Chapter 305: Jishan County Earl
Tang Qingshan quickly got up, and then the whole family, including the elder, quickly got on the carriage and rushed back to the village.
Before the imperial envoy arrived, several people quickly changed their clothes and prepared the incense table and red envelope.
We had just gotten ready when the imperial envoy arrived.
The Tang family immediately set up an incense table to receive the order.
The imperial edict praised him highly, and even said, "The foolish and the wise are of different kinds, just as the good and the bad are of different kinds of grains." This was referring to Tang Sanshui, and it clearly stated that although Tang Qingshan and Tang Sanshui were brothers, their personalities were completely different.
In this way, the imperial edict will be written clearly and the case will be final, and no one will dare to talk about Tang Sanshui again in the future.
In the end, Tang Qingshan was granted the title of Earl of Jishan County and 500 acres of permanent farmland.
It might be because the timing of the offering was too perfect, or it might be because of Yan Shenjue's letter, which made Emperor Mingpei have a very favorable impression of him. Anyway, the reward was really huge. Even the elder was a little surprised, the old patriarch was extremely happy, and the villagers were almost stunned.
After announcing this, the imperial envoy took out another decree and announced it to the elder.
Because Yuanlao had reported his meritorious service, he was promoted from Jingxing Earl to Jingxing Marquis, and was awarded two thousand taels of gold, as well as a xun and a zither handle each inlaid with gold and jade.
Xun and zi are two musical instruments. Xun Bo and Chi Zhong represent a good relationship between brothers. This is Emperor Mingpei supporting the elder brother, indicating that the relationship between the monarch and his subjects is still very good.
At the same time, he also rewarded Liang Ruoxu with some money and property.
After the decree was announced, the Tang family welcomed the imperial envoy inside. Outside, there was a loud bang and the sound of discussion erupted like a gusher.
Everyone was so envious that their eyes turned green! ! The titles of the Great Yan were slightly different from those of the previous dynasties. For example, the title of "king" included the prince and the county prince, and the prince and the county prince were divided into one-character prince and two-character prince, one-character county prince and two-character county prince. The prince was more respected than the county prince, and the one-character was more respected than the two-character.
Then "gong" is divided into guogong and jungong, which are also divided into one or two characters.
All of these people have fiefs and hereditary permanent farmland.
But if we divide it further, "Hou" is divided into Hou and Xianhou; "Bo" is also divided into Bo and Xianbo. The same is true for Viscount and Baron.
The former has fiefs and permanent farmland, while the latter has no fiefs and the permanent farmland is halved.
The meaning of fiefdom is to enjoy the rent and taxes of these people; permanent land is also called hereditary land, which can be passed on to future generations and can be inherited, which is equivalent to private land, different from ordinary land allocated to the population.
For example, Yuan Lao's original title of "Bo" was a fief of 700 households and 1,000 acres of permanent farmland. But when he became the county bodhisattva of Tang Qingshan, he only had 500 acres of permanent farmland.
Therefore, even if the elder was not given a title, both of them were considered "Lords", but they were not of the same rank as the villagers believed.
But it doesn’t matter. Five hundred acres of permanent farmland and a county earldom are already a pleasant surprise!! A real pleasant surprise!!
This is the real class leap! ! It’s nothing in front of a real noble, but in small counties and towns, it’s enough to walk sideways.
Perhaps because the elder master and Yan Shenjue were both there, the eunuch who announced the decree was very humble. He came in, had a cup of tea, accepted the red envelope, then got on the carriage and left.
Then we had to go to the county government office to eat and rest.
As a result, as soon as he arrived at the county government office, the lawyer came over hurriedly: "Sir! Sir! Something bad has happened!!" He looked at the imperial envoy, not knowing whether to say anything or not.
Liang Ruoxu secretly cursed the master for being stupid, and shouted directly: "Don't tell me yet!"
The master said: "Those people are all dead! They all committed suicide!!"
"What!!" Liang Ruoxu was stunned. After a long while, he asked, "Where is Tang Erhe?"
The master said: "Tang Erhe is not here, but Tang Erhe and his daughter are still alive."
Liang Ruoxu asked: "When did it happen?"
The master said, "I just realized it when I was about to eat lunch. It should be less than two hours!!"
Liang Ruoxu urgently ordered a coroner to examine the cause of death, and said to the eunuch, "I will also report this matter to the emperor..."
He gestured directly: "Since Eunuch Gao happened to come across this, why not go and see it with your own eyes? If the emperor asks about it in the future, you can report back."
The eunuch's name was Gao Fu, and he was also a servant of the emperor. After a slight hesitation, he left.
After all, although these people appear to mind their own business, in fact, they have to keep an eye on everyone's affairs. If Liang Ruoxu will report this matter to the emperor, and he happens to be there, then of course it would be appropriate for him to report it to the emperor first.
So he had to see clearly.
There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!
So he went.
Those people were indeed dead. They were dragged out of the prison one by one. The blood oozing from their mouths and noses was all black. It was obvious that they had taken poison.
Liang Ruoxu murmured: "Are these all dead soldiers?"
He said directly: "Call the others out and ask them!!"
Of course there were other prisoners in the cell. When asked, more than one person said, "When we were changing shifts in the morning, there were birds singing outside. It sounded very close and the singing was very strange. It kept singing several times. Then all the people started to move around, whispering to each other, and some were cursing. Then the person in that cell said, 'The sooner you die, the sooner you will be reborn!' Then he leaned back, as if he was dead, and then the others fell down one by one."
"In the end, it was the woman who kept crying and crying, saying she didn't want to, and she was unwilling to give up. She also cursed Tang Erhe for a long time and asked him to come over. Tang Erhe didn't come over and didn't say anything. Later, the woman leaned against the railing and didn't move anymore."
Liang Ruoxu said slowly: "It seems that there are still fish that have slipped through the net outside! What kind of secret code is this! These people... are not ordinary people. No wonder they kept their mouths shut during the interrogation and nothing can be asked of them!!"
Gao Fu said nothing, but looked around with his sharp eyes.
He felt that this was not put on display for him to see, but the incident had indeed just happened. Liang Ruoxu just wanted to tell Emperor Mingpei through him, so he asked him to come and see it with his own eyes.
These people... in his opinion, they looked like shadow guards!!
Officials outside the court rarely see shadow guards, so it may be difficult for them to distinguish them, but they often see these people. Although they are not wearing black clothes, but ordinary clothes, they give people the feeling that they are shadow guards! !
But Gao Fu did not speak. He looked at these people and examined them. They had poison hidden in their teeth, so even if they were powerless at the moment, they could still commit suicide. This behavior was also like the behavior of the shadow guards! ! It was not until the coroner had examined these people that the two of them left the prison. Liang Ruoxu smiled bitterly and said, "Excuse me, Eunuch Gao, let's go eat first!!"
Gao Fu said, "Master Liang, you don't have to be polite."
The two had dinner together and never mentioned the matter again. Early the next morning, Gao Fu left Longmen County.
(End of this chapter)