In the first year of Jianning (168), September 12, ugly time (01 o'clock to 03 o'clock), a total lunar eclipse, commonly known as the blood moon.

Luoyang Imperial Palace, the front hall of the South Palace.

The young man who was kneeling on His Majesty listened to Tai Shiling's statement with a gloomy face.

"The blood moon rises, the demons appear, the country will decline, and the qi will be exhausted!" , Tai Shiling said in a trembling voice.

According to legend, the red moon is the most yin and cold, indicating that the world is weak in righteousness, evil and strong in anger; The wind and clouds change drastically, and the mountains and rivers are sorrowful; The world is in turmoil, and fires are everywhere.

"You're bold!"

When the Son of Heaven heard this, his face sank like water, and he roared: "My Han is peaceful, singing and dancing everywhere, how can the country be declining and the number of qi will be exhausted?" ”

Tai Shi Ling was about to speak, but was interrupted by the words of the old man who had just entered the hall.

"The son is silent, and the strange power is confused!" , The old and hoarse voice sounded from behind Tai Shi Ling, "The Son of Heaven is Rendebu in the four seas, how can a little ghost threaten the 400-year-old national Zuo of the Han Dynasty?" ”

The conversation was suddenly interrupted, which made Tai Shi Ling, who was already tense with a nerve, very displeased, frowned and looked back, and after seeing the person who came, Tai Shi Ling suddenly wilted, and his brows also relaxed, and he said respectfully: "Taifu!" ”

The old man bowed slightly when he heard this, even if it was a greeting!

After seeing the person clearly, the young son of heaven finally breathed a sigh of relief, got up from the emperor's couch, bowed slightly, and greeted the old man: "Mrs. Hu! ”

The old man walked to the hall and solemnly saluted: "Minister, Hu Guang, meet Your Majesty!" ”

"Taifu doesn't need to be polite, please get up quickly!" , the young son of heaven commanded left and right: "Hurry up and give a seat!" ”

Hearing this, Zhang Rang, the regular attendant, hurriedly took a seat for Hu Guang in person, and arranged the soft collapse under the imperial steps, only more than ten steps away from the imperial couch!

Hu Guang's resume is extremely amazing, he is a cattle man who has gone through six dynasties, and throughout his life, he has done the three dukes all over again, and he is the kind that does it back and forth.

Hu Guang has served one Sikong, two Situ, and three Tai Lieutenants, and it is rare to see a bull like Hu Guang throughout history.

First of all, you have to live long enough, and secondly, the successive emperors must be short-lived, and after combining the above two points, you can achieve the achievements of the old ministers of the Six Dynasties.

Even Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong, who are used to being arrogant and domineering, have to be people with their tails between their legs in front of Hu Guang.

The arrival of Hu Guang made the young son of heaven seem to have found the backbone.

The Son of Heaven leaned forward slightly and asked, "What do you mean by Taifu's words?" ”

Hu Guang smiled lightly when he heard this, and slowly spoke: "The Ming Lord is never afraid of the celestial phenomena, the astrological signs of the Mandate of Heaven never pity the weak, it is just the aura of the strong, Your Majesty should take the ancestors as an example, learn from them, learn from them, catch up with them, and even surpass them!" ”

The Son of Heaven bowed slightly when he heard this, bowed to Hu Guang with a solemn face, and said, "What Taifu said is very true, Liu Hong has been taught!" ”

Hu Guangyan smiled and nodded, and said, "Your Majesty is talented and intelligent, and he can be taught!" ”

Hu Guangzhi's words, although there is a suspicion of relying on the old and selling the old, I have to admit that Hu Guang does have the qualifications to rely on the old and sell the old with Liu Hong!

Hu Guang slowly got up from the soft collapse, bowed to the Son of Heaven, and said: "Please forgive Your Majesty for the crime of rudeness, the minister is old and cannot sit for a long time, yes, I want to ask Your Majesty to resign, and I hope Your Majesty's grace." ”

Hearing this, Liu Hong hurriedly instructed Zhang Rang to step forward to help, and said: "Taifu must take care of his body more, I am young and knowledgeable, and I need to listen to Taifu's teachings more!" ”

Hu Guang nodded and promised, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your love, the old minister will retire!" ”

Looking at the back of Hu Guang leaving, Liu Hong sighed: "Taifu... Walk slowly! ”

This is a pun.

Hu Guang was seventy years old at the time, his health was good and bad, and one foot had stepped into the coffin!

Liu Hong hopes that Hu Guang can hold on for a few more years, and when his wings are fuller, it will not be too late to leave (die)!

After Hu Guang left, Liu Hong moved his gaze to Tai Shiling and said, "For today's plan, what can I do?" ”

"Bathe and fast, burn incense and pray!" , Tai Shi Ling replied.

As the chief official in charge of celestial phenomena, Tai Shi Ling is clear about the blood moon, the blood moon comes and goes faster, and there is no need to engage in the worship of the heavens and prayers.

Didn't Taifu already say it just now? The blood moon is not a big deal at all, there is no need to take it to heart, since the old man has set the tone for this matter, then he only has to be honest and obedient, and at that time, he only needs to find a minister who ranks in the position of the third prince, take the initiative to ask the Son of Heaven to resign, and take the blame for the Son of Heaven.

In the Han Dynasty, the vision of birth, the resignation of the three dukes, this is a convention!

Zhang Rang sent Hu Guang out of the palace gate with a smiling face, and after personally putting him in the carriage, he turned around and left with a smile!

Zhang Rang put on such a humble attitude, not that he is afraid of Hu Guang, in terms of power, the two cannot be compared at all, you know, Zhang Rang is the "father" of the Son of Heaven, Zhang Rang did all this, in fact, it was for the Son of Heaven to see, acting and playing, anyway, he had nothing to lose.

Sweet mouth, clever brain, fast hands and feet, good at observing words and looking at the emperor to please the emperor, these are Zhang Rang's advantages!

The carriage started slowly, Hu Guang lifted the corner of the curtain, looked up at the sky, and after staring for a long time, he sighed and muttered to himself: "Zizhong, as a teacher, I can only help you get here!" ”

Hu Guang and Liaodong Taishou Li Man had a master-apprentice friendship, and the two often exchanged letters to know the news that Li Man's wife was about to give birth.

Although it is not accurate to know the specific date, it can also be deduced that eight or nine are not far from ten, the ancients were extremely superstitious, especially the royal family, Hu Guang knew that it was filthy, so he had to personally go out to mediate one or two.

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Youzhou, Liaodong County!

In Xiangping City, in a high-rise mansion compound, it is a chaotic and chaotic situation at the moment.

The slaves looked up at the sky with a look of horror, and the blood moon seemed to be breathtaking, and the people were frozen in place, not moving.

Suddenly, a roar of anger came from the back house, breaking the silence within the high walls: "What about people? Where have all the people gone! ”

Everyone finally came back to their senses when they heard this, and then stepped up their steps and walked towards the back house!

After everyone walked to the back house, there was a cry like a cry in their ears.

Older people know when they hear it that this is the voice of a woman giving birth!

To be exact, tonight is the day when Liaodong Taishou Li Man's wife Yang is about to give birth!

I have to say that the Yang family is very good at picking a time, if it weren't for Hu Guang personally entering the palace to block it, at that time, there might be a lot of turmoil.

A single sentence of "blood moon rises, demons appear" is enough for Yang and the fetus in his womb to die eight times.

The ancients were extremely superstitious, especially the rulers, in order to maintain their rule, it was not uncommon to kill all the children in the country, among which the more famous is the famous Zhao orphan case.

The general Tu Anjia was fierce and cruel, despotic and misguided the country, framed the loyal and upright doctor Zhao Dun, and at his instigation, the monarch of the Jin State ordered: Copy and behead the Zhao family. Overnight, Zhao Dun and his son Zhao Shuo, family members, slaves and maids, a total of more than 300 people, fell in a pool of blood and became unjust ghosts. Zhao Shuo's wife, Princess Zhuang Ji, because she was the younger sister of the monarch, survived and was sent back to the inner palace to live, at this time she was pregnant.

A few months later, Princess Zhuang Ji gave birth to a baby boy named Zhao Wu, but all this could not escape Tu Anjia's eyes, and he had already ordered the inner palace to be sealed. In the name of seeing a doctor, Princess Zhuang Ji summoned Cheng Ying, a close friend of the Zhao family and a country doctor, into the inner palace, and tearfully begged Cheng Ying to save the child from the palace. Cheng Ying put Zhao Wu in the medicine box and prepared to take him out of the palace gate. Seeing Cheng Ying's righteousness, the guard general Han Ju was very impressed, let Cheng Ying and Zhao Wu go, and pulled out his sword to kill himself. Tu Anjia couldn't trace the whereabouts of the Zhao orphans, so he was so angry that he ordered all the babies under half a year old in the country to be killed.

What Hu Guang did in the palace has not yet reached Liaodong, so at this moment, everyone in the Taishou Mansion is still in a panic.

At this time, there are no rules in the back house of the Taishou Mansion, and the entire back house has long been in chaos.

Nuoda's Taishou Mansion seems to have become a vegetable market, some people are looking up at the sky, worshipping the blood moon, some people are burning incense and praying, some people are crying in a low voice, and even more, a stable woman who is responsible for delivering the Yang family is trying her best to persuade the Yang family: The son in the womb is an ominous person, and the lady should sink it into the water and drown it after giving birth, otherwise, I am afraid that there will be endless troubles.

Yang was furious when he heard this, and shouted outside the house: "Husband..... Where is the husband? ”

Yang's voice was terrible and terrifying, and Li Man's heart tightened when he heard it.

Li Man came to the door of the delivery room with an arrow and said softly: "What did Madam call me?" ”

"Kill... Kill... The ominous one.... Drowned! Yang shouted!

When Wen Po heard this, she was almost scared out of her urine, and it was only at this time that she remembered how hot her mistress was.

Wen Po knew that she was speechless, so she immediately knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, but it was too late, and the Yang family needed to borrow her life to kill the chickens and monkeys, otherwise I am afraid that I would not be able to stop the mouths of the people.

Li Man is not an indecisive person, especially when it comes to the lives of his wife and children, and he must not be careless, so Li Man ordered the housekeeper to drown Wen Po in the lotus pond in the house.

Maybe this is the legendary Present Newspaper.

After Wen Po died, the people who worshiped the moon got up one after another, and the people who burned incense also stepped on the incense one after another, bowed their heads and walked around, each doing his own work.

The blood moon is in charge of the future, and the master and mother are in charge of the present, and everyone is very clear about this.

After a small episode, the Taishou Mansion changed back to its orderly appearance.

Li Man paced back and forth like an ant on a hot pot, his mood was very excited, and there was a little expectation in his nervousness, because the nervousness of Yang about to give birth to his first child and becoming a father for the first time made Li Man restless.

Suddenly, the subordinate came quickly, and after saluting, he reported: "Lord, General Huang has urgent matters to see." ”

When Li Man heard this, he said impatiently: "Why is it so urgent? Can't you wait? ”

Seeing that the subordinate didn't reply, and had no intention of leaving, Li Man finally paid attention, frowned and asked, "What did Han Sheng say?" ”

"General Huang said that after Mr. Han left a letter, he rode away on horseback."

Mr. Han, whose surname is Han, whose name is Long, and whose name is Yongnian, is a ranger and an assassin who is famous all over the world.

Han Long and Li Man have a very close relationship, Han Long's martial arts are more than Li Man's guidance, and the two are also teachers and friends.

The general Huang in the mouth of the subordinates is Huang Zhong, Huang Hansheng, Huang Zhong and Li Mannai are superiors and subordinates.

A few months ago, two big battles pushed Li Man to the forefront.

At the beginning of February, Li Man and his friend Tong Yuan invited each other to compete in Mount Tai, and the two fought for three days and three nights, and it was difficult to distinguish the winner from defeat.

After this battle, there are countless door-to-door challengers.

Among them, a big battle between him and the sword master Wang Yue in mid-June was the most sensational, and after this battle, Li Man's name resounded all over the world.

At that time, Wang Yue thought that his martial arts had been the first in the world, so he went to Liaodong County to challenge Li Man, and was defeated by Li Man.

The result of this battle made the world look at it sideways, and no one expected that the world-famous swordsman Wang Yue would be defeated so badly.

Actually, Wang Yue took it for granted, the set of one inch short and one inch of risk may be a little useful to others, but for Li Man, one inch short is really one inch short.

Li Man's soldiers, named Drain Blood Breaking City Lance, are about one zhang four (about 3.2 meters, Han Dynasty one zhang is 2.31 meters), weighing more than 80 catties, Wang Yue is simply looking for death in the competition, no matter how good the sword can not stop such a heavy weapon.

As soon as the two fought, Wang Yue fell behind, and the person with heavy soldiers clashed, once he fell into the downwind, it was difficult to recover the decline, and as a result, Wang Yue was defeated.

After this battle, Li Man declared that he would no longer accept anyone's challenge.

There are two reasons, one is that the identities of the two sides are not equal, Li Mannai is too guarded by a county, and he cannot be as brave and ruthless as an ordinary ranger.

Second, Liaodong County's official duties were too heavy, and it was difficult for Li Man to find time to compete with the rangers.

Liaodong is a great responsibility, must have the ability to manage the army on the horse, the ability to manage the people, Liaodong is located in the border pass, bordering Wuhuan and Xianbei and other foreign races, the slightest carelessness will end up in a situation from which there will be no return.

Li Man and Tong Yuan's martial arts competition is a competition between friends, but the competition with Wang Yue is somewhat competitive, everyone is young and vigorous, and Li Man is not exempt from vulgarity.

In the face of Wang Yue's many provocations, Li Man endured again and again from the beginning, to the later unbearable, and in the end, Li Man decided to take Wang Yue as an opportunity to stop the wind of the young people's invitation to fight.

Huang Zhong is the youngest person in Li Man's mouth, who hasn't been young? It is normal for people to be young and vigorous, and it is precisely because of this that Huang Zhongcai traveled thousands of miles to Liaodong alone, preparing to find Li Man's last battle, but he was closed.

After hearing the reason given by Li Man from the mouths of others, Huang Zhong could only look up to the sky and sigh. In Huang Zhong's view, what Li Man said was reasonable, and he had no way to refute it.

Huang Zhong has his own pride and discipline, since Li Man no longer accepts anyone's challenge, he will go back to his home the same way.

Just as Huang Zhong was about to leave, the sound of bells and drums sounded in Xiangping City, and Huang Zhong knew that this was a warning signal from Wuhuan Koubian.

After thinking about it for a while, Huang Zhong decided to kill a few Hulu before leaving, if he could grab a good horse, he would not live up to his journey of thousands of miles.

Huang Zhong took advantage of the fierce battle outside the city and rode straight into the battlefield.

It's really funny, as soon as Huang Zhongfu joined, he immediately became the focus of attention on the battlefield, just because he was too eye-catching.

Holding a steel knife, carrying a short bow, a horse under his hip, and being armless, this is all Huang Zhong's equipment, and this outfit makes him stand out from the crowd.

The horse is a head shorter than the war horse, and Huang Zhong rides the horse to shuttle between the enemy formations, giving people the feeling that a child is playing on a horse and fighting.

It may sound a little funny, but the reality is cruel, in the late Han Dynasty, a horse was worth at least 10,000 yuan, or even more.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, 10,000 yuan could buy an ordinary house in the counties except the capital and the county, that is, a horse was about equal to the price of a house, and 10,000 yuan was equivalent to the living expenses of an ordinary family for several months or even a year.

Don't look at Huang Zhong's outfits, but with his martial arts, he has won the unanimous respect of both warring parties.

Wherever Huang Zhong passed, blood splashed, slashing at close range, and shooting from a distance, making it difficult for the Wuhuan people to get close, and killing the surrounding Wuhuan cavalry.

Seeing this, Li Man couldn't help but praise: "A strong man is good at martial arts." ”

The battle was soon coming to an end, and this was a group of hundreds of Wuhuan cavalry, who wanted to come to Liaodong County to fight the autumn wind, but they didn't expect to encounter hard stubble.

Huang Zhong was received by Li Man with this battle, and after learning Huang Zhong's intention, Li Man smiled and said: "Man no longer competes with people in the market!" As he spoke, he changed his words without waiting for Huang Zhong to speak, and said, "However, if you use force to obey Rong, then it is another matter." ”

Huang Zhong was stunned when he heard this, and asked, "What does the prince mean by this?" ”

Li Man smiled slyly when he heard this, and said: "Man only said that he would not compete with the people of the market, but he did not say that he would not compete with his colleagues, and it is a common thing for a lieutenant colonel to join the army.......

When Huang Zhong heard this, he was inevitably moved, but he still had concerns in his heart, and he wanted to say it but didn't know how to speak.

Seeing this, Li Man was relieved, and said first: "You can go to the captain to register on your own." ”

Li Man's implication is that after enlisting in the army, you eat military rations, imperial rations, and promotion and demotion are all based on ability, not my generals.

When Huang Zhong heard this, his worries disappeared and he registered for the army.

Straight to the point!!!

Li Man was extremely angry when he heard this, and shouted: "Nonsense." With that, he strode out.

Walking to the front hall, he took the letter from Huang Zhong's hand, and after reading the ten lines at a glance, Li Man patted his thigh and said, "Prepare the horse, prepare the horse quickly." ”

The content of the letter is concise and concise, and the beginning goes straight to the topic: brother, seeing the words like faces, the brother knows that the brother is a loyal and upright person, and disdains to assassinate and kill dirty things, but Wuhuan has repeatedly taught and refused, and the border people have suffered deeply.

My wife is already pregnant, please ask my brother to take care of one or two on her behalf, and on the day of my wife's birth, if she gets a baby boy, she will be named Han Bao, and if she has a baby girl, she will be named Han Yuan.

Whatever is requested, please approve.

Han Long bowed.

"Da da", the horse's hooves are obtained.

Li Man, Huang Zhong and a few other people galloped straight to the north gate.

When they arrived at the north gate, they saw that the gate was closed and the drawbridge was raised.

Liaodong County is located at the border, so the curfew is implemented, starting at 19 o'clock and ending at 05 o'clock.

Although Li Man was a nobleman, he did not dare to lift the curfew at will, because he had received information from the scouts that Wuhuan was about to go to the border.

As a taishou, Li Man must be responsible for the people of the county, and he cannot lift the curfew without authorization because of his own selfishness.

Li Man, Huang Zhong and others quickly climbed the city wall.

"Throw torches at the city." , Li Man ordered the guards of the city.

Hearing this, the soldiers defending the city hurriedly followed their words.

After throwing a hundred and ten torches one after another, within fifty paces in front of Li Man's eyes, the lights were brightly lit.

Li Man squinted, as if he saw a familiar figure, after repeated confirmation, Li Man could finally determine that the figure hidden in the darkness was Han Long, so he mustered up his strength and shouted: "Don't let me come out yet, sneaky, what does it look like." ”

Han Long smiled helplessly when he heard this, came out of the darkness, walked fifty steps outside the city to restrain his horse, and arched his hand: "Yongnian greets my brother." ”

Li Manqiang held back his anger and said: "Yongnian, listen to my brother's advice, don't act rashly, Wuhuan is just a disease of ringworm and scabies, don't worry, after you enter the city tomorrow, let's think about it in the long run." ”

Han Long sighed when he heard this, and said, "Brother's kindness, Yongnian has grasped it, my mind has been decided, and my brother doesn't need to persuade him again." ”

When Li Man heard this, he scolded angrily with a look of hatred: "You bastard! ”

Han Long pursed his lips and smiled when he heard this, he knew that Li Man was for his own good, he received Li Man's love, but he had no intention of stopping, Han Long had left the city before the curfew, and the reason why he stayed and didn't leave was because he wanted to say goodbye to Li Man in person, he knew that Li Man would definitely come to see him, just as Li Man knew that Han Long would definitely wait for him.

Looking up at the sky, he saw that it was getting late, so Han Long turned over and dismounted, kowtowed to Li Man very solemnly, and said, "Brother, cherish a lot." ”

After the words were spoken, one man and one horse disappeared into the darkness.

Looking at the direction where Han Long left in a daze, Li Man smashed the battlements with his fist, his eyes could not hide the heartache, and roared: "Crazy, a tendon, a selfish and paranoid bastard. ”

As soon as Li Man's words fell, there was a voice in front of him that Han Long was gradually moving away:

"Han Long's trip is to teach Hu Lu to know a truth, those who commit strong men will be punished even if they are far away!"