The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

The imperial edict was sent directly to Yingyin by a special person.

However, before reaching Yingyin, the person who passed the edict arrived at Yangzhai first, so there were officials from the Yingchuan Prefecture to accompany him, and a group of chariots was very popular.

When the car rode into Yingyin County, it caused a sensation.

Many people from the county followed behind and went to Gaoyangli and outside. Some of the people from the county were distinguished. For example, the scholars of the Liu family came into the center with the edict. When the edict was completed, they came forward to congratulate.

When Ying Yin received the news, he personally brought all the officials in the temple to congratulate Xun Zhen.

The Xun clan in Gaoyangli, except for some seniors and famous people, all came out of their homes, young and old, and went to Xun Zhen's house to congratulate Xun Zhen.

For a time, people inside and outside the Xunzhen's house were full of heads and voices.

The courtier who passed the edict read the edict, presented the edict to Xun Zhen, Xun Zhen caught it, read it again, and after reading it, handed it over to Xun You for temporary collection. The courtier was invited to rest in the house, and he was entertained in the courtyard to congratulate him. of people.

Le Jin, Feng Gong and others also came along.

Xun Zhen took a moment to call Lejin and Feng Gong to the private room.

Le Jin and Feng Gong both smiled happily, and the two bowed down: "Congratulations on being pardoned and being honored as a general from the left."

The imperial edict not only forgave Xun Zhen's sins and worshipped him as Zuo Zhonglang, but also restored him the title of Marquis of Yingyin.

Xun Zhen closed the door and shut out the noise in the courtyard. He ordered the two of them to get up and take their seats. He also sat down. He was worried that Dong Zhuo had already invaded Gyeonggi six days ago. The letter sent to Le Jin and Feng Gong was read. After they read it, they asked straight to the point: "The General and Yuan Sili ordered me to recruit strong men and lead them to the capital. Are you two willing to do it?"

Le Jin and Feng Gong just sat down and heard Xun Zhen's question.

"Do you two know why the General and Yuan Sili called me to bring troops into the capital?"

Le Jin and Feng Gong also knew a little about the current situation in Luoyang. Thinking that Xun Zhen had asked about Yingchuan's grain storage and armament before this, they both understood why Yuan Shao and He Jin summoned Xun. Zhen has entered Beijing.

Le Jin replied, "I can guess one or two."

"The general and Yuan Sili want to execute the eunuch, but the queen mother refuses. That's why they want to call foreign soldiers into the capital to intimidate the queen mother. You two must think clearly, this matter is no trivial matter. You have to go to the rivers and lakes in desperation! I will ask the two of you again, are you two willing to obey me?"

Without hesitation, Le Jin replied, "I would like to be the forerunner of the general's horse!"

Xun Zhen is now the Marquis of Yingyin and the General of Zuozhong, so he can be called "Junhou" or "General" respectfully.

Feng Gong also replied: "I would like to follow the general!"

Xun Zhen now has a distinguished status and is famous for the prefecture and prefecture, and has become allies with the generals in the court and Colonel Sili. At first glance, he has a bright future, but anyone with a little ambition will not "kill himself" in Xun at this time. Zhen, on the contrary, would only follow Xun Zhen more closely.

Needless to say, Le Jin was already a member of the "Xun Party".

The relationship between Feng Gong and Xun Zhen was originally "shallow", not as good as Le Jin, not as good as Xu Zhong and others. After Xun Zhen left Yingchuan, he stayed in the soldiers of Yingchuan County, and he did not meet Xunzhen for many years. In the past, he had become more distant from Xun Zhen, but in the end, he also had the brand of Xun Zhen on him. Without Xun Zhen, he would still be the son of a small landowner in the township, so how could he enter the prefecture's office? official? The reason why he was able to enter the prefecture as an official was because of Xun Zhen's recommendation, and if he wanted to go further, he had to rely on Xun Zhen.

Therefore, after hearing Xun Zhen's question, neither of them hesitated at all.

For the formation of a political group, it is not enough to rely on "loyalty", it must also have "interests".

For example, in a small group like Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao, He Yong, Zhang Miao, etc. are said to be "like-minded", but what is "like-minded"? The so-called "will" means voluntary. In this case, they all want to get rid of the official. "Removing the official" is their common will. That is to say, their interests are the same at the current stage, so they can form a solid alliance.

After Guangwu covered up Hebei and brought a million soldiers, the generals asked him to become emperor several times, but he did not agree. In the end, Geng Chun said something to him, saying: "The world's scholars and officials donate their relatives, abandon the soil, and take the king from the king. Between arrows and stones, their plan is to hope that they will climb dragon scales and attach phoenix wings to achieve what they want. Today, the merits are determined, and the gods and men should also respond, but when the king stays, he goes against the public, and the position is not correct. If you want to be poor, you will want to go and return, and you will suffer for a long time if you do nothing. Once the crowd is scattered, it will be difficult to reunite. You cannot stay in time, and the crowd is irreversible." When Guangwu heard this, he no longer refused, and replied, "I I will think about it", and soon after that, it was called the establishment of an empire.

Why did Guangwu not listen when other people said it, but when Geng Chun said these words, Guangwu said, "I will think about it"?

The reason is very simple. Geng Chun is telling the truth. He has stated what the foundation of a political group is, which is "interest". The world's scholar-officials abandoned their relatives and villages and followed Guangwu to fight in the south and the north. What did they do? It is for climbing dragon scales and attaching phoenix wings, for "successful ambition", for personal achievement and wealth, so if you don't call yourself an emperor when it is time to be called an emperor, once the scholar-officials are "desperate and plan to be poor", they feel that they are following Guangwu. There is no hope around, and it is very likely that they will "think about going back" and leave one after another.

The same is true of Xun Zhen's current "small group".

For a few people, such as Xu Zhong, Dian Wei, Zhao Yun, etc., it is possible to form a relationship of kindness and righteousness, but for most people, with the passage of time, only a kindness and righteousness is far from enough. Compared with before, the living conditions, social status, and vision of the people under Xun Zhen’s account have become much stronger because of Xun Zhen. It is not ruled out that some people will “obtain Long Wang Shu”. At this time, if they cannot continue In order to satisfy their personal interests, maybe they would betray Xun Zhen and abandon Xun Zhen. Isn't Li Xiang an example?

Xun Zhen was also well aware of this, so after listening to Le Jin and Feng Gong's answers, he smiled and said, "General, Yuan Sili's removal of eunuchs is dangerous, but if it can be accomplished, it must be done. Fame and fame will be left to future generations. Wen Qian, Ah Gou! What we have done today will be the shadow of our descendants."

Feng Gong's nickname was "Hugou", and Xun Zhen called him by his nickname to show his intimacy. The so-called "will be the shadow of our descendants" is to clearly tell Le Jin and Feng Gong that as long as this matter can be done well this time, it will not be a problem to get promoted.

After saying this, Xun Zhen asked Le Jin: "Wen Qian, how much can you take out of the county government's stockpile of provisions and weapons?"

Le Jin pondered for a moment, then said: "With the letter of the general and Yuan Sili, I understand that the mansion will not interfere, even if we can't get too much, there will be enough food for 5,000 people for three months, and armor for 1,000 people. The tool can still be taken out... I wonder how many soldiers the general wants to recruit?"

"The time is short, so I won't recruit soldiers. I just plan to bring righteousness to the capital... How many soldiers can you bring out of the army?"

"There are only a thousand soldiers in the county today, and at most three hundred can be brought out."

"Okay, three hundred people are enough! Wen Qian, Agou, you two will bring these three hundred county soldiers to deposit food and armor, and enter the capital from me!"

This is to treat Le Jin and Feng Gong as ration officers and quartermaster officers.

The two of them complied with awe.

The conversation in the private room didn't take long. After speaking, Xun Zhen ordered Le Jin and Feng Gong to return to Yangzhai Prefecture immediately, and agreed to meet outside the west gate of Yangzhai three days later.

Going out to the courtyard, Le Jin and Feng Gong said goodbye and left.

There are still many people in the courtyard, Xun You, Xun Cheng and other clansmen are helping Xun Zhen to greet these guests.

Xun You noticed the hurried departure of Le Jin and Feng Gong, smiled and said a few words to the two Yingyin scholars opposite, apologized, and turned to look for Xun Zhen. Xun Zhen watched Le Jin and Feng Gong leave, and turned back to the room where the courtier who passed the decree was sitting.

"Junhou, I just saw Wen Qian and the two leave. Did Junhou order them to go to the county house to prepare food?"

"good."

"When will Junhou prepare to leave for Beijing?"

"Are Junqing, Yulang and the others here?"

"They have been summoned by the lord's order, and they have not arrived yet."

Xun Zhen saw that Xun Cheng was laughing with three or four scholars in the courtyard, and said to Xun You: "Go and tell Zhongren that he doesn't have to accompany me here, and now go to the inner door and wait for Junqing and Yulang. When they arrive, they will immediately pass on my order, ordering them to convene righteous servants immediately and set off tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

"Leave tomorrow? In such a hurry?"

"What I worry about is not Kyoto."

Xun You understood what Xun Zhen meant, lowered his voice, and said, "The one who is worried about the prince is Dong Hou?"

When He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo to the capital, there were many opponents, including Yao Sheng, who also objected to it, and Xun You also disapproved. Therefore, when Xun Zhen said that what he was worried about was not the capital, he knew that what Xun Zhen was worried about was Dong Zhuo. .

"Dong Zhuo has already led his troops southward six days ago. Calculate the distance. He must have entered Gyeonggi by now, and he may not be too far from Luoyang. Courageous, in the past, Jizhou asked for the Yellow Turbans, and the agility of his part was seen by you and me. Although I have not seen the Jingjing army, but I expected it to be difficult to break through.

"With the generals here, even if Dong Hou has unforeseen intentions, he should not be able to..."

Xun Zhen couldn't tell Xun You that He Jin was going to die soon, so he could only say vaguely: "When two tigers fight each other, one will be hurt. It should not be underestimated, and now the eunuchs have been driven to a dead end, and the dogs are still jumping over the wall. What about the eunuchs who have accumulated power and lawlessness for a long time, and have been powerful and blessed for a long time? If I save them, even if the generals and Yuan Benchu ​​can successfully eliminate the eunuchs , it will also be severely damaged, and when it is time, Dong Zhuo will lead the fierce generals into the capital, and he will be a general, and it will be difficult to suppress."

The fighting strength of those armies in Kyoto is not very good.

For example, the combat power of the Fifth Battalion of the Northern Army was far inferior to that of the early years of this dynasty, and the capable warriors suffered heavy losses when they asked for the Yellow Turbans. The sons of nobles are either scoundrels and scoundrels, and their combat power is probably not as good as before the Yellow Turbans, which is even more worrying.

Another example is the camps in the Western Garden. The soldiers recruited are all civilians from Luoyang and Gyeonggi. They have not had much training and have never been on the battlefield. The combat effectiveness can be imagined, and they are afraid that even the Northern Army is inferior.

If it is just the infighting among the garrison in the capital, then whoever has the most will win, but if Dong Zhuo is thrown into the pole, even if the garrison of the Northern Army, Xiyuan, etc. are all advanced, they may not be Dong Zhuo's men with experience. The opponent of the fierce tiger and wolf warrior.

Xun You had seen the soldiers of the Western Garden and the Northern Army. Hearing what Xun Zhen said, he felt that Xun Zhen was right, and said, "That's right. It would be best if the lord and lord could enter the capital early."

Xun Zhen looked around the courtyard, but did not see Yao Sheng, and asked, "Where's Uncle Qian?"

Xun You smiled and said: "The prince has been pardoned now, and he has been worshipped as a general of the left and the middle. Among the scholars from Yingchuan and Yangzhai, I am a talented person in Yingchuan. Uncle Qian is delighted to see it, maybe he is looking for a clean place with some new friends. Have a good chat?"

"You go to him and say that I will leave for Beijing tomorrow and ask him if he wants to stay in Yingyin or if he wants to stay with me."

"promise."

Xun You looked for Yao Sheng and asked him.

Yao Sheng had previously abandoned his office and left Beijing because he felt that the capital would be in chaos, but now it is Xun Zhen's army "entering the capital to make the chaos".

The scholars who came to congratulate Xun Zhen, Ying Yinling, and officials of the county government did not leave until evening.

Xun Zhen settled down the courtiers who had passed the decree, and that night, he met with Xun Shuang, Xun Qu and other elders of the clan, and showed letters from He Jin and Yuan Shao, explaining that he would bring the crowd to the capital tomorrow. Most of Xun Shuang's people were far-sighted and wise people, and they all saw that He Jin and Yuan Shao's summoning of foreign troops into the capital was a foolish trick to disturb Luoyang, but they had no choice but to tell Xun Zhen a few words, asking him to be careful. , not to be ignored.

Xun Shuang explained: "Although you have to be the general of the left center now, the soldiers you command are foreign soldiers. Luoyang is the capital of the capital, where the supreme is located, where the decree is issued, where nobles and relatives gather, The world is watching, and you are the heart of my Han family. You are now leading your troops into the capital. Although you are under the order of the general, you must be careful about everything. Remember: Never rely on your troops to be arrogant, and you should follow the edict in everything you do. "

"You must never rely on your own strength, and you should follow the edict in everything you do." These two sentences are golden and jade words.

Although there will be chaos today, the Han Dynasty is still the ruler of the world. When He Jin and Yuan Shao summoned foreign troops to the capital, the letter of agreement was published, and the world has been disturbed. Doing things in the capital of the capital will definitely give the world a sense of being domineering and domineering, so "everything should be followed by an edict".

Xun Zhen knew the importance of it, and respectfully agreed.

That night, Xu Zhong, Xun Cheng, and Xin Ai summoned the generals who were riding and riding from Yizhong, and ordered them to summon their headquarters.

Xun Zhen's nearly 4,000 followers were scattered in several villages. Some of them were not yet in the villages, but were patrolling outside. One after another, after the military orders went down, Qi from the villages gathered outside Yingyin County and patrolled outside. The team rushed to the outside of Yingyin County. The entire Yingyin County was disturbed by them. The armor and shield collided, the iron cavalry galloped, and a group of people and horses held torches, and they seemed to converge towards the county like fire snakes.