Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 743 and Tiandou 3
In late March, the Datong Basin is still cold and windy. From time to time, sandstorms blow over from the Mongolian Plateau, giving the entire ancient city a sand bath—that thing is really annoying. After a sandstorm, Almost the entire city of Datong is covered with a thick layer of dust, and nothing can be kept clean.The weather was very cold, hovering below five degrees, and it was extremely dry. It seemed that smoke was coming out everywhere. Drought, severe cold, and wind and sand were all tormenting everyone. This kind of ghost place, hard men can't stand it.

However, under this harsh environment and climate, the frontier residents opened the gates of the reservoir, allowing the water stored last autumn to pour out, and flow down the canal to the fields, nourishing the thirsty wheat fields and pastures.Herdsmen with chapped lips whipped their flocks out of the sheepfolds to eat the newly grown grass. The grassland workers wielded sickles and worked hard to harvest the soft alfalfa and milk vetch. These fresh grasses are not only coveted by livestock. Gourmet food will also become a delicacy on the table. No, there are many vegetable vendors in Datong City selling neatly bundled alfalfa, which has become a delicious vegetable that everyone is eager to buy.Factories and mines have also started working, and large groups of white smoke are coming out of the chimneys. The four-wheeled carriage is carrying heavy coal and is moving on the concrete road. , Dozens of miles of cement roads can be seen everywhere.And some children were waiting on the side of the road with baskets, and immediately went up to pick up large pieces of coal into the baskets and took them home after the convoy passed.The paving project, which was interrupted last winter, is continuing. A large number of farmers who have not yet been assigned to the fields are carrying baskets of hoes. Under the command of the engineering staff, they dig out the roadbed, clear the gravel, level the roadbed, and pour cement slurry... Datong Basin is everywhere. You can hear their loud chants, and when they are in full swing, everyone will sing at the top of their voices.Of course, this job is very hard, but the pay is relatively high——Last year, the eight families of Shanxi merchants were murdered by the nine clans. It’s just a fraction. It is said that the intercepted assets amounted to more than 5000 million taels. The rich and powerful Tianxiong Army was naturally generous. The workers who participated in the road construction had three meals a day. Money, there is compensation for the injury, and if there is an accident, the family can get 30 taels of silver as compensation.This vain money filled the poor farmers with enthusiasm, and I really wish that the road would continue to be built and never stop.

Not only in Datong, but also in Xuanfu, Yulin, and Yinchuan, there are scenes of this kind of labor in full swing everywhere, and hundreds of thousands of people are sweating in this bitter cold place.They like this kind of life, hard work is hard work, but they will get rewards for their efforts, which is far better than staying in the mainland and being sucked into mummy by old landlords like leeches.

However, compared with the fiery labor scene outside, the atmosphere in the study in the Hou Mansion is a bit deserted, it can even be said to be a cold scene.

There are only Lu Xiangsheng and Hou Xun in the study.Two people, two cups of tea, no little book boy with red lips and white teeth, and no dancer and kabuki who can sing and dance with a light body. These favorite enjoyments of the high-ranking people can't be seen here, which makes Hou Xun quite unhappy .However, what made him even more upset was Lu Xiangsheng's attitude.

That rebellious article was right in front of Lu Xiangsheng. He had read it several times, and his reaction was intriguing.

His reaction was... no response!
Yes, no response!

Any scholar who reads this article will jump into a rage, bark his teeth and claws, and curse endlessly. The worst thing is to shoot at the case and curse with a halberd. However, Lu Xiangsheng did not respond. After reading it several times, he calmly put down the newspaper. Pick up the teacup and drink tea.

This made Hou Xun 120 upset.He admits that this Marquis Su Yi has a great manner, and his speech and behavior are all pleasing to the eye, but the old man came all the way to Datong, not to drink tea with you!Knowing that whoever speaks first will be passive now, he still couldn't help it, and asked with a trace of anger: "Jiandou, you can still sit still?"

Lu Xiangsheng looked calm: "Jiandou doesn't understand what Lord Shangshu means."

Hou Xun snorted angrily, and said: "Hailstorms hit the entire Central Plains overwhelmingly, thousands of acres of grain and wheat were destroyed, and countless people wailed in despair and complained. The people of insight couldn't bear to see the life in ruins, and they wrote letters to implore the emperor to punish their own edicts and punish the courtiers, in order to ask for forgiveness from the gods. , Confused black and white, deceived the public with demonic words, tried to overthrow the laws of heaven, and now the whole country is outraged, and the people all over the world are demanding that the emperor take down this insane person, and cut him into pieces to calm the anger! As the Marquis of Daming, the great official of the frontier, you deeply Being favored by the emperor, it is right to stand up and plead for the people, why are you indifferent? Jiandou, you really let this old man down!"

Lu Xiangsheng sighed, put down his teacup, bowed his hands to Hou Xun, and said, "Master Shangshu, calm down. Although there are some inappropriate things in the article of Champion Hou, there are some things that cannot be ignored. For example, from the 28th year of Wanli to the present, three More than ten years have passed, and there are frequent disasters in the Great Tomorrow. Shenzong, Xizong and the current emperor have all issued edicts of sin many times, and many courtiers have been punished, but the natural disasters are getting worse every year. Why is this? Looking back at history, every natural disaster, which emperor did not sin against himself in fear and sincerity, and sincerely repent? But the natural disaster is still relentless..." He noticed that Hou Xun's face was getting darker and darker, Then he stopped talking and sighed: "I'm afraid there is something wrong with the theory we have been convinced for thousands of years. The theory put forward by Champion Hou is not unreasonable..."

boom!
Before he could finish speaking, Hou Xun was so angry that he slapped his palm on the table so hard that the teacup jumped.His eyes burst into flames, he stood up and pointed at Lu Xiangsheng, roaring angrily: "Lu Jiandou, you...you actually believe his nonsense!? Do you know what you are talking about!?"

Lu Xiangsheng said calmly, "Jiandou naturally knows."

Hou Xun let out a loud roar: "That traitor deceives the public with his evil words and subverts the laws of nature. His crimes are extremely evil and everyone must punish him! You actually agree with his fallacies. Do you want to be like him and become a sinner through the ages!?"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Master Shangshu, everyone has the right to speak. It is really inappropriate to put a big hat on the other party when encountering different opinions! Champion Hou believes that heavy rain, snowstorm, hailstorm, and drought are all water cycles. Formed, he put forward a new theory, he should be allowed to prove it, or the court organizes people to prove whether what he said is right or wrong, if he is really wrong, it will not be too late to question him, and stop others It is inappropriate to directly convict the coffin without letting others open their mouths!"

Hou Xun was so angry that his body began to shake: "You said it lightly! Do you know that his set of fallacies is to subvert the way of heaven, and his intentions are extremely sinister? If he succeeds in his plot, my descendants of Yan and Huang have passed down thousands of years. Faith will be completely overthrown, and the entire Ming Dynasty will be forever lost!"

Lu Xiangsheng hesitated to speak, but when he saw Hou Xun was furious, he chose to remain silent.Hou Xun was going crazy with anger now, if he added fuel to the fire, he would not be guilty of bursting his blood vessels with anger.

Hou Xun also knew that getting angry would not help. He took a few deep breaths and barely suppressed the boiling anger in his chest. He sat down, picked up the tea cup and drank it all in one gulp. He said stiffly: "Lu Jiandou, if you still think that you are a Scholar, please show your stance, lead troops into the pass immediately, call on all armies to go south to fight against the thieves, serve the country and the people, and kill that treasonous and unethical person!"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "I'm afraid this can't be done. Last year and this year, there was no snow on the grassland in the first winter, and the vegetation was dry. Then there was a blizzard for more than [-] days, killing countless cattle and sheep. The Mongolian tribes have gone crazy and moved southward on a large scale. , has repeatedly violated the border, and the border is tight everywhere at present, if Lu leads the troops south, the border defense will be empty, and if the Tartars build slaves to take advantage of the gap, they will surely die, and even the capital is in danger of being besieged again!"

Hou Xun yelled: "Jiannu Tartars are just greedy and cheap people with no ambitions. They invaded the border just to rob a few people and food. They can't make too much trouble. Don't worry about them for the time being! But the sycophant is It’s Daming’s confidant’s serious trouble. If you don’t get rid of it in a day, the poison will be endless! Lu Jiandou, you have received the favor of the emperor, and you hold a heavy army. You are the hope of the people of the world. Now you should stand up for the country and the people! Punish traitors and sycophants, Qing Jun side, don't hesitate!"

In the end, the Master Shangshu almost spoke in a commanding tone.

Lu Xiangsheng listened quietly, with a calm expression, but the corners of his mouth twitched, showing an extremely bitter smile, and the fists hidden in his sleeves were already clenched.

"If you want to save this country, you must rely on yourself. Don't have any hope for those in the cabinet! The cabinet has long been turned into a shura field for power, and those people have long forgotten their ideals and the responsibility they should bear. Responsibility, what they think, do, and say every day is all for power. For them, power is everything, and power is their life. Whether they like it or not, they will all be involved in that dirty In the vortex of dirt until they are completely swallowed up. They have no country in their eyes. Although they keep talking about the people, they have never thought of doing anything for the people. Squeeze blood out of their bodies to support those fat-headed bastards behind them! The power of the country is in the hands of such a group of bastards, what hope is there for this country?"

"I heard that hunters in one place like to nail a wooden box into a box and tie it to a tree, open a small opening to put nuts in it, and lure monkeys to steal it. The small opening is so small that a monkey's hand can just go in, but if It can’t be pulled out when it’s clenched into a fist. With such a simple trap, hunters can always succeed. Every time they go up the mountain to check, they can always see a monkey’s paw stuck in the box, jumping and screaming anxiously, caught by them Easy to hunt... In fact, it is very easy for Hou Zi to escape. Let go of the nuts in his hands and he can escape, but monkeys are reluctant to part with the nuts in their hands. Knowing that the hunter will come to kill them, they are still reluctant to give up their hands. So they all become the hunter's dinner. In my opinion, those scholar-bureaucrats are just such a group of monkeys, and power is the nut they hold tightly in their hands, knowing that they will die! They hold on tightly The power in my hands is afraid of being taken away by others. Even if I know that if I don't let go, the whole country will be ruined, I still refuse to let go... However, the difference is that when the hunters come, they will change their masters and continue to be officials at most, and nothing will happen. It will only be this country, the hundreds of millions of ordinary people who will be disemboweled and put on the dining table for the alien invaders to devour!"

Yang Menglong's outrageous rebellion made him very angry several times, and the words of the two of them fighting fiercely rang in his ears, like thunder on the ground, which made his ears buzz.In the past, he always thought that Yang Menglong was too extreme, and he was just complaining after suffering from the losses of civil servants. Only now did he realize to his surprise that what he said was true. The monkey who won't let go of what's in his hand!Hou Xun behaved so irritable, talking about "the world" and "the common people", with awe-inspiring righteousness, seemingly willing to sacrifice his life for justice for the country and the people, but in fact... it was because Yang Menglong's water cycle theory had been played by scholars and bureaucrats for more than 2000 years That set of Heavenly Dao ethics often caused a fatal impact, making him completely panic and crazy, right?He forced himself to lead the troops southward so forcefully, completely ignoring the clouds of war at the border. The war was imminent, and he desperately wanted to get rid of Yang Menglong. Thousands of people were completely left behind... That's right, even if the slaves and Tartars entered the customs Well, the unlucky ones are only the common people, these scholar-bureaucrats hiding in the city of Beijing have nothing to do.Even if Jiannu invaded Beijing and destroyed Ming Dynasty, at most they would just shave their hair and braids and change masters, what are they afraid of?
Lu Xiangsheng was full of bitterness.When did these scholars become so selfish and ugly?In order to keep the little bit of power in my hand, I really don't care about anything, are these also taught by the sages!

Well, it's your business to be what you want to be. I have my principles. The people trust me, support me, and give me their sons, husbands, and fathers. I will guard the border for them, no matter what happens. When they come down, they must carry them on their shoulders, even if they are broken into pieces!

Having made up his mind, Lu Xiangsheng, with a bit of bitterness, saluted Hou Xun under his gaze. His voice was not loud, but he was extremely determined: "Sir, the situation on the nine sides is critical. The Tianxiong Army is seriously insufficient. Lead the troops in. Regarding this matter...Jiandou...cannot obey your orders!"

Hou Xun stared fixedly, his eyes ignited with monstrous anger, wanting to turn the whole world into ashes.

As soon as this statement came out, everything was irreversible.After Yang Menglong, he and his army became sworn enemies that the scholar-bureaucrats desperately wanted to eradicate.

A thunderbolt fell from the hazy sky and exploded in the sky over Datong. The dark clouds merged, the thunder was deafening, the lightning was flying, and the storm was about to come.

(End of this chapter)