I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 122 Fishing Man

Li Ru winked at Wang Jing, tilted the corner of his mouth and smiled slyly. He was very open-minded about it. After all, who hasn't done something ridiculous a few times when they were young?

What's more, Wang Jing and Dong Bai were already engaged, so it was not a big deal to get on the bus first and buy the ticket later.

Seeing that the situation was getting worse and worse, Wang Jing rolled his eyes and was too lazy to explain further.

Li Ru did not dwell on this issue. For a girl to get married and have children at the age of fourteen was in accordance with etiquette and law in the Han Dynasty. There was even a policy in the court that if a girl did not find a husband and marry as soon as possible after she turned fourteen, she would be fined every year thereafter.

It can be seen that ancient politicians had long understood human nature and knew what to do to increase the marriage rate.

Li Ru came to Wang Jing this time mainly to urge the Northern Army to return to Luoyang as soon as possible to take charge of the overall situation: "My lord, now the eighteen princes are eyeing Luoyang covetously, and there are also people with ulterior motives throughout the court and the country. You must not leave the capital for long. Now that the two passes have been breached and the overall situation has been settled, you should return to the court as soon as possible."

Li Ru's suggestion was very pertinent. He believed that leaving behind Wang Fang, Duan Wei, Xu Rong and others, dividing and disintegrating them, and letting them check and balance each other, would allow him to temporarily leave Tongguan and Hanguguan to these surrendered generals to guard.

The composition of the Xiliang soldiers under Dong Zhuo has always been very complex.

The "Han Ji" says: "Moreover, the most powerful and brave people in the world today are only Bing, Liang, Xiongnu Tuge, Huangzhong Yicong, and the eight kinds of Western Qiang. The people have always been afraid of them, but you treat them as your minions and the strong men are terrified, let alone clowns!"

The "Ming Gong" here refers to Dong Zhuo. The Liangzhou soldiers under Dong Zhuo mainly came from the Huangzhong Volunteers, Qinhu soldiers, Xiongnu Tuge and the eight kinds of Western Qiang who surrendered. They were all barbaric and good at fighting. They had no loyalty to the dynasty and were a group of mercenaries gathered together entirely by Dong Zhuo's personal charm and money.

Among them, the Huangzhong Yicong were from the Lesser Yuezhi. For example, Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu had a guard named Hu Chier, who was from the "Zhihu", that is, the Yuezhi.
As for the Qin Hu soldiers, they were Qiang Hu and Han people who were Huized. Qiang Hu were a hodgepodge of Xiongnu, Qiang and Xianbei people, and their local forces in Liangzhou were complicated.

Some Han people committed crimes or lost their land and became refugees. In order to survive, they ran to the Hu people and were eventually assimilated by them.

These people often have outstanding abilities. After all, the weak cannot survive in such a situation. Therefore, Dong Zhuo took a fancy to their abilities and recruited them to form an army. Their combat effectiveness was good, but their military discipline was very poor.

As for the Xiongnu Tuge, they were Southern Xiongnu who surrendered during the Han Dynasty and were mainly settled in the Liangzhou area.

The eight types of Western Qiang are very powerful. They are the most troublesome people for the imperial dynasty. They were the main force of rebellion in the west during the Eastern Han Dynasty. The century-long Qiang rebellion is somewhat similar to the America's invasion of Afghanistan.

The imperial dynasty sent troops to quell the rebellion, but generals like Dong Zhuo were corrupt and took bribes, which eventually led to military expenditures of more than 24 billion coins, and it took twelve years to basically quell the rebellion.

During the reign of Emperor Shun of Han, the Qiang rebellion broke out again, and troops were sent to suppress it, with military expenditures reaching 8 billion!
God knows how the money was spent, but the finances of the Eastern Han Dynasty collapsed completely. During the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, the cost of running the court and suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion was entirely dependent on Liu Hong's selling of official positions and bleeding of aristocratic families through the Ten Eunuchs, which barely maintained the situation.

It must be said that Emperor Ling was a highly skilled mounter. If he had not died too early, the Eastern Han Dynasty might have lasted another half century.

When it comes to the Qiang Rebellion in Xiliang, Wang Jing also feels overwhelmed.

The empire has been using the whole country's strength to suppress a problem that has not been solved for a hundred years. Wang Jing does not think he can solve it quickly, but Dong Zhuo has a lot of Qiang soldiers under his command, so perhaps he can work on these people.

After all, without a guide, fighting deep into the Qiang’s territory would be tantamount to seeking death.

As for Li Ru's suggestion that he return to Luoyang as soon as possible, Wang Jing had other ideas: "Wenyou, what if I don't want to go back so soon?"

Li Ru was shocked when he heard this, but he immediately understood Wang Jing's intention after thinking about it. However, he was also worried about it: "Although it is a good idea to lure the snake out of its hole, it is too risky. What if it backfires..."

Wang Jing smiled calmly: "Don't worry, I am absolutely sure. Even if something really happens, I am confident that I can control the situation."

In Hedong, the main force of the Eight Battalions of the Northern Army has support and can cross the river to the south at any time. In Luoyang City, there are two mainstays, Xun You and Gao Shun, one civil and one military, so the situation is absolutely safe.

That's why Wang Jing thought of putting down a few baits through this incident to see if he could catch some big fish.

After all, Cai Yong had just been released from prison when he was assassinated. This incident made Wang Jing secretly alert. He dispatched secret guards to investigate but there was no progress. It can be seen that the opponent was definitely deliberate and even handled the clues so cleanly, which could not be done on a spur of the moment.

How can Wang Jing sleep peacefully unless he pulls out these rats in the gutter?
After Li Ru learned of Wang Jing's idea, he pondered for a moment and immediately advised: "In this case, why not secretly send someone to spread the news that the lord was seriously injured during the attack on Tongguan. In this way, the undercurrent lurking under the water will surely move upon hearing the news."

Seeing that Wang Jing insisted, Li Ru had no choice but to offer him some advice.

Wang Jing also thought this plan was good and adopted it immediately: "Okay, let's do it!"

In the newly opened Tai'anju Tavern in Luoyang City, the place was packed with distinguished guests, toasting each other.

The three people, Zheng Tai, the Counselor, Zhong Ji, the Palace Attendant, and Wu Qiong, the Captain of the Yue Cavalry, were sitting together, drinking happily.

When the wine is intoxicating, the words spoken start to become bolder.

Among them, Wu Qiong was the most heroic. He said with a somewhat sarcastic and contemptuous tone: "Hey, what do you think, is Wang Yuanxu's injury real or fake this time?"

Zhong Ji sneered, and then his eyes revealed a sharp edge, with a very confident look: "It should be a real injury, and it must be a serious injury. Otherwise, given the current situation, Wang Yuanxu would not be alone outside, and he would definitely find ways to return to Luoyang as soon as possible to take charge of the center to prevent the capital from being lost. If he doesn't come back, there is only one possibility, that is, his injuries are too serious and he can't come back."

They had previously conspired with He Yong, Xun You and others to kill Dong Zhuo.

Wu Qiong did not avoid danger and pretended to surrender to Dong Zhuo, lurking beside him as a spy. He successfully instigated Dong Zhuo to reward official positions to many famous people from aristocratic families.

As a result, after these people became officials, the first thing they did was to rise up in rebellion against Dong. The speed with which they turned their backs on their masters was jaw-dropping. What does it mean that whoever gives you milk is your mother?

nonexistent!

Just because I take advantage of you doesn't mean I agree to your request!

For the aristocratic families, such inequalities have long been familiar to them, as easy and natural as eating and drinking. After all, they are descendants of noble and famous families.

It can be said that it was Wu Qiong's bold move that accelerated the emergence of the coalition of eighteen princes and completely trapped Dong Zhuo.

For example, the current leader of the coalition, Yuan Shao, was able to become the governor of Bohai because Wu Qiong strongly recommended him to Dong Zhuo. He then successfully led an army to attack Dong Zhuo and became the leader of the coalition.

Although Dong Zhuo is dead now, Wang Jing has become their new opponent. The cake is so small that no one is willing to share it with the opponent.

What's more, the eighteen princes had seized the local military and political power in the name of fighting against Dong Zhuo. They would not just give back all the power they had obtained just because Dong Zhuo was dead, right?

This is the reason why they are still unwilling to withdraw their troops. They would rather remain in a stalemate than retreat. Otherwise, how can they legitimately act as local tyrants and abuse their power?

Their truest thought at the moment is that they are afraid that the world will not be in chaos.

The reason why Zhong Ji, Wu Qiong and others gathered together was to deal with Wang Jing.

It’s not that Wang Jing had offended them in any way, but the existence of the Northern Army itself was the biggest obstacle for them, blocking their path to power.

Among the three, Zheng Tai has the most noble status and the highest official position, but he is also the most cautious in his words and actions.

Seeing that Zhong Ji and Wu Qiong were getting bolder and bolder, Zheng Tai had to cough lightly to remind them: "You two, be careful with your words, beware of ears."

Facing the warning, Wu Qiong waved his hands dismissively: "Brother Gongye, are you worried about the omnipresent secret guards? Don't worry too much. This wine house is the property of the uncle of the emperor. The people he employs are all old servants of the family. There is no way they are hiding spies from other families."

The uncle-in-law that Wu Qiong mentioned was naturally Dong Cheng.

After Liu Xie ascended the throne, there was almost no one around him who could be used. However, Dong Cheng quickly gained Liu Xie's trust by relying on the relationship with Empress Dowager Dong. He was then directly awarded the honorable status of Le Guojiu. Not only that, Liu Xie also appointed him as General Anji, specifically in charge of the guards and carriages around the emperor.

His official position was not high, but his status was very prominent, and he directly controlled the military power. It was obvious that he was trusted by the emperor.

It was also because of Dong Cheng's success that some young people among the gentry who were eager to make a name for themselves saw the opportunity and gathered around him, hoping to gain Liu Xie's appreciation.

Tai'anju was the place where these people usually gathered. As the three of them were chatting, they heard the sound of chaotic footsteps and horse hooves outside the wine house, which scared them immediately. They thought someone was coming to kill them again.

When I looked carefully, I found that the person who came in was Dong Cheng.

"Uncle of the King!"

"Haha, no need to be so polite."

Dong Cheng, who had just come out of the palace, was riding his horse at the top of his lungs, and his face looked confident and upbeat.

"Does your majesty have any response?"

"The situation is difficult. Although Your Majesty is young, he has great ambitions. What we are planning will benefit future generations. Your Majesty was very excited when he learned about it. He was very pleased with your loyalty. The imperial dynasty still has loyal ministers."

After the flattery, Dong Cheng sat down and then gave the answer that everyone present was very concerned about: "Gentlemen, His Majesty has agreed to what we are doing and has given me a secret decree, allowing us to do it at our convenience."

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"We must rise up and restore order to the Han world!"

"Well said! The rise and fall of the country is a heavy responsibility on our shoulders. Scholars like us have an unshirkable responsibility to help the court solve its problems and stabilize the country!"

The four of them gathered together, and all of them were ambitious.

In the court today, old ministers such as Yuan Wei and Yang Biao are keeping their troops on hold and watching the situation change.

But these young people can't wait any longer, because it is really difficult to get ahead if they don't try hard.

They also want to be granted titles of nobility and become prime ministers, so as to experience the thrill of holding great power.

By then, you will have power over the whole world and all the people will bow to you. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Dong Cheng began to assign tasks. He looked at Zheng Tai first and said, "Gongye, you have some friendship with Xun Gongda. Whether you can persuade him to rebel and cut off Wang Jing's arm depends on you."

Zheng Tai looked helpless, but finally agreed and replied in a gloomy tone: "I'll try my best, but I can't guarantee whether it will succeed or not."

Wu Qiong laughed after hearing this and encouraged him: "Gongye is too modest. With you here, this matter will be easy and easy to handle. We will just wait for you to bring back good news."

Except for Zheng Tai, the others all had a mysterious confidence on their faces, as if they could easily defeat Wang Jing at any time.

"Who will come forward to deal with Xu Huang?"

Dong Cheng looked at everyone, and finally Wu Qiong volunteered: "Let me go. Xu Gongming is a loyal person. I can appeal to his emotions and reason. With the order of Your Majesty, I will be able to persuade him to open the gate and let the coalition army enter Luoyang."

"it is good!"

Dong Cheng was overjoyed when he heard this. He felt that he had won the battle and excitedly imagined a bright future: "As long as the coalition forces can enter Luoyang, the situation will be settled."

Now, the eighteen princes and the coalition forces of nearly 200,000 were blocked outside Hulao Pass and could not advance an inch.

Xu Huang, the commander of the important pass, was the key to this battle and a key figure that Dong Cheng and his men had to strive for and win over.

As long as Xu Huang is willing to let the Guandong coalition forces enter the pass, even if Wang Jing is not dead, he will never be able to come back.

After the cocktail party, Zheng Tai returned home and quickly called his younger brother Zheng Hun to discuss the matter.

After hearing the whole story, Zheng Hun sneered and said, "A bunch of idiots, they are really courting their own death."

Zheng Tai was also quite helpless: "When Dong Cheng came to me with the secret decree from His Majesty, I shouldn't have gotten involved in such a matter."

The two brothers were truly smart people. In their opinion, Dong Cheng's so-called perfect plan was full of loopholes and flaws. If they really followed the plan steps, they would probably die without knowing how they died.

Therefore, before the plan was officially launched, the brothers Zheng Tai and Zheng Hun were already thinking about how to clean up the mess.

Zheng Hun spoke sharply and was not polite in his evaluation of Dong Cheng and others: "Although Dong Cheng's plot is extremely foolish, this matter can disrupt the sight of the secret guards and is very beneficial to our plan."

Then Zheng Hun said, "It's a pity that Cai Yong is not dead, otherwise there will be rifts within the New Party. In this way, our chances of winning will be even higher."

"It's a pity indeed. The assassin Benchu ​​hired is said to be from the Hidden School of Military Science. Even Han Guang, one of the Three Swords of the Shang Emperor, was dispatched, but he still failed. This Wang Yuanxu is really amazing. If it weren't for him, how could Master Wang Zi be so glorious and proud today?"

Zheng Tai sighed, he was still very wary of Wang Jing.

Zheng Hun felt the same way. "If Wang Yuanxu hadn't left Luoyang, our plan wouldn't have had any chance of success. Now that he has no support, this is our chance."

Zheng Tai nodded in agreement: "It doesn't hurt to give it a try. Anyway, Gonglu and Benchu ​​have already made a secret agreement with me. If the two armies can really meet in Luoyang, we can turn the tide in one fell swoop. At that time, the era of us scholars will come."

It turned out that Zheng Tai was neither Dong Cheng's man nor loyal to Liu Xie.

The people he was truly loyal to were actually Yuan Shu and Yuan Gonglu.

Not only that, Zheng Tai also secretly cooperated with Yuan Shao, the leader of the coalition of princes, Yuan Benchu. Their pursuit was actually very simple - the literati and the emperor should rule the world together!

Compared with his brother, Zheng Hun was not so keen on power. He was an outlier among the aristocratic families. However, after the Party and Faction Persecution, the court of the Eastern Han Dynasty was in chaos. He hated the Ten Eunuchs and others, so he was very disappointed with the imperial power. That's why he was willing to support Zheng Tai's "restoring order".

In Zheng Hun's view, in order to save the world, only the "knowledgeable people" from the aristocratic families can fully grasp the power, participate in the government, and then select people with moral character and talent to govern the prefectures and counties of the world, so as to eradicate the chronic diseases and create a prosperous era again!
As for the emperor, he just sat on the dragon throne as a mascot, stamping documents when necessary. He should not interfere in the specific government affairs and leave them to these "loyal ministers and righteous men" to handle.

The water in Luoyang is getting deeper and deeper, and the open and covert struggles among various forces are becoming more and more fierce. It is exactly in line with the saying - when there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey will be king.

After Wang Jing left, Luoyang immediately fell into a strange power vacuum. Every ambitious person who saw the opportunity wanted to emulate the success of Dong Zhuo and Wang Jing and take the highest power in the world into his own hands.

As a result, Dong Cheng and others thought that their clever plan could bring peace to the world, but they did not expect that there were people in their team who had their own plans and ulterior motives.

The situation in Luoyang City was turbulent, and Chang'an in Guanzhong was not peaceful either.

At the Zuo Jiangjun Mansion, Huangfu Song called his son-in-law Sheyuan to the study and discussed with him: "Wenxiong, the Grand Tutor and the Minister of the Interior want me to lead the troops back to Luoyang. Previously, our army was blocked by the two thieves Niu Fu and Li Jue and could not go. Now it is rumored that Wang Jing is seriously injured. Do you think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our army?"

As one of the three great men of the late Han Dynasty, Huangfu Song was a pure soldier. Born into a family of generals, he had been exposed to military and Confucian studies since childhood, and therefore vowed to be a loyal subject of the dynasty.

In Huangfu Song's view, the old party including Grand Tutor Yuan Wei and Minister of Works Yang Biao were the orthodox ones, while Wang Jing was too young and had an unruly character.

Therefore, Huangfu Song was more willing to follow the orders of Yuan Wei and Yang Biao and wanted to eliminate Wang Jing, the unstable factor.

Huangfu Song frowned and asked doubtfully, "Do you suspect that Marquis Qi is pretending to be injured?"

"I can't be sure, but as long as this possibility exists, we should not act rashly. Otherwise, if we misjudge the situation, we will be doomed."

She Yuan was extremely intelligent and calm by nature. He had made plans for Huangfu Song many times in the past, and all his predictions had come true, so he was trusted by Huangfu Song.

"Okay, I'll follow your plan."

(End of this chapter)