The south of the outer city of Kaifeng is divided into the left military compartment and the right military compartment.
The right military compartment and the left military compartment are separated by an imperial street.
Zhang Yue first went to Zuo Junxiang to look at the house. Zhang Yue was extremely familiar with this place. This is where the Imperial Academy is, and Zhang Yue studied here for three years, so he knew it best.
Originally, the terrain here was low-lying and was often flooded by the Bianhe River.
However, after Ding Wei became prime minister, he bought his house in Dunjiaofang here. He first dug a pond for the Xixi Temple, then used the discarded soil to raise the nearby terrain, and then asked the court to build Baokangmen Street.
thoroughfare, so Dunjiaofang, which originally suffered from waterlogging in the Bianhe River, suddenly became a prosperous place in Bianjing.
Ding Wei was the prime minister, which offended the Manchu officials, but he was indeed talented.
Later generations often said that his actions were for public benefit, but they did not see the real good things done by the people of Bianjing. The opposition only criticized his character.
I have to mention another thing. When Wang Anshi learned about Jinling, because of the siltation of Xuanwu Lake and in order to implement the farmland water conservancy law, he asked the court to drain the lake and convert the lake into fields. There are two reasons for this.
The advantage is that once a lake is drained, the fish and shrimps in it can be enjoyed by the people. Secondly, tens of thousands of acres of farmland can be acquired in one fell swoop.
At that time, others also praised Wang Anshi's move, which indeed made it easier for the people to obtain land.
However, after Xuanwu Lake was filled up, Jinling was always flooded during rains and had nowhere to get water during droughts. Later generations will not be greedy for temporary gains, act without understanding the situation, and do things that seek short-term benefits but lose long-term plans.
It was not until two hundred years later that the Ming Dynasty established Jinling as its capital and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Xuanwu Lake to be dug again.
When Su Shi learned about Hangzhou, the West Lake was also facing the problem of siltation, but Su Shi was different from Wang Anshi. He went in the opposite direction and used work-for-relief to mobilize 200,000 migrant workers to dredge the West Lake with only a hundred pieces of ultimatum. Later,
Just look at Su Di and you will know.
Therefore, Zhang Yue admired Ding Wei for building a house. However, looking at the high housing prices in Dunjiaofang, it was difficult for Zhang Yue to say thank you to Ding Wei.
In addition to Ding Wei, the famous general Di Qingzhaizi is also here.
However, Zhang Yue looked at Zhang Shi's expression and knew that he liked this place quite a lot. After all, Zhang Qiu was studying in Taixue. If the house was bought here, Zhang Qiu would be able to go home often in the future.
But Zhang Shi saw that any building cost more than 2,000 guan, or even more than 3,000 guan, so he held back and did not speak.
Zhang Yue noticed a house with a single courtyard, but he did not tell anyone about it. Instead, he and Fang Yadao went to the right military wing in the south of the city to have a look.
The Youjun Xiang in the south of the city is located in the southwest corner of Kaifeng. It is also the only Xiangfang in the west of the city in Kaifeng County.
It is not far from the south garden of Yiqiumen where Sansu and his son live. Zhang Yue has been to Sansu's mansion. There is a flower garden in the house, and there are children growing vegetables every day. It is very interesting. There are many locust trees in the house.
The ancient willow tree looks like a mountain dwelling, quite wild.
When Zhang Yue saw this house, he sighed that Sansu and his son were still very rich. It was not easy to buy a house like this in an outer city.
When Zhang Yue Zhangshi came here, he was nearby Mingfu Temple, Yanzhen Temple and Qingfenglou Zhengdian. There was only an Imperial Street across from Taixue.
Zhang Yue looked at Zhang Shi's expression and knew that he liked her very much.
Zhang Yue also felt that it was good. Although the neighborhood of Taixue was nice, it was surrounded by a red light district. Many students who came to Beijing stayed here, so it was crowded and mixed.
But across the imperial street, it was much quieter.
This place is surrounded by Cai River, which enters the city through Guangli Gate and leaves the city through Puji Gate. The nearby gardens draw water from Cai River, so many Bianjing literati and officials live here.
At that time, Empress Li also lived next to Taixue. Because Empress Li liked the scenery south of the Yangtze River, when building his house, he led Caishui into the garden, dug a large pond, and the system was like a palace.
Zhang Yue went to Cai River and looked at several houses and found them all quite good.
At this time, a long procession of honor guards came along the roadside. Zhang Yue, who was not wearing official uniform, stepped aside with Zhang Shi and Fang Ya.
Zhang Yue listened to the discussions of the people on the sidelines.
It turns out that this team is owned by Empress Cao's brother and uncle Cao Yi.
Zhang Yue recalled that when he was at Ouyang Xiu's residence, he met Cao Yi by chance. It was said that the uncle of the country acted very well. Although he made friends with officials, he did not mention any important military affairs in front of the emperor.
Unexpectedly, Cao Yi also lived here.
After Cao Yi passed the guard of honor, Zhang Yue arrived near the house and felt that the place was very quiet. Not far away was the Cai River. There were many official residences along the river, and on the other side of the river there were dilapidated houses.
Fang Ya stepped forward and knocked on the door: "Is Mr. Cheng at home?"
Zhang Yue heard this title and thought, is it still a doctor's residence?
Soon the door opened, and an old servant opened the door. Fang Ya said: "I am Zhu Fangya from Majia Lane. I brought a guest to see the house today. I wonder if Dr. Cheng is at home?"
The old servant looked at the Zhang Yue brothers behind Fang Ya, and then said: "At home, you wait."
After saying that, the old servant closed the door again. After a while, he heard people cursing and saying: "It's you Fang Ya again who show people around all day long, but no one can decide. I've told you before.
, No one who is not a high-ranking official wants to bring me to this house. As for ordinary officials, they can't afford it, and those merchants are full of the smell of copper, and they won't buy it for me no matter how much money they have, so as not to ruin my house."
Zhang Yue and Zhang Shi were happy to hear this.
Soon the door opened, and a man in his fifties with gray hair and beard walked out of the room.
The man first looked Zhang Yue and Zhang Shi up and down.
Fang Ya said with a smile: "This Doctor Cheng is a famous doctor in Bianjing and a sage in Xinglin. His ancestors have worked in the medical hospital for three generations and have treated many princes and nobles."
Zhang Yue and Zhang Shi both said: "Mr. Cheng is so polite."
Doctor Cheng saw Zhang Yue's majestic appearance and asked, "What are you doing?"
Zhang Yue said: "It's just a minor official."
Doctor Cheng said: "Looking at how young you are, you should be the one who got it from Yin Guan."
Zhang Yue smiled and did not comment. Doctor Cheng had also diagnosed diseases for officials on weekdays and had met many dignitaries. Zhang Yue was so magnanimous that he looked like a scholar.
Doctor Cheng did not ask in detail. Anyway, as long as Yin Guan's children were not dandy, they were very secretive about their backgrounds and would not tell them easily in front of outsiders.
Mr. Cheng would not bother to ask more questions. If the other party really wanted to buy his house, it would not be too late to inquire further.
In Bianjing City, officials were everywhere, and there were as many dogs as there were in the offices. Doctor Cheng had long been accustomed to this, so he walked towards the mansion with his hands behind his hands.
Fang Ya turned to Zhang Yue, and Zhang Shi smiled and said, "Two gentlemen, the house owned by Dr. Cheng is really nice, but it's expensive. Please come and visit it!"
Zhang Yue was about to leave when Zhang Shi asked, "How much will it cost?"
Fang Ya said: "Three thousand eight hundred and fifty strings."
Zhang Shi couldn't help but be speechless when he heard this, but once he got here, he had no reason to look back, so he had to bite the bullet and follow Zhang Yue inside to view the house.
The first thing in the house is the main door, behind the main door is the vestibule, and on the side is the entrance hall. After the main entrance is the middle gate, and after entering the middle gate, there is the atrium and the front hall.
There must be a middle door between the house door and the main hall, which is in line with the ritual system.
Behind the atrium is the main hall. In front of the hall, there are two steps on the left and right, namely the guest step and the main step.
When a guest comes to visit, the host must step down to greet him. The host stands on the main step and the guest stands on the guest step.
Cheng Langzhong stood on the main stage, Zhang Yue and Zhang Shi bowed to Langzhong Cheng on the guest stage, and then they all entered the hall together.
There are two couplets facing each other in front of the hall, separated by a wall on the left and right. This wall is called the preface. The main hall faces south from the north. If you sit facing south, you are in the upper position. However, when entertaining guests, the host has his back to the east preface, and the guests have their backs to the west preface. There must be no
Wrong, this is also the origin of the word sequence.
After the left and right preface walls, there are the East Hall and the West Hall.
As for the back of the hall, there are rooms. The so-called room in the middle hall is the main bedroom. Therefore, there are front hall and back room, and there are rooms in the east and west of the room.
Zhang Yue looked at it and sighed. This house seemed to be old. Could it be that it was built in the Tang Dynasty? Because the main hall in the Song Dynasty was different from that in the Tang Dynasty.
Although the houses built in the Song Dynasty still maintained the layout of the front hall and the back room, this room was not used as a sleeping room, but as a place to change clothes or rest during the day.
Zhang Yue watched for a while, but saw a young woman walking out of the side of the hall without avoiding the man.
Doctor Cheng explained: "This is a little girl. Now she is a medical girl, but she does not avoid outsiders."
Zhang Yue suddenly realized that she was a medical woman who specialized in treating women in the boudoir. She often came in and out of other people's homes and did not avoid suspicion.
Zhang Yue saluted the other party, and the other party returned the salute.
The other party asked: "Dad, how do you feel?"
Cheng Yue said to Zhang Yue: "This is the main hall and the main bedroom."
Zhang Yue nodded and asked: "This hall adheres to ancient rituals, which is rare, rare."
Doctor Cheng was very happy to see that Zhang Yue was a knowledgeable person and said: "Finally, I met the Fang family. People who bought houses before thought it was inconvenient to have front halls and back rooms, but since the Spring and Autumn Period and the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the houses of officials were all
Such a pattern.”
Zhang Yue smiled. Doctor Cheng said it right. The front hall and the back room are ancient rituals. For weddings, the couple performs the ceremony in the main hall, and then lives in the room behind the hall, which is the main bedroom.
This room is the most private place in the family. Sima Guang once said that men do not stay in the private room during the day without any reason, and women do not peek into the middle door without any reason.
Men are not allowed to live in private rooms during the day when they have nothing to do, otherwise they will be considered to be sexually immoral.
However, the private room was placed in the main hall where all guests could enter and exit, which was inconvenient to the Song people. Moreover, the layout of the front hall and the back room did not provide good indoor lighting. There was only a small window facing the south for lighting, while the southeast and southeast sides of the room were
The southwest is darker. The ancients called these two directions Ni and Ao respectively. Nowadays, taken together, they mean unfathomable.
Therefore, most of the houses in the Song Dynasty today are separated by a screen between the hall and the room, and the room behind the hall is not used as the main sleeping room. However, the house outside Cheng Yuan still maintains the layout of the Tang Dynasty.
The halls and rooms of this house are also connected by a door. According to the Kaiyuan Rites of the Tang Dynasty, the door is the door of the room. The indoors are called rooms and the outdoors are called halls.
There are east and west rooms on the left and right of the room.
Zhang Yue looked at it and said to Doctor Cheng: "The doctor doesn't know something. In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, most of the officials were officials from generations to generations, and those who were polite meant to show respect for the noble and the humble. The so-called courtesy is not inferior to the common people."
"But this dynasty is different. Many of the officials in this dynasty have been promoted from poor families. This etiquette has been given to the common people. Since they are common people, they cannot abide by the ancient etiquette as before. It is said that I am not afraid of the doctor's jokes, but I was born in a poor family.
Although I know about this, I feel that it is not very important in my heart. As for etiquette, we should follow the popular customs, otherwise it will be inconvenient."
When Dr. Cheng heard Zhang Yue's words, he felt unpleasant at first, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that this person's views were extremely wise and transparent.
As for the Cheng family doctor, she also nodded secretly and thought that the young man's experience was worthy of his appearance.
Cheng Langzhong looked at Zhang Yue again and said: "It is really rare for future generations to have such insight. This old king Xietang Qianyan flew into the homes of ordinary people. When he heard that the wife of the current prime minister was from the Cui family, he even put down his five surnames and seven hopes.
The body is married to the Han clan in the imperial examination, and my knowledge has indeed become old, so please teach me."
"I don't dare to take it seriously. The doctor's words are too serious."
Fang Yazhang was also very impressed when he saw that Zhang Yue was impressed by Doctor Cheng at first sight.
Doctor Cheng said again: "But you claim to be from the Han clan, how can you be a descendant of Yin Guan?"
Zhang Yue did not answer when he heard this, but said: "Let's continue to see."
As he spoke, Zhang Yue stepped forward, and behind the central hall were the back courtyard and the north hall. The north hall also had the layout of a front hall and a back room.
As for the east and west courtyards behind the hall, Zhang Yue was very satisfied after seeing the east and west courtyards. From now on, he and his brother's family can live in one courtyard each.
Now that the house has been inspected, Doctor Cheng wonders whether Zhang Shi and Zhang Yue have the financial resources. The elder brother looks a little uneasy, but the younger brother is quite confident.
Zhang Shi pulled Zhang Yue aside to discuss: "Third brother, what do you think?"
Zhang Yue said: "I think...it's okay. I've been tired of walking these past few days."
In the end it wasn't very good.
But Zhang Shi was taken aback and said, "Third brother, the money the Wu family gave us for building the land was only three thousand guan."
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "Brother, don't worry, I have saved a lot over the years."
Cheng Yuanwai saw the two brothers muttering for a while, but Zhang Yue walked up to him and asked, "How much does Cheng Yuanwai plan to sell this house for?"
Just as Fang Ya was about to speak, Cheng Yuanwai said directly: "Three thousand eight hundred and fifty guan, I won't give you any price. Several people bargained with me before, but I sent them all away in anger."
Three thousand eight hundred and fifty strings.
Zhang Yue read it again and said: "It's appropriate. I'll go shopping nearby first and ask Mr. Cheng to wait for us for a while."
Mr. Cheng calmed down and said, "Just please."
He suspected that this person was not just showing off. He said it was cheap but ran away with oil on his feet.
Zhang Yue went out, but Zhang Shi enthusiastically said to Mr. Cheng: "Come, let's have a good chat."
Zhang Shi said it was just a chat, but his intention was to give the engineer a price in a subtle way.
Zhang Yue walked around the house and was very satisfied with the surrounding environment.
While he was looking at each other, a carriage and horses passed by and suddenly stopped. The carriage curtain lifted and the person inside asked: "How can we save it?"
Zhang Yue looked and saw that it was Wen Jifu.
"Brother Zhou Han."
Zhang Yue smiled and clasped his fists.
Wen Jifu got off the carriage, held Zhang Yue's hand with both hands, and said very enthusiastically: "How can we meet again in life? My wife and I were leaving the uncle's house to pay respects, and unexpectedly we met you here.
"
Zhang Yue suddenly realized that Wen Jifu and Fifteen Niang met him when they came back from Cao Yan's house. Sitting in the carriage was Fifteen Niang.
Zhang Yue smiled and said, "I happen to have something to do here."
"Oh? If there's anything Wen can do to help, please don't be polite. From now on, you and I will be a family."
After finishing the article, Ji laughed loudly, his enthusiasm even stronger than before.
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "It's not a troublesome thing. I've been coming to Bianjing for so long and I want to find a place to stay."
"Oh, here? Is it a discount? Is it a rental?"
Zhang Yue said: "It's to buy a house."
The fifteenth mother of the Wu family in the carriage had been listening to the conversation between her husband and Zhang Yue. She was really surprised when she heard that Zhang Yue was not renting a house or renting a house, but buying a house.
Although the Wen family had a mansion in Xijing, they did not buy a house in Bianjing. Even the dignified prime minister Wen Yanbo rented a house. Now that Wen Jifu is in Bianjing, the Wen family also paid for it and bought a house near the jujube family.
To the house of Sanqianguan.
Can a husband who is seventeen years old actually buy a house on the banks of the Cai River?
Isn’t this kid from a poor family?
How come you have all this money?
The fifteenth mother couldn't believe it, so she decided that seeing is believing and got out of the carriage.
When Zhang Yue saw that it was the fifteenth lady, she quickly saluted and said, "I have met Madam Wen."
The fifteenth mother nodded. She was proud by nature and rarely treated others with pretense. However, she knew how much her husband valued Zhang Yue, so she said gently: "I wanted to say hello earlier, but I have been feeling cold these days. It is really rude.
I just heard from officials that Mr. Zhang’s family plans to buy a house here?”
Zhang Yue knew that the other party was the sister of his future wife, so he said respectfully: "Exactly, I have just made up my mind."
The fifteenth mother raised her head and looked at the mansion and said to Wen Jifu: "Then let's go in and have a look too?"
Wen Jifu pretended to be scolded: "Madam, you really don't think of yourself as an outsider."
Zhang Yue said quickly: "I dare not say that. I will also ask Brother Wen and Lady Wen to help me with my advice."
The fifteenth mother glanced at Wenjifu, and Wenjifu smiled and said, "Then let's go in."
When the next group of people entered, Zhang Shi tried all kinds of methods on Mr. Cheng, but found that he couldn't be penetrated by needles or splashed with water. He was really helpless.
As for Zhang Yue, he could tell by looking at Zhang Shi's face that Mr. Cheng was even a rigid person and would never give in on the price. However, after seeing so many houses, he felt that the price of this house was indeed not inflated.
Zhang Yue immediately introduced him to Zhang Shi, but he did not introduce Wen Jifu's identity. He knew that Wen Jifu was very low-key in front of outsiders and did not want others to mention his identity easily.
Cheng Langzhong looked unhappy when he saw Zhang Yueduo bringing the two of them to see his house. He was thinking about adding fifty guan to make the young man sick, but he heard his daughter whisper to him: "
Dad, do you know who that couple is?"
Doctor Cheng said: "I don't know."
Dr. Cheng said in a low voice: "I once went to Mr. Wen's house to treat the old lady and met the couple. This man is the sixth son of Mr. Wen's house."
Dr. Cheng took a deep breath when he heard this. It turned out that this person had such a big background.
Doctor Cheng's daughter said: "Dad, not only that, you see that this young gentleman can be brothers with him, you know he is not an ordinary person."
After hearing this, the doctor couldn't help but look at Zhang Yue with admiration.
At this time, Zhang Yue took Wenjifu and Fifteenth Niang to look at the house. Wenjifu was very satisfied, and Fifteenth Niang was even more so.
After she finished looking at it, she said to Zhang Yue: "You can't buy such a house without four thousand guan."
Zhang Yue said: "The house belongs to Mr. Cheng, and he offered a price of 3,850 guan."
"So, what do you think of Mr. Zhang's family?" Fifteen Niang asked in a nonchalant tone.
Zhang Yue said: "I think the price is quite appropriate."