Cai Yong, who is famous all over the world, has returned to Beijing.

In the past, a group of old friends who were in Dongguan (the National Library of the Great Han Kingdom) to review the Five Classics and the Hundred Classics of Zhuzi and compile the "Later Han Ji" greeted them hundreds of miles away. Shangshu Lu Zhi, Shizhong Han Shuo, Taile Ling Zhang Xun, Taixue Sacrifice Wine Ma Riyan (read di) and Cai Yong, who had pale beard, hugged tightly.

"Ten years, a whole decade." Cai Yong muttered excitedly, tears raining down, "I'm finally back again." ”

In the autumn of the first year of Guanghe (178 AD), the Son of Heaven asked for advice in the Chongde Department of Nangong Jinshangmen, and Cai Yong, who was the speaker at the time, bluntly admonished, and directly scolded the Son of Heaven's nurse Zhao Rao and Yonglemen Shi Huoyu in the recital chapter for being treacherous, accusing the lieutenant Zhang Hao, Guanglu Xun Weizhang, Changshui Captain Zhao Xuan, and Tunqi Captain Gai Sheng recommended by the lieutenant to be greedy for fame and property. This performance was seen by the then Da Changqiu Cao Festival, and he added oil and vinegar to the four words, which immediately caused an uproar.

The Cheng adult that Cai Yong said is Cheng Huang, the Zhongchang servant, and Cheng Huang's son-in-law is the famous cool official Yang Qiu of the Han Kingdom, that is, the Yang Qiu who later beat the Zhongguan Huangmen Ling Wang Fu and his son to death. Yang Qiu belongs to the cool officials who are severely punished and have nothing to do with corruption, he is an honest official, not afraid of power, and has political achievements and talents, but he has a strict temperament, and he will be repaid. Yangqiu was Shang Shuling, and he had a holiday with Cai Yong's uncle Cai Qian, but Cai Yong's opponent Liu He and Yangqiu were good friends. Several people acted in embarrassment, framed Cai Yong's uncle and nephew, and put the two in prison, and then they were sentenced to abandon the city. Fortunately, Lu Qiang, a regular servant, and a group of ministers advised them to die, and the Son of Heaven spared them the capital crime and exiled Shuo Fang. Yang Qiu still didn't let them go, and sent people to chase them all the way, but the assassin admired Cai Yong and ran away halfway. When he arrived in Shuofang, Cai Yong put the time as Shuofang's Taishou Wang Zhi, and it was Huangmen who offended Wang Fu's younger brother. In the second year, although the Son of Heaven pardoned Cai Yong and asked him to return to Beijing after the persuasion of Lu Zhi and other ministers, Cai Yong was worried that he would be framed by the enemy after returning to Beijing, and he did not accept the holy decree, so he fled to the area of Wu County.

This time, Zhu Jun's son Zhu Mu was ordered to find Cai Yong. After Cai Yong received the holy decree of the Son of Heaven, he knew that he couldn't come back, so he reluctantly took his twelve-year-old daughter Cai Yan back to Luoyang, where he had been absent for ten years.

Old friends haven't seen each other for ten years, complaining to each other, and they all feel that time flies, and in a snap of their fingers, they are already things and people.

The old friend Yang Ci has passed away, and the enemies Cheng Huang, Yang Qiu, and Wang Fu have also returned to the underworld, but this world is even more unbearable than back then.

"Bo Jiao (read jie), now the situation in Beijing is extremely dangerous, and an earth-shattering disaster is coming." Lu Zhi sighed, "You are already fifty-five, and your life has been bumpy, so it's better to go home early and live a stable life." ”

Cai Yong smiled bitterly and said gratefully, "Zigan, I know, I don't want to come back at all." I came to Beijing this time, firstly, I want to meet all my old friends, I am old, my time is short, I want to see you while I am not dead, and secondly, I want to meet Your Majesty, I haven't seen him for ten years, and I miss him a little......"

"Uncle, I have to warn you, you must not make the same old mistake again." Ma Riyan waved his hand to interrupt his words and said solemnly, "Your Majesty wants to see you, but you must keep your mouth shut anyway and don't cause trouble again." ”

Cai Yong pursed his lips and wanted to say something, but he didn't say it after all. The love of his old friend made him really difficult to speak. The reason why he came back was that he wanted to persuade His Majesty again in his lifetime to do his best for the precarious Han Kingdom. He hopes that His Majesty can eradicate traitors and use meritocracy to revive the Han Dynasty.

Lu Zhi obviously saw Cai Yong's thoughts, he sighed and slowly persuaded: "Bo Jiao, do you know the situation in Kyoto today? ”

Cai Yong arched his hand and said: "Zigan, I would like to hear the details." ”

"You're in Jiangdong, have you heard of the leopard Li Hong?"

"I heard that he is a bloody and cruel general, very favored by His Majesty, and now he is a major general." Cai Yong nodded and said, "The people of Jiangdong said that His Majesty deliberately cultivated him for the sake of the elbow general and for the emperor's unity. Zigan, why did you suddenly mention him? ”

Lu Zhi pondered for a long time and said: "The reason why the situation in Beijing and Central China today is complicated, the undercurrents are surging, and the crises are everywhere, which has a lot to do with him. Whether the Han Kingdom will die or not is already in his thoughts. ”

Cai Yong changed color in shock, and asked in a lost voice: "Is it so serious?" ”

Ma Riyan, Han Shuo, and Zhang Xun also looked at Lu Zhi in horror, their eyes full of questions.

"Today's Li Hong has a heavy army, in charge of the military affairs of the three states and two counties north of the Yellow River, and his power is not insignificant, but what he brings us is not only the expansion of his own power, but his threat to the society of the Han Kingdom."

He appeased the Yellow Turbans in Bingzhou, appeased the displaced people to reclaim the land and Tuntian, and then used the Tuntian in Bingzhou as a bargaining chip to force the imperial court to reopen the salt and iron, and his wanton trampling on the laws of the Han Dynasty and violating the ancestral system were jaw-dropping. Think about it, if an important minister of the imperial court does whatever he wants to this extent, what is the impact on the country, the imperial court, and the subjects of the Han Dynasty? If in the future, the officials who defend the frontier will follow suit, and the ministers will be heavy and the monarch will be light, then how will the imperial power exist? Where does the heavenly power of the Han remain? ”

"The ridiculous thing is that the Son of Heaven and the ministers ignored the state and society for their own selfishness, and allowed Li Hong to do anything wrong, and even some ministers added fuel to the fire and tried their best to help Li Hong, lest the world be chaotic, which is sad."

"Needless to say, the Son of Heaven is mediocre and short-sighted, but it is really disappointing that the Three Dukes' Mansion and the Great General's Mansion are also so short-sighted. If the salt and iron proposal could not be passed, the imperial court would be able to firmly control the finances of the Zhenbei general's department, so that although Li Hong had near-term worries, he had no long-term concerns, but now everything is late, it is late. ”

"At present, although the Zhenbei General Department is clearly in charge of the military affairs of the three prefectures and two counties north of the Yellow River, it has actually monopolized the military and political power of the two prefectures and Hedong. Now Li Hong wants soldiers and soldiers, money and money, if he quells the Youzhou rebellion, stabilizes the northern border, and then succeeds in Tuntian, Bingzhou, who else in the world can restrain him? ”

"A five-year covenant?" Lu Zhi smiled miserably, "Five years later, can Your Majesty still restrain Li Hong?" ”

"Li Hong's disaster is better than the disaster of traitorous eunuchs, but the Han monarchs and ministers turned a blind eye, and one by one they indulged in the struggle for power and could not extricate themselves, and they will definitely suffer the consequences in the future."

"The disaster of Li Hong is the same as the disaster of the traitorous eunuch, it was caused by His Majesty for his own selfish interests, and they are supported by a strong imperial power behind them, and we are so weak that it is difficult to compare with it at all, I am afraid that it will ...... in the future."

Cai Yong, Ma Riyan and others were dumbfounded.

"Zigan, the treasury has no money, and His Majesty is clinging to his private treasury for nothing, in this case, the Zhenbei General's proposal to reopen the salt and iron is also a helpless move. If there is no money, the tuntian of the state will immediately fail, and the displaced people will riot immediately, then my Han country is not the same to ......" Ma Riyan hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice, "Zigan's words are inevitably biased. ”

"The rebellion can be quelled by Li Hong one by one. The rebellion was gone, and Li Hong's soldiers were basically finished, although the big country was devastated and dying at that time, the Great Han Kingdom was still there, as long as the Great Han Kingdom was still there, there would be a day of rejuvenation, but if we didn't even have the Great Han Kingdom...... Lu Zhi sighed, his face full of sadness.

"Zigan, things haven't come to that point yet, don't you be so discouraged?" Zhang Xun said. Zhang Xun is in his fifties, thin and thin, with a pair of wise eyes in his sunken eye sockets. He was born in a family, and this time he was also resolutely opposed to the imperial court's reopening of salt and iron.

"Things are already coming to this point." Lu Zhi shook his head and said, "The imperial court is now mired in the battle for imperial unity, and all the powerful parties in Beijing are sacrificing their lives for their own fate and future, who has the time to take care of Li Hong?" Your Majesty and the imperial court, as long as Li Hong can quell the rebellion and hold the northern frontier, Li Hong will agree to whatever he wants? When one day Li Hong is full-fledged, and all the powerful in Luoyang fight for the emperor's blood, what will Li Hong do? If he is a loyal minister, the Han Dynasty will prosper, and if he is a traitor, the Han Dynasty will die, but whether he is a loyal minister or a traitor, he is a generation of powerful ministers, is this a disaster or a blessing for the Han Kingdom? ”

"That's why I said that the rise and fall of the Great Han Kingdom will be in Li Hong's thoughts in the future."

Han Shuo, who is fat and loyal, said: "Zigan, Li Hong is just a martial artist, young and light, and uneducated, and he can't recognize a few big characters, can he have such a deep scheming?" Do you think too much of him? ”

Lu Zhi smiled bitterly and said, "Look at how the salt and iron discussion was passed this time, you should understand Li Hong's ability." In the case of the government and the opposition almost shouting in unison, the salt and iron proposal was magically passed, and the edict was issued to the whole country. But Li Hong did it, so can we still say that he is a rough martial artist? ”

Lu Zhi then shook his head again and again, and said in disbelief: "I really can't believe that Li Hong, who is already a general of the important town, is actually a barbaric martial artist in your eyes, is his military exploits slashed with one knife and one shot fake?" Could his invincible record also be fake? You look down on Li Hong so much, no wonder those ministers in the court, this is the sorrow of my Great Han Kingdom. ”

There was silence in the carriage.

"Zigan, how the salt and iron negotiation was passed, can you tell me?" Cai Yong suddenly said, "Perhaps, we can see from this whether Li Hong is an ambitious minister, and whether he will be a rebel minister and thief who will bring disaster to the country and the people in the future." ”

＝＝＝

Lu Zhi's brows were deeply locked, and the wrinkles on his forehead were tightly glued together.

"This proposal to reopen salt and iron arose because of Tuntian, Tuntian was raised because of the appeasement of the Yellow Turban, and the appeasement of the Yellow Turban was because of the situation in northern Xinjiang and had to do it."

"There are three major worries in today's northern Xinjiang, each of which is related to the survival of the Han Kingdom. The first is the rebellion of the Youzhou ant thief Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun. Zhang Ju Zhang Chun dared to build a country and claim the emperor under the circumstance of Xianbei and Karasuma outside, and he must have something to rely on, which is naturally the support of Xianbei and Karasuma people behind him, so the pacification of Zhang Ju Zhang Chun's rebellion is different from the previous peace thieves, it takes strength and time, once it is not handled well, the internal strife will become an external invasion, and Youzhou will fall into a long-term war. In today's situation, the Great Han Kingdom simply does not have the financial resources to bear the protracted war. If the Han army is weak, Youzhou will have only two endings, either the state and county will fall and the rebellion will continue, or the war will drag on the entire Han State after many years. ”

"The second is the Huns. The contradictions between the various departments of the Xiongnu royal court have been around for a long time, but they have been holding back under the double squeeze of the Xianbei people and the Han State, but now the Xianbei people have been hit hard, the power of the Han State is declining, and the threat of the Huns has been reduced a lot, so this contradiction has finally come to break out. The rebellion of the Tu tribes is only the beginning of the civil strife of the Huns, once the Xianbei people intervene, the Huns will be in chaos, and after the chaos, the victims are my Han Kingdom. ”

"The third is the Xianbei people. Although the Xianbei people were severely defeated in Western Xinjiang, their strength still existed, and they also occupied the four counties of Northern Xinjiang and the northern part of Yanmen and Shangjun. If we don't drive the Xianbei people out of the country, how can our Han Kingdom be revitalized? How can the subjects of my Great Han Kingdom face the ancestors and the ancestors? ”

"Let's look at the current situation in northern Xinjiang, as long as the Han army is dragged on the battlefield in Youzhou, the Huns take the opportunity to invade, and the war in my northern Xinjiang will immediately break out, even if we do our best to quell the ant thieves and the Xiongnu rebellion, but do we still have the strength to resist the Xianbei people's invasion again? What do Xianbei people want? It's just the northern border counties, and when we are powerless to resist, will the entire northern border counties be handed over? Can we still afford to regain lost territory? ”

"As early as the beginning of the year, I told Your Majesty and the ministers that the invasion of the Xianbei people and the rebellion in Youzhou are very likely to be the beginning of Murong Feng's plot to occupy my Northern Xinjiang Prefecture. Since the death of the Xianbei people, the one who can support the overall situation of Xianbei is Murong Feng. Murong Feng's ambition is known to the world. The western Xinjiang was defeated, and the iron cavalry of Helian and Danhan Mountain was completely annihilated, and the strength of the Danhan Mountain royal court was greatly weakened. Murong Feng deliberately created this situation in Northern Xinjiang, did he just want to be a Xianbei Lord in the central part of the country? And what about Tuoba Feng? Does he just want to occupy the four counties of Northern Xinjiang? ”

"As long as Murong Feng does not die and the Xianbei people do not die, there will be no peace in Northern Xinjiang. Whether it is the ant thief in Youzhou or the Xiongnu in Bingzhou, they are just pawns in Murong Feng's hands. However, if we take advantage of the fact that the Xianbei people have not yet recovered their vitality and sweep away the ant thieves and Huns in Youzhou with lightning speed, then we will seize the opportunity, we can completely defeat Murong Feng's conspiracy, and we can recover the four counties of Northern Xinjiang. ”

"I discussed this matter privately with Huangfu Song many times, and then we wrote our idea into a document and sent it to the Zhenbei General Department, hoping to attract their attention. Li Hong used to be Murong Feng's attendant, and he had experienced great wars in northern Xinjiang, so he was very familiar with Murong Feng and northern Xinjiang affairs, so he quickly replied, agreeing with our inference about the situation in northern Xinjiang, and said that he would do his best to quell the rebellion and recover the territory. ”

"You all know what happened later, in order to help Li Hong reorganize the army, Huangfu Song and I did our best to persuade His Majesty to agree to Li Hong's recruitment of the Yellow Turban Army, and also delayed the time for Li Hong to divide the troops many times, but we never expected that Li Hong would immediately begin to pacify the millions of displaced people after recruiting the Yellow Turban Army."

Lu Zhi let out a long sigh and continued: "Tuntian in the border county cannot but be said to be a good thing for the benefit of the country and the people, but the premise of Tuntian is that the country needs to have strong treasury reserves and continuous and stable tax revenue, and it also needs a very rich, strong and stable environment, but now? Under what circumstances did Emperor Wu of this dynasty implement the national policy of Tuntian? At that time, the conditions were so good, and it was only ten years later that Tuntian saw results. Although there are ready-made fields cultivated by predecessors in Bingzhou and Hedong, the treasury is empty and the war is not endless. ”

"Northern Xinjiang needs money to suppress the rebellion, the northern Xinjiang garrison needs money to garrison the border, and Northern Xinjiang Tuntian also needs money. At that time, the Han army was defeated and the Hu people invaded, Tuntian failed and the displaced people rioted, and the northern frontier of our Han Kingdom was lost, and the defeat was imminent. Li Hong obviously also considered this consequence, so he offered a proposal to reopen salt and iron, to discuss the idea of subsidizing agriculture, to support Tuntian with the benefits of reopening salt and iron, and to use state taxes to support the suppression of rebellion and garrison. But the question is, all the money he uses in Tuntian now is borrowed on credit from the giant businessman Fujia, can he pay off the profits of salt and iron for five years? Can Tuntian succeed in five years? Five years later, if Tuntian fails, will he continue to demand the reopening of salt and iron? So I said to Your Majesty, at this time, Tuntian is not for the benefit of the country and the people, but for the harm of the country and the people, and sooner or later my Han Kingdom will have to drag this heavy burden across. ”

"If Li Hong wants to recover the lost territory and stabilize the northern Xinjiang, he must accumulate strength to go north to quell the rebellion, and if he wants to go north to quell the rebellion, he needs a stable annexation of the state, to make Tuntian effective, to make the displaced people feel at ease, and to do this, there must be two conditions, one is a large amount of money, and the other is a stable court. Sima Li Wei of the Zhenbei General's Mansion came to Luoyang with these two missions. ”

＝＝＝

"When Li Wei came to Beijing, only the Taiwei Mansion agreed to the salt and iron proposal, and the Situ Sikong Mansion held opposing opinions."

"Lord Taiwei agreed to reopen the salt and iron for a reason that he had no choice but to make. He did not agree to this proposal, the failure of Tuntian, the rebellion of the displaced people, and the loss of northern Xinjiang, he would inevitably be dismissed, but if he agreed, he would also be dismissed for violating the ancestral system, but comparing the two, of course, the latter was the most beneficial to the precarious Han State. Although it was to drink doves to quench his thirst, it was also the hope of reviving the Great Han Kingdom, so he chose the latter without hesitation. Lord Taiwei only thought about quelling the rebellion, settling down the Great Han Kingdom, and keeping the displaced people fed and clothed, but he didn't want to think about what kind of harm Li Hong's powerful forces would bring to the crumbling Great Han Kingdom in the future. ”

"Because of the special relationship between Lord Sikong and the general, of course he must be consistent with the general and advance and retreat together, so Li Hong only needs to tell the general a word. As long as he promised that he would never lead his army south in the case of undecided northern Xinjiang, the general would repay Li Hong, and the content of the reward would naturally be to promise to reopen salt and iron. ”

"The rest is that Lord Situ doesn't agree. There is only one way to get Lord Situ to agree, and that is to make Lord Situ more powerful to resist the general's threat to them. How to make Situ Da more powerful? That's the position of a lieutenant. If the salt and iron proposal is passed, Lord Taiwei will be dismissed from office anyway to calm the crusade of all parties in Beijing. As soon as Lord Taiwei is gone and succeeded by Cao Song, then the power of Zhongguan and Xu Valve will immediately rise, and two of the three dukes will occupy two seats, which cannot but be said to be powerful, and their weight inside and outside the court is particularly important. ”

"Why did you choose Cao Song among the Zhongguan and Xu valve families? Cao Song is the son of the lieutenant Cao Teng, and there were too many celebrities who entered the court to become important ministers of the state because of Cao Teng's recommendation, and his appointment was first recognized by the bureaucrats of the scholar clan. Secondly, Cao Song is loyal, low-key, popular in Beijing, and has a very harmonious relationship with the royal clan, and his appointment will not be opposed by the Son of Heaven, so Cao Song is the best candidate to serve as a lieutenant. ”

"Then how to make the general give up the competition for the position of Tai Lieutenant and support Cao Song instead? I don't know what method Li Wei used, but I can be sure that it was Zhongguan who assassinated He Hao, and the reason why Zhongguan tore his face with the general at this time must have heard something from Li Wei. He Hao was assassinated, the general's strength was damaged, and he couldn't help but agree to Li Hong's request, at this time, his only choice was to take a step back temporarily, keep his light up, and rebuild his strength to deal with the traitorous eunuch. ”

"The next thing went very smoothly, the Three Princes' Mansion passed the proposal to reopen the salt and iron, and then Lord Taiwei was dismissed, and the Three Mansions jointly recommended Cao Song to succeed him as Taiwei, so far, Li Hong's two goals have been achieved."

"Due to Cao Song's appointment as the chief lieutenant, the power of Zhongguan and Xu Valve has risen sharply, and all parties in Beijing are evenly matched, and the tense situation in Luoyang has quickly stabilized."

"At present, whether it is to quell the rebellion, stabilize the northern Xinjiang, or the future battle for the emperor's unification, the Son of Heaven needs Li Hong, and the lieutenant officials and the Son of Heaven are close together, and only with the Son of Heaven can they have the power of the lieutenant officials, so they don't dare to make it too difficult for Li Hong, as for the general, for his own future and destiny, he can't do without Li Hong's help, and in the end, we are the ones who are left to oppose Li Hong."

"In this battle of salt and iron, we have the loudest opposition and the most resolute attitude, but we also suffered the greatest loss, among the three princes, there is no place for us, this is probably the first time in the history of this dynasty. Li Hong's purpose in doing this was too obvious, he just hoped that in the future, the matter of Tuntian and Yantie could be agreed by the Three Princes' Mansion without hindrance. ”

"This is the situation that Li Hong deliberately created for the success of Tuntian and the stability of Jingshi, so I say that he manipulated the situation in Jingzhong behind his back. Now, do you still say he's a martial artist? Isn't he a threat to the Great Han Kingdom? ”

＝＝＝

After listening to Lu Zhi's words, several people in the carriage felt heavy in their hearts, they were even less confident in the future of the Great Han Kingdom, and they were even more worried.

"All parties in Beijing are evenly matched, and if you take a trigger, you will be affected by the whole body, and once the battle for the imperial unification breaks out in the future, I am afraid that it will be a loss." Zhang Xun sighed, "If Li Hong has ill intentions, the future of my Great Han Kingdom is indeed worrying." ”

"Who is this Li Wei?" Cai Yong asked, "General Zhenbei has this person to help, like a tiger with wings." If this person cares about the Han Dynasty and is loyal to the country, it will be a good thing to stay by Li Hong's side. ”

Ma Riyan hurriedly introduced: "He is a scholar of Wu County, and he came to Taixue to study the year before last, and because of his outstanding talent, he was favored by Master Zhu Junzhu and accepted as a disciple. After this salt and iron dispute, he has become famous in Luoyang. In my opinion, he is not outstanding in learning, but a genius in the sky. The future of the Great Han Kingdom depends on their generation. ”

"Is he young?"

"Less than twenty, very young." Ma Riyan smiled, "At his age, I'm still studying at home." ”

"Oh?" Cai Yong said in surprise, "Master Zhu's disciple must be very good, when I arrive in the capital, I want to meet him." ”

＝＝＝

Cai Yong quietly entered Luoyang and lived in Ma Riyan's house.

In the evening, old friends from Beijing who heard the news came in droves, and everyone had not seen each other for ten years, and they were very happy to get together again.

After Zhu Mu settled Cai Yong, he immediately went home to meet his parents and visit his wife and children. When Zhu Jun and his wife heard that their son was back, they were overjoyed, and sat beside their son on the left and right and kept asking. Zhu Jun heard that Cai Yong was in Ma Riyan's mansion, so he hurriedly ran to visit.

Zhu Mu was about thirty years old, handsome and modest, much like his father. He hugged a pair of small children and asked his mother, "Is there a whereabouts of Xiao Lan?" ”

Mother Zhu Mu nodded happily. Zhu Jun didn't want to ask Li Wei, but his wife wanted to ask. Li Wei didn't dare to hide it from his future mother-in-law, so he confessed in 1510. Mrs. Zhu had already heard Sun Jian say that she knew that Xiao Lan had robbed this kid, although she was a little sad, but in comparison, of course she hoped that Xiao Lan would marry this tall and handsome Li Wei. This kid has been out for a year or two, and he is a big official with 2,000 stones, so he will have it in the future, and he must be a talent of the three princes. In the past, when Shi Zizhu saw Xiao Lan, he said that it was the wife of the third prince and Jiuqing, but now it seems that it is not bad at all. Mrs. Zhu was happy. Since Li Wei arrived in Beijing, she didn't come to the house for dinner for a day, so she sent someone to urge, so that Li Wei, who was busy and anxious, grinned happily.

"Where is my little sister now? At home? Zhu Mu asked eagerly.

Zhu Mu's wife saw her mother-in-law winking at her, and she understood and immediately coaxed the two children out to play. After listening to his mother's words, Zhu Mu asked in disbelief, "Xiao Lan is now the lord of the Zhenbei General's Mansion?" Mother, you can't be deceived by Li Wei, right? ”

"It's true, it's older than your official, Xiao Lan also wrote me a letter, how can it be fake? I heard that when General Zhenbei was not in the camp, he was all in charge of Xiaolan. ”

"What about faith?"

"Burn it for your father."

Zhu Mu laughed and said, "This Zhenbei general is really the first-class hero of my Great Han Kingdom, and it is strange to let a sixteen-year-old woman take charge of the Zhenbei General's Mansion." Mother, what are you going to do? Let Xiao Lan marry Li Wei? ”

Zhu Mu's mother smiled and nodded: "I discussed it with your father, and your father agreed, but because of ......"

"Embarrassed, huh?" Zhu Mu said with a smile, "Although my father listens to my mother in family affairs, this matter is really difficult to handle, unless Li Wei's subordinates are asked to find an opportunity to cut down that Xu Hemp, otherwise it will ......."

"What kind of bastard are you talking about?" Zhu Mu's mother scolded, "It's only been a few years since I was an official in Beijing, why did I get bloody?" Are you going to cut people when you get home? ”

Zhu Mu couldn't breathe with laughter, and while he was careful to apologize, he said, "Mother, Xiaolan is sixteen years old, and if she doesn't marry again, no one will want it." ”

"Your father doesn't care about this, and I don't have any good way, so I'll leave it to you, if you don't finish this matter, don't go back to Wu County."

Zhu Mu was dumbfounded.

At this moment, Li Wei's voice came from afar, "Brother Gongding, Brother Gongding......"

"Good boy, I was looking for you, and you came to the door." Zhu Mu muttered in his mouth, hurriedly saluted his mother, turned around and ran out.

"Nakabuchi ......"

When Li Wei saw Zhu Mu, he greeted him with a smile. In order to wait for Zhu Mu, he has been stranded in Luoyang for several days. A few days ago, he quietly greeted Zhu Jun, saying that the General's Mansion had leaked the matter of Li Wei and Li Hong and others snatching the bride on the street to Xu Valve, and the implication was to ask Zhu Jun to inform Li Wei and leave as soon as possible. Although Li Wei was a little worried, he didn't dare to go back, he only completed two of the three things that Li Hong confessed, and the remaining one thing was still related to his lifelong happiness, so he still stayed, and by the way, he recruited talents for the Zhenbei General's Mansion.

The two brothers hadn't seen each other for more than a year, and they were very happy, but before they could say a word, Zhu Mu lifted Li Wei, who was a cut above him. Zhu Mu has been practicing martial arts with his father since he was a child, and his martial arts are still good. Li Wei laughed and said, "Brother, why is it at this time? Do you want to kill for money? ”

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Zhu Mu pretended to be dissatisfied and scolded, "Mother said that if I don't solve your matter, she won't let me leave Beijing and go to Wu County, so I'll settle you first." ”

Li Wei smiled and whispered: "Brother, what does it mean to be an official in Wu County, look at today's merger, that is a good place to be loyal to the country." Would you like me to introduce you? ”

Zhu Mu immediately understood Li Wei's thoughts. He put down Li Wei, put his arm around Li Wei's shoulders and smiled: "Who came up with this idea?" You kid has so many ideas, no wonder you're about to become famous all over the world. ”

"Brother, this is not my idea, this is what Brother Wentai told me when he left." Li Wei said with a smile, "Brother, it's too far away from home to Wu County, let's go to Bingzhou, it's more than a thousand miles less, and besides, the brothers are all there, Brother Qiansi is also there, everyone is together, and everything is good to take care of." ”

Zhu Mu thought for a moment and said, "Zhong Yuan, if this matter spreads, it will ...... my father's face."

"Brother Gongding, do you think Xu Valve has a long time?"

Zhu Mu was startled, looked around, pulled Li Wei and said, "Let's go, go back to the house and talk." ”

＝＝＝

When the Son of Heaven heard that his teacher Cai Yong had returned, he was overjoyed and immediately ordered Cai Yong to enter the palace. The Son of Heaven stood outside the door of the imperial study, and hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, without waiting for Cai Yong to finish his salute. The two of them exchanged pleasantries and walked into the house happily.

The Son of Heaven saw Cai Yong's thin body and gray sideburns, and he felt very guilty. Ten years ago, he was deceived by Yang Qiu and Liu He and others, and almost killed Mr. Later, although he pardoned Mr., Mr. was already disheartened and never came back. I thought I would never see Mr. again, but fortunately, Mr. came back when he needed him the most.

The Son of Heaven recruited Cai Yong to return to the dynasty, or to pave the way for Xiao Donghou to inherit the imperial line. Now, he has Li Hong, the general of the important town, and Zhongguan and the clan inside, and the poor is the support of the bureaucrats of the scholar clan. He wanted to move Cai Yong with his teacher-student affection and pull Cai Yong to his side. With Cai Yong's identity and fame, he can completely persuade and influence a large number of scholars and bureaucrats, as long as he supports him, Xiao Donghou's inheritance of the imperial throne is basically foolproof.

Tianzi and the teacher chatted for a while, and then the two played another song together. The Son of Heaven was very excited, took Cai Yong's hand and said, "Sir, the Queen Mother also wants to see you, let's go to Yongle Palace." ”

The Queen Mother had already made careful preparations, not only entertained Cai Yong with a feast, but also gave Cai Yong's daughter a beautiful dress and a set of precious ornaments.

The Queen Mother said: "Mr.'s child has lost his mother since he was a child, and he has been wandering around with you for ten years, and he has suffered a lot, which is not easy." Later, Mr. became the teacher of Dong Hou and Princess Changping, and he could often take children to the palace to play. As he spoke, he asked Xiao Donghou and Princess Changping to bow to Cai Yong. Cai Yong was moved to tears, and he couldn't stop thanking him again and again.

But as soon as Cai Yong walked out of the door of Yongle Palace, he immediately realized that the matter was serious. The Great Han Kingdom is now in turmoil for the battle for the imperial unification, and he has just returned to Beijing, so he immediately intervened in it, and he will ...... in the future He didn't dare to think about it, the cold sweat was already soaking his whole body, and he didn't listen to what the Son of Heaven said in his ear, and his mind was full of thoughts about how to ask His Majesty for his resignation.

Back in the North Palace, before Cai Yong could speak, the Son of Heaven said first that he would ask Cai Yong to rebuild Hongdu Gate for him. The Son of Heaven thought that all the students of Taixue were disobedient, and if they were abolished in the future, it would be very troublesome for the students of Taixue to make trouble outside the gate of the North Palace all day long. Cai Yong is knowledgeable, through the history of the scriptures, likes mathematics, astronomy, wonderful music, good at drumming, painting, but also good at dictionaries, Seiko seals, especially Lishu is a must at that time, by his all-round talent to rebuild Hongdumen is the most suitable, but also can attract a large number of Taixue students to Hongdumen, so that in the future may be able to avoid the trouble of Zhusheng trouble.

Cai Yong did not hesitate and refused. The Son of Heaven felt very shameless, and sat on the seat and made a flute.

Cai Yong said, whether it is resignation, calligraphy and painting, music and rhythm, there are many people who are good at Taixue, why spend money to build Hongdumen? It's okay to learn from Taixue. In the past, many people in Hongdumen became officials, but the result was that they were all traitors and villains, harming the country, so that Hongdumen became infamous, and now they are picked up again, it is just a joke for the people of the world.

Although the Son of Heaven was unhappy, it was not easy to say anything. He thought to himself that now you are Dong Hou's teacher, and in the future, Dong Hou will inherit the unification, and you will still be the Taifu to assist Dong Hou, so you still have to rely on your help for many things, since you don't do it, then forget it, I will find someone else.

However, as soon as Cai Yong changed the topic, he immediately resigned, saying that he had been wandering in a foreign country for many years, physically and mentally distressed, and wanted to go back to Chen Liu's hometown to spend his old age in peace, and said that the reason why he returned to Beijing this time was mainly to see His Majesty and see a group of old friends in Beijing. I met Your Majesty today, and my wish has been fulfilled, and I am going home.

The Son of Heaven was furious, and he was about to curse when he stared at his little eyes. He sincerely invited Cai Yong to return to Beijing, and entertained Cai Yong with joy, and finally got such a result. But the Son of Heaven held back, and when he saw Cai Yong, who was kneeling on the ground, the white-haired Cai Yong felt a pain in his heart, and his anger suddenly disappeared. The scene when Cai Yong taught him to play the piano is still vivid. The Son of Heaven shook his head and let out a long sigh.

He got up and helped Cai Yong up, and said sadly: "Sir, just let it be." ”

Cai Yong said a few apologetic words before saying goodbye. The Son of Heaven silently followed behind Cai Yong and sent him out of the imperial study.

Seeing Cai Yong's figure gradually moving away, the Son of Heaven felt sad in his heart, and couldn't help but shout: "Sir, please stay a step." ”

The Son of Heaven hurriedly went back to his room and picked up the piano on the piano platform that he had used for more than ten years. Since Wang Meiren's death, he has been playing Wang Meiren's piano, which has been idle on the piano platform for several years. I invited Cai Yong to come today, and the Son of Heaven wanted to play a song with him, so he ordered someone to debug it.

The Son of Heaven solemnly handed the piano to Cai Yong and said in a low voice: "This is my piano, and it was used when I learned the piano with Mr. Mr. said goodbye here, and since then we have seen each other indefinitely, so let's keep it as a souvenir. ”

Cai Yong was greatly saddened, took it with tears, knelt three times and kowtowed, choked up and said: "Your Majesty's great kindness, the minister has nothing to repay, and when I leave, I will offer another book to repay Your Majesty." ”

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The Son of Heaven walked back to the imperial study and opened Cai Yong's recital.

The Son of Heaven looked at it carefully from beginning to end, and couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh: "Sir, you are too much. ”

The Son of Heaven handed the piece to Jian Shuo on the side of the attendant, and then walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, very angry.

Jian Shuo looked at it and couldn't laugh or cry. Cai Yong is still that temper, in the chapter to persuade His Majesty to be far away from traitors, pay attention to meritocracy, and scold the old lieutenant and the little lieutenant to a bloody squirt, which also highlights Li Hong and Jian Shuo, especially Li Hong, Cai Yong said that a bloody and barbaric person like Li Hong, a minister who troubles the country, should not be reused at all, but should be arrested and killed to punish the officials of the world. That's it, but he then advised His Majesty to put the Han Dynasty as the priority, not to go against the sky, and not to abolish the heirs, so as not to suffer the curse of heaven and ruin the lives of the people.

Jian Shuo looked stupid when he saw it, did this old man stay outside for a long time, crazy, this kind of thing can be said, this kind of music can also be written, even if there are 10,000 lives, it is not enough to cut.

But Cai Yong can't be killed, especially at this time, let alone killed.

Jian Shuo immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Cai is already old and confused, let him go home." ”

The muscles on the Son of Heaven's face twitched violently twice.

Jian Shuo knew that the Son of Heaven was already furious, and he hurriedly played again: "Your Majesty, would a normal person write this kind of death-seeking music?" Your Majesty, Lord Cai also has a twelve-year-old daughter, he doesn't think about himself, he always has to think about his daughter, right? Therefore, Mr. Cai must be crazy, his mind must be abnormal, Your Majesty must not mind. ”

The Son of Heaven let out a long breath, and his anger gradually subsided.

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Jian Shuo left the imperial study and ran to Shangshutai.

"Lord Lu, hurry, hurry up,......" Jian Shuo panted and shouted, "Mr. Cai is in trouble, hurry up and tell him to leave the capital." ”

Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi were taken aback. Lu Zhi nervously grabbed Jian Shuo's sleeve and asked in a trembling voice, "Master Jian, what trouble did Mr. Cai do?" ”

Jian Shuo roughly said the story of the matter, "Mr. Cai scolded me and General Zhenbei, it's nothing, but he shouldn't have advised His Majesty not to abolish his heir in the recital, and said that if His Majesty does this, he will be punished by God." ”

Lu Zhi's eyes were dark, and he almost fell to the ground. Huangfu Song was so shocked that his face was pale, and he shook his body and sat on the desk.

"Two adults, hurry, I'm afraid. Mr. Cai can't die now, if he dies, the scholars and Taixue students in Beijing will make a fuss, and the Beijing teacher will be in chaos. Jian Shuo said with a pale face.

Lu Zhi stiffened and patted Jian Shuo's shoulder gratefully, "Thank you, Lord Jian, you better hurry to Your Majesty's side, and if anything happens, notify us immediately." ”

Jian Shuo ran away without looking back.

Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song stared wide-eyed, and their souls were scattered. Cai Yong has made a big mistake. Although everyone in the world knows that His Majesty wants to abolish the throne, that is to say, no one has ever mentioned it, Cai Yong's recital, but it pierced this thin layer of window paper, pushing His Majesty and the general directly to the battlefield of the duel. Everyone tacitly tacitly plays hands and feet in private, knife against knife, and gun against gun, which are completely different things.

Once Cai Yong is killed, the matter of the chapter is bound to spread all over the world, and the abolition of the Son of Heaven will become a fait accompli. At this time, as long as the Son of Heaven has two ways to stabilize the hearts of the people in the world, either immediately canonize the eldest prince as the crown prince, or overthrow the general and set up the little prince as the crown prince, there is no other way to go. But no matter what method the Son of Heaven adopts to save this situation, it will inevitably set off a bloody storm in Luoyang.

At a time when the country is in such a crisis, Luoyang is in chaos, and the consequences are unimaginable.

"Is Cai Bojie crazy? What does he want to do? Does he want to completely bury the Great Han Kingdom? Lu Zhi said weakly with hatred, "The situation in Luoyang has just stabilized, but he has been beaten by a slap in the face." ”

"Zigan, don't complain." Huangfu Song calmed down, waved his hand and said, "This matter, come sooner or later, it will come." I immediately went out of the palace and sent him out of the city. ”

"Righteousness, in case ......"

Huangfu Song gritted his teeth and whispered: "Send eight hundred miles of fast cavalry, and ask Li Hong to immediately assemble military horses and garrison the Yellow River." ”

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Jian Shuo ran to the door of the imperial study with a sweat on his head, and his face changed in an instant.

"Who's coming?"

The little eunuch standing at the door replied: "Lord Zhao of the Great Changqiu, the Marquis of Zhang." ”

Jian Shuo almost cried in agony.

"You immediately go to Shangshutai and tell Lord Huangfu or Lord Lu, and say that it is going to snow."

The little eunuch looked up at the sky, puzzled. Isn't there a sun in this sky, how can it snow? He didn't dare to ask, and ran away in a hurry.

＝＝＝

The news of Cai Yong's return immediately reached the ears of all forces in the capital. What is the purpose of the Son of Heaven inviting Cai Yong back at this time, everyone knows. Once Cai Yong is reused by the Son of Heaven, the power of the Shi bureaucracy will immediately return, especially Cai Yong is a staunch eunuch, and this kind of person cannot be retained. So as soon as Cai Yong left on the front foot, Zhao Zhong and Zhang Gong came on the back foot. Zhang Gong was very active this time. His younger brother is the current Zongzheng Zhang Hao Ten years ago when he was a lieutenant, he was scolded by Cai Yong for being a traitor, so the Zhang brothers and Cai Yong had a deep feud.

As soon as the two of them entered the study room, they saw Cai Yong's recital. The two were also stupid and didn't dare to speak for a long time. Zhao Zhong was thinking, He Jin, the butcher, was eyeing the Zhongguan, and there was a group of scholar bureaucrats behind him, even if they helped the eldest prince inherit the imperial line, the butcher and those scholars would not let him go, so it was better to take this opportunity to overthrow the general and support Xiao Donghou. As long as the Son of Heaven is here, his old lieutenants will be fine.

Zhao Zhong immediately said: "Your Majesty, if you don't kill Cai Yong now, someone else will kill Dong Hou in the future." ”

This sentence is enough.

＝＝＝

When Cai Yong returned to Ma Riyan's mansion, Ma Mansion had already gathered more celebrities and scholars who had heard the news. Zhu Mu also came with Li Wei.

Cai Yong saw the young Li Wei and felt that he was really old, he smiled and said to Zhu Jun who was standing beside him: "Gongwei, I envy you, look at your disciple, and your son, they will be the mainstay of my Great Han Kingdom in the future." Hey, it's not okay to be old. ”

Huangfu Song rushed into the mansion.

The guests in the palace were all shocked to see the famous Huangfu Song who picked up his official robe and rushed over regardless of the occasion.

Cui Lie, who was standing beside Cai Yong, clapped his hands and smiled: "Brother Yizhen, could it be that the Hu people are here?" ”

Huangfu Song looked at Cai Yong in horror and shouted, "Uncle, are you crazy?" ”

Cai Yong stroked his beard and smiled, calmly.

Zhu Jun hurriedly asked, "Brother Yizhen, what happened?" ”

"Bo Ji has caused a great disaster." After Huangfu Song said a word, he turned to Ma Riyan and shouted, "Quick, pack up Bo Jiao's things, and then come here, I will send Bo Jiao out of the city first." ”

He grabbed Cai Yong's sleeve and dragged it out of the house.

At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves was heard outside the house.

Huangfu Song's face changed drastically, and he turned around and dragged Cai Yong to the back door. Cai Yong grabbed Huangfu Song, "Forget it, Yizhen." ”

Huangfu Song dragged it twice, let go angrily, and shouted loudly: "Uncle, why are you so confused? ”

Cai Yong smiled faintly and said: "I'm not confused, the eunuch wants to be killed, the prince wants to be established, and the country is prosperous, this is the unshirkable responsibility of my generation." ”

He turned his face to look at Ma Riyan and said, "I only need a daughter, please." ”

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