Cao Peng had a strange expression and did not look at Su Shuang. He looked past Su Shuang and stared at a man behind Su Shuang.
The man was in his late forties, not too tall, and of medium build.
As soon as he came in, he lowered his head. As if he felt Cao Peng's gaze, the man smiled bitterly in his heart. In fact, before he came to Hexi, he already knew that he could not hide it from Cao Peng. Moreover, he was not very willing to come to Hexi at the beginning.
.It’s just that Su Shuang treated him very kindly, and he had been wandering for a long time, and he also hoped to find a place to stay and settle down his life.
Originally, he had two choices.
One is going back to his hometown in Luoyang, and the other is coming to Hexi.
Of course, he could live a good life back in his hometown. But in that case, he would just be stuck in Luoyang for the rest of his life, and it would be difficult to do anything. So after thinking about it, he decided to come to Hexi to give it a try. Maybe Cao Peng had already decided
He forgot.
But now...
The man came out with some embarrassment, cupped his hands and said, "Sinner Zhudao, I have met Cao Beibei."
Cao Peng couldn't help laughing, stood up, and stepped forward, "I said it looked familiar, but I didn't expect that here in Hexi, I would meet an old friend of Luoyang. I wish you good health after five years of separation.
No? Your affairs in Luoyang have long been cleared, and your family members have been released. You don’t have to hide in hiding to earn a living from now on."
"ah!"
When the man heard this, he felt even more ashamed.
This man was indeed an old friend of Cao Peng when he was the Northern Lieutenant of Luoyang.
Zhu Dao, a great tycoon in Luoyang in the past and a swordsman of his generation.
Five years ago, when Cao Peng was appointed as the Northern Lieutenant of Luoyang, he had several interactions with Zhu Dao. To be honest, the contact between the two was not particularly pleasant. Zhu Dao had a deep foundation in Luoyang and looked down upon Cao Peng.
, there is often disdain in the words. Coinciding with the Yueguan case, Luoyang murder cases happened one after another. On several occasions, the finger pointed at Zhu Dao as the murderer.
At that time, another ranger from Luoyang, Zhang Liang, defected to Liu Bei.
Taking advantage of a rainy night, he killed Chi Zhong, a knight-errant who had a crush on Yue Guan, and framed the incident on Zhu Dao... Zhu Dao was good at Long Yang and was fond of promiscuity. At that time, because a male favorite was in love with him, he fell in love with him.
He killed the man in anger and buried the man's body in his yard. Zhang Liang told Zhu Dao that the government found out about his killing of the child molester and wanted to punish him.
Zhu Dao also had something in his heart. Hearing what Zhang Liang said, he fled Luoyang overnight...
Speaking of which, the Longyang style in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the habit of cutting sleeves were quite popular, so it was not a big deal.
The key is that the person who took away Zhu Dao's male favorite is also somewhat famous in Luoyang.
If the other party knew about it, Zhu Dao would definitely be punished. In addition, he had been extremely rude to Cao Peng before, and he was worried that Cao Peng would take this opportunity to punish him. After leaving Luoyang, Zhu Dao ran to Zhongshan Kingdom and joined the Zhongshan Su family.
…
He does know the situation at home.
In the Han Dynasty, there was a theory of buying sin.
It means that by spending a certain amount of money, you can be freed from your sins.
The male favorite who was killed was just from a lowly background. Although he was favored by others before, he is dead as well.
Zhu Dao's family spent some money and reached an understanding with the other party.
Then he donated his family's land outside Luoyang City to the government, which relieved Zhu Dao from his guilt.
I just wish that I never dare to go home.
At first, it was because of the dispute between Cao and Yuan and the Battle of Guandu; and then because he was worried that he would be affected after returning, so he stayed in Zhongshan Kingdom. This time, Su Shuang decided to defect to Cao Peng. Zhu Dao thought again and decided to try his luck with Su Shuang.
.
Su Shuang had heard Zhu Dao mention the conflict between Cao Peng and Zhu Dao.
He quickly bowed and said: "Mengzhi has been regretting the absurdity of those years and hoped to atone for his sins, but he never had the chance. Now that he heard that I came to vote for the Young Master, Meng Zhi also hesitated for a long time and came boldly. Please forgive me.
He was so rude back then."
Cao Peng laughed dumbly.
He didn't have a good impression of Zhu Dao.
But he admired his swordsmanship quite a lot.
This is a ranger that even Shi A would praise, and his swordsmanship is naturally not weak. To be honest, when Cao Peng was appointed as the Northern Lieutenant of Luoyang, many people did not agree with it. Not to mention that Zhu Dao looked down upon him, even those who were under the rule of Luoyang
Meng Tan, the Southern Wei, was also often dissatisfied. If Cao Peng had not been so well-known and had a close relationship with Chen Qun, there would have been a lot of trouble. It was his sexual orientation that made Cao Peng feel a little uncomfortable.
adapt……
It was precisely for this reason that he did not help Zhu Dao.
It's not discrimination, it's just a little awkward...
You are a bearded man who doesn't like women but prefers men. This makes Cao Peng very intolerable.
However, Cao Peng would not hold grudges and wish him well.
At that time, he was the Northern Lieutenant of Luoyang and was entitled to a salary of 600 stone.
Now, he has become the prefect of a county, a dignified general in the north, and a high-ranking official with a salary of two thousand dan, so his state of mind is naturally different.
On the contrary, Zhu Dao was the great tycoon of Luoyang back then.
But now he had to live under someone else's roof and wander around for several years. Finally, he faced Cao Peng honestly and said that he had "sinned the people".
The gap between the two sides is too big!
It's so old that if Cao Peng hadn't met Zhu Dao, he might even have forgotten this person...
He smiled and waved his hand, "In the past, Cao was a young man. If he was offended, I wish you not to worry about it. Although you had killed someone before, your family has solved the problem for you. You can return to your hometown to be with your wife and children."
Reunion...
However, since you have come to me today, I can probably know what you are thinking.
It's a good thing that you are willing to serve the court. But there are many rules here. There are some things you must understand. First of all, your knight-errant temperament must be changed. Secondly, that habit of yours is best thrown away.
.”
Zhu Dao's face turned red, he knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "Dao, please remember the young master's teachings, and you will definitely not repeat your old bad habits again."
"Okay, then get up and sit down."
Cao Peng waved his hand and motioned for Su Shuang and others to sit down.
His temporary hall was still Outuo who had convened the alliance in the first place.
It's just that all those wolf and fox fur couch cushions have been replaced with ordinary cushions.
Moreover, as Cao Peng established his dominant position in Hexi, he began to implement some of his living habits.
For example, people in the Han Dynasty sat on the floor, while Cao Peng hired craftsmen to build a large number of tables and chairs.
Compared to kneeling, sitting on a chair seems more comfortable. If he promoted these things in the Central Plains, he would inevitably encounter some criticism. But in Hexi, no matter what he does, no one will object. This time he was criticized
Among the 8,000 Han households that migrated, there were many craftsmen. Therefore, Cao Peng's ideas were not a problem.
Of course, many people were not used to it at first.
For example, Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others always felt that this table and chairs looked nondescript. Even Cai Yan thought that the tables and chairs were not very convenient... On the contrary, Li Ru thought it was very good. After Cao Peng made the prototype, Li Ru found people to move it to it.
his residence.
"Meng Zhi, don't worry about not being used to it here.
Speaking of which, there is an old friend of yours in Hexi. If I see you later, I will definitely be very happy."
Cao Peng had an idea!
He was about to try to cover up Li Ru's identity when this blessing came, wouldn't it be just right?
When he was in Luoyang, he had a close relationship with Li Ru, whose pseudonym was Xuan Shuo. It would be better to let Zhu Dao stand in front of Li Ru and distract Jia Xing. At least, for a period of time, it could temporarily distract Jia Xing.
Transferred from Li Ru.
Thinking of Jia Xing, Cao Peng felt helpless.
This little fox is deeply impressed by Jia Xu's samadhi. Perhaps he is not as exhaustive and cunning as Jia Xu. But he is indeed the best in Hexi. At least, among the many civil servants around Cao Peng, Jia Xing can definitely be ranked first.
, even above Pang Lin and Meng Jian. His ideas are extremely broad and he can adapt to changes. He has great leaps and bounds, and people often cannot keep up with his ideas.
In terms of calmness and grandeur, Jia Xing is not as good as Pang Tong and Xu Shu.
In terms of proficiency in government affairs and handling everything down to the smallest detail, he is incomparable to Zhi...
But it has to be said that the existence of Jia Xing has greatly supplemented the shortcomings of Pang Tong and others. He likes to take the wrong side of the sword, and his moves are vicious, often affecting the whole body with one move. He is deeply influenced by Jia Xu. Even Li
Confucian scholars believe that if Jia Xing is ten years older, he will become the second poisonous person when he reaches his thirties, matures mentally, has rich experience, and fully opens his horizons.
However, Cao Peng didn't remember that there was a person like Jia Xing in history?
After Jia Xu, it seems that I have never heard of any brilliance in his descendants... Maybe this is another change brought about by his little butterfly. At the same time, Jia Xing's appearance in Hexi also made Cao Cao
Peng felt another layer of Jia Xu's meaning. Jia Xu was now serving as the governor of Jizhou (in vain), and he could be regarded as the core of Cao Wei's staff. He could not get too close to Cao Peng, as that would make Cao Cao suspicious.
Even his two sons kept a low profile in the court and never got close to a certain person or faction.
Is letting Jia Xing come to Hexi a gesture of goodwill from Jia Xu to Cao Peng?
Regarding this speculation, Cao Peng also specifically asked Li Ru for advice.
Li Ru also agreed with his idea, "Jia Wenhe is a man who is very resourceful and very good at hiding.
If you hadn't put him out in the open, I guess he wouldn't be valued so much now... Well, he asked Jia Xing to help you. Rather than showing goodwill to you, I think it's better to say that he was asking Cang Cang.
Mr. Shu releases his kindness."
"Sir, you mean..."
"Haha, I didn't say anything."
At that time, Li Ru smiled and changed the topic.
But in Cao Peng's heart, a strange idea came to his mind.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++
Su Shuang's visit to Hexi this time can be said to be full of people.
He had almost completely abandoned his roots in the Zhongshan Kingdom. In addition to the direct lineage of the Su family, plus the craftsmen and disciples of Su Shuang, there were more than 2,000 people. According to Su Shuang, he
When I came to Hexi, the luggage, money and food I brought with me were worth more than 5 million guan, which is almost 500 million yuan in capital...
Su Shuang respectfully presented the list he had made to Cao Peng.
Then, he suddenly smiled and said, "Master, I have brought you a gift. Please don't refuse it."