The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The imperial edict that Wei Guangde was thinking of was found in the library of Fuxue. In June of the 19th year of Hongwu, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict to establish the system: "When soldiers fight in Tang Dynasty, their records will be removed and they will be given three years of restoration."

What it means is that if a male member of a military household dies in battle and has no heirs, his relatives will be exempted from military registration and return to civilian households, and they will also enjoy the benefit of not paying taxes and rent for three years.

However, this is not the early Ming Dynasty. Many military households in those days were lonely, but now it is different. Every family has a living member, at least in Bengshan Fort.

I have to ask later to see if the orphan and widowed mother of the Cai family can be transferred to the civil registration.

For ordinary people, the difference between military status and civilian status is still very big. When the children grow up and get married, they have a much wider choice.

Wei Guangde was thinking in his mind, but he didn't stop and followed his elder brother slowly.

After staying in Pengze County for two days, the two groups of soldiers were no longer detained in the military camp because they returned home.

There were two teams of soldiers, one team came from Bengshan Baihu Station. At this time, the soldiers had money in their hands. They were given two taels when they set off, and now they have received another ten taels of silver. They are rich and have many family members running away. When you come to the county town to welcome them, you will naturally take this opportunity to stroll around the county town and buy new year's goods.

A man, after working hard outside for a year, finally comes home, he naturally wants to prepare a gift for his family.

The sources of the other team of soldiers are slightly wider. The main force is from the local guard station, but there are also more than 30 soldiers who are drawn from hundreds of other households and are good fighters.

Those who led the troops knew that they could not make their soldiers dissatisfied. Wu Zhankui immediately released the people from the military camp, reunited them with their families, purchased goods, and returned to the military camp on the 16th day of the first lunar month of the new year.

After nearly a year away from home, it was considered a month's holiday for them.

In the past two days, on the streets of Pengze County, these Ming army soldiers wearing brand-new jackets could be seen from time to time, wandering with their families on the streets, carrying large and small bags in their hands and backs.

They were really easy to identify. Some of the ordinary Ming soldiers had new jackets on them, but they were all issued in unknown years.

When merchants saw these soldiers entering, they immediately welcomed them enthusiastically, shouting words such as "Japanese-killing heroes" and "It must be cheap to buy things".

Well, when they left, no one knew what they were doing.

However, by now, everyone knows that the border guard station in Pengze County sent troops to Zhejiang to fight against Japanese pirates, and they also achieved military exploits.

Almost everyone is preparing to welcome the new year in a festive atmosphere. Perhaps only the dozen or so families of soldiers who died in the war are sad. Although they received fifteen taels of silver from the guard, they still concealed their sorrow. Incessant sadness.

Since the Hongwu period, the Ming Dynasty has been allocating three taels of money to burn and bury the soldiers who died in the war.

This amount of money may seem small, but in fact, for people with "iron rice bowls", money is secondary, and the profession is the main thing.

Of course, the premise is that military pay can be paid out on time and in full, instead of being deducted or even unable to be cashed out like it is now.

This may be the main reason why most people in later generations believe that military households in the Ming Dynasty were inferior to civilian households.

The eldest brother Wei Wencai and his cousin Wu Dong also received appointment documents issued by the Jiujiang Wei Command Yamen. Cousin Wu Dong was in charge of the Qianhu Office, and he was in charge of the Qianhu Office of the Right Army. The eldest brother Wei Wencai was directly in charge of the Hundred Household Office of Bengshan.

The appointment document for Qianhu was issued by the former military governor's office, and Jiujiang Guard only forwarded it, while the appointment document for Baihu was directly issued by the Jiujiang Guard Command and Envoy.

Coupled with the appointment documents that my father and uncle received when they were in Jiujiang, all their expectations were fulfilled and they had no regrets.

There are still more than half a month before the Chinese New Year, but the Wu family has not relaxed because of the New Year, but has become even busier, that is, for the marriage of cousin Wu Dong.

It was supposed to be done this year, but Wu Zhankui was not here, so naturally it had to be postponed. Now that Wu Dong has taken over the Qianhu Office, naturally there can be no delay.

The Wei family also discussed with the Liu family the wedding date of their eldest brother Wei Wencai and Liu Yunhui, and then they also found someone to choose a good date.

Originally, Wei Guangde planned to start traveling in Jiangxi after the new year. First, he would go out to see the mountains and rivers of Jiangxi, and second, he would look for friends and collect stereotyped essays.

But by this time, my cousin's marriage was scheduled for February of the following year, but my eldest brother's marriage was in May, so half a year was delayed.

Wei Guangde had no choice but to modify his original plan. This year he would study in a private school and talk about travel the year after next. Anyway, it was still early for the next autumn.

There is also the matter of lending money. This year is just right. See if there is a suitable opportunity to lend the money to earn interest for yourself.

As for the future, Wei Guangde is actually a little confused now.

Before the provincial examination, Wei Guangde was relatively clear about his future, which was to take the imperial examination and become an official.

But after failing the provincial examination, Wei Guangde finally understood that what he thought was his destiny a few times before was probably just wishful thinking.

There is no difference between me and the scholars of this era. Only by taking the imperial examination can you get ahead, but you have to do it step by step and slowly.

If you think that you can take the test casually and pass the test casually if you are blessed by heaven, that is impossible. It is just an unknown accident that you have traveled through time.

However, no matter what, Wei Guangde must take the provincial examination, not only because he wants to get ahead, but also because of the high expectations of his family.

For myself and for my family, what else can I say, I fought hard.

During this time, everyone in the family was busy preparing for the New Year, but Wei Guangde was the most leisurely.

The reason is actually very simple, reading books and taking imperial examinations.

This is the only request his family has for him now.

Wei Guangde also used this time to reorganize his thinking and find a path for the future.

At this time, Wei Guangde no longer thinks about being an official. He only wants to win the title of Juren. As for whether to rely on the title of Juren to become an official, Wei Guangde has not thought about it, because he knows that this is not his choice.

This may be Wei Guangde's last year in Bengshanbao. From now on, he will move to Jiujiang Fucheng with his father.

During this time at home, Wei Guangde called his childhood playmates out to play for a day. Most of them would follow their eldest brother and become soldiers of Baihusuo in the future. Only two of them were the youngest ones in the family and might go to the city. Find a job.

Here, after spending an ordinary New Year, Wei Guangde will follow his parents back to Jiujiang.

On this day, it was already the 16th day of the first lunar month, and the soldiers from Baihusuo gathered again at the small training ground in front of the fort gate to start the new year's drills.

After saying goodbye to his elder brother, Wei Guangde did not get on the carriage, but followed the carriage on horseback alone, leaving Bengshan Castle and looking back from a distance at the place where he had stayed for the longest time.

Everything seems to be the same as when he first came here. The "fishing boats" go out fishing every day, and there are still busy figures in the fields. Perhaps the only thing that has changed is the people.

This year, when I saw the military households in the fort, everyone looked a lot more rosy, perhaps because of a good year.

Perhaps, only by fighting and winning the war can military households live a better life.