Chapter 647 Extremely Emotional!
Dong Zhuo and Li Ru are racking their brains to hold on to power, control the imperial guards and enhance their own strength. Yuan Shao is connecting the remaining ministers in Luoyang and preparing to launch a political attack on Dong Zhuo. Empress Dowager He and Liu Bian are trying to balance the forces in Luoyang city.
People do not share the same joys and sorrows, and Luo just thinks they are noisy.
Diao Chan quickly packed up and was ready to leave with Luo at any time. Those who went with her also included Wang Yun's biological daughter. Luo Shu promised to find a good marriage for her in Zhaocheng.
When Diao Chan and others were packing up, Luo Shu entered the palace. Dong Zhuo did not stop him because Li Ru said that Luo Shu must be going to persuade Luo Kong to leave, which was what Dong Zhuo and Li Ru wanted.
In the palace of Emperor Liu Bian, Luo Shu met Luo Kong.
This was the first time the two brothers met since that day in the hall. Luo Kong was still as heroic as ever, but there was a hint of vicissitudes between his brows.
After seeing Luo Shu, Luo Kong knelt on the ground respectfully, with his hands flat on the ground, his forehead touching the back of his hands, and said with a little sob: "Kong greets brother."
Seeing Luo Kong's great respect, Luo Shu was immediately startled, and with a forced smile, he helped Luo Kong up and said, "Akong, what are you doing?
The father said: "Akong is too tired outside, let him go home."
Ah Kong, come home with me, and stay in Zhaocheng from now on. No one in Luoyang will stop you."
Luo Kong knelt down respectfully again, kowtowed three times in the direction of Zhaocheng and said tearfully: "I have made my uncle worry. I am unfilial and stupid. I cannot show my family's reputation. Instead, I have made my uncle worry. I am ashamed to return to Zhaocheng."
Luo Shu was silent for a moment, then asked: "Akong, you..."
Luo Kong glanced at the inner hall and said, "Brother, if you were in my brother's position, what would you do?"
Luo Shu was silent now. Of course he would not return to Zhaocheng. It would only mean death.
Seeing this, Luo Kong said softly: "If it was a king like Emperor Ling, it would be fine to just watch him die.
But Your Majesty, I cannot bear to see him face a wolf like Dong Zhuo alone.
He should have died the moment of defeat, but His Majesty saved his brother. Perhaps this is a new fate that Kong should bear alone.
The "Biography of Wushuang Marquis" in "Records of the Grand Historian" and "Book of Han" recorded the ancestors who defended the land from generation to generation for two hundred years, and three generations of Wushuang Marquis died in battle.
Although this honor is far less than the family's support for the Zhou Dynasty for a thousand years, who in the world would not praise it when it is mentioned?
Kong cannot be the one who flees from the battlefield. Although destiny cannot be reversed, the elegance of a person must shine through the long river of history. "
Upon hearing this, Luo Shu patted Luo Kong on the shoulder. What else could he say now?
It was reasonable and expected that Luo Kong was going to die for the Han, but Luo Shu still felt sad when he heard it. His eyes turned slightly red and he tried hard not to let the tears fall.
Luo Kong added, "After my brother returns to Zhaocheng, please ask my uncle to send other brothers and nephews to take over the Western Regions. My mother has been away from Zhaocheng for many years. It's time to bring her back to Zhaocheng. She must miss her granddaughter. I hope Alan is doing well in Zhaocheng."
Luo Kong showed a slight smile on his face. Alan was Luo Kong's only daughter. Luo Shu nodded and said, "Alan is doing well. She is learning music, chess, calligraphy and painting with Cai Wenji. She will definitely be the leader of the next generation of Luo family girls in the future."
After that, there was silence for a moment, and the two brothers began to talk about some things from their childhood.
Luo Xiao is the oldest among the brothers and left Zhaocheng to travel early.
Luo Shu and Luo Kong are about the same age and grew up together. Later, Luo Shu stayed in Zhaocheng to take charge of the training of brave warriors and reserve forces, while Luo Kong went to the Western Regions to take over the Wushuang Marquisate. Since then, the two brothers have rarely met each other. When they met this time, they knew that it would probably be difficult for them to see each other again, or even separated by life and death. It seemed as if they had endless things to say to each other.
Until the sun gradually shifted and the light completely left the hall, Luo Kong suddenly stopped and looked at the shadows, "Brother, it's getting late."
Luo Shu straightened his robe, then stood up from the seat, walked to Luo Kong, patted his shoulder, sighed slightly, turned around and walked slowly out of the hall. When he crossed the threshold, he saw from the corner of his eye that Luo Kong once again prostrated himself on the ground and took a deep breath. He knew that Luo Kong had made up his mind, so he left with a sad heart.
Luo Kong suddenly felt two light footsteps approaching him. He looked up and saw that it was Liu Bian and Tang Ji.
Seeing Luo Kong in tears, Tang Ji started crying herself. She took out a piece of silk embroidered with flowers and plants from her sleeve and wiped Luo Kong's tears. It was the same piece of silk she usually used, and it was fragrant. Tang Ji wiped and cried, "Marquis Wushuang, please don't abandon me and His Majesty. I will be obedient."
She was completely a child. Liu Bian was more mature. Although he was also very afraid that Luo Kong would abandon him, he still said, "My Lord, this palace is a cage. I was born here. This may be my fate. I can't leave. But you can. If leaving is better for you, please leave."
Tang Ji fell silent upon hearing this. Although she was naive, she was very smart. Her hands just trembled as she wiped Luo Kong's hands.
Looking at the two people in front of him, Luo Kong smiled. He patted Tang Ji's back to comfort her, and then said to Liu Bian with emotion: "Your Majesty, I came from the Western Regions, where Buddhism is very prosperous and Buddhism pays great attention to the fate between people.
There is a destiny between the two of us, it is a gift from God, no matter what happens in the future, we will just depend on each other. "
Depend on each other.
These four words seem very strange when they appear on the emperor, the empress and the Marquis Wushuang, but only those who are in the middle of them know the warmth and coldness of it.
Luo Shu walked out of the palace. Dozens of brave warriors were waiting for him outside the palace. He got on the carriage and looked at a corner. A carriage was parked there. He frowned, did nothing, and left.
Dong Zhuo and Li Ru were in the carriage, and Dong Zhuo said expressionlessly: “Luo Kong didn’t come out, it seems that he must stay with the emperor.
Things in this world can happen once or twice, but not three times. We gave Wushuang Hou many chances, but he refused to leave.
If he was not a member of the Luo family, he would have died when they first encountered each other.
Luo's child can be used as a talisman, but it cannot be used as a talisman to save one from death. This is unfair.
Wenyou, do you think what I said is right?"
Li Ru also had a blank expression on his face. He did not answer Dong Zhuo's question, but said calmly: "Where is there any fairness in this world?
The royal family is born royal, the nobles are born nobles, and common people like me are not even from a poor family.
In the minds of people all over the world, killing Luo's son would mean being excluded. What logic is there in this?
When we were powerless, we were looked down upon and were called warriors from the frontier counties.
Now you are above everyone else, even the Empress Dowager and the Emperor have to look at your face, but those people still look down on us.
In the pre-Han Dynasty, those who were commoners in the morning and ministers in the evening, had they ever encountered such a thing?
If power and status do not bring respect, then what is the point of working hard to climb up?
Ru has always wanted to kill all the nobles in the world, but Ru knows that you, my lord, want to cooperate with these nobles and you want to get their approval, so Ru has never proposed those radical plans. "
Dong Zhuo was a little embarrassed when he heard this and said, "Wenyou, we cannot defeat the nobles in this world. If we don't cooperate with them, even Emperor Guangwu will unite with them. We are unlikely to be their opponents."
When Li Ru heard this, his eyes flashed with sharpness, and even Dong Zhuo felt the chill coming from Li Ru. He only heard Li Ru say word by word: "My lord, do you think that Ru Hui doesn't know about these things?
The truth will tell the whole Xiliang that these nobles only treat us as dogs to be ordered around.
Yuan Shao's strength is far inferior to ours, but he dares to collude among the ministers and is even prepared to defeat us in the court.
Don't you think it's extremely ridiculous?
We are so strong, but they dare to resist us, because deep down, they have never looked down on us.
Only by killing all those who think they are of noble blood and rich by nature can you get what you want."
Dong Zhuo was secretly shocked by Li Ru's words. He thought that Wen You was too radical. He quickly changed the subject and said, "Wen You, what should we do about Luo Kong? Should we just take action?"
Li Ru knew what Dong Zhuo meant, but he was just a counselor. Since Dong Zhuo was unwilling to do so, he would not force him. He believed that Dong Zhuo would soon see the truth about Luoyang.
Hearing Dong Zhuo's question, he hesitated for a long time before saying, "No need.
Since you didn't kill him on the battlefield, killing him now would be a waste of time and would make you enemies with many people, which would not be worth it.
A person like Luo Kong who is extremely sentimental has huge flaws, so there is no need to kill him personally.
The old saying is right, too much wisdom leads to harm, and too much love does not bring longevity!
Ru already had a plan in mind, and when the time was right, he would strike and kill Luo Kong, the bone spur that was across his throat."
After hearing what Li Ru said, Dong Zhuo felt relieved. The two had been together for more than ten years, and Li Ru always had a point. As long as he said so, there had never been a problem.
"Let's go, get out of here."
Dong Zhuo let the carriage leave and took a last, nostalgic look at the majestic palace. He really wanted to spend the night in the palace. After all, the beauties here were probably more than he had ever seen in his entire life.
But he didn't dare, at least not at the moment. In Luoyang City now, he had the final say, but it was not his one-man show. Those arrogant ministers still had considerable power.
Apart from the imperial guards guarding the palace, Luo Kong was the only outsider in the palace, and that too in the harem, sleeping in the outer room of the emperor's bedroom.
The emperor was the only one in the inner room. Liu Bian and Tang Ji still slept separately and had never slept together before.
The main reason was that Tang Ji was too young. Luo Kong, who was born in the Luo family, was more concerned about this aspect. He treated Tang Ji as his sister and daughter. He didn't want to see Tang Ji get pregnant at the age of twelve or thirteen, and then die of heavy bleeding in pain during childbirth.
After Luo Shu left the palace, he quickly went to see Yuan Shao and told Yuan Shao that Luo would leave Luoyang. This shocked Yuan Shao as he did not expect Luo to leave so quickly.
Although the alliance ended when Luoyang City returned to order, Yuan Shao still borrowed a lot of power from the Luo family in recent days.
But since Luo Shi wanted to leave, Yuan Shao had no reason to stop her, so he could only smile bitterly and said, “Sir, Zhaocheng is in Jizhou, I hope to see you again in the future.
It's a pity that Shao still has responsibilities and cannot leave Luoyang now, otherwise he would definitely have a discussion with you gentlemen."
Luo Shu thought about the conversation with Luo Kong in the palace today, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "I had a conversation with my brother in the palace today, and I told some of my words to Lord Benchu. Whether you think this is alarmist or sincere is up to you."
Yuan Shao instantly became solemn upon hearing this, and even straightened his back. He only heard Luo Shu say, "After entering the palace today, Ziming gave me a very crucial piece of information, which is that after he and Dong Zhuo met and fought in Guanzhong before, if the Han emperor had not protected him, he would have been killed by Dong Zhuo.
This point must be something that needs a lot of attention. Benchu Gong must be careful. Dong Zhuo is a bit unruly. If you really follow the previous methods, you will probably encounter unimaginable blows.
If you feel something is wrong, it is best to leave as soon as possible."
Yuan Shao's face changed when he heard this. Xun Chen beside him was even more confused in his mind and began to analyze Dong Zhuo's character based on his behavior.
Yuan Shao asked himself if he met Luo's son on the battlefield, would he attack him without hesitation?
If he was in the midst of a hail of arrows, there was naturally nothing he could do. If he was surrounded and attacked on the battlefield, there was also nothing he could do. But since he had captured Luo's son, would he kill him?
Won't!
Even if he was beaten ten times, he would not kill him. But Dong Zhuo dared to take action directly, which proved that Dong Zhuo did not care about some things.
If he doesn't even care about the Luo family, then would Dong Zhuo really care about me, a family of three officials for four generations, with so-called students and former officials all over the world?
Won't!
This is the unquestionable answer. Thinking of this, Yuan Shao and Xun Chen looked at each other and could see the cold sweat in each other's eyes. If they relied too much on these traditional means of political struggle, they would suffer a great loss.
Yuan Shao bowed deeply and said, "Sir, a word is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold. Please accept my greeting."
Luo Shu accepted the greeting calmly, then returned the greeting and stood up to leave. Yuan Shao then asked in confusion: "Youruo, do you think the young masters of the Luo family came to Luoyang City for some important matter?
Why did you come so quickly and leave so quickly?
Is it just to persuade Wushuang Hou to leave? I don’t think so.”
Xun Chen whispered, "My lord, two days ago, all the young masters of the Luo family entered the residence of Prince Wang Yun's master. When they came out, Prince Wang sent them out with a smile on his face, and the two sides had a very pleasant conversation."
Yuan Shao keenly noticed the key words: gentlemen!
All the young masters who came out this time entered Wang Yun’s mansion. So what was in Wang Yun’s mansion?
beauty!
This was the word that appeared directly in Yuan Shao and Xun Chen's minds. Wang Yun's adopted daughter was extremely beautiful. This was something known throughout Luoyang. It was said that she was so beautiful that even the bright moon was ashamed to see her.
No beautiful poems can describe it in one iota, no words of praise can depict its beauty in one detail. Perhaps only the goddesses with eternal beauty in the legend can compare with it.
Yuan Shao knew that since the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, except for Bao Si who married King You of Zhou, all the peerless women who were beyond people's imagination and even magical had entered the Luo family.
Yuan Shao understood and laughed loudly, "It must be that there are not many Luo's descendants in this generation who get married, so the Luo family began to search the world for those beautiful women, in order to let these Luo's descendants reproduce.
For the sake of the family's future descendants, it is normal to dispatch so many brave warriors. After all, it is to protect one of the future mistresses."
This is one of the speculations of the outside world about the Luo family's collection of beautiful women, and it is also one of the most recognized reasons. Thinking of this, Yuan Shao said with a little sourness: "This Luo family only marries beautiful women from outside, and there are so many beautiful women in the family, but they never marry outside. It's really...
Hey!"
Xun Chen's eyes suddenly sparkled, and he said in a hurry: "My Lord, Chen suddenly thought of something. If we can find that kind of stunning woman and then act as a matchmaker for the Luo family, will we be able to connect with the Luo family?"
Yuan Shao was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then slowly said: "This idea is feasible, but how can it be so easy to find those beauties who are beyond the ordinary?
I don’t know if you have ever been to Zhaocheng for study tour, but I have been there.
I have seen the appearance of the woman from the Luo family, and I had the honor of meeting the high priest of the Luo family once. She was truly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life, with a sacred temperament, noble and inviolable. Empress Dowager He was already quite beautiful, but the high priest of the Luo family was only slightly better than Empress Dowager He.
Although I don’t know if the beauty that Luo Clan wants is as good as the high priest, at least she can’t be worse than Luo Clan’s daughter. Even the most ordinary Luo Clan’s daughter is not half as bad as Empress Dowager He. Luo Clan’s daughter also has holy marks and her temperament is extremely sacred. It is so difficult to find such a beauty.”
Yuan Shao did not notice that the more he spoke, the brighter Xun Chen's eyes became. When he finished the last sentence, Xun Chen excitedly said, "My lord, there is such a woman in Jizhou, and she is a noble lady.
It's just that she is still too young, but even though she is less than ten years old, her appearance is much better than that of Empress Dowager He.
When she grows up, although Chen doesn’t know what Wang Yun’s adopted daughter Diao Chan looks like, this woman must be a beauty that only appears once in hundreds of years!”
Yuan Shao was shocked, as he had never expected that there really was one. However, when he heard that he was less than ten years old, he hesitated again. Xun Chen said immediately, "My lord, there is no need to hesitate. You will grow up eventually. It is still a long way to go before the world is completely settled.
Besides, you can get engaged first and then marry her when she reaches the age of marriage. This is a win-win situation for all three parties. How can you miss it?"
What Xun Chen said made sense. Yuan Shao had just arrived in Jizhou and was not clear about this, so he asked curiously, "Youruo, whose daughter are you talking about?"
Xun Chen smiled and said, "My lord, this woman..."
…
Luo Shu, who left Yuan Shao, returned to the Luo Mansion. As the true richest family in the world, the Luo family naturally had many houses of their own in Luoyang City, and the Luo family's sons lived in adjacent courtyards.
When everyone saw Luo Shu appear alone, their previously slightly excited expressions calmed down, the atmosphere became a little sad, and the good mood they had when they met Diao Chan before was swept away.
"Brother, is the third brother unwilling to leave Luoyang?"
"Brother, is the third brother going to be loyal to the Han Dynasty?"
"Brother, can you take my third brother away?"
"Second uncle, I don't want Third uncle to die, please go and persuade him again.
I went to the palace. A few years ago, my second uncle brought me a Ferghana horse from Dayuan in the Western Regions. If I tried to persuade him, he would definitely leave. "
One voice after another reached Luo Shu's ears, especially Luo Chu, his only nephew, who choked up with sobs.
Luo Kong was able to obtain many rare treasures that were not available in the Central Plains while in the Western Regions. He often asked the Luo family's caravan to send him things. Almost all the children who stayed in Zhaocheng all year round had received gifts from Luo Kong.
Luo Shu felt like crying when he heard this, but he still clapped his hands vigorously, and then said loudly: "Luo Kong is not only a son of the Luo family, but also the unparalleled marquis of the Han Dynasty. Since ancient times, the Luo family has never had a minister who fled in battle.
This is probably Luo Kong's fate!
He wanted to accompany the Han Dynasty, either to revival or destruction, this was the path he chose.
Isn’t this actually a kind of luck?
He knows what he wants to do and is determined to complete it. How many people dream of this?
I have something to say to you regarding this matter of Akong.
Brother.
As the brothers must have known, he sacrificed his life to fulfill his mission, without hesitation or regret.
Now Akong has also chosen this path because of the responsibilities he shoulders. Achu, your father, although we haven't asked him yet, we all know that he will definitely choose this path.
What does life and death matter?
You are about to be born, and perhaps you will meet someone who will influence your life. In Buddhist terms, that person is your destined person.
When you are attracted by his ideas, you will know the path you want to take and be willing to pay any price to reach the end of the path.
Even if the price is my own life!
But I still enjoy it. The most magnificent thing in the world is to look back on your life when you are dying. You may have some regrets, but you know that you have tried your best! "
Luo Shu's words were so inspiring that everyone bowed and said, "Brother (Second Uncle) is grateful for your advice!"
————
Kong was very sad and deeply in love with Zhuo. He had been guarding the emperor from the sword side of Zhuo and had never left his side. When Prince Shu led brave warriors into Luoyang and Zhuo was unable to stop them, Shu entered the palace and wanted to take Kong back.
Kong bowed again and again, weeping and saying: "I am a minister of the Han Dynasty, and I have received the grace of the emperor. How can I abandon him? If I return now, the emperor will spurn me, my ancestors will be in disgrace, and my name will be covered in dust like the quicksand in the desert!"
Shu sighed and said, "If you don't return, do you want to die for your country?"
Kong bowed three times and said, "To die for one's country is the honor of a loyal minister!"
People at that time said: "Wushuang has a loyal character, and the thunder of heaven cannot destroy him!" - "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Wushuang Marquis"
(End of this chapter)
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