chsdbacks Chapter 2: The Traitors!
Chapter 2: The Traitors!
"Master?"
"Did I memorize it correctly?"
Fang Shisan's voice brought Zhong Yuan back to reality.
Zhong Yuan looked at the dark-skinned and thin Fang Shisan with a cautious expression.
He raised his hand somewhat listlessly.
More expectation, more disappointment.
He had been waiting for the Book of Reincarnation for several months, hoping to find a talent that could be used in the imperial examinations.
What has now awakened is his innate sword meridian.
"You recited it well, not a single word was missed."
"You should go back now."
"I'll be alone for a while."
Fang Shisan noticed that Master Zhong was not as happy as he usually was when his students finished reciting their lessons.
Although she was puzzled, she didn't ask any further questions and turned to leave.
He had only taken a couple of steps when Fang Shisan seemed to remember something else.
He immediately turned around, ran to the door, poked his head out, and said to Zhong Yuan, "Master."
"I'm not very bright, please don't mind."
"Tonight at 1:15 PM, I'll take you to the mountain god's temple to find my sixth brother. He's much more pedantic than I am!"
As soon as Fang Shisan finished speaking, he turned and left.
Zhong Yuan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.
"Wait, what's up with this kid?"
"Why are you at the mountain temple with your sixth brother so late at night instead of sleeping?"
Zhong Yuan raised his hand and pressed his temples, his face full of helplessness.
That's it.
Since things have already come to this, we can only let nature take its course.
But is this innate sword vein really for real?
This is the Song Dynasty, not a fantasy world!
There isn't even a blacksmith in this remote mountain village, so where is he supposed to find a sword?
Swordsmanship? I've never even heard of that.
waste!
What a waste!
Well, for now, we can only take it one step at a time.
In the future, if I pass the provincial examination, I can go to the provincial capital or the capital and find a martial arts school to learn a move or two, which will be a skill to rely on.
Right now, the most important thing is to study hard and pass the provincial examination.
Entering officialdom through the imperial examination and bringing glory to one's family was the only way out.
Zhong Yuan packed his things, left the ancestral hall, and went straight to his own courtyard.
Although Zhong Yuan's surname is not Fang, his mother is a member of the Fang family.
Back then, after Lao Zhong married his mother, he settled in Zhenjie Village.
In the entire Zhenjie Village, eight or nine out of ten people are surnamed Fang, and there are not many people with other surnames.
The Zhong family was one such household.
but.
Currently, only Zhong Yuan remains in the Zhong family.
When Lao Zhong was young, he was just a poor scholar. Although he was respected by the villagers because of his teaching, he did not leave any property to his family.
Zhong Yuan's courtyard is at the end of Zhenjie Village. There is a big tree at the end of the village, and his house is just around the corner.
He's the only one in the family who needs to speak.
He usually eats at the village head's house. The Fang Clan Ancestral Hall was repaired by Fang Youchang, the village head.
Fang Youchang was a prominent member of the Fang family, and owned a lacquer garden.
Many villagers were employees of Fang Youchang's lacquer garden.
Zhong Yuan's teaching wages were also paid by Fang Youchang.
Firstly, Fang Youchang was considered his maternal cousin, though they were not beyond the fifth degree of kinship, they were close enough.
Secondly, it's because Zhong Yuan's father, Lao Zhong, saved Fang Youchang's life back then.
Of course, the latter reason is more significant.
So, after Lao Zhong went missing.
In order to take care of Zhong Yuan, Fang Youchang let him follow in his footsteps and teach his own children, and even let him eat at his home.
originally.
Fang Yuan only needed to teach Fang Youchang's three young grandsons their studies.
However, in order to open the [Book of Reincarnation] as soon as possible, Zhong Yuan praised Fang Youchang a lot.
Fang Youchang also agreed that children from other branches of the Fang family could study at the Fang family ancestral hall.
These days, even in the village, people observe the custom of not eating after noon.
The real reason was that there wasn't enough food.
Every household needs to be frugal and thrifty.
Fang Youchang's family were landlords, so they weren't short of food. However, Zhong Yuan wanted to keep his mind clear so he could read a little more at night.
I won't go to Fang Youchang's house for dinner in the afternoon.
Fang Yuan returned to his small courtyard and swept up some leaves from the trees.
Unlock the main room and take a volume from the "Zhaoming Anthology" from the bookshelf inside.
Old Zhong somehow acquired a room full of books back then.
Most importantly, the books in this room include not only classics and historical texts related to the imperial examinations, but also some miscellaneous books.
There are some medical books and divination books.
This led Zhong Yuan to speculate that back then, Old Zhong probably considered becoming a fortune teller because he couldn't get into studying.
Anyway, it was quite unexpected for Zhong Yuan.
after all.
These days, there aren't that many people who can seriously study, let alone have that many books.
Ordinary lacquerers had a very low social status and were classified as workers in the household registration system of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.
It's not as simple as just saying it.
That's definitely a class hierarchy!
In principle, those with worker status were not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations, for fear that they would lower the social standing of scholars!
Fortunately, it is now the early years of the Yuan You era.
If you have talent and can get a letter of recommendation from a local official or a respected figure, you still have a chance to take the exam.
Old Zhong never passed the imperial examinations.
However, in his predecessor's memories, he left behind a seal. Old Zhong said that if he took that seal to the Wang family in Suzhou and sought out the Wang family patriarch, he could obtain a letter of recommendation.
This is one of the reasons why the predecessor studied so hard.
"The Wang family of Gusu".
Zhong Yuan casually picked up the seal left by Old Zhong on the table and looked at it.
Nothing special, except that it's engraved with the four characters "钟鸣鼎食" (meaning "the sound of bells and the stagnation of food").
Zhong Yuan cleared his mind of all distractions and began to peruse the "Selections of Zhaoming".
Once Zhong Yuan started reading, he lost track of time.
As darkness fell, he lit an oil lamp and continued reading by lamplight.
Until Fang Shisan knocked on the door outside the courtyard.
He suddenly realized that it was already quite late.
It was already 9 PM.
Zhong Yuan blew out the oil lamp, closed the door, and went outside the courtyard.
Fang Shisan and his sister Fang Baihua were waiting outside.
"Master, come with me, time is almost up."
Seeing Fang Shisan in such a hurry, Zhong Yuan couldn't help but feel curious.
What is this kid doing at the mountain god temple so late at night?
No, he has to go and check it out.
Zhong Yuan followed in the footsteps of the two, walking through the mountains and forests, gradually disappearing into the distance.
About fifteen minutes later.
There are flashes of light ahead.
A dilapidated mountain god temple appeared in the woods not far away.
There were no lights on inside the temple.
Only a bonfire crackled and popped inside the temple.
After Zhong Yuan followed Fang Shisan and the others into the temple.
I found that there were already quite a few people sitting in the temple, all of them strong laborers from the village, about thirty in total.
The flickering firelight shone on those thirty or so faces.
Zhongyuan recognized all these faces. Besides those from Zhenjie Village, there were also people from the neighboring village; they were all lacquerers from the same township.
At the very front of the crowd, a sturdy man dressed in coarse cloth stood beneath the broken statue of the mountain god.
With a faded red cloth wrapped around his left arm, he raised his hand and pressed it down in front of the crowd.
Zhong Yuan recognized the man; the burly man was called Fang Liu, Fang Shisan's cousin.
Fang Liu leaned forward slightly, speaking in a low but clear voice, "Fellow men and women, let's not talk about doctrine today, but about this year. Thirty percent of the lacquer trees harvested this year were taken away by the government under the guise of the 'Flower and Stone Tribute'!"
"The rice paddies are plagued by locusts, and the village head is still pressing for last year's back taxes. If we can't pay, he'll take our children as collateral. Is this any kind of human life?"
In the crowd, someone began to sob softly, and a burly man in a patched jacket had red eyes.
"Sixth brother, my son was dragged off to repair the river embankment yesterday, and he didn't even have time for a hot meal..."
Fang Liu raised his hand in a gesture of pressing down, and continued, "This world is too dark!"
"Governments levy exorbitant taxes, and landlords squeeze every last drop of marrow from the bones!"
Where is the light in this world?
"What is light!"
"A bright future means that we poor people can have a full meal, a roof over our heads, and warm clothes!"
As Fang Liu spoke, he squatted down, picked up a piece of firewood, and stoked the campfire to make it burn even brighter.
"The Venerable One has spoken!"
In the beginning, light and darkness each occupied one side!
"At this critical moment, darkness invades the realm of light, just as those bastards from the government barge into the lacquer garden and steal our lacquer trees!"
"But in due time, light will drive out darkness!"
"At that time, the world will be one family, everyone will have food to eat and clothes to wear, there will be no more masters and tenants, and no more exorbitant taxes!"
Some people in the crowd had already clenched their fists. Fang Shisan looked excited and eager to try. He asked in a low voice.
"Sixth Brother, what do you suggest we do to bring the light back?"
Fang Liu continued, "The Manichaeism's rules state that once you join, you're part of the family; you eat together and face hardships together!"
"Last month, Sister Li's house was hit by a wildfire. The food that everyone chipped in for us—that's our 'light'!"
"A few days ago, Brother Fang helped Grandpa Zhang pull his ox out of the mud; that's also 'brightness'!"
"These seemingly insignificant little things are gradually squeezing out the darkness!"
Then.
He paused, his gaze sweeping over every face in the temple.
"Those officials in the government called us 'vegetarian demons,' and said we were monsters!"
"They eat delicacies from land and sea, while we're left eating brown rice!"
"They lived in grand houses and slept soundly at night, cuddling with songstresses!"
"Yet they make us sleep in dilapidated houses and send us out to the mountains to beg for a living in the middle of the night!"
"I just want to know, who exactly is the sorcerer?"
A roar erupted from the crowd!
The campfire illuminated flushed faces, a fury finally ignited after being suppressed by suffering for too long.
"They are!"
immediately.
Fang Liu raised the red cloth on his left arm, and his voice suddenly rose.
"From this day forward, we are believers in the light!"
"On the day the Wise One descends to earth, we will pick up our hoes and sickles!"
"Drive out all those cannibalistic corrupt officials, landlords, and tyrants!"
"Light will prevail!"
Fang Liu shouted this.
The entire dilapidated temple.
Those men seemed to have their blood boiling.
They all raised their arms and shouted.
"Light will prevail!"
"Light will prevail!"
The sound instantly shook the dust that fell from the dilapidated temple!
The bonfire burned brighter and brighter, making the excited expressions on everyone's faces even more vibrant!
The wind outside the temple was still as fierce as ever!
The people inside the temple, however, were filled with hope for the future!
Their eyes were filled with faith in a bright future!
Sitting next to Zhong Yuan were Fang Shisan and ten-year-old Fang Baihua, both of whom excitedly shouted, "The light will prevail!"
Looking at the current situation, Zhong Yuan was afraid of being treated as an oddball.
To avoid drawing attention, they pretended to shout "Light will prevail!"
but.
His heart was in turmoil.
broken!
Did I accidentally stumble into a den of traitors?
Good guy.
More than half of the able-bodied men and women of the Fang clan in Zhenjie Village have joined Manichaeism!
Eating vegetables is considered evil; that's definitely treason!
So, everyone in this temple is a "demon" in the eyes of the authorities?
His students, Fang Shisan and Fang Baihua, as well as Fang Youchang's three grandsons, Da Bao, Er Bao, and San Bao, were among them!
Be nice.
The people in Zhenjie Village... how come they're all so wild!
He only just realized it!
Just then.
Suddenly, Fang Liu, who was in front, spoke up: "Tonight, a newcomer is joining us."
"He is the only scholar in our Zhenjie Village—Master Zhong!"
"Let's welcome Master Zhong to our big family!"
The crowd cheered.
Fang Liu beckoned to Zhong Yuan, signaling him to go to the front.
Zhong Yuan was somewhat surprised, but he couldn't refuse at the moment, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward.
immediately.
Fang Liu then pulled out a tattered sheepskin from the foot of the broken mountain god statue and handed it to Zhong Yuan.
"Master Zhong, this is the decree I received from His Majesty just a few days ago."
"I don't recognize many of the words on it."
"You're an educated person, you're sure everyone knows them, why don't you read it to everyone?"
Without saying a word, Fang Liu stuffed the parchment scroll into Zhong Yuan's hand.
Zhong Yuan subconsciously opened the parchment, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes filled with astonishment.
The reason was that what caught their eye was a line of small, blood-red characters.
[The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, the Sacred Flame Heart Method of the Ming Cult]!