The soft grass and smooth sand are fresh after the rain, and the light sand is not sinking when walking on the road. The green sleeves lean against the wind and the catkins linger. The taste of life is a light joy...
Not far from Chang'an City, there are endless farms. The gentle breeze blows, creating waves of green. The first rain has stopped, and most of the wheat fields outside Chang'an City are covered with a layer of bright and comfortable new colors.
The clothes, accompanied by the faint fragrance of green mud, make people feel soft and relaxed.
On a small trail not far from the official road, three or two officials from Chang'an City stole half a day of leisure, riding out of the city towards their manors on the banks of the Wei River...
This year has really been a good year, as spring has just begun and there have been several consecutive crisp rains. The Dragon King has given me a favor, and the wheat is shining with layers of oil. Chen Bao'er is so happy that he can't open his mouth from ear to ear, so he just carries it on his back.
A plow shovel sat down happily on the edge of the field and hummed a tune. The thousands of miles of land in Guanzhong is more valuable than elsewhere. Although the land allocated to my family is one-acre and three-quarters less than that of other states and counties, there is an old saying.
Come on, "The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, and the two emperors' grains are paid every year." No matter how many acres of thin farmland they allocate, in addition to the imperial grains handed over to the court, they also have to prepare the county magistrate's portion of grains. If there is less than one and a half taels,
There is no chance that he will be detained in the yamen and charged with "contempt of the king's law" and given a meal of "fried pork slices with bamboo shoots" and then dragged out like a dead dog.
The land of the capital is at the feet of the emperor. No matter how powerful the county magistrate is, can he be greater than the emperor sitting in the Dragon Court in Chang'an City? No matter how courageous the county magistrate is, he would not dare to lead the government servants to his own fields in shackles.
The boss privately collects rations. If he is caught by some official, he writes a letter and sends it to the emperor, and the county magistrate is not allowed to move his head. Although those officials are dark-hearted, they are still doing business at a loss.
I don't know how to do it. How much money can be made in a year by guarding the capital's official hat? Why bother holding on to one or two mouthfuls of food?
There are so many noble people in the city of Chang'an that even the fields in the suburbs are covered by it. The price of selling grains, rice, vegetables and vegetables to the big restaurants in the city is many times higher than selling them to rural households at low prices. If the year is good, not only can food and clothing be provided,
Worry-free, he could still save money to go to the city to cut a piece of colored cloth at a silk and satin shop and buy a new dress for his mother-in-law. The two bald boys in his family were about to reach a sensible age. Chen Baoguo found a way to let the boss stay.
With his own help, he sent his second son to a pawn shop in the city to be an apprentice. If he was promoted to a formal pawn, he would not only get a lot of money every month, but also receive a red envelope from his employer at the end of the year.
The more Chen Baobao thought about it, the more excited he became. He picked up a bunch of wheat straw and made a grasshopper with great interest.
The number of pedestrians on both sides of the official road gradually increased. Tenants from wealthy families were walking past him carrying hoes and leading cattle and sheep. Chen Baoguo had no interest in saying hello to the crowd. Most of them were struggling to fill their stomachs. Haha.
No matter how much food he had, he couldn't put it into his own mouth. He curled his lips and turned his head to the side.
"Uncle Precious!" A young man in a coarse blue shirt jumped off a blue and white mule and ran towards him.
"Xiao Liu, aren't you working in a medical clinic in the city? Why did you run out of the city?" Chen Guoguo patted the dust on his hands and stood up and agreed. Xiao Liu is the only son of his third brother. He has been treated since he was a child.
He was sent to work in a medical clinic in Chang'an City, and now he was a registered clerk. Chen Guoguo looked at him with joy.
"Mr. Xu from our store went home to visit his relatives. We have nothing to do, so the shopkeeper gave us three days off." Chen Xiaoliu took a few steps forward and said with a smile.
"Oh." Chen Baoguo looked at the people behind his nephew with some suspicion, and forced himself to straighten his slightly hunched back.
Chen Xiaoliu felt amused when he saw his uncle's expression, and hurriedly explained: "Uncle Guigui, these are my friends. This is County Magistrate Zhang Xun, this is the son of the Minister, Zhang Yanji, and this is the predecessor
Li Kuo, the only son of Mr. Zuo Xiang." After some pointing and pointing by Xiao Liu, Chen Guoguo finally understood the identity of the visitor. For a moment, old Chen was frightened.
The biggest official he usually sees is the head of the district. At this time, he is the county magistrate, a minister, and the son of the left prime minister. Chen Guoguo feels confused and rubs his hands back and forth, not knowing what to do.
Where to put it.
"Liu Zi, how do you know so many noble officials? There is really green smoke rising from the graves of the old Chen family's ancestors." After thinking for a long time, Chen Baobao suppressed such a sentence. Everyone suppressed it and did not laugh out loud.
Li Kuo bowed his hands to Chen Guigui and said: "Old man, don't listen to Xiaoliu's nonsense. What a leftist prime minister happened so many years ago. Now, I am just a poor scholar, so you must not be polite."
"Don't dare, don't dare." Chen Guogui waved his hand to Li Kuo. He glanced at Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun behind Li Kuo, and he felt disapproving. Can a poor scholar hire such a heroic nursing home? A poor scholar has a leisurely life.
Heading to the outskirts of town?
"Young masters, are you thirsty after being out playing for a long time? The water from our well is very sweet!" Chen Baogui suddenly had an idea. If the second son of his family was appreciated by these young masters and stayed with him, would he still worry about having no future? They are a wealthy family.
Ah, according to the principle of "one emperor and one courtier", it doesn't matter if the second boy is with the young master now. When the young master becomes the head of the family, why doesn't the second boy also have to be a steward?
"No need, we have important things to do when we come out this time. Xiao Liu came all the way to see you, so I won't bother you, old man." Li Kuo smiled and replied harmoniously.
Chen Baoguo couldn't help but said with a smile: "I heard that there will be a rally in the village soon, and the martyrs of the Qingke League will perform on the spot. Many kids rushed to watch it."
Zhang Xun was shocked when he heard this and said, "Old man, the Qingke League is actually openly showing up in the capital?"
"Isn't that right? The righteous men of the Qingke League not only help the poor, but also eliminate violence and bring peace to the people. I heard that many farmers in the east of Hedong and Jibei who can't survive have joined the association. If the harvest in Guanzhong had not been good, they would have been killed.
They recruited a lot of young men."
Zhang Xun thought to himself, now that things have changed, it is better to go to the meeting to find out what is going on before making plans.
"Sir, where exactly does Qingke Meng perform? When will it start?"
Although he was a little puzzled as to why the county magistrate was so interested in this matter, Chen Guiguo still patiently said word for word: "It is on the plain at the east end of the village, next to Muramasa's house. Xiaoliu knows the location. About the same day.
It’s mid-morning, so it’s not too late to go.”
"Thank you! Let's go and join in the fun." He bowed his hand to Chen Baobao, and Zhang Xun rode towards the east of the village with his whip raised.
With the help of horse power, the group arrived at Tuoling Village in a short time. There is another reason why the village got its name.
Since the north of the city is where the imperial city is, the emperor's residence, ordinary people are not allowed to approach it. Therefore, most caravans coming from the west and north go around the south of the city. Tuoling Village is on this must-pass road. Whenever a large caravan passes by
, camel bells burst out, hence the name.
Under the guidance of Chen Xiaoliu, everyone quickly arrived at the plain at the east end of the village. Although it was almost noon and the sun was shining brightly, it was already crowded with people and there was almost no place to stand.
"Brother Kuo'er, this place is really lively. Last year I went to the Boshu Hui Fair with my grandfather and didn't think anything of it. I didn't expect this country market to be so lively, interesting and interesting." Zhang Yanji looked left and right, filled with satisfaction
Curious face.
"Don't make any noise, we are not here for fun this time." Li Kuo shook his head helplessly and said softly.
"Oh." The young man agreed with a slight curl of his lips.
The city structure of the Tang Dynasty was a market-square system, so merchants gathered in the east and west cities, starting and ending with the sound of bells and drums. In comparison, rural villages mostly held grass markets. Although they were not as large-scale as urban markets, they were not
You need to register by name, and the sky is like a roof, so it is naturally very lively.
Squeezing forward along the flow of people, I saw a row of villagers standing in front of me, and from time to time I could hear compliments.
Nan Jiyun turned half of his body sideways and walked over lightly.
I saw three people in the circle with their chests and abdomen exposed, and a green dragon crossing their backs. All three of them wore a "rope head" (Note 1), and their hair was left unknotted. The leader of the group bowed his hands to the other villagers.
He said: "Dear fellow villagers, the Qingke League is here to perform a performance today, and I hope you will support me."
After saying that, he picked up two meteor hammers and rushed towards the other two people. Both of them were holding a set of iron ropes and waving them in the wind. Seeing that the man was pressing forward, he refused to retreat and advanced, so he lassoed the iron ropes. He said
Strangely enough, the iron rope seemed to have been enchanted. The moment it touched the hammer, it formed a circle like a venomous snake. Between the lightning and flint, the person holding the hammer was completely removed.
He was too strong to resist at all.
Just when everyone thought that the man with the hammer was about to be captured, they saw that the man had his eyes closed tightly, muttering silently, his cheeks twitching for a moment, and his face turned green, which was very scary.
Not long after, there was a loud shout, and the man holding the hammer slightly bent his left leg, shifted his center of gravity backwards, turned over with a kite, and used his strength to throw the man on his right hand out.
After removing the constraint on one side, the strong man seemed to be more comfortable with his skills. He muttered something in his mouth and then used his left leg as the fulcrum to spin. The words in his mouth became faster and faster, and the face of the man holding the hammer also changed from green to green.
It didn't take long for everyone to see the two figures clearly. In just a moment, he tapped the hammer lightly with his toes, and a strong shock spread along the hammer to the iron rope. The person holding the rope could not avoid it and was taken into the air.
The strong man turned around.
There was another loud roar, and the hammer suddenly pulled the restraints. The man holding the rope lost his center of gravity for a moment, flew out, and fell heavily on the loess, raising a cloud of smoke and sand.