Luochen rode quietly on his horse with a calm expression on his face. The killing shouts around him seemed to fade away, and he couldn't help but look towards the Yellow River to the north. The Yellow River is really majestic! The turbid water is surging, and the nine-curved ileum traverses the land of the Central Plains. He remembered that night a few years ago, he was just a college student who had just come of age. He was amazed at his supernatural powers, and a little recklessly went to the house of Cai Yong, the first university scholar, to ask what happened. That Cai Yong confirmed his speculation and gave him some advice, so he went to write a book on a small island on the Yellow River. Several years have passed in a flash, and I don't know what happened to Mr. Cai Yong. Luochen remembered that the address Cai Yong left him was a small island called Longzhou on the Yellow River to the north of Luoyang.

Now that Luoyang City is right in front of his eyes, how could he not think of Mr. Cai Yong?

"Report to the lord!" a sergeant shouted, interrupting his thoughts. "Cao Cao's army is less than forty miles away from Luoyang! It is expected to reach Luoyang before dark (bafh)." Luo Chen waved his hand to indicate that he knew.

"Ma Chao." Luo Chen said softly. Ma Chao, who was supervising the battle beside him, immediately leaned over. "Order the army to withdraw."

"Before it gets dark, it's obvious that Tongguan can't be withdrawn, and Cao Jun will obviously pursue it..." Ma Chao was a little worried.

"You don't need to withdraw to Tongguan, you just need to deploy troops like this..." Luo Chen whispered in Ma Chao's ear, and Ma Chao nodded in understanding. "You will lead the 150,000-strong army. Just do as I say. After returning to Tongguan, the military power will be handed over to General Xu Da."

"Yes!" Ma Chao replied. "But my lord, aren't you in the army yourself? Where are you going?"

Luochen smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about this, I'm going to visit someone. I can return in about two or three days. By the way, a messenger!" Luochen said and called a messenger, and he immediately tore it out of the notebook he carried with him. On the next sheet of paper, he took out a pen again. It was the only object he brought from civilization, and obviously the people around were curious, they had never seen such a pen and paper. Luochen wrote in scribbled traditional characters: "Zhang Juzheng: I heard that Liu Bei has arrived at Huang Zhong's place. You go see him and see if you can pull the Liu Bei group to my camp. If you can't, don't force it. Luochen." The letter was handed to the messenger: "Through the post-road postal system, the letter will be handed over to Situ Zhang Juzheng as soon as possible." It turns out that Luochen has established a relatively well-connected postal system in Guanzhong and the west area and Yizhou area, with smooth roads and sufficient post stations. , the transmission of military information and letters is very fast. "Yes!" The messenger respectfully took the piece of paper and went quickly.

Luochen called Yanqing to prepare to set off, but this time Yanqing was even more worried: "Where is the lord going? An island on the Yellow River? Isn't it too dangerous?" Ma Chao obviously felt unsafe, so he persuaded: "Could it be the lord? Do you want to take Yan Qing alone to visit people in the enemy-controlled area? This is too dangerous. If the lord makes a mistake, the ministers and others should be punished for death. The hundreds of thousands of soldiers in my army and the countless people in the control area have nowhere to go..."

"Come on," Luo Chen said with a bit of tears and laughter, "It's just a journey of three or two days, at most five days. If I don't return for five days, you can lead your troops to search eastward along the Yellow River, especially the small islands on the Yellow River."

"This..." Ma Chao still wanted to remonstrate, but was interrupted by Luo Chen firmly: "Don't worry! There will be no problem! I also want to remind you that you must be single-minded when fighting, and lead all the troops back to Tongguan after the block, don't wait. Me! If you make an assertion, be careful I cut you!"

"Yes, yes." Ma Chao wiped the sweat on his head and said. He immediately ordered the preparation of the whole team to evacuate.

Luo Chen and Yan Qing also changed into northern merchants' attire, belts and swords, and carried some luggage on their shoulders, and quietly went up to the Yellow River.

There was no one on the edge of the Yellow River. Because of the army of Luochen, all the checkpoints here were closed, and all the troops were withdrawn to the city. Many people also moved to Luoyang city. Luochen saw that although there were many villages by the river, he hadn't seen a single person for a long time. After searching for a long time, I finally saw an old man who was squatting on the bow of the boat to fish.

"Old man, it's polite to be born late." Luo Chen said.

The old man was leisurely and turned his head: "These two young masters, how dare you come here?"

Luochen clenched his fists slightly and gave a salute: "We came to Luoyang to do business from the north of the Yellow River, and we didn't expect to encounter a battle between Luochen and Cao Cao's army... There is a family friend of my family by the Yellow River. I want to rely on him, so I came to the old man. ask."

The old man nodded: "Luochen and Cao Cao fought, and everyone by the Yellow River moved into Luoyang City, saying that the fallen army burned, killed, looted, and everyone dared not stay by the river, your relatives must have also entered the city, I don't know what to call what?"

"Luojun burned, killed and looted?" Luochen asked hurriedly.

"Hahahaha," the old man laughed, "I am a daring old man. I don't want to leave, so I live on the boat. There were indeed cavalry soldiers in the fallen army, and they burned all the checkpoints, but they did not damage the village in the slightest."

Luochen nodded in relief and said, "I'm looking for Cai Yong, Mr. Cai Yong, I don't know if the old gentleman has heard of it."

The old man shook his head blankly.

Luo Chen's heart tightened: "So what about Longzhou?".

Chapter 44 Longzhou

However, Luo Chen asked the old man about Cai Yong, but the old man was at a loss, so Luo Chen hurriedly asked where Longzhou was.

"Longzhou?" The old man was obviously familiar with it. "Isn't Longzhou the island in front?" He got up and pointed to the island in front of him. "There are indeed several fishermen living on the island... Maybe your relatives live on the island?"

"Yeah!" Luo Chen was overjoyed, "Then please take us there. We'll give you money."

The old man nodded and agreed: "But I can't bring horses, my boat can't hold it." Luochen and Yanqing had no choice but to throw the horses by the Yellow River and let them move freely and forage for food. I hope the two horses will still be there in a few days... …

The Yellow River is near the lower reaches, the water is wide and the smoke waves are vast. Summer is just over and the water is pleasantly cool. The island was once faintly green. The boatman was punting the boat at the bow, and taking advantage of the cool wind, he couldn't help singing: "The sky is boundless and the earth is boundless, and my heart is full of sorrows. Years. I want to ask the sky with grievances, the sky is so bright that there is no fate in the sky, I raise my head and look up at the sky and clouds.

The song was melodious, like a complaint, and Luo Chen was fascinated by it, and suddenly felt that the tune and lyrics were somewhat familiar. Thinking about it carefully, isn't this the famous Han Yuefu song "Eighteen Beats of Hu Jia" in history! According to legend, it was made by Cai Yan, the daughter of Cai Yong. It is said that Cai Yan was a famous talented girl in the Eastern Han Dynasty. She was captured by the Huns. Cao Cao heard that she was talented and wanted to redeem her. And the unbreakable bond of flesh and blood. Unexpectedly, it was probably because the war in the Central Plains was tense, and Cao Cao might have forgotten about it for a while, but this song is now - spread in the north...

"Old man! How can you sing this song "Eighteen Beats of Hu Jia"?" Luo Chen asked.

"I don't know the name of this song. It's just that there is an old gentleman on the island who sings it every day and often weeps as he sings. When we fishermen listened to it, the song was mournful, and every time I listened to it, I burst into tears. .If you listen to it for a long time, you will sing."

Luochen felt a shudder in his heart, he was almost certain that the "old gentleman" the fisherman referred to was Cai Yong. Cai Yan is Cai Yong's daughter. Now she is being held captive by the Xiongnu, and she cannot return home because of her homesickness. Only this sad song is circulated. How can the old gentleman not care about her! How not to be sad!

The ship soon docked at the edge of the island. Luochen thanked the fisherman and walked into the island by himself.

The island is very small, with only a winding road leading to it. You can vaguely see a few low-rise houses and curling smoke. The surrounding is covered with vegetation. A small river slowly flows through the island and then joins the Yellow River. .

When Luochen walked inside, there seemed to be music. The further in, the louder the music. Luochen listened carefully, yes, it is the tune of "Hujia Eighteen Beats" again:

"It doesn't mean that I will be reborn, but I have to turn back. I hug Hu'er and weep tears on my clothes. The Han envoy greets me, the four peony, and the mournful cry is lost. Who knows, and my life and death are at this time. Worry for a child Without brilliance, how can I get the wings to bring you back. One step at a time, the foot is hard to move, the soul is lost, the love is left behind. There are three beats, the strings are urgently adjusted to sadness, the liver and intestines are pricked, and no one knows..."

Luochen walked slowly to the outside of a small courtyard, and the sound came from inside. Luochen stepped forward and knocked on the wood door slowly, "Dah, dah, dah", the sound came to an abrupt end.

The door opened with a creak, and a boy stuck his head out, looking up and down at Luochen and Yanqing. "Who is it?" An old and familiar voice sounded.

Luochen's heart skipped a beat, he couldn't help pushing the door open and said, "Mr. Cai Yong, it's me! Wansheng Luochen, came to see you..."

Luochen walked into the yard and saw Cai Yong playing the piano with his back to the door. His hair was all white, and his back was slightly hunched. When Cai Yong heard this, he trembled slightly and turned around slowly, surprised. Luochen saw that his face was already wrinkled.

"Laochen Luochen, meet Mr. Cai Yong." Luochen gave a deep salute. But Cai Yong had already bowed down: "Cai Yong, the old man in the countryside, meet the Prime Minister Luo Chen." Luo Chen hurriedly helped him up. "Sir, these years, you..."

Seeing Luochen, Cai Yong couldn't help but understand eight points: "I'm already old, and it's natural to look old. Recently, my body has indeed been getting worse day by day... But it's the Prime Minister. Over the past few years, I have Seeing that he has completely gotten rid of his immaturity, his heroic spirit is compelling, and he has shown a sense of calm and maturity, the old man is really happy!"

·0 Flowers

Luo Chen couldn't help feeling a little sad, and personally helped Cai Yong into the house.

Luochen has a lot to ask. As far as himself, what new research progress does Cai Yong have on his supernatural abilities? Just now Cai Yong's daughter, obviously Cai Yong's rapid aging has something to do with him missing her daughter... But Luochen doesn't Know how to speak. I had to say something irrelevant: "I heard that Mr. Cai Yong's history of the Han Dynasty has been compiled into the second emperor Huanling, and it may involve me next, hahaha..." Then Cai Yong also smiled and shook his head: "No more. I won’t make it up anymore. I’m old and frail, and I can’t make it up anymore. Today’s history, let future generations comment on it…”

Cai Yong then sighed and said: "In the Central Plains dispute, Prime Minister Luo and Cao Cao are the most powerful two. However, due to the dispute, the issue of foreign barbarians on the border of our country has not been taken care of, and only the Qiang people, Xiongnu, etc. can be taken care of. It's nonsense..."

..........0

Seeing that he took the initiative to mention this, Luochen did not hide it: "I heard that Mr.'s daughter is still in the Xiongnu, and what Mr. played just now seems to be the "Eighteen Shots of Hu Jia"." Cai Yong looked sad and nodded silently. . Luochen felt a little ashamed, he was now one of the most powerful separatist forces in the Central Plains, and his northern part was facing the territory of the Huns and Qiang people. In recent years, due to the wars against Cao Cao, Yizhou and other places, he has no time to take care of the Xiongnu people in the north, and the Qiang people are in chaos. He just sent Ma Teng to defend the stone city, and did not lead the army to pacify. With the Xiongnu, it is a policy of tolerance... No matter what. , It seems that he did not guard the country. Luo Chen stood up, clasped his fists and said, "Sir, it's me, Luo Chen, who is not good at defending the country... Rest assured, Wan Sheng will definitely welcome Cai Yan back. I will immediately deploy an assault on the Xiongnu."

That Cai Yong was quite moved and thanked him repeatedly: "That said, the old man knows that the competition in the Central Plains is fierce, and the old man still doesn't want to disturb the prime minister's layout in the Central Plains..."

But Luochen still interrupted him firmly: "This time, I have to fight the Xiongnu. From a long-term perspective, it should be the same. If I don't fight the Xiongnu, when my main force goes south, the Xiongnu is a major threat to Chang'an, and the Western Jin Dynasty even That's why the country perished."

Chapter 45 Yin and Yang

But he said that Luochen decided to launch an assault on the Xiongnu, and discussed some details with Cai Yong. Luochen thought about it, and about himself, let's just say it directly.

Luo Chenli said: "Do you have any new understanding of my supernatural powers? Is it stable? Are there any side effects to the master? For those who have taken blood, apart from loyalty, are there any other side effects? "Then Cai Yong pondered for a long time, got up and went to the secret room, and took out two books for a long time. Luochen looked at it and saw that it was a seal script. It was obviously a pre-Qin book, and it might even be from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. The title of the book seemed to be "Yin and Yang".

"When I came here, in addition to the beautiful scenery, relatively quiet, and undisturbed, there is also a legend that the second volume of this book is near Longzhou. The "007" army chased and killed in order to obtain this book. It was at the critical moment when the Yellow River suddenly set off a huge wave, and Qin Bing did not dare to approach. The descendant risked his life and rushed into the center of the Yellow River in a boat. His body, but after the First Emperor searched the surrounding area repeatedly, the biography has disappeared."

Luochen was quite interested: "Did the Chuanshu also fall into the Yellow River and be washed away?"

"No, just put it where it should be." Cai Yong shook the old book in front of him. "The first volume of the book has clearly stated that the so-called Taisoft is water, Wuji Taiji, comprehensively, it should be in Longzhou. This place overlooks the imperial city and is in the vast Yellow River, also known as Longzhou, this continent has an extraordinary origin. what……"