The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

But why was Chen Qun so surprised?

It turned out that his father Chen Ji came from Chang'an. Then again, why did Chen Ji come to Xuzhou from Chang'an at this time?

Long story, actually short.

Since Chen Ji was conscripted into the court by Dong Zhuo, he and Chen Qun were separated from each other, first in Luoyang and then in Chang'an.

It goes without saying how dangerous the situation between North Korea and China has been in recent years. The former Dong Zhuo, the current Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, etc., are all domineering and arrogant warriors. Compared with Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and others may be slightly better. After all, they do not have Dong Zhuo's qualifications, nor do they have the prestige of Dong Zhuo in their Liangzhou army, so they dare not be like Dong Zhuo. Killing and quitting; but even so, being in the court, not to mention the precariousness of the day, is always shrouded in danger and heavy pressure.

As a son of man, how could Chen Qun not worry about his father's safety? And Chen Ji is not too young now, already sixty-four or five.

Because, as early as when Xuzhou was generally stable, Chen Qun asked Xun Zhen to send someone to pick up his father Chen Ji to Xuzhou.

So far, Xun Zhen has sent three groups of people to pick up Chen Ji.

One of the three groups of people was killed by thieves on the way, and they never made it to Chang'an.

One group came to Chang'an, but Chen Ji was reluctant to come to Xuzhou with them at that time. If Chen Ji was not forced to enter the court at the beginning, it would be fine, but since the next is already in the court, it doesn't matter how dangerous the situation in the court is. , The Son of Heaven is covered in dust, and as a minister, of course he must not abandon the Son of Heaven, only care about his own safety, and go from Chang'an to Xuzhou! So, he categorically refused at that time.

—— Having said that, I might as well say one more thing. Except for Chen Ji, Xun Zhen’s old officials, elders, and friends, there are still a few others in the court, the most representative is Yin Xiu , Zhong Yao, etc. The messenger Xunzhen sent to Chang'an also went to see Yin Xiu and Zhong Yao, but they also refused to go to Xuzhou, and the reason for refusing was the same as Chen Ji's.

Then, since Chen Ji has refused, why is he coming to Xuzhou now? This is because he came to Xuzhou this time under the order of the Son of Heaven. Of course, this "order" is not an upright edict, but a secret decree given to him by the Son of Heaven.

Today Zi said to Chen Ji in a secret decree: The general of Zhendong, Xun Zhen, was born into a high family, and his family was famous for his loyalty and integrity; Xun Zhen himself was also loyal to the imperial court. Every year, he sends envoys to the court to pay tribute and pay tribute. I heard that he is currently in Xuzhou to exterminate the Yellow Turbans and to appease the people. Come, discuss with Xun Zhen about King Qin's removal of thieves.

The relationship between Xun Zhen and Chen Ji is known today. Not only does he know that Xun Zhen's wife Chen Zhi is the daughter of Chen Ji's clan, but he also knows that Chen Ji's son, Chen Qun, is now under Xun Zhen's hands and is Xun Zhen's. Powerful general.

Because of this secret decree of today's son, Chen Ji accepted the request of the third envoy sent by Xun Zhen, who had also rushed to Chang'an, to invite him to Xuzhou, and agreed to come to Xuzhou. So, there is the arrival of today's Chen Ji.

And needless to say.

He just said that Chen Qun was overjoyed when he heard that his father, Chen Ji, had arrived. Xi Zhicai, Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others were also very happy when they heard the words. Xun Zhen stopped the discussion immediately, ordered the car to drive, and took Xi Zhicai, Xun Yu, Chen Qun, Guo Jia, etc., and went out of the city in person to meet Chen Ji.

At this time, Chen Ji was still ten or twenty miles away from the town of Tan County.

Everyone went out of the city and waited by the side of the road.

After waiting until nightfall, Fang saw a group of chariots and horses rushing in under the early summer moonlight.

Xun Zhen and the others rushed forward to greet him.

This team was the one who escorted Chen Ji to Tan County, and Chen Ji was in the team.

Knowing that Xun Zhen and others were in front of them to greet him, Chen Ji called the car to stop, got off, and waited for Xun Zhen and others.

Meet on the roadside.

Xun Zhen and the others bowed down to the ground and bowed to Chen Ji's disciples.

Chen Ji helped Xun Zhen up and said, "Zhenzhi, we can't meet again today!"

Xun Zhen looked at Chen Ji and saw that his beard was gray and his face was haggard, but he didn't have the gentle and elegant style when he first saw him in the Chen family. Xun Zhen said respectfully: "Chen Gong, looking back on the past, it seems like a lifetime away."

Chen Ji sighed, "What is right and wrong, what is wrong." His eyes fell on the faces of Xi Zhicai, Xun Yu, Chen Qun, Guo Jia and others.

Chen Qun bowed down to the ground again, with tears streaming down his face, and choked up: "Father, Ziqun's filial piety has caused father to go through hardships and dangers all these years! Father, whenever he thinks of his father being alone in the court, he has to endure Dong thief, and Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and the gangsters were lewd and mighty, but Ziqun couldn't protect his father, and the group tossed around and blamed themselves, and couldn't sleep at night."

Chen Ji said: "What kind of hardship is this? I just wish I could get rid of thieves for the emperor! The days of the emperor over the years have only been called a hardship. Not to mention, even the expenses in the palace have been paid for before. You have to see Dong Thief's face; now I have to look down at the breath of Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and other thieves. The thieves are rampant in the court, arrogant and rude, the emperor is just bowing! I only hate my old age and frailty, I want to be able to Twenty years younger, I will definitely kill these thieves for the emperor." Speaking of his sorrow, his voice was generous, loyal and angry.

Xun Zhen said: "Chen Gong, please calm down for now. The thieves of Dong Ni have caused chaos in the court, bullied the emperor, killed loyal ministers, and people and gods are indignant. The thief Dong has now been given the head, and the thieves Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou are not far from the news. It's gone!"

Chen Ji said: "Zhenzhi, I am here in Xuzhou, and I have a secret edict from the Son of Heaven."

These words were not unexpected to Xun Zhen, but before hearing Chen Ji say these words, Xun Zhen couldn't be sure. Hearing Chen Ji's words at this moment, Xun Zhen's heart moved, her face remained calm, and she said, "The secret order of the emperor? Dare to ask Duke Chen, what is the secret order?"

Chen Ji said: "Let's go to the county and talk about it."

Xun Zhen said: "Yes. Chen Gong came here from Chang'an, more than a thousand miles away, there are many thieves on the road, Chen Gong has a hard road, and he must have been shocked a lot on the way. Chen Gong, I have asked Shaojun to clean the house, Yinghou Chen Gong, Chen Gong will stay at my house tonight."

Chen Ji has his own son, how could Chen Qun be willing!

Xun Zhen didn't give Chen Qun a chance, then turned her head and said to Chen Qun with a smile, "Chang Wen, although you are Duke Chen's son, Shaojun is also Duke Chen's daughter, so what's the difference between living in my house and living in yours? ? Otherwise, you don't want to go home tonight, you also stay at my house!"

Xi Zhicai, Xun Yu, and Guo Jiaren all laughed, and Chen Ji couldn't help but laugh, and the atmosphere was a little lively.

He invited Chen Ji to sit back in the car, and Xun Zhen personally led Chen Ji into the city on a horse.

When they got to the city, they went to Xun Zhen's house.

Chen Ji was getting old, and he was really tired on the road, and his spirit was low. When he saw Chen Zhi, he talked for a while, and after eating some food, Xun Zhen asked him to rest. Chen Qun would not go home alone, it was night, and he stayed by Chen Ji's couch.

An Sheng slept all night and recovered his spirits. The next day, Chen Ji showed the emperor's edict to Xun Zhen.

The content of the edict was to order Xun Zhenqin, the king of Chang'an, to kill Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and other thieves.

After reading the edict, Xun Zhen got up, faced the direction of Chang'an, bowed down to the ground, and said loudly, "Chen Xunzhen, I will obey the imperial edict."

——What was Xun Zhen thinking about at this time? Except for himself, I am afraid that outsiders can't guess it.

Standing up, Xun Zhen sat back on the table, and said to Chen Ji, "Eunuch Chen, Zhen does not dare to hide the truth, in fact, King Qin's thought of killing thieves, over the years, Zhen has been thinking about it and never forgetting it, but there are two difficulties, which caused Zhen to This wish has not been fulfilled so far.”

Chen Ji asked, "Zhenzhi, what are the two difficulties?"

Xun Zhen had a straight face and a sincere tone, and said, "Before, the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou were rampant, and they were known as millions. If the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou are not destroyed, the northern side of Xuzhou will not be stable. ? This is one of my difficulties.

"And then there are Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. Although Yuan Shao and Cao have both received the kindness of the Han family, they are not grateful for the kindness of the Han family. They both have ulterior motives and unspeakable plans! Yuan Shao first swallowed Jizhou, and Cao Cao later Stealing Yanzhou, the two of them were in unison, and they returned to Youzhou in the north and peeped at me in the west, which also prevented me from easily dispatching troops to Chang'an to kill Li Jue and other thieves. This is the second difficulty for me."

Chen Ji said, "When I arrived in Yuzhou, I heard from Sun Ce that you just wiped out the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans?"

Chen Ji was the clan father of Xun Zhen's wife, so when others arrived in Yuzhou, how could Sun Ce, Xun Zhen's "disciple", ignore him? Sun Ce received Chen Ji very warmly and thoughtfully, and personally sent him to the junction of Yuzhou and Xuzhou before returning to his prefecture.

Xun Zhen said: "Yes, Duke Chen, at the request of the people of Qingzhou, I just exterminated the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou a few days ago. There are many people who have surrendered the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, and I am trying to find a way to settle them. Duke Chen, this is the first difficulty, I finally solved it, but the second difficulty, I have only solved half of it now.

Chen Ji said, "It's only half solved? Zhenzhi, are you talking about Cao Cao?"

Xun Zhen nodded and said: "Exactly! Duke Chen, after more than a year and two wars, I finally took Yanzhou back from the hands of Cao Mengde for the emperor, especially Dongjun and Chenliu. It was not long before the emperor was recaptured, but Duke Chen and Cao Cao were expelled by me, but between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, Yuan Shao was the leader. To put it bluntly, Cao Cao was just a minion of Yuan Shao.

"Yuan Shao already stole Jizhou and forced Han Fu to death; he fought with Gongsun Zan for many years, causing countless people to die in Jizhou; last winter, he used the reason that Montenegro harassed the people, and he launched a large number of troops to attack Montenegro, and the peace was difficult. Zhonglang fought Zhang Feiyan's troops for a whole winter!... Chen Gong, let's not say whether Zhang Feiyan's troops harassed the people for the time being, but what I have heard is that where Yuan Shao's troops and horses passed, the people were dying, and the counties along the Taihang Valley The people of the county, because of his brazen invasion of Zhang Feiyan's army, more than 100,000 people were killed, injured or displaced! Even more people were looted by his soldiers and horses."

Chen Ji stroked his beard and listened intently to Xun Zhen's words.

Xun Zhen continued: "Chen Gong, Yuan Benchu ​​sent troops without an order and attacked Zhang Feiyan's clan. In fact, he was not because of the so-called 'Feiyan clan harassing the people', his real intention was to steal Bingzhou! My nephew Gao Gan was the prefect of Bingzhou, and he appointed Cao Cao, who was expelled from Yanzhou by me, as the prefect of Yanmen. He is now eyeing Yanzhou and Qingzhou.

"Chen Gong, I have been eager to lead my troops to Chang'an day and night, capture all the thieves Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, and hand them over to the emperor, and then follow the emperor and return to the old capital. With my help, I can recreate the Han Dynasty! I would like to lead the horses!... But Jizhou has such a vicious wolf, but it really makes me dare not do it lightly!"

Chen Ji nodded and said, "Stealing Jizhou, forcing Han Fu to death, not mediating from the court, insisting on fighting endlessly with Gongsun Zan, all these things Yuan Benchu ​​did, I know, are indeed excessive! But Zhenzhi, the emperor's edict is here. Therefore, I have come to your Xuzhou from Chang'an without leaving a thousand miles, and it is also the emperor's edict, what do you think now?"

Xun Zhen said sternly: "The emperor's edict, how dare Zhen not obey!" Immediately, he slowed down and said earnestly, "It's just this matter, Zhen Zhi's stupid opinion, it seems that he can't be in a hurry, and he needs to take a long-term plan. Chen Gong, Zhen's stupid See yes, wait until Zhen has settled down the soldiers of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou first, and then wait until all the remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou are wiped out, and settle down in Qingzhou; then Zhen will gather all the officials in my house, presided over by the public, and discuss them together. Discuss this matter in detail, and I don’t know if the public thinks it’s okay?”

It is not possible to decide when to send troops with a single sentence when King Qin eliminates thieves. Moreover, Xuzhou is more than a thousand miles away from Chang'an, so it is even more impossible to decide with one word. Chen Ji has no opinion and agrees with Xun Zhen.

suggestion.

After the business was finished, Chen Ji came from Chang'an. Xun Zhen and others didn't know much about the various situations in the Chang'an court, because the roads were far away, especially the current situation. Of course, you had to ask Chen Ji.

Chen Jinai told Xun Zhen and others about some major events that had happened in Chang'an in the past two years.

The first thing I said was that in the first month of this year, the emperor served in Canadian dollars.

Yuan clothing refers to the crown ceremony, and the coronation clothing is the crown ceremony, which means that a man comes of age.

Today, Zi is a four-year-old Guanghe, and he is fifteen years old this year. It is said that he has not yet reached the age of being crowned. But for one thing, it is an extraordinary period for the Han court; It is not uncommon to be crowned before the age of 20, especially for the children of nobles and royal families, so today, although the child is not 20 years old, he will be crowned in the first month of this year.

——In fact, although there are examples to follow, but today Zi Neng wears the Canadian dollar dress in the first month of this year, it is actually a lot of effort behind the scenes, because after the crowning ceremony, the emperor will become an adult, Therefore, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, etc. originally disagreed. One was due to Yang Biao, Huangfu Song and other important officials in the court, including Chen Ji, who worked hard in all aspects. It was also because Li Jue and others who were "proud of themselves" Jia Xu expressed their support in this matter, and finally got the consent of Li Jue and others, and this year's first month emperor Jia Yuan served this matter.

The crowning of the emperor is of course the most important thing. Before and after the crowning ceremony of the emperor, edicts have been issued to the states and counties, informing them of this matter. Although the courtiers who passed the edict were not able to reach Xuzhou, and they did not know whether they were killed by thieves on the way or what happened, Xun Zhen and others had already heard the news and knew about it.

The second thing Chen Ji said next, Xun Zhen and the others didn't know, but it was the first time they heard it.

This incident is that in February of this year, that is, the second month after the emperor was crowned, Ma Teng, Han Sui, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and others fought a big battle at Changping Guan.

Changpingguan is a place name, located in the northwest of Chang'an, between Chiyang and Anling counties, about thirty or forty miles away from Chang'an.

This battle had been fought for more than half a month, and when Chen Ji came out of Chang'an, the battle had just ended, and because it had just ended, the news had not yet reached Xuzhou.

But why did Ma Teng and Han Sui fight with Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and others at Changpingguan?

The words should start from April three years ago, that is, the second year of Chuping.

At that time Dong Zhuo was not dead yet, he wrapped the emperor and went from Luoyang to Chang'an. After arriving at Chang'an, Dong Zhuo sent people to recruit Ma Teng and Han Sui, who were in chaos in Sanfu, in order to fight against the Shandong princes, hoping that they would be able to fight the Shandong princes with him. Ma Teng and Han Sui saw the chaos in the world and wanted to rely on Dong Zhuo to raise troops, so they accepted Dong Zhuo's invitation.

In April of the following year, Dong Zhuo died, and Li Jue and others, under Jia Xu's suggestion, invaded Chang'an and took control of the court. Bai Ma Teng was the general of Zhengxi, and his garrison was also arranged in his hometown. You Fufeng, one of the three assistants, asked him to garrison in Yi County.

Yi County is in the west of Chang'an, about 200 miles away from Chang'an, on the north bank of the Wei River. This county is the fief of Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo built a fort here. Gao Houxiangqi, known as the Long Live Dock, where treasures are widely gathered, and the accumulated grain is enough for 30 years. Dong Zhuo said to himself that if the great cause is accomplished, it will gather the world.

To have Ma Tengtun stationed in Yi County was considered to be a win over him.

Han Sui was from Liangzhou, along with Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, etc., from the state; although Ma Teng was not from Liangzhou, You Fufeng bordered Liangzhou, and he was considered a half fellow. Therefore, although Dong Zhuo died, he was one. They have this kind of relationship with fellow villagers or similar to fellow villagers. Second, the official positions Li Jue held for Han Sui and Ma Teng were not low, and Han Sui and Ma Teng each got a lot of benefits, so the two have been in peace since then There is a precondition for this peace and harmony, that is, Li Jue needs to satisfy the desires of Han Sui and Ma Teng.

But in February of this year, Ma Teng asked Li Jue for something privately~www.wuxiamtl.com~ However, Li Jue did not agree to him, so Ma Teng became angry and declared to the public that he would raise troops to attack. Chang'an, fight Li Jue.

After Zi Wen heard it today, he hurriedly sent an envoy to mediate the two of them.

But how could Ma Teng and Li Jue take him seriously, even though he has already served in Canadian dollars, has pro-government, and has no soldiers or generals in his hands?

Mediation is useless, no one listens to him.

Han Sui heard about this in Jincheng County. It was obviously a great opportunity to intervene in government affairs. He quickly rushed over with his troops.

Jincheng County and Chang'an are separated only by Youfufeng and Hanyang County in Liangzhou. Yi County belongs to Youfufeng, and it is separated from Yi County by only one Hanyang County. Therefore, Han Sui's opinion is about what happened in Yi County or Chang'an. The news is still very good.

However, Han Sui and Ma Teng became involved in the fourth year of Chuping. They first took the kingdom as their commander, and then they kidnapped Yan Zhong and took Yan Zhong as their commander. They have been in chaos in the Sanfu area. After Yan Zhong died of illness, Ma Teng and Han Sui turned against each other in order to fight for power. However, compared with Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, etc., their relationship, or the relationship of interests, was obviously closer. ,——After all, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou, they were all subordinates of Dong Zhuo before, and they were a long-formed Liangzhou warlord group. Relatively speaking, although Ma Teng and Han Sui are also considered or also Liangzhou people, they can be together He didn't belong to their group, so Han Sui, who came in the name of persuading peace, stopped trying to persuade him soon and joined forces with Ma Teng.

With Han Sui's help, Ma Teng's side gained momentum.

Chen Ji said: "Li Jue's thieves are fierce and strong, and their troops are excellent. If it was only because of Han Sui's help, Ma Teng and Han Sui might not have attacked Li Jue and other thieves. Ma Yu in the middle, and Liu Fan, the general in the left, wanted to respond to Ma Teng, so Ma Teng and Han Sui marched in and stationed at Pingguan."