My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 234 Credit
As Lu Yi and his party gradually approached the Eastern Capital.

The situation got better along the way.

Hebei suffered from the Xianbei for more than half a year, its industries withered, and its people scattered.

Along the way, we saw many skeletons among the ridges of fields that had been abandoned for many days and were overgrown with weeds beside the official road.

Sometimes a fresh corpse will cause a fight between wild dogs.

Except for the fortresses of the noble families, most of the other villages were deserted.

Among them, Bingzhou, Lu Yi's hometown, and Youzhou, a fellow sufferer, were the most miserable.

It is true that nine out of ten houses are empty and no rooster crows within a hundred miles.

After arriving in Jizhou, the situation improved slightly.

Most of the cities in Jizhou survived the fall, and the Xianbei did not dare to go deep into the wilderness to cause trouble, so many villages were preserved.

But every household had a white flag, which showed that they had obviously suffered a lot from the disaster.

The tragic situations along the way diluted the joy in the hearts of Lu Yi and others who were about to be rewarded with honors.

Everyone became a little silent.

"The Rong and Di people were so violent that Hebei was devastated. It made people sad when they heard about it and wept when they saw it!"

When Zhang Xun saw another corpse torn apart by wild dogs, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"I only regret that I didn't kill all the barbarian dogs this time, and failed to achieve complete success!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Bu snorted coldly, pulled out a sharp arrow from the quiver behind him, and with a flick of the bowstring, the lightning-fast arrow pinned the most ferocious wild dog among the fighting dogs to the ground, scaring the rest of the wild dogs away in fear.

"In the past, during the reign of Emperor Wu, the generals and cavalry generals were so powerful that they frightened the barbarians and spread their power abroad, attracting all nations to come and pay tribute."

"The current imperial court is dark and corrupt, only knowing how to exploit the people instead of governing the country, which has led to the rampage of the barbarians."

"Brother, I don't know whether it is a blessing or a curse to be summoned to the court this time!"

As if he was moved by the scene, even Gao Shun, who was usually taciturn, expressed his feelings for the first time.

"It's a blessing, not a curse, it's a curse that cannot be avoided!"

Lu Yi, however, remained calm. He patted Gao Shun on the shoulder to comfort him.

"Although Luoyang is the imperial capital, magnificent and full of nobles, it is bound by many restrictions and deep ties, and it does not belong to us!"

Lu Yi looked at Luoyang from afar. Although he could not see it, he seemed as if he could still see it.

"Bingzhou is a bitter and cold place on the frontier."

"But the advantage is that I am free and can let go and do it."

"It is the foundation of our foundation..."

Lu Yi could hear dissatisfaction with the court from the words of several people.

But Lu Yi didn't know why, even though he thought the same in his heart, he didn't feel much resentment, but instead took it for granted.

Perhaps it's because he is familiar with history.

Or maybe it was because of the ambition hidden deep in his heart.

After all, chaos is a ladder. If the court's politics are clear and the seas and rivers are peaceful, he will naturally have no chance to realize his ambitions.

"Brother, what you said is very true." Gao Shun's eyes lit up when he heard it.

As Lu Yi walked along, he seemed to have foresight every time, and every action he took was always the most correct decision in retrospect.

With Lu Yi at the helm, all they had to do was row the boat hard.

"This time, we were able to win the first place in the war thanks to my brother-in-law's planning!"

Zhang Xun couldn't help but sigh when he heard this.

"When I was young, I always felt ashamed that my reputation came after Sixiao's."

"Now it seems that the name of Sixiao is well deserved!"

"I have never believed in others, but now I have deep faith in Sixiao. From now on, I will follow Sixiao's lead!"

"Hey...you're quite good at talking..." Upon hearing this, Lu Bu smiled and pointed at Zhang Xun.

"Someone is still the smartest. I always go east when my eldest brother goes east, and I go west when my eldest brother goes west. This is what we call real intelligence!"

"You..." Lu Yi couldn't help but smile when he saw this.

It seems that because of his appearance, history has deviated slightly.

I don’t know if the fickle and greedy Lu Bu in history is really gone forever.

Or it is only when facing Lu Yi that Lu Bu will be so loyal.

No matter what, having a younger brother who supports him wholeheartedly, Lu Yi always feels warm and reliable in his heart.

After walking for a few more days, the tall and magnificent city wall of Luoyang came into sight in the distance.

The fields on both sides of the official road were not as desolate as those in Hebei, but were lush and green with many crops.

It seems that no matter how much war and disaster there are elsewhere, they seem to have little to do with the imperial city under the feet of the emperor.

Lu Bu, Zhang Xun and others were also excited because they experienced the prosperity of Luoyang for the first time.

This is just the suburbs. If you enter the city, I'm afraid it will be a hundred times more prosperous than the suburbs.

But when Lu Yi saw this, he sighed in his heart.

He knew that under the invisible driving force of the great era.

The prosperity of Luoyang is like the moon in the water and the flower in the mirror.

A few years later, turmoil broke out, and the imperial capital Luoyang was the first to suffer disaster because of its prominent significance and prosperity.

Not only were millions of people in Luoyang forcibly relocated to the western capital Chang'an by Dong Zhuo.

Even the tombs in Luoyang were openly looted by Dong Zhuo, and finally this magnificent imperial city was burned down, turning it into scorched earth.

Lu Yi thought to himself that it seemed that the tomb-raiding officers set up by Cao Cao might have been influenced by Dong Zhuo.

"Stop! What are you guys doing?!"

After passing through the crowd, we arrived at the Luoyang city gate.

The war that had lasted for more than half a year had just ended not long ago, and Lu Yi and others, who still had a murderous aura on their bodies, were immediately stopped by the gatekeeper.

Now that the Han-Joseon War has just ended, an armistice treaty has not yet been concluded between the two countries.

Legally speaking, the Xianbei were only temporarily defeated by the Han Dynasty and had not yet been forced to surrender, so the shadow of war in the Han Dynasty has not yet completely disappeared.

As Luoyang was the imperial capital, security measures were naturally more stringent.

"I hope you know that I am the military commander under General Lu. Because of my meritorious service in the war against the Xianbei, I received an imperial edict and came to Luoyang to receive the title."

The officer guarding the prime minister's door was of the seventh rank, and the officer at the gate looked to be at least a military commander. Therefore, Lu Yi was not angry when he was stopped. Instead, he took out the imperial edict from his arms and handed it to the guard with a pleasant face.

"Here is the original imperial edict. Please allow me to enter."

"The first achievement in the Battle of Pingcheng?"

"Jiuyuan Pavilion Chief Lu Yi...?" The guard seemed to be used to being domineering. Seeing that Lu Yi's attitude was acceptable, he snorted twice and then took the imperial edict with one hand with a haughty look on his face.

As an official in the capital, he was quite familiar with the affairs of the court, so he immediately realized that the imperial edict in Lu Yi's hand was authentic. He thought that Lu Yi might really be a soldier with military merits, so his face looked a little gloomy.

However, after he displayed his moves and looked through them a few times, a look of deep doubt appeared on his face when he raised his head again.

"It's down!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi agreed neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"I am not judging people by appearance, but you look gentle and polite, not like a warrior who can fight in the battlefield. Instead, you look like a teacher..."

The guard took Lu Yi's imperial edict and looked him up and down suspiciously.

"Besides, you are just a small village headman. How can you win the first merit in the Battle of Pingcheng with hundreds of thousands of troops gathered?"

As he said this, the guard probably thought he had guessed something and couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm afraid you bribed the commander of the army and bought the military merit!"

As he spoke, he pointed with his chin at the heavy-axle carriage behind Lu Yi and the others, with a look of amusement on his face.

"I have been guarding the gate of the capital for a long time. What kind of people have I not seen?"

"To become an official these days, who doesn't need to give benefits to their superiors?"

"I don't even need to open the boxes in your car to know that they must be filled with so many 'merits'. I guess you came to the capital this time to find a big tree to enjoy the shade, right?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Before Lu Yi could say anything, Lu Bu behind him became furious when he heard what he said and immediately started arguing with the guard.

Fortunately, he also knew that this was the emperor's territory, so he did not scold the guard.

But even so, the guard looked displeased.

"Look at this place too. A country bumpkin from Jiuyuan has come to the emperor's feet to act wildly!"

"If you dare to cause trouble, I will immediately arrest you and throw you into the prison!"

"Fengxian, calm down for a moment!"

Lu Yi quietly calmed Lu Bu's emotions and asked him to retreat temporarily. Then he took out a small cloth bag from his arms, pretended to persuade him, and secretly handed the small cloth bag to the guard.

"My brother has lived in the frontier for a long time and does not know the rules of the imperial capital. This small gesture is not a sign of respect. Please calm down, General."

Upon seeing this, the guard couldn't help but slow down his temper. He weighed it quietly a few times and felt that the weight was just right. The anger on his face temporarily subsided.

"You are a fair-skinned young man who is sensible. I would like to advise you that the imperial city is not like your hometown of Jiuyuan. When you come to Luoyang, you must abide by the rules of Luoyang."

"In the past few months, I have lost count of the number of people like you who have been summoned to the capital for military merit and are waiting for rewards."

"Don't think you can get ahead of yourself just because you have a few small achievements in your merit book. Let me tell you, the officials in the court are very busy. If no one guides you, you may not be rewarded even if you wait in Luoyang for a year or two."

"Moreover, if your intentions are not there, don't expect to get any good assignment even if you are rewarded!"

"Oh?"

"I never thought that there are so many ways to enter the capital and receive rewards?"

"If the general hadn't told me, I might have just wasted my time in Luoyang without being able to enter the main gate!"

"We are all rustic people, and we don't know the ways of this place. If the general doesn't mind, please don't hesitate to teach us."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi couldn't help but become interested. He immediately took out another bag that he had prepared in advance from his arms and handed it to the guard with the same trick.

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

The guard held the heavy purse in his hand, and the previous unhappiness on his face immediately disappeared, replaced by a smile.

As the saying goes, you shouldn't hit a smiling person, and Lu Yi is so knowledgeable about the rules. Since he has taken a favor from someone, he should naturally return the favor.

"This is not my attempt to deceive outsiders like you. There were already signs of this happening before."

As he spoke, the gatekeeper saw people coming and going in front of the gate, so he led Lu Yi into the city wall behind the city gate and introduced him to him in a low voice.

"Before this, there were also rebellions by foreign races in Lujiang, Jiangxia and other places. After the rebellions were suppressed, many people who had made military achievements rushed into Luoyang City excitedly like you, waiting with great anticipation for the high official positions that the court would bestow upon them."

"Although they have real military merits, they don't know the rules and don't know the way. Many of them foolishly waited for half a year or a year, not only did they not get any official positions, but many were deliberately forgotten by the superiors, resulting in no news of rewards."

"Luoyang is the number one city in the world, so naturally the food, drink, housing and transportation in the city are the most expensive in the world. Many people have run out of money but still cannot wait for rewards. They dare not leave on their own, fearing that the court will punish them. So they can only bite the bullet and borrow money to wait in Luoyang."

"Therefore, if you ask me, merit and so on are secondary. The most important thing is to enter the right door and find the right person!"

Having said that, the guard suddenly stopped talking and looked at Lu Yi with a hint of expectation.

"Haha, you and I have never met before, but you took the trouble to help me solve my doubts. I am extremely grateful and have no way to repay you. Please take this small gift and drink it to soothe your throat!"

Lu Yi knew what he meant, and immediately took out the third purse from his arms with a smile.

"Yep!"

"I think you are a smart man. Don't worry about this small amount of money. You will know that this deal is definitely worthwhile after a while!"

The guard accepted the benefit generously and continued speaking with an expression that showed he was very optimistic about Lu Yi.

"I'm telling you the truth!"

"To become an official in the court nowadays, one must first be of noble family background, secondly be a disciple of a high position, and thirdly, have money to pave the way."

"From my perspective, although you are somewhat intelligent, you don't understand the secrets of this world. I'm afraid your family background and teacher are just average. Is my guess correct?"

"The general has a keen eye for talent and hit the nail on the head!"

Lu Yi came from an ordinary family, and although his teacher was the famous scholar Cai Yong of the time, Cai Yong was always famous for his integrity and vision.

Lu Yi also deeply appreciated Cai Yong's teaching and answering of his questions, and did not intend to use Cai Yong's name, so what the goalkeeper said was true.

"It is true, otherwise it would not be my turn to teach you!"

The goalkeeper couldn't help but smile complacently when he heard this and continued.

"Although you have no family background and no master, it doesn't matter!"

"The emperor is now selling official positions and titles in Xiyuan at a fixed price. As long as you have enough 'merits', it won't be a problem."

As he spoke, he was still worried that Lu Yi might not understand, so he deliberately emphasized the word "merit".

"Don't think that you are now on the military merit list, and you are the first to be named!"

"But the so-called military merit book is also written by people, so the commander can add your name to it."

"The senior officials above can naturally write down your name and remove it from the Ministry of Military Industry."

"So, don't think you can rest easy just because your name is on the list of merit."

"You only have a stepping stone now. If you want to achieve real military merit, you must make full use of the benefits in the West Garden."

"Otherwise, even if there is a routine reward at the end, it won't be that good."

"You must know that even if they are the same official positions, the county governor of Jiuyuan may not be as good as the county magistrate of a large county in the Central Plains!"

"I see!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi nodded repeatedly with a look of sudden realization.

But he couldn't help but sneer three times in his heart.

(End of this chapter)