Cyber Daming

It was June 15th, the twelfth year of Jiaqi, in Datong Street, Chengzhong District, Jinling.

In front of the newly renovated main entrance of Gu's residence, a car slowly stopped.

As soon as Gu Xi, who was dressed in casual clothes, stepped out of the car, the head of the Gu family who had been waiting at the door with his servant immediately came to greet him.

"Master Xi, you have worked hard all the way."

Gu Xi looked at the fawning old man in front of him, with a trace of sadness in his eyes.

Once upon a time, this Gu family manager was also an important person who could not be offended in his eyes, and he never stopped giving gifts, large and small, during holidays.

But since he became the county magistrate of Chengdu County, the other party not only converted all the gifts he received over the years into cash but also doubled them as gifts.

Moreover, he will also quietly pass on various trends and news within the Gu family to him, down to the smallest detail.

The world is hot and cold, and the closeness and distance are cold and warm. Words alone are not enough to describe the feeling.

"I haven't seen you for six years. Is your body still strong?"

"Thanks to you, Master, the old slave has no other illnesses except that his genes have been locked and he has begun to degenerate."

The old housekeeper smiled and said, "Besides, I also said that when the old slave's internal organs are no longer functioning, the Gu family will pay for my replacement, and will reward the old slave with a comfortable old age."

"That's good." Gu Xi nodded: "After you stop taking care of things, if you get tired of staying in Jinling, come to Chengdu County for a walk. The mountains and rivers there are better than Jinling in raising people."

"Thank you, Master Xi."

The old housekeeper's face was covered with wrinkles, and the gaps were filled with a grateful smile.

He followed Gu Xi respectfully and said in a low voice: "Master Xi, after learning that you were going back to your hometown to visit your relatives, the master specially ordered us to open the ancestral hall, saying that we would worship our ancestors with you and thank the Gu family for their great achievements. The blessings of our ancestors.”

"In addition, all your relatives and family members have been moved from the first floor to the second floor, and all the children of the right age have also been arranged to enter the best Confucius Temple in Jinling. They will not be raised for a few years, but you can have a lot more. reading seeds.”

According to the internal rules of Confucianism, the height of the gate's mansion must strictly match the grade of the gate.

A third-class building is no more than three stories high, a second-class building is no more than six stories high, and a first-class building is an extremely high nine stories.

As a third-class family member, the Gu family is not a prominent force in Jinling City. Naturally, the house only has a simple three floors.

The first floor is where the family's collateral relatives live, the second floor is the Gu family's big house, and the third floor is where the current head of the Gu family, Gu Zhiwei, lives and the family ancestral hall is.

When Gu Xi left Jinling City and headed to the southwest of the empire, he had been living on the first floor.

"Uncle, he has a heart."

Gu Xi said 'hmm' and walked into Gu's house through the wide open middle door.

Without going to see his relatives, Gu Xi went directly to the top floor of the house and came to the family ancestral hall that many Gu family members would probably not be eligible to enter in their lifetime.

The door of the ancestral hall is open, and there are plaques and couplets hanging everywhere in the courtyard. There are so many words like "poems and books are handed down from generation to generation, farming and reading is passed down to the family" are so numerous that it dazzles people.

Deep in the ancestral hall is an altar that is several feet high. There were three animals, five fruits, meat and vegetables on it, and amid the smoke, dozens of spiritual tablets with gold characters on a black background were enshrined on it.

What is even more eye-catching is that there is a transparent container placed behind these spiritual tablets, which looks similar to a jar. And what was soaked in it was a complete brain.

These are the legacies left to the family after their death by members of the Gu family who broke through the Jin Dynasty and successfully became officials.

There is even a saying among the Confucian clan that the richness of a clan depends on how many ancestors' brains are enshrined in the family ancestral hall.

Gu Xi is no stranger to the brains of his ancestors.

Before he became the county magistrate of Chengdu County, he had sent people to the Yang family in Mianzhou County to seize the brain tissue slices left by the other party's ancestors.

In front of the altar, stood an old man with a high crown and elegant clothes.

It is Gu Zhiwei, the current head of the Gu family and Gu Xi's uncle.

"Xi'er, come and offer incense to our ancestors."

Gu Zhiwei spoke softly, stepped aside to get out of the way of the officiant, and handed three pillars of incense to Gu Xi.

With a solemn expression, Gu Xi held the incense and bowed three times and kowtowed nine times. The moment the incense was inserted into the incense burner, an inexplicable palpitation surged in his heart.

The light green liquid in the glass jar placed behind the spiritual throne suddenly rippled and formed a series of fine bubbles.

Dozens of ancestors' brains contracted and twitched at the same time, as if responding to the incense offered by Gu Xi.

Miniature projections appeared one after another, standing in front of their respective spiritual tablets, looking at Gu Xi kneeling on the ground, smiling and nodding.

Gu Zhiwei, who was standing aside, saw this scene, with a faint smile on his face, and said kindly: "It seems that the ancestors are very satisfied with your performance, get up."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xi bowed respectfully again, and then stood up slowly after finishing.

The projections of the Gu family's ancestors also dissipated, and the ripples in the altar slowly faded away, returning to calm again.

"It's been a while since you took office as the magistrate of Chengdu County. How do you feel about it?"

Gu Zhiwei took off the heavy ceremonial crown on his head, revealing his gray hair. As he walked towards the outside of the ancestral hall, he asked Gu Xi softly beside him.

"It's hard to walk on thin ice."

Gu Xi had a bitter look on his face when he heard this, and did not try to hide it. He told the truth: "I thought I got a big deal, but in the end I caught a hot potato in my hand. I can't throw it away and I can't hold it firmly. I just I can grit my teeth and endure the pain and persevere.”

"But if this were not the case, how could the position of Chengdu County Magistrate fall into the hands of our Gu family?"

Gu Zhiwei said softly: "Being an official is just the first step in our Confucian order. You still have a lot to learn next. Living under the influence of others and enduring humiliation and burden are one of the required courses."

"I'm afraid Qingcheng Mountain won't give me the chance to complete this lesson."

Gu Xi lowered his head and said: "Uncle, now that the new policy implemented by the imperial court has completed the first stage, I'm afraid there will be bigger moves next. Those Taoist priests are not idiots. They know what the imperial court's purpose is. I'm afraid they will revolt. It’s just a matter of time.”

"I'm in a really difficult situation right now."

Gu Xi raised her hand and touched the left side of her face. It was fair and smooth at the moment, and there was nothing strange about it.

But not long ago, a Daoxu named Liang from Qingcheng Mountain forced his way into the Chengdu County Government Office and slapped his face with a piece of carved talisman and seal until it became black and swollen.

But he didn't even dare to say a harsh word, so he could only force himself to smile.

"Of course I know it's difficult for you. But no matter how difficult it is, you can only continue to grit your teeth and hold on."

Gu Zhiwei sighed: "Actually, it's not just you. Isn't the situation of the entire Gu family not difficult now? Because of my appointment, the Gu family has lost the quota to replace the members of the New Donglin Party. If your generation If we don’t pick up the slack quickly, the Gu family will soon fall from the ranks of the powerful. Not only will we no longer have the qualifications to establish a foothold in Jinling, but we will also be in danger of being exterminated.”

"Jinling is a place of wealth and honor, but also a place of killing. The degree of mixture here is much greater than that of Chengdu Prefecture where you are, and even Chongqing Prefecture where Pei Xingjian is in charge cannot compare.

"Twelve orders of the three religions and nine streams all have their own territory here. In the North City, the Buddhist order is gathered near Jiming Temple, the Taoist order is entrenched in the Lion Rock on the northwest outskirts of the city, and the Confucian order is camped around the old imperial city. In the Nancheng , the nine forces are intertwined. On the surface, everyone is in harmony, but secretly, there is a fierce fire and undercurrents. "

Gu Zhiwei didn't need to look back, but he could feel the depression and frustration in the disciples behind him.

"The Gu family is just a small ant in this city. If you want to survive, you must seize every opportunity. And your Chengdu County is the only place where our Gu family is facing life and death. A way out. Gu Xi, can you understand this?"

"I know"

Gu Xi looked struggling and hesitant, but after taking a deep breath, he said in a hoarse voice: "But uncle, I really can't hold on any longer. When the next phase of the New Deal begins, Qingcheng Mountain will definitely clear out the entire Sichuan and Sichuan areas. Confucianism forces, I’m afraid I won’t be able to escape death.”

"Blessings and misfortunes depend on each other, and a fatal disaster may also be your ladder to heaven."

Gu Zhiwei said in an envious tone: "Just like those nobles who participated in the feast in the Japanese area, some lost their lives and were buried in foreign lands, but there were also others who took advantage of this long wind and soared up. Coincidentally, perhaps the rise of our Gu family Prosperity lies with you, Gu Xi.”

Being able to grow up as a son of a common concubine and now having his family open an ancestral hall for him, Gu Xi is naturally not someone who will get carried away by a few bold words.

He naturally knew the opportunity his uncle mentioned.

He is even certain that the New Donglin Party and Daoxu Qingcheng Mountain will definitely use Chengdu County as a place of confrontation to test each other's bottom line and strength.

As long as the New Donglin Party promulgates the content of the second phase of the new policy, I am afraid that I will not even be able to see the sun the next day, and together with the Chengdu County Yamen, they will be blown to pieces by the Daozu magic weapons flying on the sky.

Even if the New Donglin Party has the back-up to counterattack, it will never end well for itself.

Even if the imperial court grants some kind of pension by then, only the Gu family will benefit, so what does it have to do with me?

During his short career as a county magistrate, Gu Xi clearly understood what it means to be stronger than others. Between the two behemoths Ruxu and Daoxu, he was just an insignificant cannon fodder.

Even the New Donglin Party is now waiting for news of his death, so that they have a legitimate excuse to attack Qingcheng Mountain.