And just after the great scholars left, Xuying finally finished reciting the poem. He then shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The profoundness of literature... Why didn't I write such a masterpiece? I have been practicing hard for several years, and I have obviously touched it. But after all, it’s just a little bit off…”
The phantom shook, and its expression was obviously unstable. Then the phantom looked towards the pagoda, with an angry expression like a ferocious beast, and headed towards the pagoda!
…
Xu Mansion, Zheyang County
When Xu Que and the others finally returned to Xu Mansion, it was already nightfall.
Xu Maocai took his two sons to the ancestral hall. There were several times more tokens than those in the capital Xu Mansion. Whether they were from the main line or the collateral lines, they were all on top of the ancestral hall!
Xu Que had no memory of the original owner. He didn't know that the Xu Mansion in Zheyang County was the foundation of the Xu family. When he saw so many tokens for the first time, Xu Que's scalp went numb, and his whole body seemed to be watched by countless eyes...
"Unfilial descendants, Xu Maocai brought his two sons here to offer incense. I hope my ancestors will bless my Xu family line!"
"Xu Fan, the eldest son of Xu Maocai, offers incense to our ancestors!" Xu Fan knelt on the futon and kowtowed.
Xu Que imitated his eldest brother and knelt on the futon and kowtowed: "Xu Que, the second son of Xu Maocai, offers incense to our ancestors!"
Uncle Liu stepped forward to take the incense from Xu Fan and Xu Que, slowly inserted it into the incense burner, then stood aside with his eyes closed and waited.
"Get up." Xu Maocai faced the two brothers.
Xu Fan and Xu Que stood up and waited for their father to speak.
"In the capital, my father couldn't tell the truth, but when I return to my hometown in Zheyang County, my father plans to tell you everything."
After hearing what their father said, Xu Fan and Xu Que became extremely serious. After all, they both wanted to know what happened to make the Xu family end up like this!
Xu Maocai's eyes revealed anger and unwillingness. He said a lot...
The situation of the Xu family is actually a common problem in the feudal dynasty...
The responsibility of a military general is to kill the enemy and defend the border, and his foreign attitude is to kill!
Civil servants firmly believe in the inspiration contained in the classics of the saints, and their attitude toward foreign affairs is always soft.
This created a political situation in which civil and military forces were in opposition.
This situation was what the superior wanted to see, but it was broken by one person, and that person was Xu Zhenshan, the Duke of Zhenguo!
He used thousands of cavalry to conquer Beimang and not only recovered three towns, but also captured nearly six cities south of Beimang.
Originally, this was a very good thing in the eyes of the old emperor, but in the eyes of the new emperor, it was a sign of great achievements. When the new emperor ascended the throne, there were also many scandals. As for what happened that year, there was no trace of it. People remember it clearly, or in other words, almost all the people who knew the inside story were dead!
One year after the new emperor ascended the throne, Qu Zhongyi entered the court in the name of Shengjinshi. From then on, the court became dominated by civilian officials, and military generals were increasingly marginalized. Even later, the court gradually formed a strange situation where military officers did not go to court.
I originally thought this was the result, but the real nightmare had just begun. In the spring of the second year after the new emperor ascended the throne, the Beimang army invaded.
After receiving the news, the generals sharpened their swords and waited for the emperor's summons. But strangely, the emperor not only failed to summon these generals, but instead returned the six cities of Beimang to Beimang, and even gave away the princess as a condition for peace talks.
After the news came out, the entire nation of Dayan was filled with resentment. Many generals were pointed at their spines and scolded for no reason. Because the people did not know about the affairs of the court, they always thought that these generals were incompetent.
In September of the same year, Beimang invaded the south again. Although Dayan Kingdom did not cede land this time, it sent some upstarts to take control of the three towns in northern Xinjiang. As a result, all three towns were lost, and even the people in the three towns became Beimang slaves!
In order to appease the people and prevent the dragon seal from being stained, the new emperor finally recalled the veteran generals, and the 62-year-old Xu Zhenshan was among them.
It should have been a glorious event for a military general to go to war, but the soldiers who went to battle that day seemed to have lost the battle. The soldiers who escaped later said that not only did the court not pay them military pay, but even the weapons were worn out!
And even such an army still suppressed the Beimang army at Bingdaokou, and from then on, Bingdaokou became an indestructible fortress.
When the new emperor saw that Beimang's army was no longer going south, he immediately asked the Minister of War and others to jointly recall Xu Zhenshan and others to celebrate the success of these generals.
After that celebration banquet, Xu Zhenshan and others got some strange diseases and died at home one by one.
When Xu Que and Xu Fan heard this, anger burst into their eyes, because they knew without guessing that this matter was closely related to the new emperor.
After these generals were dead, the new emperor had no idea what happened and insisted on taking back the three towns in northern Xinjiang. So Xu Maofeng was surrounded, and Xu Maocai left without permission to mobilize troops...
Xu Que clenched his fists. As a modern man, he was well aware of the dangers of feudal society and what the new emperor was trying to do. However, he always felt that something was missing. He was obviously a good card, so why did he play it so badly? Woolen cloth? As for the scene where the cunning rabbit is killed and the lackey is cooked, is it necessary to fight like this?
"Damn, what kind of dog court is this!" Xu Fan was furious: "The soldiers are protecting their homes and the country, but these civil servants are trying every means to kill them. Aren't they afraid of divine punishment?"
"God's punishment?" Xu Maocai sneered: "If there was heaven's punishment, then Dayan wouldn't have to die so many soldiers!"
Xu Fan and Xu Que remained silent, both of them understood what their father meant.
"Okay, let's talk about that letter next." Xu Maocai looked at Xu Fan.
"Brother, you have the most evil ideas, and you also wrote that letter. Just tell us, what are your plans?" Although Xu Fan was angry at the moment, he knew that his current strength was not enough for those in the court to see. of……
Xu Maocai and Liu Bo had strange expressions. They thought they would discuss future matters with Xu Fan when he came back, but Xu Fan asked Xu Que directly.
Xu Que exhaled a breath and slowly told the information he had heard in the capital...
After hearing Xu Que's story, Xu Maocai and Uncle Liu were shocked. Although they were reminded in the letter, they never expected that the emperor would do such a stupid thing!
"Que'er, if you are asked to lead the Xu family now, what are you going to do?" Xu Maocai looked at Xu Que curiously.
"Now that they have fallen out, we don't have to endure it. However, my eldest brother and I still have to take the test for merit. After all, there is no shortcut in the road to literature." Xu Que said.
"How to fight back?" Uncle Liu asked.
"Break his rules and kill him!" Xu Que said with a cold look in his eyes.
"You want to ban it?" Xu Fan looked at Xu Que in shock.
"Haha..." Xu Que laughed: "Brother, even if you give me an emperor, I don't want to be an emperor. That position is too tiring. I might as well live my whole life in a leisurely way."
Hearing Xu Que's answer, Xu Maocai and the other three were startled. None of them expected that Xu Que could see so clearly!
"How do you want to break the rules, young master? How do you want to kill the opponent?" Liu Bo continued to ask.
"The Way of Shang can replace the original operating rules. As for how to kill them, I haven't thought about this issue yet. After all, we don't know any of these vassal kings!" Xu Que explained with a smile and spread his hands.
"The way of business?"
Xu Maocai and the three of them looked at each other in confusion. They had no idea what Xu Que meant by this.
"Uncle Liu, you are in charge of the affairs of the family. I would like to ask, how much money does the family have?" Xu Que looked at Uncle Liu formally.
Xu Que was very unfamiliar with Uncle Liu, but judging from his father's words and deeds, this old man was anything but simple!
"In addition to the servants, there are more than 70 retired veterans to support in the mansion. Although the second master has taken care of things in the capital, there is still a surplus in the mansion, which should be around 5,000 taels." Liu Bo said.
"These are for you. I will give you some drawings later, and you can help me buy materials and find craftsmen." Xu Que took out a stack of banknotes from his arms and gave a few to Uncle Liu at random.
Seeing so many banknotes, Uncle Liu looked at Xu Maocai.
Seeing Uncle Liu's surprised look, Xu Maocai stroked his short beard and smiled.
In fact, Xu Maocai was very shocked before, but when he heard that Xu Que sold a marriage certificate for six thousand taels, he instantly became extremely calm.
"The talent of the young master is indeed not inferior to that of the eldest master." Uncle Liu praised respectfully.
Xu Que didn't say anything, just smiled "haha".
But Xu Fan was extremely embarrassed. How could he have the confidence to compare with his younger brother? His poems are all of the highest quality, and his lyrics have opened up a new avenue of literature...
