Chapter 159 Ulterior Motives Xiangcheng Deng Ai
There was a crackling sound of burning sandalwood in the mourning hall, and Mi Yang looked at Liu Zhang with a searching look.
Previously, Liu Zhang promised Mi Yang that as long as Mi Yang could save Liu Chan's life, he would give him a big gift.
Mi Yang didn't take it seriously before, but now that Liu Zhang could specifically come to mention this matter in front of him, Liu Zhang was naturally confident of impressing Mi Yang with this generous gift.
Liu Zhang looked at Mi Yang's probing eyes, opened his lips and said slowly:
"When I was appointed as the shepherd of Yizhou, I could not strictly govern Shu, but because Zhao Wei had colluded with the big families in Shu to cause rebellion, I was not completely wary of them."
"When I took office as the pastor of Yizhou, I secretly sent people to collect a lot of evidence of the crimes of Yizhou's big clans. Some of the big clans in Shuzhong even colluded with the barbarians in Nanzhong."
"Although I had evidence of guilt back then, I never punished them because I was concerned about the stability of Yizhou."
"The evidence of the crimes of those big families in Shu has been stored in my house."
"Later I was moved to the police by Xuande. Xuande did not take anything from my house, and I also brought the evidence of the crime to the police."
"If Zisheng needs it, he can send someone to pick it up from my house in the public security city at any time."
After finishing speaking, Liu Zhang just looked at Mi Yang quietly.
Although Liu Zhang's tone was very calm, when his words fell into Mi Yang's ears, Mi Yang's eyes instantly showed a look of vigilance.
Mi Yang asked Liu Zhang: "Since there is such evidence of crime, why didn't it be handed over to the king in the first place?"
Mi Yang's words were full of doubt.
Facing Mi Yang's suspicion, Liu Zhang said frankly: "Because I had a grudge at the time."
"I admit that after Xuande ruled Yizhou, his political achievements were outstanding. Compared with what it was under my rule, the people of Yizhou now feel that they can live and work in peace and contentment."
"But Xuande, my brother from the same clan, took away Yizhou from me. I did have resentment in my heart at that time."
"Because of my resentment, I deliberately did not hand over these criminal evidence to Xuande."
"Since I came to Jingzhou, although I no longer have any resentment against Xuande for what he did back then, I just want to be a rich man and don't want to get into trouble for nothing, so I have kept the evidence of these crimes secret."
"Even Chan'er doesn't know about this."
After hearing Liu Zhang's explanation, Mi Yang looked at Liu Zhang with a scrutinizing gaze, and his tone was no longer respectful.
"Mr. Liu, you are going to put me on the fire to roast me."
Mi Yang put down the sandalwood in his hand, thinking about the purpose of Liu Zhang's move.
On the surface, Liu Zhang's move was to hand over some of the Yizhou nobles' information to Mi Yang, but if you think about it carefully, it might also be a sugar-coated bomb.
Since the promulgation of the "Shu Ke", many Yizhou nobles have been punished by this law and have complained endlessly.
Mi Yang is already familiar with the laws and regulations in "Shu Ke". Although "Shu Ke" pays attention to fair judgment of crime, once the evidence of guilt is confirmed, the laws and regulations are also extremely strict.
Not to mention other crimes, the crime of colluding with foreigners to feed common people is a crime of beheading at the most minor level.
If these criminal evidences are not in the hands of Liu Bei, but fall into the hands of Mi Yang, and if Mi Yang uses these criminal evidences to coerce and lure those Shuzhong gentry, then those Shuzhong gentry will surely fall one after another under the shock of "Shu Ke".
Xiang Miyang.
This means that Mi Yang can get the support of some of the gentry in Shu without any effort.
The nobles are generally of the same spirit. After gaining support from some Shu nobles, support from other Shu nobles will gradually come.
Chengdu is Liu Bei's royal capital. No matter what Liu Bei's next strategy is in the future, this place in Shu will be Liu Bei's political base for a long time in the future.
Regardless of the gentry in Shu, they currently do not have much power among Liu Bei's forces.
But as local nobles, they hold the power to interpret most public opinions in central Sichuan.
This point, if used well, is the so-called "people's heart".
Being in a powerful political base and receiving support from the local gentry, the implications of this are thought-provoking.
So what did Liu Zhang want to do, just to fulfill his promise?
Mi Yang didn't believe it.
Mi Yang put away his suspicious eyes, picked up the warm water on the ground, took a sip, and then said to Liu Zhang:
"Mr. Liu, you are a man of great sincerity. I hope Mr. Liu will tell you his true thoughts."
Liu Zhang was not surprised to see Mi Yang seeing through his ulterior motives.
Liu Zhang sighed and said, "In today's world, materialistic desires are rampant, which makes people sigh."
"However, there are some emotions that you can't let go of..."
"For example, the general's filial piety towards filial piety is also like my love for Chan'er."
"As parents, you should have far-reaching plans for your children."
"Chan'er has committed the crime of rebellion. Even if Xuande is benevolent and righteous, he will not harm his life."
"But there is no guarantee that future generations will not have murderous intentions for Chan'er."
"I have grown old. If I were still alive, I could still look after Chan'er with this old face."
"But what if it's a hundred years from now?"
"A century-old worry should be solved by a century-old man.
I only hope that I am sending such a great gift to Zi Sheng today so that when I pass away and Chan'er is in trouble, Zi Sheng can help protect him."
"With Zisheng's honorable status now, it will not be difficult to do this in the future."
After finishing speaking, Liu Zhang bowed deeply to Mi Yang.
This was not the gift Liu Zhang wanted to prepare for Mi Yang at first.
But after Mi Yang's victory in the police battle, his limelight suddenly overshadowed all his peers.
His future, as long as he doesn't die prematurely, will be bright.
After knowing this, Liu Zhang had other thoughts.
It's just that he never had great ambitions. Even if he had other thoughts, he was just an old father thinking about his young son.
Liu Zhang's explanation made Mi Yang no longer as fearful as before.
He has far-reaching plans for his children. Mi Yang also saw this in Liu Bei not long ago.
But Mi Yang did not immediately accept Liu Zhang's gift, but kept it in mind.
Mi Yang said to Liu Zhang: "Please come back, Mr. Liu. We will discuss this matter another day."
Seeing that Mi Yang wanted to drive away the guests, Liu Zhang wanted to persuade Mi Yang again, but when he saw the determined look on Mi Yang's face, he could only sigh and got up from the ground.
"Only Zi Sheng and I can know what I said today."
"My gift is in the police station, waiting for Zisheng to pick it up."
After speaking, Liu Zhang could only leave with regret.
After Liu Zhang left, Mi Yangfu picked up the sandalwood on the ground and put it into the brazier in front of him. His expression was solemn.
The aroma of burning sandalwood has the effect of calming the nerves and refreshing the mind.
Surrounded by the scent of sandalwood, Mi Yang's eyes kept changing.
It's not that he isn't interested in the evidence against the Shu nobles in Liu Zhang's hands, but it's just that the time has not yet come to obtain it.
Moreover, holding the evidence of the crimes of the Shu nobles in his hands could be used for more than just what he had just thought about.
The use he was thinking about just now would be chosen by the most selfish and impure-minded people.
After thinking for a while, a look of enlightenment appeared on Mi Yang's face, and he had already thought of how to use these evidences.
Mi Yang got up and came to Fazheng's memorial tablet and offered three sticks of incense to Fazheng.
After offering incense, Mi Yang looked at Fazheng's tablet and whispered softly: "Nanzhong, Nanzhong!"
At this time, under the illumination of the candlelight in the mourning hall, the word "Han" in the Han Shang Shu Ling on Fazheng's tablet stood out.
A breeze blew into the mourning hall, and the candlelight flickered, like the heroic spirit of Fazheng lingering in the mourning hall.
Mi Yang looked at the word "Han", and he seemed to feel that Fazheng's heroic spirit was around him. He bowed solemnly to Fazheng's tablet:
"Teacher, please rest assured."
Mi Yang didn't say anything to worry about.
But after Mi Yang said these words, the flickering candlelight around him stopped swinging, and everything in the mourning hall returned to calm.
If there really is a way to rectify the heroic spirit, then presumably he would trust Mi Yang.
In the fields outside the distant Xiangcheng city, there are large residential areas.
It's just that although there are many residential houses here, most of them are in dilapidated condition.
In a narrow house covered with weeds and with a broken wooden door, there was a young man squatting on the yellow soil inside the house, swinging stones constantly, as if he was demonstrating something.
Although this young man has unkempt hair and a dirty face, his eyes are full of energy.
He was staring at the ground, thinking deeply about the two places he had arranged.
There is a wooden board placed in each of those two places.
On one wooden board, the young man wrote the word "Public Security" with charcoal, and on another place he wrote the word "Wu Jun".
The words written with charcoal on the wooden board are not very clear, but despite this, the words on the wooden board look very neat and elegant.
It can be seen from this scene that the young man in front of me should have received a good literary education since childhood.
This young man's name was Deng Ai, also known as Shizai, and he was from Jiyang, Yiyang.
Deng Ai lost his father when he was young, but he received a good education since he was a child.
In the 13th year of Jian'an, after Cao Cao captured Jingzhou, he forcibly moved the local people north. At this time, Deng Ai and his mother were forcibly moved to Runan to work as farmers.
Because of his young age, Deng Ai initially worked as a cowherd.
But he had great ambitions since he was a child and was determined to change his destiny through struggle.
When Deng Ai was twelve years old, he and his mother were moved to Xiangcheng, Yingchuan.
Here in Xiangcheng, by chance, Deng Ai once read two sentences from the inscription of the late Taiqiu Chief Chen Shi, "Writing is a model for the world, and behavior is a guide for scholars."
He admired these two sentences happily, so he named himself Deng Fan, with the courtesy name Shize.
Later, there was someone in the clan with the same name as him, and he changed his name to Ai.
Among the farmers, there were very few talented people. Deng Ai was recommended as a bachelor of the Diannong Commandery because of his talent and learning, so that he could serve as an assistant to the Diannong Commandery and other lower-level officials.
In the future, if Deng Ai makes great achievements, he may be gradually promoted. Originally, for a person from a humble background, this can be regarded as a way to change his career.
But because Deng Ai stuttered, the captain of Diannong in Xiangcheng thought that he was not suitable for holding important positions, so he assigned him to be a small official guarding the straw.
Although Deng Ai is busy every day, he has been very fond of military affairs since he was a child.
Whenever Deng Ai went out and saw mountains and swamps, he would survey the terrain there and designate the location for the military camp.
Just because he stuttered, his actions were often ridiculed by his peers, but Deng Ai didn't take it seriously.
Because Yingchuan is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, not far from Jingbei, news of the recent victory of the Mi Yang Public Security Bureau has spread outside Xiangcheng one after another.
By chance, Deng Ai heard Captain Diannong mention this battle, and his words were full of fear and admiration for Mi Yang.
After Deng Ai learned about this, he begged Captain Diannong to tell him more details about the public security battle.
Because Deng Ai was usually diligent in his work, he solved a lot of troubles for Captain Diannong.
Therefore, after Deng Ai's repeated requests, Captain Diannong informed Deng Ai what he knew about the situation of the Public Security War.
After Deng Ai understood the general course of the Public Security War, he often used simple conditions on the ground at home to review the details of the battlefield of the Public Security War as much as possible and conduct detailed deductions.
But as the deductions continued for several days, Deng Ai still had doubts about the police battle at that time.
"Set the company on fire, destroy the first battalion first, and greatly demoralize the enemy. This is a great trick."
"Sneaking into the dense forest, burning the enemy's baggage, and causing the enemy's morale to collapse was a stroke of genius."
"But why did Sun Quan suddenly withdraw the siege?"
"Is it possible that Mi Zisheng used some strategy that caused him to withdraw from Xiwei?"
"But what is the plan?"
Although Deng Ai stuttered, he could still speak clearly when talking to himself.
Because Captain Diannong of Yingchuan was not involved, most of the information he knew came from the prefect.
He only understood the general situation of the police battle, but did not understand some of the details.
If you don’t understand nature, you can’t tell Deng Ai.
It was naturally not easy for Deng Ai to fully deduce the details of the battle situation at that time without knowing all the information.
But Deng Ai is a perseverant person. If he can't think of something, he will keep thinking about it.
As Deng Ai kept moving the charcoal and stones in his hands, the look on his face became more and more solemn.
It's purely urgent.
But not only did he have a solemn look on his face, but when he used charcoal as a staff and brought himself into Mi Yang's perspective, the look of admiration for Mi Yang on his face became even stronger.
Although he did not fully deduce the battle situation at that time, it is a fact that Mi Yang broke through 10,000 to 100,000 at a young age. Based on this battle, Mi Yang can be called a famous general.
Deng Ai, who was fond of military affairs, liked famous generals the most.
In addition, Mi Yang is similar in age to Deng Ai. Deng Ai, who has great ambitions, will naturally regard his peer Mi Yang as his target.
Mi Zi Sheng is self-acting.
It can be said that Mi Yang is now half of Deng Ai's idol.
Just when Deng Ai was puzzled, Deng's mother had just returned from collecting weeds in the field.
Spring plowing is approaching, and some pre-plowing matters have been put on the agenda.
Some of the young men in the farming households were taken to join the army, and most of the remaining young men served as minor officials, each with their own responsibilities.
Therefore, the work of weeding naturally falls on the old, weak, women and children.
Deng's mother, who had been working hard all day, staggered in from the broken door. Her movements awakened Deng Ai who was deep in thought.
Deng Ai was a filial person by nature. When he saw his mother looking like she had worked too hard, he immediately threw away the charcoal in his hand and came to help Deng's mother.
After Deng Ai supported Deng's mother, he said with concern: "Mom, don't go tomorrow. Let your son go for you."
But after listening to what Deng Ai said, Deng's mother's pale face showed fear.
She shook her head and said: "The captain's laws are strict and he is most afraid of people not fulfilling their duties."
"Back then, you plowed a field for me, and then you were whipped in public, leaving you with scars. How could I bear to let you suffer like this again?"
After listening to Deng's mother's words, a sigh appeared on Deng Ai's young and mature face.
He supported Mother Deng and walked slowly towards the bed made of wooden boards, but before he had walked a few steps, Mother Deng suddenly fainted in Deng Ai's arms.
Deng Ai was shocked when he saw this. He touched Mother Deng's forehead with his hand and found that it was very hot. He realized that Mother Deng had a fever.
He immediately put Deng's mother on the wooden bed and lay down on it. Then he covered her with a quilt full of holes and hurried out of the house.
He wanted to find a doctor for his mother.
But looking for a doctor requires money. The money in his hand is not enough now, so he can only run to the Diannong Duwei's office not far away.
But at this moment, Captain Diannong in the official office received an order from the Prime Minister's staff.
Deng Ai stutters, but in order to keep up with the number of words, what he says in the future will not go out of his way to add more words unless it is for the plot.
Originally it was 24:00, but I finished writing it earlier and posted it earlier.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!