To the north of the Qinling Mountains, as the eighth day of the lunar month passes, the cold air subsides, spring comes to thank, the human sentiments decline, the flavor of the new year gradually fades away, and all works are in full swing.
After the New Year, Liu Yi and his party bid farewell to their fathers and relatives, marched into the Lingyuan Mountains, and headed straight for Zhangwu. There, Liu Yi would meet many old friends, but under the general situation of Pingtian, whether these people were enemies or not Friends, it’s hard to tell the difference!
After Huangfu Lu and Wang Sanbao reluctantly saw off everyone at Laotou Mountain, they returned to Wangnanju with Mou Zihua and Mou Huazi siblings.
As the chief steward of Liu Yi's home base and the logistics manager of Liu Yi's hometown, Huangfu Lu has great responsibilities.
Before leaving, Liu Yi had a candle-lit night talk with him, and finally decided on a twelve-word strategy of sticking to the foundation, sweeping the door to find talents, and knowing the experts. This made Huangfu Lu, who was only one year younger than Liu Yi, feel uneasy. Han Xin was certainly hard on the battlefield. , but it was even more difficult for the hard-working Xiao He. In ancient times, when establishing a country, it was necessary to lay a foundation first. If the roots are strong, the leaves will flourish. Huangfu Lu's burden is very heavy.
Returning to Wangnan Tower, Huangfu Lu sat alone in the attic, cleared his mind for a while, and then flexed his fingers. Except for the Mou brothers and sisters whom he had just met, the tiger scolding warriors sent by Sai Beili to serve under Liu Yi, and Wangnan Tower. Liu Yi didn't leave anything for himself. He was really a polished general.
The connotation of the four words "sweeping the door and looking for the wise" in the twelve-word strategy was clearly heard by Huangfu Lu, who was loyal but not pedantic. Liu Yi was asking him to win over a group of forces that belonged to him and thought he could use them. !
Thinking of this, Huangfu Lu pursed his lips: The boss wants me to be his Sang Hongyang. I will observe the opinions of the sages and use the benefits of salt and iron to support the needs of the military and the country. This is easy to say. With your age, strength and status, how can you have so much power to recruit talents? Which bubbling god is willing to surrender to me?
Huangfu Lu thought about it, but still couldn't find a solution. In desperation, he decided to go to the North City and West City to try his luck the next day. It would be great if he could recruit a proud young man from a poor family to help Wang Nan live in the internal affairs. If he couldn't, he would do the next best thing and hire a few strong men to take care of Wangnanju's internal affairs. Mr. Da learned some important political matters and at the same time managed a good money bag and looked at Nanlou.
It was not yet fifteen, and the streets of Lingyuan City were still a little deserted. Apart from vendors selling some daily necessities, there was nothing else in the West Market. Huangfu Lu chose a few new sets of clothes for Mou Huazi, looked back at Nanju and gave instructions on some trivial matters, and then transferred to Beishi.
Huangfu Lu, who grew up here, was naturally familiar with the roads and markets here. He ran to Wangnan Tower for a walk, then took money from Xia Qing and headed to the northwest corner of Bei City, which is known as " "Private land" selling place.
When ordinary people talk about the three words "private land", they will always laugh and casually say a rhyme compiled by someone who has long ago said: Guaranteed by the official, you can go and stay at will, you can subordinate yourself, you can buy it and leave it, you can leave it for yourself. also!
To be honest, Huangfu Lu didn't know why the term "self-reserved land" came from two or three years ago. In an evening class chat, Liu Quansheng once explained the "Zigui Five Primary Schools": When the late emperor was there, the Qin Dynasty invaded the country. , in order to gather national strength to fight against foreign invaders, this place was opened. In the name of the official family, the family was allowed to raise private soldiers for the purpose of defending the country. After the war, the country was devastated and a lot of waste was waiting to be renovated. The various states and counties where people bought and sold people remained, called "private land".
To put it more simply, a 'private land' is a large open space surrounded by a fence. After entering this place, everyone automatically becomes a buyer and seller. After leaving, everything will be as normal. There are two officials at the door of the 'private land' The guard and an official who was affiliated with the disciple signed the contract in triplicate. Each buyer and seller kept one copy, and the clerk kept one copy for record purposes.
Here, everything is voluntary, but once the buyer and seller sign a contract, it cannot be changed. They must perform their tasks strictly in accordance with the signed contract until the contents of the contract are fulfilled by the party who signed the contract.
But after the First World War, it has been more than 40 years. Although there are powerful local nobles who exploit the people, the local people still get enough rest and recuperation. As the days get better and better, fewer and fewer people are reduced to prostitution. In order to save money and facilitate follow-up matters, the noble families also choose to skip the private land and directly recruit soldiers or slaves. The 'private land' gradually becomes colder.
It was Huangfu Lu's first contact with recruiting people. He had no experience and didn't want to search for poor people in the countryside. He could only try his luck and walked into this place just by hearing its name. Today, he saw An honorable 'private land'.
When Huangfu Lu arrived, the clerk at his door was yawning and chatting boredly with two county soldiers who were also bored. The three of them were regular visitors to Wangnan Tower. When they saw Huangfu Lu, they refused to recognize him and beat him. After saying hello, Huangfu Lu was let into the fenced 'private land'.
Originally, the private land was already deserted, and there were almost no people coming there on weekdays. However, according to what the clerk said, Huangfu Lu's luck seemed to be very good today, and there seemed to be something about the 'private land' today.
Huangfu Lu, who had a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, yellow skin and black skin but preferred white shirts, had just approached the land when he met four tall and thick men. They squatted there with their arms around their collars and their hands in their sleeves. They were so cold that they seemed to be in despair. Extremely.
Huangfulu stepped forward to inquire about the situation and learned that several of them were farmers whose fields and houses were washed away by Lingyuan floods last year. They wanted to find a way to support their families before spring and save some money for seeds.
Huangfu Lu, who also came from a poor background, felt very soft-hearted when he heard this. After sighing with emotion, he immediately began to think to himself: The flood in Huaxing County has just passed, and there are probably not a few farmers in the same situation as the four people in front of him. As the saying goes, "The journey is long and the journey is full of flowers. If you can help a family," if you can recruit the four people in front of you, and then use the four people in front of you to open a hole to recruit more refugees, in this way, you will not only find a helper for the eldest brother, but also a promising person. It has contributed to the prosperity and stability of Huaxing County. It kills two birds with one stone!
Seeing Huangfu Lu staying where he was, two people were worried that Huangfu Lu thought they were weak and would not accept them, so they deliberately pressed Gululu's belly and performed a set of bastard punches, which made Huangfu Lu feel happy. , and thought in my mind: Could this be great luck from God? You want me to lend a helping hand to my eldest brother?
However, Huangfu Lu insisted on shopping around, pretending to be reserved, and walked around the sparsely populated 'private land', but couldn't find a suitable candidate, so he went back and got paper and pen from the official guard. The price was negotiated with the four people, and a one-year short-term contract was signed. It was agreed that if the performance was good after one year, the long-term contract would be renewed.
The four of them readily agreed.
On the way back to Wangnan Tower, Huangfu Lu walked slowly, his mind wandering: Since he was a child, he has read in books the principle of a soldier working hard and putting his body on the sword. Since my eldest brother has entrusted me with my nest, I should do my best for love and justice. After today, every other month, we will have to find ways to recruit some manpower. According to the current income of Wangnan Tower, it will not be a problem to support seventy or eighty warriors. At that time, we will ask the county magistrate to send someone to help train them. One day, we can Being used by the elder brother can also be regarded as an explanation of the entrustment of the elder brother.
However, a hallucination loomed in Huangfu Lu's mind. How could he feel deja vu when he saw these four people?
After the fleeting feeling disappeared, Huangfu Lu couldn't help laughing at himself: Does this move of mine count as raising private soldiers?
...
Huangfu Lu and the four strong men following him were silent all the way.
After passing Qingyin Pavilion, we arrived at Wangnan Tower. Several noises diagonally opposite to Wangnan Tower aroused Huangfu Lu's interest.
Looking far into the distance, he saw a young man with short stature, a thick back and thick waist, and shabby clothes, fighting back and forth with a middle-aged man in rich clothes. He was surrounded by libertines who usually like to raise cats and play with dogs. They held eagles and dogs, and were mercilessly mocking the ragged young man. The young man responded without showing any weakness, and the two sides exchanged punches and kicks, fearing that there was only a slight difference.
Huangfu Lu was curious, so he quietly pulled over a young man who was his classmate. After asking, he learned that the young man in ragged clothes was named Guo and given the name Yizhi. After the flood, he appeared in Lingyuan North City and claimed that his family was in trouble. My parents died and my house and land were occupied, so I came here with the precious paintings and calligraphy that were left in my family, hoping to sell some of them to make a living. Some rich households in Nancheng saw that Guo Yizhi was young and lonely, and tried to force down the price to show off his appearance. This stupid young man didn't understand the market, but he was easy to talk to, so he sold it for money. For a time, the business was booming, and the young man made a lot of money.
The middle-aged man who was fighting with Guo Yizhi was the son of Cao Huangyan, the subordinate of Huaxing County. Cao Huangyan was the representative of the pro-Liu faction in the previous county. A few days ago, Huang Yan's son was at Guo Yizhi's place. I bought a piece of calligraphy by Zhang Zhi, known as the "ancestor of cursive script", as a New Year's gift to Huang Yan. On the occasion of the festival, Huang Yan took it out to show off to his friends from afar, but he was regarded as a low-grade fake by his friends.
Huang Yan was so embarrassed that he asked some experts from Huaxing County to help him determine whether it was a copy. At this time, the Huang family and his son were extremely angry. No, as soon as the eighth day of the lunar month passed, the eldest son Huang immediately came to find this person. Guo Yizhi, a swindler, insisted on demanding tenfold compensation from this kid.
Huangfu Lu wanted to find out and test the courage of these farm men, so he turned around and ordered the four of them to open a way out for him. The peasant man had worked hard all year round and had a lot of strength. Without much effort, the dandy boys were pushed away by the four strong men one by one. Huangfu Lu walked straight to the stall with striding steps.
Some sharp-eyed people immediately recognized that this was the small accounting room in Wangnan Tower where the sun was shining brightly. They either remained silent or pointed, but in short, they did not dare to offend.
Huangfu Lu took the copybook and unfolded it. A sense of awe-inspiring righteousness flowed into his eyes along the lines, soaking into his heart. It made people feel as open as a boat sailing on the sea.
Huangfu Lu was shocked. He could see the words as if they were on the face. Someone who could write such magnificent cursive script could never be an ordinary person from the world. He determined in his heart that Guo Yizhi must be a person with real talent and learning.
The opportunity was too good to miss, and Huangfu Lu decided to help Guo Yizhi out of his predicament and recruited him to Wangnanjuzhong.
Huangfu Lu had an insight into the situation, deliberately pretending to be dumbfounded, and said, "Brother Huang, I am a layman, but I see that the style of this character is made in one stroke, and the strokes of the pen are smooth and flowing, pulling out the grass, pulling up the grass, moving up and down, and including the number and the meaning. , it’s really a good word! How can you tell it’s a fake?”
Huang Jing, the son of Huang Yan, lowered his head and sighed to himself, "Hey! Huangfu's little housekeeper didn't know something. The words are real. But look at this paper. Two hundred years ago, how could there be such a soft paper? I was also covered in lard at that time. Blinded. Hey!"
Huangfu Lu suddenly understood: it turned out that there was nothing wrong with the copying of the font, but that Guo Yizhi forgot to make it old.
Now, Huangfu Lu's determination to recruit talents became even more determined.
Afterwards, Huangfu Lu said boldly to Huang Jing, "Haha! I think this junior character is very pleasing to the eye. Why don't you, Brother Huang, prepare for a rainy day? If this brother becomes a bad guy in the future, wouldn't your calligraphy be a rare commodity?" ?”
Why? When Huangfu Lu said this, Huang Jingfu began to murmur, and the few young dudes who followed him and asked to return the goods were also scheming against each other and weighing the pros and cons.
While everyone was thinking, Huangfu Lu snatched the words from Huang Jing's hand, grabbed Huang Jing's wrist, turned around and walked away, and then said loudly, "Brother Huang, don't you? Haha, since Brother Huang wants to take advantage of me, then I will I'm so disrespectful! Among all of you here, if anyone still wants to withdraw, just ask me. I'm willing to keep this rare item in a pile. Come on, Brother Huang, come with me to Wangnan Tower to get the money! No. Is it just ten times the amount of silver? Brother, I am here, hahaha!"
Huang Jing had no idea for a moment, weighed it briefly, then stepped forward to hold Huangfu Lu down, followed the words, and said with a smile, "What the steward Huangfu said makes sense. Back then, Zi Chu was in charge of the princes, and Lu Buwei stationed him and became the prime minister. Who can Who knows, will this kid become a famous calligrapher in the future? Anyway, I don’t have much money to write this calligraphy, so I’m going to sell Huangfu a favor today. If I become famous in the future, don’t forget to show me some affection today!”
What Huang Jing was interested in was not the words in his hand, but Huangfu Lu's face.
"Thank you, Brother Huang, for your kindness. One day, another day, I will set up a few tables in Wangnan Tower to restore the face of both Master and Brother!" Huangfu Lu gently cupped his hands and said respectfully and warmly, "Love lasts forever, and mountains and rivers are high." Chief! Farewell!"
After Huang Jing handed over his hands and left, the onlookers dispersed one by one. Looking at the backs of these young masters, Huangfu Lu sighed to himself, "The poor live in the busy city and no one cares about them, the rich live in the mountains and have distant relatives." After that, he walked to Guo Yizhi. In front of me, he asked, "Brother, how much older are you this year?"
Guo Yizhi held back tears in his eyes and said, "Fifteen!"
Huangfu Lu rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "Then I'll call you Brother Guo, haha! Brother Guo, why are you crying?"
Guo Yizhi grinned and complained, "My dear brother, I saw with my own eyes that they bullied me by taking advantage of their numbers. Isn't this knowing and asking?"
The word 'good brother' instantly brought the two of them closer. Huangfu Lu smiled and said, "Brother Guo, I'm afraid he has some misunderstanding about the word misunderstanding? You are obviously deceiving others with shoddy products, but you are not allowed to come to your door." Do you want an explanation?"
Guo Yizhi was speechless and murmured, "That's what my dear brother said."
Huangfu Lu walked in, pulled Guo Yizhi's sleeves, and said sincerely, "I think Brother Guo's calligraphy is extraordinary, and it must be beyond the reach of others. Heroes don't care about their origins. Brother, if you don't dislike it, I will look at you like this." I'll work as an accountant in the south building. If I have nothing to do every day, how about we go to Mr. Zigui School to study together?"
Guo Yizhi perked up and asked cautiously, "We just met you, and you asked me to handle money matters? Brother Huangfu, aren't you afraid that I'll take the money and run away?"
"Haha! I am sincere and look at the flowing water in the South Tower for only a thousand baht a day. If Brother Guo has this intention, I can just spend the money to teach you a lesson. Is that okay?" Although Huangfu Lu was worried in his heart, It was also a helpless move. After finishing his official duties, Wang Sanbao hid at home to study the damn "Smallpox Volume". Even though he had three heads and six arms, he couldn't take care of so many stalls. Therefore, he had to find a few capable helpers. If If I meet someone unkindly, I will have no choice but to bow my head to my elder brother and admit my mistake. m.
"You should work hard!" Guo Yizhi straightened his tattered single clothes, handed the gift to Huangfu, and then pouted, "But I have to be paid!"
"When I see you coming, I suddenly feel that my house is glowing, haha! Let's go, it's yours!"
Huangfu Lu made an invitation gesture, and Guo Yizhi was not polite and walked towards Wangnan Tower in a swaggering manner.
Huangfu Lu opened the copybook again, looked at it carefully, and praised, "Sure enough, he has strong bones and strong muscles, and is the most virtuous among all sages. How can his character be so bad if he can write such words? It seems that Zhang Zhi The ancient custom has its successor!"
...
After the four warriors from Quedao were hired back, according to Huangfu Lu's plan, they went to the countryside to recruit refugees.
However, the recruitment of refugees from the countryside did not go as smoothly as Huangfu Lu imagined. He led his people to almost all the villages around Lingyuan City, but found nothing and returned lost.
Later, Huangfu Lu learned that after the flood, the county governor opened warehouses to release grain. He not only provided all the affected people with farm tools, seeds, and livestock for spring plowing, but also built new houses for them.
Huangfu Lu was helpless, but he also admired Mr. Ying very much. His dual emotions of joy and disappointment made him forget an important link: to find out why the people in the 'private land' were homeless.
The world is cold and it is hard to keep your original intention.
Soon, Huangfu Lu paid the price for this careless move!
Some people died, but not completely...
