Cao Cao got Xun Yu's guidance, and the next day he sent Yang Xiu to visit Kong Rong. When old friends meet, they naturally have to talk about wine and laugh about life. However, Yang Xiu came with Cao Cao's entrustment after all, and it was impossible to accompany Kong Rongshan for a day in the South China Sea. Therefore, after three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Yang Xiu cut to the chase with the wine cup in his hand, "Has Wenju ever heard that Cai Anzhen wants to withdraw from the marriage and remarry?" ”

Kong Rong was just about to drink, and when he heard Yang Xiu say this, he couldn't help but put the wine cup in his hand on the dining table, and asked with interest, "How do you talk about this?" ”

"Wen Ju must have heard of it. Cai Ji refused to marry Cao Pi on the grounds that he was young, and drove her husband like a slave. Now that he has sent Cao Pi back to Cao Ying, there is a great tendency to withdraw from the marriage. Yang Xiu said half-truthfully.

When Kong Rong heard this, he waved his beard and glared, "How can the Son of Heaven give him a marriage!" ”

Seeing that Kong Rongqing had been raised, Yang Xiu hurriedly struck while the iron was hot, "Exactly!" It is related to the prestige of the Son of Heaven, the three outlines and five constants, and it must not be overlooked! ”

However, just when Yang Xiu thought that Kong Rong would echo and pat his chest and promise to persuade the Son of Heaven to make another holy decree to urge Cai Ji to complete the marriage, Kong Rong lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "Dezu is here to be a lobbyist for Cao Gong?" ”

Yang Xiu was broken by Kong Rong's words, and he couldn't help but raise his glass with a red face to cover it up, "The king is the minister, the husband is the wife, and the rest of the people are Confucians, how can they let Cai Ji be bad." ”

Of course, Kong Rong would not sit idly by and watch Cai Ji destroy the Three Outlines, but he would not let Yang Xiu avoid the important and trivial. So the next moment, I saw Kong Rong raise his eyes and look at Yang Xiu, and said with a smile, "Although Cai Ji is a chicken Si Chen." However, he has always been obedient to the Son of Heaven. I'm afraid that Duke Cao is worried about Qi Hou's divorce. ”

Speaking of this, Yang Xiu couldn't hide it anymore, so he had to sigh and show weakness to Kong Rong, "Don't hide it." Cao Gong experienced the two defeats of Chibi and Dangyang, and was already disheartened by the conquest, and only wanted the people under his rule to recuperate and live and work in peace and contentment. If Cai Ji withdraws from the marriage and breaks the contract, it is inevitable that the north will fight again, and the lives will be ruined. ”

After listening to Yang Xiu's words, Kong Rong remembered Cao Cao's gray-haired and haggard appearance. I couldn't help but sneer secretly in my heart: Cao thief, you also have today! However, looking at jokes and looking at jokes, Kong Rong is also prejudiced and jealous of Cai Ji. In his opinion, Cai Ji's previous deferential behavior to the Son of Heaven. It's just because Cai Ji, as a woman, needs to use the name of "loyal man" to fake the tiger. Once the Son of Heaven grants him the people and grants him territory, will he continue to respect Hanhu? Kong Rong was deeply skeptical. He even thinks that once the time is ripe, Cai Anzhen will inevitably become the second Yuan Benchu. So after some consideration, Kong Rong finally decided to add another block to Cai Ji before the official separation. I saw him nodding with his long beard twisted. "Anyway. It is rare that Cao Gong is willing to reform himself. Yu then asked the Son of Heaven to urge Cai Ji and Cao Pi to get married as soon as possible. ”

Yang Xiu was overjoyed when he got Kong Rong's promise. Hurriedly thanked him, "Xiu has thanked Gong Cao here." ”

"If Cao Gong repented earlier, why would he cede the land and send the pledge." After Kong Rong ridiculed Cao Cao day by day, he glanced at Yang Xiu meaningfully and said, "I don't know what Dezu's plans are in the future?" ”

"I am returning north with Cao Gong." Yang Xiu sighed. Thinking about the time when he went south, the high-spirited Yang Xiu was full of thoughts about how to follow Cao Cao to seal the marquis. But who knew that in just half a year, Cao Cao, who was once invincible, lost completely. Even Yang Xiu, who was the prime minister's chief bookkeeper, had to go to the enemy camp in person to suffer the white eyes and humiliation of others.

Looking at Yang Xiu's gloomy appearance, Kong Rong suddenly had a plan in his heart. You must know that although Liu Xie enjoys the name of the Son of Heaven, the bureaucrats who followed him to the south this time are very limited. Among them, Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue and other former Liu Biaobu civil and military accounted for the majority. Therefore, Kong Rong had the intention of recruiting Yang Xiu from the beginning. Seeing that the time was ripe at this moment, he immediately persuaded Yang Xiu step by step. "Dezu was born in a famous family, why not stay in Xiangyang to assist the Son of Heaven? Now that the new capital is in ruins, it is in need of young talents like Dezu to serve the country. ”

Seeing that Kong Rong took the initiative to recruit him, Yang Xiu couldn't help but feel a pound in his heart. In his opinion, the Son of Heaven is now seeking talents, and once he stays in Xiangyang, he will definitely be able to enjoy high-ranking officials. But Yang Xiu thought about it again, after all, the land of Jingxiang was located in a remote area, and the Han family was settled here, no matter how you looked at it, it didn't look like it had made great achievements. As a result, Yang Xiu involuntarily fell into silence.

On the other hand, Kong Rong knows the truth of wanting to get away with it. Therefore, at this time, he did not rush to force Yang Xiu to express his position on the spot, but picked up the water and wine on the dining table and enthusiastically persuaded Yang Xiu to drink, "Let's talk about staying another day." Come, come, come, drink, drink. ”

It's a pity that Yang Xiu's mind at this time is full of thoughts about his future prospects, where will he have the heart to change cups with Kong Rong. After the two of them just drank a few glasses in a hurry, Yang Xiu got up and said goodbye under the pretext of being unwell. Before leaving, he did not forget to remind Kong Rong to persuade the Son of Heaven to make an order to urge Cai Ji's marriage this morning. Kong Rong didn't fool Yang Xiu. In fact, it didn't take long for him to wait for the time to speak to the Son of Heaven.

It is said that with Cai, Sun, and Liu's three armor soldiers entering the palace to escort them, Liu Xie suddenly had confidence. He not only used these 5,000 armor soldiers to replace the Cao army in the palace, but also ordered Yu Ban to hand over the defense of Xiangyang City to the Qinwang Righteous Army. As for Yu Ban and his 3,000 Cao troops, they were all transferred to camp outside the city. However, even such a young Han Tianzi was still not satisfied. So on the third day after Kong Rong and Yang Xiu met, Liu Xie inspected a total of 20,000 soldiers and horses, including the three Jiashi and the Qinwang Yijun, at the school field in the west of Xiangyang City.

There is a way that people are all over the mountains and fields, and people are boundless. Looking at the 20,000 horses in front of him who couldn't see their heads at a glance, Liu Xie, who was ambitious on the stage, had an urge to conquer the world. In particular, the phalanx of Cai, Sun, and Liu at the front, each with bright armor and full morale, knew at a glance that it was a mighty division carefully selected by the princes of the three families.

However, if you look closely, you can still distinguish the subtle differences between the three without looking at the flag and the color of the uniform. It seems that the soldiers of Sun Ce's department are full of unruly murderous aura. Although the equipment of Liu Bei's soldiers is not as sophisticated as that of the other two companies, their simple faces are full of resolute expressions and high fighting spirit. And Cai Jibu's soldiers are the highest. The formation was also the most neat, and from the center, the red tassels on the armor sergeant's helmet were lined up in a straight line. Li Da, the leader of the team, was even more dressed in fish scale armor and straddled the five-flowered horse. Under the background of the older Wu Jing and Mi Fang on both sides, he looked even more high-spirited and heroic.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty for winning this mighty division!"

"With this heroic teacher, the prosperity of the Han Dynasty is imminent!"

"God bless the big man!"

In the praise of the ministers, Liu Xie, who was long-faced and happy, was not carried away by the flattery. I saw him twisting the beard that had just grown on his upper lip and admonishing the ministers, "King Qin's righteous army still needs to be tempered, and the ministers must not be complacent." ”

Liu Xie's words were also sincere. Don't look at the fact that he has gathered 20,000 soldiers and horses now, as if he has the strength of a small prince, but excluding the 1,500 armor soldiers sent by Cai, Sun, and Liu. The rest of the Qinwang rebels were just a mixed rabble. So as soon as Liu Xie's words fell, Wu Shuo hurriedly chimed in, "Your Majesty is reasonable. The minister thought that he could transfer the generals from the Cai, Sun, and Liu families to train the rebels. In time, the righteous army will become the king of the Han Dynasty. ”

Wu Shuo's words went straight to Liu Xie's heart. In fact, Liu Xie did have similar thoughts, so he immediately nodded and said, "Good! Just act according to Wu Qing's words. ”

Seeing that Wu Shuo's words had been approved by the Son of Heaven, Kong Rong also lost no time in following the words. "陛xià. This time, the Marquis of Qi not only sent armor soldiers into the palace to escort them, but also donated 300 war horses and 500 pairs of armor to replenish military resources. The Marquis of Qi is loyal and brave and is a model for the princes of the world. The children of the Northland admired it even more. However, the Marquis of Qi was ten years old, but he had a marriage contract with the young son of the Cao family. The minister hereby implored His Majesty to dissolve Cao Cai's marriage contract, so that the Marquis of Qi could find another mate from a wealthy family in the north. ”

Kong Rong's move is called retreat as advance. On the surface, it seems that he is complaining about Cai Ji and asking the Son of Heaven to dissolve the marriage contract between Cao Cai. In essence, he was reminding Liu Xie that once Cao Cai's marriage contract was dissolved, Cai Ji would inevitably take the opportunity to marry a wealthy family in the north to strengthen his strength. Just like Guangwu married Guo Shengtong in the past.

Sure enough, Liu Xie nodded frequently at the beginning, and when he heard Kong Rong's last sentence, "So that the Marquis of Qi can find another good couple from a wealthy family in the north", Liu Xie's face changed instantly, and then he waved his hand. "Cao Cai's marriage is related to the safety of the north, how can it be explained. As for Cai Qing's loyalty. I will reward myself. ”

When the ministers saw the Son of Heaven say this, they couldn't help but be in an uproar, and they turned their heads one after another. As for Kong Rong, who was the initiator, he retreated resignedly, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this time he finally had an explanation for everyone. Who would have thought that after the parade, Kong Rong was about to get on the ox cart and go home, but was blocked by Wu Shuo.

"What is the purpose of Wen Jushi?"

Kong Rong stopped, pretending to be innocent without raising his head, "What is Zilan talking about?" ”

Wu Shuo didn't go around in circles with him, and went straight to the point, "Why did you encourage the Son of Heaven to force Cao Cai to complete the marriage?" ”

Kong Rong laughed silently, "Zilan, how can you say this." Yu had previously persuaded His Majesty to dissolve Cao Cai's marriage contract, so why force the marriage. ”

"Is that so?" Wu Shuo stared at Kong Rong and asked without stopping.

Thinking of the close relationship between Wu Shuo and Cai Ji, Kong Rong immediately raised his head and replied with a provocative gaze, "Forced marriage and divorce are all decided by the Son of Heaven." Rong Zhi has a clear conscience. ”

Kong Rong's words were so straight that Wu Shuo was speechless. Indeed, whether to break Cao Cai's marriage contract or urge Cao Cai to complete the marriage is ultimately up to the Son of Heaven. But Kong Rong did not mention forced marriage. At most, Wu Shuo could only suspect that Kong Rong had hinted at the Son of Heaven. In fact, Liu Xie did not rush to urge Cai Ji and Cao Pi to complete the marriage after the military parade, but issued a decree the next day to summon Cao Cao, Cai Ji, Sun Ce, and Liu Bei to the palace for a night banquet.

The banquet was held in a cross-courtyard in the northwest corner of the palace. The courtyard consists of a row of five wings, which are usually separated into separate rooms by heavy curtains. When it is time to entertain guests, the curtains are folded so that the five wings can be coherent into a large lobby. Speaking of which, Liu Bei and Sun Ce both toasted with Liu Biao here, and Cao Cao also feasted Jingzhou celebrities here. Now that they are revisiting their old places, the three of them have a somewhat embarrassing sense of being wrong. However, Cai Ji was quite surprised by the spacious space and luxurious decoration in the hall. Don't look at Cai Ji eating three meals a day in Donglai, and developing all kinds of famous snacks in later generations all day long, but if you talk about personal expenses, you really can't match other princes in this era. In the final analysis, Cai Ji does not have a large number of wives and concubines to support like the male princes, and she herself does not have big expenses such as feasting and hunting. Of course, the Qihou Mansion in Longkou also has a special banquet hall, and the hall is arranged strictly according to the specifications of General Cai Ji, but it is still a cut behind Liu Biao's mansion.

As the Son of Heaven, Liu Xie naturally has no scruples about using the highest standard banquet to entertain guests to show the royal majesty. Take the imperial bed where the Son of Heaven sits as an example, there is a purple silk veil hanging behind the bed, and there are five gold leaf fans on both sides. There is also a group of drums in front of the right side of the imperial bed, and there are all kinds of bells, chimes, qins, flutes, pipes, and gongs. In addition, there is a tent on each vermilion lacquer pillar in the lobby, and a stove with spices is placed under the tent, and in front of the stove are the ministers who have been summoned tonight. Speaking of which, such pomp is still a product of "helplessness" under the temporary patchwork of the royal family. If it is replaced by the imperial palaces of Luoyang and Chang'an, the palace of the night banquet will be twice as large as it is now, and the vermilion lacquer pillars will be wrapped with gilded dragons instead of simple silk tents.

Although Cao Cao, Cai Ji, Sun Ce, and Liu Bei are all old acquaintances, the current situation really can't allow the four of them to chatter with each other. So after a simple greeting, the four of them sat in their seats together, maintaining a posture of watching their eyes, noses, noses, and hearts, and quietly waiting for the arrival of the Son of Heaven. However, this embarrassing atmosphere did not last long, as the musicians each held their instruments and played Ya music, Liu Xie finally arrived at the banquet hall surrounded by Wu Shuo, Kong Rong and others.

At the moment when Liu Xie stepped into the hall, Cai Ji and the others stood up and saluted the Son of Heaven at the same time. Maybe everything has been going well recently, or maybe he hasn't received such courtesy for a long time, Liu Xie's face is full of red light at first glance. Seeing him walking all the way through the hall and sitting on the royal bed, he raised his hand and said loudly, "Zhongqing is flat." ”

"Thank you."

As the ministers sat down in peace, Liu Xie addressed the people attending the banquet as the host. The article of the speech is from the hand of Kong Rong, although it is an official article, it quotes classics, and the words are gorgeous, which is pleasing to the eye. After Liu Xie finished his speech, the hall was full of bottles and drinks, and the night banquet was just the beginning.

Since it is a royal banquet, it is natural that singing and dancing are not allowed. The first to appear in the performance of singing and dancing was the Wu Yue singer presented by Sun Ce. People often say that Wu women are beautiful, and Yue women are amorous, and Wu Yuege's graceful dancing posture eased the atmosphere of the scene a lot. After a dance, Liu Xie picked up the wine bottle and accosted Cai Ji, who was sitting on his right, "I haven't seen Cai Qing for a few years." I don't know how old the Qing family is now? ”

Cai Ji hurriedly put down the wine bottle in his hand and replied, "Back to Your Majesty, the minister has two in his twenties this year." ”

"Two out of twenty!" Liu Xie's eyes widened in surprise and said, "According to the "Book of Rites", a woman will marry for five years out of ten and marry at twenty. Qing is twenty-two years old, I don't know when I will get married? (To be continued......)