Chapter 15: Stratagem

Han Ling sat in the carriage and looked out with his hand on the curtain. Luoyang is the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which is long from north to south and short from east to west, and is also known as the ninety-six city. That is, the city is six miles from east to west and eleven steps, and from north to south nine miles and one hundred steps. There are 12 city gates around Luoyang City, which is close to Pishan Mountain in the north and Luohe River in the south, which is an excellent place to build the capital. There are a total of 24 streets in the city, each street is divided into three strands, only the ministers, Shangshu and other ministers walk in the middle road, and the general pedestrians are left and right.

He was in a hurry to find Situ brother Yuan An, in order to tell the coachman to hurry up, it was noon, the sun boss hung in the sky, the heat was unbearable, the coachman was sweating profusely, the heat was uncomfortable, so he had to desperately drive the horses, so that the cool breeze brought by the fast march diluted some of the heat.

Suddenly, a man sprang out of the spur, and stood in front of the carriage, and since there was no one in the middle of the road, the coachman drove the horse so fast that he did not react for a moment, and pulled the reins with great force. The horse, strained suddenly, stood up on its front legs, and rushed toward the house next to it, causing several men and women to flee in all directions. The horse did not stop his steps, but walked to the wall and felt that it was time to turn, so he threw the carriage against the wall. Han Ling sat in the car, only feeling dizzy, his body was hit hard, and the Venus in front of him twinkled. The horse was pulled by the wheel, and with a terrible pain, it neighed, and turned again, and rushed to the other side of the road.

The coachman had already been thrown to the side of the road, motionless, and his life and death were unknown. Although Han Ling was injured, his mind was still clear, and he threw himself to the car door, trying his best to hold the reins of the horse so as not to hurt the innocent. How could the frightened horses hold on, and seeing a woman in coarse cloth with her young son had shrunk in fright, the carriage still galloped away in their direction.

Just as the horse was about to step on the mother and son, he saw a man suddenly jump on the horse, with amazing power, and his arms were strong, and he grabbed the horse and stopped in front of the mother and son.

Han Ling was shocked, got out of the car tremblingly, and let out a long sigh of relief when he saw that the mother and son were fine. At this time, he looked at the man on the horse, and saw that the man was wearing a hat, a yellow robe in linen, a wide belt girdle, and a green silk scarf on his feet, and he was tall and had a conspicuous scar on his face.

Han Ling gave a deep salute, "Thank you for saving me." Dare to ask the name of the strong man? ”

The man on the horse smiled slightly, raised his leg down, and helped Han Ling up, "Your Excellency, you don't have to be polite, I was about to look for you, but I unexpectedly saved my adult's life here." ”

"Oh?" Han Ling was stunned for a moment, looked at it carefully, and still didn't recognize it, so he asked, "Who asked you to come to me?" ”

"In Xia Li Xia, do you remember King Qinghe?" Li Xia whispered.

Han Ling was stunned for a moment, and looked at the excitement although there were some people around, but they were all watching the excitement, and no one paid attention to the conversation between the two of them, so he also whispered, "Strong man, please go back to the house with me to talk in detail." At this time, the coachman had woken up, and Han Ling ordered, "Let's go, go home, Li Zhuangshi, please get in the car, and we will talk in the car." ”

The carriage turned around again and walked towards Hanfu. A figure appeared behind the car, gave it a cold look, turned and disappeared around the corner.

Li Xia was ordered by Deng Xun to return to Beijing to look for Liu Qing, and he knew that Liu Qing would not go to the mansion of people related to the Dou family, so he inquired in various mansions, and sure enough, he found Liu Qing in Situ's mansion. When Liu Qing and Yuan An learned that the case of Duxianghou was indeed committed by Dou Xian, they were overjoyed, so they sent Li Xia to find Shangshu Han Ling, but they didn't expect to see Han Ling's carriage out of control on the road, so they came to the rescue.

Li Xia had seen all the officials in Dou Xian's mansion, and he had the ability to never forget, so he recognized Han Ling at a glance. In the car, Han Ling learned the truth of the matter, and sneered, "I knew that this matter must have been done by the Dou family, but now although you are a witness, I can't testify, I'm afraid that it will harm your life." ”

Li Xia smiled, "I have a way, or it works, my lord, you might as well listen to it." ”

Han Ling said, "Let's hear it." ”

"My lord, do you know that there is a steward Dou Cheng in the Dou Mansion who is three levels older than the official?" He smiled mysteriously, as if he had a firm mind.

Steward Dou Cheng was rewarded, this operation failed, he stared at the knife-like wrinkles on the man's face, and snorted coldly, "Lu Quan, you said that it was foolproof, now how do you let me explain to the general?" ”

"The subordinates planned to take advantage of the chaos, but unexpectedly, one person intervened, and it fell short!" Lu Quan glanced at Dou Cheng and asked tentatively, "Doesn't the steward want to know who this person is?" ”

Dou Cheng showed a surprised look on his face, "Could it be someone we know?" ”

"Yes, it's Li Xia!" Lu Quan said with great certainty.

Dou Cheng stared at a blooming peony in the corner of the wall, his eyes flickered slightly, and he gritted his teeth tightly, "Li Xia and He Shun took shelter from the wind at the same time, but only one person appeared, there must be something strange about this matter!" He looked at Lu Quandao again, "You have always been unfriendly with Li Xia, so you won't take the opportunity to frame you!" ”

Lu Quan smiled gloomily, "My lord still believes it, even if I frame him, it's good to guard against it." He smirked and stared at Dou Cheng deadly, seeing that he couldn't help but feel cold, so he waved his hand and said, "You go down, remember not to show the slightest mouth!" ”

After Lu Quan left, Dou Cheng walked around the yard, the beads of sweat on his head slipped into the **, and his back itched so badly that he didn't bother to care. Dou Xian ordered him to kill Han Ling, but things went wrong. The thugs and killers were both trained by He Shun and Li Xia, and now that the two are not in the mansion, the only person he can mobilize is Lu Quan.

However, Lu Quan's action failed again, although the other party did not notice it, but it was inevitable that he would lose the opportunity to act again.

Also, whether Lu Quan's words about seeing Li Xia were true also made things like fog. He is just a steward, Dou Xian asked him to do whatever he wanted, and by the way, he got a little oil and water in the ups and downs of the palace. Acting on orders every day, carefully, he has long become a frightened bird, and the slightest wind and grass will make his heart beat and sit like pins and needles.

The courtyard wall of the General's Mansion was like a huge cage, which made Dou Cheng feel depressed. He was drenched in sweat, which made him feel very sad. It was getting dark, if Dou Xian returned home and knew that things were not done well, then the consequences....he didn't dare to think about it!

Dou Cheng couldn't stay any longer, he had to find someone to discuss and deal with this matter again, so he paced out the back door and walked towards the mansion opposite, where there was another person, the only person he could find to discuss things now.

The willow tree in front of the door is the same as before, but it is more densely green, and a few geese and finches are resting on the top of the tree in the evening, chirping in the sunset, and making him even more upset. Dozens of thoughts went through his mind, but he couldn't come up with a feasible solution.

The courtyard gate was closed, and the cries at the mouth of the alley had stopped. He slowly evened out his breathing and walked towards the door with his characteristic square steps.

Suddenly he felt a black in front of him, a sack was put on top of his head, he was about to struggle, but he was hit hard, and immediately his whole body was paralyzed, and he did not wake up.

The matter was successfully completed, Dou Cheng did not do too much resistance and confessed the fact that Dou Xian had instructed, and He Shun's body was dug up again, as a murderer who was killed.

Now it is only left how to guide Song You to tell everything to the Queen Mother.

Du Wei He Chang had already received Yuan An's secret report, and knew that the big thing had been accomplished, so he slapped his palms and laughed, and immediately went to see Song You.

He Chang has a fair character, often out of step with the times, and every time he is called, he often claims that he should not be sick. Later, he lived in the Taiwei Song You Mansion, and Song You respected him very much and treated him very respectfully. He Chang often has high discussions, quotes scriptures, and is righteous and strict. Song You is even more detailed, he asks for advice or two, and listens to his words.

Song Youcha checked for a few days, Yuan An Ren Kui always excused himself and walked away, and did not help, he had no talent, and there were few capable officials under him, and when he was at a loss, he saw He Chang step in and hurriedly got up to give a salute.

He Chang didn't answer, he sat upright, greeted each other with him, and then asked solemnly, "My lord, aren't you busy waiting for the assassination case in the countryside these days?" ”

"Exactly, the Queen Mother is in a hurry to deal with this matter, but there are no clues, I was trying to talk to Mr., but I didn't want Mr. to come and ask me!" There was a hint of trust in Song You's eyes, and he seemed to have a bottom in his heart.

He Chang said with a smile, "In this matter, I think the Taiwei must have difficulties, so I came to help." Liu Chang was originally a member of the royal family and a vassal of the feudal country, and he came to the capital to pay tribute to the first emperor and listen to orders. But under the protection of the guards, he suffered such a tragic death. This is truly shocking! ”

He never mentioned the affair between the Queen Mother and Liu Chang, but he even complained about the grievances of the capital, and Song You was stunned for a while, and he didn't know how to answer, so he coughed dryly for a long time, and asked slowly, "That's true, then according to Mr. See, who is the murderer?" And why did you kill the Duxiang? ”

He Chang replied, "The subordinates don't dare to speculate. But Tingwei only blindly pursued the murderer, and did not know the trace of the murderer, let alone his name. It would be outrageous if the murderer did go unpunished, wouldn't it? ”

He talked eloquently, unhurriedly, causing Song Youye to sigh in his tone, "Yes, the officials of the Tingwei Mansion have no rules at all in handling the case, and the case has been investigated to this day, and it is still determined that it was done by Liu Gang, but that Han Ling raised objections again, and His Majesty approved his request, and now I am not advancing, nor is it retreating." After speaking, he let out a long sigh.

"Situ Yuan'an is a capable official in investigating cases, but I don't want to be able to touch his people these days! Sir, I'm at the end of my rope now. He smiled wryly and touched his stomach as if it were empty.

He Chang shook his head, "Taiwei's words are wrong, now that I have become your subordinate, I should do my best for Taiwei, I already know the beginning and end of the case, Taiwei don't worry, He Chang is not talented, I know who the murderer of the case is, but it still needs the approval of Taiwei, can you trust my subordinates, let me report this matter to the Queen Mother alone, Taiwei has merit in recommending, and the Queen Mother also has her own reward." His eyes burned and he looked at Song You.

"Do you know the murderer? Who did this, and is there any evidence? Song You was startled, stood up and asked.

"Don't worry, what kind of person is He Chang, Taiwei is not ignorant, but this matter can be big or small, if the queen mother is to blame, I can take responsibility for the adult, if you don't blame, the adult can benefit from this, yes, the adult or let the subordinates tell the good. As for Situ and Sikong, their subordinates have already arranged it, and they only need to join hands with him, and the three mansions can play in unison. ”

Song Youben didn't have an opinion, so he didn't think about it, and nodded in agreement.

He Chang smiled and said, "My lord, my subordinates have already written a book for adults, do you still want to read it?" ”

Song You shook his head, "What the commander wrote, this official doesn't have to look at it!" Just present it to the Queen Mother. ”

Outside the window, the moon has reached the pole, and the night is quiet, but I don't know what kind of breaking the sky will be swayed back when the night breeze blows.

(Luoyang was the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Wei, Western Jin Dynasty, and Northern Wei Dynasty, about 15 kilometers east of present-day Luoyang City, Henan Province.) At the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the city was built here, called Chengzhou. Because it is in the north of Luoshui, it was called Luoyang during the Warring States Period, and because of it, Cao Wei changed it to Luozhi later. Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty built the capital here in the first year of his martial arts. ）

(Green silk shoes, known as 屦 in Chinese, are mostly single-soled shoes made of hemp, kudzu, etc.)