Hebei, Yecheng
"Good news, good news! Great victory in Youzhou!" As a few galloping horses galloped through the city, countless people went out of their homes to tell each other! Perhaps to the people, it didn't matter who won, whether it was Yuan Shao or Gongsun Zan. What they cared about most was that the war that had lasted for several years was finally over.
In the General's Mansion, Yuan Shaoduan sat at the head of the table, and the other generals sat below on both sides. Everyone looked happy.
"Good news, general, a great victory in Youzhou!" The ordering soldier had already dismounted and ran into the hall.
"Come here, take a seat and speak slowly!" Yuan Shao ordered to the soldiers on duty.
The soldier hurriedly went to a chair and handed him a cup of warm water.
After a few breaths, the messenger finally took a breath. Seeing this, Yuan Shao hurriedly asked: "How is the battle ahead?"
"General, Gongsun Zan faced the three armies of General Wen Chou, General Qu Yi, and General Gao Lan and defended Ji County. General Chunyu Qiong detoured to Beiping County to frighten Gongsun Gong of Liaodong and cut off Gongsun Zan's subsequent supplies! After nearly a month After the siege, when the city was finally broken, all of Gongsun Zan’s white horse followers committed suicide on the spot, while Gongsun Zan and his entire family burned themselves on the city tower! Then Liaodong Gongsun Gong sent a letter of surrender, willing to act as a general and obey!"
Gongsun Zan... As Yuan Shao's old rival, Yuan Shao originally hated him with all his heart, but strangely enough, after hearing the messenger tell the story, Yuan Shao gradually stopped smiling! After hearing that all the Yi Cong of Baima committed suicide and Gongsun Zan led the whole family to self-immolation, Yuan Shao even had an unreal feeling. It seemed that he could not hear what the messenger soldiers said.
It can be said that Yuan Shao's biggest enemies over the years have been Gongsun Zan and Cao Cao. However, at this moment, Yuan Shao recalled in his mind the scenes when these two people got along in the early years...
"Ben Chu (Yuan Shao's word)! You are too indecisive, but you don't want to come here until the girl has finished washing the ink stains! Now, not only did you not see anything, but you also got bath water splashed all over you! Meng De (Cao Cao), don’t have fun secretly. If you hadn’t instigated us, what would we have done? I don’t care, you want me to go to a brothel with Ben Chu and get drunk!”
...
'Bogui (Gongsun Zan)... have a good journey, and I will say sorry to my brother again in the next life! '
"General?" The voice of the soldier on duty came to his ears. Yuan Shao came back to his senses and saw the soldier handing him a note. After taking it and opening it, he found that it was the letter of surrender written by Gongsun Gong to him. It severely condemned Gongsun Zan's reckless behavior and sternly stated that Gongsun Zan was not from the same lineage as him. He had absolutely no objections and was willing to fully support Liu He and Liu Gong, the king of East China Sea. It is orthodox to the Han Dynasty, and it follows Yuan Shao's lead. It contains thousands of words, and even Yuan Shao was secretly speechless after reading it!
'We are both brothers, and we all fly away when disaster strikes. I don't know that my brother who is far away in Runan and dreaming of being an emperor heard that I, the older brother, have defeated his old rival Gongsun Zan and occupied a large area of the three states of You, Bing, and Hebei in Hebei. At this moment How do you feel?
...
In the fourth year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (203 BC), Runan County was established. This was the first time that the word "Runan" appeared as a geographical noun. It governed 37 counties between Yingshui and Huaihe Rivers and fell under the supervision of the governor of Yuzhou, because most of them The areas under its jurisdiction are all located "south of the Ru River" and are named after it.
Shouchun is located at the intersection of Yingshui and Huaishui. It has fertile land and pleasant climate, so it has naturally become the largest city in Runan County. What is even more rare is that the literary style flourishes here, and the popular Yuedan Commentary was established here. !
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the brothers Xu Shao and Xu Jing from Runan County presided over an activity of criticizing, praising and criticizing contemporary figures, poems, calligraphy and paintings. It was often published on the first day of every month, so it was called "Yuedan Comment" or "Yuedan Pin". . No matter who it is, once it is written, its value will be a hundred times higher, and it will be spread among the world as a good talk. Therefore, it became famous far and wide and flourished for a while.
The two brothers have always given people the impression of being gentle, humble and polite. However, at this moment, in the Xu family, the two brothers had a fierce argument!
"No, Yuan Shu deceived the world and stole his reputation, and even tried to claim emperor. It is a big joke in the world. If even a person who behaves like this can be ranked first in my monthly review, then won't my monthly review become the laughing stock of the world? Thousands of years later What will people think of my two brothers?!" The person who spoke was Xu Shao.
"Brother, what you said is wrong. Both of my brothers are from Runan, and all the foundations of my Xu family are in Shouchun. Now that Yuan Shu is about to ascend the throne, I need to sing his praises. If brother touches Yuan Jiujiu at this time, Eyebrow, life and death are small for you and me, one of us may bring down the whole family. Dozens of people from my Xu family will be buried with us! Brother!" After saying that, Xu Jing shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"If my second brother is greedy for life and afraid of death, he can leave alone. Of course, he can also go to please Yuan Jiujiu. Maybe he will be granted the title of Minister of Guanglu Temple in the future! As for Shao... we and other scholars stand between heaven and earth. , Even if you die without regrets, I believe that my father will understand Shao’s thoughts even under Jiuquan.”
Hearing this, Xu Jing was so angry that he trembled all over. He pointed at Xu Shao opposite and said angrily: "Xu Shao! I respect you as my elder brother, so good! You are noble, I am a villain! You stay here and be your gentleman." Okay, I, Xu Jing, say goodbye!" After saying that, he went back to his home, ordered to go down and pack his belongings, and prepare to go south to Jingzhou overnight to take shelter!
…
Yan Xiang was appointed as the chief administrator of Runan County and one of Yuan Shu's advisers. At this moment, in Yan Xiang's mansion, Yan Xiang and Yuan Huan, another counselor under Yuan Shu, were sitting opposite each other in the back hall.
After sending the rest of the people away, Yan Xiang lowered his voice and whispered: "Yaoqing (Yuan Huan's name), there are only two of you and me left here. If you don't know anything, tell me everything you know!"
"I have a close relationship with Yongchang (Yan Xiang's name), so I have something to say! My lord is going to ascend the throne in a month. What does Yongchang think?"
"What else can you say? When my lord raised this matter, Xiang cited the story of how King Wen of Zhou still surrendered to Yin even though he owned two-thirds of the world. However, my lord seemed to be possessed and wanted to be the king. Emperor, Xiang...what can you do?" Yan Xiang said helplessly.
"What Yongchang said about the word 'evil'... I feel deeply about it!"
Hearing this, Yan Xiangteng stood up and looked at Yuan Huan across from him with a surprised look on his face. Seeing that the other party's expression was serious and not like a joke, Yan Xiang's eyes flashed, and then he sat down slowly and whispered: "Is it possible that Yao Qing has suspicions?" ?”
Yuan Huan nodded, looked around and found that there was indeed no one around, so he lowered his voice and spoke.
"To be honest, my lord said that we, the old immortal Nanhua, had not seen it with our own eyes. We only thought it was a character compiled by my lord because he wanted to be the emperor. However, a few days later, when Huan went to find my lord to report the taxes from various places this year, he found that I accidentally saw my lord talking to the air in his back garden. At that time, I just thought it was because my lord drank too much and was talking drunk, but..."
Yuan Huan took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress the fear in his heart. After a few breaths, he continued: "However, when Huan came to the lord, he found that although the lord was smiling, he was still talking to himself as if he had not seen Huan. , just when he was at a loss, he was shocked to find that there seemed to be two hands on the lord's face. The palms of his hands covered his eyes, and his thumbs pressed tightly on his ears!
Huan was so frightened at the time that he took a few steps back and accidentally knocked the cup off the table. Only then did he come back to his senses. When he looked up again, he found that everything was normal with the lord, and there were no palms on his face at all. At this time, the lord also asked me what he was doing. What's going on? It seems like nothing has happened before! "
Hearing this, Yan Xiang also had a solemn expression. Since Yuan Huan came to find him, he would definitely not have the wrong target. As expected, Yuan Huan continued to speak: "Originally, Huan just thought it was his own illusion and didn't take it to heart. However, some days ago, he and I When the brothers of the Xu family were talking about the revolt drafted by the eldest son (Yuan Shao), the brothers of the Xu family accidentally mentioned a secret from our Han Dynasty. After listening to it, Huan... a chill ran down his spine!"
"The petition against rebellion... the secret... is evil?" Yan Xiang was originally one of Yuan Shu's famous counselors. After a moment's thought, he connected the matter. One word flashed through Yan Xiang's mind, and he couldn't help but blurt out: "Witch Gu." Disaster?!"
After saying that, he looked at Yuan Huan across from him in disbelief, and asked tremblingly: "Does Yao Qing have any evidence?"
Yuan Huan nodded cautiously and continued: "After parting with the Xu family brothers, Huan secretly searched for relevant information about the witchcraft disaster. As expected, as the Xu family brothers said, the symptoms of the witchcraft poisoned by Emperor Wu were mentioned in the book. He is no different from his master!"
Yan Xiang took a deep breath, and many previously incomprehensible things suddenly became clear, and he murmured to himself: "Yes, even if the lord is headstrong, he can still distinguish between right and wrong. Yao Qing, follow me into the palace quickly!"
Saying that, Yan Xiang pulled Yuan Huan up and wanted to enter the palace to meet Yuan Shu, but Yuan Huan sat where he was and did not move.
"Yao Qing, what do you mean?" Yan Xiang asked with a frown.
"Hey, you and I have known each other for a long time, and Huan knows very well that Yongchang's strategy is far superior to Huan's..." Yuan Huan did not finish his words, but looked at Yan Xiang intently.
"...Want to hear the details!" Yan Xiang also calmed down and returned to his seat.
"First of all, this matter has been weird from beginning to end. If it is true that Gongsun Zan is the descendant of Gongsun He as the eldest son said, then there is no need to attack the lord. Wouldn't it be better to directly use witchcraft on the eldest son? Better? Why sacrifice the near for the far?
In addition, I mean no disrespect, but... to put it bluntly, how can our lord be worthy enough for the Gongsun family to use the same tricks they used on Emperor Wu to deal with our lord? "
Their own family members know their own affairs, and they both know Yuan Shu's character well, and it's hard to explain...
At this time, Yan Xiang also calmed down and continued: "In this case, you really can't go there rashly. If Lord Allah is bewitched by witchcraft, then there must be spies around him!"
"Yes, first of all, we can exclude you and me. General Ji Ling is loyal to the lord. You can also exclude Liu Xun, Zhang Xun, Qiáoruí..."
Before Yuan Huan finished speaking, he heard the sound of footsteps outside the courtyard. The two of them looked at the door. In the meantime, the housekeeper of the Yan Mansion was running over in a hurry. Yan Xiang frowned and said displeased: "I have an important discussion with Yao Qing. , didn’t you say don’t disturb us?”
The housekeeper ignored his master's scolding and jogged a few steps closer to Yan Xiang, whispering a few words to Yan Xiang's side.
"What? Yang Hong?!"
