Chapter 990 Gatekeeper
The lunar winter months in Guanzhong in later generations were already frozen, but Guanzhong during the Tang Dynasty was obviously warmer and wetter than later generations. The winter moon has passed halfway, and only in the early morning, the surface of the river with gentle flow will be covered with a thin layer of ice, which will melt as soon as the sun comes out. As for the Yellow River, Weihe River, Jinghe River and other rivers with abundant water, there is no sign of freezing.
From ancient times to the present, the climate in China has generally been a curve that goes from warm to cold and then gradually warms up. Some studies say that the climate was warm and humid during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, but it reached its lowest point in the Ming Dynasty, and then began to gradually become warmer in the Qing Dynasty.
For ancient farming peoples with low productivity, climate change meant hardships in people's livelihood and changes in dynasties.
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, the Yin hour begins.
The main house of the Fang Family Farm was brightly lit, and servants were coming in and out to prepare hot water for breakfast. Today was the last court meeting in the 14th year of Zhenguan, and the father and son of the family were about to go to court.
The servants and maids get up early to get ready at any time, but each one of them has a brisk pace and an excited look.
There are countless high-ranking people in the Tang Dynasty, but how many people can have the honor of father and son sharing the same palace? Not to mention a powerful family like his father who is worshiped as the prime minister and is in charge of the court, and his son who has been granted a title of marquis and is about to take charge of the government!
If the Lord humiliates his subjects and dies, if the Lord honors them, both will be honored.
Wouldn't it be more leisurely and comfortable to work as a slave in the house of such a high-ranking noble and a powerful and kind-hearted person than those ordinary people struggling in poverty and misery? You must know that in the Fang family, even the children of servants and slaves can still study. Not only can you recite it, but it doesn’t matter whether you want to recite it or not!
These days, if you can read, you are promising. If you can read the Four Books and Five Classics, you will basically be a county official!
Therefore, the servants and maids of the Fang family are all very happy...
The candlelight was brightly lit in the main hall. Fang Xuanling put on his official robes and boots and sat on the chair of the imperial master to drink tea. He squinted at Fang Jun and felt even more unhappy.
It was just last court, could it be that they were getting married?
Wife Lu, daughter-in-law Princess Gaoyang, Wu Meiniang, and four personal maids... all gathered in a circle, one straightening their collars and the other stretching the corners of their robes. The little bastard sat lazily while a maid served him tea. After entering the mouth, a maid knelt in front of her to put on her boots...
It's even bigger than Lao Tzu's, and it's even more powerful!
Fang Xuanling felt a strong sense of loss. Could it be that the family was about to change and she would no longer be the head of the family?
I'm not dead yet!
"Ahem! Well, take the first step for my father, and you will follow later."
Fang Xuanling stood up with a cold face, said something lightly, and walked out of the main hall with her hands behind her back. When he arrived at the door, he remembered something again. He stood still and turned around to tell Fang Jun: "Don't take the carriage and keep a low profile. The reputation of you in Chang'an City is extremely bad now. Try not to tell the truth. Well, just go on horseback. It will appear Spirit.”
After that, walk out the door.
A servant drove the four-wheeled carriage over. Fang Xuanling lifted up her robe and got into the carriage. Her horse's hooves clattered and she walked straight out of the gate.
Fang Jun was confused in the room...
Damn it, there is a carriage in this winter and you won’t let me sit on it, why do you have to ride a horse?
Even if you are playing low-key, it is not such a low-key method!
Princess Gaoyang hesitated to speak, her face looked a little ugly. On such a cold day, wouldn't it be asking for trouble if you rode up to court? Even those generals with serious military backgrounds will ride in carriages...
He pursed his lips but said nothing.
Fang Xuanling spoke, what could her daughter-in-law do?
Wu Meiniang is also a little worried. Even if she is as smart as ice and snow, she can't understand the connection between riding a horse and being low-key even if she twists her beauty into a ball.
How did she know that Fang Xuanling was just a little jealous and wanted to fill her son's head...
Lu muttered: "Why is this old man so crazy for no reason?"
However, they did not dare to ignore Fang Xuanling's words. The women in the room quickly ordered the maids to find the fur cloak and put it on Fang Jun in a hurry. Fang Jun moved a little, and he was as bloated as a brown bear, unable to laugh or cry.
When I walked out of the door, I was hit by the cold wind, which made me shiver. My dissatisfaction with the thick clothes disappeared immediately. It's not his style to be elegant but not warm. He has already reached the level of ignoring appearance and focusing on soul.
He got on his horse, rode out of the village with a few family members, and headed straight down the mountain along the flat cement road. The mountain wind was cold and cold, and Fang Jun was so cold that the muscles on his face almost froze, and he couldn't help but curse in his heart.
After a while, he caught up with Fang Xuanling's carriage.
Fang Jun slowed down his horse, approached the car and said loudly: "Father, how about giving your son a ride?"
Fang Xuanling raised the car curtain with an unhappy look on her face: "Didn't you hear what my father said just now?"
Fang Jun was really freezing, so he said with a shy face: "Why didn't you hear me? But there are few officials passing by this road. Why don't the father let his son ride in the car and get off the horse when he gets to the outside of Chang'an City? Dad, it's really cold. …”
He spoke pitifully, but Fang Xuanling was not moved at all. She scolded with a cold face: "You can't bear any hardship at a young age. You have neither resilience nor tolerance. You are impatient and greedy for pleasure. How can you achieve great things?" ?”
After saying this, he lowered the car curtain and ignored Fang Jun again.
Fang Jun is so angry, is this father real?
I had no choice but to gallop along the dark streets in the early morning... It was too slow, and the slower I got, the colder it got.
Because today is the last court meeting of the year, many officials living outside the city and in Xianyang, Lantian, Sanyuan and other counties have all entered the capital. Therefore, the city gates around Chang'an City were opened early, but people entering and exiting still have to be interrogated.
There was no one outside the Chunming Gate. Fang Jun endured the cold wind blowing all the way to the city gate. Several soldiers guarding the city were shaking and huddled together to keep warm in the lee of the city wall when he saw a group of soldiers. The knights roared over, and they quickly got up to stop and investigate.
The older veteran's eyes were particularly sharp. He glanced at it from a distance, then retracted his steps after moving for a moment, and continued to chew half of the steamed bun in his hand. The pile of hay under his buttocks had just warmed up. After a while, It's cold again when I come back. Why did Fang Jun stop him? Didn't he see the old man's nose dripping with cold? He was definitely in an extremely unhappy mood. If he was unhappy himself, he would have to make others unhappy too. Humph, that young boy who just joined the army because of his family background is like climbing on top of me. He doesn't care about his own moral character. He has no eyesight at all. He's just waiting to be beaten...
The young soldiers who were working in the county government on behalf of their relatives stood in front of the city gate and shouted: "Stop! Check!"
Full of momentum!
Even though the city gate is an inconspicuous place, being a gatekeeper means being ordered around by powerful people all day long, but this is a fat job! Today at the court meeting, all the officials entering the city rode in horse-drawn carriages. Who is so stupid as to ride a horse? When I saw that this group of people were either lowly businessmen or out-of-towners seeking relatives, my mother, this troublesome grandpa in this cold weather must be blackmailed!
While standing at the gate of the city waiting for the group of knights to stop for inspection, the young soldier looked back with disdain at the old soldier squatting at the base of the wall and spat. What! As a gatekeeper like you, you will be poor all your life. You don't even know what kind of people to blackmail in order to make money. What's the point?
The sound of hoofbeats rumbled in my ears, and the expression on the young soldier's face changed from arrogance to surprise, and from surprise to fear!
The whole team of knights roared from a distance like thunder, their iron hooves trampling the frost and soil on the ground, their horses' mouths spraying white air, their indomitable momentum was like galloping on the battlefield and charging into battle!
And he was like a tiny piece of gravel about to be crushed by a horse's hooves as big as the mouth of a bowl...
Just as the knight was galloping in front of him without slowing down, even the two round eyes of the strong horse could be clearly seen. However, the young soldier finally reacted and let out an "ouch" and rolled around like a lazy donkey. The child stepped aside.
The roaring horse swept past the place where he just stood, heading straight into the city.
A domineering shout floated in the wind: "I'm freezing to death, can't you see me?"
The young soldier was so frightened that his heart was pounding, he was sweating profusely, and he was filled with fear. How arrogant! If he hadn't hidden just now, wouldn't he have become a corpse trampled by horse hooves now?
Isn’t this a waste of human life?
Or do you really not regard me as a human being at all?
Regardless of the reason, the young soldier said it was unacceptable. (End of chapter)