Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3549: Violent Tiger Fenghe

The courtyard is densely forested and the cypress branches are swaying.

Uncle Cui leaned on his staff, pointed at the cypress in the garden and said, "Don't act rashly! A tree that lives a long life must have a strong root. The twisted roots are entangled under the Yellow Springs, and only then can they receive rain and dew from the sky. Now there is a huge tree facing the wind, with new green leaves swaying. Does the owner want to cut off the old branches to make room for the young buds?"

Although Cui is quite old, her voice is still very loud.

The gray beard brushed against the bronze dove head, and the gray hair and the rusty copper seemed to blend together.

The light and shadow from the cypress tree fell on Cui Yan and Cui's third uncle.

Mottled, like some kind of mysterious hint.

When the Third Uncle saw Cui Yan remained silent, he knocked the ground with his staff, saying, "Master, have you not seen the cypresses in autumn and winter? Cutting off the rotten branches and preserving the great trees is the way of life in heaven and earth!"

A cypress leaf fell quietly and landed on Cui Yan's clothes, like frost frozen on the execution platform.

Cui Yan raised his head and smiled, shaking his sleeves to show the Cui Clan’s Ancestral Map in his hand. Looking at the ink on the scroll that looked like old blood, he said in a deep voice, “Third Uncle! Why don’t you see the thunder of the Spring Waking of Insects? The hibernating insects break through the hard soil, and the young birds crack the old nests. This cypress has been reincarnated for sixty years. If the new buds had not pecked through the old bark, how could the green crown touch the clouds?”

The third uncle's eyes fell on the yellowed and old clan branch map, with the ink-colored words winding on the scroll. He swallowed and his eyes became colder.

"Ridiculous!" Third Uncle slammed his staff on the ground heavily, "Shang Jun carved wood and moved gold, and the Qin Dynasty was beheaded in the second generation! Our family tree is like the lines of cypress, with an orderly order of seniority. How can we allow a foreign hemp to pollute our family tree?"

Cui Yan looked at his third uncle, and his third uncle also stared at Cui Yan.

There seemed to be only a few steps between the two people, but also like they were a whole world apart.

Light and shadows flickered across corridors and courtyards.

The red and yellow colors of the carved beams and painted buildings looked like amber under the shadows.

Cui Yan's gaze was like a sword, piercing deep into the eyes of the Third Uncle. "When Yuan Benchu ​​built the Yetai, he used 38 cypresses like this as beams! Where are they now?"

The Third Uncle raised his hand and pointed at Cui Yan with his finger stained with age spots, but his eyes passed over the purple ribbon on Cui Yan's waist, "What Cao Gong asked for was just a purple ribbon, why bother the whole family?"

Cui Yan tore off the purple ribbon and threw it on the ground, "In this case, Third Uncle can take this ribbon to Cao's camp! Let's see whether Cao recognizes this ribbon or wants to take my head!"

The Third Uncle suddenly laughed up to the sky, his voice like tearing silk, "It is said in the poem "Bai Zhou" that "I am worried and angry at the little ones". If I were in your position, why would I need to teach my children loyalty and filial piety? "

Cui Yan stepped on the purple ribbon on the ground, as if he was stepping on the tail of a dragon. "Uncle, do you know that the once prosperous Tongque Tower has become a place where dragons are trapped today? Before Emperor Xiaoguangwu, there was still Emperor Xiaowu! "The one who replaces the Han Dynasty should be high up in the sky!"

The third uncle's hair and beard were standing on end, and he raised his staff, as if he was going to rush over and hit Cui Yan, but he still held back and said with gritted teeth, "You want to imitate the Yuan family? Where are they now, the three officials of four generations?!"

Cui Yan showed a somewhat sarcastic smile, "Oh? Uncle also knows this? I wonder if Uncle sent Mei Ji to Yuan's mansion in the past with such righteousness? If I wrap this ribbon with my head today, Prime Minister Cao may be more pleased with Uncle's loyalty and filial piety of learning to walk in Handan!"

Uncle San nodded and sneered, "This is nothing more than a tyrant! This brat is so stubborn that he is destroying the Cui family's century-old foundation! He refused to listen to my advice... he is crazy and rebellious! Such a rebellious person should harm the Cui family!"

Cui Yan also nodded, "In this case, each of us should follow our own path."

The third uncle angrily threw his sleeves and left.

In the dark corner, after Third Uncle left, a dark shadow appeared and bowed to Cui Yan's side.

Cui Yan looked up at the sky, looked at the tall and majestic branches of the cypress tree, and sighed. He originally hoped that his family would support him, but he didn't expect that his family would think that it would be better to take his head out to appease Cao Cao's anger...

Cui Yan unfolded the "Cui Family Genealogy" in his hand, looked at a bamboo slip in it, was silent for a long time, then pulled it out of the scroll and threw it under the roots of the cypress tree.

…

…

A crude ladder was placed on the top of the city wall.

The ragged soldiers shouted at the foot of the city and rushed forward frantically.

The dark clouds in the sky were rolling, and faint thunder could be heard.

After the Waking of Insects, it is not only the insects in nature that are awakened...

Pingyuan was originally a country, but now it is a county.

Over and over again, counties became countries, and countries became counties. After three or four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, people seemed to have gotten used to it. However, everything before their eyes was like the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou rising up again, which made people not necessarily able to accept and get used to it.

The scene that took place on the border of Jizhou a month ago now appeared on the city wall of Pingyuan.

These ragged soldiers, coming from nowhere, under the banner of Cao's army, began to attack Pingyuan.

Pingyuan County and Pingyuan City were still good in the early years, but since Liu Bei left, Pingyuan has begun to deteriorate, especially after Cao Cao's westward expedition, the food reserves in Pingyuan City have begun to be stretched.

At the end of last year, the food supply for the soldiers in the city was halved, and ordinary people were even more miserable. In that cold and freezing season, there was a serious shortage of charcoal for heating, and even ordinary wood was not enough. Many elderly and weak people died of hunger and cold. During the coldest days, there were many carts pulling corpses that were frozen like stones out of the city almost every day.

Now, with the arrival of early spring, people have started farming and there is some hope for a new life. However, no one expected that these soldiers under the banner of Cao's army would come to attack.

The Han Dynasty's information transmission system relies entirely on human and animal power. Once it is lacking, it will be like an information island, extremely closed.

Originally, for the common people in the plain area, the war between Cao Cao and Fei Qian was very far away from them. Although they would occasionally gather together to discuss the victory or defeat of both sides and the pros and cons of things, most of the time, they still lived a relatively peaceful life. They didn't think about changing anything, nor did they want to do anything. Until the day when Cao's army suddenly arrived outside the city, all the peace was crushed and turned into blood and mud.

When these Cao troops arrived, the governor of Pingyuan thought that they were some defeated Cao troops coming to take advantage of the situation. Although he found it strange, he still had people prepare some old grains and miscellaneous foods, thinking of sending these remaining soldiers away.

But no one expected that these seemingly defeated Cao army soldiers were so cruel. They not only lured the governor of Pingyuan out of the city, but even kidnapped him, just to take over the city!

Fortunately, Pingyuan County Magistrate Shi reacted quickly, closed the city gate and pulled up the drawbridge in time.

The governor of Pingyuan was beheaded at the foot of the city, and an inexplicable offensive and defensive battle began...

Shi, the magistrate of Pingyuan County, was somewhat of a local celebrity. He was once good friends with Xiahou Dun and they had correspondence. He organized the military and civilians of Pingyuan to resist in a responsible manner. After all, those who had witnessed the disaster caused by the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou knew that once the city was broken, what would await them would inevitably be a brutal massacre.

On the other hand, they also eagerly sent troops out to ask for help and spread the news that the plain was attacked.

Although the soldiers who came to attack Pingyuan were flying the banner of Cao’s army, isn’t Pingyuan Cao’s territory?

This matter has been filled with a weird atmosphere from the very beginning, which makes people confused.

…

…

The news that the plain had been attacked spread through various channels.

The first main force of Cao's army to receive the news was Cao Hong's troops, which were moving from the edge of Jizhou to Yanzhou.

The rainy season was approaching, and Cao Hong hoped to reach the designated position before the continuous spring rains. However, when he had only walked one-third of the way, he received news that "Cao's army" was attacking Pingyuan. His feelings were mixed and indescribable.

"Could this be a mistake?"

The first thing Cao Hong thought of was false information.

Because false military intelligence is not uncommon. For some reason, local officials will not only send fire dragons through the warehouse, but also send ghost soldiers to attack. The Yellow Turban bandits' sowing beans to create soldiers is weak. These Han officials are all able to use "immortal magic". They don't even need to sow beans. When necessary, they can directly create something out of nothing, and create nothing out of something...

Moreover, Cao Hong only plundered the gentry and local tyrants in the border areas of Jizhou, that is, all the areas close to the river. Although Pingyuan County was not far from the river, it was closer to Qingzhou, so Cao Hong did not send anyone there. Well, the key point is that Cao Hong knew that Pingyuan County was not rich and did not have much money.

Therefore, the only thing Cao Hong could be sure of was that the soldiers who attacked the city in Pingyuan County were not his!

Cao Hong had led troops for many years and was good at making decisions. He was not without courage, but the successive defeats he suffered in front of the Hussars had made him realize the cruelty of reality.

If he failed the first time, he could say that it was because of his own negligence and the cavalrymen were cunning. If he failed the second time, he could also say that it was because of his small number of troops, low morale, and problems with his military academy. Then the third and fourth times, he still failed...

Even if it really was all negligence, morale, or the subordinates' fault, there is nothing more to say.

This time when Cao Hong moved his army to Yanzhou, he also had some hope in his heart. If he could defeat the cavalry in this battle, he might be able to regain some reputation and face.

But the news from Pingyuan was like a slap in his face, making him angry yet helpless.

You can't fight back, if you do, it will mean a fight.

The fight between Cao's army and Cao's army...

Cao Kai also received the news and came to ask, "Uncle, what's going on in Pingyuan...Should we return to the army?"

"Return to the army?" Cao Hong smiled bitterly.

After a moment of silence, Cao Hong shook his head, "No, we should stick to the original plan and continue to march forward... What happens after death can only be left to the people after death..."

Cao Kai repeated subconsciously, "After death..."

He felt that the word seemed a little unlucky, as if it was foreshadowing something, but nowadays there were so many unlucky and unfortunate things happening, so what good solution was there?

…

…

The tenth year of Taixing may be destined to be a spring that will not bring peace to people.

Normally, when the spring flowers are in full bloom, it is the time for the children of the noble families to go out for an outing. However, this year's outings have been slow to develop, and people are more or less uninterested in the scenery. Even if they are occasionally organized, they will fall into arguments.

Peach blossoms are beginning to bloom on the outskirts of Xu County.

In previous years, there would surely be a bunch of drunken and singing people here, drinking to their heart's content with their cups of wine, but now there are undercurrents among the scholars and writers sitting together.

It had been more than three months since Cao Cao was defeated by the Cavalry. Although Cao Cao suddenly appeared in Xuchang and suppressed the unrest in Xu County with his old power, he could not say that he had 100% control outside of Xu County, especially outside of Yingchuan and Yuzhou.

Nowadays, there are signs of instability in Xuzhou, Qingzhou, and even in Jizhou. There are also some frightening news coming from time to time, making it really difficult for these Shandong gentry children to drink and enjoy themselves.

The wind in spring is the most unpredictable. It may blow from north to south today, and from south to north tomorrow. It was so humid yesterday that the ceiling was dripping, and the next day it was clean and sunny...

At such a time of year, even the weather forecasts and satellite remote sensing of later generations may not be able to provide accurate predictions, let alone the Han gentry and students of the time. How could they expect to get accurate forecasts and calculate weather changes and temperature variations?

What's more, hot and cold are often relative concepts.

Do you know whether you are feeling cold or warm?

Under such circumstances, to prevent the children of the aristocratic families from participating in politics is simply going against the genetic chain engraved in their bones!

Even after Cao's army had "accidentally killed" a group of students in Xu County, there were still some people who, when they got together, would start discussing the changes in the world.

Yes, that’s right, “manslaughter”.

Cao Cao reluctantly apologized, perhaps giving a sweet reward after a beating. The name of "manslaughter by mistake" also confirmed that the families of these dead students would not be implicated in any "treason" or other crimes, but it was obvious that "manslaughter by mistake" also meant that Ren Jun was performing his official duties, and his starting point was not wrong, but his soldiers were negligent and careless in the specific execution process...

Will there be any compensation for these students who were "accidentally killed"? Generally speaking, there is none. Being able to restore their reputation is already a concession Cao Cao made to ease the atmosphere between the government and the public. If he continues to beg for money, it may become a shameless act, which is even worse.

Therefore, when other students gathered together, on the one hand, it was as if they had been subjected to collective amnesia, and suddenly forgot the existence of certain people. On the other hand, they stopped discussing Cao Cao and started discussing and arguing about the system of the whole world...

If you don't mention the names, you can pretend that nothing happened. Once you mention the names, it will inevitably attract the divine beast... Oh, the school official has arrived...

When the news of Pingyuan's "rebellion" reached Xu County, these sons of the noble families were discussing the system of the world, each with their own ideas, and their words clashed like swords.

Someone stood up, raised the scroll of the Analects in his hand, and said in a loud voice, "In the past, many books of sages were destroyed by war, and it was difficult for good copies to survive. Today, there are people who wish to preserve the teachings and avoid war, which is the greatest good. If there are rebels who destroy the Confucian Temple, plunder the gold on the sages' faces and destroy their statues, who would be the true enemy of Confucianism?"

After he finished speaking, he passed the Analects scroll in his hand to others for them to read.

Due to the constant wars during the Qin and Han dynasties, the teaching of the Analects in various places was mainly oral, so there were different versions, each claiming to be the authentic one and slandering others. It was like the APP market in later generations, as long as they did not pay advertising fees, they were all illegal software.

As a result, it was not until the Qinglong Temple Conference that Confucian scholars from all walks of life gathered in Chang'an. Under the guidance of great Confucian scholars such as Zheng Xuan, they revised the Analects and other books, and then the final editions were published one after another.

The Analects that were passed to everyone had the words "Published by Qinglong Temple, the eighth year of Taixing" written in the corner of the scroll.

A student in the audience nodded and responded: "If we can preserve the teachings of Confucius and Yan, and continue to worship them, then that would be fine."

As soon as he finished speaking, a man in the corner slammed the documents on the table, pushed his hat and said angrily, "Gentlemen, just talk about the preservation of the sages. Do you know the miserable situation in Luoyang? In the land of Heluo, nine out of ten houses are empty! Moreover, there was the thief Dong who cooked and ate the royal family members, slept drunk on the dragon bed, and tarnished the royal bloodline. How can such beasts truly worship the saints? !"

Before he finished speaking, another person sneered, his voice harsh, "How ridiculous! The blood of Tu Men is still hot, but it has been forgotten!"

A man under the tree was playing the zither. He snapped all the strings when he heard the words and said with a sigh, "I heard that the great families in Youzhou knelt in the snow to welcome the Hu cavalry and offered baskets and pots to please the northern soldiers. Isn't this trying to change the Chinese into barbarians?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room fell silent.

This is the point!

Although no one mentioned Cao Cao and Fei Qian in their discussion, everyone knew that these were code names...

In Shandong, a large part of the resistance to Fei Qian, or people like Fei Qian, including warriors like Dong Zhuo before, is because people in Shandong think that they are the orthodox descendants of sages with pure blood of China, while people like Fei Qian and Dong Zhuo carry a fishy smell of Hu people.

Suddenly someone stood up, raised his arms and said, "You are all wrong! The Spring and Autumn Annals says, 'If the princes use the barbarian rituals, they are barbarians; if they advance to China, they are Chinese!' Now there are people who revise the classics and correct forgeries, and there are also people who destroy the texts and kill people. I dare to ask, who is the right way for China?"

Before he could finish, someone threw the scroll passed to him to the ground, "Ridiculous! How can a man bend to his will just because he follows the Han rituals?"

Arguing, blushing.

His bony arms and veiny forehead complement each other.

The wine and dishes spilled from the overturned table soaked the Analects scroll.

Some people shouted, some laughed, some were angry, and some hesitated.

Only one boy sat alone in the setting sun, dipping his brush in ink to record the events of the day.

He said: "When I see the whole world in turmoil, the well-dressed officials are all bowing to the warriors. Is it just the external force that makes this happen? What is the reason for the theory of "a tiger crossing a river"? Since the Yongshou period, the literati have gradually taken officialdom as their career and taken it as their pride. During the great debate on party imprisonment, the orthodox doctrine was subordinated to the imperial power, and gentlemen were no longer allowed in the court. By the time of Xiaoling, the Ten Eunuchs were rampant, and the integrity of the literati had long been corrupted by the smell of money!"

"Alas! The orthodoxy of Taoism is still alive, how can it be lost in the mansions of the nobles?"