Section 8: The Lord and Father

The morning sun shone obliquely on the steps made of bluestone, reflected on the house of the main hall, shining on the blue-black roof, making the dark room more light, but the bedroom was still pitch black, and only the bronze lamps were like beans, quietly illuminating Cao Chong's quiet face. Cao Chong was awake, but he stayed on the bed and didn't get up. The running around for several days made him, who had been practicing sitting and forgetting all year round, and more importantly, his arrangement today was to see the emperor, but he did not want to see the emperor from the bottom of his heart.

Xiaoshuang was wearing a small shirt and her hair had not been washed yet. She was moved in by two maids. When she saw Cao Chong lying on the bed to recuperate, she smiled with her lips. Seeing her look timid, Cao Chong moved his heart and quickly lifted the quilt and got out of bed, saying with concern: "Your injury has not healed yet. Why do you do when you get up so early? Look at your hands are cold, so you can get it so hard for the quilt."

Xiaoshuang smiled shyly, and Cao Chong carefully helped him to the bed. Cao Chong also went to the bed and waved to the two maids who covered their mouths and chuckled: "Go ahead, I'll call you if you have something to do."

"Here." The two maids looked at each other, saluted, and retreated timidly.

"Husband, it's almost Chen Shi, can't you get up?" Xiaoshuang turned his body and looked up at Cao Chong with his face. His cheeks were red and plain, and his hair was scattered on his face, which had a unique charm. She bit her lips and said hesitantly: "Will sister..."

"Don't worry, no one said to you." Cao Chong gently patted her on the shoulder, "Husband is about to think about it, it's not sleeping in. Besides, we have worked hard for so long, and it's not too much to sleep in."

"But, you are back, don't you go to see the emperor?" Xiao Shuang leaned against Cao Chong and whispered: "You could have said that you came back too late yesterday. If you don't go to see the emperor today, you will be disrespectful."

"Whoever likes to say who says, I'm too lazy to pay attention to them." Cao Chong curled his lips, was silent for a while, and looked at Xiaoshuang and said, "Xiaoshuang, do you think I should go back to Yecheng to meet the Prime Minister first, or should I go see the car first?"

Xiaoshuang blinked and thought for a while and said, "According to the monarch and ministers, since you have arrived in Xu County, of course you should go to see Your Majesty first, but from another perspective, it is better to go back to Yecheng to meet the Prime Minister first. Listen to his opinions first, and then see Your Majesty again. There will be no mistake when you reply."

Cao Chong nodded, but said with some embarrassment: "Let me tell you, I came to Xu County not to see Your Majesty, but to see your family first. I plan to go to Yecheng first to meet my father, see how he arranged it, what he had, and then go back and forth to His Majesty's words. However, the undercurrents in the court were surging in the court, and there were many people looking at me. When I arrived in Xu County, I didn't go to see Your Majesty, I was afraid that not only Your Majesty was unhappy, but others would also talk about gossip.

Huan developed this ninth-rank official law. Do you know? How many people in the court are secretly applauding, and how many are ready to fight? They wish that the ninth-rank official law will be introduced immediately. If the ninth-rank official law is established, I am afraid that those famous scholars will pour into the court. Even if the Prime Minister doesn't like to see such a situation, it may be difficult to block the way openly. At that time... hey! But it will be troublesome. The legitimate and illegitimate sisters in the eyes of these famous scholars can be very clear about the legitimate sisters. My husband is... difficult."

Xiaoshuang smiled and said disapprovingly: "Husband doesn't have to take matters seriously. This ninth-rank official law is just a draft. Not to mention that Your Majesty cannot bypass the Prime Minister's Office to directly approve it. Even if he approves, these Zhongzheng and others only have the right to recommend and do not have the right to serve as an official. The final decision is still in the Prime Minister's Office. If the Prime Minister's Office does not approve it, they will not be able to say that they are first-rank and second-rank, even if they are too high to be qualifying."

Cao Chong burst out laughing, and he bent down and kissed Xiaoshuang on the forehead: "You are right. There are so many famous scholars, but they are really useless. When it comes to appreciating characters, Xu Zijiang can be said to be a stern and a word can determine honor and disgrace. Even his father asked him to be famous with one comment, but this person was very slim. He was not in line with his companion Xu Wenxiu, so he refused to let him stand up, forcing Xu Wenxiu to have to drive a donkey and sell it. You can imagine how good this person is. Regardless of whether Xu Wenxiu is a talent or not, it is obviously unreasonable to decide whether others can enter the official position by himself."

Xiaoshuang also smiled: "I can only say this here. Xu Zijiang is too famous. If your husband says this outside, it will probably cause a stir. Those famous scholars and others will have to attack them."

Cao Chong curled his lips disdainfully: "I'm not afraid of them. This time I came back, I wanted to have a stir in Xu County. I want to see what these famous scholars can do to me. I have the support of the prime minister and hold heavy troops in my hand, afraid of him as a ball." He thought about it and suddenly remembered a very famous line in his previous life: "There are people above me." He couldn't help laughing out loud.

"I'll care about those things, let's sleep first." Cao Chong yawned, drilled into the quilt, hugged Xiaoshuang in his arms, closed his eyes comfortably, smacked his lips proudly, and just as he was about to snorkeleton, he heard the sound of gentle footsteps outside the door, and Xun Wenqian asked at the door: "Has the Marquis not got up yet?"

Xun Xiaoqing chuckled softly: "I just woke up for a while and talked to Mrs. Xiaoshuang for a while, and it seemed that I was asleep again."

"These two lazy people." Xun Wenqian muttered, walked in lightly, stretched her head and looked at Cao Chong. Seeing his eyelids moving, he knew that he was not asleep, so he put his hand into the quilt and scratched and smiled: "Lag people, they have been sleeping until this time, don't you still remember to get up?"

Cao Chong was itchy by her and pretended not to sleep. He closed his eyes and laughed out loud and said, "Oh, I'm so tired these days. Let me sleep for a while." Xun Wenqian sat beside the bed, reached out to take care of Cao Chong's hair on his forehead, and laughed softly, "I'm not involved. Even if you sleep until the afternoon, it doesn't matter, but do you want my father to wait for you until the afternoon?"

"Father-in-law?" Cao Chong was shocked and opened his eyes to Xun Wenqian: "When did he return to Xu County?"

Xun Wenqian shook her head: "I don't know either, just go and ask, don't you know."

When he heard Xun Yu coming, Cao Chong didn't dare to stay on the bed anymore. He quickly got up to wash, ate some breakfast, and rushed to the study to see Xun Yu. Xun Yu was sitting and drinking tea, holding a newspaper to watch. His face was rosy and in good spirits. Although he was still thin, he was not that kind of sick. His gray hair and beard were neatly taken care of, showing the style of an old handsome guy. He was worthy of being a handsome man in the Han Dynasty. As soon as he was sick, his style immediately appeared.

"My father-in-law is healthy and can be congratulated." As soon as Cao Chong entered the table, he hurriedly bowed to the ground and gave a big gift.

Xun Yu put down the newspaper in his hand, stood still, and looked at Cao Chong lightly. Xun Wenqian, who followed him, looked at him nervously, and stopped talking. After a while, Xun Yu smiled and stretched out his hands to support Cao Chong: "Cang Shu, I haven't seen him for a year, and I've grown much older again. I have a famous minister like a generation, and I'm chasing Huo Piqi."

Cao Chong's old face turned red. Xun Yu said something in his words. It sounded like he was praising him for being a loyal minister like Huo Qubing, but in fact he reminded him to be a loyal minister like Huo Qubing, and not to be proud and become a famous minister of a generation. He smiled awkwardly: "My father-in-law has been awarded. I... am still a general of chariots and cavalry, how dare I compare with General Huo."

Xun Yu smiled: "You have made such a great contribution and should be promoted to another level. I am afraid that your Majesty will grind the golden seal of General Cavalry in his hand, but you are unwilling to enter the palace to pick it up."

Cao Chong smiled secretly and came, saying that he did not come into the palace to see His Majesty immediately when he came back. He smiled, and did not answer the words, but turned around and said, "My father-in-law's voice is loud and full of energy. It seems that he has been well conditioned in Xiangyang. It's almost winter. My father-in-law is not spending the winter in the warm Xiangyang, so why did he suddenly return to the humid Xu County?"

Xun Yu gave him a little dissatisfied glance, but smiled again. He stroked the beard under his jaw and said, "If you leave the court, you can calm your mind between the mountains and rivers. With Master Zhang's wonderful rejuvenation, I, half of the person who is buried in the soil, have the honor to live again. Thanks to my son-in-law, if I remain in Xu County, I might have gone to see Duke Zhou."

Cao Chong frowned secretly. Did this handsome guy do it on purpose, or was it easy to change his country and his nature difficult to change? He didn't see him for a year, and he reminded himself in words and words as soon as he met. As soon as Huo Qubing was said, he came to Duke Zhou again. He turned his head and looked at Xun Wenqian. Xun Wenqian shrugged in embarrassment, saying that it was indeed not what I said.

When Xun Yu saw the two villains making trouble, he chuckled and said, "I came back yesterday morning. My family saw you entering the city at the gate of the city. He knew that you had worked hard for you, so he didn't bother you yesterday. Today I was a little late. I didn't expect that I would disturb your Qingmeng. I'm really sorry. You... won't blame me, right?"

Cao Chong was so embarrassed that he shook his hand and said, "My father-in-law is joking. It's because I'm not very polite. I should have gone to see my father-in-law first, but I worked for my father-in-law to come. It's really rude. My son-in-law knows the crime, so I ask my father-in-law to punish him."

Xun Yu stared into his eyes. Seeing that he was sincere, he smiled and said, "What's there to punish? After the war, you will be tired after returning from the expedition. Alas, I blame me. I have listened too much to debate in Xiangyang Academy and liked to tell jokes, which makes you feel more attentive when you listen to it. Hahaha... Don't blame me." After that, he stroked his beard and laughed.

Although Cao Chong thought the joke he told was not funny at all, he had to laugh twice and asked intriguingly: "I wonder what jokes my father-in-law heard in Xiangyang, can you tell us one or two?"

Xun Yu smiled for a while, thought for a while and said, "I have heard a lot of this joke, but I can't remember it. There is a topic of debate that I have always kept in my heart. I wonder what you are interested in listening to?"

Cao Chong was stunned, looking at Xun Yu's smile, but staring at him tightly. It was probably not enough not to listen. He laughed dryly and said, "Of course I'm interested."

"Well, someone from Xiangyang College asked a question a few days ago, saying that if the king and his father fell into the water at the same time, and there was only enough time to save one person, and asked who this person who was both a minister and a son should save. As soon as this question came out, many people could not answer it. Some said that they should save the king, and some said that they should save the father. It sounded reasonable, but it seemed that they didn't make sense. I thought about it for a long time, but I couldn't think of the best answer. Cang Shu, tell me, if you encounter this problem, which one should you save?"

After Xun Yu finished speaking, he looked at Cao Chong with a smile, glanced at Xun Wenqian from time to time, with a cunning smile in his eyes. Cao Chong was stunned, raised his head and looked at Xun Yu, and immediately felt a little nervous in Xun Yu's eyes. He remembered the old-fashioned question of the old lady and his wife falling into the river and could only save one of them. He couldn't help but smile and said softly: "Of course, save your father first."

Xun Yu's smile stopped and then smiled again: "Why?"

"Your Majesty is dead, you can change another one. My father dies, but there is no one to change." Cao Chong said with a smile: "My Han Dynasty established the country with filial piety. The Enlightenment Sutra is the filial piety. I also heard that filial piety is the first priority for all virtues. Since we want to talk about filial piety, of course we must save our father first."

"Then the word "loyalty" is the first priority." Xun Yu smiled fiercely and continued.

"Zhong, Zhong is the court, not Your Majesty alone." Cao Chong smiled and said naturally: "The Han Dynasty has been in four hundred years, and there have been more than twenty His Majesties. The Han Dynasty is still the Han Dynasty. But there is only one father, and if he dies, he will die and cannot be replaced. These two evils are the least, so of course he should save his father." He thought for a while and said: "Besides, if it were a Your Majesty like Huan Ling, it would be better if he died. My Han Dynasty would not have fallen to this point."

The smile on Xun Yu's face disappeared. He looked at Cao Chong with a calm face and twisted his beard for a while without a word. Xun Wenqian looked at his father nervously and then at his husband. His plump face turned a little white for a moment.

Cao Chong smiled heartlessly and asked with a joking look: "What do you think I'm saying?"

Xun Yu glanced at him and suddenly laughed: "Although what you said is a bit disrespectful, it's just a matter."

"Thank you, Father-in-law, for your compliment." Cao Chongshun said with a pleasing smile.

Xun Wenqian breathed a sigh of relief.

Xun Yu picked up the newspaper on the case, tapped it with his finger and said, "Are all the things Zhou Yuanzhi said true? This is how the monarchs of the Great Qin people were chosen? Wouldn't that be a mess?"

Cao Chong smiled and said lightly: "Although the inheritance of the Great Qin is a bit messy, most of the people selected are the most outstanding people. It is worth it to exchange the Dayue of the royal family for the world. This is true for the Great Qin, Greece, and Egypt. Yuan Zhi just wrote about the Great Qin, and he hasn't written about the things I said, and he will know when the time comes."

"Is that true?" Xun Yu opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"Even if my father-in-law doesn't believe me, I won't even believe Yuanzhi, right?" Cao Chong curled his lips and smiled. "My father-in-law has been an official for so many years, I believe he wouldn't believe the abdication of Confucian scholars. In comparison, the statement in the ancient scriptures is more credible. I have been in the tomb of Emperor Shun in Jiuyi Mountain. In my opinion, Emperor Shun died there as the common ruler of the world, probably not to travel the world, but to be exiled. Otherwise, the king of the successor Yu should have returned home in Zi, so how could he let him bury his bones in a foreign land?"

"You have many strange and strange theories. You don't even believe what is said in the book?" Seeing Xun Yu's face unhesitating, Xun Wenqian quickly pushed Cao Chong and said with a joking smile.

Cao Chong disagreed. Seeing that Xun Yu's face was not very good, he was not furious. He probably thought a lot in the past few years and was no longer the stubborn Xun Lingjun. Then Xun Wenqian said, "Is there anything in the book right? The sage likes to be a taboo for the respected ones and is good at using the Spring and Autumn style. The Emperor Zhou was obviously forced to join the Heyang League by Duke Wen of Jin, but wrote it as 'The King of Kings in Heyang'. What is this not to deceive himself? Mencius said, 'It is better to have no books than to believe in books."

Xun Yu looked at Cao Chong who was righteous, laughed twice, waved his hand and said, "Okay, no more. Although this strange theory is rebellious, it is much better than you say that my ancestor Yan Emperor, the ancestor of China, is a Qiang person. Do you know that Xu County and Xiangyang have already had a big fuss about this? The scholar of the Gan family is coming to you to argue."

Cao Chong stagnated, laughed dryly, but said unconvincedly: "This is not something that is made of nothing. Emperor Yan's surname is Jiang, and the name Jiang is not a Qiang girl. I just said he is a Qiang man, and I haven't said he is a woman."

"It's a mess." Xun Yu was both angry and funny, and snorted: "According to what you said, Huangdi's surname is Ji, is he also a woman?"

"Hehehe, even if he is not a woman, he comes from matriarchal society."

"I won't talk about this anymore, it's unreasonable!" Xun Yu waved his hand and stopped Cao Chong from talking nonsense. He frowned slightly and said, "You said Yan Emperor was a Qiang man, but I'm afraid he would appease the hearts of those Qiang man. If the goal can be achieved, reduce the barriers between foreign races and speed up their integration into our Han Dynasty. Although it is a bit tricky, it is also a way. Originally, these barbarian Qiang and Hu were all descendants of my Yan and Huang. Although it is not very reliable, they are not far away. The Huns and Xianbei people also claim to be descendants of Yan and Huang. But now I am worried that the Qiang people will leave behind any future troubles when they move into Guanzhong in large numbers. Just like the Huns moved to Henan, they would have caused great trouble during the Zhongping period."

Cao Chong nodded and sighed. It was not true that he had no worries at all. Since the defeat of the Huns, the Southern Huns surrendered to the Han Dynasty and were allowed to move to a rich land of water and plants in Henan by the emperor. When the Han Dynasty was strong, they were not bad. They accepted the conquest and guarded the whole country. When the Han Dynasty was in chaos, they also made trouble and caused trouble to the Central Plains. Cai Yan was captured by the Huns, and countless other people were harmed. Now he controls the Qiang people with his strength. If he fails, one day the Han Han will weaken, will these Qiang people bit them again? It is really unpredictable. He now lets Qiang people study and teaches fields, which is also a double-edged sword, which may assemble the Qiang people into Han people, and at the same time, it may also lay a big landmine.

He thought for a while, closed his smile and said, "It is precisely because of this that I want to discuss with my father-in-law a way to make my Han's peace and stability for a long time, how to avoid the embarrassing situation where one generation is worse than the other. My father-in-law, although my Han has been four hundred years, there are decades between the New Dynasty. If it weren't for Wang Mang's pedantic actions, my Han's fire virtue... would have been extinguished long ago. Since the Guangwu revival, the Han Han has been more than two hundred years. According to the theory of the five virtues, is it..."

"Nonsense!" Xun Yu shouted angrily. Cao Chong was shouted and stopped immediately. Xun Yu did not notice that Cao Chong was a little embarrassed. He was frowning and had no choice but to do anything about the current situation. The power of the Cao family is now amazing. First, Cao Cao was already scary, and now Cao Chong was even more amazing. No matter from which perspective, although the emperor is not stupid, he is afraid that he will not be qualified to compare with the father and son. If according to the saints, only those who are virtuous in the world will be in the world, then Cao Cao fought for decades and turned the tide and put down the tide. During the six or seven years, the new policy allowed millions of people to live a life of food and clothing. Compared with the declining Liu family, is the Cao family more qualified to be the emperor?

Xun Yu raised his head in distress and looked at Cao Chong. Seeing Cao Chong looking at him with dissatisfaction, feeling depressed and a little aggrieved. Then he felt that what he had just said was a little bit too much. He eased his voice and said, "Cang Shu, the theory of the five virtues seems to be nonsense now. If nothing else, the great man is fire virtue or water virtue, those scholars have quarreled countless times. As for the prophecies and divination, it is even more vain and unreliable. If Emperor Guangwu learned that the prophecies and divination have made the big man so messed up, I am afraid he would regret it..."

Cao Chong couldn't help laughing when he saw Xun Yu, who had been devoted to speaking for the emperor in the past, actually said that the Five Virtues and Prophecies and Divinations were nonsense. It seemed that Xun Yu was in Xiangyang in recent years. Although he was still a royalist, his thoughts had changed a lot. If he had thought a few years ago, he would not say that he would not say these words, just relying on his own words that His Majesty could die and his father could not die, he would turn against him.

"My father-in-law, you... are so disrespectful to Emperor Guangwu." Cao Chong deliberately pretended to be nervous and reminded.

Xun Yu, who was immersed in his chaotic thinking, was stunned and immediately came to his senses. He glanced at Cao Chong and Xun Wenqian and said blankly: "Am I disrespectful to Emperor Guangwu?"

"Yes." Cao Chong and Xun Wenqian looked at each other, suppressed their laughter, and nodded heavily at the same time.

"Oh." Xun Yu scratched his head awkwardly, thought for a while and said, "This... seems to be right, right? This...isn't it said that a gentleman's mistake is like the eclipse of the sun and the moon. If he fails, everyone will see it and change it. Everyone will admire him. I say this, it is because of the good of the great man. I guess it is not disrespectful."

Cao Chong and Xun Wenqian bit their lips and tried hard to hold back their laughter, but they couldn't help it. Looking at Xun Yu's self-evident look, the more interesting he looked, and finally burst into laughter. Xun Yu looked at them and laughed a little embarrassed. He grinned and then laughed.
Chapter completed!