Since the two party proscriptions, the Eastern Han Dynasty has developed an extremely prosperous criticism culture. In order to resist the suppression of the gentry by the eunuchs and even the imperial power, the gentry clans united and formed cliques, and celebrities praised each other by commenting on the current situation, thus forming a cultural political offensive, which led to the decline of the reputation of the imperial power and became the political forerunner of the co-governance of the gentry in later generations.
Chen Chong hated this culture deeply and rarely participated in criticism and conversations among scholars. This is not because he aspires to the imperial power, but because like Liu Bei, he feels that this kind of mutual flattery is of no use to the current situation. He has seen too many Baji, Bagu, Bajun and the like, and only half of them are worthy of the name.
But the fact that he doesn't participate much in chatting does not mean that Chen Chong is unimportant. On the contrary, Chen Chong's status in the chatting world has surpassed that of the Xu brothers, the founders of Yuedan Ping.
Chen Chong was originally a doctor of Taixue. He was born as the grandson of Chen Shi, Duke of Taiqiu. He was also recognized as the leading dragon in the literary world in the Xiping Lun Jing. He had many contacts with Buddhist and Taoist disciples, and his personal connections reached the court and issued orders. In the countryside, in addition to talking about classics and Taoism, he was still very tight-lipped about character evaluation. After a few years, Chen Chong could be said to be a real "golden talker".
In the fifth year of Guanghe's reign, when Chen Chong visited Liu Kuan, the former Taiwei, he talked with his disciple Fu Xie about ancient and modern wars. Fu Xie's answers were fluent, which Chen Chong admired very much. He said to Liu Kuan: "Nan Rong is as virtuous as Gao Yang and as wise as Kun. Jade is beyond the reach of the Luoshui River!" Later, Liu Kuan became famous for his disciples, and Fu Xie, Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were called the "Three Beauties of Guanghe".
In addition to his disciples and friends, most of the celebrities Chen Chong selected for Liu Bei were local high-ranking officials. The Wang family and Guo family in Taiyuan are both world-famous county leaders. The Wen family and Linghu family are also the leading famous families in Taiyuan counties. Now they are taking refuge in various places in Bingzhou. As long as Chen Chong makes his name famous in the world with his promise, Liu Bei will definitely Success can be achieved immediately.
At this time, Wang Gai was living with his tribe in Lishi City, and Liu Bei immediately rode forward to pay homage to him. When Wang Gai heard that it was the new governor of Xiangzhi who wanted to see him, he naturally welcomed him happily. He held a banquet with his brothers and discussed world affairs. When the sun broke, Liu Bei smiled and rode away again.
Wang Gai turned around and sighed to Wang Ling: "Liu Fujun is a truly good man, with broad-minded words and heroic demeanor. Even though he was rejected by me, he is still full of arrogance and his words are like a knife. I am really moved by him. But now that Taiyuan is corrupt, I If you enter his house, you will definitely waste all your family resources and lose all your money, so why bother?"
Wang Ling did not think so, but solemnly persuaded him: "Brother, how ridiculous! Now there is chaos, bandits are rampant, hungry people are raging, this is a sign of troubled times. But the family wealth is not enough for external possessions, can it be blocked by swords? Your Excellency is now living in seclusion. Outside, we are fleeing in the wilderness, how can we prevent disasters on our own? If my brother can’t do it, let me do it for you!"
The two of them refused to give in, but as Wang Ling said, they sent a message to the clan leader Wang Yun. Wang Yun had been invaded by Chang Rang for several years, and he was afraid of harming his family, so he changed his name and lived in seclusion in Huai County, Hanoi. A few days later, Wang Gai received a reply, and Wang Yun's reply was simple: "You are a young talent. , can be attached with a dragon head and tail."
The reactions of the other tribesmen were similar. After a little hesitation, they finally chose to be recruited by Liu Bei. When Chen Chong chose these people, he naturally knew that most of them were mediocre in talent, but now that they are officials, no matter how talented they are, they cannot compare to their family's wealth. Many things cannot be done well not because you are not good enough, but because you are not rich enough. Only with the help of these rich family members, can we have the confidence to overcome the difficulties.
Liu Bei's progress was going smoothly, which made Chen Chong relieved, but he still couldn't take any time off. Now the livelihood of nearly half a million people in the two counties depended on him, and he had to do his best.
Although spring plowing in Xihe was affected this year, it did not affect the whole county after all, so there was still some harvest. However, due to severe droughts in consecutive years, these harvests could only barely satisfy the hunger. Fortunately, the emperor had promised that Xihe would not collect taxes for three years, so it would not be a problem. If we force people to rebel again, we will be able to make do with it this year.
But for the people of Taiyuan, this year is impossible to make do with.
It is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish, not to mention that the borrowed 100,000 stones of grain and grass can only last for two months. Chen Chong first opened a warehouse on the border of the two counties to provide relief for two days. A large number of Taiyuan disaster victims heard the news and immediately changed their methods. Compile a roster for the people of Taiyuan and divide them into Ding camp, Women camp and Lao camp.
The Ding camp consisted of about 104,000 young men between 16 and 50 years old. They were personally managed by Chen Chong, and together with Xihe County soldiers, they went to the tributaries of the Yellow River and the tidal flats on both sides to build water conservancy projects. He planned to dig a canal between Yonghe and Linxian first, and then dig out a tributary of the Yellow River about forty miles long. This would be enough to add nearly 10,000 acres of fertile farmland in Xihe.
The women's camp consisted mostly of women and children, with about 120,000 people. Chen Chong put Yang Hui in charge, teaching women the art of papermaking, and setting up a paper mill on the spot in Zishi. Chen Chong had a bamboo and paper workshop when he was in Luoyang, but now that there is a severe cold in the north and the bamboo forests are withered, he can only do the next best thing and send Xu Shu to purchase mulberry and hemp to make ordinary hemp paper.
But even so, Chen Chong's papermaking technology is far superior to other colleagues. Whether it is the cooking salt or the control of drying time, it is unique at this time. When the first batch of paper is shipped to Hedong San in September, Auxiliary, the caravan didn't even have time to see Hangu Pass, but the paper was sold out in three days.
There were about 40,000 old men over fifty in the old camp. Chen Chong asked Sun Qian and others to lead them to clean up the ruins in Taiyuan County, plant mulberry seedlings, and raise livestock to prepare for the winter.
At the end of August, Yang Feng followed Guo Da's order and led his team to sell horses at Lishi. Along the way, he saw everyone busy and looking tired, and the fragrance of mud overflowed like steam, as if he was busy in spring. He sighed to his subordinates: "Mr. Chen Fu. Governing the people is like drinking wine, which really opened my eyes.”
When they arrived at Lishi, Qin Yilu came out of the city to greet him. Since the end of the war, the court had not elected a new governor of Bingzhou. Some of Zhang Yi's officials simply changed their posts and worked for Chen Chong. Qin Yilu was one of them.
Now he is a member of the prefect's family and is in charge of Xihe's ceremonial bodyguard. When he saw Yang Feng, he said that Chen Chong was not in the government at this time, but was still in the eastern suburbs of Lin County. He was inspecting the water canal affairs with Liu Bei, the general who protected the Huns, and Liu Hu, the magistrate of Lin County, and left all matters related to the horse purchase to him. .
Yang Feng is doing everything he can. To put it bluntly, he is just handing over the money and delivering the goods. There are about a thousand horses in this batch, which Chen Chong had agreed upon when he borrowed grain from Guo Da. Liu Bei had lost all his horses in the siege of Longshan, and now he could only build them from scratch. Qin Yilu took out fifty gold and gave it to Yang Feng. After Yang Feng accepted it, he asked, "Is the county's rice grain enough?"
Qin Yilu could only shake his head and replied: "But it can only be used for another month." Then he sighed on one side, obviously he was also worried about this.
Yang Feng didn't feel anything about this, because he could only see this look on Qin Yilu's face. The other people in the prefect's mansion were walking back and forth in the mansion, all looking in a hurry, but not worried, as if they knew what they were doing. , what should be done, even Qin Yilu quickly threw himself into counting the horses.
When Qin Yilu finished counting, Yang Feng had no interest in staying, and immediately rode away with his men. When they came out of the city gate, they saw a beautiful girl training horses outside the city. He had met him in Huanyang, and she was the new Shanyu. Yu Fuluo's sister Pu Zhenmei Lu originally wanted to marry Bai Bo and marry her to Guo Da, but Guo Da politely declined. Unexpectedly, after Pu Zhenmeilu learned about this, he had a big quarrel with Yuvluo, and then disappeared, but unexpectedly he was here.
Yang Feng took the initiative to step forward and teased him: "You are the second best in Qiangqu, how can you govern in a Han county?"
When Pu Zhenmei saw that it was him, she wanted to turn around and leave, but she suddenly turned back and asked Yang Feng with a pretty face, "Have you seen this person? He is in his twenties, but he looks like a warrior, and his arms It has a tip as long as a bow and smiles like a delphinium."
Who else can say that? Although Yang Feng only had a one-sided crush on Liu Bei, Liu Bei's naturally heroic nature, strange appearance, and unique charm made him unforgettable. Unexpectedly, in Lishi City, a Hun princess would inquire about his whereabouts.
This gave him a strange feeling of joy, and he couldn't help but smile to Pu Zhenmeilu and said: "Why, the Xiongnu's pearl has also found the destined warrior?" Pu Zhenmeilu opened his beautiful eyes slightly and said angrily: "You don't Just know me!" After saying that, he turned around and left.
Yang Feng then grabbed her again, apologized profusely, and then said truthfully: "That's Liu Bei and Liu Xuande, the newly appointed generals who protect the Huns. What do you want to see him for?" Pu Zhenmeilu was stunned, then blushed and remained silent. Voice.
When Pu Zhenmeilu left Meiji privately, she was depressed and didn't know where to go, but she gradually became happy again when she thought that she would never see her brother again. Liu Xuan would send her expenses every week, and Chen Chong didn't know what to do, but he would not miss the Hun girl's food and clothing, and there would be no other impact, so he let her go.
With no one to control her, Pu Zhenmeilu developed the habit of going out on horseback every day. She likes the feeling of walking alone on the road. Sometimes she gallops her horse, and sometimes she pulls the reins to stop. The farmers beside the road give her strange looks, but no one would preach to a Hu woman.
She occasionally felt lonely because of this, but more often than not she felt satisfied. It was as if she belonged completely to herself, and she no longer had to worry or be anxious. She was a free spirit in this world. She had seen life and death, so she had no more requirements.
But the day before yesterday, when Pu Zhenmeilu was riding a horse across Gaoming Mountain, a pack of wolves suddenly jumped out of the forest. The first wolf was three feet tall and about seven feet long. It climbed up a huge rock and bared its teeth and roared at her and her mount. She was Shanyu's daughter, and she carried a bow and arrow with her. At this time, she felt uneasy, but rather excited. She pointed the bow at the head of the wolf.
Unexpectedly, before he could take action, a wolf jumped out of the grass beside him, and its long claws like thorns scratched the horse's belly. The horse couldn't bear the pain, and immediately raised its hooves and neighed, almost knocking Pu Zhenmeilu off the horse's back. .
But before she could sit firmly again, the red horse under her was no longer under her control. It suddenly turned mad and ran away, which was the road down the mountain. The Hun girl could only hug the horse's neck tightly, letting the sound of wind, trees and insects fly past her ears like knives, as if time was limited to the tapping hooves of the red horse beneath her.
I don't know when it started or when it stopped. Panic finally took over Pu Zhenmeilu's heart. She had never thought that she would encounter such a situation. If she let go of her hands for a moment, she would undoubtedly be smashed into minced meat. This was an idea that Shanyu's daughter would never accept.
But after all, her strength was no greater than that of the horse. Pu Zhenmeilu clearly felt that her strength was gradually exhausted, but the red horse ran up the official road and showed no signs of fatigue. Just when she thought she was about to let go, the sound of new horse hooves sounded in her ears, and a pair of warm and slender arms hugged her tightly from behind, instantly pulling her into a warm embrace.
At that moment, Pu Zhenmeilu seemed to have returned to her childhood, when Qiangqu Shanyu carried her onto the horse, full of powerful masculine aura.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the face of a young Han man from between her arms. He did not have the long beard that Han people are accustomed to. The short mustache on his face made his soft and handsome face look a bit resolute, but in the end What caught people's attention was the subtle arc at the corner of his mouth, which seemed to be a smile but not a smile.
Liu Bei noticed that she was looking at him curiously, so he smiled at her, slowly rode his horse to a stop, helped Shanyu's daughter jump off the horse lightly, and said to her: "Girl, be more careful." The horse continued to leave, unaware that he had inadvertently stolen the heart of a young girl.
Yang Fenggang came out of the prefect's mansion and naturally knew where Liu Bei was now, so he led Pu Zhenmeilu to Lin County.
Ten miles south of Lin County, Chen Chong and Liu Bei, wearing bamboo hats, were standing in the excavated waterway. While they were calculating the time it would take for the project to be completed, they were imagining the billowing scene of new acres of wheat next year. The county magistrate Liu Hu followed on one side, watching the people coming and going like mountains and seas. He felt moved and invited Chen Chong to write poems here. Chen Chong was not interested in poetry, so he could only borrow ancient poems and recite:
"If you are less than a hundred years old, you often worry about a thousand years old. Taiyi is good at water and virtue, and the green trees are as beautiful as the sky. Confucius walks in the grass, and Zilu laughs at Nanzi. Zhuang Zhou sings with drums, and the madman of Chu steals the plant. The warriors of Yin and Jin are quick and virtuous. The danger lies in Shuchi."
