【Factional Struggle in the Eastern Han Dynasty】

Time flies, Liu Bei's father died for nearly six years, during this time, Liu Bei usually helps his mother weave mats and sell shoes together, and the children of the poor are already in charge, which is not wrong at all. But as long as he has time, Liu Bei will take Rhubarb to Liu Deran, Jian Yong to play together, climb trees and dig birds' nests together, and fight crickets together......

But today is different from the past, because today there is a guest at home, this person is also from Zhuo County, and Liu Bei's grandfather Liu Xiong was a good friend when he was young, called Li Dingyun. He was a Beijing official, and when he was old, he returned to his hometown and brought him to Liu Xiong's house to have a look. Most of the rural people are facing the loess with their backs to the sky, and I heard that Liu's mother's family came to Luoyang today to come back from Luoyang, and Liu Yuanqi and Liu Zijing finished their farm work, and they also rushed over to see the people who came back from Luoyang.

It was the scorching summer, the summer was scorching, in order to escape the heat, everyone sat under a mulberry tree on the southeast corner of Liu Bei's house to enjoy the coolness, and occasionally the breeze drifted by, and there was a hint of coolness.

Liu Bei is a little naughty, often climbs this tree to play, and today is the same, except that he feels that today's home is more lively than before, there is no difference, he doesn't care about the conversation between adults, he only cares about who will win when he fights crickets, what are the friends in the village doing, and the birds in the trees have grown up......

Li Dingyun saw that everyone also sat down, looked at these juniors, looked at the familiar scenes around him, and then thought that the people of his generation had begun to withdraw from the stage of the times, he couldn't help but feel a little sad in his heart, and said to everyone: "When Liu Xiong left, I didn't come, I really can't stand him." ”

After hearing this, Liu Yuanqi was moved, and hurriedly comforted: "Don't say that, you can be so concerned about our family, it can be regarded as a blessing for our family...... Besides, you have always been an official in the capital, and you have a long way to go, and you are also old, so how can you say that you will come. ”

Li Dingyun listened to Liu Yuanqi's words, and felt a lot of relief in his heart, but thinking about what he had heard and witnessed in the capital, he smiled bitterly at this time: "Hehe, today's capital is not as good as before, now in Luoyang as an official, everyone is trembling, like a chilling cicada." ”

"Oh? Why do you keep saying that...... Luoyang, the capital, is the largest metropolis in the world, and being an official in Luoyang is so beautiful, although I am a farmer, I also know that being a small sesame official in Luoyang is more majestic than a magistrate. Liu Zijing said suspiciously.

When Li Dingyun heard him say this, he shook his head helplessly and sighed: "It's hard to say...... Now in the Han Dynasty, the corruption of the officials is not a day or two, and there are many factions in the officialdom, and the wind and waves are calm on the surface, but in fact there are undercurrents. However, with the strengthening of centralized power, the system of selecting officials gradually degenerated into a tool for bureaucrats and scholars to control the government and form parties for personal gain, and the scholars praised each other, which is why the phenomenon of "good election" has appeared in recent years. ”

At the same time, some high-ranking officials with official residences of more than 2,000 stone have used the means of inspection and investigation to network their henchmen, and they have a large number of protégés and former officials in the capacity of the head of the government, thus forming their own private power...... Of course, there are also some powerful landlords who have done all kinds of ugly performances in order to get the quota of filial piety. Therefore, in our dynasty, the operation of this selection system has now appeared "show talents, do not know books; Cha Xiaolian, father does not live", it is really ridiculous; Therefore, once any bureaucratic group controls the right to vote, it also means that the group controls the fate and direction of the country, and the bustle of the world is all for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit, and if you want to obtain benefits, you have to obtain power, and the so-called power is beneficial, so where the power comes from, you have to be an official, so at present, the struggle of various power groups in our dynasty is actually to seize the right to vote......

Liu Yuanqi interjected before he could finish speaking: "Then what does this have to do with your official difficulties in Luoyang, isn't it good for you to control the suffrage of your scholar class?" ”

Li Dingyun looked at Liu Yuanqi and said with a smile: "Look at you, I'm in a hurry, wait until I finish speaking...... Although the right to vote is controlled in the hands of the bureaucrats and doctors, but in the long run, the power of the bureaucrats and doctors will be too great, and their monopoly on the government will also weaken the monarchy, and the monarch in an autocratic society will not be able to control the personnel power, and will be hollowed out by the bureaucratic class below. ”

"The emperor is looking for his closest relatives and eunuchs...... The eunuch is the person who accompanies the emperor every day, and the relatives are the people of the emperor's mother and wife's family...... The union of the three classes eventually regained power from the hands of the bureaucracy. However, the emperor was afraid that the power of his relatives and eunuchs would become bigger, so he used them to check and balance each other, and the emperor could reconcile in the middle and make decisions in his own way...... However, the problem is that the emperors who ascended the throne in our dynasty are too young and the imperial power is not strong, and the eunuchs and relatives are bound to be intolerable, resulting in the seizure of power that is constantly repeating the mistakes of the past...... In the first year of Jianning, the little emperor Liu Hong was only thirteen years old when he ascended the throne, and the sudden coup d'état in August was the result of the fight between relatives and eunuchs, which also took the life of Taifu Chen Fan by the way, which is really sad and lamentable! ”

Speaking of this, Li Dingyun looked at everyone's surprised expressions, and continued: "People like me who are officials in the capital, they can't clean themselves up, among relatives, eunuchs, and scholars, how difficult it is to find their own position, I am old, and I will also retire, but some people will throw their arms into the arms of the eunuchs who are now powerful for their own future, and they will not hesitate to loot the people's fat and ointment, and they will also send this money to the eunuchs......"

Hearing this, Mother Liu couldn't hold back her mood anymore, and said with tears: "Who said it wasn't, Liu Hong was killed by them because he was unwilling to submit to these rootless people." ”

Li Dingyun listened to Liu's mother's words, and it was inconvenient to continue to say that when he was an official in the capital, he knew that Liu Hong was framed, and he could have come forward to help this fellow villager, but he was also afraid of the power of Wang Fu and Cao Jie...... He looked around, trying to change the subject and change the mood. Suddenly a gust of wind blew, feeling cool, looked up, the tree above his head was so handsome, he carefully looked at the tree, the tree is at least five feet high, and said to everyone: "This tree is luxurious, just now I came from a distance, I saw Tong Tong like a small car cover, I see your family will be a nobleman!" ”

When everyone heard him say this, they all looked at the big tree, and naturally they all looked at Liu Bei and Liu Deran on the tree, Liu Deran saw that everyone was looking at him, and immediately climbed down the tree, and said to Liu Bei with a red face: "What are you still doing on the tree, everyone is looking at us?" Liu Bei didn't care, and said to Liu Deran: "Why do I want to come down, didn't you hear this old man say that this tree is like a car, I must take this feather to cover the car." ”

Liu Zijing was startled when he heard Liu Bei say this, and hurriedly scolded Liu Bei: "You stinky boy, you can't talk nonsense, this is to exterminate the clan." ”

"Hahaha......" Li Dingyun said with a smile: "Tong Yan is unscrupulous, it doesn't matter......

Hearing Li Dingyun say this, Liu Yuanqi smiled and said, "Second brother, don't be like this, it will scare the child...... I think our family's preparation will grow up to be promising, you see that Master Li has said so, and there can be a fake. ”

Li Dingyun took Liu Yuanqi's words and said: "I think this kid is very clever, maybe he will be able to achieve a career in the future, cultivate from a young age, let him read more books, since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deposed the hundred schools of Confucianism, if the world's scholars want to be officials, they must have knowledge, no knowledge, even if they become officials, in the end, they will be Chen Li, and those who can't stop it." ”

Everyone chatted together for a while, and then went home. It is worthy of the height of summer, the sky is cloudless, and there are so many stars at night, Liu's mother sat in the yard, looking at the stars in the sky, and couldn't help but ponder: Liu Bei is now twelve years old, although his father handed him some knowledge before and let him read some books, but after all, it is too little, and Liu Bei is playful by nature and does not like to read, I can't be so used to him as a mother, what should I do......

【Lu Zhi】

"Oh, congratulations to Lord County Guard, this time you pacified the Nanban in Jiujiang County and rescued the people of our Jiujiang County, you are really our reborn parents in Jiujiang County!"

Spacious hall, everyone laughing and laughing is holding a banquet, the hall is sitting on a middle-aged man, this person is eight feet two inches long, speaking like a bell, burly, his face is not angry and self-assured, he is the new Jiujiang County Taishou, by the emperor's order to come to quell the rebellion of Jiujiang County Nanban Lu Zhi Lu Zigan, this time the banquet was held to celebrate the success of the Nanban Pingding, at this time in the face of everyone's congratulations and flattery, he laughed and said: "It is the dedication of everyone present that will have this success, Lu Moucai is a shallow learner, and the governance of Jiujiang County in the future needs a lot of support from you! ”

As soon as Lu Zhi finished speaking, the people below all raised their glasses and said: "As long as the county guard has orders, he will definitely go to the soup and fire, and he will not give up!" ”

In the face of these sloppy people, Lu Zhi was quite unhappy in his heart, this time he held a banquet, he was not supportive in his heart, Jiujiang County had just experienced the war, and his new county guard was here to hold a feast, but I don't know how many people were hungry and naked at this time, I don't know how many people were homeless, I don't know how many people were suffering from diseases, and he was spending time drinking here with a group of people with a human face and a beast's heart, this is not what he wants to do, but after the war, this civil and military general has also made a contributionIn order to celebrate, of course, it was also based on the old practice in the past, he had to agree to this banquet, at this time he just wanted to end this damn wine banquet early, go back and stay quietly for a while.

"Haha......" Just when everyone was feasting, a Taoist priest swaggered in, opened his mouth and smiled, everyone present felt strange, some people looked at this Taoist priest, and then looked at Lu Zhi sitting on the stage, and suddenly looked at the doorman on duty, and some people whispered to each other, and their eyes glanced at Lu Zhi's expression from time to time.

"Lu Zigan, your calamity is coming, and you still have the heart to spend all day drinking here!" Just when everyone was feeling strange about this unknown person, they saw that the Taoist suddenly pointed at Lu Zhi and scolded him sharply.

"Presumptuous, above the public court, how can you allow your soldiers to make loud noises, where are the sword and axe hands, and you will not drag this evil obstacle down!" When the officials below saw that a mad Taoist had rebuked the county guard in front of everyone, they angrily summoned the sword and axeman. The people present are all through the study of the Confucian Confucian books of Confucius and Mencius and sages, as the so-called Tao is not the same as each other, so in their eyes, these Taoists are the people who specialize in pit abduction and deception in society, and they are no different from thieves and robbers, anyway, they are all Diao people.

At this time, Lu Zhi did not have a good impression of this person who suddenly cursed him on the spot, he was a student of the contemporary Confucian Ma Rong, and he served as a local county guard for the first time, and he had just quelled the Nanban rebellion and made a contribution. Moreover, you are a Confucian disciple, and your master is also a great Confucian, but you are a Taoist disciple, different schools and beliefs are different, and Lu Zhi didn't want to see this crazy Taoist again at this time, so he didn't stop the behavior of the sword and axe hand.

"Haha...... Just a few axe men want to subdue me, it's a fool's dream! As soon as the words fell, the Taoist priest instantly turned into a cloud of mist and disappeared into everyone's eyes.

"Ahh This...... What about people? Everyone present was stunned by the scene in front of them, everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do, especially Lu Zhi, who already had an ominous premonition at this time, and a lot of cold sweat flowed out of his back in an instant.

was troubled by this Taoist priest, the banquet ended hastily, the officials said goodbye to Lu Zhi one by one, and finally everyone left, and Lu Zhi himself could relax for a while. At this time, he was sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard, and he couldn't let go of the Taoist priest who appeared at today's banquet, why did this Taoist priest suddenly appear in front of me, and suddenly told me that there was a disaster coming in the near future, what kind of disaster? Is it war? Or is it a disease? Still is...... At this time, Lu Zhi thought of this, and inadvertently gasped, could it be the ten permanent servants of the current dynasty, according to Lu Zhi's knowledge, now the minions of the ten permanent servants are all over the country, and they often use local power to ask for bribes from the localities, if anyone dares to disobey their will, then the dismissal of the official is still a trivial matter, and it is not impossible to be in a different place. But for Lu Zhi, this eunuch has always been the object of contempt in his heart, they are all embarrassed, colluding, not doing business, only knowing that they flatter the emperor all day long, fight against the ministers and the party, and ask for money from the people, such a person should not exist in this world for a long time, if he comes to ask for bribes from himself today, even if he dies, I Lu Zhi will not get mixed with them, this is the minimum dignity of being a human being!

At this time, I really want to ask the Taoist in person, what is going on, is he bluffing, or is it true, now I don't understand, everyone is afraid of flying disasters, at this time his hand hammered the table, sighed, then got up and went back to the house to sleep, he was too tired these days, he was in a state of nervous tension for several days, the rebellion of the Nanban made Jiujiang County everywhere in the flames of war, he was ordered to be in danger, if he couldn't drive away the Nanban, Wouldn't this live up to the emperor's trust and support for himself? If he can't get rid of the Nanban, where will he get the political capital to continue to serve as a county guard in Jiujiang County; If he can't get rid of the Nanban, the three fires of the new official will not be able to put it away, which will give him any prestige in the future. Therefore, these days, Lu Zhi is fully preparing for the battle, and eating and sleeping are secondary, so he has made himself physically and mentally exhausted.

Lu Zhi was lying on the bed at this time, and he didn't take off his clothes, because he was too tired, so he didn't bother to take them off, he wanted to sleep well, and then continue to work after resting, thinking about the fact that there were still a lot of official documents on the desk to be approved by himself, things always came one after another, and he could never finish it, but he couldn't exhaust himself to death, and it was not worth it to die of exhaustion, he was only in his thirties, and he was still very young, and he didn't want to be a big official in this life, he just wanted to do a few meaningful things for the people with peace of mind, The life of the common people is too hard, whether it is the collection of taxes, or the march to fight, or the holding of activities, or the levy of conscription, it is always the common people who suffer, this has been the case since ancient times, it has never changed, and today's rulers always sit back and enjoy the success, they never know the suffering of the people, the pain of the people.

As everyone knows, those who win the hearts of the people win the world, and those who lose the hearts of the people lose the world. Emperor Xin has no way, and King Wu replaces him; King You of Zhou had no way, and then the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period appeared in the Zhou Dynasty; Tyrannical Qin has no way, and the ancestor replaces him; So what should we do now that the Eastern Han Dynasty court has no way? Thinking of this, Lu Zhi couldn't help but tremble a little, such a bold idea even scared himself, he closed his eyes, and gradually fell asleep.

"Where is this, I never seem to have been here?" At this time, Lu Zhi suddenly came to a strange environment, surrounded by grass and trees, and the stream was clear, he unconsciously walked up the mountain road, only feeling that it was so quiet here, and the quiet environment was the most unforgettable, and he gradually became interested in this place.

"Anyone?" Lu Zhi shouted loudly, except for the echo, there is nothing, the sun shines through the leaves on the mountain road in the forest, it looks mottled, this mountain is so high, at this time Lu Zhi is tired and thirsty, he saw a big mulberry tree in front of him, where the breeze is coming, and there is a stream next to it, it is a good place to take a cool day, he walked straight over, held the water in both hands, and kept sprinkling it on his face, it was so cold, he drank a lot of stream water, only felt that his body suddenly relaxed a lot, he leaned on the big mulberry tree next to the stream, I enjoyed the breath of nature with great poise.

"I can't imagine that there will be such a fairyland-like place in the world." Lu Zhi couldn't help but say.

"Poof! You're such a weird person, you can talk to yourself! ”

Lu Zhi suddenly heard someone talking, and immediately tensed his nerves, and said vigilantly: "Who! ”

"It's me, ahead of you."

"Stream?"

"Exactly!" Just as Lu Zhi slowly approached the stream, suddenly a voice came from behind him, and Lu Zhi was so frightened that he immediately turned around.

"Sang Lingzi, don't scare people, we are not bad people, we are cultivating here, and we have no ill will towards you, we are just curious about you, so don't be nervous!"

"Fairy Qingshui, you made the sound first, why do you blame me for scaring him?"

"Humph! It's you! ”

"I can't imagine that there are still things that become essences here, which means that this is also a place full of aura, dare to ask the two little immortals, where is this place?"

"Poof, you're really interesting, I don't know where I've come, this is Songshan!"

"Songshan, why did I suddenly come to Songshan?" Lu Zhi was also in a trance at this time, and he didn't know what to do, he suddenly stood up, and planned to walk down the mountain road, but just as he was about to start, he fell hard.

"Haha...... Fun and fun! ”

"Why is there another one, why didn't you come out just now?" At this time, Lu Zhi complained.

"You just called them immortals, why don't you call me?"

"You didn't come out just now, how do I know there's another one here, anyway, how many more are like you?"

"Just the three of us!" At this time, Fairy Shimizu said.

"I won't tell you, I'll go back first, don't hide it from the three little immortals, I'm the county guard of Jiujiang County, I still have a lot of things to deal with there?"

"It turned out to be an official, how many bribes can you accept in a year?" At this time, Sang Lingzi asked.

"Humph! I didn't expect that there would be such a pickled atmosphere on this Song Mountain, hey~ The world will become like this! ”

"Don't be angry, Lord County Guard, I just tested my ears, we all heard what the people who went up the mountain to chop wood and collect medicine, and I just saw that you were an official, so I was interested in asking about it!"

"I see, everyone in the world is suffering, but they dare to be angry but dare not speak, and they can only come to a place like Songshan where no one can say their true words!"

"You know the suffering of the people of the world, why don't you do what you can to save them?" Fairy Shimizu asked.

"The government is chaotic, the emperor is deceived by traitorous ministers, and I am only a county guard, how can I turn things around?"

"Do your best to obey the destiny of heaven, even if you are just a county guard, there will definitely be a way, but you don't want to do it!" Sang Lingzi said.

"What do you do?"

"Of course we don't have a way, but there is a person who has a way, but you don't want to ask, but you blow him away!"

"Blown away? You mean the crazy Taoist? ”

"Haha...... What a crazy Taoist, but I don't know the truth of great wisdom and foolishness, the moon in the mirror, the flowers in the water, you can't just look at the surface of the problem! ”

"Yes, yes, this little immortal has taught me yes, but as a Confucian, if I ask a Taoist disciple, it will be too tangled!"

"What an idiot, you are trying to let the people live a good life, let the people get out of the sea of suffering, and call him a Confucian Taoist, as long as he can save his life, what does it matter, it is because there are too many Confucian disciples like you who regard themselves as high as they are, that they will govern this country like it is now!" Seeing that the person in front of him was so pedantic, Fairy Qing couldn't help but scold.

"This! Xiaoxian, Lu Zhi understands! Then may I ask you little immortals, where can I find this Taoist? ”

"Go back, he's uninvited!"

As soon as the words fell, the ground under Lu Zhi's feet instantly turned into a big hole, and Lu Zhi fell down, and after the thrill, Lu Zhi was frightened awake, at this time Lu Zhi panted and said: "It turned out to be a dream!" ”