I studied in modern times

Chapter 808 Brothers
"Axe, Axe..." A hurried knock on the door woke Wang Da Axe from his deep sleep.

He reacted quickly.

That was the voice of his benefactor, the personal soldiers around Xiang Zongji.

Wang Dafu immediately stood up and opened the door.

Xiang Zongji's figure came into view.

This relative of the empress dowager, who had now been promoted to the position of commander of the Xizhou army, reeked of alcohol, and it was unclear where he had been drinking all night.

Since the end of the war last year, Xiang Zongji has been completely immersed in the life of wine and women in Xizhou.

Every day I am either entertaining guests or being entertained by others.

The Yuye wine brewed with the distiller's yeast bought from Bian Jing was drunk jar after jar, and people often drank it until they were intoxicated.

Wang Dafu saw Xiang Zongji staggering, so he quickly supported him and asked, "Tixia, what are you doing..."

Xiang Zongji laughed loudly, staggered on Wang Dafu's shoulder, took out a letter from his arms, and stuffed it into Wang Dafu's hand: "Dafu... This is a letter that just came from Jiaozhou..."

"I found your brother!"

Wang Dafu was in a trance.

Has his younger brother Daqiang been found?
He quickly supported Xiang Zongji, came into the room and sat down, and began to read the letter eagerly.

The letter was in the standard format of official documents. Wang Dafu was now also a member of the government, so he naturally knew this type of document.

This is called an 'official certificate'.

It is a document used between government offices to prove or explain something, and is often used in communications between different government offices that are not affiliated with each other.

And on this "official letter" were stamped the official seals of the Jiaozhou Xuanwei Office and the Jiaozhou Youjiang Anfu Office.

Wang Dafu had seen these two government offices in the official newspaper.

We know that they were all built by the emperor after Prime Minister Zhang’s southern expedition.

It is the office that the imperial court manages and controls the local officials of Jiaozhou.

To put it simply, there are two signs and one government office.

The chief officer was the same person—Lü Jiawen.

When Wang Dafu saw these official seals, he felt at ease.

Just as he was about to read the text, he heard Xiang Zongji say, "Dafu, you brothers are indeed blessed!"

"Do you know who your younger brother is working for in Jiaozhou now?"

Wang Da Axe raised his head.

Xiang Zongji laughed loudly: "Gao Zunhui from the Gao family!"

"Although I am just a baojia soldier who guards and escorts sugarcane for Gao Zunhui, it is still a benefit!"

"Not only that, he also received the grace of the emperor and bought a large piece of land in Guangyuan Prefecture! He even married a woman from Jiaozhi!"

Wang Dafu listened and swallowed.

"My brother got married?"

Didn’t Daqiang dream of marrying a county lady?

Why did you change your temper?
But that’s fine!

Get married early, have children early, and settle down early.

Xiang Zongji was drunk and laughed: "Not really!"

"She's just a Jiaozhi woman, most likely she was bought!"

"She's barely a concubine!"

Xiang Zongji laughed as he spoke, looked at Wang Dafu and said, "Dafu, you should also find a wife in Xizhou, either as a mistress or a concubine..."

"There has to be someone close to me!"

Wang Dafu smiled naively and said, "My wife in the capital is still waiting for me to return!"

"My eldest son, second son and little sister are all waiting for me!"

Xiang Zongji listened and burst into laughter.

What he liked was Wang Dafu's simplicity and loyalty.

Even when he became rich and powerful, he did not abandon his wife and children. He still cared about them and thought about them.

He even politely declined the woman who came to him from Xizhou Bao, saying that he had an elderly mother and underage children, and that all matters at home were managed and taken care of by his wife, so... he was unwilling to take a concubine.

Such things made the people of Xizhou marvel.

This also surprised Xiang Zongji, and he was more satisfied with Wang Dafu.

Because if you show kindness to such people, you will definitely be richly rewarded in the future!
At least, such a person would never do something like crossing a river and then destroying the bridge.

This is a hundred times better than those ungrateful people!
It is for this reason that Xiang Zongji was willing to invest.

He even used his connections and favors to help Wang Dafu find his brother.

So, he just patted Wang Dafu on the shoulder and said, "If Dafu doesn't want to, forget it!"

"I'm going to go drink some more!"

As he said this, he stood up shakily.

Wang Dafu personally supported him and sent him out the door with many thanks.

Looking at Xiang Zongji being supported by two personal soldiers, staggering towards the distance.

Wang Dafu then returned to the room, holding the letter in his hand, his face full of joy and happiness: "Daqiang... hehe... Daqiang... you are still alive... you even got married... that's great!"

"When I return to Beijing, I will tell my mother the good news! Let her be happy too!"

Having said that, Wang Dafu looked towards the direction of Mobang Mountain with a serious expression.

"I have to go to the Buddha's place and fulfill my wish!"

"Also, we must go to the Three Pure Ones to fulfill our vows!"

He once personally climbed up the Zisheng Zen Temple on Mount Mebang and knelt for a long time in front of the pagoda enshrining the Buddha's tooth relic, praying for the Buddha's blessing, for the health of his mother, the safety of his wife and children, and the safety of his younger brother.

He also prayed to the Three Pure Ones in a Taoist temple in Xizhou City, asking them to bless his mother, wife, children and younger brother with safety and health.

This naturally requires fulfilling a vow.

Moreover, one must choose an auspicious day, prepare sufficient incense and offerings, and solemnly fulfill the wish.

This is what his mother taught him.

As a person, you must be honest!

Especially we must not neglect the gods and Buddhas!

Wang Dafu has always adhered to his mother's teachings, working conscientiously and being an upright person.

……

The other side of the Song Dynasty.

Jiaozhou Xuanwei Office, Guangyuan Prefecture, Nan'anpu.

Wang Daqiang was in his yard, carefully washing a plate of gold sand.

This is the result of the hard work of him, his father-in-law, and his brother-in-law over the past month.

In another part of the yard, two thin, dark men were sharpening knives, preparing to slaughter a wild boar that was tied up in the yard.

The wild boar was caught in a trap they set in the mountains at home.

The blood has been drained and the pig hair has been burnt off by the fire. It is ready to be slaughtered, pickled and air-dried to be used as jerky for future use in the mountains.

Of course, the fresh pig heart and liver have to be saved for making soup.

As the mistress of this family, Wang Daqiang's wife Yang Xiaoying was stroking her growing belly and washing clothes by the well in the yard.

Her face is much whiter and fuller than before.

Apparently, she had been well nourished over the past few months.

At least, it's more than twice as good as her past!
After a careful and serious screening, Wang Daqiang finally smiled.

Gold panning is a very luck- and physical-intensive endeavor.

This month, thanks to the Buddha, he has good luck!

Finally, we have the best harvest ever!
The large gold beans and gold nuggets weigh about three taels in total, and the gold sand that has been washed out now should weigh about five taels after drying.

Wang Daqiang quickly calculated his own account in his mind.

Last month, when I went to the government to pay gold, the price of gold was 1 strings of coins (Note ).
All this gold should be able to be sold for eighty strings of cash.

Needless to say, this is a huge sum of money.

but……

Wang Daqiang looked at his wife, then at his father-in-law and brother-in-law who were slaughtering a wild boar.

He lowered his head.

He originally owed the government more than two hundred strings of cash, and the government was so kind that it only asked him to pay the interest for two years.

He had intended to pay off the money in one to two years.

however……

Instead of paying it back, he now owes even more.

First, he redeemed his father-in-law and brother-in-law from the farmer's sugarcane field, which cost him fifty strings of cash.

Even so, it was still due to the favor of Mr. Pan Sui Pan.

Otherwise, go and ask around. Can the Yang family members who have entered the farmer’s sugarcane field be redeemed easily?

The farmers hate the Jiaozhi people to the core!
Among all the Jiaozhi people, the Yang family was the most hated by the farmers.

In the first month of last year, farmers offered sacrifices to their ancestors, and hundreds of people knelt in the ancestral hall.

Each of them had a white cloth wrapped on their head, with "The hatred for our ancestors is irreconcilable" written in blood, swearing that their descendants would remember the blood feud of their ancestors!
From Nongzhihui down, Nong Zongdan, Nong Rixin, Nongzhisheng...

These local officials who were granted the title of Nong by the Emperor all hated the Li and Yang families of Jiaozhi with a vengeance.

Under such circumstances, any member of the Yang family who entered the farmer's sugarcane field was a servant or a serf.

But their surname is Yang, which is a sin in itself!

Farmers love to humiliate and torture people like this.

It is true that Mr. Pan Sui is a close associate of Mr. Gao.

At the same time, Mr. Pan was also assigned to handle the financial and grain affairs of Youjiang, Guangyuan and other states, and he could have a say in front of Youjiang Pacifier Lu Xianggong.

Thanks to Mr. Pan's efforts, Wang Daqiang was able to redeem his father-in-law and brother-in-law from a farmer's sugarcane field.

Even so, when they were carried back, they were covered in wounds and dying.

In order to save their lives, Wang Daqiang had to spend a lot of money to invite military doctors from the Jinglüefu Yamen to use good medicine for the wounds.

This cost him more than forty strings of cash!
After finally curing them, they had to be given a place to settle down. With the help of the "Close Relatives' Regulations" of the Pacification Bureau, the identities of my father-in-law and brother-in-law were changed from "Jiao Zhi people" to "Subjects of the Imperial Song Dynasty."

And this still costs money. This is another few dozen strings of cash.

Then, Wang Daqiang had to buy a horse.

And you have to buy more than one!
Because Mr. Pan made great efforts to help him.

And he must repay Mr. Pan.

Mr. Pan's main job in Guangyuan Prefecture was to help Mr. Gao escort the sugar cane squeezed from the sugar cane workshop.

These are all valuable treasures.

Armed escort is required!

Otherwise, accidents may happen.

This requires a rideable horse, and what can be bought in Jiaozhou are the Dian horses from the Dali Kingdom.

The official price of each horse was thirty strings of cash. Wang Daqiang bought two horses, which cost him another sixty strings of cash.

So, I came to Lingnan for more than a year and settled down in Guangyuan Prefecture, and it has been almost a year today.

Wang Daqiang was shocked to find that the debt he owed to the government not only did not decrease, but instead doubled and tripled!
Now, he owed the government nearly seven hundred strings of cash.

The annual interest rate is 2%, so the interest for this year is 140 strings of cash!

He has a family to support and his own food and drink expenses to pay for.

The pressure of life, like a mountain, pressed tightly on his shoulders.

There are also many good things for Wang Daqiang.

First of all, the thousands of acres of wasteland he enclosed last year have now been registered with the government.

From now on, these lands belong to him and his descendants!
Then, the father-in-law and brother-in-law who were redeemed were indeed good at work.

Moreover, he is hard-working and conscientious.

With their help, the amount of gold I mine is increasing every month.

This month it has reached an unprecedented amount of eight taels!
Furthermore, with the support of Pan Sui, he now has a semi-official identity - now he is the chief of Nan'anpu, Guangyuan Prefecture, Youjiang Pacification Office, Jiaozhou, Song Dynasty.

Although this so-called Baozheng had neither salary nor rank.

But his name was written in the roster of the Pacification Bureau.

With this identity, the sons of local officials had to give him some face.

Because every four months, when the Jiaozhi people delivered the tribute rice, the Han people's Baozheng from various places were responsible for hiring local workers.

Who can go and who can’t? How many can go?
In Nan'anpu, Wang Daqiang is the one who has the final say!

Wang Daqiang poured the washed gold sand into an iron plate, took it to the stove and started baking it.

At this time, the sound of horse hooves was heard on the path outside the door.

Wang Daqiang stood up, looked outside the door, and then he started laughing.

The visitor also dismounted outside the door and laughed at Wang Daqiang across the fence.

The person who came was Pan Sui’s brother-in-law.

To be precise, he should be the younger brother of Pan Sui's concubine.

He was also from Bian Jing. His full name was Huang Qi. Because he was the third child in the family, everyone called him "Huang Sanlang".

"Big Gun, Big Gun, my brother-in-law asked me to bring you a letter from Bianjing!"

Wang Daqiang was immediately surprised: "But it's a letter from my mother?"

"Ok!"

Wang Daqiang showed an expectant look on his face, and he quickly asked, "Is there any news about my brother?"

"Yes!" Huang Qi took out the letter from his arms.

Wang Daqiang quickly put the iron plate in his hand aside, went over to open the door, and invited Huang Qi in.

I only heard Huang Qi say: "Congratulations to Brother Daqiang!"

"Your brother Wang Dafu is now an official official!"

"And it's the kind that comes with a mission!"

Wang Daqiang widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.

His brother...

That brother who usually keeps silent, only practices martial arts and has no idea how to deal with people, has become an official?

He quickly took the letter and started reading it.

The letter was written by his mother herself, and Wang Daqiang recognized his mother's handwriting at the first sight.

In the letter, his mother told him that his elder brother had been favored and promoted by the Empress Dowager's family two years ago.

Then he went to Xihe. Now he has been granted an official position. The government has sent people to congratulate him many times.

Almost every few months, I would hear news about my brother's promotion.

Now, my elder brother has been promoted from the third shift to the position of Zuo Shijin due to his military merits and is actually appointed as the military commander of Nanguanbao in Xizhou.

Not only that, his mother also told him that someone from the Xiang family had sent his brother's two sons to a nearby private school.

Both the tuition and the apprenticeship fee were paid by the family.

The old lady of the Xiang family (Xiang Zongji's mother, not Empress Dowager Xiang's mother) also invited my mother to come and meet her.

So, the old mother told Wang Daqiang that there was malaria in the south, and if he was unhappy here, he could go home.

I believe that my elder brother will assign him a job.

After reading the letter, Wang Daqiang fell silent.

Big brother... has actually become an official...

And he is in charge!

He even established a relationship with the Xiang family!
This made Wang Daqiang feel somewhat uncomfortable inside, although he was happy for his brother.

Especially when he saw his mother saying that he could go home and his brother would take care of him.

Wang Daqiang recalled that when he was carrying heavy bags in Bian Jing in the past, every time he was short of money, his brother would secretly help him.

At this moment, Wang Daqiang once again recalled his bold words from the past.

"I want to get rich!"

"I want to marry the county lady!"

During the more than one year in Jiaozhou, he forgot about these things for a while.

But now, he remembered it again.

"I must get rich!" he told himself silently, "Then I will go home in glory and make my mother happy for me!"

"Just like now, mother is happy for big brother!"

"I have to marry a county lady to serve my mother! I want my mother to enjoy the feeling of being called aunt by the royal family!"

His obsession with marrying a county lady originated from his childhood.

A wealthy businessman who lived on the same street as his family married a county lady.

On the wedding day, the delicate county princess knelt before the rich businessman's parents and offered them tea, calling them the new bride and saluting them as uncle and aunt.

At that time, the young Wang Daqiang was looking at them with great envy in the crowd.

It was also from that time that he vowed to marry a county lady!
Now, the dreams of my youth have been reawakened.

Wang Daqiang took the letter, looked at his wife, and also looked at his wife's bulging belly.

His descendants are there.

Then, he looked at the yellow flag and said, "Sanlang... I heard that Mr. Pan wants to conduct a military review in Guangyuan Prefecture recently?"

"Yes!" Huang Qi nodded and said, "This is the task that was imposed on us to appease Prime Minister Lu!"

"Prime Minister Lu hopes to organize the clients who have migrated south from all over Jiaozhou and review them every six months so that the Pacification Department can have a usable combat force!"

Wang Daqiang looked at Huang Qi and took the initiative to say, "Please ask Sanlang to report to Mr. Pan!"

"Just say that the inspection of the Nan'anpu Baojia is handed over to me, Daqiang!"

"I will definitely train my boys well!"

"Don't embarrass the official!"

Huang Qi was overjoyed.

This is a tough job.

This is because the customers who went south were basically "heroes" selected from the construction sites in Hebei and Huainan in the eighth year of Yuanfeng and the first year of Yuanyou.

And what kind of qualities do these [heroes] have?
These people are all old hands and experienced!
Ask them to enclose land for themselves, pan for gold, or pay them wages, ask them to escort goods or do other things, and they are all very enthusiastic.

But they were asked to do it for free and to organize military training every now and then.

Then everyone will make excuses and refuse to cooperate.

If they are allowed to behave themselves again, they will be dealt with according to military law during the review.

Then they will immediately cause all kinds of trouble!

This place is not an inner county, and the government is weak, so it is difficult to force these people to train and review willingly.

What’s more troublesome is that among these people, very few have families like Wang Daqiang.

Most of them are unwilling to get married even if the government tries every possible means to guide them.

Everyone gambles when they have money, and gets drunk after gambling.

When he got excited, he would take some copper coins and find a maid in the chieftain's house to trade with.

Just like Wang Daqiang in the past.

The Pacification Department has almost no way to deal with these people!

If they are pushed too hard, they might give in.

If they get involved, it will affect Prime Minister Lu's political achievements.

What Mr. Lu values ​​most is political achievements!

It is precisely because of this background that Wang Daqiang, a man who is willing to settle down and achieve success, was promoted.

otherwise……

Do you really think the friendship between fellow townsmen is so precious?
Isn't there anything else that can be done?
You can only pick a general from the short ones!

Therefore, Huang Qi was so happy when he heard that Wang Daqiang was willing to take the initiative to take responsibility!
"Don't worry, brother Big Gun!"

"If you can complete this task, the imperial court will never treat you unfairly!"

"The rewards from the Pacification Department will not be short of a penny!"

God shows mercy!
Up to now, in the entire Guangyuan Prefecture, there are only a few people willing to take on the responsibility of reviewing and training the local baojia system.

Wang Daqiang is the first person to take the initiative to take responsibility!
(End of this chapter)