Great Han Empire

Chapter 258 The situation changes suddenly
The fourth year of Zhongping in the Han Dynasty (187 AD), the first month.

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The first day of the first lunar month.

The ancient Zhuanxu Emperor and the Xia Dynasty both used the first month of Mengchun as the Yuan, that is, the Xia calendar of Jianyin, with the first day of the first month as New Year's Day; The Zhou calendar was built up, with the first day of November as New Year's Day; the Qin Dynasty used the Qin calendar, and the Qin calendar built Hai, with the first day of the new year as New Year's day; The Taichu calendar created by Sima Qian and Luo Xiahong was used, and Jianyin's Xia calendar was used again, with the first day of the first month as New Year's Day.

On this day, people will worship their ancestors, the God of Welcoming Joy will go to various houses to pay New Year's greetings, and they will set off cannons. (Firecrackers are the predecessor of firecrackers. At first, bamboos were thrown into the fire, and the bamboos exploded when heated. It was believed that this would drive away ghosts.)
On the first day of the first month, the year is counted.When accounting for the year, the folks use the cloudy and sunny weather in the first few days of the new year to account for the annual income of the year.Its theory begins with Mr. Dongfang Shuo's "Sui Zhan", which says that eight days after the age, one day is a rooster day, the second day is a dog day, the third day is a pig day, the fourth day is a sheep day, the fifth day is a cow day, and the sixth day is a horse day. , seven days for a great man, eight days for a valley.If the day is sunny, the host will multiply, and if the day is cloudy, the host's day will not prosper.Later generations followed their habits and believed that from the first day to the tenth day of the lunar new year, it is auspicious for the weather to be clear and clear, without wind and snow.

The main activity of people on this day is New Year greetings.The wind of New Year's greetings already existed in the Han Dynasty.If there are too many relatives and friends in the neighborhood, it is difficult to visit all over the house. Generally, the rich and powerful will send their servants to congratulate them with famous cards. At that time, they were called "thorns", so the current business cards are also called "famous stabs".At that time, the upper class of the society had the custom of congratulating each other with famous posts.The "famous stabs" and "famous visits" mentioned here are the origins of the current New Year's cards.

From the first day to the fifth day of the first month, most families do not receive women, which is called "Jimen". Women must wait until the sixth day of the first month before going out to visit.

The New Year's greetings will be extended for a long time, until around the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.It is called "Night Worship Festival" to visit people's New Year in the evening, and "Lantern Worship Festival" after the tenth day of the Lunar New Year.

On the first day of the first lunar month, the officials went to the palace to worship, and the emperor and his ministers had fun together. The emperor gave the officials a soup made of millet (or other five grains) and mutton to eat.

The emperor was happy today, and in front of everyone, he praised Li Hong, the general of the Qiang Zhonglang.Fortunately, probably because of the Chinese New Year, no one jumped out to denounce Li Hong.The 26th of the twelfth lunar month is the day to impeach Li Hong, and everyone has already finished scolding what should be scolded.Li Hong was led by Taiwei Zhang Wenwen and Zongzheng Liu Yu, and congratulated the bureaucrats he knew and did not know.

Zhang Wen smiled all over his face and asked Xu Xiangdao: "I heard that Mr. Xu Jing has come to Beijing?"

"Yes, yes." Xu Xiang nodded happily and said, "We haven't seen each other for seven or eight years. I'm very happy that he can come to see me."

Zhang Wen said with a smile: "It's not easy for you brothers to get back together. On the day of your nephew's great joy, can Mr. Xu Shao come?"

"I heard from Zixiu that he will come after the Chinese New Year." Xu Xiangle said irresistibly, "When Zixiu comes, Luoyang City will definitely be a sensation."

"That is, that is." Zhang Wen said with a smile, "At that time, I am afraid that the threshold of Sikong Mansion will be stepped down."

Xu Xiang laughed heartily.Yesterday, he personally went to Yuan Kai's residence and took his younger brother Xu Jing home. Today, he deeply felt how correct the decision he made was.Now, when colleagues see him, they all ask about Brother Xu Jing and Xu Shao (pronounced shao), and congratulate him, including the emperor, who specifically asked about this and said to him: "If Mr. Xu Shao comes , I must see you."

If I hadn't gone to bring Xu Jing home yesterday, I'm afraid what happened to me today would be very embarrassing.Xu Jing and Xu Shao, that is the symbol of the Xu clan, and it is also the glory of the Xu clan.

As soon as Zhang Wen left, Xiang Xu saw Zhang Rang.

Zhang Rang made no secret of his unhappiness, he had no smile on his face, his eyes showed doubts, he gave Xu Xiang a serious look, and asked slowly: "Gongfu, what method do you use to invite Xu Jing back to the house?" Yes? He and Mr. Xu Shao have always disliked you, so why is this uncharacteristically reconciled brother?"

At this time, Xu Xiang was completely intoxicated by the glory of the Xu clan, and he didn't notice Zhang Rang's face and tone of speech at all. He replied happily: "We are all brothers, and there is no unresolvable hatred." , it’s just that they have different political opinions. Regardless of each other’s political opinions, brothers are still brothers.”

Zhang Rang wanted to ask again, but Xu Xiang was already surrounded by several bureaucrats to ask questions.

Duan Gui slowly approached Zhang Rang, and said with a sneer, "Xu Xiang didn't tell the truth. Who are Xu Jing and Xu Shao? They would abandon their integrity for the sake of brotherhood? Pull it over?"

Zhang Rang snorted coldly, feeling vaguely uneasy.

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Liu Yu wiped the sweat from his brow, pointed to the crowded palace, and said with a smile, "Men, is it lively?"

Li Hong nodded with a smile and said, "My lord, now I know why everyone wants to go to Luoyang to be an official."

Liu Yu glanced at Li Hong cherishingly, and said with a wry smile, "You still don't understand, Minor. In the future, when you understand the bloodiness of officialdom, you won't like staying here."

Li Hong nodded repeatedly, seemingly understanding, and bowed to be taught.

"In the past few days, what are you discussing with His Majesty in the imperial study every day?" Liu Yu asked casually.

"Your Majesty has great ambitions. He wants to expand the territory, build on the achievements of Emperor Wu, and become the best monarch of the Han Dynasty." Li Hong said with a smile, "Your Majesty has been discussing with me recently how to conquer the Xianbei people. The Wanli Grasslands were included in the territory of the Han Dynasty."

Liu Yu was dumbfounded at first, then gave Li Hong a hard look, and cursed loudly, "A pair of idiots."

Li Hong was baffled by the scolding. He looked at the angry Liu Yu and said with a smile, "My lord, don't be angry. Today is Chinese New Year."

"What do you know, that's the theory of subjugation, do you know?" Liu Yu scolded, "Your Majesty doesn't understand, don't you understand?"

Li Hong smiled and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to be angry. For the New Year, you must make His Majesty happy, don't you think?"

Liu Yu looked at him suspiciously, and asked, "Do you really understand?"

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The second day of the first month.It snowed again.

In the morning, Yuan Feng and Yuan Kai from the Yuan clan rushed to Sikong Mansion to pay New Year's greetings.Soon, Yang Biao and Yang Qin from the Yang clan also came to congratulate Master Sikong on the new year.

In the afternoon, Shi Zhao Qi, Wang Yun and Kong Rong also came to the Sikong Mansion to pay New Year greetings to Sir Sikong Xu and celebrity Xu Jing.

At this time, a group of scholars from Taixue Mu Xujing came to the Sikong Mansion to visit Xu Jing.Xu Jing received him warmly, and talked with the scholars about the state affairs.Immediately, Zhao Qi and Kong Rong were successively invited by the scholars to join the discussion, and the discussion reached a climax.After hearing the news, more Taixue scholars came, and the Sikong Mansion was overcrowded for a while.

Over the past 30 to 7000 years, due to the extreme corruption of the government, foreign relatives and eunuchs took turns to control the power of the country, causing the country to decline day by day, and the signs of national subjugation gradually appeared. Scholars and students could not rest assured of books and academics, and gradually turned their energy to concern for the country and the government. and discussion.The original atmosphere of academic debate in this dynasty used to focus on debates and criticisms of Confucian classics, learning and truth. Six [-] people.Being eloquent and eloquent is regarded as a very attractive talent of celebrities.Talking about it has become a common practice in this dynasty.

Kong Rong has a sharp mind and excellent eloquence. He saw about five or six hundred scholars from the capital gathered in the Sikong mansion, and he was even more excited. Suddenly, the emotions of the scholars were mobilized by him, everyone looked excited, and the sound of the whipping against the traitors resounded through the Sikong Mansion.

Xu Xiang sat and chatted with the two powerful people in the house all the time, but he didn't notice this situation. It wasn't until his family members came to report that he realized that the matter had become serious.

Under the auspices of Xu Jing, Kong Rong, and Zhao Qi, the first commentary in the New Year's capital lasted all night and did not end until the next day.

After Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and other middle officials heard the news, they were furious. They sent people to question Xu Xiang, asking him what he meant and what he wanted to do?Is it necessary to betray the alliance and rebel?
Entrusted by Prime Minister Xu, Da Honglu Cao Song and Shao Fu Fan Ling rushed to the residence of Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang overnight, trying their best to explain the misunderstanding, but the middle officials already felt the crisis.

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Li Wei went to pay New Year's greetings to his teacher Zhu Jun on the first day of the first lunar month, but he didn't see Xiao Lan.

Today, friends from Taixue Chen Hao, Tang Yun, Yin Si, and Yu Peng came to Zhangyuetai.

"Big axe, how's it going?" Li Wei welcomed the four of them into the room without greeting, and immediately asked Chen Haodao, "Did you see Xiao Lan?"

Chen Hao is less than 20 years old, tall and vigorous, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his round face is flushed red from the cold.His surname is Yiqian, and he is from Chengdu, Yizhou.His father was the governor of Yizhou Prefecture, a petty official of four hundred shi.His father hoped that his son would be successful in the future, so a few years ago he entrusted someone to send Chen Hao to study in the Imperial College in Luoyang, hoping that he would be able to make a name for himself in the future.Chen Hao has great strength and loves martial arts. He was recommended by others to study under Zhu Jun, who is both civil and military.

With a strong Yizhou accent, Chen Hao nodded and said, "Zhong Yuan, Xiao Lan is going to get married soon, and she said she doesn't want to see you anymore."

Li Wei was suffocated in his heart, and his face showed pain.

"Zhongyuan, the matter has come to this point, you should look at it." Tang Yun, who is also from Yizhou, said, "Is there any room for redemption now?"

Tang Yunbiao, styled Wenlong, was born in Jiangzhou, Yizhou.He is of medium build, thin, and looks calm and resolute.

"What is Xiao Lan's intention?" Li Wei looked at the four of them and asked, "Does she still want to marry me?"

"Brother Zhong Yuan, of course Xiao Lan wants to marry you." Yin Si said solemnly, "After you arrived in Xiliang, many adults came to propose marriage, but Xiao Lan refused all of them with various excuses. The teacher couldn't help it." She has no choice but to follow her heart. Think about it, Xiao Lan is sixteen this year. She is famous in Luoyang for her outstanding talents, learning, and good looks. If she hadn't been waiting for you, she would have delayed marrying? You know that the teacher is for her Is it a lifelong event, has your hair turned gray a lot?"

Yin Sibiao, styled Zhongzhi, was born in Changsha, Jingzhou, with a handsome appearance and a gentle manner.

"Brother Zhong Yuan, how can you doubt Xiao Lan?" Yu Peng said unhappily, "If the queen hadn't spoken up this time, and the general personally agrees, can the teacher agree?"

Yu Peng, whose surname is Bohan, is from Jingzhou Xinye. He is tall and strong, and he speaks softly.

"I want to see her." Li Wei said, "I want to ask her personally."

"What do you want to do?" Chen Hao asked strangely, "Even if Xiao Lan is willing to marry you now, you won't be able to, unless you go to grab it."

"Yes." Zhao Yun suddenly appeared at the door, and said with a smile, "As long as Zhong Yuan says, we will go grab it immediately."

Chen Hao and his three friends stared at Zhao Yun in shock, a tall, handsome and majestic young man.

"Who is he?" Chen Hao looked at Li Wei and asked, "This is Luoyang. You think it's outside the frontier county, grab it if you want."

Seeing Zhao Yun appear, Li Wei became even more imposing.He pointed at Zhao Yun, and said flatly: "His name is Zhao Yun, and he killed June Jinglei."

The expressions on the faces of the four of them suddenly turned from disdain to admiration, full of admiration.

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Xiao Lan is beautiful.

Xiao Lan's skin is tender and fair, her eyes are clear and penetrating. She stands quietly in the snow, standing gracefully, like a lotus emerging from water, with a natural beauty.

Li Wei looked at her silently, trembling in his heart, a heart-piercing pain suddenly invaded his mind clearly and violently, Li Wei couldn't bear the piercing pain, opened his mouth and let out a groan.

Xiao Lan opened her resentful and painful eyes wide, staring at him motionless, letting the tears flow down quietly.

"I promised you that I will marry you." Li Wei said slowly, "No one can take you away, I swear."

Li Wei took a deep look at her, turned around and strode away.

"Zhong Yuan..." Xiao Lan looked at Li Wei's tall back with tears in her eyes, shook her head vigorously, and cried out in grief, "Zhong Yuan..."

Li Wei's heart was shocked, and his arrogance suddenly rose to the sky. Facing the snowflakes all over the sky, he raised his arms and roared: "Who in the world can stop me?"

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The fifth day of the first lunar month.

The fifth day of the first lunar month is commonly known as Po Wu.Folklore says that many taboos broken five years ago can be broken today.This day is mainly to send off the poor, welcome the God of Wealth, and open the market for trade.

In the morning, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao met at He Yong's mansion for a small gathering.The three haven't seen each other for more than a year.In the evening, Cao Cao was so drunk that he was unconscious and was sent back by Yuan Shao.

Cao Song was very heartbroken, and kept cursing around Cao Cao.

"Father, can you stop cursing?" Cao Cao suddenly opened his eyes and begged, "Father, I'm in my 30s, and I'm not a child."

Cao Song looked at Cao Cao in surprise, then suddenly came to his senses, stretched out his hand to beat him, and cursed, "How dare you lie to your father, I think you want to beat him..."

Cao Cao was so frightened that he jumped up and begged for mercy.

"Ah Man, how many years have you been friends with Ben Chu, why are you still playing this trick with him?" Cao Song asked in confusion, "What happened?"

Cao Cao pondered for a while, and said, "Father, just to be on the safe side, I think you'd better say hello to the princes in the palace, and advise His Majesty to cancel this visit to the hometown to worship the ancestors, otherwise..."

Cao Song shook his head and said, "Impossible, Your Majesty won't listen to it at all, he is determined." He looked up at Cao Cao and asked, "Why, what did you hear?"

Cao Cao nodded and said: "Today, Boqiu and Benchu ​​persuaded me to join the general's sect, and work together to eradicate traitors and help the emperor. I saw that there was something in their words, so I pretended to be drunk and chatted with them. In the end, I got out a few words."

Cao Song listened quietly.

"Father, this time, the general is fully prepared, and it is premeditated." Cao Cao continued, "Last time you said that Lord Zhang guessed that the general would kill your majesty and help the eldest prince to be the new king. I think , Master Zhang Hou did not guess wrong, the fact is like this."

Cao Song looked dignified and sat down slowly. He waved his hand to signal Cao Cao to continue talking.

"Before I arrived in Luoyang, Chen Yi, the son of the former Grand Tutor Chen Fan, came to Qiao County to look for me. He said that Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, had contacted him with a group of powerful scholars, and planned to use the opportunity of the emperor to return to his hometown in Hejian to worship his ancestors. , took the emperor hostage, and appointed the king of Hefei as the new king."

Cao Song's face turned ugly, and he asked nervously, "Why did he ask you? How dare Wang Fen do such a thing? King Hefei? King Hefei is courting death."

"Chen Yi persuaded me to join their action, but I refused." Cao Cao said, "Father, let's not talk about the King of Hefei, let's talk about the kidnapping of the emperor first. They kidnapped the emperor in Jizhou, what about Luoyang? How will the various forces in the capital react? Doesn't Wang Fen think about the consequences at all, and casually appoint the king of Hefei as the king?"

"General." Cao Song said in horror, "the general is their mastermind, their internal response? Wang Fen held the emperor in Jizhou, and the general held the military power in Luoyang. Emperor. If there is no powerful person in Luoyang to stabilize the situation and control the state affairs, what is the use of Wang Fen holding an emperor hostage?"

"Yes, Dad is right, but everyone knows that Wang Fen has nothing to do with the general." Cao Cao frowned and said slowly, "Then, who is behind the scenes for the general? This person advocates What does it mean to establish the King of Hefei as the new king? The general has his eyes and ears all over Jizhou, so he must know about it, so why didn't he come forward to stop this person from establishing a new king? What is the general's purpose?"

"He Jin is cautious, very cautious, and likes to look forward and backward when doing things. For such a big matter, if he didn't think about a retreat, he would never act rashly. This may be He Jin's intentional retreat." Cao Song thought for a while and said. .

Cao Cao shook his head and said with a smile: "How can there be such a good thing in the world? If you don't have the determination to break the boat and the momentum to go forward, how can you succeed in such an earth-shattering event?"

Cao Song looked at Cao Cao and said with a sneer, "If you don't use your brains, you'd be dead."

Cao Cao smiled and said, "Aren't I using my brain? Dad, now you see the purpose of Xu Jing's visit to Luoyang, right?"

Cao Song smiled wryly, and said, "From what you said, it's clear what the general wants to do in Luoyang. He wants to eradicate the middle officials completely, obtain the absolute support of all the aristocratic bureaucrats in Beijing, and support Li without any danger. The eldest prince is the new emperor. If he wants to kill the Zhongguan forces cleanly, he must first weaken the Zhongguan forces, split and drive apart the Zhongguan forces. Brothers Xu Jing and Xu Shao came to Beijing for nothing more than to drive a wedge between the Xu clan and Zhongguan Weaken their relationship and weaken the power of the middle officials. Before Xu Shao came, Xu Jing alone has already messed up the relationship between the Xu clan and the middle officials."

Cao Cao sighed: "The Xu clan is very powerful. If we can pull them to the side of the general, it will indeed be a huge loss for the middle officials. They will lose an arm."

"How many years of friendship have we had with the Xu family, and we trust each other very much. Brother Xu Jing and Xu Shao can destroy it." Cao Song said, "Although the princes have some opinions on Lord Sikong, our relationship is still very good. firm."

"It will be broken soon." Cao Cao said bitterly, "Who arranged the marriage between the Xu family and the Zhu family?"

Cao Song hesitated for a moment, wanting to refute his son, but then felt that his reasoning was too far-fetched, swallowed his words again, and sighed helplessly: "There are many high-ranking people in the General's Mansion, and the plot is one after another. , It’s so flawless, it’s amazing.”

Then he looked at his son with great admiration, and praised: "But my son is smarter, and they will let their schemes out after a meal of wine."

Cao Cao shook his head and said, "Father, you are flattering me too much. If Chen Yi hadn't found me and leaked part of their plan, I wouldn't be able to figure it out even if I wanted to. But so what? We have no evidence, no The military can't do anything."

Cao Song thought for a moment and said, "Ah Man, send someone back to Qiao County immediately, call Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, and Cao Hong, and ask them to bring a hundred family members from home. Hurry up. After the tenth day, we must Come to Luoyang."

"Father, what are you going to do?" Cao Cao said, "If you want to avoid disaster, you should resign early and go home."

"What frustrating words are you talking about?" Cao Song laughed, "I'll go to Lord Zhanghou's mansion and discuss with him. Think at home, how can we turn defeat into victory."

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The seventh day of the first month.After the snow, the sky cleared.

Today is man day.Legend has it that the female snail created humans on the seventh day after creating animals such as chickens, dogs, pigs, cows, and horses, so this day is the birthday of humans.This dynasty began the custom of people's day festival.On this day, the emperor bestows colored threads of rensheng (Rensheng is a kind of headgear, also known as Caisheng) to the officials, and then climbs up to hold a feast for the officials.If the weather is fine on the seventh day of the first lunar month, the Lord will have a safe year and people will be able to enter and exit smoothly.

In the afternoon, General He Jin invited the Sangong Jiuqing and some bureaucrats from Beijing and China to the General's Mansion for a banquet.

General He Jin accompanied Taiwei Zhang Wen, Situ Cui Lie, Sikong Xu Xiang, and Taichang Liu Yan were chatting, when He Yong opened the door and walked in.

"General, Li Hong, the general who protects Qiang Zhonglang, can't come."

"Oh." He Jin said in surprise, "Your Majesty repented? Didn't he allow Li Zhonglang to visit the General's Mansion?"

"He was stabbed on Wing Peng Street and is in serious condition."

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(End of this chapter)