Chapter 22 second quarter

Xu Du's court meeting on this day presented an unprecedentedly lively scene.Not only Luoyang officials and neutral officials were all present, but even Duke Cao's people in Xudu were all there.With their own thoughts in mind, they whispered to someone they trusted, with surprise and apprehension on everyone's face. Everyone heard what happened in Xudu last night, but they dared not go out to inquire because of the curfew.By this morning, all kinds of speculations and rumors were spreading rapidly in the city, and there were all kinds of rumors.Some said that Sun Ce flew into Xudu with Wuling barbarians; The camps are colliding wantonly.

However, all the rumors ended with Duke Cao winning.Otherwise, Dong Cheng should be standing beside the emperor at this time, not Xun Yu. Zhao Yan stood among the officials, his shoulders trembled slightly, and his face was very pale.He escaped from Dong's mansion from the dog hole last night, ran home in one breath, covered his head with a quilt and cried loudly, crying until he almost vomited blood. By the time he stepped out of the mansion this morning, the panic and grief of last night were gone. His whole body seemed to be scorched by the fire and tempered by immersion in ice water.When he heard the news from Chen Qun that Concubine Dong had passed away, his eyebrows didn't even move.

"Young Master, I have cried away the cowardice in the rest of my life, and I can devote myself to fulfilling your entrustment." Zhao Yan swore to her in his heart. He raised his head and looked at the emperor aloft, and found that today's emperor is different from usual.Liu Xie knelt down behind the table, leaning his body weakly with his right hand, and there was a sad and hopeless breath between his brows. Not a sick look, but a sad look, the kind of sad look that is so preoccupied that it almost overwhelms the spirit. "It's inevitable that your Majesty is so disappointed that General Cheqi fell so easily?" Zhao Yan thought to himself, but he immediately remembered Concubine Dong's advice, so he couldn't help but look at it a few more times, and only then did he realize what was wrong.

Fu Hou, who was always inseparable from the emperor, was actually absent. Zhao Yan remembered that since he arrived in Xudu, the emperor often fell ill, so almost every time he had an audience with his courtiers, he had to be accompanied by his queen to wait on him, which made Concubine Dong jealous.But today is such an important court meeting, why doesn't Fu Hou come? something wrong. Zhao Yan was thinking desperately in his mind, there seemed to be an extremely vague silk thread swimming around, which could be sensed but hard to capture.Suddenly a big hand patted on his shoulder, making Zhao Yan's thoughts scattered all of a sudden.

"Yanwei, what's the matter with you today?" Zhao Yan turned around, and it turned out to be Kong Rong, who hurriedly bowed his head and saluted: "Your Excellency, I occasionally feel cold and feel unwell..." "You know everything about last night?" Kong Rong asked in a low voice.Zhao Yan nodded and didn't say anything, Kong Rong said angrily, "You foolish old man, you can act arbitrarily and don't even discuss such a big matter with me." Zhao Yandao: "General Cheqi is probably afraid of hurting your lord." Kong Rong said: "I know him best. He is very happy, but he looks down on others. He always thinks that he can rule the country and the world with that stuff in his belly. See it now?"

Zhao Yan was a little dissatisfied with Kong Rong's remarks, and couldn't help but counterattack: "Master Shaofu thinks that General Che Qi did something wrong?" Kong Rong sneered: "What's the use of what he did right or wrong? He was just slapped down by Xun Yu and Man Chong lightly, and disappeared after the slap. He was betting on the Han Dynasty as his own betting money." Make a bet. If you win the bet, you will be Huo Guang; if you lose the bet, you will be Li Gu—he will not be at a disadvantage. Now that he has fulfilled the righteousness of a loyal minister, His Majesty will bury him."

After he finished speaking, he stomped his feet heavily, seeming very resentful.After hearing this, Zhao Yan was shocked.What Kong Rong said made him suddenly realize that the thread that was originally illusory was finally pinched.This lonely young master seems to be much more intelligent than imagined. The two were talking, when suddenly there was a crisp sound of a golden pot from above, and the court meeting officially started. After the emperor and ministers hurriedly went through the procedure of the court meeting, Man Chong was the first to stand up and ask for a performance.Liu Xie lazily raised his hand to confirm.Man Chong then told everything that happened last night.

Man Chong's voice was eerie and without any emotion, as if he was reading aloud the past.In the report, some details were deliberately concealed, but the whole picture of the whole matter was still clearly outlined. Many people were surprised to see Man Chong stand up.You must know that Dong Cheng's "rebellion" is a major event. Generally, the emperor should issue a decree to his ministers, or the minister should announce the result on his behalf, so as to reassure the ministers.Now it is actually a little Xu Duling who stands up and reports to the emperor in the form of a report. The flavor of this is worth thinking about.

"Hmph, it looks like Xun Wenruo's arrangement, and he's thoughtful." Kong Rong curled his lips in the crowd. Together with Dong Cheng's rebellion, anyone will think of the role played by the Han Dynasty.If the two are connected by someone with a heart, killing Dong Cheng will become a declaration of war on the Han Dynasty, which will be very disadvantageous politically. Xun Yu asked Man Chong to break the convention and report from the bottom up, obviously trying to get the Han Dynasty out of this incident.Yes, the Han Dynasty had no prior knowledge of the rebellion. It was not until Xu Duwei eliminated the chaos and took the initiative to report that the emperor "rejoiced".There is a huge difference between top-down and bottom-up.

Moreover, the status of Xu Duling, who is full of favors, implies that this is just a public security incident, and the shogunate will not expand the scope of attack and hold other Luoyang officials accountable.In this way, the Han Dynasty will not be implicated by Dong Cheng, and Cao Cao’s enemies will not have any reason to talk, and they will appease the court officials by the way, killing three birds with one stone-this is a typical Xun family’s balancing technique, which no one can learn Come. Those who hang out in this imperial court are not fools.After being stunned for a moment, most people understood the goodwill released by the shogunate.Some were relieved, others were deadpan.Kong Rong couldn't help but sighed: "This guy Xun Yu, if he spends all his thoughts on assisting the Han Dynasty, it will be a different scene." Zhao Yan didn't continue, but stared at Manchu. Beloved, don't let go of any word he said.Every detail is likely to help him fulfill Concubine Dong's entrustment.

Man Chong's report was over soon, and then he returned humbly.Xun Yu asked the emperor for advice, Liu Xie waved his sleeves listlessly, Leng Shouguang obediently handed over a cup of medicinal soup, he took the cup and sipped slowly, meaning I don't care, you can do whatever you want. Xun Yu knew that the emperor was not in a good mood. He didn't know the half-unfinished calligraphy on the dragon couch last night, and thought that His Majesty was still depressed about Dong Cheng's matter.Xun Yu couldn't comfort this matter, he just begged the emperor not to stand up like crazy and say stupid things, everything would be easy. At this time, all the ministers were talking about it.In Man Chong's report, besides mentioning the end of Dong Chengyi's party, he also revealed that there was a good minister of the Han Dynasty who went to King Xu Qin, and everyone was guessing who it was. Xun Yu took a step forward and cleared his throat: "Your Majesty has a decree, General Zhang Xiu of Xuanxuan Weihou Jianzhong, and General Jia Xu of Xuanyi will have an audience." These two names exploded among the officials, except for a few people who knew in advance, everyone's complexion changed drastically. No one knows the hatred between Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu, but now Zhang Xiu has the audacity to come to Xudu and help Cao Cao kill Dong Cheng. Many people can't react to this change.It wasn't until Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu entered the hall that the ministers remembered that there was such a terrible old man behind Zhang Xiu. Jia Xu's General Xuanyi's seal was returned to the court as early as in Chang'an.Xun Yu's announcement of the name now is undoubtedly an affirmation of his role in countering the rebellion. Xun Yu, Man Chong, Zhang Xiu, Jia Xu, Dong Cheng had to face so many opponents, it was really beyond their control.Most of the people in the hall had such a thought.For a moment, the hall became extremely quiet, and more than a hundred pairs of eyes were focused on the two of them. Zhang Xiu walked in front with her head held high.After he left the city last night, he restrained his men and horses to retreat for thirty miles, then changed into commoner clothes, and rode back into Xudu alone. And Jia Xu still looked old-fashioned, gasping for breath after walking a few steps, as if he might fall to the ground at any time.But no one thought it was ridiculous. Some Luoyang veterans clearly remembered that this old man gave people the illusion that he was dying when he was in Chang'an, but many of his colleagues are dead now, but he is still alive and strong. The two walked into the hall one after another, one fast and one slow. Liu Xie raised his eyes to look at them, and noticed that the dragon saliva on Jia Xu's chest seemed to have not been wiped off, and the mark was still there.He is in a state of confusion now, and he has no way of thinking whether Jia Xu is mocking or respecting what he did. Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu knelt down and saluted the emperor.Before they stood up, a clear and clear child's voice suddenly came from outside the hall. "The one who killed my brother is in this palace?" This sound made all the officials terrified, and even Liu Xie couldn't help raising his head and looking outside.I saw a child outside, wearing white linen clothes with a straw rope around his waist, walking towards here holding a wooden pole with a Mingjing in his right hand.That Mingjing was taller than him, so he could only lift it half-lifted and carried it with great difficulty.The guards guarding the imperial city retreated a few steps one after another, and no one dared to stop them. "Second Young Master?" Xun Yu exclaimed in a low voice. It was Cao Pi who came.He was alone, dressed in mourning, and looked menacing.Xun Yu looked at Zhang Xiu, who was still smiling, but his facial features had begun to twist.Xun Yu muttered inwardly that it was not good, a defector like Zhang Xiu was the most sensitive, and any disturbance would cause uneasiness.At this time, Cao Pi ran over, which was undoubtedly the biggest stimulus to him. Xun Yu walked off the stage quickly, stepped forward to hold Cao Pi's arm and said in a low voice, "My lord, this place is the place where the court discusses matters. If you enter without a decree and a hook, you will be in big trouble. You have trespassed in the court hall without permission. The disaster is not small, if you don't retreat, I'm afraid your father will be unhappy." Cao Pi glanced at Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu, and said to Xun Yu: "Mr. Xun, I have my own sense of propriety, I just ask a few words and leave." "Nonsense! The emperor is above, how can you allow a child to overstep at will. Do you want to usurp the throne?" Xun Yu shouted, he was really annoyed.Cao Pi is a child who is very polite and behaves well on weekdays, but today he seems to be possessed by a demon.Cao Pi looked at Liu Xie and was disappointed to find that Fushou was not there.He gritted his teeth and said: "Mr. Xun, this is a matter of my Cao family. No matter how you punish afterwards, Pi'er will never resent—but now, please let me ask clearly." "No, I won't allow it." "It's my elder brother who died, not your elder brother!" Cao Pi shouted suddenly, shook off Xun Yu's arm, and rushed forward.The young man's body moved swiftly and sensitively. Xun Yu, who had been working as a copywriter for a long time, was unable to stop him and was rushed by him. Cao Pi's small body ran all over the hall, came to Zhang Xiu, and poked the inscription in his hand heavily on the ground: "General Zhang, did my brother Cao Ang die at your hands?" After all, Zhang Xiu is a hero of the generation. Now that the words have been spoken, he knelt down on one leg, cupped his fists and said, "The six arrows and three knives in the body of the eldest son are all from the hands of my sergeant. Although I didn't do it myself, I also did it." duty-bound." Cao Pi didn't continue to question, but turned to Jia Xu: "Mr. Jia, are you the mastermind who killed my brother?" Jia Xu covered his sleeves and coughed, then knelt down and thanked, "It's the old man's plan to kill Cao Gong." "I was also in Wancheng that day. If I fell into your hands, I would surely die, wouldn't I?" "That's right, the old man originally thought that he would kill all three of you, father and son, so as to avoid future troubles." As soon as Jia Xu said that, everyone in the hall stared nervously at Cao Pi, not knowing what the child would do.If he hit Zhang Xiu with a stick, how would this matter end?If he beat Jia Xu to death with one stick, what would happen to the world? At this time, no matter Xun Yu or Liu Xie, no matter Kong Rong or Zhao Yan, they all held their breath and stared at the movements in Cao Pi's hand. Cao Pi suddenly lifted the wooden pole tied with the inscription Jing again, holding it like a spear in his hand, and ignited Zhang Xiu's throat in mid-air: "My brother Cao Ang's soul is now residing on this inscription. Look at me, look at you! What else do you have to say?" Before the two could answer, Cao Pi burst into tears, his eyes were red and his voice was hoarse.He swung the wooden pole and said: "If I hadn't been favored by heaven, I would have died in battle with my elder brother. It can be seen that the sky will not stop my Cao family, and the reason for saving my life is for revenge!" As soon as the words fell, the wooden pole poked towards Zhang Xiu like lightning.Zhang Xiu closed his eyes and did not move.The clubhead stopped three inches from his throat, and Cao Pi paused in his hands: "Father once said that a gentleman does not become angry with anger, and does not use private interests to destroy the public. General Zhang, Mr. Jia, you used to be with your father. Enemies are their own masters, and it is only natural that they have not kept their hands. Today you take the initiative to vote, but I can't spoil the affairs of the country because of personal enmity." After speaking, Cao Pi withdrew the wooden pole and wiped his tears with the back of his hand. Xun Yu felt relieved, thinking that the child finally knew the general idea.Unexpectedly, Cao Pi suddenly raised the inscription Jing again, pointed it at a person in the hall, and said sharply: "But you, you know that Zhang, Jia and their father have a big enmity, but you led troops into the city when Xudu was empty, and let the enemy soldiers stand in front of you." Wandering around the Sikong Mansion. If those two people had malicious intentions, wouldn’t my whole family have been killed? As Xu Duwei, you actually put the lord’s relatives in danger, and acted so frivolously, what should you do?" The person he pointed at was Man Chong. No one expected that the person Cao Pi wanted to target was Man Chong.Man Chong was also quite surprised by this turning point, his flesh moved slightly, and he fell to his knees obediently, without saying a word.He knew that it was useless to say anything at this time. Although Xun Yu didn't like Man Chong, he had no choice but to stand up and persuade him: "Second Young Master, this strategy is of course very sure, so it was only implemented." Cao Pi's eyes suddenly became fierce, and his hands advanced a few inches: "Very sure? This time I have 10 points, what about next time? Who will guarantee that every time he introduces an enemy who is honest and trustworthy? One mistake, my Cao It is a catastrophe! In my opinion, Xu Duling's crime is greater than that of Zhang and Jia!" Xun Yu was dumbfounded, Cao Pi's reasoning was correct.However, he could not allow Cao Pi to criticize Man Chong in public, which would cause chaos.He stretched out his hand to stop Cao Pi, took the Mingjing wooden pole from his hand, and said in a deep voice: "Second son, the reward and punishment will be agreed with the ministers. Although you are the son of Cao Sikong, you have no rank in the court. Make trouble again Go down, I will ask Ting Wei to deal with you!" Cao Pi glared at Man Chong bitterly, and withdrew his hand resentfully.Xun Yu was afraid that something would happen to him again, and urged him to leave.Cao Pi glanced at Liu Xie again, turned to leave, and shouted loudly as he walked: "Come here, my young master trespassed on the court, and I will be imprisoned for ten days, as a warning to others!" Who dared to arrest Cao Sikong's son, those guards looked at each other in blank dismay.It wasn't until Xun Yu flicked his fingers that a few courageous guards came forward. Cao Pi stretched out his arms cooperatively, allowing them to tie them up with thick ropes and lead them out of the hall.Cao Pi suddenly shouted at the top of his voice again: "Mr. Xun, I can't go back, brother's inscription, remember to put it back on his grave." Xun Yu was holding this thing in his hand, a little dumbfounded. Looking at this scene, the aloof Liu Xie suddenly remembered that he was in the Sikong Mansion yesterday, and he shuddered.Could it be that the sentence I said casually yesterday made Cao Pi think so much about it.How could this child be so scheming at such a young age. But if you talk about scheming, it may not be the result of deliberation that he made such a big disturbance in the court. Liu Xie suddenly had a thought. Did he just want to show off in front of Fushou? Thinking of this, Liu Xie had a little clue.He also came at this age, and he knew that young people love to show off in front of the women they like.In order to show a woman his riding skills, he once flew away without holding the rein with both hands, but fell heavily. Cao Pi's series of actions may seem reckless and naive, but they are the moral character of a righteous man who will be praised by the people of the time.Even if Fu Shou is not present today, this kind of behavior will soon reach her ears, and then she will have more affection for this young man who distinguishes between public and private, as well as family and hatred. Let's praise him more. After all, he is still a child, Liu Xie thought, and then shook his head with a wry smile. He has no right to laugh at Cao Pi.Yesterday he spouted nonsense on the spur of the moment, Fushou never paid attention to him again, and he didn't accompany him to court in the morning.He still doesn't know whether Fushou's last words about sending him back to Hanoi were out of anger or... "Your Majesty, can the court proceedings continue?" Xun Yu asked several times before Liu Xie realized it.He quickly knelt up straight and signaled to continue. Liu Xie didn't know that his every move was seen and remembered by Zhao Yan below.Those eyes were like eagles, capturing every subtle muscle movement of the emperor with incomparable precision, and firmly remembered it in his heart.In the following long days, these images will be repeatedly compared and analyzed in Zhao Yan's memory until the deepest differences are found. Although there was an accidental disturbance by Cao Pi, there was no suspense in the court meeting that day. It simply informed Dong Cheng of the rebellion and announced the official joining of Zhang Xiujun.Other than that, there were no rewards or punishments involved—after all, this was a small imperial court of the Han Dynasty, and the real decision had to be made by Duke Cao's Sikong Mansion. Kong Rong stood up and sang the opposite tune as usual, demanding that Xun Yu and Man Chong should not despise the offenders, but should be treated as the three princes.This request was routinely ignored.Kong Rong asked to attend the interrogation in person, which was also declined by Xun Yu. After the dynasty was over, Kong Rong caught up with Situ Zhao Wen and stopped him in front of the palace gate.Yang Biao has fallen, Dong Cheng has been defeated, and now the supreme leader of the Luoyang faction is this veteran Zhao Wen. "Dong Cheng has been defeated, Zirou, what are your plans?" Kong Rong asked bluntly. Zhao Wen rubbed his temples, and replied with a bit of exhaustion: "The matter has come to this point, and Mr. Xun Ling has promised not to hold others accountable. It is a little bit of the salary of the Han Dynasty." Kong Rong knew that Zhao Wen was loyal, but he lacked courage and assertiveness, otherwise he would not be a Sangong, but not many people took him seriously.He looked around and saw that there was no one around, and walked the white-haired Zhao Wen to a secluded place: "Zi Rou, although Yang Gong and Dong Gong are not here, there must be someone in the court to stand with Cao Gong. Otherwise, the Cao family Take advantage of the momentum and push forward, there is no room for maneuver.” "Now you still want to get burned?" Zhao Wen's eyes widened. Kong Rong was dissatisfied and said, "Where did you have the courage to reprimand Li Jue in the past?" Zhao Wen looked a little embarrassed. "Listen, Zirou, I'm not asking you to pick up your sword and assassinate Cao Cao now, but I want you to do one thing for me, a small thing." It's a pity that this sentence can't calm Zhao Wen's suspicion at all. Kong Rong's big mouth is well known. The big things he talked about may be small things-such as wine making;Seeing his distrustful eyes, Kong Rong smiled instead: "Do you know? I heard that Mr. Xun Ling is teaching Confucian classics to His Majesty, and he is talking about the chapter "Salty One Virtue" in "Shangshu"." Zhao Wen stopped struggling, and he frowned: "Salty One Virtue?" ""Salt has a Virtue"." "But hasn't this chapter been lost long ago?" Zhao Wen is also a person who treats classics, so he knows all these common sense. "Who made our Xun Lingjun, who is also a school of ancient prose..." Kong Rong narrowed his eyes. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Dr. Fu Sheng preserved twenty-nine chapters of "Shangshu", which were copied in official script and were called Jinwen at that time. Later, King Lu Gong demolished the former residence of Confucius and found "Shangshu" in it, which was written in the languages ​​of the six kingdoms of the pre-Qin period. So, there are thirty-five articles in total, which are called ancient prose.Since then, Confucianism has been divided into two factions. The Jinwen School resists the ancient "Shangshu" a lot, and does not recognize the sixteen additional chapters as true; Since then, the present and ancient times have been attacking each other like enemies, and disputes have continued.Since Guangwu, the disputes between the two factions have intensified. Whether it is a country scholar or a high-ranking official in the court, even the emperor is often involved in the struggle between the two factions. Academic differences are worse than father's hatred. It wasn't until Zheng Xuan was born that although he studied under Ma Rong and was born in the school of ancient prose, he integrated the strengths of the present and the past to forge "Zheng Xue", and the debate subsided a little.But there are always such a group of diehards who insist on refusing to compromise. "Xian You De" belongs to the chapters of the ancient texts. Zheng Xuan once publicly declared that it was lost, but many Confucian scholars of the ancient texts refused to admit it, thinking that Zheng Xuan was a betrayal of the ancient texts.In order to prove that Zheng Xuan was wrong, they contributed chapters one after another, but it was difficult to distinguish the truth from the false. When Xun Yu preached the so-called "Salty One Virtue" to the emperor, he obviously wanted to re-establish the superiority of the ancient Chinese school academically and overwhelm the Zheng Xue and Jinwen schools. Ken let it go. "But so what?" Zhao Wen asked back.This is a troubled time, and a heavy spear can pierce through more than a dozen volumes of scriptures at a time. Kong Rong patted him on the shoulder, with a mysterious expression on his face: "When I was Prime Minister of Beihai, I specially took Master Zheng Xuan back to live in Gaomi. The disciples who follow him are quite talented. Zirou, you only need to write a letter to propose, It would be good to recruit these Confucian scholars to Xudu." Zhao Wen finally realized that this was Kong Rong showing his strength to him. This lonely celebrity did not have his own wings and foreign aid. Under such a disadvantage, the Luoyang family could only join hands with Kong Rong to survive. "Wen Ju, I see. I'll discuss it later." "Hurry up," Kong Rong said, "otherwise Man Chong and Jia Xu, a small and a big poison, will slowly kill you one by one."