Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 192 Dong Cheng Fu Wan: Lord Yang, please speak well of us to the emperor
Yang Mansion, lobby.

After Xun Yu, Xun You and Xu You arrived at Yang's Mansion, they were welcomed by the housekeeper and sat in the hall. Not long after, Yang Biao came over.

"Mr. Yang."

Xun Yu and Xun You stood up and saluted.

Yang Biao was one of the Three Dukes of the State, came from a prominent family, and was highly respected. The uncle and nephew of the Xun family could not hold their own in front of him.

Only Xu You remained as steady as a rock. He had no intention of standing up to greet everyone and had no awareness of being a guest at all.

"No need to be polite, please take a seat."

Yang Biao glanced at Xu You, but didn't care. He just smiled at Xun Yu and Xun You and said, "I wonder why you two came to visit me today?"

Xun You and Xun Yu looked at each other, and finally Xun Yu, the uncle, said, "Mr. Yang, the Grand Marshal heard that Chief Yang caught a cold a month ago and has been bedridden ever since, so I am quite worried."

"The Grand Marshal wanted to come and express his condolences in person, but he was too busy to spare the time, so he asked the three of us to come together to visit Yang Zhubu."

Xun Yu directly stated the purpose of his visit and subtly reminded Yang Biao that it was Cao Cao who asked them to come.

When Yang Biao heard this, he thought to himself that something was wrong.

"It seems that I rejected Cao Cao too many times this month, causing him to become suspicious. Let Xun Wenruo come to see if Dezu is really sick."

"What can we do?"

Xun Yu, Xun You and Xu You came to the house together, and it was obvious that there was no way to deal with it easily. Using the previous excuse that he was bedridden and couldn't see anyone would definitely not work.

After all, Yang Xiu hasn't come back yet. If they insist on meeting him, where can he find him?

After a brief thought, Yang Biao came up with an idea and looked up and said, "You two came at a very bad time. Dezu has been ill for a long time and I heard that there is a Taoist temple on a mountain a hundred miles away from Xu County. The Taoist priest in the temple has extraordinary medical skills, so I asked my servant to take him there for treatment."

"We just set out two incense sticks ago."

This statement was extremely far-fetched. Xun Yu and Xun You knew that it was an excuse made up by Yang Biao, but they had no intention of digging into the matter.

Anyway, as long as there is a result and I can report back, that's enough.

So after getting this answer, the two stood up and said, "In this case, we will go back and report to the Grand Marshal. I hope that Yang Zhubu will recover soon."

"Wait a minute."

At this moment, Xu You, who was drinking nearby, suddenly put down his wine gourd and asked with a smile, "I am quite familiar with the area around Xu County. May I ask which Taoist temple Yang Zhubo went to?"

One sentence instantly made the atmosphere tense.

Xun Yu and Xun You had not thought of investigating the matter further, but now Xu You suddenly jumped out to question them, and they could not help but curse in their hearts.

Yang Gong is a senior official of the imperial court, why are you so nosy?
Yang Biao glanced at Xu You and said calmly, "It's a Taoist temple that was just opened not long ago, called Qingyun Temple. If you have time, you can go and pay your respects. By the way, ask the temple master to check your health. Drinking every day is not good."

This sentence is both gentle and sharp.

Xu You sneered: "You don't need to worry about my health, Lord Yang, but since Lord Yang is seriously ill, how can he withstand a journey of a hundred miles?"

"Shouldn't we invite the abbot to come to our house? Is it possible that the abbot is so arrogant that even Mr. Yang can't invite him?"

Xu You's tone was still aggressive.

Yang Biao said expressionlessly, "As the saying goes, one must be sincere when seeking medical treatment. Should I ask the abbot to come or let my son go? This is my family affair. What does it have to do with Doctor Guanglu?"

"What a coincidence, it really has something to do with me."

Xu You smiled but his heart was not, staring at Yang Biao sinisterly, "The Grand Marshal ordered me to come and check on Yang Zhubo, but now Lord Yang is making excuses and shirking responsibility. Could it be that Yang Zhubo's claim of illness is just an excuse, and he has actually been away from home for a long time?"

"But why would he claim to be sick if he's not at home? What is Mr. Yang hiding? Is there some shameful secret?"

Xun Yu and Xun You's faces changed when they heard this. Xun Yu concealed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Xu Ziyuan, you are going too far. The Grand Marshal only ordered us to visit Yang Zhubo."

"That's enough for today, we should go!"

After saying that, he and Xun You bowed to Yang Biao, then walked straight out of Yang's Mansion, ignoring Xu You at all.

"Humph."

Xu You looked at the two men's departing figures with disdain, and then said to Yang Biao indifferently: "Now is the time to use people. The Grand Marshal hopes that Yang Zhubo will recover soon. Goodbye."

After saying that, he left the lobby.

His purpose of provoking conflict between Yang Biao and Cao Cao has been achieved, and he has also obtained the evidence against Xun Yu and Xun You, so he can use it to sue them in front of Cao Cao.

After Xu You left, Yang Biao murmured:

"It has been a month now. This time is more than enough for Dezu to travel between Xu County and Yecheng."

"Dezu has not returned yet. He must have confirmed that the emperor in Yecheng is the legitimate emperor of the Han Dynasty, and listened to me and stayed by his side to serve him."

Thinking of this, the fear that had originally appeared on Yang Biao's face completely disappeared at this moment, and was replaced by a hint of enthusiasm and excitement!
"If the emperor in Yecheng is indeed the legitimate heir of the Han Dynasty, then the Han Dynasty will surely be revived, and I will die without regrets!"

Just as Yang Biao was deep in thought, two curses came from outside almost at the same time.

"Yang Biao! Yang Wenxian! Come out!"

"Get out of here, you old dog!"

Dong Cheng and Fu Wan walked into Yang's house together, pushed away the butler who came to greet them, and walked into the lobby in a menacing manner.

Being called by Dong Cheng's name and being called an old dog by Fu Wan, Yang Biao's face instantly fell, and he cursed back without any hesitation: "Did you two old guys take the wrong medicine?"

"Humph!"

Dong Cheng and Fu Wan snorted coldly, and the two of them, one on the left and one on the right, drove Yang Biao to the study.

After slamming the door, the two of them blocked the entrance like door gods.

Yang Biao was a little annoyed, "You two are so rude, what exactly do you want to do?"

"Shut up!" Dong Cheng interrupted Yang Biao, stared at him intently, and asked, "I want to ask you, when did you send the emperor to Yecheng instead of the emperor? Why did you hide this from us?"

"What? I replaced the emperor?" Yang Biao was a little dumbfounded. He had explained it once last time, why were these two old guys still doubting him!

"Pretend, keep pretending!"

Fu Wan sneered, "Don't think we don't know what you did! My son went to Yecheng and met the emperor. He told me that the one in Yecheng was the real emperor!

It seems that you had secretly replaced the emperor when you passed through Huayin and Hongnong. But we didn't expect that you, an old man, could hide it so well that you didn't even tell us!"

At first, Fu Wan thought that one of Dong Cheng and Yang Biao had replaced the emperor, or perhaps both of them were involved, but on the way here he thought about it carefully and found that Yang Biao was the most suspicious.

Because he and Dong Cheng were both royal relatives.

Their two daughters, one is the queen and the other is a noble lady, both of them are the emperor's concubines. If the emperor is fake, it will be of no benefit to them.

Yang Biao is the only one who has no daughter in the palace, so he is naturally the biggest suspect!
"That's right! That's what my son said too!"

Dong Cheng's idea coincided with Fu Wan's. He also suspected Yang Biao, because he was the only one who was not a royal relative and was a complete outsider!

Yang Biao was shocked when he heard this, "Your son also went to Yecheng!"

Fu Wan and Dong Cheng unexpectedly agreed with him and both sent their sons to Yecheng to meet the emperor.

But that's not right! Even if the emperor was replaced, it should have been these two old guys who did it. Why are they now pointing the finger at him?

"You sent my son to Yecheng to contact the emperor without telling me. Did you want to wait until Cao Cao was defeated to save your own life? How shameless!"

Yang Biao instantly understood what Dong Cheng and Fu Wan were doing.

After the Emperor of Yecheng succeeded in his mission to conquer the false emperor, Dong Cheng and Fu Wancheng became the greatest contributors lurking in Cao's camp.

And he has to bear the blame of being a traitor!
"Didn't you send your son over?"

Fu Wan was furious, his beard trembling with anger, "We sent our sons to verify the emperor's authenticity, but you sent your sons to contact the emperor secretly! They all met on the road!"

"Don't you feel guilty for doing this behind our backs? We all trusted you so much! We thought you were on the same page as us!"

"you you……"

As Fu Wan was talking, he sat on the ground, covering his chest.

He felt a little pain in his heart.

"Mr. Yang!" Dong Cheng was really anxious. He grabbed Yang Biao's hand and said with red eyes: "We are also loyal to Your Majesty. You can't use us as stepping stones for the benefit of your own family!"

"The daughters of our two families are both serving as concubines in the palace. Once the world knows that they served the false emperor, the Dong and Fu families will be finished!"

"Can you please be kind enough to explain to His Majesty that we are innocent?"

Since the hard approach doesn’t work, Dong Cheng can only try the soft approach.

Because now the life and death of their two families depend on the emperor in Yecheng, and the only one who has gained the emperor's trust and has a say is Yang Biao, who secretly sent his son to Yecheng.

Fu Wan also hugged Yang Biao's legs, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Supporting the false emperor, the queen having an affair with the false emperor, any one of these charges can kill hundreds of people in my Fu family!"

“Mr. Yang, you can’t be so heartless! Just consider it as me begging you!”

The two cried more sadly than each other, and begged Yang Biao to take them with him to join the emperor and not to use them as stepping stones.

"I didn't! I really didn't!"

Yang Biao was about to collapse. What on earth were these two old bastards talking about?
Fu Wan sighed and said, "Mr. Yang, you don't have to play dumb. I just want to ask you one question: where is your son now?"

"If you can call your son out immediately, we will believe that you have not replaced the emperor; if you can't call him out, your son will stay in Yecheng to serve Your Majesty!"

As soon as they realized that the emperor of Xu County might be a fake, Yang Biao sent his son to Yecheng.

The purpose is too obvious.

It was obvious that Yang Biao was worried that his son would meet with an accident after the matter was exposed, so he sent his son to Yecheng first in order to preserve the bloodline of the Yang family!
His sacrifice in exchange for the benefit of the entire family.

If they were Yang Biao, they would make the same decision. Compared with family interests, personal life and death are really insignificant.

"I……"

Yang Biao was speechless under Fu Wan's questioning.

Because Yang Xiu was indeed not at home.

Dong Cheng was more certain of his guess when he saw this, and he sighed, "Mr. Yang, there's no need for you to pretend now, we're not fools."

"We don't intend to compete with you for interests. We just want to protect our family. Is that not okay?"

"Even if we have been through thick and thin together, you can't be so hard-hearted."

"My daughter's position as a noble lady is definitely lost, not to mention Lord Fu's daughter's position as queen."

"Even if Your Majesty restores the country in the future, the two of us will not pose any threat to you. Just think of it as a gesture of kindness and save the hundreds of lives of our two families!"

Yang Biao took a deep breath, raised his hand, stretched out three fingers and said in a deep voice: "I, Yang Biao, swear to the ancestors of the Yang family! I never secretly sent the emperor to Yecheng. All this has nothing to do with me!"

"If you break this oath, the Emperor of Heaven will not bless you, and the Empress of Earth will not bury you! From now on, my Yang family will be extinct!"

Yang Biao directly used the ancestors and descendants of the Yang family and made an extremely cruel oath in front of Fu Wan and Dong Cheng.

Fu Wan and Dong Cheng obviously did not expect Yang Biao to be so decisive. Now they couldn't force him even if they wanted to.

The two looked at each other and sighed.

"Mr. Yang, please think about it carefully. We will come to visit you again in a few days. Bye."

Even though Yang Biao's oath was very cruel, in the face of solid evidence, it was still hard for them to believe that Yang Biao didn't do it.

Of course, it is possible that it was not Yang Biao who did it, but Yang Xiu or someone else in the Yang family. In this case, it does not violate the oath, and Yang Biao just knew about it.

However, they all knew that even if they urgently needed to force Yang Biao, they would not get any results, so they should go back and discuss it carefully.

"you……"

Yang Biao watched the two men leave and was extremely angry.

He could see that Fu Wan and Dong Cheng didn't believe it, but how could he prove it to himself? Unless Yang Xiu came back from Yecheng!
"Ugh!"

Yang Biao sat down very tiredly, holding his forehead with a complicated expression.

He didn't want Yang Xiu to come back.

Because no matter who replaced the emperor, based on the reactions of Dong Cheng and Fu Wan, the emperor in Yecheng is most likely the real emperor.

It would be beneficial to the entire family if Yang Xiu stayed in Yecheng.

As for him...

Yang Biao shook his head, stood up and walked out of the study. His hunched back gradually straightened and his steps became more steady and powerful.

What's wrong with death?

The Han Dynasty is about to rise, and I will die without regrets.

……

Yecheng.

Imperial Palace, Xuanshi.

Liu Xie was holding a brush and writing on silk paper. Gao Lan brought in a very handsome middle-aged man.

As soon as he saw Liu Xie, the handsome man bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I am Cui Yan. May your Majesty live forever and enjoy eternal happiness!"

Liu Xie ignored him until he wrote the last word, then he said, "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Cui Yan thanked the emperor and stood up, bowing slightly and standing where he was.

Although he didn't know why the emperor suddenly summoned him, he had some vague guesses in his mind.

Therefore, from the moment he stepped into the palace, his heart was tense.

"You come from a famous family in Qinghe, and now you hold the position of Cavalry Commander?"

Cui Yan became more nervous when he heard this. "Your Majesty, I am indeed from the Qinghe Cui family. The governor of Jizhou granted me the title of Cavalry Commander."

The Cavalry Commandant was in charge of supervising the Yulin Cavalry.

However, his official position was not conferred by the emperor, but granted by Yuan Shao.

Both he and Yuan Shao committed serious crimes.

It would have been fine if the emperor was a puppet of Yuan Shao before, but now the emperor holds all the power. If he really wants to be held accountable, he will be beheaded.

Just when Cui Yan thought he was about to face the emperor's wrath, Liu Xie skipped the topic and pointed to the silk paper on the table, saying:

"I heard that you studied under the great scholars Zheng Xuan and Zheng Kangcheng. Come and see what I think of this poem."

"Here!"

Cui Yan walked to Liu Xie's side in fear and leaned his head to look at the words on the silk paper.

"Good word!"

As soon as he saw the words above, he blurted out an exclamation of admiration.

He has always loved calligraphy, so he suppressed his panic and asked, "May I ask your Majesty, what kind of calligraphy is this?"

Liu Xie said calmly: "This is the calligraphy I have figured out, named regular script, also known as Han Kai."

For the sake of the emperor's face, he worked very hard to develop his current regular script.

And it is Yan Zhenqing's Yan style.

At this moment, receiving Cui Yan's heartfelt praise, I couldn't help but feel that all the hard work was worth it.

Cui Yan was delighted to see the prey, and stared at the words on the silk paper with shining eyes.

I just feel that the calligraphy has a square and dense structure, strong and round brushstrokes, light horizontal strokes and heavy vertical strokes, and a solemn and powerful aura.

I couldn't help but sigh: "The shape is square and the strokes are straight. It can be used as a model. Your Majesty's original regular script really makes me admire it very much!"

Liu Xie accepted all of Cui Yan's compliments without blushing.

After appreciating the calligraphy, Cui Yan carefully read the poem written on the silk paper.

The more I looked at him, the more frightened I became, but the more I looked at him, the less panicked I felt.

"Wine and song, life geometry!"

"It's like morning dew, it's going to be more painful every day."

……

After reading the whole poem, Cui Yan was impressed and understood the meaning of Liu Xie's request for him to read this poem.

Turning around, he bowed solemnly:
"I, Cui Yan, am willing to serve Your Majesty like a dog or a horse, even if it means sacrificing my life!"

A smile finally appeared on Liu Xie's always cold face.

"Flat body."

"Come here, give me a seat."

As soon as he finished speaking, an eunuch brought a small stool over.

Cui Yan was flattered and sat down, but he only dared to sit down half of his butt.

Liu Xie took a sip of tea and said, "Since you are the cavalry commander, you should be in charge of the Yulin cavalry. But now the Yulin Guard is led by Zhang He and Gao Lan..."

The imperial guards of the Han Dynasty were divided into two armies, the northern and southern armies.

The Southern Army’s Yulin Guards guard the palace.

The Northern Army's Huben Army was stationed to guard the imperial capital.

After seeing that the whole country was at peace, and hearing the emperor addressing him as "My beloved minister", Cui Yan's heart became as clear as a mirror.

He quickly said: "I am willing to rebuild the Tiger Guards for Your Majesty!"

Liu Xie nodded in satisfaction when he heard this. It was easy to talk to a smart person. But he still pretended to be surprised.

"The Tiger Guards will have 3,000 men, all well-equipped and well-equipped, and will cost a lot of money, so please don't force yourself."

Cui Yan directly carved the word "loyalty" on his head and said generously: "I have a lot of family wealth. Even if I have to spend all my money, I will definitely rebuild the Tiger Guards for your majesty."

The 3,000 elite soldiers of the Huben Army are no match for any ragtag army.

If it is organized as Liu Xie said, even the Cui family of Qinghe will suffer for a long time.

But Cui Yan no longer cared about so much.

He knew he had no choice.

Either become an important official of the Han Dynasty, or be punished and executed.

"Since you have such a heart, I cannot refuse your sincere desire to serve the country. From today on, you will be the General of the Tiger Guards."

"Since the system is about to be established, there is no need to recruit the descendants of generals. All elite soldiers can join the Tiger Guards."

"When I rebuild the country in the future, I will replace them with orphans in the army and descendants of generals."

Upon hearing this, Cui Yan's heart couldn't help but twitch.

It would be fine if they just required excellent equipment and excellent soldiers. After all, the Huben Army was the emperor's personal army, so the requirements were very high.

But the soldiers of the Huben Army were not selected from the sons of generals!

Doesn't this mean that he should look for it among the people?
What a huge price it would cost to recruit 3,000 soldiers from the public who could meet the requirements of the Tiger Guards!
But now that things have come to this, what else can he do except agree with reluctance?

I could only stand up from the small stool and respectfully accept the order.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Liu Xie also knew that his demands were a bit excessive, so he painted a pie in the sky for Cui Yan.

"You are Zheng Xuan's student. You have a bright future ahead of you. You will definitely not stop at being the General of the Tiger Guards."

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Cui Yan's face became visibly excited.

Although he was Yuan Shao's adviser, he later pretended to be loyal to Yuan Xi.

But if given a choice, who wouldn't want to serve the emperor?
Especially now that he holds great power and has the hope of recreating the emperor of Yanhan?

From that poem, he could see the emperor's eagerness to seek talented people.

I would never hold any grudge against him because he had followed Yuan Shao before.

Otherwise, how could he be appointed as the General of the Tiger Guards, and how could he be allowed to rebuild and take charge of the Tiger Guards?

"It is my duty to serve Your Majesty! I am already overjoyed to have Your Majesty's trust, how dare I ask for anything else?"

Liu Xie saw all of Cui Yan's emotional changes.

He couldn't help but feel emotional.

In this era, the status of the emperor is truly incomparable.

If any other prince came, it would be impossible for Cui Yan to be willing to spend huge financial resources to form an army of 3,000 elite soldiers with just one sentence.

But he issued an edict in the name of the emperor, which not only made him pay willingly, but also made him feel grateful.

"Sit down." Liu Xie waved his hand, motioning Cui Yan to sit back on the stool. He said, "Yuan Shao sent you a letter. How do you plan to reply?"

Although there were still many Yuan Shao's accomplices and spies in Yecheng, he was eventually driven out of Yecheng.

During this period of time, thanks to Zhang He's efforts, Liu Xie basically took control of Yecheng.

At least he saw the letter that Yuan Shao sent to Cui Yan earlier than Cui Yan.

When Cui Yan suddenly heard Liu Xie's words, his butt, which had just sat down, bounced up from the small stool as if it was equipped with a spring.

He knelt on the ground, his back instantly wet with sweat, and said in panic: "Your Majesty, your subject...your subject..."

After hesitating for a long time, he couldn't even utter a complete sentence.

If it weren't for this letter, which he received just before entering the palace, he would never have believed that the emperor's control over Yecheng had reached such an extent.

"Look, you're anxious again?"

"Since I have handed over the Tiger Guards to you, I naturally believe in your loyalty to the Han Dynasty and to me."

Liu Xie acted like a benevolent monarch who would not pursue the matter, which frightened Cui Yan into giving up most of the blame.

After considering his words, he said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I didn't know that Yuan Xi had ambushed and killed General Zhang Liao to seize military power."

Liu Xie looked at him with a half-smile and said, "That's great, now you know."

Cui Yan was stunned for a moment, but soon realized that the story of Yuan Xi ambushing and killing Zhang Liao was completely fictitious and was a ploy to deceive Yuan Shao.

In an instant, the fear that he had suppressed for the most part in his heart intensified again.

The emperor's scheming and tactics were far more terrifying than he had imagined.

It goes without saying that Yuan Shao will suffer heavy losses this time.

"I wrote a letter to reply to Yuan Shao. It is absolutely true that Yuan Xi ambushed and killed General Zhang Liao. Time, time..."

Liu Xie said calmly: "The date is tentatively set for the eighth day of next month."

"Here!"

"Just step back."

"My minister retire."

Cui Yan bent his waist, faced Liu Xie, and slowly backed away until he was out of the Xuanshi door, then he turned around.

"and many more."

Just as Cui Yan turned and walked out of the palace, Liu Xie's voice came again.

"Last year, Yuan Shao held a banquet, and your teacher Zheng Xuan also attended. Is he in Yecheng now?"

Cui Yan quickly turned around and faced Liu Xie again, saying, "Your Majesty, the Zheng army is still in Yecheng."

Liu Xie was delighted and said, "Find a time and bring your teacher to the palace. I want to meet him."

"According to the order!"

Zheng Xuan studied at the Imperial College in his early years, and later studied under several masters including Zhang Gongzu and Ma Rong.

His work "Zhengxue" is the culmination of Confucian classics in the Han Dynasty.

During the Zhenguan period, Li Shimin listed him among the twenty-two ancient teachers and enshrined him in the Confucius Temple.

He is known as the most famous person in China and is regarded as the master of Confucianism of the time.

Even Kong Rong respected him very much.

Last year, Yuan Shao wanted to recruit him as an official, but was rejected.

Liu Xie met him, of course, not because he admired his talent, but because he valued his influence.

He had thousands of disciples, many of whom became officials. His influence was so great that it was terrifying.

During the Battle of Guandu in history, in order to boost his morale and win the hearts and minds of the people, Yuan Shao asked Yuan Tan to force him to accompany the army.

Zheng Xuan, who was already seriously ill, died on the road.

Even though the funeral was simple, more than a thousand officials from the county magistrate and his disciples came to the funeral in mourning.

If we can get Zheng Xuan's help, it will be much easier to take back the entire Jizhou with Yecheng as the base.

He alone is enough to defeat thousands of troops.

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(PS: Today's update is 2 words, 6.8K uploaded first.)
(End of this chapter)