Along the way from Sichuan and Sichuan, Liu Bei also paid close attention to the changes along the way. He found that everything in other places seemed to be changing very quickly, except for Ding Ze, where he was staying, still the same as before.

What is on your territory?

Ore, mine.

Sad craftsmen and numb mining slaves.

What about Chengdu, Hanzhong and Changan?

Joyful and peaceful.

He seems to live in the mud, while these cities are among the clouds.

Liu Bei had an inexplicable feeling in his heart. Although he never said anything and smiled every day, when he was alone, there was always a kind of sadness that was like the coldness of the abyss, making him feel scared and...

Don't dare to look directly.

Perhaps, we are getting further and further away from the glory of our dreams...

At first, Liu Bei did have some luck in his heart. After all, Fei Qian, like Liu Bei, took advantage of the turmoil in the court to rise up among the princes, and Xiliang Bingzhou was also going the wrong way. There was no guarantee that Fei Qian would be on his way.

There's no telling what Dong Zhuo's old path will be. When the time comes, Liu Bei will naturally be able to stand up and make a comeback.

But now...

It's like a large group of people are rushing on the road. Originally, they all walked about the same distance, and the gap between them was not far. But as time went by, the distance became wider and wider. The hussar general went all the way, but he was deeply involved.

I trudged through the muddy water with only one foot.

Especially the Xijing Shangshu Desk.

Liu Bei knew very well what this meant.

When Liu Bei learned about this, he was stunned. Even his breathing was not so smooth. Big man... Your Majesty...

Perhaps the emperor or Cao Sikong had their own considerations in doing this, but this was equivalent to recognizing the legitimacy of He Fei Qian's dominance in the pass. From that moment on, the hussar general was no longer a simple

The princes in one place are almost equal to half of the Han Dynasty!

It is obvious that after Fei Qian obtained the Xijing Shangshu Desk, the pace of the entire process accelerated a lot. Looking at the edicts issued frequently recently, new departments of one kind or another were established, and the administrative organization became larger and more complete.

, and became more and more powerful, and seemed to have completely gotten rid of the original impression of the Xiliang warriors who were brutal and incompetent, only knowing how to kill and kill, but instead added a bit of heroism and grandeur that the Shandong nobles lacked.

Liu Bei didn't know how Fei Qian was able to achieve this point. Liu Bei couldn't understand this, and Guan Yu couldn't understand it either. Although Guan Yu usually didn't talk much, Liu Bei knew that Guan Yu somewhat admired Fei Qian.

This is not Guan Yu's problem. After all, even Liu Bei himself admires Fei Qian. At least Liu Bei feels that if Liu Bei is allowed to do these things by himself, he really cannot achieve the current situation. Perhaps Liu Bei thought before

He could be on par with Fei Qian, but now, he can really see the difference.

big difference.

As for Zhang Fei, Liu Bei felt a little ashamed of him. After all, Zhang Fei believed in him so much and had no regrets. But now, Liu Bei still feels that the promises he made to Zhang Fei seemed to be deception.

Liu Bei has been working very hard to catch up, and has been studying and researching very hard, but he still can't catch up with Fei Qian. What makes Liu Bei even more helpless is that every time Liu Bei makes some progress with his efforts, he looks up and sees,

But I found that Fei Qian had run further and the distance was even greater...

It's like Ding Ze.

Are there any grievances? There must be some, but so what? After all, the Cavalry General Fei Qian also said that the iron from Dingzuo can be smelted, but it is not easy to smelt because the quality of the iron ore is different. This is a common problem in current metallurgy.

This problem is not unique to Dingze Iron Mine, it is the same in other places.

Liu Bei also smelted some good steel, but the overall proportion was not high, and most of it was semi-finished products that were not shaped and could not be used.

Perhaps through the dedicated research and exploration of his craftsmen, the smelting process can be improved and the proportion of high-quality steel will be higher and higher, but even if it succeeds, what will happen?

Can I still catch up with Fei Qian?

When Liu Bei arrived in Chang'an, he met Fei Qian and had a talk.

When Liu Bei realized that he was still worrying about the ore, Fei Qian was thinking about the whole world. Liu Bei himself was just a pawn in Fei Qian's hands.

Feiqian is like a big mountain lying in front of Liu Bei, stretching endlessly. When I saw the hillside in front of me, I thought the mountain was just that high and I could climb over it with hard work. But when I climbed the mountain, I found that

There are higher and more mountains behind...

The ambition to make great achievements and the fear of the unknown future were mixed together, which made Liu Bei miserable. Between heaven and earth, among the mountains, Liu Bei felt his own insignificance for the first time.

In the first year of Zhongping, the world was in chaos. Liu Bei officially entered this chaotic competition. It has been sixteen years now. He has grown from a passionate young man to nearly forty years old. Counting the men and horses, that is, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei,

Touch your pockets, they are cleaner than your own face...

When you are thirty, you can't stand up; when you are forty, you are still confused.

Could it be that I am really like the Confucius who crossed Mount Tai as mentioned by the Hussar General? I just know what is happening, or know some reasons for it, but I don’t know what to do and how to change it?

What to do next?

Liu Bei tossed and turned, thought over and over, and finally threw away his face, carried the thorn sticks on his back, and headed to the general's mansion.

If Liu Bei is alone and has enough to eat and the whole family is not hungry, then it doesn't matter. Just like when the postal supervisor was rude and Liu Bei whipped him and ran away, what would happen if he had to start over again?

But now, why come again?

Will you continue to struggle between heaven and earth?

How long can you hold on?

He is forty, no longer in his teens or twenties, the age when he screams that his head will fall off and he will have a scar as big as a bowl. Now he still has brothers, Sun Qian Mi Zhu who eats with him, and the veterans under his command...

…

Liu Bei must give an explanation to his people and find a way out for these people. This is his burden and an unshirkable responsibility.

Twenty-year-old Liu Bei stole chickens and chased dogs, and liked beautiful clothes. Liu Bei lived a happy life, free and unrestrained.

Thirty-year-old Liu Bei fought in the north and south, defected to the east and west. Liu Bei lived in his dream. Although it was hard work, there was still hope.

Forty-year-old Liu Bei was desperate and his future was bleak. Liu Bei lived for his own responsibilities, living a humble and helpless life.

However, Liu Bei still has a little fire in his heart like a candle in the wind, which is his thoughts and his life's expectations. He still hopes that he can really achieve something worthy of the thin blood in his body.

His commitment to his brothers is worthy of the oath he made to his subordinates!

Even at this moment, I have to abandon my dignity...

Use dignity to exchange for a new hope that belongs to him, his brothers, and his men!

Future hope, future glory!

Liu Bei carried the thorn stick on his back and lowered his head, which he thought he would never lower. Ignoring the pointing of the surrounding officials, he walked straight to the main gate of the Hussar General's Mansion and took a deep breath.

Then he closed his eyes, knelt on the ground, and bowed his head:

"The sinner...asks to see the lord..."

……┐(?～?)┌……

Let’s leave aside the problems with Liu Bei’s classmates for the moment and look at Mr. Shui Jing’s Sima Hui in Guanzhong. It was because of the gold and silver fan incident that he became a big hit.

People's pursuit of beautiful things will not be reduced by half just because they are in the Han Dynasty. Of course, the standards of beauty and ugliness will change with the passage of time, just like the Han Dynasty believed that simplicity and grandeur were a kind of beauty.

Gold and silver fans are the things in the hands of nobles and nobles that best reflect their personal temperament.

It brought together gold and silver that represented family wealth, a jade pendant that represented personal moral character, and added the "personal" inscription of Mr. Shui Jing, a great scholar who represented literature. When Fei Qian put it together, it simply lit up Guanzhong.

The indescribable emotional eruption point of the noble family members.

Perhaps in later generations, it may look like the attire of the nouveau riche, which is unbearable, but now, it has set off a craze. Because the quantity is rare, many people can't get it, which further stimulates these people's pursuit of gold and silver fans.

He even didn't hesitate to go to Mr. Shui Jing's villa in person, Sima Hui, to see if he could find some way around.

The land is vast and sparsely populated these days, so Sima Hui's villa in Guanzhong is about ten miles east of Chang'an. It is built according to the mountains and rivers. Although it is not as big as a large manor, it covers an area of ​​nearly ten acres.

Generally speaking, the price of mountainous land like this, where farming is inconvenient or where there is no land to be cultivated, is not high, so Sima Hui did not spend much money. Overall, it is even cheaper than buying real estate in Chang'an City. At the same time, it is also cheaper.

It is in line with Sima Hui's consistent character of "a master outside the world".

The architecture of Sima Hui's manor is very distinctive. There is not only one main hall, but five halls on the front, back, left, and right. The back hall is generally used as a place for the owner to rest temporarily or change clothes when entering and exiting. The front hall is

The three halls in the middle are very close to each other and are connected through a corridor. The doors and windows are also very large. It is actually an enlarged hall. You can open or close a hall as needed to increase or decrease the guest reception area.

It's like the multi-functional hall in a later hotel, except that later hotels have movable wall panels, while Sima Hui's place just has enlarged and widened doors and windows.

From this point of view, in fact, Sima Hui's so-called "seclusion from the world" is probably just "outdoors".

At this time, there were a lot of laughter and laughter in the hall, and some people even sang and danced. Children of the Han Dynasty nobles must know at least a little about singing and dancing. This habit has continued to later generations. If you encounter some scenes,

If you can't sing, you are at the bottom of the contempt chain.

Sima Hui smiled slightly and sat in the hall. There were half a hundred guests around him, and there were more and more guests.

This is also normal.

Creatures like the nobles have always been like this. It is normal for them to follow the crowd. It is the instinct of many nobles to go wherever there is benefit.

Most of the disciples in Guanzhong are now concentrated around Wei Duan, and the people in Hedong and Hanoi certainly hope that Sima Hui can stand up, and the appearance of the gold and silver fans undoubtedly makes these people collectively excited...

When it comes to power, Sima Hui is naturally not the most powerful, but when it comes to current influence in the cultural field, none of the noble families in Guanzhong can compare to Sima Hui, who "lives in seclusion from the world".

After all, Sima Hui's remarks about "seeking truth and seeking truth" in the Qinglong Temple's Great Treatise made a lot of limelight. In addition, I heard that Sima Hui would be the same as Zheng Xuan. This time, General Fei Qian took the test.

The evaluators who promote talents are even more extraordinary. If they can get one or two comments from Sima Hui, wouldn't they have already won at the "starting line"?
To be continued...