Chapter 10: When the water is muddy, the dragon is there
Five miles outside Yunxi Town, two scholars dressed as young men, dusty with work, each led a skinny horse and drove leisurely on the road.
The two of them were in front of each other. The one in the lead had a face like a crown jade, eyes like bright stars, and a mole under his right eye. He was wearing a green robe and holding a vermilion wine gourd. He was chatting and laughing, and his behavior was quite Confucian. It was just his experience.
I traveled a long distance from Dongjing, the imperial capital of the Qi Dynasty, and slept in the open air. The thousand-mile journey made the scorching sun a little dim.
The young man was only sixteen years old, and he was Wei Yuhan, the son of the current Great Qi Sage Shang Wei Tuqiong.
The young man at the back, named Xu Hun, wears a red coat and has black-patterned cloud sleeves. He is about the same age as Wei Yuhan, but compared to the former, he has a gray face and sunken cheeks, but he can't conceal his youthful delicacy.
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Wei Yuhan stood up to the scorching sun and said with a smile: "Lingtai is closed every day if there is nothing to do. The only reason for peace and happiness is to seek for it."
The latter was soaked in sweat by the scorching sun and had no interest in literary fighting at all. He did not want to hurt his close friend Yaxing, so he pointed at the gourd in Wei Yuhan's hand.
Wei Yuhan threw up the gourd in his hand, Xu Hun caught it, raised his head and drank the wine in the pot.
Youyou said: "It's better to sit alone in the drizzle and cold wind. It's better to take a leisurely stroll when the weather is warm and the scenery is beautiful."
Wei Yuhan nodded and said with a smile: "Excellent, wonderful! If you pair poetry with wine, you can get the true charm. Wine is good wine, and poetry is also good poetry."
Then I thought about it, this guy was clearly trying to ridicule Wei Yuhan by reciting poems.
Then he cursed: "You are so boring."
For a long while, neither of them spoke.
Wei Yuhan tried to break the embarrassment: "The red leaves are rustling in the evening, a ladle of wine in the Changting Pavilion. The lingering clouds have returned to Taihua, and the sparse rain has passed through the middle strips."
Xu Hun shook the gourd in his hand, looked at the scorching sun on his head, laughed and cursed: "You think I'm blind, this scorching sun, there are no clouds in the sky, where can the rain come from?"
After thinking for a while, he said: "The trees in the tall trees are still dense with dawn, and the mountains in the distance are more sunny. Under a leaf in Huainan, there are waves in Dongting."
"Okay, okay, I'm almost starving to death, but I'm still reciting poems and writing poems. My Lord Wei, if the world's knowledge cannot fill the people's stomachs and falls into the empty space, it's all bullshit."
Wei Yuhan shook his head: "Rotten wood cannot be carved. Not to mention that your poems are just so-so. When this trip is over, I will read your book with my father. What a prodigy Xu Hun has a false reputation."
The two of them laughed together, two skinny horses, two young men, with very different identities.
Xu Hun couldn't understand that a dignified second prince of Qi couldn't get into the Imperial College, and kept talking about being a place to gain fame and reputation, so he couldn't learn real skills, so he resolutely switched from the Imperial College to the Imperial College, along with a group of seventh-grade students.
The children of officials mingle together and enjoy themselves. Although they are born in the side room, the order of birth is determined by seniority, and they cannot inherit the throne, but this is too low-priced. It is equivalent to the children of the rich family who are full of classics and literature, and the private students who are rich in the world are not allowed to go to school, and they are shouting.
How unbecoming it would be to go to a private school to study with some unscrupulous scholar!
This Tianhuang nobleman Wei Yuhan did a lot of deviant things. For example, he escaped from the palace three months in advance and disappeared without a trace. This caused the king and all the prime ministers to wonder whether it was an assassin sent by Zhou Dynasty who was trying to kill him.
The second prince used his name to seek benefits.
As a result, the second prince just kept his name anonymously and passed the provincial examinations and martial arts examinations one after another. When he was about to win the first place in the palace examination, his identity was discovered. All the civil and military officials in the court and the country were implicated by him. When they mentioned this person in private, they all sighed.
There were complaints.
A little bad, extremely pedantic. Reading is completely dependent on rote memorization. No, I heard that Yunxi Town was open for a while, and they clamored for him to be brought here to look for real treasures. If he didn’t bring thousands of people with him,
The guard, relying on his fifth-level cultivation as a weapon refiner, dared to take him thousands of miles to come here and feel so damn comfortable.
Wei Yuhan also didn't understand that Xu Hun, the son of Xu Ran, the current minister of the Ministry of Rites, was obviously the first child prodigy in Da Qi to pass the boy examination. His attainments in arithmetic, law, calligraphy, poetry, poetry, and poetry were unrivaled.
I personally took the imperial examination and was full of praise. I could have directly entered the official position, but I left leisurely with the words "I have no intention of doing this".
There is only one thing. Wei Yuhan and Xu Hun have similar views. The most taboo in everything is overcorrection.
At present, Da Qi and Da Zhou are peaceful on the surface, but secretly they are at war with each other. The two countries will eventually go to war, and our great Da Qi has experienced a ten-year rebellion. After three generations of Da Qi monarchs worked tirelessly and worked hard day and night to govern
, only then did he have the capital to barely confront the Great Zhou Dynasty.
It seems that it has become a common problem for kings to be hardworking in the early years and dull in the later years. They are addicted to sensuality, ignore the government affairs, and delegate power to their relatives and eunuchs. Looking at the peace inside and outside the court, one cannot help but feel complacent. It can be said that kings are also human beings, and most of them are bound to be vulgar.
Da Qi won the throne by going through civil strife in the previous dynasty and launching troops in one fell swoop without any effort. To put it bluntly, it was because the throne was incorrectly obtained.
It seems that he was overly worried that military generals from all over the world would follow suit. The late emperor used a banquet to use forceful buying and selling methods to release the military power of generals from all sides. He also used the emperor's sons and ministers to present thousands of taels of silver to appease the heroes. All military generals serve outside the country.
When it comes to military affairs in a certain state, a civil official must be appointed as the general judge to go with them and suppress them everywhere.
Wei Yuhan remembered what his father said: "If a country has no external troubles, it will surely have internal troubles. External troubles can be prevented, but they can be prevented. Only treachery is dangerous; if it is an internal trouble, it is deeply to be feared. The emperor's intentions
, always bear in mind.”
Above the court, for some reason, a trend of emphasizing civility and suppressing military affairs suddenly arose. When a civil officer and a military officer met, the military officer had to give way to the civil officer. The garrison law was implemented, and the garrison troops in various places were constantly changing their garrison locations. It was said that it was for
The purpose of letting the sergeants become familiar with each place is actually to prevent the army from being stationed for too long and forming a close relationship with the local area, and constantly changing the generals of the army, so that the soldiers do not know the generals, and the generals do not know the soldiers. The soldiers are tired and frequently change defenses, not only wasting people and money, but also fighting the war.
Come on, it's suitable for paper.
Not only that, the king's suspicion was also reflected in more places. He promoted literary affairs and asked a group of old and rough generals to learn poetry and songs. Many jokes were made for this. Whenever a war occurred, the generals would still
The battle must be conducted according to the king's formation map. If you do not follow the military order, winning will also be a death penalty.
Over time, this group of military officers, in order to seek wisdom and protect themselves, speculated on the king's thoughts, did not seek merit but sought no faults, and were only obedient, without the blood of a soldier.
There were some things that Xu Hun couldn't say directly to Wei Yuhan. He was depressed in his heart and wanted to keep it quiet, but he only dared to test it a little: "The Holy One is now obsessed with calligraphy and claims to write in a drunken state. Is it true that he was bewitched by the Yin-Yang family alchemists like the rumors?"
?”
Wei Yuhan shook his head: "Don't ask me about this, I don't know what happened to my father."
After a long time, he slowly said: "Being a general in our Daqi army is really a bit frustrating. Civil servants are in charge of the Privy Council. A group of civil servants who don't understand the art of war are just looking for fame and reputation, while the soldiers who are supposed to protect their families and the country are cautious in order to protect themselves.
How absurd it is to put the cart before the horse when writing poems, lyrics and songs."
"Only I, Cao Bing of Qi Dynasty, am truly a man."
Xu Hun nodded. General Cao Bing, known as the Confucian Tiger of Da Qi, was the only nine-level martial artist in Da Qi. He was a relative of the former imperial family. Emperor Taizu won the throne and wore a yellow robe. He has the merit of being the first to be righteous. Cao Bing is cautious and knows how to be restrained.
Ten years ago, he led 100,000 troops and recovered the Sixteen Kingdoms of Yanyun that were divided by the vassal kings in less than three months. When he returned to the court, he not only did not make a big show of it, but wrote lightly that he had returned to the court to do things according to the emperor's imperial decree.
, without mentioning his own credit at all.
However, Cao Bing was also a civilian-controlled soldier. When he met a general in the street, he bowed slowly and gave way to the general. This made the scholars in Daqi, who had extremely harsh evaluations of generals, regard him as a model of a perfect general.
Compared with those military generals who like to drink captured ears with wine and murder brutally, Cao Bing is much more merciful. In order to prevent the soldiers from massacres and doing some shameful things, they lied about being ill and planned to attack the city.
It was delayed again and again. It was only with Cao Bing's desperate advice that thousands of royal family members in the Southern Dynasties were not reduced to low status and allowed to be exploited.
This Confucian tiger is my great Qi and will last for hundreds of years.
Wei Yuhan murmured, "There is only one Cao Bing in the whole country. God has blessed us, Daqi, but it is also our Daqi's misfortune."
Xu Hun fell into deep thought. Now the ruler of the country has delegated power to the civil servants, and the civil servants above the court have formed cliques for personal gain and are divided into multiple factions. In the past two years, the law of becoming an official has been changed dozens of times. In a good military department,
The power was completely taken away by the Privy Council. No matter how many troops were sent out or what kind of soldiers were recruited, the eunuchs of the Privy Council had to nod. It was completely reduced to a show.
The most outrageous thing is that in the past few years, Cao Bing led 100,000 troops and fought a decisive battle in Canglang Valley with a group of Beishang Prairie Mangzi who had been invading Daqi territory for a long time. He won a great victory. For some reason, he suddenly returned to the court. Later, a total of
, it is said that they are a group of civil servants who are full of evil spirits. They read the classics and found out that Heaven has the virtue of good life. The generals killed countless enemies and harmed the harmony of Heaven. Could it be that they have a rebellious intention? We, the Qi Dynasty, are on the Piaomiao Island, so we cannot kill them all.
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So Daqi won a big victory in the house-crushing battle. It changed from paying a lot of compensation to paying a little less. No matter whether you win or lose, you have to pay compensation. It's ridiculous.
Wei Yuhan looked into the distance. The outline of Yunxi Town had already appeared in the distance, but in his heart, he could not see the fate of Daqi.
"Everyone knows that there will definitely be a war between Qi and Zhou in the near future. I am confused as to what kind of world can turn this country upside down. It's like buying a coffin for a pearl and holding the imperial power and wealth in your hands. God knows what day it will happen.
I will not be reduced to a piece of fish on the chopping board, to be slaughtered by others."
Xu Hun smiled: "If the water is clear, there will be no fish."
Therefore, Jiang Hun is the dragon, and after the Confucian tiger, there is me, Xu Hun.
In Yunxi Town, next door to Xia Ze's ancestral house, the swarthy man's daughter, whose nickname is Yingying, is wearing a pink jacket and sitting on the stone pillar outside her door. Looking at Xia Ze's ancestral house next door, she always feels something strange.
weird.
In the fantasy of the ancestral home that was covered by magic, Wu Zhui, the former landowner of Yunxi Town, was followed by a group of elves and ghosts who had not yet transformed. He was facing a flowing time map suspended in mid-air, brick by brick.
While busy, the little girl named Mu Tao issued a military order to restore Xia Ze's ancestral home within three days, but there was no chance of success. If anyone dared to delay, he would be sent to the Tianshi Mansion in Longhu Mountain.
In addition, the people's wealth and wealth that were previously looted must also be moved here.
When Wu Zhui was building the wall, he would get angry and curse every time he thought about it. It would be fine if Mu Tao signed the contract, but it was Xia Ze, a country bumpkin with mud legs. It was really disgusting. You must know that the clay figurine is still angry, but according to
Based on his many years of experience, the jade pendant around that boy's neck was very strange.
In the alley opposite, the woman who had previously begged the swarthy man to sell her daughter to her was lying on the wall, staring at the girl. There was a fox tail squirming under her dress.