Although there was a small episode of Leng Bao Deng Xian, but with Zhao Feng's insistence, Yizhou's first imperial examination was still carried out smoothly. The 30 civil and military candidates selected will be arranged to go to Xuchang to participate in the year-end examination. According to Zhao Feng's suggestion, such a big exam is held once every three years. As for the officials selected by the Jiupin Zhongzheng system, they will be left for use for the time being.

"Kong Ming, you, the central official, what talents have you selected for me this year?" In the Yazhong of Yizhou Mansion, Zhao Feng asked Zhuge Liang.

"Don't hide it from the general, this year's Jiupin Zhongzheng and the imperial examination, but a lot of Sichuan and Shu talents have been selected!" Zhuge Liang smiled, handing a list to Zhao Feng as he spoke.

"Zhang Wei, Yin Mo." These famous talents in the middle and late stages of the Shu Han Dynasty in history have now emerged one after another, but counting the time, it is almost time for them to appear on the stage of history. At present, Liu Bei and Guan Yu are both nearly fifty years old, although they are still in the prime of life, but their energy is obviously inferior to that of young men, you can't expect everyone to be like Huang Zhong, the old guy who defended the sky, the older he gets, the more energetic he becomes.

"By the way, Kong Ming, what abnormalities did you see when you watched the stars that night?" Zhao Feng hesitated slightly, but still asked the question he had been worried about. Since that day, Zhuge Liang's whole person has obviously paid more attention to this, and between his words and demeanor, he is no longer as elegant and calm as before, and there is always a trace of worry in the corners of his eyes.

Zhuge Liang was silent for a long time when he heard this, and finally sighed: "This matter is really incredible, I can't say it well for a while, so I can only act at the opportunity." If there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely go back to Lumen Mountain to ask the teacher for advice in person, or I can solve this confusion. ”

"Is it serious?" Zhao Feng saw that Zhuge Liang rarely took things so seriously, and he was also a little careful.

"Don't say it, don't say it!" Zhuge Liang only sighed, but his eyes were looking out the window from afar, but he didn't know what he was looking at. Zhao Feng looked at him, he had never seen Zhuge Liang so dazed.

Zhuge Liang is rarely so dazed, but there is one person who has become accustomed to nature at a loss. In the palace of Yecheng, Hebei, when today's son Liu Xie sat there in a daze, his eyes were as blank as ever, his mouth was closed, but he didn't know what he was talking about.

He has a lot of shining halos on his head, the Ninety-Five, the Son of Heaven. His ancestor was the ancestor of the Han Dynasty who killed the white snake and destroyed Xiang Yu and finally won the world; It was Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who conquered the Xiongnu in the north and swept the Western Regions; It was the Guangwu Emperor who defeated Wang Mang's hundreds of thousands of troops in Kunyang and revitalized the Han Dynasty. But now it's his turn, and this series of titles seems to be of no use other than being able to mock his current situation. As a puppet, he has nothing else to do every day, Cao Ying is in charge of all state affairs, and he has very few things to do. Over time, Liu Xie could only be in a daze.

"Your Majesty, it's late at night, rest early!" Just when Liu Xie was in a daze and was in a natural daze, the maid on the side couldn't stand it anymore and hurriedly reminded. Liu Xie came back to his senses with an "ah" and was about to give orders, when a eunuch came to report that it was the abbot who asked to see him.

"Hurry up and ask the prince to come in!" Liu Xie's spirits lifted slightly when he heard this, and he hurriedly let Fu Wan in. After a short time, under the guidance of this eunuch, Fu Wan walked into the palace lightly. "After the ministers finished knocking on Your Majesty, long live, long live, long live, long live!" After meticulously saluting and obtaining the emperor's permission, he stood up and stood upright, with his hands down and waiting for his life.

"Alas, Guozhang, since Wen Ruo passed away and Wen Ju was demoted, you are the only one in this court, and you still regard me as the emperor!" Liu Xie motioned to sit down, and then lowered his voice and sighed. This emperor, even in the middle of the night, did not dare to speak too loudly, because he did not know that among these palace maids and eunuchs, who would tell Cao Ying his words. Not to mention that outside the palace, there were also Cao Xiu and Xiahou Feng who took turns to lead the three thousand ironclad troops on duty at night.

"Your Majesty is serious!" Fu Wan sighed. After looking at the people around, Fu Wan said cautiously: "Your Majesty, in fact, although most of the courtiers are forced by Cao Ying's power, even if they are loyal, they have to secretly endure in order to protect their family names." Otherwise, I'm afraid that I will repeat the mistakes of Uncle Dong Guo! ”

The uncle Dong Guo mentioned by Fu Wan was naturally Dong Cheng who was full of clicks after the matter was revealed because of the conspiracy against Cao Ying eight years ago. With the lessons of the past, everyone will not dare to engage in underground activities so uneventfully. And Liu Xie is in this world, and only the royal relatives such as Fu Wan and Dong Cheng can still have the same heart with him. After all, under the premise that Cao Ying's family is dominant, the interests of these people are not guaranteed.

"Well, that's true." Liu Xie also knew that most of the courtiers were grass on the wall, and they had to stand on the same front with Cao Ying due to the situation, the problem was that he couldn't help it if he knew, who said that he had no real power? At this moment, Liu Xieyou remembered something, and hurriedly asked, "By the way, Guozhang, I don't know how Uncle Huang is doing lately?" ”

"Uncle Liu Huang has already occupied all the land south of the Yellow River, but he has not yet entered Hebei, and," said this, he was also a little hesitant, but he still gritted his teeth and said: "And it seems that Cao Ying has just sent Wang Lang as an envoy to Henan, and in the opinion of the ministers, it seems that the two sides have reached a temporary armistice agreement." Because after Wang Lang returned, Cao Ying ordered the army to be stationed temporarily, and at the same time opened Tuntian to rest and recuperate. If it weren't for getting some assurance from the emperor's uncle, Cao Ying would not dare to be so careless. ”

"What?" When Liu Xie heard this, the last trace of illusion in his heart was shattered. At this moment, Fu Wan's voice sounded again, but he could be heard to say: "Your Majesty forgive the ministers, in fact, compared with Cao Ying, the imperial uncle may not be so loyal." Later, even if he went north to defeat Cao Ying, did His Majesty think that Uncle Huang would serve His Majesty as the Ninth Five-Year Honor? ”

Liu Xie was silent when he heard this, and sighed before he said astringently: "Actually, why don't I know? It's just that the emperor's uncle is a relative of the Han family after all, even if he doesn't serve me as the emperor and he replaces him, but after all, the world is still in the hands of the Han Dynasty! It's better than being usurped by Cao Ying! ”

"Your Majesty?" After Fu Wan, he didn't expect Liu Xie to be so open-minded, and the words of comfort that he had prepared couldn't be said. The two sighed and were silent for a long time, and finally Liu Xie said helplessly: "The matter has come to this, and it can only be like this." Guozhang, you should also be more careful. If you can connect one or two loyal people, when the emperor's uncle's army goes on the northern expedition, Cao Ying's army will be all outside, and the inside and outside should be combined or you can occupy Yecheng in one fell swoop to help the emperor's uncle! ”

"Your Majesty, rest assured, this matter is incumbent!" Fu Wan nodded and said, but then smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid that the ministers may not be able to contact many loyal people, who else in this court dares to disobey Cao Ying?" ”

"Who says there are no loyal men?" Suddenly, a voice sounded, and it was from the thick curtain behind the two of them that the order was delivered, and Fu Wan and Liu Xie, who were chatting energetically, heard this, and their souls suddenly scattered.

"Who?" Liu Xie is the emperor in the end, and he is the emperor who is used to being a puppet, his psychological quality is really not covered, and his complexion returned to normal after a while, and his right hand was already pressed on the hilt of his sword while asking, and when the time was not right, he immediately cut through the mess with a quick knife.

"Your Majesty doesn't need to panic, Minister Sima Yi knocks on Your Majesty!" With this sound, a man wearing the color of a Praetorian Guard uniform lifted the heavy curtain and appeared in front of Liu Xiehe Fuwan. After saluting naked, Sima Yi stood aside with his hands down.

"You said your name is Sima Yi, who are you Sima Fang?" Liu Xie thought carefully and hurriedly asked. Sima Yi is Cao Ying's main bookkeeper, but he is only a subordinate official of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and Liu Xie naturally has never seen him.

"Your Majesty asks, Sima Fang is my father! Yi Nai is the second son of his father. Sima Yi said respectfully. Sima Fang used to be Jing Zhaoyin, and Liu Xie also knew him.

"The palace is heavily guarded, I don't know how Zhongda got in?" After finishing the war, he finally interjected a sentence and hurriedly asked the question he was most concerned about. This sentence is quite level, Sima Yi appeared in the palace out of thin air in the middle of the night, or if he didn't figure it out, he was afraid that Liu Xiehe would have trouble sleeping and eating after he finished sleeping. You must know that all around here are Cao Ying's clan generals leading the army to be on guard, in case Liu Xiehe's plot leaks the news, then there will be no place to die.

As if feeling the apprehension in the hearts of the two, Sima Yi smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, the minister bought off a tun chief under Cao Xiu, and then he pretended to be a Praetorian Guard and mixed in. In fact, it was far from being as easy as Sima Yi said, and he really took great pains to sneak into the palace. From the beginning of buying the internal response, to the monitoring of the ambush, and then to the infiltration, every step in this is full of crises.

"I don't know what happened when Zhong Da entered the palace at night?" Liu Xie's face has looked much better, at least the questioning is still relatively calm. Sima Yi sighed when he heard this, and then he spoke: "Your Majesty is trapped by the ministers, and no one can decide state affairs. As a Hanchen, Yi has long been heartbroken. Therefore, I took the risk of coming here all night, just to help His Majesty exterminate the national thief! ”

"Is Zhongda sincere?" After listening to it, he snorted.

"Why did the abbot say this? I, Sima Yi, as an official of the imperial court, have long been in the absence of glory and wealth. Now that I am willing to risk my family name and my life, I will enter the palace at night to meet Your Majesty, is it a joke? Sima Yi said. This righteous and stern posture, coupled with his words, is not unreasonable, and Liu Xiehe suddenly can't believe it.

"I don't know if Zhongda has any good plan to help eliminate this national thief?" Liu Xie couldn't help but be curious. In his opinion, Sima Yi, who is the chief secretary of the Prime Minister's Mansion, is at most assassinating Cao Ying.

I didn't want Sima Yi to open his mouth and say: "Your Majesty, the minister has already connected many loyal people outside, and as long as there is a change, he can take action to punish the rebel thief!" But at the moment, there is still one difficult thing to do. ”

"What?" Liu Xie hurriedly asked.

"If the minister has not received His Majesty's edict, how can he connect with everyone? This time, the minister ventured here to beg His Majesty to give the minister a secret edict, so that the minister could order more loyal people! Sima Yi replied.

"This matter is easy!" When Liu Xie heard it, he immediately felt that there was a door, anyway, it was not difficult to write a secret decree, he had written it back then, and now he was even more familiar with it. After swiping and then stamping the seal, Sima Yi hid this secret decree close to his body, and then said goodbye to Liu Xiehe and quietly sneaked out of the palace.

"Husband, this is an urgent letter sent by the master today." As soon as he got home, Sima Yi's wife handed him an urgent letter. Sima Yi opened it and looked at it, his face changed slightly, but a glimmer of light flashed in the depths of his eyes.

After retiring from everyone, Sima Yi was alone in his room, unfolded and read the letter of Shicai, recorded the names on it, as well as their official ranks, on a piece of paper, and then looked at these names and official ranks, thoughtful. From time to time, cross out a name and fill in another name.

After a while, Sima Yi seemed to feel almost, so he took out the secret decree that Liu Xie had given him, which he had hidden in his arms. Looking at this list and this secret decree, a smile gradually appeared on Sima Yi's face. It's just that under the moonlight, his smile is a little terrifying.

"Zhao Botao, Zhuge Kongming, and Xiahou Miaocai, it's up to you next!" Sima Yi is quite intriguing. What he didn't know was that at this time, he was already being targeted by two pairs of eyes. One pair is from Chengdu, but the other pair is close to Yecheng.

The next time, Liu Bao, the king of the Huns, sent an envoy to Yecheng to pay tribute, and Cao Ying ordered a feast in the palace of the king of Wei to entertain the envoys. During the banquet, the staggered planning, singing and dancing, Cao Ying and Cao Pi and other sons, as well as Hua Xin and other cadres and ministers were all listed.

"Father, this is a tribute just sent by the Hun Shan Yu Liu Bao! Among them, this pair of jade horses is carved from a piece of natural jadeite after the Xiongnu craftsman, and the end is ingenious! The child specially improvised a poem for this, and asked his father to correct the axe! In the palace of the King of Wei, Cao Zhi talked to a pair of emerald green horses on the table, and then recited his poems in public. Cao Zhi's literary talent is so outstanding, this recitation is not only Cao Ying, but all the scholars present are applauding.

"His Royal Highness's poem is indeed excellent, but His Highness does not know that it is not just a pair of horses, but three horses. In the middle of the two big horses, there's a pony! Then the messenger reminded.

"Oh? Is there such a thing? Cao Ying was also interested when he heard this, staring at the jade sculpture and taking a closer look, and sure enough, between the two big horses, there was a pony. It's just that the craftsman only carved out a part of the body, so you can't really see it if you don't look closely. This craftsman is known as the first craftsman of the Huns, and it is indeed worthy of his name.

"I see!" After Cao Pi and Cao Zhi got together to see it, they also praised their ingenuity. Cao Ying is also a good drinker, and after the interest comes at the moment, he is drinking wildly, and he does not disperse until late at night. All the civil and military forces left, Cao Ying himself drank a little too much, staggered and half-asleep, Cao Pi hurriedly ordered someone to set him up and help him go to the bedroom to rest.

"Three horses?" Cao Ying looked at the jade carving on the table and muttered. Suddenly remembering his dream, his good mood was suddenly a little discounted, and he just sighed: "Three horses, three horses!" ”

"Father, what's wrong with Sima Yi?" Cao Pi was helping himself to rest with Cao Ying, and couldn't help but ask when he heard the words.

"Wu'er heard it, what my father said was three horses, three horses, not Sima Yi!" Cao Ying replied. He was originally muttering to himself, and his speech was slurred, and Cao Pi didn't listen to it for a while.

"The child heard the mistake, and he thought that his father was talking about Sima Yi!" Cao Pi said with a smile. As soon as Cao Ying heard this, his originally somewhat drowsy head suddenly sobered up, and he sat up straight.

Three horses, Sima?

(To be continued)