【Appointment on a piece of paper】

In the fourth year of Xiping, the Nanban rebellion that had just been quelled not long ago in Yangzhou rose again, the barbarians killed the magistrates of many counties in Lujiang County, occupied the county seat, and the Taishou was helpless, so he reported the situation to the imperial court, and Lujiang County fell into chaos for a while. At this time, the emperor Liu Hong, who was in the depths of the Luoyang Palace, did not seem to reflect on and repent because of these turmoil, as if these had nothing to do with him, and he still went his own way. Perhaps most of the previous local rebellions were quelled by Lu Zhi, Zang Min, Zhu Jun and others, Liu Hong felt very good about himself, thinking that the world was as stable as Mount Tai under his own governance, so he was more at ease and happy.

He rarely asks about political affairs, lives in the inner palace for a long time, and tries new tricks for fun. One day, he suddenly became interested and was very interested in donkeys, but the problem was that there were no donkeys in the inner palace, and a little yellow door who was good at welcoming them carefully selected four donkeys from other places to enter the palace. After Liu Hong saw it, he loved it like a treasure, and drove a small car to play in the palace every day. At first, I also found a driver to drive, and after a few days, I simply operated it myself. The news of the emperor's donkey cart came out of the inner palace, and many bureaucrats and doctors in the capital competed to imitate it, thinking that it was fashionable, and the price of folk donkeys rose sharply for a while.

Just when everyone in the capital was chasing the fashion of driving a donkey cart, Emperor Liu Hong suddenly lost interest in the donkey cart. But within a few days, another eunuch dressed up a dog in order to slip his beard and shoot the horse, put it into a virtuous crown, wear court clothes, and wear ribbons, you must know that this is only worn by court officials. The eunuch made the dog sway to the court, Liu Hong didn't recognize it at first, but when Liu Hong recognized it as a dog, he couldn't help clapping his hands and laughing, and praised: "What a dog official." Although the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty felt ashamed and humiliated, they dared to be angry and did not dare to speak. really responded to the sentence 'summoning the public to be a traveling mastiff, playing with people and losing morality, and playthings losing their minds', the Eastern Han Empire gradually moved towards the cemetery in the hands of the twenty-year-old emperor.

When he learned the news of the rebellion in Lujiang County, Yangzhou, Zhao Zhong, the regular attendant, took the opportunity to "give advice" to the emperor and said: "Lu Zhi, the speaker of the Lang, originally served as the Taipuncy in Jiujiang County, Yangzhou, firstly, he has the authority and faith of the locals, and secondly, he also has experience in quelling the Southern Barbarian Rebellion, and the slave thinks that Lu Yilang is a good candidate. "This is really what Zhao Zhong said, reasonable and modest, but I don't know whether it is for the public or private, maybe for the emperor, for the country, for the emperor to share the responsibility, this is the public, but for Zhao Zhong, preventing people like Lu Zhi from entering Beijing will also detract from the hostile forces in Beijing that oppose him, which is private.

Emperor Liu Hong didn't care so much, as soon as he heard Zhao Zhong mention Lu Zhi, he remembered that it was Cai Yong who strongly recommended him to study in Dongguan with himself, and said at this time: "That's okay, Zhao Zhong, you go and pass on my will, and ask him to be the Taishou of Lujiang County, and leave the school secretary alone, let him take office immediately." ”

With Liu Hong's order, a holy decree was sent out urgently from Luoyang eight hundred miles.

......

Along the way, Lu Zhi, Liu Bei, and Liu Deran ate and lived in post houses in various places, which were used for officials who delivered documents and correspondence, and those who delivered information could rest and change horses here to ensure that the information could be delivered smoothly.

On this day, the three masters and apprentices rested here for a while, and then they were ready to continue to march to Luoyang, and just about to go out, they were stopped by the post house of the post house: "Lord Lu, please stay, the holy decree has been transmitted, not long ago there was a barbarian rebellion in Lujiang County, and His Majesty appointed you as the Taishou of Lujiang County, so that you can go to your post immediately and go to quell the rebellion, there must be no mistake." ”

As soon as Lu Zhi heard that it was a holy decree, he immediately bowed the decree and thanked him: "Minister Lu Zhi, thank you for the decree." ”

Lu Zhi suddenly had a sullen stomach in his chest at this time, he didn't know why Nanban wanted to rebel, over the years, the social atmosphere has been in a state of filth, and officials from all over the country did not hesitate to indulge their men to plunder ethnic minorities and forcibly force them to rebel for their own selfish interests, in order to hand over a "merit book" for killing the enemy and making meritorious contributions to quell the rebellion. Once someone rebels, then there are rebels, so their value is reflected, and these officials can lead their troops to kill these so-called "rebels", which can justifiably be rewarded by the imperial court. As everyone knows, this is the so-called official coercion and rebellion! If it is okay to meet Emperor Wenjing, he will make a decision immediately, investigate the matter thoroughly, replace the officials, and severely punish the first evil; But I ran into Liu Hong, who felt very good about himself, which is why there are constant conflicts between ethnic minorities.

Lu Zhi is also powerless about this social phenomenon, the biggest source of social chaos is the emperor, but the emperor is not in a hurry, what is the use of being a courtier here, he can only see the move, there is a rebellion, so he will solve one, and the root cause of the rebellion will be solved, then there is no way.

The three masters and apprentices then changed their routes and began to march towards Lujiang County.

Liu Bei was also depressed at this time, originally thought that he could go to Luoyang this time to see the world, and by the way, he could also mix a familiar face in front of the court officials, so as to lay a foundation for the realization of his ambitions in the future. But with a letter of dispatch from the emperor, the destination was changed from the prosperous Luoyang to Lujiang County, which was in rebellion, full of dangers, and was ruined, and the gap was too big.

Lu Zhi was also depressed at this time, but he was not depressed for himself to go to Luoyang, but for the people of Lujiang County, and for the people of Li in this Han Dynasty. He suddenly said to Liu Bei: "Shangshu" has a cloud: 'The people are only the state, the solid Bangning', the people are the foundation of the country, the fundamental stability, the country can be peaceful, although the people are at the bottom of the society, but once the ruler ignores them, they can impact or even subvert the foundation of the ruler, when the tyrannical Qin was cruel and unreasonable, and did not care for the people, resulting in Chen Sheng and Wu Guang revolted in Daze Township, and then the tyrannical Qin perished in the crusade of the princes of all walks of life. ”

Liu Bei listened to Lu Zhi's words, and immediately realized the seriousness of the matter, and couldn't help but leave a cold sweat behind his back, and asked tremblingly: "Teacher, you say, will my Han Dynasty be like this one day?" ”

Although this is a great rebellion, even the words of the nine clans, but in this wilderness, Lu Zhi did not blame, and said: "No matter what, as a ruler, you must always pay attention to the interests of the people, Mencius has a cloud: 'The people are precious, the society is secondary, and the monarch is light.'" The people are not well fed and clothed, and the rulers don't want to live a good life, and the rebellion in Lujiang County is a living example, if you are not vigilant, you don't know what big chaos will happen in the future. ”

Lu Zhi looked at Liu Bei and Liu Deran in front of him at this time, he once again recalled the conversation between him and Zuo Ci that day, the two people in front of him were originally spiritual creatures on Songshan Mountain, Su Xue, who was a Qingshui fairy in his previous life, had gone home, and he learned through Zuo Ci that Gongsun Chan was not a spiritual object, then Liu Bei and Liu Deran were, Sang Lingzi and Niliu, they were reincarnated in the world, specially for Kuang Fu Sheji, to save the people of Limin, perhaps, I also misunderstood Mr. Zuo Ci's words, the mandate of heaven shaped the individual, or the individual shaped his own destiny, This is a proposition that has been entangled for thousands of years, but I firmly believe that the mandate of heaven is up to me, and the fate of the individual still needs to be controlled by myself.

Moreover, they are only unenlightened spiritual creatures. They are like uncarved jade at this time, although they have a different life experience from others, but uncarved, it is still an ordinary stone that people abandon, and the origin of the family is similar to the people in the world, as the saying goes, one day is a teacher and a father for life, since they are their teachers, they are equal to their fathers, they are here, they should teach them their knowledge and literacy, the truth of being a man, the reserve of knowledge, and responsibility and responsibility, etc., are what they should learn in the future, otherwise, how to help the Han family, how to save the Li people, how to cultivate the positive results.

Liu Bei was moved by Lu Zhi's words, he now feels that this may be God's arrangement, which makes him realize the importance of the people, and he even feels that it is more meaningful to go to Jiujiang County than to Luoyang, because in this way, you can feel the suffering and tiredness of the people, and you can always remind yourself not to give up on the people at any time.

Liu Bei said in a deep voice: "Teacher, the student remembers." ”

"So are the students!" Liu Deran took Liu Bei's words, looked at Lu Zhi and said.

Several times, Lu Zhi wanted to tell Liu Bei what Zuo Ci said, but whenever he wanted to say it, he always decisively dispelled this idea, Liu Bei They are still too young, let them know the past and present life, where the destiny is, this kind of vanity will devour their young and ignorant hearts, their age can not bear such a huge social responsibility, only after they mature, they will find a chance to tell them, so that they will realize the pressure on their bodies, and there will be motivation if there is pressure, In this way, they will study, struggle, persevere, struggle, and assume such social responsibilities.

Lu Zhi looked at Liu Bei and Liu Deran and nodded with satisfaction.

The ox cart moved forward slowly, not fast, and the stones on the road made the whole ox cart sway non-stop, and the people in the cart also shook, Lu Zhi sat on the cart, in a trance, and closed his eyes. Liu Bei and Liu Deran saw that Lu Zhi was already sleepy, so they were silent, and they each looked out the window at the scenery along the way.

【Winter Return】

In the cold winter months, the sky was covered with goose feather snow, and the snow on the road made the movement of the carriage extremely difficult, and the horses kept panting roughly, wafting out of the white mist, and after the clanging carriage passed, only two long black car prints and messy footprints were left.

"Miss, we're almost there!" Steward Li shouted at Su Xue in the car outside the window.

Due to the cold weather, Su Xue rubbed her hands involuntarily, blowing the hot air in her mouth into the palm of her hand, at this time she had already changed into red sheepskin boots, wearing a small moon-white embroidered fur jacket, and behind her was covered with a big red feather veil and a crane in the white fox, tied a green and gold flashing green double ring four-fold Ruyi silk, covered with a snow hat on her head, parting with the same door, and missing Liu Bei, causing Su Xue to feel sorrowful and often sigh with lovesickness.

"I know, Uncle Li, let's take a break, eat something, warm up!" Su Xue lifted the curtain of the car and walked out of the sedan car, and the servants present all stood at this time, but the weather was really cold, everyone's legs couldn't help but tremble, everyone put their hands in their sleeves, spit out white mist in their mouths, and looked at the young lady of Su Mansion.

"Miss, let everyone light a fire on the spot, eat something, warm up your body, don't be stunned, get moving!" Steward Li greeted everyone, and then walked next to Su Xue, waiting for Su Xue's orders.

"This snow is so beautiful, snow-capped, covering the earth, snow fluttering, flying all over the sky!" Su Xue put her hand on Steward Li's arm and got out of the carriage: "Let's go for a walk!" ”

"Yes, Miss!" Steward Li followed behind Su Xue.

"Uncle Lee, do you know why my father named me "Snow"? Su Xue squatted down and picked up a puff of snow, brought it to her eyes, and watched it carefully.

"The snow of nature, crystal clear, clean and flawless, gives people the impetuous heart to be quiet, gives people the sad heart to soothe, Rui Xue Zhaofeng year, snow and auspicious meaning, when you were born, although it is autumn, but the lord hopes that the arrival of Miss can bring good luck to Sufu, bring good luck, and also hope that you will be able to be like snow in the future, have a noble character!" Steward Li followed behind and lowered his head and said.

"Although the snow is noble, but it is cold and beautiful, Xue'er still hopes to have a warm heart, and can use this mentality to help the weak and the poor, which is the original intention of Ruixue Zhaofengnian!" On a whim, Su Xue threw the snow in her hand into the air, and the snowflakes suddenly drifted away with the west wind.

"Miss has such a compassionate heart for the people, it is really a blessing for the people of the world, and it is also a blessing for Su Fu!" Steward Li frowned at this time, feeling sad that the characters of the young lady and the old man were diametrically opposed, Su Shuang was money-oriented and mercenary all his life, and it was no wonder that he was a businessman, without the accumulation of a penny, where did he come from with thousands of family fortunes and rich in the world; However, the daughter born by Su Shuang is indeed sympathetic to the people and the common people, the difference in personality, after being together for a long time, there will definitely be contradictions in the future.

At this time, Su Xue didn't notice Steward Li's expression, and suddenly a ray of sunlight broke through the clouds and hit the earth, Su Xue hurriedly blocked the dazzling sunlight with her hand: "The sun is out, let's go back!" ”

"Yes, I told my subordinates, Miss's meal is probably ready!" Steward Li is an old, mature, steady, and thoughtful person, which is why he has been able to serve as a housekeeper in Su Mansion for so long.

"Well, by the way, I asked you to inquire about Liu Bei and their news, how did you inquire?" Su Xue turned to look at Steward Li and said.

"I learned that there was a Nanban rebellion in Lujiang County, Yangzhou, and the emperor considered that Lu Zhi had experience in quelling the rebellion in Jiujiang County, and he was kind to the locals, so he let Lu Zhi go to Jiujiang County to exterminate the Nanban, and Liu Bei and his younger brother Liu Deran also went together!" Li Lao always lowered his head when he spoke, and said in an orderly manner.

"So, they are now in Yangzhou instead of Luoyang, I heard the teacher say, Yangzhou is a very beautiful place, our Hebei region is so cold, I don't know if Yangzhou is as warm as spring?" Su Xue said curiously.

"Not really!" Steward Li said: "Although Yangzhou is the south of the Yangtze River, but the winter is still very cold, and because it is a water town, the water system is densely distributed, and the water is sufficient, so the air is very humid, the climate is wet and cold, and the people living in Yangzhou will be so cold in winter that there is nowhere to escape, and sometimes the hands and feet are so cold that they can't even move!" ”

"Uncle Li has been to Yangzhou?"

"Well, I've been there, because of business, I follow the master all year round to go south and north, north to Youzhou, south to Jiaozhou, east Qingzhou, west to Liangzhou, thirteen states in the country, I have been there, business also needs to understand the local human geography, so people in various places are probably familiar!" Steward Li said.

"Yangzhou's climate is completely different from the north, so how can they stand it!" Su Xue was worried about Liu Bei and them at this time.

"Miss don't worry, they are all people who practice martial arts, this cold can still be resisted, besides, the man is ambitious in all directions, the outside world is so big, it is still necessary to go out and walk more, rest on your laurels, you will only be short-sighted, and when you go out, your thinking will be opened!" At this time, Steward Li saw that the servants were all gathered around the fire to keep warm, so he glanced at them and motioned for them to bring the meal.

"Well, what Uncle Li said is reasonable!" Seeing that Steward Li took over the meal, he said, "Uncle Li, let's dine together!" ”

"Miss eats it first, and the old slave can solve it by himself later, but now that he is getting older, he has less to eat in his stomach!" Steward Li put the meal next to a fire, and then stood behind Su Xue.

Su Xue picked up the bowl, sat down next to the fire like a servant, and ate: "How many years have you been in Su Mansion?" ”

"I'm a horse breeder, and I've been following the master for six years!" A black-faced guy said with a smile, he always thought that Miss was a cold and glamorous person, but he didn't expect to see him today, so close to the people.

"Six years, such a long time, what do you think of staying in Su Mansion?" Su Xue sandwiched the dishes in the bowl in front of her one by one into their bowls.

"Well, I follow the lord to do business, loyal, the lord also takes care of me, don't let me go hungry, don't let me freeze, he also gives my daughter-in-law, the child clothes to wear, give them food, our family is very grateful to the master, I decided in the future, let my children also follow the master, work for the master, so that there is no need to worry about food and clothing!" The black-faced guy said with a smile.

"Oh, that's it!" Su Xue smiled bitterly and said, "Well, it's good!" ”

She put down the dishes and chopsticks and said to everyone: "You eat slowly, if you like the dishes in this bowl, eat them while they are hot!" ”

She returned to the carriage alone, sat in it alone, and knew her father, her father Su was stingy in both directions, he took money very seriously, how could he use money on their family for no reason, and he tried to realize it on his father's body to the fullest, but his seemingly abnormal behavior, if there was no potential benefit mining behind it, he would not invest money. A servant is a servant, a servant is born a servant, what the father did was to achieve this effect, so that these domestic servants would work hard for the Su family for generations, and they would exchange huge profits for their own investment in food and clothing, how cruel the society is, but the more cruel reality is that these servants will always live in their dreams.