Han official!

Chapter 119 Good Family

In mid-March, the weather became warmer, the construction of Xixia Fire Station was completed, and the Jincheng Horse Park gradually expanded. The inner wall where Wei Junru lived, the "日"-shaped courtyard, granaries, stables, cattle pens and other houses were built.

Zhao Guo once again gave Guo Jie a surprise. He was simply an encyclopedia. He cultivated crops such as millet, wheat, and soybeans, and also knew how to grow ramie. After the ramie was pressed into dung, he led the villagers to brew maltose.

Different fields have different meanings. Zhao Guo's brain seemed to be an inexhaustible reservoir of knowledge when it came to the cultivation of crops, cash crops, vinegar, dyeing and other crops. He was good at farming, sericulture, sugar making, beekeeping and so on.

Guo Jie proposed that Zhao Guo write his farming experience into an agricultural book, which again excited Zhao Guo. He never thought that a commoner with a plain hat would have the chance to write a book one day.

Just when Zhao Guo was preparing to write the book on agriculture, Jiangdu Prime Minister Dong Zhongshu wrote "Chun Qiu Fan Lu". In the name of the great meaning of "Chun Qiu", he mixed Confucianism and Yin-Yang school theories, extended and transformed them, and established a religious idealism system.

He further developed the theory of the correspondence between heaven and man to prove that the king's power was granted by God.

He expounded on the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, embodying the principles of loyalty to the emperor, with the emperor being the bond for his subjects, the father being the bond for his sons, and the husband being the bond for his wife, which aroused the approval of Emperor Liu Che.

"Dong Zhongshu entered the palace?"

Guo Jie returned to the official temple in Chang'an and met Sang Hongyang in the guest room. He learned that Dong Zhongshu had been recruited into the palace by Emperor Liu Che, and his face was full of complicated emotions.

First, Zhang Qian opened up the Western Regions.

Now Dong Zhongshu was also invited into the palace and presented the "Chun Qiu Fan Lu".

It perfected the Confucian ideas of the divine right of kings and the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues.

Another major change, which will see the elimination of all other schools of thought and the promotion of Confucianism alone, is not far away.

"Do you know Dong Zhongshu?"

Sang Hongyang frowned and said, "From now on, avoid associating with Confucian scholars. They are not good people. Confucian scholars have been frequenting the residences of nobles and dukes in recent years. They must have great ambitions."

Guo Jie saw that Sang Hongyang was disgusted with Confucian scholars, and he didn't have much favorable impression of Dong Zhongshu when he heard his name.

He knew it.

Compared with Dong Zhongshu, who was revered as Dong Sheng in later generations.

In Sang Hongyang's eyes, Dong Zhongshu was now just a prime minister with a rank of two thousand stones, the same as a county magistrate.

Guo Jie made up an excuse and bowed towards the south of Chang'an City. "I don't know Dong Zhongshu personally. I'm just surprised that a Confucian scholar could enter Sima Gate and meet the emperor."

Sang Hongyang picked up a scroll of wooden tablets and tossed it to Guo Jie, who was kneeling behind the desk. He smiled and said, "A few days ago, I went to the main room to visit Xiuchengjun and asked her to facilitate your marriage with Wei Junru. Xiuchengjun agreed to take Wei Junru's concubine certificate, but she only required a generous betrothal gift."

Xiuchengjun?
Guo Jie took the wooden tablet and saw the seal of Xiucheng Jun on it. No wonder Sang Hongyang was smiling, thinking that the matchmaking was successful.

There were many marquises in the Western Han Dynasty. There were 18 marquises initially, and there were also subsequent marquisates, princes of the Liu family, relatives by marriage, and other powerful people.

Also, because of the mausoleum town system, dukes, ministers, and relatives of various surnames lived together, and various in-laws were constantly involved, forming a complex relationship that was difficult for ordinary people to understand.

Guo Jie actually knew who Xiuchengjun was.

Emperor Liu Che was the crown prince born to Emperor Jing of Han and Empress Dowager Wang Zhi.

Wang Zhi and Emperor Jing of Han were not getting married for the first time, and it was a rare second marriage among emperors in history.

In her early years, Wang Zhi married Jin Wangsun, a powerful man in Huaili. Later, her mother Zang'er, the granddaughter of Zang Tu, the King of Yan, who was a king of a different surname and the founder of the Western Han Dynasty, forcibly took her daughter Wang Zhi away from Jin Wangsun's home and gave her to Emperor Jing of Han, who was then the crown prince.

Emperor Jing of Han and Wang Zhi gave birth to Princess Pingyang, the Emperor Liu Che.

Her ex-husband Jin Wangsun and Wang Zhi gave birth to a daughter, Jin Su.

Jin Su and Princess Pingyang were half-sisters and were given the title Xiucheng Jun.

Xiucheng Jun Jin Su went to Princess Pingyang's main room and asked for her private concubine certificate. Princess Pingyang would not refuse her sister Jin Su's face.

Jin Su asked for a dowry.

After all, she was Princess Pingyang's personal servant, not an ordinary slave, and her status was no less than that of the household steward.

She couldn't marry too casually, as it would be disrespectful to both Wei Junru and Princess Pingyang.

A generous dowry is required.

Just a betrothal gift
Guo Jie asked, "How much gold would be enough to impress Lord Xiucheng? One hundred thousand coins, or several thousand dan of millet, or even cloth would be fine. I, the clerk, should find a way to buy some cloth as a betrothal gift."

"Princess Pingyang is not short of money."

Sang Hongyang shook his head. "Money and silk can't impress Lord Xiucheng and Princess Pingyang. Even 200,000, let alone 100,000 coins, wouldn't be as brave as you, Bianhu. Perhaps Lord Xiucheng wants you to kill a lion in the lion ring and humiliate Princess Guantao."

He nodded and said, "The two princesses fight all day long. It's possible that they could beat a lion to death with their bare hands. Xiucheng Jun didn't say anything, so we don't know for now. We can only wait for Xiucheng Jun to send a letter, or for you to find a generous gift as a betrothal gift."

Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang did not expect that after Guo Jie got rid of Bianhu, he still had some ability to be favored by Princess Pingyang.

Guo Jie stood up and bowed. "I will return to the county magistrate's temple first to deliver the official documents from Longxi County to the Longxi County Headquarters. I will come back another day to visit the other officials."

He walked along the gate, corridors, and seats, and walked out of the Chang'an official temple.

At the right gate of the academy, Guo Jie mounted the Hexi horse that the thief catcher had brought with him, walked out of the Hanque, and headed towards the county residence along the east side road planted with catalpa, elm, and trifoliate orange trees.

Along the way, they met several thieves and detectives escorting prisoners. They held iron bars in their hands and had ropes around their waists. None of them had a good look on their faces when facing the nobles and their heroic spirit.

Only Guo Jie had a smiling face.

Fortunately, there were no cigarettes in the Western Han Dynasty, otherwise, several police officers from the capital would have stopped their cars and handed Guo Jie a cigarette before leaving.

A prisoner who was being escorted was handsome in appearance. He wore a thin gauze jacket and trousers and a flat cap on his head. He seemed to be a cavalryman of the Northern or Southern Army.

The Union Army was commanded by lieutenants.

The Southern Army is the palace guard.

The soldiers and cavalry in the army wore different hats. The soldiers wore flat hats, and the cavalry wore flat top hats.

This handsome-looking prisoner wore a flat cap and a thin gauze jacket and trousers, and the thief had casually put on a ochre prisoner uniform over it. The clothes were messy and looked crooked.

"Injustice!"

The prisoner cried out in innocence. Seeing that the thief's arresting officer respected Guo Jie, he hurriedly said, "If the superior officer can save me, I will take you to the residence of the youngest concubine in Baling Town another day and ask the youngest concubine's wife to meet you."

Shao Nei, also known as Xiaofu, was in charge of the payment and receipt of military pay for the county government.

Although Baling was a county, it was home to many nobles and powerful people. Among the many officials in the county government temple, Shao Nei's position was close to that of the magistrate, and he was one of the senior officials in the county government temple.

Cao thief?

Guo Jie took one look at the prisoner and mistook him for Cao, the thief who had seduced the wife of an official.

The last time I went to Baling Town to arrest the three elders of the county, I heard about the reputation of Madam Shao Nei. In Baling Town, where nobles and powerful people are everywhere, she is still considered beautiful and charming.

Just a little older.

He is already forty years old.

However, there are people who like this. The prisoner in front of us likes mature women in their forties.

Guo Jie ignored the prisoners, dismounted, threw the reins to the military official who was waiting near the Hanque of the county residence, and walked towards the official temple of the county residence.

"I've been wronged."

The prisoner cried out, "You few thieves can go to Baling Town and ask. My family, Shao Ji of Anguo, is a good family who has been farming for generations. My grandfather even has the title of a public official. How could we slander Princess Pingyang?" A good family refers to the children of those who are not exiled in the seven categories or are not doctors, witches, merchants, or craftsmen.

The seven categories of exile were for seven types of people in the Qin Dynasty: merchants, corrupt prison officials, fugitives, sons-in-law, people who had once been registered as citizens, and grandparents or parents who had once been registered as citizens. They were exiled to distant expeditions or to guard the border.

The seven categories of exile in the Han Dynasty were officials with crimes, fugitives, son-in-laws, and merchants. Therefore, they had city registration, their parents had city registration, and their great-grandparents had city registration.

Whether in the Qin Dynasty or the Han Dynasty, the son-in-law was miserable and was directly sent to the border to guard the border.

Guo Jie suddenly stopped and turned to look at the prisoner: "What's your name?"

"My name is Anguo Shaoji."

Anguo Shaoji seemed to see hope of rescue again and struggled to his feet: "I am a good man from Baling. My family has been farming for generations. I have participated in many wars and made many contributions. I beg the officials to save me."

When Guo Jie heard that his name was Anguo Shaoji, he used the forty-year-old mature woman Shao Nei Furen to seduce him.

I'm sure I can ask Madam Shao Nei to sleep with Guo Jie.

This prisoner should be another famous Han envoy in history.

However, Zhang Qian became famous because of his knowledge of the Western Regions, while An Guo Shao Ji became famous because of his knowledge of women.

An Guo Shao Ji was sent as an envoy of the Western Han Dynasty to the Kingdom of Nanyue, but he slept with the queen mother of Nanyue.

Not a queen, nor a princess.

But she was the Queen Mother of Nanyue.

What's even more amazing is.

An Guo Shao Ji not only slept with the Queen Mother of Nanyue, but also instigated the Queen Mother to rebel and kill Lu Jia, the most powerful prime minister of Nanyue.

He can be regarded as a model of evil deeds among Han envoys.

When the Han envoys were sent to the southwestern countries, not to mention being disrespectful to the Han envoys, they dared to kill the king directly in the royal court just because the Han envoys disliked the king.

He was even so bad as to sleep with the Queen Mother and cause chaos in the harem.

"boom!"

A thief catcher swung the iron bar in his hand and hit An Guo Shaoji hard on the back, saying with a fierce look on his face: "Just answer whatever Mr. Guo asks you, don't talk nonsense."

"Ok!"

An Guo Shao Ji groaned, grimacing in pain, but he didn't dare to scream out. He could only look at Guo Jie with a forced smile.

Knowing that he was the Han envoy Anguo Shaoji, Guo Jie became interested in rescuing him and asked, "I wonder what crime he committed to be brought back to the Chang'an official temple for interrogation. Could it be that he committed the severe punishment of grinding rice in the city?"

He was taken back to Baling Town for interrogation, and there was still a possibility of redemption. He could pay money to redeem himself from prison.

Anyone who fell into Zhang Tang's hands would have no chance to atone for his sins and could only serve his sentence in Chang'an Prison.

The leading thief, Gan, didn't hide anything and directly revealed the truth: "An Guo Shao Ji held a He Di (tí), which actually stated that Princess Pingyang had an affair with a riding slave named Wei Qing. This man was registered in Baling Town, and he was the one who spread the rumor and caused trouble."

Hedi is hemp paper. As early as the Wenjing era, rough hemp paper appeared in Guanzhong, also known as Baqiao paper.

Hundreds of pieces of ancient paper were unearthed in Dunhuang, ten of which had words on them, seven from the Western Han Dynasty, two from the Eastern Han Dynasty, and one from the Western Jin Dynasty.

On the scraps of paper from the Western Han Dynasty there are characters written in cursive script such as '□持书来□致稀□'.

Papermaking was not invented by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but he improved the papermaking technique to make it more convenient.

Guo Jie reached out to take the hemp paper and looked at it carefully. No wonder the thief catcher wanted to bring An Guo Shao Ji to Zhang Tang for interrogation.

The words written on the hemp paper are obscene rumors.

It describes the secret affair between Princess Pingyang and the riding slave Wei Qing.

However, the writing does not seem like a man's handwriting, but more like a short essay posted online by a woman.

Guo Jie frowned and said, "The beautiful small handwriting on the hemp paper doesn't look like it was written by a man. This man is probably wrongly accused. Tell me, where did you pick up this piece of hemp paper?"

Several thieves looked at each other and knew that Guo Jie wanted to protect this man.

Although he didn't know the reason, he still bowed and left.

With just one word from Guo Jie, the capital police released the prisoner.

This shows how much face he has.

"Wait a minute."

Guo Jie pondered for a moment and said, "Go back and tell your superior, Zhang Tang, that I will personally investigate the rumor-mongering against Princess Pingyang. Once I have the written consent form, I will personally go to the Chang'an official temple and hand it over to Captain Zhang."

Several thief catchers bowed solemnly and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that they would have an explanation when they returned.

There are two schools on the left and right sides of the gate of the county residence and official temple. There is a changing room on the left and right sides of the gate. There is a goose-foot lamp, several sitting tables, and a couch.

Guo Jie had a long residence and seldom changed into his official uniform in the changing room, so the two schools on the left and right became the resting places for the gatekeepers and the material officers.

Since Wei Qing was involved, Guo Jie sent someone to call Wei Guang and go to the neighborhood where the hemp paper was found.

"West Market?"

Guo Jie was quite puzzled as to why the hemp paper used to make the pornographic rumor appeared in the West Market where there were poor people and craftsmen everywhere. It was not in a big house or a small house, but he still took people to the West Market.

A group of people walked into the gate of the West Market.

The West Market is different from the East Market across Huayang Street. It is mostly composed of workshops producing pottery figurines, bricks and tiles, coinage, and iron smelting.

There is a market in front and a factory in the back. Both sides of the market are lined with multi-story houses. There are workshops in the back and shops in the front, just like the East Market, selling pottery figurines, bricks and tiles, bronze chariots and horses and other goods made in the workshops.

There is a market every four li, and there are a total of six markets in the West City, covering an area equivalent to twenty-four li.

The West Market has only an outer city wall, and there is no inner wall. Instead, it is filled with crisscrossing tunnels and city columns lined up on both sides of the tunnels.

Looking around, there is no inner wall to block the view. The shops, merchants and cargo carts in the West Market stretch as far as the eye can see. It is extremely noisy and lively. The East and West Markets are also the most bustling and prosperous markets in Chang'an.

An Guo Shaoji turned into a tunnel and stopped at the door of a house. He said bitterly, "Yesterday, I found the hemp paper at the door of this workshop."

The door of the workshop was closed. Guo Jie called out a few times but no one responded. It seemed that there was no one in the workshop.

"It's just a low wall."

Chong Huangrou was a descendant of a marquis, and his actions were even more reckless than those of the young men from Wuling. With a single, vigorous step, he was about to scale the wall. "Wait for me to climb over and open the workshop door, and then you can go in."

"No!"

"Wait a minute!"

Guo Jie and Wei Guang's expressions suddenly changed. They hurriedly stretched out their hands, one on the left and one on the right, grabbing Chong Huangrou's crimson-edged robe and pulling hard, not daring him to rush over.

"This wall! You can't climb over it!"

(End of this chapter)