Yecheng, under the Tongque Stage, on the bank of the Zhangshui River.

In the name of rewarding Xuchang Zhuqing, Cao Cao summoned everyone to Tongquetai.

Wei pawns wore armor and held spears, stood under the banner, and were tightly controlled around the Tongque Terrace.

Dozens of Xuchang officials stood under the Tongque platform, seeing that Cao Cao, the king of Wei, had not shown up for a long time, their expressions were worried, and they were talking to each other, whispering, as if they were chatting about something.

"The King of Wei summoned us to Yecheng and said that he wanted to set up a banquet to entertain us, I am afraid that there is fraud in it?" Du Xi's face was uneasy, and he said: "Could it be that Yoshimoto, Wei Huang, Geng Ji and others rebelled, and it is suspected that there are still more parties in the DPRK, and they want to investigate deeply?" ”

Glancing at the vigilant Wei pawns around him, Wei Heng sighed slightly and said, "Ji, Geng, Wei and others rebelled, and attacked Changshi Wang Bi at night." Wang Bi was seriously wounded and fled to Jin Yi's house at night, because the night was inseparable, he learned that Jin Yi had rebelled, so he escaped. ”

"Like the one who responds to the golden yi, because the night is indistinguishable, I don't know how many people are covered. Now the king will be seriously injured and die, and the king's anger will surely pursue Ying and the rest of the party. After all, the current turmoil in Xuchang is mostly caused by my Guan sergeant clan, which must be jealous of King Wei. ”

"I hope that the King of Wei really has the intention of rewarding, not in the name of a banquet, to investigate the rebellion in Xuchang." Wei Heng said.

Du Xi was silent for a while, and suddenly asked, "As you said, do you have any contact with Yoshimoto?" ”

Wei Heng shook his head and said, "I have been closed all year round, how can I contact Yoshimoto and Wei Huang?" ”

Saying that, Wei Heng glanced at Du Xi and said, "You should be careful not to be slandered by the villain." ”

Du Xi clenched his palms and sighed in his heart.

Xuchang city gate fire, he once had a Fa people in the name of firefighting, secretly help Ji, Geng and others, but unfortunately a few people for the rabble, involved in the turmoil, see Tianming, because did not capture Wang Bi, have been afraid to leave, resulting in the failure of the uprising.

"If you know that there is a future, you will not let Cao Cao enter Beijing!" Du Xi secretly regretted it.

When Liu Xie was welcomed by Cao Cao, he was not a son of heaven of the Han Dynasty who had no soldiers and no power, but a son of heaven who had certain rights. There are many soldiers in his hands, and there are also civil and military officials who follow Liu Xie.

It was only that at that time, the locust plague was great, there was no drought and no grain, Liu Xie had no food, and his own lack of authority caused the soldiers to be unruly and bullied Shangshu in the service. However, even so, Liu Hexi, as the son of heaven of the Han Dynasty, still has relative rights.

As for why Cao Cao can welcome Liu Xie, there are common needs of both sides inside and outside.

In addition to the lack of food, Yang Feng and Han Xian, who still have escorts, interfere in the government and politics. Liu Xie's civil and military forces were unwilling to accept the status quo, and seeing that they could not expel Yang and Han, they wanted to introduce new forces and regain their rights.

At that time, Cao Cao, because he had just turned against Yuan Shao, expelled Lu Bu from Yanzhou. His own power is weak, and the area he can control is not more than Jiyin, Chenliu, Shanyang, Renguo, Chen and other counties, rather than controlling Yan and Henan Prefectures in the impression of everyone.

In order to strengthen himself and have enough bargaining chips to compete with Yuan Shao, who occupied Hebei, Cao Cao adopted Dong Zhao's advice and contacted the Liang and Peixiang people in the upper court, and was able to enter Luoyang and welcome Liu Xie.

Liu Xie and Cao Cao formed a short-term alliance, from the first year of Jian'an to the third year of Jian'an, in two or three years, thanks to Liu Xie's sign of the Son of Heaven, Cao Cao's power expanded rapidly, broke Yuan Shu, captured Lu Bu, defeated Liu Biao, and closed Duan Xuan.

That is, three years later, due to the expansion of Cao Cao's power and the appearance of a powerful minister, Liu Xie's forces could not bear it anymore and decided to rebel. That is, represented by Dong Cheng, Wang Zifu, Chongji and others, holding the edict of Cao Cao.

The coup d'état was aborted, and there was no force to resist Cao Cao in Xuchang. However, secretly there were Han officials with the Guan Sergeant clan as the main body, they were depressed, had empty official names, and had no real power, so they gradually united. Such as Fufeng Geng's, Jingzhao Jin's, Feng Yiji's, Jingzhao Wei's, etc.

The hundred officials of Xuchang discussed for a long time in a worried mood. I don't know how long it took, Cao Cao dressed in civilian clothes, surrounded by samurai, walked up the steps and appeared in front of everyone.

"Silence!"

Xu Chu stood in front of Cao Cao with his sword, his anger sank into the dantian, and he shouted loudly.

"King Wei has arrived!"

Hearing this, the officials of Xuchang fell silent, and looked at Cao Cao, who was not tall, but had a compelling atmosphere, with hatred, flattery, or indifference, each with different eyes.

I don't know who took the lead, and the hundred officials of Xuchang bowed to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and with those eyes that seemed to be able to see through everyone's hearts, he scanned everyone present.

In a few moments, Cao Cao's cold expression relaxed slightly, revealing a kind expression, and said: "Ji Ben, Geng Ji, Wei Huang and others led their servants to rebel and burn the city of Xuchang. Thanks to the help of Zhuqing, Wang Changshi Supingji, Geng and other thieves rebelled, and Zhuqing had a lot of hard work. ”

"In recent years, I have been fortunate to be the son of heaven, and I have been named the king of Wei alone, mostly in Yecheng. The matter of Xuchang is only responsible for Zhuqing. Jingu took the opportunity of the rebellion in Xuchang to recruit Zhuqing to Yecheng, in order to set up a banquet to work Zhuqing, hoping that Zhuqing would return with all his happiness. ”

"Thank you, King Wei!"

Seeing that Cao Cao didn't seem to have the intention of pursuing Ji and Geng's rebellion, the officials of Xuchang let out a sigh, and those officials who secretly responded to the peace like Jin Yi also let go of their worries.

Turning around and going up the stairs, Cao Cao glanced at Sun Quan.

Sun Quan, who understood Cao Cao's meaning, stepped forward and said with a smile: "Ji and Geng Chao Xuchang, sometimes the city was burned, according to Wang Changshi, it was night when there were many servants to fight the thieves and put out the fire. Now the king thinks that he should be rewarded for his meritorious service, and he wants to reward the servant who fights the thief and puts out the fire. ”

"Those who fight thieves and firefighters stand under the red flag; Those who do not succeed behind closed doors stand under the white flag. ”

As he spoke, Sun Quan accentuated his tone and emphasized: "Although the king is unwilling to take a closer look, I hope that Zhuqing will choose the flag based on his merits, and he should not falsely report his merits. ”

"This~"

Looking at Cao Cao, who was drifting away, Xuchang Zhuqing was confused, talking to each other, and Gai didn't know how to choose.

Wei Heng consciously stood on the side of the white flag, that night Xuchang was chaotic, he closed his door to protect himself, and did not participate in the Ji and Geng rebellion.

As for why he didn't choose the red flag to show that he had merit that night, Wei Heng felt that it was unnecessary. is only rewarded with money, even Cao Cao is gone, and there is not much point in standing on the side of the red flag. And standing under the flag, it is not a joke to be known that you did not fight the thief and put out the fire.

Wei Heng's choice was happy, but Du Xi was hesitant.

That night of the rebellion, Du Xi sent servants to participate, and now it does not belong to either side. In order not to arouse Cao Cao's suspicion, and in order to better match the servant's confession, Du Xi chose to stand on the side of the red flag.

In a few breaths, the officials of Xuchang stood under the red and white flags, but they saw that there were few people standing under the red flag, and there were many people standing under the white flag.

The Han officials standing under the white flag included Zongzheng Liu Ai, Dasi Nong Wang Yi, Weiwei Han Bin and other high-ranking officials who communicated with Cao Cao in the early years.

Seeing that the red and white flags were clearly distinguished, Sun Quan's smile became brighter and brighter.

Shaoqing, the attendants sent by Cao Cao came down the steps and ordered: "Those who stand under the white flag, the king of Wei has an order, and he will go to the banquet." ”

"No!"

Liu Ai, Wang Yi, Han Bin and others led Xuchang Zhuqing, lined up neatly, and slowly took the stage.

After half a ring, in the eyes of the Red Flag Hanchen, Sun Quan showed his white teeth and said: "By the order of the king, all the Red Flag will be taken down and handed over to the school for interrogation." ”

"What?"

Du Xi's expression changed greatly, and now he woke up.

Cao Cao wanted to reward them, but called the thief firefighter, but in fact, he wanted to find people like Jin Yi who secretly helped the Xuchang rebellion.

After all, if you think about it with your toes, you know that there were more than 1,000 rebels in Xuchang that night. The number of servants and miscellaneous servants of the three or four families combined does not reach more than 1,000 at all, and there must be other scholars secretly helping.

The situation was complicated that night, normal people would hide at home, and only those who had planned in advance would dare to go out to help.

Of course, there were really people who helped Cao Cao fight thieves and put out fires, and before he died, Wang Bi submitted a list of two or three people who really helped Cao.

The school affairs interrogated the Red Flag officials, and most of the people who helped Cao went through a process, and those who were not on Wang Bi's list should be strictly interrogated to find out those who participated in the rebellion.

What is a school business?

It is for Cao Cao's intelligence department, such as Ming's Jinyiwei, and it is Cao Cao's minions, specially used to arrest people who violate laws and disciplines. For example, Cao Cao ordered a ban on alcohol at that time, Xu Miao drank secretly and was investigated by the school. Fortunately, Cao Cao spared Xu Miao.

Gai or learned that it was impossible to escape, Du Xi scolded: "Cao thief hates Yoshimoto for being incompetent, and he does not gather everyone. If it is replaced by me, Liu Bei has entered Xuchanger! ”

"Smack!"

School official Zhao Da hit Du Xi's face with the scabbard, and his mouth bleed instantly, so painful that Du Xi couldn't speak.

Jia Xu looked at the scene that happened in the audience and sighed in his heart.

Although the King of Wei was prosperous in his martial arts, he also covered the middle summer and shocked the world. But it's a pity that the officials are afraid of their power, the people are afraid of their power, and they don't have their virtues.

In today's situation, the king of Wei is self-satisfied and can't complain about others. Coercing the Son of Heaven to make the princes good, but not the princes, will be devoured by the Son of Heaven.

In a trance, Jia Xu couldn't help but think of the Battle of Chrysostom ten years ago, and he advised Cao Cao not to rush to fight. If Cao Cao listened to his advice, he would be in the south and Jingchu, give him an official title, and appease the people; Xiping Bashu, subduing Liu Zhang, and gathering the power of Yizhou.

Nantu surrendered, such as learning from Liu Xiu's entry into the throne as emperor, and then eradicating the practice of Gongsun Shu. Sending hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Wu Chu, even if ten Huo Jun, or Han Xin and Bai Qi are alive, they can't change the overall situation. However, Cao Cao, who was in a hurry, had to use his own shortcomings and fight his strengths, and suffered a great defeat.

One wrong step, one wrong step!

At present, in order to eradicate the loyal Han officials, they have repeatedly used political means to persecute them, which is really difficult to say.

Sigh to sigh, but the things of the world can no longer be reversed.

At the moment, it is important to help Cao Cao call the emperor, and it depends on Cao Pi's leadership.

On the Tongque Stage, the officials under the red flag were arrested by the school, and most of the Xuchang officials who came to the stage to feast were frightened. On the contrary, Cao Cao's expression was gentle, and he persuaded everyone to feast and drink, and he was not affected in the slightest.

Holding the wine bottle, Cao Cao sighed and sighed: "Since Emperor Ling, the Han family has declined, and the party has been autocratic. Lonely on the orders of the Son of Heaven, to conquer the Quartet, and to return China's Qingping, how can there be traitors to do evil? ”

"King Qiqi, forgive Hong for his courage. Since Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, thieves have swarmed, Dong Zhuo has been in chaos, and the country has been ruled by a large number, as for today, there is only a name. Fortunately, with the assistance of the king, there must be the peace of China. However, the Han Emperor mutilated the heroes, not the appearance of the Ming monarch. ”

Cao Hong got up from the desk and said: "Hong and the generals in the army are not just stealing the king, and now I am willing to recommend the king to follow the three generations, obey the heavens and the people, and succeed to the throne as the emperor." ”

Hearing this, Cao Cao was furious and said: "This is the words of Wujun, and you should retreat quickly because you have made outstanding achievements in the past." ”

"King!"

Chen Qun got up from the table and said sincerely: "Gongsun is far away, and the Western Regions are surrendered. Since the end of the Han Dynasty, China has been fortunate to have the king, and there is peace today. As the saying goes, 'When the Han line is exhausted, the Huang family should be prosperous'. Today, there are seven in the world, and the king should obey the order of the heavens and enter the position of the Son of Heaven! ”

The hundred officials from Xuchang were stunned when they saw this scene, it turned out that Cao Cao called them here to take the opportunity to become emperor.

Cao Cao put down the wine bottle and said dissatisfiedly: "Zhu Qing wants to be alone in the fire? ”

After speaking, Cao Cao turned around and left, leaving the ministers on the Tongque Terrace.

(End of chapter)