Chapter 17: The Eldest Grandson (Seeking Recommendations and Favorites)

  It's simply a matter of course for Zheng Shi'an to secretly spread the news without anyone noticing.

  The family servants of the old house in Luoyang are more intimate with Zheng Shisan.

  Although Cui Daolin is the master of the house, in the eyes of the old servants, he is still an outsider.

  The power of the clan is overwhelming. Even if Cui Daolin had the means, it would be impossible for him to immediately take control of the old mansion. Moreover, the residents of Tianjin Bridge Street are also considered part of the Zheng family. Having lived under Tianjin Bridge for generations, they share joys and sorrows with the people in the old mansion. So when Zheng Shian gave an order, someone immediately went to inform them.

  For Zheng Yanqing, things in Luoyang City had basically nothing to do with him anymore.

  They went to bed early, while Zheng Shi'an and Zheng Wei-shan were drinking and chatting in the outer room until the rooster crowed at dawn.

  The next day at dawn, Zheng Shi'an took Xian Qing away from the old mansion in Luoyang.

  Zheng Yanqing didn't have much ceremony either, and simply led the donkey out of Luoyang City with Grandfather, heading in the direction of Tianzhuang.

  Tianzhuang also received news.

  The land is just so much, a matter of one radish and one pit. If the people from Tianjin Bridge move over, many tenants will have to face the problem of having no land to cultivate. So as soon as Zheng Shian's family arrived at the farm, the tenants immediately came in droves.

  "Old steward, we have tilled the Zheng family's fields for decades, how can you suddenly drive us away?"

  "Yes, yes, if we don't let the land be cultivated, what can we do? A whole family of old and young people depend on this land for a living... Old steward, you must take charge of us, you can't ignore this matter, otherwise we'll have no way to survive!"

  The tenants shouted loudly, Zheng Shian's face turned gloomy.

  "This matter is not under my jurisdiction. Currently, the one in charge of Luoyang is Cui Daolin, the household manager. If anyone is dissatisfied, they can go find him to discuss it. I am only responsible for arranging... It's not that I don't want to be in charge, but I am unable to, and there's no way for me to be in charge."

  The crowd suddenly fell silent.

  After a long time, someone suddenly said loudly: "Let's not bother Old Guan and find Cui Daolin to judge the case."

  "That's right, go find Cui Daolin to reason with him..."

  Watching the tenants being so agitated, Zheng Shian couldn't help but frown.

  "Yan Qing, won't this cause trouble?"

  "Grandpa, don't worry about it, this matter has nothing to do with us."

  Chui Dao Lin said, as long as you take care of the farm and settle the people at Tianjin Bridge, what's there to worry about? If Chui Dao Lin takes charge and solves it, he'll probably not get a good reception from Mrs. Chui either; if he doesn't solve it, the young master won't give him a good face either. All that can be said is that this person has limited ability, no matter what, it can't be traced back to you."

  Unconsciously, Zheng Shian had already taken Yanqing as his mainstay.

  Listening to Zheng Yanqing say this, he nodded slightly at the moment.

  It's true, this matter has nothing to do with him, why bother worrying about it? Since the young master doesn't trust him, if he sticks his head out and speaks up, he might even be misunderstood by the young master. Just focus on doing his own job well, other things have nothing to do with him.

  Thinking of this, Zheng Shian immediately ordered someone to drive the carriage and slowly entered Tianzhuang.

  As Zheng Yanqing said, in the afternoon of that day, the residents of Tianjin Bridge and the tenants of Tiantan found Cui Daolin to question him.

  Just as Yan Qing had predicted, Cui Daolin brutally refused to negotiate and even invited the public officials from the Luoyang government office to come out and forcibly disperse the crowd. The idea of shutting down the Tianjin Bridge market, evicting the residents of Tianjin Bridge, and building a wine tower and music hall was Mrs. Cui's. Cui Daolin would not dare to risk offending Mrs. Cui by negotiating with these people.

  In Choi Do-rin's eyes, these people were just a bunch of cheap mouths.

  I thought everyone would make another scene.

  After the people were dispersed from the Luoyang government office, whether it was the residents of Tianjin Bridge or the tenants of Tiantian Village, they all fell silent and no one came to make trouble again. Cui Daolin secretly felt proud, a group of cheap mouths, dare to contend with the Zheng family?

  Zheng Yanqing heard this and smiled...

  "Grandpa, just you watch, this isn't over yet!"

  Zheng Shi'an also sneered repeatedly and wrote a letter overnight, sending someone to deliver it to Xingyang.

  This matter must be made known to Zheng Dasheng. Moreover, Zheng Shian must clear himself of this relationship, otherwise there will be endless trouble.

  Don't look at Zheng Shian's limited literacy, but if it comes to being street-smart, he is a hundred times better than Cui Daolin.

  ——————————————————————

  Everything is normal in Tianzhuang, at least on the surface, very calm.

  There are over a hundred households in Zhengjiazhuang Village, with more than 70% of the population relying on farming for the Zheng family to make a living. The remaining 30% have some who own land and others who rely on fishing and hunting for their livelihood. Luoyang is located in a region with complex terrain, with mountains, rivers, and hills intersecting each other. Surrounding Luoyang are over a dozen mountain ranges, including Yushan, Mangshan, Qingyao Mountain, Jingzi Mountain, and Longmen Mountain; the area is also crisscrossed by numerous rivers and streams, including the Yi River, Luo River, Qinghe River, and Jianhe River.

  Since ancient times, Luoyang has been known as a city surrounded by mountains on four sides, with six rivers flowing together and eight passes leading to the capital.

  Rely on the mountains and eat from the mountains; rely on the waters and eat from the waters.

  In the small Zheng family compound, there were all sorts of people.

  However, most of them were built into caves according to the terrain, with ten caves in one kiln, which was also the main way of life in the Hebei and Luoyang areas at that time.

  This pit is just like the big messy courtyard of later generations.

  They live there for two reasons: one is because of geographical constraints and the other is due to livelihood pressures.

  Living in such a cave dwelling is much cheaper than building a brick house and very comfortable, it's the first choice for poor families.

  Zheng Shi'an certainly cannot live in a cave dwelling.

  Zheng's family had a house in the countryside, where he lived in a seven or eight-room house with a small courtyard, stables and all the necessary facilities. Of course, there were better houses in the countryside, but they were not for Zheng Shian to live in.

  Passing through Tianzhuang and going upstream along the Yi River, you can see two mountains.

  The mountain is like the south gate of Luoyang, also known as Yique. The two mountains stand opposite each other, with Longmen Mountain on the west side of Yi River and Xiangshan on the east side.

  During the Taihe period of Northern Wei, Emperor Xiaowen of Wei moved the capital to Luoyang.

  Because Northern Wei revered Buddhism, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei had the Longmen Grottoes carved out of the limestone cliffs at Longmen Mountain to build Buddhist statues, which later became the famous Longmen Stone Caves.

  However, at this time, the Longmen Grottoes were just beginning to take shape and did not yet reach the scale of what would be said in later generations.

  Zheng Yanqing had visited the Longmen Grottoes in his previous life, but at that time, many Buddha niches and murals were looted by war thieves due to various reasons, especially the impact of war. For example, the relief statues in the Binyang Cave of the Longmen Grottoes are now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Yanqing really wanted to see what the original relief statues looked like.

  So on the third day after arriving at Tianzhuang, Zheng Yance rode that donkey to Longmen Mountain.

  The desolation of winter days has long since disappeared without a trace.

  All along the way, everything is fresh and green, making people feel exceptionally comfortable and relaxed.

  Of course, Zheng Yanqing couldn't go out alone, after all, he was too young. The one who accompanied him on the way was named Mao Wang, who was actually Mao Xiaoba's father. He was a very kind and honest farmer, with a good reputation in the village.

  He answered Zheng Yanqing's questions while leading the way forward.

  As soon as they crossed the Yi River, it was Longmen Mountain. Zheng Yanqing suddenly stopped and looked at a team of horses and carriages coming from the mountain, signaling Mao Wang to give way. Judging from the appearance of the horses and carriages, they should be from an official's family. In front of them were two teams of armored cavalry clearing the way, with several large carts in the middle. And the horses pulling the vehicles were incredibly powerful.

  Zheng Yanqing didn't understand horses, but from the horse's appearance alone, he could tell that this was no ordinary horse.

  An Yuantang was a family that rose to prominence through military achievements and also raised many fine horses. It seemed that these carriage-pulling horses were almost comparable to An Yuantang's precious steeds. What kind of household was this? How luxurious! Yan Qing couldn't help but feel some curiosity.

  On the carriage hung a golden tiger head plaque, and on the carriage shaft was inserted a flag with the two characters "Chang Sun" written in bold strokes.

  "Old Mao, which noble family is this?"

  Mao Wang's generation lived in Luoyang and also had some understanding of the powerful and wealthy families in Luoyang.

  "Master Zheng, that is General Zhangsun's carriage."

  "General Changsun?" Zheng Yance was taken aback, but quickly reacted, this General Changsun, was probably referring to that one arrow and two eagles, the Duke of the Imperial Guard, Left Vanguard General Longsun Sheng.

  In Sui and Tang history, Duke Xiang of Zhao was an indispensable figure.

  Yang Jian commented: "Yang Long's martial arts skills are exceptional among his peers, and he is also good at strategy. Will the famous generals of later times not be this son?"

  In fact, during the Kaihuang period's campaign against the Turks, Changsun Sheng repeatedly achieved great merits.

  The idiom "one arrow, two eagles" originated from Changsun Sheng. However, it was his children who made him known to later generations. Changsun Sheng's daughter was Empress Changsun, the empress of Emperor Taizong of Tang; and his youngest son was Changsun Wuji, a famous minister in the early Tang dynasty.

  Zheng Yanqing was stunned!

  However, he was not shocked by Zhangsun's reputation, but rather remembered a long-forgotten past event. He recalled that when he was first born into this era, he had just encountered a disaster that destroyed his entire family. The person who carried out the massacre was named Ning Changzhen.

  Yan Qing also found out about Ning Chang's true origins.

  This man is a Li person, his father was the leader of a Li tribe, named Ning Mengli. Ning Changzhen is Ning Mengli's son, at the end of Kaihuang years he followed his father to Chang'an to meet Sui Wen Emperor Yang Jian, now he has been appointed as the governor of Qin Prefecture by Yang Jian.

  Where is Qinzhou?

  Zheng Yanqing is not very clear.

  It was only when Zheng Shian mentioned it vaguely that he knew it was a place in the Lingnan region, which belonged to the barbarous border area. The local aborigines were still born into tribes, and the leader of the tribe was called the Yi commander. In this way, Yanqing confirmed Ning Changru's origin.

  Ning Changzhen was pursuing his uncle Shentu Yizhi at that time and mentioned a 'Marquis Zhangsun'.

  Could it be that Lord Longsun is actually Longsun Sheng?

  If it's like that, then doesn't that mean Yan Hu and Chang Sun Sheng have a good relationship? Then who are his own parents, after all?

  "Let's cross the river, Master Zheng."

  Ma Wang saw Zheng Yanqing also didn't speak, and couldn't help but feel a little strange.

  The Zhangsun family's carriage has gone far away...

  But for some reason, the sedan chair had gone far away, and Zheng Yanqing's interest in touring Longmen Mountain was also taken away.

  "Old Mao, let's go to Longmen Mountain another day, I suddenly don't want to go... Let's head back."

  "Alright then, whenever Master Zheng is interested, we'll go again."

  Mao Wang couldn't understand the complex emotions of Zheng Yanqing at this moment, and with a silly smile, he led the donkey back on the road home.

  Before entering Tianzhuang, Mao Xiaobao ran over from a distance.

  "Dad, something's happened!"

  Mao Wang was taken aback, "Xiao Ba, what's going on?"

  "Just now, more than a dozen old soldiers from the village led everyone to Luoyang."

  I heard that people from the other side of Tianjin Bridge have also gone. It seems they said that the young master has arrived, and they want to go find him to reason with him."

  Jung Jin-ki has arrived in Luoyang?

  Yan Qing heard this and secretly rejoiced in her heart: Now, the good show is about to begin!