Chapter 11 4. Grain
After the banquet was over, Sima Chang, Sima Rong and other relatives and elders bid farewell and left the house one after another.Zhang Wang intentionally waited until the end, pretending to send Zhang Chunhua and the yamen servants down to pack their bags, and when Sima Lang and Sima Yi approached with smiles, he sat up straight from his seat as if he was overwhelmed with alcohol, and pretended to be embarrassed with a muffled voice. He said to the two of them, "Oh! Two virtuous nephews! The fine wine you brought back from the capital is really sweet and refreshing, and it has endless aftertaste. Uncle Yu is almost intoxicated by you."
"Does Uncle Zhang like to drink this wine?" Sima Yi smiled enthusiastically, "After a while, my nephew will instruct Steward Niu to pack a few jars into your calf cart and take them home. Hey, where is sister Chunhua?"
"Hehehe... Nephew Zhongda is always so warm and generous to us! You are indeed a Confucian gentleman who has studied in the Jinhua Palace of Luoyang Taixue. The whole Hanoi County is as ambitious, virtuous, and capable as you. There are really very few teenagers!" Zhang Wang stroked his beard and looked at him with a smile, his expression very kind.
"Where, where?" Sima Yi hastily bowed his body and replied humbly, "Uncle Zhang is absurd! I don't dare to be my little nephew! After helping my elder brother settle the affairs of the mansion this time, my little nephew will go out to Luhun Mountain Spirit Dragon Valley Ziyuan Academy is studying with a teacher."
"These days are in turmoil, you...you still want to go out to study with a teacher?" Zhang Wang was stunned.
"Uncle Zhang, I'm not afraid that you will laugh at my nephew's stupidity and ignorance. According to my nephew, the world is in chaos and the emperor has lost his home. This is the time for people with lofty ideals to worry about the country and forget their homes and strive to do something." Sima Yi straightened his face and said solemnly "My nephew has been taught by sages and sages since he was a child. He dare not forget his ambition to help the world and bring peace to the people, nor does he dare to dwell in self-protection and do nothing. He only hopes that he can travel widely, make friends with high sages and strangers, learn from others' strengths, and sharpen his tools. Conscientious, do a little bit of the responsibility of saving the drowned and the poor for the common people in the world!"
"Good ambition! Good ambition! A good man should be like what you said: have great ambitions, care about the world, think about extricating oneself from the ordinary, not be trapped by a corner, not be bound by bad knowledge." Zhang Wang couldn't help but feel it. He clapped his palms and laughed, "Nephew Zhong Da is living in the turbulent world, but with such foresight and foresight, he will surely succeed in his studies and make extraordinary achievements in the future."
At this point, he seemed to have thought of something again, changed the topic, and said: "That's right! Didn't you just ask where Chunhua went? She probably went to the front yard to help Uncle Yu pack his bags." .My daughter is the most understanding and the most diligent and simple.”
"Uncle Zhang is right." Sima Yi smiled and nodded, "Sister Chunhua is indeed a rare good girl."
They were talking, but Sima Lang who was standing aside suddenly interrupted, and said to Zhang Wang with a very serious expression: "Uncle Zhang, my nephew is interrupting, please take a moment to talk."
Zhang Wang was slightly displeased when Sima Lang suddenly interrupted his conversation with Sima Yi.But he was well-mannered, and he stabilized his mood in an instant, and immediately smiled. After Sima Lang walked to the corner of the hall and stood still, he pretended to be a little casual and asked: "Nephew Boda, you are welcome, what do you have to say?" But it’s okay to say…”
"Uncle Zhang...my nephew dare to ask: How much grain is there in the granary in Suyi County?" As the night outside the hall was getting dark, the light in the room was also dim, and Sima Lang, who was standing in the corner, stared at Zhang. Wang's eyes were shining brightly, a little unusually bright.He knew that Suyi County under Zhang Wang's rule was the leading grain-producing county in Hanoi County, and the abundance of grain storage must be unmatched by other counties.However, he didn't know exactly how much grain was hidden in the warehouse in Suyi County.
"Why is nephew Boda asking this?" Zhang Wang twitched his eyebrows, his heart was secretly alert, his face remained calm, and he said calmly, "Could it be that nephew Boda wants to pay for my warehouse in Suyi County?" The official rations?"
"To be honest, my nephew has this intention in mind." Sima Lang nodded, and said seriously, "My nephew is currently preparing to build a village guard, and urgently needs to buy food in case of emergencies. Naturally, I hope that the more food I get, the better. ——Please ask Uncle Zhang to complete this matter.”
While thinking secretly, Zhang Wang squinted at him for a moment, but said in a deep voice: "I have some official grain stored in the warehouse in Suyi County. But the imperial court has a law: it is strictly forbidden to sell official grain in the warehouses of all counties." It is not for the purpose of helping the people, but it is not allowed to open a warehouse... It’s not that Uncle Yu refuses to fulfill Boda’s nephew, it’s really a big matter, and it touches the law of the Great Han—Uncle Yu dare not act rashly!”
"Hey! Uncle Zhang, why is he so sticky? Today, the world is in chaos, the government is in turmoil, and the emperor's officials are still in the dust... To be honest, even Wang Kuang, the prefect of Hanoi County, also stays in the tiger prison. Guan has not returned for a long time. You take advantage of this time to secretly sell the grain in the county warehouse to your nephew, who will hold you accountable?" Sima Lang lowered his voice and whispered into Zhang Wang's ear, " Even if your boss asks you in the future—you will claim that the food in the county warehouse was either robbed by bandits or soldiers, or distributed to refugees for disaster relief, or was set on fire by unknown bandits during the war. It was burned. With my father in the court supporting you, what fear do you have?"
"Also, my uncle Sima Chang has just agreed to transfer the grain from the Wen County warehouse to this filial piety tomorrow morning... With his timidity and gentleness, he dares to let go of this matter, Uncle Zhang! How wise and understanding is he, how can he fall behind him?"
After listening to Sima Lang's words, Zhang Wang saw clearly the other face of Sima Lang, who was always modest and gentlemanly.As soon as the Sima Lang brothers arrived in Wen County, they recruited soldiers and bought horses in the name of building the Huxiangwu, and they cast nets everywhere to buy food and equipment. It seems that their family must have big plans in their hearts, which is really unusual!He squinted his eyes slightly, twirling his beard with his hand, and after thinking for a while, he said slowly to Sima Lang: "Since Nephew Boda spoke like that, Uncle Yu will tell you with all his heart. In fact, no matter what danger you are taking now It doesn't matter if Uncle Yu gave you all the food stored in the official warehouse in Suyi County... But, if something unexpected happens in the future, where will Uncle Yu and your sister Chunhua go to settle down? "
Sima Lang immediately understood all the worries in his heart, and hurriedly put on a serious face, bowed to Zhang Wang, and said respectfully: "Uncle Zhang has such a generous heart to help each other, my Sima family will never forget it! All the happiness and well-being of you and Sister Chunhua in the future will be borne by me, Sima Boda! ——In the future, you will be useful to my Sima family, and I will be willing to go through fire or water!"
After Zhang Wang listened, he thought to himself: You, Sima Boda, why do you want to "should bear" all the happiness and well-being of Chunhua and I in the future?snort!It seems that you are also in a trance after all, you are not as good as your old father Sima Fang!If he is here, he will definitely understand the meaning of the old man's words!Thinking of this, he glanced sideways at Sima Yi who was waiting with his sleeves down on the other side of the hall, thinking for sure, then turned his face to look straight at Sima Lang, and said seriously: "Very good! Nephew Boda, You Sima family must remember today's oath: Today, my Zhang family in Suyi spares no effort to support your Sima family in Wen County, willing to take the risk of violating the laws and destroying your family—in the future, your Sima family will definitely live up to me Waiting for today's help is the heart!"
"Our Sima family will never fail Uncle Zhang's family for their great help today." Sima Lang's face was also solemn when he heard this, and he bowed and thanked, "The emperor is above, and there is a lesson to be learned: my subordinate Sima Boda I will definitely not break my promise." As he spoke, he thought to himself: If there are any unexpected changes in the future, what will be difficult to appease the Wang family in the future?The big deal is to support Zhang Wang with rich clothes and fine food, and then find a noble son from a wealthy family for Zhang Chunhua, and marry him off with the utmost grandeur and beauty...