On the day of the New Year's Day, Wang Rong sacrificed the heavens and the earth in the early morning, and after having fun with the people, he returned home and enjoyed the New Year's Day banquet with his family.

This year's New Year's Day banquet, in addition to last year's all those people arrived, there are also more Zheng Xuan's family, Zheng Xuan's family is not prosperous, because Zheng Xuan learned in his early years, he got married very late, and after getting married, he also put most of his energy on academic research, so he only had a son Zheng Yi in his forties, and then there were no heirs, and now his family is only three people.

When it was New Year's Day, it was also the time for family reunion, and there were only three people in the family who were obviously a little lonely, and it was much more lively to celebrate New Year's Day with Wang Ei's family, so Zheng Xuan's mood was very good today, and he drank frequently.

However, today Wang Heng made a move in Zheng Xuan's wine, and the alcohol he gave Zheng Xuan was not the highest, but a lower grade.

In fact, Zheng Xuan had already tasted it after taking the first sip, but he knew that Wang Heng was thinking about his body, and he was grateful for Wang Heng's heart, so he didn't say it, pretending that he didn't know, and talked and laughed like that.

At this year's New Year's Day banquet, there are some more new things than last year, which is the glass and glass wine jug, the clear Wuling spring wine is held in the crystal clear glass wine jug and glass, in the flickering candlelight, it looks extraordinarily bright.

Zheng Xuan picked up his wine glass and said with a smile: "This is the Poli bottle that sells for tens of thousands of dollars in Luoyang?" ”

Wang Heng nodded and said: "This is Po Li Bottle, transported to Luoyang, it can indeed be sold for tens of thousands of dollars." ”

Zheng Xuan sighed with emotion: "Those dignitaries and nobles are really rich, Shuping, you can create some new things from time to time to make their money." ”

Wang Rong smiled: "Yes, there are a lot of new things in our hall now, the windows are equipped with Po Li, and the stove for heating is not the same as before." ”

The windows in this hall are indeed equipped with glass, which is made by Wang Heng by designing a kind of machinery, the principle of this mechanism is very simple, that is, two iron rollers are used to fix them on the bracket, leaving a gap in the middle, and then using a person to shake the rocker rod to drive the semi-fluid glass from between the two iron rollers to guò and press it into a glass sheet.

Of course, this glass sheet will have some unevenness, and there will be some stripes on it that affect the transparency and appearance, so it needs to be sanded, polished to make these glass pieces smooth and transparent, and then cut to a certain size before it can be installed on the window.

In order to cut glass, Wang Heng specially asked Tongjiang firm to buy back a few small diamonds from Chang'an, these diamonds were transported back from Tianzhu by merchants from the Western Regions, and fortunately, the diamonds of this era were far less expensive than those of later generations, otherwise the cutting tools would be too expensive.

Even so, the cost of this glass piece is high enough, even if Wang Heng can only install it in this hall, but the effect after installation is really good, the lighting is much stronger than before, but there is a side effect, the servants in the Assassin's Mansion are trembling when they clean the windows, for fear of breaking the glass, they can't afford to pay for it.

After the New Year, this kind of glass will be shipped to the north and become another fist product of Tongjiang Firm.

In addition to the glass windows, the cast iron furnace in the hall is also made by Wang Heng let the craftsmen, this cast iron furnace is commonly used in later generations, the whole body of cast iron, the top and bottom can be covered with iron covers, and there is a chimney leading to the outside, the furnace is burned with fine charcoal, because there is a lid, there is a chimney, so there is no smoke and fire in the room, but it burns warm like spring, it is really a heating weapon.

In fact, Wang Heng also made tables and stools, which were much more convenient and comfortable to use than desks and seats, but Wang Heng still maintained the etiquette of a scholar and made the family still have to kneel on the seat, so the table and stools were only used by the people in the family.

The family is used to Wang Heng inventing a new thing from time to time, and if he hasn't invented it for too long, he will feel a little strange.

Zheng Xuan nodded and said: "Shuping has a heart, and he also installed a set of stoves for me, my room is much warmer this winter, and I originally wanted to give me a set of this Po Li bottle, but I think it is still my original bronze wine bottle that is convenient to use, so I didn't ask for it." ”

Wang Rong said: "Brother Kangcheng, you are Shuping's division commander, and he should do this." ”

Song also looked at Wang Heng with a smile, she liked this disciple too much, but it was a pity that she didn't give birth to a daughter, otherwise she would definitely marry Wang Heng.

Zheng Xuan asked again: "Tongyao, how is Zini's errand?" ”

Zi Ni is Guoyuan, Zheng Xuan is very concerned about this disciple who came out so early, of course he has to ask his cousin.

Wang Rong nodded and said: "Sure enough, he is worthy of being a good disciple taught by Brother Kangcheng, Zini is down-to-earth and serious, and capable, he is a capable material, and after a few more years of polishing, he can be of great use." This winter, Wuling County's water conservancy facilities have been greatly improved, and next year at least 100,000 mu of fertile land can be added to Wuling County, and in a few more years, Wuling County will become a major grain-producing county in Jingzhou. ”

Zheng Xuan said with emotion: "Zini is the most taciturn among my disciples, and he has never been very eye-catching, but I didn't expect him to come out so early." ”

Wang Rong smiled and said: "I think Sun Qian, Wu Yan, Zhang Zeng, and Xi Jian are also very good, I don't know when the eldest brother will let them come out?" ”

Zheng Xuan laughed and said: "It turns out that you are eyeing my disciples again, they are still young and not knowledgeable, let them study for a few more years." But now you can also let them follow Ji Jue, Deshu, and Zini to familiarize themselves with government affairs. ”

Wang Rong nodded happily.

At the end of this New Year's Day banquet, Zheng Xuan and Wang Rong were full of hope to wish Zhongping a smooth and prosperous four years, and the country and the people were safe, but at this time, Zheng Xuan already had seven or eight points of alcohol, if it wasn't for Wang Heng to change the wine for him, he would definitely be drunk again today.

Zhongping has been in the past four years, and at the beginning of this year, Emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty once again granted amnesty to the world, which has almost become a reserved program for Liu Hong during his reign every year.

According to historical records, Liu Hong reigned for a total of 22 years, and 20 years of it was a general amnesty.

Amnesty is a kind of grace from the emperor to the people of the world, often when the emperor feels that the world is not stable, he will come once, from this point of view, Liu Hong is only afraid that he feels that his country is unstable every year.

This year is the same, Liu Hong's country is also not peaceful, just in February, the annual commonplace rebellion drama was staged again, the people of Xingyang because they could not bear the tyranny of the government, raised troops to rebel, the rebels gathered to attack Zhongmu, killed Zhongmu Ling Luohao and the main book Pan Ye, the momentum was great, and more and more people joined the rebel army.

Xingyang is under the rule of Henan Yin, only more than 200 miles away from the capital Luoyang, if it is a fast horse, it can be reached, Xingyang is in chaos, and the capital is shaking.

This news was reported by Chen Shulai to Wang Heng, and today's Tongjiang business, as long as something major happens in various places, will be sent to Hanshou quickly, so that Wang Heng will know in advance, so that only a few days after the Xingyang rebellion, the news has been sent to Hanshou.

When Wang Heng told Wang Heng the news, Wang Heng seemed to be a little numb, yes, what year was there no such news? It's not new, but this time it's happening near Luoyang.

However, the next piece of news still touched Wang Rong, that is, the Han Emperor Liu Hong finally adopted the opinions of Zhang Rang and others, and began to sell the Guannei Hou, and the price was clearly marked, five million yuan each, and the counteroffer was not negotiable.

Speaking of which, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Hong, being an emperor really limits his talents, if he is a businessman, it is estimated that Lu Buwei and Tao Zhugong can only look at him.

When Wang Rong heard the news, his face was full of that expression of sadness and death.

Wang Rong said to himself: "Only the weapon and the name, you can't be a dummy, and the king's office is also." The name is to send letters, the letter is to keep the instrument, the instrument is to hide the ceremony, the etiquette is to do righteousness, the righteousness is to generate profits, the benefits are to the common people, and the major festivals of government are also. If you take a dummy, you will also be in charge of people. If the government dies, the country will stop from it. ”

Wang Heng knew that this was a passage in "Zuo Chuan - The Battle of the Emperor", the original words were said by Confucius, to the effect that the country's ritual instruments and the right to confer the name of the lord are the most sacred things, and they cannot be given to people, which is also the responsibility of the monarch, and the monarch should grant the title to the person who should be awarded, and the lord will grant the title to the courtiers, and the monarch can obtain his loyalty, and the courtiers will be faithful, so as to help the monarch govern the country well......

In short, the awarding of the title will bring a series of chain reactions, if the award is done properly, the courtiers will work hard, the country will be governed well, and the people will be able to live and work in peace and contentment, while the improper awarding of the title will be like dominoes, triggering a series of severe consequences.

The ancestors of the Han Dynasty also have a saying that non-military merits cannot be crowned marquis, although Liu Hong was not very reliable in the past, and even the three dukes were taken out and sold, but the title of Marquis of Guannei has never been sold, which is also the bottom line, but now for the sake of money, he even broke this bottom line.

This news was delivered at the same time as the news of the rebellion of the people of Xingyang, which was also extremely ironic.

Wang Heng saw Wang Heng's pale face, and he couldn't bear it, this was to shatter his years of faith!

Last year, Wang Rong was crowned the county marquis because of his military exploits, how happy he was, because this is the highest honor of a scholar, but now when he thinks that even a peddler, as long as he can afford five million, he can become the marquis of Guannei in a grand manner, can Wang Rong still feel honored for his marquis?

Sure enough, Wang Rong then muttered again: "Shame with it, shame with it......"

Wang Heng stood up as he spoke, and because of his violent movements, he even stumbled a little, Wang Heng hurriedly stepped forward to support him, and Wang Heng said, "I'm fine." Shuping, bring wine, I want to drink. ”

Wang Heng was worried about his father's health and persuaded him not to drink, but Wang Heng insisted on drinking, so Wang Heng still went to get a pot of wine.

Wang Heng has been drunk, Wang Heng's persuasion has been ineffective, and in the end he can only wait for his father to get drunk and stay by his side to take care of him.

In addition to these news about Wang Heng, there are also some news that Wang Heng particularly pays attention to, that is, the situation of Dong Zhuo, Sun Jian, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shao, who are future heroes at this time.

Dong Zhuo and Sun Jian were both following Zhang Wen to pacify Liangzhou traitors such as Bian Zhang and Han Sui at this time, but the battle situation was not very smooth.

Cao Cao is currently idle at home, but he is not idle is not no one to use him, the year before last the imperial court also appointed him as the minister of Jinan, he in Jinan to crack down on corrupt officials and corrupt officials, so that a county Qingping, and later the court recruited him as the East County Taishou, but he refused to cater to the powerful, returned to his hometown under the pretext of illness, and lived in seclusion.

Liu Bei was only in his twenties at this time, and was named the lieutenant of Anxi County because of his military exploits in the pacification of the Yellow Turban, and abandoned the official and absconded because of the whipping of the superintendent post, and then he was exiled for several years, and successively served as an official in several small counties, but he was never willing, and now, he became a Sima of another department under the account of his senior brother Gongsun Zhan.

Yuan Shao is still a staff member of the general He Jin, and praises him as a staff officer.

Who would have thought that in a few years, once the storm meets, they will all become big names who stir up the general trend of the world?

Because Liu Hong openly sold Guan Neihou's affairs, Wang Rong's love was low for a few days, but soon, the arrival of a person made him happy again.

This person is Cai Yong.

Cai Yong has been under the protection of the Taishan Goat Clan, that is, the family of Nanyang Taishou Yangxu, to avoid trouble in the land of Wuhui in the south of the Yangtze River, but the land of Wuhui is not the anointed place of later generations at this time, and the development is not complete, Cai Yong is not used to life there, and because of the fear of assassins coming to the door or being denounced, Cai Yong has always been homeless, and his life is very unstable.

This time, Zheng Xuan wrote a letter to Cai Yong, which suddenly moved Cai Yong's heart.

Zheng Xuan once went to Cai Yong's house to borrow Cai Yong's collection, and the two admired each other's character and learning, and they became close friends at first sight, and Cai Yong of course trusted Zheng Xuan very much.

In the letter, Zheng Xuan described his current life in Hanshou, praised Wang Heng as rare in the sky and nothing underground, and attached several of his printed books to Cai Yong.

For the happy life of Hanshou described in Zheng Xuanxin, Cai Yong is deeply yearning, his life in Jiangnan to avoid disasters has been enough, he really wants to live such a stable life, not to mention that Hanshou still has so many attractions for him, such as printing his collection of books and passing them on to future generations.

So, Cai Yong took his family and came to Hanshou with several disciples sent by Zheng Xuan to deliver the letter.

A disciple of Zheng Xuan went to Hanshou City in advance to report the letter, Zheng Xuan went to inform Wang Rong again, Wang Rong heard that the great Confucian Cai Yong was coming, and he was immediately overjoyed, and immediately wanted to go out of the city to greet him in person, but Zheng Xuan persuaded him, he said that Cai Yong is now jealous of the Han Emperor, and has offended many powerful people.

When Wang Heng heard this, he felt that it made sense, so he dispelled the idea of going out to greet him in person, and asked Wang Heng to go out of the city to greet him on his behalf, while he went to Hanshou Academy to wait.

Wang Heng took the place of his father and accompanied Zheng Xuan out of the east gate to meet Cai Yong.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, I saw several carriages coming from the official road, and there were more than a dozen horsemen accompanying the carriages.

Seeing Zheng Xuan standing in front of the road, a few of the dozen or so horsemen immediately rushed over, and when they were more than ten steps away from Zheng Xuan and his party, the knights flew off their horses and walked in front of Zheng Xuan and saluted: "Teacher, we have brought Mr. Bo Jiao!" ”

These knights were several students sent by Zheng Xuan to pick up Cai Yong, they were all young people who were both civil and martial arts and skilled in horsemanship, and one of them was a side branch of the Taishan Goat Clan, which could win Cai Yong's trust.

Zheng Xuan nodded and said, "You guys did a great job!" ”

The carriage soon approached, and an old man got down from the carriage at the head, with a high crown on his head, a deep coat on his body, and a clear and ancient face, he walked a few steps quickly, and said to Zheng Xuan deeply: "Brother Kang Cheng, Yong is polite!" ”

This old man is Cai Yong, he is in his fifties this year, tall, nearly eight feet, and his body looks tough, but perhaps because he was first relegated to the bitter cold land of Shuofang, and then avoided trouble in the land of Wuhui, he has been wandering outside for more than ten years, his hair has turned gray, and the wrinkles on his face are like knives and axes, and he looks older than Zheng Xuan, who is a few years older than him.

Zheng Xuan hugged Cai Yong and said, "Brother Bo Xian, you have suffered all these years!" ”

Although Cai Yong has been on the road for more than half a month, his spirit is still very strong, and he smiled heartily: "It's okay, just to increase your knowledge outside." ”

The last time the two met was more than ten years ago, and this time they met in Hanshou, so naturally there was some intimacy and hustle and bustle.

Subsequently, the two introduced each other to their respective families.

Zheng Xuan introduced his wife Song and son Zheng Yi to Cai Yong, who also let his wife Wu and his three children get off the carriage and meet Zheng Xuan.

Wu looked to be in her forties, with a beautiful appearance and a graceful figure, and it could be seen that she was also a beauty when she was young, holding a baby less than a year old in her arms, which was their youngest daughter in Huiji, named Cai Qi.

Cai Yong's son's name is Cai Zong, he is seventeen years old this year, and his height is close to Cai Yong, but his figure is still a little thin, and he politely stepped forward to salute Zheng Xuan.

When Cai Yong's eldest daughter Cai Yan stepped forward to give a salute, Wang Hengru was thundered, although he already had high expectations for Cai Yan, but Cai Yan still amazed him.

Cai Yan is fourteen years old this year, her stature is not low, nearly seven feet, that is, close to one meter six, her head is combed with a girl's common split bun, a phoenix-shaped golden step is swayed in the bun, a strand of black and shiny hair hangs behind her shoulders, looking playful and cute, her skin is very fair, her eyes are bright and bright, her eyebrows are picturesque, she smiles smartly, and her eyes are full of aura.

She was wearing a green close-fitting cotton jacket, a white skirt on the outside, a goose-yellow cotton robe underneath, and a red fox fur coat on the outside - it was the time when it was warm and cold, so she was still wearing winter clothes, but these winter clothes were worn on her body, and they did not feel bloated at all, but set off her figure extraordinarily graceful.