Chapter 183 Why Horses Run (5k)
Liuzhen, Woyezhen.
A middle-aged man wearing linen clothes and holding a wooden stick was visiting a herdsman's tent near the town.
"True King, is my horse really hopeless?"
The old herdsman was dressed in rags, and he invited the middle-aged man in linen to his tent in order to treat his only remaining horse.
The True King shook his head and said, "The horse's foot is already injured. Such an injury cannot be cured by human power."
The old herdsman lowered his head and said, "Two years ago, there was a white disaster. Half of my herd and two sons died."
"Last year, the Rouran invaded and I lost another son and the rest of my herd."
"Is this only remaining horse also going to leave me?"
The True King had no expression on his face. A follower dressed as a warrior walked into the tent and said to the middle-aged man:
"True King, we have to leave. The town commander's lackeys have smelled the scent and are chasing us."
The "True King" stood up calmly and said goodbye to the old man.
The old man's tear glands had long since dried up. He looked at the "True King" and asked in despair:
"True King, will the Yellow Sky era you spoke of really come?"
The True King said confidently: "The world of Huang Tian, the Pure Land of Possa, the place of eternal light, the pasture of the immortal heaven, the supreme heaven, no matter what 'He' is called, he will come one day, but be patient."
The old man knelt on the ground, watching the "true king" and the warriors escorting him leave. Finally, he gritted his teeth, took out a sharp knife and went to the stable.
Stroking the white horse's mane, the old man murmured, "Old friend, when we get to the underground, I'll let you ride me."
After saying this, the old man stabbed the horse's heart with a knife. The hot horse's blood soaked him into a bloody man. The old man turned around and stabbed the dagger into his own heart, then fell beside the horse.
The "True King" left the ranch. He looked back and saw sporadic riders rushing into the ranch.
The guard warrior said quickly: "True King, it is not safe now, let's go quickly."
The "True King" pulled the reins and said, "Ahead is the black market where the tribes trade. If we move too fast, people will suspect us. Peacock, we are safe now."
The warrior named Peacock was still a little nervous, but the judgment of the "True King" was never wrong, so he finally relaxed a little.
The two men slowed down their horses and paced in the pasture. The "True King" suddenly asked, "Why do horses run?"
Peacock blurted out, "Horses are born to run."
The True King asked back, "The horse that was just treated had a hoof that was clearly injured. Continuing to run would only cause more pain. Why did the horse run?"
Peacock had never thought about such a question before, so he remained silent.
The True King said to himself: "The horses want to run because all the horses that can't run are dead. Is it the horses themselves who want to run, or is it people who drive the horses to run?"
This question is so complicated that Peacock's brain has crashed.
But he was used to this "true king" always asking strange questions.
"If you just stop, you can eliminate the pain and get peace, but this world makes the horse keep running, and finally die in pain."
The True King continued, “Remember what I said about the problem of the Six Towns?”
Kong Que blurted out: "Isn't it because the imperial court is unjust, the commanders are greedy, and the people of the six towns have no hope of survival?"
These are the words that Peacock is used to saying. He followed the "True King" to one tribe after another near Woye Town and witnessed all kinds of difficulties.
Whether they were Han, Gaoche, Xiongnu, Rouran, Qiang, or even Xianbei, they all suffered the same hardships in the Six Garrisons, and the imperial court oppressed everyone equally.
Peacock had seen countless evils, including the greedy plundering of local commanders and the fights among powerful generals and military leaders to protect the interests of their own tribes.
Kong Que had seen how the imperial envoys colluded with the local commanders and embezzled the disaster relief and relief food.
It is for this reason that the peacock follows the "true king" and tries to build an ideal world as described by the "true king".
At this moment, the two suddenly saw two teams confronting each other in front of them.
Peacock became nervous. He grasped the scimitar at his waist and stopped the "True King" behind him.
But when he got closer, the peacock realized that these were two tribes fighting for water and were engaging in a brawl on the edge of the pasture.
The "True King" stopped and watched the bloody fight that broke out between the two sides wielding simple weapons.
A young man was knocked off his horse by the other side with a wooden stick, followed by trampling by horses' hooves. Neither side even had sharp weapons, but the battle was bloodier and more cruel than any war.
Peacock frowned and said to the "True King": "True King, do you need me to disperse them?"
The True King shook his head and said, “No, as long as this water source is still there, their fight will not stop.”
The peacock seemed to have suddenly figured something out. He said, "Why do horses run? It is because of survival that they are forced to run, just like survival forces the people of the Six Towns to fight."
"Everyone says that we, the people of the Six Towns, are brave and aggressive, but in fact, we are not born that way. Those who are not good at fighting are already dead."
"True King, is this the answer you want?"
The True King shook his head and said, "The world I want to build is a world where horses can survive without running."
But Peacock saw a loophole in the "True King" system. He pointed at the group of fighting herdsmen and said:
"True king, but as long as there are people in this world, horses will need to run, and even small tribes will fight each other."
The True King looked at the sky and said, “It’s not their fault.”
"Morality descended from the Great Purity Heaven, and first fell upon the Son of Heaven. That is why it is said that the Son of Heaven accepts the mandate of Heaven."
“Only when it comes to the kings and princes can they have the virtue and etiquette of nobility.”
"Finally, it falls on the nobles, and only then can it have the virtue of a scholar."
"When it comes to ordinary people, there is little morality left, and these fights are the remaining evil of human nature."
"So the lower you go, the more fighting and evil you see. This is not their problem."
The True King looked in the direction of Luoyang and said, "The Emperor bears the most moral responsibility and should be a role model for all the people in the world, but the Emperor cannot do good deeds."
"If the ruler cannot uphold morality, then the kings, dukes, ministers and scholars will not be able to stay in their positions, leading the entire world to depravity, which is why we have the end of the world today."
The True King looked at the sky and said, "If the emperor cannot accept morality, then we can only overthrow him. When that time comes, I will use selfless morality to regulate everything in the world, so that tribes will not fight over water sources, and everyone will return to their rightful place in this system."
“Only when everyone returns to their own positions can the order of the world be restored and the troubled times pass.”
Peacock didn't understand even more. He followed this "true king" and only knew that he had read many books.
There is no need to mention the books of the Han people, the Buddhist scriptures, and the Taoist canon.
These "true kings" also dabbled in the witchcraft passed down by word of mouth among the Xiongnu people and the shamanism of the Xianbei people.
The "True King" even read the bizarre religious doctrines that came along the Silk Road, the myths of Manichaeism, the legends of Zoroastrianism, Nestorianism, and even more distant religious texts.
Sometimes Peacock also couldn’t understand what was going on in the “True King’s” brain. Why wasn’t his mind confused after reading all those messy books?
After reading these books, the "True King" summed up a theory, which was to build an ideal world from him.
In the ideal world of the "True King", the Sage King rules the world with moral laws. Everything operates under the moral judgment of the Sage King, and everyone is at peace.
This is a world without fighting, where supplies are distributed equally to all those in need, a world without famine and war.
Peacock actually doesn't believe that such a world can really be created, but he also looks forward to it.
The peacock looked at the "True King". The "True King" could solve everyone's doubts and make fair decisions on all issues.
His personal morals were flawless, he never enjoyed anything, his clothes were tattered and rough, his only property was a wooden stick, and the horse he rode on was given to him by Peacock.
Compared to the greedy general in Woye Town, the "True King" is a true "Saint King".
After passing through the battlefield for water resources and the bazaar where tribes exchanged goods, Peacock finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the town commander's minions could no longer catch up with him.
"True King, the envoys we sent to various states and counties have returned. Some of the generals have agreed to respond to us, and some have not responded, but no one has been sent to the government."
Peacock said again: "But didn't you say that those heroes can't be trusted? Why do you want to contact them?"
The True King said: "Those heroes are indeed untrustworthy, but we can rely on them to disrupt the world first, so that more people can join us."
"It is precisely because there are still too many people in this world who have illusions about the 'fake king' that the fake king can steal the throne. The noble generals in those states and counties can be used."
The peacock nodded quickly, and the "True King" said:
"The people of the Six Towns are too tenacious. They still have illusions about the old world, but the time has not come yet."
Peacock asked, "What should we do then? The minions of the false king have discovered our existence, the town commander's pursuit is getting faster and faster, and their spies have infiltrated our team. Can we just lie dormant like this?"
The True King shook his head and said, "The time has not come for the Six Towns yet, but it has come for Guanlong. Send more people to Guanlong. When Guanlong is in chaos, the Six Towns will also be in chaos."
Kong Que immediately agreed and said to the "True King": "Among the various states in Guanlong, Li Yan, the governor of Qinzhou, is the most greedy. I will go to Qinzhou myself!"
-
Cui Liang, the Palace Attendant and Minister of Personnel, looked at the official documents sent from Qinzhou. Even though he was born in the Qinghe Cui family, one of the most prestigious families in the world, he couldn't help but curse.
This is another official document from Qinzhou officials impeaching Li Yan, the governor of Qinzhou.
Li Yan has a distinguished family background, but despite being born into a prominent family, he is extremely greedy, and this guy is a real playboy.
Cui Liang entered the officialdom almost at the same time as Li Yan. When Li Yan entered the officialdom, he started out as a noble censor.
This job was to give advice and counsel to Emperor Xiaowen on his behavior. It was a position to build up one's reputation around the emperor, and one could be easily promoted as long as one did not make any mistakes. This was also the care that Emperor Xiaowen gave to the Jia family, a noble family that he had personally appointed.
However, even with such a position, Li Yan was demoted to Yuanshi by the Ministry of Personnel for not meeting the examination requirements because he often got drunk and made mistakes.
Later, Li Yan was finally forgiven by Emperor Xiaowen after his family elders pleaded for him. He was appointed as the senior official in charge of suburban temples, that is, the ritual official in charge of sacrifices.
At that time, the capital had just been moved to Luoyang and the various rituals and regulations were not yet complete. The Li family invited great Confucian scholars to assist Li Yan in revising the court ceremonies and regulations, and forced Li Yan to recite these regulations at home. Finally, he was evaluated as competent by Emperor Xiaowen.
After Emperor Xiaowen passed away, no one would judge Li Yan as incompetent anymore. Li Yan was promoted repeatedly due to his status as a son of an aristocratic family and easily became the governor of Qinzhou.
Although he was already in a high position, Li Yan's temper was the same as when he first became an official. He was willful and impulsive and had no control over himself. He used his subordinates as slaves and treated the people as his chickens and dogs. He committed many absurd things while in Qinzhou, which aroused opposition from all levels of Qinzhou.
Things had come to this point, and it was no longer up to Cui Liang, the Minister of Personnel, to decide. He could only go to the residence of Prince Qinghe with a memorial impeaching Li Yan.
When Cui Liang saw Prince Qinghe, he noticed that his brows were furrowed and wrinkles appeared on his forehead.
Cui Liang certainly knew what Prince Qinghe was worried about.
Li Chong's second son, Li Shengui, was originally a guard beside the empress dowager. He was handsome and tall, and was suddenly noticed by the Empress Dowager Hu, who took him in as her lover.
In fact, this has happened many times, but every time Empress Dowager Hu would quickly lose interest in the new lover and then "summon" Prince Qinghe again.
But this time was different. Li Shengui stayed in the palace every night these days, and Empress Dowager Hu promoted Li Shengui and asked him to guard the Yellow Gate and be in charge of the entry and exit of the Forbidden City.
This made Prince Qinghe worried. The favor of Empress Dowager Hu was the key to his ability to maintain his position as the leader of his clan.
Some time ago, Song Wei, a Tongzhilang, wrote a letter to impeach the Prince of Qinghe for violating the rules and accusing him of being disloyal. Although Empress Dowager Hu did not investigate and even comforted the Prince of Qinghe in public, she did not punish Song Wei either.
The censors in the court obviously regarded Empress Dowager Hu's behavior as a signal and began to write letters to impeach Prince Qinghe.
In order to express his loyalty, Prince Qinghe donated half of his house to the Buddhist temple, but the Queen Mother did not summon Prince Qinghe into the palace at night during these days.
Cui Liang naturally couldn't help with this matter, so he could only talk about his own reasons.
"Your Majesty, Qinzhou has impeached Governor Li Yan again. Do you want to transfer him out of Qinzhou to avoid the limelight for a while?"
"no!"
Prince Qinghe flatly refused, saying, "Li Yan is a descendant of the Jia family, how can we deal with him just because of his subordinates' impeachment? Wouldn't that chill the hearts of the nobles?"
Cui Liang also fell silent. He was also a descendant of a noble family with the surname Jia. He became the Minister of Personnel because the noble family with the surname Jia needed to protect their own interests. He was forced to the position. He really could not betray the class he belonged to and continued to persuade Prince Qinghe to transfer Li Yan.
Cui Liang's persuasion failed this time and he had to return home. But after waiting for a few more days, he received an official document from Qinzhou and met the envoy from Qinzhou.
This time, the official document from Qinzhou did not impeach Li Yan, but rather praised Li Yan's contributions generously, describing Li Yan as a rare capable minister in history.
Cui Liang looked at the Qinzhou envoy in front of him with doubt. He asked:
"Last time, everyone in Qinzhou impeached Li Yan, the governor, for being corrupt. Why are they praising Li Yan as a capable official in today's letter? What is Qinzhou doing as the Ministry of Personnel?"
Cui Liang was a little angry. He thought that Li Yan forced Qinzhou to do this. This guy really brought shame to the Jia family.
Unexpectedly, the Qinzhou envoy Lü Bodu said:
"Cui Tianguan, last time it was the clerks in the state who changed the official documents reported to the Ministry of Personnel. Governor Li is a good official praised by everyone in Qinzhou."
Cui Liang naturally didn't believe what Lu Bodu said. Lu Bodu clapped his hands again, and two strong men carried a box in. Cui Liang opened it and saw that it was full of gold, silver and jewelry.
Cui Liang looked at Lu Bodu in confusion.
All I saw was Lü Bodu kneeling down before Cui Liang and saying, "Tianguan Cui, this is the money that I, Qinzhou, have raised. I just hope that Governor Li can be promoted soon!"
Now Cui Liang finally understood Qinzhou's plan. They also realized that there was no hope of impeaching Li Yan, so they simply collected money to bribe the officials in the court and wanted to take the initiative to help Li Yan get an official position, just to make him leave Qinzhou as soon as possible!
Cui Liang really couldn't imagine how much Li Yan had angered the people and heaven to make the whole Qinzhou like this.
He thought for a while and said, "Put the things here first. This matter still needs the approval of King Qinghe."
Lu Bodu said quickly: "Thank you Cui Tianguan! If this is successful, the people of Qinzhou are willing to build a statue and a temple for Cui Tianguan!"
Cui Liang waved his hand weakly to let Lu Bodu leave. Looking at the full box of gold and silver, he felt that this gift was the heaviest he had received since he took office as the Minister of Personnel.
-
"Duke Danyang, Su Ze was arrogant in Hezhou and provoked border conflicts without permission. This is the impeachment memorial written by my father."
Liang Lan raised the letter above his head and handed it to Xiao Baoyin, the Duke of Danyang.
Xiao Baoyin took the letter. Liang Lan's father, Liang Zhao, was the most influential Qiang leader in Hezhou. Xiao Baoyin originally wanted Liang Zhao to cause some trouble for Su Ze in Baohan, but he didn't expect that it would be easily resolved by Su Ze.
Nowadays, Liang Zhao and other Qiang leaders have less influence in Hezhou than before. These unruly Qiang leaders have even started to file lawsuits with the court. Xiao Baoyin doesn't want to bother with them anymore.
After seeing Liang Lan off, Su Liang entered the study.
Some time ago, because of Su Liang's younger brother's service to Su Ze, Xiao Baoyin distanced himself from Su Liang for a while, but he soon discovered that things in the mansion could not be handled without Su Liang.
In the end, Su Liang was re-employed, but the relationship between the two also underwent subtle changes.
Some of the things Su Liang used to say were no longer said, and an invisible gap appeared between the two of them.
"Mingsir, this is a private letter from Cui Yanbo, the governor of Qizhou. A rebel envoy named 'True King' has appeared in Qizhou and has contacted local tyrants to rebel. Governor Cui has arrested several people, but he has not caught the envoy of 'True King'."
"Ask Governor Cui to keep an eye on Qizhou, especially Qinzhou. Li Yan is extremely greedy and the situation in Qinzhou is already very dangerous."
Xiao Baoyin, who had been gloomy for a long time, finally smiled: "Jingshun, the day we leave Luoyang may be approaching."
But there was no smile on Su Liang's face at this time. After he said goodbye and left the study, he was stopped by a maid.
My eyelids are inflamed, and I am writing this today with swollen eyelids.
Alas, this little problem is really annoying. I can only update 8k tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)