When Li Dangzhi took the pulse of Tai Fu Cao Jue, all the relatives including Xia Houxuan, Huigu, Yun'er, Xia Houyu, He Kui and others all felt their hearts in their throats.
Xia Houxuan only felt that the moment when Li Dangzhi felt his pulse was as long as tens of millions of years. He was originally proficient in martial arts and had a strong inner breath, but now his heartbeat was racing, his hands and feet were cold, his forehead was covered with sweat, and his breath had become a lot more disordered.
Xia Houxuan was eager to know the diagnosis result, but after Li Dangzhi took his pulse, Xia Houxuan did not dare to ask. After several people were silent for a moment, Li Dangzhi called Xia Houxuan out of the dormitory alone.
"Governor, Lord Cao is over sixty years old. Although he is old, he should not be so weak. However, Lord Cao has been depressed and depressed for more than ten years. As time goes by, his internal organs are finally damaged... "
Of course Xia Houxuan understood that his mother was so worried because she missed her father and sister Yuanrong. Heart disease is difficult to cure, not to mention the mother's heart disease is even more profound.
"Sir, is there any way to cure it?"
"Captain, I don't want to speak frankly, but the Governor must be prepared. Cao Xiangzhu's body is extremely weak, and now he is actually showing signs of running out of oil. However, Cao Xiangzhu was born in a general, and his muscles and bones are still strong, and his five internal organs are strong. Although the disease is serious, you can use warming and nourishing medicine to nourish it. I will prescribe a prescription, and the governor will remember to ask Village Master Cao to take it on time and in the right amount every day, which may ensure that you are not in danger for a while."
Li Dangzhi's words made Xia Houxuan's heart fall directly into the ice cave. Although he had already prepared for the worst, the sadness in his heart was still uncontrollable when he heard that his mother was so weak.
In his early years, his father, Xia Houshang, pursued Emperor Xianwu's wars in the north and south, and was unable to accompany his mother all the time. Not only that, his father's love for Aunt Han made his mother depressed. Later, his father died at the age of 40, and his sister Yuanrong died young. , how can ordinary people understand the grief in the mother's heart?
In the past few years, since he has been guarding Yongliang Xizhou, he has been busy with official duties all day long, and has not been able to fulfill his filial piety in front of his mother. When Xia Houxuan thought of this, the sadness in his heart could not be suppressed, but he tried hard to stop the tears in his eyes. , swallowed into the belly.
She must not let her mother's breath escape at this moment. He must be more energetic for his mother.
After Xia Houxuan calmed down his emotions, he bowed and stretched out his arms, and bowed deeply to Li Dangzhi:
"Then Mr. Lao will prepare the prescription. Xuan is here. Thank you sir in advance!"
Li Dangzhi hurriedly helped Xia Houxuan up:
"Don't worry, Commander, I will do my best!"
Xia Houxuan turned around and entered the bed. He looked at his mother who was slowly waking up. With a warm smile on his face, he sat by the couch and held his mother's hand:
"Mom, Mr. Li said that my mother was just tired from traveling and there was some cold wind. He prescribed two doses of medicine and she will be fine as long as she takes it on time."
Cao Jue looked at his son, who he hadn't seen for several years and was still tall and handsome with a bit of calmness, and said with a smile:
"Xuan'er, don't worry. I'm still strong as your mother. I want to watch Mingyue marry a wife with my own eyes. Yun'er is looking for a good husband..."
Cao Jue paused briefly and continued:
"Just now, I seemed to be dreaming about your father, Hui'er and the others. I wanted to stay with them, but they pushed me back..."
When Xia Houxuan heard this, he was shocked again. He hurriedly prayed in his heart: I hope that the spirits of his father and Yuanrong in heaven will bless his mother's long life. He then said:
"Mother, you are overthinking. Just relax. Mingyue is taken care of by Uncle Gu in Luoyang, so studying and practicing martial arts is not a problem. On the other hand, here in Chang'an, the child is busy with military affairs all day long, and Huigu teaches military doctors medical skills all day long. I need you to teach Yun'er well."
At this time, Xiao Yun'er staggered to her grandma's bedside. Although she had never seen her grandma since she was born, this kind and majestic grandma filled her with great trust and attachment from the beginning. .
"Yes, grandma, Yun...Yun'er, I want to stay with grandma every day, and I won't go anywhere!"
The child's tender voice made everyone in the room laugh.
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There had just been a spring snow yesterday, but the late spring cold in Luoyang did not frighten the teenagers in the city.
The spring breeze that brings warmth in the cold and revives all things is still the same as it was ten or twenty years ago, but the group of carefree teenagers walking through the streets of Luoyang have turned into a new group of juniors.
Zhang Chunhua's last words were to ask Sima Zhao to adopt Sima You, who was almost two years old, to his elder brother Sima Shi.
Sima Yi, who had always been ruthless and even ruthless, naturally did not refuse this request, and the adoption ceremony was successfully held at the house.
Sima Yan looked at his ignorant brother coldly at this moment. His usually naive little brother now became extremely hateful in his eyes. The rare soft place in his heart gradually became cold and hard at this moment. .
Little Sima You, who was less than two years old, didn't realize what this adoption ceremony meant to him. He didn't understand why he had to change his name and call the uncle in front of him with a somewhat ferocious eye his father.
He never imagined that today's ceremony would completely change the trajectory of his life.
The adoption ceremony was held in an orderly manner and ended quickly and smoothly. Sima Yi always felt empty in his heart. He couldn't help but walk to the pure white camellia garden in the courtyard. He clearly remembered that he, Zhang Chunhua and several children planted these camellias more than ten years ago.
Sima Yi didn't remember the oaths and tenderness of his youth very clearly over the years, but after Zhang Chunhua left, these memories that had been dead suddenly came out inexplicably at this moment, making Sima Yi's eyes feel a little sour.
In this way, Sima Yi, an old man who was nearly 70 years old, stood under the flower tree for a long time, staring at the camellias alone in a daze.
When it was finally time for school to end, Xiao Mingyue, her two cousins He Qiao and He Yu, as well as Zhuge Liang, Li Tao, Xu Qi, Xu Meng, Ruan Hun and others ran out of the Taiyuan Academy crazily holding letters in their hands. They ran straight towards the most delicious candied haws fruit stall in Kaiyangmen. Several children held letters in their left hands and pinched their favorite candied haws in their right hands. The whole journey was filled with innocent and carefree laughter.
On the willow trees beside Tongtuo Road, a few new shoots have sprouted unknowingly. This made passers-by finally realize: the new year is about to begin again.
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Although spring has begun, Youzhou in the north, known as the bitter cold, still cannot feel the slightest warmth.
Du Shu has not fully adapted to the cold weather in the north, but his heart is full of enthusiasm for reform at this time.
Youzhou's Zhizhong and Biejia, as well as the postal governors and meritorious officers of each county were extremely cooperative with the official duties assigned by Du Shu, the new boss. A group of young and motivated county officials spontaneously requested to go to each county to experience their duties. Du Shu felt very pleased. Apart from this, Du Shu wanted to put more energy into encouraging farmers and mulberry fields and strengthening border defense.
Soon after, Sima Yi heard that Du Shu's drastic restructuring in the north had been quite effective. On this day, Sima Yi specially called Sima Zhao and arranged a secret mission for him.
In the afternoon of that day, Sima Zhao came to Qingqingyuan where there were many guests.
Since the princes and nobles of Luoyang often visited this place on weekdays, no one noticed Sima Zhao, who was dressed in casual clothes.
Li Nie and Liu Yizhen, the nurses in the lobby, quickly noticed Sima Zhao, who was a regular customer. They bowed to Sima Zhao. Sima Zhao smiled slightly and took out two broken pieces of silver from his arms. Passed it to two people:
"We haven't seen each other for a while. With this little money, I'll treat the two eldest brothers to a drink!"
Although there were many distinguished guests in Qingqingyuan, not many were so generous, so the two of them were naturally grateful.
Sima Zhao came to a private room with beautiful scenery on the second floor. The view here is wide. Looking out, you can not only see the tall towers on the edge of the imperial city, but even the green trees and the gurgling Luoshui outside the city wall. vaguely seen.
Not long after, Zhang Bolun, the third in command of Qingqingyuan, came to Sima Zhao's seat.
Confidential matters have always been handled directly by Zhang Bolun personally. This is a tacit agreement between the Sima family and Qingqingyuan.
The contact information between the Sima family and Qingqingyuan was translated in detail using the Fanqie method. Therefore, Sima Zhao did not mention any sensitive topics throughout the whole process. Even if other people heard the conversation between the two, they would never be able to hear the underlying meaning.
[Note 1: Fanqie method is an ancient method of using Chinese characters to phoneticize Chinese characters. For example, hammer is Chirui fan. The pronunciation is obtained by taking the ch of chi and the ui of rui. It was first called irony in the Han Dynasty. Fanqie developed greatly during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi Dynasty said in "Yan Family Instructions: Yinci Chapter": "Sun Shuran created the pronunciation and meaning of Erya, which was the only person in the late Han Dynasty who knew irony. As for the Wei Dynasty, this matter became popular." Lu Deming's "Classic Interpretation" contains: " Sun Yan first used it as an irony, and it became more and more common after the Wei Dynasty." In fact, Sun Yan had people use fanqie before, such as the Eastern Han Dynasty Fuqian's "Han Shu" "Han, Yin Zhang Rui Fan". Sun Yan organized Fanqie and compiled it into Erya Yinyi. 】
Soon after, Zhang Bolun arranged for several deaf and mute messengers under his command to send three secret letters of Yin Fu to Cheng Xicheng Shenbo, the general of the Northern Expedition.
[Note 2: Yin Fu is a method of transmitting secrets in the ancient army. The content of the letter is divided into several parts and sent separately. Even if one part is intercepted by the enemy, the enemy will not know the whole secret. 】
Ever since Kebi Neng of Xianbei was killed by Han Long, the assassin sent by Emperor Ming, the whole of Xianbei has once again fallen into chaos.
In the past twenty years, various tribes in Xianbei, large and small, have been attacking each other, and two tribes have gradually come to the fore, one is the Tuoba tribe and the other is the Murong tribe.
Tuoba Desert Khan, the prince of the Tuoba Tribe, fell in love with Xia Houxuan at first sight in the desert in his early years, and the two became brothers with different surnames.
The leader of the Murong tribe, Mo Huba, accompanied Guanqiu Jian to the east to conquer Gongsun Yuan, and was awarded the title of King of Yiyi for his merits. His son Murong Muyan later followed Guanqiu Jian to the east to conquer Gaoguli, and was granted the title of Grand Governor.
These two tribes currently have close relations with the Wei Dynasty, and the court's policy is mainly to appease Jisi.
[Note 3: In the Yan Dynasty, there were many step-shaking crowns. Mo Huba liked this crown and wore it with his hair tied up. Among the tribes, it was called "Bu Yao". The sound of Bu Yao in the north was similar to Murong, so Mo Huba simply Murong was the tribe's name and family surname. Another theory is that Mo Huba admired Chinese civilization and decided to name him Murong because of his admiration for the virtues of the two rituals and the envy of the beauty of the three lights. 】
Two months later, Luoyang's three Yin Talisman secret reports were successively sent to Zhengbei Mansion.
In the study room in the backyard of the Zhengbei Mansion residence, a middle-aged man with a majestic appearance, a tall figure, wearing a deep Shu brocade robe and wearing a military bow on his head was looking at the three Yin Fu secret letters in detail by candlelight. Although the man was dressed in elegant court clothes, he still couldn't hide the fierce and fierce light in his eyes.
In addition to several study items such as pens and inkstones, pen holders, and paperweights, there are also seals of various sizes and styles placed on the case. These seals are not the common official seals of this dynasty. They are all gold and stone seals of different colors and materials. At first glance, this person is obsessed with collecting and playing with seals.
After a long time, the man placed the three secret letters of the Yin Talisman that he had read in front of the candlelight, and carefully lit them one by one and burned them.
This man is none other than Cheng Xicheng Shenbo, one of the second-grade and four generals of the four expeditions in this dynasty - the Northern Expedition General.
This man had some military exploits in his early years and had a close relationship with the Sima family, so he was able to serve as the North-Conquering General who was stationed in the north and was at the same level as General Xia Houxuan, General Conquering the West, General Xu Zhi, General Conquering the East, and General Wang Chang, General Conquering the South.
This man was not a good person. During the Ming Dynasty, he served as the governor of Qingzhou. He refused to accept Tian Yu's appointment as the governor of Qingzhou. Not only did he repeatedly oppose Tian Yu in the military, but he also falsely accused Tian Yu of lax military orders and looted a lot of people. He kept his jewelry without paying it to the government. Emperor Ming, like Emperor Wen, loved Ming jewelry the most. Hearing this, he naturally became angry. As a result, Tian Yu was not awarded the title he should have had due to his military merits, and was even dismissed from the army for a time!
You must know that Tian Yu is also a famous general with both wisdom and courage, but he still cannot defeat the ruthless Cheng Xi. The danger of Cheng Xi can be imagined.
Before Du Shu left, Yuan Kan specifically told him, but Du Shu was a rough and rough man, and he firmly believed that Cheng Xi would not dare to be disrespectful to himself, who was a man of integrity, so he was naturally defenseless now.
At this moment, Cheng Xi looked at the exquisite black and crystal snake button seal made of coal jade in his hand, with a sinister smile on his face:
"Uncle Du Wu, Uncle Du Wu, since there are arrangements in the capital, no wonder this general has taken action against you!"
[Note 4: Coal jade, also called coal essence, is a kind of jade produced from coal, with a fine texture. The polyhedral seal of Dugu Xin from the Northern Zhou Dynasty collected by the Shaanxi Museum today is made of coal jade. 】
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Ten days later, a piece of news reached the Xianbei tribe in the central part of the northern border of Youzhou - the imperial court urgently summoned the Xianbei prince Murong Muyi to come to the state for an audience. If there is any delay, military law will be engaged!
[Note 5: Murong Muyi is a fictional character. 】
This Murong Muyi was none other than the youngest son of Mo Huba, the righteous king of the Murong tribe in central Xianbei, and the younger brother of Murong Muyan, the chief governor of the Murong tribe.
The spy sent by Cheng Xi secretly summoned Murong Muyi directly by sending an order. Cheng Xi had already inquired about this Murong Muyi who was simple-minded, very easy to deceive, and had a bad temper, so he was chosen to implement his conspiracy. .
Murong Muyi had always longed for the respect of his father and brother. Now that he saw the mission call, he fully expected that Wei Ting would entrust him with important tasks. So without saying a word, he led his fifty Xianbei soldiers and ran all the way towards the northern border of Youzhou. Come!
By the time Mo Huba and Murong Muyan noticed it, Murong Muyi had already traveled a hundred miles away and could not catch up.
——————————
On this day, Du Shu had just finished his official duties and returned to his apartment. As he was about to go to bed to rest, he heard an attendant knocking on his door.
He knew that if there was no emergency, his entourage would not disturb him at will, so he lit the candle, put on his clothes, and opened the door.
"What's the matter?"
The follower's face was solemn at this moment, and he said:
"I report to the envoy that the general guarding the border at Yanmen Pass in Jingxing has sent an urgent report, saying that a man claiming to be from the Murong tribe of Xianbei led dozens of flying cavalry to forcefully break through the gate four days ago and injured the guard soldiers during the dispute. , the guard was ready, and finally blocked him, but he didn't expect this person to sneak over the mountain at night and enter the pass. Fortunately, the guard found him in time and took him into custody. The guard sent a messenger to urgently report the matter, but his subordinates did not dare to Delay, that’s why I bother you late at night!”
After hearing this, Du Shu frowned and thought for a moment. He has always been law-abiding and unbiased. He knew that border troubles were not trivial. If he let them go easily this time, he was afraid that the foreigners would despise Wei again in the future and cause trouble again. Therefore, without thinking, he directly The order was issued:
"According to our laws in the Wei Dynasty, the people of the frontier fortress who lead their cavalry to break through the border without permission will be killed without mercy. So let's do it!"
"Yes, envoy!"
After turning off the lights, Du Shu always felt a little flustered in his heart, but after being busy all day, he only thought about it for a short while and then fell into sleep and fell into a deep sleep.
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In spring and March, everything revives, the grass grows and orioles fly.
General Cao Shuang heard that Du Shu's reform in Youzhou was going smoothly, and he was in a good mood. He decided to work on multiple fronts and officially launched reforms in Jingzhou.
As the candidate for the governor of Jingzhou, Cao Shuang finally chose his good friend Li Gongzhao of Henan Yin Li Sheng.
At this moment, Li Sheng was roasting a leg of lamb with Cao Shuang in the Wagtail Pavilion of the General's Mansion. Inside the Wagtail Pavilion, the aroma of meat and the smell of wine are very intoxicating.
"Gong Zhao, when you go to Jingzhou this time, you must be careful to deal with Wang Chang and Wang Wenshu, and implement the reform system as soon as possible. Don't let me live up to Gu's expectations!"
Li Sheng, who was finally able to sit in a state and felt that he had greatly comforted his life, was now full of joy. After drinking a cup of hot wine, he smiled at Cao Shuang and bowed his hands:
"Don't worry, General. If we win, we will definitely act with caution and try our best to carry out reforms and live up to the high expectations of the General!"
Cao Shuang was very satisfied with Li Sheng's statement. He personally tore off a piece of delicious mutton for Li Sheng, toasted Li Sheng with a glass of hot wine, and then arranged another task for Li Sheng:
"Gongzhao, have you heard that since Sima Yi lost his wife, his condition has worsened a lot. The old man is nearly 70 years old and is about to die, but I feel a little uneasy in my heart!"
For Sima Yi, a cunning opponent, Cao Shuang naturally did not dare to take it lightly. Now was a critical period for his own restructuring, so he had to be extra careful in everything.
What's more, Sima Yi pretended to be ill once in his early years.
In the sixth year of Jian'an, Emperor Taizu Wu had just defeated Yuan Shao, and it was the time to recruit people. Hearing that Sima Yi was very talented, he arranged for the county to recruit Sima Yi as his superior. But Sima Yi didn't know why, he didn't want to be an official, so he excused himself as suffering from wind paralysis and couldn't live well, so he couldn't serve as an official.
Emperor Wu suspected that Sima Yi was trying to shirk responsibility, so he secretly sent someone to check on Sima Yi's condition at night. Sima Yi got the news in advance, so he lay in bed all day and night without daring to move. When the night became quieter, the man sneaked into Sima Yi's bedroom, drew his sword and swung it at Sima Yi, who was lying motionless. Seeing the sharp knife killing him, Sima Yi just stared at the man with wide eyes, his body still lying motionless. Only then did the man believe that Sima Yi really had wind paralysis. When Emperor Wu saw this, he could only give up.
Later, in the 13th year of Jian'an, Emperor Wu first became the prime minister of the Han Dynasty and directly forcibly recruited Sima Yi to become a literary official. Sima Yi knew that although Emperor Wu loved talents, he could not tolerate people who relied on their talents and were arrogant and refused to be close to him. Sima Yi was afraid of being killed, so he had no choice but to leave home and answer the call.
Li Sheng has always been famous for his talent and a lively mind. Naturally, he immediately understood what Cao Shuang was thinking. He raised a glass of wine with a smile:
"Don't worry, General. This long trip can be used as an excuse to say goodbye to find out whether Sima Yi's condition is true or not!"
After hearing this, Cao Shuang showed a satisfied smile on his face. The two raised their lacquer cups and drank another glass of hot wine.
As soon as Li Sheng entered the gate of the inner hall of Sima's house, he saw the sad expressions of brothers Sima Master and Sima Zhao.
When the old man who looked like he was dying on the hospital bed heard that Li Sheng was coming, he immediately asked the maid next to him to get his clothes so that he could dress to meet the guests.
After the two maids finally helped him put on his coat, the old man accidentally slipped the clothes on his body and fell to the ground.
Li Sheng entered the inner hall and happened to see this scene. He couldn't help but think to himself that it seemed that the Taifu was indeed terminally ill this time. Seeing that Sima Yi had been preparing for a long time and finally left the hall, he immediately stepped forward to greet him and said:
"Li Sheng has met Mr. Sima. Is Mr. Sima in good health?"
Sima Yi didn't seem to hear Li Sheng's greetings clearly. He just greeted Li Sheng with a smile, then looked at the maid beside him, pointed at his mouth, and let out an extremely weak moan:
"thirsty……"
The two maids heard that the master of the house was thirsty, so they immediately brought hot porridge and served him with a spoon to drink the porridge.
Originally, the porridge was very good, but Sima Yi suddenly seemed to think of something happy. Suddenly he grinned, and all the sticky porridge in his mouth flowed out, staining his chest and clothes, making the light blue top The Shu brocade pattern turned into dark blue covered with a layer of white film. Upon seeing this, the two maids immediately helped the old man wipe it in a hurry.
Li Sheng looked at Sima Yi's embarrassed appearance and couldn't help but shook his head and sighed secretly.
Sima Yi once had such outstanding achievements and prestige, and his reputation was at the height of his popularity. He didn't expect that he would be so pitiful when he got old.
Li Sheng saw that the maid had almost finished cleaning up, so he handed over his hands again and said:
"Perhaps Ming Gong suffered from an old illness. Sheng thought that the Taifu was just slightly ill, but he didn't expect that Ming Gong was actually so ill!"
The old man had laughed hard before and looked a little tired now. He closed his eyes and rested for a while, then slowly opened his eyes and said weakly:
"I... am old and sick, and will die soon... I heard that your general will go to Bingzhou... Bingzhou is close to Hu, you should... prepare well, and live to guard the country's borders... I'm afraid that this farewell will ...We won't see each other again. I hope you can take good care of me... my children..."
Li Sheng had no deep hatred for Sima Yi originally, it was just a matter of different political parties. Now that he saw the old man in such pain, he couldn't help but feel a little sad in his heart. He smiled at the old man and explained loudly and patiently:
"Ming Gong was wrong. Sheng should return to his hometown in this state and take office, not merge the state."
Li Sheng was born in Jingzhou, so he called Jingzhou the state.
Sima Yi's chaotic eyes were still full of confusion, and he said again:
"You are coming to Bingzhou?"
Li Sheng shook his head, grabbed the old man's hand and said, "Sheng Jingzhou."
Sima Yi seemed to have just come to his senses. He shook his head and sighed:
"I... am old and desolate, and I don't understand your words. Now that you will... go to this state, you should do a good job... and make some great achievements..."
"Yes. Sheng must remember the teachings of his master!"
After Li Sheng came back from Taifu's mansion, he immediately went to the general's mansion and told Cao Shuang what he saw.
"To report to the general, Li Sheng went to the Taifu's house to see it. The corpse of Sima Gong is still alive, and the body and spirit are gone. It is no longer enough for the general to worry about."
Cao Shuang nodded after listening to Li Sheng's words. After thinking carefully for a while, he frowned slightly and said:
"Gong Zhao, are you absolutely sure that Sima Yi's illness is really serious?"
Li Sheng thought of Sima Yi's illness and felt a little sad. He sighed:
"The master is already extremely ill and cannot be cured. It is depressing to think about it."
After hearing Li Sheng's words, Cao Shuang nodded. He couldn't help thinking that Sima Yi seemed to be of no use.
From now on, no one can stop me from reforming my system.
