It is said that Xia Houxuan tried his best and tried every trick, and finally he was able to forcefully block Jiang Wei for three rounds.
In fact, if Xiahou Xuan had chosen to fight head-on from the beginning, he would have been able to survive three rounds at most under the experienced Jiang Wei. But coincidentally, Jiang Wei had not directly fought against Xiahou and Cao's generals before. At this moment, I suddenly saw this magical martial art that was famous in the Central Plains. I couldn't figure out Xia Houxuan's strength for a while, and I couldn't see through Xia Houxuan's methods. Naturally, I couldn't defeat the enemy quickly.
The two of them were looking at each other warily at this moment, like two wild beasts staring at each other warily.
Although Jiang Wei could not defeat Xia Houxuan quickly, horse fighting was different from foot fighting. The "Cloud Walk and Rain Step" passed down by Xia Houxuan's family had many subtle changes in footwork that could not be used on horseback, so within fifteen rounds, Jiang Wei would definitely see through the two moves that Xia Houxuan used repeatedly and find a way to break them.
Therefore, Xia Houxuan was very anxious at the moment, fearing that Jiang Wei would defeat him too quickly, causing Xia Houba to not receive support from his rear army.
In his haste, he suddenly had an idea and took the risk directly on his horse to use the Changshan transformation to use Taizu Yilu Moshangsang's sword-killing move: "Riding on the rainbow, riding on the red clouds, climbing to the Nine Doubts and Li Yumen." '
This move contains nine layers of internal energy. The layers of internal energy are not only superimposed one after another, but the attack direction of each layer is slightly skewed. Jiang Wei was naturally forced to use his full strength by this sudden and strange move. , Xia Houxuan unknowingly relied on his temporary trick of turning a sword into a gun to last two rounds.
Of course Jiang Wei knew at this moment that Xiahou Xuan was not his opponent at all, but Xiahou Xuan's strange moves prevented Jiang Wei from exerting his full strength. Jiang Wei saw that Xiahou Ba's Wei army, which was about to be defeated, gradually regained its morale and replenished its strength. Array, feeling bitter in his heart, he unknowingly counterattacked with a powerful and heavy killing move!
When Xia Houxuan saw Jiang Wei's sudden attack in anger, he felt anxious and hurriedly used his long spear to use the next sword technique that he had just used. '
This move not only inherited the nine layers of powerful force just now, but also infused new inner strength. If the nine attack directions were used just now to confuse the enemy and buy time to accumulate strength, the current move is to use the nine levels of internal energy accumulated just now, pouring this hard-earned power into the most unpretentious center. direction!
In anger, Jiang Wei gave up his steady strategy and launched a full-strength thrust that only attacked but did not defend. In desperation, Xia Houxuan also used this unique move that accumulated nine levels of strength, and the two of them had a long attack. In this way, it was stabbed towards the opponent's heart at an extremely fast speed and with great force!
At this critical moment, after hearing a "bang" sound of gold and iron, Xiahou Xuan's tiger's mouth was shattered, blood flowed, and the long spear in his hand was shaken off!
And Jiang Wei didn't get any advantage. Xia Houxuan's powerful killing move was much more powerful than an ordinary blow. He had experienced hundreds of battles and worked hard on this road for thirty years. At this moment, he actually His hands were numb from the shock, and after the long stick flew out from his right hand, he hurriedly grabbed it back and saved the face he almost lost!
At this moment, Xiahou Ba's defeated troops in the distance finally gathered together and reunited with most of the Wei army who came to the rescue. Xiahou Xuan had already fought Jiang Wei for fifteen rounds with all his strength!
Seeing that he had lost the chance of victory, Jiang Wei realized that the situation was not good and he immediately issued the order to withdraw his troops. The Shu Han army who almost captured Xiahou Ba could only reluctantly retreat southward.
After Xiahou Xuan and Xiahou Ba tried their best to repel Jiang Wei, Guo Huai, who had been watching the battle in the back mountain for a long time, led his elite Yongliang army to arrive belatedly.
"Commander, Zhong Quan, Huai came late to help in the battle, I pray for forgiveness."
Guo Huai looked at the disgraced Xiahou Ba and pretended to apologize.
Xia Houxuan, whose hands were in severe pain and bleeding, and Xia Houba, who was covered in scars and disgraced face, glanced coldly at the spotless Guo Huai in front of them and said nothing.
After all, Guo Huai defeated King Hu of the West Sea and achieved great success. Even if Xiahou Xuan was the governor, he could not do anything to Guo Huai, who also had the power to hold the throne.
Jiang Wei's plan to unite the Qiang and Hu and attack Yongliang finally failed, and the northwest border was finally saved without any danger.
————————
Time flies, and it has entered early summer before we know it.
Summer May.
Just as General Cao Shuang was dividing Hedong County, Taifu Sima Yi claimed that his old illness had recurred and needed to rest, so he reported illness and returned home, no longer participating in court meetings.
At the same time, Sima Yi's younger brother and minister, Sima Fu, also requested to abdicate on the grounds of old age and illness.
Even He Zeng, who had previously been unclear about his attitude, reported illness and stopped coming to court!
The court, which was once like a charcoal with weapons at war with each other, has now become extremely strange. No matter how General Cao Shuang changed the old system, no one stood up to oppose it.
The concessions and compromises made by the veterans in the temple made Cao Shuang feel very happy for a while. He even thought that his restructuring was the general trend, and everyone began to support him.
But what Cao Shuang didn't expect was that at this juncture when Hedong County was divided into half, a terrible rumor gradually spread from the people and reached Cao Shuang's ears.
To be precise, this rumor didn't just reach the General's Palace.
All the people in Luoyang, and even all the Central Plains, may have started singing it now!
This rumor is exactly a short and powerful nursery rhyme that suddenly appeared in Luoyang, the capital city recently: He Dengding; chaos in the capital...
Not only that, someone also wrote an anonymous defamation letter to Taige. The book contained such a sentence that made Cao Shuang, He Yan, Deng Yang, Ding Mi and others furious and angry:
"There are three dogs in Taichung, two of them cannot be used as firewood, and one of them can become a gangster by silence!"
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the so-called "Three Dogs" in the book refer to the three Taige ministers, He Yan, Deng Yang and Ding Mi.
And Mo is the small character of General Cao Shuang.
This means that there are three dogs in the Taige, who are always thinking about biting people, and one of them is extremely vicious with the power of "Mo". This dog is naturally the one whom Cao Shuang trusts the most. Ding Mi, who repeatedly offered suggestions to suppress the Sima family, agreed to imprison Empress Dowager Guo in Yongning Palace.
For a time, Cao Shuang's staff, who were originally determined to reform, became panicked. For them, no matter how loud the opposition from the veterans in the court was, it was nothing more than political disagreements; but now these rumors came from among the people. Come on, doesn't this mean that General Cao Shuang's restructuring has reached the point of boiling public dissatisfaction?
Even if they all understand that these rumors may be deliberately created by people from Taifu's party, everyone's words are worth mentioning, and rumors are spread among many people, and sometimes they can have immeasurable impact.
"Investigate! This matter must be investigated strictly by Gu! Inform Xunxu, select three hundred capable school officials, and arrest these villains who are spreading rumors and making trouble behind their backs. Even if the entire Central Plains is turned over, Gu will still be there. No matter what!"
The furious Cao Shuang obviously lost his mind at this moment. He Yan immediately persuaded Cao Shuang:
"General, my subordinates feel that it is inappropriate to handle this matter this way!"
"There's something wrong!"
Cao Shuang, who was feeling a little out of control, threw a paperweight and a jade tiger out. Without thinking, it hit He Yan's leg bone. After a while, the bright red blood dyed He Yan's original crimson official robe black. got up.
Seeing that He Yan was injured, Cao Shuang calmed down a little. He heard that his servants immediately treated the wound. He Yan's handsome face, which was originally distorted by pain, was slightly relieved because of Cao Shuang's calmness.
"General, if we go out into force, search the people, and make people panic, wouldn't we be falling into the Sima family's scheme?"
After hearing He Yan's words, Cao Shuang suddenly woke up. He nodded and said:
"Yes, yes, I didn't think of this. If we search the people of the Central Plains, these rumors will only become more terrifying!"
He Yan nodded and said:
"That's it. Defending the people's mouth is better than guarding the river. Now that rumors have spread, no matter how hard you try to stop them, it will be of no use. If you want to find out who is behind the rumors, Yan has a clumsy plan. He also asked the general to listen to him. come over......"
After hearing what He Yan said, Cao Shuang immediately stepped back and stepped forward to listen.
After listening to He Yan's words, a mysterious smile slowly appeared on Cao Shuang's originally nervous and angry face.
——————————
Half a month later, under the instruction of Cao Shuang, Xunxu, who was in charge of the school affairs office, arranged for more than ten elite school officials to conduct overt and covert inspections, and finally inspected some important prefectures and counties in Sili and Jingzhou.
Finally, a Nanyang man named Guitai attracted the attention of school officials.
This person has always been proud of his talent and is unwilling to be just a small official. He often complains around his colleagues. This person is indeed a bit talented. He writes a lot of short poems and short sentences in his daily life. His style is also very similar to the rumors that suddenly appeared in the Central Plains this time.
The school officials finally locked in on this person, and without saying a word, they kidnapped Guitai to the Tingwei Mansion on the charge of investigating corruption.
Tingwei Sima Qi was the son of Sima Zihua, the former Great Sinong Sima Zhi. He had always been quite talented. According to his genealogy, he was Sima Yi's cousin and cousin of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao.
On this day, Sima Qi and his eldest son Sima Zhao, who was sixteen years old, were asking Gao Rou's nephew Gao Xun, who was proficient in law, for advice when they suddenly heard a loud noise outside the hall:
"He, Deng, and Ding are causing chaos in the capital!"
"shut up!"
Sima Qi stood up and opened the wooden window to take a look. He saw a man who was held up by two school officials, covered in scars and swearing, chanting a nursery rhyme that had recently become popular in Luoyang, and another man in a crimson robe with a sinister expression. The high-ranking official slapped the prisoner without any explanation!
When Sima Qi looked carefully, he discovered that the high-ranking official who beat him was none other than General Cao Shuang's confidants and the most popular people in the court, Deng Yang and Deng Xuanmao, the ministers.
After Sima Qi arranged for Sima Zhao to enter the back hall, he hurriedly got up, walked out of the main hall together with Gao Xun, and came to Deng Yang's side:
"My subordinates Sima Qi and Gao Xun have met Deng Shangshu."
Deng Yang did not answer, but glanced at Sima Qi and Gao Xun coldly, and then asked directly:
"Sima Qi, Gao Xun, as the officers of the Tingwei Mansion, you two do not want to eliminate traitors for the country and do nothing all day long, causing Guitai and others to wantonly insult and criticize high officials in the DPRK and slander national policies. What can you say?!"
At this moment, Sima Qi understood that Deng Yang wanted to give him a slap in the face. He knew that he must not give in at this moment, otherwise he would not be able to explain what happened today to his uncle Sima Yi. After sorting out his emotions, he answered Deng Yang in a neither humble nor overbearing way. :
"The matter of hoeing out rapes is handled by the general's subordinates. This humble position is only responsible for interrogating the prisoners sent to the imperial court!"
Seeing that Sima Qi was not a weakling, Deng Yang snorted coldly and without saying a word, he asked two school officials to drive Guitai to the dungeon of Tingwei Mansion. Sima Qi and Gao Xun hurriedly followed.
Not long after, the group of people came to the dark and terrifying Tingwei dungeon. The dungeon was filled with the wailing sounds of the newly locked inmates screaming for injustice. The sound came intermittently, causing the fire in the prison to jump and tremble.
However, although this place is gloomy, it still seems brighter and warmer than the prison in the ninth level of the school affairs office.
After two school officials tied Guitai to the wooden execution pole, they whipped Guitai with a whip dipped in salt water without saying a word. As soon as the whip touched his body, Guitai immediately felt a heartache. The pain in his lungs cracked his lungs, and he let out bursts of miserable howls.
Under the firelight, one could vaguely see Sima Qi's pale face and Deng Yang's excited expression.
"Tell me, who asked you to write this nursery rhyme? Is it Sima Shi or Sima Zhao?"
Guitai was in agony at the moment. Every time the whip was struck, he had the urge to confess, but when he thought of the pair of children imprisoned in the secret room of the Sima family, he forcefully endured the urge.
After a while, Guitai fainted from the unbearable pain.
There was no trace of mercy on Deng Yang's face at the moment. He looked at Guitai's body covered in bloodstains, with a sullen face and said in a deep voice:
"Walk him up with cold salt water, then interrogate him!"
"stop!"
Just when the two school officials were about to continue taking action, Sima Qi finally couldn't stand it any longer and scolded Deng Yang sharply:
"As an important minister of the country's privy secrets, you are the assistant to the royal family. But now you cannot assist the emperor to cultivate a virtuous government that is comparable to the ancient sages. Instead, you have to vent your personal anger here and wrongly accuse innocent people. This move will definitely make people sad. The people are fearful and uneasy, even if you don’t think about yourself, why don’t you also think about the general?”
Sima Qi was afraid that Guitai would not be able to withstand the torture and say something he shouldn't, so he persuaded Deng Yang from Cao Shuang's point of view.
Although Deng Yang was fierce and sinister, he was still a wise man after all. He understood that what Sima Qi said was not unreasonable. Besides, if he accidentally killed Guitai, the matter would be troublesome. Therefore, Deng Yang was coldly facing Sima Qi at this moment. After snorting, he strode out of Tingwei's prison without looking back.
After Deng Yang left, Sima Qi thought about it and felt that Cao Shuang would not let him go easily. Even if he was lucky enough not to be tortured to death by Cao Shuang this time, he would definitely incur sin over time. Thinking of this, Sima Qi, who was already in poor health, resigned from his post on the grounds that his old illness had relapsed.
Sima Qi already had an old illness. This time he was frightened by the scenes of torture and confession in the dungeon, and his originally unstable condition worsened again. Coupled with the pressure brought by Cao Shuang behind Deng Yang, Sima Qi felt tremendous pressure in his heart.
Not long after he returned home, he fell ill again. After Sima Yi heard this, he felt very sorry for this talented nephew who had just been promoted to Tingwei less than a year ago and had not yet had time to reuse him. He immediately asked brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao to bring the precious medicinal materials collected at home. Went to visit Sima Qi's house.
Sima Zhao personally welcomed the two clan uncles to the back hall. When Sima Master and Sima Zhao saw Sima Qi's pale face, they were shocked. They originally thought that Sima Qi, who was in his prime, was just suffering from a minor illness. , but looking at the scene in front of them, their cousin's body was really weak.
"Brother, this is Liaodong wild ginseng that my father brought to you specially. You ordered your servants to fry it and take two bowls of decoction. Maybe it will heal faster!"
When Sima Qi saw that the Sima brothers had brought such precious medicinal materials, he hurriedly struggled to get up. Sima Zhao hurriedly helped him back:
"Brother, you will be raised with peace of mind, don't move around!"
After Sima Qi coughed rapidly for a while, he looked at the two brothers again with grateful eyes.
Sima Master and Sima Zhao were filled with lamentation and regret at this moment. Such a talented brother is rare, so the two of them just hope that Sima Qi can get well soon.
————————
The General's Mansion.
After listening to Deng Yang's report, Cao Shuang fell into deep thought. Although he couldn't get anything out of Guitai's mouth this time, he was able to defeat Sima Qi, a powerful enemy by some combination of circumstances. This made Cao Shuang's originally gloomy mood happy again. got up.
"The position of Tingwei is of great importance. Uncle Ping, you are in charge of the election. Do you know of any suitable candidates?"
Ever since the nursery rhymes "He Dengding, chaos in the capital" and "Taichung Three Dogs" have been sung in Luoyang, He Yan, who has always cherished feathers and regarded reputation as life, has been a little depressed. At this moment, he was in a daze when he saw Cao Shuang asking questions. Sit upright. He Yan, who had been prepared for this matter for a long time, said his candidate without thinking at this moment:
"Chen Ben and Chen Xiuyuan, the governor of Chen County in Yuzhou, are close friends with Taichu. Moreover, he implemented the reform policy very quickly in Chen County and made outstanding political achievements. It is just a natural choice for him to be transferred to the capital. I think the post of Tingwei is very good. It belongs to him!”
After Cao Shuang pondered for a while, he finally nodded:
"Chen Ben...Chen Ben, since Uncle Ping recommended this Tingwei, then give it to him..."
——————————
Official Cao Shangshu Mansion.
The scenery in the mansion is particularly fresh and refined compared to other places.
The courtyard often diverts river water and sets up wooden bridges and corridors. There are pavilions and pavilions on the corridors for fishing and viewing.
The Prince Consort He Yan was standing in the pavilion, thoughtfully.
His brows were furrowed, adding a bit of sadness to his handsome face.
Over the past year, he has followed the general in reforming the system. While gaining the trust of Cao Shuang, he has also experienced a lot of pressure.
The verbal criticisms of the old ministers in the court, coupled with the complaints from the people in the capital, all made him feel a little tired.
He stared at the gurgling water under the pavilion in a daze. Suddenly, he felt all kinds of emotions in his heart, so he put his thoughts into his pen and wrote a poem. After a while, the poem was completed. He unfolded the paper and chanted softly. road:
"The swans are flying together, and the flight is so clear.
I am always afraid of being caught in a snare, and I am worried that disaster will happen once it happens.
How could it be that in Jiwu Lake, duckweeds are weeded along the current?
How to be frightened and frightened when you are free and relaxed? "
This poem compares itself to a swan, which shows that He Yan's great ambition is still alive, but the swan is also "always afraid of being caught in a trap", and the annoyance and fear in his heart can also be heard.
He Yan couldn't help but sigh slightly.
After a long time, he turned to the boy next to him and said:
"Go and get my five stones."
The boy looked embarrassed and said coquettishly:
"Your Majesty, Princess Jinxiang has ordered... It is useless to take more of Five Stone Powder. Tell the young ones not to give it to your Majesty again..."
Wu Shi Powder is said to have been originally prescribed by the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing to the famous scholar Wang Can.
At that time, Wang Can was in his weak years and served under Liu Biao in Jingzhou. Once he met Zhang Zhongjing in Jingzhou. Zhang Zhongjing saw that Wang Can looked sick, so he wanted to treat Wang Can.
Wang Can didn't feel any discomfort at first, but considering that the other party was a miracle doctor as famous as Hua Tuo, Wang Can naturally did not dare to hide his illness and avoid medical treatment. After Zhang Zhongjing made a diagnosis, he told Wang Can: With this disease, the eyebrows will gradually fall off when you are forty years old, and you will die in half a year, but it is not too late to take medicine now.
Wang Can was shocked when he heard this, so he immediately begged Zhang Zhongjing to tell him the method of treatment. Zhang Zhongjing wrote down a prescription. When Wang Can read it, he found that there were five strange medicines on the prescription: stalactite, sulfur, white quartz, and so on. Amethyst, red stone resin.
Although Wang Can was afraid of the strange disease that Zhang Zhongjing mentioned, he was worried when he saw that the medicines in the prescription were all medicinal stones used by warlocks to make elixirs, so he did not take the medicine. Later, Wang Can realized that he had no symptoms and put the matter out of his mind.
Later, Zhang Zhongjing met him again and asked him if he had taken the medicine on time. Wang Can was embarrassed to say that he had not followed the doctor's instructions, so he lied to Zhang Zhongjing and said that he had been taking the medicine according to the prescription and the effect was very good.
Zhang Zhongjing took one look at Wang Can's complexion and knew that Wang Can was lying, so he shook his head and sighed: It's too late to regret if you keep your illness under wraps.
Sure enough, one day twenty years later, Wang Can's eyebrows suddenly began to fall off. Six months later, as Zhang Zhongjing predicted, he fell ill and died.
Since then, Zhang Zhongjing's prescription has been spread among the people, and is regarded by many as a life-saving magical prescription.
This prescription for Five Stone Powder was later passed to He Yan. After He Yan made some slight changes to it, he began to take it all year round.
Since He Yan was the adopted son of Taizu Cao Cao, and he was the husband-in-law of Princess Jinxiang, he took the lead in taking this medicine due to his noble status. Naturally, many people flocked to it. For a time, five stones were scattered throughout the official circles of Wei State. became popular.
After taking Wushi Powder, the whole person will become extremely excited and ecstatic, but at the same time, serious side effects will also occur!
After taking this medicine, you must walk quickly to dissipate the medicine. This process is called "walking away." After taking Wushi Powder, the skin will become extremely sensitive, so the clothes worn by the person taking the medicine should not be too tight, otherwise it will easily abrade the skin. Therefore, after taking Wushi Powder, it is best to wear a wide robe with long sleeves. .
Not only that, when dispersing, you must also eat cold food and drink hot wine to speed up the dispersion of the medicine.
If it is not dissipated in time, there will be serious consequences. Some people died of heat and heat after taking a large amount of Wushi Powder, but failed to disperse it in time!
He Yan saw the young man looking coy at this moment, so he scolded loudly:
"Go and get it quickly!"
Seeing that he could not defeat the master, the boy could only sigh and turned around to get the cold food, five stone powder, and the charcoal cauldron for hot wine.
After He Yan made some wine, took the powder and took the medicine, he immediately felt extremely relaxed and relaxed, and all the worries he had been having in the past few days were temporarily forgotten.
He was suddenly excited and emotional, so he stood up and danced, and took advantage of the strength of the wine and medicine to compose a new poem. He just heard him singing:
"Turn the canopy away and remove its roots, and the drifts will be carried away by the wind.
The vast journey across the sea is long and long.
I am willing to be a duckweed and send myself to a clear pond.
Just enjoy today, the future is unpredictable. "
Maybe, only at this moment can I have some fun, He Yanru thought as he drank and sang wildly.
————————————
South of Jin City, in Taifu's Mansion.
The old man who took sick leave was sitting in his study at the moment, looking at the gathering and dispersing clouds outside the window and the flying birds.
"Father, do you want to call me son?"
After entering the study, the eldest son Sima Shi saluted the old man.
"Master, you are here."
Sima Yi looked at his eldest son who was becoming increasingly smart and capable with approving eyes:
"How did you do that thing your father asked you to do?"
"Father, we have already recruited all the manpower. A month ago, I arranged for someone to train them secretly!"
"Very good. If our Sima family wants to truly control Luoyang City, how can we only rely on the few forbidden troops in our hands? Now that we have these people who can work hard for us, if the Sima family wants to achieve great things, it will not be possible. It’s so difficult!”
Not long after, several veterans who came to visit the Taifu's condition gathered in the study of Taifu's Mansion. These people were Liu Fang, Sun Zi, Gao Rou, who no longer had real power, as well as Situ Weizhen, Wang Guan, Lu Yu, etc. people.
"Master, this Cao Shuang is really abominable. In today's court, he not only covers the sky with one hand, but also engages in large-scale restructuring. He simply doesn't take us old people in his eyes!"
Sun Zi complained.
"That's right."
Liu Fang also echoed:
"Taifu, you have always been very resourceful. You can't let Cao Shuang continue to act like this!"
"Zi abandoned "Liu Fang's words" and Yanlong's "Sun Zi's words", so be patient and don't be impatient."
Sima Yi stroked his gray beard and said slowly:
"Cao Shuang's forced reform of the system is going against nature. The Law of Nine-Rank Officials has been implemented for decades. How can it be completely changed if he just wants to change it? As long as we, the family, are united, can we still be afraid of him? Will the younger generation be born later?"
Sima Yi's face showed a hint of coldness at this moment, and he continued:
"So, all you have to do is wait patiently..."
