Five days later, the various account books of the Volcano Army were cleared, and Du Zhongxiao and Cheng Shimeng handed over to see that the deadline was approaching, and they were ready to leave.

The news spread, and after hearing about it, the people who had attached it in the past year slaughtered a few sheep, prepared a few jars of wine, and carried them together to Huoshan County to see off Du Zhongxiao. Du Zhongxiao and Cheng Shimeng together, thanked the people who came over, left a few leaders, drank in the back office, and saw Du Zhongxiao off.

Looking at the gifts piled up next to him, Cheng Shimeng said: "Since the doctor came to the Volcano Army, opened up the camp fields and set up industries, in more than a year, thousands of families have come to attach them, which is unprecedented. I have also seen these days, these people have abundant food and clothing, live and work in peace and contentment, and are naturally grateful. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This is the homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and those people say that they are Tibetan people, but in fact, many of them are Chinese people. After hundreds of years away from his homeland, he is used to speaking Tibetan dialect and customs, and that's it. ”

Cheng Shimeng said: "Yes, just like Zhang Junde's family over there, they are full of Central Plains Hanmin, how can they look like a little fan?" ”

After the Volcano Army settled down, Zhang Junde's group of people successively took over the family members who stayed in the north, and it has developed into a large ethnic group. They are originally Han people in Hexi, and they have not yet been fanized, except for some customs, they are no different from the Han people in the Central Plains.

After setting up the feast, Zhang Junde and Xiangbu, as representatives, stepped forward to toast Du Zhongxiao, thanking him for taking in these people and helping to rebuild their homes.

In the minds of these people, Du Zhongxiao's entry into Beijing this time will inevitably be important, rising step by step, and filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Du Zhongxiao himself knew that he could not slack off when he returned to Beijing this time. Although the examination of the academy is not difficult, it should not be taken lightly, and the articles must at least be reasonable, and there are examples of overturning boats in the gutter.

Jing Yu Jinshi Miao Zhen, originally the fourth person in the palace examination, a few years later called for the academy, the chief examiner Yan Shu specially instructed him in advance, many Jinshi did not study after the first place, let him study early. Miao Zhen was extremely confident, and replied, how can there be forty old ladies who are nervous about children, and unfortunately they have not passed, and they have lost the opportunity to enter the pavilion. Du Zhongxiao's ranking in both learning and the imperial examination is far from Miao Zhen, how can he not be cautious. If you don't pass the exam, you will not only lose the opportunity, but also become the laughing stock of the literati.

In more than a year, the incense cloth has changed the most. Thinking that at the beginning, he was a small leader of the Tibetan tribe who was poorly fed and clothed, and when he saw Du Zhongxiao trembling, he tried to muster up the courage and was the first to attach. With prudence and steadfastness, he has become a small rich man, and he is the most enviable figure among the people of Inner Tibet. Don't look at dozens of acres of land and hundreds of sheep, they are not a big family in the Central Plains, and the people of Tibet are the life they dream of.

The Volcano Army is sparsely populated here, and there are no big rich people, and people like Xiangbu are already in the upper household.

This banquet was drunk until the sun set in the west, and the host and guest enjoyed themselves before they dispersed.

Shisanlang took the entourage to carry the gift back to the residence, looked at it carefully, came to Du Zhongxiao's house, poured a cup of tea for Du Zhongxiao to drink, and sat on the stool by himself. Du Zhongxiao drank the tea, and Thirteen Lang said excitedly: "Broken people, I have checked, these people are really interesting, there are dozens of wool in the gifts, which are worth one or two hundred yuan." ”

Du Zhongxiao took advantage of the wine and said with a smile: "Thirteen Lang, we have a wide range of good land in our family, is there a difference of a few hundred yuan?" ”

Thirteen Lang said: "That's not what they say, it's always their mind." Besides, the officials have been known as the army for more than a year, and there are not so many of them. I have been an official for a year, and I can't rely on money to make money. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled and did not speak. In later generations, there was a saying called the Qing Governor's Mansion for three years, and 100,000 snowflakes of silver, which said that the oil and water of being a magistrate were huge. Qing officials are still 100,000 taels, if they are greedy again, they will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives. Of course, in the Song Dynasty, due to the excessive centralization of financial power and the prohibition of purchasing industries in the jurisdictional areas, the magistrates did not have such a large amount of oil and water, but the benefits were always inevitable.

The financial situation of the Volcano Army was good, and Cheng Shimeng was very satisfied, and took five hundred taels of silver from the minister's treasury as expenses for Du Zhongxiao's return to Beijing. That's what the envoy library is for, Du Zhongxiao smiled happily. I've been on Hedong Road for nearly three years, and I should bring some money home.

Thirteen Lang didn't have any feelings for the Volcano Army, and he had been away from home for a few years, so he was a little excited, sitting in Du Zhong's room, and talking endlessly. From the longing for Du Zhongxiao's future prospects, to how happy the family should be to see him, he went over and over endlessly.

Du Zhongxiao smiled and listened to his nonsense. He followed himself for several years, and at this time, he could not sweep away his interest.

In the end, Du Zhongxiao said: "When we return to the Central Plains, the weather should be cold." Since there is wool sent by others, when you arrive in the capital, find a master craftsman, make a robe for you and your parents and brothers, and wear it home. ”

Thirteen Lang said: "That's good, thank you official!" However, like me, my family wears this kind of robe in the countryside, just for fear of being laughed at. It's better for officials to convert it into cash, and I'll take it home. ”

Du Zhongxiao laughed when he heard it: "Money is money, clothes are clothes, how can they be mixed up?" You have been with me for years, how can you lose your money? Don't worry, when the time comes, you will be allowed to take the ingot and silver home, buy some fields, and buy a family business. ”

When Thirteen Lang heard this, he was stunned: "What, the official wants to send me home, don't want me to wait?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "You are by my side, you have to eat and drink, and you have to take care of your family." I have purchased a family business, my family has plenty of food and clothing, and you have no worries about following me. In a few years, I will find an opportunity to make up for you as an official and become an official. ”

Thirteen Lang listened and smiled. Although Chen Qin and Tao Qiqi were not allowed to be free after becoming officials, he looked a little uncomfortable, but to be honest, he sometimes envied them. As a farmer, I can be an official and majestic, and it's quite interesting to think about it.

Du Zhongxiao's official position is promoted again, and there will be a place for Enyin, and his family is scarce, and nine times out of ten he will be cheaper than Thirteen Lang and Luo Jing. However, this kind of petty official does not need to be too envious, his power is not big, and there are a lot of things, just a job of eating the emperor's grain.

At the time of the Qingli New Deal, one of the key points of reform of Fan Zhongyan and others was to feel that the favor was too excessive and vigorously abolished. But in fact, after a few years of tossing, everything was as before. When studying history, the book also vigorously criticized the favor of the Song Dynasty, believing that it was one of the important reasons for the intensification of social contradictions. Du Zhongxiao felt the same way at first, and then he thought about it, in fact, what is it? Officials with the power of grace and shade are only a few hundred people, how many places can they go out? Thousands? For such a big country, this kind of thing can't be prevented at all.

Enyin said that he was an official, but in fact, most of them were just civil servants in his previous life. It was in that era that these historical shortcomings were criticized from beginning to end, and as a real city and department-level official, who did not stuff ten or eight civil servants. Now it is only on the table, and there is no such system on the surface, and it is as filthy in private. The political problem is not here.

It is said that it is redundant officials and redundant officials, but in fact, seven or eight out of ten of the financial expenditures of the imperial court are military expenses, and then deduct miscellaneous expenses, how many of them are because there are too many officials and not enough. There were not many officials in this era, and the real problem was how many people occupied positions and did not do things, or were incompetent.

Du Zhongxiao himself knew that Thirteen Lang was by his side, and what he had done in the past few years was no less than that of a petty official. And because he has always been by his side and is familiar with officialdom, it is more than enough to be a petty official. What's wrong with being a petty official? If he didn't do it, it wouldn't have to be someone else.

In the politics of the Great Song Dynasty, the first is military politics, the second is the finance of raising soldiers, and the others are all trivial. Even with the heavy burden of military administration, the biggest problem is not that it costs too much, but that it spends so much money that it cannot win the war.

.。 m.