Lord Yuan

Chapter 106 Huangmen North Temple Prison

After bidding farewell to Yin Xun, Yuan Shao strolled down the streets of Luoyang.

It was dark and there were no pedestrians in sight.

At this time, the night ban has not yet been implemented, and there are still some lanterns on the roadside that are glowing and heating.

When I arrived, I could vaguely see the afterglow of the setting sun, as if the Han Dynasty was crumbling.

When I returned, it was already dark, and the only remaining lanterns turned into sparks.

In fact, when he was admonishing Yin Hong, he was also admonishing himself.

He didn't want to become the so-called role model in the world so early, and not get too many benefits, and he also had to be wary of the hostility of the eunuchs at all times.

There are things the ranger does and things he doesn't do.

As Yin Xun said, what Yuan Shao is doing now is standing in the scholar class and fighting against the eunuchs, and he has become a young representative among the scholars.

As for the eunuchs, they were in the right place at the right time, close to water and towers. It would be difficult for Yuan Shao alone to overthrow the eunuchs.

Cao Jie thought the same way. As a regular servant, he enjoyed all the power and blessings. He was not a respected master wherever he went, but he was frustrated by Yuan Shao. Naturally, he would not give up.

After returning to the palace, the first thing he did was to tell the whole story of the incident. He didn't add too many opinions of his own, but reminded Liu Hong from time to time.

Luoyang City seems to be less under his control, just like this edict.

Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, the edict issued by the emperor himself should be respected. The edict should be captured first and then whether he is a good person. At the very least, these officials should be allowed to feel the emperor's blessings and power, and kneel before his majesty and shout loudly. Let’s call out to the Holy Spirit.

Rather than being induced by the Taifu and the criminals mentioned in the edict with clever words and colors, they regard the edict as nothing. If everyone is like this, the emperor issues an edict and the subjects do not respect the edict. If this continues, where will the emperor's majesty be.

Cao Jie did not say that Yuan Shao and others were at fault, but he made insinuations and used roundabout tactics to tell the story from the side about the group of scholars who only followed death and did not respect the emperor's order.

Sure enough, under Cao Jie's intentional or unintentional guidance, the young emperor was furious and even admired the beautiful dance performed by the maid in front of him with only one eye.

The Taifu is in charge of the affairs of recording ministers. He works hard and achieves great results, so it is not suitable to act arbitrarily.

Yin Xun was also conscientious, working day and night, and devoted himself to the great man regardless of anything.

As for Yuan Shao, the so-called Yuan Pushe ignored the emperor's order and committed the following crimes. He contradicted his superiors and was punished for several crimes. Cao Jie led the captain to arrest him and imprisoned him in the Huangmen Beisi Prison.

When he sincerely repented and faced the holy king's execution, Liu Hong released him based on his understanding of talented people.

Cao Jie happily accepted the order.

Liu Hong, who was furious, immediately calmed down and no longer answered Cao Jie, but his eyes turned back to the dancing figure of the maid, whose graceful figure was so beautiful.

Cao Jie, who was missing key equipment, also admired his vision again and again. These carefully selected maids were all top-notch. If he was not unable to act, he would risk the emperor's wrath to leave a few for him. Enjoy.

Now, just take a look.

Seeing that the emperor continued to be immersed in the happiness he had created, Cao Jie quietly exited the palace gate.

He did not say some things clearly. As a eunuch, Cao Jie knew that blindly meddling in the emperor's thoughts would always lead to resentment. Over time, this hard-won relationship between emperor and minister would instantly fall apart, even if he contributed no more. Even more maids can't save it.

So what he needed to do was to mention in front of Liu Hong that those scholars were obsessed with pursuing fame and so-called governing the common people for His Majesty. However, in fact, the scholars never felt in their bones that the emperor had left the scholar class. Ability to handle government affairs well.

The emperor cannot live without scholars, just as a fish cannot live without water.

Cao Jie could not reveal all of this nakedly in front of the emperor, but he could continue to induce and confuse Liu Hong's mind, making his hatred of the scholars even more serious.

Although I don’t know how much the young emperor guessed it, or whether he didn’t catch it at all.

But at the very least, now Yuan Shao has been put in small shoes by me and is at my mercy.

Liu Hong turned around and praised himself for being wise, caring for him wholeheartedly, and being aware of the stubborn elements among the scholars.

Now, it's his turn to strike again.

He feels honored to have the emperor's mission and can seek his own interests through the emperor's mouth at will. Is this possible in the eyes of outsiders?

Impossible.

The emperor is the supreme being, and the eunuchs are nothing more than incomplete bodies. How can they make decisions for the emperor?

However, Cao Jie went further and further on this path with the guidance of his predecessors, and the path became smoother and smoother.

If his predecessors, such as Chang Shi, were to see him, they would all be envious.

It was late at night, and all the lights in the houses were dim. Only the palace was brightly lit, and the mansion outside Caojie Palace was brightly lit.

When he returned to the mansion, he saw that Zhao Yong, who had been cleaned up and was out of breath, was still kneeling outside the door, begging Cao Jie to take him in.

Cao Jie was used to seeing too many things and was not touched by these in the slightest.

If he wants to kneel, let him kneel.

It also helps those blind scholars understand that even though I, Cao Jie, don’t have a whole body, I can still stand above ten thousand people.

He didn't think the idiot kneeling on the ground had any abilities, which caused him to get into trouble several times in a row.

Zhao Yong's face was ashen, and he looked at Cao Jie in despair as he stepped over his body. The last glimmer of hope in his heart disappeared. Seeing that the door of the mansion filled with lights everywhere was closed, Zhao Yong held on with difficulty. Standing aside, he looked at the bottomless pit that swallowed up his countless properties with complicated eyes.

Even the property that he vowed to invest in the previous bet has already been included in his list now.

"If you are so disrespectful, you will eventually fall. Then I will see how arrogant you are."

He fully realized the horror of eunuchs at this moment. For people or things that had no use value, he would choose to kick them away without leaving any hope.

Zhao Yong, who was completely disheartened, actually hoped that Yuan Shao would destroy the Caojie eunuch group as soon as possible.

No matter how bad it was, even if he attacked Cao Jie alone, he would support it with both hands.

But, can Yuan Shao really do it?
This is the eunuch that His Majesty the Emperor relies on the most. He is one of the few eunuchs in the Han Dynasty who has been granted a title of marquis. Now he has contributed to the establishment of the emperor.

He really couldn't imagine what kind of person could humanely destroy this Cao Jie.

Although Yuan Shao seemed to be full of strategies, compared with Cao Jie, who was as cunning as a fox and as cunning as a rabbit, he did not dare to think about the scene behind him.

After all, he is a warning to others.

It will soon be bright.

Everything is bright, the clouds are steaming, and the morning sun quietly emerges from the darkest ground, just for every dark corner of the world.

Yuan Shao stretched out and looked at the bright moon for a long time late last night. He was thoughtful and just considered it secretly without speaking to anyone.

Xu You also emerged from the side of the mansion, followed closely by Xun Chen.

As ministers, they were actually allocated residences in the Chancery, but as they were accustomed to handling government affairs, they simply built a simple residence in the Chancery.Having been here for the past few days, even Yin Xun felt guilty for the focused attitude of Yuan Shao and the others, but after all, he was not at the age where his energy and blood were strong like Yuan Shao's.

"There are very few memorials today. You were not here last night, otherwise I would be empty-handed this morning." Xu You joked.

Xun Chen remained silent and just opened the few remaining memorials, intending to take advantage of the opportunity to deal with them.

Yuan Shao smiled and said: "Last night, the minister invited me to attend a banquet, so my return was delayed."

Xu You didn't feel too surprised.

Yuan Shao's previous efforts to turn the tide not only allowed Yin Xun to maintain his official position, but also allowed Cao Jie to escape in despair, becoming a celebrity in Luoyang.

In terms of emotion and reason, it is not too much to ask Yuan Shao to do this.

While the three of them were continuing to chat, Yin Xun was sitting on the stage. He looked up inadvertently and seemed to see Cao Jie's figure.

Yin Xun was a little surprised. He looked closely and saw that it was indeed Cao Jie. Looking behind him, he saw dozens of guards dressed in black.

What's wrong with Cao Jie?
Although Yin Xun was a little surprised, he was still dealing with the government affairs at hand, but looked over from time to time. Seeing that Cao Jie and his party seemed to be aiming directly at the Chancellor's Desk, Yin Xun thought for a while and then called Yuan Shao in.

"What do you want to give me, Shangshu Ling?" Yuan Shao said calmly.

"Look who that is?" Yin Xun pointed out the window.

Yuan Shao looked along and was shocked, but his face remained calm, "Cao Zhongchang's visit seems to be on official business, but his face is slightly happy, and he doesn't know what he is talking about."

However, Yin Xun's eyes were fixed on the group of men in black behind Cao Jie, his expression serious.

Yuan Shao also noticed something strange about Yin Xun, but did not ask.

"That's the captain of the Huangmen North Temple Prison, and those behind him are all the jailers." Yin Xun lowered his voice and his tone gradually became heavier. He frowned slightly and looked at Yuan Shao intently, then pretended to be relaxed and smiled lightly.

"I think it was His Majesty who ordered Cao Jie to write an edict at the Chancellor's Desk to arrest a certain person who committed the crime and send him to the Huangmen North Temple Prison."

Yuan Shao had quite a few impressions of the Huangmen North Temple Prison.

The main reason is that this prison, which is the only prison for prisoners located in Luoyang, is so famous.

Unlike the Zhongdu Prison, all ordinary people, whether civilians or civil and military ministers, first have a chancellor to write edicts, which are handed over to the chancellor or the three public officials for review, and then handed over to the thieves, or the court officials. After going through the process, he was sent to Zhongdu Prison.

The Huangmen North Temple Prison often imprisoned people who had been personally ordered by the Emperor over the years. The most arrested people were princes, nobles, generals and ministers.

It can be said that the standards for those who can be imprisoned in Huangmen Beisi Prison are one level higher than those in Zhongdu Prison.

Moreover, all the officials who were arrested on a large scale in the previous prison of Huangmen Beisi Prison were famous and were not allowed to enter unless they were well-known people at home, including princes and nobles.

My own teacher just took a walk inside.

At that time, my teacher successively served as Henan Yin and Sili Xiaowei. His reputation was also called a model in the world by many scholars.

Even such celebrities and ministers at home and abroad are still imprisoned in this prison.

Therefore, this prison also has another characteristic.

But it has not yet been recorded by future generations.

When mentioning Huangmen Beisi Prison, the first thing that comes to mind is which unjust official was imprisoned, so Huangmen Beisi Prison is commonly known as the Unjust Prison.

As he spoke, Cao Jie had passed through the layers of guards and the steps were smooth.

After all, this is not the first time that the famous man in front of His Majesty has come to this minister's desk, and the guards are already aware of it.

Go straight into the center of the mansion, where the minister orders his affairs.

Cao Jie, who put away his smile, narrowed his eyes slightly and looked around.

I saw that his lips were curled up in a sneer, and his face was pale, and there was a mist between his brows, like a dark cloud gathering.

Very lazily, he found a table and chair. His voice was calm, but there was an unquestionable attitude everywhere.

"We meet again, Yin Shangshu Ling, and Yuan Pushe." Cao Jiepi smiled, his whole person looked strange, giving the impression that he was like a poisonous snake hiding in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to move.

Yin Xun didn't put on too many smiles, and he didn't have a good look towards Cao Jie.

Those who come are not good, and those who are good don't.

"Is there anything you would like to do as a regular servant?"

Cao Caojie seemed to like the atmosphere at this time. The corners of his lips were raised, and his eyes were looking back and forth at Yuan Shao. There was a chill in his voice. He did not respond directly to Yin Xun. Instead, his tone was sinister, and his voice was very serious. Ju said seductively.

"The day before yesterday, before I left, my regular attendant said to Yuan Pu that I would put in a few kind words for you in front of His Majesty. Do you still remember?"

Yuan Shao knew that the visitor was unkind, but the other party did not show such an attitude now. He sighed softly, with a smile on his lips, but made a look of regret and said: "I have troubled you, sir. How can I be a lower official?" How can I let a regular servant work so hard, I would be ashamed of my subordinates?"

He didn't show too much of a low profile, he just had an attitude that a superior and a subordinate should have, neither humble nor arrogant, and there was no flattery in his words.

Cao Jie didn't care either. He seemed to really want to see Yuan Shao in a rage. Such a pampering attitude was really disgusting.

Although he was only in his twenties, he still had to pretend to be an old man who had been familiar with officialdom for a long time. Cao Jie suddenly wanted to see Yuan Shao's helpless look when he was angry.

"My regular servant always does what he says. Even though His Majesty is so graceful, Cao still goes to see him in a humble manner."

Cao Jie paused deliberately, wanting to see everyone's reaction, but saw that everyone still had a calm expression on his face, and his tone gradually became more serious: "When Your Majesty learned that there was such a talented person, he immediately sent a regular attendant here. Read out.”

"This is an imperial edict. Which minister would you like to take the trouble to engrave?"

Cao Jie took out the edict from his arms.

Yin Xun glanced at it and said, "Shilang Xu, the sharpness of your pen blunts the enemy's spirit, so I will write with your hand."

After receiving the order, Xu You walked forward leisurely. Even when facing a powerful official like Cao Jie, he did not have any stage fright.

It has to be said that Xu You's aura is much calmer than Yuan Shao's.

After receiving the order, Xu You looked calm.

Sit down, pen in hand, and get ready.

"Huh?" Xu You looked intently, but was startled. He looked at Yuan Shao with a panicked expression, and then glared at Cao Jie who was looking at ease beside him.

Yin Xun could see it clearly on the stage, and he could see the changes in Xu You's facial expressions, and he thought to himself that it was not good.

"Is it possible that Mr. Xu is illiterate? To be able to become a minister, you must have gone through a lot of tests and training. Why can't he stop writing today?" Cao Jie was standing by, staring at Xu You with dark eyes for a long time. The air in the air seemed to suddenly drop several degrees at this moment, and it was chilly.

"If you don't know how to read, then let's find another servant."

(End of this chapter)