Unlike Guo Dian, when Sima Shuyi or Sima Zhi died, Gongsun Xun finally understood what was going on, and even had a feeling that it was indeed the case.
When Jizhou was in chaos, Guo Dian disappeared in Dalu Ze. When the news came, the imperial court immediately selected Sima Zhi to be the governor of Julu... It is understandable that the standard price of a governor is 20 million yuan, and Beigong is not the right one.
Short of money?
Of course, the situation in Julu was indeed unbearable at that time, so the selection of people by the Central Committee was not really based on money, but on making money and appeasing the place. As for Sima Zhi, since the end of filial piety, he has been repeatedly criticized by various parties.
This person recommended him, so the court thought of this outstanding candidate in Hanoi.
Taking into account the situation of Julu and Sima Zhi's reputation, Xiyuan also gave the best price, which was half the price and then half the price, and settled on five million yuan.
But Sima Zhi refused...he couldn't afford five million.
The West Park side is very unhappy. According to the old rules, if you are short of money, you can get it on credit. If you go to the place and plunder it, you can get it, right?
Of course, taking into account the chaos in Julu again, especially the fact that Julu County was under siege at that time, Xiyuan once again had a huge price reduction, three million... No counter-offers allowed!
But Sima Zhi was still unwilling and simply refused to go away because of his illness.
The reason is very simple. This is actually not a question of the price. If the world is good, he can always get three million yuan by borrowing it from his fellow tribesmen or from the same county, and then make reasonable use of the county guard.
If you have the authority to let your family bring some souvenirs and become a second-tier dealer, or selectively contract out some projects, you can still make a reasonable profit while keeping your name... But isn't this Julu's mess? This
Don’t you still have to pay for the palace repairs?
The common people of Julu need not even think about it to know that it is extremely difficult at this time. As a prefect at this time, in addition to collecting money to repay debts, he must continue to collect money for palace repairs. Isn't such behavior the behavior of a ruthless thief?
?
Sima Zhi is an innocent gentleman and cannot do such a thing.
In fact, after he refused for the second time, he directly told several students: "I can't bear to serve the people's parents while robbing the people for the sake of time and money."
However, just two days ago, Gongsun Xun did not know before, but what he knows now is that the palace was furious at Sima Zhi's evasion and directly issued an edict, asking him to report to Luozhong immediately and then go to Julu to take up his post.
During this period of time, as Gongsun Xun was avoiding the money to build the palace, there were not too many Xiyuan envoys traveling to and from Hanoi. It was no wonder that Gongsun Xun ignored them, especially at that time when Yu Du was attracting people to enter the country and there was still a war ahead.
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What is known now is that the decree brought by the messenger was extremely harsh. Sima Zhi, who believed in loyalty to the emperor, was forced to have no choice but to go on the road. Then what happened today - when he arrived at Mengjin, he really did not have the courage to cross the river.
He committed suicide by taking pills.
One can imagine how painful it was for this innocent scholar who was both loyal to the emperor and loved the people when he discovered that he could not love the people even if he was loyal to the emperor, then how desperate he felt, and finally how sad and angry he felt.
And when Gongsun Xun saw what Sima Zhi had entrusted to him when he died in Mengjin that evening, he had a clear view of his mentality. It was a letter, and he used the attitude of dying to remonstrate and Confucianism.
From the perspective of the author, this book is about the failures of the world... It is not only the eunuchs who uphold the government, not only the selling of officials and titles, nor the blunt words of the emperor who broke trust in the world with his military conquests, but also the corruption of today's families, the excess of the powerful, the extravagance of the merchants, and the tyranny of the border generals.
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To be fair, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Gongsun Xun learned a lot and understood a lot of things. He so-called understood the inevitability of the Han Pill, but he still had some doubts... That is, given the situation at that time, why couldn't there be a few loyal ministers and filial sons?
Save this empire? Why in 'history' did the situation become completely irreversible in just a few years after the Yellow Turban Rebellion?
In fact, when he told Lou Zibo that day that loyal ministers and filial sons would all die within two or three years, it was mainly based on the 'prophecy' spoken by his mother, not personal judgment.
But today, seeing such a living example in front of him, Gongsun Xun has no doubts... This kind of emperor and this kind of dynasty who can force such ministers to death for money deserve to die!
At the same time, Gongsun Xun became more and more worried... because he found that this empire was too big. There were so many loyal ministers around him who were willing to die for the Han Dynasty, and there were also so many people who couldn't bear the situation and jumped directly to the situation.
Ambitious people. The most terrifying thing is that there are people who are willing to die for the virtues of the Han Dynasty and people who are completely disappointed with the Han Dynasty.
In other words, in the next few years, if you are in the middle and cannot grasp the balance well, you will have to bear some messy burdens.
Guo Dian died, but he only left a few family members... This is totally fine;
Chu Yan rebelled, and a mere county magistrate would at most attract some doubtful looks... and the forbearance would pass;
Now that Sima Zhi is dead, he has to deliver such a suicide note to Luoyang. This is a blessing and a curse!
If this continues, I wonder what else is waiting for me!
"I will take a month off with you and Zhao Zi to help his family deal with the funeral affairs of my uncle." Gongsun Xun reluctantly told Sima Lang, who had suffered a huge blow. "I want to send his legacy on his behalf, and then go
Condolences.”
Sima Lang and Zhao Zi were so sad that they could hardly speak. In desperation, Gongsun Xun sent Yang Jun, who was also from Wen County, to stay and take care of the situation. Then he left the charity house at Mengjin Ferry with a suicide note in hand.
We arrived at the crossing of the Yellow River where the south wind was strong.
The sun sets and the river rolls. Although the boats on the river gradually become sparse due to the dark weather, Mengjin, as the first gateway to the north of Luoyang, is still bustling with people at the ferry. Especially there are many officials and people coming and going. I heard that there is an innocent person in the charity house here.
This is even more so when he was forced to death by his own monarch in order not to disturb the people's livelihood.
Gongsun Xun and his entourage avoided the many people who came to express their condolences, and went directly to the front of the ferry to stand looking at the river. The people accompanying him all felt desolate, and everyone seemed to want to say something, but everyone just wanted to say something.
Standing speechless... Confucius said Cheng Ren, Mencius said Qi Yi, Sima Zhi's behavior does not seem to need extra words to modify.
After looking at it for a long time, in desperation, Gongsun Xun finally took off the seal ribbon in his arms and asked Wang Xiang to borrow the public house at the ferry to prepare the memorial notes and sealing documents for the deceased. However, the sealing had just been completed and Gongsun Xun returned the seal.
When I was hesitating whether to send him across the river overnight or to send him again early tomorrow morning, a white sailboat suddenly hurried to the north bank of the river that was gradually thinning out, taking advantage of the last rays of sunset.
The people who got off the boat were all dressed in plain clothes.
Gongsun Xun glanced at it from a distance and couldn't help but feel upset. He turned around with the letter in his arms, preparing to rest first and deliver it tomorrow.
But as soon as he regained consciousness, a very familiar voice came from the wind behind him: "Brother!"
Gongsun Xun instinctively turned around, but then he was in a trance and stood there in shock - this plain man turned out to be Gongsun Fan.
Everyone looked at each other, but they could only pay careful attention to Gongsun Xun's behavior and expression.
"Brother!" Gongsun Fan walked forward slowly, then knelt down and said, "Master Liu has gone."
Gongsun Xun's mind went blank, and he could only nod his head and respond: "You can probably guess... that he was not in good health during the winter. Although he survived the winter, at this age... when did he die?"
"This afternoon." Gongsun Fan said frankly. "I drank a lot of wine at noon. I thought it was a warm spring day, so I slept in the courtyard again, and then I couldn't wake up."
"How do you make him drink so much wine?" Gongsun Xun asked with a frown.
"Actually, Master Liu has been unable to do anything last month. He only said that he wanted to get drunk before he died. Wen Chao, senior brother, and I have been drinking with him these days..."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"This is a special order from Master Liu." Gongsun Fan raised his head and spoke frankly. "He left his last words a month ago... He said that he didn't need to tell you, but if he dies, he will leave everything to you."
Gongsun Xun wanted to speak but stopped.
"He also has a letter." Gongsun Fanfu took out another thing from his arms. "It was written after the Yellow Turban chaos that day. Let me wait until today to talk to you specifically... I hope brother will not blame me for deliberately concealing it."
Gongsun Xun hurriedly handed the other person's legacy to Wang Xiu behind him, and then stepped forward to receive the letter. However, when his hand was about to touch the letter, it hurriedly shrank away as if it had been burned by fire.
Hui. Obviously, now that things have happened, General Wei, Jihou, and the governor of Hanoi are actually a little afraid. He is afraid that the other party will be as merciless to him as Sima Zhi was to his emperor today.
But soon, in the dusk, Gongsun Xun snatched the suicide note with his hands... because he finally realized immediately that his teacher would never make others miserable or embarrassed even if he died.
What about yourself?
However, after receiving the thin letter, before he could open it, Gongsun Xun suddenly burst into tears and couldn't help himself... They said that life and death are ordinary things, but if you don't know yourself, who would understand the situation inside?
?
It was the end of March, the transition between spring and summer. In the dusk, by the banks of the Milky Way, it seemed as if Rigel was setting in the west and the Big Dipper was high in the sky.
——————I am the dividing line between love————————
"In the second year of Zhongping... the governor and the prefect increased their private transfers again, and the people complained. They also ordered Xiyuanzou to separate the roads and governors, fearing that they would disturb the prefectures and counties, and they would be bribed. The governor, with two thousand stones and rich talents, was filial and honest.
They all moved to Xiyuan to adjust the price, and then they were able to leave. Those who kept the Qing Dynasty could not beg for officials, so they were all forced to send them away. At that time, Sima Zhixin, the prefect of Julu, Hanoi, was dismissed. In order to have a Qing Dynasty, his responsibilities were reduced by three million. Zhi was dismissed.
After the edict, he regretfully said: "I cannot bear to be the parents of the people but cut off the people in order to meet the needs of the time." I said sick and refused to listen. When I went to Mengjin, I wrote a letter stating the mistakes of the time, and committed suicide by swallowing medicine." - "
"Book of the Later Han Dynasty". Biographies of eunuchs
