Maoling, the imperial mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Western Han Dynasty and even the entire history of China are very famous imperial mausoleums, in addition to the first emperor mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang in front, the mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is the largest imperial mausoleum so far, in fact, only on the architectural luxury of the ground cemetery, Maoling is more than the mausoleum of the first emperor, the reason is very simple, the national financial resources of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty are not comparable to that of Qin Shi Huang, and Qin Shi Huang reigned for only thirty-seven years, compared with the fifty-three years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

According to custom, the Son of Heaven began to repair the tomb in the second year of his accession, and one-third of the tribute from the world was used to repair the tomb and the treasures in it. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty reigned for too long, and the national strength was so strong that although the last repaired imperial tomb was very large, it could not hide all the funeral treasures.

Emperor Wu once produced a number of famous ministers, there is Wei Qing tomb on the left of Maoling, there is Huo Quai's tomb on the right, Huo Guang, Jin Yueyan are all on its side, the scale is not small, there are a large number of stone people and stone beasts on the ground, and the magnificent image of the year can be seen vaguely.

Liu Xiu saw the horses that he had seen countless times stepping on the Huns, but there was no trace of joy in his heart, he stroked the traces left by the stone horse after being smashed, and looked at the eyes Although it had been cleaned up, it still could not hide the decay left by the catastrophe that year, and he was silent, his heart was full of desolation.

The Western Han Dynasty died, and Chang'an City, which once dominated the world, fell, and he knew this result before, but it was far less shocking than it is now, because the Han Dynasty was less than two hundred years old, and fate will befall Luoyang City again, after witnessing the prosperity of Luoyang City, he was terrified of the coming hell on earth. He tried his best to stop this tragedy, but could he really do it?

Liu Xiu sat on the back of the stone horse, holding his face with his hands, looking at the silent mountain in the distance, and didn't say a word for a long time. Ma Teng and Xu Yu watched from a short distance, they didn't understand what Liu Xiu was thinking, why he showed such a sad expression, but they didn't say anything, looking at all this in front of them, anyone would be in a heavy mood.

Zhang Ze walked over from afar, and when he saw Liu Xiu's lonely back, he couldn't help but pause. He hesitated for a moment, walked up to the stone horse, raised his hand to pat the stone horse, and sighed: "The red eyebrows are not shallow." ”

Liu Xiu turned his head and glanced at Zhang Ze when he heard the sound, and smiled secretly in his heart. I went to your house to ask for a meeting, you left me there, and now I have chased me to Maoling, this gentleman's temper is really different.

"Although Red Eyebrows is to blame, the real culprit is not Red Eyebrows." Liu Xiu jumped down from the back of the stone horse and stroked the broken mutilation of the stone horse: "The person who forced the good people into a mob is the one who should really be held accountable." ”

Zhang Ze hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement, "Yes, Wang Mang's chaos is the real culprit." ”

Liu Xiu shook his head, disapproving with Zhang Ze's opinion. However, it is not easy for Zhang Ze to realize this, and if he really wants to say the problem of the system from his mouth, it is called a hell in broad daylight. He bared his teeth at Zhang Ze: "Lord Crouching Tiger came in a hurry, what is the matter?" ”

Zhang Ze once served as the Taishou of Ke, and was very prestigious in the Nanzhong region, and the Yi people in Yongchang and Yuewang were very afraid of him, calling him Crouching Tiger, and he was later promoted to the captain of Huqiang for the crusade against the Di people, and he was a capable person of Yunwen and Yunwu.

Hearing Liu Xiu call him famous, Zhang Ze didn't say anything, smiled, and looked at the Huo Qu's sick tomb built in the distance to imitate Qilian Mountain for a while, and then retracted his gaze and said softly: "Although Cao Luan is not a righteous gentleman, he can still be regarded as a good man in Yongchang, and it is rare to avenge the grievances of the party. ”

Liu Xiu shook his head: "I'm not humiliating him, if you think I'm going to humiliate him, then I'm not going to humiliate the world's scholars next." ”

Zhang Ze's expression was cold, he saw Liu Xiu's message, and knew that he came to handle Cao Luan's matter to contribute to the lifting of the party ban, so he rushed to meet Liu Xiu, and now listening to Liu Xiu's accent, it seems that he does not approve of the party members, and may be unfavorable to the party members, he can't help but be a little unhappy. Although he was not a party member, he still admired party members.

"Your Excellency also thinks that the party members deserve it?" There was a little more chill and indifference in Zhang Ze's voice.

"It's not okay to talk about the guilt they deserve, but to say that they are humiliated, it is not to wronged them." Liu Xiu smiled slightly, pointed to Maoling in the distance, and suddenly said a digression: "It is right to insist, but it also depends on what you insist on, and it is right to oppose it, but it also depends on what you oppose." ”

Zhang Ze was a little dizzy by him, and he didn't react immediately, Liu Xiu had already walked forward, and he pointed to the surrounding burial mausoleums: "There are so many famous ministers here, but there is no Mr. Dong Zhongshu who has three strategies from heaven and man, probably it is also the will of heaven." ”

Dong Zhongshu was the initiator of the Han Dynasty's deposition of the Hundred Schools of Thought and the exclusive respect for Confucianism, and he was also the proposer of the Han Dynasty's policy of officializing academic inheritance, and his far-reaching influence on Han Dynasty classics is self-evident. Although Zhang Ze is not famous for his studies, he still respects Dong Zhongshu, and he can't help but feel a little unhappy when he hears Liu Xiu's contemptuous words about Dong Zhongshu.

Seeing the unhappiness on Zhang Ze's face, Liu Xiu sighed, it seems that it is really not easy to defeat Dong Zhongshu's brand, Zhang Ze is not from a scholarly background, and he still has such a psychology towards Dong Zhongshu, what about those who read the classics of the saints every day? There's a long way to go.

In order to prevent further stimulation of Zhang Ze, Liu Xiu returned to the topic: "My coming to Huaili is not my own business, it is a task arranged by His Majesty. He slowed down his tone, "Your Majesty doesn't want to lift the party ban, but you must also know that Cao Luan is not so much trying to avenge the grievances of the party members, but trying to seek his own name. Is this what the world's readers want to see? ”

Zhang Ze raised his eyebrows, muttered, and sighed softly after a long time: "In this way, I thought badly." He paused, and then said, "What do you have to say to me?" ”

"I want to ask you to go up and ask Zhang Huan to be the captain."

Liu Xiu explained the situation in Luoyang. After the Tai Lieutenant Chen Tan was dismissed, few people dared to be this Tai Lieutenant, according to the routine, the Tai Lieutenant went to work, and the order of Situ was Tai Lieutenant, but Yuan Kui insisted on resigning in the name of not knowing military affairs. Yuan Kui didn't dare to be it, Sikong Xu Xun didn't dare to come forward, and the others didn't even dare to think about it. When it comes to military affairs, who dares to say that he is stronger than Duan Cheng? Tian Yan, the captain of Huqiang, and Xia Yu, the captain of Wuhuan, were his two major generals, and Liu Xiu, who had made the most trouble in Luoyang recently, was Xia Yu's former subordinate, and won the battle of Ningcheng with Xia Yu.

Liu Xiu originally hoped that Duan Cheng could become a captain, but he didn't think so now.

The reason is very simple, Duan Cheng used the means of slaughter to deal with the Qiang people, and leveled Dongqiang in one fell swoop, which does sound very cool, but the problem has not been completely solved, and the Qiang chaos is still continuing. If he was made a lieutenant, he might be able to advocate killing the Xianbei people. Liu Xiu did not object to slaughtering all the Xianbei people, but now he saw more and thought more, and he knew that at least for now, the seriously ill Han did not have the strength to conquer the Xianbei people.

In this case, the risk factor is very high. What's more, Duan Cheng is a eunuch, and once he becomes a lieutenant, it will be very detrimental to the current delicate balance of power. It seems that Duan Cheng's coming to power is beneficial to Liu Xiu, but Liu Xiu doesn't want to let the eunuch line surpass the scholar line too much, otherwise it will be difficult for him to make small moves from it. The reason for reconciling with Yuan Kui is also for this purpose.

In addition to Duan Cheng, the one who has the strength to be this captain is the other one of the three Ming, Zhang Huan and Zhang Ranming.

Zhang Huan has military exploits and learning, and his attainments in Shangshu cannot be matched even by ordinary Confucian scholars. But his reputation among the scholars is not good, on the one hand, because he is a martial artist for his military exploits, on the other hand, because the reason why Dou Wu and Chen Fan died in the hands of the eunuchs in the first year of Jianning has a lot to do with the fact that he was deceived by the eunuchs, and his prestige in the army has become an important factor in the defection of the Northern Army.

Zhang Huan is also imprisoned now, and has been closed, if he can be made a lieutenant, it actually means that the Son of Heaven will open the party ban and reactivate the party, for the Son of Heaven, this is a very important concession, in case the party will be wrong, and once again violently criticize the government, so that the Son of Heaven can not step down, then it will be troublesome.

Who proposes it, this candidate is very important, it is done, he will be the savior of the party, and if he loses, he will be the scapegoat. Liu Xiu didn't want to be this trick, so he chose Zhang Ze. Zhang Ze is not a member of the party, he is not even from a scholarly background, and he will not make the Son of Heaven feel resistant, and his performance is very good, the Son of Heaven has a very good impression of him, relatively speaking, the surname may be greater, even if he does not accept it, he will not be angry, and deal with him like Cao Luan.

Of course, if you want to get things done, these are far from enough, how to write this letter is very important, if you still write it like Cao Luan, there will be ten ** bad dishes. Liu Xiu's purpose is to dispel Zhang Ze's anger, hoping that he will start from the overall situation, not only express his meaning clearly, but also not offend the rebellion of the Son of Heaven.

Zhang Ze understood, although he felt that Liu Xiu was a bit cunning in pushing him into the fire pit and hiding behind to watch the play, but he didn't care, he readily agreed to Liu Xiu's request, saying that he would immediately recommend Zhang Huan as a lieutenant in the book of the Son of Heaven, and try to be tactful. Liu Xiu was very happy, and the two talked some more gossip, and then parted and said goodbye.

As soon as Zhang Ze returned to the Taishou Mansion, he immediately invited Sun Rui, a subordinate official, to tell him what he meant. Shi Sunrui was startled and hesitated for a long time and didn't dare to write. Shisun family is a big family of Fufeng, his father Shisun Fen's family wealth is 170 million, Liang Ji borrowed 50 million from him, but he only gave 30 million, Liang Ji was furious, signaled to the right Fufeng at that time to put the Shisun Fen brothers in prison and beat them to death. After this change, the Shisun family was bitten by a snake for one year, and was afraid of grass ropes for ten years, for fear of causing trouble again.

Seeing that Shi Sun Rui didn't dare to write, Zhang Ze patted his chest, you write, the merit is yours, and I will bear it alone if something happens. Seeing Zhang Ze say this, Shi Sun Rui knew that if he didn't write, he would not be able to do it, so he had to reluctantly make it difficult, and it took two days of hard work to finally write a note that satisfied Zhang Ze, Zhang Ze copied a copy by hand in front of Shi Sun Rui, sealed the mud, used the seal, and then returned the original manuscript to Shi Sun Rui.

Zhang Ze immediately sent Song Shu to Luoyang on a fast horse.

Liu Xiu visited the tombs on Weiyuan, and after returning to Huaili, he got the news of Zhang Ze and knew that Song Shu had been sent out, and he was very happy. At the same time, Cao Luan's letter of repentance has also been written, Liu Xiu read it again, felt that it was a profound review, and let people send it to Luoyang, and at the same time attached a draft of his own opinions. He didn't go back himself, but rushed to Chang'an City for about half a month, and after completing the sketching task, he rushed back to Luoyang with a large stack of sketches.

As soon as he entered the door of Yunli's house, Liu Xiu felt that the atmosphere was wrong, Lu Shen, Liu Bei and others stood in the courtyard like grandsons, Zhang Fei, Mao Zong and Tang Yingzi hid in the house, seeing his happy face, but they didn't dare to speak loudly, just waved desperately. Liu Xiu was suspicious, walked over and pinched Tang Yingzi's cheek first, and asked Xu Yu to take the gift, while laughing: "Didn't you enter the palace to play with the Queen Mother?" ”

Tang Yingzi took the gift, but he didn't care about being happy, and reminded eagerly: "Big brother, Mr. Lu is back." ”

Liu Xiu was stunned for a moment, and then he knew the reason for the strange atmosphere. He was a little strange, Lu Zhilujiang was too guarded, why did he come back suddenly, and when he came back, he had such a big temper?

Zhang Fei hurriedly explained what had happened. Not long after Liu Xiu left Luoyang, Lu Zhi suddenly returned to Luoyang, but he no longer had the official position of Lujiang Taishou, but came back to report on his work as an official to be punished. After returning to Luoyang, Situ Mansion didn't give any advice on how to deal with it, so he let him stay at home, Lu Zhi stayed for half a month, so he was in a hurry, and rushed to Situ Mansion to inquire, only to know that the reason why he was dismissed was that some people in the palace said that he had colluded with thieves when he pacified the thieves in Lujiang, and the thieves dispersed as soon as he went, not because he had the ability, but because he had collusion with the thieves.

How could Lu Zhi stand this slander, he immediately wrote a book to complain, but the book was like a stone sinking into the sea, and I don't know if the Son of Heaven didn't react when he saw it, or if he didn't see it at all. Lu Zhi was anxious, so he had to let his son Lu Shen defend him in front of the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother was easy to talk to, and the Son of Heaven had a conversation, and the Son of Heaven issued an edict to worship Lu Zhi as a speaker, and also went to Dongguan to go to school, as for the matter of Lujiang Taishou in office, it was over.

Lu Zhi was very depressed, this result was difficult for him to accept, not because he lost his position, but because he was very unhappy because he was so unclear. He also had to write a book to defend himself, and later Lu Shen persuaded him to say, don't go to the book, the one who says bad things about you is Yuan Yu, the regular servant.

Only then did Lu Zhi understand that it was the people of the Yuan family who were behind him, but in the final analysis, the reason was the conflict between Liu Xiu and the Yuan family, especially the conflict with Ma Lun. He was so angry that he almost vomited blood, but he couldn't reason with Yuan Kui and Ma Lun, so he had to sprinkle his anger on Liu Bei and others, saying that they were uneducated, let them study every day, and let them stand in the courtyard if they made any mistakes.

Liu Xiu understood, where did this punish Lu Shen and Liu Bei, this is an opinion on me. He thought about it and decided to go and see Lu Zhi immediately. When he passed through the atrium, Lu Shen grabbed him, looked at him with pleading eyes, and asked him to be patient when talking to Lu Zhi. Liu Xiu smiled, nodded to indicate that he knew what he knew, and then Shi Shiran entered the inner courtyard and went to the main hall.

Lu Zhi was sitting alone in the hall, reading, but Liu Xiu could see that his mind was not on reading, probably knowing from the mouths of the servants that he had returned, and was waiting here.

Liu Xiu stepped forward to give a salute and at the same time presented the gifts he brought back. Lu Zhi glanced at it indifferently, then turned his gaze back to the book, and ignored Liu Xiu, Liu Xiu bowed again, said that he didn't dare to disturb Mr. to do his studies, got up and left.

Lu Zhi was stunned, he didn't expect Liu Xiu to do this, the blind could see that he was very hot, and this fire was on Liu Xiu's body, Liu Xiu waited for him to fall without trembling, and he actually wanted to leave, and he didn't even feel guilty at all?

"You wait." Lu Zhi was stunned for a moment, Liu Xiu had already arrived in the court, if he put up a shelf for a while, it was estimated that Liu Xiu would be able to run out of the door. Lu Zhi had no choice but to give up his plan to show off his majesty and call Liu Xiu in advance. Liu Xiu turned around and looked at Lu Zhi blankly: "What's the matter, sir?" ”

Lu Zhi's heart was very blocked, and the words he had been preparing for several days suddenly couldn't come out. He looked at Liu Xiu very depressedly, and said after a while: "My Lujiang Taishou has been dismissed. As soon as the words came out, he regretted it again, saying this as if he was a wronged child, where was there still a little gentleman's prestige.

"I know, don't do it." Liu Xiu nodded very calmly, "It's okay to go back to Luoyang, Mr. is interested in learning, so let's do it with peace of mind." Although the councillor only has 600 stones, and he doesn't pay a fortune, it is not a problem to eat......"

The more Lu Zhi listened, the more depressed he became, and said in his heart, is it because I am reluctant to pay for it? I am not convinced, this official is not wronged. He interrupted Liu Xiu's words, and said with a calm face: "Deran, am I for the sake of Taishou's Yulu?" ”

"What is that gentleman for?" Liu Xiu asked rhetorically pretending to be confused.

Lu Zhi choked, and it took him a long time to recover and explain the matter concisely. Liu Xiu had already learned about these things from Zhang Fei just now, and there was nothing new to hear it again, but when the words came out of Lu Zhi's words, the meaning of accusing him was even more obvious. Liu Xiu was silent for a moment, put away his hypocritical smile, and met Lu Zhi's gaze: "Does Mr. think I'm wrong?" ”

"Isn't it a fault to be disrespectful to your elders?" Lu Zhi also sank his face, he was very dissatisfied with Liu Xiu's attitude, not only did he not have a conscious surname that he had to admit his mistake, but on the contrary, he felt that it was justified, which made it difficult for Lu Zhi to accept. "Or did you not make me your commander?"

Liu Xiu's eyes tightened, and he didn't say anything.

Lu Zhi was angry and began to accuse Liu Xiu of what he had done, starting from his business and continuing to say that he did not seek progress, caused trouble, had too close contacts with eunuchs, and so on, anyway, everything Liu Xiu did was dissatisfied with him and tarnished his reputation. His words became more and more ugly, and his voice became louder and louder, and the Zhang family in the inner room jumped to his feet when he heard it, but he didn't dare to come out to stop him, and Lu Shen and Liu Bei, who were standing in the court, looked at each other, and didn't dare to go to the court to persuade each other.

Liu Xiu listened silently, until Lu Zhi was out of breath and his mouth was dry, he leaned over and bowed: "The disciple has the teachings of Mr. Yin, so I will go back and think about it behind closed doors and concentrate on learning." After speaking, he took out two pages from his arms and pushed them in front of Lu Zhi: "This is a letter from my senior brother, I'm ashamed, I haven't solved the food he wanted, since Mr. is back, please deal with it." After speaking, he bowed again, retreated from the hall, and left without looking back, seeing that Lu Shen and Liu Bei were dumbfounded, and Lu Zhi was so angry that he couldn't speak.

Liu Xiu was very resolute, immediately packed his luggage, and moved to the Tai Chi Taoist Hall with Xu Yu and Tang Yingzi. Liu Bei and Mao Zong hesitated for a long time, but in the end they didn't act, he just rushed to the Taiji Daoist Hall with Lu Shen to persuade Liu Xiu not to be so rash, which is tantamount to expelling himself from the school, and it will not sound good to spread it in the future. Liu Xiu sneered, I didn't expel myself from the division, I waited for my husband to expel me from the division. I'm a businessman now, and getting together with you scholars will affect your reputation, so it's better to stay away.

Liu Xiu lost his temper and refused to give in, and Lu Shen had no choice but to ask Cai Yong to agree. Cai Yong listened, frowned, did not go to see Liu Xiu, found Lu Zhi first, and as soon as they met, he sent two copies of the mansion newspaper with the fragrance of ink to him.

"One is Cao Luan's request to remove the party's ban and self-impeachment, and the other is that the right Fufeng is too guarded by Zhang, and Zhang Huan is asked to worship Zhang Huan as the Taiwei Shu." Cai Yong and Lu Zhi are old friends, there is no need to talk about any false courtesy, he said bluntly: "You don't need me to tell you what these two newspapers represent, right?" ”

Lu Zhi took the two newspapers suspiciously, and quickly glanced at them, with a look of surprise in his eyes: "The Son of Heaven is going to lift the party ban?" ”

Cai Yong nodded: "Although I didn't see Deran's name on this, I believe that there must be Deran's promotion behind this." ”

"Him?"

"Not bad." Cai Yong sneered, took out another copy of "Luoyang Chronicles" and threw it in front of Lu Zhi: "This is also Deran's masterpiece, many people think that this is a plaything for after-dinner pastime, but who knows the deep meaning he reveals in this, who knows, he is the real person who worries about the country and the people?" ”

Lu Zhi laughed angrily, got up and took out the copy of "Donghu Zhi" hand-copied by Liu Xiu from the study and threw it in front of Cai Yong: "I also have such a thing, but I really can't see any profound meaning in it." If you like it, I'll give it to you. ”

Cai Yong glanced at it with some surprise, picked it up and flipped a few pages, and honestly and unceremoniously put it into his arms: "Then I will be disrespectful." Lu Zigan, don't regret it. After saying that, he walked away, confusing Lu Zhi, I don't know why Cai Yong was so desperate to defend Liu Xiu, and even did not hesitate to turn his face with his old friend for many years.

As soon as Cai Yong came out of Buyun, he turned around and went to the Tai Chi Taoist Hall, Liu Xian was busy, as soon as he saw Cai Yong, he knew his intention, but he pretended not to know, and he enthusiastically pointed to a few hanging scrolls that had just been completed and said: "Mr. came just in time, look at my Chang'an picture scrolls and still see it?" ”

Cai Yong glanced at it, was immediately attracted, leaned in front of him to take a closer look, then took a few steps back, looked at it carefully for a while, pointed to the painting entitled "Maoling Desert Smoke", and said with some sadness: "This one...... It's sad, there is no trace of vermilion, but there is blood and tears all over the paper. ”

(To be continued)