The political situation in Luoyang was so turbulent that as soon as Zhu Changshifu showed weakness, the general was afraid that the situation would change again, and immediately sent an admonition to the official Zhong Shao to go west, trying to dissuade the Xiliang army from Mianchi.
But Dong Zhuo, who had a keen sense of smell, didn't seem to hear it. He first pretended to agree to Zhong Shao and led his people to rest in Mianchi for two days. On the third day, he sent Li Ru into Mianchi City to have a drink with Zhong Shao. When his subordinates reported that Zhong Shao was at the banquet, Dong Zhuo took the opportunity to set off. In order to prevent the general from setting up troops at Hangu Pass to stop him, he led his troops to Yiyang via a small road south, and then entered Henan County from Luhun Pass.
On the third day of August, the knights of Longxi appeared in front of Henan County like divine soldiers descending from heaven. By now, Dong Zhuo was only thirty miles away from Luoyang. For a time, the capital was in great shock. Hundreds of officials in the court sent letters to He Jin, asking him what his plans were, whether he wanted to kill Chang Shi, or whether he wanted to take the opportunity to force Ling Gongqing.
He Jin was very passive for a while, but fortunately Zhongshao caught up with Dong Zhuo in front of Henan County. He was riding a yellow-maned horse and wearing black court clothes, and he stopped Dong Zhuo's army in front of the county gate. Seeing his courage, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but feel a little respect. He stepped forward on his horse and said with a smile to Zhong Shao: "You, a small official with a copper seal and ink ribbon on your waist, why bother to stop me from being loyal to the country? Are you not afraid of the sword? ?"
Zhong Shao glanced at Dong Zhuo, suddenly reached out to Dong Zhuo's waist, and pulled out Dong Zhuo's sword with a thunderclap. The sound of the sword was as clear as an oriole. Zhong Shao held the long sword in his hand, pointed the blade at the Longxi knight behind Dong Zhuo, and solemnly said: "Dong Gong is loyal to the country. , cultivating Shao is also an act of loyalty to the country! The general ordered you to stop in Mianchi, why are you here? Do you regard the laws of the imperial court as child's play!"
Dong Zhuo's sword was acquired by chance when he was working in the fields when he was a child. There are mountain cloud patterns hidden on the surface of the sword, and the cut jade is like mud. At this time, Zhong Shao was holding a sword in front of the army. His righteousness could not be looked at, and the officers and soldiers of Longxi were dismayed by it. Seeing Zhong Shao's demeanor, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but raise his head and laugh. He stretched out his hand to pat Zhong Shao's shoulder, then took back the saber from Zhong Shao's hand, and said to him warmly: "Since Mr. Zhong said so, I will move forward with my heart in mind." Without a court, how can I, Dong Zhuo, suffer such an unjust reputation? Forget it, forget it, I will just go find the general in person soon."
After saying this, Dong Zhuo turned around on his horse and said in a deep voice to his generals: "Retreat five miles and garrison at the Sunset Pavilion." As they withdrew their troops, the Longxi knights looked back at Zhong Shao and said with emotion: Master Meng often said that the aura of awe-inspiring , today I know exactly what it is like.
After Dong Zhuo withdrew his troops from Xiyang Pavilion, other soldiers also arrived one after another: Qiao Mao led the Dongjun troops to station in Chenggao, Bingzhou governor Ding Yuan led the Shangdang Jun troops to Mengjin, and Wang Kuang led the Taishan crossbowmen directly into Xianyang Garden. Cao Cao and Bao Xin are still recruiting sergeants and have not yet set off.
Under such circumstances, the court situation suddenly turned from a heated debate in the main hall to silence. All the officials knew clearly that the situation had reached a point where an arrow had to be fired. No amount of debate would be of any use, and action could only be used. Come to place a bet, but they are still waiting and watching. They need to know: Who does the Three Dukes of the Han Dynasty care about.
The Three Dukes are the head of hundreds of officials and the hope of the world. However, since the late period of Emperor Ling's reign, the positions of the Three Dukes have changed frequently. They only hold the post of Taiwei. Since Chen Chong took away Masihe, in just two years, they successively held the posts of Zhang Wen, Cui Lie, Cao Song, Fan Ling, Ma Rixi, and Liu Yu, the prestige of the Three Dukes was therefore not as good as before.
But there are four exceptions: Taifu Yuan Wei, Sikong Dinggong, Situ Liu Hong, and Shaofu Xiang.
On August 12, on this day, Xu Xiang returned home from Nangong. It was already Shenshi 2 o'clock, which was usually the busiest time in Luoyang. However, Xu Xiang looked out of the car window and saw that there were only a few people on the street. Pedestrians were also coming and going in a hurry, their faces full of worry. Xu Xiang asked the groom: "Ding Shijun is still setting fire to Mengjin today?"
The groom held the reins in his hand and was mentally exhausted. After listening to Mr. Xu's question twice, he answered casually: "Master, don't be anxious. Just now I heard from Cangtou of Duke Ding's family that Commander Ding ordered the people of Bingzhou to rest for two days, and there was no arson anymore. ." After saying that, the groom looked worried and sighed to his master: "But I also heard from the refugees in Henan County that the former general looted the surrounding area and suffered a lot of casualties!"
Xu Xiang sat back in the compartment, caressed his forehead, and cursed in his heart: These old leather men! He recalled the fire in Mengjin last night, and he still shuddered in his heart: the blazing flames set ablaze the prairie fire, and the fire was raging into the sky. In the dark night, the entire north of Luoyang City was lit up with red light, so much so that Mr. Xu, who lived in Nancheng, also smelled something in the floating wind. It smells like carbon ash. This morning he was discussing matters with Wang Yun in the palace, only to learn that Meng Jin's ships had been burned by Ding Yuan.
The ministers in the inner court cursed him greatly for this, and went to the Chancellor's Office to criticize Ding Yuanmu for being a fatherless king. They had ulterior motives and hoped to remove him from office. But not long after, Xun You came with the general's handwritten letter and proposed to the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei in public: The general wanted to recommend Ding Yuan to be the governor of Jinwu. For a while, the court was silent. Xun You handed over the letter, then bowed and left.
Ding Yuan moved to Zhijinwu that day and still led the cavalry captain and Bingzhou governor.
The court affairs are really unacceptable! Xu Xiang sighed in his heart. He has been an official in the dynasty for more than 30 years. Now he has served three dynasties. Prime Minister Xu's official career has been prosperous. After all, the Xu family in Runan is a noble family and has many connections in the court. There are also brothers Xu Shao and Xu Jing in the family who are rising stars. It can be said that Ze and the government and the countryside. By the time he served as Sikong in the beginning of the second year of Zhongping, he was changed to Situ in the fourth year of Zhongping, and resigned at the end of the fifth year of Zhongping. He had served as the Third Duke for nearly four years. Fu Yuankai was a little inferior, and Jian Shuo and Zhang Rang had to be polite when they met.
However, since the death of the late emperor and General He Jin assisting the government, Prime Minister Xu has felt deeply powerless in the affairs of the court. A few years ago, he was demoted by the late emperor to the rank of Shaofu due to the excessive expenditure on the Liangzhou War. The Shaofu is still among the nine ministers and is the royal family. Being in charge of property can be considered quite powerful. However, Xu Xiang saw that the late emperor's time was running out, so he tried his best to show his kindness to He Jin. However, for some unknown reason, He Jin was quite hostile to him. He Jin declined all the money and women, and now He Jin transferred them to He Jin. Soldiers surrounded the capital, and all the petitions were as blank as paper. If this continues, the glory of the Xu family in Runan will come to an end!
With this thought in mind, he finally returned to Xu's Mansion. As soon as he entered the house, the Cangtou in the mansion hurriedly came forward and spoke to him. When Xu Xiang heard this, he was shocked and asked Cangtou in a low voice: "Is there anyone else when he comes?" Can we see him?" Cang Tou replied: "There are not many people on the road these days, and he entered the house through the back door, so no one really knew about it."
Only then did Prime Minister Xu breathe a sigh of relief. He told Cang Tou to close the door and thank the guests first. If there were any visitors, he would tell them that it was an emergency. As the ninth minister, he had to avoid suspicion. Then he took off his court clothes, put on a cloth suit, walked to the side room, opened the door, knelt down and bowed to the guests sitting in the room, and said: "The general's visit to his humble abode really frightens this old man. If the general is summoned, just leave a letter in front of the door." , I will go to the meeting on my own, why go to such trouble?"
The guest was dressed in black uniform and was sitting on the chairman's chair. He was holding five black and white dice and was playing the game of throwing cattails in the room. When he saw Mr. Xu entering the room, he hurriedly stood up and helped Mr. Xu up. He laughed at himself and said, "I was uneasy just now. I can only roll the dice to make myself at ease. I hope Mr. Xu will not blame me."
He Miao joined hands with Xu Xiang to go to the main seat. Xu Xiang was quite satisfied to see He Miao's courtesy. He said with a smile: "General, you don't have to be so polite. Nowadays, everyone inside and outside Luoyang is sharpening their swords. It's not just the general who is uneasy and old." When you are nearly sixty, how can you secure your position in the government? If the general has any advice, don't be stingy."
He Miao was very relieved when he heard this. He picked up the dice, threw three black and three white on the table, and said to Xu Xiang: "Last month I went out of the city to talk to my eldest brother and said to him: We are going from Nanyang to Henan. Everything will not be easy. , and do it, why bother to embarrass yourself? But the eldest brother is very determined, saying that if we want to sit firmly in the country, we will definitely kill the regular servants!" Xu Xiang was silent, while He Miao slapped the table and said again and again: " The eldest brother wants to make the younger sister a widower?" He Miao brothers had two boys and two girls, and the younger sister was married to Zhang Rang's adopted son Zhang Feng, so He Miao sighed like this.
When He Miao's anger subsided, Xu Xiang asked: "What is the general's plan?" He Miao looked at Xu Xiang and begged him: "Now the eldest brother ignores family ties and uses the name of King Qin to intimidate my younger brothers and sisters. According to the Queen Mother's instructions, I think we can't handle it, but I really don't know how to do it, so I hope Mr. Xu can help me."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Xu put away the dice and said with a smile to He Miao: "General, how come you don't know what to do? Since the general came to meet with the old man, it must be Zhang Changshi's idea. He must have some ideas, but the general still refuses to agree with him. I just made it clear."
He Miao was stunned for a moment, and then said with shame: "Xu Gong has been immersed in officialdom for decades, it's just a brat who showed off." He then told Zhang Rang's plan to assassinate He Jin to Xu Xiang. Xu Xiang thought about the gains and losses, nodded and said: " It is indeed feasible, but He Jin has many people under his command, and if someone takes the opportunity to cause chaos, it may cause a catastrophe."
He Miao quite agreed. He was deeply disturbed by this, so he came to Xu Mansion. Therefore, he said: "The third generation of Duke Xu, the family reputation is well-known in the sea, and there are many legacies both inside and outside the court. If this plan is approved, the Queen Mother would like to use Duke Xu as the official secretary of Henan Yinlu. At that time, Duke Xu will use the basket to eat." If you appease the generals, recruit soldiers, and all the officials in the court and government give support, the disaster will be averted."
"It's hard to say." Xu Xiang stood up and wandered around, and then said to He Miao: "Yuan Shao, the captain of the Sili School, is arrogant. He has been raising dead soldiers for several years. The general insists on killing the regular servant, which must have added fuel to the flames. He is the general. Death, Yuan Shao, as the Sili Xiaowei, holds the power to supervise the execution of ministers in the capital. If he takes advantage of the situation and raises troops, the consequences will be disastrous, so he must send an important minister to seize the position of Sili Xiaowei. This is only appropriate."
"Xu Gong's intention coincides with Zhang Changshi's!" He Miao was overjoyed when he heard this. He stood up and high-fived Xu Xiang and said with a smile: "Just yesterday, I went to Fan Gong's house. Fan Gong also promised that if things come true, He then took the imperial edict and led the Northern Army to Yuan Shao's mansion to seize power. In this way, with Duke Xu outside and Duke Fan inside, why worry about the failure of great things?"
The Duke He Miao mentioned was none other than Fan Ling, the former Taiwei and now Guanglu doctor. When Xu Xiang heard that he was also involved, he finally made up his mind and paid homage to He Miao again, saying: "The Queen Mother has an edict, and Xu Xiang dares to disobey her!" "
