Vow to die at the end of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 245 The First Eastern Expedition ([-])
Landlords and gentry in Suzhou Mansion, Songjiang Mansion, and Taicang Prefecture gathered together to form groups, large and small, when the army of the third battalion had already approached the city of Suzhou.

At present, these regiments are still being formed, and several raiding troops sent by themselves have also been defeated by the strong strength of the enemy.In desperation, the whole army retreated to Suzhou Fucheng.As for the rest of the counties in Suzhou Prefecture and the county town of Taicang Prefecture in Songjiang Prefecture, all of them were handed over to Tuanlian.

Facing the towering city wall, after Zhang Chengwu set up a cordon, the rest of the army began to set up camp in an orderly manner.These years of defensive battles on the western front have taught Zhang Chengwu to be invincible in battle, that is, to count defeat before counting victory.So even though he had the upper hand in terms of military strength and equipment, he still cautiously set up his camp.

Just when the Eastern Expedition was about to start, Qiu Tianxing in Jinling City ushered in his rest day.The security corps has ten days off, and every ten days it has one day off.During this period of time, he was busy transferring positions, and Qiu Tianxing was under great pressure. Fortunately, everything was implemented smoothly.As for the ongoing Eastern Expedition, Qiu Tianxing was not worried at all. It was just a battle of three parts military and seven parts politics.Whether it wins Suzhou or fails to win Suzhou, it will not affect the situation in the East.

Because the recent big actions involved the old man's family, Qiu Tianxing hosted a banquet for the old man at home this day to ease the relationship between the two parties.

Qiu Tianxing's house is in the backyard of the regiment headquarters. Zhou Zhen was working in the office in the morning, and he walked into the backyard after seeing that it was time for dinner.There are several thick walls separating the front yard and the backyard. Entering the backyard has to go through triple guards.

When Qiu Tianxing saw Zhou Zhen, he said with a smile.

"Yue Weng, today is a holiday, why are you still working overtime?"

"Leader, now that the area under the headquarters is constantly increasing, the Ministry of Civil Affairs is really overwhelmed with manpower, and the subordinates have to work overtime. Fortunately, two departments have been separated, so they can withstand it." Zhou Zhen said respectfully.

Hearing Zhou Zhen's words, Qiu Tianxing took a deep look at Zhou Zhen, then smiled.

"This is our family, so you don't have to be polite. Weng Yue is not polite. Now the headquarters is short of manpower, and there are few students graduating from the University of Political Science and Law. After a few years, Weng Yue's staff will be rich. I hope Weng Yue will put on more burdens in these few years!"

The two sons-in-law, one Yue Weng and one head, feel very strange.However, although Qiu Tianxing lowered his figure, Zhou Zhen, who had been educated by the emperor for decades, still cared about this etiquette very much.Although the other party is his son-in-law, he is also the monarch at the same time, this courtesy cannot be discarded.

Hearing Qiu Tianxing's words, Zhou Zhen straightened his back, and then sighed: "Hey, the old man is getting older and has reached the age of knowing his destiny, and his bones are getting weaker and weaker. I don't know if he can carry it until that day?"

The Yue Weng who saw him is now fifty, and his hair is gradually graying out due to heavy work, it seems that he is really powerless.But Qiu Tianxing didn't believe it. Rights don't distinguish between young and old, and everyone likes them.Qiu Tianxing guessed in his heart that this might be due to the adjustment of the interests of the Zhou family in this short period of time.

Emotions are inevitable, if not, why would you hold a family banquet?Isn't it just to ease the relationship between the two parties?

Although Zhou Zhen chose to obey under the big policy, it by no means means that he has no emotions.The interests of the Zhou family are indeed pinned on Zhou Xiu and Qiu Dining, but if the Zhou family has no rights, can Zhou Xiu and Qiu Dining's status be guaranteed?Although the group leader has only one wife and one child right now, Zhou Xiu is pregnant with another child.However, the head of the group is only less than 30 years old now, and I don't know when he will take a concubine.Moreover, Zhou Zhen vaguely felt that the head of the group would take a concubine, because that would add another relative to balance the power of the Zhou family.For the monarch, the most important thing is balance.

After exchanging pleasantries, Qiu Tianxing and Zhou Zhen came to the restaurant.At this moment Zhou Xiu and Qiu Dining were already waiting in the restaurant.Now that Qiu Dining is five years old, the security team implements a spring enrollment policy, so Qiu Dining is already a first-grade student.Today is ten days off, so Qiu Dining also has a day off, and he is sticking to Zhou Xiu at the moment.Now this elementary school has classes every day, and the elementary school that Qiu Dining attends is the best elementary school in Jinling City. He has to go to school early in the morning, has a lunch break at noon, and ends at [-]:[-] in the afternoon. After returning home, there is a lot of homework to be done.Thinking about it this way, Qiu Dining didn't have much time to get along with Zhou Xiu, which made Qiu Dining very uncomfortable, but he cried for a long time.Although I am getting used to it now, I still like to stick with my mother whenever I have time.

When Qiu Tianxing and Zhou Zhen appeared in the restaurant, Qiu Dining was still clinging to Zhou Xiu.It was only when they saw Qiu Dining and Zhou Zhen that they separated.Although Qiu Tianxing is not as formal at home as he is outside, it feels very casual, but basic etiquette still needs to be paid attention to.So, after seeing Qiu Tianxing and Zhou Zhen, a series of voices came over.

"I have met my husband and my father."

"Boy has met daddy and grandpa."

I haven't seen Qiu Dining for several days, Zhou Zhen is very happy.Although he also has a grandson now, he still likes Qiu Dining very much, of course not only in terms of family affection.

"Big cat, what have you learned in class these days?" Zhou Zhen asked by Qiu Dining's nickname.

"Well, I've learned how to recognize characters. There are quite a few characters." Qiu Dining said happily.

"Okay, big cat will write it to grandpa later." Zhou Zhen said kindly.

"En." Qiu Dining nodded heavily in response.

"Okay, okay. It's all my family, don't be too polite, let's go eat. Mmm, today's food is good." Qiu Tianxing said with satisfaction looking at the dishes on the table.

In order to avoid what happened to people like Li Zicheng and Hong Xiuquan, Qiu Tianxing has been firmly admonishing himself to maintain a hard and simple style, and not to be greedy for enjoyment. As the boss, if he can't lead by example, why should he ask his subordinates?Therefore, Qiu Tianxing set a rule for himself and everyone in the headquarters, that they should not eat more than four dishes and one soup every day.Of course, this was the case in Qiu Tianxing's home and in the hospitality and working meals of various departments. As for how these officials would eat behind closed doors after returning home, it was not clear, and the Internal Affairs Department would not put its strength on such trivial matters.Because the security corps distributed the land to meritorious ministers, many people's incomes were very high, which could support their family's consumption.Of course, these people still have to pay taxes, this is a matter of principle.Under the rule of the Security Corps, as long as they are alive, they have to pay taxes, and no one can escape. In the future, it may develop to the point where people have to pay taxes even after they die.

Eating four dishes and one soup all day does not mean that Qiu Tianxing is not greedy, and Zhou Xiu is also cooking tricks every day.Today, because he was going to entertain his father, Zhou Xiu prepared four dishes as if they were more than a dozen. Just the cold appetizers, he used big bowls to make eight dishes.Of course, now that Zhou Xiu is four months pregnant, she can't cook by herself, and these dishes are only completed under her supervision.

After joking with the big cat, Zhou Zhen glanced at Zhou Xiu, glanced at Zhou Xiu's stomach, nodded and didn't say much.

Soon, everyone was seated, and the banquet began.

(End of this chapter)