Three Kingdoms

Du Ji's residence was originally in Chang'an, but later it was moved to Lingyi. Although it may be farther away from the Hussar General's mansion, it seems to be a little quieter.

Lingyi is relatively more noisy, and just like the comparison between the outside of the fifth ring road and the inside of the second ring road in later generations, there is a certain gap, but Du Ji doesn't mind it, and prefers to live more in Lingyi.

This is a courtyard with three entrances, neither too small nor too big.

Du Ji was currently in the hall of the main courtyard, sitting beside the table and looking at the tree trunks in the courtyard in a daze. The leaves have fallen off. There were still some left, but in the wind and snow a few days ago, they were all gone.

The servants have cleaned the snow in the yard, but outside the yard...

Du Ji didn't join in the excitement some time ago. Du Ji usually stayed away from those things, so Du Ji was not implicated in anything. He continued to be the chief of his tomb, going to work during the day, and at dusk, Then he returned to his small courtyard, warmed a glass of wine and looked at the wind and moon.

The family also knew that there was a storm outside during this period, and the generosity of Pang Tong and others undoubtedly caused an earthquake in the officialdom. Many people could not help but feel panic. Therefore, when they saw Du Ji sitting in the hall in a daze, they held their breath and did not dare to disturb him, lest it cause harm. It affected Du Ji's purity and influenced his thinking.

But just when Du Ji was lost in thought, a burst of noise suddenly sounded outside the courtyard...

Du Ji came back to his senses from deep thought, and then saw the steward walking in with a wry smile, and reported: "Zhang Langjun is here...I don't know, my lord..."

Before he could finish his words, he saw Zhang Shi striding over, and two of Du Ji's servants were following him, holding him back, not daring to exert force, let alone stop him, which was very embarrassing. And Zhang Shi's face was extremely ugly. He huffed and strode forward with his sleeves waving, and said, "What is the relationship between a certain person and Du Xiandi?" ! When Brother Du Xian goes somewhere, he has no talent at all, so just go straight ahead! Why is it that someone has to wait when he gets here? Still want to pass it on? ! 』

Du Ji smiled bitterly, then waved his hand to signal the stewards and servants to step back, and then personally stepped forward to greet Zhang Shi, "Brother Zhang, don't blame me... I've been quiet these past few days, so he refuses guests..."

Generally speaking, even if Du Ji refuses guests, he is not completely invisible. However, Zhang Shi is not in the mood to wait outside. He has an irritated look on his face. It is obvious that something has happened.

And these things are probably related to the current earthquake in officialdom.

"Brother Zhang, calm down!" It just so happens that I still have half of the wine here, and the food is still intact. If Brother Zhang doesn't give up, how about we sit down and drink together? Du Ji smiled, stretched out his hand to invite, and then ordered his servants to prepare wine glasses and other utensils.

Zhang Shi took a breath, then met with Du Ji, said sorry, and then said, "No need to bother... I am a good brother, and I am still patient at this moment..."

Du Ji chuckled, first asked Zhang Shi to sit down, and then said: "Now that the cold winter is coming, the wind and snow are coming, naturally it is safe at home..."

Seeing that Du Ji still looked unmoved, Zhang Shi could only barely hold back the anxiety in his heart, sat down first, and then frowned and said, "Brother Xian is really good-tempered!" 』

Zhang Shi was from Hedong. He had a good relationship with Du Ji in the early years and traveled together to study as the Third Assistant. Later, he also served as a local official in Hedong under the Husband, and then transferred to the Third Assistant of Chang'an. Now he serves as the chief executive of Jing Zhaoyin. . Nowadays, the officialdom of the Three Assistants in Guanzhong is in shock, and Zhang Shi is from Hedong. Naturally, he can't find anyone else in Chang'an to discuss countermeasures for a while. He can only find Du Ji, who is usually a good friend among them.

But what about Du Ji...

How should I put it? He is capable, intelligent, not rigid, and will not be restricted by ordinary so-called favors. Just like before Wei Duan resumed his position, Du Ji would go to Wei Duan's home to sit there. However, After Wei Duan became the Senlu Yuan, fewer people went there.

The same goes for Zhang Shi.

Zhang Shi frowned and said, "Brother, please don't say you don't know that the three assistants are in chaos right now!" Pang Lingjun's methods were ruthless, and Sima's son was even more cruel. Heads were everywhere in Qiling overnight! This has finally been somewhat stable for many years, but is it going to return to Dong Zhuo's miserable state of the past? How can my dear brother sit so calmly? 』

Du Ji rubbed his wine glass and said, "What else should we do?" 』

"Please ask Qingqi to return to Xijing immediately!" ” Zhang Shi pointed slowly to the south, “Who doesn’t know that the Hussars are now stationed in Lantian. On the surface, they are blocked by the wind and snow, making it inconvenient to march, but they are waiting for the dust to settle for the third auxiliary forces in Chang’an! No blood stains, no infamy! Once the hussar arrives, everything is settled! With the Qiusi outside, the turmoil among Chang'an's three auxiliaries must be unstoppable! 』

Du Ji couldn't help but look up at Zhang Shi.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Shi also thought of this problem...

"This is a party struggle!" ” Zhang Shi said angrily, “Jing and Xiang’s people, under the pretense of using the name, eradicate dissidents, their methods are vicious and outrageous! 』

Party strife has existed for a long time.

There were already party disputes in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. For example, Duke Huan of Qi Jiang Xiaobai and his brother Gongzi Jiu were vying for the throne. In the Western Han Dynasty, Empress Lu and some people who disliked her started a palace struggle. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the party of foreign relatives was also indispensable. The eunuch party and the Shilin party fought against each other for decades or hundreds of years.

Du Ji's hand paused slightly.

Du Ji also considered this.

The scholar-bureaucrat class in the Han Dynasty sometimes ignored the party struggle for the sake of party struggle. Not only the scholars, but also the relatives and eunuchs were the same. It seemed that the whole purpose after becoming an official was to fight for the party. As long as the party struggle can be won, other things will not matter. Any problem can be ignored.

From a certain perspective, it's not that they are short-sighted or narrow-minded, it's just that they have been immersed in the atmosphere of party struggle for too long, and it has naturally become a trend and habit, so that the guys in it can't see other things. Something.

Take more recent events as an example. At that time, Yuan encouraged He Jin to bring Dong Zhuo to Beijing and used local power to suppress his opponents, which ultimately cost the Han Dynasty his last bit of dignity. Wasn't it a disaster caused by party strife? Between parties, in order to overwhelm the other party, they can even use human brains to create dog brains. What else can't they do?

In fact, this kind of meaningless fight is not about the essential differences between political opinions and governance, or about the direction of future development. More often than not, it is just to defeat the opponent. Completely overwhelmed, the temporarily victorious party will fight to the death to maintain its own interests, and the temporarily defeated party will do everything possible to make a comeback. If the opponent agrees with it, veto it all, and if the opponent vetoes it, all agree with it. In any case, we must oppose it.

The only thing more terrifying than meeting a gangster is meeting a group of gangsters, and the thing even scarier than meeting a group of gangsters is that these gangsters are targeting you...

So this time, Pang Tong and others are possessed by Gang Jing?

Du Ji picked up the wine glass and drank slowly.

Zhang Shi stared at Du Ji.

Du Ji frowned, as if the drink was too bad to cut his throat.

Is it a partisan struggle?

Did Pang Tong and others take the opportunity to eradicate the Guanzhong faction and other local personnel?

A gentleman practices six arts. Which of the six arts is not hard? Are you studying for your own entertainment? No, most of the time it is to seek official position, and the Guanzhong area of ​​Shanxi Province was originally suppressed by the gang of Shandong people and it was difficult to get ahead. Now that Pang Tong is doing this again, who is not frightened and depressed? It would have been fine if I had been suppressed and had no hope before. Now I finally see some brilliance and then take it away. This is simply crazy!

"Let's see...it's still uncertain..." Du Ji put down his wine glass and said with a little hoarseness.

"What? ! Zhang Shi stood up and said, "Now the party struggle is right in front of you, but you turn a blind eye!" Is this what a gentleman does? ! Whatever! It seems that someone has misjudged you! Farewell! 』

After saying that, Zhang Shi threw away his sleeves angrily and left.

Du Ji took a breath and stretched out his hand as if to stop Zhang Shi, but for some reason, until Zhang Shi left, Du Ji did not make a sound in the end. He just frowned and turned his attention to the fallen tree in the courtyard. On the tree trunk with bare leaves, thoughtfully...

……(?д?)……

The cold wind blows.

The snow stopped, but it was even colder.

This is Maoling.

Not Maoling County, but the place where Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty lay.

Legend has it that during a hunting trip, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che discovered a unicorn-like animal and an everlasting fruit tree near Maoxiang. He believed that Maoxiang was a geomantic treasure land, so he issued an edict to confine the place and began to build a mausoleum. . This place originally belonged to Mao Township in Huaili County during the Han Dynasty, so it was called "Maoling".

Whether it is truly a geomantic treasure is another matter, but Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing lay here.

Maoling is the largest among the imperial mausoleums of the Han Dynasty, took the longest to build, and has the richest burial objects. It is said that construction began a year after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to power. "One-third of the world's tribute is for the ancestral temple and the other for guests. A mountain full of mausoleums. 』 Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty reigned for 53 years, and then he practiced it for fifty-three years.

Ironically, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had overwhelming power during his lifetime, but only three years after his death and burial, Maoling was stolen. Four years later, someone saw the jade box and jade staff in the tomb on the market.

More than ten years later, Maoling was stolen again.

During Wang Mang's reign, the Red Eyebrow Army simply dug directly.

Dong Zhuo also did this...

Zhuge Liang stood in front of Maoling and looked around.

There was supposed to be a front hall of Zi Palace here, but unfortunately it has been burned down now. Liu Xiu's descendants obviously didn't care whether Liu Che was comfortable or not after his death. They just covered it up and settled the matter.

Not far away is the tomb of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It is huge and towers above the ground, like a huge overturned bucket.

That is, the pyramid with its tip cut off.

Although the holes dug back then had been refilled and buried, Zhuge Liang still seemed to see the scars on the tomb and sighed slightly.

Money and silk touch people's hearts.

Therefore, even if they knew that they would behead and exterminate the nine tribes if they were caught, there would still be people who would do it secretly, dig and steal!

You can bet on not getting caught, right?

Before you get caught, you can at least be free for a few days, a few days of luxury, count as many days as you can, count as many days as you can, right?

What's more, even if you are caught, can you give money? A big thing has turned into a trivial matter. If you really can't find someone to die for, if you hide it, maybe it will be over, right?

Zhuge Liang watched silently, with deep eyes.

The snow has melted to some extent now, and although the wind is not strong, it looks even colder.

This is just the end of October, and it’s still November, December, and even late spring.

In the land of Guanzhong, just like this weird and cold climate, turbulence is surging, and even some inexplicable things are quietly brewing.

Zheng Xuan announced in a high-profile manner that those corrupt local officials were using the name of Zheng Xue to smear the people, covet the people's money, and neglect local politics. He then said that as a Confucian disciple who inherited the articles of benevolence and virtue, he must behave uprightly. , not to be dazzled by the prosperity, not to be blinded by the smell of copper, and finally put forward the three points of Hussar...

Everyone was in an uproar for a while.

On the surface, everyone praises it, but behind the scenes, only the person involved knows.

Ordinary people naturally applaud and praise, not because they really understand the harm of corruption to the court and the country. They just understand that less corruption will be more beneficial to their lives, and they will have to pay less taxes. The various expenses are also low, so naturally I support and praise it.

Of course, the noblemen also praised him on the surface.

hehe……

The sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance, and a group of cavalry came here in a hurry.

Zhuge Liang turned his head slightly and saw a somewhat special figure in the queue.

After a while, Pang Tong wandered up to Zhuge Liang, breathing heavily, "Haha... It's like a nest..."

"Moving around more will be good for your health..." Zhuge Liang glanced at Pang Tong, "My lord said so." 』

"..." Pang Tong blew his lips, like a war horse snorting, and seemed to mutter a few words, but it was unclear what he said.

After waiting for a while, Pang Tong's breath gradually calmed down. He walked around twice with his hands behind his back and his belly hunched, and then came back, "What's so interesting about this tomb?" What to do? We are not short of this money..."

Zhuge Liang snorted, and then said: "There are some things I don't quite understand..."

"Hey..." Pang Tong chuckled twice and came to Zhuge Liang's side, "Tell me about it?" ’ All he had to do was take out a small stool and hold a small wine glass.

"Is Han Xiaowu really confused about the witchcraft, or is he just pretending to be confused?" ” Zhuge Liang looked at the big fight in front of him, and then at the small mound in the distance, “Is Mr. Wei really wronged, or is he pretending to be wronged? 』

"Tsk..." Pang Tong jumped to the side like a deflated rubber ball, "It's boring, I thought it was something about you... Why did you suddenly think about this?" 』

Zhuge Liang was silent for a moment, and then said: "Corruption. 』

Pang Tong also fell silent. The two of them stared at Da Fu Dou with piercing eyes. Then they didn't know whether Liu Che was sleeping peacefully or not...

From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qin Dynasty, the Longyou area of ​​Guanzhong was all martial arts. Over the course of hundreds of years, this area may have experienced wars, but it also had strong and pragmatic folk customs. However, since the large-scale migration of the population in the Han Dynasty, With the continuous addition of sand, this place no longer advocates martial arts, but instead advocates scriptures.

There seems to be nothing wrong with this.

After all, under the background of the great unification of the Han Dynasty, isn't it also the ruler's normal needs to make the people more peaceful, less energetic, obey management, and pay taxes honestly?

Of course, this change did not happen overnight. By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, many people were still proud of going to the battlefield and valued their military exploits. What a pity. Those who started their careers with military exploits became the noble families of the dynasty. In the following years, Just like a flash in the pan, it was shattered, and all the families were killed, and the nine tribes were killed.

Zhuge Liang knew why this was happening, and even knew why the Hussars General was now trying to stamp out corruption...

It's like the moves on a chessboard. Maybe at first glance, they seem to be thrown randomly, but when the situation develops to a certain extent, you suddenly realize that it has already been arranged.

On the surface, the witchcraft disaster was caused by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty trusting Jiang Chong, and then Jiang Chong framed the prince. However, if you think about it carefully, you will find that there are many problems in it.

Jiang Chong was able to gain the trust of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty because Jiang Chong first risked his life to go to the desert, and then after returning, he risked his life to defeat the powerful people at that time for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and monitor the tyranny of the powerful people. At that time, many of the nobles, relatives, and officials were arrogant and arrogant. Jiang Chong reported and impeached them one by one. He also petitioned to confiscate the carriages and horses of these people and send them to the northern military camp to stand by to fight against the Huns.

These nobles and relatives no longer had the bravery of their parents and ancestors, and only had the instinct of greed for life and fear of death. So they all went to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to cry and plead guilty, expressing their willingness to pay for atonement. Then Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty agreed. That year, the central government had tens of millions of dollars more for just this one item.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty laughed and laughed, while his relatives and ministers felt numb.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty played politics all his life, but when he was old, he was played back by the superiors and subordinates. It was not until he killed his son that he figured it out, but it was too late...

"So, you have figured it out now?" Pang Tong asked.

Zhuge Liang nodded, shook his head, and said, "I understand somewhat, but I still don't understand..."

Pang Tong breathed out, "Me too." 』

The two stood there for a moment, and Zhuge Liang took a few steps forward, looking for something in the ruins.

Pang Tong was curious and moved forward. He looked at Zhuge Liang and took a closer look. Then he watched Zhuge Liang pick up a stone from somewhere...

"What are you doing?" Pang Tong asked.

Zhuge Liang weighed the stone and looked around, "Take it back and have someone make an ink stone..."

"oh? Pang Tong pinched his fat chin, "Well, it's interesting... Then I'll find a piece too... How about you give me your piece first?" Forget it, just look for it yourself... Where are you going? 』

"You killed someone before..." Zhuge Liang walked back with the stone, and then smiled lightly, "...now I'm going to kill someone!" 』