In the first month of the third year of Chuping, the weather was still extremely cold. Huangfu Song, the chariot general, had finished his court meeting in Wuyang Palace. Seeing that it was getting late and he had stayed in the palace for many days, he said goodbye to the chancellor and left the palace. It was dusk, and he took eight soldiers to escort him out of Taichang Street in a bullock cart. He detoured north to the north of Cross Chi Road. He first went to the market and bought seven hens, and then headed west to go home. Walk.
It's clearing up after the snow, and the roads in Chang'an are covered with snow. Residents in the city have just cleared a road for cars to pass. Due to too much snow and water, the road cleared was only for two vehicles, and it led to Zhicheng Gate in a winding way. About eighty steps east of Zhicheng Gate was the residence of the Chariot and Cavalry General.
The mansion where Huangfu Song lived was not big. It had one entrance and three entrances. It was basically still wrapped in a blanket of white snow. There were only a few sparse footprints dotting it, and there was no one around. In order to prevent snow, Huangfusong and the soldiers wore deerskin boots and crunched across the snow. When they arrived in front of the mansion, Cangtou opened the door. Huangfusong asked the guards to warm themselves by the fire with Cangtou, and asked Cangtou to The chicken was stewed, so he drank some chicken soup in the house tonight to settle the matter. Then he went to the leather rug in the main hall, took off his boots and sword, let his wife change into a cashmere robe, and walked to the study.
A pot of charcoal fire was lit on the floor in the study room for warmth. The only son Huangfu Jianshou was wearing a coarse cloth and holding a scroll by the fire pot with a tired look on his face, while his nephew Huangfu Li was dipping in ink and swiping a brush in front of the bookcase with a very serious expression. The weather was clear and windless, and the windows were all open, allowing one to look out into the distance at the fire-colored smoke clouds.
Huangfu Song walked in, and both of them stood up to salute him. Huangfu Song looked at the book in Huangfu Jianshou's hand, but it was "Zhuangzi". Looking at the text copied by Huangfu Li, it turned out to be Zhang Heng's "Guitian Fu". When Huangfu Song saw this, he admonished them: "You have time to wander around here, so you might as well take people out first and sweep away the snow at the door. When I come back, the only snow on my house that has not been cleared along the road will probably be on my neighbor's side." Everyone will criticize my tutor!"
Unexpectedly, Huangfu Li said: "Uncle, forgive me, this was my idea." It turned out that Huangfu Song knew that he had been out of the limelight, so he had been hiding his power and biding his time this year. Not only did he live in seclusion, but his son Huangfu Jianshou and nephew Huangfu Li also resigned. He took an official position in the court and was idle at home.
But after all, he was in a high position, and there was still a constant stream of people coming to try to make friends. It was only because of Huangfu Song's resolute attitude that fewer people came. When the New Year came, some people came to the house to give gifts, but Huangfu Li simply didn't. Sweep the snow to show that you are not welcoming guests. Naturally, the effect was amazing. Except for the in-laws and the She family who came to pay their respects, no one came to visit me anymore.
After hearing Huangfu Li's words, Huangfu Song was silent for a long time, and then sighed: "You are right, but you don't have to be so blunt in dealing with others. What I did was to prevent Dong Zhuo's suspicion, not to be unkind."
Huangfu Li was quite dissatisfied with his uncle's actions and said, "How can you avoid suspicion when you are in such a position?" Huangfu Song knew that he hated the status quo, so he didn't hear anything and asked Huangfu Jianshou again. What kind of gift was brought from his family? When he learned that it was a hundred stones of rice grain, Huangfu Song made arrangements and said: "There are not many people in our family, and the rice grain alone is more than enough for my salary. You can just transport it outside the city in the next two days and take a ride." Don’t use the banner of our family when giving out porridge in the porridge shed.”…
Huangfu Jianshou responded, put down his book, put on his leather boots, and went out with Huangfu Li. Huangfu Song looked at their retreating figures and couldn't help but sigh. He knew that his position had brought huge consequences to his descendants. There is pressure, but there is no way. In troubled times, many things are beyond our control.
He sat by the charcoal fire for a while, picked up his son's book, and turned to "Autumn Water" where Zhuangzi and Huizi were debating about the joy of swimming fish. He thought, if people can really know the joy of others, they can also know it. Others were suffering, but he himself didn’t know how much he wanted to pour out. He thought for a moment, and suddenly recited the curse of his married daughter. Then he remembered that he had not returned the gift to his in-laws, so he went to find his wife to discuss the matter. Send some silks, buy some jewelry for your daughter, and ask her how she is doing recently.
After a while, the food at home was cooked, and eight members of Huangfu's family gathered together to have dinner. At this time, Cangtou suddenly came to report: "Sir, Wang Situ has come to congratulate you." Huangfu Song was surprised when he heard this and immediately immediately Asked: "How many people did Situ bring?"
"There are seven people. Except for Lord Situ, the others are all young people. They should all be juniors in the clan."
Huangfusong breathed a sigh of relief. As a charioteer and Wang Yun as a disciple, they both played important roles in the court. I don't know how many people watched. If Wang Yun came to see him secretly, Huangfusong would immediately refuse, but Now that Wang Yun can bring the children of the clan here, he will not say anything shameful. If he refuses, it will seem a bit unkind.
So he put on a sheepskin cloak and led the men in the mansion to meet Wang Yun in front of the mansion. Wang Yun, wearing a long gray coat, turned his head and admonished the younger generation behind him, saying: "Chariots and riders are the pillars of the country and good ministers who serve the country." , you come with me, you must strictly observe the etiquette, but do not lose the dignity of the Taiyuan Wang family."
He turned around and saw Huangfu Song coming over. His original stern face immediately changed into a smile, and he said, "Yizhen, don't be offended by the trouble in the New Year."
Gu Huangfusong said "Where is there" and quickly brought them into the house to keep warm. The two of them exchanged greetings. Wang Yun saw that there was still food on the table in the house and couldn't help but smile and said: "It's just an unlucky time for me to come here." Seeing among them. Most of them were vegetarian dishes, and the most luxurious thing was just a bowl of chicken soup. He quickly sighed and said: "The rider is rich and wealthy, but the drink is so simple. He is really a role model for us."
Huangfu Song laughed and said, "Compared to the Yang Prefect who hangs fish, I'm still far behind!" Both of them laughed, and then Wang Yun introduced Huangfu Song to his children one by one, namely his sons Wang Jing and Wang Ding, his brothers Wang Chen and Wang Xiu, as well as Wang Hong and Wang Yi, the rising talents in the clan. They greeted Huangfu Song one by one and presented New Year gifts. The gifts were not expensive, but they were obviously carefully selected. For example, Wang Jing presented a jar of ointment, which was said to have been obtained from Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor in Nanyang, the year before last. Cluster of Wounds is quite miraculous. Huangfu Song had been exposed to arrow rain all year round, which naturally left many scars. During the rainy season, he would suffer from cramps and pain. He was very happy to see it, but he also knew that he did not have such a deep friendship with Wang Yun, so he couldn't help but said to Wang Yun: "Master , How can I afford this?"
Wang Yun smiled and said: "Yizhen is going to be reused again soon, so what if I give you some gifts?"...
Huangfu Song was puzzled by these words. He couldn't help but wonder: "I just came home from the palace today, why didn't I hear the news?"
Wang Yun blinked twice and said slowly: "When you left, the Grand Master came to ask me, saying that Xu Rong would return to Beijing soon to receive a reward, but the war could not be put aside. He planned to organize another expedition to Nanyang, but last year During the First Battle of Guangcheng, he was deeply impressed by the Jing people's fighting power and wondered who to choose as general. We discussed it privately and felt that this was a great opportunity. We immediately recommended you to the Grand Master to take charge of this matter. The Grand Master also thought it was good, and it is estimated that he will be emperor soon. The edict will be issued!"
As soon as Wang Yun finished speaking, Huangfu Song's expression changed on the spot, and he felt a chill all over his body. Especially when he heard the two sentences "We will discuss privately" and "The Emperor will issue an edict", his hair stood on end. But he never told his family that Wang Yun said that he was against Dong. When Huangfu Li and others heard about it, they were very happy and congratulated him on the spot. He could only force a smile and said: "Master, I think highly of me. The so-called success or failure of a war depends not on the battle, not on the soldiers, not on the generals, and on morale but not on the tricks. Although I have a little reputation, none of these three can be determined by me." , How dare you say victory? Tomorrow I will report to the Grand Master and ask him to choose another general."
After saying this, Wang Yun's expression changed, and he asked: "It's a big business, do you really want to go?"
Huangfu Song nodded slightly, and the other descendants also sensed that something was wrong, but they didn't know the reason, so they could only pretend that nothing happened. For the rest of the time, everyone was absent-minded and could only end the banquet hastily. Before leaving, Wang Yun whispered to Huangfu Song: "We have many men in the army. If the chariot and cavalry go, the Han Dynasty will definitely prosper. I hope the chariot and the cavalry will give it more consideration."
Huangfu Song didn't say a word. He just thought in his heart that the world was changing and people were changing. Not to mention asking for a confidant, he didn't have much time left to talk freely with one person. After Wang Yun left, Huangfu Li came to him again and said: "My lord, the world is hanging upside down, and the only people who can stabilize the situation are your lord and Dong Zhuo'er. Now that there is a rare day of freedom, it is possible to restore the country, so why are you looking forward and backward? Already?"
Huangfu Song was already covered in cold sweat, and he immediately rebuked his nephew and said: "Now that the collapse of the world is a foregone conclusion, how can we expect to kill one person and bring peace to the world? There are countless people today who love chaos and enjoy misfortune. If I do this, I will do it for you." If they attack in groups, they will rarely end well. It's better to huddle in a city and let them fight!" At the end of the sentence, he felt weak, waved his hand and said, "Don't tell others what you said."
The next day was the meeting of the imperial court, and General Xu Rong of Jianwei returned to Chang'an from Shangjun to resume his duties. Grand Master Dong Zhuo asked Xu Rong what the situation was like when annexing the state, and how many troops could be left to defend it. Xu Rong replied: "Shangjun and Liu Chen are at loggerheads. , don’t worry, the outer cities of Puban and Fenyin have been built, and only ten thousand people can hold it."
So Dong Zhuo pondered for a moment and stated his plan at the court meeting. He planned to mobilize 40,000 people from Xu Rong's army and 20,000 people from Hongnong to form a new army to attack Nanyang from Wu Guandong. When it came to the army commander, he took it seriously. Looking at Huangfu Song, he asked him: "I plan to make Yizhen my commander. I wonder what Yizhen's opinion is?"
Everyone looked over, and Huangfu Song was trembling in his heart. He secretly looked at Situ Wang Yun. Wang Yun's expression was as usual, so he had no choice but to refuse and said: "Master, the battle is about life and death when the soldiers and generals know each other, and the superiors and subordinates are united." , and Song has been away from the army for a long time, so he is really unable to hold this position."
Dong Zhuo said "Oh" and did not force it. Instead, he promoted Li Jue and Guo Si, who had performed well in the Battle of Yuanshui, as generals. They each had 30,000 troops and went south to fight together. But after the meeting, Huangfu Song clearly felt that everyone in Liang Ren was alienated from him.
. .
