Chang Feng and others came out of the capital and first met with two hundred regiment soldiers.
According to the rules, a young man from a hundred households in the Sixth Grade Examination goes to Beijing to take office, and he has no right to lead a regiment to protect him along the way.
Wynn came up with a clever idea: I sent Liu Jin to the Confucius Temple to deliver the sacrificial items. They were all valuable things. Wouldn't it be reasonable to send a regiment of soldiers to protect them?
In fact, Huai'en sent these two hundred regiments of soldiers to prevent the imperial concubine's party from changing their minds, and intercepted Chang Feng midway to vent his anger.
Everyone boarded the official ship in Tongzhou and headed south along the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. It took them twelve days to reach Dezhou.
The journey was uneventful. The group disembarked in Dezhou, changed horses and headed southeast to Qufu.
Since entering Tai'an, Chang Feng discovered a phenomenon. Every three to five miles, a sign is erected in the field on the roadside with the word "Kong Tian" written on it.
This was the case for dozens of miles southward.
Chang Feng, who was riding on the horse, was a little strange: "I know that Kong Tian is the land of Yan Shenggong's family. But along the way, could it be that half of the fields in Tai'an along the way belong to the Kong family?"
Liu Jin explained to Chang Feng the terrifying scale of the Kong family's property.
The Confucian family's land property is divided into three categories: "sacrificial land" and "school land" allocated by successive dynasties.
The land owned by the Kong family (acquired from mergers and acquisitions in the past dynasties).
The dowry "Powder Field" brought by the ladies of Yanshenggong in the past dynasties.
Among them, sacrificial fields and academic fields do not require a penny of tax.
During the reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty, the Yanshenggong Mansion was given a hundred large qings of sacrificial fields; the emperor of the Jin Dynasty granted 200 large qings of sacrificial fields; the Emperor Chengzong of the Yuan Dynasty gave 50 large qings of sacrificial fields;
Several emperors, including Chengzu and Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, successively granted six hundred sacrificial fields.
By the time of this dynasty, the Kong family had only offered sacrifices to fields, and the total scale had reached 2,600.
One big dump turned into three dumps, and one dump turned into one hundred acres.
In other words, the Confucius family’s sacrificial land reached an astonishing 780,000 acres.
In addition to school fields, self-owned fields, and powder fields, the fields owned by the Kong family in Tai'an amount to one million acres.
More than half of the land in Tai'an belongs to the Kong family.
Chang Feng was dumbfounded when he heard this: "The land owned by the Kong family is comparable to that of the feudal king."
Liu Jin said with a smile: "Yes. This dynasty treats the Kong family favorably. Duke Yan Shenggong's application and support are all based on the rules of the vassal king. It's just that there is no guard army."
Fatty Xu complained at the side: "It's good if the world cultivator surrenders! It protects the wealth of sixty generations."
Liu Jin's face changed: "Master, when you get to Qufu, don't say the words 'Shixiu surrenders', it's a taboo!"
"When the scholars who went to worship Confucius heard these four words, they wouldn't eat you alive?"
Fatty Xu nodded: "I know, I know. I'll just talk to you two in private."
Liu Jin added: "The Kong family's status in our Ming Dynasty is actually higher than that of the vassal king!"
"Even a first-class civil servant is a disciple of Saint Confucius. When you arrive at Qufu City, you must dismount. When you enter the Confucius Temple, you must kowtow. When you see Duke Yan Sheng, you must bow."
"The vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty were often removed from their vassal and reduced their titles due to crimes. However, the title of the Kong family can be hereditary and replaced for thousands of years."
Everyone continued to move forward. Along the way, I met many scholars who went to the Confucius Temple to participate in the sacrificial ceremony.
Suddenly, he saw a young man of fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a long robe and a square scarf on his head, lying on the roadside.
The cloth shoes on his feet were worn and his toes were exposed.
Chang Feng quickly dismounted and asked the young man: "Young man, what's wrong with you?"
The young man replied with a weak breath: "Wan Sheng is seriously ill."
Chang Feng asked: "Huh? What's the serious illness? Isn't it curable?"
The young man replied: "There is a good cure for this disease, and it is called 'hunger'. The medical prescription only requires a few wheat cakes and a platinum of water."
Chang Feng was amused by the young man. He quickly ordered Fatty Xu: "Get a string of pot helmets and a water bag."
As the saying goes, a boy in his mid-teens will eat me to death. This young man has a great appetite.
The dry food that the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty regiment brought when traveling was pot helmets.
This is a round cake made of wheat flour and salt, which can be threaded with a string. When you eat it, roast it over the fire and it will be crispy and fragrant.
Eat and drink some water to feel full. The Ming Dynasty version of compressed biscuits is.
The young man chewed six pot helmets in a row.
A whole three pounds!
A big-bellied man like Fatty Xu can only eat three in one meal.
Such a good appetite made Chang Feng and others stunned.
After eating Guokui, the young man drank half a bag of water and recovered from his "serious illness" immediately.
The young man bowed to Chang Feng respectfully: "Wan Sheng, thank you for your help."
Chang Feng thought he was a poor scholar who went to the Confucius Temple to attend sacrifices. He took out a few small pieces of silver, about seven or eight dollars, from the leather bag hanging on the saddle.
"Young man, we still have more than 150 miles to go to Qufu. You can use this money as payment."
The young man said quickly: "Thank you, sir. If you are born late, you will be rich."
Fatty Xu said from the side: "Stop being poor and pretending to be polite. Are you rich enough to starve on the roadside?"
The young man took out two twelve-shaped silver crowns directly from his backpack. The silver crowns were white with golden dots.
"Well, isn't this it?"
Chang Feng frowned: "Young man, this is the gold and silver that the emperor rewards officials and nobles. Where did you get it? Did you steal it?"
The young man said: "This is what the emperor gave to my father!"
Chang Feng was even more surprised: "What is your name? Who is your father?"
The young man announced his family name: "Wang Shouren was born late."
"Zi Bo'an."
"No. Yangming."
"My father is the editor and editor of the Hanlin Academy, Wang Hua."
Chang Feng was a little surprised: "Wang Hua, why does this name sound familiar?"
Liu Jin reminded from the side: "Wang Hua, he won the first place in the first class of the palace examination in the 17th year of Chenghua, and he got the first place!"
Chang Feng thought for a moment and said, "I remember! I was only fifteen years old at the time. My father told me all day long that I should study hard and be like the number one scholar Wang Hua in the future, with Qiong Linyan sitting at the head of the class."
Turning around, Chang Feng said to Wang Shouren again: "You are actually the son of the No. 1 Scholar. You are disrespectful and disrespectful."
"But how did the son of the Number One Scholar end up starving on the side of the road?"
Wang Shouren said: "I came from the capital late and walked all the way to Qufu to worship Confucius. The dry food I bought at the inn yesterday was shared with a few poor people along the way."
"There is no village in front of me or any shop in back. I heard that we have to walk another twenty miles before we can find a place to eat in Dajian. I was hungry for two hours and then I collapsed from hunger."
Chang Feng was shocked: "On foot? It's more than a thousand miles from the capital to here, and you walked?"
Wang Shouren nodded: "Only by walking to worship Confucius can we sharpen the will of the late students to engage in learning in the future."
Fatty Xu said: "No wonder your big toe is exposed in your shoes. Emotions are worn out, oh no, tempered."
Wang Shouren said: "I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed to be born late. I've been walking for more than three months, and four pairs of shoes have been worn out."
Chang Feng smiled and said: "I originally planned to let you get on the carriage behind us and give you a ride."
"I'm afraid that your sincerity in offering sacrifices to Confucius will be ruined. Let's just take this string of pot helmets and a bag of water."
Chang Feng left the pot helmet and water bag with Wang Shouren. He mounted his horse and the group continued on their way.
In his opinion, the young man just now was just a nerd with no brain.
Yes, Wang Shouren at this time was indeed a nerd who studied the "Four Books" and respected Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.
How could Chang Feng think of it? This person would not only change the history of Ming Dynasty, but also change the entire history of Chinese thought.
Even the enemy of China, the Japanese chieftain Togo Heihachiro, carried a waist tag with him throughout his life and wrote "I will bow my head and worship Yangming for the rest of my life."
