The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 235: Not even qualified to be exiled

Compared with other county towns, Jiaoshui County is considered a large county town. Other county towns only have one "cross" shaped main street, but Jiaoshui County has a "well" shaped street with four cross intersections, which has quadrupled the commercial prosperity.

After the eunuch entered the city from the west gate, he walked along the side street and soon saw people selling corn cobs, a new type of agricultural product, just like selling sesame cakes. Some people were selling cooked corn cobs on the street for one copper coin each, and others were selling cakes made of corn flour, also for a copper coin each.

Locals usually don't patronize this kind of business. Those who buy these finished products are often refugees who have just fled from Mizhou and Weizhou. They have just arrived in your place and are unfamiliar with the place. They haven't found a place to stay yet, so they can't cook their own meals and can only buy some food on the street.

They also think it's cheap and a good deal.

Due to the severe damage to productivity in Shandong Province, most areas were affected by the terrible scene of "cannibalism". It is conceivable how high the food prices were. But when the refugees ran to Jiaoshui County, they saw that they could buy enough food to eat half full with just one copper coin. What other words could be used to describe it except "a paradise on earth"?

Many refugees gathered around the stall. The vendor had just finished cooking a pot of corn, and now he was cooking another one. While the corn cobs were cooking, he started rolling corn cakes. A large group of people watched him flex his hands and soon he had rolled the cornmeal into a cake, which he stuck to the lid of the pot and baked...

The aroma will soon spread everywhere!
A little kid couldn't help but reach out to touch it, but his father slapped the kid's hand and grabbed his son's ear, saying, "This is out there, not like home. You have to learn the rules. People out there won't spoil you like your mom does. Be careful, the officials will mistake you for a thief and take you away to the army! See how you cry."

The child was frightened and pulled his hand back.

But then the tortilla vendor laughed and said, "Exile? Don't be ridiculous! Exile is a good thing. You, kid, don't even qualify."

"Ah?" The father was surprised. "Do you need qualifications to be exiled?"

The vendor said, "Only strong and courageous young men can join the Marshal's Office or the Royal Guard. Once in, the monthly salary of five strings of cash is more than enough to support the whole family. As for your child, who is weak, small, or lacks courage, forget about joining the army. At best, he can only be assigned to the logistics team as an auxiliary soldier, and the salary is much lower."

The father and son were stunned...

The eunuch who had just squeezed into the crowd was also stunned when he heard this...

He quickly asked, "The Marshal's Office refers to Gong Yishi's army, right? And what is the Royal Guard Army?"

The vendor laughed and said, "The Royal Guards are the Prince's personal army! The current leader is Wu Jialiang, formerly the county lieutenant of Jimo County, and now the inspector of Laizhou."

The eunuch thought: Huh? A mere ninth-rank official? Commanding the royal guards? This sounds so incongruous.

However, the eunuch had worked in central power institutions, so he understood immediately!

Although the prince had set up a bunch of agricultural and engineering officials, which looked like small Ministry of Works and Ministry of Households, they were just small-scale appointments by the prince, and they were all ninth-rank officials.

This shows that the prince gives face to the emperor!
The emperor had to accept the fake goods as real ones, and the prince also reciprocated the favor. He was much more well-behaved than those local bandits like Li Kui, Zhao Sheng, and Yan Gao.

The eunuch's mind raced, and he continued, "You just said the Royal Guards receive five strings of cash a month. Is that true? Can the prince afford it? How much does that cost?"

The vendor smiled mysteriously and whispered, "What's so little money? Do you know the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine? Ninety percent of the gold in the Song Dynasty was mined from the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine. Now the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine is in the hands of the prince. The prince holds a mountain of gold, but he can't afford to pay a mere five strings of cash to the soldiers?" Eunuch: "..."

Don't say it, don't say it!

The gold produced by the Zhaoyuan gold mine in the past was squandered by the government and was ruined by corrupt officials, but if all the gold mine's output could be used for the army, it would be really amazing.

The eunuch thought: It seems that the heavy responsibility of resisting the Jin army falls on Gong Yi and the fake prince. As for the three bandits Zhao Sheng from Qingzhou, Yang Gao from Weizhou, and Li Kui from Mizhou, they are completely useless.

Never mind, let’s go see Guan Yi.

The eunuch did not linger on the street any longer. He had already seen the prosperity of the place and hurried towards the "Marshal's Mansion".

The so-called Marshal's Mansion is actually the Jiaoshui County Government Office.

The previous magistrate of Jiaoshui County had already been transferred to Dengzhou, becoming the prefect. The current magistrate was a new official who had just passed a "small science" exam. His office was occupied by Master Yue and Madam Gong Er, which made him feel quite aggrieved. This was clearly his office, but he hadn't been able to sit at the head of it for a long time...

When the eunuch arrived at the county government office, he saw Yue Wenxuan sitting in the first seat, Madam Gong Er sitting in the second seat, and the magistrate of Jiaoshui County sitting in the third seat.

Yue Wenxuan was responsible for daydreaming, posing like a statue. Madam Gong Er handled military affairs, and the mayor of Jiaoshui County handled government affairs.

The eunuch had shouted "Welcome the Emperor" in the previous cities but no one gave him face. Now he had learned his lesson and stopped making so many troubles. He lowered his head and reported: "Gong Yishi, the Emperor has an order for you."

Madam Gong Er: "Hmm?"

At this moment, Yue Wenxuan, who was posing, spoke: "To the palace officials: I understand that the barbarians are bullying Shandong and the protection of these several states is due to the merits of you generals. You have all been loyal and worthy of this appointment. You should show your sincere gratitude to each other and commend the court. Achieve success quickly and you will repay your country."

The eunuch was shocked: "Hey? I haven't even taken out the imperial edict yet, how come you can recite it?"

Yue Wenxuan smiled without saying anything or explaining.

Madam Gong Er was thinking in her heart: Zhenjun is a god, how can a dead eunuch like you understand?
The eunuch was frightened by Yue Wenxuan's bold move and didn't know what to say for a while. He could only secretly look at Yue Wenxuan and Madam Gong Er with his eyes, secretly wondering about the relationship between the two.

However, there doesn’t seem to be anything to think about!
The only possibility that could make a female bandit leader like Gong Yi sit in the second seat obediently is that this young man is her husband.

Yue Wenxuan: "The government has distributed this imperial edict wholesale, right? Give one to every rebel in Shandong! If I'm not mistaken, Zhao Sheng of Qingzhou, Yangao of Weizhou, Li Kui of Mizhou, Zhang Rong of Liangshan, Li Bao of Cheng clan... everyone has a copy. You've worked so hard, eunuch. I'm afraid your legs must have broken from running around delivering this letter, and you're constantly humiliated by the various rebel leaders."

When the eunuch heard this, he almost burst into tears. He thought, "Our family has gone through many dangerous situations along the way, and finally someone understands the hardships we have gone through."

(End of this chapter)