Great Han Empire

Chapter 399 The Biography of the Great Han Empire - Zhu Sheng Biography ([-])
Biographies of the Records of the Great Han Empire
Author: Scarlet Coral
Biography of Zhusheng Eight
Jiangnan Scholar (8)

"Are you going to Liangzhou?" Zhu Jun was slightly taken aback, and asked noncommittally, "It's in chaos, what are you going there for?"

Li Wei said confidently: "Liangzhou connects the Western Regions, Sanfu and Yizhou, and is an important place in the world. If Xiliang is flat, the Western Regions will be smooth, and Si and Yi will be safe; if Xiliang is chaotic, it will not only be the Western Regions. Bao, Si, and Yi are also in danger. Sili is the most fertile land in the world, and Yizhou is the land of the ancestor Longxing, known as the Mansion of Heaven. If these two places are not protected, the Han Dynasty will not be protected. Coolness is very important. In the past few months, students have been reading "On the Latent Fu" with the teacher, and they have deeply felt the mystery in it, especially the three theories of saving the edge, strengthening the edge, and discussing the edge. The best policy." Seeing Zhu Jun nod slightly in approval, Li Wei went on to say, "Students are greatly inspired, but as the saying goes, seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. The student intends to enter Xiliang as a small official, to investigate on the ground, In the future, Liangzhou will be settled as a paving stone, and I hope the teacher will do it." After finishing speaking, he bowed generously.

Zhu Jun was overjoyed, he stepped forward to help Li Wei, and said with a smile: "Okay, Zhong Yuan, my teaching is not in vain, a man should really aim in all directions. You have this ambition, and I am very pleased for the Normal University. However, the current situation in Liangzhou It's complicated and very dangerous, I think it's better for you to join the army with your Senior Brother Sun to participate in military affairs?"

"Mr. Xie is concerned, but marching and fighting is definitely not the student's specialty. Does this mean that the northern army can support an idler?" Li Wei repeatedly shook his head, "Besides, if you join the army, you will not be able to go deep into the people of Liangzhou, and you will not be able to experience many situations personally. The meaning of the student's entry into the cold is greatly lost. The student is still willing to be a small official."

"That's as you said, but now there is still a little left to edit the Theory of Qianfu, I want you to bring it to Liangzhou after it is completed, and hand it over to my teacher's son Wang Jian for me, which is worthy of my old friend Please." Zhu Jun said with a smile, "Don't worry too much, just spend a new year in Luoyang, and then go to the cold after the new year, how about it?"

"Yes, the students are all arranged by the teacher." Although Li Wei said it was generous, he still couldn't let go of these good brothers and friends in Luoyang.And the one who couldn't let go was Xiao Lan, who felt a little ecstatic to be able to spend more time together now.

When everyone heard about Li Wei, they were very reluctant to part with it, so in addition to concentrating on studying, they also increased the number of gatherings in the following days.Together, everyone visits the scenic spots around Luoyang, climbs high and looks far away, points out the mountains and rivers, and the joy does not know how time passes.

In the second year of Zhongping in the Han Dynasty (AD 186), on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, outside the north gate of Luoyang, a group of people saw off Li Wei who was about to enter Liang.

Xiao Lan cried all night last night, and didn't go to sleep until five o'clock, and finally didn't come to see him off together. Xie Ming didn't know what date he went on, and he didn't show up either.Li Wei said goodbye to everyone, Zhu Jun patted Li Wei on the shoulder: "Zhongyuan, go to Liangzhou and do a good job. Your boss, Fu Xie, Fu Nanrong, the prefect of Hanyang, is very decent even though he is feared in official circles. As long as you don't take money and break the law, or eat a vegetarian meal on the corpse, you don't have to be afraid of him. You can also ask him some more essentials of "Tun Fu Lun" when you arrive at the residence of Prince Jian Wang of Anding County. Although he is a bit indifferent and noble, Knowledge is still high. Remember to write more letters back.”

Li Wei thanked Zhu Jun, said goodbye to everyone, and then boarded the car and started on the road.Riding in the car, I looked at the majestic city gate of Luoyang reluctantly.I have only been in Luoyang for ten months, but I have experienced things and met almost more people than in the past 19 years, and I also have a relationship that will last a lifetime.Luoyang, this royal city in my dream, when will I be able to return to your embrace. "Ah!" Li Wei suddenly discovered that on the Luoyang city tower, there was a slim white figure, waving desperately, as if shouting something.Li Wei's eyes are moist, Xiao Lan, even if Xiliang is a sea of ​​swords and fire, and there are thousands of troops ahead, I will go back to Luoyang to marry you, who in the world can stop me!

The car drove very fast, and after a while, the huge Luoyang City had become a small black spot in the distance. Li Wei picked up a roll of bamboo slips and was just about to pass some time by reading, when he heard "Stop, stop" coming from outside the car. " shouted, Li Wei looked out of the car, and saw Xie Ming riding a horse coming from behind, and hurriedly told the coachman to stop.Xie Ming ran up and didn't say much, and ordered the coachman to harness his horse to the cart, threw the burden and sword on his back into the cart, and quickly jumped into the cart, dusting off the dirt on his clothes. Dust, sitting upright, ignored Li Wei's stunned expression, and ordered the coachman to set off.

"Lianzhi, what do you want to do? You don't need to bring any burdens to see me off." Li Weiqi said,
Xie Ming: "Hehe, yes, of course I'm here to see you off, but I'm going to send you to Xiliang, so of course I need to prepare some outfits."

Li Wei suddenly found out that his seemingly elegant friend was actually an unreasonable guy on the inside, so he had to smile wryly: "That's really hard work."

"My brother, why are you being polite?" Xie Ming took out a feather fan from nowhere and shook it, "I have long wanted to travel to Xiliang, and this trip just happened to happen, and I can still be with Zhong Yuan on the way, wouldn't it kill two birds with one stone? ?”

With Xie Ming in the company, the two of them talked by hand, watched mountains and rivers, or debated classics and history, which was really enjoyable.Sili is the most developed area in the Han Dynasty. From Luoyang, the capital city, to Chang'an, the western capital, passing through Henan Yin, Hongnong County, and Jingzhaoyin County, they are all densely populated places.There are often markets and villages on both sides of the road for more than ten miles. The road is bustling with pedestrians, vehicles and horses, and there are often congestions when passing the fork, so they often have to stop and wait. Many small vendors set up stalls beside the road to attract people. Come and go.Although it is only early spring, there is still some bleakness of winter everywhere, but you can already see the spring plowing farmers working in the fields in groups of three or four, a scene of peace and prosperity.

Xie Ming shook his feather fan and said with emotion: "The big man is only in the land of thousands of miles in Sili, and he looks like a heavenly dynasty."

"If even the land of the three assistants is in chaos, will the people still have a place to live in the big man?" Li Wei said with a smile, "Since the founding of the country by the big man, Sili has lived in the world. ) benefits, the tiger prison, the danger of Tongguan, the people live in peace, the fertile land is thousands of miles away, and thousands of merchants gather. But there is an old saying that the world will be settled if the three assistants are equal, but when the world is in chaos, the three assistants must first receive troops."

Xie Ming pointed to the west, "Zhong Yuan, you are right. Now the disaster is coming from the west. If the two thieves from Hanbian cannot be put down within a year, and they invade the two counties of Zuo Fufeng and Zuo Fengling, threatening Chang'an, the rich and happy Si The Land of the State, shall cease to exist."

"That's right, but I think the ant thieves in Hebei have been leveled out now, and I think the imperial court will send elites from all over the country to exterminate the thieves in Liangzhou." Li Wei said optimistically.

Xie Ming sighed after hearing this: "Zhongyuan, you are thinking too simply. Why is Liangzhou so unstable? Although there are many reasons, the most important one is the disaster of the Qiang people. , Whether it is killing or appeasement, almost any method has been used. But the Qiang people are still rebellious. This time, Xiliang has Han scholars and powerful people joining the rebellion, and the form is more complicated. I am afraid that relying on the power of the court alone has It's powerless, unless..."

"Unless it's the Hebei leopard, don't make him a general." Seeing that Xie Ming was a little unconvinced, Li Wei smiled, "Of course I also know how powerful this black panther is. Killing ant thieves with 20 soldiers is hardly under Huangfu's command. But even if Li Hong has the ability of Wu Qi and Le Yi, and can lead troops into Liang, he can only fight against Liang, unless he can take the Qiang in Liangzhou. Kill all the people, otherwise the focus of Pingliang is to rule after the war, not to fight." Xie Ming nodded slightly, as if he had realized something.

Chang'an is the only city in the world that can be as famous as Luoyang.

After the Han Dynasty moved eastward, the political center of the Han Dynasty moved from Chang'an to Luoyang, but it did not reduce Chang'an's status as an economic center at all.When the dynasty was at its strongest, Chang'an not only brought together merchants from the Central Plains, Bashu, Hebei, Jiangnan, and the Western Regions, but also guests from the distant Da Yuezhi, Anxi, Shendu, and even the legendary Daqin Kingdom. It is the thoroughfare of the world, with an unprecedented grand occasion.Although the situation in Xiliang has been corrupted since Emperor Xiaohuan, and the road to the Western Regions has gradually been cut off, Chang'an's business is still full of vitality.After passing Baling, there is a stone road that is wide enough for eight carriages to go straight to Chang'an City. The road is full of traffic, and there are many stone beast statues from the pre-Han and even the pre-Qin. Although it is a city, it still vaguely has the aura of imperial dominance.

Li Wei was admiring the scenery on both sides of the avenue, and suddenly saw a group of people gathered in front of him, who seemed to be watching something, and suddenly found that Xie Ming had jumped out of the carriage at some point and ran over to join in the fun.

Li Wei got out of the car and came to the crowd. After a closer look, it turned out that a person had passed out by the side of the road. He was extremely thin, wearing a shabby Confucian cloth robe, lying on the ground, not knowing whether he was alive or dead. .The two separated from the crowd and went forward to help the man up, only to see a young man in his early twenties with a blue face, Xie Ming probed the man's breath, took the pulse, and said to Li Wei: "It seems to be I'm hungry and faint, help me into the car."

The two helped the man into the carriage, pried open the man's mouth and poured half a jug of shochu in, only to hear the man "cough, cough" and opened his eyes, Li Wei hurriedly took out a box of food for him, The man was obviously very hungry, so he was not polite, thanked him with his hand, and ate it after taking it.After taking a few mouthfuls, he stopped suddenly, divided the remaining food in half, took out a towel from his arms, wrapped half of it in his arms, and then continued to eat.Li and Xie looked at each other in astonishment, but it was inconvenient to ask questions. After the man had finished eating, Xie Ming asked: "Brother, these foods are not much, why don't you eat them all?"

The man wiped his mouth, bowed respectfully, and said: "Thank you two gentlemen for saving your life, I will repay you someday. The villain's surname is Xu Mingling, and his name is Boyu. His ancestors were from Kuaiji, Yangzhou, and later he followed his father to the right I lived in Fufeng. At the beginning, the villain was a businessman and made a lot of money. Later, he wanted to study, so he went to Luoyang. However, he was unable to enter the Imperial Academy after spending all his money. Later, he was tricked into making money, so he stopped here. I wanted to go back. I was visiting my old mother in the village, but I fainted here after not eating rice for three days. This place is very close to my hometown, and I have been away from home for several years. I don’t know how my mother is, so I want to bring some food back to my mother.”

The big man ruled the world with filial piety, and filial piety is the most important thing. When the two heard that they were still filial sons, they immediately respected him. Li Wei said: "Brother Xu, you might as well eat the other half first, I am preparing a portion for you at Lingtang. After finishing speaking, he gave the money to the driver and asked him to park the car on the side of the road and go to the store to buy some dry food and dried meat.Xu Ling thanked him again and again, ate the rest of the food and drank the remaining half pot of shochu, and his whole body was refreshed.The three exchanged their first and last names, and chatted. Xu Ling heard that both of them had passed the number of classics, and he was in awe: "I heard that the examination of classics in Luoyang Taixue is extremely difficult. Many well-known Confucian scholars in the local area I can’t pass, I’m really envious and admired that you two have such knowledge.”

"Brother Xu has won the prize, but since you are a businessman, why did you abandon business to study?" Xie Ming asked

"Hey, it's hard to say." Xu Ling showed bitterness, "Although the big man is not restricted to trade, but after the self-esteem of Confucianism, he thinks that businessmen do not keep their homeland and are a lowly profession. Therefore, the status of merchants in this dynasty has become extremely low, compared with the pre-Qin period. The time difference is far away. Although the merchants seem to be sitting on the wealth of the world, they are actually exhausted, and half of their income has to pay various miscellaneous taxes. Nowadays, the world loves money very much, and the exploitation of merchants is becoming more and more serious. Take care, if you are a businessman today, if you don't have a good eye, even if you have Bai Gui and Yi Dun's talents, you will still be struggling to make ends meet."

Both Li and Xie were born scholars, and it was the first time they had heard of such businessmen's remarks, so they quietly waited for Xu Ling's next words.

"My father suffered a lot from it, so before he died, he asked me to leave the lowly business of farming. His old man wanted me to use the money to go to Luoyang to buy an official position. But I was young and vigorous at that time, how could I be willing to do such a thing? So I brought my daughter to Luoyang to study. At first, I didn’t know how to do it, and spent a lot of money. Later, I realized that Luoyang Taixue usually only recruits the children of scholars, and it is very difficult for ordinary children to enroll, let alone a businessman like me. But I didn't give up, and I persisted for several years, and finally spent all my money. I wanted to buy a carriage and return home, but when I picked up the carriage, I was knocked out by the owner, and when I woke up, I was gone. No one accepted it, so I was rescued by the two of you." Xu Ling couldn't help crying when he spoke of his grief and anger.

Li and Xie booed each other, and for a moment they didn't know what to say to comfort the unfortunate businessman's son, but Xu Ling got rid of his grief and indignation first, and began to tell the two of them about the time when they were doing business in the past. Their interesting experiences and the local conditions and customs of different places opened their eyes again.When talking about the situation in the Western Regions, Li Wei asked curiously: "Could it be that in the west of the Western Regions, there really are Kangju, Dayue, Rest in Peace countries?"

"Of course, not only that, but I heard from an Anxi businessman in the Western Regions that there is another world to the west of their country. There is a powerful country called Daqin, and there are many small countries. My previous ambition was to go to those countries. Go open up business routes." Speaking of this, Xu Ling's face became gloomy again, "I didn't expect to be so depressed today, it seems that this life is hopeless."

Li Wei hurriedly persuaded: "Brother Xu can be so depressed. Mencius Yuntian will be entrusted with great responsibility. He must first suffer from his heart, his muscles and bones, and his body. I think Brother Xu has great ambitions, how can he do it?" The temporary setback has worn down the willpower, and Zhongyuan has no money left, so he is willing to give Brother Xu a good horse today, and he can get 10,000+ money if he sells it, so as to help Brother Xu make a comeback, what does Brother Xu think?"

Xu Ling quickly declined, but Li Wei insisted on delivering it. Soon after the coachman came back from buying grain, Li Wei ordered the coachman to untie a horse, put the grain on the horse's back, and hand over the reins to Xu Ling. Xu Ling knew that he could not refuse, so he knelt down. He didn't say much, kowtowed three times, got on his horse and left.Li Wei looked at the back of the far away, sighing endlessly, Xie Ming stayed for a while, then suddenly clapped his hands and laughed: "I really didn't come in vain, if it wasn't for me, I am afraid that Zhongyuan has no horses, so I have to carry the letter to the west." It's cold." The two looked at each other and laughed.

After passing Chang'an, Zuo Fengling and Anding County in Xiliang are just around the corner.Since leaving Sili and entering Liangzhou, the number of vehicles, horses and pedestrians on the road has decreased significantly, and both sides of the road have become more and more desolate.Li Xie and the two of them felt drowsy when they saw the yellow grass on the earth and mountains all day long. Suddenly they heard the coachman's "ahhh", they stretched their heads to look, and saw four strong men standing in the middle of the road with their hands in their hands. They all held axes and knives that seemed to be used for chopping wood and trees, and their expressions were not friendly. It was clear at a glance their intentions. They were the heroes who did business without capital!

(End of this chapter)