Cao Cao left in a hurry. He didn't ride a horse or a carriage, and he didn't bring much belongings. He only put the Chentang Sword and the Yitian Sword into the sword box, wrapped them in a thin black cloth and put them on his back. He put on a black outfit. Wrapping his head in a black scarf and wearing a three-foot plow knife at his waist, he dressed as a regular ranger, took Yin with him, and hurried to the Middle East Gate early in the morning.
There was a layer of mist in Luoyang in the early morning. Due to the heavy rain not long ago, Luoyang was very humid. When Cao Cao arrived at the city gate, there was a thin layer of dew on the wall bricks, and even the ground was wet. Soggy. The guard at the Middle East Gate had not yet changed his shift, and he was very tired after standing all night. He checked the ultimatum hastily, and looked at the Yin family behind Cao Cao who was bowing his head silently. He said with a smile: "Brother, I just returned home to raise my son at this time. Don't you think it's a little late?" Cao Cao gave him a small bunch of five baht coins and said in a flattering manner: "In a prosperous place like Luoyang, it's hard for rural people to live there for a long time."
The city guard didn't realize anything was wrong, so he accepted the bribe and let the two of them out of the city. Cao Cao walked two miles east and couldn't help but look back outside the horse market. Faintly in the mist, the dark Luoyang City looked even more majestic, as if it stood here naturally and would never disappear. But he was born and grew up in Luoyang. He is from Qiao County and feels that Luoyang is his hometown. He knows how dirty this city is and how great it is. He has visited it several times After leaving here, he returned here several times, but now he suddenly had a premonition that when he returned to Luoyang, Luoyang and he would be completely different, which made him sad.
Yin held his shirt and looked at him timidly. When he noticed and turned around, she immediately lowered her eyebrows and looked at the ground. Cao Cao looked at her pretty face that resembled the Queen Mother, and then at her swollen belly. He was filled with emotions and secretly thought about whether to kill her somewhere. But there was a hurdle in his heart. He hesitated again and again, but finally took her with him, took out a layer of gauze and wrapped it around her. He said warmly: "Let's leave early. We won't be able to survive when others come to find us." ”
Cao Cao bought a gray and black horse at the horse market and asked Yin to sit on it. She was pregnant and Cao Cao could not ride the horse, so he led the horse in front and found a path to leave Luoyang.
The sun rises and the mist gradually dissipates, revealing the broad chest of the earth and the infinite distance. The prominent families in Gyeonggi Province like to build forest gardens. When you walk out of Luoyang, you can see various forest gardens alternating with each other, stretching for nearly a hundred miles. When Cao Cao walked on the road, he could see dry ponds and deep streams everywhere, big stone pavilions, and strange trees on the fence. Due to the rain, the sweet-scented osmanthus bloomed later than in previous years this year. In this late autumn, Guilin is one of the few green scenes, dotted with dots of sweet-scented osmanthus like clumps. The fragrance mixes with the rain vapor. Cao Cao I can smell the cinnamon fragrance all the way.
But he was still in a depressed mood. Cao Cao reflected on his interactions with the court this year, and had only one emotion in his heart: a fly is in the same camp as a dog. Dong Zhuo thought that by reusing Qingliu, he could reform the officialdom, but Qingliu's attack on Zhuoliu was just a denial of power. Zhuoliu only wanted money, but Qingliu wanted his life and property. He even didn't expect that this group of people, who had selfish interests and no regard for the country, actually planned a murder together with the party. He thought he was smart, but he didn't see through this. It was not that he had never thought about how to escape Luoyang, but now he was so embarrassed that he had to bear the penalty and fled in a hurry. There is such a group of people all over the country. How can the big man recover?
With such a gloomy mood, he passed by Yuexianghong, took the stone bridge to cross Yangqu, walked from dawn to dusk, and walked a total of more than forty miles in a whole day. He arrived at Yanshi at dusk. Because he was afraid of being wanted, Cao Cao He did not dare to go to an ordinary inn or Tingyi to complain, but he was worried about robbers and robbers when sleeping outdoors at night. After much thought, he decided to stay with his family and friends. The Cao family had been cultivating in Henan for three generations and had seven or eight family friends in Yanshi. Cao Cao considered it again and again, and finally decided to stay with Lu Boxe.
Lu Boshe lived outside the city of Yanshi. He went south for half an hour and saw a flat garden and a lake. Under the moonlight, the golden waves reflected the outline of the courtyard. There was no scent of osmanthus on the left and right sides of the courtyard, but the rich fragrance of oranges. That's it. In the dark night, you can also see the fiery red fruits among the orange groves.
Cao Cao saw a stone tablet in front of the orange grove, which had three big characters written on it: "Jinglao Li". Next to the big characters was a line of small characters in seal script. Cao Cao looked at the small characters carefully and read: "Old man Lu is extravagantly virtuous and noble. All the people of the Lu family are respectful and amiable. Li The people in the neighborhood are all in love, so I changed the name to benefit the upper lane and to respect the elders." He couldn't help but smile after reading, remembering that eleven years ago he was implicated by Song Qi and had to return to his hometown to avoid trouble, and he also settled here. . In my impression, everyone is friendly and lovely. Among them, Lu Boxe's youngest son is only five years old, and he is still pestering me for candy. In recent years, he has been busy with official duties and has had little contact. I don't know if they are doing well.
He led the horse to the door of the mansion, helped Ms. Yin off the horse, and knocked lightly on the door, repeated three times. Only then did he see the door open. An old man rubbed his eyes and looked in front of the door. He did not recognize Cao Cao for a while, only looking at him. Dressed as a knight, there was a pregnant woman behind him. He couldn't help but ask, "Are you two going to stay at the house? If so, after I inform the adults at home, I can find a side room for my brother."
But Cao Cao recognized him and called his name: "Zifu, it's me! Cao Cao and Cao Mengde!" The old man's eyes widened and he looked at Cao Cao for a long time. Ying said: "My eyes are so dim that I can't even recognize Mr. Cao. I hope Mr. Cao will forgive me."
After that, he brought Cao Cao and Cao Cao into the hall. In the hall, two men were playing chess, a man was reading a book at the table, and there was a young man in the corner copying calligraphy with his head down. The young man saw Cao Cao entering the door first, and his expression became happy. He put down his pen first and stood up to say hello: "How come Mr. Cao has time to be here today?"
Cao Cao also knew the young man. He was Lu Chong, the youngest son of Lu Boshe, who was very close to Cao Cao. Cao Cao nodded to him, called him a small name and said with a smile: "A Tong is already so old, I can't help but feel that it is hard to keep time." He ruffled Lu Chong's hair and asked Zhu Lu's disciples to greet him.
Lu Boshe was summoned by the county government for something at this time, and there were only his direct descendants in the family. But he often talked about Cao Cao's excellence at home, and the Lu family's children also admired Cao Cao's character of impartiality in enforcing the law, so the scene was very harmonious. After chatting for a while, they invited Cao Cao to have a banquet with them in the evening. Cao Cao declined, saying that he had official business to do tomorrow and was in a hurry, so he had better go to bed early. At this time, the descendants of the Lu family noticed the existence of the Yin family, and Cao Cao explained that this was Xin Na's concubine. They had been traveling for a long time and were tired. Lu Ju, the second son of the Lu family, had no choice but to personally lead the two of them to arrange the guest rooms.
When Lu Ju came back, he was full of doubts and said worriedly to the brothers in the hall: "Cao Jun is really strange today. He claims to have important things to do, but he is dressed as a knight and walking in a hurry, but there is only a pregnant concubine by his side. I don’t even have a single follower. Is this how the Cao family behaves? I don’t think Mr. Cao has told us the truth!”
The youngest son Lu Chong nodded in agreement, but his words were full of defense for Cao Cao. He said: "With this behavior, I think Mr. Cao may have provoked the powerful officials in the court like last time, and had to avoid trouble in a hurry! Now that Dong Zhuo has usurped power, When the second Yuan fled, he was originally a member of Yuan Shao's party, so why should it be strange to avoid disaster?"
The third son, Lu Hui, retorted: "In my opinion, Dong Taiwei's governance, apart from the inappropriateness of abolition and establishment, I also see that he has no selfish motives in selecting talents, forgiving Yuan Shao, and appointing Chen Chong. It is said that Mr. Cao is still a Taiwei." How can you offend the powerful by being used so highly? There may be other reasons!"
The fourth son, Lu Lin, said: "It is an ordinary thing for nobles in the court to be promoted and deposed. What is there to make a fuss about? We live in the countryside and have no intention of having an official career, so why bother about this. Just There is something wrong, and the county prince has been friends with my family for many years, so he won't be in trouble."
After everyone heard this, they all went about their business. When he was a child, the eldest son Lu Dan came home from a visit to friends. He heard that Cao Cao was staying at home and learned the opinions of the Kunzhongs from Cangtou. It is human nature to be reluctant to say anything when fleeing. What is the need to blame him? He is willing to stay at my house at this time because he trusts the integrity of my family and treats us as relatives. How can we refuse because of him? What about being treated hastily?”
After that, Lu Dan asked Cang Tou to go to the backyard of his home to pick wild pigeons, and asked his brothers to pick out clothes, money, and a good horse. He planned to have his family prepare meals for Cao Cao at night so that he could entertain Cao Cao in the morning. After he had a full meal, he would then give him gifts and good horses and send him on a long journey. After Lu Dan finished his instructions, he thought about it for a while, and felt that he had done everything to perfection, so he went to see how the Cangtou people were doing.
There are wild pigs in Lu Garden, but these wild pigs are captured when they are young. The ones raised at home are not wild, but they are still fast and difficult to catch. Every time Cang Tou catches them, it takes a lot of effort. Therefore, Lu Dan personally supervised the formation. After discussing the strategy, he asked three people to take the hemp ropes, and they faced off against Ye Hu for several times. Finally, they seized an opportunity. The three of them hugged Ye Hu's head, neck, legs and feet, and Lu Dan took the ropes himself. A sharp knife was inserted into his neck, Ye Zhi cried out, and finally died.
After a basin of pig blood was put in, the old men fell to the ground tiredly. Lu Dan himself breathed a sigh of relief. He took out a sharp knife and threw it in the basin. He went to get a sweat towel to wipe his sweaty face. Suddenly, he smelled The sound of rapid footsteps came from the corridor. He looked up and saw Cao Cao with a murderous look on his face, holding a knife in one hand and a sharp sword in the other. Lu Dan looked stunned. Before he could say hello, Cao Cao struck Lu Dan with a sword in the center of his eyebrows. The eyebrow bones were chopped down, and his flesh, blood, and brain matter burst out, revealing his white bones. He died instantly.
The three Cangtou didn't know why. Seeing such a bloody scene, they couldn't help shouting: "Killing! Killing!" Cao Cao immediately came over with a sword. The Cangtou wanted to get up and run for their lives, but they exhausted all their strength in killing the pig. They were able to run, but as soon as they got up, Cao Cao killed them all with a sword. They all became desperate ghosts in a daze.
Four children of the Lu family came from the wing after hearing the sound. When they met Cao Cao's evil eyes, the hairs on their bodies stood up. They immediately ran away. Cao Cao, with quick eyes and quick hands, picked up the handle of the sharp knife in the basin and threw it at Lu Hui. , hit Lu Hui's heart. After killing another person, Cao Cao continued to chase Lu Lin and Lu Ju. They were cornered by Cao Cao and had nowhere to escape. They could only shout for courage and fight for their lives. However, Cao Cao had a sword in his hand and was experienced in the military. How can the two of them fight for a round? Cao Cao first kicked Lu Ju's ankle, then took advantage of the situation to cut off Lu Lin's back with a sword, and finally struck Lu Ju's throat with a sword, and both of them died immediately.
The only living people present were Lu Chong and Cao Cao. Lu Chong had a chance to escape, but he saw that all his brothers were killed by Cao Cao like chickens. His legs were weak and weak, and his whole body was shaken. He could not even take a step. Unable to move, he could only watch as Cao Cao walked over, holding the knife soaked in the blood of his relatives in his hand. He fell to the ground in fright, and finally cried out: "What wrong did my family do to Mr. Cao? Why did Mr. Cao kill my entire family?"
Cao Cao was stunned. He looked at the young man crying and howling on the ground. The murderous look on his face gradually dissipated, but his tone was still cold. He said, "You planned me first. Why can't I strike first?" Lu Dan Unable to understand, he cried and shouted: "We are just trying to entertain Mr. Cao! Why did Mr. Cao say this!?"
Cao Cao looked around and suddenly understood. He couldn't believe it. He looked at his hands full of blood. He had nothing to say. He returned to the basin and looked at his face in the water. He could hardly recognize this ferocious face. face. He turned back to look at Lu Chong. In the quiet and ugly world, there was only the cry of the boy. His hands were empty and powerless. Cao Cao could not say a word, and Cao Cao could not say anything more.
He walked up to Lu Chong and tried his best to smile at the young man. The young man was stunned and stopped crying. Cao Cao sighed and said: "I would rather teach me to take down the world." He swung the Chentang Sword again and chopped off the boy's head. He shed tears. He held the boy's head in his arms and cried like a child, under the moonlight. Wailing, he finally felt his fate. He finally choked out the last few words: "Stop teaching the world to betray me!"
Everyone's bodies were thrown into the pool. Cao Cao washed away the blood with hot water, put on the clothes prepared by the Lu family for him, took the new good horse, and took Yin away from the forest garden. Before he left, Throwing a torch in front of him, when he walked more than ten miles, raging black smoke rose under the clear blue sky, just like Luoyang a month ago.
At this time, a ranger happened to pass by. Cao Cao stopped him and gave him the Chen Tang Sword. The ranger was happy and surprised, and asked Cao Cao why. Cao Cao said calmly: "The sword is not suitable for the owner, so it is better to throw it away."
(End of Bleeding Gyeonggi)
