Chapter 119 Birthday Congratulations
Jian Jingneng, the governor of Yunyang, has been in a very bad mood these days, especially today.
Because today is his birthday.
If it had been in the past, the governor's office would have been bustling with activity. Officials from dozens of counties in the eight prefectures and nine prefectures under its jurisdiction would either go there in person or send officials to represent them. Needless to say, there would be such a crowd of people... But today, the people who came here It was actually less than 30% of last year. Moreover, except for Zhang Kexin, the magistrate of Xiangyang, Jiang Zhonggang, the magistrate of Gucheng, and several magistrates of Yunyang Prefecture, there were only a few recommendation officials from each prefecture. I won’t mention these. Look at each one. His face was full of pain, it didn’t look like he was celebrating a birthday, he was simply attending a fucking funeral! Alas, it’s no wonder they were: Nanyang Mansion was also under the rule of Governor Yunyang. The prefect Qian Yuchuan wrote in the court newspaper that he “died violently due to illness”, but no one knew that he was chopped alive by these bandits. Got it! The bandit leader Gao Tengdou who personally chopped him into pieces, well, now he is the third-rank military officer of the imperial court, Gao Tengdou, and he is stationed in Qingtong Pass just a stone's throw away! With such a evil star around me, who else would dare to come here? Although he didn't cause much harm to the place, he sent people to ask for things from time to time, and he also wanted to accompany him with a smiling face. If he hadn't really been unable to defeat him, Jian Futai would have stewed him!
Jian Jingneng forced a smile and responded to these sesame officials, then turned and returned to the back hall. Just as he picked up the tea cup and took a sip, the housekeeper Lao Meng walked in with his head lowered and cautiously said: "Master..." Lao Meng is a family member, so he uses his private name.
Jian Jingneng waved his hand: "I got it."
Without Lao Meng's explanation, Jian Jingneng knew that there was no need to count on the birthday gift this year: look at the level of these visitors, plus the rogue bandits, oh, no, the looting and exploitation of these "innocents" who "return from the lost" can... It’s great to have two achievements last year!
Ask yourself, Jian Jingneng is really not a corrupt official, but - who doesn't like money? To take a step back, what if you are not greedy for money? It is said that people cannot help themselves in the world of rivers and lakes, and when they are governors of one place, they are not immune to the common customs of feudal officials. When it comes to rivers and lakes, many people think that it is the city and countryside where lonely lights and night shadows exist. In fact, the officialdom is the largest rivers and lakes in the world!
In the big plan for next year, the management share in Beijing is absolutely indispensable. No matter what, it will cost 5,000 taels. This is a special fund. For the birthdays of the Holy Emperor, the Queen Mother, and the Empress, the gifts should not be too luxurious, but they should not be shabby either. The total amount was five thousand taels, and any less would not be justified. People like Bing Jing, Tan Jing, etc. from the Liubu Hall, Hanlin Academy, Capital Hometown Association, etc. also need a lot of money. The capital officials don’t have much money, so they all rely on the local officials to help them from time to time - they may not remember it. Who has given money for the procedure, but definitely remember who hasn’t! From now on, this will be a firecracker that explodes at an unknown time. It may not really mess with you, but it will definitely cause you a lot of unnecessary trouble. There are many cases where it really messes up difficult things for you. This part is almost two thousand taels - there is no way, there are too many people. Courtesy exchanges between colleagues are also necessary. If anything happens in the future, no one will remember to throw dirty water on you. There must be a few governors in each province to speak for you, right? If you don’t maintain a good relationship on weekdays, who will reach out to help you when the time comes? This also costs two to three thousand taels. On weekdays, it costs about two thousand taels to pay for entertainment and entertainment. To support a large family, you need this amount every year...
The above are actually not the bulk of the expenses. The real expense is raising troops! The reason why the imperial court appointed the governor of Yunyang was because the Qinba area was infested with refugees. How could we deal with the refugees without troops? Even worse than the refugees are the private salt dealers. The adjacent Daning (today's Wuxi County, Chongqing) is a famous salt-producing area. Driven by huge profits, these guys are all ruthless and fearless of death. Every time they raid, they have to pay the price of several lives. The local guard troops are all useless, and if you count on them, your life will definitely not be saved! Therefore, it is necessary to raise a Fubiao. Jian Jingneng had a very good governor's battalion of 500 people. Even though there were no horses, they were all treated like horse soldiers. The monthly salary of a soldier was two taels and five taels of silver! It's a matter of life and death, so you can't save any money. Equipment training and reward money - every time you go out, you will be paid double pay regardless of whether you kill the refugee salt owl or not, and you will also be rewarded for performing exercises on weekdays. This is the custom - thirty-five thousand taels per year! The imperial court and the local government could provide almost 25,000 taels and pay for food and drinks. The remaining 10,000 taels had to be raised by Jian Jingneng himself.
During the three festivals and two birthdays in previous years, Jian Jingneng could probably receive about thirty thousand taels. After deducting necessary expenses, he could have a few thousand taels in his pocket (the major item is a temporary expenditure). Among them, the birthday is the biggest one, and there is always more than 10,000 taels of income on this day - but today, it seems that even 2,000 taels are not guaranteed! As for Guan Shengyun and his gang of thieves, well, officers and soldiers! He was standing there blatantly under his nose. Although he didn't make any big trouble at the moment, it was only a matter of time.
No matter what, we must find a way to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible!
Although the big plan is next year, we have to lay the groundwork early this year - this place is now a volcano, and it might erupt when, and no one wants to come! If it's too late to take action and the officials come up with a suggestion to "remain in office", then it's all over: just wait for these stinky rebels to cause trouble again, and then die yourself...
Well, I have to make plans to leave early.
I was thinking that I would send someone to clear the capital tomorrow, and I was thinking about the candidate. I saw Changsui Qin Wu hurried to the door, lying down and whispering something in Lao Meng's ear. Lao Meng's expression changed drastically and he walked over quickly, looking like he was hesitating to speak.
Jian Jingneng was startled: What's going on? If it was a good thing, Lao Meng wouldn't be like this. Could it be that the man with the surname Gao was trying to pull some tricks again? So he sighed and said, "What's the matter? Just tell me."
Lao Meng hesitated: "Someone is here to celebrate his birthday..."
Jian Jingneng asked curiously: "What's so difficult about this? Whoever comes, if it's official promotion or something, you can deal with it. If any of the magistrates and magistrates say something back, just say I'm changing and I'll be out in a moment."
Lao Meng still looked hesitant: "No, it's someone from over there."
Jian Jingneng was already upset at the thought of spending his own money to settle the relationship and leave the land of right and wrong as soon as possible. He became even more angry when he heard this: "What's this over there? Which side?"
Even though it was the private residence in the back hall of the governor's yamen, Lao Meng still leaned close to Jian Jingneng's ear and whispered: "It's someone from the place that the imperial court just recruited."
"ah?!"
Jian Jingneng couldn't help but stood up from his chair and looked at Lao Meng with wide eyes: "Why are they here? Who are they here?"
No wonder Jian Futai was surprised: even though he had only been "nursed" for a few days, Jian Futai was already used to being extorted by Gao Tengdou and his gang of thieves at any time. How could he come to wish him a birthday! What are they worried about?
Even if you are surprised, you can't leave people out! When I turned around, the guy sent someone over to tell him that he had caught a cold and asked for some medical money to give himself a few hundred taels of silver. It was a trivial matter. "Zhen" really died unjustly!
"The person here is a young man dressed as a scholar. He has brought several family members with him. He is waiting for you in the wing now."
After Jian Jingneng heard this, he felt a little relieved: Fortunately, most of the officials should not have seen it, and the few people he saw could be presumed to be disciples or old nephews to cover up - everyone knows that the patrol inspector The "military town" in his mouth refers to those thieves, and this accusation is not a joke: "Please, please, please! Wait a moment, don't make any noise, just lure people over..."
"I understand, sir. Don't worry, sir." Lao Meng nodded and went out.
When a cup of tea was not available, Lao Meng led someone in. I saw this man who looked to be about twenty-four or five years old. He was wearing a black gauze square scarf on his head and a light blue wide-sleeved robe with soap edges. He did not hold a pretentious weapon like most scribes nowadays. Folding fan, except for a small piece of jade pendant tied around the waist, there is no extra decoration on the whole body. When he saw Jian Jingneng, he respectfully raised his hands and said: "Student Luo Shifan, on the orders of the deputy commander of Xiangyang Pass and my father, congratulate Jian Futai on his birthday. I sincerely wish Jian Futai a prosperous sun and moon, and a long spring of cranes and trees!" As he spoke, , bowed to the ground.
Jian Jingneng made a gesture and returned the salute: "Thank you very much! Thank you very much! There is Mr. Lao Guan and your father. There is Mr. Lauro!"
Luo Shifan hurriedly avoided it: "Students really don't deserve it."
After sitting down and chatting for a few words, Luo Shifan took out a red gift list and a small wooden box from his arms: "It's just a small heart, Jian Futai can't laugh."
Lao Meng, who was standing aside with his hands hanging down, quickly took it. At a glance, he involuntarily let out an "ah" sound.
Jian Jingneng glared at Lao Meng, but before he could speak, Luo Shifan said calmly: "In a hurry, I couldn't arrange any decent congratulatory gifts, so I had to send some common things. Just don't dislike these three thousand taels. "
"ah!"
This time it was Jian Jingneng's turn to express surprise.
A Duwu is just money*, what's going on? One shot is three thousand taels! You know, no matter how good the relationship is, with a colleague who is so good that his wife and daughter don't avoid him, and who is super rich, in such a situation, the five hundred taels of congratulatory gifts are overwhelming!
Before Jian Jing could calm down from his surprise, Luo Shifan pointed to the wooden box: "This is a jade ring. I heard it was from the Han Dynasty, but I don't know whether it is true or not, but fortunately it has no flaws. My father also wrote a birthday poem for Mr. Fu Zun. , and the congratulatory gifts are all outside. The student vaguely remembers:
A white jade ring for you on auspicious days
Each ring is infinite, each jade is strong
Seven sons and eight sons-in-law, the bed is full of wats
Five blessings, ten beauties and nine immortals are envied”
sky! The jade rings from the Han Dynasty are still flawless! The value is still above the three thousand taels! It is also very particular to appreciate this birthday poem again. Jian Jingneng knew that the so-called "seven sons and eight son-in-laws are full of wat" comes from Guo Ziyi's allusion, and "every ring has infinite jade and every strength" is a modified version of Yuan Haowen's birthday poem to Lu Zhongxian, and they are all the best birthday wishes.
Governor Jian was almost knocked unconscious by these huge sugar-coated cannonballs. However, Jian Jingneng was by no means a fool when he was able to reach the frontier. He quickly guessed that the other party must have some agenda for sending such a heavy gift. So he asked tentatively: "Mr. Luo, are both Deputy Commander Guan and your father okay there?"
"It's all good, thanks to you. Thank you for your concern, sir. I would like to thank you on behalf of the deputy commander and my father," Luo Shifan replied with a smile.
Seeing that Luo Shifan didn't continue to say anything, Jian Jingneng was really a little confused. He really couldn't figure out what kind of medicine this young guy was selling in his gourd. He sat in silence for a while, and the more he thought about it, the more something was wrong: If he had no other way out, he would seek refuge here. , of course I have to curry favor with the governor in order to survive, but I know very well that that’s not the case at all! To put it bluntly, even if they really wanted to settle down and live in this way, yesterday Gao Tengdou sent someone to say that it was windy at Qingtong Pass at night and that the soldiers could not bear the cold and wanted to move to the city. They took away five hundred yuan. Two "money for buying clothes"... If you really want to settle down, how is it possible! Moreover, it was just a matter of beheading the prefect, but the Tang king was beaten to death. The court does not mention this account now, but it does not mean that it will not remember it!
Could it be that you should be polite first and then attack, giving yourself a benefit, and then the lion will open his mouth? Then there is no way to survive! Simply, tell the truth and shut their mouths with words first. Thinking of this, Jian Jingneng cleared his throat: "Ahem, Mr. Luo, Yunyang Mansion is very lucky to have the protection of your ministry. Yesterday, the Japanese official sent someone to send some cold-clothed labor troops to the senior general in Qingtong Pass. Deputy Guan The commander-in-chief cannot favor one over the other. He will also send people to work tomorrow. But, alas, I am not afraid of Mr. Luo’s jokes. Yunyang is not as good as Xiangyang. The things in the library are really limited. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Guan must not be too little..."
"It can't be done!" Unexpectedly, Luo Shifan immediately interrupted Jian Jinneng's words, "To be honest, my father was also in the officialdom before, so he is very aware of Master Jian's difficulties. The two capitals need to be managed, the exchanges and entertainment of colleagues, the support of younger generations, As well as Fu Biao and his family, they are all gold-eating beasts. The deputy commander-in-chief, Senior Counselor, has already told me to be considerate of you, and I guarantee that you will not reward them any more."
Jian Jingneng looked at the young man in front of him with slight surprise: Yes, that polite demeanor and mannerisms are by no means comparable to that of a scholar who has never left his hometown for dozens of miles. This is definitely a son of an aristocratic family - -In that era, the literacy rate was less than 5%, and even those who were scholars knew very little. Facing frontier officials, there were not many people who could speak so eloquently without being humble or arrogant. When Luo Shifan was young, Luo Yonghao was very proud of his official career. In addition, with his experience in fighting thousands of miles over the years, how could he be compared to ordinary Confucian scholars?
"My father secretly speculates that Mr. Futai may have a lot of difficulties. Not to mention, the court's plans for next year may be a hurdle for Mr. Futai, who has a clear mind."
If he hadn't known that they were incompatible with each other, Jian Jingneng would have developed a sympathetic impression of Luo and his son!
While observing Jian Jingneng's expression, Luo Shifan continued: "It coincides with Futai Master's birthday. The deputy commander and my father sent students to congratulate Shi Yi. The second reason is that they want to do their best for you."
"Here it comes!" Jian Jingneng knew that Luo Shifan was about to unveil his name. However, listening to his words, it didn't seem like he had any malicious intent.
Knowledge points in this article.
*A Duwu: Wang Yan in the Jin Dynasty always flaunted his aloofness and scorned money on the surface, never saying the word "money". His wife, Mrs. Guo, once asked her servants to place a bunch of copper coins in a large circle around the bed while he was sleeping. She thought that when Wang Yan woke up and found that he could not get out of bed and walk, he would definitely say something. The word "money" comes from. Unexpectedly, when Wang Yan woke up, he saw money all over the floor. He called his servant, pointed at the money on the ground and said, "Take these things away." From then on, the money became money. synonymous with. This word seems to be derogatory but actually praiseful, and is mostly used to describe one's own money.
Another synonym for money is "Brother Kong Fang". Contrary to Aduwu, taking too much seems to be a compliment, but it actually means a disgrace.
[I went back to Tianjin last week and postponed the next update. Seeing the May Day holiday, I had to spend a few days having fun with my little kid, so I postponed the next update after the holiday. 】
