The first volume of pearl curtains rolls up the western mountain rain at dusk Chapter 1: Everything has a limit
When a family is poor, it will suffer. When a country is poor, it will be weak. When families suffer and the country is weak, how can the people survive?
In prosperous times, civilization flourishes; in troubled times, barbarism arises. Fortunately, this great country in the Central Plains has been prosperous for hundreds of years. Even though it now looks like a huge empty shell, not many outsiders dare to provoke it. However, disasters do not come from outside but from within, and the people have to eat.
Many people actually haven't thought it through. They think that all evil deeds are evil. Those who become evil for money are at most minor evils, and minor evils harm others. Those who become evil for food are major evils, and major evils bring chaos to the world.
A while ago, Yongqing County was attacked by a group of bandits. The county government office was burned down. The treasury, which already had little grain left, was looted as if it had been licked by the tongue of a giant beast. Not even a residue was left. Not only was the treasury empty, but a layer of the land was also scraped off.
Yongqing County belongs to Youzhou, which is nominally under Jizhou. Among the thirteen prefectures in the world, Jizhou is the most chaotic.
In the treasury, a handsome little Taoist boy wandered around for a while, then sighed quietly: "It's cleaner than my face."
Thinking of the fact that his face was not that clean, he added to himself, "It's cleaner than my butt... My butt is cleaner than my face. What a world."
Before the county town was breached, the wealthy families in the city had already fled after hearing the news. They had carriages and places to go, so they were relatively safe. But most of the people in the city had nowhere to escape. The disaster brought by the bandits was far greater than a natural disaster. Countless families were broken up and countless people died. They were either killed or became part of the bandits. Therefore, the bandit group continued to grow like a snowball.
The little Taoist boy, who looked to be about ten years old, rubbed his stomach. He had been hungry for almost two days. Two days ago, he met a wealthy family who had moved their family to Jizhou. When they saw the master and disciple, they asked them to tell their fortune. The little Taoist boy's master used five coins to tell the fortune and calculated that this family had a bright future, especially the young master of the family, who would be very successful in the future. They just needed to walk towards the northwest and they would meet a noble person.
The head of the wealthy family was happy to hear this, so he gave a lot of money to the fortune teller. However, he was sad that the money could not buy food. He could not find anyone selling food on the road. Fortunately, he asked the wealthy family for a few cakes.
Speaking of which, the master and disciple should not be short of money. At least that's what the little Taoist boy thinks. His master is a well-known Taoist in the seven counties of Youzhou. Even if he encounters bandits, they will not hurt him. The old Taoist's Taoist name is Changmei, and he has spent most of his life wandering around the seven counties. He can't be said to be philanthropic but he is willing to help others, so he is famous and respected.
The little Taoist boy sometimes finds it funny that someone as stingy as his master can be respected by others. People are really complicated. In these troubled times, money is not as important as food, but his master values money more than life.
He left the treasury and saw his master struggling to move corpses one by one to the open space. He had already moved dozens of bodies. The city was full of corpses, at least thousands of them. The old Taoist was already too hungry to move any more, and after moving dozens of bodies he could no longer move any more.
He rested against the wall for a while, then looked around for something useful. There was not even a piece of iron in the city, let alone farm tools like shovels and sickles. Even iron pots and kettles were gone. The bandits would take away all the iron to make weapons and armor.
With no other options, the old Taoist picked up a tile and started digging a hole in the open space. The young Taoist ran over and also picked up a tile and started digging together. The two were so hungry that their chests were sticking to each other's backs, but they still persisted.
"Master, there are too many. We can't bury them all."
“You don’t have to bury them all.”
"Master, isn't it unfair not to bury them all? It would be better to bury none of them."
"Fool, using your utmost strength to do what you think you should do is to have a clear conscience. Burying these dozens of people is already our limit. It is not a guilty conscience. Exhausting yourself to death in order to do good is also an evil deed."
The two Taoists, one old and one young, dug for a while and rested for a while. It took them nearly two hours to dig the pit. They leaned against the edge of the pit and didn't even have the strength to breathe. It seemed that they would fall asleep as soon as they closed their eyes. After the old Taoist rested for a while, he saw that his apprentice closed his eyes to rest. He raised his hand with difficulty and took out a dry and hard cake from his arms. He broke off a large half to give to his apprentice, broke the remaining small half in half again, took a small bite of the small half of the small half, and pretended that his cheeks were bulging after eating a mouthful of food. He bumped the little Taoist boy with his shoulder: "Yours."
The little Taoist boy looked at the large piece of cake and asked: "Master, where did you get the food?"
"The day before yesterday, I asked that family for food. I told you I wanted four pancakes, two for each person. You could finish the palm-sized pancakes in one meal, but I actually asked for five and secretly hid one for myself."
The little Taoist boy snorted : "You even lied to me!"
He took the cake and looked at the small piece in the master's hand: "Master, yours is too little."
The old Taoist smiled and said, "I've been eating for a while. I'll call you when I'm almost full."
The Taoist sighed, "You cheated me again."
He put the biscuit in his arms and said, "Go pee first."
After a while, he came back with only a little biscuit left in his mouth and said, "Master, Master, I saw some people on the street. They seemed to be a few scholars. They were carrying bags and walking very fast. They will soon reach our side."
The old Taoist nodded and said, "After the three-year exam, I'm afraid these students will have to rush to Daxing City."
Daxing City is the capital, thousands of miles away. Who knows how long it will take to get there. It also depends on luck. If you are unlucky, it will be difficult to survive if you encounter bandits. However, these poor students have no other choice but to give it a try. If they succeed, they can receive a salary from the court. If they fail... they can try again in three years. Some of them even fight until they are old and gray.
The old Taoist ate the cake and drank a few gulps of water. After his stomach warmed up and he regained some strength, he began to drag the corpse into the pit. Just then, the scholars passed by. Their faces were pale as blood. They had seen the tragedy in the city and were afraid to their core.
"Master."
One of the scholars asked curiously, "There are so many dead bodies outside, why don't you bury them all?"
The old Taoist looked back at him and didn't even bother to say anything.
Another scholar snorted and said, "He is just pretending. He is probably seeking fame. He wants to bury a few people so that he can go out and show off to everyone. He also wants people to be grateful to him. What kind of world is this?"
The other two people were also angry when they heard this, and one of them muttered, "Aren't you afraid of retribution?"
The little Taoist boy was angry when he heard this. He wanted to curse a few times, but he thought it was a waste of energy, so he frowned and sighed, "What a pity."
Taoist Long Eyebrows also sighed: "What a pity."
The scholar who spoke first couldn't help but ask, "What's a pity?"
The old Taoist didn't say anything. The little Taoist shook his head and said, "What a pity. The four of you went to take the exam together, but there's only one person..."
The little Taoist boy looked at the old Taoist: "Master, I haven't practiced enough, but am I seeing things wrong?"
The old Taoist shook his head: "You are not mistaken, there is indeed only one person."
The four men were all anxious. One of them strode up to the old Taoist priest and said, "You thief Taoist priest, what nonsense are you talking about!"
"My Taoist name is Changmei, and I never talk nonsense."
The old Taoist looked into the man's eyes and spoke. When the man heard the word "Changmei", his eyes immediately lit up: "So you are the Changmei Master. I am really sorry for offending you just now. Master, what do you mean by that?"
The old Taoist shook his head and said nothing.
The scholar gritted his teeth, took off his purse, and counted out a few coins from it: "I won't let you talk in vain."
The old Taoist's eyes lit up when he saw the money. Although the coins couldn't even buy a pancake, he immediately took the coins, weighed them, put them in his arms and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the four of you are equally educated and often get together to ask each other for advice. So not only are your knowledge equally good, but your ideas are also similar. With your abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for you to pass the imperial examinations. Unfortunately, you all came from the same place, so when you answer the questions, even your answers will be almost the same. According to the unwritten rules of the court, it's impossible to select four people from the same place, so we can only select the most outstanding one."
The four people's faces turned ugly when they heard this. Someone quickly walked up to the old Taoist and asked, "Master, do you have a solution?"
The old Taoist looked at his hand, and the scholar immediately reacted and took out a few coins and handed them to the old Taoist. The old Taoist took the money and said, "It's simple. You just need to prove that the four of you are not from the same place."
The four men gathered around, and one of them said, "Master, our places of origin are all recorded. They were issued by the Youzhou Academy, and there is an official seal on them. How can we prove that the four of us are not from the same place? We also have a travel permit!"
"Oh, it's really difficult."
The old Taoist was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "You four are all talented in governing the country. If you can all enter the government, it will benefit the people. I... am already very old and have no fear of heaven's punishment, so I will risk my life to help you."
He opened his bag, took out some things from it and arranged them one by one.
"I can help you forge a school pass and a travel permit that will be indistinguishable from the real thing. There will be no mistakes in the official seal. This matter will really bring punishment from heaven. If it were not for the people of the world, I would not take such a risk. I have seen through the world and do not seek longevity, but only peace of mind. One copy only costs five taels of silver."
The little Taoist boy almost couldn't hold back the last sentence.
One of them said, "We... how can we take out five taels of silver? Even if we can, there is not much left. How can we still walk to Daxing City?"
The little Taoist boy pulled his sleeve and said, "Go and bargain. Try to bargain. My master is kind and easy to bargain with."
The man's face lit up: "Master, can you make it cheaper?"
The old Taoist was embarrassed: "That is a punishment from heaven."
Another person said tentatively: "Master helped us, you said it was a blessing to all living beings, so it should be rewarded, so it can resist the punishment from heaven."
He had no confidence in saying this, as people in troubled times believe more in gods and Buddhas.
The old Taoist's eyes lit up: "What you said makes sense, then I'll give you a discount... one tael of silver per person, I'll charge you the cost price."
The four people immediately became happy. Each of them took out one or two taels of silver and handed them to the old Taoist. The old Taoist said with a righteous look: "I am not involved in money and property. This silver will also be used to save the world and benefit the people. Please give it to my disciple and accept it."
The little Taoist boy took the silver, and the old Taoist immediately began to make fake student certificates and travel passes. His speed was unbelievable. He still used the same cover as the four people, but changed the paper inside. Then he took out four square seals and stamped them on each fake student certificate. The four people took one each and examined them carefully. It was really difficult to tell the real from the fake.
The old Taoist gave them a few more instructions, such as not to leak any information, and the four people left with many thanks.
The little Taoist boy was curious: "Master, how do you know that the four of them have similar knowledge and similar ideas?"
"This world."
The old Taoist took the four taels of silver and put it in his arms, then continued to bury the body. As he buried the body, he said, "Literati look down on each other. They won't try to win over those they don't like, and they can't curry favor with those who look down on them. So these four people must have similar interests. How could they get together if they couldn't flatter each other? People are like this. They look down on those who are not as good as you, and they can't integrate into a higher level circle..."
The young Taoist asked again: "Master, can any of them really enter the government?"
"Fuck."
The old Taoist snorted: "How can someone so stupid and without money enter the government?"
The Taoist priest chuckled and said, "That's too little. I should ask for two taels of silver from each person."
The old Taoist shook his head and said, "They don't have much money. If they take one or two taels each, it means they have bad intentions. If they take more, it means I have bad intentions."
He looked at the young Taoist priest and said, "Li Diudiuer, remember, everything has its limits."
