The Emperor of Han Dynasty

A.D. 20, the first year of the rule of Wang Mang

Chang'an, in the residence of Dr. Fengche Guanglu Liu Xin.

Secret room.

In the narrow and dark space, there were two people, one sitting and one standing. This was an old man with grey hair and wrinkles on his face who seated. He was the closest friend of the current emperor Wang Mang, the Dr. Fengche Guanglu and Commandant of Cavalry Liu Xin who was pulled up by Wang Mang.

In the new dynasty of Wang Mang, Liu Xin was a big man. He was not only with high state, but also the most famous big writer at the time.

At this time Liu Xin sat on the chair, blinking at the man in black standing in front of him, and asked in a dark tone: "Did you figure those things out?"

"I have figured them out clearly." The man in black lowered his head and bowed.

"Tell me."

"A total of five people named Liu Xiu are registered in the country." When speaking, the man in black also lowered his head, and the whole person seemed to blend into the darkness.

"There are five Liu Xiu." Liu Xin's eyes flashed a terrifying light. After a while, he asked in a deep voice, "Have their identities been investigated?"

"Yes, my lord." When saying, the man in black pulled out a silk scarf from his clothes, bowed his body, and handed it to Liu Xin.

Liu Xin took it over and unfolded the silk with dense writing on it. He put it close to the candlestick and looked closely.

Huang County, Donglai Prefecture, Qingzhou Province, Liu Xiu, 37 years old, the pub manager of Guixiangju Restaurant. He had one wife, two concubines, and five children.

Lin County, Henei Prefecture, Yongzhou Province, Liu Xiu, 49 years old, a widower. He was lying sick.

Caiyang County, Nanyang Prefecture, Jingzhou Province, Liu Xiu, 20 years old, a farmer.

Bingzhou Province ...

Liu Xin squinted his eyes and read them from beginning to end. Then he folded the silk a little bit and put it into his clothes, and said blankly: "Remember, none of the people recorded here can live. "

The man in black bowed and said, "I know what to do."

Liu Xin glanced at him, sneered, and asked, "Your way is to kill them directly?"

The man in black was silent for a moment, and said, "Lord please tell me how to do."

"So many Liu Xiu died suddenly all over the country. Don't you think it's doubtful?"

The man in black was silent.

Liu Xin continued: "Wang Mang's subordinates are everywhere in the world, and a little change will make him aware. You must use your brains to do things. These Liu Xiu can be killed by bandits or killed by mobsters. It can also be an accident, drowning in water or burning to death. Do you understand what I mean? "

The man in black froze for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand."

"Go."

"Yes, my lord!" The man in black bowed and took a few steps backwards, and then his figure shook, and the person had disappeared.

After the man in black left, there was only Liu Xin in the secret room. He slowly stood up and walked to the inside of the secret room.

He stood still near the wall, lifted his legs and stomped three times on a square brick. Then, he heard a soft sound, and the square brick next to him lifted.

Liu Xin crouched down, lifted the tilted bricks, took out a wooden box from inside, opened the wooden box with a piece of brocade inside, and opened the brocade again. It wrapped a roll of bamboo slip.

Because of its age, the bamboo had become dark brown, but the handwriting on the slip was still clearly visible. There were two words on it-Chifu Fu.

Chifu Fu was a Tu Chen-a book of prophecy. As to who wrote it and what time it was created, it was impossible to verify.

Liu Xin obtained this book from a college student named Jiang Hua.

He carefully took the Chifu Fu out of the wooden box, tremblingly walked to the candlestick, and gently placed the book on the table case.

Then he slowly scrolled the bamboo slip. Soon, he stopped, and his eyes landed on the book. He said with a trembling voice: "Liu Xiu send armies and can't be caught the soldiers. Barbarians gather to fight him, but he will win. "

The meaning of this sentence was that in the future, there would be a man named Liu Xiu who would overturn the rule of Wang Mang and become the new emperor.

After reading this sentence, Liu Xin's hands shook even more fiercely.

When Wang Mang hadn't usurped the throne, Liu Xin and Wang Mang were already the best friends. At that time, Wang Mang repeatedly recommended Liu Xin in court.

After Wang Mang became the emperor, he greatly promoted Liu Xin, making Liu Xin a great man in court.

At this time, Liu Xin was killing all man named Liu Xiu in the world, but he was not helping Wang Mang to eliminate the hidden dangers. If he really had this kindness, he would have dedicated Chifu Fu to Wang Mang, and how could he secretly hide it himself?

On the contrary, he had now changed his name to Liu Xiu.

Chifu Fu recorded clearly that in the future Liu Xiu would become the emperor. Liu Xin wanted to become this Liu Xiu himself. He did not not allow other Liu Xiu to exist in the world, who would become a stumbling block for him to seek the throne.

And Liu Xin's name change was quite justified. Liu Xin proposed to Wang Mang that his name sounded the same with that of Emperor Ai of Han Dynasty Liu Xin. He was renamed Liu Xiu out of taboo.

In this regard, Wang Mang also felt that Liu Xin was doing a decent job. How did he know that Liu Xin changed his name to Liu Xiu, just to match the allegory in the Tu Chen, to grab the dragon chair under Wang Mang 's butt, and to sit on the supreme throne .

Wang Mang's regime was unpopular. The court was in chaos, coupled with the natural disasters in recent years, the people were living in misery. There were rebellions, the Red Eyebrow Army was causing in trouble in the north, and the Green Forest Army was making trouble in the south. In Liu Xin's opinion, Wang Mang's rule was coming to an end, and his chance to seek the throne was close at hand. At this juncture, there could only be one Liu Xiu in the world.

Caiyang County, Nanyang Prefecture, Jingzhou Province. On the county fairs.

"Keep off, keep off!" The two yamen runners shouted loudly while walking forward violently.

People could not fight against officials, so the people in the bazaar could not provoke them and were frightened to retreat to both sides.

The two yamen runners walked through the market and came to the city gate, hung a white cloth notice on the city wall, and the two yamen runners stood on either side of the notice.

The nearby people gathered around, one by one with their toes, their necks stretched out, and they curiously looked at the content of the notice.

Among the onlookers, there was a young man in coarse cloth and trousers. He looked like he was in his twenties. He was slender, more than seven feet in height, and his appearance was excellent. His thick eyebrows flew diagonally into the temples. The pair of tiger eyes were bright and energetic. He was handsome, without losing the masculine spirit of the man.

Although the young man was dressed in ordinary clothes and dressed as a farmer, his body showed an elegant atmosphere that was inconsistent with his clothes.

Like the people around, he looked at the notice just posted with curiosity.

The notice was an arrest document with a portrait of the arrested person.

Looking at the portrait, this person looked ordinary, and what was more special was that there was a striking oblique scar on his forehead.

Looking down, there was a detailed introduction. The prisoner's name was Long Yuan. His age was unknown and his place of origin was unknown, either. However, the reward was as high as five thousand gold.

Looking at the people who were whispering, a yamen runner standing next to the notice cleared his throat and sang loudly: "Traitor Long Yuan, he tried to harm the emperor while he was traveling. It is a great rebellion, and there is no mercy. Those who has his clue or who can arrest him can have five thousand gold as reward! "

"Five thousand gold?!" Many illiterate people heard the three words of five thousand gold, all of them stared at each other, and they were speechless.

"Don't even think about it. He dares to kill the emperor, how can he be arrested by you?"

"Same thing, but five thousand gold ..."

People whispered and talked.

The ordinary man looked at the portrait in the notice intently, and could not help but secretly lament: great man, as he should be!

At the moment when he was pondering in his heart, a person came silently behind him.

This man was of medium size, stout and dressed commonly. He wore short shirt and long trousers with his trousers rolled high. He wore straw shoes and a straw hat on his head.

He lowered his head and walked casually to the back of the young man. His hands were placed in front of himself, and his right hand touched the cuff of the left sleeve without leaving a trace.

Hidden in his left sleeve was a sharp dagger.

Just as he drew the dagger from the cuff a little bit, someone behind him suddenly shouted, "A'Xiu!"

This sudden scream shocked the man, he stuffed the dagger half of which had been pulled out back into the cuff, and then looked at the sign casually.

It was at this time that the ordinary man turned back, and he didn't see the movement of the man behind him hiding the knife. He only thought he was just like himself, a passerby watching the notice.

The eyes of the clothed youth crossed him and looked at the person who called him. Seeing clearly who was coming, he walked over quickly and said, "Elder Brother!"

The man he was called eldest brother was about thirty years old. He was very strong with a burly figure and a bee-like waist. Looking towards his face, he had thick eyebrows, straight nose, straight mouth, and handsome appearance, with a rough temper.

"Elder Brother, why are you in the city?"

"I entered the city and met some friends."

The Young man named Liu Xiu, whose secondary personal name was Wen Shu. The burly man's name was Liu Yan, also called Bosheng, was Liu Xiu's biological brother.

Looking at Liu Xiu's empty hands, Liu Yan asked, "Are you coming to the market to sell food again?"

Liu Xiu nodded with a smile, and patted the bulging wallet around his waist, saying, "The price is not bad!"

Liu Yan shook his head and said with frustration: "Now the natural disasters and man-made disasters caused most people did not have enough food to eat. You are fine, and you should have surplus grains to sell on the bazaar."

Although Liu Xiu was like a scholar carrying the gentleness, but he was an outright peasant.

But the elegance of his body did not come out of nothing. Compared to other farmers, Liu Xiu was considered a talented student among farmers.

He studied in Chang'an for three years and studied the Book of History. In the present words, he had gone to the country's top-ranking colleges and studied in the Department of History.

It stood to reason that anyone who had gone to school could be employed in a certain official and gain a job in the court.

It was a pity that Liu Xiu did not catch up with the good times. The current court was the new dynasty established by Wang Mang.

After Wang Mang became the emperor, he greatly relaxed the admission criteria for Taixue, which led to a surge in the number of Taixue students. After graduation, the court could have assigned jobs to Taixue students, but now there was no such generous treatment.

Only those juniors who had the power and background could have an official position in the court. Students did not have power or background like Liu Xiu, could only go home to farm after graduation.

However, Liu Xiu's three years of Taixue study didn't mean anything. His land cultivation skills were indeed good.

In the current drought in Nanyang County, the crops of other people were dead, but the crops he planted could have a good harvest every season. Not only could he be self-sufficient, but also he had the surplus grain to get money from the market.

If this trend developed, Liu Xiu was likely to become the top and most professional farmer in the country in the future, but the tide of the times did not let him go on this professional farmer 's road, but let him step on a difficult and dangerous road that could only advance but not retreat.

Note:

1. Dr. Fengche Guanglu: an official position title

2. Taixue: a top-ranking school in ancient China

Hearing that Elder Brother described the current situation as 'natural disasters and human disasters', Liu Xiu subconsciously looked to the left and right. Fortunately, the people around were watching the notice, and nobody paid attention to them.

He pulled Liu Yan's sleeves and walked quickly outside the city. When he walked out of the city gate and saw no one around, he loosed Liu Yan's sleeves and reminded him, " Elder Brother, be careful when you speak!"

What were natural disasters and human disasters? This was tantamount to attacking today's dynasty, today's emperor, and this was a felony that would kill him!

Regarding Liu Xiu's reminder, Liu Yan disagreed and said indignantly: "Thief Wang Mang has no virtue. He acts backwards, causing the world in chaos. The people were living in misery, and the Green Forest Army and the Red Eyebrow Army are rising. The overthrow of the tyranny is just around the corner!"

Both Liu Xiu and Liu Yan were descendants of Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty Liu Bang. They were considered to be the roots of the Han Dynasty. Overturning the reckless regime of Wang Mang and assisting the Han Dynasty was of course the desire of both of them.

It was just that Liu Xiu was cautious in nature, and never spoke out such irresponsible words, but Liu Yan's character was diametrically opposed. He was unruly, and chivalrous.

He had long wanted to imitate the Green Forest Army and the Red Eyebrow Army to hold high the banner of the assisting Han Dynasty, and overturning the reckless tyranny. But he suffered from lack of financial support.

The two brothers left Caiyang County and returned to Chongling Village where they lived.

Liu Xiu's father passed away when he was nine years old and he had been sent to his uncle Liu Liang's family. He had two elder brothers and two elder sisters, and a younger sister.

The eldest brother Liu Yan and the second elder brother Liu Zhong had already got married. The eldest sister Liu Huang lived in the grandfather's house, ad the second sister Liu Yuan was married to the Deng Family in Xinye. The younger sister Liu Boji, like Liu Xiu, also lived in the house of his uncle Liu Liang.

Back in the village, Liu Yan shook his head and said, "A'Xiu, let's go to my house!"

Liu Xiu said: "Elder Brother, there is still a lot of farm work in the field. I have to work on the ground!"

Hearing his words, Liu Yan couldn't help but sigh gently. His heart was both helpless and sad. His younger brother was a Taixue student, but now he could only do farming at home.

Thief Wang Mang was so reckless, so how could such a court last for long?

Opportunity! He urgently needed an opportunity now, an opportunity to change himself and his family's destiny!

Liu Yan nodded to Liu Xiu and urged: "A'Xiu, doing farm work is ok. But don't let yourself be too tired. Your hands ..." his hands were used to hold the pen, not the hoe.

He did not say the last half of the sentence.

His father died, and as the eldest son of his family, he was unable to take care of his brothers and sisters, which made Liu Yan also worried.

Liu Xiu understood the ideas in his brother's heart. He said cheerfully to his brother: "Elder Brother, I know. You go back!"

Watching the Elder Brother walk away, Liu Xiu went to his field, weeding the grass, and turning the ground.

He was busy, and there was a rapid horseshoe in the distance.

Liu Xiu unconsciously put down the hoe in his hand, straightened up, and looked up.

He saw a white horse flying towards his own field. When it was far away, he didn't see anyone immediately. When the horse was approaching, he saw a person lying on the horse's back.

As the horse got closer, the speed gradually slowed down. When Liu Xiu approached, the man lying on his horse seemed to be unable to persevere anymore, and immediately fell over from the horse.

Liu Xiu was startled and hurried forward to help the man up.

He took a closer look, and the more he looked at the person, the more familiar he felt. When Liu Xiu saw the oblique scar on the forehead of the person, his heart suddenly moved and he said involuntarily, "Are you Long Yuan?"

This man's appearance was almost exactly the same as the portrait posted in the county seat.

The man who fell off his horse was already in a semi-comatose state. Hearing Liu Xiu say "Long Yuan", his body burst into shock, his eyes suddenly opened, and two electric beams were directed at Liu Xiu's Face.

Before Liu Xiu responded, he suddenly felt his neck was cold, and he saw that the man had an extra dagger in his hand, which was just reaching his throat.

"Who are you, and why do you know my name?" The man's tone was cold, as if it could freeze an elephant.

Liu Xiu behaved calmly, and he said rightly: "Now the county has posted a notice to arrest you. I just came back from the county!"

This man was Long Yuan, who was wanted by the court because he was assassinating Wang Mang. He stared at Liu Xiu and asked in a cold voice: "Are you going to take me to the official?"

Liu Xiu waved his hand and said, "Don't misunderstand me. You has assassinated the Thief Wang Mang who usurped the Han Dynasty, how can I take you to the official?"

Hearing this, Long Yuan's eyes flashed obviously, and he looked at Liu Xiu subconsciously again.

Wang Mang was the emperor of today, and this young man dared to say that he was a usurper. This was a crime of great disrespect. If his words were heard by officials, all of his family would be killed! He must not be an ordinary person!

He frowned, asking, "Who are you?"

"Zaixia Liu Xiu."

"Liu Xiu ..." Long Yuan had no impression of the name.

Liu Xiu added: "My father was the magistrate of Jiyang County, Liu Qin. And my ancestor was the Feudal Lord Changsha Dingwang Liufa."

Ah, he turned out to be the descendants of the Liu Family, the Han Dynasty's clan. No wonder he would say that Wang Mang was a usurper!

Knowing Liu Xiu 's identity, Long Yuan secretly sighed, and his hand with a dagger fell down weakly. He gasped and said, "There are stubborn soldiers chasing me behind, please trouble your little brother, give me some water. I will leave here quickly. "

As soon as his voice fell, he heard the sound of a rushing horseshoe looming in the distance.

Long Yuan shook his heart and dared not delay any more. He clenched his teeth tightly, stood up, put the dagger in his back, and walked towards the horse.

Liu Xiu rolled his eyes, and in a very short time, he had already made a decision in his heart.

Long Yuan was walking towards the horse. Liu Xiu stepped behind him with a big step. Before Long Yuan had yet to react, he grabbed the dagger with Long Yuan in his waist. Long Yuan was taken aback, and subconsciously said, "You ..."

He only said a word "you", and Liu Xiu swung his dagger decisively.

He did not harm Long Yuan, but pierce on the hip of the horse.

The horse was hurt, it screamed, and galloped along the country road.

Seeing this, Long Yuan's face suddenly changed, and he asked sharply, "How did you run my horse away?"

In his current state, if there was no horse to help him, he could not get rid of the chasing soldiers behind.

Liu Xiu looked at the back of the horse, and turned around, looking back, saying: "With your current state, I'm afraid you can't run far. I will help you hide!"

Long Yuan looked at Liu Xiu like a monster. This place was flat and had no shield. Where could he hide?

"Where can you help me hide? If you let the soldiers of Wang Mang see you with me, they will treat you and me as the same party in order to invite merit ..."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Xiu had returned the dagger to Long Yuan and shook his head and said, "Come and help!" While talking, he didn't look at Long Yuan, he lifted his hoe, and quickly walked to an open space, struggling to dig.

Long Yuan froze for a moment before reacting, wondering: "Are you going to bury me in the ground?"

"Are there any other better ways?" Liu Xiu was busying digging while turning his head, asking quickly.

Long Yuan stared at Liu Xiu with a frown, and the sound of horseshoes coming from the back was becoming clearer. Looking from afar, the dust was flying like a hurricane. No matter how much he thought, he could only believe Liu Xiu, treating himself like a dead horse.

He stumbled to Liu Xiu, kneeled down, and helped Liu Xiu to dig together with a dagger.

The field was long plowed by Liu Xiu. The soil was soft and was easy to dig a pit. It was only used to hide people. It did not need to be dug too deep.

It didn't take long. The two dug out a shallow pit that was just one person long. Liu Xiu let Long Yuan lie in, and then used both hands and feet to fill the pit.

In order to prevent Long Yuan from being suffocated, Liu Xiu deliberately left a small hole in his nostril.

When Liu Xiu finished burying Long Yuan, the soldiers chasing Long Yuan were only a few dozen meters away from him. Liu Xiu leaned on the ground with a hoe, pretending to be surprised, and stared blankly at this team of cavalry who was running like lightning.

The cavalry who came here, unlike the officials Liu Xiu had seen before, all had black helmets, black armor, black tassels on their heads, armed with spears, swords under their ribs, and black horses under their crotches. They were like the dark clouds moving on the same side.

The cavalry ran to Liu Xiu and stopped.

Liu Xiu swallowed subconsciously. His performance was also in line with the psychology of an ordinary people seeing a large group of officers and soldiers.

A black armored cavalry urged the horse to go out, first came to Liu Xiu, then raised his eyes to look around, and finally put his eyes on Liu Xiu.

Looking at him roughly, the black armored cavalry asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"

Liu Xiu looked down at the hoe in his hand and stuttered: "Cultivated ... Cultivated land ..."

"Just now, did you see a person passing by here on a white horse?"

Liu Xiu stuttered and said, "No! Ah, yes, I saw one!"

"Yes or no?" The black armor cavalry's tone was even colder.

"Yes, yes ... is that way!" Liu Xiu said, pointing at the side road in the field.

The black armored cavalry looked in the direction of his finger and wanted to continue to ask questions. Another black armored cavalry said anxiously, "There is blood on the ground!"

Hearing his words, the cavalryman looked in the direction of his fingers.

Sure enough, there were some bright red blood beads on the ground not far away, and obviously, it was fresh blood that had just dropped on the ground.

The direction of the blood stain was the same as the direction of Liu Xiu's finger, indicating that Long Yuan was indeed running over there!

The black armored cavalryman near Liu Xiu suddenly jerked the reins, and the war horse took two steps forward. Liu Xiu was very close to him, almost hit by the horse's head, and he retreated several steps involuntarily. His heels were just right stepping on Long Yuan's body. His feet were soft, his body was out of balance, and he sat down on the ground.

The black armored cavalries didn't know that Liu Xiu was tripped by Long Yuan buried under the soil. They only thought that he was intimidated by their companion, and they laughed out loud.

One of the black armored cavalry summoned: "He was just a country boy. There is no need to scare him? Go away, we don't have so much idle time to delay here!"

The black armored cavalry who urged the horse to hit Liu Xiu sat on the horse with a disdainful look, gave Liu Xiu a condescending glance, hummed, turned his horse's head, and came out of the field.

This team of cavalry sprinted away in front of Liu Xiu.

If they went slower, they would find that the soil beside Liu Xiu was trembling slightly. If they paid more attention, they would surely find a piece of clothing that emerged from the cracks in the soil.

But there was no "if". They would not take a look at a country boy like Liu Xiu more often, nor would they think that he would have such a gut to dare to hide the criminal arrested by the court.

Note:

1. Zaixia: refers to I, a modest appellation of oneself

Looking at the back of the team of cavalry, which disappeared completely in the field of vision, Liu Xiu changed the panic and cowardice just now, ran back into the field, used both hands, dug the soil, and dragged the Long Yuan from the ground out.

After Long Yuan came out, he coughed continuously and spat out several mouthfuls of black mud. His already pale face now looked paler with no blood, and almost transparent.

Liu Xiu looked at him and asked, "Are you ... are you injured?" On Long Yuan, he keenly smelled a strong bloody smell.

Long Yuan asked hoarsely, "Is there water?"

Liu Xiu hurriedly got up, walked aside, filled a bucket of fresh water from the wooden barrel, and handed it to Long Yuan.

The latter took it, didn't look at it, and poured a ladle of water into his stomach. After drinking, he coughed again, and his energy finally became stronger.

At this moment, he was in a mood to look at Liu Xiu carefully.

Liu Xiu was seven feet and three inches in height, about 1.75 meters tall. He was well-proportioned and had a thin figure. Looking at his face, he had a long eyebrow, a tall nose. He was a handsome young man.

After looking at Liu Xiu for a while, Long Yuan nodded to him and said in earnest: "This time I would like to thank benefactor for your help. The life-saving grace I dare not forget. As long as I am still alive, I will repay your grace one day."

Liu Xiu didn't care whether he repaid or didn't repaid his grace. The reason why he was willing to take the risk of beheading to rescue Long Yuan was entirely because Long Yuan did something he wanted to do but he didn't dare to do, nor was he capable of doing it. That was, assassinating Wang Mang!

He asked with concern: "Where are you going?"

Long Yuan took a deep breath and said, "Look for a forest in the mountains and avoid the arresting before making plans." While talking, Long Yuan gritted his teeth and stood up. Although he stood up, his one leg kept trembling non-stop.

Liu Xiu got up and reached out to help Long Yuan, who was crumbling, and said: "Depending on your current state, I'm afraid you can't get out of two or three miles. Even if you are not caught by the officers and soldiers, you will fall down first."

Long Yuan was silent. What Liu Xiu said was the fact. He was now not only overstretched physically, but also had serious injuries and excessive blood loss. If he could not find a safe place to recuperate in time, he might be worried about his life.

Liu Xiu blinked, pondered for a moment, reached out to hold Long Yuan's arm, and secretly said, "Go, let me take you to a place where you can hide!"

Long Yuan's look was serious at once, and he said: "Never mind. If you take me in, once the information leaks, you, and your family, can not escape from the punishment!"

Liu Xiu said: "Relax, the place I will take you to is very hidden. It is a log cabin abandoned by hunters in the mountains. It is very safe there, and no one would go on weekdays!"

Long Yuan glanced at Liu Xiu and asked, "Why does benefactor help me so?"

Liu Xiu said: "The Thief wang Mang have no virtue. But there are very few people who dare to assassinate this thief. I admire the courage of Brother Long!

Long Yuan said: "Benefactor, you think highly of me. What I did was not for the world, but for my own personal complaint."

"Brother Dragon has hatred against the thief?"

Long Yuan was silent for a moment, and said: "Yuan came from Lord Guangqi's Mansion."

Hearing the words, Liu Xiu was startled, followed by an expression of sudden enlightenment.

No wonder Long Yuan said that he had personal grievances with Wang Mang. No wonder Long Yuan dared to stab Wang Mang. He turned out to be a man from Lord Guangqi's Mansion.

After the death of Emperor Ping Liu Kan, because he had no heirs, Wang Mang, who was already in power at that time, decided to set up a puppet and chose the son of Lord GuangQi Liu Xian.

At that time, Liu Xian's son was only four years old and was taken to Chang'an by Wang Mang. He became the crown prince, and Wang Mang called him Ruzi.

Wang Mang raised Ruzi in the palace, and no one was allowed to talk to him, and no one was allowed to teach him to read or write.

Ruzi had been the crown prince for three years in the palace, but he became a fool who knew nothing about the six beasts and he could not even speak clearly.

During this period Liu Xian sent letters to the court for many times and proposed to visit his son in Chang'an, but they were all rejected by Wang Mang.

Later, Wang Mang simply found a cause to kill anyone in Liu Xian's family. Liu Xian's family were all dead, and only this little fool was left to him. Only then Wang Mang felt relieved.

It can be said that Lord Guangqi had hatred deeper than sea towardsWang Mang

Liu Xiu helped Long Yuan move forward while talking. He walked out of seven or eight miles and came to a mountain forest. After walking for more than half an hour in the mountain forest, Long Yuan finally saw the cabin that Liu Xiu said.

The log cabin was not large. It was a temporary shelter built by the hunters in the mountain forest to facilitate hunting.

It could be seen that no one had lived here for many years, and many spider webs had formed in the house.

Liu Xiu first cleaned up briefly, then helped Long Yuan in and let him sit on the meadow. He asked: "How is your injury?"

Long Yuan smiled and took off his coat. His body was wrapped a circle of cloth strips and he took them away. Several fierce wounds appeared.

There were at least seven or eight wounds on his body, including stabbing and scratching. Some of the wounds turned up on both sides, and even when people looked at them, they made people feel shudder.

Liu Xiu swallowed and was secretly startled. It was hard to imagine that a person who had suffered so many and so serious injuries could still clench his teeth and insist on it. How strong willpower was required!

He said anxiously: "There are a lot of herbs in the mountains. I'll pick some for you."

While talking, he got up to go out.

"Benefactor!" Long Yuan shook his head, stopped him, and said weakly: "I have basic drugs in my pocket. Can benefactor help me get some clean water?"

Liu Xiu responded well, carried a wooden barrel in the wooden house, and walked out quickly.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Liu Xiu returned to the cabin with a large bucket of water.

He first helped Long Yuan clean some wounds, and then he applied basic drugs on the wounds, and finally took off his inner lining, torn it into strips, and helped Long Yuan wrap up the wound.

Ordinary people couldn't stand the process. But Long Yuan was silent from beginning to end.

It was not that Long Yuan did not know the pain, but his willpower was so amazing. When he helped him clean the wound, Liu Xiu clearly saw that the muscles around his wound were all cramping and trembling, but looking at his face, he had no expression at all. Only the bean-sized sweat beads dripped steadily from his forehead.

After finally helping him deal with the wound, Long Yuan was relieved, and Liu Xiu was even relieved.

Long Yuan looked at Liu Xiu and thanked him again.

"Brother Long, you're welcome." Liu Xiu asked, "What else do you need I to help you?"

Long Yuan felt that he had troubled Liu Xiu too much, and he was embarrassed to ask more again. He didn't speak, but his body was very honest. His stomach growled.

Suddenly, Long Yuan's pale complexion turned unnaturally rosy.

Liu Xiu suddenly realized that he was hungry. He gently patted his own head. Long Yuan was pursued along the way. He was afraid that he had no chance to eat a decent meal. Now he was naturally hungry.

He said: "You are waiting for me here, I will go home and get some food for you."

"This ..." Long Yuan looked embarrassed.

There were constant natural disasters and human made disasters now, either drought or flood, and locust disasters from time to time. Every household's harvest Was not very good. At this time, if anyone distributed food to give away, he was at the risk of starving himself.

Seeing what he was worried about, Liu Xiu smiled at him and said, "Relax, the harvest in my house is not bad. I can afford to feed you."

While talking, he stood up, looked around, and said, "It's safe here, and there aren't many people coming here. You can stay here with peace of mind!"

Long Yuan looked at Liu Xiu and seemed to want to say something, but he finally swallowed the words that came to his mouth. He smiled at Liu Xiu and said, "Thank you, Benefactor."

Liu Xiu did not spend much time in the log cabin, and gave a few more words and turned away.

He drove all the way back to his home, boiled a bowl of meat soup as quickly as possible, made another pot of rice and a plate of dishes, and then packed it into a basket, and went back to the cabin in the mountain non-stop.

Long Yuan was originally sleeping on the straw mat. Hearing the footsteps outside, he immediately opened his eyes, and at the same time, picked up the dagger beside him.

As the door opened and saw Liu Xiu coming in from the outside, his tense nerves were relaxed.

Liu Xiu approached him, put down the basket, and said with a smile: "Hurry up, it's still hot!"

On weekdays, Liu Xiu made others feel very soft and low-key. He was not very talkative. But in fact, Liu Xiu's personality was calm, not introverted. He loved making friends and knowing righteousness.

Long Yuan lifted the cloth sheet on the basket and looked closely. There were porridge, vegetables, and meat soup. He looked surprised, and said, "Benefactor, this ..."

Liu Xiu said with a smile: "I made these, how about trying my culinary skills?"

He didn't say how rare the food was now and how expensive the meat was. He only asked how he was cooking. His kindness and generosity impressed Long Yuan deeply.

Long Yuan suddenly stood up, and Liu Xiu was taken aback by his sudden move. Before he could figure out what was going on, Long Yuan suddenly knelt down and knelt forward.

His behavior immediately caused Liu Xiu to panic and hurriedly reached out to hug him.

Long Yuan knelt on the ground and remained motionless, still holding a prostrate posture, sobbing and said: "Yuan was originally a slave of the Lord Guangqi's Mansion. At that time, Lord didn't think Yuan was humble and low, and he kept Yuan in the house. Yuan was supposed to die, and followed him under Jiuquan, but the hatred is not cleared. Yuan, can't die ... "

Saying this, Long Yuan had been crying, crying prostrately, saying intermittently: "As long as Yuan still has a breath, Yuan will kill the reckless Thief Wang Mang to comfort Lord in the spirit of heaven ..."

When Liu Xiu helped him clean his wounds, he was trembling with pain, but he could not say a word, just like this iron-clad man. But at this time, he cried into tears, like a child, which made Liu Xiu's heart was also mixed.

He took Long Yuan's arm and said, "Brother Long you get up and talk!"

Long Yuan raised his head slightly and wiped the tears on his face. Then, his head tapped on the ground again, took a deep breath, and said with a serious face: "Benefactor, you have saved Yuan's life, and you are courteous to Yuan. Yuan is willing to serve you as my lord from now on. Yuan will swear to follow benefactor! "

Liu Xiu was stunned, and he didn't expect that Long Yuan should treat himself as the lord and followed him.

For a moment, he reacted and quickly waved his hand and said, "I ... I am just a country villager, and ... what is worth following me?"

Long Yuan wiped the tears from his face, and said with a serious face: "Yuan can see that benefactor must be a great person in the future!"

Judging by the process of Liu Xiu saving him, although he was young, he had the courage to do things. He never changed his mind, he had ambitions and tricks, and the most important point was that he was a descendant of the Han Dynasty.

In the matter of anti-Wang Mang, Liu's descendants were orthodox. The identity of the Han descendants was far from others.

"This ..." Liu Xiu hesitated, and Long Yuan said firmly: "If the lord does not agree with me, Yuan will kneel here forever."

Seeing Long Yuan's firm attitude and that he didn't mean to get up, and the wound on his body was already bleeding, Liu Xiu said in a hurry: "I promise you, Brother Long please come up quickly."

Hearing this, Long Yuan, with Liu Xiu's help, sat back on the mat.

Liu Xiu looked at Long Yuan with frustration and said, "Although you were a slave in Lord Guangqi's Mansion, but now Lord Guangqi was gone, you are no longer a slave to anyone. If you want to follow me, just be my follower. "

Before waiting for Long Yuan to answer, Liu Xiu said with a helpless smile: "However, it will be very hard to be my follower. I have no power and no money. What I can give you is only such a meal. "

Long Yuan said seriously: "Lord, that's enough."

Liu Xiu was silent for a moment and asked: "Your name is Long Yuan. What is the secondary personal name?"

Long Yuan heard this, lowered his head, and whispered, "We are slaves ... and there is no such name."

"You guys?" Liu Xiu was very careful and immediately heard the out-of-talk voice. He asked curiously, "Do you still have other companions?"

Long Yuan nodded and said, "In the process of assassinating Wang Mang, seven of us died. Later in order to help me escape, three more sacrificed. Now that I am included, we have only three remaining."

Liu Xiu asked, "Where are the other two?"

"When we got rid of the chasing soldiers, we were separated." After a while, Long Yuan said: "When my injury is cured, I will go to them. Long Zhun and Long Bo must also be willing to follow lord."

Liu Xiu smiled, turned his mind and asked, "Which of the three of you is the oldest?"

"It's me! I am twenty-five years old. Long Zhun and Long Bo are both 23 years old."

Liu Xiu pondered for a moment, and said, "How about I call you Zhongbo?"

"Zhongbo." Long Yuan said twice, and once again knelt on his knees, said: "Thank you Lord for giving me name!"