Pingyang Prefecture (now yuncheng area) in Shaanxi province of the Great Ming Dynasty, historically known as Hetong, has been a cultural heartland since ancient times, producing countless civil and military officials, as well as talented men and beautiful women. zhang yi, fan sui, lian po, guan yu, xue rengui, wang bo, wang wei, zhang xun, Liu zongyuan, pei xingjian, yang yuhuan, pei du, and sima guang are just a few examples. wenxi county alone produced fifty-nine prime ministers and fifty-nine great generals, with over six hundred people recorded in official histories, leading sima guang to exclaim, "wenxi is a forest of officials and scholars!"
In Pingyang Prefecture city, a grand, ancient, and simple mansion stood. A large character "Xue" (xue) was written above its gate, indicating it was the residence of Xue Zongzhou, a branch of the Hetong xue family. The Hetong xue family is one of the three great clans of Hetong, alongside the pei and Liu clans.
The owner of this mansion, Xue Zongzhou, styled Wenbo, was in his early twenties, handsome and charming, chivalrous and righteous, and enjoyed making friends. However, despite having friends all over the world, he had only a few confidants. At this moment, he was hosting a banquet in a side room for two of his confidants.
One was around thirty years old, with a sharp demeanor and refined literary talent, none other than Liu Haogu, the master of Sultan.
The other was twenty-three years old, with an elegant and ethereal scholarly aura, none other than Fu Shan, a philosopher, calligrapher, and physician of the Great Ming Dynasty, styled Qingzhu.
Fu Shan was from taiyuan. Not long ago, his wife, zhang, had given birth to their son, fu mei. He had planned to stay home and enjoy time with his son, but unexpected rebels arrived in taiyuan. To avoid the war, he fled to pingyang and stayed with his good friend Xue Zongzhou.
Speaking of the rebels in the northern region, they had been causing trouble for several years. Originally, they were only active in Shaanxi, but for some reason, they had spread to Shaanxi.
Among them, a man named wang jiayin was the most formidable. He was acclaimed as king by Rebel Army leaders like gao yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and wang ziyong. He also established various levels of officials and gathered a force of over thirty thousand people.
While in Shaanxi, this great king had defeated the main force of the Ming Army. After arriving in Shaanxi, he broke through defenses like a hot knife through butter and laid siege to Taiyuan Prefecture.
To escape the disaster of war, Fu Shan came to pingyang to seek refuge with his good friend Xue Zongzhou. Xue Zongzhou was also acquainted with Liu Haogu, and the three of them often gathered to discuss the situation in the world.
In those years, Liu Haogu left his disciple and returned to his hometown in pingyang to fulfill his filial duties. Not long after, his elderly father passed away.
Then came the internal strife and external threats, with beacons of war lighting up everywhere.
He often thought of the words Sultan had spoken when they parted: "At the moment of parting, I have a word to give to my master.
The current emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty is thin-hearted, lacking in kindness, narrow-minded, and suspicious; he is not a ruler capable of defending the land.
In the future, if master can no longer stay in pingyang, please come to Yingsuo River city to find me.
I will sweep the floor to welcome you!"
Now, the world was indeed in chaos, and this disciple truly had foresight!
He wanted to go to Yingsuo River city to seek refuge with his disciple.
On one hand, the bond between master and disciple was deep; on the other hand, the two Mongol concubines Nomudalai had given him back then also deeply missed their hometown and were urging him to return to Yingsuo River.
Taking advantage of the peak of the drinking, Xue Zongzhou got to the main topic: "chu cai (Liu Haogu's style name), Qingzhu (Fu Shan's style name), yesterday, the patriarchs of the xue, pei, and Liu families invited me to discuss the situation.
They said that the northern region is already in great chaos and proposed that I migrate south with them to the south of the yangtze river.
What do you two think of this plan?"
"Wenbo, I believe that migrating to the south of the yangtze river can only provide comfort for about ten years, and the south of the yangtze river may not necessarily be a land of happiness either," Fu Shan sighed.
He enjoyed traveling and was well-acquainted with the situation in both the northern and southern regions. He was fully aware of the severity of the natural disasters and the corruption of the qing dynasty, so he was very pessimistic.
"Yes, Wenbo, the qing dynasty is corrupt now, scholars are ruining the country, and coupled with natural disasters and man-made calamities, the iron cavalry of the jiannu have even reached the gates of beijing.
The state of the country is beyond redemption!" Liu Haogu also sighed.
Xue Zongzhou was stunned. Liu's grandfather had participated in the "three victories of huangzhong" and served as the governor-general of the three borders of the Great Ming Dynasty, Liu minkuan.
Even he said the state of the country was beyond redemption; what should they do?
He gritted his teeth and asked Liu Haogu: "Liu, the country is in turmoil, and the south of the yangtze river is not a land of happiness either. Where else can we go?"
"Yes, Liu, what should we do?" Fu Shan also asked Liu Haogu.
"Alas!"
Liu Haogu let out a long sigh, "To be honest with you two younger brothers, I wish to go to the West Desert and seek refuge with Sultan, the Great Taiji of the oirat Mongol Huit Tribe."
"What! You want to seek refuge with the oirat? Those barbarians are like jackals by nature and know no etiquette. How can you go to them?" Xue Zongzhou was greatly surprised.
"Yes, Liu, I heard that the oirat worship strength and disregard etiquette, and are fond of fighting and being ruthless. If you seek refuge with them, I fear your life will be in danger," Fu Shan also said.
"Hahaha, my two younger brothers do not know much about the oirat.
To be honest, I served as the Mongol tutor for Sultan, the Great Taiji of the oirat Huit Tribe, and stayed in Yingsuo River for four years.
My disciple has studied the confucian classics thoroughly and can write essays like confucius and mencius; he is not some barbarian!"
After speaking, Liu Haogu recounted everything from how he took in a disciple because of a couplet to every detail of his time in the Huit Tribe.
"So that's how it is!"
After listening, xue zhouzhou and Fu Shan's expressions improved significantly, but they still hesitated about going to the West Desert for refuge.
Seeing their hesitation, Liu Haogu said solemnly: "You all say that the barbarians know no etiquette, but now the world is in great chaos, and the displaced people cannot survive and even eat people.
The government soldiers dare not suppress the rebels but dare to kill the innocent for merit and rob wealth.
The officials of the qing dynasty do not provide relief to the disaster victims but instead increase taxes and levies. Where is etiquette? Where is justice?
My mind is made up. I will migrate west to the West Desert on a chosen day to avoid the ravages of war.
As for where you two younger brothers go, it is entirely up to you."
After hearing this, xue and fu looked at each other.
After a long while, Fu Shan finally said: "I am willing to follow Liu to the West Desert to live in seclusion. From now on, I will live the life of herding horses and singing!"
"I am also willing to go," Xue Zongzhou paused, and then said: "It's just that with the current state of war and chaos, relying solely on our household servants, I'm afraid we will be harmed by those rogue soldiers and rebels before we even reach Yingsuo River."
"No matter, I have already considered this matter," Liu Haogu stroked his beard, "The taigu cao clan, who have been merchants for generations, frequently travel to the northern and southern regions of the great desert and have connections with government officials, rebel leaders, and the chieftains of Mobei, Mobei, and West Desert.
I am acquainted with Cao Sanxi, the patriarch of the cao family, and have already written to him, asking him to send people to escort us.
There will definitely be no worries!"
The drizzling rain fell incessantly, raindrops flowed down the eaves tiles of the sanduotang, like the tears of a lover.
The cao family courtyard in taigu county, Shaanxi, is shaped like the character "life" (shou), signifying "many blessings, many years of longevity, and many children," and is also known as "sanduotang" (hall of three abundances).
The large courtyard, facing north and south, is tall and elegant, divided into northern and southern parts, with three connecting courtyards arranged side by side from east to west.
It has carved beams and painted rafters, dragon towers and phoenix pavilions, arranged in a dense pattern.
Strolling along the winding corridors, one can see the high, upturned eaves.
There are also three pavilion-style multi-story buildings on the rooftops, with flying eaves reaching into the sky. These are places for the cao family's guards to patrol and also where the master raises a cup to invite the moon.
Cao Sanxi, who had just passed his thirtieth birthday, was standing at the entrance of the main hall of sanduotang, watching the rain.
The rain was not heavy, but it kept falling. The man stood motionless, watching quietly.
Suddenly, cao, the experienced head of the family who had navigated the business world, trembled slightly, and his eyes widened.
A dark figure, undetected by the cao family's guards, glided lightly from the rooftop and flew in a few quick steps to stand before Cao Sanxi, cupping his hands in greeting: "I am Ji Jike, greetings, manager cao."
"Ah, my younger brother, you have made me wait! Quickly, follow me into the study; there is good tea," Cao Sanxi made a welcoming gesture and laughed heartily.
