"Congratulations." Liu Xiu congratulated Cao Ying with a smile, took the wine sent by Cao Ying on the case, patted the mud, the wine was fragrant, he intoxicated took a breath, and praised: "Good wine, just for the sake of this altar of good wine, I agree with your son to use my name." ”

Cao Yingle was happy, reached out and took an ear cup, wiped it with his sleeve, and scolded: "These jailers are too lazy, and they don't know how to wash the wine glass." ”

"Come on, this jail, you think it's going to be at home, it's going to be some."

Liu Xiu poured him a glass of wine and poured himself another glass, and as soon as the two drank it all, they ate and talked about the appetizers brought by Cao Ying, chatting a few words, and Cao Ying got to the point.

"It's been almost two months since the end of the big test, and how to arrange these 300 people has now become the biggest problem for Situ Mansion." Cao Ying sighed and roughly explained the situation outside. Now Song Feng's biggest headache is how to arrange these three hundred people, if the arrangement is not good, the crime will definitely fall on Situ's head, and when the time comes, I am afraid that Song Feng, Situ, will not be able to do it for long. "It's not that Lord Situ doesn't want to catch you, it's all He Jin who is blocking you, and the queen is about to turn her face with the Son of Heaven in order to intercede for you."

Liu Xiu smiled slightly, Cao Ying didn't dare to look at him when he said this, obviously he was a little watery, it was reasonable for the Song family to fish him out, but it was impossible to say that they would turn their faces for him and the Son of Heaven, one thing is the most telling thing, he has been in Luoyang Prison for more than half a month, and the Song family father and son have never come to see him. But everyone knows this kind of thing, and there is no point in piercing it.

Liu Xiu took a sip of wine and tasted it leisurely: "Meng De, why did you say that the Son of Heaven hadn't arranged these three hundred people for so long?" ”

Cao Ying thought for a moment and smiled bitterly: "The Son of Heaven tried to choose some children from poor families to compete with the family, but the vast majority of the people selected were from the family, or related to the family. ”

"By the way, this is the root, people are chosen by the Son of Heaven, but their hearts are still the hearts of the family, so the Son of Heaven is unwilling." Liu Xiu gently placed the wine glass on the table and made a clattering sound. "It's very uncomfortable, but this is the status quo, everything can't be done overnight, even if he is the son of heaven."

Cao Ying let out a long sigh, he only learned the news after returning to Luoyang, and he was both a little happy and a little unwilling for this result. The strength of the family was too strong, so powerful that it seemed to be invulnerable, which made him feel more and more that Yuan Shao's strength was strong.

This idea is said to have been given by Yuan Shao, and with just a flick, the efforts of the Son of Heaven were in vain.

"But it doesn't matter, everything is difficult at the beginning, as long as the whereabouts of these three hundred people are resolved, the efforts of the Son of Heaven will not be in vain." Liu Xiu comforted him and said: "It is unrealistic to defeat the family all at once, if anyone has this thought, it is a manifestation of underestimating the enemy." Of course, the Maison doesn't need to be all defeated. ”

Cao Ying raised his head and looked at Liu Xiu in surprise.

"It's not that all families are good, and it's not that all families are bad." Liu Xiu knocked on the table, "Now the Son of Heaven wants to wipe out all the families, which is forcing the family to establish an alliance." ”

Cao Ying nodded, he thought so too. The Son of Heaven has now not only hit the Yuan family, but also the Yang family, and even a local powerhouse like Cai Yong will not let go, so sooner or later it will hit his Cao family's head. The result of this deduction made him shudder, and he was also hesitating whether he should stand on the side of the Son of Heaven.

"He Jin is Henan Yin, and above Henan Yin, there should also be a lieutenant of Si Li. Yang Qiu has been dead for more than half a month, and it's time to choose a new lieutenant. Liu Xiu paused, "I think Yang Biao is quite suitable." ”

"Yang Biao?" Cao Ying hesitated for a moment, and nodded a little reluctantly: "He is indeed suitable." ”

"Although the Yang family and the Yuan family have an in-law relationship, the Yang family and the Yuan family are different." Liu Xiu reminded: "If the Son of Heaven wants to forcibly suppress the Yang family, it will force the Yang family and the Yuan family to stand together, and sooner or later they will regret it." Appointing Yang Biao as the lieutenant of Sili will help ease the relationship with the Yang family, and also help to separate the Yang family from the Yuan family. He smiled and said, "I believe that Yang Biao can enforce the law impartially and will not deliberately ask for my surname." ”

Cao Ying smiled and pointed at Liu Xiu and said, "You, in the final analysis, you are still afraid of death." ”

"Who is not afraid of death?" Liu Xiu asked rhetorically: "Aren't you afraid?" ”

Cao Ying rolled his eyes: "I'm also afraid, okay?" ”

"Each other, each other." Liu Xiu laughed.

…… As soon as Cao Ying came out of Luoyang Prison, he rushed to Situ Mansion and suggested that Song Feng appoint Yang Biao as the lieutenant of Sili. Song Feng was a little worried at first, but after listening to Cao Ying's relayed Liu Xiu's suggestion, he agreed, and asked people to report the appointment to the palace, and at the same time, Cao Ying personally wrote a Shangshu, detailing the important surnames in it.

After the Son of Heaven received the edict Song Feng and Cao Ying into the palace to play, Cao Ying euphemistically explained Liu Xiu's suggestion, the Son of Heaven looked at Song Feng without saying a word: "Should Situ turn Liu Xiu into Situ Peng and reuse it?" ”

Song Feng was stunned, he didn't know how to answer the question of the Son of Heaven, he could hear that the Son of Heaven was very dissatisfied with his move.

The Son of Heaven brushed his sleeves away and left Song Feng and Cao Ying there. After returning to the palace, the Son of Heaven was furious, pointed to Queen Song, who rushed to hear the news, and said, Your father has done a good job as Situ, and he can't come up with an idea, so he has to go to the prison to ask Liu Xiu, is it that without Liu Xiu, he, Situ, doesn't know what to do?

Queen Song's face turned pale with fright, and she fell to her knees with a thud, and even called her capital crime. When the Son of Heaven saw it, he was angry and disappointed, waved his hand, and asked the queen to go back by herself, and he sat alone in the palace and sulked for a while.

Zhang Rang arched his hand and cautiously approached, and the Son of Heaven heard the footsteps, looked up at his emaciated face, and finally felt some comfort in his heart. "Zhang Gong, you said that I let Song Feng be Situ, is it too wrong?"

Zhang Rang sighed faintly, and said in a respectful and loving voice: "Your Majesty, Song Feng is indeed not a pillar of talent, he is not a competent Situ, but he is loyal to His Majesty. ”

The Son of Heaven glanced at him, and the corners of his mouth curled up with a contemptuous smile: "This idea is not his idea, it is Liu Xiu's idea, when Chao Situ actually wants to listen to the idea of a prisoner, this is inevitably too incompetent." ”

Zhang Rang nodded: "Song Feng is indeed incompetent, he is far worse than Dou Wu." ”

The Son of Heaven was stunned for a moment, suddenly straightened his waist, and looked at Zhang Rang with a smile: "Gong Zhang, I remember that your daughter-in-law is still the sister of He Guiren, when did you marry the Song family?" ”

Zhang Rang's face did not change: "The minister's heart only has His Majesty, and he is relatively close to He Guiren, but it is just because of the friendship of fellow villagers and in-laws, it is private, and whether Situ is proper or not, it is public." Although the minister is a lowly person, he does not dare to forget his public service because of his selfishness. As he spoke, his eyes turned red, he raised his sleeve to wipe the corners of his eyes, knelt on the ground, and said in a lamented voice: "The minister knows that he is inferior and does not tolerate the world, but he does not dare to be disloyal to His Majesty." Your Majesty, although Liu Xiu is a prisoner now, his advice is right, the family is too strong, although Your Majesty is wise, it is impossible to knock them down at once. It is too hasty, it is not good for the world, and Emperor Guangwu almost forced a civil rebellion in order to Dutian, so he must think twice. ”

Tianzi narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhang Rang who was lying on the ground, and the corners of his mouth twitched. After two months of stalemate, he didn't know this truth, but Song Feng, as Situ, couldn't share his worries, but he had to go to the prison to consult Liu Xiu, which made him very annoyed. He didn't have a bad impression of Liu Xiu, he had always admired Liu Xiu's talent, but this incident made him very unhappy.

If Liu Xiu can still influence the government in prison, what will happen once he is released from prison and becomes an official?

So he was so angry that he reprimanded Song Feng and Cao Ying to his face, and gave Queen Song a cold face. Now hearing Zhang Rang's words, he feels that his emotions are indeed a little too much, and he has lost his identity as the Son of Heaven. He sighed silently, leaned on the table, and asked weakly, "Zhang Gong, what do you think of Liu Xiu?" ”

"This person is loyal and brave, but he is very strong in martial arts." Zhang Rang said cautiously: "He is still too young, he is running thousands of miles for a woman, and he wants to kill Cao Jie's whole family, it is too reckless, too reckless." ”

"For a woman?" The Son of Heaven was curious. He only knew that Liu Xiu was unsuccessful in killing people, but he didn't know that he was going to kill for a woman.

Zhang Rang looked at the Son of Heaven in some surprise: "Your Majesty doesn't know? ”

"How do I know this, say it quickly." The Son of Heaven said impatiently.

Zhang Rang smiled, coughed lightly, and then said: "Liu Xiu fell in love with Queen Chu, the grandson of the late Tiger Ben Zhonglang General Wang Bao, but because Wang Chu was going to participate in the draft, the Wang family never agreed to him. Later, Wang Chu was defeated, and Liu Xiu came to ask for marriage, and the Wang family had already agreed. Later, Liu Xiu's family had an accident, he rushed back to Zhuo County, but somehow, Cao Poshi fell in love with Wang Chu and had to marry her. Of course, this is not a strange thing for Cao Poshi, he has robbed more women from good families......"

Zhang Rang told the story in a storytelling tone, and the Son of Heaven listened to it with relish, and finally patted his thigh and laughed: "For the sake of a woman who lost the election, he wants to kill Cao Jie's whole family?" This reckless man is really ridiculous. ”

Zhang Rang smiled, "Although Wang Chu was defeated, his talent is not bad, if it weren't for the poor makeup at that time and the wrong song, he may not be able to enter the palace." ”

"Really?" Under Zhang Rang's reminder, the Son of Heaven finally remembered Wang Chu, a person like Wang Chu, and the back and a small piano sound flashed from his heart. Zhang Rang saw that the Son of Heaven was not angry, so he quietly breathed a sigh of relief, with this foreshadowing, even if the responsibility of these few people was eliminated, even if the Son of Heaven saw Wang Chu himself in the future, he would not have any more radical reactions.

Although Zhang Rang didn't know why Cao Jie took the initiative to provoke Liu Xiu, after hearing about Wang Chu, he vaguely guessed something. He doesn't like Liu Xiu, but he doesn't like Cao Jie either, Liu Xiu scared Cao Jie to death, and it can be regarded as getting rid of a strong opponent for him, plus he is also responsible for this matter, if he is investigated, he can't get out of it, so he will take the initiative to exonerate Liu Xiu. Of course, his main purpose is not to save Liu Xiu, he doesn't want to save Liu Xiu, he just wants to eliminate this hidden danger as soon as possible.

The Son of Heaven didn't know what he was thinking, but he just felt that Liu Xiu usually looked quite shrewd and impulsive enough to do things, isn't it just to grab a woman, what is it difficult to sit down and discuss? Last time, Cao Poshi wanted to rob a Wu Bo's wife, didn't he ask Taiwei Zhang Huan to come forward to solve it, why did he want to kill people this time. Well, by the way, last time it was someone else's wife, but this time it was his own woman, and when it comes to his own affairs, it is inevitable that he will be a little impulsive.

"You go to Shangshutai and approve Song Feng's appointment of Yang Biao." The Son of Heaven called Jian Shuo and ordered: "Let Song Feng go back to his house to rest, and hurry up and think about how to arrange the newly elected scholars." ”

Jian Shuo answered and trotted all the way. The Son of Heaven asked Zhang Rang to get up and asked casually, "How is Shi Hou doing?" ”

"Not so good." Zhang Rang replied: "He Guiren has not been in a good mood recently, and often reprimands him, the eldest prince has no playmates, and he is already a little bored, and he is even more bored when he is reprimanded, and he often sits for a long time without saying a word." ”

Tianzi's slender eyebrows trembled, and he sighed: "What's the matter with her, she can't send any temper to her child, how can you be like this as a parent." When I was young, I was often disobedient, and my mother never lost her temper with me, and she always coaxed patiently. ”

Zhang Rang's sparse eyebrows twitched, but he didn't say anything.

The Son of Heaven stood up, turned around twice, thought for a moment and said, "You go and tell He Guiren that I will come to her for dinner after I finish handling government affairs, and talk to her about this parenting matter." ”

Zhang Rang was overjoyed, but his face did not show the slightest hint, and turned to leave. He rushed to the palace of He Guiren and said that the Son of Heaven was going to come to dinner, He Guiren suddenly smiled, his mood turned cloudy, and he was busy arranging wine and food, and let people dress up the eldest prince well.

After all, this is the only son of the Son of Heaven. He Guiren thought happily.

…… Yang Biao slowly walked into Liu Xiu's luxurious cell, looked around, and said with a smile: "Liu Jun is so comfortable, even if he is in prison, he is also different. ”

Liu Xiu glanced at the seal ribbon around his waist, and replied without humility or arrogance: "I was wronged." Since Yang Jun has been appointed as the lieutenant of this division, shouldn't I be innocent? Although this place is good, it is not a place to live for a long time. ”

"Wronged?" Yang Biao gestured to Pi Erding, who was following him closely and kept giving Liu Xiu a look, and Pi Erding hurriedly took a seat. Yang Biao sat down, rolled up his sleeves, pinched a pine nut on the plate and threw it into his mouth, waved his hand again, and motioned for Pi Erding and the others to withdraw. When Pi Erding saw his posture, he breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at Liu Xiu with admiring eyes, bowed, retreated together, and closed the door.

"I heard that you asked for this lieutenant for me, but I want to tell you, I don't appreciate you at all, today is your last day to enjoy this cell, and tomorrow I will make you a real prisoner." Yang Biao said lightly, "Are you a little disappointed?" ”

Liu Xiu was stunned for a moment, and suddenly smiled: "Not disappointed." ”

Yang Biao was a little strange, he squinted at Liu Xiu, and his eyes showed a little doubt.

"As I said, this place is good, but it's not a place to live for a long time." Liu Xiu crossed one leg, sat comfortably on the edge of the bed, easily pinched a pine nut with two fingers, slapped his left wrist with his right hand, and the pine nut jumped up, drawing a beautiful arc, which just fell into his mouth. "Since you want to enforce the law impartially, then I dare to ask my lord, the death of Brother Cao Jie has nothing to do with me, you must have read this official document, right?"

"I've seen it." Yang Biao smiled, "However, you appeared in the Cao Mansion to kill someone, and no one can prove that you are innocent." You are a person who practices martial arts, and if you want to kill an old and weak person like Cao Jie, you may not have to use a knife, and your own testimony is not enough to prove your innocence. ”

Liu Xiu's eyes tightened: "So, do you want to overturn Lord Zhou's conclusion, do you have to beat me?" ”

"You haven't used torture, how can you show that you are innocent?" Yang Biao clapped his hands and said as a matter of course: "Is there anyone in the world who is willing to admit his guilt?" ”

Liu Xiu was silent for a moment, "So, Lord Yang thinks I'm guilty?" ”

"Yes."

"What about the evidence?"

Yang Biao was stunned, "As I said just now, you can't prove your innocence." ”

"You're not right." Liu Xiu's mouth was crooked, and he sneered: "You say that I am guilty, you have to come up with evidence, otherwise you will frame me, and I will accuse you of personal vendetta." ”

Yang Biao also sneered and asked rhetorically, "Why?" ”

"Because your wife's younger brother is Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shu has an enmity with me. I suspect that you know that I am innocent, but in order to avenge Yuan Shu, you have to beat me severely, and may even kill me. Liu Xiu said unhurriedly: "Lord Yang, I can responsibly assure you that if you can't kill me today, I will definitely take revenge and come back." Since you have to say that I killed someone, I don't mind killing a few people, such as ...... Your infant son. ”

Yang Biao was stunned and changed color, "You are so bold, dare to threaten me in person?" ”

"So what?" Liu Xiu stood up and patted the husk on the hem of his clothes: "I originally thought that the Hongnong Yang family was a moral heirloom, which was different from the Yuan family who looked faithful, but now it seems that I was mistaken, since you can marry the Yuan family, there is not much difference between you and the Yuan family." In that case, why should I look down on you? Lord Yang, believe it or not, don't look at your heavily guarded place, but it's easy for me to get out? Don't look at your Yang family living in Luoyang City, but if I want to kill your whole family, no one will take the lead? ”

"You...... You are presumptuous! Yang Biao was furious, stood up violently, and shouted: "You have no king's law, intimidating the court officials." ”

"An official of the imperial court?" Liu Xiu smiled disdainfully: "Yes, you are an official of the imperial court, so you can use the power in your hands to defile people's innocence." But I don't understand, what is the difference between you using the power in your hands to declare your personal vendetta and me using my fists to take revenge? Do you think that if you don't have a knife in your hand, you are innocent if you don't get blood? To deal with a hypocrite like you, why should I care about any royal law? Only the sword! ”

He glanced at the jailers who rushed in when he heard Yang Biao's shouting, squinted his eyes, and his tone swept away the flat laughter, full of chilling taste: "You should know that these people can't stop me, Wang Yue, the first swordsman of the Beijing Division, is over there, you can ask him, if he is right with me, who will fall first." Lord Yang, if you really have the guts, don't let these people innocently send them to death, you can practice with me alone. With his hand, he swept all the cups and plates on the table to the ground, and stood proudly:

"I, Liu Xiu of Zhuojun, challenge you!"

(To be continued)