: Fear of being close to home

Xiao Cheng reined in his horse and stood up. The once extremely majestic Donghua Gate was now in such a dilapidated state.

The gate tower that originally had carved railings and painted walls was gone, leaving only some unburnt blackened pillars standing in the white snow, looking particularly dazzling.

This city wall is relatively complete, but if you look at both sides, you can see that either a section is missing here or a section has collapsed there.

The city gates are all gone.

Looking up to the left, there was a large area over there that used to be a bustling canal wharf. The bluestone pavement was smoothed by feet. Now, in addition to snow, all that can be seen is withered and yellow weeds. Most of them are

He was bent down by the snow.

Thinking back then, no matter it was spring, summer, autumn, winter, day or night, this place was always bustling with traffic and brightly lit. Xiao Cheng still clearly remembered that there was a huge market not far from the pier, and some people from all over the world.

Fresh items are all for sale here.

Liu Xin was from the south and had never been to Tokyo. For him, Tokyo was the holy place in his mind when he was young. He studied hard, took the exams for scholars, promoted people, and then entered the capital to become a scholar and went to the palace to pay homage to the emperor.

His ultimate dream.

However, before he could complete this feat, the Song Dynasty collapsed.

Fortunately, New Song Dynasty has stood up again in Jiangning.

"Thank you, brother, we have to take care of each other in the future!" The man said with a wry smile: "This place used to be so prosperous, but now, where is the population? Are you still planning to settle here in the future?"

"Grandpa, grandma, eldest brother, sister-in-law, Li Tang is back. Li Tang has burned incense for you and burned paper money for you. Come and take it away. In fact, I have burned it for you every year these years, but

I don’t know if you got it or not!” Li Tang choked while wiping his tears.

The dilapidation of Tokyo city far exceeded his imagination.

"We are all downgraded people from the end of the world. We finally returned home today. How much money do we need?" Li Tang said.

While he was talking, some more people came around. Basically, they came to pay homage to their deceased relatives. Without exception, these people also returned from other places.

The Xiao Mansion has had no owner over the years, but it is still bright and beautiful. Standing in front of the gate, you can still see the pavilions and pavilions inside.

"Grandpa Xu!" Xiao Cheng's tears finally flowed down.

"Subordinates will be careful!"

"The incense and paper money are gone, but there is no more!" Li Tang took out three sticks of incense and handed them to the middle-aged man.

The remaining ruins of a dilapidated Tokyo city could also allow him to outline in his mind the general shape of the past.

"My subordinate understands!"

Xiao Cheng was very sad.

Patting Liu Xin on the shoulder, Xiao Cheng said with a smile: "I hope you will be the best choice in the official examination next year!"

I went to work in Qianzhou when I was sixteen years old. In the blink of an eye, it has been more than twenty years.

It's just that Liu Xin's family has a heavy burden, and he is a person who wants to go higher, and he is also a person who works under the nose of the chief minister. Naturally, he is unwilling to make some money that will not be black and white and will not last long. For

For him, this is not worth the gain.

"My subordinates are what they are today, thanks to the support of the chief assistant."

Jiangning is now the most prosperous city in the south. Because the capital is there, it is also the political center of the south. But even so, Jiangning City only has a population of over 200,000 people. This can still be regarded as the surrounding towns and villages.

"Brother, do you still have extra incense and paper money? You bought them there. There is no place to buy these things around!" A voice came from beside him. It was a middle-aged man holding hands.

Two children. "I live here too and just came back."

Liu Xin got off his horse, walked to one side, respectfully saw off Xiao Cheng and others, and turned to another road.

The city of Tokyo was in dilapidated condition. Even the imperial palace was looted by Yelu Longxu and burned to ashes. If there was any good part in Tokyo city, it was only the street owned by the Xiao Mansion.

The salaries of officials in the Song Dynasty were not low.

Liu Xin was shocked.

The Xiao Mansion back then was located in the Donghua Gate area.

Riding horses, we entered the city slowly. There were originally rows of businesses inside, but now we can still see half a complete house there?

The area outside Donghua Gate was originally the most prosperous area, but over the years, it must have been the most severely damaged area.

He became a Jinshi in one fell swoop when the first examination was held in Jiangning during the New Song Dynasty.

Relatives are gone, home is gone, and where the home was, there are only ruins like a tomb and some broken walls.

After the news of the recapture of Tokyo City reached Jiangning, Li Tang, who rented a small storefront to sell groceries in Jiangning, immediately sold out his goods at extremely low prices, and then returned home all the way carrying his parcel.

With only one-fifth of Tokyo's population, Liu Xin felt the majesty of the city, the crowded crowds, and, of course, the wallet that made him feel anxious.

This is the case in Jiangning, and the city of Tokyo with a population of one million can be imagined.

Xiao Cheng laughed: "Luo Xin was full of confidence when he went to Yangzhou, but then he was hit with bumps. Don't look at him now, but he suffered a lot back then. But he

You have a good family background and are supported by your family. You are different, you are all on your own, you will suffer more, but if you make it through, your future achievements may be even greater than Luo Xin's!"

Living in the capital is not easy,

That's probably it.

Those were Wei Wu and Wu Ke, a general of the White Feather Army and a commander of Zhiqiuyuan. The man they were supporting could no longer straighten his waist. He was stooped and tried to raise his head, and his head was covered with blood.

The white hair and beard are mixed together.

I was still a teenager when I left, but when I came back, I had white strands in my hair and wrinkles at the corners of my eyes.

"I am willing to support all capable people, but whether you can succeed or not depends on you." Xiao Cheng smiled: "The prefecture level of Kaifeng is your biggest test. If you do well, your future will be bright.

There is a bright future, but if you don’t do it well, that’s where it ends.”

Li Tang's bundle of incense was quickly finished, and there were quite a few cigarettes curling up in this area.

After the Song Army regained this place, Wei Wu also immediately sent out the White Feather Army to protect this place to prevent some ignorant people from causing trouble here.

It’s really hard to look back on the vicissitudes of life.

He took out a bundle of incense from the package, took out three sticks, lit it with a flaming stick, and stuck it in the snow.

I never dreamed that it would be more than 20 years since I left.

Li Tang knelt in the snow and exchanged tears.

Xiao Cheng turned over and dismounted, his eyes suddenly became moist. He wanted to step forward, but his steps seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. This step meant that he had not taken it for a long time.

The fragrance curled up, and the sound of crying and sobbing could be heard faintly.

"Don't be too confident!" Xiao Cheng said: "You have been working in the public hall before. You have read a lot of memorials and know a lot about things. It seems that you have learned a lot about how to do things. But your biggest problem is that you have no specific experience.

In practice, if you experience many things personally, you will find the difficulties. Sometimes things that are briefly mentioned in a sentence in the memorial have gone through countless difficulties and obstacles in practice! Tokyo used to be the capital, and it involved

More, you will experience it next.”

"Don't worry, Chief Assistant!" Liu Xin said with confidence: Following these years of following the Chief Assistant, I am confident that I have learned something. I believe that as long as I apply these things, the city of Tokyo will surely prosper again. Although

Now it is dilapidated. Although it is no longer the capital, its heritage and accumulation are still there."

But as a result, he couldn't even afford to rent a small courtyard in the center of Jiangning City. He could only rent a small farmhouse outside the city, and had to ride a donkey to the city before dawn.

The door slowly opened in front of him, and there was no big fanfare to greet him. There were only two people, supporting an old man and walking out slowly.

Back then, most of the Donghuamen area was engaged in business.

In every household, there are almost always people outside, which is true. When Tokyo was besieged and the city was broken, the most people in this area could escape. Now that the disaster is over, the most people have returned home.

When the Liao people occupied this place, no one dared to disturb this mansion.

Half of the incense was stained, and Xiao Cheng stood outside the door of the Xiao Mansion where he had lived for sixteen years.

"How much?"

Seeing Xiao Cheng's chariot, although they didn't recognize who it was, looking at the scene, it was obvious that it was a powerful person from the Song Dynasty. Everyone faced the chariot respectfully, crossed their arms and raised eyebrows, and saluted deeply.

When Xiao Cheng was passing by with his people, he happened to see that scene.

"Liu Xin, from now on, you will be the prefect of Kaifeng. Although Tokyo is no longer the capital of the Song Dynasty, its status and role are still of great importance to the Song Dynasty. How to clean up and rebuild

So that making him rejuvenated depends on your ability as the new prefect." Xiao Cheng said to Liu Xinda while waving to the people on both sides who were saluting.

"Okay, now we'll go our separate ways. You go to your government office to take up the post. I'll go home and then set off to Daming Mansion. You don't have to see me off!" Xiao Cheng said: "One day

When you take office, you will find that countless things will overwhelm you, so work hard, young man!"

Now, he finally saw the city of Tokyo he had dreamed of.

But it was precisely because of this that he felt even more shocked.

"That's natural!" Li Tang nodded.

How spectacular is a big city with a population of one million!

Thinking about the ambitions and plans back then, it’s really ridiculous.

A man doesn't shed tears lightly, but he hasn't reached the point where he is sad.

Xiao Cheng rushed forward and hugged the old man who had served his family all his life.

Xu Wuyan is over eighty years old.

"Erlang, you are finally back!" Xu Wuyan also cried with joy.
Chapter completed!