Strictly speaking, Jianye is not qualified as the capital of a country.
In other words, it is relatively shabby.
Because it has been using the original old city wall since Sun Quan became emperor until now.
Some places have even become dilapidated and dilapidated.
After all, Jianye's palace was expanded from the original old general's mansion.
The wood and stone were demolished from the palace in Wuchang and transported to Jianye by water for secondary use.
This is not the case with the Jianye City Wall - of course, it would be wrong to say that it has not been expanded.
But the expansion part is not to build a new city wall, but to just surround it with fences and serve as a city wall.
So to see whether a person's status in Jianye City is high or not, just look at where he lives.
Live in a newly carved out part of town, surrounded by fences.
Needless to say, they are either common people at the bottom or relatives of the soldiers.
And further inside, those who live on the edge of the original old city are families with some wealth.
The innermost streets near the palace are basically the residences of dignitaries.
The closer you are to the palace, the higher your position.
Of course, there are not exceptions.
For example, there is a house in a certain alley on Yuan Road. Although it looks like the front door is tall, but if you look closely, you can see that there are no servants coming in and out of the high-ranking family, and there is no buzz of people.
Not to mention the crowds of guests and carriages and horses.
No one was walking in front of the door, and the main and small doors were closed tightly, making it seem quite deserted.
The sun has not yet passed its zenith, and the slanting sunlight shines down. Where the light and darkness intersect, dust can be seen flying quietly.
The paint on the doorposts at the entrance of the house has peeled off in many places, and looks a bit mottled under the light.
"Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding..."
A horse bell rang in the distance.
A carriage gradually drove over from the distance of Luxiang.
The sound of horse bells comes from the bells on the necks of the horses pulling the carts.
The outer wall of the carriage is not carved with complicated patterns, but under the sunlight, the faintly reflected dark red color shows that the wood used to build the carriage is of extraordinary quality.
Not to mention that this is Jianye and this is Jiangdong.
The land south of the Yangtze River was already short of horses. As the Three Kingdoms continued to stand in power, the Wei State in the north strictly prohibited war horses from flowing into the south.
Wu's horses became increasingly scarce.
Not to mention that in the past few years, even Wei itself has begun to lack horses.
Although Ji Han now supplies war horses to Wu, they are for military use.
Not for civilian use.
Among the people in Jiangdong, bullock carts are now popular.
The dignitaries in Jianye City may be willing to pay a high price to buy one, two, three or four fine horses from the Han Dynasty to show off.
But it is absolutely impossible to use these precious horses to pull carts.
Most of the people who can ride in this kind of carriage are people with hands and eyes that are as big as the sky and money as dirt.
Therefore, it is not surprising that such a low-key, luxurious and connotative carriage suddenly appeared in front of the front door of this down-to-earth family. It was not surprising that some of the surprised and even horrified looks came out of the cracks in the door.
Not to mention that there were several carriages carrying gifts behind this carriage.
The uncovered bundles of Sichuan brocade and woolen fabrics, the exquisite wine jars separated by burlap, and the oil-paper bags with the characteristics of Han brown sugar packaging, the unknown wooden box but you can tell at a glance that it contains good things...
Every car is packed to the brim, leaving no room for anything.
Although this area is not a place where the top powerful people live, the people who can buy real estate here are at least big and respectable people.
But once these carts of gifts were laid out, they had already reached the point where these people would be jealous.
"Mr. Lang, we're here."
Under the incredulous gaze of the peepers, the coachman stopped the carriage firmly in front of the most unlikely house.
Then he shouted respectfully into the car.
The carriage door was opened, and a gentleman in brocade robes got out.
Then, the lady who was secretly observing let out an uncontrollable exclamation.
Without him, this gentleman is really too eye-catching.
Not only is his appearance extremely handsome, but he also looks even more graceful and luxurious when paired with a decent brocade robe.
He is not a young man in his twenties who is full of vigor, but a young uncle who has matured and experienced, knows how to be restrained but cannot hide his damn charm.
The little uncle who is between young and middle-aged, at the peak of his youth and autumn.
While walking slowly and calmly towards the side door, there were many more women's eyes in the cracks of the door, looking brightly at this side.
Just as he raised his hand to knock on the door, the side door was already opened.
It was obvious that the concierge of this family couldn't sit still with such a show of force in front of his house.
Until the moment when the other party stretched out his hand to knock on the door, he couldn't believe that the other party was really looking for his master's house.
"May I ask this gentleman, who are you looking for?"
"Please inform me that Mi Zhao, a junior from the same clan, is here to visit General Mi."
Mi Zhao said and handed over a greeting card.
When the concierge heard the other party announcing his home address, he was obviously stunned.
But after he hesitated for a while, he accepted the invitation with some disbelief, as if until this moment, he still couldn't believe the facts in front of him.
"Please, sir, please wait, wait a moment."
The concierge stuttered back, then immediately turned around and ran inside.
After a while, a gray-haired old man ran out regardless of his manners. Before the person arrived, the voice came first:
"Good nephew, but good nephew in front of you?"
Mi Zhao looked at this clan uncle who was only in his fifties and already looked senile. Even though he was determined, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
"My nephew, I've met my uncle."
The old man walked quickly to Mi Zhao, and suddenly seemed to remember something. He suddenly stopped, turned around and covered his face and said:
"Where did my good nephew come from? Our family has no shame in seeing you again. If you want to come here to accuse me, please just open your mouth and scold me. I will never say a word in return."
When Mi Zhao heard this, a smile spread across his face, making people feel like he was taking a breath of spring breeze:
"What do you say, uncle? As a descendant, how can I dare to speak lightly about what happened to my ancestor (i.e. Mi Fang)? I came here this time to visit my uncle on your orders."
Mi Fang had been dead for many years at this time, and the old man in front of him was Mi Fang's son.
He is also the cousin of Mi Wei, Mi Zhao's father.
When the old man heard Mi Zhao's words, he turned around hesitantly and looked at Mi Zhao doubtfully:
"Is this true? Doesn't your father resent our family?"
Mi Zhao shook his head:
"My lord has said that as a descendant, I dare not comment on the grudges between my parents."
When the old man heard this, he couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh:
"If I could hear this sentence before I was alive, I would feel ashamed and hate it until I die!"
As a son of a human being, the old man is naturally not qualified to say anything about his father Mi Fang's actions.
But for the victim, another member of the Mi family, no matter how much you blame your own adults, it is not too much.
Because it was Mi Fang's actions that caused Mi Zhu to die of illness due to shame and hatred.
When Mi Zhao heard this, his expression remained unchanged, and even the smile on his face did not change at all:
"Zhao and his uncle haven't seen each other for decades, and now Zhao has traveled thousands of miles to come. Could it be that my uncle wants to reject his nephew from outside the house and not invite Zhao into the house to talk to him?"
When the old man heard this, he quickly slapped his forehead and said apologetically:
"I'm so rude! Alas, in these years, I have never had a guest in my house, and I have even forgotten how to treat guests. Don't blame me, my dear nephew, please, please come quickly!"
"Thank you uncle. This is a small gift from my nephew. Please accept it."
The old man took the gift list from Mi Zhao and just scanned the top few lines before his expression suddenly changed.
His hands were shaking violently and uncontrollably, like Parkinson's syndrome.
Then he subconsciously handed it back as if he were holding a ball of live coals, and said somewhat incoherently:
"This, no, it's too much, too expensive, our Mi family can't afford it..."
Mi Zhao seemed to have anticipated the other party's reaction. He stretched out his hand to block it:
"Uncle, this is a greeting gift from my nephew. I can't write two characters in one stroke. Why is my uncle so indifferent?"
The old man couldn't resist, and couldn't help but look outside the house. When the fully loaded carriage was reflected in his eyes, his breath suddenly paused.
After all, money moves people’s hearts!
Even when adults are alive, they are often discriminated against and no one wants to associate with them.
After the death of the master, the Mi family became even more neglected and was likely to decline day by day.
If it weren't for the fact that he had the title of general bestowed upon him by His Majesty himself and could receive some salary to live on, I'm afraid this mansion would have been sold.
Now that I have been trapped for a long time, how can I not be distracted and unable to control myself when I first see a gift that even a wealthy family would envy?
However, the Mi family had thousands of children at that time and had assets worth hundreds of millions. When the old man was young, he had personally experienced it and even enjoyed it himself.
So he quickly recovered from the shock, exhaled a long breath with some emotion, and forced a smile to Mi Zhao:
"The ceremony is as heavy as a mountain, and it makes me feel uneasy, ashamed, ashamed! My dear nephew, please come inside."
"Uncle please come first."
The gifts outside the door will be carried into the house by servants. The two of them walked inside together, and they could still hear some words.
"Did your wise nephew ever become an official in Han Dynasty?"
"Returning to my uncle, he was recommended by the Grand Sima and is now serving as the 'Transporter Cao of the State of Wu and the Customs Capital of Jingzhou'. In fact, he was sent to the State of Wu as envoy two months ago."
"It's just that I'm busy with business, and I have to travel between Jianye and Nanjun, so I don't have any free time. I have less business recently, so I have no time to come to visit. I hope my uncle won't be blamed for the late arrival."
From a distance, I saw the old man waving his hands repeatedly:
"Isn't it strange? How could it be? He puts his public affairs before his private affairs. It can be said that the good nephew has forgotten his family while he is in office!"
Then I heard him ask again:
"It's just that this 'Transporter Cao and Jingzhou Customs Capital', what kind of official position is it, why have I never heard of it?"
"Oh, it's not a high-level position. It's just to monitor all kinds of materials transported by the Han Dynasty to the Kingdom of Wu, and to review whether each caravan has violated regulations..."
As for the Jingzhou Customs Capital, it is naturally responsible for reviewing the taxes at various checkpoints in Jingzhou - after all, this is related to Wu's foreign debt mortgage.
But it’s hard to go into detail about this, so as not to irritate some people in Jiangdong.
But despite this, the old man's body was shaken violently, he stopped involuntarily, his eyes widened, and he looked at Mi Zhao:
"What do you mean by the good nephew, the good nephew is in charge of the goods transported from the Han Dynasty to the Wu Dynasty?"
Mi Zhao coughed:
"It's just monitoring, checking and so on. Of course, when uncle says he's in charge, it's actually part of the control."
When the old man heard this, his face suddenly twitched!
When he saw the mountain of property outside the door, he was just distracted.
But when he heard about Mi Zhao's official position, he really wanted to...
Enter someone's mother!
He even had an idea involuntarily:
I remember back then, my uncle (namely Mi Zhu) and your Excellency invested all their wealth to finance Liu Bei.
If you had not surrendered the Wu people when you were in Jingzhou, based on the status of the Mi family in the Han Dynasty, how could our family be much worse than my nephew's family now?
The cruel reality is that my uncle's lineage has received overwhelming rewards, but my own lineage... alas!
As soon as he thought of this, the old man's heart suddenly felt like a knife being twisted!
This rare wealth in the world was lost like this!
He just wanted to stomp his feet and beat his chest.
"uncle?"
Mi Zhao saw the old man's expression changing and his eyes dull, standing there motionless as if he was in a daze, so he couldn't help but asked worriedly.
The old man who was brought back to reality replied in a panic:
"Oh, oh, nothing, nothing, I just thought of something."
"Uncle, it's okay."
When he opened his legs again, the old man couldn't help but look back at the door, and then asked:
"Good nephew, I heard rumors in the early years that you were at odds with Na Feng and Feng Da Sima. Some even said that you were forced to run away from Nanzhong."
"Over the years, Feng Da Sima has become more and more powerful in the Han Dynasty. No one can compare with him, but there is no news about you. I also say..."
Mi Zhao smiled slightly:
"Uncle, this must be a rumor spread by someone with bad intentions. According to the current ranking of the Xinghan Association, there are eleven people. I am lucky to be able to call Da Sima my brother."
Xinghan will be ranked eleventh?
Can you still call Feng Da Sima brother?
The old man's face twitched again.
No wonder!
No wonder he can be so generous.
If so, if so, my family is now a big man, I wonder, well, my son can follow his nephew and call Feng Da Sima brother, right?
The old man's intestines were so painful that they turned blue.
The two of them drifted apart, and their words gradually became inaudible.
By the time Mi Zhao came out of Defu again, the sun was already turning to the west.
Moreover, all the main men in the house were sent out of the house in person.
One can imagine how warmly he received this visit.
After the two sides said goodbye, the coachman who had been waiting outside the house came up to him:
"Mr. Lang?"
"Well, let's go back."
Mi Zhao nodded slightly, nodded again to the Mi family who were still standing at the door of the mansion, and then boarded the carriage.
The wheels turned and started to drive towards the outside of Luxiang.
The entire journey was silent.
It wasn't until he returned to the hotel that the coachman, who had the same surname as Mi Zhao, couldn't help but ask Mi Zhao who was getting off the car:
"Langjun, that family has done such harm to our ancestors, why did Langjun still come to visit them and give them such a heavy gift?"
Mi Zhao looked at the aggrieved coachman and smiled slowly:
"It's precisely because their family caused such harm to my father, that's why I gave them such heavy gifts!"
The driver didn't know why: "Ah? Why is this? What's the reason?"
Mi Zhao walked towards the building and said casually:
"Did you ever hear a saying?"
"What?"
"Every man is innocent, but he is guilty of carrying a jade."
As he spoke, he stopped and added:
"Perhaps you will understand better if you are a childish person holding on to gold and showing off in the market."
After saying that, he continued walking inside.
I am from the same family as them, and I miss their old friendship and cannot bear to see their family in poverty, so I give them some financial aid.
As for whether they have the ability to keep those things, or even what kind of experiences they will suffer because of those things, what does it have to do with me?
I'm not from Wu.
"ah!"
The coachman who handed over the carriage to the slave quickly followed him and said with a smile on his face:
"Lang Jun, I understand, you are..."
"Help them."
"Yes, yes, you are helping them."
After entering the courtyard, Mi Zhao continued:
"Actually, there is a more important meaning."
He raised his head and slowly looked northwest:
"Lixin."
"Lixin?"
"Yes, establish the trust of the great Han. If a great Han can treat traitors like this, let alone surrender, are you right?"
"Surrender?"
The coachman became more and more confused.
Mi Zhao smiled strangely: "When Master Wang arrives, there will naturally be people who surrender."
"The more trust you have, the heavier it is, and the bigger it is, the more people you will surrender to."
"In my brother's words, it's a united front."
The coachman became more and more puzzled:
"What a fairy like Feng Da Sima said is beyond the comprehension of a villain."
At this time, a servant came over to report:
"Mr. Lu, the school official, Lu Zhongshu, is here to visit."
Mi Zhao burst out laughing and said to the coachman:
"Look, another person with united front value is here."
Then he said to his servant:
"Take Lu Zhongshu to the front hall and tell him that I will go see him immediately after I finish changing."
As soon as Mi Zhao entered the front hall after changing her clothes, Lu Yi immediately stood up to greet her.
Seeing this, Mi Zhao quickly put on a smile and apologized:
"Oh, Lu Zhongshu, I just returned to Jianye from Nanjun yesterday, and today I went to visit relatives and friends. I didn't have time to go to the mansion to visit Lu Zhongshu. What a sin, what a sin!"
"What a crime, not guilty, a certain person came to the door to express his gratitude to Mr. Mi Lang!"
Lu Yi took two quick steps forward and took Mi Langjun's arm enthusiastically.
He couldn't help but be less enthusiastic. After all, the man in front of him was specially sent by Feng Dasima to coordinate the exchange of materials between the Han Dynasty and Wu Dynasty.
This is a person related to the income of the school government.
Not to mention, Mi Langjun did him a big favor a few days ago, a big favor.
"Mi Langjun," Lu Yi sat down next to Mi Zhao. After taking a look outside to make sure there was no one there, he lowered his voice and said excitedly:
"Have you ever heard of Mi Langjun over in Nanjun? Your Majesty has indeed granted the title of king to the fourth prince!"
As he spoke, he extended his thumb and said gratefully:
"Thanks to Mr. Mi Lang for teaching me this step!"
Mi Langjun waved his hand quickly, "This is not my fault, but what Grand Sima taught me."
"Yes, yes, the Great Sima's plan is unpredictable!"
Lu Yi quickly agreed, with a hint of awe unknowingly in his tone:
"Da Sima is far away in Chang'an. Not only can he help us expose Lu Xun's harm in front of Your Majesty."
"And now he can help the school government plan to regain its momentum. I admire him deeply. I think that Da Sima is really a man of heaven!"
Great foresight, Da Sima is indeed far-sighted!
Then he glanced at Mi Zhao and added:
"Of course, Mr. Mi Lang is in charge of the coordination, and I am extremely grateful."
(End of chapter)
