There is a wooden house under the hill near the Ordnance Division, where the elderly, widows and children of the Wuding family live, there were originally few families, since the immigration out of the customs, this place has suddenly become lively, hundreds of Wuding families have lived in, the original warehouse of the Ordnance Division has also been occupied, and this large wooden house has been temporarily built. There were several thousand of these old and infirm women and children who lacked labor, and the guards generally did not want them, so the barbarian mountain battalion had no choice but to raise people, and the iron works, salt works, and various workshops were all placed to work with some people, and the ordnance department was distributed to several hundred people. This burden is not light, the Grand Commander's Office originally intended to distribute the widows among them to those singles who have no wives, but the singles said that it is not easy to eat by themselves these years, most of the widows have children, and they will add a few mouths when they enter the door, who can afford to raise them, and it is better to marry a wife later. The Grand Commander's Mansion has been busy for a while, and no one has married a few, so he has to continue to carry this burden, and what he can do is to feed his mouth and not starve to death.

Zhou's sister-in-law's mother and son belong to this situation, the son is still too young to work, and she relies on her chores from the Ordnance Department to do the sewing and mending, and the rations earned are only enough for the mother and mother to eat half full. However, her luck was better, on the way out of the customs met Su He, a good person, not only sent the two of them to the Barbarian Mountain, but also often came to see them, every time they brought some yam eggs, corn and other grains, which made the mother and son feel better, today Su He came to see them again, as soon as he came, he gave the child a cake and sent him out to play.

"Sister-in-law Zhou, have you thought about what I said?" Su He lowered his head and chopped firewood, and whispered to Zhou's sister-in-law, "My family does not live in a tent, and the Han people live in Bansheng, when Fengzhou was restructured, I was assigned a mule, three sheep, my brother fought with the commander and made military merits, and a horse and a cow were also given to me, we are next to the Heihe River, the land is there, as long as you are willing to work, you will have food, I can afford to raise your mother and son." ”

"Will you be nice to the pillar?" Sister-in-law Zhou asked softly with tears in her eyes.

"My wife and son died of the plague a few years ago, there is an old father at home, the villagers say that he is a good person, and my daughter Qiqige is two years younger than the pillar, and she is also an obedient and good girl, don't worry, our family will be good to you."

Su He hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Sister-in-law Zhou, you don't think I'm a Yiren, right?" Our family and Han people are neighbors, we have been farming together for decades, and everyone in our family can speak Chinese, and even the customs are almost the same, you will definitely get used to it! ”

"It's all up to you!" Sister-in-law Zhou covered her face and ran back to her wooden house.

Li Yu returned to the Great Commander's Mansion to find Wang Ziyong and asked him to take care of his brother's marriage. Wang Ziyong said with a smile that he has registered all the officers above the sentry commander and the captain of the brigade who have not started a family, and several old and difficult problems have been solved, such as Jin Guoding and their Liaodong officers, who were married a few days ago, of course, he also resolutely resisted and refused to register Hou Shijie and Du Hongfang, who have wives at home, but eat in the bowl and look at the pot in the pot.

"What about Lao Zhou, why didn't I hear that he was married? He is a deputy battalion officer, and he will turn 30 this year, so he must give priority to finding a wife for him. Li Yu stared at Zhou Yuji's matter.

"Who said it wasn't, but he was too honest, he didn't have the words of a matchmaker, and he had to do six ceremonies, I asked someone to tell him a few relatives, he was either young or illiterate, where can I find a suitable one for him? Like Jin Guoding, it's different, tell him a little widow, and when you meet him, you will immediately agree to look very handsome, and this will be done," Wang Ziyong shook his head and said to Li Yu very sincerely, "Great commander, you have to persuade Deputy Battalion Officer Zhou, Fengzhou is lawless in this place, the rules have long been messed up, whoever starts quickly has a wife, and if he talks about the rules like this, he can't become a family at forty." ”

Li Yu nodded and said to Wang Ziyong: "Anyway, Lao Zhou is also an old brother, and his family affairs still have to be taken care of. ”

"Don't worry, I'm thinking about it."

On the edge of the sea, in front of the infantry camp, Zhou Yuji was sitting in the official room, red-faced and red-eared by the battalion officer Zhang Chuanjie, and next to Wang Dongqiang, Liu Qian, and his fellow Liaodong villager Ren Shouzhong, the three sentry commanders kept snickering on the side.

"Lao Zhou, everyone is a brother, I and Wang Dongqiang, Liu Qian, they didn't help you, we have found someone in Datong, as soon as people heard that we were soldiers outside the Guan, the court didn't care about military salaries, and no one wanted to marry their daughters, you just learn from Lao Jin, and you will marry a wife, and pick up a lot." Zhang Chuanjie pointed at Zhou Yuji.

"That's it, Lao Jin wants to marry a little widow, and I also want to marry a big-footed Mizhi aunt, we don't dislike it, you are all thirty ......" Ren Shouzhong also persuaded.

Zhou Yuji became angry when he heard the word "thirty", and stood up and shouted to Ren Shouzhong: "What about thirty, I'll beat you up for nothing, what do you care!" ”

"Lao Zhou, sit down, do you think it's just your own business to beat a singleton, you are a bachelor at the level of the whole military battalion officer, you can stand it, but the face of our infantry front camp can't hang up," Zhang Chuanjie held down Zhou Yuji, and pointed to Bai Yintu, who was squatting in the corner of the wall and smoking, said, "Lao Bai is a warm-hearted person, and he runs a trip specifically for your business, so you have to listen to others tell me how that girl is." ”

Bai Yintu is the deputy battalion officer of the former cavalry battalion stationed nearby, he has trained Zhang Chuanjie's Datong soldiers before, and the relationship has always been good, this person is enthusiastic and helpful, and he remembered Zhou Yuji's affairs when he heard about it, and he specially ran to say goodbye today.

"The girl I'm talking about is really good, eighteen years old this year, looks handsome, and can ride horses and shoot arrows, his father is Liu Tianren, who has just been promoted to the Dafa Division, and I happen to be the same tribe as Xishao, don't look at it as a Mongolian, people have been doing business in Xinpingbao for several generations, Liu Duanshi also went to Guannei to study, and even the name is taken by the Chinese name, and his daughter Liu Naren is also literate and hyphenated, if it weren't for my big face, people wouldn't be happy." Bai Yintu said proudly.

"How about it, the conditions are good enough, the age is not too young and not too small, and you are literate and hyphenated, and you are still the daughter of the Dafa Division's judge, Lao Zhou, you are so lucky, agree immediately." Zhang Chuanjie immediately shouted.

"Don't be in a hurry to agree, we Mongolians are not the same as you Han people, except for the noble family to talk about some rules, ordinary people still have to see whether the girl is happy or not, people said that you must meet each other, you make up your mind, I will bring people to meet with Lao Zhou." Bai Yintu hurriedly added another sentence.

"Lao Bai, you brought your daughter, this matter is done, and the front camp of the infantry army has to thank you." Zhang Chuanjie replied immediately.

Baiyin Tule left hehehe, Zhang Chuanjie continued to preach to Zhou Yuji: "Old Zhou, don't pick again this time, it's almost the same when people pick you, don't tell me that you don't want to marry Yiren, we are all from Fengzhou now." ”

"When I went out of the customs, I knew that I would settle down here in the future, how could I dislike others and be a bad person," Zhou Yuji lowered his head and said quietly with a red face, "Actually, I didn't pick before, but my mouth was too stupid, and I didn't know what to say when I saw a woman, and someone was still a matchmaker." ”

"You don't dare to see people after a long time," Zhang Chuanjie laughed, pointed to the three sentinels and said, "You can't find a matchmaker in Fengzhou, you three will teach Lao Zhou how to talk to women in the past few days, and you can't teach you to deduct your military salary." ”

Three days later, Bai Yintu came again, and as soon as he entered the office, he shouted: "Come, come, that girl is waiting by the sea, quickly call Lao Zhou to meet." ”

Everyone immediately got busy, and Zhou Yuji was pulled out for a meal.

"Remember, when you meet, you must say, beautiful girl from heaven, may you be auspicious, Mongolian girls like to hear this the most."

"You can't do this, put on my new cotton armor and this new pair of riding boots."

"The horse must be good, the Mongols like this the most, ride my big white horse."

"There are also bows and arrows, which should be carried behind you with the quiver, and do not drop the saber, so that it will look more powerful."

……

Zhou Yuji was dizzy and went to the edge of the sea, where there was a slender Mongolian girl, the white cotton robe looked particularly pretty on her body, Bai Yintu went up to say hello, and then quietly walked away.

Zhou Yuji didn't dare to raise his head, his face was swollen red, and he held back for a long time before he said a sentence: "From the sky, from the sky - beautiful girl, auspicious, you are auspicious!" ”

"That's what someone else taught you." A burst of laughter like a silver bell came, and Zhou Yuji's head was lowered, and he didn't dare to look at the girl at all.

"You've led troops into battle, so you'll definitely shoot arrows on horseback, right?" The girl asked, and Zhou Yuji hurriedly nodded.

"Then do you dare to try riding and archery with me?" The girl asked again, then turned and stepped into her horse, and ran off into the distance, where another burst of laughter like silver bells drifted in the wind.

Zhou Yuji was still fluting, and Zhang Chuanjie and Bai Yintu, who were hiding in the grove not far away, hurriedly jumped out and shouted at him.

"What are you doing in a daze, chase after you!"

"Show your skills and take her down!"

Zhou Yuji also reacted, and flew on his horse and galloped in the direction where the girl went.

At the end of the twelfth month of winter, Shen Shoulian, who participated in the politics of the Great Commander's Office and was in charge of the affairs of the Silver Banknote Bureau, returned to Manhan Mountain from Datong - he was actually not idle in Datong, and he had been remotely controlling Wang to do things with a group of people, and the reorganization of the Fengzhou Silver Banknote Bureau had entered the final stage, and all the 200,000 taels of silver had been transported, and the Commander's Office had also deposited the remaining 30,000 taels of silver into the silver treasury of the Silver Banknote Bureau to exchange silver banknotes, and borrowed 70,000 taels of silver notes as collateral for the next year's taxes - there will be 100,000 taels of silver banknotes at the beginning of next year, and the officials of the Great Commander felt much more relaxed.

In the lobby of the Grand Commander's Mansion, Shen Shoulian was talking to Li Yu and Ortai, Li Huai, and Li Fugui, and a few silver banknotes were shaking in his hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the silver banknote bureau has everything ready, just waiting to start construction, this is our silver banknote sample, divided into when ten taels, five taels, one tael, five coins, one money, five cents, one cent seven denominations, and then can be supplemented by copper and iron money, with the wood and Fengzhou's unique sand willow, wool mixed paper, can prevent people in the customs from making counterfeit banknotes, and then with white lotus petals as the pattern, whoever dares to forge will accuse the government of fornicating with the White Lotus cult, so it can be described as seamless," Shen Shoulian put down the ticket, and then took out two silver coins and threw them upwards and then stretched out his hand to catch them, Said triumphantly: "Fengzhou silver coins, ninety-three color, divided into nine coins and four cents and seven cents, more exquisite than Taixilai's silver coins, enough to be used as a treasury silver tael and five coins, immediately can be minted in large quantities, and after the abolition of silver in Fengzhou, we will use our silver banknotes and silver coins." ”

"Old Shen, why do you still have my head on this silver banknote and silver coin, the watermark of the silver banknote and the back of the silver coin are still an eagle," Li Yu took the silver note and silver coin and looked at it carefully, and immediately became unhappy, "People know at a glance that I did it, and the matter of military tickets is forgotten, and this time let me come out, do you want the court to ask me for guilt?" ”

"Great Commander, this is no way, the common people will not admit it without your avatar, for the sake of our silver banknotes and silver coins can be valuable, you should take care of it more," Shen Shoulian smiled and comforted Li Yu, "Don't worry, as long as the Dongyu and the thieves are still making trouble, the court will never dare to provoke you, but I don't see that the court has any hope of quelling the Dongyu and the thieves." ”

Li Yu ignored him, turned his face to Li Huai and Li Fugui and asked: "We can collect 30,000 taels of land and business taxes a year, and I will wake up with a smile when I sleep, you borrowed 70,000 taels at once, what will I pay back in the future?" ”

"It's not much at all, I still want to borrow more, we don't eat it up like the officials of the Ming Kingdom, we are doing serious things, and we can earn it back." Li Fugui didn't care, but Li Huai was silent.

"Great Commander, you have strong soldiers in your hands, this is money, what is 70,000 taels, go out and walk around casually and come back with money, I'm not afraid of what you're afraid of?" Shen Shoulian said with a smile.

Li Yu glanced at Shen Shoulian and muttered: "Whatever you want, anyway, I can't pay off my debts, and it doesn't matter how much I add." ”

Li Huai shook his head and smiled bitterly, and Ortai asked coldly: "Boss Shen, the three of you are businessmen who are here to make money, how do I think that you can't make much money just by printing banknotes and minting coins, your silver dollar coins are not lighter than silver taels, and going out to do business is still troublesome, why do people use your silver coins, you tell you honestly, what are your ideas?" ”

"Big break, you have too much heart, we are really here to do good deeds," Shen Shoulian felt that even he didn't believe this after speaking, and immediately said with an honest face, "Of course, we still have to make some small money, there is silver money circulation, we can open money banks, iron factories, workshops, Li Erzeng and these Jin merchants also made account bureaus, ticket numbers and other businesses, you can exchange money with bills, big decisions, business is good, we can naturally make money." ”

"I knew you guys couldn't afford to be early." Ortai's face twisted and he didn't say anything.

While everyone was talking, Mo Rige came in and whispered a few words in Li Yu's ear, Li Yu nodded, and said to everyone: "Lord Jin and Gonggong Liu have come to Barbarian Mountain, you continue to talk, I'll pick it up." ”

"No, the court will know so soon," Shen Shoulian's face turned white all of a sudden, he was a thief, and hurriedly said to Li Yu, "Great Commander, don't say I'm here, I didn't do anything!" ”

Li Yu didn't answer, waved his hand at him and went straight out, Ortai laughed mockingly: "Boss Shen, don't be afraid, the imperial court is a fart in Fengzhou, and it doesn't dare to arrest you if it knows that you make private money." ”

"But my family is still in Suzhou!" Shen Shoulian is still weak-hearted.

Jin Sheng and Liu Wenzhong's trip has nothing to do with Shen Shoulian, that is, they know that most of the private money in Fengzhou will pretend not to know, and the imperial court is currently implementing a pacification policy for Fengzhou, as long as there is no major incident, no fool is willing to make fun of himself - the court has a party dispute again, this time the protagonists are the first assistant of the cabinet Zhou Yanru and the second assistant Wen Tiren, and the supporting role is the unlucky official Shangshu Min Hongxue, no one can take care of the little things in Fengzhou.

Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren were originally comrades-in-arms, Wen Tiren came out for Zhou Yanru to attack Qian Qianyi, the boss of the Donglin Party, Zhou Yanru served as the first assistant and recommended Wen Tiren to join the cabinet, but the two then became opponents, Zhou Yanru felt that Wen Tiren was shallow and vulgar, the first rat at both ends, and often said bad things about Wen Tiren, and Wen Tiren felt that Zhou Yanru was greedy for money, incompetent, and famous, and he was constantly making small moves. Chongzhen's four-year scientific examination finally made the two completely turn their faces, Zhou Yanru is the undergraduate examiner, Wu Weiye, the first place in the examination, is the son of his deceased, and Chen Yutai, the first place in the court examination, is his in-law, Wen Tiren thinks that there must be disadvantages, and secretly instructed someone to sue Zhou Yanru, and Zhou Yanru quickly counterattacked, instructing his henchmen to impeach Min Hongxue, the official recommended by Wen Tiren, for bribery. Wen Tiren never showed weakness, in order to protect his fellow villagers in Wucheng, he also sent people to collect evidence that Zhou Yanru connived at the evil slaves in Yixing's hometown to harm the township, and directly pointed the finger at Zhou Yanru, the two fought together, Min Hongxue was scolded every day in the middle, and wanted to resign and go home, Wen Tiren still disagreed, Min Hongxue knew that the final result would definitely be that he would lose his official position, so he simply didn't do anything.

Zhou and Wen fought in the court, and the courtiers also coaxed, the defeat of the Dalinghe army, the Wuqiao mutiny, the rebellion of the hungry people in Yan'an and Qingyang in the northwest, how should these end? No one wants to think about it, Wen Tiren doesn't care, Da Linghe has Sun Lao on the top bar, Shandong and Northwest are your first assistant's responsibility, Zhou Yanru was unwilling, and immediately took out a few Fengzhou Tuntian Dao pieces pressed by the cabinet - Fengzhou is a barbarian land in the eyes of the courtiers, and he doesn't care about it at all, if he wasn't worried about causing trouble, the chapter would have been rejected a long time ago, since Fengzhou Tuntian is supported by your Wen Tiren, Fengzhou's troubles will be solved by you, Wen Tiren pointed out that Zhang Tinggong, the governor of Datong, and Shen Di, the governor of Xuanfu, were all recommended by you Zhou Yanru, You can't run away if something happens.

The two factions of the DPRK and China fought endlessly, and finally went to the battle between the gentleman and the villain, Zhou Yanru, who was known as Qingwang, became the representative of the righteous gentleman, and Wen Tiren did not have a resolute struggle with Wei Zhongxian at the beginning, and some of his accomplices had hooked up with the eunuch party, so he became a traitorous villain who wanted to overturn the case for the eunuch party.