Chapter 2 Chapter One

Chapter 1 A Childhood Blessed by Ancestors in a Well-to-do Family Dacheng County, Beijing-Tianjin Corridor The fertile and vast North China Plain stretches as far as the eye can see.To the east of the majestic Taihang Mountains, there is a small river flowing quietly, which is the Ziya River.Ziya River is located in the south of Hebei Province. The river course flows from southwest to northeast, passing through Raoyang, Xianxian, Hejian, Dacheng, Jinghai and other counties, and flows into Haihe River through Tianjin City. It is one of the five major rivers in the Haihe River system. Among the counties where the Ziya River flows, Dacheng County has a long history and profound heritage. In the old days, it was called Pingshu because of the peace and comfort of the people.It has a history of more than one thousand years since it was changed to a big city during the Five Dynasties period.Although Dacheng County was a small county in history, there were many historical figures, which are still talked about by people.For example, Li Song, the governor of Liaodong during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, was a native of Dongchen Village, Dacheng County. He and Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief, fought against the Jurchen invasion and made great military exploits.In addition, according to the "Drafts of Qing History", Yang Jishe, the ancestor of Empress Dowager Cixi, died under Li Song.And yet another Cixi's favorite servant, Li Lianying, appeared here, what a twist of fate!

The Ziya River meanders into Dacheng County, more than ten miles south of the city, and suddenly turns a big bend eastward, turning from west to east, and after flowing for more than ten miles, it turns northeast again.Therefore, the elders called this area Shiliwan.Outside the south embankment of Shiliwan, Dacheng County has always been a land of prosperity because of its high terrain and good soil quality. When it is dry, it can be irrigated with Ziya River water, and when it is flooded, it can drain to low-lying areas.Just to the east of this rich land, there are more than a dozen villages scattered in an orderly manner.No matter how the dynasties change, the people here thrive and thrive without being disturbed by the outside world.Li Lianying was born here in a place called Li Jia Village.

The Li family's ancestral home is Qiantang, Zhejiang.In the early Ming Dynasty, Li Zi, a native of Qiantang, went to Shandong to be an official. Because he didn't want to join forces with others, he offended the local gentry and cruel officials and was demoted to a commoner.And because he was clean and honest in office, he didn't lose his family's wealth, and he didn't even have the travel expenses to go back to Zhejiang, so he went to Gaozhuang, Shimen, Qihe County, Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province for the people.After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Jing Nan raised his troops, and Zhu Di used troops from north to south for three years, which brought serious disasters to the people here.

After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he ordered to relocate people. Li Zi took the opportunity to move to Dacheng County with his family.When Li Zi came here, he had no relatives, so with the help of his neighbors, he had to temporarily live in the two dilapidated houses of the rich man Xu's house in the east of the village who guarded the garden.Later, Li Zi built a few thatched huts after several efforts, and he settled down. Li Zi is approachable, honest and willing to work, plus he has read scriptures for several years, is diligent and thrifty in managing the family, and his life is gradually becoming rich. There is such a record in "Li's Family Tree": Li Zi interacts with people, is prudent and mature, and never associates with officials and gentry. All neighbors in the countryside who discuss current affairs avoid him. People call him a hidden gentleman.

Later, the Li family gradually multiplied and grew stronger. The children and grandchildren set up their own families and built their own businesses, and the family prospered day by day.There has been such a miraculous story circulating in the local area, which can be regarded as a kind of affirmation of the ancestors’ diligence and diligence by the descendants of the Li family. Its content is: Li Zi first arrived in Dacheng County and temporarily lived in two dilapidated houses. Tight, but every day at noon, there is always an old hen clucking in the outhouse.Li Zi wondered, where did it come from?Why do you keep barking at your own door?One morning, taking advantage of the hen's unawareness, he suddenly pounced on the hen, trying to catch it, but the old hen disappeared into the ground at the northwest corner of the house.Li Zi was puzzled, so he picked up the iron shovel and dug down. As a result, he dug three feet into the ground and unearthed a large amount of gold and silver treasures.Since then, Li Zi has made a fortune.

After Ming Chengzu Zhu Di moved his capital to Beijing, Dacheng County was under the jurisdiction of Tongzhi, Shuntianfu South Road.In order to strengthen management and make it easier to levy and pay taxes, the imperial court established a strict household registration system. Every village must have a name, establish household registration, and organize Baojia.Following the name of Zhao Jia Village, Li Zi also named Li Jia Village with his own surname, and his household registration was under the jurisdiction of Shijia in Anqingli (now Anqingtun).Later, seven Jia villages, including Zhang, Bai, Song, Liang, Luo, Fang, and Wang, were successively established in the west and south of him, all named after the surnames of the first households.According to the narration of the descendants of the Li family, in addition to the "Li Family Tree" as evidence, the stone tablet engraved in the eleventh year of Guangxu is also a strong proof.

Today, some people still regard Li Lianying as a native of Hejian Prefecture. In fact, this kind of statement is wrong.Hejian belonged to Yingzhou in ancient times, and Dacheng County was indeed under its jurisdiction in history.But since the Five Dynasties, Dacheng County has been under the jurisdiction of Bazhou.In the Ming Dynasty, Dacheng County was under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture. The book "Old Beijing Characters and Customs" describes in detail the situation of the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture: in the Qing Dynasty, Shuntian Prefecture governed five prefectures and nineteen counties, and the five prefectures were Jizhou, Tongzhou, Changping, Zhuozhou, Bazhou, ten The nine counties are Daxing, Wanping, Liangxiang, Fangshan, Sanhe, Wuqing, Baodi, Ninghe, Xianghe, Baoding (now Xinzhen Township, Wen'an County), Wen'an, Dacheng, Gu'an, Yongqing, Dong'an, Shunyi, Huairou , Miyun, Pinggu.Daxing and Wanping County Governments are located in the center of Beijing, dividing the urban area and the suburbs.The local affairs of the remaining 22 prefectures and counties will be jointly checked by the governor of Shuntian Prefecture and the governor of Zhili.The promotion and relegation of the affiliated Tongzhi, Zhizhou, and county magistrates must be handled with the governor of Zhili, which is now called dual management.One government is in charge of twenty-four states and counties. There are too many affairs, and it is often difficult to consider carefully, and it is inevitable to miss everything.Therefore, in the twenty-seventh year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1688), the imperial court set up four halls in the nineteen counties of the five prefectures under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture, and the 24 prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of the Silu Tongzhi.There are Bazhou, Baoding (now Xinzhen Township, Wen'an County), Wen'an, Dacheng, Gu'an, Yongqing, Dong'an and other seven prefectures and counties in the South Road Office.