Chapter 29 military power struggle

On the third day after the Yaobing Ceremony, the Eighth Colonel was ordered to move the meeting place from the Duting to the West Garden.In this way, Yuan Shao, Bao Hong, Cao Cao and other seven people were cut off from He Jin.The meeting place was set up in the cavalry tent in the West Garden, where the school captains sat in rows, while Jian Shuo's confidant soldiers stood behind them holding sabers in their hands! Jian Shuo was tall and majestic, although he was an eunuch, he was exceptionally powerful.In his comparison, the seven scholars looked short and thin.He sat on the front seat unceremoniously and gave orders, his yin and yang voice did not match his mighty figure: "Nowadays, there are many swords and soldiers in the world, and Yizhou Yellow Turban is in charge of eradicating Yizhou Mu Liuyan; The former general Dong Zhuo was hostile; the rebellion in Bingzhou was put down by Ding Yuan, the governor of Bingzhou; the rebellion in Heishan was opposed by Zhu Jun, the prefect of Hanoi; There is a division of labor." At this point, he deliberately paused, and picked up two battle reports, "But now, there is a rebellion by the remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Runan and the barbarians in Berkshire. Captains, which one of you would like to ask for orders to wipe out these two battle reports?" Where is Wolf Smoke?"

None of the seven people was willing to say a word, it was obvious that he was deliberately finding fault. If anyone easily asked for orders, it was inevitable that he would withhold military pay, food and grass, causing the army to fail, and the lives of those who led the army would be in danger. "Who wants to ask for orders?" Jian Shuo asked again. Still no one said anything. Jian Shuo stared at everyone with two strange round eyes, and finally landed on Cao Cao: "Captain Cao, your lord was dismissed because of the Runan rebellion, right? "Cao Cao shuddered and said to himself, "He wants to take revenge for killing my uncle!"

"And I remember that when you were the captain of the cavalry, you once accompanied Zhu Gongwei to pacify Runan, right?" Jian Shuo giggled, and the piercing voice made people shudder, "So is this rebellion caused by you? ..." "Wait a minute!" Unexpectedly, Bao Hong beside Cao Cao suddenly stopped him. "Captain Bao, do you have anything to say?" Jian Shuo glanced at him. "Sir Lieutenant, since you can command the seven of us and the great general, you must use your troops like a god to outwit others." Bao Hong sneered, "We have all fought in the battlefield, but we haven't learned your skills yet. .Shouldn’t you be the first to lead the army to put an end to the chaos, and also set an example for me? I, Bao, still want to see your bravery!”

Jian Shuo didn't get angry, clapped his hands and said, "Okay! This is the first battle I'll go to the barracks to fight!" "Is this true?" "But there is one thing I have to say first. I can't leave the capital with the errands of the Huangmen. I will send my other Sima Zhao Jin to lead the battalion to send troops on my behalf." "Hmph! A Sima will replace you..." Jian Shuo added without waiting for Bao Hong to finish, "I want him to take all my soldiers and horses to the battle!" Everyone couldn't help being stunned: All the soldiers are sent out, and you are left as an empty school lieutenant to fight with us, isn't it too conceited?

"How is it? Who has any objections?" Jian Shuo looked left and right, with an expression of winning. Bao Hong patted his thigh: "Okay! Since you dare to take the lead, I will flatten Runan's yellow scarf!" "Then let's make a deal. Hehehe... loose the account!" Jian Shuo sneered and got up and left. That's how the first confrontation ended.The seven walked out of the big tent, and did not dare to talk to each other until they could no longer see a single soldier from the West Garden. "Bao Hong, you shouldn't ask for this order." Yuan Shao sighed.

"What should we do if we don't invite you? If he goes to hit one place, there will always be another place on our heads. If the general is not around, you will be sitting on the flag. If it is your turn one by one, wouldn't it be better for us if you leave?" Can't handle it?" Bao Hong shouted. Cao Cao couldn't stop talking: "Actually, he wanted me to go just now." "You can't go." Feng Fang interjected, "You killed his uncle with a stick. If you went, how would you come back alive?" "Damn it! I wish I could kill that eunuch!" Chunyu Qiong gritted his teeth angrily.

"Zhong Jian, don't Meng Lang. The emperor is standing behind him." Yuan Shao looked back and saw that Xia Mou and Zhao Rong were frightened, fearing that their will would not be firm, so he hurriedly said: "Now the seven of us can only advance but not retreat. If someone backs down and is seized by the eunuch, then the seven of us, the general, and the friends in the shogunate will all be ghosts under the sword!" Bao Hong took over the conversation: "Yes! Fight with him!" Seeing this, Cao Cao quickly proposed: "The seven of us made an oath together, never to give up military power, never to betray the general, or our friends. To keep them is to keep my great Han country and this power. The ten permanent servants dare not take power Rebellion slaughters Zhongliang!"

"Yes!" Everyone formed a circle, pressing seven big hands together. But they didn't know that they were in the West Garden. Just when Jian Shuo called the West Garden for a meeting, Hussar General Dong Zhong arrived at Duting and was ordered to take over part of He Jin and He Miao's troops. The situation became more and more unfavorable. . After that, the meeting every ten days became a kind of torture. Jian Shuo asked the school lieutenants to send some soldiers to him on the grounds that he had no soldiers, but Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others argued hard and refused to back down.In the Xiyuan army tent, you yelled at me and turned against Yingtian, but as long as there was no more fighting, Jian Shuo could find no excuse after all. Even the emperor Liu Hong behind him would not dare to abolish the Eighth Colonel easily. People and horses are in the capital, if someone wants to go up and shout, why go into a lawsuit against the injustice of heaven, the emperor may have to abdicate early!

The two sides were at a stalemate until October, when the rebellion in Qingzhou and Xuzhou resumed.It seems that someone has to risk his life to go out again.Everyone came to the General's Mansion at the same time, no matter how dull He Jin was, he now sensed the stakes of the matter, and he even considered whether he should resign and go home. Yuan Shao was taken aback: "General, if you resign now, you can't do it if you want to be a rich man!" He Jin lowered his head and said, "My sister is married to the emperor after all, and my nephew is the future emperor. How could he kill his relatives?"

Everyone looked sideways, and Wang Qian said patiently: "My great general, if you leave, I'm afraid that the queen and the eldest prince will not be able to survive! Dong Zhong is now a general of hussars, and they plan to abolish the elders and establish the younger ones." what!" "Which son the emperor loves is his business. Even if it's Xiao Liu Xie, doesn't he have to call me uncle when he meets? People always have a feeling of meeting each other, right?" At this moment, a servant suddenly ran in, the man didn't say a word, and handed Wang Qian a silk book.Wang Qian looked at it twice, and said in surprise: "Everyone, think about it quickly. Jian Shuo discussed with the Xiyuan riders to send the general to lead troops to quell the Yellow Turban rebellion in Qingzhou and Xuerzhou!"

He Jin was not afraid at this time: "Forget it! If I go, I will go, isn't it just a war?" At this time, everyone felt that He Jin was hateful. This honest man also has the shortcomings of an honest man.Cao Cao was almost dizzy: "General, you must not go! At that time, there is no need to send troops to arrest you, just send an eunuch to pass an imperial edict, and write something about 'death to the general'. There Did you follow the edict or did you not? If you go, the people in the shogunate, Wang Qian and the others are all finished?" Yuan Shao suddenly looked up to the sky and sighed: "It's the destiny! It's the destiny! I'll go..." "You?!" Everyone was taken aback. "As long as I lead the troops away, he has no reason to send the general there." Everyone couldn't think of any other way up to now, so Yuan Shao went to Duting Dianbing that night, and left for Xuzhou overnight. The next day, Jian Shuo was furious when he heard about it: "Who told Yuan Benchu ​​to lead the army away?" "It's the general." Cao Cao replied calmly. "What authority does the general have to mobilize the captain of Xiyuan?" "Of course the general has the right." "Nonsense, I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Xiyuan School appointed by the emperor." Jian Shuo shouted, glaring at Cao Cao. "The emperor appointed you as the commander-in-chief of the Xiyuan school, and he said that you can take care of the general, but he never said that the general can't take care of us." Cao Cao told him carefully. Jian Shuo was speechless for a while. "We are not the captain of the Northern Army. We were originally under the command of the general." Feng Fang added hastily. Zhao Rong and Xia Mou didn't dare to speak, they lowered their heads and held Chunyu Qiong's left and right hands, fearing that their straightforward nature would cause trouble. Jian Shuo glanced at the five of them, gritted his molars and said, "Hmph! Well said, but starting tomorrow, He Jin will not have this right." Sure enough, the next day He Jin was deprived of the right to intervene with Captain Xiyuan.The General's Mansion was empty for a while, except for the vassals who had been assigned, no one else dared to come easily. Two more months passed in the silent confrontation between the two sides. Sima Zhao Jin of the other division of the upper army returned victorious, and Jian Shuo's arrogance became more and more arrogant.He yelled at Bao Hong for being incompetent, even if Luyuan of Berkshire was returned, Runan could not be regained.Everyone bowed their heads and said nothing, no matter what he said, they only gave him one ear.But before he finished reprimanding him, someone came to report that Bao Hongping had destroyed the Runan Rebellion, and Jian Shuo was speechless for a while.In this terrible atmosphere, the terrible thing finally intensified! After Bao Hong led the troops back to Duting, he was suddenly detained by Xi Yuanqi on the charge of delaying the fighter plane, so there is no excuse for the crime.Everyone seeks the relationship between all parties to rescue them. This time, all forces are mobilized. Ma Rizun, Yuan Kui, and even Cao Song have prepared the guarantee documents.But news came the next day that Bao Hong was given poisoned wine and died that night! The brave boss Bao died just like that. Bao Xin, Bao Tao, and Bao Zhong retrieved the dead body from Beisi Prison. The three brothers cried like weeping people.Bao Xin sent his fourth younger brother to escort the coffin back home, and he and his third younger brother resigned from their official posts. From then on, they stayed in General Wei day and night, and must live and die with the loyal and righteous soldiers. When Cao Cao returned home, he felt that his life in the past few months was so unreal.At the beginning, I never felt scary on the battlefield, but now, at the foot of the emperor in the capital city of Han Dynasty... "Father, I'm afraid my son won't be able to fulfill his filial piety at your knee." Cao Song looked up at his son: "What's the matter? Say such frustrating words." "Bao Hong is dead, Yuan Shao's future is uncertain, Chunyu Qiong is reckless and useless, Xia Mou and Zhao Rong can't be counted on at all, and Feng Fang and I are left to support the situation." Cao Cao wiped his tired face, " I'm afraid Jian Shuo will be the next one to get me under the knife." "Hmph! I'm afraid it's too early for him to be happy." Cao Song patted his son's shoulder, "Chun'er has another message today." "What's the matter?" "The emperor is ill." "Sick?" Cao Cao disagreed. "I saw the first emperor in a nightmare, and ran out in a panic and fell. If Xu Yong, the left supervisor of Yulin, hadn't beat the sole of his foot in time, I'm afraid last night..." Even though he was at his own home, Cao Song was still used to it. Glancing around nervously, "There are imperial physicians talking about it in private, I'm afraid it's been a few days. As soon as the old man dies, the sky is full of clouds and mist!" "The emperor really wants to..." Cao Cao seemed to see a glimmer of hope. Cao Song asked around for news every day, but it was actually no easier than his son. He rubbed his shoulders and sighed, "Is it worth it to offend the world just to abolish the elders and establish the younger ones?" Cao Cao shook his head and said, "Master Guangwu once abolished the elders and established the younger ones, but Lord Guangwu was virtuous, so no one objected. What's wrong with Long Live today?" "He has nothing... the Queen Song who was sincerely loyal to him made him abolished, the ten permanent attendants betrayed their relatives and left, the people hated him, and the scholars also hoped for his death. He only had one Jianshuo. The emperor is enough for this role Failure." "The road is made step by step, and he can't blame others!" Cao Song clenched his fist and thumped his son's shoulder: "Persist for a few more days, the last few days! As long as you can persist, your official career will be prosperous in the future! For the future of our old Cao family, you have to support me stay!" "What I'm most afraid of now is Jian Shuo's dog jumping over the wall..." Cao Cao was so tired that he didn't say anything. He yawned wearily and left the main hall staggeringly. When Fang turned to the backyard, he heard the sound of a light flute.Under the silence of the night, the tone was mellow and sombre, as if it still carried infinite sorrow.Cao Cao did not go back to his room, but leaned tiredly by the tree and listened to the tune—he was under too much pressure, so it would be nice to be alone for a while.But after a while the sound of the flute stopped again, and he looked around by the moonlight. It turned out that it was Huan'er who was holding a flute in his hand and was hesitating in front of the grill. Even Cao Cao himself couldn't tell when he fell in love with Shang Huan'er.At the beginning, he was entrusted by the old hermit Guo Jingtu to raise Huan'er and betroth him to others.But he didn't expect that the little girl who cried in front of her grandfather's grave in the past is now beautiful and charming. At this moment, Cao Cao was in a state of confusion, unable to resist Huan'er's beauty. Knowing that she and Bian Bing were childhood sweethearts, he still couldn't help but fight for love. Huan'er is now full of thoughts about her beloved in her hometown, she lowers her head and strokes the flute, completely unaware that Cao Cao is slowly approaching behind her.She was still thinking about something, when she suddenly felt a big hand hug her tightly from behind. "Who!?" She struggled. Cao Cao kissed her temple hair and murmured, "Huan'er, follow me." Huan'er had already foreseen that such a day would come, but she still didn't want to succumb to fate, and tremblingly wanted to push this man away: "Don't...don't..." "Be obedient, Huan'er." Cao Cao stretched out his hand to caress Huan'er's body, and found that Huan'er was still holding the flute tightly in his hand, and wanted to snatch it away. Huan'er held onto it firmly and would not let go: "A Bing gave it to me." "Don't think about him anymore. He is just a singing boy, wouldn't it be better if you followed me?" Cao Cao had already picked her up by the waist while speaking. Panicked, Mrs. Huan saw that the light was still on in Mrs. Bian's room deep in the yard, and hurriedly shouted to that side with her neck stretched.In the silent night, her shouting was particularly piercing, and my sister must be able to hear it. But after shouting a few times, Bian not only didn't come out to stop her, the light in her room went out instead - she is also a concubine, and besides, she was born as a singer, even if she didn't like it, what dare she say... Cao Cao covered Huan'er's mouth and said with a sneer, "See? You, sooner or later, will be mine." Huan'er sighed, leaving two lines of helpless tears, and had to let Cao Cao carry him back to the room.She hung her hands down feebly——with a sound of "boom", the flute fell to the ground.