Fenghou

At this time, Shen Liang's wife, Mrs. Lu, walked out quickly and asked in a low voice, "Master, who is he?"

Shen Liang's frightened soul hadn't come back yet, his teeth shuddered and he said: "This person is a devil, no! It's a human devil, a murderous human devil!"

……

In the morning, Shen Liang wrote a letter to Lu Yihao. The letter was very polite, thanking Mr. Lu for his kindness, but the dog has already made a marriage contract since he was a child, the dowry has been received, and the family will be married at the end of the year. I can only thank Mr. Lu for his kindness. If Gouzi conceals everything, he will come to his house to make amends some other day.

Shen Liang then sent the housekeeper to send the letter to the Lu Mansion, and he and his wife immediately set off for Wuxing to arrange another marriage for their son.

In the afternoon, Dali Temple made a verdict. Wang Bo, the proprietor of Zhenwei Martial Art Museum, was exempted from punishment because of Chen Qing's plea.

As for Shen Gai, he received a notification from the Ministry of Officials that evening that the imperial court had decided to appoint him as the chief secretary of Yongchun County in Quanzhou.

……

Lu Xiu was packing things in the room. She had received news from her brother that she might go to Bashu for a visit. This made Lu Xiu very excited, and began to open the box to pack her dresses.

At this time, the maid Chuntao shouted outside: "Miss, the master is here!"

Lu Xiu walked out quickly, and saw her father on the stairs giving instructions to the people below. Lu Jin smiled and said, "I'm here to inform them that they can go back, and they are no longer needed here."

Lu Xiu was taken aback, "Why?"

Lu Jin smiled slightly, "Wouldn't it be nice if they weren't here? This way you can go downstairs for a walk instead of staying upstairs all the time."

Lu Xiu suddenly had a premonition, and she quickly asked, "Father, what happened?"

"The Shen family withdrew their marriage proposal. Only when Father Shen wrote a letter did your grandfather find out that Shen should have been engaged a long time ago. It was the Yu family in Kuaiji, and the woman's betrothal gift had been accepted. He would get married at the end of the year, but he didn't say anything. To tell you the truth, your grandfather is very annoyed now that you hid it from him!"

Lu Xiu covered her mouth with her hands, she couldn't believe it, she burst into tears of joy, but she didn't expect this result.

However, Lu Jin knew very well that his son had told him that Chen Qing would visit the Shen family. This should be the result of Chen Qing's visit, and the Shen family gave up.

Of course he would not tell his daughter about this, nor would he tell his father.

"Where is the grandfather? I want to meet him."

"He just entered the palace, and the official sent someone to call him into the palace."

"Father, will your grandfather agree to my trip to Bashu?"

"I'm not sure about this. What General Chen means is that it's a good suggestion for you to go to Bashu with your brother and Amei."

Lu Xiu was overjoyed, "Dad agrees?"

"I just don't object, but you also know that the key is your grandfather's opinion. Talk to him tonight! Maybe the Shen family's attitude will make him sober."

At this time, Lu Wei rushed over and shouted downstairs: "Father, the second grandfather and the third grandfather are here. It seems that something important has happened. Father, hurry over there!"

"I'm going right now!"

Lu Jin asked his daughter a few more words before leaving in a hurry.

"Chuntao, let's go for a walk in the back garden. We haven't gone downstairs for a few days."

Lu Xiu also took the maid downstairs, and walked slowly along the small river to the back garden.

……

Lu Datong and Lu Qingshan brought a shocking news that Lu Yihao, the patriarch of the Lu family, was dismissed. This news stunned everyone in the Lu Mansion, and clouds of sorrow began to hang over the Lu Mansion.

Lu Yihao was carried back to the mansion by his servants, and he fainted in the carriage. He couldn't bear the accusations against him in the edict to dismiss him.

This is what Lu Yihao is most worried about. The government has pushed the notoriety of tax hikes on him, and made him bear the responsibility of not caring about the people's feelings, living in dire straits, and boiling public grievances. Lu Yihao was so angry that he fainted on the way back.

Although the officials still did not completely demote him, they appointed him to lead the Zhennan Army Jiedu Envoy, Kaifu Yitong Third Division, Promote Dongxiao Palace, Gaitejin, and Guanwendian University Bachelor, but these gorgeous titles are all A false job, without a real job, actually completely empties him.

That night, Lv Yihao fell ill. The imperial physician diagnosed that it was an attack of a serious illness, and it was not a serious problem, but he needed to rest quietly for a few months to recover his body slowly.

A group of Lu Yihao's grandchildren stood in front of the ward, everyone's faces were full of worry. Lu Yihao had five sons and three daughters, the youngest son was only ten years old and was born to his concubine. In addition, there were seven grandsons, There are also four granddaughters. If you count the descendants of the two brothers, his descendants will be even more.

In the room, Lu Yihao was staring at the roof in a daze. Brother Lu Datong persuaded: "Elder brother can't be the prime minister forever, there will always be a day when he will go away. If you think about it, that's all. Why hurt yourself."

Lu Qingshan also persuaded: "Being the prime minister is too tiring, my elder brother is old, how can I bear it, take this opportunity, step back and take good care of your body."

Lu Yihao sighed in a low voice, "I'm not worried about going to see each other. It's just that the government has put the burden of raising taxes on me. The public's complaints are all my responsibility, and I can't accept it." it is this."

"Brother, in fact, everyone knows that if there is no tax increase, where will the hundreds of thousands of troops get money and food? Without the army, the Great Song Dynasty would have been destroyed long ago. Everyone understands this truth, so how can you blame it on Big Brother?"

"Everyone understands this truth, but what about a hundred years later? What about a thousand years later? Everyone only sees the poverty of the people and the depletion of the country, and how many people will think that the Song Dynasty will destroy the country without tax increases. I am not worried about the present, I am Afraid of the evaluation of future generations!"

There was silence in the room for a moment, and then a clear female voice came from the door, "Grandfather, the turbid will be turbid, and the clear will be clear, but please have a clear conscience, no matter what the historian writes, he can't cover up the truth!"

This sentence was so well said, it lifted Lu Yihao's spirits, "Is it Xiu Niang? Come in!"

Chapter 276 Master

Lu Xiu walked into the room, knelt down in front of his grandfather's sick bed and asked, "Does grandfather feel better?"

Lu Yihao smiled slightly: "Xiu Niang's words are like a good medicine. Grandpa's heart knot has been untied a lot. Who taught you?"

"The master taught the granddaughter."

Lu Xiu's master is Li Qingzhao, who is also a woman who has experienced ups and downs.

Lu Yihao nodded, and said apologetically to his granddaughter: "Big waves wash the sand, suffering is the touchstone. I really thought that Shen Gai was already engaged, but now I realize that things are not that simple. The Shen family must have got the news that I was dismissed, so I just found an excuse to reject this marriage, it's because my grandfather is not good and I don't know anyone well, I didn't expect the Shen family to be so snobbish."

At this time, Lu Jin said from the side: "Father, Chen Qing introduced Wei'er a position as Huguang Propaganda Envoy Sihu Cao Shenjun, does father think it is feasible?"

Of course Lu Yihao knew that Chen Qing was transferred to be the governor of Yue and E towns. He also knew that Chen Qing defeated the water thief in Yuezhou and saved Li Gang's life. Li Gang will definitely give this favor.

He pondered for a moment and said: "Li Gang was dismissed because of my impeachment. It's not right for Wei'er to be an official under him. It's okay if he is the governor's office!"

Lu Xiu suddenly understood what her grandfather meant, and couldn't help crying with joy, "Thank you, grandfather!"

Lu Yihao touched his granddaughter's head, sighed and said: "When you reach my age, you will understand grandfather. Chen Qing is an excellent talent. Of course I will not give up easily. For him, now it seems that grandfather is too greedy."

Lu Xuan is Lu Xiu's cousin, she is only one year younger than her, and she looks pretty good, but she has a very quiet personality. Basically, she doesn't go out of the house and doesn't step out of the door, which is exactly the opposite of Lu Xiu's personality, and the two can't get along Instead, Lu Xiu has a very good relationship with her cousin Li Mei.

Lu Jin said again from the side: "Chen Qing invited Wei'er and Xiu'er to visit Bashu. I wonder if my father will allow it?"

If this invitation had been proposed one day earlier, Lu Yihao would never have allowed it, but now that it is proposed, it is completely different, but Lu Yihao is a bit reluctant to let go of face.

Lu Yihao sighed and said, "They are your children, you can decide for yourself! Don't ask me about such things."

Everyone was happy with the ending. Seeing that Lu Yihao was a little tired, everyone withdrew, leaving only the second brother Lu Datong.

"Second brother is sure about Chen Qing's matter. The world is unpredictable. Who would have thought that he, a military general, would also be the governor of Yuezhou, both civil and military."

"I think this is a general trend. Now the officials have also learned their lessons. They no longer blindly use only civil servants, but began to reuse Confucian generals who are both civil and military, such as Liu Guangshi, Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, etc. Chen Qing also left. The same route, I heard from Xu Xiantu that the poems and poems he wrote at Zhang Jun’s birthday banquet were greatly admired by the officials, and they repeatedly praised him as a rare Confucian general, not a brave man. It has something to do with the officials’ perception of him.”

"You're right. I've seen this trend a long time ago. The only thing I missed was that I misread the Shen family."

"Everyone is for the benefit of the family, and the Shen family's choice is not surprising. It's my brother's rest and recuperation during this period of time to take care of his body. Maybe one day, the government is unstable and important officials are needed to sit in charge, and the officials will think of him again. .”

Lu Yihao nodded secretly, or the second brother had a longer view than the third brother.

……

In the northwest corner of Lin'an City, there is a large area of ​​dilapidated small houses. Although the land price in Lin'an has skyrocketed, this large area is still a low-lying land, and the rent is very cheap. This is the slum area of ​​Lin'an, where hundreds of thousands of low-level people live. .

Compared with the high rents in other places in Lin'an, the rent here is really cheap. You can rent a house for [-] Wen a month. The common people live here.

Chen Qing led a few of his men to inquire all the way, and found Anyuan Lane after a lot of effort. This is a very narrow alley, about one mile long, and the alleyway is basically occupied by all kinds of stoves and rags, and even war horses can't get in. go.

Chen Qing asked one of his men to watch the war horses outside, and he walked into the alley with two soldiers. The alley was dimly lit, with densely packed small doors on one side, and each small door was a room. I don’t know how many people lived in the alley. people?

The alley is full of sewage, filled with the smell of rot and excrement, which makes people sick, and there are many naked children running in the alley.

A soldier pointed to the sign on the wall and said, "Dutong, this is the middle section, it should be around here!"

Chen Qing saw an old man sitting at the door in front of him, so he stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, old man, where is Xie Changzhi's house?"

"I only know one lame Xie. If you want to find him, his house is right in front, and there is a lantern hanging at the door!"

Chen Qing heard from Zhao Wenxin that Xie Changzhi's leg was broken five years ago, so it should be him.

After walking for dozens of steps, he saw a lantern hanging above a small door. Chen Qing looked at this exquisitely crafted lantern and knew he had found the right one.

"Who are you looking for?" A teenager, about eleven or twelve years old, walked out of the room, holding a bundle of branches, and looked at Chen Qing warily.

"I'm looking for Xie Changzhi, he probably lives here!"

"What do you want to buy?"

As soon as the boy finished speaking, a roar came from the room, "Xiao Min, don't talk nonsense!"

Chen Qing laughed, guessing that Xie Changzhi was doing some contraband to make money!

"We are not in the government, don't worry!"

At this time, an unkempt middle-aged man walked out, dragging a lame foot, his hands were covered with calluses, his appearance looked very old, but his eyes were particularly sharp.

"I am Xie Changzhi, who are you?" The middle-aged man stared at Chen Qing and asked.

"I'm Chen Qing from the Western Army, have you heard of it?"

"Chen Qing who broke through Jingzhao City?"

"Exactly!"

Xie Changzhi's eyes softened, "Please come in!"

Xie Changzhi let Chen Qing into the room. The room was not dirty, but it was full of various kinds of wood, and there was an unfinished military crossbow on the table.

"Now I can only make a living by old skills!"

Xie Changzhi laughed at himself, put the military crossbow aside, "Please sit down!"

Chen Qing sat down, and the boy brought him a bowl of herbal tea. Seeing that he was quite smart, Chen Qing couldn't help liking him a bit.

"This is your son?"

"It's my youngest son, and the eldest son is also a craftsman in the Military Weapons Supervision. He refused to work for the Kingdom of Jin, and was stabbed to death by the Jin soldiers. I took the youngest son and the child's mother and fled from Bianliang to Lin'an. Marked as dead in the craftsman's book, I am free now, but it is difficult to support my family, I can only rely on my wife to make lanterns for people every day to earn a little money for food."

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said, "I found out about your whereabouts from a friend of the Military Weapons Supervisor. The friend said that you were the best craftsman in the Military Weapons Supervisor's Crossbow Workshop back then. Now, besides military crossbows, what else can you do? "

"The general wants to ask me to do something?"

Chen Qing nodded, and said frankly: "We experimented with large fire kites in Fort Ganquan, but we always failed. We succeeded a few times occasionally, but the summed up experience seems to be wrong. I don't know where the problem is?"

"Did it fall headfirst to the ground? Or was it seriously deflected?"

"It's both."

Xie Changzhi laughed, "This is the most common problem for large fire kites. The technology is really difficult. When I was 30 years old, I studied for a whole year and failed hundreds of times before I found some tricks. But even so, I Only seven of the ten large-scale fire kites can be successfully built, and the Tokyo Military Bureau has only three craftsmen who can make large-scale fire kites, one is me, one is my apprentice, and the other is my eldest son."

"30 taels of silver per month, for a five-acre house, I will hire Master Xie to be my chief military craftsman."

Xie Changzhi's eyes lit up, "Are you really willing to give me 150 per month?"

Chen Qing nodded, "I only have one condition, help me bring out a group of soldier apprentices."

Xie Changzhi laughed again, "How do you believe that I'm not bragging?"

Chen Qing picked up the military crossbow and said with a smile: "With our proficiency in the military crossbow, this is the best military crossbow I have ever seen!"

Chapter 277 Traveling

Although Zhang Jun bought Chen Qing two months, the time was still relatively tight. It would take more than a month from Lin'an to Ganquanbao, and Chen Qing had to set off westward as soon as possible.

Three days later, the day of departure came.

This trip to the west, there were quite a few people traveling with her. Besides Lu Xiu, there were also her elder brother Lu Wei and his fiancée Li Mei. Surprisingly, Li Qingzhao also accompanied them on a trip to central Sichuan, and there was also Wei Su, the wife of Lieutenant General Yang Yuanqing.

Yang Yuanqing and Wei Su were married in Linyou County, and they separated not long after they got married. Wei Su followed his elder brother Wei Qing to Lin'an. Wei Qing had a favor and served as the county magistrate in Dinghai County, Yuezhou. Wei Su lived with his elder brother. Together, she misses her husband and is willing to go with Chen Qingxi.

There is also the master craftsman Xie Changzhi's family of three. Chen Qing gave him 200 taels of settling expenses to pay off the debts that Zhileg owed. Xie Changzhi immediately said that he would sell it to Chen Qing for the rest of his life. army too.

Xie Changzhi also went with Chen Qingxi, but his family would disembark halfway, go to Yuezhou to settle down first, and join up after Chen Qing led the army.

Same as when he came here, Chen Qing rented a large passenger ship of [-] shi and a horse boat of [-] shi.

This morning, on the wharf outside Yuhangmen, the brothers and sisters of the Lu family said goodbye to their father, Lu Jin, who was seeing him off, and the two big ships set off slowly.

The big ship has three floors, the top floor is where luggage is placed, the second floor is where Chen Qing and many female relatives live, and the first floor is where Chen Qing's personal soldiers live.

Everyone was still in the excitement of just going out, visiting each other, or gathering in the large middle cabin, which is equivalent to the lobby, where they usually eat and rest.

Everyone sat together on the left side. There were three tables on the left side, and there were several windows. From the windows, you could see the scenery and human feelings on the shore.

Although it is midsummer, there is a cool breeze on the river, and the cabin is relatively shady. Everyone drinks tea and enjoys the scenery, which is very comfortable.

This time Li Qingzhao also brought two female disciples there, they were also the daughters of a wealthy family, one named Ding Xiniang and the other named Lin Qingqing, they were both as old as Lu Xiu, and they each brought their maids. Not a lot.