This was the first time Li Bo saw Zhang Mai. Although he had already begun to imagine what kind of man Zhang Mai was when he was in Luoyang, he didn't really see him until this time.
At first glance, I can see that I am no longer young. I started my army in Anxi in my twenties, fought all the way to the east, and spent the strongest years of my life in the yellow sand. After ten years of journey and ten years of wind and frost, although Before Xue dyed her temples, there were already hidden wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. Since war and government affairs occupy most of his life, with little alcohol, sex, and entertainment, his eyes appear more majestic and focused than romantic and soothing.
Looking at it again, I felt that this man's temperament was different from the people I had seen before. He did not have the imperial aura that was revealed as soon as he ascended the throne like Li Congke and Shi Jingtang, nor did he have the natural aura of Fan Yanguang and Du Chongwei who had led troops for a long time. He is so domineering and domineering, and not as literate as Feng Dao and Han Yanhui, who are leisurely reading and drinking. Three religions and nine schools, emperors and generals, sage kings, wise kings, tyrants, traitors, tyrants, heroes, none of them are suitable to describe Zhang Mai. Li Bo felt that the feeling this man gave him seemed to be incompatible with this world. .
"Is it because he comes from the Western Regions?"
However, looking at it for the third time, I felt that although Zhang Mai's temperament was incompatible with the world he knew, it blended in with the current surrounding environment. When he first entered Youzhou, Li Zhou already had a strange feeling - this place The city made him feel that it was different from other states and counties in the Central Plains, not in terms of architecture, but in terms of folk customs. I already had this feeling when I was in Nanshi, walking along the avenue. The feeling becomes stronger the further north you go, after entering the golden tent. Li Bo felt uncomfortable all over, and he didn't realize it until now. The source of this strangeness lies in Zhang Mai.
"Is this also because he comes from the Western Regions?"
He looked at Fan Zhi, then at Wei Renpu, and then at Fu Yanqing. The first two seemed to have completely integrated into this place, while the latter seemed to have adapted very well. Only he still felt a little awkward.
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Zhang Mai also saw Li Bo for the first time. He guessed his identity, but didn't think too much. Even her eyes only stayed on him for a moment, then she pointed to a chair in the tent and said, "Sit down."
Like Zhao Zan, Li Bo also felt a little despised by Zhang Mai at this moment. In the history books, there is no need to think about the attitude of a wise king towards his virtuous ministers, such as looking at the thatched cottage and walking in front of him. At least he must show respect for himself. However, in Zhang Mai, Li Bo did not feel his deliberate intention. Contemptuous, as if this "rudeness" was just his habit. Um. Yes, it is true that there is no "propriety" in Zhang Mai.
"Is this because he comes from the Western Regions?"
???????? His style is not like that of the Han people in the Central Plains, but it is not like that of the Hu'er from the Western Regions.
"Maybe. I'm just more focused."
Li Ma suddenly had the impulse to "reform Zhang Mai". This impulse was not unique to him. Fan Zhi and Wei Renpu had both done such a thing. And they still want to do it now. Confucian scholars with some knowledge always hope to modify their monarchs according to their understanding of Confucianism. And then go on to renovate the entire world, just like Shusun Tong renovated Han Gaozu and renovated the entire Han Dynasty, Wei Zheng renovated Tang Taizong and renovated the entire Tang Dynasty - although in historical facts, this kind of renovation has never been successful. But at least in the history books, they all succeeded.
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Zhang Mai is indeed more focused now. He is dealing with the affairs of Chenzhou and Yingchang.
The two younger brothers recommended by Fu Yanqing are very capable, or in other words, very suitable.
The eighth brother Fu Yanlun was a man-machine convert and was originally a talented general, but Zhe Deqing could not give him many troops.
Kaifeng is a large city and is located on a major transportation road. The grain from the Huaisi area is transported here and accumulated. After Zhe Deku entered the city, he seized a grain depot that was larger than Pingyoucang. Now Tiance Tang Jun could not There was a shortage of soldiers, not generals, not even money, but a shortage of food. Obtaining Kaifeng not only blocked the connection between Luoyang and Shandong, but also obtained this granary to secure a logistics supply point for Zhang Mai's army to move south in the future, so seizing After Kaifeng, Zhe De did not dare to leave lightly. He no longer attacked from all sides, but fortified himself tightly. However, the troops he brought were only a few thousand people. Although Zhang Mai subsequently added more troops, plus the troops surrendered by Kaifeng Prefecture, There are tens of thousands of people, but the newly surrendered troops do not dare to entrust heavy tasks for the time being. The storage area, the city defenses, the canal, and the return route to the north must be guarded in every possible way, so the troops on hand are very tight. .
After Zhang Mai's order came to Kaifeng, Fu Yanlun did not ask for elite soldiers and generals. He only selected 3,000 people from the surrendered troops of Kaifeng Prefecture. After several days of preparation and training, he set off for Chenzhou - yes, not Yingzhou. Chang,Instead, he escorted his seventh brother Fu Yanyi to Chenzhou - Zhang Mai's order only asked his two brothers to take the land of the two states separately, but did not limit the order of seizure, so Fu Yanqing made adjustments on the fly and let the two younger brothers Let¡¯s go to Chenzhou first. The outcome was indeed no surprise. Outside, Tian sent troops to suppress the territory, and inside there were strong men who were close to the Fu family to provide internal support. The prefectures and counties of Chenzhou surrendered quickly.
After the Fu brothers took over Chenzhou, they summoned the local elders and powerful men, and gathered many soldiers and horses in a few days. After Fu Yanlun expanded the number of soldiers and horses in Chenzhou to 12,000, they marched to Yingzhou with great force. Chang, Kaifeng, and Chenzhou returned to the Tang Dynasty one after another, which had already caused a huge shock to Yingchang. Now that they saw the arrival of soldiers, the officials, soldiers and civilians of Yingchang also changed their banners.
Good news from the south came frequently, which made Fan Zhi and Wei Renpu feel a little numb. Now to the people of the world, it seems that it was a matter of course for the Tiance regime to take over all the legacy left by the Shi Jin Dynasty.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? off Continuing to march southwest from Yingchang, Xianghan can be obtained. But the order issued by Zhang Mai shocked Li Bo: "With the three pillars of Kaifeng, Yingchang, and Chenzhou in the south, we have a firm foothold in the Central Plains. Pass the order and ask Zhe De and Sanfu to use their troops conservatively. Xianghan He and Huaisi are not in a hurry. In the next period of time, we must first focus on Hebei."
"Hebei?" Li Zhu secretly asked: "Why Hebei? What else can happen here that requires the war on the front line to be delayed?"
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At this time, Zhang Mai finally took his mind back from the map. Looking at Li Bo, a civil servant who has been relatively high-profile recently and is regarded as the representative of Hebei Shilin.
He invited all the generals out and asked Fu Yanqing to go down and handle the military affairs he had just arranged. Only Fan Zhi and Li Fang, both from Hebei, were left in the tent, as well as Cao Yuanzhong and Wei Renpu.
After saluting again. Li Bo then began to report the situation in Yedu to Zhang Mai - Zhang Mai had transferred him up this time in the name of reporting on his work, so a statement was inevitable.
The government affairs in Yedu were heavy, and it took half an hour for Li Bo to finish speaking. It should be said that Li Bo did an outstanding job in Ye. He not only tidied up the streets of this big city in Hebei, healed the trauma caused by the troops stationed in Ye some time ago, but also stabilized the surrounding situation. As the heart of Hebei, place. The Ningding of Yedu played a very good role. The reason why so many prefectures and counties in Shandong surrendered was partly due to the deterrence of military strength. The smooth civil administration also played an exemplary role.
Li Bo's ability to achieve such results in such a short period of time was not only due to his skillful political skills, but also to his policy strategy - the first was not to break the original local social structure, and the second was to try his best to The requirements of the new political power should be balanced with local needs. The third is to rely on the original local powerful and scholarly forces to govern the local area - this kind of governance strategy is, to put it more elegantly, called governing according to the customs. To put it in a crude way, it¡¯s just harmonious.
Li Bo could be said to have a good rapport, but Zhang Mai listened and nodded. But the frown on his face showed that he was not completely satisfied.
After listening completely, Zhang Mai said: "Thank you for your hard work."
"The Lord of the Ming Dynasty is above, and the people are below. The ones above share the worries of the king, and the ones below relieve the people's fatigue. No hard work."
This is a standard response from a wise minister.
But Zhang Mai said: "Hebei is now stable, and this is your credit. But after it is stabilized, does Li Xueshi hope to maintain the status quo without making changes?" After Li Bo took over Yedu, Zhang Mai followed Fan Zhi's suggestion and gave him the title of bachelor.
Li Ma¡¯s brows twitched, and he asked with some vigilance: ¡°What changes are going to happen?¡±
"The current local order is the product of the feudal separatist regime after the Anshi Rebellion. It is actually not healthy." Zhang Mai said: "If agricultural administration is not repaired, laws and regulations will not work. The feudal towns are powerful, and military personnel are in power. This is a large separatist regime, and the local self-government Protection cannot be done by giving orders. This is a small separatist regime. If we really want to end this troubled world, we can't just break into Luoyang and sit on that throne. We must end this chaotic order before we can truly put an end to the troubled times."
Li Zhu said: "Now my lord is so powerful that no one dares to disobey his orders. Everyone in Hebei and Shandong follows my orders."
"Really? Then why can't a mere tax exemption order be implemented?" Zhang Mai sneered: "The autumn tax for an acre is only half a bucket, a family with a thousand acres of middle land can only pay a tax of 50 dan, and a powerful man with hundreds of hectares of fertile land can only pay a tax of 50 dan." , it only costs five hundred dan. Just like this, it will be passed on to the heads of ordinary people! The consciences of these people have been eaten by dogs!"
Li Bo said: "Those thirty gentry who disobeyed the law have indeed failed the marshal's holy grace."
Zhang Mai said angrily: "Li Bo!"
heNow he is the invincible commander-in-chief who controls an army of ten thousand. He is so angry that he lays down his body thousands of miles away. This roar is not loud, but it makes everyone in the tent tremble with fear. Although Li Bo feels loyal, His heart was beating fast. He naturally knew why Zhang Mai was angry. If Zhang Mai really believed that those thirty gentry were all tax evaders, he would not have called him here today.
Fan Zhi also looked at Li Bo and signaled him not to contradict Zhang Mai again.
"You are following orders, but you are disobeying them," Zhang Mai said angrily: "This is more abominable than direct disobedience!"
Although Li Ma felt a little guilty, he still said: "If the government order can win the hearts of the people, the people below will naturally not obey it. If the government order is unpopular, they will naturally encounter resistance."
Zhang Mai laughed when he heard this: "Why is my tax exemption order so unpopular?"
Li Bo said: "It is not the tax exemption order that is unpopular. The gentry in Hebei also support the tax exemption order. However, the marshal heard rumors of tax evasion by the gentry somewhere, and then sent people to the countryside to investigate. The reason why the gentry was afraid of resistance was that Cruel officials go to the countryside and disturb the place."
Zhang Mai said: "In the place, there are common people and the gentry and the powerful. When you say you have disturbed the place, do you mean you have disturbed the common people? Or have you disturbed the gentry and the powerful?"
Li Bo: "The soldiers and the people are one, and the soldiers lead the people. If the minds of the soldiers are not stable, there will be turmoil! Marshal, now the unification of the Central Plains is in sight, and Hebei, as the rear, should focus on stability and wait for the world to be unified. At that time, the marshal will ask again It¡¯s not too late to implement better good governance.¡±
Fan Zhi saw Li Bo standing by Zhang Mai, making his face look increasingly ugly. He said hurriedly: "Li Yujun is not actually opposed to the decree implemented by the marshal. He probably just thinks that the decree should be relaxed. Speaking of which, brother Yu Jun is still loyal to the marshal."
Seeing that Zhang Mai's expression softened slightly, Li Bo took two steps forward and knelt down and said, "I have a secret opponent. Please screen everyone and leave me alone."
After hearing this, Fu Yanqing was about to stand up, but Zhang Mai said: "No need. If you have anything to say, just say it directly. The politics of the Tang Dynasty are fair and aboveboard, and there is no need for so many conspiracies. If you have anything to say, just tell me. Say it here!¡±
Li Ma was stunned and said: "If you don't keep it secret, you will lose your country. There are some skills of an emperor that cannot be revealed in front of everyone."
Zhang Mai said: "If a regime relies on conspiracy to maintain it, it's okay not to want this regime. Our country has just been established. I don't want to, I don't need this kind of culture."
Li Zhou was completely stunned. He didn't expect to hear such an answer at all.
Zhang Mai said: "Do you want to say it or not? If you don't say it, then there is no need to say it."
Li Bo gritted his teeth and said, "Marshal Rongzhen, the reason why I object to the marshal going to war for the gentry to hide taxes in Hebei is not for my own selfish interests, nor for the interests of the family, nor for the interests of all relatives and friends, but for the hope that Marshal, don¡¯t lose the big for the small.¡±
"What is small but big? What is small? What is big?"
Li Bo said: "As the marshal said, the land tax per mu is only five liters. If the common people have more than half a dou of rice, their lives will be wider, and they will not become rich. If they lose this half a dou of rice, their belts will be tighter, and they will not be agitated by it." There was a civil uprising. Now that the Marshal has issued the tax exemption order, everyone in the world has known the Marshal's benevolent policies and has won the hearts of the people. Even if we go to war again for the gentry's tax evasion, even if we deal with a group of gentry, the prestige of the Tang Dynasty will be lost. If you fail to add much, you are small.¡±
"How big is it?"
Li Bo said: "Now the Central Plains has not yet been unified. Fan Yanguang is unruly and unruly inside, An Chongrong, Shi Chonggui, and Liu Zhiyuan are outside. There are still Wu, Yue, Shu, Chu, and Min in the south. The powerful gentry there are all eyeing the Central Plains. If the marshal acts strictly, I'm afraid these people will be intimidated and make my great cause of unification of the Tang Dynasty more variable. Since the small things in front of us will hinder the overall situation of unification, then we should make way for the overall situation."
"It turns out that this is what you think of small and big. It turns out that as long as it doesn't go to the bottom line of provoking civil unrest, Li Shu can do whatever he wants" Zhang Mai said: "You only consider the tyranny of the gentry everywhere, but you don't consider it. Limin people everywhere, what was the first thing you said when you came in just now! The king is above, the people are below! Listening to the two paragraphs just now, did you really think of the word "people" in your heart? "
Li Bo almost smiled bitterly: "Marshal, it's not that I didn't take it into consideration, but" At this point, he was forced to have no choice but to finally say: "The people of Li have no power. In the end, the only people who can help the marshal win the world are the powerful. , and in the end, the only people who can help the marshal stabilize the world are the gentry! The powerful are the warriors, and the gentry is the civilized people! If the marshal wants to win the world, the civilized and military warriors must not lose their hearts. If the civilized warriors win the hearts, the world can turn around. Yes, if the civil warrior loses his heart, then even though the current situation is good, it may be fundamentally shaken in the future."
Having said that, I finally broke the official article, Fan Zhi, Wei Renpu and others find these words harsh, but in terms of the essence of taking over the world and sitting on the world, Li Bo's words are not unreasonable. Serving the people for the common people has always been just a slogan. Taking over the world and sitting on the world has always relied on the ruling class. .
Fu Yanqing also stared at Zhang Mai closely, wanting to see how Zhang Mai would respond.
This time, Zhang Mai didn¡¯t stay long and said word by word: ¡°Li Mo! You are wrong!¡±
Li Zhou was prostrate on the ground, but then his head suddenly rose.
Zhang Mai said: "Li Zhou is wrong, many people are wrong! You are wrong because you think that my brothers and I came from Anxi thousands of miles east to launch a war, so many people died and so much blood was shed. , is it because I, Zhang Mai, want to be the emperor? Is it because my brothers want to become generals and become marquises, and be rich and noble for generations to come?"
Li Bo couldn¡¯t say a word because he was holding it in his throat.
"To be an emperor, you need to be granted the title of marquis and prime minister. This is not easy to say, but in fact, isn't it? Regardless of whether you are a martial artist, you are considered a scholar. Although he talks about the common people all day long, in the end, who doesn't want fame and wealth?
Zhang Mai looked at Li Bo. Look at Fu Yanqing again, then look at Li Fang: "There are some words. You can't say it after all, but looking at your eyes, I know that you really think so. But you are wrong!
"Your mistake is that you have mistaken the big and the small. You think that the five liters of rice of the people in Hebei are a small thing, but the unification of the world is a big thing. Now let me tell you, I can be the emperor, or I don't have to. Emperor, the world can be unified or not. But I must implement Hebei's tax exemption order. Those who conceal the tax exemption order and pass it on to the common people, I will definitely investigate thoroughly, because in my opinion, that The matter of five liters of rice is not a small matter, it is a big matter! Who else told you that I, Zhang Mai, must dominate the world?"
If you talk about Zhang Mai¡¯s first few sentences, Li Bo and Fu Yanqing can still think of it. Then the last sentence made the two of them extremely surprised. Not only him, but also Fan Zhi and Wei Renpu were also shocked.
I don¡¯t know since when, the concept of great unification has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people. Once a powerful regime has the possibility of unifying the world, it will definitely do so. When it comes to Zhang Mai, everyone thinks that his pursuit of unification is simply a matter of course. It is simply unimaginable to aspire for the top spot without winning it!
Li Ma and Fu Yanqing¡¯s eyes also straightened. Staring at Zhang Mai, I felt that my brain was not enough.
Zhang Mai said: "Why. I don't want to dominate the world, can't I?"
"This this¡¡"
Logically speaking, as the supreme leader of the Tiance Tang Army, Zhang Mai can of course decide whether to unify the world, but but how is this possible! How can this be!
Li Ma was kneeling on the ground. He wanted to speak but couldn't. He almost wanted to yell at Zhang Mai: "Marshal, please stop arguing with me!"
But Zhang Mai¡¯s eyes were very calm, without any hint of joking.
"My brother and I fought all the way, and ours is different from what you think. In your opinion, unifying the world and becoming emperor seems to be the goal, but our original intention of marching eastward was never like this!"
Li Bo couldn't help but ask: "What is the marshal's original intention?"
¡°Our original intention is just to go home.¡±
go home¡¡
go home!
Although they had heard the story of the Tang Army's Eastern Expedition in Anxi before, as the Tiance Tang Army rose to become the most powerful force in the world, the legend of the Western Regions had become very distant. Neither Li Ma nor Fu Yanqing had ever expected that this At that time, Zhang Mai still remembered his first thoughts when he raised the army.
Yes, how many people have forgotten that when Tiance¡¯s Tang army launched troops in the Western Regions, their original purpose was to go home.
"We are marching all the way east, and our destination is the Tang Dynasty, which is Chang'an. Although Chang'an has not yet been reached, we have finally arrived in the Central Plains. But this Central Plains has become completely unrecognizable to us!"
The Tang Dynasty in the minds of the old people in Anxi is the Tang Dynasty described by their ancestors, the Tang Dynasty recorded in Tang poems, and the Tang Dynasty beautified in their hearts.
And what about the Tang Dynasty in reality?
The world in reality is full of shame, chaos, darkness and injustice.
Now, with the Tang army of Tiance defeating the Uighurs in the Western Regions, Tubo in Ganliang, and Khitan in Mobei, the history of shame has ended. But chaos, darkness and injustice are still continuing in the Central Plains, and are even preparing to swallow up the Tiance regime.
"A lot of things happened during our Eastern Expedition. As the team grew, many new people were added."
Zhang Mai looked towards Fan Zhi, Wei Renpu, Fu Yanqing and Li Ma and his son. In this tent, he and Ma Xiaochun and Liu Xi were the only ones.Hu is an old friend of Anxi.
"Because a lot of things have happened, some of our old friends have forgotten our original purpose, and because of the addition of new people, some of the new people who have joined us do not have our original wishes. But I have never forgotten this purpose and this wish. Yes, the purpose of our army, the original intention of our expedition, is to go home! Back to the Tang Dynasty, back to Chang'an!"
Li Ma could not help but said: "Marshal, this is already the Central Plains. As for Chang'an, as long as Liu Zhiyuan surrenders, Chang'an will"
"That's not Chang'an!" Zhang Mai interrupted him: "The land under my feet is not the Tang Dynasty, at least, it's not the Tang Dynasty yet!"
Li Ma and Fu Yanqing both trembled slightly. Zhang Mai's words seemed a bit confusing at first, but after careful consideration, they vaguely understood what he meant.
This land is no longer the Tang Dynasty described in Tang poems, and the city that Liu Zhiyuan separatized is no longer the supreme Chang'an in the minds of the Anxi people.
Zhang Mai said: "What is the Tang Dynasty like? It should be progressive, bright, fair, and orderly! It is the paradise created by the Chinese nation for this world, and it is the paradise that the Chinese nation is proud of. A proud country. And now, is this land like this! The court is civilized and martial arts are played, the villages and counties are chaotic and disorderly, the civil affairs are governed by the gentry who are like shit, and the martial arts are just a bunch of unscrupulous warriors! This What kind of fucking Tang Dynasty!"
"We returned to the Central Plains, but we couldn't find the Tang Dynasty. We captured half of Guanzhong, but we didn't dare to enter Chang'an, not because we were timid about being close to home, but because the city had changed! The Weishui River is still the same Weishui River, But Chang'an is no longer that Chang'an!"
"So, we can only build the Tang Dynasty in our minds in the four towns of Anxi and Lianglan, Gansu according to our understanding! We have established a more reasonable political order than the current Central Plains, and we have maintained a unified With the folk customs of Yunwu, we inspired the bravery of men, and we protected the survival of women and children. From then on, wherever we went, we spread the fire of civilization with justice, and ignited the hope of returning to the Tang Dynasty with iron and blood."
"Li Bo, do you understand what the Tang Dynasty we want to return to looks like?"
Li Bo was trembling and knelt down and said, "Marshal, please give me instructions!"
Zhang Mai said: "The Tang Dynasty in our mind is not a territory of thousands of miles, not Zhang Mai's imperial line for thousands of generations, not Yang Yi, Xue Fu and their hundreds of princes, but a set of reasonable political order, a kind of culture and martial arts. Folk customs, a vibrant society, a group of people who are brave enough to forge ahead!¡±
"Do you understand? It's not that we don't have the ambition to unify the world, but the purpose of our unification is to make all states and counties in the world become the real Tang Dynasty, not just to let the capital of all states and counties hang the name of the Tang Dynasty Flag! And I even more disagree with the idea of ??corrupting the political order we have finally established and polluting the civil and military ethos we have finally stirred up in order to unify the world! Unifying the world is just a process, and returning to the Tang Dynasty is the ultimate goal, Li Bo! You! do you understand!"
Li Maozhu was there, the expression on his face was indescribable. Suddenly, his face burst into tears, and he fell on the ground again, crying: "My lord, all these years of reading have been in vain! After listening to the marshal's words today, I finally Knowing that I have abandoned the teachings of the sages like a piece of shit, I am guilty! Please punish me, Marshal!"
Fu Yanqing also knelt on the ground and said: "In the past, I surrendered, but I was forced by the situation to find a new master for myself. It is only now that I know how broad-minded the Marshal is. Fu Yanqing's family is willing to follow the Marshal, life or death, until one day. Return to the Tang Dynasty!"
Zhang Mai was overjoyed, helped the two of them up, and said: "On our way back, we are not just expanding our territory, not just expelling enemies, but also looking for like-minded peers. The five liters of rice under the tax exemption order, It seems like a small matter, but it¡¯s actually a big deal! I can¡¯t even give the five liters of rice promised to the people, so what kind of general am I? I can¡¯t even manage three acres of land in Hebei, so what kind of face do I have? To rule the wider Hedong, Central Plains, Huguang, and Jiangnan? So these five liters of rice from the people of Hebei are not a reward from me to the people of Hebei, but the limit of my tolerance for the political order in Hebei!"
Everyone in the tent was shocked, and the youngest Li Fang was so excited that his lips trembled. Zhang Mai pointed to the south and said: "So, starting from today, all the external development of Tiance Datang will be temporarily stopped, because We need to rectify our internal affairs first. If we don¡¯t sweep Hebei, how can we sweep the world?¡±
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It¡¯s been quite painful to write lately, half of it is about things in life, and half of it is because the book itself is stuck.
The book "Tang Qi" has only one theme from beginning to end, which is return. Although there were twists and turns, I never forgot my original intention.
Zhang Mai steps into Chang'an??, which is when the book ends.