December 16th. It snowed in the northwest some time ago, but that was more than ten days ago and the snow has almost melted.
The sun hung in the sky, emitting a pale light, barely bringing a hint of warmth to the world.
Zhao Jun's convoy passed through the vast mountains. The mountain ridges on both sides of the official road were towering. Although there were many brown and yellow trees, they were still green and lush because there were many evergreen trees.
After coming out of Dasan Pass and walking more than ten kilometers to the northeast, the scenery suddenly opens up and what you see is an endless plain.
This is the area of Shennong Town, Weibin District, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province in later generations. There were some villages here during the Northern Song Dynasty. People came and went on the plain, and there was even a town at the exit of the official road.
Although from the perspective of distance, Chencang Road is the farthest road from Chang'an, the closest one is Ziwu Road, which was used to deliver litchis to Yang Guifei, also known as Litchi Road.
However, the Ziwu Road is the most difficult to travel on, as most of it is covered with cliffs. Therefore, since ancient times, people traveling between Guanzhong and Bashu have taken the Chencang Road.
At this moment, in the small town called Dasan Town, a large group of people had already been waiting. Rows of horse-drawn carriages were parked on the side of the road, and there were even a large group of soldiers stationed there, which caused a lot of discussion at the tea stalls at the town entrance.
"Those seem to be some officials. Why are they all standing there?"
"What do you mean by an official? He is an official. You are really ignorant. Those are official uniforms."
"You say that as if you're very knowledgeable."
"Yes, in my opinion, they must be officials from our state government. Didn't you see our county magistrate standing behind them?"
Two local elderly people who liked to drink tea started chatting.
They are locals, and logically speaking, they should be knowledgeable as they see so many people coming and going every day.
But apart from the tea stall waiters and restaurant waiters working in the town, no one would be so idle and bored as to squat at the town entrance and watch people every day.
The two old people also worked very hard on farm work in their early years. In their later years, their lives finally got better. They no longer had to worry about food and clothing, and their children also had land, so they lived a leisurely life.
Therefore, they have never seen any officials. For them, perhaps the highest official they have ever seen is the local county magistrate, county magistrate, or county lieutenant in Baoji County.
"Ha ha ha ha."
A few foreign merchants nearby heard what they said and started laughing.
Hearing their laughter, the two old men turned their heads. The old man who claimed to be a state official said unhappily, "What are you laughing at? Isn't it true?"
"Yes, but not from the state government."
A merchant smiled and pointed to the distance and said, "Look, those people in front of them are wearing light red robes. They are all high-ranking officials above the fourth rank. They are the leaders of our Qinfeng Road."
"A fourth-rank official?"
The two old men were shocked. They never expected that so many fourth-rank officials would appear in this rural area.
And they were standing by the roadside waiting, as if they were waiting for some important person.
This is just like the senior officials of a province standing on the roadside in later generations. It is indeed a surprising thing for the people of the province.
"We merchants have traveled extensively and know a few things. Back then, the court system was reformed, and official uniforms were divided into six grades: first-grade officials wore purple robes, second-grade officials wore dark red robes, third- and fourth-grade officials wore light red robes, fifth- and sixth-grade officials wore blue robes, seventh- and eighth-grade officials wore green robes, and ninth-grade officials and those below the official rank wore light blue robes."
The merchant continued, "Look, there are over ten people wearing light red robes here. They are all the senior officials and deputy officials from the five departments of Qinfeng Road. Among them is a person wearing a dark red robe, a second-rank official."
"Oh my god, how come there is a second-rank official? Does our Qinfeng Road have a second-rank official?"
"Of course not. Don't you know that the Prime Minister Di currently stationed in Lingzhou, Liangzhou, and Suzhou is the Deputy Privy Councilor, a high-ranking official of the second rank?"
"Why is the Deputy Prime Minister here too? What are they doing? Are they welcoming someone?"
The two old men were terrified.
What day is today? Have the senior officials from Qinfeng Road come here for the meeting?
Moreover, there was a deputy privy councilor of the second rank, which was far beyond their understanding.
"Haha, who else but the Dean could be welcomed by Prime Minister Di in person? Don't you know? The Dean has come to Qinfeng Road!"
The merchant said with a smile.
During the Jingyou period, Zhao Jun used the movable type printing technology invented by Bi Sheng to change the copper movable type into lead movable type, and bought a printing factory, and took the lead in opening the Bianliang newspaper.
In the following years, newspapers were opened one after another in Bianliang and Hangzhou, the two most prosperous cities in the Song Dynasty.
The emergence of newspapers greatly enriched the daily lives of the people of the Song Dynasty, and also provided them with a lot of information and broadened their horizons.
For example, the imperial court actively promoted education by publishing advertisements in newspapers many times to tell the people the importance of reading and learning.
But newspapers are not available everywhere. Apart from the provincial capitals or important big cities, there are very few newspaper offices in ordinary county towns.
Therefore, for the people in rural areas, information is still very blocked. Even in Dasan Town, which is located on a major transportation route, there is still such an information barrier.
But it was different for the merchants who traveled all over the country. They had long known about Zhao Jun's travels around the world. Even Zhao Jun's itinerary was published in newspapers in various places, so these merchants naturally knew about it.
When the local people learned that Zhao Jun had come, they immediately became excited. They were very surprised at first, then they were delighted and started talking about it.
"This, this, this is actually the dean. The dean has come to our Qinfeng Road."
"I came here two years ago."
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