About Cao Cao's reincarnation as the emperor's uncle

Chapter 26 Qiao Xuan's Youngest Son Cannot Be Lost

Liu Fang brushed the fur collar of the fox fur coat, his eyes slightly raised.

Xu Feng immediately understood, reached out and pressed down on Zhang Ji's knife hilt, and led the three of them back ten paces away. He deliberately crushed the dry branches with the soles of his boots to hear all the sounds around him.

Feng Xu pondered for a moment:

"Zilie's move was unexpected. Although Luoyang was in chaos, it was still under control."

Liu Fang took off his fox fur coat and draped it over Feng Xu's shoulders.
Tell me the details.

A flicker of excitement flashed in Feng Xu's eyes, but his face remained as calm as still water.
"Zilie's methods are somewhat similar to mine, both of them are disguised as Hu people and the Yuan family..."

At this point, Feng Xu paused.

"A group of thieves secretly kidnapped dozens of children from powerful and wealthy families, including the youngest son of the Qiao family."

"Who...did they kidnap?"

Liu Fang suddenly interrupted, tapping his fingers on the tree trunk twice with a loud thud.

Feng Xu bowed even lower:
"The youngest son of Qiao Gong, the direct grandson of the Yuan family of Runan, and also... the Yang family of Hongnong, the Xun family of Yingchuan, the Yuan family of Nanyang..."

Although he mentioned a bunch of names, Feng Xu knew that the only one Liu Fang cared about most was the title "Youngest Son of Qiao Gong".

Suddenly, everything became quiet, so quiet that you could hear the dripping of water from the grass.

"Well done, Jian Shuo!"

A complex expression flashed across Liu Fang's face. "Where is Qiao Gong's youngest son now?"

Feng Xu leaned close and whispered a few words in his ear.

Before he finished speaking, Liu Fang had already mounted his horse with clean and swift movements.

"I'll go ahead first; I'll leave this place to Yuan Huo..."

He paused, then said, "Send Lord Yin to rest first."

Having said that, he flicked his whip, and the horse galloped away like an arrow released from a bow.

Feng Xu had just turned around and was about to speak to the group.

Suddenly a gust of wind swept by, and it felt like something had just passed by...

Looking up, one could see Xu Feng leaping onto the nearest rooftop and taking the fastest route to follow Liu Fang's figure.

Feng Xu withdrew his gaze, shook his head, and smiled...

Qiao Xuan's importance in the adults' hearts is truly extraordinary.

Fortunately, after learning of Jian Shuo's plan, he acted decisively and had already secretly devised a countermeasure.

……

As soon as Qiao Xuan stepped into the Henan Prefect's office, a gust of wind rose from his robe sleeves, which he flicked directly at the clerk on duty:
"Summon all department heads immediately; they must all be present within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

After speaking, he walked straight to the desk, dipped his wolf-hair brush heavily into the inkstone, and wrote a letter amidst the splashing ink.

Then, he summoned all his servants.

"Each of you take this letter and send it by fast horse to the Five Schools of the Northern Army and the Six Departments of Luoyang... order the generals to prepare their troops and await orders."

The servants obeyed and left, their boots clattering like drums.

Qiao Xuan tapped his fingers on the table, his gaze sweeping over the throng of people outside the window.

Those usually arrogant sons of powerful families were now crowding at the entrance of the government office.

Yuan Ji's blue satin robe was crumpled from being squeezed, but he still stood up straight and peered into the doorway.

Although he dared to be rude to Feng Fang, he still had to respectfully address Qiao Xuan first...

"Bridge Master".

Upon seeing Qiao Xuan appear, Yuan Ji hurriedly cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and the people behind him followed suit.

Qiao Xuan looked at these privileged second-generation rich kids who were usually so dapper and arrogant, and now their faces were filled with anxiety.

He sighed inwardly and raised his hand, saying:
"Please be patient, everyone. My son is also in danger."

Upon hearing this, the crowd exchanged glances, eventually stepping aside to whisper amongst themselves in small groups, but they couldn't help but frequently glance at the commotion inside the government office.

Before long, the sound of orderly boots came from under the corridor, and the chief officers of each department and the captains of each battalion arrived one after another.

Qiao Xuan stood on the steps, his gaze sweeping over the crowd:

"The chaos in Luoyang must be orchestrated by someone. We... must first restore order."

He raised his hand and pointed to the map, issuing instructions to everyone in front of him.

Before long, the sound of galloping hooves came again from outside the door, and a burly old general strode in.

Cries of "Lord Duan" rose and fell. Qiao Xuan turned around, without exchanging pleasantries, and gave an order. The soldiers who had been standing at attention outside the government office immediately moved into action.

The leaders were none other than Qiao Xuan and Duan Jiong.

"With such a large force mobilized by our ancestor, aren't you afraid of the bandits...?"

Before Duan Jiong could finish speaking, Qiao Xuan had already placed his hand on the hilt of his sword:

“This treacherous man is utterly despicable. How could Xuan allow a national traitor to escape the fate of a mere son?”
-
The use of appellations in the Han Dynasty exhibited clear directional and semantic differences:

① "Thief" refers to a lawbreaker who disrupts order (murder, treason, etc.).

②“寇” refers to a group threat of armed invasion (emphasizing external factors).

③ "Theft" refers to a person who obtains property by illegal means (robber, thief).

④ "奸" refers to a treacherous, cunning, and harmful person (conspiracy, fraud).

⑤ "宄 (guǐ)" specifically refers to "internal troublemakers".

⑥ There are also fierce, violent, tyrannical, heroic, cunning, captive, barbarian... as the names suggest.
-
Horse hooves shattered the thin ice as Liu Fang sped along, his sideburns stinging from the wind.

Scenes from his past life, five years in the future, flashed through his mind...

That was the robbery in the second year of Guanghe. The cries of the young child mixed with the shouts of the thieves, and in the end, they all turned into a pool of blood.

Although the laws and regulations of the Han Dynasty were relaxed after Emperor An, hostage-taking incidents occurred frequently in Luoyang, and even powerful families were not spared.

This is the first time anyone has dared to kidnap the Grand Commandant's son.

There were also three thieves, but they kidnapped Qiao Xuan's young son and took him upstairs in the mansion.

At that time, Yang Qiu, the Commandant of the Capital Region, the Governor of Henan, and the Magistrate of Luoyang led their officials and soldiers to surround Qiaofu, but they did not dare to launch a strong attack because they were concerned about the safety of the hostages.

Qiao Xuan angrily rebuked the officials for their cowardice and urged them to launch an attack. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the bandits either killed their young sons or committed suicide or were killed by the enemy.

Afterwards, Qiao Xuan went to the palace to plead guilty and requested the court to enact legislation to strictly prohibit the kidnapping of hostages for ransom.

Liu Hong adopted his suggestion and issued a decree that "all hostage robbers shall be killed and shall not be allowed to pay ransom," after which hostage robbery cases in Luoyang disappeared.

This is one of the most famous things in Qiao Xuan's life.

Outsiders only knew that Qiao Gong was impartial and incorruptible, but they didn't know what Qiao Xuan looked like holding his young son's body afterward...

They were completely unaware of the sound of the inkstone breaking that came from the study that night.

The rumor is that the thieves were extorting money, and Qiao Xuan stood up for justice and established his authority.

Although Qiao Xuan didn't explain it to him very clearly at the time, one can guess a thing or two from how things unfolded later.

Also in the second year of Guanghe, not long after this incident, Yang Qiu, with the help of many forces, imprisoned Wang Fu, the Grand Attendant, and others.

Yang Qiu personally interrogated them, subjecting them to extreme torture, and both Wang Fu and his son died from the beatings.

In his previous life, Duan Jiong was also caught up in this matter and chose to commit suicide.

If nothing unexpected happens, the hostage situation was a scheme to win over Qiao Xuan as an ally and to completely eliminate Wang Fu's faction.

Liu Fang suddenly lashed out at empty air with his whip, startling his mount into neighing loudly.

"If Jian Shuo was secretly plotting this in the previous life as well, then it makes sense to bring down Wang Fu and Duan Jiong..."

But now, this robbery has occurred five years earlier than planned.

The eldest son died young, and if the youngest son suffers another calamity...

Even though Qiao Xuan could appear calm and righteous on the surface.

But no matter which father it is, losing the pride of his prime and the treasures of his old age would be unbearable.

This old man just likes to grit his teeth and swallow his anger...

After Qiao Xuan enacted the law in his previous life, there were no more hostage-taking cases in Luoyang. However, every time he returned to Qiao's residence, he would stare at the pavilion where the incident took place in a daze.

We must not allow those orders stained with the blood of flesh and blood to be passed from Qiao Xuan's hands again.

"drive!"

He shook the reins and cracked the whip, his four hooves kicking up snowflakes.

The wind rushed into his collar, making his jaw clench, but it also made his thoughts clearer.

Although he hadn't fully grasped Jian Shuo's plan, he could still get a sense of its scale.

Based on his understanding of Jian Shuo, one of the reasons must be that Jian Shuo wanted to secure Qiao Xuan's assistance for him.

So the children from the Yuan and Yang families who were kidnapped may be unharmed, but Qiao Xuan's young son...

(End of this chapter)