Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

"Old...Old lady, I can't do it anymore!"

Officer Lao Bai heard the servant exclaim outside and quickly crawled to his mother's side, only to see that Mrs. Bai was motionless.

This old lady who had just celebrated her 90th birthday was frightened to death due to excessive panic!

Old Bai opened his mouth. He wanted to cry, but couldn't. He just sat on the ground in a daze.

I don’t know how long it took, but several cock crows came from the village.

Bai Chongyan came back with his servants. Seeing that the atmosphere here was not right, after asking about the situation, he lay down next to his grandmother and cried loudly.

Old Bai said feebly, "Don't cry anymore. How about Dalang's side?"

Bai Chongyan stopped crying and sobbed: "Brother is instructing the servants to move our family's belongings back. Some of them have been robbed by bandits. I don't know how much has been lost."

Old Bai said: "Money is something external to the body. Help me up and go home first."

Bai Chongyan carried his father on his back, carried his grandmother's body, and walked forward in infinite grief.

As the night wind blew, the old member became extremely sober. He lay on his son's back and murmured to himself: "It's been strung together, it's been strung together..."

Bai Chongyan asked: "What did father think of?"

Mr. Lao Bai did not answer, and was still talking to himself: "No wonder Zhu Er dared to overturn the table in the county government office. It turned out that he colluded with the bandits. Without Zhu Er's words, how could the bandits dare to rob our house? Zhu Er What a good method, even if I catch the bandit leader, he can refuse to admit it."

Bai Chongyan was furious when he heard this: "It was Zhu Er who instigated it?"

Old Bai ordered: "After dawn, you go to the county seat immediately and tell your second brother what happened. If Zhu Er wants to overturn the table, then I will die. Don't even think about collecting a single cent of this year's summer grain. What does it mean to buy money and buy money? I won’t give you any money!”

Money for buying and selling, money for buying goods, and taxes owed in previous years, although these are allocated to the powerful gentry, must be paid together with the summer grain, and must be left to the landlords to raise time.

With the help of Lao Bai, all the officials and gentry in the county took the opportunity to refuse to cooperate with the chief bookkeeper in collecting taxes.

After this incident, the biggest headache for Xiang Zhixian is that his official career is likely to be over!

No matter how things develop, Black Wind Village will definitely be gone.

Who told them not to kill Mr. Bai? Xiang Zhixian was forced into the palace by an old white official, so he had to risk his life to recruit troops to suppress the bandits.

When Ju Ming came back to look for his horse, he happened to bump into Lao Bai and his family.

Hearing that Mrs. Bai was scared to death, Ju Ming was inevitably a little sad. He had a good impression of this old lady and she was a nice person. Unfortunately, things in the world are unpredictable, and a living person will be gone just as soon as he says he is gone.

The sky was getting whiter, and the old, weak, women and children who had fled for their lives began to return to the village one after another.

Zhang Guangdao searched anxiously for a long time. It was not until noon that he finally found Yao Fang's son, but he was carried away to Baishitou.

Zhu Guoxiang also followed the villagers down the mountain and saw many blood stains along the way.

The bodies of the bandits and the villagers were placed outside the Bai family's mansion.

Some villagers who had not found their family members anxiously came to identify the body, and then began to cry one after another.

"Dean Zhu, what do you think?" Zhu Ming asked, sitting in the yard, wiping his sword.

Zhu Guoxiang listened to the faint cry and said with emotion: "The world is not peaceful. No one can think about a stable life. Even if you become a landlord, you are still worried. I heard that Mrs. Bai is dead?"

"Maybe he was scared to death." Ju Ming replied.

Zhu Guoxiang suddenly asked: "What does it feel like to kill someone?"

Ju Ming carefully recalled: "Killing at night comes with its own filter, and the visual impact is not great. At that time, I was only thinking about how to defeat the bandits, and I was very excited while killing. Later at dawn, I saw the villagers carrying the corpses, and the blood and flesh were blurred. Feeling nauseous is purely a physiological reaction, well... I feel uncomfortable in my stomach and I can't help but want to vomit."

Zhu Guoxiang looked at the sky: "I can't. The first time I killed a chicken was when I was fifteen years old. I twisted the chicken's neck and pulled out the hair on its neck. It struggled desperately at first, and then seemed to accept its fate. , looking at me motionless. Just the first day, I fed it food, and it seemed to be asking me, why should I kill it? The adults were urging me, saying that the water was boiling, kill it quickly. I After one cut, the chicken was not dead, and I cut it again twice more. I didn't eat a piece of chicken from that day's meal, and I never slaughtered animals with my own hands again."

"When we first crossed over, we killed a deer." Ju Ming reminded.

"That's different. The deer was almost dead after being bitten. We are ending its pain." Zhu Guoxiang argued.

Ju Ming exposed it ruthlessly: "You also said you wanted to kill the cornucopia, just for a few mouthfuls of horse meat."

"That's because I'm very hungry," Zhu Guoxiang said with a wry smile. "Whether it's hypocritical or soft-hearted, I can't see the slaughter scene anyway. If you say you want to rebel, how many people will die is scary to me."

Ju Ming asked: "Where are the fish? Where are the crabs? You are not merciless in killing them."

Zhu Guoxiang was speechless and said angrily: "Are you done yet? I'm talking about business! What I want to express is that I don't want to rebel. But if I am forced to do it, I can only rebel. When the time comes, I'm only in charge of logistics, you can do the fighting and stuff."

"A poor boy from the countryside, how can he learn petty bourgeoisie to flirt with the sadness of spring and autumn? Just take your time to feel sad, someone is coming." Zhu Ming said, looking outside the hospital.

Bai Chongwen changed into clean clothes and was followed by two servants carrying baskets. He walked into the courtyard and bowed his hands in greeting: "Thank you Zhu Dalang for saving your life last night. It's not disrespectful to be careful!"

Ju Ming bowed in return: "It's just self-protection, there is no need to do this."

The Bai family directly sent a basket of money, probably at the request of Mr. Bai.

Bai Chongwen added: "Zhu Xianggong's salary for teaching village studies has been increased to five hundred yuan per month. You two don't have to pay for this year's summer grain. My father will make arrangements for it."

"Thank you!" Zhu Guoxiang said with cupped hands.

Bai Chongwen said: "I still have things to do, so I'll leave first."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Please do it."

Bai Chongwen has always hated the Zhu family and his son very much. After experiencing the catastrophe of life and death last night, he didn't care about the past. After all, there was no grudge between them.

Bai Chongwen finally figured it out. No matter how hard and tired he was, he still had to support his third brother in studying.

Only when a family has a Jinshi, they are not afraid of coercion from the government, nor are they afraid of being coveted by bandits and powerful men.

In the past, the Bai family was too stable, leaving Bai Chongwen without a sense of crisis.

After bidding farewell to father and son, Bai Chongwen continued to send money. Old Bai was about to bleed heavily this time.

Mr. Bai promised to pay for the villagers who died last night.

Those who participated in the battle were all exempted from summer grain and tax arrears during the dating years. The Bai family was responsible for helping them.

If you are a customer, it will be converted into reward money.

Old Bai wanted to unite the villagers, recruit Baojia soldiers, and attack Heifeng Village to avenge his old mother!

That evening, Li Hanzhang came to visit.

This young master had three wounds on his body, which can be called brave. When they met, he said: "Mr. Zhu, brother Zhu Xian, I am here to say goodbye. I will return to Yangzhou City tomorrow."

Ju Ming asked: "Why don't you heal your injuries before leaving?"

Li Hanzhang said with a stern look on his face: "Master Zhu colluded with the bandits, robbed the squires, and killed innocent people indiscriminately. When I go back this time, I will definitely persuade my father and file a lawsuit against him!"

"Did the captured bandit confess his wish to the master?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Li Hanzhang shook his head: "No, the two captured bandits didn't know anything when they were tortured. But after a discussion with Bai Yuanwai, we all thought that Zhu Zhu was behind the instigation. Regardless of whether it was him or not, this time it counts On his head, otherwise it will be difficult to understand the hatred in our hearts!"

Zhu Zongdao took everything into account. Even if the bandits failed, he could still push them away.

You can also take the opportunity to recruit troops to kill the thieves, and when you capture Heifeng Stronghold, you can make meritorious deeds and gain political achievements. With the power of thieves, which landowner dares not to pay taxes?

Only Li Hanzhang is a variable. This man is the son of the state magistrate.

Once Li Tongpuan gets angry, Zhu Zongdao will be the master of the book for the rest of his life!

After chatting for a while, Li Hanzhang added: "My dear brother was so majestic last night. He single-handedly turned the tide of the war. He is so talented in both civil and military affairs, he is the pillar of the country. I will ask my father to recommend my dear brother, and maybe I can get a place in the Imperial Academy."

Ju Ming asked curiously: "Can I directly enter the Imperial College to study?"

Li Hanzhang explained: "If there are eight-level scholars in the local area, officials have the responsibility to recommend them to the imperial court. If the imperial court approves, they can study in Taixue. If the imperial court does not approve, they can also study in the state academy."

The so-called Eight Elements Scholars are scholars who possess the eight virtues.

Of course, it was the local officials who had the final say on who possessed the virtues and whether they had enough of the eight virtues.

Ju Ming asked: "I heard that if a student wants to get ahead, he must give gifts to please the powerful?"

Li Hanzhang nodded and said: "That's true. But the wise brother is not an ordinary scholar. The officials have to personally test the students every year. With the knowledge of the wise brother, he will definitely be appreciated by the officials."

There are five grades in Taixue, namely, Shangshe, upper-level inner-she, lower-level inner-she, upper-level outer-she, and lower-level outer-she.

Generally speaking, it is necessary to conduct assessments step by step, and gradually advance from the outer house to the upper house, and then select from among the students in the upper house to be granted the status of a fellow Jinshi.

There is an exception to everything, and that is when the emperor speaks!

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty would inspect the Imperial Academy every year and ask some questions personally.

A knowledgeable person, if thick-skinned enough, can rush to answer. Once you are appreciated by the emperor, you will be directly promoted to Shangshe to study, and there is a high chance that you will have the same background as a Jinshi.

Ju Ming thought about it carefully and thought he could give it a try.

Based on the efficiency of work in ancient times, even if the court approves it, it will probably take next year or the year after that. By then, my father had gained a foothold, and he could go to Kaifeng for a walk. If that was not possible, he would just ask for leave and return to his hometown.

Zhu Ming thought of something, raised his hand and asked: "Brother Ke Zhen, I fought hard to kill the thief last night and snatched an official horse from the bandits. Can you please make the decision and reward me with the official horse and open another one by the way?" certificate."

Li Hanzhang couldn't help but laugh after hearing this, and immediately replied: "Since it is stolen property, it can naturally be rewarded to the warriors."