When Wang Wenzhen saw this, he smiled and said: "Okay, General Liu Qi, please let your subordinate sit down. Today is a happy day, let's avoid the tackiness between the upper and lower parties and have a good drink, how about it?"
Liu Yan said: "What the captain said is true."
Then Liu Yan said to Wang Yue: "Since the captain has spoken, please sit down and have a few more drinks with me."
"yes."
Wang Yue felt happy in his heart and sat down next to Liu Yan. He continued to serve Liu Yan, Wang Wenzhen and Jia Hongyu with dishes and wine. Liu Yan and others ignored him when they saw this.
During the banquet, Wang Wenzhen toasted repeatedly, congratulating everyone on this huge profit. Wang Wenzhen was talking cheerfully at this time, and he didn't have the airs of a hundred households at all. It was hard to tell that he was just a military attache, but rather like a country warrior, with a hint of magnanimity about him.
At the banquet, Wang Wenzhen made no secret of his fondness for Liu Yan and repeatedly asked Liu Yan to drink. He has been the team leader of Wangjiazhuang for many years and has been unable to get promoted. This time, he has made a fortune thanks to the soap made by Liu Yan, and if nothing unexpected happens, he will receive a large amount of income every month. How can Wang Wenzhen not be happy?
Jia Hongyu, who was sitting next to Wang Wenzhen, also liked Liu Yan. This time Wang Wenzhen made a fortune in one fell swoop. As the leader of the servant team, Jia Hongyu will naturally follow suit. At least the monthly payment will definitely increase sharply. , which also made him high-spirited.
So several people quickly drank a jar of wine, and the atmosphere at the banquet became lively. As they drank and drank, the wine glasses of several people kept clashing. Wang Yue went out and brought another jar of wine, and everyone just continued to pour. Wine has a tendency of never returning until you are drunk.
Slowly, several people drank a lot, stopped drinking, and started chatting. Wang Wenzhen talked with Liu Yan and others about government affairs inside and outside Wangjiazhuang. Specifically speaking, it was the cultivation of fields and grain in each fort.
Guard officers like Wang Wenzhen and others have little chance of going out to fight. In addition to strictly guarding the beacon and protecting the residents, their biggest function is to manage and collect grain for the guards within the territory.
For example, a hundred-household settlement like Wangjiazhuang has Huolu piers such as Dapan Dun, Huangshan Dun, and Shaling Dun. It also has several forts under its jurisdiction. Each fort appoints a chief flag officer as the fort officer to be responsible for the cultivation of crops. The collection of harvested grain grains, etc. are also performance indicators that must be assessed every year by hundreds of households and thousands of households in various places.
For example, the Lingshan Guard to which Liu Yan belongs is not a small one. In addition to the Qianhu Station in front of Xiahe Village, it also has the Zhongqianhu Station in Lingshan Acropolis and the Jiaozhou Guard Thousand Household Station, which is the rear of Lingshan Guard. There are three Thousand Household Offices in total.
These three thousand-household offices fight openly and covertly among themselves, and so do the subordinate hundreds-household offices. They not only have to compete with the hundreds-household offices in other thousand-household offices, but also compare with each other in the same one-thousand-household office.
To be honest, Wang Wenzhen is under a lot of pressure right now. Everyone can see Shangguan's majesty in front of others, but who can see the pain and suffering behind them?
The military and political examinations for military attachés in the Ming Dynasty are held every five years. Especially for this kind of garrison officers and soldiers, the examination results have always been based on the amount of silver you pay for the levy. Especially today, more emphasis is placed on the performance of officials from various places.
Wang Wenzhen had not been promoted for a long time during his tenure in Wangjiazhuang, so he naturally wanted to achieve something, and maybe he could go further in the future. However, although he was ambitious, he only wanted to achieve something based on the current farming situation, but It’s harder than climbing to the sky.
Wang Wenzhen vomited his bitterness for a while, and the resentment in his heart also dissipated a lot. When Liu Yan saw this, he had an idea, and then said: "Master, this matter of political performance is actually not difficult. Next year, our Wangjiazhuang Wouldn’t it be enough to just lift the grains of grain you paid?”
"What? You said it lightly!"
Wang Wenzhen looked troubled and said: "At present, most of the fields in Wangjiazhuang are drought-stricken, military households are on the run, and most of the water conservancy facilities everywhere are abandoned. It is not easy to pay more for grain crops. "
The Thousand Household Village in front of Xiahe Village where Wangjiazhuang is located is considered a relatively poor area among the three thousand-household settlements in Lingshanwei. During the Wanli Period, there were 59 civilian households and more than 1,322 military households here. , there are more than fifty acres of farmland, and each year they receive more than 700 kilograms of grain, more than 300 kilograms of poplar firewood, and more than 800 bundles of grass.
The Wangjiazhuang grain field under the jurisdiction of Wangwen Town is considered to be relatively good land in the Qianhu Village area in front of Xiahe Village, accounting for nearly 20% of the annual grain payment.
But that was already in the Wanli period. Now in the tenth year of Chongzhen, not to mention the entire Xiahe Village where the military households in front of the Qianhu Station have fled, less than a thousand households are left. It is the officers and powerful men who have invaded fertile land, transferred land taxes, and The abandonment of fields due to drought and other conditions have made it increasingly difficult to collect grain in the camp, and the same is true in Wangjiazhuang.
So this is also the reason why Wang Wenzhen is worried: it is too difficult to improve political performance.
In fact, like other guard posts in the Ming Dynasty at this time, there were many reasons for the dereliction of the Wangjiazhuang field. However, the local guard officers were responsible for more than half of the responsibility. Not to mention Wangjiazhuang, it was also the Qianhu Post in front of the Xiahe Village. How much fertile land has been occupied by officers at all levels like Wenzhen?
Not only Wang Wenzhen knew it, but Liu Yan also knew it. This was also a serious problem in the late Ming Dynasty!
At this time, Liu Yan looked at Wang Wenzhen's depressed face and knew very well in his heart that Wang Wenzhen, who had not been promoted for a long time, had been suppressed for too long and always wanted to do something to prove himself. To put it mildly, it was ambition. Vigorous sounds unpleasant, but it is too ambitious. At least at this time, it is somewhat unrealistic.
As the conversation turned to government affairs, the atmosphere at the table became somewhat silent, except for the tapping sound of Wang Wenzhen's fingers on the table.
Seeing this, Liu Yan felt that the time had come, so Liu Yan raised his hand and said to Wang Wenzhen: "Master Guan Dui, I have an idea: I would like to request an order to build a fort in the field to share the worries of Guan Dui."
"What?"
Wang Wenzhen and Jia Hongyu both looked at Liu Yan strangely, and Wang Yue also looked at Liu Yan in shock.
You must know that at this time in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, the fort officials were not always valued by Shangguan. They were only those who were not good at martial arts in the hundreds of households in each place. The superior's stern rebuke.
Therefore, in the various military stations of the Ming Dynasty, no officers were willing to ask for orders to manage the forts. Unexpectedly, Liu Yan was willing to suffer this. In Wang Wenzhen's heart, it turned out that he also wanted to transfer Liu Yan to his own official office.
Wang Wenzhen asked with a smile: "Why does Mr. Liu want to manage Tunpu?"
Liu Yan said sincerely: "I'd like to inform you, Lord Guan, that in a big way, farming can benefit the land, increase the strength of the people, and feed the troops, so that the country can rely on it. Border defense is not good at this. But in a small way, now we The fields in Wangjiazhuang are in ruins, and the superior officials are suffering from overwork and worry. Liu Yan is not talented. I would like to ask for help to share the worries and relieve the work of the leader of the team."
Wang Wenzhen and Jia Hongyu looked at Liu Yan in even more shock. Is Liu Yan still the boring guy in the previous rumors?
Wang Yue was even more secretly frightened. He didn't expect Liu Yan to have such ability and knowledge. Back then, he followed Liu Dayu and kept going against Liu Yan. Now that he thought about it, how stupid he was!
Liu Yan had already made up his mind to farm. With Wang Wenzhen taking the initiative, he would not let go of this opportunity. In today's troubled times, having your own territory and power is the foundation for foothold and development!
In the final analysis, land power consists of three words: people, wealth and military. With land, people can be gathered and food can be produced. As for money, Liu Yan now has a soap workshop and can start other industries or industries in the future. It's a workshop, it's not difficult to make money and food.
Therefore, to obtain land, military garrison is the most effective and fastest way! As far away as Cao Cao and as close as Ming Taizu, they all started out as military camps. Especially Ming Taizu, who could feed millions of soldiers without costing the people a penny, relied on the garrison and farming.
The ancestors were in front of him, and now Liu Yan, as the chief flag officer, is qualified to manage the farmland. Now that he has this opportunity, how can he seize it without working hard? What others see as a chore, for Liu Yan, is actually a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Of course, Liu Yan also understands that managing farmland is also very difficult. Nowadays, military households in the guards are constantly fleeing. Farming requires young people, and reclaiming and managing land requires money and food. These are all problems that Liu Yan needs to overcome in the future! The difficulties are great, but the prospects are equally good. Liu Yan will not give up.
Of course Wang Wenzhen didn't understand what Liu Yan was thinking. He just lamented that it was so rare to have a person who had a clear understanding and volunteered to help Shangguan solve his problems.
At this time, he stared at Liu Yan for a long time, and then sighed: "It is really commendable that Mr. Liu has such thoughts."
And to be honest, if Liu Yan can do a good job in farming in the future, it will be very beneficial to Wang Wenzhen. Nowadays, most of the young and powerful people in the Ming Dynasty Guards are selected to serve as soldiers in various battalions. Guard officers and soldiers like them actually have very few opportunities to kill the enemy and make meritorious deeds. Paying a lot of food and prospering the fields are the real political achievements, and they will also be the military and political examination in the future. the maximum standard.
Then Wang Wenzhen asked: "Since Mr. Liu is interested, let's talk about it. Which of the several forts under our Wangjiazhuang would you like to go to?"
When the opportunity came to him, Liu Yan suppressed the joy in his heart and said in a deep voice: "I would like to inform the leader of the management team that there is a lot of wasteland in the Dapandun area where I am located. I am willing to recruit soldiers and civilians to reclaim it and build a new fort!"
Now there are many shortcomings in all the forts in Wangjiazhuang. Liu Yan has finally put everything in order and will definitely not leave easily. Instead of wasting his energy elsewhere, he might as well start his own business on the spot.
Wang Wenzhen was even more happy when he heard this. Liu Yan was willing to reclaim the land himself, which saved him a lot of complicated personnel transfers and saved himself a lot of effort. He mused: "Yandun is an important place that cannot be left lightly. Let's do this." Mr. Liu, you are still the commander of Dapan Dun and the commander of Xinbao. If anything happens in the future, just come to me!"
Liu Yan then raised his hand and said, "Thank you, Master Guan Dui. I will do my best."
Wang Wenzhen then said: "Xintunbao will be called Dapanbao. Liu Yan, just let it go and make the decision. The fields reclaimed by Dapanbao should be harvested. If you don't start with them for three years, it will be fine." Don't allow others to disturb you, just plant with peace of mind."
Liu Yan understood that Wang Wenzhen was prepared to take a long-term view, which showed that Wang Wenzhen was not a short-sighted person. Liu Yan was overjoyed. This would make things much easier for him in the future. He stood up and thanked him deeply again.
At the same time, Liu Yan also smiled and said: "Since the leader of the team strongly supports it, my subordinates are bold enough to ask for some military households and supplies from the leader of the team here."
Wang Wenzhen and Jia Hongyu laughed when they saw this, but they didn't take it seriously. Instead, they liked Liu Yan's temper very much.
So Wang Wenzhen thought for a while and provided some help to Liu Yan. He immediately agreed to allocate ten military households to Liu Yan and was willing to publicize Liu Yan everywhere in Wangjiazhuang. However, as for how many people were willing to go to Dapan Dun to farm? I don’t know.
When Jia Hongyu saw this, he also came over and said: "Brother, you are really brave. I can speak to every part of the Baihu Government Hall. Brother, you can speak if you need. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that the cattle will be needed for Tunbao in the future." I can also help you get some seeds and other things.”
Liu Yan naturally thanked them again, and toasted Wang Wenzhen and Jia Hongyu with several glasses of wine.
The joy in Liu Yan's heart at this time was indescribable, he was even happier than he had made three hundred and sixty taels of silver from selling soap.
As the saying goes: A young man must not be without money for a day, and a big man must not be without power for a day!
Liu Yan has always believed that he is a real man. How can a real man not have a powerful position? Now that he has finally taken another step forward, how can he make Liu Yan unhappy?
So under the leadership of Liu Yan, a new round of drinking wine officially began, and several people drank again.
