At this point, Yan Wenluan suddenly woke up. His eyes suddenly became cold, and his tone also became somewhat indifferent. He stared fixedly at Hsu Fengnian. "Since the first year of Yonghui, Liyang has issued a heavy law. Ten catties of ironware, one craftsman. Once someone enters Beimang, the local officials must migrate for three thousand li. For so many years, many people on the borders took risks out of desperation, and because of this, they became rich. Afterwards, there were few investigations. But in our Northern Liang, in the past twenty years, under Mister Li's orders, we have killed more than ten surplus generals and lieutenants with real power. "
Yan Wenluan clenched the big white bowl on the edge of the table that was filled with hot tea and strong wine. He narrowed his eyes and said gloomily, "Since Wangye told me about this Beimang fleeing to the north, naturally there must be a deep meaning. Even if you beat me to death, I don't believe that Mr. Li and that Nalan Youci wanted to greatly increase Beimang's strength. That's why Beimang gained the Southern Dynasty for no reason, as well as the nearly one million Chunqiu adherents who constantly talk about the Central Plains as the new era. But if Wangye can't give me an explanation today, then I will boldly demand an explanation from Wangye on behalf of the dead soldiers of Crouching Bow and Luanhe Cities, as well as all the Beiliang Frontier Army soldiers who died in battle! "
Hsu Fengnian wasn't in a hurry to explain anything. Instead, he dipped his finger in the wine and bent over to point at the north and south ends of the table. "To accomplish this, we must first form a situation where we close the door and beat the dog. Zhao Bing, who threatened to kill all the young and strong men of Southern Tang, is doing the dirty work of raiding the base. In fact, he did kill tens of thousands of Southern Tang's surrendered soldiers as soon as he arrived at Nanjiang. Among these people, only a few thousand truly had the intention to rebel. Most of the others died unjustly. Someone has done the raiding, but someone has to close the door. Xu Xiao is doing this. It's just that back then, he led the army to Nanjiang and moved exceptionally slowly. Yuan Benxi, who felt that he was tricked by my master and Nalan Youci, was trying to mend the pen after the sheep is lost. Like you, Yuan Benxi hoped that those influential families would 'die under the tree' so that they wouldn't affect his primary task of assisting Zhao Dun in the war against Beimang. However, Yuan Benxi also didn't want Xu Xiao to rush north in the latter half of the year and actually go straight to his arch-enemy Beimang. His original intention was for Xu Xiao's army to speed up and block the northwest gate before that, so that this flock of cattle and sheep to be slaughtered could be driven back to the capital region and stay with the flood of Northern Tang's army. Therefore, the imperial court ordered Gu Jiantang's trusted general, Cai Nan, to rush west. However, at that time, neither Xu Xiao nor the Ji Province's Han Family stopped him for their own reasons. As a result, Cai Nan, who didn't have many cavalry troops at that time, didn't succeed. After that, Li Yang didn't dare to do anything to Xu Xiao, but you, the Han Family, can't take care of him? Therefore, the imperial court quickly executed the entire Han Family. Back then, a fish escaped the net and became a loyal martyr. It was just a matter of an imperial edict. Back then, Zhang Julu presided over this matter because he truly wanted to exterminate the Han Family. However, to say that he was influenced by his master and killed people out of personal grudges is to underestimate him. "
After Hsu Fengnian raised the wine pot, he didn't drink. "The reason why Yuan Benxi didn't pursue this matter is very simple. After several major battles, Li Yang lost one battle after another, and the Zhao Family's elites suffered heavy losses. Then, he suddenly discovered that Beimang was busy digesting the southern court and wanted to finish it off in one fell swoop in a few years. This allowed the Liyang imperial court, which was under Zhao Dun's rule, to take a breather and work hard bit by bit. In addition, Yuan Benxi didn't think that in the future, Li Yang would lose to Beimang in a competition of national strength. Hong Jia's northward journey gradually became a rotten debt that no one cared about. The Liyang imperial court didn't dare to make a sound because this was the only reverse scale that Zhao Dun, who was known for his open-mindedness and magnanimity, couldn't touch. "
Yan Wenluan, who was about to throw her bowl and fall out with him, frowned and asked, "So you're saying that the northward journey was a burden to Beimang?"
Yan Wenluan quickly shook her head and said, "No! Although the remnants of the Spring and Autumn Period did weaken Beimang's martial spirit to a certain extent, to that old woman, accepting these people had far more advantages than disadvantages. Now that they were attacking Gourd Mouth in Youzhou and Hutou City in Liangzhou, this point was already proven. Their method of attacking cities was no different from that of the Central Plains. Taking Gourd Mouth as an example, that vanguard general Zhong Tan even had the leisure to train his troops when he attacked Crouching Bow City and Luanhe City. On the surface, he only attacked one side of the city with the Crouching Bow City. On the surface, it looked no different from children playing house. But soon, when he attacked Luanhe City, he began to try to encircle three and block one. Even after he broke through the city, he was so cruel to both the enemy and himself that he intentionally fought in the alleys to enter the city. Now that they were attacking Xiaguang City, the Beimang infantrymen were becoming more and more skilled, and the number of casualties on the local battlefield had sharply decreased. They were already so careful in attacking Beiliang. In the future, if … if Beimang really had the opportunity to attack those cities in the Central Plains, who else could defend those cities other than Western Shu and the two Liao provinces?! The army of King Zhao Bing of Yan? If the northern barbarians attacked all the way to Nanjiang, would there still be any meaning? Even if we don't talk about the battlefield, that Taiping Order had already prepared a plan for how to quickly fill in a large number of skilled civil officials after Beiliang was taken. This would stabilize the rear defense and allow Beimang's cavalry to advance south without any worries. If this were twenty years ago, even if Beimang dared to think about it, it would never have been able to do it! "
Hsu Fengnian smiled and asked, "Old General, have you ever wondered why Xu Xiao and Li Yishan didn't oppose me going to Beimang at all, and instead supported me?"
Yan Wenluan's expression was still gloomy, but there was no longer any trace of the murderous intent from before. She gently shook her head.
Hsu Fengnian looked out the window at the sky that was beginning to brighten. He slowly put down the wine pot and said softly, "Old General, wait patiently. Back then, when I went to Beimang alone, it was only to pass on a message to some people. It was very risky, wasn't it? But if I didn't take such a risk, how could I make others willingly take an even greater risk? As for who in Beimang didn't forget their original intentions back then, I don't know, but there are definitely many of them. If I didn't know, that old woman in Beimang and the Taiping Order wouldn't be able to guess. "
Yan Wenluan was dumbstruck.
Hsu Fengnian stood up and lowered his head to look at the table where the wine stains had long since disappeared. "Perhaps you'll ask, can those scholars be trusted?"
Hsu Fengnian laughed to himself. "A few years ago, whoever dared to nod their head, I just took it as a joke. But of all the scholars in the world, just in the Spring and Autumn period that we've all experienced, there was Wang Ming Yang who defended Xiangfan City to the death for ten years, and Zhang Julu who brought about his own destruction. "
Yan Wenluan exhaled and said bitterly, "There was Wei Jingtang in Ji Zhou. In reality, in the Spring and Autumn period, there were quite a few scholars who were willing to die. Of course, I, Yan Wenluan, killed quite a few with my own hands. "
Hsu Fengnian walked to the window. "Huang San Jia once said that in this world, there will definitely be more and more people who can read and write. The general trend is also unstoppable: the hearts of the people are no longer what they used to be, and public morals are deteriorating day by day. But just because you've read and know how to read, you can't become a 'scholar' like Huang San Jia said. "
Hsu Fengnian stretched out his hand and slowly clenched it into a fist. "The more you know, the more you hold, the less you revere. This is human nature. A few years ago, His Royal Highness who didn't practice the saber again dared to be disrespectful to the celestials? "
"The mind is restless, the mind is restless … Taoism has the warning of 'the mind is restless, the mind is restless'. Buddhism also has the saying 'control the mind, the mind is restless.' But the specific methods are too vague and vague. Reading and writing have always been a luxury for the common people, and they can't do it. Confucianism is very simple and clear. One word, propriety. Propriety is a framework, but it's actually more like a cage. The common people don't understand, but it doesn't matter. We set down very detailed rules, and you just have to follow. I think that one of the important reasons why Confucianism was able to stand out among the Hundred Schools of Thought and eventually suppress the other schools is because of this. Of course, everyone likes to be free and unrestrained. Freedom is their nature. Under this kind of almost irreconcilable conflict, Confucianism and Mohism had a huge disagreement. The Confucian Sage had long since proposed that human nature is good. Later generations of sages constantly used various methods to subtly influence people. For example, when a child picked up a book, he had to memorize it, or else he would be beaten three hundred times. In the end, this was the result of education. But what's interesting is that the Taoist Sage came out to interrupt. He said that 'the sage abandoned wisdom, and the common people benefited a hundred times. Abandon benevolence, and the common people returned to filial piety.' Who is right and who is wrong? Perhaps there is no right or wrong. "
"Huang San Jia destroyed the Spring and Autumn Period. What he did was only to give the people of the world an opportunity to have a choice called 'freedom' earlier. And Zhang Julu, a scholar who had been a tailor for Li Yang for a full twenty years, used his own death to sew a framework in advance for this' freedom 'of the later generations that he had' behind 'the back of the Zhao Family. Perhaps Zhang Julu's efforts were futile and meaningless, but since he could think of it and do it, then he would do it. This is Zhang Julu. I, Hsu Fengnian, can't do it. You, Yan Wenluan, can't do it. Those famous ministers of Spring of Eternal Hui can't do it. Even Tantanon and Qi Yanglong can't do it. In fact, other than him, no one can do it. "
"Perhaps Huang San Jia, who had no other choice but to 'scourge' the people of the world with his three-inch tongue, didn't say to us: 'Know me, sin me. Only the Spring and Autumn Period'."
"The former Grand Secretary Zhang Julu, who didn't have a single will or last words, should have smiled and left behind a sentence for the later generations who treated him like a fool: 'You are not a fish. How can you know the bitterness and happiness of a fish?'"
Yan Wenluan carried a wine pot and stood beside Hsu Fengnian. This was his first time listening to Hsu Fengnian's long-winded speech. When this young man was killing people in Lingzhou and Youzhou, he wasn't this long-winded.
But Yan Wenluan wasn't annoyed at all.
Yan Wenluan put one hand behind his back and poured wine into his mouth with the other. After drinking it all, he shook the wine pot and asked, "Then what about Mr. Li?"
When Yan Wenluan turned his head, he saw the young man smile and point his finger to the north. Hsu Fengnian's face had a charm that a crude martial artist like Yan Wenluan was destined not to have.
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