At this time, in the northwest, Fan Jianglin, who was sitting in the courtyard and trying to draw his bow, was also putting down his bow and arrow and looking at the lawsuit soldiers who walked in the door.
"Have you received the reward?" he asked.
The smoke of the war in mid-April has dissipated. In the remaining months, the soldiers and the people have forgotten their pain. The wounded are seeking survival, the families of the deceased are waiting for pensions, the living are looking forward to the rewards they deserve, and the generals are waiting for commendations and promotions.
Today, the northwest in midsummer is full of life.
Fan Jianglin can barely walk two steps now and spends most of his time sitting or lying down. The military doctor said that even if he recovers, his legs, feet and arms will not be as good as before.
Xu Sigen was sad to hear this, but Fan Jianglin was tolerant.
"You don't have to go into battle to kill the enemy." He said, looking at Xu Sigen and smiling, "They got what they wanted, I will follow you, Fourth, to raise horses. You have raised so many horses, and the iron hooves lead them
If our good men crush the heads of the Western thieves, they are still killing the enemy."
This time it was a big battle, and a victorious one at that. The court needed a victory to bring joy, so the rewards went up and down very quickly.
Hearing people coming in, Fan Jianglin's wife, who was holding a baby, also hurriedly came out of the house. She listened to the soldiers reading out the names of Xu Maoxiu and five others with a list.
Hearing these names again, Fan Jianglin's eyes seemed to see brothers striding forward and smiling at him. His nose was sore and he lowered his eyes.
"Yes, everything is correct." The young woman stepped forward and said.
"Then these things are all here. Check them out." The soldier said. There was no emotion in his words. He had done this kind of thing so much that even the sympathy and sentimentality he had had had been worn away.
The young woman responded, holding her child in her arms and going over to see the silk and money they had brought down.
"... Each person has six guan of money and eight bolts of silk." The soldiers were chanting to the side, not forgetting to show their merit, "... This time the court and Manager Jiang strictly urged the government to send out the money quickly, and not a penny was missing...
"
That's true. In the past, not many people could get all this kind of pension. Many soldiers were dead after the First World War, and their families never knew about it, let alone the pension.
In the end, most of them disappeared without a trace.
Therefore, occasionally, generals would fabricate casualties and obtain large amounts of pensions.
The young woman held the child and carefully checked it while talking to the child.
"Tiedan, your father left this for you, you look good on it," she said.
Children don't know how to cheer happily by waving their hands, which is even more uncomfortable for Fan Jianglin's ears.
"It's ready," the young woman said.
The soldier said a few words of comfort in Mandarin, then turned and left.
"Wait a minute." Fan Jianglin shouted.
Everyone in the yard turned to look at him.
"Is there anything else?" the leader of the soldiers asked. He looked at the injured soldier next year sitting on the corridor and suddenly thought of something, "Oh, yes, yes, and there is more."
Hearing what he said, Fan Jianglin's face softened slightly and he watched the soldier turn around and take out a bunch of money from another pocket.
"Wounded soldiers also get a drop of money," he said.
Fan Jianglin was startled.
"What else?" he asked.
The soldier was stunned for a moment.
"What else?" he also asked.
Fan Jianglin tried to stand up, but the young woman hurriedly stepped forward to help him.
"My brothers are all strong men who defend the city of Linguan Village!" he said with a glare, pointing at the money and silk piled in the yard, "That's all?"
The soldier laughed.
"These? These are quite a lot." He said with some seriousness, "The other people's pension is only five coins and five pieces of silk. Because you are from Linguan Village, Lord Fang Shijin knelt down and begged the court to increase the pension, and even
Are you willing to be promoted to a higher position..."
"He begged on his knees! He even got promoted to a higher rank!" Fan Jianglin shouted, interrupting the soldier.
Seeing the ferocious look on his face, the soldiers took a step back in fear.
"What do you want to do?" he shouted, "Fang Shijin bravely resisted the enemy and regarded death as a homecoming. Naturally, he deserves great merit in this battle..."
"He fought bravely against the enemy and was ready to die!" Fan Jianglin shouted, and people rushed towards him.
The soldier was so frightened that he jumped away a few steps. Fan Jianglin could not stand at all. His wife held the child with one hand and supported him with the other. Fan Jianglin stumbled and fell to the ground.
The courtyard suddenly became a mess with women screaming and children crying.
"... He bravely resisted the enemy and returned home to death! He bravely resisted the enemy and returned home to death!"
The man's hoarse shouts came out over and over again.
In the back house of the official hall, a banquet was going on, and laughter continued.
After the war, when the rewards were settled, it was the most proud time. During this period, there was one person who laughed the loudest, and that was Fang Zhonghe.
He also deserves to laugh like this. This time he jumped up to the fourth level from the ninth rank of the imperial guard, and was appointed as the Zhizhai of Hangu Village, the heavy village of Longgu City.
On the other hand, with this qualification as Zhizhai, and at his age, Fang Zhonghe has great hope of getting the position of governor in the future.
Du Jian, Du Jian.
Fang Zhonghe couldn't help laughing again.
"Come, come, drink and drink." He raised the wine bowl and bumped it vigorously with someone.
"Shi Jin, Shi Jin." Someone whispered beside him.
Fang Zhonghe frowned and continued to laugh and drink.
"Prince Jin..." the man continued to shout.
What a sightless person! Fang Zhonghe turned around with a cold expression.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
The clerk breathed a sigh of relief.
"Someone wants to see you." He whispered.
"Go away." Fang Zhonghe said angrily, turned around and continued to joke with others.
The clerk then rolled out.
"...Mr. Jiang means that I want you to go to Beijing to meet the Holy Spirit..."
General Manager Jiang is Jiang Wenyuan, Deputy General Manager of Soldiers and Horses. Currently, the candidate for manager has not yet been decided. Those who serve as deputy do not like to be called deputy, so everyone deliberately ignores this subtitle when talking, except for a few people.
"...That's really Mr. Jiang's love..." Fang Zhonghe said hurriedly.
Just then, there was a junior official behind him who called Shi Jin.
"Can't you shout something else?" Fang Zhonghe turned around and gritted his teeth.
The clerk was stunned for a moment.
"My lord," he said.
Fang Zhonghe sighed, this little official can pack up and get out.
"Say, what happened?" he asked.
"Those two people said that if you don't go out, they will come in and talk to you." The clerk said in a low voice.
Fang Zhonghe chuckled in his heart.
"Who?" he asked.
"Fan Jianglin and Xu Sigan." the clerk whispered.
Fang Zhonghe's expression suddenly changed.
No wonder, if no one else had the guts to come find him, it would be Fan Jianglin.
Fang Zhonghe tightened his grip on the wine bowl in his hand.
He escaped from Linguan Village before the battle. The people who escaped with him naturally wouldn't talk about this fact. It was not a glorious thing. At that time, all the people who were left to guard the village were dead. Except for Fan Jianglin, he was finally killed among the dead.
Saved.
It wouldn't be terrible if he went out and made a fuss, but it would still be a bit unsightly at this time.
The petition has not been delivered yet, if something happens...
Fang Zhonghe put down his wine bowl.
"I'm going to make it easier." He smiled at the people around him.
In a side hall in the backyard, watching Fang Zhonghe come in, Xu Sigen stood up quickly, and Fan Jianglin also stood up with crutches.
"Master Zhizhai." Xu Sigen stepped forward and saluted.
This address made Fang Zhonghe's resentment disappear, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Don't say that, Gao Shen hasn't come down yet." He waved his hand and said.
"My lord's credit has been confirmed, it will happen sooner or later." Fan Jianglin said coldly, emphasizing the word "credit".
Fang Zhonghe's face froze slightly.
"What do you want from me?" he said, twirling his beard.
"Sir, our brothers died in battle, why is it just a pension?" Fan Jianglin asked, "Didn't they bravely resist the enemy and die like home? Sir, you have received rewards for those who are alive, shouldn't they receive posthumous gifts?"
Turns out this is what the fuss was about!
"I have already reported this matter, but the death and injury benefits have always been fixed, so I can only try my best to fight for it," Fang Zhonghe said.
"We don't want pensions. My brothers want posthumous gifts, official appointments, and rectification of their names. They are not pensions, they are heroes, they are volunteers." Fan Jianglin said loudly, while walking forward on his crutches.
Fang Zhonghe frowned.
"It doesn't mean that they are not," he said. "They are heroes who sacrifice their lives for the country. Isn't that an extra pension?"
"Fang! Don't pretend to be confused here!" Fan Jianglin shouted, interrupting him, trembling all over, "How did you get the credit for this? You can replace the name of your credit with my brother's name and give it again
Let the court tell it again, and see what the result will be? Will it be a little more pension?"
Fang Zhonghe's face turned pale, and he glanced outside the door subconsciously.
"Fan Jianglin, what do you mean by this?" he shouted in a low voice.
"You know exactly what I mean! It was my third brother who asked for the delay in resisting the enemy, and it was us who delayed the fight against the enemy until the end. As for you, you led someone to run away halfway. Now that my brothers are dead, you
Take the credit!" Fan Jianglin said, becoming more and more excited as he spoke, and couldn't help but cough violently.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Why did I run away with my people? I was leading my people...to ambush the enemy." Fang Zhonghe said with a livid face.
"Fang Zhonghe, just tell me whether you want to retaliate or not?" Xu Sigen interrupted.
"What kind of retribution should I pay? The merit reward was reported a month and a half ago. This matter is over, what kind of repayment should I give!" Fang Zhonghe shouted angrily. He gritted his teeth and looked at Fan Jianglin for a moment, "Forget it, I
I'll give you all the rewards, money, and silk I got. Come on, let's go."
"Who wants your money?" Fan Jianglin shouted, "We don't want money, I want my brother's reward!"
If he wants a reward, then what has he become?
Fang Zhonghe sneered, what kind of reward does a dead person need? Isn't it just to get more money?
"How much do you want?" he said.
"Master Fang, let's say it again, we only need you to report it truthfully." Xu Sigen said, "No, we don't care whether you report it truthfully or not. Master Fang, we don't care about your merits. Whether you deserve it or not, we
We don’t have any opinion, we just need to report the truth about our brothers, report it to the brothers who fought to the death to defend the city, and grant them a posthumous title."
Are you a fool to report those people's affairs truthfully and grant them a posthumous title? Aren't you going to ruin my future?
Fang Zhonghe felt resentful in his heart. To ruin my future would be to kill my parents. How could I allow it?
Aren't you the only one? Everyone else is dead, what can you do?
Since you don't want the face I'm giving you, don't blame me for being rude.
He stood up straight and his face became cold.
"Do you have anything else to do?" He said coldly, "If you have nothing to do, go back. I know you are grieving for losing your loved ones, so I won't care about your rudeness. Go back and recuperate, and stop fooling around."
Fan Jianglin and Xu Sigen looked at him in disbelief.
"Fang, are you really not going to report it?" Fan Jianglin took a step forward and shouted in a trembling voice.
"I've already finished what I wanted to repay, and there's nothing left to repay." Fang Zhonghe said calmly.
Fan Jianglin stretched out his hand and pointed at him.
"How could you be so unconscionable..." he yelled, and before he could finish his words, he coughed violently.
Xu Sigan hurriedly stretched out his hand to help him and patted him while looking at Fang Zhonghe.
"Master Fang, how could you do this? This chills the hearts of the brothers..." he said.
"Xu Guangou, I have tried my best. If the brothers are cold-hearted, there is nothing I can do." Fang Zhonghe said calmly.
If Xu Sigen wanted to say something else, Fang Zhonghe rolled his sleeves.
"Here comes the guest," he shouted in a loud voice.
The servants who were standing far away rushed in immediately, pushing Xu Sigan and Fan Jianglin. Fan Jianglin's crutches were knocked off, and he was dragged out by the four people.
"Fang, don't regret it!" Fan Jianglin shouted, pointing with his hand, "Don't regret it! Don't regret it!"
What’s there to regret about this!
If he didn't run away in advance, he would be dead now. That would be regretful!
If he truthfully reported that he had escaped from battle, he would have been imprisoned now. How could he have been promoted to level four? That would be regretful!
Fang Zhonghe flicked his sleeves and turned his back to the hall.
Don’t regret it! Don’t regret it!
The screams gradually faded away. (To be continued)
