Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 285: Horseshoe disease in the spring breeze

Xiao Chenzi didn't do anything. He just wanted to make the conditions here better and let the soldiers here live more like human beings.

He actually didn't do much wrong, but there were no products in Huangyaguan, so his only way was to act as a middleman.

The Shiwei people have actually had a miserable life in recent years. They are located in the eastern part of the grassland, at the foot of the Greater Khingan Range, which happens to be right in the way of the grassland royal court's eastward expansion strategy.

Didn't Xia Lin ask the grassland to go east to find the black land of his dreams? But the first stop was blocked by the Shiwei. Now the royal court put more pressure on the Shiwei, either submit to the royal court or be submitted to by the royal court. They would definitely not be happy about it, so the grassland war was about to begin.

Now the people of Shiwei are eager to cling to someone powerful, and the best power right now is naturally the Wei Dynasty. After the thaw in March, the envoys of Shiwei will come to discuss with Xiao Chenzi about resisting the royal court.

You said that Shiwei was a small country after all, so how could they discuss such a big matter with the commander of such a small checkpoint? Their status was not equal.

In fact, they had no choice because the relationship between the royal court and Wei had improved. After the strategic deployment was completed, it would also be beneficial to Wei, as it would be able to obtain more trade resources. The local aristocratic families had actually cut off the path for Shiwei to seek help long ago, and had not even told their superiors about the ambitions of the grassland royal court.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Shiwei people would be destined to become victims. They are just a little wild but not stupid. Now that the water is up to their necks, they will definitely try if there is a glimmer of hope for survival.

In fact, many people do not know how the big families control the country. They think that they only control some government affairs and money. In fact, they control more farmland, economic and trade, discourse power and even the flow of information.

Why did Emperor Hongbao place the empire's most powerful marshal and the most loyal prince by his side? To put it bluntly, it was to give himself a breathing space when surrounded by the aristocratic families.

Otherwise, if the noble families really completed the encirclement, all the news he heard every day while sitting in the palace would be false. Even if the situation outside was in chaos, the news he received would still be that the country would enjoy eternal happiness and peace and prosperity.

And why didn't Emperor Hongbao send people to attack the aristocratic families... Alas, how did the aristocratic families come from when the kingship was changing? The aristocratic families also had people with soldiers and generals. A smaller family could raise as few as 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers, or as many as 10,000 or 20,000. Aristocratic families like Gao Shilian had family wealth and rice that was not inferior to the national treasury, not to mention that they also controlled a large amount of land and population, and the number of soldiers that could be converted could even reach 200,000.

The Li family in the north is also a noble family. They only listen to orders and not to announcements. What's more terrifying is that the foundations of these noble families are intertwined and very complicated. Your son is my son-in-law, and your grandson is my nephew.

The reason they are called the common ruler of the world is simply because the aristocratic families need such a ruler to maintain their superficial unity, and then continue to suck blood from this land together.

For many years, many emperors wanted to remove them, but all their efforts were in vain.

too difficult.

Xiao Chenzi secretly bypassed the blockade of the aristocratic families, wanting to use his unnoticed corner to carefully cut some meat from these behemoths to eat. Coincidentally, the Shiwei people did the same, but they were more miserable. All they wanted was to stay alive.

In a blink of an eye, the New Year was over and Lao Zhang also arrived in the capital. He wrote a letter but there were two handwritings in it. It was obvious that one was written by him and the other by Wu Ning.

After reading it, Xia Lin smiled and put the letter back into the envelope: "Put it in an envelope now, and bury it in a coffin later."

After saying that, he looked up at the young master and said, "The results will be announced tomorrow. If you pass, I will cook for you and treat you to a good meal."

"Ah? That's really great!"

The young master was cheering and jumping for joy. Being able to ask the teacher to cook for him was the greatest affirmation for his student. He knew that the teacher would not stay in Changsha for long, and judging from the situation in recent days, this meal was almost a farewell reunion.

In fact, the young master is just simple-minded, not stupid. After he gradually became wise, he now shows a kind of intelligence. His family members said that he grew up after getting married, but in fact, only the young master himself understands that he became like this after the master entered his life.

When a person is young, the most valuable thing is to have someone he can trust and patiently explain to him all the confusions he encounters.

A man's confusion may last for many years, but enlightenment only takes a moment. Once you understand, you understand.

"Are you leaving, sir?"

"It's probably about the same."

"Then if I pass the imperial examination, can I see you again, sir?"

"Yes." Xia Lin said firmly: "If you can pass the imperial examination, we can meet again."

"it is good!"

Without too much pretentiousness, a good word is enough to show determination.

Time passed quickly and it was the day of the announcement of the results the next day. The young master did not let the old man and old lady in the family follow him, and he waited there quietly by himself. Because the announcement of the results of the provincial examination was not as grand as those of the imperial examinations for successful candidates and jinshi, everyone stood there casually and chatted with each other.

But this was extremely difficult for the young master, as he knew that only if he got this position would he have a chance to go further, or simply put, only if he got the title of scholar would he have the opportunity to continue studying with the teacher.

He has only learned less than one hundredth of his talent, and there is still a vast world for him to fly in the future. If he misses today, he can still take the exam for the scholar next year, but he will have to wait until the year after next to take the exam for the juren. The list of scholars was posted by the government messenger. The young master pretended to be casual, but his palms were sweaty at this moment.

It was not until he saw his name on the list that he completely relaxed. He took a few steps back and sat on a stone block. Thinking about his previous behavior and the hardships he had endured in recent days, such a strong man actually secretly wiped away his tears.

"Okay, little scholar, stop crying in front of others. It's embarrassing."

The young master looked up and found that Xia Lin was standing beside him. He looked up at Xia Lin: "Sir..."

"What to eat?"

"I will eat whatever my husband cooks."

When the Lin family's gong and drum team arrived here to take the young master home in style, they could not find him. However, the Lin family was still in high spirits. The others on the same list were also surprised. After all, no one could have imagined that the cynical young master could actually pass the exam. This became a new story that was widely circulated here.

At this moment, the young master was sitting on the courtyard wall with Xia Lin, looking at the grass growing on the green-tiled roofs of people's houses, which was covered with astragalus, and the green mountains in the distance, which were like smoke and dark blue.

"Now you are also a man of honor."

As Xia Lin spoke, he took out a piece of gold-thread ink and a white fox brush from his arms. These were one of the gifts given to him by Emperor Hongbao for his wedding. The ink was made of the finest Hui ink with fine gold powder added, and the brush was made of precious white sable hair. Both were tributes among tributes, extremely precious and high-end.

"Take this."

"Thank you, sir."

Xia Lin patted his shoulder and said, "Let's go and have dinner."

I cooked a meal for the young master myself. My cooking skills were average, just a few simple home-cooked dishes, but the young master ate it very enthusiastically.

He tried to say something several times, but in the end he couldn't utter a word.

After finishing his meal, Xia Lin sent the young master back home. After all, today was the day he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. Although this was not the same as becoming a juren or jinshi, the last wish of the Lin family's master was to let the young master pass the imperial examination and become a scholar.

Although the house was lively today, the young master always felt empty. Seeing those people with flattering smiles on their faces, he felt uncomfortable. He fooled around for a while and hurried back to the cottage where Xia Lin lived.

Although he had already had some idea of ​​the outcome in his mind on the way, he still couldn't help feeling sad when he saw that the cottage was empty.

Although Xia Lin was only two or three years older than him, he felt that there was no problem in the world that could stump him in front of the master. Now that the master was gone, facing the empty house, he couldn't help but shed tears.

"Sir, I will definitely pass the imperial examination next year and show you how good I am!"

The young master sat in the small courtyard rubbing his eyes, while Xia Lin had already boarded the carriage back to Hongdu.

He had received a secret order yesterday saying that after the grand court meeting, after the intercession of Grand Tutor Tuoba Yuan, the court had thoroughly checked the accounts and found that the accusations against Xia Lin and others were groundless, so he was ordered to be reinstated and set off immediately.

This was a result he had already expected. It was basically around this point. After all, he was not in Fuliang, so his production arrangements would be affected to some extent. His production capacity would be affected, and they all had an estimate of how much money the aristocratic businesses outside would lose.

So he had to return to Fuliang as quickly as possible.

The court, no matter whether out of commendation or out of guilt, inexplicably conferred the title of Marquis of Guanwai on him. Normally, no title would be granted without merit. Although Marquis of Guanwai was a 16th-level title, a nominal title without any fiefdom or taxes, but with the previous fiefdom reward, he was now almost a person with a real military title.

Maybe it's because he was instrumental in suppressing the rebellion...

Anyway, he had no idea what his superiors were thinking, but if he thought about it carefully, he could probably understand that this reward was bought with his millions of taels of silver plus various gold, silver and jewelry.

This achievement cannot be directly praised, so we can only give some small rewards like this.

"Master, you are really reluctant to part with Young Master Lin."

"That boy is actually quite intelligent." Xia Lin slightly opened his eyes, glanced at Shui Xian and said with a smile: "I am optimistic about him. If he can pass the imperial examination, I will find a way to make him a high-ranking official. It would be really interesting if he entered the imperial court."

"Master, are you saying that he will become a very powerful official?"

"More than powerful." Xia Lin suddenly opened his eyes: "He will be a killer."

(End of this chapter)