In the hot summer afternoon, Ji Xun's eyes were obviously red and swollen, Jiang Heng was at a loss, looked at him, and looked at Zhao Jie who was still sitting beside him. He was always there, hiding in the shadows, as long as Ji Xun was there, he would be there.
Zhao Jie must have known... Jiang Heng was a little scared. Will he kill himself as the history books say? But Geng Shu wouldn't let him do it, just like this, their new home would be gone, and they had to resume their wandering life. But the emperor was abused, what should he do? Let the princes come to rescue him? who will come
At this moment, he felt as if he understood the source of the slight sadness and helplessness in Ji Xun's eyes from time to time.
"Jiang Heng, how many words do you recognize?" Ji Xun asked in a hoarse voice.
Geng Shu always stood by Jiang Heng's side, blocking him diagonally with half of his body, while watching Zhao Jie vigilantly to prevent him from suddenly attacking. Zhao Jie didn't even look at the two of them, he just took it slow and wiped a hosta in his hand.
"Reporting to the king, I..." Jiang Heng didn't know why Ji Xun asked this, and answered honestly, "Almost all of them recognize it."
"How many books have you read?" Ji Xun asked again wearily.
Jiang Heng said: "I have read..."
Jiang Heng reported some book titles, most of which were read in Xun Dong before. As soon as the words started, Ji Xun signaled that he didn't need to say more, and glanced at Zhao Jie. Zhao Jie still didn't look at them.
"Master Taishi Zhong is getting old." Ji Xun said.
Jiang Heng just met the old lady not long ago, so he died? The post of Taishi is one of the six ministers. Like a book official, he is responsible for sitting behind the emperor and recording the government affairs for the emperor every day when he goes to court.
He often talked to Zhong Lao, who had no children and daughters, and served as the imperial history of the Jin court all his life. When I was old, I often couldn't remember things. When I recognized Jiang Heng, I loved him. Jiang Heng even arranged books for him every now and then.
Jiang Heng's eyes turned red.
Ji Xun added: "The fever that I got today has been buried. People are dying, and it is too old to be sad. Jiang Heng, are you willing to be my Taishi?"
Before Jiang Heng had recovered from the sad news of Taishi's death, he heard another news that made him overwhelmed.
In the evening, Luoyang cooled down, Jiang Heng was in an uneasy mood, and walked through the garden with Geng Shu.
Geng Shu said, "You have to think clearly."
Jiang Heng said, "Of course I'm going, right?"
Geng Shu said, "Don't you still want to see the sea?"
Jiang Heng: "???"
Geng Shu pulled Jiang Heng and stood under the sunset. The shadows of the two were cast on the palace wall. Geng Shu's shadow was taller than Jiang Heng. He said seriously: "Once you become Taishi, you will have to memorize a lifetime document for him in this palace, just like Zhong Lao, you can't go anywhere."
Jiang Heng is too young, no matter how much he reads, he is still a child. He didn't know that people's life was very long, but nodding and agreeing to Ji Xun meant that he would spend the rest of his life in the palace. Not to mention, he nodded, which meant that Geng Shu nodded, and this would be their whole life.
Can you go too? Jiang Heng thought to himself, but Geng Shu reminded him that the rest of their lives was still very long. He has to wait for his mother to come, test his homework, and read all the books in Jintian's womb...
... But he didn't say these words, he just took Geng Shu's hand and said, "Aren't you Hai?"
Geng Shu suddenly laughed and said, "I don't care if you want. Anyway, I'm just guarding you, I'm afraid you'll be bored."
Jiang Heng said: "Then... I'll think about it again."
Jiang Heng's temperament is not detached, and occasionally he just wants to see the outside world out of curiosity. On the way to escape, what he saw and heard had exceeded the sum of what he could imagine at his age, and instead made him a little afraid.
It seems that as long as you live within this high wall, many pains in this world have nothing to do with you.
They sat down by the wall and looked at a listless little flower in the flower bed after being scorched by the scorching sun. Geng Shu held some water next to it and poured it on the flower, and the flower and leaves slowly spread out.
"elder brother."
Jiang Heng finally made a decision.
Geng Shu: "?"
Geng Shu turned to look at Jiang Heng, Jiang Heng said, "You can make up your mind. I'll listen to you."
Geng Shu said casually, "I don't have anything to make up my mind. You can do it if you want. If you don't, let's go."
Jiang Heng said blankly, "Where are you going?"
Geng Shu said, "Go to another place. If you want to survive, can't you find a place?"
Jiang Heng said with a smile: "Yes, the whole world is so big, with you, you can go anywhere."
At the end, Geng Shu said to himself again: "You are my whole world, of course it is like this."
Jiang Heng was silent for a while, and the two suddenly saw Zhao Jie and an old man coming over. Jiang Heng recognized the old man as Dazai Miqu, who was in charge of the state in front of the throne of the emperor.
"The king has something to say to you," Mi Qu said, "Young Master Jiang."
Jiang Heng immediately responded with "yes", stood up, and saluted Mi Qu and Zhao Jie in a proper manner.
"The king said that the two of you are still young, and you shouldn't spend your whole life in Luoyang. You're not the same as him." Mi Qu leaned on crutches. Although he was old, he was in good spirits and said, "The position of Taishi, You can come as soon as you want, or leave as you want. Or you can plan another year and five months after Mrs. Zhao returns."
Jiang Heng and Geng Shu looked at each other, and the words of the emperor dispelled his last doubts.
"This is a high-ranking official position!" Jiang Heng said.
"Being Taishi for a long time," Geng Shu made Jiang Heng's bed at night, Jiang Heng was wearing thin underwear and underwear, Geng Shu was still shirtless, "You will also be reluctant to leave."
Jiang Heng said with a smile: "But there's nothing wrong with staying here for a lifetime, right?"
Geng Shu thought about it too. Compared with their previous life, Luoyang seemed to be in Taoyuan.
"It's a pity for me, you read so many books," Geng Shu added, "stay here, you won't need it."
Jiang Heng gave way to the couch, and Geng Shu changed the seats, and the summer night was very cool.
"What counts as useful?" Jiang Heng said.
Geng Shu: "When you are full of books, you can make the best use of them. Don't you say that in the books?"
Jiang Heng said, "Be the Grand History! Isn't that considered a prince and a prime minister?"
Geng Shu was suddenly blocked. Thinking about it this way, it seems that he has already become a high-ranking official. What else can he do
Jiang Heng said: "What's more, if you don't go to the emperor to worship the prime minister, will it be in vain? I think that you don't need to always think about being useful. In a world of great competition, utilitarianism is rampant, why should everyone be the same?"
"Yes, yes," Geng Shu replied, "you are right, you are right."
Jiang Heng laughed, they both grew up a lot and slept next to each other, especially when it was a little hot in summer, but he still liked to be next to Geng Shu, even if Geng Shu was prone to sweating. Geng Shu didn't care either, he hugged Jiang Heng from behind, and held him in his arms as before, just like when he was seven years old.
The next day, Jiang Heng took over the position of Taishi, and Zhao Jie arranged a short case for him, and let him sit behind Ji Xun, with a pen and a scroll of silk, and began to record the affairs of the court.
yyxs.la
At the same time, North Korean and Chinese officials began to call him "Master Jiang".
Jiang Heng suddenly became the youngest official in the Jin court, and the youngest official in history. In this position, the youngest official, one of the six ministers, was actually an eleven-year-old child? ! It is simply unprecedented.
But Jiang Heng didn't think there was anything wrong with his young age. Instead, he concentrated on it. When he sat behind the emperor, everyone found it very interesting.
On the silk and silk, he wrote teeny tiny characters, densely packed, nothing more than the harvest in Luoyang, the climate of the four seasons, the affairs of various vassal states, and sometimes the emperor would receive visiting envoys from various places. Said to be envoys, they were all business people. They brought simple gifts every now and then. The emperor gave them a generous meal, and then ordered Zhao Jie to send his soldiers to send them on the road.
Jiang Heng did this job and was able to receive a monthly salary of five stones and three catties of meat, and immediately the brothers were much better off. There are five hundred catties of grain every month, which can't be eaten at all, and it is also a large amount of Jin money. Jiang Heng told Geng Shu to stop working as a carpenter shirtless, and just rest at home.
Geng Shu sweated profusely for a whole day, and only got half of the money. Jiang Heng only got four dollars every day in court for less than an hour.
"Meat eaters are contemptible." Geng Shu said jealously.
Jiang Heng laughed and said: "Under the heaven, the twenty-four seasons are the solar term, when will the ploughing be planted, when will the seeds be harvested, what happened, the weather is good, the country is prosperous and the people are safe, it's all the responsibility of the emperor, what's wrong with the imperial court taking this money? "
Geng Shu didn't struggle anymore. He took Jiang Heng's money and went out to buy food. Since Jiang Heng was serving in the court, he no longer obeyed the courtesy of the guest and could not eat with Ji Xun. He had to deliver the rations himself. Royal chef, the waiter will prepare the meal for them.
A few months later, Jiang Heng and Geng Shu had saved a lot of money, while Geng Shu had nothing to do. I don't know which day, he also joined the guards under Zhao Jie. The ground lined up for work and stayed outside the emperor's court when he was in court.
"Why are you here?" Jiang Heng asked unexpectedly.
"I don't know." Geng Shu also looked blank and said, "Xiong Lei gave me a waist card, do you see?" He then showed Jiang Heng his "Nie Hai" wooden card, and then let him see his own The dilapidated bodyguard's uniform was apparently found temporarily and put on for him.
Then Geng Shu was inexplicably called to the main hall on duty and became a guard of the Royal Forest Army.
The guards received one stone per month, which was not as good as Jiang Heng's, but it was enough to make ends meet. In this way, the brothers do not have to support their families, but are richer than many officials.
Gradually, the guards all got to know Geng Shu. Most people like Jiang Heng and Geng Shu brothers. There is no other reason. The young people are pure in nature and have no scheming or shrewdness. They will always be loved.
Geng Shu doesn't have to be on duty all day long, Zhao Jie seems to know what they are thinking, and the arrangement for Geng Shu is nothing more than when Jiang Heng is at court, Jiang Heng goes to court, Geng Shu goes to stand guard, Jiang Heng goes to court, and Geng Shu is with him Back to the bedroom. In his spare time, Jiang Heng reads history and Geng Shu reads military books. The two sometimes switch between reading books. Jiang Heng found that Geng Shu is also quite talented in military books. Other than that, he lacked other interests, but he actually read faster than himself. In less than a year, he had almost finished reading the books in the royal family's Bing and Mo collections.
There are only 800 imperial guards in the capital, and there is no war. There is no army for Geng Shu to try, and it is inevitable. So Geng Shu found a sand table out of nowhere, and dragged Jiang Heng to accompany him. Like playing chess, I attacked and defended.
"Don't play, don't play!" Jiang Heng made a fuss, losing to Geng Shu every time, but Geng Shu was happy. The time of "war" with Jiang Heng was his happiest time. Point can't be allowed.
One of the brothers was thirteen and the other was eleven, and they looked like adults.
Winter has come again. This is the third winter they have spent in Luoyang. After the spring sacrifice, Jiang Heng will be twelve years old. The snow is flying in the cold wind. This year's snow is heavier than in previous years, and the winter is also colder than in previous years. Geng Shu made preparations for the winter early, prepared a thick fur, and set up a charcoal stove in the hall to cook meat to eat.
Geng Shu: "Anything on your mind?"
"The magistrate of the emperor's fief is here today." Jiang Heng was really worried, and he handed the meat to Geng Shu and said.
"Oh?" Geng Shu said, "I didn't see it. It is said to be called 'Sir Song'. What does it look like?"
Jiang Heng passed by the hall today, and a local official from Song County came to ask him for directions. By the way, he personally delivered the Sui Gong and brought a rather bad news—
- Soldiers of the Yong Kingdom have left the Jade Bi Pass.
Jiang Heng took him outside the Tianzi's study, and after waiting outside the door for a while, he heard a conversation inside.
Song County is the only land reserved by the Ji family in the world today. Apart from the royal capital, only the food and materials produced in this area are turned over to the imperial court. It is precisely because of this that Luoyang's precarious position is supported, so that the emperor and the officials will not be left behind. All starved to death.
He heard the local official say in the study, "If the king is willing, the lower officials can recruit troops in Song County to help the capital."
"Forget it," Ji Xun's voice said, "How many people can be recruited in the poor Song County? Two thousand people are already amazing. Once the Yong people come, what is the use of two thousand people?"
The hall was silent for a while, and Ji Xun added: "Their target is only me. They want to kidnap me to Luoyan and be a puppet. Let them come if they want. You, go back and take care of your people. , if you have this idea, Wang has already accepted your affection. What should I do when I go back, just go."
The local official sighed, but Ji Xun's voice contained a smile.
"If the sky kills me," Ji Xun said seriously, "what's the benefit of laboring the people and hurting the money? If the sky lives me, there will be a way out."
"Yes, my king." Finally, the local official surnamed Song in the study said.
"Yongren's goal is Luoyang," Geng Shu nodded and said after hearing this, "It's clear. They want to capture the emperor and be the leader of the alliance. It is said that the special envoys of Zheng, Liang, Ying, and Dai are all On the way, I wanted to persuade the Son of Heaven to take refuge in their capital for a while, and today I saw the special envoy of Liang."
Jiang Heng was a little nervous and asked, "He didn't recognize you, did he?"
Geng Shu shook his head, he was just a child back then, who would notice him? What's more, over the years, he has grown up a lot, and he has already changed his appearance. Jiang Heng said again: "Do you look like your father? I'm afraid of him..."
"Father is blind," Geng Shu said. "He has always been blindfolded. He is hiding in the harem of Liang State, and few people have seen him."
The black sword has been put away by Jiang Heng, but Geng Yuan hardly ever used this sword before his death, and only a few people know about it. Jiang Heng confirmed it again and again, and then gradually calmed down.
Geng Shu and Jiang Heng have been with each other for a long time. They often heard Jiang Heng talk about the movement of the Five Kingdoms after returning from the Sanchao. They had a general idea of the situation. Seven years ago, in response to Yong's Four Kingdoms Alliance, Geng Yuan, their father, was sent by the Ju clan to ambush them. Seven years later, the qin sang all over the world, slaughtering the envoys of the four countries to resolve it.
But this blood feud has never been forgotten. After King Liang Bi Jie and General Chong heard that they died under the sword of Geng Yuan, Liang Guo's vitality was seriously injured, and it took seven years for him to barely recover. Anyang was turned upside down overnight, and Taichang, named Xue Ping, was enthroned by a distant relative of the Liang royal family and succeeded him as Liang Wang.
At that time, King Liang was only four years old, and now the domestic revenge for the surname Bi is more than a year old. To control the situation of the government and the opposition, Xue Ping had to restart the four-nation alliance and cut Juicy Yong again.
Yong Guo was about to send troops to hijack the emperor, and the four countries were instantly alert, and they sent special envoys and assembled troops to prepare for battle in Luoyang.
Ji Xun must not fall into Yong Guo's hands!
Liang Guo first sent envoys to invite Ji Xun to Anyang as a guest. As long as the emperor is under his control, he is equivalent to having a king's flag to command China.
"In a few days, they will come one after another." Jiang Heng explained worriedly, "Wang said, he is not going anywhere, just in Luoyang."
Geng Shu said, "What if Yongguo advances to Luoyang and grabs people?"
Jiang Heng: "He said that Zhao Jie can protect him."
Geng Shu didn't answer, with helplessness in his eyes, he wanted to know what he meant - Zhao Jie now has 800 men, all of whom are old, weak, sick and disabled.
Geng Shu said, "If we come in, shall we follow?"
Jiang Heng said blankly, "I don't know, when will my mother come?"
Geng Shu was stunned for a moment, then remembered that it had been nearly the third year since Mrs. Chunzhao left at the beginning of that year.
In the past three years, Jiang Heng often talked about his mother at first, but then it became less and less, and in the past year, he no longer mentioned it. The brothers seemed to acquiesce to something, but Geng Shu never thought that Jiang Heng would never forget it.
"I don't know either." Geng Shu had to say.
Jiang Heng said, "Even if the king doesn't agree, does Yong Guo dare to use force to arrest someone?"
Geng Shu thought for a while and replied, "That's not necessarily true."