Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

A few days after Pei Zhi left, a group of prisoners began to be transferred.

The officials in charge of escorting them cursed loudly.

It's a long way to go, and it will take several months. Obviously, I can't celebrate the New Year at home. Can you not be angry?
Not to mention, if the prisoner's family doesn't take care of it, they will suffer a lot on the way.

The winter solstice is approaching, and the officials have been scattered, and suddenly they have to approve many cases. They go down to the counties, the Ministry of Criminal Justice and even the Dali Temple. They are very busy.

In the past, many prisoners who could be sentenced lightly will be directly sentenced to exile in Anton Mansion.

It is not a big deal for many petty thefts and bullies to dominate the market, but this will turn up old scores with them. They wish that the eighteen generations of their ancestors will be tried, all the immoral things they have done in the past will be recorded, and they will be sentenced to exile.

Most of the rout bandits hiding in the mountains dispersed during the amnesty in the first year of Jianji, but some remained.Usually farming in the mountains and robbing business travelers part-time, this time he was hit head-on.The villagers reported each other, and a large number of people were arrested and sentenced to exile.

All of a sudden, the entire Henan Province, Ruzhou, and Zhengzhou launched a movement-style law and order strengthening operation, and all kinds of ghosts and snakes were bad luck, and they were almost wiped out.A batch of corrupt officials were also dealt with, and all were arrested and exiled to Anton Mansion.

Of course, there are also benefits.

Some prisoners who deserved to die were inexplicably lightly sentenced and exiled to the Anton Mansion—just as in the history of the British Empire, many prisoners who were sentenced to death were artificially reduced in amount involved and their sentences were changed to exile. The fate of these people has also developed a huge change Change, in general, has taken advantage of it.

And the imperial court moved so fast and so resolutely, the people below naturally dare not neglect.If there were not enough official positions, state soldiers and local regiments were even dispatched to help escort them, and they were detained in Qingzhou and Dengzhou.

On this day, Qin Erlang of Xin'an County, Henan Province encountered a group of prisoners traveling eastward on the road.

Thanks to the grace of the saint, except for the most vicious, other exiled prisoners do not need to wear shackles to walk.So they walked quite easily. Dozens of men and women, escorted by almost the same number of officials, headed east all the way—women and children, basically family members who voluntarily accompanied them into exile.

Qin Erlang was wearing a camel-hair brown military uniform that had been patched and patched. He stroked the knife with his left hand and led the horse with his right.The country road was narrow, so he took refuge in front of the courtyard wall of a family.

At this time, the sky was just getting bright, and a sliver of the sun shone through the shade of the trees in the yard.

The deep cold dew was heavy, and the crystal water droplets rolled on the vegetable leaves, and fell to the ground after a while.

The hens rushed out of the morning mist, and their paws were rummaging carefully in the field.every found
After eating a piece of food, they immediately cooed happily and even scrambled for each other.

The owner of the house got up too, and went straight to the hens.

"Cuckoo..." The hen struggled fiercely.A big hand clutched its neck tightly, and carried it to the well. The sharp knife easily cut the hen's throat, and then turned its head down, pouring blood into the bowl.

There is hot water next to it, and the owner directly washes and plucks the hen.

The winter solstice is here, and after a year of hard work, I must reward myself and my family.

"Qin Li is coming." Zhou Dalang, who was killing chickens, put down his sharp knife, wiped his hands carelessly, and greeted respectfully. …

Qin Lizheng glanced at the yard, walked over and patted Zhou Dalang on the shoulder, and said, "Have a good time celebrating the festival. After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, go to the county for training."

"This..." Zhou Dalang turned pale.

There were also conscripts before, but it was his father who went there.But his father died of a sudden illness a few months ago, and now he can only take the lead.

Qin Lizheng glanced at him, and said lightly: "An Yi's life is really comfortable, but you must not forget the duty of fighting. Your father's sword and gun was the result of your family's business, so don't fall for him." In the past, Zhou Tieqiang was a good player, and he was unparalleled in battle.”

"Yes! Yes!" Zhou Dalang replied with an ugly face, "I just don't know about this call.

What's the matter?"

Qin Lizheng pointed to the exiled prisoners who were walking slowly on the road, and said
: "See if you're a prisoner from Anton Mansion."

"I see." Zhou Dalang's complexion became even worse. Could it be that he is planning an expedition to Anton Mansion?
"They are going to the Anton Mansion. They are poor and have nothing. Naturally, they need supplies from the imperial court. We were named by the Ministry of War and escorted a batch of grain and grass." Qin Lizheng said briefly: "Transferred from Hanjiacang City, lost Go to Qingzhou. The state soldiers can't move lightly, so we will send out the Tutuan peasants."

Zhou Dalang let out a long sigh of relief, it was much better than the worst he expected.

"Husband, it's time to eat." Zhou Dalang's wife picked up the two sleepy-eyed children, sat at the table, and brought sticky millet porridge, refreshing pickles, and some cheese.

"If Lizheng has time, why not..." Zhou Dalang forced a smile.

Qin Lizheng waved his hand and led the horse away.

The life of Zhou Dalang's family is passable, as can be seen from the quality of the breakfast.It is impossible for ordinary people to eat such thick and sticky rice porridge.In fact, the Kansai people who immigrated to Henan Province all the way to the east with Shao Sheng fighting the world in the early years had a good life.

There are many livestock in the family, which can be milked to make cheese.The farmland is also harvesting well under the irrigation canals extending in all directions, and the output is very high.There are orchards and mulberry forests at home, and this income is also quite a lot.

With such a good day, no wonder he didn't want to go out and work hard.It's not a bad thing to pull them into the battlefield from time to time.Otherwise, if one day the imperial army is defeated and suffers heavy losses, if they want to form a new army, they may not have qualified soldiers.

The figures of the exiled prisoners have gradually faded away.

Zhou Dalang chased him out of the courtyard, stood on tiptoe and watched.Outside the comfortable and peaceful Henan Mansion, it seems that it is not peaceful.In this world, the common people are tormented!
He returned home, took out the rifle passed down by his father, and danced lightly, trying to get back the feeling of practicing when he was a teenager.

******
When the exiled prisoners passed through Luoyang, the winter solstice festival had already passed.

Zhang Wu from Jinjiang County, Quanzhou is seeing off several fellow villagers.

They are all a bunch of poor students with no background, and even the court envoys refused to take them on the road, so it can be seen that they really have no family support.

One or two of them are well-known, that is, Mingjing of the former Tang Dynasty.The new dynasty recognized the fame of the former Tang Dynasty, but it also opened an additional hole, that is, those who had the fame of the previous dynasty can still be tested for the fame of the new dynasty.These two students who passed the examination of the Mingjing took the idea of ​​trying their luck and wanted to take the examination of the Jinshi of the New Dynasty again. …

It's just that they didn't have much confidence. After listening to Zhang Wu's recitation of Li Mo's words, their hearts moved, and they planned to become officials in An Dong Mansion, and Zhang Wu came to see them off.

There is no doubt that this is a big gamble.Zhang Wu actually didn't make up his mind at first.However, after inquiring about the identity of Li Mo, a construction scholar, Zhang Wu stopped hesitating and made up his mind completely—all the grandsons of Jiyin County went to Andong Mansion for training, so why do you have any hesitation?
"In the past few days, I have also inquired and understood." Zhang Wu said: "The Anton Mansion is in urgent need of people who can read and break characters. If you are familiar with the format of official correspondence, they will open their doors to welcome you. Alas, to be honest, my little brother is very happy." If you don’t want to take the exam, go directly to Lushun to see if there is a chance.”

Wang Shenzhi, the governor of Fujian's mighty army, had the reputation of being thirsty for talents.Everyone believed it at first, but after several years of observation, they found that he was only more polite to famous scholars. At least you have to have a Jinshi degree, otherwise it would be difficult to become an official in his shogunate, let alone be accepted by the local government. The state and county officials are dominated by the powerful.

Fujian students have no chance in Fujian. Doesn't this force them to develop abroad?
Zhang Wu had already made up his mind that he would not return to his hometown in Quanzhou even if he failed the Jinshi exam.If Anton's mansion is really full of gold, then he doesn't mind going for it.

"Brother Yu, let's explore the way first." A middle-aged Confucian scholar with a strong accent said, "Even if you can't be an official, it's not bad to be an official."

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere became a little strange.

Everyone present, which one has not been tested for many years.The road of scientific research is long and lonely, and it is full of bitterness, which is really not humane.Some people lose confidence after thinking about it, accept the reality, and start to think about it.
He began to make plans to support his family.

It's just not easy.Which feudal town would use Mingjing or even people without fame?
The Anton Mansion was established only a few years ago, and it is very remote, and it is also facing the threat of the Khitan, many people are unwilling to go, this is their chance.

As long as you have entered the job and have an official position, even if you don't have any fame, you can forcefully advance one or two levels by relying on your qualifications, which is enough.If there is an adventure, it will be even more serious, such as promotion and other trivial matters.

"I must write a letter when I go." Zhang Wu took his hand and said eagerly: "I found out today that there are other scholars in his town who are also planning to try their luck. The schools in Kansai and Henan are still there. Select students to go to Anton Mansion. If you go late, you may lose your chance."

Of course, the scholars from other towns who came to Luoyang to take the exam were not limited to the Fujian family.For some reason, the news that literati went to Anton Mansion and it was easy to get promoted spread like wildfire in Luoyang, and soon spread to every corner.The children of other feudal towns who dared to implement it and made up their minds to go to Anton Mansion also made a decision with a face of resoluteness.

The competition is not as slight as imagined.

"Definitely, definitely!" said the middle-aged Confucian scholar, "After you go there, write a letter to Brother Zhang as soon as you can."

Zhang Wu thanked again and again, and bid farewell to all the fellow villagers.

On the post road next to him, he rode his horse for several rides.

The exiled prisoner was almost knocked to the ground, women and children screamed and panicked.Some even fell to the ground, still in shock.

The officer in charge of the escort even yelled at them, trying to throw them off their horses.

Kang Fu and Zhao Jing glanced at the officials and prisoners who were in a hurry, laughed and beat their horses away.

The soldiers and horses did not move, but the food and grass went first.In order to ensure a smooth northern tour next year, the Great Xia court has already started action ahead of schedule.