The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

The content of the imperial decree was very simple. The imperial edict ordered "Huangfu Song to ask Dongjun, Zhu Jun to ask Nanyang", but the news that accompanied the imperial decree was very shocking. A piece of news that concerns five people: Yang Ci, Lu Qiang, Xiang Xu, Zhang Jun, and Wang Yun.

After the rise of the Yellow Turbans, the court called for a meeting of ministers, and Yang Ci was a prefect. He was among the attendees, and he advised the emperor to expel the villains, get close to the wise, and pointed the finger at the eunuchs, so he disobeyed the emperor. Bandits and thieves are exempted." The emperor dismissed him from the position of Taiwei under the pretext of the uprising of the Yellow Turbans. -Because of thieves or natural disasters, the three princes who were in power at the time were removed, and another person took over. This was the norm during the Han Dynasty, and it was based on the Confucian sense of heaven and man. Disasters in the sky or unrest in the world are because of people, so people change, but Yang Cizhi was dismissed because he scolded the eunuch.

The one who brought this news was a courtier who came along with the **** who passed the decree. This courtier was on good terms with Huangfu Song. After passing the decree, he talked with Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun in private and talked about it. Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were speechless for a while. Huangfu Song said: "The world is in turmoil, thieves and thieves have come to this point, but the emperor is, but..., alas."

The courtier said, "Even though Duke Yang has been exempted from the captaincy, his life is safe. You two generals, you know..." Zhu Jun was impatient, and before he could finish speaking, he interrupted and asked, "What? Listen to you, the court. Someone died because of this?" The courtier said, "Isn't it?" He bent his fingers and calculated one by one, "Lu Qiang, Xiang Xu, and Zhang Jun were all convicted and killed for attacking the eunuchs."

Huangfu Song turned pale in shock. He didn't sit down on his knees for a while, and almost knocked over the water bowl on the case. He said, "Lu Changshi, Xiang Shilang, and Zhang Langzhong died?" He asked, "How did they die?"

The courtier sighed and said, "The general should know that when the Yellow Turban thieves rose, the emperor asked Lu Changshi what should be done, and Lu Changshi said: First punish those who are greedy on the left and right, and give amnesty to the party members. Can Qianshi?" Huangfu Song nodded and said, "I hadn't left the capital at that time, so I knew about it." The reason why Huangfu Song turned pale just now was due to the death of Wen Xiangxu and Zhang Jun, but more because of the death of Wen Xiangxu and Zhang Jun. In the case of Lu Qiang's death, Lu Qiang and him were allies in the matter of "amnesty party members". Although Lu Qiang was an eunuch, he was different from eunuchs like Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang. He preferred scholars and party members. He was loyal to the public and had a good reputation among scholars.

Zhu Jun said: "I also know about this. Before I left the capital, I heard that Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang asked to retire because of Lu Changshi's advice, and they each requisitioned the clan's children in the prefecture and county. Why? Could it be that things changed later?"

This courtier sneered: "The so-called 'begging to retreat' is nothing more than a deliberate gesture made by the other generation, to retreat to advance! In the first ten days of this month, Zhao Zhong and Xia Yun framed Lu Changshi, saying that he: 'with the party People discuss the imperial court together, read "Huo Guang's Biography", and his brothers are all corrupt." Xia Yun, also an eunuch, was the same as Zhao Zhong and Lu Qiang and was a permanent attendant in the middle.

When Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun heard this, they were horrified. Zhu Jun slapped the table in anger and said: "'To discuss the state affairs with the party members, and the brothers are all greedy', these two are nothing. 'Reading "Huo Guang's Biography"', it is necessary to put Lu Changshi to death. !"

What kind of person is Huo Guang? After the death of Emperor Zhao, he was twice abolished. Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong said that Lu Qiang read "Huo Guang's Biography", what did he mean? The courtier said: "Zhao Zhong and Xia Yun's scorpion hearts, the Son of Heaven heard about it, and he was really displeased, and ordered the Zhonghuangmen to summon Lu Changshi." Huangfu Song asked: "Send Lu Changshi to the prison, Lu Changshi Did Chang Shi die because of this?"

The courtier shook his head and said, "When Lu Changshi heard the emperor's call, he said angrily: 'I am dead, and chaos will start. If my husband wants to be loyal to the country, how can he be to the jailer!' So he committed suicide."

Huangfu Song slapped the table and stood up, because of anger, blue veins burst out on his forehead. He only felt a surge of anger rising from his chest and abdomen, as if he was not spitting out unpleasantly, but when it came to his mouth, he suddenly reflected on himself, how could a human subject criticize the emperor and father behind his back? If I miss a word, if it spreads out, I'm afraid that people's heads will not be protected, and the clan will suffer. I can barely swallow this anger. I look outside and see the blue sky and white clouds, the green trees and red flowers in the courtyard, the gentle breeze, and the scenery of early summer. It's heart-warming. But the anger went down, and he felt a little desolate again.

He slowly sat down and said, "'If my husband wants to be loyal to the country, how can he be to the jailer!' 'How can a husband want to be loyal to the country, how can he be to the jailer!'" He repeated the last words of Lu Qiang before his death. Zhu Jun's anger rushed to the crown, and it was hard to hide his grief and anger, but it was probably for the same reason as Huangfu Song. Yes! Lu Changshi is really a man." The courtier sighed: "Lu Changshi is indeed a man. After he committed suicide, Zhao Zhong and Xia Yunfu slandered him again, saying that he committed suicide out of fear of crime, and the emperor ordered him to be arrested. Clan, no property."

Lu Qiang committed suicide, his clan was arrested, and his family property was seized. After saying this, the three people in the room were silent for a long time. Huangfu Song reluctantly cheered up and asked, "Lv Changshi committed suicide, what about Xiang Shilang and Zhang Langzhong?"

Xiang Xu, a native of Hanoi Chaoge, is a crazy student who likes to read "Lao Tzu". He has disciples named "Yan Yuan", "Zigong", "Ji Lu" and "Ran You". Was conscripted as a servant. When the Yellow Turbans broke out, he did not want the country to raise troops, saying that he only needed to send his generals to the Yellow River to read the "Book of Filial Piety" in the north, and the thieves should be eliminated. His argument is very absurd, but because he had written a letter to ridicule the eunuchs before, he was caught by Zhang Rang, saying that he "doesn't want the state to order the generals to go to school, and he suspects that he is of the same mind, and wants to respond internally." He was "sent to Huangmen North Temple Prison" and died in prison. This Xiang Xu is a madman, very eccentric, and he has no good political achievements when he is the prime minister of Zhao. "I don't care about the documents, and I live in the house." Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun did not have a good impression of him. But Zhang Jun is different.

Zhang Jun is a native of Zhongshan, Jizhou, and has the reputation of being loyal and straight. In the first ten days of this month, he wrote in a letter: "It is advisable to kill ten permanent servants, in the southern suburbs of the county head, to thank the people, and send envoys to announce to the world, you don't need to be a teacher and travel, but a big bandit. self-destruction". The emperor showed his memorial to Zhang Rang and the others. Zhang Rang and the others were all exempted from the crown and stomped their heads. Seeing their pitiful state, the Emperor angrily scolded Zhang Jun: "This is really a madman. Isn't there a good person among the ten permanent servants?" In order to hunt down Zhang Jiao's henchmen, the imperial court issued an edict ordering Tingwei and the imperial censors, who served the imperial examinations of the imperial court in Taiping Road, following the intentions of Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, etc., and then falsely accused Zhang Jun of learning the Yellow Turban Road, and plundered them to death in prison.

Yang Ci was the prefect, Lu Qiang was the permanent attendant, Xiang Xu was the waiter, and Zhang Jun was the boss, either because of his height or weight, or because of his position. die.

After listening to this courtier finish speaking, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun looked at each other silently, all the feelings of anger, grief, and desolation just now gradually faded away, Huangfu Song sighed and said in his heart: "The government is like this, the current situation is like this, you are a servant of the people. What else can I do? Do your best, keep a low profile and bide your time." Doing your best is to be loyal to the country, and keeping a low profile is to save your life.

Huangfu Song said, "What did you say about the prince just now?"

Just now, the courtier mentioned Wang Yun, but at that time he only said: "The prince has done a big thing." Without going into details, he then talked about Yang Ci, Lu Qiang and others. Huangfu Song resumed the conversation at this time, and the courtier said: "What? Don't the two generals know? The two generals broke the Yingchuan yellow turban and seized it like a mountain. The prince found Zhang Rang's guests and the yellow turban thief Shushu, Zhang Rang and the The Yellow Turban thieves have fellowship, and because they played against the Son of Heaven, they have made their rapists."

Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun looked at each other. During the capture of the Yellow Turbans, Zhang Ranggu's guests and the Yellow Turbans' Shushu were found. They both knew about it and they told Wang Yun. Wang Yun said at the time that he would bring this matter to the emperor, but he did not expect that he would actually do so. Probably because he knew that the eunuchs were powerful, in order not to implicate Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, in this memorial, Wang Yun did not mention Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, nor did he mention his two friends, Xun Shuang and Kong Rong, and only signed him. own name.

Huangfu Song admired Wang Yun's courage and thought about the fate of Yang Ci, Lu Qiang, Xiang Xu, Zhang Jun and others, but he didn't realize he was worried about Wang Yun, so he asked the courtier: "After the prince's memorial, what did the court say? Can the Son of Heaven cure Zhang Rang's sin?" The courtier sneered and said, "The Son of Heaven took the prince's memorial and angered Zhang Rang, and Zhang Rang kowtowed and thanked him, but he couldn't blame him."

Zhu Jun turned pale and said, "Since Zhang Rang is not convicted, that prince, that prince..., isn't that prince in danger!"

The courtier was also worried, and said: "When I left the capital, I heard rumors that Zhang Rang felt resentment from the Xie Xie, but the evidence of his communication with the Yellow Turban thieves was conclusive, but he couldn't help the prince for a while. Although I can’t help the prince now, I might not be able to do so in the future.” Zhu Jun’s face flushed red, he clenched the sword on his waist, sat down, and said angrily, “I wish I could kill such traitors!”

It was useless for him to be angry. The imperial edict had already been issued, ordering him and Huangfu Song to split up and attack the Yellow Turbans in other counties.

It's just that the yellow turbans are in chaos outside, the world is in turmoil, the people are displaced, the court inside is uneasy, the gentleman abdicates, the eunuchs are in power, the emperor trusts the villain while the loyal and the good are injustice and resentment, how long can this big man's world last?

…

The news brought by this courtier spread like wildfire, and soon all the captains and Sima of the army knew about it.

Everyone's reaction was different. Some things were not related to themselves and held high, some were more cautious in words and deeds, and some were showy. These officers in the army not only had children of gentry, but also children of eunuchs.

After Sun Jian heard about it, he scolded a few words in private, but there was no other overreaction.

Fu Xiesu hated eunuchs. After hearing about it, he couldn't hide his anger, so he immediately repaired a letter and sent it to the court.

In this sparse passage, he spoke fiercely, saying: "I hear that the calamity in the world does not arise from outside, but from inside. . , and the disaster spreads to the four seas. The minister was appointed by the army, and he was resigned to attack the crime. He moved to Yingru, and the battle was invincible. Although the yellow scarf was prosperous, it was not enough to worry about the temple. Increase his wide ears. Your Majesty is benevolent and tolerant, and there are many things that you can't bear. Therefore, the **** erects the power, and the loyal ministers do not enter. Sincerely make Zhang Jiao Xiaoyi, the yellow turban changes his obedience, and the worries of the ministers will be deeply listened to. Who is it? It is not suitable for communism, and it is like ice and coal that cannot be used together. UU reading www.uukanshu.com" and so on.

"Although the yellow turban is prosperous, it is not enough to worry about the temple." "The **** gets the power, and the loyal ministers do not enter." This is the worry of the world. Xun Zhen agrees very much with this point of view, but he is not someone like Yang Ci or Fu Xie, so he just agrees with it. After Wen's incident with Yang Ci, Wang Yun and others, he did not react on the surface and returned to the account. , but couldn't help sighing, sighing and worrying about it.

He thought: "Even though the emperor opened the party/ban, it was obviously a last resort, and his cronies were still eunuchs. Yang Ci, Lu Qiang, Xiang Xu, and Zhang Jun were loyal and upright, but unfortunately they failed to see the current situation clearly..., no, Maybe they have seen it clearly, but Xiang Xu and Zhang Jun are nothing. Yang Ci and Lu Qiang have been in the sea of ​​eunuchs for many years. How can they not understand the current affairs? But they still wrote to impeach the eunuch, and they are not afraid of their own death. , does not avoid punishment, speaks bluntly and rebukes, and is a true hero."

Yang Ci and Lu Qiang are heroes. He asked himself if he wasn't. Thinking of Zhang Zhi, his heart skipped a beat and he thought, "Zhang Rang can't help Wang Yun for the time being, but I don't know if he will take his anger on me?" He was a little worried, but After thinking about it, with Wang Yun in front, maybe Zhang Rang doesn't like this little shrimp, but it's hard to say. After thinking about it, I was quite apprehensive.

Xun Zhen was not a person who looked ahead and looked after the future. Although he was apprehensive, the matter had already been done, and he had already prepared for the worst at that time. He put the matter behind him and focused his attention on the front.