A group of people marched slowly southward on the vast plain.
This is a good time with bright sunshine, lush grass and singing birds. The warm spring breeze gently caresses people's faces, immersing them in an extremely comfortable atmosphere, as if washing away all the melancholy and troubles in their hearts.
Leading the team was a young man in his early twenties. He was not tall, but he rode a strong horse. Although he was full of vigor and vitality, there was an imperceptible sadness between his brows.
The young man sat upright on his horse, holding the reins in one hand and a book in the other. He was not reading seriously, but just glanced at it from time to time and looked up to admire the scenery along the way.
But a rider came up to him from behind and said in his ear, "Sir, we've been walking for most of the day. It's time to drink some water and fill our stomachs. Should we find a place to rest?" The man who spoke had a burly build and a dark complexion. It was obvious at first glance that he was not an ordinary man.
The young man listened to his words, looked up at the sun, and said, "Okay, go find a small shop ahead and take a rest there first."
The man nodded, loosened the reins, and squeezed the horse's legs with both legs at the same time. The very human-like horse under his crotch began to gallop forward.
But in a moment, the man came back and reported: "Sir, there is a tea stall under the big elm tree in front. Although it is not a high-end place, it is very clean. Why don't we take a rest there now?"
The young man nodded indifferently and said, "Okay! I'll do as you say. Lead the way."
The big elm tree the black man mentioned was not far away. The group arrived there in just a cup of tea. Under the tree, there was indeed an old man with a white beard who had set up a stall with a few tables, chairs and benches, selling herbal tea to passers-by.
Although the old man was old, he was also very enthusiastic. Seeing more than 20 customers coming, he quickly stood up and greeted them, saying, "Come on, come on, you have been walking for a long time, why don't you come down and sit over here?"
The leading young man saw that although the furnishings here were simple and old, they were still wiped clean, and he felt a little favorable to the old man, so he said to him, "Okay, we will borrow your precious place and rest for a while. Please pour us a few bowls of tea." After that, he dismounted from his horse.
Seeing this, the eighteen big men following the young man dismounted and tied their horses to the side of the road.
The old man was a little panicked when he saw the dozen or so men who dismounted from their horses. They were all big and strong and had ugly faces. He hurriedly said to the young man, "This young man has a kind face and looks like a scholar. But why do these followers look like bandits? Don't cause any trouble!"
The young man smiled and said, "Although these people have ugly faces, they are not bad people. Please don't mind them, old man. We still have to hurry on our way. We will just have some tea here and leave." As he said that, he took out a silver ingot worth one or two taels from his sleeve and handed it to the old man.
The herbal tea sold by the old man here is only one cent a bowl, but this one or two taels of silver is enough to cover his income for ten days or half a month.
So the old man took the silver and said with difficulty: "Sir, this is such a big piece of silver... I didn't bring a pair of scissors, so I can't give the change!"
The young man smiled and said, "Who wants your change? Just be careful to curry favor with them, and the extra money will be your reward."
Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and thanked him profusely, "Although my eyesight is dim, I can tell at a glance that you are a noble man. Look at your demeanor, you are undoubtedly a superior person. If a little of the money that comes out from your fingernails is enough for us to eat and drink..."
He was just flattering non-stop when he heard a man beside him shout, "Hey! Old man over there, come over here and pour tea for us. It won't delay you from flattering my young master!"
The old man was startled when he heard the man's rude words and said hurriedly, "I'm coming, I'm coming. Please be patient, sir." As he said that, he was about to go forward to make tea and pour water for him.
The young man grabbed the old man and said, "Don't bother with them, just stay here and talk to me." He turned to the man who was shouting and said, "The tea bowls and teacups are all here. You stood up to pour the tea, and you're so tired that your legs are broken? You're shouting and yelling, how can you behave?"
The sturdy man was immediately discouraged by the young man's scolding, so he had to get up and scoop a bowl of tea for himself. Seeing this, the others did not dare to ask the old man to serve them, and they took their own bowls to drink tea, and took out the dry food they carried with them to swallow the water.
The old man was surprised to see such a large group of rough men bowing to this handsome young man. He asked the young man to sit down and brought him a bowl of tea. He asked carefully, "From your accent, you are from the north, right? Are you going south this time to get promoted or to make a fortune?"
The young man did not answer, but asked: "Old man, where is this place?"
The old man answered casually, "This is the land of Huaiyin County. Sir, do you see this big elm tree? It is said that it was planted by an immortal hundreds of years ago. Our village is named Big Elm Village after this tree."
The young man nodded and said, "The new emperor has been enthroned and the taxes and levies of the whole country have been reduced. Henan is a poor place, and we suffered two wars last year. The emperor has specially decreed that taxes be exempted for two years. Isn't life much better now?"
Unexpectedly, the old man shook his head and said, "What does national affairs have to do with us ordinary people? If taxes and levies are waived, poor people like us will not benefit. Aren't officials and local owners the ones who benefit the most?"
The young man frowned after hearing this and said thoughtfully, "Could it be that there are corrupt officials here again who disobeyed the emperor's order and arbitrarily distributed the tax?"
The old man shook his head again and said, "Although we are just ordinary people, we also know that when Prince Youyan became the emperor, he hated corrupt officials the most. He killed several officials just after he ascended the throne. Who would dare to take money?"
"What does the old man mean by this?" the young man asked.
The old man laughed and asked, "From your tone, I'm afraid you are an official sent by the higher authorities to understand the people's sentiments, right?"
The young man was startled when he heard this, and waved his hands quickly, saying, "What are you talking about, old man? I am just a failed candidate who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination. I didn't do well in my policy essays, so I paid attention to some people's livelihood affairs along the way, and planned to come to Beijing to take the imperial examination again in three years!"
The old man replied: "Whether you are an official or not, it is good to let the court know about the situation here. Let me tell you slowly..."
The old man poured himself a bowl of tea, took a sip, moistened his throat and said, "The taxes the emperor reduced are all land taxes, but poor tenants and small businesses like us don't have any land, so naturally the tax reduction won't be on us. Who has more land? It's the landlords and officials. They exempted the land tax but refused to reduce the land rent. So even if the emperor reduced the taxes and grain, didn't it all end up in the hands of the landlords?"
After hearing this, the young man realized the disadvantages and was shocked.
The old man sighed and continued, "But the emperor is surrounded by those landlords and officials. When will he hear the voices of ordinary people like us? If you can get the top score in the next exam, remember to tell the emperor these words of nonsense from me. Then my life will not be in vain."
The young man pondered for a while before saying, "Thank you for your kind words. If I have the chance one day, I will present these words to His Majesty." He laughed and said, "I didn't expect that the old man, who is just looking after a tea stall, would have such insight. It shows that the real person does not show his true colors."
The old man scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "How can I, an old man, understand such truth? It's all because of this stall. I have heard so many scholars and guests from all over the country say so much, so I just echoed them."
The young man nodded and said, "Then I will thank you for your guidance." He ignored him and called a black man beside him, "Get the four treasures of the study. I want to write a letter to my adoptive father."
After hearing this, the black man quickly took out paper, pen and pre-prepared ink from the package and handed them to the young man.
The young man spread out a piece of paper on the rough table and wrote quickly:
"It's been five days since we last met, but it feels like a long time. I sincerely hope that you will be healthy and live a long life..."
It turned out that this young man was none other than Qiu Yizi, the adopted son of the current emperor Zheng Rong who was born in a dilapidated temple in Henan more than ten years ago.
He was resourceful, bold and careful. Last year, he went deep into the dangerous places of the capital several times. He skillfully used gunpowder to blast open the gate of Luoyang and rescued Zheng Rong, who was then the King of Youyan, from the prison of the Ministry of Justice. He also came up with a clever plan to help Zheng Rong capture Tongguan; he used gunpowder again to blow down the east wall of Luoyang; he personally led the troops and killed the "false emperor" Zheng Yao with a few words - he made great contributions to Zheng Rong's ascension to the throne, and he was already a great achievement at a young age.
Emperor Zheng Rong originally planned to keep him by his side, and after a few years of experience, he would calmly appoint him as prime minister and give him important positions.
However, Qiu Yizi had witnessed several tragic changes in the palace and was unwilling to stay in the central government, which was a place of trouble. Therefore, he asked the emperor for grace and was selected as the sixth Jinshi in the second class of this year's imperial examination. He was sent to the local area to serve as a seventh-rank county magistrate, so he happened to pass by here.
Before leaving the capital, Emperor Zheng Rong personally met with Qiu Yizhi and asked him if he had any other requests. Qiu Yizhi did not want gold or silver, but only made three requests:
First, although he was born in the north, the Qiu family's ancestral home was in the south. He hoped that the emperor would appoint him as an official in Shanyin County, Yuezhou Prefecture, Jiangnan Road, which would be considered a return home in glory.
Second, although he was only a minor official of the seventh rank, he was secretly granted the title of earl by the emperor, and was also on a father-son basis with the emperor. Therefore, apart from the emperor's relatives and his teacher Zhongli Kuang, he was unwilling to pay homage to other officials;
Third, Zhao Chengxiao and the 18 bandits he recruited had followed him through thick and thin and could not bear to leave him, so they wanted to follow him to the county as his personal soldiers so that they could have a helper.
None of these three requests was related to important matters concerning state affairs, so Emperor Zheng Rong granted them without a second thought.
Qiu Yizhi offered three more strategies:
First, the country was just beginning to settle down and people's hearts were in turmoil. The emperor had to win the hearts of the people, give them a rest, and save money. He could exempt taxes in various places according to the situation, so that the people of the country could enjoy the emperor's grace.
Second, the Han Dynasty's officialdom was corrupt and had become so deep-rooted that it had to be drastically rectified. The court had to punish a number of corrupt officials to serve as an example to all officials.
Third, although the Tianzun cult has been severely damaged after repeated attacks, it is still alive and well. There is no telling how many Tianzun followers are hiding in the court and in the underworld, and the main culprits are still at large. We must conduct strict investigations in order to eradicate the cult completely.
Emperor Zheng Rong was delighted to hear that these articles were all strategies for managing the country and benefiting the people for generations to come, so he granted Qiu Yi three more rights:
First, the name card of "Han Youyan King's Army Marshal Zheng" that was given to Qiu Yizhi to facilitate his work still remained with him, and he could enter and leave the imperial city at will with this name card;
Second, although Lingnan King Zheng Gui surrendered verbally, his intentions were still unpredictable; therefore, the emperor gave Qiu Yizhi a golden order. Once Zheng Gui raised the flag of rebellion, Qiu Yizhi could mobilize troops with this order and immediately organize the rebellion suppression;
Thirdly, Qiu Yi was granted the power to make secret reports, which allowed him to monitor officials of all ranks in Jiangnan. No matter how big or small the matter was, it could be sent to his teacher Zhongli Kuang, who had been appointed as prime minister, and the news would reach the emperor directly.
Therefore, Qiu Yizhi felt that although what the old man said was colloquialisms, it was related to the government's policy. He did not want his adoptive father Zheng Rong to be deceived by officials and gentry, so he wrote down these words and asked someone to send them to the capital. (To be continued)