□ Zhao Ruifeng
Zhou Changsen, courtesy name Uncle Lian and owner of Ganju Xuan, was a native of Liuhe, Jiangsu. He was active in the Xianfeng, Tongzhi and Guangxu periods of the Qing Dynasty and served as the magistrate of Anyuan and Chongyi in Jiangxi.
His book "Liuhe Chronicle" was compiled based on the diary and recorded the war activities of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the Liuhe area of Jiangsu during the Xianfeng period, which has long been noticed by the academic circles.
In recent years, two other diaries written by Zhou Changsen, Beishang Diary and Liguan Diary, have also been published one after another.
In the sixth year of Tongzhi (1867), for the third time, Zhou Changsen was ordered to escort the army to the capital from the north of Nanchang, Jiangxi.
During this period, the "Beijing Diary" recorded the experiences and deeds on the way in great detail, which greatly made up for the lack of leaving a diary in the two previous trips to Beijing.
This diary is not only rich and detailed in content, but also refined and elegant in writing. It is a rare document for understanding the official affairs and daily life of officials in the late Qing Dynasty.
Zhou Changsen came to the Shandong border on the second day of the fifth lunar month, and took the Daguan Road on the east road, passing through Yizhou through Tancheng and heading to Tai'an to the capital.
By May 16, before crossing the canal in Dezhou and leaving the Shandong border, his itinerary in Shandong was exactly half a month.
Fifteen years ago, in the second year of Xianfeng (1852), the calligrapher He Shaoji came to Beijing from Wuchang and took this official road after entering Shandong.
However, it was in the summer and June of the lunar calendar, and it was rainy and rainy all the way. Zhou Changsen went to Shandong in the summer and fifth month of the lunar calendar, a month earlier than He Shaoji.
But they also had a hard time.
Tancheng is the only place to go from the south to enter Shandong and take the official road of the East Road, and it is also the first stop in Shandong.
People who travel from south to north often stay here to build up their energy.
When He Shaoji stayed here, he was fortunate enough to meet an old friend whom he had not seen for many years; Zhou Changsen had no old friend to meet, but something related to him happened here.
It turned out that when he was still in Jiangsu, Yuqinghe County switched to the land route, so he hired a Yufu to go north.
It had been eight days since they arrived in Tancheng, and the husband was very tired, crying and begging the county officer to let him go back.
Zhou Changsen persuaded the county not to listen, so he went to meet Li Guashan, the commander of Tancheng.
Li Xian was born in martial arts, with a strong temperament, and he was a poor county official.
At this time, the poor people were not only from Qinghe County, but also from Suqian and Taoyuan. Once they were released, they would "keep their heads and say goodbye like birds of prey coming out of their cages."
Being released was supposed to be the right thing to do, but he actually bowed his head to thank him for the gift of being an official. This is also a manifestation of the fear of officials in the feudal society.
Zhou Changsen's charitable deeds for the people are respectable.
Tancheng is only a hundred miles away from the next station, Yizhou Prefecture, and Zhou Changsen walks an average of more than fifty miles a day in Shandong, and this distance can take up to two days.
Sure enough, two days later, on the fourth day of the fifth lunar month, it arrived in Lancheng County, the capital of Yizhou.
According to Zhou Changsen's diary that day: "The county is Wangu, and the Yishui River outside the north gate is Pinghu. Due to the severe drought, the sand fields are endless."
Zhou Changsen saw with his own eyes that three robbers were executed outside Wanghuai Gate in the south of the mansion, and he was inspired to say: "The ancient famous county in the East China Sea is lying in bed today. The accumulation gradually became decadent, and he moved to see the chief. Lianqu fought to death, and refused to endure hunger and cold." The words are full of sympathy for the hungry.
Leaving Yizhou Mansion to go to Bancheng, Zhou Changsen recorded in his diary: "The strong wind rolls the stones, the scorching sun burns the clouds... The husband is afraid to travel, and the reward should not be offered, but it will be strong and then... ." The first record of the difficulty of traveling in Shandong.
Since then, there have been repeated cases such as "the shape of the face is changed by the sand blasting", "the scorching sun is about to burn when there is no rain in the past three months", "the wind and sand clog the fields, and it is almost dusk all day long", "the sandblasting barrier rises, the hot sweat steams", "the sun is gracious and the sand is shocked." Random spray, the car is like a kettle in the car, "the afternoon is hot like a soup boiling", etc., the road environment or the image or the plain record of the hot wind and the sand.
Traveling in such an environment, the greatest wish of people is to rain as soon as possible.
Zhou Changsen also felt the same way, so when he arrived in Feicheng, in his diary that day, he did not talk about other things, but first recorded the scene of "the city is closed for rain, and the poplar branches are inserted into the household".
If possible, Zhou Changsen is afraid that he will also insert a branch of Yang.
After staying in Feicheng, it was "densely cloudy and rainy", but "every day after cooking," the sky is full of joy, and the disappointment can be imagined.
I hope that the rain will not come, because there is a "poem I saw in the book on the way": "The south wind blows dust and sand day and night, praying for the rain without spirits, all surnames sigh. Farming, Huaimin's heart is burning clearly.
The heat is unbearable, the wind is blowing, and the mountains and mountains are climbed. Walking is not only difficult, but also painful.
But looking at Zhou Changsen's diary, he didn't seem to feel so bitter.
Also, along the way to see the scenery and enjoy the beautiful scenery, have you ever stopped, even if it is bitter, it will be diluted by it.
This is also because his mind is different. For others, in this harsh environment, his mood has already been broken, and he has no intention to keep a diary.
You can see him walking all the way. He doesn't look like a recruiter who is on the move, but he is clearly a leisurely spectator; not only watching, but also writing and writing.
On the way, I temporarily stayed at the side of Qingtuo Temple in Yinan, and remembered that "there is a stone bridge in front of it, and there is a stone ridge in front of it". Even the huge monuments that are mostly silent on the roadside are not missed; there is a ten-mile road in front of Mengyin. "The smooth road is like a pilaster, the millet seedlings are moist, and the rain has not covered it for a long time. How can the anointing of the sky be selfish?"
There is excitement, there is anger, and it is interesting to write.
Encountering Jiyang Mountain, he said: "The strange rock spirals, wrinkled like a swarf." It is a vivid image.
In Yanyang, the host of the guest house, Liang Chuofu, "is more than eighty years old, elegant and good, and there are poems presented by Daozhou He Zizhen on the wall, and more than ten people who have been in harmony with them. The paper is full of paper on the wall, and there are aphorisms in it: 'Cold snow is crushed'. The eaves and lights are thin, the spring breeze is open, the urn is fragrant, the wine and flowers are fragrant. The future beacon fire cares about and asks, and the old things are forgotten in the past.'" If you are good at others, you are not afraid to record them.
The Daozhou He Zizhen mentioned here, that is, He Shaoji from Daozhou, Hunan, checked his "Dongzhou Thatched Cottage Diary" on June 12, the second year of Xianfeng, and found that "crossing the Taoqiu River to the Baode River, the tip is under the bridge, Rest for a long time, stay overnight in Jianyang".
From Xiyang, travel 60 miles to Yangliudian.
In He Shaoji's diary, "Yangliu Store" was recorded as "Yangliu Store".
Judging from Zhou Changsen's remarks, "There is a huge monument on the north bank of the Shahe River, and the inscription reads: 'The tomb of the Grand Master Yanggong of Jin Dynasty'. Crossing the river is the hometown of the Taifu."
Just don't know if Zhou and He live in the same store.
It is more than a hundred miles to Tai'an, and on the way, Wang Daizong "stands tall, and the weather is rocky."
The good environment makes Zhou Changsen want to hide in the mountains and forests.
Liaison Zhou's official career has been overwhelmed by the reality, and it can be vaguely felt that he is both dissatisfied with the officialdom that has been in a cage for a long time, and he is not tired of it.
Before arriving in Changqing County, they were all walking on mountain roads. Because of the steep stone path, they had to leave their cars and walk.
Passing through Ma Mountain, but seeing "the stalagmites on the top of the cliff are like forests, and the surrounding is like a city", climbing mountains and mountains, even if you spend time resting on the boulders, is always better than walking on a flat road with the scorching sun and the strong wind blowing sand.
It is only forty-five li from Changqing to Qihe, but if you want to cross the Yellow River, you will see that "the sandblasting barrier rises, and the river is turbulent".
Living in a guest house outside the North Gate in the Qihe River, "the servant is exhausted and sweating in the heat".
During the day I heard and saw it, but at night there was a rhythm: "The lonely city is in Qilu, and it is tragic. Empty horses are arrogant." The magnificent scenery of the Yellow River is quite expansive.
After traveling for seventy miles to Yucheng, here "the county seat is old, the residents are few, the moon is in the sky, and I can't sleep in the middle of the night".
From Zhou Changsen's diary, the poem "Such a Matter": "Strictly shut down the drums and horns, and thousands of trees fight against the wind. The thousand years of Yu's history, Qi smoke is horizontal at nine o'clock. The dry people sell water, and the tourists in need are sad. The moon in the hometown is unique. It's no wonder that he can't sleep at night when he can see that drought and water shortages, travel difficulties and homesickness linger in his mind.
On May 15, Zhou Changsen came to Dezhou, the last stop before leaving Shandong.
That is, when I stayed here, the moon was bright in the evening, and I wanted to drink no wine, so I could only sing the phrase "toast to the bright moon, let the shadow become three people" to console myself.
Just when I was bored, "Shi Gutong brought the Huqin to the door, and the syllables were violent, quite like Yanzhao style", so he asked Qijue on the wall: "The exiled fairy poems are half-wasting, Gu Qu Zhoulang has a lot of emotion. Such a journey In such a month, you can’t drink and listen to the songs.” During the long journey, there was no wine to kill the bright moon, but fortunately there were songs to listen to, Zhou Lang sighed with emotion, shouldn’t it?
Zhou Changsen crossed the canal for 40 li and was already in Bucheng County in Hebei.
Strange to say, it rained heavily that day.
Long droughts meet dry forests, farmers and peasants are in the wild, and merchants and merchants are in the city.
Zhou Changsen immediately thought that there was no rain in his hometown for a long time, so he had an affectionate question of "I don't know how the hometown is."
"Looking back at the desolate place", he really should have asked whether Shandong on the other side of the canal is generally raining.