In the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, the twentieth day of the winter month.

The northern land covered in silver is quite cold.

Lu Xiangguan and his entourage, first took a short-distance bus, and then changed to a passenger train, and it took only two days to arrive in the capital, which has undergone great changes.

That's right, after several years of rapid development, the original messy, garbage everywhere is relatively backward and dilapidated Beijing, but also has undergone unimaginable changes, such as the number of high-rise buildings has increased, all kinds of modern scientific and technological products, and those gray tile wooden pillars, and cement roads but no perfect traffic rules, and garbage is still everywhere, there is no special person to clean up, many garbage can not be disposed of, can only be treated by the burning method, resulting in the city, not only can smell the smell of garbage, but also very pungent smell of burning garbage, and it is difficult to disperse for a long time.

In contrast, the black exhaust emitted by those car oil trucks is actually the most smelly one, but it will cause harm to human health.

And because the population of the capital, without restricting household registration, has frantically attracted labor immigrants in recent years, the total population has exceeded 5 million, with the majority of young and strong population, few old people, most of them young and energetic, and they are the builders of the city and consumers who cannot be lost.

Running to the capital to be a Jingpiao has become a place where many young people in the north come and are eager to change their fate.

But after Lu Xiangguan and the others entered the city, they immediately frowned and felt a little disappointed.

In their imagination, the capital must be a very good place, at least dozens or hundreds of times more prosperous than the Daimyo's mansion, Xujiazhuang Harbour City has those advantages, the capital should also have, take advantage of this opportunity, he also has to take a good look in the capital this time, take a look, but unexpectedly, the clean and tidy environment can not be seen, but messy, dirty and smelly, people's physiology is quite uncomfortable, like a layer of beautiful filter falling down, the impact can be described as not small, for a time to the court weak, I have a clearer understanding of the strength of Xujiazhuang.

Of course, Lu Xiangguan also learned that the capital is not a very good place, such as the special zone outside the capital, the technology inside is similar to Xujiazhuang, quite modern, the outside is surrounded by a wall, outsiders are not allowed to enter easily, the housing prices inside are also very high, it is not an exaggeration to describe it with sky-high prices, but I don't know why, the houses inside, more than 100,000 units, basically all sold out, the occupancy rate is very high, it is said that the population inside will soon exceed 500,000, all the wealthy classes in the capital, They will all be concentrated in this special zone, and only the broad masses of ordinary people, the middle and lower classes, can only stay in the stinking capital and continue to live a life of compromise and endurance.

Fortunately, Lu Xiangsheng, the squire of the military department and the main officer of innovation, and Lu Xiangsheng, who is the emperor's black glove, cannot appear in front of the public in a grand manner, and there will be a risk of being assassinated by the enemy, and Lu Xiangsheng also has the nickname of 'copying the house', and there are not only three or five corrupt officials who have been copied by him, but dozens of them, and there are countless people who hate him to the bone, but because he has the trust of the emperor and is protected by many elite soldiers around him, it is still relatively safe.

In the end, Lu Xiangsheng was extremely incorruptible, rarely thought about himself, and thought most about how to make meritorious contributions, how to leave a name in history, and was not interested in money at all, so there was no additional funds, and he could only rent a cheap house to buy a house in the Special Economic Zone.

And the location of this house, after spending money to consult some professionals, a remote street, a mansion covering an area of about three acres, appeared in front of Lu Xiangguan and others, making them worried, but they had to bite the bullet, knocked on the door, and applied for a visit.

"The master went to the barracks for training, wait a little longer, he will definitely come back in the evening!"

A middle-aged man with a broken arm in the porter opened the door, and after learning about the situation, he led Lu Xiangguan and others into the courtyard, beckoning them to wait in the living room, with a warm attitude and no cold face.

in the living room.

"I know that the eldest brother has been a special messenger for the emperor over the years, and the corrupt officials and businessmen who have been raided by him, not a hundred, but also eighty, are the fattest fat in the world, why does this place look remote, not to mention, it is still very simple, where did the money he earned, big brother?" Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know."

The porter in charge of the reception shook his head and said: "Anyway, the adult is very thrifty, I haven't seen him bring any money back to the house in the past few years, but he donated money to run three welfare homes, and adopted more than 300 orphaned and widowed children, in order to support these Dingkou, the lord's own salary, almost all of them were donated, and the servants can only afford one, just right, jealous and hateful, extremely honest, anyway, what I admire the most is people like the master, the Ming Empire has him, and at least it can maintain a healthy development momentum for twenty years, Accumulate enough national strength, and even have the strength to solve some tricky big forces, so that the Ming Dynasty will be more prosperous and the atmosphere will be more upright......"

"Say no more."

Lu Xiangguan shook his head, waved his hand and said, "If he becomes a clean official and a good official, what should we do in the Tianxiong Army?" Tens of thousands of people are about to survive by drinking water and eating the northwest wind, I came here this time, I want to apologize to the eldest brother and admit his mistake, and then ask him to return to the Daimyo's mansion, we need him now, if there is no eldest brother's leadership, the Tianxiong Army is like losing its soul, it won't be long before it will weaken and die, and it will become the poorest and most difficult place, the so-called family and country in the world, help the hometown father and elder change their fate, this matter is much more important than the emperor's matter, so we came here this time, we must bring him back to his hometown, whether he agrees or not. ”

"This ...... My lord is a handsome person who has the posture of the first assistant of the cabinet, a person who can go down in history and do great things, how can he evade his responsibilities and do something less important? The porter man was surprised, and hurriedly spoke, even a little panicked.

"If the eldest brother can send 500,000 silver dollars to his hometown every year to help the family, it is no problem for him to be an official here, we have nothing to say, but if he can't send a penny back to his hometown, and occasionally we have to fund one or two, then this official is not appropriate, and his hometown has not done well, how can he do a good job in the country?"

"This ......"

The porter didn't know how to refute it, and began to regret it a little, isn't it a bit inappropriate to let these people in, how can the adults come back, will the people of these adults' hometowns make any radical moves, will they exert huge pressure, and force the adults to become corrupt officials? Have to do something against your will?

Little by little, time passed.

Six o'clock in the evening.

Seven o'clock in the evening.

It was not until nearly eight o'clock in the evening that the sound of the four-wheeled carriage sounded at the door.

"Big brother, he's back!" When Lu Xiangguan and the others, who were about to doze off, suddenly cheered up.

……

The entrance to the mansion.

The carriage stopped.

Lu Xiangsheng, who looked tired, opened the car door, stepped out of the carriage, and couldn't help yawning, giving people a very tired feeling.

And this kind of busy work life has lasted for almost three years, in the past few years, Lu Xiangsheng has been like being wound up, completing one task after another, dealing with one thorny problem after another, rarely resting, and even his wife and concubine family are rarely accompanied, and the main axis of life is work, work and work.

"Hey, with my merits and qualifications, although I can't be the first assistant, but I should have the ability to be a scholar, I really can't, give me a position of Shangshu, but why can't I move up the position of the squire of the military department, it's been several years, why does Your Majesty still not trust me enough and don't recognize my ability?"

Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart, expressing his dissatisfaction.

In fact, Lu Xiangsheng has always been a very self-motivated person, and he always wants to get a chance, an opportunity to show himself well, show his talent, and then shine his brightness.

Shang Ying, Le Yi, Guan Zhong, Zhang Liang, Zhuge Liang and other famous ministers in history are his idols and role models, even if there are some famous ministers in it, it is not good to end up, but it doesn't matter, as long as he can create brilliant achievements, as long as he shows his talent and revenge, even if he is suspicious of the emperor, even if he is killed by the emperor in prison, he is willing to accept such an ending, what he is afraid of is that the emperor ignores his talent, that is, he does not give him enough opportunities to perform, that is the most difficult for him to accept, just like a person with peerless force, Not letting him go into battle to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions is simply another level of strangulation.

Lu Xiangsheng felt that he must have offended the emperor in some aspects, and since then he has been labeled as untrusted, even if he has worked hard in the past few years and frantically brushed up his good feelings, but in the eyes of the emperor, these efforts do not seem to have good results, and he has not been assigned a heavier burden, and he has always had that suspicion.

Ay~

Helpless.

Lu Xiangsheng felt very uncomfortable, his current state is definitely not a 'Huai Cai is not encountered', but it is not a success, he just did a trivial thing, far from being a 'famous in history', his ability may have been exerted by two or three percent at most, and there are still seven or eight percent that have not been used.

It's this kind of feeling that he is a little hopeful, but he feels that the hope is a little slim, and he can't dispel the emperor's suspicions, and as a result, he can't get stuck in the middle, which sometimes makes him feel helpless and desperate.

What to do?

Lu Xiangsheng found out why there were so many powerful ministers in ancient times, and why many capable ministers went to be powerful ministers one after another, the fundamental reason is that there are too few virtuous kings, and mediocre kings occupy the majority, which restricts the play of virtuous ministers, resulting in having to become powerful ministers, otherwise don't want to make any big achievements.

Quanchen, if only I had the opportunity to become a powerful minister, Emperor Chongzhen is not a virtuous monarch at all, at most he is above average, and he is too far away from the first emperor of the ages, and it is precisely because of this that his mentality of 'Huai Cai is not met' has continued to this day.

Even he began to fantasize that if he had accepted the wooing of Xujiazhuang and worked for Xujiazhuang, would he have been well reused and established a greater career, and he would have gone down in history long ago?

The best example is the Governor of Nanyang, who has the qualification to lead a million innocent troops and the right to arbitrate the internal affairs of more than 30 small countries, which is equivalent to the emperor of many small countries, no matter where he goes to Nanyang, the treatment he gets is extremely beautiful, extremely magnificent, and extremely enviable.

After all, that's more than 30 small countries in arbitration!

And I heard that Xujiazhuang will also set up important positions such as the governor of Central Asia, the governor of the Middle East, the governor of the Americas, the governor of Europe, and the governor of Africa, all of which are six governors, all of whom have the rights of the emperor, and the territory under their jurisdiction is no less than that of the Ming Dynasty, and they also have military power, and under special circumstances, they even have the right of temporary dictatorship.

】

A governor like this will not be less authoritative than the emperor, who doesn't want to sit down, Lu Xiangsheng is also very envious, but he smiled bitterly that it is impossible to have such a good opportunity.

Shook off the messy thoughts in his head.

Stepping into the mansion.

"Big brother, long time no see, I'm looking for you!"

The fat man, who was as fat as a ball, said to him eagerly: "Big brother, what kind of squire of the Bird Soldier Department, don't do it, go back with me, the position of the commander of the Tianxiong Army is still for you, I will abdicate and make way for Xian, help you well, and I will never cause you any more trouble, we brothers are of the same heart, let's do a good job!" ”

Hear this.

"Are you...... Xiangguan, you bastard, you have become fat like this, you have only cared about eating, drinking and having fun all these years, and you have made your brain full of fat, and you told me to go back, is it that the Tianxiong Army has gone downhill and can't be mixed up by you? Hehe, I said a long time ago, you are not that piece of material at all, but you still have to try, now there is a problem, and you want to call me back, how can there be such an easy thing in this world, I remember, under your fan, most of the soldiers have become traitors who betrayed me, and I am the most ruthless traitor, do you think I will care about your life or death? Lu Xiangsheng sneered, and instantly guessed what the situation was.

"Big brother, I was wrong, we all know that I was wrong, but the Tianxiong Army really can't do without you, everyone is about to go bankrupt and disbanded, only you can save the Tianxiong Army, let's go back with me, this time, we all listen to you, and we will never oppose you again, whoever does something against you again, will cut off his head! Big brother, give us another chance to change. Lu Xiangguan begged.

"It's late, I'm an important minister of the court, and I won't go back with you." Lu Xiangsheng shook his head.

"Big brother, if you don't go back, can you pay 500,000 silver dollars to the Tianxiong Army every year, you are such a big official now, it shouldn't be difficult to make 500,000 a year, right?"

"I'm an honest minister, how can I do something corrupt, hum, don't talk nonsense!"

"Big brother, if you can't get the money, and if you don't go back with me, won't you just die and not save me? So many fathers and brothers, how can you be so ruthless, big brother, I'm sorry, the family is bigger than the sky, we can only use the family law, this time, you have to go back with us! ”

Lu Xiangguan made a look, and immediately several strong men rushed over, first controlled Lu Xiangsheng's actions, and then took a set of sacks, stuffed a towel in his mouth, and directly kidnapped him away!