The Collection of The End

——AD 178——

At the end of the sixth year of Xiping, the great plague in Luoyang began to resolve.

Due to proper protection and isolation measures, as well as the collective efforts of doctors who came from all over the country, a plague that swept through Sili and might have killed hundreds of thousands came to an end with almost no casualties.

Although there are still patients in isolation everywhere, and related disinfection and epidemic prevention measures in the surrounding area have not been stopped, martial law has been suspended in most areas of Luoyang. The specific reason is that those famous doctors jointly announced that the remaining plague has been completely lost at this time. It is contagious, and the fact that there are no new infected people in the court also proves this.

In addition, although the Taiping Dao had to withdraw their forces from Sili because they were labeled as the "source of infection" by the court, their supply of "Fu Shui" and "Jiuhua Yulu Pills" around Luoyang has not been interrupted. However, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the so-called "source of infection" is just the imperial court's indiscriminate medical treatment for emergencies. After the plague is eliminated, they will probably pretend that nothing happened.

In the process of dealing with the plague, the prestige of the "Sword Master" Wang Yue did not change. However, the behavior of the "Ten Constant Attendants" who exploited every opportunity to get money aroused the dissatisfaction of many practical officials and scholars, especially when they were determining After the plague had been lifted, it was a greedy move to kick away those who had really contributed, and instead used their own people to occupy the magpie's nest to receive the emperor's commendation.

"...The edict said: I rushed at a young age to flatter the great cause, but I could not promote the trend, but went against the yin and yang, so that Luoyang was infected with the epidemic and spread all over Sili. I will always lament that if you are attached to the abyss, the fault is my failure to help... …”

In the middle of Luoyang West City, a high platform was erected, guarded by several Imperial Guards. On it, a young eunuch with a clear voice and a loud voice was reading the emperor's "Edict of Sin", perhaps because he could call himself "I" in a grand manner. He was quite excited.

"Xuande, what is that guy talking about?"

In a restaurant far away from the high platform, Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan were sitting opposite each other having a drink, perhaps in order to compete with Liu Bei's pair of black and white swords. Gongsun Zan carried with him a rough sword that emitted a faint red light. Big gun.

"Nothing, most of them are just clichés. First they boast about how well the great man is doing under his own governance, and then he praises how well many officials handled the matter. Finally, when he really couldn't do it anymore, he said, 'As the emperor, he did not clear the air. It is the good spirit of heaven and earth that caused this plague to occur in Luoyang, I am very ashamed of it." Liu Bei answered while holding a tea cup.

"..." Gongsun Zan stayed for a moment, then drank all the wine in the cup: "How dare you say that."

"Yes, I dare to say that." Liu Bei was still almost an adult at this time, so he could only toast to each other with tea instead of wine.

If anyone can blame himself for not sorting out the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it is only that "Bodhisattva", right? Liu Bei thought as he felt the warmth coming from the wooden sculpture hanging around his neck from time to time.

Although many people who have received her kindness also call her "Bodhisattva", those people who are not knowledgeable enough talk about "God bless you" and "thank you Bodhisattva" all day long. They probably have no idea that they casually praise others as "Bodhisattva". "Heart-hearted" is exactly the truth.

However, if you think about it carefully, if he, Liu Xuande, did something to help others, the person being helped praised him heartily, "You are really a living person"...

"So, Xuande, what would you say if it were you?" Gongsun Zan suddenly asked.

"My words..." Liu Bei was still covering up the corners of his mouth that turned up because he thought of something interesting. Without checking for a moment, he blurted out the answer: "It's probably: I don't cultivate my benevolence and virtue, which led to this epidemic. Fortunately, God is merciful and saves the world." Man, I should grant amnesty to the world and reduce taxes - Brother Bogui!"

"Sorry, sorry," Gongsun Zan slammed the window shut, jumped to the box door and listened for a long time, then returned to his original seat and spread his hands towards Liu Bei: "Brother, I was just joking, who knew that Xuande, you... How dare you say it.”

The same "dare you say it\

,"But the meaning is completely different. Since the four consecutive emperors were childless and the side branches succeeded to the throne, any member of the Han clan could ascend to that position. However, compared to Liu Bei, who is still a white man at present, those enfeoffed The heads of many princely states are more hopeful.

"Forget it." Although there are no ears across the wall, it is better not to mention this issue. Liu Bei changed the topic: "This time we were kicked out of the position where we could accept the reward by the imperial court, or the Shichang Attendant. Because I You are a white man and you only received some rewards, but Brother Bogui has inherited the position of 'school captain', what are your plans for the future?"

The military system of the Han Dynasty had a total of eighteen levels, from recruits to generals. In the early stage, the corps commanders, chief commanders, junior officers/boss commanders, and even thousand-man generals were just the heads of the soldiers. They had to obey military orders and not follow their own ideas. Starting from the sixth-level captain and seventh-level captain, they have a certain degree of autonomy. Local military attachés such as county captains and county captains are roughly at this level.

The eighth-level partial general and the ninth-level general Pi are still essentially lieutenants. It is not until the tenth-level "miscellaneous general" is given the title by his lord that he is considered a real general and can propose it at military meetings. Opinion, you can be called a certain general with your last name. If you are named a victorious general or something by an unreliable lord, you will probably be targeted to death by the enemy.

Further up, for example, the eleventh-level generals who protect the country, Dingguo, and assist the country, and the twelfth-level generals named Zhonglang, begin to have quantitative restrictions. As for the thirteenth-level generals of the Four Expeditions and the fourteenth-level generals, There are only four generals in the four towns, but they are often vacant when there is no war. For example, at this time, Bian Zhang and Han Sui rebelled. If someone took orders to quell the rebellion, they would be appointed as "Generals of the West". Those who stayed after the victory would be He is the "General Zhenxi".

Starting from the fifteenth level, there are strategist generals, chariot generals, and hussar generals. Each type of general is only allowed to be in any one position, and there is no longer a superior-subordinate relationship between them. To make an analogy, it is the Three Dukes.

Finally, there is the 18th-level general who commands the world's troops and who should die. Dou Wuliang and Ji died.

"Colonel? Although I should be able to serve as a county captain when I return home now, my brother is unwilling to serve in this way. If possible, it would be best to return home in glory as a 'world-famous fierce general.'" Gongsun Zan replied. .

"There is chaos from all directions at this time. With Brother Bogui's ability, this matter should not be difficult." Liu Bei responded.

"Even if it is achieved, it will not be of much help to Xuande's ambition." Gongsun Zan winked at Liu Bei.

"..." Can we not mention that slip of the tongue?

"Seriously, we have such an opportunity at this time," Gongsun Zan continued: "I heard that Xiliang Bianzhang and Han Sui took advantage of the plague in Luoyang and were too busy to take care of themselves to launch a rebellion. They have occupied most of Liangzhou and are advancing on the former Han emperor near Chang'an. The imperial court will definitely send troops to attack the mausoleum, so I can take the opportunity to accompany them."

"The imperial court's march is not a journey of private soldiers and servants. If you want to accompany them, you must be... huh?" Liu Bei thought of something in the middle of his words.

"That's right!" Gongsun Zan said, "There are three famous generals in the court at this time. Zhu Jun has not returned from the expedition, and only Huangfu Song and his master are left. And the two of them are close friends. Even if the emperor does not send his master to go out, with his master Our friendship with General Huangfu means there will be no problem in taking us with him!"

Liu Bei nodded slightly: "Although this approach will give people the impression of "mixed military merit", Brother Bogui has enough ability. As long as... wait, we're'?"

"Xuande, are those two swords you made for decoration?" Gongsun Zan pointed to Liu Bei's swords: "Although you have only a few months to reach adulthood, the army is heading to Xiliang, and the round trip will not be short. And no matter how greedy the Shi Changshi is, he would not dare to confuse military merit."

"Well..." Liu Bei pondered. He was not afraid of fighting, but he didn't know what the attitude of the "Bodhisattva" dedicated to saving people was towards the barbarians, and how the wooden statue would react to the malicious intent of the "enemy": "Okay try."

If killing the enemy with your own hands or the enemy's malicious intent face to face will have a bad impact, then you can just stay in the military tent to make plans or treat the wounded soldiers.

"Brothers working together can break gold~" Gongsun Zan was very happy that Liu Bei agreed and opened the window again: "Actually, the Huang Zhong you rescued before was pretty good, but it's a pity that he didn't want to accept the recruitment and went back to Jingzhou."

"Not to mention that he has to take care of his frail son - even if the child has recovered, he still needs to be nursed back to health. Brother Bogui, you are still dependent on others. How will you recruit staff?" Liu Bei raised his hand to interrupt what he seemed to want to say. Gongsun Zan: "Only 'partial generals' who are two ranks higher than the captain are qualified to recruit staff. Before that, does Brother Bogui plan to let others follow you without any explanation?"

"Only two levels..." Gongsun Zan muttered.

"Brother Bogui, you can rest assured that this time, because it involves the imperial mausoleum, the emperor is extremely serious and will never make peace in the middle of the fight like he did several times before." Liu Bei looked at the streets outside. Although martial law was lifted, the atmosphere was still It was tense, especially when the eunuch finished reading the "Edict on Sin" and then took out a copy of "Mobilization for Military Recruitment" and began to read it out.

I don’t know what those rebels were thinking. They seemed to plan to capture the tombs of the former Han Dynasty emperors to negotiate with the court. However, this move made the emperor determined to completely eliminate them. The reason was-the burial objects in the imperial tombs.

The custom at this time was "thick burial", in which most of the property owned by the deceased was buried together. The specific share depended on the number of people who were waiting to share the inheritance and whether there were any younger people who were particularly loved by the deceased.

First of all, the emperor is known to be greedy for money. The amount of property that will be buried with him after his death will be an astonishing number. If the tomb robbers are not severely punished, what will happen if someone robs his tomb in the future?

Secondly, because the emperor was greedy for money, he usually collected property from various places. If the rebels were allowed to dig up the Meiyang Emperor's mausoleum, and the funerary objects in it would change hands several times and fall into the national treasury, this would be achieved in fact... …Dig the graves of your ancestors? Is the anger of the twenty-second emperor a joke?

In the end, well, the emperor was still greedy for money. Although Bian Zhang and Han Sui were nominally leading this rebellion, at least half of the Qiang people were behind them. Since these guys surrendered and rebelled, the property they owned It is natural to confiscate them all - it is said that those Xiliang specialties can be sold at a good price in the Central Plains.

For purely greedy reasons, the emperor was able to publicize the slogan of this battle as: "Never compromise with the rebels, protect the late emperor's mausoleum at all costs. If the mausoleum is lost, I will die without mercy." Moreover, No matter how you look at it, you can't fault it... Does it mean that to be an emperor, one must be good at whitewashing oneself?

Liu Bei fell into deep thought.