When Xia Houxuan, Guan Qiujian and his entourage arrived at the county government office and explained their identities, Chang Chang immediately summoned all the officials in the government office, including all the meritorious officials, to greet them.
Although they are just a group of teenagers, after all, they are His Majesty's personal envoys to collect customs and appease the people. Naturally, the local magistrate does not dare to neglect them at all.
"Young gentlemen, please follow me to the back hall. Your Excellency has prepared a banquet to welcome you."
A well-mannered official wearing a Jinxian crown and a black t-shirt, after instructing the government officials to clean up a little, came to invite Xia Houxuan and others.
Xia Houxuan and his party followed the clerk and headed towards the back hall of the government office.
Although the Xuxian County Government Office is spacious and grand, it is not extravagant or extravagant. Except for some necessary items for handling cases and a majestic stone carving of the Haechi beast at the door, there are no other unnecessary ornaments.
After a while, the clerk led Xia Houxuan, Guanqiu Jian, Cao Xi, Sima Zhao, Zhuge Dan, Gao Xun, Wei Lie and Yu Huan to the outside of the back hall.
"The lower official welcomes the angels and invites all the angels to take their seats. The lower official has prepared some wine to wash away the dust for all the angels."
Xu Changchang looks very smart and capable, and his behavior is also very sophisticated and decent.
Xia Houxuan couldn't help but admire in his heart, sighing at the talent of this man, he was afraid that one day in the future, he would not be able to live in a place hundreds of miles away.
"Brother Xuan, why did he say that we are angels?"
Yu Huan, who had just begun to study poetry and calligraphy under Xia Houxuan's guidance, quietly asked Xia Houxuan about the way.
Xia Houxuan couldn't help laughing. He smiled and replied in a low voice: "Angel, I'm talking about the messenger sent by the emperor."
Yu Huan suddenly realized it, patted his head and said with a smile: "That's it!"
"Angels, please come and take your seats." Mr. Xu Chang still had a cheerful expression on his face.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Xu Chang." As the leader of the trip, Xia Houxuan returned the gift with a smile, neither humble nor overbearing.
Eight people were arranged in two rows, with Xuchang always occupying the main seat.
Since there were mostly young people at the banquet, Chang Chang did not arrange wine, but frequently changed the fruits and vegetables. During the banquet, Chang Chang did not forget to ask the names and family backgrounds of each young man in order to prepare for the next arrangement.
After Xia Houxuan had eaten his fill, he felt it was time to tell Mr. Xu Changchang what he and his party had discovered.
"Thank you for your hospitality, sir. Xuan and all the young masters are deeply grateful."
"There is no wine at the banquet, and I hope all the angels will forgive me."
Xu Changchang would never forget to remain humble and cordial in front of these young men who were the emperor's ears and ears at any time.
"To be honest, sir, the next group of people discovered a strange thing in Xuchang County today."
Xia Houxuan's trip was nominally to observe the public sentiment in various counties and counties. In fact, their more important task was to investigate the nursery rhyme matter. His Majesty knew about this matter, and Xia Houxuan did not know that the local county magistrate reported it on his own. , or the school affairs officer found it out by himself. If it was the latter, I'm afraid it would be more troublesome. At this moment, Xia Houxuan just used words to test.
This Xuchang Chang seems to be smart and capable, so it is impossible for him not to know about the rumors. If this Xuchang Chang does not mention this matter today, it means that this person is not worthy of trust, and Xia Houxuan will not tell him more. If If Chang Chang tells the truth, he can count on him to help him.
"What Young Master Xiahou said is that rumors of nursery rhymes have appeared inexplicably in various counties in Yuzhou recently. However, the messenger sent by Xu County to report to the Emperor should have arrived in Kyoto two days ago, but it has been more than ten days since you set out from Luoyang. No more, it seems that the emperor has known about it for a long time."
Xuchang Chang was quite honest, and Xia Houxuan finally dispelled his doubts.
"Yes, this matter has indeed alarmed His Majesty." Xia Houxuan took out the Shu brocade money bag he had begged from the old man who was deceived by the villain from his sleeve pocket, looked at Xu Changchang and said: "We, in your honor This was found within the county.”
Xu Changchang asked someone to take the Shu brocade money bag. After looking at it carefully, he nodded: "So that's it. From what I said, I have an idea. Originally, nursery rhymes alone are not enough to determine whether this is a Wu invader or a Shu invader. It was the work of the captives, but this Shu brocade money bag is of exquisite workmanship and does not look like fabrics that people in Wu could buy."
Xia Houxuan, Guan Qiujian and others understood that what Chief Xu Chang said was true. The Shu captives only occupied a corner of Yizhou. Even though Yizhou was known as the land of heaven, it was difficult to compare with the eleven states of the Wei Dynasty. The Shu captives were trapped in Shu, but they were still able to separate themselves. One of the important sources of military expenditures was selling Shu brocade to the state of Wu and the Wei Dynasty. Although they knew that buying Shu brocade was an act of capitalizing on the enemy, the Shu brocade was too valuable. It was so exquisite that not only was it difficult for the people to ban it, but even the dignitaries of the imperial court couldn't help but buy it and use it.
Even so, the Shu brocade purchased by Wei and Wu was not the best fabric. The truly top-grade Shu brocade fabric was also the Shu brocade used daily by the Shu people, which is what Chang Xuchang was holding in his hands at this moment.
"Therefore, we can conclude that the person spreading the rumor is undoubtedly a Shu captive."
Gao Xun, who was proficient in prison laws and regulations due to his family background, thought about this and nodded.
"That's right." Xia Houxuan nodded thoughtfully: "This Shu Brocade Money Bag, coupled with the nursery rhyme itself, can confirm this."
"Although this nursery rhyme has been discovered in this county, gentlemen, do you know why I can't do anything about it?"
Xu Changchang couldn't help but shook his head and sighed.
"Bailihou [Bailihou is an honorific title for the head of a county], but what's the problem?"
Cao Xi didn't think it through for a moment, so he couldn't help but frown and asked.
"The reason why Marquis Baili has nothing to do, I think it must be because public anger is hard to attack." Zhuge Dan immediately figured out the key point.
"That's right." Guanqiu Jian thought thoughtfully and nodded. He looked at Xuchang and said: "Guixian and other counties should be facing a dilemma. That is, this rumor is based on a nursery rhyme. It was spread in a certain way, that is to say, the rumor spreaders are basically the children of Wei Dynasty, and once the government issues an edict to arrest these children, it will trigger civil unrest, wouldn't it play into the hands of the Shu captives?"
"Young masters, you are worthy of being personally appointed by your Majesty. You are indeed very smart. It is precisely for this reason that I am unable to do anything. This is really a taboo."
Xu Changchang, who had always been calm and composed and appeared to be smart and capable, finally showed a trace of sadness at this moment.
"Marquis Baili, I have a plan. I wonder if Marquis Baili can use it." Xia Houxuan thought for a moment and thought of a countermeasure. He asked Xuchang with a smile.
"I pray that Mr. Xiahou will not hesitate to teach me!" Seeing that Xiahouxuan seemed to have a good idea, Mr. Xu Chang actually bowed and spread his sleeves and made a big salute to Xiahouxuan.
"This method is quite simple." Xia Houxuan said with a smile: "I hope you can use it with the officials in your county who are good at calligraphy."
"Everyone in this county, from top to bottom, who can be of use to you, is willing to be at your disposal!"
Xu Changzhang seemed to have met a savior. For some reason, he actually had more unconditional trust in the fifteen-year-old boy in front of him.
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"The red flames are extinguished, and the yellow dragon is born. The yellow dragon first grows up, and the wild fire rises in Shulong. When the yellow dragon sends clouds and rain, the wild fire extinguishes the dream..." [Note 2: This nursery rhyme is the same as the one above.
Editor]
Above the Xuchang neighborhood, a group of playing children were laughing and playing around while singing this nursery rhyme that had just been heard from the government office.
"Axuan, you are so smart that you actually came up with such a solution. Then Chang Chang, who has been Bailihou for so many years, has been in vain, and there is nothing he can do."
Cao Xi kept praising his cousin, while Yu Huan looked at Xia Houxuan standing at the street corner with a smile on his face with admiration.
When Xia Houxuan heard this, he smiled warmly and replied to Cao Xi:
"Xuchang grew up to be a well-educated, insightful, and capable man. However, he has been immersed in government affairs for many years, so it is normal for him to be lacking in the minor skills of making nursery rhymes."
This nursery rhyme sings, red flames give birth to yellow dragons, which refers to the great Wei Dynasty in which His Majesty accepted the abdication of Yan Han and established the virtues of the loess.
Wildfire breaks out in Shulong, talking about the Shu Han who claims to be the orthodox Han Dynasty.
This nursery rhyme is diametrically opposed to the nursery rhymes passed down by Shu captives, which is quite interesting.
Xia Houxuan understood that the Shu captives' dirty plan this time was nothing more than an attempt to use stupid people and ignorant children to make Wei officials and people suspicious of each other, thereby disturbing the hearts of the Central Plains.
Since the other party is using this evil trick, it is better to treat him in his own way.
Zhuge Dan and Guan Qiu Jian, together with Wei Lie, Gao Xun, Sima Zhao and others, assigned Xu County officials to sing and teach this new nursery rhyme everywhere in the cities of Xu County.
Xia Houxuan, Yu Huan, and Cao Xi stood on the main road, observing the movements everywhere.
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd.
Not far from Xia Houxuan, a tea egg vendor suddenly rushed towards him!
In an instant, the hawker took out two daggers from nowhere and rushed to his side!
When Xia Houxuan saw this, he had no time to be surprised. He made a decisive decision and immediately drew out the sword from his waist to resist the man's attack. When Cao Xi saw Xia Houxuan being attacked, he immediately drew his dragon scale sword and stepped forward to protect him. Yu Huan held a short sword and used
Using the swordsmanship of the Yu family, he stabbed the person who made the sudden attack.
The man wielded two swords and faced Xia Houxuan, Cao Xi, and Yu Huan's attack from a flank, but he was not afraid at all. This does not mean that the man's martial arts were superb.
Although that man was very skilled, he was still no match for Xia Houxuan, Cao Xi, and Yu Huan. However, his fighting style was a life-threatening one. Every move he made was aimed at taking Xia Houxuan's life.
He didn't even care whether he was injured!
Even so, Xiahou, Xuan, Cao, Xi, and Huan were all good at swordsmanship, so that man didn't take any advantage.
Seeing that he was unlikely to succeed, the assassin immediately jumped out of the circle, climbed over the wall, and fled.
Xia Houxuan immediately raised his sword and chased after him, but he did not expect that when the man fled, he fired three concealed crossbows!
"Brother Xuan, be careful!"
Seeing that Xia Houxuan was unprepared, Yu Huan rushed forward with his sword and knocked the two short arrows away with two "dang-dang" sounds. However, no matter how fast his sword was, he could not open the third short arrow, and the hidden arrow was shot like this.
Hit Yu Huan's left arm!
"Tiger!" Xia Houxuan threw down his "Quality" knife and hurriedly sealed Yu Huan's left arm. At this time, he saw the red short arrow on Yu Huan's left arm.