Chang'an, the residence of Liu Xin, the official of Fengche Guanglu.
Secret room.
In the narrow and dark space, there were two people sitting and standing. The person sitting was an old man with gray beard and hair, and a wrinkled face. He was the close friend of the current emperor Wang Mang, the Cavalry Commander who was single-handedly promoted by Wang Mang.
, Fengche Guanglu doctor Liu Xin.
In Wang Mang's new dynasty, Liu Xin was a big shot. Not only did he hold a high position, but he was also the most famous writer at that time.
At this time, Liu Xin was sitting on a chair, looking at the man in black standing in front of him without blinking, and asked in a sinister tone: "Have you checked everything I asked you to check?"
"My subordinates have investigated clearly." The man in black lowered his head and said with a bow.
"explain."
"There are a total of five people registered in the country named Liu Xiu." While speaking, the man in black also lowered his head, and his whole person seemed to blend into the darkness.
"There are five Liu Xiu." A frightening light flashed in Liu Xin's eyes. After a moment, he asked in a deep voice: "Have their identities been investigated clearly?"
"Yes, sir, my subordinates have found out." As he spoke, the man in black took out a piece of silk from his arms, bowed and handed it to Liu Xin.
Liu Xin took it and unfolded the silk, which contained dense handwriting. He moved the silk closer to the candlestick and looked at it carefully.
Liu Xiu, 37 years old, Huang County, Donglai County, Qingzhou, is the owner of Guixiangju Tavern, has one wife, two concubines, and five children.
Liu Xiu, a forty-nine-year-old widower in Lin County, Hanoi County, Yongzhou, is lying ill.
Liu Xiu, 20 years old, Caiyang County, Nanyang County, Jingzhou, works as a farmer.
Bingzhou...
Liu Xin squinted his glasses and read it from beginning to end. Then he folded the silk piece by piece, put it in his arms, and said expressionlessly: "Remember, none of the people recorded here can survive.
"
The man in black bowed and responded: "I know what to do."
Liu Xin glanced at him, sneered, and asked, "Your approach is to kill them directly?"
The man in black was silent for a moment and said, "Please let me know clearly."
"So many Liu Xiu died suddenly across the country. Do you think it won't arouse suspicion?"
The man in black was silent.
Liu Xin continued: "Wang Mang's spies are all over the world. If there is any slight disturbance, he will be aware of it. You have to use your brain when doing things. These Liu Xiu can be killed by bandits or mobs of refugees.
Death can also be caused by an accident, being drowned in water or being burned to death, do you understand what I mean?"
The man in black was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand."
"Just do the work."
"Sir, I'm taking my leave!" The man in black bowed, took a few steps back, and then with a flicker of his body, he disappeared.
After the man in black left, Liu Xin was the only one left in the secret room. He slowly stood up and walked to the back of the secret room.
He stood still near the wall, raised his leg and stamped his foot three times on a square brick. Then, he heard a soft click and a square brick next to him tilted up.
Liu Xin squatted down, lifted up the raised square bricks, took out a wooden box from inside, opened the wooden box, and found a piece of brocade inside. When he opened the brocade, he found a roll of bamboo slips wrapped in it.
Due to the passage of time, the bamboo slips made of bamboo slips have turned dark brown, but the handwriting on the slips is still clearly visible. There are three words written on it - "Red Fu Fu".
"Chi Fu Fu" is a prophecy, that is, a book that records prophecies. As for who actually wrote it and when it was written, it has long been impossible to verify.
Liu Xin got this book from an imperial student named Jiang Hua.
He carefully took out the "Red Fu Talisman" from the wooden box, walked tremblingly to the candlestick, and gently placed the letter on the table.
Then, he slowly rolled the letter, and soon, his hand stopped, his eyes fell directly on the letter, and he read in a trembling voice: "Liu Xiu sent troops to arrest him but failed, and the barbarians gathered in Longdou Ye.
The main thing is Jihuo."
The meaning of this sentence is that in the future, a man named Liu Xiu will overthrow the Xinmang regime and ascend the throne as emperor.
After reading this sentence, Liu Xin's hands shook even more violently.
Before Wang Mang usurped the throne, Liu Xin and Wang Mang were already close friends. At that time, Wang Mang recommended Liu Xin repeatedly in the court.
After Wang Mang became emperor, he promoted Liu Xin greatly, making Liu Xin a popular figure in the court.
However, at this time, Liu Xin was not helping Wang Mang eliminate hidden dangers by killing people named Liu Xiu. If he really had this kind intention, he would have dedicated the "Red Fu Talisman" to Wang Mang long ago, so how could he secretly hide it himself?
stand up?
On the contrary, he has now changed his name to Liu Xiu.
It is clearly remembered in "Chi Fu Fu" that Liu Xiu will become emperor in the future, and Liu Xin wants to become this Liu Xiu himself. He will not allow other Liu Xiu to exist in the world, which will become a stumbling block for him to seek the throne.
Liu Xin's name change was quite justified. Liu Xin pointed out to Wang Mang that his name had the same accent as the name of Liu Xin, Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty. To avoid taboos, he changed his name to Liu Xiu.
In this regard, Wang Mang also felt that Liu Xin had done a very decent job. Little did he know that Liu Xin changed his name to Liu Xiu just to fit in with the language in the prophecy. He wanted to snatch the dragon chair under Wang Mang's butt and sit on the supreme throne.
.
Xin Mang's regime was unpopular, the government was in chaos, coupled with the constant natural disasters in recent years, the people were in dire straits, and rebellions broke out everywhere. The Red Eyebrow Army in the north and the Green Forest Army in the south. In Liu Xin's view, Wang Mang's throne was about to come to an end.
, and his opportunity to seek the throne is close at hand. At this juncture, there is only one Liu Xiu in the world.
Jingzhou, Nanyang County, Caiyang County, county market.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way!" The two government officials shouted loudly as they walked forward in a rampant manner.
As the saying goes, the people do not fight with the officials. The people in the market could not afford to offend the government officials, so they were so frightened that they retreated to both sides.
Two government officials walked through the market and came to the city gate. They hung a white notice on the city wall. Then the two government officials stood on both sides of the notice.
The people nearby gathered around, all tapping their toes, stretching their necks, and curiously looking at the contents of the notice.
Among the people watching, there was a young man wearing coarse cloth clothes and trousers. He looked to be about 20 years old, with a slender figure, about seven feet away, and a very good appearance, with thick eyebrows flying into his temples.
The pair of tiger eyes below are bright and bright, and the appearance is handsome without losing the masculinity of a man.
Although the young man was dressed in ordinary clothes and looked like he was doing farm work, he exuded an air of elegance that was inconsistent with his clothes.
Like the people around him, the commoner youth looked curiously at the notice that had just been posted.
The notice is an arrest document with a portrait of the person being arrested.
Looking at the portrait, this person has an average appearance. What is more special is that he has a striking oblique scar on his forehead.
Looking down, there is a detailed introduction. The prisoner's name is Long Yuan. His age and place of origin are unknown, but the reward is as high as five thousand gold. His crime is to assassinate the emperor.
Looking at the people whispering among each other, a government official standing next to the notice cleared his throat and sang loudly: "The traitor Long Yuan took advantage of His Majesty's travels to plot evil. It is really treason and heinous. Anyone who reports this traitor will be punished."
Those who do will receive a reward of five thousand gold!"
"Five thousand bounty?!" When many illiterate people heard the words five thousand gold, their eyes widened and they were speechless.
"You'd better stop thinking about it. If someone dares to assassinate the emperor, can he still be reported by you?"
"That's true, but five thousand gold..."
People were whispering to each other and talking a lot.
The commoner young man looked at the portrait in the notice intently, and couldn't help but secretly sigh in his heart: Real man, this is how it should be!
Just when he was filled with emotions, a person came silently behind him.
This man was of medium height and stout build. He was dressed in ordinary clothes. He wore shorts and long trousers with the trouser legs rolled up very high. He wore straw sandals underneath and a straw hat on his head. He looked no different from a farmer who went to the city to go to the market.
He lowered his head and walked behind the clothed young man casually. He put his hands in front of him and touched the cuff of his left sleeve without leaving any trace with his right hand.
Hidden in his left sleeve was a sharp dagger.
Just as he was slowly pulling out the dagger from his cuff, someone behind him suddenly shouted: "Axiu!"
This sudden voice startled the man. He took out half of the dagger and immediately stuffed it back into his sleeve, and then looked at the notice as if nothing had happened.
At this moment, the young man in civilian clothes turned back. He did not see the man behind him sheathing his knife. He only thought that he, like himself, was a passerby watching the notice.
The young man in cloth looked past him and towards the person who called him. When he saw the person clearly, he beamed with joy, walked over quickly, and said in surprise and joy: "Brother!"
The man he called his eldest brother was about thirty years old, tall and tall, with a thick back and waist. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a straight nose and a square mouth. He had a dignified appearance and a rough air.
"Brother, why are you in the city?"
"I went into town to meet some friends."
The commoner young man's name was Liu Xiu, also known as Uncle Wen. The burly man's name was Liu Yan, also known as Boxheng, and he was Liu Xiu's elder brother.
Looking at Liu Xiu's empty hands, Liu Yan asked, "Are you coming to the market to sell food again?"
Liu Xiu nodded with a smile, then patted the bulging money bag around his waist and said, "The price is not bad!"
Liu Yan shook his head and said helplessly: "Nowadays, due to natural and man-made disasters, most people don't have enough to eat. Fortunately for you, you actually have some leftover food to sell at the market."
Although Liu Xiu has the elegance of a scholar, he is actually an out-and-out farmer.
But the elegance in him did not come out of thin air. Compared with other farmers, Liu Xiu was considered a top student among farmers.
He attended Imperial College in Chang'an for three years and studied Shangshu. In today's terms, he went to one of the top universities in the country and studied Shangshu.
It stands to reason that anyone who went to Imperial College would be able to hold an official position in the imperial court after graduation.
It is a pity that Liu Xiu did not catch up with the good times, and the current court was a new dynasty established by Wang Mang.
After Wang Mang became emperor, he greatly relaxed the admission standards for Taixue, which led to a surge in the number of Taixue students. Originally, the court could assign jobs to Taixue students after graduation, but now there is no such generous treatment.
Only those students with power and background could hold a certain official position in the imperial court. Students like Liu Xiu, who had no family background, no background and no connections, could only go home and farm after graduation.
However, Liu Xiu's three years of studying at the Imperial Academy were not in vain. His farming skills were indeed good.
At present, there is a severe drought in Nanyang County, and other people's crops have withered. However, the crops he grows can produce good harvests every season. Not only can he be self-sufficient, but he can also have surplus grain to sell in the market.
If this momentum continues, Liu Xiu is likely to become the top and most professional farmer in the country in the future. However, the tide of the times does not allow him to continue on this road of professional farmers;
We have embarked on a difficult and dangerous road where we can only advance and cannot retreat.