Chapter 436: Song Jiang Acts for Loyalty and Righteousness

In early October, Bianjing City, which had been prosperous for decades, became even more lively. Because today was the joyous day when the Great Song's God of Wealth in the world was marrying a princess and becoming a son-in-law.

Taking a legal wife was a very troublesome matter, unlike taking a concubine, where you just brought the person home and went to the bridal chamber. It required a series of procedures. This was for an ordinary official family; now that the God of Wealth Wang was marrying the Great Song's eldest princess, it was naturally much more cumbersome. It had taken until today to finish the procedures, and this was already the result of speeding up the progress.

The wedding procession was very spectacular. At the head were sturdy men in festive clothes with a group of boys and girls jumping and bustling about. The sturdy men held large baskets full of copper coins in one hand and grabbed handfuls from time to time to scatter on both sides of the road—money paved the way. Behind them was a band blowing and beating to scare away bad luck and add joy, with gong and drum players—it was very lively. Behind them was Wang Yan, in wedding robes and wearing a large red flower, riding a tall horse, followed by a sixteen-bearer sedan chair.

Around the sedan chair were some palace maids who were part of the dowry, happily watching the lively scene. Before this, Master Wang had sent many things to the palace. As the princess's maids, they had received many benefits. Moreover, they had inquired about Master Wang's character and unanimously agreed that there was a high probability they wouldn't be bullied.

Behind them was a motorcade stretching to the imperial palace—that was the eldest princess's dowry. And in the dowry procession, there were also sturdy men from time to time holding baskets and scattering money in handfuls. Of course, some would also scatter some paper money that drifted with the wind.

Wang Yan rode on his horse, watching the commoners in front scrambling for money, some even fighting. A lot of paper money was snatched and torn to pieces. He just watched the whole way with a smile, even picking up a bold boy who had run to his side and almost been trampled by the horse, letting the child ride on the horse to experience the scenery, bringing the child some different ambitions, and then sending him to the father who was anxiously chasing after him.

Because the imperial palace was too close to his residence at Xihua Gate, for the sake of appearance, the entire wedding procession came out from Donghua Gate, circled the Imperial Street, and returned to Xihua Gate. This distance was not short, and counting the slow speed and the blowing and beating, it swayed from morning until almost noon before returning to the house at Xihua Gate. Passing by Yuxiang Pavilion, he saw Shishi standing gracefully on the balcony...

Since they called him the God of Wealth, he naturally couldn't be called that for nothing. And in terms of myths and legends, although he couldn't see it, a thousand years later, he might not necessarily not become a true God of Wealth. After all, really comparing, Guan Zhong, Fan Li, Lu Buwei, and others weren't as powerful as him. So all the way here, he was scattering money, very ostentatious. He got the sincere smiles of the people, and also got the nickname of a "big fool."

Besides this, on the commercial street next to his house, which was the street where Yuxiang Pavilion was located, all the legitimate restaurants on that street had been booked by him. He was going to set up a flowing banquet for three days; as long as there was space, you could go and eat and drink for free.

The cost of marrying the Great Song princess this time, counting the scattering of money and the gifts sent to the palace, was over twenty thousand strings of cash at market value. But if calculated by actual value, it wasn't much money. After all, Zhao Ji had returned gifts and sent a dowry, basically offsetting what he had sent out. The main expenses were the flowing banquet and the money scattered to pave the way, which topped out at one hundred thousand strings of cash.

This didn't count the gifts from court officials. He was marrying a princess; not to mention those far away, who among the capital officials dared not give a gift? Not to mention others, Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, Tong Guan, Yang Jian, and others all gave generous gifts. Calculating inside and out, he might even have made a profit.

And another point, his scattering of money wasn't really that of a big fool. After all, the economy lay in circulation. The money he scattered was gained for free, and basically, it would be consumed that same day, and they would have to curse him for being a big fool while consuming it. And the merchants on this street had long received the reservations and had long since pressed money to prepare massive amounts of ingredients and spices. The money reached the hands of those who supplied the ingredients, and they would definitely consume it too. The prosperity brought about by this was far greater than one hundred thousand strings of cash. Although this prosperity didn't reach his head, it could be considered a small stimulation.

The most critical point was that the bank at Lu Zhishen's place was printing money. And it was under the condition that the three parties were fighting to the death while not delaying business in the rear, so development was very fast. His bank had opened openly within the spheres of influence of the Liao and Jin countries, providing convenience for merchants traveling there. Developing to now, paper money had begun to circulate in the Hebei region, and banks had even opened in some prefectural cities including Great Ming Prefecture. Now in Bianjing, there was also a bank here.

Although the commoners hadn't recognized it yet, it was only used by some merchants who were taking advantage of the wars among the three countries in Liaodong to trade extensively. However, the credit of currency needed time to establish, and the value of paper money was equivalent to the value of Great Song silver and cash. He worked hard here, and by having those upstream and downstream suppliers slowly use paper money for settlement, once the upper-class people used it more, the lower-class people would all accept it. Once Western Xia, Tubo, and Dali all accepted paper money, once all their wealth became a pile of waste paper, perhaps at a necessary time, he would sacrifice the sword of sanctions, cutting them into dire straits with one stroke, forcing them to surrender...

Returning home, it was even more lively. Except for Hu San Niang, who had just given birth a few months ago and was taking care of the child, Jinlian and the other children had all come. Pan Jinlian respectfully performed the ceremony for Zhao Yupan, and the children came over one by one to call Zhao Yupan "Mother."

Zhao Yupan had been taught before coming. Although she was nervous in her heart, she had also finished the procedures. Wang Yan didn't care too much about these things; the reason he did so was just because he was under someone else's roof, his father-in-law was the Emperor, and he had to give some face.

The father-in-law wasn't recognized for nothing; he had been promoted again. He was promoted from the original Fourth-Rank to the Third-Rank General of Cloud-Flying. Of course, it was still a martial rank, just a salary increase, not much use. Besides that, the title of "Son-in-Law Commandant," which every marriage to a princess had, was also bestowed upon him—it was Fifth-Rank. The most critical thing was that he was given a title of nobility, Baron of Yanggu County, with a fief of three hundred households, which was also Fifth-Rank.

Although the son-in-law title wasn't highly regarded, basically it was the useless second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth sons of major families who married princesses and formed marriage alliances with the royal family. But Master Wang marrying a princess couldn't be compared to others; he was purely Zhao Ji having nothing else to give, sending a daughter to win him over and show goodwill. And waiting until later, he could add more titles.

So although he had an official title but no position, only the assignment of overseeing the training of the Fu Bei Army, the face of Wang—Son-in-Law Commandant, General of Cloud-Flying, Baron of Yanggu County—was still very sufficient.

After finishing the procedures, he left Zhao Yupan in the back courtyard and went out to accompany the guests for drinks. He had no friends and his social circle wasn't wide, but on such a joyous day, many people gave him face and came to cheer him on. Even that old fogey Cai Jing came to drink a glass of wine and say auspicious words before leaving. Anyway, he didn't care if he knew them or not; all who came were guests. He drank table by table, fulfilled the duties of a host, gave each other face, and everyone was happy.

The banquet passed and it was already evening. After sending away the enthusiastic people, the slightly drunk Son-in-Law Wang sauntered back to his room. He casually kicked the few sons who were giggling foolishly at him and were already sensible enough to one side, and walked into the main room of the back courtyard under Jinlian's complaining gaze.

Master Wang kicked her children, so how could Jinlian be willing? However, Wang Yan, the biological father, didn't care, and the kicked little brats cared even less. They were very tough; didn't you see them baring their missing teeth at him?

Entering the main room, he signaled for the little palace maid who was bowing and performing the ceremony to leave. He poured a cup of water at the table as usual, smiling and looking at the Great Song princess sitting on the edge of the bed, covered by a bridal veil, her hands clutching a silk handkerchief.

Putting down the water cup, Master Wang walked to the bed in a few steps and sat down. Through the gold-threaded bridal veil, he could feel the nervousness of this Great Song princess. He reached out and lifted the veil in one go. Caught off guard, Zhao Yupan only glanced at those deep yet bright eyes and lowered her head like a startled little deer. Where was the straightforwardness of their first meeting?

Clearly, she knew what was about to happen, and perhaps she wasn't prepared. But that didn't matter; life always had many surprises, arriving suddenly, and Master Wang was always very good at helping people...

He reached out to stroke Yupan's face, lifting her chin to make her look at him: "How are you getting along with Jinlian?"

"Quite... quite well." Zhao Yupan's voice trembled, and she couldn't help but reach out and grab the warm palm that had already stroked her neck and shoulder.

"Has everything in the house been told to you?"

"... Um."

"Very good. Jinlian is easy to get along with, and so is Hu San Niang. You'll know when you return to Wang Family Village and see her. The family is very good; you must get along well."

"Um..."

Zhao Yupan blushed like a ripe apple, reaching out to block the hand that was already taking off her clothes, but then felt that blocking wasn't appropriate. She didn't dare to move, trembling a little, at a loss...

Having a legal wife, even if this legal wife was a Great Song princess, didn't make any difference; it was just adding another woman.

After the wedding, he stayed in the capital for another half a month, then took his family on a leisurely journey through the not-so-beautiful scenery along the way. The journey that took less than three days by fast horse and six days by carriage took them half a month, and only then did they return to Yanggu County.

The reason for this was that Zhao Yupan, a princess raised deep in the palace, had never seen the outside world. Now that she had escaped the cage, everything she saw was a novelty.

And after returning to Wang Family Village, except for the occasional embarrassment of three people serving one lover, Zhao Yupan had no other worries. Every day, she just happily wandered around, very free.

The family was harmonious, the children were growing up strong, and the business was growing day by day. Wang Yan felt it was quite good, and life settled down quietly...

During this period, Liang Shan naturally didn't stop.

Just as before, after causing a scene in Bianjing during the Lantern Festival and giving Zhao Ji a lesson, after some court discussion, Zhao Ji agreed to the idea of using bandits to control bandits and sent people to offer amnesty. Unsurprisingly, the amnesty was sabotaged by Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and others; they still wanted to kill them directly.

After all, Cai Jing's birthday gift had been robbed, Gao Qiu's adopted son had been castrated, and counting this scene in Bianjing, Zhao Ji was quite dissatisfied with them. They were all enemies, so how could they want a group of bandits and mud-legged people to be officials in the court? Who were they insulting?

So after this amnesty failed, Tong Guan first led troops to fight a battle and lost. Then it was Gao Qiu leading ten Jiedushi against Liang Shan. After burning and sinking the ships, Gao Qiu was captured and taken up the mountain.

Everyone on Liang Shan knew that Lin Chong had been harmed by Gao Qiu. Lin Chong, the person involved, naturally wouldn't let it go, wanting to kill Gao Qiu to avenge his wife and father-in-law. He was stopped by Song Jiang, and others intervened. After Gao Qiu promised to help Liang Shan negotiate amnesty, Song Jiang let go of this great enemy of Lin Chong.

Watching Gao Qiu ride away on a small boat supported by the water army, Lin Chong vomited blood in anger...

Wang Yan knew all these situations, and he also felt Lin Chong was quite miserable. In fact, if Lin Chong had really hardened his heart and killed Gao Qiu, it wouldn't have been a big problem for him personally. After all, he had no hope while living, and he had lived a cowardly life; what would it matter if he traded his life for Gao Qiu's? But in the end, he was cowardly, and in the end, he had all sorts of concerns, not daring to take action, and even making himself half-dead with anger.

Besides, even if he had taken action, it wouldn't necessarily have been a life-for-a-life trade. Still, there were factions and small groups on Liang Shan, and there were plenty of people who wanted to be the mountain king. If he had killed Gao Qiu, there would have been some leaders who supported him.

Gao Qiu was one of the three dukes and the current Taiwei. With such a high-ranking court official dying at the hands of Liang Shan, there was no way amnesty could continue. Under these circumstances, the surrendered generals and other hesitant leaders had no retreat, and could only grit their teeth and fight to the end. At this time, killing Lin Chong didn't have much meaning. After all, no matter what, Lin Chong's head wasn't as valuable as Gao Qiu's, and it couldn't cover such a big crime. In all likelihood, he would still be alive.

The most likely outcome was that Song Jiang would say he knew the brother's suffering, but that he had ruined the future of other brothers, and on these grounds, kick him off Liang Shan and let him fend for himself. And then Song Jiang and the others would fight the Great Song to the end. Finally, except for some small soldiers who ran away, those leaders who could be named would die cleanly, and it would all be empty.

So Wang Yan believed that if Lin Chong hadn't been so excessively cowardly, his revenge could have been avenged. But if he hadn't been cowardly, or if he had been a bit more decisive, leaving Bianjing like Wang Jin after his wife was molested, that would have been another result.

Of course, this was just what he believed; after all, he wasn't Lin Chong.

After a round of messing around on Liang Shan and another period of dawdling, amnesty was finally offered. Song Jiang, the clerk who dared to laugh at Huang Chao for not being a man, stuck his butt high up toward the official reading the imperial decree. Finally, this day had arrived, finally fulfilling his heart of loyalty and patriotism.

After amnesty, ten thousand or so people dispersed. These were the small soldiers and small leaders who didn't want to continue fighting and killing and wanted to go home to settle down. They had gone up the mountain in the first place because they couldn't stand the exploitation. But after going up the mountain, they were robbing houses and looting every day, and every time they had to lose quite a few people, and there was no end in sight. Now that amnesty was offered, continuing to follow along was just being a bandit soldier, fighting and selling their lives everywhere—how could that be as comfortable as returning home to a wife and children?

So after getting the money, they were the first to leave, in groups of three or five, chatting and laughing happily as they went home. Relying on their Liang Shan training resume, they didn't believe anyone would dare to bully them when they got home.

The ten thousand or so who left didn't count for much. More than one hundred thousand people remained, willing to follow along to the capital to enjoy blessings. After a busy time packing their bags and bringing their family wealth, more than one hundred thousand people marched majestically to Bianjing to receive their titles. They were also chatting and laughing happily along the way...

Glancing at Song Jiang, who was sitting below and acting somewhat ingratiatingly, and Wu Yong, who was holding a fan and acting like a high-minded scholar beside him, Master Wang put down his teacup: "Should I call you Vanguard Song now? Finally, you've achieved your wish for amnesty. Congratulations, congratulations."

After amnesty, Song Jiang was appointed as the vanguard for the expedition, letting them go to Hebei to fight Tian Hu, which was also a large force that had gathered tens of thousands of people. It was said that after finishing Tian Hu and rendering meritorious service, they would return to receive rewards.

Hearing this from the Master, Song Jiang was very happy, his eyes squinting with laughter, but his mouth was saying humble words: "General, please don't insult Song Jiang. Just call Song Jiang Gongming. Song Jiang's submission to the imperial court is not for the sake of seeking office or position, but for the sake of loyalty and righteousness. Besides, my Liang Shan brothers must have a way out; we cannot always be wandering bandits. Now that my brothers and I can finally serve the country, Song Jiang is content."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile, as if approving of what he said, and found a topic to start chatting. According to the rules of the world, if you have something to say, don't say it; first pull and drag to build a relationship, and praise each other.

Therefore, in the time that followed, Wu Yong didn't say a word, and Song Jiang used his ability to flatter to the extreme, licking the Master well. After all, the Master was a Third-Rank martial official and held the assignment of training the Fu Bei Army; Song Jiang's rank was too low.

Song Jiang didn't talk about business, and Wang Yan wasn't in a hurry, just chatting about this and that. From his own history of making a fortune to the history of Liang Shan's development, from the current situation to the difficulty of the common people's lives. Although Song Jiang was a small clerk, he had reached where he was today, so he still had some level, and plus he had the heart to cater to him, so the chatting was still passable.

And as the time spent talking about useless things grew longer and longer, and Song Jiang was still slow to enter the main topic, he also understood Song Jiang's intention in coming here.

Since the Liang Shan troops entered the capital and camped at Chen Qiao, Gao Qiu had messed with them quite a bit. The money, grain, and supplies rewarded by Zhao Ji had been heavily deducted by Gao Qiu, and the personnel responsible for distributing the supplies were also extremely arrogant, with their words full of "bandits" and the like, not treating the Liang Shan troops as human beings at all. Influenced by this, the big and small leaders and the numerous common soldiers were complaining, and there were already words about rebelling and killing Gao Qiu and Zhao Ji. The team was hard to lead.

Master Wang was a lone official who never mingled with court officials. But among them, his lack of harmony with Cai Jing and Gao Qiu was known to everyone. After all, with Cai Jing's power over the court, not leaning toward them meant lack of harmony. And over these years, some unpleasant things had indeed happened. When they caught an opportunity, they would attack and smear each other, and put eye drops on each other in front of Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji just balanced the water every day, saying they were all pillars of the Great Song.

Liang Shan was going to go on an expedition to Hebei to fight Tian Hu. If Gao Qiu and the others messed with them again, what would happen? If things went wrong, people would die.

It was precisely because of this that Song Jiang naturally wanted to pull a big flag, and naturally thought of him. The longer he stayed here, the better the relationship would be. If it spread out, it would mean he had a backer, so the problem would be solved to some extent. Even if they did something, they wouldn't dare to go too far. And Gao Qiu and the others held high positions and had Zhao Ji's favor, but the small soldiers doing the work didn't, and not many of them dared to offend him, so life would be much better.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at Wu Yong, who was also smiling and shaking his fan to act cool beside Song Jiang... ===== CHAPTER 437 =====