Chapter 7: Yongming

Swish swish swish.

The squad leader led the team on the way back to the camp.

He looked at the thin soldier beside him: "Little Chan, if you have a fart, let it out, don't swallow it."

Little Chan followed the squad leader's pace and said: "Boss, I think this matter is a bit mysterious... No matter how well he says it, it's just empty words. What if it's really like what those two said... this... that..."

The squad leader slowed down: "Let me ask you, is it better that those two are northern spies, or is it better that they are not northern spies?"

Little Chan hesitated for a moment, then said without any doubt: "That of course is better that they are northern spies! Killing four spies, no matter what, we can record a contribution, and maybe there is reward money to take!"

"Then what are you farting about?"

Little Chan frowned: "But, but what if that person is really impersonating—"

"Are you stupid! We are just going back to report. Whether it's true or false is up to Squad Leader Xue and Clerk Wang to judge. What does it have to do with us?"

The squad leader turned back and shouted loudly: "Everyone listen up, keep your mouths shut when you go back! Remember what should be said and what should not be said! This is your own business, don't harm yourself and harm your brothers in the end! Da Du, especially you! You don't have a gate on your mouth! Be careful!"

The forest wind rustled, and the dawn moon rose.

The black-faced man holding the spear didn't know where he found a large stone with a flat top, and sweated as he carried it to Wang Yang. Then he wiped the stone surface with his sleeves very diligently and flattered Wang Yang:

"Young master, sit here and rest for a while, I'll find some water for you to drink."

"Water is here!" Ding Jiu held a brown water bag and ran over, full of smiles:

"Young master, this is the mountain spring water I just got, please quench your thirst."

Wang Yang had no mood to pay attention to the flattery of the two. Impersonating the Langya Wang clan was just an expedient measure, and he would have to deal with a squad leader who seemed even more difficult to deal with in a while. What was even more miserable was that he didn't even know which dynasty he was in.

Now he only knew a large range of the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties. And the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties were also called the "Five Dynasties" by later generations, including five regimes established in the south of the Yangtze River, namely Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen.

Among the five dynasties, Wang Yang was most familiar with the Eastern Jin and Chen Dynasties, followed by Song and Liang, and the least familiar was the Qi Dynasty, which had the shortest time and the most chaotic political situation among the five dynasties. So the dynasty Wang Yang most hoped to travel to was the Eastern Jin.

He didn't choose the Chen Dynasty because it was the end of the Southern Dynasties. If he happened to travel to the time when the Sui Kingdom destroyed Chen, once the war started, blood would flow like a river, and whether he could survive was another matter.

No!

He had to find a way to figure out which of the five dynasties it was before that Squad Leader Xue came, so that he could make up lies accordingly.

But how to figure it out?

Asking directly was definitely not appropriate. How could a dignified Langya Wang clan member not even know the name of the country?

Find a way to look at the coins?

Still not working. The currency system of the Southern Dynasties was chaotic, with new and old coins used together, making it difficult to distinguish.

Wang Yang thought for a while, a thought moved in his heart. He sat on the stone in a grand manner, then took the water bag and asked in a casual tone: "How many years have you been soldiers?"

Ding Jiu said first: "The little one has been a garrison soldier for five years."

The black man said: "Replying to the young master, the little one has been in the army for eight years."

Wang Yang said: "Oh, that counts as veterans. Why did you join the army?"

The black man and Ding Jiu looked at Wang Yang together, their eyes strange.

Oops!

Wang Yang immediately realized he had made a slip of the tongue. He suddenly remembered that the Northern and Southern Dynasties were still in the era of the "hereditary military system."

The so-called "hereditary military" refers to the government's mandatory regulation that the families of soldiers are soldiers for generations, also known as "military households." In order to expand the source of soldiers, criminals, unregistered people, runaway households, slaves, and even barbarian captives were often punished into military households.

Coupled with the heavy labor service imposed by the government on military households and poor treatment, and in order to prevent military households from escaping, they were managed by strong pressure, so the social status of soldiers became lower and lower, so much so that they were not even as good as ordinary commoners.

The reason why these two joined the army was naturally because their fathers and grandfathers were soldiers. This was common knowledge, which was why the two felt his question was strange.

After realizing he had made a mistake, Wang Yang added unhurriedly: "Oh, so you are military families, not commoners who were recruited."

In Liu Yuxi's "Inscription on My Humble Abode," there is a very famous sentence: "Talking and laughing with great scholars, coming and going with no commoners." Here, "commoner" means "ignorant people." But in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, "commoner" specifically referred to ordinary people recruited into the army.

While the Northern and Southern Dynasties implemented the hereditary military system, there was also a recruitment system, the so-called recruitment. But if one became a military household upon recruitment, making future generations fixed as soldiers, then who would enlist?

So the government stipulated that recruited soldiers formed separate teams, their families were not military households, and their household registration was not entered into the military register. In short, they were still free people.

Wang Yang thought he had changed the topic naturally and appropriately, not knowing that the term "military family" contained quite a bit of derogatory meaning at the time, almost like scolding people. It was one thing for the soldiers themselves to be military households, but it was another thing for you to clearly bring it up.

Besides, commoners were only recruited in specific periods, and those recruited were generally only responsible for fighting. Like the black man and Ding Jiu who guarded the camp and patrolled hard, they were generally military families.

So Wang Yang's attempt to save the situation was not brilliant. Although it was normal for a noble young master to look down on military households, offending people at such a time was not wise.

Ding Jiu's face turned red at the time, and resentment appeared between his brows. He felt that this young master was teasing them!

Even ordinary commoners didn't know many characters, let alone their military families!

At the moment, he said roughly: "Don't know!"

Wang Yang heard Ding Jiu's displeasure and just pretended not to know.

The black man still didn't get angry, and smiled flatteringly: "Know a few."

Wang Yang saw the black man take the conversation and was happy in his heart, pretending to be curious: "What is your name? You actually know characters, that's rare."

"The young master laughs at me, the little one is named Black Man. In order to teach my own girl, I learned some randomly, and I don't know many characters in total."

Wang Yang looked at the black man and thought, Black Man Black Man, it really is a name like the person: "Black Man, then let me test you, what is the meaning of our era name?"

Chatting to this point, Wang Yang finally reached the point: asking about the era name.

The black man's expression was a bit embarrassed: "These era names are all decided by the big shots in the capital, how would the little one know this!"

Wang Yang said: "It's okay, just say it."

The black man thought for a while and plucked up the courage to say: "Meaning... forever... bright?"

Forever bright?

Forever bright...

Wang Yang pondered these four words repeatedly, and was suddenly shocked in his heart!

Holy crap!

Could it be Yongming?!

Seeing Wang Yang's expression change, the black man immediately said: "The little one is talking nonsense, please enlighten me, young master!"

Wang Yang calmed his mind and asked: "First tell me what the era name is?"

"Yong... ming?" The black man was not even confident when saying the era name.

It really was Yongming!

This was the era name of the Southern Qi, which he was least familiar with among the five dynasties!

Why was he least familiar with the Southern Qi?

Because the Southern Qi had the shortest history and the most chaotic political situation among the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties!

What was even more fatal was that he didn't know how chaotic it was at all!

He only remembered that Mr. Qian Mu used a very disdainful tone in "Outline of National History" to evaluate the Qi Dynasty, saying: "The historical operation of characters is the lowest in the Southern Dynasties."

The so-called "historical operation" refers to the national destiny. Qian Mu scolded it as "the lowest," so there must be a reason!

Not to mention how it was "the lowest," he was completely blank. Even who the emperors were, how many terms there were, who the ministers were, and what major events happened, he didn't know any of them!

He only knew that the Southern Qi existed for a very short time and was replaced by the Liang Dynasty. And the reason he had heard of the era name "Yongming" was purely because there was a so-called "Yongming style" in ancient literary history, which opened the precedent for later "regulated verse," that is, the so-called "modern-style poetry."

But what was the use of knowing this?!

Wang Yang would rather exchange this chicken-rib knowledge for a "Southern Qi Emperor Genealogy Table" or something, at least knowing the specific year of the Southern Qi's demise would be good!

————————————

Note: ① The social status of soldiers in the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties was extremely low, so much so that calling people "soldier" or "private" was almost scolding. In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," Guan Yu heard that Huang Zhong was named one of the Five Tiger Generals and said angrily: "What kind of person is Huang Zhong, dare to be in the same rank as me? A great man will never be in the same rank as an old soldier." This matter was adapted from "Records of the Three Kingdoms," where the original text was: "Yu heard that Huang Zhong was the Rear General, and Yu said angrily: A great man will never be in the same rank as an old soldier!"

Regardless of "old soldier" or "old private," the most important point of humiliation is actually not the word "old," but the words "soldier" and "private." Similar things also happened to Zhang Fei, but Zhang Fei became the person being humiliated: Liu Ba disdained to talk to Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang persuaded him, but he retorted: "A great man in the world should associate with heroes of the four seas, how can he talk to a soldier?" Here "soldier" is also a derogatory term. In "A New Account of Tales of the World," the scholar-official despised Huan Wen and said the word "soldier," which also had the same meaning. (A New Account of Tales of the World, Rectitude: "Huan Wen was seen as stupid, fearing Huan Wen's face! Soldier! How can you marry a daughter to him!") The problem of the degradation of military households will be reflected later. Details later.

② The habit of using "big shot" to address officials originated very late. At that time, except for titles that could only be used in specific identity relationships, such as "Mingfu," "Shijun," "Fujun," etc., they were directly called by their official titles. But some official titles were not common to modern readers, such as a noble young master surnamed Liu who would appear later, who was the "Friend of the Prince of Badong," and his rank was not low. For many readers, calling him "Adult Liu" was not as accurate as calling him "Lord Liu." For the sake of understanding, the title of "Adult" is still retained, but it does not conform to historical facts. ===== CHAPTER 8 =====

————————————

Note: ① During the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, the social status of soldiers was extremely low, to the point that calling someone a "soldier" or "infantryman" was almost an insult. In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, when Guan Yu heard that Huang Zhong had been appointed one of the Five Tiger Generals, he said angrily: "What kind of person is Huang Zhong, that he dares to be ranked with me? A great man will never be grouped with an old soldier." This event was adapted from *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, where the original text reads: "When Yu heard that Huang Zhong was the Rear General, Yu said angrily: A great man will never be grouped with an old soldier!"

Regardless of whether it is "old soldier" or "old infantryman," the main point of the humiliation actually lies not in the word "old," but in the words "soldier" and "infantryman." A similar incident happened to Zhang Fei, though Zhang Fei became the one being humiliated: Liu Ba disdained to speak with Zhang Fei, and when Zhuge Liang urged him, he retorted: "A great man living in the world should associate with heroes of the four seas; how can one speak with a soldier?" Here, "soldier" is also a derogatory term. In *A New Account of the Tales of the World*, when the scholar-officials despised Huan Wen and used the word "soldier," it carried the same meaning. (*A New Account of the Tales of the World · Uprightness*: "It is hateful to see Wendu acting foolishly again, fearing Huan Wen's face! A soldier! How can one marry a daughter to him!") The issue of the degradation of soldier households will be reflected later. Details to follow.

② The habit of addressing officials as "my lord" originated quite late. At that time, besides specific titles based on status, such as "Prefect," "Envoy," or "Governor," officials were addressed directly by their titles. However, some titles are uncommon for modern readers, such as a noble young master with the surname Liu who will appear later, holding the office of "Friend to the Prince of Badong," which is not a low rank. For many readers, "Lord Liu" feels more accurate than "Friend to the Prince Liu." For the sake of understanding, the title "my lord" is retained, though it does not conform to historical facts.