Crowned the New Han Dynasty

Chapter 222 The article has three paragraphs

"When we arrive at Zou County, we will be within the territory of Langya County, which is the largest county in the southwest of Langya County."

Looking at the city in front of him, Zuo Qing let out a breath and turned to introduce it to Chen Zhi and others.

After leaving Lanling, they walked for three days before arriving here. They encountered small groups of refugees and bandits along the way. Chen Zhi and others dealt with them individually, but it took a lot of time.

For Chen Zhi and others, these are part of the study tour, and there is nothing good or bad about them. They will repel bandits when they see them, and provide appropriate help to homeless people when they encounter them, so as to increase their knowledge.

But Zuo Qing had something on his mind and couldn't calm down. He was also worried about the disturbance caused by refugees and bandits, and even suspected that the young master of the Zhu family had other movements. Therefore, he was always on tenterhooks and never felt at ease.

Now looking at the city wall, he really felt relieved, and then he would lead everyone into the city.

But before he finished speaking, Lu Ying asked a little strangely: "Is that building a Buddhist temple?" He was looking at a forest to the north of the county.

Woods can be said to be commonplace in this era. This forest is located on a raised hill, so the scene inside can be seen more clearly, and there are continuous fertile fields outside the woods.

"Yes, the King of Donghai has a good impression of Buddhism, so many Buddhist temples have emerged in Donghai County and surrounding counties. There were also temples outside Lanling City before, but they were far away from the county. We were in a hurry and didn't have time to go there. Watch." Although Zuo Qing had something on his mind, he could still calm down and introduce it when he encountered a problem.

Liu Gang listened and then said: "So that's it, but the farmland outside the forest is fertile. Along the way we have been traveling, we rarely see such good farmland outside other counties." He is the young master of a landlord's family. , You can tell whether the field is good or not.

Zuo Qing smiled and said: "There are reasons for this. Firstly, the temple is a geomantic treasure land, so that we can worship the Buddha and enjoy incense. Secondly, there are many places inside and outside the forest, as well as the surrounding fields. Under the name of the temple, there is almost no need to pay taxes, and people who believe in Buddhism can also be exempted from labor. With such a relationship, the fields are getting wider and the tenants are getting more prosperous, which can guarantee farming."

Liu Gang was surprised to hear this and couldn't help but ask: "These fields don't need to be taxed?"

Zuo Qing nodded and said: "Yes, but there is another set of explanations in it. I don't know the specifics."

Chen Zhi, who was standing next to him, frowned after hearing this. He was confused and thinking a lot.

In the original history, the widespread spread of Buddhism at this time was related to the occupation of the Central Plains by foreigners. For various reasons, those people supported foreign Buddhism, funded Buddhist masters from the East, and provided many policy assistance to the places where Buddhism was established. Only with support can Buddhism take root and grow stronger day by day.

But in comparison, the situation in Xinhan is different, but it seems to have policies targeting Buddhism, which is a bit strange.

"Could it be related to the upper-level game?"

After thinking about it, he followed Zuo Qing and others into the county town.

As soon as I entered Zeng County, I immediately found that the atmosphere inside was different. The flow of people along the street had increased significantly. Not to mention compared with the county towns in Xuzhou, even compared with the previous Lanling County town, there were many more people here, and each one The conversation was very lively and the words were endless.

Chen Zhi could see that among the people walking here, many people were educated and even had local knowledge. In an era of hereditary knowledge and monopoly, the differences between people were very obvious. As long as you use your heart, If you pay attention, you can tell it from many details.

He was not the only one to notice this. Tao Ya even asked Zuo Qing directly: "There are many scholars among the people on this street. Brother Zuo, do you know the reason?"

Zuo Qing smiled and said, "Well, you can find out if you take a few more steps." After entering the city, he felt much more relaxed, and now he was even more confident.

But as soon as he finished speaking, someone on the side of the road shouted: "The Bao family's literary party is also held. There are fruits on display. Anyone who sees it will have a chance to see the literary people showing off their skills, so hurry up and go and see it!"

The speaker was young, about fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in civilian clothes. He waved his hand on the side of the road, and many people nearby followed suit. Immediately, seven or eight people gathered together and swarmed in one direction. go.

"The literary meeting of the Bao family?" Liu Gang looked away and glanced at Zuo Qing, "There has been a literary meeting in this city? But I have never heard of this Bao family. Is it a prominent family here?"

When Zuo Qing saw this scene, he didn't go around in circles and said: "The Xingtan event was held in advance. There were celebrities from all walks of life passing by, which attracted a lot of attention. Wen Kui also talked about Taoism, which made many families in Qingzhou, Everyone is in a hurry to hold a cultural conference, which you should know, but in addition, a top family like the Wang family is going to hold its own cultural conference, gathering several famous families including my Zuo family. , this was also a prosperous time, which shocked the entire Langya County. The families in the county inevitably had the idea of ​​riding the east wind, and took the opportunity to launch their own literary society to gain fame."

Everyone finally understood. In fact, to put it bluntly, it was just a hot topic and arty.This kind of thing is not uncommon in this era of fame, but also in later generations.

Zuo Qing continued: "It is normal that Brother Liu has never heard of this Bao family. I have only heard about it a little bit, because this is a local wealthy family. In recent years, many people in their family have obtained the position of subordinate officials, and some The trend of rising is on the rise, so I will not miss such an opportunity, but since I have come across it, I might as well go and see the scene of the cultural meeting first."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Zuo Qing ordered his left and right men to settle the convoy. He took Chen Zhi and others and followed the flow of people towards the Bao family. As he walked, he said: "A family like this cannot invite famous scholars. However, the arrangement is similar to other literary gatherings, and it will also attract some literati to stop. Watching this literary gathering will also help Brother Chen and you to understand the situation. When the time comes, whether it is the Wang Family Meeting or the Xingtan Forum, it will not be a mess. Fog.”

"Oh? Then I want to experience it." Liu Gang became excited. He has been famous for the Qingzhou Literary Society for a long time, but he has never participated in it in the past. At most, he has participated in poetry gatherings and tastings held by the younger generation. The two are essentially different.

Talking and laughing, they arrived at the destination - Baoyuan.

As the name suggests, this is a garden courtyard of the Bao family in the city. Being able to occupy such a place in the county is enough to prove the Bao family's connections and financial resources.

When Chen Zhi and others arrived, the garden was crowded with people inside and outside, and many people kept gathering. However, the people outside the garden were all civilians, and they were getting some fruits and desserts from the long table outside the door.

"The Bao family is really willing to spend money." Looking at this scene, Tao Ya said with a smile.

Different from later generations, the level of productivity at this time was limited, and the types of fruits were not rich. Many fruits were preceded by the word "Hu". They were introduced from outside the Central Plains, mostly from the Western Regions.

Farming is still mainly about grain, and the output of fruits is limited. Together with cakes and so on, they are exclusive to the scholars. Now the Bao family has taken them out and arranged them like flowing mats to share the food with the ordinary people.

If there weren't guards around the desk to maintain order, this alone would be enough to cause a fight.

Chen Zhi saw it clearly and said: "To the current Bao family, money is second and reputation is the top priority. For the sake of reputation, some wealthy leaders are even willing to take risks and even give up a lot of property. How can they be stingy with fruits?" What? From Brother Zuo’s introduction and the words of people along the way, we can also tell that the Bao family is not the only one who holds cultural gatherings in Zeng County. The Bao family is unwilling to fall behind others, so they spend a lot of money."

When he was talking, Bai Qing's figure flashed in his mind. In terms of essence, the Bai family and the Bao family were very similar, but many Bao family members served as subordinates, which obviously went a step further.

"That's the truth." Zuo Qing admired Chen Zhi for seeing the key so quickly. "Only by making a big noise and benefiting the people can the people spontaneously spread the word. In this way, the cultural meeting will be meaningful, otherwise it will be nothing more than How is a gathering of scholars different from ordinary poetry? A wealthy family like the Bao family is eager to go further, but if they cannot invite celebrities, they have to think about it in other ways. In contrast, the Luo family and the Deng family in Zeng County They will not act like this, these two families will not hold a cultural gathering here, but will be invited by the Wang family to go to Linyi to hold a grand event together. The celebrities they invite will come in the name of these two families when the time comes."

While several people were talking, the commoner in front saw their costumes and the servants and servants following them, so he took the initiative to make way for them to enter the garden.

Many scholars had already gathered in the courtyard. They were scattered in twos and threes in the garden, and from time to time, praise and cheers could be heard.

Chen Zhi looked around and saw that there were many tables, chairs and mats in the courtyard, on which there were melons and fruits, pens, inks, papers and inkstones, etc., and there were sticks hanging on the surrounding trees, just like a slap in the face. Small and large pieces of paper, tied to branches with thin strings.

Many people stood by the tree, pointing, and talking eloquently.

Liu Gang found it strange and asked, "What's going on?" The poetry gatherings he attended in the past were always a group of people gathered together. Either someone would come up with a topic, or they would point to a certain scene or object and compose a poem. Article, where have you seen such a scene?
"This is a major feature of our Qingzhou Literary Society," Zuo Qing laughed, with a hint of pride on his face, "The reason why the Literary Society is named 'Wen' is that there is no requirement to recite poems and write poems. It’s about discussing Taoism and talking with hands. There is a special emphasis in this, which is called the three stages of literary meetings. That is to say, a literary meeting should be divided into three stages. The literary meetings of my Zuo family and Wang family are divided into three stages. For the Lord, the Xingtan discussion is similar."

"Oh? Which three stages?" Lu Ying also became interested and couldn't help asking.

Tao Ya and Zhao Xing obviously knew about it and laughed without saying a word.

Chen Zhi looked at the scholars around him and guessed the general process, but he still listened attentively and waited for Zuo Qing's introduction.

Zuo Qing pointed to several scholars standing under the tree and said: "The discussion of Taoism in a literary meeting is actually a discussion of knowledge among the participants, so this topic is not raised by others, but by each other, so this first question The key step is to ‘give the question’.”

　Thanks to "Zhang Xiaobai Yaya" and "Yueyue Chengjue" for the rewards!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)