Chapter 24 first quarter

Just a few days after the rebellion of Dong Chengzhi in Xudu subsided, another news came from Xuzhou: Duke Cao marched almost at lightning speed, catching Liu Bei, who was still hot, by surprise, and had to abandon his wife and son, and fled to Hebei alone. Generals Guan Yu, Xia Houbo was captured; and Liu Pi and others who besieged Runan, after hearing the news of Liu Bei's defeat, scattered like birds and beasts, and the siege of Runan was resolved without a fight. The dark clouds that hung over Xudu disappeared quietly one after another.At this time, Cao Ren also withdrew his troops from Xiang County to Xudu, and took over the city defense in an all-round way.Dong Cheng's painstakingly mastered few wonderful moves were just carelessly swept off the chessboard and dropped to the ground.From Xun Yu to the ordinary officials in the shogunate, they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The tense atmosphere in the city eased a little, and even the opening time of the city gate was slightly extended.

The good news brings joy to some and depression to others.At this time, in Xu Duwei's prison, Man Chong was facing a person face to face. "The overall situation is settled. Mr. Cao has returned from Xuzhou and will arrive at Guandu in a few days. You won't see him yet." Man Chong said. "Hmph, Yuan Shao, that trash, has been doing nothing on the front line for so many days? He really has the demeanor of begging Dong in Suanzao back then." There was a touch of anger and sarcasm in the voice.The person who made the sound was an old man with disheveled hair. He was wearing iron shackles on his hands and feet. He leaned tightly against the dark blue jagged stone wall, his body bent, like a relief sculpture protruding from the stone.

The light was dim, and more than a dozen rough wooden fences separated the old man and the old man, but it was hard to say which side was colder.Deng Zhan stood beside Man Chong, put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and looked at the old man warily. The old man tugged the chain in his hand, made a clanging sound, and said bitterly: "Since I can't see it, forget it. I would like to see if it is his vicious dog, or the stupid and lazy one from Hebei." A lazy tiger can take down this Central Plains." "Our army is serving the Son of Heaven in order to beg for disobedience. With righteousness in hand, there is no reason to be invincible."

When the old man heard the word "Son of Heaven", his lips curled up: "You have come here to say this to a dying man, just to humiliate me?" Man Chong quickly bowed and said, "General Cheqi is the emperor's relative, Even if you commit an unforgivable crime, you must not lose your manners. Mr. Xun Ling specially instructed you." He specifically pointed out that this was Xun Yu's request, which naturally implied that Xu Duwei's attitude was in conflict with Shang Shutai's.Dong Cheng could hear the reason clearly, and couldn't help snorting coldly: "It's not about humiliation, but it's about torture?"

Since Dong Cheng was imprisoned that day, he has not been abused, but he has not received preferential treatment either.He knew that sooner or later he would face these things. Man Chong said again: "There is a special person responsible for the punishment and plundering. I came here today to ask you something." Dong Cheng raised his head and laughed loudly: "My people have been hunted and killed by you, even my daughter is gone. What do you want to ask me?" When he was his daughter, his eyes shot out extremely sharp sword lights, which made Deng Zhan's hair stand on end.

Facing this kind of oppression, Man Chong seemed unaware, and still said slowly: "I have always been unable to figure out one thing. General Cheqi, you have arranged in Xudu, Xuzhou, Jiangdong and Runan successively, why did you only miss What about losing the Yuan family in Hebei? If you persuade Yuan Shao to go south in a big way while Duke Cao is returning to Xuzhou, and mobilize both internally and externally, the situation for our army may be several times more difficult than it is now." "Then what? Let Yuan Shao's army take His Majesty to Nanpi and continue to raise him in captivity? What's the difference between that and Xu You? I'm not He Jin, I can't do the stupid thing of luring wolves into the house. Yuan Shao dragged Cao thief in Guandu, for me. Will suffice."

Dong Cheng answered sharply.He has lost everything and no longer cares about anything. Even if the audience is full of favors, he doesn't mind sharing his painstaking efforts with them. Man Chong shook his head: "You're right, but Yuan Shao's subordinates are not mediocre. Once they see the chaos in Xudu, they will definitely talk about Yuan Shao going south, and the situation will be out of your control. How can you count your intelligence as a charioteer general?" Not this far? So I think that in Yuan Shao's tent, there must be someone as a harness to make Yuan Shao move forward and stop when he wants to. What I want to know is the name of this person."

"Man Boning, what gave you the illusion that I would confess obediently?" Man Chong approached the wooden fence, and put a flat face between the two posts: "Because this will be your best chance for revenge." The air in the prison seemed to be getting colder again, and a thin layer of frost began to hang on the walls.Dong Cheng and Man Chong looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Okay, okay. You are right. I do have a key person in Yuan Shao's army. If you say it now, it will not hurt me at all. I'm afraid you will bear it." Sorry."

"I would like to hear the details." Man Chong said. "The current Shang Shuling should be more familiar with him than I am. That person's name is Xun Chen Xun Youruo." Man Chong didn't move, but Deng Zhan's complexion changed drastically when he heard the name from the side. ※※※ At the same time, in the other corner of Xudu City, Zhao Yan stared at Yang Jun's empty sleeve in a daze, not knowing what to say for a while. "Mr. Yang, your arm..." Yang Jun touched his sleeves, smiled wryly and said, "It's not bad to be able to save one's life..." Then he told the story of what happened to him, Zhao Yan heard that Yang Ping died, and quickly lowered his head and said: "I made a slip of the tongue."

Ever since Yang Jun was "rescued" by Deng Zhan in Xudu, Xun Yu came to visit him once, said a few words of comfort, and left a lot of precious medicinal materials.Man Chong also came once and asked a lot of detailed questions, but he didn't draw any conclusions.Yang Jun didn't know if they had seen through his lies, and simply used an excuse to heal his injuries, and stayed behind closed doors in the Xudu Posthouse, completely isolating himself from the outside world. Even during Dong Chengzhi's chaos, he did not leave the room even a step . Yang Jun never met Yang Biao or Tang Ji again, so it is unclear what happened to Liu Ping in the palace.He can only judge from the situation in the city, at least there hasn't been any major mistakes so far. "I hope that child will be safe in the palace, and don't let me down." Yang Jun thought to himself, and at the same time, he was worried about being a father.

On this day, a visitor suddenly came to his room, claiming to be Zhao Yan.Zhao Yan and Yang Jun were considered to be acquaintances. The Zhao family had contacts with Yang Jun as early as in Chang'an, when Zhao Yan was still a child.Now that Zhao Yan heard that his old friend had come and encountered a catastrophe, he naturally wanted to come and see him. "Mr. Yang, you come to Xudu, but are you still used to it?" Yang Jun pointed out of the window: "Corporal Xun Lingjun is a virtuous corporal. He specially asked Xu Duwei to arrange two guards for me to take care of my daily life. They knew that I was from Huojia and had studied in Chenliu, so they specially selected me. One of the guards who has been honored is called Shen Gu; the other is called Wei Xun, who is from Chenliu. They are so meticulous that it makes me feel terrified." The two guards outside the window poked their heads in when they heard their names being called, and they didn't leave until Yang Jun waved his hands. "Talented people, since they should be safe and ready for Pulun, this is the blessing of the imperial court." Zhao Yan praised. Yang Jun didn't know Zhao Yan's position, and Zhao Yan didn't know Yang Jun's thoughts either. The two could only test each other out like trying to guess riddles.Through this round of meaningless greetings, they confirmed that they were not part of Mr. Cao's party, and the jerky atmosphere eased a little. Zhao Yan suddenly thought that the day Yang Jun had an accident happened to be the day when the palace was on fire.Concubine Dong said that the emperor's temperament changed drastically, which seemed to be after the fire.He has already printed all the details in his mind, and every time he hears something, he will habitually compare it horizontally and vertically. "Hey, really. How could Yang Jun have something to do with the things in the palace. Am I too nervous?" Zhao Yan thought of this and patted himself on the head. Seeing that Zhao Yan was in a daze, Yang Jun said, "Yanwei, what's the matter with you today?" Only then did Zhao Yan wake up like a dream, remembering his purpose of coming here.He took out a set of pens and inks from his bosom, spread them respectfully in front of Yang Jun's cases, and said: "Young Master Kong and Zhao Situ had an agreement a few days ago. I hope that a group of Confucian scholars can be recruited from various places to study in Xudu and teach Confucian classics." Yang Jun frowned.This really seems to be something Kong Rong did, high-profile and flashy.Learning is really important. At the beginning, the Confucius family covered the wall to collect books in order to preserve the seeds of reading.But it's really inappropriate to do this at this time. But there is always something wrong with the taste in it. Seeing Yang Jun's silence, Zhao Yan thought he was a little hesitant, and said quickly: "Master Yang, you are Bian Lingshi's proud disciple, and being awarded is a place where souls gather. I was sent here to ask you to recommend some people." Yang Jun smiled, Zhao Yan's words clearly intended to win over.Bian Rang was a great Confucian in the Central Plains. He was killed by Cao Cao a few years ago, which caused a great shock to the gentry and almost caused great chaos. This name has become a taboo in the Cao family.Zhao Yan blatantly singled out this relationship, and his purpose was obvious.This time, conquering Confucian scholars from all over the world is really not that simple. Although Yang Jun belongs to the faction of Fushou and Yang Biao, he knows that now he should win over all forces.Since the opponent voted for Li, he had to repay the peach.Yang Jun thought for a while and said, "There are Wang Xiang and Xun Wei in my county, both of whom are well-educated. Since the Confucius family is interested, I will write two books and invite them to Xudu." Zhao Yan was overjoyed, and took the initiative to grind the ink and dip the pen to write for Yang Jun. Yang Jun said: "It's okay, I used to write with my left hand." He asked casually, "Where are the Shaofu recruiting talents?" Zhao Yandao: "Two years ago, Your Majesty confiscated Duke Zheng Xuan once, but unfortunately he was not able to take up the post that time. Now he lives in seclusion in Gaomi, and there are dozens of disciples around him. Young Master Kong's mansion has already revised a letter, please allow him to go again. " Yang Jun's pen stopped. "But Gaomi is not Yuan Tan's territory now? How could the Yuan family allow you to bring Zheng Xuangong here?" Zhao Yandao: "Duke Zheng Xuan has a senior student, who is currently in Yuan Shao's army, and happens to have an old relationship with Lord Shaofu. With his mediation, this matter should not be a big problem." "Oh? May I ask who this student is?" "You must have heard that it is Xun Chen, the master of Confucian classics who claims to be the most likely to inherit Duke Zheng Xuan's mantle." Zhao Yan said. With a "snap", the writing brush Yang Jun was holding suddenly broke from it.