Chapter 29 Zhang Laoqi’s Funeral
Zhang Laoqi, one of the immigrants from the village of Shejini near Lviv, who was the first generation of immigrants who joined the Junggar War in the east and brought all the captured Han people to Europe, died.
Zhang Laoqi was in his forties when he was captured. More than twenty years old nowadays, and he was over seventy years old. It is said that he died of illness. Although Truqin's medical skills are the best in Europe, he still cannot treat some diseases.
His wife, Ah, the daughter of Junggar Taiji who was captured by Truqin by the former Qing army, was only sixteen years old when she married Zhang Laoqi and was still pregnant. She was less than forty years old at this time. However, later she and Zhang Laoqi had three children in anger. In front of them were two daughters, and they were not good at studying, and they were already married.
Only the third son, Zhang Jizu, is seventeen years old this year. He is well-educated and has been admitted to Kreit University. It is said that Zhang Laoqi closed his eyes after seeing Zhang Jizu's notice with amazing perseverance.
The former Truchen University has now been divided into five universities, including Yili, Kiev, Bogda, and Kreit, the former Magar.
If you want to get into five universities, you are all the best middle schools at all levels. Although it is easier than only one university before, it is also a choice among thousands of people.
After being admitted to these five universities, you can get a good job in politics, military and other industries in the future. According to Zhang Laoqi's statement during his lifetime, it is to eat imperial grain.
His close friend, Li Erwa's son Chaolu, who was brought here by Truqin's army from Xinjiang, was already the police chief of a county, and his daughter Li Helan also attended a normal university. Although she married Zhang Laoqi's stepson Zhang Wang as promised many years ago, Zhang Wang was also a farmer.
Therefore, Zhang Laoqi always felt that he could not raise his head in front of Li Erwa during his lifetime. Li Helan married Zhang Wang, and he was a little disgusted. Now, his son, Zhang Jizu, who is still a son, will be a member of the official family in the future, and finally can be on par with Li Erwa's family.
In fact, although his stepson Zhang Wang was a farmer, he was the son of a Mongolian man after all. He didn't read books and was farming sloppy. However, he had extraordinary talent when riding a horse. Later, he joined the militia militia and became the militia company commander during the rotation training in the county.
This time, Zhang Wang was transferred to the regular army with a large number of troops. According to his previous performance, he also became a platoon leader in it.
This made his mother Ah very pleased, but Zhang Laoqi couldn't see all this.
Ah knew that Truchen's army had few casualties but had many contributions. If no unexpected happens, Zhang Wang could be promoted to the position of company commander by the end of the war. Because he was of a senior grade, he could be assigned to a nearby county town as a policeman when he was discharged from the army!
In this way, she would not be embarrassed from time to time when she was teaching in Lviv.
Although there was no official notice that the Empire was about to face war, such a large-scale increase in troops knew that it was going to fight. Moreover, the Truchens could move in the other country, and they could move in your place. Therefore, except for special circumstances, daily exchanges between counties have stopped.
Therefore, although he received a notice from the telegram that Zhang Laoqi died of illness, Li Erwa and his wife were still unable to rush from Kvalensk to the distant Lviv - the empire's territory was too large.
Zhang Wang was undergoing intense training and could not attend his stepfather's funeral. Therefore, the funeral could only be organized by Ah and Li Helan. Of course, Zhang Laoqi was the village chief during his lifetime and had a good reputation. Everyone in the village came to help.
Zhang Laoqi's body was suspended for three days and was about to be buried today. As soon as the Truqin Empire was established, it made strict regulations on funeral and marriage matters. For the burial matter, public offerings were set up in the countryside. Naturally, it would not be a small grid for each person like later generations, but a public burial area was marked out.
In recent years, many first-generation immigrants have died, but no senior official has come to pay his respects. The last time Zhang Wang and Li Helan's marriage was Qitad, officials from Lviv Province, and no similar situation has happened since then, but the villagers are still a little curious.
"Will a high-ranking official come this time?"
Ah also hoped that from now on, she and her grandson would be left in her family. Although her two daughters were married nearby, their daughters and son-in-law would come to help during the busy farming. According to Truqin's regulations, for those in a village, the village chief has the responsibility to invite villagers to help them complete farming, harvesting and other tasks, but there is no risk of lack of labor.
However, the pillar of the family was dead, and no one knew what the people in a village would do, so Ah was also a little nervous.
She also had some hope for whether a senior official came to pay his respects.
"If there are really high-ranking officials coming to pay their respects, then your family will not decline immediately"
The funeral was originally held in the morning, but both Ah, Zhang Ji's grandmother and son, and some interested villagers insisted on waiting. If it is not yet arrived at noon, then the funeral will be held quickly.
Noon.
Although it was snowing heavily in Russia, there was only one light snow in Western Ukraine, and then it was a sunny day. At noon today, there was a bright sunshine and the weather was particularly warm.
The yard was still slapping and beating, but Ah was worried.
There is also a wall clock at her home. She is sitting on a chair and watching it from time to time, but there is still no movement outside the door.
"When..."
The big bell began to ring at twelve o'clock, and Ah finally calmed down and walked out with the help of his daughter-in-law Li Helan and son Zhang Jizu.
It's time to have funeral.
When everyone saw her coming out, their faces were both a little disappointed and a little hopeful. People always don’t want others to surpass themselves. Although the high-ranking official will make the whole village proud, it is the business of others after all.
A second-generation Han immigrant in the village who was in charge of the funeral ceremony walked to Ah, "Sister-in-law, how about it?"
Ah looked at the gate of the yard again, and was about to get him to do it, a noise came from outside the gate.
There was a strange look on everyone's faces again, but as Zhang Wang walked in with his military confinement, everyone realized that no official had come. This must have been Zhang Wang who took a leave after violating the discipline.
Zhang Wang is twenty-three years old this year. He was present before Zhang Laoqi died, but he couldn't delay these few days, so he returned to the military camp. Why did he ask for leave again today?
Although the Truqin Army is very concerned about the soldiers' weddings and funerals, frequent leave is not a big deal, let alone the critical moment when the war is about to begin?
"Mom"
I saw Zhang Wang's expression was normal, and he walked to Ah and called out softly.
"Wang'er, why are you back?"
Zhang Wang did not answer him, but turned to everyone and said, "I'll bother you these days. Please wait a little longer. The great duke of Tiechi is coming soon!"
The yard suddenly felt a boil.
Who is Techi? That is the only seven noble families in the empire enthroned by His Majesty himself, and the great figure of the hereditary duke. He is still the highest military commander in Western Ukraine!
In the past, Zhang Wang and Li Helan were the mayor of Lviv when they got married. Although the mayor was also a high-ranking official, it was far worse than Tiechi.
After a while, the sound of horse hooves sounded on the only street in the village. Zhang Wang quickly helped Ah to the gate of the courtyard.
The 51-year-old Tiechi looked exactly the same as many years ago, but there were a few wrinkles on her face. Because Qitade was very strict in managing his figure, even with Tiechina, Mongols like Chu Huer dared not eat too much.
Chu Huer was tall and majestic, but now he is just a bigger circle. Tie Chi was thin and tough before, but now he has lost his weight and his figure has returned to the level of an ordinary person, but he is still strong.
The two things that Zhang Laoqi, a Han native in Gansu, paid the most attention to in his life. Zhang Wang got married and his funeral finally ended in this way. With the arrival of Tichina, the Zhang family will still be the first to exist in Shejini Village in the visible future.
However, this time, it was not someone who notified him, but he came on his own initiative.
Although Techina came from the Turgut headquarters, his mother was a Huit people. The Huit tribe was the ancestor of the Turgut and Orlq came to Europe, and Ah also came from the Huit tribe of the Junggar Khanate. In the late period of the Khanate, the four former Weila tribes had long since dropped due to frequent civil strife, and the Huit tribe emerged from the sudden rise.
Coincidentally, the tribe where Techina's mother lives and the tribe where Ah was located were the same tribe. Before, Techina asked the people who registered prisoners in detail about this matter. In terms of seniority, Techina also called Ah "Aunt".
Therefore, although he did not come to Zhang Wang get married last time, he would come this time no matter what. He knew that Zhang Wang got married, the village chief Zhang Laoqi was there. As long as he was there, the Zhang family would not be too bad in Shejini Village. However, once Zhang Laoqi died, it would be too miserable to leave only Ah Posun and the other two.
He must attend the funeral to win Ah over his face.
Of course, he came as the Duke of the State and the commander-in-chief of the Western Ukrainian Legion, and he did not tell her about his relative relationship with Ah.
But this is enough. The villagers were flattered by one of the seven nobles in the imperial ranks among the top seven. Ah naturally passed by peacefully in the village, but the villagers were also honored. When they came outside, the words "Techina Grand Duke came to our village" were also quite glorious.
Tiechi walked around and left. He couldn't follow the funeral procession to the cemetery.
But Zhang Wang doesn't think so.
"Mom, the Grand Duke of the Tecchina is the commander of the Lviv army, and also the commander-in-chief of the three armies of Lviv, Chernovtze, and Vinnica. I am under his command. This time I am probably fighting against the Russians. With our country's ability, it is easy to capture and have many military achievements. If I can become the company commander, I will apply for retirement."
"Then take you and your grandson to live in the city"
But Ah shook his head, "This village is the longest place since your father and I came to Truchen. It has been almost twenty years. I have regarded it as my hometown, and I will not leave."
"The work in the field?"
"There are people from the village and your two sisters, nothing is wrong"
Chapter completed!