(0893)

【Today's third update is delivered!】

After leaving Luoyang, Li Yan rode a horse and came straight to Kaifeng with five young followers he selected. Soon, he arrived at the city of Kaifeng City. At this time, no one knew that Li Yan was the former Li Xin, but it was impossible for him to enter Kaifeng City.

Because he cannot reveal his identity for the time being. His enemy is still in Kaifeng City, and he does not have enough revenge power in his hands. Zhang Zhun said it very clearly and clearly. He only gave Li Yan the name of Hu Benjun, but would not give him any personnel, supplies, weapons and equipment. Everything was required to be from scratch.

He could only stand in front of Kaifeng City and try to recall everything before. Last autumn was his last entry into Kaifeng City. At that time, his name was Li Xin and he had a complete family. He still remembered the scene at that time.

Standing in front of Kaifeng City, Li Yan remembered many things and many people. He remembered Song Xiance, Niu Jinxing, Tang Mansion, Tang Mu, and Tang Family Miss. If it weren’t for meeting Zhang Zhun, these people and things might not have changed. However, Li Yan did not regret it. He always felt that meeting Zhang Zhun was his blessing.

The state of mind a year ago was completely different from his current state of mind. The state of mind a year ago was confused, anxious, and uneasy. The state of mind now was calm, calm, and with deep sustenance. A year ago, standing in the city, he felt uneasy. A year later, standing outside the city, he felt very at ease.

...

A year ago, in the autumn of the eighth year of Chongzhen, although the autumn harvest had just finished, Kaifeng streets were full of refugees fleeing famines. They supported the elderly and the young, and looked around. Looking around, it was all over the place. Refugees were waiting to be sent to the doorsteps. The cry of mourning was rising and falling, making people unable to bear to listen.

At that time, Li Xin was a guest at the Tang Mansion in Kaifeng City. The Tang Mansion had a good relationship with the Li family. The old lady of the Tang family, namely Tang Mu, was very satisfied with Li Xin and wanted to marry his youngest daughter to him. The Tang family's lady also had a special liking for Li Xin, but Li Xin himself didn't like it very much. However, for the sake of the Tang family and the Li family, he had to serve Tang Mu respectfully.

In the past two or three days, Li Xin found that there were much more victims in Kaifeng City than a month ago. Thinking about the long and long desolate spring that was not connected next year, the tragic phenomenon would be so serious, and that many people would starve to death. In his heart, he couldn't help but sigh.

The eastern Henan area is in the eight prefectures, 12 prefectures, 100, 100, 6 counties in the province. There are few wars and natural disasters, and now it has become such a situation. It can be seen that there is no place for the vast Central Plains to be! If the bad situation continues to spread, I am afraid that the impact of Kaifeng City will be even greater.

Li Xin was also worried that if someone raised his arms and called on the hungry people, the overall situation in the Central Plains would be unstoppable. For the sake of the court and himself, he did not want a great chaos in the Central Plains. The Tartars in Liaodong, Zhang Zhun from Shandong, and the bandits in Shaanxi were enough to harm the country. He was worried while walking towards the Song Gate and his face was very heavy.

As soon as he left the Song Gate, he crossed the suspension bridge and saw a lot of people gathered at the intersection. He rode his horse and looked closer and saw clearly that a small businessman was beating a skinny child who was fleeing famine. For the child, he grabbed a sesame cake from his hand and ran away. The child was beaten to the point of bleeding from his nose and mouth, and he was still kicking him and scolding, "Pretend to death! You pretend to be dead! I want to beat you so hard that you dare not steal food again in the future!"

Li Xin took the merchant, jumped off the horse, separated everyone, walked up to see the famine-fed children on the ground, raised his head and glared at the merchant with a stern look, and said with a cold face: "You are so angry for a Shaobing? He is too thin to withstand your punches and kicks? What should you do if you hurt a person's life?"

The merchant looked at Li Xin's clothes and elegance, and saw him riding a tall horse out of the city, following the servant and the groom, so scared that he didn't dare to speak, and slipped away from the crowd. The other people watching the fun dispersed, leaving only a few idle gangsters standing there.

Li Xin looked at the children on the ground again. However, at the age of thirteen or fourteen, the broken bowl used for begging for food was crushed. He held a dog-beating stick in one hand and tightly held the sesame cake that had already bitten twice with the other hand. He looked at him with his eyes open, as if he was afraid of him and grateful for his life-saving grace. It seemed that Li Xin had seen too many small victims like him.

After pondering for a while, Li Xin asked him where he was from, and then he realized that he had escaped from Qi County. The village he lived in was only twenty miles away from Li Xin's Lijia Village. Speaking of which, the two were still fellow villagers. Li Xin couldn't help but feel a little moved, and then ordered his servant to help the child sit at the entrance of Guandi Temple in Lubei, buy him a bowl of hot soup and two steamed buns to satisfy his hunger, and then buy him a black tiled bowl for begging for him to continue begging for him.

At this time, a large number of people surrounded the crossroads and were not ventilated. There were small vendors, pedestrians, and groups of refugees fleeing famines. Among these refugees, many of them were from Qi County, and some had met Li Xin. The scene was immediately spread in the field. Everyone knew that he was Mr. Li who set up a porridge factory and opened warehouses for spring for two years every winter and spring.

I heard that some people wanted to give alms and relief. The old, young, men and women were all squeezed in front of them, and the number of people was increasing, surrounding him. Some shouted: "Young Master Li, you have to accumulate blessings, save us!" Some people simply reached out and waited for him to send him off.

In an instant, a large piece of rice was surrounded by him. Li Xin only carried two or three taels of scattered silver on him, and took it out and handed it to a servant, asking him to buy steamed buns and pancakes, each of whom was given two, and gave them a few more yellow money to buy a bowl of hot soup.

After giving the order, he separated everyone and prepared to get on the horse. Facing so many refugees, Li Xin was powerless. When he just took the reins from the groom, he suddenly heard someone in the crowd asking in a low voice: "Which Mr. Li is this?"

Another voice replied: "It was Li Xin from Qi County. His son Li Jingbai was once the governor of Shandong. He first built a temple for Wei Zhongxian. He was very shameless. Later, he was entrusted with the title of Shangshu for a few days. Now he ascended the top position, Wei Yin was executed. Li Jingbai was convicted again and died of illness soon after. Because this person is the son of the eunuch party and is not valued by the scholars, he likes to provide relief to the hungry people, stand up for justice, and do things to gain fame and win people's hearts."

After hearing this, Li Xin turned his head suddenly, wishing to kill the two people who talked about him with three punches and two kicks. At this time, the people watching the fun were dispersing, and many people looked back at him while leaving. Two square-shaped Confucian scholars in the crowd slowly walked towards the suspension bridge with their hands behind their backs, not looking back. He guessed that one of the two people must have maliciously criticized him, but he remembered the words in "Liuhou Lun" and endured, jumped on his horse, whipped it, and whipped it south.

"Liuhou Lun" is a prose by Su Shi. What Li Xin thought of was the following sentences: "The so-called heroes in ancient times must have extraordinary moral character. People cannot tolerate things. When people see humiliation, they draw their swords and stand up and fight. This is not enough to be brave. There are great brave people in the world who suddenly come to see it without being shocked, and they do not get angry without reason. This is the ones they hold, and their ambitions are very great."

He was very unhappy in his heart, and this person's words hurt him even more. The intertwined state affairs and life experience made him feel disheartened about the world, and even his interest in going to the Yuwangtai was suddenly unconscious. When the Donglin Party members began to impeach Wei Zhongxian in the third year of Tianqi, his father Li Jingbai was a censor in the court, and was also one of the people who were impeached. However, somehow, Li Jingbai changed and secretly colluded with the eunuch party, and became the governor of Shandong within three or four years.

At the end of the Tianqi period, the country built temples for Wei Zhongxian everywhere. Li Jingbai first and the grain transport envoy Guo Shangyou built Zhaozhong Temple for Wei Yin in Jining, and then built Longxi Temple in Jinan. He submitted a memorial to praise Wei Zhongxian and flatter him as a great skill. He was indeed shameless. At that time, he flattered the eunuch party, not only the landlord class scholars thought it was shameless, but even ordinary citizens hated it.

A year ago, the eunuch party sent Jinyi Banner School to Suzhou in the name of Emperor Tianqi to arrest people, which aroused the uproar of tens of thousands of citizens, beat Jinyi Banner School hard, and killed one person on the spot. As for the establishment of a temple for Wei Zhongxian, it was considered to be a "shameless special."

When Li Jingbai built a temple for Wei Zhongxian in Shandong, Li Xin lived in the countryside of Qi County. When he learned about this, he immediately wrote a letter to his father to advise him to give his father a great reputation and to resign from his post and return home quickly. However, Li Jingbai's big mistake had been made and could not be saved. Li Xin cried for a few days and refused to see guests, hoping to eliminate the stain of his father in the East China Sea.

Before Wei Zhongxian's failure, he was promoted to Li Jingbai as Minister of War to commend him for his first construction of the temple. Because Li Xin was so painful that Li Jingbai returned home because of his illness, and his relationship with the eunuch party was also slightly alienated. Soon Chongzhen ascended the top and was killed. Because he knew that Li Jingbai had no deep relationship with the eunuch party, he was sentenced to three years in prison and "lost and redeemed for the people."

When Li Xin was twenty years old, he was a member of the Dingmao imperial examination in the seventh year of Tianqi. Due to his family relationship, he was determined to be a career in the officialdom and did not go to the imperial examination. The prejudice and factional conflicts between the literati and officials in the late Ming Dynasty were very fierce. Although Li Xin had all-round talents in civil and military affairs, he was deeply discriminated against and excluded by local gentry because of his father's name.

Especially Qi County is only more than 100 miles away from Shangqiu. Many of the gentry and wealthy families in this county have been associated with the Hou family in Shangqiu, and they share their voices. The Hou family was once ranked in Donglin and praised himself. This Hou family is the family of Hou Xun, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Hou Fangyu, the fourth son of the late Ming Dynasty, was also from Shangqiu. Anyone who had a voice with the Hou family discriminated against Li Xin even more. The more Li Xin was discriminated against by the gentry in power, the more he liked to stand up for the injustice, helping the poor, making friends with the world and talented "common men".

People who discriminated against him were not able to catch any handle because he was a decent person, and because he was a juren, a rich young man, and some powerful relatives and friends were nothing to do with him. Because of these reasons, Li Xin lived a free and easy life.

Seeing that the world was in chaos, Li Xin loved to read books that "practice the world". The clearer he saw the fundamental problem of national chaos, the more he ridiculed the gentry and officials who only knew how to compete for songs and drinks and praised each other, including Hou Gongzi Fangyu, were just "the swallows and sparrows were in the hall."

Now he has been criticized for helping a group of refugees who fled to famine. It is revealed that his father is a stinking member of the eunuch party, which makes him very painful and angry, but he can't do anything about it. His father's stain is Li Xin's biggest pain in his life. However, after all, his father is a father, and he can't cut off his blood and deep feelings. Moreover, after his education, his father has suddenly awakened.

From Songmen to Yuwangtai, you have to pass by the east gate of the Daxiaoyuan. This road leads to Guanma Avenue in Chenliu, Qi County, Suizhou, Taikang and Chenzhou. Now there are groups of refugees walking on this road, and there are also those who are lying down on the road. Li Xin was shocked and didn't want to see it anymore. He kept riding his horse and stopped at the Yuwangtai. A servant had been looking around here for a long time. When he saw Li Xin coming, he immediately came up to lead the horse to lead the way.

According to legend, Shi Kuang, a musician from Jin State in the Spring and Autumn Period, once reviewed the sound here, so it has been called "The Chronicles of the Buffeting Platform since ancient times. In the Ming Dynasty, the Bixia Yuanjun Temple behind the Tai was changed to the Yuwang Palace, so this place was also called Yuwangtai.

There is a high pavilion to the west of the Yuwangtai, which is sculpted with the Eight Immortals and the East Prince, and is called Jiuxiantang. Behind this Jiuxiantang is a small tower, and there is a well behind the tower. The water is extremely sweet and clean, and it is called Yuquan. There are many houses around Yuquan, forming a courtyard called Yuquan Academy. In fact, no one taught here, and it became the place where the literati of Daliang gathered poetry and wine.

Ten days have passed since Double Ninth Festival. The west wind is bleak, the leaves are falling, and there are few tourists on the Yuwangtai. Because the Taoist priests are Mr. Li of Qi County and Mr. Chen Liu and Mr. Chen of Chen invited friends to drink and write poems here, they cleaned the Yuquan Academy early in the morning and did not allow idle people to enter.

Li Xin returned from Jiangnan because of Song Xiance. He originally wanted to talk about the world's major events with him in Houle Hall today. Later, because Chen Zishan and several members went to find him in the evening, he must come to Yuwangtai to resume his career and climb the high ground today, so he couldn't refuse, so he had to agree. In addition to Chen Zishan, a juren, these members also had two scholars and three people without fame.

This group of friends has one thing in common, that is, they feel that state affairs are out of control but have no choice but to do anything. When talking about state affairs together, they are singly generous and sad, and people often cry after drinking. Li Xin likes to get close to them and join their poetry club. But sometimes they are also tired of the useless talk of these people. When Li Xin follows his servants into Yuquan Academy, the members of the club are already impatient, stop talking and start writing poems and lyrics.

Chen Zishan complained as soon as he saw him, "Boyan, what happened in the Tang Mansion that has dragged you down? Look, it's almost noon. We can't wait for you, we have already lit incense and started writing poetry. Today, we don't have a title, no rhyme, and no desire to write lyrics. But we must have some entrusting and the desire to help the world. We can't just sing yellow flowers and express our feelings for leisure. Today, we are in a state of collapse and the sea is flowing. How can we see the South Mountain leisurely? ... Sit down and write poetry! What makes you come late?"

Li Xin was shocked and hurriedly said, "Why did you say this, brother?"

Song Xiance calmly replied: "Young Master, don't be surprised. I will take a closer look at the will of heaven and human affairs. This dynasty will not last long."

Li Xin hurriedly asked, "What is the will of heaven?"

Song Xiance said in a mysterious way: "God's will itself and people's hearts, why should you ask?"

Li Yan said sincerely: "No, there are no outsiders here, please tell me."

Song Xiance said: "I only know that in recent years, the landslides, earthquakes, locusts, droughts, winds and hazes have been continuous. In addition, the two days of mooring, the red qi passes through the sky, and the white rainbow enters the Ziwei Wall. The Emperor Star is often dark and unclear. All these are signs of national fortunes? Moreover, the people are in dire straits, and those who are in chaos cannot be stopped, and those who are not in chaos are in chaos. Do you understand the general trend? "

Li Xin said with great thoughts: "I browse history, and disasters like landslides and earthquakes also occur in prosperous times, which is not surprising. From the perspective of human affairs, I am indeed full of signs of destruction of the country everywhere, and there is no turning point. However, today I have to go to bed and eat, but it seems that I am not a king who has destruction of the country."

Song Xiance said: "This is luck, and it cannot be saved by one or two people. Moreover, today there are many suspicions, stubbornness, trust eunuchs, do not need direct ministers, donate heavy taxes, and do not care about the lives of the people. The country's affairs are not the same as a game of broken chess, with horses near, chariots and cannons in the distance, and they are controlled everywhere, and they are wrong. Now the head of the country is a headache for the doctor, the foot of the doctor, the foot of the doctor is unruly, and the foot is in chaos. Therefore, the defeat is determined, but it is only delayed."

After all, Li Xin was a young man from a noble family. Although he was dissatisfied with reality and had profound conflicts with the local ruling faction, his relationship with his family, relatives, friends, and the Zhu Ming Dynasty was complicated and flesh-and-blooded. Therefore, every time he talked about state affairs with his friends and some national destruction, he felt indignant, disappointed, painful, and had a glimmer of hope. Now that he heard Song Xiance say that the destruction of the Ming Dynasty was a foregone conclusion, his emotions were shocked and he was speechless.

After a while, he sighed deeply and said helplessly: "I don't understand the principles of astronomy, star transformation, and the five elements. I don't know much, nor do I believe it very much. The ancients said that the way of heaven is far and the way of humanity is near. Looking at the current affairs, the country's power is as dangerous as it is. As the brother said, the court is currently doing things wrong, and the whole game is getting worse and worse."

"The country was already full of grievances and was unable to save death. Recently, the imperial court charged another 7.3 million taels of training. Isn't this a drinking poison to quench thirst? The current trend is like putting a stone on the hillside. It can only roll down, and it will be rolled downwards. It will be unstoppable and will roll straight to the abyss."

"The emperor tried all kinds of efforts, but he wanted to hold the stone carp and not roll down any further. However, his strength was contrary to his wishes, and sometimes he used the wrong force to push the stone carp. The reason why the stone carp was rolling down more and more is inevitable. In my opinion, the so-called luck is a certain force that is gradually formed, which cannot be resisted by human power. Do you think so?"

Song Xiance nodded and said, "Young Master said that luck is an inevitable trend, and this statement is the most general. However, stars change and earthquake, and the five elements are disasters and disorders, which are indeed related to the national fortune. You must not disbelief. Your brother and your brother are loyal and know each other, so you dare to tell them with truth. If you have ordinary friends, you will not dare to say anything randomly."

Although Li Xin also saw clearly that the Ming Dynasty was as if "the building was about to collapse", his origin was different from Song Xiance. He was neither afraid nor willing to see the demise of the Ming Dynasty with his own eyes. After a moment of silence, he said worriedly: "Brother Xiance, although my father was punished in his later years, he gave up his life and received the kindness of the country, which was beyond the comparison of the poor family. Seeing that the country was defeated and unable to turn the world back, he was heartbroken... Just say that my brother was in the county to provide relief to the hungry people, he actually did not forgive the gentry in the country, and there were quite some gossip behind it."

Song Xiance said strangely: "This is a strange thing! I have been in danger for the past two or three years and I am not very clear about the situation in Zhongzhou. Although I have heard of the eldest son's help to the hungry people in Gui County, I don't know what gossip someone said behind his back."

Li Xin smiled reluctantly and said helplessly: "The reason why I sent food to rescue disasters is that I sometimes advised the wealthy households to provide relief. However, I couldn't bear to see the people displaced and starved to death, and the other was that I was afraid that the poor people would take risks due to hunger and cold. Nowadays, the world is like dry firewood piled up everywhere. As long as one person sets fire, it will burn everywhere and not be easily extinguished."

"It is hateful that the gentry and wealthy families in the country are short-sighted and only know how to peel off the villain. They do not know that the disaster is coming. Instead, they say that I deliberately seek fame and win over the hearts of the people. It seems to have an unspeakable mind. Ridiculous! Ridiculous! From the imperial government to the rich gentry, all kinds of actions are forcing the villain to rebel. As the ancients said, driving fish for the abyss and driving birds for the clumps! Sadly! It's a pity!"

Song Xiance whispered: "Yes, the government and the country are everywhere, and the country are all about the destruction of the country. The current situation is just a delay."

Li Xin sighed and his eyebrows were deeply locked, he bent down and asked bitterly: "Look, how many years can it be delayed at most?"

Song Xiance said affirmatively: "If there is no more than ten years, there will be a major change."

Li Xin looked at Song Xiance's confident expression, and then leaned on the railing to ponder. National affairs, wealth and future, and various problems came to his heart, making his heart even more chaotic and heavier. After a while, he looked at the proposal again and said with emotion: "Since the fate of this dynasty is about to end and the people are in such a disaster, I would like to have a saint early to save the people from dire straits."

Thinking of this, he pressed his voice down very low, leaned close to Song Xiance's ear and asked, "So, has the new saint been born?"

Song Xiance smiled slightly and said in a mysterious way: "The secrets of heaven are profound, and I dare not talk nonsense, so I will naturally know it when the time comes."

Li Xin didn't ask again. However, a determination had already formed quickly in his heart, that was to travel around the world and find this new saint. As a result, he met Zhang Zhun on the ground of Cao County. From then on, his fate completely changed.

...

"The saint, it has already come out..."

Li Yan muttered to himself silently toward Kaifeng City.

Li Yan cares very much about the tasks given to him by Zhang Zhun. This is not only a matter of avenging his family, but also a matter of changing the current situation in Henan. The Hu Ben Army has taken Luoyang. As long as he takes Kaifeng, he can control half of Henan in the hands of the Hu Ben Army. At that time, open the warehouse and release grain, and the poor people will be able to have enough food.

However, to complete this difficult person, there must be people, troops, and equipment. These things did not fall from the world. Since Zhang Zhun said he would not transfer them to him, he had to find a way out. Along the way, Li Yan had carefully sorted out what he wanted to do and determined what he wanted to do.

First of all, there are people. The meaning of this person is not to recruit all the nearby refugees. As long as someone raises his arms and calls, it is really no problem to gather thousands or even tens of thousands of people. This is also the basic reason why Zhang Zhun lets Li Yan go to form a legion by himself. As long as there are soldiers, everything else is easy to deal with.

However, what Li Yan needs at present is not refugees, but talents, real talents. These talents must understand the strategy, the basic way to lead troops, and have a certain understanding of the general trend of the world. As for reading and recognizing words, there is no need to say.

Almost without thinking, Li Yan thought of two people. One was his fellow villager Niu Jinxing and the other was his good friend Song Xiance. Both of them were real talents and knowledgeable, not ordinary people. What is rare is that they both gave up on the court. They were also looking for new saints.

Niu Jinxing was locked in the prison of Lushi County. As long as Zhang Zhun requested, the Hu Ben Army sent troops to rescue Niu Jinxing, which was not a big problem. Lushi County was not far from Luoyang, and almost neither side of the warring party noticed such a county town.

The hard thing is Song Xiance. Song Xiance has always been a lonely ghost and often appears in places that others cannot imagine. I don’t know where Song Xiance is now? The most urgent task is to find this genius. As long as Song Xiance helps, he will take down Kaifeng City, there will be no big problem.

"Young Master, there is news about Song Xiance."

Suddenly, a follower who was inquiring about the news rushed to report.

"Oh? Song Xiance?"

Li Yan was both surprised and happy and asked hurriedly.

I was about to find Song Xiance, but there will be news about him so soon?

"Song Xiance was locked up."

The follower who was inquiring about the news said in a sweaty report.

After Li Yan asked carefully, he learned that he was rescued by Zhang Zhun. After leaving Qi County with the Hu Ben Army, the government sent people back to Qi County to continue to search for people related to "Li Xin". Song Xiance was arrested by the government because he inquired about Li Xin's news.

However, this is not the end of the story. The ending of the story is that the government came back and captured Song Xiance, but the Hu Ben Army came again. When Zhang Zhun left Qi County, he was careful and asked Wu Qingliang, the commander of the Gangzi Camp, to send someone to lurk here to see if there are any valuable clues.

As a result, good shows happened continuously - the officials arrested Song Xiance, and the Hu Ben Army attacked the officials and rescued Song Xiance. The government could not afford to offend the Hu Ben Army, so it had to retreat in shame. At present, Song Xiance is working as a cultural instructor for the Hu Ben Army.

Wu Qingliang made a big mistake here, that is, he did not report Song Xiance's name to Zhang Zhun. Therefore, Zhang Zhun did not know the existence of this person. Well, this cannot be considered Wu Qingliang's fault. He had no idea who Song Xiance was. He could not report it to Zhang Zhun to identify it every time he rescued a person.

"Go back to Qi County!"

"drive!"

Li Yan cheered up and rode his horse towards Qi County.
Chapter completed!