【Departure from Songshan】

Emperor Liu Hong read Lu Zhi's recital, remembered that he had made meritorious contributions to quelling the Southern Barbarians in Jiujiang County, and because of his profound literary attainments, he agreed to all of Lu Zhi's requests, appointed Lu Zhi as the speaker, and participated in the collation of Confucian classics with Cai Yong.

"Master, let's go." The master and apprentice sorted out all the necessities in the school, what they carried, what they carried, what they held in their hands, everything was ready, and the three of them were about to leave this reading school. Turn around and see, this place has left many good memories for everyone, here is everything they have, reading, working, living, dark night, quiet and serene, they all belonged here, their ups and downs, their stumbling and falling, their pain and suffering, their enthusiasm, their courage, all carved a deep imprint on this Song Mountain. Maybe in the days to come, everything here, even if it is the ordeal experienced, still seems so beautiful in comparison, after all, everyone is in the teenage years, the relationship between each other is so simple, will not be mixed by many interests, now is about to leave, no one is reluctant to leave in my heart, once I leave here, it means that we will usher in a new life, the challenge of the heart, the future life, full of countless possibilities, there will be countless dangers, there will be countless opportunities, a long road, In the end, it is up to me to master it slowly, as Qu Yuan said, the road is long, and I will go up and down to seek.

Liu Bei had already sent a letter to his family a few days ago, telling his family that everything was fine with Deran, and that he and Deran were going to go to Luoyang with the teacher, so they would not have to send living expenses to themselves and Deran in the future, because with the help of the teacher, the imperial court would also pay them "wages".

To tell the truth, Liu Bei and the two left Zhuo County to study in Songshan for a long time, and the situation at home was also known through the living expenses and tuition fees sent by Liu Yuanqi from time to time, Liu Deran's parents are all right, but Liu Bei's mother, who works hard at home during the day and stays alone in the empty room at night, is simply taking her life as a mortgage for this family, and Liu Yuanqi's letter also mentioned that Liu's mother was in poor health due to overwork, but later the letter said that Liu's mother has recovered, asked Liu Bei not to worry about the situation at home in Songshan, and in view of this, Liu Bei also dispelled the idea of going home.

At this time, the master and apprentice found an ox cart at the bottom of the mountain, loaded their luggage onto the ox cart, and set off in a leisurely manner......

The destination of this trip is Luoyang, Kyoto, to be honest, Liu Bei yearns for Luoyang from the heart, as the largest metropolis in the world, and at the foot of the Son of Heaven, it must be extremely prosperous, and the barren land of his hometown is naturally incomparable. As a child from a poor family, it is already a very rare thing to be able to go far away from the land, let alone go to a place like Kyoto, a big city, and see the world, not only that, but also to expand your knowledge of the world, make more friends, and have a higher pursuit of yourself.

When Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty Liu Xiu established power, he chose to build the capital in Luoyang for his own reasons. In the last years of Xinmang, frequent droughts and Wang Mang's mistakes in reform caused large-scale social turmoil. The perennial war and the riots of the red eyebrows made Chang'an, the capital of the Han Dynasty, become 'the people are hungry and cannibalistic, hundreds of thousands of people died, Chang'an is in ruins, and there are no pedestrians in the city. At the same time, the surrounding ethnic minorities saw the civil strife in the Han Dynasty and wanted to participate in the struggle for the Central Plains regime, the most prominent of which was the Xiongnu policy of the Lu Fang regime, which was the objective reason why Emperor Guangwu decided to move the capital to Luoyang.

Of course, there are still subjective reasons for this, which is the change of the concept of the times. The concept of the times can be understood as the common preferences or values of the Chinese people, and the concepts of the times of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty are completely different.

Gaozu Liu Bang since the establishment of the capital in Chang'an, after Emperor Hui, Emperor Wen, Emperor Jing, Emperor Wu's early stage, the time is as long as five generations, under the threat of the powerful Xiongnu in the north, they work hard, Taoguang Yang, with the enhancement of national strength, in the middle and late period of Emperor Wu, it launched a full-scale war between the Han and Hungary in one fell swoop, Emperor Wu opened up the territory with great fanfare, not only restored the territory of the Qin Dynasty, but also set up four counties in Hexi, hollowed out the Western Regions, the territory of the Han Dynasty far exceeded the previous generation, this can be described as a lifetime, this spirit is also a strong spirit.

Since Emperor Wu adopted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion and deposed Confucianism, Confucianism has become the orthodox ideology of the country, but Emperor Wu himself was also a person of Confucianism and Confucianism, and the period of Emperor Wu was also a transitional period between Taoism and Confucianism, so the substantive development of Confucianism has not been as consolidated as its status. In the period of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, due to the fact that Emperor Yuan was less good at Confucianism, and ascended the throne, requisitioned Confucianism, entrusted him to the government, and Gong, Xue, and Kuang Die were the prime ministers, and Wen Yi was restrained. Confucian culture has developed unprecedentedly, and since then, the Chinese people have been impregnated with Confucianism, and their thinking has changed from pioneering to conservative. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, a group of heroes were close to Confucianism, and under this concept of the times, the style of the Eastern Han Dynasty was naturally very different from that of the Western Han Dynasty.

After Emperor Guangwu established power, he returned to his hometown Nanyang, and feasted his hometown fathers, and the mothers of the clan said to Liu Xiu: "Uncle Wen was faithful when he was young, and he did not make any music with others, but he was straight and soft-eared, and he can do so today." Emperor Guangwu laughed and said: "I am in charge of the world, and I also want to practice judo." "Of course, Emperor Guangwu did the same. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the northern Xiongnu once invaded the Han Dynasty, and Liu Xiu moved the people to avoid the foreign front, although it was quite similar to the Western Han Dynasty, but the Western Han Dynasty was an expedient measure, and the Eastern Han Dynasty was the end of the dynasty. Under this kind of emphasis on conservatism, moving the capital to Luoyang is also a subjective demand.

Liu Bei has been looking at the surrounding environment on the road, on the way through, you can see everywhere is a large grange established by a powerful landlord, the establishment of this kind of grange will be different due to the different geographical terrain and the appearance will be different, but its general skeleton is the same, the area is large, the surrounding is piled up by a solid city wall, the whole formation of a fortress structure, as a place of operation, it is unique, there is water, land and population; As a place of defense, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack, with a moat and strong walls and desperate soldiers. Liu Bei said casually: "Teacher, there are so many such granges nowadays. ”

Lu Zhi frowned, looked in the direction Liu Bei was looking at, and suddenly sighed again: "This kind of grange is the form of exploitation of peasants by powerful landlords, the grange is large, covers a wide area, contains mountains, forests, rivers and rivers, and the landlord grows crops in it, so that it can be self-sufficient and does not need additional external supplies." On the grange, the exploiters and laborers often live in clusters, with a strong feudal and patriarchal color, and most of the poor clan relatives of the landlord become laborers of the landlord's grange, and of course include the landlord's guests, apprentices and slaves. ”

Liu Bei still stared at the grange not far away: "These landlords still have their own army, and they are undoubtedly an independent kingdom." Liu Bei was extremely shocked at this time, under the rule of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were so many small regimes, which would undoubtedly weaken the central ruling power, if these heroes were not removed, how could the country prosper? It is no wonder that Emperor Xiaowu of the Han Dynasty wanted to crack down on the local heroes and the powerful people in the world, and this is the reason why they moved the world.

"Yes, the landlord Grange also has its own family soldiers, composed of dependent peasants, who practice military training in the slack time, take care of the landlord's home and yard in peacetime, patrol and guard, and go out to fight with the powerful landlord in wartime...... Sometimes, they use this to blackmail local governments and resist government decrees. Lu Zhi sneered: "The formation of these granges already has a certain historical foundation, and if the central government wants to knife them, I'm afraid it's not so simple!" ”

Liu Deran listened to Lu Zhi's words at this time, so he also interjected: "It's too unbelievable, when I was in Songshan before, I only knew that there were many malpractices of the government, but I didn't expect it to come to this point, governing a country does involve inextricable relationships, and once these relationships are not handled well, the results will often be unimaginable." ”

"Teacher, how do you think this phenomenon should be managed?" Liu Bei asked on a whim, although he didn't know why he asked this kind of question at this time, as if this kind of question was too far away from himself, but Liu Bei knew that as long as this kind of grange existed for a day, neither the court nor the people would have a good life.

Lu Zhi stared at Liu Bei at this time, and only said a sentence for a long time: "Eradicate the forces of foreign relatives, eliminate the power of eunuchs, and suppress the bureaucratic class." When Lu Zhi said this, he seemed to be startled, this sentence was too bold, because in terms of the current political situation, if you oppose relatives, eunuchs, and scholars, you will almost oppose the entire Eastern Han Dynasty.

Liu Bei and Liu Deran didn't notice the teacher's abnormality, and asked at this time: "Aren't these three forces all the forces in the court now, all of them are abolished, who should they rely on?" ”

Lu Zhi said: "If you can, you can rely on the cold door." ”

"Cold? Hanmen has no power, and it is not very difficult to rely on them to deal with the existing forces! As soon as Liu Deran heard Mr. Lu Zhi's assertion, he felt that this method must not be feasible, the road is difficult, and there may be a danger of death.

"Indeed, it is impossible for the family to give up its vested interests no matter what, and the eunuch has no roots, plucking him is equivalent to killing him, the power of foreign relatives is the emperor's relatives and relatives, without the permission of the emperor and the queen mother, who dares to risk the disapproval of the world?" Liu Bei looked at Lu Zhi, hoping that Teacher Lu Zhi could solve his doubts.

"During the Warring States Period, the countries fought frequently, the strong were strong, the weak were dead, in order to survive, all countries changed the law, Wei had Li Kui to change the law, Chu had Wu Qi to change the law, Zhao had Zhao Wuling King to change the law, and Qin had Shang Ying's change, what is the change, that is, the internal reform, based on the peaceful change under the existing regime, the early change of the Wei State was successful, which is why he became the first power in the early Warring States period; The changes of Chu and Zhao began to be vigorous, but the result was either the collapse of the middle way or incomplete; Qin is located in the western corner, the people are poor and the country is weak, but since the Shang Dynasty method, it has become thorough and deep-rooted, which is why Qin was able to catch up with and surpass other countries in the middle and late Warring States period. It can be seen that the internal reform should either not be, but if it is to be reformed, it must be thorough, eternal, persevering, and consistent. ”

"Indeed, this is the principle that reform must be adhered to, but reform must also have a strong talent to be able to implement it to the end, Qin State Shang Yang is an iron-fisted politician, and the internal reform measures of Emperor Wu of our dynasty also show the tough attitude and iron-fisted methods of Emperor Wu, is there such a person in my dynasty now?" Liu Bei didn't know why Lu Zhi wanted to talk about this, and when he saw him mention it, he followed it on. Of course, some things don't dare to say, the current emperor, who is in the deep palace all the year round, is raised in the hands of women, has a weak personality, has no opinions, and how can he be tough; Moreover, if you have been with eunuchs all the year round, how can you be far-sighted, judging from the current situation, reform is almost empty talk.

"There is such a minister in our dynasty, just like the current Huangfu Song, who is benevolent and prudent, faithful, strategic, and courageous. But the minister is not counted, and the disadvantage of my court is that there is no such monarch. Lu Zhi deliberately lowered his voice when he said the last sentence.

"What if the reform fails?" Liu Bei brought the topic back on track.

Lu Zhi closed his eyes and sighed deeply: "Do your best, the central Han family, this is the teacher's expectation of you, and it can be regarded as the teacher's request for you." ”

【Homecoming】

"Uncle Li, let's go!" Su Xue watched Liu Bei and their ox cart go away in the carriage, and then closed the curtain.

"Miss, you're in tears!" Steward Li looked at Su Xue's tears, and was very distressed in his heart: "Since Miss can't let go, why don't you bravely pursue the person you love?" ”

"There are many unavoidable places in the world, and how can you do what you want, and be with the person you love, it is naturally a very beautiful thing, but, is this a happy ending for him, he has great ambitions, helping the people, and the Zhongxing Han family is his lifelong dream, what I can do now is to support him silently behind the scenes, when he needs help, I can appear in time, this is what I should do!" Su Xue took the handkerchief and wiped the tears on her face.

"Miss, why are you doing this?" Steward Li looked at Su Xue: "Life is short, some people choose to do a vigorous event; Some people choose to have a vigorous relationship. Some people work all their lives for their careers; Some people wander the world for love. In fact, this is all a kind of life, no one is right or wrong, only you and me. Those people with lofty ideals who have the world in their hearts, they may be praised by the people of the world, and those nameless juniors who only care about themselves, they may be forgotten by the people of the world, but are people with lofty ideals really so great? Is the nameless junior really that unbearable? I can't see it, the family and the country, the world, the family and the country, in a sense, there are indeed inextricable links, but to be specific, for a person, a family, a country, his energy is limited, too caring for the family, it is bound to forget the country, too caring for the country, is bound to forget the home, the reason why a person with lofty ideals will be praised by others, the reason is that he has made contributions to the society, but what about his own family? Everything in the world, everything has advantages and disadvantages, but everyone stands on a different position! ”

"The key is that you are willing to do this, I am willing to pay for Liu Bei, I believe that Liu Bei will not fail me, Uncle Li, about Liu Bei in the future, please inquire more, I have to work!" Su Xue looked at Steward Li and said: "Although you are a servant of our family, you have been in our family for many years, and you have watched Xue'er grow up since you were a child, and Xue'er has always regarded you as her own relative, this time, please help me, I don't want to let myself have regrets, and I don't want Liu Bei to have regrets!" ”

"Miss has orders, do your best in the next place!" Steward Li saw that Su Xue had gone through Songshan's cultivation, and she had grown up and was sensible than before.

"How's Daddy?" Su Xue looked at the scenery outside the car window and said.

"Since you went to Songshan to study, the lord is very concerned about you, and because I have been stationed here for a long time, the lord has no helper, and the family business is also a little deserted, no way, so I invited the lady's uncle-in-law Zhang Shiping to come to help, and then the business turned around, but I have already told the lord about your descent from the mountain, and the lord heard that you came down the mountain, and immediately came to the spirit, and the reply letter seemed very happy." Steward Li said with a smile.

"Xue'er is unfilial, so my father suffers." Su Xue said calmly: "Uncle Li, you said that if I let my father fund others, do you think that my father will not agree!" ”

"Giving money to others? This...... Su Fu's business can now have today's scale, it is all the hard work of several generations to accumulate and operate, the money is not easy to come by, and it is easy to fund others for no reason, I am afraid that the master will ......" Steward Li looked at Su Xue in embarrassment, and he didn't talk about it next.

"I see!" Su Xue's eyes were full of melancholy.

At this time, Su Xue's heart couldn't help but feel a burst of pain when she thought that she was getting farther and farther away from Liu Bei, her heart was trembling and crying, how she hoped that there were only two people in the world, she and Liu Bei, there were no other worries and sorrows, no trivial disturbances and noise, some were just accompanied by day and night, and some were just affectionate. However, this is too illusory, too unrealistic, maybe it is the idea that is too unrealistic, so Su Xue's heart seems to be dripping blood, because she can't accept it. Since ancient times, beautiful love has only existed under the pen and ink of the literati, and it is precisely because it is so scarce that it is so sought after, so that countless people look forward to and praise it.

"What are the plans for the young lady to go home?" Steward Li saw that Su Xue was silent and didn't speak, worried that the young lady would suffocate herself.

"I don't know yet, why don't I go home and stay quietly for a while, and now I don't want anything?" Su Xue said calmly.

"That's good, too." He didn't know how to say some words, since Su Shuang learned that Su Xue was about to go home, he asked people everywhere to find Ruyi Langjun for Xue'er, after all, his daughter has reached the age of marriage, although he is reluctant, but one thing is the same thing, and he can't delay his daughter to talk about marriage and find his own happy home because of his own reasons.

"Uncle Li, I'm a little tired, I want to rest for a while, you can busy yourself first!" The road was bumpy and her heart was haggard, Su Xue just wanted to stay alone for a while at this time.

"Yes, Miss!" After Steward Li finished speaking, he walked out of the carriage and instructed the people who drove the horses to slow down and try not to be too bumpy, so as not to affect the young lady's rest.