The ministers broke up the banquet and left in twos and threes.
Some are smiling, some are solemn and reserved, some are pretending to be thoughtful, and some are gloomy.
Zhuge Xuan was walking behind with his ten-year-old nephew. At this time, a palace maid rushed over and presented a brocade box to the young man behind him: "This is a gift from Ambassador Liu to the young gentleman."
"Me?" The young man blinked and took a look at the brocade box: "Excuse me, what is it? If it's not a book, I won't accept it.
The palace maid covered her mouth and smiled, then handed it over: "It's a book."
"Take it quickly." Zhuge Xuan tugged at his nephew, guessing that it was an only copy of classics and history, and saluted the palace: "I thank you, my lord, for this gift."
After returning home, the stars were shining, the wind was blowing on the branches, and there were waves of coolness. There was a monastery, which was Zhuge Liang's bedroom.
This room is not big, but it is elegantly decorated, with a wooden couch and two rows of bookshelves. The books on the shelves are densely packed, and there are inkstones, paper and pens on the wooden table.
Zhuge Liang lit the lamp, and the bronze lamp emitted soft light. He nodded with satisfaction, returned to his seat, and opened the brocade box.
There is a volume inside, which is five feet long when unfolded. Each character is as big as a thumb, but the font is clear, graceful and graceful.
"How come the Yun Shui Ji Tu seems to have been written by a woman?"
I was browsing under the lamp at the moment, and a trace of spiritual energy condensed from the surrounding heaven and earth, washing all the veins around my body, condensing my clear mind.
"It turns out that there really is an immortal way..." After a long time, Zhuge Liang raised his head in confusion and said absently.
Xunfu
Xun returned home, changed out of his official uniform, and wandered in the courtyard for a while. The night was as cold as water, and his family was lighting lamps. Xun looked up at the sky and looked at the stars.
It was a really clear night. The entire sky was dark blue, slanting towards the Milky Way. Stars with different brightnesses came on and off, and divided into nine star fields.
After searching for Yuzhou, I saw that the stars were densely clustered and flickering. Some were suspended in the sky, and some were dark. There were only two stars, one bright and one dark, in the middle core. However, this was not cyan, but red with a hint of cyan. The contrast between light and dark.
Auxiliary, the brilliance does not flicker or flicker, it is very stable.
"Double core?" He stared at it for a while and laughed: "But it doesn't mean that the emperor and empress have dual personalities, which are inconsistent with etiquette. It's really weird."
But it's very stable, and that's enough to suppress local dissent.
As for whether there was any insider trading between the two royal families, that is all the Liu family's own business.
Xun didn't want to explore privacy. All he wanted was a stable transition of Han unification. Compared with the overall interests, all details were nothing.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but smile: "Come here, serve tea, I want to admire the moon today."
At this time, someone suddenly came to report that Mr. Xiao Xun and Mr. Xi were visiting.
My nephew Xun You came from Yingyin County in the east of Henan Province yesterday, and my good friend Xi Zhicai just returned from Jingbei today. I haven't seen him for more than a year, so we couldn't talk much at the banquet, and now we want to reunite in private.
Old friends reunited, and it was exciting again.
Xun asked Xi Zhicai with concern: "I went home and saw it. Are you okay, sir? Is everything going well in Jingbei?"
"My parents are fine." Xi Zhicai drank a cup of tea and burped: "There is a little trouble in Jingbei, but it is still under control."
"Your smile is a bit weird. Is there a big fish?" Xun You felt something, and his eyes flashed.
"Oh, Gongda, you guessed it. Don't mention this... It's a pity that Fengxiao was busy fighting against Cao in the east of Henan and couldn't come back." Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia came from a poor family, acted unruly, and had similar temperaments, so they naturally had a close friendship.
.
Xun toasted him: "It's good to come back safely. Your body is better suited to the soil and water of your hometown."
After three rounds of tea, talking about past events, Xi Zhicai asked Xun with a smile: "In the past, when Dong Zhuo was in power, Xun Gong abandoned his official position and returned to his hometown. He once advised the elders in his hometown that Yingchuan was the place of the Fourth War, and changes in the world will always happen.
We were hit by a military disaster, so we should leave early and not stay long, so what now?"
"When my lord comes, it will be different."
After that, he added: "If you drink more wine, I think you should have more time - enjoy the music."
So in the sound of music, he continued: "There has been a severe drought for two consecutive years, bandits are everywhere, and thieves are swarming. However, Yingchuan County has had bumper harvests for two years in a row. Even western Henan has had a bumper harvest since last year. Eastern Henan and Northern Jing have also had bumper harvests this year.
If it can be stabilized, the solid foundation of one and a half states will be able to sweep the world."
Xi Zhicai smiled: "Did Duke Xun forget Luoyang?"
"Military is not my strong point. I can't say whether I can take it." Xun said meticulously.
After drinking a few drinks, Xi Zhi asked: "Last spring I was seriously ill in Jingbei. I entrusted Wen Ruo with the future affairs and asked you to deliver it to the lord. Is this letter still there?"
"Here." Xun found a silk book on a neat row of bookshelves and handed it back to him. After a year, the brocade bag was still intact: "I heard that my lord personally rushed to Jingbei for treatment. I won't need it anymore. I'll wait for you to come back."
Just hand it over in person."
Xi Zhicai pinched the brocade bag and smiled: "Mr. Xun is indeed a loyal gentleman, but now this letter is useless."
As he spoke, he took out the silk book and placed it in the brazier.
Xun didn't take it seriously.
But Xun You realized something and his eyes flashed: "It's useless now. What you said at the beginning was related to the Queen Mother."
Xi Zhicai shook his head: "You guessed half of it right."
Among the close friends, they are all very smart. Xun thought about it and did not hide it. He smiled and said: "Emperor?"
Xi Zhicai stopped answering, started talking some more gossip, and looked at Xun: "If the Lord is welcoming the Emperor... I'm not talking about the Young Emperor, Xian Emperor, or even the clan that I don't know where I found in Luoyang now. I'm talking about
Emperor, what do you think Duke Xun?"
Xun pondered for a long time and then said slowly: "I respect the emperor."
"Are you not afraid of death?"
"Those who seek the country have no time to seek their own lives. If they welcome the emperor and then usurp it."
Xi Zhicai smiled and said nothing. In the original secret letter, he gave two suggestions to his lord: firstly, he should never welcome the emperor; secondly, if the situation was so bad that he had to welcome him, he would ask Xun to be executed someday.
Everyone has their own path and philosophy, and those who stand out are more firm in their philosophy and are not easily swayed by external things, not even friendship can stop them.
Xi Zhicai was seriously ill and thought he was unlucky. The only chance he had was to hand over the trust to Xun, leaving the choice in Xun's own hands.
But this letter seems to have never been opened?
The silk book burned to ashes in the brazier. After the silk material burned, it gave off a burnt smell. The atmosphere was solemn for a moment. Xun You immediately smiled: "You are a luxury guy."
"Oh, my lord has established sixty-three paper mills to popularize papermaking technology. What are you afraid of..." Xi Zhicai said this, and the three of them all laughed.
"My lord does not forget about literary affairs, and asks for private collections of books from various families on the grounds that Yingchuan County was conquered by rogue bandits and the books were lost. This move is really following the example of Guangwu..."
This move is characteristic of the times.
The local academic style of the Eastern Han Dynasty was far superior to that of the previous generation. Not to mention there were many famous libraries. The Central Plains gathering place even gathered the world's collections of books. At that time, papermaking was not popular, and most books were still in the form of bamboo scrolls.
, it was only built by each family.
The richness of books is closely related to education. Official schools and private schools in the Han Dynasty were also spread throughout the Central Plains. Especially when Yingchuan was at its peak, many famous scholars and scholars set up schools to teach apprentices, mainly in law and classics, and occasionally taught political experience. This was a continuation of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Since then, we have the tradition of Confucianism and Dharma.
For example, Chen Yan, the leader of the "Four Chiefs of Yingchuan", is famous for being a generous elder. The allusion of admonishing and influencing the "gentlemen of Liang Shang" with a respectful attitude comes from him. Unfortunately, the lord came to Yingchuan two years late and did not have the chance to meet him.
It can be seen that when Chen Yan died four years ago, "more than 30,000 people came from abroad, and hundreds of people made hemp." This shows the academic style of the entire class.
In the past two years, various places in Yuzhou have transcribed the books on light white paper. The paper was provided free of charge by the government, with only one condition - to make an extra copy and transfer it to the big library built in Xuchang.
After Cao Cao was defeated in the spring and recaptured eastern Henan, the book donation activity reached its peak. Xuchang's collection of books exceeded 100,000 volumes, which is said to have reached one-third of that of Luoyang.
At this time, the world was in chaos, and it was rare for books to be destroyed without destroying them. People on earth did not care about the cultural preservation of the earth. Only Liu Bei's family insisted on expanding the book collection.
The nobles who originally waited and watched were also moved, thinking that Liu Bei paid equal attention to civil and military affairs, and was both heroic and heroic. He could be called a hero of the world and had the atmosphere of revitalizing the Han Dynasty three times.
Xun and Xun You's defection last year was just a weather vane. What really attracted people's surrender was the invisible luck under the torrent of civilization.
There were a few words about this matter, but Xi Zhicai had always despised the clan, so he took a liking to Erxun and a few others: "Speaking of which, I haven't heard from Mr. Zao lately. How is he doing with his farming affairs?"
?”
This is talking about Zao Zhi, a famous scholar from Yangzhai in Yingchuan who joined Xun last year.
With Ye Qing's support, he first took over the desolate ownerless farmland to the state, recruited a large number of refugees, and organized them into groups according to the military establishment. The state provided land, seeds, cattle and farm tools for them to cultivate and cultivate.
The harvest obtained is divided proportionally between the state and the farmers who work in the fields.
From the beginning, this matter was resented by most of the powerful land tenants, but it was promoted through Ye Qing's strong tactics.
Yingchuan claimed in the report to the imperial court and the state list published: "The fundamental plan to stabilize the country is to strengthen the army and have enough food. In the past, the rulers of the Qin State unified the country because they attached great importance to agricultural production. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
The border defense in the Western Regions has been consolidated due to the implementation of the policy of farming. This is a good experience left by our predecessors. Today, the world is in turmoil and barbarians are watching, so this should be made a national policy."
Of course Dong Zhuo ignored this article, but it caused a sensation among the princes and knowledgeable people at home.
Xi Zhicai also became interested: "Last time I heard that Yuan Shao and Cao Cao recruited him many times and promised him the post of prefect.
"He refused them all. In the first year of the trial farming in Xuchang, millions of dendrobium grains were obtained. With this great achievement, the lord appointed him as the captain of farming three days ago, taking charge of farming affairs in the whole state." Xun said, remembering the previous chapter.
The first time I saw him covered in mud, I couldn't help but laugh: "He has always liked farming and mulberry work. This talent is unique in the world.
Xi Zhicai raised his drink and said: "No matter what your temperament, ideals, expertise, or origins, you are really lucky to be able to meet your lord and help him to rejuvenate the Han Dynasty. His achievements will be remembered in history and his descendants will be blessed."
Xun You shook the wine in his glass: "Needless to say, northern Jing and eastern Henan, there are also rats in western Henan. They resisted openly and covertly, so I just killed a lot of them."
In the past two years, the political group in Yuzhou Prefecture has taken initial shape, with a gathering of heroes, a new look, and full of vitality. Most importantly, it has survived the crisis surrounded by wolves and can steadily rise. This has cultivated the self-confidence to sweep through the crowd.
Xi Zhicai was glad in his heart that the person his lord welcomed was not the emperor...
The Queen Mother's status and lack of the magical power of the ancient Wa Emperor meant that she was destined to be unable to hold power alone by relying solely on the system. This made the lord group incapable of provocation within the family.
Otherwise, this political group may really split.
On the contrary, as long as we unite as one, not to mention some local powerful people internally, even external Cao Cao, Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Sun Jian...anyone who blocks the path of this emerging group's advancement will be their enemy.
Xun thought about it and said: "The Empress Dowager's visit will require an additional expense. Even though the financial budget is tight now, we have to squeeze out this amount. This will make the local people return to the Han Dynasty."
"I don't think so. Some local tycoons are used to being local emperors and ignore the state government's reform orders. Do you want them to be willing to have a queen mother above their heads?"
After drinking it all: "Just wait and see, there will always be people who jump out to seek death."
"Hehe, you are right." Xi Zhicai sneered and drank the wine in one gulp: "But my lord had already predicted that at the end of today's banquet, these words even make my hair stand on end."