About Cao Cao's reincarnation as the emperor's uncle

Chapter 16 But is it Liang Guoqiao Gong?

The red flames in the charcoal basin crackled and flickered, casting flickering shadows of the dark bamboo on the screen.

Huangfu Gui leaned on the couch, with the brocade quilt covering his chin, and from time to time his throat made a sound like a breaking bellows.

Liu Fang sat alone at the table, tightening his grip on the teacup as his eyes swept over the old man lying on the bed with a weak breath.

He stared at the dimming flames in the charcoal basin and finally spoke:
"If Duke Weiming passes away, what will happen to the Huangfu family?"

A long sigh came from the couch. Huangfu Gui's eyelids moved, and his cloudy eyes turned half a circle in his eye sockets:

"My old bones can't hold out for a few more days. After I'm gone..."

Liu Fang suddenly put down the teacup, and the tea in the cup created tiny ripples:

"If Duke Weiming leaves, Duke Duanming will be old, and the Huangfu family will attract more attention."

"Although Yizhen has military talent, he is too rigid... The court is like a chess game. Those who cannot adapt will eventually become discarded pieces."

He stood up and walked to the bed, staring into the old man's cloudy eyes:
"I implore Lord Weiming to leave a will. Unless the Central Plains is in imminent danger, the descendants of the Huangfu family will never enter the pass."

Huangfu Gui's pupils shrank slightly, and he suddenly coughed violently from his throat, digging his knuckles into the carved bed edge:
"Your Majesty, you want to..."

Liu Fang leaned forward and said in a deep voice:
"Only by staying away from the center of the vortex and defending the border with all our might can we protect the Huangfu family for a hundred years and also ensure the safety of the Han Dynasty."

He raised his hand and pointed out the window. There seemed to be a faint sound of camel bells in the night.

"When Duke Weiming subdued the Qiang people and cultivated land to lure them into surrender, he relied on the tactic of 'wait'. Now, I want the Huangfu family to wait, as the world is undergoing a period of great change..."

"By then, the loyalty and bravery of the Huangfu family will become the benchmark for all people in the world."

Huangfu Gui was stunned for a moment, and then he could only laugh in relief:
"Well! Ban Dingyuan vowed not to enter the pass until he achieved success. Today, our Huangfu clan can follow his example."

Before the laughter died down, Liu Fang suddenly lowered his voice:
"But, my lord, can you use it?"

Huangfu Gui's laughter stopped abruptly, and after a long while he uttered a word:

"can."

Liu Fang's voice became softer, but like a blunt knife, it rubbed slowly in the silence.

"Duan Jiming, can I kill him?"

Huangfu Gui had known that he would mention Duan Ying, but when he actually heard this...

He clenched his withered hands in the air, and his cloudy eyes suddenly became tearful.

The wind blew dust particles onto the window paper, and the sparks in the charcoal basin were picked up by the wind and extinguished in an instant.

The old man's cheeks trembled violently, as if he saw the three people riding horses on the grassland many years ago.

At that time, Duan Ying had not yet been stained with blood. He was squatting on the ground beside the campfire, turning the grill. The aroma of lamb mixed with the smell of charcoal fire hit his face.

After holding up a skewer of mutton and taking a bite, he passed it to him, raised his head and said with a smile:
"After the Qiang Rebellion is quelled, my three brothers will return to the busiest place in Liangzhou and open a tavern..."

But now...

We are all at this age now, how can we still have any hatred before we die?

The Adam's apple rolled twice in the relaxed neck, and the old voice was filled with struggle:
"Ji Ming... has contributed to the Han people..."

Liu Fang suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Huangfu Gui's wrist tightly:
"Lord Wei Ming! His merits are merits... his faults are faults. If Duan Xing is not killed, his blind warmongering will surely drag the Han Dynasty into an abyss of eternal damnation!"

Huangfu Gui curled up his fingers like dry branches, slowly closed his eyes, and a tear slipped from the corner of his eye and fell silently on the pillow.

"……Can."

As soon as he finished speaking, the charcoal exploded with a "crackling" sound, and Huangfu Gui suddenly coughed up blood, staining the bed red.

"Duke Yuanyi... After Ji Ming's death, Xia Ning is brave and Tian Yan is strategic. Who should I choose?"

Liu Fang took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from the corner of Huangfu Gui's mouth, his fingertips clenched quietly in his sleeves.

"It should be Tian Yan..."

The half sentence that was pressed on the tip of the tongue but never uttered was "Tian Yan's younger brother".

Because of these two people, he didn't want to keep either of them.

"Duke Yuan Yi..."

Huangfu Gui was barely breathing, and his fingers trembled as he pointed at the sandalwood box in the corner:

"The secret documents in the box record the dirty deeds of the aristocratic family... and the letters with Ranming and Jiming..."

"Maybe I can...can help you..."

Huangfu Gui's voice was as light as dispersing smoke:
"Also... Yizhen... that kid is too stubborn... If I ask him to do something against his will in the future, I'm afraid..."

"Don't worry, Lord Weiming!"

Liu Fang stood up suddenly, and when he clasped his fists and saluted, his sleeves blew in the wind:

"The spear in Yizhen's hand will be pointed at the barbarians outside the Great Wall, and blood will never be shed in the Han palace!"

Outside the window, the winter plum blossoms are in full bloom, and the snow on the branches is falling.

Huangfu Gui's haggard face finally relaxed, and a relieved smile appeared at the corners of his lips, as if he had unloaded the burden of his life.

Liu Fang watched the old man gradually fall asleep and sighed.

These three locks were finally completed.

The last one was to lock the Huangfu family outside the pass according to Huangfu Gui’s will, and wait for major changes in the world.

……

Liu Fang stroked the door knocker with his fingertips, hiding all the remaining charcoal fire behind the door.

The cold wind blew snowflakes onto his face. He pulled his coat closer and suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming towards him.

"My lord, I'm hungry."

Xu Feng came up with white breath, the sword at his waist swaying slightly with his steps.

"..."

Liu Fang ignored him, and the crisp sound of his boots crushing the thin ice echoed in the empty corridor.

A figure appeared at the corner, and a hearty laugh came from the fluttering of silver beard:

"Lord Yuan Yi, the wine and meat have already been prepared. We have a distinguished guest in our residence. Would you mind if we could have a few drinks together?"

Huangfu Jie walked slowly, and the dark patterns on his brocade robe, which were unique to the Huangfu general family, were particularly dazzling in the sunlight.

Liu Fang's eyes flickered slightly, remembering the green carriage he had caught a glimpse of when he entered the mansion. It was a surprise that Huangfu had welcomed him into the mansion at this time...

After a few names flashed through his mind, Liu Fang replied to Huangfu Jie with a smile:

"Lord Duan Ming, I am truly sorry to have troubled your house so many times."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Fang bowed and turned around, his wide sleeves carrying the snow, and the tips of his boots touched the white marble steps.

"However, Lord Duan Ming's hospitality is such a great honor that I dare not refuse. Please lead the way."

The Huangfu disciples in the corridor couldn't help laughing when they saw this. Huangfu Jie also stroked his beard and nodded, his eyes full of smiles.

Liu Fang's neither humble nor arrogant, free and easy yet graceful demeanor really suited Huangfu Jiangmen's taste.

Turning around, Huangfu Jie looked at Huangfu Song who was standing beside the pillar. He saw that his son still had a tense face and the tassel of the sword at his waist was hanging straight down.

If this kid had one-third of Liu Fang's cleverness... Speaking of this, Huangfu Jie couldn't help but shook his head.

The two walked side by side, and they also knew that since this was a distinguished guest introduced at this time, he would naturally be of help to the great cause.

……

Confucianism prevailed during the Eastern Han Dynasty, emphasizing the importance of "kinship" and "respect for elders." Interpersonal interactions emphasized the integration of emotion and etiquette. Formal visits between adult men were usually made alone or accompanied by servants.

Bringing family members, especially younger female members, often shows that the relationship between the two has gone beyond ordinary colleagues and reached the level of private friendship of "close family members".

The officialdom of the Eastern Han Dynasty was complicated. When a high-ranking official was seriously ill, a simple visit from an official could easily be seen as an attempt to curry favor or to pry into the matter.

The young daughter, a symbol of innocence within the family, was brought along as a "private visit" rather than an "official visit"...

It can dilute the political color, make the visit more pure, highlight the friendship between old friends, and avoid causing suspicion about factions or interests.

At the same time, it can also show the visitor's trust in the old friend's authority and virtue, and his emphasis on the deep friendship between the two.

Especially when an old friend is seriously ill, this action implies the intention of "the younger generation inheriting the old friendship and continuing the family ties", and it is also a euphemism to show that one will protect and care for the old friend's affairs after his death.

……

A cool breeze wrapped in broken snow blew past the mottled vermilion lacquer door, and the copper bells on the eaves whimpered faintly.

An old man was wearing a plain dark robe with his cuffs washed white. He was holding tightly in his hand a scroll of bamboo slips covered with annotations.

The woman next to him had long hair and a half-branch of plum blossoms tucked diagonally between her temples. The frost beads condensed on the petals made her eyebrows and eyes look particularly cold and indifferent.

"Father, Mr. Huangfu's illness..."

The woman's voice was as soft as snowflakes falling to the ground, with a hint of worry.

The old man sighed heavily, a look of reminiscence flashing in his cloudy eyes:

"Brother Weiming and my father have been friends since childhood, and we are inseparable friends..."

Before he could finish his words, there was a sudden sound of hurried boots from inside the door, and the vermilion lacquered door creaked open slowly.

"Brother Weiming, have you taken a rest?"

The old man asked anxiously, and this greeting floated gently to everyone's ears with the blowing wind.

Huangfu Jie quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands together and bowed, saying:
"Exactly... I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."

Liu Fang walked in according to etiquette and nodded in greeting at first, but when he heard the title "Grandfather", he suddenly raised his head and looked straight at the old man.

this……

"But Lord Liangguoqiao?"

Liu Fang quickly adjusted his posture, bowed respectfully to the ground, and spoke in a clear voice like a pine tree:

"I, Liu Fang, courtesy name Yuanyi, am honored to be accepted into the family of Wei Ming Gong."

His words were full of respect, but also contained a hint of barely perceptible expectation.

This Mr. Qiao from Liang State was named Qiao Xuan, with the courtesy name Gongzu.

In his previous life, he was the one who guided him and had the kindness to recognize and support him.

Looking back to the past, when he had just been selected as a filial and incorrupt official and had not yet taken up the post of the Northern Inspector of Luoyang, he visited Qiao Xuan as a junior, holding a visiting card given by his father Cao Song.

At that time, scholars all said that he was a dissolute and unruly man with no moral integrity. As a eunuch, if he wanted to gain a foothold in the officialdom, he urgently needed a person of high moral character to restore his reputation.

He originally thought that Qiao Xuan would look down on him like other scholars, but unexpectedly, Qiao Xuan had no prejudice against him and treated him warmly, allowing him to speak freely and listening quietly.

Finally, Qiao Xuan's words "The world is about to fall into chaos, and it cannot be saved without a talented person destined for the world. The one who can bring peace to the world is you, right?" brought him into the sight of scholars.

Different from Xu Shao's flattery and slander, every word and sentence of Qiao Xuan came from the heart.

The fact that Qiao Xuan and he later became close friends regardless of age difference was closely related to Qiao Xuan's life.

When Qiao Xuan was just a young man, he rode alone into the State of Chen, captured the prime minister Yang Chang and more than ten of his retainers, and interrogated them day and night.

That was during the reign of Emperor Huan. General Liang Ji sent a fast horse to deliver a pardon letter, but Qiao Xuan threw the document into the blazing fire and shouted:

"Yang Chang's guilt is proven, how can we allow the powerful to protect him?"

Finally, Yang Chang was locked in a prison van and taken to Luoyang. When the people heard about it, they all ran around to tell each other and cheered.

Later, he was transferred to Luoyang as the Left Lieutenant. When he met with Henan Yin Liang Buyi, he faced the other party's difficulty, saying, "You are from a humble family, and you are worthy of serving in the same court with me?"

Qiao Xuan's eyes widened with anger, and he waved his sleeves angrily: "I would rather go back to the fields and not flatter!" After saying that, he resigned and left.

During the three years after returning home, he worked hard on the land, studied hard, and secretly investigated the people's sentiments.

When he discovered that powerful people were occupying fertile farmland, he would quietly collect evidence, and when the court appointed him as prime minister of Qi, he would impeach the powerful people with a piece of paper, and confiscate all their land and property and distribute it to the refugees.

The people cheered: "Qiao Gong's return is like rain for drought-stricken seedlings!"

When he was serving as prefect of Hanyang, the magistrate of Shanggui County, Huangfu Zhen, took advantage of being the nephew of Huangfu Gui and engaged in excessive corruption.

Qiao Xuan went incognito to investigate and saw starving people everywhere, while the grain in the county warehouse had rotted.

The next day, when the court was in session, he angrily slammed the gavel and said, "Drag that termite up here!"

Huangfu Zhen prostrated himself on the steps, and Qiao Xuan personally approved the punishment of "shaving his head and flogging".

The whip fell, blood splattered everywhere, Huangfu Zhen wailed for mercy, but Qiao Xuan's eyes were bloodshot and he showed no mercy, and finally beat him to death in the city.

Since then, the administration of Hanyang County has been clean and honest.

Afterwards, Qiao Xuan personally went to Huangfu's door to apologize. Huangfu Gui not only did not blame him, but also gave him a big gift in return to thank him for cleaning up the family.

From then on, the friendship between the two of them since childhood was further developed and they became close friends.

When the Northern Di invaded the border, the Xianbei cavalry broke through three counties in a row.

In a time of crisis, Qiao Xuan was appointed General Du Liao, holding the imperial seal and the yellow axe, and patrolled the camp alone, gathering 50,000 elite soldiers.

Upon hearing the news, Huangfu Jie, the prefect of Yanmen at the time, rushed day and night, took the lead, and assisted Qiao Xuan with all his might. He fought side by side with Qiao Xuan, and depended on each other for life and death.

After several major battles, he defeated the Xianbei, defeated the Southern Xiongnu, and drove back Goguryeo, protecting the country and the people. The Hulu fled far away, and the smoke of cooking fires rose again on the border...

Perhaps in Qiao Xuan's eyes, seeing everything Cao Cao experienced back then is like seeing his younger self.
He had Jian Tu beaten to death, which offended the powerful. He was appointed Magistrate of Dunqiu to keep the people in harmony. He was transferred to Jinan to rectify the bureaucracy. He had the ambition to conquer the west, and he also resigned and returned home...

Every step seems familiar.

In his previous life, Qiao Xuan and he were "friends in death, and they will never be forgotten", and he even allowed him to "enter the hall to see his mother", which was the highest courtesy that a famous scholar in the Han Dynasty could give to his juniors.

When he was dying, Qiao Xuan entrusted his affairs to him: "I am old now, and I would like to entrust my wife to you."

Qiao Xuan was honest and self-disciplined throughout his life. He never supported any of his children or relatives to hold high positions. When he passed away, his family had no remaining wealth. His funeral was simple and plain, and there was not even a funeral ceremony.

However, when Qiao Xuan passed away, it was during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He was negligent and failed to take good care of Qiao Xuan's family. He only learned the news after Qiao Xuan went into exile in the south.

By then, he had already regretted it beyond measure, and he was even more ashamed to face Qiao Xuan's descendants...

In the seventh year of Jian'an (202 AD), he passed by Qiao Xuan's tomb and recalled Qiao Xuan's joke in the past:
"After I die, if Meng De passes by my grave and doesn't offer me a bucket of wine and a chicken..."

"After the carriage has passed three steps, if Meng De has a stomachache, don't blame me!"

Thinking of this, he could only raise his head and let out a long cry, tears welling up in his eyes. He wrote an obituary himself to express his grief and comfort this friend who was like a teacher and a father to him.

……

Liu Fang looked at Qiao Xuan in front of him, and all the memories of his past life flashed through his mind like a kaleidoscope:
The words of recommendation that changed his fate, the tireless and earnest advice he gave him every day, and before his death... the important responsibility he had failed to fulfill...

I once imagined that if we were destined to meet again...

His fingers trembled unconsciously. He wanted to reach out and hold Qiao Gong, but froze in mid-air.

Now that my long-cherished wish has finally come true, why do I feel a little overwhelmed?
He rolled his throat twice with difficulty and tried to speak, but found that his throat seemed to be blocked by something and he couldn't utter a word.

"Lord Yuan Yi?"

Huangfu Jie's voice seemed to come from far away. Liu Fang suddenly woke up as if from a dream, hurriedly straightened his robe, and bowed deeply again.

But Qiao Xuan seemed to sense something...

(End of this chapter)