Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 258 0253 [Lang's concubine's love and the lion's roar in the east of the river]

The place Zhu Guoxiang visited was later called Jintanling Reservoir, but now it is just a long and narrow river valley.

There are not many flat lands on both sides of the strait, and paddy fields are extremely rare, most of which are dry land at the foot of the mountain.

Huge Yundang bamboo stands in the valley, interspersed with some thatched houses made of bamboo and mud.

Abandoning the boat and going ashore, Zhu Guoxiang couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you see rich people in the valley?"

Wen Luan who accompanied him replied: "There are not many people in the valley, only a hundred or so households, all of whom are tenant farmers of Nianfo Temple."

"Nanfo Temple?" Zhu Guoxiang frowned.

Wen Xiaomei pointed to the mountains to the west: "One mile to the west is Nianfo Rock, and there is Lanruo Nianfo Temple in the mountain. That’s why it thrives today.”

Zhu Guoxiang continued to move forward and saw thick smoke on the other side of the river. He crossed the river by boat to check and found that it was a bamboo charcoal-burning workshop.

The charcoal burners were busy, but a monk was lying outside basking in the sun.

Hearing the footsteps of the crowd, the monk yawned and opened his eyes.Seeing that Zhu Guoxiang was imposing and accompanied by many followers, he quickly stood up and folded his hands together: "Amitabha, I don't know why the almsgiver came."

Zhu Guoxiang actually responded with a Taoist salute: "I am a fourth-rank purple-clothed Taoist official, and I come here to visit the mountains and rivers."

The monk secretly groaned in his heart, since Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty advocated Taoism, all the monks in the world are no longer beautiful, and even ordered to encourage monks to become Taoist priests.The monk said: "Young monk read the knowledge, and I was ordered to manage the bamboo charcoal field here."

"The bamboo charcoal here must be transported back to Nianfo Temple?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Monk Nianzhi said: "Only pay the quota every month. If there is any excess bamboo charcoal, it is allowed to sell it in Yangzhou City."

Zhu Guoxiang asked again: "Did the spring drought this year cause disasters here?"

Monk Nianzhi said: "The drought is quite serious. Fortunately, the elders in the temple opened a warehouse to help the people, so that the people in the valley can tide over the difficulties."

"It's really compassionate." Zhu Guoxiang said with emotion.

Monk Nianzhi asked, "Can the Taoist priest go to Nianfo Temple?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I won't go, I'm here to visit Wenjia and Yundang Valley, and I'll stop here to enjoy the beautiful scenery."

"So that's how it is." Monk Nianzhi finally felt relieved that the Taoist priest didn't just come here to find fault.

After leaving the bamboo charcoal field, Zhu Guoxiang asked, "How does the temple work?"

Wen Luan didn't want to speak ill of the temple, so he only replied euphemistically: "My ancestors worshiped Confucianism, believed in Buddhism, and good ways all their lives, and so did my descendants. It's just that I have been disturbed by common things in recent years, and I haven't gone to the Buddhist temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. .”

The whole family believes in Buddhism, and the Nianfo Temple is close at hand, but they never go to the temple to burn incense.

Why?

Of course, it is not pleasing to see Nianfo Temple!

Wen Tongna was really clean all his life, and he presided over the repair of the city wall of Yangzhou City.He also presided over the expansion of the school over Xingyuan Mansion.Handling many projects, just getting some oil and water is enough for him to make a fortune.

However, many famous officials in the Northern Song Dynasty unanimously evaluated Wen Tong as "clean" and "poor".

With the money he had saved for most of his life, he could only buy a few hundred acres of land in Yundang Valley (costing less than [-] guan), and the rest of the money was used to repair the shabby house.

Wen Wuguang maintains this kind of family tradition, is poor and happy, and lives in seclusion in the valley all the year round, and he doesn't even go to the state city very often.

When encountering a monk who is greedy for money and abuses the people, he naturally disdains to be with him.

Zhu Guoxiang turned to look at Wen Xiaomei: "Sister, you can speak clearly."

Wen Xiaomei said: "When my ancestors were alive, the Buddhist temple was still considered compassionate. In recent years, the emperor worshiped the Tao and suppressed the Buddha, and the state officials stopped coming to burn incense. Even the folk believers went to the Taoist temple to worship. There was a lot less incense in the Buddhist temple. They used money to exploit the people nearby. Even in times of famine, they no longer gave porridge to the people, but took advantage of the opportunity to borrow money and annexed the nearby land. Nianfoyan has a radius of four or five miles, and all of them have become temple properties, and the rents are very heavy. .”

In the Song Dynasty, taxes were collected equally.

Temples also have to pay land taxes, but they do not bear exorbitant taxes and corvees.

The exorbitant miscellaneous taxes and corvee are often several times, or even more than ten times, the regular tax.This is the reason why temples can grow, and it is also where Duyi can be used as securities.

Generally speaking, in places with heavy miscellaneous taxes, farmers are willing to donate their fields to temples as tenants.

It can make the writers feel disgusted, which means that the land rent of Nianfo Temple is extremely heavy, and the peasants are attached to the temple, and their lives are almost as if they are exploited by the government.

Zhu Guoxiang smiled and said, "How about I take this valley?"

Wen Xiaomei pursed her lips and smiled: "I'm afraid I'll piss off those bald donkeys."

Different from Shen Yourong's plump and charming, Wen Xiaomei's figure is slender and slim, with a strong bookish atmosphere.At this moment, the smile bloomed like a orchid, which stunned Zhu Guoxiang for a few seconds.

When Wen Xiaomei was stared at by him, her cheeks flushed suddenly, but she didn't turn her head to dodge, but looked back with a smile on her face.

Fatty Zheng suddenly felt that the atmosphere was not right, and subconsciously looked at Zhao Fengji.

Zhao Fengji had already turned around, admiring the beautiful scenery in the valley, as if he didn't know anything.He had already noticed it, Zhu Guoxiang and Wen Xiaomei chatted closer and closer along the way.

"Cough cough!"

Wen Luan coughed twice, breaking the ambiguous atmosphere.

His sister had married far away in Huzhou, and because she had not given birth to a child for many years, she had a very unpleasant quarrel with her mother-in-law.Due to the affection of the Wen family, they did not dare to divorce their wives, and took several concubines one after another.

But those concubines can't produce children, it's obvious that there is something wrong with the man.

The mother-in-law didn't care about all this, she was all on Wen Xiaomei's head.Although they didn't fight or scold, they didn't show a good face all day long, and the family atmosphere was extremely depressing.

If things go on like this, Wen Xiaomei really can't bear to be useless, so she simply proposes a divorce.I also asked my aunt and uncle to help me and forcibly sentenced me to reconcile and leave. I returned to my natal family in Yangzhou last fall.

If Zhu Guoxiang has not remarried, Wen Luan will naturally be happy to see good things, and both parties will count as second marriages and no one will be wronged.

But Zhu Guoxiang has already reunited. Could it be that he married his sister to be a concubine?
The Wen family can't afford to lose that person!

Looking at my uncle... Uh, no, looking at Mr. Wen Jialang, Zhu Guoxiang blushed and continued to investigate the situation.

Until they were so hungry that they finally returned to Yundang Valley.

After eating, Zhu Guoxiang took out the emperor's grant of land document, handed it to Zheng Hong and said: "Please Erlang, take this document to see Xingdao county magistrate. He said that the emperor bestowed the land. I have taken a fancy to the river valley to the east of Nianfo Temple." , I plan to occupy even the mountains and valleys, and let the county government send subordinates to delineate the boundaries of the land, and by the way, resettle the nearby people."

"Yes!" Fatty Zheng ran away with the field grant document, full of energy.

When the emperor grants land, he often grants people and land together, and directly grants the people on the ground to be customers.

Totally unreasonable!
Zhu Guoxiang didn't feel guilty, it was better for him to accept those lands and people than to be taken over by the temple.Moreover, he treats the people leniently, and the farmers in the valley are definitely more willing to hang out with him than continue to endure the exploitation of the monks.

As soon as Zheng Hong left, Wen Xiaomei said, "I still have some questions about the scriptures, and I want to ask you sir."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I also want to teach my little sister about painting."

A couple of dogs and men went to the study room in love and concubine, completely disregarding the opinions of others.

Wen Luan hurriedly ran to see his father: "Father, my younger sister seems to be interested in Mr. Zhu."

Wen Wuguang was a little surprised, and asked, "Should Zhu Yuanzhang have a regular wife?"

Wen Luan said: "I have inquired about it, Mr. Zhu's first wife is deceased, and he remarried two years ago."

"Ridiculous!" Wen Wuguang was very angry, "Call your mother."

After a while, Mrs. Su walked into the room, and Wen Wuguang explained the situation: "I need to find another marriage for my little sister."

Su said angrily: "If she wants to marry, she can choose any young talent in Yangzhou. But in the past six months, she has found several, but she still refuses to nod. Can she still find an in-law and tie her up to marry? "

Although Wen Xiaomei is a divorced woman, she is beautiful and talented, and she is Wen Tong's granddaughter and Su Zhe's granddaughter. In this Yangzhou territory, she is really random.

Nothing else, just the Min family.

Once Wen Xiaomei nods, the Min family will definitely hire her immediately, and they will let the main clan's son-in-law Mingmei marry her, and they will not care about her status as a divorced woman at all.

Hearing his wife's words, Wen Wuguang was quite annoyed, and cursed again: "That Zhu Yuanzhang has a very high reputation, but unexpectedly he is such a disciple. I stayed as a guest with good intentions, but he hooked up with my beloved daughter!"

Su smiled and said: "What are you annoyed about? My little sister has been depressed in Huzhou for many years, so what if she is the wife of a prominent family, can she have a happy life one day? When she returned to her natal home last year, her whole body was thin and out of shape. It took half a year for her complexion to improve. In my opinion, as long as she is happy in her heart, being a wife or concubine is the same."

"Confused," Wen Wuguang said, "not to mention embarrassment, if you marry as a concubine, you will have to be insulted by your regular wife. How can you be happy?"

Su's smile faded, she slammed the table and said, "I'll see who dares to make things difficult!"

Wen Wuguang complained: "Little sister has been angry in Huzhou for many years, and I haven't seen you come forward to support her."

Su said: "That's because I didn't know, otherwise I would have gone to Huzhou long ago. I have the final say on this matter. As long as the little sister is happy, the parents don't care about it."

"The Wen family has been innocent for generations, how can there be a daughter who is a concubine?" Wen Wuguang instantly lowered his face.

Su asked: "Who has the final say in this family?"

Wen Wuguang couldn't speak, he looked at his son with a guilty conscience, but saw that his son had already slipped away.

Wen Wuguang didn't admit that his wife had the final say, and he didn't dare to quarrel with his wife, so he could only sit there and sulk.

Su said: "This Mr. Zhu, although he is not young, is handsome and upright. He is also good at cultivating the Tao, his eyes are not even wrinkled, and his skin is as smooth as a boy's. Such a handsome man, even I saw it I also like it, how can my little sister not be tempted? Besides talent and learning, who doesn't know that he is good at farming? "Zhu's Agricultural Book" has been spread to Xingyuan Mansion. "Zhu's Mathematical Classics" is an edict issued by the emperor, ordering all states Most students have to learn.”

Wen Wuguang wanted to roll his eyes.

The Su family continued, with a smile on his face, in a tone of admiration for his son-in-law: "His son, Zhu Chenggong, is a young man, and even the officials are full of praise. I heard that Zhu Chenggong's knowledge was passed down from his father. This Zhu Chenggong The husband must be full of knowledge. Such a beautiful and talented man, where can I find it if I miss it? My daughter's vision is much better than yours."

Wen Wuguang couldn't help it: "No matter how good it is, it's not a good match. He already has a wife!"

Su's still said: "Who is in charge at home?"

"I'm the one who has the final say!" Wen Wuguang roared bravely, then quickly got up and walked away.

"Stop!" Su shouted.

Wen Wuguang trembled when he heard it, but he didn't stop, and continued to walk outside at a faster speed, unwilling to be as knowledgeable as a woman.

(If you find lack of punctuation, it is a problem with the display of the starting point. Often a comma is used, but it cannot be displayed, and two paragraphs are connected together.)
(End of this chapter)