was rejected three answers in a row, Ma Rencheng racked his brains and couldn't think of it, so he had to laugh and say: "The child is stupid, please ask your father to mention it." ”

"Do you remember why Xuande Gong came to settle in Dunzhou?"

"The ancestors were from the dragon, and they had many military exploits, and they were given hereditary commands."

"Yes, I can't imagine that you still remember the things about your ancestors!" A smile appeared on Ma Ziyi's face for the first time, and then he became serious again: "The foundation of our Ma family is on this worldly position!" It is necessary to know that the sage of people is not good, most of them are determined by heaven, and they cannot be changed by the day after tomorrow. There are many generations of ancestors in the world who have painstakingly managed a little inheritance, and when a bad child is born, he will sell it all, how sad and lamentable! “

"Father's usual hard work child understands!"

"If only you understood!" Ma Ziyi nodded: "But our Ma family has a benefit, even if there are one or two unscrupulous children, it will not damage the foundation, and there will always be a chance to recover in future generations." “

"Why is that?" Ma Rencheng asked puzzled.

Ma Ziyi smiled slightly, and explained carefully. Many readers who are not familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty think that military households have a low status, but in fact, this is a misunderstanding, not all military households are of low status. For example, the descendants of hereditary officers like the Ma family generally have a higher economic and political status than the ordinary landlord class. Because in ancient China's rural areas, land and wealth always flowed between different families, even if a very wealthy family failed to pass the imperial examination for several generations, or if the descendants divided the family property and suffered lawsuits, it was very likely to fall into the ranks of ordinary peasants. But hereditary officers are different, their lands theoretically belong to the state. Therefore, they have no right to sell, even if there are a few unscrupulous children, it is impossible to sell their property for reasons such as prostitution and gambling, as long as there are talented children in the offspring, they can always reorganize the family business through the imperial examination or other means; There is no problem of failing to go through the imperial examination and not being able to get out. No matter how low the status of military attaches in the Ming Dynasty was, it was far higher than that of ordinary civilians. Theoretically speaking, a guard officer in the early Ming Dynasty, his descendants can be hereditary landlords for nearly 300 years, and even if it is a scholarly family, it is not easy to have someone admitted to Xiucai in close to 300 years.

"Father, then you are doing this for my Ma clan?"

"That's natural, my father is already a person buried in the loess to his chest, can he still bring it to the soil no matter how much he manages the farmland? It's not for the sake of a few of you. Ma Ziyi sighed: "The Son of Heaven is heroic. The article teaches Er Cao, everything is inferior, only reading is high. Everyone in the world knows that if you want your family to prosper, the best way is to study and become an official, but you don't know that this study also requires money. Which one doesn't want money? Not to mention those things behind the scenes, you should have known about them in the sect when you were young. Your two brothers aren't the brightest, so why are they being the ones who are the smartest? In the Tang Dynasty, I accounted for half of the world's Jinshi in Guanzhong, why is it now that Jiangnan Shizi is dominant? It's not that the people over there are rich, and there are more people who can read. ”

Ma Ziyi's words can be described as an empowerment for Ma Rencheng, and he asked in disbelief: "Then Master Zhao, is it because——"

"What else could it be? Pinkeye! Ma Ziyi sneered: "The incident of sending people to set fire to thousands of households made me see it. This man is a man who can't stand things, so I didn't tell him about digging a ditch this time, and by the time he found out, it was too late, and he didn't get any benefits, so he walked around the city and gossiped. Saying this, Ma Ziyi turned her face, and her voice was a little softer: "You now understand why your father is so angry." I intend to divide the three hundred or so into four parts. One is incorporated into Zongtian, and cannot be resold, but can only be divided into dividends and rented, so that even if the future situation is unfavorable, future generations will not have a place to eat; The other three will be divided among your three brothers, and each will have a foundation for his life. ”

When Ma Rencheng heard this, he understood his father's hard work, and said hatefully: "I didn't expect that Zhao Laosan was so vicious that he wanted to put his hand between our father and son, and the child would never have anything to do with this guy again." ”

"That's not necessary!" Ma Ziyi said with a smile: "Things in the world are not so black and white, you still have to be false and wronged with him on the surface in the future, but you are a little wary in your heart, if you don't interact with him, you will end up with a truth, and secondly, let this guy know that you have been on guard against him, and maybe you will come up with other tricks to make trouble."

"What the father says is true, and the child does so!"

"Hmm!" Ma Ziyi nodded, and said earnestly: "When you meet someone, you only say three points, don't leave a piece of your heart, you, there are still many things to learn!" That Liu Dusi sent someone to send an invitation yesterday, saying that Pitang was about to be completed, and invited me, Lu Zhizhou, and the gentry to watch the ceremony, although this person is a military man, but he is really a powerful person, you also went with your father that day, to see how people talk and do things, and learn a few points back. ”

"Yes, Father!"

Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it was the day of the completion of Pitang, Ma Ziyi and her son packed up and stopped and came all the way to Niujiaotang. Ma Ziyi was too old to ride a horse, so she rode a green sedan chair, and Ma Rencheng rode a gray mare with two companions. When the Ma family father and son came to the embankment of Pitang, overlooking the complex river canal in front of them and the huge cast iron gate that was about to be lowered, both Ma Ziyi and Ma Rencheng felt a strange huge power from everything in front of them, and in the face of the impact of this completely unfamiliar force, the father and son were speechless for a while. After about half a sound, Ma Rencheng stammered: "Father, although this Liu Dusi is a martial artist, this Pitang is amazing!" ”

Ma Ziyi didn't speak, and only after a moment did he whisper to himself: "I look down on him as a martial artist, but I underestimate him." “

"Underestimated?" Ma Rencheng was a little confused by his father's words, since his family and this Liu Dusi are in a cooperative relationship, wouldn't it be better for the other party to have the ability? However, he also understood that this was not the time to ask, so he stood silently behind Ma Ziyi.

"Mr. Ma, if you miss the distance, forgive your sins!" Liu Cheng smiled and arched his hand towards Ma Ziyi, and made a gesture of reaching out and asking: "There is a lot of dust here." The lowly post over there has already prepared a tea and fruit plate, so it is better to go over there and sit down and talk first. ”

"I'm tired!" Ma Ziyi arched his hand, but did not move, but pointed to the complex embankment below and asked, "The old man sees that this ditch is quite different from ordinary river canals, and it must have its own mysteries. Please also ask for your doubts. ”

"Don't dare." Liu Cheng couldn't help but be secretly surprised in his heart, he couldn't imagine that Ma Ziyi, an old squire, was so curious about water conservancy projects, he walked to the embankment, and explained while pointing: "The most taboo thing in this construction of Pitang is two things: one is to carry sediment and sediment accumulation from the water; The second is that the water came too violently, and it broke the embankment, which caused harm. These dams were built to slow down the flow of water upstream, allowing sediment to be deposited in special channels and dug out in the autumn and winter when the water dries up. It can be used to silt the field to turn bad into profit; Second, it also reduces the impact of water flow on the dam. Liu Cheng explained carefully, while pulling out his waist knife and drawing on the ground to show his intentions, and it took about a meal before the explanation was completed. After listening to the explanation, Ma Ziyi was silent for a while, and suddenly pulled his son Ma Rencheng behind him, and shouted in a low voice: "Little beast, kneel down for Liu Dusi!" Although Ma Rencheng didn't know what was going on, he instinctively knelt down according to his father's order. Liu Cheng hurriedly turned sideways and got out of the way. Hurriedly said: "Mr. Ma, what are you doing?" It's a frustration! ”

"Lord Liu!" Ma Ziyi took a deep look: "You and I used to have a little bit of mustard, but things have passed, Lord Dusi is a person who wants to do great things, and you have to look forward." I'm not a kid, and if I don't dislike it, I'll let him be under the hands of adults. Why don't you do something running? ”

In the face of Ma Ziyi's abrupt proposal, Liu Cheng was stunned for a while, although he received the support of the Ma family in the construction of the Pitang River Canal, but both Ma Ziyi and Liu Cheng knew that this was just a temporary exchange of interests, and there was an irreconcilable conflict between Liu Cheng and Ma Ziyi's Jinshen Group in terms of fundamental interests. Liu Cheng knows this, and Ma Ziyi also knows it. And now Ma Ziyi's proposal is completely different, even if the kneeling on the ground is Ma Ziyi's son, the only famous child of the Northwest gentry in the Ming Dynasty in the past three hundred years to enter the cabinet to worship the prime minister, even if he doesn't do anything, this behavior itself can explain a lot of problems. Not to mention anything else, Liu Cheng has to deal with the Northwest gentry, and he can save a lot of trouble by taking this Ma family kid with him.

"Is it ignorant of small profits or do you see that Lao Tzu has the spirit of a tyrant? Or is it a sign of friendship and a hidden evil intention? But there's no need to pull out his own son as a bargaining chip, this old guy is really a powerful character. Liu Cheng had a calculation in his heart, but a smile appeared on his face, he stretched out his hand to help Ma Rencheng on the ground up, and said with a smile: "Why should Mr. Ma be like this, if the world brother has nothing to do on weekdays, he will come here to play tricks, how can he dare to treat him as a subordinate?" ”

As soon as Liu Cheng's words came out, the faces of several entourages behind Ma Ziyi immediately changed greatly, Liu Cheng called Ma Rencheng brother, that is, he regarded himself as a friend of the Ma family, this is simply bold, if it weren't for Ma Ziyi's actions, I am afraid that those entourages will scold.

Ma Ziyi still looks like he has nothing to do: "The children are very ignorant, Lord Liu only cares about the lesson, don't be polite." ”

Seeing Ma Ziyi's appearance, Liu Cheng couldn't help but admire a little, it seems that he really underestimated this old man. At this time, someone informed that Lu Zhizhou and other invited gentlemen had also arrived one after another, so Liu and Ma went to the thatched hut where they rested together. When Liu Cheng entered the thatched hut, he made a group gesture to everyone, and said with a smile: "Liu Moufang is a bit of a vulgar thing, let the rank wait for a long time, forgive the sins!" ”

When everyone saw Ma Ziyi and Liu Cheng coming in together, their faces changed slightly, many gentlemen talked to each other, Lu Boqi simply turned his head sideways to discuss with his master, but Ma Ziyi looked like nothing happened, and took his son to find a vacant seat to sit down, but Ma Rencheng did not have such a good cultivation as his father, and he only felt uncomfortable in front of everyone.

"Rank!" Liu Cheng pressed down his hands slightly, and made a gesture to signal everyone to be quiet: "I ask the rank to come today for two things, one is the completion of Pitang, which is a great thing for Ze to be born, and the rank is the leader of the Shilin of Dunzhou, and the matter of the inscription will bother you; Second, the pond has been repaired, but the next ditch excavation, maintenance of facilities, etc. is not a one-day or two-day work, you must ask you to come up with a fair way. ”

As soon as Liu Cheng's words fell, all eyes suddenly gathered on Lu Boqi's face, no matter how weak he was as a magistrate, but no matter how he was a court official and a state parent, not to mention that the local gentry had been stirred up by Liu Cheng some time ago, and they were already in harmony and could not form a consensus, so Lu Boqi's attitude was particularly important at this time. Lu Boqi coughed low and stood up: "Fathers and elders of Dunzhou, according to what this official sees, this pond is a matter of benefiting the people, so call it the matter of benefiting the people. “

"The old man should not let it go!" Ma Ziyi didn't shirk either, he stood up, although he was old, his back was straight, his voice was loud, and he looked quite imposing.

Seeing that Ma Ziyi agreed, Lu Boqi's face looked a little better, and he turned his head to Liu Cheng and asked, "As for the next thing, it will not be decided for a while, so it's better to mention it next time." ”

"Lord Zhizhou's words are wrong!" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "This project can't be delayed, if Pitang is already full of water, and the silver, money, grain and rice can't keep up, then it will hurt the fathers and elders of Yanzhou!" ”

"Isn't there no water storage yet?" Lu Boqi's face became ugly.

"Really?"

As if to confirm Liu Cheng's threat, there was a loud roar outside the hut, and at the same time, everyone's feet shook slightly. In the thatched hut, whether it was the gentry or the Zhizhou Lu Boqi, everyone's faces turned pale. Lu Boqi stood up straight and pointed at Liu Cheng with a trembling finger: "Lord Liu, what's going on." ”

"Inform the state that Liminpi is storing water!" Liu Cheng said with a smile, he pointed to the outside and said, "If you are interested, please come outside with me to enjoy this beautiful scene!" So saying, he went straight out. The gentlemen in the thatched hut followed one after another, whether they wanted to or not. (To be continued......)