Hundreds of cavalry galloped across the dilapidated Guanzhong Avenue, carrying a few prisoner wagons in the middle, and a large cloud of smoke and dust rose from the place. Passers-by on both sides hurriedly dodged, making themselves discouraged, but they had to wait for the smoke and dust to go away before they dared to curse a few words quietly in that direction.

The land in Guanzhong was originally fertile, but since Dong Zhuo held Liu Xie hostage and moved the capital to Chang'an, the Daxing palace has cut down almost all the trees in Guanzhong, so that it has become like this, gray on sunny days and mud on rainy days.

Such a scene could be seen countless times almost every day in the days when Dong Zhuo occupied Guanzhong, and it is now very rare. There was a villager who had seen some of the world, looking at the back of the cavalry in the distance, and muttered in a low voice: "Once a son of heaven and a courtier, I don't know which big family is going to suffer." ”

In the prison cart were indeed Wei Lian, the head of the famous family, the Wei family of Hedong, and several of his brothers and nephews.

Wei Lian was escorted all the way from Hedong, not to mention eating, he didn't even drink a sip of water, his head and face were covered with dust, and he also emitted a burst of urine. Wei Lian is used to being pampered, when has he ever suffered this hardship, only for most of the day, but his face is haggard and not human. However, as soon as he entered the front hall of the Taishi Mansion, he suddenly came to his senses, his eyes widened, he glared at Liu Xin angrily, his teeth clenched, and he didn't say a word. To paraphrase an old saying, if eyes could kill, Liu Xin would have died a thousand times by now.

Liu Xin didn't care at all, in his eyes, Wei Lian was already a dead man, why was there any need to deal with a dead man? Liu Xin unhurriedly finished processing the official document in his hand, then raised his head and smiled at him, and said, "Wei Lian, do you know why there is today?" ”

Wei Lian scolded: "Liu Xin, you thief! You have seized my son's fiancée, forced my son to death, and today you want to declare a personal vendetta, and destroy my Wei family, I don't share the sky with you, even if you are a ghost, I can't spare you! ”

"Smack!" , the soldier standing beside Wei Lian shook his hand and gave him a resounding slap in the face. This slap was so hard that half of Wei Lian's face instantly swollen, his mouth opened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood foam, which was mixed with two broken teeth. The soldier who escorted him did not relent, and slapped him again.

Liu Xin waved his hand lightly, asking the soldiers to retreat from both sides, and then said: "Wei Lian, if you want to be a ghost, I will naturally fulfill you." Still, I'm going to make you die clear. I don't blame you for spreading rumors about me outside. It's just that your Wei family funded the thief Cao Cao, so that the lives were ruined and committed a heinous crime, but I can't spare you! However, the Wei family once contributed to the imperial court, and it was only the Hedong Wei family and the Chen Liuwei family that funded Cao Cao, and the rest of the Wei family could not be guilty. ”

Listening to Liu Xin's words, Wei Lian obviously wanted to refute a few words, but the two slaps from the soldier just now turned Wei Lian's head into a pig's head, and his voice became whimpering, and he didn't understand what he was talking about.

Liu Xin didn't want to figure out what he said, just imagine, can such a person say anything good? Liu Xin's face suddenly sank, and he said: "Come on, all the adult men of the Hedong Wei family will be punished for treason, and the women and girls will be used as official slaves." ”

Rebellion is a capital crime, but the end of those women and children is not much better than theirs, ordinary slaves and maids still have the possibility of redemption, if there is no amnesty, the official slaves will be slaves for generations. Wei Lian, who was extremely arrogant just now, heard this result, his eyes went dark, and he fainted on the spot, and a soldier had already stepped forward and dragged him out like a dead dog.

Xiang Lang and Jia Xu, who had just rushed over from Xiangyang, happened to walk by, and they couldn't help but shake their heads when they saw this scene. Xiang Lang knew that Liu Xin would not abuse the punishment, since the person who was dragged out just now was beaten like this, the poor person must have something to hate, he shook his head and sighed that this person deserved it. Jia Xu's impression of Liu Xin is still limited to rumors, but through his analysis of the general trend, Liu Xin occupies the time, place, and people, and it is only a matter of time before he takes the position, he shakes his head and sighs that this person does not know the current affairs.

Liu Xin turned a blind eye to the actions of the two of them, and said with a smile: "Juda, this person who came with you is Mr. Jia Wenhe, the new champion." How did you get this mess? ”

Xiang Lang and Jia Xu glanced at each other, only to see that each other's heads and faces were covered with dust, and their robes were also covered with mud, so they couldn't help laughing.

Jia Xu had already bowed to the ground: "Jia Xu, a subordinate from Wuwei in Liangzhou, visited the lord." ”

Xiang Lang knew that Liu Xin had never paid attention to these false courtesies in front of his subordinates, and said with a smile: "Back to the lord, his subordinates and Mr. Wenhe were summoned by the lord and were in a hurry to go, so they didn't take a car, but came by horse." Unexpectedly, in the land of Guanzhong, the yellow sand was all over the sky, and a few small streams were waded on the road, and it became like this, which made the lord laugh. ”

Liu Xin nodded and said, "Juda, that's why I asked you to come to Guanzhong in person. You came this time not only to rebuild Chang'an and Luoyang, but also to restore the vitality of Guanzhong. In addition to roads, ditches, and bridges, destroyed forests and grasslands should also be restored, and the original fields should be temporarily retained, but no one should reclaim wasteland at will, and it is necessary to find ways to preserve water and soil. Chang'an, as the capital of the Han Dynasty, can't always be shrouded in dust like this. ”

Xiang Lang's face became solemn, and it could be heard from Liu Xin's words that he was going to move the center of power from Xiangyang to Chang'an.

After these years of development, Xiangyang has been much more prosperous than Luoyang in the past, but the geographical location is too biased towards the south, and the current Han Dynasty, economy, culture, population and other aspects, is still centered on the north. And Luoyang is the place of the four wars, if it is in the peaceful and prosperous era, it is indeed the best choice for the capital. If there is a big chaos today, the heroes rise together, Chang'an is guarded by four male passes, and it can be attacked and defended, for Liu Xin, who is determined to be in the world, he can be completely invincible.

Xiang Lang, as the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, and has been in charge of the construction of research institutes and various projects for a long time, naturally has a considerable understanding of the geographical environment, he quickly understood the key to this, and said: "The subordinates will definitely live up to the trust of the lord, half a year and so on, and will definitely create a new Guanzhong." ”

In fact, he has not fully seen through Liu Xin's purpose, Liu Xin wants to move the center to Chang'an, and he does not only focus on competing for the world, but also considering the future rule of the entire country. Liu Xin saw Xiang Lang's hesitant look, waved his hand, and said: "Juda, don't be in such a hurry, you have to carefully survey and plan, I will give you a year and a half, and in the spring of the following year, I will move most of the institutions in Xiangyang to Chang'an." At that time, academies, research institutes, and medical schools will all be moved here, and official residences will also be rebuilt. ”

Xiang Lang thought of the blueprint sketched by Liu Xin, and then he felt that the responsibility on his shoulders was heavy, and he couldn't stay at the moment, so he leaned over and said: "Without further ado, my subordinates will personally go to various places to survey the terrain, calculate the civil engineering costs, and start construction as soon as possible." ”

Seeing that Jia Xu was still standing there respectfully, Liu Xin beckoned to the left and said, "Wenhe, sit here, don't be restrained." ”

Hearing Liu Xin's call, Jia Xu was not complacent, but bowed slightly and said, "How can there be a subordinate seat in front of the lord, just let the subordinate stand and reply." ”

Jia Xu was originally a poor student under the jurisdiction of Liangzhou, and when he was poor, he served Li Dao and sought an errand as a military scribe, and the first plan he came up with was to let Li Dao ride lightly to attack Yangping Pass. This was a good move, but unfortunately, he didn't expect the Jingzhou army to move so quickly, and took Yangping Pass in front of them, so that Li Dao was defeated. From that time on, he began to look at the Jingzhou army squarely, so he quietly left Li Wei's army and came to Xiangyang.

Due to financial constraints, in those days in Xiangyang, Jia Xu made a living by helping people write letters on his behalf, and had a very difficult time. Later, when he heard the news of the imperial examination, Jia Xu went to give it a try with a dispensable mentality, and he was a little surprised that he was the top student in high school. The ten people who were selected at the same time as him have been sent to each county to serve as county commanders, and he was the only one who was transferred to Chang'an, Jia Xu knew that his opportunity had come, so he was always humble and polite in front of Liu Xin, wanting to leave a good impression on Liu Xin.

Liu Xin saw that his cramped appearance was very different from the image in his memory, and smiled unconsciously: "Wenhe, it is often rumored outside that Liu is cruel and lustful, could it be that you have also heard any rumors, afraid that Liu will not succeed?" ”

Jia Xu hurriedly said: "The lord is a person who does big things, why should he care about the rumors of those villains. Besides, which man is not lustful, if his subordinates have the opportunity, they also want to marry a few more beautiful wives and concubines. As for brutality, it's not worth mentioning, on the battlefield, you are living and dying, how can you give birth to the kindness of a woman? ”

Liu Xin knew that most people at that time held Jia Xu's views, and although he didn't agree with these views, he didn't want to argue with them, so he smiled faintly and said, "Since you are not afraid of me, then please sit down, I have something to ask you." ”

Jia Xu knew that it would be a bit hypocritical if he dodged it again, but even so, he refused to sit on the chair with a big golden knife, but carefully propped up half of his ass in the corner of the chair.

Seeing his cautious appearance, Liu Xin shook his head helplessly and said, "Wenhe, you are originally from the Xiliang clan, and you have been in the Xiliang army for many years, you should understand my intention of inviting you to Chang'an." ”

Jia Xu was shocked, he was a member of the Xiliang Wuwei clan, there was no need to hide this, and he had already registered and understood it when he signed up for the imperial examination. But in the Xiliang Army, he has always been tight-lipped and has never mentioned it to anyone, but looking at Liu Xin's expression, he seems to be very sure of this, and he doesn't know where the problem is.

The look of surprise was only a flash, Jia Xu was not worried that Liu Xin would be unfavorable to him, after all, the status of the two sides was very different, if Liu Xin really wanted to kill himself, it would be similar to pinching an ant to death. In Jia Xu's view, Liu Xin's mention of his past is nothing more than a warning to him, so that he can serve Liu Xin with all his heart and not have any different thoughts. Actually, Jia Xu was wrong, Liu Xin just said it casually based on the memories of later generations, and it didn't have any special meaning.