I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 94: A road that can never be completed in a lifetime

Chapter 94: A road that can never be completed in a lifetime (Update for the end of the alliance leader's world)
Looking at Yuan Feng's hearty smile, Yuan Wei suddenly felt envious of him for some reason.

Because Yuan Feng has a proud son who can make him smile so brightly.

But he didn't.

So angry!
How come there is such a big difference between two brothers who share the same mother?
If Yuan Shu was his son, he would definitely say the same thing and then accompany Yuan Shu on a big gamble!

And now, all we can do is watch the father and son rushing forward.

I want to rush together too!
After all, Yuan Wei couldn't say such words. Someone still had to take up the burden of the family.

After Yuan Feng made up his mind, he began to prepare for the transfer of the Yi Xin Hui headquarters according to Yuan Shu's request. He felt that he should pay for it. After all, it was he, the father, who was tricked by the eunuchs instead of Yuan Shu.

Now that the son has come all the way here to clean up his dad’s mess, the dad has to show some appreciation, right?

Moreover, considering the wealth of the Yuan family, even in the land-scarce Luoyang city, they could allocate a piece of land for Yuan Shu to serve as the headquarters of the Yi Xin Hui, not to mention the "quiet and secluded place" outside Luoyang city.

The area of Luoyang City in the Eastern Han Dynasty was actually not large, not even as large as Chang'an City in the Western Han Dynasty. However, when the civilian living area that continued to develop around the imperial city outside the city walls was included, the population size of the entire Luoyang became larger.

But the population base is there after all. The peak population of the entire Eastern Han Dynasty was not as large as that of a province in modern China. With a population of about 50 million living on such a vast land, finding a piece of vacant land is as easy as breathing a breath of air.

This is even more true for the Yuan family.

Yuan Feng quickly selected a good place for Yuan Shu near Shouyang Mountain in the northeast of Luoyang. It was surrounded by mountains and rivers, quiet and elegant, and very suitable for the headquarters of the school that Yuan Shu wanted to establish.

Yuan Feng wanted to cooperate with Yuan Shu, and Yuan Wei certainly did not stay out of it completely.

Because of his close relationship with Yuan She, it was basically Yuan Wei's job to liaise with the eunuchs. Now that such a big loophole had appeared in the area he was responsible for, it was impossible for Yuan Wei not to blame himself or be angry.

The reason for Yuan She's departure is still unknown, but Chunyu Deng's behavior is very suspicious.

He had to figure out whether it was because eunuch doves like Chunyu Deng were deceived and passively cooperated in this matter, or whether these guys were a den of snakes and rats and colluded to harm the Yuan family.

Yuan Wei began to devote his energy to investigating the matter, and vowed to investigate the eunuchs in the palace thoroughly and find out what was going on.

If all this is really as Yuan Shu speculated, then no matter whether Yuan Feng and Yuan Shu can successfully break the impasse, Yuan Wei will make the eunuchs pay the price for it.

Yuan’s blood-stained steamed bun is not so delicious!

On the other hand, after Yuan Shu set out from Maoling with Cheng Li, Wei Jia, Xu Chong, Lian Da, Shao Yuan and half of the security department, their movements along the way were not hurried, and they even felt a leisurely spring outing. They devoted a lot of energy to sightseeing and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

These days, the concept of tourism does not exist. The personal freedom of ordinary civilians is strictly controlled by the government. They basically live in their own fields all their lives, working from sunrise to sunset. There are many people who have never left the county from birth to death.

Under normal circumstances, this can be considered a small happiness for ordinary people.

If you want to leave your hometown, you must obtain a certificate from the government stating your purpose, time and route.

You also have to have a certain status, either being a businessman, or attending a funeral or on business.

The same applies to official personnel. There are regulations on where they go and where they pass through.

The empire attached great importance to household registration, and no one could travel freely across the Han territory without restraint. It was precisely this strict political, transportation and economic control and difficult circulation that led to the social and political phenomena of "counties as countries" and "neighboring counties as neighboring countries" in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty.

Of course, this is not the case during war.

There is no war now, but a rare period of peace. Yuan Shu also took a rare trip. Under the protection of a group of strong men, there is no need to worry about any danger.

He visited Chang'an City, the ancient Hangu Pass, watched the spectacular sight of the rushing Yellow River, then headed east out of the pass and entered Hongnong. While in Hongnong County, he visited Yang Biao again.

At that time, Yang Biao's father Yang Ci had recovered from his illness and returned to the court. Yang Biao was very happy to receive Yuan Shu and invited him to his home to entertain him warmly.

Yang Biao didn't know why Yuan Shu came to visit him. After asking, he learned that Yuan Shu was about to be summoned by the emperor and there was a possibility that he would become the emperor's tutor.

Yang Biao was greatly surprised by this.

"Being able to study with the emperor is a blessing many people would never be able to obtain! The Yuan family values you so much, so I guess you should be the next head of the Yuan family, right?"

Yuan Shu smiled and shook his head.

"If the Yuan family could do this, I would feel relieved, but unfortunately, this is led by the eunuchs and has nothing to do with the Yuan family."

"eunuch?"

Yang Biao was stunned, and then looked embarrassed.

The Yuan family was very close to the eunuchs, so it was understandable that the eunuchs wanted to get something from the Yuan family. However, the Yuan family said so openly...

Ugh?
Yang Biao suddenly realized a key point.

"Mr. Yuan, you just said that this matter has nothing to do with the Yuan family? How can such a thing have nothing to do with the Yuan family?"

Yuan Shu looked at Yang Biao and smiled.

"Although it has not been confirmed, my friends and I suspect that this is a conspiracy by the eunuchs. There is no disaster without reason, and there is no good thing without reason. The eunuchs must want to gain something by doing this."

Then, Yuan Shu told Yang Biao his speculations and some practical information. After listening, Yang Biao frowned.

"In that case, if Mr. Yuan goes to Luoyang, he will become the target of public criticism if he is not careful."

"That's true. Not only that, it will also make other wealthy families in Jinwen have great opinions about me and the Yuan family."

Yuan Shu shook his head and said, "Even your father might be dissatisfied with me. By the way, Mr. Yang, your father seems to be in charge of guiding the emperor in his studies in the palace, right?"

"Exactly."

Yang Biao nodded, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "If so, I will write a letter to my father, asking him to take care of me in Luoyang. That should help Yuan Jun a little, right?"

Yuan Shu shook his head.

"The Yang family is the Yang family, and the Yuan family is the Yuan family. Once this incident happens, it will involve a lot of people. The Yang family does not need to get involved. If so, the Yuan family will not be able to repay this friendship, which will only increase the frustration between the two elders. We young people should not talk too much about it."

Yang Biao was stunned for a moment, then nodded awkwardly.

He himself was not yet the head of the Yang family, and Yuan Shu was not yet the head of the Yuan family. The personal relationship between the two did not rise to the family level or the political level.

Just like Yang Biao married Yuan's daughter, but in terms of politics, Yang was still dissatisfied with the close relationship between Yuan and eunuchs. The marriage between the two families certainly has the idea of furthering and helping each other, but if it is related to the vital interests of each family, then if they can protect the women, children, the elderly and the weak in the family after the other family suffers and declines, it is worthy of the friendship of the marriage.

Yang Biao naturally knew this. Even though he was already the head of the Yang family, he still had to think twice before doing anything about this kind of thing. It was not something that could be explained in just a few words.

But he still had some doubts.

"If that's the case, it would be best to claim illness and not go to Luoyang. Why did Yuan Jun go?"

Yuan Shu smiled.

"Because Yuan likes to see others' frustrated expressions after their plots fail."

"…………"

Yang Biao was a little stunned, not knowing what Yuan Shu meant by saying this.

Yuan Shu didn't tell Yang Biao too much about the matter. After all, their relationship was not that serious.

Moreover, the Yang family and the Yuan family had many disputes in terms of family interests and political interests. The marriage between the families was more to find a buffer point to avoid direct conflicts, rather than to make the two families as close as one family.

No matter how good his personal relationship with Yang Biao was, from the perspective of the Modern Literature School and Yuan's School of Mind, there were irreconcilable conflicts of interest.

Yang Biao would feel this more and more clearly when he became an official and inherited the Yang family business.

After leaving Hongnong, Yuan Shu continued eastward and arrived at Luoyang City on May 3rd of the fourth year of Jianning.

This was not the first time Yuan Shu came to Luoyang. He had come to Luoyang once on his way to Guanxi to study. He transited in Luoyang and rested for a few days.

This time when he came again, he just felt that there were more people living outside Luoyang City, but there was no other change.

To be honest, he has always felt that a city that could serve as the capital of a country should be unprecedentedly magnificent. As one of the most powerful empires on earth at that time, the Han Empire should have a grand appearance.

As the saying goes, without magnificence, there is no authority.

But when he saw Luoyang City for the first time, he was surprised by the circles of civilian residential areas and small commercial areas surrounding Luoyang City, which could be called the outer city.

There is no other reason, it's just too dirty and messy.

Luoyang's urban construction and security construction seemed to be limited to the city. The dignitaries in Luoyang never seemed to pay attention to the common people outside the city.

No matter how dirty and messy it is outside, they don't care.

So the low and dilapidated houses outside, the muddy and difficult-to-walk roads, and the fishy and unpleasant smells all seemed to not exist. When the city gates were closed, everything seemed to not exist.

After crossing a long section of slum-like existence and those muddy roads, we finally reached a wide and solid road. Once on the road, the whole world seemed to be brighter.

Yuan Shu looked back while sitting in the carriage and felt that the distance between the broken mud road and the spacious and clean road was not just a few dozen centimeters, but a long watershed in life.

There is a short distance between the civilian settlement area and Luoyang City itself. At the end of this distance is the moat of Luoyang City. After crossing the moat, it is equivalent to arriving at the real Luoyang City in a narrow sense.

There are no muddy roads, no dirt, no stench, and no people wearing untidy clothes in Luoyang City. The streets are quite clean, without any unpleasant dirt, as if this is the human world, and the outside is just the goblins' dark lair.

But the two are clearly separated by only a moat.

In contrast, those who were able to live in Luoyang City were basically officials, or branches of major families responsible for operating high-end commercial and service industries, specifically serving dignitaries.

Just being rich is not enough to qualify to live here. One must be noble to be able to enter Luoyang City. Even the Imperial Academy, which is regarded as the future base of the country, is not located inside Luoyang City. It is eight miles away from the imperial palace.

Most areas in Luoyang City are imperial palaces, belonging to the royal family. Only the royal family can live in such a truly good place. Only the royal family can enjoy spacious, bright and comfortable homes, and enjoy the beautiful sunshine and sweet air.

Others, unless they were high-ranking officials and nobles, could live in a decent mansion and live like civilized people. In fact, they were just the royal butlers and high-level servants.

As for the rest, even if they are officials, as long as their positions are not high enough or they do not have a solid background, they can only live in relatively narrow and cramped spaces, fully experiencing the truth that people have to bow their heads under the eaves.

This time and the last time he arrived in Luoyang both brought Yuan Shu full insights, making him understand how big the disparity in this world and in life is.

If he was not a descendant of the Yuan family, or a member of any other wealthy and noble family, then he might never have the possibility of entering Luoyang City in his entire life, and at most he would have just taken a look outside the city.

What is this indicating?

Choice is more important than effort.

Yuan Shu sighed, put down the curtain in his hand, and stopped looking at the scene outside.

Cheng Li, who was in the same car with him, seemed to see that Yuan Shu was worried.

"Sir, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"

Yuan Shu shook his head.

"No, I just think the gap between inside and outside Luoyang City is a bit too big."

Cheng Li smiled slightly and nodded.

"After all, it is the imperial capital, under the feet of the emperor, how can it not be magnificent? Without magnificence, there is no prestige. It is natural for Luoyang to have such prestige. Why should you mind it, sir?"

Well, he didn't understand what he meant.

"Zhongde, what I mean is that there is a moat and a city wall, only a distance of one or two hundred steps, but those people outside the city cannot walk the entire distance in their lifetime!"

Cheng Li was stunned, as if he didn't understand what Yuan Shu meant.

After all, although he came from a humble background, his "humble background" was relative to powerful families like the Yuan and Yang families.

The fact that Cheng Li was able to travel thousands of miles from his hometown to Maoling was already something that most people of this era could not even dream of.

Yuan Shu didn't say anything else, and Cheng Li didn't understand what Yuan Shu meant.

With inexplicable emotions, Yuan Shu led his team to the gate of Yuan’s mansion.

(End of this chapter)

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