Chapter 113 Station
How did Fang Jun know what his father was thinking?
Under feudal etiquette, clan blood ties are the greatest. If the uncle is critically ill, someone must go back to visit him. What's more, my father's letter clearly stated that if he could make it in time, it would be a visit; if he couldn't make it in time, it would be a funeral...
This is a top priority, and there is no room for Fang Jun to evade it.
Is it possible that my father should make this trip himself? This is not the 21st century. You can get there in a blink of an eye when you get on a plane. Even the high-speed rail only takes a few hours. Chang'an is no less than a thousand miles away from Qizhou, and the Yellow River is frozen. He has to ride a horse and a carriage, and he has to take half of his father's life?
Even if Fang Jun was young and strong, it would take more than half a month to go back and forth all the way east, and he would be able to return near the end of the year.
At that moment, he had no choice but to entrust all the chores to Fang Quan, Fang Sihai, Lu Cheng and others, and asked Uncle Cen Wen, Li Siwen and others to take care of them. He packed up his clothes, bowed, took a few servants and set off immediately.
Before leaving, Wu Meiniang's eyes were red and she warned her to be careful on the road. Don't miss the place to stay because you are in a hurry. The snowy road is slippery, so be careful of your horse stumbling. If you can't make it back before the end of the year, don't worry. , safety is the most important thing.
The little maid Qiao'er was also very worried.
Although Wu Meiniang's status has obviously declined since she entered the house, and the services of many close relatives have been taken over by Wu Meiniang, the little maid's closeness to Fang Jun has not weakened at all.
Fang Jun felt warm in his heart. He was about to leave for a long distance, but some people were worried about him. Finally, his life was not in vain! Hearing this, he comforted the two girls, and then he took his servants and hit the road, taking advantage of the fine weather to travel a little further, trying to leave early and come back early.
Wu Meiniang stood at the door of the farm in a daze, the sound of horse hooves in her ears gradually faded away, leaving only the blurred shadow of the north...
Feeling disappointed.
********
This time going east, Fang Jun did not take the frozen Weishui River, but passed through the Guangtong Canal, passed Tongguan, and galloped down the post road along the Yellow River.
Anyone who has not been to the Tang Dynasty can never imagine how developed the post roads were in this era.
During this period, there were particularly many official documents sent from the central government to various regions and from various regions to the central government.
According to historical records, each state alone sends half a million statistical materials to the central government. It is estimated that in the Tang Dynasty with developed post road transportation, once the central government's decree was issued, it could be implemented nationwide within two months. The development of post roads in the Tang Dynasty promoted the development of feudal social economy to a certain extent and consolidated the centralized state power.
There was a prosperous scene of "one post passing by another, and the post horses were like a stream of stars".
"When the imperial concubine laughs, no one knows it's a lychee." This is no joke.
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Concubine Yang Guifei loved to eat fresh lychees. In order to win a smile from the beauty, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty sent a special person to transport lychees from Fuzhou, Sichuan, where they were produced, to Chang'an every year. The distance from Fuzhou to Chang'an is no less than thousands of miles, and it is transported by fast horses on post roads. According to the "New Book of Tang": "After traveling thousands of miles, the taste has not changed and we have reached the capital." This matter has been criticized by later generations. As a negative example of Xuanzong's extravagance and lewdness in the Tang Dynasty, the lychees did not change after being transported thousands of miles to Chang'an, which shows the development of post road transportation in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
The post roads of the Tang Dynasty were inherited from the former Sui Dynasty and continued to expand from the original basis during the period of His Majesty Li Er, forming the northwest post roads from Chang'an to the Western Regions, the post roads from Chang'an to the southwest, the post roads from Chang'an to Lingnan, and the post roads from Chang'an to Lingnan. long term There are post roads from An to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian, from Chang'an to the northern grassland areas, and there are two post roads from Chang'an to Shandong, the northeastern region, and southwestern regions such as Jingzhou, Kuizhou, and Zhongzhou. There are seven radial post roads in total, radiating across the country.
There were many pedestrians on the post road, and the cars and horses were crushing them. The ice and snow were digested faster, and the road conditions were actually good.
Fang Jun and his servants, all ten of whom were on two horses, changed horses without changing people along the way. In the evening, they arrived at Linquanyi Station in Yongning County.
The largest post in the Tang Dynasty was called Duting Post, which was the post where the capital of the country was located. Each post was equipped with 25 people. Each land post is divided into six grades: the first-class post is equipped with 20 post men, the second-class post is equipped with 15 post men, the number decreases below the third class, and the last class and sixth-class post is equipped with 2 to 3 post men.
The emperor's emphasis on post roads and the prosperity of post roads can be seen from these figures.
Luoyang is known as the Eastern Capital, second only to Chang'an in terms of status, so the scale of Linquanyi Station is certainly not small.
A row of houses was built in the mountains and forests beside the road, with five rooms wide doors and dense courtyards.
The snow in front of the door was swept cleanly, revealing a flat bluestone slab. A postman had already seen a group of knights galloping from a distance, so he waited by the roadside. When Fang Jun and others arrived, they stepped forward to greet them.
Fang Jun turned over and dismounted. His legs were a little weak after riding for a long time, and he almost stumbled. Fortunately, the postman had quick eyes and quick hands and reached out to support him.
"My husband, wait a moment. It's cold and the road is slippery. I might fall down."
Fang Jun took a breath, took out his father's official seal certificate from his pocket, and threw it to the postman.
The postman hurriedly took it, looked at it briefly, and quickly returned it to Fang Jun with both hands holding the official seal certificate. He said respectfully: "It turns out to be the son of the Prime Minister of the Fang. I am short-sighted. Please forgive me."
Fang Jun smiled and said: "What crime is there? Prepare the best wine and food, replace a group of strong horses, and prepare hot water to warm the couch." Turning back to a servant, he said: "Reward!"
The servant responded, took out a small piece of silver from his bag and gave it to the postman.
The Tang Dynasty was short of silver, so copper coins were the currency of circulation. Precious metals such as gold and silver were mostly made into utensils by wealthy families for use or collection. They were rarely circulated in the market, so they were expensive.
This small piece of silver is half a tael, but its value is definitely far more than half a tael of copper. How has the postman ever seen such a generous person?
Suddenly he smiled brightly and said in a loud voice: "Noble, don't worry, I will prepare it now, and keep it to your satisfaction..."
As he spoke, he quickly ran into the inn to make preparations.
Fang Jun stretched out and moved his body, which was about to fall apart due to the jolts on the horse. He was about to enter the inn when he suddenly heard a man next to him saying angrily: "The inn is a weapon of the state, but it is forced to be used by you and other dandy slaves. Instead, It’s ridiculous to be so humble and humble!”
There is a surge of sourness in these words...
A servant of the Fang family immediately said angrily: "Who dares to speak arrogantly and slander our second son?"
Fang Jun stopped the servant, turned around in surprise, and saw a big man walking out of the side room of the inn.
This man was in his thirties, with a square face, eyebrows, piercing eyes, a straight nose, a square mouth, and a tall body, but his square face was now filled with deep disdain.
He was wearing a shabby official uniform, with patches piled on top of each other, and the cuffs were full of traces of oil stains. Even the fast boots on his feet looked like the open mouth of a carp... Judging from the style and color, he should be from the eighth grade. An official may be a county lieutenant or a member of the army.
What a down-and-out but upright official, Fang Jun thought to himself.
Fang Jun never had a good impression of this kind of person.
When dealing with people, pay attention to a circle on the outside and a square on the inside. There are gaps in your heart, but you don't need to show it on your face or put it in your mouth. For an official, what matters is whether you have completed your duties, rather than pretending to be aloof or cynical.
It can only be said that for someone who has never met someone before and opens his mouth to rant like this, it can only be said that there is a lack of nerve in the brain, and it has nothing to do with whether he is a good official.
Does wearing old official uniforms mean you must be an upright official?
Even if he is an upright official, he must be a good official who loves his people like his own children?
Taking a step back, even if you are a good official, you must be a capable minister and official?
Not necessarily...
Especially the practice of kidnapping others from the moral high ground, Fang Jun was extremely disdainful.
Immediately he said: "I have a good father. My father is a big official. What are you going to do? Are you going to bite me? You are stupid..."
As he spoke, he walked into the inn without even looking at the official.
The servants behind me were in such a good mood. It was so exciting to hang out with Erlang!
As you say, I have a high-ranking father, don’t you agree? If you are not convinced, find one...
Look at this guy's face, he might be suffocated to death, right?
The servants wiped away the fatigue of the journey and followed the Fang family into the inn laughing and joking.
The only remaining official was almost so angry that his nose was smoking due to Fang Jun's words.
How can such shameless words be taken for granted?
Is it a glorious thing for a manly man to rely on his father to dominate and prosper?
How shameless!
The official flicked his robe sleeves angrily and turned around to enter the main hall of the post station. It was getting late and he had not eaten yet, but there would be no post soldiers delivering the food to his room...
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(End of chapter)