History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 457 The Hexagram of Wei Yin, the Hexagram of Xiao Yan

After the conversation between the emperor and his ministers, Emperor Yuan Ke took to his bed to recuperate, and court meetings were suspended. The Minister of Works Yuan Cheng, Minister of Education Yuan Yu, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Wei Yao, and Attendant-in-Ordinary Yuan Yi handled state affairs in the Xibai Hall. No matter what urgent matters the officials had, all documents had to be delivered to the Xibai Hall.

A messenger rushed over and reported: "A document from Nanyang indicates that Liang troops have been discovered gathering in Xiyang and Wuchang."

Yuan Cheng immediately wrote a reply, one to Yuan Song, the governor of Jingzhou, inquiring about the whereabouts of General Li Chong's army, and another to General Li Hui in Nanyang, instructing him to defend.

Having just resolved one matter, the ministers saw Wei Yao summon a messenger guard and hand him several letters. After the messenger guard left, she explained the contents of the documents: "The letters are addressed to the six towns of Wuchuan. I believe that the children of the town generals and garrison commanders should be allowed to attend the Four Gates Elementary School, so that the border soldiers will no longer complain about the difficulty of advancing in officialdom. What do you all think of my proposal?"

Yuan Yi looked around, then returned her gaze to Wei Yao. The letters had already been sent out, and her questioning now was clearly aimed at establishing her authority through a few documents!
Although the emperor entrusted the four of them to manage state affairs, the one in charge must be her, Yu Yao!

Of the four, only the Prince of Qinghe was an honest man, completely unaware that Wei Yao, his fourth uncle, and the Prince of Rencheng had secretly formed an alliance. Sensing the tense atmosphere in the office, Yuan Yi quickly explained, "The matter proposed by the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat was presented to His Majesty earlier. His Majesty forwarded the document to my Secretariat for review. It was delayed until now because I went to Yangzhou to comfort the soldiers."

Yuan Cheng gave a soft "hmm".

Yuan Yu stretched and yawned, gesturing to his mouth twice, and said, "I'm tired from climbing the wall last night. You guys keep going, I'm going to take a nap in the back."

He had just gotten up when Xiangzhou sent him an urgent document.

Yuan Yu took the document, unfolded it, read it, and smiled: "It's nothing, just Wang Xian inquiring about His Majesty's well-being."

He then placed the letter under a book on the corner of his desk and left.

At this moment, Yuan Yi became suspicious and remained silent. He spoke little more and silently observed Wei Yao and Yuan Cheng.

The days passed amidst the busy work of the assistants, and then came the intercalary fourth month.

The third day of the Lunar New Year, at night.

Many people in Luoyang saw a shooting star fall from the sky, heading due south.

Whenever unusual phenomena appear in the stars, diviners will use their skills to perform divination, and Wei Yin was no exception.

"Heaven helps those who obey, and man helps those who are trustworthy. Tonight, Wei Yin will consult the spirits about... matters, inquiring about good or bad fortune, gains or losses..."

Chongxu Temple had a special divination room. Wei Yin burned incense and recited incantations according to the divination ritual, using the most difficult Dayan method to calculate the divination. As for what he was divining about, because he spoke in a low voice, Lu Tianshi, who was standing next to him, could not hear clearly.

Divination emphasizes astronomy, geography, and human nature, supplemented by a touch of mysterious divine secrets.

Heavenly secrets are only bestowed upon those with great talent, which is why diviners have the saying "grabbing heavenly secrets." Tonight, Wei Yin has grabbed more heavenly secrets, while other diviners can only rely on their mental strength to calculate, receiving less favor from the heavens.

After the divination was completed, Wei Yin came out of the yarrow stalk chamber, looked south, and told Master Lu: "The divination text reads: ... Stop fighting in the south, fight only in the north. Choose the south as the owl, choose the north as the goose. Regardless of north or south, there will be no blame in the army."

Master Lu was such a perceptive person that he understood the profound meaning of the hexagram without Wei Yin explaining the words "stop" and "only". He said, "Since there is no blame in the army, it is an auspicious hexagram."

The meaning of "Shi Zhong Wu Jiu" is that a commander in the army will be spared from disaster. This shows that Wei Yin just performed the divination for Zhao Zhi.

At the same time, Xiao Yan, who was still in Yingzhou, also cast a divination.

The divination text reads: "The southern road is blocked, the return is unclear, one may drift westward, or find life in the east. One's feet are stuck in the mud, one should be cautious and linger."

His trusted general, Wei Rui, was not skilled in divination, but he could understand the interpretation of the hexagrams. The hexagram that His Majesty divined was clearly an ominous and difficult-to-interpret one!
The divination means that, of all the lands, only by fleeing eastward can one find a chance of survival. The worst choice is to stay in Qixing County, as staying there is tantamount to sinking into the mud!

It would be difficult for anyone else to have the energy to cast another divination, but Xiao Yan could do so twice in a row. This time, Xiao Yan was very formal, bathing and burning incense, completing all the rituals before beginning the divination.

However, this time the result not only remained unchanged, but also left the ruler and his minister even more confused.

The divination text reads: "The southern road is blocked, the return is unclear, one may drift eastward, or find life in the west. One's feet are stuck in the mud, one should be cautious and linger."

The direction has changed from the last divination result; this time, the birth will be in the west!

Both Xiao Yan and Lu Rui were filled with shock and unease. Their hesitation wasn't about whether to lead their troops east or west to seek survival, but rather that fate had slapped Xiao Yan in the face for the first time.

His divination skills have stopped working.

"Screech—" Above the Qibo County camp, the five-colored crane spun and flipped, landing gracefully in front of Zhao Zhi's tent. Unfortunately, it twisted its claws after landing, causing the guards to burst into laughter.

Inside the tent, Zhao Zhi waited patiently with her staff and commanders.

The scout finally returned and reported: "General Li Chong is still thirty li away from our camp."

"Alright." Zhao Zhi responded softly, stood up, and with her movement, all the generals in the tent were fully equipped and ready to go.

The sound of horns rang out in the camp, torches were lit, and the neighing of warhorses rose and fell.

The horse that Prince Yuan Yu of Guangling had once owned had now found a new master and was impatiently pawing at the ground, calling for Zhao Zhi to come out of the tent.

"Clang, clang, clang..." Zhao Zhi mounted her horse in a few steps, the iron armor clanging and rattling with each step.

Soon, the army lined up outside the camp. The Five-Colored Crane excitedly flew into the air and looked down at the brave cavalrymen illuminated by torches. In its field of vision, another army was approaching.

The last group of scouts returned to their ranks: "Report—General Li Chong is less than twenty li from our camp. General Li is leading barbarian troops from Jingzhou!"

The dark horse seemed to understand human speech and began to gather its strength.

Zhao Zhi raised her arm, and a huge iron hook stretched out horizontally, its surface stained with blood and pits, a testament to countless lives lost.

"All troops, heed my command! Follow me as the vanguard to attack Qixing County! Kill Xiao Yan, seize the county, and kill Wei Rui!"

The soldiers were filled with fervor and shouted in unison, "Kill Xiao Yan!"

"Seize the territory!"

"Kill Wei Rui!"

With a thunderous roar, the earth trembled as the cavalrymen sped forward, dust obscuring the stars and moon as they charged towards Qixing County in Liang territory, enveloped in the flames of their formation.

Li Chong also frequently sent out scouts to scout the situation at Qibo's main camp. One scout returned, tumbling off his horse, his voice cracking: "General Zhao has led the main camp's troops in a night attack on Qixing County!"

Li Chong's eyes widened, and he asked urgently, "How long have they been away from the camp?"

Scout: "I've gathered information and will return immediately. By the way..."

Li Chong understood the situation. Without waiting for the scouts to finish speaking, he waved his hand and ordered, "Except for the grain transport team, everyone else, follow me and change course!"

Li Chong was very familiar with the terrain here. His cavalry had a shortcut that led directly to Qixing County. The sooner he arrived, the fewer losses Zhao Zhi's attacking army would suffer.

When faced with the interests of the nation and its people, personal gains and losses are insignificant.

Zhao Zhi's strategist, Diao Zheng, precisely because he understood Li Chongduan's righteous and patriotic mindset, decided to launch the great battle tonight.

"kill--"

"Xiao Yan is hiding in Qixing County. Capture Xiao Yan alive!"

"Charge! Charge!"

The two Wei armies, like moving, murderous beasts, burst out of the darkness from two directions.

Upon hearing the thunderous commotion, Liang Bing of Qixing County quickly assembled on and around the city walls according to Governor Wei's orders.

The war is about to start.

Of all the soldiers in Qixing County, only the East Gate had few. With a secret order, the gate was opened slightly, and Xiao Yan led his trusted troops away quietly.

He chose to live in the east, as warned in the first divination.