I

Chapter 588 585 [The Bridge Crosser]

Anminfang, Xiao County.

The front door of the Liu family was extremely lively. Neighbors from all over the city came to watch, and even people from the suburbs took action after hearing the news.

The angel from Nanjing arrived three days ago.

The Ming Dynasty's canonization edict arrived three days in advance, asking the edict to fast and bathe, and at the same time notify relatives to come to observe the ceremony, and prepare incense tables and other items.

Zhao Han was too lazy to modify this rule, but he did not force fasting, and he would not be punished with a serious crime of disrespect for not taking a shower or changing clothes.

"I'm coming!"

"The angel has arrived!"

A group of officials came from the county government hotel, followed by a large number of people along the way.

Liu Mang, Xu Xian Zou, his son Liu Zongzu, and his daughter-in-law Li were cautiously waiting at the door. Li was still holding one in his arms and holding the other in his arms.

Liu Mang had several children, but only one son and one daughter reached adulthood, and the others all died of illness. The original wife also died of illness in Tianjin. The current wife is a refugee who went south. She was separated from her family during the escape and settled in a village with Liu Mang. The farmers' association helped them reorganize their family.

Liu Mang is almost fifty years old, and his second wife is less than thirty years old. The old couple and the young couple are relatively loving.

As for the daughter, she also lost her husband and became a widow. She later remarried a Datong soldier and now lives with her husband in Gaizhou, Liaoning.

"Angels, please come in quickly!" Liu Mang bowed to greet him.

"please!"

Cui Yongdian did not dare to neglect, and returned the greeting with a smile.

There are three main types of people who read edicts for the Ming Emperor: eunuchs, royal guards or pedestrians.

Pedestrians are indispensable, and are usually held by newly promoted scholars, who are specifically responsible for running errands for the emperor. After working for two or three years, they will be transferred elsewhere, and most of them are transferred to the Sixth Section or the Sixth Department. Pedestrians were on a business trip, either out of Beijing to deliver an imperial edict, or to escort a resigned minister back to his hometown, or to welcome a high-ranking official back, or to escort a prince to a place where he was granted a title, and he had to use a pen to record the process along the way.

As for eunuchs or royal guards, whether they are available or not depends entirely on the emperor's mood.

The Datong court only used pedestrians for the time being, and set up a pedestrian department in the cabinet. When a task is encountered, a person from Zhongshushe will temporarily take over, and some palace guards will be sent to escort him.

The main reason is that Zhao Han has no eunuchs at his disposal, and it is inconvenient for female officials to do so. After all, they often travel across mountains and rivers.

After the reform, the chief envoy was a pedestrian and the deputy envoy was a bodyguard.

After entering the courtyard, deputy envoy Zhang Hong took out the imperial edict and shouted at the top of his voice: "Liu Mang accepts the edict!"

"I'm here!" Liu Mang bowed and bowed.

Cui Yongdian took the imperial edict, opened it and read out: "In order to respond to the emperor of the people, he said: "Rewarding virtuous people for their hard work is a classic of the imperial court, and repaying kindness is also a pure human nature... I fled famine when I was young, and I took my sister to beg for food in Tianjin. Fortunately, Liu I will allow you to enter the city without losing your life in the wilderness... I specially designate Liu Jun as the Bridge Crosser..."

This imperial edict was written by Zhao Han himself. He did not use messy and difficult-to-understand allusions, but simply described the situation at that time in a very plain way. Moreover, Liu Mang was not called by his name, but "Liu Jun" was used to express respect.

It's just that the title was stingy, only an earl.

Cui Yongdian closed the imperial edict and placed it squarely on the desk.

Liu Mang took his family and knelt down in front of the imperial edict on the desk: "I accept the edict and thank you for your kindness!"

After receiving the decree, Liu Mang took out the money and stuffed it into the hands of the official who delivered the decree: "My lords, please forgive me, I don't have much savings..."

"Don't do this!" Cui Yongdian quickly backed away.

Zhang Hong also stood aside, not daring to accept Liu Mang's thank you gift.

Although there are no relevant regulations, there are a lot of civil servants and guards nearby, and it will inevitably have a bad impact on the emperor's ears. Especially Cui Yongdian, who is temporarily serving as a pedestrian, but his real position is Zhongshu Sheren. He has a bright future after being released, and he will not covet these small amounts of money.

Liu Mang could only take the money back, and asked his son and daughter-in-law to scatter money at the door to share the joy.

A lot of copper coins were thrown around, but in fact they were not much, and they were all exchanged for one silver dollar. But the people on the street went crazy, and those who only got one or two copper coins were very happy because they could imbue themselves with royal aura.

There were even neighbors who came over with a hammer and wanted to smash down Liu's door.

The lintel has to be changed, and it can be replaced by "County", an old rule passed down from the Ming Dynasty.

Officials from the county came over to congratulate him one after another, and Liu Mang was beaming with joy.

In fact, he had forgotten and couldn't remember who he let across the bridge. He was even a little worried: What if the emperor made a mistake?

The people outside the door took the stolen copper coins and began to talk about it:

"This good man is rewarded. He saved someone's life before, and now he has become a lord."

"The emperor must remember his kindness."

"Your Majesty is also a good man. After becoming emperor, he still remembers his former benefactor. According to the notice, in addition to Lord Liu, he is also looking for a woman from Tianjin. I don't know if this woman has been found."

"I'm afraid this woman gave him something to eat when His Majesty was begging for food."

"His Majesty also came from a poor background. He was a child no matter how old he was, and he took his girl to run away to beg for food. Fortunately, God bless you, your Majesty and the princess are both alive, otherwise how would we have the good life we ​​have now?"

"Otherwise, how can we say that the emperor is the real dragon emperor? God has blessed you all the way and sent gods to protect you. This Lord Liu must be the reincarnation of some god, who came down to earth to keep your majesty safe."

"They are probably the immortals guarding the bridge in heaven."

"How can you guard the bridge in heaven? When Lord Liu was a god, he guarded the magpie bridge in the sky. He had to let the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet each other."

"Hey, I also escaped from Tianjin. Why didn't I meet His Majesty back then?"

"Come on, Sir Liu is a god who came down to earth and received the Jade Emperor's decree to save the emperor. Even if you met His Majesty back then and His Majesty knelt down and begged you for food, would you really give it?"

"Ahem, I will give it to you, I will definitely give it to you."

"..."

The edict-delivery team left, and neighbors congratulating themselves poured in. Liu Mang's face froze with a smile. In the evening, he was taken to a banquet by the officials again. He drank a lot of meat and vegetables before returning home.

The whole family spread out the imperial edict and read it again and again, as if they were dreaming.

Liu Zongzu couldn't help but ask: "Dad, what does the emperor look like?"

Liu Mang was still drunk and said confusedly: "How do I remember? Don't think the emperor made a mistake."

"It can't be wrong." His wife Zou said hurriedly.

"That's right, hehe, that's right." Liu Mang said with a smile. He always felt that this was similar to going out to pick up money.

Xuzhou.

Zhao Zhenfang came to a small house, and Mrs. Chen quickly saluted: "Greetings to Her Royal Highness the Princess!"

"Auntie, how are you? Is Uncle Wei at home?" Zhao Zhenfang asked.

Chen said: "I went to teach people how to practice martial arts."

Zhao Zhenfang said: "Then I will wait for him to come back."

Wei Jianxiong and Chen visited several provinces but could not find Chen's relatives. When I arrived in Xuzhou, I simply didn’t leave. Further north was Shandong. Many of the province’s population were immigrants, so it was even more difficult to find anyone.

A child of four or five years old looked at Zhao Zhenfang timidly, but he was the son of Wei Jianxiong.

In the evening, Wei Jianxiong finally returned home.

Seeing Zhao Zhenfang, Wei Jianxiong quickly said: "Meet the princess!"

"Uncle Wei, please come quickly." Zhao Zhenfang asked the entourage to bring the box. "This is sent by the emperor's brother, one hundred taels of silver. His Majesty said in the letter that if Uncle Wei is willing to be an official, the emperor's brother can arrange a military position. .With Uncle Wei’s talent, it’s not considered favoritism.”

Wei Jianxiong smiled and took the box. It was quite heavy and filled with silver coins: "The emperor gave us the money, so we kept it and stopped serving as officials. I have been a follower for many years, how can I be free now? I am in Xuzhou, giving money to the children of a wealthy family. Be a coach and teach them how to be comfortable with swords, guns and sticks. If it weren’t for this job, I wouldn’t have met Her Royal Highness.”

Wei Jianxiong teaches martial arts to children from wealthy families, and occasionally borrows the playground of Xuzhou Middle School to practice military formations when school is not in class.

Zhao Zhenfang said: "Here is a letter from the emperor."

Wei Jianxiong opened the letter and laughed as he read it. The content was mainly about recalling past events, and by the way, he was invited to Nanjing. If you don’t want to go to Nanjing, just write a reply and ask Zhao Zhenfang to take it with you.

While Wei Jianxiong was writing a letter, he asked: "Princess wants to return to Beijing?"

Zhao Zhenfang said: "The Mathematics Society and the Physics Society hold a conference in Nanjing every summer while schools are on vacation. I haven't been there for two years, and I have to go this year to share my experiences with my friends."

Wei Jianxiong didn't understand these things and didn't know how to answer the question.

Zhao Zhenfang’s mathematics and physics research has never fallen behind. Although she is not a genius, she corresponds with geniuses all year round and always follows them at the forefront of science.

There are also academic gains. Zhao Zhenfang discovered two mathematical theorems, which are nicknamed the "Princess Theorem" by mathematics researchers.

Zheng Sen was a little jealous of this. He suspected that Zhao Zhenfang was going back to Nanjing to meet her original crush.

Nanjing, Forbidden City.

Liu Mang and his wife Zou followed the palace maid step by step. The towering and deep palace walls made them uneasy.

After passing through another palace gate, the palace inside became even more majestic. Zou was so frightened that her body was shaking.

Liu Mang comforted him in a low voice: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, the emperor does not eat people."

A carriage suddenly stopped. The tall female officer driving the carriage stopped in front of them and said, "You two, please get in the carriage."

Zou was almost paralyzed, and Liu Mang could only help his wife up.

Only the emperor and queen could ride in this kind of palace chariot, not even the concubines, but they two could still enjoy it.

After circling the palace wall, the chariot stopped outside the imperial garden.

After walking for a while, they could hear laughter, but it was Rongfu Princess Zhao Zhenfang teasing the little prince.

Princess Defu Zhao Zhenlan was also there, relatively quiet, smiling at her daughter and playing with several princes and princesses.

Several concubines were playing in the imperial garden, and Pan Qimei invited everyone to taste pastries.

Seeing Liu Mang and his wife, Zhao Han stood up with a smile: "My benefactor is here!"

Everyone stood up. The battle was so terrifying that Liu Mang's legs became weak from fear.

In fact, Zhao Han had no other thoughts. He just found a benefactor. Thinking of many past events in his childhood, he sent someone to invite Liu Mang to Nanjing to meet him in person.

"My little minister Liu Mang, pay homage to Your Majesty!" Liu Mang pulled his wife to salute.

Zhao Zhenfang said: "Sister, this is the benefactor who saved me and the emperor. Without his release, the emperor and I would not be able to cross the bridge, and we might starve to death outside the city."

Zhao Zhenlan bowed and thanked: "Thank you for saving my life!"

"I don't dare to take it, I don't dare to take it!" Liu Mang was so frightened that he fainted.

Zhao Han smiled and said: "Sister, don't scare people, please invite them to come and eat together."

Tea was served, and various pastries were placed there. Liu Mang was restless while eating the pastries, and he didn't even know where to put his eyes.

The eldest prince Zhao Kuanghuan is seven years old, and he is the king of children in front of his younger brothers and sisters.

Huangcheng Elementary School will officially start school after this summer vacation, and the fun will be even crazier then.

The dignitaries, gentry and merchants of Nanjing City were all trying to get their children into Huangcheng Primary School by seeking connections.

Huangcheng Primary School, all depends on connections.

Only when they arrive at the Imperial City Middle School will prodigies from all over the country gather, each based on their ability, to study with the princes and princesses.

Chapter 592/1085
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ICh.592/1085 [54.56%]