Chapter 25 government robbery

Cao Cao changed into casual clothes and slipped out of the Yamen with Lou Gui.The two didn't bring any servants with them, they just led their horses into the Gu Gate.This road is actually not far away. You only need to go around Zhaiquan and Yong'an Palace through the arsenal and go outside the east gate to reach the horse market.In August, the autumn is high and the air is crisp. There are paulownia trees planted on both sides of the streets in Luoyang City. Although the leaves have not yet fallen, they are already golden. Through the gaps between the trees, you can still see the city wall of the North Palace and some soldiers.The arsenal and the Yong'an Palace are all around the important areas of the capital, and Zhi Jinwu inspects them almost every day, and there are very few idle people on the street.

But after passing the Yong'an Palace and turning to the Yonghe Avenue in the east of the city, it is a different scene. There are all tall buildings and mansions, and the official mansions are row upon row, with carved beams and painted buildings, extending to the edge of the city.From time to time, some well-dressed servants drove past Cao Cao and Lou Gui in a carriage. Some of them bought daily necessities for the family, some drove officials and family members to and fro, some passed letters for the master, and some The car is full of gold and silver treasures, but it is not known where to send them.Cao Cao suddenly remembered that Qiao Xuan's mansion would be just another corner away, so he asked casually, "How is Mr. Qiao?"

"Alright! His body is very strong! It's just that he has been very busy recently. Who would have thought that he would be even busier after stepping back from Situ's seat. There are people coming and going in the mansion. It turns out that Chen Qiu and Yang Ci don't move around often. People often come to visit. Although Cai Bozhe is out, he still writes from time to time. There are also Sili Xiaowei Yangqiu, Taichangqing Chen Yun who are the most tempered, and they almost live in the teacher's house." Cao Cao couldn't help thinking: Yang Ci's hatred for eunuchs is even more blatant; Chen Qiu is a person who fights for Empress Dou's cause; Cai Yong was demoted from the capital because of fighting eunuchs; At that time, he made a public oath to kill Wang Fu; Chen He was the younger brother of the former Guanglu doctor Chen Shu, and it was rumored that his elder brother Chen Shu was tabooed by the eunuchs and was persecuted to death by Wang Fu... All of these people They are all the sworn enemies of eunuchs.

"What's the matter? Meng De?" Lou Gui asked when he saw him in a daze. "It's nothing...I was thinking, I haven't visited the mansion since I returned to Beijing." In fact, Cao Cao was afraid that Qiao Xuan would reprimand him for the affair. "Let's talk about it in a few days. Those big people come every day, and the teacher can't spare time to say sweet words. Besides, what they discuss are all big things, how embarrassing is your status..." Lou Gui fell silent in the middle of speaking. Cao Cao didn't care, and said as he walked, "Look at what you said, I'm just saying hello, what's preventing them from doing anything?" What the public is discussing is nothing more than dealing with Wang Fu, and my grandfather is an eunuch, and my father has been in the same party with Wang Fu himself, and I will make them suspicious if I go to pay a public visit, let alone suspect that I am going to listen to news Yes, if they fail, they will lose trust in Mr. Qiao.

He lowered his head, his expression became very sad, as if a fire was tormenting his heart, "Zibo... I have a friend named Qin Shao in my hometown. He is a poor farmer. Don't think he sometimes doesn't even have a meal. I can’t get enough to eat, so I have to rely on my family’s support, but I envy him from the bottom of my heart... Now I really don’t see any hope. If people can choose their origin, I would rather be born in an ordinary farmer’s family... ...Although it is not rich in those days, at least the farming and digging will not be looked down upon by others..." "Forgive Meng De, I didn't mean it just now... In fact, you were thinking too much." Lou Gui stopped and grabbed his shoulder, "Since a person is born, he must face reality. That’s all. Wang Ziwen studies and reads day and night just to find hope, Xu Ziyuan runs around all day long, wooing people everywhere in order to find hope, and it’s the same when I traveled to Xiliang... as long as you walk right If you are straight, why bother what other people say? Do your job well. One day, you will rectify the reputation of your family and revive the glory of your Cao family and Prime Minister Cao! Will it be far?"

Cao Cao nodded—friends are friends after all, no matter how mean they speak, their hearts are still very close.Although they don't spend much time with Lou Gui, Wang Jun, and Xu You on weekdays, they can always communicate with each other, and they seem to be closer than Yuan Shao's gang.Cao Cao raised his head and heaved a sigh of relief, staring blankly at the high official residences with deep courtyards beside the road... At this moment, a group of people in front were discussing something loudly.Lou Gui likes to be lively the most, so he rushed to make fun of it, so Cao Cao had no choice but to follow him.

"Such a thing happened in the blue sky!" "What the hell..." "There are thieves who come out to kidnap people in broad daylight, and even dare to go to the official's house." "That's right! This is under the feet of the emperor of the capital!" "Hey! The poor child who was tied up was only ten years old. Wouldn't it hurt the heavens and reason if he died?" "That's right. It's been almost half an hour, and now the child is still in their hands. If you don't give the money, the child will really die. What a crime!"

"Hmph! Officials have a lot of money, and most of them are not good anyway. It's just right to send out thieves! Let's go! Let's take a look!" Cao Cao and Lou Gui looked at each other after hearing this, and they couldn't believe that in broad daylight, someone in the capital would dare to break into the mansion and take hostages for ransom - this is really an anecdote!The two of them followed this group of people without saying a word, and they also went to have a look, listening to their discussions as they walked. "Since ancient times, officials and gangsters have been one family. If an official spends a little money, he should treat it as sending off his poor relatives!"

"Don't talk nonsense, it's all about losing your head." "What! Do you know that they robbed the house of a good official?" "Good officer? Who is it?" "Master Qiao! God damn this group of villains, how many corrupt officials and evil officials in the world would not rob them, but chose the Qiao family that is as clear as water and as bright as a mirror!" "What?" Lou Gui didn't care about etiquette after hearing this, and pushed away others and grabbed the one who spoke, "What did you just say? Whose house was robbed?"

"Yes, it's the old Situ's house at Qiaoxuanqiao..." The man was taken aback by the big man in front of him, "His youngest son was kidnapped by thieves, and he's in the attic of his mansion." Lou Gui felt a loud bang in his head, and turned to look at Cao Cao—the color had changed a long time ago.The two of them didn't care about what to say, they quickly got on their horses, not caring about the crowd around them, they swung their whips and tightened the reins and ran towards Qiaoxuan's mansion all the way to Qiaoxuan's mansion. The distance was not far, Cao Cao and the others arrived at the gate of the Qiao Mansion in no time, and saw a large group of idlers and servants surrounding the gate.Lou Gui didn't say a word, and broke up the crowd with a whip, followed by Cao Cao, and the two ran straight into the gate before dismounting.At this time, Xu You was directing a group of family members with sticks to guard the door. He didn't have the time to exchange greetings, so he grabbed Lou Gui's arm and said, "The teacher is at Your Excellency Xi, follow me quickly, and Meng De also comes!" In the meantime, Xu You explained what had happened: It turned out that today some foreign officials and former disciples came to visit Qiao Xuan, and three thieves took advantage of the chaos and sneaked in pretending to be others, and they were catching up with Qiao Xuan's youngest son. Running to the yard to play, the three thieves beat down the servants and snatched the young master, and they all retreated to the West Pavilion and shouted, demanding that the mansion hand over the gold and escort them out of the city before they would hand over the hostages.All of them are holding big knives, and they will kill people if they don't agree.

The three hurried to the west pavilion, and saw a group of servants had surrounded the attic, and Wang Jun was supporting Qiao Xuan to the side.The old man was not very flustered, but his face was very pale, and he looked up at the attic window, observing every move of the thief and his son.Qiao Xuan has two sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Qiao Yu, is an official in the south. Who would have thought that Qiao Xuan would come to Longma Spirit, and the two wives in the concubine had happy events one after another: a wife gave birth to him a son, and this year just came. At the age of ten; another wife gave birth to a pair of juicy girls last year, called Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao in the Tongfu.Regardless of the lovely daughter, Qiao Xuan especially doted on this old boy, so he took him by his side and taught him to read and write personally. The relationship between this child and Wang Jun and Lou Gui was also very good. "Mr. Qiao!" A ferocious face appeared from the window of the attic, "We are also so poor that we can only ask for alms from you old man. As long as you are willing to reward us with gold and send us out of the city, we will definitely let us go, even the son's son." Not a single hair will hurt... You are so beautiful, come on! Take another look at your father!" Another thief with a scar on his face appeared in front of the window holding the child.The child was still young and didn't understand what happened, but he also knew the danger, so he just cried while holding the window lattice. "Mr. Qiao! Have you thought it over? We want thirty catties of gold. Can you, Mr. Qiao, not afford such a small thing?" The thief said, shaking the big knife in his hand. Cao Cao, Wang Jun, Lou Gui, and Xu You all raised their hearts to their throats, but Qiao Xuan still looked blank, and said loudly: "You are really brave, you dare to do such a business at the feet of the emperor, I admire you!" ...Even if I give you money, the capital is heavily armed, and you can escape with something that weighs thirty catties?" "Oh? We don't need to worry about how we get out of the city, my lord," the thief giggled, "Your lord just needs to send us out of the city, and we have our own way." Qiao Xuan nodded, suddenly raised his face and shouted loudly: "Who ordered you to come here?" Not to mention the thieves upstairs, even the people downstairs were stunned when he shouted. "The land of the capital is heavily guarded. If there is no one to take shelter, you will not be able to fly even if you put on wings! Besides, how do you know that I am receiving foreigners today? How do you know the structure of my mansion so well? How do you conclude that the one who is bound is my son?" What? Who told you these things? Say it quickly! Who ordered you to come here? Maybe you will be released if you tell me!" "As expected of Mr. Qiao...it's really amazing!" When he said this, the thief's expression was already a little wrong, "Even if what you said is reasonable, we will not tell you about the things we are entrusted with to be loyal... ...I'm going to kill someone if I don't pay any more!" As he spoke, he put the knife on the child's neck. The people downstairs were in a panic, some shouted, some cursed, some begged.A servant ran over from the front yard: "Master! Master Yang has arrived leading the army!" Before he finished speaking, officers and soldiers rushed to the front of the building with knives and guns in their hands, Sili Xiaowei Yang Qiu angrily followed, and as soon as he got close, he shouted loudly: "Which cowardly brat is in the building?" , let go, young master! The officers and soldiers have arrived and still not going downstairs to subdue the law? Come down now, I will save your dog's life, if you dare to resist, I will chop you into meat paste!" The sound of this voice was like a bell, shaking people's ears buzzing. Cao Cao had heard Yang Qiu's name for a long time, so he would never have thought that the first meeting would be on such an occasion.As soon as he saw his behavior, he knew that the rumors outside were true: Yangqiu, whose character was Fangzheng, killed a village official who bullied his family when he was young, and later became an official as Gaotang county magistrate. The governor of Jiujiang, punished and killed traitors and rebels by hundreds of times, surpassed Zhidu, refused to let Zhang Tang, and stepped on human blood for half his career, the name of cruelty is no less than that of Wang Fu's adopted son Wang Ji - really a real one An out-and-out ruthless official! Qiao Xuan glanced back at Yang Qiu, and said calmly, "Fangzheng, you came just in time...they are starting to plot against me." Cao Cao was startled when he heard this: What do you mean by that? "Are you a lunatic?" The thief seemed to recognize him, "I've admired you for a long time! Our three brothers are all characters with their heads pinned to their belts, and your method doesn't work for us! It's impossible to let people go, If we really want to fall into your hands, you will have to dig out our intestines. If there is really no way to survive, the three of us will jump down and kill the child. At least it will be a whole corpse, and it will be better than falling into your hands. Strong! Stop talking nonsense! Are you going to give gold or not?" Yang Qiu frowned, walked up to Qiao Xuan in three steps at a time and said, "I have a way to take someone... But the young master is in their hands, you can always reward me with a charter." Yang Qiu lowered his voice but It's still so loud. "Oh? When have you ever been soft-handed? Why are you being coy today? Are you afraid that I won't let go of my son? Well, I'll give you a reassurance." After speaking, Qiao Xuan suddenly raised his head, "Listen up, thieves upstairs. Yes! Your calculations are wrong! I, Qiao Xuan, have experienced many hardships in my life, and I have never bowed my head. How could I let the national traitors go because of a son? Today I will risk my children, and I will bring you to justice!" The people present were all dumbfounded. They never thought that he would not even care about his son's life.Cao Cao really saw the strength of his old man this time; even the murderous Yang Qiu was taken aback. "What? You still haven't ordered to do it? What are you waiting for? The child can just let fate!" Qiao Xuan reminded Yang Qiu. "No!" Yang Qiu gave a deep salute, turned his face and yelled, "Boys, give it to me! Go up and catch as many alive as possible! Save the children!" As soon as he gave an order, more than 20 soldiers rushed up into the attic, and the sounds of rushing, shouting, children crying, the sound of falling stairs, and the sound of knocking things over were all heard together.The situation outside the building was invisible, and everyone became nervous. Cao Cao hurriedly took two steps forward, and supported Qiao Xuan with Wang Jun. The old man held the two of their arms tightly, and waited for everything to end with his eyes closed... After a while, all the sounds stopped abruptly.A soldier ran downstairs: "Report to your lord! Damn the little ones, child... the child was not kept." Those words were really like a sharp knife stabbing at Qiao Xuan's heart, but he just lowered his head and didn't pay any attention to it after his face trembled a little. "What about the thief?" Yang Qiu asked. "Those three thieves were not easy, and they fought stubbornly. Two of our brothers were cut and wounded by them. In the end, everyone rushed forward. The three of them knew that there was no hope of breaking through, so they huddled together and killed themselves!" "Kill yourself?" Yang Qiu was furious when he heard it, and slapped the soldier commander in the face, "What use are you for!" "Fangzheng! Don't blame them." Qiao Xuan was still so calm, "Don't blame them for this matter, how could the soldiers you brought out be so weak? It was this child who was dying, but he was reincarnated here... Those three thieves are clearly Under the instigation of others, how could we be caught alive?" He sighed as he spoke, "Ah... ask the soldiers to carry away the corpses. Fangzheng, I'm sorry for your trouble today. Lord Sili personally caught the thieves, I owe you a favor." After hearing this, Yang Qiu kept shaking his head: "Ashamed, ashamed." "Don't blame yourself, we've tried our best." Qiao Xuan comforted others instead, "Housekeeper! Bring a few people up to take your young master... next." When he said this, the butler couldn't bear it, and he was the first to kneel on the ground and burst into tears, followed by the servants, Cangtou, servants, and maids all crying together.Qiao Xuan didn't have a single tear, so Cao Cao didn't know how to say something to comfort him. "Fangzheng, hurry up and lead your troops upstairs and drag the bodies of those three people away. I don't want to see them again. I can handle the rest...Meng De!" Qiao Xuan turned his head and looked at the supporter. My young man said, "I am very grateful for your help." Cao Cao was about to speak politely when Qiao Xuan's attitude suddenly changed, "But Meng De, how could you leave your post without authorization?" Cao Cao seemed to be struck by thunder, and quickly lowered his head. "You are an official now, and you are in charge of arresting robbers in the north of Luoyang. What would happen if this happened in your jurisdiction today? If the thief kidnapped my son and left the city while you were not in the Yamen, wouldn't that be a big mistake? Woolen cloth?" Cao Cao never imagined that such a trivial matter could not escape Qiao Xuan's eyes. "I didn't intend to blame you, but I just want you to think about it. There is no difference between the size of an official, the key is to be fair, hardworking, and serious. Am I right?" Qiao Xuan looked at him straight, "Okay, you Hurry up and go back too... Zibo, Ziyuan, you two will send Mengde off." Cao Cao said goodbye in a low voice and followed Lou Gui and Xu You away in despair.Everyone was sweating for half a day, and only now did they realize that the sky had turned cloudy, and there were still gusts of cool wind blowing.Cao Cao rubbed his hands, then looked back at Qiao Xuan. Qiao Xuan was still standing there leaning on his stick, looking up at the window of the attic—it was the place where his son waved to him for the last time.