Chapter 654: From Ma Su, the Trampled Dignity

Giving birth to one child is also a birth, giving birth to a pair is also a birth——

You don’t have to pay taxes, you can always raise some chopsticks, and you can also make money as a female worker after you raise them——

When such simple but extremely true words reached Jiang Juan's ears, the corners of his eyes suddenly became moist.

This...isn't this what his ideal home looks like?

This... isn't this the reason why he risked his life to protect the border area?

Isn't this the paradise that his beloved sons and grandsons will pass down from generation to generation?

call…

With a heavy exhale, Jiang Yanyou felt all this was incredible. He asked in surprise: "Uncle Liu Huang... doesn't have to pay taxes here?"

"You don't understand, or what?" The man then explained to Jiang Juan, "It's quite clear if I don't say it. The fourth son of Guan Erye, Guan Lin, came up with this business. What Zhuge Military Advisor promoted was strongly supported by Uncle Liu. It is not true that there is no need to pay taxes. It is just that the taxes that we poor people should pay are spread to the fields. Whoever has the land will pay the taxes! , such a re-measurement of the land in Shu will collect more taxes every year than in previous years!"

It seemed that the man was very excited because of the mention of "sharing the land" and the abolition of the poll tax that had hindered farmers for hundreds of years, and his chatterbox was completely open.

"Brother, let me be honest with you. In the past, I worked as a tenant farmer in a rich man's house just to avoid the tax. I didn't dare to have children, and I couldn't afford to marry a woman. At that time... I had long heard about this stall in Shuzhong Ding Ru Mu has allowed many farmers to buy their own land and take charge of their own affairs. So I looked forward to it. I looked forward to the stars and the moon. I was looking forward to the arrival of Guan Jiajun. No... As soon as Guan Jiajun was defeated Luoyang City, the price of farmland in Luoyang City has dropped a lot, and I can buy the land as I wish. I no longer have to be a tenant farmer...doing hard work for others. Brother, you are from outside, but you don't know...in the whole Sili, there are many people like me. What a wonderful farmer!”

It was originally because a strange man gave birth to three girls...

Suddenly, this cultivated land, these acres, and the long-awaited good days are brought out.

Seeing the man in front of him foaming at the mouth and dancing with excitement... Jiang Juan felt his heart shake.

"Then what you just mentioned...Mianshui Villa, the factory, and the female workers?"

Jiang Yan then asked...

"Actually, it's not just female workers..." The man said: "Don't you know the famous Mianshui Villa? Even a three-year-old child can recite the nursery rhyme 'Wei was beaten like a rat, and Mianshui Villa takes half of the credit. Son, the Mianshui Villa is very powerful. It is big enough to make flying balls that can fly into the sky, a thunderbolt eight-oxen crossbow that can be inserted into the city wall, and it is as small as new textile machines, paper making, printing, knitting sweaters...it is almost everything. !”

"In the past few years, wherever the Guan Army has fought, factories in Mianshui Villa have been opened. Men are making flying balls there, and women are doing handicrafts...even girls, as long as they work harder, they may not make as much as boys. Young Master... The key is, there are so many factories like this. As long as we work harder, we won’t be hungry even if we don’t farm the land!”

this…

Surprise, astonishment, shock, shock.

Jiang Juan has never been so shocked since she was a child.

As a general of Cao Wei, he was no stranger to Mianshui Villa, but the Mianshui Villa in his memory was destruction, and it was the destruction of the Wei Dynasty again and again, but now...

With a "gudong" sound, Jiang Juan couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

He suddenly saw the side behind Mianshui Villa, the bright side, the side that helped the people of Li become rich and healthy.

This, this is another side completely different from his inherent impression.

No, it's not just the other side of Mianshui Villa, it's also the other side of Guan Lin, this new big "Han"!

"That's it...that's it..."

Jiang Juan couldn't help but sigh deeply.

He felt a lot, and this was the first time he was shaken, deeply shaken.

Even... through the comparison between Wei and Han, he would briefly have an idea, an idea that seemed rebellious, but was extremely true.

In terms of the word "people", Cao Cao cannot compare with Liu Bei, and no one in Cao Wei can compare with Guan Lin.

Just when Jiang Yan was feeling emotional.

"Dong, dong, dong——"

A burst of gongs and drums was heard, and all the people in the streets gathered around.

It turned out that beside the city gate, an imperial edict written in ink had been hung up. It was an "Order to Encourage Learning."

Fu Shiren was instructing the junior officials to hang up the "Order to Encourage Study". A large group of people were watching. Jiang Juan was also in the crowd, looking at the "Order to Encourage Study".

A scholar dressed as a scholar read to everyone, "Xunzi said: Ancient scholars must have teachers. Teachers, so they preach and teach and solve doubts...eh..."

Thinking of this, he suddenly stopped, as if he was very surprised...

"What's wrong? Why don't you continue reading?"

"Yeah, why did it stop suddenly?"

In the crowd, those illiterate people asked curiously.

The scholar stopped reading, and simply explained in plain language: "The imperial edict means to establish official schools widely and encourage the opening of private schools... so that children who are below the level of the weak can study..."

No wonder the scholar was surprised.

Immediately, some farmers questioned, "What's the use of studying? Nowadays, those who have land are cultivators and those who have no land are workers, so what can they do with studying?"

As soon as this question was uttered, it was echoed by many farmers.

"Yeah, what's the use of reading?"

“Can reading and literacy help me eat enough?”

It is not known whether this remark stimulated the scholar or the scholar's traditional character. Facing the doubt, the scholar suddenly raised his voice, "Studying can save your life..."

Then, he explained the edict in detail.

It turned out that this edict had two meanings. The first was to set up schools and enroll children who were not yet twenty years old to study.

The second was that there would be a unified examination during the twenty-year-old period. Anyone who passed the examination would be given the title of "scholar" and could participate in the next examination selection. The final recruitment as an official was secondary. The important thing was...anyone with the status of "scholar" could be exempted from the death penalty once!

In other words, those who were originally sentenced to death for committing crimes were sentenced to exile.

Those who were originally sentenced to exile were sentenced to more than ten years in prison.

Of course, these are not the main points. The main point is... "exempt from death"...these are the two words that are the most tempting to the people.

...Besides, studying can also participate in the selection, and can also be selected as an official layer by layer? This...this...

Undoubtedly, this provides a possibility for the people at the bottom to counterattack...!

It was this explanation that caused an uproar among the people.

"How do I sign up?"

"Do I have to pay?"

"What? The children of workers in Mianshui Villa can go to the government school for free?"

Noises and noises rose and fell.

For a moment, the voices were bustling, and everyone's eyes were shining.

Jiang Jiong was stunned to see all this. He couldn't understand that here... under the rule of Emperor Liu, the government would actually encourage the children of the people to study, and... even establish a path for studying and promotion.

At this moment, Jiang Jiong thought of more, thinking of Tianshui County, and thinking of his son Jiang Wei who loved reading since childhood and always read ancient books at night.

Once upon a time, the generals there said that this child had no use for studying!

It was said that studying was the privilege of the children of the big families... not to mention the poor people, even the generals... studying was useless!

But now...

Jiang Jiong's eyes were wet again, because he thought of his son and he couldn't help but murmur in his heart.

——『Boyue, how great would it be if you were born in Luoyang at this time? With your talent and hard work... why would you end up on the battlefield...』

It seemed that because he thought of his son, more thoughts suddenly came to his mind.

Jiang Jiong couldn't help but look up to the sky, and his stronger thoughts led his emotions to another side.

He murmured: "Boyue...Boyue, where are you now?"

…

…

Hanzhong, Yangping Pass.

"Alas..."

Accompanied by a faint sigh, Jiang Wei walked out of Jia Xu's military tent in frustration, his face full of regret and dejection.

There were a group of older warriors outside. When they saw Jiang Wei coming out, they hurried to greet him.

"How is it?"

"Didn't Mr. Jia agree to accept the young master as his disciple?"

"The young master is a descendant of a general from Tianshui, and even the King of Wei highly values ​​him. How could he, Jia Xu... how could he..."

Amidst these inquiries, Jiang Wei stretched out his hand and waved it a little frustratedly, to indicate his frustration and dejection.

He pondered for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth:

"Mr. Jia seems to be quite resistant to this, I don't know why... maybe..."

Some guesses were about to come out of Jiang Wei's mouth, but in the end, he swallowed back all the words that were about to come out.

The warriors around Jiang Wei were all from Yongliang Tianshui. Many of them were Jiang Jiong's deputy generals, and many of them had received Jiang Jiong's favor... There were also some who admired Jiang Jiong and were grateful for his years of guarding the border and fighting bloody battles with Qiang and Hu.

It seems that because of special reasons, the Jiang family... has a special status in Tianshui...

"Is Mr. Jia afraid?"

"Yes... Does Jia Xu think that Wei will lose?"

"Humph, Jia Xu is just a fickle villain..."

"Enough!" Finally, Jiang Wei opened his mouth to stop the unpleasant words of his uncles and uncles around him, "Mr. Jia is not afraid, he just doesn't want to accept me as a disciple, maybe..."

Jiang Wei has already thought in the best direction, but even so, he still has a feeling.

At least... Jiang Wei can feel that Jia Xu is afraid of Guan Lin and Shu Han!

He didn't accept me as a disciple, perhaps because he...didn't want to cut off all his retreats, and didn't want to cut off the retreat of the Jia family.

Huh...

Accompanied by Jiang Wei's long sigh.

These uncles also fell into a brief silence, but soon, one of them said: "Avenge brother Jiang Jiong and kill Guan Si. Hum... if Jia Xu doesn't help, we will find a way ourselves..."

"Yes!" Another uncle said: "Brother Jiang Jiong died in the fire that Guan Lin planned. This news... has spread to Tianshui. Thousands of righteous men are already indignant and clamoring to avenge brother Jiang Jiong. If no one helps us, then... we Tianshui people will help ourselves!"

"Yes... yes..."

One voice after another came.

These voices also constantly inspired Jiang Wei and made him come out of his dejection.

He looked at the uncles in front of him, and his tone was a little stumbling.

"Thank you... thank you..."

"Bo Yue, you stay here at Yangping Pass while we go to Tianshui to recruit troops...Brother Jiang Juan has resisted the barbarians for more than 20 years and saved many people in Tianshui. I think...these people will be filled with indignation when they hear that Brother Jiang Juan died so tragically. , it is not difficult to recruit 10,000 to 20,000 people! Don't worry, Boyo, your father's hatred is not just your fault, there are so many of us, and even one of us will drown Guan Lin! Let him rest his eyes in peace..."

Listen to my uncle's words...

Jiang Wei solemnly handed over his hand, and he opened his mouth, but his throat seemed to be choked...

But there is no doubt that he was moved at this moment.

He discovered that he was not alone. There were so many people bearing the revenge of killing his father with him!

So…

it is more than words--

…

…

Guanzhong, Chang'an City.

In the dark night, Ma Di was still locked in prison. He could not come out without Cao Cao's approval.

It was because of Li Miao's instructions that he was moved to a room with a clean bed and bedding. It was already the best room in the entire prison.

I don't know whether it was because the room was too comfortable, or because Ma Su's heart knot had been untied, but he slept particularly deeply that night...

Even if someone opened the lock, he didn't hear a single sound.

"The King of Wei has an order to invite Mr. Ma to come to court——"

It was the cold voice of the jailer...

Ma Su raised his eyes, woke up, and asked the jailer, "Is it you, Mr. Li, who wants to interrogate me?"

"I don't know. I'll just escort you there. You'll know the rest when they get there."

Ma Su pondered slightly, thinking to himself.

——"Li Miao should have narrated "The Fighting God of War" and "Yun Farewell" as planned, but Cao Cao didn't meet me directly? Could it be that something unexpected happened? 』

This reverie only occurred for a moment, and Ma Su stood up.

“Brother, please lead the way——”

But I never thought that before the jailer led the way, he would be handed shackles and shackles first.

This... once again aggravated Ma Su's suspicion. Has something really changed?

Ma Di was in a shackled courtroom. Compared with the prison, it was much neater and more polite. Ma Di was surprised to see that the person sitting in the front seat was an old man... who was nearly seventy years old. He asked doubtfully, "Your Excellency, who are you?" ?”

"I am Zhong Yao, the minister of Dali Temple in the Wei Dynasty——"

The old man introduced himself as Zhong Yao. His face was not stern, but the aura released by his condensed brows was intimidating.

Of course, for Ma Su, the name Zhong Yao is not unfamiliar to him.

After the Battle of Guandu in the fourth year of Jian'an, the Yuan family launched a three-pronged general attack on Cao Cao. One of the battlefields was in Guanzhong. It was Zhong Yao who went to Chang'an and used the imperial decree and his own methods to stabilize the situation in Guanzhong and persuade Ma Teng and Han Sui served for Cao Cao.

As a result, Yuan Shao's general Guo Yuan died at the hands of Ma Teng's Pang De!

From then on, Zhong Yao, the successor of Cai Yong's calligraphy, no one in the world would associate him with the four words "weak scribe".

He is an all-around talent who can fight when he mounts his horse, holds a pen when he dismounts, and determines the situation immediately. He can hide the ravines in his pen!

That is to say, when he learned the other party's name, Ma Su felt an inexplicable pressure from his aura... which made him breathless.

After a long time, Ma Su finally regained his composure. He raised his head and said, "Qing Zhongsi sent me...what's the reason?"

"Haha..." Zhong Yao smiled, and then said calmly, "Li Hannan said that you intend to surrender to the king, but it seems that he is not the first to persuade you to surrender, right? Why do you, who have always been resolute, suddenly give up at this moment? You chose to surrender and told all the secrets about Sanba Battlefield, Zitong Battlefield, and Xiabian Battlefield without reservation? This is completely contrary to common sense... I have reason to suspect that you are spreading suspicion and bluffing. To Li Hannan, to deceive the King of Wei!"

This is an extremely harsh question, so much so that even a gentle person like Zhong Yao said it with a bit of harshness.

This is asking about the process of Ma Su's change of mind. If there is any falsehood, it is very likely to expose Ma Su himself and Li Miao at the same time!

With a "gudong" sound, Ma Su was startled, but after swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he calmed down and thought, and then said slowly: "Haha, maybe... if there is someone in this world who can empathize with me, That’s Mr. Li Miao and Li Hannan!”

Zhong Yao smiled lightly: "To tell you in detail——"

"The reason why I say Mr. Li Miao and Li Hannan can empathize with me... is because..."

Ma Su raised his head suddenly, his tone became a little harsher, and his aura suddenly became excited, "I share the same destiny with him. In the past, he was insulted by the traitorous son of the Guan family, and was exposed in public... and became Jingzhou. Humiliation, I... How could I, Ma Di, not be humiliated by Guan Lin? I was originally the son of the Ma family in Xiangyang, Jingzhou, and was Zhuge Liang's only close disciple. I had a bright future... Everyone respected me. Everyone respected me. They all thought...I would become famous in the future, but...but..."

Speaking of the turning point, Ma Su suddenly bared his teeth and became excited.

"But all this changed because of Guan Lin. He was so dazzling, so dazzling... that everyone's eyes were on him, but it was me... who was originally the proud son of heaven, it felt like I had been trampled and destroyed. , I hate it... I hate it..."

Ma Su had already clenched his teeth, and the sound of his back molars "clacking" moved Zhong Yao.

"So...it was because of Guan Lin that you had empathy with Li Miao, and that's why you decided to abandon the dark side and join the bright side, and be loyal to our great Wei!"

"I will not be loyal to the Wei Dynasty!" Ma Su waved his hand in a rather heroic manner, "I am just seeking revenge. Mr. Li is right. I lost before, and was defeated miserably by Guan Lin. But should I just accept my fate? Should I rot in this prison like an ant or a maggot? Indeed... I am unwilling, how can I be willing! So I have to cheer up, I want to cooperate with you Wei Dynasty, yes... cooperation, not loyalty! One day I will stomp hard on Guan Lin's face with my feet, I want to let him know that he tortured me, humiliated me, and brought me all the resentment, one day, I will pay him back! Let his dignity be trampled on like this..."

Undoubtedly, these words moved Zhong Yao even more.

Speaking of which, Shuzhong has spies and secret agents in Wei Dynasty, but Wei Dynasty also has spies and secret agents in Shuzhong... but the level is not high!

But even if his status was not high, he was able to report all the information about Zhuge Liang, Guan Lin, and Ma Su.

Indeed...

Analyzing from reliable intelligence, Ma Su had reason to hate Guan Lin. Li Miao used the so-called "empathy" to awaken him again and let him work for Wei, not... cooperate with Wei, which made perfect sense.

At this moment, Zhong Yao smiled imperceptibly, nodded, and was about to speak.

But he heard "Hahahahaha..."

A hearty laugh came from the back hall.

Hearing this sound, Zhong Yao immediately stood up and faced the hidden inner door with a respectful attitude.

The door opened, Cao Cao walked out, followed by Cheng Yu and Li Miao...

Zhong Yao hurriedly gave up the main seat, and Cao Cao sat down.

"Good, good, good..."

Three good words in a row, Cao Cao stared at Ma Su with his eyes full of admiration and excitement, and asked: "Now, you can talk to me about the "Yun Bie Zhuan"!"

As these words came out...

Li Miao, who was following behind Cao Cao, finally felt relieved.

Based on Cao Cao's words, he knew that Ma Su...had completely gained Cao Cao's trust.

All plans could begin——

…

…(End of this chapter)