Fu Shifeng

Chapter 174 There is no end to the tricks
"Father, a coach from Hongfan Academy is here to visit and wants to see you."

Cui Duo put down the pen in his hand and took the greeting card from his eldest son Cui Yi. At first glance, he saw that the handwriting was plain and he wrote ordinary greeting poems. It felt like a government official was trying his best to deal with the officials. It is perfunctory and lacks literary talent.

"Zheng Delu?" Cui Duo guessed that the other person was from the Zheng family in Xingyang when he saw his name, so he asked, "Did he say why he came here?"

Cui Duo also studied literature and martial arts under Hongfan Academy when he was young. This is a holy place recognized by contemporary Confucianism and the head of the inheritance of martial arts in the Central Plains. Since the beginning of this dynasty, it has stood in both the court and the world.

The children of the aristocratic families with the fifth surname and Qi Wang are mostly proud to attend Hongfan Academy, and those who graduate from it are often talented in both civil and military affairs.

"According to him, there is a batch of recently compiled poems that he wants to ask his father to read." Cui Yiduo said, "Coach Zheng drove here and seemed to have brought many valuable gifts."

Cui Duo was not surprised by this and went to the front hall after changing his clothes.I saw a man in Confucian robes, about fifty or sixty years old. He seemed to be stout, but sitting in an armchair, he had a majestic air. He was not like those mediocre people with literate books, but he was probably good at martial arts.

"Your Excellency, is this Coach Zheng?" Cui Duo stepped forward and saluted. He had not returned to Hongfan Academy for many years and was not familiar with the person in front of him.

Zheng Delu stood up and returned the greeting: "It's my first time to visit, and I feel deeply confused. Cui Shilang is admired by scholars in Shandong, so Delu should have paid his respects as soon as possible."

Words like this have been ringing in Cui Duo's ears since he returned to his hometown. He just nodded slightly and motioned for the other party to take a seat.

"I heard that Cui Shilang likes to collect historical records of various families. I recently found a copy of "The Heroes of Mountains and Rivers", which tells the story of the heroes of Hebei vying for supremacy in the last years of the previous dynasty, until Liu Xuantong was defeated and beheaded. The content is detailed and unsolved. It opened my eyes to several unsolved mysteries in the past.”

Zheng Delu brought a wooden box from the side and placed several volumes of books in it: "Unfortunately, the identity of the author is unknown and I have no way of verifying it, so I wanted to entrust it to Cui Shilang for collation. This will not let down the predecessors, but also allow future generations to admire the literary talent and character." .”

Cui Duo didn't care much at first, but when he heard that Zheng Delu was going to send history books, he immediately became interested.

Private history writing has always been tabooed by the imperial court, but since Cui Duo returned to his hometown after serving as an official, he knew that it would be difficult for him to achieve anything good in his life, so he had to immerse himself in writing and compile history books to achieve great achievements.

Moreover, in his opinion, private history writing can be done in a straightforward manner, thereby correcting the king's mistakes, rather than simply praising his virtues.

For this reason, Cui Duo collected many official and unofficial histories. In addition to comparing historical materials, he also hoped to find out superior writing styles so that future generations of Confucian scholars could pass them on from generation to generation as classics.

Taking the scroll from Zheng Delu, Cui Duo briefly glanced at it and found that it even mentioned the specific number of troops and the specific marching routes of several forces in Hebei in the late years of the previous dynasty, as if the compiler had personally witnessed the entire process of the war. .

Cui Duo immediately understood how precious this book "Heroes of Mountains and Rivers" was. Because the last emperor of the previous dynasty was very happy with his achievements and spent extravagantly, he sent troops to conquer foreign countries several times and often claimed millions. They all like to exaggerate the number of their own troops.

Even if Cui Duo was not familiar with military affairs, he still felt that these statements were unrealistic.Since he wanted to explain the rise and fall of the war through compilation of history books, the specific circumstances of the war must be clearly recorded.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Cui Duo was fascinated by the book and couldn't put it down for a while. If it weren't for etiquette, he would have moved the "Heroes" into the study on the spot.

"Coach Zheng is really thoughtful." Cui Duo beamed: "I think the paper of "Heroes of Mountains and Rivers" is old and not like the new ones compiled in recent years. It must be difficult for you to find it."

"To tell you the truth, I got this "Heroes" by accident." Zheng Delu chuckled and said: "The original owner of this history book was greedy for gambling and lost all his family property. All the books and antiques in the collection were sold to others regardless of good or bad. , I guess I don’t know if I have this book at home.”

"It's such a pity for such a good book." Cui Duo echoed.

Zheng Delu continued: "In addition to this, there are several collections of poetry and essays that have been collected and sorted out recently, most of which are works by talents in the two capitals. Please also have a look at Cui Shilang."

Cui Duo nodded and asked his eldest son Cui Yi to accept them as well. Before he could speak, Zheng Delu gestured to several large boxes outside the house: "Recently, I purchased a batch of exquisitely crafted Four Treasures of the Study from Jiangnan and left them for Cui Shilang to enjoy."

Cui Duo couldn't help but laugh. How could a family like his be short of pens, ink, paper and inkstones?What's more, he has been an official for many years, so he naturally knows the tricks of giving gifts. Those big boxes probably contain a lot of money.

"Coach Zheng, pens, inks, paper and inkstones are used by Confucian scholars of our generation to establish fame, promote education, and distinguish interests. How can we treat them as playthings?" Cui Duo was slightly serious. He suddenly realized that the Zheng Delu in front of him was too philistine and did not look like Hong Fan. The teaching of the school.

"I'm rude." Zheng Delu looked apologetic and repeatedly handed over his hand.

Cui Duo probably understood why Zheng Delu's handwriting was so "perfunctory".Seeing words like people, this guy must be full of profit calculations in his heart, and he doesn't care about the knowledge of sages and sages at all.

"Coach Zheng said frankly that he is here, I am all ears." Cui Duo didn't want to beat around the bush with this kind of person, it was really boring.

Zheng Delu nodded with a wry smile and said, "Does Minister Cui know that the imperial court is about to implement a new policy in all the realms?"

"I've heard it before."

"But the current situation in Hebei and Shandong, Cui Shilang should also be aware of it." Zheng Delu said with a serious tone: "This year is also a year of disaster. In order to implement the new policy and ensure sufficient donations, officials in various places must vigorously plunder. People everywhere are afraid I can’t stand this kind of exploitation.”

Cui Duo didn't understand this truth, but he did feel that Daxia had many long-standing shortcomings that had to be corrected.This Zheng Delu who came to give gifts must have been assigned by someone.

"The old man is just a countryman now, not worth mentioning." Cui Duo said: "How can the old man be able to comment on such a major event as the implementation of the New Deal?"

Zheng Delu was a little anxious: "What Cui Shilang said is unreasonable. If Shandong scholars want to do knowledge and read poetry, the first thing they admire is the annotations compiled by Cui Shilang. Now if you are willing to report to the court, explain the advantages and disadvantages, and postpone the implementation of the New Deal , not only is what everyone expects, but also allows the people to recuperate."

Cui Duo did not agree immediately, but Zheng Delu's words touched his heart.He himself is not very eager to be reinstated, but his feat of asking for orders for the people will definitely gain him great fame.

In this way, it can be said that he has "rescued disaster and helped the time", which is in line with Cui Duo's expectations for himself, instead of being completely buried in the pile of old stories.

"This old man alone can't accomplish anything." Although Cui Duo was thinking, he was not blind.

At this time, Zheng Delu handed over a letter at the right time: "Don't worry, Minister Cui, Hongfan Academy will work with you side by side on this matter."

"Oh?" Cui Duo raised his eyebrows, took the letter and read it carefully. At the same time, he also understood why Hongfan Academy came to find him.

Although Hongfan Academy is regarded as a holy place for Confucianism and the first sect of martial Confucianism, since the East China Sea Sage heard that the Confucius went boating to the sea nearly a hundred years ago, the academy has been without a leader.

After all, Hongfan Academy is not an ordinary martial arts sect, and it is impossible to compete for a convincing leader through martial arts competitions alone. Therefore, it has gradually fallen into a situation where several major families are criticizing each other and fighting openly and secretly.

The reason why Cui Duo has not returned to Hongfan Academy for many years and simply teaches at home is because he does not want to participate in the strife within the academy.

I just didn't expect that now that the New Deal was about to be implemented, Hongfan Academy would rarely unite for a while, and even sent Zheng Delu to send gifts and beg for help.Frankly speaking, Cui Duo was not indifferent, he was even a little pleased.Hongfan Academy, which he was trying to avoid, actually came to visit. This shows that Cui Duo's reputation in Hebei and Shandong cannot be ignored.

If I work with Hongfan Academy to contact many relatives, friends and disciples, I might be able to make a shocking noise and cleanse the atmosphere in the court.

"Let me think twice." Cui Duo put down the letter. He had actually made up his mind. He just wanted to write an article and needed time to contact relatives and friends.

If this matter wants to succeed, it must be decisive and enlightening.

……

At a post station next to the official road, a bird with crow-green feathers was hovering in the air. Lord Qiang Yu whistled and raised his arm to lure it down.

Taking out the secret letter and reading it carefully, Qiang Yujun stood up suddenly with a slap on his thigh and shouted: "Sure enough! I knew there was something wrong with the Cui family!"

The attendant who was feeding Xin Ou fresh meat asked in confusion: "What happened to the Cui family?"

Qiang Yujun was extremely excited and handed the secret message to his entourage: "A spy came to report that the Cui family of Anping County colluded with Hongfan Academy to resist the New Deal!"

The attendant didn't know the reason, so he just asked: "Could this be related to the Pure Light Goddess?"

"Even if it didn't exist before, it exists now!" Lord Qiangyu looked around at all the bow-wielding followers: "You have to understand one thing. If someone like Pure Light Heavenly Girl can wander around in Hebei, there must be someone secretly supporting her. Back then, She was running around with thousands of refugees, and she would have starved to death on the way without food. Wouldn’t it be the wealthy local families in Hebei who provided them with food?”

Some of the followers showed expressions of sudden realization, and Qiang Yujun continued: "When Shangzhangjun followed that little bastard to the Cui family to borrow food, I felt strange. There was a drought, so how could these wealthy families be so kind? Lend the food obediently? Now it seems that they were just trying to get it right, and they planned to use Pure Light Goddess to cause trouble from the very beginning!"

Figured this out, Mr. Qiang Yu immediately rushed towards Cui's house in Anping County with a group of followers.

……

It was dark at night, Cui Duo was writing at his desk, and his eldest son Cui Yi stood beside him holding a lamp. The father and son talked from time to time and considered the words.

Just as Cui Duo moved the discarded draft aside, the flame of the oil lamp on the table suddenly exploded, and the flames moved restlessly.

Cui Duo frowned slightly and noticed something strange: "Someone is coming."

"Thieves?" Cui Yi looked wary. Country estates like theirs always had to be on guard against thieves.

"It's not like that." As soon as Cui Duo finished speaking, he heard someone kicking in the door in the front yard, acting arrogantly and unreasonably.

There was also a village man keeping vigil in the Cui family manor. At this time, he heard the noise in the front yard and rushed to check. As a result, he was immediately beaten and the shouts and shouts immediately spread throughout the manor house.

"Someone is coming! There is a thief!"

"How dare you! How dare you break into a house at night...ah——"

"Seal the front and back doors quickly! Cui family stewards, get out of here!"

A series of disturbing noises came into the study. Cui Duo's face was gloomy. He quickly came to the front hall and saw the dying Zhuang Ding stepping on the feet of Qiang Yujun. He was holding a bow and arrow in an arrogant manner. There were several other people holding bows inside and outside the house. Warrior, he even heard the sound of tiles above and thought that there were also manpower deployed on the roof.

Such quick and sharp movements are definitely not ordinary green forest thieves. Cui Duo shouted and asked: "Who are you?"

When Afu, Changqing and others came to the Cui family to borrow food, Lord Qiangyu did not participate, but was responsible for monitoring the movements of the Pure Light Goddess. Therefore, Cui Duo did not recognize Lord Qiangyu, and he did not expect that the Ministry of Internal Affairs would rape him at night. break.

"Are you Cui Duo? You are quite capable." Lord Qiang Yu looked up and down, then sneered: "I would like to advise you, don't rush into action yet. If a fight really breaks out, the other female relatives in your family will not be able to do it." The law can save lives.”

As he was talking, a woman screamed and the sound of broken utensils came from the backyard. Cui Duo knew that his family was being held hostage, so he had to suppress his anger: "What do you want? If you want money, I will give it to you." !”

Unexpectedly, Lord Qiangyu didn't care. Cui Yi, the eldest son beside him, was anxious and impatient. Just as he was about to take action, an arrow suddenly shot through the wind, grazing his ear and nailing it to the wall.

Cui Yi covered his ears and took a few steps back. He was shocked. He didn't see clearly how the arrow left the string and shot out. The sound of breaking wind and the stinging pain in his ears came at the same time, which showed that the opponent's bow skills were superb.

"I told you, don't rush, otherwise the next arrow will hit your eye." Qiang Yujun showed a cruel smile, and his amber eyes were frightening.

Cui Duo showed no fear on his face, he just silently raised his energy, preparing to seize the right opportunity to attack at close range between the opponent's two arrows.

But before he could take action, an embroidered messenger hurriedly arrived and reported to Lord Qiangyu: "Evidence has been found! Please take a look at it!"

At this time, he saw the letters sent by Zheng Delu during the day and the books of "Heroes" were handed to Lord Qiang Yu. Cui Duo's face immediately changed when he saw this, his mind suddenly became clear, and he shouted: "You are the Minister of Internal Affairs." People?"

"That's right!" Qiang Yujun stared at Cui Duo, his eyes like arrows: "Now you are suspected of colluding with the rebel party and trying to fight against the new government policy. If the traitor is confirmed, just surrender and leave with us!"

Cui Duo felt like the world was spinning for a while. He had heard about the evil reputation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which destroyed families and destroyed families, but he had never experienced it personally in the past.The last time they dealt with each other was Afu and Cheng Sanwu. Although it was quite offensive, it didn't involve arresting people directly.

Before Cui Duo could make a decision, another follower came to report: "Your Majesty, we found several large boxes of property in the backyard!"

When these words came, Cui Duo knew that he had something to say but couldn't explain clearly, so he immediately shouted: "That's enough! I'll go with you, don't embarrass my family!"

"It's interesting... tie them up!" Qiang Yujun immediately ordered the people around to kidnap Cui Duo and his son.

Listening to the crying and noise coming from the manor, Zheng Delu hid under the tree and observed silently. He saw Cui Duo and his son being tied together and being led away by the rapist like animals, which was extremely humiliating.

Seeing this scene, "Coach Zheng" smiled slightly, his facial features gradually changed, and he left with a different look.

(End of this chapter)