weaving

Yuan Shizhong glanced back at Liu Yuchi, turned to Tang Xuan and said with a smile: "Okay, I will accept these four hundred taels of silver and reward the brothers who came with me. As for the two gifts, there is no need to prepare them. No matter how big a gift you give me, Mr. Tang, I will never accept it."

Liu Yuchi also said from the side: "Yes, yes, there is absolutely no reason for this. We, General Yuan, are here to repay a favor. How can we accept Master Tang's generous gift?"

Tang Xuan said: "We will talk about this later. The students would like to drink a few glasses of water and wine to the general and the military advisor to relieve the two of them from the hard work of poaching and horses."

The housekeeper Han Zhong followed Tang Xuan's instructions and selected two maids aged sixteen or seventeen from the maids in the house, and brought them to the study to pour wine for Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuchi.

They were quite pretty. Due to the rush of time, although they were all wearing plain skirts and light makeup, they were still very attractive. During the breaks between drinking, Yuan Shizhong often couldn't help but steal glances at the two little maids who were waiting nearby.

Tang Xuan saw this in his eyes, but he was happy in his heart. He smiled and said: "Although these two girls are not beautiful and fragrant, they have learned some playing and singing, and their singing voices are melodious, and they are good enough to drink wine. If not, I will order them to serve as slaves." How about the general play and sing a song?"

Yuan Shizhong hesitated for a moment. He thought that Cao Cao was still waiting for him to discuss important matters, so it was not appropriate to delay him at Tang Xuan's house, so he said to him: "Shi Zhong still has military affairs to attend to, so he doesn't dare to sit for a long time. There is no need to play or sing." Bar."

Tang Xuan also knew that what he said was true, nodded and said: "Okay. In the afternoon, I will order the servants to take them to the general's barracks in two sedans to entertain the general with songs. How about...?"

After Yuan Shizhong heard this, he immediately refused: "No. I don't need them, so please don't send them."

Tang Xuan was a little surprised that he refused to accept the gift of beauties, and asked with a smile: "Is it possible that they can't meet the general's wishes? There are many beauties in the big houses in the city. How about you allow me to look for other beauties for the general?"

Liu Yuchi didn't wait for Yuan Shizhong to express his position, and immediately answered on his behalf: "Since Mr. Tang is willing to give General Yuan a beautiful concubine, how can he not refuse? Well, Mr. Tang, please tell them to pack up and dress up, instead of sending them to Yuan." Camp, I will personally come to pick him up for the general in the afternoon."

Yuan Shizhong was very surprised by Liu Yuchi's statement, but when he was about to say something to stop him, he saw Liu Yuchi wink secretly at him. He didn't know what he meant for a moment, and while hesitating, he heard Liu Yuchi urging him: "General , Commander Cao must go quickly, let’s say goodbye.”

…………

Tang Xuan had been sending Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuchi out of the door. He knew that his life was safe and he felt a little at ease in his heart. But at this moment, there was a sound of wailing and crying in the inner house.

He had just entered the second door at this time, and when he heard the crying in his ears, he couldn't help but feel sad in his heart, and tears rolled down his eyes.

It turned out that before Yuan Shizhong arrived, he had already buried all the valuable gold and silver at home deep in the backyard because he was worried that his misdeeds in Kaizhou would not be tolerated by the rebel generals and would be poisoned by them.

Later, he did not want the female family members to be insulted by the traitors and damage the reputation of the Tang family, so he forced his third concubine, who was as beautiful as a jade and pregnant with Liujia, to hang herself. His seventeen-year-old daughter Qin Gu, who had not yet left the palace, also He was forced to hang himself from a beam.

Now, with Yuan Shizhong's protection and protection, and the whole family's lives were safe, I remembered that I regretted forcing my daughter and concubine to commit suicide prematurely. However, I made a big mistake and it was too late.

At this moment, because he was afraid that his wife would jump on him and cry for his daughter's life, he did not dare to go back to the inner house, so he had to walk back to the study, sat down slumped, lowered his head and shed tears.

Tang Xuan was thinking about how to write the deeds of his concubine and daughter into the soon-to-be-compiled "Suizhou Chronicles" as honest women and martyrs, so that they could be "famous for generations" and become the objects of admiration and worship by future generations. , and can also be used to promote the Tang family's family tradition of filial piety and filial piety and the deeds of a strong family.

…………

Yuan Shi's Lieutenant General Wang Shijie and twenty brothers stayed behind to guard the safety of Tang Mansion. He and military advisor Liu Yuchi rode towards the state government with their own soldiers.

On the road, Yuan Shizhong walked side by side with Liu Yuchi and asked him in a low voice: "Why did you marry those two pretty girls on my behalf?"

Liu Yuchi did not reply directly, but asked: "Why not?"

Yuan Shizhong looked a little distressed, and said with a smile: "The newly married wife is of very upright character, and she is newlywed, how can I do such a thing without telling her? If she found out about it afterwards, wouldn't she be angry?

Aunt Kuang Jin is also a jealous person, and she is unwilling to give in to the new wife. How can she allow two more people to compete with her for her favor? Moreover, King Chuang himself is not greedy for sex, and his military orders are extremely strict..."

Liu Yuchi didn't wait for Yuan Shizhong to finish what he said, he laughed and said to him: "Yuchi has his own ingenious arrangements, please don't worry about it, general."

Although Yuan Shizhong didn't know what the military advisor was planning, he couldn't refute what he said. He only complained secretly in his heart: "Yu Chi, don't make trouble for me!"

The two of them originally thought that Cao Cao had any major military matters to discuss with them, but unexpectedly Luo Rucai only conveyed King Chuang's edict to them.

According to King Chuang's order, Cao Ying and Xiao Yuan's camp had to stay in Suizhou for only two days today and tomorrow. They were scheduled to arrive outside Shangqiu City on March 11 to meet up with King Chuang's army and lay siege to Shangqiu, Guide's city.

In addition, Cao Cao also told the two of them that today Cao Ying sent several troops to collect grain, mules, horses, and property in Suizhou City and the surrounding villages. Tomorrow afternoon, according to the quota of 30,000 horses and horses, Cao Ying will distribute enough to Xiao Yuan Ying. He was asked to send a capable leader to contact the general manager of Cao Ying to discuss relevant matters.

But today, Luo Rucai didn't even stay for lunch. Although Yuan Shi felt a little unhappy in the center, he could only secretly sulk. He had no choice but to take Liu Yuchi and leave the city.

Along the way, he couldn't help but think of the leader of his own battalion. He was unique between Henan and Anhui and had never been controlled by anyone. Unexpectedly, he joined King Chuang today and was treated as an ordinary general.

He secretly asked himself: "Is this step... right... or wrong?"

…………

Yuan Shizhong's handsome tent was located in the residence of a wealthy businessman in the north gate of Suizhou.

In the afternoon, Liu Yuchi, Zhu Chengju, Liu Jingyi and other confidants were all in the central hall. Han Zhongtong, the butler of the Tang Dynasty, and two young servants also sent two loads of gifts and were waiting in the courtyard for the funeral.

After Yuan Shizhong arrived, he first sat down in the big chair and then ordered Han Zhong to come in. Han Zhong knelt down in front of him, kowtowed and said: "My master is protected by the general, and his house is safe, and many of his neighbors are also protected." , It is difficult to repay great kindness by knotting a grass ring around the title. I specially sent a little man to come here to present Fei's gift, talk about my heart, and be sincere to the general to accept it."

After Han Zhong finished speaking, he took out a red paper gift list from his arms and presented it with both hands.

Yuan Shizhong took the gift list and glanced at it briefly. He saw that there were three thousand taels of silver and two hundred taels of gold written on it. In addition, there were also silk brocades, jewelry, etc. written on the gift list.

He casually put the gift list on the desk, smiled at Han Zhong and said, "Reporting to Mr. Tang, I came to repay Mr. Tang for his life, so I sent troops to protect the entire Tang Mansion. It is my duty.

I dare not accept such a generous gift. Ru Ru returned them all, which chilled Mr. Tang's heart, but it couldn't be justified in terms of human feelings. I have no choice but to accept half of it! "

Seeing Yuan Shizhong's behavior, Han Zhong quickly knelt down and said: "I beg the general to accept all of them, so that I can dare to go back and report my life to my master. There is no shortage of gold, silver, jewelry, silk and satin in the general's camp. It is only a courtesy, although it is difficult to enter." In the eyes of the general. But if the general refuses to accept everything, the master of the house will blame the villain for not being able to do things. How can he afford the punishment? General, please be considerate and don't make things difficult for the villain."

When Yuan Shizhong was hesitant, Liu Yuchi, Zhu Chengju, Liu Jingyi and others all said that since Mr. Tang had sent the gift completely out of sincerity, it was really not easy to shirk it, so it was better to accept it all.

Seeing that they all had this opinion, Yuan Shizhong had no choice but to agree to accept all the gifts. He also ordered Yuan Dahong, the leader of the personal army, to reward Han Zhong and the two servants who came with him generously. They were still escorted by the ten soldiers from the small Yuan camp who escorted them. Back to the city.

After Han Zhong left, Yuan Shizhong said to everyone: "Master Tang has been out of office for several years. It is not easy to give out this generous gift today. That's why I refuse to accept it all."

Liu Yuchi smiled slyly and said to him: "General, you are wrong. In my opinion, this generous gift does not come from Mr. Tang."

"Yu Chi, why did you say that?" "In the afternoon, I went to the Tang Mansion again for the sake of the two beauties. I saw that in the inner and outer courtyards of the Tang Mansion, there were mostly country officials, gentry, and wealthy businessmen, carrying boxes and bags. Also piled up everywhere.

Therefore, Tang Xuan's generous gift must have come from these people. The general thought it was too much, but I thought it was too little! "

After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Zhu Chengju also nodded and said: "Brother Yuchi has seen it very well. Wool only comes from sheep. The general has always been loyal to others, so he failed to think of this level."

Yuan Shizhong also understood what they meant at this time, and couldn't help but smile and said: "I was originally a young farmer, and I gained some experience after the incident, so I don't have as many holes in your heart!

Yuchi, where did you send those two pretty girls who can play and sing? "

"General, if you don't want it, there will be people who want it."

Yuan Shizhong hesitated for a moment, then understood what he meant, and asked with a smile: "Did you... send it to Commander Cao?"

"Exactly. I am also borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha."

"Shuai Cao, what did he say?"

Liu Yuchi twirled the short beard on his chin and laughed proudly. After a while, he stopped laughing and said to Yuan Shizhong: "I sent the two girls to Cao Shuai and told him, 'We, General Yuan, encountered I dare not get involved with these two girls...'"

Yuan Shizhong interrupted him abruptly, his face full of questions: "What did you say?"

Liu Yuchi smiled and waved his hand, and continued: "I said that the general did not dare to touch it with his fingers, so I ordered Yuchi to bring Cao Shuaiyou wine to show a little sense of filial piety.

Cao Cao looked at the two girls carefully. He was very satisfied and said to me, "It's not bad, it's not bad." Stay. He told Shi Zhong that I accepted his love. '

Immediately, he asked the two of them to play and sing a song on the spot. They became even more satisfied, nodding frequently and laughing. "

After Zhu Chengju heard what he said, he whispered beside him: "Sure enough, he is well-deserved. He is really a drunken maniac with no ambitions!"

Liu Jingyi never liked to talk much, but she couldn't help but shook her head at this moment and said: "In my opinion, Cao Cao looks like a drunken and lustful maniac. How can he know that he is not just trying to show off his glory among the heroes, but he has an ulterior motive?

If he is a mediocre person, how can he win the hearts of the soldiers? With such a strong army, among the heroes in the world today, he is only slightly worse than King Chuang! "

Zhu Chengju also seemed to have realized something, and said: "Jing Yi's words make sense. Of course, Commander Cao also has his own merits, and we must not take him lightly. Although he is subordinate to Commander Li, he is a different bedfellow, not a different person." One heart and one mind.

Cao Shuai is a faction of his own, not a part of Li Shuai. Now it seems that he is still on an equal footing with Li Shuai. Now that the two heroes stand side by side, we must be careful in what we do. We must not offend Cao Shuai, but also make Li Shuai confront him. I would be more trusting. "

Liu Jingyi had a different view on this. He said coldly: "No one will trust us. Although the two camps seem to be inseparable, they are still old Shaanxi people and have hometown relatives.

In comparison, our Xiao Yuanying is like an outsider. No matter what we do, we will never be able to trust him enough and become his confidant! "

Yuan Shizhong also sighed and said softly: "Xiao Yuanying's current situation is very different from what I originally thought..."

Liu Yuchi waved his hand in time to stop Yuan Shizhong from continuing. At the same time, he looked at the leader of the soldiers, Yuan Dahong. He immediately understood and led the few soldiers waiting around to retreat. He also shouted back the soldiers guarding outside the door. Zhangwai, guarding the door strictly, not allowing anyone to come closer.

Yuan Dahong was also very curious about the secret conversations among the people in the house, but he also knew that such secrets were not for him to hear, and it was also his responsibility. Therefore, he stood under the steps in front of the door and scanned the surroundings vigilantly to prevent anyone from approaching.

In fact, as the leader of Yuan Shizhong's personal soldiers, he knew without guessing that he must be discussing the surrender of Queen Li Chuang. Recently, many soldiers have been discussing in private. Some people say that they should surrender to King Chuang, while others say not. You should vote for Chuang Wang.

After a long time, Zhu Chengju and Liu Jingyi, who were involved in the secret discussion, came out of the house and left separately. Only Liu Yuchi was left in the house by Yuan Shizhong and never left.

"Yu Chi, what did the guest you mentioned yesterday have to say?"

Liu Yuchi stood up, sat down next to him, and said softly: "Master Liu is very generous. He said, 'If the general is willing to be supported, he will at least be a general soldier. He will lead his own army and return it to Yong Ningbo to take charge of it, without having to accept the responsibility of others.'" "It's a commanding spirit."

"Do you think this person is trustworthy?"

"I have checked it. In addition to the 'Yongning Bo' seal, there is also the official seal of Huaiqing Mansion and the seal of Wei Huaibing Bei Dao. They must be authentic. And this Mr. Liu also brought Runing Liu Hongqi, Xuzhou The letters written by Han Jiadi, Yuzhou Li Hao, Xiangcheng Liu Xuan and others are all willing to guarantee with their lives."

"Hmph. Liu Hongqi and several others are just young people. How can they be so virtuous and talented as to be able to protect themselves?"

Although Yuan Shizhong looked down on Liu Hongqi, Li Hao and others, he had no doubts about Liu Jinhai. He just heard him ask again: "Yu Chi, you said this 'Uncle Yong Ning', can we believe him?"

"General, although Yu Chi and this 'Uncle Yong Ning' have never met, his deeds have long been heard."

Liu Yuchi took the teapot and poured tea for Yuan Shizhong, and then said: "The general also knows that although Ding Qirui is the governor, he can't do anything to Zuo Liangyu; and Fu Zonglong and Wang Qiaonian were all abandoned because of their subordinates He Renlong and others. The master fled first and died at the hands of the king.

But this is not the case with this 'Uncle Yong Ning'. Although he does not have the name of a governor, he has tens of thousands of capable soldiers under his command. He defeated King Chuang who was at the height of his power in Kaifeng, and even defeated Jiannu in Liaodong. He was awarded the title of uncle for his merits, which shows his achievements. It’s actually the only one in more than a hundred years! "

"We have surrendered to King Chuang, and King Chuang treats me, little Yuan Ying, very well. Is it too early to say this now?"

"General, as the saying goes, 'A cunning rabbit has three holes', you should plan for the future, not just one moment. You must not put all your eggs in one basket."

Liu Yuchi continued: "'Yong Ningbo' is a choice for us. Master Liu's line cannot be broken. There is also a line buried by Yuchi at Tang Xuan's place."

"Oh?"

"Yu Chi, I also had a secret discussion with Tang Xuan today to leave an extra way out for the general."

He finally warned: "This matter must not be told to anyone else. The general will treat it as unknown. Once King Chuang comes to know about it, he can just blame it on Jade Ruler."

"How...how to do this?"

"General, this matter involves the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers in our Little Yuan Camp. We must not be confused. The lives of jade rulers are insignificant. General is our hope in Little Yuan Camp!"