As Shen Lie agreed to his subordinate Xuan'er's sister-in-law, the two of them stood face to face, their eyes facing each other. The girl was in her prime and unparalleled beauty.
Although the man is not as tall as a jade tree facing the wind, his waist is straight and he is full of heroism.
"good!"
As Tian Hong and several of his Jin Yiwei started shouting in amusement, the quiet and peaceful Shenjiazhuang became lively in an instant.
In the midst of congratulations.
Tian Hong hurriedly took some of his men to buy tributes, while Shen Lie took his newly adopted sister to the backyard and told Zhang Jingxiu and Yun'er the news.
Looking at the serious young master, Yun'er was slightly surprised, but clapped her plain white hands and smiled happily: "Okay, okay."
Her temperament is so charming, honest and upright, and she looks like a good person to everyone...
Miss Zhang seemed a little stunned. She couldn't help but look at the beautiful girl Xuan'er seriously. She inadvertently curled her lips and then responded vaguely.
"Oh, okay."
The jealousy in Zhang Jingxiu's heart was a little relieved.
It seems.
This Yangzhou first-class thin horse still knows how to advance and retreat. She took the initiative to become Shen Lie's adopted brother just to show her feelings and draw a clear line with Shen Lie.
Miss Zhang was thinking like this...
"She's smart, huh."
Time soon came to the next day.
Morning time.
Zhenwu Temple is not far from Shenjiazhuang.
There was a buzz of people.
All relatives and friends gathered together, cleaned the Zhenwu Temple, sprinkled it with water, burned incense, and arranged various tributes of chicken, duck, fish, and meat.
As Tian Hong quickly walked into the temple and stuffed some money into the white-haired old temple blessing, Shen Lie and Miss Xuan'er began the sworn ceremony according to ancient rituals.
Beating gongs and drums.
Relatives and friends who were witnesses looked on with smiles.
Lao Miao Zhu then started counting with his fingers, and soon shouted seriously: "The auspicious time has come!"
Following this shout, Shen Lie and Xuan'er each held three incense sticks, knelt respectfully in front of Emperor Zhenwu, and spoke loudly to Jin Lanpu at the same time.
"Your Majesty, Emperor Zhenwu, I am Shen Lie."
"I am Yue Xuan'er."
"Today we become brothers and sisters of the opposite sex. They rely on each other in life and death, help each other in good and bad times, rely on each other in good and bad times, and support each other in adversity. Heaven and earth bear witness, mountains and rivers are allies, and we will stick to each other throughout our lives and swear not to violate each other."
As the brother and sister knelt three times and kowtowed nine times, they each stood up and looked at each other with a smile. This scene was quite touching.
Several Jin Yiwei around him let out a few strange screams, arousing their emotions.
Busy.
Miss Xuan'er gave another blessing to Shen Liefu and said softly: "Brother, I wish you a happy life."
Shen Lie returned the gift with a smile and said softly: "Okay, okay."
As Shen Lie took out a gold hairpin from his sleeve, he handed over a gold bracelet as a gift for accepting this adopted sister.
The shouting and shouting became more and more intense.
At this moment, looking at Yue Xuan'er's black and white eyes, there were actually a few tears. Then she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and showed a sad and sweet smile to Shen Lie.
At this moment, Shen Lie felt a little moved in his heart.
After marrying Jinlan, this girl Xuan'er became his family. From then on, he had a little sister in this world, and he had another concern.
Looking at this beautiful and intelligent woman after all her glamor had been washed away, Shen Lie couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met her, and that...
I can't help but feel a little sad in my heart.
There is no better fate in this world than this.
The word "fate" is so wonderful that it is beyond words.
Miss Zhang, who was wearing Confucian uniforms among the crowd, curled her lips, and let out a sweet, intentional, yet unintentional hum from her little cherry mouth.
Shen Lie had no choice but to pretend not to see...
Time flies.
Two days later.
After another thunderstorm in the afternoon.
The weather has not cleared up yet.
Shen Lie took a shower in the backyard, then walked slowly in the fields with Tian Hong and others, enjoying the refreshment and comfort of the rainy day.
He actually really enjoyed the quiet days in the mountains and fields, and he didn't want to go back to the dangerous place in the capital.
But there is no such thing as a feast that lasts forever.
Looking at the large acres of land that were growing happily, Shen Lie counted on his fingers. It would be time to return to Beijing in two days.
At this moment, something suddenly occurred to me.
Shen Lie stopped and asked Tian Hong, "How is it that I told you to recruit Zhuang Ding two days ago?"
As the scale of Shenjiazhuang grows larger and larger, more and more ingredients, grains, and various rare crops are accumulated, and the need for security becomes stronger and stronger.
It's a very important matter, so I don't want anyone to worry about it.
Shen Lie felt that he should recruit some villagers.
Whether it is a village servant or a servant, it is very common in this era when public security is not good, but it is definitely not something that just anyone can recruit.
In the same way as maids and concubines, this is not something that just anyone can keep. You must have a background, a reputation, a certain status or even an official position to have such privileges.
If not.
The government can label someone with ulterior motives and rebellion at any time.
Those who are not qualified to raise farmers and raise concubines are called middle peasants and rich peasants, while those who are qualified are called landlords, and even powerful people who have many wives and concubines.
See Shen Lie asking.
Tian Hong said hurriedly: "I'll do the work, don't worry."
So in less than an hour, a dozen honest young men entered Shenjiazhuang and stood in a crooked pile in front of Shen Lie.
Seeing these dull and reserved young men standing in front of them like stupid birds, Shen Lie couldn't help but frown slightly.
Where did these people come from? They don't look very smart.
So Shen Lie turned around and asked Tian Hong, "Where did you find this person? Is it reliable?"
Tian Hong hurriedly beat his chest loudly and said in a low voice: "I'm doing the work, don't worry, these are all good young people with clean wealth from the villages around ten miles away."
After saying that, Tian Hong came closer and whispered in Shen Lie's ear: "They are all people who participated in the bow and arrow club in the early years."
Shen Lie wondered: "What is the Bow and Arrow Society?"
He had never heard of such an organization in Ming Dynasty.
Tian Hong explained: "My dear brother, I don't know. This bow and arrow club is under the Inspection Department. It has the responsibility of inspecting and catching thieves. It has to practice on the first and fifteenth day of every month..."
Hearing what Tian Hong said, Shen Lie gradually understood that the dozen or so young men he had recruited were the legendary Xiangyong.
Isn't this the militia?
It turns out that the Ming Dynasty also had a militia, and all the people in the Ming Dynasty were soldiers. This was the first time Shen Lie heard about this. The archery club was still affiliated with the Inspection Department system.
I think so.
The military service system at the founding of the Ming Dynasty was based on the garrison and field system. The number of soldiers was as high as one million, but the garrison could not be spread all over the vast countryside.
Therefore, the inspection department militia system makes up for the shortcomings of the guard station system and becomes an important reserve national defense force.
What's more, the inspection department is flexible in its deployment and withdrawal, and the inspection department's archers do not need to be supported by the state's finances. They were also very popular in the early years.
But Tian Hong smiled mockingly to himself: "But now, this bow and arrow club has long been disbanded."
Shen Lie nodded.
Understood.
By the early year of Wanli, even the guard system of the Ming Dynasty was in decay, not to mention that the bow and arrow societies under the inspection departments in various places had long existed in name only.
