At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 1 Class Solidification
In the second year of Guanghe (AD 179), Peiguo, Xiangxian County.

The spring breeze is expected to be chilly, warm and cold at the same time.At this time, although the poplar tree has sprouted green buds, it is still difficult to hear the sound of insects and birds.

Zhou Qi, who was only 17 years old, tightened his clothes, walked leisurely in the country market, greeted the vendors with a smile on his face, and soon stopped in front of a meat stall.

The stall owner was tall and majestic, wearing a dirty, greasy apron. The short beard on his chin stood up like steel needles. He chopped bones with an expressionless face. Even though the weather was still a bit cold at this time, he was still naked. A shoulder.

The stall owner's name is Xiang Hong, whose cousin is Bode. He is still unmarried at the age of 26. He only has a lame old mother in his family. He is a refugee who is looking for a living in the local area and has no local household registration.

"Brother Bird, here are two catties of dog meat!"

Zhou Qi took out thirty coins from his pocket and threw them on the meat case, and said to Xiang Hong with a smile.

Instead of looking at the copper coins, Xiang Hong stuck a bone-chopping knife into the meat case, and then looked at Zhou Qi who was doing nothing, frowning.

He said to Zhou Qi: "A (e sound) Yu, you are not young, and there are scriptures handed down in your family, why don't you study the scriptures with Mrs. Zhou, instead of wielding guns and swords, doing nothing, hanging out with country rangers every day? "

Ayu is Zhou Qi's nickname, because at this time he has not yet reached the crown and has not yet taken his nickname, so people close to him all call him by his nickname, just like Cao Cao is called 'A Man'.Zhou Yufu is Zhou Qi's grandfather, who worked as a coward in the countryside, so he is honored as Zhou Yufu.

Zhou Qi looked up at the serious Xiang Hong, put away the playful smile on his face, but felt a warm current in his heart.

When people interact with each other, it is most taboo to talk briefly and deeply.Xiang Hong was able to persuade Zhou Qi so bluntly, obviously he has really regarded Zhou Qi as a friend, even a confidant.

In fact, Zhou Qi is not a person of this era, his soul comes from 800 years later.

Before time travel, Zhou Qi had been in the officialdom for more than ten years.The reason why we say hang out instead of hard work is that Zhou Qi dared to fight, break through, and fight hard when he was an official in his early years, and with his outstanding personal ability, he quickly promoted the local economic development.Unfortunately, he also offended many people in the process.With outstanding political achievements but no one in the court, Zhou Qi was quickly demoted by Ming Sheng, and he was given a idle job and let him retire early.

Three years ago, Zhou Qi died in a car accident. He traveled to the body of Zhou Qi with the same name and surname at the end of the Han Dynasty. Because his body was too young, Zhou Qi's mentality gradually became much younger.The depression and disappointment of the later generations for more than ten years was also slowly put down because of time travel.

After time travelling, he knew very well that the world would be in chaos soon, and heroes would rise together. It was the time for a man to make great achievements, and he wanted to make a big difference.It's a pity that he is too young, and he is only the grandson of a countryman, so his background is not considered good.

After deeply understanding this era and his own origin, Zhou Qi couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.

Compared with later generations, this era makes people feel more desperate. Classes have long been solidified, and the upward path of ordinary people has been blocked. Not to mention the white-bodied Zhou Qi, even a local tycoon who is a county magnate. It is very difficult to seek an official position in the court.

Even today, people have been selling official positions in the West Residence since last year, even if every official position has a clearly marked price, even if the local power is powerful and wealthy, they are not qualified to donate money to buy an official position, let alone Zhou Qi, who does not have much money at home. .

Sighing, Zhou Qi stared into Xiang Hong's eyes and said softly, "Brother Bird, do you have time to have a drink with me?"

Xiang Hong closed his meat stall without saying a word, and then led Zhou Qi to the courtyard.

In the simple courtyard, Zhou Qi and Xiang Hong sat kneeling opposite each other. On the table were freshly stewed dog meat and a jar of bad wine.

At this time, Xiang Hong had changed his clothes and was less greasy and sloppy, but more heroic. As for Zhou Qi, his waist was also straight and he no longer had the frivolous air before.

The two held up bowls and drank each other. After drinking for three rounds, Zhou Qi heard the coughing sound coming from the house, and asked in a low voice, "Is your health okay?"

Xiang Hong's face was gloomy, and he was silent for a long time before he said in a harsh voice: "Last year's winter was extremely cold, my mother barely survived, her health is not as good as before, and she often coughs continuously, and the medicine stone is ineffective."

Hearing this, Zhou Qi didn't know how to comfort Xiang Hong.

Last winter was extremely cold, and homeless people often froze to death on the roadside. Even ordinary farmers had many people die due to lack of food and clothing.Regarding these, Zhou Qi could only feel deeply powerless.

"My mother asked me to thank you. Without your help in the past two years, we might not have survived today."

Looking at Zhou Qi's face, Xiang Hong smiled casually, and continued: "I am not good at talking by nature, so I shouldn't have said anything to you, but my mother often talked about it, saying that although A Yuchen seems to be frivolous, she also has something to say. You have a benevolent heart and lofty aspirations. She sees you wielding guns and swords, hanging out with knight-errants every day, and hopes that you can read more family scriptures and become a person of great use to the country and the people. That's why I persuade you."

Zhou Qi was solemn when he heard the words, got up and bowed to the room for a few times, and said: "A Yuming is very grateful for my sincere and hopeful heart."

There was no reply from the house, but the coughing stopped.

Zhou Qi knelt down in front of the case again, drank a bowl of bad wine, and then said slightly bitterly: "Now the imperial court implements the inspection and examination system, there are only two ways to become an official in the imperial court, either to be recruited or to He was promoted to be filial and honest. Brother thinks, which way will work?"

Xiang Hong was speechless when he heard this.

In the top-down expropriation system in the procuratorial system, the recruiters are all famous scholars. If you want to have a certain reputation, you must learn how to manage. Scholars spend time, energy and even money on each other. Praising, this is actually a process of raising hopes.Of course, there are indeed some truly learned people among them who have written books and biographies.

This road is obviously not feasible for Zhou Qi, who is born in an ordinary family and is too young.

As for the other bottom-up system of promoting filial piety and honesty, although officials from all over the country recommend people with both ability and political integrity in name, it seems that everyone has a chance, but this is not the case in fact.

Who to choose as Xiaolian is the product of the subjective decisions of officials in various places.Officials feel that whoever has both ability and integrity will have a chance to make a fortune.However, the number of Xiaolian places is extremely limited, and there is only one Xiaolian place for every 20 people. In other words, in a large county with a population of one million, there are no more than five Xiaolian places each year.

These five places have become the object of competition among the big families in the county.

After a long period of tacit understanding, these places will be given to the descendants of the official families who hold important official positions in the court. Even if they are not the clan members of those officials, they will also be their protégés.

As for ordinary people, even the local tycoons who dominate one side, it is impossible to get this kind of opportunity.

The gentry are cronies with each other, and their clansmen and former disciples are officials in various places, and they continue to recommend themselves as filial and honest, and their power is growing like a snowball. The family of the world.As for the ascendant channels of local tycoons and ordinary people, they are almost completely blocked.

Over time, the power of the gentry became stronger and stronger, but the imperial power became weaker and weaker.

(End of this chapter)