Chapter 9 third quarter

Dong Cheng's mansion is located in the southeast of Xudu. It was originally the residence of a wealthy businessman in Hanoi, with two entrances and four passages, it is very luxurious.At this time in the main hall, the servants were busy cleaning up the messy banquet. There was still a lot of food left on a few small tables. It seemed that the guests were careless and did not have much appetite. Behind the main hall, there is a corridor and a small garden. Several black-clothed servants are hidden or appearing in the courtyard, and further inside is the inner house of the chariot general.In the inner house, besides Dong Cheng, there are three other people.They didn't kneel on the rug as usual when discussing matters, but they gathered around Dong Cheng in unison, with serious expressions on their faces.

In Dong Cheng's hand, he was still holding a gorgeous jade belt. The jade belt seemed to be cut by a sharp object, and the white lining was exposed at the edge.The other three looked at the jade belt with a trace of awe in their eyes. "...That is to say, Fushou ordered your subordinates to evacuate outside the city before the conflagration last night?" Dong Cheng frowned slightly. Zhong Ji nodded.He rushed over from the scene of cleaning the Forbidden Palace, and he still smelled of smoke.It stands to reason that if there was a fire in the forbidden room, his guilt is not small.But the strange thing is that neither the emperor nor the minister seems to be in a hurry to pursue responsibility, and no one has detained him for the time being.

He described the fire last night in detail, and everyone fell into silence.This sounds like an obviously premeditated event, but why would the emperor do this?They pretend to be loyal ministers, but sometimes they still can't figure out what the lord thinks. "Your Majesty has always had his reasons for doing things..." Dong Cheng pondered for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing, "This fire is burning well!" The other three looked at him in amazement, not understanding what he meant . Dong Cheng shook the belt in his hand, and said: "The big fire last night was the help that His Majesty gave us, just like this Edict of the belt, it is a secret decree and an opportunity from His Majesty."

"General, what do you mean?" Zhong Ji's eyes widened, and he vaguely guessed something. Dong Cheng raised a finger and said: "Cao thief has been operating in Xudu for so many years, and his strength is deeply ingrained. It cannot be shaken easily. This fire has split a gap in the iron barrel, let me wait for someone to fight." Take the opportunity to move around." He saw the puzzled expressions on the faces of several people, and explained: "Your Majesty has agreed today. With Xu Wei as the leader, Dong Fen and Heng Fan as deputy, the three ministers jointly discussed the rectification of the Imperial City Suwei and Xu Duwei. Our The opportunity has come."

"But will Man Chong accept it willingly?" Zhong Ji asked worriedly, he knew exactly what Man Chong and his subordinate Xu Duwei were like.After fighting openly and secretly for four years, Luoyang's clan rarely had the upper hand. Dong Cheng narrowed his eyes: "It doesn't matter if he agrees or not, it's good to mess up. Bandit Cao now avoids Yuan Shao in the north and defends Liu Biao in the south. Xu is his root, and he will never allow chaos. So we must disturb Xu. The world will be turned upside down, so we can take advantage of it. Forbidden fire is the first move of His Majesty to leverage the situation, and now we are going to use the second move."

He turned to another guest. This man was tall and tall. Although he was wearing a cloth robe, he couldn't hide his sharp breath: "General Wang Fu, what's going on in the army?" Wang Fu was thinking, when he heard Dong Cheng's question, he hurried Standing straight: "Bandits appeared near Xudu yesterday, and even robbed and killed a passing official. Now, half of the troops stationed in the city have been rounded up by Deng Zhansa, and the other half are scattered around the city under martial law. Cao Ren The general's troops are stationed in the south and have not moved."

Zhong Ji interjected: "If everything changes, Cao Ren's army can reach the city within three sticks of incense." The heavy pressure brought by the garrison that night left a deep impression on him. Dong Cheng gave a "hmm" and said lightly: "Cao Ren is not a problem." He asked Wang Fu again, "If necessary, how many people can we gather in one night?" Wang Fu said: "The number is three hundred." Dong Cheng closed his eyes Eyes, a little calculation: "It's still a bit small..." Wang Fu was a little embarrassed, and argued: "These three hundred are my soldiers and disciples, and if there are more, others will become suspicious."

"If Xudu is really in chaos, I'm afraid you won't even hear a sound when these three hundred people are thrown out. You have to think about a way. No matter what, make sure that five hundred people are in your hands in the city. This matter has a lot to do with Han Jiangshan, General Wang, you have to be more careful." Dong Cheng said lightly, Wang Fu wiped the sweat from his forehead nervously, and nodded in agreement.After teaching Wang Fu a lesson, Dong Cheng suddenly opened his eyes and turned to the third person: "Wu Shuo, where is Liu Xuande now?" The third person has been standing in the shadow of the room, and when he heard Dong Cheng calling his name, he took a step forward, took out half a piece of wood from his arms, and handed it to Dong Cheng: "Mr. Xuzhou."

As soon as the name was mentioned, the atmosphere in the room became quite strange.Dong Cheng poked his lips up, and half-sarcastically said: "He runs as fast as ever. Anyway, as long as he raises an incident in Xuzhou and attracts Cao Jun's attention, we can make a big splash in Xudu." Zhong Ji hesitated, and said, "Mr. Dong, can Liu Xuande really be trusted? If he changes his mind midway and goes to Xiangyang, he will lose everything." Dong Cheng sneered and said, "For this kind of person, we don't have to be righteous, we just need to let him know that it's profitable. I don't believe he won't be tempted if Xuzhou puts such a big piece of fat there." He stroked the man. With a belt, he said with emotion, "The world is so big, there are so few loyal ministers. Those who are loyal to His Majesty, as long as we are enough, the others are just pawns."

The four of them knelt down together, and bowed to their robes as a monarch and minister.Then Dong Cheng stood up, put the belt into his arms carefully, turned around and took a private talisman from the desk: "Man Boning has already become suspicious of me today, so I can't act rashly these few days. The matter in the court , I have to deal with Dong Fen and Heng Fan; and our secret plan needs someone else to preside over it for me." Several people looked at each other, Dong Cheng is the leader of the Luoyang family, if he lets go, who is qualified to take care of the overall situation?

Before everyone could ask questions, suddenly the wooden door was pushed open with a "squeak", and a young man broke in.He looked around and said with a light smile, "You guys are rolling dice and cups here, conspiring to get Cao Sikong a big boss. Why don't you call me for such a good thing?" The people in the room were all shocked, this is the mansion of the great general, and there are at least a dozen or so people who are experts in light and shade nearby, why did this person barge in like this?Wang Fu reacted the fastest, a cold light flashed, he had already pulled out the dagger from his waist, and pushed it to the throat of the visitor.The young man was unafraid, and just praised: "There are rumors in the capital that 'the king is fast and slow, and the east is extraordinary'. General Wang's sharp sword is as fast as lightning." At this time, Wu Shuo and Zhong Ji had already recognized the identity of the visitor, and they called out together: "You are... Dezu?" Wang Fu was stunned: "Yang Dezu? Is it Yang Xiu, the son of Master Yang Biao?" The dagger in his hand couldn't help One loose.Yang Xiu looked nonchalant, and arched his hands: "It's right here." Dong Cheng threw the private talisman in his hand to Yang Xiu, and said, "Dezu, you are too reckless, you just barged in without notifying. If General Wang hadn't been cautious, wouldn't you have died in vain?" Yang Xiu took the private talisman and tied it casually At the waist: "I bet that General Wang has a good shot, and it seems that the bet is right." Wang Fu stared at this daring young man, speechless for a while, so he had to put away the dagger and return it to its original position. Dong Cheng took Yang Xiu's hand and introduced them to others one by one.The three of them returned the gift one by one, but they felt a little apprehensive.Since he is the son of the old Taiwei Yang Biao, he can be trusted, but this young man acts frivolously and is full of gambling, so he is not at ease to let him take the lead.Wu Shuo prided himself on being Dong Chengzhi's most resourceful person. When he saw Yang Xiu, he couldn't help frowning. Yang Xiu looked around, and his smiling face suddenly faded: "You guys have a heart of loyalty to the country, but you are careless about the details." Everyone was a little surprised to see him questioning him suddenly.Yang Xiu tapped the table with his finger, and said seriously, "There are many spies from the capital guard around Dong's mansion. If you come here lightly, if Man Boning finds out your identity, what can you do?" Wu Shuo snorted coldly: "Young Master Yang is too worried. There is no word here, and outsiders only know that I am here to attend General Dong's birthday banquet today. There is no proof, what can he catch?" Yang Xiu smiled slightly. "When did Xu Duwei need evidence to do something? If I were Man Boning, I would take advantage of your nights on the way back to the mansion to kill the killer. A big bet will naturally disappear into nothingness." "Assassinate the court minister? He has to have the guts!" "Compared to Xu Du's chaos, they can still afford this price." Yang Xiu coldly pointed out the key, and the other three were silent.Yang Xiu gently played with the private talisman in his hand, his slender fingers flexibly fiddled with it, as if playing with a dice. So far, Cao's struggles with Luoyang officials have all occurred underwater.The former monopolizes the military and political power, while the latter enjoys the prestige of the world, and they are very afraid of each other. Therefore, the high-level people live in peace for the time being, and the struggle is confined to the court. But everyone present knew in their hearts that if there was a real threat—such as the plan they were planning—to endanger the foundation of the Cao family, then that person would not hesitate to use extreme violence to solve the problem.Thinking of this, the three people's vests were dripping with cold sweat. "According to the son, what should we do now?" Wu Shuo asked calmly. He noticed that Dong Cheng had been silent, and knew that there must be something to say. Smiling, Yang Xiu took out five pieces from his bosom and placed them on the table one by one, immediately filled the room with a strong smell of blood.Wang Fu frowned, he was very familiar with this smell. Those were the thumbs of five people. Judging from the blood stains at the fracture, they had just been chopped off. "This time, I have solved it for everyone. There are five spies in total. Mr. Dong, Man Boning really attaches great importance to your birthday." This fair-skinned young man spoke lightly, as if he was talking about an ordinary thing.All the people present were unanimously terrified, they didn't know what would happen to the owner of those five thumbs. "There are more than 20 people going to Dong Gong's birthday banquet tonight. These five spies have been waiting at several exits outside, counting secretly to see which ones will come out last." Yang Xiu glanced at Zhongji with a half-smile, Wu Shuo and Wang Fu made them feel a little scared. "Fortunately, they were intercepted by me before they reported back, so Man Chong will not know for the time being who among the officials attending the banquet participated in Dong Gong's important affairs." Having said that, Yang Xiu shook his head, with regret on his face: "It's a pity that this move is to quench thirst with poison. We are safe tonight, but Man Chong will know by dawn at the latest. The accidental death of the five spies will make him feel bad for Dong Dong." Things in the mansion are more interesting. If Xu Duwei wants to investigate, he will definitely find out." Everyone knows that Yang Xiu is definitely not exaggerating. Yang Xiu closed his fingers, held the private talisman firmly, and stared: "So before Duke Xuande takes Xuzhou, please act according to my instructions, without any discount." Next, Yang Xiu started to make arrangements, one by one was clear, meticulous and orderly, even taking into account how they would avoid being noticed when they left the Dong Mansion for a while.Everyone was amazed and said that Yang Biao's son was a talented man, seeing him now, it was as expected. Half an hour later, Yang Xiu explained the last details.At this time, it was already the climax of the moon, so the others bid farewell one after another, and each left the Cheqi General's Mansion with their own thoughts.After all the people left, Dong Cheng ordered the servants to bring a pot of boiled tea and two bamboo cups, and asked Yang Xiu to sit opposite him. "Master Taiwei, is he alright?" Dong Cheng scooped up a spoonful with a copper spoon and poured it into Yang Xiu's cup. Yang Xiudao: "Father went out to relax two days ago, and he just came back yesterday. His old man is very relaxed now, and people have seen him openly. He travels around the mountains and rivers every day." Hearing this, Dong Cheng couldn't help sighing: "Taiwei Yang is Get rid of the sea of ​​suffering, but leave us here to manage miserably." "It's hard work for those who can. Besides, isn't my nephew here to gamble with you?" Yang Xiu took a sip of hot tea and felt his whole body warmed up. He wiped his mouth with a smile, "If there is more rice wine , plus a pair of dice, it would be even better." Dong Cheng laughed: "You kid never forgets the words of wine and gambling. I really don't know how to behave like a eccentric Yang Taiwei. .” The two chatted casually, and the tea in the pot slowly went away by half.Dong Cheng suddenly asked: "Dezu, what do you think is the chance of winning this time?" Yang Xiu didn't even think about it, and responded casually: "With the current situation, most likely moths are thrown into the fire." "Oh? Why?" Dong Cheng's eyelids only slightly lifted. "Even though Duke Xuande has a high reputation, his methods of fighting are very clumsy. It may be impossible to rely on him to attract the main force of Cao's army..." Yang Xiu slowed down his speech, pointed to the south with his slender fingers, and there was a hint of insight on his lips. With a smile: "With the prudence of His Majesty and General Dong, we will definitely not bet all this big bet on Liu Xuande, it must be something else." Dong Cheng laughed and said nothing more, holding the cup with both hands, the steaming tea mist made his face a bit blurred. After Wang Fu left Dong Cheng's house, he was very depressed. On the one hand, he was criticized by Dong Cheng because he was not good at doing things; on the other hand, it was because the plan itself made him uneasy. To kill Cao thief, these four characters are not as simple as writing in official script.Wang Fu asked himself that he didn't have strong loyalty to the Han family. He was just a simple warrior who was just doing his job in the army. Why did he get involved in such a complicated and sinister vortex... He himself couldn't figure it out , but now there is no turning back. Wang Fu waved his hand, trying to drive away these disturbing thoughts.Holding the rein lightly, he let the mount walk slowly through a narrow street adjacent to Dong's Mansion.There are low houses on both sides, and the eaves are so dark that it can almost touch his head.At this time, the curfew was already under, and ordinary people stayed at home, and the surroundings were silent.This is Yang Xiu's arrangement, which can deceive people as much as possible.Since Yang Xiu said that this road is "clean", it should be true. When this person walked to the middle of the street, Wang Fu suddenly felt a fierce murderous aura suddenly rising from behind, which was fleeting.Wang Fu reacted very quickly, the moment he turned his head, the dagger in his hand had turned into a shooting star, flying towards a certain corner of the house. There was a sound of "铛", the metal collided, and the dagger was bounced off by something, obliquely sinking into a wall of earth. Wang Fu was secretly surprised.Just now he moved the saber at will, and his shot was extremely quick, but the opponent was able to block it easily. "Who is here?" He shouted in a deep voice, his eyes swept towards the wall.With his sharp eyesight that he had trained for many years, he didn't notice any movement.The moment the lurker received the flying knife, he changed his position silently and was submerged in the darkness again.If it wasn't for the murderous expression just now, I'm afraid I was bullied by that person so close that I didn't even feel it. Thinking of this, Wang Fu suddenly felt cold sweat dripping down his body.He took a deep breath, pulled out the saber from the sword pouch on the side of the mount, held the hilt tightly, and assumed a defensive posture. A voice suddenly sounded in his ear, like many grains of sand rolling in the wind, dull and dull: "Don't be surprised, General Wang, I have ordered Mr. Yang to secretly protect you from leaving." The voice was erratic and difficult to determine position.Wang Fu looked around, but couldn't find the source of the sound. He didn't dare to relax his vigilance at all, and thought to himself, it turned out to be Yang Xiu's person.Those five spies were probably killed by this silent killer. Seeing that Wang Fu was still in the posture of facing an enemy, the voice seemed to change its direction again: "I have heard the name of Wang's fast sword for a long time, and it is known in the world together with Mr. Zhang and Dongfang Anshi. Seeing the general, I occasionally He became determined to win. Unexpectedly, the general noticed it immediately and admired him." Wang Fu said: "My sword skills are poor, far worse than my brother Wang—why don't you show up, my friend?" There was a silence for a while, and the voice rang out again, but the answer was irrelevant: "General, please return to the mansion quickly, so as not to cause trouble. " Wang Fu wanted to say something, but the voice had disappeared.A bleak night wind blew past his ears, leaving Wang Fu alone in this narrow and dark alley.This time, he was sure that the ghostly figure had really left. At this moment, Wang Fu's mood became worse. He didn't believe that a top killer would expose his whereabouts so "accidentally".So it was not an accidental encounter, but a deterrent, a blatant hint. Wang Fu believes that Wu Shuo and Zhong Ji also "discovered" the existence of the killer in different ways when they left.Thinking of the young man showing five bloody severed fingers with a smile, Wang Fu felt chills in his back.This kind of person will never be able to truly trust others, and he is participating in the same conspiracy with him. I really don't know whether it is luck or misfortune. Maybe when he was in the inner house just now, he saw the shaking in his heart, Wang Fu thought to himself, and found that he was sunk deeper than he imagined. ※※※ It's always cold in December, and the cold north wind is like a butcher's knife held tightly in the hands of Pao Ding, penetrating into every inch of the city tenaciously and resolutely.The king wrapped himself tightly in a cloth robe and let the horse rein all the way, meditating distractedly, oblivious to the road under his feet.After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly raised his head and realized that he was led by his mount to a secluded hut. This is a simple and elegant wooden house with a single family. There is a cut plum blossom in front of the door, and the small flowers on the branches bloom in the cold wind.At this time, the candles in the room were extinguished early, and the people inside must have fallen asleep. Wang Fu looked towards the wooden house, feeling a sense of warmth in his heart for no reason. This is the residence of Tang Ji, the wife of Shaodi Liu Bian.After the emperor brought her to Xudu, she settled in a secluded place, where cars and horses rarely came, and now it was almost two o'clock, and it was even more silent here. Wang Fu didn't call the door, but silently looked at the dark window outside under the tree, imagining the peaceful sleeping face of the woman inside. He first met this girl in Chang'an a few years ago.At that time, Wang Fu was just a wandering ranger, and he was caught up in the chaos of Li Jue and Guo Si, and he was trapped in the city.A young girl found him, claiming to be Tang Ying.She said that Li Jue wanted to marry her by force, and hoped that Wang Fu would help her escape from Chang'an, and she also offered a gold hairpin and a few pieces of jewelry as reward. Wang Fu accepted the commission, and the two of them managed to escape from Chang'an after a lot of hard work—Wang Fu was even beheaded by Li Jue for this.While fleeing, Tang Ying's thin but resolute figure gradually left a deep imprint on his heart.When he finally made up his mind to reveal his feelings, the girl disappeared. Disappointed, Wang Fu went to Cao's house in Yanzhou and became a general by virtue of his martial arts.Later, the emperor came to Xudu and issued an edict to search for the widow of the young emperor Liu Bian. This task was handed over to Wang Fu.Wang Fu never expected that that Tang Ji was actually Tang Ying, the girl whom he dreamed of. A general from the Cao family, and a widow of the emperor of Han, Wang Fu knew that it was almost impossible to have any results, unless there was a big turmoil like Chang'an in the past... Wang Fu cast his eyes on the imperial city in the distance, and laughed at himself He smiled, turned the horse's head, and left silently.He remembered why he had participated in that plan in the first place. "I will do my best to help revive the Han Dynasty, but not for your majesty," he thought.