Han Xin shook hands at the beginning of the mountain

Xie Zhizhou got together when he heard the news

In the north of Shinshu City, the sunset reflects the new residence with the lake.

Xin Qiji, who was sturdy and ruddy-faced, walked slowly along the lakeside path. In early spring, the grass is green, the lake is clear, the breeze is gentle, and the scenery is pleasant.

In the afternoon, I received a letter from Chen Liang from Wuzhou. The letter thanked him for saving him with righteousness, and now he has been released from prison for more than half a year, everything is fine at home, and he is studying hard to wait for the next year to enter Beijing for the examination, and agreed: whether it is the first or not, he will come to Goose Lake to thank him.

Thinking of this Chen Tongfu, Xin Qiji smiled. This brother's family is poor and has a bad fate. However, he is open-minded and ambitious. Although it is a cloth coat and the shape is dissolute, it also pays attention to political affairs, and not only disdains the officials who are mediocre and do not want to make progress, but also speaks sharply, so it offends many people in the officialdom. Fortunately, he is a decent and upright person, warm-hearted in the ancient way, has traveled extensively, and has profound knowledge, even if he has been imprisoned twice, he has not changed his original intention, and he is full of self-confidence.

Just as I was thinking about how to reply to the letter, my family came to report: the county government came to inform me that Lin'an Xing was sending an envoy to announce the edict, and he immediately came to the government to announce the edict.

Xin Qiji couldn't help but be a little surprised, since the resignation of Jiangxi's pacification envoy in the ninth year of Chunxi, he has lived here for more than ten years, and he has been ploughing and reading, happy to forget his worries, and has adapted to this kind of leisurely and quiet pastoral life. There was a time when he looked up at the starry sky, and his sorrow came to his heart like the water of a spring river. The imperial court has been in a corner of the south of the Yangtze River for decades, blindly singing and dancing to promote peace, forgetting the shame of Jingkang in the past, and ignoring the fallen Central Plains homeland. I, Xin, have the ambition to serve the country, and I also have the merit of killing the enemy, but there is no place for it. Now that he is over half a hundred years old, his sideburns are gray, do you want to ask for a place all day long, walking among basils?

Today, he suddenly came to announce the edict, but he did not receive a report from the imperial court before, and he did not get any information from his friends, and he did not know whether it was a blessing or a curse.

When I returned to the main hall of the front yard, I saw that my wife Fan Rulan and my concubine Tian Tian and other family members were there, and they all looked anxious and uneasy. Mrs. Fan asked in a low voice:

"Official, could it be that in your recitals and poems, what did you say that made the court unhappy, and sent someone to Xingshi to ask if the crime was successful?"

Xin Qiji waved his hand and calmly told her:

"Madame, don't worry about it. In the past few years, Xin has lived in the countryside, not asking about the government, and has not written a notebook, and has written poems and lyrics mostly on the theme of farm life and pastoral scenery, and it will be fine. It is also common for the Beijing master to come to make the edict. Besides, it's a blessing or a curse, and it's a disaster that can't be avoided. There is no need for alarm. ”

Immediately, arrange for servants to sweep the court, set up a case and burn incense, prepare ceremonial money, and order a man with quick legs and feet to visit at the intersection outside the door.

After the order was completed, he led his wife and adult son to stand in front of the gate of the mansion. Sure enough, a pillar of incense had not yet burned out, and I saw an official in a scarlet court robe, escorted by two Jin Wuwei, come to the front of the house.

Xin Qiji hurriedly bowed forward to greet him, and asked the edict to make the lord enter the main hall to announce the edict.

Enter the living room and bathe in incense. Xin Qiji and his family knelt down, and the edict envoy read the edict loudly.

The edict was not long, but it was the appointed decree of his new send. The holy decree said that he had always behaved capably, governed the government well, and was a rare capable minister in this dynasty, so he was specially appointed as the official of the Fujian Road Prison.

The whole family breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on their faces. Ceremonies such as receiving orders and bowing thanks are carried out step by step. Both the guest and the host looked at ease and were polite to each other.

Xin Qiji saw that the edict envoy was not in a hurry to leave, and looked at him with a smile, as if he had something to say. asked the second son Xin Sui to pay Jin Wuwei to drink tea, and he asked the edict envoy to the study to talk.

The Xin family study is in the east wing of the backyard, the lintel is inscribed with the word "Jiaxuan", the interior furnishings are neat and bright, and four tall bookcases stand on both sides, full of all kinds of books.

The edict envoy casually said: "Xin Ti Xing, you are so blessed." The garden scenery is very good, the study is elegant and exquisite, and it is a good place for self-cultivation. ”

"Where, where, backwood, idyllic. Thanks to the edict that made the adults raise their love, Xin was ashamed and did not dare to be. Xuan Zhao envoy, just call Xin Mou You'an. ”

The guest and host sat down, and the edict envoy asked, "Brother You'an, have you ever known you?" ”

Xin Qiji looked carefully, this person was about forty years old, tall and strong. The heavenly court is full, with a square face, ruddy and shiny, thick eyebrows and deep eyes, a sparse beard, black, and a low voice, with a sense of heaviness.

I didn't have an impression, so I replied apologetically: "I'm sorry, I seem familiar, but I don't know Gao's name." ”

"It's natural that Brother You'an doesn't know him, so there's no need to apologize. This is the first time we've seen each other. In Anyang, Xiangzhou, the ancestral hometown, the dispatch is the Zhige Sect, and the surname is Han Yuxuanfu. ”

"Oh, You'an remembered, isn't Brother Jiefu a descendant of Han Zhongxian King of Weijun?"

"Yes, yes. Zhongxian Gong is the great-ancestor of the festival. ”

Xin Qiji was overjoyed, "Oh, that's great! King Han Wei is the first capable minister of our dynasty, two dynasties to take care of his life, three times as a phase, guarding the frontier, shocking the Western Xia, can be described as a masterpiece to cover the world, You'an has admired very since he was a child, so that the five bodies fell to the ground. It is a great honor to meet the descendants of his old man today! ”

So, he pulled Han Yanxuan to the bookcase by the north wall, "Look, this is the "Anyang Collection" by King Han Wei, the great ancestor of Ling, fifty volumes, one volume is not less. Many of the poems of the loyal dedication are remembered by You'an and can be recited with his eyes closed. ”

Han Yanxuan was also very excited, and bowed his hand, "Thank you, don't hide it from Brother You'an, this letter to Xinzhou, the husband is invited, just to get to know the brother." As everyone knows, Xin You'an can be martial arts and scholars, and his heart is related to his homeland, and he is a pillar of the country and a pillar of the imperial court. The husband has also admired him for a long time, and he is very happy to see it today. ”

The words of the two became more and more speculative, and they did not realize that twilight was coming. Xin Qiji sincerely stayed in Han Yanxuan's mansion for a drink, but Han Yanxuan repeatedly excused himself and had to say goodbye and separate.

The next day, Xin Qiji was about to go to the state government to visit Jiang Mingfang, the governor of the state, but unexpectedly, the state government lord Bo came to pass the word: the new governor invited Xin Tixing and his wife to go to the mansion to talk.

Xin Qiji was curious, isn't Zhizhou Lord Jiang, and he has been replaced again?

The Lord Bo nodded yes.

Who's that?

It's your old friend, Zhizhou won't let you say it. only said that he was on official business, and he could not visit in person, so please forgive me.

That's not necessary, since you want to surprise You'an, it's better to be respectful.

Along the way, Xin Qiji thought left and right, and was always unsure who the new Zhizhou was. It wasn't until I stepped into the Zhizhou Mansion and saw the short and fat butler that I suddenly understood. When I looked up, Mrs. Liu was already greeted with a smile:

"Brother You'an, Mrs. Fan, I lost my welcome, the official just left the house to send the edict to Lord Han, and then arrived."

"Brother and sister, I haven't seen you for a long time, but it's always been good?"

"It's okay, it's okay, the official has just arrived, I don't want Brother You'an to go to Fuzhou again, I'm afraid you will take office quickly, so I would like to invite you to talk about it."

The two sides sat down in the living room, burned incense and ordered tea, and the two ladies talked about their daily routines. The main man is compensating for the hardships and giving up the illness and chatting.

Half an hour later, Xie Yuan knew that Zhou came in, and the two sides were polite. Then the two ladies went to the backyard, and the lord Bo answered the other guests. Xin Xie and the two talked alone.

Speaking of the friendship between Xin Xie and the two, we have to start from the beginning.

In that year, a major drought occurred in more than 10 prefectures and counties in Jiangxi, and the grain harvest failed or even failed. In winter, there was a rare famine, and food prices skyrocketed. A few profiteers took the opportunity to hoard grain and stop selling it, hoping to drive up prices. Some prefectures and counties also had no good solutions, and the victims complained about it. Some of the victims besieged the yamen, and some of the victims took risks and gathered to grab food. The situation is becoming increasingly volatile and could lead to large-scale civil unrest or riots at any time.

It was under this circumstance that Xin Qiji was reappointed from Hunan to the pacification envoy of Jiangnan West Road and the governor of Longxingfu. As the commander-in-chief of the ruling party, his main tasks are: to adjust grain for disaster relief, to stabilize prices, to stabilize people's minds, and to control the situation.