Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 94 Family
Money was not a problem for Zhu Wen, as he had previously gained a lot of wealth from punishing the gentry. This time, he took gold and silver, which were easy to carry, with him on his journey north.

After listening to what Tian Jun said, Zhu Wen decided to buy a house in that "Xize".

This area with dense lakes and ponds is called "Xize" by the people of Weizhou, which is obviously an attempt to imitate the elegance of Hangzhou's "Xi Creek".

However, as a typical Jiangnan wetland, Xixi is challenging to cultivate gardens in, as the water level rises in summer and is easily submerged. Conversely, Weizhou's "Xize," a counterfeit, was developed earlier, with numerous gardens of varying sizes dotted along the water network, dotted with wooden bridges and waterside pavilions.

Although the noble lady of Wei Bo did not have the blood of the aristocracy, she also liked to imitate the style and manner of the aristocracy.

With the help of a middleman, the seller was quickly found. She was the thirteen-year-old daughter of a deceased governor.

A general only managed a thousand soldiers, and Zhu Wen was at this level under Huang Chao. But the entire Weizhou town had only ten thousand guards, and the extra income that a general in the guards could earn was quite astonishing.

The family had no male heirs and no need for such a large house, so they wanted to sell it at a low price. Zhu Wen did not bargain and bought it directly for 3,000 strings of cash. He exchanged the gold for copper coins and had them loaded into a cart as payment.

"Since you are the young master of the Zhu family in Youzhou," the former hostess said, "though she was young, she spoke very eloquently. "There are twenty slaves in the garden. I will give them to you as a bonus."

He then said to Tian Jun, "This sister is also a descendant of the Prince of Yanmen. It's really a match made in heaven."

She didn't know that Zhu Wen, the noble son of the Youzhou Zhu family, was just a Westerner. However, everyone in Weizhou knew exactly how far the Tian family of Weizhou had fallen. Her claim that the Tian family was a good match for the Youzhou Zhu family was, of course, just a polite remark.

"The servants are all two or three generations of family-born children, and they are very obedient. Some of the maids were newly bought by the master when he was alive, and they need to be disciplined. If they are disobedient, you can beat them with a rattan stick." The hostess said it quite casually.

These indentured slaves held a very different status from the maids Zhu Wen hired for Lan Suting. Legally, they were considered lowly, and even if killed by their masters, the punishment would be relatively light. Any "house-born children" born from these marriages were slaves from birth. Because they were not hired labor, the monthly wages required were minimal, requiring only food.

The hostess was obviously quite satisfied with Zhu Wen's extravagance.

Before the An-Shi Rebellion, a slave in the Tang Dynasty cost about six or seven strings of silver, the price of half a cow. But after the rebellion, people were as cheap as grass, and in bad years, two or three strings of silver could buy a slave from a poor family.

Therefore, the twenty slaves she gave to Zhu Wen were indeed a bonus given out of a good mood - if Zhu Wen really wanted to bargain, he could have reduced the transaction price to at least two thousand strings of cash.

If the Heshuo vassal state had not been afraid that the civil unrest in Henan would spread and had not allowed large numbers of refugees fleeing drought and locust plagues to enter the country, the price of slaves would have been further reduced.

The former Jiedushi Han Junxiong had already issued a strict order, ordering the guards on the important border roads of Weizhou to immediately shoot and kill with crossbows any refugees they saw trying to enter the country in groups, leaving no one alive!
"Once this is done, I'll burn the indentures of those slaves." Zhu Wen said to Tian Jun, "We still need them to help hold the fort."

For this purpose, he changed the slaves into brand new silk clothes, which made them burst into tears and kneel down to kowtow repeatedly, making a loud banging sound on the stone floor.

The young master of the Zhu family in Youzhou is definitely not here to settle down in Weizhou. He will only stay for one or two years at most.

The offer of three thousand strings of cash without bargaining was considered generous. The reputation of Master Zhu of Youzhou spread throughout Weizhou.

Only then did Zhu Wen feel that it was time to accompany Tian Jun to settle the account.

Weizhou Town only demolished the walls of the Fangshi market, but the Fang itself still existed as a unit of urban management. The Tian family lived in Zhuji Lane, Chengkangfang, in the southwest corner of Weizhou City. It was a lane that was neither prosperous nor shabby, and the families living there were generally well-off, similar to Tian Jun's father.

From a long distance away, one could hear the roar of a loud-voiced woman.

"Who told you to bully her back then? Now she's back, leaning against a powerful tree. What should we do? What should we do?"

The woman who was speaking was over fifty years old, but her voice was still as loud as thunder.

"Mother..." a timid voice uttered, "It might not be Fourth Sister. Why are you so anxious? It's just rumors, how can you take them seriously?"

"What's more, we are siblings, and the fourth sister is good at fighting and beautiful. She is a rare treasure for our family. If it weren't for your idea, there would be no need for us two brothers to give her a hard time..." This is a young man of about twenty-four or twenty-five. His skin is much whiter than Tian Jun's, his temperament is weak, but his appearance is far worse than his sister.

"Who made the son of the Bozhou governor fall in love with her, but she was stubborn and refused to marry!" The woman stamped her feet and said, "Otherwise, our family would have been rich long ago. Now look what happens, she's married into a wealthy family, and we have nothing to do with it!"

"Sir, the Governor?" Zhu Wen heard from afar and asked, "Not bad."

Zhu Wen's best friend from his youth, Zhang Xingxiang, was only the daughter of a provincial governor. Moreover, the provincial governors of the three towns of Heshuo were mostly hereditary, just like the military governors.

"Master Yan lives in Weizhou, serving as a hostage to the Jiedushi on behalf of his grandfather." Tian Jun said unhappily, "And that fellow wants me to be his concubine."

"There was really no other way, so I put forward a condition. Unless he can beat me, I will let this matter go."

Zhu Wen nodded, this was also expected.

If it were an ordinary woman, she would have gritted her teeth and married in order to revive her family.

But Tian Jun is definitely not the kind of girl who would willingly compromise.

"Your surname is Yan. Are you a descendant of Yan Zhuang, An Lushan's chief strategist?" Zhu Wen asked again.

"Yes." Tian Jun nodded his well-defined jaw.

"Yan Zhuang and your ancestor Tian Chengsi were close friends, true comrades in arms." Zhu Wen teased, "This is actually quite a match."

"Are you here to help me solve the problem, or to make me unhappy and get beaten?" Tian Jun finally couldn't control himself and roared.

The lion's roar startled everyone in the street.

"Hey, isn't that the recently famous Mr. Zhu in Weizhou?"

"With such a refined and elegant appearance and the way he spends money lavishly, how could he be said to be a descendant of the Youzhou Zhu family?"

"Is that girl Tian Jun from the Tian family?"

"I haven't seen her for a few years. Her figure and appearance are much more beautiful than before."

"Mr. Zhu actually gave her a lecture without saying anything?"

There was a lot of discussion on the streets for a while.

It was only after Zhu Wen arrived in Weizhou that he was called "Gongzi". If he was an ordinary rich man, he could only be called "Langjun". Only the sons of ministers or generals could be called "Gongzi".

Take Princess Pingyang Zhao of the early Tang Dynasty as an example. When the Taiyuan Rebellion began, Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan was still the Duke of Tang. Princess Pingyang Zhao disguised herself as a man to recruit soldiers and horses, calling herself Prince Li.

Tian Jun's aunt and second brother heard these discussions in an instant and their faces turned pale.

"Jun'er...it's been a long time since we last met. How have you been these years? I miss you...so much." Mrs. Tian's voice trembled. She turned around and tried to appear eager.

(End of this chapter)