Seiwa

In September, the edict of the new emperor's succession to the throne was spread to all prefectures and counties.

Meng Chongjiu and other clan elders went to the county government office to listen to the imperial edict together with the head of the village.

At this time, He Yin, the grand magistrate of Wanping County, had been promoted to Beijing because of his meritorious service in guarding Beiping.

From the small official to the fast catcher, everyone is beaming.

King Yan won the world, and Beiping was the land of dragons.Even if he was not promoted to Beijing like He Daling, it would be the face of the whole family to be rewarded by the court.The subordinate officials who were looked down upon in the past are even shorter than the yellow-mouthed children who can speak a few words.

Nowadays, even a scholar can speak with his back straight in front of him.

We have been rewarded by the imperial court, what is a sour ding?

If you want to shake your prestige, you must first pass the Juren examination.

All the clan elders were talking about the news that had been brought back to the clan from Nanjing, sighing that Meng Qinghe, Meng Qingjiang, and Meng Hu were all full of praise, and smiled.

"I heard that Goro has just been promoted to a hundred households, and he also got a hundred acres of good land."

"Isn't Shiro the same? If it wasn't for the injury to his arm, he might still be able to walk up."

"Our son of the Meng family is very promising, not to mention the nearby villages, the head of the village has to put on a smile when we are in front of us."

"In the final analysis, the most promising one is Twelve Lang." A clan elder said: "Twelve Lang was granted the title of second-class uncle, and those who can be reduced to the rank of nobility have been nobles for at least three generations. How many generations of Meng family ancestors have not been born Such a high official."

Another clan elder lowered his voice, "I heard that with a title, you can still shade the children of the clan. With the official position of Twelve Langs, he is at least a seventh rank."

"In other words, if a son of the clan is elected by the Twelve Lang, at least he must be a master. Even the county magistrate can't say for sure?"

"That is!"

The clan elders became more and more excited as they talked, which aroused the envy of the head of the village and the elders of other villages.

Look at people, look at yourself.

At the beginning, Mengjiatun was not ranked well among the people, and the only ones who could do it were two boys and one scholar.

What now?

The sons and daughters of the clan are promising, follow today's emperor to conquer the world, and have achieved the merits of being a dragon!

The second-class uncle, just listening to it is great, Shengdou Xiaomin dare not even think about it.It is really incomparable to directly let the same clan be an official.

Others glanced over with envy and jealousy, and the members of the Meng clan were even more proud. Let's go envious, and there will be a Twelve Lang among the capable clan?

"If Guangzhi is still alive, how happy is he to see Twelve Lang so successful?"

"Yeah, Guangzhi is a good man. Balang and Jiulang followed him, but he was killed by the Tartars. Fortunately, Twelve Lang is promising and can support the family."

"Don't talk about one family and one family, our family can have today thanks to Twelve Lang."

"No."

"I don't know if I will come back in the year of the twelfth man, but if I open the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors, it is better for the twelfth man and Shiro Wulang to be there.

"Yes, there was a war in the past, there is no way, now the world is stable, Lao Jiu, why not write a letter to Twelve Lang?"

Meng Chongjiu shook his head, "Whether Twelve Lang will come back or not, he has to make up his own mind. It's not easy for him to come to this day. We have benefited from him, so we have to think about Twelve Lang."

After hearing Meng Chongjiu's words, the clan elders couldn't help frowning, "Old Jiu, what do you say?"

"How do you say?" Meng Chongjiu snorted, "Brothers know what is said among the clansmen, right? How did Twelve Lang and Shiro Goro get their official positions? They worked hard! People are not enough, but people are also flesh Long ones. Those who talk bitterly, those who want to take advantage, and those who go to Twelve Lang’s house as a matchmaker, and even those who are out of reach, want to get married, what are these?!”

Perhaps because he wanted to save some face for his clansmen, Meng Chongjiu lowered his voice very low.

"Tell me the truth, Twelve Lang will have a great fortune in the future, and he will be a man of benevolence and righteousness. Si Lang and Wu Lang are right in front of you. With Twelve Lang here, the children of our family can do it no matter whether they are civil or military. The way out is to farm at home, and others should take a high look at it.” After a pause, Meng Chongjiu emphasized, “Don’t let the benefits of brains fool you, how to do it, you guys should carefully weigh it in your heart Weigh it. You can’t help Twelve Lang, but don’t let him get in trouble.”

After the words fell, the ox cart fell into silence.

The clan elders were all thinking in their hearts, during this period of time, the clansmen were indeed a little crazy, and some of their words were not pleasant to listen to. If Meng Chongjiu hadn't reminded them, everyone would not have taken it seriously, and now it is indeed inappropriate to think about it.For long-term planning, it is time to think of a way.

Before he knew it, the ox cart had arrived at the county government office.

The clan elders got out of the car one after another, and the people in Tongli suddenly found that the Meng clan was a little different.What is the difference, but no one can tell clearly for a while.

The grand decree, dressed in a seventh-rank official uniform, was already waiting in the lobby, which flattered the old people who came to listen to the decree.

Seeing Da Ling's friendly smile towards the elders of the Meng clan, everyone understood what was going on.He muttered to himself, who made Meng Jiatun produce a twelve man?It's really smoke from the ancestral grave.

After exchanging pleasantries, Da Ling held out the imperial edict, and everyone in the hall listened to the edict solemnly.

In addition to the announcement of the emperor's succession, there was also an imperial edict to reduce or exempt Beiping's agricultural tax, which was definitely a surprise.

The old people praised the kindness of the emperor one after another. There are only a few words over and over again, but they are more touching than beautiful articles.

After listening to the edict, Da Ling personally sent the old people away from the county office.At the same time, let the yamen servants load the prepared food, cloth, wine and meat into the ox cart.

Knowing that it was a reward from the emperor, the old people thanked them again, and bowed towards the capital for a few times, shouting in unison: "Your Majesty is kind and compassionate to the common people, long live long live!"

The county clerk immediately recorded the matter, wrote it in the memorial and sent it to Beijing, not only to praise the present, but also to the great decree's political achievements.

The big order has benefited, there is meat to eat, and the people below can eat soup to some extent.

Remembering that it was the members of the Meng clan who took the lead in worshiping to the south, the civil servants nodded secretly. It is no wonder that Meng Jiatun was able to achieve the merits of following the dragon and become a second-class uncle, who is capable and capable of being a man.

Back in the village, Meng Chongjiu and other clan elders immediately summoned the clansmen, announced the content of the edict, and distributed the rewarded cloth, grain and meat to the clansmen.

Every time Twelve Lang sent something to the Meng Wang family, some of them were given to the clan elders by name, and the clan members often got some benefits.The old people still have good wine brought back by Shi Shi Lang at home. This time, the amount of wine and meat brought back is a lot. If you don't share it with the tribe, it will make everyone feel happy.

The people of the tribe happily divided the things, Meng Chongjiu and the old people got together to discuss again, and decided to call the tribe again tomorrow, so that they could give some warnings and kill all the bad signs.

"With the benefits, if you can't keep your mouth shut and offend the clan, even if you are kicked out of Mengjiatun, you won't be able to say anything!"

"There are still outsiders who come to marry, no matter who they are, ask them first, and don't take them to Twelve Lang's house casually."

"Correct!"

The clan elders made up their minds to rectify the unstable factors in the clan, and for this reason they also revised the clan rules.Meng Qinghe only learned about the actions of Meng Chongjiu and the others afterward. After sighing, he made great efforts to support the clansmen. Those who are talented, willing to study and want to join the army are all focused on training.

In this era, the clan is both a bondage and a help.

As long as Meng Shi can help her up, Meng Qinghe is willing to help.A hundred-year-old family dare not think that if the clansmen have no worries about food and clothing, it should be no problem to be rich for three generations.If you can catch Zheng He's voyage to the West, it will be more than enough to be rich for five generations.

When the sons and daughters of the clan are prosperous and the people of the clan are rich, all kinds of unstable factors will also disappear.Even if people lack people's hearts and want to make troubles, they must be in the minority.What's more, if there is such a thing, Meng Qinghe will be pushed down by other tribesmen without Meng Qinghe's hands.

The road ahead of everyone is the same, and Twelve Lang doesn't treat them differently. Who can blame them for not living up to expectations?

After paving the road and pointing out the direction, you still want others to carry you?There is no such reason in the world!

Meng Qinghe is well aware of the truth that everything can be done by himself, and he can even take advantage of it.

As long as most of the clansmen are on his side, the rest of them are nothing to worry about.What's more, there are sensible people like Meng Chongjiu in the clan. Meng Qinghe is very confident about the future of the Meng clan.

Back home, Meng Chongjiu called his family to the main room first, and expressed his thoughts one by one.

"Here's what I said. If anyone dares to join forces with outsiders to harm his own family, don't blame me for not being sympathetic!"

"Father, don't worry, no matter how foolish you are, you can't do such a thing."

"Yes, if you don't look at Twelve Lang, you have to look at Wulang, how can you harm your family."

"Father, don't worry."

After the family members patted their chests to express their determination, Meng Chongjiu let everyone disperse, leaving Meng Hu's father alone.

Everyone knew Meng Chongjiu's intentions, and the two sister-in-laws directly took Meng Hu's mother away.These days, the door-to-door son-in-law is indeed a little restless, and it's time for dad to beat him.

Knocking the cigarette pouch on the corner of the table, Meng Chongjiu cut to the chase, "Do you want Wulang to change his surname?"

The son-in-law of the Meng family had a look of embarrassment on his face, but he still knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Meng Chongjiu, "Father, this is also for Goro."

"For Goro?" Meng Chongjiu raised his eyelids, "How do you say it?"

"Father, Goro is now a hundred households, a sixth-rank military officer of the imperial court, if people know that his father is a son-in-law, what will others think of him?"

"that's it?"

"father……"

"Not for your family relative who came to the door?"

"father?!"

"I don't know?" Meng Chongjiu sneered, "When you escaped from famine, you were about to starve to death. It was Lao Meng's family who saved you with a mouthful of hot water and a piece of pancake! Why didn't your relative come out then? Now that Goro is a promising man, he came to see you? At the beginning, I only gave you a bite to eat because of your honesty. Even if my girl has some problems with her legs and feet, she is well-known and capable in all directions! You have been my door-to-door to Meng's family Son-in-law, throw away those gaudy intestines for me as soon as possible! After being teased by someone, I thought I was an old man, and still wanted to accept my younger brother? My girl has a good temper, her father and her brothers are not dead!"

"Father, I didn't!"

"There's no need to argue, I'm not blind!" Meng Chongjiu slammed the pipe, and the wooden pipe broke in two, "I'm saving face for you, for Goro's sake. The reason why Erlang is here today is because his surname is Meng! If you want to honor the ancestors of the Chen family again, fine; pack your bags and get out! Otherwise, stop thinking about it as soon as possible!"

"Father, I..."

"Think it out for yourself."

Meng Chongjiu was too lazy to talk to him, got up and left the main room.

The curtain hanging on the door was raised and lowered, Meng Hu's father knelt on the ground and never got up.

In the evening, smoke rose from the village.

After seeing off the third wave of icemen, Meng Wang sat in the main room with a tired look on his face.

"Mother, the third sister is only eleven, why is there an official media?"

Mrs. Meng Xu wiped her hands on the apron, set the meal with Mrs. Meng Zhang, and asked a question, but Ms. Meng Wang didn't answer, but just shook her head.

The two sisters-in-law looked at each other, not daring to ask any more questions. When the meal was ready, they called Third Sister Meng and Fifth Sister Meng who were feeding the rabbits in the backyard, and the family sat down at the table and had dinner.

Steamed buns with Lianghe noodles, millet porridge, a bowl of stewed meat, two plates of green vegetables, and a bowl of broth are the best meals for ordinary farmers.

Before King Yan came to Beijing, Meng Qinghe would send things home every now and then, and with the addition of Commander Shen who misunderstood himself as an outsider, the Meng family had no shortage of food and meat, and the quality of life soared.Third Sister Meng and Fifth Sister Meng are as tall as possible. They are so watery that people like them when they look at them.

Ever since the Meng family was out of the filial piety period, icemen began to come to the door one after another.At first, he was asking about Twelve Lang, but after being rejected by Meng Wang, he made the idea of ​​Third Sister Meng and Fifth Sister Meng.Especially when the news of Meng Qing and his conferment came, even the natal families of Meng Wang and his two daughters-in-law came to the door.

In addition to matchmaking, there are also many relatives. Those who have not been contacted 800 years ago will come to play Qiufeng. The Meng Wang family is very annoyed, worried about the reputation of Twelve Lang, and cannot use a broom to drive people away. Close the door, but this can't stop someone with a heart from coming to the door.

Money touches people's hearts, and so does power and status.

Ms. Meng Wang is worried, every time she sees the wild geese in the yard, she is even more worried.

"Mother, what should I do about uncle?"

"Twelve Lang's matter is not urgent." Meng Wang waved his hand, "It's definitely not now. The third sister and the fifth sister can take a look first. If there are good ones, you should pay more attention."

"Yes."

After dinner, Mrs. Meng Wang sat alone in the room and took out Meng Qinghe's letter to read again.

The son wanted to ask for a seal for her, and also said that he would take her to the capital to enjoy the blessings.

Meng Wang looked at each word, and read it over and over again. While feeling relieved, she suddenly remembered the noble Shen Xuan who called her "mother".With a shake of his hand, the letter fell to the ground.

Do you really want to recruit your granddaughter?If adopted from the clan...

After thinking for a long time, I couldn't make up my mind.

After blowing out the oil lamp and lying on the bed, Mrs. Meng Wang sighed deeply.

Let's wait until we see our son.

Nanjing

Monk Meng Qing didn't know that he was being missed by his mother in various ways.

He was busy taking stock of his belongings, packing and moving.

Shen Xuan was restored to the title of marquis, and Meng Qinghe was granted the title of second-class uncle. It is obviously inappropriate to continue living in the current mansion.

Dingyuan Hou's Mansion is ready-made, just repair and clean it, and re-hang the door plaque.Meng Qinghe's Earl's Mansion is also ready-made, thanks to Emperor Hongwu's generosity, the generosity of conferring nobles, and the generosity of killing officials.There are many mansions left, choose one of them, file with the relevant department, and pay a transfer fee to move in with your bags.

Originally, Meng Qinghe was optimistic about a house near the west of the city, which was built according to the regulations of the Earl's Mansion. The gold paint on the gate was a little peeled off, but the interior was relatively well preserved.The most important thing is that it occupies a small area, which meets Meng Twelve Lang's "low-key" requirements.

Unexpectedly, the abacus clanged, and one miscalculation made the move plan aborted halfway.

Lord Shen ignored Uncle Meng's subjective opinion, passed him and made a decision directly, to live in the west of the city, next to the Hou's mansion.

Meng Qinghe protested, he is an earl after all, he must have human rights!

Shen Xuan raised his eyebrows, wrapped his arms around Meng Qinghe's waist, and slowly opened the neckline, disobedient, huh?

Under the high pressure, Meng Twelve Lang couldn't hold it anymore, he threw away his helmet and armor, covered the teeth marks on his neck and burst into tears, knowing that he had no human rights, just like the Earl, this day is really impossible!

After a futile struggle, Meng Qing and obediently moved in next door to Shen Xuan, and became neighbors with Lord Shen.

On the day of the housewarming, he suddenly found that the Duke of Wei's Mansion was just across the street, and the newly built Marquis of Wuyang's Mansion was a few hundred meters away from the Duke of Wei's Mansion, and the Marquis of Changxing's Mansion was diagonally opposite and near the end of the street. roof.

The home of a prince, the mansion of a general.

Yishui's high stone platform, the roof is covered with black tiles, the roof is carved with tiles and animals, the beams, pillars, buckets, and eaves are decorated with painted paintings, the door is painted with gold, and the animal face is fixed with tin rings. It seemed to be roaring.

Look at the Dingyuanhou's Mansion next to it, Wei Guogong's Mansion across the street, Wuyanghou's Mansion a little farther away, and then look back at your Earl's Mansion, low-key luxury?

Meng Qinghe covered his face and gritted his teeth.

X's Low Profile! X's luxury!

If I had known earlier, I wouldn't be neighbors with Shen Xuan if I killed him!

There is a wooden biplane sandwiched in the jet fleet, it is no different from a group of tall, rich and handsome mixed with a short and poor guy, can you see it? !

Is it too late to move now?

Crouching in front of the mansion gate, Meng Twelve Lang fell into deep self-loathing.

The personal guard stood aside, looked at Uncle Xingning who was emitting black air above his head, and wisely chose to shut up and put on the goal post.

Xu Zengshou, Marquis of Wuyang, happened to come to visit Xu Huizu, Duke of Wei who had just been released from prison.As soon as he dismounted, he saw Meng Qinghe squatting across the street, so he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

A second-class uncle was squatting on the side of the road and drawing circles, surrounded by a group of soldiers on pillars. This scene was truly unprecedented.

Throwing the reins to the soldiers, Xu Zengshou strode towards Meng Qinghe.

Compared with visiting elder brother, Xing Ningbo in front of him is more interesting.

If Xu Huizu knew Xu Zengshou's thoughts, would he jump up from the collapse and stage a brother-in-law fight?

The probability is as high as 90.00%.

"What is Uncle Xingning doing?"

Although they didn't meet many times, Xu Zengshou and Meng Qinghe hit each other very well, and they spoke quite casually.

"Nothing." Meng Qinghe stood up, "Marquis Wuyang is polite."

"We brothers don't need to be so outrageous." Xu Zengshou rolled his eyes and grinned suddenly, "My eldest brother has just been released from prison, and my brother is about to come to celebrate him. Is Uncle Xingning free? Let's have fun together one time?"

"This...isn't that good?" Come to celebrate Wei Guogong's release from prison?Will it be played out?

"What's wrong? Brother, you're welcome." Xu Zengshou grabbed Meng Qinghe's shoulders, "Come on, although my elder brother often has a sullen face, he is still easy to get along with, very easy-going, and very amiable. We have been together for a long time Just know."

Being able to draw a tie with Zhu Neng and make Wei Guogong, who was afraid of Emperor Yongle and gritted his teeth, get along well, very easy-going, very amiable?

Because he was too shocked, Meng Twelve Lang barely came to his senses until Xu Zengshou dragged him into Wei Guogong's mansion.

Pulling the shocked Meng Qinghe, Xu Zengshou smiled and said: "Don't be embarrassed, my elder brother is your elder brother. It's only natural to go to the elder brother's house to have dinner, let's go!"

Go to Wei Guogong's house for dinner?

The corners of Meng Qinghe's mouth twitched, why is there no record in the history books that Xu Zengshou has such a personality?

Sure enough, the history of the Yongle Dynasty has all been polished.

Meng Qinghe's trip to Wei Guogong's mansion was very successful. Xu Zengshou brought him here. If Xu Huizu didn't welcome him, he would have to add a pair of bowls and chopsticks.

In the palace, Shen Xuan was also arranged to join Zhu Di's family banquet.

Among the vassal kings in Beijing, only King Zhou and King Ning were invited to the banquet by the First Family of Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di took King Zhou and King Ning to sit at the top, and the three brothers Zhu Gaochi and several cousins ​​sat at the bottom.Empress Xu, the Crown Princess held a separate banquet with the two concubines and princesses.

The people in the eunuch palace delivered all kinds of exquisite dishes and drinks in sequence. During their actions, they seemed to have calculated the distance and strength of each step, and there was no sound of wearing rings.

Shen Xuan was Zhu Di's adopted son, he was granted the title of Marquis, and ranked below Zhu Gaochi and above Zhu Gaoxu.

During the banquet, Prince Ning's son expressed curiosity about him, but Prince Zhou put more energy on the court dance music, and even beat the time with the music.

It's no secret in Lao Zhu's family that the prince of Zhou is fond of music, music and miscellaneous operas.

Zhu Gaochi poured wine for his father and two uncles, returned to his seat, held up his wine glass, and said to Shen Xuan: "A few days ago, there was something wrong that I did wrong, and Marquis Shen will take care of it."

Shen Xuan nodded, picked up the wine glass, and drank it down in one gulp.

After the three cups, Zhu Gaochi turned his attention to Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui who were drinking with Prince Ning's son, and said softly, "I also ask Shen Hou to help Gu to send a message to Xing Ningbo. Zhang Qianhu is not an orphan, and so is Gu." It was only afterward that I realized that I had fallen into someone else's trap. But the whole thing happened because of loneliness, and it was indeed wrong."

"The son said, the minister will definitely bring it."

The banquet is not a good place to talk, Zhu Gaochi stopped talking and didn't go deep into it.The whip wound on his body is still not healed, and he doesn't want to add more injuries in a short time.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaochi changed the subject and said with a smile: "By the way, Gu also congratulates Marquis Shen."

Shen Xuan was puzzled, "What does the prince mean?"

"Father and Queen Mother are choosing concubines for the second and third younger brothers. The Queen Mother said that Marquis Shen's marriage should also be settled." Zhu Gaochi smiled, "Father and Queen will summon Shen Hou in person later, and I will say congratulations in advance And it should."

After listening to Zhu Gaochi's words, Shen Xuan lowered his eyes and drank the wine in the glass, and an invisible evil spirit rose all over his body.

The palace servant who served the wine trembled and almost dropped the wine pot to the ground.

The rumors are true, Dingyuanhou looks handsome and elegant, but in fact he respects the god of evil, it is definitely courting death to move forward, the best policy is to stay as far away as possible.