Chapter 8 2.Monarch meeting

On the way back, Jin Zhijun gradually calmed down.Walking and walking, I arrived at Zhushikou before I knew it.Although the current situation is turbulent and catastrophe is approaching, the imperial capital is still the same as before, especially in the Qipan Street area of ​​Qianmen, the shop business is very prosperous, and people come and go, shoulder to shoulder, as if nothing happened.Seeing the Hufang Bridge, the two were about to break up. At this moment, they heard a melodious piano sound from the nearby Sanyixuan Teahouse, accompanied by Wu Nong's soft words: The West Lake is full of smoke and water, a hundred hectares of wind pools, and ten miles of lotus fragrance.It should be rainy and sunny, and Xishi should wear heavy makeup lightly.The tail and the tail are connected to each other, and the sound of joy is full of joy every day.The bees are crazy and the butterflies are waves, and the age is healthy.It is true that there is heaven above, and Suzhou and Hangzhou below.

Jin Zhijun was from Wujiang, he listened carefully to the local accent, shook his head and said, "What a year old Ren Shikang, I really don't know about the Han, let alone the Wei and Jin Dynasties." Just about to pull Zeng Yinglin away quickly, he didn't want a person to walk out of the teahouse, bowed his hands to Jin Zhijun and said: "Lord Jin, it's been a long time." Jin Zhijun was startled, and blurted out: "Dragon, dragon—" Seeing that Jin Zhijun couldn't call out his name, the man laughed and said, "Long Zhixiang." Jin Zhijun slapped his head, cupped his hands apologetically and said, "Oh, Mr. Long, it's been a long time since we left for several years."

As he spoke, he grabbed Long Zhixiang's hand excitedly, not knowing what to say for a moment. Long Zhixiang was still calm, he held Jin Zhijun with one arm, then turned his head to greet Zeng Yinglin, and said: "I am drinking tea and listening to music with my sister-in-law, while looking at the passers-by outside the window, I don't want to see the two adults from a distance. Come this way, Nat goes downstairs and waits, it's really a good relationship, let's go in and sit down." As he spoke, he led the way ahead and led Jin Zhijun and Zeng Yinglin to the second floor.The street side of the second floor is full of elegant seats, and each room is separated by wooden screens.Long Zhixiang let the two of them into the inner room, and as soon as he stepped in, one of them immediately stood up and greeted Jin Zhijun:

"Master Jin, do you still recognize me?" The moment he went upstairs, Jin Zhijun had already recalled all the past, and said hurriedly: "Mr. Er, your and my name are homophonic, Long Zhijun, how could you forget? Over the years, every time I think about the past, Zhuo Jing is still talking about it." As he spoke, he told that after returning to Beijing, he had searched for their brother's residence several times, and it was God's will to meet them this time, and he must invite them to the humble house to talk about it.The feeling of fist and fist is beyond words, and Long Zhixiang just laughed it off.

The three of them agreed with each other, leaving Zeng Yinglin aside for the time being.Taking this opportunity, Zeng Yinglin looked at the Long brothers carefully, and couldn't help but be surprised—the two are around thirty years old, both of them are handsome, and they are also very gorgeously dressed.The person who greeted him first was very tall and thin, with a clear face, fair skin, three beards, red phoenix eyes, piercing eyes, and an extraordinary and refined temperament in his gestures; He is different from the popular customs, but he belongs to another kind of person. He is slightly shorter, slightly fatter, and has darker skin, but his voice is like a bell, his eyes are like lightning, and his movements are powerful.Zeng Yinglin thought, these two people don't look like people from the Central Plains, how could Jin Zhijun recognize them?

Just as he was surprised, Jin Zhijun had already introduced his friend to Long Zhixiang.When Long Zhixiang heard about it, he clasped his fists to Zeng Yinglin and said: "Oh, I'm reading Master Zeng's wonderful essay with my brother-in-law." As he said that, he picked up a mansion newspaper at hand and praised it to Zeng Yinglin, saying: "Master Zeng pointed out Chen's evils. He not only has a clear understanding of the fire, but also has a sharp writing style. My brother admires it." Zeng Yinglin knew that it was a copy of the palace gate, and there was an article on it to persuade him to donate. At first, he had no intention of sitting in a teahouse, but now he couldn't help being interested.

Long Zhixiang let the two of them sit on the east side. At this time, the tea doctor came up to sing promises, and Long Zhixiang said: "Master Jin is from Wujiang, so you can go to Biluochun. Master Zeng, please order yourself." Zeng Yinglin is from Zibo, Shandong, and he has never been very particular about the tea ceremony, so he said, "Just whatever you want." Long Zhixiang ordered a few more snacks, and Dr. Cha agreed to go on.At this time, the little girl singing and the old man playing the violin were still there numbly, Long Zhijun took out a piece of broken silver from his bosom and threw it to the violin player, then waved his hand and sent them away. People then speak quietly.

"Listening to Wu Nu singing Beiqu, Mr. Long is very elegant." Jin Zhijun started first, but the topic started from the little song he sang just now, and then said, "The author of this song seems to be a Jurchen?" Long Zhixiang nodded repeatedly and said: "That's right, the author of this song, Ao Dun Zhou Qing, is a Jin man. His father became the Marshal of Dexing Mansion after he was demoted to the Yuan Dynasty, and he was also an official to serve as Yushi. He is not well-known among the Han people. But in the eyes of the Jurchens, she is very famous." When mentioning the Jurchens, Jin Zhijun couldn't help saying: "The Jurchens really can't be underestimated. These years, they have invaded the mainland several times in a row. All the way to the east of the Kanto, there are many beacon fires. I am afraid that the business of the two of you will become more and more difficult."

Long Zhixiang hadn't spoken yet, but Long Zhijun smiled and said: "Although the east road has been alerted year after year, the west side may not be there. These days, let alone businessmen, even those who are officials and eunuchs like Mr. Jin, the days are afraid. Not much better." With that said, all four shook their heads and sighed. Long Zhijun glanced at Zeng Yinglin and said: "The braided soldiers of the Qing Dynasty retreated at the beginning of the year, and the bandits came again at the end of the year. This Emperor Ming's country really complied with the saying that "raise up the east and bring down the west." However, there is no sound, fortunately, there is still a pillar like Mr. Zeng who is working hard to offer advice and suggestions for the emperor."

Zeng Yinglin didn't know the details of the two of them, so he had no choice but to reluctantly respond: "Where is it, Zeng is just doing his best to obey the destiny." Long Zhixiang put down the teacup, and said in a rather sincere tone: "I really don't know that the great Ming Dynasty has three hundred years of great achievements and deep roots. Why can't we do nothing to this group of rogues?" Jin Zhijun was full of complaints at this time, and had nowhere to vent.In the past, the capital is densely populated, and restaurants and teahouses are places where fanciers are active. From officials and relatives to ordinary people, no one dares to comment on the government, but now it is different. The so-called mountain rain All the officials are like ants in a pot, even Jinyiwei and Dongchang have restrained themselves, they are all waiting and watching, thinking about their own future, who else wants to take care of this shit?But despite this, Jin Zhijun still looked around. There are not many private seats on the second floor. Outside, there are scattered people playing chess, playing birds, fighting crickets, as well as discussing business and pimping. I didn't care about them, so I sighed in relief and said:

"How should I put it, Mr. Long, the current situation is even worse than when we met five years ago." As he said that, he revealed a little bit of news about the west side. Hearing that the rogues were about to cross the Yellow River and the court had no soldiers to send, the Long brothers couldn't help showing a look of surprise, Long Zhijun opened his eyes and said, "Unexpectedly, in just three or two years, the rogues have already developed a big climate." Long Zhixiang said: "There is another saying that the officers and soldiers can't beat the Manchurians. The Manchurians are too powerful, but the rogues are a mob with no ambitions. They just run around, murder, set fire and rob things. , should fall apart easily." Jin Zhijun forced a smile and said: "How should I put it, you and I are not the parties involved, and we don't know the difficulty if it has happened." Long Zhijun said in a low voice: "Aren't the officials afraid of the rogue's phrase 'the King Chuang is here, but he won't pay the food'?" Jin Zhijun looked around in surprise, patted the table lightly and said: "Isn't it? Just this sentence alone can be worth millions of armored soldiers-the hungry people in Yu Province are going to it." Long Zhixiang smiled, and blurted out: "Zhang San has a horse and can't ride it, Li Si can ride without a horse-if it were me, the situation would never have gotten to this point." This tone really has the air of governing a big country like cooking a small fish. Jin Zhijun couldn't help being startled. He didn't hear the secret hidden in Long Zhixiang's words, but thought it was a bit rash, so he couldn't help warning: "Governing the country is not as difficult as doing business. It is difficult and prudent, and it is beyond the imagination of onlookers. Therefore, some people say that the world is like a chess game, and the master is the one who can't play. This is really a famous saying. I don't know if Mr. Da thinks so?" But Long Zhixiang tapped the table with his knuckles, and said confidently: "Otherwise, running the country and doing business, seeking success and profit, although the matter is serious, the reason is the same, because you are dealing with the common people, if you want to talk about the mystery, It’s nothing more than honesty, don’t think that the people are easy to deceive, you must know that they are the real heaven, if the heart of heaven is in order, the world will be peaceful, if the heart of heaven is not in order, will the world not be in chaos?” Long Zhijun also said: "That's right, using the wealth of the world to govern the affairs of the world, why not relax a bit and benefit the people?" Yes, the dignified Ming Dynasty, the Lord Gungun, who knows that the will of God is the will of the people, since the affairs of the world are governed by the wealth of the world, why can't they be more lenient to the people?But when it comes to this point, as a courtier, Jin Zhijun has to be scruples when facing an outsider-if he continues, he will commit a crime.But the depression in his chest is hard to calm down. You must know that in the Ming Dynasty, the fertile land is the royal family, it is annexed by the powerful, and the country's taxes are lost.When Zhang Juzheng was the chief assistant, he conducted a nationwide land survey and discovered 3 million hectares of land that had concealed tax evasion. During the rectification, the national treasury was full day by day. Unexpectedly, Zhang Juzheng died, and all the old diseases relapsed.In addition to the main class, in the last year of Wanli, Liao's salary was levied, 2% of silver per mu, and soon increased to 9%; As high as more than 20 million taels, more than five times more than the main class.In addition, tariffs, salt taxes, and miscellaneous taxes were levied, which amounted to several million taels a year.All these have to be spread on the heads of the poor, but the rich "have no income, no corvee, no food in the fields, and no taxes in the village." "No matter how peaceful and disciplined the common people are, you have forced them to have no way out and no hope, so what if they don't?Thinking of these, especially what he said to Zeng Yinglin just now, Jin Zhijun could only sigh and say: "Oh, it's about Huang Ming's holiness, so let's not talk about it." But the Long brothers didn't have so many worries. Long Zhijun smiled slightly and said: "The imperial court can't be vigilant, can't relax, but intensifies the bullying. Isn't this driving the birds for the bushes and the fish for the deep? Or, to put it another way? A country handed over to someone?" Long Zhixiang also smiled, and said with confidence: "According to my humble opinion, sooner or later the country of Daming will be given away to someone else. If it is not sent to the bandits, it will be given to the Manchurians. Mr. Jin, if it is really a Manchurian Come to sit in the mountains and rivers, is it because they are barbarians that their reputation is unfair?" Jin Zhijun was angry at this time, and he didn't care about his strength, and said: "At this time, no one can say for sure. If it is true that the Jurchens will be revived, there will be no examples in front of them. The emperor did well, and there are many ready-made examples. What is going well? Didn’t Master Mencius say it a long time ago? Shun, a man from the Eastern Barbarians; King Wen, a man from the Western Barbarians. In China, if they are in accord with the festival. Since Mencius said they are in accord with the festival, the Jurchens are also in accord with the festival." Hearing what Jin Zhijun said, the Long brothers couldn't help laughing happily.Long Zhixiang smiled and said: "Of course, the Manchus may not have such great ambitions. As far as I know, they have always wanted to make peace with the imperial court, just because the imperial court refused to give in." Jin Zhijun was still sipping tea, before he could speak, Zeng Yinglin said, "It's not that the emperor doesn't want to negotiate peace with Guanwai, it's just that it's difficult to make peace, so I can't make up my mind." Long Zhijun said: "What's so difficult about this? To put it bluntly, it's nothing more than the emperor's refusal to let go of his arrogance. In the beginning, the old foolish king of the Qing Dynasty defeated Ming with the seven major hatreds. It wasn't a big deal. He killed the second man of Manchuria. Zu Na is just a misunderstanding. As for what helped the world to hate Ye He; caused the old women of the Qing Dynasty to remarry; Isn't it all right, but you can't beat people again and again, but you have to put on face, you shouldn't call yourself the emperor in the national book, you want to treat the Jurchen as a barbarian, you can't treat the court with the court, and the emperor with the emperor, but let the magistrates fight with each other People talk about it, what can be the result of this talk?" Nurhachi used the Seven Great Hatreds to attack the Ming Dynasty, but ordinary officials don't know which seven hates they are; even the disputes about titles in the national documents are not known to ordinary people in detail. Leisurely speaking, Zeng Yinglin couldn't help being taken aback, and further strengthened his opinion. He didn't know what the relationship between Jin Zhijun and the Long brothers was. Make a wink, indicating that you can't stay here for a long time.After chatting for a long time, although Jin Zhijun stood up with an excuse, he held Long Zhijun's hand and said: "You two, you don't have to refuse this time, please go to the humble house to talk about it." However, Long Zhijun was very excited about talking, and he held Jin Zhijun and refused to let go.Long Zhixiang on one side had already seen Zeng Yinglin's uneasiness, so he winked at his younger brother, cupped his hands repeatedly and said: "My younger brother is young and speaks freely. Please, my lords, Haihan, come to pay homage to the mansion when you are free some other day." Although Jin Zhijun invited him warmly, they had no choice but to refuse. The two sides were polite for a long time, but the Long brothers still said that they would visit the mansion another day. "Brother Qi Fan, why do you have such a friend?" After leaving the teahouse, Zeng Yinglin couldn't help asking suspiciously, "This Brother Long doesn't look like a businessman." "I have always thought so." Jin Zhijun nodded and said, "But who are they not businessmen? You know, they don't have to tell lies in front of me." As he said that, he talked about how he met the Long brothers. It was in the spring four years ago. In the autumn of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Jin Zhijun, who was the director of the Imperial Academy at the time, got the news that his father was seriously ill, so he hurriedly asked for leave to take his wife and children back to the south.The year before, all the rogue bandits were suppressed by Hong Chengchou, and only Li Zicheng led dozens of remnant bandits to lurk in Shangluo Mountain. They disappeared for a while, and the court finally breathed a sigh of relief.I don’t want to think that at this moment, the Houjin soldiers invaded again——Huang Taiji ordered Dorgon and Laita to lead their troops from Qiangziling and Qingshan Pass to Jinei respectively, and invaded south along Zhuozhou and Shuntaihang Mountains. He entered Shandong along the canal, captured Jinan, captured King De, occupied more than 50 cities successively, and plundered countless children and treasures, and did not withdraw to Shengjing until the spring of the following year.After this trouble, there is almost no pure land along the way in the Central Plains.Jin Zhijun and his party encountered difficulties when they arrived in Tongzhou. According to the plan, he planned to go south along the canal in Tongzhou, but at this moment, he got the news that tens of thousands of Jin soldiers were holding the captured spoils , along the canal to the north, along the Qingxian and Cangzhou lines, the beacon towers into the sky, except for the fleeing crowd, they are the teachers of the kings from all walks of life. Who would dare to pass through the battlefield by ordinary business travelers?So, he had to temporarily change the road and take the dry road, leaving Liangxiang, Fangshan and passing through Zhuozhou to reach Zhending. After walking for less than three hundred miles, he encountered bandits. His life was lost. That day, a group of them: he, his wife, their twelve-year-old son, eight-year-old daughter, and a servant named Ge Lu hired a cart in Xiguan, Tongzhou. Riding a rough horse each, they left Zhuozhou and went straight to Dingxing, hoping to get there before dark. Normally, this area will not be messed up wherever it goes, because it is still within the scope of Shuntian Prefecture, an important place in the capital, and strict precautions are taken.But right now, there are signs of soldiers everywhere, and in some places, those who fled have not yet returned, and there are no people living for more than ten miles.In order to meet his father, Jin Zhijun didn't care about the danger.First, at the Liansheng store in Nanguan, Zhuozhou. The owner is from Beijing. He is very kind. When he saw their family, old and young, he tried his best to persuade him to stay and leave together when there is a large business group, but the owner of the car thought it was all right. , unwilling to wait.So, they left Zhuozhou early in the morning. After walking for more than thirty miles, I came to a crossroads.Because I was a little hungry, I had to stop and tip.This place is at the foot of Taihang Mountain, where the Juma River and Yishui River meet. There are many mountains and narrow roads, and it is very steep.Go forward to Dingxing and Baoding; turn right to Laishui and Yizhou, and turn left to Xincheng and Bazhou.They are all main roads. In the past, this area was very prosperous, especially at this intersection. There used to be an inn under a big tree, with rows of tables and chairs under the tree for passers-by to rest.But all of these disappeared because of the soldiers passing by. Right now there are only three empty houses, but there is no sign of people. They were sighing while eating dry food, at this moment, they heard a sound of horseshoes, very fast.They were startled, and got up quickly, only to see four horses galloping towards the place where the dust started. The two leaders were only about twenty-four or five years old. The darker one also carried a slingshot on his back, followed by two companions, also carrying swords, looking a bit unembarrassed.When they saw Jin Zhijun and the others, the thin one among them reined in the horse's head, and immediately cupped his hands to Jin Zhijun and said: "Guest officer, may I ask whether the avenue to Baoding Mansion should go straight ahead or turn right." Jin Zhijun thought to himself: It seems that they are in the same direction as himself. There are four of them in a group, young and strong, if they are willing to accompany us, they will also take care of each other.Thinking of this, he was about to reply, but the driver who didn't want to be on the side spoke first: "Baoding Mansion is in the southwest, after passing the hill in front, turn right." Jin Zhijun thought to himself, to go to Baoding, we should go straight along the main road, and turn right to go to Yi County.When he was about to correct him, he caught a glimpse of the coachman winking at him. He didn't understand it for a while, but he still had to distinguish, but the coachman said, I know this area very well, believe me.Seeing what he said, this group of people didn't doubt it, and actually went forward. When they turned around, the coachman sneered and said without waiting for him to ask: "My lord, this group of people is a little out of character." Jin Zhijun said: "Why do you say they are not authentic?" The coachman said: "They speak the accent of the capital. If they are from Beijing, do they still have to ask for directions to Baoding Mansion? Go out of the city from the front gate and go straight to the south. House to house, three hundred and five. Even a three-year-old child knows this." Jin Zhijun said: "That's not necessarily the case. Judging by the clothes, this is a group of rich children, and they ride on the same horses. Maybe they haven't traveled far." The coachman said: "That's exactly what I said. Right now the army is in turmoil, and they won't go out unless there is something urgent. Then, as they are, they should have a guide and servants. Why don't they just bump into each other?" When Jin Zhijun heard it, he felt reasonable, and thought, the coachman is really an old man, and people from all corners of the country can get along, so if you can see people well, then, who is this group of people? The coachman said: "They are afraid that the way they ask is false, and what we see is true. You may not have noticed that when this man asked you a question, that black fat man turned his eyes to our car? " At this time, the servant Ge Lu also said at the same time: "Yes, that man seems to have a pair of evil eyes." Hearing this, Jin Zhijun couldn't help but feel numbness in his back, thinking, his whole family is here, if something goes wrong, wouldn't it be a disaster for the whole family?Thinking of this, his face changed color.At this time, Mrs. Zhang heard it too, and couldn't help complaining that when he was in Zhuozhou, he shouldn't have listened to the shopkeeper's advice, but was in a hurry to hurry. Seeing this situation, the coachman said again: "Don't panic, I have my own way." As he said that, he hurried on the road, saying that if he didn't leave, he was afraid that this group of people would turn back. Jin Zhijun didn't advance or retreat, he was a bit confused, and seeing the coachman said there was a way, he had to let him.The group walked southward for about two miles. The coachman stopped taking the main road, but turned left and turned the car onto a small road. When Jin Zhijun saw the precipitous path, with rocky hills rising on both sides and thick trees, he hurriedly said, "Why don't you take the main road and the small road?" The coachman said: "My lord, if those people are really coming towards us, then they must turn around and catch up from behind now. We should take the path instead, so we can avoid them?" The servant Ge Lu also said that he was reasonable, but Jin Zhijun couldn't object anymore, he rode his horse and followed the car, walking slowly, but he felt uneasy like a deer in his heart.After walking for about five miles, I came to a dry river beach. I saw a big mountain on my back, and a vast expanse of whiteness in front of me. There were reeds as tall as a person, blooming flowers, and a small road in the middle, which went straight into the wormwood. Jin Zhijun Seeing this situation at once, he couldn't help but rein in the horse's head and said: "Why is it getting worse and worse, Ge Lu, go ahead and find out." This Ge Luping usually brags in front of him, saying that he has kung fu, but now he doesn't know whether it is timidity or fear of difficulties.He just patted his chest and said, "It's all right, it's the main road after this river beach." Seeing that Lu Ge didn't obey, Jin Zhijun couldn't help getting angry, and was about to scold people, when he heard a whistle from Wei Hao, and then five or six men with their heads wrapped in black cloth came out, one by one holding knives and forks, and rushed straight at them. Come. Seeing this situation, Ge Lu yelled "Not good!" He turned his horse's head and ran away. But this group of people was faster than him. A black man running in front raised his hand, and with a "sudden" sound of the harpoon in his hand, he flew straight forward. Ge Lu only screamed, and his body was like a wooden stake. , with the harpoon on his back, fell off his horse and fell to the ground. Poor Jin Zhijun, a scholar, not only has no strength to restrain a chicken, but also is unarmed. Seeing this situation, he can only urge the driver repeatedly: "Go quickly, hit the horse and go." Unexpectedly, the coachman burst out laughing. After laughing, he pulled out a short knife from under the carriage, pointed at Jin Zhijun and said, "Go, where are you going? For your family, I have put a lot of thought into it." Only then did Jin Zhijun realize that the chariot and horse shop outside Xiguan in Tongzhou was a black shop, and he encountered bandits.At this time, his wife and child were crying and howling in the car. He dared not leave, so he got off his horse and knelt down and begged: "Hero, all the things in the car belong to you, how about leaving only the lives of the whole family?" Not wanting to, the coachman shouted angrily: "Hmph, you want your stuff, you want your life. None of you officials are good things. It would be a disaster to leave one alive." As he spoke, he raised his knife and approached him step by step. Jin Zhijun kowtowed like pounding garlic, but the coachman showed no mercy.Seeing this situation, he could only close his eyes and suffer death.At this moment, he only heard a "hu" sound, followed by a scream, he was so surprised, he quickly opened his eyes, but saw the coachman fell straight at his feet, with blood bubbles gushing out of his mouth.Looking around again, I saw that the four riders I met just now really came, and now they were chasing and killing the bandits with their swords raised. This group of robbers were so fierce at first, but now they were killed by these four people and fled. Two of them who ran slowly fell in a pool of blood. The four of them chased and killed for a while, there were seven robbers in Jiachefu here, three of them died, and the rest fled without a trace.Although Jin Zhijun breathed a sigh of relief, he was still in a panic—killed that gang, wouldn't this gang be better off?He got up from the ground, his wife and children in the car were crying and mourning, so he had no choice but to hold on to the handle of the car, speaking comforting words, but his hands and feet kept shaking like chaff. The four people stopped after only half a mile. At this time, they slowly approached, and the person who asked the way first rode his horse and approached, cupped his hands to Jin Zhijun and said: "The guest officer was shocked." Jin Zhijun saw that his tone was kind, without any malice, he quickly crawled on the ground again, and kowtowed repeatedly: "Thank you for saving your life!" When the man saw him prostrating, he quickly got off his horse and helped him up, saying, "Get up, get up. Don't scare the child." But Jin Zhijun still bowed to him a few times, with endless words of thanks in his mouth. At this time, the darker and fatter man also came up with a slingshot, pointed at the dead coachman with a smile and said: "Guest officer, just based on the questions and answers when asking for directions, my elder brother could tell that this guy is not a good person, so we didn't believe him at all, but returned to follow after not going far. Thanks to this little marble, otherwise, your life would be over." Jin Zhijun bowed his hands to this man again and again, and asked the names of all benefactors.At this time, Kaixian told him that they were two brothers. His name was Long Zhixiang, and his younger brother was Long Zhijun. Their ancestral home was Fushun, and they had been in the medicinal material business for generations. Therefore, there were semicolons of his family in the northern and southern capitals.This time they were planning to go to the Nanjing branch, and they usually took the water route. Because of the Jin army's invasion of the south, they had to change to the dry road. Jin Zhijun then also reported his family name and talked about his purpose of going south.Seeing that he was an official, Long Zhixiang paid more respect, so they met to go together. The coachman was dead, and Long Zhixiang's servant drove the carriage, and the group set off for Baoding. After that, they moved from Baoding to Zhending, and transferred to Dezhou, Shandong.At this time, Hou Jin's soldiers had already retreated, and there was an empty boat carrying bad grain in the canal going south. The Long brothers still had something to do in Dezhou, so they decided to break up. The Long brothers didn't leave until they saw Jin Zhijun boarding the boat. Rescued on the way, followed by life and death for more than a thousand miles, the Long brothers and him talked very speculatively along the way.In Jin Zhijun's eyes, although the Long brothers are businessmen, not only do they not have the slightest aura of philistines, but their knowledge is even far better than that of well-dressed people.Especially Long Zhixiang, no matter whether he criticizes politics or refers to current problems, he has very incisive insights, and sometimes even Jin Zhijun admires him; while Long Zhijun is very forthright, he handles things simply and neatly, and has the style of a general. Before parting, brothers Jin Zhijun and Long Zhixiang were a little bit reluctant to let go, because he said that his father was critically ill, Long Zhijun untied his burden, took out a large branch of Jilin wild ginseng from it, and said it was to respect his lord—— It should be noted that at this time, in order to curb the Kingdom of Jin, the imperial court has not allowed all local products from Manchuria to enter the customs, nor has it allowed ironware and items that can be used for military purposes to leave the country.As a result, the ginseng, which was originally valuable, has increased many times in the pass. Jin Zhijun is just a poor Beijing official, who has the strength to care about it. Holding this big branch of ginseng, he was grateful for a moment. "However, having said that, I know everything about their brothers, but their brothers seem to have more to say to me. Zhijun is more straightforward, but there are a lot of words that he swallowed back." Facing his friends, Looking back on the past, although Jin Zhijun was very emotional, he still expressed his doubts. "Ancestor borrowed from Fushun?" Zeng Yinglin couldn't help murmuring after hearing him finish, "So, they should have come from outside the customs, or they were coated by the Han army." "I think so too." Jin Zhijun said, "Later, I returned to Beijing. Because of the benefits of others, I went to the capital's medicinal material shop several times to inquire in person. The strange thing is that almost all the medicinal material shops, although Fushun borrowed There are many of them, but they all say the same thing, I don't know if there is a brother named Long." "Why do they tell lies in front of you?" Zeng Yinglin asked. Jin Zhijun shook his head and said, "That's exactly what I want to ask. Their brothers have done me a great favor, but why would they tell lies?"