Knowing that Yǐn Fān was approaching, Dòu Yánzhēng Zhao Yàn, who was originally resting in a courtyard in the city, rode his horse to rush over to meet Yǐn Fān as soon as possible, arriving at the base of the city gate.
"Ha ha ha, Shūping, are you well? " Zhao Yan's face was full of joy, as he dismounted and flung his sleeve aside, he took big steps forward:
"It's March now, a full three months." Zhao Yan leaned in, looking up and down at Yin Fan, "I thought that Shuping would stay in Wu for a few more years, but I didn't expect him to return after just three months. This time, are you here to persuade Sun Quan to surrender?"
Yin Fan bowed respectfully, and the joy on his face couldn't be hidden at all. "Just now, Wu sent a Zheng Zhi over. After he returned, he reported what the General Niu said. I explained it to Sun Quan, and that's why I could come again."
"Good, good." Zhao Yan patted Yin Fan's shoulder and looked at him with satisfaction as if he were his nephew.
While by his side, Niujin asked with some anxiety, "Did Shuping gain anything during his three months in Wu?"
Yin Fan thought for a moment and said, "I will write down a brief summary of the military situation that I have learned, and please ask Zhao Gong and Niujin General to witness it."
"Okay." Zhao Yan nodded.
"I'll send someone to fetch the seal," said Niujin, "Shuping can go ahead and write it first!"
As Yin Fan wrote quickly, Zhao Yan looked at him with even greater admiration. Just returning to Wei City and still being so careful and restrained, not revealing all that he knows at once, this is a person who can handle important matters.
The soldier who took the seal for Niujin returned quickly, and Yin Fan also put down the ink brush in his hand. On the paper, Yin Fan divided the official system, military system, military situation, and usurpation into four categories. He listed them out in detail according to fine lines, but he did not write specific details or names.
Zhao Yan took the paper and looked at it for a moment, then carefully stamped his seal on it, pulling it from his bosom. Seeing Zhao Yan stamp the seal, Niujin also came over and pressed his own seal beneath Zhao Yan's impression.
Zhao Yan and Niujin, one was a high-level official in the great Wei, and the other was an experienced general in the army. The information on Yin Fan's paper was too important to be known even by them.
This kind of matter should be sent to Luoyang's imperial court, and handled by the West Studio or the East Studio.
Zhao Yan, being an astute man, saw that Yin Fan did not volunteer any information, so he did not press for details about official positions or military systems. Instead, he asked first:
"Shuping, does Sun Quan really want to become an emperor?"
Yin Fan sighed slightly and pursed his lips: "Zhao Gong is right. If we don't take advantage of the floodwaters of the Han River to attack Xiangyang, today would have been the date Sun Quan originally planned for his coronation. When I was in Wuchang, Jiang's General Yan from Shu came on a mission to Wuchang, saying that Emperor Lü Bu Lang of Shu wanted to share the sky with Sun Quan and conclude an eternal alliance."
"Those rebellious scoundrels!" Upon hearing Yin Fan's words, Niujin's anger flared up instantly. He picked up his sword scabbard and struck at the city wall: "Our country has not been unified yet, and we have fought for over twenty years. All because of Sun and Liu's rebellious traitors who have been seizing territories and causing chaos!"
"If it weren't for these people, the world would have been peaceful long ago! We wouldn't have to work so hard!"
"Slow down, don't you need to repair the city wall?" Zhao Yan glanced at Niujin, then asked Yin Fan, "Putting aside Sun Quan's ambition to usurp the throne, how many troops does the Wu army have this time?"
"Seventy thousand," Yin Fan bowed and then went on to detail the military situation he knew.
Zhao Yan sighed: "These are truly troubling times! The emperor just achieved a great victory in Liaodong, but now Sun Quan has invaded Xiangyang. This year, large-scale droughts occurred in Guandong and the Yellow River Delta, and floods struck Yuhui and Jianghu. All of these disasters have happened at the same time! It will certainly be difficult this year."
Yin Fan watched as Zhao Yan frowned and stroked his beard, then added, "Jiang's General Yan has already returned to Yizhou from Wuchang, and Zhuge Liang is also preparing to send troops northward to join forces with Sun Quan."
Zhao Yan hesitated for a moment and then began to shake his head.
At this moment, Niujin asked a crucial question: "Shuping has achieved such great national benefits and now what should be done? Should he stay in the city or return to the place where Sun Quan is?"
Yin Fan bowed and said: "I have already returned to the city of Wei, and everything I need to know is known. What's the point of going back to Sun Quan's side?"
Niujin nodded and said, "Very good, very good. Let Sun Quan fume in front of the city gates himself. As long as Shuping is inside the city, he is safe."
Yin Fan smiled and said, "If I don't return, Sun Quan will surely be enraged and hateful. In the future, if people from Wei country pretend to return in submission to spy on the military situation of Wu country, this road will also be cut off."
"I have a plan, and I would like to ask General Niujin to assist me."
Niujin nodded and said with a sigh, "Twenty-two years old and so wise, it's hard to say whether Shuping will be one of the three great officials in the future. How can I help you? Shuping, tell me everything, and I hope that in the future, Shuping can help raise my family's reputation."
Yin Fan simply smiled and bowed slightly, but did not say much. Meanwhile, Zhao Yan immediately began to scold: "You, a soldier, are making friends with officials. Do you think I'm blind? Shuping asked for your help. If you can help, please do."
Niujin was not angry and smiled awkwardly at Zhao Yan a few times.
Yin Fan said, "Please, General Niujin, find someone with a similar body size to me and dress them in my clothes. Mess up their hair, stick a few arrows on them, and make it look like they were bleeding. Then hang them up on the city head like a corpse to make it appear as though I have died."
"It's also to avoid excessively stimulating Sun Quan. If he gets really angry and rushes to attack the city, it wouldn't be as beautiful."
Niujin nodded, "This is an easy matter, Shuping, please wait a moment."
Zhao Yan said, "If Shuping dies in Xiangyang, Sun Quan will only be angry. If he knows that Shuping has returned with military intelligence to Wei country, he may also attack the city to save face. The future development of the war is something we cannot predict."
"I also mean exactly that." Yin Fan nodded and smiled: "Sun Quan has been friendly to me in the past, but he is a traitor to our country. My journey and plans are for the sake of national affairs, and I am in direct conflict with him. There is no personal interest involved."
"Shuping, you can rest assured, I understand the consequences, and this is what we will do."
"Thank you, Zhao Gong." Yin Fan bowed respectfully.
After a long time, Sun Quan, who was sitting in the cabin of his riverboat with his eyes closed and resting, was disturbed by the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor outside. Upon opening his eyes, Hu Zong entered in a state of panic:
"Your Highness, something has happened in Xiangyang," Hu Zong said softly.
"What happened?"
"Yin Shuping died, he was hung on the city wall of Xiangyang, pierced by several arrows through his chest," Hu Zong took out a piece of silk from his sleeve, his expression unwillingly said: "This is a letter shot from the city wall by Wei troops. Your Majesty, please have a look."
Sun Quan stared blankly at the blood-stained silk, wanting to unfold it to read but stopping himself, then after a long time, he forcefully pushed it back into Hu Zong's hand:
"This is the blood of a loyal minister, I cannot bear to look at it. Tell me more about it, Wei."
Hu Zong sighed lightly: "Niujin said that Zheng Zhi persuaded Chen to surrender, he accepted this. But Your Majesty sent a Wei man into the city to persuade him to surrender. His words were full of sarcasm and mockery, which made him unbearable. He was killed by Chen personally with arrows."
Hu Zong paused for a moment: "He also said, 'People are not thieves when they live in Qi, but they become thieves when they enter Chu...' "
"Enough!!" Sun Quan stood up suddenly: "Niujin, a mere soldier, is acting like a scholar in front of me, killing my messenger and insulting me too much. I swear to kill this beast!"
Niujin certainly would not have so many words, and this letter was written by Zhao Yan.
During the Spring and Autumn period, when Yan Zi, the prime minister of Qi, was sent to Chu, the king of Chu ordered a minor official to bring a Qi prisoner before Yan Zi as an opportunity to humiliate him. After Yan Zi had said the famous phrase 'An orange grown in Huai Nan is an orange, but if grown in HuaiBei it becomes a jujube,' he also said the phrase from Niujin's letter.
It just happens that Wu country is located in the territory of Chu, and Yin Fan is from the Nuanbei Circuit, which is exactly the territory of Qi!
Hu Zong hesitated for a moment, not understanding Sun Quan's meaning: "Your Majesty, should we send more troops to the city gate of Xiangyang? General Zuo's troops are attacking the city. It may not be enough."
"Not attack Xiangyang, but attack Fan City urgently!" Sun Quan said coldly, "Though I am angry, I still know the difference between what is important and what is not. Xiangyang is isolated by the Han River and is of little importance. The opportunity lies to the north, not to the south."
"Yes." Hu Zong nodded and answered accordingly.
"Oh, there's one more thing for Wei to do for me," Sun Quan squinted his eyes and stood on the riverboat looking towards the direction of the city wall of Xiangyang: "Recruit a brave man from the army, offer him a hundred pieces of silk and a thousand pieces of gold to exchange for Shuping's body. Hurry!"
"Understood." Hu Zong replied, leaving with a sense of desolation.
...
Luoyang, Changle Palace.
The emperor is not present, and within the Northern Palace of Luoyang, Empress Dowager Guo holds the most power. The sisters Cai Zhaoji and Cai Zhenji, who reside in Luoyang, have also been invited to the palace by the empress dowager to attend a banquet.
"Officials have their own circle, and women have their own social group. Among the women at home who can get close to the empress dowager, they will be looked up to in the city of Luoyang."
However, Zhaoji and Zhenji did not have to consider these matters at all. Cai Zhaoji was already 56 years old and had been married to three husbands. She only lived in her sister's home in Luoyang. Zhenji was also over 50 years old, and her husband, the Governor of Yangguan in Taihang Mountain, was in Taihang Mountain. There was no one to manage the household.
They are both people who can come and go as they please.
Feng Yuanyuan sat in a small chair in the hall, focusing on playing the Huqia. After one piece was played, Cai Zhaoji also started to play.
"Ershibai is played on the Huqia, which is different from playing it on the Guqin. The Guqin focuses mainly on the Sheng scale, but the Huqia has a different sound. There are several places where the Zhiheng can be used instead..."
Watching Cai Zhaoji guiding Feng Yuanyuan's skills, Empress Dowager Guo smiled and said to Zhenji, "Cai Gong is extremely skilled in music and has a rich family tradition. Zhaoji has also become a master of music. By the way, I remember that there is also a daughter in your family. Have you ever learned music?"
Cai Zhenji smiled and said, "Thank you for the Empress Dowager's concern. My daughter Huiyu has always preferred to read books and is not good at music. She has read the Five Classics, poems, and even other books. If she were a boy, she should be sent to the Imperial University to study well."
Empress Dowager Guo nodded and said, "The Imperial University is only for men. Women who read books cannot serve as officials. Being a wife and educating children is very good, and when they leave home, they won't have much use."
"Since she reads so well, isn't it time for your family to arrange a marriage match for Huiyu?"
Cai Zhenji shook her head and said, "We haven't prepared a marriage contract yet. Her father is not in Luoyang, but in Yan Prefecture in Taihang Mountain. As a woman, I can't take care of it for her. Moreover, no one has proposed marriage, so we have put it aside for the time being."
"However, she is still young and there is no hurry."
Empress Dowager Guo smiled warmly at Cai Zhenji: "Since there is no marriage contract, I have an idea. Why don't you have your daughter Huiyu come to the palace? I am in the process of selecting concubines for the emperor." (Chapter ends)
