The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Can you take us to Jiujiang on the way?"

A classmate said hurriedly.

"It's not a big problem. Do you want to bring a servant? If there are just a few more people, it should be fine."

Wei Guangde thought of the big boat he took when he went to Jiujiang Prefecture, which was more than enough to carry twenty or thirty people, but he didn't know if his classmates would bring in private goods.

After all, two of my classmates were doing business at home. It would be very troublesome to bring the shopkeeper and others to Jiujiang to purchase goods.

"I'll just take a follower and won't embarrass you."

"Me too."

"I'm just one person, and the boy you brought will have to take care of me when the time comes."

"No problem, just one sentence."

"That's five more people. No problem. We'll set off together then."

When Wei Guangde heard what they said, he calculated that there were only three classmates and a boy from two families, five people. It would be a good idea to stop by and there would be someone to talk to on the way.

"Guangde, does the county have an explanation before coming back?"

At this time, another classmate asked, his voice lowered, feeling mysterious.

"What statement?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously. Because of the expedition in those days, Wei Guangde was either accompanying his father or writing in the study. He really didn't go out much.

That is to say, on the day he went to meet the county magistrate, he went to have a drink with his cousin, Zeng Yuanrui and a few others. They were all from wealthy families in the county. At other times, he really didn't care much about what was happening in the outside world.

"It's about Zhang Haochu. This time he took the county examination for criminal prosecution. When he left the county, I heard some people said that he bribed the county magistrate to get the criminal prosecution."

"What?"

When Wei Guangde heard that it was Zhang Haochu, he remembered that guy.

"Why did he get the head of the case? Even if there is something fishy, ​​it's normal. In Pengze County, the Zhang family is still quite powerful.

I have met Zhang Haochu and heard people say that he has average literary talent, otherwise he would not have failed the government examination twice in a row and would continue to take the county examination with us.

Even if the county is really showing off this time, it is actually reasonable. After all, the county donates money for education and so on, and needs the support of big families like the Zhang family. "

Wei Guangde smiled after thinking about it: "Actually, it doesn't necessarily mean how much money is given. As long as the Zhang family privately expresses their intention to donate more money to the county, build bridges and roads, etc., give it to the head of the case, and ensure that he passes the government examination, it is okay. After all, it is all The fellow villagers take advantage.

However, I still don’t think so. Tang County Zun has always had a good reputation in Peng Ze. He is not a corrupt official and has never touched the land. "

When Wei Guangde said this, he first pointed out that Tang County Zun was not a corrupt official. A corrupt official might sell the county case leader for money, but he was not.

Wei Guangde would not say that the county magistrate might have cheated in the county examination. If he talked about that, the candidates who passed the county examination this time would probably be disgraced. Zhang Haochu might have done this, but what about the others?

Wei Guangde would not admit it. Although he did bring a big salute after passing the exam, it was still a common practice and everyone had to take this step.

For county examinations and government examinations, the magistrates and magistrates who preside over the examinations are generally more reserved, and generally do not accept gifts or receive them. However, this year Wei Guangde sent something over, but the ones that were sent in did not seem to have happened in previous years. This It was also what my cousin Wu Dong said.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde also felt that it was hard to say what kind of benefits the Zhang family really gave, which made Tang County Zun raise his hand.

He said no, but combined with his cousin's words, Wei Guangde actually believed it in his heart. At least the Zhang family must have given him something that even Tang County Lord could not refuse, so he ordered Zhang Hao to be the head of the Chu County Trial Case. He passed the government examination.

Time came to April, and news came from Zhenjiang that more than a thousand people from Jiujiang Guards had successfully arrived in Zhenjiang. However, they had been resting and training there and did not rush to Songjiang Mansion. Naturally, no troops were transferred to Zhejiang.

At the same time, news came back that the troops of the Xuanzhou Guard did not rush to Zhenjiang, but moved to Taicang together with the troops of the Suzhou Guard, and together with the Taicang Guard formed a force of three to four thousand people.

Taicang is very close to Songjiang Mansion, just next door, so it is naturally very quick to send in defensive support.

When Wei Guangde heard the news from his eldest brother, he naturally figured it out.

Now the Minister of War in Nanjing named Zhang Jing should know the military. The men and horses were mobilized for drills first. He obviously knew what the guards were like. I was afraid that big trouble would happen if they were to join them directly. It was better to drill and prepare for war first. The need of the hour.

It is said that only the guardsmen from Zhejiang moved forward and moved into the coastal counties.

It seems that the first thing the Nanjing Ministry of War thought of was ensuring the safety of Su Song's second mansion. After all, money and food were the focus.

"Su Song's wealth is half the world" is not just a boast. After all, it involves different historical periods, especially during the change of dynasties. When the war just subsided, the social production of the whole country was destroyed. At this time, the money and food of Suzhou and Songjiang were the empire. It was the main source of fiscal revenue. Even in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it made sense that the wealth of Su Song's second house was the best in the world.

Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture are also well-known wealthy mansions among the prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River, so the court's attention to them is naturally different from the others.

Songjiang Prefecture alone has to hand over nearly 100,000 taels of silver and tens of thousands of shi of white grain to the inner government of Beijing every year. It also sends hundreds of thousands of shi of grain and a large amount of grain to the Ministry of Household Affairs, Ministry of Works, Guanglu Temple and other government offices. silver.

The most terrible thing is that it is reported that Japanese pirates gather on the islands near Zhoushan, which is only a short distance from Songjiang Prefecture. Therefore, it is really difficult to tell whether the target of this gathering of Japanese pirates is Zhejiang or South Zhili.

However, these had nothing to do with Wei Guangde. On April 4th, he was escorted by his eldest brother Wei Wencai to Pengze County and stayed at his uncle's house.

Without his uncle, naturally the person in charge is his cousin Wu Dong.

The three classmates who were traveling with him were staying in an inn near the dock. Wei Guangde could just ask someone to inform them before boarding the ship.

Naturally, Wu Dong had no objection to taking a few people with him on the boat.

"Zeng Yuanrui is also leaving with us this time, and Yuan Shu will pick him up at Jiujiang Pier."

Wu Dong said after hearing Wei Guangde mention that there were three other classmates who went to Jiujiang Prefecture to take the government examination together.

The eldest brother only stayed in Qianhusuo for one night. After sending them to the boat early the next morning, he rode directly back to Bengshan Fort.

There were a few more candidates taking the exam on the boat, so it was naturally very lively. My cousin Wu Dong was also here, so he was naturally asked by several classmates about things to pay attention to in the government exam. It was not lonely at all along the way, it was very lively.

Towards evening, the official ship arrived at Jiujiangfu Pier. A group of people on the shore were already waiting eagerly. The leaders were naturally Zhang Hongfu and Zeng Yuanshu.

Zeng Yuanshu and Wu Dong were good friends. When Yuanshu arrived in Jiujiang Prefecture, Wu Dong naturally had to contact his cousin Zhang Hongfu to take care of him.

Although Zhang Hongfu has not yet entered the officialdom, he is still considered a number one figure in the second generation circle of Jiujiang Prefecture. At the very least, it can be guaranteed that Zeng Yuanshu Zhang will not be bullied by others in Jiujiang Prefecture.