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

Chapter 403 Jia Wenhe is a little panicked
Ever since Tian Mansion received the news that Tian Feng was about to arrive in Xiangyang, it has been busy. Now it is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and it is very lively.

Except for Tian Feng's mother, everyone else gathered at the door and waited eagerly.

When Tian Feng went to Jiaozhou to take up his post, all his family members stayed in Xiangyang. They had not seen each other for so many years, so everyone naturally missed him very much.

As for why the family members did not go with Tian Feng to take up his post, I can only say that everyone understands.

Of course, they had been well cared for by Zhou Qi during their years in Xiangyang. Apart from not being able to see Tian Feng, their lives could be said to have been smooth, but it still could not make up for the regret that the family could not be reunited.

When they learned this time that Tian Feng had not only returned to Xiangyang, but had also been promoted to a noble rank, and His Royal Highness the King of Chu personally went out of the city twenty miles to greet him, everyone was naturally overjoyed and full of expectations.

"Madam, madam, Shangshu Ling is back!"

Just as Mrs. Tian Feng was waiting at the door, she saw a boy running over panting and reporting loudly with surprise on his face.

Mrs. Tian Feng hurriedly tidied up her appearance and said to everyone around her: "Cheer up, don't make your husband unhappy!"

Everyone immediately held their heads high and their faces solemn.

Tian Feng’s family reunion will not be detailed yet.

That night, Zhou Qi invited all the ministers and held a banquet. He also invited Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Zhang He, Gao Lan and others to sit next to him.

Jushuo looked at the familiar faces around him, his eyes darkened.

His former colleagues and friends, and even comrades from the same faction, eventually all defected to Zhou Qi, leaving only himself and Shen Pei to support themselves in Yecheng.

"Gongyu, long time no see!"

Tian Feng lost his usual rigidity and walked up to Ju Shou with a smile and a glass of wine, looking very enthusiastic.

Jushou stood up and said with a wry smile: "Yes, I haven't seen you for many years, and I never thought that Yuan Hao's style is even better than before!"

Tian Feng said: "In the past, when I was in charge of the army and horses in Hebei, I was very high-spirited. Why is there always a sad look between my eyebrows now?"

Jushou said nothing, but drank the wine in one gulp.

Tian Feng did not ask any questions and drank the wine in one gulp. After ordering his entourage to refill the wine, he turned to look at Zhang He and Gao Lan beside him, raised his glass and said, "Generals Zhang and Gao have never thought of me. Wait until there is a chance to serve as a minister again!"

Zhang He and Gao Lan hurriedly stood up, holding the wine glasses with both hands and said: "My lord is so talented and strategic, he is a hero of the world. We are not as discerning as your husband, and we only regret that we could not surrender to your lord as soon as possible!"

Tian Feng smiled and said: "Now that the world is undecided, the Chu State is in the midst of employing people. Generals Zhang and Gao are both famous generals in Hebei. It is not too late to surrender to the lord at this time!"

"Drink this cup to the full and congratulate us on our reunion!"

"only!"

Zhang He and Gao Lan did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly drank the wine in their glasses.

Although Tian Feng was a scribe, he was not shy and drank the wine from his cup.

Immediately afterwards, Tian Feng greeted each of the Hebei generals who surrendered with Zhang He and Gao Lan, or surrendered after being captured in the Battle of Guangling, and drank with them.

Of course, when Tian Feng faced these people, he only tasted briefly and did not finish a glass of wine in one go like before.

As Tian Feng cordially greeted many generals who surrendered from Hebei, the faces of these generals clearly showed joy.

With Tian Feng's current status in the Chu State, as long as they can have Tian Feng as their backer and the two famous generals from Hebei, Zhang He and Gao Lan, as leaders, the Hebei faction will not be weak even within the Chu State.

In fact, if Jushou defected to the Chu State, the power of the Hebei faction might expand unprecedentedly in the future.

This is also a situation that Zhou Qi is happy to see happen.

He is not worried about his subordinates forming a group. As long as the various factions do not fight overtly and covertly for personal gain, this situation is more conducive to Zhou Qi's rule and can also create healthy competition.

What's more, Zhou Qi is determined to win Hebei. In the future Northern Expedition to Zhao, these Hebei surrendered generals will play a great role.

After Tian Feng and all the generals who surrendered to Hebei greeted them cordially, he also noticed Zhao Yun sitting next to him drinking alone, and his expression moved slightly.

He took Zhang He and Gao Lan and walked straight to Zhao Yun. He said slightly drunkenly: "Zilong is also a native of Hebei, why do you need to drink alone here? Come and drink with us!"

Faced with Tian Feng's enthusiasm, Zhao Yun could not refuse and had to agree. However, drinking with his former rival made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Over the years, Zhao Yun has stayed in Xiangyang to protect Adou.

Zhou Qi had special feelings for Zhao Yun, so he naturally tried to win over him. Even compared to Cao Cao's treatment of Guan Yu, who temporarily surrendered in history, he was no less generous.

Zhao Yun, on the other hand, was like Guan Yu in that he refused to accept any reward from Zhou Qi and rarely participated in various affairs of Chu State. Even with Zhou Qi's active invitation, Zhao Yun could push it away as much as he could.

He just wanted to guard Adou silently and did not want to let down Liu Bei's friendship.

Zhou Qi saw that his kindness had no effect, but he was not angry. Instead, he sighed in his heart: "As expected, Zhao Zilong of Changshan is truly unparalleled in his loyalty and righteousness!"

Since then, Zhou Qi has changed his strategy.

He no longer gave Zhao Yun any material rewards, but instead gave Zhao Yun and Adou great freedom and allowed them to move around in the nearby countryside.

Zhao Yun didn't want to mess around, but Adou liked to have fun when he was young, and with the encouragement of Zhou Qi's sons who were similar in age to Adou, Zhao Yun couldn't resist Adou, so he had to follow Adou around.

In the process, Zhao Yun saw the scene of Xiangyang people living and working in peace and contentment.

He thought of all the tragedies he had seen during his years of following Liu Bei in the South and North, and he couldn't help but admire Zhou Qi.

Although Liu Bei is known for his benevolence and righteousness, running a country is not just about benevolence and righteousness.

Compared with Liu Bei's benevolence, righteousness and tolerance for the people, the slightly harsh policies promulgated by Zhou Qi can actually play a better role and make ordinary people live better. Liu Bei's generosity was ultimately based on compromising with the wealthy families.

With compromise, most of the benefits will naturally fall on the wealthy families. Although the people at the bottom also benefit, the benefits will still be divided up a lot.

Zhou Qi is different.

He has the ability and determination to suppress the aristocratic families and allow ordinary people to get real benefits. This is how he has the political leadership and people in Chu State today.

Moreover, the talents under Zhou Qi are far beyond what Liu Bei can match. There are countless internal affairs talents. These people have also greatly promoted the leap-forward development of Chu State.

The more Zhao Yun saw, the more he admired Zhou Qi, and became worried about Liu Bei's future.

Because Zhao Yun knew that with the huge national power of the Chu State, as long as it could develop steadily, the Northern Expedition would definitely be shocking.

At that time, Liu Bei, who only occupied the dilapidated Nanyang County, would be ruthlessly destroyed by the Chu State if he did not choose to surrender.

However, before this trend, Zhao Yun could not do anything.

Zhang He and Gao Lan both saw Zhao Yun's prowess as early as the Battle of Jieqiao. When they followed Tian Feng's instructions, they immediately began to deliberately make friends with Zhao Yun.

Although Zhao Yun is said to be extraordinary in bravery, his fame and official position cannot be compared with those of Zhang and Gao.

Even Zhang He and Gao Lan were able to put down their posture and take the initiative to make friends. Zhao Yun was not an ignorant person and gradually became familiar with the two of them.

During this period, Zhou Qi also completely abandoned his identity as King of Chu, rolled up his sleeves and drank with everyone.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Zhou Qi was already a little tipsy.

He held Jia Xu's shoulders and staggered to the side of Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Zhao Yun, Zhang He, and Gao Lan. He said with some emotion: "I rose from a humble age, and to avenge my grandfather, I killed Pei before I could reach the weak crown." The Prime Minister Wang Ji is in front of everyone."

"Fortunately, Jun Zhengpigu was appointed as a subordinate officer by Weiyang, the commander of the Sili School, so he was exempted from the crime and was fortunate enough to make friends with famous people in the world!"

"It's a pity that Yang Shijun was loyal to the country and wanted to kill all the eunuchs, but he took the eunuch's daughter as a concubine, and was betrayed by someone close to him, and ended up in prison and died."

Speaking of this, Zhou Qi's face was filled with sadness.

"At the beginning, Gu Bian persuaded Yang Shijun to be careful about the women in the house, but he was jealous of him and was eventually forced to resign and leave."

"I never thought that before I left Luoyang, Yang Shijun would really be burdened by the women in his mansion, and he would eventually be imprisoned and die, and his family members would all be exiled to Dunhuang."

"Although Gu resigned from his official position because of Yang Shijun's suspicion, he also deeply felt the kindness of Shijun knowing the situation. He was worried that his family would be harmed by Cao Jie and others, so he pretended to be merchants with Dianjun and Xiang Bode and escorted Shijun's family for thousands of miles. , during which he was actually intercepted and killed by thieves."

"Fortunately, Gai was just and upright, happened to be the governor of Hanyang County, and was not afraid of Cao Jie's power, so the family of Yang Shijun was saved."

Many people have heard about Zhou Qi's early deeds, but this is the first time they heard it told by Zhou Qi himself.

When they learned that Zhou Qi came from a humble background, and in order to avenge his grandfather, he dared to assassinate two thousand officials in the street at a young age, they could not help but feel in awe, even Tian Feng and other civil servants.

This era is not the cowardly Song Dynasty, nor the Ming and Qing Dynasties when Confucianism was castrated, but the last years of the Han Dynasty.

Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deposed hundreds of schools of thought and favored Confucianism, he still retained many of the essence of Confucianism.

According to the thinking of "The Legend of Gongyang": Can the ninth generation still take revenge? Although it lasts for a hundred generations!
The idea of ​​​​great revenge in the Spring and Autumn Period, according to the rules, as long as the hatred is within five lifetimes, you can avenge it, and others can't say anything.

Gongyang’s word “even if it’s a feud for hundreds of generations” refers to national hatred. Gongyang believes that “the shame of the previous king is just like the shame of the current king. The shame of the current king is just like the shame of the previous king.” Revenge can only be avenged for five lifetimes according to the rules.

According to traditional Chinese thinking, one life is thirty years, and one hundred lives is three thousand years.

National hatred can be avenged within three thousand years. If we find a small day to take revenge within three thousand years, it is in line with the rules of the world.

Some later generations talked about the hatred of nine generations, some said the hatred of the tenth generation, and some said the hatred of a hundred generations. In fact, they are not wrong. They all have historical basis.

We talk about the revenge of the ninth generation because in "The Legend of Gongyang" Qi Xianggong asked Gongyang: Can the revenge of the ninth generation still be avenged?
The reason why we talk about hatred for a hundred generations is because in "The Legend of Gongyang" Gongyang replied to Qi Xianggong: Even if it is possible for a hundred generations.

As for what some people say can still be avenged for ten lives, according to online rumors, this sentence came from the mouth of the sage and sage Confucius. The original text is: Gongyang said: "Can the revenge of the ninth generation be avenged?" Confucius said: "The king's way is restored, respect the king and resist the barbarians. The hatred of the tenth generation can still be avenged!"

(PS: This sentence is widely circulated on the Internet. I searched for a long time and couldn't find the real source. I don't know if I didn't find it or if later generations made it up by borrowing from Confucius. Is there anyone who can help me find the original full version? Tell me the source? Thank you!
When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu in the north, he quoted the Gongyang theory to avenge the ninth generation.

Zhou Qi killed Wang Ji to avenge his grandfather, which was also in line with the mainstream thinking of this era.

Zixia asked Confucius: "What is it like to be the enemy of your parents?"

The Master said: "If you sleep on a thatch and pillow on a dry bed and don't hold an official position, you won't be able to share the world with you. When you encounter the various cities and dynasties, you won't rebel and fight."

The translation of Confucius' words is roughly: If you have an official, don't take it. Even if you sleep on a straw mat, you should rest on your shield and always think about revenge. You must carry a weapon when you go out. Even if you encounter an enemy in a busy city or in a government office, you don’t need to think about it. Just use the weapon and do it. Either he dies or I die.

Zhou Qi was drunkenly and chattering. Suddenly the conversation changed. He turned his head and looked at Jia Xu, saying: "I dare not forget about the country's worries because of my humble position. Although I was born in a humble family, I saw that the eunuchs in the world were causing trouble and the people everywhere were in dire straits. The ambition to support the country.”

"I know that Wenhe is a great talent in the world. Although he has no family reputation, he still overestimates his abilities and visits Jia's house with a sense of luck, hoping to get Wenhe's help."

"It's a pity that until Gu left Liangzhou, then fought all the way to the north and south, and finally occupied Yangzhou, he didn't get Wenhe's help!"

Everyone's eyes widened when they heard the allusion about King Chu's three visits to Jia's house, because no one else knew about this matter except the person involved.

At this time, when they learned that Zhou Qi had been rejected by Jia Xu, they all looked at Jia Xu strangely.

Jia Xu, an old coin who has always been around, was sweating on his forehead at this time. Apparently he did not expect that His Highness the King of Chu would actually tell this past incident in public today.

Even though his wisdom is as deep as the sea, he is still panicking at this moment. He doesn't know what King Chu's intention is, so he can only bow with a wry smile: "I was short-sighted in the past and neglected the lord, so I still ask the lord to punish me!"

(End of this chapter)