The sky was blue, and the bright sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves of the old locust trees, and the wisps of light sprinkled on the school grounds. The fields outside the village are longitudinal and horizontal, and the green wheat fields are dotted with a little golden yellow, and I don't know whose rape has bloomed, and the seeds and oil can be harvested in more than a month.

The people in the village have become accustomed to the existence of the river camp, and people work at sunrise and return at sunset, and no longer like to watch the excitement around the school field as before.

The Saxo Money Village, which is next to the Yamen of the River Hall, because of the corruption case of the former Tongzhi Master, the shopkeeper was imprisoned, and the money village was confiscated by the Shuntian Mansion, but the seal on the door was torn off not long after it was pasted, and now it has become a private school in the village, and the teacher is the West Xi Feiju of the Han family, not only the young master of the Han family is studying here, but even the old man Chen and the old man Yongxiang have sent their own children and nephews......

The sound of children reading, the sound of shouting and killing on the school grounds, and the shouting of hawkers walking through the streets and alleys, accompanied by the curling smoke and the fragrance of birds and flowers in the countryside, constitute a lively and somewhat unusual morning in Zujiachang Village.

Yongxiang and Yun Qijun had already led the under-successful and defeated horse team to Jinghai, and they could not return until the last batch of recruits who were training on the school field replaced them.

With Zhang Gui, Gu Dehui and others here, Han Xiufeng doesn't have to worry about how the last batch of recruits will train.

As for the camp affairs such as the preparation of money and food for military supplies, the camp office was formally established with the approval of Su Shun. Chen Chongtong was the general office of the camp office, Cui Hao and Yun Qijun, who was a person in the township, became the deputy committee member of the camp office, although it was not a serious official position, but it was reported to the Provincial Affairs Department, the Yamen of the Taiwan Command and even the Ministry of War.

In short, everyone is busy, but Han Xiufeng, the battalion officer, has nothing to do.

In the morning, you either go to the school to watch the soldiers practice for a while, or ride a horse and run along the Yongding River with the horse team for ten miles, or see what official business there is in the lobby of the river hall, and change into the usual clothes like no one in the afternoon, or read a book at home, or chat with Fei Erye, or carry a hoe and go to the vegetable field to hoe and hoe grass with Qin'er and my sister.

Qin'er likes to live this kind of life of husband and wife, but she can't work in the field like she did a few days ago, and when she saw that Han Xiufeng couldn't stay idle at home and wanted to go to the vegetable field with her sister, she simply followed with a basket.

"Sister-in-law, you are pregnant, what are you going to do?" My sister turned around and said.

"Everyone next door is pregnant, and they don't work in the field the same?" Qin'er carried a basket and a whole headscarf, and said with a smile: "Besides, I just go around the field with you, and I don't really work." ”

"It's good to come out and breathe, you can't always be stuffy at home." Han Xiufeng turned his head and smiled, slowed down his pace and asked as he walked into the field, "Cuihua, think about how many days I haven't seen, what is she busy with?" ”

"Fourth brother, do you really know if it's fake or not?" My sister couldn't help but smile and asked.

"What's wrong with her, I really don't know."

"She's pregnant like her sister-in-law!" As soon as she mentioned this, her sister subconsciously looked around, saw that there was no one else on the road, and said with a smile: "Don't laugh when you say it, when Zhuzi and Xiaohu and they went to Jinghai with Datou to eat together, they also joked with Datou that he would not be able to cave the house, but I didn't expect Cuihua to be pregnant!" ”

Qin'er couldn't help laughing and scolding: "You dead girl, you are really not ashamed, you dare to say this!" ”

"It's not me who said it, it's the pillar and Xiaohu who told the big head, and besides, there are no outsiders here."

"The pillar is not a good thing, I usually see him very honest, but I didn't expect him to have a bad stomach!"

"Sister-in-law, they're just kidding......"

A girl who has not yet come out of the cabinet, even dare to say this, Qin'er secretly sighs that the girl is not left.

Han Xiufeng knew too much about my sister, a cousin who was not a sister but a sister, how could he not hear the meaning of her words, walked to the ridge and put down the hoe and asked: "Sister, you have been here for more than two months, do you know why my brother didn't help you and Zhuzi get married?" ”

My sister has always been worried that her cousin has become a big official, and she looks down on the pillar that she has made up, and she is worried that her cousin will regret her marriage, but she doesn't dare to ask, so she can only pretend to be at a loss and squirm and say, "I don't know." ”

"Then do you know why the big head took the pillar to Jinghai?"

"The big head is an official master, and he naturally wants to work for the court with the court's money. The pillar is now a soldier to eat food and serve under the big head, and the big head is going to Jinghai, so the pillar will naturally follow. ”

Han Xiufeng could see that she was not very happy about letting the pillar go to Jinghai to quell the chaos, but she could understand it when she thought about it, after all, it was so dangerous to go into battle, it would be strange if she didn't worry.

Han Xiufeng sighed secretly, stared at her and said, "Sister, in fact, my brother hasn't forgotten about you and Zhuzi, and my brother discussed with your sister-in-law what to do in the first few days you came." Later, the reason why it was not done was because the pillar did not let it. ”

"The pillar won't let it, why won't he let it?" My sister was taken aback and couldn't believe it was true.

Without waiting for Han Xiufeng to speak, Qin'er explained with a smile: "Because he doesn't want to wronged you, he plans to wait until he becomes a Shangguan to marry you." ”

"Sister-in-law, what is he doing, I have never disliked it, I ......"

"Men have men's thoughts," Qin'er handed the basket to Han Xiufeng, took her arm and said with a smile: "Think about it, he and your brother and the big head are playing small and big, and now your brother is an official, the big head is also an official, and even Pan Er is an official, can he have any ideas in his heart?" ”

"But...... But how can it be so easy to be an official, and besides, if he has three longs and two shorts, how can I live? The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable it became, and tears came out of my eyes.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine." Han Xiufeng knew very well that the overall situation on Jinghai's side had been decided, otherwise he would never agree to take the big head to play with Guan Xiaohu, Yu Tiesuo and other big brothers, and explained with a smile: "It's really not so easy to be an official, especially if you are like a pillar, you can only rely on military merits if you want to be an official." Zhu Zi and Xiaohu They always joke with the big head, in fact, the big head is not melon at all, he not only wants to help Zhu Xiaohu and them fight for a half-official position, but also wants to repay Jiang Liu and the monkey for their previous care, so he insisted on leading the troops to Jinghai. ”

"It's such a big deal, why don't you discuss it with me!"

"He's afraid you're worried."

"What about the big head, did the big head tell Cuihua's sister-in-law?"

"Don't you need to ask, he must have discussed it with Cuihua."

"There are no eyes in the battle array, why didn't Cuihua's sister-in-law stop him?"

Cuihua was just as worried, but she knew that she and Datou could have today by military merit, knew that Datou had a friendship with Zhuzi Xiaohu, and knew that Jiang Liu and the monkey helped Datou to give the eighth master a pension, so no matter how dangerous it was to go to Jinghai this time, she couldn't stop it.

My sister didn't expect Cuihua to be so aware of righteousness, and she didn't know what to say with tears streaming down her face.

Qin'er took out a handkerchief to help her wipe away her tears, pointed to the vegetable in front of her and said, "Don't cry, hurry up and work, go back early after work, and then you have to pick up the dog from school." ”

"Hmm."

……

There were thousands of people in the river camp, and a few latrines in the three barracks were full in a few days.

It is said that the fertilizer water does not flow into the fields of outsiders, and the manure of the river camp is naturally picked by the people of the ancestral family, and the people in the village will not take advantage of it in vain. Because of this, the Han family's five acres of land are very fertile, melons, fruits and vegetables grow very well, and even the weeds grow taller than the weeds in other people's fields.

Han Xiufeng went to the city with his uncle to beg for a living, he didn't do much farm work, and he didn't have a good sister in hoeing, and he was clumsily busy, and Gu Dehui, who was supposed to be in the school field, chased him to the ground.

"Master Han, this is your job, leave this grass to the lowly position, and the lowly person turned around and called two people to help you hoe!"

"Who hoeed the grass in your field?" Han Xiufeng looked up and asked.

Gu Dehui reacted, and hurriedly smiled: "Master Han, don't worry, don't dare to call Bingyong as a slave, the little work in the lowly family is all done by the lowly family." ”

"That's it, you can't call Bingyong as a slave, I can't either." Han Xiufeng held the hoe and asked with a smile: "Say, what's the matter with chasing me here." ”

"Master Han, the first batch of soldiers who came back from Jinghai are Zhang Gui's original subordinates, who want to emulate the Zunhua Battalion who served in Jinghai."

Han Xiufeng, the "friend helper" in the Green Camp Army, is not ignorant, that is, the soldiers take out 100 yuan from the monthly military salary and store it in the public election "Pengtou", and the "Pengtou" will issue a note to the Pengtou. If anyone has three longs and two shorts, he will take out a part of the pension according to the length of time he has been in the army and the amount of money he usually spends.

Helping each other, this is a good thing, the imperial court not only recognizes but also advocates, just want to engage in "friend help" to the joint letter to the camp officer, the management officer can approve the public election of "friend head", in order to formulate the "friend help" charter. But if you meet a black-hearted battalion officer or elect a black-hearted "friend", the money that the soldiers usually pay will be wasted.

Han Xiufeng felt that this was a good thing, but he was also worried that the soldiers' money would be greedy, so he asked in a low voice: "How many soldiers are willing to revive their friends?" ”

"A lot," it was a matter of whether his soldiers could use their lives, Gu Dehui was afraid that Han Xiufeng would not agree, so he said eagerly: "Master Han, those who came back from Jinghai have experienced life and death, and they all want to revive their friends to relieve their worries." I don't know which one came up first, but today alone, there are more than a dozen soldiers who have gone to find their commanders and even sentinels. ”

"Do they have a charter?"

"The charter is really there, and at a glance, you can tell that they copied it back from Jinghai." Gu Dehui hurriedly took out a crumpled piece of paper from his arms.

Han Xiufeng took it and knew that the bookstore had copied it for them, and the handwriting was very neat.

It is impressively written: Gaiwen sets the armpits into a fur, and the silk can be used to make brocade, and the ancient and modern righteous deeds are about the same. I have been doing my thing, solidifying your unity and working together, being in the team, why not fight for righteousness to make money, so the major constitutions have friends to help, and set up friends, which has been a long time.

I have been building since Xianfeng four years of Cantonese bandits, and there is no friend to help the old chapter, every time the person who reads out of the army once stumbles, it is difficult to be caught off guard, and the Ma Zhan Gong is gathered to discuss, revive the rules and regulations of the friend, and consider the number of years to be far and near, respectively...... Move up and down to hang forever.

The specific charter was also written in detail, and Han Xiufeng muttered while watching: "Those who resign without reason will not be helped; Those who send out their friends will not be helped; If you don't help for a year, you won't get the money back; The money donated by the public agreement for two or three years will not be refunded; Those who are satisfied for four years will be half-helped, and the money will be 8,000 yuan; Five-year satisfaction will help 10,000 ......"

"Master Han, what do you think?" Gu Dehui asked cautiously.

"This charter would have been appropriate if it had been a peaceful year, but now that it is not peaceful, consider how many brothers have been killed and wounded in the camp in the past few months alone. It is unfair to the brothers who died in battle within a year of joining the army, not returning the money they gave in the public discussion for two or three years, and only half helping after four years of working in the battalion. ”

Gu Dehuiguang thought that if he set up a friend to help, he could not only relieve the worries of his subordinates, but also make his subordinates work more together to serve the imperial court, he really didn't think that some soldiers would not live for four years at all, and couldn't help but say with a bitter face: "Master Han, what should I do then?" ”

"First of all, it is a good thing to set up a friend assistant, and we officials should agree, but the number of years of this public aid is too long, I think it is more appropriate to help half a year and full help after a year." Han Xiufeng returned the charter to Gu Dehui, and continued: "And then we must know what kind of people their publicly elected 'friends' are, if the public elects a few treacherous and slippery friends, and runs away with the money they helped, not only will they be unlucky, but they will even shake the hearts of our Heying army." ”

"Master Han rest assured, the 'friends' will pay attention to the lowly candidates, and they will never let them elect a black-hearted person."

Han Xiufeng thought about it, but still shook his head: "Dehui, I still don't think it's okay for them to do it themselves, first, let them set up friends to help with the sentry, and the number of years of public assistance has been reduced to half a year, even if the soldiers in the sentry are all willing, the money to help is not much, and it is not of great use." Second, let a group of illiterate soldiers bravely handle this matter, and in the end, the money that will be helped will not fall into the hands of the secretary, but will fall into the hands of the sentinel, even if the secretary's office or the sentinel is not greedy or possessive, it is against the original intention of the friend to help. ”

Gu Dehui felt that Han Xiufeng's words had some truth, but he felt a little sorry to think that such a good thing would end up without a problem, and he didn't know what to say, Han Xiufeng suddenly smiled and said: "Actually, the reason for this kind of thing is because the imperial court's pension burns not much silver, and the battalion officials are too lazy to take care of it, so the soldiers have no choice but to do it in order to solve their worries." Since Bing Yong has brought it up, then we will take care of this matter, and I will go back and help you talk to Brother Yixiang to see if it can be handled by the camp office. ”

"There is no need for them to elect any friends, the money they help is directly deducted from the military salary, who has three longs and two shorts, and the camp office will help according to the regulations?"

"Friends still have to be elected publicly, and each post elects one, but their elected friends don't care about money or accounts, as long as they keep an eye on whether the people who handle the friends in the camp office are greedy for their money. Moreover, the camp office arranges a special person to handle it, this plate will be bigger, and the money will be more. More importantly, the camp office can hand over the money they help out to the big money in the county and even the capital to make profits, so that they can make money. ”

"It's best to arrange it this way, Master Xie Han."

"Don't thank you, you're not for yourself, it's for the camp after all. But when it comes to whether or not to set up friends to help, it's a matter for the soldiers, you go back and ask them if they are willing to be handled by the camp office, and if they do, then I'll go and tell Yixiang. ”

"They must be willing, Master Han, they don't trust others, so it's hard not to believe you!"

"Yes, but you better ask first."

"Okay, let's go back and ask."