Jiangdong was in chaos, but Jingxiang gradually became calm.
"After passing here, you will reach Wuguan!"
Liao Hua glanced sideways at Cao Zhen and pointed forward.
Cao Zhen nodded,
It is now November of the fourth year of Taixing. After the long battle of Jingzhou, the east and west sides of the Han Dynasty have entered a relatively peaceful period. In addition, there is some cooperation within a certain limit. Therefore, Niang Xipi’s previous
It’s not a big problem to smile now.
As Cao Cao's envoy, Cao Zhen came to Guanzhong, not only to make some final handover matters with Fei Qian, but also to verify some things. After all, those who arrived in Chang'an before were either ordinary people or had foreign surnames, even Guo Jia and Cao Cao
It's not completely reassuring. Only the children of the Cao family whose interests are completely aligned are qualified to be certified.
After a short rest, the group set off again. They took the "Wuguan East Road", which is a road opened along the Danshui River Valley and connected to the Xiong'er Mountains in the east. From the Nanyang Basin to here, the road becomes narrower as they go west.
, within hundreds of miles there are mountains and deep valleys, which are narrow and difficult to navigate.
It's not that these mountains and deep valleys are completely inaccessible. If you really want to climb over them, it's not that you can't climb them. It's just that according to the technological level of the Han Dynasty and without positioning instruments, it's easy to enter deep mountains and old forests, but it's difficult to get out.
Not long after, after crossing a mountain pass, Wuguan suddenly appeared in front of everyone.
Cao Zhen habitually looked up and down, but saw that Guancheng was built on a relatively flat highland in the canyon, with the tall Shaoxi Mountain to the north and Danshui to the south. The outer wall of Guancheng was made of blue bricks, and the wall was two meters long.
, winding along the mountainside, almost completely blocking the road into the customs!
When it comes to entering the Pass, from Shandong to Shanxi, it is of course the most direct way to go through Hangu Pass, but I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because Cao Zhen started from Jingzhou, so going through Wuguan Pass is not a big problem.
"Strangle the relationship between Qin and Chu, and rely on the dangers of mountains and rivers. Pass through Nanyang and move to the east, enter Lantian and pass the danger on the right. The huge defenses at Wuguan can be distinguished in one fell swoop. This is a sincere statement!"
Cao Zhen didn't do anything to cover up, and said with emotion, which made Liao Hua couldn't help but nod slightly. After all, Liao Hua had stayed in Wuguan for a long time before.
Liao Hua, Cao Zhen and his party were not the only travelers in Wuguan at the moment. On the left and right sides of the road nearly three miles before Wuguan, in a slightly smoother place, there were some business travelers and people waiting to line up to cross the border.
Liao Hua sent his seal and customs clearance documents to the pass in advance, and then the generals in the pass checked. Liao Hua has now been replaced by Xu Yu in addition to the Wuguan Order. It is said that Ma Heng will take over in a while...
…
Liao Hua was promoted to the rank of captain of the military governor. Although he was still a miscellaneous number, he was only one step away from the position of general. If the Hussars went on an expedition, Liao Hua was nominally the guardian of the military governor before the big account. Of course, in reality
It's just a professional title at the moment. It's impossible to really ask Liao Hua to protect him. Otherwise, why would Huang Xu do it?
Although there were seals and passes from Liao Hua and others, inspection and verification still took a certain amount of time. Therefore, Cao Zhen couldn't sit still. He walked up to a group of merchants, stretched his neck and looked at the vehicles, "What is this selling?"
』
The merchant quickly opened the bamboo mat covering the vehicle with a smile on his face, then took a piece of it, wrapped it in oil paper and put it in a lump with both hands, "This is a specialty of Nanyang, and the red glutinous rice cake is also..."
Red sugar, also known as brown sugar, is of course not as pure as later generations. It has many impurities and condenses into lumps, which is dark brown in color.
The merchant nodded and bowed and said: "This is no small boast, this is a top-quality red glutinous rice cake, as sweet as honey, suitable for all ages..."
Cao Zhen looked at the candy, then broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth, "Not bad, very sweet!"
Sugar is probably a molecular structure deeply imprinted in human genes. When sugar is consumed, the brain will secrete a reward, and then encourage more intake of this high-calorie food...
Of course, a general like Cao Zhen doesn't have to worry about obesity. It's just that it's simply sweet. If you eat too much, you'll feel a little greasy. Just wrap it in oil paper and ask, "How tall is this sweet candy?"
The merchant said with a smile: "It's a small honor if the general likes him. How can I accept the general's money..."
Cao Zhen took a piece of Zhengxi silver coin from his body and threw it to the merchant, "Who is this person? How can I get it for free? Is this someone asking how much the price of this thing is?!"
"Thank you, General, for the reward! Thank you, General, for the reward!" Although the merchant said he was embarrassed to accept it, he held the Zhengxi Silver Coin tightly in his hand, "so that the General would know that this item is worth a hundred yuan. If it is sent to a remote place, the price will be very high."
Even if it is doubled, it will even cost three hundred yuan a piece..."
Cao Zhen nodded, threw the red glutinous rice cake to the guard behind him, and left. He didn't care about the price difference, and naturally he didn't care that he spent more money to exchange for a cheaper red glutinous rice cake. In the eyes of others,
It seems that he is a fool, but Cao Zhen knows that one of the purposes of his coming to Chang'an is for these...
Not long after, Cao Zhen wandered around, and the guards behind him took a lot of things, large and small.
After returning to Liao Hua, Liao Hua glanced at Cao Zhen and smiled slightly.
Cao Zhen also laughed a few times.
Liao Hua knew why Cao Zhen did this, but firstly, there was no need to stop him, and secondly, he laughed at Cao Zhen that it would be useless even if he did so...
After a while, soldiers came from Wuguan. When they saw Liao Hua, they stepped forward to salute, and then guided Liao Hua, Cao Zhen and others to enter the pass first.
"This is..." Before arriving at the pass, Cao Zhen saw soldiers coming forward with lit mugwort. The smoke was choking for a moment, and he felt a little confused. He couldn't help but ask Liao Huadao, "Why do you do this?"
Liao Hua dismounted and said: "This is a common practice. Before entering Guanzhong, people, horses and vehicles need to pass through water and fire... The so-called fire means burning moxa, burning the yoke, and inspecting the cattle and horses..."
Cao Zhen turned around and looked at it, and found that it was not just for him, but that everyone needed to do this, so he nodded and motioned his guards to follow the instructions of the soldiers in Wuguan, thinking in his mind, after he returned,
He must have remonstrated with Cao Cao to do the same.
This is a great move...
Vehicles and people are mixed together, and it is inevitable that they will be entangled, and there may even be people hiding in the mezzanine among the vehicles. However, when being smoked by this mugwort, few people can hold back coughing, and they are naturally exposed...
In fact, Cao really misunderstood, because the most important reason for Feiqian to set up such a rule is not to check entrainment, but to prevent epidemics and insect pests. When mugwort is smoked, neither mosquitoes nor fleas can continue to adhere to the vehicle.
The cattle immediately entered Guanzhong, which to some extent reduced the possibility of Guanzhong contracting the plague.
As for the water test, that is, bathing with lime water and saltpeter water, the intention is the same.
After all, the refugees from Jingxiang have some parasites on their bodies. If they cannot be detected before entering the customs, it will naturally be difficult to control them after they enter the customs. Wuguan, Hangu and other customs have specialized doctors on duty.
Anyone entering the customs who appears to be sick at first sight, even if they have a headache or a fever, will be stopped to avoid bringing infectious diseases into the territory of Guanzhong and Gyeonggi.
And all of this, which may seem very ordinary in later generations, even some crude epidemic prevention and clearance testing methods, has become a symbol of civilization and advancement here in Feiqian...
At the same time, under such measures, people who enter Wuguan can't help but feel a sense of restraint. This sense of restraint will continue, making these people subconsciously accept other health regulations in Guanzhong.
Relevant laws.
Cao Zhen also felt a little like this, but he was more looking forward to it.
Guanzhong was the heartland of the Qin State, the land of Yongzhou, and the land of Weihan, which was also eight hundred miles of fertile land. Now it has become the rich land of the Hussar General. The rich land is the prosperous place of the Han Dynasty.
…
I wonder what kind of wonders Cao Zhen will see there?
……ｂ(￣▽￣)ｄ……
Just when Cao Zhen was preparing to enter the Pass, a group of people gathered in a manor outside the west gate of Chang'an.
The manor is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the scenery is beautiful. There is a pond at the foot of the mountain, which receives the spring water from the mountain. It is clear and pleasant. In the pond, there is a strange stone. Although it is in the water, it can be square and rugged.
Character.
Therefore, this village is also called Fangshi Xiaoyuan.
Most people should not even think about getting close to the small courtyard here. There are private servants guarding it all the way away to drive out ordinary people. The only people who can enter this place are "there are scholars who talk and laugh, but no white people who come and go".
The strange stone courtyard is very elegantly decorated, and even the servants who serve can say a few verses. Of course, it would be wrong to regard this strange stone courtyard as a general literary gathering place...
Just like Zhang Shi once said, "If you go to this academy and just discuss the classics, it will be wrong..."
So regardless of the scriptures, what are they talking about?
In the lobby, Zhang Shi was in the middle, raising his hands high, waving his fists, and said angrily: "This is a party dispute! Pang Lingjun wasted his kindness and acted rashly! He harmed his colleagues, framed the charges, arrested them wantonly, and disrupted the place! It's really true!"
What an extremely evil act!"
Sometimes, it’s not that people don’t know good or bad, or that they don’t understand the relationship, but they still do it.
It's like having to climb over the guardrail instead of walking on a pedestrian bridge.
Didn't we walk like this before, and nothing happened? Since there was nothing, why should we walk on the overpass now?
Generally speaking, this big move by Pang Tong and others is quite good for the common people and the nobles, because the civilians have found that food prices have dropped, and the young nobles have found that a lot of pits have been freed up...
Therefore, for the measures taken by Pang Tong and others, people from these two classes naturally supported it with both hands and wished they could raise their limbs to express their stance. But for some other people, it was not so comfortable.
The one who suffered the most serious setback was naturally the Guanzhong faction.
There is no doubt about this.
And it is precisely because of this that the actions of Pang Tong and others this time seem to be full of party disputes.
Zhang Shi shouted loudly, which attracted many people's agreement, saying that Zhang Shi's words were reasonable, and Pang Tong and others were probably taking this opportunity to eliminate dissidents and frame the virtuous.
Party strife can be said to be a common phenomenon throughout the entire feudal dynasty.
The word "party struggle" is basically derogatory, and usually carries a strong smell of blood. At first, party struggle left some face, but the later dynasties became more ruthless and ruthless, ranging from being demoted and exiled to being ransacked and beheaded. The soul of the party leader
The rise and fall of characters is related to political interest groups. When they are prosperous, they are all prosperous, and when they are withered, they are withered.
"If you don't compare with Zhou, you don't have cliques. There's no way that you don't know how to be fair, just like the ancient scholar-bureaucrats." Someone loudly followed Zhang Shi and said, "As the saying goes, a gentleman is Zhou without comparison, and a villain is with Zhou without Zhou. Nowadays, villains
When you are on the right track and your friends are party to each other, it will cause serious harm!"
"Exactly! Exactly!"
"Guanzi" says, "When the ministers compete with each other, they conceal the beauty and promote the evil"! "Chu Ci" also says, "When the officials compete with each other, they are shoulder-to-shoulder, and the sages stay far away and hide"! Isn't this the case today?
?!』
For a while, everyone was clamoring and feeling a little indignant.
The word "party" in "clique" is actually written as "party" in ancient Chinese.
Five hundred families are called a party. The party means the leader. The place where one gathers respects the elder. The original word "party" did not have much malice. It just refers to the people of the same family who care for each other and protect each other, so there is a saying of party leader.
.
Later, when I colluded with "friends", it brought out the derogatory meaning. Some people said the word "clique", which means "a few people hiding in a dark room"...
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the imperial power was dispersed among the vassal states. Therefore, even if there were villains competing against the Zhou Dynasty and cliques seeking personal gain, the vassals still had to nominally respect the Emperor of Zhou and the princes and monarchs in their struggle for hegemony. The nobles in the vassal kingdoms relied on enfeoffment.
Those who accept their fate will not be able to obtain a title by forming a clique, so the ruler can still have inherent authority, and the harmfulness of cronyism is not reflected too much.
In the Han Dynasty, after the great unification of the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty replaced it. Therefore, the influence of the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty on people was slightly weakened. Power did not come from aristocratic blood, but was assigned by the imperial power. In the Han Dynasty, because of its own crooked roots, relatives
Interfering in politics has even become a normal state, making "relatives" and "eunuchs" obviously have the characteristics of crony, and regardless of whether the specific affairs are right or wrong, they will launch map cannons to attack without distinction...
And this habit continues.
The emperor of the Tang Dynasty lamented, "It is easy to get rid of the thieves in Hebei, but it is difficult to get rid of the cronies in the imperial court."
The Emperor of the Song Dynasty lamented, "Classmate Lao Wang and Sima Aiqing, can you two stop just catching birds with your eyeballs? Can you talk nicely?"
Then the Donglin Party in the Ming Dynasty held up the torch and roared, heterosexuality... uh, wrong, all the eunuchs should die, if they are not my kind, they should all die...
My Daqing Dynasty shook its pigtails, saying that it was very effective in preventing Han people from forming parties. Through the Daxing Literary Prison, any phenomenon suspected or clues of forming a party would be immediately suppressed with zero tolerance. Beheadings and house raids were common.
Nine tribes also appear from time to time...
However, there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the same time. During the Qing Dynasty, the superficial cliques went underground. The intricate connections between officials based on their disciples and old officials became more and more intense, and eventually formed a huge underground torrent. The influence of cliques on the surface was greater than that of cliques on the surface.
It's even worse. At least the superficial cliques are easy to detect, but the underground collusion is more hidden...
In the hall, Zhang Shi raised his fist and shouted angrily, and everyone in the hall responded in agreement.
"The people being arrested now are all from Guanzhong, and none of them are from Jingxiang. If this is not a party trap, what is it?"
"The corrupt people deserve what they deserve, but it is unforgivable for the party to fight against the innocent!"
"It is common sense to exchange favors, but now it has become a crime of framing!"
People are talking eloquently, and the more they talk, the more they feel they are justified, and then they will selectively forget some things.
It's like a child who might just be beaten and scolded by his parents, and then sit in a place by himself, crying and muttering that his parents never loved him. The world is all gray and colorless, completely forgetting what he is.
Was he beaten because of something wrong...
Another example is when a husband and wife are quarreling, and they reveal everything about the other party. The man says that the woman checks her phone every day, and the woman says that the man plays games every day, staring at each other and spraying foam, while the other party
I have forgotten all the things I did when I wasn’t holding my phone or playing games...
These officials who were invited by Zhang Shi also forgot whether they had made any contribution in daily life, whether they had improved the economy and improved people's livelihood. Anyway, they only remembered that their original income had dropped sharply because Pang Tong and others were investigating corruption...
…
The most important thing is that they have become accustomed to it and think it is a normal "human relationship".
Is there anything wrong with reciprocity?
What happened to receiving some red envelopes?
They were not promoted, and the extra income was reduced. Naturally, they were dissatisfied. In addition, Zhang Shi gave an excellent reason: party struggle!
This is definitely a partisan struggle!
If it’s not a party struggle, what else could it be?!
To put it simply, Qiusi changed his mind!
It's not their fault!
I used to be late for an hour or two and said it was okay with a smile, but now I'm five minutes late and I'm saying what the hell are you doing? I used to send roses every now and then, but now it's either cauliflower or broccoli all year round...
How can I endure this?!
So what should you do when you can’t bear it?
Make trouble! Let Hussar know that not all sweeties can be called Mrs. Cow!
"Everyone, everyone!" Zhang Shi said in a deep voice, "In a few days, Pang Shiyuan will be publicly sentenced to show his justice! There will definitely be many people watching the ceremony! This is a perfect opportunity!"
"At that time, when we argue with the truth, we will expose Ponzi's hypocrisy, painfully expose the harm of party strife, and let everyone in the world understand that our magnanimity can shine a light on the sun and the moon!"
Zhang Shi spoke frankly, aren't you afraid of spreading the word?
To a certain extent, Zhang Shi was really not afraid.
Because not everyone who enters the hall today can come in. In addition to the requirements of "three years as an official, thirty private servants, more than three hundred stones, and thirty million yuan", there must be three more
Sponsors, at least one of whom is a directly designated sponsor who is already present.
They all know the basics and are all connected, so how could it be spread?
Sometimes when there are more people following behind him and listening to his orders, it will make people feel that he has become the person in control of everything and can challenge for a higher position, so Zhang Shi is not afraid, and even feels that after this
