"Sancho has met my old master!"
"How can this be done!" Wang Qu saw that the man was dressed luxuriously and was arrogant when he was directing others to work. It was obvious that he was a man of personal integrity and how could he dare to accept his kneeling? He quickly turned his body away, but the man did not let him go. , took two steps forward and helped Wang Qu to the chair, knelt down and kowtowed twice: "I, Sanqiu, am Wang Changshi's servant and a member of the Wang family. If you don't accept my kneeling, won't you be trying to kill me?" Get out?"
"Family member?" Wang Qu was stunned. He looked at the man in front of him and asked cautiously: "Your surname is Sang, and his surname is Wang. Where do you start talking about this family member?"
"I don't know something!" Sancho said with a smile: "I was originally a Baekje herdsman. When the Tang army entered Sixian City, I was hit by an arrow in the leg and lay on the ground without anyone caring about me. It was my master who saved me. Next, he gave me the name 'Sancho', and I have been following the master since then. Although my surname is not Wang, I am indeed a member of the master's family!"
"That's it!" Wang Qu nodded: "It's Wen Zuo's temperament to be generous and anxious for others' difficulties!"
"Yes!" Sancho sighed: "I am where I am today thanks to meeting my master!"
Wang Qu looked at Sanqiu, and an idea came to his mind, and he asked cautiously: "So, you are Wen Zuo's sidekick?"
"Yes before!" Sancho showed a frustrated look: "It's a pity that it's no longer the case. The master has other plans for me!"
"Oh? So what are you doing now?"
"It is mainly to manage the owner's farm property in Baekje. There are about fifty or sixty villages! In addition, the owner's Langdang in Baekje is also under my jurisdiction. The annual donations for their farms, and several The taxes at the port, the racecourses, wineries, and other miscellaneous things on Jeju Island are really annoying. Without Acheng's help, I would definitely be too busy. Thinking about it, I feel comfortable next to the master, so there is no need to worry like this. suspicious……"
Sancho regarded Wang Qu as Wang Wenzuo's biological father, and without any precaution, he gave a general introduction to the property that Wang Wenzuo had entrusted to him, completely unaware that Wang Qu was dumbfounded.
"Then, how big is the village, how many households are there, and how many fields are there?"
"The size doesn't matter, but a medium-sized village is about two or three times the size of this village! There are three to five hundred households, and besides the fields, there are usually forests, ponds, swamps and so on!"
Wang Qu was speechless when he heard this. If Sanqiu hadn't lied, each village in Wang Wenzuo's hands would be two or three times larger than the village he lives in now. The number of household registrations is almost the same, which shows that the average per capita in the village There are a lot more fields, as well as nearby mountains, forests and ponds. Sanqiu was no stranger to this kind of manor. It was the self-sufficient manor that was popular during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Once the door was closed, there was no need to buy anything from outside except a few necessities and luxuries.
After the Six Towns Rebellion and the Hou Jing Rebellion, many of these highly independent manors have been destroyed. Most of the remaining estates belong to nobles, monasteries or high-ranking officials, especially around political center cities such as Chang'an and Luoyang. But even the Kineda clan, high-ranking officials and dignitaries could not own too many manors of this size, only three or four at most. For someone like Wang Wenzuo, who suddenly had fifty or sixty manors, with a total household registration of tens of thousands, this It was no longer a manor, but closer to a real settlement. It basically no longer existed in the Central Plains at that time.
Sangqiu was talking vigorously when he suddenly noticed something was wrong with Wang Qu's state and asked quickly: "Old Master, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"No, I'm just a little dizzy!"
"Dizziness! Maybe it's because there are too many people here and it's too stuffy!" Sancho shouted quickly: "You lookless thing. I've been standing here for so long and didn't come to serve you. Quickly bring me a bed and some cheese." Pulse, fan, faster, faster!"
As soon as Sancho shouted, four or five maids came over immediately, helped Wang Qu to the patio and sat on the bed. Some were fanning themselves, others were bringing buttermilk, and others were beating their backs. They were all enjoying themselves. After a while, , Wang Qucai smiled bitterly and waved his hand: "I am an old man from the countryside, how can I withstand such service? You all should leave now!"
The maids looked at Sancho and saw Sancho nodded before carefully retreating. Wang Qu looked at the new and strange home, and was speechless for a moment. Although he had previously heard that Wang Wenzuo was promoted to a higher official position in Baekje, it was not an intuitive impression after all. But now he has personally experienced the huge power and wealth represented by those prominent official names, just like the sunshine at noon, making him People can't help but feel dizzy just by looking at it.
"Sancho!" Wang Qu considered his tone: "You have seen the situation in my family. It is just an ordinary family. Seeing this all of a sudden is really unbearable!"
"Just get used to it, old master!" Sancho said with a smile: "To tell you the truth, I, Sancho, felt uncomfortable at first, but I got used to it as time went by. You are my master's biological father, and you will have a good life in the future. It’s still growing!”
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Wang Qu was reclining on the hut, and the sound of sawing wood being transported and the chattering and laughter of cute girls and guests coming from outside made the inner courtyard fall into a dead silence.
"Aye!" Wang Ence came in quietly. He lowered his voice, as if he was not in his own home, but rather a thief who was afraid of alerting the owner.
"Ence, you're back!" Wang Qu sat up straight, leaving half of the bed free: "Come, sit down, are you done with your work outside?"
"It's still early! I've only done less than half of it. I've already ordered Song Mingzi. It looks like I have to work all night!" Wang Ence hit his waist and groaned: "I'm exhausted!"
"All night? Are you ordering pineapple seeds?" Wang Qu frowned: "People in the village are so diligent? This is not like them!"
"It's not hard work, they gave money!" Wang Ence pointed outside: "No matter men, women, old or weak, as long as they go to work tonight, each person is 200 yuan, how much is Song Mingzi worth? If it weren't for the people in the next village. I don’t know, there are probably people who came here overnight to work, Aye, this cheap son of yours is really rich now!” There was a hint of sourness in his last words.
"What a cheap son, please be stricter with your mouth, or you will die!" Wang Qu's face changed greatly and he shouted.
"There's no one here, so what are you afraid of?" Wang Ence said angrily.
"No one can say that walls have ears!" Wang Qu shouted. He went to the window and took a peek, then returned to the bed and asked in a low voice: "Everyone in the village has warned you, especially those talkative ones. A scoundrel."
"I've told you all. Don't worry, Aye. They are not fools. They have all seen who Wen Zuo is now. If they dare to talk too much, it will offend our family. It is a trivial matter. If Wen Zuo finds out, one finger Just pinch it to death.”
"You can't be careless then. You have to know that if it is leaked out, it will be the disaster of annihilation!" Wang Qu said sternly.
"I know, I know!" Wang Ence waved his hand impatiently: "You have said it so many times, I have calluses on my ears. Let me see, you are just a bit unfounded, even if Wen Zuo is not you His biological son is also a member of our Wang family after all. If the family is wiped out, will he still be alive?"
"You, you!" Looking at his son's appearance, Wang Qu couldn't help but get angry: "Do you really think that Wenzuo and we are the same family? That man named Sang is just a slave. Dozens of farms, if they are really a family, why hasn't he sent back a single copper for so many years? In his eyes, Sancho and Pao Ze, who went to Baekje to fight with him, are a family, and we are not regarded as enemies. That’s pretty good!”
"Then why is he sending people to rebuild the house, pave roads and so on now?"
"He is now going to marry the Cui family of Qinghe. The Cui family has been a high-ranking family for generations, and the most important thing is the heirloom of poetry and etiquette. He belongs to this family in name. If he wants to marry the Cui family, he must naturally make the family look good. His people don’t know the details, so they will naturally be respectful to us.”
"So, what should we do?"
"Of course we should help Wen Zuo to save his face and help him marry Mr. Cui's wife. When everything is done, he may give us a few hundred dollars for the sake of the 'Wang family'. Go over there!”
"A few hundred thousand dollars, that's all?" Wang Ence showed a disappointed look: "I just saw those maids outside, all of them are as beautiful as flowers and jade, and there are all kinds of gold and silver utensils on the table. These alone are... Is it more than a few hundred guan? He has so much, but he only gives us a few hundred guan?"
"No matter how much you have, it belongs to others, not you!" Wang Qu sneered: "If you are greedy, be careful with your life!"
Hearing this, Wang Ence's forehead felt hot and he said: "You can't say that. If I was the one who went to Baekje, maybe all the official positions and money would be mine! How could it be his turn!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Wang Qu's eyebrows suddenly stood up. Compared to his son who was in his prime, he was much more sober in his twilight years. When he was a child, he had witnessed the wars in the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties with his own eyes, so of course he knew War is not as childish as his son said, which is why he tried every means to send Wang Wenzuo to Baekje to join the army on his behalf. Therefore, when he saw these maids' gold and silver vessels, his first reaction was not envy, but fear.
"Stop talking, you go to your wife's house overnight and stay for a few days, and then come back after Wen Zuo's incident has passed!" Wang Qu made a decision almost instantly: "Otherwise you will endanger the lives of the whole family! "
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Afternoon the next day.
A few years ago, Wang Wenzuo, wearing a short round-neck robe and carrying a bow and quiver, left Jitai Village, crossed the river, and headed for Shouguang County. Looking back now, it seems like hundreds of years have passed. Now, he also crossed the river and returned to his home. That dazed recruit has grown into the majestic and steady marching commander Shi of the Anton Dudu Mansion and the founding county uncle.
The wheels rolled over the loess road, making a creaking sound. Wang Wenzuo sat on the carriage with his right hand on the seat. Cao Wenzong stood behind him, standing with his sword in hand. In front of the car were trumpeters holding big flags and playing music. On both sides of the car were young followers riding strong horses, wearing brocade clothes and purple gauze wrapped around their heads. The team consisted of more than twenty mule carts, which were piled with various kinds of cloth and property. It stretches for half a mile, attracting a crowd of onlookers.
To be honest, a carriage without a spring shock absorber was not comfortable to ride, and Wang Wenzuo felt a faint pain in his butt. But the memories of the past brought a smile to the corner of his mouth. Back then, he was busy running around like the people on the roadside, but the difference was that he would not stand on the roadside and watch the bustling traffic. At that time, rural life was horribly boring. Any new thing would attract countless people to watch, and then become a topic of conversation for a long time until it was replaced by the next new thing. But Wang Wenzuo is not interested in any of this. He spends all his energy looking for opportunities to change his destiny, so he seems out of place with other slave farmers. The day finally came when his fate changed, although it was not what Wang Wenzuo expected.
He could also recall how he felt when he learned that he was going to be sent to Baekje to join the army in place of his master's son. He was filled with fear, anger, and a bit of hope. He knew that this might be the only chance to change his destiny: either go to Baekje to take a gamble, or be an unknown slave for the rest of his life, working until death. He accepted his destiny, fought hard, seized the opportunity, and changed his destiny. As for the hand that pushed him into the river of destiny, Wang Wenzuo had mixed feelings.
The road turned a big bend in front, bypassing the hill in front, and arrived at the entrance of Jitai Village. Wang Wenzuo observed carefully that time seemed to have frozen here. If there was any change, it would be that the road surface became much cleaner and tidier. This should be attributed to Sancho.
"Young people, please see Wang Changshi!"
The villagers on the roadside were prostrate on the ground, and no one dared to raise their heads. Although most of them had dealt with Wang Wenzuo before, the gorgeous official robes, ceremonial guards, and drums had painted him into a demigod. monster. Under this majesty, everyone bowed their heads in submission.
Wang Wenzuo's eyes swept across the roadside, and he saw many familiar figures, but he suppressed the urge to let them get up. In order to reduce unnecessary trouble, appropriate authority and intimidation are necessary. Suddenly, his eyes stopped. Standing next to the village entrance was an old man, his nominal "father" Wang Qu.
Whether from the perspective of filial piety or the moral customs of the time, it was inappropriate for Wang Qu to kneel down to greet Wang Wenzuo. Wang Wenzuo stood up, lifted up the front of his official robe, got off the carriage, and walked quickly to Wang Qu. He gathered his crotch and was about to bow down. Wang Qu hurriedly stepped forward to support him: "I haven't seen you for many years. I miss you so much." !”
Wang Wenzuo didn't want to kneel down at first, but seeing Wang Qu being so understanding, he stood up straight and bowed to him. He looked around but didn't see Wang Ence: "Where's Ence?"
"His father-in-law is ill and he went back to visit with his wife a few days ago. Unfortunately, he was not in the village!" Wang Qu said with a smile.
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