[Three Kingdoms] Carnival

In Danyang in winter, there are most sunny days.The bright but not strong light shines down, giving the cold wind a little warmth, covering the deep frost.

Danyang City wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small either. Although it didn't have much power, the city's defenses were enough to protect itself, so that the people in the city who were in troubled times could find a safe place temporarily.

After living in peace and tranquility for a long time, the hostility of licking blood will gradually dissipate.The instincts of vigilance and fear that only appear in suffering are gradually forgotten with the daily ups and downs of stability. Kindness and gentleness occupy the most tender part of every common people's heart and continue to expand.

Therefore, it has been three days since the news that Pengcheng was captured, but the people in the city have no sense of tension, although many of their family members are still detained in Pengcheng, and there are gossip that as long as Danyang does not surrender their Families would be massacred, but this didn't elicit much reaction from them.

They have been preserved in the troubled times for too long, and they have become accustomed to it. They have subconsciously used to believe that no matter how many hardships there are outside the city, their family members can still return to their old hometowns as before, looking at the smoke without any danger.

However, no matter how long it was peaceful before, in this era of war-torn battles, this kind of happiness is too fragile.

In the early morning of this day, someone shouted from downstairs in Danyang City.

"Listen to the defenders in Danyang City! Lü Bu has no virtue, and he is ruining the village. Now the Holy One is sending troops to attack! You open the city and surrender immediately, submit to the imperial court, and avoid the disaster of massacre!"

The soldier who had just woken up slowly walked up the tower, still looking sleepy.He looked up at the figure standing alone under the tower, and curled his lips indifferently.

Disturbing people's dreams early in the morning.

He muttered and complained, then put the knife aside, sat down against the wall, and wondered if he could squint for a while.

Suddenly, a sound came from the front, and the soldier opened his eyes in fright. Seeing the red package in front of him, he glanced strangely, and then looked down the tower. go.

"What, this is..." Not caring why Cao Jun left, the soldier lowered his head and looked at the package thrown up by someone who didn't know how. After thinking about it, he rubbed his hands together and opened the package.

If there is something valuable in it

He fantasized about gold, silver and jewelry while opening it, until the last layer of the package was lifted, his face turned pale in an instant.

Inside the package was a human head.

The redness of this package is the blood from the neck.

With a frightened "Wow", he tossed the head, which hit the edge of the tower and fell into the city along with it.However, at this moment, the frightened soldier didn't care about that much at all, he just panted heavily to calm down the panic just now.

He has fought quite a few battles, and he has seen many corpses, but this head, the panic and despair condensed on his face at the moment of death, made him almost frightened to stop his heartbeat.

He didn't realize it until his breathing calmed down, and hurriedly looked at the falling human head.

However, it was too late.

Early in the morning is the time when the most people are at the entrance of the city tower, especially when some people heard Cao Jun come clamoring again, in the idea that it is not a big deal to watch the excitement, some people called for friends and companions to hear how Cao Jun overreached and made Danyang surrender.However, this time before they could laugh enough, a human head fell from the tower, smashing all the laughter.

A moment of silence.

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

The frightened people scattered like birds and beasts, but they refused to go too far because of curiosity.Suddenly, a person rushed out from the crowd, ran forward, picked up the head and took a closer look

"Husband!!!"

Although the bridge of the nose was broken and the face was covered with blood, the woman quickly recognized the head in her arms.She hugged the head tightly in her arms regardless, her body trembling violently from fear and pain.

And after her reminder, the person who vaguely saw the face of this man just now also started to make a sound.

"Yes, that's right, isn't this He Yan from the north of the city?"

"Yes, yes, he went to Pengcheng to buy new cloth, but he was stranded in Pengcheng when he heard that Cao Jun came to attack..."

"Could it be that the news that came out a few days ago is true?!"

"As long as we don't surrender immediately, then...just...but..."

"But what! The heads are all here!"

He Yan is a big family in the city, with many family members, they flocked here when they heard the bad news, a group of men and women, with yellow hair hanging down, beat their chests, stomped their feet, and howled loudly, it was really sad for those who heard it.The people around looked at this scene, but there was no sympathy in their hearts, but panic.

Pengcheng is where the county is located, and most of them have family members who still stay in Pengcheng.

"Hui'er! Hui'er also went to Pengcheng with her husband!"

The weeping woman suddenly remembered something and shouted loudly, the expressions of the family members around him changed.Yes, He Hui, the eldest grandson of their family is in Pengcheng, if the news is true... yes...

Fear gradually turned into riots, and the peaceful Danyang City and the peaceful people disappeared, replaced by groups of wild beasts that rushed to the city gate and panicked.Fortunately, the guards of Danyang City ran to inform the generals guarding the city the moment they saw the head clearly.This general had been with Lu Bu for many years anyway, and knowing that the situation was not good, he immediately sent troops to maintain stability, and he himself hurried to the place where the disturbance occurred.

"Quiet! Quiet!" He stood on the high platform and shouted.

Facing the sharp blades of the soldiers, the common people still calm down because of the fear that is close at hand.There was a terrifying silence, only the sound of the woman crying.

"Listen!" the general shouted, "Pengcheng is newly broken, but the other cities are as stable as mountains, Cao Jun can't break through at all! There is nothing to threaten with massacre of the city! Anyone who dares to spread such rumors will be punished immediately for confusing people's hearts." !"

"Can……"

"He Yan," the general looked at the people slowly, his eyes darkened, "he was doing business abroad, and he met a bandit by chance, and the bandit killed him only after seeing the money."

This explanation is far-fetched at all, but facing the blade of the soldiers, even if they refuse to believe the common people, they can only shut up for the time being.The general doesn't care whether the people believe it or not, he just wants to give them an explanation and maintain the stability in the city.Seeing that the people were silent, he waved his hand, the soldiers retreated, and he also turned and left.

The people scattered in all directions, and naturally they didn't dare to discuss it in front of the soldiers, but in the dark corners where they couldn't see, the whispers continued to spread and spread.

Not only Danyang City, Xiangben City, Tancheng City... every city in Xuzhou, except Pengcheng and Xiapi, riots occurred with the arrival of the corpses.Although the defenders from all over the country used various reasons to temporarily stabilize the hearts of the people, when bloody corpses were sent every day, everything slowly fermented in fear and grief.

However, it is still a bit slow.

"Find out the old people and the children among the people first." Guo Jia listened to the report from the owl guard, and ordered Gan Jiu who was standing aside.

Gan Jiu has become extremely silent since Guo Jia changed his attitude, but he did not object like Liu Bei or Hua Tuo, but followed Guo Jia's instructions meticulously.At this time, after hearing Guo Jia's words, he was silent for a moment, and then asked:

"Are you going to let them go first?"

"Let it go? How is it possible?" Guo Jia glanced sideways at the young man who was about to win the crown,

"There is nothing more human emotion than filial piety and childcare. Take them first."

Extremely cruel.

For Guo Jia at this time, Gan Jiu couldn't think of other words to describe it.But even when he said such cruel words, Guo Jia still had a faint smile on his mouth, calm and breezy, and didn't care.

After all, Gan Jiu couldn't bear it any longer. He suppressed his emotions as much as possible and said, "It's useless for you to do this. It's impossible for those city guards to just surrender like this."

"Yeah, those guards can't surrender, but... what about the people?"

"The news from Xiangben, the local guards used it to make the people hate Cao Jun, and the defense of the city was strengthened."

"It's just for a while." Guo Jia said very confidently, "What's the use of them strengthening their defenses? If we don't fight, they don't have the strength to fight over. People are still dying every day, so what do they do?"

"Guo Jia." Gan Jiu frowned, "You are really too conceited this time."

However, Guo Jia shook his head. He looked at the young man whose disapproval was almost clearly written on his face, and suddenly changed his tone.

A soft, yet seductive tone.

"Jia is not conceited, but Jia understands what is common people.

The people of Li, the common people... They don't know what morality and the world are. They just want to survive with their families, and they will do whatever it takes to do so.

They will hate Jia and Cao Jun at this moment, because we broke their life and killed their relatives, but so what, what can they do except hate?Useless, useless.

And people are always reluctant to admit their own incompetence.

So, soon, they will take revenge on those who they can use, such as the defenders of the cities.

They hate why the defenders can't drive away Cao Jun, hate them for being incompetent, hate them for being so useless, why don't they surrender quickly, and they can save their families! "

"Guo Jia... In your eyes, the common people are too miserable."

"Really?" Guo Jia shrugged, "Jia remembers that you were familiar with the works of Confucianism before you were eight years old, how did Confucius say that?

The people can let it go, but they can't make it known. "

"It's simply different!"

"What's the difference? The core is the same." Guo Jia stood up with support.The boy grew up so fast that he was almost as tall as him.He looked directly into Gan Jiu's black eyes, and gently rubbed his head with his hands like a child, "Jia can't teach you much, so remember the next words

The people want only the simplest things, so giving them the simplest things is enough.Don't try to make them understand too many things, they can't learn, and they don't want to learn.

The people of the Li people, all living beings, it is the responsibility of the monarch and officials to make a living for the common people, but never believe that

The direction of the people is where the Tao lies. "

At the beginning of life, there is no meaning of good and evil, but always seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, seek happiness and avoid worries.

Therefore, as long as this point is mastered, popular sentiment can actually be easily manipulated.

When only thinking about one's own family becomes a common phenomenon and the law does not blame the public, when hatred and fear turn into a force that destroys everything day by day, and the tactic of subduing others without fighting, then it has been achieved.

In fact, the effect he wanted was not just a few cities.

For example, no matter how hard Liu Bei works from now on, the people of Xuzhou will hate him to the bone.Even if he has the strength to return to Xuzhou in the future, it will be easy to defeat him.

For example, after this massacre, Pengcheng, the county seat, has completely become an abandoned city, and Xuzhou's decline is a foregone conclusion, so from now on, there will be no threat from Xuzhou in Xudu.

For example, Cao Cao, who killed the person who ordered the slaughter, would become an object of admiration and gratitude to the people of Xuzhou.Getting along with Liu Bei this time, Guo Jia understood the importance of people's hearts even more, so since people's hearts can be guided, he left it to Cao Cao.

Everything, just wait and see the result.

Soon, he believed.

Everything developed as Guo Jia expected.

The public anger has arisen, and they have completely forgotten that their defenders once repelled the bandits for them, and helped them reduce taxes... When the crowd was angry, all they knew was to kill the guards and surrender to Cao Jun. Their families can be saved!

"Thinking about it this way, it's thanks to Jia who persuaded the Lord not to massacre the city, otherwise it wouldn't be enough to kill this time."

Liu Bei was silent, as if he didn't hear Guo Jia's words.

It was a foregone conclusion, and he had nothing to say.

In Guo Jia's hand, he was holding a bamboo slip, on which was written the good news that everyone had been looking forward to for a long time:

Except for Xiapi, the whole territory of Xuzhou has been surrendered.

"Thanks to Duke Xuande this time, don't worry, Jia will definitely remember to ask the lord for rewards for Duke Xuande."