[Three Kingdoms] Carnival

If it was necessary to ask, the thoughts of investigation were over. At the expected moment, Cao Cao arrived just right and belatedly.

"Sorry, Gu is late, Xuande has been waiting for a long time."

At this time, Liu Bei's expression when he was talking to Guo Jia just faded away. With a polite smile on his face, he saluted Cao Cao and said: "Cao Sikong is serious. Bei and Guo Jijiu had a very happy conversation, and it didn't last long. wait."

Have fun talking?

Cao Cao secretly glanced at Guo Jia with deep meaning, Guo Jia shrugged, expressing his innocence.

At this time, three servants came in with three brocade boxes in their hands. Cao Cao went to the head servant, took the brocade boxes, and opened them in front of Liu Bei:

A cold light suddenly appeared, and after a closer look, I saw a ring-shou knife in the box.

A trace of surprise and doubt flashed in Liu Bei's eyes, but they disappeared soon.He glanced at the expression on Cao Cao's face that seemed to be a smile but not a smile. He took a step back and bowed, "It is said that you will not be rewarded for no merit. This sword is too precious, and it is really a shame to receive it."

Cao Cao frowned and shook his head, closed the brocade box and handed it to Liu Bei:

"A treasured sword is given to a hero, so Xuande is naturally worthy of this sword."

"Can……"

"This crusade against the traitor Lu Bu is exactly the time when Xuande and your two brothers made great achievements. In addition to this sword, I have two other treasures for your two brothers, so it is right to treat it as me and your brothers. For the friendship between the three of you, Xuande will not be polite to me anymore."

Hearing the acquaintance and enthusiasm in Cao Cao's words as if he was treating an old friend, Liu Bei thought about it again and again, and still accepted it, and thanked him with a salute.

Only then did Cao Cao nod in satisfaction, he patted Liu Bei's shoulder, and said in a friendly tone, "It's getting late today, so I don't want to force Xuande to stay. Another day, I will set up a banquet and have a few drinks with Xuande. "

"It's very lucky to have Cao Sikong treat you like this."

Liu Bei was not overjoyed by Cao Cao's seeming kindness, and still maintained the politeness and slight alienation that a foreigner should have.He bowed again, and then said goodbye to Cao Cao.The servant took the brocade box from Liu Bei's hand, and followed Liu Bei with two other servants to help him deliver these treasures to the carriage.

Liu Bei's figure gradually faded away, and the friendly smile in Cao Cao's eyes also faded away.He turned around and sat in the main case, picked up the wine jar that the servant had placed beside the case at some time, and filled two chips with it. The aroma of wine mixed with the smell of green plums wafted from the room, instantly taking people's minds away.

After pouring the wine, Cao Cao beckoned, Guo Jia immediately walked over to Cao Cao with smiles on his face, sat down on the same mat with Cao Cao, picked up the wine glass, and said:

"Using greengage plums in early summer and brewing them for several months, the wine is indeed sweet and clear, with a refreshing and unique feeling."

Cao Cao squinted his eyes in enjoyment when he saw Guo Jia drinking, and felt a little more satisfied in his heart for no reason.He wasn't in a hurry, he waited for Guo Jia to drink a few cups of the alcohol addiction that was aroused by the green plum wine, and then talked about the business:

"Feng Xiao thinks, what about Liu Bei?"

Speaking of business, Guo Jia also changed his expression slightly.He put down his drink, recalled Liu Bei's performance just now, and after a while, said: "Excellent courage and insight, with a broad mind, given time, great success can be achieved."

Just now, time was running out, and Guo Jia just discussed two issues with Liu Bei.One is to use the "family tree" to question the authenticity of Liu Bei's identity as the "uncle emperor". However, Liu Bei did not panic, nor was he annoyed by the suspicion. He just answered this question without being arrogant or humble. It blocked other people who might question it later.Of course, whether Liu Bei is the emperor's uncle or not, it is only a matter of the emperor's words when he meets the emperor in the future. Guo Jia never thought of making any articles from now on, but he used this topic to observe Liu Bei. That's all.

And the second question, although it seems that Liu Bei raised it himself, was actually guided by Guo Jia, and that is the "Han Dynasty".Obviously, Liu Bei is very concerned about the survival of the Han Dynasty, no matter whether it is for righteousness or for personal reasons. At least for now in Xudu, he will have more in common with those veterans of the Han Dynasty than Cao Cao.

"In terms of filial piety, Liu Bei, should he stay alone, or?"

Cao Cao made no secret of his killing intent in his eyes.In fact, for Liu Bei, Guo Jia had murderous intentions from the very beginning, but unfortunately, there was no chance at the beginning, but now the world has changed, and Liu Bei's life is no longer as simple as it was before.

Even though he was unwilling to do so in his heart, Guo Jia could only suppress his killing intent and said rationally: "Liu Bei has come to join Duke Ming, and he has a small reputation. He is also known as a wise man when he governed Xuzhou. At this time, kill him One person will destroy the hearts of the world's famous scholars and talents, and it is not appropriate to kill him."

Guo Jia felt that he was almost gritting his back molars, so he said the last word "inappropriate".

Cao Cao didn't see Guo Jia's entanglement.He just heard Guo Jia say this, and asked: "I remember, when Feng Xiaogang heard Liu Bei's name, he wanted to kill him alone."

"That's right." Guo Jia nodded, then sighed, and said helplessly: "Unfortunately, the time has passed, and we can't act rashly now, at least, before taking down Xuzhou, we still need Liu Bei to support this reputation.

As for after that"

Guo Jia didn't go any further, but Cao Cao already understood what Guo Jia meant.He frowned slightly, and subconsciously tapped his fingers on the table irregularly. After a while, he said in a deep voice:

"Wen Ruo suggested that Gu should kill Liu Bei after beating Lu Bu."

Guo Jia was slightly taken aback, but seeing Cao Cao's expression, he had come to a conclusion.

"However, Duke Ming wants to reuse Liu Bei, even after defeating Xuzhou."

He said it firmly, and Cao Cao did not refute it.

"Liu Bei is talented, and his two brothers are also dragons and phoenixes among the people. Since this is the case, they can't be used by the orphans."

"Duke Ming, Liu Bei has a lot of ambition, and I'm afraid he's unwilling to be subordinated to others."

"This person's loyalty must be cultivated slowly." Cao Cao said, his tone full of confidence, "Even if we can't win over all three, it is enough to keep one person."

It's a pity that the greatest talent of the three brothers Liu, Guan and Zhang is their brotherhood.

Guo Jia hesitated to speak.Cao Cao cherishes talents, he knows very well.Talented people in the world, whether it is Xun?? Qianyu Tomb? Jun? Old relatives, Helan?? Ye? Na vulgar miscellaneous o Lu Nao Mei ǎ? Yongcook Ji? Qiao Qiao? Huan? h?

Forget it, many things cannot be forced, and they cannot be killed anyway, so we can only be more careful.

Finally let go of his murderous intentions towards Liu Bei, Guo Jia turned to mention other matters: "Ming Gong, the most important thing to do in this conquest of Lu Bu is speed. Now that Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan are facing each other in the north, we only need to dare to take down Gongsun Zan before Yuan Shao takes down Gongsun Zan." Xuzhou will be able to take the lead in the next battle."

Cao Cao nodded. Both he and Yuan Shao knew that there was bound to be a big battle between them. He already had few troops and food, and his chances of winning a direct confrontation with Yuan Shao were extremely low, so he could only seize the upper hand and increase his advantage.only……

He unfolded the map and laid it out on the table, and Xuzhou had already been marked with Gougou.

"However, Xuzhou Lu Bu has been in business for some time, and most of the guards in every city are his subordinates. Xuzhou, we can no longer

If it becomes unstable, all factors of instability must be removed.But fighting one city after another is probably time-consuming..."

"Actually, Duke Ming already has a plan in mind." Guo Jia stretched out his finger and pointed to the place on the map that Cao Cao had already circled in red, "Whether Xuzhou can be captured within four months depends on Pengcheng."

Holding the hand pointing at Pengcheng, Cao Cao turned his head and looked deeply into Guo Jia's eyes.

As calm as water, also as cold as ice.

And Guo Jia found a trace of unbearable in Cao Cao's eyes that was different from before.

Ren Cao Cao held it, Guo Jia shook his head, his tone and the look in his eyes were firm: "Ming Gong, in troubled times, there is no life, only numbers, victory and defeat, survival, and the benevolence of a woman must not be kept."

Cao Cao was silent, he knew that Guo Jia was right, and he also knew that he would eventually win Xuzhou in the way he had thought before.Life is so cheap in troubled times, and he already possessed the consciousness of walking towards peace on the bones of the dead.

He just, for a moment, couldn't bear it.

"Then Pengcheng will act accordingly."

"Duke Ming is wise." Guo Jia smiled and praised, "Since this is the case, after Pengcheng is captured, Duke Ming will lead the army to pursue Lu Bu first, and Jia will help Duke Ming take care of other matters."

"Feng Xiao!" Cao Cao frowned suddenly, "I don't need you...

"Minggong, it is more appropriate for Jia to stay." Guo Jia raised the arc of his lips, and stated the facts lightly, "Minggong can also see that Liu Bei, although he is running around and wandering everywhere, but Still be treated favorably. Apart from his status as 'Uncle Emperor', there is another point that is crucial

Jia doesn't care, but Duke Ming must have this thing. "

Seeing that Cao Cao still didn't answer for a long time, Guo Jia burst out laughing: "Since Jia is Minggong's sacrificial wine, it is enough for Minggong to know each other and respect each other, and there is no need for a world name. Someday I will let go of Jia."

The playful tone contained a firmness that could not be disputed, just like Cao Cao's determination in the past.

He understands that Guo Jia is calm, so the current choice is undoubtedly the most beneficial for Cao Cao.

He knows what is the best choice.

So, looking at Guo Jia's bright smile like a summer flower, he couldn't say the words of refusal.

After all, he is Cao Cao.

"Okay, just follow what Fengxiao said."

As soon as Liu Bei returned to the small courtyard where he lived in Xudu, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei greeted him. After confirming that Liu Bei had not experienced any danger, the two were relieved.Liu Bei then brought up the matter of Cao Cao's gift again, and handed over the items that were given to the two people respectively.

"Could it be..." Guan Yu opened his brocade box, and was immediately overwhelmed by the beauty of the weapon in the box, "This is the Seven Star Knife."

"What?" Liu Bei was taken aback, he didn't expect Cao Cao's gift to be such a precious gift.

"That's right, it's indeed the Seven-Star Knife." Zhang Fei had already taken the knife out of the brocade box, looked at it over and over for a long time and finally confirmed, "It is said that this Seven-Star Knife was left in Dong Zhuo after Cao Cao failed to stab Dong. There, it was given to Lu Bu later, but Cao Cao did not expect that it was still in the hands of Cao Cao, and at this time, it was given to the second brother.

"Third brother, what is in your brocade box...?"

"A wolf's hair." Zhang Fei opened the brocade box and showed it to the two of them. Although his voice was calm, he couldn't fool anyone with the little love in his eyes when he looked at the things in the brocade box. It can be called a masterpiece.”

"This Cao Cao, what is the intention of giving us such a precious gift?"

Although Depot was surprised, it didn't mean how flattered Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were, on the contrary, it was more strange and uneasy.Seeing that Liu Bei seemed to be thinking about something, he asked, "Brother, what is it that Cao Cao gave you?"

Liu Bei shook his head, opened the brocade box and showed it to the two: "It's just an ordinary ring sword."

"This..." Guan Yu was puzzled.What was given to him and Zhang Fei was top quality, but what was given to Liu Bei was just this ordinary weapon that couldn't be more ordinary, which is too strange.

"No, wait, there is a hidden compartment under the knife." Zhang Fei first noticed something strange.He took the brocade box from Liu Bei, took out the knife and put it aside, and then gently pressed the bottom of the brocade box. Sure enough, the piece of wood was easily removed, and after taking it

It was actually three ingots of gold.

Zhang Fei followed the same pattern and opened the other two boxes. Sure enough, there was gold in them. Although it wasn't that much, the sum was enough for ordinary people in Xudu to live comfortably for a year.

"Cao Cao actually wants to send us money, what do you mean?" Zhang Fei was puzzled.

But Liu Bei suddenly understood something the moment he saw the gold.Both he and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei fled from Xudu, they didn't bring their family members with them, and they couldn't get any of their wealth in the future, so they were destitute.And Cao Cao understands that at this moment, compared with those top-quality weapons that cannot be sold or bought, these gold that can be used to live are what Liu Bei and the others need most.

Shen Se gathered all the gold away, and Liu Bei sighed when he thought of Cao Cao's kindness to him before.

Cao Cao, if he wants to win someone's heart, what he does is really too difficult, too difficult for people to refuse.

It's a pity that the way is different, and there is no conspiracy.