The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Xun Zhen heard someone ask, "What is this?" When she looked up, she saw that it was Xu Ji.

"Are you awake? Where's grandma?"

"Mother slept late and hasn't woken up yet."

"Are you hungry? There's food left."

Xu Ji was worried about Xu Zhong, was in a bad mood, didn't feel hungry, pointed to the chessboard, and asked Xun Zhen, "Brother, what is this?"

Cheng Yan hurriedly replied, "Chess."

"Chess? Is it the 'xiangqi' mentioned in 'Xianbixiangqi, there are Liubo'?"

Cheng Yan was dumbfounded, not knowing what he was talking about.

After all, Xun Zhen followed her brother Xun Qu to read the book, and she was stunned for a moment, thinking that the source of the eight characters "Hou cover chess, there are more than six games" came from "Conjuring the Soul". Wang Yi of the current dynasty believed that "Conjuring the Soul" was written by Song Yu; Sima Qian of the former Han believed that "Conjuring the Soul" was written by Qu Yuan. In this way, according to Sima Qian's statement, at least in the Warring States period, the title of "chess" already existed.

However, although the names are the same, they are not the same thing. Xun Zhen said: "It can be said that it is, or it can be said that it is not."

"how do I say this?"

"Although this thing is an ancient relic, I have improved it."

Xu Ji studied for a moment and said, "It seems like a battle scene."

"Not bad.... Are you interested in the next two rounds?"

Where did Xu Ji have this interest, he shook his head, and was about to say something when he saw something out of the corner of his eyes, looked up outside the house, swallowed the words, and reminded Xun Zhen, "Brother, someone is here."

Everyone turned their heads, or raised their heads, and looked out of the house in unison, and saw two people dismounted at the gate of the courtyard. The leader was dressed in an official robe, with a long sword in his waist, a cyan sash, and a half-pass seal sac. The man behind was wearing a black bun, carrying a shield and a knife, like a follower.

Huang Zhong recognized the man in front, and quickly stood up from the ground and said, "It's You Yu Zuojun."

Hearing that Yu Yu was coming, Xun Zhen did not dare to neglect, and led everyone to welcome them out the door.

Chen Bao and Fan Shang stepped forward, wanting to take the reins from someone else and lead them to the courtyard, but someone stopped them and said, "I just received the order from your lord, and the urging is very urgent. Immediately rush to the next pavilion and do not go into the courtyard."

Du Mai piled up a smile and said, "Zuo Jun, you must be tired after traveling such a long way. Always drink some water and rest your feet. There is an order from the county, and you are not in a hurry." Khan, these two people don't know that they have already run through several pavilions.

The man with the seal sash said solemnly, "Your Majesty has a strict order. Before the night falls today, the order must be conveyed to all the subordinate village pavilions." Looking around the crowd, his eyes fell on Xun Zhen's face and asked, " Are you the new pavilion chief at your feet?"

"Yes, Xunzhen, Xiaguan, I don't know what to call Shangguan?"

"Downstream, Yu Zuo Gao."

Xun Zhen bowed a long bow and said, "So it's Zuo Jun. . . . When Xu Zhong's case happened the day before yesterday, because he didn't know where Zuo Jun was patrolling, he didn't inform him. I came today, but did the county give an order?" He is appointed by the county center of the Yu clan. He usually patrols the village and his duty is to catch thieves, similar to the role of a security inspector. According to the law, if there is a murder case in the pavilion, the pavilion chief needs to "participate with the wanderers and make miscellaneous diagnoses". When Xu Zhong's case happened, Zuo Gao didn't know where he was, so he didn't tell him.

The man who claimed to be Zuo Gao took out the official document, showed it to Xun Zhen, and said: "There is an order in the county: Xu Zhong committed murder in the city, and the crime cannot be forgiven. Order Er to guard the pavilion, strictly check the pedestrians, and search the whole pavilion. All the li, including the mountains, forests and grasslands, must not miss a single place."

"promise."

His entourage took out a portrait from the package on the mount, handed it to Xun Zhen, and said, "This is Xu Zhong's portrait, which is hung on the wall of the pavilion. , the pavilion chief fined him two taels."

The head of the pavilion has a low status, and his salary is shallow. Even if the money is added to the grain, his salary is less than a thousand dollars a month. If Xu Zhong can be captured alive, it will be equivalent to one month's salary; if he violates the order, the two liang gold is worth one or two thousand dollars, and he will wait for the next two months to drink the northwest wind.

Xun Zhen took the portrait and replied in a deep voice, "No."

Zuo Gao said again: "This time, the thief was arrested by the county magistrate himself, and the specific actions are subject to the command of Zuo Wei Liu Jun."

Whenever there are thieves, the county magistrate will arrest them, and the county magistrate will take action. This is the norm. Xun Zhen answered the promise and asked, "I don't know what order Liu Jun has?"

"Liu Jun has led the officials and has gone out of the city to search for the pavilion. You are just waiting in this pavilion."

Xun Zhen said in his heart, "Although Xu Zhong is brave and brave, he is only one person. In order to hunt him down, the county magistrate actually summoned officials and officials. With such a big fanfare, I wonder if there is any credit for Qin Gan's advocacy?"

He said tentatively: "I heard from witnesses that Xu Zhong ran to Xu County after killing people. ... If he is not in this county?" The county magistrate (chief) cannot cross the border to arrest people. , you can ask the county for assistance. Sure enough, that You Yu Zuo Gao replied: "The county lord has sent someone to Xu County, and asked the county lord of Xu County to assist in the 'chasing'."

The order was like a thunderbolt, and Zuo Gao did not dare to delay too much, explained the matter clearly, and got on his horse.

Xun Zhen and the others bowed to say goodbye.

Zuo Gao and the two turned away on horseback and ran to Shangguan Road. It was almost noon, and there were a lot of people on the road, all dodging. I saw two horses galloping, one after the other, with dust and smoke billowing, and soon disappeared into the distance.

When they greeted him just now, Xu Ji didn't come out. When he saw the two of them leaving, he hurriedly walked out of the house and looked at Xun Zhen eagerly. He overheard the conversation between Xun Zhen and Zuo Gao, and saw that it was exactly the same as Xun Zhen's previous guess. The county lord really sent a text to Xu Xian, asking for his assistance.

In front of Du Mai, Huang Zhong and the others, Xun Zhen couldn't say anything, but said, "Youngjie, don't tell your mother about this first. My mother is worried about your brother, she is already very sad, don't give it any more. It's worse for her... It's almost noon, you're not hungry yet? Go and see if Mommy is awake. Warm up the rice and bring it to Mommy."

Xu Jiben didn't want to leave, but Du Mai and Huang Zhong were all there, so he couldn't express his worries directly, so he had to answer yes and turn around and go back.

…

When he left, Xun Zhen said to everyone: "Everyone, you have all seen the urgency of Zuojun's order. The county and Wei are very serious about this case. Although Xu Zhong is not from Benting, the bitter master is. Benting people, the crime scene is also in Benting, you should not take this case lightly."

Du Mai said: "What Xun Jun said is. How should we act? Please order."

"The county's order is to check pedestrians on the one hand, and search the booth on the other hand. Let's divide our troops into two separate ways. Mr. Huang, you and Fan Tan stay in the booth to monitor passing pedestrians. Du Jun, you and I are in charge of the search. Pavilion. How are you?"

"Yes.... Xunjun, there are six li in this pavilion. It would be too slow to search the past one by one, so why not? Gather one more place and search the distant forest. How?"

Du Maijiu was in the pavilion and had experience in chasing thieves, so this proposal was a good one. Xun Zhen said, "That's how it should be." He complimented him by the way, "Du Jun is well-organized, and he is indeed an expert."

Du Mai scratched his head, became a little embarrassed, and said with a smile, "We acted like this when Mr. Zheng was here. I'm not boasting, as long as the thieves are hiding in our pavilion, they can search this way and not one can escape. Lose."

"Oh? So that's the case." Xun Zhen spoke in an official tone, saying that she couldn't take this case lightly, but she couldn't help thinking about Xu Zhong in the dark.

"A lot, why not much! Especially in winter months and early spring, thieves are the most rampant."

Huang Zhong sighed and said, "I don't blame the many thieves. In recent years, life has become more and more difficult. It is an epidemic and a disaster year. This year's year looks good, but many people are renting crops. The rich people's fields, not to mention other things, only the rent must be handed over at least half, and there are not many left in the hands. In winter, the weather is cold and there is no food, not to mention the thieves hiding in the mountains. Even a good family can’t stand it!… Speaking of which, it’s already September, and there’s not much work to do in the fields, so winter is coming soon, Xun Jun, it’s time to prepare for the 'preparing for the winter bandits'."

Every September, the clans and landowners in the countryside train their clansmen and guests, and repair the five soldiers in case of hunger and cold thieves. The pavilion chief is in charge of local security and cannot stay out of it. Xun Zhen had already planned and arranged for this. - In fact, the reason why he came to be the pavilion chief is that he is relatively free and can make friends with heroes, and the second is precisely to "organize the people and prepare for the bandits." After all, making friends with heroes is false, who knows if you can make friends or not? Only "organizing the people and preparing for the thieves in the winter" is real.

Hearing Huang Zhong's words, he came back to his senses and said to himself, "It is about my 'big plan' to gather the crowd to protect myself. After I have established my prestige, I will start the second step. I will build my own team with the help of the pirates. Of course I will. I will start preparing early." It's just that the prestige has not yet been established, and I am not familiar with the local situation, so it is not good to start rashly.

He looked at the portrait in his hand, and thought again: "The county ordered each pavilion to search the headquarters and all the li. Although Xu Zhong will definitely not hide in this pavilion, it is an opportunity to familiarize himself with the situation in each li."

He didn't look at the portrait just now, but unfolded it at this time. Seeing that the person in the painting was three-pointed similar to Xu Ji, he said, "Is this Xu Zhong?"

Except for him, everyone in UU reading www.uukanshu.com knew Xu Zhong, and Cheng Yan said, "Yes, it's him."

When Qin Gan left yesterday, he didn't take the locals to the county. Where did this portrait come from? Does anyone in the county know Xu Zhong? After thinking about it, Xun Zhen woke up and said, "Maybe Xie Wu followed him to the county and drew this image according to his description."

Huang Zhong took the portrait and hung it on the wall.

Fan Tan pulled out a mat, sat at the door, and checked the pedestrians.

Du Mai and Xun Zhen divided their respective areas. Fan Shang followed Du Mai, Cheng Yan and Chen Bao followed Xun Zhen, each riding a horse.

—

1. Youyu: "Three old people, Youyu, belong to the county, rank hundreds of stones, and hold a villager." Although it was set up by the county, Yuyu was only in charge of "running against thieves and thieves".

In terms of setting, not every township must have a tour. According to the records in Yinwan Han Slip's Collection Book and Official Staff Book, Donghai County has a total of 82 tourers, and compared with 170 townships, there is an average of one in two townships. not. However, although each township may not necessarily have a rambler, there must be a rambler in each county. There are 5 more and 1 less. It can be seen that the ramblers are allocated according to the county rather than the township.

The only duty of a wanderer is to patrol the countryside and prohibit catching thieves, which to some extent overlaps with that of the pavilion chief. But there is still a difference between the wandering and the pavilion. Wanderers need to patrol the countryside non-stop. Judging from their close interaction with county magistrates, they may not necessarily have a fixed office in the countryside. The reason why they are classified as township officials is very likely that each wanderer has a fixed patrol area, in one or several townships, and is a native of the township, so he is regarded as a township official.

—The above is from "Research on Township Officials in the Han Dynasty"

The son of Lu's mother who made friends with Qingxia and attacked the county government mentioned in the previous article is Youyu.