Chapter 46: What is the crime of the West Palace and the East Tower?
"How did I, Dong Zhongying, end up in this situation today?" Dong Zhuo stroked the broken blade on the case and felt lost for a moment.
Liu Ai still closed his eyes to this.
"Chang Shi, how many soldiers are there in the outer wall?" Dong Zhuo waited for a long time. When no one responded, he pressed the broken blade and asked.
"More than two thousand, right?" Liu Ai finally opened his eyes and replied seriously.
"Isn't that a lot?" Dong Zhuo looked slightly stunned.
"This is because the dock wall is too high and there is only one gate, so it is difficult to escape." Liu Ai said earnestly. "If we open the door to fight, or General Wei launches a general attack, I am afraid that most of the people will defect."
"How many people from Gongsun Wenqi are outside now?" Dong Zhuo continued to ask.
"About 100,000 people." Liu Ai lowered his head and replied.
"Not so many." Dong Zhuo shook his head. "He brought out 20,000 soldiers. I had 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers. After fighting for a year, we lost a lot. In the meantime, he surrendered the Baibo bandits, and there were a lot more.
soldiers, but the two families combined must still have less than 100,000 soldiers... And if he had not lied to me before, then Li Jue, Li Meng, Duan Xuan, and Hu Zhen are only in the east of Tongguan, and 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers have not yet surrendered.
... Therefore, he has at most 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers, and the rest must be civilian men and strong men from the third auxiliary."
"So what if there are only 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers?" Liu Ai listened to his lord's words quietly, but asked calmly.
Dong Zhuo immediately fell silent.
When Liu Ai saw this, he didn't say much. He slightly arched his hands and prepared to leave the hall. But when he stepped out of the door and was about to walk to the outer corridor, he suddenly heard a soft sigh behind him: "What a great head, who can chop it off?"
Of?"
Liu Ai was stunned for a moment, feeling sour and indescribable for a moment, almost crying, but he quickly picked up his feet and walked out in a hurry.
Dong Zhuo watched his last confidant leave. After a long time, he managed to stand up holding on to his belt, then walked to the side corridor and looked at the military camp in the distance - the inner layer of Wansui Pier was specially mobilized to pound earth for the purpose.
The base is naturally located high, but the view is not that great.
In fact, these days, although Dong Zhuo drinks and has fun every day, he still comes here occasionally when he is sober to observe Gongsun Xun's military camp and guess the situation. However, with one piece of bad news after another, even his own brother's head was destroyed.
Gongsun Xun sent in, and as more and more soldiers and horses were gathered outside the wall, the camp became larger and larger, so this observation became meaningless.
"It is true that most of them are civilians."
After watching for a long time, Dong Zhuo came to a conclusion that it was unnecessary. Then he returned to the seat in the hall, picked up the familiar yet unfamiliar broken blade, and unsheathed it, revealing the...
The light of the sword is like autumn water.
In fact, Dong Zhongying knew from the beginning that this was just an extremely sharp broken blade from the old times, and it was by no means a 'historic item of Xiang Yu'. However, this statement came from the famous scholar Cai Bojie, and it represented Cai Yong's contempt for him, a Xiliang border official.
He wanted to get the recognition of the people in the world, so he followed the trend and told everyone he met that this sword was the 'Xiang Yu Broken Blade', in order to tell the world that Cai Bojie also thought highly of Dong Zhuo.
And when he became an old official of the Yuan family, and then became the governor of Bingzhou and served as a Fang Bo, he no longer needed to care about the evaluation of a mere Cai Yong, so the sword was given to the man he saw in the official temple of Jinyang City in the heavy rain that day.
A handsome man from Youzhou... speaking of it, it has been thirteen years.
Fortunately, it was this person, so his mother and granddaughter could probably be saved, right? At this thought, Dong Zhuo shook his head helplessly, and finally pointed the blade at himself.
However, something ridiculous happened at this time... It turned out that Dong Zhuo acted arrogantly after taking power and became increasingly obese in his later years. The handle of this broken blade was lengthened probably for the convenience of immediate use in Gongsun Xun's hands.
, so the man held the broken blade upside down and wanted to kill himself, but he couldn't stab his throat calmly.
Dong Zhuo himself laughed.
Of course, he laughed, but Master Dong didn't want to call Liu Ai back, even though he knew that his long history would be standing in the corner of the outer corridor waiting for news... This is not to say that he was worried about being seen in his ugly appearance before his death.
, but that he had already hinted and requested once, but Liu Ai was obviously unwilling to do this.
He is the last of his confidants, and Taishi Dong has treated him with utmost benevolence and righteousness. Why should he embarrass others over such things again?
"Do any of you know how to use a knife?" In desperation, Dong Zhuo could only ask the concubines and beauties around him who had already turned pale. "The blade of this knife is the best in the world. Just stab my throat lightly."
As soon as these words came out, many women sitting or standing around were shocked, but in the chaos, a young and beautiful concubine stood up and responded loudly: "I am willing to give it a try!"
"Who are you, what are your origins, and what are you doing next to me?" Dong Zhuo saw this woman's kind face, but could not remember her origins, and was in a daze for a moment.
"Return to the Grand Master," the woman bowed slightly and said. "My surname is Ren. I was originally the palace maid of Zhaoyang and was always the female official of Diao Chan. Before the Grand Master came here, he ordered the selection of palace maids so that the ceremony here would be like that of the palace. I
I came here from the palace to take care of Taishi Diao Chan's crown, so everyone only calls me Diao Chan..."
Dong Zhuo suddenly realized... In other words, the reason why he selected so many beauties before was not just for the so-called lust. In fact, at his age, he was more than willing and unable to do anything. And the reason why he did this, especially the selection of palace maids, was actually for the sake of "nobility"
The supreme status is just for the sake of the phrase "the same ritual system as in the palace".
The city wall of Chang'an is seven feet high, so the outer wall of Dong Taishi's shed must also be seven feet high. The Weiyang Palace in Chang'an City is located high up, so his inner residence must be built on a high rammed earth platform.
He was a female official, so he took this palace maid named Ren from the palace and specially managed his clothes and hats...
So back to the present, this Diao Chan is actually his personal maid, so no wonder she looks familiar.
"I never thought that when a person is about to die, I, Dong Zhuo, can still have a maid who is so loyal and generous..." After finding out the identity of the other party, Grand Master Dong slowly shook his head, then simply pointed to the broken blade on the case and sighed softly. "
That’s okay, I’m sorry to bother you.”
Upon hearing this, Diao Chan stepped forward and took the knife with both hands directly in front of the case, but bowed slightly and said, "Grand Master, I have something to say to you. I wonder if you are willing to listen to it?"
"At this point, what can't you say, and what can't I say?" Dong Zhuo couldn't help stroking his belly and laughing.
"Grand Master." Diao Chan faced her solemnly, holding a sword. "I am a woman. I usually just dress my hat. I have never held a sword. But today I am willing to kill people with this sword. There is really a reason..."
"Tell me."
"The world is in chaos, and I am a weak woman. I am living as a palace maid in Luoyang. I have no other aspirations. I can only treat the fifteen female officials who were Diao Chan in the palace as dependents and rely on each other." Diao Chan tried her best to stand up and tell. "This is
Fifteen people, fourteen except me. When General He of Nangong died in the past, three people died first in the chaos. I thought it was already a huge number, but unexpectedly, the Grand Master forced the capital to be moved, and all the people in the west of the palace died.
I moved, leaving eleven people. One person died of illness on the way. Seven people were rewarded or even directly killed by soldiers. The Qiang and Hu soldiers robbed and took away seven people. Two people were lost on the way and their whereabouts are unknown. The remaining one followed me and just settled in Chang'an Palace.
The Grand Master was recruited, and we were separated... I don't understand what a noble person like the Grand Master would do, but for me, I always hate the Grand Master to the core! I am willing to hold a sword today, but my concubine just wants to kill the Grand Master, and
No other thoughts!"
Dong Zhuo was silent for a while after hearing this, but did not argue. He just raised his finger to point to the blood vessels on the side of his neck: "The best way to vent your hatred is to cut from here!"
Diao Chan didn't say a word, holding the knife in both hands and stabbing straight.
For a moment, a blood vessel in the neck of Taishi Dong, who was lying on his back, ruptured and blood spurted out, almost dyeing the tables in front of him blood red. The white paper with the doggerel sent by Gongsun Xun was also instantly wet with blood.
, the words of life and death can only be vaguely visible.
A moment later, hearing the chaos in the hall, Liu Ai, who was standing outside the corridor, sighed, but stopped for a moment before entering the hall. He ignored the bloody Diao Chan holding a knife and the many women in a mess.
He kowtowed to Dong Zhuo, who was already exhausted, and apologized. Then he left the hall again and turned back to take charge of the overall situation in the dock.
In the afternoon, Liu Ai officially opened the dock door and asked for surrender.
"Go in and report back to Mrs. Dong." Just when Xi Zhong was about to personally lead Baima Yicong to take over Wansuiwu, he was sitting on a high platform in the camp. He had been chatting with Han Sui, Ma Teng and other famous officials from Guanxi.
Gongsun Xun suddenly spoke to Liu Ai who was kneeling on the ground. "Dong Zhuo is guilty of the country, and it is time for him to hang his head and show it to the public, and to punish him with justice. But no matter what, the parents of ninety-year-olds and their granddaughters who have not yet reached the age of hairpins, the so-called old, young, women and children
, will not continue to cause trouble. I have an old relationship with others, so I have to protect it. But being nameless and without distinction will inevitably attract people's opinions... So, ask the old lady for me, I want to use my second son Gongsun Ping.
I have a marriage agreement with Dong Bai, the daughter of the Dong family, but I wonder if she is willing?"
When Liu Ai heard this, he was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. However, many high-ranking officials and celebrities on the stage could not help but change their expressions, either surprised or suspicious.
In fact, it is nonsense to report to Mrs. Dong that she has no name or status, which is even more nonsense, because at this time, the entire Dong family can only be at the disposal of Gongsun Xun. And everyone knows that Gongsun Xun and Dong Zhuo have an old relationship.
Today, he sent a broken blade and a death-inducing poem to persuade Dong Zhuo to commit suicide. Everyone can also guess that he will save Dong Zhuo's mother and granddaughter.
But the problem is that preservation is preservation, but the Dong family can actually marry the Gongsun family, which is a bit unacceptable.
"General Wei!"
Sure enough, as soon as these words came out, before Liu Ai could turn around, someone stood up angrily. It was Song Yi, the prefect of Zuo Fengyi. "Dong Zhuo brought trouble to the country, and people and gods were angry. Even if the entire clan cannot be killed, the bones should be crushed to set the record straight."
, how can you just hang your head in public? And since the Dong family is a criminal, even if they don't kill, they should be exempted from rewards and exiled to their hometown. Why do they want to marry General Wei's son instead? If the matter is spread, aren't they afraid that the world will think it?
Are the general and Dong Zhuo the same species?"
"Why is this Duke so angry?" Gongsun Xun was not angry at being said to be the same raccoon dog. He just pointed at the person with a smile and asked curious questions to the left and right.
"Report to General Wei." The speaker was actually Han Sui. This 'old friend of General Wei' who had been killed once before on the banks of the Wei River was cautious and spoke softly. "The Governor of the Song Dynasty is an old official of the Yuan family. Taifu Yuan
Before Wei, his whole family was killed, so it is normal for him to be angry..."
Gongsun Xun suddenly realized.
Without waiting for this person to continue speaking, or for Gongsun Xun to speak, Xi Zhong, the former military strategist who was preparing to enter Wansuiwu, suddenly stopped and said: "I dare to ask the Lord of the Song Dynasty, Dong Zhuo has caused great harm to the country, but his sins are serious.
Isn't it my general who tried so hard to win over Dong Gongsheng? You don't want to be grateful, but you are rude, what's the point?!"
Song Yi also knew that he had made a mistake, so he could only quickly avoid the banquet, bow and apologize, and explain: "I didn't mean to criticize General Wei, but it was actually the Taifu's whole family who was executed. As an old official, he often felt troubled and secretly thought about revenge.
...General Wei, I am too talkative about marriage. I just ask the general to allow us and other former officials of the Yuan family to kill his body and burn his ashes to appease his hatred. If this can be done, I think Yuan Cheqi and the later general will do the same if they know about it.
Thank you General."
"Where did Yuan Chaqi come from?" Before Gongsun Xun could say anything, Xi Zhong became even more furious. "Yuan Shao claimed to be a chariot general and invaded the prefectures and counties. He brought trouble to the country and was clearly no less than Dong Zhuo! My general fought hard for three years.
We have traveled thousands of miles and worked hard for a year to help the danger and quell the chaos. You don't want to respect me, but instead you respect a traitor to the country?"
Hearing Gongsun Xun's confidants commenting on Yuan Shao like this, Song Yi was frightened and didn't know how to react. Even the rest of the people in the audience were also frightened.
"Okay." Gongsun Xun said unconcernedly. "Although Yuan Chaiqi's chariot general is a self-proclaimed chariot general, he is forced by current events and cannot be regarded as usurping... Zhicai, follow Liu Changshi to join the dock, here
I'll take care of it myself."
The opera loyalist then walked away, and Song Yi quickly apologized again.
"Song Jun." Gongsun Xun watched Xi Zhong leave, and then slowly spoke to the Song Prefect who was kneeling on the ground and taking off his crown. "Zhi Cai has worked hard with me for a year, and I just won the victory today, but I heard your words like this.
Dissatisfaction is inevitable... You must know that the allied forces of Hebei, Guandong, and Xu Yang joined forces, Xu Yang made a bluff, and Guandong gave up halfway. Only I, with the princes of the north and 20,000 soldiers, worked thousands of miles to get here, can I achieve great success. I can listen to you.
My words make it seem as if I was not the one who forced Dong Zhuo to death and helped bring peace to the country, but Yuan Cheqi. Do you just despise me like that?"
Song Yi became more and more panicked and could only kowtow and apologize, but no one around him stood up to help him.
"Get up!" Gongsun Xun laughed when he saw this, and seemed to have no intention of pursuing the matter further. "How can I be punished for my words?"
The prefect of Song Dynasty got up in panic and looked embarrassed.
"However," Gongsun Xun waited for the other party to stand up, but suddenly looked solemn. "I have a doubt. Please answer it for me... Mr. Song. As an old official of the Yuan family, it is not incomprehensible that you feel so grievances.
But why was it that while I was fighting hard outside Tongguan, you couldn't raise an army to help me despite Zuo Feng Yi's heavy responsibility? Instead, you served Dong Zhuo so carefully, recruiting civilians for him, building forts, and collecting wealth, as if you were an old official of Dong's family.
Rather than being like an old official of the Yuan family. But now, after I have worked so hard to fend off Dong and force the traitors to be killed, you instead look like you are jealous of me? Between these two faces, which one is true and which one is false?"
July was the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, and the heat was still lingering. However, on the high platform in the silent camp, Song Yi felt cold all over. It wasn't that he didn't want to defend himself, but he found that he had no way to speak.
"That's good." Gongsun Xun continued to speak slowly. "If you want to prove your innocence, why not kill yourself and go with Yuan Taifu's family to make a good name? If so, I will burn Dong Zhuo's body to fulfill your righteousness; and if you can't
Why, why not just undo the seal and go back to your hometown in Taiyuan to study? When I pacified Taiyuan, although I thought you were a rebel of the Dong family, I only confiscated half of your family property, and the rest was enough for you to study and support yourself in old age."
Song Yi paused on the stage for a long time. After all, he understood that by appearing as an old official of the Yuan family, he had violated a huge taboo and became a target of authority. He did not dare to die, so he had no choice but to
After offering the seal and ribbon, he was escorted by two soldiers and left in panic without even a horse... However, when he arrived in Xi County, the local acting magistrate Zhang Ji recognized him as an old officer and personally presented him with a horse.
An ox-cart and some road supplies kept him from being too embarrassed.
By the way, Yiwu has a huge warehouse, with no less than 70,000 to 80,000 kilograms of gold and silver, not to mention other cloth, copper coins, lacquered pottery and ironware. Seeing that Xi Zhong really couldn't sort it out for a while, Gongsun Xun gave up.
The idea of waiting here is just to send out part of the inventory and give a big reward to the main force of the Youzhou Army that came here to boost morale. Then the civilians were dismissed, leaving only the Xi Zhong and some soldiers and horses to sort out the supplies.
However, he left this gentle hometown that had sapped Dong Zhuo's ambition, hung up his broken sword again, mounted a white horse, and led the entire army towards Chang'an.
Han Sui, Ma Teng, and other warlords from all over Xiliang who had been nominally recruited by Dong Zhuo did not dare to neglect when they saw this. They did not wait for orders and gathered their crowds to accompany them. They were as obedient as domestic dogs after seeing a cat. Waiting until the beginning of July
10. The whole army came to the north of the Weihe River and gathered Wang Xiu, Lou Gui and Tian Feng who were waiting here. After Gongsun Xun, the number of soldiers and horses behind Gongsun Xun, regardless of fighting troops or auxiliary troops, had actually reached nearly one hundred thousand.
the crowd.
That night, an envoy from Chang'an came to announce the decree, but he was directly driven back by Gongsun Xun. The latter announced that he would go to Weiyang Palace to see the emperor in person tomorrow... But he had a decree, so he might as well talk about it tomorrow.
Although the envoy Ma Rixi had served as a Taiwei and was considered a high-ranking official, he was just a scholar. He had no choice but to return to Chang'an.
On the morning of the next day, Gongsun Xun only stopped briefly in Weibei, and then led the entire army to cross the Wei River via the Wei Bridge.
Arriving in front of the city, the main body of the army was stationed outside the city. Generals Gao Shun and Xu Huang led 10,000 infantry to take over the city defense, arsenal, government offices, palaces, and generals Han Dang, Cheng Lian, and Wei Yue led 3,000 cavalry to take over without bloodshed.
main street.
At noon, the General of the Guard, Gongsun Xun, led the white horse Yi Cong, the army officers, officials, and the three auxiliary officials previously recruited to Xiwu, and entered Chang'an City through the Luo City Gate with full ceremonial guards and umbrellas... It is worth mentioning
Yes, before entering the city, Han Sui took the lead, and all the army officers, accompanying military officials, and even the local officials of the three auxiliaries all changed to white horses and followed him into the city.
After entering the city, nearly two thousand knights on white horses surrounded Gongsun Xun. They passed by Mingguang Palace, Changle Palace, and then to the arsenal, showing off their power and power all the way, and then passed by the East Palace to prepare to go straight to Weiyang Palace.
However, at this point, someone finally stopped Gongsun Xun's white horse troops - Wang Yun, the Situ leader, led a hundred officials to greet them, and then Zhong Yao, the minister of Huangmen, came with an imperial edict.
"I say: The Han Dynasty has the world, and its history has no boundaries. Today there is a traitor Dong Zhuo, who has committed a heinous crime..."
"Please wait a moment, Mr. Huangmen." The imperial edict had just begun. Gongsun Xun, who had just dismounted and bowed to listen to the edict, interrupted him with his head raised. "The edict you announced said, 'The traitor Dong Zhuo is guilty of the most heinous crimes'...is that correct?"
"
"Yes, yes." Zhong Yao was sweating profusely, and the officials, officers, and Yi Cong all around him looked at each other in confusion.
"General Wei." Wang Yun had no choice but to go out and bow and salute to ask. "The emperor is young and this decree was drawn up by the Chancellor. Do you have any questions?"
"Yes." Gongsun Xun took a few steps forward, holding the broken blade on his waist, then turned around and faced the prince's master proudly. "Your Majesty, may I ask what crime Dong Zhuo is guilty of?"
At the turn of summer and autumn in July, in the afternoon, under the western sun and the smoky wind, there was a sudden silence above the east gate of Weiyang Palace.
————I am the dividing line of July Weiyang————
"Ren Madam, a female official in this palace, worked for Diao Chan in Zhaoyang Palace. When Dong Zhuo was in chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, he followed the emperor's etiquette in everything, so he moved to Wansuiwu and still served as Diao Chan official. Not long after, Taizu of this dynasty attacked Dong, and Chang drove
Surrounding Wansuiwu, he returned with a broken blade as a gift from Zhuo. He was wise and wanted to kill himself in order to save his family. However, he was fat and it was difficult to do so. So he asked for left and right, but they didn't respond. Only his wife came out and raised her voice and said: "The world wants to kill the prince."
The master has been here for a long time, and I have wanted to kill the master for a long time, but it is difficult for a weak woman to do so. I would like to thank the master for promising me the sword.' Zhuo Moran stabbed him to death. When Taizu entered the dock, Zhuo's body had been moved in the hall, and the surroundings
There was no one, but the lady held the blade and soaked the blood on her side. She spoke clearly and told everyone before and after that the broken blade was back. Taizu was surprised, took the blade, wiped his face with his hand, and when he saw its color, he laughed: "I didn't expect Diao Chan to kill people."
ps: Continue to sacrifice the book - "Guhuo Bird", this is a book from the same period, my grades have always been lower than mine, I really want to sacrifice it^.^!
By the way, in order to express my gratitude, with the help of Han Men and Big Brother, I personally prepared customized commemorative gifts for all the alliance leaders. They are purely commemorative gifts. However, since they are customized, I hope that all alliance leaders will take the initiative to join the group and contact Han Men.
Please also provide your address and information to facilitate mailing.
