Xia Houxuan's mood has been unstable recently and he has not slept very peacefully. Today, he woke up at the first moment of Yinshi. In the early days, he got interested and wanted to go up high and drink a few cups of tea. There were only a few tea shops that opened so early in Luoyang City. However, Xia Houxuan still likes the Su family teahouse the most, which overlooks the courtyard of his mansion.
In the early morning in Luoyang, the yellow leaves on the street corners were still stained with a little dew that was about to fall. Looking far north, on Beiman Mountain in the distance, you can vaguely see lines of mist that look like white snakes.
As expected, Xia Houxuan was the only tea customer in the tea shop. Dr. Tea naturally knew this world-famous Marquis of Changling. While Dr. Tea skillfully prepared hot tea snacks for Xia Houxuan, he casually glanced at Xia Houxuan's elegant appearance that added a touch of vicissitudes of life, and couldn't help but think in his heart. : Ten years have passed since the legend of "Jian Jia leaning on the jade tree". This time is really fast and makes people feel scared.
Looking down from the attic on the second floor of the tea shop here, you can not only see half of Jiuzifang including the Changling Marquis Mansion, but you can also hear the sound of silk and bamboo in the most lively Qingqing Garden on the Tongtuo Bank, and the The laughter and laughter in Huang Gong’s wine shop where scholars often visited.
However, the morning light had not yet risen today, and Xia Houxuan did not hear the excitement. At this moment, one person drinks alone, which not only means loneliness, but also the joy of elegance and tranquility.
In this way, Xia Houxuan sipped hot tea. Gradually, the blue color of the sky became much lighter.
After a while, Xia Houxuan unexpectedly saw several young scholars who were swaying and looking very drunk walking out of Huang Gong's wine cellar. In addition to Xun Xu, Wang Bi, and Pei Xiu, who had recently joined Cao Shuang, these people actually had Uncle Yang Hu and Yang Hu, who did not drink alcohol at all.
Xia Houxuan did not figure out the success and frustration, joy and sorrow in these people's hearts. Because, at this moment, his heart also contained his own share of pride and frustration, joy and sorrow.
After a while, a drunken drinker walked up to the attic of the tea shop:
"Dr. Tea, give me... come... a pot of hot tea to wake up... wake up!"
"Okay, sir, it turns out it's Young Master Sheep!"
It turns out that person is Yang Hu.
Since the change in the situation of the court, Yang Hu has become more and more confused. His brother-in-law is Sima Shi, the eldest son of Taifu Sima Yi. Taifu recruited him and he should have applied. However, after the secret meeting at Wuyang Marquis Mansion, Yang Hu noticed that his brother-in-law was fighting for power and profit, and it seemed that they were not trying to help the country. He also did not accept the invitation of General Cao Shuang. Firstly, he was a relative of the Sima family after all, and secondly, he felt that Cao Shuang did not seem to put the country and the people first.
This made him feel depressed all the time. The pressure of many days made him overwhelmed, so he went to Huanggong Jiulong to get drunk. By chance, he finally met Xiahou Taichu, a celebrity he had known for a long time.
At this moment, when Yang Hu saw Xia Houxuan's bright eyes, which were as bright as Chang Geng's, he felt an inexplicable lightness and comfort in his heart, and even his drunkenness had mostly dissipated. The moment Xia Houxuan saw Yang Hu, he immediately thought of his deceased sister, Xia Houhui, and felt a little sad in his heart. However, Xiahou Xuan did not become indifferent to Yang Hu because of this. He collected his thoughts and generously invited Yang Hu to sit with him at the same table.
The two of them didn't know each other, but when they met, they started talking quite speculatively, and they seemed to regret meeting each other so late. Not long after, Xiumu's He Kui also happened to arrive at the teahouse, and the three of them simply put the table together. He Kui did not come alone. He also brought his and his wife Xia Houyu's two-year-old son with him. , and Qiao.
Xia Houxuan and his nephew were quite close to each other. When the three elders and one young boy met, they did not talk about court matters. They drank tea and discussed Taoism, talking about the past and the present, which was quite lively.
——————
The autumn in September was already very cold. An autumn rain took away the remaining temperature in Luoyang City.
On this day, after Xia Houxuan drank a few cups of tea at Su's teahouse, he saw that the sun was shining and his wife was about to wake up, so he said goodbye to his brother-in-law and Kui, his nephew and Qiao's father and son, and Yang Hu. , returned to the Changlinghou Mansion.
The next day, the great court meeting that Cao Shuang had been waiting for was finally about to begin. Under the gallery, Xia Houxuan, who had been watching the autumn rain for a long time, stretched out his hand to touch the raindrops falling on the corners of the eaves.
This rain is really freezing cold. He couldn't help but look up at the gray clouds.
The rain did not stop, but Xia Houxuan's mind seemed to become uneasy with the continuous autumn rain.
"It's time," he murmured. He understood that today's meeting was of vital importance, as it was the key for the general to seize the Taige from the Sima family. Because of this, I, who had always been calm about changes, felt so worried.
"Husband." Li Huigu held the child in one hand and handed the plain leather cloak to her husband with the other hand: "It's cold today. You go to court. Be careful of getting caught in the rain and catching a cold."
"Hui Gu." Xia Houxuan turned around and took the leather cloak, put it on his official uniform, and stroked his wife's hair on the temples: "I'm leaving now."
Seeing Xia Houxuan's eyebrows frowning slightly, Hui Gu knew that he was worried about today's court meeting. She knew that there was nothing she could do at this moment, so she just smiled warmly, hoping to calm her husband's mind a little.
"Ming Yue is good, daddy is going to court." Xia Houxuan looked at his beloved son in his wife's arms, and suddenly felt a lot more settled. He bent down and kissed the child's forehead, with a gentle smile in his eyes: "Mingyue, remember to make your mother happy, wait for dad to come back."
After a while, the butler Gu Ting saw that his master had already packed up, so he took the Wu Bian crown, helped Xia Houxuan put it on carefully, and then left the house with Xia Houxuan holding an umbrella.
Huigu stood on the porch as usual, watching her husband's back gradually disappear at the corner of the bluestone street outside the mansion.
The moment Xia Houxuan went out, he looked back at his wife and their children as usual.
The rain outside seemed to be falling more rapidly, but Hui Gu and Xia Houxuan's minds became more and more stable at this moment.
——————
In the Tai Chi Hall, ministers paraded in procession.
The general Wu'an Hou Cao Shuang is currently wearing a tiger-fighting crown, a court dress with nine chapters, a workman sword hanging from his waist, snake-pattern court boots, and an ivory wat in his hand. Today, he has raised long eyebrows and a slight mustache. Yang looked particularly confident, with a smile on his face.
Taifu Wuyanghou Sima Yi is as steady as an old tortoise. At this moment, he is closing his eyes to rest, waiting for all kinds of changes. As he is already getting older, it is now obvious that the black hair on his temples from his early years is mixed with strands of pale but still meticulously combed hair. Unlike Cao Shuang, who is gradually showing his youthful vigor, Sima Yi seems to have never used his privilege of "going to the palace with swords and shoes".
At this time, no one knew what would happen next except Cao Shuang, Xia Houxuan, and Bi Gui, who had just been promoted to Sili Colonel.
"Your Majesty is here!" Zhang Dang, the chief minister, shouted, and the two waiters carefully supported the nine-year-old young emperor Cao Fang and slowly walked towards the throne, while the two outsiders behind Cao Fang carefully supported the emperor. The back hem of the dragon robe was too long, for fear that the emperor would be tripped by this luxurious but complicated dragon robe.
"Long live my emperor!" Under the royal steps, except for General Cao Shuang and Taifu Sima Yi, who went to the palace with swords and shoes to pay homage, all the ministers knelt down and worshiped in front of the palace, shouting "long live the emperor."
Duzhi Shangshu was the first to go out and report the phenomenon of too much gold and silver in the imperial palace but insufficient military expenditures in the army. After Cao Fang thought about it for a while, he ordered Taige to draft an edict and send out a hundred and fifty gold and silver items from the treasury. Seed, 1,800 kilograms, sold and smelted for military use.
After settling this small matter, the newly appointed Sili Colonel Bi Gui suddenly came out to play. The ministers from both parties subconsciously looked at Bi Gui. When the ministers saw that the Sili Colonel who was supervising the impeachment of hundreds of officials came out of his duties, they felt in their hearts. It's impossible not to be nervous.
Cao Shuang was even more excited, and he subconsciously clenched the jade tablet in his hand. Today's war has begun, and success or failure depends on this.
Taifu Sima Yi's face was as pale as water at this moment, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
"Your Majesty."
Bi Gui stood up holding a scepter and said loudly to Cao Fang:
"Inside and outside Luoyang, the land of the capital has always been the residence of the emperor and the place where the world has attracted attention. Since Emperor Taizu Wu, the Wei Dynasty has been governed by Emperors Wen and Ming for three generations, and now it has an atmosphere that encompasses all over the world. And in recent years, it has become even more powerful. The barbarians were afraid of the barbarians when the barbarians came to the dynasty. However, we, the Wei Dynasty, have always been open-minded, accepting tribute from Beidi in the Western Regions, and doing business with merchants from various countries. This is a beautiful thing, but since I took office, I have visited Kyoto. Various cities and towns unexpectedly found that Hu merchants from all over the capital were being squeezed out and could no longer trade with each other normally!"
Although Cao Fang was young, he was already quite sensible. After hearing this, he couldn't help but frown and asked:
"Is this happening?"
Bi Gui nodded and continued to speak seriously:
"As the saying goes, where profit gathers, treachery arises. I was horrified, so I conducted a detailed investigation, and found out that it turned out that some wealthy families and ministers from aristocratic families in Beijing colluded with the big businessmen to squeeze out Hu merchants. In order to benefit each other; therefore, some Hu merchants were angry and negotiated with local merchants in central Beijing, and even fought with each other. This was really detrimental to the public security of Kyoto. What's more, this move may damage the reputation of the Wei Dynasty and let the local prefectures lose their reputation. The commander-in-chief's actions have caused considerable harm. However, Henan Yin, who controls the imperial capital internally and the capital outside, allows such things to happen and turns a blind eye, which shows that he is incompetent. Therefore, I petition your majesty to remove Liu Jing from the post of Henan Yin and replace him with Liu Jing. Cleanse the capital!"
After hearing what Bi Gui said, the entire court began to commotion.
In particular, some veterans of Sima Yi's party were all red-faced and arrogant, sharing the same hatred and hatred.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say." At this time, the leading general Jiang Ji came out to refute Bi Guailui: "What Sili Xiaowei said is one-sided and has no basis. Liu Jing was exempted from Sili's words alone. I’m afraid the official position of Yin in Henan is inappropriate.”
"Jiang Fujun's words are wrong. Who said that I have no credentials?" Bi Gui said, taking out a bamboo slip from his sleeve: "In order to facilitate the investigation, I specially invited the general and mobilized the "School Affairs Office" "This is a letter recorded by the school official himself. All the details about this case are on it. Mr. Jiang might as well take a good look at it!"
It turned out that in order to collect evidence, Bi Gui specially asked Cao Shuang to personally meet He Zeng, who was also the school official. He Zeng was a veteran of the Ming Dynasty and cared about the Wang family. Second, he had some friendship with Cao Shuang in the East Palace, so he readily transferred him to Cao Shuang. Dozens of school officials.
"You..." Jiang Ji was speechless and could only retreat to his position with a blushing face.
When the old ministers saw that Liu Jing had something in Bi Gui's hands, they were helpless, so for a while, the ministers were silent.
"Since everyone has no objections, let us agree with what the Sili Colonel said and remove Liu Jing from the post of Henan Yin." Nine-year-old Cao Fang, after half a year of experience in the court, can speak more fluently and confidently than when he first ascended the throne. few.
"Your Majesty." At this time, General Cao Shuang came out and said: "Although Liu Jing has been dismissed, the post of Henan Yin is of great importance and cannot be left vacant. I believe that Li Sheng, the governor of Xingyang, is quite capable of governing. His political achievements during his tenure were outstanding, so I believe that it is most suitable for him to take over as Henan Yin."
"Since the general has a suitable candidate, let's proceed." The nine-year-old child was extremely dependent on his distant uncle, the chief assistant, so he had no objections.
After the morning court dispersed, all the officials left the hall one after another in twos and threes.
Xia Houxuan stood on the stone steps and looked at the clouds above the palace. The rain seemed to have eased a lot.
The dust has settled.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
