Di Ming

Chapter 80 Settling down
This river is Lishui, the southern source of the Qinhuai River.

Zhu Yin got out of the car, walked to the bridgehead, squatted down, and looked at the words on the bridgehead.

Can't see clearly.

He picked up a stone and scraped it across the writing before he could make out what it said.

"In the fourth year of Chunyou (1185), the local worthy and imperial student Gu Xian initiated the construction..."

This bridge is actually from the Song Dynasty, built during the Chunyou era of Emperor Lizong of Song, and has a history of more than 400 years.

The bridge is ten zhang long and fifteen zhang wide. It has a beautiful shape, is simple and elegant, and is covered with moss. No wonder it is called the Green Bridge.

The river water beneath the bridge is as blue as jade, seemingly still the clear waves of the Song Dynasty.

“What a huge village,” Ning Caiwei said. “It must have far more than 110 households. Is this a village?”

Zhu Yin said, "Qingqiaoli is actually Qingqiaodu, which is divided into four villages: East, West, North, and so on. It is said to have 440 households."

He stood at the bridgehead, watching the village shrouded in mist, bordered by Lishui to the west and Dongshan Mountain to the east, with its settlements crisscrossing, truly a large village.

The group crossed the blue stone bridge, and then came two more archways at the village entrance.

This archway is of an exceptionally high standard; it is an imperial archway with five eaves and six pillars!
The four large characters on the left-hand archway read: "Filial Piety, Virtue, Uprightness, and Obedience".

On the right are four large characters: "敏惠恭诚".

Judging from the date, it was built in the 26th year of the Jiajing reign. It's been a full forty years.

"Is this the hometown of Empress Fang?" Zhu Yin quickly realized that Empress Xiaolie was the same Empress Fang who was burned to death by Emperor Jiajing.

Legend has it that Emperor Jiajing deliberately burned her to death.

This is actually her hometown?
She's been dead for forty years; her family must have fallen into decline long ago, right? After all, the Longqing Emperor didn't like her either, and moved her memorial tablet out of the ancestral temple.

It is very likely that Du, the birth mother of Emperor Longqing, had a conflict with Empress Fang.

Wanli was Longqing's son, so naturally he wouldn't have liked the Fang family.

"The carriage is parked here. Lancha and Kangxi watch over the carriage, and we'll go into the village to check out the houses."

Zhu Yin said something and then led everyone through the village road between the two archways and into the village.

Perhaps it was once the hometown of an empress, because the village road is more than ten feet wide, paved with bluestone slabs, and has stone railings on both sides with exquisite carvings.

Along both sides of the village road, farmhouses with white walls and black tiles are scattered in a well-organized manner, with streams flowing through each house and weeping willows by every door.

"Woof woof—"

The farm dog, startled by the stranger, pricked up its ears and barked at the visitor with a half-hearted bark, its tail wagging but then stopping.

"Woof! Woof!" The little black tiger at Zhu Yin's feet barked back defiantly, its bark both cute and fierce.

A proud rooster, standing on one leg, perched atop a mulberry tree and a low wall, tilting its head arrogantly at passersby, suddenly bursts into song.

"Ooh-ooh-ooh-!"

Its crowing had an effect; a flock of hens appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the proud, feathered prince, clucking and chattering.

Scattered among the farmhouses are patches of paddy fields, dry land, vegetable gardens, and mulberry groves.

The autumn rice in the fields has turned golden and is almost full of grain; it's almost harvest time.

Further away, there are vast paddy fields and manors.

The aromas of grass, soil, and rice blend together, refreshing as the wind and mellow as wine.

A farmer dressed in a short brown robe with rolled-up trousers and a straw hat was busy in the fields, occasionally glancing up at the visitors and shading his eyes with his hand.

A cowherd rides a water buffalo, strolling along the stream and at the foot of the mountain, the boy's laughter and the old buffalo's mooing drifting in the morning breeze.

The sound of a loom could still be heard from the farmhouse closest to the village road.

"Chirp...chirp..."

A farm woman washing clothes by the stream raises her rosy, unadorned face, looking shyly and curiously at the roadside visitors.

Then they lowered their heads, which were wrapped in headscarves, and continued to pound clothes while talking to each other.

Some people carry manure to water their gardens, while others carry water into their yards. Some spin yarn in front of their doors, while others rub hemp under the trees.

Of course, there were also young scholars and leisurely gentry who would recite poems and read books in the courtyard, displaying their refined taste.

From the village school not far away, the sound of reading aloud could be faintly heard; it was the recitation of "Autumn Wind" from the Thousand Family Poems:
"Where does the autumn wind come from? It rustles and sends flocks of geese flying. It enters the courtyard trees at dawn, and the lonely traveler is the first to hear it."

Suddenly, amidst the surrounding small houses, a large mansion appeared, with vermilion gates, high walls, pavilions, and towers, from which the sounds of string and wind instruments could be heard.

The hermitage on Dongshan Mountain, the arbor by the stream, the stage by the threshing ground... and also ancestral halls, earth god temples, stone pagodas, mills, waterwheels, memorial archways, cemeteries...

Farmers, village girls, children, scholars, gentry... as well as itinerant monks, peddlers, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers, and casserole makers...

Of course, there were also beggars, traveling performers leading small monkeys, or carrying gongs and drums.

Although it is a rural area, unlike the city, it has its own kind of liveliness and vitality.

It's clear that life in the countryside was quite good in the early Wanli period. After all, Zhang Juzheng hadn't been dead for long, the three taxes hadn't been levied yet, and the heavens were kind, with no locust plagues and frequent famines.

Perhaps it's because this is a rural area outside Nanjing, which is more prosperous than other places.

Entering the village, after only three or four miles, Zhu Yin felt as if he were witnessing a microcosm of rural society in the late Ming Dynasty. The classical beauty of the Chinese countryside was like a poem or a painting.

A glimpse of the splendor of the late Ming Dynasty.

No wonder this place produced an empress.

But how many anxieties of a prosperous era are hidden within such a beautiful countryside?

Beneath the surface of peace and tranquility, how many unspeakable things exist?

Feeling something in his heart, Zhu Yin unconsciously recited softly:
Guests enter Qingqiao Lane,
The scenery was enchanting.

Fangcun is like an ancient painting.
The Peach Blossom Spring seems within reach.

Painting cannot capture the spirit of a subject.
A skillful pen captures the essence of sorrow and wonder.

The truth is like a dream.
I woke up to find we were already apart.

Ning Caiwei was closest to Zhu Yin, and only she heard his lament and understood the sorrow within it. "Have we arrived?" Ning Caiwei pointed to a large mansion at the foot of the mountain.

This large mansion occupies two acres of land, with vermilion gates and high walls, lush flowers and trees, and a stream flowing through the walls.

Among the surrounding farmhouses, it stands out like a crane among chickens, a striking contrast.

It was clearly the residence of a wealthy and powerful family in the countryside. Compared to other farmhouses, it was like a luxury villa compared to a mud-brick house.

There is a pair of stone lions at the main entrance, and the lintel is tall with four characters on the plaque: Qingqiao Bieyuan.

That's right, this isn't the Zhou family's ancestral home, it's just their country villa.

It was already a large mansion, but it was just sitting there empty. This shows how wealthy the Zhou family was.

An elderly man with a cane, over sixty years old and with a full head of white hair, sat in front of the courtyard. When he saw Zhu Yin and the others approaching, he immediately stopped picking lice.

"This humble one, Zhu Yin, greets the elder with courtesy."

Zhu Yin took the initiative to step forward and greet him.

The Chinese nation governs itself with propriety, which requires respecting and honoring the elderly. To fail to show respect to the elderly is considered impolite and arrogant.

The old man's dim eyes glanced at Zhu Yin, stroked his beard, and smiled, "So you're just a child. You want to rent the Zhou family's villa?"

Zhu Yin said, "Yes. Please open the door, elder, so we can go in and take a look."

The old man laughed and said, "I am an old man here, and I look after the Zhou family's villa. Now that you're here, you won't need me to guard the gate anymore."

He stood up and shakily opened the courtyard gate.

Zhu Yin looked at the old man's retreating figure and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Are even the village elders now required to guard the villas of officials who passed the imperial examinations?

Sure enough, nowadays the countryside is completely ruled by the gentry who passed the imperial examinations.

The village elders who once held sway over the village have become subservient.

In the Yuan Dynasty there was a community leader, and in the Ming Dynasty there was a village elder.

After Emperor Taizu of Ming ascended the throne, he did not hesitate to use ruthless methods to crack down on large landowners and merchants throughout the country, leaving only small and medium-sized landowners.

For the first time in history, large landowners and merchants were systematically purged at the national level. Their land and resources were distributed to small farmers and nationalized.

In order to suppress powerful landlords, the Ming Taizu Emperor issued an edict to people in various regions to report the misdeeds of these powerful landlords, and to punish them and confiscate their property.

At the same time, major cases were frequently committed, deliberately implicating powerful figures. Many powerful figures in various places were wiped out in the major cases at the beginning of the dynasty.

In the thirtieth year of the Hongwu reign, the Ministry of Revenue submitted a statistical report showing that over 90% of households nationwide were small farmers.

The powerful families and wealthy merchants who had emerged since the Song and Yuan dynasties were almost entirely wiped out, leaving very few remaining.

The society with the smallest gap between rich and poor and the most atomized in Chinese history finally emerged in the early Ming Dynasty.

Although it only lasted for a few decades, it was unprecedented.

These small and medium-sized landowners assumed the position of village head, replacing the powerful landlords of the Yuan Dynasty. The village head and village elder jointly managed the village.

However, with the rise of the imperial examination class, grassroots power shifted from village chiefs and village elders to the hands of local gentry.

What's the difference?
A big difference.

Although the village chiefs and elders were not government officials, they exercised the powers granted to them by the government and were considered the government's tentacles in managing the grassroots.

When village chiefs and elders hold power over grassroots governance, it's tantamount to imperial power extending to the countryside, thus controlling the local level.

However, nowadays, village chiefs and elders have been marginalized, and major village affairs are decided by gentry with academic degrees.

The gentry, relying on their political and economic privileges, seized control of local governance, manipulated the village covenant system, and acted like local emperors.

As a result, a new group of large landowners and high-ranking officials emerged, completely undermining the court's power at the grassroots level.

This explains why, although the late Ming Dynasty had a population of nearly 200 million, the official records of the Ministry of Revenue showed a population of 60 million, the same as the population at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.

A large portion of the population and land were in the hands of large landowners and high-ranking officials. Whether it was taxes or corvée labor, the imperial court could only control the numbers recorded in the Yellow Register.

After the old man opened the door, Zhu Yin and the others went inside and saw that it was a five-room, three-courtyard house with pavilions and terraces, beautiful scenery, and a garden of half an acre.

The building is only a little over ten years old and hasn't been damaged by termites yet.

The houses and halls were also carved and painted, and were completely intact.

There are also stables, kennels, chicken coops, wells, and flower beds.

There are also more than a dozen side rooms. The courtyard is also quite large, so it doesn't feel cramped.

The entire residence could easily accommodate dozens of people.

Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei took a liking to each other at first sight.

Very satisfied.

After watching for only a short while, Zhu Yin thanked the old man guarding the gate and left to return to the city to sign the contract.

At the beginning of the morning, Zhu Yin and his party arrived at the city's brokerage firm, paid 360 taels of silver, and formally signed the lease agreement.

From then on, the Zhou family villa in Qingqiao became Zhu Yin's residence.

As she left, Ning Caiwei's face was flushed, her eyes sparkling, and she whispered to Zhu Yin:
"Little tiger, we finally have a house to live in."

"I can finally settle down and stop wandering."

"Next comes... procurement!"

Zhu Yin whispered, "You go buy the rest. I'll take someone to buy the porcelain."

Ning Caiwei understood. "You want to investigate that porcelain shop owner? Be very careful, he's a spy hired by the Westerners."

"Don't worry," Zhu Yin sneered. "I'm just a customer buying porcelain, nothing more. Besides, Lan Cha is coming with me."

Ning Caiwei nodded, "Okay, then let's meet at Flower Market Street in an hour!"

P.S.: One chapter tonight at 9 PM. It goes on sale September 1st, which will determine the fate of this book. Thank you!
(End of this chapter)