Can I get to the other side?

Chapter 271 The best people in the Han Dynasty are none other than the Yang, Fu, Zhen, Cui, and Dong

It is human nature to pursue fame and fortune.

Liu Xie used fame as bait, and even the major families knew it well and could not ignore it, because the gold content of the four words "the first benefactor of the Han Dynasty" was too high.

To engrave on stone and erect a monument to pass on to future generations. This is the goal they have pursued for generations.

Why were they unwilling to donate money and grain before?

Because there was no benefit for them to do so. No matter how much money and grain they donated, they could only leave some good impression on Liu Xie, that's all.

As for the reputation, it all rested on Liu Xie.

The people only knew that it was the emperor and the court who paid the money and grain to settle the hundreds of thousands of yellow turbans, and they would only praise the emperor's benevolence, and they, who really paid money and worked hard, got nothing.

But now it is different.

Liu Xie gave up this reputation, gave the title of the first benefactor of the Han Dynasty to the one who donated the most, and also engraved on stone and erected a monument to commemorate him.

In this way, the people know who contributed the effort, who they should be grateful to, and whose reputation they should spread.

Good reputation spreads from one person to ten, and then to a hundred, and then to a thousand. In the long run, it will bring huge benefits to the entire family. This deal is a good deal no matter how you look at it.

Therefore, even though the major families knew that this was the emperor's conspiracy, they still couldn't help but start to make moves for the sake of the reputation of "the best man in the Han Dynasty".

However, no one took the initiative.

...

The Imperial Palace, Tai'an Hall.

Liu Xie held a statistical book of donated materials in the past few days in his hand and smiled at the ministers in the hall: "It seems that the people of our Han Dynasty still have a sincere heart to serve the country."

"Since the donation notice was issued, the people and gentry in Yecheng and surrounding counties have donated enthusiastically. So far, 5,000 stones of grain, 3,400 strings of money, cloth and various materials have been raised."

"As the saying goes, accumulated water forms a depression and accumulated soil forms a mountain. With the concerted efforts of the people, I believe that we can definitely collect enough money and food to resettle hundreds of thousands of refugees."

Liu Xie's tone was full of smiles, but his heart was like a mirror. The people were too poor, and relying on the people to raise funds alone would not have much effect.

If it weren't for the efforts of many gentry and merchants, even 5,000 stones of grain and 3,400 strings of money could not be raised.

Only when these aristocratic families come to the rescue can the people brought by Zhang Yan be properly resettled.

The ministers heard this and praised one after another.

"Your Majesty is wise! A piece of imperial edict can make the people donate enthusiastically, which shows how much your Majesty is loved by the people!"

"I only regret that my family does not have much wealth, otherwise I would definitely contribute to the Han Dynasty."

"Your Majesty is benevolent!"

"Our Han Dynasty is blessed by God, and your Majesty will definitely overcome this difficulty!"

"I am not talented, but I am willing to donate this month's salary to show my gratitude!"

"I am also willing to donate this month's salary!"

...

The ministers first praised Liu Xie, and then expressed their willingness to donate this month's salary to show their support.

Liu Xie smiled and said: "I appreciate your kindness, but I know that your families are not very rich, so you should keep this salary."

"Okay, there is nothing to do today, so I will adjourn the court."

After that, he directly announced the adjournment of the court, stood up and left Tai'an Hall, and the ministers also took their leave and left the palace along the imperial road.

The ministers walked in groups of three or two.

Yang Biao and Fu Wan walked side by side out of the palace, and asked calmly at the same time: "Mr. Fu, how much grain do you plan to donate?"

"Me? Where can I donate money?" Fu Wan shook his head and sighed: "Hundreds of thousands of refugees, I also want to share the worries of His Majesty, but my Fu family is really powerless."

As he said, he turned his head and looked at Yang Biao and said: "Mr. Yang, with the foundation of the Yang family, donating tens of thousands of stones of grain should not be a problem, right? Why don't you fight for the title of the first philanthropist of the Han Dynasty?"

As soon as these words came out, many ministers glanced over.

Yang Biao's face changed slightly, and then he smiled bitterly: "That's not true, Mr. Fu. Years of war have consumed our Yang family's foundation."

"But in order to support Your Majesty, my son and I plan to donate this month's salary, which can be regarded as doing our part for the people."

Fu Wan praised with admiration: "Mr. Yang is righteous!"

Cui Yan, who was walking behind them, also interrupted and said: "It seems that the title of the most philanthropic in the Han Dynasty should belong to the Zhen family."

"The Zhen family is going to resettle 30,000 refugees for Your Majesty. With such a generous gesture, it is worthy of being the richest businessman in the world. No wonder Your Majesty values ​​the Zhen family so much."

Everyone looked at the Zhen family elders again.

At the beginning, the Zhen family elders first stood up and said to help resettle 30,000 refugees. So far, the Zhen family has definitely made the greatest contribution, and no one can surpass it.

"It's just an empty title." The elder of the Zhen family said indifferently: "It doesn't matter whether it's the first or not. My Zhen family is not going for this title."

"If you have the spare capacity, you can also donate more money and grain. After all, this is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. The people will be grateful."

"Resettling 30,000 refugees is already the limit of my Zhen family. I am very willing to see you donate more money and grain than my Zhen family."

"After all, you are all for your majesty to share the worries and serve the Han Dynasty, right?"

This is a very beautiful remark.

The ministers naturally praised again.

Dong Zhong, the head of the Dong family who had just arrived and had already joined the team, sighed: "My Dong family has a shallow foundation, how can it compare with the Zhen family? Otherwise, I will definitely support your majesty."

Cui Yan shook his head and said: "Alas, every family has its own problems. My Qinghe Cui family has exhausted its family property to form 3,000 tiger guards. I am really powerless."

The other ministers also cried poor when they heard this.

One is simply worse than the other.

The elder of the Zhen clan took a deep look at everyone, said nothing, and took the lead to walk out of the palace gate and board the carriage.

The other ministers also left in their cars one after another.

After Yang Biao and Yang Xiu boarded the carriage, his face instantly turned down, and he snorted: "This old fox really doesn't trust me! He was clearly testing me just now."

Yang Xiu was a little confused and asked: "Father, aren't we planning to donate 20,000 stones of food and grass? Why are we hiding it?"

During this period of time, Yang Biao asked him to contact the Hongnong Yang family and begin to vigorously raise food, grass and supplies, but told him that he must do this in secret and keep it secret from the outside world.

He didn't quite understand why such a kind deed should be done secretly.

Wouldn’t it be better to make a big splash?

"You are too young." Yang Biao shook his head. Although Yang Xiu was smart, he still lacked official experience and wisdom in dealing with people.

"What we want is to win the reputation of the great man as the first good person at the minimum cost. Now if those guys know the amount of money and food donated by our Yang family, they will have to compete with us. I don't know the price they will have to pay by then. Geometry."

"The purpose of hiding it is to make them relax their vigilance and think that our Yang family will not fight. When the last day comes, we will donate it in one go and win the title of the most charitable person in the Han Dynasty!"

How could he not want the reputation of being the first good person in the Han Dynasty?

But the more he wants it, the more he has to endure it. If he doesn't tolerate it, he will ruin his plans. He cannot let other aristocratic families know his intentions.

After hearing this, Yang Xiu suddenly realized, "That's it. This is like an auction, the knowledge in it is so profound."

On another carriage.

Fu Wan looked at his son Fu De and asked, "Where is the 100,000 yuan I asked you to raise?"

Fu De respectfully replied: "We are still in Qingzhou, but we are about to enter Jizhou. We should be able to arrive before the last day of donation. In order to facilitate transportation, all the copper coins have been replaced by gold cakes."

"But father, donating so much money all at once has depleted a little of our family's wealth. Is it really worth it for the name?"

Fu De felt heartbroken when he mentioned this.

A few days ago, he was asked to inform Langya's hometown to start raising money after he finished his work. It amounted to a hundred thousand guan, which could be converted into seven or eight boxes of gold cakes.

So much money has to be donated!

"You know nothing!" Fu Wan glared at Fu De and said angrily: "With this big man's reputation as the first good person, our Fu family's status will be more stable, and your sister's status will also be much more stable!"

"I just tested that old guy Yang Biao. It seems that he doesn't intend to compete for this reputation. Our only opponent is the Zhen family."

"A hundred thousand dollars can stabilize Zhen's head!"

Fu Wan's plan was very good. The only people who could pose a threat to him were Zhen and Yang, but Yang Biao was not involved, so he only needed to have more people than Zhen.

Although Fu De still didn't understand, after Fu De had made up his mind, he had no choice but to nod.

Cui's mansion.

After Cui Yan returned home, Cui Lin came up to him immediately: "Brother, the supplies you asked me to raise have been prepared."

"Twenty thousand stones of grain and grass, 5,000 sheep, and many new houses have been built and vacated in the counties around Yecheng, which are expected to be able to accommodate tens of thousands of refugees."

"Well done." Cui Yan was overjoyed, with a satisfied smile on her handsome face: "We went all out this time and spent so much money, material and manpower. How can Mr. Zhen compare with us?"

"On the last day of donation, I will definitely catch Mrs. Zhen off guard and win the title of the most charitable person in the Han Dynasty in one fell swoop!"

As long as the Yang family and the Fu family do not participate in the competition, he will definitely be able to win the reputation of being the most good person in the Han Dynasty from the Zhen family.

Cui Yan is full of confidence in this.

With a look of yearning on his face, Cui Lin said: "With this great man's reputation as the most benevolent person, not to mention the future development of the family, my brother may not be able to be ranked among the three nobles in the future."

Cui Yan nodded and patted Cui Lin on the shoulder, "Right now, the only families that are willing to fully support His Majesty are the Zhen family and me, the Cui family. In my opinion, you can also be among the Nine Qings in the future."

Cui Lin's eyes lit up and he pulled Cui Yan into another conversation.

Propaganda room.

Guo Jia handed Liu Xie the statistical booklet of materials donated today and said with concern: "Your Majesty, the money, food and materials donated are getting less and less."

"It has been ten days so far, and there are still five days left. Those aristocratic families still have no intention of donating. Could it be that they didn't fall into the trap?"

The abilities of the common people are too limited.

After all, their lives are not rich, and they may not even have enough to eat.

Most of the money, food and materials raised these days were donated by wealthy businessmen and gentry in order to meet the emperor.

The prey of this plot are those aristocratic families, but they still have no plans to end.

This made Guo Jia feel worried.

If hundreds of thousands of people cannot be properly resettled, it will be a disaster.

It was also a huge blow to the emperor's reputation.

"No rush, no rush." ​​Liu Xie put down the memorial in his hand and smiled lightly: "It's not too late to let the arrow fly for a while. They can't be indifferent. What do you say, Wen He?"

Seeing Liu Xie's gaze, Jia Xu smiled and said: "That's true. Your Majesty's strategy is really clever. Those aristocratic families have already fallen into the trap."

"Now it's just a matter of closing the net."

Every move of Yang Biao's people was under the surveillance of the Embroidered Clothes Envoy.

Guo Jia didn't know what they were doing, but Jia Xu knew it very well.

Seeing that Jia Xu seemed to have some information that he didn't know, Guo Jia suppressed his doubts and said, "Your Majesty, the person who topped the donation list today is already waiting outside the palace."

The person who topped the donation list every day can be summoned by the emperor.

This is also one of the reasons why the common people and wealthy merchants are all flocking to it, but the competition was fierce only in the first four or five days. In the past few days, there have been no wealthy merchants and gentry donating.

Because they had shed a lot of blood in the first few days, and now they are asked to compete for this opportunity, they really can't afford it.

"Call him in."

Liu Xie nodded slightly.

Soon Zhang He brought a person into the Xuanshi. Seeing the appearance of this person, Liu Xie couldn't help but be stunned.

The person who came in was a dark-skinned old man with rather shabby clothes, who looked at least sixty years old.

The old man was very reserved. He kept his head down after entering the Xuanshi Hall. He trembled and saluted Liu Xie, saying, "I am Shi Delu, a humble person. I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Liu Xie looked at Guo Jia with a questioning look in his eyes.

The people who had won the top spot on the daily donation list and were summoned by him were either wealthy businessmen or heads of small families.

The old man in front of him was plain-looking and dressed very poorly. He didn't look like a rich and powerful person. How could he be the top of the donation list today?

Even if the amount of donations was getting lower and lower, it wouldn't be so low, right?

Guo Jia stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, this man exchanged all his property for food and donated it all."

"All his property was donated?" Liu Xie was shocked and cast his eyes on Shi Delu. After a moment's silence, he said, "Stand up and answer."

"Thank... Thank you, Your Majesty."

Hearing Liu Xie's gentle voice, Shi Delu relaxed a little, but still lowered his eyebrows and did not dare to look up to face the emperor.

Liu Xie asked, "I heard that you exchanged all your property for food and donated it. Is this true?"

"Donate what you can. I don't think you are from a wealthy family. Is someone forcing you to do this?"

He was a little worried that the officials below saw that the donated materials were too little and it was difficult to report, so they forced the people to donate. He absolutely could not tolerate such things.

Shi Delu waved his hands again and again, anxiously saying, "Your Majesty has misunderstood. I am completely willing to do this, and I am not forced by anyone."

"The reason why I do this is just, just..."

As he spoke, a trace of sadness flashed across his wrinkled face. After hesitating for a while, he whispered, "I just want to make up for the guilt in my heart."

Guilt?

Liu Xie frowned, and Guo Jia and Jia Xu also looked puzzled.

Shi Delu's eyes were slightly moist, and he said in an old voice: "Your Majesty, I was once a refugee, fleeing from Bohai."

"I originally had a family of four, with a son, a daughter-in-law, and a little grandson."

"At that time, my daughter-in-law was kidnapped on the way to escape the famine, and my son went out to find her, but they both never came back."

"I fled with my little grandson, and we were almost starving to death. Someone gave us a bowl of meat soup, so we survived."

"But that meat soup, that meat soup..."

Shi Delu burst into tears and cried.

Liu Xie was silent.

In the years of the great famine, there was only one source of meat soup on the way to escape the famine - that is human flesh.

Just like the woman he met when he personally led the army through Qinghe County, her son died and was taken away to be cooked and eaten.

"There are cannibals everywhere, Your Majesty."

Shi Delu held back the tears in his eyes and said in a trembling voice: "Along the way, I have been living by eating human flesh. My grandson is lucky that he has not become rotten meat in the pot of others."

"Now I have settled down in Yecheng with my grandson. Although life is hard, I can survive with a blacksmith shop."

"But if those refugees don't have a bite to eat, they will starve to death and turn to cannibalism."

"That's why I donated all my savings and property over the years, even if, even if I can only save one person, it's good."

"The taste of cannibalism is terrible."

For so many years, Shi Delu has been feeling guilty all the time. The experience of cannibalism is like a nightmare that haunts him, making him repent when he wakes up in the middle of the night.

He really doesn't want to see such a tragedy again.

Liu Xie was silent after listening to this. After a long time, he slowly spoke: "How old is your grandson now?"

Shi Delu replied: "My grandson is ten years old this year."

Liu Xie nodded and said: "In two years, I will send him to the Yulin Guard and serve in the palace."

Shi Delu was stunned at first, then overjoyed, and immediately bowed down.

Yulin Guard, the emperor's personal army!

It is simply a great honor for his grandson to be able to join the Yulin Guard!

"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty. I thank Your Majesty for your grace on behalf of my grandson Shi Bao."

Shi Delu kept kowtowed, and the wrinkles on his face smiled like a chrysanthemum.

"Shi Bao?"

Liu Xie was shocked when he heard this name suddenly, and asked hurriedly: "Where is your hometown in Bohai?"

Shi Delu replied: "My ancestral home is Nanpi, Bohai."

He is from Nanpi, Bohai, his surname is Shi and his name is Bao, and his grandfather is a blacksmith.

After comparing various information, Liu Xie was certain that the grandson of the old man in front of him was an important general from the late Three Kingdoms period to the Western Jin Dynasty.

Shi Bao, the Duke of Leling County of the Jin Dynasty, was a founding hero of the Jin Dynasty. He served successively as Grand Marshal, Minister of the Court, and Minister of Education. He was an old acquaintance of Deng Ai and a close confidant of Sima Yi. He was the one who facilitated Cao Huan's abdication to Sima Yan.

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