Chapter 66: The Grand Historian's Records

  This is the thread-bound book that Liu Xiu, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei "discussed" and came up with. Compared to bamboo or silk books, this style is a great improvement in both practicality and aesthetics. Lu Min was very satisfied after seeing it and praised the three of them as "the wisdom of the crowd", which fits perfectly. The three of them were so excited that they became even more meticulous. For the past two days, they have been practicing calligraphy with Liu Xiu and have initially mastered the basics of book writing. They each rewrote a copy of "Dong Hu Zhi" in the new style, Lu Min took one, and there is still one left, plus another handwritten manuscript by Liu Xiu in scroll form.

  Liu Yuanqi read with relish for a while, Liu Bei accompanied him and chatted for a bit before getting up to find Zhang Fei, leaving behind Liu Xiu to keep him company. Liu Yuanqi flipped through two more pages before reluctantly putting down the book and asked anxiously: "Is your chest still hurting?"

  Liu Xiu was just about to ask him about this matter. In the past two days, he had made rapid progress in practicing the Qigong method and could already inhale air into his abdomen. However, he still relied on his own slow and steady approach, which didn't quite match the reputation of this Qigong method. He wasn't sure if he was doing it right or wrong and wanted to ask his father for clarification. If he practiced incorrectly, he might end up with internal injuries.

  "Is that so?" Liu Yuanqi was somewhat unexpectedly silent for a moment, twirling his mustache and thinking for a long time, but still couldn't figure out the reason. "How do you feel? Is there any uncomfortable place?"

  "That's not the case." Liu Xiu shook his head. After practicing for a few days, although he felt that his sleep was not deep and seemed to be half asleep and half awake, able to feel any movement outside, but when he woke up in the morning, he didn't feel tired, on the contrary, he felt refreshed and energetic, with excellent martial arts skills, now he can chop a three-foot-long and two-foot-thick wooden stake with one knife, even the spear technique he just learned from Zhang Fei is progressing smoothly.

  "If nothing's wrong, then just practice like this." Liu Yuan was puzzled, he thought for a moment, shook his head and sighed: "Maybe we had some problems understanding those few mouthfuls of mnemonic devices from the beginning."

  "Who wrote this slogan?"

  Liu Yuanqi shook his head, his eyes narrowing slightly: "I don't know, it was like this when I got it from your grandfather."

  "Did... grandfather practice it?"

  "I've practiced, but he's even worse than me." Liu Yuanji let out a long sigh and shook his head, not wanting to say any more. He reached out and gently patted Liu Xiu: "Since you think this is effective, then continue practicing like this. If anything goes wrong, stop immediately, don't force it, we'll talk when I get back."

  Liu Xiu nodded. Although Old Dad didn't say what kind of miserable situation Grandpa was in, from his expression, it could be seen that Grandpa probably practiced the Overbearing Fist incorrectly.

  "Practice well. I'll be going on a long trip in a few days, and when I get back, there are some things I want to give you." Liu Yuanqi stood up, casually patted his hands, and turned to walk away: "Li Jun invited me to drink, this is something that has never happened before, no matter what, I have to go and bother him a bit, to taste the special wine of the mansion of the famous scholar."

  Liu Xiu smiled secretly, thinking that his father had flattered Li Ding countless times but hadn't even taken a sip of wine. This was really too suffocating. Now that he had the upper hand, he naturally wanted to drink to his heart's content.

  After seeing off his father, Liu Xiu returned to the house and opened the silk book. He read a few lines of text and suddenly felt that something was not quite right. He was not familiar with this "Historical Records" which Mr. Lu Xun had praised as "the ultimate in historical writing, unrhymed Li Sao". However, from the words and phrases, he felt a strange feeling, a feeling that was not clear, only people who were more sensitive to the subtleties of text could feel it, that is, the tone seemed too bold, without any respect for the former emperor as a minister should have, even... with some contempt.

  It's just like Li Ding facing Liu Yuanqi.

  Liu Xiu covered his face with a handkerchief and was puzzled. He didn't know if the original "Records of the Grand Historian" was like this, or if this copy of "The Book of the Great Historian" was different from the versions passed down through the ages. According to the rules of textual criticism, the silk book in his hands should be closer to the original appearance.

  Two days later, Liu Xiu and more than 20 young people followed Lu Min to leave Zhuo County and head to Shanggu. Most of these people came from wealthy families, and this time they were led by the son of a famous scholar, Lu Zhi, with the sons of the governor and the prefect accompanying them. The atmosphere was different, and it was a face-saving matter that spread quickly. No one wanted to be laughed at for not going, so they all wore bright clothes and rode fine horses, with some even bringing along maidservants and carriages loaded with food and drink. They galloped back and forth on the main road, their arrogance and noise causing people on the side of the road to avoid them as if they were seeing a plague god.

  Liu Xiu couldn't help but smile wryly, this is also considered a small-scale and low-level "locust" right?

  Lu Min's mood has not been good, although his face doesn't show anything unusual, but his emotions are quite different from the young people around him. Every time he arrives at a place, he asks the local villagers about the situation nearby, and sometimes he even goes to take a look himself. At night, he either writes and draws under the lamp or discusses some matters with Liu He and Wen Hui. He doesn't even have time to guide Liu Xiu and others in their studies.

  As they left Zhu County further and further behind, the number of people on the road who were supporting the elderly and carrying young children increased. Most of them wore tattered clothes, had pale faces and thin skin, and their dull eyes stared blankly into the distance as they mechanically moved their feet one step at a time. Along the side of the road, there would occasionally be an old person or child lying dead, with family members wailing beside the corpse or mothers holding children who were speechless.

  The atmosphere gradually became oppressive, and the young people who were initially enthusiastic about racing horses on the main road also lost their enthusiasm. They controlled the fine horses under their crotch, carefully making way for those pedestrians who seemed to have no strength to dodge, fearing that they would knock them down and never get up again.

  "What kind of people are these?" Lu Min asked Liu Hedao.

  Liu He looked at the refugees and said in a low voice, "They should be disaster victims from Qingzhou. Last summer, the Yellow River burst its banks, and the river water overflowed, causing flooding in several counties of Jizhou and Qingzhou, resulting in no harvest. However, the government still demanded taxes, making it impossible for the affected people to survive, so they had to flee everywhere. It is said that most of the disaster victims from Donglai chose to enter the sea, while those from Beihai went north, and after entering the territory of Youzhou, some went northeast and others northwest."

  Lu Min's eyebrows were tightly locked: "I know about the big flood last year, didn't the imperial court decree a reduction of half of the land rent? Those who suffered losses of over 40% were exempted, how can there still be so many refugees?"

  Liu and Wu silently smiled, thinking that you are in Luoyang, of course, do not know how the officials of the state and county governments below execute the imperial edict. When these officials report their losses, they cannot report too little, otherwise, they will not be able to account for it, but also cannot report too much, or else their official career will be affected. After they reported the losses, the benefits that the imperial court reduced were unlikely to fall on the heads of ordinary people, and almost all went to those local tyrants who owned large tracts of land, while the taxes they should pay were passed on to the poor. The poor suffered from the disaster, originally could not make a living, and when they encountered such things, it was naturally adding insult to injury. They were weak and had no ability to resist, so they could only flee with their families, knowing that they might die on the road, but it was better than waiting for death at home.

  Lu Min didn't hear Liu He's response, but from the calm and slightly sarcastic smile on his face, he understood what was going on. He let out a sigh and said, "With so many people entering Zhuo County, how come nothing has happened? The county is peaceful and quiet, it seems that you two gentlemen have handled things properly."

  Liu shook his head: "Although nothing happened in Zhuo County, it was not the credit of my father and Lord Wen. To say that, this was all done by the big households of Zhuo County."

  "Really?" Lu Min rarely showed a smile: "It seems they still have a kind heart."

  "What benevolence?" Liu He sneered, glancing at the nearby Zhuo County youths before lowering his voice to say, "Lu Jun, do you know why there aren't many refugees around Zhuo County? It's because most of them have been taken in by wealthy households as dependent subjects. Only these weak and powerless old people, children, and women are unwanted, forced to beg their way forward, perhaps dying on the road someday and being eaten by wild dogs."