Scholar and old attack

Mu Junxi was so angry that he was about to vomit blood, and he patted the table until his hands were red and swollen.

"He's treating me like a monkey."

Lin Xuesong handed Mu Junxi a bottle of good anti-swelling medicine, and comforted him with nice words, "Why do you have to argue with him for a few pennies? In my opinion, if he wants to give it to him, it will be fine. Anyway, it’s just a few pennies more, don’t you also make a profit?”

Mu Junxi looked at his friend strangely, "Whose side are you on? These two are obviously our nemesis, okay? Since I met that scholar at noon, I have been unlucky."

"Damn it, when did I suffer this kind of loss, ah—"

As Mu Junxi said that, he couldn't hold back and patted the table, and the pain made him burst into tears.

"Hey, be careful, self-torture doesn't hurt." Seeing Mu Junxi's swollen fist, Lin Xuesong also felt sorry for him.

"You don't understand, I'm not angry for a few pennies, but for dignity, do you understand dignity?"

Lin Xuesong shook his head and murmured, "Isn't dignity being thrown with money to convince the other party?"

Mu Junxi: Don't talk to me if you have mines in your family!

"Shopkeeper, serve good wine and good food." Just as Mu Junxi was furious, Ren Quan, who had money, came in with a rich face and yelled.

Hearing this familiar voice, Mu Junxi gritted her teeth secretly, "I can't do anything to your nephew and daughter-in-law, and I can't do anything to you!"

Ren Quan felt cold behind his back, always felt that something was staring at him, looked around and found nothing wrong, shook his head and no longer wanted to go to the private room to eat his meal.

Jiang Jingyuan returned home with a box of good food, two children, a dog and a horse.

On the way, Jiang Lu looked around from time to time, trying to remember the way home.

When Chen Xiuxiu and He Yuzhu learned about Jiang Lu's life experience when they got home, they also showed love on their faces.

Jiang Lu smiled brightly and gesticulated. He didn't feel that he was pitiful, but that he was very lucky. When he was begging, Rhubarb was with him, and when he was abducted by human traffickers, he could meet two fairy-like elder brothers.

"Little boy, from now on, if there is a mouthful of mine at home, there will be a mouthful of yours."

Chen Xiuxiu's heart was about to be melted by Jiang Lu. His smile was too clean and clear. Life was hard, but he had a grateful heart.

[Thank you mother. ]

"You're welcome." Chen Xiuxiu rubbed his little head.

Jiang Jingyuan was very surprised to see their conversation, "Mother, can you understand his gestures?"

"Yes, when you were only one year old, you couldn't speak well, but I could understand it. This is your mother. You will understand when you become a father yourself."

Chen Xiuxiu looked at Jiang Jingyuan with a smile on her face, "So, you and Shui Zhou should have a baby soon, there is a ready-made brother who can play with him."

"Dinner, these are all new dishes in Phoenix Tower, it would be a pity if you don't try them." Jiang Jingyuan smiled and gave Chen Xiuxiu a dish with chopsticks.

"Eat, you should also eat more, especially the water boat. After eating, drink the chicken soup. Mother has stewed it all afternoon, and the meat is rotten. It's time to drink it."

When Xu Shuizhou heard the word chicken soup, he felt a greasy feeling in his stomach. He seemed to have been drinking chicken soup for about seven or eight days.

He can't refuse to drink the one made by his mother himself.

But if you eat too much, you will get tired.

"Okay mother, I understand." Xu Shuizhou agreed without tears.

After dinner, Chen Xiuxiu and He Yuzhu took Jiang Lu to clean up the room, and Xu Shuizhou went to the kitchen to bring Chen Xiuxiu's specially stewed chicken soup to his door.

"Give me a drink." Jiang Jingyuan sat reading by candlelight, saw Xu Shuizhou entering the door with chicken soup with a look of lovelessness, and said with a smile.

"It just happens that every time I study hard, it takes a lot of brainpower. It's also good to drink some chicken soup to make up for it. Why doesn't my mother stew it for me?"

Jiang Jingyuan didn't wait for Xu Shuizhou to reply, he took the cup in front of Xu Shuizhou and drank it.

"The taste is pretty good, and the chicken is soft and rotten. Serve it to me in the future." Jiang Jingyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, looking like he was enjoying it.

"Okay." Seeing that Jiang Jingyuan's expression did not seem fake, Xu Shuizhou nodded in agreement.

Since it was made by my mother, it doesn't matter if I give it to Jing Yuan, anyway, he and Jing Yuan are one, and if he eats it, he eats it himself.

"Tomorrow, I will be in charge of corvee work. I will entrust you to take care of my family. Don't worry about going to Datong. I will explain it to my mother tomorrow morning."

It was still early, Jiang Jingyuan read the book for a while to digest the chicken soup he just drank, put down the book, and spoke to Xu Shuizhou slowly.

"Are you going tomorrow?"

Xu Shuizhou was still a bit reluctant to say it, Jiang Jingyuan said it lightly, but the corvee is so easy to get rid of, and many people will die if one is not careful.

"Even the water level of Qingshui River has risen a lot recently. I'm afraid there will be heavy rain. It's better to plan ahead. Our house is next to Qingshui River. If the water rises, no one can tell."

Jiang Jingyuan moved his body helplessly. The imperial court actually didn't want people to take their lives to serve in corvee, but if they didn't need their lives to fill them up, more people would die.

After all, no one has paid attention to this issue after thousands of years. Everyone is so used to it that they are numb.

In the end, it was not the common people who suffered so much.

"Then I'll prepare some more things for you. I heard that the place where people persuaded the corvee is very hard. There is no shed to sleep in. Just lie on the ground when you are tired."

As Xu Shuizhou spoke, he began to wander around the room, thinking about what to bring to Jiang Jingyuan. In short, he wanted to bring everything at home to Jiang Jingyuan, for fear that he would go to suffer hardship.

"It's enough to prepare some change of clothes and bedding. I'm not traveling far away. If something is really missing, it's convenient to come home to pick it up."

Jiang Jingyuan looked at Xu Shuizhou who was wandering around the room and felt that his heart was full of warmth. Home is like this, plain and warm, and there will be someone who thinks of you all the time.

"That won't work. Don't think too easily about serving corvée. Once you get in, it's so easy to get out. I've inquired before, and there are officials watching all day long. Anyone who escapes can be shot and killed on the spot."

Xu Shuizhou shook his head like a rattle. After learning that Jiang Jingyuan was going to preside over the corvee, he asked many people about it, and he knew that it was not an easy task.

"I should be different." Jiang Jingyuan propped his chin, secretly thinking that when others are serving corvee, they are not allowed to walk around casually because they are afraid that they will run away, but he is not.

"Don't be too optimistic. Everything about the imperial court is uncertain. Let's prepare first, even if we don't use it, it's okay. I'm afraid we won't be prepared."

Xu Shuizhou didn't stop when he was talking. He rummaged around the house and took out a cloth bag, and packed all the things he found.

The last cloth bag was stuffed to the brim, with no gaps at all, and Xu Shuizhou packed it up with great effort.

The next day, when Jiang Jingyuan came together, he knocked on Chen Xiuxiu's door, talked to her for a long time, and then left home with an ugly and big burden on his back.

Behind the gate, he didn't see the figure hidden in the shadows, and kept watching him go away.

When Jiang Jingyuan went to the county government office of Wutong County, many scholars had already gathered at the gate of the county government office, chatting in a bustling manner.

Make the front of the entire county government office look like a vegetable market.

When Jiang Jingyuan came into everyone's sight with a big and ugly burden on his back, everyone laughed contemptuously.

"Is this going to work or to settle down? As for bringing so many things?"

"That's wrong. I think it's because I was scared by the corvee, that's why I brought so many things."

"There is the governor at the top, and the county magistrate at the bottom, who can treat us badly."

"Do you think he looks like a tortoise with a shell on his back?"

Jiang Jingyuan dismissed these mocking words, you laughed at me for being ugly, and I laughed at you for being ugly.

Not long after everyone arrived, the governor and the county magistrate came out from the main entrance of the county government office. Both of them looked quite serious. Standing on the steps, they glanced slightly at the people under the steps, with angry expressions on their faces.

Except for Jiang Jingyuan who brought a salute, everyone present didn't take this corvee service seriously at all.

This is to go to corvee, not to play, people will die, many people will die!

The governor took a deep breath, and said calmly, "You are all young talents of my Ming Dynasty, and this time you are also serving the people of the Ming Dynasty, and even more so, serving the Holy Majesty today. I hope that each of you will give your best to treat."

"Even if you can't do it well, it doesn't matter if you don't know how to do it. We will recruit people from the yamen to help you, but some people should not try to be clever. After the corvee is over, we will evaluate it based on the evaluation of the yamen servants and the evaluation of the people who served in the corvee. "

When Wang Linjie said this, he already had no hope for this group of talents. He only hoped that they could help out with a strike this time. If they couldn't even make a strike, then this kind of person would be nothing if he entered the officialdom .

"Yes."

All the scholars responded in unison.

Next, the county magistrate also said something to be careful about, but except for a few hard-working scholars who were memorizing it, everyone else didn't take it seriously. Standing in the crowd, Jiang Jingyuan also took Zhang County Magistrate's words carefully. Keep it in mind.

The last thing is to choose a yamen servant. Every scholar must have a yamen servant by his side. First, it can play a protective role, second, it can be a reference for the scholars, and third, it is also to supervise everyone.

It was none other than Qin Chujiu who chose Jiang Jingyuan. Jiang Jingyuan looked at County Magistrate Zhang, and County Magistrate Zhang nodded slightly to him.

After the other people have partnered with the yamen servants, there is no shortage of people to please. From their point of view, since the yamen servants next to them have the final say in this assessment, as long as they please the yamen servants, they will be fine.

"Ninth Brother, what are we going to do next?" Jiang Jingyuan asked with a burden on his back.

"Jiang Xianggong, please give me your burden, you look a little funny like this." No matter how Qin Chujiu saw Jiang Jingyuan at this moment, he felt a little awkward.

Jiang Jingyuan also knew that his current appearance was very funny. There was no way that the burden Xu Shuizhou had prepared for him was so big and heavy that it bent his back quite a bit, and he was talking with his back on his back.

But he still didn't want to let go of the burden, this was prepared by Ah Zhou for him, how could he be willing to leave it to others, he would get tired when he got tired, it was all about exercising.

"It's okay, Brother Nine, tell me about the corvee, so that I can understand." In fact, Jiang Jingyuan just wanted to distract his attention, so that he would not feel that the burden was heavy if he didn't turn his attention to the burden.

Seeing Jiang Jingyuan's insistence, Qin Chujiu stopped being entangled, and told him about the corvée, "We will go to each village to recruit people later, and we may have to use some violent methods when encountering some tough ones. Don't be intimidated by the meeting."

----

When Qin Chujiu spoke, his attitude was already gentle enough. In fact, many people were unwilling to go to the corvee every year, because if they went, they might die, and if they didn't, there was still a chance of life.

But corvée matters can't accommodate these people who want to go or don't want to go. Of course, some rich people don't have to go if they put some money in, but there are not many places, at most there are only about ten people.

After all, there are too few people, even a fool can see the problem.

"Mr. Jiang is fully prepared this time. Serving in corvée is not a joke. You have to stay in the camp for food and lodging. It is not so easy to figure out after entering the camp."

As Qin Chujiu spoke, he glanced at the scholars around him who were fawning over the servants, and a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Do these people regard corvee as fun, and they are not even prepared to go out.

"It's all well-prepared by the husband at home." Jiang Jingyuan's heart warmed slightly. It's different to have a virtuous husband at home.

If it weren't for Xu Shuizhou's insistence, I'm afraid he would only bring some changes of clothes to go out today, and he wouldn't be able to do everything.

Soon the yamen dispatched a group of men and horses to everyone, all of them looked very solemn, and it seemed that they were all members of the army.

Jiang Jingyuan's brows twitched slightly, and all the people in the army were dispatched, so this time the corvee will definitely not be easy.

"Does Brother Jiu know where we will be sent?"

"Our group should be sent to Qingshui River to deal with floods. I heard that there was heavy rain and floods in the south of the Yangtze River, so the water level of Qingshui River has risen a lot these days. The county magistrate is afraid that the rain will cause floods. This time the focus Should be on top of this."

As Qin Chujiu spoke, he looked at Jiang Jingyuan with some shame, "The county magistrate originally wanted you to build roads, but when the governor came, he added you to the item of water control with a wave of his hand."

Jiang Jingyuan shook his head and didn't care. They were all corvees regardless of their jobs. Since the flood is very important, it's better to pay close attention to the flood first.

The other scholars over there saw that the troops were dispatched, and some of them reacted quickly, and asked the yamen servant who was next to them carefully, their faces pale.

Quickly ordered the servants at home who were waiting for him to prepare things.

Seeing someone doing this, others hurriedly prepared after inquiring about it.

No one laughed at Jiang Jingyuan anymore.

Qin Chujiu said with a rough smile, "All of them are not stupid enough, but it's too late to prepare now."

Fortunately, although everyone didn't bring salutes when they went out, they all carried money on their bodies anyway. This corvee service is no different than others, and there is a place for some money to be useful in case it is useful.

There are quite a few shops next to the county government office. It is very convenient to buy something, but the shopping is not complete.

After these talents finished their shopping noisily, the Governor gave an order for everyone to set off.

The first place Jiang Jingyuan went to was Jiangyu Village. County magistrate Zhang couldn't stop Jiang Jingyuan from going to deal with the flood, but at least he could let Jiang Jingyuan go to his own village to recruit people.

People from the army followed behind them. If anyone refused to accept the corvee, they should ask Xing.

After the mighty group of people scattered to various villages, the people in the village became panicked, knowing that they were going to drag their family members into corvee service, and everyone looked at them in fear.

The first thing Jiang Jingyuan found was the old patriarch. There was no way to hide from such a thing, no matter how frightened he was, he had to go.

The old patriarch was obviously a sensible person, and he asked someone to gather all the people in the village who could serve in corvee. Although the villagers were frightened, they all arrived stutteringly.

"Everyone, don't be afraid. This year's corvee is in charge of Jing Yuan. After all, Jing Yuan came from our village and is a member of the Jiang family. He won't do anything to you."

There are more than 100 families in Jiangyu Village, and there are more than 100 people standing here at this moment. The old patriarch didn't say that Jiang Jingyuan was fine, but when he said that Jiang Jingyuan and the others were even more afraid.

Jiang Jingyuan was a talented devil, and he was always going to put people in jail. What if he avenged himself publicly? They still remembered what Jiang Jingyuan said when they went to Jiang's house to make trouble.

The name of a man, the shadow of a tree.

Everyone in Jiangyu Village was a little afraid of Jiang Jingyuan, and they even shuddered when they heard this name.

No matter what the old patriarch said, he couldn't appease these people, so he could only look at Jiang Jingyuan helplessly.

Jiang Jingyuan took a step forward, so everyone unconsciously took a step back.

Jiang Jingyuan curled his lips, he is not a man-eating devil.

"Everyone is a member of the Jiang clan. No matter how cruel I am, Jiang Jingyuan, I will not do anything to my clan members. On the contrary, I still have some places in my hand. If anyone does not want to serve in corvee, he can pay two taels of silver."

As soon as Jiang Jingyuan's words came out, the villagers who were a little scared just now burst into an uproar. It's not worth buying a life for two taels, of course it is.

If you go to corvee service, you will lose your life if you are not careful. Even if you come back by luck, you will only have half your life. Some even come back with missing arms and legs. This is the labor of the family. up.

At the moment, some who were not short of money went back to get the silver, and the rest were a little hesitant. After thinking about it, more than a dozen ran home to get the silver.

This is all thanks to Jiang Jingyuan teaching the fishing cage back then. If it weren't for the fishing cage that made it easier for everyone to fish, there are really not many people who can afford two taels of silver now.

Jiang Jingyuan recorded the people who paid the money. There were 30 people in total, and they received a total of 60 taels of silver, and so on.

When Jiang Jingyuan was busy recording, Xu Shuizhou hurriedly stuffed a bag to Qin Chujiu. He wanted to bring some food for Jiang Jingyuan, but Jiang Jingyuan left in a hurry in the morning.

Fortunately, his sharp eyes saw that Jiang Jingyuan brought people to recruit people, so he went home and packed up a pile of food for Jiang Jingyuan to bring. Seeing that he was busy, he didn't come forward to bother him, and gave the things to Qin Chujiu.

"Ninth brother, please take care of my family Jingyuan. Don't worry about my sister-in-law, I will also watch over it for you. I will bring some more wine to the house in another day, and keep it for you to drink when you come back from corvée."

Xu Shuizhou dragged Qin Chujiu and chattered a lot of things, both inside and out, asking Qin Chujiu to take care of Jiang Jingyuan, for fear that Jiang Jingyuan would suffer if he went.

Hearing that Qin Chujiu nodded again and again, and assured him again and again that he would take good care of Jiang Jingyuan, Xu Shuizhou let him go.

After Jiang Jingyuan finished his work, he raised his head and nodded to Xu Shuizhou, who also waved his hand.

When they left the village, Xu Shuizhou sent them all the way to the entrance of the village.

After leaving Jiangyu Village, Jiang Jingyuan went to other villages. Like Jiangyu Village, as long as someone is willing to pay, they can be exempted from corvee.

Seeing that the soldiers leading the team shook their heads secretly, some even came out to dissuade them, "Young Master, don't be dazzled by money. If there are too few corvees, you can't explain it to me, Young Master."

"Thank you, big brother, for your kindness. Jing Yuan knows it well, so I won't bother you." Jiang Jingyuan also sincerely thanked the soldier who came out to dissuade him. He must have his reasons for doing so.

The soldier wanted to say something else, but when he heard what Jiang Jingyuan said, he sighed slightly, shook his head again, and returned to the team.

Jiang Jingyuan continued to go his own way, going to a village, as long as he took the money, he would be exempted from corvee labor. In some poorer villages, a few people would contribute money, and in some richer villages, a dozen people could contribute.

Soon Jiang Jingyuan's notebook recorded hundreds of people, and at the last count, the number of tax-exempt people reached more than 300 people, and they also earned 700 taels of silver.

The soldiers would come out to dissuade them at first, but when they saw that Jiang Jingyuan couldn't listen, they stopped. They just shook their heads secretly, thinking that Jiang Jingyuan was still too young and was dazzled by the money.

When I go back later, the governor knows how to punish him, and in the end he loses his reputation instead of earning money.

However, it was beneficial for Jiang Jingyuan to do so. At least the villages he had been to had not caused any disputes, and no one resisted. Relatively speaking, it was relatively smooth.

People in this era still dare not confront the officials, but it is hard to say in other villages.

When Jiang Jingyuan and the others passed by, they could hear the screams inside. Everyone felt sympathetic, but no one came forward to help.

Jiang Jingyuan's movements were quick, he was almost the first person to be summoned, and also the first to arrive at the Qingshui River embankment breach camp. Across the torrential river, a lot of tents had already been set up beside it.

Governor Wang Linjie was a little happy to see that Jiang Jingyuan was the first to come back. He felt that this kid was quite suitable for him, but after hearing the report from the people below and counting the number of people, his face turned livid.

Calling Jiang Jingyuan to him, he said solemnly, "You know the importance of this corvee."

"The students know what the governor said." Jiang Jingyuan's attitude was neither humble nor overbearing.

"Then why are you still doing such nonsense? The lack of 300 people may cause more people to be drowned in this flood." Wang Linjie took a deep breath in his heart. In fact, it was a test for Jiang Jingyuan by his teacher.

If Jiang Jingyuan is really capable and willing to think for the common people, then Jiang Jingyuan will be his junior in the future, but this kid will run amok as soon as he comes up.

"The students didn't mess around, adults will know later." Jiang Jingyuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he thought the governor would reprimand him for collecting money indiscriminately, but unexpectedly, he was just said lightly.

Wang Linjie flicked his sleeves, blew his beard and stared at him and said, "I want to see what kind of tricks you can play. Go down and clean up by yourself. Those who come first can pick a better tent."

"Student thanked the governor for your suggestion." Jiang Jingyuan bowed, and then walked out of the governor's tent respectfully.

As soon as I came out, I saw that many teams had returned, and many people were crying. Every family had to provide at least one labor force, and some children who had reached the age of 14 were called.

Jiang Jingyuan turned his head to look at the rushing river, feeling a sense of heaviness in his heart, this is the sorrow of this era.

Many people have already learned that Jiang Jingyuan was called over by the Governor and scolded just now, and they are looking at him gloatingly.

"I said fool Jiang, you are really stupid. This time, the governor gave us a chance and you dare to blatantly make money? You are not small. Do you mean you are too shrewd or too naive."

"Look at how well Fang Xinli and Wei Liangjun have done their work. Not only did they not receive a penny from the common people, but the servants and soldiers who came back all praised them. I remember that Jiang Jingyuan was able to get along with them on the boat. It's parallel."

"That's nothing more than a blind cat meeting a dead mouse. How can it compare to Brother Fang and Brother Wei."

It's human beings who can't avoid exalting the highs and stepping down the lows. Seeing Jiang Jingyuan's downfall, everyone would be sneering and sarcastic. No matter how stupid they are, they are never so stupid.

Jiang Jingyuan just smiled lightly, first went to pick out a good tent, unpacked the bag and prepared to make the bed, a lot of things fell out of it, including a lot of his favorite food.

Jiang Jingyuan's heart was filled to the brim.

The author has something to say: Wow, I added it.

Explain, my aunt is my uncle's daughter-in-law. Fortunately, my aunt doesn't have much money. The point is that his friend has a mine at home!

By the way, I also want to find a friend who has a mine at home!