That same night, Liu Zhang sat beside Liu Xun's bed.
Seeing that Liu Xun finally fell asleep, the maid Lianhua beside him breathed a sigh of relief and whispered: "I finally fell asleep. My master used to coax the young master to sleep. Ever since the master left Chengdu, the young master has often suffered from insomnia.
Now I am busy with official duties, and I don’t know what to do in the future.”
Liu Zhang sighed, touched Liu Xun's little face and said: "Xun'er has been without his mother since he was born, so he is naturally somewhat dependent on him. It's just that the wet nurse who breastfed Xun'er before, and the maids like you who have been waiting on him, can't
Put him to sleep?"
Lianhua shook her head, but suddenly her eyes lit up and she said, "There is a person. The young master told the maid several times that he likes her."
"who?"
"It's Miss Huang Yue. When Miss Huang is here, the young master is very happy. He goes to bed after writing at night. After Miss Huang left, the young master has difficulty falling asleep again. Otherwise, the master invites Miss Huang
Come and live in the house."
Lianhua looked at Liu Zhang expectantly. Although Liu Xun was not a child prodigy, he was a good child. She was the maid who watched Liu Xun grow up. She was very anxious when she saw that Liu Xun had difficulty falling asleep every night.
Liu Zhang stood up and slowly shook his head, thinking of that evening on Elm Street. He knew those two words would make Huang Yue sad, but he had unspeakable reasons and finally let her leave, so why bother with her again?
Her, causing her to be hurt even more.
At this moment, Wang Xu suddenly appeared at the door. Liu Zhang glanced at the sleeping Liu Xun and walked out.
"What's up?"
"Lord, there is someone outside who wants to see you."
"who?"
"Miss Huang Yue Huang."
"What, didn't she leave?"
Liu Zhang frowned. When he arrived in the courtyard, Huang Yue's appearance under the lantern light shocked Liu Zhang. He saw that her whole body was dirty, her hair was wet with sweat and hung on her shoulders. Her clothes were clinging to her body. As soon as Huang Yue saw
Liu Zhang came over immediately, his legs shaking from riding for too long.
"Miss Huang, what's wrong with you?" Liu Zhang helped Huang Yue.
"Sir, it's not good. Pang Xi colluded with Zhang Lu and won over the noble families in northern Shu. There will be a rebellion before the Double Ninth Festival at the latest. Sir, you must make preparations in advance."
Huang Yue was out of breath, and it was not easy to call the maid at this time. Liu Zhang helped Huang Yue into the hall. Seeing that Huang Yue's face was as white as snow, he asked his soldiers to bring him a bowl of gruel.
When Huang Yue's condition improved a little, Liu Zhang asked: "How did you know?"
"One of my clan brothers is a general in the Brazilian army. Pang Xi ordered him to win over my brother. The clan brother found me. I agreed on the surface and rode all night to Chengdu. Sir, according to my clan brother,
This time Lieutenant General Han has raised an army of 100,000, plus the Brazilian army has 150,000, and almost all the major tribes in northern Shu are involved with Pang Xi, and they have countless money and food. Your Excellency, make preparations early, otherwise Xichuan will be in chaos."
"Thank you Miss Huang for coming to report at night." Liu Zhang thought for a while, Zhang Lu's total army was less than 70,000, and the Brazilian army only had 20,000. It would be good if they could send out an army of 100,000. Huang Yue said fifteen
It's probably the clan brother who exaggerated.
However, even one hundred thousand troops are difficult to deal with. Xichuan currently has less than fifty thousand troops that can be dispatched. Brazil is the gateway to Xichuan. Pang Xi defected and one hundred thousand enemy troops marched on Pingchuan. Yizhou will inevitably be in chaos, and wealthy families from all over the country will definitely take advantage of the opportunity.
I am afraid that I will die without a burial place.
No, Pang Xi must be eliminated before the Double Ninth Festival, and he must be captured quickly before Zhang Lu can react. Otherwise, if the Hanzhong soldiers enter Brazil, it will be difficult to recover.
Liu Zhang clenched his fists and said to Huang Yue: "Miss Huang, if you hadn't come to retaliate, Xichuan would have been doomed, and I, Liu Zhang, would have died without a burial place. Your kindness will never be forgotten by Liu Zhang. However, I dare to ask Miss Huang again."
Please do me a favor."
"Please give me your instructions."
Liu Zhang said a few words in Huang Yue's ear. Huang Yue listened and nodded slowly.
Huang Yue ate some food and dragged his tired body back to Langzhong on horseback overnight. Liu Zhang looked at Huang Yue's back as he went out and sighed. Now he owed her a lot. If this girl opened her heart to him again
, can I still use two words to clarify my relationship with her like that evening?
As Liu Zhang leaned against the door, Wang Xu stepped forward and said, "Master, is the matter really that urgent?"
Liu Zhang shook his head: "The matter is urgent, but it is useless for us to rush. Let's wait until the Four Imperial Examinations are over."
After two days of examinations, the Four Civil Service Examinations have finally come to an end. Most of the candidates have received their results, leaving only the elites who have passed the test and are still undergoing the final selection.
However, the so-called elites are not very good in the literary test. There are too few children from aristocratic families, and there are even fewer talents from poor families than the children from aristocratic families. The few "elites" selected for the literary test are really
reluctantly.
But even so, Liu Zhang still came to the literary examination venue first. Civil and military affairs were equally important in troubled times, and for Yizhou without the support of aristocratic families, literati were more important than military generals.
The remaining six scholars in the examination room were divided into two groups for the final debate. The topic was whether we should emphasize agriculture and suppress business.
Of the three people on the positive side, two of them hung their heads and complained about how they had chosen this side. They knew clearly that Zhou Mu was now opening up commerce, but they still had to defend the emphasis on agriculture and suppression of business. Isn't this just asking for trouble? This way, you can get good results.
Strange. There was only a thin middle-aged man in his thirties with a calm expression. Seeing that neither of them spoke, he stood up and said loudly:
"It has been secretly heard that the wise kings of the past dynasties have fared from treachery and cleverness, promoted virtue, emphasized agriculture and suppressed business, controlled the people in pursuit of low profits, and preserved the people's simple customs. Today, Yizhou has set up workshops and added business names to compete with the people for profits and eliminate the Shu people.
Virtue breeds greed, despicableness and evil, and is despised by sages. The Master said..."
"This man openly opposes the Lord's decree. I will arrest him immediately." Wang Xu said and was about to rush to the stage. Liu Zhang pulled him down, glanced at him and said, "What are you doing? This is a debate. Which position should be said?
, what are you doing blindly?"
Fazheng laughed at the side and said, "It seems that this man dares to speak so righteously about focusing on agriculture and suppressing business in front of the lord. He has some courage."
Liu Zhang nodded and asked Wang Fu, "What is this person's name?"
Wang Fu said: "This man's name is Qin Mi. He is a famous talent in Shu. He has been recommended as an official several times, but he was always ill. I didn't expect that he would come to participate in the Four Imperial Examinations this time, so I am a bit surprised."
At this time, after the middle-aged man finished speaking, an old man in his fifties stood up and said loudly: "Now the world is in chaos and all the heroes are vying for hegemony. Zhang Lu in Hanzhong is my old enemy, Liu Biao in Jingzhou is harassing me from time to time, and Cao Cao is threatening me
The Emperor is a disloyal minister. We have strong enemies in the north of West Sichuan, bad neighbors in the east, and barbarians in the south. We should repair the barriers, organize the troops, and set up beacons again.
The cost of border affairs is huge, and we should make up for it with commerce. If we focus on agriculture and suppress commerce, the treasury will be empty, the border defenses will be deserted, and the soldiers will be hungry and cold. How can we support them? Therefore, we should develop commerce, open workshops, and set up business houses, exchange what we have, and have more than enough.
To make up for the shortcomings..."
Liu Zhang saw that the speaker was very gorgeously dressed, and there was a hint of arrogance in his tone, so he asked Wang Fu: "Who is this person?"
"This man Xu Jing is from Jiaozhou. He is a cousin of the famous scholar Xu Shao. He is very famous among the family. Xu Jing was an official under Dong Zhuo at the time. He later fled and served as an official with Kong Niao, Chen Yi, Xu Gong, Wang Lang, and after Wang Lang, the prefect of Kuaiji, was defeated by Sun Ce.
, entered Jiaozhou, and heard that we were holding the Four Civil Service Examinations, so we came to Shuzhong.
Originally, this person's words were empty in the previous exams, just because he comes from a noble family and is very famous. If he were to be dismissed early, I would be afraid of the disdain of the nobles of the noble family, so I gave him certain preferential treatment. Unexpectedly, what he said now is very insightful."
"Insightful?" Liu Zhang glanced at the impassioned Xu Jing on the stage: "I think this person is still as empty as ever.";