The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

When he arrived in Yangzhai, Xunzhen sent Cheng Yan, Xiaoren, Xuankang and others back, and came to the prefect's mansion alone, begging to see the prefect. After waiting for a while, he was led into the hall by the clerk.

There were three or four people in the hall.

One person in the middle, about fifty years old, thin and short, with sparse eyebrows, is Prefect Wen.

The next three. A man in his twenties and thirties, with a short beard and a moustache, was Guo Tu, a county official. A 40-year-old, with long eyebrows and good eyes, is the new county clerk named Wang Lan. The last one is in his sixties, with white hair and beard, and is old-fashioned. He is Zhang Zhong's successor and the current five sense rafters in this county. - Zhang Zhong left office not because he was dismissed, but in the second half of last year, the emperor issued a special edict, ordering ministers and ministers of prefectures and states to be "virtuous and upright", Yin Xiu recommended him, and then he was recruited In the middle of the court, he worshipped as a man of honor.

The old man who took over the county's five sense rafters was named Han Liang, and he came from the Han clan in Wuyang. Han Shao, a distant relative of his deceased family, was one of the "four chiefs of Yingchuan", along with Zhong Hao, Xun Shu and Chen Yu. Han Rong, the son of Han Shao, is as famous as Xun Shuang and Chen Ji, and is also a famous person in the county. There is another person in his family named Han Fu, who also has a good name and is now an official in the court.

These people in the hall were all older than Xun Zhen, and most of them had a higher status than Xun Zhen. When Xun Zhen entered the hall, although she was treated unfairly by Prefect Wen, there was no disrespect on her face, and she respectfully knelt down and saluted, and said, "Xia Lizhen pays homage to the Ming Palace, all your lords."

"Get up. What do you want to see me for?"

"Zhen took a rest yesterday and went home. When she returned to the county this morning, the fields were dry and cracked, and the wheat seedlings were dry and yellow. Zhen dared to ask the Ming government to order all the cadres in the county, and ordered the cadres to quickly organize manpower to cooperate with the counties to fight the drought and relieve the disaster. ."

Prefect Wen glanced at him, but instead of answering the question, he said, "Fei Cheng came to see me a few days ago, do you know about the rafters?"

Xun Zhen was inexplicable and thought to herself, "Why did Fei Chang find you to fight the drought?" He fell on the ground and replied respectfully, "I don't know."

"Fei Cheng told me a few words, is the Rafter Department interested?"

"Ming Fu, please speak, the officials are all ears."

"Fei Cheng said: There were no disasters the year before and the year before, so why was there a sudden drought last year? Last year's drought was over, and this year's drought is over. What's the reason? ... Xun Rongbu, tell me, what's the reason?"

Xun Zhen thought: "Fei Chang said something similar last year, when he said it to Yin Xiu. 'Why'? Didn't he imply that the drought was related to me, was it caused by me? The northern superintendent, the drought started last year. This kind of nonsense, Yin Xiu doesn’t believe it, do you believe it?” Thinking so, he couldn’t say it, and said, “The official is stupid, I don’t know why.”

"I don't know why? Hmph, go down and think about it! Come see me after you've figured it out."

Xun Zhen had to say more, but Prefect Wen changed his face. Guo Tu sternly reprimanded: "The rafters will not go down!" Xun Zhen had no choice but to bow down, lift up her robe, and exit the hall.

After he went out, Han Liang was old, mature and kind, and said, "Mingfu, I took a rest a few days ago and went out of the city for a walk. The drought was indeed serious. This year's drought may have been caused by this, or it may have something to do with him, but he is right. After all, under the severe drought, it is the people who suffer. Does the county government organize some people to help the counties fight against the disaster?"

"The disaster is caused by people. Even if I draw the river, I can't save the people. There is only one way to save the people."

"What policy?"

"I have been reciting the "Book of Filial Piety" to the sky for many days. Wherever I am sincere, gold and stone are opened. I have a heart for the people, and it is expected that God will respond."

This Prefect Wen didn't know if he was really stupid or fake. Han Liang thought to himself, "Could it be that reading the scriptures is stupid?" After deliberation, he said, "What the Ming government said is true, but if reading the "Book of Filial Piety" is useless?"

"If it's useless, then there is too much public resentment. I can't tell, so I have to ask the Northern Superintendent to return the seal and go home to relieve the drought."

"This,…."

Han Liang wanted to say something, but he thought: "Since you want Xun Zhen to return the seal and go home, why didn't you agree when he resigned last time?" Now, he also had a general understanding of the prefect's temperament, and soon thought of the reason for himself, he thought, "Yes, after Xun Zhen resigned from Xun Yu last time, the name was not right and the prefect was afraid. He was notorious, so he refused; this time, it is justifiable to dismiss him under the pretext of resolving people's grievances and dispelling disasters. It's just, it's just,... Alas, it's just that if Xun Zhen is dismissed because of this, then his reputation will be ruined at once. ."

Confucianism says that heaven and man are in touch, and disasters occur, it must be the fault of the imperial court, and there must be political problems. Therefore, in the era of the two Han Dynasties, especially the Eastern Han Dynasty, every disaster occurred, the three princes would be dismissed. For people of insight, "sensing between heaven and man" is actually a way of restricting imperial power. They essentially don't believe this, but for illiterate people, they believe it. If Xun Zhen because " Caused a drought" and was dismissed, his reputation for hard work can be imagined, and it will be ruined in a day.

Han Liang had a question that he couldn't figure out. He couldn't understand, does this new prefect Wen have a grudge against the Xun clan? Why has he targeted Brother Xun Zhen everywhere since he took office? Not to mention the fact that Xun Yu was driven away first, but now he tried every means to drive Xun Zhen away, but why?

Guo Tu solved this mystery for him and said with a sneer, "Xun Zhen should have returned the seal and returned home long ago. When the former prefect of Yin Gong was there, he, Xun Wenruo and Zhong Yuan often colluded with each other, and took full control of the county government. Duke Yin is nothing but a promise. It's really hateful!"

Yin Xiu left his post shortly after Han Liang took over as Wuguan Rafter. He was not clear about the contradictions between Xun Zhen, Xun Yu, Zhong Yao and Guo Tu, but he was not sure about the conflicts between Xun Zhen, Xun Yu, and Zhong Yao who "forced" Xun Zhen, Xun Yu and Zhong Yao last April. Make Yin Xiu promise to Xun Zhen to rectify the counties in the north of the county. He suddenly thought: "It turns out that Prefect Wen was afraid of losing power, so he drove out Xun Wenruo first, and then wanted to drive out Xun Zhenzhi!"

Wang Lan, the newly appointed county administrator, smiled and said, "Xun Zhen's nickname is 'Milk Tiger'. I thought he was a heroic and reckless character, but now I look at it, but that's all. You can see that he was in the hall just now, and he was only arrogant and angry. If you don't dare to show it, it looks like a milk tiger, clearly like a kitten."

Guo Tu made fun of it, flattered Prefect Wen, and said, "The former prefect was lenient, so he raised milk tigers; now the prefect is strong, so tigers have turned into cats."

Everyone laughed in unison.

…

Xun Zhen just walked to the gate of the courtyard at this time, just turned her head, saw everyone in the hall laughing, turned to look around the pavilions, courtyards, trees and ponds, only to feel that although the prefect's mansion is large and the weather is hot, it looks like a bleak, hidden feeling. Chill invades. Therefore, when the prefect Yin Xiu was there, he occasionally complained that "the prefect cannot eliminate evil", but now that Yin Xiu leaves office, and Prefect Wen is here, he only realizes the rarity of Ming Jun and the benefits of Yin Xiu.

He let out a long sigh, feeling a rare feeling of loneliness.

Since he crossed over, he has felt urgency and pressure. After serving as the post supervisor in the north, he has felt the responsibility on his shoulders, the idea of ​​eliminating harm for the people, and the feeling that the people are hanging upside down. A sense of mission, but loneliness, this is the first time I feel it.

With this feeling of loneliness, he stepped out of the prefect's mansion.

On the way back to the post office, he met another person who made him feel even worse, Zhang Zhi.

Zhang Zhi, dressed in brocade and jade belt, did not ride a horse. He rode in a chariot, surrounded by dozens of servants in front and back, swaying through the city.

One of the two led a horse to walk along the street, while the other rode a car through the street, passing each other. Zhang Zhi also saw him, his face suddenly darkened, and then he turned his face away angrily, only pretending that he had not seen him.

Strange to say, Zhang Zhi has not bothered him since that night. The two sometimes met on the street, and Zhang Zhi was the same as today, as if he just didn't see him. This made Xun Zhen feel very strange.

With the dispositions of Zhang Zhi and Fei Chang, it is absolutely impossible for them not to retaliate after suffering a loss, but they never retaliate.

Only a thousand days of thieves, no thousand days of thieves. They didn't take revenge for a day, Xun Zhen felt uncomfortable, and sent someone to inquire, but nothing came out, only after inquiring about that night, about 20 days later, suddenly one day, Zhang Zhi was at home. He was furious, threw a lot of things, beat several slaves, and I don't know why.

- Xun Zhen didn't know why, but Zhang Zhi knew it himself.

In fact, the day after the banquet, Zhang Zhi wrote to Zhang Rang under Fei Chang's encouragement, cried a lot, and begged Zhang Rang to avenge him. As a result, Zhang Rang said in his reply: "The court heard the rumor that Yingchuan Manchu County was singing the northern governor's post, and the name of Xunzhen was known to all the ministers. It is not appropriate to act on it for the time being." It was this matter that Zhang Rang was referring to, and the "Bad Song of the Northern Superintendent of Posts" was obviously referring to those few songs in which the people in the county praised Xun Zhen.

Zhang Rang's reply led to the incident that Xun Zhen had inquired about: Zhang Zhi was furious, furious, threw things and beat his servants. Without being able to take revenge, Zhang Zhi had no choice but to swallow his anger and just pretend that Yingchuan didn't have Xun Zhen.

Beside Zhang Zhi's car, there was a strong man in his thirties who was riding a horse. He was also an acquaintance. Beside Bo Lian, there was a strong man with a sword and a halberd who followed him on foot. He was an acquaintance, wasn't that Liu Deng?

Xun Zhen and him looked at each other and turned his face calmly. It is said that Liu Deng has been widely used by Bo Lian and has become Bo Lian's confidant.

…

Back at the post office, Xunzhen gave the mount to Cheng Yan, and he led him to the stable. Instead of going back to the backyard, he sat under the tree in the front yard, took the banana fan handed by Xiaoren, opened his chest, and shook the fan to cool down. .

Xiao Ren saw that he was not in a good mood, and guessed that he must not be able to persuade the prefect to buy food and fight the disaster. Because he didn't ask, he took out a bamboo slip and presented it to him.

"what is this?"

"Sent from the Iron Officer."

Hearing that it was from Tieguanli, Xunzhen immediately dropped the fan, took the bamboo slip, and opened it to watch. On the brief was Yue Jin's handwriting, which read: "Qi Hun's father has passed away. His family is poor, he has no brothers, his family has no money, and there is no funeral. Please help him."

In May of last year, at the recommendation of Xun Zhen, Shen Rong was promoted to Iron Official. In June, Shen Rong, following a secret order from Xunzhen, sent a letter to the county government, asking the county to send a civil and military official to help him. According to the earlier plan, Xun Zhen then "inadvertently" mentioned Le Jin's name to Zhong Yao. If his predictions were true, Le Jin would immediately be transferred from Xixiang to serve as a Tieguan.

According to the original plan, Le Jin brought Xiao Xia and Jiang Hu's team to take office.

Because Xun Zhen had the handle, Shen Rong honestly accepted Xun Zhen's arrangement, kept Xiao Xia by his side, and used it as a long follower; appointed Le Jin as the head of Tieguan; and filled Jiang Hu's team. Iron officials were assigned to three iron officials workshops, responsible for guarding and supervising the work of iron officials and their slaves.

In this way, Xiao Xia supervises Shen Rong, Le Jin holds real power, and Jiang Hu and others are scattered in various iron official workshops. In less than two months, Xun Zhen took over Shen Rong and Fan Sheng, Take the Iron Man in his own hands.

During this period, Le Jin and Xiao Xia contributed the most.

Le Jin had a short appearance, and when he first arrived at Tieguan, he was despised by Tieguan's disciples. Le Jin couldn't bear it, and spent half a month first, with the cooperation of Xiao Xia, Jiang Hu, etc., to figure out the faction of the Tieguan disciples.

Where there are many people, there are rivers and lakes. Most of the iron officials are prisoners who are banned by force. They even advocate violence and form gangs. Three iron official workshops, one or two thousand iron official apprentices, are mainly divided into thirteen gangs. The largest gang was made up of local prisoners in Yingchuan. Their leader was called "Ren Tu", and they were the most arrogant and arrogant. Even the former iron official, Shen Xun, wanted to give him three points of face.

After finding out the faction and gang of Tieguan disciples, Le Jin decided to capture the thief first, so he started with this "human slaughter" and looked for an opportunity to suddenly appear when he gathered together to beat Tieguan disciples from other factions. , without any help, he took off his saber, stepped forward with his bare hands, and knocked down this "Ren Tu" and his subordinates, showing his valiant and fierce side in one fell swoop.

From then on, no one in Tieguan dared to underestimate this Tieguan master book, who was "short in description and unremarkable in appearance". After the Tieguan apprentices learned that he was Xun Zhen's henchman, thousands of Tieguan apprentices treated him even more. It's bowing. Everyone in Tieguan knows the story of Xun Zhen's entry into Shen's house at night, and the story of Shen's tame. Shen Tung was their predecessor Tieguan Ling, and the three words "Xunruhu" had long been prestige in Tieguan.

Le Jin Liwei, Xiao Xia Huairou.

Xiao Xia is astute and careful. After being with Xun Zhen for so long, she has also learned a bit of how Xun Zhen can win over Qing Xia. To the warriors and leaders among the iron officials and disciples, according to their personal preferences/characters, either with prestige or wealth, Or use anger to win over them separately. If there are people who are particularly rebellious and unwilling to obey, it doesn't matter, and they will be handed over to Jiang Hu. The working conditions in Tieguanli are very difficult, and many people die every year, and it is not surprising that one or two die.

Le Jin is brave and powerful, and Xiao Xia is surrounded by wealth, and the two cooperate perfectly. To this day, nine out of ten of the thousands of Tieguan apprentices and slaves among the iron officials have given up on him.

Of course, having said that, the two of them have been in Tieguan all the year round, and things inside Tieguan can be resolved, but things outside Tieguan are beyond their ability, such as what is written in this bamboo slip. At this time, they would turn to Xun Zhen for help. In order to help them, and also to help herself, to better win over the iron officials, slaves, and workers, Xun Zhen would also try her best to help deal with such situations.

After reading the bamboo slips, he said to Xiao Ren: "Rentu's father has died. He has no brothers and cannot afford the funeral. Bring a few people with you, go there for me, and help him organize the funeral. After finishing, remember Leave some money for his family." This Qi Hun was the "Ren Tu" who was the first to be convinced.

Xiao Ren agreed and asked, "When are you going?"

"Going right now."

"Yes."

Qi Hun's family was poor and had no brothers. Xiaoren had been to his house several times before, and he had given him a lot of money. Knowing where his house was, he immediately responded to the order, called four or five Qingxia entourage, and bid farewell to Xun Zhen. , lead the horse out of the hospital, and go to work.

He had just left on the front foot when someone came in outside the courtyard on the back foot.

…

Xun Zhen glanced at him and saw that this man was one of the two light chivalrous men who had been sent to follow Xu Fu earlier. Since he met Xu Fu at the gate of the city last year, this person and another Qingxia were ordered by Xun Zhen to live inside and outside Xu Fu's house, monitoring them day and night. According to Xunzhen's instructions, report the situation every five days. Today is just another reporting day.

"how?"

"As always, Xu Fu didn't make much movement, and he was still very brave with his friends, and he ran rampant in the market day and night."

"Um."

The Qing Xia hesitated and said, "Although Xu Fu is the same as usual, someone went to find one of his friends yesterday."

"No one has friends. What's so strange about that?"

"The problem is that that person is not simple, he is a follower of a 'hero' in the east of the city."

"A 'hero' in the east of the city?" There are only a few friends of Xu Fu, all of them are about the same age as him, the oldest is only fourteen or fifteen years old, a dignified "hero", why did he send someone to find a child? ? Xun Zhen pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you know why that hero sent someone to find Xu Fu's friend?"

"I don't know. After looking for Xu Fu's friend, that person invited Xu Fu's friend and Xu Fu and others to go to the wine shop for a drink. The villain was eavesdropping on the side, but he didn't hear anything, only that person told Xu Fu and others. It seems very close."

Xun Zhen hurriedly, it was really unusual for a "hero" to win over a few Shuzi.

He thought about it for a while and came up with a possibility: "Xu Fu and his friends are not children of rich families, even if the family has some money, they are at most a middle-aged family. This 'hero' sent someone to win over They are definitely not for money. They are not for money, but for people. A few children, what are they worth wooing? They are nothing more than trying to trick them into giving their lives."

It's better for teenage children to coax and use the ignorance and fearlessness of young people to instigate them to kill and set fire since ancient times. The laws of the Han and Han Dynasties clearly stipulated that instigating juvenile offenders would be more serious than the juvenile who committed the crime.

Xun Zhen pondered: "Xu Fu later murdered, is it because he was instigated by others?" He couldn't easily stop this matter, only Ling Jinggong said, "The 'heroes' want to win over Xu Fu and the others, Ren You don't have to interfere with him. You don't have to worry about Xu Fu's friends, you just need to keep Xu Fu under your eyes."

"Yes." Seeing that Xun Zhen had no other orders, the man turned around and joked with Cheng Yan and the others for a while, then said goodbye and left.

…

Xun Zhen sat under the tree, listening to Cheng Yan and the others joking, thinking in her heart: "If my expectations are not bad, this Xu Fu should be Xu Shu. Hehe, I have been in the county for a year, and the biggest gain is not the iron officials, but also It's not because of last year's trip to the county that I got a reputation of 'not avoiding nobles', but I found two talents. One Xu Fu and one Guo Jia."

When he was in Xixiang, he asked Xi Zhicai if he knew someone from Guo Jia. Xi Zhicai did not know. After coming to the county as an official, he sent people to visit the city unannounced, and finally found "Guo Jia" the month after he met Xu Fu, and found two at once. One was in his twenties, the other was about the same age as Xu Fu, thirteen or fourteen. The former is a butcher, and the latter is a distant relative of Guo Tu. Needless to say, the "ghost" in history must be the latter.

Seeing that Guo Jia was too young, he did not disturb him just like he did to Xu Fu, but sent two people to follow him from a distance. Unlike Xu Fu who wandered the market all day, Guo Jia was very eager to learn and often did not go out for four or five days. This made Xun Zhen very confused. He remembered that Guo Jia was recorded in the history books as "dead for inspection", but from the mouths of the two chivalrous men who followed him, what he heard was clearly a standard image of a good baby. Where did the four characters "not go to trial" come from? Maybe it's because there is no close contact, so what you see is just an illusion?

…

For some reason, Xun Zhen suddenly envied Xu Fu and Guo Jia. When they were teenagers, young and full of energy and carefree, they didn't know that the world was going to be in chaos. And their future is also very clear. They will all become famous in the troubled times in the future, and they will be famous in the history for future generations.

He murmured to himself, "What about me?" What would his future be like?

…

The weather is hot and cicadas are chirping. He leaned against the tree and looked into the bright sky.

Cheng Yan was not as meticulous as Xiao Ren, but he also noticed that he was unhappy and unhappy. Usually at this time, Xun Zhen would usually join the chat and laugh of the Qing Xia, but today she seemed very lonely, as if she had something on her mind, and asked: "Xunjun, what's wrong with you?"

A few poems that had been recited at the family banquet jumped into Xun Zhen's mind: "The moon star is rare, and the magpies fly south. Three times around the tree, what branches can you rely on?" In a poem, he recited, "Life is unsatisfactory in this world, and the Ming Dynasty distributes flat boats."

The humiliation and humiliation that Prefect Wen received in the three months since he took office is vivid in his mind. The reprimands and groundless slanders he received in the prefect's mansion today are embarrassing and unbearable. In less than a year, the Yellow Turban Revolt will take place, which is useless in the county. The land of martial arts, why don't you hang your seal and go home?

He thought: "Anyway, Tieguan is in control, and he has won a high enough reputation by luck. I have been serving as the northern postmaster for more than a year. Now that the prefect has changed, the new prefect obviously doesn't want to see me. I Even if he doesn't care about his humiliation and doesn't leave, it will be difficult for him to achieve success in the future. Instead of being trapped in the county and living a mediocre life, it is better to simply go home. After returning, he will be able to practice Xixiang Qingxia and Fanfan personally. Yang Limin. Forget it, then go back!... After the Yellow Turban rises, my future and my destiny are still unknown. I am resigning and returning home, so I can only take advantage of the fact that the Yellow Turban has not yet caused an uprising. Just give me a few more days of loose/freedom!"

After making the decision, he suddenly felt relieved in his chest, all the blocks were removed, he stood up with a long smile, and said, "Take my seal!"

Cheng Yan ran to the backyard, UU reading www.uukanshu.com asked Tang Er to come to the printing ribbon.

Xun Zhen refused to answer, pointed to the big tree, and ordered, "Hang it on the tree branch."

Everyone in the courtyard looked at each other, Tang Er heard the news and asked, "Young Master, what are you doing?"

"I want to go home."

"go home?"

Xun Zhen laughed and said teasingly, "Yeah, go home. I miss my lady."

—

1, virtuous founder.

In the Han Dynasty, there were Chang Ke (Suiju) and Teke (special).

Xiaolian is a regular subject, every year. The virtuous Fang is Teko. Often after disasters, the imperial court will issue an edict ordering important ministers in the dynasty and local prefectures and states to hold the "virtuous Fangzheng". The purpose of advocating virtuous people is to widen the way of speaking out and correct mistakes. The so-called "virtuous" means a deep understanding of the ancient and modern political systems; the so-called "fangzheng" means a person with a righteousness, and it is a requirement for personal integrity. The appointment of the virtuous and founder is usually for the minister, the counselor, the big and middle doctors, and some are the ministers of the county and the country.

In addition to the virtuous and upright, the special subjects of the Eastern Han Dynasty also include literature, Mingjing, Mingfa, drama, honesty and deeds, Wumeng know the art of war, yin and yang disasters, and Taoism. "Literature" refers to the scriptures. "Treat drama", "drama is still difficult", refers to the talents who can manage the most difficult counties and counties.

In addition, there is "Maocai". Maocai's real name is Xiucai. In order to avoid Liu Xiu's taboo, it was changed to Maocai in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was Special Branch in the Western Han Dynasty and Changke in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

2. I have been reciting the "Book of Filial Piety" to the sky for many days.

During the Yellow Turban Uprising, there was a famous story of "reading the Book of Filial Piety to destroy the Yellow Turbans". Xiang Xu, a singer of the Hanoi Dynasty, "does not want the country to raise troops", and proposed to the court: "But if you send the general to the north of the river to read the "Book of Filial Piety", the thieves should be eliminated." The fate of this famous person was: "Zhang Rangxu, the permanent attendant of the Central Committee, did not want to order the state to send his generals, and he suspected that he was of the same mind as Jiao, and wanted to be an internal response. Send him to the North Temple and Prison of Huangmen, and kill him."