Chapter 14: Luoyang

  Day after day passed, and a month later, Zhou Jian arrived in the capital city of Luoyang.

  Luoyang, the capital of the Han Dynasty, was the first metropolis in China. The prosperity here far surpassed that of other cities and states. Countless goods from Guanzhong and Guandong converged here, merchants gathered in the city, and knights with fine clothes and horses could be seen everywhere, while the noble young masters were born to be superior to others.

  The atmosphere of Luoyang is completely different from that of local prefectures and counties.

  Year after year of natural disasters and man-made calamities have left the local counties in a state of desolation, with the common people often going hungry and their faces pale.

  The people of Luoyang, living at the foot of the Son of Heaven, are much better off than those in other prefectures and counties. They can't feel even a bit of the atmosphere that chaos is about to erupt. The powerful ones are still indulging in the intoxicating dream of peace and prosperity.

  Zhou Jian was visiting Luoyang for the first time. The prosperity of the capital left him in awe, and he couldn't help but linger on the streets, taking a few extra turns.

  It was almost noon when he finally settled his twenty attendants in the post house and went alone to pay his respects to Second Uncle Zhou Zhong.

  Zhou Zhong served as a yi lang in the imperial court, but his position was not high. During court meetings, he barely had enough status to be seated at the back of the hall, and he didn't have much influence within the court.

  He reported his name and surname to the servant, who, upon hearing that he was Old Master's nephew, hastily went in to announce him.

  Before long, a young man in his twenties hastily came out.

  Zhou Jian vaguely remembered that this young man was Zhou Hui, the eldest son of his second uncle, whom he had met once seven or eight years ago.

  Zhou Hui wore a Confucian robe and wrapped his head with a scarf, dressed as a standard literati.

  Zhou Jian hastily stepped forward and bowed deeply, "Younger brother pays respects to elder brother."

  Zhou Hui hurriedly supported him, carefully looked at Zhou Jian for a few moments, and then smiled: "It's been years since we last met, I didn't expect Brother Jian to have grown so sturdy, he's even half a head taller than me now."

  Zhou Jian hastily exchanged a few pleasantries and asked: "Elder brother, is Uncle at home?"

  Zhou Hui nodded and pulled his hand, saying: "Come on, let's go see Father first."

  The two of them passed through the front yard and arrived at the back yard, where Zhou Zhong was handling official business in his government office.

  Zhou Jian hastily stepped forward, fell to the ground and respectfully said: "Young nephew Zhou Jian, pays respects to uncle."

  Zhou Zhong put down the bamboo slips in his hands, stood up and pulled him up, carefully examined him for a moment before saying: "Eight years ago when I was serving in Lujiang, you were still a child. Unexpectedly, now you have grown into an adult, it's truly delightful."

  Zhou Jian had no choice but to kowtow again.

  Zhou Zhong helped him up and returned to the case, kneeling down again, and let Zhou Jian sit down before asking: "This time entering the capital, did your father have any instructions?"

  Zhou Jian said: "Uncle, Father didn't give any instructions, just asked me to take care of you."

  Zhou Zhong nodded and said: "How is your father's body?"

  "Father's body is still healthy," replied Zhou Jian.

  Zhou Zhong nodded again and asked about some family matters and relatives' situations, then let Zhou Hui go to entertain Zhou Jian.

  The two of them hastily got up and bowed as they backed out.

  Out of the study, Zhou Jian asked Zhou Hui, "Brother, Uncle seems to have something on his mind?"

  Zhou Hui sighed and said in a low voice, "The court is corrupt, with wicked people manipulating power, official positions are sold at a price, and titles are obtained through bribery. Although Father has the intention to retire, how can he afford to buy an official position? Moreover, it will also bring criticism."

  "Nowadays, all officials have to spend money to take office, it's the imperial system, has nothing to do with personal relationships. Even if Yuan Yi takes office as Minister of Works with the prestige of four generations of three dukes in the Yuan family, he still needs to pay 20 million coins to be listed among the three dukes."

  Zhou Hui said, "Although it is true, there are also differences. When Yuan Gong was appointed as the Minister of Works, he received an imperial edict from the Emperor himself. If he did not accept, it would be considered disobedience and defiance of the imperial order. It's not about seeking office, even if he had paid for the renovation of the palace, it wouldn't have led to him being cursed."

  Zhou Jianxin said, what kind of imperial decree is this, it's simply a typical case of having been a prostitute and still setting up a monument.

  If Yuan Yi really did not want to take money to buy an official position, he could have resigned and gone home to enjoy his old age. Could the Emperor still have convicted him of a crime?

  Zhou Jian's mind was turning with thoughts, and he tentatively asked: "Father also hated the imperial court's practice of selling official positions, and several times when he was appointed to a position, he declined because he did not want to buy his way into office; Uncle also refused to buy his way into office, setting an example for the world."

  Zhou Hui sighed and didn't say anything.

  Zhou Jian carefully observed his expression and didn't dare to determine what attitude Er Bo and Zhou Hui had towards buying official positions with money.

  Zhou Hui immediately cheered up and said, "Coming to the capital Luoyang without visiting the Imperial Academy would be a waste of this trip. Although my family is not as renowned as the Xun family of Yingchuan for passing down classics through generations, we have also served as officials. I heard from Uncle that Cai Shi Boji Mr. is in the Qu County Ge Gongfu, and younger brother is also studying under Cai Shi. Let me take you to the Imperial Academy to see Cai Shi's stone classics."

  "Thanks for your trouble, brother."

  Taixue was founded in the fifth year of Jianwu (29 AD) during the reign of Emperor Guangwu, located south of Luoyang City, outside Kaiyang Gate and east of the imperial road. It has been repeatedly expanded and renovated since then. In the 27th year of Jianwu, a lecture hall was built at Taixue, which is 10 zhang long and 3 zhang wide; by the time of Emperor Shun, it reached an unprecedented scale, with a total of 240 houses and 1,850 rooms, eight miles away from the palace.

  Entering the Imperial Academy, all that can be seen along the way are Confucian scholars wearing Confucian robes and headscarves.

  Zhou Hui met many people at Taixue and ran into several acquaintances along the way, warmly stopping to greet them.

  These students were one by one, with courtesy and etiquette, every word and deed was in accordance with Confucian rules, even the smile on their faces was refined to be full of gentlemanly demeanor, but Zhou Jian always felt a bit awkward, very unaccustomed.

  Zhou Hui introduced both sides, and several students were not lacking in courtesy, showing gentlemanly etiquette.

  Although Zhou Jian was very unaccustomed to these tedious formalities, he didn't lose his composure and hastily returned the courtesy. However, in his mind, he was frantically searching, but after thinking for half a day, he still couldn't find the names of these scholars, and there wasn't even an impression in his memories from past lives.

  After waiting for several students to leave, the two continued on their way.

  Zhou Jian suddenly asked: "Brother, do you know Cao Cao and Yuan Shao?"

  Zhou Hui was taken aback and asked: "Younger brother, do you know these two people?"

  Zhou Jian nodded and said, "I've heard a little about it."

  Zhou Hui said: "The four generations of the Yuan family have produced three senior officials, and their gates are filled with former officials. Relying on their family's wealth and reputation, they were able to take office as the magistrate of Puyang at a young age. Yuan Benchu had a good reputation for being courteous to scholars and treating them with respect. Although he is currently living in Luoyang without an official position, he secretly communicates with party members Zhang Miao, He Yong, and Xu You, and also secretly recruits guests and knights. In my opinion, I'm afraid they are secretly plotting to eliminate the eunuchs."

  Zhou Jian asked: "What is the relationship between brother and Yuan Shao?"

  "It's okay, nothing special."

  Zhou Jian asked again: "What about Cao Cao?"

  Zhou Yi said: "Cao Mengde is now a yi lang in the imperial court. His father, Cao Song, was adopted by Cao Teng, the Grand Servant of the Imperial Household, and has many connections with eunuchs in the imperial court. He likes to associate with heroic scholars. When he was the Bei Bu Wei of Luoyang, he wielded great power and prestige, and his name shook the capital."

  Zhou Jian nodded and said: "I'd like to meet these two people, can you introduce us?"

  Zhou Hui was taken aback and asked in puzzlement: "Younger brother, why must you see these two people?"

  "Nothing else, just admiring his reputation."

  Zhou Hui hesitated for a moment and said: "I don't have much contact with these two people, it's probably not easy for you to see them."

  Zhou Jian nodded and didn't say anything else. By the time they walked a little further, they had already arrived in front of the Imperial Academy lecture hall.

  He pointed to the dozens of stone tablets on the east side of the Imperial Academy lecture hall and said, "These are the stone scriptures carved under the supervision of Master Cai, including the Book of History, the Book of Changes, the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Gongyang Commentary, the Lu Poetry, the Etiquette and Ceremonial, and the Analects. Go pay your respects first."

  Zhou Jian nodded, Cai Yong was his half-teacher, and it was only right that he should bow to him.

  When I came out of the university, it was already late in the day.

  As the sun was about to set, Zhou Hui said: "Let's go, we've arrived in Luoyang, let's stay at the mansion. I'll take a few days off and take you on a good tour of Luoyang, the horse market and gold market in the capital are very lively."

  Zhou Jian nodded, this was his first time in Luoyang, and it was only natural that he would stay at the manor, it was a matter of courtesy.

  The residence of Zhou Zhongfu is a two-section compound, with over ten rooms in the front and back sections; the front section houses the servants and miscellaneous personnel, while the rear section is for his family members. It's not as spacious as the county government office in Anhui Province, but rather cramped.

  For three consecutive days, accompanied by Zhou Hui, they almost strolled through the entire city of Luoyang.

  Zhou Hui was a minor official in the Si Kong Mansion. On the fourth day, he had to go to work, and Zhou Jian was finally able to be freed.

  The residence of the Zhou family was too crowded, so he took the opportunity to ask for instructions from Zhou Zhong and moved into the post house.

  Zhou Wu and the other twenty followers have not been idle these past few days, they have searched all around Luoyang City, and according to Zhou Jian's instructions, they bought twenty high-quality horses at the horse market in the east of the city, all of which are being kept at the post house.

  Zhou Jian called Zhou Wu into a side room and asked: "Have you investigated clearly where Zhang Rang lives?"

  Zhou Wu replied: "I've checked clearly, Zhang Rang's mansion is right next to the Imperial Academy at Kaiyang Gate."

  "Are all things ready?"

  "We're all set."

  Zhou Jian nodded and said, "That's good, get ready and we'll go again tonight."

  Zhou Wu responded with a sound, hesitated for a moment, and then carefully asked: "Young Master, do you really want to go visit Zhang Rang? The old master has always hated eunuchs causing trouble in the imperial court. If the old master finds out, I'm afraid it will..."

  The words behind were not spoken, but everyone understood what they meant.

  Zhou Jian said in a deep voice, "A great chaos is approaching. If we don't make preparations early, by the time the world falls into chaos, we can only follow the trend. The Taiping Dao has been preparing for so many years and will definitely gather people to start an uprising next year. We can no longer care about that much."

  Zhou Wu had been keeping an eye on the Taiping Dao in Lujiang for years, and after careful observation, he discovered many clues, knowing that the Taiping Dao would likely gather a crowd to start something. He could only say: "I understand."

  Zhou Jian said, "The current emperor is muddle-headed and incompetent, causing the good mountains and rivers to decline and become precarious. The fate of the Han dynasty has come to an end. When the time comes, heroes will rise together, and the capable ones will contend for the Central Plains. Although Father is upright and honest, he is not a hero in a chaotic world. If I don't make preparations early, I can only follow others afterwards."

  Zhou Wu and others who followed were all orphans, raised by Zhou Jian since childhood, vaguely knowing Zhou Jian's ambitions, not surprised.

  Zhou Jian said: "Although the Zhou family is a prominent family in Lujiang, it is still inferior to the Yuan family. I am not yet of age this year and want to achieve fame and fortune, but I fear that it will take several more years. The Taiping Taoist affair is imminent, for now we can only think of another way. Although the Ten Eunuchs are a source of chaos, they can still speak in front of the Emperor, as long as they can get along with Zhang Rang, there is still a great opportunity for me to be appointed to a position."