Yuan Hui pushed open the door of the Changshui Yingguan Temple, Yuan Shao was burying his head in reading the official document, heard the footsteps, thought it was a subordinate, and asked without raising his head: "What's the matter?" ”

Yuan Hui pinched the Jinpa to cover his lips and coughed lightly: "Lord Captain is busy with official business." ”

Hearing that it was a female voice, Yuan Shao was taken aback, looked up and saw that it was Yuan Hui, hurriedly put down the pen in his hand, got up and greeted him, while beckoning people to serve wine and dried fruits, he wanted to help Yuan Hui, and stretched out half of his hand, only then did he remember that Yuan Hui was now a beauty in the palace, and quickly shrank back, and gave a salute respectfully: "The beauty is coming, Chen Shao has missed the distance, and dares to ask for forgiveness." ”

A touch of disappointment flashed in Yuan Hui's eyes, although she and Yuan Shao are half-brothers and sisters, but the relationship has always been very good, Yuan Shao later passed on to Uncle Yuan Cheng, or often came back to visit her, always affectionately called her little sister, but when I saw her today, it seemed a lot more rusty.

"Captain Yuan is really busy, I haven't seen you since I returned to Beijing." Yuan Hui sat down and said without being salty.

Yuan Shao touched his nose a little embarrassedly and sat beside him carefully. He knew the temper of this little girl, and as soon as he came today, he could hear that the voice was wrong, besides, it didn't matter, she wouldn't run to the Changshui camp at the risk of being blamed.

Yuan Shao was promoted to the captain of Changshui, and after returning to Luoyang, he soon became a model for Luoyang scholars, he spent most of his time in the Changshui camp, and it was not easy for ordinary people to enter the camp to see him casually, so every time he rested, it became his busiest time. From the first day of work to the third day of work, he basically met customers for a day and a half.

Although Yuan Shao was very tired, he also knew that this was very important to his career, not to mention that he also enjoyed such an atmosphere. After the bloody battlefield, his vision has now risen to a higher level, and he has stood on a higher ground to look down on those famous people who only know how to fight bravely, or only know how to talk on paper, but think they are both civil and military.

There are always endless guests, and he is so busy that his feet don't touch the ground, so he naturally doesn't have time to see Yuan Hui.

Yuan Shao carefully looked at Yuan Hui's face for a moment, and said distressedly: "Little sister, you have lost weight." ”

Yuan Hui's nose was sour, and she almost burst into tears, thinking of the perverted things that the Son of Heaven had done to her, she felt aggrieved. She endured her sadness, waved her hand, and motioned for the palace maid to step back and close the door. Yuan Shao saw that she was cautious and didn't dare to slack off, so he hurriedly instructed the guards to watch the door and not enter unless they were transmitted.

As soon as the door was closed, Yuan Hui's eyes turned red, tears fell down, and the placket of his clothes soon appeared. Yuan Shao let out a long sigh, didn't persuade her, poured a glass of wine and stuffed it into her hand, and said softly: "Little sister, my Yuan family owes you too much." ”

He didn't say that it was okay, but when he said this, Yuan Hui couldn't hold back any longer, grabbed it and threw himself into Yuan Shao's arms, crying loudly. Yuan Shao's eyes were also red, and he gently stroked Yuan Hui's back, his lips squirmed a few times, but he couldn't say any words of comfort. He had already learned some of what happened to Yuan Hui in the palace from Yuan Feng's mouth, and he felt sorry for Yuan Hui and was amazed by Yuan Kui's idea. If it weren't for Yuan Hui entering the palace, how could the Yuan family make a comeback so quickly, not to mention anything else, if it weren't for Yuan Hui's pillow wind, he wouldn't have been able to be the captain of Changshui no matter what.

It's just that Yuan Hui is alone. Yuan Huiren is both smart and knowledgeable, and has always been arrogant, ordinary scholars can't get into her blue eyes at all, but her marriage has always been unsmooth, first met the pseudonymous Huang Ziai, and then was rejected by Liu Xiu, and now for the future of the family, she has to compromise and wait for the son of heaven she has always looked down on.

"Little sister......" Yuan Shao waited for Yuan Hui to cry to the fullest, then helped her up, handed her a handkerchief, and comforted her a few words. Yuan Hui cried happily, relieved the pain in his heart, and calmed down a lot. She washed away the tears on her face, and made up some light, except that her eyes were still a little red and swollen, she couldn't see the weakness just now.

"Big brother, how do you feel about the trip to Northern Xinjiang?"

Yuan Shao looked at her for a moment, and saw that she had indeed controlled her emotions, so he breathed a sigh of relief and roughly explained the things in Northern Xinjiang. Yuan Hui listened quietly, but his eyes were a little cold, and Yuan Shao was a little uneasy, and finally stopped his mouth.

"Little Sister ......"

"Big brother misses the war in Northern Xinjiang very much." Yuan Hui raised the corner of his mouth and looked at Yuan Shao with some sarcasm. Yuan Shao smiled awkwardly and rubbed his hands. Yuan Hui glanced at his hand and chuckled: "I heard that the eldest brother's hands that have held halberds and cut off Xianbei people are very famous in Luoyang. ”

Yuan Shao's face was red, he chatted with those celebrities, and when he talked about martial arts, no matter how strong the other party's momentum was, as long as he stretched out his hand and asked the other party, do you know what it feels like to hold a halberd in your hand? Do you know how hard a halberd stabs can hit you when they pierce your enemy's chest? Do you know what it's like to walk in a snowstorm and have your hands blown unconscious by the wind? It was enough to shut up the other person and attract an admiration. But when Yuan Hui said this at the moment, he obviously didn't come to praise him.

"My Yuan family's poetry and books are heirlooms, the fourth generation and the third duke, but in the end, I want to boast of holding the halberd and killing people, I don't know what An Gong will think under Jiuquan." Yuan Hui said lightly, his tone full of undisguised accusation and disappointment: "You seem to have only seen the Xianbei people, but you don't know that our real enemies are not the Xianbei people. ”

Yuan Shao frowned, and said in a deep voice: "Of course I know. ”

"You know?"

"I know." Yuan Shao nodded vigorously, indicating that he did know. "The three states of Youji and Liang are where the elite soldiers of the Han Dynasty are located, and if you want to talk about cavalry, they all come from these three states. At the beginning, the ancestors fought for the world, that is, with Hebei as the foundation, and Youzhou Tuqi as the front to sweep the world. ”

Yuan Hui's face softened a little. "Do you have a solution?"

Yuan Shao smiled disapprerovingly: "Little sister, you are in the deep palace, and what you heard is probably only the good news from Bingzhou, but you don't know the predicament hidden behind these good news." Why did we win this time? It was because Liu Xiu robbed Helian's wife and turned the battle out of the fortress into luring the enemy into depth, and we had no worries about supply difficulties. Even so, because of the serious shortage of troops, we cannot completely annihilate the Xianbei people, and can only force them to surrender. In the face of a Hongyue tribe, we are already powerless, and the Hongyue tribe is just a more powerful tribe among the Xianbei people. This battle seemed to run thousands of miles from east to west, but Tanshi Huai did not leave Danhan Mountain at all, nor did he use any main force, for him, this was just a test to see if Helian was a talent to be created. If he personally led his troops to send troops, the east and west would invade together, and the strength of the three states of Youhe and Liang would not be able to stop it at all. ”

Yuan Hui looked at Yuan Shao quietly, Yuan Shao frowned slightly, took out a map from the case, and explained it to Yuan Hui in detail.

"The financial endowment of Bingzhou is seriously insufficient, even if Liu Xiuneng turns all the Huns into the people of our Han Dynasty, and Bingzhou has an additional population of four or five hundred thousand, but there are many mountains and hills in the south of Bingzhou, and there are many grasslands in the north, but there is only a small amount of arable land, and it is difficult to achieve real results without a few years of hard work, and the gap in grain is very large, so it must be transported from abroad." Yuan Shao tapped the map hard, and said confidently: "Even if he has a fine horse, if he can't eat, what kind of battle will he fight?" Not to mention anything else, I am afraid that the Huns he has just subdued will become his henchmen, and the credit will also become a sin. ”

Yuan Hui nodded, with more relief and approval in his eyes.

"The biggest problem now is to control the financial endowment of Jizhou, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou and Jingzhou, these six states account for more than eighty percent of the financial endowment of our Han Dynasty, and only these states can draw financial endowment to supplement the annexation of the state." Yuan Shao drew a circle on the map, "To control these six states, plus Luoyang, is to control the lifeblood of the entire Han Dynasty." ”

"Then you know the purpose of the Son of Heaven appointing Zhang Jiao as the prime minister of Jinan."

Yuan Shao sneered: "What can a mere horn do, it won't be long before he has to leave in disgrace, just like those protégés of the Son of Heaven." ”

"That's not right." Yuan Hui shook his head and disagreed with Yuan Shao's opinion: "Although Zhang Jiao is unpopular in the imperial court, he has many supporters among the people, and he has a close relationship with many celebrities. ”

Yuan Shao frowned, a little surprised.

"In addition, Xun Shuang went from Sun Xunyou to Northern Xinjiang, why didn't you treat him politely?" Yuan Hui said reproachfully.

Yuan Shao pursed his lips: "I asked Chen Jifang, and he said that Xun Gongda has no reputation, and he is not an outstanding talent in the Xun family." ”

"Chen Jifang is a rotten Confucian, how can you listen to him." Yuan Hui unceremoniously accused: "Even if Xun Gongda has no reputation, but he is a member of the Xun family, then you can't take it lightly, so many guests you raise are all really talented and learned?" This person was brought to Luoyang by Xun Shuang, if you don't treat him politely, you just don't give Xun Shuang face. Xun Shuang therefore refused to accept his father's recommendation to become an official, which is proof of this. ”

Yuan Shao was silent, he felt that Xun Yu was useless, and when he went to northern Xinjiang, he didn't seem to show any ability, and he was sick and became a burden. But he also knows that Yuan Hui is right, not everyone has real talent and learning, many people just blow it out, sometimes you know that the other party is just like this, and you have to be a snake and can't tear your face.

"Where is he now?"

"After he came back from northern Xinjiang, as soon as he arrived in Luoyang, the Son of Heaven summoned him to the palace and made him a waiter of the Yellow Gate." Yuan Hui looked at Yuan Shao with some concern: "The Son of Heaven has never seen Xun You again, and he has always been quite disapproving of celebrities, why is he in such a hurry to confer Xun You officials this time?" In my opinion, it is likely that Liu Xiu recommended Xun Yu to him. ”

Yuan Shao raised his head in surprise: "Is there such a thing?" ”

Yuan Hui nodded affirmatively, "There are two possibilities, one is that Xun You is deeply hidden, and Liu Xiu knows his ability, and the other is that Xun You is indeed just a talent, but Liu Xiu wants to show favor to the Xun family by recommending him." No matter what the reason is, in this matter, Liu Xiu handled it more properly than you. ”

Yuan Shao's face became very ugly, he glanced at Yuan Hui dissatisfied, and opened his mouth to refute, but after thinking about it, he swallowed his words back. He pondered for a moment, not wanting to talk about this topic any further: "Little sister, how do you think I can let my Yuan family occupy this Situ position?" ”

"It's hard to say, but it's actually quite simple." Yuan Hui smiled slightly, "The Son of Heaven is most short of money now, send the Son of Heaven 100 million money, this Situ is my Yuan family." ”

"Send money?"

"Do you know why the Son of Heaven favors Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and the former Cao Jie the most?" Yuan Hui stood up, tidied up his clothes, pursed his lips, and said lightly: "Do what you like, and you will get what you want." The Son of Heaven is too afraid of the mother and son who were born in the small princes, and now although he is the Son of Heaven and rich in the world, the poor disease has not changed, and his favorite is money, and whoever gives him money is a loyal minister. With just 100 million dollars, you can grasp the world's money and choke the throat of the state, why not? ”

……

In June of the first year of Guanghe, Liu Xiu returned to Jinyang with more than 50 children surnamed Huns, and saw Cai Yong, who had been missing for almost two years.

"I just came from Luoyang, Your Majesty has a prince, you have a daughter, Your Majesty is very happy, and I want to marry you." Cai Yong stroked his beard and said enviously: "Your Majesty has prepared names for the two children, the prince's name is Liu Xie, and your daughter's name is Liu He. ”

Liu Xiu was not happy, and said in his heart that my daughter should be named by me, what is the matter with the Son of Heaven.

Liu Xiu quipped: "Sir, don't patronize and be happy for others, you should hurry up and give birth to a son and a half daughter, otherwise how will your belly full of knowledge be passed on?" ”

"I'm happy too." Cai Yong said with a smile: "I also added a daughter last year, because I have been on the run, and I didn't take a name, and then I received a letter of pardon from Your Majesty, I rushed to Luoyang, and Your Majesty rewarded me with a piece of beautiful jade, so I named her Yan, the word Zhaoji, and the prince had a fun time together." ”

Cai Yan, Cai Zhaoji? Liu Xiu was stunned for a moment, looked at Cai Yong again, and said in his heart that this is how the name of a talented woman came from.

"Whose lady is your wife?"

"Shandong Sheep Family." Cai Yong was a little embarrassed: "After I came back from Wuyuan, I hid in Yang's house for a while, married a wife, gave birth to a daughter, and later put their mother and daughter in Yang's house. ”

"What strange book?" Liu Xiu's curiosity rose, "I appreciate the strange texts, and the doubts are analyzed, let me take a look too." ”

"Eighty-five volumes of the Treatise on Heng written by Wang Zhongren." Cai Yong was in a good mood and talked and laughed: "Don't worry, I brought it, others don't show it, you can definitely see it, there are some strange things in it that are a little similar to what you usually say." ”

Liu Xiu almost jumped up, Wang Fu's "On Balance"? This is a famous book, he searched through the collection of Dongguan books and didn't find it, how did it fall into Cai Yong's hands.

Cai Yong regarded Liu Xiu's surprise as the result of the same curiosity as himself, and didn't think too much about it, and then said: "I know that you are going to promote Huang Lao Dao in Jinyang, and you have brought all the books about Huang Lao Dao here, which is two big cars. There is also a part of the royal collection in Dongguan, I also asked His Majesty to bring it, Zhang Pingzi's article, as long as the palace is hidden, one is not small, some pictures I also asked the people of Lingtai to draw a ......"

Cai Yong talked about his merits with great interest, and Liu Xiu smiled when he heard it, this bookworm scholar is a good helper. With him, he can save a lot of things. What makes him even happier is that although Cai Yong is a little roundabout, he is a veritable all-round generalist, he is not only proficient in modern and ancient literature and classics, but also has a lot of research on the doctrines of Huang Laodao and other sons, and there is nothing he does not know about astronomy, geography and music.

The matter of learning can be handed over to him, and his most important task is to get money. Thinking of the funding gap in units of 100 million, Liu Xiu's brain was a little painful.

I have to say that forming an alliance with the Heavenly Master Dao instead of the Taiping Dao, there may not be any difference in other aspects, but there is indeed a big gap in making money, although the Heavenly Master Dao is the source of Taoism, but the ability of these people in the Lu family to accumulate money is not a grade compared with Zhang Jiao's master and apprentice. If he had the support of Zhang Jiao's strong economic strength, he wouldn't have to have a headache now.

……

Dad pushed a pair of celadon cups as smooth as jade in front of Liu Xiu, and his face was a little proud: "How?" ”

Liu Xiu picked up the porcelain cup and examined it carefully, and nodded reluctantly: "It's okay." ”

"Will?" The smile on Daddy's face froze, and he glanced at Liu Xiu suspiciously: "Can you do better?" ”

"I said, 'thin as paper, color as jade, bright as a mirror, sound like a chime', this is the best product, you can achieve this cup is as beautiful as jade, barely can be called bright as a mirror, the other two can't match at all, isn't it going to be what?"

Dad picked up the cup and knocked it, although the sound was crisp, but it was indeed some distance from the chime.

"But you can get to this point in just a few months, Ah Weng, you must have suffered a lot." Liu Xiu turned to comfort and said: "I am already very satisfied with this result, this pair of cups can not be sold without ten gold in Luoyang City." ”

Only then did Dad smile again: "I just started to do it, the craft is not very proficient, there are not many of them, this time I only brought a hundred pairs over, I'm afraid it's not enough, I've already arranged for someone to step up the firing." ”

"Don't be in a hurry, the goods are scarce and expensive, and it will be worthless if you spread too much at once." Liu Xiu waved his hand, "You leave ten pairs for me, and the rest will be sold in various markets, rather than sell them or reduce the price." Luoyang ...... Put up to 20 pairs, Handan, Linzi, Shu, and Jiangling are put 10 pairs. ”

"Do you want to teach me about business?" Dad waved his hand disdainfully: "You don't have to worry about it, I'll arrange it." He pushed a bag of gold in front of Liu Xiu, and Liu Xiu opened it with a smile: "Dividends so soon?" ”

"Split the fart." Dad scolded with a smile: "As for the dividends of this porcelain square, I have already paid you in advance." This is a red envelope for the granddaughter. ”

"Red envelopes?" Liu Xiu almost bit his tongue, the red envelope in his father's bag was so big, his eyes were rough and rough, and there was at least fifty gold.

"I didn't want to give, a girl, what's there to be happy about." The father said helplessly: "It is your aunt who is happy, saying that she has a child just a year after getting married, which is a good sign for having many children and grandchildren, and she has to send me fifty gold." ”

"Your psychology is not right, Dad, male and female babies are the same."

"Same? No matter how well her daughter is raised, isn't it a waste when she gets married? The old man's eyes widened, and he said angrily: "You give me the time to take a few more concubines, give birth to a bunch of sons, give birth to a son, and Lao Tzu will give you a thousand gold." ”

Liu Xiu squeezed his eyes and said narrowly: "Then what if I give birth to seventeen or eighteen?" ”

Daddy calmly: "You just gave birth to one hundred and twenty like Liu Sheng, and Lao Tzu can afford it." ”

Liu Xiu was speechless, his father had the strength and confidence to speak.

When Dad saw that he was deflated, he smiled with satisfaction, and took a sip of tea with taste: "How about it, is it tight at hand, do you want me to give you some credit?" ”

Liu Xiu shook his head: "No." ”

Dad was surprised, raised his eyelids, and looked at Liu Xiu puzzled.

Liu Xiu explained: "I know you have money, but that money has been accumulated over several generations or more than ten generations, and I can't throw all your hard work here for so many years." I'm in charge of a state, if I can't be self-sufficient, I can only sit and eat nothing, wouldn't it be too much of a failure? ”

Dad looked at Liu Xiu in a daze for a while, and his eyes showed a look of relief. He thought for a while and asked with concern: "Then how do you plan to solve the difficulties in front of you, if you don't have money, whether it's the Huns or the Han people, they won't be able to follow you with peace of mind." Although Luoyang trusts you, he can't protect himself, and he probably won't be able to help you. If you want to do so many things at once, I am afraid it is impossible to rely only on the financial support of the state itself. ”

Liu Xiu smiled slightly, "There are difficulties, and opportunities are not small, I will do my best." However, I don't want to do it too smoothly, otherwise, some people will treat the state as a piece of fat, and when the time comes, won't I become a big wrongdoer? ”

Daddy's eyes flashed, and he understood what Liu Xiu meant: "Yes, turning this place into a thorn ball is also a good way to prevent someone from coveting it." However, you also have to be in a good sense of proportion, and you can't make the fake come true. ”

"Don't worry, Aweng, I won't be so stupid." Liu Xiu played with the pair of porcelain cups and gently tapped each other, "Ah Weng, the food gap in Bingzhou is not small, but the mountains and forests are rich in resources, as well as coal and salt and iron, as well as good pastures, in the future, the mountains will be full of cattle and sheep, and a large number of war horses and cows and sheep's milk, meat, and leather are also a very lucrative business, do you have the right manpower to arrange for it?" ”

"This piece has always been in charge of Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping, let them help you." Dad looked at Liu Xiu with a smile, pointed at him with his finger, and said his intentions: "Don't test my capital, when it should be given to you, I will naturally give it to you, the time is not right, you think about it in vain." ”

Liu Xiu disguised his dry laughter twice, filled a pair of porcelain cups with wine, handed a glass to his father, and picked up one himself. Dad took the cup in his hand, and the father and son raised their glasses and touched each other, looking at each other and smiling

(To be continued)