After hearing Liu Qing's statement, Qiu Yizi felt a little satisfied. He straightened his back and said, "This does make some sense. Let's go out of the city first and see the situation. Will General Liu give us the honor?" After saying that, he walked towards the city without waiting for Liu Qing's consent.
Of course Liu Qing didn't dare to refuse, and followed him down the city.
As soon as the few people got down from the city wall and had not yet reached the city gate, they saw He Jiugong leading a large group of merchants to greet them.
Qiu Yi was so happy after winning the first battle that she didn't think about the merchants refusing her entry into the city. She just bowed and said from a distance, "Jiu Gong, why are you here?"
He Jiugong said with a smile on his face: "I heard that all the Japanese pirates outside the city were killed by you, so I led the business community of Jinling to come to reward the troops and give you five thousand taels of silver. As for whether you use it to reward merit or to compensate the dead and wounded, it is entirely up to you." As he said that, He Jiugong took out a stack of silver bills and handed it to Qiu Yizi.
Qiu Yizhi thought to himself after hearing this: "You businessmen are so well-informed. I just won a victory and you have even collected all the money for rewarding the troops! I wonder which civil official or military officer leaked the news!"
He thought so in his heart, and took the money without hesitation, stuffed it into his sleeve, and said: "You are all so kind, I would like to thank you on behalf of the soldiers fighting outside the city. But if you just give money, it will not be enough. Why don't you follow me to the outside of the city to entertain the soldiers, so that the soldiers outside can appreciate your kindness!"
Qiu Yizi's last sentence was full of dissatisfaction and ridicule, causing many businessmen to blush with shame.
Qiu Yizi ignored them and dragged He Jiugong's hand towards the city gate. He Jiugong didn't dare to stretch out his hand to break free, so he had to be dragged to the west gate of Jinling City by the only adopted son of the emperor in the world.
The one guarding the city gate was still the military general with a small face and a beard. He was being ordered to guard the city gate without leaving, but he happened to see Qiu Yizi leading a group of people coming straight towards him.
This man relied on being the younger brother of the current Jiangnan Circuit Jiedushi and was used to bullying others. Earlier today, he was bullied by Qiu Yizi, a minor official of the seventh rank. He was thinking about how to take revenge when he saw Qiu Yizi coming towards him. He yelled at her, "Hey! It's you, a small official again. Come over and apologize to me! If I make you angry, I'll tell my cousin and tell him what to do with you!"
Liu Qing, who was walking in the crowd, was the man's cousin. Hearing his rude words, he immediately walked up to him, raised his hand and slapped him, cursing, "Bullshit, are you blind? Why don't you kneel down and apologize?"
The man was knocked dizzy by Liu Qing's slap and sat on the ground, not knowing what had happened.
Qiu Yizi didn't have the time to argue with such a snob, nor did she talk to him much. She just ordered, "Open the city gate for me."
After being beaten, the gatekeeper immediately became much more sensible. Seeing that his cousin had no objection, he got up from the ground, and without even having time to brush the dust off his butt, he called on a few of his men to open the door.
This time, the gate of Jinling City was no longer opened just a crack as before, but was wide open, connecting the blooming paradise of Jinling City with the Avici Hell outside the city where rivers of blood flowed.
The Shanyin militia led by Zhao Chengxiao was standing next to the city gate. As soon as Qiu Yizhifang walked out of the city gate, he saw them and walked away quickly. The first people he met were Wen Lingjiao and He'er who were guarding the rear army.
There were so many people talking here, and so many eyes were watching. Qiu Yizi couldn't say a word or do anything more, so she pretended to be nonchalant and walked to Wen Lingjiao's side, whispering, "Miss, you're frightened."
Wen Lingjiao nodded slightly, raised the corner of her mouth and shook her head slightly.
Qiu Yizi had already understood the meaning of this, so she nodded and stopped talking to Wen Lingjiao.
He looked up again and saw the two hundred militiamen he had brought from Shanyin County. They were all exhausted, their uniforms stained with blood, as if they had just been fished out of a pool of blood. However, when they saw the chief officer coming, they still managed to stand up and saluted Qiu Yizi.
Qiu Yizhi was moved and told them to rest on the spot without saluting. He then went forward to greet them one by one and asked about the battle situation. Qiu Yizhi could call out the names of some of these people, and some were just acquaintances. However, after such a bloody battle, they were like brothers and had a life-and-death friendship.
He suddenly walked to a soldier squatting on the ground panting, and saw that he was Meng Hong, who had won his gold by cutting down jujube trees that day. He leaned over and patted him on the shoulder, shouting, "Meng Hong, how many Japanese pirates did you kill this time? How much silver did you earn from me?"
Meng Hong was startled by Qiu Yizi's shout and slap, and quickly stood up and said, "Reporting to the Lord, I killed three of them myself, and another one happened to be killed at the same time as my brother. I don't know whose head should be counted."
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "This is easy to handle. You can tell your leader Zhao, and he will naturally follow the military law." He saw Meng Hong holding his forehead tightly with his left hand, as if he was injured, so he asked again, "What's wrong? Are you injured? Let me see."
Meng Hong agreed, put down his left hand, and exposed the wound in front of everyone.
Qiu Yizi looked carefully and found that a piece of skin on his left eyebrow was cut off by the sharp blade, and his eyebrow was broken in half. Thick blood flowed along the brow bone and cheekbone and flowed down from the side of his left eye.
Qiu Yizi was used to seeing bloody battles on the battlefield, so this minor injury was nothing to him, so he said, "It's okay, it's just a minor injury, but it's a pity that your face is disfigured. Fortunately, you are married. If those bachelors had injuries on their faces, they would probably be crying and screaming now!" After that, he laughed.
The people around him also started laughing.
After laughing for a while, Qiu Yizi saw that Meng Hong didn't smile at all. She guessed that he seemed to be worried, so she said, "Oh, it's all my fault for not speaking properly. Did these few words make you, Meng Hong, unhappy? If so, I'll apologize to you first."
Meng Honggang hurriedly shook his hands and said, "No, no, I dare not. What the adults say makes sense. I am not unhappy." But his tone was clearly very unhappy.
Qiu Yizi was such a smart person that he smiled and said, "Meng Hong, don't lie to me. Where did the courage you had when you won the gold from me go? Now you come to me to pretend? Tell me what you think. If you dare to conceal or lie, I will ask your Zhaotou to punish you!"
"Whatever you tell me to say, I'll say it." Meng Hong sighed, and suddenly looked up at Lin Shuhan beside Qiu Yizi, and said, "Mr. Lin taught me that 'the body and hair are given by parents, and we should not damage them. This is the beginning of filial piety.' I got a wound on my face, and I can't hide it if I go back. Isn't this unfilial?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone was stunned, and then burst into laughter.
However, as they laughed, they thought about it and felt that what Meng Hong said made a lot of sense. The Han Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, and the most important thing was to respect the elders; the Han Dynasty also ruled the world with Confucianism, and the words of the saints were regarded as the golden rule. If this was really the case, then who would join the army to fight the enemy
So Qiu Yi said to him with a serious face: "Meng Hong, it seems that you have not read Mr. Lin's books in vain these days. Just for this sentence, I will reward you well. But if you can't explain it clearly, I am afraid that you are still confused in your heart. In the future, when you go to the battlefield, you will have distracting thoughts in your mind and hesitate in your hands, which will be dangerous."
Qiu Yizi turned around again, smiled at Lin Shuhan, and said, "Mr. Lin, this is a good student you taught. The person who tied the bell must untie it. Please answer his questions here."
Lin Shuhan nodded, smiled, took a half step forward, raised the folding fan in his hand and patted Meng Hong's head lightly, saying: "It seems that you study hard, but it's a pity that you study too hard. What you said is not bad, but it's a pity that you don't understand the principles of 'moderation' and 'following the rules'. Let me ask you, if robbers come to your house and want to hurt your parents, what will you do?"
"Of course I would fight the robbers for my life. Is there any need to think about it?" Meng Hong answered without hesitation.
Uncle Lin sneered: "At this time, aren't you afraid that the robbers will hurt your body and hair, or that you will be unfilial?"
"Both parents are gone, so what's the point of talking about filial piety?" Meng Hong replied.
"Well said!" Lin Shuhan praised, "That's what I want to hear. You are fighting against the Japanese pirates now, isn't it just a battle against the killers? Every time you kill a Japanese pirate, the chances of your own parents and other people's parents being killed are reduced. What is filial piety? This is filial piety, and it's not a small filial piety, it's a great filial piety that loves the world! Isn't it worth your life for such a thing?"
Lin Shuhan's words touched everyone's heart. Not only Meng Hong, but also the militiamen, soldiers, and businessmen around him were all deeply moved, and some of them even shed tears.
Qiu Yizhi had been an orphan since childhood. Hearing Lin Shuhan's words, he was deeply moved. He held back the tears in his eyes and introduced to everyone in a loud voice: "Everyone, this general's surname is Meng, and his given name is Hong. I recruited him from Shanyin County. He is a man of his word, loyal and filial, and has a bright future. That's why I'd like to introduce him to you all."
Before Qiu Yizhi finished speaking, He Jiugong, who was good at observing people's expressions, stepped forward and put a banknote in Meng Hong's hand, saying, "General, what you said is right! My parents died early, and I didn't have time to be filial to them. Now I even forget what they look like. This money is not for you, General. I want you to pass it on to your father and mother..."
Meng Hong took the silver note sent by He Jiugong and saw the words "One hundred taels of silver, exchanged by Zhou Family Silver Bank upon presentation of the note" clearly written on it, and it was also stamped with a big red seal. He didn't know whether to accept it or not, so he had to spread it in front of Qiu Yizi and looked at him with a pair of puzzled eyes.
If the silver note was sent by someone else, Qiu Yizi would never accept it. However, He Jiugong and Zhou Cijing behind He Jiugong have close ties with Qiu Yizi. Accepting the silver note would be giving face to these two people.
So Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Since it is a kind gesture from Mr. He Jiu, you should just accept it. I remember that your family lives at the foot of a mountain outside the city, and the humidity is too heavy, and your old mother has rheumatism. Why don't you use this little money to buy a piece of land in a sunny place and rebuild a house! After it is built, remember to invite me to have a wedding banquet! But this is only this time, and it will not happen again. From now on, you are not allowed to accept money privately, do you understand?"
Meng Hong didn't expect Qiu Yizhi to still remember such a thing. He was deeply moved. He nodded with sobs and carefully folded the extremely heavy banknote and put it in his arms. (To be continued)