In the spring of the twelfth year of the Great Cause, Li Xu, Marquis of Boling, defeated the thief Zhang Jin and said that he was in Nangong and beheaded 13,000 people. The thieves were defeated, and Jin Cheng was spared. Boling, Xindu, Zhaojun, and Hengshan are four places in Nai'an.

This was an exciting victory for the Great Sui government and the opposition, since the beginning of spring, the bad news of the capture of the county town by the rogues in various places one after another, only in Hebei, Dou Jiande and Zhang Jincheng and the thieves were successively defeated by the official army. However, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Sui did not seem to be particularly pleased with this, and when the news arrived in the Eastern Capital, he was drinking on the river with the scholars of the secretary province. took the thousand-mile urgent document sent by the eunuch, just glanced at it roughly, and threw it in the bamboo basket beside him.

Such an obvious action naturally can't escape the eyes of people with a heart. In less than the evening, the news of Li Xu, the commander of the Fenyang Army, who had lost his position, spread outside the palace walls. "Your Majesty doesn't seem to be very kind to see that wild boy lately!" Some people pretend to reveal it to their companions. As a result, all he reaped was a barrage of disdain. "What a vision, you. That kid is pampered and arrogant, and His Majesty has seen his essence since he passed Taiyuan. Otherwise, why didn't you mention it again when you said that she would be the daughter of the palace? In my opinion, the boy's good fortune should come to an end. How can there be such a cheap thing, and the benefits of the world are all taken out by him alone! ”

"That's right!" The person who realized it was full of shame, and made up his mind to make up for it, "Or, everyone will jointly sign an excerpt tomorrow, and this kid is arrogant and arrogant, and he has no respect for his superiors?" ”

"Let's wait until we talk about that. The two Master Pei and Master Yu didn't move. Why should we come forward to offend this person! Some old people frowned and suggested.

The two Master Pei are the leaders of the Wenchen, especially the imperial historian Pei Yun, who is well-informed and good at figuring out the holy will. If Li Xu is really about to fall out of favor, Lord Pei Yun will definitely call on everyone to attack him. However, this time, Lord Pei's performance disappointed many people who wanted to see the excitement, not only did he take the opportunity to fall into the ground, but also impeached several household officials who were unfavorable to Hebei in delivering grain and grass to Hebei, attacking their corpses and eating vegetarian meals, delaying the good time to quell the rebellion.

Lord Pei Yun's behavior is incomprehensible, and Lord Pei Ju's behavior is even more incomprehensible. When Zhao Xiaocai, the secretary of the Ministry of War, came to the door to ask whether he would continue to fulfill His Majesty's promise when he was in Hedong and allocate armor and equipment to the Fenyang Army according to the standard of soldiers and horses, the old guy groaned for a long time with his beard and only replied, "You can't use everything, and you can't do it!" Then Ren Zhao Xiaocai was in a hurry, and he refused to say half a word.

"It must be discouraged, because His Majesty's promise is a golden mouth, and he can't swallow back what he said in front of so many people. I can't do it all, I'm afraid it's because Master Pei can't guess whether His Majesty and General Li have a misunderstanding for a while, or whether the grace of the monarch and the minister has been broken. "There is no shortage of masters around Zhao Xiaocai, who turned Pei Ju's hint upside down and analyzed it to the truth." As for how much to give, sir, you can go a long time. Anyway, Your Majesty has not set a time limit, you can complete the equipment in three months, or five years, no one can find anything wrong! ”

Zhao Xiaocai was timid and afraid, so he had to do it according to the analysis of his staff. Thinking of Li Xu's life-saving grace back then, he asked his henchmen to bring a letter to the other party at the same time as the ordnance was issued. After receiving the letter, Li Xu expressed his understanding of Zhao Xiaocai's distress very generously. He rewarded the messenger and transported a pair of captured coral trees to Zhao Xiaocai's mansion. Zhao Shangshu saw that Li Xu knew so much, and the next time he allocated materials, he secretly increased the delivery volume by half. After Pei Ju, who was in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of War, learned of this situation, he shook his head and smiled.

"The kid surnamed Li is very good at doing things!" This is the unanimous evaluation of Xuzi by several important ministers of the dynasty. Since the Fenyang army arrived in Boling, they rarely received urgent documents from several counties around Boling. Moreover, several local surnames, Cui, Zheng, Li, and Zhang, seem to get along very happily with the new ambassadors of the six counties. According to the sons and nephews of several families, the Li family of Zhaojun has already been married to the same clan as the Li family of Shanggu, and the rising star of the Boling Cui family, Cui Qianli Li Xu, has also been greatly used, and has been promoted by two levels in just a few months.

In order to thank the imperial court for sending a good official who is "diligent in government and loves the people" to the local government, several local surnames have made due expressions. Pei Ju, Yu Shiji and others received gifts from others, and naturally they would not disappoint their families. As for Yang Guang's side, everyone tried not to let him see Li Xu's name for the time being.

But many of the local officials in the six counties were at odds with the newcomers, and they no longer had to sweat to write urgent documents. But he began to struggle to maintain his authority. The twists and turns about the division of civil and military affairs, and Li Xu's suspicion of raising troops and self-respect, have been continuous since January. Fortunately, Yu Shiji collected enough of the benefits sent by Li Xu, and "accidentally" classified those pieces into the most irrelevant category, so that Yang Guang had no time to watch them.

Li Xu cautiously dealt with the open guns and hidden arrows in the court and the locality, exhausted. He is now more powerful than a prince, but he has not experienced the happiness of power at all. In fact, since the Battle of Nangong, he has been in a bad mood. is not only troubled by the sudden change in Yang Guang's attitude, but also deeply saddened by seeing Zhang Ji's death and Zhang Jincheng's true face.

Zhang Jin said that it was Uncle Zhang, and after more than half a month, Xuzi's mood could not be calm. Although in his impression, the image of the stingy and treacherous Third Uncle Zhang is far less tall than Sun Jiu. But he still can't connect the dotty peddlers who were timid and sympathetic to the weak and the devil who encouraged his subordinates to eat human flesh. In contrast, the evil deeds of Uncle Zhang and Sun Jiu are not so shocking. Uncle Jiu's martial arts are very good, if he is not a person who is usually very close to him, it will not be easy to plot against him. Only Uncle Zhang, who has been his partner for many years, can make Uncle Nine relax his vigilance, and only those who have rescued Uncle Nine at all costs can easily attack him at the wine table.

Troubled times have changed everyone, no matter whether their original nature was good or vicious. Zhang Jin said that he yelled that day, even if he didn't kill Sun Jiu, Sun Jiu would kill him. Although it is quibbling, it also illustrates a bloody reality in troubled times. It's a pity that Zhang Ji, who has just returned from Saiwai, has a memory of human nature that is still a few years ago. Therefore, he would rather die than believe that his father was a demon who eats human flesh.

It's already April, and the chill is still bone-chilling. The sky outside has always remained blue-gray, as if this is the only way to be worthy of the misery of the world.

"This is troubled times!" Xuzi let out a long sigh and put the official document in his hand on the table. He remembered that many years ago by the charcoal basin, Tang Gong Li Yuan also sighed like this. At that time, he was very puzzled by this, but now, he began to appreciate the heaviness of it.

There may be a few heroes in troubled times. But for most of those who live in it, what they see is death and destruction. It can turn honest people like Sun Jiu and Zhang Jincheng into giant thieves, and it can also uproot big families like Bo Ling Cui and Zhao Jun Li. It can turn a once-thriving city into scorched earth, and it takes at least tens to hundreds of years to rebuild a city on scorched earth.

Whose fault is it? Xuzi can blame Yang Guang for all this, but no matter whose fault caused the arrival of this troubled era, it is everyone who lives in it who will pay the price. And the more people who live at the bottom, the more likely they are to be harmed. Although he is now a county marquis, a chief governor, and a general, his parents, uncles, and relatives used to be ordinary people, and some of them have suffered the catastrophe that came with the troubled times.

The charcoal basin behind him was lit up by a pair of hands, which reduced the cold in the room a little. Li Xu turned his head gently and saw Qi'er's smiling face red by the firelight.

"What are you sighing again, are you still sad about Zhang Ji's death?" Yu'er has always been very caring, and she almost didn't have to think about it to understand Xuzi's thoughts. He gave his father a life for him, and he had no regrets. Besides, if you report it as 'martyrdom in a dead battle', the court will give him a little posthumous honor! ”

Xu Zi smiled bitterly and shook his head, still with lingering loneliness in his eyes. "He's already a family in Saishang, and the children are more than two years old. Last year, when Yanmen handed over Ganluo to Yuling Kedun, those Khitans were reluctant to let Zhang Ji leave. He wanted to get an official position in the Central Plains in order to comfort his parents' spirits in heaven. When the world settles down again in the future, it will be able to give the child a good background. If I had known today's result at that time, I might as well persuade him to stay with the Khitans! ”

He was talking about something that happened at the end of October last year. After sending Yang Guang to Taiyuan, the Fenyang army completed its mission. Vaguely sensing the unpredictable power of the sky, Xuzi led the army back to Fenyang quickly, and after packing up all the supplies and supplies, he began to move the defense. On the way to Boling, he took his own soldiers to Yanmen again, handed over Ganluo to Ah Yun as promised, and by the way, accepted the dividends he had received from Pan Zhanyang in the two warehouses outside the Saiwai for so many years.

"Who can know the things of the world. You have tried your best to help him, and Zhang Ji must be able to look at him after his death. As for that child, in fact, being an official may not be a good way out. Qi'er took Li Xu's words, picked up the pot at her feet, and poured him a bowl of strong tea. There are enough servants and maidservants in the house, but husbands and wives are accustomed to this warmth of taking care of each other, and they are unwilling to fake the love of a bowl of rice and a sip of water to others.

"When I wasn't an official, a few of them didn't want to get ahead!" Li Xu smiled and reached out to take the teacup, "The level is so clear, who doesn't want to be superior?" Why are you here, Mother and Lan'er? ”

The feelings of some ordinary people are not something that people like Qian'er who grew up in fine clothes and jade food can understand. But this does not hinder communication between husband and wife. So far, both Ying'er and Li Xu have been able to tolerate some of each other's shortcomings, and have experienced a lot of joy in life in their tolerance of each other.

Niang and Lan'er rode to the nearby Zhuangzi, where the organization weeded the wheat fields by hand, and they were afraid that Uncle Zhong and Aunt Zhong would not be able to greet them. I can't help clumsily, so I'm going to come to you and find something to do! Ying'er grimaced and said modestly.

"It just so happens that there are some official documents here, and I need someone to help me with ideas. General Cui Lang's injuries have not yet healed, and Zhao Senjun is busy receiving supplies from the imperial court again! Li Xu moved to the side and made a little space for Ying'er on the stool.

Maintaining the balance of a home is not an easy task. Especially the two women of the Li family, one is eight-faced, and the other has nine holes. Because of each other's different backgrounds and experiences, they can't even be sisters. So Li Xu can only try to let everyone have a space to display their talents, so as not to really focus on the fight between each other.

Ying'er grew up with conspiracy since she was a child, and her grasp of interpersonal relationships is very measured. Whenever Xuzi discusses with her something about how to interact with courtiers, she always gains a lot. Shi Lan understood that she was not as good as Ying'er in handling government affairs in any way, so she put all her careful thoughts on housework. Li Xu is now the Marquis of Boling County, and the land rewarded by the imperial court, given by local tyrants, and bought by his family over the years has hundreds of hectares. The daily chores such as taking care of these fields and supervising whether the housekeepers left on the Zhuangzi in various places are dedicated or not fell on Shi Lan's shoulders. In front of a group of brothers, it is easier for her to win respect. But in the eyes of the second elder of the Li family, I am afraid that Shi Lan, who is also from a small family, is more considerate and has a greater appetite for them.

The two women also understood Li Xu's thoughts, so they tried their best to maintain the apparent harmony. Shi Lan interfered in the matter, and Qian'er easily didn't ask. And what Yu'er did for Xuzi, Shi Lan also tried her best to hold back her curiosity and not participate.

Qi'er sat down beside Xuzi gently, gathered the messy official documents on the table into a stack, and then sorted them into one by one. The handling of these daily government affairs is related to Lang Jun's future and the fate of the family, so she can't help but be dedicated. Judging from the official letters exchanged from various places, the situation of the Great Sui this year has become more and more decayed. However, the imperial court still adhered to the practice formed over the years, and dealt with the rebellions that occurred in various places with the mentality of counting one day at a time.

Just when Li Xu led his troops to fight a bloody battle with Zhang Jin, the imperial court summoned the county guards to go to the eastern capital for routine evaluation. There were as many as two dozen county guards who could not be ordered to come because the roads were impassable. The Son of Heaven was furious and decided to send soldiers to fight the thieves. Because of the lack of baggage, the reluctance of the generals to move forward and other reasons, so far not a single soldier has left the eastern capital.

In the same month, the imperial court ordered the construction of the Southern Palace, totaling sixteen, extremely luxurious.

In March, Shangsi, the emperor and the ministers drank on the water in Xiyuan, and ordered the bachelor Du Bao to write the "Water Decoration Picture Sutra", collecting seventy-two ancient water affairs, so that the Chaosan doctor Huang Gon took the wood as it, and occasionally used prostitutes and wine boats, and the characters were automatically like life, and the bell chime and the Zheng were able to become a musical song.

In April, the emperor solicited fireflies in Jinghua Palace, got a number of Hu, traveled to the mountains at night, let it go, and the light was all over the rock valley. In Yang Guang's eyes, the prosperity of the Great Sui is still the same.

"What about the others, what are you busy doing today?" The two discussed and dealt with more than ten official letters that urgently needed to be replied to, and Li Xu was afraid that Qi'er would be too tired, so he hugged her shoulders and diverted the topic to daily trivial matters again.

"My father-in-law said that he couldn't be idle, so he went to Zhuangzi to be busy!" Qian'er thought for a moment and replied in a low voice. Thinking of an elder in the family, in an instant, her eyes became a little gloomy, "Yanyan told you that she wants to go back to Shanggu to see her uncle's grave." She and her uncle have no descendants, the sky has warmed up, if you don't go in person, I'm afraid that the grass on the grave will grow wildly! ”

Baosheng's uncle died at the same time that Li Xu was rescued in Yanmen last year. That month, Mantianwang and Lishanfei teamed up to conquer Shanggu County, and the generals sent by the Li family in Taiyuan and Xuzi's own personal soldiers protected Li Xu's parents from the disaster, but they were unable to protect everyone.

There is an innkeeper, a tent and a running hall, Zhang Baosheng was hacked to death by a rogue in his backyard. The proprietress Zhang Liu escaped by hiding in the cellar where the vegetables were kept. Next to the mouth of the cellar, which was hidden by stone slabs and stacks of firewood and straw, lay the body of her husband Zhang Baosheng.

Chapter 1: Thunder (3 times)

In all fairness, the impression left by the concubine Zhang Liu was not very good. Her image of a fierce woman with a knife in one hand and a chicken neck in the other almost ruined Asahiko's fantasies about all the opposite sex when she was young. But this does not diminish half of Xuzi's sympathy for what happened to her uncle's family. Xuzi knew that if it weren't for the successive adventures in Saishang back then, he would now be one of his uncle, Yanyan, and countless fathers and villagers who were displaced in the troubled times. He was like those stout bamboos outside the window, his arms were already in the clouds, but his roots were still rooted in the dirt. Therefore, for the suffering of the ordinary people at present, almost every one of them is sympathetic.

Mantianwang and Lishanfei only occupied Shanggu County for two days before they were killed and retreated by the official troops who came from Zhuo County. However, Shanggu County, Zhishoyi County and its surrounding ten miles and eight towns were completely in ruins. Li Shanfei and Mantianwang took away all the things they could take away, and the things that they couldn't take away were burned. The fire continued in the city for three days and three nights, until a winter snow fell. The people of Yi County are almost vegetarian, and every household is mourning, miserable as hell on earth.

From the report of the soldiers, Li Xu learned that his uncle had refused the request to go to Linjun with everyone to take refuge. They thought that they were too old to pose much of a threat to the rogues, and therefore would not suffer. In fact, Xuzi believes that the reason why his uncle refused to join the fleeing team was because he was reluctant to 'have an inn'. Although the inn on the edge of the official road almost didn't make much money, it meant that the Zhang couple did not belong to the waste of eating and drinking at the house of their sister and brother-in-law. In the end, what the old man desperately protected was his family and his dignity.

"I sent Li Xiang to escort Yanyan to Shanggu with a team of personal soldiers." Seeing that her husband's mood was instantly depressed, she tried her best to lead the topic to the side, "It's better to let her go and relax, or she is always bored at home, and she will get sick sooner or later!" Xue Wanjun and the Wanfang brothers wrote to say that if you are going to enter the Wuhui Ridge to exterminate Mantianfei, their brothers will send troops from Zhuo County to cooperate! Several large families in Suicheng also promised that if the army entered the mountains, they would be willing to help raise and transport grain and grass! ”

"Hold off for a moment, now is not the time for war." Li Xu understood his wife's hard work, and touched her silky long hair with a smile, "Now all places are still focused on defense, and when it comes to summer, the work in the fields is almost busy." I will personally lead the troops north. ”

"You are sympathetic to the people's feelings, but I am afraid that others will not understand your kindness!" She smiled and raised her face, her eyes full of tenderness. I married a broad-minded and courageous husband, which is the happiness that a woman has cultivated in several lifetimes. But marrying such a husband is destined not to be worry-free, and being generous and kind is his strength and his fatal weakness. He can stretch out his arms to hold up a rainless sky for you, and you must also guard against the arrows that shoot at his weak spots.

Just like the current schedule for the eradication of bandits, some local officials who were so frightened by Mantian Wang and Li Shanfei that they couldn't sleep well wished that Li Xu would immediately move north the day after defeating Zhang Jincheng, ignoring the reality that the Fenyang army was mainly light cavalry and fighting in the mountains was not its forte. Spring is also the busy season for farming, and at this juncture, the people are recruited everywhere to deliver supplies, which will only force more people to become one of the rogues. Li Xu's repeated delay in entering the mountains to suppress bandits on the grounds that the soldiers had not yet been trained has become a sign of passively avoiding war and trying to preserve their strength in the eyes of some officials who were already unconvinced.

"Let them say go. If the music is sent to the imperial court, no one may see it. Since the emperor has handed over the affairs of the six counties to me, I have made my own decisions on what to do, and I don't have to listen to their shouting! Li Xu shook his head indifferently and gave Qian'er a bright smile. One day, I was in a hurry, and I removed them one by one, so that these guys would be buzzing around like flies every day! ”

"Lang Jun should indeed re-select a group of talents. Otherwise, you will also fail your responsibility as a pacification envoy of the six counties! "Ying'er's smile is beautiful, even when she is calculating others. It was a kind of smile that was very commensurate with his whole body temperament, and there was a bit of cunning and a bit of fierceness in his charm, "Grandpa often said that people who are officials can't hide their strength too much. If you don't pose a threat to anyone, anyone can bully you! ”

"It's easy to get rid of them, it's just that there aren't enough people to fill the void!" Li Xu grinned and explained helplessly. Unlike Tang Gong Li Yuan, he, a newly rising general, did not have so many talents, and there were no sons and nephews of old people and famous people who came to join him. So far, the military generals under his command have been completely made up from the Xiongwu Battalion and Qi County, and as for the civilian staff, several of the soldiers under his command have still worn multiple hats, not to mention the placement of people to manage the place.

Reality is always frustrating, but one has to be strong in the face of it. "Why don't I write a letter to my eldest brother?" She raised her head, her long eyelashes blinking slowly. It was a pitiful gesture, but soon, her clear gaze shot out from under her eyelashes, and her voice changed from hesitant and tentative to resolute denial, "No! While shaking her head, she said with a smile: "That will be noticed by the imperial court that Grandpa has a close relationship with you, and the officials have articles to do!" ”

"The mouths of the officials can be blocked with pearls, and I have some dividends from outside the plug!" Li Xu thought for a while and responded, "I'm afraid that Tang Gong has a lot of taboos there, and the last time I met him in Taiyuan, he almost didn't say anything to me!" ”

"Grandpa can't wait to include you in the Li family in Taiyuan!" She thought with a smile, but didn't say anything. This is the weak point of the husband, and as a wife, she must be guarded with ten times more care. "Grandpa admires you very much, he ignores you for fear that His Majesty will pursue you. Over the years, he has been so careful that it is impossible for him to send someone to help you. However, there are many famous families in the counties around Boling, and you can ask them to recommend some children to come up, or they can use it! ”

This is a good method worth trying, and selecting the sons and nephews of local big families is equivalent to putting their roots in the locality. When the troubled times came, those big families needed to use Li Xu's strength to protect them from bandits. And Li Xu can also use the support of these families to establish his own sphere of influence.

"I've seen a few of those people who recommended them. There are few people who are both wise and brave like Huizhi, but there are mostly guys like Master Pei Yun who can only send sycophants from their bosses and find fault with their colleagues. Li Xu shook his head with a wry smile again, "I use this kind of person as my subordinate, I'm afraid it won't be long before I will be fooled and stupid by them!" ”

"Lang Jun knows their shortcomings, so he won't be easily fooled!" Grandpa and Li Xu have slightly different opinions, "Grandpa once said that many people are not born with a vegetarian meal, and the staff do their duty, the key is to see who is using them!" ”

"I'll try my best!" Li Xu promised with a smile. He thinks that what Ying'er said is very reasonable, and what Tang Gong Li Yuan said is some experience. But he doesn't fully endorse those words. The crisis-ridden Great Sui Dynasty told him that relying too much on the power of some families would bring great risks. It's like if a piece of land is full of big trees, the other crops underneath will suffocate because they can't see the sun.

In fact, Li Xu thought that the reason why the Great Sui Dynasty was so corrupted today was not so much that Yang Guang was mediocre and confused, but that the clans colluded with each other and ruined the vitality of the entire country. For the sake of their own interests, those families did not hesitate to sell the entire country and squeeze the private financial resources to the extreme. And the poor people could not find anyone to really speak for them, and they could not see the way to change their own circumstances, so they had to take risks.

Xu Maogong is such a person. Zhang Jin said that although Shizihe did a lot of evil later, if there was a way to live, they would not have risen up. Xuzi made the extermination of the bandits under his rule his first priority, but he didn't want to cut the six counties into a blank field.

Expropriation alone will not solve any problems. In the past few years, he is not the only one who has defeated the bandits, but the bandits always fight more and more, until the bandits are completely drowned. Only in Licheng, Zhang Xutuo through conquest and Pei Caozhi through pacification, the two worked together to create a peaceful place in the troubled times. It's a relatively less cruel path. If you don't rely solely on slaughter, you will lose the source of soldiers for the bandits. But this method is only suitable for dealing with thieves like Zhang Jincheng and Shizihe. For heroes in troubled times like Cheng Zhijie and Xu Maogong, they may not be able to achieve results.

Xuzi needs to take a step forward in the way Master Zhang Xutuo teaches. Not only to make the bandits fearful, but also to give the people a chance to live again; He also wanted to give Xu Dayan and countless people who were similar to himself and Xu Dayan hope to get ahead. In order to achieve this, it is one of the steps to rectify the officials under the rule with heavy hands, but what kind of talents to select to replace those mediocre officials and what way to select them are the key to the key.

He stopped talking, and was lost in thought with his chin in his hand. Qi'er was keenly aware that Li Xu did not accept her suggestion, but she did not feel angry at all. A man who listens to women everywhere will not be a good husband, and the mother's experience has taught to understand men from another perspective. "You want things to look so good!" She said with a smile, leaning back and leaning against her solid chest.

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