Emperor Kangxi sent me to marry

Kangxi 37th year.Shaanxi, which is often hit by droughts, rarely gets wet spring rain for days.

For farmers, this was a good thing; for General Sun Sike, who was stationed in Suzhou, which is now near Jiuquan City, Gansu Province, the humidity was quite torturous.

During his military life, he was over seventy years old and suffered from ailments all over his body.

Especially my right arm, which was seriously injured.On wet and cold days, the pain becomes unbearable.

"Cheng'en! Chengyun!"

As soon as the shouts ended, the two boys who were practicing bows and arrows in the yard, despite the slanting wind and light rain, quickly ran into the house and waited for orders.

One is tall and the other is short. They have been training in the desert for a long time with the army. They are both more mature and rougher in appearance than the young officials of the same age who have grown up in wealth.

That is the mark of growth that time has left on the two young men.

Sun Sike thought that if he wanted to be a general, he should be like Huo Qubing. The Huns were not destroyed, so why should they take care of their family?It was not until he was in his fifties, at an age that could not be delayed any longer, that under Kangxi's repeated urging, he hurriedly got married and gave birth to three sons.

The youngest one is still unable to handle Sun Sike's orders.He never doted on his sons, so he treated them both as relatives.

"Father, my son is here."

"Go find some plaster and bring it over."

"Hey, here we go."

The eldest son, Chengen, was 13 years old. He took his 11-year-old brother Chengyun with him to look for medicine in the ear room.

"I can do it alone. You go to the yard and put the guy away. Otherwise, my father will be angry later when he sees us wasting weapons."

"Brother, there are people in the yard. I'm not afraid. But from the looks of it, they are here to find my father. It would be better for you to go out."

"Oh, really?"

Sun Chengen poked his head outside and saw that it was really the concierge outside his house, with an old black man dressed as a farmer, standing in the rain talking.

"Then, you look for medicine. I'll go out and take a look."

As soon as he walked out, the steward quickly left the old man behind and came over to greet Qian'er.

"Hello, young master. Are you free at the moment?"

"What do you say first."

"Yes. That person."

The steward quickly pointed at the bewildered visitor standing at the entrance of the courtyard without leaving any trace.

"He was the father of a footman under the old master, named Zhang Gong. During the Galdan campaign, the footman died of illness. He was the only son in his family, and his five daughters were all married. The old man I told you that the mansion will be responsible for supporting this old man."

Because Sun Chengen was the eldest son, he gradually took over the general affairs early on, and he understood it as soon as he heard it.

"How much does he want? It's not a big amount, the accountant will get the money."

"Oh, young master, if this is all you have to do, can you still come in and disturb the master? This old man is usually very stubborn and has never received any help from the government. It is rare for him to come to your door to ask for help. One or two hundred silver, The younger one took charge. He asked for 1000 taels. Firstly, there was no such cash in the house; secondly, the New Year had just passed and every family was not well off. If he wanted to go out and borrow money, the younger one had to ask for permission from the master. .”

Most of the people who could catch Sun Sike's eye and associate with the General's Mansion were from decent families.

In other words, if you do not take bribes or exploit your subordinates, you will live a life without much surplus.

Sun Chengen was very satisfied with the steward's handling and nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, go and greet him, and I'll ask my father."

General Sun was quite curious about Old Man Zhang's unusual behavior.It was a rare peaceful time for him now, and he happened to have some free time, so he called his eldest son and brought old man Zhang in.

"Country people are honest, don't scare him. Yinzi, let the steward prepare."

Sun Chengen went out to raise funds. After his brother helped his father apply the medicine, he waited on the guests in the slightly warmer wing.

Even though Old Man Zhang was poor, he was still poor and energetic.Tall and thin, with rough skin like old tree bark, his smile always makes people feel unnatural.

Because he is the backbone of the villagers on weekdays and is serious in speech.As I get older, I forget how to smile.

"Greetings to the general and young master."

When he was about to kneel down, he pulled at the coarse cloth clothes that had been starched until they were dry and stiff, making a swishing sound.Sun Chengyun ran over to stop him and asked him to sit down on the chair.

"It doesn't have to be like this. Please have some tea." Old man Zhang pursed his frothy lips and did not take the tea cup that Sun Chengyun placed on the table.

"I am a vulgar person. It is a sin to waste the good tea and fine porcelain in the house. Besides, I am here to borrow money."

After groping in his arms for a while, he took out a thin piece of rice paper.

"General, please be careful. We are not shameless people. The 1000 taels are borrowed. When the grain is collected at the end of the year, we will pay it back."

Sun Chengyun glanced at his father's eyes, took the contract in his hand, and presented it to his father.

General Sun opened it and was so shocked that he couldn't reply for a long time.

A full piece of paper, large and small, with hundreds of fingerprints printed on it.There are only a few words on the IOU, which simply express the loan amount and return date.

He was used to seeing dead people, and he knew as soon as he smelled it that these were not cinnabar marks, but bloody fingerprints.

So many people urgently need to borrow money
"Brother Zhang, what happened to you there? Only if you tell me can I help you figure out a solution."

"No, General. We are grateful that you are willing to borrow it. The magistrate said that we can complain wherever we want. It doesn't matter if we go to the capital to complain. He is not afraid."

"That's unreasonable! Speak carefully and don't flinch! Don't talk about the emperor, I can deal with him! He's just a county magistrate!"

Under General Sun's repeated urging and encouragement, Old Man Zhang finally plucked up the courage and started talking.

"Last year, the Dragon King rewarded him with his favor, and the rains harmonized, so he harvested more wheat. According to previous years, wheat should have become cheaper. But for some reason, the price has gone up. We all said that now, we can live a prosperous year. . But when the grain was sold, the county magistrate sent someone to collect it, and he still paid the lowest price in the past five years. I led the men to argue, but was beaten by the government servants. "

The old man rolled up his sleeves and showed General Sun and his son the whip marks on their arms.Several months later, the scars are still shockingly severe, which shows that the injury was serious at that time.

"At that time, the villagers summed up: We are not afraid of officials, but afraid of management. We can't fight the magistrate who destroys the family, and the governor who destroys the family. Forget it. Just sell it at the price set by the yamen. Deal with the first month and start planting in the spring. Because they bought all the land, no seeds were left in each household, so as usual, we had to go to the landlord's house or borrow it on credit from a grain store."

"Okay! You don't need to go any further, I can guess it! These evil people have driven up the price of wheat again, haven't they! You can't afford credit now!"

"Yes, that's what the general said."

Sun Sike asked his youngest son to take Old Man Zhang to dinner first.

"You're welcome, just a bowl of noodles."

Not long after, the eldest son who had gone out to collect money came back, and Sun Sike asked him about the situation outside.

"What's the price of wheat this year?"

Sun Chengen answered confusedly and honestly:

"I don't know much about wheat, and rice and noodles are ridiculously expensive. Not only these, but also sweet potatoes and corn, as long as they are edible, are soaring in price. So the prices of chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep have also increased. This year's Chinese New Year, our family is more expensive than usual. It cost several hundred taels more. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to make up the 1000 taels.”

"Brother, isn't this just like 'the rich wine and meat smells bad, and the road freezes to death!' I can't eat meat anymore!"

"Hey? Didn't you entertain Old Man Zhang and go to dinner? Why are you back again?"

"He didn't want to eat. He said he had solid food. Just two stick noodles and pastry. He asked the kitchen for a bowl of hot soup and that was all for lunch."

Sun Chengyun was full of enthusiasm. He became more and more excited as he spoke to his father and brother:
"Father, you can't ignore this matter. I heard from Old Man Zhang that not only their Huayin County, but also several other counties suffered from the same situation. He also told me a great event!"

"what's up?"

"All the food in Shaanxi has been transported away! I don't know where it is transported. There are strong men in their village who go out to make a living and help the county government load the carts. Fortunately, there is no war. If there is a war, the army rations cannot be collected, and the emperor will blame it. , Aren’t you going to kill the entire Sun family?”

The youngest son's words completely rang the alarm bell in Sun Sike's mind.

The twists and turns here probably involve more than just one county magistrate.

"Come on, my handwriting is ugly and you two have studied a lot. Write a letter for me."

"Father, what are you writing?"

"I want to write a letter to General Fei Yanggu who is stationed in Guihua City. I want to ask for a favor from him. Anyone who dares to touch the military rations must be a prominent figure in the capital. I'm afraid I won't be able to fight alone. I have to hire someone. Speak with weight.”

Sun Sike's right hand, which was still aching due to moisture, was still holding the IOU written by Old Man Zhang.

There are not only bright red fingerprints on it, but also strips of fresh life.

Soon, due to the delayed farming season, there will be no harvest in autumn and winter, and they will fall into a life of hunger and cold.

Fourth Princess, Fourth Prince Consort, for the sake of past kindness, please reach out and help me!
I mainly deduce the ages of Sun Sike's three sons based on the time of their marriage.Especially the second son, who later married Kangxi's daughter, could not be too old.So Sun Sike probably married later and had children later.