Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 15: No Singing at Graves
"The riverbank here has collapsed and dug for a few miles, causing the Yi River to overflow eastward. If we block it, the waterlogging on the eastern slope of Longmen will recede. There used to be a dam a few miles down here, but it was moved elsewhere to divert the flow. If we rebuild it now, even if there's danger again in the future, it will greatly reduce the amount of water overflowing eastward!"

Zhou Liang walked on the riverbank construction site, pointing to the embankment under repair and explaining to Zhang Luo. From time to time, he would pick up the paper spread on the wooden board and write and draw on it. After filling a sheet of paper, he would roll it up and put it into the cloth bag behind him.

Seeing Zhou Liang's meticulous attention to detail, Zhang Luo couldn't help but sigh, "With Mr. Zhou's dedication, the flooding in the south of the city will surely be resolved quickly. It's a blessing for the people in the south of the city!"

Zhou Liang laughed at himself after hearing this, then sighed gloomily, "What I'm doing isn't very useful. I just don't want my conscience to be buried by the chaos of human affairs. Isn't it strange, my dear, that floods have occurred despite the lack of rain this spring? This isn't a natural disaster, but a man-made one!"
Luonan is a thriving agricultural area, home to many powerful families. They arbitrarily dug canals, built dams, and erected pestle and dams. The entire Luonan countryside has been torn into a myriad of gullies and ravines, making it impossible to control. The Yi River burst its banks because a few powerful families, eager to exploit the pestle and dam, refused to clear the canals and release water to facilitate spring plowing. Instead, they cut the canals and dug ditches upstream, leading to this disaster!

Zhang Luo hadn't expected this flood to have such a hidden story. He was shocked after hearing this and immediately asked, "Could it be that the Henan government turned a blind eye to this?"

"Even if we can see them, it's difficult to control them. In previous years, when Doctor Cui was in office as the prefect, although he was a strong and upright person, he also had to maintain some favors for the great families, otherwise the affairs of the prefecture would be hindered at every turn. After Doctor Cui ascended to the throne, the current prefect Zhang Dayin was new and things were not yet coordinated, so this kind of mistake happened at the beginning of the year."

Zhou Liang, an official in charge of water affairs in Henan Prefecture, spoke of these lingering problems with a gloomy expression. "Xu Shicao's resignation to return home to bury a loved one was certainly motivated by filial piety, but it was also a way to withdraw from his duties. If this flood is not handled properly, he will be reprimanded at the end of the year, facing a salary penalty at best and exile at worst. Even if he manages to complete his term, he'll likely be out of office for another decade or more. By resigning due to filial piety, he can maintain his reputation and protect his future."

Zhang Luo couldn't help but widen his eyes after hearing this. It turned out that his understanding of the ancients was too one-sided. He thought that Xu Ran resigned from his good official position just to rebury his father, but it turned out that he also wanted to escape from the fire pit.

"Isn't Mr. Zhou worried about his future being blocked?"

Seeing that Zhou Liang was still carefully visiting and inspecting various projects and taking careful notes, he couldn't help but ask.

Zhou Liang shook his head upon hearing this and said, "I have a talent for this. I used to be a gatekeeper at the Bian Canal. At the beginning of the Kaiyuan period, I was brought into the government office by Li Dafu of Longxi to serve as a recorder. I am an outsider, so my future is limited. My position is low and my strength is weak, so it is difficult for me to be of great use. I only hope to fulfill my duties and live up to the salary I have received. This spring, I will travel around the countryside to first count and mark the locations of the weirs and pestles in the Luonan Canal, and report to the government for future adjustments."

When Zhang Luo heard Zhou Liang's answer, he couldn't help but feel awe in his heart. The so-called Kaiyuan Prosperity was not only the great achievements of emperors and generals, but also benefited from the silent contributions of those little people in that era who performed their duties conscientiously but left little trace in the long river of history.

The few days of leave he had taken had greatly affected Zhou Liang's progress in counting the Luonan Canal Weir. After showing Zhang Luo the area where work was being done, he had to go to inspect elsewhere.

Naturally, Zhang Luo was not as enthusiastic as him, so he stopped accompanying him and returned to the farm to inform the farmers to repair the farm tools and prepare for spring plowing.

Just as he was about to leave, Zhou Liang stopped him, stepped forward, and asked softly, "Sir, have you offended anyone recently? Yesterday, the various officials in the government office were discussing matters, and someone wanted to hinder the construction work near the farm of East Langjun in Sanchuan Township. Because of Xu Shicao's instructions before leaving, I used words to evade them. While the construction work won't be hindered, we must be wary of any bad guys causing trouble elsewhere!"

Zhang Luo frowned upon hearing this, remembering the rebuke he had given Su Qinniang back home a few days earlier. His social connections were simple, and aside from his kinship with the Zhang family, he had few grudges or grievances. This sudden, malicious targeting was undoubtedly the work of someone in the Zhang family.

It seemed his probing that day had triggered a reaction from the other party, targeting his sole source of income, threatening to sever his reliance on self-reliance. It was a pity the person behind this tampering had been a bit foolish, failing to disrupt the farm's production, while the farm's livelihood was no longer his lifeblood.

Although he could not rule out the possibility that the other party would come up with another evil plan if their first plan failed, Zhang Luo knew in his heart that the time left for them was running out and they would soon be unable to take care of themselves, let alone have the time to make things difficult for him.

After returning to the farm, Zhang Luo notified the villagers to prepare for farming, and arranged for the young man Ding Qing to take two farmhands to Zhou Liang's home in Bairenli, east of the city, to help Zhou Lang take care of his mother and look after the property stored there.

It's not that he was worried about Zhou Liang and his son, but Zhou Liang was busy with official duties, and Zhou Lang had to take care of his sick mother at home. It was not appropriate to keep so much wealth at home, so he would feel more at ease if there were more people to watch over it.

After learning that his mistress Zheng was secretly making things difficult for him, he became even more afraid to expose these treasures to the other party. Now, only Zhou Liang's family could ensure that they would not be spied on, and the farm that had already been coveted was not safe either.

In fact, Zhang Luo had also considered quietly buying a property elsewhere in Luoyang, but his savings were still insufficient. The money he had was not enough to buy a small house, so he decided to continue saving.

After leaving the Zhang family, he went to other provinces such as Shannan and Hebei to change his appearance and try to become a citizen. He changed his identity and started over in the two capitals. After a few years, his appearance had changed, and coupled with his rich knowledge reserves from later generations, even if he met the Zhang family again, they would probably not dare to recognize him as the bastard who escaped from their home that year.

Even if they pointed at Zhang Jun and cursed him, Shi Liu wouldn't be able to accuse him of being unfilial. "Ah Lang has survived this great disaster and has become more intelligent. He should go and offer sacrifices to his wife to comfort her spirit!"

Yingniang also came to the farm today. After Zhang Luo finished arranging the farm affairs, she came forward and spoke.

Although Zhang Luo did not have any deep feelings for his deceased mother, Wu, since he had taken over her son's body, he naturally had to show some appreciation. After hearing Ying Niang's reminder, he nodded.

Mang Mountain in the north of Luoyang is a long-renowned funeral site, where many emperors and generals from all dynasties are buried. But in fact, Wan'an Mountain on the eastern foot of Longmen in Luonan is also a Feng Shui treasure land. The family cemeteries of famous Kaiyuan prime ministers such as Yao Chong and Zhang Shuo were chosen here.

Zhang Luonu's mother, Wu, was a concubine of the Zhang family. After her death, she was also buried in the Wan'an Mountain Cemetery.

The slope of Wan'an Mountain was not steep. Zhang Luo rode the old horse, and his loyal servant Ding Cang led two villagers to lead the way, waving sticks in their hands to scare away snakes and insects in the grass. Ying Niang followed behind with the offerings.

It took the group over an hour to reach the Wan'an Mountain Cemetery. Seeing the tombstones erected in front of the Zhang family's graves, Zhang Luo couldn't help but feel excited. He had been writing epitaphs for profit these days, and he wanted to see the quality of the Zhang family's deceased epitaphs and compare them with each other.

Zhang Luo also stood before the tombstone, admiring it for a long time. It wasn't until Yingniang reminded him that the offerings were already laid out that he withdrew his gaze and walked towards his mother's grave.

Arriving at his mother's grave, Zhang Luo couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. His mother's tomb was much smaller than the graves of other Zhang family members, and the epitaph was only a few hundred words long, briefly describing her family background and life.

Such a simple epitaph could not have been written by a renowned scholar. Zhang Shuo and his son, Zhang Jun, were both renowned Hanlin scholars, yet they were reluctant to contribute even a single word. What particularly infuriated Zhang Luo was that the epitaph contained no information about himself, as if his mother were merely a pitiful woman who died childless and young.

Zhang Jun's legal wife no longer allowed the young Zhang Luonu to call her mother, and now there is no information about her children on his biological mother's tombstone. They, mother and son, have become orphans in the world with no predecessors or descendants!

Before, Zhang Luo might not have cared too much about such issues, but recently he had been writing epitaphs for others for profit, and he had truly felt the Tang people's enthusiasm for creating mourning and honor for their deceased relatives, so he became more and more angry at Zhang Jun's negligence and carelessness in this regard.

He raised his hand, pulled out the knife hanging from his waist, cut his fingertip, and wrote the words "Zi Luo Nu" on the tombstone with his blood. Then he said in a deep voice: "Ding Cang, when you return, please ask the engraver to build a new tombstone for my mother. I will give you the inscription later!"

Ding Cang nodded in agreement after hearing this, and tears welled up in his eyes. He knelt in front of her and said sadly, "My lady, have you seen how sensible Alang has become? Although we are not able to educate him, Alang is very talented and has his own wisdom..."

Yingniang also knelt aside, moved to tears. Seeing her husband's kind nature, they felt even more relieved that he had not let down his wife's dying trust.

"An orphan loses his loving parents, a traveler loses his host..."

When Zhang Luo saw this scene, he couldn't help but feel sad.

He was originally a positive and optimistic person, rarely swayed by negative emotions, but that didn't mean he was completely free of pessimism. He traveled alone through a strange world, and all he saw were strangers and strangers, including his familiar relatives and friends. He had been busy trying to turn the tide before, and had no time to feel sorry for himself. Now that the pessimism in his heart was brought out, he couldn't help but sing the ancient poem "Sad Journey" composed by his girlfriend in later generations.

This ancient poem is inherently sad, and after being set to music, it became even more desolate. Zhang Luo couldn't help but burst into tears as he sang it, and by the last line he had already roared out in venting: "Young man, don't travel far away, for many who travel far away never return!"

After singing the song, his emotions calmed down a lot. After the worship was completed, he stood aside waiting for Ding Cang and others to collect the offerings, while he was still thinking about the epitaph for his deceased mother.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried horse hooves echoed from the nearby hillside. Soon, a group of seven or eight burly knights, armed with bows and swords, came charging from the other side of the ridge. The leader shouted, "Were you the ones who were singing such a sad song just now?"

Zhang Luo was stunned when he saw this scene. Is it illegal to sing at the grave in the Tang Dynasty?
(End of this chapter)