The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Guanghe three years, one noon in early September.

A young man on horseback came from Fanyang Pavilion. He was about twenty years old. He was wearing hakama and pleats. He didn't have a crown on his head, only a scarf and a ring-head knife hanging from his waist. "Hakama pleats" are foreign goods, from nomadic peoples, which resemble the jackets and trousers of later generations.

His name was Xun Zhen, and he was the new head of Fanyang Pavilion.

Although it was already autumn, the so-called "autumn tiger", the weather was still very hot, and Xun Zhen had been driving for a long time under the sun again, sweating on her forehead and face. In front of the pavilion, he restrained his mount, wiped his sweat with his sleeves, and looked around.

Like most of the pavilions in the empire, Fanyang Pavilion is also located on the main road.

In front of the pavilion, there is a straight and wide official road, which is the road he took when he came.

On both sides of the official road are large fields of wheat.

This year is a good year. After the fall, the rain is relatively sufficient, and the winter wheat in the field is lush. When the wind blows, the green wheat seedlings are undulating, and a fragrance mixed with heat hits the nostrils. From a distance, you can see twos and threes of Tiannu and Tufu wearing trousers with little noses and working shirtless among them.

Not long after the day, there were many vehicles and pedestrians on the road.

There are Confucian scholars in single-clothed shoes, businessmen in elegant clothes, and Qianshou in black or white. Because the world is unstable and the road is unstable, pedestrians often wear short knives and long swords with them.

Xun Zhen deflected the horse's head and gave way to an ox cart approaching from the opposite side.

In the car sat an old Confucian scholar led by Gao Guanbo, neatly dressed, sitting quietly and peacefully, next to a seven- or eight-year-old child. When the two sides crossed, the child looked at Xun Zhen curiously.

The child's complexion is clean and smooth, like pink and jade, and he is very cute, sitting on his knees under the hood of the car like a little adult.

Xun Zhen gave him a friendly smile. The ox that pulled the cart, the wheels, and the body of the cart were all covered with dust, and it looked like the road was not close. The old man probably came from out of town with his grandson to visit friends in the city.

Go straight along the official road, and you will reach Yingyin County several dozen miles away.

Yingyin (now Xuchang) is located in the hinterland and belongs to Yingchuan County. The Liu family is the descendant of the "King Zhen of Jibei" in the former Han Dynasty, and the Xun family is the descendant of the Confucian master Xun Kuang during the Warring States Period.

Xun Zhen was born in the Xun clan.

In a major epidemic many years ago, his parents died one after another, and he was the only one left. He inherited the shadow of his ancestors. There was a mansion in the family and hundreds of acres of fertile land. , is a Chinese home.

…

The ox cart squeaked away, and Xun Zhen's mind quickly turned to the present.

He jumped off his horse, adjusted his attire, and came to the pavilion.

"Ting people, stop also."

The local "pavilion" is not only the most basic security unit, but also has the responsibility of receiving past officials and providing accommodation for the people who traveled far, so the "pavilion" is quite large.

Yingyin is a large county, and Fanyang Pavilion is one of the best in the county. The facade of the pavilion is very stylish.

From a long distance, you can see that there is a pillar more than zhang long in the pavilion, and there are two large wooden boards at the upper end of the pillar, which cross and traverse. This thing is called Huabiao, also known as Huanbiao. It is an ancient system. It is used to indicate the direction of the road to pedestrians. It is also used as a road sign and is also the sign of the pavilion.

At this time, when I got closer, I could see it more clearly. I saw that the pavilion occupies a large area, the foundation is higher than the ground, and there are slate stairs connected to the official road.

Standing under the blue sky and white clouds, between the official road in the wheat field, he looked outside the door for a while, feeling both familiar and unfamiliar.

The familiar is that he has seen many similar pavilions on the way to travel in the past; the unfamiliar is that he is about to become the owner of the pavilion in front of him, and there is an indescribable strange feeling.

"This is the place where I will live for a long time in the future. It has been ten years since I came to this era. It took a lot of hard work and I was finally able to take charge of a pavilion. Although the area under my jurisdiction is only ten miles, it can be considered that I can start a 'big plan'. already."

After teasing himself for a few words, he led the horse up the stairs, leading to a gate.

…

There was an old soldier sitting in the school beside the door. Seeing him come up, he walked out of the house and asked kindly, "Stay in? Is there something else?"

"Under Xunzhen."

The old soldier stood up straight and asked, "But the new pavilion?"

"Exactly."

"Alas, please forgive the villain's clumsiness." The old soldier was frightened, raised his robe, and was about to bow down.

Xun Zhen stopped him and said with a smile, "You don't have to!" He looked at him a few more times, seeing that he was thin and small, with wrinkles on his face, and the mountains, rivers and ravines seemed like, and he asked tentatively, "I visited Zheng the day before yesterday. Jun, I heard him mention that Ben Tingting's father's name is Huang Zhong. But what about you?"

"It's the little guy."

"Zheng Jun", whose name is Zheng Duo, was the first pavilion chief. He was promoted to the county because of his ability to save the people during the pandemic last year and his excellent performance in examinations.

"Father Ting" is one of Ting Chang's deputy.

"Ting", although it is the most basic unit, after all, it is in charge of a ten-mile radius, so there are subordinates under the pavilion chief. Begging for robbery, "palm to catch thieves"; Ting Fu, "palm to open and close and sweep away". If there are many households in the jurisdiction, there will be more or less pavilions depending on the situation.

A smile appeared on Xun Zhen's mouth, and she said to herself, "Huang Zhong, Huang Zhong, when I first heard the name, I was stunned for a while. Now, it seems that the name is quite right, and it fits the face very well. 'Old Huang Zhong'."

Huang Zhong said respectfully and cautiously: "I only received the notice from the county yesterday. I didn't expect Xunjun to come today, so I couldn't meet at the pavilion. Please forgive me. . . . Others are still in the house, Xun Sir, please wait a moment, I will call them out."

"No. I'll just go in."

Climbing up the steps, Xun Zhen glanced at the school next to the door. The room was simply furnished, with only a few beds per bed.

Twenty small portraits were pasted on the walls of the school. Due to the distance, it was difficult to see clearly. Generally, there were old and young people in the paintings. Several lines of text are written on the left side of each portrait, and a bright red seal is on the right side.

"Are these the wanted criminals of the court?"

"Yes, there are from our county, and there are from other counties."

Posting portraits of wanted criminals in pavilions is a practice inherited from the former Qin Dynasty. On the one hand, it is convenient for passing people to expose the information, and on the other hand, pavilion officials can also check pedestrians based on the portrait. In the last years of Xinmang, Emperor Guangwu's elder brother Liu Bosheng enjoyed this kind of treatment because he gathered a crowd to revolt.

Xun Zhen nodded, and without going over to take a closer look, she walked into the hospital.

…

After entering the courtyard, I found that the pavilion has two entrances.

The courtyard in front was smaller, with an open space in the middle. The Huan Biao he had seen in the distance was erected here.

Three houses on the right, one main room, two bedrooms, the standard "one house and two inside" style. Next to it is a small room with a kitchen.

There is a stable on the left, which can accommodate two or three horses, but it is empty now, and there is not a single horse.

There is a chicken coop beside the stable, and there are four or five chickens perched on the wooden frame in front of the cage. UU reading www.uukanshu. When com saw someone coming in, he cried out "giggling". There is a latrine next to the chicken coop.

Huang Zhong led the horse into the stable, and drove the chicken into the stable with a "hush". He walked back to Xun Zhen and introduced him diligently, "We live in this front yard, and Xun Jun's residence is in the back yard."

"backyard?"

"Yes. The backyard is large and clean. When Xian Zhengjun was there, he lived in the backyard."

Xun Zhen took a few steps forward. The door to the backyard was hidden. Through the gap, you could vaguely see the eaves of the house. There was a big elm tree in the courtyard. It is still lush, adding some shade to the "Tingyuan".

Huang Zhong went on to introduce: "If there are officials and common people staying there, they all live in the backyard."

Having said this, he remembered something, paused, and then said: "In June, the imperial court issued an edict to seek talents, and a gentleman surnamed Yuan in Runan was recommended, and he was sent to Beijing by edict, because he was banned every day and night, and he stayed there. Benting, after staying for one night, I am very satisfied, and I left a letter on the wall, do you want to take a look at Xun Jun?"

Xun Zhen smiled and said, "Don't worry. The words are on the wall, and you can't run away. You can look at it anytime." Where are the others?"

The new official took office and came here for a long time. Except for Huang Zhong, who was on duty at the door, no one came out to greet him. Although they probably didn't know that Xun Zhen was here today, they had just brought the horse into the hospital, and the rooster was making a lot of noise. Couldn't they have heard it?

"It's all in the backyard."

Xun Zhen was slightly surprised and thought, "Why are you running to the backyard if you are not on duty in the front yard?" Although he was surprised, he did not ask any questions, but said kindly, "In that case, please lead the way and lead me to meet you. All the gentlemen in the pavilion."

Huang Zhong answered yes, bowed his waist, led the way sideways, and led Xun Zhen to the backyard.