Although it is the middle of winter and the sky is full of snow, it still cannot stop the people of Nanyang from eating hotpot mutton. The business of Hongbin Tower is still less generous than in midsummer.
Steaming copper pots filled the empty first-floor hall, and men and women gathered together to enjoy the heat wave impact of delicious food in the cold winter. Not to mention how refreshing it felt.
While enjoying the delicious food, it is natural to comment on the recent political news. Many good people will take a sip of wine and a sip of meat, and then their tongues will blossom and they will point out the country. This is called a high-spirited person:
"This is a book circulated from the palace. The Monkey King led a kind of monkey grandson to dominate the Water Curtain Cave in Huaguo Mountain and fight against all the demon kings."
"The full name of that golden cudgel is the Ruyi Golden Cudgel. Legend has it that it was refined by Taishang Laojun and later borrowed by Dayu to control floods. It weighs 13,500 kilograms."
"..."
"That monkey has learned seventy-two transformations, somersault clouds and many other magical skills. In addition, it has the body of a sacred stone and is extremely powerful. The many monsters in Huaguo Mountain are no match for him."
"..."
Liu Bian wrote part of "Journey to the West" silently, and then slightly enriched the stage of Huaguo Mountain, just to make everyone like the image of the Monkey King.
Not to mention, after only three or five days of being exaggerated by the school officials and Jian Feng, the people of Wancheng have already known it to everyone. Everyone especially likes the Monkey King's agility and is extremely fascinated by it.
but......
Since some people like it, there will be people who don't like it.
On the second floor of Hongbin Building, there were dozens of Confucian scholars gathering at the moment. A younger man laughed disdainfully: "I didn't expect that His Majesty, with his great reputation in his lifetime, would actually like something like a golden monkey."
"yes."
Kong Rong beside him frowned, nodded slowly, and pinched a strand of goatee under his chin: "If you just appreciate the skills occasionally, that's fine, but leaving the golden monkey in the palace is simply outrageous.
incredible."
Someone on the other side couldn't help but be curious: "It's just a look at the golden monkey, so what's the harm? You must be making too much of a fuss. This is just a gift from Yizhou to His Majesty."
"Why didn't you sneer at Taihu Stone and Longyuan Sword? Yang Dezu, Kong Wenju, what do you mean by this? In your eyes, does your Majesty not even have this power?"
"Oh, I see."
The corners of the man's lips raised slightly, and he broke out into a faint smile: "You were just dismissed from your official posts a few days ago, I'm afraid you still hate the imperial court, right?"
"Obviously, I have no political achievements. I spend all my time reciting poems and writing poems without caring about the lives of the people. Now that I have been found out by the court, I did not reflect on myself and just committed suicide. How do I still want to use this method to slander His Majesty?"
"you......"
When Kong Rong was about to get angry, Mi Heng waved his hand to stop him.
He signaled Kong Rong to stay calm, then turned to glance at the person opposite and said coldly: "We do have no political achievements. Even if we are dismissed, we have no complaints, but it has nothing to do with this matter."
"Your Majesty loves golden monkeys, it is true, but I am afraid you don't know that the ancients have always despised macaques. We are just using this to express our feelings."
The man opposite frowned. He really didn’t know that the ancients despised the macaques, so he heard about it and said, "You said that the ancients despised the macaques, so do you despise the macaques?"
"What, you don't believe it?"
Mi Heng stared at the other party with burning eyes.
"Of course I don't believe it!"
The man raised his head and looked at Mi Heng, and said in a cold voice: "If you can tell me why you are here today, just do it yourself. If you can't tell me why you are here, I, Zhu Qiong, will have to arrest you and see the official."
Mi Heng smiled sternly, saying that he was incapable of doing anything else, but even ten Zhu Qiong were no match for him in a debate: "This matter is easy to hear, as the ancients said: a monkey with a sharp mouth and cheeks is a sign of his ugly appearance; a monkey wearing a crown is a sign of his ugly appearance. also;"
"The monkey's head and monkey's brain means that his body is impetuous; killing a chicken to scare a monkey means that he is cowardly; a monkey riding a native cow means that his eyes are clumsy; fishing for the moon in deep water means that his intelligence is shallow; five horses and six monkeys means that his mind is floating; The thorny female monkey has a sharp heart."
"snort!"
Mi Heng snorted softly and glanced proudly at the people opposite him: "Isn't this enough to prove the ancient people's contempt for monkeys? Your Majesty loves monkeys so much that the people of the world will follow suit. It is really sad and painful."
Zhu Qiong was stunned, staring at Mi Heng angrily, but there was no way he could do anything about it: "You... you are..."
Mi Heng dismissed it and said coldly: "If you are not convinced, you can come and argue, but I want to see what flowers you can come up with. If I can defeat you, you are willing to apologize."
"you......"
Zhu Qiong was at a loss for words and had no idea how to refute, so she was so angry that she just shouted angrily: "You are so messy."
Yang Xiu smiled at the side and said: "Zhu Qiong, what Zhengping said is reasonable and well-founded. How can you say that he is messing around? In my opinion, you are the one messing around."
"If you are not convinced, just like Zheng Ping, you can quote scriptures and draw evidence to argue. We are waiting for you at any time. Whether it is good or not will be judged by heaven. It is destined."
Kong Rong, the eldest, also nodded: "Yes, it is indeed true! I know that Zhu Qiong, you admire His Majesty very much, but even so, you are not unable to listen to different opinions, right?"
"Your Majesty hasn't said anything, let alone you. I advise you to study more. Don't think that just because you have some political achievements, you can rise to the top."
Zhu Qiong's eyes widened, and his anger burned: "Kong Rong, although I, Zhu Qiong, have not read as many books as you, I can at least ensure that all the people in the county can have enough food and live a good life."
"But what about you?"
Zhu Qiong glanced at Kong Rong and Mi Heng, and immediately replied: "I have read a lot of books, but I have read them all on dogs. I don't know how to solve problems for the people. I only know how to recite poems and compose poems. The face of Saint Kong You've lost everything."
The taboo in Kong Rong's heart was touched, and the muscles at the corners of his lips twitched suddenly. He stood up and glared at Zhu Qiong: "Zhu Qiong, you are really going too far. Have I, Kong Rong, ever insulted your ancestors?"
Zhu Qiong said coldly: "What I said is true. You are indeed ashamed of Saint Confucius. No matter how good you are in reading, what's the use? Cultivate your character, manage your family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world. In the final analysis, you must implement benevolent government and let the people Only when you have enough food and clothing can you know honor and disgrace."
"But you are just putting the cart before the horse. You only care about studying and don't care about the people. Don't you know that food is the most important thing for the people? If they don't have enough food and clothing, how can they know honor and disgrace?"
In fact, it's not that Kong Rong didn't work hard, it's just that he paid more attention to education and focused all his attention on order, so he ignored people's livelihood, resulting in unsatisfactory indicators.
After all, the guys he competed with were all working hard to meet their targets, hoping to get promoted based on their political performance and strive to enter the central government. Under such circumstances, how could Kong Rong be someone else's opponent?
certainly!
If God gave Kong Rong another chance to start over, he might still be like this. After all, what has been passed down in his bones is to educate all people. This is what Kong Rong is best at, not government affairs.
The most terrible thing is that Kong Rong didn't think he was at fault. He just felt that he was not suitable for the court's system. This way of judging heroes based on their achievements was not fair to people like him.
"Zhu Qiong! You are going too far."
"Kong Wenju, what are you going to do? Are you going to beat me again?"
"You have to apologize to me!"
"No way!"
"..."
*****
Emperor's palace.
Warm Pavilion.
Liu Bian frowned, writing while communicating with the Military Advisor Alliance: "Teacher, I heard netizens talk about the Dutch tulip incident yesterday, and I have to admit that its influence is indeed relatively large."
"But if we do this, will it affect the people of Yizhou and make them more miserable? If that is the case, then I would rather not do it."
In a sense, the Dutch tulip incident is equivalent to the bursting of a financial bubble, causing the entire country's economy to collapse. The impact of this kind of thing is absolutely unprecedented.
From the leadership to ordinary people, anyone involved will definitely be affected, and all their wealth will be locked in the tulips. As the tulips wither, they will be completely wiped out.
Liu Bian wants to capture Yizhou, and he will certainly be able to capture it, and the method is not limited to economic warfare. As long as it can solve the problem, that is a good method.
But......
If it was based on sacrificing the interests of the people, then Liu Bian would rather not do it. After all, Liu Bian had seen how miserable the people were during the late Han Dynasty, and he was not willing to do anything to the people.
The voice of the military advisor alliance then sounded: "Master Bian, if this was after the Song Dynasty, it might really affect the common people, but now it is only the Han Dynasty, and it is still the late Han Dynasty."
"Do ordinary people who don't even have enough to eat still expect to buy golden monkeys and get rich through the appreciation of the golden monkeys? It's simply impossible."
"Those who can think like this must be the wealthy families in Yizhou. Starting from the Wu family, continuing to the Li family, Zhang family, etc., they are the main components of Yizhou's economic system."
"The main target of the experts from the Military Advisor Alliance has never been ordinary people, but these guys. If we are lucky enough to get them to mortgage their farmland, it will even save us from having to carry out land reform in the future."
"As for the common people?"
The Alliance of Military Advisors said softly: "At best, it can make the hunters cheaper and make them rich by hunting golden monkeys. As for ordinary farmers, they won't be able to react at all. Don't worry."
hiss-!
Liu Bian frowned and stopped writing in deep thought.
If you think about it carefully, this is really the truth.
This kind of thing is similar to stock trading. People who can afford stocks must be rich. Ordinary people who can't even afford food definitely don't have the capital to do this kind of thing.
Since he is not involved, he will naturally not be affected, and once it finally collapses, Liu Bian will quickly intervene to minimize the destructive power of the economic collapse.
but......
Even so, Liu Bian still reminded: "Although I say so, I have never experienced anything like economic warfare, so it is difficult to ensure that it will actually be previewed in the direction of the experts from the Military Advisor Alliance."
"No matter what, we always have to be careful, otherwise once the operation is improper, the impact will definitely be much more serious than a battle."
"kindness."
The Military Advisor Alliance said softly: "Don't worry, Mr. Bian, experts will always monitor Yizhou's mood. When it comes to things like economic warfare, let alone Liu Yan, even Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi combined may not be able to defeat the experts.
"
Liu Bidan smiled: "That's true."
Immediately.
He concentrated on his work and continued to write like crazy.
Although we are very close to unifying the country, the number of things that need to be planned in advance has not only not decreased, but has become more and more numerous, and it is becoming more and more difficult.
Just when Liu Bian was concentrating on studying the development route for next year, he heard a creaking sound and the palace door opened. Liu Bian raised his eyes and looked up, but saw Zhu Tong stepping forward and bowing his hands:
"Your Majesty, Guo Jia and Xun may have something to see you."
"oh?"
Liu Bian frowned: "These two people came together?"
Zhu Tong nodded: "That's right."
"Something must have happened."
Liu Bian took a deep breath and waved his hand: "Let them come in."
Zhu Tong nodded: "Here."
Immediately.
Bowed and left the hall.
After a while, Guo Jia and Xun You entered the Nuan Pavilion, bowed and cupped their hands and said, "Your Majesty, Guo Jia (Xun You), comes to see you."
Liu Bian waved his hand for the two of them to stand up: "Sit down, we are taking a bath now, so there is no need to be polite."
The two then stood up and sat down: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"how."
Liu Bian was the first to ask: "But what happened in Wancheng?"
Guo Jia nodded: "Yes, it has happened. Wen Ruo came to confront me, and I had no choice but to confess to His Majesty."
Liu Bidan smiled and glanced at Xun You. Seeing his confused look, he nodded: "Yes, it's my decision."
Xun You was astonished, his head filled with stars: "Your Majesty, why are you doing this?"
Liu Bian turned to glance at Guo Jia: "Did Fengxiao tell Wenruo?"
Guo Jia shook his head: "How can I dare to be so presumptuous without His Majesty's permission?"
"All right."
Liu Bian took a long breath and said softly: "For Yizhou."
The shock on Xun You's face eased slightly: "It is indeed for Yizhou, but Your Majesty, isn't the price too high? Now it has even affected your reputation."
"oh?"
Liu Bian asked tentatively: "Which scholar is so bold?"
Xun You said softly: "To be honest, it's Kong Rong, Ni Heng, and Yang Xiu."
Damn it!
The Three Musketeers of Trolls in the Late Han Dynasty?
Before Liu Bian could speak, Guo Jia added: "Yang Xiu just returned the favor and was not too presumptuous. However, Kong Rong and Mi Heng were dismissed from the Public Transport Department because of their unqualified political performance and have become the laughing stock of scholars."
"Now, these two people have seized on this matter and maliciously slandered His Majesty. They even had a dispute with Zhu Qiong of Wancheng. The two almost fought over it. The impact of this matter is getting bigger and bigger."
"It's interesting."
The corners of Liu Bian's lips raised slightly and he smiled faintly: "Tell me specifically how this guy Mi Heng hurt me. We must find a way to fight back."
"Ah, this..."
Guo Jia frowned, becoming more and more confused about His Majesty the Emperor's mysterious operation: "Your Majesty, in your capacity, it may not be appropriate to fight back against a madman like Mi Heng, right?"
Xun Ou, who was standing by, immediately agreed: "Yes, this kind of matter should be left to the ministers. What the court is not lacking now is people with outstanding literary talents."
"No."
Liu Bian refused without hesitation: "I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Now that I have finally warmed up the place, how can it be extinguished like this?"
"Only if I respond personally can the Golden Monkey's reputation skyrocket, and will it have corresponding benefits for the subsequent development. Don't worry, I naturally have my own sense of proportion."
Guo Jia glanced at Xunhe, and Xunhe glanced at Guo Jia.
After a long time.
The two of them just nodded: "Okay."
At that moment, Guo Jia told His Majesty the Emperor everything about the scene in the Hongbin Tower, and said softly: "I have to admit that Ni Heng is indeed a man of great literary talent. It is really despicable to use the words of the ancients to insinuate His Majesty."
"yes."
Xun You pinched a wisp of goatee under his chin and said, "Mr. Shui Jing had considered Kong Rong and Mi Heng's affairs at the beginning. Looking at it now, he was indeed foresighted."
"These two people have no other abilities, but they still have a very high status among scholars. Especially after going through this debate, Mi Heng stole the show."
"Now that he is making such a fuss, it is really a headache. In a short period of time, it is not that easy to fight back against this person, and even if you fight back, if you cannot convince him, I am afraid that this person will fight back again.
"
But at this moment...
Liu Bian, on the other hand, frowned and fell into deep thought.
On the surface, Liu Bian was thinking about countermeasures, but in fact, he was communicating with the Military Advisor Alliance: "Teacher, what do you think? Is there a way to reply to this person and make the Golden Monkey's reputation greatly increase?"
"Mi Heng's excuse for this piece of shit is really weird, and it makes it hard for people to do it. Otherwise, this matter won't come to my mind. We have to find a way."
After a while, the voice of the Military Advisor Alliance sounded: "That's enough. Han Fu experts have already thought of a method, and it has been unanimously approved by the experts. Let's implement it now."
"good."
Liu Bian responded, then his eyes fell on Xun or Guo Jia: "The world doesn't understand my thoughts!"
Xun You frowned and asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, what does this mean?"
Liu Bian said softly: "The mountain ape hanging on the tree is true; the moon rises when the ape crows, it is faith; the ape disappears into the forest, it is speed; the monkey plays with me, it is joy; the ape roars and the tiger roars, it is strong
also;"
"The monkey circles around the body, which is its intelligence; it is its wisdom to learn without a teacher; it is its emotion; the male and female sing in unison, it is its emotion; the flowers fall and the ape cries, it is its thinking; the monkey recognizes its old master, this is its meaning;
"
hiss-!
Suddenly, Guo Jia was shocked!
Xun may be shocked!
The two of them simply couldn't imagine that His Majesty the Emperor could actually think of the corresponding defense in such a short period of time. No wonder the problems that ancient and modern classical scholars could not solve were always solved by His Majesty the Emperor.
Guo Jia couldn't help but nod in praise: "Your Majesty, are you planning to start a distant debate with Ni Heng and Kong Rong, so that the reputation of the golden monkey can spread throughout China in a short time?"
"That's right."
Liu Bian nodded affirmatively: "However, once is enough. If there are more, it will seem a bit artificial, lower my status, and even make the world laugh."
"Your Majesty is right."
"but......"
Xun You pinched a wisp of beard under his chin and said softly: "Ni Heng, Kong Rong has always been good at eloquence. Your Majesty's reply like this may arouse their fighting spirit. I'm afraid it won't be that easy to stop."
"so......"
How could Liu Bian not have a way to deal with something that even Xun Yu could predict: "Wen Ruo, you have to finish this matter. From your point of view, write a poem so that it can be widely circulated among scholars."
hiss-!
Xun You didn't think clearly at first, but after His Majesty the Emperor's on-demand broadcast, he immediately understood the secret: "Your Majesty, you are really a god. In this way, not only can the reputation of the Golden Monkey be spread throughout the country, but also Mi Heng can be silenced.
Speechless."
"wonderful!"
“It’s really wonderful!”
Xun or bowed his head in admiration and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I can just leave this matter to you."
Liu Bidan smiled: "Remember, describing this matter is only one aspect, the intention must be lofty, and the matter must be sublimated. The ancients viewed monkeys, and I have to compare them with how I view monkeys."
Xun You naturally understood this truth, and only in this way could he compare with Ni Heng: "Your Majesty, just rest assured. I understand your Majesty's intention, and I will definitely resolve this matter before going to court."
Liu Bien nodded: "If it can be done like this, it will be best. But there is nothing wrong with spreading it for a while. I will leave this matter to Fengxiao."
Guo Jia nodded: "I understand."
Only with enough spread can it create a crazy atmosphere. The hotter the atmosphere, the more crazy the Yizhou nobles will be. Only by making the Yizhou nobles go crazy can a bubble be quickly formed.
"Oh right."
Just as Xun He and Guo Jia were preparing to leave, Liu Bian suddenly remembered something and greeted him: "I am going to rebuild Luoyang City so that I can return to Luoyang when I unify the Han Dynasty in the future."
In fact, Xun You understood the emperor's thoughts very well from the very beginning. Although Nanyang Wancheng was wealthy, for the emperor, it was always just a temporary place to stay, otherwise it would not be called a palace.
Now, only Jizhou is left in the north without Wang Hua. In the spring of next year, Jizhou should be conquered in less than two months. In this way, Dading in the north, Liu Biao and Liu Yao in the south also have the intention to surrender.
"indeed."
Guo Jia said softly: "It's time to rebuild Luoyang City. After all, Luoyang is the capital of the Han Dynasty. We have to go back there sooner or later to be complete."
"That's right."
Xun You took a deep breath and exhaled slowly: "Your Majesty, don't worry. After the court next year, I will arrange corresponding personnel to enter Luoyang and repair the Luoyang Palace."
"No."
Liu Bian shook his head and refused directly: "What I want is by no means repair, but reconstruction. Not only must the design concept of warmth in winter and coolness in summer be added, but there are many things that must be integrated into it."
"I have prepared some information these days."
Speaking of this, Liu Bian walked to the bookshelf aside and took out the plan that had been prepared in advance: "Wen Ruo, please give this to Zijing and let him take a good look. It will probably take a long time to rebuild Luoyang City like this.
How much does it cost?”
"good!"
Xun You took the plan and bowed his head: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will hand this over to Zijing when I return."
Liu Bian nodded and waved his hand for the two of them to leave: "In that case, please leave."
