The next day, Zhu Ming and his family went to Huangting Temple in the eastern suburbs to offer incense.
By the way, I went to visit the Zhang family in Juancheng.
The eunuch's car drove slowly eastward, and the people in the city watched curiously.
Puzhou City was first built in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It was only repaired from time to time and never expanded. It is not very large. Official buildings such as state offices, county offices, schools, and state schools account for one-sixth of the city's area.
More people lived outside the city.
In the Song Dynasty, cities implemented the Xiangfang system, that is, the whole city was divided into several areas (xiangfang), which were further subdivided into several blocks (fangs).
The squares in the Song Dynasty were different from those in the Tang Dynasty. The isolation buildings were all demolished, leaving only the squares of each block. The squares were written with "such-and-such square" to identify the block information, and later gradually evolved into archways.
Ju Ming looked at the people on both sides of the street and suddenly thought of the prosperous Tokyo.
Of course, this place cannot be compared with Tokyo, but the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty were equally miserable. Puzhou was directly massacred, and all the people in the city were slaughtered.
At that time, there were only more than a thousand remnants of the Western Army in the small city of Puzhou, but they were able to hold on to the main force of the Jin Army for thirty-three days.
Guard general Yao Duan led 500 Western troops out of the city to attack at night, and went straight to Wanyan Zonghan's Chinese army tent.
Wanyan Zonghan was wearing a single coat and barefoot and ran for his life in terror in the late autumn night. After gathering the army, the birdman was furious and ordered an all-out attack on Puzhou, threatening to massacre the city to vent his anger.
Yang Cuizhong, the governor of the state, led the people in the city to hold on. The city was broken, street fighting took place, and they retreated to the bell tower. Yang Cuizhong was captured and died for his country.
Yao Duan led his remaining troops to successfully break through the encirclement, but was later killed in the Battle of Zhegao.
Ju Ming looked at the vivid faces in Puzhou City and felt very conflicted about whether Jingkang would rebel again.
This is not the first time this thought has occurred. I had it several times in Tokyo.
The rebellion after Jingkang will be very smooth and the difficulty of the rebellion will be greatly reduced.
But the people in Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places will fall into hell, and the economy and people's livelihood in the entire north will suffer great damage.
While lost in thought, Ju Ming had already ridden out of the city.
After continuing for two miles, the civil servant responsible for guiding the way said: "Prefect, ahead is Huangting Temple."
But Ju Ming did not go to Huangtingguan: "I heard that the Zhang family in Juancheng is nearby."
The official replied: "The ancestral home of the Zhang family still has two miles of land."
"You come to lead the way. Let's go to Zhang's house first." Zhu Ming said with a smile.
The civil servant was startled and then shouted: "Go to Zhangzhuang!"
"Dang-dang-dang-dang!"
The gong rang six times in succession, and the soap officials held up signs to guide the way.
The civil servant added: "Prefect, if you are going to visit the Zhang family, you must send someone to notify them in advance, so that the Zhang family can be prepared."
Ju Ming nodded: "Okay."
An official rode on horseback to report the news. When everyone arrived at the Zhang family's ancestral home, dozens of people from the Zhang family had gathered to greet them.
Zhang Zuchun stood in front with a cane. When he saw the prefect dismounting from his horse, he immediately stepped forward to salute: "Zhang Zuchun of Juancheng, bring the Zhang clan to pay homage to the prefect!"
"No need to be polite, old man," Zhu Ming helped him up and patted the sword on his waist, "I have been in Puzhou for nearly ten days, but I have not visited Mr. Guiya's descendants. It is already very rude. I have admired Mr. Guiya for a long time.
, and even practiced swordsmanship hard, and I have long wanted to visit Juancheng."
Zhang Zuchun was very happy that his ancestor was worshiped and said quickly: "Prefect, please come to the house for a banquet."
The Zhang family in Juancheng is a descendant of Zhang Yong, a famous official in the early Song Dynasty.
Zhang Yong was a man of both civil and military skills. His literary ability created a new academic trend, and his military ability put down the rebellion in Shu. He could drink for three fights without getting drunk, and his swordsmanship was unparalleled in the world. He was good friends with Chen Tuan and Kou Zhun, and they were "friends".
"Father of the Son".
Before he was nineteen years old, Zhang Yong was just a knight-errant, traveling between Shandong and Hebei provinces with a sword. Suddenly he wanted to study. He left home and studied for seventeen years, and finally got a spot on the gold medal list.
Ju Ming was introduced to the house, and the meal was just started to be cooked, followed by drinking tea and eating some snacks.
Zhang Zuchun began to introduce the clan members, especially a few young people, and then said: "The descendants are ashamed of their ancestors and have not produced a Jinshi for forty years. The Zhang family now has a talented man named Zhang Lu, but unfortunately he is not in his hometown and went to study at the Imperial University in Tokyo.
"
Ju Ming smiled and said: "I have been a scholar for one year. Which school did Zhang Lu study?"
Zhang Zuchun said: "The imperial residence is of the highest quality."
Zhu Ming said: "I missed it, I am in charge of the students living outside the home."
"It's a pity that he has never been a student of the prefect," Zhang Zuchun said, "When he returns to his hometown during the Chinese New Year, he will definitely visit the prefect and ask for his advice."
"I came to the government office to look for me," Zhu Ming took the opportunity to say, "Can you recommend one of the Zhang family members to be my personal attendant temporarily?"
Zhang Zuchun said: "It is a rare blessing to be able to follow the prefect. Zhang Boring, come here!"
Zhang Bor is in his twenties. He is extremely intelligent, has learned how to bow and horse, is good at swordsmanship, and likes to drink. He is just like a young version of Zhang Yong. Unfortunately, he is far from his ancestors in terms of studying. He has to take two exams in a row.
He failed in the next state examination.
Don't even think about becoming a Jinshi in this life, just follow Ju Ming to practice.
"Bo Boring pays homage to the prefect!" Zhang Bor bowed respectfully.
Zhu Ming looked at this man and nodded in approval: "He is handsome in appearance and powerful in martial arts. He is both civil and military at first glance."
Being an official is so convenient and you can easily recruit talents.
Of course, the real purpose of Ju Ming choosing a son of the Zhang family to be his personal attendant was to facilitate things.
Zhang Zuchun said: "Let's dance the sword for the prefect to cheer up."
"You're showing off your embarrassment!" Zhang Bor clasped his fists.
This man has two swords, one is a two-handed long sword and the other is a one-handed short sword.
The tall Shandong man, who was 1.8 meters tall, drew his sword out of its sheath, slashed and slashed the thorns, and scolded Baji.
"Good swordsmanship!" Li Bao clapped his hands and praised.
Ju Ming said: "It's hard for one person to show his strength when dancing with a sword. Go and fight with him."
Li Bao jumped out with a gun: "I'm coming!"
The two men immediately started fighting each other, shooting each other with swords, and the fight was indistinguishable.
Li Bao learned his spear skills from the army. Not only him, but many good people and bandits in Shandong also learned their martial arts from the army.
Zhang Boring's swordsmanship is passed down from his ancestors. Legend has it that it came from the ancestor Chen Tuan. I don't know whether this is true or not, but Zhang Yong did learn Taoism from Chen Tuan when he was a hero.
"Come on, don't hurt your harmony."
The two fought for a while, but Ju Ming stopped the fight at the right time and asked them to come back for tea.
Li Bao was very ashamed. He used a spear as a weapon, so he should be able to defeat Zhang Bor quickly. After a long fight, they were evenly matched.
Ju Ming asked: "Can I visit the Zhang Family Library?"
Zhang Zuchun said: "Prefect please."
Zhang Yong left no property in those days. When he was a hero, he "bankrupted himself to serve the guests". He entertained heroes all day long and was poor. All the money he had accumulated over the years as an official was used to buy books and wine, leaving only tens of thousands of books to future generations.
roll.
Even this ancestral home was built by his eldest son - all four sons were officials.
Today, the Zhang family is divided into three. One family lives in Tokyo and has long been ruined. One family lives in Fujian and has little contact with the main clan. The other family lives in Juancheng and has completely become landlords. It has not produced a Jinshi for decades and has been reduced to a mere
Ordinary local wealthy family.
Ju Ming was wandering around the library and discovered an interesting phenomenon: the Zhang family actually collected hundreds of Taoist scriptures.
In addition, there are books on the art of war and martial arts.
Zhu Ming pulled out a book of mace manuals, which opened with eight words: maces are not used alone, and methods are used in two ways.
After reading the general outline carefully, Ju Ming found that he had made a mistake in practicing. Double mace is the complete version of horse fighting. If only one mace is used, many moves will not be used, and the true power of the mace cannot be used.
"Can I borrow this book?" Zhu Ming asked.
Zhang Zuchun said: "The governor can take it."
While flipping through martial arts secret books, Zhu Ming said casually: "I heard that the Zhang family has dozens of acres of land that was taken over by Huang Tingguan?"
When Zhang Zuchun mentioned this, he became angry and said angrily: "Those Taoist priests were completely unreasonable. Relying on Wang Laozhi's arrogance, they actually brought many thieves into the Taoist temple. Those thieves put on Taoist robes and occupied the land around Huangting Temple. Those who refused to obey
They are often beaten, and some farmers even disappear."
"The Zhang family has so many people that they don't dare to resist?" Zhu Ming asked.
Zhang Zuchun said: "The dozens of acres of land occupied by Taoist priests, not far from Huangting Temple, are not owned by the main sect. Moreover, it is not Shangtian, so just take it. If you mess with those Taoist priests, you will have no peace of mind. They have
With Wang Laozhi's support and many thieves, it will be difficult to end the trouble."
Ju Ming handed the martial arts secret book to Bai Sheng and said with a smile: "How about I help the Zhang family take back the land?"
Zhang Zuchun said in a low voice: "Taoist priests are arrogant and domineering, and they have done nothing to eliminate evil! But Huangtingguan was expanded according to the emperor's order, and if it is not eliminated cleanly, there will be endless troubles."
Zhu Ming said: "The officials only allowed the expansion of Huangting Temple, but they did not allow Taoist priests to collude with thieves, nor did they allow Taoist priests to seize the land of good people. As the local governor, I am responsible for cutting off thieves. However, the archers and archers in the prefecture and county were disobedient, and the Xiang army also
I don’t have the right to transfer, so I have to ask the Zhang family to borrow some strong men."
Zhang Zuchun was hesitant and couldn't make up his mind for a while.
The dozens of acres of land that were occupied were only owned by branches of the Zhang family, not the main property of the Zhang family. And the amount was not large, so why bother with Taoist priests and bandits?
If it is not handled cleanly, it may offend Wang Laozhi and may also attract revenge from thieves.
Zhu Ming wants to attack Huang Tingguan now. Zhang Zuchun supports it in his heart, but it would be bad if someone from the Zhang family is involved.
Zhu Ming looked at the collection of books in the building and said with emotion: "I recall that Mr. Guiya used his sword to travel across Hebei and Shandong (the concept of Shandong existed in the Song Dynasty). He went bankrupt and entertained heroes. When he was angry, he drew his sword and killed people. Now, although he has such a big industry, Zhang
The descendants of our family don’t even dare to resist a few thieves. How can the blood of our ancestors survive?”
Zhang Zuchun felt ashamed after hearing this, but his butt determined his head, and he had to consider the whole family. He really didn't dare to offend a thief in Taoist robes.
"Forget it," Zhu Ming said, "I'll pay my respects in front of Mr. Guiya's tomb, and then go back to the state government office to have a drink. The Zhang family is not anxious about having their land occupied, so why should I, the governor of the state, be anxious? There is no one in the Zhang family.
A man."
Zhang Bor's face turned red. Young people are always so angry. How could they admit that they have no eggs? He held his sword and roared: "The Zhang family has a good man here! There is no need for the governor to quarrel with each other. I will kill him alone tonight."
, I will definitely kill those thieves to pieces!"
Zhu Ming nodded with satisfaction: "It turns out that there is still one man left in the Zhang family. I will write to my friends in Tokyo. Just say that the Zhang Guaiya bloodline has been passed down to this day, and the blood is still there. Unfortunately, there are not many left, and he is bullied by thieves in the countryside.
.Alas, how sad.”
Zhang Zuchun still wanted to lose face, at least not to lose the face of his ancestors, so he immediately raised his hands and said, "Prefect, please wait a moment. I cannot make the decision alone. I must summon all the branches of the house to discuss this matter."
The weaker the Zhang family becomes, the more relieved Ju Ming becomes.
A local wealthy family that can be bullied by thieves is a perfect breakthrough point.
This chapter has been completed!