Chapter 15 Yangzhou trip

In the past, the world suffered floods during Tang Yao's time, and it was all thanks to Dayu to control the floods and save the people.In order to plan the area and inspect the fields, Dayu divided the world into Kyushu according to the soil and evaluated them.Among the Kyushu, Yangzhou was rated as inferior because of its low humidity, hot water, and muddy soil, and it was the worst of the Kyushu.Therefore, in the former Han Dynasty, when Liu An, the king of Huainan, was attacking the king of Nanhai, he had not yet encountered the enemy, and more than half of the people died of illness.

But when Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, the people of the Central Plains took refuge in Yangzhou one after another to avoid the war, and cultivated fields to open up wasteland.At the time of Emperor Xiaojing, Wang Jing, the prefect of Lujiang, restored Shaopi and irrigated tens of thousands of hectares of fields; during the time of Emperor Filial Piety, Ma Zhenshi, the prefect of Kuaiji, benefited Jinghu Lake and opened up more than 9,000 hectares of fertile land.Since then, Yangzhou has become more and more prosperous, and the land has become more fertile. Coupled with fishing, hunting and gathering, and abundant fruits and vegetables, the people's livelihood has become no different from that of Middle Earth.

Liyang, where the governor of Yangzhou is located, belongs to Jiujiang County, just on the north bank of the Yangtze River.Chen Wen was very happy to see Cao Cao. He recalled the past when he was Yilang in the imperial court.Although Cao Cao lived to be thirty-six years old, this was the first time he came to Yangzhou.He set off from Suanzao County and passed through Yuzhou, all he saw was the dilapidated scenes of the Central Plains.But after entering the Jianghuai River, he felt very different. Now facing the Yangtze River, seeing the beautiful mountains and rivers on the other side and the rich land, he actually had an illusion that Dong Zhuo's tyranny and harm to the people was just an illusory nightmare.

"Meng De, what do you think of the scenery of the river?" Chen Wen asked cheerfully. "Brother Yu really dare not look at it." "why?" "I'm afraid I'll linger and forget the righteousness of my family and country." Cao Cao turned his face and looked at the north again, "Although the south of the Yangtze River is good, but today's world is still in danger, and the Central Plains is still in dire straits, how can this not make people anxious? " Chen Wen's good mood was also disturbed by his words, and he couldn't help sighing for a while: "It's not just the land of the Central Plains, even your feet and mine are already unstable."

"Where did Yuan Ti say this?" "You don't know yet, since our late general arrived in Nanyang, he has been so bold!" Chen Wen was talking about Yuan Shu, "He used the banner of begging for thieves to support himself, and even asked for money from the counties in Jingyang and Jiangbei. Food and grass, he has ordered food twice for me alone!" "Yuan Gonglu is a bit arrogant. Compared with Yuan Benchu, he is a little less magnanimous and talented..." "But ambition is not bad." Chen Wen interrupted him abruptly, "Aren't you here just to ask for soldiers? To be honest, I have long wanted to recruit soldiers."

"Yuan Ti is also willing to raise troops to serve the king?" Cao Cao became excited. Chen Wen's white face showed a moment of helplessness: "I'm here to protect myself... If he Yuan Gonglu hits Yangzhou, I have to have soldiers and horses to protect the people in the north and south of the river." Cao Cao smiled slightly and said: "You What he said is unreasonable, what right does he, Yuan Shu, have to attack states and counties? Leading troops to fight against rebellion is a great cause, but if fighting in the same room is not the same as provoking quarrels? I think he still dare not."

"He has already dared!" Chen Wen saw Cao Cao's face was confused, "You have been traveling on the road for the past two months and you don't know that Changsha prefect Sun Jian has already raised troops and crossed the river north to meet Yuan Shu in Luyang. He will pass Jingzhou along the way. Inspector Wang Rui and Nanyang prefect Zhang Zi were all killed." "What!?" Cao Cao felt half of his body go numb, "Why did Sun Wentai kill people for no reason? Jingzhou Inspector Wang Tongyao is very popular for his achievements in suppressing rebellion."

"In the old days when Xing and Lingling Guoshi rebelled in Changsha District, Sun Jian and Wang Rui were ordered to lead the army to put down the rebellion. Although both of them were victorious, the two of them were not in harmony with each other and neglected each other. All the officials in Jingzhou knew about it. Sun Jian may have already launched a murderous plan. , this time I just took the opportunity to vent my personal grievances." "What about Zhang Ziyi? Zhang Ziyi, like Han Fu and Liu Dai, was saved by Zhou Yu regardless of his life or death. He was in Nanyang and assisted Yuan Gonglu in his bid for Dong. How could such a righteous man, Sun Jian, kill him at will? ?”

"This is a muddled account." Chen Wen sneered, "Yuan Shu went south to raise troops to challenge Dong. He was stationed in Luyang, and all his food and grass were supplied by Nanyang County. Zhang Zi still helped him wholeheartedly at the beginning, but later saw As his army grew stronger, fearing that he would turn around and eat him, he secretly reduced the military rations to contain him. Yuan Shu got rid of Zhang Zi under the guise of Sun Jian, and no one in Nanyang would be able to restrain him. Jingzhou and Jiangbei were under his control. gone." "Support troops in the ground?" Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and said, "Yuan Gonglu is really talented. No matter how much the shepherds in the north fought each other, they didn't cause any trouble. Unexpectedly, he killed two people here with a borrowed knife."

"There are other things you can't think of. After Sun Jian killed Zhang Zi, Yuan Shu appointed him as the general who broke the captivity and also led the governor of Yuzhou." "Okay, he is no less than the chariot general in the north." Cao Cao said sarcastically, and then felt wrong, "The governor of Yuzhou? Isn't the governor of Yuzhou Kong Ni?" "Yuan Shu said that Kong Ni was an official appointed by Dong Zhuo, so it doesn't count." "Bullshit!" Cao Cao spat towards Jiang Zhong, "Kong Gongxu was appointed by Dong Zhuo, so isn't he Yuan Shu, the later general?"

"Look at his scheming, Yuan Gonglu is not terrible. What he promised Sun Jian was an empty favor, and Yuzhou is not in his hands. This is to encourage Sun Jian to go north quickly. Besides, Kong Ni and Zhang Zi can be counted, so all Dong Zhuo's foreign ministers The officials who come out can be ignored, that is to say..." "He can rob and kill any territory under the sun." Cao Cao explained the secret. "So take a look, is my Yangzhou a peaceful place? Maybe one day this evil wave will hit the river." Chen Wen looked at the Yangtze River rolling eastward, "Meng De, you keep saying that you want to destroy it." The thieves revived the Han Dynasty, but now Dong Zhuo is everywhere in the world, and their intentions are more sinister and vicious than that of the Xiliang warrior. Just like Yuan Gonglu who is so ambitious, and Sun Wentai is so brave and domineering, the combination of the two, I am afraid You can make waves even more. If you come from thousands of miles to ask for soldiers, then I will give you soldiers. But I hope you go back and think about it, even if you wipe out the Dong thief, can the world go back to the past? If you can’t go back to the past, then we should what to do?" Cao Cao was silent for a long time, and suddenly squeezed out a sentence: "What should I do... Huh! Sweep out the smoke and kill all Dong Zhuo!" On the way back to the county seat, Chen Wen didn't want to mention any more troublesome things, so he rode slowly side by side with Cao Cao, chatting about old things.Xiahou Dun listened intently and didn't intervene, but Xiahou Yuan and Lou Yi were quite bored, and the two rode forward to enter the city. After entering the east gate of Liyang City and turning two streets, there is Zhou Temple. Xia Houyuan and Lou Yi felt that they were close, so they never got off their horses, and wanted to drive back to Zhou Temple. Unexpectedly, after turning a street, a group of people suddenly came from the west. The leader was an elderly man about sixty years old, with gray beard and hair, a little hunchback, riding a tall horse, dressed luxuriously and looked kindly, he seemed to be a country gentleman. There are more than a dozen servants accompanying him on foot. Are the streets of the city a place for horse racing?Xia Houyuan didn't care, he turned his head and joked with Lou Yi while beating the horse, and when he saw the group of people coming from the west, it was too late to rein in the horse.Reckless, he simply slapped his horse's butt, and rushed straight through these people in a daze. It was quite lively now, the two servants were too late to dodge, not to mention being tripped over, and even ran into the elder.Xia Houyuan was riding a war horse, which was unusual and comparable, so he staggered the old man's mount. The man was caught off guard and fell off the horse.Xia Houyuan didn't care about bumping people at all, he didn't even glance at him, he urged his horse vigorously, and went away without looking back.When he left, the street was immediately in chaos.Some of the servants rushed over to help people, some held back the frightened horse, and the remaining four or five stopped Lou Yi behind. Lou Yi was very angry now, Xia Houyuan ran away after causing trouble, but left him here to wipe his ass.But this matter is clear and cannot be denied, he quickly jumped down and cupped his hands to apologize: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my friend has something important to do, and accidentally bumped into your master, I hope you will forgive me." "Just a word of impoliteness is enough? Do you know who our master is?" A young servant shouted, scratching his neck, "Everyone, give him a good beating and hand him over to the government for punishment." When these house slaves heard the order, they rolled up their arms and sleeves, and greeted Lou Yi fiercely with a punch and a kick. Lou Yi is an old soldier, so he doesn't pay attention to the fists and feet of three-legged cats like them, but he knows that he is wrong, and he refuses to fight back and just dodges.Unexpectedly, this group of house slaves made an inch of progress, seeing that four or five of them couldn't take care of him alone, they became more and more unwilling to give up, beating and cursing at the same time, all speaking in Yangzhou dialect. Lou Yi's flames were on the rise, and when he dodged, his left hand had already grabbed the arm of a servant, and his right hand grabbed the belt with all his might, lifting him over his head and throwing him fiercely into the crowd. The slave even fell and smashed and fell to the ground.Lou Yi clapped his hands and said with a smile, "I don't want to drink a toast, I don't take fine wine, I don't take me, a northern guy seriously." A young servant fell on the ground and screamed in pain. He raised his head and saw their housekeeper gathering people to carry his master away, so he shouted, "Brother Wang, look! Brothers are being beaten, and this kid is still yelling, bullying!" I have no one in the south. You don’t care, it’s too fucking disrespectful!” When he rubbed the fire like this, the butler suddenly became furious, took off his coat, and jumped in front of Lou Yi: "Big man, you are so arrogant, do you think there are no famous men in the south? I will be one-on-one with you hit!" Lou Yi sized him up carefully.I saw that this butler-looking man was about thirty years old, with broad arms and round waist, thick arms and thighs, white face and short beard, a pair of big eyes staring fiercely, but he was half a head shorter than himself, so he smiled and said: "You Nanman Son, what a big breath." "You Beibeizi, be careful!" Dou Da's fist came with the sound of wind as he said.Lou Yi was startled, he didn't expect him to strike so fast, he hurriedly raised his head to dodge, followed by another kick in front of him, Lou Yi retreated four or five steps quickly, staggering before getting out of the way.He didn't give in to this, he rushed over and hit him, the man was not in a hurry, and he responded well to the moves.Two people just like this, you come and I fight like this. At this time Cao Cao also arrived, and he saw Lou Yi fighting with a white-faced man from a long distance away. He knew that Lou Yi would not fight with others easily, so he didn't stop, but turned to Chen Wen with a smile: "Yuan Ti, it seems My people are going to cause you trouble. Look, I know Lou Yi's physical strength. He has followed me on many battlefields, and that man who looks like a housekeeper can be evenly matched with him. He is quite capable. "Chen Wen saw that he didn't ask right and wrong, just watched the fun, smiled, and looked up at the fighters. He couldn't help being stunned, and hurriedly shouted: "Wang Bi! Lou Yi! Don't fight!" It turned out that the white-faced man was called Wang Bi. Hearing Chen Wen's yelling, he quickly took a step back and shouted: "My lord came to look for you, but he was run over by this madman's friend. I ask Mr. Chen to make the decision." "You recognize this person?" Cao Cao was quite surprised.Chen Wen ignored him, and eagerly asked Wang Bi: "Is your lord injured? Where is he now?" "I asked my subordinates to carry it to your mansion to rest." Chen Wen turned around and complained to Cao Cao: "You have caused trouble for me, and you bumped into old Liu Miao, the prefect of Jiujiang, so go and have a look!" Cao Cao was dumbfounded when he heard this: Liu Miao, the prefect of Jiujiang, is a direct descendant of Emperor Guangwu and the younger brother of Liu Rong, king of Langya, who can be called an important official of the clan.Thinking of this, my mind suddenly became dizzy, and I hurried to the state capital with Chen Wen.The entourage and servants on both sides also followed, Wang Bi and Lou Yi were reluctant to let go, they grabbed each other by the neck and followed at the end. Chen Wen took Cao Cao into the gate of the mansion, and quickly turned to the backyard to enter the hall, but saw old Liu Miao squinting his eyes leaning on the couch. "General Liu, I'm really rude. The person who bumped into you just now was my friend's subordinate. I'll apologize to you on his behalf." Chen Wen said as he bowed to the ground, "You have such a status... Death penalty, death penalty, are you hurt?" "It's okay, I just got a little frightened." Liu Miao let out a long breath, but he spoke kindly and politely, "Young people are always arrogant." "I'm under Cao Cao. I didn't discipline my subordinates strictly and offended your old man. I deserve death." Liu Miao's eyes suddenly lit up: "You are Cao Mengde?" "It's right down." Liu Miaoqiang sat up by himself: "Old man once heard that the guards of various families came to Henan, and only Cao Mengde dared to lead the troops to the west. Although the defeat is glorious, I don't want it to be you." "Hehe...you praised me." Cao Cao was delighted to hear the praise from the clan ministers for the first time, and Fang wanted to say a few more polite words, when he heard a commotion outside, Lou Yi and Wang Bi rolled in with fists and kicks. "Stop!" Chen Wen yelled, "You dare to fight even here, and you don't take this governor seriously. What's going on, tell me!" The two knelt on the ground and insisted on their opinions, and it took a long time to explain this clearly.Liu Miao looked up and laughed loudly: "You two, you acted too recklessly. Originally, this matter has nothing to do with the two of you, so why did you make a move. Wang Bi, kneel aside and listen to me when you are young." "No!" Wang Bigui knelt outside.Seeing Liu Miao punishing his subordinates, Cao Cao quickly pretended to be his own: "Lou Yi! You also go to the side and kneel." Seeing Wang Bi and Lou Yi kneeling side by side and not daring to move, Chen Wen heaved a sigh of relief, sat down and said, "My lord, you came to see me today in Qingqi casual clothes, what can you tell me?" Liu Miao stroked his gray beard and said, "I came here specially to bid farewell to the envoy." "Farewell?" Chen Wen was surprised, "Where are you going?" "I plan to enter Chang'an to have an audience with Long Live Today." As soon as he said this, everyone present was shocked. "Even though today's son was established by Dong Zhuo, it is still of the late emperor's blood. Now the army is raging but can't enter, and the shepherds of each family are hesitant and have different ambitions. Over time, disaster will happen." When he said this, his eyes showed fear, As if he saw something terrible, "Forgive me for saying something serious, I don't know how many people will be called emperors and kings in Kyushu in the future." Such an ominous prophecy was already shocking, but it was even more disturbing when it came from a member of the Liu family. Neither Chen Wen nor Cao Cao dared to intervene. "That's why I want to go to Chang'an in person. One is to see if the world is safe today, and the other is..." Liu Miao stared at Cao Cao and said, "I hope to meet Dong Zhuo and see if there is something to talk about with this person. If possible, I would like to persuade him to return to power as the emperor and pardon his original crime of regicide." "Could it be that Dong Zhuo, a rebellious minister, is allowed to abuse him?" "Meng De, not everyone is as loyal to the imperial court as you are." As Liu Miao lowered his head, suddenly an old tear flowed down, his gray beard trembling, "Begging the Dong thief... begging the Dong thief... Today, I think the thieves are asking for more and more. The imperial power is out of control, and the government orders are not good. At least in the place where Dong Zhuo is, there are officials who obey the court, but what about the Guandong? Who still cares about the emperor nowadays?" Cao Cao and Chen Wen were all silent. "I still don't understand, which one of these Mushou is not a descendant of a family? Which one has not received the favor of the Han Dynasty for several generations? Why has he forgotten the favor he has received?" Liu Miao wiped his face. Tears, "Thinking about the wealth of Yuan Gonglu, the fourth generation and the third prince, how can our Liu family feel sorry for him? He went to Nanyangming to seek rebellion, and he really supported himself. A few days ago, he actually asked Chen Wang and Liu Chong for food. What are you doing!" Cao Cao sneered and said, "Yuan Gonglu is also delusional. I am fortunate to have known King Chen once. His Majesty is upright and brave by nature, so he will not be afraid of people like Yuan Shu." , made great contributions to the pacification of the Yellow Turban, and was the strongest among the princes and kings.After the alliance with Dong Yijun, Liu Chong claimed to be the General of the Han Dynasty who was stationed in Xiayang to help his momentum. "Although King Chen is brave enough to protect the country, but I am already at this age." Liu Miao raised his beard, "It is really impossible to protect the land of Jiujiang. I plan to present to the court and ask Kuaiji Zhou Ang to take over from me. The prefect of Jiujiang, the Zhou family is a prominent family in Kuaiji, Zhou Ang's brother Zhou Xin is now the prefect of Jiujiang, and his younger brother Zhou is serving in the Hanoi army, I hope that with the strength of the three brothers, we can restrain Yuan Gonglu's misconduct." "Don't worry, my lord," Chen Wen resolutely said, "I also want to protect the environment and the people, and never let him domineering here. As for your lord, you should not go... The danger of Xijing is not easy." Liu Miao smiled bitterly: "I have made up my mind, so why not be afraid of danger. No matter what, I want to see the emperor. At this time, someone from the clan has to dare to stand up. I want to try to persuade Dong Zhuo, and say something high-sounding. If it is for the common people in the world, it will not be ruined. If it is a little selfish...for the sake of the imperial power of my Liu family, it will not be exiled in the hands of foreign surnames." Cao Cao lowered his head and thought to himself, thinking, "Old man, your thinking is too simplistic. Mengzhi is easy to give up, but it's hard to give up. Are you asking Dong Zhuo to return to Liangzhou for reality? Tell those who already have heavy soldiers to send them back. Is it still possible to govern the people? Chaos in the world seems inevitable..." He wanted to persuade Liu Miao, but he saw that the old man had a gray beard, a haggard face, and his back was a little hunched.For a person of such age, going to Xijing to go to a dangerous place is to do his last bit of strength for the Han Dynasty.Thinking of this, I feel a feeling of admiration spontaneously. Liu Miao was silent for a while, and then said: "Meng De, you must have come here to ask for soldiers, right?" Cao Cao nodded and said in shame: "The soldiers in the First Battle of Xingyang were killed and wounded, Xiao Ke is helpless, so I ask Yuan Ti for help." "It's good to be able to destroy Dong Zhuo, but if you can't destroy Dong... you should try to protect the land and the people in anticipation of the changes in Xijing. Of course Zhou Yafu is loyal in turning the tide, but Dou Rong is also loyal in protecting Hexi." Liu Miao stared straight at him. Cao Cao said, "The troops of all the families are raging, but you are the only one who dares to send troops to fight. This shows that your loyalty is far superior to others. If the old man can survive to reach the capital by luck, I should recommend you in front of the emperor." "I am flattered." Cao Cao quickly saluted. "Come here." Liu Miao suddenly nodded to Wang Bi, "Why did you beat someone?" Wang Bi knelt and crawled in front of him: "I see our five brothers being knocked down by this kid, so..." Lou Yi suddenly interjected: "I kept dodging, but the five of them are still entangled, the beatings are what they asked for." "Shut up!" Cao Cao hastily reprimanded. Liu Miao raised his hand to signal Cao Cao not to be angry, and said, "Wang Bi, you should have seen it with your own eyes. Did the five of them bully more than pester each other?" "The little one has seen it," Wang Bi nodded, "but the brothers said that if I don't act, I have no loyalty." "Loyalty?" Liu Miao smiled, "Talk about the past yourself, why are you a servant in my house?" "The young one vented his anger for his friends back then, beat people to death and fled, and was taken in by the elder." "Look, what's the difference between today's incident and your crimes back then? You haven't made any progress..." Liu Miao said seriously, "Can righteousness be greater than right and wrong? Wang Bi, Wang Bi, how did I teach you? Friends need to have eyes when they talk about loyalty. Some people are helped by friends, some are troubled by friends, and some people die because they made friends by mistake. You must be sure about people before you talk about loyalty!" Cao Cao couldn't help laughing secretly at the old man's alarmist words; Wang Bi would dare to retort, and just said: "I would like to learn from your old man." Liu Miao twisted his beard and said, "How many years have you been with me?" Wang Bidao: "I have served the boss for five years." "Five years, how fast..." Liu Miao nodded, "You are all skilled in martial arts, but you have been my servant for five years. It's really embarrassing for you." "The kindness of the adults to the little ones recreates the same." Liu Miao pointed at Cao Cao: "Kowtow to General Cao, and let him go in the future." "You don't want me anymore?" Wang Bi was taken aback. "I can't have you anymore." Liu Miao patted him on the shoulder, "You are a fighter, how can you guard me, an old coffin? A man should make meritorious deeds, so you can join the army with General Cao! Kowtow quickly." Wang Bi took the order and kowtowed heavily to Cao Cao.Cao Cao didn't know what to do, so he quickly reached out to help him: "My lord, this..." "I'm about to go to Chang'an, so why take advantage of useful people for nothing? Wang Bipo has some martial arts skills, and he also knows a little bit of writing. Meng De, you are kept in the tent, and you have the right to act as a personal soldier, so you can protect him with you. Don't refuse. " "Then...thank you for your kindness, my lord." Cao Cao thanked him, and then took a closer look at Wang Bi. He saw that he had a simple and honest appearance, broad shoulders and round waist, and he could make a pair of guards with Lou Yi. Chen Wen smiled and said: "Congratulations, Brother Meng De, for getting an arm. I've already thought about it, and I'll send you three thousand soldiers. In addition, to save my boss's face, please write a letter to Zhou Xin, the prefect of Danyang, so that he can do the same." Assign some troops to Meng De." Liu Miao shook his head and said, "Trust me, I can write it, but I'm afraid it's not a good idea for Meng De to come here to ask for soldiers." "Why did your lord say that?" "Yangzhou is safe now, and the north is in chaos. I'm afraid the southerners won't go north. If they don't want to go, please ask Meng De not to make things difficult for others." Liu Miao sighed, "What do the scholar-bureaucrats have to do with the common people when they fight for power? The king of Chu aspires to the throne, but Zaide is not fighting. The people just want to live a stable life. Who can make them live in peace and stability, who is the real king, and those who use military force are not wise." Do I want to continue? Is it better to have a foothold, and then protect the country and the people? Where is the road I have to go..."