,!
"No, no, doing this is equivalent to forcing other people in the village to stand opposite us." The patriarch shook his head.
I feel that Master Wu takes it too much for granted.
The fifth master's face sank and he said unhappily: "What's there to worry about? This was not always done in the past. Could it be that you, the clan leader, are afraid that I will take the lead and plan to let the people in the village dig the canal for you first? I tell you it can’t happen.”
"The thing is, I brought it up first. Even if you want the villagers to dig ditches in your land, you have to wait until the ditches in my house are dug."
He thought that the clan leader blocked him because he wanted to take advantage of it first. How could he do this?
He has always taken advantage of others, and no one else has ever taken advantage of him.
"Uncle Wu, you misunderstood." Seeing that the other party had gone astray, the patriarch explained for himself, "There is no need to build canals in my land for the time being, and I won't compete with you, Uncle Wu."
"I will remember what you said. Later I will bring all the villagers to my place to dig ditches. You must not stop me." The fifth master quickly confirmed the matter and did not give the other party a chance to regret it.
The patriarch said again: "Fifth uncle, don't be impatient, just listen to what I have to say."
"As long as it doesn't stop me from digging ditches, I will listen to you," said the Fifth Master.
As long as it's not something that takes advantage of him, he doesn't mind listening to it more.
Hearing this, the patriarch smiled bitterly and said, "Uncle Wu, can you please listen to what I have to say first? When I finish, you can tell me if there is anything that doesn't agree with your wishes."
"Okay, okay!" Master Wu looked slightly impatient.
The patriarch said: "I don't want to stop Uncle Wu from building the canal, but today is different from the past. If the villagers of Zhengjia Village are pressed too hard, trouble may occur. That's why I want to stop Uncle Wu. I hope you can postpone the digging of the ditch."
"After all, you still won't let me dig canals in my own land!" The fifth master looked dissatisfied, "Why can he, the third son, command the villagers to dig canals in their own land, but not me? Forget it. Now, I won’t talk nonsense with you here. Now I will arrange for people to gather the villagers. He, the third brother, can ask the villagers to work for him in the name of the farmers’ association. I am also the clan elder in the village, so what the third brother can do I can do the same thing."
The patriarch was very happy when he saw that the fifth master was unwilling to listen to his advice.
He said: "Fifth Uncle, don't blame me for not reminding you. The situation today is different from the past. We have no one on the bandits' side, and we don't understand the officials sent by the bandits. You really want to make people angry in the village. If something goes wrong, it will be too late."
He spoke out his worries.
As soon as the people from the Tiger Character Banner came, they established a farmers' association to divide the land, which made him confused. He couldn't figure out what the methods of the thieves sent by the Tiger Character Banner were.
If Xin'an County was still under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, he didn't care at all how a few clan elders lorded it over the people in the village.
The fifth master curled his lips and said: "It's different for everyone. As long as they want to be stable in the local area, we, the people, are indispensable to help them maintain the local situation. After all, you are also the patriarch of our Zheng family. How can you become so courageous?" He’s as young as a grandfather.”
"It's not good, it's not good."
Not long after the fifth master finished speaking, a servant came panting from outside.
"The master is in trouble. A group of officers and soldiers came from outside the village. The villagers who asked the third master to dig ditches were driven back." The servant said in a panic.
When the clan leader heard this, his expression changed and he said, "You mean the officers and soldiers are coming?"
"Haha, okay, the officers and soldiers are finally here. This time Xin'an County can return to the government's rule, and we in Zhengjia Village don't have to look at the faces of a group of thieves." The fifth master on the side laughed heartily.
The clan leader looked sideways at him and said, "It's a good thing that the officers and soldiers regained Xin'an County, but it may not be a good thing to come to our Zhengjia Village. You should know the virtues of those soldiers and horses of the imperial court. Fifth Uncle, you should know."
"That's true." Master Wu put away his smile and nodded thoughtfully.
At this time, the servant said again: "No, they are not the officers and soldiers of the previous government, they are the officers and soldiers of the current government."
His words made the clan leader and the fifth master in front of him feel confused.
The clan leader asked in a deep voice: "What about the former government and the future government? Did the imperial court send a large army to regain Xin'an County?"
"It's not the imperial army." The servant hurriedly shook his head, then thought of something, and said, "It's the traitor soldiers who defeated the imperial army."
Hearing this, the clan leader swayed and his face instantly turned pale.
"It's a disaster, it's a disaster."
He kept repeating these words in his mouth.
The fifth master who was standing aside listened to it all.
The fifth master snorted disdainfully and said: "You are still the leader of the clan. Whenever big things happen, you must calm down first. They are just a group of thieves. Come as they come. There is nothing to worry about."
He was disappointed with the clan leader's lost look and felt that he was not as calm as an old guy like himself.
The clan leader who came back to his senses stared at the fifth master and said gloomily: "Are those ordinary thieves? Those are thieves who can defeat the officers and soldiers. They are more powerful than the officers and soldiers."
"If you're great, you're great. What does it have to do with us? They want to form a peasant association, so we've done it. They want to divide the fields and form peasant soldiers, so we'll cooperate. The worst we can do is give a few taels of silver to the bandit leader who came to Zhengjia Village. There is nothing wrong with it." The fifth master said disapprovingly.
"These are the things I'm worried about." The patriarch said with an ugly face, "What I'm most afraid of is that the affairs of Zhengjia Village will be known by the thieves."
At this moment, he envied the great master.
Even if the incident in Zhengjiacun happened, it had little to do with the eldest uncle, so there was no need for him to be as alarmed as he is now.
"At the very least, if you give me a few more taels of silver, I don't believe there are officials who don't love money." Master Wu didn't take it seriously, thinking that all officials in the world were the same, and everything could be solved if the money was enough.
clatter! clatter! clatter!
There was a banging sound in the street.
At the same time, someone was heard shouting: "Folks in Zhengjia Village, a senior official from the county has come and asked everyone to gather at the wooden platform in the village. Everyone must go, no one is missing."
The sound faded away.
"Being crowned like a monkey, a group of untouchables are worthy of calling themselves high officials." The fifth master spat on the ground with a look of disdain.
The clan leader glanced at him and said, "Okay, let's go to Mutai first to find out what the other party's purpose is!"
After saying that, he called the servants at home and prepared to leave.
"Just send a servant. It would be too embarrassing for the thief official to show up in person." The fifth master looked reserved. He felt that it was too embarrassing for him and the lowly villagers in the village to listen to the thief official's questions.
The clan leader who had just walked a few steps looked back at him and said, "Uncle Wu can choose not to go if he doesn't want to go, but I would like to advise him. If the other party really comes here because of the affairs of Zhengjia Village, uncle Wu should make plans in advance."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
