In order to prepare a reception banquet for the soldiers of the Great Sui Navy who returned triumphantly, Li Xu really spent a lot of thought. Although Qi County has the reputation of wealth, because of its geographical location far from the national capital, it has nothing to do with luxury. In the past two years, due to the war, the north and south have cut off business travel, and many of the ingredients that can be obtained in the market are out of stock. Xuzi had no choice but to search around at a high price. But Bo Yang Yuanrang, the head of the household who was sent to help by the Taishou Mansion, is a budget-conscious guy, and when he can buy things, he will never use white money to spend meat, even if he only spends a hole square, he can't wait to cut a knife from the middle and break it in half. (Note 1)

But when it comes to taking kickbacks, this Yang Zhubo is very generous. Shark fins, bird's nests, bear's paws and other rare things that the soldiers had worked so hard to get from the soldiers would definitely be reduced by half after Yang Zhubo passed his hands. Several of the pro-soldiers who came to help were very dissatisfied with this, and couldn't help but murmur in private. And Xu Zi has gone through several twists and turns, he has seen a lot of similar things, and his mentality has long been peaceful, not only is he unwilling to be honest with Yang Zhubo, but he advises Zhou Xing and others to turn a blind eye as much as possible, so as not to make Lord Yang feel embarrassed when he picks it up.

"This Lord Yang is also hard, and it's nothing to eat and get some once in a while. You just pretend you didn't see it, and besides, he didn't take it for himself! Looking at the indignant faces of several henchmen, Li Xu smiled and comforted. These brothers were hand-picked by him from among the soldiers, and they were all agile and clever. Another thing that is also very good for Xuzi's temper is that these brothers are all kind and simple, just like he himself when he first joined the army.

Xuzi didn't want to criticize Yang Yuanrang and others for their ethics, so as not to cause disharmony between local civil and military affairs. Besides, there is a precedent for His Majesty the Emperor to ask for bribes from hundreds of officials, how can he require hundreds of officials to be honest and honest? But there are some things he can't say too clearly, even if he is facing the people he trusts the most, he has to be more or less guarded. In the process of collision and wrestling again and again, Xuzi has become more and more alert.

But this attitude of harmony with the mud did not satisfy everyone. In particular, the pro-soldier team is waking up. This person was born with an upright temper, otherwise he would not have been angered by a few conversations between Luo Shixin and Qin Shubao and others that day and joined the army. "But they are all officials of the imperial court, and they take a lot of money every month!" Zhou Xing stalked his neck and talked back to the main general. At that time, when Li Xu first arrived in Qi County, his command was short of competent manpower, so he was transferred to his side. It is precisely because he has an extra layer of relationship than others that Zhou Xing does not have too many fears in front of Li Xu, and almost says anything he wants.

"The court's income is actually not high. They socialize a lot! It's not like us, we don't go anywhere except the barracks all day long! Asako smiled and shook her head. He likes Zhou Xing's straight-hearted temperament, because in this way, there will not be another Zhang Xiu by his side. But Zhou Xing "maybe" need to slowly adapt to looking at officials from the perspective of officials, rather than always standing in the perspective of the people.

From the perspective of ordinary people, the salary given by the imperial court to officials is not too low. The lord of a county, Bo Guan, is living in five grades, and the annual salary is 200 stones. This is more than 18,000 catties of rice, enough for a small family to eat for 20 years! However, those in high positions tend to have high demand. In the official officials, they need to raise slaves, buy maids, buy land to make money, and make money, so two hundred stone rice really does not need to be tossed several times.

Besides, if you don't take the money you can take for nothing, wouldn't it be too outstanding? In the officialdom career that Xu Zi has experienced, people like Yang Yuanrang who are greedy and can do some practical things for the court and the people are already the best among them. If you change those who are greedy and incompetent, all kinds of behaviors will make people's heads bigger.

Don't do things, but don't delay them to pick the bones in the eggs. Creating something out of nothing, framing and framing, anyway, everyone has time. If you don't want to open a few words, you are not modest, you don't know how to respect your colleagues, and a large pile of bricks and leaves will definitely fly over without interruption.

"But they've read so many books! Reciting the words of the saints is a set! How can you be more greedy and shameless than a street vendor! Zhou Xing originally wanted to say that the official positions of these people were scary enough, thinking that his own general was also one of the high-ranking officials, and his mouth turned his direction again. He decided that the scope of the attack was only civilian, and excluded all generals from the area of accusation.

But his words immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the other two pro-soldiers, one named Zhao Wei and the other Fang Chong, both of whom were local small businessmen. I couldn't do it anymore, so I went to the army to get a bite to eat.

"Is it expensive to read people? That's they blow it themselves. What is honest and honest, just talking about it. Do you really have the opportunity to put money in your purse, and you haven't forgotten everything? Zhao Wei retorted while pulling the calculation. It's not as good as those of us who do business, so we know how to weigh the three stars on the plate, what is the lack of blessing, the loss of life, and what is the loss of Lu! (Note 2)

That is, the words in the books are all for others. Let them demand it from themselves, and they will not do it. Don't be unconvinced, I've seen a few people who read books and memorize the words of the saints very well, but they don't understand the principles of being a human being at all. is righteous and strict in front of him, but what he does behind his back is all beastly things, and he treats others as blind, as if no one can see their details! Fang Chong's words were not slow, and he and Zhao Wei squeezed Zhou Xing into the corner.

"You can't say that, there are many people who talk about conscience!" Zhou Xing saw that the range of everyone's attacks was infinitely expanding, and he was so anxious that he winked at the two colleagues. It's okay to complain in front of the commander, I've been with General Li for so long, and everyone knows that he is a good boss who is willing to tolerate. But General Li was also said to be a scholar back then, and the two brothers scolded him like this, but they also brought the general in.

"What's the matter, no words! If you want me to say, the quality of this character has little to do with reading and what books you read. Zhao Wei couldn't help but feel a little proud when he saw Zhou Xingguang blinking his eyes and not speaking.

Suddenly, he realized that Zhou Xing's demeanor seemed to have some kind of suggestive meaning. Turning his head, he saw that General Li Lang had already paced to his side, and the smile on his face was faint from time to time.

"Lord Lang, we don't, we don't mean you!" Zhao Wei and Fang Zhong said in unison.

"Reading? Hehe, haven't you read it too? Work, work, in the evening Team Zhou is taking everyone to drink. All expenses are included in the cost of this celebration banquet! Asahiko smiled and turned to walk away.

Although the words of the pro-soldiers are extreme, they are not necessarily all wrong. Sometimes looking at them laughing, Li Xu is like looking at his past. Blindly simple and kind, he does not tolerate filth, and does not know how to intrigue and trickery. I always think that the world is as clean as the empty lines between words, but in fact, after stepping into officialdom, the first thing you need to adapt to is the filth in it.

If you don't adapt, you can't make a difference or even get kicked out. Just like this upcoming feast, the thoughts of the guests and the host may not be on the meal, but you must also prepare grandly, thoughtfully, and try to make the guests feel at home. Because only then will you be able to dig out what you want from the other person's hands. Although the last reason is high-sounding, it is essentially just two words, deal.

And the transaction will have to pay a price, so Xuzi decided to take the initiative to reconcile with Laihu'er. The relationship between him and the Yuwen family is irreconcilable, and if he offends the other party, the result is the same. The general and the general Yuwen are incompatible, and the invisible gap between the two may not be an opportunity for newcomers to come out.

Perhaps because of the fatigue of the journey, Laihu'er's expression was extremely tired. Most of the generals who accompanied him to the banquet were like this, and their faces were full of gloom. Only the commander of the navy, Shi Cui Junsu, was brightly dressed, and between his expectations, he was faintly a little complacent.

Everyone sat down in order, and the old lady Shou Pei Caozhi was the first to raise the wine. "Years of shame, once snowed. With this result, I think the 300,000 heroic souls of those years have also been laid to rest. The lower officials have nothing to respect here, but please come and drink this cup to the general! He has always prayed and praised well, and although the toast was short, he heard people's pride.

"But please come and drink this cup to the fullest of the general!" The civil and military officers of Qi County raised their eyebrows one after another, saluting each other from afar. Laihu'er couldn't shirk it, so he had to raise the wine cup and drink with everyone. Before the wine was swallowed, he sighed faintly, as if there were countless resentments pressed on his chest, and there was no chance to vent it. Everyone thought he was going to say a few words, but he didn't say anything, picked up the wine, and took a sip of it.

This is not the appearance of an old general in Xuzi's impression. I remember that before the Tiger Prison Pass, the old general smiled at everyone, and calculated others with a smile, and slapped Yuwenshu with a big slap. If you want to say that looking at the entire Great Sui, who will let Laihu'er eat deflated, I'm afraid that in addition to the emperor, it is the six great families. But now is the leader outside? Who has such a great ability that he can't say if he has pain in his heart.

While he was trying to guess the other party's thoughts, Tongshou Zhang Xutuo raised a second glass of wine. General Zhang De congratulated all the soldiers of the Eastern Expedition safely and triumphantly, and the guests could not find a reason to refuse. Lai Hu'er did it again, but he didn't raise his lamp to salute in return, his face was dark, and he chewed on a few dishes by himself.

In this way, the atmosphere of the banquet will inevitably be awkward. Zhang Xutuo tilted his head to Li Xu, and motioned with his eyes for him to step forward and talk to the other party, bringing the relationship between the guest and the host closer. Without waiting for Li Xu to get up with the wine cup, on the second seat opposite, the squire of the military department and the commander of the water division, Shi Cui Junsu, jumped out first.

"This time, the fortunes of the Great Sui State are prosperous, and Your Majesty is strategizing. According to the soldiers, the civil and military are united. finally made Gao Yuan'er restrain his hands, and the prestige of the Great Sui State was re-....... ”

He spoke softly, with a bit of a male duck voice. Although the words were plain and catchy like poetry, it really made everyone uncomfortable. The princes of Qi County could barely put on a smiling face, but the generals who came with Lai Hu'er and the others all lowered their heads, and all the ears to their necks turned blue-black.

It seems that the problem lies with this Lord Cui, I don't know if this person was born in the Cui clan of Hejian or the Cui clan of Qinghe, and he relied on the shade of whose house to get into the military department? Li Xu carefully observed the faces of the people opposite, and knew that the military generals such as Lai Hu'er had a dislike with Cui Jun, who was born as a civilian official. With his own status and the strong impression left by the First Battle of Liaodong, he instinctively chose to defend the interests of the generals. Therefore, he raised the wine cup in front of him and interrupted Cui Junsu's verbosity with a smile.

"It's a pity that the last general is not blessed, and I can't see the demeanor of the generals. I would like to use this wine to wash the dust for all the generals! ”

"Don't dare, don't dare. Compared with Li Lang's heroic posture before the Tiger Prison was imprisoned, it was in vain for me to wait for this time! Seeing Li Xu getting up to toast himself, Laihu'er reluctantly regained a little interest and replied with a smile.

"It's a pity that General Li didn't make it to the East. Your Majesty convinces people with benevolence and virtue, and pushes the grace of the saint to the ......." Through the words of everyone, Cui Junsu interjected again.

"Yes, when my father was alive, he often told my generation about General Li's courage to turn the tide. Said that you broke the enemy formation three times, shouted and spread the flag in front of tens of thousands of enemy troops, and nearly 400,000 enemy soldiers and soldiers on the spot, no one did not take it for God! A young military general surnamed Zhou, who was sitting at the end of the guest, also raised his wine cup and saluted Li Xu from afar.

According to common sense, before the bosses such as Lai Hu'er and Cui Junsu did not respond, the person sitting in his position was not qualified to thank the master. But today's things are strange, before the chief manager of the water division spoke, Chang Shi showed his face first. Therefore, the younger generations do not pay attention to the order, and it cannot be regarded as a complete faux pas.

The civil and military forces of Qi County secretly said to themselves that it was not good, and everyone was enthusiastic about the banquet, but they did not expect to stand on the edge of a big whirlpool. Seeing that the Chinese military generals of the water division are hooked and fighting, it is not the master's cavity, and it is even more troublesome not to play the cavity. It's like walking into an empty house that has forgotten to leave a door, and no matter how you go, it won't work.

Pei Caozhi secretly glanced at Li Xu and signaled him to try his best to maintain the two sides in the whirlpool. Xuzi nodded lightly to the old lady, then raised the wine cup in front of him, and responded to the military general surnamed Zhou: "Ling Zun is the old general of Zhou Fashang Zhou, Li was fortunate to fight side by side with the old general, but I didn't expect it to be just a year" He paused, and deliberately let out a long sigh in a low tone, "Alas, may he be greatly relieved to learn the news that my Great Sui finally made Goguryeo surrender." This wine, to the old general Zhou and all the ancestors who paid attention to my Great Sui in the sky! ”

"Respect the old general Zhou and the ancestors who paid attention to my Great Sui in the sky." Everyone is right, responding.

When the guests and hosts greeted each other before the banquet, Lai Hu'er once introduced the family history of the military general surnamed Zhou to everyone. This person's name is Zhou Shaofan, and he is the youngest son of General Zhou Fashang, the deputy governor of the Navy Division. When everyone heard this, they only regarded the surname Zhou as a child of a family who borrowed his father's Yu Yin to go to the army to mix qualifications, and didn't pay much attention to it at all. At this time, I heard that General Zhou Fashang had died, and I didn't realize that I had taken a few more looks at the young man. The topic naturally shifted from the conquest of Goryeo to the remembrance of General Zhou. Cui Junsu was so anxious that there were thousands of ants crawling in his heart, but he couldn't interject, and he couldn't show his own merits. I want to find an opportunity to do it, and the master's actions here are in line with human nature, he is a big living person and jealous of the dead, and his dirty thoughts are indeed a little unacceptable.

"Before leaving the school this time, Brother Zhou Xian was already sick, but he insisted on sending me to the beach. Lai still remembers his last words, every sentence is like a knife! Master Cui, you were there that day, can you relay General Zhou's words once? After chatting with everyone for a while about General Zhou Fashang's past, Laihu'er shook his head and sighed.

Cui Junsu was so anxious that his heart was itching, and he finally waited for the opportunity to perform, how could he let it go easily. Immediately stood up straight, and Zhengse said, "How could Cui forget." The old general Zhou Youyun: 'I am in the sea again, I can't get involved, and I will pass away when the time is not with me.' If your determination fails, what will happen to your life'"

After that, he bowed his hands in the hope that everyone would praise his super memory. found that the entire hall was silent, and the host and guests raised their wine cups, facing the heroic souls in the sky, respecting each other from afar.

Ambition is unpaid, those heroic souls who are far away in the world, can they turn a blind eye to today's embarrassing results?

Note 1: White money, the money minted by Yang Guang after his accession to the throne, because the proportion of copper content has been greatly reduced, so its reputation among the people is far less than that of the meat money cast by his father.

Note 2: In the Chinese style, there are three stars at the front of the weighing rod, which represent Fu, Shou and Lu in turn, reminding merchants not to be short of two catties.

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