Chapter 13: Excluding Age

  Afternoon, outside the city school field

  Twenty attendants were leading two hundred pirates in practicing archery and close combat skills.

  Zhou Jian looked for a while, then suddenly turned his head and asked Jiang Qin beside him, "Gong Yi, are there still any relatives at home?"

  Jiang Qin paused for a moment before answering: "Only my elderly mother is left, currently living in Shou Chun village."

  Zhou Jian said, "As an elderly person living alone in the countryside, how can you survive? No one takes care of you, and it's not easy to get by during this harsh winter. Why don't I arrange for someone to take your mother to Shu County?"

  Jiang Qin's head heated up and he said: "Thank you, young master. I will go pick up my mother tomorrow."

  Zhou Jian nodded and didn't say anything else.

  After watching for a while, just about to leave, someone rushed in from outside the school field, it was Hu San.

  Zhou Jian asked: "Hu San, what are you doing here?"

  Husann hurriedly brought over the scabbard and battle knife, saying: "Young master had me make a scabbard for his treasured knife. I finished making the scabbard and went to the manor but couldn't find young master, so I came to the training grounds."

  Zhou Jian took a closer look and found that the scabbard was made of leather, but he couldn't tell what kind of leather it was. There were many intricate patterns carved on it, which were exquisite yet retained a sense of simplicity and grandeur. The mouth of the scabbard fit perfectly onto the hilt of the sword, and its size was just right.

  "Not bad, good job."

  Zhou Jian nodded in satisfaction.

  Husan said it wasn't hard work and then asked, "If the young master has nothing else, I'll take my leave first."

  "Wait, I have something to ask you, can you possibly make a fish-scale armor?"

  Hu San said with difficulty: "Making fish scale armor is not difficult, but Lujiang lacks iron, and even for a small person, I'm afraid it's hard to polish out a few sets of iron armor in a year."

  Zhou Jiandao said, "This is not urgent, you can make it as long as you practice, take some time to think carefully and see if the fish scale armor can still be improved in quality. There will always be opportunities later, don't wait until the last minute to sharpen your knife."

  Hu San was puzzled in his heart, but he didn't dare ask more questions, so he just agreed.

  Before long, it was the end of the twelfth lunar month.

  This winter is particularly cold, and a heavy snowfall occurred at the beginning of the year, causing countless people to freeze to death.

  In the suburbs of Anhui County, inside a forest.

  Jiang Qin rushed into the forest and saw a majestic man standing with a knife, staring at him.

  "Young Ping, how did you end up in Anhui County?"

  Jiang Qin was slightly startled and hastily asked.

  He had just met a vagrant on the street who was sent by Zhou Tai to deliver a message, and thinking of their past friendship, he immediately bid farewell to Zhou Wu and hurriedly came to meet him outside the city.

  "What's wrong, can't I come?"

  Zhou Tai asked coldly, his tone very unfriendly.

  Jiang Qin sighed and said: "Yu Ping, why must you be like this!"

  Zhou Tai sneered, "You're now an official, having had a good time under Zhou Jian's command. It's only natural that you wouldn't remember us water bandits who are wanted by the authorities. Am I wrong to resent you?"

  Jiang Qin remained silent.

  Zhou Tai drank and asked: "Why don't you answer me? Is it because you have a guilty conscience?"

  Jiang Qin remained silent for a while before sighing and saying: "I am not ashamed, but I really don't know how to advise Young Ping."

  Zhou Tai sneered: "What do you want to advise me? Advise me to be a pawn for the government?"

  Jiang Qindao said, "Yu Pingxiu misunderstood, I also have no good impression of the government office, you don't know. It's just that Master Zhou has a broad mind and sought a way out for over 200 brothers, having a sense of justice with us, so I couldn't be an ungrateful and unjust person."

  Zhou Tai remained silent for a long time, not saying a word.

  Jiang Qin said, "In the past few days, I have observed that Zhou Gongzi not only has a sense of justice, but also loves the common people and hates the wealthy and powerful. He is truly a man of benevolence and righteousness, unlike some wealthy and powerful families who speak eloquently but do not know what the common people are like. More than 200 brothers have now washed away their bandit names, except for those who joined the army, the rest have all been settled down to farm and get married, can't you see that?"

  Zhou Tai fell silent for a while, then let out a long sigh, but didn't say anything.

  Jiang Qin said, "Although being a water bandit is carefree and natural, these years have been difficult for my brothers. I and Yu Ping both know this. Since there's such a good opportunity to let my brothers wash away their bandit names and settle down with land and wives, why doesn't Yu Ping lead the remaining brothers here to surrender and seek a way out? Robbing houses and stealing goods can't be a lifelong career."

  Zhou Tai was somewhat moved, but for a moment he found it hard to make up his mind, and merely said: "Let me think about it."

  Jiang Qin hastily said: "An opportunity should not be missed, why is Young Ping hesitating?"

  Zhou Tai had already been moved by the situation, but seeing Jiang Qin's urgency, he was extremely dissatisfied and coldly laughed: "You are willing to be a dog for the imperial court, I may be a bandit, but where can't I settle down? You go do your official duties, I'll lead my brothers to plunder and rob, from now on we won't bother each other."

  Having said that, he didn't utter another word and turned around to rush away quickly.

  "This..."

  Jiang Qin was stunned and stamped her foot anxiously.

  The old year is gone in a flash, and all families are decorated with bright lights.

  The backyard of the county government office, a big red lantern is hung high, welcoming smiles and laughter are endless.

  The eve of the Chinese New Year is also China's most important festival, but during the Han Dynasty, there was no term for "eve" and the last day of each year was called "nianchu".

  Zhou Jianping usually doesn't come to the backyard, even if Zhou Shangxiang summons him, he only goes to the study and doesn't come to the residence.

  But today is New Year's Day, and there's no escaping it.

  Zhou Shang's wife and concubines had children, except for the eldest son Zhou Jian and the deceased, there were three sons and two daughters. The youngest daughter, Zhou Xiang, was less than ten months old and was just learning to speak.

  Zhou Jian is an adult and has never played with his younger siblings, so he is somewhat estranged from them.

  In addition, over the years, I have been working hard to hone my skills, practicing martial arts and learning various knowledge of this era to prepare for future careers, without any extra energy to play with a group of kids.

  Han was Zhou's concubine and the mother of Zhou Jian. She rarely saw her son, sometimes not seeing him for several months at a time. Whenever they had the opportunity to be together, she would hold onto Zhou Jian tightly and ask about his well-being repeatedly.

  Zhou Jian didn't say much, just listened to what Madame Han had to say and occasionally responded with a few words. In his heart, he gradually felt more at peace and was able to enjoy the care of his loved ones for once. Having come to this world for seventeen years, if one were to ask who cared about him the most, it would undoubtedly be Madame Han, the mother of this life.

  Men of this generation, especially those from prominent families, all have many children. Their concern for their children is to a large extent actually just a desire to see them succeed, and genuine concern is not necessarily present.

  When it comes to caring for children, mothers are far more attentive than fathers.

  Zhou Jian listened to Han's words and inadvertently swept his eyes, only to see that Wu Shi, the elder mother, was looking at him with a very unfriendly gaze.

  Wu was the wife of Zhou Shangzheng and gave birth to a son named Zhou Yang, who was not the eldest son.

  The more wives, the more struggles, especially in high-ranking families, there has never been a lack of fighting.

  Although Zhou Jian was born out of wedlock, he was the eldest son of Zhou Shang and made great progress, earning Zhou Shang's favor. Wu Shi, as the legitimate wife, had a son named Zhou Yang who was also born in wedlock but was the second son and not as outstanding as Zhou Jian, naturally harboring jealousy in her heart.

  Like one family, forever is just an ideal.

  If it's a monogamous relationship, then there wouldn't be all these messy and complicated things.

  Zhou Jianping usually didn't like to come to the backyard, just didn't want to be bothered by these women, and took a glance, then withdrew his gaze.

  Wu's gaze was hostile, but for him it was nothing and had no lethal power.

  In this era, women's status is very low and can't influence men at all.

  Zhou Jian's whole mind was focused on the big plan, and he didn't have the energy to deal with these petty women who were scheming in the depths of the mansion. Anyway, even if Wu Shi had hostile intentions towards him, she couldn't hurt him.

  However, Han's recent days seem to be quite difficult.

  Although Zhou Jian didn't often come to the inner courtyard, he had a vague sense that Wu Shi was suppressing Han Shi.

  Han was suppressed, and the other concubines did not dare to get close to her. After all, Wu was the master of the backyard, and if they offended Wu, their days would not be easy either. Incidentally, the children of those concubines also did not dare to get close to Zhou Jian, this elder brother.

  Zhou Jian didn't care, but Han Shi after all had feelings for him and wanted to find a way.

  After a pause, Zhou Jian said to Zhou Shang: "Father, after the Lunar New Year, I'd like to go to Luoyang, the capital city, and pay a visit to my second uncle."

  "It's only right that it should be so."

  Zhou took a deep breath and added the reason for visiting his second uncle, fearing that Zhou Shang would not agree.

  After passing the first month, he eagerly brought 20 followers and set out north to Luoyang.

  As for Jiang Qin and the two hundred pirates, they remained in Wu County.

  Passing through Hefei, leaving Yangquan, entering the territory of Yu State in ten days.

  The Han dynasty's official system was corrupt, and the central court to local governments were full of deceitful and arbitrary acts, resulting in continuous natural disasters and man-made calamities, with the people unable to bear the heavy burden. Especially in the Central Plains region, since the first year of Guanghe, there have been consecutive years of disaster, either drought or locust plagues.

  After entering Yu Province, desolate fields can be seen everywhere, and refugees fleeing disasters with the elderly and young children.

  That day, when passing by Gao Tang Ting Post House in Xincai County, Runan Prefecture, a large crowd of people gathered at the gate of the post house.

  Most of them were dressed in Confucian robes, and there were several officials wearing jade belts.

  Zhou Jian couldn't help but feel curious, stopped and looked up, with a flash of light in his eyes.

  On the wall at the entrance of the post station, a notice was posted, which turned out to be a notice from the imperial court selling official positions and titles. Not only did it list the current vacancies in the central government and local governments, but also clearly marked prices.

  Zhou Wu took a glance and whispered to Zhou Jian: "Young master, there are quite a few more officials."

  Zhou Jian nodded silently, his face expressionless, but in his heart he was secretly planning and scheming.

  Emperor Ling of Han started selling official positions from the first year of Guanghe (178 AD), and a special trading house was built in Xiyuan, Luoyang to promote competitive bidding. Those who sought office could estimate and bid on prices, and the highest bidder would win the appointment.

  The sale of official positions has not only become more open but also institutionalized over the years.

  If you want to be an official, you have to pay first.

  Even for officials' daily promotions, they had to pay enough "palace repair fees" to take office.

  The Spirit Emperor, in order to make it sound better, called the money obtained from selling official positions "palace repair money".

  The official promotion list of the relay station is updated once a month.

  Zhou Jian stood behind the crowd and looked at the list, finding that dozens of official positions had been added, but most of them were small officials with a salary of only a few hundred stones, in remote areas, and without any actual control power.

  As for the court officials and local magistrates, there were very few who could be pitied. The number of provincial governors and prefects was only a handful.

  The governor and the taishou, who were in charge of the frontier regions, had even stricter conditions. Even if there was a vacancy, only high-ranking officials with great prestige could purchase it; as for ordinary people, merchants, and commoners, no matter how much money they had, they did not have the qualifications to buy official positions.

  The minimum standard for buying an official position is to have at least some achievements or honors to one's name.

  Zhou Jian's eyes flashed with a hint of divine light, but his face showed a trace of hesitation.

  Zhou Shang treated the people with kindness and was unwilling to exploit them. He also deeply resented the practice of selling official positions in the imperial court. As a county magistrate, he served for over a decade, always remaining in that position despite being transferred several times. The imperial court repeatedly wanted to promote him to governor, but each time he declined due to his refusal to pay the required bribe.

  Zhou Jian even if he wanted to buy an official position, still had reservations in his heart.

  Zhou Shang deeply resented and despised the imperial court for selling official positions. If Zhou Jian had bought his position with money, it is likely that in a fit of anger, Zhou Shang would have cut off all relationship with him as father and son.

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