Hua and his entourage disembarked at Gaotang and changed to a carriage sent by the Qingzhou Thorn Mansion. Cheng (present-day Lijinnan, Shandong) transferred to an offshore warship, and then sailed along the coastline of the Qingzhou Peninsula to Weihai Port. However, most of the three families are women and children, and it is okay to take a river boat, but if you take a sea boat, I am afraid that you will be dizzy, so I have to take the land route instead.

However, Beifu has overhauled roads for more than ten years, Qingzhou is no exception, there are four main roads, one is along the Yellow River to the west into Jinan County and then divided into two roads, one way continues to the west through Yanzhou until Luoyang, this is called Qingluo Trunk Road, the other road is called Qingyou Trunk Road, cross the Yellow River to the north, cross Pingyuan County to Jizhou Xindu, and finally extend north to Jixian County, which is considered two trunk roads; A southbound through Mount Tai, Lu County until Xuzhou, if Jiangzuo let repair, it is estimated that it can be repaired to Pengcheng, has been named Qingxu trunk road; One goes east straight into Donglai County, at Jimo Branch, all the way to Weihai, the largest port in Qingzhou and even the largest port in Beifu, which is called Linhai Trunk Road, and the other road to the island, called Qingdao Branch. These four trunk roads are the largest "infrastructure construction" in Qingzhou in recent years, and there are still one-third of the road sections under construction, which shows the huge amount of work. Of course, in addition to these four "national trunk roads" in Beifu, there are also separate roads between counties, which are state-level separate roads, and it is estimated that it will take more than ten years to complete them all.

Zeng Hua and his entourage sat in more than a dozen four-wheeled carriages in Gaotang, galloped all the way on the Qingyou main road, and arrived at Licheng in Jinan County in less than a day. Go to Tarzan. This road is only leveled by the roadbed, and half of the road is not compacted according to the requirements of the Ministry of Industry, so when walking near Mount Tai, the road began to be a little bumpy, and the carriage began to bounce and sway, not at all as smooth and smooth as when it first came out of the city.

Rushed to the foot of Mount Tai, knowing that Wang Meng and Pu were relieved to walk to a holy temple, it turned out that the general really did not come to Mount Tai to seal Zen, otherwise this kind of Zen would definitely be a joke in the history books.

This holy temple built on the mountainside of Mount Tai is not very large. But it's very simple and upright. The temples surrounded by three entrances and four sides are like a paradise in the quiet mountain forest. Wang Meng and the others looked up at the door plaque on the temple, and when they saw the "Yiwen Temple" on it, they couldn't help but cry out in surprise, isn't this the tomb of Mr. Fan? ”

After more than 20 years of development, the institutions of the Holy Religion can be divided into seminaries, churches and temples. A church is a place where the clergy are stationed to preach to the people, and it is also a place for religious believers to carry out religious activities; Temples are places where some clergy retire or are willing to devote themselves to doctrinal study and practice. It is generally cultivated in the deep mountains and old forests, and the scale is not large, except for a few grand festivals of the Holy Religion. In general, believers are not accepted for activities.

This Yibunji Temple is a typical sacred temple, a simple pavilion courtyard, divided into a training area and a living area, whether it is a scripture pavilion or a chapel, whether it is a dormitory or a canteen, it is a civil engineering building of primary color, and there is no decoration at all. It is in line with the simple and prudent teachings of the Holy Religion.

Valerian and He Fudiyan saw that everyone suddenly became solemn and respectful, and they didn't know what was going on, so they asked Park next to them. Wang Meng, who is cautious and strict, is relatively old-fashioned, and is not very interested in the knowledge of Valerian, He Fudiyan, etc., so the relationship with the two is average, and the two are afraid of Wang Meng's majesty, and they dare not deal with Wang Meng too much. Park, on the other hand, is a pragmatist, and he is interested in any kind of learning, as long as he is effective. In addition, he has always been relatively low-key and easy-going. Valerian, Hevodiyan and other newly attached people are also willing to have deep friendships with him.

Walking slowly in the courtyard of Ilbunji Temple, Park explained in detail in a low voice. Fan Ben was recovered by the Northern Prefecture in Qing, Hebei, and Zhou. Despite the advanced age of his seventies. Volunteered to preach to the Kanto region. He traveled everywhere and spread the teachings. Guangbu Rende soon gained a good reputation in both states. At that time, after the great war between Hebei and Qingdao, although the newly taken over Beifu took a lot of measures, it was still inevitable that the plague occurred, but the scale and harm were much smaller.

Fan Ben took a group of priests, regardless of his old age and infirmity, went deep into the epidemic area, personally treated the sick and helped people, distributed medicine and food, and survived countless people.

After the epidemic, Fan Ben took a group of people to help the people settle down, hang orphans and care for the disabled, so that the entire epidemic area slowly returned to normal. These behaviors made Fan Ben respected by the people in Hebei, Qingdao, and Yanzhou, especially Qingzhou, which stayed the longest, and both the people and scholars affectionately respected him as "Father". Fan Ben finally died of illness in the second year of Taihe, and the people of Sanzhou all howled and cried when they heard it, like mourning. According to his last wishes, Zeng Hua buried it at the foot of Mount Tai, and the people of Sanzhou who received his kindness donated a penny and gathered a sum of money to build this Yiwen Temple. More than 20 priests who had followed Fan Ben volunteered to stay here to study and guard his tomb.

After listening to the origin of Yiwen Temple, Valerian and He Fudiyan couldn't help but secretly admire, it seems that the Holy Religion can spread so quickly, it is indeed because a large number of talents have been gathered, and the people of the world are moved by the Holy Sect priests like Fan Ben, so they believe in the Holy Religion doctrine they propagated.

Walking to Fan Bendi's tomb, Zeng Hua and Fan Min put on offerings and made a big salute. After the ceremony, Zeng Hua and Fan Min retreated to the side and returned the salute to Wang Meng, Pu and others. After that, everyone walked to the pavilion next to them and rested for a while.

Looking at Fan Bendi's tomb not far away, Zeng Hua looked at it for a long time before turning back to Fan Min and saying, "I owe too much to Lord Yue. ”

Fan Min, who was pouring tea for Wang Meng and others, poured the last cup of tea, walked back to Zeng Hua's side and sat down, patted Zeng Hua's hand gently and said, "Husband, in fact, my father has no regrets, but I thank you very much in my heart." ”

"Thank me?" Zeng Hua couldn't help but be stunned, and Wang Meng, Pu and others, who were drinking tea next to him, couldn't help but be stunned, listening attentively, wondering what was going on?

"My father was taught by my grandfather from an early age. Well-informed, and since childhood, he has had a compassionate mind, and has set up the ambition of helping the world and saving people. Originally, he was implicated in mundane things in Li Shu's puppet court,

Will. Only after arriving in Beifu can he be able to help the world, and the more people he has for his father, the happier he is! Earlier, my father said in a letter to me, thank you for giving him a chance to realize his ambition. ”

To give him a chance, Zeng Hua couldn't help but think that in the third year of Yonghe, he led the army to catch up with Li Shi's defeated army, and in front of Xu Dang's steel knife, the white-haired and pale spot stepped forward and shouted loudly without fear: "The heads of the monarchs and ministers of Shu are here!" "I thought about twenty years ago. He hugged Zeng Min, who had not been born for a long time, and his trembling voice could barely say anything; Thinking of him before he went to Qingzhou, he saw him off outside Chang'an City, his white hair fluttering in the wind in the rising sun, he smiled and waved to himself, he didn't think that it was the last side, and since then, he can only see him smiling and kind in his dreams.

Thinking of this, Zeng Hua couldn't help but burst into tears, and said gloomily: "Lord Yuezhang has no desires and no desires. Seeking only virtue in the world and not asking for returns, compared with him, we are just shameless. ”

||+ Position, the Great General is doing another job.

”

Wang Meng continued: "In life, everyone has their own ambitions. Mr. Fan can do great things, of course, he has no regrets, just as Wang once set up his ambition to help the world, and General Meng will not give up. It gave me a chance and a heavy responsibility. If I were to die at this time, I would be like Mr. Fan, and I would die without regrets. ”

Speaking of this, Wang Meng turned to Pu, smiled faintly, and continued: "Actually, like me, I want to thank the general and Mr. Su Chang, Mr. Wuzi, and Mr. Wusheng. Mr. Bingtai, more than 10,000 civil and military generals in Beifu. Thousands of literati. You've given them the opportunity to achieve their ambitions, and hundreds of millions of people. Thank you too for giving them the opportunity to live a secure life. ”

After finishing speaking, Wang Meng and Pu respectfully saluted Zeng Hua.

Zeng Hua hurriedly supported the two of them, but he couldn't speak for a long time, and finally said softly: "It was the opportunity that was given to you, and then I had the opportunity." ”

Wang Meng and Pu couldn't help laughing, and Zeng Hua was also infected, and then laughed, and at the end of the laugh, Zeng Hua held the two of them tightly and said: "I am also good at what I have done, although I have not regretted it even though I have died." ”

Valerian and He Fudiyan next to him didn't know what they meant, they just looked at it in a daze.

After a night's rest, everyone prepared to descend the mountain. When everyone slowly walked out of Yiwen Temple, Zeng Hua saw that Valer had a heavy conscience, so he walked over and asked, "Mr. Valerian, what's wrong with you?" ”

It must be said that Valerian is a linguistic genius, and he actually learned Chinese in two years, although he is not proficient, but normal reading and conversation are not a problem.

"Back to the Great General, I think this temple is very similar to our Roman monastery." Valerian replied that it seemed that he had learned the way the Chinese spoke, so let's take a detour.

Christian monasteries, the earth is indeed a bit similar, but the temples of the Holy Religion are not married, and the families of these seminarians are in the town below the mountain, and they will go down the mountain regularly for a period of time.

"Roman monasteries are generally places of true learning, and there are many precious texts in them. I flipped through the hand-copied notes left by Mr. Fan last night, which really made me admire, Mr. Fan is really a knowledgeable person, he opened another window for me, I really can't imagine that people, landscapes, and the universe can be considered from this angle. Valerian sighed loudly, of course, not wanting to know who Fan Ben was.

"Through Mr. Fan's anthology, I have developed a great interest in the Holy Religion, and I want to go to Chang'an Theological Seminary to study hard after returning to Chang'an." Valerian said earnestly.

"That's good, I'll arrange it." Zeng Hua was overjoyed. He always wanted Valerian to make some additions and corrections to the Holy Religion, because he knew that Christianity had finally reached its great accomplishment, and a group of classical philosophers had successfully integrated classical philosophy and aesthetics with the teachings of the Holy Religion, and finally reached a new level. If the Holy Religion wants to spread in the West, it must integrate the ancient Greek ideological system, because that is the root of Western thought, and isn't it exactly our own pursuit to integrate the advanced and excellent ideas of the East and the West and create a new civilization system dominated by Eastern civilization? Valerian is the best candidate, he can introduce the ancient Greek culture in his belly to China in detail, and with this beginning, there will be Greek and Roman scholars to do this in the future.

Zeng Hua turned his head to He Fu Diyan and said, "May I ask what Mr. He has planned?" ”

"I am not as talented as Monsieur Valeryan. I am willing to go to the library of Chang'an University to translate books and do my best. He said fluently in Chinese that he learned Sinology faster than Valerian.

Zeng Hua nodded: "That's very good!" Beifu has gathered thousands of monks and scholars who are proficient in various languages and scripts, ready to translate all the books into Chinese characters, and then print them one by one. This is a big project, and it requires a lot of manpower and material resources. It also takes a long time. Now the work is concentrated in the libraries of Chang'an University and Yongzhou University, and He Fudiyan, who is proficient in nearly ten languages, is the suitable leader.

On the way to the end, the group passed through Ying County, because Mount Tai and the original mountain have coal and iron, so there is an iron-making yard here by the Wenshui. Zeng Hua paused here for a while to inspect the production situation here. Accompanied by the director of the Yingxian County Order and Factory, Zeng Hua inspected the blast furnace smelting field and the hydraulic forging field, and found that this factory, which is owned by the Qingzhou Sergeant Gongjin Association and Hengyuan Ji Trading Company, and is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and Iron Smelting Bureau, is far from the factories in Xianyang and Nanzheng, but it is already quite large-scale.

After looking around, I consulted the craftsmen and foremen in detail. After asking about the situation, Zeng Hua and the others felt that it was not bad, and at this time, Zeng Hua found that a bunch of people had gathered in the distance. When he asked the field manager, it turned out that the nearby villagers were transporting coal from the distant Yuanshan, Zeng Hua thought about it and walked over.

Seeing Zeng Hua and others coming over, the group of people who were resting hurriedly stood up. Zeng Hua saw a gray-haired old man standing in front of him, so he walked over.

The old man saw Zeng Hua walking straight towards him, followed by a group of people, and couldn't help but weaken his legs. Prepare to get down on your knees. Zeng Hua hurriedly stepped forward to help the old man,

Said: "Uncle, don't dare to accept your worship, otherwise I will eat the law of the Beifu, and the people salute the officials only by bending down, and they are not allowed to bow down, otherwise the officials will be punished."

When the old man heard this, he grinned and said with a toothless mouth: "At first glance, you are a big official, and I will salute you when my legs are weak." ”

Zeng Hua listened. I couldn't help laughing, and the county magistrate and field chief next to me also laughed. This kind of workshop requires the preservation of technical secrets. There are local garrisons guarding the guards. Those who can come in and deliver coal are all local villagers who know the roots and have been examined. That's why the prefectural commander and the field chief can laugh together so easily, without worrying about any spy assassins.

"Uncle, what do you call you? High birthday this year? Zeng Hua then asked.

"Back to this adult, my surname is Cheng, my name is Cheng Shancheng, others call me Cheng Laohan, I am sixty-two years old this year." The old man hurriedly replied, and it seemed that he had seen the world, and the answer was quite decent.

"Oh, sixty-two, Gao Shou, why do you still come to send coal to earn this hard-earned money? Are the children of the family not filial? Zeng Hua asked with a frown. He inquired just now that the villagers carried a basket of more than 100 catties of coking coal from the Yuanshan Coal Mine more than ten miles away, and they only earned four cents per trip.

"My lord, there is no such thing." Cheng Laohan hurriedly defended, "I have four sons and a daughter in my family, my daughter married to Fenggao early, and now she is living well, the eldest and the third were arrested and died there when Guanggu was in trouble, and now Lao Han has two sons by his side, who are very good to me." ”

It seems that the situation of Cheng Lao Handi is a bit complicated, and it is a bit complicated to explain, "The second child became a box army, and now he is stationed in Hanyang County, and last year he was promoted to the right lieutenant, sat in the tunguan, and took over his family of seven, and his two boys are also older, and they stayed to divide Yongye and tax fields, and their lives are not bad." The fourth child is farming by my side, and his life is okay. My old man doesn't have anything to worry about. ”

When it came to the key issues next, Cheng Laohan was a little embarrassed: "The second child was a soldier, followed the general to fight in the south and the north, had some savings, married a wife and two concubines, and gave birth to six children, the fourth still relied on the help of his second brother to marry a wife, but only gave birth to two children." I estimate that I will carry more coal, save more money, and marry a concubine for the fourth child, and have more children. The second child said that there are more women and fewer men in Hanyang County, and it costs less than the dowry in Qingzhou. ”

Hearing this, Zeng Huaquan understood, held the old man's hand and said, "So that's the case, uncle, you want to save more money and food, so that you can find a Silla woman for your son." Okay, that's a good thing, but you still have to focus on your body, and you have to watch the bride add a few grandchildren to you. ”

Cheng Laohan laughed all of a sudden, his eyes narrowed with laughter, and his beard also curled up one by one, "Borrow your auspicious words, my lord." I heard my father say that in peacetime, my Cheng family had six grandchildren and hundreds of men. But now there are only two rooms left, and one of them has moved south, and I heard that there are only four people left, and they only moved back to Lu County a few years ago. I am the only one who remains in my homeland, and I still have to hide in Mount Tai to leave this little blood. Now that it's too peaceful, of course I have to let my son give birth desperately and make up for the shortcomings of our old Cheng family. ”

Hearing this, Zeng Hua's eyes couldn't help but moisten a little, and he hurriedly changed the topic and asked some other questions. From Cheng Laohan's truthful answer, Zeng Hua learned that the people here are still very bitter, in the case of a mature year, in addition to taxes, there can be some food left, but in ordinary years, this situation is a little tight, you have to rely on the slack time to do some work, earn some money to supplement the family, in the famine year will be nervous, if you meet the household Cao tax collector is more cunning, get some hands and feet, a year to tighten the belly to survive.

Hearing this, Zeng Hua's heart was a little heavy, it seems that the Kanto region is still not as good as the "old base areas" of Guanlong and Yiliang, Guanlong under the painstaking governance of Zeng Hua and Wang Mengdi, most of the people have now reached the level of a small surplus, but Kanto is still just making a living.

Zeng Hua held the old man's hand and said, "Uncle, the big guy is still very bitter!" ”

Cheng Laohan raised his head and retorted: "This lord, you can't say that, since the general came, our life has been better every year, and it is much better than in previous years." Bitter? That was the bitterness of previous years! Besides, now as long as we are willing to endure some hardships, we can live a comfortable life and have a lot of hope. You can't discredit the general! ”

The villagers next to him spoke out to cater to him, which made Zeng Hua very embarrassed, apologized again and again, and said that he would no longer "smear himself".

On the way to Lin, Zeng Hua was still talking to Wang Meng, Pu Huiwei Cheng Laohan and other villagers.

"Mr. Jingluo, Mr. Su Chang, look at it, these thousands of precautions still can't prevent treacherous officials from harming the people." Zeng Hua shook his head and sighed.

"The general is too worried, there are no corrupt officials in the world? The whole set of official system formulated by the general for the northern government is already very good, and the incorruptibility and efficiency have far surpassed that of the previous dynasties, but it still can't escape, and hundreds of officials are sent to the judicial office every year. Wang Meng replied with a smile.

"General, didn't you say it before? Our bureaucracy has no way to avoid corrupt officials from slippery, because most of the officials are mortals and have selfish intentions, but the main role of the bureaucracy is to make these officials effectively punished, and then dare not commit crimes. Didn't you still give us a big example back then, it's like doing business, let the officials weigh it carefully, let them know how much it costs to commit crimes, and what the benefits are of doing their duty? If they weigh it up, they will naturally abide by the law. Park then persuaded in Zeng Hua's words.

Zeng Hua slapped his forehead and laughed: "It seems that I am too worried, and I have forgotten my original intentions and thoughts." ”

Wang Meng and Pu saw that Zeng Hua was relieved, and couldn't help laughing: "General, this is a mess if you care." However, we still need to strengthen the power of supervision, and we have to ask the general to bother more. ”

Zeng Hua smiled and nodded: "We are going to make a good total." ”

talked and laughed along the way, and soon arrived outside the city of Qingzhou Prefecture.