Out of Qingxia, you came to the real south of the Tang Empire. The fields are criss-crossed, flowers and trees are gradually multiplying, and the streams and rivers are advecting, quietly going south, until they finally merge into the famous Daze.

Because of the mountains and Qingxia in the north, even though the Southern Jin Dynasty had a strong army and the sailors were famous all over the world, the Tang Dynasty did not deploy heavy troops on the southern plains.

So this equally rich wilderness, less magnificent than the north, more bright and elegant atmosphere, the same is true for the houses on both sides of the road, most of them are white walls and black eaves, high and low, looming between the green trees and waterwheels, it does not look monotonous, but different quiet and beautiful.

The black carriage continued to the south, the scenery along the way became quieter and quieter, there were more and more streams and rivers, Qingchi stone bridges were common, the farmland became relatively less, but the secluded manor was much more.

It turned out that he had already arrived in Qinghe County.

There is a big city in Qinghe County, known as the first city in the southern plains of the Tang Dynasty, called Yangguan, although the terrain of this pond city is not dangerous, but in the extremely critical traffic artery, so although the imperial court did not have a heavy army here, the city defense of Yangguan City is directly under the jurisdiction of a certain department of the general Xu Shi of the Zhenguo.

Today's Yangguan City guard surnamed Zhong, the first surname in the city is also Zhong, basically controlling all walks of life in this city, and the surname Zhong is just the most inconspicuous gate valve among the major surnames in Qinghe County

These high-ranking lords in the south of the Tang Dynasty have thousands of hectares of fertile land and countless wealth, but what can really make these gate valves last for a long time is the importance of education.

These gate valves pay the most attention to the inheritance of education, more than a thousand years of heritage, I don't know how many celebrities. Not to mention the officials of the Tang Dynasty, not to mention the successive queens many years ago, and even there have been several Xiling great priests, and now there are many Qinghe disciples who serve as priests in the Xiling Temple, or are hired as teachers by the Heavenly Oracle.

The officials at all levels of Qinghe County are basically served by the children of the gate valve, but the strict Tang law has been secretly suppressed by the royal family for hundreds of years, and now the big surnames of Qinghe County are relatively low-key, and they serve in their hometowns, and they always want to compete with Chang'an City for some face, so the entire Qinghe County can be said to be political, clear, well-governed, very prosperous and lively, plus the unique literati atmosphere, as well as the shallow and comfortable, religious atmosphere that can be accepted by the Tang people, so it has always been the top three places to visit in the hearts of the Tang people.

There are many shops in Yangguan City, visitors are weaving, there are one hundred and thirty-two large and small lakes, so it is also called the city of hundred lakes, the most famous of them is the thin lake in the south of the city, although the lake is not big, but the place is close to the government and the government is more important is that there are the best green buildings and inns in the south by the lake, and there are the most gorgeous flower boats on the lake.

The delegation to the Lanke Temple, resting in Yangguan City for a few days, is to live in a relatively quiet mansion east of the Slender Lake, that mansion belongs to the Song family in the seven surnames of Qinghe County, a month ago heard that the mission is coming to the Song family did not hesitate to let out, it can be said that the mission has given enough face.

About four blocks from Slender Lake, there is a Datang Post Office, and a black carriage is parked outside the post office.

Ning Que looked at the cityscape through the car window, looked at the scholars on the street, and couldn't help but smile and remembered the former classmate in the academy: Yangguan Zhong Dajun.

The Zhong Dajun who was vigorously cultivated by the surname Yangguan Zhong, the Zhong Dajun who was extremely hostile to him, the Zhong Dajun who was slapped in the face countless times by him, the Zhong Dajun who was impersonated by him, the Zhong Dajun who was once imprisoned by him for a long time, the Zhong Dajun who didn't think about it for a long time.

"It's all the same. ”

Ning Que thought back to his days in the academy, and couldn't help but feel as if he was in a different world, now that he and Zhong Dajun were already people from two worlds, they were naturally qualified to feel like this.

Because of Zhong Dajun, who he hated, he naturally didn't have a good impression of the Zhong clan who controlled Yangguan, and he didn't have a good impression of this Yangguan City, although he couldn't find the slightest fault with this city by riding in a carriage, but he was a little stubborn that compared with Chang'an City, there was always something missing, and as for what was missing, he didn't bother to think about it.

At this moment, Sangsang walked the carriage.

Ning Que asked, "The silver was sent?"

Sangsang nodded.

Ning Que said: "Confirm that you used the imperial court documents to send it?"

Sang Sang said: "If you can save five taels of silver, of course you won't forget it." ”

Ning Que said with satisfaction: "That's good." ”

Since leaving Weicheng, to be more precise, since the opening of Lao Bizhai and then began to earn a lot of silver, the two of them would send some silver taels to Weicheng on time every month. Although the amount is not much, it always means something, and according to Ning Que's words, it is useless to ask for silver in that broken place, and no matter how much you send it, it will eventually fall into the two places of gambling house and wine shop, so why bother to die in those two families

The purchase, decoration and rebuilding of the house by Yanming Lake basically spent all of Ning Que's money, and even the dividends of the gambling house next year were also spent, but this time he went to the Rotten Ke Temple should be regarded as a tolerance, so he unceremoniously pretended to pass on the words of his master, and defrauded Professor Huang He in the front yard of three thousand taels of silver, and coerced and lured one thousand taels from Xu Chongshan, and his pocket was as full as yesterday.

He and Sang Sang are still accustomed to frugality, but since they are rich people, they naturally begin to care about enjoyment, although the carriage left by Master Yan Se is good, but it is a bit shocking to live in a carriage in Yangguan City, so he picked a highest-looking inn next to Slender Lake, and then asked for the best room.

Handed over the big black horse to the innkeeper, he instructed the guy not to feed this simple bean bag and other dry food, the guy was shocked and speechless, thinking that it was really a high roller, and the delicate horse he raised couldn't even eat the bean bag.

Ning Que was not afraid that the big black horse would have a bad stomach, but that he was afraid that it would lose its temper because of the bad food. You must know that this fool is now accustomed to eating fresh melons and fruits plus big supplements such as yellow essence and mountain ginseng, where can I see any bean buns, and as for the forage, I won't look at it.

Originally, this fool was a foodie in his bones, but this year he was brought into the ditch by the old scalper, and began to pay attention to diet like a master, and pursued the law of food as the sky.

After a brief wash in the room, Ning Que took Sang Sang to the vestibule of the inn, asked for a private room on the second floor, looked at the thin lake by the railing, and unsurprisingly called the most expensive seat.

The southern diet really has a unique flavor, and the greasy things such as smoked duck sauce and meat can also make a light feeling, and the green buds next to the plate have an elegant meaning, while the light things such as tofu and vegetables are smudged with thick sauce, and with a few pots of fruit wine, it is really very pleasing to the eye.

Ning Que and Sang Sang were eating happily, and suddenly heard some noisy voices faintly coming from the lakeside downstairs, and someone was talking about a certain thing that happened today, and their tone was quite annoyed and dissatisfied.

Ning Que listened quietly for a while, asked the little guy to call the shopkeeper, threw a silver ingot over very luxuriously, and inquired about what he wanted to inquire about.

"Mrs. Cui's 100-year-old birthday, what a big event, that is, the emperor also wrote a congratulatory message by hand, and asked the Lord of the Ministry of Rites to bring him a birthday, and the Xiling Temple also sent someone, that is, Xian Zhilang, the general of Zhenxi, that is my Tang Dynasty general...... Such a person, after entering the Yang Pass, did not rest, and rushed to Fuchun Jiangcheng Garden to visit the old lady, what do you say about the red sleeves, you dare to be so rude. ”

The shopkeeper said, and it was obvious that he was really unhappy.

Only then did Ning Que know that the day after tomorrow was the 100th birthday of the old lady Cui Valve of Qinghe County, probably because the surname Cui thought that it would be difficult for him to go to Chang'an City with red sleeves, so he invited him to sing and dance at the birthday banquet, but it seemed that there were some problems in the middle.

The surnames of Qinghe County, stretching for thousands of years, even longer than the Tang Dynasty, have always been highly respected by the world, except for the surname Zhong, the rest of the surnames do not live in Yangguan City, but live in the manor on the bank of the Fuchun River, the famous gardens on both sides of the Fuchun River are everywhere, silently proving the heritage and power of these gate valves.

It is recognized by the world that the surnames of Qinghe County are headed by the Cui family of Ruyang.

Cui's originated in Ruyang Prefecture.

Thousands of years ago, at the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, it was the Cui clan who resolutely fell to Chang'an City despite the opposition of other gate lords and agreed to the merger of Qinghe County into the Tang Realm - although it was more due to the terrifying pressure of Emperor Taizu of the Tang Dynasty, but Cui's insistence was proved to be extremely wise afterwards - the surnames of Qinghe County not only survived, but also won the favor of Emperor Taizu and won a lot of convenience, while the rest of the so-called thousands of families who dared to ignore Emperor Taizu finally ended up with a broken family and a broken inheritance.

In the subsequent history, the Cui family contributed a total of five queens to the Tang Dynasty, in other words, the emperor in the palace of Chang'an City must also have the blood of the surname Cui, in addition, what is even more awe-inspiring is that the Cui family also contributed two great priests to the Xiling Temple.

Today's Cui's gate valve is still strong and unattainable, and the old lady Cui, who is about to spend his 100 years, once served as a prime minister. Under the deliberate suppression of the royal family and the civil and military courtiers, the officials from the surnames of Qinghe County were able to become the first person in the civil courtiers, which was the first time in nearly three hundred years.

Many years ago, Mrs. Cui returned to the prime minister's position, and then his second son was a servant of the ministry, and now he has resigned, and he travels leisurely all day long in the manor of Fuchunjiang, and he is already the third generation of Cui's eldest grandson who remains in the court of Chang'an City, and has also achieved the position of Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

The 100-year-old birthday of such a person can naturally afford to congratulate His Majesty in person, and he can afford to come in person from the Ministry of Rites, and even many officials in the court are speculating that if it is not for the implementation of the national policy set by the succession, perhaps His Majesty's reward should be heavier.

Now what the red sleeves may anger is such a super gate valve. (To be continued)