The north wind is howling, and the weather is cold.

On the banks of the Zhangshui River, the cavalry soldiers of the Black Panther Yicong and the Changshui Battalion were crossing the river in an orderly manner.

Chen Mingfei, the military commander, dismounted and saluted Li Hong breathlessly. Chen Ming's thick body was wrapped in a large black body, looking very bloated, his face was red from the cold, and the beard on his lips was black and thick, neat.

"Zicicada, hard work." Li Hong hurriedly helped him up and said, "Are the brothers okay?" ”

"Everybody's good." Chen Ming replied respectfully, "I have Lord Lao worried. Why did you arrive today? ”

"Recently, it has rained and snowed again, and the road is muddy and difficult to walk, and the trip has been delayed for several days." Li Hong smiled, "Are you in a hurry?" How's it going to get you done? Is there anything unusual about Jizhou? ”

Chen Ming said: "Xiaguan has been carefully scouting in Yecheng for a period of time, and has found a few unusual things, and he urgently needs to report to the adults. ”

"Oh." Li Hong looked happy and said happily: "Tell me, what are the things?" ”

"There is a famous monk named Xiangkai in Pingyuan County, who recently rushed to Yecheng and set up an altar to preach the scriptures, attracting a large number of people." Chen Ming said, "He not only lectured on the scriptures, but also discussed state affairs with a group of scholars in Jizhou, saying that he would eradicate the traitors and eunuchs, and govern the country with Huang Lao's learning and the Taiping Sutra." ”

"Can something like that happen in other states and counties?" Li Wei interjected and asked.

"We inquired, and there are disciples of Dazhitang in various states and counties who are preaching the Taiping Sutra everywhere, especially in Wei County, Bohai County, Hejian Kingdom, Changshan Kingdom, Zhongshan Kingdom and other counties with large populations, this kind of thing is very common." Chen Ming said, "Many bureaucratic tycoons in Jizhou believe in this master Xiangkai, and it is said that most of them are still his disciples. ”

Li Wei said with a smile: "This Master Xiangkai is too bold, the matter of Taiping Dao is not over yet, and he came out to preach the "Taiping Sutra", I think he is killing himself." He looked at Li Hong and continued, "He dared to do this, it has a lot to do with the connivance of the Jizhou bureaucracy, and this matter must be investigated." ”

"Dachido?" Li Hong frowned and asked, "What does Dazhitang do?" ”

"You don't know?" Li Wei asked in surprise.

Li Hong shook his head with a smile and said, "It's the first time I've heard of it. ”

"This Dazhitang is similar to Taiping Dao, the hall is full of a group of monks, and they all learn immortal arts, that is, the art of cultivating immortality, these people are good at refining pills, and will serve ghosts and gods, talismans, and spells, Master Xiangkai is the leader of Dazhitang." Li Wei explained, "Dazhitang also advocates the Mohist doctrine, and many of the monks in the hall have the style of a Mohist giant. ”

"Ranger?" Li Hong asked, "Zhong Yuan, these Taoist priests are also related to the rangers?" ”

"Yes." Li Wei said with a solemn expression, "Since the Warring States Period, the Mo family giants have gradually existed in the world as rangers, and this tradition has endured. I think that when Emperor Gaozu unified the world, these chivalrous giants were hidden among the people, such as the Zhu family, Guo Xie and others, they secretly organized the east, west, north and south, and other ways, and once gave Emperor Gaozu a great help. During the period of Emperor Guangwu, the treacherous people among these people and the rebellious ones such as Red Eyebrows and Bronze Horses colluded to bring disaster to the country, but the virtuous people among them followed Emperor Guangwu to fight in the south and the north, and made great contributions to the rise of the Han Dynasty. Two years ago, Taiping Dao Zhang Jiao rebelled, and many of these gossipes to confuse the public participated in it. 'Confucianism uses literature to disrupt the law, and chivalry uses martial arts to violate the ban', these people are a group of people who are afraid that the world will not be chaotic, and it is difficult to entangle. ”

Li Wei pondered for a moment and continued: "If what Cao Cao said is true, then this matter must have something to do with Dazhitang. ”

Li Hong looked at him, then at Chen Ming, and asked, "Do you want to send someone to keep an eye on him?" ”

"I tried." Chen Ming said, "Xiangkai's whereabouts are uncertain, and the martial arts of his disciples are also very strong, so it is difficult for us to find out anything." ”

"Then forget it." Li Hong smiled, "Forgive him for not being able to do anything earth-shattering." Zi Chan, what else is going on? ”

"The 20,000 newly recruited soldiers in Jizhou were all recruited near Yecheng, and it only took half a month." Chen Ming said, "It is said that these people are all refugees who have run back from Taihang Mountain. I thought it was a bit incredible, so I went to the military market to investigate. ”

"How?" Li Hong asked, "Do you see any problems?" ”

"I think they're all Yellow Turban soldiers." Chen Ming whispered, "Moreover, it is still elite." ”

Li Wei's thick eyebrows tightened, and he asked, "Why are you so sure?" ”

"Because I used to be the Yellow Turbans." Chen Ming smiled, "I can see it at a glance." There is still a big difference between a homeless and a soldier. ”

Li Hong smiled slightly: "The matter in Jizhou looks very complicated. He waved at Chen Ming and said, "You go on, what's the matter?" ”

Chen Ming said two more things. Recently, more than a dozen wealthy families in Wei and Bohai counties were arrested and imprisoned, and all their family properties were confiscated because they secretly helped the Yellow Turban Army in Taihang Mountain. According to Chen Ming's covert investigation, these are all unjust cases. At first, there were people who were ready to go to Beijing to file a complaint, but the people who shouted for the complaint were soon killed, and no one mentioned the matter immediately.

The second is the matter of taxation. To welcome and arrange for the Son of Heaven to return to his hometown to worship his ancestors, it takes a lot of money, where does this money come from? For this reason, Wang Fen, the assassin of Jizhou, convened the Taishou and the ministers of the nine major counties of Jizhou several times before the Chinese New Year, and later they decided to forcibly levy additional taxes on the surnames of Baijizhou and forcibly apportioned donations to wealthy merchants. The people of Jizhou complained.

"Didn't Your Majesty already order the Shaofu to allocate this money?" Li Hong asked Li Wei, "This Wang Fen is a bully and a fool, and he is not small. ”

"What's so strange about this, my lord?" Li Wei said, "It's not easy for Your Majesty to go back to his hometown, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a fortune, who will miss it?" ”

"I can arrest Wang Fen based on these things." Li Hong sneered.

"We don't have real evidence, how can we arrest people?" Li Wei smiled bitterly, "This kind of thing of taking advantage of the opportunity to make money is not surprising in the Great Han Kingdom. And that unjust, false and wrongful case, it's normal, who called those people no backstage? If they had spent money to buy Wang Fen at the beginning, they would have gone bankrupt and ruined their family now? ”

Li Hong glared at Li Wei dissatisfied.

"An old and cunning person like Wang Fen will definitely do things without leakage, and it will be difficult to catch the handle, so let's take our time, force him slowly, and force him to be anxious, and he will naturally show his feet." Li Wei smiled, "He would never have thought that we already knew about his tricks." ”

Li Hong nodded and said to Chen Ming: "Zi Chan, you immediately go to the hometown of the Son of Heaven of Hejian Kingdom to see the repair of the temple and the construction of the temporary palace, and if there is a problem, report it immediately." In addition, I have written two letters, and you have sent someone to the Judge of the Assassin's Mansion and the Lord of Julu County, respectively, and I want to hear what they have to say. ”

Chen Ming bowed down to receive the order and retreated.

"Your Excellency believes Cao Cao's words now?" Li Wei asked.

"If it is really as Cao Cao said, Wang Fen will not go to the temple to build the palace with great fanfare, which is expensive and laborious." Li Hong said, "When Zicia comes back, we will know if Wang Fen is plotting wrong." ”

"Then are we going to the city now or go directly to the barracks?"

"Didn't you say you'd force him to show himself?" Li Hong smiled, "Let's go, let's go to the barracks." ”

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Chen Yi hurriedly walked into the study of the Yecheng Mansion.

Xiangkai asked, "Boyan, have Li Hong's troops crossed the Zhangshui River?" ”

"Still crossing the river." Chen Yi said worriedly, "In the past, the Son of Heaven sent his cronies to rape eunuchs, and we could easily dismiss it with a little bribe, but this time ......" He looked at Wang Fen and Xiangkai, and made it to the table worriedly, sighed and said, "Is our plan leaked and known by the Son of Heaven?" ”

"Boyan is too worried." Wang Fen said with a smile. Probably because of overwork, his skin was darker, and his face was tired. "Think about it, if the Son of Heaven knew about our plan, would he still announce an amnesty to the world in Luoyang and show mercy to all the people? Will he still insist on accompanying the Queen Mother back to his hometown? He had already sent someone to arrest us. ”

"But Li Hong took eight thousand iron horsemen to inspect Jizhou, and we can't help but guard against it." Chen Yi said, "I think it's better for Brother Yuanshan to go out of the city early to meet Li Hong by the Zhangshui River." ”

"Is he worthy?" Wang Fen sneered disdainfully, "A barbarian, there is no need to be so polite to him. If he hadn't brought our military funds, I wouldn't have even gone out of the Yecheng gate, at most I would have gone out of the palace to pick him up, which would have given him a lot of face. ”

"It's a big deal." Xu You said, "Brother Boyan didn't mean that, he was worried that Li Hong would not enter the city and run directly to the barracks." If Li Hong had the secret decree of the Son of Heaven and went directly to the barracks to take over the 20,000 troops, we would be very passive. ”

"What does it matter?" Xiangkai smiled, "If he wants to take over, just take it over for him." ”

"He was supposed to die." Wang Fen said with a smile, "It took me a lot of words with the master to save his life temporarily. ”

Chen Yi and Xu You were taken aback and looked at them puzzled.

"Li Hong's schedule is very tight, there is no time to stay along the way, even if he takes over our troops, at most he will only leave a few officers and hundreds of cavalry, can he replace our army Sima, military candidates, tun commanders, and team leaders with his people? The bitter chief is in the barracks, and with his prestige, who will betray? Wang Fen explained with a smile, "What's more, the enmity between the Yellow Turban Army and Li Hong is as deep as the sea, how can the officers and soldiers listen to him?" When the bitter chief heard that Li Hong was coming, he shouted several times to kill him and avenge Zhang Dashuai, which was a trouble. He looked at Xiangkai and arched his hand, "I hope that the master will persuade him again not to spoil our big things." ”

Xiangkai nodded. Chen Yi and Xu You both had an understanding. Xu Yu is in his thirties, with a medium build, a long face and a short beard, a pair of shrewd and arrogant eyes, and a lot of conceit. He twisted his beard and smiled: "My lord has already made arrangements, no wonder I am calm and relaxed, and I am not in a hurry at all." ”

Xiangkai said to Chen Yi: "Boyan, it's almost February, and there is not much time left for us to make various preparations. ”

"There's no money." Chen Yi said with a sad face, "I have met with the prince's secret envoy many times, and the prince requires us to handle the matter of ascending the throne in strict accordance with the etiquette of the Han Dynasty, and we must not be sloppy at all. Now that there are so many places to use money, where do we have the money to prepare for this? But the prince's secret envoy said that if we are not ready, the prince will not be able to set off. ”

"Yuanshan, can you still squeeze a little money out?" Xiangkai asked.

Wang Fen shook his head helplessly and said, "Master, Li Hong is about to go to Hejian Country, the temple over there has not yet been repaired, and the temporary palace is just an empty shelf. The timber and stone for the renovation of the temple and the construction of the temporary palace were all sold to us by Tihou Dong, and not only the price was high, but also the payment had to be paid in advance, so I really have no money in hand now. ”

"We've recently raised more than a billion dollars, why don't we have any money now?" Xiangkai said unhappily, "Tell me, how the money is used." ”

"Dazhitang took a part, bribed the traitors and bureaucrats in the capital to use up a part, the Yellow Turban Army in Taihang Mountain took a part, and it also took a lot ......to buy the bureaucrats of various counties and counties," Wang Fen wrenched his fingers and said slowly.

"During the Chinese New Year, a few of you also took a lot, right?" Xiang Kai interrupted Wang Fen's words very dissatisfied, and said coldly, "Yuanshan, I heard that you took 100 million yuan alone. What do you want so much money for? ”

Wang Fen said unhurriedly: "For this matter, I invited dozens of friends and disciples, and they came to help me at the risk of being killed by the Nine Clans, and they were deeply affectionate to me. To be a man is to be benevolent and righteous, not to be merciful and unkind, which makes people feel cold. ”

Xiangkai did not speak.

Xu You suddenly said: "My lord, the disaster relief money allocated by the imperial court to Youzhou ......"

"The 200 million money has already been paid to Tiao Hou Dongzhong." Wang Fen said, "We must transport all the materials to Hejian Country immediately, otherwise, how will this loophole be filled?" Li Hong is not a traitor who is greedy for money, he is a leopard, if he sees the problem, it will be troublesome. ”

Wang Fen thought for a moment, and then said: "Now, the counties of Bohai County are still collecting taxes below, and it is estimated that this money will not be delivered for a while, and the only thing that can be counted on is the 200 million military funds that Li Hong brought us from Beijing. ”

Xiangkai was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Yuanshan, then please leave it to you." ”

He turned his face to Chen Yi and said, "The king of Hefei must arrive in Jizhou when the Son of Heaven leaves Beijing. ”

Chen Yi nodded and sighed: "Once we kidnap the Son of Heaven, we can immediately support the King of Hefei as the new Son of Heaven. ”

Xiang Kai glanced at him and said: "Reviving the Han Dynasty is an earth-shattering event, although it will bleed to death, but it is better to bleed and die every year." ”

He was silent for a moment, and then said: "After we have established the new Son of Heaven, King Anding will rise up in Youzhou, Zhang Yan will lead an army to capture Bingzhou, and Bai Huan and Yu Poison and others will send troops to attack Hanoi, if nothing else, in a few months, the northern prefectures and counties will be in my hands." At that time, the Luoyang Rebellion should also be over, and the surviving bureaucrats will go out of the city to welcome the new emperor. ”

"Luoyang chaos?" Xu You was taken aback and couldn't help but ask.

"Although He Jin tried his best to keep the eldest prince in Luoyang, but the eldest prince's stay in Luoyang does not mean that he can be the emperor." Xiang Kai smiled, "Can a dead man still be an emperor?" ”

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