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Fei Qian leaned back in the courtyard of his newly built wooden house, feeling a sense of pride.
Although he hadn't personally built the structure, it was his design, and seeing it come to life from the first day of construction to its completion gave him a sense of accomplishment.
While it was called a wooden house, it was actually a relatively large architectural complex.
Upon entering the main gate, one would find a courtyard—the very spot where Fei Qian was now basking in the sun. The courtyard had a canopy, though it was currently empty. Fei Qian planned to plant some greenery come spring.
Beyond the courtyard was the main hall for receiving guests. Behind the hall were five slightly branching rooms. Fei Qian, with a touch of mischief, named them the "Five Elements Rooms"—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The Earth room, located in the center, was the largest, and of course, Fei Qian claimed it as his own.
Pang Tong had initially tried to argue for the Earth room, but Fei Qian shut him down, saying, "This is my house. If you don't like it, go build a thatched hut yourself..."
Pang Tong had no choice but to settle for the Fire room, which had a decent orientation.
Behind the five rooms was a small backyard, where most of the functional rooms were located.
After moving in, Pang Tong, determined to solve Fei Qian's "weight of a single drop of water" challenge, seemed to have gone out to borrow some measuring instruments. He then locked himself in his room and didn't come out...
"Ahahaha! I've measured it! I've measured it!" Pang Tong's excited shout from the Fire room nearly startled Fei Qian.
Pang Tong burst out of his room, first rushing into Fei Qian's Earth room. Finding it empty, he looked around and spotted Fei Qian in the front courtyard. He excitedly ran over, holding something in his hand, and placed it in front of Fei Qian, proudly declaring, "I've figured it out!" His face was beaming with pride, practically begging for praise.
Fei Qian glanced at the cup of water placed before him and quickly guessed that Pang Tong had resorted to a brute-force method to solve the problem.
Indeed, given the measuring tools of the Han Dynasty, microscopic problems could only be solved by scaling them up. However—
Fei Qian picked up the cup and said, "Why did you use such a large one? Wouldn't a smaller one have been easier to measure?"
"..." Pang Tong's proud expression instantly wilted like frostbitten leaves.
Since the method was obvious, Fei Qian had no interest in how Pang Tong had calculated it. Instead, he was more intrigued by the scale-like object Pang Tong had brought with him. Was this the measuring instrument of the Han Dynasty?
The scale was made of bronze, with markings engraved on the rod. It was smooth and shiny, clearly well-used. A rope ran through the middle of the rod for lifting, and two bronze plates hung on either side for weighing objects.
It looked quite similar to a balance scale. But where were the weights?
Fei Qian noticed a few bronze rings nearby, picked them up, and tossed them in his hand. He guessed these were the weights.
It was quite intricate, though not very convenient...
Pang Tong quickly snatched the rings back, saying, "I borrowed this with great difficulty. Don't break it."
Fei Qian casually replied, "It won't break. Even if it does, something this crude can easily be replaced..."
"Crude?!" Pang Tong glared, about to retort, when Uncle Fu walked in from outside, looking like he had something important to say. Reluctantly, Pang Tong put the items away, planning to settle the matter with Fei Qian later.
"What? A Liu-Cai marriage alliance?"
The news Uncle Fu brought was indeed shocking. Although Fei Qian had given Liu Biao some advice, he hadn't expected Liu Biao to act so quickly. It had only been a few days! How had he already formed a marriage alliance with the Cai family?
Had the six rites of marriage been expedited by six-hundred-mile couriers?
Normally, such things didn't happen this fast.
Pang Tong, standing nearby, was also surprised. He muttered, "Liu Biao has already won over the Kuai family, and now he's forming a marriage alliance with the Cai family. With both civil and military support, his power is taking shape..."
Compared to Fei Qian, Pang Tong, being a native of Jingxiang, had a much deeper understanding of the local scholar-gentry families.
Fei Qian turned to Pang Tong and said, "Since you know so much, why don't you explain it to me?"
Pang Tong, still a bit stubborn, replied, "Why should I?"
"How about this," Fei Qian thought for a moment, then pointed to the scale in Pang Tong's hand, "if you explain it well, I'll make you a more refined version of this. How about that?"
"Really?" Pang Tong's interest was immediately piqued, and he began to explain in detail.
In fact, the Jingxiang region had always been quite different from the northern areas like Heluo and Jizhou, as well as more distant regions like Bingzhou, Youzhou, and Liangzhou.
Jingxiang had originally been part of the Chu state during the Spring and Autumn period.
At that time, Chu's culture was quite different from that of the northern states like Zhao and Qin. Qin, in particular, was known for its harsh laws, while Chu was more moderate and inclusive. As a result, many cultural figures who couldn't survive in the north fled south to Jingxiang, gradually creating a diverse cultural atmosphere in the region.
Thus, Xiangyang was like a melting pot, inclusive and eclectic, and it developed a unique scholar-gentry system unlike anywhere else.
In the north, many large scholar-gentry families were highly exclusive, often dominating entire regions and making it difficult for outsiders to establish themselves.
In Xiangyang, however, things were different. Between Xiangyang and Yicheng, there was an area known as the "Crown and Canopy Lane," where dozens of families with officials ranked at two thousand bushels or higher resided. Among them, the most prominent were seven families: Pang, Huang, Cai, Kuai, Ma, Xi, and Yang. There were also many smaller families, too numerous to list.
The key point was that the intermarriage among these families in Xiangyang was far more frequent and dense than in the north.
Among them, the Cai family was particularly fond of marriage alliances. Not only did they intermarry with local families, but they also had connections with northern dignitaries. For example, Cai Feng's sister had married Zhang Wen, who was now the Grand Commandant...
Now, with Liu Biao reaching out to the Cai family, it was a perfect match. The Cai family no longer needed to leave their homeland to hold important positions.
Pang Tong also emphasized that, unlike the Kuai family, which was known for its literary traditions, the Cai family's teachings included military training and leadership methods. Thus, the Cai family could be considered a military-oriented scholar-gentry family.
With this marriage alliance, Liu Biao had essentially secured his position in Jingxiang. With the Kuai family handling civil affairs and the Cai family handling military matters, the two families complemented each other perfectly, with little conflict.
Fei Qian wondered about the other prominent families. The Pang family was already well-known, with Pang Degong's reputation resonating throughout Jingxiang. The Kuai and Cai families were now closely tied to Liu Biao. What about the Huang family? Was Huang Zu of Jiangxia also part of the Huang family? He asked Pang Tong.
"The Huang family is known for their craftsmanship," Pang Tong said, shaking his head with a hint of regret. He held up the scale in his hand. "This scale was borrowed from the Huang family. The Huang family was once a prominent clan, but now, with no worthy successors to Huang Gong, many of their members have fled to Jiangxia..."
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