Great Han Empire

Chapter 216
Taiwei Zhang Wen, Jing Zhaoyin Gaixun, Liangzhou Inspector Geng Bi, and the chiefs of Guanzhong and Xiliang prefectures and counties all wrote letters to impeach Li Hong, and memorials flew to Luoyang like snowflakes.

Taiwei Zhang Wen also wrote to the Son of Heaven, considering that the Western Expeditionary Army was short of money and food, he suggested to appease the rebels as soon as possible, so as to calm down the Xiliang Ban Dynasty and return to the court as soon as possible.He strongly recommended Li Hongxi to go to Jincheng County and take the initiative to recruit the rebels.

The emperor told several ministers that he would not read any memorials to impeach Li Zhonglang, and even ignored Zhang Wen's recommendation.What he is most concerned about now is Zhou Wang, the governor of Central Tibet.As long as Zhou Wang comes to see the driver, there will be money in the account.The emperor is happy.

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Luoyang, Yuan Mansion.

Yuan Kai is the patriarch of Yuan Clan, the number one clan in the Han Dynasty. Last year, because of the resurgence of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Jizhou, he was removed from the post of Situ by the emperor and has been at home all the time.The old man is more than 60 years old, with gray beard and hair, and he is hale and hearty.Because the corruption incident in Xiliang is getting bigger and bigger, and the momentum is getting more and more fierce, and the disciples and old officials of several big families in the capital have been arrested.The Patriarchs couldn't sit still anymore, so they met for a small gathering to discuss how to deal with the immediate crisis.

In the study, Sikong Xuxiang, former Situ Yuan Kui, former Zuoche General Huangfusong, Yushi Zhongcheng Yang Qin, Shangshu Lu Zhi, sat around in silence, the atmosphere was very oppressive.

Situ Cui Lie, who was sitting at the top table, suddenly patted the table and said angrily, "What does Li Zhonglang want to do? How many more people does he want to arrest?"

"A message was sent from Chang'an today that Li Zhonglang's subordinates have captured another seven of us. The situation is getting more and more tense now. Is there nothing you can do except help?" Yuan Kai asked slowly.

"What can I do?" Cui Lie said angrily: "Now, as long as there is anything related to His Majesty, His Majesty will charge money. You have to pay for the performance, you have to pay for the speech, and even the servants in the middle school have to pay for him. Everyone I’m afraid of collecting money from your Majesty, and I dare not even go to court. But it’s not good if you don’t go, you can’t ask for leave every day. Your Majesty got angry and said that you are in poor health and not suitable for an official. , Go home and take care of yourselves. Just like this, he was dismissed. His Majesty sold this official post for 200 million yuan the next day, and he was not happy, saying that time was too tight and he didn’t sell it for a good price.”

"We people are not even allowed to ask for leave. He said that we are important, and we can't be absent. But what are we doing in the court? And we dare not speak. Now we can't speak, and a mouth is three thousand dollars." Cui Lie gestured with both hands. With his eyes wide open, he grinned and said, "My lord, for three thousand dollars, I only give you ten words. Is it worth it? Lord Tingwei Shi risked his life to persuade you that day, I hope your majesty can understand Public opinion, quickly decreed to capture Li Zhonglang, and the Tingwei Mansion took over the Xiliang Su-corruption matter. In the end, if he was not careful, he talked too much. Although he brought three bolts of silk, His Majesty's calculations were very precise, and not a single penny was missing Mr. Shi owed His Majesty [-] before he finished speaking. Mr. Shi said that he owed it first, and he would pay it tomorrow. His Majesty said yes, you can pay the interest first today. So he ordered someone to drag him down and beat him. Twenty big boards. Poor Master Shi is still lying on the collapsed floor and cannot turn over."

"Since then, no one has spoken in the court. Everyone is sleeping. Your Majesty sleeps sitting and we sleep standing up. There is a lot of snoring in the hall." Sikong Xu Xiang smiled wryly, "The general snored too much the day before yesterday. He woke up His Majesty, and was fined [-] yuan. Hey..." He sighed in frustration, and said, "We didn't dare to write more words when we wrote memorials. The more words we wrote, the more money we would pay. Now, unless it is absolutely necessary, no one takes the initiative to write a letter."

"Is Your Majesty's purpose for money or..." Yuan Kai frowned and asked in a low voice.

"Your Majesty is definitely doing it for the money, there is no doubt about it. You can rest assured, my lord, that something similar to the party will never happen." Yushi Zhongcheng Yang Qin said.He is the younger brother of the late Taiwei Yang Ci, a member of the Yang family, a wealthy family in the Han Dynasty.This person is in his 50s, tall and thin, with a white face and long beard, a pair of small eyes, and gorgeous clothes.

"Xiliang's embezzlement so far, the most serious loss is the traitorous eunuch party. Zhongchang servant Zhang Rang is the worst. He first used the huge sum of embezzled money to buy Qingwu and was seized by Li Zhonglang, and then his confidant, the former governor of Liangzhou Meng Tuo was caught again by Li Zhonglang. According to Meng Tuo’s confession, Li Zhonglang wrote a letter accusing him of embezzling [-] million yuan from the treasury. None of us brought any money, otherwise we could take the opportunity to speak up and anger His Majesty, maybe His Majesty would kill him in a fit of anger. What a pity. Zhang Rang cried bitterly in the court hall and kowtowed for mercy desperately, his forehead was broken , blood flowed all over his face, haha..., be happy, relieve your anger..." Yang Qin laughed, "Your Majesty is not forgiving, until Zhang Rang promised to refund all the stolen money and goods, His Majesty let him go and let him Go home and wait for the guilt to pass. It's cheap for the old bastard."

"There is also Xia Yun, the regular servant of Zhongchang. He is really unlucky. Among the traitors, even if he is honest and honest, he has no enmity with us. His son of a prodigal son is too arrogant, and he provokes Li Zhonglang's subordinate Qu Yi in Chang'an for no reason. Do you know whose family Koji is descended from?"

"I know, he is the descendant of the former Shangshu Ju Tan." Huangfusong interjected, "This son is arrogant, arrogant and unassuming, with a tough temperament, but he is very good at martial arts and can fight. So he was the one who arrested Yang Dang? "

"Yes. Originally, Qu Yi didn't go to arrest him. The Yang Party was under Chang'an Order. Even if he wanted to arrest him, he had to speak to Mr. Jing Zhao Yingai. But he ran to stop him. He heard that he opened his mouth and scolded Qu Yi's ancestors. As a result, Qu Yi was annoyed. In a rage, Qu Yi not only killed his subordinates, but also ransacked his home. Yang Dang was caught off guard, and all the evidence was copied. A property of [-] million yuan. Yang Dang was greedy for life and feared death, and was as cowardly as a mouse. After being caught in Li Zhonglang's camp, he beat him up in twos and threes. He recruited everything, even things that happened more than ten years ago. Li Zhonglang After the evidence of Xia Yun's embezzlement and breaking the law was handed over to His Majesty, His Majesty was furious and beat Xia Yun violently. In order to atone for his sin, Xia Yun even sold his own house. I heard that he has no place to live now, so he had to stay in the palace In the small firewood room in the house."

"I've also heard what you said. Although the traitor party was hit, His Majesty thought they were old ministers. That is to say, they were asked to spend money to atone for their sins and go home to think about their mistakes. They didn't give any punishment. Even they It can be seen that His Majesty still trusts them very much. But we are not so lucky. Once we commit a crime, it will be a disaster for the whole family." Yuan Kai stroked his long beard and said worriedly, "The arrested If those few people can't bear to torture us, confess us or find clues for Li Zhonglang, and then follow the clues to find us, things will probably be very troublesome. We have to be careful."

"Don't worry, my lord." Cui Lie comforted, "Master Taiwei sent a letter saying that Song Dian, the Zhongchang servant, and Zhijinwu Zhenju have already rushed to the Zixiu Mountain Camp in Long County. With the two of them dealing with it, plus Under the obstruction of Lord Taiwei, Lord Jingzhao Yingai, and Lord Geng of the Governor of Liangzhou, Li Zhonglang's verification will become more and more difficult, and the time will be slower and slower. It is estimated that there will be no results in the near future. In addition, Li Zhonglang will We are tied to the same rope with the traitor, and everyone will be prosperous, and everyone will be damaged, so Song Dian dare not play tricks on it. Don't worry, my lord."

"But procrastination like this is not a solution after all. We must find a solution once and for all." Yuan Kai said, "The longer the matter of suppressing corruption in Xiliang is delayed, the worse it will be for us. Although from the current point of view, His Majesty's main The purpose is still to make money, but after a long time, will His Majesty's purpose change? There is also that Li Zhonglang, who doesn't distinguish between black and white, good or bad, blindly arresting and killing people, bloody and cruel, this kind of person is barbaric, rude, lawless, and Lawlessness, if it is not dealt with in time, it will pose too great a threat to us. Even if we escaped by chance this time, what about the next time? Who knows what he will do next time?"

"My lord is right." Xu Xiang said with a smile, "but what is most worried about now is not us, but the gang of traitors. They have already fallen two, if they don't want to solve the Xiliang matter, solve Li Zhonglang, I am afraid that more and more people will fall. Their methods have always been vicious and vicious. I think we can wait a little longer, maybe there will be good news."

Yuan Kai nodded and said: "For the first time in decades, we have seen such a big blow to the power of traitors in the palace. Fortunately, the emperor was raised by them alone. The emperor took care of his old feelings and did not pursue Zhang Ranghe. Xia Yun’s crimes, otherwise they would have died without a place to bury them. The traitors have suffered a great loss, and they will definitely fight back.”

He took a short break and continued: "Although Master Xu's words are reasonable, we'd better be more cautious. The eunuchs are a bunch of trash, hiding behind the emperor, pretending to be powerful, and coming up with ghostly ideas to deal with a bunch of helpless chickens." Scholars and students with great strength are okay, but to deal with a mindless martial artist like Li Zhonglang, a ruthless person who climbed out of the dead, I am afraid that he is not an opponent, not to mention that the emperor supports Li Zhonglang now. In my opinion, we should take the initiative. Think of a proper way, try to fight against the traitorous forces as much as possible, and solve the current crisis. This is the best strategy, what do you think?"

Everyone nodded in unison.

"We thought about it for a long time, and felt that the Taiwei's idea is more concealed and safe." Cui Lie said, "Starting from the current situation in Xiliang, the Taiwei has repeatedly asked His Majesty to send Li Zhonglang to Jincheng to appease the rebels. However, the intention of this idea to kill people with a knife is too obvious, so Lord Taiwei is not willing to give the order himself. He is worried that if Li Zhonglang dies in Jincheng, his own practice will not only prove to be true, but also ruin his reputation for the rest of his life."

"This time in Xiliang, Li Zhonglang made great contributions to suppressing the rebellion. He wiped out tens of thousands of rebels in two battles, and he had a deep hatred with the rebels. After he arrived in Jincheng, even Bian Zhang, Han Sui and other rebels If the leader doesn't kill him, Bian Zhang's subordinates will definitely not let him go, and he won't let him come back alive. Moreover, if there is no accident, the traitors will definitely send people to assassinate him along the way. Eunuchs are good at it."

"If he died on the way to appease him, the rebels will be responsible, and we can't be suspected of anything. Once he dies, the matter in Xiliang will be settled. His Majesty sees that no one can rely on Xiliang's anti-corruption matter. We can only put our flags to rest. Even if His Majesty knows that there is a ghost here, but he has no evidence, what can he do to us? After all, this imperial decree was made by himself, and no one can blame him." Cui Lie frowned and sighed: " Although Lord Taiwei urged us to cooperate with him many times, and we wrote letters many times, but His Majesty just refused to agree."

"It is said that His Majesty can receive large sums of money from Li Zhonglang from Xiliang every now and then. Under such circumstances, it is too difficult for us to convince His Majesty unless we give him more money." Yang Qin said .

"Then how much will we spend?" Yuan Kai asked.

"I don't know." Xu Xiang said with a sigh, "The financial resources of our family are definitely not enough."

Yuan Kui grabbed his beard and fell silent.

"Yizhen, Zigan, what did you find out when you went to Liu Shangshu just now?"

Huangfusong nodded, and said with a discouraged expression: "I have heard a lot of news, but it is better not to say it, lest you will be in a bad mood after hearing it."

"Oh?" Yuan Wei asked strangely, "Why?"

"Money, it's all money. Now I finally know why His Majesty firmly supports Li Zhonglang and Xiliangsu is greedy. Your Majesty likes money so much that he has no time to be content. This time His Majesty has made a lot of money with the help of Li Zhonglang, but He is still not satisfied, and he has set his sights on the wealthy families in the Kanto region." Lu Zhi, Shang Shu, said angrily.

"What's going on?" Cui Lie asked hastily, "Master Liu has received another secret performance from Li Zhonglang?"

"Yes. When we arrived at Lord Liu's mansion, he had just returned from the palace. I heard that Li Zhonglang sent someone to send a list of officials suspected of corruption in Xiliang, but these officials are not in Xiliang or In the Guanzhong area, but in Guandong or other states and counties. Li Zhonglang suggested that His Majesty arrest him immediately."

Situ Cui Lie, Sikong Xu Xiang, Yushi Zhongcheng Yang Qin and Yuan Wei looked at each other.

"Li Zhonglang's movements are really fast. One move after another, we are struggling to deal with it." Yang Qin sighed.

"What else did Lord Liu say? What's your opinion?" Yuan Kai asked hastily.

"I heard from Mr. Liu that His Majesty doesn't seem to have any intention of arresting people. He thinks that the Kanto region is very peaceful and there is no need to make a fuss. Your Majesty means that the people on the list should pay a certain amount of money to redeem themselves for their crimes." It’s okay, it’s too wasteful to provide food after arresting people.” Lu Zhi said, “In addition, Master Liu also told us one thing, His Majesty said that Li Zhonglang has no brains for making money and only knows how to kill people. He seems to be planning to arrest Li Zhonglang. Those caught are sold."

"Sell it?" Cui Lie asked in surprise, "How?"

"Your Majesty intends to clearly mark the price of these people. Then let their friends or old masters pay for their lives. We will know the specifics in tomorrow's court."
"Haha..." Yang Qin laughed angrily, "Your Majesty regards the court hall of the Great Han Dynasty as a market, Your Majesty the genius..."

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Fufeng County, Huaili City.

Li Hong looked at the majestic city tower in the distance, smiled and said to Zhao Yun: "We have arrived."

Zhao Yun stretched out his hand to wipe the sweat off his face, and said with a smile, "It's too hot, if you run any further, the horse may not be able to support it."

Li Hong patted the black panther heartbrokenly, and said with a smile: "After entering the city, let's rest for a while and freshen up. It's too impolite to go to see Lord Taiwei with the smell of sweat like this."

A group of people rode their horses slowly, and the closer they got to the city gate, the more people there were.

Hu Ding patted his horse to catch up, and complained dissatisfiedly: "Master Taiwei, why did you move Taiwei's Mansion to Huaili City? It's stuffy and hot here, and Xiaohuaili Camp is much cooler than here."

"You complained before we entered the city." Li Hong smiled, "The Taiwei is used to living in the capital, and of course he doesn't like living in a short and small cowhide tent. There will be no more wars in the future, and we will also live in the tent." in the city."

Qi Chen, who was following behind, smiled and said: "My lord, it's the opposite. The houses in the city are small and narrow, but the cowhide tents are big and spacious. I don't like living in the city, I would rather live on the grassland."

"My lord, this time Lord Taiwei invited you to Huaili City, is it to discuss the withdrawal of troops? Are we going back to Youzhou?" Hu Ding asked with a smile.

"Quickly, brothers, we're going back soon." Li Hong nodded in response, "It's probably for this reason that the Taiwei came to me. The Northern Army has already withdrawn first, and it should be our turn later."

"Going home..." Zhao Yun muttered softly.

"Why, I'm homesick." Li Hong patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Last time, I went to Luoyang with Mr. Xianyu, and Hutou, can I buy something for your parents?"

Zhao Yun nodded.

"Where's the tiger head?"

Zhao Yun smiled mysteriously, leaned into Li Hong's ear and said, "Buy Tiger Head for his wife..."

The smile on Zhao Yun's face froze suddenly.

Li Hong was listening intently, when the corner of his eyes accidentally caught the abnormality on Zhao Yun's face.Feeling something instinctively, Li Hong suddenly opened his mouth and let out a roar, and threw himself on the left side of the horse with all his strength, and the saber roared out almost at the same time.In just a short moment, Li Hong's body has been flying across the sky.

Zhao Yun's horror was still on his face, Hu Ding and Qi Chen had just opened their mouths to shout, but the fifty black panther attendants who followed them were still chatting and laughing.

Li Hong took advantage of the momentum and kicked Zhao Yun.Zhao Yun took advantage of the momentum to fly away from the horse and rolled to the ground.With the help of this kick, Li Hong's flying body suddenly fell down rapidly.

Three crossbow bolts passed over the black panther's broad back, flew over the head of Zhao Yun's white horse, and shot into the air.Panther was startled and hissed loudly.

At the same time, seven or eight refugees scattered on the side of the road, each of them shaped like an arrow, drew their daggers and spears and charged forward.

Seeing the failure of the raid, an old man in ragged clothes standing at the farthest place immediately dropped the short crossbow in his hand, and quickly took out a shorter and more powerful crossbow from his pocket.There are two black iron arrows pressed on this crossbow.The old man galloped up with the crossbow in his hand.

With his face up, Li Hong fell heavily to the ground.

"Kill..." Li Hong roared, and with the force of the collision, his huge body suddenly flew obliquely straight up from the ground, and the sword in his hand roared down against the man holding the spear.

The big spear-wielding man ran at the front, and when he saw Li Hong standing up with unimaginable movements like a ghost, he instinctively froze for a moment.At this moment, Li Hong's saber chopped him down with a thunderbolt.The shrill shouts were accompanied by angry roars, which made one's heart shattered.Blood splattered everywhere.

Zhao Yun jumped up from the ground and roared: "There is an assassin..." The sword behind his back was already in his hand as the cold light flashed, "Kill..."

Hu Ding and Qi Shen roared loudly: "There are assassins..."

"Brothers, spread out, spread out..."

"Protect the adults..."

Three short swords and a short spear rushed out from behind the still-fallen body of the spear-wielding man almost at the same time.

The old man galloping up raised the short crossbow, pointed it at Li Hong and shot it.

There was no way for Li Hong to hide.

Zhao Yun rushed out from the back of the black panther, staring helplessly, wanting to burst into tears; Hu Ding's body flew in the air, and opened his mouth to let out a cry of despair; The sword, the sword flew fast, and the ear-piercing sound of cracking the sky immediately filled the small space.

It was too late for Li Hong to raise his Zhan Dao, so he had to slant his chest to block the vital points, and with his left hand, he pulled out the black ax in his arms as fast as possible, and slashed out with his backhand.

The body of the spear-wielding man crashed to the ground.

The black ax roared furiously, cutting off the head of the enemy in front and the throat of the second enemy with lightning speed.Blood gushed out from the broken throat and flew into the air.

The spear roared.The outermost short sword invaded the body with icy cold air.Two crossbow arrows that were barely visible to the naked eye pierced through the air.

Blood sprayed Li Hong's head and face, and instantly covered Li Hong's eyes.

Excited, Li Hong looked up like a beast before death, and let out a sky-shattering roar.

Relying on his feeling, he advanced the saber again, and with a sound of "Ding...", he blocked the sure-killing sword.

When the spear arrives, it breaks through the armor and penetrates directly into the skin.

Li Hong resolutely dropped the saber with his right hand, grabbed the spearhead with his big hand, and roared again: "Kill..." The spear came out of his body immediately.

The crossbow suddenly screamed from a short distance away.

The dagger has been raised obliquely, stabbing at Li Hong's body again.

Li Hong's body suddenly became lighter, and as the spear-wielding man shouted with all his strength, his body suddenly fell down.

At the same time, the short ax in Li Hong's hand flew out and slashed straight into the chest of the big man with the spear.The short sword in the hand of the sword-wielding man pierced Li Hong's abdomen in an instant.Li Hong groaned with the severe pain, and his tilted body suddenly accelerated the speed of his fall.Li Hong's left foot flew up silently.

The big man with the sword was suddenly attacked, his body soared into the air, and a long, heart-piercing howl came out of his mouth.The big man lost his balance, and the dagger flew out of his hand, and a string of blood beads from the sword tip flew across the air.

The two crossbow arrows sank into the body, into the body of the big man who was falling in the air.

Li Hong's vest touched the ground, but his eyes were covered with blood, and his eyes were still pitch black.He held the spear tip in his right hand and quickly grabbed the handle with his left hand, opening his mouth and roaring, "Kill..."

Seeing that Li Hong had escaped the interception again, the old man who rushed towards him quickly drew his sword and flew towards him in a fit of rage.Abandoned Shen's saber shot at him, the old man had no choice but to stop, and slammed the saber with a loud roar.At the same time, the arc tripod slashed the head of the falling enemy in the air, and stood firmly on the ground.At the same time, Zhao Yun flew up into the air, and chopped at the old man who rushed forward.

Li Hong exerted all his strength with both arms, and with the spear on the flat end, he tried his best to bounce off the headless corpse falling from the air, and then a kite turned over and stood up.

He opened his eyes.He saw Zhao Yun.I saw Zhao Yun chop off the enemy's head with a single knife, and saw the enemy's blood flying in the air.

Then he saw an arrow, a long arrow that shot towards his chest.

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(End of this chapter)