Three thousand miles in exile

Before the Liu family fell, Liu Zhong followed Liu Tonghe in and out of the officialdom. He was very familiar with giving gifts and receiving things in the officialdom. Liu Xueyuan only explained his intentions, and Liu Zhong knew what to do.

That day Liu Zhong asked his son Liu Cheng to clean the carriage spotlessly. The father and son put on brand new clothes. Liu Zhong personally wrote the greeting card, and the father and son went to the county government in an open and honest manner.

Pei Wanshan likes to listen to music, and every afternoon he would listen to it for an hour in the garden, and then sleep for another hour. When Liu Zhong and his son came to visit, Pei Wanshan was listening to the music, half asleep and half awake.

In the past, Master Zhang never dared to disturb the county magistrate's elegant mood at this time, but today is different. Looking at the visitor on the invitation post, Liu Zhong, the left servant of the capital's household department, the chief steward of Liu's residence!Master Zhang felt his hands were shaking.

Master Zhang reported the visitor with a trembling voice, and Pei Wanshan sat up straight. "What? Who are you talking about?"

He didn't believe that he took the invitation card to read it, and closed it again abruptly. "Quick, please invite someone to serve tea in the main hall, come here! Change my clothes quickly!"

There was a turmoil in the backyard, Pei Wanwan put on his official uniform, packed up, and hurried over, only when he was about to enter the door, he calmed down and entered the room pretending to be unhurried.

Liu Zhong in the capital, what kind of princes and nobles have you never seen or served?When Liu Tonghe was alive, he was a member of the third rank. If it hadn't happened, he would definitely be granted the title of Jiuqing when he retired. For such a first-class family, the circle Liu Zhong had been in contact with was more noble than Pei Wanshan could have imagined. place.

Liu Zhong sat there without saying a word, and Pei Wanshan was overwhelmed by his steady demeanor.

Pei Wanshan's reserved and introverted pretense was instantly shattered.

Liu Zhong borrowed the name of the second master Liu Tongxin to express his intentions straight to the point as the big housekeeper. He did not pretend to be false. He came to tell Pei Wanshan that he hoped that he would treat the relatives of the Liu family who were temporarily in distress. He, in the end, Liu Zhong asked his son to send the Liu family's heart, and said that there would be other gifts for New Years and festivals in the future.

Pei Wanshan was terrified and excited at the same time.

He was spontaneously assigned to serve as the county magistrate in this place where birds do not lay eggs. The biggest official he has ever met is his Shangfeng sixth-rank magistrate, and it is rare to see him once a year. At this time, let him make connections in the capital. Teach him to be excited?

Pei Wanshan held a banquet for Liu Zhong and his son. He wanted Master Zhang to go up the mountain to invite the three Liu Xueyuan brothers in person, but Liu Zhong said it was not appropriate to tell him about it.

Saying goodbye to Liu Zhong and his son in the evening, Pei Wanshan was very satisfied with the 2000 taels of silver bills presented by the Liu family.

Having bought through Pei Wanshan's important relationship, the Liu family will also have an extra layer of security when traveling in Wuyuan County in the future.

At this time, the autumn harvest has passed, and every household is preparing new year's goods for the winter. Judging from the weather, it should not be long before it will snow on Qiyun Mountain.

Now that the magistrate of Pei County has been bribed, there is no need to be too cautious. Liu Xueyuan made the decision to keep Liu Zhong and his son at home.

Things at home have been arranged properly. Liu Zhan was planning to return to Tongtianguan when Zhang Fusheng rushed into Liu's house in a hurry.

"Dean Liu! Professor Song!!"

"Lu Shusheng is in high school!!!"

"The officers and soldiers who announced the good news arrived at Lu's house in the morning, and there was a sensation in the county and the county!"

Liu Xueyuan stood up abruptly, knocked down the tea cup and wet his clothes, but he didn't have time to take care of it, he shook his hands. "Zhong, Zhongju?"

Song Yijun hurriedly turned the wheelchair and grabbed Zhang Fusheng's hand for questioning. "Did the officers and soldiers who announced the good news say their rankings?"

Zhang Fusheng said happily. "I heard that it is the eighth in the first class."

"Good! Good!" Liu Xueyuan's eyes were red.

At this time, the gongs and drums in the village were noisy. It turned out that Lu Shuiqiao brought people to announce the good news, and even pulled five carts of gifts. Every time they passed through a village, copper coins were thrown on the ground for the children to compete for the prize.

Lu Shuiqiao kowtowed to thank his mentor for his son with a red face, and said that he would come to salute after Lu Shusheng arrived home.

On this day, Yunzhong Academy set up a flowing water banquet to entertain the folks, and Lu Shuiqiao was so drunk that he drove home with the help of his servants.

At night, Liu Xueyuan couldn't sleep and talked with Song Yijun, and the study room was always lit by candlelight.

At the same time, there was Liu Zhan who couldn't sleep. He thought over and over again that Lu Shusheng could be appointed as an official if he was elected, but it is useless for a poor family to have no recommendation from an aristocratic family.

With an idea in his mind, Liu Zhan couldn't sit still and went to look for Liu Xueyuan.

"Now that we have resumed contact with the Liu family in the capital, why not ask the second grandfather to help mediate and let Brother Lu be the magistrate of Wuyuan County. After all, Brother Lu is one of our own, and he is much more reliable than the county magistrate of Pei."

Liu Zhan has bigger ideas. "The county magistrate of Pei has been an official for ten years and has no hope of promotion. If Mrs. Liu can help him get promoted, he will be grateful for everything. As a condition, let the magistrate of Pei county arrange a fake household registration for me. I want to become a county lieutenant in Wuyuan."

Both Liu Xueyuan and Song Yijun were stunned.

Liu Zhan's idea is not a dream. It sounds absurd but it is not difficult to operate. After all, the magistrate of Pei County has been an official in the local area for ten years, so he has his own set of contacts.

Liu Zhan raised his head, and Liu Xueyuan's thoughts came alive.

This matter is not afraid that Liu Tongxin will not help, they will not only help but also be very happy.

The disciples of the Liu family are also members of the Liu family. It is impossible for a poor family to get an official position if they do not have a family to guide them.Just relying on these humble children with no foundation, the Liu family can only judge them with a single word, and they dare not disagree with them.

In addition, with Liu Xueyuan's Yunzhong Academy constantly sending disciples behind him, there is no fear that the Liu family will have no successors in the court.

The aristocratic family has many ways to attract talents, and they are not worried that these people will become divorced from the Liu family after a long time. I am afraid that these people will all become sons-in-law of the Liu family in the near future.

As soon as Liu Xueyuan thought about it, his heart surged with excitement. "Although my Liu family has declined, it is not difficult to get a mere recommendation letter. Only the promotion of the county magistrate of Pei needs some twists and turns."

Song Yijun immediately suggested. "You can first listen to the meaning of the county magistrate Pei."

The county magistrate is a seventh-rank official, and it is also the lowest starting point for a person to be appointed as an official. There are also high and low points among county magistrates.

For example, being a county magistrate in an important area of ​​Gyeonggi is not only promoted quickly, but most of them are promoted to Beijing as a capital official, so they are top-ranking county magistrates, and county magistrates in rich and prosperous places in the south of the Yangtze River are middle-ranking county magistrates because of local filial piety and many appointments. , the remote places are all low-grade county magistrates, and there are also low-grade county magistrates, which are places with poor mountains and bad waters.

Wuyuan County is exactly the place that the aristocratic family called Xia Xiapin.

Pei Wanshan, the county magistrate of Wuyuan County, has been in office for ten years.

Pei Wanshan was born in the Pei family of Ruichang County. Because he was out of Wufu and had no official status, the Pei family of Pei Wanshan was downgraded from a big clan to a small clan. The money was given to the Pei clan, and they knelt and begged for three days and three nights before the head of the Pei clan nodded and bought the post of county magistrate.

If there is a family to help Pei Wanshan, he won't stay in this poor place for ten years, wasting a good time in vain.

Now the Liu family has thrown him an olive branch, not to mention arranging a household registration for Liu Zhan, even if he is willing to work for the Liu family, he has waited too long for this day.

The next day, Liu Zhong and his son went down the mountain to spread the word, and Pei Wanshan rushed to Liu's house to discuss with him after receiving the news.

Pei Wanshan has been the county magistrate for ten years and has also been planning for ten years. He has already figured out the personal connections in the six counties of Cenzhou. He gave Liu Xueyuan an idea. "The position of county lieutenant is nothing more than an eight-rank official who does not need orders from the county guard. He only needs to submit to the prefectural government. Our Wuyuan county's Shangfeng is the magistrate of Cenzhou. This person is proud of his talent."

Speaking of this, Pei Wanshan heaved a long sigh. He spent six years of dealing with the prefect of Cenzhou. Pei Wanshan hates and envies this person for not showing up, and now he has the opportunity to step on him!

After telling everyone the ins and outs, Pei Wanshan said again. "If I can be promoted to the position of magistrate of Cenzhou, everything can be easily solved, and I can take care of Wuyuan County in the future."

The county magistrate is a seventh-rank official, and the magistrate is a sixth-rank official. As the so-called official rank crushes people to death, don't underestimate the district level. Cenzhou magistrate governs the six counties of Qiyun. With the power of the annual performance evaluation and the appointment and dismissal of officials from the ninth rank to the eighth rank, how many twists and turns of knowledge there are can't be said in ten days and ten nights.

Pei Wanshan is very shrewd, since he wants to be on the same boat as Mrs. Liu, how could he wrong himself, so he naturally took the opportunity to propose the official position he wanted. As for success or failure, it depends on Mr. Liu's ability. At the same time, this is also a test, and Ms. Liu also needs to prove it They still have the strength to strategize!

On the same day, Liu Xueyuan wrote a letter and asked Liu Cheng, the son of Steward Liu, to send it to the capital.

It takes more than two months to go back and forth from northern Xinjiang to the capital. It just so happens that the mountains in northern Xinjiang are blocked by heavy snow in winter, and the news will not come back until the next spring at the earliest. During this period, everyone can only wait for the good news.

Not long afterward, Lu Shusheng and other students from Yunzhong Academy returned to Yunzhong Academy. Both Liu Xueyuan and Song Yi encouraged the students who failed the ranking, and then had a private talk with Lu Shusheng in the afternoon.

Knowing that the teacher wanted to find an official for him, Lu Shusheng knelt down on the ground in tears and couldn't get up for a long time.

What Liu Xueyuan valued was Lu Shusheng's character. Back then, Lu Shusheng lived in the warehouse of Liu's family, and the conditions were so difficult that he never saw him being disrespectful. Now Liu Xueyuan is also sincerely planning for him in high school.

At this time Liu Zhan had brought Song Fenglin and Li Xiaolian back to Tongtian Pass.

This year Liu Zhan was going to spend the winter in Guanzhong. Song Fenglin didn't want to go but thought that no one was restraining him and he didn't know what he would do, so he had to agree to spend the winter in Guanzhong together.

Mrs. Zhao was afraid that the clothes and bedding for the two to keep out the cold would not be warm enough, so she asked Steward Liu to buy fox fur coats, hats and leather boots for the two of them.

Returning to Tongtian Pass, Liu Zhan kept urging the soldiers to strengthen their barracks to prepare for the winter, and expanded several barracks to expand the scope of Tongtian Pass. He did not intend to let the soldiers spend winter on the mountain. Winter training is also very important. one of the projects.

Taking advantage of the heavy snow before the mountain was closed, Liu Zhan led people down the mountain three times to attack Chenzhuang, Bailizhuang, and Jiaomiao Township.

The nobles of Bailizhuang had been prepared for a long time, not only hired strong men to guard and resist, but also prepared gongs and drums to call the police. Cao Zhuang led the people into the village, and the gongs and drums to call the police over there rang out one after another. They had never encountered such a person The situation, Cao Zhuang, Li Xiaolian and the other team leaders were all at a loss.

"What are you panicking!" Liu Zhan ordered calmly riding on the horse. "Guo Donghu, take ten people to find out the people who called the police, and I promise you to remove their arms!"

Guo Donghu excitedly took the lead.

"The vanguard team brought wooden stakes to hit the door, the archers were ready to fire rockets, and those rich households were set on fire! Tell those people, this is the end of resisting us!" Liu Zhan said cruelly.

The nobles of Yandi still retain the habits of nomads. The houses are composed of tents and wood, and the rockets will burn into one piece immediately.

The house of the big family in Bailizhuang quickly caught fire, and the soldiers in charge of attacking the door quickly smashed open the door. The strong men scattered when they saw the menacing approach of the other party, and the soldiers in charge of transporting grain went straight to the warehouse, fighting shoulder to shoulder. Dozens of people cooperated with each other for a while to evacuate a warehouse, and took down a house in just a stick of incense.

Liu Zhan has never been a saint. In his dictionary, there is only the principle that those who obey will prosper and those who oppose will perish. If he doesn't teach these people a lesson today, the people of Yan will follow suit and organize resistance in the future.

That night, none of the more than ten wealthy households in Bailizhuang was spared. When Yan Bing arrived, those houses had already been engulfed by raging fire.

After the first heavy snow fell, Liu Zhan retreated to train his troops and no longer organized food robbing. The snow easily left traces, and if he was discovered, the gain would not be worth the loss.

Liu Zhan fell into hibernation, and at the same time, the iron cavalry of the Yan army who was raging in the Cangxia Plain also retreated to the country of Yan. The cold winter was approaching and a large number of people were displaced.

This winter, the Cangxia Plain, which occupies one-third of the northern border of Great Chu, was completely in chaos. The people flocked to cross the river at several ferry crossings. live.

A large number of refugees went south, and when the first batch of refugees entered the hinterland of the Central Plains in December, the whole court was shaken. Only then did Emperor Xuan know that the Cangxia Plain was empty.

Liu Zhan, who is in Tongtian Peak of Qiyun Mountain, naturally doesn't know how the capital is.

No need to go down the mountain to attack Yandi, and there are subordinates to lead the training. Liu Zhan clings to his sweetheart and lives a fairy-like life every day.

Today, there was heavy snow blowing in Tongtian Peak, and white smoke rose from the chimneys of several barracks in Tongtianguan.

In Liu Zhan’s house, not only the kang bed was burning hot, but there was also a fireplace in the middle of the main room. The thigh-thick firewood was crackling and burning, and the whole house was simmering warmly, which was more comfortable than spending the winter in Liu’s house.

Song Fenglin leaned on the window sill and read a book, listening to the sound of wind and snow outside the window, his heart became more and more peaceful.

Of course, it would be better if Liu Zhan didn't use his hands and feet all the time. Song Fenglin slapped his hands away angrily.

Liu Zhan rested his head on the window sill, stretched his body comfortably on the kang bed, and smiled very maliciously, just like the nest of weasels in Liu's backyard.

"Let me kiss one."

Song Fenglin turned his back.

Liu Zhan stuck to him from behind and hugged him. "Just one kiss and I won't bother you today."

Song Fenglin didn't speak, but he didn't turn the pages of the book in his hand.

Liu Zhan rested his chin on his shoulder. "If you don't speak, I will take it as acquiescence."

Song Fenglin wanted to refute, but the next moment a scorching breath rushed towards his face, Liu Zhan pressed up to rub his lips to test, seeing that he did not resist, he immediately attacked the city.

The book falls aside.

Liu Zhan hugged him and rolled over under the quilt, pried open the silver gate with his tongue and sucked the fine nectar, and there was a moment of tsk tsk and passionate emotion.

The bedding on the Kang bed was messy.

"Let me try it for you, would you like it?" Liu Zhan seduced him with his ear beads in his mouth.

Song Fenglin panted, thankful that he hadn't completely lost his mind.

"Don't." He turned his face away to save the twisted earball.

"Try..."

"No."

"If you want to be shy, I won't look at you."

Liu Zhan couldn't hide his emotion.

Thinking of himself, Song Fenglin, his heart sank, he struggled to get up, and Liu Zhan was pushed away by him accidentally, seeing Song Fenglin's expression was wrong, he didn't force it anymore.

"Don't think about it." Liu Zhan hugged him again.

Song Fenglin wasn't enlightened, and he didn't know much about the so-called intercourse. Even so, Song Fenglin felt that something was wrong with him in his limited understanding.

Just when Song Fenglin was in a mess, Liu Zhan hugged him from behind, reached out and took a script book and spread it out. Seeing Song Fenglin turn his face away, Liu Zhan hooked his chin and broke it back. "Look."

"dont see."

In Song Fenglin's eyes, these scripts are all obscene stories made up by the workshop, occasionally with illustrations, the pictures are vague but the meaning to be expressed can be understood at a glance, like the one in Liu Zhan's hand is about a hunter and a rich young master Stories about cheating everywhere.

Song Fenglin didn't want to see this obscene book out of the corner of his eye.

Because of boredom in Guanzhong, Liu Zhan bought a lot of books to pass the time, among which there were many such scripts.

"How do you know what it feels like if you don't look at it?"

Song Fenglin still did not bow his head.

Liu Zhan simply hugged him and read. "Junshengshengyu meets jade wrists, Qizhenzhenxiang leans shoulder to shoulder, and the love is joyful..."

Song Fenglin slapped Liu Zhan away. "roll!"

Liu Zhan fell on his back and laughed.