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After a moment of silence, the two met their eyes again and smiled again. Liu Hongji shook his head and said self-deprecatingly: "Actually, there are some things that I can't be sure of myself, but I still can't help but persuade you." The trouble of people is to be a teacher, and what the sage said seems to be true! ”

"It's Brother Hongji who takes care of me, I'm afraid I'll suffer." Li Xu responded with a smile.

Liu Hongji shook his head and sighed. After thinking about it, he finally didn't want Li Xu to have any estrangement in his heart, and whispered: "You are pure-hearted, outstanding in martial arts, and open-minded and studious, and your future prospects may not be limited to this." It's just that some officialdom common sense needs to be paid more attention to, if no one tells you, I'm afraid you will suffer in the future! ”

"Brother Hongji, please!" Li Xu responded with a positive color. He also felt very sorry that Liu Hongji suddenly changed from a friend to a colleague with a lot of interests. I want to do something to make up for it, but I can't find a way to make up for it for a while.

Liu Hongji shook his head and smiled bitterly, as if he didn't know where to start with a thousand words. After pondering for a moment, he asked in a low voice: "Do you know that since the Wei and Jin dynasties, the government of all dynasties has been controlled by some big families. It is always very difficult for people who have no roots and no foundation to get ahead? ”

"I know that a lot of people have a family behind them. Just like Brother Yuan Tong was born in the Huainan Wang family, Lao Qi was born in the Hejian Qi family, and the child is ......" Li Xu smiled and said his understanding of the family, and before he could finish speaking, Liu Hongji was already out of breath with laughter.

"You said Lao Wang, Lao Qi them, haha, brother, haha, there are really yours!" Liu Hongji leaned forward and closed, and said while pounding the table.

After Li Xu made such a fool, the atmosphere in the military tent became warmer again. Liu Hongji laughed enough, first ordered someone to come in and dry the tea spilled on the table, and then shook his head and continued: "Where are they a family, in fact, including my Liu family, they are not really wealthy. It's just that everyone is pretending to be a big family in order to give themselves a long face! The real children of the family, where do you still use us to serve in the barracks like us! They were born to hold the seal, and if they join the army, at least start with the Wupin general! ”

Li Xu remembered that Xu Maogong once said that his family had always hoped to squeeze into a wealthy family. Therefore, he has been cultivated as a family hope since he was a child. But those real wealthy families looked down on the Xu family very much and disdained to associate with him. If measured by the same standard, Xu Maogong is not a wealthy family, and those companions in the barracks are indeed 'disguised big'. Thinking of this, he smiled and agreed with Liu Hongji's statement.

"As for the people who mix in the grain protection army, there are more people in the family than ordinary people, and a few of them may be the children and nephews of the county guards and county commanders, which is a fact. But everyone's family is far from a wealthy family. The so-called wealthy family refers to those who have been the best members of the family and have protégés who are old to the Manchu Dynasty. Shandong has five surnames: Wang, Cui, Lu, Li, and Zheng, while Guanzhong has six surnames: Wei, Pei, Liu, Xue, Yang, and Du. Coupled with the current Yuwen family, the remaining Xie family, Wang family, Chen family, etc., there are only 20 in total. The world takes pride in associating with them, and these families often collude with each other to gain power. The emperors of all dynasties knew that it was not the blessing of the society to be in power, but the emperors of all dynasties could not solve it. In this dynasty, the first emperor opened the imperial examination, and no matter whether the noble or the lowly could pass the examination and confer officials, it was to break this tradition. But after all, the imperial examination time is short, and the family is still in power now! ”

"And those who are elected to be officials are either the sons of this family or the nephews of that family. These fellows are not good at governing the place, but they are the one who brings harm to the people. But you can't do anything about them, and they often affect the whole body. Liu Hongji shook his head, very dissatisfied with the current situation.

If you want to change this situation, you have to go to a certain position. In this upward process, some costs have to be paid.

"The Great Sui Dynasty is about to be hollowed out by these guys, but the emperor doesn't know it yet. His Majesty the Emperor likes to hear praise and show off his martial prowess. Just like this expedition to Liao, the Manchu Dynasty Huagon planned for more than two years, arguing endlessly about whether to fight or not. But no one opened their eyes to pay attention to the terrain of Liaodong, and no one thought about what kind of consequences would be brought back to the Great Sui if they were defeated. ”

"Brother Hongji is saying that meat eaters are despised, right?" Li Xu interjected in a low voice.

"It's not that meat eaters despise, but that wealthy families put their minds on how to benefit their families, and they don't have the people and the country at all in their eyes, and they don't pay attention to morality. Whoever accidentally offends them usually ends up in pieces! Liu Hongji shook his head, his face full of helplessness.

"The family is rotten flesh to the bone!" Qin Ziying's negative words echoed in Li Xu's heart again. General Luo Yi said, "People are not animals, and they don't need to be famous!" This sentence sounds exciting, and under careful tasting, it may not contain the meaning of anger.

"So, in the future in the officialdom, try not to offend the people of these families. If you can avoid it, you can avoid it, and if you can't avoid it, you can tolerate one or two. If we humble descendants want to achieve something, we always have to go through a few more tribulations! Liu Hongji thought about it and finally concluded.

Li Xu's biggest ambition back then was just to be a household in the county, who had ever understood the way to be an official. His mentor Yang Lao Fuzi has only been a staff member for Yang Su, and has never officially set foot in officialdom, and he is very scholarly and business-oriented, of course, he will not guide his disciples in the skills of officialdom. Liu Hongji's remarks today were equivalent to pushing open another door in front of Li Xu's eyes, allowing him to see the dirt inside the door clearly. Although he couldn't get in touch with the real situation inside the door for the time being, he also had some precautions in his heart.

This advice was heartfelt, and Li Xu couldn't help but be moved. After thinking about it, he bowed his hand to Liu Hongji again and said, "Thank you Brother Hongji for your advice, I must be careful in the future and try not to make trouble for myself!" ”

"Actually, the Li family on the right side of the ridge where Tang Gong is located can be regarded as a wealthy family!" Liu Hongji waved his hand and signaled Li Xu not to be too polite. "But Tang Gong is currently on a bad luck journey, so we have to be careful everywhere!"

"Tang Gong is unlucky? Didn't Tang Gong just be promoted to Shaoqing yesterday? Li Xu asked puzzled. Since yesterday, someone has been telling him that Tang Gong has lost power. But if the four-rank master is still out of position, what does it look like to be lucky?

"The Tang family has been hairpins for generations, and the predecessors have been the head of Shangzhu and Anzhou. When the emperor was alive, the Duke of Tang was originally a local magistrate. He is a cousin of the current saint, and the relationship between them is also very close. Later, the saint listened to the false words of others, and he was demoted to a six-grade petty official at once. After two or three years, Tang Gong slowly climbed to today's position little by little! Liu Hongji explained to Li Xu in a low voice. Both of them are now regarded as generals attached to the Li family, and of course he has to explain the details of the Li family carefully to Li Xu. There are two advantages to this, the first is to avoid Li Xu from accidentally hitting and inadvertently damaging his own interests. Second, it can also make Li Xu, a new dependent, settle down, and easily not be co-opted.

"Who is so bad that he actually stumbled Tang Gong?" Li Xu didn't understand Liu Hongji's good intentions, so he only cared about his curiosity, and blurted out the words of questioning.

"It's not that anyone stumbles, it's someone who has made a ballad, saying 'peach and plum, flood around Yangshan.'" As a result, Banzai felt that the surname Li was dangerous to the Great Sui Sheji, so he wanted to kill Tang Gong. Thanks to the persuasion of the courtiers, he was demoted several levels and placed in the position of the young eunuch in the palace to watch the future, and later demoted to Huaiyuan Town as the treasurer and governor! Liu Hongji smiled bitterly. (Note 1)

"How can the emperor believe this, there are so many people surnamed Li in the world, if they are killed, won't there be a river of blood!" Li Xu said in surprise. After finishing speaking, I realized that I was rebellious, and I actually dared to criticize the current saint. Thinking about the wise emperor who ignited the fighting spirit of the soldiers on the stage yesterday, how could he not connect a superstitious and confused guy with the current emperor in his heart.

"The emperor may not believe it, but he is afraid that others will believe it and threaten the Great Sui River!" Liu Hongji sighed, as if he was upset about the Li family's situation. "However, now that the turmoil has finally ended, judging from yesterday's words, he no longer wants to pursue this matter!"

"I see that Tang Gong has regained His Majesty's trust!" Li Xu nodded in agreement. He thought of Yu Wenshi and Qin Ziying's words in his heart, if he didn't think of himself as Li Yuan's junior at that time, maybe he would have been awarded a higher position. But he can't mention this to Liu Hongji, and saying it won't have any positive effect. The other party is no longer the horse thief head who pointed his nose and scolded when he first met and taught him how to get along with his friends, and he is no longer the ignorant silly boy.

Almost overnight, everything changed. Maybe the change has already begun, but I am just reckless and unaware of it.

After telling Tang Gong's tortuous experience in the officialdom, Liu Hongji looked at the time outside, and very seriously pointed out how Li Xu interacted with his superiors, subordinates and colleagues on weekdays. He is nearly twice as old as Li Xu, although he laughs at himself as a child of a poor family, in terms of experience and understanding of human accidents, after all, he is more than a little bit higher than Li Xu. Some of the advice benefited Li Xu a lot, and some of the advice Li Xu couldn't understand for a while, but he also kept it in his heart as the teachings of the elders. The two talked and talked, and before they knew it, it was late afternoon, and the soldiers came in to ask the general if he had passed the meal, and Li Xu quickly stood up and prepared to leave.

"It's better to drink together, I'll ask Lao Qi to get some good wine, and let's hide in the barracks and drink secretly!" Liu Hongji thought about it and proposed with a smile.

"The army is about to cross Liao, so let's be careful. In case you are caught by the patrol camp, you will be impeached and you will not look good on your face! Li Xu smiled and rejected Liu Hongji's kindness. Everyone had the habit of secretly drinking in the barracks, and Tang Gong Li Yuan also turned a blind eye to this. But at this moment, millions of troops are concentrated nearby, and there are guards of the Son of Heaven patrolling the camp every day to monitor military discipline. Secretly drinking in the camp has now become a very dangerous business.