Changes in the sky
Volume 2: The Edge of Heaven
Chapter 170: Jianning Relics
Many times I want to go back to those days and enjoy those carefree and carefree days, but it would be best if I could come back at any time. I am in the position I am today because of countless good luck and good opportunities. If I were born again, I have no confidence that I could do it again. Although I often feel that I would be better than now if I could do it again, at least some things might have a better ending, but if I really get the chance, I may not dare to try.
And even if he went back, it would be impossible for him to do whatever he wanted in reality or in reason. At least he would be under the control of Yinling. If he jumped out too much, there would be many dangers at night.
Even so, I still hope that after a court meeting or the end of a war, I can go back to that time for a few days, relax myself, stop worrying about anything, and then come back.
Of course, I don't know how to do it. But at least I think that this method through Master Zhong should not work. It will only make me look ridiculous.
I had some suspicion that Lord Zhong was unwilling to disobey me, but he didn't want me to leave, so he put together this act to please me.
But I noticed that the clothes were old, as if someone had worn them for a long time, and it didn't seem like he was deliberately trying to embarrass me. It was shocking, this person was too tall.
Putting aside other thoughts for the moment, I quickly thought about how to get out. The original clothes were definitely gone, there were too many cuts on them, and they were stained with blood, and now I didn't know where they were put.
This is the clothing of a soldier, or at most a low-ranking officer. A top with trousers and no skirt, and narrow cuffs. This is good. There are so many foreign troops in the city now. The siege has been broken. If you see a big stranger soldier today, no one will doubt it.
After thinking for a while, I rolled up my sleeves, pulled my waist as high as possible, rolled up my crotch, tied my feet, folded my clothes in several layers around my waist, and tied them with a belt. I walked a few more steps in the house, thinking that it was still strong and would not fall off, so I felt relieved. I didn't expect that I had made a big mistake at this time, forgetting to consider an important thing. However, I used too much force to put on the clothes and tied them, which irritated the wound on my throat. I also needed to cough and breathe evenly before I could stand up straight, so I didn't think about it.
There is one advantage of big and old clothes: they are comfortable. So I happily appeared at the gate of Youfufeng Headquarters, swinging the clothes hung out.
The two guys at the door kept looking at me, one of them was obviously trying to suppress his smile, while the other tried to pretend that he didn't look. At that time, I thought that I would be mistaken for a cook in the army with my current appearance. I felt that most of the people who slaughtered pigs in the past were dressed like this, and now I am just covered in pig blood.
This made me a little hesitant, whether to go out or not.
To go out or not to go out, this is a question worth considering. To silently endure the mocking and ridiculing eyes of others, or to go up and beat them down, which of these two methods is more desirable? Go out, go out, maybe I will run into acquaintances, well, this is a headache. When I wander around in this unfamiliar place and get laughed at by the locals, if those acquaintances spread my appearance to all the vassal states, this is the most worrying. Go out, go out, I will be embarrassed here. If I can understand some of the various situations among the people, it will be more helpful to me in Yue State or when I assist in the government in the future.
I don’t know why the above mess of nonsense came into my mind. It was as if someone was talking to me in my ear. (Note 1)
But anyway, I went out. The outer circle of the city wall belonged to the army, with towers and military camps full of flags. The Youfufeng Headquarters and the County Magistrate's Office were both in the north of the inner city where ordinary people lived. A large wall enclosed the civilian area in the city. Opposite the four city gates, each of them had an intersection guarded by the army. There were observation platforms or arrow towers on both sides of the intersection, which seemed to be a frontier fortress. There were many obvious granaries around the city, guarded by military camps.
Finally I came out, feeling quite happy. In the sunshine, I took a long breath of the still cold air and tried to stretch myself, but the cold air made me cough, so I had to bend down to catch my breath before I could stand up straight.
The city was quite peaceful, and the people were not panicking. It seemed that they heard that the siege outside the city had been lifted, and many people were happy. Many people agreed with their neighbors across the low walls of their courtyards to go out after the city gates were opened to try their luck in picking up things on the battlefield, or to hunt some game in the mountains to improve their recent meals, or to go to their fields to plant some beans and millet when the snow melted and the weather warmed up.
My arrival did not affect their mood. Even though I was so big and wearing such strange clothes, they did not pay much attention to me. It was just that I coughed unconsciously from time to time, which made them look at me, but at most they looked at me a few more times, which still did not affect their conversation. Some people even greeted me politely and asked me what was going on outside. I naturally responded to their questions with a smile and replied that the Qiang people were retreating. After they all withdrew, it was estimated that the city would be open soon.
It's very strange that the people here don't seem surprised by my height, or even doubt my clothes, as if there are soldiers slaughtering pigs passing by here every day.
Someone asked me what the Qiang people look like. I look similar to us. Some of them said that all the Qiang people should be killed. When the flying general accepted the surrender of 800 Qiang people, he still slaughtered them immediately. Some people have seen Qiang people before and think that they are loyal and honest, not like traitors or evil people. Some people say that sometimes we Han people are too harsh and harsh on Qiang people, and it is possible that they will rebel. There are even some people who say that it is actually all the fault of our Han officials and the Qiang people are all innocent. Those Han officials who have harmed the country should be killed to apologize to the Qiang people. As the topic started, the words gradually became vicious, especially the most extreme opinions of slaughtering Qiang and punishing Han people became more and more intense, and even quarreled. It took moderate opinions to persuade them. One side said that you, an idiot, want to rebel against Han, and I will report you to the officials; the other side knew that you, an idiot, are unreasonable and will only harm the people. And from the beginning, they were sarcastic and quarreled until they almost took up weapons and fought. Just as I was trying to calm down the quarrel, a young man suddenly asked what the Qiang woman felt like. The people around who were trying to stop the quarrel started to laugh and scold, as if they were doing it on purpose to drown out the noise of the quarrel. Then there was a flurry of words that were not worth recording. Even the women of the families couldn't stand it anymore. Some families, like mine, just grabbed the ears and dragged them into the house.
It seems that this happens in many places. Many debates have extreme opinions. Usually, the two extreme opinions attack each other, and the situation becomes more and more intense. The middle-ground people usually need to gather people to mediate and persuade them. However, the two sides usually still refuse to give in, and even fight each other. Usually, the mediator needs to change the topic to calm down. But I don’t know: attacking heresy is harmful. This is one of the few words in "The Analects" that I remember. I remember that before I started school, Yinling or one of her neighbors taught me to read it by shaking her head and reading it from the bamboo slips. I can understand that it is incredible. Yinling racked her brains to explain to me, who was eleven or twelve years old, that if you walk too far to the left of the bridge over the Baishui River, you will fall off; if you walk too far to the right, you will also fall off; walking in the middle is the best. In fact, she didn’t know that walking in the middle would also fall off, and I fell off once, but I was riding a horse that time.
I didn't know about other things after I heard it at that time, but I knew that according to this explanation, it was best to walk in the middle of the aisle. However, when Yinling took me to walk on the street, she still walked close to the edge. I couldn't understand this for quite a long time, but of course I understand it now, especially when a large car was speeding by.
Pedestrians like me on the roadside were hiding against the wall, but each of them was still hit by half a slug of mud mixed with ice. The driver didn't even look at us. Amid the crowd's dissatisfaction, he urged the horse to continue running south, and turned west at an intersection. Some people around spat, saying that this car belonged to a certain wealthy family in the local area. In previous years, this car had hit and killed a child here, and the case was reported to the Chencang magistrate. After a trial, it was finally found that the car was stupid and slow, and it only traveled seven miles in an hour. It was the child who was playing and running and hit the wheel and died. Now, although the original county magistrate was pardoned for his crime, the case has not been overturned, and the wealthy family is still the same. Chencang was besieged a few days ago, and he was relatively honest. When I saw his family, I felt that they were in a state of panic all day long, more panicked than ordinary people. I didn't expect that everything seemed to be back to normal after the siege was broken.
As for the rich people, I did hear a lot of talk in those days, and the two contradictory "heresies" were the most heated. One was to kill everyone, and the other was to not care. And I felt that no matter which one was chosen, it was too much.
When I was a little older, I walked into the teacher's thatched cottage. The teacher asked me what I didn't understand. I mentioned the sentence "Attack heresy, this is harmful." My teacher Han Feizi told a story. Someone sold a spear, saying that it was indestructible, and then sold a shield, saying that it could break anything. Someone else said, "Use your spear to attack your shield, how about that?" I couldn't answer. Then he asked me, do you understand
The teacher likes to tell a story and let us understand it, but I don't think everyone will understand it. Only someone like me who is gifted - "extremely smart" - can answer without hesitation: "I understand."
Of course I don’t really understand, but looking at the teacher’s expectant eyes, I feel that if I act this way, the teacher will be sad.
But now I understand a little bit. The teacher's story is irrelevant, but it has a hidden meaning. The two things seem to be incompatible, but those who can still coexist must be able to keep it in words.
In my memory, heretics always like to quarrel and argue, and they have to argue with each other to determine who is right and who is wrong. And the result is usually that neither side can convince the other, which is still considered good. Many times, the two sides will even fight.
Ziyue solved this problem well. He explained it with Laozi's words: "'It is because he does not contend that no one in the world can contend with him.' Therefore, if he contends, everyone in the world can contend with him. Once he contends, he will continue. As long as there is something to contend with, there will be something to contend with. You see that I have nothing to contend with, so who will contend with me? Instead of arguing and arguing, it is better to retreat and sleep. 'If you do nothing, nothing will be unmanaged.'"
This bastard has always been like this, and he has quite grasped the "essence" of Huang Lao. He has always practiced the so-called Wuwei, and he deserves the title. In his words, if you have that kind of time, you might as well go to sleep. He can be said to be completely and completely Wuwei without any principles.
He was only fifteen years old when he said this, and it seemed that many adults were not as good as this sleepy child.
However, looking back on the past, going to extremes is indeed far less good than holding the middle ground. There are two sentences in the "Military Prophecy" (lost, now there are fragments in other books, the latter part is excerpted from "Three Strategies") that Yinling taught me: "The soft is virtuous, the hard is a thief, the soft can control the hard, and the weak can control the strong." The extreme is against the hard, and the middle is against the soft, then the reason is clear. In today's affairs, we can neither send troops to slaughter the Qiang, nor let the Hu kill the Han. How to grasp this balance, however, requires in-depth study.
However, I still asked about the rich man's family situation.
Father, teacher and Brother Meng De mentioned during the debate in Luoyang: When the feudal system was first established, there was an idea to use the power of these princes to clean up the wealthy people under their command, after all, their existence greatly hindered the interests of the princes. Although the discussion that night was about establishing a crown prince, the three of them kept shifting the topic to how we should work together to solve the problems of these local heroes. The evils of the wealthy people have been a long-standing problem. The Han Dynasty has been dragged down by these local bullies for four hundred years, especially after our dynasty was rebuilt in Luoyang. However, after the feudal system was established, most of the families were not polite to these guys. This was expected and was the only good thing after the feudal system was established.
However, it is very interesting that both sides used this to prove that their views on the selection of the crown prince were correct. One side believed that the threat of the wealthy people had been eliminated, and by making Marquis Dong the crown prince and putting an end to Empress He's interference in government affairs, the court could be kept stable and the Han Dynasty could be restored; the other side believed that although the wealthy people had been eliminated, the power of the princes in various places was gradually growing stronger, and if the eldest prince was deposed and the youngest prince was selected as the crown prince, the eldest prince might become a "rare commodity" in Luoyang that the princes could support and support.
The most memorable thing is the question of "rare goods". Brother Meng De said: This is easy to do! Father: This is not easy to do! The teacher finally said leisurely: It is difficult to do but can be done, but it really cannot be done; it is easy to do but cannot be done, but it can be done. The difference is only between doing and doing.
I understand my father's thoughts. He thinks our strength is not enough, and I somewhat agree with him.
I also understand Brother Meng De’s thoughts, so I don’t want to listen any further.
But I don’t understand what the teacher is thinking, but I don’t want to hear some answers I don’t want to hear, so I don’t plan to ask the questions I originally intended to ask.
There was something wrong in my mind, so I quickly put these thoughts aside. The wealthy people in other places were almost eliminated according to the plan of the elders, but there was still such a situation in Sili, which was not a good thing for the court.
I think this thing here can be done, after all, I'm here.
I don't know, there's nothing I can do about it; now that I know and don't do anything about it, it's my fault.
Smoke from cooking fires rose up from every house, making my throat and lungs uncomfortable. I covered my mouth and coughed all the way until I saw a girl of fifteen or sixteen holding a boy of twelve or thirteen walking out of the thin smoke, smiling and talking to each other. It seems that this is also a scene that can be seen in many places, and every time I see it, I will smile a little. The only difference this time is that the girl has a sack hanging in her other arm, and the boy also seems very smart and is actively saying something. Unfortunately, the accent is a bit heavy, and the sound is a bit, so even someone with good hearing like me can't hear it clearly.
I usually watched them until they left my sight or hid from my vision. But this time, the two children saw me coughing and approached me to ask if there would be a truck carrying food and grass into the city today.
Looking at their expressions, I knew what they hoped to achieve, but I could only guess that it might not happen in the next few days. Both children were disappointed. They looked at the west gate for a while, then turned back.
I caught up with them and asked them why they were asking that. Whenever they had grain carts entering the city, after checking the gates and loading the carts, some grain would always fall on the way. In the past, from autumn to the beginning of summer, there would be grain carts coming and going every three or five days. They would go and pick up some of the fallen grains and bring them back every day. In less than half an hour, they would have enough rice porridge for two meals a day.
Feeling a little sad, I asked them where they lived. They pointed to a corner in the southwest of the city. There was a courtyard there, and I couldn't see clearly, so I followed them and comforted them: If there is any news, I will go to your house and inform you immediately.
They were very happy. The boy politely brought his sister to greet me, as if he were an adult. I sighed in my heart. When I was my age, I could only follow Yinling. When I wanted to greet others, Yinling had to go first, and I would do it. She often criticized me at home as a counting bead - I couldn't move it. There was no such boy who seemed to be able to take charge of his own affairs, not to mention that the family was so poor - but it was not certain that a poor family would produce a man who could stand up early. Although I was separated from my parents, I still lived a pretty good life.
When passing by the market entrance, the boy looked at the deserted street and said: If my father hasn't come back yet, I will find a job here when I grow up, so that my mother and wife won't have to work so hard with me.
The girl moved closer to the boy, they looked at each other and suddenly laughed together.
I suddenly realized that this child was actually the same as me, and the girl next to him was his wife. I suddenly thought with a sense of evil that I could have done the same thing back then, but it might have been more disadvantageous for me to have been married to my Yinling and Pei'er so early on. Judging from the various situations mentioned by Yinling, these two girls seemed to lack the necessary respect for their husbands at that time.
I also thought that if I was exactly like him, maybe when Pei'er was fourteen, she would have taken me, who was ten years old, to walk on the streets of Xiangyang, and Yinling might have left me forever when I was still ignorant. I secretly felt lucky that if it weren't for the eighteen-year agreement, Yinling and I might have really been separated from each other, living in the vast universe.
I stopped a little far from their door and watched them turn around and thank me at the door, then go in and close the door. A middle-aged woman sitting in the yard stood up. She seemed to be mending the clothes of an adult man in the yard. After listening to the children's report with concern, she looked outside the wall and saw a tall man in strange clothes in the distance. She bowed to him as a greeting. But he kept covering his mouth and coughing, so he could only bow his head.
Although the thatched house was old and the wall was low and broken, it looked tidy. Although they were in a difficult situation, the family seemed to always smile. Thinking about the manners and words between the child and his mother, it was very likely that the family had fallen into poverty and was trapped here. The father was probably serving in the military or doing corvée labor, and relied on the mother to mend clothes for others and the two children to pick up scattered grains for a living.
I was thinking about how to help them. Thinking of the way my father helped people before, I always felt that giving money was not appropriate. It is better to teach a man how to fish than to give him a fish. But the child was still young and I couldn't make up my mind for a while, so I thought about going to the city first.
There is only one market in the city, located to the west of the city center, so that the sun can shine on it when the market opens in the morning. Due to the siege, all the gates except the West Gate are closed. The West Gate is still closed for ordinary people to enter and exit, so there is basically no hawking in the market. Only a few big shops in the neighboring market are still open, but there are no customers.
The real deal was a strong man in a rice shop throwing a bag of money on the counter, buying rice for 500 coins. The shopkeepers collected and checked it one by one, very carefully, and rejected dozens of coins. In the end, they only counted 453 coins. The man asked why they didn't accept it. The shopkeepers replied that the coins were scratched so badly that the strokes of the word "五" were not connected, and the edge of the "金" character of the word "渚" was almost cut off. No matter how this side explained, it was the same for what they collected; the other side didn't accept anything either, and they couldn't give it away. In the end, after arguing for a long time, they still bought two stone of corn. The buyer even begged for more. The shopkeeper was kind enough to scoop up a handful and pour it into the buyer's jar.
I haven't seen millet in Jingzhou or Jiaozhou, but it seems to cost 300 coins per stone in Luoyang East Market, and it seems to be cheap. After being besieged for so many days, the price of rice is so cheap that it is a bit puzzling.
The man was still a little unhappy. He turned around and came out holding a big jar, complaining and swearing. Suddenly he saw me at the door and started to look a little strange. I heard him mumbling behind me: What are you doing here with military rations
The man inside was originally fiddling with his abacus beads (a form of abacus in the Han Dynasty, similar to the abacus of today, but in a spherical shape, placed in a special groove). He saw someone coming and asked me what kind of rice I wanted to buy. When I didn't respond, he looked up and noticed my clothes and began to hesitate, and asked what the general was doing here. I didn't notice what he was asking me at all, but just looked at the piles of straw mats and bamboo strips with various kinds of rice. Others were common, and there were even high-quality goods such as rice from a certain state, millet from a certain county, and Liang rice from a certain county. But some of them had the word "Ku" on them, and the wooden signs hanging next to them also had millet and Ku millet. Not only millet, but also millet and rice also had Kugu, Kushu, Kudao and so on. All those with the word Ku were very cheap, most of them only cost more than 200 yuan per stone, which really puzzled me.
The guy was a little at a loss and kept asking me why I was there. I finally came to my senses and asked him what the word "Ku" meant.
This person smiled foolishly, as if he thought my question was stupid. Seeing my bewildered expression, he finally realized: Jun Ye is not from here
My boss: I'm afraid we'll have to go back in a few days, ahem. Now we're just waiting for those brothers who can't stand up to recover quickly, so that we can at least take them back by car. Well, I'm bored, ahem, I'm about to get sick from being stuck in the camp, so I'm out for a walk. My family also farms, and we have quite a lot of land, so I came over to take a look.
I felt somewhat proud of myself, and felt that I was quite good at making up lies, and I almost believed myself when I heard myself telling them.
He suddenly realized: This storehouse is the old rice in the military warehouse here. Every year, various military grains are allocated and stored in the military warehouse granary here. In recent years, there have been no major wars and allocations here, so a large amount of old rice from previous years has not been used. The warehouse has also received new grains, and the original storehouse is full again, so the old rice will be sold to grain merchants and wine shops.
It suddenly occurred to me: No wonder the people here are so peaceful after this siege.
The boy suddenly felt a little proud: I'm not bragging, at least we won't starve to death here. If there's really nothing to do, as long as you have the strength, go to the gate of the military camp on a sunny day, put your hands behind your back and squat there, and soon someone will ask you to do something. Pounding rice, washing clothes, building walls, tamping earth, depending on the workload, you can earn 10 to 20 or even 20 to 30 bucks a day. At worst, let your half-grown children pick up scattered grains along the way when the grain trucks come in and out, and that's enough to survive. If you really starve to death like this, you'll be a fool going to the execution ground - there's no hope.
I smiled, coughed a few times, and suddenly added: Why should children be allowed to go to pick up rice
The military camp is a strategic location, so how can adults enter and exit at will? Those who go to the military camp to find work have to squat outside with their hands folded and their backs turned, let alone walk all the way in? What if they are caught and sent to the army? If they are not sent to the army, it will be even more terrible. They will be directly treated as thieves who spy on intelligence and be executed according to military law. There will be no place for them to be punished. It can only be children, uh, my own women are fine, as long as her second-rate man is not afraid of those in the military camp... Oh, it's okay, it's okay.
He noticed that I was also a sergeant, or at least looked like one, although the way I wore my clothes looked a little strange, but somehow I still looked like one, and he was obviously a little uncomfortable talking bad about the army in front of me. And I always seemed to cough at the critical points where he was, as if to remind him, so he was naturally alert.
Of course I didn't do this to remind him, it was because I was injured and my mouth was itchy, as if there was always something in my lungs that I needed to cough out.
But it doesn't matter. I know that our military discipline is not good in some places. Since I'm the only one who heard it, I'll just remember it and think about how to change it in the future. The people who did it are not wrong. If they don't do well themselves, why should they be afraid of others
However, the only thing to be thankful for is that I think the clothes I am wearing are the biggest flaw of my appearance, but no one has mentioned it. It seems that in their eyes, the clothes I am wearing are not bad.
Of course, I was wrong. I had just left the house and had not walked far when I heard another voice in the house asking cautiously but with a giggle: "What is this Er Guazi wearing? What kind of soldier is he?"
Another said: He speaks with a Jingzhou accent, so he must be a stupid recruit in the Eighth Outer Army.
This mistake is not serious, although it hurts my self-esteem. And having good ears is not always a good thing.
At the corner of the exit on the other side of the city is a wine shop. The wine jars lined up on the stove at the door and the "Fufengchun" written on the banner on the upper floor all show its identity. (Han Feizi once talked about the wine flag, and the word used was "flag". In the Wai Chu chapter, it was clear that the wine flag had existed in Song at least during the Warring States Period. Song was in the southeast of Henan, northwest of Jiangsu, and northern Anhui today. Author's note)
It was as if I saw Xiangyang seven or eight years ago again, with a girl and a boy walking on the street.
"A stove? It's different from the stove in our house! Why isn't there a fire? There's no fire pit underneath."
"Zhi, that's a 'luo'." The girl had already squatted down, picked up a piece of broken branch and wrote the word 'luo' on it. "Look, isn't it like the stove in our house, so it's called a 'luo'. One side is higher, so the wine jars can lean against it to prevent them from being knocked over. Do you understand?"
"Yeah!" The boy nodded his head and the girl smiled.
I was shaking my head and laughing at the same time.
I like this kind of place, there are a lot of food.
Suddenly I looked back guiltily. There was no one behind me, so it was relatively safe.
Feeling at ease and with his coughing and breathing calmed, he walked in without any hesitation.
However, unlike Xiangyang or many other places, there was no young woman sitting by the stove.
Many years ago, in Yizhou, there was a famous woman who sold wine. Her name was Zhuo Wenjun. A few years ago, a girl wrote this story in Qianshan. Her name was Huang Xin, or Huang Yi.
However, most of the girls who sell wine in Xiangyang are not respected, and it is normal for them to be teased by bullies and scoundrels. For this reason, our classmates have discussed it, but not specifically. Usually, the first sentence of this discussion is to ask what the teacher said yesterday about a certain sentence in Laozi? The second sentence is, you don’t know this? The third sentence: The girls who sell wine may know it. The fourth sentence: Which one? The fifth sentence: Hey, the one that opened yesterday diagonally opposite Yunshu’s house is really beautiful. Then we enter the topic of a certain girl who sells wine, such as the issue of teasing girls who sell wine. Regarding this issue, in order to further promote the stable, coordinated and harmonious development of Xiangyang, after the enthusiastic and detailed discussion of the young students, the vast majority of people came to the conclusion with the spirit and attitude of three people make a tiger and a thousand mouths melt gold: the only bully in Xiangyang who does not tease girls who sell wine is Zirui; the only scoundrel who does not entangle girls who sell wine is Zishe. I can't do anything about this, mainly because they will stutter if they are too fast; if they start, the name of the bully will be established again. Zishe didn't care about the reputation of being a rogue. He even had the attitude of "I am a rogue and I am not afraid of anyone."
Jokes aside, I have always found it strange why there must always be a beautiful young woman next to the wine shop. Once, I was resting under the shade of a tree in front of a wine shop with my best friends—Zi She and Zi Sheng—and saw a woman standing next to the wine shop in front of us, soliciting customers. I asked Zi Sheng, and he immediately stopped chattering and began to stare at the front in deep thought. If I asked him anything, he would be as unresponsive as a table. I had to rely on Zi She to answer: Who often goes to the wine shop? Isn’t it men with some spare money? Since most people go to the wine shop, there must be a woman outside to greet them! I deeply agree with this. After half an hour, when we finished resting and were about to leave, Zi Sheng would suddenly say: Fifteen people went in, fourteen of them were men. Is it because they are entertaining men
Usually at that time I really want to find someone to open Zisheng's head, sort out the debris in his head, wash it, wring it dry and throw it back, and then clean his ears with a broom.
I put all my thoughts aside and went inside. It seemed that it was cold and I was afraid of the wind. There were two layers of thick curtains on the inside and outside of the door, and the windows were closed. It was only illuminated by a few oil lamps, and it was a little dark. Before I could get used to the darkness inside, someone immediately greeted me: Please come in, it's very warm inside.
I asked him if there was a private seat on the second floor, and he replied that the upper floor was already full and there were only a few empty seats on the first floor.
Seeing a case in the darker corner, he went there.
He asked me if I had any guests to invite in, and he went to wipe the table for me. When I got closer and saw my clothes, he quickly added: "You've worked hard, sir!" I shook my head and said: "It's just me. Bring me some local wine and food." Is the Fufengchun hanging outside a local fine wine? Bring some to try, ahem.
He replied: I will send it to you! But he did not leave, and said that he could not serve me Fufengchun. He only said: This wine is strong and easy to get drunk. Recently, the military order in the city has been issued that all soldiers are not allowed to drink this wine. I can only serve some light wine, please forgive me, military sir, is this okay
I can only let him do what he wants. I think I am a disgrace to the bullies and scoundrels in Xiangyang, but I seem to be a good boy most of the time.
There was nothing special about the food, but even the wine tasted very mellow, which was really rare. It seemed that there was enough rice here, so the wine-making industry should be prosperous.
Especially at such a noon when the cold wind is howling at the street corner outside, it is a pleasant thing in itself to be able to eat and drink by the warm stove.
Sometimes it is a pleasant thing to eat quietly in a place where no one knows me, but it is not necessarily the case to hear other people's comments.
For example, he was talking about something related to me again this morning.
Of course, most of these things are not what I remember, or even what I have heard.
I had no interest in paying attention to it at first, but I happened to hear a word while sipping hot wine: the second year of Jianning.
The year I was born.
The speaker said that he was originally from Shanghe, and came here to seek refuge with his uncle last year. When he was young, his family had some spare money, and Shanghe was well-ordered and the people were simple and honest. No one would worry if he didn't come home at night, so he would stay somewhere and leave it to Shen Gong to take care of. Therefore, he liked to travel with his friends during the day and drink and have fun every night.
At the end of the second year of Jianning, one night he stayed in a charity house of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect (Zhang Lu's grandfather Zhang Ling founded the Five Pecks of Rice Sect) in the wild. Late at night, he had to go out to find a place to relieve himself in the bushes. Suddenly, he saw a fire approaching in the distance, accompanied by a burst of urgent horse hoof sounds. He saw a car coming from the east road and heading straight to Shanghecheng. There was a hanging light on the car, and it was clear that the emperor had used this kind of car to send people to announce the emperor's decree and other matters. The most noteworthy thing was that he could hear the cry of a newborn baby in the car.
He drank too much that day, but he didn't feel strange. He woke up at noon the next day and thought about what happened yesterday, especially the crying of a baby. Suddenly he heard some noise on the road outside, and when he came out he saw two sons of the Shen family in Shanghe County leading the army of the county and state. One of his cousins was in the army of Lord Shen, so he went to his uncle's house to ask. He was told that there were too many party members, and many county magistrates were party members themselves, especially in Yingchuan and Runan. The emperor ordered all the troops of the fiefdoms of the royal relatives and relatives in Sili to go to these two places to pacify and arrest the party members.
But later I heard that both sons took their newborn babies and wives with them, and announced that they were going to celebrate the New Year. In addition, the eldest son had a daughter in the winter, and the second son had a son in the twelfth month. According to custom, the whole family had to go out during the New Year. The neighborhood spread the word: most of the fiefs in Sili were granted by eunuchs under the emperor's coercion, and they were all considered eunuchs. Eunuchs and party members were mortal enemies, so the imperial edict was reasonable. However, the Shen family was not like that, and they had never had a good relationship with eunuchs, so with their wives and children, the team moved slowly. In fact, it meant that they didn't want to go and would delay as much as possible.
It seemed that everyone in the tavern was very interested in this topic, no one was talking and just listening. Only people were quietly talking about whether the baby that was delivered was...
But he changed the subject, saying that his cousin came back and they traveled with them to their place, almost sightseeing all the way. Even though there were imperial edicts urging them along the way, it took more than half a month to enter Runan. The emperor even sent eunuchs to supervise the army, but it was useless. Only the second son would order to pay attention to the activities of the party members nearby, but it seems that they would release them if they were really caught, and report it to the higher authorities; if they passed by a county government office, they would check the documents and tick off the names of a few death row prisoners and kill them as party members. The eldest son was almost direct, he came out to relax, who cares about the party members. During the Lantern Festival, they even stopped at Zhaoling to pay tribute to the grand event of the Zhou Dynasty when Duke Huan of Qi held an alliance with the princes here, and they set off after the Lantern Festival. The two sons and their wives also liked to be affectionate in front of the eunuch, which made the eunuch lose his temper.
Everyone laughed and mocked the eunuchs' words until someone asked what happened next.
The man continued, "My cousin often heard that the eldest son, behind the eunuch's back, would find a few of his followers and order the arrest of some local rogues and habitual thieves to take the blame and go home. One day, my cousin and a few others caught a sloppy Taoist in the bushes. He looked like a bad guy. His sleeves were bulging with stuff. When they searched...
This person deliberately kept it a mystery and asked: What do you think it is
I knew the answer, but I also stopped eating and just listened.
Others made guesses, mostly about money and property, and some about things related to divination, so those who were not familiar with the mysterious all laughed and said: That's not the case.
Only the person next to him answered that it was a child. The person who had been talking was quite dissatisfied and said angrily: Liu Laoliu, I told you earlier, don't be so careless. Liu Laoliu also said angrily: I have heard it seventy or eighty times, it's okay for me to tell it, do you want me to tell it
He continued to preach: Don't compete with me for business... My cousin thought that this must be a thief who kidnapped a boy, so he took this sloppy Taoist priest to the two young masters as a treasure. But the stinky Taoist priest had always taken his own nephew to visit relatives. The second young master laughed and said, how could one put his own baby nephew in his sleeve? He didn't expect to find a letter in public, and the baby turned out to be the son of a party member. The two young masters were a little at a loss, and the eunuch was naturally happy, so he stretched out his hand to take the letter. When he was about to hand it to him, the two young masters pretended to pass it and accidentally burned some of the signature on the candle. The eunuch didn't have much writing and was very vulgar. After reading it, he roughly understood that the child's surname was Xie, and there was another party member surnamed Guo who was married, so he asked who signed the signature below. The eldest young master said that the party member only signed "Xie" but did not sign his name. The eunuch was very excited and ordered people to check. It turned out that there was no party member with the surname Xie. A man named Guo was convicted because he sympathized with the party members. The eunuch was disappointed and even more angry. He insisted that they execute the Taoist and the child together, and made up a name and reported it.
There were still people in the tavern who sighed along with this. But the man continued with a smile on his face: This may not be the case. On the night when my cousin caught the Taoist priest, the second young master dismissed everyone and just wanted to have a good rest. However, many people heard the second young master's wife crying.
The next day, someone in the camp let the Taoist priest run away, the child also disappeared, and there was one person missing from the camp, the leader of the Fire Camp, Lei. My cousin was very surprised that day, because the two young masters only cared about sending everyone away and quarreled fiercely. The eunuch could only watch from a distance with the others as the two young masters quarreled with red faces in anger.
“My cousin couldn’t guess what the two were arguing about, but when people looked at the eunuch’s face, they felt that someone from Shen Gong’s family was going to suffer. When the team came back, it was their own prince who couldn’t stand the bumpy ride and died soon after they came back. Shen Gong’s family are all good people, but it’s a pity that God has no eyes. A year later, Cheng Gong was ordered to lead his troops out of the border to fight against the Wuhuan people. Alas…” He sighed, and the others followed suit.
"Cousin, there were many strange things on that trip. Later, the Second Young Master's close guard commander Jiang Lang suddenly disappeared. The Second Young Master went to hunt him down, and would not let him come back unless he caught the Taoist priest. What happened? Cousin, Jiang Lang is now the father of Marquis Qin, but Marquis Qin's birthday was in the twelfth month of the first year of Jianning. Is there anything strange here? Cousin, Jiang Lang didn't get married at all at that time. He stayed in the military camp all the time and didn't even go out of the camp. So some people guessed that Marquis Qin was actually the child of that party member named Xie." I guess this person is himself.
Everyone sighed in surprise, but I was sweating all over. However, based on the words I heard before, I made a special decision: Don't talk.
Although this is not in line with my personality, it must be done.
I really wanted to interrupt him, but when I heard that Liu Laoliu had heard this story seventy or eighty times, I believed that this story had already spread. The people in the tavern were probably just listening to a more detailed story from the previous person.
Even I, an innocent party, have heard some of these things. How can I have any good life out there
Sure enough, it was my turn to tell my story. But before I heard this sentence, someone else’s voice rang out first: “What are you looking at?”
"There is no child in the car that delivered the imperial edict. Many people think that he is the current Marquis of Yue. Isn't Marquis of Yue in Chencang now? Why is there no sound?" The man paused for a while, and the person next to him just told him to close the window to prevent the cold wind from coming in.
"It's too early to spread this news, and too many people have spread it. Even if someone wants to kill you, it won't be you." Someone comforted him.
"My cousin watched the burial of the prince that year. I didn't expect that a few years later, the tomb was secretly dug up. It was Shen Gong himself who led people to dig it up, and buried a lot of things in it. Those who saw it were all royal things!" The man paused proudly and said, "That year was the fifth year of Xiping! It was also that year that the emperor issued an edict to establish Empress He!"
"The rumor spread quickly. According to this family, when they went out, they saw the servants of Lord Shen taking three babies out! According to another family, when they came back, they only brought two children, one of which was a dead baby, which means that one of the children must have been sent away! Later, after they came back, the rumors in the market said that the second young master's wife cried all day long. It seems that the person buried there should be the second young master's biological child. In addition to the current Princess Zhao, there was another child who was not heard from later." I calculated that this person said everything that others told him from beginning to end, but he never guessed what he saw. It seems that he also knows how serious it is, but he just can't hold back his words.
"Is Yue Hou really the son of Empress He? Could it be that Yue Hou is..." Many people started to talk about this. This sentence, Empress He had just entered the palace and had no backing. She must have been afraid that if she gave birth to twins, she would be hated by others, so she ordered people to send the boy away and only gave birth to a princess to cover it up. That, it must be that Lord Shen sent the eldest prince away, and gave him the surname Xie under the pretext of the letter, and then reported it to the queen, so that the queen would have the opportunity to find an excuse to adopt him as her adopted son, give him the surname Xie, and let him recognize his ancestors and return to the name of Lord Shen. Some people suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Ping An Fengyun Hou was promoted so quickly, and no one could match him as a commoner in the past. Some people even speculated that the emperor had not yet appointed a crown prince, was it just to wait for Yue Hou's life story to be revealed to the world so that he could appoint him.
The fear is what comes later. Usually the person who spreads the news doesn't dare to take it seriously, but the people around who hear it think it has nothing to do with them and it's not their own story, so they guess very enthusiastically, and it's very vivid, as if they saw it with their own eyes. As a result, the fellow villager started to get more and more nervous, and just told everyone to keep quiet, or at least not to make too loud a sound.
I also hope they finish talking quickly, as this kind of thing is getting more and more terrifying the more it spreads. However, hearing this may not help me learn something, that is, Empress He may have really given birth to a pair of twins. The baby boy was not tolerated by the palace, so he was sent out to my father by a secretary from my family out of conscience and loyalty. And the child's skeleton that was just dug out turned out to be the poor eldest prince. I don't know if the emperor knows about this, but he should know it now. I need to ask my father when I go back.
Having been in the imperial court for a long time, I have also heard these stories: In the past, a butcher named He wanted to send his beautiful daughter to the palace. Although the butcher's daughter had no such possibility originally, it was possible at that time, but she had to pay the eunuchs first. This cost a lot of money. Originally, the money was definitely not enough, and it would not be saved in two years. Suddenly, someone lent a large amount of money to the butcher He for some unknown purpose, and he got her in through the connections in the first year of Jianning. (Note) In the first year of Jianning, the new emperor was just established in the harem, and the struggle for power and profit began. Empress He was just a low-ranking beauty at that time. She had no power and influence in the harem. Outside, she only had a butcher father, a useless brother named He Jin, and a brother named He Miao. I think my stepmother is really pitiful. No matter what, she really took care of me, and I am deeply grateful for this. But I think the reason is not as bizarre as these people. Although I can't figure it out, I don't mind.
After finishing all the food on the table, I felt satisfied and wanted to go back to see everyone. Although the rumors I heard today were a bit scary, I still didn't think they were scary. They were just rumors. When I was about to leave, I finally realized what was the biggest mistake I made today.
I don’t have any money!
I remember my head suddenly became big, and I was hoping that something big would happen and everyone would leave. Then I asked the store owner to let me buy some on credit for a while, so that I could go back and borrow some from Master Zhong and pay him back.
Thinking about it, I can't blame myself. My clothes are either made by Aunt Zhang or Yinling. They are simple and can be made in one or two days, so there is usually no place to put money. From then on, I asked for food and fun, and Yinling bought it for me.
Now I can only hope that God will help me.
I didn’t expect that God really helped me. Although it was not what I expected, it was not much different.
At that time, I heard a commotion in the distance outside. Someone seemed to be running closer, shouting from afar, accompanied by the occasional neighing of horses, and after a while the sound of horse hooves came closer.
There were many curious people in the tavern, and they opened the windows to look. No one in the tavern was afraid of the cold, and most of them gathered at the windows to look out.
It was a good time to check out. Although the store was much brighter, almost everyone gathered at the window to see what was going on outside.
So I called the store owner and asked in a very tactful way if I could buy on credit first and I would send the money right away.
Obviously he understood as soon as I opened my mouth. The person who answered interrupted me and said impatiently: You guys have seen a lot of these things. Write down the name of your camp and send it to me within three days. Also leave a mortgage, and then you can go first!
At this time, a curious person turned his head to look here and muttered a few words. I also turned around and saw two middle-aged men. Judging from their clothes, they were the clerks in the county government.
I walked over and bowed: "My Lords, can you lend me some money for food? I was in a hurry to come out this time, and I didn't bring any money or anything with me. I will send it to you as soon as I return to the camp."
What’s strange is that they looked at my clothes in confusion and asked: “Sergeant, where did you get these clothes?”
I thought of several ways, and finally a brother in the camp helped me find it. His clothes were badly damaged in the fighting outside the city a few days ago.
My appearance is already conspicuous enough. If I reveal that I am the Marquis of Yue and buy things on credit without paying, others will not think that I really forgot to bring money, and I will be embarrassed even to Youfufeng.
Finally, one of the officials asked hesitantly: How much do you owe
The fellow was respectful to the official and said, "Forty coins."
The other official immediately made up his mind: Then I will pay for him first.
Before I could thank him, I heard someone shouting from the window: A black horse, that Hu'er is chasing it!
As if to confirm it, the black hissing statement reached his ears clearly.
After a brief greeting and asking them to stay, I left the tavern. I saw Hei running along the market! There were a few people following behind him. The leader looked a little strange. He didn't have a bun, his hair was curly and loose, and his beard covered his cheeks. He looked like the Suanni painted on the screen. He was holding an iron rod in each hand and ran very fast, but he was still being left behind by Hei. He was still chasing after him.
I smiled, wondering how this bastard Hei could have thought of breaking free from the reins. I didn't dodge but stood in the middle of the road and waved to Hei with my hand.
A kind-hearted person's voice came from the window: "Sergeant, are you an idiot? Get out of the way!" Ah!
The last "ah" was obviously full of surprise, because Hei saw me and stopped beside me, and walked around me and rubbed my collar with his mouth very affectionately. This thief did his best to please and flatter me, which made me feel a little itchy. Hei didn't have a bridle that day, so he was free for a rare time. I had no place to pull him, so I could only pat his neck and ask him why he wanted to find me.
It naturally couldn't answer, but it still tried its best - it bit my sleeves and clothes more affectionately, and neighed from time to time, as if it wanted to comment on my dress taste.
The big man with angry hair and curly beard stopped in front of me, lowered his two iron rods, took a breath and asked: Is this horse yours
But I thought of something more important: Did this horse trample on any civilians along the way
The sturdy man said: No, the people are all eating, and there is no one on the road!
I felt relieved and replied: This is exactly my mount.
The sturdy man seemed to look me over, then carefully identified me and thought: Who are you? Why are you wearing Lao Yao's clothes
I don't know who Lao Yao is, except that he is very tall, but I think he knows. But then I thought of something more important: Could you please lend me forty cents
This man was honest. He really put down his stick and put it on the ground. It looked very heavy. He looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and put his hands in his arms. When the people behind him came running out of breath, he asked: "Brothers, do you have any money?" He asked the brother in front to help him hold his horse.
Those few were a little worse, but even though they were bent over and gasping for breath, they still searched in their arms and actually helped me collect forty.
I thanked him profusely, turned around, went into the tavern, returned the money to the official, and then hurried out.
The honest and straightforward man was a little dissatisfied when he saw me coming out empty-handed. He started to ask in local dialect: I thought you wanted to buy Chencangchun for me, but now the military order is tight, I dare not go to buy it, and I still count on you... Alas, I gave you the money for nothing, don't forget to pay back the money to my brothers. Also, who are you? Where did you get Lao Yao's clothes
I quickly pulled him away from the tavern. Hei was very well behaved and followed me all the way, even biting my clothes from time to time.
The strong man led his brothers and followed me to the city. There was no one within a few dozen steps, and he also hid from the window of the wine shop, and then he announced: My name is Xie Zhi. I wonder what this brother's name is
He laughed and said: My name is Che'er, your name is very nice, it's the same as that guy called... Ping An Fengyun Hou.
In response, someone said somewhat awkwardly: "Brother, please don't make fun of me. I am the Marquis of Ping An Feng Yun...
Note 1: The author sincerely believes that the above paragraph is obviously plagiarized from the monologue in Mr. Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Note: The author does not advocate early love. This was a specific situation at the time. Moreover, under the conditions of productivity at the time, the ancients were indeed much more mature than they are now. I am not deliberately destroying the continuity of your reading, but the more I think about it, the more dangerous it feels. It is still necessary to make a special note to avoid being harmonized (hehe). In the future, you can tell your children to educate them early and cultivate their self-reliance. At least this is necessary. In the Han Dynasty, many men of our ancestors had a short life and died in military service before they got married; and women had to get married before the age of fifteen, otherwise the five times the tax could bankrupt a middle-class person. Generally, after a major war, the number of young and strong men decreased significantly, and there must be many stories of boys getting married, and the era of this book is such a background. The author thought about it over and over again, and had to make a note.
Note: He originally entered the palace in the third year of Jianning.