During the meal, Shang Cheng called Duan Si together, and the three of them gathered around a table full of dishes, talking while eating. In the beginning, they just talked about something from the past. However, when everyone gradually got some wine, the topic inevitably pulled to Yanshan; When it comes to Yanshan, it is naturally impossible to avoid the current Yanshan Admiral Zhuxu.

Shang Cheng hadn't met with Zhu Xu, let alone understood him, so he couldn't make any evaluation of this person. Huo Shiqi said: "I haven't dealt with him a few times. However, listening to Zhang Shao and Sun Huan, in serious comparison, the ability of the generals may be a few points stronger than that of Li Wei, who was the former commander of Yanshan. ”

Shang Cheng felt that this was a very fair evaluation. Zhu Xu and Xiao Jian have been supporting each other for decades, if he is really a mediocre person, how can he become one of the backbone of Xiao Jian's generals? Moreover, those who are good at fighting have no outstanding achievements, although Zhu Xu's own combat exploits are not outstanding, but who can say that Xiao Jian's strict and outstanding exploits are not behind his planning advice? However, it is a pity that this "hero behind the scenes" seems to be a little narrow-minded, and when he encounters doubts and setbacks, he does not use actions to prove himself and win the trust of others, but adopts bad means of standing up, which only makes the contradictions more intensified, and makes everyone look down on him; At the same time, he also completely turned himself into a loner. This has already been reflected, in the letter brought by Uncle Seventeen. The former went to the new official to take over, and there were two or three people who cared about the good of the old boss, and wrote a letter to express their thoughts and communicate their feelings, which was originally normal. But like Yan Shanwei, this situation is very abnormal! At the beginning of the arrival of the new admiral, no scholar of military affairs, the old and the new, rushed to write letters to the old boss, obviously because of the various practices of the order after taking office, which caused public anger, and everyone invariably adopted this method to express their dissatisfaction to the court in disguise. It is conceivable that it is not only that they have received this kind of letter, like Tang Xing and Zhang Pu, they must have also received a lot of letters from Yanshan, and they must have experienced the hard work of the civil and military officials in Yanshan, and the situation in Yanshan was not easy to come by, and it must be cherished......

On the one hand, he was worried about Yan Shanwei's prospects, and on the other hand, he was happy with the obvious changes that Huo Shiqi had shown. According to Uncle Seventeen's previous temperament, he suffered a loss from Zhuxu, and when he saw his face, he would definitely pour bitter water, and by the way, he belittled Zhuxu to nothing, and by no means gave Zhuxu an objective and pertinent evaluation like now. He felt that after staying in the courtyard of the Yanshan Inspection Division for a period of time, and experiencing the before and after the autumn battle, Uncle Seventeen's temperament, mind and conversation had changed a lot. Although the previous seventeenth uncle can be called old, but more than ten years of career as a Xu official has left an indelible mark on him, so his every move will inevitably have traces of sleek and sophisticated. These two characteristics are not shortcomings in themselves, but if you want to make a difference, this is a big taboo, they will make people unconsciously fall into a complex personnel whirlpool, make people unable to persevere, teach people to lose fairness, and ultimately lead to neither serious evaluation of themselves, let alone objective and fair evaluation of others......

After dinner, the bell and drum tower had already sounded the second gong. Shang Cheng and Huo Shiqi went back to the inner study and sat down. Shang Cheng gave his uncle a new cup of tea soup, and he still drank bitter tea.

Huo Shiqi spoke first and asked him, "Are you going to stay in the capital for a long time?" ”

Shang Cheng nodded silently. He lowered his gaze, looked at the tea in his hand, and said with some sadness: "At least wait until Nan Zheng has a clear eyebrow." Or, the situation in Yiyi or the northern Siwei town deteriorated rapidly. I won't be able to leave the capital until then. I'm probably going to be here for years. This means that the best years of his life will probably stay in the city.

Huo Shiqi was very ignorant of military affairs, and said that he knew half of it was flattery, so he was very surprised and said: "How many years does it take for General Xiao to fight the Southern Zhao?" ”

"No one dares to pack a ticket for a war. It may be a year and a half, or it may be a few years or more than ten years. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the whole country was devoted to conquering Goryeo, and tens of millions of people fought back and forth for decades, but what was the result? Goryeo is still alive and well! ”

Huo Shiqi smacked his lips and was silent. The only history book he is familiar with is "Three Kingdoms", and if he doesn't know much about the Sui and Tang dynasties' expeditions to Goryeo, it is difficult to talk. However, he could hear that Shang Cheng was very optimistic about the Southern Expedition, even if he did not assert that the Southern Expedition would definitely fail, but he also expected that the war would not be completed overnight, otherwise he would not have compared the Sui and Tang Expeditions to Goryeo. He was silent for a while, and then said: "When I was resting in Xiangzhou the day before yesterday, I heard that Guo Biao had achieved some great victories in the poor mountains, and what yuan tent white horses were brought back. What's going on? ”

Speaking of Guo Biao's poor mountain victory, Shang Cheng's face showed some smiles. He said happily: "What a poor mountain victory, most of it is Guo Biao who is piling up rhetoric and boasting about his merits. The poor mountain is the hinterland of the grassland, and it is also the location of the ancestral court of the Sudden Exhaustion, and he stepped through the poor mountain, which has little military significance, but it is very important to talk about it politically. The people of Tuqi can't even keep their ancestral court, and they have been plundered by Guo Biao so many things with commemorative value, which proves that the people of Tuqi are just paper tigers, and they can scare people one by one, but they can show their original form with a light poke of their fingers. He was amused by the metaphor of his own image, and looked up and laughed.

Huo Shiqi also laughed. He asked: "Guo Biao is back, which will definitely catch many people off guard." In your opinion, how will the court settle him next? ”

Shang Cheng shook his head and said, "I haven't heard any news yet. He added, "It's too early to talk about it, at least not until after the birthday of the Son of Heaven before it will be put on the agenda of the prime ministers." However, Guo Biao's knighthood is definitely not lower than Zhongshan, and the title will be further advanced by a large margin, at least it is also a pillar country, and it is also possible to go to a pillar country. ”

"Can he still go back to Yanshan?"

"Impossible!" Shang Cheng said firmly. Whether it is from the perspective of maintaining the prestige of the imperial court, or from the perspective of maintaining the situation in Yanshan, it is impossible for the imperial court to arrange Guo Biaozai to serve in Yanshan. Maybe he will be allowed to hold an important position in the Liyuan camp, and maybe he will be able to vacate and adjust a position in the three Wei towns except Yanshan; Of course, the biggest possibility is to transfer him to Jiazhou to participate in the Southern Expedition.

Huo Shiqi nodded. He felt that Guo Biao himself probably wanted to participate in the Southern Expedition as well, so that he could have the opportunity to gain more merits and higher prestige, and only then would he have the opportunity to do more things in the future. He told Shang Cheng about his opinion.

"Quite possibly." Shang Cheng said very succinctly. Then he didn't speak again, but looked at Huo Shiqi, waiting for his next step.

But Huo Shiqi didn't seem to see his focused eyes, and after speaking, he picked up the cup and sipped the tea soup one by one, as if the sentence just now was just a feeling from him, and it was not mixed with any other meaning at all.

Seeing him drinking water with a calm expression, Shang Cheng couldn't help but say a sentence in his heart: Shibei should be impressed in three days! It seems that Uncle Seventeen not only reads "Three Kingdoms" well, but is also trying to adjust his words and deeds according to his reading experience; It's really not easy to do this! After all, many people are just reading books, and they are generally reluctant to spend time thinking about the truth told in the book. Considering Uncle Seventeen's age and experience, this is a very remarkable thing! He asked with some admiration, "Uncle, do you have any new plans?" If so, can you tell me about it? ”

"I want to resign from the military." Huo Shiqi said.

"Why did you quit the military?" Shang Cheng asked him strangely, "Isn't it the same way to do things in the army?" ”

"It's different." Huo Shiqi shook his head and said, "My family knows my own affairs, and I know my own problems. You see, since I was transferred to the military, my big and small mistakes have not been broken, and I can't stand the rules between the military at all...... "Of course, this is only one of the reasons. More importantly, he didn't know anything about military affairs, and he couldn't make a staff officer to make a suggestion with the rank of general, and he could only sit like a wooden carved clay statue when he attended a military meeting, and he couldn't say anything; Not to mention anything about personally leading troops to fight. In the past year, he has also read a lot of military books, but he can memorize the entire book, and he still can't say anything when he has a meeting, he can't combine books with military affairs! Alas, it seems that he really has no talent in military affairs. However, he is not yet forty years old this year, and when he is still in the prime of life, he has to guard a pile of account books in the camp tent to endure the years, which is also a kind of torture......

Shang Cheng opened his mouth and listened to Huo Shiqi's words in surprise. Ah, if Uncle Seventeen hadn't said it himself, he would never have noticed such a thing! He felt guilty, but he didn't know how to express his apologies, so he asked him: "Then what are your plans after you resign from the military?" ”

"It's still the idea that Lao Shen of the Yan Bo Division of the Ministry of Industry gave me." Huo Shiqi said. His face suddenly flushed a little, and he paused before continuing, "You probably know that from this year, the Ministry of Industry will start to vigorously promote new farm tools and new methods in various states and counties......

Shang Cheng nodded, and his expression gradually became solemn.

Huo Shiqi didn't notice the change in his face and continued: "...... It is also necessary to build water conservancy in various places. After all, I have the reputation of being proficient in agricultural affairs, and after resigning from the army, I can find a job in the Ministry of Industry. He paused again, as if he didn't know what to say. Yan Shanwei where new farming tools and new methods have been promoted, after this autumn, some people began to erect the shrine of the Martian father-in-law in the field in the shape of the shrine of the father-in-law of the land, and the father-in-law of Mars refers to him one by one, he allows the hard-working people to harvest half more grain every year, and people use this way to express their gratitude to him. But every time he saw the Huo Xing Temple on the ridge of the field and the Huo Xing Temple side by side with the Land Ancestral Hall, he was ashamed and ashamed...... He swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva before he barely opened his mouth and said, "I want to do something real......

Shang Cheng frowned tightly and didn't speak for a long time. He held the teacup and swallowed the bitter tea one by one. This tea is boiled with raw tea that he bought in a tea shop in the capital, because there are several processes missing, so the bitterness of the leaves is very strong, and it is also a little astringent. Only after swallowing all the tea can you slowly feel the fragrance of the tea under your tongue. But in any case, bitter tea is always better than tea soup. A tea soup with ginger and shallots and a mess of various condiments, can it still be considered tea?

Three gongs rang out in the distance. The third watch has arrived. There was a movement in the courtyard, and then there was a short password for the change of guard to be handed over. The sound of sighing and agitation on the roof jumped from one end to the other, and something seemed to run quickly on the tiles, followed by a very imposing cat meow, and the squeak and wail of the mouse that had not escaped the disaster, and then silence was restored......

He put down the empty porcelain cup, picked up the teapot to fill it, and casually refilled it for Huo Shiqi. Seeing that the ginger and green onions at the bottom of the pot were tumbling and sinking with the water, he reacted. Seeing that Huo Shiqi picked up the lamp and drank it indifferently, he smiled and said, "Uncle, you plan to work in the Ministry of Engineering, are you sure about this?" ”

"Six or seven points sure." Huo Shiqi said. "I'm not from a Jinshi background, if I resign from the military and become a civilian official, I will be demoted, and even if someone helps me speak, it will be at most the seventh grade or the sixth grade. Referring to the rank of the knight, I may be able to reach the sixth grade. One by one, but this rank is very embarrassing in the six departments, high is not low, higher than Lang Zhong is higher than Si Cao, so he can only be a deputy. That's why I'm worried about raising the knighthood to see if I can use the Founding Earl's position to make a career in the Ministry of Industry. In addition, I took Lao Shen's letter to Zhai Shangshu of the Ministry of Works, a letter sent by Lu to Tang Xiangguo, and a letter written by Zhou Xuewen to his teacher, who was now a scholar of the Ministry of Rites......"

Shang Cheng didn't know what to say. There is a very important matter, which Uncle Seventeen did not mention. Not only did he not mention it, but he also kept talking about what preparations he had made, and told him one by one that he was trying to gain an advantage from Wupinlang...... Why didn't he talk about his disadvantages? Doesn't he know that he is not from a Jinshi background, even if he is a Langzhong in the Ministry of Labor this time, it is impossible to be promoted in the future? Moreover, as long as there are major personnel adjustments in the future, he will definitely be the first to be singled out for review and evaluation, even if he does things well, there is a high probability that he will resign. No way, who made his "diploma" not too hard?

He pondered for a long time and asked, "Uncle, can you change the yamen to do things?" For example, what about going to the military department? In order to make Huo Shiqi change his mind, he also analyzed a lot of benefits, such as Huo Shiqi's early years in the Yamen of Yixian County, he worked in the military department and was familiar with this industry; The status of the Ministry of War in the six ministries is much higher than that of the Ministry of Industry; In addition, in recent years, the imperial court may have used troops abroad, and there are more opportunities for promotion in the military department than in other yamen; And he can also help Huo Shiqi say something in the military department. The most important thing is that the military department is different from other big yamen, because there is a "paper soldier" Zhao Kuo as a negative teaching material, so it is not very important to pay attention to "diplomas" here; Therefore, Huo Shiqi's status as a person will not be an excuse for others to target him.

His kindness was rejected by Huo Shiqi. Huo Shiqi said matter-of-factly: "If I go to the military department to work, why should I resign from the army? What's more, what is the difference between working in the military department and working in Yanshan? I'm not the same as having to deal with books. I just wanted to do something I could. You know, I'm a foolish person, but in fact, I'm a showman, what else can I do except the paperwork in the yamen? I can only teach people how to use new farming tools and new methods, and I can also talk about farmland and water conservancy. He smiled self-deprecatingly. Fortunately, when he was in Yanshan, he had a lot of dealings with Lu Ji and Zhou Xiang, and now he can also pretend to be an expert in farmland and water conservancy. ”

Uncle Seventeen's attitude was very resolute, and Shang Cheng couldn't say anything more. But he didn't know where to start for a while, so he had to pick up the lamp and drink water again.

Huo Shiqi saw that he frowned and kept drinking bitter tea, even if he didn't agree with his entry into the Ministry of Industry, he also felt a little surprised. He suddenly remembered that Shang Cheng seemed to have something important to say to himself before dinner. Could it be that there is a connection between these two things? So he asked, "Do you think it's inappropriate for me to enter the Ministry of Works?" ”

"Yes." Shang Cheng said bluntly.

"Why?"

“…… The things that the Ministry of Industry is preparing to do are the promotion of new agricultural tools and new methods, which is very troublesome, and there may be big mistakes, which will affect many people. Maybe there will be dead people. Dead a lot of people. Shang Cheng said very seriously.

Huo Shiqi was taken aback by his words. He couldn't understand why the promotion of new farming tools and practices could be linked to the dead man's affairs. But he believed that Shang Cheng was definitely not alarmist, let alone trying to prevent him from resigning from the military through such statements. His trust in Shang Cheng is unconditional! Since Shang Cheng said that there will be a big mistake in this matter and there will be death, then there will definitely be death!

"What the hell is going on?" He asked Shang Cheng.

"Have you ever heard of the Shang Yang Reform?"

Huo Shiqi nodded and shook his head. He had heard about Shang Ying's change, but it was in the tea garden of Yanzhou listening to Sang Aiai's big book. He could only say that he knew that there was such an incident, and then the Qin State became the strongest country among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States. But he didn't know what kind of process Shang Ying's transformation was.

It doesn't matter if he doesn't know. Shang Cheng's study has "Historical Records", and you can turn out "The Biography of Shang Jun" to explain to him while reading.

In this way, Shang Cheng began to teach him lessons from Shang Ying's reform, from Shang Yang to Wu Qi, and then to Wang Mang. Then from the reform to the current situation faced by Zhang Pu, the struggle for imperial power between the Emperor of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty and the prime ministers, and then to the illness of the crown prince and the dispute between the prince of Chengdu and the king of Jinan......

The two of them kept talking until the next day, when it was daylight. Shang Cheng had already said that his mouth was dry, his throat was astringent, and he was so tired that his eyelids were fighting. But Huo Shiqi was in good spirits. This was the first time in his life that he had seen such a magnificent scroll of history, and it was also the first time in his life that he stood at an unprecedented height to look down on the entire Great Zhao, and Shang Cheng's words made his chest fluctuate. When he pushed open the door of the main hall to greet the rising sun, the warm golden glow was sprinkled on his face, and a sense of pride and ambition that he had never felt before arose in his heart:

Comparing it with "The Biography of Shang Jun" one by one, what is the founding uncle? What can be considered in the Ministry of Works?

He then felt a little frustrated. He wasn't even a founding uncle, so what should he do?

He felt that he should think about it, think about it carefully, think about it seriously......