At the beginning of March in the seventh year of Daye, Li Jing, the Prime Minister of Mayi County, was still inspecting the grain storage in various warehouses, which made all the Cao Cao in Mayi tremble with fear.
In fact, the other Cao Cao did not have it easy either.
Because since Li Jing took charge of Mayi, he had been quite lazy. Apart from holding the three thousand infantry soldiers in Mayi's military camp firmly in his hands, he had not done anything major.
But now it didn't happen. The emperor wanted to conquer Liaodong. As usual, the trouble was known to the whole world.
Mayi is close to Hebei. If we don't take care of things, there will be trouble in the future.
Li Jing has been unlucky for nearly twenty years, and he knows the pros and cons. He keeps his eyes on his younger brother, not to mention others, but his own brother in Beijing.
Of course, Li Jing's selfishness is also one of the important reasons.
Speaking of which, Li Jing has had his share of hardships in recent years.
At first, he was regarded as an official under Yang Su's family, but his brother Li Duan was actually the confidant of General Shi Wansui.
Yang Su and Gao Jiong had been fighting for power for more than ten years, and it affected more than just one or two people.
At that time, Gao Zhong's disciples and old officials were all over the court and outside, and they really overpowered Yang Su.
However, it was Yang Su who won in the end.
Li Jing saw clearly that among the important officials in the court at that time, Gao Jiong was undoubtedly unrivaled in terms of talent and reputation.
The reason why such a famous official of the founding emperor was removed was not because of how powerful his political enemy Yang Su was, but because he was not rewarded for his high achievements and was feared by the emperor.
In the series of thrilling battles that followed the struggle for the throne, Li Jing's group was easily overturned like a small boat in a violent storm.
Shi Wansui died, and Li Duan was demoted to serve as a civilian.
Yang Su's group was one step ahead. Li Jing got no benefit at all, but left the capital sadly. This was obviously their counterattack.
The person on top remains motionless, while the small fish and shrimp below are the victims.
During the turmoil that year, Li Jing was one of the small fish and shrimps.
After that, he was tossed back and forth, not only not being promoted, but also not being able to return to the capital. It seemed that he had been harmed by his brother. In fact, this was the price of his party's attachment to Yang Su's line.
It is estimated that even Niu Hong, the Minister of Civil Affairs, could not tell who they were who repeatedly blocked his promotion and return to Beijing. At that time, no one would go to war over a small Li Jing.
However, things in the world change beyond what people can expect.
Prince Yang Yong was deposed and Gao Jiong was demoted. A generation of famous ministers finally came to the end of the officialdom. But it can be said that he was relatively lucky. In the last years of Emperor Wen, many of the virtuous ministers and generals who founded the country had their families destroyed. Gao Jiong
But it is not easy to retreat safely.
Yang Su also gained the trust of Emperor Wen Yang Jian and Queen Dugu, and his power increased greatly.
At this point, it should be a matter of course for Li Jing to return to Beijing and take up a post.
But the funny thing is that the person blocking Li Jing's way back to Beijing is not someone else, but his brother Li Duan.
It is not for nothing that I say that it is easy to be an official in the capital.
Li Duan stayed in Chang'an, the capital. He changed the hall and became a disciple of the Yuwen family, a powerful family in the capital. He gradually became more important and even regained the title of Duke of Yongkang that had been deprived of him back then.
The blood of our compatriots is worthless in the face of fame and fortune.
What's more, although the Li family is not ranked high in Beijing, it is indeed a member of the Chang'an clan.
In such a big family, it is not surprising that anything happens.
As the head of the family, Li Duan is most afraid of this younger brother. The only one who can compete with him for the position of the head of the family has always been this younger brother.
If this younger brother hadn't been so young back then, perhaps the title of Duke of Yongkang County would not have fallen to him.
Therefore, he will never let this brother return to Beijing.
As a result, Li Jing was deceived by this brother.
It was true that he was promoted, but he came to a frontier place like Mayi. People also said that Li Jing was promoted because of his brother, which made Li Jing miserable.
Because at this time, Yang Su was similar to Gao Jiong back then. He was jealous of the emperor and did not dare to treat him when he heard that he was ill. He died of illness in office.
It's ridiculous to say that less than a year after Yang Su's death, the life of the famous minister Gao Jiong also came to an end.
A pair of old enemies almost went on the road together, which also meant that the turmoil in Emperor Wen's last years was completely over.
The ambitious new emperor sat on the throne, looking around, full of ambition, and finally felt at ease, because no one had the courage or prestige to make irresponsible remarks to him anymore, which felt like a constraint.
At this time, Li Jing painfully discovered that among the people in the court who still remembered him and thought about him all the time, Li Duan was probably the only one left.
A miserable life needs no explanation.
When he needed help the most, his uncle Han Qinhu died.
When he emerged and wanted to make a difference, he was convicted and demoted from the capital in the blink of an eye.
When the new emperor ascended the throne and he had just seen some hope, Yang Su died again.
I finally got promoted, but I ended up in a hellish place like Mayi.
You want to make military exploits, but the Turks don't come. You want to be promoted to governor, but you are held back by others.
Moreover, Mayi is the place where his brother Li Duan once fought, and there are quite a few old troops there. If Li Jing wants to make a difference here, he has to ask them if they agree.
It can be said that the first half of Li Jing's life was full of all kinds of tragedies. He simply couldn't help himself and fell into pits one after another. It became increasingly difficult to get out.
For such a person, you want him to work conscientiously in Mayi to guard the country's borders? How is that possible?
However, after seven years in Daye, Li Jing, who was gradually losing hope, seemed to see a glimmer of light.
Of course, he also knew that even if he sharpened his head, he would not be able to follow the army to conquer Liaodong.
But Mayi was too close to Hebei, and he was 90% sure that the emperor would definitely lead the expedition in person.
Although in his opinion, this was an extremely stupid behavior, the emperor's great success gradually began to be difficult to understand, and the emperor's character and actions can already be traced to the heroes of the late Jin Dynasty.
But for him, this is the closest he has been to the emperor in the past twenty years.
Therefore, he wanted to let the emperor know that there was also Li Jing in Mayi who was praised by General Han Qinhu for his knowledge of military matters.
Therefore, when Li Jing inspected the warehouse this time, he was very energetic.
By March, less than half of the inspection had been carried out, and twenty-six people from Mayi had already reported to the Yanmen Daizhou General Manager's Office for execution. In fact, before Yanmen could even reply, the heads of people here had already fallen to the ground one after another.
This is an obvious cleanse.
Most of those who lost their heads were local officials, half of whom were military generals.
Li Jing had already made up his mind to clear out his brother Li Duan's old army in Mayi to facilitate future operations.
But at this time, the small fire in Mayi City brought another excuse to Li Jing, who was almost furious...