Can I get to the other side?

Yang Mansion, lobby.

After Xun Yu, Xun You and Xu You arrived at Yang Mansion, they were welcomed by the housekeeper and sat down in the hall. Not long after, Yang Biao came over.

"Mr. Yang."

Xun Yu and Xun You stood up and saluted.

Yang Biao was one of the three dukes, came from a famous family, and was highly respected. The uncle and nephew of the Xun family could not stand up in front of him.

Only Xu You remained as calm as a mountain, and had no intention of standing up to salute, and had no awareness of being a guest.

"No need to be polite, please take a seat."

Yang Biao glanced at Xu You, but didn't care. He just smiled at Xun Yu and Xun You and said, "Why are you here today?"

Xun You and Xun Yu looked at each other, and finally Xun Yu, who was his uncle, said, "Mr. Yang, the Grand Marshal heard that Yang Zhubu caught a cold a month ago and has been bedridden ever since, so he is quite worried."

"The Grand Marshal wanted to come to visit in person, but he was too busy to do anything, so he asked the three of us to come together to visit Yang Zhubu."

Xun Yu directly stated his purpose and subtly reminded Yang Biao that it was Cao Cao who asked them to come.

Yang Biao heard that something was wrong.

"It seems that Cao Cao has become suspicious because he has rejected him too many times this month. Let Xun Wenruo come to see if Dezu is really sick."

"What should we do?"

Xun Yu, Xun You, and Xu You came to the door together. Obviously, they couldn't deal with it easily. The reason that he was sick in bed and couldn't see anyone before would definitely not work.

After all, Yang Xiu hasn't come back yet. If they insist on seeing him, where can he find someone?

After a brief thought in his mind, Yang Biao had an idea and looked up and said, "It's really unfortunate that you two came. Dezu has been ill for a long time. I heard that there is a Taoist temple on the mountain a hundred miles away from Xu County. The Taoist priest in the temple has extraordinary medical skills, so I asked the family servant to take him there for treatment."

"We just set out two incense sticks ago."

This statement was very far-fetched. Xun Yu and Xun You also knew that it was an excuse made by Yang Biao, but they didn't intend to get to the bottom of it.

Anyway, as long as there is a result to report back, it's fine.

So after getting this answer, the two stood up and said, "In this case, let's go back and report to the Grand Marshal. I hope Yang Zhubo will recover soon."

"Wait."

Just then, Xu You, who was drinking nearby, suddenly put down his wine gourd and asked with a smile, "I am quite familiar with the area around Xu County. May I ask which Taoist temple Yang Zhubo went to?"

The atmosphere froze instantly with this sentence.

Xun Yu and Xun You didn't think about investigating the matter. Now Xu You suddenly jumped out to question them, and they couldn't help but curse in their hearts.

Mr. Yang is a senior official in the court. Why are you so nosy!

Yang Biao glanced at Xu You and said lightly, "It's a Taoist temple that was just opened not long ago, named Qingyun Temple. If Guanglu Dafu has time, he can go and pay his respects. By the way, ask the master of the temple to check your health. Drinking every day is not good."

This sentence is thorny.

Xu You sneered: "You don't need to worry about my health, Mr. Yang, but since Mr. Yang is seriously ill, how can he withstand the journey of a hundred miles?"

"Shouldn't we invite the abbot to come to our house? Is the abbot so arrogant that even Mr. Yang can't invite him?"

Xu You's tone was still aggressive.

Yang Biao said expressionlessly: "As the saying goes, you need to be sincere when seeking medical treatment. Should I ask the abbot to come or let my son go? This is my family affair. What does it have to do with the Guanglu doctor?"

"What a coincidence, it really has something to do with me."

Xu You smiled but didn't smile, staring at Yang Biao sinisterly, "The Grand Marshal ordered me to visit Yang Zhubo, but now Yang Gong is making excuses and shirking. Could it be that Yang Zhubo's claim of illness is just an excuse, and he has not been home for a long time?"

"But why would he say he was sick at home if he was not at home? What is Yang Gong hiding? Is there any shameful secret?"

Xun Yu and Xun You's faces changed when they heard this. Xun Yu concealed his anger and said in a deep voice: "Xu Ziyuan, you are going too far. The Grand Marshal only ordered us to visit Yang Zhubo."

"That's all for today. We should leave!"

After that, he and Xun You saluted to Yang Biao, and then walked straight out of the Yang Mansion, ignoring Xu You at all.

"Hmph."

Xu You looked at the two people leaving with disdain, and then said to Yang Biao indifferently: "Now is the time to use people. The Grand Marshal hopes that Yang Zhubo will recover as soon as possible. Goodbye."

After that, he left the hall.

He had achieved his goal of provoking the conflict between Yang Biao and Cao Cao, and by the way, he also got the handle of Xun Yu and Xun You, so he could complain about them to Cao Cao later.

After Xu You left, Yang Biao murmured:

"It has been a month now, and such a long time is enough for Dezu to travel between Xu County and Yecheng."

"Dezu has not returned yet, he must have confirmed that the emperor in Yecheng is the orthodox Han Dynasty, and listened to me and stayed by the emperor's side to serve."

Thinking of this, Yang Biao's face was originally a little panic, but it completely disappeared at this moment, replaced by a touch of enthusiasm and excitement!

"If the emperor in Yecheng is really the orthodox Han Dynasty, then the Han Dynasty will surely be revived, and I will die without regrets!"

Just as Yang Biao was thinking, two curses came from outside almost at the same time.

"Yang Biao! Yang Wenxian! Come out!"

"You old dog, get out of here!"

Dong Cheng and Fu Wan walked into the Yang Mansion together, pushed away the housekeeper who came to greet them, and walked into the hall aggressively.

Being called by Dong Cheng's name and being called an old dog by Fu Wan, Yang Biao's face fell instantly, and he cursed back without any hesitation: "Did you two old guys take the wrong medicine?"

"snort!"

Dong Cheng and Fu Wan snorted coldly, and they drove Yang Biao to the study, one on the left and the other on the right.

After slamming the door, the two of them blocked the doorway like door gods.

Yang Biao was a little angry, "You two are so rude, what are you going to do?"

"Shut up!" Dong Cheng opened his mouth and interrupted Yang Biao. He stared at him and asked, "I ask you, when did you send the emperor to Yecheng! Why did you hide this from us? !”

"What? Did I betray the emperor?" Yang Biao was a little dumbfounded. He had already explained it last time, why did these two old guys still doubt him?

"Pretend, keep pretending!"

Fu Wan sneered: "Don't think we don't know what you did! My son went to Yecheng and met the emperor. He told me that the emperor in Yecheng was the real emperor!

It seems that when you passed through Huayin and Hongnong, you had secretly transferred the emperor. It's just that we didn't expect that you, an old man, would hide it so deeply without even telling us! "

At first Fu Wan thought that one of Dong Cheng and Yang Biao had switched the emperor, or that both of them were involved, but he thought about it carefully on the way here and found that Yang Biao was the most suspicious.

Because he and Dong Cheng are both relatives of the emperor.

One of their two daughters is a queen and the other is a nobleman. They are both the emperor's bedfellows. If the emperor is fake, it will not do them any good.

Only Yang Biao has no daughter in the palace, so he is naturally the biggest suspect!

"Yes! My son said so too!"

Dong Cheng's thoughts coincided with Fu Wan's, and he also identified Yang Biao as the object of suspicion, because this guy was the only one who was not a relative of the emperor, but a complete outsider!

Yang Biao was shocked when he heard this, "Your son also went to Yecheng!"

Fu Wan and Dong Cheng actually coincided with him and sent their sons to Yecheng to meet the emperor.

But it’s not right! Even if the emperor was betrayed, it should have been these two old guys. Why are they now targeting him?

"You asked your son to go to Yecheng to contact the emperor behind my back. Do you want to wait until Cao Cao is defeated? How shameless!"

Yang Biao instantly understood what Dong Cheng and Fu Wan were doing.

After the emperor of Yecheng killed the false emperor, Dong Cheng and Fu Cheng became the biggest contributors to lurking in Cao's camp.

And he will take the blame for being a traitor!

"Didn't you send your son there?"

Fu Wan was so furious that his beard trembled with anger, "We sent our son there to verify the authenticity of the emperor, but you sent your son there to contact the emperor secretly! We met them all on the road!"

"Don't you feel guilty if you do such a thing behind our backs? We trust you so much! We think you have the same heart as us!"

"You, you..."

After Fu finished speaking, he sat on the ground, covering his heart.

He felt a little achy in his heart and liver.

"Mr. Yang!!" Dong Cheng was really anxious. He grabbed Yang Biao's hand and said with red eyes: "We are also loyal to His Majesty. You can't use us as a stepping stone for the benefit of your own family!"

"The daughters of our two families are all concubines in the palace. Once the world knows that they have served the false emperor, the Dong family and the Fu family will be finished!"

"Just do it, tell your majesty clearly, and tell him that we are innocent, okay?"

Hard is not enough, Dong Cheng can only be soft.

Because now the life and death of their family is tied to the emperor in Yecheng, and the only one who has the trust of the emperor and can speak with him is Yang Biao, who secretly sent his son to Yecheng.

Fu Wan also hugged Yang Biao's legs and said with tears: "Supporting the false emperor, the queen having an affair with the false emperor, any one of these crimes can kill hundreds of members of my Fu family!"

"Mr. Yang, you can't be so heartless! Just treat it like I'm begging you!"

The two cried more sadly than the other, and begged Yang Biao to take them with him to vote for the emperor, and not to use them as stepping stones.

"I didn't! I really didn't!"

Yang Biao almost collapsed. What on earth are these two old men talking about?

Fu Wan sighed and said: "Mr. Yang, you don't have to pretend to be dumbfounded. Let me ask you one question, where is your master now?"

"If you can call your son out immediately, we will believe that you have not betrayed the emperor; if you cannot call him out, your son will stay in Yecheng to serve your majesty!"

As soon as they realized that the emperor of Xu County might be fake, Yang Biao sent his son to Yecheng.

This purpose is too obvious.

It was clear that Yang Biao was worried about something unexpected happening if the incident was exposed, so he sent his son to Yecheng first to preserve the blood of the Yang family!

He sacrificed himself for the benefit of the entire family.

If they were Yang Biao, they would make the same decision. Compared with family interests, personal life and death really don't matter.

"I……"

Yang Biao was speechless under Fu Wan's questioning.

Because Yang Xiu is indeed not at home.

Seeing this, Dong Cheng became more convinced of his suspicions and sighed: "Mr. Yang, there is no need for you to pretend now. We are not fools either."

"We don't intend to compete with you for interests. We just want to preserve the family. Isn't this okay?"

"Even for the sake of us sharing weal and woe along the way, you can't be so hard-hearted."

"My daughter's position as a noble will definitely not be guaranteed, let alone the position of Duke Fu's daughter."

"Even if His Majesty reorganizes the country in the future, we two will not pose any threat to you. You should show your kindness and save hundreds of lives of our two families!"

Yang Biao took a deep breath, raised his hand, stretched out three fingers and said solemnly: "I, Yang Biao, swear to the ancestors of the Yang family! I will never secretly send the emperor to Yecheng, and I have nothing to do with any of this." It’s related!”

"If you violate this oath, the emperor and heaven will not bless you, and you will not be buried! My Yang family will have no descendants from now on!"

Yang Biao directly took the ancestors and descendants of the Yang family and made an extremely vicious oath in front of Fu Wan and Dong Cheng.

Fu Wan and Dong Cheng obviously didn't expect Yang Biao to be so decisive, and now they couldn't force him any longer even if they wanted to.

After the two looked at each other, they each sighed.

"Mr. Yang, you'd better think about it carefully. We'll come back to visit you in a few days and say goodbye."

Even though Yang Biao's oath was very vicious, in the face of conclusive evidence, it was still difficult for them to believe that Yang Biao did not do all this.

Of course, it is possible that it was not Yang Biao who did it, but Yang Xiu or someone else in the Yang family. This would not violate the oath, and Yang Biao only knew about it.

However, they all know that even if they urgently need to force Yang Biao now, they will not get any results, so they should go back and discuss it carefully.

"you……"

Yang Biao watched the two people leave, feeling extremely angry.

He could see that Fu Wan and Dong Cheng didn't believe it, but how could he prove it to himself? Unless Yang Xiu comes back from Yecheng!

"well!"

Yang Biao sat down very tiredly, holding his forehead with a complicated expression.

He didn't want Yang Xiu to come back.

Because no matter who did it, but based on the reactions of Dong Cheng and Fu Wan, it is very likely that the emperor in Yecheng was the real emperor.

Yang Xiu's stay in Yecheng is beneficial to the whole family.

As for him...

Yang Biao shook his head, stood up and walked out of the study. His rickety back gradually straightened, and his steps became more steady and powerful.

It doesn't matter if you die.

Han Zuo will be prosperous, and he will die without regrets.

…

Yecheng.

Royal palace, announcement room.

Liu Xiezheng is holding a brush and writing on silk paper.

Gao Lan brought in an extremely handsome middle-aged man.

As soon as he saw Liu Xie, the handsome man bowed his head and bowed, "Your Majesty, Cui Yan, see you! Your Majesty will live in eternal happiness for generations to come!"

Liu Xie turned a deaf ear and didn't say until he wrote the last word: "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Cui Yan thanked En and stood up with a slight bow.

Although he didn't know what the emperor's sudden summons was about, he had a vague guess in his heart.

Therefore, from the moment he stepped into the palace, his heart strings were tense.

"You come from a famous family in Qinghe, and now you are holding the position of Cavalry Commander?"

When Cui Yan heard this, his expression became more and more nervous, "Your Majesty, I am indeed from the Cui family of Qinghe. The Jizhou Mu granted me the official position of Cavalry Commander."

Qi Duwei, in charge of Yu Linqi.

But his official position was not conferred by the emperor, but conferred by Yuan Shao.

Both he and Yuan Shao committed serious crimes.

It was fine that the emperor was Yuan Shao's puppet before, but now that the emperor has the power, if we really want to pursue him, his head will fall to the ground lightly.

Just when Cui Yan thought he was about to welcome the emperor's thunderous wrath, Liu Xie skipped the topic, pointed to the silk paper on the table and said:

"I heard that you studied under Zheng Xuan and Zheng Kangcheng, the great scholars in China. Let's take a look at this poem of mine."

"Here!"

Cui Yan walked to Liu Xie's side fearfully, leaning his head to look at the words on the silk paper.

"Good words!"

As soon as he saw the words above, he blurted out an admiration.

He had always loved calligraphy, so he suppressed the panic in his heart and asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, what kind of calligraphy is this?"

Liu Xie said calmly: "This is the calligraphy I have figured out, and I named it regular script, also known as Han Kai."

For the sake of the emperor's face, he worked hard to become the master of regular script he is today.

And it’s still Yan Zhenqing’s appearance.

At this time, I received Cui Yan's heartfelt praise, and I couldn't help but feel that all the hardships were worth it.

Cui Yan was delighted to see Lie Xin, and stared at the words on the silk paper with bright eyes.

I just feel that the calligraphy structure is square and dense, the strokes are strong and round, the strokes are light horizontally and heavy vertically, and the momentum is solemn and powerful.

I couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "The shape is square and the strokes are straight, which can be used as a model. Your Majesty's original regular script really makes me admire him very much!"

Liu Xie accepted Cui Yan's compliments without blushing.

After admiring the calligraphy fonts, Cui Yan carefully read the poem written on the silk paper.

The more he looked at him, the more frightened he became, and the more he looked at him, the less panic he felt.

"Singing over wine, what's life like?"

"It's like morning dew, it will be more painful every day."

…

After reading the whole poem, Cui Yan admired it and also understood what Liu Xie meant when he asked him to read this poem.

He turned around and paid homage with a solemn expression:

"Your Majesty, Cui Yan, is willing to work hard for your majesty, no matter how hard it is!"

Liu Xie's always cold face finally showed a smile.

"Flat body."

"Come here, give me a seat."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eunuch brought a pony over.

Cui Yan was flattered and sat down, but he only dared to sit down on half of his buttocks.

Liu Xie took a sip of tea and said: "As Aiqing is the captain of the cavalry, he should be the commander of the Yulin cavalry. But at the moment, the Yulin guards are commanded by Zhang He and Gao Lan..."

The forbidden army of the Han Dynasty was divided into northern and southern armies.

The Yulin Guards of the Southern Army guard the palace city.

The Northern Army's Tiger and Ben troops garrisoned the imperial capital.

After Cui Yan saw "The Return of the World" and heard that the emperor called him "Ai Qing", his heart felt like a bright mirror.

He quickly said: "I am willing to rebuild the Tiger and Ben Army for Your Majesty!"

When Liu Xie heard this, he nodded with satisfaction. It was easy to talk to smart people. But on the surface he still pretended to be surprised.

"The Huben Army should be composed of three thousand people. The weapons and equipment are all well-equipped. It will consume a lot of money and resources. Don't force yourself, my dear."

Cui Yan directly carved the word "loyalty" on his head and said extremely generously: "I have a lot of family assets. Even if I use up my family wealth, I will definitely rebuild the Tiger and Ben Army for your majesty."

The 3,000 elite troops of the Huben Army are not comparable to that of a miscellaneous army.

If it were organized as Liu Xie said, even the Cui family of Qinghe would be in pain for a long time.

But Cui Yan no longer cares about so much.

He knew he had no choice.

Either become an important minister of the Han Dynasty, or be punished and executed.

"Since Aiqing has this intention, I cannot refute Aiqing's determination to serve the country with all her strength. From now on, you will be the Tiger General."

"With the establishment soon, there is no need to recruit the generals' descendants into the army. All elite men can join the Tiger Army."

"When I reorganize the country in the future, I will replace them with the orphans in the army and the descendants of the generals."

Hearing this, Cui Yan's heart couldn't help but twitch.

It only requires well-equipped equipment and excellent sergeants. After all, the Huben Army is the emperor's personal army, so the requirements are very high.

But the soldiers of the Huben Army were not selected from among the generals’ sons!

Doesn't this mean that he should look for it from among the people?

What a price it would cost the people to recruit 3,000 soldiers who could meet the requirements of the Huben Army!

But now that things have come to this, what can he do besides reluctantly agree?

He could only stand up from his pony and receive the order respectfully.

"I obey the decree!"

Liu Xie also knew that his request was a bit excessive, so he drew a cake for Cui Yan.

"You are Zheng Xuan's student. You have a bright future. You will never stop at being a great general."

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Cui Yan's face became visibly excited.

Although he was Yuan Shao's counselor, he later pretended to be loyal to Yuan Xi.

But if given a choice, who wouldn't want to serve the emperor?

Especially now that he has great power and is expected to recreate the emperor of Yanhan?

From that poem, he could see the emperor's eagerness to seek talents.

There is no way he has any grudge against Yuan Shao just because he had been with him before.

Otherwise, how could he be canonized as Huben Zhonglang General, how could he be allowed to rebuild and take charge of the Huben Army?

"It is my duty to serve His Majesty! I am overjoyed to be able to gain His Majesty's trust. How can I ask for anything else?"

Cui Yan's emotional changes were all seen by Liu Xie.

He couldn't help but feel emotional.

In this era, the status of the emperor is truly unparalleled.

It would be impossible for any of the princes to make Cui Yan willing to spend huge financial resources to form an elite Tiger and Ben army with just one word.

But when he issued an edict in the name of the emperor, not only did he pay it willingly, but he even had to be grateful.

"Sit down." Liu Xie waved his hand and motioned Cui Yan to sit back in Xiaomazha. Said: "Yuan Shao sent you a letter, how do you plan to reply?"

Although there were still many Yuan Shao's spies and spies in Yecheng, he was eventually driven out of Yecheng.

During this period of time, with Zhang He's efforts, Liu Xie basically took control of Yecheng.

At least he saw the letter sent by Yuan Shao to Cui Yan earlier than Cui Yan.

Cui Yan suddenly heard Liu Xie's words, and his buttocks that had just sat down bounced up from the pony as if they were loaded with springs.

He knelt on the ground, his back instantly wet with sweat, and said in fear: "Your Majesty, I... I..."

Chenchen thought for a long time, but he couldn't even utter a complete sentence.

If it weren't for this letter, he would have received it just before entering the palace. He would never have believed that the emperor's control over Yecheng had reached such an extent.

"Look, are you in a hurry again?"

"Since I have handed over the Tiger Army to you, I naturally believe in your loyalty to the Han Dynasty and your loyalty to me."

Liu Xie behaved like a benevolent man without any accountability, which frightened Cui Yan for most of his life.

After carefully considering his words, he said cautiously: "Your Majesty, I really don't know that Yuan Xi ambushed General Zhang Liao to seize military power."

Liu Xie looked at him with a half-smile but said, "That's just right, you know now."

Cui Yan was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized that Yuan Xi's plan to ambush and kill Zhang Liao was completely false and was a ploy to deceive Yuan Shao.

In an instant, the panic that had mostly suppressed in his heart continued to intensify.

The emperor's scheming methods are far more terrifying than he imagined.

You don't need to think about it to know that Yuan Shao will suffer heavy losses this time.

"I wrote a letter to reply to Yuan Shao. It is absolutely true that Yuan Xi ambushed and killed General Zhang Liao. Time, time..."

Liu Xie said calmly: "The time is tentatively scheduled for the eighth day of next month."

"Here!"

"Just step back."

"I excuse myself."

Cui Yan bowed his waist, faced Liu Xie, and backed away slowly. He didn't turn around until he left the door of the propaganda room.

"etc."

Just when Cui Yan turned around and walked out of the palace, Liu Xie's voice came over again.

"Yuan Shao held a banquet last year, and your teacher Zheng Xuan also attended. Is he in Yecheng at the moment?"

Cui Yan quickly turned around and faced Liu Xie again and said, "Your Majesty, Master Zheng is still in Yecheng."

Liu Xie was overjoyed and said, "Find a time and bring your teacher into the palace. I want to see him."

"According to the order!"

Zheng Xuan studied at Taixue in his early years, and later studied under Zhang Gongzu and Ma Rong.

The "Zheng School" he wrote is the culmination of Confucian classics in the Han Dynasty.

During the Zhenguan period, Li Shimin listed him among the twenty-two ancient teachers and enshrined him in the Confucius Temple.

He was known as the most famous in China and was known as the Confucian master of the time.

Even Kong Rong respected him very much.

Last year, Yuan Shao wanted to recruit him to serve as an official, but was rejected.

Liu Xie met him, of course, not because he admired his talent, but because he valued his influence.

He had thousands of disciples, many of whom served as officials, and his influence was simply terrifying.

During the Battle of Guandu in history, Yuan Shao asked Yuan Tan to force him to travel with the army in order to strengthen his momentum and win the hearts and minds of the people.

Zheng Xuan, who was already seriously ill, died on the road.

Even if the funeral was simple, more than a thousand officials and students from the county governor and below came to the funeral in mourning.

If Zheng Xuan could help, it would be much easier to take Yecheng as a base and then recover the entire Jizhou.

He alone is enough to defeat thousands of troops.

——

(PS: 20,000 words updated today, 6.8K uploaded first.)