The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Xun Zhen and the others left Handan County, mounted their horses and headed north along the official road.レm♠思♥Road♣客レ

The prefectures and states of Zhao and Changshan used to be "thin people" in the pre-Han Dynasty. Now, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the "land" has become more and more "thin", and the "people" are no longer "numerous". In the county town, it was fine. Although it was quieter than before, the streets were still lively with people coming and going. Once outside the county town, the farther away you were from the city, the more depressed the countryside became. Sometimes when I travel seven or eight miles in a row, there is not a single pedestrian on the official road. Looking forward and backward, looking left and right, I can only see distant trees rustling in the autumn wind, and grass growing in the fields. Empty, listening with partial ears, not hearing the sound of chickens and dogs. On the road, a lonely bird swept through the air, extremely desolate.

Although Xun Zhen had seen such a scene once when she came to Handan to take office, she couldn't help but sigh again and again when she saw it again.

Handan Rong also sighed and said: "Although our county is a small county with a small population, because of the steep mountains in the west of the country, Mintai half lives in the east of the country, and there are usually many pedestrians and merchants on this official road. , but now it's empty, almost suspicious that it's not a human world."

Zhao State had a small population. Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, there were more than 30,000 households, and the population was less than 200,000. Compared with the large counties such as Yingchuan and Runan, the population of less than 200,000 was indeed very small. However, because of the terrain of Zhao State, which is steep in the west and flat in the east, all five counties of Zhao State are located in the east of the state, almost distributed along a straight line. Therefore, except for a few mountain people, most of the people of Zhao State live in the east of the state. In other words, that is to say, most of the nearly 200,000 people in Zhao State are distributed on both sides of the official road from Handan County to Bairen County, and more than 100,000 people live in a radius of more than 200 miles. , converted down, the density is also very high.

In addition, this official road is a section of the "Handan Guangyang Road", the north-south avenue of the empire. Usually, not only people from the counties of Zhao State come and go on the road, but also a large number of merchants come from the north, or from the south, and from the south to the north. Going, driving horses and carts, there is an endless stream. As Handan Rong said, "there are a lot of pedestrians and merchants coming and going."

"The land is thin and the people are small" is the evaluation of Zhao, Zhongshan and other places by Sima Qian of the former Han Dynasty. The term "the land is thin" is relative to the Central Plains. Although it is thin and thin, after generations of ancestors in the pre-Qin, Qin, and Han Dynasty worked diligently to rectify and work, at least the land in the eastern part of Zhao State is very suitable for farming. The land is suitable for farming. The climate and rainfall in Zhao country are also good. The climate is mild and the rainfall is abundant. In previous years, when there were no disasters, every summer and autumn harvest, when walking on the official road, looking around, you can see the heavy wheat ears with the wind. Ups and downs, golden and lovely, but now there are foxes and rabbits in the wild, almost desolate.

Xuan Kangyao pointed to the east and said, "Lieutenant, I remember passing by this place last time. You said that the ditch was built by Lu Shuling?"

Lu Shuling, named Pi, was a native of Pingling, Fufeng. It was a famous scholar during the reign of Emperor Zhang of the current dynasty after Lu Qinggong, the last ruler of Lu State during the Warring States Period. He was worshipped as the Prime Minister of Zhao, and he served for six years. He repaired irrigation and built many ditches on the basis of the old ditches of the previous generation.

Xun Zhen turned to look at him. On the field several miles east of the road, among the desolate wild trees and overgrown weeds, a ditch snaked from the south to the north. There are four large rivers in Zhao State from north to south. The northernmost river is in the south of Bairen and Zhongqiu, and the southernmost river is in the north of Handan. They all originate from the mainland marsh in Julu County in the east. into the mountains to the west. The water of this ditch is drawn from the southernmost river. The ditch is very wide, and the water in the ditch is sufficient. It is several miles away, and the sparkling waves can be seen from the horse.

Xun Zhen said: "But I'm just guessing. It's just because I see that compared with the old canal, the embankments on both sides of the canal are relatively new, and the willows and willows planted on both sides of the canal are greener and stronger, not as good as the two sides of the old canal. The trees are lush and lush, so I guess it should be one of the canals built by Lu Shuling when he was the Prime Minister of Zhao." He asked Handan Rong, "Gongzai, am I right in guessing?"

Handan Rong nodded and said, "The lieutenant is a god, who knows the writings and sees clearly, and this canal was indeed built when Prime Minister Lu was in office."

Xun You sighed: "Such a good canal and such a good field should be a paradise on earth, but now it is so cold! Lieutenant, this field is overgrown with weeds and bushes. The chūn species." He suggested to Xun Zhen, "You should pass on the book to the lord, and ask him to organize the villagers to weed and cultivate the fields in preparation for the cultivation of chūn in the future."

"This place is not far from Handan, so you shouldn't be ignorant. The reason why you didn't organize people to remove weeds and shrubs is probably because of the war, the population of the country has plummeted, and there is a shortage of manpower."

"Although many people died in the chaos, more people fled. Now that Jizhou has been settled, and the state of Zhao has been settled, the prime minister should put up a list and tell the county's magistrates and chiefs to recruit the dead and resettle the refugees. As long as the fleeing people come back , plus the resettled refugees, the population lost in the war can slowly be recovered. With the population, there is no need to worry about the shortage of manpower.”

"What Gongda said is very true. After I return from Xing County, I will pass on a book to Xiangjun and ask him to consider it." Xunzhen paused, and then said, "To recruit the dead, resettle the refugees, cultivate the land and prepare the seeds, these are all things Civil affairs, it’s okay to pass on the text to Mr. Xiang, the rest, I’d better say less.”

If Xun Zhen wanted Zhao Guo to expand his military strength, he had to get the support of Liu Heng, the prime minister of the state. Be very careful not to participate in civil affairs.

Xun You, Handan Rong and others agreed.

The five counties of Zhao State from north to south are: Bairen, Zhongqiu, Xiangguo, Yiyang, and Handan. Yiyang is in the northeast of Handan, about thirty or forty miles away. Xun Zhen and others came out of Handan County in the morning. Passing the township Jingting all the way, they not only carefully inspected the local people's conditions, but when they saw mountains and cliffs in the west, rivers and dangerous places on the road, they would also run to the vicinity to take a closer look. Xuankang's drawings were recorded on paper, but he was not walking very fast. At dusk, he was still more than twenty miles away from the Bai people. He found a nearby wild pavilion and rested for the night. The next day, he set off again before dawn.

...

After walking for another ten miles, the sky was bright and bright, looking forward, the county seat of Yiyang was faintly visible.

Probably because it was close to the county seat, there were more and more Taoist pedestrians.

There are local villagers, chariots, horses, knights, and even more homeless people. From time to time, you can see groups of homeless people in ragged clothes, helping the old and the young, or staggering on the road, or sitting on the side of the road to rest. , or scattered on the field bent over the waist carefully looking for food. Xun Zhen and the others met a lot of refugees when they left Handan County. Later, they became fewer, and now they have become more numerous.

The poorest among the refugees are the elderly and children.

Some old people are hungry and unable to walk, and are carried forward by their filial descendants. Some children are just born, because there is no food to eat, their mothers lack water, making them so hungry that they cry, while some children are so hungry that they have no strength to cry.

In a previous life, Xun Zhen had seen the scene of refugees fleeing from the famine on film and television, and the tragic scene in front of her was even worse than that.

There are refugees on the road, and there are hungry people on the side of the road.

Xuankang was young, kind-hearted, and with an unbearable expression on his face, he said to Xun Zhen, "Lieutenant, would you like to give them some of the dry food I'm waiting for?"

Handan Rong disagreed, and although he knew that Xunzhen liked Xuankang, he couldn't refute it outright, but he also said: "There are hundreds of refugees in the country, everywhere, how many people can I save with this dry food? Besides..." He motioned Xuankang to look at the fields not far away, and said, "Did you see that group of refugees? But they are all young and strong.... Look around them, what are they putting on? Sticks, hoes, and swords. This is obviously a gathering of daring people among the refugees, doing illegal things. , ... Maybe I have done illegal things. If I give loose food to the refugees, I will not say whether the food will be snatched by these people later, even I am afraid that I will also be in danger. "

Xuankang looked over and saw that the group of refugees whom Handan Rong signaled were all young and strong, sitting in the field, staring at the pedestrians on the road, some holding the swords beside them, and their eyes were fierce. Indeed, according to Handan Rong's analysis, it is better to say that they have become bandits rather than refugees.

Xun Zhen frowned, restrained her mount, and touched the ring knife on her waist.

Xun You knew what he was thinking, and said, "Lieutenant, the refugees have no food, and they are so hungry that they can do anything. There are countless people like this who are refugees and bandits at night. It is only by the strength of me and others. If you want to eradicate it, you have to cure it from the root cause.”

How to cure the root cause? It’s what Xun You said yesterday: Order the county magistrates to recruit the dead, resettle the refugees, cultivate the land and prepare crops. As long as there is food to eat and a place to live, there will naturally be no refugees who become bandits, even if there are still a few who are unwilling to do so. People, who would rather be thieves, can be hunted and chased without the disguise of a large number of refugees.

How could Xun Zhen not know the truth?

It's just that he was an official, from Fanyang Pavilion Chief to County Soldier Cao Ye, under the surface of elegant and modest retreat, in fact, he has always been to eliminate violence, ban evil, and dare to fight. The evil generation, he subconsciously wanted to capture and kill.

At this time, after being persuaded by Xun You, he hesitated a little, and finally put the county first, and gave up the idea of ​​catching and killing these refugee strongmen, but he did not stop there, and ordered Zuo Bohou: "Go and find the people here. The pavilion chief, order him to strengthen the guard and protect the pavilion."

Zuo Bohou received the order and drove his horse to leave.

Xun Zhen and the others had just hit the horse and were about to leave, and continued on the road, when they suddenly saw a passer-by go down the official road and enter the field.

This man is not very old, in his twenties, with a shabby shawl and a single coat in his hand. Although Ye Zhong has long run out of wheat, he still refuses to walk in the field. He carefully walks on the field ridge, looking at its direction, But it was towards those young and strong refugees.

Xun Zhenfu stopped the mount again and sat on the horse to watch it.

Xun You, Handan Rong, Xuan Kang, Dian Wei, and Yuan Zhongqing all immediately turned to him.

I saw this young man approaching the young and strong refugees, as if to say a few words to them. He was far away, and he didn't know what he was talking about. Immediately, he squatted down and spread the package in his hand on the ground, but there was some food inside, such as coarse cakes and dried fruits. He took all the food to these refugees. These refugees seemed to be very grateful, and they all knelt down and thanked them.

He helped one up, saluted, put away the package, and turned to go up the official road.

Xuankang was surprised and said, "Why did this person give all the food to those refugees? Is it an old acquaintance?"

The young man was acting strange indeed. There are many refugees on the official roads and in the fields. He gave no food to anyone, but gave all the food he had to the young men, which was inevitably confusing. Xun Zhen and Xun You looked at each other. Xun Zhen smiled and said to Handan Rong: "Gongzai, this son is acting weird. Let's go, I'll go over and ask him to see if he knows those refugees."

The people drove their horses to the side of the road and met the young man.

The young man walked out along the field ridge, raised his face to see Xun Zhen and the others, was stunned for a moment, and took two steps back.

Although Xun Zhen and the others were all in rough clothes, they all had swords and horses, and they were all suddenly surrounded by them when they were in good health. Those who didn't know the inside story might think they were powerful bandits who robbed the way. . Xun Zhen jumped off the horse, bowed a long bow, and said with a smile: "Please don't be surprised, we are passers-by, and I want to ask about something, so I took the liberty to come here."

Xun Zhen is polite and polite, as the saying goes, "full of poetry and literature", not to mention in the previous life, in this life, he has studied Confucian classics since he was a child, and he has his own elegance and gentleness.

The young man put down his heart and hurriedly returned the salute, saying: "May I ask what you want to ask? But do you want to ask for directions? I am a native of Yiyang, and I dare not say anything else. I am familiar with these roads in the county and township pavilions ."

When he said this, Xun You, Handan Rong, Xuan Kang and others had different expressions. But it turned out: this person is a little slurred, and I don't know if it is because of the short tongue or other reasons. As far as he just said this short sentence, there were several places where he couldn't speak clearly and couldn't hear it clearly. However, even with Mengdao guessing, everyone still understood his words.

Xun Zhen's face was as usual, and he didn't show any strangeness because of his inarticulateness. He smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness. Although I am not a local, I took the liberty to come to pay my respects, not to ask for directions."

"Oh? What's that for? Please don't hesitate to say, as long as you can, you will do your best to help."

Although this young man didn't speak clearly, he was a warm-hearted person. Xun Zhen smiled and said, "Haha, I don't need any help at all.... I'm here because I want to ask the steps,..." He pointed to Tanaka. The few refugees who were there, "Are you old acquaintances with those few people?"

"They are refugees from other prefectures passing through this county, and I am not old acquaintances with them. This is the first time we have met."

"Is this the first time we meet?"

"Exactly."

"Since it's the first time we met, I just saw on the road that I gave them all the rations I brought with them. Why is this?"

"I originally wanted to ask this!" The young man laughed and said, "The local people, even though their family is poor, will not run out of food and food. Seeing that these people are hungry and pitiful, they donate the rations they brought with them. them."

"There are so many people on the road, but why don't you help other refugees, but only those few people?"

The young man hesitated for a moment, then looked back. After taking the food he gave him, the young and strong refugees stopped sitting on the field and went away together. He turned his head and said, "To tell the truth, I don't help other refugees. It is really selfish to help these few people."

"What is selfishness?"

"These people are strong and strong, sitting on the field, each holding their weapons, watching the passers-by. I am afraid that they will be thieves, so I gave them food rations."

Xun Zhen looked back on Xun You, Handan Rong, and Xuan Kang, and all three Xun You showed their amazed expressions. Xun Zhen was also surprised, turned her head back, and said to herself, "This person is in rough clothes, and his family is obviously not rich. Hearing his words, although his articulation is a little unclear, his speech is quite elegant. He must have read books." Said, "Ask your step Gao's surname?"

"Under Cen Rong."

Xun Zhen murmured: "Cen Rong..." This name is very unfamiliar, and I have never heard it from anyone in the mansion before.

Handan Rong's face showed surprise, and he said, "Dare to ask your steps, but is the word Shujing?"

This young man named Cen Rong did not expect that Handan Rong actually knew his words, he was stunned, and replied, "Exactly, I don't know who I am?" Xun Zhen spoke to him in Luoyang Zhengyin, which is Mandarin, Handan. Rong spoke in the dialect of Zhao County, he hesitated, "Listen to the accent, it sounds like a native of this county?"

Handan Rong took a step forward, got closer to him, looked him up and down, and said with a smile, "Yes, I'm from Handan. You may have heard my name before. My surname is Handan, and my name is Rong."

Handan Rong, Le Jun, and Wei Chang are the three most famous young talents of Zhao Guozheng. Of course, he has heard of his name Cen Rong, and he immediately bowed and said, "You have a high reputation, I have heard about it for a long time, but I didn't expect It's a real blessing to be able to see my feet here today."

Handan Rong returned a salute and said with a smile: "I have heard your name for a long time, and I have been visiting for a long time, and I have no time to spare. It is an unexpected joy to meet you now." He introduced it to Xunzhen and said, "This is my county. Dutiful son, his father is Gu Zuo Feng Yi, who was also a famous person in my county back then."

Zuo Fengyi is one of the three assistants. Sanfu was Gyeonggi in the former Han Dynasty, in what is now Shaanxi. Zuo Fengyi is both an official name and the name of the jurisdiction, equivalent to the prefect of the county. After the dignified prefect of a county, why is the son of two thousand stones dressed so frugally?

Xun Zhen was deeply surprised, and after inquiring about it, he found out: Cen Rong was a posthumous son. His father died in the official position before he was born. There were many disciples, former officials, and county residents who sent gifts, and the county government also sent a lot of gifts according to the custom, but Cen Rong's mother always gave these gifts of thanks, and said nothing, saying: "Before the death of my husband, Said to me: 'Life is clean and death is honest'. I can't go against his words." He returned home alone, after stroking his coffin. After returning home for six months, he gave birth to Cen Rong.

Cen Rong's father was an honest and clean official, and he did not manage the family property. His mother also refused the gift from the county. When he returned home with the coffin, he only brought some dilapidated household items with him. A widow with a newborn child had a very difficult life. .

But his mother was very ambitious and never asked for anyone, even if anyone had a gift. His mother's family was very wealthy, and someone advised his mother: "My mother's family is rich, why not go to my mother's family to support her?" His mother refused, and replied, "My two sons died early, and only the youngest survived. , he is a posthumous son, and he has never seen his father. If I take him to live with my mother, I am worried that he will forget his surname. Besides, my youngest son is still a boy, even though he is still young. How can a husband live in a different surname and look up to others? If I do this, how can I be worthy of my deceased husband?" Resolutely refused to rely on others. Vegetable food, often only eat one meal a day, but still does not change its ethos.

The villagers therefore respected his mother very much.

With such a tutor, when Cen Rong grew up, although there was nothing outstanding in his studies, he was very wise in his conduct. Knowing its name, the county also hears it. It stands to reason that his father is Gu Erqianshi, his mother is respected by the village, and he himself is called a virtuous person by the villagers, and should have been recommended by the village and the county, but Zhao is a small country with a population of less than 20. Wan, there is only one census every two years, and all the places to be scrutinized are occupied by the gentry and tyrants of each county. Therefore, Cen Rong has not yet been scrutinized in the country, and still serves as a people in the countryside.

Handan Rongxiao said to Cen Rong, "The year before last, I heard that I was turned into a county official by Yiyang County, but was rejected by your mother?"

"Yes."

Xun Zhen asked, "Why is this?"

Cen Yan replied: "My mother said to the next one: 'Your father is famous for the two thousand stones in the prefecture and county, how can you be a fighting officer, driven by others, shouting like a villain, and making your father ashamed under the Jiuquan? ' Therefore, it is not allowed to accept evictions from the county."

Xuankang blurted out: "Mother Jun is really a virtuous person!" After a pause, he praised Cen Rong again, "Jun Zhou is in a hurry to help the poor, in order to prevent the refugees from becoming thieves, he gave them all his rations, and would rather be hungry himself. Also a virtuous man!"

Cen Rong is a simple person~www.wuxiaspot.com~ He was praised by Xuan Kang, and his face turned red. He wanted to say a few words of modesty, but he finally swallowed the words because Xuan Kang praised his mother. . He respects and loves his mother very much and praises him. He can be humble and praise his mother, but he does not want to be humble.

Xun Zhen sighed: "'Your mother is virtuous, and your lord is also virtuous', sincere words! How can a virtuous person like you live in the countryside for a long time, and cannot make progress? You are a posthumous son, and your mother raised you and sold fruit. It is not easy for you to study the scriptures, and you have suffered a lot. Now that you have chéngrén, it is time to repay the kindness of your mother's upbringing and teaching. You have a worthy mother, and I will make you filial to your mother!"

He said to himself: "Since I took office, I have always focused my attention on the military, except for a few people from Handan Rong and Cheng Jia, I have not invited the sages and celebrities of this county to be my lieutenant officials. I went to the county this time, firstly to examine the people's conditions and geography of each county, and secondly, I originally wanted to visit sages and use energy, in the name of advocating my love for sages and talents. This Cen Rong, his mother is virtuous, he I am also a sage, and I cannot let this opportunity slip away." He asked Xuankang, "Are you still not filling up the staff in the chief recorder's office?"

Xuankang replied: "Yes, there are still a few people who are in charge of the history, the history of the room, and the secretary and the junior history."

Xun Zhen smiled and asked Cen Rong, "If your mother is not a county clerk, what about the history of the lieutenant?"