At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

"I heard that Sima Yi's younger brother, Sima Fu, was called by your boss Mao Jiebi to be a subordinate official, and later recommended Sima Fu to be the magistrate of Guzang County. Now, Sima Fu is already the governor of Wuwei County with two thousand shi. Compared with you, It’s just a difference in qualifications.”

Guo Peng looked at Zhuge Liang with some amusement: "Sima Yi was born in Hanoi, and he was my old official when he became an official. His family is related to the Cao family, but he has never heard of any intersection with Mao Jie, who was born in Chenliu County.

Kong Ming, have you ever thought that you and Sima Yi were the magistrate of the same county at that time, and there was no difference. Sima Yi did not make any conspicuous contributions, so how could he be appreciated by Mao Jie? Why did Mao Jie appoint Sima? If the family members are his subordinates, why should they recommend him? "

Zhuge Liang was silent for a moment.

"The overlord, Zhong Da, he came from an ordinary family, and there are six younger brothers in his family. The elder brother Sima Lang lost hope in his official career due to some incidents in his early years, and the whole family is counting on him alone.

If he can't get ahead, his family and his six younger brothers will have nothing to look forward to. The pressure on him is really great, so he must do something for the sake of the family. "

"is it?"

Guo Peng nodded and said: "As far as I know, the relationship between Sima Yi and Mao Jie was quickly drawn closer because of something, and that thing has an inseparable relationship with you. Want to know?"

Zhuge Liang looked at Guo Peng, as if hesitating.

After a while, Zhuge Liang shook his head.

"The Supreme Emperor, in the officialdom, is like being in a whirlpool. There are too many unavoidable things. I think that when looking at an official, you should see whether he has done things that benefit the country and the people. As long as he does things that benefit the country and the people It doesn't really matter how he thinks about things."

Is this the so-called disregarding one's heart in everything?

Guo Peng suddenly remembered this sentence.

This is not necessarily unreasonable.

The world is impermanent and people's hearts are unpredictable. How to judge a person depends on what he has done and whether what he has done has brought benefits to the public objectively. If so, then don't pursue what he thinks in his heart .

As long as what he does is really beneficial to the country and the people, can really bring some benefits to people, and help some people in need, that's enough.

It seems unnecessary to pursue his thoughts and his motives for doing good deeds. It is necessary to study him thoroughly and find selfishness from his motives to prove that this is an ordinary layman and not some superior person. .

In terms of mind, no one is perfect.

In terms of heart, does Zhuge Liang himself really have no selfishness?

Did he not consider his own needs at all in everything he did?

Is he really so sage?

I'm afraid it's not necessarily true.

Guo Peng understood.

Perhaps it is because of this that Zhuge Liang abandoned the powerful Cao Cao and Sun Quan who firmly occupied Jiangdong, and followed Liu Bei who was like a bereaved dog at the time.

What kind of judgment does a smart person in his 20s without any qualifications go through to choose a precarious person as an object of service?

Isn't he afraid that Cao Wei's army will go south and crush him to pieces easily?

Apart from the fact that this person is famous all over the world, is there any other reason?

Guo Peng didn't quite understand it in the past, but now he thinks it may be because Zhuge Liang thinks that Liu Bei is also a person who doesn't care about his deeds, and he is very similar to him.

As far as he is concerned, he did not choose the wrong person. That person gave him the greatest degree of trust and power, allowing him to maximize his abilities, and his reputation has been passed down through the ages.

But Kong Ming, people are different.

The more you talk about your deeds and ignore your heart, the less you can have the slightest trust and dependence on human nature. If you completely ignore your deeds and your mind, you are completely stripping away your human nature, treating yourself as a person who is beyond the world, and looking down on everything in the world.

Can you really do it?

Is your ambition to completely disregard deeds and minds?

Can you really separate what people do from themselves, and look at the world from a completely objective perspective?

Anyway, I can't do it, Kong Ming.

Guo Peng stared deeply at Zhuge Liang, and at this moment, he saw Zhuge Liang's future and end.

"Kong Ming, I have been watching you and Sima Zhongda all these years. The two of you have never left my sight, so I know you and him far better than you think."

Guo Peng stretched out his hand to let Zhuge Liang approach him, leaned against him, and said in a low voice: "It is enough for ordinary people to do what you say, their own structure is limited, but the superiors are not.

When a superior person looks at a person, he should not only look at what he has done, but also know why he did it. If he does something that benefits the country and the people, it may be just to pave the way for another terrible thing. "

Zhuge Liang's eyes moved, but he remained silent.

Guo Peng laughed out loud and said nothing more.

After resting that night, Guo Peng said goodbye to Zhuge Liang early the next morning, agreed to meet again in Luoyang, and then took his family on the journey again.

Zhuge Liang is a smart man, he must know what he should know, so there is no need to say more.

Guo Peng followed the mountain north, walked through many cities built by Zhuge Liang, and headed all the way to Zhenxi Duhufu, the westernmost town of the empire.

Over there, Cao Ang was waiting for him.

Chapter 1539 One thousand four hundred and fifty nine Guo family grandparents are not serious people

During this journey, Guo Chengzhi was always very happy.

Even if he has to do homework and accept tests while walking on the road, he is still very happy, as if this vast land is full of things that can make him happy.

A caravan, a camel, a fox, a bug, as long as he can see it, he will happily talk to Guo Peng for a long time.

The land of the Western Regions, infinite scenery, infinite beauty.

As long as you can eat enough, wear warm clothes, and have enough money to spend, you don't have to worry about being hungry, and you can always see any beautiful scenery on this vast land without any omissions.

But in this era, there are probably very few people who have the leisure to appreciate the beauty of the boundless.

Even merchants all over the Western Regions hate this vast land extremely.

They feel that the road is too far away and too dangerous. Every time they go out to do business, they feel like dancing in front of the gate of hell. If they are not careful, they will jump into the gate of hell.

Even if you are lucky, you can't avoid repeated horizontal jumps. Not everyone likes the thrilling feeling.

Guo Peng often puts on the clothes that the traveling merchants like to wear, pretends to be a traveling merchant, and chats with the passing Wei State and foreign merchants.

Anyway, the farther you go to the west, the less there are places where humans live, and the less you see cities. Apart from post stations, you rarely see other official institutions. Merchants often set up tents on the side of the road and dare not leave the road. The edge is too far.

This created a good opportunity for Guo Peng to chat with merchants.

At this time, he would take Guo Chengzhi to talk with these well-informed businessmen and ask them about their own interests.

For example, what are their views on all this and what are their pursuits.

"Speaking of these days, it is natural that life is much more comfortable than before. In the past, those of us traveling businessmen had to write a suicide note in advance and hand it to the clan elders every time we went out.

If you can’t come back, publish the suicide note, if you can, burn it, and write it next time when you go out, it’s much better now, at least you don’t need to write the suicide note in advance when you go to Wei’s domestic business route. "

A bearded businessman said with a smile: "In the past, traveling across the country to do business was risking your life. If you don't have 80 or [-] people to set off together, how dare you go? Just meeting a few bandits can kill you!"

There are a lot of bandits in some places, and they have very good weapons, and even horseback riders. They don't feel afraid when facing a team of 80 people. They will fight with you when they come up. At least you don't have to put your head on your belt business. "

"So dangerous?"

Guo Chengzhi asked curiously.

"Young people haven't experienced the troubled times decades ago."

The bearded businessman showed a bit of vicissitudes of expression: "At the beginning, when I was as young as you, I traveled with my father, how many risks did I encounter, not to mention ordinary bandits, we were also armed, Good luck getting through.

But if you encounter groups of Huns and Karasumas riding horses in groups, it will be over. They have many horses and many people, and they are overwhelming. They will kill people when they see them with a knife. They are fast and fierce. I can't dodge it in time, my head will be gone if I don't pay attention.

When the knife was cut, the person's head fell off, the head fell off, the body was still standing, and then blood spurted out with a splash. That scene... It's been more than 30 years, and I can't forget it at all. Now I think about it. Thinking, still trembling all over. "

The bearded merchant's hands trembled a little, but he still tried his best to lift the gourd-shaped jug and pour wine into his belly.

Then he sighed heavily, his eyes full of fear and memories.

"I remember the most dangerous time. I don't remember which year it was, but I remember that year the world was in chaos. The whole of Hebei was in chaos. My father and I went out on a business trip. We had bad luck. We were arrested by the Huns together, and we were arrested by the Huns together." Many more people were arrested.

I was caught by the Huns, and those who were unlucky were killed on the spot. Those who were lucky enough to survive had to be taken to the territory of the Huns as cattle and horses. It was very difficult to survive. Anyway, my father and I felt that It's over. "

Having said that, the bearded man suddenly became energetic.

"If you say it's smoke from our ancestral graves, we were all in despair. My father and I wept and cried, waiting to die. Suddenly, an army came and made the ghosts who were killed by the Huns cry and howled. People ran away.

At that time, we felt that we had just left the wolf's den and entered the tiger's mouth. Who would have thought that the generals of the army would point us in the direction to escape, and then gave us some food to eat. With that little food, my father and I Insist on going home.

That time I really escaped from death. I still remember clearly how many years ago, when the army was in chaos, to meet such officers and generals, let us go, and give us food, it was really smoke from the ancestral grave , good luck.

It's much better now, there are official roads built by the government, so there is no need to worry about dangers on the official roads, and no one is allowed to hold weapons in the whole Wei country, and of course there is no need to worry about getting hurt, being hacked to death or something, and business transactions are much safer. There is no need to hire many people to follow and protect us. "

After the bearded man finished speaking, it took him a while to reminisce before he noticed that there were other people beside him.

"I'm sorry, what am I thinking on my own... Hahaha, come, come, it's fate to meet you. My wine is brought from Guishuang Kingdom. It is particularly fragrant and mellow. The wines of our country of Wei are very different, let's try them together?"

Guo Peng looked at the wine gourd he stretched out, smiled and nodded.

"Okay, let's have a bowl."

Guo Peng tasted the fine Guishuang wine with a smile and gave some compliments.

Guo Chengzhi was very interested in a certain detail that Big Beard said.

"Just now you said that the official army killed the Huns and rescued you. How can you think that this is just coming out of the wolf's den and entering the tiger's mouth? It's not a good thing that your family was rescued by your own official army? You can survive. ?”

The bearded man chuckled and looked at Guo Peng.

"Who is this young man?"

"My eldest grandson is 15 years old."

"No wonder, this happened more than 30 years ago. At that time, when Emperor Liu of the Han family was in charge, the world was in chaos."

The bearded man shook his head: "Xiao Lang, don't think that the army at that time was the same as the army now. The army at that time was just a bunch of thieves in uniform. Where are people so good.

Bandits want your life, you will be killed if you are captured by the Huns, and you will be killed if you fall into the hands of the officers and soldiers. They murder, set fire and rob, destroy their families at every turn, kidnap and extort them. There are also many people who can't escape, and they all suffered from military disasters. "

Guo Chengzhi knew the term military disaster, and it was written in school textbooks.

It is said that the military discipline of the former army was lax, and it did not look like an army. It was not good at fighting, but it was a good hand at doing evil.

They do all kinds of evil, and they don't leave chickens or dogs in the places where they cross the border. The people call it "war disaster", which can be compared with drought, flood and locust disaster.

It can be seen that the people fear and hate the military disaster.

So much so that the officials who passed by the army in the counties and counties were afraid of them, put their supplies outside the city, closed the city gates, and arranged a lot of city guards, militiamen, and strong men on the city, armed with weapons as a deterrent, so that the soldiers would not dare to fight. Rushed into the city.

The officials are also afraid, afraid that they will mess around, enter the city to loot, destroy facilities, and when the army flees, leaving a mess for the officials to deal with. Don't the officials want to cry but have no tears?

The enemy wants to defend, and our own people also want to defend, and they don't know what they are defending.

"In those days, when one prince brought chaos all over the world, this army and that army fought fiercely. In the end, it doesn't matter whether they suffered or not, but we people have suffered.

Houses were destroyed, fields were destroyed, family members were killed and arrested, and a large army crossed the border, just like locusts came, eating up all the crops, not only eating, but also looting, and looting what they saw. "

The bearded man couldn't bear to look back: "The gold and silver at home are soft, household utensils, and women. If you like it, you will grab it. My father was hit by a military disaster. Earlier in Jizhou, he was beaten to death by the rebels. "

After finishing speaking, the bearded man took several sips of mulled wine.

Guo Chengzhi lowered his head and remained silent.

He only heard about the lax military discipline of the former Han army and knew about the existence of military disasters, but he had never seen or experienced it with his own eyes. Now that a person who experienced it told him in front of him, he was somewhat touched.

That night, Guo Peng chatted a lot with the bearded businessman.

He talked about the geography and humanities of the world, as well as the toll booths and cities along the way, some things that he remembered vividly, and some violations of law and discipline that he hated unceasingly.

Early the next morning, the two teams heading towards each other bid farewell.

The bearded man went to Yumenguan, and he was going home. He had been doing business outside for more than a year, earning a lot of money, and it was time to go home and recuperate for a while.

Guo Peng bid farewell to him, and he himself embarked on the road to continue westward.

On the way, Guo Chengzhi kept lamenting the wonderful experience of this bearded businessman, lamenting that even an ordinary person can accumulate such a rich life experience after traveling all over the world for decades.

These are things that he could not learn in Luoyang.

"It's not easy to understand on paper, and I never know that this matter has to be practiced. Chengzhi has truly understood the words that the elder father mentioned for the Imperial Academy."

Guo Chengzhi told Guo Peng his feelings, and then told Guo Jin on the letter paper.

He walked and wrote all the way, writing this feeling to Guo Jin in a form similar to a diary, letting his father know what he was doing.

Although it is said that decent people don't keep diaries, none of the grandparents of the Guo family are decent people, and they are destined not to be decent people, so it won't be strange to write something.

Just like someone Guo is also writing all the way, but what he writes is not a diary, what he writes is more like an investigation report.