Story 1: People from the river
1
During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, I was a boatman on the Yu River, although I did not go to school for a few years, thanks to the usual arrival and delivery, I could understand a little official language.
I have been a boatman for many years, and I have seen all kinds of strange passengers, but I have never seen such a troubled person.
On the afternoon of September 21, 2001, Chongzhen, a man with a foreign accent approached me and asked me if I was going to Taiping Province.
I said, of course, if you have money to earn, it seems faster to go overland in taiping.
Someone said that if it was me, I would definitely rent horses to go there, but unfortunately it was my master Xu Gong who made the idea.
I said, as a servant, you can advise your master on how to take shortcuts.
People come to say, you don't understand, Xu Gong likes to indulge in landscapes, and walking the waterway is more suitable for him.
I said, well, when are you going to go.
Come and say, tomorrow.
Later, I learned that the man's surname was Gu and his master's surname was Xu.
On September 22, just after dawn, Gu Servant carried his luggage and led his master to the boat.
I looked at the two guests and kind of wanted to laugh at their stupidity. Of course, I will not suggest that they go overland, because it is rare to have a big business in our business, and nanning to Taiping Province is a few hundred miles of waterway, if everything goes well, they can make a sum of money. I'm too late to burn high incense, you're right.
However, after the master and servant got on the boat, they did not immediately ask me to sail the boat.
Seeing that it was past noon, they had no intention of leaving, and I was afraid that they would repent, so I urged them to leave.
The surname Xu's heart was heavy, and it seemed that there was nothing to put down. Allowing Gu Servant to persuade him for a while was to no avail.
In the end, Xu decided to stay on the ship to look at the luggage, and ordered Gu Servant to return to Nanning City alone to do business.
I'm a person with a broken mouth and like to inquire about some idle things. When there was only me and the surname Xu on the boat, I started idly.
I said, the trip is imminent, is there anything that the guest officer can't put down?
Xu sighed and said, I can't put anyone in my heart.
I said, wife? child?
The surname Xu said, it is not so simple.
I don't have a good intention, could it be a woman?
The surname Xu is the right color road, no! It was a man, a friend who had lived and died with me along the way.
I was ashamed of myself, and my face was full of reverence, as it was.
The surname Xu said that I am now going to leave my friend and go far, which is really unbearable.
I said, a big living person, is not afraid of losing it?
Xu Xing said, of course, he can't lose it, he is a person who is sick in bed, and he may not be able to survive.
I was taken aback, didn't talk anymore, and looked at the river in a daze.
I live a simple and casual life, I don't have any close friends, and my only preference on weekdays is to find my fellow countrymen to drink old wine. Over the years, no matter how much disaster has been encountered, after a meal of wine, everything has disappeared. If one meal is not enough, drink another meal until the unhappiness is dissolved in the wine. This is my philosophy of survival.
The surname Xu saw me silent and said, what are you thinking.
I said, cranky.
People surnamed Xu said that people who like to think wildly often have a very happy life.
I said that decades of life will pass in the blink of an eye, maybe one day my ship will leak and sink, it is better to be more happy.
The surname Xu did not take a cavity, casually chanted: white-haired fishing trees on the river, used to see the autumn moon and spring breeze, a pot of turbid wine happy to meet, how many things in ancient and modern times, are paid in laughter and talk.
Although I didn't really grasp the mystery, I couldn't help but applaud his poetry, especially when I heard "a pot of turbid wine meets."
The surname Xu said that the word is a good word, but unfortunately the author is not me.
I remembered gu servant saying that the master liked to play in the mountains and rivers, so he said that the guest officer liked to indulge in the landscape and water, and there was naturally a gully in his chest.
The surname Xu listened, tilted his head and said, you think so too?
I said, this is to go to Taiping Province, the scenery along the way is beautiful, you will not regret it.
The surname Xu sighed and said, I hope so, but unfortunately the friend was not able to accompany him. He turned his head and looked at the river in a daze.
2
I have a few fellow villagers punching boats in Xinningzhou, and I am very happy to think of how many pots of turbid wine I can drink in front of me.
We, the boatmen, usually in the sunrise storm, the biggest wish is to meet and raise a glass and laugh.
Gu Servant did not return overnight, me and the surname Xu each had their own hearts, the ship that night was extremely unstable, and the atmosphere seemed to be sinking the cabin. Xu didn't sleep well because I could feel him tossing and turning many times.
As for why I can't sleep, it may be that I haven't seen my hometown for a long time, and I haven't had a hangover for a long time.
You may ask, don't boatmen live on the water all year round? What storm can disturb your dreams? In fact, the more people like us are, the more sensitive we are to the movements and silences on the ship.
At dawn, the man surnamed Xu told me to stop the boat and dock, saying that there was something important to go back to Nanning City.
I was amazed to see him in a hurry.
He smiled and said, "Boatman, excuse me for another day, and I'll leave tomorrow."
Since hiring a boat is a daily payment, I certainly won't refuse, and I'll just spend time sleeping on the water.
After the man disembarked, he did not return to the ship with his servant until the afternoon.
When I saw him from a distance, I seemed to feel that his steps were lighter than before. Maybe he did end a chore on this trip into town, so that I, the bystander, could empathize.
That night, a group of three of us stopped at the kiln for the night.
Although there was not much communication, I could still learn something from the conversation between their master and servant—the friend surnamed Xu was a monk, quietly smelling, seriously ill, living in Chongshan Temple.
I don't believe in ghosts or gods and Buddhas, so I rarely deal with monks. But I vaguely felt that this monk named Jingwen was extraordinary.
I thought that we would be able to leave at dawn, but who knew that the guest with the surname Xu at dawn regretted it again.
He said with a full face of shame, Boatman, I'm really sorry, I still can't let him go, and I have to go back to Nanning City again.
I shrugged and couldn't speak.
He said, rest assured, I will not lose any of the remuneration that should be paid to you.
I waved my hand and said, you go fast, come back when you're done.
He said, you know what? Last night in the middle of the night, I remembered his words, like a fish stalk in the throat, I really can't go away.
I nodded, but I didn't understand.
He said, I mean, some people say goodbye and it may be the last time, can you see what I mean?
I nodded, and suddenly I wondered where the monk named Jingwen really was, so much so that a man was so concerned.
Gu Servant originally wanted to go back together, but Xu was relieved and ordered him to stay on the ship to take care of his luggage.
In fact, this move is superfluous. I can't guarantee that I won't be much interested in these luggage. Besides, I could tell that these two guest officers were not rich, and there would not be many entanglements around them.
3
At dusk that afternoon, the surname Xu returned to the boat, carrying two jugs of wine and two packs of Nanning snacks, presumably with the intention of apologizing to me.
During the banquet, the expression on his face was much more relaxed, his words were also more, and he was interested in inquiring with me about the customs and customs of the future.
As soon as I drank the wine, I was full of excitement, opened my mouth to chat, and blew the sky. We drank until late at night, still tireless, and waited for the chickens to call for three rounds and then rocked the boat and set off.
The rest of the trip was enjoyable for all three of us.
The surname Xu really likes landscapes and rivers, and whenever he sees strange mountains and rivers, he will stand on the bow of the boat, praise him, and at the same time take out a paper and pen, and strive to write a record. Gu Servant was obviously not interested in these landscapes, and when he had nothing to do, he fell back and fell asleep. Maybe that's the case with hard laborers, and it's enough to eat and sleep well. During this period, I drank two wines with my compatriots in XinningZhou, one outside the West Gate of Xinning Prefecture and one near Nale, all of which were endlessly memorable.
Along the way, there are many words with the surname Xu. One of my most impressive sentences is - "Your landscape here is no worse than guilin's, only because the road is long and not known to outsiders." Subsequently, he described with me the Li River that had swum in Guilin, about ma'anshan mountain climbed in Liuzhou, remembered Luo Congyan that passed through Guiping, admired the loopholes that had been admired in the north stream, and traced the Duyao Mountain that had been climbed in Rong County. However, I have no intention of indulging in the landscape, and it is not strange to see it.
If this scene happens to be seen, it should be like this:
One day in late September of the Chongzhen Decade of the Ming Dynasty (1367 AD), a small boat went up the river in Zuojiang, Guangxi, and sailed to XinningZhou. It was nearly afternoon, a small boat, a boatman, a porter, the bow of the ship stood a man over half a hundred years old, bronze face, pale yellow face, wind and dust servants, look at that look, should be indispensable to the wind and sun. However, there was no tiredness, and the man looked at the scenery on both sides of the strait, sometimes with admiration, and sometimes with a pen to record.
Many years later, Hanzi left a book called "Xu Xiake Travels", which has a large chapter called "Diary of The Journey to the West of Guangdong", and what he saw on the left river that day, he wrote- "In the middle of the stone peaks of the boat, or bending and left, or curving and right, spinning back to a cliff." Although it is not a gorge of clouds, it is like the degree of latitude of the shuttle, like the penetration of butterflies, and it is overwhelmed, and there is no need to do anything wrong. And the river arrives in Xinning, not the special stone mountain is the most victorious, and the stone bank is especially strange. ”
Story 2: Moonfall Desert Temple
On the fourth afternoon of the first month of October in the tenth year of the Chongzhen Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty (1637), Guangxi TaipingFu, Huguan, Yingxia Nunnery.
In my memory, there were very few guests who went to the nunnery that day to eat and drink, and there were few people until noon.
This came as a surprise to me. The poor monk Ruxi, from the north, was sixty years old and came here to build a nunnery for many years. There is an apprentice under the knee, the Name of the Law.
Although The Annasa Temple is small, the poor monks eat only mussels (not a single grain of rice). However, since a tea pavilion was built next to the temple, there has been an endless stream of people who come and go to eat on weekdays. Many of them are lazy and lazy, and I have been relying for a long time, and I have never skipped tea.
My original intention of building the nunnery was simple, this place is desolate and deserted, and it is in urgent need of popularity. I have traveled all over the world for the first half of my life, and I know the hardships of the journey, so I especially cherish the warmth of the hard trip. I want to do something good to comfort the helpless travelers.
That day, when the two men walked into the nunnery, I was sitting in meditation.
The man in charge of the group walked straight up to me, arched his hands, and dared to ask the senior monk, Xu Mou's master and servant two people rushed far past this place, can they rest for a few days?
I turned back to God, opened my eyes to look at these two uninvited guests, and said, If the benefactor is not abandoned, although he stays, although the shelter is small, there will be two people with coarse tea and light rice.
The leader thanked him and instructed the servant behind him to put down his luggage.
I asked Hairun to clean the room, make room for them, and asked Hairun to cook and cook iftar.
The man who headed the group called himself Xu Xiake, who came from far away in the south and came only to enjoy the sightseeing of Guixi.
I was surprised that I had this old bone, and I was still shocked after listening to Xu Xiake's introduction. Maybe it's because I haven't cultivated enough, but it's rare to travel so poorly.
Of course, the poor monks also traveled here on a poor basis. The difference is that I am a monk and have put down a lot of things, but Xu Xiake is a cloth cloth and needs more courage and perseverance.
When I greeted Xu Xia's guests and the two servants for dinner, I had time to look at them carefully.
Xu Xiake was full of vegetables and covered his stomach from time to time, which should have been a miasma in the mountains not long ago. As for his servant Gu Xing, he should be a recurrence of an old disease, listless, and weak.
Despite the lack of etiquette, I'm happy with the hospitality I can, and we should be able to talk about a lot of topics.
Sure enough, as expected, as soon as the topic began, we all talked endlessly.
My journey is similar to Xu Xiake's, but the way of visiting is different. I mainly visited temples and exchanged Buddhist scriptures; he mainly visited the landscape and recorded the beautiful scenery.
In contrast, I am much more convenient than him, as long as there is a place for the temple, I do not worry about eating and drinking. More often than not, he needs to pay out of his own pocket or eat and sleep in the wind.
Xu Xiake said that he was very happy to receive me, and said that it was a pity that the monk friend named Jingwen, if he could come together, I believe that I and that jingwen must have seen each other as before, and they hated each other.
I was a little incredulous, and asked him what was so clever about the monk.
Xu Xiake smiled and said that Jingwen was very affectionate and righteous, and the Buddha's heart was firm, he did not hesitate to stab the blood to write the Lotus Sutra, and he was determined to walk to Jizu Mountain in Yunnan.
As I listened, I couldn't help but tremble and ask where Jingwen was now.
Xu Xiake said that Jingwen was seriously ill in bed and now lives in the Chongshan Temple in Nanning City.
I said again, how is Jingwen's condition.
Xu Xiake shook his head and said, not very good, I hope he recovers soon, we set off from Nanzhili together, and we also want to go back together.
I laughed and said, it seems that Xu Shi's Buddha's fate is not shallow.
Xu Xiake listened, waved his hand and smiled bitterly, saying, wrong, in addition to Jingwen, Xu Mou rarely encountered a high monk like Ru Xi again.
When I learned that Xu Xiake would travel to Yunnan, I was ashamed of myself and said that as long as Xu Shi did not give up, Yingxia Nunnery would open the door for you at any time.
Xu Xiake said that it is rare for people to meet their confidants on the road, and this time our master and servant have disturbed the two masters.
I smiled and said nothing, curious about the quiet smell I had never met before, looking forward to seeing each other one day.
Xu Xiake said that if there is a chance, we must be introduced to sit and discuss.
So I couldn't wait to ask him for news in my spare time.
In this regard, Xu Xiake was also helpless. He said that since he left Nanning on September 23, he did not know anything about Jingwen's situation, and only prayed in his heart that he would recover soon.
Speaking of emotional places, Xu Xiake was full of sorrow, saying that as a friend, he was unqualified, and he only cared about sightseeing in the mountains, but left his friend who was sick in bed.
I comforted him and said that this is your mission, no one can delay, and I believe that Jingwen will not drag you back because of his illness.
After Xu Xiake settled down in the nunnery, he traveled around the neighborhood to record what he saw and felt.
I was fortunate to see the "Travels of Xu Xia", a thick book with a dense and detailed record of what I saw and heard along the way.
For a moment, I thought that this person named Xu Xiake might be famous in history, because he was doing something that no one else had ever done.
Two or three days passed, the miasma in Xu Xiake's body gradually dissipated, and Gu Shu's body gradually recovered.
They began to inquire about the road to Yunnan. Originally, there were two roads to choose from, one was to Go back to Fuzhou, and the other was from Nandan to Guizhou and then into Yunnan.
I poured cold water on the road, it is rumored that the road to the submissive may be blocked by the Annans, I suggest you stay a little longer to observe. I really couldn't stand it, so I went to Guizhou first, and then went to Yunnan.
Xu Xiake listened, and was even more distraught, although the second road was feasible, it was a long way away. He was a little worried that he would not be able to reach Yunnan, after all, he was over fifty years old, and no one knew what would happen tomorrow.
For my suggestion, Xu Xiake did not say acceptance, nor did she say no acceptance, but stayed sullen and unhappy. Going to Yunnan was his dream, and it was also Jingwen's dream, and he didn't want to delay for a while.
When he was really panicked, Xu Xiake went to the nearby Banshi Temple to ask for a signature, hoping that the gods would help him decide which way to take.
But the gods couldn't help him, but there they met a Confucian named Teng.
Teng Gong was quite famous in the local area, and it was said that he knew many toastmasters, and could contact the generals for Xu Xiake and get the stagecoach of the horse. As long as there is a horse card, you can adjust people and horses wherever you go, saving the pain of bumpy and tiring journey.
On the seventh day of the first month of October, the rain was pouring and the weather was even colder. When I saw that Xu Xiake's clothes were thin, I took off my jacket and put them on for him.
Xu Xiake first pushed away, and finally couldn't stand the forced cold, before putting it on and going out, and then he was even more grateful to me.
In the evening of the same day, a monk came to Yingxia Nunnery and claimed to have come from Nanning Chongshan Temple to inquire about Xu Xiake's whereabouts.
I listened, smiled happily, and greeted him and squeezed his hand, thinking that he was the monk of Jingwen.
Unexpectedly, the other party listened, folded his hands together, Amitabha, the poor monk was not Jingwen, but came to report the funeral with Lord Xu Shi, and Jingwen had been dead for more than a month.
Xu Xiake returned from outside, heard the bad news, stumbled, tears fell like rain, and whimpered and mourned for a while. For the next two days, he stayed up day and night, and the whole person lost weight.
I heard that Xu Xiake wrote several poems to mourn Jingwen by candlelight, and I originally wanted to take a look at them, but when I saw that he was not guarding his soul, I had to give up.
On October 18, Xu Xiake and Gu Shu left Yingxia Nunnery.
That day, I stood in front of the door and looked at the back of the master and servant in the distance, and my heart was full of mixed feelings, both envious and jealous. At the same time, I remembered the monk named Jingwen, but unfortunately we would never know each other again in this life.
If time could be turned back, I really wanted to go to Yunnan with Xu Xiake, but unfortunately there was no if in life. Besides, Yingxia'an is my last place to bury my bones, and I want to stick to the end.
There are some things in the world that seem meaningless, even boring, but someone has to do it, because the person who does it finds it valuable.
Story 3: Lost Donkey Friends
On the sixth day of october in the tenth year of chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty (1637), TaipingFu, Guangxi, Huguan, Banshi Temple.
My name is Teng Kentang, and my name is Zuo Chang, which indicates that Shang is a proud Confucian, but in fact a frustrated person. I have a son, a son named King Tengbin, who is also a Confucian.
Ban's Temple is a famous local temple, the legend is very magical, the common people are devoutly worshipped, and local officials will come to worship when they arrive.
That day, when I was worshipping in the temple with a few old friends, a foreigner floated in. The figure is emaciated and his eyes are resolute. I mean, he's not a high-ranking official, but a man of tenacity, a man who can do great things.
He entered the temple and asked for a signature three times in a row. He should not be very satisfied with the result, because he always frowns after reading the criticism.
This intrigued me, and I went up and asked him where he was from and what he was asking for.
The person who came claimed to be surnamed Xu, hongzu, and Xiake, from Nanzhili, was a cloth who aspired to tour the sifang landscape.
I listened, my mouth slightly opened in surprise, and said, what are you looking for when you come to this poor and remote area?
Xu Xiake said that the more poor the countryside, the more magnificent and majestic the scenery of the landscape.
I said, makes sense, so where are you going to go?
He said he was going to Jizu Mountain in Yunnan, saying it was an agreement he had made with friends and could be the destination of his trip.
I said, just looked at your expression and seemed to be dissatisfied with the result of the request?
He said, yes, I was in a hurry, but the gods couldn't make a decision for me.
I said, I would like to be able to help you by getting to know some toastmasters.
He said that Xu Someone was soft-spoken and really did not dare to take it seriously.
I said, look at you are a down-to-earth person, your friend, Teng Mou has made up his mind.
He bowed his hand and said that Xu Mou was ashamed.
Before parting, I invited him to my home, and he promised. To be honest, I have a few friends here, but not many people can speak from the heart. This person named Xu Xiake feels very kind to me, there is really a special smell between people, and it is very easy to get closer to each other if they are similar to each other.
When Xu Xiake came to the house, I took out good wine and good dishes to entertain myself.
During the meal, he tasted my wine and said that it tasted very much like Kyoguchi sake.
I nodded in agreement, even though I had never drunk Kyoguchi, I didn't want to show that I didn't see it.
Then, he said that my tea was also good, but it should only be the next taste of songluo tea.
This makes me feel incredible, usually when guests come to the cold house, they all praise my things vigorously, but Xu Xiake goes straight to and fro. However, rectal people I like because it is direct enough. Direct people, people around them will not feel tired.
I said, does Xu Gong have anything to ask me for help?
He said, I want to go to Yunnan, I don't know how to go well?
I said that if you go to Yunnan, you can go to Guishun, and then you can enter Fuzhou, or you can take Nandan, first to Guizhou, and then into Yunnan.
He said, I was in a hurry and wanted to get to Yunnan quickly.
I said, then I had to go back to Obedience and enter Fuzhou again. It's just that at the moment, Annan is blocking the road, and it is not easy to go.
He frowned and said, Mr. Teng, what good way can you do it?
I said, if it's something else, it's okay, but those are foreigners, and it's a little difficult.
He shook his head and sighed.
I said, I can come forward to the local staff general and ask him to give you a horse card, or I can write to some toastmasters nearby to make it convenient for you to cross the border.
He said that there was Mr. Lauteng, and Xu was grateful.
During the period, I found that when mentioning the toast master and the staff general, Xu Xiake was always a little uncomfortable and seemed to be in awe.
He also seemed to see my suspicions, and whispered that Xu Moujie had never dealt with those old masters.
During the small talk, I learned that Xu Xiake had read a lot of books and seen a lot of the world, so I deliberately left him to open a library and teach apprentices.
There are not many local readers, the people are fierce, I always look forward to a decent gentleman to come to indoctrinate, but unfortunately I have not been able to wait for the right person. If Xu Xiake is willing to stay, I can't ask for it.
When I explained my meaning to him, he shirked that he couldn't do anything about it, and he didn't have the heart to stay here for long.
I said, the villagers will not let you teach for free, you can wait for the Annans to retreat, while earning yourself some travel entanglements.
He did not refuse in person, but said to go back and think about it carefully.
In order to persuade Xu Xiake, I invited him to my home again.
This time, I invited him to eat fish. One is silver carp and the other is a fish. I raised the fish myself, right in the pond in front of the house.
During the meal, he was very grateful for my hospitality and kept praising the fish for its good taste, light taste but not fishy. I also specifically inquired whether there is a fish called "ayu" in this area.
I said, never heard of ayu.
After the meal, I picked citrus fruits to entertain him.
He also praised the good taste of the citrus fruit, and said that this kind of orange is like a fragrant rafter, the color of the gourd is white and the skin is not thick, cut into pieces to eat, the urn and the skin are sweet and fragrant, very different from the citrus fruits elsewhere.
Nevertheless, he refused to let up on my request to him to stay and open a discipleship.
There was really no way, and I thought of another trick, that is, to tell him his own life. Because I believe that people have each other's hearts, and it is easy to get things done.
I told Xu Xiake that when I was young, I had received rations from the scholar and had a vendetta against my cousin Xie Xiaolian in the past. After Xie Xiaolian's death, the Xie family framed me with poisoning, and I asked for an autopsy to clear up the wrongs, and the Xie family was very embarrassed. At that time, Xie Xiaolian's younger brother was a subordinate official of the Nanning Prefecture, and Xie Xiaolian's fang examination officer Zhao Mou, a native of Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, had the right to do so, so he fabricated charges against officials who came to investigate and visited him from his superiors, and slandered me on a variety of trumped-up charges, such as ridiculing the prefectural officials and beating up the officers and men of the guardhouse. In the end, I was deposed and defended Qinzhou. Not long after returning to my hometown, I was again injured by the officials' incessant low destruction, and my ambition was greatly damaged, so that today I have a beard and two sideburns.
He laughed and said that he could see that Mr. Teng was a man of greatness, majestic appearance, and chivalry. But Xu Mou still can't stay and open a library to teach apprentices, I'm really sorry.
I didn't speak, my eyes looking away.
Xu Xiake said that Mr. Teng's great kindness, Xu Mou has no teeth to forget. Da En did not dare to say thank you, and I am afraid that he could not afford it.
Seeing that he had already said this, I was no longer reluctant. After that, he wholeheartedly helped him contact the staff general, and at the same time spared no effort to write to the nearby toast.
I don't know why, when I knew that Xu Xiake traveled all the way to write travel notes, I had a premonition that I might also become the person in his story. Although it may be just a few words, who wants to leave it to posterity as a bad person?
Maybe I have accumulated some fame over the years, and finally I got the horse card for Xu Xiake.
Before Xu Xiake left, he specially took his servant to the palace to say goodbye, and said a lot of words of gratitude, and I laughed.
When I sent his master and servant away, I was a little lost.
I have a vague feeling that many years later, China may have one more great traveler, but the Taiping Palace has missed a good gentleman forever.
Story 4: The Station Freak
My surname is Huang, and I am a veteran of the Taiping Station in Taiping Province, Guangxi during the Chongzhen Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty.
I came from a military family, and I have not escaped the fate of being a soldier since my grandfather's generation. Therefore, I am still guarding the caravanserai in my sixties.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with being a soldier, for a long time in this dynasty, due to the implementation of military tuns by the imperial court, the military families did not worry about having no food to eat. But when it was my turn, a large number of tuntian fields were encroached upon by the gentry and the generals, and life was not good. Many of the non-commissioned officers had no place to live and fled in large numbers. I didn't flee, I honestly guarded that little field.
Although it is a caravanserai, the place where I am located is pitifully shabby. Don't believe it or not: Taiping Station is alone in the foothills, there are only three rooms surrounded by walls, the earthen walls are collapsed, the thatch is scattered, the wind and day are not covered, there is no table for eating, there is no bed for sleeping... Isn't that ridiculous?
The caravanserai of this dynasty mainly had three functions: the water horse station, the express delivery shop and the delivery station. Due to the distance of emperor Shanggao at Taiping Station, for a long time, even horses were lacking, so they had to entrust the task of picking up burdens to the natives of the jurisdiction.
We are located here in the middle of nowhere, rarely high-ranking officials and nobles come, and occasionally when a grandfather passes by, we send local people to carry palanquins.
It is said that it is a palanquin, but it is actually a slippery pole. The appearance is extremely simple, but it can also make the old masters not touch the ground, and they can climb over the mountains. When luck was good, there were horses in the caravanserai, and the old men rode their horses to the mountain.
Don't underestimate that Taiping Station can't get on the table, but not everyone is eligible to enjoy the in-station rest treatment.
Hongwu Ye of this dynasty stipulates that the role of the water horse station is to receive the state officials who come and go, and these public officials need to take a stagecoach. For example, if you are a pedestrian in the Pedestrian Division, this is an official position in this dynasty, with a small rank, and is generally responsible for passing on the will. Before you leave for a certain place, you need to go to the Military Department To get a sign, which will write who you are, where you are going, what is the matter, which yamen, write clearly, take the person away. On the way, the horses you change and the cost of food and accommodation are completely contracted by the various stations.
What if you don't have this sign? I'm sorry, but you can't use the station. Of course, in the middle and late period of this dynasty, due to the laxity of the dynasty, the post sign became a gift, and the local yamen master was happy and threw the post sign as a gift. As a result, the funds of local stations became higher and higher every year, and the financial pressure became greater and greater every year, and finally Chongzhen Ye simply cancelled some of the stations.
Taiping Station survived because of its proximity to Annam and its great national defense significance. However, the people who came and went to the station became more and more diverse, both high-ranking officials and nobles, as well as various lines of cloth, and I just saw through it and didn't say it was broken.
Sometimes, even if I knew that the person coming was cloth, but he took out the sign, he had to do his best to entertain. Snubbed the guests, the old man blamed it, but he could not afford to eat it.
On the afternoon of October 18, 10th year of Chongzhen, when a man named Xu Xiake came to the station, I did not expect that the story behind would happen.
According to the past, whether it was a rogue official or a local official, most of his face was not good-looking, as if others owed him a lot of money. And this Xu Xiake, with humble speech, was respectful to me.
People are bullying soft and afraid of hard, I have been in this line for a long time, and I am also infected with this problem, so I provocatively said, where does the guest officer come from? Where do you want to go?
Xu Xiake said that the contemptible people came from the south and wanted to take the road back to Shunzhou and go to Jizu Mountain in Yunnan.
I said, oh, what does a guest officer do to make a living?
Xu Xiake said that it was not a secret, and the contemptible people were clothed, thanks to the love of Old Master Teng, thanks to the gift of the general, they were able to enter the station and rest their feet.
I listened to it and once again lamented the chaos and corruption of the government of this dynasty, and it was almost difficult to return.
I don't have a good airway, you have traveled thousands of miles to this desolate mountain, what do you want to do?
Xu Xiake said that the contemptible people are interested in visiting the Daming landscape, although they have no regrets.
I listened, sneered, my stomach is not enough to eat, you still have such leisure.
Xu Xiake bowed his head and said, Everyone has their own aspirations.
I led him to see the whole picture of the site, painting the harsh food and accommodation conditions here, trying to scare him away.
Unexpectedly, Xu Xiake laughed and said that the contemptible people traveled all over the world, and they were used to sleeping in the wind, as long as there was a place to shelter the wind and rain.
I was stunned and said, "In that case, you stay here." I led him into the station and made room for him.
Three rooms, the earthen wall collapsed, the thatch was scattered, not sheltered from the wind, no table for eating, no bed for sleeping... I believe that with such dilapidated conditions in Taipingyi, Xu Xiake will certainly not stay long.
That night, the moon in the mountains was as bright as a wash, and Xu Xiake lay in the tattered caravanserai, which should be like taking a bath in curling. At five o'clock, when the mountain breeze was blowing, I glanced through the window at the room where he was sleeping, and saw him sleeping with his head covered in a quilt, shivering.
This scene made me feel both funny and a little pitiful.
I suddenly found that people are so different, and Xu Xiake must have been bored and surprised that I had stuck to the station for decades, just as I had reacted to his behavior of traveling to Daming.
In the second half of the night, I had a sudden idea and took out two pots of private rice wine, as well as two bags of mountain goods, and woke Xu Xiake.
He said, in the middle of the night, what did the military master command?
I said, forgive me during the day, Snubbed you, the night in the mountains is difficult, get up and drink two drinks, warm up.
At first, Xu Xiake shirked and said that he did not dare to be, and said that he thanked me for my kindness.
I said, you don't have to resign, I can hear your teeth fighting in the window.
Xu Xiake listened and laughed, how to mean it, it is a good wine treasured by the military master.
I said, don't hide from you, even the old man may not have this blessing, tonight you have lucky.
Xu Xiake said that since this is the case, it is better for the contemptible people to respect than to obey their orders.
That night, we had a lot of drinking.
I talked about my own life and lamented the impermanence of the world; Xu Xiake talked about my own life and advised me not to be too pessimistic.
I said, even if optimism can change anything, I am nearly sixty years old, half-cut and buried in the dirt.
Xu Xiake said, I am also more than half a hundred years old, but I am still walking on the way to find beautiful scenery. Life is uneventful, and you have to learn to have fun.
I said, I don't have any money, where to buy fun? Speaking of this desolate mountain, what fun can there be.
Xu Xiake said that there is no need for money to buy music, there are music everywhere, and it is a pleasure to be happy in your heart.
I said, maybe, you're optimistic.
We drank and talked until it was almost dawn before going to bed.
At night, Xu Xiake slept well, because I heard him snoring like thunder.
As for me, I suddenly found this guest named Xu Xiake very interesting, and many of his statements were thought-provoking.
At noon the next day, Xu Xiake ate breakfast and left the station.
I asked him where he was going. He casually pointed to the green mountains and rivers around him and said, "Any place, such a good scenery, I don't want to miss it."
Until I died of old age, I never met a guest as interesting as Xu Xiake at Taiping Station.
Story 5: Visitors from the mountains
On the afternoon of October 30, 1637 (the tenth year of Ding Ugming's Chongzhen), when the mountain breeze suddenly rose, a group of people suddenly came to the village road of Nanlong Village (now part of Jingxi City, Guangxi) in HurunZhai. Two of them were guests, the eldest in their early fifties, sitting in a palanquin; the prime-aged in their early thirties, followed by them.
My surname is Nong, I was ninety years old at the time, I was not blind or deaf, the villagers called "old life star", and some people laughed and called "old immortal".
On the same day, I cut firewood by the stream not far from the village and saw the group clearly. This old man and the strong man are in a master-servant relationship, with eight porters accompanying him, four carrying palanquins, and the rest picking up luggage.
The scenery of our village is not bad, there is a stream flowing in front of the village, the creek is a field, the cottage is surrounded by bamboo bushes, and there are peach plums planted on the surrounding mountains, but it is located in the middle of nowhere, and few dignitaries and nobles come to visit. Occasionally, someone travels in a palanquin, and that is the toastmaster who goes down to the village to inspect. But I know Mr. Cen in the village, but these two guests are strange faces. As for the eight porters, judging by their dress and accent, they were supposed to be from nearby villages.
Anyway, this situation still made my heart clatter a little. Because I know that their arrival is bound to cost the people money, the villagers slaughter chickens and pigs to entertain themselves, not to mention the wine, the most difficult thing is to gather eight porters.
There are less than ten households in the village, which have suffered from famine and war, and there are few young and middle-aged men. Why are you so obedient, you may ask? Can't you do without labor?
Of course not, people who travel in this position hold bronze horse cards. It was a sign given by the government, with the right to eat and sleep in the caravanserai along the road and to use horses. And those of us along the route may be recruited at any time to work as cattle and horses. We don't dare to confront it, and we can't afford to suffer it.
In contemplation, a porter came up to me and asked how far it was to return to Shun prefecture (present-day Jingxi, Guangxi).
I said, I don't know how far it is, only that you can go along the village road all the way to the northwest.
The porter said, then we will be sent here, and the rest will be given to your village. Say goodbye and scatter.
The guests on the car smelled the sound, and the car wanted to keep the porter, but where to catch up.
I comforted the guests and said, don't chase, go to our village three miles ahead, according to the rules, our village will send the next ride. The guest looked up at the sky and saw twilight and frowned.
I said that it was getting late in the morning, so I asked the two visiting officers to go back to the village for a temporary rest and wait for tomorrow to hurry.
The older guest sighed and nodded.
When I offered to carry the palanquin, the older one said, "Forget the old man, you lead the way." He said that he would stuff his luggage into the palanquin and carry the palanquin into the village with the servants.
I held the firewood and walked ahead to lead the way.
I took them home and led them up to my dry-railed bamboo building, boiled eggs and offered them water, as well as local customs of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.
The dry-column bamboo building is our local bamboo building, where cattle and pigs are raised below, and the upper floor is used to cook and sleep on fire. The shelves are usually five or six feet high, and the roof trusses, walls and eaves are also made of bamboo.
When cooking on a fire, use three or four feet of square wooden planks to spread in the center of the bamboo building shelf, put charcoal ash, light firewood, and then use stones to set up the pot head to cook rice.
Three or four feet above the pot is a beam, and a bamboo basket hangs inside, which contains rice, which is roasted and taken to scoop. The utensils used to scoop rice are giant trees dug into the shape of a boat, hollowed out the center of the trunk, and then pounded with a pair of wooden sticks.
As for the daily water use, women carry four bamboo tubes to the stream to draw water, each four or five feet long. The clothes worn by the villagers are all spun or woven. When women weave, they sit cross-legged.
Usually, men wear wooden shoes with soles made of wood chips and two belts on the front end that cross between the big toes. As for women, they were all barefoot.
However, women pay great attention to decoration. The decorations seem simple, but they are actually very complicated - the head is coiled with five or six feet of white cloth, and a huge head knot is embellished on the forehead, which is beautiful. There are also those decorated with green cloth and flower cloth coiled, and there are also those who wear bamboo wire buckets. If you see a woman in the village with two red ribbons hanging from her chest, it must be the wife of the village leader.
Women also wore skirts, but the skirts were made of hundreds of juxtaposed straight pleats. Occasionally, when the skirt is tightened to allow walking, a large knot is tied behind the hips.
Most of the toastmasters wear felt hats, silk coats for the New Year's Festival, and cotton-spun clothes. Commanding and domineering.
The two visitors listened to my story, their faces full of disbelief.
The older guest, who called himself Xu Xiake, came from the distant Nanzhili (present-day Jiangsu, Shanghai, anhui), and in addition to being interested in our food, clothing, housing, and transportation, he also liked to visit the mountains and rivers, and also loved to visit the market.
Xu Xiake told me that every time he went to a place, he would climb green mountains, drill caves, watch rivers, and remember as he walked.
I said, what is the guest officer remembering?
He took out a pile of paper, which was full of words, and said that there were too many things to remember on the journey, and what he saw and heard felt.
I said, what's the use of remembering those?
He said to leave something for posterity.
I was stunned, I have only heard of leaving money for future generations, and I have never heard of leaving a diary for future generations.
After Xu Xiake entered the village, she only communicated with me alone. It's not because I'm good at words and reasonable, but because I've been studying for a few years, and dozens of people in the village can speak Chinese. The rest will only speak the vernacular, let them communicate, it is tantamount to chickens and ducks.
Xu Xiake said, do you know the outside world?
I said, I don't know, we only know the toast master, and the cross toe (now Vietnam). Because of their proximity, the toe-toe people (Moyi) often crossed the border to invade.
Xu Xiake said, what does a toe-toe person look like?
I said they had their hair hanging behind them and didn't tie their hair with strips of cloth. Occasionally, there were felt hats over the outside of their hair, their hair was still drooping, and most of them wore long pleated skirts, all barefoot.
Xu Xiake was very surprised to hear this, and said, what weapons did they rely on to fight in?
I said, sometimes a line gun with a scarlet handle, sometimes a bird milling.
Xu Xiake said, what did they come in for?
I said, rob people, grab money, grab grain, burn houses.
Xu Xiake sighed and said, you... Only know that there are Yi people, do not know that there is China? Do you know that there is toast, but you don't know that there is an emperor?
I nodded and said, yeah.
However, the villagers were very enthusiastic about the two guests who came from afar.
That night, the cattle were driven to the stream to catch fish. There are red carp and other fish in the stream, and the cattle ravage back and forth in the water for several rounds, stirring the fish into a daze before going into the water to catch it. The large fish they catch are finely cut into sashimi, placed in large bowls, and eaten raw with green onion and ginger shredded with salt and vinegar.
This is one of our local delicacies, commonly known as raw fish. Unfortunately, the two guests did not dare to move their chopsticks and watched us eat with their eyes.
We entertain two guests with wine, either shochu or white pulp. There is also a kind of rice wine, the color is cloudy, the taste is a little sweet, and it is only sold in the market.
4
One day at noon, a villager brought rat meat to entertain Xu Xiake.
Xu Xiake saw it, stomped his feet in fright, and shouted for the villagers to quickly take it away.
The villagers covered their mouths and smiled, replaced it with a kind of lavender-dried bird meat, and fried it to serve the guests.
We also have a local specialty, which grows in the cave of the stone mountain, weighs four or five pounds, commonly known as horse betel nut.
Villagers used to cut the betel nut into slices, mix it with the leaves of the basket, and then serve it to the guests.
Xu Xiake told us that Ma Betel nut is not betel nut, but He Shou Wu. He had bought three at the bazaar for twelve pennies, weighing about fifteen catties.
What surprised Xu Xia the most was that I, an old man over ninety years old, actually walked with the wind.
One night, he asked me, are you old and old?
I said, the little old man had just turned ninety.
He opened his mouth wide and said, "Lie to me, right?"
I said, don't you dare, I have seven sons, the first four are dead, and there are three left.
He said, what about your wife?
I said, still alive, live with the old man.
He said, how are you?
I said, very good, marry the chicken with the chicken, marry the dog with the dog.
He was amazed one after another, saying that he did not expect such a long-lived person in this desolate place.
He said, what is the secret of your longevity?
I said, there is no secret, just be at ease.
He said, what have you eaten over the years? What to drink?
I said, eat grains, eat bark and grass roots, and occasionally eat birds and animals. As for drinking, it is drinking mountain spring water.
Xu Xiake was silent for a while, and then asked, I heard that there is a large waterfall in Xialeitu Prefecture (in present-day Daxin County, Chongzuo City)?
I said, what is a waterfall?
Xu Xiake said that it was the river that poured down from a high place.
I said, but the water in the sky?
Xu Xiake said, Yes! Have you ever seen it?
I said, I saw it when I was younger.
Xu Xiake was very excited and said, let's listen!
I said that the place was located in the dense mountain forest of the Lower Thunder State, and the river fell from the cliffs more than 50 meters high, crashing into the rocks, splashing and misting. Looking at the sky like silk in the distance, looking at it from a close distance like a flying bead splashing jade, through the refraction of the sun, colorful, the sound of rushing water oscillates the river valley.
Xu Xiake's eyes widened and said, Is there really such a place? You take me there!
I shook my head and said, "Excuse me."
Xu Xiake was a little disappointed and said, Why?
I said that there were chaotic soldiers in that place, and I was careful that there was no return.
Xu Xiake said, I am not afraid of death!
I smiled bitterly and said, you can ask The Toastmaster to send someone to escort you.
Xu Xiake said sadly, I have asked, but they all said that there is no way there and it is impossible to go. alas!
Three days later, we sent Xu Xiake and his party away from the village.
Since there were not enough eight men in the village, two women had to be found to top them.