As soon as I entered the city gate, the noise suddenly became louder. At this moment, I could clearly hear shouts and screams from the west of the city, but the area in front of me was a little too quiet. Without thinking too much, I just ran north, and only heard the sound of horse hooves following me. No one came to stop me all the way from south to north, and I didn't see any living people on the road. The dead were lying everywhere. Occasionally, I felt that some windows in front of me moved, and when I looked closely, I was sure that I was wrong.
After a few blocks, the streets of the Han capital Luoyang were already filled with fighting. Because there were mostly infantry in the city, and the various armies in the city were very chaotic, it was hard to tell what the relationship between any two people was. At least I saw a guard of the He Mansion hacking to death a Yulin Army soldier, a Yulin Army soldier stabbed to death a soldier guarding the city of Luoyang, two guards of the city wrestled together, and a Yulin Army soldier and a guard of the city pushed a He Mansion soldier into a corner. They seemed to be a little cautious about our unexpected arrival, but they still did not stop this aimless fight.
I told everyone to protect themselves, and then I led the way and rushed through the middle. Those who fought did not attack us, as if we were just the wind blowing by. I did not want to get involved with them. Once a fight started, I would have too few people, so it would be better to rush directly into the imperial city.
Along the way, I couldn't find a leader in the middle, otherwise I would have known what was going on. Occasionally someone attacked us, but we fended them off without any fight.
They had arrived at the square in front of the imperial city. There was no one guarding the towers on all four sides. There were only a few corpses hanging in various patterns. A group of people were gathered in front of the city gate, loudly reminding the brothers behind them that everyone would be in trouble if they forced their way in.
Suddenly, a group of people and horses rushed down the streets of the West Market. They were all riding horses and swept into the crowd like the wind, and began to fight their way through the crowd. In an instant, they blocked us between the imperial city and the square. If we rushed in at this moment, we would definitely fight with them. We immediately ordered everyone to stop.
The general in front of me looked familiar, so he rode forward alone with his spear. The general noticed that someone was riding a horse with a spear, so he immediately reined in his horse and turned around, swinging his sword at me. I quickly caught it, and then the spear body shook. I thought to myself that this person was not very strong, so I hurriedly said, "Brother Miaocai, don't you recognize Xie Zirui from Jingzhou?"
"Marquis Ping'an Fengyun, what are you doing here?"
"It should be the same as Brother Mengde." We stood with our backs to each other, talking while repelling those who approached us. "Brother Miaocai, how about we go into the imperial city together to protect the emperor?"
"Hmm." His broadsword killed another Yulin soldier. It was inconvenient for him to speak while exerting force, so he hummed in response.
I immediately waved and asked my soldiers with black and white flags to follow me, and then shouted: "Marquis Ping'an Fengyun is here, anyone who stops me will die." Then I rushed into the imperial city gate before Xiahou Yuan. I shouted that not only to give myself courage and scare my opponent, but also to protect Xiahou Yuan. With his status and holding a weapon, if I rushed into the imperial city first, I was afraid that it would cause too much trouble afterwards, and it would also affect Brother Meng De. But for me, I didn't care about these things because I had my own plans.
I thought of being cut into pieces, and I was even more scared. Maybe a quick death would be a good outcome. But after I shouted, no one dared to stop me. I even shot one man in the arm. After that, the people 50 steps below stopped fighting and moved away.
As soon as we entered the imperial city, the number of people seemed to be much thinner, and some people were even running around trying to avoid us.
There was no more hindrance, and we walked all the way into the palace. Xiahou Yuan didn't ask if it was right or wrong to follow me, but just followed me up. However, on the stairs of Weiyang Palace, I suddenly saw a courtyard with many Yulin Army guards, and yellow satin canopies and dragon-patterned flags were raised high. I felt that something was going on, so I pointed at Xiahou Yuan and rushed away together.
This was probably the first time that the brick and stone floor in front of the Weiyang Palace was trampled by so many horses at the same time. My teacher would definitely scold me to death afterwards, but at that moment I was really brave and not afraid of anything.
When I reached the gate of the courtyard, I waved to stop everyone, threw my spears to the ground, asked everyone to stay away from the gate, and announced in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, are you in good health? I, the minister, Xie Zhi, the Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun, and Cao Cao, the Marquis of Gaoling, are late in coming to your rescue. Please forgive me." I knelt at the gate, supported myself on the ground with my hands, and waited to be summoned.
I felt someone looking at me through the crack in the door, then the sound of footsteps became farther and farther away, and after a moment, footsteps came closer again.
Then the eunuch's voice, which made people's skin crawl, rang out: "Your Majesty has ordered that Marquis Ping'an Fengyun and Marquis Gaoling be present. The rest of the soldiers should wait outside the gate first and not move rashly."
I immediately turned around and gave orders to my men to form a formation to guard the yard, and then I called Xiahou Yuan to drop his weapons and knock on the door and enter together.
Xiahou Yuan and I performed the ceremony in the great hall. I had never noticed what the emperor looked like, so I could only make out that there was a man who seemed to be ill kneeling down among the crowd. His lower body was completely covered by a yellow satin quilt, and his breathing sounded abnormal.
"My dear ministers, Marquis Ping'an Fengyun and Marquis Gaoling, please stand up." He seemed a little frail, and his voice lacked strength.
"Your Majesty, I am here to lead the troops on the orders of my father, Lord Shen, the Prince of Ping'an. This is General Xiahou Yuan, the vanguard officer under Marquis Gaoling Cao. Marquis Gaoling also ordered him to lead the vanguard." I had to correct it, but I tried my best to make it sound like a supplementary report. It turned out that the king of this country didn't even know what Marquis Gaoling was like. He Jin was going a bit too far.
"Oh, Mr. Shen, I hope you are in good health?" As expected, they were related by marriage, and this greeting immediately sounded close.
"Your Majesty, my father is in good health and is on his way to Luoyang. Thank you for your concern. As a son, I should convey your Majesty's thoughts. My father will be deeply grateful." When he stood up to answer, he took a closer look. The emperor's face was sallow, but his facial features were pretty. He didn't look sick, but he was weak and couldn't stand the cold. Suddenly, he remembered that it was a bit cold this morning.
Then, the emperor asked Xiahou Yuan about Gaoling Hou's situation. Miaocai answered him one by one. It sounded like His Majesty had no idea who Cao Cao was or how he appeared in the court.
"Your Majesty." When His Majesty asked us what was going on outside, I hurriedly told us about Empress He.
"Okay, okay. If it weren't for Brother Wang and Marquis Gaoling's kindness, I really don't know what to do now." I felt that the eunuchs behind me were a little unnatural, and they exchanged glances with each other.
"Your Majesty, what is your decree now? My father only asked me to rush to Luoyang to protect him, and has not made any plans for the next step. Please let Your Majesty know clearly." I pretended to be stupid, just wanting everyone to testify that what I was going to do next had nothing to do with my father. Even so, I secretly thought in my heart that I was one step closer to being cut into pieces.
"This?" The emperor was a little hesitant. A eunuch came up and whispered something in the emperor's ear. The emperor nodded.
"Well, that's natural." Then he signaled the eunuch to announce the decree.
"Marquis Ping An Feng Yun, listen to my order and quickly go to pacify the rebellion in the four cities. If you encounter resistance, kill them without mercy."
If he was not in the Yulin Army, I would have killed him. Eunuchs discussing politics has been a taboo since ancient times, but if we do this, we can eliminate He Jin's power in the capital, and then when Empress Dowager He returns, we can find a way to get rid of this gang of eunuchs.
At this moment, I feel that I was right not to knock out Queen He and sell her to the opium land. Queen He is still needed to help blow pillow wind here.
I told him to make his majesty feel relieved, and then I went out with Miaocai. Suddenly I saw a black iron wolf tooth gun on the weapon rack, and immediately turned around to ask for it. I said that I didn't bring the wolf with me, so it was not smooth to hit the gun. His majesty was also amused by me, and after hearing this, he felt much better and agreed immediately.
Then he went out again and picked up the wolf tooth stick. He always felt that it was lighter than the heavenly wolf, but looking at the wolf tooth made him feel more at ease.
As soon as he left the house, Miaocai couldn't help laughing. I was a little puzzled, so he tried his best to control himself and said, "I know that you are easy to get along with, so I dare to laugh. But do you know why Miaocai is laughing?"
"You know."
"Are guns used to hit people?" He laughed again. "And when Your Majesty asked the Emperor for weapons just now, it was like a naughty boy asking his father for something. Your usual behavior is really as innocent as my master said, like a child."
If you knew what I was thinking at the time, you wouldn’t think so. I thought to myself, but I could only smile along with it.
After Shangde Ma Lai and Miao Cai discussed an idea, they walked around the Weiyang Palace again and rushed down.
"Listen, all loyal soldiers. The emperor has ordered the execution of He Jin's gang. Follow me." After a pause, he raised his voice again: "If there are any unscrupulous people who are used by He Jin's gang, follow us to kill He's mansion. It will be a loyalty and will be rewarded. Otherwise, Ping An Fengyun Hou will not be able to leave a whole body under his wolf-tooth stick."
Then, I led the team through the Imperial City Gate again, ordered the white flag to stay and seal the gate, and the black flag to follow me. This time, the people who were originally fighting together immediately formed a line, more than half of them fell to the side of us who followed our horses forward, some stood there gasping for breath and unable to move, and some continued to resist and stood in front with weapons.
I moved forward slowly, and more and more people gathered here. I asked the people next to me to keep shouting to them to follow us. I put the wolf tooth stick on my right shoulder, ready to charge forward with both hands.
When the people in front of me slowly retreated and looked at each other, a warrior came to stab me with a spear. I knew it was time to establish my authority and disintegrate the opponent, so I shouted and rushed forward. What inspired me to fight so hard at this moment was that terrible word: a thousand cuts. I moved to the side and held it with my left hand, clamped it under my armpit, and said sorry in my heart, then swung my right stick and smashed it down with all my strength.
That person was two feet shorter. I didn't dodge the splash of various colored liquids, nor did I want to look at that person. I just kept my face indifferent and continued to urge my horse forward. When I threw the spear that was stabbing at me, I also secretly exerted force, so that the wooden pole of the spear broke into several pieces. This scene made the people behind me exclaim, which made me feel proud.
"Surrender?" My face was cold and seemed to have no emotion. I even felt sleepy. "I, Ping An Fengyun Hou, never kill those who don't resist."
Unexpectedly, the people below immediately threw away their weapons and stood against the wall, clearing a path for us. The few stubborn elements were stabbed to death by the people next to them.
"Brother Miaocai, please lead the troops to He Jin's mansion." I didn't want to continue this kind of thing, so I planned to let him finish the rest of the things for me.
"Your Majesty's divine power is something I, a talented person, have finally gotten to see. I have no regrets." He said to me very sincerely. Although I tried my best to act indifferent, I was actually very touched in my heart. The teacher deserves the greatest credit for this. Most of the people who were intimidated before me were burdened by my almost terrifying reputation.
After Miao Cai left, I gathered these soldiers outside the imperial city and asked them to call over their own brothers in their own camps and stop fighting this "meaningless" battle.
The brothers with the Black Flag behind us whispered in my ear that they outnumbered us by a lot and what would we do if a fight broke out.
Although I was a little panicked, I turned my head slowly and said calmly, "I once broke into the Xiliang vanguard army and took Dong Xi's head. There were 50,000 of them. How many are there in front of you? If you are afraid, go and join the brothers of the White Flag to defend the Imperial City."
Suddenly I thought, if I really boasted that I was such a hero, would anyone ask why I let Dong Zhuo enter Yizhou? I really couldn't answer that. But this time I saw that everyone looked at me with admiration and respect, and no one thought too much. No one moved behind me, and that really put me at ease.
Seeing that the crowd had gathered, I dismounted and climbed up a tower in front of the imperial city. When I climbed up the tower, I saw a bucket of water hung inside for putting out fires. I knew my face was dirty, so I scooped some water to wash it and wiped my armor. I went up after everything was ready. Seeing that more and more people were gathering, I was ready to speak.
I cleared my throat a little. I had shouted too much this morning and my voice was a little hoarse. During this time, I moved the body hanging on the railing away and left myself a place to shout.
"My fellow soldiers, you are the loyal elite troops guarding Luoyang, but why are you killing each other? Now the emperor has issued an order to punish only the He family for rebellion, and all the soldiers should obey. I don't know what the imperial edict said before, and I will pretend that it has never happened. Therefore, you don't need to come to see me, just obey my orders. Now, all the captains should take the guards of each city gate and go back to your own city gate to continue your daily duties. Only the two troops of Prince Ping'an and Marquis Gaoling are allowed to enter, and no others are allowed. The patrol soldiers will continue to patrol the city, and they will preach in my name all the way to let every household wait at home for the time being, and we will announce that they can go out once the chaos is settled."
I was a little nervous when I started to speak, but I didn't expect the whole square to echo around me, which made my voice more powerful. I became more and more powerful, and I still felt a little unsatisfied after finishing.
When I came down, several lieutenants came to see me. What they asked was beyond my expectation. They asked my name. I thought that my name should be known to the world, but I didn't expect that no one knew it in the imperial city. Then I found out that they didn't know my "original name". When I asked them what my current name was, they gave me many inexplicable and ambiguous answers. I quickly dipped my blood on the ground and wrote my name, explained the pronunciation, and then sent them away.
Then I sent a message to the chief of the guards to clean up the battlefield. I decided to lead the Black Flag Cavalry to patrol the city and visit the homes of several officials, including my brothers.
Suddenly I remembered that I hadn't slept all night, which was only when I heard the yawns from behind that I remembered that I was in good spirits today, at least I wasn't sleepy yet. So I ordered them to guard the gates of the imperial city with Baiqi and take turns to rest, thinking that this would give them more freedom.
I didn't want to go to Xiahou Yuan's place, so I rode my horse directly to other official residences. I felt temporarily relieved. At least I had nothing to do before Queen He came back.
There was Zishe in Xicheng, and that Zishe was supposed to have a child, so I rode straight there. Fortunately, I was quite road-blind and remembered the locations of the watchtowers in the city, so I rode there leisurely.
"My dear brother Zirui, how are you?" Just as I was wondering what Zishe's child looked like, I was interrupted by an old friend coming from the west.
"Brother Meng De, I have been waiting to see you for a long time." Of course I have to tell him about Yinling, but now I have to clarify the important things first.
After I finished, Brother Meng De just turned his head and said to another general of his clan: "Yuan Rang, take the troops to help Miao Cai."
Xiahou Dun saluted us and then took another team to He Jin's mansion.
"If we get rid of He Jin this time, the world will be half peaceful."
“Why not half?”
"There are already millions of people outside Hulao Pass."
Meng De and I came to the imperial city in this way, testing each other in a veiled manner. However, this time we were much more honest. We dismounted and held hands, letting each other go first. I was a marquis of ten thousand households, while he was only a marquis of five thousand households. Naturally, I was the eldest brother, so the elder one should go first. He smiled and did not refuse. However, he finally smiled and told me not to call him brother anymore, but brother-in-law, which was more intimate. I quickly told him directly that this marriage was a bit troublesome, and I would discuss it in detail after seeing the emperor. Suddenly, someone ran up from behind and reported that my father had arrived.
At that moment, Meng De and I turned back to greet them.
The first general in front of us was the elder sister who came on a red horse. Because we were at the gate of the imperial city, she didn't say anything. She just jumped off the horse quickly when we approached, and landed in front of me very steadily, and then threw the reins to the soldier next to her. With just this one move, I, who had only learned to ride a horse for less than two years, was much worse. Brother Mengde even cheered. She looked at me with a smile, then glanced at Cao Mengde who had just praised me, and then turned her face back.
"Big sister." I bowed first, and my sister also bowed. I noticed the questioning look in my big sister's eyes, so I could only curl my lips when I leaned down and got closer to my sister's head, "It's him."
After getting up, he introduced the hero next to him in a serious manner. Cao Cao was indeed a cheerful person, praising the elder sister. I had to hold the girl who was a little blown away to prevent her from flying into the sky. They quickly became familiar with each other and talked together, which made me feel redundant.
"Sister, where is father?" I felt it necessary for me to remind this girl who seemed to have forgotten why she came here to remember the important matter.
"In the back car, we caught up with my father's team outside the city. When the city guards saw our flag, they let us in." My eldest sister finally came back. She was very satisfied with what I did: "You did a good job. The city guards almost looked up to the gods and reported to us how you pacified the internal and external conflicts with just a wave of your hand."
I thought to myself that I should probably thank my teacher for helping me to build up my reputation, making me neither human nor ghost. As long as I show the slightest gesture, everyone will feel timid.
"No, no, sister, don't listen to their boasting. In fact, it was all thanks to the bravery of General Xiahou Yuan under Marquis Gaoling. Oh, Brother Mengde, I have talked to my father about you, and he really wants to meet you. How about you go with Zirui to meet my father?" I also felt that if my elder sister kept praising me like this in front of Brother Mengde and me, it would make Brother Mengde lose face, so I quickly found an excuse to do other things.
"That's great." Brother Meng De's face didn't seem to be affected by what had just happened. He was still in high spirits. He joined hands with me to welcome the arrival of my father, Shen Gong.
"Empress He is here too. Wouldn't it be better if we went to pay her a visit first?" My eldest sister's words were very correct, which surprised Brother Meng De greatly. I quickly told him what happened last night.
"You have made such a great contribution this time. I am really jealous of you." Brother Mengde is so cute. It is always a pleasure to be with him. What makes me even happier is that God has finally given him a chance to show his ambitions.
Empress He entered the city in a slightly modified carriage escorted by many soldiers, with my father on a horse not far behind. However, I first approached her and whispered the emperor's will to her at the window of the carriage, and also told her about the eunuch's suggestion. I suddenly thought, have we sent back an escaped prisoner? Will she cry and scream in the carriage? Will she be executed if she enters the imperial city again? Wouldn't my plan to use her be immediately shattered? She was just a pitiful person to begin with.
I couldn't help but feel annoyed that I hadn't thought it through carefully enough. Just as I was feeling annoyed, I suddenly felt that the person inside seemed very calm, and even his breathing didn't speed up a bit.
"I understand. I'll go meet the emperor and make the final decision." She spoke in a very casual manner, not afraid of the possible danger at all.
After introducing them again, Cao Mengde also came over to pay his respects. After a brief visit, he went to see his father.
My father was really still angry with me. He didn't even let me meet Brother Meng De together, and only ordered me to continue escorting the carriage into the imperial city.
I looked back and saw him chatting and laughing with Brother Meng De. I felt sad and thought to myself: I am really destined to be fatherless and cannot enjoy the joy of half the love and care of my parents.
I don't know how the tears started to flow from my eyes. I almost cried out loud. I quickly wiped them away and thought to myself: It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. I came alone and I will leave alone. I have my own home between heaven and earth.
Zirui didn't know that his actions were remembered forever by another person.
I went to the gate of the courtyard in a daze. After reporting, Empress He walked in with a restrained look. I waited outside the door. The sound was sometimes loud, and I could hear some of it. It seemed that Empress He was asking for punishment. The eunuchs also wanted to punish her, but the emperor was still hesitating. After all, she was the queen, and it was not easy to depose the queen.
I didn't want Empress He to be deposed, otherwise I would not have supported me in killing the eunuchs. But how could I barge in now? However, I immediately saw Prince Ping'an Shen Gongwang, and thought that Empress He could be saved.
Someone reported that the emperor actually came out to greet us personally, and the emperor and his subjects greeted each other with courtesy. Then, Gaoling Hou and Ping'an Junwang came to see me, but I was still left outside.
The voices inside became louder, and during this time, Prince Ping'an spoke loudly to explain that the disadvantages of deposing the queen were very reasonable. The fact that the mother of the crown prince was deposed alone made the eunuchs uncomfortable. If the crown prince was replaced, this would be even more unacceptable to them. Moreover, at the end, he suddenly changed his tone and asked what mistakes Queen He had made.
They probably began to convince themselves that since Empress He had no one to rely on, there would be no more danger. Of course, they didn't know that their biggest danger was Empress He. What happened in the future could make them regret after they died, which was even more terrible than the other two.
Just when I felt that the situation was calm, Empress He also sat back next to the emperor; I also felt sleepy and began to doze off, but someone told me to go in. I was very dissatisfied, but I had to force myself to go in.
I just kowtowed when I entered, and then no one talked to me. Instead, the people at the top were talking about something that was not my business at the moment, so I thought about closing my eyes for a while...
I was woken up by someone slapping me hard. I stood up in a rage and glared at him. When I saw it was Shen Gong, I didn't know what happened. I had already planned to stop treating him as a father and son. But when I saw his eyes, I softened a little. My face immediately turned into a timid and helpless expression, not only because of the anger of the prince in front of me, but also because I realized my mistake.
"It's all right, brother Wang. Zirui stayed up all night protecting the queen yesterday, and fought all morning. If it weren't for his divine power, I would not be able to see the queen now, and Luoyang could not be pacified immediately. The child is still young, so it's inevitable that he is sleepy. I still remember that when I was 18 years old, I also fell asleep during the court." I was just awakened, and I knew that a big mistake had been made. My mind immediately raced to find a reason to explain. I didn't expect that the emperor didn't have a single accusation, which made me feel a little good about this emperor. There are two reasons, both of which were shown in his words just now. First, he still has a deep love for Queen He. You know, there are countless beauties in the harem. Although Queen He cannot be old and weak, she is not that young and beautiful. It is not easy for an emperor to have this heart; second, he dares to admit his mistakes, which is probably the most important thing.
"Moreover, I heard from the old maids in the palace that during a quarrel, children only feel safe in front of their parents, and can only sleep peacefully when they feel safe. Zirui can sleep so comfortably in our palace alone during such a quarrel. The emperor and I are the only couple here. This means that Zirui, the emperor and I are truly destined to be together. Lord Shen, there is no need to refuse."
"In that case, I accept your order with great trepidation. Zhi'er, why don't you bow quickly?"
I quickly prostrated myself again, not knowing what was going on.
"Oh, okay, okay, stand up, my son Zirui, don't fall asleep in the hall again." The emperor's joking words made everyone laugh, but Shen Gong couldn't help laughing, Cao Cao laughed with his heart open, and there was a snickering sound from all around.
As for me, the door was shut. I stood up and looked at the emperor and the empress in a daze. In a moment, it seemed that I had another pair of parents, but this pair of parents was beyond my reach.
They made me laugh again, and finally I understood the reason. I was brave and courageous, young and lovely, so Queen He asked Lord Shen to adopt me as his adopted son. The emperor did not object, so the matter was settled. This made me feel a little unsteady, and I didn't know what to do. However, the emperor and the queen immediately asked someone to take me to the back to rest first, and other matters were the affairs of the elders.
I was about to leave when Shen Gong stopped me and asked me to pay my respects to my parents.
It was not easy to greet them. I was never a prince, and I was not familiar with the rules. I had to kneel down and kowtow, which made them laugh again. Then I said goodbye to Lord Shen and left in a panic. When I left, I heard Lord Shen behind me saying that I was useless and wanted the emperor and empress to say something good about me.
The palace maids were all snickering, probably because they thought a country bumpkin like me was interesting. They took me, who was feeling a little depressed and sleepy, to a bedroom. After they washed my hands, wiped my face, and burned incense for a while, they let me rest on the couch in the room.
But this time I couldn't fall asleep no matter what. As soon as I lay down, I thought to myself that what happened today was strange, but I always felt that my behavior just now was a bit bad. If the teacher knew about it, I would definitely be scolded again. But I didn't know whether the teacher would scold me then.
Feeling suddenly annoyed, I looked at the magnificent bedroom in front of me and lay on the soft, empty couch, but I just couldn't fall asleep.
This is just a place to sleep. As for what it looks like, I have never slept in a palace. It is more difficult for me to find a word than to fall asleep now. But if I could fall asleep, I would definitely not think of this appropriate word. So my curiosity soon made me get up and look around. Even the sleeping lamps here are well made. It is like two real people kneeling on both sides of the couch holding lamps. The lamps are closed on three sides, and only one side is shining brightly outside the couch. The room is fragrant and elegant. The patterns on the outside of the incense burner are vividly carved with the scene of a naughty boy climbing a tree to catch cicadas. Suddenly, I heard someone coming outside the door. The door was pushed, and I immediately jumped back to the couch and resumed my sleeping posture.
Several ladies came in first, and one of them asked quietly whether they should wake me up. It turned out that they were my new adoptive parents. I didn't know what to do now. When I heard that they didn't need to, they went straight to the head of the bed to see me.
I decided to continue pretending to be asleep, but I was quite nervous.
"Zi Rui, since you are not asleep, why don't you get up and see your parents?" I got up quickly, knelt on the couch, and performed the etiquette of seeing my parents, begging for forgiveness for my sleepiness. I thought to myself, in fact, you are not much better than me, the emperor is only twelve years older than me, and Empress He is about three years older, why do you have to take advantage of me like this? Of course, I didn't say so, but I was really stupid at that time.
"I don't know, father and mother. No, no, how did father and mother know that Zirui was taking a nap?"
"I..." The emperor looked at Empress He and smiled unnaturally. "I didn't have much government affairs to do before, so I had more time to accompany my children every day. My oldest child is the same age as you, but only ten days older than you. I had nothing to do at noon every day, so I would take care of them while they took a nap. Sometimes the children were naughty, so they would play with me like this while pretending to sleep. How could I not see this? When you get married and have a child like this, you will understand it, but you may not have as much time as I do."
"Father, do you have a prince who is the same age as me?" He was surprised, but he immediately changed his words: "It should be the princess who is the same age as me."
"Yes, I ascended the throne at the age of eleven, and in the same year, I made your stepmother the empress. Then in the second year of Jianning, Princess Ningguo was born. I just asked your brothers and sisters to come to see you. Just cheer up, and take a rest after meeting them, okay? Some of them often drag their father to tell you stories about you, and ask me to summon you to show them, which gives me a headache. This time, you can tell them your story." When I was twelve years old, my wife pulled my ear and took me home. Thinking of this, I felt that I was really useless. I didn't expect that the emperor was really the emperor. He was really powerful. I secretly praised him in my heart.
"Oh," I immediately agreed and quickly put on my armor in front of them. The way they looked at me was like parents looking at their child, and I felt touched. It seemed that God had favored me too much. They were so attentive to me, but I was afraid that there would be some tricks waiting for them.
After everything was sorted out, he suddenly felt something was wrong, so he quickly knelt down again, saying that he was rude and hoped for forgiveness.
They all laughed, saying I was too childish.
Amid laughter, several princes and princesses arrived. They helped me up and treated me like brothers and sisters, saying there was no need to perform any grand formalities with them.
Of course I didn't dare to be stubborn in front of them, so I met with these curious young men and women.
"Zi Rui, I will introduce these royal brothers and sisters to you. This one is Princess Ningguo Liu Ru, who is the same age as you. This one is Princess Pingguo Liu Shi, who was born in the first year of Xiping. At that time, I was still young and didn't know much about naming. I only knew to find characters according to the generation, so the names were not good. For this reason, your two sisters always refused to give up and often made me angry. In the future, Zi Rui should take good care of these two evil stars for me; this one is Crown Prince Liu Bian. Now I have some ideas. I like spicy food, so I will use this chili pepper. The entrance is the basis, the name is the argument, I hope he will be decisive and brave in the future, and have that kind of bold feeling; this is your younger brother, Xie'er, who was born in the first year of Guanghe. At that time, the weather was hot and humid, and strange grass suddenly grew under the Weiyang Palace. Its joints were like bamboo and it grew rapidly. In the end, it took many people to uproot it. I thought of the word Xie (Xie), and I hope he can work with everyone to assist his brother in the future and eliminate all kinds of difficulties in the Han Dynasty. "When the emperor talked about this, his scorched face showed full pride, and his spirit was very good.
But I did draw some ideas from this, so I quickly bowed and exchanged greetings with these princes and princesses. Before they could ask many very strange questions, I asked the Emperor and the Empress to discuss an important matter.
The Emperor seemed to be well prepared, and he immediately dismissed all the princes, leaving only Empress He and the three of us.
That day, until evening, I stayed in the Forbidden Palace and nothing happened that night.
On the morning of the third day of the first lunar month in the third year of Zhongping, I stayed at Meng De's place for half a day and then returned. I had nothing to do in the morning and felt guilty for not going to Zishe Zisheng's mansion. However, Luoyang was still under martial law, and the four cities were under strict inspection, and I could not get away from it for the time being.
At noon on the third day of the first lunar month in the third year of Zhongping, someone came to report that the troops from Jingzhou had arrived at the city. They were shocked and hurried out to welcome them. The three brothers of the teacher, Yinling, Ziyu, Qing, Li Zhen, and Zhou Yu, with 30,000 troops, had somehow arrived at the city.
Seeing Yinling again, I was happy; but she was evasive, and only made a face to me, then ducked her head and dodged to the side, only adjusting her cloak behind me with her hands. Everyone watching this smiled but said nothing.
After hearing all this, I was deeply moved, and everyone also sighed at how happy I was with Meng Deping.
At that time, the troops and horses were stationed outside the city, and everyone followed me to the palace to see the emperor. Today, everything in Luoyang seems to have been settled, but the eunuch next to me said that yesterday someone saw a mountain of corpses in front of He Jin's mansion, which could not be cleared for the time being, so Gaoling Hou still did not allow the families in the East Market to go out. But for those who need help, the court will first pay some food and firewood to their households, and the rest of the places are only allowed to move around in the area where they live.
After the ceremony, the emperor was very pleased and sighed that Luoshui was a blessed water. The teachers and others were surprised that I "climbed up" again. At that time, the teachers and others wanted to salute me. I was so scared that I knelt down hurriedly, not daring to break the teacher, so that the emperor and the queen in the palace laughed, and finally exempted everyone from the ceremony.
After the audience was over, the teachers and the others left and I was left behind. When the Emperor and Empress mentioned Yinling, the couple laughed at them again.
Later, he was summoned by Gaolinghou to his camp and discussed the matter for another half a day. Finally, the plan was decided and the day was chosen to be the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
I did not go to see Shen Gong during the day that day. Although I had some grudges against him, I still felt it would be a bit awkward not to go.
That night, after I explained the various guard rules to the Imperial City Guards and paid my respects to my "Father Emperor and Mother Empress", I stated that I needed to go and pay a visit to my teacher. Of course, they agreed and allowed me to bring some rewards as a thank-you gift.
The teachers and their friends could only live in the official post house at this time and could not go out at will. The only good thing was that they had a large area in the official post house because they were the only ones living there. They were also guarded by Jingzhou guards. When they saw me coming, they pretended to ask me about my identity and whether I had the regular money. After I threatened to beat them up, they jumped in to report and were let go. I dismissed the servants in the palace and only let the Jingzhou soldiers take the rewards for me, and went in alone.
I want to try to get the teacher to do this with me, but I guess the teacher's personality may not make him willing to do this, so I have to give him a push and let him unleash his youthful enthusiasm.
The teacher was surrounded by a group of people. When he heard me coming, he stood up immediately. Before the teacher could salute, he quickly paid his respects to the teacher and said, "Teacher, please don't kill Zirui."
Third uncle was the most straightforward. This time he was also wearing military uniform. He helped me up and turned to his eldest brother and said, "Zi Rui is a very honest and kind child. Don't make things difficult for him, eldest brother."
The teacher asked with a smile why I came, but I first exchanged the master-disciple ceremony with the master, and then saluted with the others, lest they would not recognize me after I climbed up. Only Qing was not there, and the master asked him to fight in the army outside the city.
Afterwards, I hurriedly asked them to present the gifts, and only said that they were given by His Majesty, but did not mention that it was a gift of thanks to the teacher, in order to avoid anyone thinking that I had grown wings and was about to fly away alone.
Then I bowed respectfully and waited for the teacher to speak. To be honest, I have never been so honest before.
"Have you seen Zishe and Zisheng?" the teacher asked after asking the soldiers to carry the gifts away.
"No, the security is very strict everywhere. According to Brother Meng De, the Marquis of Gaoling, many officials are related to He Jin. There may still be remnants of He Jin in the various mansions in the city. It is not advisable to make a big move for now, or there may be more rebellion. These need to be considered in the long run. In addition, I have been very busy in the past two days and really have no time to visit you. I always feel a little guilty about this."
"What else do you need to do? Are you being held up by some princess or beauty?"
Hearing Zi Shi's words, he became furious. After bowing to his teacher again, he stood up and glared at him.
Yin Ling knew that something was wrong, so she hurried over to persuade him, "Zi Rui, you know that Zi Shi is unintentional. Don't we know what kind of person you are?"
But what I have done these days has been criticized so much, and I feel that everything I have done has been misunderstood. How can a young man like me swallow this
"Zi Shi, do you think I, Xie Zhi, am this kind of person? I am afraid that you will laugh at me for this, so I am keeping it to myself. But you still look at me like this, as if you were looking at your own brothers in Jingzhou."
"Hey, Zishi didn't mean it. Otherwise, with your status, how dare he be so careless. It was just a joke. Zirui, apologize to Zishi quickly." The master taught.
Zishi felt a little aggrieved, his face flushed, and he stammered, "I didn't know you would get so angry, I'm sorry, brother."
� ��Knowing that he was a little too angry, he took a long breath and realized that he had to apologize: "Zi Shi, I have always had a bad temper. I either don't lose my temper or I lose it all at once. Please don't blame me for the sin of hurting you. Sister, please speak for me and persuade my brother-in-law." Suddenly he glanced at Zhou Yu and thought of a way to ease the atmosphere.
Zhou Yu suddenly hid behind Li Zhen shyly, lowered her head and said nothing. Everyone laughed, and then the teacher asked me how the matter between me and Yin Ling was going. Many people knew about this matter, so there was no need to be shy about it. Then Yin Ling also lowered her head shyly, but she didn't hide behind me, but hid farther away.
I answered loudly and directly without any hesitation: "I want to marry her."
This made everyone cheer loudly, and they also criticized Li Zhen for being too shy and not as frank and fearless as me. However, I still wanted to, and I still needed the emperor to issue an edict stating that Yinling and I were not siblings, and then grant me a marriage, which would be the best. And most importantly, I needed to marry another one.
This made them feel a little strange and they asked why.
This explanation was a bit taboo, so I had to ask them if there were any outsiders around. They told me that even the soldiers of Jingzhou would not approach this room without permission, and there were only family members here. Then I stammered that my parents had also been engaged to Mr. Shuijing, and everyone understood a little. However, they probably knew that there was some mystery in this, but seeing that I was a little embarrassed, they just wished me a crucial step towards the happiness of having a wife.
After this, everyone was finally smiling and the discord among them naturally disappeared.
I ask them what they are doing, and if they don't have anything urgent, I want to discuss those important things with the teacher.
Their teacher was playing chess with Uncle San, and I interrupted him and asked if I was interested in continuing to watch with them. I naturally expressed my interest and thought about how to find another opportunity. This time, it was exactly the kind of chess I had seen at Tian Yuanhao's house. The teacher sat on Han Xin's side, and Uncle San sat on Xiang Yu's side. It was the time when the Central Plains were competing for supremacy and the fronts of the troops were meeting.
While the teacher was playing, he also used the principles of chess to explain how to march and deploy troops in daily life. There was one sentence that I heard most clearly and that touched me the most.
"These two large carts (chariots), moving back and forth, were the main combat force on the battlefield in the past. Later, when the cavalry had stirrups, the impact force increased greatly, and they became popular in the world. Nowadays, few people use these chariots. But on the chessboard, it is better to deploy these two carts first. Moreover, these chariots will still have many uses on the battlefield now, so I ordered Zi Yu to make some when we build ships in Jiangling, and I am waiting for you to train them well for me, so that they can be used when needed." I thought about this on the way, but I felt that military farming was more necessary, so I didn't have this idea. When I heard it this time, I nodded frequently, and then I thought about it back and forth in my mind, and then I came up with an idea.
The teacher was one step ahead, and in the end he used the chariot and archers to kill Xiang Yu, but Third Uncle felt a little frustrated because many of his troops were pinned on the left and unable to move.
"Teacher, can I play a game with you?"
"Do you know this kind of chess?"
"Yes, I have seen him at the residence of Tian Feng, a strategist under Yuan Shao, and I know how he plays the game. I think your game is very smooth and has a kind of beauty in the use of troops, so I want to learn from you."
"Okay, you want to use that side."
"Just this way."
Then I sat down, trying to calm my excitement, and arranged my seat. Then I naturally called Yinling to sit next to me. Amid the noise of the crowd, she raised her pretty face and pretended to be indifferent when she sat down. But once she sat behind me, I was hit on the waist. Of course, I ignored her provocation and just explained the new rule of the tripping horse to everyone. This is my proud creation, how can I not.
They immediately knew what was going on, and they laughed as they said, "Just stay away, otherwise they will think that I have stolen their clan's secret knowledge."
I first clasped my hands together and said, "Please forgive me, Master." The next step was to press my index finger on the center of the rook on the left side of the teacher's chessboard, and smiled, "This suits you very well, Master. Master, Third Uncle, am I right?"
The teacher and his three brothers all had slightly changed expressions, but the surprise on the teacher's face was fleeting, but this was enough to prove that I was right. Others didn't know, but Yinling suddenly exclaimed in surprise, then leaned close to my ear and whispered a few words. A fragrance came over, and it tickled my neck, making me involuntarily lean back against her and whispered, "That's right."
Then he collected his thoughts and noticed that his master and his third uncle exchanged glances, but his teacher still pretended to be confused. "Zi Rui, what do you mean?"
"Brothers, please go down first. I have something to discuss with the teacher."
"No need." The teacher said solemnly, "I will tell you about this sooner or later. Since Zirui has already figured it out, you should tell everyone. I, Wei Dingguo, have nothing to hide from my students. It's just a matter of time. I am also looking for an opportunity to announce this to the world. Just take care of it. Zishi and Ziyu are not outsiders."
When Zishi and Ziyu heard this, they hurried to the surrounding windows to check the situation, and then closed all the windows and doors.
I also restrained my loud voice, bowed to the teacher again, and whispered the secret to everyone.
"Teacher, you are the descendant of Han Xin, a great general when the Han Dynasty was first established!" Everyone exclaimed, but their voices were obviously much lower.
"Teacher, is Zirui right?"
The teacher nodded and motioned for me to continue.
Then, I wrote the characters for "韋" and "車" on the table beside me and said, "Teacher, please lend me the diagram to help me solve it."
The teacher then took out the picture from his sleeve and handed it to me to unfold. I explained them one by one. There are several secrets of the teacher hidden here, but there is one that I did not reveal because it is meaningless and will damage the teacher's reputation. I only explained a few important points.
"The teacher carried the huge stone but didn't put it on the car. Why?" I asked the two brothers who knew nothing about it. Zhou Yu could only stare at the picture with wide eyes. It was difficult for her to understand the twists and turns in it.
“I supervised the construction of chariots in Jiangling. The weight on the chariots is too heavy, and the axles will break.” Hearing this, I knew that Ziyu was thinking about something, and Zishi also seemed to understand something.
"But how can Lord Wei carry such a huge stone?" I motioned to Zhou Yusheng so that she could not get on the bed.
"Doesn't this '车' look like a car seen from above? If the axle is broken, and put together with the character 韋 next to it, wouldn't it be the character 韓? I've heard that when General Han was executed, Prime Minister Xiao sent the general's son to live in seclusion in Lingnan. Now that I think about it, he must have let his son take the character 魏, which is half of his surname, as his surname." The teacher nodded again.
"This chariot is a weapon of war and bloodshed; Luoyang is the capital. The chariots rushing to the capital are really a sign of chaos; but the teacher is carrying a heavy burden and is unwilling to get on the chariot, in order to save the world from the disaster of war. Teacher, your behavior makes the students really... speechless, and I am willing to share this heavy responsibility with you." I omitted too much. Even though we are acquaintances, many things are difficult to explain clearly.
"You didn't say it all, did you? Actually, there is another meaning here. Nanhuazi despises me for buying and selling official positions and titles since Shanglin Garden." The teacher said the part that I didn't say very casually.
"Teacher..." It was no use interrupting, the teacher came out anyway. This made me feel very uncomfortable, I didn't want to make people think of the teacher with contempt, but several people didn't react.
"Of course I know what Zirui feels, but this is the truth. I have nothing to hide. The Emperor also knows this, but..."
"But the teacher is truly dedicated to serving the people, so it is reasonable for him to buy an official position in this way." I was a little anxious, my voice got louder, and my eyes were filled with tears. I have indeed cried a lot in recent days, and I have never shed so many tears in my life.
“Oh, let future generations decide. I don’t care. My ancestor was loyal but was murdered by Empress Lu, and later generations branded him a traitor. How can his injustice be redressed? My buying an official position is nothing. I just want to have a clear conscience and put the people first.” The teacher was upright and awe-inspiring, without any evil in his heart. This was exactly the appearance of a great sage.
My peers and I bowed down together, expressing our willingness to follow the teacher in helping the world and sharing the national crisis. This really excited everyone, and led to many ambitious things in the future.
"Zirui, you came to me just to solve the secret of this map, right?" The teacher pushed aside the chessboard, sat upright, and asked loudly.
"Yes, besides meeting the teacher, I came here for one purpose." I bowed again and slowly told the picture of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
It was a cloudless night, and the moon had actually become full ahead of schedule. The whole of Luoyang lay there quietly, oblivious to the millions of soldiers and horses outside the Great Wall a hundred miles away.
On the thirteenth day of the first month of the third year of Zhongping, there was no incident.