fake gentry

Xie Hong had already made a plan in his mind.

He has three options if he wants to take up a government post.

The first is Xie Kun.

Xie Kun was the Prefect of Yuzhang. Mount Lu was only a hundred miles away from Yuzhang. However, Xie Kun died young, and the Xie clan of Chen Commandery urgently needed a capable leader to maintain their prestige.

If he takes this path, it is both the safest and the most risky.

The security lies in the fact that once Xie Kun acknowledges him, the biggest problem of him using the surname will be completely resolved, and outsiders will no longer question his identity as a son of the Xie family.

But that's where the risk lies.

Does Xie Kun acknowledge him or not?

Xie Kun didn't have the ability to see the future, so he didn't know he was about to die. He was still the famous scholar who was known throughout the world and a key figure in the Jiangzuo Eight Clans. Xie Hong wasn't sure he could fool the other party right now.

Then the olive branch extended by Xi Zhong is very precious.

However, Xi Jian is about to lose Yanzhou, and if he recruits her, she will immediately be drawn into the political turmoil of the court.

However, Liu Chong must be sent to Xi Jian's command. Xi Jian will provide him with some practical training for three to five months, and then give him one or two years to grow. He will then follow Xi Jian to quell Wang Dun's rebellion, restore the Dai family's status, and become Xi Jian's confidant. At least he will be able to inherit a portion of Xi Jian's power.

In the chaotic early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, mere words were useless; one had to have people on one's side.

However, Xi Jian was Liu Chong's choice, but not his first choice.

Who is Xie Hongjun planning to choose?

He set his sights on Xie Kun's superior, Tao Kan, the governor of Jiangzhou.

Who is Tao Kan?

The foremost general of the early Eastern Jin Dynasty, he came from a humble family in Xunyang County. He was a key military figure in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and a representative of the prominent local family in Xunyang County.

He had a great-grandson named Tao Yuanming.

At this time, Tao Kan was the Marquis of Chaisang with a fief of four thousand households, and the governor of Jiaozhou, Guangzhou, and Jiangzhou. However, Wang Dun controlled the government, and Tao Kan was constantly sidelined.

A year later, he will be promoted to General Who Conquers the South, granted the title of Grand General of the Three Departments, and command 100,000 soldiers. The following year, he will be appointed as the Military Governor of the four prefectures of Jing, Xiang, Yong, and Liang, General Who Conquers the West, Governor of Jingzhou, and Protector of the Southern Barbarians. He will retain all his other positions.

I'm asking you, aren't you awesome?

Xie Hong wants to climb this big tree, but everything must be based on one thing.

Reputation.

At this time, the world was in turmoil, with the North and South at war. In addition, metaphysics was popular, and many scholars went into seclusion. Mount Lu had become a place of seclusion. Xie Hong was not the only one who built a hermitage there. He had to work hard to make his name and reputation spread far and wide.

No matter who comes to recruit him, he will be able to stay calm.

He gave himself a year.

Therefore, he rejected Xi Zhong without hesitation.

That night, Xi and her party set up camp outside Taoping and spent the night there.

When Xi Xuan and her brother traveled to Jiangzuo, they naturally brought everything they needed. Apart from the discomfort of traveling by car, everything else was the same as when they were at home. In each place they visited, they would buy local ingredients and hire local chefs to cook the food.

Even for tonight's overnight stay in the wild, they prepared tender goose, mutton, chicken, fish, as well as seasonal water shield, leeks, and celery. There were even desserts and fruits, and sour cream cheese. It was incredibly extravagant.

Inside the baggage wagon tent, Xi Xuan was writing intently, with two thick beehive candles, each as thick as a child's arm, burning brightly. These candles were bright and smokeless, and each one was worth hundreds of coins.

She wrote the poem about the waterfall that Xie Hong had composed that afternoon, in running script that was both graceful and strong.

Later generations called her the "female Ouija board fairy," which already shows her skill in calligraphy.

At this moment, her personal maid entered carrying a lacquered tray, and a strange fragrance wafted into her nostrils.

"My lady, this was sent by Mr. Xie."

Looking at the roasted rabbit brought over by the maid, Xi Xuan cut off a piece with a knife. The rabbit meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The moment it was cut open, the juices flowed down the cut, just like tender meat wrapped in a thin layer of sugar.

She hesitated for a moment, then slowly put the rabbit meat into her mouth, chewed it gently, and then stopped abruptly.

"My lady, is it delicious?"

The personal maid asked with a grin.

Xi Xuan glared at the maid, then stopped chewing and just held the small piece of meat in her mouth, her mouth tightly closed, her cheeks slightly puffed out, making her look rather cute.

"Take it and divide it up, I'm done eating."

The maid quietly stuck out her tongue, picked up the lacquer tray, and left.

She knew her daughter's temperament very well; she was always a woman of her word.

After the maid left, Xi Xuan closed her mouth and suddenly began to chew rapidly. Her mouth was filled with an unprecedented fragrance, as if it were trying to whet the appetite in her stomach.

Xi Xuan recalled Xie Hong's confident and eloquent speech in front of her clan elder that afternoon. This man seemed somewhat different from other gentry scions.

How did he manage to subdue those refugees? Wasn't he afraid of being attacked in return?

He was incredibly audacious to act all alone.

And the pieces he played were definitely not his own compositions. How old is he? Where did all that sorrow and loneliness come from?

Xi Xuan quietly lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. In the distance, by the campfire, Xie Hong was sitting and talking with his clan elder. His younger brother was leaning against him, eating a roasted rabbit without any regard for his image.

"What is Fengzhi's view on the current state of affairs in the world?"

Xie Hong...

Dude, this turn of events came so suddenly.

"In the present world, Shi Le in the north is eyeing us covetously, and Wang Dun in the south holds considerable military power. The court has just been established and its foundation is not yet stable."

Xi Zhong sighed and said, "In Feng Zhi's opinion, how will the situation develop?"

Xie Hong thought for a moment, then said meaningfully, "Lord Xi is worried that Lord Daohui, being in Yanzhou, might be drawn into this vortex at any time, right?"

A look of surprise flashed in Xi Zhong's eyes.

Is this child a prodigy?

This time, he took Xi Xuan and Xi Yin on a tour of Jiangzuo, but it was actually all arranged by Xi Jian.

Xi Jian was worried that Wang Dun's rebellion would provoke Shi Le to take action, and Yanzhou would be the first to be affected. His base was in Yanzhou, and his greatest reliance was not the imperial court, but the tens of thousands of soldiers he had accumulated when he was a leader of refugees.

But if Shi Le were to launch a full-scale attack, he would be unable to stop him.

Losing Yanzhou is nothing; he can lead his army south at any time. But without the army, the Xi clan of Gaoping will fall into ruin.

Xie Hongke knew all too well the course of history, but he couldn't go into too much detail, or he would be seen as a sorcerer.

"This is my humble opinion, please take it with a grain of salt, Lord Xi. Wang Dun is a man of great ambition, but he is arrogant and cruel, and has made many enemies. He also has a major taboo: if his name is not righteous, his words will not be respected. The gentry will not sincerely submit to him, and the officials will not sincerely support him."

Xi Zhong nodded thoughtfully.

"I believe that Wang Dun's rebellion will be quelled in one to three years. Moreover, the court has no capable people in the north except for Lord Daohui."

"What about Shi Le's southward march?" Xi Zhong pressed, his tone now tinged with seriousness.

Xie Hong pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Lord Daohui was stationed in Yanzhou, able to block Shi Le in the north and resist Wang Dun in the south. He was originally the stabilizing force of the court. But I dare to speak out."

"Please speak, Fengzhi."

"If Lord Daohui is free from obstacles, he can control Shi Le; but if there is internal strife in Yanzhou..."

Xie Hong spoke with extreme caution, weighing each word carefully in his mind before uttering it: "Now that Wang Dun's rebellion has succeeded, it will likely take anywhere from three months to a year for Dao Hui Gong to head south."

Xi Zhong fell silent, a storm raging within him.

Because Xi Jian wrote a letter a month ago saying that Shi Le had taken advantage of Wang Dun's rebellion to go south, what is his current situation?

Yanzhou is isolated north of the Yangtze River, surrounded by powerful enemies. Some in the imperial court also see the refugee army as a hidden danger. Most critically, several military leaders in Yanzhou are undermining each other.

Xi Jian was already considering his options.

But how could this young man, thousands of miles away, explain the situation in Yanzhou so clearly in just a few words, and even completely guess the clan leader's plan?

"The Phoenix Prince".

Xi Zhong took a deep breath and looked at Xie Hong solemnly, saying, "Although I am traveling in Jiangzuo with my niece to relax, I also have a mission to fulfill. Meeting Feng Zhi is truly fate."

He paused, then his tone suddenly became fervent: "I once again invite you, young master, to serve in the government and assist my magistrate. I guarantee you will be a military advisor in the prefecture."

Xie Hong laughed heartily:

"Lord Xi, let's drink to victory!"