Dong Zhuo, at the invitation of Liangzhou Assassin Shi Geng, with the consent of Taiwei Zhang Wen, led 5,000 iron cavalry to the county seat.

Song Dian was immediately emboldened and came forward to invite Zhen Ju to negotiate, suggesting that Liangzhou Assassin Shi Geng Contempt temporarily preside over Xiliang's anti-corruption. He said to Zhen Ju: "My lord, you and I are both prisoners, and it is not appropriate for either party to preside over this matter, so it is better to let Geng Wei handle it, and let the Xiliang people deal with the affairs of Xiliang." We want to ask anyone to come forward to do it, and let him do everything that offends people, so that if any unexpected situation happens in the future, we can shirk it completely. ”

Zhen Ju didn't dare to make his own assertions, did not agree, and wrote to consult Zhang Wen. Zhang Wen replied that there was no response to Li Zhonglang's recruitment of the rebels, and his life and death were not known at present, so the matter should not be delayed. When Zhen Ju heard him say this, he understood and immediately shook his hand to let Xian.

Li Hong was corrupt in Xiliang, he didn't discuss anything with Geng Contempt, and he didn't report to the Assassin's Mansion afterwards, treating him like air, Geng Contempt has always been very angry. This time, with the support of Taiwei Zhang Wen, Zhongchang Servant Song Dian and other adults, he was asked to come forward to preside over Xiliang's anti-corruption, which made him very excited. He is ambitious, and he wants to do something that satisfies all the forces in the DPRK and China, put an end to Xiliang's anti-corruption as soon as possible, and put Xiliang on the right track.

The first thing he did was release Cheng Qiu. Cheng Qiu is very good, this is the unanimous evaluation of him by all parties. Although he was detained by Li Hong for a long time and was severely tortured in the camp, he never confessed anything, including Geng Cong and his predecessor's many assassination histories, and he gritted his teeth and did not say a word about the corruption and perversion of the law. So Geng and some people are very grateful to him. On the first day when the Son of Heaven announced the redemption list, these people bought Cheng Qiu's life through their relatives and friends in Luoyang.

As soon as Li Hong left, the **** order of the Son of Heaven also arrived at the Xiliang Thorn Mansion. Governor Xian Yufu, who presided over the Zixiu Mountain camp, was very reasonable and responsive, and after receiving Geng's letter and the Son of Heaven's pardon, he immediately ordered someone to send Cheng Qiu out of the camp. Cheng Qiu returned to Longxian and was ceremoniously received by many friends. He seemed to have an endless amount of money, and the next day he sent someone to bring silk silk to the military market to redeem his wife and concubine. In the next few days, Geng Yan took the **** order to the camp almost every day to pick up people.

On this day, the school captains Huang Fuhong and Li Su rushed to the camp with **** orders. Huang Fuhong has been stationed in Yicheng with his army. After Zhou Shen was ordered to return to Luoyang, Tai Lieutenant Zhang Wen temporarily transferred him to the Northern Army to lead the army. This time, Zhen Ju asked the northern army to support him, and ordered Huang Fuhong to rush to Longxian with the army from the Huaili camp. Li Su was ordered by Song Dian to assassinate Shi Meng Tuo in Liangzhou in advance, and Huangfuhong was ordered by Zhen Ju to advance the three Taishou of Hanyang County. After the two explained their intentions, Xian Yufu immediately asked his subordinates to pick up people. Before there was a tea time, the camp was in chaos, and the prisoner camp was in turmoil.

Although the Zixiushan camp is large, it is still very difficult to accommodate 100,000 people. Now the prisoner camp is larger than the soldier camp. The prisoners were held in the camp. When a few little people were released a few days ago, the captives didn't pay attention, but today's release of Meng Tuo and several former Taishou immediately attracted the attention of the captives. Everyone passed ten, ten passed hundreds, gathered along the way to watch, and more and more people gathered.

Xiliang's captives were deeply oppressed by these people in the past, and now when they saw that they were going to escape punishment and get away with it, they were angry and hateful one by one, and under the excitement of the crowd, some people began to scold, and then some people rushed up to kick and beat them. After a while, the scene got a little out of control. I don't know who shouted: "Kill them ......", as a result, a great chaos of thousands of people suddenly broke out in the prisoner camp, Meng Tuo and the three former Taishou were killed on the spot by the prisoners who lost their minds, and the corpses were trampled by the prisoners who were still angry. When Xian Yufu heard the news, Koji Yi rushed to the scene with the army to disperse the crowd, and saw several meat patties stuck to the ground.

With a face full of apologies, Xian Yufu and Koji Yi sent away the angry Huangfuhong and Li Su.

Koji Yi saw them walking away, and finally couldn't help but laugh wildly. Xian Yufu smiled all over his face and whispered: "Let's be careful these days, beware of their revenge." ”

"Haha......" Koji Yi couldn't stop laughing, and said intermittently, "My lord's idea is so bad, you don't spit out bones when you kill people, haha......"

Xian Yufu said with a smile: "Your Majesty said, the money must be collected, and people must be killed." Later, he couldn't help himself, and opened his mouth to laugh.

After this happened, although Song Dian and Zhen Ju had the **** order in their hands, they didn't dare to let Geng send people to the Zixiu Mountain camp to raise people. They know in their hearts that there is a famous place here, but they suffer from the lack of evidence to accuse Xian Yufu. Now even if all the captives are killed, no one can be saved. It's nothing if a person dies, it's a hundred, but the amount of money used to ransom people is too large, and it's too wasteful. They discussed it and decided to wait. As long as Li Hong dies in Jincheng, everyone in the Xiushan camp can only be slaughtered by them.

At this time, Cheng Qiu came up with an idea: only provide the Zixiushan camp with 50,000 army rations, cut off the food for the prisoners, force Xian Yufu to punish the prisoners who made trouble, and send all the people who have been ransomed to Longxian County. Geng was a little scared. This matter is not handled well, and once the 50,000 captives are hungry and start a rebellion, then the matter will be a bit out of control. Cheng Qiu instigated him vigorously, and finally moved Geng Contempt. Geng ran to ask Song Dian and Zhen Ju for their opinions. The two of them had nothing to do with themselves, hung high, and said: "It's up to you, you are the supervisor, you have the final say, you can do whatever you want."

＝＝＝

Li Hong was very surprised when he saw Bian Zhang. Although Yang Qiu had already told Bian Zhang in detail on the way to Bian Zhang's house on the way to accompany Li Hong, Li Hong still found it difficult to accept. Seeing a prestigious figure lying dying in front of his eyes, and seeing with his own eyes that life was being lost from this strong body, Li Hong felt heavy and speechless.

Bian Zhang was very happy and in a good mood. He first thanked Li Hong on behalf of the Xiliang rebels, then asked a few friends about the current situation, and finally talked about the corruption in Xiliang.

"The adults ignored the obscenity of the traitors of the dynasty, resolutely purged the Xiliang officials, presided over justice, and returned justice to the people of Xiliang, which is admirable."

Li Hong smiled, said a few words of humility, and said: "We have too little evidence in our hands, and the corrupt officials are extremely cunning, so so far, Xiliang has not achieved great results in suppressing corruption. ”

Bian Zhang exclaimed: "My lord is too humble. Cheng Qiu, Meng Tuo, Yang Dang, those are all huge greed in Xiliang and Guanzhong, they usually rely on power, are domineering, lawless, and don't know how many bad things they have done. We all think that this world is theirs, and no one can control them. Fortunately, God has eyes, and they also have the day when Fufa will be arrested. It's a pleasure. It's all a great deal of work. ”

Li Hong shook his hand and said with a smile: "Mr. praised me." Although we have arrested a few notorious corrupt officials, we have not been able to arrest many corrupt officials who are more deeply hidden, because there is no evidence or because there is insufficient evidence. ”

"As long as adults are determined, there should still be a way." Bian Zhang said, "No matter how cunning they are, they will inevitably be secret, and they will always leave a little clue." ”

Li Hong nodded slightly, pondered slightly, and said, "I'm about to leave Yunwu, I don't know if Mr. has any better advice on Xiliang's corruption?" ”

Bian Zhang asked in surprise, "My lord and we have negotiated so quickly?" ”

Li Hong nodded, and then asked rhetorically, "Mr. doesn't know?" ”

Bian Zhang hesitated for a moment and said, "Didn't the adults just arrive yesterday?" You ......"

Li Hong immediately realized that something was wrong within the rebels. The meeting between the two sides last night and the request made by Han Sui on behalf of the rebels, as the leader of the rebels, Bian Zhang, was a bit unusual. In terms of Bian Zhang's prestige, his position as the leader of the rebel army can be shaken, but in terms of Bian Zhang's current physical condition, it is completely normal for him to be vacated by his subordinates. Can we take advantage of this to achieve the purpose of appeasement? Li Hong thought secretly.

The conditions put forward by Han Sui yesterday were outrageous, and there was no sincerity in negotiations at all. Li Hong pushed forward and threatened to refuse to talk, forcing Han Sui to a dead end, he thought that Han Sui would give in and continue to invite himself to talk, but to Li Hong's disappointment, this morning he saw that Han Sui was calm and calm, and he didn't change his course at all, and he seemed to be determined not to talk about it. Li Hong was frustrated.

Of course, Li Hong did not want to go home empty-handed. Taiwei Zhang Wen and Jingzhao Yin Gaixun took a lot of risks and exhausted all kinds of thoughts in order for the Son of Heaven to agree to appease the rebels. What's more, after going back, how to explain to the Son of Heaven and Lord Taiwei? Xiliang suppressed the rebellion for a long time, not to mention the time, but also cost money and food, and in the end it was the people of Xiliang who suffered, if it could be decided without a fight, it would indeed be a good thing for the people of Xiliang to completely solve the problem of the Xiliang rebellion.

Li Hong felt that from the current point of view, in the matter of appeasing the rebels, Lord Taiwei and a group of bureaucrats were still overconfident and wishful thinking, and of course he was one of them. Although the rebels were beaten badly, they still had territory, and they still had the support of the people of Xiliang and the Qianghu outside the country. If you really want to continue fighting, who wins and who loses is really not certain? There is also a key question, everyone has rebelled, and he is not afraid of killing the nine clans, what is he afraid of? The big deal is death. Now it is the imperial court that takes the initiative to appease them, and it is normal for the rebels to make a little demand and squeeze more benefits.

But Han Sui's request was too much, and the conditions for appeasement must be in line with the laws of the Han Dynasty anyway, otherwise how could His Majesty agree? Li Hong looked at Bian Zhang's expectant and disappointed eyes, and suddenly thought that he could use Bian Zhang to exert a little pressure on Han Sui to force Han Sui to change the requirements of the separatist side?

"Sir, last night I formally negotiated with Mr. Han and several of your subordinates on the matter of the imperial court's appeasement, but your request is really unacceptable to the imperial court." Li Hong thought for a moment and said slowly, "Sir, you say that you are not against the Han and your Majesty, but against the traitors and powerful ministers around Your Majesty, and the corrupt officials and corrupt officials in Xiliang, but looking at the conditions you proposed, there is a big gap between this statement. ”

Bian Zhang didn't make a sound, contemplating and thinking.

"Sir, rebellion is not your goal after all, nor is it a means for you to satisfy your personal desires, but a means for everyone to live a good life, so this time Your Majesty issued an order to appease you is indeed an opportunity, an opportunity for everyone to live a good life. What does the gentleman think? ”

Bian Zhang closed his eyes and fell into deep thought. He didn't speak, and Li Hong couldn't find any topic, and after sitting for a while, Li Hong felt bored, so he stood up lightly and said respectfully: "Sir, don't disturb your rest, I take my leave." ”

Bian Zhang slowly opened his eyes, but he still didn't speak, not even a kind word. Li Hong looked at him as if he had been thinking about something, and he looked in a trance. He guessed that Bian Zhang probably felt uncomfortable when he heard that his subordinates had abandoned him.

"Before leaving, I was entrusted by Master Fu to bring a letter to Mr. Li Hong took out a roll of red silk from his arms, carefully put it in Bian Zhang's hand, bowed down and said, "I wish Mr. a speedy recovery." ”

＝＝＝

Xu Rong and Zhao Yun greeted Li Hong who walked out of the house.

"My lord, what did you say?" Xu Rong's huge hand tightly grasped his black beard, and asked unhurriedly, "Did he keep you?" ”

Li Hong shook his head, he raised his eyes to look at the flowers and trees in the courtyard, and said with a smile: "Mr. Bian is very elegant, and there are so many flowers at home." ”

Xu Rong's face was gloomy and he didn't make a sound.

Zhao Yun asked in a low voice, "My lord, when are we leaving?" ”

Li Hong smiled slightly, pointed to the courtyard gate in the distance and said: "Let's chat while enjoying the flowers, if we go to the courtyard gate, Mr. Bian hasn't called us yet, we will go back immediately." "After speaking, he walked first.

"Zilie, what are you watching out for?" Li Hong looked at Xu Rong and asked, "It's normal to not be able to talk." In this way, the two sides will go to war again, and it should be after October, and we will be together for three or four months. If the war drags on until next spring, we'll be together even longer. ”

Xu Rongle was happy.

"Lord Lieutenant is worried about the safety of our return." Zhao Yun said with a smile, "Whether the two sides can negotiate or not is secondary." There are too many people going to kill you right now. ”

Li Hong waved his hand indifferently and said, "Everyone has his own life, why do you want to do a lot?" ”

The three of them were chatting when an attendant who was waiting for Bian Zhang came running in like a flight.

Li Hong looked at the two of them in surprise and said, "So fast, Mr. Bian is very decisive." ”

＝＝＝

"Sir......" Li Hong bowed and asked, "Is there something wrong with Sir?" ”

Bian Zhang held Fu Xie's letter in his hand, sighed, and said, "Don't leave Yunwu for the time being, just wait another day." If there is no news tomorrow, I will personally send you across the Yellow River the day after tomorrow. ”

Li Hong shook his hand again and again, and said with a smile: "Don't dare to be, don't dare to be, sir, don't be, your body is ......"

Bian Zhang interrupted Li Hong's words and said, "My lord, you are a friend of Brother Nanrong, and you are a bloody man, I admire you, so I'll tell the truth." Your Excellency, you have been fooled. ”

Li Hong was a little baffled, but when he saw Bian Zhang's solemn look, it didn't seem like he was joking, and his heart suddenly became nervous.

Bian Zhang sighed again and said helplessly: "Actually, this matter, as long as Nanrong's letter, is enough, can't I still believe him?" I'm going to die, I'm going to die at any time, what am I keeping it for? ”

He looked at Li Hong and said with a wry smile: "What are you doing here?" Can this be done when you come? Zilie is the lieutenant of the Liangzhou Thorn Mansion, and he can talk on your behalf. So Taiwei Zhang Wen tried his best to ask you to come to Jincheng to appease him, and Nanrong also tried his best to encourage you to come to Jincheng to find me, why? ”

Li Hong was frightened and silent.

Bian Zhang waved the letter in his hand and said: "Nanrong is a good person who is upright and loyal, he respects you, so naturally he will not kill you, let alone instigate you to come to Jincheng." Now that he is doing this, he must be under pressure from Shangguan. Fortunately, he did not have a clear conscience and wrote me this letter. ”

Bian Zhang shook his head painfully and said, "My lord is just like me back then, his blood is strong, and he moves forward bravely, but when he dies, he realizes that he has done wrong. ”

"In this world, there are thousands of ways to do anything. I used the same method as you do now, using the most costly method. Although he won a lifetime of fame, he returned a lifetime of pain and remorse, and what he lost could never be recovered. ”

Li Hong suddenly thought of the wind and snow, and in an instant, a cone of pain and remorse suddenly surged into his heart, his heart was sour, and tears involuntarily moistened his eyes. Li Hong suddenly felt tired, his legs could not support his huge body, and he slowly sat on the edge of the bed. At this time, he no longer had the heart to listen to Bian Zhang's words, and his whole body and mind seemed to be drowned in the tears of the wind and snow.

"My lord suppressed corruption in Xiliang, made bold moves, and was happy to enmity and hatred, but unexpectedly it has endangered the forces of all factions in the DPRK and China, and completely broke the balance of power between the government and the opposition. How could the gate valve clan, who regarded themselves as the pillars of the country, see the crumbling Han Kingdom making waves again. Do you know what this wave is? It's not a trivial matter that you are corrupt in Xiliang, but another huge force formed because of your corruption in Xiliang. ”

Li Hong suddenly looked up at Bian Zhang, and asked in surprise, "Forces?" What power do I have? ”

Bian Zhang's face was solemn, and he raised his voice slightly and said: "A mediocre and incompetent son of heaven, a minister with a heavy army, if these two forces are very skillfully combined, what does it mean to the entire court and to the forces above the court?" My lord, you know what? Bian Zhang grabbed Sijuan in his hand suddenly, his face was shocked, "The ministers are in charge of the country, there is the disaster of slaughtering the people in the past, and the hatred of the country in the back, which abounds in history." ”

Li Hong's eyes widened, and he pointed to his nose in disbelief and asked, "Me?" ”

Bian Zhang stared at him fiercely, a smile suddenly appeared on his thin face, nodded, and said, "Yes, it's you, the second scourge of this dynasty." ”

"The second?" Li Hong asked, "And the first one?" ”

"Huangfu Song." Bian Zhang said, "The first one is Huangfu Song. ”

"After Brother Yizhen exterminated the Yellow Turban, he shocked the world. What about you? Although your background, qualifications, and prestige are no match for Brother Yizhen, you are young, you have military merits, and you are the same as Brother Yizhen, and you have the trust of today. If you are like the righteous true brother, you are very wise, and you are wise enough to stop and avoid trouble, and you will not be regarded as a thorn in the side of others, and you will be regarded as a person who must be killed. ”

Li Hong asked strangely: "General Huangfu saw the opportunity to avoid trouble?" How so? ”

Bian Zhang smiled and said, "You don't know about this matter?" ”

Li Hong suddenly woke up and said, "Sir, are you saying that General Huangfu was framed by a traitor and eunuch, and as a result, he was dismissed by His Majesty?" I heard that General Huangfu was dismissed, mainly because he and His Majesty had serious differences and disagreed opinions on the issue of conquering and suppressing the Xiliang rebellion, so ......" Li Hong immediately thought of what Fu Xie had said to him, Huangfu Song and Bian Zhang, and Han Sui have been friends for decades, so of course Bian Zhang knows the inside story of Huangfu Song's dismissal.

"Sir, do you mean that General Huangfu did this on purpose, so as to settle the truth and avoid trouble?"

Bian Zhang nodded and said, "That's exactly what happened. Two years ago, after Yizhen exterminated the Yellow Turban in Jizhou, Yan Zhong, the letter capital of Anping County, Jizhou, persuaded Brother Yizhen to raise the flag and rebel. Yan Zhong is also a friend of ours and now lives in Longxi. Brother Yizhen has been loyal to martyrs for generations, how can he rebel? But I don't know why this matter spread to the court. The Son of Heaven trusted Brother Yizhen very much at that time and did not care about such rumors. However, the traitors in the DPRK and the Chinese government and a group of bureaucrats of the clan were very vigilant, and they interfered with everything big and small, and a group of friends of Brother Yizhen also knocked on the side to remind him to be careful. Although this kind of thing is to catch the wind and catch shadows, but in the future, if someone accidentally catches the handle, it will be the disaster of extermination, so Brother Yizhen immediately took advantage of the opportunity to go to Xiliang to quell the rebellion, and used the excuse to delay military discipline and make enemies with the Son of Heaven, so he was quickly dismissed and went home. After he went home to relax and did not ask about political affairs, all kinds of rumors and hostilities immediately disappeared. His potential danger to the court and to others disappeared due to the loss of his power, so he and his family clan and protégés were soon safe. ”

Li Hong understood as soon as he heard it. Last year in Youzhou, Liu Yu, the assassin of the history, and Liu Fan, the Taishou of Shanggu County, in order to avoid trouble, one called illness and the other said goodbye, and they both resigned from their posts. I didn't expect the world-famous Huangfu Song to be like this.

"But now look at you, look at your corruption in Xiliang, and you know that the worries of the ministers of the DPRK and China are completely correct, and people like you really can't exist."

"The Son of Heaven decreed, you relied on heavy troops, and immediately began to eradicate the corruption that had been deposited in Xiliang for decades. You don't have a family clan, you don't have a protégé, and you don't have the power to rely on, what you have is military merit, loyalty, and blood, and as a result, Xiliang's criticism was struck by your thunder and fell apart, and then broke the balance of power above the court, forcing the various factions above the court to join forces to counterattack and attack you. ”

What does this mean? It shows that today's Son of Heaven and a powerful minister on the border have joined forces to develop into a huge new force, which is used in the hands of the Son of Heaven, he can seize the imperial power and wantonly deprive the traitors, relatives and gate lords of the power of the eunuchs, relatives and gate lords in the court; If this power is used by you, you can dominate one side and even directly threaten the safety of the Han Dynasty. ”

General Huangfu carefully avoided this situation; And you? But you put it on display to the fullest, and you use its power to the fullest, and the world knows it. ”

"If you don't die, they will die in the future."

Li Hong smiled bitterly: "How is it possible? I'm here to save myself, to save the subordinates who follow me, where do I think of these questions? Who knew things would turn out like this? ”

Bian Zhang sighed: "Before the matter is over, who knows which direction the matter will fly in the future?" Everyone who is not going to take one step at a time. Then he shook the silk juan in his hand and said, "Nanrong asked me to save you?" How did he know I was like this? I don't know what the next step is, just as I don't know that Wen Date has gone back on his word and refused to be appeased by the imperial court. What I can do is to accompany you to Jincheng. If you die, I won't live. For me, it was a relief to fulfill my promise to my friends. ”

Li Hong lowered his head and asked tentatively: "What Mr. means is that this matter is all designed in advance, including Mr. Han's refusal to appease me, all in order to kill me." ”

Bian Zhang nodded and said very sadly: "Their design is flawless, and the only loophole is Nanrong." Nan Rong doesn't care about your life or death, but about the evidence in my hand. I reckon that the Gatelord clan has compromised with the eunuchs. They need this evidence, and they want to blackmail the eunuchs in order to get more benefits in the court. ”

Li Hong couldn't sit still, he stood up and asked angrily, "Won't Master Fu help me either?" Show me his letters. ”

Bian Zhang looked at him sympathetically and said, "Look at it. The letter simply says that I want me to believe you and send the evidence to him in his way. It is clear that the letter was not written by him, although the handwriting is his, but the content of the letter was not written by him, he was forced. ”

Li Hong hurriedly glanced at Fu Xie's letter to Bian Zhang, and asked suspiciously, "How does Mr. know?" ”

"When he wrote to me, he always called me Lao Bian, and never called me a word, let alone a brother. Our two families are distant relatives, and he is still my son and nephew, so how can he call me brother? The person who wrote this letter certainly did not know that we were still relatives. ”

Li Hong laughed and said with relief: "It's okay, it's okay." If Master Fu harms me too, I'm really going to die of sadness. ”

Bian Zhang looked at him in surprise and asked, "My lord is still laughing at this time?" Although Nanrong doesn't want you to die, it's a fact that he wants that batch of evidence. He is a small official, and it is normal for him to be involuntarily. ”

Li Hong stared at Bian Zhang and said with admiration: "Sir, just because of such a small mistake that Master Fu calls you a brother, you are simply a god, no wonder you are so famous in Xiliang." Served, served. ”

Bian Zhang did not speak, and shook his hand modestly.

"Sir, can you guess how and where they killed me?" Li Hong asked

Bian Zhang smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said, "Take one step at a time, I have to talk to Wen Yue first." I want to know, who persuaded Wen Yue to come with you? What benefits did that person promise to give to Wenyo? Doing so would be too damaging to Wenyue's reputation. ”

"I'll try to convince him to agree to the court's appeasement, and besides, I'll find a way to save your life. As long as you walk into the Zixiu Mountain camp alive, all kinds of evidence that I have worked hard for decades and exchanged for hundreds of lives will have a role, and those who have lost their conscience and brought disaster to the country and the people will be punished. ”

Bian Zhang suddenly clenched his fists with all his strength, gritted his teeth and said: "You swear, even if I die, I will see them punished, you swear......"

Li Hong was shocked when he saw Bian Zhang's extremely angry and terrifying expression, and said loudly: "I swear, I will sacrifice your dead with their heads, I swear......"

＝＝＝

Han Sui held the transverse flute in his hand and slowly walked to Bian Zhang's bed.

"Old ......"

Bian Zhang smiled lightly and asked, "What happened outside just now?" Why is it so noisy? Who's blowing the trumpet? ”

Han Sui smiled: "Someone killed the leopard." ”