At the end of the Sui Dynasty, I am the king

Chapter 107: Point out the maze

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After all, Chen Yingliang, the dead ghost, left behind a poor body. He blushed at Gao Shilian's house and went out with a thick neck. When he rode his horse back to Yiyangfang, he was blown by the cold wind in late autumn on the road, and Chen Yingliang couldn't help it. Rolled off the horse and vomited, the vomiting was nauseating, the world was turned upside down, and finally he couldn't even ride the horse. It was the family servant who hired a car for Chen Yingliang, and brought Chen Yingliang back before the gate of the workshop was closed. At home in Yiyang Fang. As a result, after returning home, Chen Yingliang had to be complained by Chen Laosan again, and Chen Laosan forced him to drink a bowl of hangover soup.

In fact, poor health is only one of the reasons why Chen Yingliang was so drunk, the main reason why Chen Yingliang was so drunk was because Chen Yingliang decided to give up his pursuit of Yang Yuer, even though he knew that there was a huge difference in identities between himself and Yang Yuer, and he was very clear He only had an unrequited love for Yang Yu'er, and it was almost impossible to get what he wanted, but after he really decided to give up, Chen Yingliang was still very disappointed, and couldn't help but drink away his sorrow once - after all, Chen Yingliang was really moved by Yang Yuer.

The result of using alcohol to drown his sorrows was not only drunk, but also a strong discomfort after a hangover. In the early morning of the next day, Chen Yingliang had a splitting headache, weakness in his limbs, and his face was as pale as paper. Sweating, so uncomfortable that life is worse than death. But there is no way, because Chen Yingliang had asked for leave too many times a while ago, he really couldn't bear to ask for leave again, and he didn't want to be blamed for dereliction of duty, which would hinder the local position he was seeking, so he endured his discomfort and left the house to hold on Then came to work in the imperial city.

Fortunately, Chen Yingliang's boss Pei Xin is a member of Wenxi Pei's family, and thanks to Chen Yingliang's blessing to be promoted to a higher level, he took care of Chen Yingliang to some extent. Seeing that Chen Yingliang was pale and sweating constantly on his forehead, he was concerned Asking about Chen Yingliang's physical condition, and knowing that Chen Yingliang was feeling unwell, Pei Xin waved his hand and gave Chen Yingliang half a day of sick leave, telling Chen Yingliang to go home and rest immediately. Chen Yingliang, who was really unwell, was overjoyed, thanked Pei Xin for taking care of him, and hurried out of the imperial city to go home to sleep.

From morning to afternoon, just after I felt more comfortable, my bad friend Fang Xuanling came to the door with a jar of wine to urge him to die, and brought Chen Yingliang a new friend—a son of an official named Du Ruhui, who said he and Du Ruhui After getting acquainted by chance, they got along very well. At the same time, Du Ruhui also admired Chen Yingliang, who made his name with bare hands, so he took Du Ruhui to Chen Yingliang's house and introduced him to Chen Yingliang.

In the current era, Du Ruhui is of course not well-known, and he has just resigned from his position as Fuyang Wei. It stands to reason that Chen Yingliang, who is a young man, can look down on Du Ruhui. Of course, he was overjoyed when he arrived, not only did he greet the 28-year-old Du Ruhui as a younger brother, he also ordered his family and servants to prepare a good banquet despite his hangover, and insisted on having a good drink and friendship with the two future celebrities , and at the same time naturally desperately set up friendship with Du Ruhuila to lay a solid foundation for the necessary moments in the future.

Thanks to his outstanding reputation and good image, Du Ruhui had a very good first impression of Chen Yingliang when he just met him, and as he got to know Chen Yingliang well, when the topic of the chat inadvertently brought up the official position, Du Ruhui couldn't help but ask Chen Yingliang "Brother Yu, regarding your official position, Brother Yu has always had a question. Considering your literary talent and martial arts, and your relationship in the court, how could you be given such a semi-leisure position as the right deputy commander of the crown prince? Isn't this Overkill for little use, a bright pearl cast in secret?"

"Don't hide it from my brothers, this is what my two uncles Pei meant." Chen Yingliang did not hide anything from Fang Xuanling and Du Ru, and replied frankly: "They are worried that I will be suppressed if I enter the army too early, and I am just a young man. At the age of seventeen, I am too young, and it is inconvenient for them to arrange any civil position with real power for me, so they simply let me transition to the position of the right deputy commander of the prince, let me have some seniority first, and then level up other official positions."

"That's true." Du Ruhui, who had suspected this for a long time, nodded, expressing his understanding, and then said enviously: "The virtuous brother is really extraordinary, and his qualifications are all directly from the fifth rank, and the foolish brother is older than the virtuous brother. At the age of eleven or twelve, he was considered a bit of a backer in the imperial court, but after he became an official, he could only serve as a small county captain (equivalent to the county police chief), compared to him, brother Yu is really ashamed."

"Brother, you don't have to be like this." Chen Yingliang comforted: "Brother's luck is not yet here. I believe that with my elder brother's talent and learning, I will definitely be successful in the future, and my future will be far ahead of my younger brother."——Heaven and earth conscience, what Chen Yingliang said is true It can no longer be true.

Du Ruhui can be hailed as one of the eternal sages, so of course he has self-knowledge. Without the ability to predict, of course he mistook Chen Yingliang's heartfelt truth for comfort, and shook his head with a wry smile. His confidence in himself was far away. Not as strong and firm as Chen Yingliang's confidence in himself.

"Brother Yingliang, don't blame brother Yu for making unlucky words. You must hurry up on this matter." Fang Xuanling, another future virtuous minister of the past, said solemnly: "As you and my brother said in the chat, today's sage is rare , the merits are by no means inferior to those of the Qin Emperor and Han Wu, but the current emperor is also a king of good deeds. From ancient times to the present, there has never been an emperor who likes to travel around the world as much as he does. Brother, if you can’t confirm your new name before the emperor’s next tour As for the position, once the Holy Majesty goes on tour again suddenly, Prime Minister Pei and Dr. Pei will definitely accompany you, if you still want to seek some ideal position at that time, it will never be as easy as it is now."

"Brother Qiao Song, don't be so nervous." Du Ruhui was decisive, and he didn't have the same opinion as the scheming Fang Xuanling, and said with a smile: "Brother Qiao Song forgot to stay behind? Today, the Holy Majesty always favors stay behind. , with his old man around, even if Prime Minister Pei and Dr. Pei are not in Daxing, Brother Ying Liang still has to worry about not having an ideal position? I am afraid that even if Brother Ying Liang wants to be promoted again, it will be a matter of guarding a word .”

"Brother Keming, it is true that Wei Liushou appreciates Brother Yingliang very much." Fang Xuanling reminded cautiously: "But Brother Yingliang's uncles are always Prime Minister Pei and Doctor Pei. Staying behind is just Yingliang's elder brother. Also, Wei Liushou's power is limited to Guanzhong and is subject to many restrictions. No matter how much you promote Yingliang, you can't reach the height of Prime Minister Pei and Dr. Pei."

Du Ruhui nodded silently, agreeing with Fang Xuanling's point of view—Chen Yingliang did still have such old thighs as Wei Xuan and Fan Zigai to hug, but the power of these old immortals was only limited to one area, and it was a dying day. With a kick of two legs, the poor little wife Chen Yingliang was left helpless in the world, so the thighs holding them not only had limited space to ascend, but also might be leaning against the mountains and the water, which was far less than the emperor's close ministers in their prime of life. Pei Ju and Pei Yun's thighs are so stable and reliable.

"Thank you, brother, for your concern, and thank you for reminding me, brother." Of course, Chen Yingliang understood Fang Xuanling's implication, and he didn't hide it from his friends. Taking the opportunity of presenting cotton this time, I have asked my two uncles to agree to seek a foreign official position for me as soon as possible. If I am lucky and everything goes well, there may be news soon.”

"My dear brother is indeed far-sighted and considerate." Fang Xuanling smiled gratifiedly, and then asked curiously: "My dear brother, where do you ask Prime Minister Pei and Dr. Pei to find an official position for you? Jiangnan? Sichuan? Or just in the two capitals?" Gyeonggi?"

"I didn't ask for these Taiping officials." Chen Yingliang shook his head and said calmly: "I begged the two uncles to put me in Qingxu, Qilu and other places where the bandits are the most serious, to help local officials put down the bandits."

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui's expressions changed at the same time, and they also closed their mouths together. After a while, Fang Xuanling said in a deep voice: "My dear brother, you know that there are tigers in the mountain, and you are walking towards the tiger mountain. Qingxu Qilu rebellion is rampant You know better than Brother Yu the root cause of this, you still insist on clearing up the rebellion, this is not trying to be brave, but gambling on your official career."

"Brother Qiao Song, there must be someone to suppress the rebellion." Chen Yingliang calmly replied, "If I don't suppress the rebellion, and if others don't, then the rebellion will only get bigger and bigger, and it will get worse and worse." It's getting harder and harder to control?"

Fang Xuanling was dumbfounded, and wanted to point out that Chen Yingliang gambled too much, but he was limited by the feudal toxin brainwashing of being loyal to the emperor and loving the people, as well as his stubborn father's persuasion for many years, so he really couldn't find anything to criticize and stop Chen Yingliang's adventure gamble. On the contrary, Du Ruhui suddenly slapped his hands and applauded: "Brother Yingliang is indeed courageous, responsible, and more motivated! It is true that Qilu's rebellion is difficult to eradicate, but the more difficult the matter, the more extraordinary achievements you will make Opportunity! I believe that with my virtuous brother's strategy and martial arts, when it comes to Qingxu Qilu's anti-insurgency battlefield, he will definitely be able to achieve a record no less than that of General Zhang Xutuo, the pillar of the imperial court."

After all, he had only just come into contact with Du Ruhui, Chen Yingliang really couldn't tell whether Du Ruhui was perfunctory or sincere, so he could only return Du Ruhui with a false smile. Unexpectedly, after Du Ruhui praised Chen Yingliang's wise decision-making, he suddenly said: "However, Brother Yingliang, Brother Yu thinks that you are still a little reckless. If you go to a county or county to serve as a bandit suppressor, you should be more strategic, proceed step by step, and then plan for development."

Of course, Chen Yingliang couldn't ignore Du Ruhui's suggestion, and he just hurriedly asked, "Brother Keming, what do you mean by that? I hope you can explain."

"Because suppressing thieves and quelling rebellion at the local level is different from the rebellion that you suppressed Yang Xuangan's rebellion in Luoyang." Du Ruhui replied solemnly: "Don't blame Brother Yu for speaking badly. My brother, you have successfully suppressed Yang Xuangan's rebellion, which is the most important contribution." The most important thing is the Eastern Capital court headed by Fan Liushou and General Huangfu. It is they who have trained your soldiers, and they are the ones who provide you with food and military expenses that can be squandered, weapons and armor that are never missing, and military supplies. Withstood the dark arrows from behind, jealous framed, so that you can concentrate on countering the rebellion. Without their help and support, my brother, no matter how amazing and talented you are, you will inevitably be tied and unable to display it. "

Seeing that Chen Yingliang nodded again and again, agreeing with his point of view, Du Ruhui lost all scruples and continued: "My dear brother, when you go to suppress bandits and quell chaos, the situation will be completely different. Money and food must be prepared within the county. Weapons and armor It must also be purchased and built by you, and almost all the supplies you need must be figured out by yourself, and you have to face the jealous constraints of your colleagues and superiors. Colleagues are involved, innocent. Therefore, my dear brother, if you go to the local area to suppress the rebellion, although the scale of the battle you will face is certainly not as huge as the Yang Xuangan Rebellion, the difficulty of the actual battle will definitely be higher than the difficulty of the battle to put down the Yang Xuangan Rebellion !"

Of course, Chen Yingliang, who has been relying on financial appropriations to deal with cases for a long time, understands the truths Du Ruhui said. Although Chen Yingliang was already mentally prepared for this, since Du Ruhui mentioned this matter, Chen Yingliang respectfully said: "Everything that brother said makes sense. The little brother also knows that the war against thieves is not so easy to fight, as for how to proceed step by step, I also ask my brother to speak out and give advice, don't worry about it."

Du Ruhui was of course also very happy to see that the famous Chen Yingliang respected his opinion so much, so he said: "Brother Yu thinks that you have two ways to proceed step by step, the first one is to serve under the command of General Zhang Xutuo, the pillar of the imperial court. The second is to seek positions in counties and counties where the banditry is relatively light, first to accumulate a certain strength, and then to seek development."

"To work under Zhang Xutuo's command? Or to seek a local official position where the rebellion is relatively minor?" Chen Yingliang's eyes lit up a little.

"That's right." Du Ruhui nodded vigorously and pointed out: "The advantage of serving under General Zhang Xutuo's command is that you can directly command the elite troops under General Zhang Xutuo's command to fight. Your current eminent reputation, under the tent of General Zhang Xutuo, even if Zhang Xutuo can't reuse it, you will definitely be able to win the opportunity to lead the army."

"Of course, this choice also has flaws." Du Ruhui added: "Zhang Xutuo has a strong character, and a strong person must be arbitrary. Brother, you are new here, and you are not from Zhang Xutuo's old department. Immediately affecting his strategic choices, he can only be completely under his command, unable to act according to his own strategic plan, and will be bound to a large extent."

Chen Yingliang nodded slowly, and asked again: "Brother, if I work in a county where the rebellion is relatively light, what advantages and disadvantages will I have?"

"My virtuous brother went to work in a county where the banditry is relatively light, and the advantages and disadvantages are not outstanding." Du Ruhui replied: "The counties and counties where the banditry is relatively light are naturally relatively normal. The shortcoming is that since the local officers and soldiers are unable to quell the rebellion, they must be insufficient in terms of combat effectiveness, my brother, you must start from scratch in terms of the army, and it is difficult to achieve immediate success."

"In addition, the character of your Shangguan, my dear brother, will also affect your record of fighting chaos. If you encounter a weak and timid Shangguan, then you will definitely rely on your virtuous brother with outstanding military achievements as the Great Wall and obey your words. But if Self-willed and jealous boss, brother, your job will not be so easy to handle."

Chen Yingliang was silent for a moment, then nodded and said: "Listening to brother's words is better than reading for ten years. After listening to my brother's analysis, I am willing to work in counties and counties where thieves are relatively light, but I don't know if there is such a suitable position in the imperial court." ? Also, if there is such a suitable position, I don’t know if the boss is weak and timid?”

"My dear brother, you are becoming more and more greedy." Fang Xuanling, who had been listening by the side, finally said with a smile, "It's fine if you don't want to be controlled under Zhang Xutuo's tent, and you also hope that your boss has money." If you have food for you to suppress chaos and suppress thieves, but you don’t want to be restrained by him, do you still want to command your superiors instead? You have to take advantage of the advantages and don’t take any losses. There are such good things in the world?”

Du Ruhui laughed in agreement, and Chen Yingliang also smirked, and said shamelessly: "If a person has no ideals, what is the difference from a salted fish? I know that there is no such good thing in the world, but dream about such a good thing as a head office?"

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui laughed together again, but after laughing, Fang Xuanling suddenly said with a mysterious expression: "But brother, maybe there is such a good thing in the world."

"What does Brother Qiao Song mean by that?" Chen Yingliang was taken aback.

"Brother Yu's position is to serve as the censor in the palace. Although he has no authority and offends people at every turn, he has the advantage that he can observe the government affairs every day." Fang Xuanling said with a smile: "Just today, Brother Yu heard about a government affairs - Qiao Xu Minlian, the prefect of the county, impeached him, and Fu Jiande, the governor of Qiaojun, was negligent in his duties. As a result, the bandits Tian Heishe and Tian Baishe in Qiaojun attacked the canal of Yongji Canal and took away more than a dozen ships transporting grain from Jiangnan to Dongdu. His Majesty was furious. An order has been issued to arrest and interrogate Qiaojun Zanzhi Fu Jiande, and order Qiaojun prefect Xu Minlian to take the blame and perform meritorious service, and do his best to wipe out the black and white thieves in Qiaojun."

"Qiaojun?" Chen Yingliang understood what Fang Xuanling meant, and hurriedly asked, "Brother Qiao Song, do you mean that you want me to seek the position of Qiaojun Zanzhi?"

"That's right." Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "My dear brother, if you want to seek this official position, first of all, there is no problem in terms of rank. Qiao County is a second-class county, and the second-class county magistrate (Zanzhi) is from the fifth rank. It also happens to be from the fifth rank now, seeking this official position is just a level transfer, the difficulty is much smaller, and it is not easy for others to talk so much."

"Other than that, this official position fully meets your expectations, dear brother." Fang Xuanling added with a smile: "I know Xu Minlian, the prefect of Qiao County. He is the seventh son of Xu Zhifan, a famous doctor in the former dynasty. The superior officer has average talent and is said to have a relatively mild personality. This time, the impeachment of his subordinates is entirely because the robbery of grain is too serious. He wants to hide it, but he can't hide it enough. It has nothing to do with him that Caoliang was robbed in Yongcheng County, and it cannot be said that he deliberately squeezed out his colleagues, so as long as you don't make such a big mess like Fu Jiande did, it shouldn't be a big problem to cooperate with him friendly. "

"Also, the money and food situation in Qiao County is also good." Fang Xuanling added: "The Yongji Canal, which connects the Central Plains and the south of the Yangtze River, runs through the northeast of Qiao County. The river eats the river, relying on the Yongji Canal for survival, so the rebellion is relatively small, and the money and food are relatively sufficient compared to other second-class counties, and it is entirely possible to support the counter-insurgency war of my virtuous brother."

"Brother Qiao Song, what a great idea." Du Ruhui's eyes lit up first, and he said happily: "Brother Qiao Song, you just said that the Holy Majesty asked Xu Minlian to take the blame and make meritorious service, and eradicate the black and white thieves in Qiao County as soon as possible. If my younger brother made a name for himself in the anti-rebellion war, if he served as Xu Minlian's deputy in Qiao County, Xu Minlian would definitely regard the virtuous brother Ying Liang as his savior, and he would obey the words of the virtuous brother Ying Liang in countering the rebellion, and try his best to satisfy the virtuous brother Ying Liang. All kinds of requirements, this alone is far better than taking other counties to serve."

"The benefits are not limited to these." Fang Xuanling looked around, lowered his voice and said: "There are no other outsiders here, so brother Yu will be outspoken. If you can work in Qiao County, dear brother, you just want to get credit and pick a bargain. It is far easier than other counties, because in the north of Qiao County there is Zhang Xutuo, a famous general of the Sui Dynasty, and in the south is Wang Shichong of Jiangdu. With them dealing head-on with a large group of thieves, brother, if you hide by the side, you will stab the knife whenever you have the chance, and you will have more opportunities to gain military exploits than other counties."

Being fooled by Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui's cooperation, Chen Yingliang soon beamed with joy, raised his glass and said, "Thank you two elder brothers for your advice, younger brother has decided, I will go to visit the two uncles tomorrow, and try to get the position of Qiaojun Zanzhi Please, two brothers, this glass of wine is my little brother, I thank the two brothers for pointing the way."

Of course Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui would not be polite with Chen Yingliang, they raised their glasses to drink with Chen Yingliang, put down the glasses and laughed together, and after laughing, Chen Yingliang took the opportunity to say to Du Ruhui: "Brother Keming, since you have no official and light body now, if you I can really get the position of Zanzhi in Qiaojun, so I wonder if you are willing to go to Qiaojun with me?"

"Why did you think of inviting me to Qiao County?" Du Ruhui asked in surprise.

Naturally, it was impossible for Chen Yingliang to tell Du Ruhui the real reason, so he just smiled and said, "Of course I want to invite my brother to appreciate the scenery of the Central Plains, and I also want to give my younger brother all kinds of pointers along the way. My elder brother is from a famous family and is familiar with official rules, even if I just give my younger brother a little advice." Second, my younger brother must also suffer endlessly. Of course, my younger brother will bear all the expenses of my brother's trip. If my younger brother can achieve something in the counter-insurgency battlefield, I must also have a share of credit from my elder brother."

Of course Du Ruhui understood that Chen Yingliang wanted to recruit him as an aide, but it was a pity that Chen Yingliang's current official position was still slightly lower. Naturally, he would not be tempted by Chen Yingliang's solicitation immediately, so Du Ruhui immediately declined with a smile and said, "My dear brother, if you invite Brother Yu ten years in advance, Brother Yu will definitely obey immediately, but it is not possible now, Brother Yu has a wife at home now." There is a son, and his parents are old and really unable to travel far, so Brother Yu can only appreciate Brother Yu's kindness, but cannot follow his orders."

"Yes, I have forgotten all of this. Brother, please forgive me." Chen Yingliang was very disappointed and sighed in his heart: "In the end, the officials are still a little bit younger, and the historical giants like Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui are still not here. It’s really not something I’m entitled to right now.”

If you want to know what will happen next, please read the next chapter "Harvest of Mulberry", where Xiao Zhengtai, Captain Chen's first thug comes on stage.