Chapter 5

Liu Jun would never allow someone to ride on his neck and defecate, and still endure it in silence.

When he walked out of the Zhang family’s gate with two large silver ingots, each weighing over three pounds, Liu Jun truly felt a sense of vindication. Although bullying an ancient rural bully seemed somewhat beneath him, if the road is not level, someone will step on it. Since this Zhang Butcher had run into the gun’s mouth himself, he could not blame Liu Jun for giving him a few kicks.

As soon as Liu Jun stepped out of the Zhang family’s gate, the old servant Liu An immediately came forward, "Second Young Master, is everything alright?"

"What could go wrong? Mr. Zhang was very willing to reason. I went over and talked to him a few words, and everything was immediately clarified. Look, Mr. Zhang said he hadn't slaughtered a pig in a long time and was delighted to see one today. He insisted on buying our pig to practice. I originally said I would give it to him, but Mr. Zhang was very generous, saying that the Zhang family is not short of money these days. In the end, he forced one hundred taels of silver on me as the price for the pig. He even wanted to keep me for a pig feast, but I didn't want to disturb him, so I politely declined and came back."

Liu An, listening to Liu Jun’s serious but absurd story, was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. However, seeing that the Second Young Master had returned unharmed, he was relieved. But seeing him still holding the two large silver ingots, he became worried again. Could it be that the young master had directly attacked and forcibly taken two ingots of silver? Oh, my heavens.

At the Liu family’s gate, the little maid Baor was already eagerly waiting. As soon as she saw the two of them approach, she hurriedly came forward, "Father." Baor first called out to Liu An.

This Liu An was truly Baor’s biological father. Speaking of Baor, she was also a family-born child of the Liu family. Liu An used to be the old master Liu Xiu’s book boy, and later became the Liu family’s steward, gatekeeper, and accountant, among other roles. He married the maid who accompanied Liu Jun’s mother, and they had Baor and a son.

Liu An’s wife still served the mistress, while his son was responsible for the Liu family’s land and rent, and also worked as a coachman. Baor was responsible for serving Liu Jun, and when he was not at home, she helped with laundry and tea.

Besides the Liu An family, the Liu family had two other servant families. One woman cooked in the kitchen, and the man did odd jobs and shopping, with several children working on the estate. The other family was brought by Liu Zhao’s wife, Lady Mei, after their marriage, specifically to serve their household.

To say the Liu family was not small, they had three servant families and over a dozen servants. Besides the three brothers, there were four sisters, and the mother had another concubine. The three brothers were all from the same mother, and the four sisters, two of whom were already married, while the other two were still unmarried. The youngest fourth sister was born to Concubine Zhao.

Entering the house, the entire Liu family was already gathered, including Concubine Zhao and the two younger sisters. The servants who were at home also stood on the veranda.

Seeing Liu Jun return unscathed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But when Liu Jun placed the one hundred taels of silver on the table and repeated the story he had told Liu An, both the old master Liu and the eldest son Liu Da changed their expressions, "Oh no, how can this be? When things are going well, it’s time to stop. Since the Zhang family has apologized, that’s enough. Just bringing the pig back would have been fine. How can we take their silver, and one hundred taels at that? This won’t do. Quickly, return the silver."

"Father, the pig has already been slaughtered by the Liu family. This silver is the price for the pig, which they gave voluntarily. Look, there are fingerprints on it." Liu Jun was not greedy for the one hundred taels of silver, but if he returned the silver, it would be like admitting defeat to the Liu family, and all his efforts would be in vain.

Moreover, when Liu Jun was at the Zhang family, he was actually bluffing. He did not know the son of the Jinyiwei commander Liu Qiao, nor was he his brother. He was just using the tiger’s skin to scare the Zhang Butcher, and at this moment, it was crucial to maintain the bluff. If he returned the money now, the Zhang family would see through his bluff.

If his bluff was seen through, a local bully like Zhang Butcher would definitely seek revenge.

Actually, when Liu Jun was at the Zhang family, he deliberately used his martial student identity to create an impression, saying that martial students were all military officers and hereditary military officials' children, which was just to take advantage of Zhang Butcher’s lack of knowledge.

While it was true that the martial schools of the local military garrisons were mainly for young military officers under twenty-five and hereditary military officials' children over fifteen, martial students were not all like this.

For example, those who could participate in the martial examinations were not all martial students, but also included those recommended by local civil and military officials for their knowledge of military strategy and outstanding bravery. Similarly, martial students were not all military officers and hereditary military officials' children.

Before Chongzhen, apart from the martial schools of the military garrisons, after the fall of Liaodong, martial schools began to be established in various places in the north, not limited to the military garrisons, but also in the prefectures, states, and counties, attached to the Confucian schools.

In the tenth year of Chongzhen, the court ordered that all prefectures, states, and counties should set up martial students, to be examined by the educational officials. However, at the time, the world was biased towards literature and looked down on martial arts, so people did not care much about the selection of martial students.

However, martial students were still equivalent to scholars, though not as prestigious, but for many people, it was still a way out.

Liu Jun took this path, but his admission to the martial school was not due to his status as a military officer or a hereditary military official's child. At that time, there were five qualifications for martial students.

The first was young military officers under twenty-five, the second was hereditary military officials' children who had not yet inherited their positions, known as "Yingxi." The third was the younger brothers and nephews of military officials over ten years old, known as "Sheyu." The fourth was current military officers over fifty years old, and the fifth was those selected from the civilian population for their outstanding martial skills and genuine talent, and who were dedicated to martial studies.

Among these five, Liu Jun was the one who was strictly selected from the civilian population for his outstanding martial skills and genuine talent, and who was dedicated to martial studies. However, he did not enter the martial school of a prefecture, state, or county, but the martial school of the Huangzhou Garrison, which added a mysterious air to his background.

From his skillful handling of the Zhang family, it was clear that Liu Jun’s martial skills were indeed excellent.

In the end, his admission to the martial school was entirely due to the current situation. With the continuous defeats in Liaodong and the constant incursions of the Qing army, and the rise of bandits in the Central Plains, the court urgently needed brave and capable young men to serve the country.

However, most scholars were unwilling to serve as soldiers or military officials, and those who were willing did not have the ability. Therefore, a young man like Liu Jun, who had read books and was skilled in martial arts, naturally became a candidate for the expanded recruitment of martial students.

Unfortunately, a local bully like Zhang Butcher was not well-informed about these matters, which allowed Liu Jun to use the tiger’s skin to scare him.

Although Liu Jun had avenged the Liu family, this method of resolution made the entire family uneasy. Breakfast was eaten in a somber atmosphere.

After the meal, the old master Liu called Liu Jun into the study.

"Tell me the truth, what really happened?"

"Actually, Father, you don’t need to worry. A bully must be dealt with by another bully. I just used a little trick." Liu Jun then recounted the story of how he had used the name of Jinyiwei commander Liu Qiao to scare Zhang Butcher. "Father, you don’t need to worry. Zhang Butcher wouldn’t dare to confront the Liu family."

Hearing the details, the old master Liu sighed deeply and remained silent for a long time.

"Actually, there’s something I didn’t plan to tell you and your brothers. It’s a disgrace from our ancestors, but since things have come to this, I’ll tell you. In fact, our Xibay Liu family originally came from Suokou River."

Liu Jun was taken aback, "Do you mean our Xibay Liu family is related to the Suokou River Liu family?"

"Not just related, my father, your grandfather, was named Liu Chengye, and your great-grandfather was named Liu Shouyou."

"Liu Shouyou? The Jinyiwei commander during the Wanli era, who held the position of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, Left Commander of the Five Military Commissions, and Commander of the Jinyiwei, and was posthumously honored as Duke and given the posthumous name Zhuangxiang, the son of Liu Tianhe, who was the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, Minister of War, and Left Censor-in-Chief, and was posthumously honored as Duke and given the posthumous name Shaobao?" Liu Jun asked in surprise.

The old master Liu nodded.

Liu Jun was truly astonished. Who was Liu Tianhe, who was Liu Shouyou, and who was Liu Qiao? They were all high-ranking officials with the title of Duke. Especially Liu Tianhe, who was the highest-ranking official from Macheng to date, the Minister of War. Everyone in Macheng knew about Duke Liu.

He had once been the governor of Shaanxi and the commander of the three borders, and was summoned to be the Minister of War and the commander of the capital’s military camps during the Jiajing era. His descendants, Liu Shouyou, Liu Chengxi, and Liu Qiao, inherited the Jinyiwei position for three generations. Both Liu Shouyou and Liu Qiao had held the position of Jinyiwei commander, with Liu Shouyou, as the brother of a famous minister, being known as the great Jinyiwei commander, Liu Jinwu.

He never expected that their Xibay Liu family was actually part of one of the four major families of Macheng, the Suokou River Liu family, and that his grandfather was the son of that great commander.

"But why did my grandfather move here, and why has there been no contact with the Suokou River Liu family for all these years?" Liu Jun asked curiously, wondering why they had not embraced such a powerful connection.

There was a reason for this, and the reason was simple. Liu Shouyou was a great Jinyiwei commander, a very upright person, who strongly supported the reforms of Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng during his tenure.

Liu Jun’s grandfather was a son from a concubine, and at the time, he was in the capital with his father, relying on his father’s influence to study at the Imperial Academy. However, he became lost in the luxurious life of the capital, associating with a group of wastrels and doing many things that damaged the family’s reputation. In the end, Liu Shouyou directly punished him with family law, expelled him from the family, and even removed him from the family register.

Liu Chengye, after being expelled from the family, returned to Macheng, moved from Suokou River to Xibay, married, and had children. Over the years, Liu Chengye had passed away, and his identity was no longer known. If it weren’t for the old master Liu mentioning it, Liu Jun would have been just like the other people in Xibay, completely unaware that the Liu family was part of the prestigious Jinghu clan.

He had only intended to use the name of the Jinyiwei commander to scare Zhang Butcher, but he never expected that the Liu family was actually a noble family. Liu Jun’s thoughts began to churn. Although his grandfather had been expelled from the family and removed from the family register, could they really continue to have no contact with the other side, as his father had done?

This was not right. What status did the Liu family have? Just take the current clan head, Liu Qiao, who was the grandson of Liu Shouji, the brother of Liu Shouyou. Yes, he and his father were cousins. Originally, the hereditary Jinyiwei position was in the line of Liu Shouyou, but it was passed to his son, Liu Chengxi, and then to his nephew, Liu Qiao, instead of his own son.

Liu Qiao held the position of Jinyiwei commander of the Northern Office during the Tianqi era, but because he did not cooperate with the eunuch faction, he was dismissed and returned home. After Chongzhen ascended the throne, he was quickly reinstated and even more heavily relied upon, and was now a major figure in the capital.

With such a powerful Jinyiwei commander as an uncle, there was no reason to bluff and use false names. He should go directly to the Suokou River Liu family and recognize his relatives.

With such a powerful connection, why not embrace it now?

(Seeking recommendations, everyone! Starting next week, I will increase the updates!)

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends