Plane Supermarket

In the dark cell, the floor was full of filth, there were rat droppings visible to the naked eye on the dry grass, and large stains on the walls.

Zhang Rong was sitting in the corner. He hadn't washed and washed for many days, his hair was disheveled, greasy and knotted, falling on his chest in strands.

The jailer who was eating glanced in his direction, and said tauntingly, "The general who guards the gate is actually working with the rebels. If I were him, I would kill myself!"

Another jailer followed suit and said, "Children of the Zhang family, of course you are not afraid of anything. You think that no one can take care of you if you commit a crime of piercing the sky."

"Tie Zhao is dead, and his family has been kicked out of Chen Guo."

The jailer looked at Zhang Rong. He glanced at the wooden table in front of him. He took a fish bone from the cauldron and threw it in Zhang Rong's direction. He laughed and said, "Try it, General? This is your meal."

Zhang Rong, who had lowered his head and turned a deaf ear to what the jailer said, suddenly raised his head. His voice was hoarse and rough: "What is the plan for decapitation?"

"Hey!" the jailer pretended to be shocked and said, "The general doesn't know yet! Your majesty has ordered that at noon tomorrow, the general will be taken to the gate of the palace, and executed in front of all the officials and the common people."

"The first beheaded general in the world, you are different from ordinary people even if you die." The jailer laughed, "No wonder you are a great general. We don't have this kind of treatment."

"You're lying." Zhang Rong looked at the jailer, and he squeezed out a sentence, "I am a child of the Zhang family, your majesty dare not treat me like this! My Zhang family..."

"Your Zhang family, how about your Zhang family?!" The jailer stood up and spat at Zhang Rong, "Your Zhang family is also a minister of the emperor!"

"You are noble! We are low! Pooh!"

Zhang Rong suddenly stood up, holding the wooden railing with both hands, and shouted frantically, "I want to see Your Majesty! Let me see Your Majesty! He can't do this to me!"

"Your Majesty! You can't do this to him!" The old man was holding a cane. He pointed at Chen Hou and shouted every word, "You can't ignore all officials for your likes and dislikes! Zhang Rong Made a big mistake, he deserves to die! But you can't let him die in front of the common people!"

In the royal palace, hundreds of officials stood in the main hall, the main hall was not too big, and everyone crowded together and made a lot of noise.

The old man slammed the ground with his cane: "You are insulting him! No matter whether it is giving poisoned wine or white silk, you can't take your head! You can't take your head in front of the people!"

"You are tearing up the face of the family and throwing it to the ground!"

Chen Hou was sitting on the steps. He was wearing a dark dress and looked down at Ye Zhou, who stood at the head of all the officials.

It may be because the way Zhang Rong was dealt with was too shocking, so all the officials and aristocratic families have not had time to find out who this new Xiangguo is, what achievements he has, and what abilities he has.

Chen Hou cleared his throat: "Uncle Guangxin thinks I'm doing something wrong? Then according to your opinion, what should I do?"

Uncle Guangxin snorted: "Your Majesty is self-willed, and now you want to ask your subordinates what they mean? According to the old man, Zhang Rong cannot be killed! Not only cannot he be killed, but Your Majesty should also invite him out personally. The King governs the country with benevolence. The generals guarding the gate are so ruthless, isn't it frightening?"

Ye Zhou, who was watching the performance nearby, was shocked.

Has this all become a plea of ​​innocence?Can you still kidnap the monarch?

Although he has made a huge mistake, in order to show your benevolence, you should forgive him and accept him with a broad mind.

But compared to Ye Zhou's shock, Chen Hou looked very calm. He seemed to have guessed how many people would oppose his move. He sighed at Guang Xinbo: "I also want to rule the country with benevolence, but Xian...someone Tell me that governing a country requires the way of kingship, not the way of benevolence."

"The kingly way, rewards and punishments are clearly defined, those who have made meritorious deeds are rewarded, those who have been punished, orders are prohibited, and all officials perform their duties."

"Benevolence, it sounds nice to say, but people are greedy. If you have two inches, you want three inches, and if you get three inches, you want four inches. It's endless."

"If I let him go, is he grateful for my benevolence, or do more people think that I, the Lord Chen, can be bullied?" Chen Hou said with a smile, "Even if you block me from entering the customs, you can easily forgive me, then call people next time Wouldn't you be less afraid of killing me in the palace?"

Chen Hou asked the old man again: "If I am not Chen Hou at this time, you are not Guangxin Bo."

"I am the king of the state of Wei, and you are a subject of the state of Wei. Do you dare to say such a thing to the king of Wei?" Chen Hou smiled and shook his head, "You dare not."

Uncle Guangxin raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, don't blame me for relying on the old and selling the old, Zhang Rong can't be killed!"

"Even if you are the King of Wei and I am Wei Chen, I still have the right to say this! If you refuse, I will go back to the fief and never come to Zizi again!"

Uncle Guangxin cupped his hands: "Your Majesty, think twice, don't ruin the entire Chen Kingdom for your momentary enthusiasm."

The officials behind him also clasped their hands and shouted, "Your Majesty, think twice."

Chen Hou looked at this group of people bowing their heads, feeling hard to tell.

"Isn't it just to kill a traitor?" When everyone bowed their heads, only Ye Zhou was still standing straight, and he was the only voice in the entire hall at this time. He looked at Chen Hou who was accused by everyone, and his voice He said clearly, "If you don't even know the rewards and punishments, what are you talking about about making the country rich and the army strong? The country is in a mess, and treason has become a trivial matter."

Ye Zhou said with a smile: "It really opened my eyes when you govern the country like this."

Uncle Guangxin looked at Ye Zhou. He squinted his eyes and sneered, "I thought it was someone who was talking nonsense here. I never thought it was the new Mr. Xiangguo. I don't know if you have any advice from him?"

"Which country's monarch doesn't rule the country with benevolence?"

Ye Zhou asked back: "Which king of a powerful country governs the country with benevolence? We don't mention Wei, but Lu. Not long after Lu Gong came to the throne, he personally led an army to fight against Zhao and took back the six continents of Lu. There are rewards for all, and those who escaped will be killed on the spot."

"In just over ten years, Lu State has changed from a weak country to a powerful country today. Don't you all close your eyes and don't want to open them?"

Uncle Guangxin shouted angrily: "Bold!"

"Benevolence is the way of the world! Lu Gong turned black and white, and one day he will get retribution!"

Ye Zhou: "Retribution? What retribution? Is it retribution for the country to be rich and the people strong? Or is it retribution for stable grain prices? Nowadays, the people of Chen State buy grain for ten yuan per bucket, and the land of Lu State is five or six times out of ten not suitable for grain production. The food is only two yuan, is this the retribution you are talking about?"

Uncle Guangxin blushed with anger: "You, you only look at the short-term benefits, not the long-term disasters, and a person like you is worthy of being a good friend?"

Ye Zhou retorted: "I'm not worthy, are you worthy? If you are prime minister, I'm afraid you will hand over Chen Guo to a strong country. After all, benevolence, others want it, how can you not give it? If you don't give it, it is inhumane and unrighteous. Make the world laugh at it."

"When did I say that Chen Guo would be handed over to others!" Uncle Guangxin was furious, "You, you..."

"Farewell to you." Ye Zhou scolded in a cold voice, "Everyone of you has selfish intentions. After all, you are working for the benefit of the family, not the country."

"You are the ones who only look at the small profits in front of you. Chen Guo is poor and weak, so what if you can be domineering?"

"Chen Guo is weak, and Guo Zuo is falling, what benefits can you get? What benefits can your family get?"

Ye Zhou said with a smile: "It's not that you don't understand, it's just that it's more prudent to follow the old path instead of going the other way and changing the way of life. After all, it's not easy to fight against a strong country, but it's easy to bully your own monarch."

Ye Zhou: "After all, the monarch has a good temper. You can point and scold at him, right? Uncle Guangxin?"

Uncle Guangxin was taken aback for a moment, and then he remembered that he pointed at Chen Hou just now.

Guang Xinbo: "I was worried for the country, and I was excited at the moment."

Ye Zhou: "I'm punching you in the face right now because I'm worried for the country. What do you think?"

Ye Zhou: "You asked the monarch to listen to your scolding in front of all the officials, and you pointed at the monarch's face. Isn't that an insult to the monarch? What? The monarch can insult, but Zhang Rong can't? Or is the monarch more humble than a traitor who follows the thief? ?!"

As soon as these words came out, the entire court was silent, and the officials who were about to argue with Ye Zhou just now lowered their heads and shouted: "I dare not wait."

Uncle Guangxin could only cup his hands, tilted his head and said, "The old minister dare not."

With Ye Zhou on the ladder, Chen Hou was finally able to descend the donkey along the slope. He looked at the officials who bowed to him under the stage, and felt that he was once again majestic in front of the immortal. His poor dignity was at stake. After taking a deep breath, , Chen Hou said with a straight face: "I have made up my mind, if you have any objections, you can come and try Chen Jianzhi."

"If you want to protect Zhang Rong, kill me first!"

Chen Hou stood up: "This guy, I'll do it for you!"

"Anyway, you've always loved being my boss." Chen Hou didn't look at the officials anymore, he went down the steps and just walked out through the side door.

Before leaving, Chen Hou also ordered the eunuch: "Please come to the study, Mr. Xiangguo."

The eunuch promised in a low voice.

As soon as Chen Hou left, Uncle Guangxin was about to attack Ye Zhou, when the eunuch walked up to Ye Zhou and whispered, "Master Xiangguo, your honor."

Uncle Guangxin looked at Ye Zhou and said sarcastically, "Eloquent and eloquent! You are a snob!"

Ye Zhou sighed: "It's better for me to speak eloquently than you can neither speak nor do. I am in a high position and don't want to serve the country."

"I'm ashamed of you all."

After speaking, he followed the eunuch and left the hall without waiting for the ministers to reply.

Ye Zhou won't give them a chance to refute himself - let them go home tonight and slowly review the game.

But in the end, no one could change Chen Hou's intention, and Zhang Rong was escorted to the gate of the palace at noon the next day.

The guards in the palace set up a stage at the gate of the palace, so that the people under the stage could see clearly how Zhang Rong's head fell to the ground.

When Zhang Rong was escorted out, he could no longer tell that he was a general.

He lost all energy, his eyes were dull and blank, and only when he stood on the stage and saw the people in the audience, he couldn't help shouting: "Your Majesty! We grew up together since we were young, and we are brothers and sisters! You can't do this To me! You can't do this to me!"

The people in the audience didn't know who was on the stage, they just came to watch the fun, after all, they had never seen anyone beheaded in their life.

"What crime did he commit?"

"The punishment of the owl's head should be a felony, right?"

"Did you see his face? I don't even know who he is."

"Hey! Does anyone know who he is?"

Zhang Rong didn't wait for Chen Hou. His gaze was patrolling the crowd, and he saw a familiar figure at the end of the crowd.

"Father..." Zhang Rong's voice trembled.

But the figure seemed to realize that he saw him, and hurried towards the street, Zhang Rong's head followed the figure, and he shouted: "Father! Help me! Father!"

He wanted to continue yelling, but his mouth was suddenly blocked with a wet cloth, and then his mouth was pressed tightly with his palm, so he could no longer make a sound.

The person holding him down was the jailer who had been guarding him before, and the jailer said loudly, "This man is Zhang Rong, the guard at the frontier gate. He is in collusion with the rebels and intends to disrupt our country of Chen!"

"He and the rebels intercepted Junshang at Changxiong Pass and did not allow him to enter the pass." The jailer asked the people, "Do you think this person should be killed?"

The common people chattered:

"Naturally, he should be killed. If the general guard has committed such a crime, even killing him a hundred times is not enough!"

"After all, he is a child of an aristocratic family..."

"How about the children of the family?"

"The Zhang family controls quite a few cities. Hey, Your Majesty is still too young to understand the advantages and disadvantages of them."

The young people thought it was a good job to kill, and if such a person was kept, it would be a disgrace to the whole country of Chen.

The old people felt that they should not be killed, not because they felt pity for Zhang Rong, but because they believed that if Zhang Rong was killed, the Zhang family would fight against the monarch, and it would be the common people and common people who would suffer.

"It's impossible for the Zhang family to fight against you." Ye Zhou sat opposite Chen Hou and peeled oranges. His fingers were long and slender, and his joints were clear and strong. Because he covered the whole winter, his skin was whiter than most people. He said softly: "I remember There is also a branch of the Zhang family, and I have sent someone to talk to them for you."

Chen Hou was surprised: "A branch?"

Ye Zhou said with a smile: "Do you think that all branches are willing to be branches honestly?"

They were all born of the same ancestor, so why should you be my master and my slave? I used to look at your face when you were strong, but if there is a chance, why can't I be you?

"Chen Hou wants the Zhang family, and needs an obedient Zhang family." Ye Zhou stuffed a piece of orange into his mouth, "Since this one doesn't work, then change it, as long as the surname is not Zhang?"

Chen Hou asked cautiously: "The branch of the Zhang family, are you willing?"

It's not that he was too cautious, but that over the years, the main branch has domesticated the branches over many years. Many branches even rely on the main branch to send their children to Laizi. The main branch has a big stick and a candy. It is not dominant, and after a long time, whether it is true or not, you will be convinced by the Lord.

Ye Zhou nodded, and he said with a smile, "Why not? It's impossible for a family to have no flesh and blood."

"As long as they are not stupid, they will know that this matter is actually not difficult."

Ye Zhou looked at Chen Hou's excited expression: "With the help of the king, Zhang Rong died again, and Xiangguo paved the way for them, even the timid people would want to take a gamble, right?"

"If you win the bet, they are the main branches of the Zhang family, so many cities are under their control. If you lose, you will just lose one of your own children."

Ye Zhou: "Anyway, it will only get better, not worse."

Ye Zhou pushed the tea on hand to Chen Hou, and he said with a smile, "Chen Hou, have a sip of tea."

Chen Hou picked up the teacup absently.

·

"A lot of blood has been shed!" There was nothing new in Linzi for many years, and the death of a child from an aristocratic family was enough to make the whole Linzi boil.

"I'm still thinking that after a person's head is beheaded, the head is still unconscious."

"It's really scary! I've had nightmares for two days!"

The aristocratic family has always been superior, and the common people are used to it. They are used to seeing the children of the aristocratic family domineering. They usually don't think it is anything, but now they feel that they are born noble, but they are just like them. They are all mortals. Cutting off the head is like dying.

"It's really strange that the Zhang family didn't come out when the children in the family were decapitated."

"It must be shameless to come out."

"Your Majesty, this is not right. After all, the Zhang family is an aristocratic family. Even if Zhang Rong is to die, you shouldn't humiliate him like this. This is not humiliating him, it is humiliating the entire Zhang family! Hey!"

Disputes broke out one after another in the streets and alleys, and the scholars all supported Chen Hou. After all, these scholars who could only argue with others in the streets all day were not from aristocratic families.

They think Chen Hou's move is right, if the aristocratic family does not suppress it, it will turn the world upside down

What's more, if Chen Hou keeps using the family, these scholars who are not from the family will never have a bright future.

The people felt that Marquis Chen was too cruel. Even if the family did something wrong, even if the children of the family committed a crime, they should give him some dignity and dignity. It is not a good thing for the monarch to act like this.

The two groups of people quarreled and quarreled, and a lot of good articles came out of the quarrel.

Countless scholars wrote articles and posted them on the wall. You wrote me to refute, and I wrote you to refute.

Chen Guo hasn't experienced such Wenchang for many years.

Ye Zhou didn't expect that this incident would make the scholars of Linzi more united than ever before, and they even formed a group.

A single scholar without a family is not valued, but when all scholars are twisted into a rope, their power should not be underestimated.

At least now in the court, there are no officials who dare to point Chen Hou's nose and say that he has acted badly.

However, Chen Guo really has no secrets. Ye Zhou has only been Prime Minister for two weeks, and he has been to court once in total. Some scholars have already started recommending themselves in front of his door. They all want to be his disciples or apprentices. , I hope he can recommend them as officials.

Ye Zhou originally didn't want to accept these people.

But after thinking about it, what Chen Guo needs now is these scholars without family marks.

So he took these people in anyway, and even bought a house to house them.

Occasionally he would go over to see what these scholars were doing.

Every time he passed by, he could see scholars debating or reading books. They all had their own ideas and loved to give advice, as if they knew the world affairs well. As long as they listened to them, Chen Guo would immediately become strong.

But Ye Zhou didn't underestimate them because there were too many big talkers.

After all, young people, especially scholars, are somewhat proud, and some are even arrogant.

After a period of observation, he really dug out two talents from it.

One's surname is Jiang and the other's surname is Zhao. Neither of them is from the state of Chen. One is from the state of Zheng and the other is from the state of Zhao.

And both of them are lunatics. They entered Chen not because of how good the country of Chen is, nor because of how wise Chen Hou is. talent.

The person surnamed Jiang believed that the land of all the noble families should be taken back and the land should be re-divided.

Instead of giving the land to the common people, give the common people to the land.

The surname Zhao believes that the root cause of Chen's weakness is that he does not have a strong enough army. He thinks that he should fight.

When there is no war, the middle-aged men stay at home to farm, and when there is a war, they can immediately go to the battlefield to fight.

Although they had a lot of ideas, Ye Zhou felt that this was the best idea for each of them.

Today's land is privately owned land, which is nominally owned by Marquis Chen, but just like all vassal states belong to Zhou Tianzi, whoever is stupid will believe it.

The public clans all have their own fiefs, and all the output of their fiefs belong to themselves, which is actually the country of China.

The surname Jiang believes that this kind of private ownership is the reason why all the aristocratic and public families are against Chen Hou and are unwilling to serve the country-because they are already the emperors of the land, so what if they go further?

If there is no benefit from being loyal, how many people can be loyal all the time?

The person surnamed Zhao believes that the problem of Chen Guo lies in the lack of soldiers and weak horses, and it is impossible to change this situation in a short time.

Since you can't rely on quality, you can only pile up quantity. Other countries send [-] soldiers and horses, and Chen country sends [-]. If there are not enough people, they spend money to buy slaves.

The battle may not be won, but the momentum must be in place. We must let other countries know that Chen Guo's soldiers are not afraid of death, and whoever dares to stretch out his hand, Chen Guo will lose [-] enemies even if he hurts himself a thousand.

To put it bluntly, it is a suicide attack.

Although it is indeed extreme, Ye Zhou feels that these thoughts are not completely unreasonable.

After observing for a few days, Ye Zhou recommended these two people to Chen Hou.

Chen Hou didn't ask in detail either, probably because of his extreme trust in Ye Zhou, the two soon became high-ranking officials who could go to court to discuss politics.

These two people also referred to Ye Zhou as teacher, not Xiangguo.

Ye Zhou also discovered that these two people were in the same camp as him in the eyes of others.

With these two role models, the scholars who lived in the house bought by Ye Zhou worked even harder.

Ye Zhou went there once every three days, and every time he passed, the scholars were talking loudly, their voices were so loud that they would break through the sky.

Not only these scholars who have been accepted by him, scholars from the whole Chen country are now pouring into Linzi-they have no way to pass by before, because they are poor, so they have no money to learn from teachers, and no one recommends them.

Now that Ye Zhou recommended two scholars without charging a penny, how could they not be crazy?

Since there is someone like Ye Zhou who recruits talents for Marquis Chen and saves them the qualifications for promotion, of course they will not miss this opportunity.

·

"Mother, I'm leaving." The young scholar, wearing straw sandals and carrying a burden, rushed out of the room to see off the old man and said, "If my son can stay in Linzi, I will take my mother to enjoy the blessings. If my son is not valued by Xiangguo , the son will come back, serve the old lady until she grows old, marry a daughter-in-law, and have a bunch of children."

The old man looked at his son with tears in his eyes, and she nodded: "Son, be careful when you go out. Mother knows that my son is a man with great ambitions. Your Majesty will definitely see your talent. Mother is waiting here, waiting for you." You send someone to pick up your mother!"

The scholar looked at his old lady. He took a deep breath, turned his head and knelt down towards the old man, kowtowed three times, and stopped when his forehead was bleeding. He looked up at the woman and said: " Mother, I will definitely not disappoint you, one day, I will let everyone in the world know my name!"

The old man's voice trembled: "My son, let's go."

The scholar stood up, this time he didn't look back, but walked forward step by step.

He had no money, no horses or cows for transportation, so he could only walk to Linzi with his own feet and the straw sandals under his feet.

In Linzi, there was a man waiting for him.

That person must be waiting for him.