Liangcheng is not called Liangcheng, but Yongzhou City.
The reason why some people call this Liangcheng is because of the word "sadness". The world is desolate, and people are also desolate.
Anyone who is assigned from Beijing must pass through Liangcheng. If no one from Beijing catches up to Liangcheng, it is 100% in Liangcheng.
Distribution is a type of prison sentence, and there are many types of distribution, including work and rest, and exile in the army, which are divided into two types: life-long and permanent.
Life is a life of hard labor until death.
It will always be a disaster for future generations, and all future generations will have to do hard labor.
Shentu Ming is a semi-permanent soldier. He will first serve as a laborer and wait for three years to see his performance. If he performs well, he will be sent to the army.
At this time, outside Liangcheng, Shen Tuming was sitting under an ancient locust tree like a zombie, wearing a torn prison uniform and straw sandals. There was no trace of the demeanor of the son of the former Prime Minister. His already thin body, sallow complexion and slim appearance Like withered.
Shentu Gang, who originally only had a gray beard, now has a full head of white hair and a long beard that reaches past his chest.
In just half a month, Shen Tugang seemed to be on the verge of death, but he did not wear prison uniform. It was just that he had to "accompany" his elder son, so he could only follow him on foot.
One old and one disabled, they walked for more than 400 miles and suffered a lot.
The two Jingzhao government officials carried baggage and long sticks, and never interacted with Shentu and his son along the way. This was a taboo.
Normally, it would be the Ministry of Punishment officers who would send the assigned persons to designated places, such as the northern and southern border passes, the East China Sea, the Western Regions, etc. Later, the Ministry of Punishment "sent" Shen Tuming's case to the Jingzhao Mansion, and the errand of escorting the assigned persons would have to be Jingzhao Mansion will do it.
"Son."
Shen Tu Gang, who was already exhausted, sat tremblingly next to Shen Tu Ming, and handed the water bag full of sand and smell to Shen Tu Ming.
"Drink some water. Dad is going to look for Zhizhou. Zhizhou Feng Nian was Dad's classmate back then."
"Don't go into the city." Shen Tuming turned his head and looked straight at Shen Tugang with his lifeless eyes: "My child can't walk anymore. He can't even take a step. Don't go into the city. Go back. Go back." In Beijing, looking for friends and old friends..."
The weak Shen Tuming stretched out his hand and grasped Shen Tugang's sleeve tightly: "Father, you go back, beg for mercy, kowtow to the emperor for mercy, the emperor will forgive you and let you return to the post of Prime Minister... No, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs , No, even if you are the left minister or the right minister of the Ministry of official affairs, you can return to the court, return to the court, as long as you return to the court..."
Shen Tugang kept shaking his head.
Shen Tuming begged, pleading one after another, as if Shen Tugang returned to the capital to find Boss Zhou to admit his mistake, and everything would disappear.
Perhaps Shen Tuming knew deep down in his heart how ridiculous this was, but he was just unwilling and unable to accept this fact.
Shen Tuming suddenly coughed violently, and his already bloodless face became extremely pale.
Shen Tu Gang was in tears. Whenever he thought he had shed tears, he would still cry softly.
With trembling hands supporting the desolate sand, Shen Tu Gang stood up, looked at Shen Tu Ming, and smiled.
"Okay, Ming'er, you are here waiting to be your father."
Shen Tu Gang knelt down again, as if he had coaxed Shen Tu Ming to sleep when he was a child, and gently patted the latter's back.
Shen Tu Ming, who was already exhausted, looked ecstatic and wanted to say something subconsciously. Shen Tu Gang showed a fatherly smile and shook his head.
"My father knows that when I go back, Ming'er will have a rest. When my father puts on his official robe, he will send an official sedan to escort you back to the capital and back to the Zhuguo Mansion where we, father and son, belong."
Shen Tuming showed a silly smile, as if he had really returned to Shentu Mansion and turned into the son of the Prime Minister who everyone respected. He smiled foolishly, his eyelids slowly closed, his breathing gradually became weaker, and he leaned against the old man. Fell asleep in the locust tree.
Shen Tu Gang's trembling and skinny fingers took care of Shen Tu Ming's long, disheveled hair. He burst into tears and tried not to make a sound. He used all his strength to tear off the damaged corners of his clothes and tied Shen Tu Ming's hair meticulously. .
This originally effortless thing seemed to take all of Shen Tugang's energy and took a long time.
Standing up, Shen Tu Gang took out a letter from his arms, a letter that was already wet with sweat.
There are only a few lines of writing on the letter paper, and it is signed, "Yidaowei Xiaowei, Han You."
The letter was given by the Jingzhao Mansion official who escorted them when they left the capital.
Shen Tugang had not read it, he did not want to read it, and he had guessed what it was about, but he did not tear it up or throw it away.
This was the first time he opened the letter and saw its contents for the first time.
Shen Tugang's bloodshot eyes could no longer see clearly. He leaned very close and read word by word until he saw the signature and Han You's signature like a dog crawling.
"This kid, even his handwriting is so ugly..."
Shen Tu Gang showed a smile again, a smile that Shen Tu Gang only showed when Han You said he was going to deal with the Ma family in the palace. The smile was a little contemptuous, a little helpless, and also a little bit worried. Worry about Han You, Worried that Han You, a stupid young man, would become the dead soul of the Ma brothers.
At that time, he was willing to support the younger generations.
But at that time, he thought that his support would make the younger generations respectful to him, and he was the only one who followed suit.
"Yes, the words are written with a pen that can penetrate the back of the paper, but the heart is ugly. If the heart is not ugly, it doesn't matter if the words are uglier."
Shen Tugang laughed at himself, tore the letter into pieces, threw it into the air, flew far away, and waved to the government officials.
One of the government officials ran over, bowed and lowered his hands.
"When you go back, remember to tell your young master, Lao Chan, to thank him. Thank him for leaving a dead end for Lao Chan."
The officer was relieved. He knew what Shen Tugang was going to do, and he also knew that after doing it, he and his companions would no longer have to suffer from the pain of running around.
"Don't worry, sir. Shao Yin gave the younger one a lot of money. The matter is settled. The younger one..."
Shen Tugang interrupted: "Excuse me, sir. Tell that boy that I am angry with him and angry that he got angry late. If I had met him in the previous dynasty, maybe I would have been... that's all, that's all." Go ahead, I don’t want others to see your ugly appearance.”
The yamen servant cupped his hands, turned around and ran away. After looking at each other, the two walked away side by side.
When the two of them stood half a mile away and could hardly see the figure, Shen Tu Gang slowly took off the belt from his waist and gently put it on the sleeping Shen Tu Ming's neck.
Shen Tugang tightly wrapped the bandage around his wrists, with his back to the locust tree and the old Sophora Queen's biological son. Then he closed his eyes in pain and used all his strength to wrap the bandage.
Shen Tuming, who couldn't breathe, suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes were blood red, and a miserable howl came from his throat.
Shen Tuming opened his mouth wide, but he couldn't pronounce the word "father" no matter what.
He didn't even know that it was his "father" who wanted to hang him. When his eyes completely lost the color of life, he didn't see the man he trusted the most in his life and who he felt was the most stalwart and omnipotent man.
For a long, long time, Shen Tu Gang, who was almost exhausted, burst into tears. He didn't even have the courage to take a look at Shen Tu Ming's body. While crying, he threw the bandage on the locust tree and slowly stepped on the bluestone next to it. .
There was no bluestone there, so the two government officials just walked over without sitting down. They just stood for a while and there was a bluestone.
The bluestone was kicked away. Shen Tugang didn't struggle and just closed his eyes.
Until it became increasingly difficult to breathe, Shen Tu Gang began to struggle violently. He was not nostalgic for life, but he finally mustered up the courage to take a look at Shen Tu Ming's body.
The bluestone had been kicked away, and Shen Tu Gang's struggle became weaker and weaker, until he slowly closed his eyes, and everything in front of him fell into darkness.
Darkness becomes light again.
In the light, he saw himself, the high-spirited scholar, diving into the huge whirlpool in the capital.
Throwing himself into the quagmire of officialdom, Shen Tu Gang kept getting lost and touched many indescribable things, like swords, like bones, like conscience, like justice, like filth, like blood and tears, and more like regret. , these things are all mixed in the quagmire, mixed in the quagmire called officialdom.
Shen Tugang saw himself struggling continuously. The more he struggled, the more painful he became. Until he stopped struggling and just went with the flow, he gradually became more relaxed. Slowly, his years disappeared and he grew old. Until finally, he was in the center of the quagmire. Wearing a spotless dark red official robe, he seemed to be shrouded in golden light.
The official robe turned into blood, the skin in the official robe slowly rotted, and the bones in the skin turned into fly ash.
Shen Tugang, courtesy name Shouxin, was born in Jingxian County, Yongcheng. He was a Jinshi in the seventh year of Longfeng. His official career was in four dynasties, with three rises and three falls. In the first year of Xingde, he was appointed as the Minister of the Province of Zhou Dynasty.
Today in Liangcheng, the corpses of those who died were buried under the yellow sand. The father and son were buried together three feet below. Everything during his lifetime disappeared.
