Three Kingdoms

Heaven and earth are like a furnace.

The people in it are like firewood.

Since it is firewood for the oven, it doesn’t matter what kind of firewood it is. Zaozao wood is also burned, ebony is burned, and agarwood is burned in the same way.

In the winter of the fourth year of Taixing, the waves that set off in Sanfu, Chang'an, were as shocking as the flying snow in the sky. It did not give anyone a chance to refuse, and slowly but resolutely covered it.

Many people think that the cause of this storm is because of Zuo Fengyi's damn, greedy lotus owners. However, the root cause actually stems from the cooperation between the Xiliang Army and Fei Qian...

Who resents the corruption of the gentry the most?

Is it all the people of Han Dynasty?

No, it's just those people who feel the pain due to corruption.

People from the western part of Guanzhong, Longyou and Hexi.

This is not surprising at all, just like there are many ordinary people in later generations who do not care about corruption. Although these people may not have much authority to engage in corruption and gain benefits from it, they are either kind or slow, and they are not They do not pay special attention to corruption and even feel that corruption is far away from them.

Not so with Jia Xu.

Jia Xu hated corruption, and then hated himself.

Obviously, Jia Xu is greedy for life and afraid of death, so in many cases, Jia Xu has to cooperate with some people in order to survive and protect himself, even in a low voice, although it is very likely that Jia Xu will cheat him in the future. However, in the process, Jia Xu also looked down on himself and hated himself like this.

"Xiqiang..." Jia Xu sighed in a low voice, his voice was so low that it was inaudible, like snowflakes falling on the roof tiles, making a sound but also seeming to be silent.

Under the dead trees in the courtyard, only a few leaves are still standing tenaciously on the treetops, but obviously they cannot last long. After a new heavy snowfall, they will inevitably fall to the ground and turn into mud.

The main point of the "border control" policy of the Han Dynasty was nothing more than to keep out some powerful border ethnic groups and implement isolation, "to guard against the entry and exit of foreign barbarians, and to control the wilderness of the Ming Dynasty kings. This is the long-term policy." However, it is obvious that this The strategy not only harmed the Han Dynasty, but also harmed the feudal dynasties that followed. The more they kept to their own ways, the worse they would be beaten later.

Therefore, when Jia Xu was talking to Pang Tong and Zhuge, he said that if you cannot seal the door, you will treat it as if there is no enemy outside. The enemy will not disappear automatically because he cannot see it, but will become stronger and stronger. After breaking the seemingly solid doors and windows, the unlucky ones are the people inside...

Isn’t the Great Wall of Qin Dynasty strong? But why did the Han Dynasty expel the Xiongnu? Just rely on those Great Walls? Obviously not. As a result, during the Hengling period, they tried to use the old method again and tried to cut off the Western Qiang from the territory of the Han Dynasty. Not only that, they even thought of cutting off Longyou and Hexi together, and then merged with the north. It's okay to just keep your little house and yard.

The result is one can imagine.

Throughout the entire process of the Xiqiang turmoil, the corruption of officials and generals was an important factor that led to the continued unresolved Xiqiang issue.

Corruption involving more than tens of millions of dollars is already a small amount. Among the military expenditures of up to 24 billion dollars, there will be more than 10 billion dollars in subsequent expenditures, at least more than half of which fall into various levels. In the pockets of officials and generals. As the saying goes, "Many generals have stolen and stolen from prisons, and have secretly enriched themselves. They have bribed the left and right with treasures and goods, indulged their superiors and subordinates, and have no regard for the military. The soldiers cannot find their dead, and their bones look at each other in the wild." 』

Jia Xu grew up in such an environment...

Therefore, Jia Xu and Li Ru once thought that only the heroic right of Xiqiang could save the situation and pull the Han people out of the endless quagmire, but they were disappointed again.

The disappointment was not only for Dong Zhuo himself, but also for the entire Xiliang right-wing class.

These people can fight and kill, and to some extent they can indeed control the messy situation in Xiliang, but...

As a result, after taking power, Dong Zhuo fell apart, and so did Li Guo. It can even be said that the entire Xiliang Longyou tycoon, one by one, and the entire class fell apart.

Therefore, Jia Xu once thought that the whole Han Dynasty was finished and rotten, like a wooden house that was completely eaten by termites. On the outside, it seemed that there was not much change, but in fact, inside the house, everything was full of silverfish. Heavy wind and snow may destroy the house.

So Jia Xu also thought about burning down the house to see if a new house could grow on the old ruins, but he met Fei Qian...

Once you meet Fei Qian, you will miss your life.

Well, there seems to be something wrong, but the meaning is generally the same.

Jia Xu once again saw hope in Fei Qian's treatment of the various tribes of Xiqiang.

A completely new approach, a model that actually works.

The enlightenment of barbarians.

In fact, this matter has been mentioned a long time ago, and Fei Qian was not the initiator, but when Fei Qian carried out the indoctrination of the Hu people, he not only did a one-sided indoctrination, but also did another thing at the same time, and this thing, This is the key to the success of Huren's education in Fei Qian.

On the surface, it looks like trade, but in fact, it improves the productivity and living standards of the Hu people.

For ordinary people, who is willing to engage in the business of beheading if they can live well?

That's why Fei Qian's teachings have achieved ultimate results. Otherwise, if you just talk about a lot of big principles and draw a lot of big cakes in the air, all of them are blessings in words, but in fact they are all free overtime, there will be How many fools were fooled? I'm afraid that if they don't all have their own thoughts, they will immediately turn against each other and change jobs if they get the slightest chance...

However, if you want to implement Fei Qian's policy of educating the barbarians for a long time, you must ensure the integrity of the officials in this area.

The word "incorruptible" is probably what officials in the feudal dynasty like to talk about most, but dislike doing the most...

Integrity means that there is no money to take, no drinks to drink, no girls to play with, family members and relatives cannot take advantage of it, and relatives and friends cannot be promoted to heaven. So what is the point of being an official?

Therefore, most officials in the feudal dynasty were corrupt. Of course, there are skills in greed. As an official, he is proud of his status. Naturally, he cannot say that he personally goes to people's homes to collect money. He must let someone do this for him. One of these people is the government official. The other type of temporary workers is the local big business.

To engage in temporary work, a piece of paper and a jailer can solve the problem, but for big households...

This is the fundamental reason why the three auxiliary areas in Guanzhong were wiped out big households this time.

What's the use of just killing officials?

Even if there is a new official, he may be a little more restrained when he takes office, but can he withstand the temptation of this big family and give him a beautiful concubine?

Human nature is the least able to withstand the test, and then almost every official has to bear this test?

Therefore, this time, Wei Duan, Zhang Shi and others also failed to withstand the test of human nature.

"It's done!" Pang Tong came in from the corridor. When he saw Jia Xu, he laughed and said, "Zhang Zhongliang has already made his debut!" He filled the vacancies with the Qishi Courtyard and acted as a guilty person to investigate the bribery of a large family in Jingzhao Yin! 』

Following Pang Tong was naturally Zhuge Liang.

In terms of strategy, Pang Tong and Brother Zhu are both good, but when it comes to controlling human nature, neither of them is as good as Jia Xu.

In this era, not many people would agree with directly holding high the banner of anti-corruption. Even ordinary people have difficulty understanding what anti-corruption is and why anti-corruption is necessary. Therefore, there should be "great righteousness".

As the saying goes, teachers are famous.

"An ancient sage has his own words: A scholar must be ambitious, and the road ahead is long and arduous. Zhuge Liang said, "But many people nowadays have forgotten..."

『Yes. Pang Tong shook his head, sat down in the hall, and said, "Wenhe's strategy is very exquisite... The greedy want to live, and the scholars want to be famous. Now, greed is used to control greed, and scholars are used to control the scholars, so that each can get what he deserves." For its use. 』

Since they are corrupt officials, they are basically greedy for life and afraid of death. Treating death as if it were death is generally the job of honest officials. If a corrupt official can do this, then he is unlikely to become a corrupt official. Just like Zhang Shi.

For Wei Duan, simple money is no longer what he wants, fame is his pursuit. Therefore, in order to "rectify the officials and clean up the moral integrity", Zhang Shi and Wei Duan worked together to Went on stage and kicked off the show.

How many officials, Pang Tong, Jia Xu and Zhuge Liang could be identified and how many clues to bribery and bribery could be found by just three people?

What if we add a bunch of corrupt officials who are looking for a living and scholars who are looking for fame?

The most interesting thing is that if it succeeds this time, the vague line of unity that was originally formed between the gentry and the rightists will be broken, and a new class gap will arise between the gentry and the rightists...

The three of them were sitting in the hall, looking at each other and smiling.

Are you guys looking for trouble? Naturally, it’s fun if you all play together.

The servants brought tea, and the three of them each held teacups, drank warm tea, lit the brazier, watched the winter snow falling, and then thought about Wei Duan, Zhang Shi and others running outside in the wind and snow, It seems that my happiness has suddenly improved a lot.

People, it is necessary to have comparisons to be happy.

"Right..." Zhuge Liang held the teacup and said softly, "That servant..."

Pang Tong nodded and said, "I left a long time ago..."

Jia Xu remained silent, as if he didn't hear anything.

The snowflakes are flying and crystal clear, as if they want to cleanse all the filth in the world.

Under the snowflakes, there are three people in the hall each holding a tea cup...

Gudu.

Chiliu.

……(^‐^)_And~~……

This winter of the fourth year of Taixing was doubly painful for the people in Jiangdong.

The food that was finally accumulated was taken away by Sun Quan. The wild vegetables that could be found were basically wiped out. The remaining plants that survived in the wild were basically inedible...

Only those that are unpalatable or inedible can survive, and then there will be fewer and fewer wild plants that can be eaten. The same applies to the plant world when bad money drives out good money.

Fortunately, Chaisang is close to the river, so men, women and children can brave the cold wind and catch as many fish and shrimps as possible to make ends meet. However, because many boats have been mobilized, many people have to go into the water to fish, and no longer have to go fishing. In such weather, even young and strong men can hardly resist the biting river water, let alone the elderly and children.

If the old people can't survive it, they will die in this winter. Some old people will even get up quietly in the middle of the night and throw themselves naked into the river in order to leave the last bit of their clothes to their children. .

Chaisang is like this, and the more remote Jiangdong area is even more painful.

In the Han Dynasty, the level of development in the Jiangdong area was far less than that of later generations, even in the Jin Dynasty. At least when Sima of the Jin Dynasty went south, he brought a lot of craftsmen and technology, so the productivity and material output in the Jiangdong area were not high. .

Sun Quan launched the Battle of Jingzhou, and then fought again in Changsha and other places, which consumed a large amount of materials that Jiangdong had not saved in the first place. Then these consumptions were transferred to ordinary people, making this winter in the fourth year of Taixing , the people in Jiangdong lived in extreme pain.

Then add the plague brought by Sun Quan when he returned from Jingzhou...

Although the temperature has dropped, the infectivity and incidence of plague have continued to decline. After all, the plague virus in the Han Dynasty has not been cultured and screened by later generations of antibiotics, and both its infection and destructive capabilities are insufficient. However, in the same way, Jiangdong The resistance of these people in the Han Dynasty was also very poor. Once infected with the plague, all the people in one village often died...

Soldiers in the army who are infected by the epidemic are often isolated and wait to die in the epidemic camp. Even if some individuals can have some self-healing ability, if they are infected by each other, as long as they enter the isolated epidemic camp, they will almost never die. It’s just about dying early and dying late. And these soldiers who could not receive treatment also seriously dragged down the morale of Jiangdong soldiers.

These infected Jiangdong soldiers were mainly concentrated in two areas, Jiangxia and Chaisang.

After entering winter, the plague temporarily stopped spreading, but the dropped morale and empty warehouses were not easy to recover. Resources have been exhausted, and cannibalism is gradually appearing outside. No one can afford more mouths. Hunger is the most primitive and most brutal torture of human beings. When food and clothing cannot be satisfied, people will It shows more animality.

Even though Zhou Yu was full of wisdom, he was powerless in the face of such a difficult situation.

In other words, powerless to a certain extent.

"Captain..."

Lu Su's voice came from outside the hospital, "Are you feeling better today?" 』

Zhou Yu chuckled, but it caused him to cough, "Ahem... Zijing says this every day... every day, can you change it?" 』

Lu Su walked in and thought for a while, "Captain, have you recovered today?" 』

"..." Zhou Yu motioned to the servants on the side to show Lu Su his seat, "That's all... how is the city?" I heard that yesterday, I organized a manpower to go to the mountains to collect firewood. What was the harvest? 』

Zhou Yu was ill and naturally could not have enough energy to deal with Chaisang's political affairs, so Lu Su naturally stayed on as Zhou Yu's deputy, temporarily handling these complicated government affairs on Zhou Yu's behalf.

Lu Su was silent for a moment, and then sighed, "It's freezing cold, and there's very little to be gained in the mountains. It's better than nothing..."

Zhou Yu also nodded silently.

For example, Lu Su made some actions at the moment, not for the sake of how much he could gain, but to tell ordinary people through such actions that the government was still doing things and was still considering the people's livelihood, so that ordinary people The people can still be immersed in self-comfort and paralysis, and will not feel that they have no livelihood, and they will take risks without a head.

The power of the government comes from rules and order. Zhou Yu knows this, and Lu Su also understands this. Therefore, both of them tried their best to maintain the only rules and order that Chai Sang had at the moment.

But there are still some people who don't like this...

Such as big households.

They kept drinking wine, singing and dancing without even bothering to pretend.

"Is there any new news from Wujun?" Lu Su asked Zhou Yu, after all, Zhou Yu has his own message system.

Regarding Lu Su, Zhou Yu didn't want to hide it, so he said: "In the home of the Shuimen captain, gold and silver with the Zhu family and Zhang family crests were seized..."

"What? Lu Su was stunned for a moment, and then said, "If Zhu Zhang really did this secret matter, how could there be such a flaw?" 』

Zhou Yu nodded and said, "That's exactly it." 』

It’s not like gold and silver cannot be melted or filed. What’s more, isn’t it obvious that it is placed in such a big place at home to let others know about it? Although the so-called temporary negligence is not ruled out, this possibility is extremely small.

Killing an ordinary citizen may not require much effort and can be done by a temporary worker, but someone like Sun Fu will definitely cause an uproar. How can it be arranged haphazardly and full of flaws?

Lu Su looked at Zhou Yu and said, "Captain, this matter..."

Zhou Yu shook his head, and then said: "I don't know." 』

Lu Su's eyebrows moved slightly when he saw that Zhou Yu was so sure.

After the two were silent for a moment, Lu Su changed the topic and talked about what he wanted to do in the next stage, what arrangements he had for Chaisang and other matters. Zhou Yu also expressed his thoughts on Lu Su's arrangements. After making some comments, Lu Su stood up and left...

Zhou Yu watched Lu Su's back go away. He knew that Lu Su had also guessed something, but guessing was just guessing, and some things were not suitable to be put on the surface unless there was a final conclusion.

If something seems confusing on the surface, then you might as well use the simplest model to judge it. Although the result may be somewhat biased, it may also be close to the essence of the fact, which is "interest."

We are all adults, and of course we cannot do things just for fun, but just to have fun, and there must be some purpose. So what was the purpose of killing Sun Fu? What do you want to gain from this?

Who is the biggest beneficiary of Sun Fu's death?

"Huh..." Zhou Yu looked up at the sky, "Ahem, Brother Bofu... Jiangdong... is getting more and more chaotic..."

A snowflake fell.

Zhou Yu subconsciously stretched out his palm and caught the snowflake.

The small and delicate lines of snowflakes bloomed with unique beauty, but this beauty quickly dissipated, turned into a little water, and then disappeared without a trace...