Empress Dowager Dong also ignored the faces of the ministers, sat directly beside Liu Wei, and shouted in a deep voice: "Ma Chao! Are you guilty? ”

Ma Chao said awe-inspiringly: "The minister doesn't know! Please also ask the Queen Mother to speak clearly! ”

Empress Dowager Dong said angrily: "Yesterday, the palace sent Zhang Changshou and Zhao Changshou to discuss with you, why did you beat these two?" The two have been important ministers in the court since the time of Emperor Heng, and the first emperor has reused them, and the merits of assisting are obvious to all. But now you are beaten violently on the street, do you know that these two people represent the palace, the bones of the first emperor are not cold, you are proud of your achievements, no one in your eyes, and you can just put the palace in your eyes? Can you put the new gentleman in your eyes? ”

Ma Chao hurriedly knelt down, hugged his fists and said: "Qiqi Empress Dowager, there is a reason why the minister beat Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhongzhong, and please ask the Empress Dowager to listen to the minister's details!" ”

Empress Dowager Dong said: "You can tell me in detail, if you can't satisfy the palace, you must be good-looking!" ”

Ma Chao said: "The eunuchs castrated, controlled the government, preyed on the people, framed Zhongliang, not to mention these for the time being, how do you know that Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong have intensified, deceived the young ministers, provoked the relationship between the ministers and the generals, and said that the first emperor intended to set up the prince association as the crown prince, and tricked the ministers to follow Huo Guangxing's abolition move!" ”

After a pause, he said: "The first emperor treats the younger ministers to be recreated, and today is the eldest son of the first emperor, and the inheritance of the great unification is a matter of public expectation, how can the little ministers listen to the fallacy?" If it weren't for the face of the Empress Dowager, the two would have been taken down and handed over to the Son of Heaven and the general! ”

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong's faces turned pale, and they were only trembling with fright, but they didn't expect Ma Chao to really tell the matter. He Jin's eyes were full of murderous intent, his fists were clenched, and he couldn't help but speak: "The Empress Dowager Qi, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong are plotting against each other, and their crimes should be punished, and I also ask the Empress Dowager to issue an edict to correct these two people!" ”

Zhang Rang argued: "Ma Mengqi, you are spewing blood, we are loyal to the new master, how can we do such a rebellious act?" After saying that, he hurriedly knelt down to He Jin, and said urgently: "General Qiqi, Ma Chao covets the position of the general, and wants to do something to abolish the establishment, let me wait for him to do internal response." The two of us are loyal to the general, how can we obey each other? How do you know that Ma Chao was annoyed and ashamed, beat the two of us with sticks, and asked the general to make decisions for the two of us! ”

Ma Chao was stunned, but he didn't expect to be bitten by the two of them, and said angrily: "You are a eunuch, you dare to slander this general, you are really a dog!" I will take your surname today!" With that, he jumped up and threw his fist at the top of Zhang Rang's head.

Zhang Rang was so frightened that his face was pale, he ran for his life with his head in his hands, Ma Chao chased after him, the ministers were busy pulling the rack, and the entire Deyang Hall was in chaos!

"Stop!" Old Mrs. Dong was suddenly angry and shouted: "You are the secretary of the court!" It's like a brawl in the market, what kind of system! ”

Ma Chao suddenly became honest, hugged his fists and said: "The minister is guilty, but Zhang Rang is really not a son of man, as long as the queen mother is punished, the minister is willing to be punished!" ”

He Jin's face was cloudy, the two of them insisted on their own words, and they were both suspected of being unfavorable to him, and they didn't know who to believe for a while? Yuan Shao whispered on the side: "General, that Ma Chao has a heavy army, and he can't be offended for the time being, so he should take this opportunity to get rid of Zhang Rang and the others in one fell swoop!" As for Ma Chao, there is nothing to be afraid of, as long as Ma Teng is firmly controlled in his hands, he will not be able to make many waves! ”

He Jin nodded, took a step forward and hugged his fists and said: "Qi Empress Dowager, Zhang Rang disrupted the government, separated important ministers, framed Zhongliang, his crime should be punished, and please punish the Empress Dowager severely!" ”

Empress Dowager Dong waved her hand and said: "This palace has its own decision in this matter, so there is no need to wait for more!" After that, he got up and said loudly: "Ma Mengqi, you are proud of your merits, beating the emperor's close ministers, disrupting the order of the court, and damaging the majesty of the court, can you be guilty?" ”

Ma Chao said: "The minister is guilty!" Please also ask the Empress Dowager to punish her! ”

"Hmm!" Empress Dowager Dong continued: "If you have made great contributions to the imperial court, the palace will give you a light punishment, strip you of your position as a hussar general and a state pastor, demote you to General Wei, and lead the history of Jizhou assassination." When you leave Beijing as soon as possible and go to Jizhou to pacify the Black Mountain thieves, there must be no mistake. If you dare to do it again, you don't have to be a big man! ”

Ma Chao kowtowed again, hugged his fists and said: "The minister is willing to be punished, but Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong"

"Shut up!" Empress Dowager Dong said angrily: "Zhang Changshou and Zhao Changshou are close ministers of the first emperor, how can this palace listen to your words and punish them severely?" Don't get back now! ”

Ma Chao's face was unwilling, but he still got up and retreated to the side. Empress Dowager Dong did not give the ministers a chance to speak, and then said: "The hussar general is an important position in the court, indispensable, the palace is said to be edicted, and it is proposed that Dong Zhong Lang in the imperial history will be the hussar general, fake festival, lead and merge the state pastor, and preside over the government with Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Guo Sheng and others, and change the title of the prince and the king of Bohai as the king of the Hejian Association!" ”

After returning home, He Jin couldn't help but be furious, and said: "A feudal concubine, dare to bully me like this!" It's hateful! The prince is the eldest son of the first emperor, and it is justifiable to inherit the unification, but she did not give up, and she supported her nephew who had no military power to ascend to the throne if she didn't succeed in winning the champion, and she really didn't know whether she was alive or dead! ”

Cao Ying frowned and said: "Empress Dowager Dong's surname is strong, the first emperor was only twelve years old when he succeeded to the throne, and later the eunuchs launched a coup d'état to get rid of Empress Dowager Dou in one fell swoop, and Empress Dowager Dong ruled as the Empress Dowager for three years, this person should not be underestimated!" ”

Yuan Shu said: "In any case, the Empress Dowager Dong's demotion of the champion Hou is a big piece of people's hearts, that Ma Chao has been operating in the state for more than a year, accommodating the homeless, and the thieves in the Qing Dynasty, which is quite popular with the local people. ”

Yuan Shao also nodded and said: "Now that Ma Chao has been demoted, he will definitely hate the eunuch party and the Empress Dowager Dong to the core, so if you win him over at this time, you can join forces to get rid of the eunuch party!" ”

Cao Ying shook his head and said, "This matter must not be done?" ”

He Jin said: "Why not? ”

Cao Ying said: "Bingzhou is Ma Chao's base camp, not to mention tens of thousands of Xiliang elite soldiers stationed, and there are Ma Chao's brothers and henchmen and generals in charge, so what kind of virtue can Dong Chong have!" Does it mean that if the state changes hands, it can change hands? In addition, Ma Mengqi was demoted in the open, but secretly reaped greater benefits, with the position of Jizhou Assassin History, he can justifiably mobilize Jizhou's money and grain for his own use, and his power will only increase, not decrease, if he is allowed to plant his forces in Beijing, I am afraid that we will have no place to stand! ”

He Jin shook his head and said: "Meng De is too worried, Ma Chao just relies on Ma Teng's old department, and now that Ma Teng is under my control, how dare he have the slightest dissent?" Ben Jiang wanted to get rid of Empress Dowager Dong and Dong Chong first, and then send his henchmen to take over and merge the state, if Ma Chao refused to hand over, Ben Jiang would have cut off Ma Teng's head first, could it be that he still dared to raise troops to rebel? ”

Yuan Shao said: "What the general said is very true, with Ma Teng and his wife in hand, Ma Chao is not worried!" The first task at the moment is to get rid of the Empress Dowager Dong and the eunuchs, and the new monarch has just been established, and they must not be allowed to do whatever they want! But the Empress Dowager Dong is the biological mother of the first emperor, and this matter is not easy to do too much! ”

Cao Ying said: "What's so difficult about these two things? Getting rid of Ma Chao is the top priority, and now Ma Chao is in Luoyang, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, if he is allowed to get out, there will be endless troubles! ”

He Jin said unhappily: "Ma Chao also has a brother Ma Tie in Bingzhou, if he attacks the Ma family's father and son, how can Ma Tie be willing to give up?" If he disregarded the orders of his father and brother and raised hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Luoyang, wouldn't the world be in chaos, and how could we fight! This remark has to be mentioned again, Ma Chao can only win over for the time being, and cannot be offended! ”

Cao Ying retorted: "The local warlords are not the only Ma family"

"Mendehugh is talking nonsense! Don't you think the world is chaotic enough? What is your intention? He Jin's face suddenly turned pale, and he continued: "Ma Chao's matter will be discussed later, and it is important to get rid of Empress Dowager Dong and the eunuch party first!" ”

Cao Ying shook his head and bowed his head silently. Lord Bo Chen Lin said: "The general has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in the Beijing Division, and it is not a matter of one sentence to get rid of the eunuchs!" As for the Empress Dowager Dong's affairs, it is even easier to do, when the first salute and then the soldiers, let Empress He come forward to persuade her, if the Empress Dowager Dong does not comply, she can unite with the ministers of the court and the central government, issue an edict in the name of the Son of Heaven, and forcibly send her back to her hometown in Hejian for resettlement on the grounds that the concubine is not suitable to live in the palace for a long time, so that the two things can be settled! ”

Yuan Shao nodded and said: "This is reasonable, the general can act according to the plan!" ”

He Jin pondered for a while, nodded and said: "Okay, Ben Jiang will enter the palace to see the Queen Mother, and if she wants to listen to the government, it will not be her turn to be a concubine!" As for the killing of the eunuchs, the consent of the Queen Mother is still required before he can act! ”

The next time, He came into the East Palace to ask for a meeting with the Empress Dowager He and informed the Empress Dowager Dong of the matter of listening to the government in the court. The Empress Dowager He frowned when she heard this: "Brother, don't worry, this palace has also heard about this matter, and the little sister will invite the Empress Dowager to a banquet tomorrow, and persuade her with kind words first, if she doesn't obey, it's no wonder that our brothers and sisters are ruthless!" ”

He Jin said: "This matter was mostly provoked by Zhang Rang and others, and it was said that these eunuchs were in collaboration with Jian Shuo to try to kill the general, and if nothing happened, they colluded with the Empress Dowager Dong and the champion Hou Zaici to plot against him, but fortunately, the champion Hou could see the situation clearly and did not agree, but Zhang Rang and others had to be removed!" Ben wants to lead his troops into the palace and punish the eunuchs! ”

He Wan frowned, and said in a deep voice: "The eunuch commands the forbidden province, from ancient times to the present, the old rules of the Han family cannot be abolished. Besides, the first emperor has just passed away, how can this palace work with scholars in a grand manner? There is only one person with your surname, why does the general have to get along with a group of eunuchs? Do you want to even set up me, the Empress Dowager? ”

He Jin frowned and said silently, and the Empress Dowager He said: "Brother, think about it, if it wasn't for Zhang Rang and others to promote me at the beginning, how could I be rich and noble today?" Please also ask my brother to stop embarrassing these eunuchs in front of my little sister. ”

Not to mention He Jin's abrupt return, the second said, Empress Dowager He really invited Empress Dowager Dong to a banquet in the East Palace, because of the arrival of Ma Chao, this history has changed. The two did not collapse, and the Empress Dowager Dong also promised not to interfere in the government again, but proposed to take Liu Xie and Princess Wannian to his hometown in Hejian to worship their ancestors, and let the hussar general Dong Zhong escort them.

Empress Dowager He didn't expect things to go so smoothly, so she agreed after a little contemplation. Afterwards, He Jin was summoned into the East Palace to inform him of the matter, and He Jin did not doubt it, and he also agreed, and authorized Dong Zhong to lead 800 Yulin troops to escort them along the way. (To be continued.) )