Waves at the end of Han Dynasty

Chapter 24 The Wise

Compared with the previous floods in history, this year's floods are actually not too big, but for the people in the affected areas, the sky is falling...

This time, the eruption was mainly concentrated in Yanzhou. Within a few days after the big river broke its embankment, the flood quickly soaked most of the Zhuanghe in Yanzhou with sediment and stones. These grains that were about to mature and could be harvested soon could have been It took at least a year to feed the people on this land, but it disappeared in an instant.

Life is so fragile...

The life of the gentry Haoyou has hardly changed much. Although there are more or less losses, the food accumulated over the years in the warehouses of various manors is enough to ensure that they will not be greatly affected.

And after the famine occurs, they can obtain additional land and labor in various ways, which is not a loss in the long run.

It is very difficult for the civilians at the bottom. Not many people died because of the flood, and the problem of survival after the flood recedes is the mountain that weighs on them.

At first, each household still had some food in stock, and everyone started to go out to find food, learn hunting from hunters, catch fish in the river, dig wild vegetables in the wild, and even dig bark to find "Avalokitesvara soil"...

Everyone is struggling to wait for a turnaround. After all, if they can survive this year, they will successfully keep their land and huts, and also keep their limited freedom...

At this time, as long as the imperial court can effectively give them some relief, the vast majority of people can survive, but it has been almost a month, and no food or materials for disaster relief have been sent to Yanzhou.

Refugees in the disaster area hardly count on the court, because they also know in their consciousness that those nobles don't regard them as human beings at all, and they don't care too much about their life and death.

But when they gradually found that it was difficult for them to hold on, panic began to spread, and changes gradually occurred...

----

Although Yingchuan County, Yuzhou was not affected by the disaster this time, it was also affected by some refugees...

In the back hall of Xunshi Yingchuan Academy in Yangzhai County, Guo Jia raised his wine glass and looked at Xun Yu who was burying his head in the letter and writing a reply with a knife. He smiled and drank it all by himself: "Good wine, It is a treasure of the Xunshi Academy, it can be called Yingchuan's masterpiece!"

"If you're drunk, go back earlier, I don't have time to accompany you today." Xun Yu said without raising his head, and he didn't care about Guo Jia's flattery.

"This...you want to catch up just now, don't worry, Feng Xiao is addicted to this wine, so he won't disturb Brother Wen Ruo." Guo Jia smiled awkwardly and quickly recovered. Wine attitude.

"You've disturbed me! Today I'm going to stay up all night again. Come here, add some candles, and hand over this slip to Xiuruo." Xun Yu finally raised his head, and then began to call for people to deal with matters.

"It turns out that Xiu Ruo is still here, why not call him to help out?"

"He's too busy... don't ask, it's all arranged by my uncle."

"Hey, it is said that the Xun family has the talents of Balong and Chengsanruo. There are also many talents in the family, and there are countless disciples and students. How can it be so difficult!"

"I can't tell you about this matter, don't mention it again!"

"Hmm... good wine... According to your expectation, His Majesty may accomplish something this time?" Guo Jia said expressionlessly, as if he was not talking about something big.

"You... nonsense...you...how did you know that?" The knife in Xun Yu's hand suddenly fell, and he was about to deny it subconsciously. He suddenly looked up and saw Guo Jia staring at him seriously. I could only ask discouragedly.

"It's not difficult to guess. Don't forget that Xun's ancestral precepts are known." Guo Jia calmly replied after another drink.

"Remember not to say anything, if... you and I will lose our lives!"

"I hope to drink more good wine to comfort my life, and I will definitely not seek death. Just, I want to ask how sure Wen Ruo is?" Guo Jia drank another glass, and the hall was suddenly silent.

"I don't know, but knowing what to do must be better than letting others do." Xun Yu lowered his head and pondered for a long time, then slowly straightened up and said.

"This argument is also reasonable. The Yanzhou catastrophe, those... what have they done? Now that the refugees have risen, there are also Yingchuan!"

"These lizards are loyal, filial and benevolent when they open their mouths, but the advantage is that they don't care about them. One grain of the government's disaster relief food can be delivered to the victims... Therefore, no matter the outcome, this must be done!" Xun Yuyue continued. , the more firm the tone.

Since the elites of the family gradually went to Luoyang in secret, he was ordered to take over the base camp of the Xun family in Yingchuan. Naturally, he was also able to get in touch with various information. Second year old.

"Forget it, Jia wants to travel and study, you and I cherish each other." Guo Jia looked at Xun Yu's clenched fist, sighed and said slowly.

"Why now?"

"When you are in the pot, you are drunk by yourself. If you jump out of the square, you may be able to wake up alone." Guo Jia picked up the jug on the side and poured another glass into the wine glass.

"I'm afraid it's not allowed in your clan..."

"Jia's lack of knowledge is of no benefit to the family, so he wants to travel far away alone, so he came to find a close friend to borrow some money." After Guo Jia finished speaking, regardless of Xun Yu's mouth that was opened wide in surprise, Guo Jia got up and saluted Xun Yu.

"You... you are not afraid... um... so you don't like it?"

"There are too many changes in this matter, and I can't see it clearly, so I went out to see more. If I can make friends with some heroes in the world, this life is not in vain. If... If it doesn't work, I can also find some retreats for us."

"So, your heart already has something in mind?"

"Not much to say, it's just that there are many heroes on the border at this time, and there are many people who admire them. In addition, there are also heroes in the Cao family in Qiao County. I want to see them in person... These are dragons and insects, and they all need to go in person. Close inspection."

"Hmm... Heroes of the world, eh... Heroes of the world, you know that such heroes will be born with countless bones!"

"So what?..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Mount Xian, north of Yicheng in Nanjun, Jingzhou, the mountains stretch for hundreds of miles and there is little farming, but there is also a well-known Lushan Academy. Its owner is Jingxiang Pang, more precisely, it should be Pang Degong.

The population of the Eastern Han Dynasty has increased sharply for many years, especially the northern Central Plains, which can be said to be extremely crowded. In addition, the low productivity of the Han Dynasty caused the shortage of living materials and means of production, which led to various problems. For these reasons, they began to gradually move south, and Jingzhou was one of the most popular choices.

Therefore, there are many gentry here, and the competition between the local gentry and the foreign gentry is fierce.In the end, the eight families of Pang, Cai, Huang, Kuai, Ma, Xiang, Yang, and Xi stood out. Of course, the most famous family is the Pang family.

In another time and space in later generations, Liu Biaoqi first entered Jingzhou, and after befriending the local gentry, he sent only two people, Pang Ji and Kuai Yue, as evidenced by the arrival of Zhang Hu, Chen Sheng and others who occupied Xiangyang.

The Pang family is at the head of the Jingxiang family. In addition to the family's years of accumulation and luck, it mainly relies on Pang Degong's status in Confucian classics, and the establishment of this academy has taught countless disciples over the years.

But Duke Pang De, as the patriarch of the Pang family, stayed in the academy almost all the time without going out, ignoring trivial affairs of the family.

He himself is the inheritance of Huang Lao, but he does not interfere or limit the content of his disciples' learning. Regarding academic differences, he is never arbitrary when discussing the facts, and he does not preach from time to time, but tries his best to let his disciples understand.

Of course, this is due to his lazy, casual and uncontested personality, but the more he is uncontested, the more he is praised, and now he is famous for a while.

Different from Yingchuan Academy, Pang Degong’s Academy was built in the mountains, with bamboo groves, streams, covered bridges and waterfalls, and winding paths leading to secluded places.

At this time, the late autumn in the south was still quite hot. Pang Dezheng was sitting in a bamboo pavilion by the waterfall to enjoy the cool air, and the attendant at the side held a cattail leaf fan and fanned him lightly. The surrounding was quiet and only the water was flowing. ll.

"Pang Gong... Pang Gong, let me wait and find it!" Suddenly several people came from a distance, breaking the surrounding environment.

"It turns out that Mr. Cai Gong and Mr. Shui Jing are visiting..." Mr. Pang De slowly opened his half-closed eyes, and when he saw the two of them, he arranged for his attendants to bring tea sets and serve them.

Cai Xi is the head of the current Cai family, and his reputation is far and wide.Sima Hui, a celebrity of the Sima family, known as Mr. Shui Jing, traveled to Jingxiang in his early years to study.Both are on good terms with Pound.

"This year, the world is changing and disasters are happening frequently. Has Mr. Pang heard about it?" After exchanging pleasantries and literary talents, Cai Xie got up and signaled his attendants to go away and said softly.

The Cai family is currently between the second-rate gentry and the third-rate gentry, and they are also sensitive to the recent turmoil in the Han Dynasty. After receiving some untrue news, they are also worried that they will lose the opportunity in the future, but they can't see the situation clearly, so Cai Xi came. The Pound Office hopes to get some clarification.

"Why did I not know about the change?" Mr. Pang De didn't take it seriously, and still sipped the tea soup slowly.

"Mr. Pang, don't talk and laugh. Although Mr. Pang doesn't go out, he knows all the affairs of the world. Now...Now that Xianbei invades the border, Shandong Dashui, and Tiangou are present. With all these things, how can Pang be the leader of Jingxiang? Don't you know?"

"Didn't we all discuss this matter a few days ago, why did Degui bring it up again today..."

"The tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop..."

"Let's not talk about it. I heard that Boyi is sick recently. I wonder if he's better?" Mr. Pang De really didn't want to continue this topic, so he asked Cai Xiong'er about his condition.

"Well, the dog has been weak since he was a child, and he has not been able to find the root cause of the disease, so he has no way of saying a complete cure. It is a labor of love for Mr. Pang. Bogui can't inherit the martial arts of his family and he likes the scriptures. It is really rare for Mr. Pang to teach him so carefully. "Speaking of the younger son, Cai Xi got up and gave a solemn salute to Duke Pound...

----

Not long after, Cai Xi and Sima Hui had no choice but to leave, because today, although they have been hinting and even expressing, the always easy-going and honest Mr. Pang De only perfunctory his questioning. He knew exactly what they were doing, and he also heard that Xun Shuang had written with Mr. Pang De many times, so he often came to him to find out what he said, but every time this matter was mentioned, Mr. Pound avoided talking about it...

Xun Shuang mentioned in Xun Shuang's letter that what the Xun family and that... were plotting, although they thought it was very difficult, but in fact, Mr. Pang De supported him, and he also promised to give practical help.

But just like the shallow-sighted people in the clan, for Cai Xi and the Cai family, Sima Hui, and even other Jingxiang gentry, Pang De felt that they could not stand on the same side as him in terms of their own interests. It is impossible to tell them.

As for the big Han at present, in fact, whether it is Xianbei or the flood, Pang Degong doesn't think it is a big deal. Xianbei may be more troublesome, but the court should have a lot of savings over the years and should be able to handle it.

Instead, the fundamental problem lies among the people, and it can be seen everywhere.

Decades of stability have resulted in a huge new population, but the country has not benefited, because most of these populations are controlled by the gentry, and this process is extremely bloody and dirty...

Of course, Lord Pang De is also one of them. Although he has never done this kind of thing himself, he can't guarantee that no one in the clan has done it... This is why he doesn't want to ask about trivial matters in the clan. bother.

Although General Longwei failed, he set an example for the people of the world. In addition to the warriors simply admiring his great achievements, more gentry saw his way of accumulating wealth and separatist rule...

The only advantage may be that the Han Dynasty did not discriminate against business so much from top to bottom, but the roads to windfall profits he invented were controlled by a small number of people, and it was difficult for ordinary gentry to get in touch, so they could only be in the land they were good at. , The field of population has intensified.

Especially since Liu Hong came to power, selling officials under the guise is tantamount to encouraging officials to collect money in disguise...

As a result, the people at the bottom are in an extremely difficult living environment. Although the big man was basically stable in general before this year, the people in general are in dire straits, ranging from individual oppression and bloodshed incidents to the collectives of entire clans, villages and counties. Rebellions happened frequently, and there were not too many refugees from all over the country who became bandits, gathered for rebellion, or were captured by the gentry and became slaves.

But these were all covered up by a sentence of general smoothness, which did not arouse the vigilance of the upper echelon. Only a few wise men such as Mr. Pang De paid great attention to these issues, and once asked his son Pang Shanmin to go to various places to investigate the actual situation in the name of studying abroad.

The information he got made Duke Pound even more frightened...

But although Mr. Pang De knew that the serious illness was difficult to cure, he couldn't think of a better way. After thinking for a long time alone, he sighed and ordered his attendants to return to the family manor and ask Pang Ji to bring dozens of selected academy students to come...

"...I hope it can be broken or established."

(End of this chapter)