But the bright moon shines on the ditch

Extra*Liang Peiqiu and Xu Zhiliu

As the first offender of the large-scale "style-fighting" operation in the 14th year of Wanqing, Liang Peiqiu's survival is a legend in history. Everyone knows that another meaning of the so-called "style-fighting" is to "give someone a head." One life for another has been the case since ancient times. In the final analysis, it was because Liang Peiqiu was extremely skilled in making porcelain that life was more valuable than death. Water was deliberately released from above, and she was able to escape by chance.

However, it is not an easy task to complete one hundred pieces of Han culture porcelain.

The emperor's test for her was not the number of hundreds of pieces, but the influence that the title of Jingdezhen's No. 1 kiln in the world could bring to the Central Plains and even overseas.

This requires the multi-faceted cooperation of the right time, place and people. Every factor is crucial and indispensable.

Although it was difficult, Liang Peiqiu had no choice.

Only by achieving this goal first could she possibly see Xu Zhiliu again. If, if the final result of the three-year period is not as expected, then the remaining time between her and him is only the last three years, so as soon as Liang Peiqiu recovered her body, she completely threw herself into a hundred pieces of porcelain.

You must know that due to Emperor Wanqing's crazy love for ceramics, the entire Jingdezhen porcelain making technology has now reached a state of perfection, almost reaching the pinnacle of all aspects. It is really difficult to carry forward the Han culture to the extreme.

First look at the firing process. The touchstone of the firing process is high-temperature red glaze.

Since the founding of the Dazong Dynasty, the firing of high-temperature red glazes has become increasingly mature. Judging from the level of green coating in Hutian Kiln and Anqing Kiln, there is almost no room for further expansion of this skill. After all, they not only created and fired red glazes that are amazing to the world. Junyao Red also challenged Cowpea Red and Jihong.

The problem that red glaze flows easily is no longer a problem. It is difficult to reach the goal if you want to make further progress.

Objectively speaking, any effort in the firing process is just a repetition of the state that has been achieved. All Liang Peiqiu can do is to keep Jun Yao Hong at this historical height more stably.

Let’s look at the decorative craftsmanship.

After hundreds of years of development, blue and white porcelain has explored countless styles. The status of Wanqing blue and white porcelain is unshakable. Any innovation is just a few more trickles in the sea of ​​blue and white porcelain, and it is difficult to make the king smile.

The color glaze industry has been superb. The high-temperature red glaze and blue glaze are pure green, and the low-temperature rouge, apple green and other colors are colorful. Liang Peiqiu tried to make chrysanthemum petal plates of various colors, so that the glaze colors were concentrated. This is just one of a hundred pieces, which is far from enough to achieve the goal.

Looking at the decorative technology of overglaze painting, due to the advent of imperial porcelain, enamel and pastel are at their peak. However, the enamel and pastel process itself is not complicated. Once the local technical difficulties are overcome, the rest is just the level of painters. High or low, looking at how to combine traditional calligraphy, painting and porcelain art to the extreme, it is obvious that imperial porcelain already represents a model, and it is almost impossible to surpass imperial porcelain.

If there is any room for improvement in decorative craftsmanship, it is only carving craftsmanship.

Although carving has become a supporting role since the Yuan Dynasty, there is no other reason than that the blue and white and colored paintings have appeared one after another, which makes the visual effect more eye-catching. In fact, from the perspective of history and craftsmanship, carving can stand alone with any of the above decorative techniques.

So Liang Peiqiu began to work hard on carving.

She spent a lot of thought and time and made countless attempts, and finally got a turning point in the 16th year of Wanqing. A missionary from a distant country threatened to record the making methods of mysterious porcelain from the ancient Eastern countries and pass them on to the great European countries.

This missionary’s name is Yin Hongxu.

One autumn many years later, Yin Hongxu used the postal service "Pegasus Chuanyi" to send an email detailing the secrets of porcelain making and introducing the properties of kaolin, along with raw material specimens, to the French Jesuit Church. Later, this letter was published in the "Collection of Precious Letters Written by Jesuit Missionaries" under the title "Records of Chinese Ceramics". After this collection was distributed to relevant countries, it shocked the whole of Europe for a while, allowing Westerners to read "first-hand information" on Jingdezhen's porcelain making techniques for the first time.

Of course, this is a story for later. At this time, Yin Hongxu knew nothing about ceramics and was full of curiosity and yearning.

According to him, copycat versions of “blue and white porcelain” had already appeared in the Netherlands in the earliest days. Local craftsmen use the tin-glazed pottery technology passed down from Arabia to produce products with a smooth and bright surface like Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain, but it is difficult to reach the level of bone hardness.

The edges of those loose bowls and plates are easily damaged little by little during use, with cracks appearing as if they have been bitten. Therefore, they were once nicknamed "rat-bitten porcelain" in the European market.

Liang Peiqiu told Yin Hongxu that "kaolin" must be mixed into the raw materials. Only "muscles" without "bones" cannot create a strong porcelain "body".

Later, using the Jingdezhen "kaolin" sent by Yin Hongxu as a specimen, they searched extensively in France. Only then did they discover the "kaolin" deposit near Mori City, and successfully fired real hard porcelain, which shocked the entire European society. Subsequently, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands and other countries all succeeded in imitating Chinese techniques, thus opening a new chapter in the history of European porcelain.

Yin Hongxu was an extremely pious and meticulous missionary. His investigation and research in Jingdezhen relied on the support of the imperial court. Of course, Liang Peiqiu poured out his resources to spread the roots of the Han family.

She showed Yin Hongxu all the achievements that condensed the essence of Jingdezhen's ceramic skills, and presented a new piece of porcelain that was novel and shocking to Emperor Wanqing, who had "seen the most worldly things".

It was a long-necked gourd vase with light yellow ground color and a picture of Longevity and Longevity as the icing on the cake.

Some auspicious patterns are drawn on the bottle body in a light yellow tone. These auspicious patterns can easily become the focus of the vision. Of course, this is the effect at first glance. In fact, the focus of the craftsmanship is not on the patterns, but on those on the light yellow background. Fine, almost imperceptible patterns.

Looking from a distance, you can't notice the pattern on the bottle at all. Only when you get closer and take a closer look, you can't help but let out an exclamation of surprise. Those patterns correspond to the icing on the cake, which shows how delicate and complicated this new craft is.

This is Pahua.

Yin Hongxu was stunned. He could not imagine that one vase could contain so many of the world's top craftsmanship! What kind of craftsmen, what kind of procedures, what kind of works!
Liang Peiqiu demonstrated to him the process of peeling off flowers. The so-called peeling off flowers means making fine carvings on the glaze.

The word "pickle" shows the basic skills.

To make a piece of ceramics made with embroidery craftsmanship, the embroidery craftsman needs to be calm, hold the embroidery needle steadily in his hand, and stare at the details of the object, stitch by stitch, with full concentration. Pahua can be a full decoration, covering the entire surface of the utensil, or it can be a partial decoration. For the flower-picking craftsmen, this is a repetitive, boring, and meticulous hard work that is both eye-intensive and requires concentration, mind and hand, without any confusion.

A small mistake may destroy the entire object. If the needle is slightly heavier, it may cause local small pieces of glaze to peel off after firing. The peeling off of this small piece means the failure of the entire work.

Liang Peiqiu smashed the waste porcelain that almost filled half of the dragon kiln to make a gourd vase, and this gourd vase also laid a solid foundation for hundreds of Han porcelains.

The subsequent attempts were to make complex additions to the existing craftsmanship and historical and cultural innovations, and then through Yin Hongxu’s missionary work, this ancient craftsmanship was spread all over the world.

In the seventeenth year of Wanqing, after Yin Hongxu left, Liang Peiqiu finally regained personal freedom.

At that time, Jingdezhen had entered a new era.

The ten-mile long street is about two to three hundred meters long. There are more than a thousand shops lined up in rows, and there are all porcelains on display. It is noted that retail sales, vendors, renovation, and selling are all divided into fine, coarse, upper, middle, and lower levels. There are so many folk kilns, they are springing up like bamboo shoots after a rain, they are crowded and full of vitality.

As far as the eye can see, there is a grand scene that "extends for thirteen miles and has more than 100,000 fireworks."

That night, when Liang Peiqiu walked on the back of the high and low dragon kilns and looked at the lights of thousands of houses in front of her, she sighed deep in her heart.

very nice.

Such a prosperous age is great.

The only regret is that Xu Zhiliu cannot see it with his own eyes.

But at this time, Xu Zhiliu, who was far away from home, was doing something that no one expected. Years of suppressing bandits and quelling chaos have caused the young man in the past to completely lose his youthfulness, become calm and reclusive, and his thoughts become more and more unpredictable.

He often corresponded with Liang Peiqiu and was very relieved to learn that she had made new breakthroughs in porcelain art. Liang Peiqiu also mentioned the missionaries’ curiosity about Eastern stories, including their awe for the deified Tong Bin.

The Wind and Fire Temple has been passed down to this day. It is not just a story, but also a spirit. To put it more highly, it can "help the state and lend money to hundreds of workers", "can be a loyal minister and a righteous man." heart of".

Tong Bin died of fire, and fire is the spiritual totem that constantly produces miracles in Jingdezhen. For many uncivilized ethnic groups in Lingnan, allowing them to go out and see the long history of Han culture and the vastness of the hinterland of the Central Plains is also an important foundation for Xu Zhiliu's work.

As a result, a story based on Wan Niang about a Junyao red bounty worth ten thousand gold gradually spread throughout the southern barbarians. Xu Zhiliu told them the real historical facts of Jingdezhen and the struggles of Jingdezhen people, and invited people from Jiangxi to A famous craftsman created a porcelain statue of Tong Bin and inscribed a porcelain plaque of "You Tao Ling Temple" that is 135 centimeters long, 43.5 centimeters wide and 6 centimeters thick with blue and white materials. The porcelain plaque was also carefully decorated with wrapped branches. The lotus pattern allows the common people to see with their own eyes the birth of a porcelain statue, a porcelain plaque, and a porcelain figure, and teaches them how to make the unique Jun Kiln Red.

Slowly, the ice that was originally difficult to melt began to melt.

However, the three-year deadline has arrived.

Liang Peiqiu inquired all the way and finally found Xu Zhiliu's location, but was told that he had been escorted to the capital a month ago. When Liang Peiqiu suddenly heard the bad news, she fainted on the spot after a long journey.

She already had early symptoms of silicosis. She has been cooperating with the doctor for treatment in the past few years. She wears a towel every day when going in and out of the rough house to prevent the inhalation of dust from aggravating the condition. She has almost no hemoptysis in the past year, but because of Xu Zhiliu's The future is uncertain, old illnesses may relapse, and it is difficult to recover from one illness.

After lingering in the local area for a month, by the time she set off for the capital, Xu Zhiliu had already arrived at the foot of the imperial city.

Logically, he should take off his clothes and undergo examination.

But what surprised the soldiers guarding the city was that this criminal, who was said to have suppressed bandits in fifteen cities in Lingnan, and whose decisiveness was comparable to that of the ruthless official Xia Ying, was actually dressed in plain clothes, without any extraneous silver on his body, and carried only the only The second thing is a burned Five Blessing Knot and a torn-up copy of "Hengqu Quotations".

Afterwards, the emperor personally interrogated him, and the three divisions tried him at the same time. Xu Zhiliu answered everything. Although the deadline has come, everything Xu Zhiliu did in Lingnan was a heroic act. The whole court was shocked by his talent. It would be a pity to kill him so hastily.

The third division could not take action, and the emperor could not come to power. After several days of trial and error, Xu Zhiliu was finally sentenced to prison and sentenced to life imprisonment.

By the time Liang Peiqiu arrived in the capital, it was already the end of the seventeenth year of Wanqing.

Although Xu Zhiliu was deeply imprisoned, he was still alive, which was a blessing for Liang Peiqiu. She asked Yuan Zhao'an to plead for mercy, and then followed the path of former Comrade Wu Fangyuan. Finally, on New Year's Eve, when the whole family was reunited and the country was celebrating, she met the person she had been thinking about day and night.

Xu Zhiliu's situation was much better than she imagined. In that prison where it was said that no one would walk out alive, there was not a single scar on his body. Although his daily meals were not very good, they were not in short supply, and there were still people who provided them to him. Paper and pen were prepared so that he could explain his three years in Lingnan in detail. But it was Liang Peiqiu who surprised Xu Zhiliu.

She was so thin that she was almost out of shape, which showed how fast she had traveled and how sick she was. Xu Zhiliu's eyes turned red almost instantly, and he hugged her thin shoulders tightly. He was afraid that she couldn't bear it, so he wanted to retreat, but she hit her again.

He suppressed the sadness in his heart, pushed her away, and said seriously: "Xiao Liang, you broke your promise."

"I……"

Liang Peiqiu was infected with the cold and her voice became hoarse. Just one word made Xu Zhiliu's face sink.

"You promised me before I left that you would take good care of yourself. Is this your promise to me?"

Liang Peiqiu pursed her lips and said nothing, tentatively approaching him, wanting to tug on his sleeve, so as to trick her into being a good person and get through, and she didn't want to be avoided by him.

He was clearly right in front of him, but he couldn't touch or touch him. Just like he had been vague and erratic in the past three years, Liang Peiqiu held back her tears, swallowed her grievances, and bowed her head to admit her mistake.

"I, I know..."

There were so many things she wanted to say to him, and she made countless drafts along the way, but she didn't expect the situation in front of her. She didn't know how to speak. She thought that the time given by the yamen servant was only half a cup of tea, and she didn't know why she wanted to see him again. Years and months later, the words reached her throat and she couldn't hold back anymore, sobbing and shedding tears.

"Brother Liu."

Xu Zhiliu couldn't care less about the two vague words. He stepped forward quickly, hugged her tightly in his arms again, pressed the back of her head with his palms, and stroked her again and again.

"Okay, stop crying. It's my fault. I shouldn't be cruel to you... I'm sorry, I'm just, I'm just worried about you."

"I know, but I can't help it. I'm also worried about you. I went to find you, and they told me that you were taken away. I was very, very afraid that I would never see you again, so I..."

"So you went to Lingnan first and then came to the capital?"

Liang Peiqiu answered him with a thick and aggrieved nasal voice.

Calculating the distance between the two places carefully, and then calculating the time he spent in prison, it is not difficult to guess how hastily she traveled along the way. Xu Zhiliu couldn't help but use force again to pull her into his chest and apologized repeatedly.

Liang Peiqiu felt the unique refreshing aura on his body, which was somewhat reserved for a little girl. She took a step back and took a closer look at his eyebrows, and two red clouds suddenly flew over her cheeks.

"Forgive you."

She muttered, looking at him again.

How come I became more beautiful even after enduring hardships in Lingnan?

Xu Zhiliu noticed her restless little eyes, touched her head amusingly, leaned close to her and whispered: "Don't be shy, you can look at it openly."

"Who's looking at you?" She sniffed and mustered up the courage to raise her head, "But you've already spoken, so I'll take a look."

Now Xu Zhiliu has a kind of calmness and tranquility that has experienced thousands of sails. Compared with Liang Peiqiu, it is more like the late winter snow, which bends the branches heavily. Liang Peiqiu, on the other hand, is like a new bud blooming after a long winter, tender and full of flowers.

The two looked at each other silently, relieving the lovesickness and lingering affection they had not seen for three years. At this moment, every trace of expression in the corners of the eyes and eyebrows is a spark that can start a prairie fire.

Their hearts roared fiercely, and in the dark and narrow cell, they followed each other's reason and suppressed the erupting flash flood.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time passed, Xu Zhiliu smiled slightly and spread his arms.

Liang Peiqiu resignedly threw herself into his arms.

The two spoke quietly.

"I'm leaving soon. I'll find a chance to see you after the new year. Don't worry, I'll find a way to clear things up for you. No matter what, no matter what, I'll be with you."

"Fool." Xu Zhiliu said, "Wait for me outside and I will come to see you."

Liang Peiqiu was slightly surprised: "Do you have any idea?"

Xu Zhiliu said: "I'm not sure, I can only give it a try."

Liang Peiqiu wanted to ask again, but Xu Zhiliu held her head down. There was an officer outside to urge her. He quickly glanced around and put his lips to her ear.

"Xiao Liang, do you believe me?"

Liang Peiqiu wanted to cry again.

If she doesn't believe him, who else will she believe?

She only believed in him in this life. Believe him in everything.

She nodded vigorously.

Same as before. It's the same every time.

"Then take the moon as proof."

I will come to see you when it is complete.

"What if you break your promise?"

Xu Zhiliu lowered his head.

Liang Peiqiu's lips softened.

"I'm not willing to break my promise." He said, "Xiao Liang, I owe you so much, I can only repay it in my lifetime."

/
It was the first time for Liang Peiqiu to celebrate the New Year alone. Fortunately, Yuan Zhaoan was a warm-hearted person. Whenever he found an opportunity, he would take her to various houses. Many high-ranking families in Beijing heard that she had come to the capital and sent invitations to her. Appreciating porcelain at home.

With her current reputation, regardless of class, everyone is proud of "Liang Kiln Porcelain".

Any piece of "Liang kiln porcelain" is a great status symbol.

Liang Peiqiu had no intention of meeting the guests, but then she thought about it. Xu Zhiliu was still in prison and needed the help of these Beijing officials, so no matter how exhausted he was, he still ate at the flowing banquet with each family.

After having enough social activities from the beginning to the end of the year, I am full of wine and exhausted. As a result, the good or bad wind and cold sweep over again.

This time it was really overwhelming, even worse than in Lingnan. That night when she developed a high fever and fainted, Liang Peiqiu seemed to hear several loud bells coming from the imperial city not far away.

How can you ring a bell?
She didn't know that the Queen Mother passed away that night.

It was the sound of the death knell.

Not long after, the emperor granted a general amnesty, and Xu Zhiliu was absolved of his crime and returned to the common people.

When a pair of gentle hands brushed across her hot face, and a hint of coolness penetrated into her chest, Liang Peiqiu, who had been in chaos for a long time, was pulled back to a trace of clarity. She opened her eyes in confusion and saw a familiar face.

The man was as towering as a mountain, looking down at her quietly, his dark pupils filled with feelings that even though she couldn't see through, she trembled deeply for it.

Behind the bulging body, a full moon hung high in the sky.

Liang Peiqiu didn't know if it was a dream or reality. She threw herself at the visitor with all her strength. The tension and worry she had been feeling for many days was released, making her cry like a child.

From beginning to end, the majesty carried her.

Just like when we first met.