Ji Han Liu Zhang

Jinyang.

Bingzhou Governor Gao Gan sat at the top seat in the hall of the government office. Below him, Southern Xiongnu Chanyu Huchuquan, Left Wise King Liu Bao, and Right Wise King Qubei stood with their hands clasped in salute and said, "Greetings, Envoy Gao."

After the three men finished their salute, Gao Gan stood up, returned the salute with a respectful gesture, and then invited the three Southern Xiongnu leaders to sit down.

After the three people sat down, Gao Gan coughed lightly, attracting their gazes and attention, and then he slowly said: "Gentlemen, do you know why I invite you here this time?"

As the Chanyu of Southern Xiongnu, Huchuquan was the one who answered the question on behalf of Liu Bao and Qubei. He said respectfully, "I heard that the Shu army was planning to seize Taiyuan. I wonder if the envoy summoned us here to deal with the Shu army."

"That's right." Gao Gan nodded, and said in a sad tone: "Last year, I followed the imperial court's order to serve as the governor of Hedong. However, the former governor of Hedong, Wang Yi, gathered a crowd to resist and had no intention of resigning. At that time, I joined hands with the Right Wise King..."

Gao Gan gestured to the Right Xian Wang Qubei who was sitting in the queue, and Qubei nodded and smiled in response. Then Gao Gan said, "We defeated Wangyi together and besieged Anyi, the capital of Hedong County. We were about to take Hedong, but the Shu army had no moral principles and attacked them by surprise, causing us to suffer a minor setback in Anyi and had to retreat to Shangdang."

Huochuquan looked angry, as if he was upset for Gao Gan: "I heard about this from the Right Wise King. The Shu army's sudden attack on you is not a moral act."

"Indeed." Gao Gan said with a bad face: "Grand Marshal Liu Zhang is not moral and has attacked our army. This shows that he is cunning. Now I am the governor of Bingzhou, and the Shu army is actually trying to seize Taiyuan. It is really rude."

"So I invited you all here this time to deal with the Shu army. Of course, you just need to help out and help boost the momentum. As for the head-on battle with the Shu army, I, General Yan Liang and General Gao Lan will be there."

"Your Excellency's words mean that you don't consider us as your own people." Huochuquan looked unhappy, and his tone was somewhat flattering: "We are staying in Taiyuan County and not wandering in the wilderness. This is all thanks to General Yuan... Even if General Yuan has given the order and your Excellency doesn't despise us, we should go out and fight for your Excellency to dampen the prestige of the Shu army."

"Yes, yes." Liu Bao, the Left Wise King, responded, "It is our honor to fight for you. How can we just stand by and wave our flags and cheer you on?"

You Xian Wang Qubei, who had fought with the Shu army earlier and suffered losses together with Gao Gan, also expressed his loyalty to Gao Gan: "If the envoy tells us to go east, we will go east. If the envoy tells us to go west, we will go west. This time we will fight with the Shu army, we will obey your orders."

Finally, Huochuquan concluded his speech. He led Liu Bao and Qubei to the meeting and bowed down, saying, "As long as you command, we will obey everything."

"I am deeply moved by your behavior." Gao Gan looked excited, as if he was touched by the obedient attitude of Huochuquan, Liu Bao and Qubei.

At the same time, Gao Gan did not let the three men bow down. He lifted them up one by one, showing his respect for them.

Then everyone at the meeting took their seats. At this time, Huchuquan said indirectly, "From what you just said, the generals who came to Taiyuan County to fight the enemy are Generals Yan Liang and General Gao Lan."

"That's right." Gao Gan nodded with a smile on his face.

Huochuquan said with a look of relief: "I heard that Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Lan are all first-class generals under General Yuan. Because they are all from Hebei, they are called the Four Pillars of Hebei."

"This time we have Generals Yan Liang and Gao Lan here, and a wise man like you in Jinyang, plus we are following your orders, so why should we worry about the Shu army not being defeated?"

Liu Bao echoed Huchuquan's words: "This time, we must defeat the Shu army, avenge the attack on you last year, wipe out your shame, and restore your reputation."

"Thank you for your good wishes." Gao Gan's face was full of smiles. He said happily, "Tonight the government office will hold a big banquet. You should enjoy yourself to your heart's content and don't go home until you are drunk."

"Obedience is worse than respect." Huochuquan, Liu Bao and Qubei all bowed and accepted the order.

At nightfall, the lobby of Jinyang government office was a scene of prosperity and joy, with the sounds of stringed instruments and orchestras continuing, fine wines and delicacies being served in turn, the banquet being joyful, and both the host and the guests enjoying themselves.

It was not until the third watch, when the moon moved westward, that the banquet in the government office ended and did not last until dawn.

In the guest room prepared by the senior officials, Huochequan drank a cup of sobering soup and washed his face with a basin of cold water. He then let out a long breath, and his eyes, which were originally half drunk and blurry, suddenly became clearer.

Liu Bao and Qu Bei also did the same thing as Huochequan. After the three of them sobered up, they did not fall asleep as it was too late, but sat down and talked.

"Great Chanyu, Gao Gan asked me and others to fight against the Shu army, why did you agree so immediately without any hesitation?" Liu Bao, the Left Wise King, was confused. He was somewhat unwilling to help Yuan's army.

Huochuquan said slowly: "We can live in Taiyuan County instead of Yanmen and Changshan, which are border counties, because of General Yuan Huairen. If the general has an order, we should do our best to follow it."

"Besides..." Huochuquan sighed and said, "General Yuan has now defeated Gongsun Zan and the Black Mountain bandits. The vast Hebei province belongs to General Yuan... He has to bow his head under the eaves. Even if we want to disobey, we have no power to resist."

"If we refuse, Yan Liang and Gao Lan may arrive in Taiyuan County and not fight against the Shu army first, but destroy us first. We are eating the Yuan family's food, but we are destroying the Yuan family's pot and are unwilling to work for the Yuan family."

"Great Chanyu is right." Right Xian Wang Qubei responded, "The Yuan family is now too powerful for us to contend with. Besides, the Yuan family has treated us well, so we should repay them."

"Moreover," Qu Bei said worriedly, "Compared to the benevolent General Yuan, I heard that the Grand Marshal was very cruel. He immediately sent troops to exterminate the Qiang and Hu tribes in Longyou if they disobeyed him. The strong men were killed and the women and children were made slaves of the government... Even if they were obedient, they had to pay heavy taxes and were at the mercy of the government. They were treated extremely harshly and showed no mercy."

Qu Bei concluded: "Living under the rule of General Yuan, we are free and happy, but if Taiyuan is occupied by the Shu army, our good days will be over... So, even if not for the Yuan army, we must fight for ourselves, and we must win this battle."

……

Xudu.

After passing a dark road with high walls on both sides and no sunlight in the middle, General Dong Cheng arrived at the palace and approached the main hall of the palace.

However, since Dong Cheng was an old friend of the emperor, Emperor Liu Xie would not meet Dong Cheng in a formal hall, but would often meet him in a small room on the left wing of the hall.

Today, as usual, the eunuch led Dong Cheng to the small room in the left wing. Dong Cheng approached the door of the left wing, adjusted his clothes, and then stepped into the room. "Minister, the carriage..."

When Dong Cheng saw the emperor sitting at the top, he was about to bow down as he did in the past. However, when Dong Cheng was about to bow down, two tall and strong armored soldiers appeared on his left and right and held him hostage, one on the left and one on the right.

"you……"

"I'm here to see the emperor, what are you doing?"

Dong Cheng was held hostage by two soldiers, one on each side. He was unable to move for a moment. He shouted in a panic, scolding the two soldiers on his left and right.

Seeing that the soldiers on his left and right had no intention of letting him go, Dong Cheng looked up at Emperor Liu Xie and asked anxiously, "Your Majesty, what is going on?"

While asking the question, Dong Cheng saw clearly the expression of the emperor above. Liu Xie's face was full of helplessness, and there was a hint of fear on his face and in his eyes.

"Your Majesty?" Dong Cheng seemed to have guessed something. He scanned the left wing, trying to find someone or something that the emperor was afraid of. However, after a quick scan, he found nothing.

At this moment, a voice of praise came from behind Dong Cheng: "Dong Cheqi, I was not in Xudu during this period, but you took the opportunity to do great things."

Hearing this somewhat familiar voice, Dong Cheng's mind seemed to be struck by a thunderbolt. He turned his head in disbelief and saw the person he least wanted to see and most dared not to see - Sikong Cao Cao.

"Has Qingxu been pacified? Have all the bandits in Mount Tai been wiped out? How could he come back so soon?" Dong Cheng's mind was empty, and one thought after another flashed through his mind. He couldn't believe that the person in front of him was Cao Cao, the prime minister who was on the expedition to Qingxu.

When Cao Cao saw the look of shock on Dong Cheng's face, he looked extremely proud. He felt that it was worth it that he rode back to Xu Du at full speed, otherwise how could he have seen Dong Cheng's panic-stricken expression.

"Prime Minister Cao." After a long while, Dong Cheng came back to his senses. He said in a flattering tone, "Prime Minister Cao must have pacified the Qingxu area and made a great contribution to the court when he returned this time."

"Yeah." Cao Cao nodded with a faint smile. He didn't say much. He wanted to see what else Dong Cheng would perform.

Dong Cheng tilted his head to look at Cao Cao, and soon his neck felt sore, but he still tried to tilt his neck to face Cao Cao: "Sikong, why didn't you tell us why you came back? We stayed in Xudu, and those who have no merits can go out of the city to welcome you. Otherwise, it would be too idle to stay in Xudu."

"And..." Dong Cheng struggled again, pretending to be held captive by the soldiers on both sides: "Why is this? Did Cheng offend Sikong in any way? If so, please give Cheng a chance to admit his fault. Why bother to tease the soldiers?"

Cao Cao remained silent while Dong Cheng was speaking. He only laughed out loud when Dong Cheng finished speaking, "General Chariot and Cavalry is so forgetful. He conspired with me behind closed doors last night, but today he has completely forgotten everything and is acting so innocently."

Dong Cheng was horrified when he heard this. Cao Cao actually knew about their conspiracy, which meant that the news of the secret decree had leaked. Moreover, Cao Cao also knew that they had a secret meeting and conspiracy last night, which meant that their actions had always been under Cao Cao's attention.

"Cao... Cao Sikong is saying something, but Cheng doesn't quite understand." Dong Cheng made his dying struggle. He pretended to be deaf and dumb, pretending not to know what Cao Cao said.

"Hmm?" Cao Cao asked in confusion. He smiled sarcastically, "General Chariot and Cavalry, if you dare to do it, you must dare to admit it. If you did it, just admit it. Why are you so timid?"

Cao Cao's sarcasm broke through Dong Cheng's psychological defenses. He gave up struggling, his hair stood on end with anger, and glared at him: "Cao thief, you oppressed the emperor and harmed the ministers. Your crimes are extremely serious and unforgivable. Today I was careless and let you escape. Let's see how you can escape next time."

"I welcome the emperor and assist the royal family. If it weren't for me, the emperor would be exiled, and if it weren't for me, the officials would be like the common people. I have made great contributions to the Han Dynasty. You call me a thief, which is really an insult." Cao Cao said proudly as he looked at Dong Cheng who was struggling to death.

"Pah." Dong Cheng spat, and said sternly, "You let your trusted aides take charge of the imperial guards and imprison the emperor in the deep palace. You are no different from the traitors like Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, and Guo Si in the past. What's more, you have harmed people even more than Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, and Guo Si. If you are not a traitor to the Han Dynasty, then what are you?"

Cao Cao didn't take Dong Cheng's curse seriously. He bowed to the emperor Liu Xie who was cowering on the throne and asked, "Your Majesty, do you think what the general said is right or wrong?"

"Ah?" Liu Xie was a little flustered when asked this question. After a few breaths, he replied, "Sikong has made great contributions to the royal family. People all over the world have witnessed it. What the general said is right or wrong."

After saying this, Liu Xie added: "Prince, I think the charioteer is going crazy, otherwise he wouldn't have said such a ridiculous thing. Please don't mind it, Prince."

Cao Cao ignored the emperor's words of persuasion. He only said to Dong Cheng with emotion: "Thinking back to the time when Dong Zhuo deposed the emperor and monopolized power, I was the first to raise the banner of rebellion and send troops to fight him. I devoted myself to the royal family and forgot about life and death. But today, I am slandered by villains like you."

"Cao thief, Cao thief..." Dong Cheng could only curse angrily when he heard it, hoping to curse Cao Cao a few more times before he died. However, before he could curse a few more times, a big man who was over eight feet tall and had a waist that was ten times bigger than his waist came up and punched him. His mouth was bleeding and he could not utter a word. He could only whimper and glare at Cao Cao.

"Zhongkang, there is no need to do this." Cao Cao called Xu Chu.

Xu Chu said respectfully: "This man insulted Sikong, it is really hateful."

Cao Cao laughed a few times, and his laughter was very loud: "Just let him talk, he can't say much." Cao Cao was laughing, but there was a cold murderous intent in his tone.

"Sikong, Cheqi is old and confused, please spare him this time." Liu Xie heard Cao Cao's murderous intention, and he gritted his teeth and pleaded for Dong Cheng.

"Your Majesty, I don't want to kill anyone, but the crime of treason cannot be redeemed." Cao Cao sighed, and he took out a piece of silk from his sleeve and read to it: "Those who conspired with Dong Cheng include Lieutenant General Wang Zifu, Changshui Commandant Zhong Ji, and Counselor Wu Shuo. I request that their three clans be exterminated together."

Under Cao Cao's pressure, Liu Xie did not dare to look at Dong Cheng. He just covered his face and said, "It's up to the Minister of Works to decide."

But Cao Cao was still not satisfied after receiving the order. He stroked his beard and said, "Dong Cheng's daughter is now a concubine and is also one of the three clans."

"This..." Liu Xie was horrified: "Sikong, the imperial concubine is pregnant now. For the sake of the heir, please let the imperial concubine go for the time being. The imperial concubine has never been involved in the conspiracy and is not a criminal."

"There is nothing Cao can do about the laws of the court." (End of this chapter)