Because the population of Luoyang has increased several times, the night curfew has become increasingly strict.
Ordinary families are almost not allowed to travel casually, and even after seven or eight o'clock in the evening, no one from outside the city is allowed to enter the city.
Of course, this measure is only aimed at those people who have no power and power.
When Xie Xin and Lou Gui entered the city, the soldiers indeed made it clear that it was already late and they could not enter the city.
But after the thank you letter handed him the invitation, stating that it was Cao Cao's invitation, the attitude of the soldiers immediately changed 180 degrees.
At this time, Cao Teng was still in his position, and his power was far greater than that of rising stars such as Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong. In the palace, he also had a certain say in matters and even influenced Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. However, he did not fight for power, so he seemed to be less powerful among the many eunuchs.
A bit low-key.
Cao Cao is the grandson of Cao Teng. Anyone who has been around Luoyang for a long time will know it to some extent. Fortunately, the captain of the soldiers at the city gate is an insider, so naturally he does not dare to underestimate the letter of thanks for being invited to the banquet by Cao Cao.
So, after some hypocritical review, Xie Xin was let in.
"Power is really fascinating..." Xie Xin entered the city, thinking about the expressions of the soldiers, and couldn't help but sigh.
"It's not too late to become an official!" Lou Gui smiled.
"Forget it, I don't want to die too soon!" Xie Xin glared at him.
The two chatted and arrived at Zuixian Tower in a blink of an eye.
In terms of specifications, this place is much worse than Chunmanlou. However, for Luoyang now, with Cao Cao's ability, it is not easy to find such a restaurant to hold a banquet.
After going upstairs, under the guidance of the waiter, the two came to Yingzhou Pavilion.
At this moment, Cao Cao is already waiting here, and beside him, there are four young people.
"Brother Xie, you are here!" Seeing Xie Xin come in, Cao Cao immediately stood up to greet him.
Now, not only has he grown to more than 1.7 meters, but his skin is also very fair. If he was a combination of Japanese and Southeast Asian indigenous people before, he is now a standard butter boy.
Only his swollen muscles and the faintly chilling temperament he exuded could still let people know that the person in front of him was a general who had killed people before.
"Brother Cao is treating me to a treat, how can I not come?!" Xie Xin cupped his hands and said with a smile.
"Haha, thank you, brother, no need to be polite, please take a seat!" Cao Cao smiled and took his seat with a letter of thanks.
Afterwards, he exchanged a few polite words with Lou Gui and arranged for him to sit down.
"Let me introduce you to Brother Xie!" Cao Cao sat down and immediately pointed to the four young people on both sides, "The two on my left are two cousins of a certain person, named Xiahou Dun and Xia Houyuan; and the two on my right are
They are my two clan brothers, named Cao Ren and Cao Hong."
Without waiting for them to say anything, he continued: "This is Master Xie Shu. He is a genius in education. After creating the 'Enlightenment Trilogy', he also invented Xie's numbers and abacus, which have benefited China for thousands of years."
For eternity."
"Long time admired!" Upon hearing this, the four people immediately stood up and saluted.
"I don't dare take it seriously. It's just a piece of work done in my spare time and won't be on the stage." Xie Xin smiled.
"Haha, Mr. Xie, there is no need to be modest. With your achievements, it is natural for you to be listed in the annals of history. If you continue to be modest, it will appear hypocritical." Xiahou Dun said.
Everyone was also polite, and after the food and wine were served, the topic started.
"Brother Xie, are you coming to Luoyang this time for the competition?!" Cao Cao asked seriously after drinking a glass of wine.
"I didn't want to come, but I can't disobey my teacher's orders!" Xie Xin smiled bitterly.
"Have you ever thought about getting some allies in this competition?!" Cao Cao asked in a low voice.
"Allies? Since it's a life-and-death competition, where do allies come from?!" Xie Xin was a little confused.
"Oh, so brother, you don't know yet?!" Cao Cao suddenly realized.
Afterwards, he immediately explained to Xie Xin: "This competition is actually not just for the children of the family to stand out. While showing the children of the family, there are also many people who will unite together. During the competition, destroy
some people's future.
After all, His Majesty's creation of the competition this time was naturally driven by personal preferences. But if there was no need to establish it, how could he spend a lot of money to establish this competition?!
To put it simply, on the one hand, he wants to get acquainted with the big families through competitions, and then recruit a group of talents that are attractive to him; secondly, and most importantly, he hopes that our families will fight for each other.
The superiors secretly used ruthless tactics to destroy the future of some of their children.
In this way, we and other aristocratic families will naturally not be able to stick together, and His Majesty can take the opportunity to divide, win over and suppress, and gradually control the power in his hands.
In this competition, everyone not only wants to rise to the top, but is also worried about being ruined by other aristocratic families who are direct heirs. Therefore, the best way is to stick together with each other and form small interest groups.
In this way, while uniting to compete for the gold medal, we can also prevent others from ruthlessly attacking others while also attacking others secretly. This is to kill three birds with one stone."
When Xie Xin heard the letter, he couldn't help but secretly thought: There are so many ways to do this in a competition?!
"Then if we form an alliance and win together, how will we resolve this ranking issue?!" Lou Gui asked from the sidelines.
"This is simple!" Cao Cao smiled, "The so-called alliance is mainly formed by a powerful family with a relatively high political status, and then convening several other small families.
This happens because if several big families form an alliance, not only will it be difficult to distribute the spoils after victory, but His Majesty, who organized this competition, is probably not willing to see this happen."
After a pause, seeing that Xie Xin and Lou Gui had no intention of resisting, he continued: "The larger aristocratic families will take the lead, and then the smaller aristocratic families will form an alliance. The first goal is naturally to win the top three places in the competition.
Those who initiate the alliance will get first place first, and the two slightly worse families will get second and third place. As for those who do not get the first place, when the children of the first three families get promotions, our three families will take the lead.
Politically, he helped other aristocratic families.
And from now on, we will become a strong offensive and defensive alliance politically, supporting each other and helping each other, so that our career will be easier in the future."
"Then our alliance is led by the Cao family?!" Lou Gui interjected after hearing this.
When Cao Cao heard this, he felt a little embarrassed.
"No, our group is led by the Lu family of Zhuo County, including the Huangfu family of Anding, the Zhu family of Kuaiji, and the Cao family of Qiao County. It's just that I sent someone to contact the Li family before, but the commander has not given a reply.
, so..." When Cao Ren saw this, he couldn't help but intervene.
"Brother Cao, you want me to persuade the teacher to join?!" Xie Xin quickly understood.
"I'm ashamed, little brother, that's exactly what happened..." Cao Cao replied sheepishly.
Xie Xin finally understood that Cao Cao was acting as the agent of the Lu family this time, and came to contact him, a person who could speak in front of Li Ying, and try to draw him into his alliance.
"Brother, I'm just the teacher's disciple. I'm just here to help. As for the final decision, the teacher has to make the decision. At most, I can only give the teacher a suggestion." Xie Xin thought for a while and replied lightly.
.
"If I take action, the alliance will definitely not be a problem!" Upon hearing this, Cao Cao immediately laughed.
At this time, Xie Yi suddenly rushed into the hall.
"Brother! Something happened!" He suddenly came to Xie Xin and shouted to him.
"What's wrong?!" Xie Xin stood up immediately after hearing this.
"The thing is..." Xie Yi looked at Cao Cao and others, and immediately whispered in Xie Xin's ear.
"How is she?!" Xie Xin asked nervously after hearing this.
"After taking the Rejuvenation Pill, my life will be fine, but I'm afraid that once I wake up, I will still be alive or dead. What's more important is that the enemy is in the dark and we are clear, so I need you to be in charge, brother!" Xie Yi said nervously.
"In that case, I will go back immediately!" Xie Xin nodded.
Immediately, he raised his hands and said to Cao Cao: "Brother Cao, I have important matters to deal with, so I have to take the first step! As for the alliance, I will discuss it with the teacher!"
"Brother has something important, so of course I won't stop him. I just don't know what happened? If my help is needed, I will definitely help you with all my strength!" Upon hearing this, Cao Cao immediately patted his chest and said.
"This is my private matter, and I'm afraid I may not be able to handle it. If I need my help in the future, I will never be polite." Although Xie Xin was anxious, he still answered politely.
The two of them exchanged a few casual words, thanked the letter and left.
There were bursts of fire in the distance, and it was obvious that a house in Luoyang City was flooded. And Xie Xin was not unfamiliar with that direction, as it was where the uncle's residence was.
In one night, more than 20 members of the whole family were killed. Even Wang Rong would have been killed if Xie Yi hadn't been watching! Who?! Who was so cruel that he wanted to kill the entire Wang Zhang family?
!
Xie Xin quickly used the method of shrinking the ground and returned to the camp in a blink of an eye.
In the camp, Wang Rong lay quietly on the bed, and the clothes on his abdomen were stained red with blood at this moment.
If it weren't for her chest rising and falling and her breathing being very steady, Xie Xin would have thought she had died.
"This silly girl!" Xie Xin muttered lightly.
Just before the meeting, Xie Yi said to him: "My sister-in-law and I have been following her tonight, and I personally saw her using your name to follow you into the city.
Later, she sneaked into her uncle's house. But within a quarter of an hour after the father and daughter met, dozens of men in black broke into the house and killed everyone they saw.
At that time, Wang Rong was struck by a sword in her abdomen. According to the situation at that time, she was bound to die. Fortunately, I was nearby, so I not only brought her out, but also used the Rejuvenation Pill to save her life."