Lei Heng led Sui Sheng, Lin Sheng, Zhao Hu and others all the way to the north, through the county, and finally arrived in Luyang County after more than a month's trek.

At this time, it was the end of the summer of the sixth year of Guanghe (182 AD), and it was calculated that the distance traveled was less than half, and there were only a few months left before the "Yellow Turban Uprising".

On this day, the group continued to walk through the ancient jungle road.

In the middle of the day, seeing that everyone was hungry and thirsty, Lei Heng ordered: "Rest here for half an hour, eat some dry food and then go on the road." Seeing that the water in the bamboo tube was exhausted, he had to say again: "Three monkeys, you go and get some water......

Taking advantage of the gap between everyone and resting, Lei Heng hurriedly found a secluded place and took out dozens of steamed buns from the (storage space) and distributed them to everyone one by one.

Although these steamed buns are novel and delicious, but the summer is scorching, and after walking for most of the day, everyone only feels that their mouths are dry, how can they be in the mood to swallow, and they look into the distance one by one, looking forward to the three monkeys getting water earlier.

Lei Heng shook his head and smiled bitterly, if he knew that he wouldn't save that little space, and store a few barrels of wine in (storage space), there would be no such embarrassing scene.

"There is an enemy ......" An exclamation interrupted Lei Heng's thoughts, and there was a warning sound of three monkeys in the forest, Lei Heng and the others didn't care about their luggage, got up and rushed to the source of the sound.

I saw a dozen men with knives surrounding the three monkeys and a man dressed as a scribe, and a one-eyed man with the appearance of a leader was rummaging through a few packages, and the ground was full of scattered clothes and bamboo slips. The green shirt on the scribe's shoulder was torn apart, and bright red blood continued to flow down the wound on the skin, making the scribe's face pale. The three monkeys were also covered in blood, and they were leaning against a big tree with a knife in their hands, panting.

Seeing this scene, Lei Heng felt remorse and worry. Although the three monkeys are clever, their martial arts are not good, and they should really send Lin Sheng to accompany him.

"Kill me!"

Lei Heng angrily gave the order to slaughter, and Lei Heng had no mercy for this group of bandits.

Lin Sheng's martial arts were obviously much higher than the three monkeys, and when he ran behind one of the thieves in a few steps, he slashed, and before the rest of the thieves reacted from their stunned thoughts, they slashed the two thieves next to him with a knife one after another. Seeing this, the one-eyed leader was furious, raised his spear and stabbed Lin Sheng, and the rest of the bandits also rushed forward to fight with Zhao Hu and the others. Sui Sheng followed closely by Lei Heng's side, acting as a personal guard.

Lei Heng took advantage of the gap and ran to the side of the three monkeys, and when he saw that most of them were skin injuries, he was also relieved, and hurriedly bandaged him simply.

"Little brother, can you also take the time to take care of me, the man who is lying on the gun..."At this time, the scribe could not help but express his dissatisfaction.

Lei Heng apologized repeatedly, stepped forward to tear up his clothes, tied the scribe's shoulders, and temporarily stopped the bleeding, and then beckoned Sui Sheng to support the scribe together.

In the battle circle, Lin Sheng was fierce, and after slashing and killing the one-eyed leader, he actually abandoned the steel knife, picked up his corpse as a weapon and rushed forward, frightening the rest of the bandits into fear.

Zhao Hu and the others did not chase after them, and returned to the main formation to clean up the mess.

Lei Heng breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and bowed to the scribe and said, "Linjiang Lei Heng, Lei Zhengyan!" ”

"Linjiang? Linjiang County, Ba County? The scribe was stunned when he heard this, and said indifferently: "Yingchuan County, Xi Zhong." ”

Drama loyalty?

Lei Heng's heart moved, and he asked tentatively: "But the actor of Yangzhai County, Yingchuan County?" ”

The scribe was stunned for a moment, but generously admitted: "Exactly! Yang Zhai opera's eldest son is loyal and talented. ”

It's actually a drama Zhicai?!

Lei Heng, who has been longing for a strategist, immediately came up with information about opera Zhicai in his mind: "Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Guo Jia" recorded that "First of all, Yingchuan opera Zhicai, planners, and Taizu were even instrumental. Premature death. Taizu and Xun Yushu said: "After the death of Zizhicai, Mo can be with the planner. "This is Cao Cao's most important strategist in the early days, and he is also one of the top strategists he longs for.

Lei Heng was very excited.

is the son of his father's old friend, and he is the first to get the moon near the water. But the top strategist has a very high vision and mood, how can he fall in love with each other because of old friendships, it seems that he has to think of some more ways.

By the way, you can use the treasured books in the storage space. Even if he is full of learned scribes, it will be difficult to impress him, but if he does what he likes, it is better than countless gold and silver.

I happen to have "Sima Fa", "Wu Zi" and other military books and strategies in my hands, and I take out some content every day to gradually tempt it, and I can't stop worrying about my drama and willingness, and I am willing to serve myself.

Just do it, Lei Heng is not pretentious, he finds a secluded place in the name of urine, takes out several volumes of "Sima Law" from (storage space), and puts them in his close-fitting pocket.

"When Heng was sent to Beijing to visit Han Shi, he repeatedly instructed 'On the way, you must go to Yingchuan Yangzhai opera house to visit', and I didn't expect to meet my brother here." Lei Heng handed Yu Jue to Xi Zhong while secretly observing his reaction.

Xi Zhong's face was as usual, he took Yu Jue and looked at it, and replied indifferently: "It is indeed a relic of my father." ”

"Relic?" Lei Heng was stunned.

"My father died of illness a few years ago, and when he was dying, he entrusted Yu Jue with a piece and instructed me to 'if anyone comes to find the same Yu Jue, he must repay the kindness of the past years'. Since it is such a 'coincidence', please speak up about the matter, and there is no shirk. ”

One thing? With such a great talent, it is impossible to miss it easily. Lei Heng didn't answer, took out several volumes of "Sima Law" from his arms, handed them to Xi Zhong, and said with a smile: "Brother Zhicai is really a person of faith. This book was obtained by chance, and he knew that he was shallow and could not bear to destroy the heavens, and he was willing to give it to his brother......"

"Oh?" Xi Zhong obviously didn't expect that Lei Heng not only didn't make any requests, but instead gave him a book, stretched out his hand to take the letter suspiciously, and was shocked when he looked at it carefully, "Sima Law? Could it be the rumored military book written by Sima Sui Tho? If it wasn't for the Warring States Rivalry, it would have been lost, how could it fall into your hands? ”

Lei Heng smiled but did not answer.

Xi Zhong hurriedly immersed his head in a detailed look, and the "Renben" chapter mainly discusses the benevolent-based concept of war; "The Righteousness of the Son of Heaven", which summarizes the various laws of military education; The chapter on "Dingjue" discusses the political, ideological, material, military, and use of natural conditions for the purpose of waging war, as well as the principles of the use of formations; "Strict Position" discusses the composition of formations and how to use various formations to fight; The chapter "Using the Crowd" mainly discusses the strategy, strategic principles and so on of waiting for the enemy in battle, using the crowd to use the few, avoiding the real and attacking the weak, and so on.

The more Xi Zhong looked at it, the more he felt that the "Sima Law" contained it was unfathomable, and he was more amazed than what he had learned before, and his hand holding the book couldn't help but tremble slightly. This appearance and reaction made Lei Heng very happy, and he felt that victory was in sight, but he was dumbfounded in the blink of an eye. Xi Zhong actually put away the book, respectfully raised it above his head, and handed it to himself.

"As the saying goes, 'no merit is not punished'. I dare not accept such a heavy gift. There are a lot of last resorts in the book, but Zhong swears here, without the permission of Zhengyan himself, Xi Zhong will never use a law or a policy without authorization, if there is a violation of the oath, it will be ......"

Lei Heng saw that Xi Zhong's posture was about to swear a poisonous oath, so he quickly grabbed his hand and dissuaded: "This gift of books comes from Heng's heart, and only if you respect your brother, you can learn it." Besides, since this book is the posthumous work of the sages, you and my descendants can study it, but it must be so clear? After a pause, he said: "Why is Brother Zhicai no longer at Yingchuan's house and comes to Luyang alone?" ”

Xi Zhong still refused to accept it anymore, and stubbornly held up the book and replied: "What Zhong Ping's wish in life is to show his strengths to protect the country and the people." Since returning home from Yingchuan Academy, he wants to make a career, but it is only during the period...... There was a delay in the period. Now I am alone, just while I am training, I am looking for the Lord and throwing ......"

"Hengwen has a large number of talented people in Yingchuan Academy, and there are countless high-ranking officials and dignitaries in the court, why didn't Brother Zhicai go to Luoyang to visit friends and go south to Jingzhou?"

"Vote for this court? Hmph......" Xi Zhong seemed to be disdainful, and snorted coldly.

"Listening to Brother Zhicai's tone, it seems that he is not optimistic about the future ...... of the Han Dynasty" Lei Heng asked by the way, Xi Zhong also smiled and did not answer, Lei Heng had to set off and talk to him in detail along the way.

It turned out that as early as the first year of Guanghe (178), Emperor Ling of Han, who had reigned for ten years, was still young and in the prime of his life. But this year, the young emperor turned his attention to selling officials and focused on generating income. After he ate up the already exhausted treasury, he began to sell his official positions publicly, first by "selling the Guannei Hou, fake gold seal purple ribbon, handed down to the world, and making five million dollars" ("Book of the Later Han"). After tasting the sweetness, he ingeniously set up an exchange for buying and selling officials, "opening the West Mansion to sell officials, and the money is different" ("Tongjian"), and the level of the official price is determined by the size of the official and the quality of the place of office (in terms of selling officials alone, it is also a kind of fairness, after all, the oil and water are different), and even the important positions such as the Three Princes and the Nine Secretaries are all clearly marked and sold publicly, "private orders sell the ministers left and right, the public is 10 million, and the Qing is 5 million" ("Book of the Later Han Dynasty"). Except for the emperor's position is not sold, everything can be sold. If there are many people buying and the competition is fierce, the bid will be bid, and the highest bidder will win. It can be seen that Emperor Ling of Han made an extraordinary move from the beginning, and the high level and wide range of official positions sold were absolutely unprecedented.

The price of the official position is calculated based on the annual salary of the official. For example, for an official position with an annual salary of 2,000 stones, the price is 20 million yuan, and for an official position with an annual salary of 400 stones, the price is 4 million yuan, "2,000 stones and 20 million; Four hundred stones, four million" (Tongjian). After that, Liu Hong "set up a warehouse in the West Garden to store it" ("Tongjian"), and built a special warehouse to store the income from these official sales, and the funds were used exclusively for his own use. is similar to the nature of some people secretly setting up accounts overseas, but the difference is that Liu Hong can come blatantly.

Those who do not hesitate to spend a lot of money to buy official positions will never think about what to do for the sake of being honest and honest and benefiting one party. In order to get back the capital, they can only intensify their efforts to loot and exploit the people, squeeze more money by unscrupulous means, and then buy bigger official jobs, forming a vicious circle. Such a social reality disappointed some loyal ministers and good officials at that time, the so-called "selling officials to receive money, the world's loyal people resent" ("Book of the Later Han").

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was absurd and unscrupulous, the eunuchs in the court and the central government took power, the dynasty was corrupted, and the upward and downward effects were carried out externally, and he was exhausted, so the whole country formed a wind of floating and decay. In this case, the unlucky can only be the common people, plus during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, there were many earthquakes, floods, droughts, locust plagues, and epidemics across the country.

Lei Heng had to exhaust all means, and finally made Xi Zhong temporarily accept it, and walked to Luoyang in the name of visiting Dr. Han Zong and visiting Zhang Hong, of course, Xi Zhong came and went freely.