Song Dynasty

Chapter 74 Du Shu
The second day of November in the third year of Jianyan.

Du Shu clearly remembered this day, because it was the first heavy snowfall of the year in Jiankang.It made him, a native of Xiangzhou who is used to the dry, cold and crisp climate in the north, feel very happy. Since he escaped from Kaifeng to Jinling half a year ago, the wet weather here has almost rusted his bones.

It was too humid, the floor and the furniture in the house were moldy, and every night I would tuck into my quilt and sleep for an hour, but my feet were still cold, and even the air I inhaled smelled like river water.

As soon as the snow fell, everything seemed to be clean and warm.

On this day, Du Shu left the Jiankang Left-behind Division and was sent to the Sizhou Camp as the deputy commander.No need to ask, you can tell from his name that Du Shu is the right minister of the Song Dynasty, the Jianghuai Xuanfu envoy, and the relatives of Du Chong who stayed behind in Jiankang.When it comes to seniority, I still have to call Du Xiang my uncle.

Of course, Du Shu knew his uncle before that, but that uncle didn't know him.

The Du family is a big family in Xiangzhou, with thousands of members.However, he died under Li Cheng's knife the year before last, and now he is the only remaining male among the younger generation.

Du Shu was sent to school by his family when he was a child. When he was 20 years old, he couldn't read it anymore. He had no choice but to leave Du Chong's door and go to Weizhou to be a secretary and join the army.

This official position sounds scary, but it is actually a low-level official of the eighth rank, in charge of civil affairs and criminal law. To put it bluntly, he is an official, not even an official.Even so, because he was in charge of civil affairs, and Du Shu was a good-natured person, he got along well with local officials.On weekdays, it is fun to mediate civil disputes, handle civil cases, and collect red envelopes.Especially after marrying a woman from a rich local family, life is even more beautiful.

He is from Xiangzhou, but he is a mustard-like figure in the old family, but in Weizhou, he can stand on the stage. He not only chats and laughs with the state officials, but also calls brothers and sisters with the subordinates and local tyrants.

If there hadn't been the Jingkang disaster later, after a few decades, he might have become a local tyrant, and become a character like Song Gongming and Hu's old man in the novels of later generations.

However, together with the war, everything was ruined.The entire Weizhou was ravaged by the Jurchens into a piece of white land.

There was nowhere to go, and I got news from my family, saying that Du Chong sent all the family members to go over, so that I could take care of them nearby.The news surprised him, and he immediately took his family to Kaifeng to join his distant uncle whom he had never met.

He used to be a talkative and affectionate person when he was a recorder and joined the army. Naturally, he would bring his wife's family with him this time when he went to Kaifeng.In addition, hearing that he had found a way to survive, his former colleagues also begged to come to him one after another, hoping to go to the left-behind department to make a living together.

Du Shu has a good face and is proud of seeing others ask for something from him, so he never refuses to come here.As a result, his team expanded.After arriving in Kaifeng, there were two hundred people in a mighty way.

Because there are so many people, the road is also slow.With this delay, Li Cheng escaped the massacre.

Ordinarily, as the only remaining man in the Du family, Du Liushou would naturally have to vigorously promote him when he arrived at the left-behind department. Du Shu also thought so.

It's a pity that you don't know when things like luck will go bad.

As soon as he arrived in Kaifeng, Du Shu encountered internal strife in the left-behind department, and the battle was so dark that even Tokyo was occupied by Zhang Yong and Cao Cheng.

Then, the left-behind division began to flee thousands of miles, and fled to Jiankang in one breath before settling down.

At this time, Du Shu remembered to ask his distant uncle who had offered to ask for an official.

In fact, Du Chong had already greeted his subordinates about this matter and asked his subordinates to arrange it, saying that no matter what happened, he had to be given the position of a military envoy, so that he could be cultivated.

The people below were afraid of Du Chong's power, and planned to arrange for him to serve under Qi Fang, who ruled the former army of the Left Guard Division.

Like other troops, the left-behind division is divided into the front, middle, and rear armies. It is said that a relationship like Du Shu should be placed in the rear army.Generally speaking, the rear army is the general reserve team, which is responsible for rear defense and luggage transportation, and does not need to go to the battlefield.It's just that Wang Xie, who was in command of the rear army, was originally a forbidden army, and the army didn't listen to Du Chong even if it was rotten.Then, it can only be arranged in the former army.

The former army has the largest number of people and the best equipment in the left-behind division, and Qi Fang is Du Chong's confidant, and is the de facto headquarters of the left-behind division.However, the relationship between Chen Que and Du Chong, who are in command of the Chinese army, is not very good, and they don't cooperate very well. Du Shu was not very appropriate in the past.

It's a bit convoluted to talk about it, but Du Shu didn't take it to heart. Anyway, it's good to have an official with a military salary.Traveling thousands of miles, fleeing all the way, and bringing so many people with me, the money on hand has already been spent, and if I don't find something to do, the family will be short and hungry.

Just when he was about to get an appointment, all his former colleagues came to the door and said, Brother Yue, you have found a job now, don't forget about us, let me wait for nothing!We also trust you, so we ran to Jiankang with you all the way. You don't care about me, isn't it too dishonest?

Du Shu has nothing else to do with him, he only cares about feelings.Thinking about it, yes, it is possible to watch my friend starve to death in Jiankang.On an impulse, he ran to Du Chong to ask for an official for his friend.

It doesn't matter if you recommend two officials to the left-behind department, but as soon as Du Chong saw the list reported by Du Shu, he became angry and called someone to beat this useless nephew out, saying that he would never recognize him as a relative again. .Let him go as far as he can, just go back to Xiangzhou's hometown.

It turned out that there were more than 30 names reported by Du Shu, all of whom were low-level officials and civil servants in Qianwei Prefecture, from the prefecture Sihu to join the army, the judiciary to join the army, to the county boss Bo, county lieutenant, village chief, and Yue chief below. Only one magistrate and two magistrates can form a complete Weizhou ruling class team.

Du Chong thought to himself: This Du Shu is really hateful. A certain person promoted you to be a military envoy because of the fact that you are from the same clan, otherwise who would know you?You don't have the sharpness of vision, but you use my power to give favors, it's really annoying.If it wasn't for the fact that everyone was surnamed Du, they would have been replaced by someone else, and they would have killed them directly.

Du Shu had no choice but to take over the post of the former army envoy.

At this time, the face of the Left Behind Division changed.

Knowing that Du Shu had lost Du Xiang's favor and was down, although he was still as polite as before, his words had the intention of burying him, and he only said that there was no vacancy, so I'm really sorry.

At the beginning, when these bastards saw him, they would call each other affectionately, and Du Shu was so angry that his teeth were almost crushed.Said, why is there no vacancy, you treat me as a fool, the left-behind divisions drink blood from top to bottom and eat nothing, there are plenty of positions, you don't give them, I will find them myself.

He has been working as a copywriter for more than ten years, and he is naturally familiar with such things, so he immediately grabbed the roster and searched carefully.

This search did not find any vacancies, and the official posts in all armies were overcrowded. Du Shu was so angry that he quarreled with the people who stayed behind.

I couldn't bear his quarrel, and finally, I came up with a commission on official business, saying that there was a troop called Sizhou Camp, which used to be Liu Guangshi's Huaixi Army's supply camp. When the Jurchen called, Uncle Liu Ping escaped. Too soon, this unit was left in Jiankang, and now it has been classified as the former army of the left-behind division, and there is still a lack of a deputy commander there.

The commander of the Sizhou battalion is called Wang Shen. He came to Xingyuan yesterday and heard about your name Du Yuezhi.

"It's just that it's a lone army that no one cares about. What's the future?"

"It's good to have a seat, I'll go, I'll go, I will always have a salary to receive." Du Shu was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly.If you can't fight, you can't go to the battlefield if you can't fight!The soldiers are fierce and the battle is dangerous. If a good man wants to stay useful, how can he sacrifice himself lightly?

He also wondered in his heart: "Then how did Commander Wang know my name and came here to ask for it? Ah, Wang Shen, is it Wang Daosi who recruited Li Cheng and killed the big bandit Li Yu? A small battalion commander?"

"How do I know, I guess I offended my superiors?" the gentleman replied.Wang Shenzhi's people have come to Xingyuan frequently recently, presumably to please Du Xiang.

Can someone like Du Xiang, a character like Wang Shenjiao, climb up to this high branch?That's right, you, Wang Shen, are good at fighting, but in the final analysis, you are just a thief with an army.

Just put the idea on Du Shu's head, hey, Du Yuezhi has offended Du Chong now.Du Shu is just a careless ghost, Wang Shen is afraid that he made a wrong calculation this time.

"Go, go, why not go?"

Seeing that he could finally be dismissed, the gentleman breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Du Yuezhi, I heard people say that Wang Shen has the courage of all men, and if you become his deputy, even if you go to the battlefield one day, With such a tiger around, wouldn't his life be safe?"

"That's right, that's right." Du Shu thought of this, and happily accepted the letter of appointment.

Suddenly, he had another thought, thinking that the colleagues who fled to Jiankang with him had not been settled yet, so he might as well handle their affairs together.

Judging from the dossiers, the officers of the Sizhou Battalion were seriously short of staff, and they just happened to be added.

According to the military system of the Great Song Dynasty, a battalion has a commander and two deputy envoys.Du Shu occupied one, and another one was vacated, which is far from enough!

He was originally a warm-hearted person, and he couldn't control so much, so he immediately asked the public to give five more appointments.

The gentlemen were startled. There are six deputy commanders in a small battalion. This, this, this, this is too absurd.

The more absurd thing is yet to come. In addition to the six positions of deputy commanders, Du Shu has asked for more than 20 positions, all of which are such as detaining officials, in charge of bureaus, and working on official business, and basically they do not need to go to the battlefield. clerical.

The princes were angry and funny, the Sizhou camp had only a hundred troops on paper, and according to the rules in the army, 30% of the vacancy had to be deducted.There are more than a hundred people in the area, and you send more than [-] officials at once, plus the officers already in the Sizhou Battalion, there may be more officers than soldiers. Isn't this overstaffed?

However, this Du Shu is really difficult to deal with. Although Du Xiang has already been angered, his surname is Du no matter what, we don't want to offend too much.Well, let's dismiss the plague god!

In this way, Du Shu took thirty or so of his former colleagues to take office in the Sizhou camp in a mighty way.

Du Shu and the [-] or so people who accompanied him knew the rules of the officialdom and the army. Naturally, they knew that the army's military expenditure was limited.

In the past this time, it is inevitable not to annoy the old people in Sizhou Camp.

I was also worried in my heart.

At noon, in the Sizhou camp, thirty people met with the commander Wang Shen.

It could be seen that Wang Shen was not only not annoyed by the sudden arrival of so many officers, but also very happy.As soon as he stepped forward, he grabbed Du Shu's hand and shook it vigorously: "I have heard of your name Du Yuezhi for a long time. I also lack a deputy envoy here, so I asked my boss for it. Looking forward to the stars and the moon, today can be regarded as a I've been looking forward to you, how about Gui Geng this year?"

(End of this chapter)