Chapter 34 third quarter

"Guo Fengxiao, come out for me!" This loud shout came from outside Xu Duwei, and under the night sky, the window lattice trembled slightly, and the breath in the room stopped.Ren Hongchang, who was sleeping on the couch, was startled awake, and the arm holding Guo Jia trembled.Zhao Yan, who was originally ashen-faced, heard this voice, but his eyes lit up as if he had caught a life-saving straw. Guo Jia shrugged his nose in disgust, as if he had eaten a big mouthful of meat soup cooked by Man Chong: "It's really annoying, who told him?" Man Chong looked at Guo Jia's face and said, "I'll go out and have a look." Then pushed the door and walked out.Not long after, he went back to the house backwards, and a big fat man almost barged in with Man Chong's face.

This fat man has a wolfish body, but his facial features have sharp brows and starry eyes. His plump round face does not look bloated, but rather has a majestic air.As soon as he entered the room, he pushed Man Chong away, and quickly stepped forward to hold Zhao Yan. Seeing that there was no injury on his body, he glared at Guo Jia: "Guo Fengxiao, who gave you the power to detain court officials privately?" Guo Jia knelt down on the rug again, spread his hands out and said, "Xu Duwei acts impartially, and I'm just a jury." The fat man sneered again, pointing at Ren Hongchang: "Acting impartially? Then where did this woman come from?"

"Maidservant." Guo Jiali replied confidently. "Come to Xu Duwei to bring a maidservant to do business? Huh, you rely on Cao Gong's favor and trust, and you are so dissolute, and now it's even worse!" With an expression of indifference, Guo Jia grabbed Hongchang's little hand and rubbed it.Seeing Guo Jia's provocative behavior, the fat man became even angrier.He took a step forward: "Forget about your misbehavior, what crime did my friend commit? He was arrested by you in the middle of the night for interrogation!" "Break into the imperial city at night and offend Tianwei." Man Chong replied from the side.

"The imperial city has been in ruins for a long time, and the emperor moved to Beppu again, offending which kind of Tianwei?" The fat man was very dissatisfied with this answer. "Changwen, you're wrong to say that," Guo Jia said slowly, "The imperial city is the place where Tian Ziyan lives. Even if it's white, don't rush into it lightly. Besides, after the fire that day, The imperial court has reached an agreement to ask Xu Duwei to deploy manpower to assist in the defense of the palace. Bo Ning's doing so is reasonable and legal, and there is nothing wrong with it."

That agreement was originally Dong Cheng's method to weaken Xu Duwei, but now Guo Jia used it as a shield.When the fat man heard it, he was at a loss for words, unable to figure out what to say.Zhao Yan secretly tugged at his sleeve: "Brother Changwen, don't make things difficult." The fat man glared at him angrily: "You are also frivolous, what are you going to do in that damn place in the imperial city in the middle of the night, and Xiao Xiao took it for nothing? Hold on." Zhao Yan smiled coyly, but did not answer. Guo Jia clapped his hands and said: "Since Changwen is the guarantor, we will not embarrass Zhao Yilang today. But he is involved in the danger of Cao Gongan, and we will consult him if necessary. This is also the court's law. Brother Changwen, as Sikong Xi People from Cao Cao should understand."

The fat man raised his brows and dragged Zhao Yan out without saying anything.When the two walked past Man Chong, the fat man stopped suddenly and said to Man Chong seriously: "I know that you, Xu Duwei, are dedicated to Cao Gong. Using corporal punishment, even Yang Biao and Taiwei Yang almost escaped, sooner or later I will report to Duke Cao to abolish this ridiculous thing." After speaking, the fat man flicked his sleeves, turned and left.After the two of them left, Man Chong asked Guo Jia a little uneasy: "Master Jijiu, do you just let him go?" Guo Jia picked up the wine glass in front of the case: "I know everything I need to know, Zhao Yan doesn't know more than us. If you force him to stay, Chen Qun, that annoying bastard, will talk again - that kid has an upright face and is fat , both things are annoying enough."

The fat man's name was Chen Qun, and he was a Yingchuan scholar like Guo Jia, but the two seemed to be at odds with each other by nature.Chen Qun couldn't understand Guo Jia's debauchery, and Guo Jia didn't like Chen Qun's rigidity either. Wherever two people appeared at the same time, there was bound to be a quarrel, which was a spectacular scene in the Sikong Shogunate.Even Cao Gong had no choice but to try not to let the two meet. Guo Jia changed his posture and stroked his smooth chin: "But there is one thing I am very interested in. Why did Chen Qun come to Xu Duwei in the middle of the night to stand up for Zhao Yan?"

"Kong Rong and Chen Qun's father, Chen Ji, are good friends, and Zhao Yan is supported by Kong Rong, and the two have a good relationship." Man Chong replied, he stored the files of most officials in Xudu in his mind. "Chen Qun is from the Sikong Mansion after all. Since Zhao Yan wanted to go to the imperial city to investigate, he would not tell that old man. But Chen Qun knew so quickly that Zhao Yan was captured by Xu Duwei. It seems that behind Zhao Yan, There must be someone following, let Chen Qun know." "You mean Kong Rong?" "That's hard to say." Guo Jia tapped his temples with his fingers, and stretched lazily, "Let's not talk about it, Zhao Yan is just a snack for midnight snacks, and the real big dishes haven't been served tonight."

He and Man Chong looked at a certain direction in the darkness at the same time. What happened there was the highlight of the night. ※※※ Chen Qun dragged Zhao Yan out of Xu Duwei and got into a single-shaft carriage.Zhao Yan saw the apricot-yellow weeping tassels hanging in front of the carriage, and recognized that it was the public vehicle of Sikong Mansion Xi Caoyu, and couldn't help but be very surprised.Chen Qun is a scrupulous person, and he has always disliked such things as private use of public equipment.Why did you use the bus to get him today? "Get in the car." Chen Qun shouted angrily.Like a child who did something wrong, Zhao Yan shrank his neck and climbed onto the car.Chen Qun also got into the car and ordered the driver to raise his whip.The horseshoes stepped rhythmically on the bluestone road, and the wheels made a "rumbling" sound.

"Yanwei, tell me the truth, what are you doing in the ruins of the imperial city in the middle of the night?" Chen Qun asked seriously.Just now Guo Jia said that it was about the danger of Cao Gongan, and he believed that the rascal would not talk nonsense on such matters. "Uh..." Zhao Yan scratched his head, "I'm going to pay homage to someone." Chen Qun turned his head suspiciously and asked with his eyes.Zhao Yan leaned heavily on the back of the car, and said quietly: "If you say it, I'm afraid there will be another storm." "It depends on who you're talking about."

"Concubine Dong." Zhao Yan closed his eyes. Chen Qun was speechless for a moment.He knew that Zhao Yan and Concubine Dong were childhood sweethearts, and they were almost engaged, but he really didn't expect this young man's love to be so stupid. "The daughter of a traitor, the emperor's concubine, Yanwei, Yanwei, whatever identity you get with her, you will be lost forever." Chen Qun shook his head and reproached.Zhao Yan argued unwillingly: "In my heart, she is Dong Shaojun, not anyone else. Now that she has passed away, I just want to pay tribute to her old friend." "Childish!" Chen Qun criticized unceremoniously, "You are still a Yilang after all, and you are overthinking things. Now how many people are looking for the shortcomings of the Dong family, you are going to hit them. If Guo Jia really wants to punish you, a hundred of you They're all dead!" "This time I really want to thank you, Brother Changwen..." "If someone hadn't tipped off the news, I would have fallen asleep long ago. Who would have thought that you would go crazy in the middle of the night." "Huh? Who is it?" Zhao Yan was a little surprised.He sneaked into the imperial city this time out of pure interest and did not discuss it with other people.The night was as dark as ink, if he hadn't deliberately followed him, who would have thought that he would run to the imperial city. Chen Qun also showed a slightly puzzled expression: "I don't know. I had already taken off my socks and got on the bed, when I suddenly heard the sound of the window outside. The servant went to check and saw a bamboo slip under the window, on which were written several Word: 'Yan was acquired by Xu Duwei.'" Then he took out the bamboo slips from his pocket and handed them to Zhao Yan.Zhao Yan squinted his eyes for a while in the dark, but couldn't recognize who wrote the handwriting.Zhao Yan handed the bamboo slips back to Chen Qun, saying that he had never seen them.Chen Qun took it, rubbed his fat fingers on the surface of the bamboo slips, and said in a deep voice: "There is no rush for this moment, you can think back to Yanwei later." Zhao Yan looked at the apricot-yellow weeping ears shaking as the carriage galloped, and suddenly realized why Chen Qun sent a bus to meet him. This is not rescue, but imprisonment! When Chen Qun took this bus, he was no longer representing Zhao Yan's friend, but an official of Sikong Mansion Xicao.It was used by the official office of the main mansion of Western Cao, and Cao Gong expanded its powers, and also had the right to review officials below 2,000 shi, the same as Dongcao.Yilang's rank is more than six hundred stones, so he was summoned by them for questioning, which is not considered exceeding his authority. In other words, Chen Qun's visit to Xu Duwei at night this time was not only for the friendship of his best friends, but also out of public interest. "Zhao Yilang, I will question you as the subordinate of Xi Cao later." Chen Qun said seriously to his good friend, and at the same time showed him his talisman.Zhao Yan touched his nose understandingly: "As expected of Changwen, your style. What you want to ask is also my crime of entering the imperial city?" "No, that is Xu Duwei's responsibility. What I want to ask you is another matter. Since you said that you entered the palace privately and no one knew about it, why did someone report it in the middle of the night, but refused to show up? Among them Joint, I suspect there is some kind of conspiracy." Speaking of this, Chen Qun added: "Yanwei, don't worry, I won't show favoritism, but I can guarantee that you will be treated fairly—at least it is better than falling into the hands of Guo Jia and Man Chong." Only then did Zhao Yan know that after Chen Qun received the bamboo slips, he originally planned to rush to Xu Duwei to find people.But after thinking about it, he thought that the origin of the bamboo slips was unknown, and the motive behind them could be studied deeply, so he deliberately went around to Xicao, called a carriage, and hurried away. Personal friendship is important, but as a subordinate of Xi Cao, I will never easily ignore the doubts behind the officials. Zhao Yan subconsciously pinched the front of the front. There was something hidden here, which he found in the ruins of the Forbidden Palace before he was arrested by Xu Duwei. He hadn't had time to figure out the meaning of this thing.But his intuition told him that he was one step closer to the truth. "As long as this thing is still there, this is my only clue... Shaojun, you must protect me." ※※※ Deng Zhan continued to gallop across the field. The portrait in his arms is actually not one volume, but five volumes. Before leaving, Guo Jia told him not to reveal his purpose prematurely, but to contact some servants of the Sima family first, and then talk to Sima family members. So Deng Zhan first found a coachman, a weaver, a Cangtou and a small leader of Wubao in Wen County from the Sima family.From them, Deng Zhan got four portraits of Yang Ping, and then he knocked on the door of Sima's house, informed them of Yang Ping's death and asked for the portraits. When these tasks were completed, Deng Zhan declined to persuade him to stay, stopped for a while, and hurried back to Xudu.Because these five portraits are put together, there is a doubt, a doubt that must be known to Guo Jijiu and Xun Lingjun as soon as possible. The road under his feet became flatter and wider, and there were more hoofprints and ruts on the snow.Under the heavy night, the vision is not very clear, Deng Zhan can only judge from the blurred natural environment around him that he is already close to Xudu.Maybe it only takes another hour to see the burning building fire at the top of Xudu City. At this moment, Deng Zhan's instinct as a soldier suddenly became alert, reminding him that an imperceptible killing intent floated from somewhere nearby.But he ran around all night, his body was already extremely exhausted, and his muscles and senses didn't respond immediately.Suddenly there was a vibration of the bowstring, and a feathered arrow pierced the darkness, and was firmly nailed to the neck of Deng Zhan's mount. The mount wailed and immediately fell to the ground.Deng Zhan jumped in time, and threw himself into the snow so as not to be crushed by the heavy body of the horse. The opponent did not miss the shot, but was pursuing the safest assassination method.Horses are larger and easier to snipe in the dark than humans.As long as the mount died, Deng Zhan would lose his mobility and let himself be fished by mermaids.Deng Zhan realized the moment he landed that the killer was a thoughtful and extremely calm enemy. After all, Deng Zhan was born in the army. He didn't stop after landing, and rolled quickly and continuously, rolling to the side of a thick dead tree, bending his body, half kneeling on the ground with one leg.This can not only effectively reduce the area of ​​the arrow hit, but also keep the body in a stretched state ready to counterattack at any time.His judgment was very accurate. This is the main road, and there is an open field within a radius of one hundred feet. Only this big tree stands alone as a road sign, and it becomes his only choice for shelter. The opponent did not continue to shoot arrows, and there was silence in the darkness.The night here is not dense, as long as the eyes adapt to the darkness, they can barely see the movement of a dozen steps around.Deng Zhan knew that his life was saved for the time being, but he believed that the archer's night vision was farther than his own, and as long as he moved, he would be shot through mercilessly. The night air was icy cold.Deng Zhan tried his best to hold his breath and endure the intense pain from his back.He touched the dagger with a boxwood handle at his waist, pulled out the leather sheath with a slight movement, and stuck it on the ground—he left Wen County too quickly, and this was the only weapon in his hand. "嗖嗖" two more arrows were shot, each piercing the grass three steps away from the big tree.This is the archer's warning, telling Deng Zhan that he has taken control of the hiding place, and stop wishful thinking about escaping.Deng Zhan glanced at the length of the arrow shaft and the arrow feathers, and deduced that it should be shot by a short-circuit bow. This kind of bow is mostly made of bamboo, with a shorter bow body, shorter arrow shaft than the Han army standard, and mostly vertical feathers, which is more convenient to carry, but its range and power are weaker than that of road bows or tiger bows.The Han army seldom used it, but it was favored by the Yellow Turban Bandits, bandits, and tribal clans from all over the world.If it is a premeditated sniper, you should choose a heavy-duty tiger bow or a strong bow-the archer actually used a short-circuit bow, which means that he traveled a long distance and arrived in a hurry, not much earlier than Deng Zhan, so he carried a relatively light one. Bow. "I don't know which expert from the Sima family..." Deng Zhan gritted his teeth secretly, and stretched out his numb right leg cautiously.Now he believed that the archer must have been chasing him all the way from Wen County, trying to kill him on the way. The archer's aura in the darkness disappeared again, like a ghost, I don't know when and where it will appear next time.It can be seen that Archer is a very patient person. He didn't choose to do it in Wen County because he was afraid of hurting the whole family, so he stayed behind Deng Zhan tightly until he was close enough to Xudu and his exhaustion reached its peak. Only then did he make a decisive move.This kind of patience is as terrifying as a wolf on the grassland. If he had a sword in his hand, Deng Zhan had the confidence to listen to the wind to distinguish his position and knock the flying arrow away; if he was in a state of complete safety, he could also fight hard.But Deng Xian was at the end of his strength, the long-distance running had exhausted most of his physical strength, and his thighs were so sore that he didn't even have the strength to jump. Deng Zhan knew that he couldn't go on in such a stalemate, otherwise he would definitely be the one who died.He turned slowly, trying to change positions without drawing the attention of the archer.Sweat slowly seeped out of his skin, and was immediately frozen cold, covering his body with a thin layer of ice armor. He knew very well the range of the short-circuit bow, and it would not exceed fifty steps. The direction of the two arrows just now indicated that the archer was in the southeast.In other words, the Sima family member was within fifty steps to the southeast of the big tree. Deng Zhan is familiar with every road and road sign near Xudu.He closed his eyes, trying to recall the features of the landform southeast of the signpost tree, and finally identified three possible ambush locations. He struggled to untie the straps on both sides of the chest armor, which is usually an easy task, but Deng Zhan couldn't expose his body too much from the tree trunk at this time, so he could only hold his arms stiff and slowly pull them with his fingers. loose.He took off the leather armor with great difficulty, took out the five scrolls of portraits sandwiched between the leather armor and the cloth jacket, placed them lightly on the ground, then loosened the belt around his waist, and fastened one end to the buckle of the leather armor Hook it up and hold one end in your hand. Deng Zhan recited a few words silently in his heart, then suddenly straightened up, grabbed the cloth belt and threw the leather armor into the air. A flying arrow shot through the mid-air leather armor without hesitation. Deng Zhan pulled back the leather armor, touched the arrow cluster, and smiled on his lips. He almost knew the position of the enemy.The archer still didn't hold his breath after all, probably the darkness also troubled him. The other hand quickly grabbed the portrait and threw it into the air again.The light Zuo Bozhi stretched out in mid-air, like a few bats with spread wings.At the same time, he rushed out of the cover, holding the leather armor in front of him, as if holding a shield. Several more arrows flew in, and one arrow hit one of the portraits, and then the second arrow reacted quickly, hit the leather armor, and scratched Deng Zhan's left hand.The penetrating power and shooting speed of the short-circuit bow are very limited. Deng Zhan's few tricks bought him a short period of time. This time is enough for a soldier.He quickly pulled out the dagger stuck in the ground, twisted the tip upside down, and threw it towards a certain point in the darkness.I saw the dagger piercing into the dark scene with a flash of cold light, and the castration was extremely strong. At the same time as the dagger flew out, Deng Zhan suddenly heard the sound of bowstrings coming from behind. "Oops, fooled." As soon as this idea came to Deng Zhan's mind, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, a sharp arrow pierced his back and pierced out from his right chest.It turned out that there were two people on the other side from the beginning, and the second person hid it very secretly, holding back until the last moment before making a move. All the previous arrangements were to mislead Deng Zhan, making him misjudge the situation and come out to die on his own initiative. "I can't die yet, I still have something important to report to Guo Jijiu..." Deng Zhan's vision began to blur.At this time, Deng Zhan's ears heard the rapid sound of horseshoes, which came from the direction of Xu Du.It must be the tiger and leopard cavalry sent by Guo Jijiu to meet me, Deng Zhan thought so, and he burst out of power from nowhere, and stretched out his hands and ran towards the road.The two archers probably also heard the sound of the horse's hooves, and hid themselves again without making a sound. The sound of horseshoes soon approached, and a group of knights jumped out of the darkness one by one.They all wore Cao Jun's battle armor and held steel guns, full of courage in the dark.When they saw Deng Zhan, their first reaction was to raise their steel guns and stab him. "I... I am Tiger and Leopard Rider Deng Zhan!" Deng Zhan shouted angrily, with blood gushing from his right chest. The assassination of steel guns stopped. "Deng Zhan? Haha, I didn't expect to meet you this time when I went south!" One of them, General Cao Jun, took off his iron helmet, revealing an arrogant and conceited face, with a big nose hanging from that face, Really eye-catching. "Do you still recognize me?" "Chunyu Qiong?!" Deng Zhan hissed, and then he found out in horror.On the horse behind Chunyu Qiong was an old man with disheveled expression and disheveled expression.This old man was detained by him in front of the palace city of Xudu and sent to the prison.But the most important prisoner of the Cao family now appeared beside General Yuan Shao. Could it be that Yuan Shao sent people to sneak into Xudu and rescue Dong Cheng?Deng Zhan's remaining consciousness is no longer enough to support this kind of complicated thinking. He just feels that the world is spinning, and the world around him is gradually being pulled away by some force, and his body is involuntarily limp on the ground. "Hey, you can't die, we brothers haven't seen each other for so many years, we have to go to Wuchao to catch up on the past." These were the last words Deng Zhan heard before falling into a coma.