At the turn of spring and summer, it was the season of travel, Su Tiancheng and Qu Qingze, with more than ten people, set off from Pingyang Fucheng.

The sky is very blue, after the group left the city and entered the official road, the surrounding scenery slowly began to change, you can see the green and soft peaks in the distance, the lush woods, the verdant and lush green grass can be seen in the near distance, the wildflowers that bloom one after another, and the surrounding is a kind of natural fragrance, and the air quality is not just described as excellent.

The official road winds and stretches into the distance, the so-called official road, the width is no more than four meters, that is, it can allow horse-drawn carriages, mule carts, etc. to pass, there are not many pedestrians on the official road, from time to time you can see some people dressed as peasants, hurriedly walking in the direction of Fucheng, some people carry burdens, some people carry backpacks, and some women, with children, go in the direction of Fucheng.

Su Tiancheng couldn't help but shake his head, the difference between people is so big, girls who grew up in official eunuchs' families, or big families, pay attention to staying at home, and will never run around because of their livelihood, but women in the countryside can't pay attention to it, if they come to stay at home, they may starve to death at home.

Along the road, you can occasionally see scholars, almost all of them in horse-drawn carriages.

Distinguishing the difference between a scholar and a peasant, it is very simple, the main thing is to look at the dress, the reader is generally wearing a robe, and the demeanor is exquisite, and the midsummer is no exception, the peasants are different, they are all wearing short shirts, or placket clothes, which is convenient to do, and the businessmen who do business, in order to show their identity, also wear robes, as for the officials and gentry, they wear silk and satin, and they will never wear cloth robes.

Scholars also wear short shirts, but they are all at home, can not be seen by outsiders, sometimes, the family comes to visit, the host is in a hurry to change clothes, need to wear a robe to receive guests, this is a kind of respect for guests, the same respect for oneself.

"Brother, this time we went to Henan, there are some basic requirements along the way, you still have to be clear, you rarely go out, this time to Henan, there are more than a thousand miles, back and forth for a month, you need to pay attention to a lot of things."

"There are a lot of bandits in Henan, we can only take the official road, don't think about going to the remote countryside to see, the food and accommodation along the road, it is best to be in the county seat or above the market town."

"Brother, your heart is actually very soft, this is what I am most worried about, along the way, we may meet some homeless people, don't be soft-hearted, you can't save it."

"There is a lot of time, we don't need to rush, we set off after the hour every day, before the sun sets, find a place to stay, come out to travel, safety is the most important thing."

"If you have any suggestions, we might as well discuss it, and it is better to go out than at home."

After Qu Qingze's words box was opened, he said a lot of knowledge, Su Tiancheng rarely interjected, he listened carefully, there are many situations, he urgently needs to understand, reading the book of death is killing people, I don't know what the situation is, that is, he was admitted to the people and Jinshi, and was appointed by the imperial court to be an official in the local area, his eyes were black, how could he be a good official, if there was a bad master or a servant, a few words were flickered, I don't know the south, south, south, and northwest, the whole is a puppet.

Today's scholars also know some truths like the Tao of Lu, after passing the county examination and the government examination, and becoming a child or a student, they will take time out to go out to study, and the process of studying is actually a process of training.

It's a pity that readers always can't put down the stinky shelf, and it is impossible to go to the people's homes to understand the situation, otherwise the people always call the readers sour Xiucai. This process of learning and training often becomes a process of making relationships and finding a way out.

In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the party struggle has become a kind of chronic disease, difficult to eradicate, the Donglin Party is one of the very famous, the momentum is huge, in fact, when the Donglin Academy was just established, the starting point is very good, it is thinking about the rise and fall of the imperial court, the sound of the wind and rain, the sound of reading, the sound of the ear, the family and the country, the world affairs, everything concerned about the couplet, is the leader of the Donglin Party Gu Xiancheng put forward, the famous Donglin Eight Gentlemen, is also well-known to the outside world, but unfortunately these people, as early as the Wanli years, have been ancient, The development of the Donglin Party has long since lost its original purpose, and it has been dedicated to the pursuit of power, and even done some reluctance to grasp power.

But the clear stream flaunted by the Donglin Party is still the goal pursued by students.

In all dynasties, party strife has always existed, there was once a sentence, there is no party in the party, imperial thought, no faction in the party, all kinds of strange. The existence of party struggle requires a premise, that is, when the country and the nation are facing life and death, they must abandon party struggle, but in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, such thinking no longer exists, everything is for their own interests, and the rise and fall and survival of the imperial court are no longer the main problem.

Because of the existence of party disputes, the travels of scholars have become a very practical choice, it doesn't matter if you don't understand the people's suffering, and it is not a big deal if you don't know the people's livelihood, but you must rely on some kind of force, otherwise there will be no future.

During the period of the Apocalypse and Chongzhen, the backbone of the scholar became particularly important, but unfortunately this backbone has become a manifestation of hypocrisy, a manifestation of the value of oneself in order to flaunt one's own value, for the sake of backbone, you can ignore the life and death of the people, for the sake of backbone, you can ignore the lives of others, for the sake of backbone, you can give up the interests of the country and the nation.

And this kind of backbone that brought disaster to the country and the people was also flaunted by the Donglin Party and became one of the biggest chronic diseases in the late Ming Dynasty.

During this trip, Su Tiancheng's mood was still very good, and the specific route had already been determined.

Starting from Pingyang Mansion, respectively to Quwo, Xia County, Pinglu, from Shanxi Pinglu into Henan, to Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng in Henan, the whole journey has more than 1,000 miles, back and forth is more than 2,000 miles, all the way is the official road.

The main purpose of Su Tiancheng's travel is to see the surrounding situation, the travel in this era is all horseback, or horse-drawn carriage, and then walking, there are no cars, trains and planes. Everyone rode Mongolian horses, and they could ride more than 100 miles a day, and according to this arrangement, a month was more than enough.

Leaving Pingyang Fucheng, everyone hurried away.

"Brother, we can reach Quwo today, and we will rest in Quwo."

"Everything is under the arrangement of the eldest brother."

"The purpose of this trip is to travel, along the way, there are not so many exquisite, follow the customs, in terms of staying in the hotel, we may not be able to live in a good guest room, I don't know if the brothers are used to it."

"This time I came out, mainly to learn and experience with my eldest brother, not to enjoy it, three meals a day and accommodation, not so much exquisite, but I was wronged by my eldest brother, and I didn't want to go."

"Brother, you are really interesting, you are so good at talking, I go out a lot, I haven't experienced anything, you are a scholar, this first time you go out in many ways to get used to."

"Hehe, I always have to go through this, and I have absolutely no problem."

When the group entered Quwo, it was already dark.

Although it was late, after entering the city gate, everyone's mood was still very good, Su Ertong and Su Jun had never been far away, and they were very surprised to see everything, as for Wang Dazhi, although he had been in the temple for many years, he had no experience of traveling.

To say that Wang Dazhi is the most nervous, he followed Su Tiancheng's left and right closely along the way, not leaving an inch, before leaving, Wang Furong's instructions, he remembered it clearly, in fact, Wang Furong did not say, he also had to be extra careful, the young master's safety is not trivial, it has been closely linked with his family, although it has only been a few months, but he has been respected by everyone in the village, and his mother has a status in the village, plus he is not worried about life, and his body is gradually getting better. And my sister is the young master's personal maid, and the relationship with the young master is already unusual.

Qu Qingze accidentally gave Wang Dazhi a steel knife, this thing, Wang Dazhi is familiar, when he was in the temple, he practiced it, he went out bare-handed, he was always a little worried, with this steel knife, he was a lot more practical. Besides, several people who followed Qu Qingze had studied with Wang Dazhi, although they fought alone and were not Wang Dazhi's opponents, but their temperament was revealed, and they must be practicing their families.

When the Su Mansion was training the guards, these people put forward some plans, the focus was on collective training, all the training methods were close to the requirements of the army, Wang Dazhi was also studying hard, he felt that these people had the intention of teaching each other, without the slightest reservation, in just over a month, the appearance of the nursing home has changed greatly.

Everything is because of the young master, in his heart, the young master's status is supreme.

Wang Dazhi is this kind of person, once he clarifies his thoughts, he is dead-eyed, the young master is not only his master, but also his family, if the young master has an accident, his task is to take revenge and follow the young master.

At the turn of spring and summer, although it is the season of travel, it is also the season of farming, the first day, because of the hurry, Su Tiancheng did not pay special attention to the surrounding situation, plus he walked on the official road, and there were not many situations that could be noticed.

Pingyang Fucheng is one hundred and ten miles away from Quwo, set off early in the morning, when it is dark, rush to Quwo, except for the rest and meal time along the way, basically on horseback.

But after a day, Su Tiancheng's mood became not very good, and some of the situations he saw slowly confirmed his inner guess, which was enough to prove that Da Ming was already in the middle of the storm.