After several days of continuous light snow, the sun rarely came out today.
The Tao River, which is not frozen, meanders happily to the north, making the mist in the valleys crisscrossed by mountains and rivers very gentle and enchanting.
On Didao, quite far away from the city gate, there is a small house surrounded by yellow mud walls and wood.
Some of the houses are old, and the lintels covered with mixed thatch and reeds have been infested with insects. The mottled fences are dotted in the silvery white snow layer, surrounding a few bean sprouts and chicken coops in the courtyard. Even if
It's the end of the year when there are frequent heavy snowfalls and constant light snowfalls, but it can't cover up the faint smell of shit in the air.
Behind the simple porch is a stone-paved path that stretches through the yard and leads directly to the house, only large enough for one person to pass.
If you don't want to be covered in slush mixed with chicken manure, you can do it.
Jiang Liu, who was returning slowly, opened the door of his house and couldn't help but frowned slightly.
He lightly covered his nose, turned his head to the side, closed his eyes and took a deep breath of slightly chilly air to calm down before stepping in.
He is a meritorious officer of Longxi County.
The authority may not be great, but it may be small, but it is indispensable.
However, after spending ten years in this position without making any progress in his official career, Jiang Liu felt that this official position was worthless.
It is tasteless to eat and a pity to throw away.
In fact, he could have better prospects.
But his success or failure in his official career was all due to his surname "Chiang".
The Jiang family was originally a prestigious nobleman in Jincheng County, and was once comparable to the Qu family in Xiping County.
His uncles Jiang Shi and Xiping Quyan were both Han Sui's generals. During the Qiang rebellion that depleted the Han Dynasty's vitality, the Jiang family in Jincheng ignored all the wealthy families in the county.
Later, Jiang Shi and Qu Yan cut off Han Sui's head and presented it to Wei Wu and Cao Cao, and even looked down upon them for a while with their achievements.
However, the good times did not last long.
After Jiang Shi died of illness, Qu Yan colluded with the powerful rightists in the four counties of Hexi to rebel, and the Jiang family was also involved. After being pacified by Zhang Ji and General Hao Zhao, the Jiang family ushered in liquidation.
Countless acres and pastures were forcibly confiscated by the government, and all family assets were lost in the war.
It wasn't until Qu Ying, the backer of the Qu family in Xiping, rebelled against the family's loneliness, and the Chiang family had no involvement, that Cao Wei symbolically returned some acres of land out of a desire to appease the local area.
It's just that the Jiang family no longer has the background to be a powerful family.
This is an eternal regret in Jiang Liu's heart.
Although his branch took root in Longxi County many years ago.
However, at that time, Jiang Liu still held out the hope of regaining the reputation of Menlin.
Because Xu Miao, the former prefect of Longxi, when Qu Yan's rebellion failed and everyone in the Jiang family with official positions was deposed, he tried to ensure that Jiang Liu continued to serve as the county administrator on the grounds that Jiang Liu had moved to Longxi County and did not participate in the rebellion.
Later he was promoted to a meritorious officer.
After Xu Miao became the governor of Liangzhou, Jiang Liu felt that the future was promising.
He felt that as long as he worked diligently and accumulated a good reputation as an official, Xu Miao, who admired him quite a lot, would one day recommend him to the court and be appointed as the governor of a small county or the magistrate of a wealthy county.
It also gave him the opportunity to reorganize his family lineage and replace the main lineage with a branch lineage to become the new powerful right hand of the Jiang family in Xiliang.
However, the Han army attacked Longyou and Youchu Jujun and surrendered, completely shattering his dream.
Having been in the official career for a long time, it is not difficult for him to know how precious the powerful county magistrate and prefecture official positions were in the small and established Han Dynasty.
At least, he was forced to surrender with neither merit nor reputation as a virtuous person, and he might not even dare to hope for the next ten years.
However, how many decades are there in life?
He is already over forty years old!
As a person who lives in the barren soil of the northwest, when he is appointed as the governor of a small county, he is afraid that his life will be short and he will not have the energy and time to sow the glory of his family.
Moreover, can the Han Dynasty defend Longyou for ten years?
Jiang Liu had no hope in this regard.
In the first half of his life, he witnessed Longyou changing hands countless times.
I also feel that in the face of Wei's powerful military front, the next change of ownership of Longyou will not be too far away.
Therefore, his struggle will eventually be in vain.
With the strict laws of the Wei State, when Longyou was once again occupied, the ministers who had once supported the Han Dynasty with all their strength would be deposed and returned home even if they were not killed with a sword.
In other words, no matter which choice he made, the fiery hope in his heart withered in the cold spring when Longyou changed hands, and was buried in the snowflakes falling in the sky now.
His heart is dead.
Most of the time, God plays a vicious role, cursing the times and all living beings; there are also a few times when God plays a loving god, allowing all living beings in the world to admire and worship.
For example, since ancient times, the way of heaven has been reincarnated, letting the world know what it means to "see the pity of heaven".
Or in other words, when a person's luck is extremely bad, he will be lucky.
When Jiang Liu was despairing and walking in endless darkness, God gave him a glimmer of hope.
It was the former nobleman Xu Miao who gave him another chance.
At the beginning of October in winter, a retinue who had been with Xu Miao for more than ten years handed Xu Miao a piece of cloth in the middle of the night, unable to distinguish himself.
There were only a few lines of words on the cloth, but he, who was in the abyss, could see the rising sun hanging on the top of the mountain.
If he is willing to act as an intermediary for the Wei State, when the Wei State sends troops to Longxi County, regardless of whether the Wei army can expel the Han army in Longyou back to Bashu, the Wei State will return Jiang's original fields and pastures in Jincheng County!
Moreover, he was awarded the official position of Prefect of Zhangye County in Hexi Province!
Such a favor, he couldn't refuse.
Nor will he refuse.
Especially after I heard that Longxi Governor You Chu sent a letter and sternly rejected Xu Miao's intention!
Ge Yin selected Longxi County, and besides You Chu, he was the most qualified person to detect the movements of the Han army in Longyou.
Wei Guo and Xu Miao could only rely on him.
He has become indispensable.
As long as he agrees, the Wei State will also reward him heavily in order to set an example and win the hearts of the powerful families in Liangzhou and Longyou with the Han Dynasty.
In fact, he wrote a reply to Xu Miao that night.
"In the past, my kindness to you has not yet been repaid. Now that I am trapped in Shu, I have already bowed my integrity, but I still do not abandon you. If I don't kill myself to repay you, how can I still live with dignity in the world!"
In his forties, his hair has suddenly turned white. He is very impassioned and bursts with endless fighting spirit.
He also used the convenience of his position to quietly inquire about the changes in the garrison in Longxi County, the number of troops at the garrison and guard points, and the amount of food and baggage distributed to various places. All details were recorded in his mind and placed on top-secret cloth.
, passed it on to the spies sent by Xu Miao to handle it.
Day after day, without feeling tired.
I am also looking forward to the day with increasing anxiety that the military flag with the word "Wei" will fly again in Longxi County.
However, he didn't know that the Han army had the same thoughts as him.
He was even more eager for the Wei army to set foot on the soil of Longxi County as soon as possible.
