Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 226 The Governor's Mind

On September 21, the 26st year of Wanli, Ningwu Pass.

Unlike Wuzhai Fort, which has been full of vitality and flourishing in recent years, Zhencheng Ningwuguan is still as decadent as before.The streets are as dirty, the roads are as potholes, and the soldiers in worn-out armor are still wandering around.

However, what is different from before is that there are far fewer refugees and beggars on the streets in Ningwuguan now.This is mainly due to the development of Wuzhai Fort, the increasing demand for manpower, and the fact that it is easy to earn money there, not to mention where the refugees in Ningwuguan are going, even many local military and civilian households are also excited. , Thinking about working there to earn money.

The loss of a large number of young and strong laborers made Ningwuguan more and more decayed, and it no longer looked like a town.The local people are all sour and authentic, if this continues, it is better to set up the Shanxi town in Wuzhaibao, anyway, Ningwuguan does not look like a town now.Everyone sighed, did Wuzhai Fort know some kind of alchemy, how did it change so much after a few years?

But fortunately, most of the nearly [-] officers and soldiers stationed inside and outside Ningwu Pass are paid battalions, which makes them more popular.However, the agitation of the hearts of the soldiers cannot be stopped.

Amidst such complicated thoughts, there was news recently that Mr. Huang Laifu from Wuzhai Fort had been promoted to be the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Town, and he would come to Ningwuguan soon.

This news caused a sensation in Ningwuguan, and the teahouses and restaurants in the town were all spreading the news these days.For Huang Laifu's arrival, everyone has mixed feelings, and they are all anxious and expectant.Anyway, the title of Huang Laifu God of Wealth and Food God is not for nothing. Everyone hopes that with Huang Laifu's arrival, the local soldiers and civilians can live a good life like Wuzhai Fort.

Qibaihu Street on the northeast side of Ningwu City is the core of Ningwuguan. This street faces the mountains and faces the Kui, and the terrain is high, not to mention the governor's office, the general's mansion, and the supervisor's mansion are all here.This street is dotted with shops, and it has always been a prosperous place in Ningwuguan.

"Dodge, dodge..."
Along with the long shouts, a palanquin with eight shoulders and eight tufts of shoulders came along the street. In front of the sedan chair and behind the sedan chair, there were generals and pacesetters riding tall horses and wearing bright armor, all of them were full of arrogance.Looking at the blue flag horse road in front, the merchants and common people on the street knew that it was the sedan chair of Governor Yang, and everyone stepped aside immediately.

In the sedan chair, the governor of Shanxi Town, Yang Fanglue, was sitting in the sedan chair, squinting his eyes at the awe-inspiring common people and military households on the street.He was wearing black gauze on his head and a scarlet official uniform with flying fish patches on his chest and back, a large gown with a round collar and narrow sleeves, and a jade belt across his waist. He was dressed like a typical high-ranking civil servant of the Ming Dynasty.

Yang Fanglue is over fifty years old, with a thin appearance, three long beards, and a shrewd air in his small eyes from time to time.He was returning from the provincial capital Taiyuan not long ago. As the admiral of Yanmen and other customs and the governor of the capital, he was in charge of various affairs in Shanxi Town, but he mostly lived in Taiyuan.He could not stay at Ningwuguan for a few months in a year.

Usually, when there was something in the town, he would order all the soldiers and officers, the general soldier and others to go to Taiyuan Mansion to discuss with him.Anyway, Taiyuan Mansion belongs to the acting place of Shanxi Town, so he is not indifferent to official duties.It is rare for him to come back this time, but it is because of Huang Laifu's matter.

Like many officials of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Fanglue also noticed Huang Laifu, a rapidly rising political star. Promoted to the post of chief military officer, it can be said that the official luck is excellent.There are rumors about him in the official circles and among the people.

Now that Huang Laifu has come to Ningwuguan, Yang Fanglue doesn't know what changes will be made to the layout of the town.He has also studied what Huang Laifu did in Wuzhai Fort. He knew that he started out as a farmer. After he came to Ningwuguan, would he continue to manage the farmland? What about the land they occupied?Speaking of which, Tuntian is also one of the responsibilities of the commander-in-chief.

However, Ningwu Pass is different from Wuzhai Fort. If Wuzhai Fort is the Huang family's private territory, Ningwu Pass is the private territory of local officials and generals.

The situation in Ningwuguan is that there are not many acres of fields here, and half of them are civilian fields, and the rest are fields of local military households.However, from the middle of Ming Dynasty, the fields of those military households were completely occupied by the officials and generals in the town.Among them, Yang Fanglue himself owns more than [-] mu of land, all of which are of course under the name of his family.In the past, the biggest landlord in Ningwuguan was Liu Ming'an, the former commander in chief.However, since Liu Ming'an was demoted to Guangdong, the land under his name has been divided up by Yang Fanglue, Ningwu military preparation officer, and local generals of all sizes.

What Yang Fanglue was worried about was what Huang Laifu would think of these fields in Ningwuguan, would he come over to grab a bite?Although he, as a governor, has never been afraid of a general officer beside him.Wasn't Liu Ming'an, the former commander-in-chief?When did you not want to nod your head respectfully when you met him?

It's just that Yang Fanglue's previous backer was Shen Shixing, the chief assistant of the cabinet. Now that Shen Shixing has fallen, and Huang Laifu is deeply favored by Emperor Wanli, if Huang Laifu really wants to force it, it will be a troublesome thing.With the thought of meeting Huang Laifu, Yang Fanglue rushed back to Ningwu Pass from Taiyuan Mansion. In the past, it was impossible for him to be so accommodating to a general.

In the sedan chair, Yang Fanglue was thinking about something while looking at the street.

Qibaihu Street has always been a bustling street. Goods from all over the world are sold here. Cotton from Henan, salt from Shandong, tea from Jiangnan, etc. are all brought in.But there are more and more goods from Wuzhai Fort, ranging from rice, flour, grain, oil to cloth, coal and iron.The bustling people are all merchants from Wuzhaibao.

"This Wuzhai Fort has great momentum!"

Yang Fanglue snorted coldly, closed his eyes and got up.

Soon, the bearer deftly stopped the eight-shoulder sedan chair in front of the Governor's Yamen, and a relative waited at the side. When the sedan chair stopped, he immediately stretched out his hand to open the curtain of the sedan chair door and shouted: "My lord is out of the sedan chair."

Immediately, a large number of servants, maids and old ladies came out of the governor's yamen, and welcomed Yang Fanglue in respectfully.

The Ningwuguan governor's yamen was established in the Zhengde period. There are three gates in total, and the south is the gate.Entering from the gate is the lobby.Behind the lobby is the classroom house.Yang Fanglue is a person who loves elegance. He has two study rooms in the backyard, where he can study, write and paint in his free time.

In addition, there is a large garden in the backyard, with pavilions and pavilions, which is a bit like a garden in the south of the Yangtze River.Originally, the backyard was usually the residence of officials' family members, but Governor Yang's family members were all in Taiyuan, so only he and some servants lived in the backyard.

At this time, he went through the court and came to the study in the backyard. He removed his official uniform and changed into a casual robe, and lay comfortably in an armchair.Just holding a copy of "Zhuowu Lunlue" in his hand, but he was in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking.The old family who was serving at the side peeked at him, secretly surprised, not understanding what happened to the master.

After staying for a long time, Yang Fanglue seemed to come back to his senses, and said to the old family: "Uncle Tian, ​​please give orders, please come to the Governor's Yamen for a discussion, Mr. Liu Tangsheng and Mr. Zhang Wenbao!"

This Liu Tangsheng is the military preparation officer of Ningwuguan. There are three military preparation officers in Shanxi Town, one stationed in Piantouguan, one stationed in Ningwuguan, and one stationed in Daizhou.Among them, Liu Tangsheng and Yang Fanglue are the best friends.And Zhang Wenbao is the head of the household department in Shanxi Township, and Huang Laifu met him before.Originally Zhang Wenbao had been stationed in Daizhou, but this time Yang Fanglue came back from Taiyuan and called Zhang Wenbao to Ningwuguan.

The old family responded and went out.

When Liu Tangsheng and Zhang Wenbao came to the Governor's Yamen, Yang Fanglue greeted them in the lobby.Zhang Wenbao is fine, but Liu Tangsheng bowed to Yang Fanglue, and said repeatedly: "Why do Yang Gong go out to meet him in person, Tangsheng is really uneasy!"

Zhang Wenbao solemnly bowed to Yang Fanglue, and said, "I don't know why the governor recruited an official here?"

Yang Fanglue said with a smile: "I got a Le Niang in Taiyuan the day before yesterday. I can't enjoy it to myself. I invite two of you to come and listen to the music!"

Liu Tangsheng caressed his hands and said, "It's better to be happy alone than to be happy with others. It's really wonderful."

Zhang Wenbao frowned and said, "If the governor has no business to do, then the officer will resign!"

Liu Tangsheng is also nearly fifty years old. As a military preparation officer of Ningwuguan, his full name is "Rectification of Military Preparations", and he is in charge of military preparations.He served as the deputy envoy of the inspection department and the military preparation officer, and he was an official of the fourth rank.Since he and Yang Fanglue worked together in Ningwuguan a few years ago, the two have been congenial, and Liu Tangsheng has always followed Yang Fanglue's lead.

As for Zhang Wenbao, although the official position of the head of grain in the household department of Shanxi Township is not big, and he only has the fifth grade, but because the distribution of soldiers' rations and the collection of grain in the entire Shanxi Town are all handled by him, he controls the lifeblood of the three gates. , which can be said to be low-weight.So Yang Fanglue always wins him over.

It's just that Zhang Wenbao has a straightforward personality, and always only talks about business affairs in front of Shangfeng, and Yang Fanglue has nothing to do with him.It's strange to say that Zhang Wenbao's temperament, although he has been unable to be promoted, has been sitting firmly in the very lucrative position of managing grain for many years, and no one can mess with him.All the officials were discussing in private that there might be some strong background behind this Wen Bao.

After hearing Zhang Wenbao's words, Yang Fanglue's face flashed with displeasure, Liu Tangsheng grabbed him and said, "Oh, Master Zhang, it's your fault, Mr. Yang is so sincere, you can't Is it cold water? You, even if you are too rigid, this person can't be busy with business all day long, can you?"

Zhang Wenbao bowed to the two of them and said, "Resign, my subordinate!"

Saying that he left.

Looking at his back, Liu Tangsheng snorted coldly: "I don't know good and bad things!"

Yang Fanglue said lightly: "Forget it, if this Wenbao wants to show his nobility, let him go. Tang Sheng, let's enjoy ourselves!"

※※※

Yang Fanglue ordered the banquet to be set up, and he and Liu Tangsheng just drank.During the banquet, another group of dancers came up, playing and singing and dancing with colorful flowers, and the flute was full of ears, which made Liu Tangsheng overjoyed.

Sure enough, there was a gorgeous Le Niang coming up, she just glanced around with her charming eyes, and sang a little song coquettishly, which made Liu Tangsheng shake his head even more, and sighed that the girls from Taiyuan Mansion were different, and it really wasn't the little girl like Ningwuguan. The place is comparable.

After singing a few ditties and drinking for a few rounds, that Le Niang wanted to leave, Liu Tangsheng quickly rewarded her with two taels of silver, his eyes just looked at her lustfully.Seeing his situation, Yang Fanglue smiled and said: "It seems that this girl has a good temperament, if you like it, I will give her to you!"

Liu Tangsheng was overjoyed, he quickly got up from the table, bowed deeply to Yang Fanglue and said, "So, thank you, Mr. Yang!"

Yang Fanglue shook his hand and said, "Don't worry about trivial matters!"

He ordered the banquet to be removed and the servants to serve refreshments.Then he casually said to Liu Tangsheng: "Brother Liu, Huang Laifu, the new commander-in-chief, is estimated to arrive in a few days. What do you think?"

Liu Tangsheng was even more sweetened by Yang Fanglue's "brother", he hurriedly said: "Tangsheng has only seen Huang Laifu in the mansion newspaper, but he has never met this person, but a mere martial artist is not worth it." Mr. Yang, are you worrying too much?"

Seeing Yang Fanglue smiling and not saying a word, Liu Tangsheng pondered for a while and came to his senses. He smiled and said, "Mr. Yang is worried that Huang Laifu will come to rob us of our food and clothing. Don't worry about this, Mr. Yang, the entire Ningwu Pass General, who doesn't worry about this? It's good that Huang Laifu is knowledgeable, but if he doesn't, he will be just an empty shell in Ningwuguan in the future."

Yang Fanglue smiled and said: "I heard that Huang Laifu is very favored by the Holy One?"

Liu Tangsheng smiled lowly and said: "So what, without the promise of our Ningwu Pass, even if the Holy One dotes on him, he will be unable to move an inch? Anyway, brother, I will listen to Yang Gong for everything. What should Yang Gong say? What should I do?"

Yang Fanglue was displeased when he heard "old brother" coming out of Liu Tangsheng's mouth, but the smile on his face remained unchanged. After a while, he sighed: "That's good. Actually think about it, Huang Laifu was in Wuzhai Fort. We are rich and wealthy, how can we look at our wealth in Ningwuguan? We are learning the learning of saints, how can we worry about a rough and uneducated warrior? Your brother lost his mind!"

Speaking of which, the governors of each town are all Jinshi backgrounds. From the official status of the second rank, they are controlled by the three local divisions, such as the Announcement Political Envoy, the Mentoring Inspection Envoy, and the Commanding Envoy. The capital discusses affairs, and the official status is prominent.Although they are at the same level as the local commander-in-chief, they have always been superior because of the superiority of culture and the inferiority of martial arts.After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, when the general soldiers met the governor, they always bowed their heads respectfully.Wasn't Liu Ming'an, the former commander-in-chief of Shanxi Town, like this?

Liu Tangsheng also secretly despised Yang Fanglue in his heart, and even he looked down on Huang Laifu, the new chief soldier. As a governor, Yang Fanglue would worry about Huang Laifu getting up, which really embarrassed their civilian officials.

But Liu Tangsheng said with a smile on his face: "Actually, Mr. Yang's worry is justified. If Huang Laifu relies on His Majesty's favor and acts as domineering as Li Rusong's, it will be difficult!"

Yang Fanglue nodded, and said: "That Huang Laifu has a lot of military exploits, and he has a lot of money and food. We can't treat him like Liu Ming'an, and that Zhang Wenbao is a contact, so we can't do it if we want to cut off Huang Laifu's food and salary. what!"

Liu Tangsheng pondered and said: "I'm afraid that Huang Laifu's food and salary will be cut off. It is reported in the Guandi that his Wuzhai Fort is not only self-sufficient for soldiers and generals, but also how much money and food can be handed over to the household department every year. Zhang Wenbao was full of praise for Huang Laifu, saying that if all the generals of the Ming Dynasty were like Huang Laifu, then the country would have no worries... Huh, this Huang Laifu is really a monster!"

The two of you said something to each other, and there was jealousy that couldn't be concealed in the words.It's unreasonable for a warrior to be able to farm and make more money than them.

Finally, Liu Tangsheng said mysteriously: "Have you heard about Mr. Yang? That Huang Laifu intends to cooperate with merchants to manage farmland outside the Great Wall. This matter has already spread throughout Shanxi Town. To be honest, your brother is also tempted. Seeing other people, he is very excited." I sent my family out of the fortress, and I also thought about enclosing some fields outside the fortress, what does my brother think?"

Huang Laifu provoked the merchants to farm outside the Great Wall, so naturally he couldn't hide it from those interested in the official circles. In Ningwuguan, there had been a lot of rumors about this matter.The generals also waited and watched, and finally saw that Huang Laifu's momentum was getting bigger and bigger, the court didn't say anything, and they also took action one after another, sending their family members to check outside the Great Wall.Anyway, even if the time comes to provoke Bianpan, it will be Huang Laifu's business.It's a fool if he has money and doesn't make money.

Governor Yang snorted coldly, and said, "Go, why not? I have already sent my family members to the Huangpu River area to check, and I will occupy a few thousand acres of good fields and pastures first."

Liu Tangsheng was stunned, and said anxiously: "Then your brother, I have to hurry!"

(End of this chapter)