August of the third year of the first peace of the Great Han Kingdom (186 AD).

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After Li Hong received the holy decree of the Son of Heaven, he immediately set off. His speed was a bit of a surprise. Song Dian and Zhen Ju, the chief servant, were still discussing whether to contact Liangzhou Assassin Shi Geng and give Li Hong a grand ten-mile trip to make a strong walk, but unexpectedly, Li Hong had already left.

Li Hong didn't wait for Xu Rong and Nie Xiao to rush back, and took the Black Panther Yicong and the Shooting Tiger, Lu Huanyang's four thousand Fengyun Iron Horsemen overnight, and quickly entered Jincheng County westward.

Two days later, Li Hong led his troops to a halt at Warrior City, the westernmost part of Hanyang County. At this time, Xu Rong and Nie Xiao, as well as the rebel leaders Yang Qiu and Li Kan, had already rushed to Yuzhong City to wait. Hearing that Li Hong had arrived, they immediately led people across the Kwai Yuan Gorge to meet them. The two armies were united in one place, and then rushed to Jincheng on the bank of the Yellow River.

Li Hong ordered the black panther followers of the arc ding, the iron cavalry of the shooting tiger and Lu Huanyang, all of them to stay in Jincheng, and he only took Zhao Yun and three hundred horsemen to cross the river west with Yang Qiu.

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After Li Hong left the barracks, all important military and political affairs were under the command of Zhaowu Commander Xian Yufu, and the Western Governor Liyi and the marching army Sima Zuoyan were supplemented. After Li Hong left, the first thing Xian Yufu did was to order the camp to be closed, and no soldier was allowed to leave the Zixiu Mountain camp, and those who violated the order were beheaded. Song Dian and Zhen Ju are not within the scope of this order because of their special status.

The Son of Heaven didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, and he didn't mention who was responsible for Xiliang's corruption after Li Hong left.

If, according to the usual practice, Li Hong leaves temporarily, and the Son of Heaven does not reassign others, this matter should be handled by Xian Yufu, who temporarily represents Li Hong's authority. But Xian Yufu was only a captain, and obviously had no right to interrogate these two thousand stone masters.

Although Taiwei Zhang Wen can take over justifiably, he doesn't want to put himself in the most conspicuous position. He doesn't want to offend anyone now, he is anxious to end the rebellion in Xiliang and return to Luoyang as soon as possible. He had already carried Li Hong away with unpredictable risks, and he didn't want to interfere directly in the rest of the matter, so as not to settle down in the future, so he only sent Sang Yang to Zixiu Mountain and saw the opportunity.

Song Dian and Zhen Ju have their own thoughts, both of them want to be in charge of Xiliang's anti-corruption, solve the crisis of their own forces, and take the opportunity to attack each other. Because Zhen Ju commanded the Northern Army, he ordered the Northern Army stationed in the Huaili camp to rush to Zixiu Mountain immediately as a backing for himself to preside over the Xiliang Crackdown on corruption.

Song Dian was in a hurry, and hurriedly sent someone back to Beijing to ask Zhao Zhong for help. Because Zhang Rang and Xia Yun, the regular attendants, were found to have problems by Li Hong, and the Son of Heaven punished them for thinking about them behind closed doors at home, the situation of the traitorous eunuch party was very bad. Zhao Zhong in Beijing received a letter from Song Dian and had no choice but to ask Dong Zhuo for help.

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Xiaohuaili camp.

Late at night, Dong Zhuo's Chinese army tent was still brightly lit, and the sound of silk and bamboo singing and dancing was endless. Dong Zhuo is a person who is very good at enjoying life, he easily does not let go of any opportunity to eat, drink and have fun, as long as he has time and money.

Dong Zhuo read the secret letter sent by Zhao Zhong, thought for a while, and then pushed away the petite woman in his arms, got up and stood up. This kind of thing, he must discuss with Li Ru. Li Ru has a withdrawn temperament, and he never participates in such occasions.

Li Ru lived in the side tent of the Chinese army's big tent. When Dong Zhuo walked in, he was alone holding a chessboard and studying the chess game.

"Hou Ye sent a letter, asking us to help Song Hou Ye." Dong Zhuo threw Zhao Zhong's secret letter onto Li Ru's chessboard and said, "I want to hear your opinion. At this time, we suddenly made a move, is there any need for this. ”

Li Ru glanced at the letter written in Sijuan with disdain, and casually dusted it to the ground.

"What good did that eunuch promise to give to the general?"

"One thing, nothing more than money fields." Dong Zhuo said, "Now, Zhang Rang and Xia Yun have been punished by the Son of Heaven, and the power of the traitors has been dealt a great blow. Although their lives were safe, it was difficult for them to gain the trust of the Son of Heaven after this incident. Once they fall behind, the general's relatives and clan bureaucratic forces will take advantage of the situation. At this time, should we avoid suspicion a little, so as not to be involved in the future? ”

Li Ru shook his head and said, "The general is wrong. Don't be fooled by what is in front of you, the power of the eunuchs is very large, and this little thing can't move their foundation, it's just a loss of money. That bit of money was originally their illegal gains, and for them, it doesn't matter whether they lose or not, and there are more opportunities to get it back in the future. ”

"The biggest advantage of the traitorous eunuchs is that they control the inner palace, which no force can do, so it is difficult for them to be defeated, even the forces of foreign relatives are not as strong as them. Whenever the bureaucrats of the world compete for power and profit with the traitors, they will eventually fall into the upper hand and suffer losses repeatedly, and the reason for this is also the case. ”

Li Ru seemed to touch his sadness, the scar on his cheek twitched nervously a few times, he paused for a while, and sighed: "Eunuch things, we still have to do what we should do, we can't suffer losses." ”

Dong Zhuo took a few steps back and forth with his hands behind his back, and said, "Then how can we help each other in the safest way?" I have to get credit, I can't do it in vain. Last time I was in Huaili, I did it for nothing. We have lost a lot, but we have gained nothing. ”

Li Ru slowly put down the chess pieces in his hand and said, "Last time, we were entrusted by the two Hou Masters and the two gate lords to attack and kill Li Hong, and we were going to solve Li Hong and Zhang Wen at the same time, but we failed. Actually, that opportunity was the best, but it's a pity. ”

"It's a pity." Dong Zhuo also said regretfully, "If we kill Li Hong, we will help the two gate valves solve the more and more serious troubles, and also help Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong's gang of eunuchs get through the difficulties." At the same time, Zhang Wen was implicated and would definitely be dismissed and returned to Beijing, so that I would have the opportunity to take his place and be in charge of the Xiliang counterinsurgency. In this way, my credit is great, alas......" he shook his head again and again, looking very annoyed, "but it is a pity. ”

Li Ru twisted his beard and sighed: "We misestimated Li Hong's strength, so that the assassination of Huaili City failed. After Li Hong was stabbed, he acted extremely cautiously. The last time he returned to the Xiushan camp, he actually mobilized two thousand black panther Yi to pick him up, which shows his precautions against assassination. Now, there is no movement on the Jincheng side, but Marquis Zhao asked us to help Marquis Song, and things are more difficult to do. If we still can't get it this time in Jincheng and let Li Hong run back unharmed, we will be in trouble. He saw that we released the prisoners and burned the evidence, how can we deal with the aftermath? If he is not good for the general, we ......"

The corners of Dong Zhuo's mouth moved slightly, and he said disdainfully: "Forgive him for not daring to touch me." Does Sir think we don't have a chance to kill him? ”

"There's a chance." Li Ru pondered for a long time, and said slowly, "Li Hong is a leopard, he has suffered a loss, and it will be difficult to make him suffer a second loss, but there is still a chance." He reached out and picked up a piece on the chessboard, put it in front of his eyes, and looked at it carefully, as if to see the flower from the piece.

"Changsheng, are you too careful?" Dong Zhuo sneered, "Is it so difficult to kill someone?" ”

Li Ru glanced at him and said, "General, it's better to be careful."

Dong Zhuosen smiled coldly: "Since you are not worried about the affairs of Jincheng, I will recruit a few more horse bandits to ambush in Kwaiyuan Gorge, what do you think?" ”

"Okay." Li Ru said, "Okay." Last time we failed to assassinate, although Marquis Zhang, Marquis Zhao and the head of the two major gates did not blame, the disappointment in the general was obvious, so this time, we can't miss again. Li Hong's immortality not only poses a threat to all forces in the DPRK and China, but also poses a great threat to the general. ”

Li Ru looked at Dong Zhuo and said cautiously: "For the sake of safety, general, you'd better let your younger brother Dong Min (read min) take a few of your henchmen to Luoyang to avoid it." ”

"Immortality, it doesn't seem necessary." Dong Zhuo said disapprerovingly, "I promise that Li Hong will die this time." ”

Li Ru shook his head and said, "The general is too confident. The last time I remember, the general said the same thing to me, and the result? ”

Dong Zhuo snorted angrily and did not speak.

"Li Hong must have some purpose when he came to Jincheng. Li Hong knew very well what the consequences of his arrival in Jincheng would be, and when he arrived in Jincheng, even if Lao Bian did not kill him, the various factions in the court would not let him go. Kill him in Jincheng, but the good ones can't be better opportunities, and the responsibility is all the rebels. In addition, in order to achieve the goal of letting Li Hong go west to Jincheng to appease the rebels, the traitors and bureaucrats did not hesitate to join forces to make a statement to His Majesty, and Li Hong also knew about this. In this case, he even took the initiative to write to His Majesty to ask to go to Jincheng, if he has no purpose, who will believe it? Do you believe it? Li Ru said very suspiciously, "What is he going to do?" ”

Dong Zhuo sneered: "No matter what he does, he will die this time." Sir, it seems that there is no need to bother with such a dead man, right? He looked at Li Ru and continued, "If we decide to help Marquis Song, then we will offend Lord Taiwei and the ...... of the Gate Lord's family."

"The general has offended Lord Taiwei." Li Ru unceremoniously interrupted Dong Zhuo's words, "You roared in the court of Huaili Mansion that day, and you had already offended Lord Taiwei. ”

Dong Zhuo waved his hand indifferently and said, "That day, I thought that Li Hong would definitely die, and Lord Taiwei was about to be unlucky, so I was a little rude." The next day, I sent a lot of things to the captain and apologized to him, and the captain was no longer angry. You just came back from Chang'an, I forgot to tell you. ”

"Oh." Li Ru nodded appreciatively and teased, "I heard that on that day in the Taiwei Mansion, Sun Wentai, a military officer under Zhang Wen, was very arrogant and even pointed a knife at you. There are more and more people in this world who are not afraid of death, and a young man dares to hold a knife at you, it seems that the general is old and no longer has the courage of the past. ”

Dong Zhuo's face suddenly showed murderous aura, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he said viciously: "These young people are very arrogant. This Sun Wentai is so rude to me, if one day it is planted in my hands, he will be worse than dead. ”

Li Ru ignored him and began to clean up the chess pieces on the chessboard.

"It is indeed a bit difficult to make all the forces in the DPRK and China satisfied, but also to make them unable to grasp our handle." Li Ru said: "But there is still a way. Let's go to Longxian first. ”

"Which side are we on?"

"We support Geng." Li Ru said quietly, "The matter of Xiliang is, of course, solved by the people of Xiliang. ”

Dong Zhuo suddenly realized, stroked Li Ru's shoulder, and praised: "Mr. is smart." In this way, I will not be offended by anyone, and the anti-corruption matter has nothing to do with me, I just need to take the troops to Longxian County to station at the invitation of Geng Contempt. Mr. Clever Sir. ”

"Li Hong, an idiot, doesn't understand the affairs of the court at all, and he killed all the forces in Xiliang indiscriminately, offending all the forces of all parties. He made such a fuss in Xiliang, which gave the general a chance to form a good alliance with all parties. Now the people from the Yang Mansion and the Yuan Mansion in Beijing have taken the initiative to come to the door, which is a clear proof of this. Among the gate valve clans of my Han Dynasty, the Yang family and the Yuan family are the largest and the most powerful. The general took advantage of this opportunity to establish a good relationship with them and get their support, which was of great help to the general's future career. Li Ru said, "With time, the general will have the opportunity to be recommended by all forces in the DPRK and China, and it will not be a problem to be ranked among the three dukes." ”

Dong Zhuo told Li Ru about the central matter, and smiled.

"It's just that I don't want to kill that leopard."

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After Li Hong arrived in Yunwu City, he was directly sent to the government by Yang Qiu and Li Kan. The government was heavily guarded and heavily protected, and even the rooftops were guarded by soldiers.

Han Sui was surprised to see that the world-famous leopard was a young and ordinary soldier. Li Hong was accustomed to the gaze of others looking at him, so he was calm and calm, and took the initiative to greet Han Sui. Han Sui hurriedly invited him in. After a little greeting between the two sides, Li Hong immediately cut to the chase.

"It is really a blessing for me that the two gentlemen can take the people of Xiliang and the people of the world as their thoughts, take the initiative to give up resistance, and return to the imperial court." Li Hong said with a smile, "Before leaving, Your Majesty has already said that as long as you are loyal to the Han and Your Majesty, you will agree to all the conditions that you can agree." ”

Han Sui was overjoyed. A group of subordinates standing behind him suddenly smiled.

They had always worried that if they couldn't get along with the court, things would be more troublesome. Although it was reported that the army of the Western Expedition was short of money and food, it was difficult to sustain itself, but as long as the autumn came, the treasury had income and grain and grass were abundant, and the officers and soldiers would immediately cross the Yellow River and enter Jincheng County. With their current strength, there is really no other way than to escape into the Great Snow Mountain to avoid disaster. Everyone rose up just to live a better life, who wants to live a life of wandering and fleeing all day long? Now Li Hong, with the support of the Son of Heaven, has launched a bloody purge of corrupt officials and corrupt officials in Xiliang, which makes everyone see the hope of living a good life. Li Hong's first sentence calmed down their uneasy hearts.

"As soon as the talks are done, I will play Your Majesty. If nothing else, the decree of amnesty will soon come down, and you and the captives in the Zixiu Mountain camp can return to their hometowns and live a peaceful life again. ”

The generals behind Han Sui were even happier, and everyone whispered excitedly.

Han Sui stabilized his emotions and said with a smile: "I am grateful to Your Majesty for your holy grace, and thank you Lord for bringing us such good news." After he said a lot of words of gratitude, he immediately stood up and said, "My lord is tired all the way, so it's better to rest early." ”

Li Hong stood up and replied with a salute and asked, "I heard from your subordinates on the way that Mr. Bian is ill, and I want to visit him now, is it okay?" ”

Han Sui groaned slightly, and politely refused: "The adult has traveled a long distance and is very hard, I think it is better to rest early." My lord will stay in Jincheng for a while, so I don't think there is any need to rush at this time. ”

Li Hong smiled: "It's okay." I have one request, though. ”

"Your Excellency, please speak."

"Zilie has been discussing with you on my behalf for a while in the early stage, and I think you should also have some specific requirements. We'll start talking tonight. ”

Han Sui was stunned. Yang Qiu and the others also looked at Li Hong in confusion, not knowing why he was in such a hurry.

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Han Sui and a group of generals happily walked out of the mansion and were about to get on their horses and leave, when they suddenly heard a loud noise from the southeast of the mansion, and then heard the sound of killing rushing to the sky.

Han Sui was shocked, turned around and rushed to the palace. Yang Qiu and the others roared all the way, beckoning the guards along the way to support in the direction of the sound. Li Hong and his attendants lived in the cross-courtyard to the southeast.

Han Sui was so anxious that he couldn't wait to fly with his wings. This is a big shame. If you can't fight a war, you can't even guarantee the safety of people who come to live for a few days, so what qualifications do you have to negotiate with others.

Li Hong slowly walked out of the door, looked at the collapsed courtyard wall outside, looked at the attendants guarding the courtyard in formation, looked at the crowd fighting hard around the collapsed courtyard wall, and said to Xu Rong beside him with a smile: "Zilie, guess what, who wants to kill me so much, even the wall collapsed, isn't it too shameful to give Mr. Wenyue face." ”

Xu Rong sighed and said, "It's the Qiang people, it's their own soldiers. ”

Li Hong suddenly couldn't laugh. In the battle of Linghe, tens of thousands of Qiang people died on the battlefield, how could it be said that there was no hatred.

Zhao Yun held a spear in his hand, followed behind Li Hong, and said angrily: "This is also a bit too much. ”

The guards guarding the palace swarmed and soon surrounded the group of Qianghu soldiers who had committed the assassination.

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Han Sui's handsome face was flushed with anger, he was furious, and pointed at Cheng Yi and scolded loudly: "How did you do it, you can't even look down on a small mansion, what's the use, my face has been lost to you." ”

Cheng Yi knelt on the ground, not daring to make a sound.

"What's going on?"

"General Hui, the soldiers guarding the palace and the soldiers defending the city colluded with each other, intending to assassinate Lord Li and avenge the dead soldiers." Cheng Yi raised his head and said in frustration, "I didn't find out about this matter early, please punish the general." ”

"We have been strictly blocking the news that Lord Li has come to Yungo, and only us are the ones who know that Lord Li has arrived in Yungo, how come they all know?" Yang Qiu glanced at Han Sui and whispered, "General, it seems that someone must want to kill Lord Li in Jincheng, this mansion doesn't seem to be safe." ”

Han Sui looked at Cheng Yi and asked, "Have you asked them, where did this news come from?" ”

"General Hui, Lord Li's arrival in Yunwu City today, the soldiers and people of the entire Yunwu City know about it, and they also know that Lord Li lives in the mansion." Cheng Yi said with a panicked expression, "It seems that we don't know about the whole city." ”

Han Sui was shocked.

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Han Sui invited Li Hong to live in his house, but Li Hong refused.

Han Sui's family is a member of the scholar family in Yunwu City, a wealthy mansion, and it is very magnificent. That night, Han Sui and Li Hong were here to discuss the specific details of the appeasement.

Li Hong had difficulty accepting many of the demands made by Bian Zhang and Han Sui.

Han Sui asked himself to be the taishou of Jincheng County and Bian Zhang to be the taishou of Longxi County, and their official positions were hereditary by their children, and the imperial court had no right to appoint two separate county taishou. Han Sui also asked to keep his troops as the county soldiers and border troops of the two counties. The western and southern commanders of the border armies of the two counties were appointed directly by the Taishou. The two counties have the right to establish cities and set taxes independently, and have the right to independently recruit Qianghu to enter the country to live. Taxes are exempt for three years in both counties. They also asked for disaster relief assistance from the imperial court and some other related privileges.

Li Hong felt that Han Sui was a bit joking. Except for the exemption from taxes for three years and the allocation of disaster relief aid, Han Sui's demands are simply nonsense. What is the difference between this and the hegemony of the king and the rebellion?

He sat on the seat, looked at Han Sui's handsome face, admired his elegant conversation, completely ignored the narrative that Han Sui was telling, he kept thinking, what kind of thoughts were contained in Han Sui's deep and slightly melancholy eyes?

"My lord, what is your opinion?" Xu Rong asked sideways.

Li Hong woke up from his reverie, he calmed down his emotions, looked at the bamboo slips on the desk, looked up at Han Sui again, and then asked with a smile: "Sir, this is what you and Mr. Bian jointly formulated?" ”

Han Sui smiled and nodded.

Li Hong hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Sir, is there any room for concessions?" ”

Han Sui smiled and shook his head.

Li Hong smiled helplessly, and said: "Loyal to the Han Dynasty, loyal to Your Majesty, this is Your Majesty's bottom line, to put it bluntly, I hope that your requirements will not violate the laws of the Han Dynasty, but ......" He slowly glanced at the people in the room, and then said, "What you mentioned, except for the exemption of taxes for three years in the two counties and the annual withdrawal of funds and assistance, none of them violate the laws of the Han Dynasty, so ......"

Li Hong stood up. The rest of the room stared at him in amazement.

"We have nothing to talk about." Li Hong smiled, "Thank you for your hospitality, if you don't have any new suggestions, I will go back tomorrow." ”

Han Sui's face was expressionless, obviously a little caught off guard. He probably didn't expect that Li Hong would flatly refuse their request and not talk to him at all. Several of Han Sui's subordinates looked stunned and sat on the table blankly. Yang Qiu looked at Han Sui, who was speechless, and looked at him again and again, hoping that he would say something.

Xu Rong looked at Li Hong suspiciously, not knowing why he suddenly stopped talking. Since there is no sincerity to appease at all, what are you doing in Jincheng?

Li Hong arched his hand at Han Sui and the others, and said with a smile: "Before leaving, I have a small request, I hope to visit Mr. Bian." I came all the way to Jincheng, and I couldn't go back without even seeing Mr. Bian's face, it would be rude. ”

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