A Thousand Hills

Chapter 181

In the past, the Chinese New Year was the busiest time. The rich and noble families had to eat the Shangyuan Festival when they ate opera and wine. People with high reputations have saved theatrical wine, because they want to drive with the king.The first-class families are all busy, and the rest of the unqualified families can enjoy a lively New Year.

It's just that the fifth prince has been so vigorous and resolute since the beginning, even some middle and lower families do not lack people with insight.The fifth prince will be busy with military affairs in the new year, so it's fine if he doesn't have the qualifications to accompany him, and it's not good to make a big fuss!So, everyone kept a low profile.

On the first day of the new year, the Fifth Prince took his sons to eat dumplings, Xie Moru told Concubine Xu, "His Highness and I will come back in about a month, and this mansion will be handed over to you." A side concubine said, "You assist Concubine Xu, so that you can take the children with you. There are Zhang Changshi and Xue Changshi in the outside world. If there is a big matter, just leave it to them." These have been explained earlier, but now they are not repeated. again.

All four responded softly.

Only Concubine Su, hearing this again, still has a slightly hot face. Last time the prince and concubine accompanied the autumn hunt, she was in charge of the affairs of the mansion. She was the first to enter the door, and she was also the mother of the eldest son. Although the side concubines are of the same rank, they are usually headed by her.This time the concubine handed over the affairs of the mansion to the Xu family, so concubine Su naturally felt a little offended.

Xie Moru said to Zhang Zhou's two nuns, "I'm so happy to take care of Liu Lang." Xie Moru used to go out with the fifth prince, and he always ordered the children to follow his biological mother. She is not a person who is separated from other people's mother and child. She often asks the wet nurse to hold Liu Langxin's sister and show it to Ling Xiao and Xu. Naturally, Xu loves her daughter. She is sensible and knows that her daughter will have a better future with the princess. , I am very grateful to Xie Moru, who has always been full of good words.Ling Xiao is extremely weird, he has no affection for Liu Lang, and he is indifferent on weekdays. This time, Xie Moru ordered her to take care of Liu Lang. She said that she did not know how to take care of children. Mammy watched.But the fifth prince got angry again when he knew it, and deeply felt that Liu Lang's life was miserable, how could he have such a biological mother.I had to let the two nuns Zhang and Zhou bother to take care of them. Of these two nuns, one raised the princess and the other raised the prince. Naturally, it was safe.As a result, Concubine Su became even more bitter because of this, and she said in private, "That's all for Mrs. Xu. I took care of the children last time when the earthquake happened. She is indeed a meritorious person who stayed in the palace. But Mrs. Ling is so powerful." Scheming, it’s not like leaving Liulang in the princess’s room with a smug face. If you pretend to be heartless and righteous, the princess is kind-hearted and trusts her trick.”

It was the servant girl who persuaded, "The prince and the princess are going to take our little highness on a tour together this time, it's very honorable."

Concubine Su sighed, "What's the use, Erlang and Saburo will go too."

The maid said, "Our little Highness is the eldest son."

If there is a son-in-law, no one can compare to the princess.But since he has no legitimate son, from the point of view of the concubine, Da Lang is indeed the platoon leader.Concubine Su said, "The princess is too benevolent." In the end, she was unhappy that Liu Lang was raised by Xie Moru.But she couldn't help it if she was upset, Concubine Su was not stupid, and now she realized that the purpose of the concubine's letting them in was to have a baby. They didn't come in many times to receive favors, but most of them would conceive within two months.Give birth to the first child, raise it for a year, continue to be favored, and give birth to the second child.This is the case with Concubine Xu and Concubine Yu, Ling Xiao is an exception.After they gave birth to their children, they were no longer favored.Although there is a child, the prince is only willing to go to the concubine's room, and the prince is also busy. They go to pay their respects on the first and fifteenth day of the new year. Sometimes they can see each other, sometimes they can't see each other.Want to fight?With whom?Who dares to fight with the princess?

If there is love, there is still a struggle.

There is no favor, status is just a concubine, how can you fight for it?
Fortunately, they have children.Her mother advised her, "One is love, the other is a child. Which one do you choose? Smart people choose children."

Yes, they have children.The concubine's bowl of water is also fair, and the stipends of the few of them have never been wronged. They are also good to the children. The children can be liked by Imamaka and the queen mother in the palace. The concubine even got a famous teacher for the children... …

If they have any dissatisfaction, they just don't know what to do.

Xie Moru explained to the side concubine here, and the fifth prince also explained to the two long history who stayed behind, and Geng Tianyi who stayed behind in the city and was in charge of the safety of the vassal palace, said, "You are all old people by my king's side. The affairs of the house will be left to you."

The side concubine saw off with the officials, and the fifth prince brought Xie Moru and the three older children into the car. It was Xie Moru's idea to bring the children together. Xie Moru said, "Fujian is our fiefdom. In the future, the children They also need to take root here. Children, it’s good to see some of the world from an early age.” He also said, “Li Jiujiang is also driving, and it won’t delay their homework.”

The fifth prince heard what Xie Moru said was reasonable, so he took the children there.

The children's family loves something fresh, and they are very happy to hear that they are taken there.At this moment, they all changed into fresh clothes, and they all had small chests, and followed their parents in a full manner. Before they left, they also told Shiro Wulangxin to follow suit. Dalang said, "Silang, take care of your younger brother." Sisters, don’t forget the characters and poems I taught you.”

Erlang said, "Eat well, my sister is not allowed to be picky eaters."

Saburo is a chatterbox, so until he was about to leave, he hadn't finished speaking, but because he was in a hurry, Sanlang waved his hand and said to his siblings, "Remember what I said, oh, I haven't finished talking yet , I should write it on paper for you.” Everyone laughed.

Now the children are driving in the same car with their parents, thanks to the fact that their father’s car is spacious enough. Xie Moru is telling the children about the situation in the barracks, “The generals wear armor, and the soldiers hold weapons, such as long guns and big knives. There are also spears and shields, which are extremely majestic."

The three of them love to hear this, and San Lang loves talking the most, saying, "Mother Concubine, do you have bows and arrows? Do you have horses?"

"All of them." Xie Moru said, "When you are older, you will also learn to ride horses, learn martial arts, and learn bows and arrows."

Da Lang's eyes were shining, but he still tried to be dignified and said with a small face, "Mother and Concubine, my younger brothers and I must study hard."

Erlang's shy and small belly also showed his love for martial arts.

Saburo hurriedly asked, "Mother Concubine, when can we learn martial arts?"

Xie Moru thought for a while, "Learning martial arts is very hard. If you learn it now, it will take ten years to learn it well."

Saburo immediately said, "I'm not afraid of hard work, my elder brother is not afraid of hard work, my second brother may be afraid!" So children can't lie, Erlang was very dissatisfied, but he was gentle, and he just gave his younger brother a look, and said slowly , "Mother, I am not afraid."

The fifth prince was delighted when he heard it, and said, "Our sons are all good!" Thinking that the second son is also suitable for practicing slow boxing and the like.

The children were even happier when they were praised by their father, and they chattered endlessly.

When I arrived at the barracks, I saw a majestic general in armor and soldiers with spears, so I followed my parents more energetically.They have all learned the rules, and they are not at all stage frightened in such an occasion.

The [-] soldiers under General Guangwei's command stood majestically on the school field.

General Guangwei brought hundreds of households under his command to welcome him in person. The general is wearing armor, so there is no need for big gifts.The fifth prince didn't care about these cumbersome rules, he waved his hand, "Let me take a look at the soldiers."

General Song hurriedly invited the fifth prince and his party to go over. Those beside the fifth prince were all high-ranking officials, and the lowest Zhu Yan was also a fourth-rank magistrate.However, this is a military camp, so General Song will naturally accompany the fifth prince to help introduce the army.

The fifth prince led the concubine and children all the way to look at it majesticly. After reading it again, the fifth prince said, "Yes, the military appearance is not bad."

General Guangwei and General Song said, "There will be a military competition next."

Xie Moru suddenly whispered in the fifth prince's ear, the fifth prince looked at his wife, Xie Moru nodded slightly, the fifth prince turned back, and looked at it from the end to the head again, then folded his feet, looked horizontally and vertically, and pointed A stooped soldier inside said, "Is this also a soldier in the camp?"

General Song quickly said, "Yes."

The fifth prince called the man out, but he didn't pay attention at first, he thought he was a middle-aged man from a distance, and recently he had dimpled wrinkles on his face.Also, the hair is dyed black, the dye is not very good, it rubs against the cheeks, and there is a smell of ink, it seems to be dyed with ink.The fifth prince asked, "Old man, how old are you?"

The man glanced at General Song, blinked his mung bean eyes, and said tremblingly, "Thirty-five grassmen."

Saburo's eyes widened, and he couldn't help saying, "35? Father, I think this old man is at least 55 years old! Look at the wrinkles on his face! The hair must be fake! The dye is all over his face!"

Saburo was at the age of innocence, the old man knelt down on the ground after saying a word, the fifth prince pursed his lips, and asked with a sullen face, "Which flag is he in?"

Xiao Qi came out, and the Fifth Prince asked, "Who is this?"

Xiao Qi hurriedly said, "As for the prince, his surname is Ding, and everyone calls him old man Ding."

The fifth prince's face became even colder, "Take out the barracks roster!"

Xiaoqi was paralyzed immediately, and the old man's mental quality was even worse. Mung Dou rolled his eyes up and smoked directly.Fortunately, the fifth prince brought the imperial physician with him when he went on a tour, and summoned the imperial physician Zhang, who woke up the old man with three needles. It turned out that there were not enough numbers in the army, and the old man was recruited to make up the number.The old man was afraid that he would be troubled, and said, "I don't want fifty coins. The grassroots don't know that the prince is coming. If they knew that the prince was coming, the grassroots would not dare to come and make up for it!" Very wronged, very wronged, very regretful.

The fifth prince said, "If you are pretending to be a soldier, stand up yourself, and I will not hold you accountable. Otherwise, if you find out, you will be executed!"

Then, suddenly, a group of people knelt down and begged for mercy.

General Song's legs were trembling, and the Fifth Prince looked at Governor Tang gloomyly. In the cold weather, cold sweat was pouring down on Governor Tang's forehead, and Mrs. Tang's face was pale and her lips were trembling.Governor Tang is a first-rank official after all, pleading guilty in a deep voice, "I have committed the crime of negligence! I dare not ask the lord for forgiveness. The most urgent thing is to ask the lord to hand over this matter to my humble minister, and my humble minister will immediately investigate the matter of pretending to be a soldier!"

The fifth prince's eyes narrowed slightly. He was not handsome. Because he was born strict, he used to be afraid of being underestimated in the palace, so he often kept his words and smiles in order to enhance his style.At that time, the fifth prince was young, and he was afraid of being looked down upon.After all these years of experience in the court, the fifth prince has truly experienced his majesty and demeanor. At this moment, his face is gloomy and he doesn't say a word, which is really intimidating.

General Song didn't know whether it was because of his mediocre mental quality or his quick response. He didn't wait for the fifth prince to nod, but he rushed over and knelt down. How many soldiers are above the age of 40, he explained it clearly, and took the responsibility seriously, "The source of soldiers is too poor, and it is all because the ministers are dull, confused, and came up with such a bad plan. This matter is all the minister's fault! The minister is guilty!"

The Fifth Prince said, "Master Tang, go and investigate."

Governor Tang hurriedly went.

It was cold on the first day of the new year, Xie Moru looked at the face of the fifth prince, and ordered, "Set up the warm tent here." Xie Moru herself is not very afraid of the cold, she does morning exercises every morning, but the children still Small, can't always blow the air outside.

Xie Moru gave an order, and the subordinates immediately set up a warm tent here. The fifth prince always respected his wife and said, "Take the children to sit in the warm tent."

Xie Moru said, "I know the prince is angry and he is concerned about this matter, but this matter is not the fault of the prince and your lords. The lord is standing like this, and the lords are not strong, so they are all punished to stand with the prince. .” As for high-ranking officials, there are few young ones.For example, the governor of Su is also in his forties, and the inspector of Zhou Yin is more than fifty years old. Even Liu Fufeng, the official of the feudal prince's mansion, is not in good health.

The fifth prince glanced at the officials beside him, and then went to sit in the warm tent.

The fifth prince was so furious that no one dared to speak except Xie Moru.Zhu Yan quietly looked at Jiang Xingyun. After all, although Jiang Xingyun's surname is Jiang now, he was originally surnamed Song. It is said that Mrs. Song and Jiang Xingyun have a very good relationship. Now that General Song is in trouble, Zhu Yan somehow cast a strange glance at Jiang Xingyun.As a result, Jiang Xingyun didn't even raise an eyebrow.

It is said that Zhu Yan fell in love with Jiang Xingyun at first sight. When he saw him again, he would not marry unless he was a king... Although he was rejected by Jiang Xingyun, and because of this caused a little disturbance, Zhu Yan has never married a wife in the past few years since he came to Fujian. .Now that Jiang Xingyun came to Fujian with Xie Moru, it is impossible to say that Zhu Yan has no ideas.But at this moment, when he saw Jiang Xingyun's cold and calm side face, the eagerness in his heart suddenly disappeared without leaving a trace.

Love and not love is like a magic, coming suddenly and disappearing suddenly.

Zhu Yan looked away, thinking to herself, what she said was right, I never knew her.

The children felt the cold atmosphere, and Saburo, who loved talking the most, didn't dare to speak.

Xie Moru patted the children's heads, Sanlang asked in a low voice, "Mother Concubine, did I say something wrong?"

Xie Moru said softly, "Sanlang is right, your father is angry with them."

Saburo whispered, "Did they lie to Father Wang?"

"Yeah. It's not good to lie."

"Well, I never lie. My concubine said that lying is an idiot's job!" Sanlang resumed his normal voice as he spoke. During the roll call, Governor Tang read until his voice was a little hoarse. Just after noon, Governor Tang entered the account and reported, "A total of 380 people pretended to be soldiers, and among the rest, there were 860 seven people who were over forty. I wish Qianhu, Guangwei General Song Shuangcheng is also aware of this matter. How to deal with it, Your Highness, please clarify."

The fifth prince said to Governor Su, "Isn't it going to build dikes this year? After verifying their identities, let them build the dikes. When the dikes are repaired, they will be released."

Governor Su sternly responded.

The fifth prince asked Song Shuangcheng, "If there is anything shameful in the army, you should tell me the same thing."

Song Shuangcheng was not stupid, the fifth prince was willing to ask him, instead of beheading him directly, this was giving him a chance.Song Shuangcheng gritted his teeth, and said everything about the general, such as tampering with the food, such as changing the half catty of rice for each soldier to three taels.For example, stealing merits and cutting materials on military uniforms, and trading second-hand weapons for new ones... Anyway, that's the idea.

The fifth prince said to his sons, "Go out and ask the soldiers outside, how much is the monthly salary?"

The three little fellows responded with a "yes" and went away, followed by their own guards. When they came back, Da Lang said, "The sons asked six people, some of them said eight hundred yuan a month, and some said In the end, [-] yuan was distributed this month."

Erlang said, "Yes, it's not the same."

Saburo spoke quickly, "The last month is the Chinese New Year. Let's celebrate the New Year, and the concubine also gave us red envelopes!"

Erlang felt reasonable and nodded.

The fifth prince said to Song Shuangcheng, "You can pay the whole salary."

Song Shuangcheng was sweating coldly on his forehead. He was very glad that he confessed that the fifth prince was clearly prepared. The fifth prince said, "Rearrange the queue."

Song Shuangcheng's legs were numb from his knees. Hearing these words was like hearing the sound of nature, he got up quickly, staggered and ran out regardless of the numbness of his legs.

Seeing that it was noon and the children couldn't help being hungry, Xie Moru took the children, Jiang Xingyun, and Mrs. Tang to the rest room arranged by the army for lunch.Seeing Madam Tang trembling, Xie Moru said, "Madam, don't worry."

How can Mrs. Tang be relieved, but Xie Moru said so, she said, "Thank you for your concern, my wife, hey."

For a while, the maid served several dishes suitable for meat and vegetables, and everyone had lunch together.Mrs. Tang couldn't eat anymore, Xie Moru stopped persuading her and concentrated on taking the children to eat.

Outside, Song Shuangcheng was quite neat, and the soldiers under him knew that they had been trained frequently.After finishing the team, the Fifth Prince said, "How to train on weekdays, how to train now."

The training of the soldiers is also very hard, of course, it is not ruled out that the platoon is due to the presence of the fifth prince.Later, there were some merits in performing martial arts in the two opposing armies.

After the training was over, it was noon, and the Fifth Prince said, "Let the soldiers eat."

Song Shuangcheng stood still with his head bowed, and the fifth prince asked, "What's the matter with the weapons, supplies, and uniforms?"

The governor of Tang said first, "My lord, I have something to report, please leave me alone."

The fifth prince ordered all the officials around him to retreat, and Governor Tang said, "My lord, what do you use for your hair and what do you use for your ministers, don't dare to say anything. However, every time the ordnance is replaced, there will be a subsidy in the army. Up and down. The ordnance of our Fujian region can still be used, but it is not the first-class ordnance. Yongding Hou has trained soldiers for the past two years, and the weapons used by his soldiers are all brand new. As for The army rations and uniforms are all dispatched by the Ministry of War, and some of the subordinates are also unclean. The ministers are incompetent, and they can only keep the soldiers to eat."

"Why didn't you tell the king?"

Governor Tang sighed, "I really can't open my mouth about this matter."

Song Shuangcheng said, "After the arrival of Master Tang, the equipment of the officers and men under the command of the ministers has been greatly improved. The prince does not know, but the first time, hey, the first time, the ministers have received long spears that are completely useless."

The fifth prince then inspected the ordnance in the camp. Until evening, the fifth prince said, "You two write a statement to this king."

Governor Tang advised, "My lord, think twice." Governor Tang knows who is in charge of the military department in the imperial capital, and the fifth prince knows even more.This, this trouble is not good, it has to be brothers against each other.What's more, it's no good to offend the Ministry of War right now!

The fifth prince said coldly, "I don't care about other places, but my fiefdom cannot tolerate such nonsense, and I will never tolerate it! How about you being officials in other places, but in Fujian, you have to follow the law. Follow the king's rules!"

The fifth prince was so angry that he directly ordered General Li under the command of Yongding Hou to take over Song Shuangcheng's army, and Song Shuangcheng accompanied him to patrol the whole territory, and then played an unimaginable important role.Song Shuangcheng has problems here, and other military camps have them. Some generals are not willing to admit it. The fifth prince immediately dispatched Song Shuangcheng, a capable general with sharp eyes.

In addition to the army, the Fifth Prince also did not forget to meet officials from all over the country, and Princess Xie then received the wives of officials from all over the place.Also, for the family members of the fallen soldiers, the fifth prince condescended to visit them in person and asked if the money for the next year's subsidy would be available and how much he had received.Unsurprisingly, a few heads were chopped off. This is not the first time the fifth prince killed people. Last year, he was one of the presiding judges of the fifth prince's fraud case. How many heads fell.However, the fifth prince was trembling with anger for the first time. It was so difficult last year. Governor Tang also squeezed out the money with great difficulty, and less than half of it was sent to the families of the dead.The fifth prince had already said to the officials, "This money is the life-saving money of the soldiers who died in battle, and not a cent is allowed to be withheld."

Let's check, the local county magistrate saw that his life was in danger, and he didn't dare to take it on his own head. According to the inspector, the envoy is here, and a row of heads fell to the ground as soon as he checked it out.

At this moment, all officials, big and small, understood what it was to be a prince and vassal in charge of military and political power.

For officials below the third rank, the fifth prince has the right to kill first and then play!
Regardless of how prominent your family is and how many connections you have, you cut off your head without waiting for your family connections to operate. You can go to Yama to operate it!

The fifth prince said coldly, "This king hates people to stretch out their hands to the soldiers. The full payment is half payment to the soldiers. A meal of half a catty of rice is only three taels when it falls on the ground. New rice becomes old rice. Old rice has become unpolished rice, and this king doesn’t know the full set of ways! What happened in the past, I will not pursue it, and what will happen in the future, you must follow my rules! If you don’t want to do it, go to the relationship as soon as possible to find a gap elsewhere. ! Under the rule of this king, there will be no tolerance!"

The fifth prince kills people happily, fills up the vacancies neatly, Liu Fufeng and Li Jiujiang have said before the inspection that they need to bring more people, and then it will come in handy at this time.For example, Xie Yuan became the county magistrate of one place, and other vacant vacancies also had their own arrangements.

The fifth prince said to them humanely, "Except for the salaries of officials, there are tax cuts in summer and autumn. This money is enough to live a spacious life. Although you are poor at what I ordered, I will not listen to each of you what is your skill and character. Others say that it only depends on your achievements in office. If you imitate your predecessors, you will eventually have the results of your predecessors."

It's rude to say that.So much so that some people who don't understand feel that what happened to the fifth prince who bought people's hearts with all kinds of benevolent policies and various ways before last year?
In fact, the fifth prince was fine, he was just furious.Xie Moru heard this, but smiled lightly.

Both kindness and power are given, and kindness and power are combined.There was kindness in the past, and there must be prestige in the present.

The imperial capital is too small and has too many constraints.If you don't go to Fujian, how can you have this kind of experience, if you don't go through this experience, how can you know how to conquer people's hearts, if you don't conquer people's hearts, what's the future!

(End of this chapter)