Cao Peng sat on his horse outside the gate of Sikong Mansion and asked loudly.
"Sir, I know."
"Lead the way."
Cao Peng didn't talk nonsense and pointed his riding whip at the retainer.
The retainers did not dare to neglect, and quickly mounted their horses to lead the way. It was not until Cao Peng had left that Dian Wei led his people to the door of the mansion.
Seeing that Cao Peng had left, Dian Wei was so angry that he cursed: "You haven't prepared your horses immediately."
The retainers of Sikong Mansion immediately started busy. After a while, the horses came. Dian Wei pushed the retainers away, got on his horse, whipped his horse and drove away in the direction where Cao Peng left.
.
The night wind blows.
After the first snowfall, the temperature dropped sharply, and the nights in Xudu were extremely cold.
Cao Peng was riding on his horse, galloping against the wind.
Since Gao Shun and others entered the Xu capital, the emperor of the Han Dynasty has been too calm. It is not that Cao Peng wants to cause trouble, but because of emotion and reason, the emperor and the party should not be so calm. The calmer
, the more it shows that the imperial party is planning a big move. Otherwise, watching the Lu family surrender to the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao will gain huge fame as a result, and further alienate the Han Emperor, wouldn't he just sit back and wait for death?
Cao Peng believed that if he were an imperialist, he would never give up.
But as time went by, Cao Peng's vigilance gradually relaxed...
He never expected that the imperial party would make arrangements like this. During the banquet, if Gao Shun was poisoned to death, what would the attitude of Lu Han, who had just surrendered, be like? Gao Shun was Lu Han's minister. What if
After he died, even if Lu Han still wanted to join him, he would not be able to contain Goguryeo any longer. They would inevitably face a chaotic situation in the Three Hans, and might even be at a disadvantage.
Everyone knows that Lu Han is facing enemies from both sides now.
The reason for joining the Central Plains was of course due to personal reasons.
But in terms of official affairs, Lu Han also hopes to use this surrender to seek assistance and support from the Central Plains. After all, today's Sanhan is indeed a barbaric wilderness. Especially Baekje Mahan, before this, it was just a city-state.
, the system is very loose. It is indeed troublesome to fight against a behemoth like Goguryeo without external support. Historically, Goguryeo continued to develop and grow after Cao Wei. After five hundred years of development, they almost occupied the Han River Basin.
Suppressing Silla and Baekje in a corner of the Korean Peninsula.
After all, city-state countries are not opponents of centralized power.
If Gao Shun dies, Lu Han's allegiance will inevitably end in vain, and Cao Cao's reputation will also be greatly reduced...
Kill two birds with one stone!
The imperialist party's methods can be described as vicious.
However, Cao Peng did not expect that the imperial party would take this opportunity to involve Cao Chong and Zhou Buyi.
Cao Chong had been sent to Yingchuan Academy a month ago. Probably only Cao Cao and Zhong Yao knew his name in the academy.
And Zhou Buyi...
He absolutely has no such means.
The child is arrogant, aloof and a little paranoid.
But in essence, he is still just a child.
Cao Peng is now worried that the imperial party will take this opportunity to throw Zhou Buyi out as a scapegoat. However, it must be a dead sheep...
Zhou Busuo was frustrated by Cao Peng's attack.
After that night, he disappeared and rarely showed his face.
Cao Peng could feel that Zhou Buyi wanted to go home. But, would the imperial party let Zhou Buyi go home so easily?
Cao Peng, I don’t believe it!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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"Sir, right ahead is Tongtuo Lane."
The retainer who was leading the way suddenly reined in his horse and turned around to remind him loudly.
Cao Peng also immediately stopped on his horse to watch.
Tongtuo Lane is located at the end of Yuxiu Street. It is a quiet and remote alley with a very comfortable environment. It was a street that appeared after the expansion of Xudu in the fourth year of Jian'an. At that time, the city wall was moved six miles outward.
On the basis of the ruins of the ancient city wall, the Bronze Camel Lane was opened.
The city size of Xudu is quite similar to that of Luoyang City in the Han and Wei dynasties.
There is water flowing through it, and Tongtuo Alley was built based on the water. It is small in area, but very quiet, and the environment is very beautiful. However, because it is far away from the downtown area, it is not convenient to get in and out. So I live in Tongtuo Alley.
Most of the people there are scholars and intellectuals.
After winter, there are very few people in Tongtuo Alley, so it seems a bit quiet.
The snow on the road has not yet melted, and you can see a trail of footprints...
The retainers led the way, followed closely by Cao Peng.
"This was originally a courtyard of the Huan family. Last year, my wife gave this courtyard to Zhou Buji.
The villain has delivered things to Mr. Zhou several times on the orders of the Fifth Young Master, so he is not a stranger... Young Master, be careful, the road here is not particularly smooth."
The retainers led the way, and with the help of the light from the Qi Shi Feng lantern at the door of the roadside house, the condition of the road could be vaguely seen.
Cao Peng didn't say a word. He held a long knife in his hand and followed the retainer cautiously. He walked down the somewhat dim alley and soon came to the end of Tongtuo Lane. Zhou Buyi's residence was in Tongtuo Lane.
In the innermost part of the alley, there is a row of ancient pines outside the door.
The courtyard door was closed, and the retainer came forward and knocked on the door.
But there was no movement inside...
Cao Peng frowned and said in a deep voice: "Get out of the way."
The retainer quickly stepped aside and saw Cao Peng step forward and kick the door hard.
But there was a click sound, and the closed door was kicked to pieces by Cao Peng. Cao Peng walked into the yard without saying anything. The yard was not large, and the wall was about two meters high.
There are ivy vines growing on the top, giving the courtyard a bit of a cold atmosphere. There are three rooms in total, with the main hall in the center and two side rooms connected to the back. At this time, the courtyard is quiet, and there are people in the house.
The lights were dark and there seemed to be no one. Cao Peng called Zhou Buji's name twice in the courtyard, but there was no response.
"Is there anything to start the fire?"
"Go back to the young master, I have a Huozhezi here."
"Well, come with me."
As Cao Peng said this, he stepped up to the doorstep of the main hall.
The door was ajar, it was dark and quiet inside... Cao Peng opened the door, glanced at the moonlight, and his expression suddenly changed.
"Light the lamp."
"Here!"
The retainer quickly polished the firebrand and found an oil lamp on the windowsill.
After he lit the oil lamp, there was light in the room. When he turned around, he saw a food table in the main hall, and a young man was crawling on the food table, motionless. Cao Peng was squatting next to the young man, turning the young man over.
He waved to his retainers to bring the oil lamp forward.
It is indeed Zhou Buyi!
The young man's face was as pale as paper, and his breath was almost gone.
Cao Peng quickly checked his pulse, raised his eyebrows, and turned to look at the food table.
"Invite Mr. Zhang Zhongjing and Mr. Hua Tuo to come over immediately."
Seeing this situation, the retainer naturally knew what had happened. He quickly put down the oil lamp and stumbled out. After a while, he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from outside the door, followed closely by You Dianwei.
The rough voice came in.
"Ah Fu, Ah Fu, are you okay?"
"Uncle, come in."
Cao Peng picked up Zhou Buyi and walked to the side room.
He put Zhou Buji on the bed, then hesitated for a moment, turned to Dian Wei, who had just walked in, and said, "This child has been poisoned."
"ah?"
"The affairs of Sikong Mansion probably have little to do with him.
I'm afraid this kid was also instigated by someone... I guess he didn't know the origin of that little confusion. The other party wanted to throw him out as a scapegoat, so they poisoned him one step ahead. I just noticed that the food and wine on the food table had already been
It's cold, I guess the murderer has already left. I have sent people to ask Mr. Hua Tuo and Mr. Zhang Ji to come over, hoping to rescue the child in time..."
"Afu, you are still so kind-hearted."
Dian Wei couldn't help but let out a sigh.
He knew very well what Zhou Bujie had done in the past two years.
He repeatedly slandered Cao Peng and Hu Zhao, and was extremely arrogant... However, during this period of time, this boy was quite honest and did not cause any problems. But in Dian Wei's eyes, Zhou Buyi was definitely not a good person. He even heard that
He was poisoned and was somewhat gloating about his misfortune.
"Light the brazier and let someone boil water in the kitchen.
Mr. Hua and the others will come over soon, maybe it will be useful."
Cao Peng didn't answer Dian Wei. He glanced around the room and landed on a gray package next to the wooden pillows of the bed. He walked up and opened the package. Dian Wei came over with a torch to illuminate him. Inside the package were some
Clothes, a few volumes of books, a dry food bag, and a money bag. The money bag contained about three copper coins, not a lot.
Picking up the scroll, Cao Peng was startled.
"Eight Hundred Character Classic", "Three Character Classic", and a volume of rubbings of "Thirty-Six Strategies".
Cao Peng's "Thirty-Six Strategies" has just been completed. It has not been printed into a book, and it has not been widely circulated in the market. Except for a few people, no one even knows that he has written such a military book. Among these few people, except Cao Peng,
In addition to Peng Jia, Pang De, Pang Tong, Xia Houlan, Gan Ning and other tribes, there are also Cao Cao, Guo Jia, Chen Qun and Xun Yu. Zhou Buyi actually has "Thirty-Six Strategies" which he just completed less than three months ago?
But after thinking about it, it doesn't seem strange. Cao Chong must have this book. Zhou Buyi and Cao Chong have such a good relationship, it is normal to have a rubbing copy. Just look at Zhou Buyi's posture... Cao Peng frowned
, couldn't help but frown.
"What's wrong?"
"This child is afraid that he will leave."
"Then how did he..."
"It's probably because he wanted to leave that he encountered this disaster."
At this time, Tongtuo Alley was completely boiling.
General Wei Xiahou Dun led his troops and horses to attack the entire Xudu, and many people gathered in Tongtuo Lane.
The man who led the troops was none other than Xiahou Shang, the Sima of the City Gate Division, who was also Xiahou Zhen’s brother and Cao Peng’s brother-in-law.
He hurriedly ran in, saw Cao Peng and Dian Wei, and quickly raised his hands and said: "Dian Zhonglang, I have been ordered by General Wei to investigate."
Cao Peng turned around and said, "Mr. Hua, are they here?"
Before he finished speaking, someone outside the door said: "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, I'm here."
Hua Tuo walked in, took a breath, and raised his hand to Cao Peng, "Sir, I'm here... I wonder what your orders are?"
"This kid is poisoned!"
Cao Peng pointed at Zhou Buyi and then stepped aside.
Hua Tuo quickly stepped forward, leaned over his bed, and checked Zhou Buyi.
"Viola?"
"ah?"
"A poisonous weed, very poisonous.
There will be a very unique sweet smell in the mouth and nose of the poisoned person... However, this kind of grass is easy to identify, so it is often mixed with meat. However, in this way, the toxicity of cordyceps is weak, and the relative toxicity is
It will weaken... Well, the toxicity hasn't penetrated into the heart yet, and it can still be saved. But after being revived, I'm afraid there will be sequelae. The specific situation varies from person to person, and I can't say for sure."
"Please sir, please use your holy hands to save him."
"That's nature, that's nature."
Hua Tuo didn't hesitate and immediately started to rescue.
Cao Peng took Dian Wei and Xia Houshang out of the side room, leaving only Hua Tuo and his two disciples busy in the room. After a while, Zhang Ji also came. I heard that Hua Tuo was doing something inside.
He was not polite to save him, and took his apprentice Ma Zhen to join him.
"The two holy hands are working together to save us. If it still fails, I'm afraid there is nothing we can do."
Cao Peng took a deep breath and stepped down the porch.
"Boren."
"Um?"
"Can you please send someone to Sikong Mansion to report to my lord that Zhou Buyi had nothing to do with this matter, but now he has been poisoned and is being rescued. We don't know the result yet."
"It has nothing to do with him?"
Cao Peng smiled bitterly and carried Zhou Buyi's package.
"This kid looks like he's ready to go home, why bother doing such a thing?"
"maybe……"
Xia Houshang wanted to say that he might have fled out of fear of crime. But if he absconded out of fear of crime, he wouldn't have poisoned himself to death, right? He thought for a while, nodded in agreement, and immediately ordered people to return.
"Afu, shall I go back first?"
"Well, the current situation in Sikong Mansion is unclear. There is one dead soldier, but there is no guarantee that there will not be a second dead soldier.
My uncle should still go back to protect Sikong, and at the same time remind Sikong to be careful about the safety of Lu's Han envoys. Some people will not feel at ease unless something happens."
Cao Peng thought for a while, then suddenly turned around and walked out.
"Afu, where are you going?"
Cao Peng did not answer, but turned around and said to Xiahou Shang: "Bo Ren, you don't need to leave too many troops here. I'll go out for a while and I'll be back later."
After saying that, he rushed out the door.
Cao Peng asked a soldier for a horse. Cao Peng turned over and sat on the horse, hit the horse and drove away.
When Xiahou Shang ran out, Cao Peng had already left. He quickly asked a group of soldiers to follow him, and then stood in the courtyard, a little at a loss.
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Cao Peng rushed out of Tongtuo Lane and headed straight for Yuxiu Street.
In a short time, he arrived at the door of a big house on Yuxiu Street. He jumped off his horse, and Cao Peng ran up the doorstep, grabbed the door knocker, and slapped it continuously. The small door on the main door opened.
There was a crack, and a head poked out from inside.
"Who!"
Without further ado, Cao Peng raised his hand to hold the small door and exerted force suddenly.
The small door was suddenly pushed open, and the door inside was knocked out by a huge force. He fell to the ground and fell unconscious.
Cao Peng stepped forward and walked into the gate.
The servants in this mansion also heard the noise coming from the door, and they all poked their heads out to check.
"There's an assassin!"
A servant pulled his neck and shouted.
But before he could finish shouting, Cao Peng raised his hand and turned his wrist, and a steel crossbow flew out, hitting the door frame next to him.
"Liu Guang, if you don't come out, don't blame me for smashing your door."
