After Cao Zuan, the school officer and general who killed Wu, was ready, he led twenty of his capable school officers Fu Rong, Nie Kui, Zuo Junbo, etc., to Rencheng State to meet with the envoy Xiahou Xuan who was traveling there. went.
The cold wind was strong, and in the blink of an eye, Xia Houxuan, Li Huigu, and Gu Ting stayed at the residence of Cao Kai, the king of Rencheng, for several months. The two brothers Cao Fang and Cao Xun have also started babbling.
Within a month, the envoy led by Cao Zuan had arrived in Renchengguo. Cao Zuan did not dare to delay, and he refused the reception banquet that Cao Kai, the re-elected king of the city, wanted to arrange. After he only exchanged greetings with Cao Kai, he went to Xia Houxuan to discuss the plan of his trip.
Xia Houxuan remembered that the first time he met Cao Zuan was when he was attending a banquet in the East Palace. His Royal Highness King Pingyuan back then had not yet become the emperor of today; Li Feng, the great talent back then, was still the number one staff member of the East Palace and had not yet been rejected by his current Majesty.
At that time, Cao Zuan, the governor of the East Palace Guards, was only a teenager. But now Cao Zuan has taken on the important position of school affairs officer and general of Wu. Although Cao Zuan was only a young man, he already had a majestic mustache, which made him look like a sharp sword.
Today, he is indeed a sharp sword in the hands of the emperor.
After Cao Zuan explained his purpose, Xia Houxuan understood that the mission to Liaodong was extremely important and could not be delayed. His Highness Cao Fang was now out of any danger, and he could go to Liaodong with peace of mind. He told Huigu and the housekeeper Gu Ting about the situation in Rencheng. After the affairs on the country's side, he simply tidied up, took the "Quality" sword and rode a white sparrow, and together with Cao Zhuan, he led a delegation composed of Fu Rong, Nie Kui, Zuo Junbo and other school officials to the court. Headed towards Liaodong and left.
As for the four accompanying soldiers of the Xuanjia Guards of the Changling Marquis Mansion, Xiahou Xuan was left to take care of his wife Huigu.
When passing through Chen County, Xia Houxuan and Cao Zuan remembered the emperor's commission to visit King Chen.
But when they arrived at Prince Chen's residence, they saw a plain colored soul-calling flag. It turned out that Prince Chen Cao Zhi had died of illness a few days ago!
Thinking of King Chen's ambition to make contributions to the country during his lifetime, Xia Houxuan couldn't help but feel sad.
He remembered the words in Chen Wang’s self-recommendation before his death:
"Even if I live in the wilderness of Shu, with my head hanging in Wu Palace, I am still alive..."
King Chen would rather be buried on the battlefield on the border between Wu and Shu than linger in a prison-like fiefdom like a walking zombie!
Such a poet who was once high-spirited and like a god, such a person who was eager to make achievements and was unwilling to waste his life, could only die in bed in the end!
For no reason, Xia Houxuan thought of the fairy-like person who wrote "Luo Shen Fu" he saw from a distance on the top of Luoyang City in the third year of Huang Chu.
But now, dust returns to dust, soil returns to soil, King Chen's body is buried on Dong'ayu Mountain, and everything is over.
————
While Xia Houxuan and others were traveling day and night on the official road, Gongsun Yuan, who was still serving as the governor of Liaodong in the Wei Dynasty, was already attracted by the treasures and jade brought by the Soochow mission and the high rank of the "King of Yan" Heart.
When the Wei delegation led by Xia Houxuan arrived in Liaodong, they heard the news: Gongsun Yuan had sent his lieutenant Colonel Su Shu and doctor Sun Zong to set out for Soochow along the East China Sea sea route. The Liaodong mission not only brought the precious sables from Liaodong and hundreds of horses from Liaodong, but also brought a pledge of submission to Sun Quan.
But Gongsun Yuan did not do anything excessive to the Wei delegation because of this incident. Xia Houxuan, Cao Zuan and other people were still politely arranged to the guest's residence by officials from Liaodong Academy.
The deputy envoy Cao Zuan, who was extremely angry because of Gongsun Yuan's power, was discussing something with Xia Houxuan in the post.
Cao Zuan wanted to write a secret letter immediately and send it to Xuchang, so that the emperor could continue to increase his troops and conquer Liaodong in one fell swoop. Xia Houxuan, on the other hand, was trying to dissuade Cao Zuan and asked him to wait a little longer.
"Desi, don't forget that although Gongsun Yuan has already sent a memorial to Jiangdong, he has never been a person who will be truly loyal to anyone. He is a greedy hungry wolf who adapts to the wind. "
After hearing this, Cao Zuan calmed down a little. He suddenly realized:
"Taichu is saying that even if Gongsun Yuan has submitted his pledge to Sun Quan, as long as we induce him with benefits, he may rebel against Soochow again?"
Xia Houxuan smiled and nodded:
"exactly."
——————
In Pingxiang City, Liaodong Province, Gongsun Yuan was secretly meeting with a spy from Luoyang Qingqingyuan.
Since the establishment of Qingqing Garden, it has become a natural intelligence network. The emperor and senior officials of the Wei Dynasty used it to inquire about the news of other countries, and other countries also tried their best to find out all kinds of information in this place of right and wrong. .
Gongsun Yuan is one of these hosts who collects information.
"For the record, my lord, my subordinates have inquired in Qingqing Garden and learned that among the Wei delegation this time, there is a man named Zuo Junbo. In the early years, he was a desperate man in Luoyang who possessed unique skills and great strength. Disciple!"
Gongsun Yuan was shocked when he heard this. He punched the case viciously and said with gritted teeth:
"The thief, I'm afraid he just wants to plot against me!"
The secret agent saw that Gongsun Yuan was so angry that he quickly tried to persuade him:
"No matter what the intentions of the Wei State are, my lord must not be impatient. After all, the Wei State is the most powerful country in the world today..."
The violent Gongsun Yuan said in a deep voice with red eyes:
"Order generals Bei Yan and Yang Zuo to lead three thousand elite soldiers to surround the academy immediately. If they make any move, kill them!"
————
Early the next morning, Xia Houxuan, Cao Zuan and others unexpectedly discovered that the academy they were in had been heavily surrounded by Gongsun Yuan's Liaodong Jingjia.
After Xia Houxuan and Cao Zuan discussed carefully, they understood that Gongsun Yuan might have heard that his mission had brought many warriors with strong martial arts skills.
The two discussed for a long time before coming up with the next solution.
Liaodong generals Bei Yan and Yang Zuo were now fully armed, with armor and swords, bows and halberds, and they were standing proudly outside the academy with their three thousand soldiers.
At this moment, the school door opened with a creak.
This cheered up Bei Yan and Yang Zuo, who were extremely belligerent. When Bei Yan saw the door of the academy opened, he immediately became energetic and shouted:
"My dear men, cock your bows and arrows!"
There was only a loud shout and the clanging sound of armor scales. The three hundred archers arrayed in front had already fastened the three-foot-long feather arrows on the hard ox-horned swallow bow!
At the moment when the soldiers were about to fire their arrows, a young man with an extraordinary bearing and a weak crown wearing a court uniform with the Great Wei seal came out of the door. This is Xia Houxuan.
When Xia Houxuan saw the scene in front of him of swords, spears, and halberds, and arrows and crossbows like stars, he was not intimidated. He held the hilt of the sword at his waist tightly with one hand and yelled angrily:
"You know what the consequences will be if you kill the imperial envoy without permission!"
Bei Yan and Yang Zuo originally expected that all the envoys in the academy would be dispatched, and they would be able to fight happily for a while, but they did not expect that the other party only sent a single-handed young man, which was far superior to the two. It's unexpected.
Xia Houxuan's scolding also made the two of them wake up instantly as if they were enlightened.
They understood that no matter what, the Wei Dynasty was still the most powerful country in the world with hundreds of thousands of troops. Although the Lord sent two of them to surround the academy this time, he had no intention of destroying the mission. If the two of them were one If you miss and really destroy the mission, I'm afraid there will be no good fruits to eat.
These thoughts were in the minds of the two of them, but with a flash of lightning, they all figured it out in an instant. Bei Yan and Yang Zuo hurriedly shouted:
"Put down your bows and arrows!"
These Liaodong Jingjia were also well-trained warriors who had fought bloody battles with the foreign races in the north. As soon as they heard the general's order and the sound of clanging armor plates colliding, they put down their bows and arrows.
Seeing the well-trained appearance of Liaodong Jingjia, Xia Houxuan was secretly worried. It seems that it is not an easy task for the Wei Dynasty to conquer Liaodong.
Although Bei Yan and Yang Zuo were wary of the Wei Dynasty, they were still full of contempt for the young man in front of them who seemed to have no martial arts skills.
Yang Zuo snorted coldly and said nothing, while Bei Yan had a contemptuous smile on his lips, cupped his hands slightly and smiled:
"I don't know who is coming from your mission!"
Xia Houxuan naturally saw the other party's contempt, but he just smiled lightly and didn't take it seriously. He smiled and said:
"I, the Great Wei Yulin Supervisor, and the Changling Marquis Xiahou Xuan, are the envoys of this Wei Dynasty mission!"
When Bei Yan and Yang Zuo heard that it was Xia Houxuan, the envoy of the Wei Dynasty, they no longer felt contempt. Naturally, the two generals of Liaodong had heard about Luoyang's most talented man and young celebrity.
Bei Yan and Yang Zuo bowed their hands and apologized:
"I don't know if it's an envoy from the imperial court who is here. I'm not polite. I'd like to express my gratitude to the envoy Haihan!"
Xia Houxuan smiled and said:
"It's okay. I'm here today alone. I want the two generals to give a message to the prefect."
Bei Yan and Yang Zuo always treated Gongsun Yuan as their lord, but they understood that the governor Xia Houxuan mentioned was undoubtedly their lord. Beiyan asked:
"Your Majesty, if you have anything to say, just say it!"
Xiahou Xuan said loudly:
"Let's just say that the envoy came to Liaodong this time because they really have something important to inform the prefect. Although there are many people in the imperial envoy this time, please rest assured that when meeting the prefect, only Xia Houxuan can go there!"
Bei Yan and Yang Zuo looked at each other in confusion. After a while, they bowed their hands in greeting, agreed to Xia Houxuan's request, and sent a messenger to the city to report Gongsun Yuan.
Not long after, Bei Yan and Yang Zuo received an order from Gongsun Yuan in the city: continue to surround the academy and arrange for twenty soldiers to escort the imperial envoys to the main hall to talk.
Bei Yan, Yang Zuo, and Xia Houxuan all understood that Gongsun Yuan did not order to lift the siege of the academy, which showed that he was still suspicious of the mission. As for the twenty "escort" soldiers, they were called escorts, but in fact they were not. It's just surveillance and escort.
Xia Houxuan didn't care about this, he smiled and said:
"In this case, two generals, please immediately select soldiers to escort me to the inner city."
Bei Yan and Yang Zuo smiled awkwardly and waved their hands, and twenty soldiers with bright armor stood up in front of the array. Xia Houxuan smiled, thinking in his heart that these two people are indeed careless and careful people. , sent elite soldiers to escort themselves, which not only showed that they valued themselves, but also made their protagonist Sun Yuan feel more at ease.
Not long after, Xia Houxuan, surrounded by twenty Liaodong elite soldiers, arrived at Gongsun Yuan's office lobby in the inner city of Pingxiang.
When Gongsun Yuan saw the handsome young man in front of him who dared to come to see him alone, he unconsciously felt a bit of admiration and let go of his vigilance.
After the two exchanged polite greetings, Gongsun Yuan asked Xia Houxuan about the purpose of his trip.
After Xia Houxuan answered the gift, he didn't mince words, he went straight to the point and started his lobbying:
"Prefect Gongsun, I am coming to Liaodong on this trip, actually to save your life!"
Gongsun Yuan was stunned and asked:
"I am sitting in Liaodong, with a hundred thousand men in armor. I am in the prime of life, and it is the time when dragons and tigers are fierce. How can I need your envoy to rescue me?"
Xia Houxuan smiled and said:
"Xuan has heard that this time Grand Administrator Gongsun intends to surrender to Sun Quan, the puppet emperor of the Wu Kingdom. Forgive Xuan for bluntly saying that this action of the Grand Administrator is tantamount to setting fire to oneself and killing one's own ears with a knife!"
Hearing this, Gongsun Yuan was shocked and angry. He subconsciously grabbed the sword at his waist!
