Jinting Han people

Chapter 135 Hedong Xue Family (4k)

The geese flying south soar high in the clear blue sky, and you can see the dilapidated walls of Xiayang City.

On its left is a turbulent river, on its right is the woods of Gaomenyuan, extending all the way to the towering Weishan Mountain in the distance, and nearby are streets with only a few households.

This area is filled with hills and plateaus. Further north of Xiayang, peaks such as Elephant Mountain, Shi Mountain, Longmen Mountain, Su Mountain, Xiang Mountain, and Gaozu Mountain are found. Despite its vast territory, arable land is limited. However, precisely because of its strategic terrain, it became one of the empire's northwestern frontiers. It was also here that Wei Wenhou established Shaoliang City, which became Wei's most important stronghold in Hexi and a symbol of its hegemony.

But because of this, the layers of hills caused a young man with a sword at his waist, wearing a hat and carrying a package to get lost here.

On the dry road that stretched across the river east of the city, he called out to a farmer harvesting millet in the fields, "Hey! Old man! How do I get to Xiayang County?"

The farmer stood up with his sickle in hand and asked, "Are you from Hedong?"

The farmer did not answer the other person, but asked him another question.

The young man said, "Yes, my last name is Xue and my given name is Yun. I came to Xiayang to visit my relatives."

"Visiting relatives? There are not many people in the county town now, so who can visit relatives?"

"Old man, I'm here to look for my third brother. He's currently serving as the Prison Minister. His last name is Xue Xing, so he must be in the county town!"

"Oh, so he's the brother of County Lieutenant Xue. No wonder he looks so stunned."

The young man held up his bamboo hat and gave a wry smile.

"Could it be that my third brother made some mistake that upset everyone? Why do they say he looks so stunned?"

"Alas! Your third brother is relatively good, but he's just a bit of a naiveté and doesn't do anything. The other dignitaries in the county government are all evil-looking. Bandits come every now and then to rob, making life miserable for the people, but not only do they not care, they even collect rent and taxes as usual. The years have been tough, and the few people who used to live in the suburbs have basically all fled after this."

"Ah! I see. Are there horse thieves here?"

"That's right! There's more than one gang of bandits. We in Xiayang are so lucky. In such a small county, there are four gangs of bandits. They take turns coming to us to extort money. So many people have been scared away... If I didn't have ten acres of cultivated land here, I would have wanted to run away too."

“Is life so hard here?”

"Yes, without further ado, I need to collect the grain quickly to prevent it from being targeted by horse thieves."

"But how do we get to the county town? Uncle, you haven't told me yet."

"Hey, I almost forgot. It's not that far. Do you see that ridge ahead? It's blocking your view. Go past it and walk two miles southwest, and you'll naturally see the city wall. Remember to hurry, because once it gets dark, the bandits to the north will be active."

"Oh! Thank you for bothering me."

As he spoke, Xue Yun picked up his hat and walked towards the ridge the farmer pointed to.

Xue Yun had just come of age this year, but he was a sturdy man, nearly seven feet tall. Although his clothes were simple, they couldn't hide his good manners. He looked up at the birds chirping across the sky, then cast his gaze toward the distant mountain ridge:

"This is such a run-down place. My third brother has no choice but to serve as an official here."

Although it was autumn, the time when leaves were falling and everything was withering, what Xue Yun saw and heard along the way did make him feel desolate. In addition to the red and yellow leaves in the mountains, dilapidated houses could be seen everywhere on the hillsides. The walls were covered with dead vines, and the thatch on the roof smelled of decay. There were big holes one after another. The fields between the paths were abandoned, with large patches of weeds growing wildly against the season, and foxes and mice could be seen running around in them from time to time.

And at the end of this desolate place is Xiayang City.

Even though he had been mentally prepared, Xue Yun was still shocked by the desolation of Xiayang City after seeing it firsthand. Logically, no matter how dilapidated a county town is, there should at least be a market outside the city. However, the old city before him was completely empty, with only a few residential houses outside the city. Looking around, there were even some cracks in the city walls, and it looked like they were at risk of collapse if not repaired in time.

He continued walking towards the city. It was getting a little dark at this time. Although he was walking on the official road, he didn't meet many people along the way. It was not until he reached the city gate that he saw a few county soldiers.

When these county soldiers saw a burly stranger approaching, they were wary at first and then stepped forward and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Xue Xing's brother, Xue Yun. Is he in the city?"

Xue Yun handed over the name card. After checking it, the leading county soldier breathed a sigh of relief, but also a little disappointed. He said, "So you are Xue Sikong's brother. He is at the county government office. I will take you there."

Only in the city did some people appear, and some smoke from cooking could be seen, but Xue Yun keenly sensed that the people on the streets were lifeless, and their eyes lacked something called hope.

Even after entering the county government office, the situation was the same. Most of the people inside were bored and listless. It was obvious that they were just getting by with their lives. This atmosphere was contagious. Xue Yun felt anxious as soon as he entered. He was wondering, what had become of his third brother?

Fortunately, he met Xue Xing soon.

Nineteen-year-old Xue Xing, the county jailer, was flipping through case files at his desk, his brow furrowed as if he were trying to make sense of the text. Hearing a knock on the door, he looked up, startled at first, then delighted, but then a hint of embarrassment seeped into his smile.

"Fourth brother, why are you here?"

"It's autumn now. Mother asked me to send you some clothes and pickles."

The two brothers hadn't seen each other for months. Although they had a lot to say to each other, when they finally met, they didn't know where to start. In the end, they just said, "Let's have a meal first."

It was almost dinner time. Xue Xing did not go to the county government office to dine with his colleagues. Instead, he took Xue Yun to his private room, set up a long couch, and then went to the street to bring back a pot of dog meat. He then found a copper pot and opened a pot of rice wine. The two of them ate and drank while chatting.

Xue Yun smelled the aroma of meat, picked up a piece and put it into his mouth, saying with a smile: "When I came here, seeing the city like this, I thought there wouldn't be any dog meat shops!"

“No matter how poor a place is, there may not be beef, but there will always be chicken and dog meat.”

"Alas, although I've heard that Xiayang is in decline, it's only separated from Fenyin by a river. It used to be a prosperous place. How could it have become like this?"

"You should have heard what you said when we were in Fenyin. The horse bandits here are very serious."

"Where's the county magistrate? Doesn't the county magistrate care?"

"The previous county magistrate resigned six months ago. For the past six months, County Lord Zhang of Heyang in the south has been in charge. While the situation there is better than ours, it's just average, and he hasn't been able to take care of us. We don't do much, but we still get paid, so we have no reason to complain."

"Alas," Xue Yun couldn't help but say, "Since this place is so desolate, why bother wasting your time here, brother?" "I also want to be an official in Fenyin. But you know we are descendants of the remaining ministers of Shu Han, not true Hedong people. The local big families all call us Shu Xue. Naturally, the good official positions in the place have already been taken by them, so how can you and I get a chance? It's good enough if we can get a job."

"Isn't it said that Uncle Ge is the magistrate of Mei County? He's the grandson of Prime Minister Zhuge and a family friend. It's better for him to go to Mei County than to stay here!"

"We still have to avoid suspicion. Besides, Uncle Ge has been a county magistrate for five years and will soon be promoted to county governor. It's better not to cause him trouble."

As the wine filled their hearts, the two brothers began to talk about more things. Xue Xing didn't want to talk about his own situation, so he asked Xue Yun, "How are your parents doing at home lately?"

"Both of them are fine physically, but they haven't recovered mentally yet."

"Or is it about my elder brother?"

"Of course it's about Big Brother. He's such a strong man, ten feet tall, but he was trained by the Master himself. The Master thought Big Brother's martial arts were unmatched, so he assigned him to General Zhennan, thinking he would achieve great things. But in the end, it ended like this. How could he possibly bear it? That's why he's been so bad-tempered lately. When he scolds people, his strength is almost enough to kill them!"

At this point, both of them couldn't help but sigh. The death of their eldest brother Xue Yong was a huge blow to the Xue family. Their father Xue Yi had placed the fate of the entire family on Xue Yong, but now everything had turned into nothing. The rise of the Hedong Xue family suddenly became a distant prospect.

Xue Xing consoled him, "But your death wasn't in vain. Only three months have passed, and the Chu king's group that harmed him has been destroyed. If you knew about this, I'm sure you'd rest in peace."

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words were spoken, Xue Yun suddenly became alert. He turned around and looked around. Seeing that there was no one outside the door or window, he carefully leaned over and said to Xue Xing:

"Third brother, I came here this time to bring you a very important message."

Xue Xing was puzzled. He put down his chopsticks and asked, "What's going on? Why are you being so secretive?"

"Just five days ago, a man with a Luoyang accent came to our house."

"Luoyang? Is he someone Big Brother knows?"

"Yes, he said he was a good friend of my elder brother. This time he came to tell you that the one who killed my elder brother was none other than the Prince of Anle."

"Ah!" Xue Xing was shocked. He cried out, "How could this happen? Didn't the master always say that our master is the Duke of Anle?"

"That's what happened. But according to that person, although this Prince of Anle appears kind and gentle, he is actually a despicable person. He is greedy for fame and fortune and has joined the Chu King's faction, hoping to seize the throne. He knew that my eldest brother had a relationship with him, but he still ignored their old relationship and plotted to kill him."

"How could such a thing happen? You are unworthy of being a descendant of Zhaolie! You deserve to die!"

Xue Yun said, "Although the King of Chu fell, this Prince Anle used his connections to escape with his life. He was only demoted from a fifth-rank official in the capital to a seventh-rank county magistrate, and the matter was left unresolved."

Hearing this, Xue Xing's face darkened. He sighed, "The court is truly foolish. They wrongly accuse loyal officials and indulge treacherous officials. What will happen if this continues?"

"But this isn't the most important thing." Xue Yun lowered his voice and pointed at the current situation. "The most important thing is, do you know where he was exiled?"

"Where?" Xue Xing was confused at first, but after seeing his brother's gesture, he asked in disbelief, "In Xiayang?"

Xue Yun nodded, sat back down and said, "It's in Xiayang."

"Is the news confirmed? If he had connections, how could he be banished to such a place?"

"That person said that he had offended Duke Lu, and that even if he had connections, it wouldn't be of much use. So, now is our golden opportunity for revenge. As long as we wait for an opportunity to kill him, not only can we get revenge, but we can also vent Duke Lu's anger. Duke Lu will consider promoting him a few times. Although he can't arrange for an official position in the capital, arranging a prefecture should be no problem."

"What's the result? Did the Master agree?"

"Hey! The master didn't agree!" Xue Yun said angrily, "He said that if it was just revenge, it would be fine, but if it had anything to do with profit, then the person coming here couldn't be trusted, so he kicked him out."

"The master also told my mother that he heard that the young master had a very difficult childhood and would never be such a person."

Xue Xing laughed a little and said, "You dare to say that even though you haven't even met him?"

Xue Yun also said: "People of their generation are somewhat obsessed with their homeland. It's a different era now, and they still call someone they've never met "young master."

"However, the master is also a little unsure. He said that since it is such a coincidence, you might as well take a look at it with your own discretion, Third Brother."

"Look? What do you mean?"

"Let me show you, Third Brother, what kind of person this Prince Anle is. If he is truly a villain, then you can kill him. This will not only give an explanation to Big Brother, but also help you rise to prominence. Why not do it?"

"What if he's not a villain?"

"No... if it's not, then it's not. We can't rely on his connections, right? If we were to do that, who knows where some rumor would pop up, saying we're planning to restore our country, and then it would hurt us and others."

Xue Xing looked at Xue Yun in silence for a while, then sighed and said, "I understand!"

Seeing that his third brother had agreed, Xue Yun breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his wine bowl, took a sip, looked up at the scenery outside the house, shook his head and said:
"It's too early to talk about this now. Although the adults are nagging, there is one thing they said that I think makes sense. Let's do our best now."

"Brother, can you really make it out of this place? I think it's hard to gather two thousand people in this county. No matter what kind of person our young master is, it will be difficult for him to achieve any political achievements after he comes here."

"Who knows?" Xue Xing also took a sip of rice wine and muttered as he watched the sky gradually darken outside. "I've heard that true masters always do things unexpectedly. You and I are just ordinary people. There's no point in thinking about these things."

"What does the third brother usually think about?"

"I just want to learn more and do more for the people. I'll be satisfied if I don't get scolded or criticized by the people of Xiayang."

"But unfortunately, I'm still a long way from that..."

At this point, he sighed and stood up, gazing at the tall mountain outside. It was a peak that had witnessed countless heroes. No matter how bleak the times, there were always those standing at its foot, those who aspired to be among those whose names were left behind. But the secret to truly achieving this was something few knew...

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(End of this chapter)