Chapter 5: Returning the Favor

The outer city of Luoyang is more than 50 miles wide, comparable to the outer city of Kaifeng, and in terms of size, it is the second largest city in the world at this time. Pen fun pavilion www.biquge.info but with Kaifeng city in the crowded, outside the city to set up a compartment is completely opposite, Luoyang city rice fields are all over, chickens and dogs smell each other, everywhere is a rural scene. There are very few real prosperous urban areas, but in fact they are a big rural area.

In the late Tang Dynasty, the five dynasties were chaotic, and there were many fierce battles in Luoyang, and there were only hundreds of households at the worst time. This thousand-year-old capital has been completely dilapidated, and it is no longer the prosperous scene of the past.

When an official takes office, the edict will indicate that he will be handed over to the previous official who has arrived on a certain day of a certain year, a certain month, and a certain day, because the annual examination of an official is based on this date, and a full year is added for an examination, and if the official who took office is late, the former official will have to work for some more days in vain. Therefore, unless there are very special circumstances, it is not allowed to postpone the appointment, otherwise there will be penalties.

Xu Ping hurried all the way and finally arrived in Luoyang before the appointed date. After meeting with the former transfer envoy Wang Yong, he met with the subordinates of the transfer envoy and had two days of idleness.

On this day, Xu Ping took Tan Hu, prepared a silk gift, let the entourage pick it up, and walked out of the yamen of the transfer envoy.

The Luohe River passes through Luoyang City, dividing the city into two parts, Henan and Hebei, Hebei belongs to Luoyang County, and Henan belongs to Henan County. But compared with the neat and orderly Bianhe River in Kaifeng City, the two banks of the Luo River are much rougher, except for a short section of the river upstream of the Tianjin Bridge, there is no weir on both sides of the river, let it flow naturally.

At this time, it is past the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the leaves of the willow trees on both sides have been dyed yellow, and the wind blowing is cool. The Luo River is much wider than the artificially dug Bianhe River, and it also looks turbid in the rainy season in autumn. A few white sails occasionally float on the river, and they go away along the river, making it difficult to see the true face.

Looking at the turbulent Luohe River, Xu Ping sighed secretly in his heart, as far as the scenery in front of him was, where is the capital, it is clearly a field scenery. On both sides of the Luo River, there are sometimes high gates, but more rice fields, firewood thatched huts, and a small piece of vegetable garden and flower field are interspersed. The range of a few miles outside Kaifeng City is much more prosperous than this, but Luohe is the center of Luoyang City.

When it comes to Luoyang City, those who have never been here can't help but think of the poems and articles chanted by the literati of the previous generation, which are really splendid and prosperous, and they are full of brilliance. But when you come here to take a look, it gives people a feeling of the fields and villages in the south of the Yangtze River.

Luoyang City was first built, completely planned according to the specifications of the capital, the streets are neat, the distribution is orderly, and its strict order is more than the ancient capital Chang'an. There are 10 streets in the east, west, north and south, and there are 120 squares in the city, which are neat and tidy as if they were cut out with a knife. Although it is dilapidated at this time, the old pattern is still there, and there is no need to worry about getting lost in the city.

The main street in the north and south is Dingdingmen Street, which crosses this street along the Luohe River, and the fourth street is another main street, Changxiamen Street. Cross this street and go forward to a street, turn to the south, and the third square is Fushan Fang, also known as Fushan Slope.

At this time, the wall of the square has already been torn down, and the name of the square is only used to indicate the direction, just like the community of Xu Ping's previous life.

Entered the Fushan Fang and arrived in front of a large mansion. Xu Ping looked up and saw that although the house was large, it was dilapidated. The walls are covered with moss, and there are weeds and small trees growing on them, and the big trees in the house are shady, and it looks particularly deserted.

Tan Hu stepped forward to knock on the door, and waited for a stick of incense before someone came out and opened the door.

An old servant flashed out of it, saluted and asked, "I don't know who the official is?" Why visit? ”

Tan Hu forked his hands: "Tell my father-in-law, the new transfer envoy Xu Gong of Jingxi Road came to visit the master, and a post was sent the day before yesterday." ”

The old servant let out an "oh", looked at Xu Ping, who was standing not far away, and said busily: "The official waits for a while, and he is tolerant." ”

After speaking, he arched his hand and entered the door.

Not long after, panicked footsteps were heard inside, and the door creaked open, and a woman in her forties with several children walked out first.

Xu Ping hurriedly stepped forward and bowed: "Xu Ping has seen Madame." ”

The woman replied with a salute and said, "The clumsy husband is outside, and there is no one in charge at home, so he is lazy. Please come to the hall to worship tea, but now the family is in decline, everything is simple, and the nobles are not surprised. ”

Xu Ping said: "Madam is polite, Zhang Xianggong has a great favor to me, how dare I pick and choose." ”

As the woman entered the courtyard, she saw that someone was around from time to time probing her brain, and Xu Ping couldn't help but sigh in her heart. Zhang Zhibai had many clansmen during his lifetime, and he himself lived quite frugally, and these clansmen depended on him for support. And Zhang Zhibai had no children behind him, and he inherited his own incense from a clansman, and he was the husband of this woman. Up to now, the people in the clan who relied on Zhang Zhibai Enyin to go out as officials basically no longer have any contact, and this big mansion is maintained by the woman's husband. Seeing that they are unable to make ends meet and are declining day by day, this big family doesn't know how long it can last.

The gentleman's Ze, the fifth generation, in this era, is far from being able to leave the fifth generation. A family rises quickly because someone is a jinshi, but once there is no jinshi within three generations, it declines rapidly. The grace system can give children and grandchildren a job, but very few of them are noble, and they have the ability to be excluded in the officialdom.

When they arrived in the living room, Xu Ping sat down, and the woman ordered tea to be served, and she chatted casually.

When asked about Zhang Zhibai's situation after his death, the woman's face was full of sadness. Zhang Zhibai started late, and he only accepted this stepson when he was old, although Enyin's starting point as an official is not low, but there is no one to support him, and he is not happy in the officialdom. As the prime minister, Zhang Zhibai himself is simple, and he has left a lot of family background, but the stall is also large, how can he support it with a little money? In addition, there are many clansmen who raise them, and they can't eat for a few years.

Luoyang is not Kaifeng, looking at such a big house, it is actually not worth a few dollars, and the land here is extremely low.

In the late Tang Dynasty, Caizhou Qin Zongquan sent Sun Ru to attack Yin Li Hanzhi in Henan, and the war lasted for several years, and Luoyang almost became a ruin. Later, Zhang Quanyi entered Luoyang, with more than 100 soldiers and more than 100 households in Luoyang, and the city became a wilderness. Although five dynasties and several dynasties have been rebuilt, no matter how hard they try, even Luoyang City cannot be developed, and it is still an idyllic scenery.

But this is the capital in the end, since the Tang Dynasty set the capital of Luoyang, large-scale reconstruction, it has set a rule, the idle land in the city can be occupied to grow grain and vegetables, but never for Yongye field. "The land of Yiluo, the residence of the emperor, is the place where Yixia returns to the heart, and the land of non-agricultural mulberry profits." If someone wants to build a house, they can occupy the idle land, and even if it has been developed into farmland, they do not need to pay the land price, as long as they make some symbolic compensation. In this way, the price in Luoyang City is worthless, which is very different from the situation of every inch of land in Kaifeng City. Looking at the scale of a house, once it is dilapidated, it will no longer be able to sell for a price.

Listening to the woman's story, Xu Ping had an unspeakable feeling in his heart. It is often said that the father is expensive, not only that the son will be posthumously crowned for three generations after he is rich, but also that someone must keep the family business and someone must publicize the merits of the fathers. Zhang knew that he was a sage and sage during the day, but his reputation was not obvious behind him, and the very important reason was that he had no children behind him, and no one set up a monument for him.

Without itself in this world, this big family may soon be scattered, and this mansion will be resold to others, and it is possible that it will not even be sold and become a deserted mansion. Zhang Zhibai's sentence "Congratulations to Your Majesty for winning people" in the Chongzheng Palace made Xu Ping what he is now, and now it's time for Xu Ping to repay him.

Looking at the old and young people in the hall, when the woman stopped talking, Xu Ping said: "Madam, I wonder if there are any capable and trustworthy clansmen in the house?" It's not always a way to sit back and eat like this, and you have to buy some industries to maintain it. ”

Mrs. Zhang showed an embarrassed look on her face: "Don't hide it, there is no extra spare money in the family in the past few years, and when Weng Weng is here, the people in the clan can't take care of it." Although there are many people living in the house now, most of them do not know each other, and I am a woman, how can I know who is capable? ”

Xu Ping said: "To tell my wife the truth, Zhang Xianggong has a great favor to me, and I have always thought about how to repay it, but I have never had a chance. Now I will go to Luoyang to preside over Caoxian all the way, and I can still do it to help take care of your family. Luoyang is such a big place, although it is now more desolate, but there are many high-ranking families, or selling wine, or planting flowers, all of which are very profitable. I also asked my wife to choose a few capable brokers in the clan and go to the Yamen of the Transit Department to find me and find some ways. As long as there is living money income in the house, this house can be supported, otherwise, Mrs. should know in her heart, and this family will not be able to support it for long. ”

Mrs. Zhang hurriedly got up and saluted: "This is all Weng Weng's legacy, Du Cao said so, how can I not know how to lift?" It's just that the concubine really can't manage the affairs of the clan, and after a few days, I chose someone here to come out and visit again. ”

Xu Ping nodded: "That's the best." Recently, I have some leisure time in Luoyang City, and in two months, I will go out on patrol and will not be in the city often. It is best for the lady to choose a good person within this month, and then discuss what to do with it. ”

Mrs. Zhang thanked her and agreed.

Although Zhang Zhibai had no children, he had many clansmen, and he spent most of his money to support these clansmen during his lifetime. Now that the family is in the middle of the road, it is time for the clansmen to contribute. At this time, except for a few ancient scholars, most family management did not have certain rules, and it was basically who was the official in the generation. Mrs. Zhang's husband is still the biggest, nominally the head of the clan, but Mrs. Zhang is a woman, and she can manage all the clansmen?

What's more, that official still relied on Zhang Zhibai's favor, and he couldn't convince the people in the clan, and no one listened to Mrs. Zhang.

Don't look at the house There is still a large family living in the house, but it is not much different from the neighbors at all, and she can't even say how many people there are in each family, Mrs. Zhang, who can do it and who can't, how does she know?

Only when you meet a noble person like Xu Ping, this family may be united again. (To be continued.) )