Chapter 146: War disaster

Chapter 146 Military Disaster

 In addition to the salary of a yamen servant, the painters raised by the county government also received a reward of silver. This bounty is a reward for a fugitive, and the amount is usually 10% to 30% of the reward.

 But many of those portraits don't look alike, so it's difficult to catch the fugitive. Even if you do, you'll only be given a 10% reward at most. If there is a portrait like the one Gu Jinan brought, the probability of catching the fugitive is very high, and his father-in-law will definitely give him 30% of the reward.

Gu Jinan knew very well that his family had no money and no power. If he wanted to become famous, he couldn't miss this opportunity. He nodded immediately: "Sir, the student is willing."

Shang Xiucai laughed: "Okay, I will arrange this matter. You can practice this kind of painting skill during this period."

 The two paintings I brought today are obviously the work of two people. One painting is smooth and natural, while the lines of the other are relatively stiff. It is the kind of work that is tangible and lifeless, and should be made by Gu Jinan.

 Gu Jinan stood up, bowed and said, "Student understands."

Shang Xiucai raised his hand and motioned for him to sit down. Knowing that Third Grandpa and the others were here to beg him to find someone, he asked about the situation of Gu Fuya and Gu Daya's family.

The third grandfather said: "Fuya married Xie Pingzi from Xiejiaping, Changping Town. Pingzi is thirty-five years old and is the third son of the old Xie family. The couple has two sons and one daughter. The eldest son is fifteen years old and his name is Xie Jingxian. ; The second son is thirteen this year and his name is Xie Jingmin; the youngest daughter is ten years old and her name is Xie Jianing..."

The Third Grandpa described the situation of Gu Fuya's family in great detail, including how old Gu Fuya was, the family she married into, where she lived, and what she did for a living.

“When we were escaping from famine, we went to Changping Town to look for him, but the people in the town said that when they returned to Xiejiaping, the grocery store had long been closed.”

The third grandfather only had a daughter. In this life, he only wanted his daughter to marry into a good family. He never wanted his daughter to bring in a bride and carry on the family line.

The couple had scouted out Gu Fuya early on, and finally married Gu Fuya to Xie Laosan from Xiejiaping when Gu Fuya was fifteen years old.

Xie Laosan’s father and Third Grandpa were good brothers. When they were young, they often went to various places to dig wells and work together. Third Grandpa trusted the Xie family, so he married his only daughter to the Xie family’s third son.

The third grandpa has a good taste. The Xie family is very good to Gu Fuya. Xie Pingzi has known Fuya since he was a child. The relationship between the couple is very good. The Xie family and the third grandpa’s family even contribute money together to help Xie Pingzi grow up. A grocery store was opened in Pingzhen. The couple took their children to look after the store and lived a good life.

 But after a drought, all the good days were gone. The water well in Changping Town ran dry, so Xie Pingzi and Gu Fuya could only take their children back to Xiejiaping.

By the time Third Grandpa and the others came to Xiejiaping, there was no one in Xiejiaping, and everyone in Pingzi had fled collectively.

“We originally thought that if we walked faster, we could always run over them, but we fled all the way here and asked everywhere, but there was no news.” The third grandfather said, his eyes could not help but turn red.

Shang Xiucai wrote down all the things that Third Grandpa said on paper. After Third Grandpa finished speaking, he asked Third Grandpa a few more questions. After making up for what he had missed, he asked Gu Dashan: "Brother Gu, eldest sister of the Gu family." What's the situation like as a family?"

Gu Dashan took out a yellowed letter from the cloth bag he carried with him and handed it to Shang Xiucai: "This is the letter that Daya's trustee brought to me back then. The situation of her family is in it."

Gu Dashan has been carrying this letter with him, fearing that one day he would forget about Daya's family and would not be able to find his sister in the future.

Shang Xiucai opened the letter and saw that the handwriting on it had already been dampened and became blurry. It took him more than a quarter of an hour to read the contents of the letter.

 Gu Daya married in D'aozi Village, Huaizi Town, Mingshan County. Just by the name, you could tell it was a poor ravine. The man she married was surnamed Qi. He didn't have a given name. He had a nickname called Qi Pan.

This letter was received by Gu Dashan when he was seventeen years old. At that time, Gu Daya had been running with Qi Pan for nearly two years and gave birth to a son. She was still pregnant with another son. She didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl. The situation is just like this, it is very limited.

Shang Xiucai wrote down the situation of Gu Daya's family as written in the letter. After writing down the situation, he said: "I will ask Lao Luo to send this information to Fucheng to his father-in-law, and ask him to help check the victims." For news, please wait at home with peace of mind. I will let you know as soon as there is news."

Third Grandpa and the others were very grateful. Third Grandpa asked again: "It's almost March, why haven't these victims been resettled yet? Has the drought in the northwest not eased yet?"

They are now in He'an Prefecture in Jianghuai, thousands of miles away from the northwest, and they don't know the situation in the northwest. They don't know if the drought that caused everyone to be displaced has been resolved. If not, the country of Chu will really be doomed.

Shang Xiucai said: "At the beginning of February, the Di newspaper said that there was a heavy snowfall in the northwest, and the drought has been relieved. The victims who are being divided now are not those fleeing because of the drought, but a military disaster."

 Due to drought, many military disasters occurred from the northwest to the northeast of Da Chu, and even in Zhongzhou. The people who had escaped the drought were caught in the war and could only continue to flee south.

The imperial court issued a strict order not to allow the victims to cross the river into the south of the Yangtze River, so they had to resettle the victims in several prefectures along the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. Only then did new victims need to be resettled.

Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan were very frightened: "It turned out to be a military disaster!"

What farmers fear most is not natural disasters, but military disasters. Natural disasters can sometimes be overcome, but military disasters can kill people on the spot.

Grandpa San and Gu Dashan were very frightened, shaking their hands and asked, "What should we do?"

　　What would happen if Fuya and Daya's family encountered a war disaster?

Shang Xiucai looked at the appearance of Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan and comforted him: "Uncle Gu and Brother Gu, don't be anxious. The imperial court has sent a large army to quell the disaster. Now they have won several battles. The military disaster in Zhongzhou has been eliminated. There is also good news coming over there, but the northwest is more difficult to deal with."

The northwest was the territory of Duke Wei, but Emperor Jingyuan was afraid of Duke Wei. Regardless of the people's suffering from drought, he took the opportunity to destroy Duke Wei's mansion and took away the military power of Duke Wei in the northwest. This caused many of Duke Wei's old troops to rebel. It is estimated that it will take some time to quell the war in the northwest.

“However, the two Gu sisters left the northwest during the drought, so they probably won’t be affected by the war.”

 As long as you don’t escape to the Northeast, you’ll be fine.

But Shang Xiucai didn't say this. If he did, it would only make Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan worried.

Grandpa San and Gu Dashan knew that war disasters were beyond their ability as ordinary people, and they could only leave it to fate.

 After talking about the affairs of Gu Fuya and Gu Daya's family, they left Shangjia Village and returned to Dafeng Village.

After they left Shang's house, a man jumped out of the bamboo forest, straightened his clothes, came to the door of Shang's house, and knocked on the door of Shang's house.

This person was none other than Gu Dexing, who had always wanted to become a scholar.

 (End of this chapter)