[Three Kingdoms] Carnival

Guo Jia half-fudged and half-voluntarily went to Bashu with Xun You, and although Xun You resigned from the official position of guarding the palace order, he still stayed in the turbulent capital.Later, Guo Jia thought about it, besides himself, maybe Xun You was also the one who was pushed and ordered by Xun to go to Bashu.

Xun's stay shows the attitude of the Xun family, but Xun does not want this responsibility to be carried by Xun You again.

The Eighteenth Route to challenge the princes of Dong, a massive organization was organized, and Hua Xiong was beheaded, forcing Dong Zhuo to burn Luoyang City and move the capital to Chang'an with the little emperor, but in the end, Luoyang City was destroyed, Chang'an City's Prosperity can still support Dong Zhuo's luxury and luxury, and the newly built Babble House is even more luxurious than Dong's house in Luoyang City in the old days, and it is easy to defend but difficult to attack.In the final analysis, Dong Zhuo just lost a few insignificant generals and changed places. He did not actually suffer any impact. Those who should be controlled are still controlled, and those who should be controlled are still controlled.

What is more serious than this is that the problems that some people worried about before are gradually emerging.In this crusade, the princes of all parties used the name of the thief to expand their troops in large numbers, expropriate them by force, and strengthen their own strength.And when Dong Zhuo fled, the alliance broke up, and the princes who gathered a lot of power returned to various places, the final result would only be a separatist regime, which would make the already perilous Han Dynasty worse.

When Cao Cao tried his best to persuade and no one was willing to go after Dong Zhuo, when he led his troops to go in person but failed and returned without success, when the princes were not worried about the robbed saint but mocked him for his overreaching, originally The fiery Han Chen who helped the country gradually cooled down, turning into the deepest disappointment in his eyes.

I don't know if it was from this time that Cao Cao, who only hoped that "General Han Zhengxi" would be engraved on his tombstone after his death, gradually changed.

However, Cao Cao, whose heart of a Han subject gradually cooled down, looked back and met Xun Wenruo, a gentleman who was gentle on the outside but straight and tough on the inside.

"I heard that Duke Cao is high-minded, so I came here from Yuan Shao's army to join Duke Cao. I also hope that Duke Cao will not dislike you."

At this time, when the golden crow was gone, the slanting light of the setting sun sprinkled down, warming the frost-colored Confucian robe.The blue silk was meticulously tied up by the high crown, and his handsome and delicate face was like a piece of rough jade that had been polished by the years. He saluted Cao Cao respectfully, and his every move was so elegant and thoughtful that he was not like a mortal.

And in the following candlelit night talk, Xun's unique vision, thorough planning, and nearly perfect analysis process made Cao Cao, who had never really come into contact with a genuinely gentle gentleman, almost subconsciously slowed down his breathing. For fear of showing a trace of disrespect in front of Xun.

Finally, Xun Qing opened his lips and called out: "Master."

Cao Cao was taken aback for a moment, then laughed. He patted Xun on the shoulder and said, "Wen Ruo, you are really an orphan."

Maybe it's just Xun's sentence "helping the building to collapse", or maybe it's Xun's unabashed enthusiasm for helping the Han Dynasty. These made Cao Cao, who was a little disheartened, regain a lot of confidence.

Even though the princes have their own selfishness, if there are people like Xun Wenruo in this world, it will not be too bad.

Xi Zhicai is very happy to see that his classmates can help a protagonist, not to mention his military strategy and Xun's political ability are a perfect match.However, not everyone can accept that suddenly someone took away all the respect from their lord. Among those who are dissatisfied with Xun, Chen Gong is one.

I think he was also a person who followed Cao Cao from the beginning, even much earlier than Xi Zhicai, and made great contributions to Cao Cao's entry into Yanzhou. No one dares to underestimate his status.But when Cao Cao ignored his plan and turned to consult Xun's opinion again and again, no matter how magnanimous Chen Gong was, he still had some grievances.

In the final analysis, he and Cao Cao were not the same people at all, they just met together by chance, but as time went on, the contradiction of different ways and not conspiring with each other became obvious.

However, at this time Cao Cao didn't care about Chen Gong, who was getting more and more separated from him. He was waiting anxiously outside the room. Inside, the doctor was treating Xi Zhicai, and Xun was by his side, frowning It also showed his worry at the moment.After an unknown amount of time, the doctor came out of the room and shook his head regretfully at Cao Cao and Xun.

"At most, it's only half a month."

It wasn't a strong body at all, but after Cao Cao entered Yanzhou, a lot of things were piled on him.But after the doctor's order, Xi Zhicai still planned and arranged desperately. In the end, he was too careful, the five elements were empty, and there was no way to recover.

Cao Cao stomped his feet, he wanted to go in to see Xi Zhicai, but he remembered that the doctor said that Xi Zhicai was sleeping and resting, so he could only retreat back in embarrassment.Looking at the expression alone, Xun is much calmer than Cao Cao, if one ignores his almost frowning eyebrows.

"Mr. Xun." At this time, another servant came out of the house, who had been following Xi Zhicai.He said to Xun, "Mr. Xi Zhi is awake, and I am calling you in."

Cao Cao woke up after hearing Xi Zhi, and immediately went in to visit, but before he could take a step, he was stopped by the servant.After all, Cao Cao is the veritable boss of a group of people here. When he spoke, there was a trace of timidity on his face, but he still conveyed the meaning of Xi Zhicai dutifully: "Mr. , must be stopped..."

This is why Xi Zhicai and Cao Cao are too close, otherwise Fang would have no reason to instigate his lord as someone else's staff.Cao Cao was in a hurry but cared about Xi Zhicai's words, and finally Xun came out to make things right.He patted Cao Cao on the shoulder, and said in a gentle voice: "My lord, don't worry. Zhicai is worried that your lord is busy with work, and he doesn't want to make your lord worry any more. Go in and have a look first. If there is anything important, you can report back to your lord. My lord first Let's go back to the house."

After hesitating for a while, Cao Cao still listened to Xun's words. Just as he was about to leave, he turned his head and told him, "Wen Ruo, tell Zhicai to let go of everything and take care of your illness first."

Xun smiled and responded, but the sadness in his and Cao Cao's eyes could not be dispelled, because they both understood that taking good care of his illness could only be a superficial talk for Xi Zhicai's current body.

As soon as the door was pushed open, the smell of medicine filled the room.However, those precious medicinal materials were drunk, but it didn't seem to have any effect at all. The face of the person lying on the bed is still as pale as paper.Xun walked up to him, reached out and snatched the bamboo slips that Xi Zhicai was looking at, and said in a stern tone, "You need to rest."

"I'm just resting." Xi Zhicai said nonchalantly, but he didn't pick up the bamboo slip, but sat up with force, found a relatively comfortable position with Xun's help, and then quietly asked: "My lord is gone?"

Xun nodded.In fact, both he and Cao Cao knew that when Xi Zhicai said that, he deliberately wanted to distract Cao Cao and Xun Xun from talking about something.Xun let Cao Cao leave, and Cao Cao left so happily, it might not be a kind of trust.

"There are still so many things going on in Yanzhou, Chen Gong and Zhang Miao are not careless, and he still needs to be busy." Xi Zhicai murmured, not sure if he was talking to Xun or talking to himself.

Afterwards, Xi Zhi didn't speak any more, his frowning showed that he was seriously thinking about something, so Xun was not in a hurry to ask him what he was going to say, the silence in the room gradually spread, and finally became depressing. A delicate atmosphere of mourning.

"Someone has to follow me after I leave," Xi Zhicai said suddenly.The voice was weak and distant, more like a sigh, "Call Feng Xiao over as soon as possible."

"Zhicai, don't say this..."

"I always only tell the truth." Xi Zhicai immediately interrupted Xun. He is not energetic now, and after finally gaining strength for a while, he is really powerless to say more useless words, "I know this is the way I am, my lord. Now that you have just established yourself in Yanzhou, your foundation is not yet stable, and you will definitely not be able to handle many things by yourself, and your temperament is not easy to handle. I know Feng Xiao's talents from you, and he is the best candidate."

"But Zhicai, you know well, Fengxiao's temperament..."

"One moment and another moment." Xi Zhicai shook his head, his tone firm, "Don't worry, you call him as soon as possible, as long as he comes and I still have breath, I can let him stay."

"Zhicai..."

"Why do you have such an expression? It's really rare." Xi Zhicai looked at Xun's usual gentle and calm face at the moment, who seemed to be crying but not mourning. As a consolation, he said, "Our group chooses to follow Cao Cao. There will always be birth, old age, sickness and death. When one person leaves, another will follow. It's the same as the cycle of four seasons. It's no big deal at all."

"Not everyone can accompany the lord to the end, except you. After all, the lord must get used to it."

I am used to the people around me leaving one by one, but I can't look back a step, leaving all the grief and emotions behind, and climbing to the final peak.

If Cao Cao couldn't even do this, it would really make them feel chilling.

At this time, Yangdi, thousands of miles away, is the time when the cicadas are buzzing in early summer. The few willow trees planted a few years ago in the suburban house have grown up, and the knife-like willow leaves are cut into beautiful shadows by the scorching sun, covering a piece of shade.In the courtyard, a woman dressed in plain clothes with green silk is meticulously coiled up, sitting in the shadows facing the bright sunshine, embroidering lotus leaves in water on the tea-white silk with stitches and lines, playing with mandarin ducks next to the water, just the two There is no trace of the tenderness that one should have as a married woman, only the silence that is drier than the ancient well.

Opposite to her calmness is the anxious Xiwu in a goose yellow dress standing in the sunshine outside the gate of the house.She had been waiting here an hour ago, the towel in her hand was soaked by the thin man on her forehead, but she didn't know it.God knows how worried she was after letting the young master go to Bashu alone.At some point, she no longer regards Guo Jia as her loyal master, but her real relatives.

A carriage came rumbling from a distance, and finally stopped in front of the house, and the scribe in green shirt walked out of the carriage slowly.The bright sunshine sprinkled on the fair complexion of the person, dyeing it with a faint warmth.He saw Xi Wu who was waiting at the door of the house with sweaty temples at a glance, smiled helplessly and said: "I told you not to wait, you are still waiting."

Xiwu stuck out her tongue, but didn't say much, but immediately called the servants to pick up Guo Jia's luggage from the carriage.Guo Jia walked into the house slowly, Cao Shi who was in the shade raised his eyes slightly, and his eyes met. Guo Jia nodded and greeted gently: "I'm back."

"Yes, my husband has worked hard on the road." Mrs. Cao stood up, bowed slightly, and then turned back to her room with the unfinished embroidery.

Guo Jia frowned, and finally just let out a wry smile.He's gotten used to it over the years.He turned around and went back to his room, and took out the bamboo slips that he had sent back in the past few years from the bookshelf in the room.

In the past four years, although Guo Jia said at the beginning that he would stay in Bashu with Xun You, but not long after they arrived there, all kinds of chaos in Bashu have been rectified in an orderly manner.Later, Guo Jia thought that he wanted to take a look anyway, so he said goodbye to Xun You and went to various parts of the Central Plains alone.During his travels, he not only carefully recorded the customs and customs of various places, but also carefully recorded the topography of each place, where it was suitable for camping, where it was suitable for fortification, and where it was suitable for setting up ambush, all of which were recorded in detail in a book.There are a lot of materials, except for the ones he sent back the next year, these bamboo slips are the most piled luggage on the carriage that brought him back.

However, at the beginning he had to think clearly about the problem.He still couldn't make a definite decision.

"Master, Mr. Xun has sent you a letter." Instructing the servants to put the remaining bamboo slips on the bookshelves by category, Xiwu handed Guo Jia another letter, signed by Xun.

Wen Ruo knew I was back so soon?

Guo Jia unfolded the bamboo slips, thinking that the letter might still contain some comforting words to ask for warmth.However, on the bamboo slips that still smelled of orchids, there was only a line of words scrawled on them:

Zhicai is seriously ill, hurry to Rencheng!

Guo Jia almost didn't take a sip of water before turning around and getting into the carriage again to Rencheng day and night.

The letter was sent too slowly, and Guo Jia hurried to leave, by the time it arrived, Xi Zhicai was so ill that he couldn't even get out of bed.Seeing that Guo Jia had arrived, Xun didn't have time to say a word, so he immediately led Guo Jia to Xi Zhicai's place.

In Guo Jia's impression, although Xi Zhicai's health is not too good, at least he won't be like him and can't even take an archery class.But at this moment, the weak person lying on the hospital bed was as thin as a stick, and he didn't even have the strength to stand up and reach for a glass of water.Guo Jia hoped that Hua Tuo, who hurried over with him, would bring some miracles, but in the end, Hua Tuo, like the doctors before him, shook his head regretfully.

"Doctor Hua, don't bother me any more. I have a few words to say to Feng Xiao, can I go out first?"

Hua Tuo nodded, turned around and went out, closing the door behind him.

"Feng Xiao, Wen Ruo asked you to come this time, besides looking at me, did he say anything else?"

"...He didn't say it, but Jia understood, it's just..."

"Since you understand, stay here. I'm leaving. You must be by Cao Cao's side." Xi Zhicai's tone was steady, but looking at his clenched fists and pale complexion, it was clear that he was trying his best to suppress it at this moment. physical pain.

"You are at ease, seemingly carefree and carefree, but in fact I can see that you don't care about everything, but just—" He paused, looked at Guo Jia and said, "You just haven't found something worthwhile. You go desperate for something."

Guo Jia fell silent.He remembered that when he was in Yingchuan Academy, Xi Zhicai was extremely arrogant. Of course, this arrogance is not derogatory, but few people are treated differently by him and respected sincerely. capital.However, this person is here. When his life is hanging by a moment, he is trying his best to keep him as a lobbyist for the sake of Cao Cao's future foundation.

"why……"

The clueless Guo Jia muttered, but Xi Zhicai easily understood what people meant.He chuckled, his eyes burst into a strange light, and his pale face suddenly became radiant.The hoarse voice came out slowly, with unusual seriousness and trust:

"Because we believe, believe in Cao Cao, we can return this world to a bright future."

Jinwu falls, Dongjun returns.

Xi Zhicai passed away soon.When marching outside, even food, grass and water are in short supply. Naturally, the funeral is extremely simple.A few days ago, Cao Cao led his troops to attack Tao Qian who was planning to invade Rencheng. In the end, he didn't attend the funeral of Xi Zhicai, who wanted to pay for his life.

But they still feel it's worth it.

"Tell me, why are they so stupid?" Bending down, Guo Jia murmured to himself, teasing the lone crow that had landed on the city wall.

The lone crow didn't and couldn't respond. Its hard beak touched Guo Jia's hand a few times, and then it spread its wings and flew away.

"Wen Ruo, you scared it away." The faint You Lan thought of coming by the wind, and Guo Jia looked at the crow going away, and said softly.

"Doctor Hua told you to go down, it's windy here, it's not good for your health."

"Jia is not made of paper." Guo Jia retorted in a low voice, pulled the cloak someone put on herself just now, and stood up in front of the city wall, staring directly at the dazzling but about to fall light in the distance.

Sad, confused, self-deprecating, puzzled... Too many emotions accumulated in his eyes, and then he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was nothing left in his clear eyes except firmness.

"Wen Ruo, Jia stayed."