The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Pengcheng County occupies a small area, the longest from north to south is more than 200 miles, and the widest from east to west is more than 100 miles. There are eight counties in the territory.

Sishui flows from the north of Pei County in the south of Gongqiu County and flows into the county. The four counties of Guangqi, Fuyang, Wuyuan, and Lu are in the north of Sishui; the four counties of Liu, Pengcheng, Wu and Shi are in the south of Sishui. Pengcheng County is the seat of the county seat of Pengcheng County.

Both Guangqi and Pengcheng counties are adjacent to Sishui, one in the north of the water and the other in the south of the water.

After staying in Guangqi County for more than a day, with Yao Sheng, Gao Jia and others leading the way, Xun Zhen's car team continued to drive, along the Sishui all the way to the southeast, about a hundred miles away, crossed the Sishui, and repeated several times. , namely to the county seat of Pengcheng County.

Since yesterday, the sky has suddenly changed.

The clouds were dense, the north wind was howling, and the whole world was gray.

The fields that pass by along the way are frozen hard, and occasionally there are sparse weeds, swaying in the gaps in the soil.

There is a bridge in the Sishui River near Pengcheng County, and Xunzhen and others are the Sishui that crossed the bridge.

When crossing the bridge, the cold wind blew across the wide river, bringing water vapor to the face, adding a bit of wetness.

Enter Pengcheng County.

Xu is because of the changing weather, the street in the county is deserted, and there are not many pedestrians.

Through the car window, Xun Zhen looked at both sides of the street.

The roadside trees are planted neatly, and now the leaves of the trees are almost falling off, only the bare branches are left, which looks quite desolate, but it is conceivable that in the spring and summer, when these trees are dense with leaves, not only It can be used for passers-by to enjoy the shade under the tree temporarily, and it will inevitably decorate the Pengcheng County with lush greenery and full of vitality.

Under the tree is a ditch.

Such ditches are similar to urban sewers in later generations.

The ditch is covered with flagstones.

Xun Zhen sniffed and smelled it, but she didn't smell any strange smell, which showed that the ditch was often cleaned by someone.

When passing through the "city" in the west of the city, Xun Zhen called to stop the car, and accompanied Yao Sheng to the city for a temporary inspection.

There are walls and gates outside the "city". There is a gatehouse beside the gate. You can see a bronze bell hanging in the gatehouse. This clock is used to inform the people in the city of the "opening" and "closing of the market" every day.

The doorman did not know Xun Zhen, but recognized Yao Sheng, Gao Jia and other officials in the county, and hurriedly greeted him.

Yao Sheng ignored him and waved his hand casually, motioning him to get up to clear the way. After the doorman got up and stepped aside, he personally led the way, passed the city gate, and led Xun Zhen into the city.

The situation in the city and on the street is similar, and there are not many people.

But the shops are open.

Xun Zhen glanced around and estimated the number of shops in this "city", thinking, "About a hundred."

Pengcheng County is not a big county. According to common sense, a county as big as Pengcheng is the county seat of its county. Usually, there are no one hundred or ten shops in the "city" in the county, at most dozens.

However, the reason why there are so many shops in the "city" of Pengcheng County is that Pengcheng County is connected to Yuzhou and Yanzhou. The first stop of many businessmen from Yuzhou and Yanzhou to Xuzhou is often Pengcheng. That is to say, there are more merchants from outside the county, and the variety and number of commodities are also larger, so the number of shops will naturally be larger.

Most of the owners of these shops are local indigenous people in Pengcheng County. In addition, there are also some businessmen from Henan, Yan and other counties who have done a lot of business. When they buy a shop, they are not only businessmen, but also businessmen. .

Seeing Yao Sheng and others coming, the shopkeepers bowed down to the outside of the shop one after another.

The "mayor" of the "city" was heating the fire in the room above the gatehouse. Hearing the news from the city official, he hurried down the gatehouse and hurried over, and the one who was far away also fell to the ground.

Xun Zhen smiled at Gu Yao Sheng, and said jokingly, "Uncle Qian, you are quite powerful!"

Yao Sheng didn't care, and said, "I am the chief officer of Pengcheng County, just like I greet Duke Ming, isn't it natural for them to greet me? Besides, the mayor and city clerk are so fat. ? They treat me with more respect than other officials, but they are afraid that one of them will make me angry and lose the difference."

We all know that merchants are rich, and "mayor" and "city clerk" are the official positions directly in charge of merchants' business. As Yao Sheng said, they are indeed good and fat men.

Xun Zhen asked, "Do all the merchants in the city have city membership?"

The so-called scholars, peasants, businessmen, and merchants are different from the people who make up households. They have their own household registration, which is the city registration. Only city-registered businessmen can open shops in the city, and those without city membership are prohibited from opening shops—this is also to protect agricultural production.

However, there are also some nobles, officials, or local surnames and tyrants, who are jealous of the profits of the shops, so even though they have no city membership, they have established a shop in the city.

Xun Zhen asked this question, whether there were such people in the "city" of Pengcheng County.

Yao Sheng replied: "One less city-registered shop will charge less city tax. If I were at peace, I might turn a blind eye to those who buy shops without city membership." , but at a time when Ming Gong is in the military and needs food and wealth the most, I will not allow such a situation to happen in my Pengcheng County. Therefore, Ming Gong can rest assured that all the counties and cities in my Pengcheng County, the city All the shops in the city are all people with city membership, and there are no people who buy shops without city membership!"

Xun Zhen nodded and said, "I asked if they all have city membership, Uncle Qian. It's not just because the city tax is one of the important fiscal revenues of the state, but there is another reason."

Yao Sheng said with a smile: "Ming Gong, let's not talk about it, let me guess."

"you guess."

Yao Sheng said: "The other reason for this must be that Duke Ming is worried that if there are many people who are not from the city who set up shops, once this atmosphere spreads, it may not be conducive to the peace of mind for the people of the county and county. Dare to ask Duke Ming , is that the reason?"

Xun Zhen laughed and said, "Those who know me, Qing Ye."

Without merchants, north-south goods cannot circulate, and commerce is very important. In particular, Xun Zhen had knowledge from a previous life, and he had no contempt for businessmen. Only in the current era, after all, agriculture is the most important thing, people take food as the sky, and in the context of insufficient food, then "emphasizing agriculture and neglecting business" and strictly restricting the number of households and people to do business is a last resort. .

Walking along the road in the city, Xun Zhen checked the goods sold by the shops in the city one by one.

There are copper ware, lacquer ware, silk fabric, cloth, wine, food, agricultural utensils, swords, etc. produced locally in Xuzhou and Pengcheng, as well as special products from Yanzhou and Yuzhou, as well as a bookstore.

Specializing in selling books.

Xun Zhen entered the bookstore and took a look.

The books sold include the works of former sages, as well as contemporary masterpieces, as well as several commentaries by Zheng Xuan.

Xun Zhen picked up a copy of "Xunzi", flipped through it, and asked the guy in the bookstore, "Which book sells the most?"

Although the book shop guy was doing business, he was dealing with books in the end, and he dressed up quite politely, but although he didn't know who Xun Zhen was, he could roughly guess from Yao Sheng and Gao Jia's respectful attitude towards Xun Zhen. Knowing Xun Zhen's identity, for fear of being disrespectful, he could not help but show restraint. As if he had no place to put his hands and feet, he bowed his head and replied, "Some of Kang Chenggong's masterpieces and this "Xunzi" are the same The most sold book in the store."

"Kangcheng" is Zheng Xuan's word.

What's good on the top will be bad on the bottom.

Xun Zhen advocated Zheng Xue, that is, Zheng Xuan's theory, in Zhou Xue. At the same time, he repeatedly stated that he liked to read "Xun Zi". Scholars in Xuzhou, especially young scholars, naturally bought the most works by Zheng Xuan and Xun Zi.

Xun Zhen nodded, put back the "Xunzi" in her hand, smiled and said to Yao Sheng: "My brother has recently written a "Recommendation", which was given to me to watch a while ago. It's not complete yet. And after my brother has written it, I plan to publish it as a book, and then I will give you a copy!"

Among the Xunzhen people in Xuzhou now, there are not many Xunzhen who should be called brothers, but there are a few. Yao Sheng asked, "Which brother is Duke Ming's brother?"

Xun Zhen said, "Zhong Yu is my brother."

Yao Sheng knew that Xun Zhen was talking about Xun Yue, the current Prime Minister Ren Cheng, and said, "It turned out to be Duke Ren Cheng. I have always admired Duke Ren's wisdom and insight. His masterpiece must be Excellent. Then I will read it carefully."

The guy in the bookstore heard the conversation between Xun Zhen and Yao Sheng, and secretly remembered the name of the book "Recommendation". Brother Xun Zhen's book, it must be sold out. He decided to tell the owner of the bookstore about it today.

After patrolling the "city", Xun Zhen and Yao Sheng waited for them to come out, returned to the car, sat down, and continued on their way.

Not long after, we arrived at the county seat.

It was still early in the sky, but because of the thick clouds, it was already dark in the hall.

Yao Sheng asked the government officials to light honey candles.

In the large hall, there is a candle holder on each table, and large bronze candlesticks with various shapes are placed on the sides of the table and the side of the hall column. As soon as the darkness is gone, it is as bright as day.

Sit in the main seat, facing the door.

The hall is bright, everyone wears high crowns and costumes, and the brazier is burning with crackling, warm like spring.

The courtyard outside the hall was dark, and the little officials stood with their hands bowed, the grass that had turned yellow early and the flowers and trees that only had dead branches, cowering at the corners of the wall.

One bright and one dark, one noble and one cheap, one warm and one cold, form a sharp contrast.

Coupled with the sound of the wind rolling branches and leaves, Xun Zhen couldn't help but feel a strange feeling.

He couldn't tell what was so strange about this feeling, but it was such a feeling.

But suddenly I saw fluttering white flakes scattered all over the sky in the cold courtyard.

Xun Zhen thought that she had read it wrong at first, so she put away her scattered thoughts and went to the courtyard again to see that it was snowing.

Yao Sheng and others also saw the snow fall.

"The first snow this winter." Yao Sheng waved his sleeves leisurely and said.

Xun Zhen stared at Xueluo and thought: "Yuan Ben first sent troops to attack Lushang Mountain, and his troops should have reached Lushang Mountain now. Heishan's military camp is in the mountain, and it is already in danger, and it will be even worse if it falls snow. Increases the difficulty of Yuan Ben's initial attack on the camp. But I don't know how long it will take for his troops to win this battle?"

Suppose he replaced his Xuzhou soldiers and attacked the mountains in the snow?

Xun Zhen thought to himself, "Although I don't know what the dangers of Luchang Mountain's Heishan military camp will be, if I simulate the situation when I led troops from Zhao and Wei into the mountains to attack Huang Qian and other troops in the past, I would It will take about five days or so, and it is estimated that we can win.”

Liu Qian's voice sounded, and Xun Zhen heard him say: "It will only snow for a day or two after it has been cloudy. This snow does not seem to be small, and I don't know if the county, township, and poor family can survive this. Snow?"

No matter how small a small official is, he is still an official. His clothes are warm, just like the wind and snow in the courtyard. Know.

During the heavy snowfall in Xuzhou in previous years, many people were frozen to death.

Xun Zhen came back to his senses and said: "Your words are very true." Gu Yu Yao Sheng said, "Uncle Qian, you will come with me tomorrow to the civilian households in Xunfu County. You should ask the county government to get the prepared warm clothes. It was called out by all things, and it will be sent together tomorrow."

Every county in Xuzhou, under the order of Xun Zhen, prepared clothes and quilts for the poor families to keep out the cold in winter.

Yao Sheng agreed.

That night, Yao Sheng held a banquet, and the guests and the host were happy.

In the middle of the night, Xun Zhen woke up. There was a fire dragon under the house, but she still felt the chill.

He put on his clothes and pushed the window, and the biting cold wind drove away the drunkenness and sleepiness.

In the deep night, the outside is already white, and the snow is getting heavier.

The next day, Xun Zhen and Yao Sheng toured the county.

The people in the county are not bad, most of them are not very poor. A heavy snowfall has little effect on their daily life, but there are also poor families who have no clothes to keep out the cold and can only stay out of the house. The family is crowded on straw mats, warming each other with body temperature. .

The officials of the county government followed Xun Zhen and Yao Sheng, and when they encountered such poor households, they took off a set of clothes, quilts and other items loaded in the accompanying car and gave them a temporary use. These clothes and quilts were not given to poor households. When the snow fell, the county government would send someone to take them back. After all, after years of war, the counties and prefectures in Xuzhou are not rich, so it is impossible to prepare so many clothes and be used every year

Some county and temple officials, commanding servants, officials and slaves, were scattered on various streets in the county to clean up snow.

The Li Kui in each "li" also led the li officials to organize the personnel of the li to clear the snow from the li and middle trails.

——But it is said that the snow is still falling, why do you clean up the snow? This is because, according to past experience, if the snow is not cleaned up in time, it is likely to accumulate over the knees, making it inconvenient for people in the county to travel, and if the snow is particularly heavy, it is not even ruled out that the doors of the residents in the interior will be damaged The situation of being blocked occurs, so it must be swept down and down.

After patrolling for two miles, Yao Sheng said with a smile: "Duke Ming, it is a pity that there are no poor and high-ranking scholars in Pengcheng County. Otherwise, if Duke Ming is touring the people in the snow today, if he can meet a Duke Yuan Shao, it would be a shame. It was a good thing.”

"Yuan Shao Gong", said Yuan An. "Shao Gong" is Yuan An's word.

Yuan An's father was Yuan Chang, the ancestor of the Yuan clan in Runan; Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were his great-grandsons.

The Yuan clan in Runan, whose family was originally in Chenjun, moved to Runan only when they arrived in Yuanchang. However, in Yuan Chang's time, the Yuan clan in Runan was just an ordinary gentry. Yuan Chang's father Yuan Liang, who was in the early years of the dynasty, was no more than a county magistrate. It was this Yuan An who brought the Yuan family on the road to prosperity of the fourth generation and the third prince.

The reason why Yao Sheng is here, mentioning Yuan An seems a bit baffling, but Xun Zhen and others all know what it means.

Before Yuan An developed, he had done something that was praised by people at the time and that was also crucial to his own future, that is, the famous "Yuan An is trapped in the snow". Yuan Anshi lived in Luoyang. That winter, Luoyang snowed heavily, covering more than ten feet of land. After the snow stopped, Luoyang Ling and Xun Zhen were the same as the governor of the city. They saw that all the people in the county were clearing the snow, and there were many people begging for food on the streets. When Yuan An's gate was blocked by snow, the Luoyang decree thought that Yuan An must have died of starvation, so he ordered the officials to remove the snow and enter the house. The officials entered Yuan An's house and saw Yuan An lying on the bed. Although he was dying, he was not dead, so he hurriedly issued an order from Luoyang. Luoyang Ling Sui was inside and asked Yuan An in surprise why he didn't go out? Yuan An replied: "The snowmen are all hungry, so it is not suitable for people to do it."

This sentence was appreciated by Luoyang Ling, and he was named Xiaolian by Luoyang Ling. The filial piety of the Han Dynasty is equivalent to the Jinshi of later generations. Since then, Yuan An's career path has been opened, step by step, and finally achieved the position of the third prince, which opened the glory of the Yuan family in Runan.

Hearing Yao Sheng's sarcastic remarks, Xun Zhen also joked, saying, "There are no poor and high-ranking scholars in the county, but there are no sages in the wild.

It took more than half a day to inspect all the districts in the county.

There are quite a few old people who are over seventy years old and have no strong family, Xun Zhen asked where are their children? Either answer that the child died prematurely, or answer that the child is in the army. Xun Zhen ordered Yao Sheng to ask the county officials to bring enough food for the winter to these old people who lived alone.

Returning to the prefecture in the afternoon, Xun Zhen wrote an order in his own hand because of the affairs of the old men, and dispatched officials to the prefecture of Tanxian County.

The decree ordered Xun Yu, Zhang Zhao and other officials who stayed in the prefecture to pass on him to the governors of Xuzhou counties and the Yanzhou counties now under Xuzhou, and asked all counties to immediately check out those who were not cared for in their own counties, who were over 70 years old. For the elderly, the winter clothing and food for these elderly people are all arranged by the county government, and the county government will also take responsibility for all aspects of the life of these elderly people in the future.

Respecting the elderly is a Chinese tradition. For the elderly over 70, the Han family’s regulation has many political and economic considerations. For example, those over 70 are given dove sticks, and those who hold dove sticks are not worshipped when they see an official, no matter what. Officials and people are not allowed to be rude to them. If they dare to insult those who hold doves and sticks, the punishment of the law is extremely severe, even the head of an owl; for example, they often give wine and meat to the elderly over 70 in the country on some festivals, etc. , Xun Zhen's order is a continuation of the Han family's spirit of respecting the old system, and to a certain extent, it is a supplement and improvement to the Han family's old system.

The snow kept falling for four days.

On the fifth day, the snow was slowly getting smaller.

Yao Sheng came to invite Xun Zhen this morning to go out of the city to visit Zhetu Mountain.

Zhetu Mountain is a famous mountain in Pengcheng County. Because the tomb of King Yuan of Chu is on this mountain, this mountain is also called Chuwang Mountain. King Yuan of Chu, the fourth son of Liu Taigong, Liu Jiao, the half-brother of the former Han emperor Liu Bang. In the former Han Dynasty, the king of Chu had a large fiefdom, and Xuejun (Lu State), Pengcheng, and Donghai were all three prefectures as their towns, with a total of 36 counties under their jurisdiction, making it a relatively large vassal state.

Of course, the fame of Zhe Tu Mountain is not only because the tomb of King Yuan of Chu is here, but more importantly, because of the five-color soil that is a specialty of this mountain. Five-color soil, as the name suggests, five-color soil. This kind of soil is necessary for the state to worship heaven and earth and divide the feudal feudal lords. There are many places where five-color soil is produced in various states in China, but the five-color soil in Zhe Tushan is the best. Since the former Han Dynasty, the five-color soil of this mountain has often paid tribute to the imperial court.

The five-color soil is used by the imperial court, and can also be used by local states and counties.

Because of the proximity to the water tower, after Yao Sheng arrived in Ren Pengcheng, many of the roads in his county mansion were replaced by five-color soil. Looking around, the county government is full of colorful colors, and it is much nobler than the state capital of Tanxian County.

Xun Zhen is not a person who likes to travel in the mountains and waters, and is not very elegant, but seeing Yao Sheng's excitement, it is difficult to refuse, and secondly, after thinking about it, it is also possible to take this opportunity to visit the villages along the way, and then Yes.

Zhetu Mountain is located in the north of Pengcheng County, more than 30 miles away from the county seat.

Going out of the city at noon, and staying at a pavilion at the roadside for the night, because Xunzhen encountered the village along the way, he would stop and inspect the village, so it was a journey of more than 30 miles, and he walked for two days until the third one. In the evening of the day, we reached the foot of the mountain.

There are many poor people in the county, and even more poor people in the township.

Fortunately, clothing, quilts and other items to keep out the cold have basically been distributed to the county, to the county, and then to the township. More than a dozen families take turns sharing a set~www.wuxiaspot.com~ at least it can be regarded as some help to these poor households. Xun Zhen also ordered Yao Sheng to send the county officials to provide clothing and food to the villagers who had no children over 70 to take care of.

The people are cold and bitter, but the nobles travel in the mountains while taking advantage of the snow.

When the snow first fell, the strange feeling of light and shade, warmth and coldness, and noble and lowly brought Xun Zhen, could not help but sprouted.

He lost a smile and said to himself, "I'm not a sentimental person either. The wine and meat of the Zhu family stink, and the road is frozen to death. The difference between the rich and the poor, even after two thousand years, has not been completely resolved, what about now? Why do you keep thinking about it?"

The snow has almost stopped, the wind is cold and refreshing, slaps people's faces, rolls up the placket, and makes a rustling sound.

He raised his eyes and looked not far ahead. Although it was covered by heavy snow, the scarlet mountain was still visible, segment by segment. Yao Sheng and others stepped on the snow.

When he was about to reach the bottom of the mountain, Dian Wei said angrily, "Ming Gong, there are a few horses on the road over there."

Xun Zhen stopped and looked at it.

On the official road several miles south of the mountain, four or five knights urged their horses to gallop.

Looking at the whereabouts of these knights, it was exactly where Xun Zhen and the others were.

Not long after, a few knights arrived, jumped off their horses from a distance, and galloped forward, ignoring the snow.

Xun Zhen recognized that the person who took the lead was a military official in Yanzhou Prefecture.

This military official held a document, presented it to Xun Zhen, and said, "Ming Gong, Jizhou Military News!"

"Jizhou Military News?" Xun Zhen asked casually, and immediately woke up, took the document, and opened it to see that it was indeed the latest situation that Xun You had discovered about Yuan Shao's crusade against the Black Mountain Army in Luchang Mountain.

The military newspaper wrote: "Chunyu Qiong led his troops to Luchang Mountain, burned the mountain and advanced, surrounded the black mountain thief wall, attacked the battle in the snow, and defeated it in five days; Wei County."