Chapter 495: Unaware of the True Face of Mount Lu

Chapter 495: Unaware of the True Face of Mount Lu

Chapter 495: Unaware of the True Face of Mount Lu (Happy New Year)

At the end of the Hai hour, around 11pm,
Lu Yunyi took the badge of the Zhanshiyuan, left the capital of Yingtian and went to the camp in Puzikou City.

There was no hindrance along the way.

But unlike his previous complacency, Lu Yunyi now really wanted someone to appear and stop him.
This way he would have a reason to turn back home and rest early.

However, even after reaching the front army scout camp, they still failed to achieve their wish.

Looking at the camp with only a few scattered lights flickering,
Lu Yunyi sighed quietly and walked in quickly.

Soon he arrived at the central military tent, which was brightly lit as usual.

Walking in, Liu Heiying was sitting behind a desk.
With one hand supporting his head and the other holding a brush, he wrote with a dull look in his eyes.
Hearing the footsteps, his somewhat dull eyes moved over, and then burst into brilliance!
"Brother Yun'er! Why are you here?"

Lu Yunyi smiled and threw himself on the bed in the central army tent.
An unprecedented feeling of comfort surged up, causing him to close his eyes slightly and want to fall asleep immediately.

"How is the official business going?"

Liu Heiying also slumped in his chair and yawned:

“The backlog of military affairs in the past few days has almost been dealt with.

Once the imperial court awards us, we can divide up the remaining unclaimed spoils, and that will be enough.”

"How many are left?" Lu Yunyi asked with his eyes closed.

“Originally there were nearly three thousand, but the various divisions of the Beijing Army divided some of them, leaving us with more than a thousand.

I intend to give one share to the quartermaster, quartermaster, guards, and military staff;
Oh, and give some to the Firemen as well."

"Have all the disabled soldiers been distributed?"

"Don't worry, Brother Yun'er. We've given everyone more according to their injuries."

Liu Heiying stood up and rummaged through the documents on the table.
He quickly found the merit document and said:
"By the way, most of the disabled soldiers in our army choose to work in workshops or businesses.
It is a bit strange that only some brothers whose injuries were not so serious chose to go home. "

Lu Yunyi nodded, with some emotion on his face:

“Although we have given him enough money, he is still a disabled person after all.

When I get home, I will inevitably be looked down upon and ridiculed.
It is better to stay in the army, where we can take care of each other and be self-reliant."

Liu Heiying nodded in agreement:

"Yeah, that's the truth."

“Has the detailed personnel count been completed?”

"It has been completed. I sent someone to deliver it to Zhang Yu this afternoon. There are 470 people in total."

Lu Yunyi nodded with satisfaction, feeling confident in Liu Heying's work efficiency.

He turned to other things:
"I went to the fruit shop today. Guess who I met?"

Liu Heiying looked strange: "Qin Qing?"

Ugh?
Lu Yunyi stared at Liu Heiying: "How do you know?"

Liu Heiying straightened his chest, raised his head, and stiffened his neck:
"Of course I know. She works in a fruit and vegetable shop. I pay her three cents a month."

Lu Yunyi: “.”

Speaking of money, Lu Yunyi remembered something and looked towards the entrance of the military tent and shouted:

"Yun Fang."

Feng Yunfang rushed in: "Sir."

"Have you found the people on the list I gave you during the day?"

Feng Yunfang nodded repeatedly:
"Reporting to the Lord, most of the people have been found, and several of them have already started teaching today."

"So fast?" Lu Yunyi was surprised.

He hasn't even met the person yet, so why did he go straight to class?
Liu Heiying looked at the side with a look of sudden realization:
"Brother Yun'er, you are talking about those scholars.
I have met this person before, and he is indeed very capable.

They are not opposed to teaching in the military, and of course that’s also because we pay them a lot of money.”

"How much does it cost per month?"

"Five taels!"

"Prescribe three cents for the Shangshu's daughter, and five taels for them?" Lu Yunyi had a strange look on his face.

Liu Heiying chuckled:
"How can it be the same? The price looks expensive, but we have more people.

A teacher teaches 500 people every day. Even if each person is paid one cent per day, he will make back his investment in ten days, and the rest is pure profit.

What's more, if I were to hire a teacher, I wouldn't be able to get him even a penny."

Lu Yunyi seemed to agree with this, and gave him a thumbs up:
"You are such a profiteer."

He propped himself up and stood up, looked at Feng Yunfang and asked:

“Are they asleep??”

"Your Excellency, we are still awake. Some of the teachers are teaching night classes."

"Go and have a look."

Although the night classes in the army taught people to read, as more and more soldiers became literate, the night classes became a place for reading military books and classics.

The soldiers listened as much as they could and did not force them.

The group came to the northeast corner of the military tent.
Here is the largest military tent of the front army scout department, which can accommodate a hundred people without crowding.

Every night, the lights here are brightly lit and will not be turned off until the afternoon, which is around three o'clock.

Most of the soldiers who come here to study rely on their own consciousness.
If you have classes during the day, it’s okay not to come at night.

Arriving here, Lu Yunyi looked inside along the open curtain of the military tent.

The small benches were filled with sturdy men.

They held the pamphlets in their hands and read them attentively.

At the front, a man was holding Sun Tzu's Art of War and reading from it.

There was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, and he kept wiping it with a handkerchief.

The air was filled with heat, and even the smell of the military tent was a little strange.

"Sir, this man's name is Yang Shiqi, and I heard he is from Jiangxi.

Now I come to Beijing to travel and study, and my life is very difficult. "

Lu Yunyi was startled and looked over again.

Yang Shiqi was dressed in a Confucian robe, was in his twenties, had a handsome appearance, and had a clear, loud and rhythmic voice that was quite stiff.

"When will the classes end?" Lu Yunyi asked.

Feng Yunfang looked at the time and replied:

"Sir, there is still a quarter of an hour until midnight, and we will change people then."

Lu Yunyi nodded: "When he finishes his studies, let him come to see me in the military tent."

"Yes!"

“So the rule of employing troops is to surround them if they are ten times your number, attack them if they are five times your number, divide them if they are twice your number, fight them if they are your enemy, flee if they are fewer than you, and avoid them if they are inferior to you.

Therefore, the strength of a small enemy is the capture of a big enemy."

After the voice fell, Yang Shiqi picked up his handkerchief and kept wiping the sweat from his forehead.

I looked at the time and breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally time to end the class.

He looked at the many big men below, forced a smile, and waved his hand:

"Everyone, please take a break first. Brother Liu will teach the next lesson."

As soon as the words fell, just like the end of a class, many soldiers present stood up and breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they were eager to study the art of war and learn military books,
But what can I do? Such vague words are torture every time I hear them.

As the soldiers dispersed in a crowd.

Yang Shiqi looked at the dark sky and felt a little emotional.

These five taels of silver are really hard to earn.

He talked from day to night with very little rest time, and now he felt his voice was a little hoarse.

He turned back to the desk and began to pack up the books and papers he had brought with him today, preparing to return to the military tent to rest.
But before he could finish packing, a young man in casual clothes walked in from outside.

When Yang Shiqi saw this, he immediately bowed and said:
"Meet General Feng."

Feng Yunfang smiled and waved his hand:

"You're welcome. How do you feel about teaching today?"

Yang Shiqi smiled helplessly, looked at the dirty handkerchief, and shook his head slowly:
“It’s a bit tiring, but also very rewarding.”

"Haha, come with me, the master wants to see you." Yang Shiqi looked surprised and nodded:

"Please lead the way, General."

Soon, the two arrived at the central military tent, and Feng Yunfang made a gesture to invite them in.

Yang Shiqi nodded and walked straight in.

After entering the military tent and seeing everything inside, he was stunned at first.
The general Liu who hired him today is not here.
Instead, a handsome young man in casual clothes was sitting at the round table, exuding a calmness.

Yang Shiqi thought that he was a hired gentleman like himself.
He bowed, said nothing, and sat down on the other side.

He felt a little thirsty and saw the person opposite him had a teacup in front of him.

He took the teacup from the tea tray, nodded to the man, and poured himself a cup of tea.

Yang Shiqi was slightly stunned when he saw the tangled tea leaves.
He is also a man who has traveled a lot.

Although he did not drink all the famous teas from all over the Ming Dynasty, he had seen them all.

This kind of tea is the first time he has seen it.

After taking a sip, Yang Shiqi's eyes lit up.

The fragrance of tea permeates the air and lingers for a long time. After drinking it all,
He poured another cup and tasted it carefully, and felt that the heat in his body had dissipated a lot.

"How about this tea?"

Yang Shiqi looked in the direction of the voice and saw the man opposite him asking with a smile, so he also smiled and nodded:

"This tea is very good, but I don't know where it comes from."

"This is Pu'er from Yunnan. It's sold in Beijing. One ounce of tea costs several ounces of gold." The man said calmly.

"what?"

Yang Shiqi looked at the tea in the cup in shock. Is this thing so expensive?

If he remembered correctly, he had heard someone say,

Biluochun, the best tea produced in Dongting Lake, is only priced at this price. What is Yunnan Pu'er?

Hearing that this thing was extremely expensive, Yang Shiqi changed the big mouth to a small mouth.

He sipped it gently and savored it carefully. The more he savored it, the better he felt that this tea was.

Seeing that the person opposite him kept looking at him, Yang Shiqi felt a little embarrassed and said with a smile:

"The Puzikou City Camp is indeed a gathering place for the Beijing Army. Even the tea used for drinking is so precious. What do you think of this tea, brother?"

"Wine doesn't make people drunk, but people get drunk; tea doesn't make people clear, but people get clear.

Whether the tea is good or not is related to the mood when drinking it, and it cannot be judged simply by its quality. "

"Brother, you are being a little mysterious. Good tea is good tea." Yang Shiqi frowned slightly.

"Hahaha."

Lu Yunyi laughed heartily, nodded repeatedly, and then asked:

"You are right. There is one thing I don't understand. Can you help me understand it?"

Yang Shiqi looked him up and down, then nodded hesitantly:

"Brother, please speak."

Lu Yunyi asked: "The Beijing army is promoting literacy and has invited many teachers to come. Is this a good or bad idea?"

Yang Shiqi almost blurted out "Of course it's a good thing",
But when the words came to his lips, he was stunned, frowned and thought deeply, and began to think carefully.

After pondering for a long time, Yang Shiqi nodded gently: "It's a good thing."

"Is this a good thing for the commander of the Beijing Army?" Lu Yunyi's face became more serious.

This time he thought for a longer time. After half a quarter of an hour, he shook his head:
"Not a good thing."

"Why?"

Yang Shiqi straightened his back, lowered his voice, and showed a little fear:

"It has been more than 2,400 years since King Wen and King Wu of Zhou compiled history.
The long history books can be summed up in four words.

Join the party and defeat those who are different!

"Civil and military" are the most critical forces among them.

The commander here is a military officer, but he teaches knowledge in the military camp that can only be taught in private schools and the Imperial Academy. This is an act of usurpation and will bring disaster.

But for us, it is a good thing.
After all, if this didn't happen, we wouldn't have the chance to sit here and earn money."

Lu Yunyi naturally ignored his subsequent words and instead was thinking about the issue of uniting the party to attack the dissidents.

Let's not talk about the dispute between the imperial power and the prime minister's power for now.

Just the civil and military affairs were so fierce that they fought fiercely.
Civil officials cannot be in charge of military affairs, and military officials cannot be in charge of the imperial examinations and cultural and educational affairs.
At this point, there is little room for either side to back down.

Perhaps the reason why he has some inexplicable enemies now is because of this incident.

Lu Yunyi looked at Yang Shiqi with some admiration. Young people are honest.

If I were older, I might not be so direct.
Nor would I discuss this matter with him, an outsider.

"So what do you think the head coach here should be like?" Lu Yunyi asked again.

Yang Shiqi did not think about it this time, but shook his head slowly:

"I should do my job in my position. As a lowly person, my words have no influence and the scenery I can see is just a small part.

The commander-in-chief here is a third-rank official of the imperial court. What he can see and know is far beyond the rest of us.

Whether good or bad, he must have had his reasons for doing such things.

The "bad things" before our eyes are like this,
But in the eyes of those bigwigs, it is a different scene.”

Lu Yunyi nodded and looked Yang Shiqi up and down. He was still young and a bit immature.

But I already have some thoughts of my own and I am not stubborn.

"Have you ever taken the imperial examination?"

Yang Shiqi was stunned, and his facial features began to change, with a complicated expression.

Finally, he sighed with regret:
"I failed the provincial examination in 1918, and I was unable to take part in the examination in 21921 because my mother was ill. I feel ashamed."

"Why didn't you win in eighteen years?"

"That was because I was young, and I thought I was high above the heavens, and I made irresponsible comments on state affairs, which displeased the examiner.

Thinking about it now, I was a little arrogant at the time. "

"Can I participate in the Xinwei Examination in the 24th year?"

"Of course I will participate. I originally planned to study for a while and then return to my hometown in De'an.

Now that I have a job and earn a lot of money every month, I naturally want to stay in Yingtian.
It also saves you from having to travel back and forth, wasting time."

At this point, Yang Shiqi's eyes flashed with cunning, and he moved closer:

"May I ask, brother, how much silver did General Liu give you? Why didn't I see you today?"

"How much did you get?" Lu Yunyi asked instead of answering.

Yang Shiqi hesitated for a moment, but finally answered truthfully:
"Five taels of silver, where's yours, brother?"

"I hold three positions and my annual salary is 1,260 shi."

hiss--

Yang Shiqi took a breath and his eyes widened.

Six hundred and thirty taels?
Fifty-two taels and five cents a month is enough for ten of you.

What does he do?

Soon, Yang Shiqi's brain made a "boom" sound and he stood there in a daze.

He thought of something and his pupils suddenly contracted.

The annual salary of a third-rank official is 420 dan.

The commander of this army is the newly appointed Vice Minister of Works, who is well-known in the capital. It is said that he holds three positions at the same time, making him the highest-ranking official in the entire world.

420 shi. 1,260 shi
Yang Shiqi's eyes widened as he looked around the military tent blankly.

He stayed for a long time on the desk in the corner, on which were piles of documents.

Obviously, this is where the commander's office is located.
How could two teachers be allowed to stay in such a confidential place?
In an instant, all the confusion in Yang Shiqi's mind was cleared and he suddenly woke up!

He stood up with a bang, and the four-legged stool behind him fell to the ground with a clang.

He didn't have time to help, and quickly stepped back, feeling his scalp itchy and his whole body numb.
Then do a quick bow:
"Student Yang Shiqi pays his respects to Master Lu!"

(End of this chapter)