Delong

Chapter 135: A Journey Through the Sea of ​​Bitterness (2)

Both Zhang Xing and Li Ding couldn't think of an idea, and Bai Yousi couldn't see it at all, and Qin Bao could only continue to observe the development of the situation with some anxiety.

And then, things really became more and more biased and intense.

No one can resist the sage's anger, or in other words, everyone knows the price of the sage's anger like Zhang and Li, and everyone doesn't want to be the price—this leads to the search for the source of the rumors. In the process, it is inevitable that there will be excessive punishment and looting, as well as the natural grabbing and framing.

Inevitably, it is inevitable that some Beiya fathers-in-law are self-righteous and extra-careful-they really think that the rumors are aimed at people like themselves.

For a time, everyone in the entire western inspection team was in danger. I don't know how many people were dismissed and investigated, and how many palace officials, guards, and soldiers were dismissed, and even imprisoned and executed.

Under such circumstances, even Zhang Xing, who had the skin of Jing'an Terrace to isolate the Beiya, was summoned by some father-in-laws because of "spreading rumors", but because of Niu Dugong's presence at the scene Appeared and scolded accidentally escaped.

It can only be said that if such a comparison is made, Dugong Niu's pattern will come out.

The huge team stopped at the foot of Lishan Mountain, only a few tens of miles away from Daxing, but they could not make any progress. The Nanya Xianggong who had entered Daxing in advance to prepare for the arrival, and the left-behind and chief managers in Guanzhong were completely confused, and hurriedly dispatched Sima Changying Mr. Xianggong and Mr. Yu Changji came to ask, but got the sage's relentless statement-if this matter is not investigated, he will never leave, and will wait in Lishan.

Everyone was completely helpless, and the efforts to investigate rumors became more and more stringent, and the scope became larger and larger.

Another three or five days later, before June came, fifty or seventy people had already died, and their corpses were all hung up at the foot of Mount Li for public display... It was hot in summer, and when the corpses were hung up, there were flies spreading them all over the place. The smell came out in two days.

This is only inside the western tour team, but according to some confessions, where did they buy it, and where did they hear rumors when they were drinking with magistrates? I am pursuing it non-stop, and then the Daxing prison.

At this time, Zhang Xing finally let go of his last scruples, and decided to make trouble—after all, this is no longer a case, but a political disturbance.

"Saburo is very interested."

The weather was hot. When Wang Daiji, a member of the Ministry of War, entered a room on the edge of the palace in the back of Lishan Mountain, he was already sweating profusely, and his clothes were all wet. After seeing the simple wine and dishes on the table inside the room, he was even more excited. Slightly surprised. "How did you get food and drink? And how did you find such a clean and good place?"

"Leave it to Xiao Zhou." Zhang Xing didn't even get up, he just sat there and raised the jug, and poured the wine first, but it turned out to be blood red, like a rare wine. "His father had an old department for many years. He served as the second general of the left wing in the middle base army. This is where the man is stationed..."

Naturally, Wang Daiji knew Zhou Xingfan's roots, so he just nodded, and then turned back to look outside the door, only to find that Qin Bao, who had invited him, had stayed outside without entering, and Xiao Zhou had no shadow, knowing that the other party had something to say, so he Also simply stepped forward and sat down.

Immediately, Zhang Sanlang put down the jug, and Wang Daiji went directly to drink the wine, but unexpectedly the wine entered his throat. It was actually iced red wine, which immediately entered his heart.

Zhang Xing on the opposite side smiled, poured another cup for the other party, and Wang Daiji was not polite, and immediately poured it for another drink.

Repeatedly, again and again, I don't know how many cups I drank, my yellow beard was stained red, Wang Yuanwailang stopped for a while, and then let out a long breath of sultry air.

Zhang Xing finally freed up his hands and said with a smile: "Ninth brother, is this a long drought with rain? My internal affairs are more timely than your military affairs."

"Sanlang, if you say that, I won't admit it." Wang Daiji held his cold wine glass and shook his head triumphantly. "Right now you can be free, but I'm so busy because the fathers-in-law of Beiya are in the rectification of the army with resentment, and those who want to entrust are the heroes of the fifth army... Even if you want to be busy, you can't be busy. Come to the army outside."

Zhang Xing also picked up his wine glass, but it was a half-smile.

"Sanlang, speak up if you have something to say." Seeing this, Wang Daiji knew something was wrong, so he hurriedly picked up some vegetables with his chopsticks, and hurriedly urged.

"There are a few things I want to ask Brother Wang Jiu." Zhang Xing finally calmed down slightly, and put down his wine glass. "Let's come one by one, don't worry... Tell me, how will this rumor case be resolved?"

"How can it end?" Wang Daiji was also a little depressed when he heard the words. "Could it be possible to find the exact source of this kind of rumor? After finding out, everyone can't believe that he is the first one? It's nothing more than to investigate, to kill, and to make the saint vent such a bad breath... When will The sage who killed is relieved, and the sage who checked is satisfied, the case can only be closed... Don't you know this truth?"

"Brother, I naturally think so too." Zhang Xing nodded: "But I still want to ask, brother Wang is outside, do you have some real clues about this matter?"

"Really not." Wang Daiji shook his head and said. "Now we can only confirm that Guanzhong is likely to spread the word after Shengjia entered Tongguan. It probably started from Huayin to Zheng County... But it's really hard to say, because there are several documents from local official newspapers saying that In the east of Tongguan, there seems to be this rumor, and the magistrates there have stepped up investigations."

He sighed in his heart, but Zhang Xing was noncommittal on his face, but calmly changed the question: "Brother Jiu has worked so hard these days, how much benefit has he gained?"

Wang Daiji quickly drank a cup, then shook his yellow beard and laughed dryly: "What did Sanlang say? How about this kind of thing... how to measure the benefits?"

"That's right." Zhang Xing held his chin thoughtfully. "It's nothing more than a humble background and no cultivation, so I have to make friends with heroes as much as possible to pave the way for future promotion...how can I measure the benefits?"

Wang Daiji instinctively wanted to deny it, but he didn't know that the other party had always acted just like him, without any intention of ridicule, and this time he specially called him to a remote house in the back mountain to drink and meet in private, he must have something of real interest to say.

So, after thinking about it, the soldier Uiro just held his chopsticks and said, "Does Sanlang have anything else to ask?"

"Yes." Zhang Xingfu poured another cup for the other party, and continued to ask. "I want to ask Brother Wang, what kind of person do you think the saint is today?"

Wang Daiji was finally taken aback, then immediately put down his chopsticks, and said solemnly: "A saint is naturally a saint, under the three radiances and four imperial powers, he is the supreme on earth! Otherwise, why are you called a saint?"

"Well said!" Zhang Xing suddenly laughed, and then answered the question. "What I want is Brother Nine's words."

Wang Daiji thought that the other party was looking for him to vent his dissatisfaction, complaining about the saint, and he was surprised when he heard the words, but when he thought that the other party was the famous Zhang Sanlang in the Eastern Capital after all, he could reject Cao Huangshu at the top, rely on the Heavenly Sword in the middle, and make friends with the rich , Heroes with wide knowledge, no matter in Jinyi Xunqi or Fulongwei, they can manage well, and there are Huaiyoumeng beckoning outside... They even dare to go all out... These kind of people, I have always thought that young people are awesome, how can they do that today? So stupid, easily revealing his sincerity in front of himself?

Thinking of this, the well-known member of the Ministry of War, Uiro, became more cautious: "Sanlang, what exactly do you want to ask?"

"Don't worry, let me ask you one by one." Zhang Xing put away his smile and continued to ask with a blank expression. "Since Brother Wang Jiu respects saints so much, then I ask a superfluous question... You have been stuck in the position of Wuilang, a member of the Ministry of War and Law, from the fifth rank for several years. In the past, have you ever been bored in your heart? But have you ever envied seeing Zhang Han and Zhang Xianggong rising three times in five days, directly reaching the extreme of being a minister?"

Of course I am tired!
Of course I am envious!

Wang Daiji was speechless, but he was cautious, so he looked at the other person's face, although his heart was turning all over the place, he never missed a word: "Zhang Sanlang don't play riddles, what do you mean?"

"Suppose there is an opportunity now for Brother Wang Jiu to obey the saint's will and vent his anger on the saint's behalf, would you like to follow Mr. Zhang Han's example and take the risk of offending his colleagues?" Zhang Xing didn't agree. Cover up again. "In exchange for a leap in career?"

Wang Daiji didn't say anything.

"Or in other words, after the battle between Nanya and the saint, the situation has become very clear. No matter how many heroes you make friends with, and no matter how famous you are, it will not be useful to make the saint happy. That will make you give up on making friends with heroes in the past and go away. The lower-level route is to flatter the top saint in exchange for an official career, are you willing?" Zhang Xing waited for a while, seeing that the other party didn't speak, he simply said more blatantly. "If you say you are willing, let's continue talking. If you say you are not willing, just pretend that I, Zhang San, have lost my head today, and we are just here for a leisurely drink."

The face of the military member Wailang on the opposite side twitched, and he tried his best to sigh: "Zhang Sanlang thinks too much... As a minister, it is his duty to serve the saint well, but to make friends and know heroes is to be warm-hearted... This Up and down are not in conflict."

Zhang Xing also pretended: "I knew Brother Wang Jiu was a happy person, but unfortunately, I just asked... There is no good thing that I can be sure of so that Brother Wang Jiu can relieve the saint's worries, and then he will enter the room like a fish into the sea."

"In the world, it would be strange to be sure that an official from a poor family could jump into the room in one fell swoop, otherwise why would I have wasted so many years? Even Li Ding, who came from such a background, has been stuck here for many years Is it?" Wang Daiji also laughed on the spot. "Sanlang, if you have any thoughts, you might as well say it generously... Look at this place, there is no one other than you and me. If you say something out of your mouth and into my ear, I can't even sue it. "

Well, wasn't he the one who showed his loyalty to the saint just now?
"That's good." Zhang Xing shook his head in his heart, and answered earnestly on his face. "Actually, the reason is very simple. It just depends on whether Brother Wang Jiu has the courage...Does Brother Wang Jiu still remember that before the death of Shangshu Zhang Wenda, the prison of the Ministry of Justice was robbed?"

"Of course I remember." Wang Daiji was already a little anxious, but he still tried to stay calm.

"How similar was that time to this time?" Zhang Xing sighed. "The sage is also furious, and he is also pursuing the whole city... However, when it comes to those of us under the Jing'an Tower, everyone knows that the possibility of finding fugitives in the one or two cities they are responsible for is too small. It’s useless to starve and starve people because of the closure of Fangfang, but the boss wants you to seize the whole city, to block the Fangshi, work hard and work hard...Does Brother Wang Jiu know how I responded at that time?"

"How did you deal with it?" Wang Daiji asked sincerely.

"I told my Miss Bai, who was still on patrol at the time, that the higher-ups wanted to watch you work hard and make you use all your strength to deal with the task. In this case, instead of blocking the market for a long time and starving to death, it is better to be ruthless. Pick out the strong people in the workshop, and kill a batch!" Zhang Xing laughed. "Kill a river of blood, kill a pile of bones, the top is satisfied, the bottom is safe from disaster, and you can get rich in the middle..."

"You mean..." Wang Daiji's heart moved slightly, as if he had caught something, but he didn't understand it for a while. "I want to..."

"I mean..." Zhang Xing picked up the already hot wine in front of him, but when he brought it to his mouth, he felt cold, and after drinking it all, he sneered slightly. "We know how this rumor came about. We know that we are destined not to find the real criminal. We just want to kill and shed blood to appease the saint... Instead of just torture and plunder like this, let the palace officials and soldiers, and even Innocent people shed this blood along the way, why not let nobles bleed?"

"Your Excellency..." Wang Daiji instinctively found it ridiculous. "Is your lord so bloody?"

"Of course you don't shed the nobleman's blood." Zhang Xing put down his wine glass, expressionless, and said something. "However, when the blood of a nobleman is shed, it is easier for the saint to calm down, because with the saint, a catty of nobleman's blood is probably better than the lives of ten grassroots or patrol soldiers; secondly, have you ever thought about it? Who do you want to see bleed more?"

Wang Daiji was silent for a moment, and then slowly asked: "Do you think that the sage wants to see the nobleman bleed more in his heart?"

"It must be so." Zhang Sanlang firmly pressed the table.

"Why?" Wang Jiulang pinched his yellow beard and asked, he was really puzzled.

"Because in the eyes of a sage, ordinary soldiers and ordinary people are actually inferior... Then I dare to ask, since a sage wants to watch people bleed, why would he care about such things?" Zhang Xing asked calmly. "The grass mustard has its head cut off. To a saint, it's just the juice of grass, isn't it? Sometimes, if you underestimate it to the extreme, you can avoid some special malice."

Wang Daiji couldn't refute.

After thinking for a while, the man still hesitated: "That being said, the noble man's blood is not so easy to shed. If it doesn't work, he will lose his life."

"Now I have to ask the sage, do you want to see some people bleed?" Zhang Xing said in a faint and erratic tone. "Brother Nine?"

"Hey." Wang Daiji, who started to think wildly, answered blankly.

"I don't understand military affairs and personnel affairs, but does the sage intend to replace the generals in Guanzhong and Longxi on this trip to the west?" Zhang Xing asked seriously. "There are even rumors that the sage is planning to directly remove the Guanzhong governors?"

The general manager state is a legacy of history. In layman's terms, it is a strategically important location. A general manager can actually control multiple states and counties, and the military wealth can be grasped to facilitate strategic response.After the Great Wei eradicated more than 30% of the surrounding enemies, except for a few governor states along the East China Sea, the remaining more than [-] governor states are actually equivalent to the upper-level states and counties, and then directly belong to the first-level military and political institutions of the central government.

It is a typical historical legacy.

"Yes." Wang Daiji came to his senses and answered immediately. "The sage's intentions are well known...and I'll tell you, the Ministry of War has discussed privately many times, and they all feel that the sage's visit to the west may not only remove the general governors in Guanzhong, but even intend to connect Hedong and Jingxiang. , Bashu and other surrounding administrative states are collected together.”

"Do you think it can be done?" Zhang Xing asked seriously.

"It should work." Wang Daiji answered frankly. "The imperial court has experienced twists and turns in the past few years, but after all, it has just been unified..."

Zhang Xing nodded. Although it has nothing to do with today's topic, this is the problem... Before a dynasty or empire falls, there must be something special that blinds the ruling class and makes them ignore some problems.

As far as Wei is concerned, according to Zhang Xing’s knowledge and opinions over the past year, the biggest and most core problem today is that the people in the old lands of Dongqi and Nanchen have been exploited by harsh taxes, so that the foundation of the entire empire, that is, The common people are all struggling on the line of life and death, making the whole country look extremely strong from the top down, but the foundation at the bottom is always tense, and it can't help shaking at all.

However, it may be that in the past few hundred years, it was mainly the powerful, powerful, and military leaders who objectively guided the historical process, and no one in the ruling class is willing to face up to this most serious issue.

In their eyes, there are elites, tyrants, foreign aggressors, and gods, but there are no low-level people who are as obedient as water.

What happened to the water?Can you still shake the boat and sink it?

At the same time, the superficial trend of unification also makes most people feel that this empire, this dynasty, is different from the previous separatist regimes.

Hundreds of years of divisions and wars have made people feel certain that no one is willing to rebel unless they are forced to do so.

Therefore, the saint can toss vigorously, always feel that nothing will happen, always feel that it will not be too aggressive.

The people below feel a little pain, but they still can't help but think that the situation of Dawei, a rising sun, will definitely not collapse easily, so it's better to endure it.

Looking back, even Zhang Xing felt that no matter how many twists and turns the sage came to withdraw from the governor's state, there would be no real resistance in itself, and it would definitely be done.But on the other hand, this kind of thing similar to the withdrawal of the domain, and the withdrawal of the domain in a place like Guanzhong, there will definitely be twists and turns on the bright side.

"Will there be twists and turns?" Thinking wildly in his mind, Zhang Xing asked a question that he had already answered without delay.

"There must be." Wang Daiji seemed to have realized something, and his tone became faint. "They have been the general managers for several lifetimes, and they are all relatives of the emperor. They were born as the sons of the general manager of the Shangzhu Kingdom, and I have been the general manager of the Shangzhu Kingdom step by step. Naturally, I take everything for granted... Sometimes, you I really feel that the gap between a nobleman and a nobleman is like the gap between a dragon and a donkey... Zhang Sanlang, I understand what you mean, let's join hands, you inside and outside, this thing can be done!"

Zhang Xing smiled and said nothing.

"What do you mean?" Wang Daiji was slightly puzzled.

"I'm inside, Brother Wang Jiu is outside, but in the end, Brother Wang Jiu came to write the letter by himself, and I didn't show up." Zhang Xing answered frankly.

"Then I have to ask a question." Wang Daiji was silent for a moment, and put his hands together to look at the other party. "Since that's the case, why do you still come up with such an idea? Or, on the other hand, since you have an idea, why don't you come to me instead of doing it yourself?"

"I told Nine Brothers not to laugh at me." Zhang Xing hesitated for a moment, and answered sincerely.

"nature."

"I was born in the north, and I'm afraid I don't even count as a poor family, so I have always been extreme in my heart. I always feel that when the sky is hailstorming, it is better to let the noble people at the top suffer than the people at the bottom."

Zhang Xing said something.

"As for why you don't do it yourself, it's just a word, hypocritical... Although I have made up my mind and thought evilly, I still feel that this is setting the blame on innocent people... those noble people, one counts as one, and they are elsewhere. They all deserve death, but for this specific rumor, I am afraid that there is really no evidence that they sent someone to spread it. Therefore, if I did it myself, Bai Changjian and Li Ding of your military department, who are friends of higher backgrounds, would have to Look at me differently. I just saw more and more corpses beside the road down the mountain of Lishan, and I couldn't help it."

Wang Daiji nodded, and couldn't help laughing, because he also understood the former reason very well, and the latter reason was also in line with his previous understanding of Zhang Sanlang - smart, courageous, daring to work hard, but still a bit young Human childishness.

How should I put it, understandable.

And at this point, the other party is actually a little more mature than before, at least a substantial step has been taken. After a few years, and a few more years of wasting or polishing in the officialdom, he will become just like himself, becoming as innocent as possible. Any psychological burden is gone.

"Okay, I naturally believe in Saburo, it's just that wise people don't speak secretly." Wang Daiji ordered the table and asked calmly. "Sanlang, you have waited for so long and watched with cold eyes for so long, there should be a suitable candidate?"

"It is not necessary to choose the exact candidate." Zhang Xing replied with a sigh. "But I think that as long as Cao Cheng, the general manager of Yongzhou, Mu Guogong, is in your report document, the saint will be willing to believe it."

"That's right." Wang Daiji thought for a while, but felt that he had nothing to say. "The sage has wanted to get rid of this last cousin who led the army for a long time... we just helped to whip the horses and chariots... not only saved many innocent people, but I think Cao Cheng, as a royal family member, would not even bleed. No need... Thinking about it this way, it's a great merit, but it's just a matter of suffering the nobles."

At the end, Wang Jiulang couldn't help but brushed his beard proudly,

Zhang Xing, on the other hand, was silent at this moment, no longer speaking - he knew that although he had never been a good person, after today, he would be even worse.

But it should work and cause less bleeding.

PS: good morning

(End of this chapter)