Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 167 0162 [Happy News in the Township]

More than two months ago, an official sent to Yangzhou with a golden flower post.

To be precise, those two Tokyo officials were actually in charge of the entire Lizhou Road, but all Jinshi were in Yangzhou.

According to the distance of the address, they went to Min's house first.

Min Zishun's parents were overjoyed when they heard the news, they asked people to open the door, and at the same time sent people to summon people around.

All the elders of the Min family came, and Min Wenwei also came down from the academy.

The Wang family, Li family, and Zheng family all came to congratulate.

Crackling firecrackers sounded, and several servants picked up a sledgehammer and smashed the lintel of Min Zishun's house—the family had already been separated, and this branch was the first to be awarded Jinshi. We must take this opportunity to upgrade the family.

The two official servants sat beside them, drinking tea and waiting leisurely.

The elders and guests of the other clans are all here, and finally the officials are introduced into the gate.

The incense table has been set up inside, and the officials took out the golden flower post and announced Min Zishun's ranking.

Immediately, the Min family put the golden flower post on the incense case for offering, and all bowed down to the golden flower post.

At this moment, the failed scholars have not yet returned to their hometowns, and they have to wait for the official ships and official cars all the way.The official messenger who announced the good news hastened the whole process, rushing to arrive before the unsuccessful scholars.

Principal Min Wenwei asked: "Dare to ask you two nobles, how many people are in Lizhou Road?"

The official said with a smile: "Three hits, all from Yangzhou."

Min Wenwei was even more delighted when he heard this, and asked, "Apart from my nephew, who are the other two middle school scholars?"

The official said, "One is called Zhu Ming, and the other is called Bai Chongyan."

Min Wenwei stroked his beard and put gold on his face: "They are all my students, and they usually study very hard."

Zhu Ming lived in Yangzhou Academy, so he is also a student there... Min Wenwei understands it this way.

The official said flatteringly: "If you can teach three Jinshi, the old man must be a great Confucian."

"Haha, great scholars don't dare to talk nonsense, they just have some experience in teaching." Min Wenwei laughed from ear to ear.

The Min family gave a very heavy thank you gift to the officials who announced the good news. Two officials each had a gold collar, and each gold collar was worth about 150 guan.

The officials put away the gold and laughed happily.

Those who go to Jiangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian, Huainan, and Chengdu to report letters can be said to have received a beautiful mission.There are a lot of Jinshi there, and most of the families are extremely rich.

The two of them made a trip to Yangzhou, and only sent golden flower posts to the homes of three Jinshi. The gift money they could receive was too little.

Yang Zhizhou has been promoted, and his successor is He Zhizhou.

He Zhizhou brought Li Tongpan, and a group of soldiers, Cao Cao, all to Min's house to congratulate him.

By the way, inquire about the situation in the capital.

The official said: "The one among Zhu Langjun is Tanhualang, who was hand-picked by the officials as Tai Xuezheng, and has a great reputation in Tokyo."

Li Tongpan couldn't believe it: "Did the dog really miss?"

The official said: "Only three people were hit on the entire Lizhou Road."

"Oh!" Li Tongjuan sighed.

Fatty Zheng also accompanied his grandfather and father to congratulate him, and he said excitedly, "Zhu Dalang is Tanhua!"

Zheng Lan exclaimed, "It really soared into the sky."

Fatty Zheng laughed and said, "I just said that Da Lang is very good, and he will definitely be a husband."

Zheng Lan muttered: "Being a husband-in-law, I'm afraid I'll look down on my young lady. At the beginning, I should have lowered my face, said more good things, promised more dowry, and settled the marriage contract first. Alas, how could I have expected him to fall in love once? Did you pass the exam?"

Fatty Zheng's big brother, Zheng Yuan, suddenly said: "My little sister can't be a regular wife, she can marry her as a concubine. Send my little sister straight to Tokyo, and put her in Zhu Dalang's house, how can he still take my little sister away?" back?"

Such a bad idea, but it didn't provoke reprimand.

Zheng Lan was seriously thinking about the feasibility, thinking: "It's not easy to produce a Jinshi in Yangzhou, and Zhu Dalang has not yet married a wife. Sending the young lady to Tokyo as a concubine will not be much lower than the official wife. If you can give birth to a child early If you are a half-female, then you will be more favored."

Fatty Zheng's father also said: "Dr. Zhu is a young man, and his future is limitless. In time, he will become the great minister of the court."

The more Zheng Lan thought about it, the more she felt that it was feasible. In the past hundred years, the sons-in-law of the Zheng family had only reached the prefect level with the highest official positions.

And Zhu Ming was born in Tanhualang, as long as he doesn't make mistakes, after 20 years, he will at least be a transfer envoy, and maybe he can even become a court official!
The Min family slaughtered pigs and sheep here, and entertained the guests in the evening, and the two officials who announced the good news were also left behind for the banquet.

It was still early, and Fatty Zheng ran home and said to his sister: "Young lady, you are the number one master, and you are Tan Hualang!"

"Really?" Zheng Yuanyi was overjoyed at first, and then a little sad, feeling that she was no longer worthy.

Everyone thought that Zhu Ming could be a Jinshi, but he would have to take the exam several times, and it would be considered great if he could be on the list before the age of 25.

Unexpectedly, he passed the exam once.

Zheng Yuanyi squeezed out a smile and said: "Brother Zhu is a phoenix in the sky, and I, the daughter of a merchant in the countryside, is like a pheasant in that miscanthus. How can a pheasant match a phoenix? He will definitely find a better one. I can't say for sure. The next son-in-law is married to the daughter of the Prime Minister's family."

Fatty Zheng said in a low voice: "Weng Weng and father are going to send you to Tokyo to be Zhu Dalang's concubine."

After hearing this, Zheng Yuanyi didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

How can any woman be willing to be a concubine?
But Brother Zhu is Tanhualang, and she is just the daughter of a local merchant, her status is too disparate, and she can only be a concubine if she wants to marry that beloved.

Zheng Yuanyi sat on the swing in a daze, sometimes annoyed, sometimes shy, and didn't know what was going on in her heart.

……

But it was said that the Min family held a banquet to celebrate, and it took several days.

The two announcing officials enjoyed it for a while, and continued on their way without stopping.

The old white member had already received the news in advance, and was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.He prepared the gold leaves early, which was a little more shabby than the Min family, and each gold leaf was only worth seventy or eighty guan.

Then there was a large floating banquet, and the villagers of Shangxiabai Village were invited to eat and drink for free.

Then send invitations to the gentry in the county, and pick an auspicious day to hold a banquet to celebrate again.

Although the happy money did not get so much, the officials who announced the good news were not angry.After all, the Min family is a well-known family in the state city, and the Bai family is just a rich man in the countryside.

After staying in Shangbai Village for one day, they finally took a boat to Daming Village. The old Baiyuan even sent his son as a guide.

The population of Daming Village has soared to more than 1500, double that of when it was first captured.

Among them, there are more than 100 people who can't stand the heavy taxation, so they come here on their own initiative.

Where the small river flows into the Han River, a simple wharf has been built.

The amount of work is not too big or small. First, the riverside land is leveled out, wooden pillars are smashed in the water, and a few long planks are erected for berthing the boat.

Zhu Guoxiang no longer lived on the mountain, and moved to the riverside with the village committee team. Only the rattan armor and rattan brand workshop remained in the cottage.

Bai Chongwen pointed to a row of thatched huts on the bank: "That's Zhu Tanhua's house."

The two officials who announced the good news felt a chill in their hearts.

How much money can a family living in a thatched cottage afford?

The main reason is that Daming Village is doing a lot of infrastructure construction, and the population growth rate is too fast, so there is no way to spare more manpower and material resources to build big houses.

Zhu Guoxiang's new house and the newly completed village school are all temporary thatched houses.

This year, not only a simple wharf was built, but also a weir pond was newly dug, and an irrigation canal leading to the wharf from the abandoned tea mountain was being dug.

It cannot be called a waste tea mountain, because it has been cleared out.

Most of the old tea trees continue to be picked for tea making.

There are also some old tea trees that were cut down and replanted with tea saplings.

Round after round of replacement, all old tea trees must be replaced with new tea trees, so as to ensure the output and quality.

The officials went ashore by boat, but they saw the nearest row of thatched huts with the signboard of "Daming Village Inn".

An officer laughed and said, "This is the crudest inn I've ever seen, and there are actually people living there?"

Bai Chongwen said: "Businessmen who travel to and from Hanshui will choose to rest here if it is getting late. The few ships parked by the river are merchant ships heading to Yangzhou."

Looking at the large number of thatched cottages stretching to the east, Bai Chongwen couldn't help admiring Zhu Guoxiang's management ability.

Every time he came to Daming Village, he would find new changes.

The last time I came here, the east side was still full of grass and trees, but now there are dozens of thatched huts.The wasteland near the hut has also been reclaimed. Although it can only be planted with beans for the time being, it will definitely become good land in three to five years.

Bai Chongwen couldn't understand this.

Shouldn't all the money and food collected be saved?
However, Zhu Guoxiang frantically absorbed the population, reclaimed wasteland, and spent his own money on the construction, and actually distributed a lot of land to the villagers.

After such a toss, Zhu Guoxiang didn't even think about saving money, and he didn't even think about saving much food, and he even threw in the money he earned from selling tea.

It would be impossible for him to do so.

Bai Dalang felt that he should save enough money and food, and then find a good piece of land to build a big house, and the land should be in his own hands as much as possible.

Food, money, land, and mansions can all be passed on to the descendants, who will be landlords from generation to generation.

By the way, we should have more slaves, otherwise how would we show our identity?
Zhu Guoxiang is also considered a celebrity in the county, but there are only two servants who wash and sweep at home, and even Mrs. Yan is still doing some chores herself.

"Grandmother, the emperor's messenger is here!" Bai Chongwen shouted.

Grandma Yan and Shen Yourong came out soon, Shen Yourong was pregnant, and she was due to give birth in two or three months.

Grandma Yan asked, "Are you here to conquer again?"

An official came forward and said, "Madam, we are here to announce the good news that Sun has passed the examination of Tanhualang!"

"Tan...Tan Hualang?"

Grandma Yan froze on the spot, trembling slightly, unable to speak.

Shen Yourong was also extremely excited, but still remained calm: "Xianggong is teaching at the village school, so I'll pass the news to him."

Bai Chongwen said hastily: "Auntie, sit down quickly, I will go."

He used to call his sister-in-law, but now he talks about his seniority with Zhu Ming, and Shen Yourong has become an aunt.

Grandma Yan also came back to her senses, went to the house to get the high-quality tea, and asked the lady who made the fire to boil water to make tea.

The officials followed Bai Chongwen to study in a nearby village, where there were only three thatched huts, one of which was used as a classroom.

There are not many students in the classroom, only fourteen or five people.

At the moment, I am in Chinese class, and the blackboard reads, "One to two or three miles, there are four or five houses in Yancun; there are six or seven pavilions, and eight or ninety flowers."

The numbers are circled individually, and students must recite the entire poem, but only the numbers in it are required to be able to learn to write.

Obviously, it's not long since the class started.

The students have only learned horizontal strokes and vertical strokes, and even numbers are still new characters.

"Practice these ten numbers yourself," Zhu Guoxiang said again, "and then talk about "Youth Words and Miscellaneous Characters."

But these dozen or so students were divided into two groups for teaching.

One group is freshmen in the village, with no basic education.

One group is Bai Qi and other children, including the children of Meng Zhao and others. They have a learning foundation.

Two officials who announced the good news looked in through the doors and windows.

I saw that Zhu Guoxiang was wearing a kudzu cloth, and those children were all clothed or sackclothed.

Children don't use paper and pens to practice calligraphy. A wooden basin is placed on each table, and the basin is filled with sand.The students hold bamboo sticks, write on the sand, erase and repeat after writing.

Coupled with that thatched classroom, it's too shabby!

The official asked: "Zhu Tanhua lived here before?"

Bai Chongwen nodded and said: "This used to be a den of thieves. Zhu Tanhua was recruited to be an archer before capturing this place. They are foreign pioneers. They didn't even have thatched huts at first, so they could only live in other people's homes."

The official said with emotion: "It's really not easy."

Bai Chongwen walked to the door of the classroom and reminded him aloud: "Mr. Zhu, the emperor's messenger has sent golden flower posts."

Zhu Guoxiang said to the students: "Practice new characters and recite texts."

The two officials saw Zhu Guoxiang coming out. He was clearly dressed in civilian clothes, but he was calm and unhurried, as if he was facing a certain grand lord.

The merchants and fellows in the inn also came to congratulate the village chief's son when he heard that he had passed the exam.

Zhu Guoxiang received the golden flower post, put it in his arms, and led everyone to the inn for dinner.

The two official servants hesitated to speak, they wanted to remind Zhu Guoxiang that the golden flower post should be offered with incense.But Zhu Guoxiang obviously didn't care about this, he seemed to regard wealth as dung, and it didn't matter whether it was offered or not.

While the officials were eating and drinking, Zhu Guoxiang brought two porcelain pots: "It is reasonable to give money for the wedding, but I don't have any money left. This is the best black tea I personally developed, which is not available in the market. Drink it at home. Brew it directly like loose tea, without grinding it into powder. Loose tea cannot be stored for more than one year, but this black tea can be stored for several years.”

Bai Chongwen said in a low voice: "You two emperors, this kind of tea is very expensive. If you take it to Tokyo, you can sell dozens of guan. If you meet an expert, you can sell hundreds of guan."

The officer announcing the good news immediately laughed, stood up and bowed in gratitude, and began to brag about Ju Ming's deeds in Tokyo to the merchants.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law over there never stopped smiling.

Grandma Yan clasped her hands together to thank the Buddha, she kept chanting Amitabha Buddha, squinted her eyes and said with a smile: "I have already seen that Dalang is not an ordinary person, and sooner or later he will become a Jinshi. This child is very filial, Er Niang, you just wait." Enjoy."

Shen Yourong stroked her stomach and said, "The one who deserves the blessing is my aunt."

Aunt Yan was so excited that she walked back and forth: "I have to tell Brother Qi to learn more from my elder brother, so that he can also take the Jinshi examination in the future. Not to mention the examination of Tanhua, he can be ranked fourth or fifth."

Shen Yourong said: "Sanggong said that brother Qi is very smart, he is good at studying, and he will definitely be able to go to high school in the future."

"It's good if you can pass the exam." Grandma Yan began to wipe away her tears as she spoke, as if thinking of her own son again.

In the evening of the same day, the official who announced the good news rested in the inn.

But I saw villagers one after another, bringing various gifts to congratulate.

There are eggs, vegetables, grains...

Zhu Guoxiang didn't want to accept it, so they put down the gift and ran away, and some even kowtowed to congratulate.

The two officials looked at each other, and when they looked at Zhu Guoxiang again, there was a little more admiration in their eyes.

To make the villagers support him from the bottom of his heart, this Mr. Zhu must be a true Confucian.

(End of this chapter)