At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 364 Reunion

Outside Xiangyang City, it was covered in silver and thick snow had piled up.

At this time, Zhou Qi, with his wife Shi Wen and a dozen children, stood at the intersection and waited eagerly under the heavy protection of the personal guards led by Dian Wei.

"With such heavy snow, will my step-son be stuck on the road?"

It turned out that it was the New Year's Eve, and the eldest son Zhou Ji, who had been sent out previously, was originally responsible for guarding Yizhou and was not suitable to go home to celebrate the New Year.

However, when he learned that Zhao Yun had escorted Adou to Xiangyang and stayed in Xiangyang City temporarily, he felt as if he was being scratched by a cat's paw, and wanted to return to Xiangyang to see Zhao Yun.

When Zhou Ji was a hostage in Xuzhou, he followed his father's instructions and deliberately made friends with several generals under Liu Bei's command.

Guan, Zhang, and Zhao were naturally the best people to get along with Zhao Yun, and they were also the first to teach Zhou Ji martial arts seriously.

After several years of getting along, Zhou Ji also regarded himself as Zhao Yun's nephew, and he also liked this extraordinary-looking, brave and unparalleled man of loyalty.

It’s not just Zhao Yun.

Listening to Shi Wen's slightly worried words, Zhou Qi turned his attention to Chen Wen next to him and asked: "Awen, are you sure that your step-son will return to Xiangyang soon?"

Zhou Qi couldn't help but look happy when he heard this.

As soon as Zhou Qi finished speaking, a horse came galloping towards him. It was the exploration horse that Zhou Qi had sent out before.

In fact, most of the people who felt that Zhang Fei was difficult to get along with were soldiers or common people from the lowest level.

Zhao Yun is different, he is a master of both spear and sword. Not only is his marksmanship superb, he is also proficient in swordsmanship.

However, when facing Guan, Zhang, and Zhao, three enemies with very different personalities, Zhou Ji liked Zhao Yun the most and truly regarded him as his mentor.

For example, this is true for Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Yuan Shu, Yang Qiu and even Zhou Qi himself.

However, Guan Yu's sword skills are only suitable for fighting on the battlefield, and they are open and closed moves that require extraordinary arm strength to master.

Even if Boss Cao is on the opposing side, Guan Yu is grateful to Boss Cao for his sincere treatment.

When he conveyed his ideas to Zhou Qi, Zhou Qi did not blame his son. Instead, he told the other party to leave the government affairs and military affairs to Pang Tong and Zhou Yu respectively before leaving Yizhou, and then take Lu Xun with him. Return to Xiangyang.

Zhou Qi still had great trust in Chen Wen's ability to engage in intelligence. He immediately turned to look at his wife and said with a smile: "Aren't you still confident about Awen's ability? Since he said that his step-son would be back at this time, There can be no mistake.”

Chen Wen stepped forward and said: "Don't worry, my lord, the news from my subordinates will never be wrong. In fact, if the heavy snow had not delayed the trip, the prince would have arrived in Xiangyang long ago."

After Zhou Ji impressed Guan Yu, the two also talked happily.

Although the second master is arrogant, he is proud of his superiors and does not bully his subordinates. Although he did not like to talk to Zhou Ji at first, he could not stand it. Zhao Yun often praised Zhou Ji for his spirituality.

Zhang Fei would lower his profile and deliberately make friends with people who had extraordinary family backgrounds or were quite famous, but he was easier to get along with than Guan Yu.

But the scholars of this era were not as powerless as the scholars of the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. Almost all of them learned the Six Arts of the Gentleman, and were proficient in horse riding, archery, and driving.

Out of missing Zhao Yun, and because it was indeed the time for family reunion at the end of the year, Zhou Jicai had the idea to return to Xiangyang to celebrate the New Year.

Zhou Yu had returned to Xiangyang before, but Lu Xun had always stayed in Yizhou.

as predicted.

Since Zhou Ji planned to come back, he simply brought Lu Xun back with him so that he could reunite with his family and show his family affection.

Zhang Fei's character is doomed, and he will never ignore Zhou Ji's kindness.

For Zhang Fei, it is natural to see the results of making good friends with Zhou Ji.

However, Zhou Ji is not Zhao Yun after all, and he cannot learn the essence of it. At most, it has its form but not its spirit.

And because the knight-errant style was very strong in this era, the swords worn by the scholars were not just decorations. Many scholars had practiced swordsmanship since childhood.

Perhaps it is precisely because of the different personalities of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei that the two families have different fates.

Zhao Yun didn't have any sectarian views. He saw that Zhou Ji had an astonishing understanding, and that the other party was really good at etiquette and respected him very much, so he didn't hide his secrets and taught his swordsmanship to him.

He came to Zhou Qi, hurriedly got off his horse and said: "To inform my lord, the prince's fleet has arrived at Hangao Mountain!"

Although Zhou Qi was born in a bad family, Zhou Qi has now built such a large family business and has become a powerful prince. His eldest son Zhou Ji can also be regarded as the son of a prince, so he is extremely valuable.

In addition to Zhao Yun and Guan Yu, the relationship between Zhou Ji and Zhang Fei is also good.

As the eldest son of Zhou Qi, Zhou Ji was not born with supernatural powers. The possibility of going to the battlefield to fight in person was slim, so he could not learn Guan Yu's martial arts.

Don't think that just because Zhang Fei has a bad temper, you think the other person is difficult to get along with.

In addition, Zhou Ji has a sweet mouth and is very good at conducting himself. He does not show any arrogance as Zhou Qi's eldest son, but instead treats Guan Yu with great respect.

Therefore, scholars also prefer to pursue superb swordsmanship. After practicing swordsmanship, although they are not good at fighting on the battlefield, they can still save their lives.

Guan Yu, if you give him face, he will treat you honestly.

You must know that in this era, mentors are almost second only to parents. If someone dares to insult his mentor, it is a matter of sworn hatred. Xiahou Dun once did this, and he did not hesitate to violate the law when he was only fourteen years old. He wants to kill the guy who insulted his mentor.

With the same swordsmanship, Zhao Yun could perform as he wished and perform superbly, but Zhou Ji only had 20 to 30% of the strength of Zhao Yun. He was obviously not a martial arts wizard.

After all, Lu Xun can be regarded as Zhou Qi's nephew. Since the Battle of Yizhou broke out, Lu Yu has also been very worried about Lu Xun, his nephew.

Most of the scholars in this era could mount their horses to become generals and dismount to govern.

Even so, Zhao Yun had a debt of gratitude for teaching Zhou Ji, and Zhou Ji did not dare to forget it.

After the Shu Kingdom was destroyed, all the descendants of Guan Yu were robbed; Zhang Fei's two daughters became Liu Chan's queens, and they also received preferential treatment after the Shu Han Dynasty was destroyed.

Marksmanship is also a battlefield fighting technique, and Zhou Ji has no use for it.

As the saying goes, there is no west in Xiangyang.

That's because the area of ​​ancient Xiangyang was not large. Hangao Mountain to the west of Xiangyang City was only more than ten miles away from Xiangyang City.

Hangao Mountain, a different name for Wanshan, is also the dividing line between Xiangyang and Deng County, and even more so between Xiangyang County and Nanyang County.

Zhang Heng's poem "Ode to the Southern Capital" says: The wandering girl plays pearls in Han Gao's song, which is what she is talking about.

The reason why the dividing line between the two counties is so close to Xiangyang is also related to Xiangyang's special geographical location.

Although the Han River is a natural barrier to the north of Xiangyang, the Han River does not flow from west to east, but from northwest to southeast.

Only in the section from Wanshan to Xiangyang does the Han River truly flow from west to east. Therefore, the ancient saying that the north of the Han River was called Nanyang County and the south of the Han River was called Nan County is not wrong, because the only place where the Han River really divides the north and the south is the Xiangyang City section.

Before Wanshan, the Han River always ran from northwest to southeast.

As a result, Wudang, Shandu, Zhuyang and even parts of Deng County in Nanyang County are located on the south side of the Han River, which can also be said to be the west side of the Han River.

If Wanshan is not used as the dividing line between Nanjun and Nanyang County, then Xiangyang's strategic value will be greatly reduced.

It is precisely because of Wanshan, the natural barrier to the west, that the troops from Nanyang County from the west cannot directly attack Xiangyang, because after Wanshan is Tanxi, and finally is the moat.

How difficult it is to cross mountains, rivers and rivers to attack Xiangyang.

However, during the Three Kingdoms period, as Xiangyang's geographical location became more and more important, Xiangyang's territory began to expand.

After the Han River passed through the north of Xiangyang from west to east, it took a turn and turned southwestward, almost surrounding half of Xiangyang. It flows into the Yangtze River in the east.

Therefore, as long as Zhou Ji's fleet arrives at Hangao Mountain, it means that it has entered Xiangyang.

As the fleet moves down the river, it won't take long to cover a distance of more than ten miles.

With everyone's eager anticipation, Zhou Ji finally successfully landed ashore under the escort of the navy led by Dong Xi, Pan Zhang, and Ma Zhong.

"The child has met his father, his mother, and his uncles!"

Zhou Ji saw Zhou Qi and others greeting him in the snow, and hurriedly stepped forward to pay homage.

"Stepson, you have lost weight and become darker!"

Shi Wen hurriedly stepped forward to support Zhou Ji. Looking at his son who had become much leaner, he knew that he must have suffered a lot in Yizhou, and his eyes could not help but feel moist.

This is true.

Even when Zhou Ji was a hostage in Xuzhou, he still lived a very comfortable life.

However, after arriving in Chengdu, it seemed that he was in charge of a state and had great power, but in fact he had many things to worry about.

Even though Zhou Ji had two great talents, Pang Tong and Lu Xun, and many famous people in Yizhou to help him, he still had many unfinished government affairs.

Especially the policies related to ethnic minorities made Zhou Ji even more troubled.

Although Zhou Qi had already set the tone before, he established a city in Nanzhong and gave great treatment to the barbarians in Nanzhong, and he also gave preferential treatment to the Ba people in Badi.

However, the rebellion of the Liudao Qiang in Yizhou also made Zhou Ji wary.

He knew that it was okay to treat the barbarians and Ba people preferentially, but they must also have the necessary jurisdiction. If they were just showing favor, they would most likely become like the Qiang of the Six Paths and rebel against the imperial court in the future.

In order to solve this problem without violating Zhou Qi's ethnic policy, not only Zhou Qi, but also Pang Tong was troubled.

In the end, Lu Xun came up with a strategy, which was to intermarry.

In fact, many barbarian and Ba tribes previously opposed intermarriage with Han people, and Han people were unwilling to marry their daughters to barbarians and Ba tribes.

It is precisely because intermarriage between the two parties is not common that it is difficult for the Barbarians and Ba people to truly integrate into the Han people, and the Han people are not willing to accept them.

Now, in order to stimulate population growth, Zhou Qi implemented the national policy of the Western Han Dynasty, which was that women who did not marry between fifteen and thirty years old would be punished five times.

That is to say, if a woman reaches the marriageable age but does not marry, she will be charged five times the customary tax.

However, Lu Xun suggested that Zhou Ji write to Zhou Qi and adopt a more flexible policy in some areas, that is, if a girl does not marry at the age of fifteen, the local government will act as a matchmaker, and Han women will marry barbarians or Ba people, and barbarian and Ba people will marry women. Marry a Han man.

It was also stipulated that barbarians and Ba people who were from the same tribe and had the same surname were not allowed to intermarry.

Although this decree aroused dissatisfaction among many people in a short period of time, the government reassured them that if Han women did not want to be married into the tribe, or if women in the tribe did not want to marry Han people, they only needed to get married as soon as possible.

Faced with the government's statement, everyone thought that it was indeed the same thing, and in the end they could only reluctantly accept it.

In this era, those who are still unmarried after the age of fifteen are either too ugly or too poor to marry, or they are women from wealthy families who are ready for marriage.

As for the women in the tribe, some were greedy for the good living conditions of the Han people and wanted to marry a Han man, but they deliberately refused to marry until they were fifteen.

In any case, the implementation of this policy has greatly stimulated the marriage and birth rates, which is of great benefit to stimulating population growth.

And it's predictable.

With the continuous intermarriage between the two parties, and with the strong assimilation ability of the Han people, in as little as one or twenty years, or as long as thirty or fifty years, the Nanzhong barbarians and Ba people may have become almost the same as the Han people.

At that time, there was no need to worry about them rebelling.

This is the real bottom line, and it is done without harming the interests of both parties.

In order to implement this policy, Zhou Jigui, as the crown prince, traveled to many places one after another, and even personally interviewed the chiefs of large tribes several times before reluctantly implementing this decree.

Even so, the implementation of this decree is still very difficult, and it will not be successful overnight.

But it was said that after Zhou Ji greeted everyone, he followed Zhou Qi back to Xiangyang City.

At this time, Zhao Yun was still teaching Adou martial arts, and he didn't know that Zhou Ji planned to return to Xiangyang.

After all, this is not Xuzhou. If Zhou Qi hadn't deliberately let Zhao Yun know the news, the other party would have known nothing alone.

"Young Master, you are still growing. Although you need to lay the foundation for practicing martial arts, you should not go too far, lest you injure your body."

"Let's practice martial arts here first today. Go back and wash up and then study with your husband."

"No matter how good your martial arts skills are, you can only become the enemy of ten or hundreds of people at most. If you want to truly become the enemy of ten thousand people, you must have a strategy and be able to use the tactics of war skillfully."

Adou also respected Zhao Yun who escorted him all the way to Xiangyang, and especially admired his bravery for being able to kill thousands of troops.

However, Zhao Yun knew that as the eldest son of Liu Bei, Adou's martial arts training was a secondary matter. Reading good books and learning military strategies would be more useful.

As soon as Adou returned to the house, Zhao Yun heard a rush of footsteps.

He turned around and saw a familiar figure, his face filled with disbelief.

"Zhou Ji, I've met my uncle!"

It wasn't until Zhou Ji stepped forward to salute respectfully that Zhao Yun recovered from the shock. He hurriedly stepped forward to support Zhou Ji and asked, "Isn't the prince guarding Yizhou? It's freezing cold and the roads are blocked by heavy snow. Why did the prince return to Xiangyang?"

Zhou Ji's smile was very bright and he said: "I am returning to Xiangyang now not only to accompany my parents during the New Year, but also because after learning that my uncle has come to Xiangyang, I want to come back to see my uncle!"

(End of this chapter)