Chapter 25: Buying the Waterfall and Returning the Pearl
Lu Xun wanted to receive gifts when he held a banquet, and Sun Li also wanted to receive gifts when he moved abroad.
Sun Li moved to Yangzhou to be the governor. Yangzhou only had two counties in the hands of the Wei State. However, he was given the title of General Fubo and was given the title of Marquis of Guannei. Sun Li was obviously not demoted from Luoyang, but promoted.
Therefore, there were many people giving farewell gifts, and there were already a lot of them in the study room of the mansion. Sun Li came to the study room to find some documents, and ignored those things, only waiting to get the gift list to look at it.
The person counting the wealth and gifts there was Yang, Sun Li's widowed eldest daughter-in-law.
These belongings must be left to her daughter-in-law and grandson, and there is no need to take them to Yangzhou. Therefore, it is human nature for Yang to be more concerned about certain things.
"Hey!" Yang suddenly made a voice without warning.
Sun Li heard the sound and turned around to see what was going on. He saw Yang holding a wooden box in her hand. She looked like she couldn't put it down and was playing with it over and over. Sun Li looked at the box curiously.
It is indeed very beautiful, mainly because the decoration on it is very gorgeous.
Several sides of the box are inlaid with Kui patterns made of real gold; there is also a flower pattern decoration in the upper middle, which looks colorful, with a gleaming and warm luster. It should be inlaid with some pearls, jade and gemstones.
Sun Li didn't say anything. He had been an official for so many years, so of course he didn't lack some wealth. He just thought the box was quite beautiful and probably worth a lot of money.
Yang noticed that Ah Weng turned his head, and she also turned around and said, "It's so beautiful. I just use it to hold the jewelry."
After she finished speaking, she first took out a piece of bamboo slips from the box, read it and placed it on the table next to her. Then she took out a roll of bamboo slips, looked at it and threw it directly on the ground, leaving only the empty box.
Sun Li, who had been silent for the whole time, couldn't help but walked over when he saw this. He bent down and picked up the roll of bamboo slips from the ground. There were five bamboo slips connected with hemp ropes. He looked at it first, and then he couldn't help but read the poem directly and read it aloud.
Come: "Thousands of miles away, there are yellow clouds and white sun, and the north wind is blowing the wild geese and the snow is falling. Don't worry about the road ahead without friends, because no one in the world will know you."
After Sun Li read it, he couldn't help but reread it a second time. Then he looked at the sky outside the study window, looking at the snowflakes that were usually ignored, and thought for a long time. Then he smacked his mouth, and it seemed that the fragrance was still lingering between his lips and teeth.
"What's wrong?" Yang's voice brought Sun Li back to his senses.
Sun Li raised his arm, shook the slip in his hand slightly, and said with a smile, "Have you ever heard of the saying, buy a coffin and return a pearl?"
Without waiting for Yang's answer, Sun Li reached out to the case again and picked up the bamboo slip with the name written on it. He had actually identified the person from the handwriting, but he still wanted to confirm it.
When Yang saw Aweng's actions, she said: "The army of the General's Mansion is plotting against Qin Liang. Several officials of the General's Mansion gave gifts, but they were all relatively ordinary. Only this box from Qin Liang is very valuable."
When Sun Li heard this, he also picked up the box and looked at it carefully. Not to mention the real gold bezel with Kui pattern and many high-quality jewelry materials. This workmanship alone is very exquisite. It may not be the work of the Great Wei Dynasty.
product.
Yang's voice said again: "Is this Qin Liang a member of the family of General Qin Yuanming (Qin Lang)?"
Sun Li said casually, "Same race, but not from the same place."
Yang said: "In the past few years, Qin Yuanming was deeply favored by the Ming Emperor. I heard that many people bribed him. But Qin Yuanming only accepted gifts and did not do anything. Later, there were fewer people bribing him. Now that the emperor has ascended the throne, Qin Yuanming resigned and returned to his hometown, but
He has not been punished, and his family must be rich in wealth."
"That's not right." Sun Li muttered.
Instead, Yang seemed to remind him, and he continued, "Liang and Qin Yuanming probably don't have much contact."
Sun Li thought of Qin Liang, whom he often saw in the General's Mansion. He had the impression that this person lived a very simple life, and it seemed that he was not a well-off person.
Once Qin Liang kicked a stone on the stone steps and broke a hole in the cowhide sandals he was wearing. The next day, Sun Li saw him patching up the hole with needle and thread. In addition, the subordinates of the General's Mansion often
Leaving early, some people come for a walk in the morning and then leave. Qin Liang always leaves in the afternoon. He doesn't have many official duties. Most of the time he wants to have lunch at the General.
Sun Li picked up the treasure box, looked at it for a moment again, and said with a smile, "I estimate that all his belongings are here."
He only smiled once, then quickly stopped smiling, and then muttered, "I like people who do things without leaving any room for ambiguity."
At this time, Sun Li stretched out his hand and gently scratched his already gray hair, frowning and recalling things about Qin Liang. It was not that Sun Li deliberately ignored Qin Liang, but he actually had to pay attention to many people, most of whom were high-ranking people.
, and subordinate officials like Qin Liang naturally don’t need to think too much.
But it is easy for Sun Li to understand now: Qin Liang did not just give him such an expensive box to contain a poem because he respected Sun Li. To respect a person, you do not need to spend all your wealth.
Sun Li is not Qin Lang. He takes money but does nothing. So he is wondering, what exactly does Qin Liang want him to do?
...Early the next morning, Qin Liang went to work at the General's Mansion as usual. Sun Li had recently left his post and was preparing many matters for the southbound trip, so he no longer had to worry about Chang Shi's affairs. Naturally, Qin Liang did not need to visit Sun Li every morning.
Already.
The lord Cao Shuang is not seen every day. Officials like Qin Liang need to wait for notification or summons.
Today, Qin Liang just walked to the door of the official office on the west side of the front yard. Before he entered, he bumped into an official. The official said that the general had summoned him and came to the front hall early in the morning to plan something.
Qin Liang didn't dare to neglect. He didn't even enter the door and followed the officials directly to the front hall.
The location of the front hall was in the double- or three-story attic facing the gatehouse (there was also a cave-style palace inside the platform). Qin Liang arrived quickly. When he walked into the hall, he found
Before Cao Shuang came, He Yan, Huan Fan and three or four others arrived first.
He Yan and Huan Fan had always been unhappy with Qin Liang, so they could only salute and even skip the pleasantries. Qin Liang did not want to intensify conflicts with these high officials, so he did not talk much with the other two ministers who had a good relationship with him.
After waiting for a while, Cao Shuang finally swayed to the upper seat with the ribbon raised high on his abdomen.
When he walked, his shoulders and arms swung very widely. Probably because he was too fat and it was difficult to maintain balance, so he needed a larger swing to walk steadily. Cao Shuang didn't mean it, but his posture looked really arrogant.
.The so-called swagger is just like this.
Everyone bowed and then took their seats.
Qin Liang naturally sat at the end. Most of the people who were supposed to come at this time had come. Almost all the people who came to the front hall today were high-ranking officials. He was the only one who was a subordinate official. His colleagues such as Chen An, the waiter, did not come.
.
So what’s so special about Qin Liang among the minor officials? Qin Liang naturally guessed that it might have something to do with Sun Li, but Sun Li had already decided on his itinerary and was about to leave Beijing. Qin Liang’s matter was completely out of character, even if there was something about it
It won't be so fast.
Qin Liang remained calm and didn't want to show off in front of the officials. He kept a low profile and calmly looked at the situation.
At this moment, Cao Shuang called out: "Zhong Ming."
Qin Liang hurriedly raised his hands to face the door, "Liang is here."
Cao Shuang's voice said: "You have been at the General's Mansion for several months, right? Do you have any advice?"
Several people looked sideways. After all, it was the general who specifically asked for other people's advice. Qin Liang was only a small strategist, so people paid more attention to him.
Qin Liang has been Cao Shuang's counselor for several months, and he has never been idle. As long as he has the opportunity, he will always find ways to put forward some constructive opinions, and pay attention to the way he speaks tactfully and not to anger Cao Shuang. He is not like some literati.
, to show off one's reputation and to show one's honesty, deliberately irritating the lord to show one's courage to speak out.
But Cao Shuang never listened and completely ignored the opinions of the junior officials. What could Qin Liang do?
Today was different. Cao Shuang asked specifically. Qin Liang immediately paid attention to it. After thinking for a while, he said: "The general is in charge of Chinese and foreign military affairs. He is a servant who advises the army. I would like to share his opinions on the art of war."
Cao Shuang nodded and said: "Good."
Qin Liang said: "I believe that when the three armies are facing the enemy, they should take a long-term approach, clarify their goals, and deploy carefully. They should not just focus on temporary gains and losses."
The general did not go out to lead the troops to fight, but Qin Liang talked about the art of war, which of course was alluding to something else. After all, the Sima family and Cao Shuang were officials in the same dynasty, and they had not openly broken up with each other. It would be a bit strange for Qin Liang to directly call the Sima family how it was.
Not quite appropriate.
And Qin Liang is a subordinate of Cao Shuang, so it is natural for him to make suggestions for Cao Shuang. There is no problem in helping Cao Shuang with some strategies and reminding him of gains and losses.
Cao Shuang's voice said: "I heard that Liangyou likes to read military books. It's not surprising."
Qin Liang was silent, thinking: I feel like Cao Shuang didn't understand at all.
Qin Liang only hoped that he would think about it later and understand that this kind of topic must be some kind of hint to be reasonable. In a place like the front hall today, with several people present, Qin Liang really couldn't speak clearly.
After the death of Emperor Ming, a political coup took place in Luoyang, and Qin Lang was one of the losers. Today's government affairs are actually shared between Cao Shuang and the Sima family. There is no room for two tigers in one mountain, and Cao Shuang showed his strong support for the Sima family from the very beginning.
Hostility, the two sides must decide whether to win or lose.
There is no problem with this. If Cao Shuang was willing to give in and delegate power, he would not have launched a political change at the beginning of this year.
Qin Liang believes that the main problem of the General's Mansion is the lack of "systematicity" in specific strategies. To say long-term planning has the same meaning, but it is not as accurate as the word system.
For example, Qin Liang once heard Chen An whisper that Cao Shuang's government had sent assassins to kill Sima Yi, but of course they were unsuccessful. Things got to this point, but Cao Shuang later changed his approach and began to win over some people on the fringes who were not in the center.
Characters. I don’t know what strategy Cao Shuang and his henchmen will use to fight.
Lacking a thorough, clear, and systematic design, he just won a hundred times and lost once at the critical moment.
Moreover, Qin Liang believed that Chen An's secret words had a certain degree of authenticity because there were other signs to support his statement.
Sima Yi's men, Sun Zi and Liu Fang, strongly opposed Sima Yi being given the official title of "Grand Sima" in the court, and bluntly said that the title of Grand Sima was unlucky and could easily be assassinated.
Without any evidence to accuse Cao Shuang of sending assassins, Sun Zi and Liu Fang's words were already very harsh. But I don't know what Cao Shuang was thinking.