When Duan Xuan opened the gate again, the surviving children and women poured out of the gate one after another. They looked panicked but relieved. After passing through the iron wall composed of soldiers, they knew that they had finally survived, but Thinking of the tragic death of his biological father and brother, the long-suppressed crying in his heart burst out of the corner of his eyes, and they cried together.
But Dong Bai didn't. She stood at the door, standing beside Duan Xuan, looking at the scene in the temple with a complicated expression: her father and uncle had become indistinguishable lumps of flesh, and there were four more necks lying on the ground. The open corpses, the smell of fresh blood and the stench of internal organs were all over the place. Chen Chong found some yellow linen cloth from the view and covered each of the corpses.
Seeing Duan Xuan come in, Chen Chong explained the truth to him: "Now these people are the only ones left. Zhongming, Dong Qi and Dong Cen have passed away. I can only save these people. The remaining people are all the remnants of the Yellow Turbans." , it was my fault that they came here to assassinate them, leave their bodies to me, and I will plead guilty to Duke Dong and the court, so you don’t have to worry."
At this point, Duan Xuan had nothing to say. He was worried about the death of the two of them, and he also knew that this was the best outcome at the moment. If he was willing to take on all the responsibilities, he would be scolded by Dong Gong for his greatness. It's just a meal, Chen Chong knows this very well. As for the corpse, even the battle-hardened Duan Yan found it unbearable, and he had no intention of taking over.
Dong Bai was still standing there, watching them finish the whole exchange, and Duan Xuan pulled her away. She still looked back, and when she caught Chen Chong's eyes, Chen Chong smiled at her. She also wanted to smile back, but she couldn't. She could only get into the carriage worriedly and follow the convoy into the military camp.
The next day, she took Duan Yan with her to the prefect's mansion. After Duan Yan learned about the situation in Guanzhong from the other survivors, he was also thinking about how to deal with the aftermath, so he naturally agreed happily.
Chen Chong burned the ashes of Peng Tuo and others and put them into a box. He also used paper as skin for the corpses of Dong Qi and Dong Cen. He reluctantly painted the skeletons to look like they were during his lifetime, and then put them into a coffin until he returned to the house. At that time, it was almost nine o'clock. When he came back, all the staff had gathered together, waiting for Chen Chong's next plan.
The prefect of a county was held hostage by the Yellow Turban remnants, and he also tortured and killed two young masters of Bingzhou Mu. Peng Tuo said that he was determined to imitate Su Buwei, and now he has indeed succeeded. At that time, Su Buwei killed all Li Hao's family, but he was the son of the Jincheng prefect, and Li Hao, the chief agricultural officer, knew that he had a past and did not dare to report to the official, which led to such an impact.
However, Dong Zhuo's suppression of the Hebei thieves was originally ordered by the emperor and allowed him to be killed and surrendered, and no one in the court took it as an exaggeration. Peng Tuo himself was a wanted thief, but he was able to openly enter the county and kill people. Compared with Su Buwei, he was less appreciated by the party members. Dong Zhuo had just been promoted to a former general by the court, but he encountered such a disaster. Due to both emotions and reasons, the court should seek justice for Dong Zhuo.
After Chen Chong came back, the first thing he said was: "I bear full responsibility for this matter. I will report it to the court myself and ask for punishment. Please don't worry about it." The second thing was to comfort Liu Yan and say, "Weishuo, don't worry about it." , you are only responsible for studying, don’t slack off from now on, just stay as usual."
Then he closed the door and turned away guests to prepare for what was to come.
Chen Chong didn't like Dong Zhuo, but he was not prepared to antagonize Dong Zhuo. What's more, no matter how much he hates Dong Zhuo, he doesn't hate the two people who were chopped alive. After all, the dead are the most important, and Dong Zhuo is currently his immediate boss, the current Bingzhou Mu, and he doesn't care about both the situation and the reason. Dong Zhuo should be given an explanation.
Therefore, Chen Chong first wrote to Dong Zhuo, stating the situation truthfully, stating that the reason for the incident was "to be prepared for things to happen, and to observe the shortcomings of people." Then he comforted him that "all people are dead, and the living are especially important." He also emphasized that "Nowadays, the sea is in turmoil and chaos is rising." This matter may be considered a big deal now, but it will not be worth mentioning in the future. "Governing the world is like governing the mind." I hope Dong Zhuo "appreciates kindness and justice, understands the general situation" and does not implicate others. , it’s all my fault, Chen Chong.
After that, he wrote a report to the court. Chen Chong thought about it for a while and finally decided that the matter could be omitted. He emphasized that now the new chanyu of the Xiongnu was abusing the herdsmen, Yanmen Xianbei was ready to make a move, and not long after the Baibo army was newly attached, there were Black Mountain bandits who had previously intervened in Taiyuan. Examples of war. Chen Chong pointed out that Bingzhou is now peaceful on the surface, but in fact "hidden diseases are everywhere". No matter how much punishment the court and the emperor impose on Chen Chong, Chen Chong has nothing to say, but it is not appropriate to change the old administration of Xihe, change Xihe's personnel, and easily promote Yang Hui to the prefecture. .
After finishing writing, Chen Chong wrote a letter to his former clan, frankly saying that he and Dong Zhuo had been at odds recently and that he would resign to avoid trouble. Dong Zhuo was moody and he hoped that his clan would pay more attention to this. If something big happens to the clan and you need to contact him, you can send a letter to Liu Bei, the general who protects the Huns, and you will definitely receive it.
Along with it were two letters, one to his wife Cai Yan and one to his friend Zheng Xuan.
To his wife Cai Yan, he said that everything was fine recently and there was no need to worry, but then he added a poem: "When I wake up from a dream, I laugh at myself again. I am hesitant in front of others and annoyed later."
As for Zheng Xuan, his old friend, he asked him to help him make a name for the children of the extremely wealthy family who had agreed beforehand. He had already thought of a name, and called him Taiyuan's trouble-relieving Eleven Jun. By the way, I gave Zheng Xuan his latest manuscript of "Chronicles of Rebellions in Zhongping", which records the several battles against bandits since Zhongping, with analysis.
In this way, everything is arranged. Chen Chong then handed the letters with Dong Zhuo to Duan Xuan, gave all the remaining letters to Yang Hui, and asked Xu Shu to make an appointment with Liu Bei.
When Liu Bei was still on his way back to Jinyang, he was called back by Xu Shu. Liu Bei was surprised when he learned the cause and effect. When he saw Chen Chong, he said first, "Ting Jian, how about we abandon our official positions and return home together?"
After hearing this, Chen Chong shook his head and said with a smile: "Xuande, you are abandoning your official position no matter what you say. You and I have been in the officialdom for several years. It is not easy to have such an official position."
Liu Bei didn't take this seriously and said jokingly: "Ting Jian, you often tell me that official status is not as good as fame, but majesty is not as good as benevolence. You don't hesitate to wear this robe. If I am attached to this official status, how can I be with you?" What about my companions? Even Yun Chang and Yide will complain about me."
Chen Chong shook his head and said sternly to him: "I am willing to take on this matter because you are here, and the overall situation of Bingzhou will not be neglected. Bai Bo and Guo must be involved in this case. If the imperial army invades and suppresses it, I must protect him." They are the ones. To untie the bell, you have to tie the bell. Since I have formed a karma with Master Zhang, I should do my best to find a way for them to live."
Liu Bei frowned and asked: "Is it worth it? I met many Yellow Turban heroes in Qingxu, but there are also despicable villains. Guo Da was originally a Yellow Turban thief, and his murder should be reported to the capital. Now he is involved in this case, which shows that he is resentful towards you. No small thing. You are a murderer of family members, such a cruel person. Why are you so cruel? We are about to plan to replace Shanyu, but without you, I am not sure."
Chen Chong was packing up books in the study room while listening. When he heard this, he said with a smile: "Xuande, don't belittle yourself. You just said you were just abandoning your official position and coming back, and now you are criticizing others." Then he pondered for a moment, He replied: "Xuande, although I often say that a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement. But today is not a normal world, and people's hearts are divided. How can we use common sense to deal with it?"
"To do good is to ascend, to do evil is to fall. It is in such a ridiculous world that such a ridiculous case can occur. If everyone in the world is a thief, do we want to kill everyone? We can only change the customs and regain the right path. I am resigning and living in seclusion this time, so that I can lead people to be good within Bai Bo. Those who can change things are good people. This is the real starting from scratch."
"Have you thought about it all?" Seeing Chen Chong nod, Liu Bei sighed and said, "You always make sense. When I talk to you about worldly affairs and human relations, you are always far better than me. It doesn't matter. I don't trust you alone in Baibo. Let Yun Chang accompany you!"
"I think Wen Chang is enough." Before Chen Chong could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Liu Bei. Liu Bei held his sword and said: "If you believe me, just let Yunchang come. He has been organizing troops and camps these days. Before this His shoulder injury has been getting worse, if you take him to recuperate more, it will save me some worry."
"That's good, you have to take it seriously." Chen Chong put down what he was doing and hugged his best friend tightly.
Two days later, Chen Chong hung the seal and ribbon on the mulberry tree in the county mansion as a sign of resignation. It was the gold seal and purple ribbon that the imperial court had just awarded, and it was the proof of his identity as Marquis of Tangxi Pavilion, but there was no need to miss it now.
When Dong Bai woke up early and saw this scene, she realized that he had left. She hurriedly searched for him in the city, trying to ask everyone who knew him, but found nothing, which made her feel lost.
But to Chen Chong, she is just a child.
Soon she also left Bingzhou with Duan Xuan and returned to Sanfu.
Dong Zhuo couldn't believe it after receiving the news of his two sons' deaths, but he couldn't react. He was originally unwilling to go to Bingzhou to serve, but now that Wang Guo led the Xiliang rebels to leave Liangzhou again, he and Huangfu Song led the three auxiliary troops to confront them.
Even though he was clearly the shepherd of Bingzhou, he could not interfere in the personnel affairs of Bingzhou without investigating the case. He could only write to the court, hoping that the court would return justice. In his words, he criticized the Baibo army in Bingzhou and hoped that the court would punish them severely.
The imperial court's reaction was very interesting. It could be said to be very big or very small. This case spread to Taixue through public opinion. Su Buwei had not heard of such talk for many years, let alone the generals and literary leaders from all over the world.
Yuan Shao had previously been at fault for the Southern Xiongnu affair and his reputation had been damaged. This time, he encouraged his friend He Yong to secretly slander Chen Chong, saying that he was colluding with the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, and suggested that the emperor imprison Chen Chong to investigate the matter in detail. The implication is that there must be Bai Bo thieves involved in this matter. The imperial court must be strict in its administration and it is impossible to send troops to conquer again. When the news of Chen Chong's resignation reached Luoyang, his remarks became even more popular.
But when it came time to make the decision, the emperor would not pay attention to these things. If he had paid attention to these things, the big man would not be what he is today. When Chang Shi Zhang Rang reported the case, he looked at Dong Zhuo's report and then Chen Chong's report. The emperor turned back and asked Zhang Rang: "Chang Shi Zhang, in your opinion, who is more loyal, Chen Tingjian or Dong Zhongying?"
Zhang Rang looked strange. He hesitated and couldn't answer. He neither liked Chen Chong nor Dong Zhuo because neither of them had ever bribed him.
When there was no response, the emperor laughed to himself and said, "No matter how much I dislike Chen Tingjian, I know that he is still loyal to Chen Tingjian."
In one sentence, the dust settled, so the imperial court ordered Chen Chong to dismiss and resign from Xihe County, and promoted Yang Hui to the post of governor of Xihe County. The remaining appointments were not changed, and the entire Xihe County except the Baibo Army was focused on hunting down the remaining Yellow Turban Party members. He gave Dong Zhuo five hundred thousand yuan and agreed to his appointment as a former general.
