"The price of grain in Datong is one or two hundred and sixty-one stones, a total of more than 100 miles apart, and it is one or two eight when it comes to Yanghe. Now is the time of the spring famine, the grain in front of it has been eaten, the summer grain has been confiscated, and because Master Fan went to the border to reward the three armies, everyone knows about it, so the price of grain has risen to two two one. In fact, even if you go to Datong now, one stone of grain has to be sold for about two taels. The grain market here depends not only on the harvest, but also on how many annual rewards the imperial court distributes, or whether the Tartars have stopped. In the past, when I was on an errand in Jiangnan, I never thought that before the silver cart of the imperial court left the capital, I already knew the approximate number, and how many taels of money could be allocated to a person's head, and then according to this number, the price of grain was estimated. Probably because the people under your command all have foreign accents, so the people in the grain store gave a cheap price, after all, it was the Qincha with Shang Fang's sword, and one stone of rice could save three coins of silver, which was not much different from the governor. It's a pity that we are all familiar faces, and we can't take advantage of the master's fame to bargain. ”

Although there is only green vegetables and not much meat to accompany the meal, and there is a lot of sand and gravel mixed in the rice, the residents of the entire kiln factory area are already as happy as a festival. They don't need to be seasoned with a meal and can make a bowl of rice disappear in a matter of seconds. Fan Jin even suspected that they had omitted the process of chewing and swallowed the rice directly into their stomachs, relying on their stomachs to digest it. He even began to worry about whether any child would be choked or strutted to death in this rapid eating.

It can be seen that everyone is really hungry and afraid, even if they know that there is enough food, they can buy it, and they will swallow it quickly. People who survive in this treacherous environment have a basic understanding that only the part of food they eat is their own, and no matter how much there is, they must eat as much as possible until they are full. Taste and nutrition are things that don't need to be considered here, what people need is just the satiety brought by food, in fact, in Xuanda, this feeling is already a luxury.

Xue Wenbi eats a lot more than them, and in this regard, he still maintains the demeanor of a Jiangnan Confucian general and has not become a complete Qiu Ba. After eating two bowls of rice, he stopped desperately filling the food, and started talking with Fan Jin with the rice bowl. Looking at the ecstatic residents, his eyes were full of compassion.

"Their fathers, brothers, or themselves have all contributed to the Ming Dynasty, fighting for their lives with knives and shots from the Tartars. All they wanted was a mouthful of food, but the court couldn't even satisfy that. In order to keep their men fed and have the strength to draw bows and dance knives, and in order to keep their children from starving to death, some women have to do that kind of shameless work. It's not that they're cheap, it's that there's no way. People always have to live, in order to eat, they can do anything, and the same is true of the Datong clan. From Shaanxi to Xuanda, I have seen more life and death, and less compassion. If you want to survive here, you have to figure it out for yourself. People won't laugh at the methods you use, they will laugh at you for not being able to support yourself. If you understand this layer, you can also understand what people here are like this. I don't blame the woman of the clan, she fell to that point, it was just to make a living, and this matter has nothing to do with her. ”

"It's not about her, it's about other people. Did Brother Xue offend anyone? Otherwise, why did the royal palace design him like this? ”

"Wine and wealth, since ancient times, how many of the fights and enmities between men have escaped this barrier? The ugly wife Bo Tian is a treasure in the family, and everyone loves her red face, if the dragon is bad, she is bad, and she is married to a woman who everyone likes. ”

Mei Ruyu is the only daughter in the family, her father is Mei Qianhu, who is friends with Xue Wenbi Babai, before Mei Qianhu died, he entrusted his daughter to Xue Rulong, who had become a bachelor, so that his daughter could marry him and get a home. Mei Ruyu has no opinion on her father's arrangement, and the friendship between the two families is good, so this marriage is a natural thing. But because of Mei Ruyu's beauty, this marriage has added variables.

It is no secret that the alternate acting king Zhu Naixuan likes Mei Ruyu. If it weren't for the relationship between the Mei family and the army, Mei Qianhu himself had made great achievements with several general soldiers, and Mei Ruyu herself had a martial arts, I am afraid that she would have been used by Zhu Naixuan a long time ago, or taken into the mansion. Although Zhu Naixuan is unlikely to intervene in the marriage between the two, if he wants to cause some damage in it, he can always do it. It is precisely because of the influence of the Dai Wangfu that the marriage of the two families never came to fruition, and finally became what it is now.

Let Mei Ruyu enter the household, this is Zhu Naixuan's means to get Mei Ruyu. framing Xue Rulong is obviously to get rid of future troubles and avoid trouble in the future. These methods are not conspiracy, they can only be regarded as yang conspiracy, and everyone can see it, but there is still a big distance between seeing it and being able to solve it.

These people in the clan have nothing to do, they have a large number of people, and they have the identity of the heavenly family to protect their bodies, and the clans in Shanxi have also done the things of robbing during the day, not to mention that they are justified in this matter, and they will not give up. Zhu Naixuan is now in charge of the palace of the acting king, as long as he takes out Lu rice to buy it, some people will work for him, whether it is to exert pressure on the yamen, or to gather people to make trouble, these people are all good hands.

For Zheng Luo's choice to protect the car, the most understanding is Xue Wenbi, who has a very good opinion of the governor, and is even willing to sacrifice his son in order to keep the governor.

"Zheng Junmen is a good official and a good person. In this position, there are millions of people who pay millions of dollars every year, and do not drink the blood of soldiers and do not eat empty salaries, so there are few such people. If he hadn't been here, Yanghe's food price would have flown to the sky. In the past few years, he has written letters to the big grain merchants in Shanxi more than once, using his face to suppress grain prices. The eldest master can give a few full meals to the people in the kiln factory, and Zheng Junmen let the entire Xuanda army and civilians starve to death by tens of thousands. The merit of the two is not said who is higher or who is lower, but as far as old decay is concerned, you can't forget who contributed to the food in the past few years just because you have eaten a full meal from the eldest master. ”

"I understand his distress. He didn't have to kill Wenlong, in fact, after Wenlong was imprisoned, he personally came to the door to apologize to me with the respect of the military. Those clans are not successful enough to fail, and if they don't follow their minds, these people will be endless. At present, I can't let the military gate sacrifice the soldiers and civilians of the city for the sake of my son, and let the sons of these people die. The hound must eventually die on the mountain, and the general will inevitably die in battle. On the day Wenlong went into battle, he was ready to die on the battlefield. As long as he dies for the people of the court, it doesn't matter how he dies. I don't shout injustice or complain, I just ask for a peace of mind, and don't let things affect the defense of the city. The eldest lord has the heart to stand up for my Xue family, and the old man is grateful, but the Xue family is just an ordinary soldier, and it is not more important than other families. It's better to cry as a family than to cry all the way, the eldest lord's Shang Fangjian is still used for major matters, and my Xue family's private affairs dare not distract the master. The Dai Wangfu is not a fool, and he will not have a hard top with the eldest master, if he only keeps a long-term strategy and takes a step back on both sides, I don't think they will refuse. ”

Fan Jin looked at Xue Wenbi, "The old man just wants to save other people's sons, not his own sons?" ”

Xue Wenbi shook his head and said, "There is only this one son left, so I naturally want to save it." But in the face of a national crisis, he is going to die after all, and the old man can't ignore the life and death of other people's sons in order to keep his son. In fact, I have met Wenlong in private, and his opinion is similar to mine. In fact, if the eldest master stayed at the border for a few more years, he would think like me. Of course, I know that some people will think I am stupid, but the more stupid people like me, the more peaceful the world will be. If one day there are only smart people left in the world, the world will be in danger. ”

Fan Jin nodded and said, "The old-timers are insightful, and the juniors admire them." But the meaning of the old man's words is probably to think of me as a smart person? ”

"Don't dare. The eldest master is a scholar, and unlike us Qiu Ba, we are not walking the same road, and we can't generalize. ”

"The old man is right, everyone is really not the same way. When you take a sword, we carry a pen, you guard the city, and we protect the community. But in the end, everyone works for Banzai, one is a nurse and the other is a housekeeper, that's all. I brought my wife and concubine, and some people couldn't get used to it, including Zheng Luo and probably the old man. But I don't think it's fair, what does it have to do with who I bring, or who I have to eat? If I don't eat brown rice with the border army, don't eat vegetables with those people, and don't stay up with singles, it doesn't mean that I don't do things. A few years ago, I gave Xiang Ye the idea to open up trade in the border areas to attract businessmen to come. As long as there are more materials, the price can be cheaper. I think it's much better to use this method than Zheng Luo to use his own face to bargain with grain merchants. In Jizhen border beans to accompany meals, soybean meal pigs, nine sides of the town know the name of Jizhen fat pigs. These things are not conspicuous, and in terms of merit, they are not as good as how many side walls have been repaired, or how many battles have been won, but when it comes to saving people, Fan feels that he is not below others. ”

The old man looked at Fan Jin and was silent, while Fan Jin looked back unceremoniously. The eyes of an old man and a young man collided with a little spark in the dark, and the old man was dissatisfied with his son-in-law, and it was not the first time that a similar encounter occurred. But even though he had already cooked raw rice and cooked rice, he still put on such a stinky face, which also made Fan Jin feel uncomfortable.

For Xue Wu's sake, he can't embarrass the old man, but in this kind of private occasion, there is no need to be too polite to him. In the final analysis, the Xue family is also asking for themselves at the moment, not to mention that the Xue family is guilty of crime at the moment, and there is not much arrogant capital in front of him.

At this time, Xue Wu walked out from behind and asked the two, "Master, Xianggong, what are you talking about?" ”

Fan Jin smiled at Xue Wuyi, "It's nothing, ask the old man about Biansai, and listen to my brother-in-law's case by the way." ”

Xue Wenbi looked at his daughter and asked, "Why did you run out if you didn't talk to your aunts?" ”

"There's nothing to say, they're too short-sighted and rude to talk to each other. Besides, they are a little afraid of me, and as soon as the children lean close to me, they were pulled over by the adults and beaten up, saying that if they offended the nobles, they would have nothing to eat, and they couldn't even eat well when I was there, so they could relax a little if they just left. ”

Xue Wenbi nodded, "When you were at home before, you couldn't think of so much, but now it's a good thing to learn to think about others, which proves that the experience of the past few years has not been in vain." Come, walk with Dad, and the two of us will talk. ”

Xue Wu looked at Fan Jin, Fan Jin nodded at her, and the father and daughter walked back and forth, walking into the distance. Fan Jin himself picked up a few bricks thrown on the ground and looked at them repeatedly in his hand. The quality of this kind of brick fired from soil is average, and it is a little softer than the street fighting weapon "laterite slab brick" (note) that Fan Jin saw in his previous life, and it cannot be compared with the stone city bricks of Jiangning.

Listening to the excited laughter of the men and women who were having eaten enough, hundreds of thousands of horses were looking up and neighing on the plug across the wall. Plugged into the warriors, sharpening their swords, Huo Huoli horses, and the soldiers prepared to cross the Great Wall to herd horses to the west, and these people who struggled for their lives to find a guarantee regarded as a barrier by this soft brick. As soon as he thought of this, his dissatisfaction with Xue Wenbi's attitude diluted a little, no matter what, this old man and the people he represented ensured that the world was peaceful and prosperous, and he should be more tolerant of him.

"Xianggong, what are you thinking?"

I don't know when Xue Wu has walked back and put a cloak on Fan Jin's body, Fan Jin realized that the banquet has ended, and people are leaving in twos and threes, as for the pots and utensils, naturally those women clean up, and there is no need for Fan Jin and his men to do it.

He looked at Xue Wu and said with a smile: "Have you talked to the old man?" ”

"Hmm." Xue Wu nodded, and did not continue the topic, but took Fan Jin's hand and said, "Let's go back to the room." ”

The living environment of the Xue family is not much better than that of his neighbors, and there are few rooms in the courtyard. The so-called beds are made of mounds, and they are a little poorer than when the Fan family was unfounded. As soon as people enter the room, they can smell the pungent stench, Xue Sufang frowned, and said to Fan Jin: "Xianggong...... I'm really sorry that you live in such a shabby house with me. ”

"Nothing. As an official, you can adapt to any environment, otherwise, how to shepherd the Quartet for the Son of Heaven. It's a bit worse here, but I can live with it. ”

Xue Wu leaned into Fan Jin's arms, wrapped his hands around his neck, and whispered in his ear: "But the concubine can't bear it...... When I was eating, the smell of those women was almost smoking. I really don't know how often they take a shower, so strong smell? The concubine has never lived this kind of life since she was a child, and when she was by Siniang's side, she also ate well and lived well, even when she walked the rivers and lakes, she had never lived in such a broken house. Seriously, I don't want to stay any longer, let's go early tomorrow morning. ”

"Hmm. What does the old man mean, if you want to go with us, I can arrange it. Your family's lawsuit is nothing, you can leave if you want, and your eldest brother is the same. ”

"Dad won't go with us, he wants to stay and defend the city, saying that he wants to burn qualified bricks as soon as possible and build the city stronger. In fact, it's not just my father who refuses to leave, I ...... I don't want to come back either. ”

When she said this, she suddenly hugged Fan Jin tightly, and a few drops of hot and humid liquid fell on Fan Jin's neck, and Xue Wu's voice gradually choked. "When I first heard the news of my father and eldest brother, I was very happy, thinking that I had found a family and that I would have a family to rely on when I was bullied again in the future. But...... But now I understand that from beginning to end, my relatives are only godfather, Siniang and Xianggong. This is not my home, and they are not my relatives. In my father's eyes, I am not as good as my eldest brother and second brother, nor can I compare with my nephew and sister-in-law. In order to prevent my sister-in-law from being sold into the workshop, he sold me. Got here and sold me a second time. Dad just said......"

"Said I wanted you to leave me and marry another man, right? Let me guess, is that man Xiao Changce? Your father has repeatedly emphasized that he is the only seedling in the family, and the Xiao family has been loyal and good for generations, probably this is what it means, right? ”