Linqing Feng's old house compound is located in the side alley of Yongqing Street just outside the old brick city, occupying half of the street.
The healthy horse that galloped out earlier was heading north, not knowing where to report the news.
The Great Zhou Dynasty followed the regulations of the former Ming Dynasty and set up a garrison in Linqing. However, as the Great Zhou Dynasty had been established for nearly a hundred years, the armaments were depleted. The Linqing Guards nominally numbered more than 5,000 people, but they had already been relocated outside the brick city and there were few civilian households. There are only two to three thousand people in each military household, and the quota has become the largest source of income for the generals of the guards to support their families.
"Uncle You, is something going to happen? Well, you won't have to use weapons for the sake of it, right?" Feng Ziying was immediately frightened.
It has only been a few days since he came to this time and space. To put it shamefully, it has only been a few days. He really has not figured out many specific things about this time and space. In addition to roughly knowing that the Zhou Dynasty followed the general experience of the previous Ming Dynasty. , and other things were so confusing that he couldn't understand them.
Even if he truly traveled to the Ming Dynasty, how much would he know? Do you really think that after reading "History of the Ming Dynasty" and reading a few "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty" and "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" that I can become a Ming Dynasty person?
The Great Zhou Dynasty followed the regulations of the former Ming Dynasty, and there were basically no big changes in either the official system or the military system. According to Feng Ziying, the difference between the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Great Ming Dynasty is more like the difference between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty. There are some changes, but basically Copy and follow.
The Great Zhou Dynasty basically inherited the territory and system of the previous Ming Dynasty. Except for the few years when Zhou Taizu founded the dynasty to conquer the world, the rest did not seem to be much different from the previous Ming Dynasty. It even took over the entire civil and military officer system.
But there is no doubt that these three months of observation still taught Feng Ziying a lot. Especially during the trip from the capital to Linqing to express condolences for her father, she saw many things she had never seen before.
The Zhou Dynasty was founded less than a hundred years ago, but there are already some signs of the end of the world. Wen Tian and Wu are playing, and it is said that the Mongolian Tatars and Jurchens in the north have repeatedly harassed the nine sides. Although it has not yet become a serious problem, according to Feng Ziying's view of the late Ming Dynasty I don’t have too many memories. If the general trend of history does not change, it seems that there will be big troubles in just twenty or thirty years, right?
Uh, it seems that it's not just Jiubian that caused the big trouble, it should be Shaanxi, right?
Thinking of this, Feng Ziying couldn't help but shudder. She was only twelve years old, so she had to catch up with something like this? Even without the power to resist?
I still want to be a dandy and truly experience the life of a master in the feudal era. Well, a life of three wives and four concubines with a clear conscience, and a life of food and clothing. Why can't I just let myself get what I want?
"Hmph, that's hard to say. I heard that this constant companion has such long hands that he even dares to touch the grain. Not to mention that he is on duty to collect taxes. Who dares to provoke him?"
Feng You had obviously traveled far and wide and knew the behavior of the tax supervisors in the palace.
"They were more restrained in the capital. Now when they leave the capital, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Who can stop them? Even Long Jinwei has to give them a break."
This Long Jinwei is actually the Jin Yiwei of the previous dynasty.
When the Great Zhou Dynasty was established, Zhou Taizu abolished Jinyiwei, Dongchang, and Xichang, and jointly established them as Longjingwei. However, many people still followed the title of Jinyiwei from the previous dynasty.
In addition, the official uniform of the Long Jinwei still uses the embroidered spring knife of the Feiyu uniform of the previous dynasty, but the fish scale sword is added as a weapon for officials above the Jinyiwei general banner. There is not much change. Over time, even the Long Jinwei himself also uses the Jinyi as the Dragon Jinwei. It is called by the people.
Feng Ziying was timid, but she had to stay calm. Although she had been practicing martial arts since childhood, she still only had the airs of an eleven-year-old. If she really encountered a military rebellion, she would probably die.
"Then Uncle You, over at our old house..."
"It's not like that. It's nothing more than those traffickers and merchants making trouble, trying to stir up trouble and force Chang Banban to give in." Feng You also saw these things clearly.
It's just an ordinary place, but Linqing City is a first-class important place in Shandong. The Ministry of Revenue has a banknote and a secondary warehouse for grain and water. If something goes wrong, I'm afraid there will be another lawsuit.
The literati and civil servants of the Great Zhou Dynasty are not easy to mess with. Once the censors and ministers get angry, no matter who you are, you will have to peel off your skin.
Although Chang Bandang is greedy and hateful, he is not a fool. He naturally understands the stakes and should not get out of hand.
These merchants and peddlers were also a little weird. Logically speaking, they wouldn't dare to act like this. However, the matter was none of their own and Feng You didn't bother to pay attention. At any rate, there were still hundreds of elite guardsmen in Brick City, so no big trouble could occur.
Feng Ziying also knew that Uncle You, whom her father specially arranged to escort her back to her hometown, was not an ordinary person.
He and several others followed his father for many years and even changed their surname to Feng. In fact, they were his father's bodyguards when he was guarding the border in Datong. They fought and died with the Mongols on the border stronghold for many years. Later, his father was dismissed from office for some reason. Several old brothers who had followed his father for many years followed his father back to the capital.
At any rate, there are still several Zhuangzi outside Wanping, and by the way, they have settled their families there. Although their lives are not rich, they can still have enough food and clothing.
Feng Youping and several others who came back together took turns living in the palace of General Shenwu in the capital. Now he also plays the role of a long-term follower, and he has some knowledge of the affairs of the court and the court in the capital.
It's just that some things are not predictable by ordinary people.
"Then it's okay according to Uncle You's wishes?" Feng Ziying was a little worried, but she also knew that she had only been in this time and space for a short time. Although her mind had accepted the original memory and consciousness of this body, she still had to face the outside world. The analysis and judgment of these things still cannot be compared with a character like Feng You who has been traveling around for many years.
However, Feng You was mainly responsible for protecting his father in Datong Town. After his father was dismissed from office and returned to Beijing, he learned to be a senior attendant. He knew a little about outside affairs, but he didn't necessarily know much about it.
"Uh, Brother Keng, I can't say for sure." There was not much expression on Feng You's stiff face. Since his left cheek was injured, the only one that could change his expression was the right side of his face, which twitched.
"We can board the ship today and set off to the north in the afternoon. Even if something happens, we are not afraid. As for the old house, it is right under the nose of the guard. No matter what happens, we have to take care of our face. No one goes to the tiger’s mouth to stroke its beard.”
"I hope so." Feng Ziying felt uneasy. He always felt that he had so inexplicably traveled to the time and space of the Red Mansions that had no history. He could not be so happy as a playboy so easily.
Although my father was dismissed from office, he still had the title of General Shenwu. Although he could not compare with the four princes and other nobles, he still belonged to the descendants of the nobles who followed Zhou Taizu and conquered the world.
In theory, a life like me, the sole heir of the Feng family, with three wives and four concubines, eating and drinking and waiting to die, is what I should live. Isn't this the life I longed for most in my previous life when I was exhausted physically and mentally from work? ?
But the question is, can this kind of life last? Feng Ziying felt a little confused.
He didn't feel it yet in the capital, but from this trip back to his hometown in Shandong, he had already felt all kinds of restlessness up and down.
Taking a boat from Tongzhou to the south, Feng Ziying felt the hardships of life on both sides of the canal. In the past ten years, people on both sides of the canal have experienced either drought or floods, and people have been living in dire straits. After the autumn harvest every year, large-scale refugees migrate north and south, and they are freezing and hungry in winter. There are many people lying dead on both sides of the river. This is what Feng Ziying and his party learned from the words of the boatman on their way south.
Every year, managers of wealthy families in the capital go to Cangzhou and Dezhou to buy slaves. Many poor families simply don't need money, just to find a way for their children to survive.
Private salt dealers in Cangzhou even colluded with local refugees to directly rob official salt. At the end of last year, they even used weapons directly, but they still had to dispatch the army of the guards to suppress it.
During this battle, there were so many heads killed. There were dozens of heads hanging on the top of Cangzhou City alone. Even after the maggots had eaten all the flesh on the heads, they were still dangling in the wooden cage on the wall.
Feng Ziying and his party passed by Cangzhou when they were sailing south from Tongzhou a few days ago. They could still look at the gloomy heads hanging in wooden cages under the crenellations of the city wall. The black eye holes made people feel terrified.
Feng You twitched his cheeks, raised the corners of his mouth, and twisted Aomori's jaw slightly. He glanced at Brother Keng who was still looking around. He always felt that this young master had a somewhat rough and arrogant air. Become more precise and calculating.
There is no need to ask more about things like these in the past. We can just walk away with our heads down. If we ask, we are just asking about the interesting things on the streets of Linqing, such as lion cats and thrushes. This is what Brother Keng used to be. My son likes it, why should I care about such serious work?
Could it be that after studying at the Imperial Academy for the past few months, I have really made some progress?
"Ruixiang."
"Uncle?" The green-headed boy sitting in front of the car turned his head, "But are you thirsty? There is also a gourd of sour plum juice here, which can quench your thirst and relieve the heat, but it requires a deep well water to be refreshing. ."
Feng Ziying looked around for a few times, but couldn't find any clues. She waved her hand and retracted into the carriage.
Although the Feng family has a common surname here, they don't have much contact with the merchant families in the outer city. In addition, during this period, the elder with whom they were not actually very close passed away. Everyone was busy with funeral arrangements, so there was not much contact. Many people are concerned about the affairs in the outer city, and this constant companion has been here for more than half a year. What month doesn't cause some trouble?
The Feng family in the city also knew a lot about it. Even if Feng Ziying stayed here for a few days, she had heard that seven or eight merchants and ship owners had been ruined in the past few months, and there was even a Helong banwei family. Some relationships can only be cut in half and left.
