Chapter 167 The Governor’s Thoughts

On September 26, 21st year of Wanli, Ningwu Pass.

Unlike Wuzhai Fort, which has been full of vitality and vigorous development in recent years, Ningwu Pass in Zhencheng is still as decadent as before. The streets are as dirty as the roads are the same, and the soldiers wearing shabby clothes are still swaying everywhere.

However, unlike before, there are fewer refugees and beggars on the streets in Ningwu Pass now. This is mainly because the development of Wuzhai Fort, the demand for manpower is increasing, and it is easy to make money there. Not to mention where the refugees in Ningwu Pass are running, even many local military households are also moved, thinking about going there to work and earn money.

The loss of a large number of young and strong laborers has made Ningwu Pass even more declining, and there is no such thing as a town. The locals are all sour. If this continues, they might as well set up Shanxi Town in Wuzhai Fort. Anyway, Ningwu Pass does not look like a town now. Everyone sighed, are there some gold arts in Wuzhai Fort? Why has the changes changed so much in a few years?

Fortunately, most of the nearly 10,000 officers and soldiers stationed inside and outside Ningwu Pass were battalions, which was a little bit of anger. However, the anger of the soldiers could not stop them.

With such complex thoughts, news has recently come that Lord Huang Laifu, the Wuzhai Fort, has been promoted to the general of Shanxi Town, and will come to Ningwu Pass soon.

This news caused a sensation in Ningwu Pass. The teahouses and restaurants in the town have been circulating these days. Everyone is in a complicated mood for Huang Laifu's arrival, and they are nervous and expectant. No matter what, Huang Laifu's name is not for nothing. Everyone hopes that with the arrival of Huang Laifu, the local military and civilians can live a good life like a five-chaibao fort.

Qibaihu Street, northeast of Ningwu City, is the core of Ningwu Pass. This street is surrounded by mountains and the terrain is cool. Not to mention the governor's yamen, the general's mansion, and the military supervisor's mansion are all here. On this street, there are shops scattered, and it has always been a prosperous place in Ningwu Pass.

"Doing, dodging..."

With the long shouts, a clerk with eight-carrying carriages came along the street. In front and behind the sedan chair, there were all model soldiers wearing tall horses and bright armor. They were all arrogant. Looking at the blue flag horse road in front of them, the vendors on the street knew that it was the Governor Yang's car sedan. Everyone did not go away.

In the sedan chair, Yang Fangluo, the governor of Shanxi Town, was sitting upright in the sedan chair, squinting his eyes at the awe-inspiring military households on the street. He wore black veil and scarlet official uniforms, with flying fish patches on his chest and back, a robe with narrow sleeves and a jade belt on his waist, and a typical dress as a senior Ming Dynasty civil servant.

Yang Fangluo was over fifty years old, with a thin appearance, long beards, and his eyes were filled with a shrewd spirit. He was returning from the provincial capital Taiyuan. As the Admiral Yanmen and other governors, he governed various affairs in Shanxi Town, but he lived in Taiyuan. He could not stay in Ningwu Pass for several months a year.

Whenever there is something wrong in the town, he will order the soldiers to prepare officials, and the generals and others to go to Taiyuan Prefecture to discuss with him. Anyway, Taiyuan Prefecture is the place where Shanxi Town is appointed, and he is not considered an indifferent official business. He rarely comes back this time, but it is for Huang Laifu's business.

Like many Ming officials, Yang Fangluo also noticed Huang Laifu, a rapidly rising political star. He was well-manned and outstanding in his farming, and was deeply loved by the cabinet and Emperor Wanli. Within a few years, he was promoted from a small thousand household to the position of general, which can be said to have excellent official career. There are rumors about him in the officialdom and the people.

Now that Huang Laifu came to Ningwu Pass, what changes would happen to the pattern of the town? Yang Fangluo didn't know. He also studied Huang Laifu's actions at Wuzhai Fort and knew that he started out with military farming. After coming to Ningwu Pass, he would continue to operate military farming. So what about the land they occupied? Speaking of which, military farming is also one of the responsibilities of the general.

However, Ningwu Pass is different from Wuzhai Fort. If Wuzhai Fort is the private territory of the Huang family, Ningwu Pass is the private territory of local officials and generals.

The situation in Ningwu Pass was that there were not many acres of land here, and half of them were civilian land, and the remaining were the fields of local military households. However, since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the fields of those military households were occupied by the military officers and generals in the city. Among them, Yang Fangluo himself occupied 100,000 acres of land, of course, they were all under his family's name. In the past, the largest landlord in Ningwu Pass was the former general Liu Ming'an. However, since Liu Ming'an was demoted to Guangdong, the fields under his name were divided by Yang Fangluo, Ningwu soldiers and military generals of all sizes, and local military generals of all sizes.

What Yang Fangluo was worried about was what Huang Laifu would think of the fields of Ningwuguan, and would he come to grab a bite of food? Although as a governor, he would never be afraid of a general officer beside him. Isn’t the former general Liu Mingan? When did he see him, he should be respectfully defecated?

However, Yang Fangluo's backstage was Shen Shixing, the chief minister of the cabinet. Now Shen Shixing has fallen, and Huang Laifu is deeply favored by Emperor Wanli. If Huang Laifu really wants to force himself, it would be a troublesome thing. With the intention of meeting Huang Laifu, Yang Fangluo rushed back to Ningwu Pass from Taiyuan Prefecture. If it were in the past, he would not have been so accommodating to a general.

In the sedan chair, Yang Fangluo looked at the street while thinking about his thoughts.

The street of Qibaihu Street has always been lively. Goods from all over the country are sold here, such as cotton from Henan, salt from Shandong, tea from Jiangnan, etc., all are shipped here. However, more and more goods from Wuzhaibao, from rice, flour, grain, oil, cloth, coal and iron. The bustling of them are all merchants from Wuzhaibao.

"The five village forts are in great momentum!"

Yang Fangluo snorted coldly, closed his eyes and calmed down.

Soon, the sedan chairman skillfully stopped the eight-carrying and eight-pack of shoulder-shaped sedan chairs in front of the governor's office. A relative was waiting aside. When the sedan chair stopped, he immediately reached out to lift the curtain of the sedan door and shouted: "Sir, you are out of the sedan chair."

Immediately, a large number of servants and servants from the governor's yamen came out, maids and mothers, and respectfully welcomed Yang Fangluo in.

The Ningwuguan Governor's Yamen was established during the Zhengde period. There were three gates in total, and the gate was on the south side. From the gate, it was the lobby. Behind the lobby, it was a house in the class room. Yang Fangluo was a person who loved elegance. He built two study rooms in the backyard. When he had time, he read books and wrote calligraphy and paintings.

In addition, there is a large garden in the backyard, pavilions and towers, which has a bit of the flavor of Jiangnan gardens. Originally, the backyard was usually the residence of officials and family members, but Governor Yang's family members were all in Taiyuan, so he and some servants lived in the backyard.

At this time, he walked through the courtyard and came to the backyard study room. He removed the official uniform, changed into a robe, and lay comfortably in a chair. He just held a book called "Zhuo Wu Luan" in his hand, but he was stunned and didn't know what he was thinking. The old family member who was serving next to him looked at him secretly, and he was secretly surprised and didn't understand what was wrong with the master.

After staying for a long time, Yang Fangluo seemed to come back to his senses and said to his hometown: "Uncle Tian, ​​please continue to ask Lord Liu Tangsheng and Lord Zhang Wenbao to come to the governor's office for discussion!"

Liu Tangsheng is the military officer of Ningwu Pass. Shanxi Town has a total of three military officers, one stationed in Bietou Pass, one stationed in Ningwu Pass, and the other stationed in Daizhou. Among them, Liu Tangsheng and Yang Fangluo are the most friendly. Zhang Wenbao is the head of the Ministry of Revenue in Shanxi Town, and Huang Laifu has seen him before. Originally, Zhang Wenbao has been stationed in Daizhou, but this time Yang Fangluo came back from Taiyuan and called Zhang Wenbao to Ningwu Pass.

The old man responded and went out.

When Liu Tangsheng and Zhang Wenbao came to the governor's yamen, Yang Fangluo had greeted him in the lobby. Fortunately, Liu Tangsheng gave a big gift to Yang Fangluo and said repeatedly: "Why do you need Mr. Yang to come out to greet him in person? Tangsheng is really uneasy!"

Zhang Wenbao solemnly bowed to Yang Fangluo and said, "What's the matter with the unknown governor?"

Yang Fangluo smiled and said, "I got a Le Niang in Taiyuan the day before yesterday, so I don't have to enjoy it alone. I specially invite you to come and listen to the song!"

Liu Tangsheng stroked his hand and said, "It is better to have fun alone than to have fun with everyone. It's wonderful."

Zhang Wenbao frowned and said, "If the governor has no business, then the official will be retired!"

Liu Tangsheng was nearly fifty years old. As a military officer in Ningwu Pass, he was the full name of "Reorganizing the Military Preparation Road" and was in charge of military preparation matters. He was also a military preparation official with the deputy envoy of the Censorate Department, and was an official of the fourth rank. Since he and Yang Fangluo worked in Ningwu Pass a few years ago, the two have been in a similar mood. Liu Tangsheng has always followed Yang Fangluo's lead.

As for Zhang Wenbao, although the official position of the Ministry of Revenue in Shanxi Town is not very high and only has a fifth rank, he has to handle the distribution of grain and garrisons in the entire Shanxi Town, and controls the lifeline grain and salary of the three passes, which can be said to be low in power. Therefore, Yang Fangluo always wins over him.

However, Zhang Wenbao is honest and always talks about business affairs in front of the peak. Yang Fangluo has no choice but to do anything about him. It is strange that although Zhang Wenbao's personality has never been promoted, he has been sitting steadily in the position of managing grain affairs for many years, and no one can deal with him. All the officials are talking privately that there may be some tough backstage behind Zhang Wenbao.

After hearing Zhang Wenbao's words, an unhappy expression flashed across Yang Fangluo's face. Liu Tangsheng grabbed him and said, "Oh, Lord Zhang, this is yours. Mr. Yang is full of enthusiasm, and you can't pour cold water on it, right? You are too rigid, this person can't be busy with business all day long, right?"

Zhang Wenbao bowed to the two and said, "The emperor is leaving!"

He left as he said that.

Looking at his back, Liu Tangsheng snorted coldly: "You don't know the good things!"

Yang Fangluo said lightly: "Forget it, Zhang Wenbao wants to show his awesomeness, let him go. Tangsheng, let us enjoy it ourselves!"

Yang Fangluo ordered the banquet to be placed, and Liu Tangsheng was just a drink. In the banquet, another dancer came up, playing the singing and dancing with flowers, and the flute was filled with ears, which made Liu Tangsheng happy.

Then, a beautiful girl came up, her charming eyes just glanced around and sang a small song in a delicate way. Liu Tangsheng shook his head even more and sighed that the girls from Taiyuan Mansion were different, and it was indeed not comparable to those in this small place of Ningwuguan.

After singing a few songs and drinking for several rounds, Le Niang was about to step down. Liu Tangsheng quickly rewarded her with two taels of silver, and his eyes were just looking at her with a lust. Seeing his situation, Yang Fangluo smiled and said, "It seems that this girl, Pohe Tangsheng's spleen and stomach, if she likes it, I will give her to you!"

Liu Tangsheng was overjoyed, and hurriedly left the table and stood up, bowed deeply to Yang Fangluo and said, "For this reason, I would like to thank Mr. Yang!"

Yang Fangluo shook his hand and said, "Don't worry about small matters!"

He ordered the banquet to be removed and the servants gave him some refreshments. Then he casually said to Liu Tangsheng: "Brother Liu, the new general Huang Laifu is expected to take office in the next few days. What do you think?"

Liu Tangsheng was even more heart-warming by Yang Fangluo's "Brother". He hurriedly said, "Tangsheng has only seen Huang Laifu in the newspaper, but he has never seen this person. But a mere warrior is not worthy of Mr. Yang, right?"

Seeing Yang Fangrui smiled and said nothing, Liu Tangsheng pondered for a moment and understood. He smiled and said, "It turns out that Mr. Yang is worried that Huang Laifu will come to snatch our food and clothing after he comes. Mr. Yang is relieved. Who is not worried about this? Then Huang Laifu is tactful, but he is not tactful. In the future, he will be just an empty air in Ningwu Pass."

Yang Fangluo smiled and said, "I heard that Huang Laifu is very favored by the emperor?"

Liu Tangsheng smiled and said, "So what? Without the promises from our Ningwu Pass, even if the emperor favors him, he will be unable to move forward. In short, I will listen to Mr. Yang in the first place. Mr. Yang said what to do, so what should I do?"

Yang Fangluo was displeased when he heard a "brother" appearing from Liu Tangsheng's mouth, but his smile remained unchanged. For a while, he sighed: "That's good. Actually, thinking about it, Huang Laifu is very rich in the Wuzhaibao family, how could he like this little wealth in our Ningwuguan? We are learning the knowledge of a dignified saint, how could we worry about a rough and uncivilized martial artist? It's your brother who has lost his composure!"

Speaking of which, the governors of all towns were from Jinshi. They were from second-rank officials, and they were in a ruling and executive officer, the chief executive officer, the chief executive officer and other local three departments, who held local powers and could also go to the capital to discuss affairs every year, and they were prominent in officials. Although they were at the same level as local generals, they were always arrogant because of their noble and noble military inferiority. After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the generals always had to be respectful when they saw the governor. Isn’t this the former general of Shanxi Town Liu Mingan?

Liu Tangsheng also secretly despised Yang Fangluo in his heart. Even he didn't take Huang Laifu seriously, the new general. As a governor, Yang Fangluo was worried that Huang Laifu would become more and more worried, which really made them lose face as a civil servant.

However, Liu Tangsheng smiled and said, "Actually, Mr. Yang is worried, and it would be difficult to deal with Huang Laifu, relying on the favor of the emperor, and being as domineering as Li Rusong!"

Yang Fangluo nodded and said, "Huang Laifu has made great achievements and has a lot of wealth and food. We cannot act like Liu Ming'an. Moreover, Zhang Wenbao is another contact. He can't do anything to stop Huang Laifu's food and salary!"

Liu Tangsheng pondered: "I'm afraid he's not afraid of Huang Laifu's food and salary. Guandi reported that his five villages and generals can not only be self-sufficient, but also how much money and food can be paid by the Ministry of Revenue every year. Whenever he heard that Zhang Wenbao praised Huang Laifu, he said that if the Ming generals were like Huang Laifu, then the country would be worried... Humph, Huang Laifu is really a strange type!"

The two of them said one by one, and they could not hide their jealousy. It is really unreasonable for a martial artist to farm and make money better than them.

Finally, Liu Tangsheng said mysteriously: "Have you heard about it? Huang Laifu intends to combine with merchants to manage military farms outside the border. This matter has already spread throughout Shanxi Town. To be honest, your brother is also moved. When he saw others send his family out of the border, he also wants to occupy some land outside the border. I wonder what his brother thinks?"

Huang Laifu provoked merchants to farm outside the border, so he could not hide the intentional people in the officialdom. In Ningwu Pass, this matter had been widely circulated. The generals and officials were also waiting and watching. Finally, seeing that Huang Laifu's momentum became stronger and stronger, the court did not speak, and they took action and sent their families to the border to check. Anyway, even if they were provoked by the border, it would be Huang Laifu's business. He would be a fool if he had money or not.

Governor Yang snorted coldly and said, "Go, why not? I have sent my monks to the Huangpu Chuanhe area to check, and take up thousands of acres of good fields and grasslands first."

Liu Tangsheng was stunned and said anxiously: "Then I'm going to hurry up, your brother, too!"
Chapter completed!