Plan to cut off the nine states

(Thanks to readers "lenei" and "twomix560" for their red rewards. Please collect and recommend)

What can and should one do at the age of eighteen? For most of the subjects of the Tiancheng Dynasty, the answer has been fixed since birth: farming, doing business, joining the army, serving in the army, being an official... No matter what you do, it is time to achieve something at the age of eighteen. There are also some lucky ones who get titles based on the achievements of their fathers and grandfathers before they are ten years old, and receive honorable and leisurely official positions at the age of thirteen or fourteen. If there are no accidents, they will be able to hold real power and participate in the affairs of the country before the age of eighteen. If they can perform well, they will be promoted to the pillar minister of the country sooner or later.

As the son of the general of the current dynasty, Lou Chu is not one of the lucky ones. He has no title or official position, and his eighteenth birthday is even more dull. Even he himself suddenly remembered what day it was when it was almost noon.

Lou Chu didn't care much about it. He just sighed in his heart that youth is fleeting, and time is like flowing water. He is afraid that his life will go with the flow without any change. He has a sense of vicissitudes at a young age.

It was with such emotions that when someone encouraged him to assassinate the current emperor that afternoon, Lou Chu didn't agree immediately, but he was touched in his heart, thinking that life might not be unchanging.

Lou Chu's name is a bit difficult to pronounce. There is no way. There are dozens of brothers in the Lou family. The general doesn't have the energy to think of a meaningful name for each one. So every time he has a son , he randomly picks a word with the character "石" to name him, hoping that his sons can be as hard and heavy as stones, but he can't remember too many names and always calls them randomly.

Lou Chu was eighteen years old. His life was neither too good nor too bad. This year had been twenty-six years since the dynasty was named "Cheng". It was nineteen years ago that Emperor Taizu personally carried out the heavenly punishment to eliminate the last local force. Twelve years before that, the old emperor passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne. After mourning, the new emperor immediately added a "Tian" character in front of the country's name, and named it "Tiancheng", to show that this dynasty was different from previous dynasties, and the stability of the country was granted by heaven.

Indeed, looking around, there was no second person in the territory of Tiancheng Dynasty who dared to claim the throne. The surrounding areas were all barbaric and small countries, and there was no great threat. Even so, the emperor still retained an extremely large army that could attack at any time and annihilate all enemies, big or small, open or hidden.

In today's world, the emperor's safety is the top priority of the whole world. Therefore, the assassination plan sounded extremely incredible. As soon as the words came out, the proposer and the invitee laughed at the same time. It was not until he drank another glass of wine that Lou Chu took it seriously.

The whole thing started with a small dispute that morning.

Back then, when the dynasty had just been established, Emperor Taizu issued an edict to establish the Imperial Academy, which consisted of the Imperial College and the Seven-door Academy. The former accommodated the children of nobles, and the latter recruited young people who were eager to learn from the people. In addition to the two, a separate Youxue Academy was established to accommodate those dandy young men who were not interested in the right path but still had value in saving, demonstrating the emperor's grace of not abandoning anyone.

Lou Chu was one of these "dandy young men". He was sent to Youxue Academy a few years ago. After listening to a few lectures, he was secretly happy and had even less interest in the "right path".

That morning, Wenren Xuejiu taught the study of name and reality. His class was always boring and most students were forced to listen. The only thing they were interested in was guessing the surname of the scholar. They all felt that the double surname "Wenren" was deliberately mysterious. The scholar taught "name and reality", but their surname was "not worthy of the name".

There were more than 20 students, and as usual, they came later and later. Wenren Xuejiu came even later, and he still hadn't shown up at noon. The few who came earlier were either chatting or in a daze, until the "black-haired dog" Zhou Lu showed up.

Zhou Lu's skin was not dark, and his hair was not thick. He was the third son of Dongyang Hou Zhou An. As the saying goes, "a tiger father will not have a dog son." Zhou An fought for half his life and was known for his bravery. He could be called a "tiger father." The first two sons were also decent, but the third son was thin and small, and was indeed a "dog son." Dongyang Hou had a nickname in the army called "white-browed tiger", so his son became a "black-haired dog."

"Black-haired dog" Zhou Lu was thin and had a bad temper. As soon as he entered the school, he shouted: "I'm so angry! I'm so angry!"

No one paid attention to him, and Zhou Lu didn't need to respond, and continued to nag about his bad luck.

Just yesterday evening, Zhou Lu took a servant on a "secret visit" with the intention of having fun with the people, but he unexpectedly encountered a shrewd man and was beaten up for no reason.

Hearing that Zhou Lu was beaten, everyone finally got interested and came over to check, only to see a slight bruise on his right cheek.

The injury was not serious, but Zhou Lu couldn't swallow this breath, "It's really a rebellion, how could such a thing happen under the feet of the emperor! Such a shrewd man should be punished with a family."

"Xiao Hei, you stole the girl from someone again, didn't you?" In Youxuetang, as long as the teacher is not there, everyone doesn't follow any rules and calls him by nicknames.

Zhou Lu's face flushed, "How can it be called robbery? I spent a lot of money..."

The classmates laughed, and some people spoke for Zhou Lu, "It's not a big deal. The government office is full of your Zhou family's old friends. Find someone to arrest the troublemaker and beat him up to avenge you."

"A beating is not enough to avenge me, and it will cause trouble for the officials. I want..."

Wenren Xuejiu appeared at the door. Although he was just a teacher without a rank, the old scholar had great prestige among the students. As soon as he appeared, everyone immediately shut up and returned to their seats. Even Zhou Lu swallowed the second half of his words.

The servants accompanying the young master left quietly.

Wen Renxue was in his fifties, short in stature, with a sparse beard. He always looked like he was meditating and wandering, and it was the same today. He sat on the chair and didn't look at the students at all. Not caring whether everyone was here, he flipped through the book for a while, then suddenly put it down and said, "How do you plan to take revenge?"

"Ah?" Zhou Lu was surprised. He didn't expect that his matter would attract the attention of a scholar. "I... will think of a solution."

"Tell me, let's talk now. Everyone has to say: What would you do if something like this happened to you?" Wen Renxue looked really interested in this matter. "There is nothing to talk about today, so let's discuss it. How to take revenge."

Wen Renxuesuo's classes are usually boring, but occasionally there are unexpected moments. The students were surprised at first, then quickly calmed down, knowing that this was another test, and began to seriously consider the means of "revenge".

Of course Zhou Lu was the first to speak, "To be honest, my plan is very simple. I don't care how much it costs. I want to find a few heroes and teach the unruly people a lesson. At least... at least remove an arm or something." "

Wen Renxue nodded, without commenting, and turned to the other students.

With the beginning of Zhou Lu, everyone else can speak freely.

"It's better to report to the official. It's natural for a cunning person like this to be honest. Those so-called heroes, who knows who they are? What if they get into trouble?"

"That's wrong, Xiao Hei... The reason why Brother Zhou didn't report to the official position must be because he didn't want the matter to get bigger and attract the attention of his father and brother at home. But it's not worth spending money to hire someone to take revenge. It's better to find someone ready. I don’t know anyone in the yamen, but there must be some in the military camp. It’s just a banquet afterwards.” The speaker frequently winked at Zhou Lu, as if he wanted to be this “friend.”

"Revenge is called revenge when there is something to avenge. From the looks of it, Brother Zhou just suffered a little humiliation. It's okay not to avenge him. Since the other party is a troublemaker..."

"It's not you who got beaten!" Zhou Lu interrupted angrily, raising his hand to rub his eyes, "The key is that I can't swallow this breath."

The students took turns speaking out their thoughts, and the scholars only listened and never interrupted.

When it was Lou Ji's turn, he thought for a while. What he was thinking about was not how to answer, but whether he should tell the truth truthfully. "I think we might as well discuss this matter from a theoretical point of view."

Zhou Lu looked disdainful, thinking that Mr. Lou was trying to please scholars again.

Lou Chu continued speaking on his own, "You are all nobles, and you will definitely take on the responsibility of governing the country in the future..."

Zhou Lu couldn't hold back, he let out a sneer, and simply said: "Master Lou, this is the Lu Xue Hall. We are from high families, but it's a pity that our father doesn't kiss us and our mother doesn't love us, so we just hang out here. It's just a bullshit name. Learning - I am not talking about you - can learning in name only prevent me from being beaten? "

Lou Chu listened to what he said and continued: "At least our father and brother shoulder the responsibility of governing the country. This is the so-called 'name'."

Zhou Lu snorted and had nothing to say. A noble son named Ma Wei intervened: "The fathers and brothers of each family have actual official positions and hold great power. How can it be just a 'name'?"

Lou Chu smiled slightly. He and Ma Wei were very good friends. They often argued with each other, "Having an official position is for 'fame'. Being an official with a good voice and being loyal to one's duties is considered 'real'. Being an official but incompetent only has a name but no reality."

Ma Wei wanted to argue, but Zhou Lu intervened again, "Alas, you are talking about revenge for me, not for you two to argue about 'name and reality'."

Lou Chu looked at Wenren Xuexue and said, "When you are in a family that governs the country, even if you have no official position, you should have the heart and skills to govern the country. Just like a rich man, when encountering difficulties, he will naturally use gold and silver to clear the way. Those who are strong must use gold and silver to clear the way. Those who clear the way with fists and kicks and are eloquent..."

Zhou Lu said impatiently: "You are eloquent, but what about me? What can I use to clear the way?"

"Brother Zhou was born in the Hou family. The king's law is the greatest wealth. Even if he cannot serve the country, he should not destroy the king's law for his own selfishness..."

"Oh, I understand. You are trying to persuade me to give up revenge. Okay, Mr. Lou, please stop saying a few words. According to you, people who are officials or feudal lords are unlucky. They are unlucky when they encounter humiliation. We must rely on the king's law, not as happy as ordinary people."

The scholar who had been silent for a long time suddenly said: "It's useless to talk big, let's talk to someone else."

The foundation of the building didn't get support, so he sat down and didn't say another word.

The discussion went on for a whole morning, with no results. Zhou Lu insisted on finding a "hero" to avenge himself. Wen Renxue was noncommittal. When the time came, he announced that school was over and was the first to get up and leave. He had no interest in the whole discussion and all the students. Showing the least bit of interest.

"He Ze is taking my beating as a joke." Zhou Lu was very dissatisfied and muttered in a low voice. The students laughed, really thinking it was a joke.

Not far after Lou Chu walked out of the school, Ma Wei caught up with him from behind and invited him to drink with him.

At the wine table, Ma Weiping dismissed the servants and said: "What Brother Chu said in the hotel is reasonable. A person should have a name and a real life. For example, you and I are unfortunately imprisoned by this dynasty and cannot be officials for the rest of our lives. We have no intention of serving the country. But there is no way to serve the country, what is our 'name' and 'reality'?"

Lou Chi didn't answer.

So Ma Wei talked about some truth, which can be summed up in one sentence, which is "regicide to change the world". This is the only name and reality of the imprisoned people.

"This dynasty has been plagued by internal and external troubles. For more than 20 years, the building has been crumbling. There is also a sign in the sky. A few days ago, a comet swept the throne of the emperor. This is the meaning of 'emperor collapse'. The right time, right place, and people are all gathered here. What do you think?"

Lou Chu's heart was slightly moved, and he thought of the Princess of Wu, the woman he could never call his mother. At the same time, he was also confused. Where did Ma Wei get the confidence to think that he could accomplish the assassination with only two imprisoned and destitute young men?