The King of Liao was still young, so he was shocked and silent.
King Fu was still very energetic and laughed and scolded: "If he had this ability to deal with slaves and thieves back then, why would the country be so corrupt?"
The King of Liao came to his senses and immediately regained his composure.
The government servants on the side were astonished that a boy of eighteen or nineteen years old could be so courageous. Whose noble son is he?
At this time, the King of Liao held his head high and raised his chest, and ordered: "Let's catch up quickly, these people are going to fight."
"drive--"
As he said that, he took the lead and chased after him without fear.
This startled the cavalry behind them.
If something happens to this master, they will have to pay with their lives.
For a moment, the war horse waved its hooves and hurriedly chased after him.
The kings were also full of curiosity at this time, and one by one they jumped on their horses and chased after him.
Although some of the kings were good at literature and some were good at martial arts, thanks to the emperor's careful cultivation over the years, the civil and military skills were relatively average, and horse riding and archery were just ordinary.
So compared to those cavalry, they are only slightly inferior, but compared to ordinary people, they are much stronger.
For a time, the riding skills were equally divided.
In the blink of an eye, the cavalry arrived at a level ground.
There are overgrown weeds and a lot of gravel on the ground. It is obviously a wasteland and no one has cultivated it.
And two villages, with hundreds of people, are about to collide.
"Stop—" King Liao shouted, startling the two teams.
Immediately, the cavalry in hot pursuit caused the whole earth to tremble, making the villagers' legs tremble with fear.
The cavalry charged directly in, frightening the men of the two villages and retreating dozens of steps.
"If anyone hits me again, I'll give him two lashes."
The King of Liao was waving his whip, his face full of arrogance, coupled with his noble aura, everyone was frightened.
At this time, he was not as lazy as he used to be when he was writing books leisurely, and he looked like a general.
The strong men in the two villages had no choice but to give up.
This armed fight was wiped out in the blink of an eye.
However, the King of Liao understood that the task assigned to them by the Emperor was to resolve the armed struggle, rather than to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause.
If you want to completely resolve the conflict, you have to understand it deeply.
The kings came to Guojia Village.
Unexpectedly, the village chief turned out to be a boy in his forties. He did not have the grace of a scholar, but was more arrogant.
The words were light but unexpectedly hard.
Guo Yuanshan lowered his head slightly: "My lord, my Zhaojiacun and Guojiacun are at odds with each other. They have been feuding for generations. If this matter is not resolved, the fighting will continue."
"In other words, the fight for water is just a pretext?"
The King of Liao took a sip of the crude tea and frowned slightly. It was only a millimeter per catty, and the taste was really bad.
But his reaction was not slow, and he said directly: "Even if I arrest you village chiefs and elders?"
"Yes." Guo Yuanshan said in a deep voice: "From old to young, the two villages have been feuding for hundreds of years, and every household has a blood debt. Unless the other party disappears, there will be no clear end."
Zhaojiacun and Guojiacun are on the same river, one is upstream and the other is downstream, so they have a dispute.
A private fight during the Jiajing period involved two families and then the whole village.
Then there will be no contact, then no marriage, and then there will be a fight between you and me.
Every summer, the two villages always fight two or three times over water issues, and the number of lives accumulated over the years is no less than a hundred.
As for the injured, there are countless others.
As for the government?
In this feudal era, it is important that the people do not promote, the officials do not repay, just make do with it and make peace with it.
Then the grudge between the two villages became more and more serious. Even when they were young, parents would tell their children who killed someone in their own family, and asked them not to forget to take revenge in the future.
The revenge of the ninth generation can still be avenged.
It is vividly reflected here.
Hearing this, King Liao had a headache.
Several younger brothers also chattered and discussed, but none of them had a good idea, they were all bad ideas.
For example, King Fu directly forced the two villages to marry and implemented La Lang matchmaking.
"After a few years, your son-in-law is my enemy, and my daughter is your enemy. Once the grandchildren are born, how can there be any hatred?"
King Wei said: "In my opinion, all the men should be captured as soldiers, and a group of old, weak, women and children should be left behind to see how they fight."
King Xiang was happy with martial arts. He shook his head and said, "It's better to set up an arena and let them fight. Waving sticks is better than swords and guns."
King Zhao was not happy: "What nonsense are you talking about? Isn't this a fight of life and death? In my opinion, it is better to have a literary fight, play chess, calligraphy and painting, you can always compete with each other."
Only the King of Yue was calm. As the fifth eldest son, he shook his head with a smile and just watched his younger brothers talking nonsense.
The King of Liao was so angry that he glared: "These are all bad ideas. Is this how you watch politics in the Eight Departments?"
"If you were allowed to govern the country, I'd be afraid that all the rebels would be in the world."
"Lao Wu, what do you think?"
After hearing Fourth Brother's question, the King of Yue said in a deep voice: "Fourth Brother, this matter needs to be discussed in the long run. Let's go to each village and have a look."
"Yeah!" King Liao could only say this.
A group of people wandered around the village.
Several of them have never been to a real rural area and are full of curiosity about everything.
The muddy ground, dilapidated thatched huts, cowsheds and dog kennels, and the flocks of chickens and ducks all made them curious.
The King of Liao did not give these younger brothers a chance to fool around, and went straight to the ancestral hall.
"Zhongshan Guo family?"
When the King of Liao saw this title, some memories immediately came to him.
The Guo family comes from the surname Ji. It is said that Guo Xu in the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty was the ancestor of the surname Guo and Zhao.
Then for thousands of years, the Guo family left many traces among the noble families in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and had its own county title.
For example, in the early Tang Dynasty, the five surnames were Qiwang, and the county Wangtang names such as the Wang family in Taiyuan were important symbols of ethnic groups.
During the Song Dynasty, due to Huang Chao and the subsequent separation of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, a large number of noble clans perished, but the county officials were retained.
During the Song Dynasty, it was popular for many families to compile genealogies, which was a far-fetched way of finding their ancestors.
It was impossible in the Tang Dynasty because the genealogy existed, but the war caused the genealogy to be scattered, so many famous families were "continued" again.
If in the Song Dynasty, genealogy was only the preserve of wealthy noble families, in the Ming Dynasty, anyone with a little money would compile a genealogy, build an ancestral hall, and find a famous ancestor for themselves.
The most famous Guo family is none other than Taiyuan County, Guo Huai during the Three Kingdoms period, Guo Jia and Guo Tu in Yingchuan County, etc.
And this Zhongshan County refers to Guo Wei of the Yan State during the Warring States Period, as well as Guo Shengtong, the queen of Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Queen Guo, the queen of Emperor Wen of Wei.
"That's right, I, Guojiacun, am also a descendant of a wealthy family. Poems and books have been passed down from generation to generation. Although I haven't had any high-ranking officials in these years, I feel different from those mud-legged people."
Speaking of this, Guo Yuanshan looked proud.
The kings on the side were not aware of the situation and looked around curiously.
King Liao shook his head and smiled slightly.
He is well-informed and has read many miscellaneous books, so he naturally understands the authenticity of the so-called Junwang Hall.
There are so many wealthy families in the world, and many of their titles may be true, but most of them are false.
Perhaps in the eyes of some people, the title is just a false name, but for some people, it is something they desperately seek.
Just like a poor person who suddenly becomes rich and powerful, people will be jealous and hate him a lot, and his words will lead to bad luck.
But if he said that he had a son of a certain family, such as the famous Wang family in Taiyuan, then those jealous people would say: "No wonder this is the case, people have always produced talents from generation to generation..."
In this way, I don't know how much pressure has been relieved.
In this way, many people who suddenly ascend to a high position or suddenly become rich will do everything possible to find a title and find a good ancestor for themselves, so that they can live up to their name.
As a result, many brokers were born among the people, specializing in joint genealogy and finding good ancestors.
The most typical example is that in the court, if you say that you are a descendant of the Zhuge family, the emperor will not even look at you.
And if Qin Hui was his ancestor, he wouldn't be able to say it out loud for fear of affecting his career.
I am a hero and my son is a hero. In the world's perception, this is an unbreakable truth.
It's no wonder that in the early Ming Dynasty, someone suggested that Zhu Xi be the ancestor of Zhu Yuanzhang.
And those poor people who maintain good ancestors will naturally benefit a lot.
Not to mention the early days, many people who come to join the family tree are basically promising. As long as they take a little care, the family will take off easily.
Even a poor person will try his best to have a good ancestor for himself.
So in later generations, when almost everyone is a celebrity or aristocrat, this is the reason.
At this time, the ancestral hall became a school on weekdays, which is also a common practice in many villages. More than twenty children were studying, but all of them scratched their heads, obviously knowing about today's fight.
Only the teacher was very calm. He had more experience and read the book calmly.
Ancestral hall and private school, the two are integrated into one.
From temples to the lowest villages, Confucianism can easily go to places where officials cannot go.
Scholars will be respected wherever they go.
When the King of Liao and his entourage arrived, they did not disturb him, but just looked at him from the window.
When the teacher saw these noble gentlemen, he quickly came over to greet them.
The King of Liao asked about the teaching situation.
"The enlightenment is usually the Three-Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, or Thousand-Character Classic, and then the Analects of Confucius, Mencius, etc."
The teacher said softly: "When you have advanced knowledge, you will be able to study in college, Doctrines of the Mean, Spring and Autumn Period, etc. After teaching the Four Books and Five Classics annotated by Zhu Xi, you can start teaching."
"If you are diligent, you will have a rough understanding of it when you are fifteen or sixteen, and you can teach some eight-legged essays; if you are lazy, it is common in your twenties."
"As long as my family can continue to practice and can afford it, I will continue to teach."
"Is this the same as before?" King Liao asked puzzledly: "I heard that these things are no longer tested in the provincial examination."
"I know." The teacher sighed, but he was still a little relaxed: "But now the boy's examination is still taking the eight-part essay. The style has not changed, and it seems that it will not change again. I can still have a bite to eat."
"As for the provincial examination, once they pass the examination as scholar, they will naturally have enough money to buy other books, and I won't need to worry about them."
"That's true."
King Liao nodded.
He glanced around and saw about a dozen tables. Both tables and chairs were in the shape of long strips, two in a row. If they sat on them, it was normal for thirty or forty to sit on them.
Among this group of children, there are those who have just started enlightenment at the age of six or seven, some who are twelve or thirteen years old, and none who are fifteen or sixteen years old.
"I was invited by the village to educate the children. When they are twelve years old, if they are still smart, they will go to a private school to learn Eight-part Pattern Writing."
The teacher said: "Really good eight-part essay must be taught by a scholar."
King Liao nodded.
From the school, you can get a glimpse of the reality of the village.
More than 20 children means that there are at least 20 wealthy families in the village who can support a child who is out of work to study.
If Guojiacun can hire Tong Sheng as a teacher, it will have a lot of financial resources.
"Is there any scholar?"
"Not yet." The teacher smiled bitterly and said: "The establishment of schools in Guojiacun has only happened in the past ten years. There were not many students studying before."
"Xiucai, it's too difficult."
The King of Liao then turned and left.
He didn't ask about sociology.
Although this is an official school prescribed by the imperial court, it is not well implemented among the people.
Because this is done based on wealth, the government has money, the people have money, and the gentry takes the lead, it can be done, otherwise it will not last long.
In other words, social studies are actually provided by local wealthy households.
"There aren't even any scholars, so Zhongshan Hall doesn't live up to its name!" King Fu said.
"After so many years of chaos, countless famous families have declined. This is normal."
The king of Yue said: "In the past, ten houses in the north were empty, and the capital was even worse. It has only recovered in these years."
When he came to Zhaojiacun, the "Tianshui Zhao Family" on the ancestral hall made the King of Liao want to laugh even more.
The Tianshui Zhao family originated from the descendants of Gongzi Jia after the Qin Dynasty destroyed the Zhao Kingdom. It is a veritable royal family. It was as famous as Zhao Chongguo in the Han Dynasty.
In theory, this is better than the Guo family's Zhongshan County.
"I'm afraid it would be better if the Guo family and the Zhao family jointly run a school!"
Looking at these twenty people, King Liao shook his head.
The two villages are only a few miles apart, so it would be best to raise funds to run the school. At least there is no shortage of teachers.
Zhao also declared that he would never stop and would rather die than surrender.
A long time of running back and forth seemed to be in vain.
"Fourth brother." King Fu wiped the sweat from his forehead: "These two groups of people are stubborn and there is nothing we can do."
The King of Liao was silent. He took out the fodder, fed the horse, and fell into thinking.
When the princes saw this, they were speechless and just took a rest.
They didn't have much affection for their war horses, so they left them all to their servants. A group of people hid under the shade of trees to enjoy the cool weather.
There were even a few who were eager to give it a try, thinking of taking a swim in the river to get rid of the coolness.
The King of Yue was sensible and stopped it immediately.
"Lao Wu."
Suddenly, the King of Liao came over and said to the King of Yue: "What is the most lacking thing in your country of Yue?"
"Human." The King of Yue had just returned to the country of Yue and felt the abundance of money and food as well as the money in re-export trade, so he said decisively:
"What our country lacks most now is people."
"That's right."
King Liao nodded: "Then I will give you people."
As he spoke, he said firmly: "The people in these two villages cannot be influenced at all, so we can only use force."
"In your country of Yue recently, the entire Guojia Village was moved directly to the country of Yue. The two families will never meet again. Let's see how they fight."