The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

In the dozen or so big houses in the front yard of the post station, several piles of firewood were burning vigorously, and the dilapidated house was blowing a icy cold wind from time to time, but the soldiers guarding Sima Jun had a way of pulling out the straw mats on the bed and hanging them up. They built up to block the damaged gap, and spread thick hay on the ground. Everyone lay on the hay, enjoying the warm campfire, and it was very warm and comfortable for a while.

This is a group of old-fashioned soldiers who are used to enjoying themselves. The soldiers who can enter the bodyguard department have some connections. On weekdays, they are good at riding horses to show off their power. It was a little fresh, and when Shumi Du gave a lecture, he also said that there was a subsidy to get it, which made the guards who were not selected cursed and greedy.

But after a few days of eating and sleeping in the open air, these veteran soldiers were all exhausted. The cold wind in the wilderness was like knives, blowing their pampered skin tight on their faces, making them extremely uncomfortable; the long-term riding also made their thighs worn down. Burning pain.

Lying on the hay, everyone pulled down their pants one after another, dipped their fingers in saliva and spit on the red and swollen areas. It is said that this can relieve pain; It is also the best medicine to relieve fatigue; the topic unknowingly turns to the little ladies in the brothels in the capital, and everyone uses their imaginations to ridicule each other's old friends who don't know which dirty and ugly old man is lying under the body at the moment Moaning tactfully, this kind of topic brings about mutual abuse and ridicule.

When the atmosphere was warm, the door of the house was pushed open by "Kang Dang", and a gust of cold wind came in, blowing the bonfire wildly from side to side, and the soldiers were shivering from the cold. Someone cursed: "Who the hell Being so wicked, running in and out in the middle of the night, is it a loss of soul?"

The person who came in closed the door with his backhand, walked out of the shadows with a smile on his face and said, "Zhao Du is very angry. He has only been out for a few days, and he is full of stuff? Don't worry, go to Luzhou to find a brothel." Clearing the warehouse all at once will save you from getting angry all over."

When Zhao Dutou heard the voice, he quickly got up and saluted, "Oh, it's Commander Long, look at my eyes, I really should pick them up and feed them to the dog."

When all the soldiers saw Long Zhen coming in, they got up and got up one after another. Long Zhen laughed and stretched out his hand to shoot continuously, saying: "Lie down, don't get up, this is the rest time, so don't be polite."

Zhao Dutou hurriedly placed a handful of hay beside the campfire and said, "General Long, sit down quickly and warm up the fire. Why are you up so late, you won't be like us and lose sleep without girls."

Long Zhen sat down on the grass, stretched out his hands to warm the fire, and said, "How can I be as hot as you? I'm almost forty, have I ever compared with you young men in their 30s and [-]s? I'm here to pay you all Yes, I’ve carried it with me for a few days, it’s strange, I planned to send it to everyone in Luzhou, but sooner or later, I will send it.”

After finishing speaking, he called to the back: "Bring it here." Only then did everyone see clearly that there were also two personal guards of Commander Long who came in at the same time, and the two men each carried a cloth bag, and threw it heavily towards the fire .

Long Zhen said: "Zhao Dutou and Fang Dutou, you two come and give it to everyone. Each of you gets five points, and you two get two points."

The crowd suddenly burst into cheers, Zhao Dutou and Fang Dutou came forward happily, and each of them picked up a cloth bag and distributed it one by one. Although the capital is comfortable, the salary is only [-] Wen, which is not enough to go to the kiln to put two cannonballs, but once it comes out, it has doubled."

Another person said: "There is really a lot of water here, thanks to Commander Long who gave me and my brothers a chance to make a fortune, we all should respect Commander Long."

The other soldiers echoed: "That's right, we can't pretend to be stupid. Each of us will pay fifty coins to honor Commander. When we arrive in Luzhou, we will teach Commander to find the most beautiful girl to take care of us."

"Yes, yes, yes, find an oiran lady who can play, play and sing, and play the flute, so that the conductor can also enjoy it."

Everyone laughed loudly, and some people got up spontaneously and really collected money.

Unexpectedly, Long Zhen's face was gloomy, and he seemed to be very unhappy. Seeing this, Zhao Dutou leaned into Long Zhen's ear and said, "What's the matter? Is the Commander feeling too little? Why don't you call me?" Each of them put together a hundred cash."

Long Zhen let out a long sigh, with a look of extreme self-blame on his face, everyone stopped laughing and looked at Long Zhen without knowing it.

Long Zhen raised his head slowly, and said in a dry voice: "Brothers, I, Long, are really incompetent."

"Master Commander, where did you say that?" Everyone looked at each other, not understanding the meaning of the words.

"Do you think this five-year salary is a month's salary? This is a three-month salary." Long Zhen said weakly.

"what?"

"what?"

"Are you kidding, three months?"

"Less than those in the capital?"

"What kind of errand is this nainai."

"That's right, what do you think of the man, are you being bullied by mules and horses?"

The soldiers yelled and cursed like a frying pan, and some people threw their salaries on the ground excitedly, yelling and cursing that they should quit, and the crowd was excited for a while.

With a sullen face, Long Zhen waited for the shouting and scolding to subside for a while, then got up and picked up all the strings of copper coins thrown on the ground, dried the dust on them, removed the grass clippings on them, and put them into the arms of the soldiers.Then he straightened up and stood by the fire and looked around. Everyone looked at him silently, knowing that he had something to say, and they also wanted to hear Long Zhen's explanation.

"Brothers, don't be annoyed, just listen to me. Originally, the amount of salary that the privy envoy told me during this trip was a monthly allowance. After returning to Beijing after the errand, I will receive a subsidy of [-] cash, which is exactly a monthly allowance. Five; but tonight, the special envoy asked me to drink and talk, and then gave me the salary. After I counted it, I lost five hundred cash per month. If I was willing to give up, I reasoned with him. Baiwen's money is used as a gift for the brothers to honor him, so I told me not to say too much, just take it and distribute it to everyone."

Long Zhen's tone was sad, and he seemed extremely sad and indignant.

"What kind of special envoy for bird food, damn it, let him handle this job by himself."

"That's right, whoever of us knows him is a stinky food envoy, what a broken official, and he also comes to ask grandpa to show respect. Let's go back to the capital and let his mother do it by himself."

Long Zhen stretched out his hand to stop everyone and said: "Brothers, don't be impulsive, so what if you go back to the capital? This is the emperor's mission, if you don't do the mission, if you go back like this, you will be arrested by the Privy Council and cut off your head. Baiwen, is it worth it?"

Someone shouted: "Commander Long, why don't you argue with reason? We brothers were brought out of Beijing by you, so of course we listen to you. You should have a good talk with that shaggy bird envoy. Let's take a look at his color."

Long Zhen said angrily: "Did you think I didn't say that? I almost got into a fight with him, but do you know who he is? He was strongly recommended by the third envoy Yan Shu, and it depends on the owner to beat a dog. Impulsive, how do you do business after returning to the capital?"

Zhao Dutou said: "Could it be that we can just swallow this breath? Each person is five hundred coins, three months is a consistent five, and our two hundred brothers are three hundred coins. This thief is really black-minded. We have deducted so much by just raising our hands, cao. His nainai, the money is enough to buy coffins for his whole family."

Long Zhen said: "No wonder he rushed to go to the Ministry of Households to collect his salary. Originally, I was responsible for these things, but he ran away in a hurry. So it was for this."

Fang Dutou said loudly: "Tell me, let's go back to Beijing together. The law does not blame the public. Let's clarify the matter to the Privy Council. Withholding military pay is a serious crime. I don't believe that with Yan Shu's support, no one can cure him."

Everyone said: "Yes, let's go together, afraid of him being a bird? Let's take advantage of it."

Long Zhen spread his hands and said, "Where's the evidence? Evidence."

Fang Du nodded, "Isn't this money evidence?"

Long Zhen said contemptuously: "This is also considered evidence. If someone bites back and says that you spent the money and messed around again, do you still think about it?"

Zhao Dutou said: "Commander Long, didn't you write down the amount when you received the money?"

Long Zhen said: "This fellow has an amazing capacity for alcohol. I was drunk by him for more than a dozen cups, and signed in a daze. After looking at it, I found that the amount was the amount that should be handed out."

Everyone was stunned, wanting to scold but didn't dare to scold, stomping their feet.

Fang Dutou said: "Brothers, you don't blame Long Dutou. Think about it, even if Long Dutou is sober, the thief is so grandiose that he wants the Commander to sign. Can he not sign?"

Everyone was silent, the official was crushing someone to death, the Commander was here to assist the Su Special Envoy, and this Special Envoy was appointed by the Emperor himself, this is not something that can be easily offended.

"Could it be that we can't swallow the dumb loss like this?" Everyone jumped angrily, but there was nothing they could do.

Long Zhen said: "Brothers, you really want to say this?"

Everyone said one after another: "Then there is still a lie? We can't let this kid be bullied."

Long Zhen said: "Brothers, if you really want to vent your anger, I have a way."

Everyone hurriedly gathered around and listened attentively to where Long Zhen's plan came from.