The light rain is falling continuously, and the Xiping Mountain outside Guangping City is lush with trees, thick forests, tall bamboos, wild flowers and old vines. The raindrops hit the wild banana leaves, making a crisp sound of ticking.
There is a large area of farmland at the foot of Xiping Mountain. When the wheat and rice should be green, it has become very barren and the fields are covered with weeds and basil.
The road was muddy and slippery, and the carriage carrying the hostages got stuck in the mud several times. It had to be lifted by strong men to move forward slowly.
There is a pavilion built at the foot of the mountain, which was the original place where the pavilion chief was on duty.
This place belongs to Xiping Township outside Guangping City. Mountain people and villagers live in the mountains and nearby water sources. It is also close to the city. It is natural to have basic security buildings such as pavilions.
But at this time, the director of the pavilion had long since disappeared, and Xiping Township had become deserted. In front of the pavilion, someone stood in the hazy misty rain holding a bamboo stalk.
Bamboo hats are actually umbrellas from the Han Dynasty. They are made of bamboo, feathers, and animal skins. They are not very beautiful in appearance.
But even so, under the mist and rain, the robes fluttering misty and light in the wind and rain, just like the immortal figures in the poems and paintings falling into the mortal world, it is fascinating to watch.
For fear of others being reckless and causing trouble, Zhang Jiao sent the cautious Liu Shi this time.
After Liu Shi arrived with the carriage, he found that the Han army was indeed very disciplined and only brought thirty soldiers. He couldn't help but feel relieved.
But when I looked carefully, my heartbeat immediately started beating very fast.
I saw a white-faced Confucian scholar standing in front of the pavilion, wearing a turban and blue Confucian clothes. He was standing on the corridor of the pavilion holding a bamboo hat. His eyes were foxy and his mouth was looking at them with a half-smile.
Next to him, there was a man with a face like a crown jade, sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. There were two swords on each side of his waist. The sword spikes were fluttering, as if murderous intent was floating out of the sheath.
The other person is nine feet long, has a face as heavy as a jujube, is dressed in a green parrot war robe, and stands majestically holding a Qinglong Yanyue Sword in his right hand.
The last person was eight feet long, with a leopard head and tiger eyes, like Fan Kuai's reincarnation.
Liu Shi recognized at a glance that the red-faced man was Guan Yu, who killed Yang Feng with a sword, and the man with a leopard head and ring eyes was Zhang Fei, who stabbed Zhang Fei to death with a spear.
Zhang Jiao also inquired about these four people in the past few days and learned that they were four sworn brothers. Liu Bei was Lu Zhi's student, and the other three were Liu Bei's adopted brothers. At the same time, Zhang Jiao also learned that Liu, Guan, and Zhang had
In Yiyang, use three to block a hundred.
If it weren't for the three of them, the six counties in Henan might not have fallen so quickly, and Zhang Jiao would have had more time to make other plans.
Seeing them, Liu Shi couldn't help but feel frightened.
Liu Bei won't say much, except that he killed Zhang Bao with one arrow and wounded Zhang Bao, so far he has no impressive achievements.
But when the other two were on the battlefield, he saw with his own eyes how Guan Yu beheaded Yang Feng and how Zhang Fei stabbed Zuo Zhangba to death. Their combat prowess was not an exaggeration to say that they were the most powerful generals in the world.
With the two of them here, Liu Shi even felt that he might have brought too few people, and regretted that he should not have brought only fifty people, but at least five hundred people.
Seeing Liu Shi coming slowly with his carriage and horses, Liu Bei went up to greet him and slightly raised his hands as a greeting. After all, they were doing private business now, not marching to fight, so they still had to have some necessary etiquette.
When Liu Shi saw that Guan and Zhang had no intention of making any mistake, he quickly returned the courtesy and said: "I am Liu Bei and Liu Zhonglang, and I am Liu Shi, the commander of Leling Canal."
Liu Bei said calmly: "I have met Liu Qushuai. I wonder if King Anping is safe?"
"In the car."
Liu Shi replied.
"Can it be inspected?"
"It's okay, but do you want to bring the coins?"
"In the pavilion."
"Can I take a look?"
"nature."
Liu Bei nodded and got out of the way.
Liu Shi winked at the two soldiers beside him. The two walked into the corridor of the pavilion and saw that it was densely packed with dozens of loads of gold and silver treasures.
In ancient times, carriages and horses could be used to transport property, but it was generally carried with carrying poles and carried in baskets.
In order to redeem King Anping, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty spent a huge sum of money worth fifty million. However, if Lu Zhi had not won the battle, the cost might have been twice as much.
Even fifty million dollars was enough to make Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty feel distressed. How many official positions would he have to sell to get the money back? He couldn't help but hate Liu Xu even more deeply in his heart.
When the two soldiers saw the real money, they came out to report it and confirmed that it was correct.
Liu Bei asked: "Can we inspect King Anping?"
Liu Shi smiled and said: "Don't worry, King Anping eats well and sleeps well every day. You can go and watch alone."
Liu Bei nodded and glanced behind him.
Standing behind him was a thirty-year-old young man who was not tall but had a slightly sinister look. This man had a white face and no beard. He was wearing a Jinxian crown and a long robe, and his face was cold and stern.
Seeing Liu Bei's gaze, he tapped his chin and motioned to the old man next to him to check in the carriage over there.
The young man's name is Wang Jun, and he is the Huangmenling sent by the palace to execute this transaction.
The old man was a waiter in the palace of King Anping. He knew King Anping, and he was needed to verify whether what Liu Shi brought was King Anping himself.
In ancient times when there were no cameras and the portraits were not accurate enough, generally only people close to him could do such things.
After a while, the old man got out of the car and nodded to Wang Jun.
"Since the inspection is correct, as we said before, we will take the things and people for two miles first. After two miles, we will leave the carriage where it is."
Liu Shi glanced fearfully at the two men Guan and Zhang behind Liu Bei. The force of these two men was enough to wipe out their group of fifty people.
Liu Bei gave way and spread his hands toward the pavilion: "Please."
Liu Shi then asked people to go in and collect the gold and silver.
After a while, Liu Shi's men picked out the gold, silver and jewelry one by one, turned around, and returned the same way.
They walked two miles, put down the carriage, and ran away quickly.
Liu Bei immediately led Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and the soldiers to pursue him. Lu Zhi personally ordered him to do this errand, so Liu Bei did not dare to make any mistakes.
Watching Liu Bei running quickly, trying to determine the safety of King Anping as soon as possible, Chen Mu's mind was spinning rapidly.
Liu Bei agreed to this matter, which was originally promoted by Chen Mu. As a well-known scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Lu Zhi has a good reputation in the country. If there is news that he made a deal with the rebels, it will affect his reputation.
So at first, Lu Zhi planned to find a scapegoat among mid-level officials. However, Chen Mu asked Liu Bei to come forward and take the blame for the teacher.
Although Liu Bei didn't quite understand it, he felt that he was just a nobody anyway, with no reputation and no background, so it didn't matter if he took the blame, so he accepted it without any psychological burden.
After a while, Liu Bei helped King Anping down from the carriage. The old man who had done the inspection knelt down in front of King Anping and burst into tears.
Chen Mu turned his head and bowed his hands slightly to Wang Jun and saluted: "Huang Menling, King Anping is fine."
Wang Jun breathed a sigh of relief: "Since you're fine, just go back."
"Go back to where?"
Chen Mu asked.
Wang Jun gave him a strange look and said softly: "I'm going back to Luoyang."
Chen Mu smiled: "The emperor loves wealth, so I'm afraid I'm not happy about paying such a huge price to redeem King Anping."
"Marquis Chen Jun seems to have something to say to someone?"
Wang Jun frowned slightly, not liking anyone playing riddles in front of him.
Although he is just a Huangmenling, a six-hundred-stone eunuch, he is firstly an angel and goes to the military camp on behalf of the emperor. Secondly, he takes refuge under Zhao Zhong, the ten permanent servants. His status in the palace is not high, but when he goes outside, he even
Even Lu Zhi had to be polite to him.
"Mu is here to give Huang Menling a big gift."
Chen Mu was good at observing people's hearts. When he saw that Wang Jun's appetite was almost whetted, he smiled and said: "A gift that is enough for Huang Menling to make great achievements in front of the emperor."
Wang Jun was indeed interested and asked: "What's the etiquette?"
Chen Mu pointed at Liu Shi and others who were carrying gold and silver in the distance and were about to disappear in the mist and rain: "Of course we need to recover the gold and silver worth fifty million yuan."
Wang Jun looked around, hesitated slightly, and stopped talking.
This errand can only be done in a low-key manner, so even though the angel is famous, Wang Jun does not dare to be too arrogant. Facing a small military commander, being able to have a normal conversation is already considered a good temper.
At the same time, it just shows that Wang Jun is not a reckless person.
Because he knew that even if he recovered the fifty million worth of gold and silver, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty would be extremely happy, but it would not be his turn to ascend to the throne.
Let’s not talk about the stable status of Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and others in the palace. Let’s just say that as a member of Zhao Zhong’s family, he made meritorious deeds without authorization and wanted to take the lion’s share of the credit. Even if he was favored by Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty and promoted to a noble position, he would definitely do so in the future.
She was jealous of Zhao Zhong, and maybe she would be killed by him one day.
Therefore, Wang Jun was already thinking rapidly in his mind whether he should accept this gift.
After a moment, Wang Jun said with a smile: "Marquis Chen, don't talk big words. Although Zhang Jiao was newly defeated, he still had hundreds of thousands of troops. General Lu Zhonglang withdrew his troops for another thirty miles as agreed, and Zhang Jiao defended the city. These gold and silver
How to get it back?"
"Whether you can get the money back or not is a trivial matter. All the emperor wants is these 50 million. As for whether it is the original 50 million, it doesn't matter."
Chen Mu shook his head. What Emperor Han Ling was worried about was money. It didn't matter whether the money was from before. Anyway, it only cost 50 million.
Wang Jun said hoarsely: "That's true, but the Emperor is urgent and I have planned to leave the next day. I'm afraid it won't be convenient to stay."
Chen Mu's narrow fox eyes were slightly narrowed, and the ends of his eyes were turned up, as if he had gained insight into people's hearts, and he said slowly: "I heard that Huang Menling joined the family of Chang Shi Zhao Zhong. Huang Menling must be worried about Zhao Zhong."
Wang Jun closed his mouth and said nothing.
Although there are only two of them in the pavilion now, it is absolutely impossible for him to speak ill of Zhao Zhong outside.
In the palace, it is common for a few young eunuchs to disappear inexplicably.
"Does Huangmen Ling know who Liu Bei and Liu Xuande are?"
Chen Mu looked at Liu Bei in the distance.
Wang Jun shook his head: "I only heard that he was a student of General Lu Zhonglang, but I don't know about the others."
Chen Mu said: "Liu Xuande is a clan member of the Han Dynasty, the great-great-grandson of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, and the queen of Prince Jing of Zhongshan. His grandfather Liu Xiong was the magistrate of Fan County, his great-grandfather Liu Hui was the Marquis of Jichuan, and his great-grandfather Liu Buyi was the Marquis of Fengling.
There is genealogy research, but the family status has declined slightly in Liu Bei's generation."
Wang Jun said calmly: "It turns out that he is a member of the Han Dynasty. What does Chen Junhou mean by saying this?"
As a eunuch in the palace, the emperor often looked at him, not to mention these ordinary members of the clan whose family backgrounds had declined. In Wang Jun's eyes, Liu Bei was indeed nothing.
"It's very simple."
The corners of Chen Mu's mouth turned up, revealing his snow-white teeth: "When Huangmen Ling returns, Mu will give him a big gift. At that time, Huangmen Ling will bring 50 million yuan to the emperor, claiming that Liu Xuande has recovered it. He will also give millions more
Zhao Zhong must be very happy if the money comes from Zhao Zhong. At this time, the Huangmen Order persuaded Zhao Zhong again to ask Zhao Zhong to report to the emperor on behalf of Liu Xuande, so that he could be officially included in the Han Dynasty clan records, and he would be given officials and titles according to the genealogy."
"oh?"
Wang Jun was playful: "Marquis Chen Jun is a good calculator, but if that's the case, it's Liu Xuande who gets the benefit, so what does he have to do with me?"
The credit and benefits belong to Liu Bei and Zhao Zhong, and he can't get them, so why do he do this?
Chen Mu shook his head and said, "Don't you understand, Huangmen Ling? Recovering King Anping and 50 million yuan with just one step is a great achievement. When he meets the emperor, he also mentioned that it was Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and other regular attendants.
I order you to do this, and then you order Liu Bei to do this. In this way, the emperor Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang will be overjoyed and will never be suspicious of you. And Liu Xuande has made great contributions and been included in the Han Dynasty clan. He will be promoted to a noble rank.
I will also be grateful to Huangmen Ling. When the time comes, Huangmen Ling will have Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang to support him, and Liu Xuande will take measures from outside. Lu Zhi is also Liu Xuande's teacher, which is a human relationship. From then on, Huangmen Ling will be in the palace or at court.
If there are people who support you, your position will be stable, and you will be promoted to official positions in the future, and you will have descendants and clans, and everything will be safe."
Wang Jun thought carefully.
This is actually a method of dividing the credit. Give half of the credit to Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang, the two most favored eunuchs of the Ling Emperor, and give half of the credit to Liu Bei.
So what are the benefits of Wang Jun?
First, recovering 50 million yuan is a meritorious service, and the emperor will definitely remember it. Second, it will not offend Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang, and will even make them very happy, so they value him more. Third, support the central government.
power, let Liu Bei serve as foreign aid.
Bringing back King Anping was just a matter of fulfilling one's duty within the mission, but recovering 50 million and following Chen Mu's approach would have too many benefits.
When Chen Mu said this, Wang Jun felt suddenly enlightened. He suddenly woke up, stretched out his hands, held Chen Mu's hand, and said with great joy: "Marquis Chen's words really made me clear the clouds and see the sun. Then I will have a lot of enlightenment."
Wait a few days and wait for good news from the army."