Chapter 51

Indeed, what Wang Ju said was really important.

Whether it was the Qi family army, the Yue family army, or the later people's army, they were all famous for their strict military discipline. It was precisely this strict military discipline that created a powerful army. The previous dynasty also had this, not only Cao Wei's army but also Cheng Bushi's army, Zhou Yafu's army, and Li Ji's army.

But this simple truth seemed to be overlooked by everyone. Cao Wei's strict military discipline was met with all sorts of ridicule and mockery. This was truly a bizarre dynasty. As soon as it involved the military, everything became inexplicable.

"Can this young man make two requests? The first request is that the troops stationed at Weilin Fort are the Black Bee Bandits in front and even worse than the Black Bee Bandits behind. Can Cheng Gong station the Fan Cavalry Camp or the Baoji Army instead?"

"Would the Baoji Army be any better?" Cheng Kan said, suppressing his anger.

"The Baoji Army and the Fan Cavalry Camp may not be better, but they are second-rate soldiers, and their actions will certainly be restrained. Otherwise, Weilin Fort is near the farthest border, and is sandwiched between the Security Army and the Yan Prefecture jurisdiction. The emperor is far away, and even if other capital guards were stationed here, various bad phenomena would still occur. I am not just pleading for Wang Family Fort, but for the thousands of border residents in this area, I am pleading to Cheng Gong."

Cheng Kan let out a cold snort.

This was not an excessive request. Even if Wang Ju did not ask, he would have to change the troops, otherwise, there would inevitably be conflicts in the future.

As for Cheng Ping, who was scared stiff by the sight of seven of his subordinates being beheaded and displayed, he would have to be dealt with properly upon his return!

He was too disappointing. He was afraid that something bad would happen at Weilin Fort, so before the deployment, he deliberately summoned Cheng Ping and repeatedly instructed him, even using the same surname Cheng from his own family. Who knew that after just a few months, he would disgrace himself.

"There are not many noble hermits in the world. Most people toil and labor for fame and profit, that is, power, money, and beauty, thus creating many conflicts. Our dynasty has internal strife, and the Western Xia and Liao states are the same. However, no matter how much they fight, they cannot collude with foreign enemies; this is the rule. But the Yan Prefecture city, for the sake of grudges and interests, colluded with the Western Xia people. Once this precedent is set, internal strife will arise, and the situation will be dire. This person is the Ding family, but I ask Cheng Gong to handle this case."

"Ding family?" A few bailiffs called out softly, immediately showing a look of enlightenment.

Wang Ju saw this and indeed, those few leaders had confessed correctly.

There is no fear of enemies in the open; there are always ways to deal with them. What is feared is the enemy in the dark.

"You don't need to say that!"

It doesn't need to be said, but the situation is always changing. A promise and no promise are two different things.

Wang Ju waved his hand and said, "Fellow villagers, Cheng Gong has given you justice, release the people."

...

"Weng weng, leave two mares. They can be used as a backup or for pulling goods, but do not officially raise horses. That would be more harmful than large-scale sword casting." Wang Ju said.

Zhu Huan also agreed.

Many Qiang and Fan villages on the border also raised some horses, but they were Qiang and Fan people. Wang Family Fort's reputation from this battle was not actually that strong. It looked strong because of a heaven-defying young man. But this young man would eventually leave this small village.

Horses, swords, and sheep.

These three things, when combined, seemed to be getting better, but in reality, the crisis was becoming more severe.

In fact, besides these invasions, due to the weak policies of the Song Dynasty, the Western Xia people had invaded the Shaanxi border multiple times, including the Tumen area last year. Otherwise, the Ding family would not have dared to incite the people on the other side of the mountain to launch this attack on Wang Family Fort.

Because of this, last year Cheng Kan submitted a memorial to the court: Along the border, there are frequent incursions by bandits and horses, who cultivate new land and plunder livestock. Although the garrison soldiers defend, they are not familiar with the terrain and are often replaced. He requested that two battalions of local soldiers be recruited at the ten forts and trained in cavalry and archery, with 100 soldiers stationed at each fort.

This was to passively increase the defensive strength.

However, this method was even more clumsy than Fan Zhongyan's fort strategy. Although the court agreed, Cheng Kan could not effectively implement it.

Wang Quan and the villagers were somewhat reluctant.

"Furthermore, it's time to prepare for the marriage proposal."

To marry the young lady from the Gui family, the expenses were considerable, but this money was not paid by the Wang family but by the entire village. However, the significance was great. Although a marriage alliance might not bind Wang Family Fort and the Gui clan together, it would form a loose alliance. The powerful Gui clan was outside the jurisdiction of the Security Army, but neither the Security Army nor the Yan Prefecture officials dared to ignore them.

Unless the Song and Western Xia truly had a long-lasting peace and friendship.

But that was impossible.

Wang Quan nodded.

Too many things had happened recently, but in general, the village's strength was not strong enough.

Wang Ju then had his second uncle bring out the remaining three horses and hand them over to Zhu Huan to sell.

Li Wan yuan stared intently at this future "quasi-brother-in-law."

The battle at Wang Family Fort shook the entire Yan Prefecture. Although the Gui clan also participated, it was just a finishing touch. With 675 people, Wang Family Fort almost single-handedly defeated over 600 Western Xia troops, defeating them soundly!

The 14-year-old boy behind this battle finally fully entered everyone's field of vision.

Including Li Wan yuan, upon hearing this news, they were all scared out of their wits. Was this the Wang Ju they knew?

Wang Ju turned to look at the brother and sister. Li Xiaoniang also looked at Wang Ju, but the mischievous Erniu also stared at her with big eyes, finally making her blush and lower her head.

March was the perfect time for light spring clothes, to let dreams and youthful love fly...

Zhu Huan looked at this scene and couldn't help but chuckle.

Then he gave Wang Ju a secret nod.

The two walked out.

"The conditions you proposed have made the Li family somewhat unhappy. Besides, she is the only daughter of the Li family and the youngest in the family."

Wang Ju smiled.

Actually, if it were put into words, his three conditions were not excessive. The dowry was saved because his family was poor. If they accepted him, a poor boy, they shouldn't expect any dowry. Not living in the Li family, who would want to live in the Li family? Delaying the marriage, though it was a delay, was not uncommon in the Song Dynasty. There were still women who delayed marriage until their twenties to find a good husband, like Li Shi, Fan Zhongyan's wife, who married at 23, and Guo Shi, Zhang Zai's wife...

But he was not Fan Zhongyan. When Li Changyan married his daughter to Fan Zhongyan, Fan Zhongyan was no longer a poor man but a scholar. When Yan Shu married his daughter to Fu Bi, Fu Bi had failed the imperial exams, but he was already famous and his family was wealthy in Luoyang! But what about him? Marrying a Li family lady was a high climb, and he even proposed conditions, so the Li family was naturally unhappy.

But Wang Ju's attitude was indifferent. If it worked, it worked; if not, it didn't matter.

Not just the Li family lady, but probably all the young ladies, he might not be interested in. He was still grieving for his lost love. In Wang Ju's eyes, there was no longer any love.

"But after the news of the battle at the village spread, the Li family has become somewhat interested."

"Thank you, Dong Gong, but I still stand by my words. If I am willing, I will formally send a matchmaker to propose. If not, I won't force it, and I want to delay for a year."

Zhu Huan didn't know what to say.

If it really didn't work, he could check the Li family's attitude. The fact that this brother and sister came to Wang Family Fort with a group of young people again, out of curiosity, indicated that the Li family was more in favor than against, otherwise, they wouldn't let the Li family lady continue to interact with Wang Ju.

"That day you shouldn't have made Cheng Gong angry."

"Dong Gong, do you think I wanted to? But if I didn't do that, there would be more trouble in the future."

"I'm worried it will affect your imperial examination."

"That's not a big deal. Dong Gong, I plan to study hard for another half a year and prepare to go to Fuzhou at the end of the year to study under Zhang Zizhou."

"Ah." Zhu Huan was greatly startled.

Compared to Cheng Kan, Zhang Zai's position was much lower, just a small county magistrate, but these two were in different fields. One was a big figure in the political arena, the other a big figure in the academic world. For Wang Ju to study, Zhang Zai's help would definitely be greater than Cheng Kan's.

But Zhang Zai was a great figure, and his students included powerful people like the Four Lus of Guanzhong.

But it couldn't be said. Too many incredible things had happened to this young man. What others might not achieve, Wang Ju might.

Zhu Huan also understood why Wang Ju was not afraid of Cheng Kan.

If Wang Ju continued to study on his own at Wang Family Fort or entered the prefectural school later, he could only take the imperial examination in Yan Prefecture. Cheng Kan, in his anger, might block him at the imperial examination. Even if Cheng Kan left Yan Prefecture, the next prefectural magistrate could still block him with a nod.

But according to the influence of the imperial examination system brought by Fan Zhongyan, if Wang Ju went to Fuzhou, studied under Zhang Zai, and then entered the Fuzhou prefectural school, he could take the imperial examination in Fuzhou.

Then he would not be affected by Cheng Kan.

Actually, Wang Ju was just saying it. Cheng Kan was a capable official, though not magnanimous enough to hold a boat in his stomach, he wouldn't hold a grudge against a child for life. He would be angry now, but after some time, he wouldn't be angry anymore.

Of course, Zhu Huan also understood why Wang Ju said he wanted to delay the marriage for a year.

Studying under Zhang Zai did not guarantee success at the Donghua Gate, but with Wang Ju's talent and the guidance of such a great scholar, it was like half a step into the Donghua Gate. At that time, the gap between Wang Ju and the Li family would not be so great. Or, if he waited until he passed the Donghua Gate, even if the Li family offered all their property as a dowry, it would be too late. There were too many good families in the Central Plains!

At the same time, it gave him a goal and motivation for hard study.

"Dong Gong, is that not right?"

"This idea is good." Zhu Huan said with difficulty. The idea was good, but the key was whether Zhang Zai would accept him as a student.

"How is the Ding family being handled?" Wang Ju asked.

This battle was explosive, but behind this glory, the village suffered heavy losses. The sudden release of water from the reservoir flooded many crops, and many villagers were injured or killed.

Wang Ju's losses were even more severe.

Don't be fooled by the fame this battle brought him. If it were the Spring and Autumn, Warring States, Han, or Tang dynasties, this fame would have turned into a good effect, and Wang Ju might have risen to prominence. But this was the Song Dynasty, and if not handled well, it might affect his future career. Sometimes he pessimistically thought that it would be better to stay in Xuzhou as a governor.

Therefore, he hated the Ding family to the core.