Chapter 88 New and Old
Xu Guangting is dead.
Not death from illness, but natural death.
After eating some rice, teasing my grandson, and drinking a bowl of lotus seed soup before going to bed, I fell into a deep sleep and never woke up again.
There were no last words, and no one had time to react.
He died at the age of eighty-three.
And Xu Yong is also fifty-seven years old. Maybe he was overworked or Xu Guangting's death was the trigger. He was also admitted to the hospital a few days ago.
"I want to go to the capital." Xu Xuan said.
The death of his father left something unspeakable in his heart. The father in this world was also his biological father. Even if there was a conflict between the two at the beginning, it was over.
It's a pity that we didn't see him for the last time.
Not to mention Xu Yong, the two of them have been good friends since they were young, and they can be said to be the people he trusts most in this world. Their tacit understanding of power, immortality, resources, etc. is far unmatched by others; leaving aside the relationship, if Xu Yong After his death, Xu Xuan will allocate a lot of energy to face the new secular successor. It is estimated that it will take several years to build a new tacit understanding.
Today's Shenzhou and its vassal states are the top political buildings. Xu Yong-Xu Xuan's "brother class" is the most worry-free. In the future, the "uncle and nephew class", grandfather and grandson class, grandparent and grandson class... I don't know. What changes will it bring.
Chang'an City.
The army is under martial law and soldiers are patrolling the streets. All the restless elements, who don't know what news they have received, are like turtles.
A railway leads from the distant suburbs to the city, occupying a gate.
Inside the door, a dark iron car rested on the track.
People in Chang'an City have long been accustomed to this. There have been a lot of these things that spit out black smoke in recent years, and most of the factories in the suburbs are like this.
"Good fellow, could it be that the emperor himself came here for this battle?" There was a lot of discussion in the Chang'an market.
"I think it is."
"Nonsense, why would the Emperor come to a place like ours? Are you dreaming?"
"You don't understand this. I heard from my neighbor's uncle that when choosing the capital, the emperor asked the civil and military ministers to vote. Chang'an was only one vote away. Chang'an is half of Kyoto."
"Why did I hear that Beidu was one vote short?"
Everyone gossiped, and the topic became more and more crooked.
Outside the city, the railway.
The Jin Yiwei rode horses with guns hanging and patrolled along the railway. In addition to the Jin Yiwei, there were also troops guarding the railway.
At the beginning of the construction of the railway, there were always people who wanted to steal the railway and sell it for money, even if they were blocked, it was useless; later, a law was enacted that once someone pulled out the railway, that person's home would be confiscated, and the buyer would be guilty of the same crime; the local village chief and village chief would fine him Family property, brutally killed a group of people, and then stopped the trend.
This time it was not lax. Three days in advance, each stronghold was inspected for hidden dangers, and people were assigned to be on duty day and night. The Jin Yiwei even personally came to supervise the situation.
Soon, the carriage came from Zhongnan Mountain.
Under the escort of the army, Xu Xuan came to the locomotive.
"Master Tian, this is the train." Li Changsheng introduced.
Xu Xuan looked indifferent. This kind of train is a relatively old type, but it is a good thing to have a finished product, and it will always be improved from generation to generation.
"How many kilometers can you run?"
Due to the appearance of Xu Xuan, some modern concepts were also accepted by everyone, such as kilometers and one hour divided into two hours.
"With the extra carriages removed, the speed is fifty to sixty kilometers per hour."
Starting from here, because it is a special train, there is no need to stop, and it is estimated that it will take more than ten hours to reach Zhongjing.
"lets go."
Xu Xuan, Li Changsheng and some core disciples got on the bus.
The interior of the carriage is luxurious, like a house of a wealthy family. The place where Xu Xuan is located is blocked from other people, forming a small quiet room with a faint fragrance inside.
Woo! Bang bang bang...
The whistle blew and the train set off with black smoke.
Guards on both sides of the train escorted them on horseback for a distance until the train picked up speed.
The road was smooth all the way, and we did not stop at any stop we reached, but continued forward.
The trains in this era have not yet been fully opened. Most of them are used to transport troops, supplies, goods, or are open to merchants to transport goods. A small number are used to give rides to officials to go to their posts. When the train capacity increases, they can be fully opened, and then the economy will welcome again. Come take the leap.
The special train is getting closer and closer to Beijing.
Zhongjing, Royal Hospital.
The hospital floor is spotless, and doctors in blue medical uniforms come and go. In the ward, fifty-seven-year-old Xu Yong is lying on the bed, his face is as white as gold paper, and he keeps coughing. There is a faint fragrance of medicine in the room.
"It's basically fine, just take care of her." Xie Miao is also a woman in her fifties, and the years still leave traces on her face.
As the most advanced person in the field of medicine, her reputation spread throughout China and abroad.
The next day, early morning.
"Master Xu Tian has arrived!" The attendant came in and reported.
Following the sound of footsteps, Xu Xuan appeared at the door of the ward.
"Brother!" Xu Yong stood up quickly, but was pushed down by Xu Xuanxu.
"have a good rest."
When passing by Xie Miao, Xu Xuan almost couldn't react if Xie Miao hadn't said hello.
Xu Xuan sighed inexplicably when he saw that all his old friends were old.
"You did a good job. The nation prospered because of you. It's very good." Xu Xuan walked to Xu Yong and said with a smile.
Pick up the hot water bottle on the table, break off one-tenth of the elixir, and dissolve it in hot water.
"Take it."
Xu Yong took the food and drank it, while Xu Xuan used his true energy to help it melt away from behind.
Mortals can't withstand erysipelas at all. The toxicity of heavy metals is no joke. It must be dissolved with true energy.
After a long time, Xu Yong's face turned rosy.
The two chatted for a while, and Xu Yong talked about his enfeoffment plan.
Of the more than fifty sons, three were granted to Japan, seven to Siam, Lanfang, Laos, etc. There were also three to the cold zone in the north of the desert, and eleven to the Western Regions.
These were powerful kings with their own armies and diplomacy, and they were not downgraded; the rest enjoyed wealth and honor in the country, were demoted to royal titles, and became commoners after five generations, fully absorbing the lessons of the previous Ming Dynasty.
"Today's world, like the Zhou Dynasty, enfeoffed all directions and used Chinese people to transform the barbarian lands. In addition to their heirs, they also had meritorious deeds. The local emperor could enfeoff anyone he wanted." Xu Yong analyzed.
"I heard that you only sleep two hours a day. This is not good. You have to learn to properly decentralize power and don't take everything on yourself. What will future generations do? If you don't come up with a system, you will encounter a foolish king. , won’t the foundation be ruined?”
"Yes, I should think about it."
It's not that Xu Yongyong delegates power, the main thing is that he is suitable for his chief assistant.
The scholars in the new era are too young and inexperienced. The people of the old era were more or less cynical and decadent. They still looked at the world from a rigid perspective. They always wanted to play behind closed doors and were reluctant to accept new things.
No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to kill all of these people. You can only slowly wait for updates.
After Xu Yong rested, Xu Xuan walked out and happened to meet a young man. The young man was surrounded by guards and a woman.
Seeing Xu Xuan, the young man bowed and said, "Meet my uncle?"
"Are you Dezhao?"
"Yes, I didn't expect my uncle to know me." The two chatted awkwardly for a while, and Xu Dezhao introduced his Crown Princess Liu.
"Is father okay? I'll go take a look."
"Go, he's fine."
Xu Xuan walked out of the hospital, followed by Xie Miao.
"Come for a walk with me." Xu Xuan turned around and said.
"OK."
The two of them walked on the street and talked about interesting things from the past from time to time.
The invention of cement made the capital city larger and larger. The roads were no longer the dirt roads before, but eight-lane cement trunk roads. There were also more buildings.
Outside the city, you can still see pillars of black smoke rising into the sky from time to time. This is the steam workshop.
Thousands of catties of rice solved people's food problems, and factories enriched daily necessities. Xu Xuan saw the birth of new classes one after another.
"It's interesting to say that the last time an old member of the White Lotus Sect saw a doctor, when he saw me, he knelt down and called the leader, and the whole hospital heard it."
Xie Miao chattered like a girl, Xu Xuan didn't speak, but listened quietly.
The changes of the times have left people like them in the old era at a loss as to what to do. Even the literati in the old era sometimes couldn't help but question their own beliefs.
Are ancestors really omnipotent?
Did Confucius know about steam engines? Do you know the earth is round? Do you know chemistry, physics, economics, and medicine?
Confucius had never been to the distant Western Regions, never seen the vast sea, never managed a large country with a population of tens of millions, and did not even have the experience of governing a population of millions.
Why do you think a book of Analects can rule the world?
In recent years, the imperial court has not belittled Confucius, but has lowered his status and put him together with Lao Zhuang, Mo Zhai and other sages. There is no eternal sage, only sages who are particularly outstanding in a certain aspect. .
"I'm leaving." Xu Xuan said suddenly.
"Well, take care." Xie Miao was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
It's been so many years, and I don't know when we will see each other again. This may be the last time we see each other.
"treasure."
Xu Xuan said goodbye to Xu Yong, and then went to the mountain to visit Xu Guangting's grave.
Before leaving, he didn't interfere too much with secular political power. Everything was predestined and he didn't have the energy to care about it. He just needed to grasp the general direction.
Later, Xu Xuan left on a special train.
The news that Xu Xuan came to Beijing only circulated in a small area. With his current status, he would cause a sensation no matter where he went and would also be a trouble.
When he left, some people were melancholy, while others were relieved.
Woohoo! !
The special train starts.
The scenery on both sides of the Taiwan Strait flies by, just like time that can never be turned back.