At dawn, the chaos in Yecheng had calmed down. Chen Caozhi was preparing to go to the south bank of the Zhang River with Huan Xi and Tian Luo generals to respectfully invite the great Sima Huan Wen to enter the city. However, Huan Xi was nowhere to be seen. There was a sergeant named Dao Huan who was going to Longgang in Mount Saga. Temple -
Chen Cao asked curiously: "Why did Governor Huan go to Longgang Temple?"
The sergeant reported: "The Governor Huan heard that the Queen Mother Yan and the princess had fled to Longgang Temple, so he led his people to hunt her down."
Chen Cao was astonished. He thought that the Queen Mother Yan had fled with the master of Yan, Murong Wei. Unexpectedly, the Queen Mother Yan and the princess took refuge in Longgang Temple. Outside the Bamboo Forest Abode, a ball of crushed flower petals was thrown at his face. The scene was as clear as yesterday. The proud and bright image of the Xianbei girl riding a bay-red horse outside the willow forest on the south bank of Zhangshui River was vivid and moving——
Chen Caozhi frowned slightly and remembered that last year he had a banquet with Huan Xi and Huan Shixiu at the wine shop on the south bank of Gushu River. Huan Xi, who was so drunk that his face was red, suddenly said: "I heard that Princess Qinghe of Xianbei is very beautiful. Wait. If the Northern Expedition succeeds next year, I will be your special favorite." When he said this, he was still squinting at him drunkenly, quite provocatively——
Chen Cao ordered his personal guards to invite generals Tian Luo, Cai Guang, and Dai Xun to go with him to Mount Saga. Sure enough, they saw Huan Xi's soldiers guarding them at the foot of Mount Saga. Chen Cao's men went up to Longgang. In the temple, I asked Huanxi, the monk of the temple, to go to the Jingshe by the Tianluo Spring. Chen Caozhi and the Tianluo people passed through the bamboo forest path. They saw the sergeants of the Bamboo Forest Jingshe crowded together. The elder Zhu Faya of Longgang Temple had his white beard fluttering and was chatting with him. Huan Xi fought hard to prevent the sergeants from demolishing the three monasteries——
Behind the old monk Zhu Faya, stood a tall and beautiful girl with flowing black hair. Her light blue eyes were full of anger, her shining white teeth were biting her red lips, and her breasts were rising sharply under her left white robe. Heaving, his whole body was trembling with sad anger and helpless fear, his right hand was wrapped in his wide sleeve——
We haven't seen each other for two years. Princess Murong Qinchen of Qinghe has grown a lot. She looks taller than Xie Daoyun. The traditional tight-fitting left-hem robe of a Xianbei aristocratic woman outlines her breasts and slender waist, long legs and raised buttocks, giving her a very feminine and seductive charm. Well, Murong Qinchen is fourteen years old this year. Xianbei women are precocious and many get married at the age of twelve or three. The year before last, Murong Chen already looked like a mature girl——
Chen Caozhi stood behind the soldiers and looked coldly at what Huan Xi wanted to do. However, when the soldiers saw Chen Caozhi and his generals coming, they quickly backed away to make way. In the Beifu army, Chen Caozhi The prestige is extremely high. This kind of prestige cannot be obtained by relying on the appointment of the imperial court. Junyi's surprise attack, Mianchi defeated the Di and Qin's 20,000 cavalry, and the north bank of the Yellow River relied on the Queyue Formation to defeat the Yan army's tens of thousands of cavalry. In this way His illustrious military exploits made everyone in the Beifu Army, from high-ranking generals to ordinary sergeants, sincerely admire him——
Princess Murong Qinchen of Qinghe, who was standing on the short corridor of the wooden building, recognized Chen Caozhi at a glance. Although Chen Caozhi was wearing armor and military uniform, Murong Qinchen still recognized Chen Caozhi at a glance. This made him She gritted her teeth with hatred, but she could not forget the man from Jiangzuo!
For some reason, Murong Qinchen, who had always been strong and refused to shed a tear, suddenly felt a sore nose at this moment. He couldn't hold back the tears, but he didn't turn away, letting the tears slide down his white jade cheeks. He just hated it. He stared at Chen Caozhi who was slowly approaching, feeling hateful and aggrieved——
Seeing that it was Chen Caozhi, Zhu Faya hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and declared the name of the Buddha: "Buddha of Infinite Light, Chen Tan Yue is here at the right time. This Huan Tan Yue wants to demolish my Buddhist temple, Chen Tan Yue must stop it."
Chen Caozhi bowed his hand to Huan Xi, then saluted the old monk Zhu Faya and said, "Don't worry, Elder Zhu. Our Jin army in the Northern Expedition is a benevolent and righteous army. It saves the people of the Central Plains from hanging upside down. The people do not dare to destroy one of their houses without permission. Not to mention Buddhist temples.”
Yan Shangshu's servant She Ke Zuhunyi, who was afraid of being beheaded as soon as he came out, heard what Chen Caozhi said and felt a little calm. Then he came out and bowed to the ground and said: "Chen Xima, I'm here Ke Zuhunyi, Do you remember Chen Xima?"
But Zuhunyi was now a minister of the country's subjugation. Of course, Chen Caozhi couldn't be too polite to him. He nodded and said: "Don't be frightened. I have been ordered by Grand Sima Huangong to take the puppet Queen Mother of Yan and return them to Ye Palace." ."
Kezuhunyi knew that he could not disobey. Fortunately, Chen Caozhi was an old acquaintance and a well-known scholar with profound knowledge of Confucianism, Xuanxuan, and elegance. He should not be too rude to the Queen Mother Yan, so he went back inside to discuss with his sister Kezuhunyi. After a few words, he came out and said: "We would like to return to Ye Palace, but please Chen Xima to restrain the sergeants and not to offend, otherwise we would rather commit suicide here."
Chen Cao said in his heart: "It is really sad that the country is destroyed and the family is destroyed. What's the use of such an empty promise? The sergeant dare not offend, but the general can do nothing if he offends you. At this point, it is completely fish on the chopping board. You can only let anyone do it." Slaughter it." He nodded and said, "Of course, please do it."
When Huan Xi saw that Chen Cao Zhi had arrived, the matter was easily solved, and Chen Cao Zhi issued orders without paying any attention to him as the commander of the Beifu Army. He couldn't help being very angry and shouted: "Come here, deal with this nonsense of pretending to be the emperor." The thieves were all tied up and sent to Ye Palace!"
Ke Zuhunyi was so frightened that the Queen Mother of Yan, Kezuhun, who had just walked to the door, was so frightened that she fell to the ground. Murong Qinchen quickly went to help him, but the knife under his sleeve fell to the ground——
"Wait a minute." Chen Caozhi frowned and signaled to the soldiers not to move without permission. He came closer and whispered to Huan Xi: "Brother Bo Dao, Duke Huan has an order not to harm the Yan royal family. He promised to surrender and win the hearts of the people of Yan. ."
"Move out my father to suppress me!" Huan Xi sneered in his heart. He could not bear Chen Caozhi anymore. This Chen Caozhi claimed to be as loyal as Zhuge Liang in front of his father, but compared him to Liu Chan. Huan Xi was like Liu Chan. Are you an unbearable mediocre person? You are too happy to miss Shu. You have been laughing about it for eternity. This is completely insulting, a naked insult. What is annoying is that my father was deceived by Chen Caozhi's slander. He repeatedly told him to treat Chen Caozhi favorably, saying that Chen Caozhi must be treated favorably. Chen Caozhi, who would go to great lengths to assist him, does not look like someone who would loyally assist him. Now he has begun to take power and does not take him seriously——
Huan Xi is also a very proud person. He once criticized Chen Caozhi in front of his father Huan Wen, but was scolded by his father. Now he doesn't want to say more. He wants to anger Chen Caozhi and let Chen Caozhi expose his wolfish ambitions. He lowered his voice and said: "If I want to marry Princess Xianbei, Chen Sima can send her to my residence at night."
Chen Caozhi's eyes narrowed, and he slightly suppressed the dangerous edge in his gaze. Huan Xi was clearly provoking. Princess Qinghe was beautiful and attractive. It was not unusual for Huan Xi to covet her, but he asked Chen Caozhi to send Princess Qinghe away in such a frivolous manner. Go to his residence, this is deliberate humiliation. Huan Xi regards Princess Qinghe as Chen Caozhi's woman. Although Chen Caozhi does not think so, such humiliation is still unbearable——
Chen Caozhi smiled and said: "Brother Bo Dao, let's take a step to talk." He walked to the edge of Tianluo Spring. During the Bon Festival on July 15th two years ago, Chen Caozhi once watched the Empress Dowager Yan here. Shi, Princess Qinghe and others released the soul-inducing lamp in Liuquan mountain stream——
Huan Xi followed him with a crooked face. His face had been a little crooked since the arrow wound on his left cheek during the Jingkou Rebellion last year. He wanted to see how Chen Caozhi faced this matter. If Chen Caozhi could bear it, then Huan
Of course Xi had a great heart, and from then on he had the confidence to despise Chen Caozhi. If Chen Caozhi couldn't bear it and started a big argument, then this is what Huan Xi would like to see, so that his father Huan Wen would no longer think that Chen Caozhi
After that, he would loyally assist him, and naturally he would secretly undermine Chen Caozhi's military power——
"What does Chen Sima have to say?" Huan Xi said with a look on his face.
Chen Caozhi looked at Yecheng in the distance, not looking at Huan Xi, and said calmly: "Huan Gong's crown prince was decided at the end of the year before last—"
When Huan Xi heard what Chen Caozhi said, he thought that Chen Caozhi was trying to show his favor to him, because he had heard from his father Huan Wen that Chen Caozhi suggested establishing a direct descendant for the elders rather than for the virtuous, but Huan Xi did not want to accept Chen Caozhi's sentiments.
, he has five brothers. He is older and has already occupied the high position of governor of the state. It is a natural thing to inherit his father Huan Wen's inheritance. Even without Chen Caozhi's suggestion, his father would definitely make him the heir apparent. At that moment, he said calmly: "I heard that
Chen Sima once gave me kind words, so thank you so much."
Chen Cao said: "Gong Huan is a great hero of the generation, a great concubine of Wei Wu and Jin Wen. Does Governor Huan think he can inherit his father's power and command his ministers?"
Huan Xi raised his eyebrows and said in a stern tone: "What does Chen Sima mean by this?"
Chen Caozhi approached Tianluo Spring. The half-acre spring pool was as clear as a mirror and as clear as a mirror. Chen Caozhi pointed to the spring mirror and said, "You'll know just by looking at it."
Huan Xi approached to look at the spring water in confusion. The sunlight shone through the shallow mountain spring, leaving slightly rippling spots on the bottom of the pool. Nothing else could be seen. Just as he was about to ask, Chen Caozhi took a step closer, covering his eyes with his slender body.
The sunshine in front of Huan Xi said: "Please take a closer look."
Although Huan Xi was dissatisfied with Chen Caozhi, he could not help but be convinced of Chen Caozhi's wisdom. After hearing this, he looked carefully and saw that the spring water in front of him was blocked by Chen Caozhi from the sun, and could reflect the reflection on the water's edge. Huan Xi could clearly see
My face has thick and sparse eyebrows, a pointed nose, and the big scar on my left cheek is extremely eye-catching. Because of this scar, my whole face looks distorted and evil——
After being injured by the arrow, Huan Xi only looked in the mirror once. He was so angry that he smashed the bronze mirror into several pieces. From then on, he ordered the maids around him not to use the mirror anymore. Huan Wen's wife was the daughter of the Yuan family of Yangxia in Chenjun County.
It is a wealthy family after Wang and Xie, but Huan Xi and his wife Yuan are not on good terms. Since May last year, Yuan has been living in his mother's house for a long time and rarely goes back. Huan Xi can even take away the copper in the house.
All the mirrors were destroyed, and the servants and maids were afraid of him. Naturally, no one dared to make fun of his arrow scars. In the army, no one in the Beifu soldiers who were accustomed to fighting paid much attention to his scars. As time went by, Huan Xi also deliberately forgot about his face.
With such a scar on his face, he thought he was as handsome as ever, but today, at the Tianluo Spring in Mount Saga, Chen Caozhi clearly showed him his ugliness——
Huan Xi suddenly turned around and stared at Chen Caozhi with his eyes fixed on him. His nostrils were flaring, and his face was even more distorted due to the arrow scars. He looked like he was about to bite someone——
"Chen Caozhi, what do you mean by this, are you deliberately humiliating me?" Huan Xi muffled his voice, his voice a little hoarse.
Chen Caozhi's voice was also very soft and he said: "How can you set an example for all officials if you don't look well? Duke Huan doesn't care about this!" After saying that, he turned around and walked back to the Bamboo Forest Jingshe. He said to Ke Zuhunyi: "Please come down from the mountain.
There is a carriage waiting at the bottom of the mountain, so there is no need to worry about being disturbed."
Kezu Hunyi saw that Chen Caozhi was polite and polite, unlike Huan Xi, who was so frightened that he quickly ordered two palace maids to help the Queen Mother Kezu Hun, her daughter Xiao Kezu Hun and Qinghe Princess Murong Qinchen Going down the mountain, the old monk Zhu Faya quickly followed -
Murong Qinchen walked past Chen Caozhi, looked sideways at Chen Caozhi with his charming blue eyes, and there were fine tooth marks on his lower lip, and said: "You betrayed your oath!" After that, he followed the old monk Zhu Faya down the mountain. .
Chen Caozhi didn't understand what Murong Qinchen was talking about, and had no time to pursue it at this time. He called out: "Elder Zhu, please wait a moment. I have something to ask you."
Zhu Faya stopped and said to Murong Qinchen: "Your Highness, don't be afraid. Chen Tanyue is a great good man who is proficient in Buddhism. He is compassionate and will not embarrass you."
Of course Murong Qinchen didn't believe that Chen Caozhi, who led the troops from Jiangdong to Yecheng, was a kind man. He glanced back at Chen Cao, and Chen Caozhi nodded and smiled at her. Murong Qinchen's heart was pounding. He thought to himself: "This man hides his sword in his smile." He quickly chased after his mother, the Hun family.
Chen Caozhi asked Zhu Faya: "Elder Zhu, is Master Zhu Fahe of your temple still here?"
Zhu Fahe was borrowed from an old minister of Ran Min. Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng wanted to take him back to Jiangdong the year before last. Ji Zhu felt that his life was short-lived and refused to go south. He wanted to guard the treasures of Ye Palace until his death——
Zhu Faya didn't understand why Chen Caozhi was so concerned about an unknown old monk in the temple, and replied: "He was enthroned in April last year. The tomb of the pagoda is in the south of Saga Mountain. Does Chen Tanyue want to go and see it?"
Chen Caozhi also knew that this was the outcome, and said: "One of my clan brothers is destined to Fa Hegong. When my clan brother comes back, we will go to pay our respects together."
Zhu Faya interceded for the Empress Dowager Yan and others: "Chen Tanyue, in the past Shi Le, Shi Hu's uncle and nephew were brutal and killed Han people. The great monk of our normal school (that is, Fo Tucheng) always gave advice and saved many people's lives. Today Chen When Tan Yue leads the army of benevolence and righteousness in the Northern Expedition to Wudao, he should also keep compassion in mind."
Chen Caozhi smiled and said: "Elder, I am humble and humble, but I can only introduce the elder to Sima Huan."
Zhu Faya said: "That's good, that's good."
…
Huan Xi stood motionless by the Tianluo Spring, his whole body trembling. He was almost out of his mind by Chen Caozhi's few words. Shame, anger, fear, doubt, inferiority, pride... came one after another like a revolving lantern. , the expression on his face was extremely distorted——
Chen Caozhi poked his scars to humiliate him. He, Huan Xi, had been pampered since he was a child. He had never been humiliated like this before. He wished he could kill Chen Caozhi to pieces immediately, but the meaning behind Chen Caozhi's words made him tremble with fear. He After the arrow wound, he became ugly. Could it be that his father Huan Wen thought that his face was mutilated and lacked dignity, so he had the intention of deposing him? Of course he understood his father Huan Wen's plan, which was to succeed Jin Dynasty as emperor, and his father wanted to be Cao Cao, Sima Zhao, etc. He conquered the world for his son and inherited the throne, but now that he looks disheveled, does his father think that he is not worthy of a human being?
Huan Xi thought about it, but his pride and inferiority made him dare not and did not want to ask his father to confirm the matter. He felt that there were some things that he had to fight for on his own. He had to get Princess Qinghe, and Chen Cao had to deal with it. This Jin Dynasty The world must also be his.