In the midsummer of 194, at the end of June, there was a solar eclipse.
The sky turned from bright sunshine, to dim yellow, then submerged into darkness, then brightened little by little, and finally returned to the scorching sun shining in the sky, shining all over the earth.
It's like reincarnation.
Liu Xiang stood with his hands behind his hands outside the main hall of the North Palace. Under the sixty-six steps was the phalanx of soldiers from the Qimen Army.
The gongs and drums were noisy, the swords were drawn, and the momentum was really great. However, no matter how loud the noise was, it was just a solar eclipse.
This year is indeed a bad year, with earthquakes, droughts, and solar eclipses. According to the Han Dynasty's practice, the three princes would have to be dismissed. However, Situ Liu Yu has resigned and the Taiwei has not been appointed. He has taken charge of the Grand Sima himself, surpassing the three princes, so Sima cannot
Someone takes office.
The problem is here, the one who takes the blame is gone!
It is impossible for him to sin against himself, especially when he is going through the process of ascending to the throne, and there cannot be any stain on him.
We need a sensible person to clear this up, otherwise we will easily be criticized.
In fact, many smart people have realized that this is an opportunity, an opportunity to make great achievements. The four members of the Xun family are all smart people, and they do not want to let this opportunity go.
"Wen Ruo, there are more than 1,600 people who have signed up to persuade us to join. That's enough. The time waits for no one, so don't hesitate." Xun Yan felt that contacting so many scholars was enough.
Xun Yu was a little regretful. There must be replies from some people on the way. The messengers would not be able to travel all over the Central Plains in more than half a month. The solar eclipse came at the wrong time and was too urgent.
Seeing his hesitation, Xun You persuaded him: "There is a solar eclipse in the sky, which is a warning from God. Da Sima is suffering from natural disasters, and he must be worried that someone will make evil remarks and trigger a rebellion. If my uncle can step forward, turn disadvantages into advantages, and reverse public opinion, he will surely succeed."
This is a great achievement, and it should be able to alleviate Da Sima's fear of the scholars from the Central Plains during this contact."
The joint effort to persuade people to join was a great achievement, but if Xun Yu planned to contact thousands of gentry disciples to sign the petition, that would have crossed the line. Is it a demonstration of the power of the Xun family by recruiting so many people? What high-ranking person could not be afraid of it?
Xun Yu was also driven into panic. His lord wanted to cleanse the family, and he could not sit idly by and ignore it.
"Brother, it's time to make a decision." Xun Chen also tried to persuade him.
Xun Yu nodded: "Tomorrow, I will go to the table with Duke Bo'an and Duke Bojie. Are the list of names and the seals for urging scholars from all over the country to join the list ready?"
"Nothing missing."
"Okay, let's load it up tonight and send it to the palace early tomorrow morning."
On the second day of the solar eclipse, Xun Yu, Liu Yu, and Cai Yong jointly signed a petition, saying: "A solar eclipse is actually a warning from God, saying that the sky cannot be without the sun and the country cannot be without its master.
I heard that people are born to be steamed, and they are cultivated as kings, so in order to cross heaven and earth, they are ministers of Li Yuan.
The Holy Emperor and the Ming King recognized this and knew that heaven and earth could not lack food, so they bowed their bodies to serve it; they knew that Li Yuan could not be left without a master, so they came to him as a last resort.
When the country is in trouble, the Qi vassal will rule over it; when the suburban temples are replaced, Zongzhe compiles its sacrifices. Therefore, if the style of Xia is vigorously promoted, the style will last for eternity. After three or five years, it will decline, and it will be uncontrollable. It may be difficult to consolidate the country, or the Yin Dynasty
Worry can enlighten the sage.
I heard that the honorable position cannot be empty for a long time, and all the machines cannot be empty for a long time. If it is empty for a day, the honorable position will be in danger; if it is empty for a long time, all the machines will be in chaos. I hope that the Great Sima will keep the love of Shun and Yu, and the narrow nest will be free.
When it comes to resisting correction, we should take the country as our priority, not take small actions first, worry about the head of Guizhou, and not take concessions as our priority.
The upper part comforts the ancestral temple and cares about it, and the lower part expresses the hope of the whole world. It is said that prosperity is born from dry catkins, flesh is nourished from rotten bones, gods and men are in peace, and there is no misfortune.
I begged the Grand Sima to ascend the great treasure. The ministers and other ministers watched the grand ceremony with great enthusiasm, and looked south to Wangji.
Yours sincerely."
The performance was followed by the signatures of 1,625 people.
This list alone took four scrolls of bamboo slips, including governors, governors, county magistrates, and opposition scholars from various places. All members of the scholar families who were arrested in the past two months were included in this list.
These people's petitions were loaded into a large truck, which was parked in the courtyard of the Central Government Office.
Liu Xiang was not in a hurry to read those words of exhortation, which were just words of praise and praise. He could just let Zhuge Jin and Secretary Cheng's people go through them.
He looked at Xun Yu standing in the palace and understood that this was Xun Wenruo's counterattack against his desire to purge the noble clan.
Have we reached the point where our ideas are contradictory?
"Retreat from the court, Wen Ruo, follow me to the study." Liu Xiang was indeed waiting for the scholar group's persuasion to come forward, but when he arrived today, he was a little less interested.
"Please, Grand Sima, ascend the throne!" The central officials of the previous dynasty bowed and saluted, seconding the move of persuading the emperor to advance.
"Let me think about it carefully and then step back."
After the court meeting dispersed, Liu Xiang took Xun Yu to the study room in the side hall and asked half-jokingly: "I'm going to be the emperor, what kind of official position does Wen Ruo want to be?"
Xun Yu rolled up his sleeves and said with a smile: "I want to become an official. I want to enjoy the pastoral scenery and leisurely roam in the forest. I yearn for it."
Liu Xiang looked back at him. He was a man with great ambitions and political ambitions. Now, in order to protect the children of the aristocratic family, he was making a lot of noise. He was afraid that he would be afraid of him, so he decided to retire to the mountains and forests?
He shook his head slightly and sighed: "Wen Ruo's move puts me in a dilemma."
The problem was not that Xun Yu wanted to become an official, but the gentry children who were imprisoned and he didn't want to let them go.
He stopped, looked at the square under the scorching sun, and said softly: "I have heard a poem, which says: The red sun is scorching like fire, and the fields of rice are half withered. The farmers' hearts are like soup, and the princes and princes are shaking their fans.
.What do Wenruo think of this poem?"
Xun Yu knew that there was something in his words. The peasants and the princes and grandsons all had different thoughts. The lord cared about Guizhou and hated the scholars. This poem was about the opposition between the wealthy family and the common people, but the lord chose to protect the people.
He is not someone who treats people harshly, and he also knows that some children from aristocratic families do nothing, but if this purge is not stopped, the scope of the impact will be too large, and he cannot retreat.
He could only pretend to be stupid and avoid the topic: "Since the end of spring, there has been no rain in March, and the drought has been very serious. Although the lord has arranged for drought relief at the beginning of the year, the autumn harvest will inevitably be greatly reduced. Please order the lord to reduce the impact of the drought.
taxes on the land.”
The most severe drought is in the Guanzhong Plain, followed by Bingzhou. Fortunately, it has rained more or less in other prefectures and counties. The water resources in Qing, Xu, You, Hebei and other places are quite abundant, and water conservancy projects have also put a lot of effort into irrigation.
Ditches and wells are still useful.
Paddy fields in most places are much more resistant to drought than dry fields, and Changping warehouses everywhere also store a lot of grain, so major famines throughout the territory will not occur.
But was the previous topic talking about drought?
Liu Xiang almost laughed out of anger, Xun Wenruo, when did you learn to be cunning? This is not your style!
"The drought has been arranged for a long time. Why should Wen Ruo care about other things? You know what I mean, why should you pretend to be stupid? I have no personal grudges with the aristocratic family, but they are not engaged in production. There are too many people and the people cannot afford it.
of."
He turned his head and stared at Xun Yu with stern eyes: "I want to end the troubled times, and Wen Ruo also wants to end the troubled times, but to put an end to the chaos, you have to pay a price. I am willing to bear this bad reputation!"