Across the Water Margin: Officials of Ximen

Page 456

Chapter 729 Cultural Center

Yue Fei, Wang Gui, Zhang Xian and others have lived in the countryside of Tangyin County for a long time, and they have never seen such a world.This time, they followed Ximen Qing to live in Bianliang City, Tokyo for a few days, which had already opened their eyes.Now that they have come to Luoyang Mansion in Xijing again, they have seen a scene of prosperity and wealth.

However, seeing the gardens of these bureaucratic and wealthy families, Yue Fei and others were not elated, and they all sighed with sullen faces.

Although Yue Fei came from a well-to-do family, he was also used to seeing the hard work of the villagers in Yuejiazhuang since he was a child.Wang Gui, Zhang Xian, and Xu Qing are even children of farmers.Therefore, the young people of them all have simple feelings for the villagers who plow the fields and work in agriculture.

Leaving Bianliang City in Tokyo, all the way west, Yue Fei and others have witnessed and heard the evil deeds of the eunuchs Yang Jian and Li Yan, and witnessed the misery of the peasants who were deprived of their land and reduced to tenants.

Now seeing the luxurious life of the nobles and nobles again, Yue Fei and the others just feel stuffy in their chests, and they can't even laugh.

They are also wealthy and wealthy people. Why do these people only know how to build gardens for their own enjoyment, and have never thought about helping the poor and poor?Let's look at Uncle Ximenqing, how many robbers have been wiped out by helping the poor and helping the poor, eliminating violence and keeping the good?How many disaster victims have been relieved?

Nobles, generals, but that's all, Master Uncle Ximen is an example of being able to do good and help the world!

Although Luoyang City is rich in gardens and flowers, Ximen Qing and his party don't care much about it.After asking the passers-by in the city, Ximen Qing led his brothers straight to the famous "Balou" in the city.As a hero in the rivers and lakes, you don't have to enjoy flowers, but you have to eat wine!

The wine industry in Luoyang was very developed in the Tang Dynasty. Wei Shu, a minister of the Tang Dynasty and a famous historian, wrote about Xiushanfang: "there are many car workshops and wine shops in the workshop".

In the Song Dynasty, as many bureaucrats settled their homes in Luoyang, the city became more and more prosperous, and the number of restaurants was said to be comparable to that of Tokyo.Some people in the market said: "Jiuyuan Shuping has a shop, and Luozhong Junxi has Balou."

The Shuping referred to in the words refers to Zhao Gai, named Shuping, a native of Yucheng, Nanjing.He was a Jinshi in the Renzong Dynasty and once served as a political adviser in Tokyo, that is, the deputy prime minister.

This Zhao Shuping is a celebrity, and he has left a good story among the people of "counting beans and correcting one's heart".

Zhao Shuping studied hard since he was a child, and was admitted as a Jinshi in one fell swoop during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty.He paid attention to moral cultivation all his life, was willing to do good deeds, and had no complaints with others, which was well received by the world.

It is said that Zhao Shuping believes that one should do more good deeds and avoid evil deeds in one's life.Whether a person does good deeds or evil deeds, he is governed by his own heart.

Therefore, Zhao Shuping pays special attention to righteousness and self-denial, constantly eliminating selfishness and distracting thoughts, so that kindness can always prevail over malice.

In order to test his heart of good and evil, Zhao Shuping once found three utensils, one utensil for black beans, one utensil for white beans, and the middle utensil was empty.

Every day, if Zhao Shuping has a good idea, he will take a white bean and put it into the empty container in the middle. If he has a little selfish thought or malice, he will take a black bean and put it in the empty container in the middle.

In the evening, he poured out the white beans and black beans in the empty container and counted them, so as to test the number of good thoughts and selfish distractions during the day.

The first day passed, and Zhao Shuping counted the white beans and black beans in the empty container, and the result was that there were more black beans and less white beans.From this, Zhao Shuping knew that he still had a long way to go in self-denial and self-cultivation.

The next day, Zhao Shuping counted the white beans and black beans in the empty container again, but there were still more black beans and less white beans.But compared with the first day, there was one less black bean and one more white bean.

On the third day, there were still more black beans and less white beans, but compared with the second day, there was one less black bean and one more white bean.

……

Zhao Shuping persisted in this way every day.

After a while, there were as many white beans as black beans.

After another period of time, there were more white beans and fewer black beans.

After a while, there were only white beans and no black beans in the empty container.

Through such self-discipline, Zhao Shuping was finally able to have only good intentions in his heart and no selfish distractions.

Because of this good story, Zhao Shuping got the reputation of "Prime Minister Counting Beans".

I don't know if the legend about Zhao Shuping is true or not. Even if it is true, there were too few prime ministers like him in the Song Dynasty.

When Zhao Shuping was an official in Bianliang City, Tokyo, he once built a mansion in the Lijing Gate in Tokyo.Later, he returned to his hometown after he became an official. After returning to Yingtianfu in Nanjing, he changed the mansion in Bianliang City, Tokyo into a hotel.The hotel transformed from this mansion is majestic and magnificent, and it is also the former residence of celebrities in the dynasty, so it is called "the incomparable shop" at the time.

"Jiuyuan Shuping has an incomparable store, and Luozhong Junxi has a bar building." The Junxi in this sentence refers to Li Junxi, a scholar of the Song Renzong Dynasty.

Li Junxi stuttered a little. At that time, the newly built restaurant in Luoyang City was very magnificent. Li Junxi passed by and suddenly said "Ba", so people at that time called this restaurant in Luoyang City "Balou".

This "Ba Lou" in Luoyang City can be regarded as one of the best restaurants in Luoyang City compared with the "Incomparable Store" in Bianliang City in Tokyo.

Ximenqing and his entourage came to "Balou" and occupied a pavilion. The store served a lot of delicious food and wine, and enjoyed a delicious meal to the fullest.

The shop owner saw that Ximen Qing had an extraordinary appearance and generous spending, and there were many mighty and strong guards behind him. Knowing that Ximen Qing was not an ordinary family, he carefully sifted wine and waited beside him.

While eating wine, Ximenqing asked the shopkeeper about the Luoyang City in Xijing, and the shopkeeper knew everything and talked endlessly.Even if Ximen Qing never thought of asking, the shopkeeper told Ximen Qing everything like pouring beans.

Ximenqing learned from the articulate shopkeeper that today's Luoyang City in Xijing has a prosperous literary style and has attracted many literati. It is a city comparable to Bianliang City in Tokyo.

The origin of all this originated from Wang Anshi's reform during the Shenzong Dynasty of Song Dynasty.

In Bianliang, Tokyo, the political capital of the Song Dynasty, a group of bureaucrats headed by Wang Anshi, with the support of the emperor, were vigorously implementing their new policies with practical and quick results. , but gathered a group of senior scholar-bureaucrats who had considerable influence on the world and temporarily withdrew from the power center.

Among this group of high-ranking literati and bureaucrats, in addition to the former Chief Assistant Fubi, Privy Envoy Wen Yanbo, Yushi Zhongcheng Lu Gongzhu, etc., there are also a group of famous figures with many admirers, the most popular of which is the old party leader Sima Light.

These high-ranking scholar-bureaucrats gathered in Luoyang City, Xijing, even the emperor had to take special care of them. They would give them clothes and food during festivals and festivals, and cared about whether they ate well and lived well.

These people seem to be a "shadow cabinet", vaguely exerting a lasting influence on the scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty, attracting a group of scholars and literati to Luoyang City.

As a result, the style of writing in Luoyang, Xijing flourished, and it became a cultural center that could compete with Bianliang, the political center of Tokyo, in the Song Dynasty.

After Ximen Qing learned about the current situation in Luoyang, he despised Luoyang City even more.This cultural center in peacetime, the whole city has an atmosphere of emphasizing civility over martial arts.With such urban characteristics, Luoyang City would not be a good choice to become the capital during the war years.

7 Chapter Thirty

Taking a quick glance at the glitz of Xijing and Luoyang, Ximenqing and others did not stay in the city for long. This city with a low outer city and a city full of pine, bamboo and peonies in the city has no trace of martial arts, so it is not worthy of Ximenqing's attention.

The most elite troops of the Song Dynasty are all in the Western Army, let's go and take a look at the former Chang'an City and the current Jingzhao Mansion on Yongxing Army Road!

Ximenqing and his entourage left Luoyang City and headed westward. They arrived in Xin'an County in a few days and passed Hangu Pass.

Hangu Pass is a famous pass in the Qin and Han Dynasties. It guards the throat of the pass.

Of course, the Hangu Pass that Ximenqing and others walked through was not the site of the Qin Pass, but the Han Pass established by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Hangu Pass, which blocked the six kingdoms alone in Qin Dynasty, was changed to Hongnong County by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, west of Xin'an County.

Even the newly established Hangu Pass in the Eastern Han Dynasty, in the Song Dynasty, what was presented to Ximen Qing and others was no longer an insurmountable military natural danger.

The former Hangu Pass was bordered by the Qinling Mountains in the south and the Yellow River in the north, blocking the main traffic route from Guandong to Guanzhong.

However, manpower is hard to overcome. As the Yellow River scours and cuts day and night, the valley of the Yellow River cuts down, and the original south bank channel becomes a river beach.

From Luoyang to Chang'an in Guanzhong, just walk along the east-west river beach. Hangu Pass, which originally guarded the valley road, was completely bypassed, lost its military role, and was gradually abandoned.

Ximenqing and his party passed through Xin'an County and entered Mianchi County.

The name of Mianchi comes from the name of the ancient pool. Its real name is Strider Pool, and it got its name from the water-filled striders in the pool.

In the Qin Dynasty, this place was set up as Strider County, which belonged to Sanchuan County.In addition, the king of Qin also met with the king of Zhao here, and thus the story of the king of Zhao and Lin Xiangru cleverly meeting the king of Qin in Mianchi happened.

After crossing Yanchi County, you will enter the famous Xiaoshan Mountain in history.