cite Han

Chapter 252 One Year Old

Zhiquanling in Lingling County is located between Hunan and Shenshui, surrounded by mountains and extended by forests, the scenery is very beautiful.

Since Quanling "controls Jingxiang in the north and controls Baiyue in the south", its strategic position is very important.

In the former Han Dynasty, Guangdong was not conquered, and the Han army once stationed nine armies in Quanling and Xiaoshui Valley. The military city built hundreds of years ago still exists today.

Although Quanling is difficult to build rammed earth walls due to the rainy and humid climate, it can only be made of wood for the city, but the area of ​​Quanling's city wall is not small, and the circle can reach ten miles. Among the four Jingnan counties, the scale is second only to Changsha The county seat is Linxiang.

Surrounded by Liu Ba and other county officials and welcomed by the people of Quanling, Liu Jing entered the main county mansion, and immediately held a court meeting in the main hall to accept the worship of all the officials of the county government and the people of Quanling.

"Guliang Biography" says: "In ancient times, there were four peoples: there were scholars, there were merchants, there were peasants, and there were workers."

Scholars are scholars, not ordinary people. To put it bluntly, they are representatives of the Quanling clan and expressed their support for Liu Jing, the new Lingling prefect.

The Lai family lived in Lingling for generations, heir to the family of poems and books, and had a prominent reputation. They are the leading family in Lingling, and the Lai family has a deep relationship with Liu Jing, so naturally they sent their children here this time.

This person's name is Lai Sheng. He is about the same age as Liu Jing. He is in his early twenties. According to his seniority, he is a generation below Lai Gong and Lai Ci. He is not as impetuous as he should be at this age. For calm.

After talking with Lai Sheng, Liu Jing was quite satisfied. He also knew the purpose of Lai's sending him here, so he should call him as a secretary.As long as the children of other rich families have the intention to become an official, Liu Jing will happily call his followers.

In addition, Liu Jing used Jiang Wan as the main secretary. The full name of the main reporter is the main reporter's room. It is mainly responsible for recording documents and urging supervisors to meet regularly. One of the countable officials.

Liu Jing will not stay in Lingling for a long time, and he probably will not sit in Lingling in person in the future.Therefore, he planned to put Jiang Wan in charge of the county affairs together with the chief secretary Liu Ba and the meritorious Cao Tao Zhang.

As for the non-direct line officials such as Wuguan, Duyou, etc., they are all kicked out of the core of power.

In this way, two of the three people in charge of presiding over the affairs of the county are considered him, which is enough to ensure his control over Lingling.

In the end, Liu Jing naturally did not forget Liu Ba. Liu Ba helped Liu Jing a lot. Although he said that he was dedicated to the public and did not ask for anything in return, Liu Jing had to express it, otherwise outsiders would think that he treated the heroes harshly. .

In addition to allowing Liu Ba to continue supervising county affairs as the master book, Liu Jing also ordered him to be the county magistrate of Quanling, in charge of Quanling in Lingling County.At first Liu Ba refused to accept it, but Liu Jing insisted on it again and again, so he could only agree in the end.

Since the Jingzhou army took advantage of Zhang Xian's death and the people's hearts were unstable, they launched an attack on Linxiang. The situation in Linxiang was becoming more and more critical every day. Liu Jing didn't dare to stay in Quanling for a long time. After only three days, he was ready to return to Ling County.

It wasn't until this time that the officials and people of Lingling finally felt at ease. Liu Jing had previously promised not to let them get involved in the flames of war, but to be honest, the officials and people of Lingling were skeptical about this.Now that Liu Jing has successfully entered Lingling, if he lives up to his words and insists on dragging Lingling into the water, no one can do anything against him.Fortunately, Liu Jing really lived up to his name, and he must practice what he said.

Liu Jing stood at the ferry to the north of Quanling City, holding Liu Ba with one hand and Jiang Wan with the other, and said, "Zichu, Gongyan, after I leave, Lingling will be handed over to you."

"I will live up to the Majesty's trust." Both Liu Ba and Jiang Wan replied solemnly.

Liu Jingdao: "Since learning of the news of Mr. Zhang's illness and death, the Northern Army has changed its previous strategy of 'surrounding but not attacking' and launched a fierce attack on Linxiang from three directions at the same time. Now Linxiang's people are fluctuating, morale is low, and facing How can we resist the strong attack of the Northern Army? The fall of Linxiang is only a matter of time. Linxiang will bear the brunt of Ling County."

Jiang Wan murmured and said, "When Zhang Changsha was alive, the northern army besieged Linxiang, and they failed for years. The governor knew the soldiers well, and defeated the Jingzhou navy with the weak, even more so than Zhang Changsha. , Although Ling County is small, the city is well-defended. I have never seen such a fortified city in my life. In the future, the Northern Army will go south, and the governor will rely on Ling County, and he will be able to successfully repel the Northern Army."

Liu Jing smiled and said, "Hearing Gongyan's words, I feel more confident. There was a famous general in ancient times, Tian Dan, who fought against a country with one city. Today's people should not let the ancients focus on their beauty."

Liu Ba and Jiang Wan couldn't help but look at each other, they are both well-educated people, how could they not know Tian Dan's own affairs.

When the Five Kingdoms attacked Qi, Le Yi, the famous general of Yan State, led his troops to capture Linzi, the capital of Qi State, and then successively conquered more than [-] cities in Qi State in half a year. Only two isolated cities of Ju County and Jimo remained in Qi State.

At such a critical moment, Tian Dan was promoted by the officials in the city as the guard of Jimo City. He led the officials in the city to fight the Yan army for several years.Hou Tiandan defeated the Yan army with a fire ox formation, and successfully recovered more than [-] cities, and completely recovered the territory of Qi.

Liu Jing compared himself with Tian Dan, expressing not only that he wanted to repel Liu Biao's army, but he wanted to drive Liu Biao's army back to Jiangbei and return to Changsha.

Liu Ba couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Your Majesty is both talented and talented, and he also has great ambitions in his heart. He will surely drive away the enemies in the north and regain the great state of Changsha. At that time, he will guard the four counties in southern Jing and rule across the river with Liu Biao. He will fight against the rites in court. For Qi Huan and Jin Wen, retreating will not lose the merits of Dou Rong and Bao Yong."

"Zi Chu's words won my heart." Liu Jing nodded lightly.

Needless to say, Qi Huan and Jin Wen are the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period.Dou Rong and Bao Yong were born in the late Western Han Dynasty. When facing Emperor Guangwu, Dou Rong donated the five counties in Hexi and Bao Yong gave up Bingzhou, which can be described as a model of "knowing current affairs".

After Liu Jing said goodbye to Liu Ba and Jiang Wan, he waved to the Lingling scholars and people who were seeing them off, and then boarded the boat and left.

Watching the huge warships rushing past each other, swarming northward, Liu Ba frowned slightly, and asked Jiang Wan beside him, "Gong Yan, do you think the governor is capable of repelling the northern army?" It was shown to Liu Jing, but he was not full of confidence in the future.

Jiang Wan nodded heavily and said, "Your Majesty must win."

Liu Ba glanced at Jiang Wan, nodded, and said no more.

Compared with when they came, the return journey was much faster. The fleet sailed downstream, almost twice as fast, and returned to Ling County in just three or four days. At this time, it happened to be February and mid-spring.

In February, with the excuse of the emperor's "clothes belt edict", Yuan Shao officially issued a crusade against Cao Cao, accusing Cao Cao of "the ambition of wolves, the hidden schemes, and the intention to break the pillars, the lonely and weak Han Dynasty, eliminate loyalty and harm the good, and exclusively For the hero."

In March, after defeating Gongsun Zan and resting for nearly a year, Yuan Shao finally dispatched his troops. He led his troops to Liyang, sent general Yan Liang across the Yellow River, and encircled Baima in Dongjun.

And in March, after Linxiang was besieged by the Jingzhou army for more than a month, it has become precarious and may fall at any time.

Liu Jing stepped up time to prepare for the battle, and at the same time asked Liu Zhu to change Linxiang's information from once every three days to once a day, so as to ensure that he could learn the latest situation of Linxiang as soon as possible.

March [-]th is Liu Qi's first birthday.

Under the current situation, it is really inappropriate to hold a grand birthday party for his son. Liu Jing hosted a banquet at home to celebrate his son's first birthday. There were no outsiders in the party, only Liu and Deng. Eating wine and meat, the food is simple.

Customs in the south of the Yangtze River: "Children are one year old to make new clothes. To wash and decorate, men use bows, arrows, paper and pens, and women use knives, rulers, needles and thread, and add food and drink, as well as precious clothes to play with. Put them in front of the children and watch their hair In order to test corruption, honesty and foolish wisdom, it is called "Tester"." Later generations called it "Zhou Zhou."

At the banquet, the families of Liu and Deng gathered together happily, and under their joint attention, Liu Qi was carried out by the maid A Shu.

Today he is wearing a brand-new purple brocade jacket, plain silk socks, and green silk shoes. A pair of big black and white eyes hang on his chubby face. When he sees the "treasures" all over the floor, he is immediately attracted. out of sight.

"Yes, yes..." Liu Qi stared at the treasure, his small body struggled in Ah Shu's arms, wanting to go down to the ground to pick up the treasure.

Under Liu Jing's gesture, Ah Shu knelt down and let go of Liu Qi. Liu Qi staggered and walked two steps. Maybe he felt that this walking was too slow, so he bent down and knelt on the ground, "噗噢咒" quickly towards the dazzling array of treasures climb up.

Liu Qi climbed up to the dazzling rare treasures of the South China Sea. He was not interested in small things like pearls, emeralds, and tortoise shells. He first wanted to lift a two-foot-tall coral, and then he became interested in ivory and rhino horn. .

Seeing Deng Yuan's tense and serious expression, Liu Jing felt amused, and said, "Don't worry too much, Young Master, a one-year-old child can't tell the specific meaning of these things at all, so naturally he only picks out beautiful things. Didn’t I tell you that when I was young, I chose snacks under the watchful eyes of everyone, and almost ate them on the spot, which made my father lose face in front of colleagues and friends. Now I am not a person who only knows how to enjoy himself. "

Deng Yuan frowned and smoothed his eyebrows slightly, and said: "The so-called 'trial' is certainly not allowed, but I also want Ah Yang to seek auspicious luck."

At this moment, Liu Qi finally gave up competing with ivory and rhino horns, skipped stacks of delicate food, picked up a brush, and made a few gestures on the ground. Every time he went to his father's study, he could see his father take it.Liu Qi held the brush tightly in one hand, and picked up an official seal with the other, holding it in his arms.

Liu Jing smiled at Deng Yuan: "Ah Yang has a writing brush in one hand and an official seal in one hand this time, will Young Master be satisfied?"

Deng Yuan smiled gratifiedly, and Dang Shi asked the handmaid, A Shu, to pick up Liu Qi again, ending this "trial".

If he doesn't stop in time, maybe Liu Qi will give up his writing brush and official seal just like he gave up ivory and rhino horn before. The purpose of "testing children" is to seek auspiciousness. Now that the goal has been achieved, it should be terminated decisively.Of course, if Liu Qi still chooses something bad for the second time, the "trial" will have to continue until something satisfactory is selected.

Next, it was the turn of Liu and Deng's elders to give Liu Qi a last year's gift.

Liu Qi's favorite thing was a gold-encrusted bronze mirror given by his uncle Deng Lang, which also aroused good-natured laughter from everyone, saying that this son must be a person who loves beauty when he grows up.

The banquet lasted until noon. Liu Jing stood outside his house to see off Mrs. Deng, but found that Liu Yu walked slowly and gracefully. attention.

Liu Jing was a little surprised by Liu Yu's arrival. The two had known each other for almost five years. The number of times the latter took the initiative to find him could be counted on one hand. Liu Jing would not think that he came here specially to congratulate his son, and opened his mouth Asked: "Wen Lang, what are you?"

There was a touch of unresolved sadness on Liu Yu's face, she nodded and said, "Go in and talk."

Liu Jing stopped talking immediately, and led him all the way through the corridor, across the yard, into the study room in the back court, and while asking the maid to prepare the tea set, he invited Liu Yu to take a seat, and said, "Wen Lang has a sad face, could something have happened?" Liu Jing speculates that it has something to do with his mother, the Liu family, and only his mother can make Kuo Da free. The unrestrained Liu Yu is so sad.

Liu Yu sighed lightly, and said sadly: "You also know that since I was a child, I have placed my love in the mountains and rivers. I only wish to be a leisurely farmer with no intention of official career, and my mother hates me for my lack of ambition, and revives the Liu family. All her hopes were pinned on Wen Shi. Since Wen Shi’s death, the mother not only lamented the pain of losing her son, but also hated the hopelessness of the Liu family’s revival. She often blamed herself for not fulfilling her responsibilities. For the ancestors of the Liu family, in the past two months, I have spent the whole day crying and persuading me hard, but it has no effect, and yesterday I couldn't afford it."

Liu Jing's heart moved, and he asked tentatively: "Wen Lang, do you want me to go to your house to comfort your mother?"

Liu Yu slowly shook his head and said: "My lord has a heart disease, and it cannot be persuaded by a few words from outsiders. Only I can completely untie my lord's heart."

"Wen Lang meant..." Liu Jing's eyes lit up suddenly, and he vaguely guessed his intentions, but he couldn't believe it.

Liu Yu sighed: "If I don't make any changes, I'm afraid that my mother will become very ill. If I can't afford it, the consequences will be unimaginable. So, in order to let my mother see hope again, I decided to become an official. This time, I just want to ask Zhong Zhong Ask you for a position."

Liu Jing stared wide-eyed. Although he had already prepared some mentally, he couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard Liu Yu say it himself. He immediately jumped up, came to Liu Yu's side, took his hand and said, "Wen Lang, you Do you know how long I have been waiting for your words?"

Seeing Liu Jing's happy expression, Liu Yu couldn't help but smiled wryly and said: "Zhong Da, don't be too happy, although I am an official, but you know, I don't like mundane affairs, I hate tedious things..."

Liu Jing interrupted him and said, "What's the difficulty? Ling County, Changsha Nine Counties, and even Lingling County, whichever position you like, you can choose."

Liu Xuan frowned and thought for a while, then said, "I can't leave Ling County, so I'll be an official under your sect."

With Liu Yu's talent, of course he couldn't be a petty official. Liu Jing thought for a while, and immediately decided to let the chief bookkeeper Guo Shang move his seat, and said, "Then you can be my chief bookkeeper."

(End of this chapter)