The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

The General of Chariot and Cavalry is one of the highest-ranking generals, and it ranks among the top among the generals of the heavy cavalry, second only to the Great General and the General of Hussars. high.

When such a valuable official or title is conferred on a minister by the imperial court, the minister usually has to say thank you first to show humility, which is the proper meaning of the title.

Therefore, after hearing Xun Zhen's answer of "don't dare to take it", Liu Xie was not surprised and said with a smile: "General, at this critical moment, although Li Jue and Guo Si were defeated by the general, as the general said just now, now These two thieves have not yet been captured, and there are quite a number of chaotic troops in Gyeonggi and Sanfu counties, this is the time when the generals of the imperial court want to rely on the generals, so please do not refuse."

If this sentence is translated, it is a sentence: Although Li Guo was defeated, the current situation of the court is still in dire straits. set.

Xun Zhen remained steadfast.

From Xun Zhen's flat and firm tone, Liu Xie heard that he was not politely declining, but that he really didn't want to be the general of this chariot. After all, he has the identity of the emperor here.

Zhong Yao understood Liu Xie's intention, took a half step forward, asked Xun Zhen, and said, "You dare to ask the general, why is his resignation not accepted by the imperial court?"

Zhong Yao and Xun Zhen got to know each other again, and now they are in front of the emperor. They can't call each other as they usually meet each other. The rule of "the names of the ministers before the monarch"—that is, the ministers in front of the monarch, no matter they call themselves or others, all call their names without respect, and call Zhong Yao by his name; In fact, he did not call Xun Zhen by his first name, but replaced it with "General", which is already a bit inappropriate, but one is that he is not talking to Liu Xie, and the other is that Xun Zhen has made a special contribution, so it is so Ear.

Xun Zhen nodded slightly to Zhong Yao, still facing Liu Xie, still talking to Liu Xie, saying, "Your Majesty, the reason why I dare not accept this award is for two reasons."

Liu Xie asked, "Which two reasons? Let me hear it."

Xun Zhen said: "The minister follows the order. Your Majesty, the first reason is that the minister secretly thought that the priority should be to wipe out the thieves army. The minister received an urgent military report on the way to Chang'an to meet His Majesty, the military report. The report stated: The two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si are leading troops to the southeast today, heading for Nanyang County. Although these two thieves were defeated by the ministers, they still have more than 10,000 people. If they escape into Nanyang, they may become trouble later I have heard that, building up virtues is a matter of nourishment, and eradicating evil is fundamental. Because of this, I will not feel His Majesty's reward until I have wiped out the thieves' army and obtained two thieves to present to Your Majesty."

Liu Xie nodded and asked, "What's the second reason?"

Xun Zhen said: "In reply to your Majesty's words, the second reason is that in this battle of Hongmen Pavilion, thanks to the desperate efforts of the officials and soldiers, the army of Li Jue and Guo Si of 50,000 was defeated by the army of 30,000, and the soldiers were **** battlefield. Those who don’t care about their lives are nothing more than being loyal to the country and serving His Majesty, and now they have not yet received His Majesty’s reward, how dare the ministers dare to receive the reward first!”

Liu Xie praised again and again, and said: "I love soldiers like a son, you are also." After a pause, he said, "This is easy to handle, I will report the names and credits of the soldiers and soldiers of the Ministry to the court. The edict ordered that the divisions gather to discuss each other, and each will be rewarded for their merits!"

Xun Zhen bowed his thanks and said: "Your Majesty, the most important credit for the battle of Hongmen Pavilion is Sun Ce, the governor of Yuzhou. Without Sun Ce's help, it would be difficult for the minister to defeat the bandit army. At that time, Sun Ce captured Zhang Ji's concubine Zhang Xiu with his own hands. This is the second part of this feat. Your Majesty, Zhang Xiu is now outside the tent, and if your Majesty wants to see him, the minister will bring him in to face the Holy Spirit."

Although Zhang Xiu is Zhang Ji's son and is a generation younger than Li Jue and Guo Si, he is currently an official of General Jianzhong and has been named Marquis of Xuanwei. His status in the Liangzhou Army Group is not high Low, it is the leader of the second echelon.

Not only his name, Liu Xie knew that it was Zhang Xiu himself, and Liu Xie had also seen it.

Liu Xie said, "Bring him in and let me see you."

Sun Ce went out of the tent again, and soon, he and a few officials came back with a young man.

The detainee was Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiu entered the tent, fell to the ground, and kowtowed, but did not dare to say a word.

Liu Xie looked at him with fear and fear, and buckled his head like a chicken pecking at rice. Although he regretted that the people in front of him were not Li Jue and Guo Si, he was quite happy. He was silent for a while and said, "Zhang Xiu, have you ever thought that you have today?"

Zhang Xiu replied in a trembling voice: "The guilty minister, the guilty minister..., the guilty minister is convicted!"

Liu Xie said, "How dare you call yourself a minister? Are you my minister?"

Zhang Xiu did not dare to answer any more, and kept kowtowing with such force that even though the floor was covered with a thick blanket, everyone in the tent could hear the sound.

Xun Zhen watched him kowtow so hard from the side, but she was a little worried, but don't give a concussion to the kowtow. It's not easy to explain to Zou when you look back, and motioned Sun Ce to stop him, still respectful He turned to Liu Xie and said, "Your Majesty, although Zhang Xiu is aware of the crime, and he is rebellious, but the minister dares to be ignorant, his crime is still unforgivable. What should be done?

Liu Xie saw fresh blood flowing down Zhang Xiu's forehead, but when he was kowtowing just now, he broke his head. However, thinking about the humiliation he has endured over the years, he has no sympathy for Zhang Xiu. As soon as he blurted out, he was about to say "beheaded", and suddenly he thought, should I seek Xun Zhen's opinion first? Because of that, he held back his words and asked Xun Zhen, "Your Excellency, what do you think I should do with him?"

Xun Zhen said: "Zhang Ji is now in Li and Guo's bandit army, and the minister thinks that if Zhang Xiu can persuade Zhang Ji to reform and return, help Wang Shi to wipe out Li and Guo Yu's troops, and take Li and Guo Er. If the thief is captured alive and presented to His Majesty, his crime may be punished lightly."

This is also true. Liu Xie hates Li Jue and Guo Si the most. After all, it doesn't matter if Zhang Xiu kills or not. If he can really help Xun Zhen to capture Li Jue and Guo Si, then he will spare his life. Not dying is not impossible.

Liu Xie followed the advice like a stream, and then said: "Okay, just follow the general's proposal!"

Zhang Xiu was able to live, and the fear was ignored, and he thanked the saint.

Sun Ce and the officials escorted Zhang Xiu out, and then brought several other important prisoners into the tent one by one.

These prisoners were either Li Jue's sons and nephews, Guo Si's sons and nephews, or important generals in his army, but none of them had the luck of Zhang Xiu, nor Xun Zhen to speak for them. Liu Xie decreed , push them all out and behead them.

An episode of dedicating prisoners passed, and Liu Xie brought up the topic just now, saying: "The merits of Sun Ce's assistance and capture, I will order the ministers to discuss; , will be rewarded one by one in a few days. General, it's what I said, at this very moment, the general should not resign from the court's reward to the general."

Xun Zhen said, "If I go back to Your Majesty, before I capture Li Jue and Guo Si and present them to Your Majesty, I will not dare to take it!" Lifting up her robes, she bowed down again, and said sternly, "Chen Si Si If you want to lead troops to pursue Li Jue and Guo Si in the day after tomorrow, dare to beg His Majesty's permission!"

Xun Zhen refused to accept it, and Liu Xie had no choice but to put the matter down first.

However, in response to Xun Zhen's request to lead his troops to pursue Li Jue and Guo Si, Liu Xie, although he was still young, had suffered for a few years, and he was no longer the young prince in fine clothes and food of the past. It's a worldly situation, but I know I can't agree right away.

Xun Zhen traveled more than a thousand miles, and fought two battles in Hongnong and Hongmenting. For more than a month, he was not allowed to rest for a moment. Now that he has arrived in Chang'an, how could he immediately agree to his request to continue on the battlefield? Too impersonal.

Therefore, he held on to the hope in his heart that he wanted to capture and kill Li Jue and Guo Si as soon as possible, and said: "The army has been fighting hard before arriving at Chang'an. Will be possible."

The monarch and the minister answered each other, and they talked until noon, when Liu Xie gave a banquet. After the banquet, Xun Zhen bowed and left the camp.

...

After Xun Zhen left the camp, Liu Xie returned to his tent and paced inside the tent, sometimes raising his head, sometimes lowering his head.

When Zhong Yao and others arrived, Liu Xie had already returned to the seat and sat down.

Liu Xie got straight to the point, asked them, and said, "Zhendong has repeatedly refused to accept the award. I heard his words, but it seems to be against his heart. What do you think about this?"

Ding Chong said: "If you accept a high-ranking official, you must first resign. This is the story of the Han family. Xun Zhen did not accept the resignation, or that is why."

Liu Xie shook his head and said, "Otherwise, I don't think it is because of this."

Ding Chong asked: "I take the liberty to ask Your Majesty, if it is not for this, then what is the reason for His Majesty's view?"

Liu Xie said, "I just don't understand, so I called Qing and others to come and ask." Asked Zhong Yao, he said, "Qing and Zhen are old friends, so you must know him, and why?"

Zhong Yao said: "Your Majesty, the minister and Xun Zhen have not seen each other for many years, and I didn't say much when I met Zhen today~www.wuxiamtl.com~, why he refused to accept it, the minister does not know....But today's banquet is over. , when the minister waited to send Zhen out of the camp, he asked the minister a word."

Liu Xie asked, "What are you asking?"

Zhong Yao said, "Your Majesty, he asked the minister whether His Majesty has summoned Cao Cao and Wang Yi to the Hajj."

Just as Xun Zhen wondered why Ding Chong kept his eyes on him, after hearing Zhong Yao's words, Ding Chong couldn't help but wonder, why did Xun Zhen ask Zhong Yao this question? It's just that Ding Chong's palace is quite deep, and from the outside, he still bows and stands, his eyes are not squinting, and there is no abnormality.

The imperial court has issued an edict to Cao Cao, calling him to the Hajj to meet Liu Xie. Cao Cao should have just received the imperial edict.

Liu Xie thought for a while and said, "Zhendong refuses to accept the veneration, so he should have nothing to do with this question. I heard that he and Cao Cao also knew each other, maybe he wanted to see Cao Cao."

Zhong Yao replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, maybe so."

Liu Xie thought about it, but had no clue. Suddenly, he thought of a possibility. He hesitated and said, "Zhong Qing, you said that Zhendong refused to be worshipped. Could it be because he is not satisfied with the reward given to him by the court?"