After Chen Chong said goodbye to Guan Ning, the group originally planned to rush to Luoyang without stopping, and then complete the final handover with Kong Ming. Unexpectedly, just after leaving the city, there was a strong wind blowing from the northwest, heavy snow and goose feathers, and white dust blocking the road. Then the sky became dark and the earth became dark, and silver appeared above and below. When they arrived in Jinan, the heavy snow on the official road was already up to their knees. Everyone had to put on their big cloaks and wait in the village pavilion with their horses. In the distance, between the heavy snow in the east, you can still see Mount Tai towering in the sky, and the city wall of Jinan is covered in snow and fog.
Although Chen Chong couldn't see Mount Tai, he could not help but remember him in his heart. Tarzan! How many of Dongping's experiences as a young man are here! I still remember Xuande once said that after he achieved success, he wanted to be enshrined in Mount Tai, but in the end he failed to do so. Even though he had accomplished the great cause of unification, he could not realize this wish for him. It's a pity that this wish is not the only thing that has not been realized? Chen Chong thought of the many regrets that he had not yet had time to complete, and felt very sad.
Waiting until late October, when the heavy snow stopped, the group hit the road again and found that the surroundings were already crystal clear! Snowflakes stick to the dead trees, forming beautiful icicles that flutter like butterflies on the branches. The roof eaves along the road are covered with a layer of ice with jagged icicles hanging on them, and the river is frozen! And the strong wind blew through it, and there was no more rustling of the trees, as if everything was frozen. Only when people walk on the road and hear the crunching sound of ice and snow under their feet can everyone feel that they are still alive.
They followed the remaining veins of Mount Tai to the west, passing Dafeng Mountain, Pingyin Mountain, and Huanding Mountain in succession, and then came to Dongping County. At this time, Dongping County was no longer the Dongping County that Chen Chong knew, but Chen Chong still had deep feelings for it. Sun Yong, the prefect of Dongping, heard that the prime minister had come from afar and hosted a banquet in hospitality. Chen Chong asked in detail about Dongping's current situation. Sun Yong replied that the people's livelihood has been relatively stable in recent years, but since Emperor Ling, Dongping has been decimated one after another, resulting in very few young people. Although the relocation of people from Huaibei in the past few years has made up for part of it, there were still too many widows and widowers. The most difficult thing to solve was the orphans. They could not support themselves and maintain their families, and the pavilion chief Youyou could not help them, resulting in many problems. A few orphans died of poverty, or fled and became thieves. Chen Chong was very sad to hear this. He promised Sun Yong that he could borrow grain from various counties in Hebei first, and the court would later transfer a batch of funds to settle the account.
The next day he left Dongping and passed by Juye Ze. After the lake where Dayu set foot, Dingtao City was located another hundred miles away. At this time, Dingtao City was already bustling with people, and the market in the east of the city was filled with energetic hawking and children's play. It was as lively as big cities like Chang'an and Xindu. More than 20 years ago, an unprecedentedly brutal siege took place here. This siege determined the fate of the entire Han Dynasty. For a time, the whole city was starved to death and corpses lay hundreds of miles away.
When Chen Chong described this battle to Zhao Qiu and Chen Xiu, these juniors were extremely excited. They could no longer imagine the scene at that time, just like they could not imagine that they would also grow old and die. They could only be excited about the miraculous victory in the mist. What lingered in Chen Chong's mind was Zang Hong's dark, toothless smile before parting.
When he came to Zang Hong's tomb after a long absence, Chen Chong put down a plum blossom in front of the monument, and then said softly: "Ziyuan, I'm here to see you." But what should he say next? Chen Chong didn't know. Thinking of Zang Hong's request before his death, Chen Chong could only feel sad. Zang Hong asked him to marry Wannian and try to protect Liu Xie, but he seemed to have failed him. When Zang Hong learned about it, would he blame himself? He then thought of Zang Hong's prophecy to himself: "You and I are the same kind of people, but your fate is too hard. If you die very late, it may not be a good thing."
Thinking about it this way, Ziyuan must also have a vague premonition of his own fate. Chen Chong stood in front of the invisible tombstone, his mind was turbulent for a long time, and then he said to the tombstone: "It's okay, I will be here to accompany you in a short time."
At this point, Chen Chong never stopped on the road and finally returned to Luoyang in mid-November. At this time, Dongdu was also a bustling scene. After the Wu was defeated, all the troops from the expedition returned one after another. Seeing that there would be no major wars in the future, the officials and the people felt much more at ease. In addition, it was winter leisure at this time, and everyone had a sense of joy and expectation that the prosperous age was coming. They were actively preparing for the celebration of New Year's Day, and the sounds of firecrackers and grass burning were heard everywhere.
However, the New Year's Eve this time was different from usual. When Chen Chong got out of the car and walked with Chen Xiu, many people recognized him and gave him gifts frequently. However, Chen Chong had been in power in Luoyang for many years, but there were few It really surprised him that some people recognized him. After careful inquiry, I found out the cause and effect, and I didn't know who it was. I drew a portrait of Chen Chong privately and posted it in the hall to ward off evil spirits and exorcise ghosts. When the people of Luoyang saw it, they all imitated it. After Chen Xiu learned about it, he was very dissatisfied and complained to the inquirer: "Your Excellency is the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. Why don't these people know how to avoid taboos?" The inquirer replied: "Since the Prime Minister can protect the Han Dynasty, so what? How can I not protect the people of the Han Dynasty?" Chen Xiu was speechless for a moment, while Chen Chong was very happy and ashamed at the same time and replied: "If I could really do this, how could I dare to refuse? I'm afraid of living up to everyone's expectations. .”
Everyone was talking and laughing like this, and slowly led the carriage and horses to the door of the house. As a result, the atmosphere suddenly became dull. Chen Chong guessed the reason, and immediately stretched out his hand and said: "Abai, don't blame Zhongcheng and the others. , it's all God's will." Dong Bai, who had been waiting in front of the door for a long time, quickly came over and took his hand. While carefully looking at Chen Chong's eyes, he continued to blame him relentlessly: "You mean, God wants to torture me!"
"It's God who has been kind to me and allowed me to meet you!" After saying this, Chen Chong coaxed his wife and asked his entourage to disperse quickly.
Hearing that the Prime Minister was back, Pang Tong, who was originally serving in the Prime Minister's Mansion, also came to report on their duties and talk about the recent situation in Luoyang: At this time, Zhuge Liang had led the remaining troops back to the capital and was stationed in the Xinzheng area; The prisoners have all been sent to Youzhou to work in the fields; this year's autumn gifts have also been collected, but the accounts will probably not be sorted out for a few days... Chen Chong listened to them talking for a long time, and as usual gave out from time to time Some opinions, but after the topic was finished, Chen Chong suddenly said to several people: "I plan to resign as prime minister and transfer my position to Kong Ming. What do you think?"
Pang Tong and others were stunned after hearing this, and they were all at a loss. Wei Xi reacted the fastest and immediately answered: "Prime Minister, you must not do this! The Prime Minister is the pillar of the country, and the two ministers appointed by the late emperor to assist the country suddenly resign, which will inevitably arouse irrelevant suspicions from others, which will not be beneficial to the country. It is beneficial to the people, so be careful!" Then Huan Jie followed up and said: "If the Prime Minister wants to resign, he should return the government to the Emperor. How can he pass it on to Zhuge Kongming? Zhuge Kongming is extremely prosperous, but his qualifications are not deep. If the Prime Minister is Such an arrangement may harm him." Wang Xiang and Pang Tong remained silent, neither opposing nor approving. The atmosphere was so heavy that Chen Chong knew that this conversation would probably end in vain.
After everyone went out, Chen Chong speculated on the mentality of these people. Wei Xi and Huan Jie were old ministers promoted by Liu Xie, and they were not very close to him. They just offended the old ministers back then, so they were on his side. It was natural that they would not support Kong Ming's succession as prime minister now. But Pang Tong and Wang Xiang were both their students, but they remained silent today. This was really a bad sign. They probably also opposed Kong Ming in their hearts, but they just couldn't say it openly. But what is the reason? Probably jealousy. Especially Pang Tong. Before his southern tour, he was very close to him. In the past few months, he had been presiding over the affairs of the Prime Minister's Palace, but in the end he fell behind Kong Ming. He was probably very dissatisfied.
Chen Chong originally thought that as long as Pang Tong could support Zhuge Liang, it wouldn't matter no matter how many people opposed him, but in this situation, he couldn't help but be careless. So he summoned Zhuge Liang that night and planned to ask him for his opinion. After hearing the details in the palace, Zhuge Liang's expression remained unchanged and he replied in a very low tone: "Teacher, what they said is quite reasonable. Although the students have defeated the Sun family this time, I'm afraid there are still many people in the court who are dissatisfied. I feel that it is a matter of course and it is of no merit, so I might as well let the students do the work for a few more years so that they can convince the public."
Chen Chong was very pleased to hear that he was not impatient or impatient, but he also knew that his body might not be able to hold on for long, and Zhuge Liang's identity must be determined as soon as possible. So he shook his head and said, "It's still too slow. If we can't decide within a year, I'm afraid we won't have another chance in the future."
Zhuge Liang understood what he meant. After thinking for a while, he made up his mind and said to Chen Chong: "In this case, there is only one way left. If you trust me, please entrust me to conquer the Liao bandits. I will succeed within half a year." , and then give the warning to the country!"
When Chen Chong heard this, he hesitated in his heart. He fumbled to help Zhuge Liang and smiled at him: "If we can really wipe out the Liao bandits and eliminate the border troubles, it will naturally be the best choice. Others in the court will have no reason to stop it. But this is the case. It’s a long way to go, are you really confident that you can succeed?”
Zhuge Liang immediately replied: "Cao Pi has little literary talent, but no military strategy. He only relies on Cao Zhenzhen's assistance, and he invades and attacks every year, and he has been able to hold on to this day. But the people in Liao are small and the land is few, and they cannot fight for a long time. If I set out in the first month, With the navy as the logistics, he arrived in Liaodong in April and harvested their green wheat. He was short of food and had no choice but to go out to fight with me in the field. I can conquer the south of the Yangtze River with my hawks and soldiers, and I have elite military strategists, so there is nothing to fear. Battle? Before June, we will definitely win! Teacher, just wait for my victory report. I can return to Gyeonggi Province before October next year!" As he spoke, Kong Ming seemed to be sure of victory.
Chen Chong was also moved. He touched the smooth desk and finally grabbed Kong Ming's hand. Then he sighed to him and said, "I am lucky to accept you as my disciple in this life. I, Chen Chong, are lucky to let you go." Do it! I will start preparing for this tomorrow, but remember, you must go and come back quickly!"
Why so urgent? Chen Chong didn't know that although he was blind, his diet was still healthy. Dong Bai went to see a doctor and said that there was nothing serious about his health. But Chen Chong still couldn't forget the sad scene of the yellow swan falling into the water, and then he had a lingering premonition: his end was coming soon.
