Chapter 2: Becoming Officials (Part 1) Two days later, the two of them arrived in Liaodong County and first found a local wealthy businessman. They paid half a shilling and put the horses down. Then they asked the owner to borrow a room, a washbasin, and brought cold water to tidy up their clothes.
Now that the war is about to begin, Liaodong County is passing troops every day. The soldiers have captured the common people herding horses. It would be good if they don't take the opportunity to blackmail them. How can they give half a favor? The owner of the house touches five hundred pieces of meat. It's not good to take it, and it's not good to take it.
He didn't dare to stand at the door until the two of them had finished packing, then he crept forward and prayed in a low voice: "Two generals, please take back your rewards. The little old man was born in the Sui Dynasty and contributed some efforts to the country. Originally, originally he was
The money that should be spent is tens of millions, I absolutely dare not accept it.”
"Take it, we two are going to the city for business. These hundred horses will be taken care of by your family. After taking care of them, there will be money for them. If someone steals the horses..." Liu Hongji dusted his head.
Pi Bian said sternly (Note 1) "I don't dare, I don't dare!" the landlord assured loudly.
Liu Hong basically looked rich and noble, but now he put on a brocade robe and a leather crown, making him look even more extraordinary. How could ordinary people dare to offend such a government official's son? For a moment, the head of the household was so frightened that he bowed repeatedly and said he didn't dare.
, half a bunch of money trembled like rosary beads
"Old man, please keep the money. We are not bad people, and we will not deliberately cause trouble for you!" Li Xu saw that the host was really pitiful, so he stepped forward and made a big bow as a junior, and comforted in a low voice (Note 2) "
Kill the little old man, let's kill the little old man!" The head of the household shivered even more when he saw a young man in a brocade robe and tiara paying such a grand tribute to him. He put down half a bunch of copper coins, put his hands up to his eyebrows, and bent his knees to return the favor to Liu Hongji.
I was really impatient, so I rushed forward and grabbed his arm, shouting: "You can accept it if I ask you to accept it. It only takes half a day. How can we blackmail you?"
"I don't dare, I don't dare!" the head of the household replied tremblingly. In the end, he still couldn't pay back the gift. Liu Hongji didn't want to waste any more time, so he took Li Xu out and picked out two horses that looked the same color.
, a rather majestic Turkic army horse, riding all the way to Huaiyuan Town
Huaiyuan Town is a place where grain is stored, and the security is naturally much tighter than that of Liucheng and other places. Dozens of soldiers stood at the door with swords and guns, inspecting the passers-by one by one, from their appearance, figure to the calluses on their hands. There was nothing suspicious.
let go
Li Xu had practiced martial arts with his coppersmith master for more than half a year, and the calluses on his hands were all worn out by holding weapons. Just as he was worried about how to pass, Liu Hongji picked up the reins of his horse and accelerated towards the city gate.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way, the uncle has urgent business!" Liu Hongji took the lead and shouted aggressively. The people waiting for inspection at the door heard the sound of horse hooves and quickly stepped aside. The guard guard wanted to stop him, but looked at the tall horse.
, then looked at the brocade robe on the horse, and immediately became timid. He picked up his sword and spear and stood upright in the doorway.
The two figures flashed past the door and ran for more than half a mile before the city gate official came back to his senses and wiped the dust on his head with his sleeves, and spat heavily on the ground: "What the hell, isn't it?"
What a good man, what if I were born with a silver spoon in my mouth, grandpa? Humph, I’m already standing up. What about you, come one by one, squeeze whatever you want, grandma, you’re busy buying a coffin!”
Huaiyuan Town is a small town, and the streets are not complicated. Liu Hongji asked someone casually, and asked where the yamen of the officials in charge was. He did not enter the yamen, but took Li Xu straight to the Jiaomen in the north of the yard. It was ten meters away from the Jiaomen.
Stepping away, he got off his horse, held the reins and walked slowly over.
Before he reached the door, a servant came to greet him. Liu Hongji took out a jade token from his luggage, handed it to the servant, and said loudly: "This is the Tang Apartment. Please let me know, I have the son of an old friend."
The eldest son of the Liu family comes to pay homage to the elders!"
"It is the back house of Mr. Tang's family. Please wait, I will send a message for you right now!" When the servant heard that he was the son of an old friend, he quickly took the jade plaque and bowed to the ground.
Liu Hongji stretched out his hand to support each other, and when the other person stood up, he stuffed a small string of copper coins into his sleeve. The servant was used to greeting and seeing off guests, and he could tell from the sudden increase in weight in his sleeve that this person was in front of him.
The young master gave me a lot of money. He thanked me and ran in anxiously.
A moment later, footsteps were heard again in the yard. The door opened, and it was the same servant who came out. He bowed first, then took out a square towel to wipe his sweat, and said breathlessly: "I, my master went to the military camp for business.
, I have not yet returned to the eldest son, please invite the two distinguished guests to the front door, where he will greet his old friends!"
Liu Hongji thanked him, threw the horse's reins to the servant, pulled Li Xu away from him and walked towards the front door. The servant looked at each other until the two figures were far away, and then he led the two horses to the courtyard one by one.
middle
The Sui Dynasty inherited the Han system. Government offices were located in the north and faced south. If the position was high enough, they could bring their families with them. Officials' wives, children, and children were usually placed in the back house of the office. They usually went about official business. All guests came through the front door, and only close personal friends came through.
Or maybe the younger generation entered through the back door. A few hundred years later, greed and sycophancy became widespread, and the term "back door" came from this. This is a story for later, so we won't mention it for now.
The guest who alerted the host and went to the front door to greet him was a distinguished guest of the family. Therefore, although Liu Hongji asked to see him as a junior, he was arranged by the host to greet him at the front door.
Li Xu had no experience in officialdom and was completely unaware of these rules. Liu Hongji led him slowly to the Qianyamen. The main entrance of the Qianyamen was also wide open. It was a place for handling state affairs, not a place for the host's family to welcome guests.
The person passed by the main entrance, walked a few steps forward, and stopped at the side door in front.
The front side door for VIPs to enter and exit had already been opened by the servants. Several neatly dressed male servants held long brooms and symbolically "swept" a path in front of the door. The host greeted him with a smile and walked to stand in front of Liu Hongji.
After making up his mind, he put his hands on his heart, hugged his chest, bowed and said: "Jian Jiancheng has met Brother Hongji, but he didn't know that he was coming from afar, so he couldn't go out to greet him. I hope you don't blame me!"
Over there, Liu Hongji had also bowed his body and said excitedly: "Coming here without telling me is very presumptuous. Please don't laugh at my abruptness!"
The two bowed to each other, and then they held hands and said with a smile: "You and I haven't seen each other for more than three years. I didn't expect to meet here today!"
After laughing enough, Liu Hongji pulled Li Xu forward and introduced the two of them, "This is my other good brother, Shanggu Li Xu, courtesy name Zhongjian. This is my good friend since childhood, the eldest son of Duke Tang.
Jiancheng, the word is Zigu!" (Note 4) When Li Xu heard this, he quickly stepped forward, clasped his fists tightly on his chest, and made a hand-over salute. Jiancheng had an official position, so he shook his hands in vain, and treated the common people like a scholar.
return the favor
After greeting each other, Liu and Li entered the house at the invitation of their master and asked, "Brother Zhongjian is from the Li family in Shanggu. I wonder if he is related to the ancient flying general!"
"Li is not talented and deserves the reputation of his ancestors!" Li Xu handed over his hand again and replied seriously.
The Shanggu Li family has always claimed that Li Xu is the descendant of Flying General Li Guang. Although Li Xu is from the bottom of the family, this blood inheritance can be regarded as genuine, so he answered casually, and the respectful expression on his face when he mentioned his ancestors was not even the slightest bit artificial. Hearing this,
Tang Gong's eldest son Jiancheng was overjoyed. He took Li Xu's hand and laughed and said: "In this way, we are of the same race, and our ancestor King Wuzhao is also the queen of the flying generals."
"I haven't met Brother Shi yet!" Liu Hongji smiled and pushed Li Xu on the shoulder and said
"Zhongjian pays homage to the elder brother!" Li Xu blushed and saluted him. The highest official he had ever seen since he was a child was Bu Xiaowei, so ever since he heard the word "Tang Gong" from Liu Hongji's mouth, he was even more careful lest he fail.
Pay attention to whether you answered a sentence wrong or heard a word wrong. Now that Liu Hongji said that the two are brothers, he could no longer bow to each other like strangers did when they met for the first time. He stood up straight and behaved respectfully.
Even though I made a flat bow with three movements: cupping my fist, attaching my heart, and bowing, I was still so tired that sweat broke out on my forehead.
"I've met Brother Zhongjian!" Li Jiancheng smiled and returned the bow.
When no one was paying attention, Li Xu secretly wiped his forehead, feeling regretful that he had accompanied Liu Hongji to suffer this crime. He had heard of the name of King Wuzhao Li Hao. In order to enhance his own status, the Li family of Shanggu deliberately named this person.
The family member who could not hit the eight poles has advanced in the family tree. According to the family tree, Li Xu can be regarded as the ninth descendant of this person. Li Jiancheng, the twenty-fifth descendant of Han general Li Guang, also said that he is the descendant of Li Guang. If the difference between the two is a few
Given your seniority, can you still call me grandpa?
While I was thinking wildly, I heard Li Jiancheng say: "My father went to the military camp to handle official business, so he can't come to greet you. You can go to the guest room to sit for a while. I have sent someone to inform you, and my father will rush back as soon as he gets the letter!"
"Can I go see my aunt first?" Liu Hongji asked with a smile.
"Mother is happy that Brother Hongji has arrived!" Li Jiancheng replied with a smile. The three of them took a few steps forward, walked around a corridor, and were led by servants. They placed Li Xu in the guest room to drink tea. Afterwards, Liu Hongji pulled Jiancheng
Go and visit Tang Gong’s wife Dou
After everyone's footsteps had gone far away, Li Xu just took a breath. Along the way, he bowed his hands and held his hands together. He was so tired from talking about words that he didn't bother to see what the Duke's house looked like.
Now that I was sitting down in the guest room, I realized that the furnishings of the so-called noble house were also very simple. The entire guest room was just a table, two chairs, two high-waisted vases, and a set of four treasures in the study room. It was not as good as some of the rich houses I had seen in some places.
Luxurious, but the room is a little cleaner. The windows are not covered with paper, but with pieces of snow-like white silk.
Under the south window, there was an antique qin, with its string surface spotless. It had obviously been wiped by someone every day. Li Xu put down his tea bowl, strolled forward, and flicked it with his hands.
Even though his piano skills were mediocre, he knew it was a good piano. He carefully looked at the surface of the piano and saw that the mottled pattern was full of ancient charm. There were slight cracks at the end of the piano, and there were actually some burnt marks.
"Jiaowei!" Li Xu was shocked and hurriedly moved away from the piano. This was a treasure worth tens of millions. It was made by Cai Yong of the Han Dynasty. The current emperor was very talented. In order to be appreciated by him, students from all over the country must be familiar with ""
Cai's Fifth Lane" Thinking of all the preparations he had made to obtain the title, his heart suddenly jumped violently (Note 5) In order to come to see Tang Gong, Liu Hongji specially pulled him to buy it when passing by Lulong County.
If Wu Heitai and others saw Li Xu wearing a scholar's crown and brocade robes, with a long sword hanging around his waist, they would definitely laugh out loud. But this kind of gentle and elegant behavior was once Li Xu's.
Before Xu Meng dreamed of leaving his hometown in Yi County, he expected countless times that when he grew up, he would live up to his reputation as a gentle scholar.
Thinking of his ambition back then, the wanted notice he saw when passing through Liucheng came to mind again. The so-called Li Fuli and Xu Dayan must be why he and Xu Dayan made such stupid mistakes. Not only did they get their names wrong, but the company commander also
Are they all different?
In any case, now that he has become a wanted criminal, is Tang Gong really willing to take the responsibility of helping two strangers escape the crime? Li Xu is not sure, nor does he dare to ask for it, his heart is "thumping" and "thumping".
He was dancing so hard that his scalp was numb.
Note 1: Pi Bian, a hat commonly used by warriors, is usually made of deerskin. The Zi Guan worn by Li Xu in the article is a hat commonly used by writers, regardless of rank.
Note 2: The big bow is a kind of Han ritual, which is performed by the younger generation to the elders. The elders usually give a flat bow. In the text, the old man thinks that his rank is lower than that of Li Xu, so he has to kneel down to a higher level Han Dynasty. People in the Tang Dynasty do not often kneel on their knees.
When friends meet, they bow their hands to strangers for the first time. They bow their hands three times only when worshiping the ancestral tablets.
Note 3: Huaiyuan Town, marked in the Sui and Tang Dynasty volumes of "Historical Map of China", is located in Yi County on the edge of the Liaohe River. Some people think that it is too close to the border and doubt this statement.
Note 4: Li Jiancheng, 589-626, there is no record of his name in history. His name Zigu was made up by the author.
Note 5: Cai's Five Nongs, namely "Outing in Spring", "Lushui", "Secluded Residence", "Sitting in Sorrow" and "Autumn Thoughts", are all famous songs through the ages. They were once listed by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty as a required subject for Jinshi.
