Xiangye

Chapter 234 Nine Cities
In the 5000-year history of China, regardless of the pre-Qin period, there have always been rulers who have conquered the world. After unifying the north, they took advantage of the trend and went all the way south.

The north is bitter and cold, but the soldiers are fierce.The south is rich and rich, with many scholars.For the Central Plains Dynasty, the biggest threat came from the prairie nomads in Mobei.Therefore, the north and the south of China play different roles, and the north sends out elite troops to guard the country's gates.In the south, the material resources are continuously imported into Beijing through the Grand Canal.

Of course, Ming Taizu went from south to north in the process of unifying the world, and the bravery and combat skills of the southern soldiers were not much worse than those of the northerners.In the Jiajing year, the Qi family's army was even the strongest in the world.

Ming Chengzu moved his capital to Beijing, in addition to the emperor guarding the gate, it is estimated that it was more because he considered that this was his basic home when he was Yan.If you stay in Nanjing, you will inevitably be constrained by the great family of scholars in the south of the Yangtze River.

After decades of management, Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, has become a first-class prosperous place in the world.Its prosperity and grandeur have greatly surpassed that of Nanjing.

According to factual records, the population of Beijing at this time had reached an astonishing one million, while the population of Nanjing remained at around 60 to [-] at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

What is the concept of a big city with a population of one million in the farming era? To maintain a big city with such a large population, it takes almost half of the country's power.

But as far as the water transportation of the Grand Canal is concerned, there are more than [-] boatmen and porters along the way. The materials transported into Beijing every day are piled up in Tongzhou to form hills with no end in sight.

Seeing the busy situation at Tongzhou Wharf, Gao Wen knew it very well, so he couldn't help but gasped.To maintain such a huge material transportation system, I don't know how huge a systematic project it is.Although the bureaucratic group of the Ming Dynasty was inefficient, it was not useless.

He spent nearly two months with Xu Yu on the official ship. As Master Xu's favorite student, he naturally refused to miss this opportunity to get along day and night.Just calm down and ask Xu Yu for advice, and understand the rules of Ming Dynasty politics, and the gains are not small.

After the group arrived in Tongzhou, because they brought the army and escorted the criminal officials, Xu Yu's travel stopped and he was stationed in Tongzhou, waiting for the imperial court's order.

Naturally, Gao Wen had no choice but to wait. After he entered Beijing, Xu Zhen had his own house, but he had to find another place to live.This time I will live in Beijing for at least two years, and I will not have other plans until I am awarded a Jinshi.After he settled down, he had to send Xiaoying back to Xi'an to pick up Shi Youyi to get married here, and everything had to be prepared in advance.

It is better to enter the city first and buy a house to live in.

So Gao Wen expressed his thoughts to Xu Xuan.

Xu Yu nodded in agreement, left his address in the capital, and told him to bring a letter there once he bought the house.In this way, if something happens, it is good to notify.In addition, the household department also has to hang up the name first.

At the end, Xu Xuan thought for a while, and suddenly said: "Erzhi, living in the capital is not easy. You are a scholar, and the house you buy is enough to live in and clean. It should not be too extravagant. Beijing is not as good as Shaanxi. You and I do it in Shaanxi. If such a big event happens, I don’t know how many pairs of eyes will be staring at me, so be more careful in everything.”

Old Xu had been staying in the Hanlin Academy before, and he was used to being high above the ground. This was the first time he went out of Beijing on a business trip.The Imperial Academy is a noble place, the famous Qingshui yamen, and the bachelors who enter the Imperial Academy are only there for seniority, and there is no real benefit.

Xu Yu got 2 taels of silver all at once in Shaanxi. This was the first time he got such a good start since he became an official.

Gao Wen had been with him for two months, so he naturally knew what the teacher was thinking, and nodded: "The teacher reminded me, Gao Wen knows how to do it, anyway, just two words 'low-key'. Don't worry, students will choose those kind of shabby houses. Just buy it."

Xu Yu chuckled: "Scholars, you still need to be decent. There is a limit to what you do, and it's too late. In any case, don't treat yourself too badly."

"Yes, the students don't have much money, and they can't be extravagant if they want to." Gao Wen couldn't help nodding.

Living in the capital is not easy.Just kidding, the housing prices in Beijing are not something I can afford. This time I only brought 1000 taels of gold when I came to the capital. Converted into the currency of future generations, it is only 800 million yuan.Today's Beijing is not as big as later generations, and the main urban area is probably within the second ring road.How big a house can be bought for seven or eight million yuan, and a house in a school district can bring you back to poverty.

Ahhh, the second ring, you are one ring less than the third ring.

Although Gao Wen is a scholar, he likes to be lively.Moreover, this is the first time I have come to ancient Beijing. Naturally, I have to live in the busiest place with the most people, so that I can directly contact the world and smell the strong historical flavor.

Therefore, before coming here, he had already made up his mind that after entering Beijing, he would buy a house in the You'anmen area in the southwest corner of Beijing's outer city.This is the residence of ordinary people, and it is the commercial area of ​​the capital, so life is convenient.The most wonderful thing is that there is also a Shaanxi guild hall there, all of them are fellow villagers, and they also take care of each other.

Generally speaking, Beijing in the Ming Dynasty was divided into two parts: the capital city and the outer city.The so-called capital city refers to the imperial palace, major central government agencies, and residences of princes and nobles, including the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park; as for the outer city, it includes the Temple of Heaven and Earth, the Temple of Mountains and Rivers, and a large area from Zhengyangmen to Yongdingmen.

On this day, Gao Wen and Xiaoying took their luggage and entered Beijing from Guangqumen in a carriage, and then went all the way around the Temple of Heaven, the Temple of Mountains and Rivers, and finally arrived at the land, where they saw a large house in the distance, which was the Shaanxi Guild Hall. .Gao Wen decided to live here first, and then asked someone to find a house to see if there was any suitable house.

The car stopped at the gate of Shaanxi, and a servant came to greet him, exaggeratedly shouting: "It turns out that Gao Jieyuan has received a letter from Mr. Zhang, and we have been looking forward to you, come in, come in!" He took Gao Wen in.

The inn is still very good. The entrance is a surprisingly tall wall with dragons and phoenixes carved on it, which is very imposing.After entering, there is a large courtyard inside, at least thousands of square meters, it is simply a small square.

The courtyard is surrounded by two-story buildings on three sides, with fifty or sixty rooms of various sizes.

The place is very elegant, but the room is small, like a standard room in a hotel of later generations, without a bathroom.If you sleep in the middle of the night and want to relieve yourself, you just pull it in the wooden bucket, and then lift it up and dump it into the latrine the next morning, but it is very inconvenient.

What annoyed Gao Wen the most was that such a small room could not accommodate guests at all.

The news that Gao Wen got the Shaanxi Township Examination this year had already spread to the Shanxi Guild Hall. The whole hall was shocked. Merchants and scholars who lived there came to visit one after another, and saw that a small room was crowded.Gao Wen was tired from the journey, but at this time he had to raise his spirits to cope, and said a lot of insipid words to socialize.

The so-called guild halls can be divided into two types in large volumes. One is a place where bureaucrats, gentry, and imperial examination scholars from the same town gather together, so it is also called the trial hall. Business information, hotels that protect their own interests, are called hotels.

It turns out that these two guild halls are separate, especially in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Anhui provinces.However, Shaanxi's commerce was backward, so the Shaanxi Guild Hall was not separated, and it was both a trial hall and an extension hall.

They were all from Shaanxi, so the merchants and scholars who lived in the museum had very close contacts with their hometown letters, so they naturally knew who Gao Wen was.

Hearing that the famous Gao Wen was staying in Beijing temporarily to prepare for the exam, the merchants and Juren were all excited, and they came over to talk, treat them to a meal, and make a good relationship.

Gao Wen got a headache from drinking every day, couldn't read books, and couldn't practice martial arts. He had to be harassed until midnight every day before he could wash his feet and go to bed.

After three days like this, it was really painful, so I wanted to leave here as soon as possible and buy a house to live in.

Not to mention the crowded, noisy, and inconvenient life here, the key is that it is not free.In this way, Gao Wen has no reason to live anymore.

The key is that he will go to the Ministry of Officials to name a candidate soon, and needs a long-term contact address.

So, Gao Wen found a waiter, rewarded him with a coin, asked him if he knew Fang Yazi, and introduced one.If there is a passable one, buy it and live in it, and the commission will naturally be indispensable.

That Xiaoer's surname is Mu Mingshi, he is less than twenty, but he is not as good as his name, he is an elf.Greedy for Gao Wen's commission, he smiled and said: "But I don't know what kind of house the old man wants to buy. The young one has been working in the capital since he was six years old. He is also half a Beijinger. He knows a lot of people. I still remember that there are a few houses that are useful.”

Gao Wen laughed: "You are a scheming boy, no matter whether you kiss the people in your hometown or not, the commission will naturally not flow to outsiders. I don't pay much attention to it, just two things, one is to be 'lively' ' Two is 'big enough.'”

Mu Shi: "I'd like to ask the elder, how do you say it's lively and big enough?"

Gao Wen: "You don't even know how lively it is. It's just that life is convenient. You can buy rice and vegetables when you go out, and you can hire a car, a horseman, and a sedan chair. To tell you the truth, next year Jiaci and his wife will come to the capital to reunite with Master Ben. They are Ladies, if the place is too remote, it’s inconvenient to buy food, rice, oil, salt. As for the size, you need more rooms.”

He stretched out his fingers and counted, and said: "One kitchen, one study, one for my mother, one for my wife, one for Xiaoying, and I have to buy a maid, yes, there is also a hall. Second, do you have any suitable ones on hand?"

Mu Shi: "Yes, yes, too much. The young ones know that there is a two-entry house three miles away from here. It just needs so many rooms and the price is right."

Little Eagle: "It's all about the size and price. The key is to keep it clean. We don't buy dirty places. Your mouth looks like it's been oiled. Don't lie to my master."

Mu Shi said aggrievedly: "How dare you coax Gao Jieyuan, we have many masters living here. We have served them for a long time, and the gentlemen who study are the most clear. Don't worry, that house is very bright. It’s clean and the surrounding scenery is good. You can go and have a look, if you don’t like it, just don’t buy it.”

Gao Wen nodded: "Then you can talk to the owner of the house and make an appointment for me to go and have a look."

Mu Shi is determined to earn Gao Wen's commission, but he does things quickly.I went back and forth that night, saying that I had contacted the owner and asked Mr. Gao to go to see the house tomorrow morning.

The next day, Gao Wen and Xiao Ying went there with Mu Shi.

Just arrived there, but it is not as good as Mu Shi said.

(End of this chapter)