Hsu Fengnian suddenly lamented, "The wise man devises his strategies, the brave man exerts his strength, the benevolent man spreads his benefits, and the faithful man is loyal. The civil and military struggle, the monarch and his subjects live in harmony, and he can rule with his head bowed. Rule with his head bowed, heh, it sounds easy, but in the past dynasties, except for those emperors who enjoyed the peace of the world, they wanted to expand their territory in prosperous times, but in troubled times, they wanted to protect their ancestral lands. Taking a step back, if both civil and military are used, then who is the wise man scheming for? Is it for the monarch or the people? Isn't Zhang Julu's death the price for the nobility of the people and the monarch of the people? If the brave man exerts his strength, will he be greedy? A man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant? Will he be addicted to sitting on the dragon throne? The benevolent man nurtures his hopes, and the mud and sand go down together. Is he fishing for fame? For example, like This Old Man of the Song family, who steals copies of memorials to the imperial calendar in order to leave his name in history? If the faithful man is loyal, will there be officials who are foolishly loyal and actually bring disaster to the country? "
Hsu Fengnian mocked himself, "Who doesn't want to be an emperor? When I was young, I often thought that other than the dream of being a hero, which is now gone, the next dream was to be an emperor. Once I had the power of the dynasty in my hands, I could kill all the eyesores in the world, and all the women in the world would be mine. How refreshing would that be? However, as time passed, I realized that being an emperor really wasn't easy. Zhao Zhuan's grandfather wanted to kill Xu Xiao, Zhao Zhuan's father killed the Han family of Ji Province, and before he died, he had to kill Zhang Julu before he could rest in peace. Zhao Dun and Li Yang didn't accept Li Xiaoxin's new calendar from the Two Zen Temples, and didn't choose to let the world have sixty more years of peace. Instead, they let the descendants of the Zhao family have a few more years of imperial power. I think it was also at that moment that Zhao Dun and Zhang Julu, a pair of wise monarchs and famous officials who could have been immortalized through the ages, began to truly part ways. Only then could Zhang Julu make up his mind to seek death, and Zhao Dun forced himself to let Bi Yan die. I ask myself, if one day I finally become the Emperor, would I feel more and more guilty when faced with so many choices? Would they kill Xu Beizhi, Chen Xiliang, Chu Lushan, and Yuan Zuozong? Would they break up the Beiliang Frontier Army and let the old men who wanted to die on the backs of the horses beyond the Great Wall die on their beds in the misty Central Plains? In the future, the sons and grandsons of Hsu Fengnian, will the men fight with each other for a seat? When they are young, they will make solemn vows and talk cheerfully, but when they are older, they will hide daggers behind their smiles and turn against each other? Will women marry people they don't even love? "
Hsu Fengnian looked at Xu Yanbing and asked with a smile, "Uncle Xu, is this considered soft-heartedness?"
Xu Yanbing nodded, but said, "There is a saying that soft-heartedness doesn't lead an army, but it doesn't mean that those who lead an army have to have a heart of stone. The Four Great Generals of the Spring and Autumn Period who are equally famous as the Great General, whether it's Ye Baikui or Gu Jiantang, are usually very amiable and approachable when leading an army. Training an army for a thousand days to use it for a single day. The time when one is truly ruthless and merciless is when one uses the army. On this point, Chu Lushan did very well. "
Hsu Fengnian gently looked to the south. Over there, there was someone who did even better than Chu Lushan.
The five of them led their horses down the mountain. The spy surnamed Liu, who had been standing far away from them, continued to lead the way. At the foot of the mountain, they happened to run into a large group of quarrymen who had come out of the depths of the mountain. The mountain path paved with crushed stone was only wide enough for three or four people to walk side by side. The smaller stones were tied up in layers on wheelbarrows and transported out of the mountain. The larger stones were placed on donkey carts and ox carts. There were also many quarrymen carrying stones in groups. Compared to Nanzhao's red sandalwood, which was worth an inch of gold and could be transported by river, the transportation of stone was even more clumsy. When Hsu Fengnian was about to mount his horse and leave the mountain, he saw a white-haired but tall old quarryman who was physically exhausted. The long piece of stone on his back suddenly tilted, and the old man fell along with the stone onto the path of crushed stones. Fortunately, the old man's body was still healthy and did not hurt his muscles or bones. He sat on the ground awkwardly and smiled bitterly. A Lingzhou quarry supervisor wearing armor and carrying a sword turned a blind eye. He did not arrogantly crack his whip like the government's lackeys in Liyang. He allowed a young, dark-skinned quarryman to secretly stop and hand the old man a jug of strong wine. The nearby Beiliang soldiers wanted to go forward and stop them, but the supervisor, who looked like a deputy captain, gently shook his head and used his gaze to stop his soldiers from going forward.
However, when Hsu Fengnian approached, seven or eight soldiers simultaneously held their swords and glared at him. The quarry was currently not open to the public. The outsiders who could enter were all people who were close to the government and had a clean family record in the Whisk Room. After all, the large and small Taoist temples in Dayu Paradise still needed the support of incense. The Great War of Liang Mang had begun, and more and more people came to pray for blessings. The most prosperous Lingzhou naturally had a lot of incense. Regardless of whether they were rich or poor, they all asked for something like a protective talisman. Xu Beizhi set an unwritten rule for the large and small Taoist temples in Lingzhou. In the past, they did not have to hand over incense money to the government. They had to take two or three or four out of every ten miles. For a forbidden land like Dayu Paradise, because the government was lenient, they had to take four percent of the incense money. Therefore, after Xu Beizhi bought the rice provincial governor, he had the "reputation" of being a popular provincial governor. It was only when Spy Liu stepped forward that the Lingzhou soldiers in charge of transporting the quarry retreated. However, their eyes were still alert.
The quarry old man who drank a mouthful of strong wine raised his head and looked at the handsome young master in front of him. He did not have stage fright. He was probably a talkative person. He took the initiative to smile and said, "This young master is going to Chongshan Temple to burn incense, right? It's not that I want to put in a good word for Chongshan Temple, but the marriage fortune sticks there are very effective. These years, I have seen many young masters and ladies come back after making their wishes. The old man's outrageous grandson also managed to find a pretty good granddaughter-in-law for the old man after winning the lottery at the monastery. Nowadays, people in Lingzhou say that other than Wudang Mountain's fortune sticks, everything else is the most effective. In terms of marriage fortune sticks, it will be Chongshan Temple's turn. "
Speaking of which, the extremely hospitable old man unconsciously raised his hand as if he wanted to invite the young master to drink a mouthful. However, he quickly pulled his hand back. It was clear that he realized that this kind of Green Ant wine that could be bought for twenty copper coins was expensive for quarrying people like him, but how could a young master like him drink it?
Hsu Fengnian was originally going to take the wine pot, but when the old man pulled his hand back, he could only give up. He smiled and squatted down. Soon, Xu Yanbing took a wine pot from the horse's back and threw it over. Hsu Fengnian reached out to catch it and handed it to the old man, "Old uncle, drink mine. If you don't mind, you can take it all. "
The old man was not polite. After taking the wine pot, he opened it and sniffed it hard. He laughed and said, "It's both Green Ant wine. They have the same name, but just by smelling it, I know that young master's wine is more valuable. I like to drink all my life. If someone gives me wine to drink, I won't refuse. However, I'll just pour a few mouthfuls into my grandson's wine pot. I won't have the face to ask for more. "
The old man really poured a few mouthfuls of wine into his own wine pot. After pouring the wine, he shook the crude wine pot before returning the exquisite wine pot to Hsu Fengnian. The old man did not forget to say, "This old man will say something. Young master, don't be angry. Although young master looks like a rich person from a large family, you can't be so extravagant. No matter how big your family business is, you have to be careful with your spending. If young master doesn't like to hear it, just treat it as this old man farting. Don't ask for the wine back. "
The dark-skinned young man was a bit nervous. Compared to his grandfather who had spent his entire life dealing with rocks in the deep mountains, he had been to many more counties in Lingzhou and knew the severity of the situation. He had also seen many rich young masters dressed in fine clothes and had heard many rumors about the arrogant young masters. Although everyone in Lingzhou knew about the Embroidered Roaming Cavalry that had locked up many rich young masters, this young stonecutter was still quite nervous when he was in close proximity to someone of the same age who had a high family background.
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "The person in charge of the family has to have a way of managing the family. That's right, old uncle, I heard that your Big Fish Mountain Quarry can only mine eighty pounds of rocks a day. Although there are twenty-five miles of mountain roads in two trips, it shouldn't be too tiring. Why does old uncle have to carry a hundred pounds of rocks in one trip? "
The young stonecutter did not want his grandfather to say too much to an outsider, so he reminded him, "Grandfather, we need to move."
With the help of his grandson, the old man knelt down and tied the leather rope that was used to tie the rocks. After he slowly stood up, he turned his head to Hsu Fengnian and said with a smile, "The Provincial Governor did have such a rule, but young master might not know. The quarry also said that after completing a mission of one hundred and twenty pounds of rocks, if you carry an extra ten pounds of rocks, you will be rewarded one copper coin. This old man, my grandson, and my two sons, the four of us together can carry an extra four to five hundred pounds. That is forty to fifty copper coins. For our family, this is not bad. This old man still has some strength, and my sons and grandson are filial. They only let this old man carry one trip. Isn't this because they want to carry twenty to thirty pounds of rocks in one trip? It will be slower, but it will also be good to earn two or three copper coins. The government has also been very straightforward in paying the bill, so we have more motivation to work. "
Hsu Fengnian smiled and nodded.
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