The political situation in Luoyang was so turbulent that as soon as the ministers showed weakness, the general was afraid that the situation would change again, so he immediately sent an admonishment to the official Zhong Shao to go west, trying to dissuade the Xiliang army from Mianchi.
But Dong Zhuo, who had a keen sense of smell, didn't seem to hear it. He first pretended to agree to Zhong Shao and led his people to rest in Mianchi for two days. On the third day, he sent Li Ru into Mianchi City and arranged to drink with Zhong Shao. He waited for his subordinates to report that Zhong Shao had gone.
During the banquet, Dong Zhuo took the opportunity to move forward. In order to prevent the general from setting up troops to stop him at Hangu Pass, he led his troops to Yiyang via a small road and drove from Luhun Pass into Henan County.
On the third day of August, the knights of Longxi appeared in front of Henan County like magic soldiers descending from heaven. By now, Dong Zhuo was only thirty miles away from Luoyang. For a time, the capital was greatly shaken. Hundreds of officials in the court sent letters to He Jin, asking what he had done.
The plot is to kill Chang Shi, or to take the opportunity to force Ling Gongqing.
He Jin was greatly passive because of this. Fortunately, Zhong Shao caught up with Dong Zhuo in front of Henan County. He was riding a yellow-maned horse and wearing black court clothes. He stopped Dong Zhuo's army in front of the county gate. Dong Zhuo saw his courage and also
He couldn't help but feel some respect. He rode up to Zhong Shao and said with a smile: "You, a small official with a copper seal and ink ribbon on your waist, why bother to stop me from being loyal to the country? Aren't you afraid of the sword?"
Zhong Shao glanced at Dong Zhuo, suddenly reached out to Dong Zhuo's waist, and pulled out Dong Zhuo's sword with a thunderclap. The sound of the sword was as crisp as an oriole. Zhong Shao held the long sword in his hand, pointed the blade at the Longxi knight behind Dong Zhuo, and solemnly said: "Dong Gong is loyal to the country.
, Breeding Shao is also an act of loyalty to the country! The general ordered you to stop in Mianchi, why are you here? You regard the laws of the imperial court as child's play!"
Dong Zhuo's sword was acquired by chance when he was farming in the fields. There are mountain cloud patterns hidden on the blade's surface, and the cut jade is like mud. At this time, Zhong Shao was holding the sword in front of the army. He looked upright and awe-inspiring, and the Longxi soldiers were dismayed. Dong Zhuo saw Zhong Shao like this.
With an expression on his face, he couldn't help but raise his head and laugh. He stretched out his hand to pat Zhong Shao's shoulder first, then took back the saber from Zhong Shao's hand, and said to him warmly: "Since Mr. Zhong said so, if I go forward, I will not care about the court. I
How can Dong Zhuo be so unjustly named? Forget it, forget it, I will go find the general in person soon."
After saying this, Dong Zhuo turned around on his horse and said in a deep voice to his generals: "Retreat five miles and garrison at the Sunset Pavilion." As they withdrew their troops, the Longxi knights looked back at Zhong Shao and said with emotion: Master Meng often said that the aura of greatness is great.
, I finally know what it is like today.
After Dong Zhuo withdrew his troops at Sunset Pavilion, other soldiers also arrived one after another: Qiao Mao led the Dongjun troops to station in Chenggao, Bingzhou governor Ding Yuan led the Shangdang Jun troops to Mengjin, and Wang Kuang led the Taishan crossbowmen directly into Xianyang Garden. Only
Cao Cao and Bao Xin are still recruiting sergeants and have not yet set off.
Under such circumstances, the court affairs suddenly turned from fierce debates in the main hall to silence. All the officials knew clearly that the situation had reached a point where an arrow had to be fired. No amount of arguments would be of any use. Actions could only be used.
come to place a bet, but they are still waiting and watching. They need to know: Who does the Three Dukes of the Han Dynasty care about?
The Three Dukes are the head of the hundred officials and the hope of the world. However, since the late period of Emperor Ling's reign, the positions of the Three Dukes have changed frequently. They only hold the post of Taiwei. Since Chen Chong took away Masihe, in just two years, they successively held the post of Zhang Wen,
Cui Lie, Cao Song, Fan Ling, Ma Rixi and Liu Yu, the prestige of the Three Dukes is therefore not as good as before.
Except for four people: Taifu Yuan Wei, Sikong Dinggong, Situ Liu Hong, and Shaofu Xu Xiang.
On August 12th, on this day, Xu Xiang returned home from Nangong. It was already Shenshi 2 o'clock, which was usually the busiest time in Luoyang. However, Xu Xiang looked out of the car window and saw that there were only a few people on the street.
Pedestrians were also coming and going in a hurry, their faces full of worry. Mr. Xu asked the groom: "Is Mr. Ding still setting fire to Mengjin today?"
The groom held the reins in his hand and was mentally exhausted. After listening to Mr. Xu's two questions, he answered casually: "Master, don't be anxious. Just now I heard from Cangtou of Ding Gong's family that Ding Shijun ordered the people of Bingzhou to rest for two days, and there was no arson anymore.
." After saying that, the groom looked worried and sighed to his master: "But I also heard from the refugees in Henan County that the former general looted the surrounding areas and suffered many casualties!"
Xu Xiang sat back in the car, caressed his forehead, and cursed in his heart: These old revolutionaries! He recalled the fire in Mengjin last night, and his heart still shuddered: the flames set a prairie fire, the fire was raging, and in the dark night, the entire north of Luoyang City was red.
The light was so bright that Mr. Xu, who lived in Nancheng, also smelled the smell of carbon ash in the floating wind. This morning he was discussing matters with Wang Yun in the palace, only to find out that all Meng Jin's ships had been burned by Ding Yuan. p>
All the ministers in the inner court cursed greatly for this, and went to the Chancellery to criticize Ding Yuanmu for having no emperor and having evil intentions, hoping to remove him from office. However, not long after, Xun You came with a handwritten letter from the general and proposed to the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei in public.
Said: The general wanted to recommend Ding Yuan to be the governor of Jinwu. For a while, the court was silent. Xun You handed over the letter, then bowed and left.
Ding Yuan moved to Zhijinwu that day, still led the cavalry captain, and merged with the governor of the state.
The affairs of the court are really not worth it! This is what Xu Xiang sighed in his heart. He has been an official in the court for more than thirty years, and has served in three dynasties.
Among them, brothers Xu Shao and Xu Jing were rising stars, and they could be said to have helped both the government and the public. By the time he was appointed Sikong at the beginning of the second year of Zhongping, he was changed to Situ in the fourth year of Zhongping, and he resigned at the end of the fifth year of Zhongping. He had served as the Third Duke for nearly four years.
The family is extremely prominent, and the number of disciples in the court is even slightly inferior to that of the current Taifu Yuan Wei. Jian Shuo and Zhang Rang had to be polite when they met.
However, since the death of the late emperor and General He Jin assisting the government, Prime Minister Xu has felt deeply powerless in the affairs of the court. A few years ago, he was demoted to the rank of Shaofu by the late Emperor due to the excessive expenditure on the Liangzhou War. The Shaofu is still among the Nine Ministers and is the royal family.
He was in charge of property and was quite powerful. However, Xu Xiang saw that the late emperor's time was running out, so he tried his best to show favor to He Jin, but He Jin, for some unknown reason, was quite hostile to him.
They all refused He Jin. Now He Jin has mobilized troops to surround Kyoto, and all the petitions are just blank. If this continues, the glory of the Xu family in Runan will come to an end!
With this thought in mind, he finally returned to Xu's Mansion. As soon as he entered the house, the Cangtou in the mansion hurriedly came forward and spoke to him. When Xu Xiang heard this, he was shocked and asked Cangtou in a low voice: "Is there anyone else when he comes?"
Can you see him?" Cang Tou replied: "There are not many people walking on the road these days, and he entered the house through the back door, so no one really knew about it."
Only then did Prime Minister Xu heave a sigh of relief. He told Cangtou to close the door and thank the guests first. If there were any visitors, he would tell them that it was an emergency. As Jiu Qing, he had to avoid suspicion. Then he took off his court clothes, put on a cloth suit and walked to the side compartment.
, opened the door and knelt down to the guests sitting in the room and said: "The general's visit to this humble abode really frightens me. If the general is summoned, just leave a letter in front of the door. I will go to the meeting on my own, so why go to such trouble?"<
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The guest was dressed in black uniforms and was sitting on the chair. He was holding five black and white dice and was playing the game of throwing cattails in the room. Seeing Mr. Xu enter the room, he hurriedly got up and helped Mr. Xu up, laughing at himself: "I
I just felt uneasy, so I could only roll the dice to make myself at ease, Xu Gonghai measured it, and hoped that Xu Gong would not blame me."
He Miao joined hands with Xu Xiang to go to the main seat. Xu Xiang was quite satisfied to see He Miao's courtesy. He said with a smile: "General, you don't have to be so polite. Nowadays, everyone inside and outside Luoyang is sharpening their swords. It's not just the general who is uneasy and old.
When you are nearly sixty, how can you secure your position in the government? If the general has any advice, don’t be stingy."
When He Miao heard this, he took a sigh of relief. He picked up the dice, threw three black and three white on the table, and said to Prime Minister Xu: "Last month I went out of the city to talk to my elder brother and said to him: We are going from Nanyang to Henan. Everything will not be easy.
, Just do it and do it, why bother to embarrass yourself? But the eldest brother is very determined, saying that if we want to sit firmly in the country, we must kill Chang Shi!" Xu Xiang was silent, while He Miao slapped the table and said again and again: "
The eldest brother wants to make his younger sister a widower?" He Miao brothers had two boys and two girls. Among them, the younger sister married Zhang Rang's adopted son Zhang Feng, so He Miao sighed like this.
When He Miao's anger subsided, Xu Xiang asked: "What is the general's plan?" He Miao looked at Xu Xiang and begged him: "Now the eldest brother ignores family ties and uses the name of King Qin to intimidate us and other younger brothers and sisters. According to the Queen Mother's instructions,
Thinking about it, we can’t stand up to the knife, but I really don’t know how to do it. I hope Xu Gongxiang can help me.”
Upon hearing this, Xiang Xu put away the dice and said with a smile to He Miao: "General, how come you don't know what to do? Since the general came to meet with the old man, it must be Zhang Changshi's idea. He must have some ideas, but the general still refuses to agree with him.
I just made it clear."
He Miao was stunned for a moment, and then said with shame: "Xu Gong has been immersed in officialdom for decades, it's just a brat who showed off." He then told Zhang Rang's plan to assassinate He Jin to Xu Xiang. Xu Xiang thought about the gains and losses, nodded and said: "
It is indeed feasible, but He Jin has many people under his command. If someone takes the opportunity to cause chaos, it may cause a catastrophe."
He Miao quite agreed, and he was deeply disturbed by this, so he came to the Xu Mansion. Therefore, he said: "The third generation of Duke Xu, the reputation of the family is well known throughout the country, and there are many legacy in and outside the court. If this plan can be approved, the Queen Mother will
With Xu Gong serving as the Minister of Yinlu in Henan, at that time, Xu Gong will appease the generals with baskets of food, recruit soldiers, and all the officials in the court will speak out for support, and the great disaster will be eliminated."
"It's hard to say." Xu Xiang stood up and wandered around, and then said to He Miao: "Yuan Shao, the captain of the Sili School, is arrogant. He has been raising dead soldiers for several years. The general insists on killing the regular servants. He must be adding fuel to the flames. It is the general himself.
Yuan Shao, as the Sili Xiaowei, holds the power to supervise the execution of ministers in the capital. If he takes advantage of the situation and raises troops, the consequences will be disastrous. He must send an important minister to seize the position of Sili Xiaowei. This is only appropriate."<
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"Xu Gong's intention coincides with Zhang Changshi's!" He Miao was overjoyed when he heard this. He stood up and high-fived Xu Xiang and said with a smile: "Just yesterday, I went to Fan Gong's house. Fan Gong also promised that if things come true,
He then held the imperial edict and led the Northern Army to Yuan Shao's mansion to seize power. In this way, with Duke Xu outside and Duke Fan inside, why worry about failure to achieve great things?"
The Duke Fan He Miao mentioned was none other than Fan Ling, the former Taiwei and now Guanglu doctor. When Xu Xiang heard that he was also involved, he finally made up his mind and paid homage to He Miao again, saying: "The Queen Mother has an edict, and Xu Xiang dares not to obey it!"