The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

(Thanks to the three yellow tooth book friends for their rewards)

Seeing Su Jin's smug face, Li Zhihe was confused for a while. If what Su Jin said was true, this guy is an out-and-out scoundrel. He even dared to do such a thing. What else could he do? Is it something he dare not do?

"But... But you are using this to blackmail Yan Sansi, asking him to agree to marry Yan's daughter to you?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "Exactly, unless he kills me secretly, he will only betroth his niece to me. Yan Sansi is a benevolent gentleman, so how could he kill me because of this, so I became the son-in-law of the Yan family as a matter of course."

"Then you asked Yan Sansi to help you with the management, and even... maybe even cheated and won the first place in the undergraduate course?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "I found that you are getting smarter and smarter, and you can answer quickly. I won't say anything else, I just tell you that the examiner for the undergraduate examination is Yan Sansi, do you understand?"

Li Zhihe wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeves, nodded and said in a low voice, "Understood...Understood."

Su Jin said seriously: "This is a big secret. Today you and I hit it off right away, and you scolded me for telling this secret to you. If there is a third party who knows, you must tell it. I am a small official and have no power. There is no way to cure you, but how can Yan Sansi allow you to talk nonsense, you can pinch your calf and weigh it."

Li Zhihe said: "Definitely not. How could I use this matter to publicize it? It has something to do with Yan Sansi's Qingyu. Even if you give me some courage, I wouldn't dare." Come to listen to him say these things, and for no reason, he has taken on another responsibility, which is an extra trouble.

However, Li Zhihe has not let go of his guard, and Su Jin's words have not been fully confirmed. Even if it makes sense after scrutiny, what does this have to do with Su Jin's single-minded desire to join his group of people to make money?Still need to ask again.

"Since you are already the son-in-law of Yan Mansion's east bed, why did you come to this border land to be an official? There are many wars here, and the place is barren. Even if you want to earn money, you don't need to come to Weizhou."

"You don't understand this. My uncle said that since we are a family, we must start high. We could have stayed in the capital as an official, but according to the regulations of the court, even the number one scholar can only start from the sixth Starting from a junior official of the seventh rank, in this way, it will take at least seven or eight years to reach the rank of the fourth rank magistrate, and there must be no mistakes in the process; my uncle came up with an idea, the border towns are more difficult, and the court Preferential treatment is given to those who are willing to come here to serve as officials, the purpose is to encourage officials to come to the frontier prefecture to serve as officials. It happened that there was a vacancy in Weizhou, so Yan Sansi asked the emperor to get me to Weizhou to be an official. This will be a fourth-rank official in no time, how exciting."

"But... Weizhou is a place of war, so you are not afraid of a war. Once Weizhou City falls, by then..."

"Bah, bah, bah... Crow's Mouth! How can it be so easy to fall? After three or four years of fighting with the West Thieves, which time has Weizhou City ever fallen? Besides, my uncle can say that the West Thieves are also big now. It hurts the vitality, the country is already full of famine and starvation, and we are forced to fight with our Song Dynasty. In half a year, the western thieves will definitely ask for peace from the Song Dynasty. The ones will be transferred back to the capital for promotion."

Li Zhihe was secretly startled, what Yan Shu said was indeed the conclusion drawn by his own analysis, living in the border area, he had dealt with the West Bandit too many times, and the movement of the West Bandit every time period reflected their psychology.

At the beginning of the war, Xixia soldiers did not dispatch frequently, but once they attacked, they would attack on a large scale, and they did not hesitate to use tens of thousands of horses to fight. This shows that they are very confident, so confident that they can defeat them with one or two big battles. The main force of the Northwest Song Army, only an army with fine food, high morale and no worries can have such confidence.

But now, the number of bandits dispatched is several times more frequent than before, but the number is much smaller. Most of them are small groups of cavalry who loot and raid on a small scale. For the purpose of plundering cattle, sheep and livestock for food, such frequent and urgent looting can only show that they are at the point of shortage of supplies, otherwise, how could a small group of cavalry be sent out frequently at the risk of being surrounded and wiped out?

In fact, the Song Army on Jingyuan Road and Huanqing Road had successfully wiped out several such cavalry squads. Di Qing from Yanzhou Prefecture on Huanqing Road became famous in such small-scale battles. He has already captured the heads of more than 500 Xixia cavalry, and the current situation has made Di Qing climb like a rocket from a small soldier to become the commander deployed by Yanzhou.

Li Zhihe understood that Su Jin's words were true. Seeing Su Jin like this, he was determined not to be able to analyze the subtle changes in the situation, so Yan Shu must have said these words himself.

"However, since Mr. Su is already a guest of the Yan Mansion, how can he have such a strong demand for money? It's a bit inconceivable that he has been an official for thousands of miles just for money."

Su Jin was stunned and said: "What's so incredible? Do you think that I am the son-in-law of the Yan family, and I can spend the Yan family's money at will? The Yan family is rich, but it is their money, understand? My wife and I are married , Yan Sansi did give a lot of dowry, but can I move that money? It's a woman's money, no matter how poor I am, I won't waste my wife's money."

Li Zhihe nodded in agreement, but said in his heart: With your virtue, you can make a big woman's belly play like a rascal, but at this time, you put aside your pretense of being noble.

"Furthermore, I originally had two pennies, which was enough for my own expenses, but since I became relatives with the Yan Mansion, I have spent the money like running water, which is not enough at all; I'm not afraid of your jokes, I owe it all A huge amount of foreign debt."

Li Zhihe said in astonishment: "Why is this?"

Su Jin shook his head and said: "Hey, you are relatives who don't have high officials, how do you understand? The relatives of the Yan family are all over the capital, which family is not a famous person? Can you spend less money if you make friends with these people? My The lady doesn't want to lose face, the house needs to be large, the servants need to be large, the food should not be too bad, and the carriage should be good when going out. The horses that pull the carts in our family eat fine grains, so that they will be full of energy when they go out. Liang, let outsiders look envious, don't you think this is full of food?"

Li Zhihe suddenly realized, and at the same time, he also felt the same way. He was familiar with the extravagant atmosphere in the capital. Short and small like a hut, so it will become the topic of conversation after dinner. The family members of officials and family members do not have any serious things to talk about when they meet and gather, but mainly to compete for wealth and wealth. Who has expensive jewelry, who has luxurious carriages, and who has more servants , Dress well, these are the focus of comparison.

Su Jinwu complained to himself: "Like last month, the third wife of Yan Sansi celebrated her [-]th birthday, and another son-in-law of the Yan family, Fu Bi, gave a gift of nearly ten thousand guan. Can I give less? I gritted my teeth and stomped my feet and I gave a gift of [-] guan. Damn it, I have gained face, but my pockets have shrunk a lot. Tell me, what kind of life am I living?"

Seeing Su Jin's sad face, Li Zhihe felt sympathy for Su Jin, and at the same time gloated a little. Who told you to mess with the belly of a grown-up girl, but you just fell into this trap yourself, and you deserve to be dragged down. .

"But Mr. Su, it's not like you don't know the situation in Weizhou City. The farmers and merchants here are stagnant, and you can't even collect a penny from taxes. You can't make money even if you come here."

Su Jin stared at Li Zhihe, shook his head and smacked his lips: "It seems that I have talked with Li Jianjun for a long time, which is equivalent to talking for nothing. Li Jianjun is not enough friends. I told you everything, but you still kept secrets from me." , if I followed my previous temper, I would have scolded me a long time ago; but since I have become an official, I have to learn some manners. Since Li Jianjun is not enough friends, I can't bear to put my hot face on your cold ass, and leave. Well, I'll pack up and go back to Beijing tomorrow, so we won't be angry here anymore."

Li Zhihe hurriedly stopped Su Jin who was about to leave, and said hesitantly: "Master Su, don't be angry, I really don't know where there is any place to make money here, and if Master Su pointed out a way, let this official follow suit ?”

Su Jin spat and said, "Do you think I'm a fool? You guys are all doing it secretly. I just want to get a share of the action, but I come here to be a bitch and set up a memorial archway. It makes me look down on you; Make it clear, Lord Sansi is my uncle, I beg him with a word, and with a swipe of his pen, the food and supplies sent to Weizhou will be doubled or halved. If you want to make money, it depends on my face, or everyone If you want to get rich, you have to make a fortune; as long as I leave, I will guarantee that you will have no food for three months and no salary for three months, do you believe it or not?"

Li Zhihe secretly sighed, he would rather mess with a gentleman than a villain, this one in front of him is an out-and-out villain and scoundrel, it seems that if he is not recruited into the gang, this guy will definitely make Weizhou city into a mess; And what moved Li Zhihe even more was what Su Jin said just now. Su Jin and Yan Shu were closely related. If he was in Weizhou, wouldn't there be a steady stream of food and supplies?At present, apart from the military rations, there is actually not much leftover food that can be sold. There is still a big gap in Weizhou City. If Su Jin is recruited into the group, won't there be a lot of money in the future?

Li Zhihe was both moved and hesitant, wanted to agree but felt faintly afraid, rubbed his hands together and hesitated, hesitating endlessly.