mr. Feng Shui to come to see Feng Shui, see how the Han family ancestral hall and the Han family mansion should be built, and calculate which day is the most auspicious to start construction.

From seventeen to nineteen, the three families of Zhuangshang Xu, Wang, and Chen took turns to invite them to eat and drink.

On the morning of the twenty-first day, I went back to Zoumagang and went to Pan's shopkeeper's house to have a drink. The Han family wants to raise their eyebrows, the Pan family wants to glorify their ancestors, the Pan shopkeeper put a big flowing water banquet on the post, feasted relatives and friends, the township covenant, Baozheng, A chief and neighbors, and after setting up the flowing water seat, he also invited the troupe to come to the stage in the mountain gate to sing for three days.

Han Si's promotion to the official and the fortune of Pan Er followed the news of the staining of light and spread, not only did many distant relatives who couldn't beat the eight poles appear at once, but even Han Da, Han Er and Han San couldn't sit still, and the brothers stood in the small courtyard that Han Yucai bought before his death, looking at Duan Jiqing and Guan Zhutou who were sitting in the yellow cypress tree drinking tea.

"You are dazzled, you all want to go to your brother, and you all want to be an official like Pan Er?" Duan Jiqing asked with a smile.

"Master Duan, they all say that fighting tigers does not leave their own brothers, if you want to say that you are reliable, how can you have your own brothers who are reliable." Han Da peeked at Duan Jiqing, and muttered: "Besides, the fertilizer water does not flow into the fields of outsiders, who is not used by the four babies, why is it cheap and others don't need to be their own brothers." ”

Duan Jiqing has been working in the government and military room for so many years, and has served more than a dozen prefects, how can he not know the truth that "officials must do it themselves, not need the third master", and at the same time can understand the mood of their brothers, put down the tea bowl and said slowly: "If you put aside the peaceful years, if you really want to go to Zhixing, I will let you go." But now it is not peaceful today, the Cantonese bandits not only occupy Jiangning and Yangzhou, but also divide their troops to attack the capital, to attack Anhui, Jiangxi and even Hubei, not that I scare you, this road is really not easy to walk, I am afraid that just out of Sichuan will encounter bandits. ”

Zhuzi wanted to go at first, but after the New Year, his younger sister was full of filial piety, and he was about to become a groom official and died of the heart to go to Han Si, seeing that the three brothers of the Han family wanted to speak and stopped, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Big brother, second brother, third brother, Duan Jingcheng really didn't scare you, if this road was easy, I would have gone to the fourth brother a long time ago!" ”

"But ......"

"But what?" Guan Bantou didn't have as good a temper as Duan Jiqing, so he snapped the case, stared at them and asked, "Do you know how far Jiangsu is from here, do you know how to speak official language, and are you literate?" I don't understand anything, I can't even figure out the southeast and northwest when I go out, even if I go, not only will I not be able to help the four babies, but it will cause chaos for the four babies! It's only been a few days of good life, and I can't hold my breath when I am plucked by others. If the four babies knew that you had all become like this, they would really be angry with you! ”

Han Da had never seen Guan Ban's hair go overboard, and he was so frightened that he didn't dare to squeak anymore.

Han Er and Han San were just as frightened, so scared that their legs trembled involuntarily.

"Close the shift, drink tea, drink tea, drink tea to dissipate your anger." Duan Jiqing pulled the head of the team to sit down, looked at the three brothers of the Han family with a smile and said earnestly: "I know that you not only want to be like Pan Er, but also want to help Zhixing, after all, this army is in chaos, and he can't have a few trustworthy people around him." But this road is really not easy to walk, if it is really easy to walk, let alone you, even I want to go. ”

"Master Duan, Uncle Guan, I'm confused, I'm not going, I can't go except farming, and I can't help the fourth child......"

"Don't don't, don't be like this, listen to me finish speaking," Duan Jiqing took a sip of tea and said earnestly: "Do you know that your brother abandoned his wife and children, left his hometown, traveled thousands of miles to become an official, and even led more than 1,000 villagers to fight with the bandits, what is the plan?" At the end of the day, he's all about this family. ”

"Master Duan, I know, I was wrong."

"It's good to know," Duan Jiqing nodded with satisfaction, and continued: "People who are away from home are most concerned about home. Every time Zhixing asks someone to send a letter to his family, the most important thing in the letter is that he hopes that his family will be safe and sound, and peace is a blessing in this year. He is your younger brother, and my younger brother is not good at talking about you brothers, and Guan Bantou and I are also your elders, so I just took this opportunity to talk to you. ”

Han Da was really picked up by those people, and the call sent by Guan Bantou just now made him suddenly realize that being an official was not so simple, and he was so embarrassed that he couldn't wait to find a crack in the ground to get into, and when he heard Duan Jiqing's words, he hurriedly said: "Master Duan, you say, we all listen to you!" ”

"Guan Bantou and I will go back to the city early tomorrow morning, I was just worried about your brother before, and now I am a little worried about you. Money is a good thing, but having more money isn't necessarily a good thing. Some people who were originally honest and dutiful suddenly had some money, and they didn't know what to do with this day, some went to gamble, some went to prostitution, and some went to smoke, not only ruined their families, but even had to sell their children and daughters in order to repay their debts! ”

"Before I came to go, I met a Fujian businessman who gambled and went bankrupt, and I didn't have the face to go back to see my mother-in-law and baby actually throw herself into the river." Guan Bantou said coldly.

"I know this, the corpse was fished up from the river, and I went to collect it." The pillar whispered.

"The county master asked you to converge?" Guan Bantou asked subconsciously.

"Isn't Lao Yu sick, now I'm left in the yamen, who else can I go if I don't go." The pillar smiled wryly.

"If you hear it, this is the end of not learning well." Duan Jiqing put down the tea bowl and returned to the previous topic: "Your younger brother has fought hard and supported this family, so that you and your mother-in-law can live a good life, so not only can you not fail to study well, but also honor your parents, brothers are harmonious, keep this family business, and keep this family well." ”

"I know, Master Duan, don't worry, we won't fail to learn well, what happened in the past will be in the future."

"That's right, being a man should be like this, and you can't forget your roots." Duan Jiqing nodded, thought about it and said with a smile: "But what you said is not right, why is it not right, because now the Han family is no longer a small family." Not to mention anything else, can you three brothers plant the more than 200 acres of new mountain forests and paddy fields? ”

"I can't grow it." Han Er said in a low voice.

"So you have to ask the neighbors to help plant, just said that you can't forget your roots, you have also been a tenant, you know that it is not easy to plant people's land, since you know that you have to compare your heart with your heart. If the wind and rain are good, the harvest is good, and the rent will be collected as much as it should be. If there is a flood or drought, the harvest is not good or even the grain is not harvested, not only can you not force people to pay rent, but you also have to come up with some grain to help. If the neighbors encounter other difficulties, it is best to help them, be happy to do good deeds, help the poor, and not only accumulate virtue for future generations, but also have a good reputation, you know? ”

"Yes." Han Da nodded as if he didn't understand.

"Of course, this gang depends on the situation, you just need to remember one sentence: emergency relief, not poverty relief."

"I will remember, emergency relief is not poverty relief."

"Okay, you have to remember." Duan Jiqing smiled and said, "Then you know the wishes of your brother and even your uncle, they hope that the Han family can become a scholarly family of cultivators. Cultivating is good, now that there is land, there is only one left to read. Why can Pan Er be a Shangguan, firstly, because he is reminded by your brother, and secondly, because he can read a few words and can write and calculate. So let your baby read, if you don't read, you won't be a talent. ”

"You know, I'll let them study hard, if they don't study well, I'll clean them up!"

……

Just when Duan Jiqing and Guan Bantou helped Han Xiufeng teach Han Da, Han Er, and Han San how to be a squire, Han Xiufeng was looking at a letter and sighed with Dean Gu, Wang Qianli and other Hai'an squires.

Some time ago, the city was attacked, because Qi Shan and Chen Jinshou did not move, and they fell short. Lei Yicheng and the new governor of Caoyun, Fu Ji, were angry, and they rushed to impeach Qishan and Chen Jinshou for 600 miles. The emperor was furious and ordered Qi Shan's post to be dismissed, but he couldn't find a more suitable minister to take charge of Jiangbei military affairs, so he could only let Qi Shan resign from his post and stay in office, and scolded him for quickly recovering Yangzhou.

Qi Shan was scolded for a bloody squirt, and did not dare to fake another fight, and the day before yesterday attacked the city again, not only did he not capture it, but even the general soldier Shuanglong who was injured and supervised the battle was killed, and the Jiangbei battalion lost a strong general.

However, Han Xiufeng and the others are not sad for Shuanglai, after all, they have never even seen each other, let alone have any friendship. Instead, he sighed that Zhang Yiguo's life was really hard, this time he was also injured and supervised the battle, Shuanglong died, and more than 60 of his villagers died, and he miraculously survived again.

"You can't fight with anyone you fight with him, he has guarded the Changchun Bridge until now, how many battles he has fought, how many people who have died in the war with him, but he has nothing to do!" Yu Qinghuai sighed.

"Yes, first Zhu Zhanao, and now Shuanglai, a deputy general and a general soldier, he not only regulates his subordinates but also regulates his superiors! Fourth master, fortunately, we parted ways with him after guarding Wanfu Bridge, otherwise I really don't know what he would become. Wang Qianli said with palpitations.

"It's not that nothing happened, didn't he get a dozen wounds during the last siege?" Han Xiufeng put down the letter and smiled bitterly.

"But everyone else is dead, but he is not dead!"

"Qianli, I don't like to hear what you say," Dean Gu put down the teacup and muttered: "What the imperial court lacks now is a loyal minister like him, if Yangzhou is full of people like Qi Shan who are greedy for life and afraid of death, we can still sit here and drink tea?" ”

"That's right, what you always said is very true, there must be a few people like him who are not afraid of death."

"If you want to say that you are not afraid of death, isn't Old Ghost Xu not afraid of death as well, Lord Lei should transfer Old Ghost Xu to attack the city."

"Qianli, what's wrong with Xu Ying?" Han Xiufeng couldn't help but ask.

Wang Qianli explained: "I get angry when I mention him, the good state government is made complaining by him, the scribes have retired more than 100, and one of the idle white servants has been dismissed, and even Chu Chenggui has changed from the head of the fast class to the soap class officer." Didn't the imperial court just issue an order to dismiss all the recruited villagers where the bandits did not invade, but although our Taizhou was not captured by the bandits, it was also invaded. But he's good, he actually wants to be dismissed, and he actually let us dismiss Xiang Yong! ”

"The imperial court is worried that the tail will not fall." Han Xiufeng groaned.

"But our Taizhou is not another place, and the bandits are still entrenched in Yangzhou and haven't left!"

"What did Master Guo say?"

"It's easy for us to do, just change the name of our group training, he Master Xu won't let us recruit Xiang Yong, then we will recruit and train Yan Yong. No matter how big his official is, he doesn't have Lord Guo, and no matter how big his power is, he can't control the Yunsi Yamen. ”

I knew that Xu Ying would not be born in peace, but I didn't expect him to make such a big move, Han Xiufeng didn't know what to say, Dean Gu suddenly said: "It's nothing to abolish the group training and dismiss the Xiangyong, after all, the whole Taizhou is also our Hai'an is in the Zheng'er Eight Classics Training." It's just that so many idle scribes and white servants were dismissed at once, and he relied on the dozens of officials in the state government, could he collect the taxes in the second half of the year? ”

"It's true, there isn't much rain today, and our side is fine, it is said that the rivers in those Zhuang towns near the river capital are almost empty. If there is no water to irrigate the land, the cost will not be good, and the tax in the second half of the year will not be good! Yu Qinghuai said solemnly.

Wang Qianli blurted out: "This is not only a natural disaster, but also a man-made disaster. ”

"Man-made disaster?" Han Xiufeng asked subconsciously.

Wang Qianli explained: "Qi Shan was greedy for life and was afraid of death, so he didn't go to attack the city, but instead built a dam in the north and released water in the south, so that the water in the canal was almost drained, and what did he say to prevent bandits from attacking the capital along the canal." Anyway, the rivers in the west and north are scattered, and there are waterlogging and drought in various places. ”

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