Chapter 25 second quarter

The heavy snow finally stopped, and everything inside and outside Xudu was white, as if the whole city was plain.This should be the last snow before the beginning of spring. The farmers nearby said that as long as there is no military disaster this year, there might be a good harvest. The weather was fine that day, and a long procession slowly left from Houde Gate in the north of Xudu, heading towards Heliang in the north of the city.In the team were today's son and queen, Shang Shuling Xun Yu, Situ Zhao Wen and all the officials of the court, and even Cao Gong's second son came.The guard of honor of the team was very simple, only the emperor and empress drove a double-wheeled carriage in emerald green feathers, and there were only a dozen or so yellow gates covered with crowns.Others are light vehicles, and many people even have to walk on snowy dirt roads.

Yihu's left and right were originally supposed to be the second army of Habayashi and Qimen. Due to well-known reasons, they were replaced by other guards.These guards were divided into infantry and cavalry: the infantry were all wearing black armor, they were the elite of Cao Ren's battalion; The reason why these unlucky civil and military officials had to trek was all because of a book written by Kong Rong a few days ago. The content of Kong Rong's letter is very simple: "Farmers are state affairs, and the emperor should personally plow the land, and urge the people to start farming like a ritual."

Plowing in person in the first month was originally a ritual that Emperor Han must perform every year.It’s just that in the past few years, the Han family was in exile, let alone fields, and there was no place to stand a cone. Naturally, no one mentioned these rituals.After arriving in Xudu, everything came from the Sikong Mansion, and the imperial court didn't need to worry about it.Kong Rong suddenly mentioned this, but Xun Yu couldn't refuse. It is understandable for the emperor to cultivate the land himself and set an example for the world.Moreover, if this matter is publicized, it can also declare to the world that Xudu's politics is stable, which is also a good thing for the Cao family.

So Xun Yu chose Heliang, fifteen miles north of Xudu City.It was originally a military settlement, and after Cao Gong's army went north, it has been cultivated by the nearby refugees, but the land is so vast and sparsely populated that they are too busy, so it is suitable for use as a farm. The car was rolling forward silently, and Liu Xie was sitting on the carriage, trying to stretch his neck out, greedily sucking in the cold air outside.Since he came to Xudu, he could only stay in a few limited places in the Imperial Palace and Sikong Mansion. Those places were cramped and cramped, which made him feel so depressed that he was about to go crazy.It was a rare trip out, which finally allowed his wild heart to breathe for a moment.

"Your Majesty, you are still seriously ill, so don't blow the cold air too much." Fu Shou reminded gently beside him.Liu Xie knew what she meant. He was no longer a wild boy hunting in Hanoi, but a sickly emperor who couldn't show too much excitement. "I forgot." Liu Xie shrank back angrily, and took Fu Shou's cold hand again.Fu Shou lowered his head and fiddled with the ashes in the stove with his other hand. After having a secret conversation with Yang Xiu in the ancestral hall that day, Liu Xie chose to stay, but his relationship with Fushou became strange: Fushou was still the same as before, fulfilling his responsibilities as a wife and an accomplice meticulously, but Liu Xie can feel that Fushou, who was full of raging fire and wanted to push him to burn together, was gone.Now she is more like an accountant with a tax book in hand, performing her duties indifferently and rigorously, not missing a penny, and not too much.Liu Xie believes that even if he raises the issue of Dunlun now, Fushou will accept it silently without any resistance.

Thinking of this, Liu Xie felt very uncomfortable. The wound on his hand bitten by Fushou has not completely healed. He would rather be bitten by her a few more times than to see the current warm and dead situation. Warm but the charcoal fire has been extinguished. Maybe Yang Xiu is right.Her passion before was not for him, but fantasizing him as the real Liu Xie; now she has put aside this fantasy, for an accomplice, as long as he fulfills his due responsibilities is enough. Liu Xie was thinking about it when suddenly the sound of horseshoes came from beside him. Xun Yu rode by the side of the chariot, took the reins, leaned over and said, "Your Majesty, Heliang is coming soon. All the etiquettes are performed by Situ." With Master Shaofu, His Majesty will only need to walk around as promised to explain."

"Today, people have to be guided even to plow a piece of land." Liu Xie thought sarcastically, with a sick look on his face, and said slowly: "I know." Xun Yu said again: "Your Majesty, there is one more thing. According to the imperial system, after the Son of Heaven, the three princes, the nine ministers, the feudal lords, and the hundred officials should have farmed in turn. However, Xu Du's chaos is just smooth, and I think that General Zhang and General Cao plowed first after the Son of Heaven, as a sign of harmony." Liu Xie knew what Xun Yu meant. Zhang Xiu was the new descendant, and Cao Ren was the most powerful representative of the Cao family in Xudu.Liu Xie turned her head to look at Fushou habitually, she concentrated on fiddle with the stove without any expression.

Liu Xie had to weigh it himself, and nodded in agreement.Xun Yu got a response and drove his horse away.Before Liu Xie sat upright, Fu Shou suddenly said in a soft voice: "Your Majesty, you are right. Now we have to be obedient and hide, and we must not let Cao Shi become suspicious again." "Mr. Yang taught me to learn to deal with problems in my own way, instead of always relying on other people's advice." Hearing these words, Fu Shou's lips trembled imperceptibly: "It sounds like your Majesty really obeyed Yang Xiu's words." Liu Xie frowned slightly, obviously not accepting this sentence.Fu Shou saw his reaction, lowered his head again, and said in a lower voice: "Mr. Yang is a rare talent in the world, with a million armor in his chest, he is really the greatest help of the Han Dynasty - but he is too smart , it is easy to confuse people, and it is also easy to confuse yourself, if you let it run, you are in danger of being overthrown."

Liu Xie was a little unhappy: "Is being smart also a fault? This kind of evaluation is really unfair." "It's not what I said, but Taiwei Yang's meaning." After Fushou finished speaking, he lowered his head and kept silent.Liu Xie was a little dazed when he heard the name.Lao Tzu actually said that about his son, and he recalled Yang Xiu, who seemed to have some opinions on Yang Biao's behavior that day. It seems that in the anti-Cao camp, even a family is not monolithic. Just when Liu Xie was in a daze, Zhao Yanzheng was among the ranks of officials, walking forward with one foot deep and the other shallow, letting the splashes of mud stain the hem of the official uniform.When others walked, they deliberately picked up the corners of their clothes, but he didn't care about it. This was a rare opportunity for him to observe the emperor up close, and he had to pay close attention to memorizing every detail.

According to the guard of honor of the Han Palace, he would never have the chance to get close to the emperor.But in Xudu, a place where the imperial power is declining, it is not even possible to make up the halogen books, let alone set up heavy encirclement and riding barriers.Zhao Yan believed that even if he got close to the emperor's car, he would be scolded a few times at most, and those guards would not really seriously defend an emperor who behaved like a puppet. So he took a few quick steps and moved cautiously towards the front of the queue.The people around were busy dealing with the road under their feet, and no one noticed this little Yilang's strange behavior.Zhao Yan cheered up, carefully counting the passing cavalry and infantry in his heart, and when the guards around him were the fewest, he suddenly took a big step, and took advantage of a raised terrain to walk crookedly between two officials. Time passed through and placed himself in the queue of Jiuqing.

At this time, the Han Dynasty was incomplete, and they were not qualified to ride in the car, and all of them were miserable walking on the ground.Seeing that Kong Rong was among them, Zhao Yan took a step forward and helped his arm.When Kong Rong saw that it was Zhao Yan, he chuckled, "You have quick legs and feet, so you ran to the front first?" "Master Shaofu, please be careful, don't fall down, there will be your arrangements later." "Hmph, don't worry, I'm ready, I won't make these people feel better." Kong Rong grunted and made a threatening gesture towards Ding Chong, Wang Bi and others in front.They are all representatives of the Cao family in the court, and they like to get together and walk together.Farther away are Xun Yu and Zhao Wen. One is Shang Shuling and the other is Situ. They are two top officials of the imperial court, and they are the only ones who are qualified to follow the emperor's luan. "By the way, I heard that when you went to find Yang Jun, his reaction was a little strange?" Kong Rong asked. "Well, how should I put it...that name seems to be quite exciting to him." "It's no wonder. Yang Jun is a famous scholar of the Jinwen School, while Xun Chen, who studied under Zheng Xuan, is a general of the Ancient Wen School. Although Zheng Xuan has been working hard to reconcile the two factions, he defeated the "Xuehai" in public after all. Master Wen He Xiu, and He Xiu is Yang Jun's ancestor and Bian Rang's teacher." Zhao Yan is far less familiar with these anecdotes than Kong Rong, but he always feels that it is not the case.How could a person be so surprised that he broke his brush?How hard does it take? Don't think about these irrelevant things for a while.Zhao Yan shook his head, and focused on the emperor again, he must not let these trivial matters interfere with Concubine Dong's last request. To be honest, not to mention watching from such a distance, Zhao Yan couldn't tell anything strange even if he faced the emperor head-on.Concubine Dong had a skin-to-skin relationship with the emperor, so she could naturally feel the subtleties in it, but Zhao Yan only saw a few times in the court hall from a hundred steps away and through the curtain. To him, it was an unfamiliar face . But Zhao Yan always felt that if he didn't confirm the emperor's face at close range with his own eyes, it would not be considered as fulfilling Concubine Dong's entrustment.For him, the face of the emperor was an initiation ceremony, the drum of war before the army charged. Taking the opportunity of supporting Kong Rong, he moved forward calmly, and soon surpassed several other ministers.Now there are only more than 30 steps away from the emperor's carriage, and he can catch up with it by trotting a few steps.Zhao Yan was thinking in his mind whether to rush over in one breath, or pretend to talk to Zhao Wen and move on. At this moment, Zhao Yan felt a chill on his neck, and a steel knife was placed in front of his throat.Just half an inch forward with the blade, his throat could be cut open, and steaming human blood would be sprinkled on the snow. Zhao Yan was so shocked that he didn't even dare to turn his head. He froze in place, only a mocking voice came from his ear: "Crossing the chariot road, colliding with the vehicle, are you impatient?" He was very familiar with this voice, it was Cao Ren.Zhao Yan felt that the blade on his neck was slightly away, so he turned his head reluctantly, and saw a samurai looking at him coldly.This warrior is not tall, but extremely solid, his whole body is like a huge black rock, and the Xiliang horse under his crotch seems to be unable to bear his weight. "General Cao, I'm sorry, I just wanted to help the Shaofu, but I accidentally went too far." Zhao Yan quickly explained.Cao Ren withdrew the knife, and rubbed his left hand on the thick black beard under his jaw habitually: "My people have never been guards for the royal family, so I don't know the severity of the attack. If you walk around like this, you will be hacked as a rebel." dead." "Don't dare next time, don't dare next time." "Hey, it's best. You people are honest, it's good for us." Cao Ren said something with something in his words. Kong Rong walked over quickly, and seeing this scene, his eyes widened and he was filled with anger: "Reverse! Reverse! Zixiao, your title is only Guangyang prefect, how dare you treat your colleagues coldly in the emperor's honor guard?" add?" "Young Master Kong, this is also my responsibility." "Responsibilities? Forty-five stars in the Yulin, scattered in the south of the base, can cover the sky, so the stars are named as the army, guarding the emperor. Which part do you belong to? What are your names? What kind of celestial phenomena are you responding to?" Cao Ren seemed to have a headache for this high-profile guy, he didn't allow Kong Rong to continue talking, turned around and drove away. "These guys are pretending to be powerful." Kong Rong patted Zhao Yan's shoulder angrily.Knowing that he had no chance to get close to the emperor this time, Zhao Yan sighed apologetically towards a certain figure in the void. The team soon arrived at Heliang.Here, Jitian has already been prepared. An iron wok is placed on the ridge of the field, the wooden handle is wrapped with yellow silk, and a wooden Lei is placed beside it.This is for the emperor and empress. They only need to pick up these two farm tools, show off in the field, push three times, and then they can complete their duties in the ceremony.Next, the officials of the imperial court will go to the fields one by one according to the size of their official ranks. This is a set of procedures that have been prescribed for a long time, and no one needs to play it, just follow Si Li's instructions.First Liu Xie and Fushou, then Xun Yu and Zhao Wen, and then - as agreed in advance - Zhang Xiu and Cao Ren.This meant that Zhang Xiu was formally included in the Cao's camp, but if someone looked carefully, he would find that Zhang Xiu and Cao Ren had not had any conversation from the beginning to the end. Then all the officials went down to the field to plow again, trampling the whole field into a mess.Fortunately, this is a symbolic ceremony, and farmers will take care of it afterwards. After plowing the land, it should be a sacrifice to Emperor Qing.At this time, Kong Rong suddenly came out from among the officials, knelt down in front of the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to announce." A group of ministers looked at him with sad eyes.It was this guy who came up with the idea to let them come to this wilderness in the cold weather.Now I don't know what his plan is, how to harm others. "A major issue in the society is agriculture and classics. Now that farming has been persuaded, it is time to persuade. Your Majesty, please call the Confucian scholars from all over the world to gather in the capital to teach knowledge, so that the orthodoxy will continue and the white tiger will flourish." Xun Yu frowned slightly when he heard Kong Rong's request.It's not a bad thing to reopen the school, but it can score time.Now that Yuan and Cao are facing each other, food, grass and soldiers cannot be transported, so there is no spare energy for these.Zhao Wen stood up and said, "Wenju, the country is in ruins and the foreign thieves have not been eradicated. I don't think it is enough to let people from all over the world recommend good talents and come to Beijing to sort out scriptures." Xun Yu sneered, the two had made an appointment to sing and reconcile, and tried to use the momentum of Geng Jitian to force through the memorial.It seems that after the Luoyang family lost Dong Cheng, a new core figure appeared. Their proposal is actually irrelevant.Kong Rong would put forward a lot of similar things every month, all of which are high-sounding, but in fact there are no practical proposals.They can only rely on these academic things to prove their existence.But like this time, it is rare to make a surprise attack almost like a rogue. However, it would not be appropriate to dismiss it directly.Regardless of Zhao Wen, Kong Rong is a celebrity today, and this memorial is deeply hoped by Confucian scholars all over the world. If it is obstructed, the ridicule of "Cao's record of people does not take virtue" will inevitably arise. Xun Yu was thinking about how to speak, when Cao Ren and Zhang Xiu who were standing beside him gave a "hmm" at the same time, and turned their eyes to the small hill next to Jitian. After only a moment, a bag of soil on the hill suddenly moved, and large pieces of snow flew away in a "shua", a black shadow jumped up from it, and rushed towards Liu Xie who was sitting by the ridge of the field.A long sword radiating cold light struck the emperor's chest at an extremely fast speed. The piercing sword light revived Liu Xie's memories of mountains and fields. He held Fushou's slender waist with his left hand, picked up the iron wok with his right hand, and spun his body on the field ridge at high speed. He heard a "ding", and the iron wok was just right. Knock with the sword.With this strength, Liu Xie hugged Fu Shou's legs and flicked, and the two of them jumped onto a ridge several feet away, just out of the range of the sword's threat, and a series of movements flowed smoothly. At this time Cao Ren also reacted, he swung the steel knife and slashed at the sword stabber.Unexpectedly, the man took a step to the left, avoiding Cao Ren's slash with a very small deviation, and the Qingfeng in his hand bent at an angle, and stabbed towards Zhang Xiu again. Zhang Xiu didn't have a weapon in his hand, so he had to kick up a round skip made of rattan under his feet to stop it.At this time, Jian Guang turned again, piercing into the crowd of onlookers like lightning.It turned out that the attacks on Tianzi, Cao Ren and Zhang Xiu just now were all false moves.But the speed of the sword is really too fast, so fast that the three of them have no time to think, they can only deal with it instinctively, and they have no way of judging the truth. All this happened in an instant, and by the time Liu Xie, Cao Ren, and Zhang Xiu adjusted their postures again, the entire Jitian had fallen into a deathly silence. I saw a rusty bronze sword lying across Cao Pi's neck. The man holding the sword was a man in his forties. in tears.