In the twentieth year of A.D., the first year of the emperor.

Chang'an, the mansion of Dr. Liu Xin, Fengche Guanglu.

Chamber.

In the narrow and gloomy space, there are two people sitting and standing, and the one sitting is an old man, with gray hair and wrinkled face, he is the close friend of the current emperor Wang Mang, and Liu Xin, the captain of the cavalry and the doctor of Fengche Guanglu, who was pulled up by Wang Mang.

In Wang Mang's new dynasty, Liu Xin was a big man, not only a high and powerful person, but also the most famous writer at that time.

At this time, Liu Xin sat on the chair, looked at the man in black standing in front of him without blinking, and asked in a gloomy tone: "Have you found out all the things I asked you to check?" ”

"My subordinates have found out." The man in black lowered his head and bowed.

"Say."

"There are a total of five people named Liu Xiu in the country." When he spoke, the man in black also lowered his head, and the whole person seemed to melt into the darkness.

"There are five Liu Xiu." Liu Xin's eyes flashed with a terrifying light. After a moment, he asked in a deep voice, "Have their identities been investigated?" ”

"Yes, my lord, my subordinates have found out." While speaking, the man in black took out a silk silk from his arms, bowed his figure, and handed it to Liu Xin.

Liu Xin took it and unfolded the silk silk, which was densely written. He leaned in with the silk silk and looked at it closely.

Qingzhou Donglai County, Huang County, Liu Xiu, 37 years old, Guixiangju Tavern shopkeeper, one wife and two concubines, five children.

Liu Xiu, 49 years old, widower, lying ill in Hanoi County, Yongzhou.

Nanyang County, Jingzhou, Caiyang County, Liu Xiu, 20 years old, farming.

and state ......

Liu Xin squinted his glasses and looked at them from beginning to end, and then he folded the silk silk little by little, put it in his arms, and said expressionlessly: "Remember, none of the people recorded here can live." ”

The man in black bowed and answered, "My subordinates know what to do." ”

Liu Xin glanced at him, sneered, and asked, "What are you doing is to kill them directly?" ”

The man in black was silent for a moment and said, "Please also make it clear." ”

"All over the country, so many Liu Xiu died all of a sudden, don't you think it won't arouse suspicion?"

The man in black was silent.

Liu Xin continued: "Wang Mang's eyeliner is all over the world, and the slightest wind and grass will definitely make him aware of it. When you do things, you also have to use your brains, these Liu Xiu can be killed by bandits, by homeless mobs, or by accidents, drowned in water or burned by fire, do you understand what I mean? ”

The man in black was stunned for a moment, then nodded in response: "My subordinates understand." ”

"Let's get to work."

"My lord, my subordinates retire!" The man in black bowed, took a few steps back, and then his figure flickered, and the man had disappeared.

After the man in black left, Liu Xin was the only one left in the secret room, and he slowly stood up and walked to the inner end of the secret room.

Near the wall, he stood still, lifted his leg and stomped his foot on a square brick three times, and then, with the soft sound of a card, a square brick next to him was cocked.

Liu Xin squatted down, lifted the upturned bricks, took out a wooden box from it, opened the wooden box, and there was a piece of brocade inside, and opened the brocade again, which was wrapped in a roll of bamboo slips.

Because of the age, the bamboo pieces made of bamboo slips have turned black and brown, but the handwriting on the slips is still clearly visible, and there are three words on the book - "Chifu Fu".

The Red Fu Fu is a book of prophecies, that is, a book of prophecies. It is impossible to verify by whom it was written and when it was written.

Liu Xin got the book from a student named Jiang Hua.

He carefully took the "Red Fu Fu" out of the wooden box, trembled to the candlestick, and gently placed the book on the table.

Then, he slowly rolled the book, and soon, his hand stopped, his eyes fell directly on the book, and he read in a trembling voice: "Liu Xiufa can't catch the soldiers, the four Yi gather in the dragon fight, and the fire is the main thing on the occasion of the fourth and seventh." ”

The meaning of this sentence is that in the future, there will be a man named Liu Xiu who overthrows the Xinmang regime and ascends the throne as emperor.

After reading this sentence, Liu Xin's hands trembled even more.

When Wang Mang had not yet usurped the throne, Liu Xin and Wang Mang were already close friends, and Wang Mang recommended Liu Xin again and again in the court at that time.

After Wang Mang became the emperor, he promoted Liu Xin and made Liu Xin a big celebrity in the court.

However, at this time, Liu Xin killed a person named Liu Xiu in the world, but he was not helping Wang Mang clear the hidden dangers, if he really had this kind thought, he would have dedicated the "Red Fu Fu" to Wang Mang a long time ago, how could he hide it secretly?

On the contrary, he has now changed his name to Liu Xiu.

I remember clearly in "Chifu Fu" that Liu Xiu will be the emperor in the future, Liu Xin wants to become this Liu Xiu himself, and he does not allow other Liu Xiu to exist in the world, which will become a stumbling block for him to seek the throne.

And Liu Xin's name change is also very justifiable, Liu Xin proposed to Wang Mang that his name and the name of Liu Xin, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, were accented, and out of avoidance, he changed his name to Liu Xiu.

In this regard, Wang Mang also felt that Liu Xin had done a very decent job, who knew that Liu Xin changed his name to Liu Xiu, just to conform to the language in the diagram, to snatch the dragon chair under his ass and sit on the supreme throne.

The new Mang regime is unpopular, the dynasty is chaotic, coupled with the continuous natural disasters in recent years, the people are not happy, rebellions are everywhere, there are red eyebrows in the north, and there are green forest troops in the south, in Liu Xin's view, Wang Mang's throne is about to come to an end, and his opportunity to seek the throne is close at hand.

Jingzhou, Nanyang County, Caiyang County, county market.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!" The two servants shouted loudly as they rampaged forward.

As the saying goes, the people don't fight with the officials, and the people in the bazaar can't afford to provoke the officials, so they are so frightened that they retreat to both sides.

Two officials walked through the bazaar to the city gate, where they hung a white notice on the wall, and then two officials stood on either side of the notice.

The people in the vicinity gathered around, tiptoeing and stretching their necks, looking curiously at the contents of the notice.

Among the onlookers, there was a young man wearing coarse cloth clothes and trousers, he looked like he was about twenty years old, with a slender figure, seven feet away, and his appearance was also very good, his thick eyebrows flew obliquely into the temples, and a pair of tiger eyes below, bright and bright, handsome in appearance, and without losing the masculinity of a man.

Although the young man was dressed ordinarily, dressed as a farmer, he exuded an air of elegance that did not match his dress.

Like the people around him, the young man in cloth also looked curiously at the notice that had just been posted.

The notice is an arrest document with a portrait of the person arrested.

Looking at the portrait, this person has a mediocre appearance, and what is more special is that there is a striking oblique scar on the forehead.

Looking down, there is a detailed introduction. The prisoner's name is Long Yuan, his age is unknown, and his place of origin is unknown, but the reward is as high as 5,000 gold, and his crime is to assassinate the Son of Heaven.

Looking at the people who were talking to each other, a servant standing next to the notice cleared his throat and sang loudly: "The traitor Long Yuan, taking advantage of His Majesty's travels, to plot against him is really a great rebellion, and he is heinous, and anyone who reports this thief can receive a reward of 5,000 gold!" ”

"Five thousand bounty?!" When many illiterate people heard the words "five thousand gold", their eyes widened and they were speechless.

"Don't think about it, everyone dares to assassinate the Son of Heaven, and you can still report it?"

"That's what I said, but it's ...... five thousand gold."

People exchanged heads and talked a lot.

The young man in cloth looked intently at the portrait in the notice, and couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart: Husband, it should be like this!

Just when he was full of emotion in his heart, a person walked silently behind him.

This man was of medium height, stout in build, dressed in a very ordinary way, with short clothes and trousers, trouser legs rolled up so high, straw sandals underneath, and a straw hat on his head, and looked no different from the peasants who went to the city to catch the market.

With his head lowered, he walked behind the cloth-clothed young man as if at random, his hands in front of him, and his right hand felt into the cuff of his left sleeve without leaving a trace.

Hidden in his left sleeve was a sharp dagger.

Just as he pulled out the dagger in his cuff little by little, someone behind him suddenly shouted: "Ah Xiu! ”

This sudden voice startled the man, and he drew half of his dagger and immediately stuffed it back into his cuff, and then looked at the notice as if nothing happened.

At this moment, the cloth-clothed young man turned around, and he didn't see the person behind him putting away the knife, just as he was, like himself, a passerby watching the notice.

The young man in cloth looked past him to the person who called for him. Seeing the person coming clearly, he was overjoyed, walked over quickly, and said in surprise and joy: "Big brother! ”

The man he called the eldest brother was about thirty years old, with a burly figure, a tiger's back and a bee's waist, looking at his face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, a straight nose and a square mouth, and a dignified appearance, with a rough air.

"Big brother, why are you in the city?"

"I went into town to meet a few friends."

The young man in cloth is named Liu Xiu, and his name is Uncle Wen. The burly man's name is Liu Xiu, whose name is Bosheng, and he is Liu Xiu's eldest brother.

Looking at Liu Xiu's empty hands, Liu Xiu asked, "Are you coming to the market to sell grain again?" ”

Liu Xiu nodded with a smile, and deliberately patted the bulging money bag on his waist, and said, "The price is not bad!" ”

Liu Jiu shook his head and said helplessly: "At present, natural disasters and man-made disasters, most people are already unable to eat, you are good, there is still surplus grain to be sold in the market for money." ”

Don't look at Liu Xiu's scholarly elegance, but he is an authentic peasant.

But the elegance of his body did not come out of thin air, compared to other farmers, Liu Xiu is a top student among farmers.

He studied Taixue in Chang'an for three years, and he studied Shangshu. In today's words, it is to go to the top universities in the country, and to study the Department of Shangshu.

It stands to reason that those who have gone to Taixue can be in a certain official position in the court after they come out.

It is a pity that Liu Xiu did not catch up with the good times, and today's court is a new dynasty established by Wang Mang.

After Wang Mang became emperor, he greatly relaxed the admission standards of Taixue, resulting in a surge in the number of Taixue.

Only those powerful and powerful students with backgrounds can hold an official position in the imperial court, and students like Liu Xiu, who have no family background, no background and no way, can only go home to farm after graduation.

However, Liu Xiu's three-year Taixue was not in vain, and his land planting skills were really good.

At present, there is a severe drought in Nanyang County, and other people's crops are dying, but the crops he planted can have a good harvest every season, not only can he be self-sufficient, but also have surplus grain to sell in the market for money.

If this momentum continues, Liu Xiu is likely to become the top and most professional farmer in the country in the future, but the tide of the times did not let him go on the road of a professional farmer, but let him embark on a difficult road that can only advance and not retreat.