Chapter 8 Obsessed with obsession

The civil and military officials endured the whole night in the palace, and did not expect the victory of the Northern Army until noon the next day. Ma Yuanyi learned of Tang Zhou's informant, and led his disciples to move from Henan to Goushi County, hoping to get out of Yuanguan.But the eight gates were heavily guarded, and there were only a few hundred Taiping Dao disciples who sneaked in. As a result, they were all wiped out under the pincer attack of the gate guards and the northern army, and Ma Yuanyi was captured by the officials. I can't care about it from afar, now that the thief in front of me has been wiped out, all civil and military officials can finally regain their freedom.When the gate of the imperial palace is opened, it is really worthy of supporting the old and the young, all of them pale from suffering, and they have to maintain their official manners while shaking.It is probably the first time that the officials of the Manchu dynasty are in such a mess since the Han family's uncle and grandson made the rites.

You can't even open your eyelids, who cares about greetings?All the officials went out of the imperial street and looked for their own servants to pick them up. Qin Yilu helped Cao's father and son into the carriage. It can be seen that these family members are also full of sleepiness, presumably they have been waiting outside since the masters entered the palace.The Fifth Battalion of the Northern Army has not yet withdrawn its defenses. The soldiers under the jurisdiction of Jinwu rang gongs everywhere to announce that Luoyang Jinshi and Mashi would be closed for three days, and believers in the Taiping Dao were arrested in the city.No matter how lively the event was, they could not attract the attention of Cao's father and son. They lay in the car in a dazed state, and when they returned to the mansion to take off their court clothes, they snored loudly as soon as their heads touched the pillow.

Cao Cao slept until the next morning. Before he sat up and stretched himself, he saw Qin Yilu running in with a washbasin in his hand: "My lord, you are awake." "I'm exhausted..." Cao Cao yawned, "Is there something wrong?" "It's very lively outside at the moment. There is a stage set up on Pingyang Street, and Ma Yuanyi is going to be punished and killed!" "Huh. Huh?" Cao Cao was stunned for a moment. There had never been a public murder on Jingshi Avenue. "Let's go and have a look." After grooming, Cao Cao didn't dare to disturb his father, and took Qin Yilu and Lou Yi out of the house.Pingyang Street is the most open street in Luoyang City in the south and north, leading directly to the gate of the imperial palace.Today, the platform for prison was built on the square in front of the palace.

It was already late when Cao Cao came, and through the crowd, he could only vaguely hear the soldiers reading Ma Yuanyi's lengthy indictment on the square.The excitement on the street at this moment is not comparable to that of the day before yesterday. There are no well-dressed officials, and most of the onlookers are ordinary people. There are all kinds of scholars, farmers, businessmen, and all kinds of people, and the square is crowded.How new is it that a living person is slaughtered at the gate of the palace?There really were people from outside the city who came to open their eyes on purpose, stretched their necks and stared at the three floors inside and outside, and almost rode on the necks of the people in front.There are still some people in the market who will find a coincidence and simply climb on the roof of the car and concentrate on watching.

Qin Yilu and Lou Yi pushed left and right for a while, but still couldn't get in. Looking back at Cao Cao, they were unhappy.Qin Yilu said sweetly: "My lord, do you think it's messy. Zuo is just killing people. If you find it annoying, let's stop watching." Cao Cao shook his head: "I'm not happy because I can't see it. I just feel sorry for these spectators who came all the way. They are all poor people. Who is Ma Yuanyi rebelling for?" "For whom? For the sake of being rich and powerful..." Qin Yilu looked around and whispered, "I want to be the emperor!"

"Hmph! I believe that Zhang Jiao wants to be emperor, but I don't believe that these ordinary people want to climb the dragon and become the phoenix. How can they rebel if the officials don't force them? Although they were bewitched by Zhang Jiao's cult, they did so for the same poverty. man." "I can't understand these big truths and small ones!" Qin Yilu smirked. Cao Cao poked him on the forehead: "Don't tell me you don't understand. Which of these spectators understand? I'm afraid Ma Yuanyi, who is about to be decapitated, doesn't know. He is still looking forward to the peaceful and prosperous life of Huang Taiyi!"

Qin Yilu looked confused, but Lou Yi said: "Master, we can't squeeze in like this. You might as well find a colleague from the Northern Army and take us there." One sentence reminded Cao Cao that the three masters and servants walked north around the square and came to the side of the prison platform.There have long been soldiers of the Northern Army holding big halberds to block the way.When Cao Cao looked around, he saw Yueqi Sima Jujun ("Jun" and "Jun") standing not far away in full body clothes, and hurriedly opened his hands to greet him.Ju Jun was originally Cao Chi's old subordinate when he was the captain of Changshui, and he was very familiar with the Cao family. Seeing him standing outside the crowd, he signaled the soldiers to come in.In this way, Cao Cao got in, but Qin and Lou Nai's servant Bai Ding had to go back to the house angrily, complaining secretly about missing the excitement.

Ju Jun was also really bold, he led Cao Cao to the side of the prison beheading platform without saying a word, and he could see clearly every move on the execution ground. Cao Cao felt abrupt: "Where there are kingly laws, is it appropriate to stand here?" "It doesn't matter," Ju Jun lowered his voice: "Today is the beheaded Uncle Guo, who doesn't understand anything. You are an official, so there is no problem." As a result, he saw He Jin, the uncle of the state who had just been worshiped as Henan Yin, sitting in the middle of the seven-foot-high temporary prison platform.He wore his crown neatly and wore a sword under his ribs, but he looked around idly, and when he saw Cao Cao with a sudden glance, he even cupped his hands to say hello.He is an expert at butchering pigs and dogs, but he is not good at beheading and killing people.He hasn't even learned the etiquette of the imperial court, let alone such a big event that doesn't happen once in a hundred years.The commander of the scene was actually Zou Jing, the Marquis of the Northern Army who was standing on the sidelines. Seeing that his facial features were not straight and sweating profusely, he must have been in a hurry to follow this confused uncle.

"It's Master Zou supporting the scene." Cao Cao muttered. "Yeah. The night before yesterday was the time when the thieves were captured," Ju Jun said with a smile on his face. "Our country uncle is still thinking about setting up camp! After the last battle, Ma Yuanyi was captured, and he asked Where are the bandit soldiers! If you really want him to lead troops to fight, there must be chaos." Before he could finish his sentence, the soldiers shouted in unison, flashed out of an alley, and pushed a wooden prison cart from outside.That Ma Yuanyi had big arms and a round waist, with a plain face, he looked like an ordinary farmer.At this moment, his face was dark and blue, with a rope in his mouth, he could not speak.Because the detainees in the army did not take care to change the prison clothes, he was still wearing the rough clothes he had when he was captured, which had been torn to tatters, exposing several bloody knife wounds, and was deliberately tied firmly along the wounds Reality.

"After five punishments, he will not be recruited at all. This guy is really a tough guy!" Ju Jun couldn't help but praise Ma Yuanyi. The soldiers pushed the prison cart to the center of the execution ground, dragged Ma Yuanyi out with a knife on his neck.This guy had expected to die a long time ago, so he opened his big round eyes and stared at Jun Bing fiercely when he couldn't speak.Three drums sounded, and the arrows were fired, and it was time for the death penalty.But He Jin could not bear it. He also came from a poor background, and he had the same body and appearance as Ma Yuanyi.Zou Jing whispered a few words beside him, and then he got up reluctantly and shouted: "Execution!" Unexpectedly, after shouting, no one raised the head of the sword, but rumbled and drove out five double vehicles after beheading the platform. chariot.

Car crack! ?Not to mention the people present, even Cao Mengde was taken aback: no one has used this kind of killing method since the Lu Zhi car split Peng Yue. Jujitsu ruled the world, and even the death row prisoners who were executed every autumn were pardoned.Even if Ma Yuanyi was guilty of treason, Che Li was too cruel and broke the rules of previous kings. "Is this Master Zou's idea?" Cao Cao couldn't help asking. Ju Jun also showed his unbearable expression: "This is the punishment appointed by the emperor, and there is no way to change it." "Unexpected..." "There are still many unexpected things! The ten horses that were broken in this cart are all royal horses in the emperor's stable. It is said that the old man wants to take this opportunity to test horsepower. Look, the drivers are all eunuchs, and Sun Zhang is also here. gone." Cao Cao looked at his hand, and he saw that Sun Zhang, one of the ten permanent attendants, was also on the stage of execution.The emperor is really hopeless, if Ma Yuanyi is killed, the world will be in chaos. At this time, he still has time to train the imperial horse and let the eunuchs do his best. The five carriages were all in place, Ma Yuanyi was untied, and his limbs were tied to the iron chain behind the carriage.As soon as the rope that restrained his mouth was removed, he yelled curses, all in Jingzhou dialect that he couldn't understand.He couldn't help resisting, and his head was already tied to the iron chain.Immediately after the beeping drum sounded, the hustle and bustle of the crowd fell silent immediately, and countless pairs of eyes stared at the man who was about to be dismembered. Ma Yuanyi cursed for a long time, but when he heard no one cheering, he suddenly burst out laughing.The five chariots were urged to move, and the iron chain was tightened for a short time, and his body gradually lifted off the ground.The death row prisoner's face turned purple, his facial features moved, and his appearance was like a ghost.This is the cruelest part of the cracking of the car. If ten horses push hard together, the human body will be torn apart in an instant, but if the condemned prisoner suffers pain, the horses must drive slowly, so that he can't live or die.The cold and hard iron chain was in his throat, and the feeling of suffocation made Ma Yuanyi's face turn from purple to black, and his bloody eyes seemed to pop out.He couldn't move his limbs, and his own survival instinct made his chest rise and fall to be slowed down by this breath.But everything was in vain, he opened his mouth reluctantly, and let out a roar with the last breath in his chest: "Heaven should die, Huang Tian should..." Before the last word "Li" was uttered, the eunuch driving the car had already whipped the BMW. Suddenly, there was a sound of tearing, and a blood ball burst out in mid-air, and the living person was immediately torn to pieces.The onlookers let out a burst of exclamation, dodged like an ebbing tide, and some people fell from the roof in fright. Cao Cao saw a burst of red light and a burst of blood, and quickly closed his eyes.After waiting for a long time to hear people's voices, he managed to open his eyes, and saw the execution ground strewn with hearts and intestines, and the carriage passed by dragging a thigh.Feeling sick, I turned around and didn't dare to look again, only to hear a sharp grin on the stage: "The emperor's horse is really good! I'm going back to the palace! Hahaha..." The thief, Sun Zhang, was still mad . "If you don't kill all the eunuchs, it will be difficult to eliminate the anger of the officials and the people!" As soon as Cao Cao raised his head, he saw Yuan Shao approaching with raised eyebrows, followed by a prematurely declining scholar—it was He Yong. "Brother Meng De, let's meet again." He Yong smiled bleakly, the party has been released, he no longer has to pretend to be a servant of the Yuan Mansion, but the corners of his brows and eyes are very tired, and the heroic spirit of the year is gone. "Brother Boqiu." Cao Cao cupped his hands and said, "At first, I kept a secret from me, but I saw you in the Yuan Mansion that day." "Oh?" He Yong glared at Yuan Shao dissatisfied. Yuan Shao was a little embarrassed: "I was afraid that the news would spread, so I didn't tell Meng De." Seeing that He Yong was a little annoyed, Cao Cao had to excuse Yuan Shao: "Brother Benchu ​​also had a good intention, but I should congratulate Brother Boqiu. You are so hard to escape. After seventeen years of running, you finally see the light of day." "Although the ban has been lifted, the emperor has not reversed the verdicts of old Mrs. Chen and Dou Wu. We are 'pardoned', and we are still guilty after all!" He Yong looked helpless, "The ten permanent servants are so rampant, Compared with Wang Fu and Cao Jie back then, it is even worse." While speaking, someone had already cleaned up the execution ground, and the onlookers gradually dispersed.Cao Cao held hands and said, "My house is very close. If you two brothers are fine, how about you come and sit with me?" "To your house?" He Yong was taken aback, "Is this appropriate?" This statement is of course aimed at Cao Song. "What's inappropriate, at least this time you don't have to climb over the wall in the backyard." He Yong smiled, but Yuan Shao cupped his hands and said: "I have some things to do, and I have to discuss some things when Uncle Guo returns, so I will take my leave first." Cao Cao looked at his back: "What were you busy with at the beginning?" "Kill the eunuch." He Yong lowered his voice, "Although the ban on the party has been lifted, the eunuch is still there. If we don't cut the grass and roots, it will be a disaster sooner or later." "Scratching lice is like shaking a mountain. It's not easy to do." Cao Cao said as he walked, "Besides, there are no good eunuchs? If Lu Qiang hadn't spoken out righteously, the party ban might not be able to be lifted, and it would be unreasonable to regard them as enemies. OK." "Having said that, raising a tiger will inevitably hurt people. If you don't hurt him, he will still eat you. Whether this matter will succeed or not, let Benchu ​​decide. Now we have contacted Zhang Mengzhuo, Liu Jingsheng, Hua Ziyu , Xun Gongda and others. By the way, Zheng Kangcheng, Xun Ciming, and Chen Zhonggong are also waiting and watching." Cao Cao was secretly startled, Zhang Miao, Liu Biao and others were fine with it, but Zheng Xuan, Xun Shuang, and Chen Shi were also connected by Yuan Shao.These three people are all seniors, who have refused to be recruited by the imperial court many times. If they become officials, even the Yang and Yuan families will retreat. "Having said that, it is necessary to take care of the outside world and keep the house safe. The eunuch matter can be put on hold for now, but after Ma Yuanyi's death, chaos in the world is imminent. This is the most important thing at the moment." Cao Cao reminded.He suddenly felt that both He Yong and Yuan Shao were not sober, and now that the incident had broken out, the most important thing was to quell the rebellion and solve the problem, instead of endlessly investigating the eunuch's crimes here. In a blink of an eye, the two had arrived in front of Cao's mansion.Seeing that a middle-aged eunuch came out of it, it was Duan Gui, who was always domineering and arrogant among the ten permanent servants.Cao Song, who was dressed in casual clothes, followed closely behind, very respectful and obsequious.Cao Cao suddenly felt nervous, but he turned a blind eye to He Yong with his head held high and his chest held high—yes, brother Boqiu has gone through these years of hardships, his appearance has changed greatly, and Duan Gui no longer recognizes him. The two stood aside and waited for Duan Gui to get into the car before entering. "Are you going to see the murder?" Cao Song sent away the distinguished guests, then withdrew his face full of respect, and changed into a disgruntled expression, "Why join in the fun? The rebellion of the people was forced out by our officials. It's hard... who is this Gao Xian?" He wanted to say something, but saw his son brought a friend back. He Yong was disgusted when he saw Cao Song, but when he heard that the Taoist officials forced the people to rebel, he felt that this man still had some self-knowledge, so he cupped his hands and said, "He Yong is in Nanyang." Cao Song was startled, his eyes widened, he looked up and down for a long time before he pondered, "It's you...it's really you..." "Lord Cao, Wansheng has been with you for almost twenty years." "It was seventeen years, I remember it clearly." "Lord Cao has a good memory!" He Yong's words were a bit ironic. Cao Song knew that his son had a very close relationship with him, but after hearing him call him an adult and not an uncle, he already understood the meaning of his birth, so he raised his hand and said, "Please go in and talk." Cao Cao just wanted to take He Yong back to the mansion for a chat, and didn't intend to let him meet his father. Unexpectedly, he met him at the door and couldn't hide, so he had to go into the living room with him.The three sat down, and the family members offered their oars, but no one spoke.Cao Song was the first to open his mouth until he swallowed a mouthful of water: "How have you been doing these years?" He Yong said angrily, "Thanks to your old Hongfu, you are not dead yet." Cao Song didn't care at all, and just smiled lightly: "The party's shackles have been lifted, and the matter of the imperial palace's slander will no longer be pursued. Uncle He, who is well-known as an imperial scholar, survived a catastrophe, and can make trouble again." "Humph!" He Yong sneered, and stretched out his hand to take off the traveling crown on his head, revealing his gray hair, "Open your eyes and see, where is the He Yong from back then." Now that he is prematurely old and haggard, even Cao Song is a little moved. "Old man, you know best whether the party members are wronged or not. Who planned and controlled the Northern Army for Wang Fu in the first place, you don't need to explain it later. Have you half blamed yourself for the past seventeen years? How can you face the court? A bit of good governance, a bit of good words?" After hearing this, Cao Song felt wronged and bowed his head in silence. "If Brother Meng De hadn't rescued me back then, I would have killed the officers and soldiers long ago. So...the grievances between us can be ignored, but how can you not know right from wrong when you are old, and are you willing to work for tigers? Wang Fu's bad things are what he deserves. , Cao Jie is also dead, from now on you shouldn’t talk about Shi Changshi anymore, what is your integrity as an official? It was Cao Mengde's father, so he was merciful and didn't say that "it's a thief to be old and not die". Cao Song was neither angry nor annoyed. He shook his head and said to himself: "You have your way of life, but I also have my way of life. You can say that I am shameless, but I still think you are ignorant of current affairs! Mr. Baoming There is a way to protect the Ming Lord, and there is a way to protect the ordinary Lord. If you don’t know the way, you will bring disaster to yourself.” He has a slippery nature, only saying that Liu Hong is the ordinary Lord, but not saying that he is a fool, and his words are cautious. . "You old man is really good at it, but what a crime for the common people in the world." "It's good if I can keep myself safe, how can I care about others? Hmph!" He Yong knew that he couldn't talk to this old bone anymore, so he got up and said, "Then let's go our own way. The late student will leave." He was also deliberately angry with Cao Song, and said to Cao Cao, "Meng Dexian Brother, there are a lot of hindrances today, I will come to the house as a guest in another day when I am free." After saying that, he walked away, and it was difficult for Cao Cao to stop him. "Just stand still!" Cao Song called out to him angrily. "What else can adults teach?" "Listen to the old man's persuasion, get out of my residence and leave Luoyang quickly." "Are you threatening me?" He Yong glanced at Cao Song and said with a disdainful smile, "There are honest and upright old ministers such as Yang Gong, Ma Gong, Chen Dan, Liu Tao, etc. standing in the court. Is it my ability to die?" "You misunderstood, the old man is doing it for your own good. Although the ban is lifted now, the spies of the Taiping Road are still being arrested in Luoyang City. Do you think it is safe now? Ten permanent servants are going around to collect crimes and falsely accuse those who have always been at odds You are a traitor. You slipped through the net when you broke into the palace, and you are suspected of leaving a slanderous letter to assassinate the king. If you don’t leave, you will be in great trouble. If you are guilty of the crime, you have nothing to pray for!" Cao Song said with a low voice. She didn't look at him, "You have been through a lot of wind and waves, and you are finally looking forward to the warmth of spring and the flowers blooming. Don't let the little one freeze to death in the cold spring." He Yong was stunned for a moment, half-believing and half-doubting: "Is it really as you said?" "I won't lie to you, do you know what Duan Gui said? Lu Qiang died because of Zhang Rangjin's slander." Cao Song smiled wryly. "The only conscientious eunuch was executed so quickly, who would dare to speak up and die in the future?" He Yong sighed, shook his head and said, "I'll go... Don't worry, He is a gentleman. I won't hold on to your father and son." "I thought you'd changed, but it seems like you haven't made much progress! The country is easy to change, and the nature is hard to change. You, Uncle He, have gray hair and are still so domineering." Cao Song sneered, "You think I'm afraid that you will be troubled by the old man, and I want to repay your kindness. .” "What kindness can I say to you?" Cao Song smiled wryly and said, "Your Qingzhi sword saved the life of this old man." Cao Cao understood that when his father ridiculed Duan Jiong back then, causing him to draw his swords, if he hadn't cut him off with the Green Sword, his life would have been in danger.He Yong didn't know about his family's affairs, so he said reservedly: "Whether what you said is true or not, He will accept this favor from you. Before leaving, there is another kind word for you. It is said that there must be more celebrations in a family of good deeds, and those who have accumulated bad deeds There will be disasters for the family', this is right and wrong, you have to decide for yourself!" After saying that, he swaggered away. Cao Cao lowered his head and waited for his father to get angry, but Cao Song didn't get angry, he got up and patted him on the shoulder: "You actually recruited him into your home in broad daylight, I really couldn't help it... now it's getting more and more chaotic every day. , what will become of the imperial court in the future, even as a father, I can't see clearly. Anyway, I can't control you, you can choose which ship you want to board." Hearing what his father said, he felt really sorry: "Father, brother Boqiu has suffered for seventeen years, and his speech is unavoidably a little too aggressive. Don't get angry with him." "What's this? It's much more polite than Qiaoxuan back then." Cao Song shook his head helplessly, and said suddenly, "Boy, I heard that you made Zhu Jun so dizzy, do you want to lead troops to fight? " "My son feels that the country has..." "Don't tell me so much about age and righteousness, I'll just ask you, do you want to lead soldiers to fight? If you want to, I'll do it for you!" "Think." Cao Cao blurted out unconsciously. "Hmph! Your six relatives don't recognize you, and you have to beg me in the end, right? Hahaha..." Cao Song walked away with a satisfied smile. Afterwards, exactly as Cao Song expected, Shi Changshi took advantage of the opportunity to thoroughly investigate the traitors in Luoyang to attack dissidents, ranging from Shangshu officials to Li people, killing more than a thousand people, including many relatives of party members.After the killing, Liu Hong announced an amnesty, but Zhang Jiao, the culprit of Taipingdao, was not pardoned, and ordered the governor of Jizhou to arrest him and punish him. But can the popular will be appeased by a single imperial edict?The large-scale armed uprising that shook the world began without any suspense.