[Three Kingdoms] Carnival

After Zhongshuang, it is the season of autumn, the warm sun is no longer there, and the cold wind suddenly rises.The red leaves of the past were all dyed, and the wild flowers were all over the place. Overnight, they all turned into dead branches and leaves, which fell in the new tombs on the outskirts of Yecheng due to the drizzle, rustling with the wind.He looked up and looked around, his eyes were full of desolation.

After Wang Can's body was burned, it was sealed into the coffin together with his clothes.On the day of his burial, Xu Tiangong also mourned for him, and it began to rain since the hour of Chen.Cao Pi and a group of friends personally went to the suburbs to attend the funeral for Wang Can.He didn't want to open an umbrella at first, so that he could cry happily with God without having to gossip.But Sima Yi's words successfully dissuaded him.Now that the epidemic in Yecheng is intensifying, and Cao Cao has not yet returned, it is the time when people's hearts are unstable and all affairs are waiting to be taken care of. If Cao Pi falls ill again, the situation will only get worse.

Yes, Zhong Da is always much calmer than him.Even if this plague also took the life of his elder brother Sima Lang, Zhong Da was still able to analyze the pros and cons for himself in an orderly manner, even though he didn't see how mournful Zhong Da was.The joys and sorrows of human feelings, the joys and sorrows of the world, are just a part of his planning and calculations that need to be considered in his ups and downs.

He felt lucky to have such a conscientious counselor, really.

When the coffin fell into the pit, it let out a dull growl.The shovel scooped up the rain-soaked soil and dumped it on the coffin.They slid down the side walls, leaving only brown and black marks.At the funeral, the crying could not be stopped, either weeping in a low voice, or howling loudly, and those women in sackcloth and filial piety cried so heartbroken that they almost fainted.They dispersed in the air, intertwined with the fine cold rain to form an airtight net, tightly covering Cao Pi's face.He was about to suffocate, but the wet and sticky chill had already spread all over his body along his hands and feet, freezing his mourning that was no less than anyone else's.

Then, everyone saw that the son stood sternly and silently beside the tomb, neither sad nor happy.Just like people never heard, the heart-piercing cry of the drowning person.

The coffin has been completely buried, leaving only a small mound half a person's height, showing traces of his past existence.After finishing the process according to the etiquette, the guards around him stepped forward to remind Cao Pi that it was time to return to Yecheng.

As a venerable, attending the funeral in person is enough to save face.

Not enough, not at all.

In the bitter wind and rain, a high-pitched roar suddenly sounded.The drowning man exerted his last strength to send his voice out of the water.As a result, those suppressed, intense, painful, desperate, and mourning events flourished and came to an abrupt end.

Everyone looked at Cao Pi in surprise.

"Zhongxuan had the best donkey braying during his lifetime. Pi once promised him that if Qing died before Pi, Pi would send him off with donkey braying."

When he said this, he suddenly thought whether Wang Can had a vague sense of uneasiness within the door that day, so he brought up the old covenant again.As a close friend, Wang Can knew Cao Pi's state of mind at this time, so he thought of an excuse for Cao Pi in advance.

"Here, all of you are Zhongxuan's close relatives and friends, why don't you all let your donkey bray, and pray that Zhongxuan's soul is at peace."

As soon as these words came out, the expressions on everyone's faces became more and more complicated.Donkeys, brutish things, have neither the majestic roar of tigers nor the clear melody of phoenix birds, and when people echo their sounds, they will exhaust their breath and turn red in the face. Only countrymen can Do this ridiculous thing.What's more, this solemn funeral is a group of polite gentlemen.

But the one who said this was Cao Pi again, the heir of King Wei who is now in charge of Ye City and has a promising future.They didn't dare to bluntly refuse, so they could only look at each other to see who would make the first move.

Just then, the donkey brayed again.The voice this time was not as heart-piercing as Cao Pi's, but it was also intense and high-pitched, like the ironic laughter of the world and human feelings, and like the cry before falling into the abyss.Everyone followed the sound and looked around, wanting to see who was behind it, and finally all their eyes fell on Sima Yi in unison.

Cao Pi couldn't help but startled.

After the voice fell, Sima Yi returned to his original integrity.His expression was indifferent, without any shyness, as if the donkey bray was not made by him.

"Once upon a time there was Dai Shuluan. Because his mother liked to bray a donkey, he often blew for joy. Everyone in the world thought it an act of filial piety. I would like to follow the words of my son and follow the wishes of the sages."

As soon as the words fell, another donkey bray sounded.It's Wu Zhi.

"What Zhongda said is very true. The sincerity of love does not matter the elegance and vulgarity of behavior. I would like to give Zhongxuan a ride in quality."

Chen Qun straightened his clothes, stepped forward, and also let out a donkey bray.When the silence fell, he didn't say a word, but silently patted Cao Pi on the shoulder, stepped back three steps, bowed and bowed.

Then, Chen Lin, Liu Zhen, Xu Gan, Ying Yu... people with great talents and reputations in Ye City all made donkey brawls one after another.The rest, whether they want to or not, can only follow suit.In the cold rain and green tomb, people dressed in sackcloth and filial piety are learning to act like animals, which is ridiculous to the extreme, but for some reason, it actually makes many calm and self-retaining gentlemen shed tears.

Human beings live in the sky and earth, like birds perched on dry branches.The dead branches are broken, the birds are far away, and the wedding and funeral banquets will eventually end.

He ordered his attendants to go back to the city first, and Cao Pi rode his horse and fell far behind the crowd.The rain gradually stopped, and the sky was still cloudy. Cao Pi looked at Sima Yi beside him from time to time, and many indescribable emotions surged up.He wanted to ask Sima Yi why he condoned his absurdity, wanted to express his heart and soul, and wanted to apologize for the misunderstandings of the past few days, but in the end, he just asked plainly:

"Didn't Zhongda say earlier that brother Boda was buried today, so he has no time to come?"

"Before my brother died, I warned Yi and others not to be buried extravagantly, so Yi came as soon as the end was over." Sima Yi's voice was also faint, and he could not fathom any emotions.

Therefore, Cao Pi naturally didn't know that even though Sima Yi always said that he didn't have much friendship in the family, when he saw his elder brother who had always been very good to him buried in the ground, and his younger brother Sima Fu beside him was crying so hard, he suddenly felt the pain in his eyes for the first time. fever.He didn't know that when he found himself crying, he suddenly thought of Cao Ang who died in Wancheng, and Cao Pi who had been buried in government affairs for the past few days without speaking, anger or laughing. When he came back to his senses, he had arrived here on horseback.

The north wind blows up the dead grass, and the ravens and birds sweep down the dead branches.The road was smooth and bumpy, and the people on the horse were bumped and bumped a few times, and finally returned to silence.

"Zihuan, take care of yourself."

When approaching the gate of the city, Sima Yi finally spoke first, and there were only six short words.Weighing pros and cons, plotting and calculating, he has always been eloquent, but putting aside all the cares that are not impurity, it makes him speak strangely.

Fortunately, Cao Pi didn't hear anything unusual.

"Who is Yu Du, can live his life..." The murmur could not reach anyone's ears, "Go back to the city earlier. Inside this high wall, there are still many things waiting to be dealt with."

After finishing speaking, he flicked his horsewhip vigorously and entered the gate of Yecheng.

————————————————————

"military adviser."

"You don't need to be too polite." Zhuge Liang said, "Is the lord in the house?"

The guard at the door replied respectfully: "Reporting to the military adviser, the Lord is meeting a counselor who came to join him in the hall. Please tell me to wait. If the military adviser arrives, please come over immediately."

"A counselor who came to join us?" Zhuge Liang's eyes flickered slightly, "Liang will pass here."

According to what the guards said, when he came to the front hall, he could see Liu Bei talking with someone from a distance, and from time to time, words of applause and admiration could be heard.He walked into the hall, bowed and said: "I will see you, my lord."

"Kong Ming is here." Seeing Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei got up and greeted him happily, "Just in time, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Ying Pingying."

"I've seen Army Master Zhuge."

The person in front of him is more than seven feet tall, with black eyebrows like peaks, burning eyes, and his gestures are imposing, which is indeed somewhat extraordinary.Zhuge Liang looked at it secretly, and he had already made up his mind.

"I heard that your accent doesn't sound like a Shu person, but it looks a bit like Mr. Xu. Are you from Ruying, sir?"

His euphemism and gentle tone, with a smile in his eyes, made Ying Ping feel guilty for no reason.

"That's right." Unexpectedly, Liu Bei answered Yingping first, "Mr. Ying is from Yingchuan Changsha, and at the same time—" he paused, "he was also a member of the weed."

Ying Ping was slightly taken aback, he didn't expect Liu Bei to say this directly and frankly.Seeing that Zhuge Liang's gaze became deeper and deeper, he became more uneasy, and took the opportunity of changing clothes to back out.

Seeing Ying Ping's figure disappear outside the hall, Liu Bei turned his head and said to Zhuge Liang: "Kong Ming, I got a strange scholar alone, who can be called Liu Ya of the Supreme King. Given time, he will be of great use."

Zhuge Liang lowered his eyes: "I don't know where this strange man is now."

Liu Bei laughed and said, "What Gu is referring to is that Mr. Ying who just left."

"Since my lord knows that he was once a member of the weed," Zhuge Liang said, "why do you still dare to use him?"

"In times of great controversy, it is common for Chu talents to be employed by the Jin Dynasty. If he is really plotting against the law, there is no need to tell Gu his origin." Liu Bei seems to be full of confidence in this, "He also told Gu that he had been disbanded a few years ago. , he is not willing to disappear from now on and be lost to mortals, so he went all the way to Gu Gu, hoping to make some achievements and be famous in history. It is reasonable and reasonable, and there will be no problem in thinking."

Zhuge Liang shook the feather fan slowly, and after a long time, he sighed slowly: "My lord, this person must be an assassin sent by Cao thief. If you don't believe me, then send someone to have a look. This Mr. Ying Pingying is still alive." In the mansion or not."

Liu Bei's first reaction was to not believe it, but when Zhuge Liang said this, he couldn't tolerate him not believing it.So he doubtfully called the guard at the door to check.After a while, the guards reported back that the changing room was empty, but a servant saw an unfamiliar person in the west courtyard of the mansion with a flustered and hurried expression.After a while, someone came back and reported that they saw someone fleeing over the wall of the west courtyard.

"It's really deceiving!" Liu Bei angrily threw the defense map of the Northland submitted by Yingping to the ground, "The great hero will see the truth right away, but he, Cao Mengde, actually made such indiscriminate calculations, what a shame! It's so hateful! Kong Ming, I can't bear this tone!"

Zhuge Liang filled the cup with tea and was silent for a moment, "My lord, do you mean to send troops?"

"Kong Ming, if he dares to send an assassin today, he will dispatch troops tomorrow if he is not sure. Instead of sitting as a captive, it is better to strike first!"

"..."

Liu Bei was filled with righteous indignation, but when he turned his head, he saw Zhuge Liang's eyes were complicated, looking at him deeply.In an instant, he felt as guilty as Ying Ping just now.After a long time, Fang heard Zhuge Liang sigh again:

"My lord, you are the master of Yizhou. Whether to send troops or not is nothing more than your order. Why do you have to play today's play to deceive people?"

Liu Bei was stunned: "I don't understand what Kong Ming meant."

"All assassins are violent Feng He, people who die without regrets, and octopuses are well-trained, and can fight ten against one. Even if Liang's sudden arrival disrupts his plan, everyone in the house will be no more than ten." Three people, how could he escape over the wall in fright because of this? The guards were at the side, but they were sitting with him at the same table. It is not so much the lord as a corporal, but rather trying to make Yingping look like an assassin on purpose to arouse suspicion. Finally, "At this moment, the teacup in his hand is already Bingliang, "My lord, Liang understands you, and your own safety is not enough to make you fight again."

The voice fell, and the silence spread between the two, which lasted for a long time.

In fact, Liu Bei had already thought about what a smart person Kong Ming was, how could his poor planning and acting skills be able to hide it.But he had to do this. Only by setting up this trap, even if the opponent broke through without any effort, he could let Kong Ming know how determined he was.

Suddenly, he strode up to Zhuge Liang, picked up the cup of ice-like tea, and drank it down like drinking strong wine.

"Kong Ming, it's been ten years." Thanks to that cup of tea, he didn't turn his eyes red. "It's been ten years since Yun Chang and Yi De passed away."

"... Liang understands."

"Bei knows, in order to win this Yizhou, Shiyuan, Xiaozhi... and Kong Ming, you can see how much you have paid. So all these years, Bei has been holding back, just protecting the environment and the people, and recuperating. But In the dead of night, Bei always thinks of his second and third younger brothers. They have been with Bei for decades, have been wandering, living in no fixed place, and have never had a good day, but in the end, Bei didn't even have their bones I can bring it back...Kong Ming, do you know that every time this happens, Bei hates everything in Yizhou more and more. Now, the clothes Bei wears, the food he eats, and the soldiers trained outside are clearly traded on the flesh and blood of his brothers. Come here, I feel ashamed!

Finally, the tenth year.Now, Yizhou has strong soldiers and horses, and the army has enough food. It's time to prepare. It's time to crusade against the rebels and avenge our brothers! "

At the end of the story, the expression on Liu Bei's face was a little ferocious, and Zhuge Liang knew that it was because the intense emotions had been suppressed for too long.Brothers Guan and Zhang are almost Liu Bei's only antagonists. Liu Bei can endure ten years of dormancy, and he sees every bit of the struggle and pain in his eyes.Therefore, whether Liu Bei lied to him or bullied him, no matter what he did, he couldn't get angry at all, only full of sourness.

"My lord, Ruo Liang said that it is not the best time to send troops now. If it fails, Yizhou's ten-year management will be ruined. Even so, do you still want to go your own way?"

"Kong Ming," Liu Bei smiled wryly, "In this life, Bei may not be called a hero, but he doesn't want to be a coward again."

"……it is good."

At this moment, he should have been calmer than anyone else, analyzing the pros and cons for Liu Bei, repeatedly admonishing Liu Bei to give up,

"Na Liang, go to the barracks, prepare the army, fight against the rebels, and avenge the two generals."

But only this time, he only wanted to know what was impossible and do it.

It's okay if it's not the best time.

When watching the stars last night, the bright star map came to mind again.

This time, fate is on their side.

————————————————————

Back at the Yecheng government office, an unexpected visitor was waiting for Cao Pi.

"Your Majesty, you are the body of a thousand gold, and now Yecheng is plagued by epidemics. If you are asked to stay here, you will be in danger. I dare not obey orders."

"Your Majesty, Ming people don't speak dark words. It is definitely not a bad thing for you to stay in Yecheng." Liu Xie stood in front of Cao Pi and said calmly, "Right now Yecheng is too busy to take care of itself, and the surveillance of Xudu will definitely be relaxed. If I were in Xudu at this time and made some plans with the ministers, even if I couldn't make a big difference, it would be enough to make the situation worse. On the contrary, if I stay in Yecheng, it will be under your nose, and you can make every move If you can see clearly, you don’t have to worry about “chaos” in Xudu.”

"...Since His Majesty is frank, the minister is also blunt. Indeed, it is a surprise for Your Majesty to come to Yecheng secretly at this time. But I don't believe that there is nothing to give up, so Your Majesty solved this big problem for me. Trouble, I don't know what do you want to get from this minister?"

"I only have one request," Liu Xie said, "I hope to consult with the doctors in the city until the epidemic is over."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

Cao Pi and Sima Yi looked at each other, pondered for a long time, then Fang said slowly:

"When the emperor personally diagnoses and prescribes "medicine" for the people, even if the minister agrees to His Majesty, the world will criticize him. When the father comes back, he will definitely blame the minister."

However, Liu Xie seemed to have expected Cao Pi's remarks.He didn't avoid his eyes, and his expression was frank: "I know what the son is worried about. It doesn't matter, I will disguise myself as someone else during my stay in Yecheng, and I will definitely not let others know that I am in Yecheng." After a pause, he lowered his voice slightly, "Xie doesn't care who gets this reputation in the end, it's just that once in a while, Xie feels that he can still be useful... Xie just wants to save people."

"Your Majesty..." Cao Jie lightly tugged on Liu Xie's arm, his eyes filled with distress.

At this time, Cao Pi probably had a decision in his mind.It's not because he believed Liu Xie's "just want to save people", but because it's better to keep the hidden dangers by his side than to be out of reach when any troubles happen in the future.But even so, he said in his mouth: "Your Majesty said, I know everything. It's just a matter of great importance. Please allow your majesty to think about it for a few days before giving your majesty an answer." After finishing speaking, without waiting for Liu Xie to speak, he said directly, "Come here, send your Majesty to rest in another courtyard."

With a sharp halberd and cold light, surrounded by tigers, Liu Xie's expression did not change, and he followed out obediently.Over the years, he has already gotten used to it.

"Your Highness, please stay." Cao Pi called out to Cao Jie, who wanted to leave with Liu Xie, "Your Majesty, I haven't seen Your Highness for many years, and I want to talk about my brother and sister with Your Highness, please allow me."

"Your Majesty, the future will be long. My son and I..."

"Brother-sister relationship is as it should be. Queen, you can stay." Liu Xie interrupted Cao Jie's resignation.He patted Cao Jie's hand lightly, and comforted him, "Don't worry, Xieyi will be fine."

With no choice, Cao Jie could only turn around and walk back to the house alone.

"Zhong Da, you all should step down too." After Liu Xie left, Cao Pi said to Sima Yi, "Pi wants to stay alone with the second sister for a while."

Sima Yi took the order to retreat with the others, and closed the door from the outside.At this time, only Cao Pi and Cao Jie were left in the house, one with gloomy eyes, the other embarrassed and trying to calm down.

"What are you doing in Ye City?"

"Second brother, I..."

"Do you know what the situation in Yecheng is like now?! Families are clean, everyone is in danger, how many people can die every day and night?! There are also those aristocratic families who don't know what they are fighting when their father is away. Ghost idea?! Yecheng is now a den of wolves and tigers. Others can’t escape. If you’re not here, you’ll be safe and sound. What are you doing here?!”

Cao Jie was taken aback.She expected that Cao Pi would be angry, but she didn't expect the reason for the anger.She thought that Cao Pi would blame her for helping Liu Xie sneak away to Yecheng, and would scold her for being a member of the Cao family but devoted herself to the Han family... She had already thought about all kinds of countermeasures, but she didn't expect that Cao Pi cared about it. It's her safety.

She suddenly had a sore nose.In the past few years, she always felt that since she had already come over, she didn't need to care too much.But now in front of her elder brother, seeing that he still cares about her as much as before, all the grievances flooded up.Cao Pi wanted to say something to her, but when he opened his mouth, he found that Cao Jie's eyes were filled with tears, and he panicked:

"Ah Jie, don't cry, Pi is not blaming you, it's just..."

It's just that he doesn't want to lose anyone anymore.

It's okay not to say this, but when he said it, Cao Jie cried even more, as if he wanted to shed all the tears in the past few years in front of his brother at once.

Cao Pi was completely helpless.

He could only sigh deeply: "Forget it, since you are here, stay here. Right now the mansion is fairly safe. But without Pi's permission, you are not allowed to go out casually. Pi doesn't care if the emperor has anything to do. If something happens to you Father will scold me to death." After several hesitations, he still raised his hand and wiped away his tears for Cao Jie, "Don't cry. You are the current queen, your mother respects the world, and you are an example for the world. This will make outsiders look like you. What's it like?"

"I know." Cao Jie gradually felt ashamed as her emotions went down, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she returned to her usual gentle appearance, "Second brother, take care of yourself..." Before she finished speaking, she suddenly turned pale. After a change, he bent over and retched.

Cao Pi's face also changed.

Since the conferring ceremony a few years ago, there have been constant discussions in court and in private, until Cao Cao was conferred the title of King of Wei, and everyone finally got a taste.In the canonization ceremony, Cao Cao said that as long as he is there, the Han Dynasty will be there for a day. In other words, he will only be kept in his lifetime, and the Han Dynasty will not be destroyed. As for what happens to him a hundred years later, it has nothing to do with him .The establishment of the Wei State, the establishment of hundreds of officials, the large-scale construction projects in Luoyang, and even the handover of all the affairs of the Wei State were all paving the way for Cao Pi.Cao Cao wanted to be King Wen of Zhou, so even if Cao Pi became King Wu of Zhou, he would be happy to see it happen.

But some people think that there are still variables in this matter.The emperor is in the heyday of spring and autumn, and the queen is also at the right age. If the next emperor is born, the throne may not be smoothly taken over by Cao Pi.After all, the queen is also the daughter of the Cao family, and she will support her own child as the emperor in the future. She will preside over the court as the queen mother, which is far more legitimate than Cao Pi's Han name.

Cao Jiesu is smart, so she has been taking the "medicine" prescribed by the imperial physician to avoid embarrassing each other.But man's calculation is not as good as heaven's calculation, and she doesn't know why something went wrong in the end.

"Have you checked the pulse with the imperial physician?"

I don't know if it's due to psychological reasons, but Cao Jie felt that the same words came from Cao Pi's mouth, filled with chills.

"I've been diagnosed, it's...really."

"You still dare to come to Yecheng with your body pregnant?! You are really not afraid if Pi... Pi..."

Cao Pi was too angry to speak, but Cao Jie knew exactly what he wanted to say.Cao Pi was in charge of Yecheng, and there was a plague. If Cao Pi wanted to harm the throne, Cao Jie would be tantamount to throwing himself into a trap.But it was rare for Liu Xie to cheer up and want to do something, how could she let Liu Xie walk alone.

"Does the emperor know about this?"

"...I don't know yet."

This is still true.Cao Pi snorted coldly.If Liu Xieming knew that Cao Jie was pregnant and let her sneak to Yecheng together, he must ask Zhongda to find someone to beat Liu Xie secretly to vent his sister's anger.

"It's still like what Pi said before, stay in the room and don't run around."

"Second brother, what do you think about this matter?" She knew that at this time, acting stupid was the best choice, but she didn't want to.She wanted to see clearly how much the brother-sister relationship weighed in the face of "naked" interests.

She always holds a trace of fantasy that may seem unrealistic to others.The brothers had always loved her, so maybe, no matter what happened, they would still love her the same.

But Cao Pi suddenly turned cold, and his face was scary.Seeing him raise his hand high, Cao Jie couldn't help but close his eyes no matter how brave he was——

The pain didn't follow.

"A Jie, in your eyes, your second brother is someone who will harm his own sister for the sake of the throne? Listen carefully, it should be mine, and sooner or later it will be mine, so there is no need to argue with an unborn child. "

In the end, Cao Pi just flicked Cao Jie hard on the forehead.

"Go back and take care of everything for the Brotherhood."

The plague in Yecheng was dangerous, but it was not an incurable disease.Since he learned from Hua Tuo's Imperial Physician Cheng Cang Zhu and made the prescriptions for the treatment of the disease, the situation gradually began to improve.Although Chen Lin, Liu Zhen, Xu Qian, Ying Yu and others died of illness one after another, although countless ordinary people lost their lives, Hua Tuo, who was already gray-haired but still came to Yecheng resolutely, was among them. One month later, the plague Finally got it under control.

However, blessings are unparalleled, and misfortunes never come singly.As soon as the people who came to report the epidemic left, an urgent report from the army flew into Tongque Terrace.

Liu Bei personally led an army of [-] to the five cities, pointing directly at Xiangyang, and Jingzhou was in danger!