Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 181 How to divide the five taels of silver?
Wang Shide galloped across the vast plain, letting out a joyful shout.

The warhorse beneath him was a fine Mongolian horse, its hooves flying as it rolled through the dry grass like a blazing fire.

The wind swept past his ears, carrying a knife-like chill, yet it made his blood boil.

The fields on both sides of the post road present two completely different scenes.

Some fields have been abandoned, with bare, dark clods of earth exposed, like ugly scars on the earth; while others have just sprouted tiny green shoots, standing tenaciously in the bleak autumn wind, exuding a delightful vitality.

He is nineteen years old this year, an age when he is carefree and innocent.

Ever since he inexplicably inherited his father's position ahead of schedule and was sent to this border region to oversee the "Thousand-Mile Lightning Communication Station," his life, like this newly sprouted wheat seedling, seems to be full of infinite possibilities.

Not far ahead stood a withered tree, its branches outstretched and swaying in the wind.

A hint of amusement flashed in Wang Shide's eyes. He slightly increased the speed of his horse, straightened up from the saddle, and drew his sword from his waist with his right hand.

"You damned Niru Ejen Haninga, watch me, Wang Sancai, take your head!"

He shouted, and a flash of cold light appeared. The withered tree branch snapped in two, sending debris flying everywhere.

Having succeeded in his attack, he was even more triumphant. He sheathed his sword, took the horn bow hanging on his saddle, nocked an arrow, turned around, aimed at the dead tree, and fired an arrow.

The arrow flew through the air, but its trajectory was so absurd that it flew crookedly into the wheat field by the roadside.

But Wang Shide didn't care.

He simply laughed out loud and spurred his horse to gallop away.

……

After galloping for a while, a solitary wooden platform appeared on the horizon ahead. That was his destination and the last radio station under his jurisdiction.

This radio station was not attached to any inn or post station; it stood alone on the plain, and the guards who kept watch over it used to have the hardest job.

Wang Shide dismounted and walked straight towards the high platform.

The lookouts on the platform had already spotted him through binoculars. A quick-witted figure hurriedly climbed down from the platform, jogging forward to greet him with a fawning smile on his face.

"Hey, Mr. Wang, you've arrived!"

As he spoke, he respectfully handed over a booklet.

"This is the record of the message that was just sent."

Wang Shide took the booklet. Although the characters on it were crooked, they were still relatively clear and legible.

He checked it carefully.

The sender, Jiajiadingsi... that's right.

The time of transmission, B, C, D, G... that's right.

The main text of the telegram is as follows: Jia, Ding, Si, Bing; Zi, Yin, Ding, Mao...

He checked each of the fifteen codes against the text in his hand, and only nodded slightly after confirming that there were no errors.

"never mind."

He took out ten copper coins from the money pouch at his waist and casually tossed them over.

"It's getting cold. After you finish your shift tonight, you, Zhang Fugui, and Liu San can go get some drinks to warm yourselves up."

The man nicknamed Liu Xiyan was only in his early twenties. Because of his good eyesight and literacy, he got this easy job that required sitting still all day but earned him eight qian of silver a month.

This made the simpletons in the errand shop, who couldn't even make a living by running errands, quite envious.

Liu Xiyan reached out and caught all ten copper coins in his hand without missing a single one, his smile widening: "Wang Tou is really efficient!"

Another man who had just come out of the wooden platform, Zhang Fugui, also came over and said with a smile, "On behalf of Liu San, I thank Head Wang!"

Wang Shide grunted in agreement.

He cleared his throat and adopted a businesslike tone.

"His Majesty has issued an order to find some skilled farmers from Datong to enter the palace."

He looked around at the two of them and asked, "You're locals, you know each other well, do you have anyone you can recommend?"

Liu Xiyan and Zhang Fugui exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of confusion and wariness in each other's eyes.

Liu Xiyan spoke first, carefully choosing his words: "Chief Wang, these... skilled farmers are all settled down and have established their own families. Even if they are just tenant farmers, their masters treat them with great respect. This sudden request to enter the palace..."

Zhang Fugui chimed in, "Yes, Chief Wang. Who would want to enter the palace for no reason? This is... this is a business that will ruin your career."

In the minds of these ordinary people, the word "entering the palace" has always been associated only with eunuchs.

Wang Shide frowned and scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about! Who said that people are to be castrated to enter the palace? His Majesty is selecting people to do farm work!"

Seeing their bewildered expressions, he patiently explained:

"Didn't that land dispute from a few days ago also reach your area?"

"There's only so much land in the world, but the population is growing. We must cultivate this land properly!"

As he spoke, he grew impatient and simply stretched out his hand, making a slap gesture.

"Five taels of silver! If you choose this place, you'll receive five taels of silver as a settlement fee!"

"If that person is truly capable and catches His Majesty's eye, he might even be able to secure a position as a court attendant in the future!"

Liu Xiyan and Zhang Fugui's eyes lit up instantly.

“My second uncle! My second uncle is a master farmer!” Liu Xiyan exclaimed.

"My dad! My dad's been farming all his life, everyone for miles around knows him!" Zhang Fugui retorted, not to be outdone. Wang Shide watched their eager competition, and the smile that had been playing on his lips slowly faded.

He crossed his arms, said nothing, and just looked at them coldly with his eyes.

The previously noisy atmosphere gradually quieted down.

Liu Xiyan and Zhang Fugui felt uneasy under his gaze and awkwardly shut their mouths.

After a moment, Wang Shide let out a cold snort.

"Choose the right people for me! If you choose the wrong people, or just find someone to fool me, they'll be exposed for what they are when they enter the palace and are revealed to His Majesty."

"If I get into trouble then, I'll make sure you pay!"

"That's settled! When I return here tomorrow, make sure you find someone to come and serve me!"

Having said that, he didn't look at the two of them again, turned around, swiftly mounted his horse, spurred it on with his legs, and shouted, "Giddy up!"

The warhorse neighed and galloped away, leaving the two of them with a cloud of dust in its wake.

……

Liu Xiyan and Zhang Fugui stood in the cold wind for a long time until Wang Shide's figure completely disappeared on the horizon before they finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

The two looked at each other and saw the burning passion in each other's eyes.

"I've made it, I've made it..." Zhang Fugui murmured.

Liu Xiyan rubbed his hands together and lowered his voice: "Actually... it doesn't need to be five taels. Old Li in that fort has lost his wife and children and is all alone. If you give him three taels of silver, he'll probably be willing to leave."

Zhang Fugui's eyes darted around, and he replied, "Three taels? I think two taels is enough! Don't forget, we take turns in threes, and tomorrow it's Liu San's turn. We can't hide this from him, so we have to give him a share."

Liu Xiyan pondered for a moment, then suddenly shook his head, contradicting himself: "No, Old Man Li won't do. He's all alone, we can't catch him. What if he takes the money and runs away, or goes to the capital and talks nonsense? We can't afford the consequences."

He paused, then continued, "We need to find someone with a family. After all, we work for the Embroidered Uniform Guard now; if we hold his family in our hands, he won't dare to do anything reckless."

Zhang Fugui nodded in deep agreement.

The two huddled together and began to discuss their plan in hushed tones.

But after chatting for a while, they felt that it was too risky to talk from below the stage, so they simply climbed up to the high observation deck together.

As the weather gets colder, according to custom, one person should keep watch while the other takes shelter from the wind in the small wooden hut below the watchtower, taking turns.

But at this moment, with money flowing in, they couldn't care less about the cold wind.

As for hiding in the wooden huts? They wouldn't dare.

A few days ago, a clerk elsewhere neglected his duties, causing a telegram to pass through a station without being received, which delayed the message for two whole hours.

The patrolling flag officer noticed something amiss and dragged the two men out of a nearby brothel.

Wang Qianshi personally used the radio to request military law from the capital. The next day, the two bloody heads were publicly chopped off according to military law, and the decapitations were displayed along all the radio stations along the route.

Nobody thought there was anything wrong with it.

This is what it's like to work for the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

With this identity, even the landlords in the village had to speak to him politely; and with a monthly salary of eight qian, he was more respectable than the clerks in the county government.

What's a little wind and sun?

This is the Vice Commissioner Wang. Don't let his fair complexion fool you; he speaks kindly and generously.

But I heard that... he personally supervised the execution of those two heads.

……

But none of this mattered to the two of them. Their top priority was to figure out exactly how to use the five taels of silver.

After chatting for a while, we finally came up with a plan.

Zhang Fugui suddenly remembered something else. He nudged Liu Xiyan's arm and asked in a low voice, "You said... once this matter is settled, shouldn't we also send a copy to Head Wang?"

Liu Xiyan paused for a moment, then shook his head: "Forget it. Look at Wang Tou's demeanor, he's a junior officer at such a young age, how could his family lack such a small thing? He's so generous with his rewards, he doesn't seem like a greedy person."

"Foolish!" Zhang Fugui glared at him with exasperation. "Whether you lack it or not is one thing, whether you have the will to do it is another!"

He leaned close to Liu Xiyan's ear and lowered his voice.

“This is called ‘favor’! What we’re giving isn’t money, it’s loyalty, it’s letting Head Wang know that we’re his people and that he can trust us to get things done!”

Seeing that Liu Xiyan was still hesitant, Zhang Fugui simply shared his "insights and experiences".

"I've heard that the guards at Wanquan Commandery are planning to pool their resources to prepare a festival gift for their captain."

"It's only because there's no one in Datong Prefecture to take the lead that things have gone unnoticed."

"But if others won't give them gifts, we have to!"

"Otherwise, this job doesn't require carrying or lifting anything; it's just being exposed to the wind and sun. Why should you get eight qian of silver a month? Can you feel at ease? Can you sleep soundly?"

Zhang Fugui's words enlightened Liu Xiyan, who nodded repeatedly.

The two men moved closer together and, amidst the howling wind, began to discuss the rules for offering tribute.

The cold wind howled through the gaps in the observation deck, creating a whistling sound that swallowed their whispered words.

The red command flag that represented "transmitting messages across thousands of miles and handling matters of national importance" had somehow been blown into a thin stick by the wind, but no one cared.

(Attached image shows the location of this radio station route. We've been building up to this for so long, you might have forgotten, haha.)
(End of this chapter)