Pairs of green, white jade-like hands reached out from the balconies on the second and third floors, waving to passersby, their smiles and words filling the air with fragrance. Back then, young women in thin spring clothes rode horses, leaning against a sloping bridge, their sleeves waving in red all over the building.
At this moment, leaning against the red building, a woman sang softly: "The thin clouds play tricks, the flying stars convey hatred, the Milky Way passes by in the dark. When the golden wind and jade dew meet, it is better than countless things in the world. Tender love is like water, the good time is like a dream, I can't help but look back at the Magpie Bridge on the way home. If the love between two people is long-lasting, why should they be together day and night?"
The song was gentle and melodious, accompanied by the soft music of the instruments in the building. The song "Magpie Bridge Fairy" was told in a very moving way. The melody was still moving, and after a moment it changed to "Dielianhua", a poem written by Liu Yong in his early years, which made the sadness and sorrow of love even more apparent.
Not to be outdone, nearby Cuihongyuan suddenly began to drum, and a woman's high-pitched voice began to sing: "Eastward the mighty river flows, its waves washing away the heroes of the ages. West of the old fortress, people say it's the Red Cliff where Zhou Yu stood in the Three Kingdoms period. Rocks pierce the sky, waves crash against the shore, stirring up thousands of piles of snow. The landscape is picturesque, and so many heroes stood there at that time."
The majestic "Nian Nu Jiao" actually overshadowed the graceful and elegant "Die Lian Hua" next to it. The painted boats floated in the golden water, and the singing spread in all directions. The tourists on both sides of the river were mesmerized by the singing and unconsciously walked into the brothels to listen to the fairy music up close.
For a time, even the business of the fifty-four brothels in Bianliang was better than before.
It was early October, late autumn and early winter, the sun was high in the sky, and the whole earth was scorching hot.
Today is not a cold day, but a hot early winter.
Because the third Little Ice Age occurred during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and ended in the early Song Dynasty, the temperature gradually warmed up and returned to normal in the middle of the Song Dynasty.
Especially in the Huainan region, droughts and little rain often plagued the area, and famines were frequent. Therefore, even though it was early winter, the weather was not too cold, with a hint of warmth mixed in with the cold wind.
The sunlight is a little pale. If you wear something thicker, you will feel hot, but if you wear something less, you will feel cold, which makes people feel uncomfortable in early winter.
Outside the city walls, water flows in the canal, and willow branches dance lightly in the breeze. In the fields along both sides, the green wheat planted in August sways. As the saying goes, "old wheat covers the fields, and new rice seedlings fill the ponds." Beyond Bianliang City, fertile fields stretch for thousands of miles, a scene of rural life.
Thanks to the introduction of superior rice varieties like Champa rice and Huanglong rice, the practice of double-cropping rice and wheat began to emerge in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River during the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Shaosheng reign, Lu You's grandfather, Lu Dian, was demoted to Taizhou. There's a record of him being "exiled to Hailing until the wheat harvest was complete."
In the fourth year of Chunhua reign of Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty, Huang Mao, the magistrate of Linjin, Cangzhou, proposed to promote the early rice from Jiangdong in Hebei, which achieved obvious results. It is a famous case of planting southern rice in the north in the early Song Dynasty.
Therefore, during the Northern Song Dynasty, the northern Hebei and Henan regions gradually began to alternately plant wheat and rice.
Farmers were busy working in the fields between the ridges, and scholars were enjoying the autumn scenery in the suburbs. A horse-drawn carriage, protected by a dozen guards, was slowly approaching the side of the road and had already reached the outskirts of Bianliang City.
"Unconsciously, I haven't been to Bianliang for two years. This change is not that big."
An old man in his sixties in the carriage lifted the door curtain and looked at the scenery outside the window. There was some reminiscence and indifference in his eyes, but more importantly, there was a touch of joy mixed with the calmness.
Since the first year of Jingyou, after being driven out of the court by his political enemy Lu Yijian, Li Di was first appointed as the governor of Xiangzhou, and then soon after was changed to the governor of Mizhou, and then Xuzhou and Yanzhou. In just two years, he was like being exiled, moving to many places and was quite embarrassed.
Although transportation in the Song Dynasty had greatly improved compared to the Han and Tang Dynasties, and with the opening of the Grand Canal, transportation and logistics speeds had greatly increased, for a sixty-year-old man, all this traveling was really a bit too much for his body.
Now he has finally returned to Bianliang. Although he has only been appointed as a deputy envoy to the Three Departments, with his qualifications, I believe that as long as he can be reused by the government, it won't be long before he can return to the position of prime minister.
"Weng Weng."
The driver was a teenager, about fifteen or sixteen years old, named Li Xiaoji, and he was Li Di's grandson.
When he heard that his grandfather had returned, he excitedly ran twenty miles out of the city to greet him. When he arrived, he drove the coachman to the other side and drove for his grandfather himself.
He smiled and said, "Although the appearance of Bianliang has not changed much, the officialdom has changed a lot. My father is now a judge in the Ministry of Revenue, and he saw over a hundred people from the Salt and Iron Bureau being stripped naked and driven out."
Li Di shook his head and said, "I thought I would have to wait until that fellow Lu Yijian resigned as Prime Minister before I could return. It's thanks to this newly appointed Director of the Ministry of Political Affairs that I can finally return to the imperial court. But I wonder what kind of person this Director of the Ministry of Political Affairs is."
"This magistrate is truly remarkable. He's executed so many corrupt officials in Kaifeng Prefecture. He's arrested so many gangs in Bianliang. He's also arrested many officials in government who were in cahoots with them. Two or three hundred of them have been arrested."
Li Xiaoji said cheerfully, then took out a newspaper from his pocket and handed it to Li Di, saying, "Wang Weng, you'll know after reading this."
"What is this?"
Li Di took the newspaper, and because of its placement, the first thing he saw was poetry.
There are two songs in it.
One is "Magpie Bridge Fairy" and the other is "Nian Nujiao", both were written by a man named Zhou Shuren.
"This thing is called a newspaper. It appeared yesterday morning. Don't we have a shop? We managed to get a copy. Even that Zhao Zhiyuan is writing an article in it."
Li Xiaoji replied.
Li Di glanced at the two poems and said in his heart that they were good. Then he did not read them carefully. He opened the book to the front and saw two articles written by Zhao Jun.
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