The morning light is faint, and the night rain is at the beginning.

The originally solemn red lacquer beast head gate of the Yamen of Jizhou General Army was shattered to the ground, and only a small half was left behind, and the charred black door panel was dumped on the white jade steps covered with plaster, leaving the ugly door frame gently swaying in the morning breeze.

In front of the door, a pair of stone lions fell in the mud, without the majesty of the past.

The drum was still standing in place, but it was cut in half by someone's sword.

Jizhou Mu Tao Ye held a **-year-old boy in each hand, tremblingly raised his feet and stepped over the burned and deformed iron threshold, looking at the ruins of the door and sighing softly.

The state pastor, who was over sixty years old, wore a crimson official robe with mud on the hem, and his expression was haggard, giving people the impression that he was an old man in his old age, and he couldn't see the slightest bit of the shepherd's bearing.

The two children are carved in pink, one has a tiger head and smart eyes, and the other is slightly quiet but more aura.

The more lively child looked up at Tao Yezhong and said, "Grandpa, those Di people are really vicious, if Grandpa Sun comes back and sees it, I don't know how sad it should be." ”

Tao Yezhong lowered his head slightly when he heard this, his eyes were kind, and he slowly shook his head and said, "I'm afraid your grandfather won't come back." ”

After a night of rain, the smell of burnt paste in the air and the stench of corpses had finally eased, otherwise he would not have brought his two little grandsons here.

He didn't explain much, but changed his words, and said as he walked slowly: "Grandpa's background is average, and he can achieve the high position of the shepherd of Dazhou, but he is still stained with the light of the master." The Jinshi on my list, because of one person, got the blue eyes of the previous generation of the Son of Heaven Master Mengfuzi, and was fortunate to listen to the teachings for a few days, and the most unfortunate ones were mixed with the title of unworthy of the title of named disciple, and most of them have been on the rise for decades. ”

Tao Yezhong's eyes showed a bit of remembrance, and he said slowly: "When Grandpa was young, the Tao family was still a small family, and your grandfather's family was already the leading Jizhou wealthy family for several generations. At that time, grandpa and Sun Daolin didn't like each other, and they were very unconvinced by these high-ranking names of Zhong Ming Dingshi, and felt that they could replace them. It's only after decades of crawling and rolling and the ups and downs of the sea that I know that there is no free blessing in this world......"

He stooped down to pick up a pennant from under the rubble from under his feet and reached out to dust it off.

The flag is not big, with gold edges on a black background, and a fiery red flying phoenix is embroidered.

The more lively child exclaimed in surprise: "Ah, grandpa, Xiang Fang recognizes that this is Grandpa Sun's flag on the two-foot, four-foot, two-edged flag!"

He screamed and looked around, but he didn't see the weapon of astonishing length.

Tao Yezhong carefully folded the flag in his hand and handed it to his grandson, who recognized the flag.

Tao Xiangfang held it in his hand, looking very happy.

The old state pastor smiled slightly, obviously very fond of his smart and clever grandson.

"Your father and uncle, I'm afraid they all complain in private that grandpa is too cowardly, obviously a high-powered party to fief the territory, but he never refuses to take care of his children, let alone help each other with the Jizhou Hao family, and ends up being set up by others, far less than your grandfather knows how to behave. ”

Tao Yezhong paused slightly, and there was a little unspeakable disappointment and loneliness in his expression: "It's a pity that they don't understand, if grandpa doesn't act like this, the Son of Heaven will not hand over Jizhou to grandpa, a Jizhou scholar, and the Sun family, a wealthy family in Jizhou with big roots and deep roots, will also not accept a state pastor from Benzhou who is bent on making great plans." ”

He stopped, and instead of entering the antechamber, which was about to collapse, he turned slowly and returned the way he had come with his two grandchildren.

"But that's okay, this time Jizhou City was broken by the Di people, regardless of the casualties and property losses, tens of thousands of people were taken away by the Di people, which will definitely shake the government and the opposition. Grandpa can't die, but it's inevitable to dismiss and seize office. As for the Sun family...... I'm afraid I'm going to fall into the hands of Sun Daolin this time. The Great Zhou was too big, and the authority of the Son of Heaven was not strong at the beginning of his accession to the throne, so he had to rely on local powers. The Sun family is the best at waiting for the price to sell, although it is a matter of course, but it is destined to become a thorn in the heart of the Son of Heaven, this opportunity is rare, how can there be no reason not to want to pull it out?"

Another child who was more silent and more mature spoke: "Xiang Yuan doesn't quite understand, isn't it good to be a virtuous and capable minister who is supported by the people? Even if Grandpa is from Jizhou, as long as he is loyal to the Son of Heaven and helps the Son of Heaven suppress the Sun family, it will not be a great credit? Or simply join forces with Grandpa Sun, the Son of Heaven will be helpless, right?"

Tao Yezhong glanced at Tao Xiangyuan in surprise, and smiled with relief: "The Tao family really has a unicorn, just in terms of knowledge, your child is much stronger than your foolish father." He is always taking it for granted, and he wants to take the Son of Heaven as a backer, and he wants to collude with the wealthy family of Jizhou, but where in the world is there such a good thing as the best of both worlds? If you can choose the lesser of two evils, you should be content!"

He shook his head again and said: "It's just that you also want to be left, and if you are biased to one side, you must always worry about the other side counterattacking, and if you are caught in the middle, you will inevitably end up bleak in the future." Whether it is the Son of Heaven or the Sun family, it is a behemoth that the Tao family cannot afford to provoke, our foundation is too shallow, but we don't have the capital to make a comeback. Only if you don't rely on both sides, although you look stupid and wronged, you can start and finish well. ”

"To be a state pastor in Jizhou, you can only make five points of strength if you have ten skills, and honestly eating a vegetarian meal is the way to protect your family, and before you really control Jizhou, what the Son of Heaven needs is just a competent watchdog. However, after the Sun family fell, he came to take over his grandfather's position, but he must be a genius in the world, and this is the time of the day. “

Tao Yezhong smiled a little self-deprecatingly: "When today's son prefers to simmer slowly over a small fire, slowly and slowly, grandpa has intentionally or unintentionally helped to add some firewood over the years, there is no merit and hard work, even if he loses his official position this time, the Son of Heaven will remember grandpa's heart somewhat, and you may be able to use it in the future." ”

He looked down at the innocent eyes of the two children who were slightly puzzled, and couldn't help but laugh and said, "The older you get, the more you can't hide the words in your heart? Xiangyuan, Xiangfang, you two just need to remember that even if there is a thousand-year-old iron threshold, there will eventually be a day when the house collapses. ”

The two children glanced at each other and replied, "Grandpa, my grandson remembers." ”

Tao Yezhong nodded with satisfaction: "After decades of adding firewood to be a dog, it should be a little tired." Grandpa is just a middle-aged person, and he will only use this unsatisfactory stupid method, and how big the market pattern of the Tao family can be in the future will still fall on you. ”

He slowly stepped over the iron threshold again, and smiled meaningfully.