The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Early the next morning, Cheng Jia went to the prefecture to visit Xun Zhen.

He told Xun Zhen without concealment that Li Hu went to his house yesterday with the intention of bribing him.

Xun Zhen was not surprised at all, she smiled and said, "Yu Du already told me about it last night."

Cheng Jia was stunned, then laughed and scolded: "This old thief! The prince ordered me to jail him, but he jailed me instead!"

Xun Zhen laughed and said to Cheng Jia, "You said just now that Li Hu is giving you beauty and wealth. I don't think these are enough to buy you."

"What does Duke Ming mean?"

"Qing is also a famous scholar from Zhao and Wei. If you want to bribe Qing, is a beautiful woman and a little wealth not enough?"

"That?"

"When the time is right, you can ask Li Hu for two things."

"Which two things?"

"It's better to teach a man to fish than to teach a man to fish. The Zhao family is very rich, and the clan's shops are all over the prefectures and counties. Wouldn't it be nice if you could ask for one or two of the shops and collect money on the ground?"

Cheng Jia agreed, nodded again and again, and said, "Don't hide the prince, Jiazheng has this intention."

"The Qing has a great reputation in Zhao, but so far, I have not been able to honor Xiaolian. I originally wanted to pass Zhicai and Gongzai next year. Please entrust Prime Minister Zhao to honor Qing Xiaolian, but to be honest, the new Prime Minister Zhao, I am with him. I have never known each other in my life and have no friendship, so I don’t have much confidence in this. Qingzheng can take this opportunity to ask for Xiaolian from the Zhao family. With the power of the Zhao family, it is easy for Qing to obtain a filial piety from Zhao.” Xunzhen paused, then said, “ With Zhao's family status, it is not only easy to obtain filial piety and integrity for the minister, but it is also not difficult to obtain a filial and honest man for the minister."

Zhao County has a population of less than 200,000 people, so every two years, Xiaolian was honored by Handan, and he was not allowed to do it this year. After this year, he can do it again next year.

Xun Zhen suggested that Cheng Jia ask the Zhao family for the words "Xiao Lian Lang", which is both truthful and powerful.

The truth is that he does intend to ask for Cheng Jia next year, try to see if he can get him a Zhao Jun Xiaolian.

The number of weights is "to seek Xiaolian Lang from the Zhao family." He deliberately said these words.

He got the news of the poison last night, and learned that Li Hu had entered Cheng Jia's door. After thinking about it at night, he judged that this should be Zhao Ran wanting to buy Cheng Jia, and if Zhao Ran wanted to buy Cheng Jia, the biggest bargaining chip Zhao Ran could give was Promise Cheng Jia a "filial and honest man".

This dynasty advocated the study of classics and virtue, so "filial piety and honest man" was regarded as the right way to become an official. Xiaolian Lang was first elected as Xiaolian, and then selected as the Lang of the Five Senses, Left and Right. Once he is Xiaolian Lang, his career will be smooth and smooth. Sanshulang is a backup official of the imperial court. He is usually kept by the imperial court in Sanshu to study official affairs. When there are vacancies for middle and low-level officials in the court and localities, the outstanding ones will be selected for promotion and fill the vacancies. Among the three bureau chiefs, Xiaolian Lang is the most senior, not only when he was appointed as a supplementary official, he was appointed with a high rank, but when he stayed in the imperial court, he filled the posts of Shangshulang, Yeshi, Yilang, etc., and he was appointed as the county magistrate. , Hou Guoxiang, and has the privilege of giving priority to filling officials.

Earlier, when Xun Zhen was a county official in Yingchuan, the county governor had always wanted Guo Tu to be the head of the three bureaus. Guo Tu was still not Xiaolian, and he wanted to be the head of the three bureaus, let alone Xiaolian?

It is almost every Xiaolian's dream to be selected as the Lang of the Three Departments. Handan Rong also thought about it after being selected as Xiaolian.

It is a pity that Handan Rong's father was dismissed for the crime of embezzlement. In the early years of the first emperor, when the Empress Dowager Liang came to the court, because he felt that the popularity of entrustment by the powerful, and the election of filial piety and integrity were often inhumane, he issued an edict, ordering " The descendants of Zang officials shall not be investigated.” He picked up the story of the former Han Dynasty and imprisoned three generations of Zang officials, but today’s powerful and tyrannical situation has long been unstoppable, and the country’s accumulation is difficult to return. That's why he asked Xun Zhenzhi to be Xiaolian in Zhao County, but after all the edict is there, it is completely impossible for him to be elected as the chief minister of the three bureaus. It is even difficult to make Xiaolian the minister , his father used all kinds of solutions to find a way for him, but according to what he said in a letter last month, there is still no result, and he still lives at home.

Xun Zhen is now the prefect of Wei County, and Cheng Jia, as Xun Zhen's close trustee, is also well-known in Zhao and Wei. It is too light for Zhao Ranru to only give him some wealth and beauties, and it will not impress him. Impressed him, but Cheng Jia had only held a county position in Zhao County for a short time before, and he could not promise him a higher position, such as the "Ming Qing" such as the county magistrate, only Xiaolian Lang was the most suitable bargaining chip.

With the power of the Zhao family, Zhao Ran's promise will be fulfilled.

On the one hand, Xiaolian Lang, who has won a steady hand, has a wide-ranging career since then. On the other hand, Mo said that he was selected into the three bureaus, and it is Zhao Jun Xiaolian. Xun Zhen is also not sure that he will get it for him. What choice will Cheng Jia make? If it was Xu Zhong and others, Xun Zhen would not doubt it, but as Li Hu said to Zhao Ran, Cheng Jia and other Jizhou people were short-lived to follow Xun Zhen, and Cheng Jia was greedy for money and lust, so Xun Zhen was really unsure of him. how to choose.

Therefore, he simply revealed this to Cheng Jia in person, and suggested that he ask the Zhao family for Xiaolian Lang. If Li Hu had promised Cheng Jia, he could use this to test Cheng Jia. Hu hadn't made this promise to Cheng Jia yet, so he suggested this first, which would show his trust in Cheng Jia and show that he was thinking of Cheng Jia.

Xun Zhen laughed at herself last night after she made the decision to suggest to Cheng Jiaxuan to ask for Xiaolian Lang.

In the previous life, he was still a generous person, but after traveling through this era, he feels that he has become more and more "suspicious" and "cunning".

This is probably due to the different circumstances.

In the previous life, there were no wars and chaos, and there was no sense of precariousness. In this life, there will be great chaos, and all people have selfish desires and all seek profits, just as the Tai Shigong said in the previous dynasty: "The world is prosperous, all come for profit, and the world is bustling, all for the sake of profit. Benefit to the future”, there are very few true loyal and righteous people, and he will inevitably feel self-threatening at all times in this environment, under great pressure, like walking on thin ice.

He now understands why Cao Cao is so suspicious.

He even thought: Liu Bei is famous for his generosity, but is Liu Bei really not suspicious? Maybe Liu Bei was just hiding his suspicious side. Liu Bei's subordinates have few people to use, and if he behaves suspiciously, he will be alone long ago.

Don't be too suspicious, you won't be able to stand in a chaotic world. Then again, if you are too suspicious, no one will believe it, and it's not good. There is a saying: "Trust me to provoke, but be suspicious and leave."

Xun Zhen thought to herself that there must be a good degree between suspicion and non-doubt, and if you stick to it, it is best to be able to "do not use people who are suspicious, and do not use people with suspicion". People should "do not need to be suspicious".

As for Cheng Jia, Xun Zhen is now in a state of dubious belief.

This person is capable, and his performance has always been called loyal. It is a pity not to use him, but after all, I have known him for a short time. He is greedy, lustful, and flattering. , the most important thing is that he has had conflicts with Xin Ai and Gao Su, and they don't get along well, so when this is related to his life and wealth, should he trust him?

No matter who it is, I'm afraid it will be like Xun Zhen is now. I want to trust him, but I doubt him, and it is inevitable to get some power and some tricks.

Cheng Jia listened to Xun Zhen's suggestion, but did not realize that what Xun Zhen said was half-truth and half-truth, he laughed: "Jia is greedy, and knows that she is greedy for her own shortcomings, but this nature is also, although she wants to change. In the end, there is nothing to change, the lords and lords are generous and benevolent, but they are still better than Jia when they accidentally become greedy.”

Xun Zhen knew that he was joking, but since Cheng Jia had the heart to joke, it seemed that he had no guilty conscience, so he let go of his heart a little, and took Cheng Jia's words and deliberately said with a serious face: "I think for the sake of Qing, Don't thank me, are you mocking me?"

Cheng Jia laughed and said, "When Li Hu comes to see me again, I will raise the two matters when I find an opportunity!"

Before leaving, Cheng Jia reminded Xun Zhen that since Zhao Ran came to bribe him, he might bribe others.

Xun Zhen thought of this last night, but she wasn't sure who Zhao Ran would buy.

…

In the next few days, Li Hu went to see Cheng Jia several times.

When the time was right, Cheng Jia put forward two demands of the market and Xiaolian Lang.

After Li Hu asked Zhao Ran, he happily agreed.

Cheng Jia came to see Xun Zhen again and told Xun Zhen about it.

Zhao Ran agreed so readily, from this we can see two things.

One is that Xun Zhen had a good estimate, and Lang Xiaolian should be the biggest bargaining chip Zhao Ran planned to use to buy Cheng Jia. Otherwise, he would not have hesitated to agree to Cheng Jia. The second is that Zhao Ran is so eager to buy Cheng Jia. It can be seen that he can't tolerate Xun Zhen in Wei County for a day. Since he is so eager to drive Xun Zhen away, then Xun Zhen and Cheng Jia's speculation is correct. He will not just buy Cheng Jia.

The question is: Besides Cheng Jia, who else will Zhao Ran buy?

Xun Zhen thought about the people under his command over and over in the past few days, and thought about a few people, but he was not sure, so he decided to find someone to help him judge.

This kind of thing can't be told to outsiders, so as not to panic under his command, he can only discuss it with the people closest to him, so he summoned Xun You and Xun Cheng.

Xun You knew about Li Hu's acquisition of Cheng Jia, and Xun Cheng was always in the camp, but he didn't know about it.

Xun Zhen first asked Xun You to tell Xun Cheng in detail the ins and outs of the matter.

When Xun You finished speaking, he opened his mouth and said, "Zhao Ran has a plan to drive me out of the county. He can bribe Junchang and others. Gongda and Zhongren, who do you think he will bribe?"

Xun You is the nephew of Xun Zhen, and Xun Cheng is the younger brother of Xun Zhen. The three of them have played together since childhood, and they have a deep friendship.

When Xun Cheng first heard this, he was quite surprised, frowned, and said, "Zhao Ran would actually go and bribe the people under Brother A. It's really despicable."

Xun Cheng didn't know that Xun Zhen was also trying to bribe Zhao Ran's cronies. Xun You knew that Xun Zhen was trying to bribe Zhao Ran's cronies. Hearing Xun Cheng's words, he smiled at Xun Zhen.

As if nothing had happened, Xun Zhen's expression remained unchanged, and said, "Soldiers are never tired of deceit. Using space and buying interiors should be common tactics in the military. Zhongren, you have been in the army for so long, how can you not know this reason? Why should you be surprised that Zhao Ran will use it? This policy?"

Xun Cheng said, "Yes." He frowned again, and said, "Brother's house and under the account are many people, and Cheng Jia is my brother's confidant, Zhao Ran still dares to buy it, let alone others, if you say he will Who to buy is hard to tell."

Xun Zhen asked Xun You, "Gongda, what do you think?"

Xun You replied, "You think that since it is difficult to determine who Zhao Ran will buy, you might as well start from the source."

Xun Cheng asked, "What is the source?"

Xun You replied, "What did Zhao Ran do to buy off the princes and princes?"

Xun Cheng said: "That's needless to say, since I'm trying to find a way for my brother, so as to chase..." At this point, he came to his senses and understood the meaning of the word "source" by Xun You, and said, "You mean, Can you start here?"

Xun You replied, "That's right." He said to Xun Zhen, "You think that you don't need to worry about who Zhao Ran will buy, you just need to think about whoever is bought by Zhao Ran will do the most harm to the prince. already."

Xun Zhen said: "I think so too. I think twice, Jun Qing, Yulang, A Deng, A Bao, Shuzhi, Zixiu and others will not let me down, and Chen Wu, Cai Qian and others will be killed by Zhao Ran. It doesn't matter if you buy it, only He Yi and Du Mai several people, I can't rest assured."

Xun Cheng didn't think of Du Mai and several people at first, he was horrified when he heard the words, and said: "Yes, He Yi and Li Xiang know that the elder brother has left the yellow turban and captured it privately, and Du Mai and Er Fan know that the elder brother hid Junqing and Aah when they were in Yingchuan in the past. Wei, this number of people cannot be avoided."

Xun You asked Xun Zhen, "What do you want to do?"

"Ku has no idea, because I called you two here. You said, if Zhao Ran went to buy Du Mai, etc., would he take me down?"

Xun Cheng said: "He Yi and Li Xiang, they are the thieves, and the thieves have no justice. They can not only surrender to save their lives, but they can also sell their brother for the sake of power. The Zhao family is a powerful family in the country. Du Mai and Er Fan are villains who don’t know justice, are greedy for money and good things, are tempted by small profits, and have a cold nature, so it’s easy to buy! If Zhao Ran wants to bribe them, he will easily succeed.”

Xun You's opinion was different from that of Xun Cheng, saying: "The prince treats He Yi and others very kindly, and they won't necessarily betray the prince."

Xun Zhen thought the same as Xun You, he said, "I think so too."

Xun Cheng said, "Even though they may not all be able to sell Brother A, as long as one of them will, Brother A's future and life will be worrying."

Xun Zhen also had this worry, he said, "I also have this worry." He asked Xun Cheng and Xun You, "How do you two think I should deal with it?"

Xun Cheng said, "It's better to send them to Yingchuan immediately."

Xun You disagreed and said: "The Zhao family has many eyes and ears in the county, and if the lord of UU reading www.uukanshu.com sends He Yi and Du Mai to Yingchuan, Zhao Ran will surely hear about it. The Zhao family has dominated Wei County for 20 years. They have minions and wings in all counties, their potential is solid inside and outside, and they have a large number of dead soldiers and diners. The number is more than hundreds. how?"

Zhao Ran was buying Xun Zhen's people, and Xun Zhen suddenly sent Li Xiang, He Yi and others to Yingchuan at this time, which would definitely arouse Zhao Ran's suspicion. The Zhao family has many disciples and dead men, and in each county, there are powerful and powerful surnames as their lackeys. If Zhao Ran sends them to rob He Yi and others on the way, and torture them and ask them, He Yi, Du Mai and others are afraid that they will be She would not keep a secret for Xun Zhen.

Xun Cheng said: "You can send more righteous followers..."

He wanted to say, "You can send more Yicong to escort", but halfway through his words, he knew he was wrong. Suddenly sending He Yi to Yingchuan was enough to arouse Zhao Ran's suspicion. Doubting Xun Zhen's purpose, he will definitely do anything to take He Yi and others away. The Zhao family can easily mobilize hundreds of people, unless they send thousands of righteous servants to **** He Yi and others from being kidnapped, but doing so would cost too much. It is impossible to send thousands of people to see He Yi and others away from staying in the county town.

Xun Cheng gritted his teeth and said, "Why don't we just do it?" He waved his hands and made a gesture of beheading.

As Xun Zhen said, Xun Cheng had indeed stayed in the camp for too long. He was infected with the murderous agility of Xu Zhong, Jiang Qin, Liu Deng and others without blinking an eye. Thought of killing this way.

Xun Zhen and Xun You looked at each other.