Chapter 36 Mutual Trust
Early the next morning, in the lobby of the Yan'an magistrate's office, two groups of people with red eyes who had not slept well all night were chatting enthusiastically "individually".
There were only two people on one side, Guan Shengyun and Luo Junshi; there were more people on the other side, including the officials and followers of the Third Division. In addition to these two parties, there is another group of people: General Gao Gu, Gong Zhang, who is sitting on the chair to the west. Unlike the previous two groups who had barely slept all night, they slept soundly all night, but at this moment they could only stare and couldn't say anything. After a while, they all started to yawn without interest and squirmed in their seats. When it moves, it feels like there is a fire burning underneath.
Several adults from the Third Division of Shaanxi, together with Xiao Changhua and Zhou Zhizheng, seriously discussed "internally" the "big defense deployment" plan for the Ganquan, Luochuan, Yijun, Tongguan, Pucheng, and Tongzhou front lines, including the need to transport them to the above-mentioned The amount and specific time of labor pay, grain, grass, and military supplies in various states and counties. At the same time, Guan Shengyun and Military Advisor Luo were also "discussing" the route of the army and the supplies needed - at this time, the adults next to them would listen carefully with their ears pricked up, and then make rigorous calculations again. and “heart-to-heart” communication. After more than an hour, the two sides who had been "talking about their own things" finally came to their "own" conclusions - "it was purely a coincidence" that, whether it was the government and military side or Guan Shengyun's side, all the contents "actually "Exactly...
The next topic is "garrison location". What Guan Shengyun and Master Luo discussed was the camping spots on the march, and the officials discussed the camping spots for the officers and soldiers who "participated in the provincial exercise". Well, of course, the intended locations for both parties need to overlap again.
However, this time it took longer - Guan Shengyun was obviously very careful. His group of people were completely unfamiliar with the terrain of southeastern Shaanxi, and they were afraid of diving into the encirclement and being dumped. The officials of the Third Division were so anxious that they almost yelled, "If we had the troops to set up an encirclement for you, why the hell would we come here and talk nonsense to you?" But we are all old foxes, so we can just think about it. We must never say this out loud, so we simply asked the attachés to spread out the landscape painting-like maps they brought with them. Come in, the map is not accurate at all) and outline a suitable garrison location, and take the trouble to "internally discuss" it: the terrain is flat, close to the water source, a certain distance from the city, with a wide view... most importantly, it is close to the "official" place just discussed The military supply station is not far away, and many places are even in the same place.
But neither Guan Shengyun nor Master Luo could completely rest assured. Seeing an unsolvable deadlock, Zhou Chizheng finally stepped forward: "My lords, Beizhi has a few relatives whom I haven't seen for a long time, and they happened to drop by. Beizhi would like to invite you. I’ll take a vacation and visit them one by one. I’ll come back as soon as I get to Tongguan.”
Of course, several senior officials understood that Zhou Tongpan was taking the initiative to be a hostage again, and they all said that it was no problem. Mr. Zhou had worked hard for many years, so he deserved it. Moreover, when Mr. Zhou comes back, he will definitely jointly recommend him. However, there was no response from Guan and Luo - obviously, in their hearts, the weight of a sixth-grade judge hostage was still a little lighter. Finally, Mr. Wang from Nisi and Mr. Bao from Dusi Mansion both had no choice but to remember that they had some distant relatives in those places that they should visit...
Then a new problem arose: Although Guan Shengyun and Military Advisor Luo unanimously came to the conclusion that "Xi'an Mansion should not be attacked under any circumstances", several adults still chattered endlessly - obviously, they are not worried about this! In the end, Military Advisor Luo generously asked for his orders: "Commander, we are all ready for this journey. I don't expect anything to happen to Luo. I would like to take Quan Zi for a trip to Weinan. It is said that when Taizu of the Song Dynasty was in decline, he fought with Patriarch Chen Tuan. We couldn't talk anymore, so we lost Huashan to Lao Xian. Luo wants to take Quanzi on a tour. When the army arrives in Tongzhou, you can send someone to send a message to Luo before he comes back, and we'll meet at Tongguan."
Hearing these words, several adults smiled brightly and boasted to each other about the majestic scenery of Mount Huashan in Xiyue. They shook their heads and chanted poems praising Mount Huashan one after another - obviously, they were relieved that Luo Yonghao had volunteered to be a hostage.
Guan Shengyun also understood in his heart that sending hostages to each other was the best way at present. But he had already relied on Luo Yonghao as his backbone in his heart. He was suddenly leaving for a while, so he couldn't help but feel a little empty and lost. So he looked at several officials and said harshly to Military Advisor Luo: "Commander, you must take care of yourself. I will be waiting for you in Tongzhou and Tongguan areas! Guan swears to the sky today: If the military advisor loses even one hair, I will personally lead 30,000 tigers and wolves to bloodbath Shaanxi Province and fight until the last man is alive! If he violates this rule, With this oath, Guan is willing to be punished by heaven and live forever, to be born a thief and to be a prostitute for the rest of his life!"
Hearing this, several adults couldn't help but tremble, especially Wang, Bao, and Zhou who were going to stay. They thought: If this man named Luo is good, even if he loses his footing while climbing a mountain and falls to death, the blood will not wash away. Apart from the bloodbath in Shaanxi Province, this person named Guan shouldn't stew his elders alive first? They all looked at Lord Zhao of the feudal clan in unison.
Of course Mr. Zhao understands that this kind of thing cannot be done carelessly. If any local official in Huazhou in Weinan who is not smart and eager to do meritorious service (such as Yu Shengliang of Yan'an Prefecture) insists on being loyal to the country, he will really lose his mind. The two men who had fallen into the trap were caught and chopped up. This catastrophe would be irreversible! In order to take precautions, I had no choice but to accompany the man named Luo to take care of him, so I bowed my hand to Xiao Changhua: "Prefect Xiao, I have some personal matters to deal with in Weinan. Brother Qiushi, please take a detour on your way back. I'll be here first." Xi'an Mansion tells Lord Fanzun that he will wait for Lord Zhao, Lord Bao and Lord Zhou in Weinan, and then we will return to the provincial capital together."
Mr. Zhao had an undercover agent who was really angry with the arrogant attitude of these thieves and wanted to save some face for his boss. He said loudly and thoughtfully: "In this clear world, what else can happen to two living people? Hmph, how brave are you?" It’s too small, it’s really unfounded. It’s a joke!”
Guan and Luo were both thinking about all the details along the way. They didn't turn around for a while, and they only heard a long laugh suddenly burst out from the bored guys to the west: "Hahahaha, the world is bright! That's so good. Come on! I said, Lao Gao, how come rebels like you come out in this bright world? Lao Gu, how many lives do you have under your command? Stop bragging, people really don’t care - this is called unfounded worry, do you understand? "
The person who spoke was Gong Derun - Gao Tengdou and Gu Baihua were both illiterate and could not understand the idioms of Zou Zou such as Lang Lang Qian Kun Qi Ren Worried About the Sky and other works. Gong Derun was originally a small landowner in Baoding Prefecture. He attended a private school for several years and opened a pharmacy privately. Free medicines are provided to the poor, blocking the financial path of the local pharmacy - the largest owner of the pharmacy happens to be the prefect himself! So naturally, the local government "received a tip": This guy is up to no good! After a search, the evidence was of course conclusive - the sheepskin jackets, wolfskin mattresses, cowhide boots, etc. in his home were overwhelming evidence that he had "traveled to the northern captives"! Surprisingly, among the people who "testified", there were actually two guys who wanted to kneel down and thank them for saving their lives a few days ago! The two guys, one named Qiao and the other Luo, had no way to seek medical treatment, so they had to put straw marks on their heads and sell themselves into slavery. In order to attract sympathy, he also banged the broken bowl and cried loudly. Gong Derun couldn't bear it and sent his family doctor to check his pulse. The doctor said that the disease was caused by an evil poison in the heart and liver. Although it was easy to treat the symptoms but hopeless to cure the root cause, it was better to forget about it. Landlord Gong refused and forced the doctor to prepare the medicine, and these two people were saved... Unexpectedly, the person who struck the gong, oh, I wrote it wrong, the person Qiao Luo, really had the evil poison in his heart, and he turned his face faster than turning the book. You have to be more ruthless than anyone else! Fortunately, several servants of Landlord Gong were loyal and bribed the prison boss heavily. They kidnapped him at night, abandoned his home and property, and finally joined Guan Shengyun's gang...
Gao and Gu finally understood Gong Derun's sarcastic remarks and started laughing. Military Advisor Xiao Luo was even more amused. He reached out and grabbed a piece of asparagus bamboo to block his face. He smiled playfully at the adults and said, "You can't see me, you can't see me..."
Mr. Zhao is so angry: You are sitting in a den of thieves, and you are licking your face and talking about "Bright World"? He yelled angrily: "You bastard! The adults are talking, but you are here to talk nonsense!" Mu Ke was ashamed of himself and stopped talking.
Bao Zhicai from the Dusi Mansion quickly changed the subject: "My lords, I have given a military order to the Yanchuan County garrison. All troops must be gathered at the junction of the two counties before noon on the following day to rush for reinforcements at any time. Your lords feel that Is it appropriate?"
Mr. Bao originally wanted to wait until everyone had dispersed to reveal this information to Military Advisor Luo in private in exchange for some protection. However, when he heard that Luo Yonghao was leaving and wanted to ease the embarrassing situation, he simply told Guan Yonghao in public. Luo and his wife gave him a look that said, "You can understand it yourself."
Everyone knew that he was reporting important military information, and their expressions became serious.
…
After a few adults went back to their rooms to rest, Gu Baihua was the first to jump out: "Grandma, you're such a bear! You're already here, and you're still pretending to be shit! If you have something to say, just say no, but you're just pretending to be talking to yourself, There’s something wrong!”
Luo Yonghao smiled: "Brother Gu, you don't understand this. Although they appear to be in the same group, in fact, the Chief Envoy's Yamen, the Inspector's Envoy's Yamen, and the Dusi's Mansion are all on guard against each other. No one is They are willing to leave a "collaboration" pigtail to others. If they talk to themselves, even if they leak the incident, it is considered a "gaffe". It is a minor fault, and at most they will be dismissed from office. Let me tell you directly, that is called "collaboration" ', it's a serious crime of genocide, the difference is huge!"
Gao Tengdou said disdainfully: "Humph, these are just some new words! I don't understand them anyway."
Xiao Luo joked: "It's okay if you don't understand. Don't say you don't understand these words, I guess even the whole Ming Dynasty doesn't understand them. I'll think about it and come up with some new words. It makes sense to explain whatever you want, it’s just to fool outsiders. Anyway, the truth of the matter is just covered up."
Luo Yonghao looked at his beloved son and fell into confusion: This child is also pitiful - if he lives in confusion, he will die in the end. There are some things, and he understands but can't do anything. The final result is the same, and he will suffer in his heart. Which one is luckier, blissfully confused or painfully awake?
Knowledge points in this article: Etiquette related to kowtow.
Jishou: We listen to storytelling and read scripts, and occasionally there is a description like "a poor man has Jishou", so many people think that Jishou is a general etiquette similar to bowing. In fact, it is completely wrong: this is a very solemn etiquette (the second solemnity), used by ministers to worship the king. The specific method is to kneel and cup your hands, reach forward to the ground, bend down at the same time, and touch your head to the ground. "Ji" means to stay. Jishou is a kneeling position with the head touching the ground and staying for a period of time.
Kongshou: This is the return gift from the king to his ministers in the pre-Qin period. Bring your hands to your chest, level with your heart, then stretch forward to the ground, bend down, and touch your head to your hands.
Kneeling: The origin of this action is not as we understand it today, and it has the meaning of humble prayer for submission. In ancient China, there were no chairs, and monarchs and ministers all sat on the floor. The word "seat" here can have two interpretations. One is a noun: straw mat, mat - "using the ground as a mat", which means sitting directly on the ground. It can also be used as a verb: spread a mat on the ground and sit on it. Note that this sitting is a "kneeling sitting", and the scientific name is "跽 sit" (pronounced "记"): the knees are on the ground, the calves are on the ground, and the buttocks are sitting on the calves and heels. This is the traditional sitting posture of Japanese people in movies and TV dramas. Both monarchs and ministers use this posture to communicate, and salutes must also be expressed on this basis. The only difference is that one pauses with the head touching the ground, and the other stops with the hand.
The one that corresponds to the posture is called "跑 sit" (pronounced "Qi"). Some people also say that it is pronounced as "attack" or "ji". Considering the differences in accents in different places in ancient times and the differences in pronunciation of ancient and modern Chinese, I personally feel that it is not appropriate to pronounce it. too important). "豑" here is the same as "箕". Sitting with legs spread like a dustpan (on the ground or on a mat) is definitely more comfortable than sitting on your knees. However, the same principle applies in ancient and modern times. The more awkward, the more formal, and comfortable often means informal. So it's relatively rude and a bit too casual. When Zhuangzi's wife died, he would sit like this and bang the basin (see my humble essay "Taoism"). Liu Bang often sat like this and humiliated the scribes. Sometimes he felt that it was not enough, so he even snatched someone's hat and used it as a urinal to pee in it.
By the way, chairs were introduced to China during the Han and Wei dynasties. At that time, it was called "Hu bed" or "Hu couch", which was relatively low and similar in height to a small bench. The proper noun "chair" was not invented until the Tang Dynasty. Before the Tang Dynasty, we only had the word "袁", next to "car", specifically referring to the fence on the chariot. It was used to prevent being thrown off when fighting and dodging each other. It has nothing to do with the chair. In the more sophisticated Song Dynasty, the legs of the Hu bed were raised to make it more comfortable to sit on - the "Grand Master Chair". The official title was used on the utensils to describe its nobility.
He paused: This is a courtesy of equality. "Dun" means "short stay". When saluting, both parties perform it at the same time, and stand up immediately after their heads touch the ground. In the past, this was often used as a modesty at the end of letters, meaning "greetings to you", not "kowtow to you".
Worship: This is the most solemn etiquette. First raise your hands (refer to the posture of surrender), then lie down with your hands and head on the ground. Personally, I think this is a display: Are you "ji"? I might as well lie down! Obviously I am more "loyal"... Whether it is bowing or worshiping, it is obviously different from the Buddhist kowtow ceremony - the Buddhist kowtow is to hold both hands with the palms upward, which has a vague meaning of "inheriting the Buddhist teachings".
Of course, there is no end to "exercise". After that, you can leave the two ready-made legs and do a "knee walk"; it is not enough for your head to touch the ground, and you can't dig a hole on the spot and plunge into it, so hitting it hard and hitting it is not enough. Just increase the amount without increasing the price and kowtow like pounding garlic...
Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, I finally reached an unsurpassable level of madness. Oh, I’m wrong again, the peak: I walked on my knees all the way from outside the gate and kowtowed to the opponent’s feet. My face was covered in blood, my forehead was swollen as big as a goose egg, and my head was covered with gray dirt and grass leaves. ...invincible.
Well, the most despicable one is of course the invincible one.
