The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Xun Zhen asked tentatively, "Do you believe in Zhong Huang Taiyi?"

Today, there are two main people who engage in the "please pray for healing", one is the Taiping Taoist by Zhang Jiao, and the other is the Five Dou Rice Taoist created by Zhang Ling. The Five Dou Rice Religion was mainly developed in the areas of Bashu and Hanzhong, and Taiping Road was mainly developed in the northern part of the Central Plains. This Fan Sheng said that he was from Nanyang, so what he believed in could only be Taiping Dao. The **** enshrined in Taiping Road is Huang Lao, and he also honors Zhong Huang Taiyi. Taiyi is Taiyi, "the **** of heaven is the most precious one", is the emperor of the North Pole in Ziwei Palace, the supreme **** who dominates the four directions in the center of the sky.

Fan Sheng nodded and said yes, and said: "In the second year of Xiping, the world was plagued by a great epidemic. Nanyang suffered especially, and two or three of the dead were killed. Fortunately, a great virtuous teacher took pity on the people's grief and sent his disciples to the Quartet to rescue the sick, and the people suffered. I can live as much as I can, and one of the people who have been rescued is the next one. It’s all because I believe in Huang Lao, respect Taiyi, and have the blessing of a magic talisman, so I can live to this day.”

Xun Zhen said in his heart: "It seems that his situation is similar to that of Fan Yang Ting's original hope. It is because he "borrowed" the talisman to save his life in the epidemic, so he believed in the Way of Peace."

Speaking of Taiping Dao, Fan Sheng's interest was much higher, and he was quite chatty, and said: "The year before last, the world was plagued with a big epidemic, and many people died, not only ordinary people, but also many people in my Taiping Dao who failed to do so. I escaped this catastrophe. The rafters know, why did I survive the disaster again?"

"Because there is a spiritual talisman under my feet." Xun Zhen said perfunctorily.

"No, no, it's not just the next person who has the help of the magic talisman! There are many people who have the magic talisman, and it is rare to be able to pass through the disaster twice like the next. What's the matter?"

"What?"

"There is no secret, just two words."

"Which two words?"

"Sincerely."

When Fan Sheng said these two words, he had a solemn expression and a solemn expression, which was completely different from the way he was talking with Xiao Chen just now.

Xun Zhen looked at the changes before and after him, and thought, "This Fan Sheng must be a die-hard follower of Taiping Dao." Suddenly, he felt suspicious, and secretly said, "He is a native of Nanyang, but he came to Yingchuan to be an iron worker. Guancheng, is there any other intention in this?" Suspected that Taipingdao, like him, also took a fancy to Yingchuan Tieguan. This Fan Sheng came here hundreds of miles away from home to be Tieguan Cheng. Could it be for Tieguan's disciples and Tieguan's craftsmen? After all, anyone with a bit of brains would not fail to see Tieguan as a natural source of soldiers, much less the importance of Tieguan craftsmen.

On second thought, it seems unlikely. The upper echelons of Taiping Road had a good relationship with the Quan Huan in Chaoli, and it was easy to put a person in Tieguan. It seemed that there was no need for such a troublesome transfer of people from Nanyang.

Xun Zhen thought to himself, "Maybe I'm a little suspicious? But then again, no matter if he came for a Tieguan apprentice or a Tieguan craftsman, since he is now in the local subway officer, he is also an iron core of Taiping Road. When Dao rebelled, he had at least a half chance of participating in it. . . . He has been a local subway officer for many years, and I wonder if he taught Dao and developed believers among the local subway officials?"

Thinking of this, his previous interest in Tieguan's apprentices and Tieguan craftsmen immediately turned to this person, and he said again tentatively: "As you have said, the two workshops of this subway officer have workers and soldiers. There are thousands of disciples and slaves. Although the talisman is powerful, it is difficult to guarantee that so many people will be immune to all diseases by only relying on one person."

Fan Sheng thought that he was concerned about the operation of Tieguan and worried that work would be suspended due to the epidemic. He smiled and said, "You can rest assured at the rafters. I didn't dare to say it before. People are sick, but there has never been a major disease.... In February of this year, the disease was on the rise again. I heard that a lot of people died of illness in the county. Look at my iron official. It looks like a little bit of a disease?"

Following the two major epidemics ten years ago and the year before, another epidemic occurred in February this year.

At that time, Xun Zhen was still in Xixiang. In the face of a sudden epidemic, he came from a later life. He also experienced a "big epidemic" in his previous life when he was in school. Although he didn't know how to "treat the epidemic", he was right. I still know a little bit about how to avoid the worsening of the epidemic, and the diseases of the world, those that occur in the north in winter and spring, are mostly typhoid fever, and relatively speaking, they are more than those cholera, malaria, and schistosomiasis that occur in the south in summer. It is better to prevent and control it. Therefore, under his more effective measures, there is no danger, and Xixiang has not been greatly affected. He didn't know much about the situation in other counties and townships, and he only heard about it, and it seemed that some people had died.

Hearing Fan Sheng's answer, he thought: "Tieguan is a semi-enclosed place, people outside can't come in, and people inside can rarely go out. The less contact with the outside world, the less chance of naturally contracting diseases from the outside world. As long as the people in Tieguan don't get sick, of course the disease won't spread." This is all a matter of luck, and has nothing to do with the amulet of Taiping Tao.

He asked: "So, there is more than one person in Tieguan who believes in Huang Lao?"

No matter how sluggish Fan Sheng was, he also noticed that Xun Zhen seemed to be interested in Taiping Dao, and said to himself: "Listening to his words, he seems to be interested in my teaching? I heard his guest Su Ze say that he was originally in Fanyang Pavilion. Guo Tingchang. Fan Yang Ting originally hoped for high talent and knowledge, Chong and modesty, and he knew the way of my teaching. Feel good?"

He thought again: "He has just been the post supervisor for less than a month, and he has been in Yangcheng for less than a day. He will kill six hundred stones one by one, killing one or six hundred stones. He is ruthless, resolute and resolute, like a person who can achieve great things. If you are willing to believe in me Dao, for me Dao, is a good thing."

He couldn't guess Xun Zhen's intentions, he smiled and said, "Today is Mao Sun, it is worth 'opening'. In two days, the day after tomorrow will be worth 'removing'. If there is nothing urgent for the rafters, you might as well stay in the iron official for two days. God, watch me lead the believers for the first time in addition to the sun."

"First Pass" means "kneeling and worshiping the first pass", which is a religious activity of Taiping Dao believers, which is often held on the "Removal Day" every month. On this day, the followers of Taiping Dao, either alone or in groups, would “give thanks in all directions on the four roads in the wilderness, kowtow in five lines each, look up at the sky first, and then kowtow to the ground when they return to the ground.” Heaven and Earth", through this activity to ask the gods and the earth to forgive themselves and relieve their sins and pains.

Xun Zhen had seen many such scenes when he was in Xixiang. He adhered to the principle of knowing oneself and knowing the other, and had a deep understanding of the teachings of Taiping Dao and the way of religious activities. Hearing Fan Sheng's talk about "the first pass in addition to the sun", he unconsciously remembered his previous analysis of this religious ceremony and thought: " 'The first day of eradication'. The eradicator, weed out the old and make the new one. It is very meaningful for Taiping Dao to choose this day to engage in religious activities."

He glanced at Fan Sheng and thought again: "Zhang Jiao built Taiping Road, honored Taiyi, and added the word 'zhonghuang' in front of Taiyi. This move is also very useful. Among the five elements is the virtue of fire, so this dynasty is also known as the Yan Han. Among the five elements, the earth is in the middle, and the color is still yellow. The middle yellow is the earth. Ah, the Han family with the virtue of fire.... This Fan Sheng speaks elegantly, is a scholar, and is an official in the locality. He will not fail to see Zhang Jiao's intentions, but he still respects this way and vigorously develops believers among the iron officials. , very suspicious."

Thinking about it this way, he felt that his previous guess was right. This Fan Sheng came to serve as a local subway officer, maybe he really had no intentions. Doubtful. He said, "In the past, when I was in Xixiang, I saw believers pass by for the first time."

"Yes, the original teacher of Xixiang Jinglaoli is my Dao Dade, and the rafters used to be an official in Xixiang. Should I get to know him?"

"..., know the original teacher with one step?"

"I met the original teacher once in Yangzhai."

"Yangzhai?"

"Yes, I met the original teacher at Bo Shi's house."

"Master Po? But is Po Cai? You know him even at your feet?"

"Haha, Master Bo is the commander of my followers in this county, how could I not know him? I have frequent contacts with him. What? The rafters also know him?"

"I've heard the famous name for a long time, and it's fate to save on one side."

"Master Bo's family is in Yangzhai, and the Rafters are now serving as officials in the county court. As long as you have the heart, you will have the opportunity to meet and get to know each other sooner or later. Isn't that how I met the original master?... The original master was in a good mood, Virtue is higher than everyone else. Although I have only met him once, but since we parted, I can't forget it for a long time.

Fan Sheng thought that Xun Zhen and Yuan Pan knew each other very well, so they flattered Yuan Pan in front of him with six points of truth and four points of falsehood.

Xun Zhen smiled and echoed a few words, secretly surprised and thought: "Bo is the commander of the Taiping Daoqu in this county. It is not surprising that he knows Bo Cai, but listening to him, it is clear that he has a close relationship with Bo Cai! This is a little bit. It's not right." When I went to see the furnace and Tieguan's disciples in Tieguan, I just found it dazzling, and then I saw Fan Sheng, who was chatting and laughing, and it was even more dazzling. I just wanted to win him over. Missing.

He thought, "This Fan Sheng is extremely suspicious!" He excitedly looked at Tieguan, but he was hit by a sap just after entering the door. Fan Sheng's chatter was heard in his ears, as if Taiping Road was announcing: This place has been our first sight. I don't know if it's because the gap from hope to disappointment is too big; or because the weather is too hot and the sun is too hot; or the murderous aura of last night has not dissipated, and I haven't slept all night, and my emotions are out of control; or there are three reasons. He has all of them. With his deep shrewdness, he can't help but want to swear at this moment. How come there are believers of Taiping Dao everywhere?

He looked at Fan Sheng and thought: "Maybe I really guessed it right just now, this son came to work as a subway officer, maybe he really has other intentions! It's okay, it doesn't matter whether he has intentions or not, the iron officer With this person here, it's useless for me to look at it any more.... The most urgent thing at the moment is to get Shen Rong to be the head of Tieguan and suppress this person. Then I will find a way to put some of my own people in Tieguan to find out. How many officials, workers, soldiers, disciples, and slaves believe in Taiping Taoism, and then check whether they have formed an organization, and then find good strategies and make plans."

After thinking about it, I have no interest in continuing to watch.

He patiently waited for Fan Sheng to finish his words, and smiled: "I'm coming to Tieguan today, not for anything else, just to tell my step, Shen Tian is illegal, and I kill him, that's his business, and Tieguan It doesn't matter, please don't think too much about it. Before the new Tieguan Chief arrives, please take all the steps. Tieguan has many disciples and slaves, so there must be nothing wrong."

"If you are here, Tieguan will be safe and sound as usual."

"Then I can rest assured. I still have to go to the camp and the Shen family's private smelter to have a look. It's getting late, so I'm leaving."

"The day after tomorrow is the first time except for the sun, and the rafters don't look at it?"

"I am under the order of the lord of the government to patrol the counties. I am afraid that I cannot stop in Yangcheng. I will come and see when I have time."

Fan Sheng was very sorry, but he also knew that Xunzhen was on official business, so he really couldn't stay in Yangcheng for much longer, and said, "Alright. Not far ahead is Tieguan's official temple, please sit down at the rafters, drink a bowl of water, and go. Go to the heat, and it's not too late to go."

Xun Zhen didn't want to stay for half an hour, and resolutely said goodbye. Fan Sheng had no choice but to send him out.

Xiao Xia and the Gao brothers were suspicious and said to themselves, "When Xun Jun came here, he was in high spirits, and when he came to the Tieguan, he climbed up to look down. He was obviously very interested in this Tieguan, but why did he leave soon after he came in? Even Tieguan's official Don’t even go inside the temple?” Gao Bing asked this question after exiting the Tieguan and returning to the official road. Xun Zhen replied casually, "Something that belongs to someone else is not your own, so what's there to keep?"

"Someone else's stuff?" Everyone was even more baffled.

Xiao Xia pretended to be clever: "Xun Jun means: This iron official is not under our control? I saw the way Fan Sheng was talking with Xunjun, pointing left and right, looking far and near, it really seemed to take this iron official as himself. s things!"

Xun Zhen felt this way too. He rode on his horse and looked back at the receding Iron Officer. Under the scorching sun, the rising black smoke was like a black cloud, shadowing most of the iron officials. In more than a year, the Yellow Turbans will rise, and Xun Zhen said to her heart, "You need to think about it early and take down this iron official within a year at the latest."

...

When we arrived at the iron official workshop in the camp, it was already dark.

Xun Zhen spent the night here and learned about the situation here by the way. The good news is that none of the officials here believe in Taiping Dao, and the bad news is that Fan Sheng often came here and developed some believers among the iron officials and slaves.

Early the next morning, with Su Zheng and others who came here last night, they went to the Shen family's private smelter.

Shi Juxian and Shen Rong, the stewards of the private smelter, welcomed him in.

Private smelting is no better than iron officials. Iron officials were run by the government, and the people who worked in them included "golden pawns" who served hard labor, and there were prisoners. Private smelting is private, not qualified to use guards, nor prisoners, only slaves and civilians. This "civilian", said to be a civilian, is actually mostly a desperate sinner. The labor intensity in the iron smelting workshop is very high, and ordinary civilians will not come unless they are desperate.

In addition to slaves and "civilians", the largest number of craftsmen in the Shenjia private metallurgy, about four or five hundred people, made iron tools ranging from swords, spears and halberds to scissors and nails.

Xun Zhen personally went to the workshop to have a look, and found that the words "Chuan" or "Yangcheng" were inscribed on the top of each formed ironware. This is the inscription of Tieguan in Yingchuan County. According to regulations, only ironware produced by Tieguan can be inscribed. The Shen family workshop is only a private smelter, but it dares to embezzle it, and if it is investigated, it is also a serious crime.

After watching the three workshops, I went back to Yangcheng in the afternoon, and met the people sent by the prefectural governor on the way.

...

There were a lot of people, and the line was very long, with three chariots, four or five chariots, twelve or three cavalry soldiers with halberds, and ten or twenty officials and soldiers on foot. The car rides by, flags fly, smoke billows.

Xun Zhen sent someone to send the memorial yesterday morning, and I met them this afternoon, which shows that Yin Xiu attached great importance to everything mentioned in the memorial. He ordered Xiao Xia, Su's brothers, Shi Juxian, etc. to lead people slowly, only Shen Rong, urging the horse to rush, passing the officers and cavalry soldiers behind, and rushed to the last carriage, bowed his hands, and asked to go The official outside the carriage: "I am in the lower north of the post office, Xun Zhen, I don't know which rafter is in the carriage?"

Before the officer could answer, the curtain of the carriage was pulled open, and a man in his thirties appeared in front of him.

Xun Zhen watched immediately, and saw that he was wearing a high crown, long beard under his chin, and wearing black clothes. The two looked at each other, the man smiled, patted the front of the carriage, and ordered the imperial guard to stop the car, open the carriage, and get out of the car. Xun Zhen hurriedly stopped the horse and turned over to dismount.

The two bowed to each other. Xun Zhen said, "I don't want to meet Du Jun here." This person's name is Du You, a native of Dingling. In February of this year, he was conquered by Yin Xiu at the same time as Xun Yu.

Shen Rong also got off the horse, stood behind him, and saluted.

Du You asked, "Who is this?"

"Shen Rong, the clerk of Yangcheng.... The night before yesterday, Shen Tiao privately dispatched iron officials and disciples into the city. He was afraid of chaos, so he asked Shen lord to rush to Shen's private metallurgy overnight to appease the slaves in the bombing workshop. Thanks to Master Shen's pressure, the workshop is safe and sound."

When Shen Rong heard him compliment him, he was surprised and flattered, and thanked him busy.

Du You said: "I saw Qing who was very busy and came from the east, and I was still wondering why Qing was not in Yangcheng. It turned out that he went to the Shen family's private smelting. Is the situation in the smelting workshop okay?"

"I came out of Yangcheng yesterday. I went to Tieguan first, and then went to Shenjia's private metallurgy. The three workshops are still stable."

"That's good. This Shen Xun is really daring. He even dared to privately transfer iron officials and disciples into the city. Fortunately, Qingqing was able to press it well, and it didn't cause chaos."

Xun Zhen asked, "Is Du Jun going to Yangcheng?"

Du You nodded and said, "That's right. Your Excellency expels the turbulent officials, and has a strong and cunning hand, which will shock Yangcheng. When the memorial arrived, the mansion was shocked, and he called me to enter the mansion, and ordered me to go to Yangcheng as soon as possible."

"Du Jun said that Fu Jun was shocked?"

"Don't talk about Fu-Jun, I'm also very shocked. I'm scared and brave, and I'm scared the night before."

Xun Zhen and Du You were not familiar with each other, and I only met him once before this trip to the county. I knew that he was the descendant of Du An and Du Gen, the famous men in the previous life, and Du Xi's elder brother, that's all, after listening to his joke, It was not easy to answer, so he looked terrified and blamed himself: "Zhen acted recklessly, to alarm the lord of the government, and to trouble Du Jun to come in person, which is a great sin."

"I'm not the only one here." Du You pointed to the two cars in front of him and said, "Can you guess who is in the two cars in front of you?"

"I'm asking to ask Du Jun."

The two cars in front probably noticed that Du You was parked and stopped one after another. Zuo Li, who was beside the two cars, looked back and spoke to the car. Du You smiled and said, "In the first car, Mr. Zhang Jun was in the rafter. In the next car, Mr. Cao Guo was in the rafter."

Xun Zhen thought: "Zhang Zhong of the five sense rafters, decides Cao Rafter and Guo Jun are also here?"

Zhang Zhong was also appointed as the five sense rafters in February this year. Jue Cao is in charge of Jue Prison, Jue Prison, and Usage. Those who can serve as Cao Cao's rafters are mostly those who know grammar. He is a son of Yangzhai Guo's family. The Guo family is a well-known legal family. Xuanbo, an elder in Xixiang, was a disciple of the Guo family. Judgment Cao broke the prison, the thief Cao caught the thief, and the five senses and rafters were high and honorable. Yin Xiu sent these three people at once. After all, Guo Jue and Shen Xun were both officials of the Six Hundred Stones.

Xun Zhen and Du You came forward to meet Zhang Zhong and Guo Jun.

Zhang Zhong and Guo Jun also got out of the car. After the two bowed and talked a few words, Zhang Zhong said, "We must advance to the city before sunset. Xunjun, let's talk when we get to the county!"

Xun Zhen was in the country and Shen Xun was the front man, but in front of Zhang Zhong and other colleagues, he kept his posture very low and respectfully agreed.

Zhang Zhong and the others got into the car separately, and the convoy continued onward. When Xiao Xia and the others wanted to catch up, Xun Zhen shook her hand and motioned them not to approach. First, because the heads of Shen Xun, Shen Dan, and Shen Jun are still hanging on their horses, stay far away so as not to scare people; second, when the Su brothers and Shi Juxian went to various workshops, they all brought their own team and horses. Thirty rides together, the movement was too loud, Xun Zhen did not want to leave a arrogant impression on Zhang Zhong and the others, and preferred to ride alone and follow the team.

...

Before sunset, we arrived at the county seat.

The county magistrate and Wei received the news and greeted him outside the city. See you again. The people entered the city and entered the county court.

After taking his seat, Zhang Zhong read out the official document of Yin Xiu.

Nothing special. In the front, I praised Xun Zhen a few words, and in the back I talked about the aftermath of Guojie's resignation and the disposal of Shen Xun's resistance to the law.

Regarding the aftermath of Guojue's resignation, Yin Xiu said that he would report to the court and ask the court to appoint another county magistrate. The handling of Shen Rong's resistance to the law was also reported to the imperial court. Tie Guan Cheng was temporarily managed by Tie Guan Cheng, and Zhang Zhong and others were ordered to immediately seal up the Shen family together with the county chief, Wei, and the li chief of the Shen family. , copy his property.

After listening, Xun Zhen heaved a sigh of relief. To be honest, he was still a little worried during the whole day of waiting for the reply from the prefect's mansion, worried that the yin cultivator would be afraid. Now it seems that, at least on the surface, Yin Xiu is not in a panic. He thought: "'Fu Jun' is not like a daring person, I thought he would be surprised and hesitant after receiving my memorial, but I didn't expect his palindrome to come so quickly, without hesitation, and Law enforcement is impartial and appropriate." Guess, "Is it wrong, or is it because of Wen Ruo and Yuan Chang's push behind it?"

He asked Zhang Zhong: "Excuse me, please, has the lord of the government explained anything to the officials?"

"Nothing to explain. The mansion just said: I hope you will finish your trip to the county soon, and he will look up in the county mansion waiting for your return."

Xun Zhen was stunned for a while, and thought: "Hope I finish the county trip soon? Are you waiting for me in the county palace?"

No matter how you taste it, it sounds awkward. Logically speaking, even if Yin Xiu has an explanation, he should say: I hope you will work hard to complete the work of "Xingxian". This is the right way, but how do you say "I hope you return early"? It seemed like he was begging him to go back quickly?

He shook his head, confirming the guess just now: "The reason why this official document came so quickly must be because of Wen Ruo and Yuan Chang's impetus." He said: "The care of the lord of the government has really moved the officials. As soon as it arrives, there is nothing to do with the subordinates in Yangcheng~www.wuxiaspot.com~ It is too late today, and tomorrow morning, the subordinates will leave the city and then patrol the counties, striving to return to the county as soon as possible."

...

The twilight was getting dark outside the hall, and the county magistrate and Wei, as landlords, wanted to entertain everyone, but no one went, and they all declined because of the importance of official business.

Zhang Zhong stayed in the county court, and Du You and Guo Jun took over the Shen family.

When going through the handover procedures, Xun Zhen asked Xu Zhong and others to move out a bunch of bonds, all of which were loan sharks released by Shen Xun and Guo Zhuo. Cheng Yan found them in the warehouse the night before, and it was about one million yuan. He hinted that Du You and Guo Jun could burn these bonds in public and attribute the credit to Yin Xiu. Du You and Guo Jun took it to heart.

After completing the handover procedures, Xun Zhen took the initiative to take Xu Zhong and others out of the Shen residence and moved into the county post office in order to show that he was abiding by his duties and not exceeding his authority. Because I had to leave the city early tomorrow morning, I ran three workshops in the past two days, and I was really tired, so after eating some food, Xun Zhen fell asleep. Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, an uninvited guest came.

——

1. In February of this year, the epidemic broke out again.

Guanghe five years, "five years in February, big epidemic".

2. This "civilian", said to be a civilian, is actually mostly a desperate sinner.

Cooking salt and smelting iron are very hard work. In these two industries, apart from slaves, most of them are desperate sinners. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the State of Wu "invited the world's desperadoes" to cook salt, so that "Shandong was cunning and gathered in the State of Wu".

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xia Fu, a native of Chenliu, suffered from the party's calamity, but he did not want to be like Zhang Jian, and he did not want to go to the world and implicate innocent people. "! Therefore, "self-cutting beards deformed, entering the forests and mountains, hiding their names, and working as domestic servants. They smoked charcoal, and their appearance was ruined. After two or three years, people were ignorant." It can be seen as an example of "desperate sinners" hiding in Ye's home.