64 Can You Deceive Him?
Huo Qubing: A brother is precious, but freedom is more precious.
In late autumn, a rumor about the adultery between the King of Qi and his sister spread like a ghost from Huainan, passing through the streets and alleys of the Han Dynasty.
Like seeds, those words spread rapidly through the crowd. Soon, the entire city of Chang'an was awash with these explosive rumors. People in the streets and alleys were whispering about the King of Qi's scandal. From the bustling market to the backyards of individual mansions, from the banquets of the dignitaries to the after-dinner conversations of ordinary people, people were whispering about this shocking news.
Since ancient times, scandals of the lower world, especially such incestuous scandals within the royal family, have been the easiest to pass down. After all, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi has personally participated in the incident, entertaining his fellow citizens. It would be a shame for you not to take in some gossip.
When the rumor spread from Huainan to Chang'an, there were dozens of versions, big and small, all of which were mysterious and bizarre. However, this did not prevent people with only a superficial understanding from adding their own imagination to form their own firm reality and announcing it with confidence.
In the theater, Wei Shaoer was chatting with Zhuo Wenjun enthusiastically, and Sima Qian was listening attentively with his ears perked up. His dark eyes were frighteningly bright, and he was writing non-stop with the pen in his hand.
There is new material in his "Miscellaneous Essays", hehe.
Sima Qian read history books since he was young and also aspired to write prefaces for books. His grandfather said that the historian's pen was used to judge the people he wrote about, to speak frankly for people of ancient and modern times, and to add color to the prefaces.
But Ah Yan said that the countless people around him are also people of today, and they also have their pitiful and lovable aspects.
Not only the royal family is qualified to be recorded in history, but all things in the world can also be recorded in history.
Brother Sima's pen wants to reach the clouds, but he also wants to see the mud on his trouser legs. Why doesn't Brother Sima write a biography for the common people?
Sima Qian saw his confidant in a trance, Gao Shan Liu Shui, Boya and Ziqi. Perhaps all living beings also need a narrator to comment on their lives.
Any text that has been passed down through the ages cannot be separated from the people, because the people are the group with the most magnificent imagination in the world.
Huo Yan went downstairs and wanted him to help write some popular plays. As a result, Sima Qian gave him "Ode to the Farmer", which was full of the suffering of the oppressed people at the bottom of society. Only then did he realize that he had learned something real.
I have been farming since I was young, and it has been over fifty years now. I have known since I was a child that I should get up before dawn to plow the land. The land is poor and difficult to cultivate. Every time I hoe the soil, I need all my strength. However, the soil is poor, and even if I work hard, the harvest is only enough to make a living. At that time, the cold wind was biting, and I still stood barefoot in the mud.
In autumn, the weather was unpredictable. There were torrential rains, droughts, and insect plagues, and eight out of ten of the year's hard work was wasted. Taxes were heavy, and officials pressed for payment with urgency. Those who were even slightly slow were whipped and insulted.
"He worked diligently throughout his life, never slacking off for a single day, yet he still lives in poverty, with neither enough food nor enough clothes to wear. I often reflect on the hardships people face."
A pure person should follow a pure path.
Huo Yan pursed his lips, finished reading the last paragraph, and sighed softly. His eyes looked directly at Sima Qian, with an expression in his eyes that Sima Qian could not understand, but only for a moment, and the young man returned to his previous nonchalant appearance.
"You left money for this farmer? Stupid, what's the point of helping one person?"
Sima Qian retorted, "Then are you going to sit by and watch his wife and children die naked in the winter?"
Huo Yan remained silent and displayed dozens of his talismans.
"Where is it in Chang'an? I'll send someone to check it out."
Are there still people in Chang'an who don't have enough to eat? Don't they all work in his factory during the slack season? Is someone withholding their wages? This is simply abhorrent.
Sima Qian's face turned red immediately, and he shyly reported the vague place name.
There is a neighborhood in the south called Shangguanli.
"Lüli" (闾里) were the basic residential units in Han Dynasty cities, similar to modern communities. Chang'an had over 160 lüli (闾里), including some near Dongguo and Xiguo. Other areas near the city walls were relatively impoverished, such as the lifang (里坊) near Dongguo Gate and Beiguo Gate. Far from the bustling city center, these areas suffered from poor living conditions and attracted a high concentration of the poor. These areas featured simple housing, narrow streets, and poor sanitation, inhabited by the poorest of the poor.
Huo Yan rolled his eyes. "When did you go? No wonder we couldn't even buy fur coats last winter."
Sima Qian nodded.
Seeing him nodding his head with such a silly, naive look, Huo Yan immediately snatched his talisman back and poked him on the head, "That person saw you were stupid and blackmailed you."
Sima Qian had been studying behind closed doors or traveling for academic purposes, rarely spending any time in Chang'an. Unsophisticated and like a sheep, wouldn't he be manipulated by those old foxes in Shangguan?
Shangguanli is located in the south of the Han Chang'an City.
In the layout of Chang'an, the southern area was relatively close to important palaces such as the Weiyang Palace. Its advantageous location and convenient transportation made it convenient for these powerful officials to serve in the court and engage in various social activities. Shangguanli was a prominent gathering place for the powerful and influential in Chang'an at the time. For example, Jin Midi, son of the Xiongnu King Xutu, who was captured by his brother, returned to the Han Dynasty and was highly valued by Emperor Wu of Han. His loyalty earned him a high position in the court, and his family resided in Shangguanli.
Most of the people living there are high-ranking officials, and at the very least they are wealthy businessmen, so there are no farmers there.
It's a joke that an ordinary farmer could answer Sima Qian's questions.
But the key is that he also believed it.
Huo Yan was so embarrassed that his teeth itched. "Can you please not be so silly when you go out next time? Tell me how much you've been cheated of."
Sima Qian looked down at the shoe and said, "I have given you the money for the dance rehearsal last time, as well as the clothes I wore."
So last time he came back wearing only light clothes in winter. He thought he had done a good deed, but he didn't expect that he was being cheated.
Huo Yan slammed the table, his face as gloomy as water, startling Wei Shaoer who was talking happily. He was about to complain, but seeing Huo Yan's expression, he dared not say a word and just asked someone to bring Huo Qubing over.
Huo Yan rolled up his sleeves, loaded his small crossbow, picked up a bamboo pole, and asked Sima Qian to lead the way.
Sima Qian refused and advised him, "It's okay, it's okay, I can go by myself, don't be angry."
Huo Yan shook off his hand and beckoned Uncle Dan to pull someone in, "You're not someone he can fool!"
He was instinctively angry. He thought of many things: Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and many others. Finally, his eyes fell on Sima Qian's face. He only thought, how can pure people deceive each other! How can a gentleman be deceived by tricks!
So he stepped forward angrily, grabbed Sima Qian's collar, his eyes as sharp as swords.
"I said lead the way."
Sima Qian was forced to take a step back. Facing Huo Yan's gaze, he vaguely felt that Ah Yan in front of him was very similar to his taciturn brother.
"good."
For a long time, he listened to himself.
Huo Yan nodded, led his men on horseback, and went straight to Shangguanli. He took Sima Qian to knock on doors and identify people from house to house.
Finally, in front of Wang Wenshu's residence, his servants identified the deceitful old man as Wang Wenshu, the chief judge, based on Sima Qian's description.
Huo Yan didn't know who Wang Wenshu was, but the barrage knew.
[Wang Wenshu, a native of Chang'an, was a cruel official who loved killing people.]
[In his early years, he served as a village headman. Later, he served Zhang Tang as a court historian and was promoted to censor. Because he supervised and punished bandits, killing and injuring many, he was transferred to the position of Guangping Duwei.]
He selected more than ten former officials in the county who were arrogant and unscrupulous as his minions. They were ordered to investigate thieves and robbers, killing them without hesitation, and ensuring that no one would steal on the Guangping Road. Emperor Wu promoted him to the position of governor of Henei, where he rounded up the most arrogant and cunning people in the county, implicating more than a thousand families. He reported this to Chang'an, ordering the extermination of the entire clans of those found guilty, and the execution of those found guilty, with all their property confiscated and confiscated. Within two days of the official report being submitted, the official reply arrived, and Wang Wenshu went on a killing spree, shedding blood for over forty miles.
All the criminals' property was confiscated, and Wang Wenshu made a fortune from it. Some powerful individuals, motivated by self-protection, donated their wealth, from which Wang Wenshu profited even more. By December, all the bandits in Hanoi had been killed. Those who managed to escape and hide in other places were also captured by Wang Wenshu, who spared no one. Eventually, they were apprehended, but it was already spring, and executions could no longer be carried out.
At this point, Wang Wenshu was so angry that he stamped his feet and said, "Alas, if the winter were extended by one more month, I would have finished my work!" In other words, if the winter were extended by one more month this year, I would have finished my work!
[In the first year of Emperor Wu's Taichu reign, Wang Wenshu was executed for his crimes, and his entire clan was exterminated.]
Killing people had become a hobby for Wang Wenshu; he treated human life as worthless. If one were to assume that Wang Wenshu, like Zhang Tang, was merely a cruel official who used killing to establish his authority, or an upright and honest official who specialized in dealing with powerful landlords, many innocent civilians were implicated under his rule.
[Wang Wenshu was also corrupt. Compared to other corrupt officials, he used cruelty to enforce his corruption and to conceal it. This was a particularly prominent characteristic of Wang Wenshu. Those he mercilessly killed were all powerless, including many ordinary people.]
["Warm and gentle, with many venoms, good at serving those with power." He also flatters.]
…
The barrage of comments started to spread, and Wang Wenshu came out in a hurry when he saw Huo Yan's official seal.
He was indeed a wicked man with an evil face. He looked sixty years old at the age of thirty, and his face was as wrinkled as a towel that had just been taken a bath. He was also truly flattering, and was extremely obedient to Huo Yan, the emperor's favorite. Not only did he want to return all Sima Qian's money, but he also wanted to give Huo Yan an additional gift as an apology.
He was arrogant at first and respectful later. It makes me laugh when I think about it.
Sima Qian snorted and tried to leave with his things, but was stopped by Huo Yan. The young man pulled the bag of gold away with an expressionless face, "This is not the gold I gave him."
Sima Qian was perplexed, but he couldn't interrupt him, so he simply followed him, looking down on him like him. Huo Yan half-curled his lips, his voice cold yet revealing an undeniable power, "Every ingot of the gold I gave him that day bore my unique mark."
He casually picked up an ingot and weighed it gently in his hand. Then his eyes slowly drifted to Wang Wenshu's face. He stared at him expressionlessly for a long moment before saying, "These don't have any marks."
Wang Wenshu's originally forced smile froze in an instant, as if all expressions were suddenly taken away. The wrinkles on his forehead became deeper and deeper, like ravines.
He understood that Huo Yan was deliberately trying to punish him, and his previous act of flattery was just giving himself a handle.
His eyes began to flicker, and he moved anxiously between Huo Yan and Sima Qian, his lips trembling slightly. His casual teasing that day had actually offended someone he shouldn't have offended.
Huo Yan liked his tact.
But unfortunately, the next moment, Huo Yan no longer liked it.
Wang Wenshu fell to his knees with a thud, his knees thumping against the ground with a dull thud. Cold sweat streamed down his wrinkled cheeks. "Master Huo, please forgive me! I was really confused for a moment. My mother has been ill these days, and money is really tight, so I deceived this young man. The gold with the mark was also exchanged for cash for emergency use. I have always felt guilty about it, and now I am making amends and returning it at three times the original price. I really didn't mean to deceive you, Master!"
As he spoke, he kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead hitting the ground with a bang.
Filial piety was highly valued in the Han Dynasty, and even Emperor Wu of Han could not do anything to him as long as he brought up his mother.
Unkind, unjust and tactless.
Huo Yan sneered. He squatted down and tapped Wang Wenshu's shoulder with his finger. "I can spare your life, but you stole the jade given to me by His Majesty. What will happen to your life now?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Wenshu's kowtow suddenly stopped. He felt as if struck by lightning, and the color drained from his face, leaving it as pale as paper. His eyes widened, filled with fear and despair, and his lips trembled.
"My dear, I have no grudge against you. I am even willing to pay you three times the gold. Why did you force me to this point?"
The accusation was made, but because of the other party's identity, it was irrefutable.
This piece of jade was not taken by him, but it was taken by him.
Huo Yan stood up and brushed the nonexistent dust off his hands, as if just touching Wang Wenshu had been something utterly filthy. He paced slowly, looking down at the collapsed Wang Wenshu with a condescending gaze. His voice was as cold as the bitter cold of winter. "Why? Isn't he standing right in front of you? Why are you taking advantage of his kindness?"
"Do you think that a simple statement like 'my mother is ill' can atone for all your crimes? I will shortly report to His Majesty that I have lost the Emperor's gift, and you stole it, so you must be executed!"
Wang Wenshu desperately crawled towards Huo Yan, using both his hands and feet. He hugged Huo Yan's legs, tears streaming down his face. "Master Huo, please, forgive me this time! I really know I was wrong. I was just possessed by a ghost for a moment."
Huo Yan wanted to kick Wang Wenshu away mercilessly, but he was pushed away by him. Wang Wenshu instead took Sima Qian hostage.
Wang Wenshu's sudden action caught everyone off guard. Sima Qian felt a tightness around his waist. A dagger was already pressed against his neck. The cold blade pressed against his skin, making him shudder.
"Don't come over here!" Wang Wenshu shouted hysterically, his eyes filled with madness and despair, his voice shrill and piercing from excessive excitement, "Even if I die, I'll take someone with me."
At this moment, he no longer had the cowardly look of kneeling on the ground begging for mercy. He was like a beast that was forced into a desperate situation and was still fighting.
Sima Qian took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Although he was nervous, he still pretended to be calm and said, "Wang Wenshu, let go. I won't pursue the matter. Please don't hurt Ah Yan."
Huo Yan's heart suddenly sank, but his face remained calm. He extended his hand to signal the servants behind him to take action. Then he tried to make his voice sound calmer, trying to calm Wang Wenshu's emotions. His eyes were fixed on Wang Wenshu, not missing any subtle changes in his expression.
The barrage of comments instantly rolled like crazy as if a pot of boiling water had exploded.
[Oh my god, Wang Wenshu is desperate. Sima Qian is in great danger!]
[Ayan, I can use you to replace Sima Qian.]
[Take advantage of the opportunity to shoot an arrow in the head.]
Huo Yan made a quick decision, "I'll replace him, and you let him come over and kill me as a scapegoat, wouldn't that be better?"
Wang Wenshu turned a deaf ear to him. He smiled cruelly, and the dagger drew a shallow bloody mark on Sima Qian's neck, and then he looked at Huo Yan provocatively.
Huo Yan sneered and gestured with his hands, signaling the servant to come forward.
Unexpectedly, at this moment a clay pot flew straight towards Wang Wenshu's face like a cannonball.
Wang Wenshu was so engrossed in watching Huo Yan and the servants behind him, ready to strike, that he hadn't anticipated this sudden attack. He subconsciously tried to dodge, but the pottery jar was so powerful that he couldn't react in time and could only instinctively turn his head slightly.
In that split second, the pottery jar slammed heavily onto Wang Wenshu's shoulder, shattering onto the ground, sending the various herbs inside scattering like flowers from heaven. Wang Wenshu staggered from the immense impact, his knife-wielding hand unconsciously twitching, and the dagger, which had been pressed tightly against Sima Qian's neck, moved slightly away.
Huo Yan had been closely watching Wang Wenshu's every move, waiting for him to show a flaw. Seeing this opportunity, he pounced like a cheetah. With his nimble physique, he rushed in front of Wang Wenshu in a few steps. While Wang Wenshu was still struggling to gain a firm footing and losing his balance, Huo Yan's right hand shot out like lightning, precisely grabbing Wang Wenshu's knife-wielding wrist.
Huo Yan exerted force on his hand and twisted it violently. Wang Wenshu felt a sharp pain in his wrist, as if his bones were about to be broken. He could not help but scream, and the dagger in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.
At the same time, Huo Yan clenched his left fist and slammed it hard into Wang Wenshu's abdomen. The punch was so powerful that Wang Wenshu took several steps back, curling up into a ball with an expression of unbearable pain on his face.
Seeing this, Sima Qian quickly moved to the side and left the danger zone, and the servant came forward to bandage his wound.
Huo Yan became even angrier when he saw the red mark on the tip of his neck. He punched him twice more, making him scream in pain.
It was at this moment that Wei Guang came forward. Sima Qian thought he was trying to persuade him, but he actually picked up a large piece of broken pottery jar and used his hands to gather the herbs bit by bit. From time to time, he would blow on them and mutter, "Can this still be stewed? Otherwise, I should wash it. I hope my brother won't die from eating it."
Huo Yan kicked Wang Wenshu half to death, then slowly stood up and beckoned the servants around him to rush over and carry Wang Wenshu to Yanwei. Then he ran behind Wei Guang with a smile, bent down, poked his head over his shoulder, and replied, "No, it will change the properties of the medicine, uncle."
Wei Guang looked up. He was younger than Wei Qing. Together with Wei Qing and Wei Bu, they all used the surname Wei. He was only seven or eight years older than Huo Yan. Unlike Wei Qing, his mumbling was heard and his face turned red.
Huo Yan laughed, "Thank you, uncle, for showing off your might and saving me."
"Ayan was bullied." When Wei Guang heard that he could change the medicinal properties, he didn't pick it up. He just straightened up, rolled up his sleeves, slowly touched his head, and said.
Compared to Wei Qing's way of punishing people based on the facts, Uncle Wei Guang spoiled his children more. He didn't see Huo Yan being aggressive, but only saw Huo Yan being bullied, so he threw the medicine he bought for Wei Changjun out in a fit of rage as a weapon.
Huo Yan blinked his almond-shaped eyes, a characteristic of the Wei family, and said coquettishly, "He stole my money and hurt my friends. I'm going to ask the Yanwei to punish him."
Wei Guang patted his head again and said, "Ayan is a good boy."
Huo Yan nodded, then looked at the pile of medicine and chuckled, "He's not in a hurry."
He turned to Sima Qian and said, "You go back first and have a good rest. I'll go see my uncle and change his prescription for him."
Sima Qian nodded.
Wei Guang stroked Huo Yan's head again and praised Sima Qian, "You can tell at first glance that he's Ah Yan's good friend."
Sima Qian blushed and said, "Thank you, uncle."
Huo Yan pulled the corner of his lips.
The Wei family basically emphasizes encouragement and education. When they lived together before, Huo Yan and Huo Qubing were praised in various ways all year round. Even if they picked up a particularly long stick, they would receive more than a dozen different kinds of praise.
But Wei Changjun was an accident.
The Wei family now has two generations. The younger generation, naturally headed by Huo Qubing, is now full of troublemakers, with the exception of Liu Ju, and even Liu Ju is showing signs of becoming one. The older generation, headed by Wei Changjun, is generally mild-mannered, like harmless herbivores. Sometimes they can be clumsy, quick in action but slow in speech, but if you mess with them, you'll know what it means to be harmless.
Wei Changjun is now using his nagging to neutralize Huo Yan and Wei Guang.
"Fighting! Fighting again! Qing'er has only been training for a short time. Last time, you fought with your brother and Lord Father Yan, and I didn't have the chance to scold you. Now you're fighting again! Huo Yan, stand still!"
Huo Yan pouted and took his pulse while listening to his complaints. Finally, he decided to add some Coptis chinensis to help his uncle reduce his internal heat.
"And you, you don't care about right or wrong. You throw medicine bottles at him when you see him. It's not easy for our family to get to where we are today. Can't you control your temper and be kind to others?"
Wei Changjun was in poor health and had resigned his position as Minister of the Interior two years before to focus on recuperating. He coughed, moistened his throat, and cursed.
Wei Guang said nothing and took the initiative to use the invisibility technique.
Huo Yan became the target of scolding.
He is arrogant, behaves like a dandy, and speaks without restraint!
Huo Yan also received Huo Qubing's share, and for a while, he was scolded so badly that he couldn't even raise his head.
He decided to divert the blame and drag Gongsun Jingsheng into the water.
"Uncle, Ah Yan didn't do it on purpose. Ah Yan was just trying to pay off his brother Jing Sheng's debt. He owed the gambling house a lot of money."
Wei Changjun was speechless and called Wei Guang, "Call Jingsheng and Damei!"
Wei Guang ran without taking a nap.
[The authority of the patriarch.]
[The future General of the Western Han Dynasty, the General of the Central Army who had pacified the Southern Barbarians and attacked the Kunming Kingdom, ran like a rabbit.]
[Guang'er: If you scold him, then he won't scold me. Ayan: If he comes, then he won't look for me.]
[I recall the time when Ah Yan and Qu Bing passed by their uncle's house three times without entering.]
[Ayan: Your Majesty did this and that to me, Uncle: He took advantage of his power!]
[My uncle is truly wise, but these rebellious children aren't as well behaved as your siblings.]
[Fuck, last time we were checking the accounts, Uncle Dan was talking behind his back, and Ah Yan said, "Let him do it, let him owe it." He was being respectful!]
Gongsun Jingsheng lived an extravagant life, disobeying the law. In the second year of the Zhenghe reign (92 BC), he arbitrarily seized 19 million coins from the Northern Army's military pay and was subsequently imprisoned.
[He's only twelve, and he's already gambling!]
[Twelve years old was considered an adult in ancient times.]
[At such a young age, he indulges in eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, smoking, and drinking, and even needs a perm.]
[Qin Wuyang, twelve years old, can kill people.]
At this time, after listening to Sima Qian's story, Huo Qubing took three steps and finally decided to go to Liu Che and Zhang Tang to deal with Wang Wenshu, and not go to his uncle's house to rescue Huo Yan.
No reason, he simply doesn't like being scolded.
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