Yuan Da lay on the dining table and wolfed down a large bowl of rice before slowing down a bit.
Although he was two years older than Wang Yuan, he still called him second brother without any mental barriers: "Second brother, everyone in the village said that after you became the number one scholar, you could eat delicacies from all over the world every day in Beijing. How come there is only one
Roast chicken?”
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Being the number one scholar is just a minor official, and your monthly salary is only so much. How can you have money to buy delicacies from the mountains and seas?"
Yuan Da asked back: "Then you have the money to buy such a big house?"
"It was a reward from the emperor." Wang Yuan said.
Yuan Da said with emotion: "The emperor is so generous. It's a pity that I am not good at studying. I will be able to memorize the Three Character Classic in a few years. Otherwise, I will definitely have to take the exam to become an official."
Wang Yuan hadn't gotten along with such a simple person for a long time, and he suddenly felt very relaxed and said: "The emperor doesn't give rewards to everyone. This house was obtained by me for killing the enemy and performing meritorious deeds."
"Yes, yes, yes," Yuan Da immediately became excited, "Miss Ling'er said, you are very powerful on the battlefield. With two hundred cavalry, you dared to kill more than ten thousand rebels, and killed these rebels to pieces. Second brother
, I might as well not go back and follow you in Beijing to kill thieves and serve as a high official!"
Wang Yuan was noncommittal and asked: "Didn't you go into battle to kill thieves in Guizhou?"
"Yes, the rebels in Guizhou are easy to fight," Yuan Da smiled and described the situation in Guizhou. "After Miss Ling'er returned, she said that she was a member of the Jinyi Guard Qianhu, and the guarding eunuch helped her get two thousand guardsmen. Song Ma Tou
(Song Jian) had more than a thousand chieftain soldiers who all surrendered to Miss Ling'er. We also crossed Qingzhai and gathered 500 volunteers to fight with Miss Ling'er."
The more than 20 letters only gave a general description. Wang Yuan did not know the specific situation, so he asked: "In other words, Ling'er has more than 3,000 soldiers?"
"In the beginning, there were only more than three thousand," Yuan Da said with a smile. "After a few battles, it became more than five thousand. My father fought bravely and was appointed as a deputy general by Miss Ling'er. He commanded five hundred soldiers who crossed Qingzhai and a group of volunteers.
More than a thousand Miao soldiers."
"Miao soldiers?" Wang Yuan was puzzled.
Yuan Da explained: "Aren't there three Miao chiefs who rebelled against the rebels? A'duo had been killed in the battle long ago. Aza's village was besieged by the army for more than a month, and the tribesmen killed him and surrendered with thousands of Miao people.
.Miss Ling'er put the old, weak, sick and disabled back to work in the fields, and only selected more than a thousand strong Miao soldiers to join the army, all of which were handed over to my father's command."
This is Wang Yuan's strategy taking effect.
He asked Song Ling'er, in the name of the Song family, to promise that the Miao people who surrendered for righteousness would be tax-free for three years in the future, and could choose their own village leader (the village leader who also served as a tax collector).
In order to preserve their strength, other members of the Song family have been working hard. Only Song Ling'er worked hard to kill the thieves on the battlefield. Everything in Guizhou respects strength, so in the eyes of the rebels, Song Ling'er can represent the Song family. They do not surrender to others, only Song Ling'er.
This is the main reason.
As for the imperial court, the Miao people only recognize the chieftain, not the ghostly imperial court!
"When you left Guizhou, how many rebels were left?" Wang Yuan asked.
Yuan Da said: "Ajia is the only one left among the three Miao chiefs. He said that he has 50,000 elite soldiers. If he is exhausted, he will have 10,000 or 20,000, and there are still many to make up for the number. Ajia no longer guards the stronghold. When the army comes,
He ran into the mountains and came out to cause trouble as soon as the officers and soldiers left."
This guy is fighting guerrillas. Guizhou is full of mountainous areas. It’s really hard to get into the mountains and destroy them. No wonder the army and the army are unable to eliminate the thieves even though they are fighting in succession.
"How are the situation of the Song family and the An family?" Wang Yuan asked.
Yuan Da replied: "An Guirong is finally dead. His three sons fought fiercely. Governor Wei said that the imperial court would divide Shuixi into three parts. Whoever killed the thieves and made the most merits would inherit the Xuanwei envoy and get the share.
The largest piece of territory. The eldest son of the An family refused to work, saying that he was the eldest son and should have inherited the throne. The second and third sons all sided with Governor Wei, especially the second son, who was particularly brave in fighting, and the entire Guizhou province was An family.
The second one kills the most enemies!"
"Governor Wei did a good job." Wang Yuan couldn't help but smile.
Yuan Da added: "The Song family is in chaos now. Two of the twelve horse heads of the Song family were directly destroyed by the rebels. Of the remaining horse heads, the ones with few soldiers only have a few hundred, and the ones with more soldiers are left
It’s just over a thousand. If I don’t obey you and you don’t obey me, Miss Ling’er’s father doesn’t care about anything, and the acting chieftain can’t control the situation.”
Song Ran knew that he was guilty of death, so he hid and acted like a coward, and asked his adopted step-son Song Ren to act as chieftain.
Unfortunately, Song Ren's only son died and he had no heir. Song Ren himself also fell ill, and all the horses in the Song family were ready to fight for the throne.
As the eldest grandson of the previous generation, Mr. Song has sufficient inheritance rights, but not as much as Song Ren's younger brother and nephew.
Wasn't Wang Yuan sponsored by Song Jian to study and promised to repay the favor? Now is the time to repay the favor.
Wang Yuan wrote a letter to Song Jian and asked Song Ling'er to take him there. Song Jian immediately handed over more than a thousand chieftain soldiers under his command to Song Ling'er. In exchange, Song Ling'er supported Song Gongzi to inherit the chieftainship!
Mr. Song also has a letter from Wang Yuan.
This nerd is easy to fool, just show your righteousness. Wang Yuan told Mr. Song that the Song Dynasty was in decline and the people in the land were in ruins. He must practice benevolent government and cultivate his health. Looking at the entire Song Dynasty, whoever succeeds as chieftain will not
It is possible that benevolent government can only be carried out by Song Gongzi himself.
Wang Yuan also described a blueprint for the future in the letter, including light corvee and low taxes, promotion of education, and construction of water conservancy. Under the leadership of Song Gongzi, the people of Shuidong will live and work in peace and contentment, becoming a paradise-like existence.
After Master Song finished reading the letter, he immediately stopped teaching and is now busy fighting for his position.
It can be said that, except for the unexpected death of An Guirong, all the situations in Guizhou were under the control of Wang Yuan. He not only wrote letters to officials, but also wrote to scholarly families, landlords and gentry in Guizhou, asking these families to support Mr. Song.
, so that we will not fall into the brutal rule of the Song family in the future.
From the governor to the commander-in-chief, to the guarding eunuchs and local squires, they all supported Mr. Song almost unanimously!
There is no way, Song Gongzi has a good reputation, and it is easier to fool a nerd. Wang Yuan's letter only serves as a series of connections.
…
The next day.
There are even fewer people in Wang Yuan's family, and a few people who went home to celebrate the New Year have left.
Huang E only brought his maid Xia Chan over this time, and the master and servant carried rice cakes and prepared various things for Wang Yuan to eat.
While Wang Yuan was eating rice cake, he thought of Song Ling'er's letter and felt a burst of emotion in his heart.
"Is my little sister fifteen years old?" Wang Yuan suddenly asked.
The girl's age cannot be revealed casually. Huang E blushed and said, "She is almost sixteen years old."
Shit sixteen years old, she is only fourteen now and will only be fifteen in three months!
Wang Yuan is not a fool, nor is he a fool. He does not believe that Huang E comes here every day just to study physics. Things have to be solved. If you keep putting them off, it will easily delay the youth of the girl's family.
Wang Yuan said to Xia Chan: "You go out first."
Xia Chan looked at Huang E: "Miss, the girl in the pavilion cannot be alone in the same room with a man."
Huang E said: "I know, please go out."
Xia Chan pursed her lips, picked up a piece of rice cake and walked out.
After the maid left, Wang Yuan said slowly: "Sister Song, you are pregnant."
"ah?"
"What?"
Huang E exclaimed and asked again, thinking that he had heard wrongly.
Wang Yuan said: "My child."
"I...you..." Huang E's mind was in chaos and he completely lost the ability to think.
Wang Yuan gave her the letter: "Read it yourself."
Huang E slowly regained her senses while reading the letter. She felt awkward, a little sad, a little angry, and a little moved, and said: "Sister Song really likes you, and she doesn't want to delay your future, so
I am forcing you to marry me. If you really don’t want to, I will never come here again to save you from being in a dilemma."
"What should you do yourself?" Wang Yuan asked.
"That's it." Huang E lowered his head.
Huang E was always covered with a veil, and everyone was just guessing about her identity. Until Huang E came over, it was immediately confirmed. How could it not be spread among so many people?
Now the gossips in the capital are spreading rumors like crazy, saying that the second young lady from the family of the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment has made a lifelong private arrangement with Bachelor Wang of the Hanlin Academy and has to go to Wang's house every day for trysts.
With such gossip, it is difficult for Huang E to get married.
It was all caused by that old guy Huang Ke. Huang E was always wearing a veil, and he didn't have to admit any gossip. He insisted on letting his son come with him, even if he wanted to deny it, he clearly wanted to throw his daughter to Wang Yuan.
Wang Yuan now has a headache. He is thinking about Song Ling'er and the child in her belly, and Huang E's feelings and situation.
"I have an illegitimate child before I get married, do you mind?" Wang Yuan asked.
"This kind of thing is very common." Huang E acted nonchalantly, but in fact he still felt a little uncomfortable.
It is indeed very common, especially among the children of wealthy families who aspire to take the imperial examination.
Many of these scholars chose not to get married before they were twenty years old, and the more likely they were to be admitted to the imperial examinations, the more so. Jin Lei is a typical example. Every time his son passed the first level, the family's vision improved, and now he has finally reached the Imperial Academy.
Bachelor Jin Gui.
But what should young people do when they are angry and have physical needs? In addition to going to brothels, they also have sex with maids at home. Many of them have illegitimate children before getting married.
The higher the family status, the more respect they need. They often move the maid who gave birth to a child to live elsewhere, which is equivalent to raising an outhouse.
Wang Yuan wanted to make things clear today: "Little sister, humans are not grass and trees, how can we be ruthless? I understand what you mean."
Huang E's face turned red: "I don't have any intentions."
Wang Yuan continued: "From now on, I plan to find an opportunity to ask your majesty for a marriage and take Ling'er as my equal wife. If you are willing, I will immediately ask the matchmaker to give me a betrothal gift."
"Equal wife?" Huang E said in surprise, "This is not allowed. Even if you marry, it doesn't count."
Wang Yuan said: "If your Majesty grants the marriage, it should be an exception."
China's feudal society has always been a system of monogamy and multiple concubines, including the emperor. This involves the inheritance system. The law only protects the principal wife, and concubines have no status.
"Da Ming Code" stipulates: If a wife remarries, the rod will be ninety, and (the second wife) will be divorced (the children will return to the clan).
It was not until the end of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty that equal wives were allowed for the first time. The law stipulated that equal wives also had status, but only if both wives agreed.
Huang E was silent and worried.
Wang Yuan added: "I will make arrangements for the succession of my children before my death. There will be no problems."
"This...is too far-fetched," Huang E looked down at his toes and did not answer directly. He just said, "Sister Song is very good. I like her too. We are sisters."
Wang Yuan exhaled a breath, feeling much more relaxed, and said: "I will ask the matchmaker to give the betrothal gift some other time."
"They didn't agree." Huang E ran out with a red face.