I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 29 Sit back and watch the storm rise

In March, Luoyang is covered with lush vegetation, colorful flowers, and a variety of colors competing for splendor.

Wang Jing walked along the Luo River and saw villages connected to each other along the way, with smoke rising from chimneys. There were very few refugees. At least it was not like in Yuzhou before, where even the official roads were blocked by bandits and people robbed people on the road.

It can be seen that the production and living order in Luoyang area has not been disrupted, and the court's control still exists. However, it is unknown how long this peace can last.

As the saying goes, build a city to protect the king, and build a city to protect the people.

Luoyang covers a vast area and is divided into the inner city and the outer city.

The inner part is the city and the outer part is the city wall.

Even the city wall is seven zhang high, and the stone wall stands tall and majestic, like a giant dragon lying across the earth.

The foundation of the wall is secretly connected to the earth veins, and with the blessing of formations and dragon energy, it is almost indestructible.

Wang Jing estimated that even if he tried his best, he could only knock off a layer of the wall at best.

Therefore, I couldn't help but sigh secretly that it was worthy of being the Three Kingdoms of Gaowu, even the wall of the outer city was built so outrageously.

The inner wall is made of rammed earth and the outer wall is covered with bluestone, with a circumference of more than seventy miles. When viewed from afar, it has a majestic atmosphere that blows towards you and is breathtaking.

Even Wang Jing, who was used to seeing all kinds of skyscrapers in later generations, couldn't help but be shocked at this moment, and was refreshed by the grandeur before him.

"It would be a pity if such a prosperous divine capital were destroyed by Dong Zhuo."

Wang Jing stared at the magnificent city in front of him. Even if you look at the whole world, this is a first-class city and a miracle that is unique in the world!
In the fifth year of Yonghe in the Han Dynasty, the then Yin of Henan Province counted the population data of Luoyang area: there were 280,486 households and 1,010,827 people.

More than one million people!

This is still the result of official statistics. Since the Han Dynasty collected a poll tax, the public generally liked to underreport the population, and the real data may be even more exaggerated.

From this we can see that Luoyang’s prosperity is unparalleled.

No wonder countless people in this world are fascinated by this place and dream about it.

At the front of the convoy, Wang Yun was moved by the scene and his eyes were filled with tears.

Wang Jing was also touched when he saw this.

When people get old, they can't help but fall into memories, and Wang Yun is one of them.

When he was young, he was fond of great virtues and aspired to make great achievements for the country. He often recited scriptures and practiced horse riding and archery in the morning and evening.

Later, Wang Yun, who was in his thirties and in the prime of his life, was summoned by the three highest officials of the court at the same time. He was appointed as the Imperial Censor by the Minister of Internal Affairs and was transferred from the local prefectures to the central court. This was a major turning point in his life and also the most ambitious and beautiful time of his life.

However, his fortunes took a sharp turn for the worse afterwards.

He was loyal to his emperor and patriotic, and led his troops to fight against the Yellow Turban Army all over the country without hesitation. However, he was eventually thrown into prison for wanting to eliminate the treacherous minister Zhang Rang, and had to flee the sad place of Luoyang in a panic.

Looking back now, my temples are already gray and my hair has turned grey.

With his hand on the sword, Wang Yun quickly came to his senses and gave the order: "Enter the city."

One hundred sword guards on horseback, with thousands of elite soldiers surrounding them and a huge convoy behind them, naturally attracted the attention of people around them.

At the entrance to the city, the military officer of the garrison recognized Wang Yun and immediately stepped forward to greet him with joy: "Are you Wang Zhonglang?"

"you are?"

"I am waiting for Min Gong at the East Gate. I am here to wait for Wang Zhonglang on the orders of the General."

A few days ago, before entering Hulao Pass, Wang Yun had sent a pigeon to inform He Jin that he would be arriving in Luoyang.

Therefore, he was not surprised that He Jin sent someone to greet him, and asked casually, "Where is the general?"

Unexpectedly, Min Gong showed a look of grief and anger: "The general is in the Dongguo camp."

Wang Yun was also stunned when he heard this: "The late emperor has just passed away, and the general is not in the city to take charge of the situation. Why is he stationed in the outer city?"

Min Gong pressed his sword and cursed, "It's that bastard Jian Shuo! He is so ambitious that he wants to depose the eldest son and enthronize the youngest son. He took advantage of the death of Your Majesty in the Jiade Hall to conceal the news of your death and sent people to trick the general into the palace to murder him. Fortunately, Sima Panyin, a subordinate of Jian Shuo, had a long-standing friendship with the general. When he greeted him, he signaled with his eyes, and the general was lucky enough to escape this disaster."

Jian Shuo was also one of the Ten Attendants. Although his official status was not as high as that of Zhang Rang, the "Uncle", he was a great martial artist and proficient in military tactics. Therefore, he was deeply trusted by Emperor Ling and held military power in his hands.

Not only did he serve as the commander of the upper army, but the other eight commanders of the Western Garden, such as the commander of the central army Yuan Shao and the commander of the army Cao Cao, all had to obey Jian Shuo.

Even the great general He Jin had to be under the control of Jian Shuo.

In addition to the Huben Guards and Yulin Guards, Jian Shuo also had the Tielin Guards, a powerful elite force, which was the trump card left for him by Emperor Lingdi Liu Hong.

The troops of the Three Guards were the best among all the armies in the world and had always been the greatest reliance of the Han Dynasty in its ability to rule the world.

Moreover, many of the officers and soldiers of the Three Guards were from royal families, so they were always loyal to the emperor.

The reason why Jian Shuo was able to command them was because of the edict left by Emperor Ling.

Therefore, after He Jin escaped, he immediately drove back to Dongguo Camp via a shortcut and ordered General Yuan Shao, Counselor Cao Cao, Right Colonel Chunyu Qiong and others to lead their troops to occupy the official residences of various counties and kingdoms in the capital. However, He Jin claimed to be ill and refused to enter the palace.

At present, Luoyang has become a huge powder keg that can explode at any time due to the tension between the two major groups of eunuchs and relatives of the emperor.

Wang Yun was furious when he heard such explosive news. He shouted loudly on the spot: "How dare you, a eunuch, be so bold? You deserve to be killed!"

Then he turned around and told Wang Hong to take his men to find a place to settle down first. He then hurriedly asked Min Gong to lead the way and ran to Dongguo Camp to meet He Jin.

Fortunately, He Jin was quite magnanimous. Not only did he appoint Wang Yun as a Zhonglang Officer early on when Wang Yun was on his way to Luoyang, he also arranged a grand official residence for Wang Jing and others to stay.

Shi A also had property in Luoyang. After saying goodbye to him, Wang Jing invited Guo Jia to his home.

Guo Jia did not refuse and stayed there happily.

Wang Yun was gone for three days.

The situation in Luoyang City gradually became tense. Jian Shuo had three guards under his command and he himself had extraordinary martial arts skills. With the help of the Sword Saint Wang Yue, he had the North and South Palaces firmly in his hands. No wind could blow in, no water could splash in. It was as tight as an iron barrel.

At least, that's what Jian Shuo himself thought.

He Jin's strength was not weak either. After all, he was a general and the rightful commander-in-chief of the army. He had the strong support of the aristocratic families and powerful families, and the soldiers from the counties and states all over the country were willing to obey his orders.

Among them, the Jizhou strong crossbows, Youzhou cavalry, and Bingzhou wolf cavalry are all elite soldiers who are not inferior to the three imperial guards: Huben, Yulin, and Tielin.

The two sides, one inside and one outside, restrained each other and were in a stalemate.

Although the two sides were already at loggerheads, no one dared to start a war and bear the blame.

It is because once you lose your righteousness and reputation, and lose the support of the people, it will be a small matter, but you will be guilty of a crime and lose the recognition of the country, which will be a real disaster.

…………

Luoyang, the sacred capital, borders on the lands of Yan and Zhao. The streets are crowded with people, and many charming beauties pass by, each of them as pretty as a lotus and more beautiful than a flower.

Wang Jing was bored staying at home, so he took Guo Jia and Wang Ling out, hoping to see if he could pick up some bargains. If he came across some talents of Xu Shu's level, it would be best to intercept them before they could gain momentum.

Even if you fail to intercept, you can still make friends.

Luoyang was the eastern capital of the Han Dynasty. Since the third year of the Gengshi period of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu made it the capital. He built a large number of buildings, erected high temples, built community temples, repaired official offices, and established the Imperial Academy, Mingtang, Biyong, and Lingtai in the southern suburbs.

It has gone through twelve emperors and it is now more than one hundred and sixty years old.

The Qi River flows like jasper, with busy traffic day and night.

Attics made of green bricks and green tiles stand on both sides of the river, and thousands of households are playing music and drums and singing loudly.

At this time, even though the whole country was in turmoil, the capital of Luoyang was still prosperous. The residents of Luoyang were still immersed in a good life, unaware that a disaster was about to happen.

When they were free, Guo Jia took Wang Jing to play chess. Guo Jia played black chess and Wang Jing played white chess. While playing chess, the two of them also chatted about the current situation in Luoyang.

First, he made a move to Tianyuan. Guo Jia smiled and asked, "Yuan Xu, who do you think will win the game between the general and the ten eunuchs?"

In his previous life, Wang Jing had learned Go for a period of time when he was in college, but his skill was very poor and he was definitely no match for Guo Jia.

But if you don’t have enough strength, you can cheat.

After all, Go is a game of computing power. Although Wang Jing does not have AlphaGo, he has a body. Driven by the power of thought, his computing power immediately soared, and all kinds of chess records and routines from later generations came to his mind.

Wang Jing's eyes swept across the chessboard, picked up a few white chess pieces, and placed them casually, using the Xiaomu Wuyoujiao layout to first gain solid ground, and made solid moves in the first few moves, leaving Guo Jia's black chess pieces with no targets to attack.

Guo Jia was instantly at a disadvantage.

As for Guo Jia's question, Wang Jing was distracted and thought for a while before answering, "Victory will never belong to the chess piece itself. The victory or defeat of the chess game lies outside the chess game."

When Guo Jia heard this answer, his eyes lit up instantly, and he smiled and praised: "Yuan Xu is not only a brilliant chess player, but also a sharp critic of the current situation."

Wang Ling was confused when he heard this. He scratched his head and asked, "Second brother, Fengxiao, what are you talking about? I don't understand anything."

Wang Jing continued to make moves, explaining, "Whether it's the general or the ten eunuchs, they are just chess pieces on the chessboard. Who lives and who dies, who wins and who loses, the final outcome has already been determined."

"Destined to what?"

"When the song ends, the people disperse. It's all a dream. When prosperity ends, it's all empty. When the game is over, what's the point of keeping the chess pieces? Nature goes back to where it came from."

As soon as Wang Jing finished speaking, Guo Jia's dragon was slain and he could only resign himself to defeat: "Alas, I am not as skilled as you. I admit defeat."

The black and white pieces on the chessboard returned to their respective positions, were swept off the chessboard and returned to the bowl.

Guo Jia also took over the conversation at this time, smiling at Wang Ling: "The world is like a chess game. In the original chess game, there were two people who made moves: the imperial power and the aristocratic families. As for the Ten Eunuchs and the generals, they were just pawns in the struggle between the imperial power and the aristocratic families. Emperor Ling used the Ten Eunuchs to start the Factional Imprisonment Disaster, and the aristocratic families then instigated He Jin to rebel and strike back, creating the serious problem of the monopoly of power by the imperial relatives."

"Now that the late emperor has passed away and the new emperor is young, the imperial power has already declined to the extreme. Even if the Ten Eunuchs can kill the generals, their orders cannot go beyond the palace walls. What can they, a group of eunuchs, change? He Jin was born in a humble family. If it were not for the care of the late emperor, how could he have such a powerful position today? But people are greedy. The He family was originally just a butcher. In order to make the He family a prominent family, He Jin is now willing to be a pawn and fight for the aristocratic family. He is in a desperate situation without knowing it. It is sad and lamentable."

The implication is that the defeat of imperial power is inevitable and cannot be reversed.

Wang Ling, who had been receiving orthodox Confucian education in his family and regarded loyalty as the most important principle, felt very upset after listening to the conversation between Wang Jing and Guo Jia. It can be said that his three views were almost shattered: "Such a rebellious act is too..."

Wang Jing sneered: "How can this be considered treason? Perhaps within a few decades, someone will dare to kill the emperor in public."

Wang Ling was shocked: "No... not really?"

"Why not? They say that the emperor's power is granted by heaven, but since the Zhou Dynasty, there have been sixty-eight emperors. Think about it, can God take care of so many sons? What's so strange about one or two dying occasionally?"

During the conversation, Wang Jing couldn't help but think of Cao Mao, the young emperor of Wei and the great-grandson of Cao Cao. It was said that he had extraordinary talent and ambition, but so what?

In the end, wasn't he murdered in the street by people from the Sima family?

From this we can see that if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. Being an emperor is not easy. Without strength, you will be slaughtered like a pig.

Only an emperor who is alive and holds power is the emperor. Otherwise, a dead emperor is no different from a dead dog.

Wang Ling could not help but remain silent. To him, Wang Jing's words were nothing but reactionary remarks of this era.

The Emperor is the common ruler of the world and the supreme ruler. How can he be so disgraceful?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Seeing that Wang Ling remained silent, Wang Jing did not continue to provoke him and continued to start a new game with Guo Jia.

As the chess pieces were being moved, Guo Jia asked again with a smile: "Since you have seen the situation clearly, why does Yuan Xu still want to stay in Luoyang? Aren't you afraid that the chess pieces will fight and kill each other, and you will be affected by the consequences?"

"Alas, if I could leave, do you think I wouldn't want to leave? But I'm not the one who makes the decision at home."

Wang Jing did not mention Wang Yun's name, but Guo Jia was so smart that he understood it immediately. But then he smiled and said, "Does Yuan Xu have a way to break the deadlock?"

"No."

Thinking of the upcoming Dong Zhuo, the 18 princes' fight against Dong Zhuo, and the burning of Luoyang, Wang Jing's heart was heavy and his tone became sentimental: "In this chess game in Luoyang, some people are dreaming of the Spring and Autumn Period, some are playing with fire without knowing it, and some are ambitious and are willing to sacrifice thousands of lives for their own success. I am stuck in the gap, and all I want is to protect myself. And in order to protect myself, I am willing to take advantage of the fire."

After listening to this, Guo Jia seemed to be thinking about something.

Guo Jia couldn't guess who the dreamer was, He Jin, who was the person playing with fire, and who was the ambitious person, but he didn't ask Wang Jing either.

After all, as a wise man, he is used to thinking instead of asking questions.

He looked at Wang Jing with a half-smile and said, "The chestnut that Yuan Xu wants to take is the Bingzhou Wolf Rider?"

Wang Jing was a little surprised that his thoughts were seen through so easily, but when he thought of Guo Jia's reputation as a "genius", he quickly said with relief: "You hit the nail on the head. Sure enough, Feng Xiao couldn't hide it."

"This is not difficult to guess. The Wang family of Taiyuan is a famous family in Bingzhou, and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry is one of the most elite divisions in the world. If we can take it, we can gain a foothold in Jinyang and look east to Jizhou. We can attack when we advance and defend when we retreat. It is enough to make a living in troubled times."

Guo Jia obviously agreed with Wang Jing's strategic approach. Considering the current situation, this choice was undoubtedly the most appropriate one for Wang Jing.

Wang Jing wanted to keep Guo Jia to work for him, so he tried to test him and said, "Without the support of the imperial power, the Ten Attendants are dead and worthless. The general is confused by the situation and is trying to get the skin of a tiger. His end will definitely be bad. What do you think, Fengxiao?"

Guo Jia coughed twice, took out the gourd of medicinal wine from his waist and took a sip, then chuckled: "Ha, Yuan Xu, have you forgotten that you are also from an aristocratic family? You compare yourself to a tiger, aren't you afraid of being heard and causing criticism?"

"What are you afraid of? The worst that can happen is that you just deny it."

Seeing Wang Jing being so shameless, Guo Jia couldn't help laughing, and then commented on He Jin: "The general forgot his principles when he saw the benefits, and walked into death without knowing it. This man is not a wise leader."

"What about me? Does Fengxiao think I would be a wise leader?"

Guo Jia smiled but did not answer. Instead, he asked Wang Jing: "What about you, Yuan Xu? Do you have the ambition to conquer the world?"

Faced with this question, Wang Jing fell into silence. Before traveling through time, he was just an ordinary citizen. He had neither a family nor a career, let alone shouldering the fate of others.

Now he is asked to shoulder the fate of the entire world, which is really asking too much.

In the end, I could only shake my head.

"I have not decided yet."

"Then come back to me when you have made up your mind."

Guo Jia was not surprised by this. After all, ambitions and aspirations that can be easily expressed are often of little weight. To accept the destiny, one needs not only extraordinary ability, but also the right time, place, and people.

At this moment, he was not in a hurry to find a wise leader. After all, the chaotic times had not really arrived yet, and he could still wait a little longer.

But some people can't wait any longer.

Even in the dead of night, the Dongguo Camp was brightly lit.

In the tent, He Jin was wearing armor and had a solemn expression: "Jian Shuo has received the emperor's grace, but he has no intention of repaying it. Instead, he has acted arbitrarily and not only wants to murder ministers, but also wants to forge an imperial edict to depose and enthrone the emperor. This is a heinous crime and he should be executed!"

Among the crowd coming to the parliament, Cao Cao frowned in thought.

He did not think that Jian Shuo had the courage to forge the imperial edict. It was more likely that the imperial edict of Emperor Ling in Jian Shuo's hand was authentic. After all, Liu Hong had wanted to make Liu Xie the crown prince more than once during his lifetime.

The reason was very simple. Liu Xie's biological mother, Concubine Wang, had been poisoned to death by Empress Dowager He, and Liu Xie himself was raised by Empress Dowager Dong, so there was no need to worry about the power of foreign relatives.

Unfortunately, General He Jin, who wanted his nephew Liu Bian to inherit the throne, would never accept this result. This was also the main reason why He Jin and Liu Hong fell out.

However, Cao Cao still regarded killing the Ten Eunuchs as his primary goal at the moment, so he did not care whether the edict in Jian Shuo's hand was real or fake. What he was worried about was actually something else.

"Before the late emperor passed away, he had entrusted the Snake Slaying Sword and the Mountain and River State Map to Wang Yue. With this person around, how can we kill Jian Shuo?"

"Don't worry, Meng De. Just let Shao handle this matter."

Yuan Shao said loudly, and then turned his gaze to Wang Yun: "Wang Zhonglang, this matter also requires the help of the Taiyuan Wang family. I heard that your son Yuan Xu is very talented at a young age. A few days ago, he even stepped into Hulao Pass and took the inheritance of Overlord Sword Intent. I wonder if you can let him go with me to meet Xuanjun?"

Wang Yun had already learned about the Yuan family's plan from He Jin, and knew that there was no danger. He also felt that this was a good opportunity for Wang Jing to gain merit, so he nodded and agreed: "Yes."

(End of this chapter)