Chapter 221 Five-Star Lianzhu

Su Ze thought for a while, then said to Li Zhi:

"Since it is going to the north to study, it is natural to visit the mountains and rivers and pay tribute to the ancients. There are many historical sites on the Xianxia Mountain Road, so let's go this way."

Su Ze pointed at his guards again and said, "Shouldn't any unscrupulous mine robbers rob us?"

Everyone laughed. Although the mine robbers were stronger than ordinary bandits, the total of the four guards was close to a hundred. Su Ze was surrounded by elite soldiers trained by the Changning Guard.

After deciding how to go, everyone bought some supplies in Fuzhou City.

Li Zhi came back from South Zhili, and he said to everyone: "A good horse is not easy to travel on the mountain road. It is better to buy a Yunnan horse or mule from southern Yunnan to travel on the mountain road."

"Clothes to keep warm are indispensable. It is very cold on the mountain, not only to protect people from the cold, but also to protect livestock from the cold."

"Dry food and water bags should also be prepared. Let's go to Jianning Mansion to hire a guide for going up the mountain."

Su Ze has also traveled many times, but basically they are short distances or by boat. Sure enough, long-distance land travel is very difficult in this era.

Even if the official roads and post stations were laid in the Ming Dynasty, travel is still a luxury, which is why water transport and water transport are so important. Compared with traveling on the road, taking a boat is much more comfortable.

Su Ze followed Li Zhi's suggestion and bought 30 Yunnan horses in Fuzhou Mansion at once. His wealth and wealth attracted everyone's attention.

Huang Maochong and Zhao Bingzhong also came from big families. They each bought twenty mules, and together with the twenty batches of mules and horses brought by Li Zhi, they formed a huge team.

Putting the luggage and the goods to South Zhili on the mules and horses, the group headed northward from Fuzhou Mansion to Jianning Mansion.

From a distance, Su Ze saw many small caravans following behind them. When they arrived at Jianning Mansion at the end of February, they had already caught up with nearly a hundred caravans.

The mountain road is dangerous, so it is natural to go together as much as possible. Su Ze and his party seem to be strong and strong, so it is safer to follow them.

There were no thieves coming out to rob all the way to Jianning Mansion, Lin Deyang felt a little boring.

But along the way, he shot and killed many beasts, which greatly enriched everyone's dining table.

It's just that the meat of these beasts that have been exercising in the wild for a long time is very tight and tastes like chewing wax. Su Ze really can't figure out why future generations would break the law and eat these things.

All the way along the road was official, and everyone was just recruiting people. Although Li Zhi was an official, he left the Nanjing Imperial College after leaving his post without authorization, so he didn't meet the conditions for living in a post station.

However, due to the well-developed business travel in Fujian, there are always private hotels near the post station, and a group of people can always find a place to stay when traveling from south to north.

Along the way, Li Zhi always pulled Su Ze to ask him about astronomy and arithmetic.

At first Huang Maochong and Zhao Bingzhong were also interested, but seeing Su Ze's complicated calculations, they expressed their dissuasion.

Su Ze didn't expect that Li Zhi would be so interested in the astrology and calendar. The two of them talked all the way, and Li Zhi more and more agreed with Su Ze's theory of "getting things" and "knowledge".

While following Su Ze's calculation method, Li Zhi said:

"Xunzi said: 'Heaven has permanence, it does not exist for Yao, and does not perish for Jie'. The movement of the celestial body really has its own laws, and it is not shifted by human will!"

Su Ze nodded and said, "As far as the gathering of five stars is concerned, Mr. Zhuo Wu knows why this celestial phenomenon is often seen in historical materials in ancient times, but it is no longer recorded in recent history books?"

Seeing that they stopped talking about mathematics, Huang Maochong and Zhao Bingzhong came over with interest.

Huang Maochong said: "Five stars converging? Could it be the auspicious celestial phenomenon that appeared during the reign of Zhuan Xu and Qi Huan?"

Zhao Bingzhong continued: "The "Han Shu" also seems to record this celestial phenomenon, 'Han Gaozu entered Qin, and the five stars gathered in Dongjing'."

Huang Maochong immediately said: "The "Historical Records" also has this saying, 'Hanxing is based on the gathering of five stars'. Doesn't this mean that the way of heaven touches people's hearts? Does the gathering of five stars necessarily lead to the birth of a wise master?"

Su Ze said with a smile: "There are so many virtuous emperors in the world, why are there so few official records of five stars gathering after the early Han Dynasty? Could it be that after Zhuanxu, Qi Huan, and Han Gaozu, there are no wise emperors?"

Li Zhi has already accepted astronomical calculations, he said: "Because the gathering of five stars is a natural celestial phenomenon, it has nothing to do with the birth of the Ming Emperor and the Holy Lord."

Huang Maochong and Zhao Bingzhong still couldn't accept it, they said: "Perhaps a virtuous lord was born from time to time, but the astronomical officials didn't record it?"

Su Ze shook his head and said: "Since the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the two largest five-star gatherings occurred in the early Han Dynasty when Empress Lu was facing the court to kill Shaodi and when Empress Wei killed Zhongzong in Tang Zhong. and in the almanac."

Huang Maochong and Zhao Bingzhong gasped. They knew that Su Ze had read a lot, so they naturally believed that Su Ze was not talking nonsense.

Empress Lu is facing the court and Queen Wei is in power. If Queen Lu can still be regarded as the Queen Mother facing the court, Queen Wei is a proper rebellion.

It is no wonder that historians of later generations no longer recorded "Five-Star Lianzhu" in history books.

Huang Maochong was even more silent. The Five Classics he ruled were also "Spring and Autumn" like Su Ze. The so-called Spring and Autumn brushwork means that Confucius used historical books to comment on historical facts. This set of practices has also been inherited by later historians.

Huang Maochong was not only shaken by the "interaction between heaven and man", but also shaken by historians' "Spring and Autumn Brushwork".

Li Zhi said with interest: "What Ru Lin said, can it be counted?"

Su Ze nodded and said, "Of course it can be calculated. After I tell Mr. Zhuo Wu the algorithm, you can check it slowly on the way."

Huang Maochong and Zhao Bingzhong were still a little puzzled, but they were also shaken by the theory of the interaction between heaven and man.

Along the way, li zhi was obsessed with arithmetic, immersed in the calculations of the stars and the sea.

Su Ze and Huang Maochong chatted with Zhao Bingzhong. At the end of February, the group had already reached Jianning Mansion, a big city in northern Fujian.

"Brother Zhao, Jianning Mansion is your hometown, right?"

Zhao Bingzhong touched his head and said, "My grandfather moved out of Jianning Mansion, but his ancestral home is in Jianning, and I haven't been back to my hometown much."

Huang Maochong said: "Brother Zhao's grandfather was an official of the Procuratorate, and he had already moved to Fuzhou Prefecture, but he still had an ancestral property in Jianning Prefecture."

It turns out that the Procuratorate is the legal department of a province, which is equal to the provincial intermediate court. Zhao Bingzhong's grandfather was able to serve as an official in Fujian without being restricted by the Three Guardians. up.

This is not uncommon in the procuratorate. After all, judicial work has a professional threshold and requires a certain degree of stability.

However, it is still my hometown, Zhao Bingzhong said: "Jianning Mansion was called Jianzhou in ancient times, and it is an important town in northern Fujian with tall walls..."

Before Zhao Bingzhong finished speaking, he saw the dilapidated city walls of Jianning Mansion. He was stunned for a moment and said, "Wait, it's not like this when I came back last time."

Huang Maochong asked: "Brother Zhao, when was the last time you came back?"

"This, probably when I was ten years old."

Well, everyone is speechless.

Su Ze said: "Last year, Japanese pirates broke through Jianyang and besieged Jianning Mansion. The city wall should have been damaged at that time, and I'm afraid it hasn't been repaired yet."

Zhao Bingzhong quickly said: "So it is!"

Everyone walked into the ruined city of Jianyang, only to see that the people in the city were all pale. Li Zhi said to Su Ze:

"It's best to find the hunters in Xianxia Mountain to lead the way, but many hunters in these mountains have colluded with the bandits in the mountains, so they need to be carefully screened."

The buildings outside Jianyang City were all demolished when the Japanese pirates attacked the city. The winter in northern Fujian is much colder than that in Fuzhou. Su Ze saw that many people were hiding in the thatched huts beside the city wall to keep warm. Unable to bear it, he ordered someone to buy some rice to serve as porridge outside the city.

Li Zhi, Huang Maochong and Zhao Bingzhong saw that Su Ze was like this, so they didn't go to the city to stay, and they also gave porridge outside the city like him.

Unexpectedly, after Su Ze gave porridge outside the city for a day, he waited for an official from the Jianyang County Government to come.

"Who are you here to buy people's hearts?"

A chunky scribe stood up and asked Su Ze, who was serving porridge.

Su Ze ignored the scribe, but the scribe stepped forward and grabbed Su Ze's hand and said:

"Master Ben is asking you something!"

Su Ze pushed the officer's hand away and said, "You don't care about the poor clothes of the people, but you want to block me when I give porridge to help the people. What's the reason for that?"

The scribe sneered and said:

"The county lord has an order that only the county government can give porridge. Could it be that the mine robbers on Xianxia Mountain came down to pull the team?"

Su Ze pushed hard with 11 o'clock strength, overthrowing the scribe to the ground and saying:

"I was serving porridge outside the city, and you beat me into a mine thief. You really are a subordinate who kills with a knife and a pen!"

"Inverted! Inverted!"

The scribe immediately shouted, and the yamen servant behind him drew out his knife, before Su Ze came over.

Lin Deyang has long been displeased with this group of guys, so he immediately drew out his saber, and more than twenty strong men drew out their knives, and these yamen servants stopped immediately.

The scribe took a few steps back, then shouted in the direction of the city gate:

"The mine robbers have come down the mountain!"

Min Zhuang, who was guarding the gate of the city, rushed over immediately, scaring the surrounding people to flee in all directions.

The clerk smiled grimly and said, "There is also a reward in the county, and the head of a mine robber is one or two taels of silver!"

Hearing the silver reward, the gang of government servants and Min Zhuang were even more excited. At this moment, Zhao Bingzhong stepped forward and angrily reprimanded:

"Bold! This is Jinke Fujian Jieyuan! We are all Juren going to Nanjing Imperial College to be imprisoned!"

Hearing Xie Yuan and Ju Ren, the group of Min Zhuang and the yamen servants stopped immediately.

They all looked at the scribe who fell on the ground, with fear in their eyes.

The clerk was also frightened and stupid. Today, Xie Yuan and his party are all masters. Even if the county magistrate came, he had to treat him well, but he offended all of them at once.

However, this scribe is also a flexible character, he immediately changed his face and said:

"It's a villain who doesn't know Mount Tai. Why didn't Duke Xie Yuan go to the city to rest, and insisted on eating and sleeping outside the city."

"Go and report to the county master!"

Su Ze waved his hand and said, "No need, I'm going to enter Xianxia Mountain, so you can do it yourself!"

After finishing speaking, Su Ze took the people and threw the porridge shed directly, and headed towards Xianxia Mountain.

When Su Ze was serving porridge outside the city, he had already found a guide. This was a pair of Orion father and son. The father was in his thirties, and the son was in his twenties. Under the leadership of the Orion father and son, everyone set foot on the Xianxia Mountain Road. .

"Ru Lin, why didn't you wait for the magistrate to come out?" Zhao Bingzhong was also very angry.

Su Ze said indifferently: "The strong dragon does not suppress the top snake. We are just raising people, and we are just passing by. Can we still force the county magistrate to admit his mistakes?"

Zhao Bingzhong also lowered his head, and he said: "If I were an official close to the people in the future, I would definitely not let the people under my rule suffer such crimes!"

Su Ze didn't laugh at Zhao Bingzhong's youthful enthusiasm, he just said, "I hope Brother Zhao will remember his original intention when he enters the officialdom in the future."

Zhao Bingzhong nodded heavily, and at this moment there was a commotion behind him.

"Duke Xie Yuan stay behind!"

All the guards pulled out their weapons one after another. Su Ze looked back, only to see an old man riding a horse, followed by a group of strong men.

The old man was wearing an official robe, and Su Ze recognized that it was the official robe of the magistrate. This should be the magistrate of Jian'an County, Yiguo County, Jianning Prefecture.

Since everyone chased them out of the city, Su Ze didn't want to see him. He got off his horse and stepped forward, with Lin Deyang guarding behind him with a saber in his hand.

"Is it Nanping Su Rulin in person?"

"It's right down."

"I met Li Tong, the magistrate of Xiajian'an County, and met all of you."

Reaching out without hitting the smiling face, Su Ze bowed his hand in return.

Li Tong sighed and said: "There is a gazebo over there, can Xie Yuangong listen to the old man?"

Su Ze nodded, and the group came to the gazebo to sit down. Li Tong sighed again and said: "This county prohibits the private establishment of porridge sheds, because a few days ago the mine thieves came down to give porridge and took the people up the mountain. Of."

Zhao Bingzhong said: "The common people are displaced. It's not because you are incompetent in magistrates. You don't give out porridge relief, but you frame the porridge givers as mine robbers. Could it be that you want to watch the people starve to death before giving up!"

Li Tong bowed his head and said: "This county also wants to open warehouses for disaster relief, but the entire Jianning Prefecture has no food left in storage, and this county is also trying to find a way to get the rich households in the city to pay, but the Japanese pirates once besieged the city for three months, and now there is no food left in the city. There is no money left."

Zhao Bingzhong continued: "In this case, why don't the people go up the mountain?"

Li Tong said: "The mine thieves on this mountain are all under the banner of Liu Heiqi. The mine thieves coerce the people up the mountain, not to keep them alive. The mines in the mountain are dangerous and difficult. After these mine thieves let them eat once, they will kill them." These people are sealed into the mines, digging day and night to get food, if they can’t dig ore, they will starve to death. Now that the early spring is here, they can stay outside the city until the spring and they can survive. If they go up the mountain, they will die. gone."

Zhao Bingzhong was stunned, and he said again: "Why don't you ask Liu Heiqi to be killed?"

Li Tong said with a wry smile: "This Liu Heiqi gathers thousands of people. It will be good if he doesn't come down to attack the county town. How can we talk about suppressing bandits."

"Last year, spring and summer, Jian'an County failed to hand in a cent of the two grains. The order of dismissal from the imperial court is probably on the way. I can't protect the environment and the people. I just want to return to the countryside as soon as possible."

Su Ze asked: "The Japanese riots in Jianning Mansion are so serious that the imperial court has not exempted the land tax?"

Li Tong sighed and nodded, now Zhao Bingzhong couldn't speak anymore.

Su Ze was once again thankful that he had crossed over to Changningwei, and thinking of Guanzhong, thousands of miles away, there was always a thousand words that he couldn't say.

Li Zhi said angrily:

"This shitty world!"