"The red candles were lit in the bridal chamber last night, and I waited in front of the hall to pay homage to my uncle and aunt. After putting on my makeup, I asked my husband in a low voice. Are the eyebrows dark and dark?" - Zhu Qingyu of the Tang Dynasty.
Huang E, this newlywed daughter-in-law, seems to have matured a lot overnight. She turned fifteen years old half a year ago, which is sixteen years old. In ancient times, it was the right time to get married.
After following her husband to pay homage to her parents-in-law, Huang E had some breakfast and continued to catch up on her sleep.
I can't help it, I slept too late last night.
It's not that he was tormented by Wang Yuan, after all, the young girl should take it easy. It's that Huang E was so excited that he couldn't sleep. He hugged Wang Yuan and kept talking, as if he had accumulated his inner thoughts for several lifetimes and had to spend one night to say them.
Just finish it.
It was almost noon when I woke up again. Xia Chan came in with a basin of warm water: "Miss, get up quickly, the sun is already shining on your butt!"
Huang E admonished: "Chan'er, we are marrying here. We must be gentle from now on. No gossiping is allowed in our daughter's family."
Xia Chan smiled and said: "But the master asked me to be more relaxed and said there was no need to be so restrained. The master is very kind, there is no airs at all, and the rules in the house are not as many as those in the Huang family."
Huang E said: "Second brother doesn't care about small things and doesn't care about big things. The door on the side door was changed again. Even the housekeeper Zhou Chong was fined three months' fine for taking money from guests privately."
"There is no one who doesn't charge money. I'm a bit unkind." Xia Chan said.
Huang E explained: "Second brother said, this is like the petty officials in the world, who receive the imperial salary but are secretly greedy. There are even petty officials who do not need the salary and work for the government for free, plundering the people to make money. The government seems to be decreasing.
If expenditures are reduced, what is lost is the prestige of the court, and the foundation of the Ming Dynasty is destroyed. Managing a family is like governing a country, and must start with the management of officials."
"You can't be too particular about it," Xia Chan said with a smile, "but the servants in the house have a lot of money. I received eight coins this morning."
Five cents of silver is not as good as a cotton spinning worker, but Xia Chan has no extra expenses. She eats and sleeps at home, and all the money can be saved as private money. Such a high salary is already equivalent to many concubines in the capital.
, this is also related to Xia Chan's status. She is the only personal maid of the mistress, who is equivalent to the head maid in the family, but she is too young and not very good at taking care of things.
As for the other servants of the Wang family, their wages are slightly higher than the overall level in the capital. High wages are also suitable for running a family.
Those disciples who were dismissed by Wang Yuan had a miserable end, and were sold directly to work as miners!
Do you think Wang Yuan is making a fuss out of a molehill?
Let me tell you two true stories:
First, in history, Yan Song had great power in both the government and the public. He himself was not very greedy, but his son and his slaves were very powerful. A slave named Yan Yongnian, nicknamed "Crane City", had to give money to the ministers in the court, and he was also very powerful.
He exchanged poems and essays with officials, and the scholar-bureaucrats respectfully called him "Mr. Caishan".
Secondly, in history, when Zhang Juzheng was in power, there was a domestic slave named You Shouli, nicknamed "Chu Bin". Eunuchs, civil servants, and military generals all fawned over him and respectfully called him "Mr. Chu Bin", and even married civil and military officials as a domestic slave.
In-laws and children!
As the saying goes, there are seven ranks of officials in front of the prime minister. This is not a joke.
If we don't guard against subtle changes, when Wang Yuan really becomes an important minister, these servants will cause so much trouble.
…
Xia Chan helped Huang E freshen up. The girl was chattering from beginning to end, all about the Wang family's inner palace.
In the past, there was no mistress in the house, and the overall affairs were managed by Zhou Chong, while the Gewu Hall and Zhizhi Hall were managed by Hong Laifu.
Now, what needs to be divided must be divided, and Huang E should also learn how to take care of the house.
Wang Yuan suddenly walked in and said with a smile: "Xia Chan, I heard your voice from so far away. Fortunately, you are not called the cicada next to the word "worm", otherwise you would definitely like to talk more."
Xia Chan was surprised and said: "Master, you are so smart. When I was a child, I was called Xia Chan. Miss... no, it was Madam. Madam thought I talked too much and was noisy like cicadas on the tree, so she changed my name.
.”
When Wang Yuan heard this, he laughed endlessly.
Huang E adjusted her makeup, then stood up and saluted: "Husband!"
Wang Yuan held Huang E's hand, and before the couple said a few words, Yuan Da hurriedly came to announce: "Second brother, the emperor and Concubine Zhuang are here!"
In the past, the emperor paid private visits incognito, and the servants did not know his details. But today he came with a guard of honor, and the whole Wang family was in chaos.
Wang Quan, Wang Jiangshi and Wang Meng didn't understand etiquette, and they didn't know how to pick up the driver according to the procedures. They could only bring their servants to the main gate, where they knelt down and imitated the opera and shouted "Long live the emperor" and "Empress".
Chitose".
"Get up," Zhu Houzhao said with a smile, "are you two the parents of Erlang?"
Wang Quan quickly took his wife with him, and his eldest son knelt down: "Caomin... uh, my official Wang Quan, if I tell your majesty, this official is Erlang's father."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and helped them up: "You have raised a good son."
Wang Quan's legs were all weak. When he was young, he was a military householder, and low-level officers could control him at will. He never dreamed that one day, the emperor would personally help him. Wang Quan suddenly burst into tears, and his whole body was filled with excitement.
She was trembling: "Your Majesty is so kind and benevolent. The whole Wang family will remember it from generation to generation. They will definitely bow to Your Majesty... bow..."
Wang Meng read a little more and reminded: "Do your best."
"Yes, I will do my best!" Wang Quan said quickly.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Zhu Houzhao laughed heartily and asked Wang Meng: "I heard that you are good at martial arts? How do you compare with Erlang?"
Wang Meng replied: "I am far inferior."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "Erlang is unparalleled in bravery. Naturally, no one can compare with him. As Erlang's brother, you must also be braver. A few days ago, Wei Ying said something about Guizhou. There are hundreds of volunteers in Qingzhai among you.
For suppressing thieves for the country, rewards have never been agreed upon. I will promote you to the rank of Hereditary Thousand Households, lead 800 troops, and guard Xifeng Thousand Households. All the hundreds of volunteers in Chuanqing Village will be converted into military households, and they will all be rewarded with land.
!”
"Thank you for your grace!" Wang Meng was overjoyed and knelt down to kowtow again.
This appointment was really not Zhu Houzhao's whim, but Wei Ying's suggestion when he was in the Leopard Room.
North of Zhazuo where Xifeng Qianhu was located, it was captured twice by Miao rebels. Not only Qianhu and Fu Qianhu were killed, but also their descendants were killed, and there were not many soldiers left in Qianhu.
Now, Chief Zhazuo's lawsuit has been changed to the locals, and the chieftain soldiers were automatically demobilized and turned into policemen, government servants, etc. This resulted in that there were not enough soldiers to guard such an important transportation artery from Bozhou, Sichuan to Guiyang.
So Wang Meng was thrown into a hereditary household, and his descendants guarded the Xifeng Thousand Households for generations. Hundreds of volunteers who passed through Qingzhai also became official soldiers. Many ownerless fields in Xifeng were partly used as military fields.
Part of the reward was given to soldiers as private fields.
It seems like I got a big bargain, but if the Yang family in Bozhou rebels, the first stop to attack Guizhou will be here!
Wang Quan, Wang Jiangshi and Wang Meng accompanied the emperor and Concubine Zhuang as they walked in, and met Wang Yuan and Huang E on the way.
"Kowtow to Your Majesty!"
Wang Yuan took Huang E to salute the emperor.
"Get up," Zhu Houzhao glanced at Huang E, then turned sideways and said to Concubine Zhuang, "Sure enough, the man is talented and the woman is beautiful, they are a perfect couple."
Concubine Zhuang said with a smile: "Wang Erlang has a good eye."
Wang Yuan and Huang E quickly thanked them humbly.
Zhu Houzhao added: "Erlang, I wanted to drink your wedding wine yesterday, but I was made mad by those wimps from the Ministry of War."
"Ministry of War?" Wang Yuan didn't know why.
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "What happened in Liaodong, the barbarians came to plunder again."
Not long ago, the Jurchen tribe brought in bandits from Kaiyuan, robbed the goods and ran away. The guarding eunuch Wang Zhi and the general Gao Qin were very angry, so they led their soldiers to chase them out of the country. As a result, they were ambushed halfway and were besieged for several days.
, returned with heavy casualties.
Victory or defeat is a common matter for military strategists. It is a normal situation. At most, Wang Zhi and Gao Qin will be punished for underestimating the enemy and rushing forward.
As a result, the heads of the Ministry of War were crazy and thought that Kaiyuan, Taining, Haixi, Jianzhou and other places were barbarians, and the imperial court allowed them to graze freely outside the border wall. The distance was so close, and the local garrison officials were negligent in guarding, which led to the Jurchen
The barbarians easily entered the country and plundered. In order to cover up their crimes and take credit, the border generals always allowed the bandits to leave and went outside the country to kill the barbarian herdsmen. In order to retaliate, the barbarian leaders came back to plunder. The grudges and grudges were endless.
Therefore, the Ministry of War suggested that the Liaodong border troops should be rewarded only if they killed the enemy within the border wall. If they went beyond the border wall five miles away, even if they killed countless people, they would still be charged with initiating border provocations!
This time too, the case should be dealt with harshly, all relevant officials should be dismissed, and the guarding eunuchs should be captured and await punishment.
It is true that many of the Liaodong border generals were afraid of the enemy and did not dare to fight with the Jurchen invaders. Instead, they sent the bandits out of the country with gifts, and then led their troops to kill the Jurchen herdsmen to gain credit. This practice should be strictly prohibited, but it was stipulated that they would win the battle on the border.
, and it is extremely nonsense to argue that they are not willing to start a side fight. The situation in Liaodong will definitely be limited to passiveness. From now on, we can only take beatings and then change hands. If the enemy runs away, we will not dare to pursue him too hard.
Zhu Houzhao was so angry that he called the Minister of the Ministry of War to scold him and completely rejected the decision of the Ministry of War.
Zhu Houzhao even said that the Liaodong frontier troops could kill any real barbarian, regardless of gender, age or child, to report their merits and receive rewards.
The Ministry of War objected to this, but gave a compromise opinion, that is: if the Jurchen barbarians are hundreds of miles away from the border wall, the Liaodong border army can send troops to attack them, and only the heads of young and strong barbarians can retaliate. If the barbarians do not invade the border, and they are in
Herding cattle hundreds of miles away, Liaodong officers and soldiers are not allowed to leave the country and kill them indiscriminately.
Zhu Houzhao argued with the Ministry of War for a whole day, and finally reluctantly agreed to the compromise opinion of the Ministry of War.
In fact, both sides have reasons. Zhu Houzhao considered it purely from a military perspective.
The Ministry of War thought more. If according to Zhu Houzhao's statement, the Liaodong frontier troops did not go out every day to "hunt grass in the valley"? They could chop off the heads of a few old people and children and get them back to reward their merits. What would the court use to reward them? Once they were abused,
If the killings become common, they will inevitably intensify border conflicts and force the scattered Jurchen tribes to unite to attack the Ming Dynasty.
When Zhu Houzhao explained the matter, Wang Yuan remained silent because he thought of the rise of the Jurchen tribe.
At this time, the Jurchens were indeed in a state of disarray, but it was hard to tell when they encountered a fierce person.
Zhu Houzhao scolded the Ministry of War again before going to dinner with the Wang family.
After the news came out, the whole capital was envious of it. The emperor actually brought Concubine Zhuang to Wang Yuan's house to celebrate on the second day of his wedding. No other family could find such favorable treatment.