Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 520 Pension
"I said it. I don't want this money." Ding Baiying still had the same attitude.

"Heh." Ding Xiu seemed to have a plan in mind. As soon as Ding Baiying finished speaking, he chuckled and continued, "Master Ding, after this report of your military achievements, you should be an official too." Ding Xiu paused, then sarcastically bowed to Ding Baiying. "Congratulations."

"If you want to laugh at me, just say it directly. There's no need to beat around the bush." ​​Ding Baiying frowned, but still lowered his head.

"You just thanked Marshal Hou Zhen in the general's residence, why are you acting so noble again?" Ding Xiu smiled mischievously.

"This, this is different!" Ding Baiying clenched her fists. As she closed her eyes and kowtowed to Hou Shilu, she felt her soul torn in two. One half thanked him openly, while the other wept silently. She loathed this from the bottom of her heart, and even began to loathe herself.

"What's the difference? It's nothing more than going along with the crowd." Ding Xiu simply gathered up the handful of silver and walked over to Ding Baiying. "If you've done it once, you'll do it again. Take this money, and you won't have to be so shy if you do it again and again."

"You sold the head to someone who had done nothing for it. I, I just took what I deserved." As he said this, Ding Baiying immediately remembered the story in Mencius about someone who takes fifty steps while someone takes a hundred steps. A blush of embarrassment quickly appeared on his face.

Ding Xiu also added in a tone of understanding: "You took what you deserved by mistaking someone for someone else? I really don't understand what's different about that!"

"I" Ding Baiying had nothing to argue with and felt completely dejected.

"Hehe, hurry up. Don't build a chastity arch for yourself." Ding Xiu's tone was like that of a pimp who seduces decent women.

"You!" Ding Baiying suddenly became anxious, raised her head and glared at Ding Xiu. Her beautiful eyes seemed to be spewing fire.

"I think," Li Xian suddenly interrupted, "Master Ding, you really shouldn't take this money."

"Do you have the right to speak here?" Ding Xiu turned around and scolded.

Li Xian flinched, but didn't back down. "General Ding, you led us through life and death, earning so much money, yet in the end, you claimed first place in the guise of taking nothing. In my humble opinion, the merit of slaying a general and breaking the enemy's formation is just as much a first place as the merit of leading troops to destroy a stronghold. You also received a reward from the General's Office. In other words, Master Ding has already been recognized for your merit, so there should be no further reward now. Otherwise, how can you not benefit as much as she does? Unless you also take a share of the money, there should be no further reward for Master Ding."

"Hmm?" Ding Xiu pondered for a moment, his expression brightening slightly. "That seems to make sense," he nodded, then looked at Ding Baiying again. "Marshal Hou gave you the head I wanted to claim, so you should pay me." With that, Ding Xiu returned to the wooden table, silver in hand.

"Oh!" Ding Baiying smiled bitterly and shook her head. She looked at Li Xian, who smiled back at her.

"Tell me," Ding Xiu's voice echoed again, accompanied by the sound of silver hitting the wooden table. "How should we divide the remaining 45 taels?"

When Cui Laoliu heard that he could still divide the money, his eyes lit up immediately. Originally, he would have liked to have amassed all the money in his arms, piling it into a small mountain of silver. But that was obviously impossible, so he just said relatively rationally, "Let's just divide it according to the previous example!"

"I think we should just combine them all and redistribute them. General Ding should definitely take something." Yan Nian's gaze had already shifted from the silver. "Master Ding, you should at least take something. You played a big role in the brothers' safe return!" Yan Nian's mind was as clear as a mirror. Just by watching Hou Shilu patiently reason with her, Yan Nian knew that Hou Shilu had taken a fancy to her. No matter what, this girl would eventually become something great, so it was always better to curry favor with her early.

Cui Laoliu was numb. Is this old man sick? One hundred and eighty taels is divided among four people, forty-five taels each. If it is divided among five people, then there will only be thirty-six taels.

Fortunately, Ding Xiu wasn't about to go back on his word. "I said we're not going to share, so we're not going to share. I don't want it, and neither does she." Ding Xiu gave Li Xian a deep look and laid out the final distribution plan: "So, each of you three will get another ten taels, and the remaining fifteen taels will be given to Su Jiu's family."

"General Ding is a man of high righteousness!" Yan Nian was about to praise him, but this time, Cui Laoliu beat him to the punch.

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After dividing the money, Ding Xiu led everyone back to the hunting camp. After briefly reporting their itinerary to Hou Gongji, Hou Shilu's son and the commander of the battalion, Ding Xiu and Ding Baiying left the camp and headed west along the road through the city.

"Didn't you say you knew where Su Jiu lived? Why do you still need to check the register?" After walking for a while, Ding Baiying broke the silence.

"I know nothing. I just want to comfort him before he dies." Ding Xiu shrugged.

"I always thought you were old acquaintances." Ding Baiying said.

"I'm a hunter from Kaiyuan, and he's a miner from Tieling. One goes into the woods, the other goes into the mines. It's impossible for us to be old acquaintances." Ding Xiu tightened his backpack.

The backpack contained not only Su Jiu's coat and the sixty taels of money, but also the imperial pension. The pension totaled ten taels, five of which were basic death benefits, while the other five were a special allowance for the hunting camp's expatriate assignments. When they collected the money, the treasury officer who distributed it informed them that the hunting camp had been established for less than two months, and more than ten people had already received it. Furthermore, the hunting camp had already reported death allowances to over fifty people, including them. If they didn't return within a month, the pension would be delivered to their registered family members.

"Then why are you venting your anger like that?" Ding Baiying said.

"I'm not venting my anger. It's just a simple revenge." Ding Xiu said lightly, "If you die, I will do everything I can to avenge you."

"Thank you so much," Ding Baiying turned to look at Ding Xiu. "Tell me, what do you want me to do for you?"

"Why do you ask that?" Ding Xiu paused.

"It doesn't take two people to deliver the compensation money," Ding Baiying stopped, "You pulled me out, you must have something to say."

"I hate the way you look like you've seen through all the misfortunes." Ding Xiu said with a stern face.

"Then I'll go back." Ding Baiying turned around.

"Wait!" Ding Xiu hurriedly called her.

Ding Baiying turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. "Go ahead, but I may not agree."

"I want to take part in the martial arts examination, and I hope you can teach me some real skills." Ding Xiu turned his head away.

"Hmph," Ding Baiying snorted with disdain. "You're the only one who's taking the martial arts exam?"

"What's wrong with me?" Ding Xiu frowned slightly.

"Can you read?" Ding Baiying rolled her eyes at him.

"So what if you can't read?" Ding Xiu was a little annoyed. "Does the martial arts exam also require examinations on the Four Books and Five Classics?" Ding Xiu was not completely illiterate. At least he could write his own name and some common Chinese characters.

"The civil examination tests the Five Classics, and the military examination tests the Military Classics." Ding Baiying said this deliberately.

"What'Five Classics' and 'Military Classics'? Can you stop beating around the bush?" Ding Xiu blushed for the first time.

"You don't even know what a martial arts classic is. And you still want to take the military exam? The exam requires not only proficiency in martial arts, but also ultimate strategic planning and a thorough understanding of military tactics. The third exam section is the strategy essay. If you don't read the Six Strategies and the Three Strategies, and don't study the Art of War and the Art of War, then even if you've mastered martial arts, the 'Strategy Two and Theory One' section will still hold you back." Ding Baiying raised his head and chuckled, "So I advise you to be down-to-earth and not try to learn martial arts right away. You should first hire a teacher and study hard for a few years."

"You!" Ding Xiu wanted to fight back, but he couldn't muster the energy. Ding Baiying's words were harsh, but they were true. Ding Xiu was tense for a long time, and finally uttered, "How do you know all this? And you know it so clearly?"

"My senior brother passed the exam." Ding Baiying sighed silently in his heart.

"Who is your senior brother?" Ding Xiu suddenly remembered Ding Baiying's sarcastic remark, so he asked, "Where does he work as an official?"

"What does this have to do with you? Do I know you very well?" Ding Baiying put down his hands that were on his chest.

"Forget it." Ding Xiu turned around and continued walking.

"I can teach you," Ding Baiying actually followed him. "But you can't tell others that I taught you. I can't afford to lose face."

"Oh, you're still standing up in this state?" Ding Xiu's eyebrows were full of joy, and he was about to say something arrogant and foolish. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he felt a strong kick on his back. Ding Xiu fell forward and landed on his face.

"What are you doing!" Ding Xiu stood up and shouted.

"I've had enough of your sarcasm! I have to teach you what etiquette and martial ethics are first!" Ding Baiying couldn't help it, and all the anger that had been pent up for many days burst out at this moment.

At first, Ding Xiu tried to resist, but after only two moves, he was knocked to the ground by Ding Baiying again.

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Three miles west of the west gate of Weiningying, near the river, stood a settlement built specifically to house the returning refugees. According to the existing Liao regulations, only families with at least one member serving in the army or dying in battle could be allocated this government-built residence.

As dusk approached, stoves were lit in each household, and wisps of smoke rose up among the ravines and valleys.

Outside a small courtyard with only two small houses and a kitchen, a boy who looked only about ten years old was squatting by the river to draw water.

The boy worked diligently, quickly filling both buckets. He placed them side by side. Then, he picked up a wooden pole and strung the two buckets together. Once everything was ready, he squatted between the poles and, with his thin shoulders, lifted both buckets. As they set out from shore, he spotted two figures in Ming army uniforms in the distance. He was delighted at first, but after a moment's focus, his gaze quickly dimmed. He was certain he didn't recognize the approaching figures.

The boy carried water towards home, and the two strange figures were getting closer and closer.

"Boy, stop!" When the boy was about to enter the door, he heard a distant call.

The young man looked in the direction of the sound and saw two figures accelerating towards him. "What can I do for you, sirs?" The young man keenly noticed that the leading sergeant looked a bit disheveled, with bruises on his face, as if he had just been beaten.

"Which family around here lives with the surname Su?" asked the leading soldier.

"General, my last name is Su." The young man held the carrying pole on his shoulder with one hand and pointed to another small courtyard not far away with the other hand. "There's another family with the last name Su over there." The young man didn't think the two men were looking for him.

"Su Qingyuan, do you know this person?" The leading soldier followed the instructions and looked at the small courtyard in the distance.

The young man was visibly stunned. "Master, my name is Su Qingyao, and Qingyuan is my elder brother."

The sergeant was also stunned for a moment, a barely perceptible sadness flashing in his eyes. "So you are Su Shi?"

"I'm not Su Shi, I'm Su San." The boy answered seriously.

"Since you are Su San, then why is your brother Su Qingyao Su Jiu?" The soldier who asked the question rubbed the boy's head without any hesitation.

"Su Jiu is the first name in the Su Jiaqing generation. If we follow the order of teeth, I'm Su Shiyi." The young man instinctively shrank back, but still asked with a smile, "Master Jun, do you know my brother? Where is he?"

Ding Xiu observed the young man carefully and found that his features did bear some resemblance to Su Jiu. "I'm Su Jiu's superior. My last name is Ding, and my given name is Xiu. This is Ding Baiying, who also works under me."

"It turns out to be Lord Ding and Brother Ding. I'm sorry for being rude." Su Qingyao hurriedly put down the carrying pole on his shoulders and saluted Ding Xiu and Ding Baiying.

"Auntie, he called you Big Brother." Ding Xiu rolled his eyes at Ding Baiying. Ding Baiying pinned Ding Xiu to the ground and beat him. While it was only a minor blow by life-or-death standards, it still left him throbbing with pain. Crucially, Ding Xiu had no chance to fight back. The slightest movement would leave him vulnerable. In the end, he could only roll over and beg for mercy. It was truly humiliating.

Ding Baiying ignored Ding Xiu. The slight pleasure she'd felt from beating him up completely vanished the moment Su Qingyao revealed his identity. She squatted down, smiled, and asked, "Is your mother home now?"

"Yes, yes." Su Qingyao blinked his eyes, and after realizing what was happening, he quickly apologized: "Sorry. I was blind." This elder sister is so heroic.

"It's okay. Take us to see her. Your brother asked us to bring something to her." Ding Baiying took the initiative to help Su Qingyao lift a bucket. The moment she took it, she found that the bucket was unexpectedly heavy.

"What is it?" Su Qingyao's vigilance was completely let down, and his heart soon became filled with a lot of inexplicable intimacy as he spoke.

"Boy! Why are you talking so much nonsense? The things are for your mother, not for you." Ding Xiu picked up another bucket of water and gave Ding Baiying a look.

Ding Baiying nodded in understanding and said only one sentence: "Take us to see her."

(End of this chapter)