Three Kingdoms

The first year of Yanping, early autumn.

Yang Biao's subordinate Guanqiu Xing led an army with the number 100,000. He left Anyi and reached Linfen. His troops pointed directly at Pingyang.

The momentum was huge, but this journey was not very smooth. First, the scouts were tricked, and then the cavalry was beaten again while chasing Zhang Lie. As a result, Guanqiu Xing's originally small cavalry was suddenly stretched thin, and every day In addition to sending out a large group of scouts to investigate the surrounding area, Zhang Lie and others were allowed to wander in front of the military formation, pretending to turn a blind eye.

In the past two days, the same drama has been repeated again and again. Zhang Lie took the cavalry for a walk, and then Guanqiu Xing's remaining cavalry only dared to drive them away under the cover of his own infantry, and did not dare to pursue them.

Zhang Lie's cavalry did not find any flaws in Guanqiu Xing's relatively rigorous formation, so they were actually unable to cause much direct damage. They only succeeded in slowing down Guanqiu Xing's two-day trip, and even in one day We only walked less than twenty miles, and after three days of walking to the final point in Pingyang, we finally arrived at the camp five miles south of Pingyang City.

Following the custom of paying homage first and then attacking, Guanqiu Xing sent a letter of persuasion to surrender to Pingyang City.

Then Xun Chen made a stroke of his pen and said that he needed to think about it and would reply in three days...

After receiving the reply, Guanqiu Xing smiled coldly. Although he understood Xunchen's intention, he also needed to set up a relatively stable camp first, so he didn't care. He just sent troops to destroy the workshops in the northern suburbs of the city and demolished them. Some of the materials were used in the construction of his own camp, which can be regarded as a demonstration.

However, those workshops have long been emptied by Xun Chen's arrangements. Guanqiu Xing only demolished some wood and red bricks. For those walls built with earth and cement, it is difficult to demolish and burn them. After a while, I just ignored it.

Therefore, in the past two days, there has been a strange confrontation between the people above and below the city, each busy with their own affairs.

Because Pingyang City is already the largest trade center in Shanxi, even at this point in time, Chang'an Luoyang has declined, and Xuchang Ye City has not yet risen, so it can be said to be the richest place in the Han Dynasty, which seems to be barely justified.

The prosperity of the place naturally brings more people, and the more people flow, the more it promotes the construction of the city. This can be heard in the classic song of the Five Rings in later generations of China, knowing that it is crowded. If you want to die, you still risk your life and squeeze in.

Therefore, the original facilities and ground in Pingyang City were gradually insufficient. After Xun Chen took charge of Pingyang affairs, he began to build the second ring road of Pingyang. Thanks to the steelmaking auxiliary materials of Pingyang Workshop and those Xianbei slaves, the second ring road was built. The cost of the second city wall is even smaller than repairing the original city wall.

Because the circumference of the second ring is more than twice that of the first ring, it can be calculated that the more advanced materials and equipment invented by Fei Qian have a huge impact on current production and construction.

However, the turrets and cloud towers on the second ring city wall are limited by craftsmen and material constraints. After all, they still need wooden beams. The earth and cement walls are acceptable, but the strength is still insufficient for the reinforced concrete structures like those of later generations. , so there is probably only an embryo and it has not been fully completed, and the output of the red brick kiln on the city wall has not increased much. Many places on the Pingyang Second Ring City wall are not laid with harder red bricks. In addition, The trenches outside the city have not yet been dug, so the overall defense system of the second ring city wall is still somewhat inadequate and can barely be used. However, if Guanqiu Xing were to attack by force, after all, the perimeter of the second ring city wall is there, and it would be easier to break through. .

Therefore, those who are still in Binh Duong and have some status have moved into the inner city of Binh Duong 1st Ring Road for safety reasons. After all, it is safer. Even those who have not had time to purchase and rent houses within the 1st Ring Road can still do so. Friends, relatives, etc., just squeeze in at an emergency...

As for whether there will be personal danger after Guanqiu Xing breaks the city, in the eyes of these gentry children, most of them think that there will not be too many problems. The reason is very simple. This is not a barbarian attack on the city, but Yang Biao's. The army under his command.

It's not that Yang Biao's personal reputation is so good, but because at this point in time, apart from the barbarians who can massacre the city, the other princes from all over the country still need some benevolence and righteousness to cover their faces, so Cao Cao went out to massacre the city. After the incident, people were talking about it for who knows how long. Even after he became the most powerful Prime Minister Cao, there were still people talking about it. Even the officials who compiled the history of Wei used the sentence "There are many mistakes" on this matter. "Murder"...

If Zhengxi Feiqian and others can hold on, and they did not abandon themselves during the battle, they can naturally show off to some extent in the future to get closer. If Yang Biao's men capture the city, they will not risk the world. Instead of massacring the city brazenly, all he needs to do is to close the door tightly and go to see Guanqiu Xing when things are a little more stable and express his willingness to bow his head and become a vassal. There will be no delay in either aspect...

Furthermore, for the large gentry families, even the gentry children of the family currently located in Pingyang are mostly individual personnel sent from other territories. There is no native aristocratic family in Pingyang, so there is no such thing as a family. The safety of the family is in danger. Even if they are unfortunately killed in the war, for these nobles, it is just the loss of one or several family members, just like one or two broken branches on a big tree. The branches, although painful, are not fatal.

But for Zhao Shang, who is one person and a family, he naturally cannot be so indifferent, nor can he sit still and wait for the final result to come...

In Zhao Shang's mind, there was nothing wrong with General Fei Qian of Zhengxi, but there was something wrong with his behavior. The most critical point was that he did not leave the Han Emperor in Bingbei!

What does General Fei Qian want to do?

Zhao Shang believed that the most serious problem in this dynasty was the excessive military power. This was the case with Dong Zhuo and Li Guo before. He finally saw Fei Qian welcome the Han Emperor to Pingyang. He originally thought that Fei Qian was also a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, but he did not. Thinking about it, he was reluctant to part with the military power in his hands, so that the opportunity to join the court slipped away in vain...

Will Dong Zhuo end well?

Will Li Jue and Guo Si end well?

In Zhao Shang's view, Fei Qian's best route is to go to his relatives. Regardless of how old Han Emperor Liu Xie is now, find someone to marry the Han Emperor while he is in Pingyang, and then lead the army. Entering Luoyang with the Han Emperor, he can hold the inner court and the chancellery in his hands. From then on, the Fei family will become prosperous, and the Zhao Shang family will naturally rise as the tide rises...

As a result, Fei Qian was so short-sighted that he let Han Emperor Liu Xie go without doing anything, which meant that he lost the best opportunity. How could Zhao Shang not regret it!

Although the official system of this dynasty follows the system of three gongs and nine ministers, the three gongs and nine ministers refer to the officials outside the court, that is, the outer court, because the government offices of the three gongs and nine ministers are located outside the palace.

Although the Sangong and Jiuqing have high positions, they are also the dreams pursued by the nobles in the world. However, in the hearts of discerning people, the position of the Sangong is not so beautiful.

Under Dong Zhongshu's heaven-human induction system, the emperor is guilty, God has opinions, and caused disasters. Naturally, someone has to take the blame, so Sangong is the best candidate to take the blame. In this context, if there is a disaster every year, the Three Lords will naturally be like a revolving lantern, just walking around in accordance with etiquette and regulations. Anyway, everyone knows what is going on.

Only the official positions in the inner court were not changed often, and once they were changed, it would mean a bloody storm in politics.

In the early Han Dynasty, the prime minister plus the three gongs and nine ministers had too much power. As a result, the emperor was often restrained. Therefore, after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to power, the first thing he did was to kill the prime minister. The next step was to kill the three gongs and nine ministers. Gradually it became an honorary position.

Emperor Wu had great talents and great plans, and needed edicts and decisions to be handed down quickly. However, due to the excessive power of the ministers, Emperor Wu was greatly constrained, and the imperial power could not be used to direct the affairs. So he began to reuse officials in the inner court and the court. The three princes were gradually deprived of their real power, and the minister became an important official position to pay the king's orders. There were Shangshu Ling, Shangshu Pushe and Liucao Shangshu in the Shangshu station, which were called "eight seats" at that time, and their status was very respected.

Whether there is an official position among the Three Lords and Nine Ministers is an important dividing point. If not, it is just a wooden statue of a laughing person. It is placed up when needed, and taken down to bear thunder when something goes wrong. With this matter, even if he is removed from the position of Third Duke, he will still be an important minister in the court.

At the same time, in order to prevent the inner court ministers from joining forces with the three ministers and nine ministers to sideline the emperor, Emperor Wu mixed sand into the ministerial desk. He usually appointed his relatives as generals or chief ministers, and also recorded ministerial affairs, so as to avoid external affairs. The court officials had complete control over the chancellery. After all, the relatives and the emperor were more or less one family.

The emperor usually discussed major plans with ministers and courtiers who had been promoted to official positions, but ministers could not participate. Therefore, starting from Emperor Wu, Chinese and Korean officials had greater decision-making power over government affairs. Many political affairs were discussed by the Chinese and Korean officials and then issued by the emperor. implement.

As a result, the official positions in the inner court of China and the DPRK were overweight, which also posed a threat to the imperial power. In the later period, Emperor Wu also used the ban on middle officials, that is, eunuchs intervened in government affairs to balance politics.

Banzhong refers to the place where the emperor and his concubines live, and most of the internal court officials are eunuchs. In the late period of Emperor Wu, considering that Shangshu could only perform affairs in the palace and could not convey government affairs in the palace, he appointed eunuchs as Zhongshu Yezheling, responsible for delivering edicts and memorials. From then on, Zhongshu Ling began to contain Shangshu Ling.

By the time of Emperor Guangwu, the distinction between palace restrictions was even stricter, and scholars could not enter and leave the palace at will. The promulgation of political decrees and the submission of memorials in the banzhong were all handled by the Shizhong Temple, the East Temple, and the West Temple located in the banzhong. It was originally a tripartite restriction. However, during the reign of Emperor Xiaozhang, the minister Guo Ju had an affair with the harem, and he was The sword frightened the emperor, causing Shizhong Temple to be moved out, and Jinzhong became completely dominated by eunuchs.

At that time, Emperor Wu, in order to fight for the power of the prime minister, contained the outer court and vigorously reused Chinese and Korean officials. After Emperor Guangwu, in order to prevent the power of China and North Korea from becoming more powerful, he restricted the use of officials in the inner court. As a result, the imperial power expanded and expanded, leading to the modern era. Eunuchs are causing trouble. In fact, it is because the imperial officials who represent the imperial power are too strong, which leads to power. Without effective checks and balances, the country will inevitably fail.

He Jin died, and the fire in the Luoyang Palace was actually the result of the foreign court officials and the Chinese and Korean officials joining forces to kill the eunuchs who could not lose their tails. Until now, the eunuchs in the palace have been cut off. figure.

Now that the Han Emperor is young, the foreign court officials and local governors are powerful. It is the time when foreign relatives are urgently needed to balance the situation. Therefore, if General Fei Qian of the Western Expedition takes this opportunity to get close to the Han Emperor, he will become the next Great Sima to command the inner court of China. , power over the world is just around the corner!

It is a shame to miss this opportunity!

Not only that, General Zhengxi also gave the post of general to Yuan Shao!

Although there is some intention to provoke the Shandong nobles, it would be a pity to use a general to carry out this strategy. Looking at Yuan Shao now only leading but not doing anything, you can know that this strategy is useless. …

Is it necessary for such a general to conquer the West to continue investing?

Every time he thought of these things, Zhao Shang would inevitably sigh.

Zhao Shang did not think that the Han Dynasty would perish. In his mind, it was just that the Han Dynasty had not yet met the master of the Zhongxing Dynasty and had not activated the ministers of the Zhongxing Dynasty. Before, he thought that Zhengxi Feiqian was more or less a minister of the Zhongxing Dynasty, but now it seems …

Of course, Zhao Shang believed that he was more or less a ZTE minister who could shoulder important responsibilities, so he was naturally aggrieved when General Zhengxi was forcefully involved in the matter of enlightenment from Taiyuan.

"Brother Zhao, how are you doing these days?" A young scribe, wearing a wide robe and long sleeves, a crown and a belt, and a handsome appearance, was obviously a regular customer of Zhao Shang's house. Under the leadership of Zhao Shang's servants, Shi Shiran walked out He came in, "Recently, Duke Yang's army was displayed outside, and I couldn't help but feel a little frightened. However, I saw that Brother Zhao was safe and calm, which made me admire him so much..."

"Feng Xian is joking..." Zhao Shang motioned for the young scribe to sit down, and while ordering the servants to serve some refreshments, he said slowly, "What Mr. Yang wants is nothing more than people and wealth. If we are forced to destroy both jade and stone, what will happen?" What's the benefit? Therefore, attacking the city is the next best thing, and besieging the city is the best. We, as we, have no money, so there is no need to worry about it."

The two of them looked at each other and smiled, and then watched the servants serve tea. After busy for a while, after leaving, Zhao Shang first invited tea. After the young scribe picked up the tea bowl and took a few sips, he asked: "I'm here first, can you?" Got something?"

Pei Jun, courtesy name Fengxian, is a disciple of Pei Mao of the Wenxi Pei family. Like Zhao Shang, he is a group of gentry children who came to Pingyang very early. In terms of family background and other things, he may be so much better than Zhao Shang. A little, but it is limited. After all, the only people Wenxi Pei is famous for now are Pei Ye and Pei Mao, and they are still in the past tense.

Pei Ye served as the governor of Bingzhou, and Pei Mao served as Shangshu Ling during the period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. However, after Emperor Ling's death, both General He Jin and Grand Tutor Yuan Wei immediately disliked Pei Mao. He was considered smart and understood the spirit. He submitted a letter to resign and returned to his hometown, which was considered a escape.

The rise of Fei Qian and Bei, the general who conquered the west, naturally attracted the attention of the Pei family in Wenxi. After all, if it is really about ancestry, whether it is Pei, Fei, or Pei, they are all descended from the same ancestor. The ones passed down separately by the side are similar to the feelings of Taiyuan Wang family and Langya Wang family...

Usually the road to the rise of a family is very long, so long that it cannot be completed in one generation. Therefore, after Pei Mao retires, it is natural to consider the path of the next generation. However, if General Fei's potential in conquering the West cannot be achieved, is it worth the investment? It was still something that Pei Mao felt needed to be investigated and measured. Therefore, as a subordinate in the family, Pei Jun naturally had no shirk in his duty and went to Pingyang to observe it up close.

"In the name of marriage, I asked to see Xun Dongcao..." Pei Jun put down the tea bowl, lowered his eyebrows and said, "Xun Dongcao was pleased and would like to convey this to someone..."

"Xinran?" Zhao Shang frowned.

Pei Jun nodded.

After Zhao Shang pondered for a moment, he said: "...Is it true that the truth is true?"

Pei Jun shook his head and said, "I don't know. I'm in Xun Dongcao's place, but I can't directly ask..."

"Could it be that..." Zhao Shang stood up, walked around the hall a few times, then stood still, looked in the direction outside the hall, and whispered, "could it be that... General Zhengxi has a posthumous child?"