Chen Chong then set off from Taixue, entered Kaiyang Gate, walked half a circle around the Nangong Palace, and passed by the extravagant Luoyang Gold Market. During the war years, many of the Kansai clans migrated, so the price of gold soared. In addition, His Majesty openly sold his official positions, and then spent a lot of money. As time goes by, Luoyang Gold Market becomes more and more crazy, and it is unknown how much evil and darkness has been bred.
Chen Chong looked around and saw that there was no beggar on the road. He couldn't help but hurry up and pass by in a hurry. Such good security made Chen Chong couldn't help but feel chills running down his spine.
After the gold market is the West Garden. Xiyuan was originally the emperor's usual place of leisure, but since the first year of Guanghe, the place where the emperor sold his official positions and received titles was in the Xiyuan. The constant exchanges of nobles and nobles throughout the dynasty enabled the emperor to amass a lot of money. The status of Xiyuan also increased, and he could be Luoyang's confidant location.
Today, after repairing the Eight Passes, the intention is still unfinished, and a large amount of money is spent to build a military camp and fortress in the West Garden with great fanfare. The project was not yet halfway through. When Chen Chong passed by, he saw a large number of civilian laborers recruited from Sanhe. Although it was almost autumn, the weather was still extremely hot. They were carrying building materials shirtless, while the supervisor was scolding them, even though they were several feet away. , Chen Chong could also see the forest of scars and rain of sweat on their bodies.
Chen Chong stopped a little. This was his habit. He had made up his mind many years ago that he would not be accustomed to this kind of scene, even if it was useless.
When the sky got darker and the afterglow floated between the sky and the earth like wheat waves, Chen Chong set off again. Zhong Yao's mansion is not far behind the West Garden, but just around the corner and a few dozen steps forward, there are a few green plum trees planted in front of the yard.
Chen Chong stepped forward and knocked on the door, and an old man opened the door. Chen Chong had been coming and going to Zhong Mansion over the years, and he had long been familiar with it. He hurriedly smiled and said: "It turns out to be Master Jijiu. My master has not returned home yet, but he has already given instructions." After that, you go to his study room and wait for a while. I think he will be home in two quarters of an hour at most."
The time is about the same as Chen Chong estimated. Although the matter is urgent, it is useless to worry alone. It is just making people nervous in vain. He gathered his thoughts and returned the courtesy to Cangtou with a smile. Cangtou quickly opened the door and led Chen Chong into the study. He knew that Chen Chong liked to drink tea, so he boiled a pot of hot water for him and brought it to him. Chen Chong thanked him again. Then he took out a volume of "Han Ji" from Zhong Yao's study and read it while making tea.
The weight of bamboo slips is very heavy. One bamboo slip weighs more than a pound, and it can only write a few hundred words. But in this era, the meaning behind these handwritings is even heavier. It is often the final conclusion of a person, and the countless words behind him. loser.
The volume in Chen Chong's hands is the latest version compiled by Cai Yong, ordered by the imperial court, but the content is old, it is the biography of Yu Xu. For example, among the famous generals in the past 150 years since Li Guangwu established the capital in Hebei Province, Feng Yi was the leader in the first 50 years, Duan Jue was the leader in the second 50 years, and Yu Xu was the most outstanding general in the middle 50 years.
At that time, Empress Dowager Hexi and Deng were in power. The Xianling Qiang rebelled many times and captured Liang and the two prefectures, so much so that the imperial court gave up on Liangzhou's idea of first securing its northern defense. Yu Xu first planned to recruit the sons of wealthy families from the two prefectures to Beijing as hostages. He drove the warriors of the two states with great success, and then he took up local posts. He was the magistrate of Chaoge County, and he was in peace in Hanoi, and he was in charge of Wudu, and he was in Liangzhou. Therefore, Yu Xu has always been regarded as a model for border ministers to guard the local area.
Chen Chong closed the bamboo slips, but he couldn't help but recall the battle report at the beginning of the month in his mind. At that moment, someone behind him sighed to him: "Ting Jian, things have reached this point, and you just came back. Isn't it too late?"
Chen Chong put the bamboo slips back to their original places and saw his friend taking off his court clothes and putting on a gauze dress from the hanger in the corner. He couldn't help laughing and said: "Yuan Chang, I rushed to Xu County from Luoyang, and then Everyone I met from Xu County said to me, you are rushing too fast, you should stop and slow down, a gentleman should be calm and not impatient. You are the first to say to me, you are coming too fast. late."
When Zhong Yao saw the brewed tea on the banquet table, he didn't even greet him. He just took a long drink and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he said seriously: "Ting Jian, this is not a joke. On the third day after you left, which was the day before yesterday, Yuan Benchu has finalized the plan to recruit the Xiongnu, and the general has handed it over to His Majesty, and Your Majesty has stamped his approval. The deal is done, and we may not be able to stop this recruitment."
After hearing this, Chen Chong stopped joking, took seven or eight steps back and forth, and then asked: "I thought that the last time I went to Shu, the truth was made very clear. Recruiting the Xiongnu would be harmful to the country. At that time, neither Yuan Benchu nor Jian Chang Even the servants had nothing to say, and His Majesty also agreed to postpone the discussion, but in the end he couldn't bear it for five days? Yuan Chang, do you know the reason?"
"What other reason could there be?" Zhong Yao put down his tea cup and said angrily: "Shi Changshi and others accepted Geng Bi's money and persuaded your Majesty to appoint him as the governor of Liangzhou. As a result, Han Sui invaded Longxi this time, and Geng Bi appointed Cheng The corrupt officials such as Qiu and others were ruthlessly looting, but instead provoked a civil uprising, and Liangzhou's 60,000-strong army was completely destroyed! Fu Junhou also died in the battle for some reason. Look at how Jian Changshi dares to say no to the general and the others now. Character."
Speaking of this, Zhong Yao couldn't bear the disappointment and sighed: "I thought that Yuan Benchu, a member of the famous clan, would be famous all over the world and would have great opinions. But he and his group of friends gave the general advice and said, what are you doing? In the opinion of the scholar, the war situation in Liangzhou has deteriorated to this point. Firstly, there is no money and food. Secondly, people's mentality has changed. The transfer of troops from the Central Plains has led to a lack of defense. Once disaster occurs, it will be out of control. There is really no other choice but to transfer the Xiongnu troops into Liang. method."
Chen Chong sat calmly, tapping the table with his fingers, meditating for a while, and then asked: "Yuan Chang, what's the attitude of Jian Chang?"
"What kind of attitude? Ting Jian, you can't imagine that Jian Changshi fully supported him. I still find it funny." Zhong Yao also laughed angrily when he said this, as if he remembered the scene of the inner court that day: "The eunuch I am of the same mind as the leader of the noble clan. I originally had doubts about your previous discussion, but now that it is like this, Ting Jian, you are right, recruiting Xiongnu troops is definitely not a good thing."
"It's easy to understand." Chen Chong didn't have any feelings about this. He had been targeted by everyone since he was a child, and the opposition's alliances were all kinds of strange, which made him quite unfazed. "If this conscription can pacify Liangzhou and Jian Changshi supports them, it will naturally cover up the previous bribery from Geng Bi. If this conscription fails, it will appear that Ben Chu and others are incompetent, and everyone will no longer blame Chang Shi. .”
"It's just that I originally thought that His Majesty would hesitate for at least a few days after seeing me." Chen Chong couldn't help but lightly press his fingers on the table: "Now it seems that Liangzhou has not wavered too much towards Your Majesty. He is already seriously ill. Seeking medical attention indiscriminately.”
"And what I didn't expect was that His Majesty would be so suspicious of Zuo Qiqi." Chen Chong calmed down a little, poured another cup of tea for Zhong Yao, and continued his analysis.
"I suggest that your majesty reactivate Zuo Chaqi, revive the three auxiliary armies, and confront Han Sui in Longxi. Liangzhou is poor and Han Sui will not be able to last long. This is the only feasible strategy at the moment. But Zuo Chaqi has made great achievements since quelling the Yellow Turbans. Zhenzong, Your Majesty is afraid that he will make unrewarded achievements again and regard him as a thorn in his side. It was only half a year before that he failed to defeat the rebel army, so he dismissed Zuo Chaqi and returned home. Isn't it wrong? Duan Zhengxi slaughtered Xiliang. , it will take more than ten years of hard work and cost 4.4 billion. How can Zuo Chaqi be dismissed from his post after half a year?"
"But now the edict has been sent to the Chancellor's Desk and handed over to the Sangong Mansion." Zhong Yao sat cross-legged and looked at Chen Chong with burning eyes: "Ting Jian, in your opinion, what should we do now?"
Chen Chong did not answer, but asked: "Yuan Chang, who will be the chief official of the imperial court for this recruitment?"
Zhong Yao shrugged and picked up the teacup again: "Ever since Zhang Xiushan killed Huzheng Shanyu, in order to appease the Huns, Your Majesty has never intended to protect the Huns' generals again, and this time is no exception. So this time The chief officer, in response to Yuan Benchu's suggestion, is Zhang Yi and Zhang Deyan, the governor of Bingzhou."
"Nonsense" Chen Chong has always been well-educated because of his tutoring experience, but after learning about this arrangement, he couldn't hold back and yelled: "Did Yuan Benchu have a stroke? Liu Yu and Liu Bo'an are such good candidates that he doesn't need Zhang Deyan." ?Zhang Deyan worked in Bingzhou for three years, and achieved absolutely nothing in these three years. No, he also accomplished one thing: making the Baibo bandits more than ten times stronger!"
Speaking of this, Chen Chong only felt that the future of the frontier was gloomy: "The Huns have always admired the strong and bullied the weak. In recent years, as long as the Huns are not blind and deaf, how can they not know who Zhang Deyan is? Liu Yu is not your Yuan Benchu. Yuan Benchu, you won’t go by yourself?”
Zhong Yao could only console him: "Ting Jian, the matter has come to this, and we can only rely on you and me to save it. Why don't I write to your majesty tomorrow and ask him to change the candidate. It is better to ask Mr. Bo'an to be the lord this time. Mr. Liu An Rende is well-known throughout the country, so this trip will surely go much smoother."
"No." Chen Chong pondered for a while and objected: "Although Liu Bo'an is not afraid of taking office, he cherishes his reputation and does not want to be at odds with the Yuan family. If we arrange this, not only the general's palace, the regular servants, and the clan will be dissatisfied with me. , and will also be criticized for not being responsible."
Having said this, Chen Chong took out a folded paper from his sleeve robe, handed it to Zhong Yao, and sighed: "Yuan Chang, I didn't want to take this step at first, but the holy way was injured and blocked the way of admonishment, so I had to personally It’s an adventure.”
Zhong Yao borrowed the folded paper and asked curiously again: "Ting Jian, how do you arrange it? Plan it with me quickly."
"There is no other choice." Chen Chong looked back at the sky. The setting sun was shining, and the city's shadow was mottled. His eyes swayed, gradually becoming clearer and sharper:
"This time the border crisis is critical, instead of sitting in Taixue and talking about Taoism, it is better to serve the imperial court. Yuanhe, I will ask myself to be the governor of Xihe. If possible, it is best to arrange Xuande here. If there is a chaos in Bingzhou this time, our area will be in trouble." In the midst of divisions and divisions, he can still act cheaply and resist catastrophe to the north of the river!"
