Chapter 67 67 Go to Jiujiang Again

"Can you take us to Jiujiang?"

A classmate asked hurriedly.

"It's not a big problem. Do you bring a servant? It should be OK if there are only a few more people."

Wei Guangde thought of the big ship he took when he went to Jiujiang Prefecture before. It was more than enough to carry 20 to 30 people. He just didn't know if his classmates would bring private goods.

After all, two of his classmates' families were doing business. If they took the shopkeeper and the clerk to Jiujiang to purchase goods, it would be very troublesome.

"I'll just bring a follower. I won't make things difficult for you."

"Me too."

"I'm alone. The servant you brought must help take care of me when the time comes."

"No problem, just a word."

"This way, there will be only five more people. No problem. We will set off together when the time comes."

When Wei Guangde heard them say this, he calculated that there were five people, three classmates and the servants of two families. It would be good to go there by the way, and there would be someone to talk to on the way.

"Guangde, did the county say anything before you came back?"

At this time, another classmate asked, and his voice was also lowered, which sounded mysterious.

"What is it?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously. Because of the expedition, Wei Guangde either accompanied his father or wrote in the study, and he really didn't go out much.

On the day he went to pay homage to the county lord, he went to drink with his cousin, Zeng Yuanrui and a few others. They were all from wealthy families in the county. At other times, he didn't really care about what happened in the outside world.

"It's about Zhang Haochu. He took the first place in the county exam this time. When he left the county, I heard some people talking about him bribing the county lord to get the first place."

"What?"

When Wei Guangde heard that it was Zhang Haochu, he thought of that guy.

"What's the big deal about him getting the first place in the case? Even if there is something fishy, ​​it's normal. In Pengze County, their Zhang family is still quite powerful.

I have seen Zhang Haochu and heard from others that his literary talent is average, otherwise he would not have failed the provincial examination twice in a row and had to accompany us to take the county examination.

Even if the county magistrate really showed his generosity this time, it is actually reasonable. After all, the county needs the support of big families like the Zhang family to donate money to support education."

Wei Guangde thought about it and smiled: "In fact, it may not be a matter of giving a lot of silver. As long as the Zhang family privately expresses that they will donate more money to the county, repair bridges and roads, and give him the first place in the case to ensure that he passes the provincial examination, it is also possible. After all, it is the villagers who are taking advantage.

But, I still don't think it will happen. County Magistrate Tang has always had a good reputation in Pengze. He is not a corrupt official and has never taken advantage of the land."

When Wei Guangde said this, he first pointed out that County Magistrate Tang was not a corrupt official. Corrupt officials may really sell the first place in the county for money, but he is not.

Wei Guangde would not say that the county magistrate might have cheated in the county exam. If that were the case, the candidates who passed the county exam this time would probably be ashamed. Zhang Haochu might have done that, but what about others?

Wei Guangde would not admit it. Although he did bring a heavy gift after passing the exam, that was also a common practice. Everyone had to take this step.

In the county exam and the prefectural exam, the county magistrate and the prefectural magistrate who presided over the exam were generally more reserved. They would not accept gifts or meet them. However, this year Wei Guangde sent something, but it was sent in. It seems that there was no such thing in previous years. This is also what his cousin Wu Dong said.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde also felt that it was hard to say what benefits the Zhang family really gave to make Tang Xianzun raise his hand.

Although he said no, Wei Guangde combined his cousin's words and actually believed it in his heart. At least the Zhang family must have given some benefits that Tang Xianzun could not refuse, so they would select Zhang Haochu as the first in the county exam and guarantee him to pass the prefectural exam.

In April, news came from Zhenjiang that more than a thousand people from Jiujiang Guard had arrived in Zhenjiang smoothly, but they had been resting and training there, and did not rush to Songjiang Prefecture, so naturally no soldiers were transferred to Zhejiang.

At the same time, the news came back that the troops of Xuanzhou Guard did not rush to Zhenjiang, but moved to Taicang with the troops of Suzhou Guard, and formed a 3,000-4,000-man army with Taicang Guard.

Taicang is very close to Songjiang Prefecture, just next door, so it is naturally very fast to enter the guard for support.

Wei Guangde heard the news from his elder brother and naturally figured it out.

Now the Shangshu named Zhang Jing of the Nanjing Military Department should know the military. The troops were mobilized to train first. Obviously, he knew what kind of people the guards were. If they were directly pulled up, they might cause a big problem, so it would be better to train first to prepare for war.

It is said that only the guards in Zhejiang were all pressed forward and lived in the prefectures and counties along the coast.

It seems that the Nanjing Military Department first thought of ensuring the safety of the two prefectures of Suzhou and Songjiang, after all, the focus is on money and grain.

"Susong's financial revenue accounts for half of the world" is not exaggerated. After all, it involves different historical periods, especially when the dynasties changed and the war just subsided, the social production of the whole country was destroyed. At this time, the money and grain of Suzhou and Songjiang were the main sources of the empire's fiscal revenue. Even in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it is reasonable that the financial revenue of the two prefectures of Suzhou and Songjiang ranked first in the world.

Suzhou and Songjiang prefectures are also famous rich prefectures among the prefectures in Jiangnan, and the degree of attention paid by the court is naturally different from others.

Songjiang prefecture alone has to pay nearly 100,000 taels of silver to the Beijing inner court every year, and tens of thousands of stones of white grain, and deliver hundreds of thousands of stones of grain and a large amount of silver to the Ministry of Households, Ministry of Works, Guanglu Temple and other government offices.

The most terrible thing is that it is reported that the Japanese pirates gathered on the islands near Zhoushan, which is only a day away from Songjiang Prefecture, so it is really difficult to say whether the target of the Japanese pirates this time is Zhejiang or Nanzhili.

However, these have nothing to do with Wei Guangde. On April 4, he went to Pengze County under the escort of his eldest brother Wei Wencai and lived in his uncle's house.

Since his uncle was not there, his cousin Wu Dong was naturally in charge.

The three classmates who went with him lived in an inn near the pier. Wei Guangde just had to ask someone to notify them before boarding the ship.

Wu Dong naturally had no objection to taking a few people with him.

"Zeng Yuanrui will go with us this time, and Yuan Shu will pick him up at Jiujiang Pier."

Wu Dong said after hearing Wei Guangde say that there were three classmates going to Jiujiang Prefecture to take the prefectural exam together.

The eldest brother only stayed in Qianhu Suo for one night. The next morning, after sending them on the ship, he rode directly back to Bengshanbao.

There were a few more candidates on the ship, so it was naturally very lively. My cousin Wu Dong was also an experienced person, so he was naturally asked by several classmates about the matters that need to be paid attention to in the prefectural examination. He was not lonely along the way, and it was very lively.

Near dusk, the official ship arrived at the Jiujiang Prefecture Wharf. A group of people on the shore had been waiting eagerly, and the leaders were naturally Zhang Hongfu and Zeng Yuanshu.

Zeng Yuanshu and Wu Dong were good friends. When Yuanshu arrived in Jiujiang Prefecture, Wu Dong naturally contacted his cousin Zhang Hongfu to take care of him.

Although Zhang Hongfu had not yet entered the officialdom, he was also a number one figure in the second-generation circle of Jiujiang Prefecture. At least he could ensure that Zeng Yuanshu would not be bullied in Jiujiang Prefecture.