The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 220 Gaomi Qi Family
Yue Wenxuan observed the situation in Mizhou through Master Ye's eyes.

As soon as we entered Gaomi County, all we saw was desolation.

Most of the local people have fled to Jiaoshui County, so there are large areas of uninhabited areas in the area adjacent to the two counties.

Dilapidated wooden houses and abandoned fields can be seen everywhere.

The people of our country cherish land very much. Farmers would beat each other to death in order to grab land, but now farmers would rather leave the land idle. This shows how difficult the world is.

The group walked forward for several miles and got closer and closer to Gaomi County. The rural areas here finally began to return to normal. Villagers could be seen in the village and the farmland also began to function normally. However, the farmland here used the old farming methods, so the growth was not as good as the farmland in the rebel territory, but production had resumed.

Yue Wenxuan said, "No wonder everyone in Changyi County is running to Jiaoshui, but not many are coming from Gaomi County. It turns out that normal order has been restored near Gaomi County."

Guan Shengqi asked, "Could it be that the black fellow is also involved in internal affairs? Why do I feel that this matter is a bit uncertain?"

Wu Jialiang said, "That black servant definitely doesn't know how to manage internal affairs. This must have been done by someone else. Perhaps he has appointed scholars as his subordinates."

With doubts, everyone continued to move forward. After passing through a large area of ​​normal rural areas, they could see Gaomi County in the distance.

From afar, everyone saw carriages and horses entering and exiting the county town's city gate. Everything seemed to be in good order. There were guards standing on the top of the city wall with bows in their hands.

Guan Sheng: "Looking at this county, it seems to be doing well. There are capable people in Gaomi County."

Wu Jialiang nodded: "The more I look at it, the less it looks like the work of a black man."

When the group said this, the sentries on the city wall had already seen them from afar. They did not look like good people, especially Wu Jialiang and Guan Sheng. Even from a long distance away, one could sense the aura of the underworld from them.

The sentry was startled and quickly yelled at the people entering and leaving the city gate: "Hurry up and get in! The gate is about to close."

The two people pushing carts carrying dung buckets at the city gate were so frightened that they rushed into the city. Then the city gate slammed shut. The sentry drew his bow, half-fired, and shouted at Yue Wenxuan and his group, "Where are you from?"

Wu Jialiang quickly put on a gentle expression and said, "Brothers in the city, don't panic. We came from Jiaoshui County and are the subordinates of Wang Zhaoye and Marshal Gong."

The sentry guarding the city suddenly realized: "The heroes who defeated the Jin thieves?"

Wu Jialiang said: "He's not a hero, he's an official!"

Sentry: "Wait a moment, I'll go inform the Marquis."

"Marquis?" Wu Jialiang was a little confused and turned to look at Guan Sheng: "There's a Marquis here?"

Guan Sheng: "Brother Jialiang, don't look at me. I don't know either."

Yue Wenxuan also spread his hands. The rebel army's post station system had just been built, and the news outside was all confusing. They didn't even know that there was a marquis in charge so close to them.

After a while, the sentry actually called over a high-ranking official. His clothing indicated he was of high rank. He looked to be about fifty years old. He stood on the city wall and clasped his fists before the crowd. "My name is Qi Chongli. I have served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War, concurrently as Director of the Imperial Academy and a Hanlin Academician. In the first year of Jianyan, I was granted the title of Marquis of Gaomi. Because my hometown was devastated by war, I have hurried back to visit. I heard you are from Jiaoshui County. Are you the prince's subordinates?"

The way he introduced himself, with such a long list of titles, was really scary, crushing the two small fry Wu Jialiang and Guan Sheng.

Guan Sheng was confused: "Brother, have you heard of such a person?"

Wu Jialiang shook his head: "Never heard of him." Yue Wenxuan laughed in his heart: If you two were legitimate court officials, you would probably have heard of this person, but you two are both bandits and are not familiar with court officials.

Never mind! I'll just ask Baidu.

Yue Wenxuan quickly switched off and searched for Qi Chongli. Wow, he really is a celebrity.

This man had once helped Li Qingzhao. After Li Qingzhao was imprisoned for denouncing her second husband, Zhang Ruzhou, Qi Chongli reported to Emperor Gaozong of Song the details of Li Qingzhao's years of wandering, her constant pursuit of the emperor, and her deception into marriage by Zhang Ruzhou. He pleaded for leniency. Emperor Gaozong granted Qi Chongli's request, and Li Qingzhao was released from prison after only nine days.

Furthermore, Qi Chongli was a pro-war advocate, consistently advocating resistance against the Jin dynasty and opposing the pro-peace Qin Hui. He preserved the imperial calligraphy left by Zhao Gou when he reluctantly dismissed Qin Hui from his position as prime minister, and refused to hand it over despite Qin Hui's desperate attempts. This evidence of Qin Hui's treasonous surrender was thus preserved and passed down to future generations.

Yue Wenxuan lowered his voice and said to Wu Jialiang, "This guy is okay. He's much better than someone like Liu Yu."

Wu Jialiang was surprised: "Huh? Brother Ip Man actually knows this person?"

Yue Wenxuan: "I've only heard of it, but never encountered it."

Wu Jialiang didn't dwell on this question any more. He looked up at Qi Chongli on the city wall and clasped his fists, saying, "My Lord, I was originally the lieutenant of Jimo County. Now, I serve under Your Majesty as the Inspector General of Laizhou."

Guan Sheng also clasped his fists and said, "General Guan Sheng, formerly the commander of the army in Jinan City, now serves under the command of His Majesty."

After hearing the two men's introductions, Qi Chongli said happily, "They are indeed Wang Zhaoye's subordinates. Quickly open the city gate and let them in."

The city gate opened and the soldiers welcomed the group in.

Qi Chongli personally went to the city gate to greet him, sighing, "I heard about the turmoil in Shandong and the war in my hometown. I was really worried. It was just at the time when the Hangzhou mutiny and the court were in chaos. I went back to my hometown to take a look. After that, I will go to Jiangning to serve the emperor."

Wu Jialiang asked, "On my way here, I saw that the countryside in Gaomi County has recovered and the farmland is growing well. This must be the work of the Marquis, right?"

Speaking of this, Qi Chongli was a little happy: "The Qi family has had roots in Gaomi for hundreds of years. Before I came back, my brothers Qi Chongwen, Qi Chongwu and others had been managing the place and maintaining peace and stability."

"Oh I got it."

Now Wu Jialiang understood!
It seems that the most powerful squire, or local celebrity, in Gaomi County is the Qi family.

Yue Wenxuan quickly checked it out. He didn’t know what it was until he checked. It was really amazing.

The Qi clan had been rooted in Gaomi for hundreds of years. Later, the Song Dynasty was destroyed, but the Qi clan survived. After some struggles with the Jin Dynasty, the Qi clan split into two branches. The pro-war branch led by Qi Chongli fled to Taizhou, while the rest of the Qi clan continued to live in Gaomi...

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Qi family produced many talented people.

The "Gaomi County Chronicles. Records of the Republic of China" and the "Weifang Place Names Cultural Series. Talking about Place Names" record that during the Qing Dynasty, Qi Ruji, a 19-year-old Jinshi (Jinshi), mastered reading with photographic memorization, rose to the rank of Bachelor of the Neihongwen Academy, was granted the rank of Tongfeng Doctor, became Jijiu of the Imperial College at the age of 28, and reached the rank of Second Rank at the age of 32. The "Gaomi County Chronicles. Records of the Republic of China" and "Stories of Gaomi History" also note that during the Qing Dynasty, the Qi family produced one Jinshi (Jinshi) and six Juren (Juren). The newly revised "Gaomi Qi Family Genealogy" records that the family also produced over 1 Xiucai (Xucai), over 6 with official titles, and 100 individuals whose names are recorded in the county annals, making them a rare and prominent family in Gaomi.

To this day, there is still a Qijia Village in Gaomi City. Even the officials in charge of the census may not know how many descendants of the Qi family live there.

This is the aristocratic family!
They will not be destroyed even if the country is destroyed!
No matter how dynasties change, they remain unmoved.

(End of this chapter)