Going south from Yixian County, the emperor's car took the same official road as when Li Xu returned from the north, but the scenery he saw on the roadside was completely different. The hungry people on both sides of the official road had been informed by local officials who had learned the news in advance.
People were sent out to throw them into the ravines, and the beggars and refugees along the way were forcibly dispersed by the county soldiers. Coupled with a sudden heavy snowfall, the entire land suddenly became white and clean, and the rotting corpses in the fields were no longer visible.
I can't see the sorrow hidden in the eyes of the people.
That sorrow is like fire, and sooner or later it will burn brightly. Li Xu dreamed several times of the woman who exchanged her body for pancakes, and the mob with wooden sticks and kitchen knives who blocked his horse. Every time from nightmares,
When he woke up in the middle of the night, the sweat on his back was wet, and his lower body was occasionally cold. But he couldn't tell anyone about this nightmare, and he couldn't let anyone share this fear.
He did not have the guts to report the disasters in the counties along the way to the emperor. He was a military attache and could not talk lightly about civil affairs. After experiencing a betrayal and separation from his relatives, he learned to protect his own interests more cautiously. In fact, even if he had the courage to reflect on the civil affairs,
There is no way for the emperor to hear his sufferings. His current official position is from a fourth-grade military general, and he can go to court six times a month. If he is late or disheveled, his salary will be deducted for a month. But due to the consequences of the Liaodong War
Due to excessive disappointment, Yang Guang had already canceled most of the morning court meetings under the excuse of bad weather. From Jixian to Boling, Xuzi only went to court twice in more than a month. The first time he was seen by the emperor,
The emperor asked him why you didn't recuperate at home. He replied that his injury had been healed and he was willing to continue working for His Majesty. Then, there was no chance to continue talking to the emperor. The second court meeting took place ten days later.
The Zhongyan officials started to argue about who was right and who was wrong between him and Yu Wenshu. They continued to argue from morning to afternoon, and they ignored him as the person involved.
After that, His Majesty the Emperor no longer gave anyone the opportunity to have their salary deducted. The early court became a virtual reality, and the Emperor found various excuses to avoid attending. Even if something big happened, the officials still needed to hand over the memorial to Pei Yun.
In the hands of Yu Shiji and others, two close ministers of His Majesty the Emperor were responsible for classifying the documents into four categories: light, serious, slow and urgent according to the contents of the memorial, and forwarded them to the Emperor for processing in turn.
Under this situation, even if Xuzi wrote a memorial and submitted it, it would have to go through the hands of Yu Shiji, Pei Yun and others first. And this kind of memorial that was not in line with the system was destined to be beaten back, and there was no chance for Yang Guang to see it.
Xuzi visited several civil servants privately, hoping that they would plead for the people. However, those civil servants who were very enthusiastic about seeking justice for him seemed to turn a blind eye to the famine happening among the people, and allowed the local officials who came to greet him to brag about the sage's rule.
The weather was good everywhere, the country was peaceful and the people were safe. When the car arrived at Boling, Taishi Ling Yu Zhi finally couldn't bear to see it anymore. He went in to see Yang Guang and asked Yang Guang to issue an order for disaster relief. Yang Guang was shocked and summoned officials from various ministries and trusted ministers.
They gathered together and discussed for a long time, and finally came to the conclusion that "because the rebel bandits are raging, the military granaries in various places cannot be lightly touched", and ordered local officials to find a solution on their own.
"Other than people like Yang Xuangan, who has food to eat at home, who would be a rebel?" Li Xu was very dissatisfied with the content of the imperial edict, but could do nothing. Such a court was far from the ideal court that he had been taught when he was a student.
According to Mr. Wang, the ideal court should be one where the emperor is diligent and loves the people, and the ministers are dedicated and loyal. But the reality before him is far from that. Asahi was very disappointed and could not find any way to vent.
Fortunately, after years of hard work, he had learned to hide his feelings, so he didn't cause any trouble.
He is a lone wolf who has just entered the wolf pack. He must first learn to adapt before he can share his share of food. He is surrounded by red eyes. If he really shows a flaw, the owners of those eyes will not show any signs of it.
Rush up to him without hesitation and give him a bite.
Boling is the residence of the Cui family. This family had six prime ministers and fourteen princes in the Northern Wei Dynasty, so it owned many magnificent houses. After learning that the imperial chariot passed by, the Cui family made room for the best
Several houses were provided for the emperor to stay in, and he presented two pairs of white walls and two hundred thousand guan to show his loyalty. Yang Guang was very happy that the Cui family could be so considerate, so before he left Boling County, the Cui family added a third person.
Waiting for you, a third-grade general and a county governor.
"It's so fast to get promoted this way!" Asahi once again saw the power of the family. He was already one of the fastest-promoted warriors. He fought for more than two years and suffered more than a dozen injuries before he was replaced by a Wu Yalang general.
The Cui family members "bought" higher positions for 200,000 yuan.
Insightful things like this can be seen everywhere. Xuzi is learning more about the officialdom of the Sui Dynasty almost every day. In the past, there was a crystal wall between him and these upper-class figures. He could only look up, but could not step into each other's circle.
Now that he has one foot in, in order not to be kicked out again, he should no longer be ignorant of the intricate relationships behind the officials.
After paying attention, Xuzi made a great discovery.
When the late emperor was still alive, there were a total of sixteen people who held positions such as Pu She or Na Yan, seven of whom were from aristocratic families, and nine of whom had made outstanding achievements in the army and were known as nobles in the army. And twelve of them in this dynasty had and are currently
Among the people who exercised the power of servants, there were as many as ten people from aristocratic families.
The late emperor established the civil service examination system, but when the late emperor was in power, no one who came from the civil service examination could become a high-ranking official of third rank or above. Today, the emperor likes scholars, but now there are two great men, Yu Shiji and Pei Yun, who have both power and talent in the court.
They are all Jiangnan gentry. None of them have passed the scientific examination.
In the Sui Dynasty, from the court to the local level, and even in counties and counties, even low-level officials such as Hucao and Bingcao were rarely from the imperial examination or the army. There was an unwritten rule in this dynasty that all those who were officials needed to
They have a clean family background and are recommended by local gentry. And those talents recommended by local gentry will definitely not be ordinary people without any background!
Comparing the facts in front of him, and then thinking about the unrealistic dreams he had when he was studying hard at the county school, Xuzi couldn't help but want to look up to the sky and sigh. He understood better why Xu Dayan's ambition was to build his own family. This
The imperial court was simply established for the benefit of aristocratic families. People with commoner backgrounds usually only had the qualifications to worship and had no chance to say what they wanted to say.
Xuzi didn't know whether he was considered a member of the humble family or a nobleman now. He had the official position and title of a nobleman, but he still maintained the eyes of a humble family. This status that was neither embarrassing nor embarrassing made him extremely lonely. The more he tried his best to blend in with the surrounding environment,
The deeper the experience of loneliness.
Among the generals of the Royal Forest Army, there are many young men about the same age as Xu Zi. They are very ambitious and look forward to making achievements one day. Therefore, everyone is fascinated by Li Xu's experience over the years. When they met Xu Zi at a banquet intentionally or accidentally,
, they all like to make noises, asking Li Xu to tell the story of Liaodong and Liyang City.
Whenever Xuzi finished telling those blood-stained stories, what most people saw was neither admiration nor respect. "If I had led the troops at that time, I would have climbed to the top of the valley, condescending!" Speaking of Wuming
During the Battle of the Valley, someone waved his arms and gestured vigorously. "At a height of tens of feet, a stone thrown at will weigh more than a thousand pounds. That Goguryeo general is so stupid, he didn't even think of this!"
The man was so speechless that he didn't even think about how to climb such a steep mountain. Even if he climbed up, where would he find so many rocks?
"Yuan Wuben doesn't know how to use soldiers at all. With so many people, at least a Bagua array must be set up. Life, death, surprise, due... The war horses rushed in, and the clouds and fog closed, and they immediately lost their way!" For Li Yang's first
War, some people have even more unique views. The guy who spoke is a supporter of the I Ching Bagua, with a pale face and black and blue lips. Xuzi learned from other people that only people who regularly take Wushisan will have such illusory
Their faces. Every time their faces turn pale, they are one level closer to the realm of harmony between man and nature.
"When General Li is defending the city, why don't you pile some firewood near the city walls and streets? Let the enemy troops in first, and then burn all the firewood..." Some people imagined how the flames would soar into the sky, and their eyes were filled with stars. As for Li Yang
Whether the food in the city would be ignited as a result was not within his scope of consideration at all.
The generals of the Royal Forest Army were all of noble origins, and had achieved fame almost from their mother's womb. Their strong family backgrounds and superior lives made them accustomed to looking down when they looked at those whose status was inferior to theirs, but Xuzi had not learned how to look up and pretend.
He put on a flattering smile. When he could deal with these people's suggestions, he would deal with them as much as possible. If he couldn't deal with them anymore, he would simply pretend not to hear them. When the young people saw that their "high opinions" were not accepted, they were all furious.
But they did not have the courage to compete with Li Xu in martial arts face to face. "The newcomer Li Hou's eyes are so cold that he is frightening. If he competes with this lunatic, he will lose three points in terms of momentum!".
"I had known that driving a car was like this, I would have been better off..." Li Xu regretted more than once the practice of Xiongwuying that he gave up so easily. What if he had surrendered to Yu Wenshu at that time and then violated it? He didn't know if he did this,
How likely was it that he could stay in the Xiongwu Camp? But he knew that he was really lonely during his time away from the military camp.
The wind on the southbound road was cold, and the young man's heart gradually became cold, as black and shimmering as the snow on both sides of the official road. Whenever the team found a house vacated by a wealthy family to camp, he always
It was because he missed the fighting years he had gone through. Whether he was in the food protection army or the Xiongwu camp, Xuzi had never been so lonely. Although in the end, he had to leave the two teams and had to fight with the two teams one after another.
The two friends were alienated because of their different choices. But he missed the days when they fought side by side and shed blood before the mystery was revealed. Every time he looked back at the past in the dark, it was like a wild beast looking at a campfire.
"I must find a way to return to the army, that's where I should stay!" Asahi thought blankly, holding her knees in front of the charcoal basin. (To be continued)
