The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

Having run into a wall at Mr. Su Zheng's place, Situ Pan had no intention of going anywhere else, so he left with Dai Quan the next day.Jiangxi has been plagued by banditry for more than ten years, and it will not be able to recover in three to five years.Along the way, there are not as many rich and prosperous places as Yan.On the contrary, people often mention the old events of the past few years, and they are all grateful to the prefect Su Tao.It's just that many young people wear a very simple kind of clothes called T-shirts.Ask them why they wear this, and the answer is that it is a fashion trend, simple to wear and cheap.Situ Pan shook his head and said, "Jia Cong will do anything for labor, even clothes."

Along the main road from Jiangxi to Guangdong, the weather is getting warmer, and the curtains of the carriages are all drawn up.As he was walking, Dai Quan suddenly said, "We have entered the boundary of Lingnan."

Situ Pan was dozing off with his eyes closed, and said, "Eunuch Dai is familiar with the road here?"

"That's not true. The prince will know when he opens his eyes."

Situ Pan opened his eyes and saw that there was a huge sign on the side of the road ahead, with seven big characters written on it: Guangdong people welcome you.There is also a smaller sign under this sign, with two arrows drawn on it pointing to the two ends of the road, and the words "Chongyi" and "Renhua" are written next to the arrows.Situ Pan couldn't help nodding: "These brands are so cheap that foreigners don't need to ask for directions to know where they are going."

In Lingnan, compared with Jiangxi, it seems like a different world.The streets are neat and tidy, and merchants gather here. The people sometimes speak official Chinese and sometimes speak the local dialect. There are much more new things on the street than in Jiangxi.In the restaurant where the two of them were working at noon, there was still a map booklet of Guangdong Province hanging in front of the counter.Dai Quan bought it to see.The first page is a map of Guangdong province, followed by more than a dozen pages, each page is a detailed map of three or five counties and cities.Not only the road signs are clear, but also many notes have been added.For example, a certain place is rich in something, a certain place has excellent scenery, a certain place is attracting investment, etc.Dai Quan praised: "I really understand that it is the cheapest merchant."

When entering Guangzhou, Dai Quan had a letter of introduction written by Qin Keqing hidden in his arms, and was going to meet Wang Ziteng.Situ Pan didn't want to go, so he went for a walk on the street.After a while, I heard a newsboy calling for newspapers, so I bought a copy of "Yangcheng Weekly".The headline on the front page was impressively printed: Dian Gui changed coaches.

The governor of Yunnan, Qi Pingye, was old and wrote a letter to the imperial court to beg for the bones, and the saint agreed.Shen Zhao, the county magistrate of Luzhou, was transferred first to make up for this vacancy.In the back there is a biography of Mr. Qi Pingye, and the resume of Shen Zhao, the new governor of Yunnan.This Shen Zhao is a native of Shu, a second-class Jinshi.During the period when he was the county magistrate of Luzhou, he was a clean and honest official with remarkable achievements.He thought his official career would be smooth, but unexpected events happened, and his elder brother even lost his job and fined him to serve in a gold mine.Later, because he wrote an article about gold mine officials stealing gold and alarmed his superiors, the king of Shu pardoned his family for their crimes.

Bi Chengli, the governor of Guizhou, died of illness in February this year at the age of 69 due to ineffective medical treatment.The emperor issued an edict to transfer Zhang Yuan, the prefect of Hangzhou, to fill the vacancy.The following is Bi Chengli's life and Zhang Yuan's brief introduction.Zhang Yuan, on the other hand, was a donated official. He was the county magistrate of Zhenjiang at first, and later transferred to Wuxi, where he was promoted to prefect of Hangzhou.This man is young and vigorous, and he was the first to use spinning machines on a large scale in the early days of his rule. He is good at organizing industry and transportation.

Situ Pan knew that Jia Cong and others were in charge of Jingzhong.It's just that these two transfer orders, one transferred to the state of Shu, and the other transferred to the state of Wu, what is the meaning?Thinking in his mind, he raised his foot and walked casually into a street teahouse.The waiter hurriedly greeted him.Situ Pan looked up and saw that the building was almost full of guests, frowning slightly.

Xiaoer said: "Master, there are so many guests today that there is no single table. I wonder if the official is willing to share a table with others?" Situ Pan was not coquettish, so he glanced around and saw a guest in the corner who was a Confucian scholar Dressed up, looking good-looking, his eyes stopped on that person before he knew it.Xiaoer hurriedly said, "Young man, go ask that guest official?" Situ Pan nodded.

Not long after, Xiao Er came back and said that the man was willing to share the table with Situ Pan.Situ Pan walked over and sat opposite the man.The man raised his head and smiled as a greeting.Situ Pan ordered refreshments, put the newspaper on the desk, frowned and read the front page article again.When the tea was served, Situ Pan also greeted the Confucian scholar opposite him.The two exchanged a few words.

The Confucian scholar glanced at the newspaper and said, "This brother is frowning. Could it be because of the change of governor in Yunnan and Guizhou?"

Situ Pan said: "It's just strange. The world has been separated for many years, and Yunnan and Guizhou have always respected the emperor. How can they transfer people from Shu and Wu?"

The Confucian scholar smiled and said, "So it's this. Brother, did you buy the Reference Newspaper?"

"Never."

"In the newly published "Reference News", there are articles speculating. Although Shen Zhao and his family were exonerated, they were only exonerated. The King of Shu did not recover from him. Lao Tzu. Zhang Yuan’s father was a doctor, not an official. Therefore, he has no outstanding people in Wu. A Hangzhou magistrate has already come to an end. Since they are not used in their own country, it is only natural for them to switch to another country. The two of them obviously voted for Yan country." The Confucian scholar said enthusiastically, "There are also many civil servants and generals in Yan State who have left for other countries. It would be good if the talents flowed."

Situ Pan felt a little bitter in his heart: Yan Guo left for other countries were all people he had to use.After thinking for a while, he asked, "Where is this "Reference News" available for sale?"

Confucian scholar said inexplicably: "There are newsstands all over the street..."

"When I first arrived in Baodi, I haven't been familiar with the folk customs yet."

"So that's how it is." Confucian scholar pointed to the newspaper and said, "Yangcheng Weekly is the most down-to-earth newspaper in Guangzhou City, you can learn a lot by reading a few more issues." Situ Pan cupped his hands.

After leaving the teahouse, Situ Pan found a newspaper stand, bought more than a dozen newspapers at once, and brought them back to the inn to read slowly until late at night.Nai pushed the newspaper aside and stared out the window in a daze.There are many clouds tonight, no stars and no moon, and it is deserted and dark outside.After a long time, Situ Pan let out a long sigh.These newspapers have everything.It really has everything.Daily diet, daily life, appreciation of antiques, interesting things abroad, the overall situation of the countries, and the secrets of the heavenly family.Many things were originally known only to the dignitaries in Beijing, but now any ordinary person who buys a newspaper knows it.And since there are newsstands all over the street, it can be seen that these newspapers sell very well.From this point of view, the people under Wang Ziteng's rule read more books.Recalling the scientific examinations in recent years, there are not many candidates from Guangdong and Guangxi who have passed the Jinshi—probably because they don't want to enter Beijing Chunwei.It's ridiculous that I only looked at the idea tax paid by Wang Ziteng in the past ten years, and mistakenly thought that he was loyal.The folk customs in Guangdong and Guangxi have become so presumptuous, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to take it back in the future.So a sleepless night.

The next day, Situ Pan and Dai Quan boarded a ship from Guangzhou Port to Danshui Port, Taiwan Prefecture.Nothing on the road.And when he abandoned the boat and went ashore, his eyes were at a loss.Although there are many new things in Guangzhou, the houses and streets still look like heaven.This Danshui port is like a foreign country.The house is as flat as a big box, and there are no roof tiles.People who come and go often wear exotic clothes, and occasionally you can find one or two people wearing ordinary clothes.Fortunately, Wang Ziteng gave Dai Quan a detailed map, which was prepared by his second daughter.It details where to go after disembarking, where to hire a carriage, and how to take a bus to Dajiala Museum.The two followed the arrows on the map and found it smoothly all the way.

Dai Quan didn't intend to go straight upstairs to meet the curator. Situ Pan also wanted to see what kind of thing this museum was, so he entered the museum like an ordinary tourist.Looking inside, there are more than a dozen exhibition halls, and the two of them don't know which one to look at.Dai Quan pointed to the sign and said in a low voice, "My lord, how about we look at the jade first?" Situ Pan nodded.Then he went straight to the Jade Museum.After watching it for a while, both of them were shocked - there are so many rare treasures in this museum!All of them are ancient artifacts, which are simply better than those hidden in the Forbidden City.Situ Pan blurted out: "The Jia family is so rich!"

A [-] or [-]-year-old boy was visiting beside them, but happened to overhear him, and said, "How do you know that Jia's family is rich?"

Situ Pan said, "Isn't this museum run by Jia's family? Don't these objects belong to their family?"

"The museum is run by the government, and the Jia family is the host. Although the collection is donated by the Jia family, there are also many donations from others." The young man said, "Didn't you read the introduction?"

Situ Pan hurriedly asked, "Who gave them all?"

"There are so many people, how can I remember?"

Situ Pan and Dai Quan looked at each other, they really didn't pay attention to the introduction.Then I went back to the front of the exhibition hall to have a look, and I found a large article.It was mentioned that the collections in this museum were donated by many people, and more than 60 names were listed in the back, and it is not known who donated them.Naturally, the first name was Jia She.Dai Quan nodded and said, "I understand what Curator Qin means by 'state-owned'. Sure enough, seeing is better than seeing once. No matter how she describes it, I can't understand it, but now I see it clearly." So I wandered around the museum for a whole day.

In the next few days, the two of them wandered around together and took most of Dajiala away.Back at the inn today, Dai Quan said that he was going to meet the curator of the Dajiala Museum tomorrow, and he was studying hard every day.Situ Pan thought about it for most of the night, and sent a post to the Dajiala Government Building the next day and returned.

It wasn't until dusk that someone came looking for him.Situ Pan looked at Sangu Qin, almost no longer recognizing her.She wore a white dress similar to a military uniform, with only a white jade hairpin inserted in her head, her waist was tall and straight, and she was imposing. She was not at all the shopkeeper of Qinsan, a businessman in the west of Beijing, but she had a bit of Lin Hai's character.After a while, Situ Pan praised: "No wonder Jia Cong said you are a great official in the frontier."

Qin Sangu smiled and handed over a photo: "My lord, this is my business card."

Situ Pan took it over and took a look. It was written on it was Lu Sangu, Minister of Commerce of the Taiwan Government.Thinking back for a moment, this woman's surname is indeed Lu.Nai laughed at himself and said, "What's the use of this?"

Lu Sangu said: "My lord is very human. I don't know the situation right now. After you understand it, I think you can make a difference. Maybe we will have a chance to cooperate in the future."

Situ Pan sneered and said, "The situation? It's just the rebels committing chaos."

Lu Sangu said: "It's not surprising that the prince would think so. The most deeply rooted thoughts of a person come from the education at a young age. Because a child's brain is a blank sheet of paper, he will naturally accept what the environment teaches him. Born in the palace, no matter the late emperor, concubine, maids, eunuchs and eunuchs all told the prince that you are the master, you are born to be superior to others. You will know that in the world except your father and brother, others are slaves. Although there are ups and downs later, It's nothing more than a battle for succession. It's only between brothers who decide who is the master of the brothers. This battle is only a civil war between your brothers, and others are still slaves. Therefore, it is not surprising that the prince deeply believes that the prince will always be the prince. .”

Situ Pan couldn't find anything awkward when he said this, he frowned and said, "What a mess."

Lu Sangu smiled and said, "This is better for the prince to go to school to listen to the lecture. Or read a book."

Situ Pan snorted, "Anyway, all slaves want to rebel."

Lu Sangu nodded: "That's right. Since the prince grew up in the palace, he inevitably misunderstood the people of the world, mistakenly thinking that they are all the same as the palace ladies and eunuchs. In fact, the Forbidden City has its own special features. Because the function of the place is too utilitarian, Only to keep a group of women in captivity to give birth to the emperor. Young girls and men who have lost their male power are all kept in captivity, like a pig farm. People have the nature to yearn for freedom. In order to suppress these people's nature, the palace rules It must be so strict that it is deformed. Therefore, all the court ladies and eunuchs who had the idea of ​​resistance died, leaving only the foolish and loyal ones alive. This is a kind of natural selection under specific social conditions, which is the same as the natural selection in "Evolution". "

Situ Pan only felt that he had nowhere to put his strength: he couldn't quite understand what Lu Sangu said.Fortunately, this person is not ashamed to ask. "What is natural selection and evolution."

Lu Sangu smiled and said: "There is a mountain on a certain island, and there are big deer on the mountain. They eat leaves and have extremely long necks. The ancestors of these deer did not have long necks. The deer born by the ancestors have long necks, short necks, There are necks that are neither long nor short. At first the trees on the island were not tall, and these deer were happy. Later, the trees grew taller and the leaves became taller. The short neck deer starved to death first, followed by the neither long nor short neck deer. In the end, only the deer with a long neck survived to this day. Not all the deer on the island were born with long necks, and those who were not long-slung all starved to death. The same is true in the palace. Not all palace maids and eunuchs are born willing to be slaves, and those who don’t want to die. That's all." She paused, "My lord, the Forbidden City can only raise [-] to [-] captives."

Situ Pan took a deep breath: "You mean, no one in the world is loyal to the imperial court."

"No." Lu Sangu said, "There are loyal and disloyal people in the world. Most of them are not foolish and loyal."

"Why are there so many unfaithful people?"

"Our dynasty is a large agricultural country, and most of the people are farmers. The next are industry and merchants, with the fewest scholars. Dare I ask the prince, how many people in the rest of the population have met Situ's family except for the least number of scholars?" Lu Sangu said, " Many people have never even met the county magistrate, and they don’t even know what the emperor’s surname is. Even if I say that the emperor’s surname is Lu, I guarantee that many people will believe it.”

Situ Pan sneered and said, "You must have told these people that the emperor's surname is Jia."

"Not for the time being." Lu Sangu said, "We don't mention the emperor at all. Bypassing the nobles who are most loyal to the Tian family, we teach the children of farmers, businessmen, and businessmen to study. The nobles are the smartest. Few of them are truly loyal to the emperor, and most of them just follow the wind. The emperor can't do anything about them." She smiled, "This trick is called farmers and businessmen encircling scholars. Isn't it similar to encircling cities from the countryside?"