In the blink of an eye, he entered Layue, Liu Xiu and the powerful people in Guanzhong began a tug-of-war negotiation, he himself could not come forward, just like the head of the family of those big clans would not come forward in person, he wanted to hide behind the scenes to control, and it was Xun Yu who came forward to negotiate. Xun Yu is a child of a family, and he is dignified and has a first-class character, and he is born with a sense of closeness to these families, so it is more appropriate for him to negotiate than Liu Xiu himself.

Liu Xiu was not at ease, after all, although Xun Yu was smart, he was too young and had no experience in politics, in order to give him a strong support, he invited Wang Yun to come, and he partnered with Xun Yu. Wang Yun has been in power for many years, and he has presided over the pilot of the new policy of merging states, and he knows the pros and cons better than Liu Xiu. The last time he was reported to Quanzhou by Liu Xiu because of the cover-up, he lost face and has been a little lost, but this time he was invited by Liu Xiu to Guanzhong and paid a heavy responsibility, and he was suddenly full of combat effectiveness.

Liu Xiu believes that when the two kings in the world join forces, no matter how cunning Guanzhong Haoqiang is, he will not be able to bargain for anything. What he has to do is to step up the time to rectify the defense of Guanzhong, and at the same time do a good job of the strong backing of Xun Yu and Wang Yun.

With Huangfu Song's recommendation, Liu Xiu trusted Xu Rong and Huaxiong very much, and after inspecting the two camps, Liu Xiu said to Xu Rong, with your talent, it is a pity to be a Fufeng Lieutenant to take care of the mausoleum, you go to Xiaoguan, and the defense of the northwest will be handed over to you.

After finishing speaking, without waiting for Xu Rong to speak, he said again, although I am General Wei, I have no right to promote your official, and I have no money now, and I can't talk about increasing my rank for the time being, so I have to wronged you.

Xu Rong was overjoyed, although the official rank of the Captain of Fufeng was very high, more than 2,000 stones, but there were only more than 1,000 soldiers under his command, and he was responsible for taking care of the imperial tombs in Fufeng, in fact, it was not interesting, those imperial tombs had already been dug up by the Red Eyebrow Army, what could there be. Although Liu Xiu did not give him a promotion and a salary increase, he let him be in charge of Xiao Guan's defense, which is to directly face the Qiang people, and there will be more opportunities for meritorious service, and it is not trivial to increase the rank and rank in the future. He smiled mildly and bowed his hand: "General Deming is heavy, and he is grateful, a little bit of money, so why worry about it." Please rest assured that General Ming is surnamed Rong, and he will not let the Qiang people enter Xiaoguan for a single step. ”

Liu Xiu was very satisfied, turned his head and said to Hua Xiong, "Don't stay in Chang'an, go to Sanguan as the captain of Huya, and you will be responsible for the defense of the southwest." ”

Hua Xiong nodded happily, and after thanking him, he said a little embarrassedly: "Before I leave, can you take the liberty to make a request to General Ming?" ”

"Say, as long as I can do it, I will satisfy you." Liu Xiu said very happily.

"Please allow General Ming, I want to fight with Xu Yu and Guan Yu under General Ming."

"This?" Liu Xiu was stunned, he thought that Hua Xiong wanted some benefits, but he didn't expect it to be this request. He looked at Hua Xiong and saw that his eyes were shining, and he was so excited that he felt like he had been beaten with chicken blood, knowing that this guy was itchy. He smiled slightly: "Ziwei, I want to tell you, this is the focus of the general's strategy, of course courage is also needed, but it is by no means the most important." A general who will charge forward in every battle is at best a fighting general, not a general. ”

Hua Xiong blinked, as if he understood.

Liu Xiu sighed, this guy is a combatant, it seems that it is impossible to expect him to be the same as Xu Rong. Okay, let him suffer a little, it's not easy to pick anyone, you have to pick Guan Yu and Xu Yu.

"Point to point, don't hurt your surname." Liu Xiu said. Hua Xiong nodded again and again, and went happily. Liu Xiu hurriedly called Hao Zhao and asked him to take care of Guan Yu and not kill him. Guan Yu has not been in a good mood recently, but don't spill your anger on Hua Xiong, and if you have a warm wine to kill Hua Xiong, the joke will be big. As for Xu Zhen, he is not worried, Xu Yu is a reckless man in the romance, but in fact, Xu Yu is very stable and a very reliable bodyguard.

As expected, Xu Yu and Hua Xiong politely exchanged hands, and after more than a dozen rounds of fierce fighting, Xu Yu won half a move against him. Although Guan Yu got Liu Xiu's signal, he didn't dare to hurt Hua Xiong's surname, but he didn't leave much mercy, maybe because he was annoyed by Hua Xiong's distrust, maybe because he wanted to give the Xiliang generals a dismount, Guan Yu made a stormy attack, and slashed out seven knives in one breath, although Hua Xiong was prepared, but in the face of Guan Yu's rapid attack, he still couldn't survive, and was forced by Guan Yu to take ten steps back, and finally sat on the ground with his arms almost unconscious.

However, Hua Xiong was not unhappy, but was so happy as if he had received a reward, he not only admitted defeat in person, but also ran to Liu Xiu and said that the general's subordinates are really hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and the masters are like clouds. I obeyed, and it was my blessing to be a general under the general.

Liu Xiu smiled, and said in his heart that you were not an enemy of Guan Yu, and it was indeed a blessing that you were slashed by Guan Yu. He comforted Hua Xiong twice, passed the dragon form passed to Guan Yu to Hua Xiong, and said to Hua Xiong, this is the martial arts that Guan Yu practiced, you practice hard, and when you play against him again, you can't guarantee that you will win, but you won't lose so badly.

Huaxiong was overjoyed and left gratefully.

After sending Xu Rong and Huaxiong out, Liu Xiu took over the Fufeng Battalion and the Huya Battalion, the soldiers of these two battalions often fought, and their combat effectiveness was not bad, Liu Xiu did not spend much effort to complete the rectification, he selected literate and hyphenated people from the guards, loyal and reliable people were inserted into each battalion to serve, and then rewarded them in the name of the approaching New Year, so that everyone could have a good year. When the soldiers of the two battalions got the money, they were naturally happy in their hearts, and the already weak resistance quickly disappeared.

At the same time as rectifying the defense, Liu Xiu alienated the Son of Heaven and asked the Son of Heaven to move the displaced people into the customs. Because of the lack of population, a large amount of fertile land in Guanzhong was discarded, and instead it was necessary to transport grain relief from Guandong, so it was better to settle fields in Guanzhong, which not only solved the problem of grain in Guanzhong, but also solved the problem of insufficient troops in Guanzhong. As for the money and food needed by the migrants, they can use the Furui of Guanzhong in the next few years as collateral to borrow from the families along the way, anyway, that's what he did in Bingzhou, and now it's just a rehash of old skills.

While asking for the relocation of the displaced people, Liu Xiu asked the Son of Heaven to let Bi Lan come to Guanzhong to preside over the workshop. When he was merging with Tuntian, Bi Lan's thirsty Wu played a huge role, and the Guanzhong water system was vertical and horizontal, which could be used. Although the investment in machinery is larger, the benefits created are also obvious, and the state's experience proves that the large-scale application of machinery can largely make up for the weakness of insufficient manpower.

Bi Lan soon came to Guanzhong, and he not only brought a large number of drawings, but also a complete set of printing houses. Facing Liu Xiu's question, he smiled bitterly, I can't compete with the Yuan family, I have no business to do in Luoyang, so I have to come to the general.

Liu Xiu understood, the Yuan family also has a printing workshop, whether it is anyone who wants to publish a book or a person who wants to buy a book, they are all willing to go to the Yuan family's printing workshop, and few are willing to do business with a eunuch like Bi Lan. The Son of Heaven is now short of money, of course he can't support such a group of idlers, if Liu Xiu doesn't want them, the Son of Heaven will be ready to dissolve the printing shop.

The printing workshop is not only Bi Lan's hard work, there are also many eunuchs' shares in it, if the printing workshop closes its doors, Bi Lan will lose all his money and lose money to his grandmother's house.

However, in this way, Liu Xiu is equivalent to picking up a printing workshop for nothing, you must know that Bi Lan's printing workshop is the first printing workshop, not only the characters are complete, but also there are many skilled workers, and all processes have been straightened out, as long as the installation and commissioning are completed, you can start printing immediately.

"You've come so well." Liu Xiu said to Bi Lan affectionately, "You go to the city to pick the best land, first read the book and set it up, my Yingchuan Academy is being prepared, and I am also preparing to build a academy in Guanzhong, and then all the business will be handed over to you." ”

Bi Lan smiled, "I know that the general has a way." ”

"What is this, you wait to see me do the business to the Western Regions and Tianzhu." Liu Xiu laughed, "However, you have to hurry up and train some craftsmen for me now, I am in a hurry to use a large amount of thirsty black, and I will be in Tuntian as soon as spring begins next year." Lord Bi, this burden is not light, whether you can have a bumper harvest next year depends on you. ”

"Don't worry, general, I will definitely live up to the expectations of adults." Bi Lan patted her chest happily, and her beardless white face glowed red.

"Well, when the Guanzhong Academy is built, you will be the professor of mechanics in it."

Hearing this, Bi Lan's eyes really lit up. He looked around and saw that there were no outsiders, so he lowered his voice and said to Liu Xiu: "General, tell you a little news." ”

Liu Xiu looked at him intently, Bi Lan's gossip was of course news from the palace.

"Your Majesty asked you to come to Guanzhong because you were dissatisfied with your copying of Zhang Jiao's Jinglu." Bi Lan said in a low voice: "He let you sit in Guanzhong because of the chaos and difficulty in peace, he wants to give you a problem, and then cure your sins." Think about it, for the sake of this chaos, how many generals have been planted in this matter? What's more, Your Majesty doesn't have any money for you right now. ”

Liu Xiu blinked his eyes and thanked him repeatedly.

"However, His Majesty still trusts you, he just wants to teach you a lesson. If you change to someone else, I'm afraid that you will also be sitting in the Imperial Prison now. Bi Lan was afraid that Liu Xiu would be nervous, so he comforted him and said, "Your Majesty has been studying "Han Feizi" in the end, and the means are powerful. He knew the means of reward and punishment clearly. ”

Liu Xiu nodded, thanked him again, and finally asked, "Is Zhang Jiao still in prison?" ”

Bi Lan shook his head, looked around again, and then leaned into Liu Xiu's ear and whispered: "There are more people in the palace and outside the palace who plead for him, so as not to be a commoner, he has been driven out of Luoyang." ”

"That's all?"

"What else does the general want?" Bi Lan smiled, "Be careful, Zhang Jiaoke said, I have suffered from you this time, and I will definitely repay you in the future." ”

"His mother's, why is it on my head that is to blame, is it the Yuan family that rectifies him, is it good for him to mess with the Yuan family, but he came to me, when I am a soft pestle, it is better to pinch it?" Liu Xiu scolded in annoyance and didn't ask again.

A few days later, Mrs. Lu took Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei to return to Hanzhong through Chang'an, and Liu Xiu invited her to a banquet and asked Zhang Jiao about his situation again. As soon as she heard the name Zhang Jiao, Mrs. Lu felt a little uncomfortable, and she hesitated: "Before leaving Luoyang, he came to look for me. ”

Liu Xiu stopped his wine glass and listened quietly.

"Among our brothers and sisters, the most ambitious are him and his late husband, but the ambition of the late husband is to carry forward the Heavenly Master Dao founded by the master and prove the Heavenly Dao, and his ambition is to establish a paradise in the world that Lao Jun said."

Liu Xiu laughed to himself, his heart was really anti-backbone, and he was born an idealistic rebel. It is no wonder that the Taiping Dao came from behind, surpassing the Heavenly Master Dao in just over ten years, occupying most of the Han Dynasty, and later set off the Yellow Turban Uprising that shook the world.

"Entering the court, he originally thought that he would be able to show his life's ambitions, but he didn't expect that after three years of hard work, it would be such a result in the end." Mrs. Lu sighed faintly, "Although he didn't say what he would do in the future, with what I know about him, he won't give up." ”

Liu Xiu smiled bitterly, he tossed for a few years, and finally history returned to the original track, judging from various signs, it was imperative for Zhang Jiao to launch the Yellow Turban Uprising, and it was precisely because of this that he seized all the time to prepare in Guanzhong.

"He talked about you." Mrs. Lu raised her head and looked at Liu Xiu, "He said that although you don't believe in the Tao, in fact, you are the same as him, you are all for the sake of the common people in the world, but the methods you take are different from him." He said that you take it for granted, and in the end you will definitely be betrayed by those powerful families, at best, it is just another Guangwu Emperor. ”

"Is he trying to frame me?" Liu Xiu was taken aback, what is the difference between this and directly saying that he wants to rebel?

"You don't have to worry about this, his identity is different now, even if he says it, no one will believe it, not to mention that he only said it to me alone." Seeing Liu Xiu's nervous face, Mrs. Lu couldn't help laughing, and then became serious again, "You have to be careful, I'm worried that he will be bad for you." ”

"I'm mentally prepared for this, anyway, our feud is settled." Liu Xiu also sighed, "Madam, Zhang Jiao has been in business for more than ten years, and his strength is beyond my imagination, I hope Madam can help me as before." ”

Madame Lu nodded: "At this point, Heavenly Master Dao and your goals are the same. I rushed back to Hanzhong this time to mobilize the congregants in Hanzhong to import food to Guanzhong and help you solve some problems. ”

Liu Xiu knew that there was grain in the Hanzhong Basin, but the grain from Hanzhong to Guanzhong could only be transported through a few plank roads, and the freight cost was very high.

"Thank you, ma'am." Liu Xiu said with a smile, "However, there is a large amount of good land in Guanzhong, just because of the chaos and the loss of household registration, I now want to rectify the military affairs of Liangzhou, and the situation in Guanzhong will improve, I hope to be able to Tuntian in Guanzhong." What is most lacking now is people, do you think you can mobilize some Heavenly Master Taoist people to come to Tuntian? ”

"So?" Mrs. Lu hesitated a little, "I won't tell you, the Heavenly Master Dao has no Daoists in Guanzhong. ”

Liu Xiu was very surprised, Luoyang didn't preach on a large scale, after all, it was too far away from Shu, not far from Guanzhong, why didn't anyone arrange it?

"Do you know that in addition to Luoyangzhi, the twenty-three rules established by the Heavenly Master are all in Yizhou." Mrs. Lu explained that the Heavenly Master Dao has been established for so many years, and the expanded sphere of influence is not large, most of the time it is in Yizhou, especially near Chengdu, Luoyang Zhi is also a decoration, and has been entering Luoyang to preach in Taiping Dao, Liu Xiu initiated a discussion conference in Luoyang, and Tianshi Dao thought that it should be developed in Luoyang.

In addition, there is another reason why the Heavenly Master Dao has not developed in Guanzhong, that is, this is Luo Yao's territory. Luo Yao is also from the Heavenly Master Dao, but he has very little contact with the Heavenly Master Dao now, and the well water on both sides does not interfere with the river water. Heavenly Master Dao rashly preached in Guanzhong, and he should have a conversation with Luo Yao first, otherwise it would be easy to cause disputes.

Liu Xiu remembered Luo Yao, who had been mentioned when Wang Zhi showed him the stealth technique, saying that his Burmese concealment technique was very superb and had quite prestige among the people.

"Should I visit him, then?" Since Liu Xiu wanted to develop in Guanzhong, of course he couldn't tolerate such a person being out of his control. Either listen to me or destroy you.

"That's no problem, I just want to go and see how Senior Brother Luo is doing now. Originally, I was going to visit him when I passed through Nanshan, but since you want to go too, let's go together. Mrs. Lu thought for a while, and then reminded: "Senior Brother Luo's Taoist skills are exquisite, and his vision is also high, so people are a little arrogant, so it's better for you to make some preparations." ”

Luo Yao's Jinglu is at the north foot of Zhongnan Mountain, that is, the place where Lao Tzu passed on Yin Xi's "Tao Te Ching", also known as Louguan, in addition to Lao Tzu's scripture platform, Yin Xi's stargazing tower, there are Qin Shi Huang Qingtai nearby, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Wangxian Palace and other ruins, hidden in the dense forest, leaning on the mountains and facing the water, the environment is quiet, it is a good place for cultivation.

Luo Yao is eight feet tall, with a white face and a long beard, does not wear a crown, but inserts a wooden hairpin in his bun, and on a cold day, he only wears a jacket robe, which looks very personable, and is more in line with the image of a Taoist priest in Liu Xiu's impression than any other person. It's just that he can't see his age, Mrs. Lu said that he should be in his fifties, but Liu Xiu can't see it at all. Luo Yao's face was ruddy, not a single wrinkle could be seen, his beard and hair were all black as ink, and he looked only in his early thirties.

"Little junior sister, your realm has improved again." As soon as Luo Yao saw Mrs. Lu, he said with a smile: "However, you have also lost weight, and you are not in a good mood, what's the matter, you have encountered a problem?" Do you want my brother to help? ”

"Isn't this here to ask Senior Brother for help?" Mrs. Lu also laughed, as innocent as a child.

"Something to do with him?" Luo Yao glanced at Liu Xiu, who was following Mrs. Lu, but shook his head regretfully: "Great qualifications, but they are wasted." Little junior sister, your own Taoism is progressing very well, but this level of preaching is not enough. ”

Mrs. Lu smiled, turned around and introduced: "Senior brother misunderstood, he is not a disciple of my Heavenly Master Dao, he is Liu Junderan, the general of Wei sent to Guanzhong by the Son of Heaven. ”

"The one who killed the sandalwood locust?" Luo Yao grinned and nodded: "Well, it's a bit of a brave posture." Mozi's Five Elements Technique has been practiced well, but unfortunately only one foot has stepped on the threshold of the dragon shape, and it is still early to enter the room. ”

Seeing his casual tone, Mrs. Lu couldn't help but be a little worried, but Liu Xiu didn't think it was wrong, but smiled: "In this way, Luo Daochang's dragon form must have entered the transformation realm?" ”

"I don't dare to say that I have entered the transformation realm, but I am much taller than you." Luo Yao glanced at Xu Yu behind Liu Xiu again, and praised: "The tiger form is practiced well, the qi sinks to the bones, and the tiger is vigorous." He glanced at Guan Yu again, but shook his head: "It has the shape of a dragon, but it has not obtained the essence, it is fast and unparalleled within three breaths, and after three breaths, the dragon becomes a dead snake." ”

Guan Yu's face was flushed, shocked and angry, angry that Luo Yao was too arrogant, and the shocked Luo Yao just glanced at him and figured out his details. His martial arts skills are as Luo Yao said, he is more than fast, but he lacks stamina, and against the master, once he can't win it within three moves, he is a little passive. Of course, so far, except for a limited number of people, it is difficult to find anyone who can survive his three moves.

"The Taoist chief is as wise as a torch, admiring and admiring." Liu Xiu laughed quietly: "However, the Dao Master has been cultivating for many years, and it seems that he has stopped at the lion's roar, as for the dragon form, you have only broken through a few years earlier than me." I want to come to the Taoist Burmese Hidden Law to crown the world, relying on the dragon shape. ”

Luo Yao glanced at Liu Xiu with some surprise: "Your Taoist skills are average, and your eyesight is good." ”

"Passing the prize." Liu Xiu nodded modestly, "I wonder if the dragon form of the Dao Master can be as fast as the arrow array?" ”

Luo Yao's face sank, his eyes tightened, and his eyes fell on Liu Xiu's face if there was substance. Liu Xiu's hand moved, the short knife was in his hand, his eyelids rolled, and he looked back at Luo Yao.

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm not threatening the Daoist, I'm just reminding the Daoist." Liu Xiu pointed at Mrs. Lu and Wang Zhi, and then pointed at Xu Yu, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, "It's just us who killed the sandalwood locust who had reached the tiger's roar in Luoyueyuan. I just sighed, Tanshi Huai is also a genius, and after thirty years of cultivation, it is nothing more than that, it can be seen that although the Taoist art is mysterious, it has not yet reached the point of being invincible in the world. The Taoist chief saves people with the Burmese method, but I'm afraid that the results are limited, and occasionally do chivalrous deeds, it's okay to save one or two people, if the world is really in chaos, I'm afraid you can't do anything, right? ”

Luo Yao glared at Liu Xiu for a long time, and suddenly smiled: "The world is chaotic, those people don't die, what does it matter to me?" ”

Liu Xiu was stunned, he didn't expect Luo Yao to say such a thing, and he didn't know how to answer for a while.

"At the beginning, Fuxi and Nuwa were just a man and a woman, and they bred all living beings, making the world overcrowded, intriguing one by one, deceitful and deceitful, seeking nothing more than appetite, fighting for glory and wealth, which one still remembers that people are so human because they have a Taoist heart?" Luo Yao sneered: "The fox snake still has the heart of the Tao, and has cultivated for thousands of years, just to turn into a human form, but people only care about pursuing some things outside the body, and forget the avenue that should be pursued the most, such a person will die when he dies, what does it have to do with me?" ”

He turned his head and glanced at Mrs. Lu: "You too, you have all forgotten the teachings of your master back then, and you are obsessed with the glory of this world, and now you still bring such laypeople to my building to watch, polluting my ears and eyes." If it weren't for the sake of the same family back then, I would have taken your surname today. Anyway, you have forgotten your duty to cultivate, and you are just a walking dead in this world.

(To be continued)