Fall in love with the technology tree [Three Kingdoms]

Because of serious injuries, Duke Zhonghua disappeared from the political arena in Xu County.

During this long winter, she only appeared twice.The first time was in November, when the first snow fell from the sky, and Cao Jun successively conquered Linyi, Kaiyang, Changli, and Lanling, and approached Tancheng where Tao Qian was located.

Liu Bei didn't show up for a long time, and Tancheng was strong and well-fed, and once the city gate was closed, it became an insurmountable peak.Cao Cao was full of this wave of bonuses, and began to consider making peace with Tao Qian.

"I don't think you can hand over Liu Bei." Cao Cao wrote in the letter sent to Tancheng, "I believe that Liu Bei is no longer in your hands, but it is also true that he defected after conspiring with you. Without your conspiring first, there is no There is no such thing as my younger brother being injured. In this way, you hand over the Mi family who took the lead in this incident, and I have an explanation to my brother, and this time it will be over."

The head of the Mi family is Mi Zhu, who is only a young man in his 30s at this time. Hearing the words, he couldn't stop crying, but he still asked his family to tie him up and walked to the state pastoral mansion on foot. "Zhu has been kind to Xuzhou for more than [-] years," he cried, "I can't bear to implicate Xuzhou's elders because of me alone, so please ask Ming Gong to use my head to appease Cao Cao's anger."

Snowflakes are falling quietly on the black stone steps. There are residential houses on both sides of the street. People's terrified eyes are exposed through the cracks in the doors of the residential houses, desperate and dead.

Faintly, it seems that there are whispering voices floating in the densely packed houses:

"Did you hear Cao Jun shouting outside?"

"Are you still going to the city wall? You're so bold, my legs go limp when I see the black armored cavalry."

"So what are you shouting about?"

"If Tao Qian refuses to hand over the Mi family, Cao's army will slaughter the city when the city of Tancheng is destroyed."

"what--"

"This is how to do ah?"

There was already a thin layer of snow on the ground, Tao Qian walked up to Mi Zhu step by step, dragging his old cold legs.His hair is all white, his face is full of wrinkles and age spots, and he looks older than 70 years old.

He fell to his knees in the snow with a plop, hugged Mi Zhu and cried loudly.

Mi Zhu also cried.

The bustling street in the past was extremely empty, only two hoarse cries were intertwined and spread to the gray and snowy sky.

"Zi Zhong, Zi Zhong—" Tao Qian's voice was like a broken bellows, but the words he said were determined after being suppressed to the extreme, "I am old, and I am not as strong as when I was young. See When Cao Ang shot and killed Yuan Shu, I trembled with fear; how about Cao Cao's tiger and leopard troops crushed under the city wall? But, Zizhong, I have been thinking these days, if I want to use the lives of my subordinates to just survive , then what else in this world is worth insisting on?"

Mi Zhu opened his mouth in disbelief and took a mouthful of snowflakes, but the hope and emotion of life enveloped him, making him feel hot all over. "My lord..." Mi Zhu lost his voice, and hot tears fell on Tao Qian's shoulder one by one. "My lord...is it Zhu's fault? I have a good relationship with Liu Bei, and I ignored the lord's situation...it's all my fault. If I can get the lord's protection, I will die without regret."

Tao Qian patted Mi Zhu's shoulder once and for all.He has reached the twilight years of his life, and Mi Zhu's age is only about the same as his youngest son.

"What nonsense are you talking about? If you want to talk about communicating with Liu Bei, that's me, Xuzhou State Shepherd. Cao Cao blamed you by talking nonsense. It was just a deceit because he saw that Tancheng was strong and could not be attacked for a long time." Tao Qian suddenly Standing up, an astonishing strength erupted from the old body, standing still in the snow, "I have been guarding Xiongcheng, I have stored food for ten years, and I have 5 armors. Can I not beat Cao Cao's [-] horses?"

An arrow shot out from the city and hit the frozen ground in front of Cao Ying.A blood-red arrow branch with only the word "war" engraved on it.

The situation was very serious, but Cao Cao smiled, an extremely cold smile. "I have been underestimated by the world." He looked at the dusty city walls of Tancheng, "Because A Sheng provided the logistics, they all thought that I would only fight the kind of battle where the wind is smooth and the more wins the less."

Xiahou Dun was the first to laugh in response.After laughing, he said murderously: "When Tancheng is conquered, Tao Qian's head will be cut off, and it will be used as a spittoon for the second brother." This honest child still believes that Liu Bei was ordered by Tao Qian.

Xun You, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, Jia Xu, and the advisors were all mobilized, plus the team was full of grief and indignation from the coach to the soldiers, from the cook to the military doctor. It is not difficult to win more with less.

Fight to the last stand, and the mourners will win.

This battle is probably the most tragic battle Cao Cao has fought in recent years.The blood stained the snow red, and then turned into a gurgling blood-colored stream.The snow keeps falling and melting, like a tug-of-war between the sun and the snowflakes, which never stops on this land where cold weapons are wielded.

When Ah Sheng got off the carriage, what he saw was the dilapidated city of Tan.The gate of the city was broken, and the huge wooden gate was broken by a forcible hinge.The inside and outside of the city gate are full of broken knives and broken halberds, and each weapon tells a story of blood and fire.

Dragging a thick cloak, she walked through the door opening with small steps, and then saw Tao Qian's head hanging on the city gate.The old state shepherd committed suicide in the mansion.Therefore, the head closed its eyes, and it looked a little peaceful.

"You, go and put down Tao Gongzu's head." Ah Sheng called to stop a patrolling centurion.

The centurion originally thought she was a member of the Xuzhou clan and came over with a spear to arrest her, but when he saw Ah Sheng's pale face, he was too frightened to move. "Zhong... Zhong Zhong Zhong Hua Gong, why did you come to Tancheng?"

His shout caused a commotion, almost a minute, surrounded by soldiers.They are either excited, grateful, or adored.

"Mr. Zhonghua, are you alright?"

"Mr. Zhonghua, there is no better thing to see you safe and sound. My family is from Xu County, and the two elder brothers in the family like to listen to your lectures."

"Duke Zhonghua, my lord has gone to the State Shepherd's Mansion to pack up the documents, so we'll call him here right now."

"All of you give way, Mr. Zhonghua is still seriously injured, how can he stand for a long time in this weather?"

"That's right, hurry up and bring a charcoal basin to Duke Zhonghua."

"There is still hot water, the villain will go find the gang leader right now."

……

Surrounded by the crowd, Ah Sheng looked weaker because she was compared with the strong soldiers, but she still had a decent look of pity on her face. "Someone, please take off Tao Gongzu's head."

"This..." The soldiers looked at each other, and then someone laughed and said, "Mr. Zhonghua, the lord hung it up with his own hands."

"Oh, my elder brother hung it up with his own hands, so I have to untie it myself." She said, as if she was about to walk towards the city wall.

"Hey, hey, you are still sick, so I dare not let you blow the air." The soldiers panicked, and immediately a veteran of tiger and leopard cavalry ran to the top of the tower, and after a while, he came down with Tao Qian's hair up.

A Sheng took the head, smiled at the hesitant soldiers, then turned around, and moved step by step to Tao Qian's headless corpse in the middle of the street.She knelt down, joined the head and body together, and put the hands of the corpse on the abdomen.

It was cold and the body had been frozen for a long time, so she worked very hard, and finally the soldiers had to come to help her to clean up Tao Qian's body.

"Anyway, it's a state governor." A Sheng said while moving, "The dead are gone, let's save some face for each other."

The bloodthirsty frenzy in the eyes of the soldiers had receded, and they all bowed their heads to listen to her words. "Yes, Duke Zhonghua is kind."

Ah Sheng shook his head, but he didn't refute anything.

The hem of her cloak had been stained with blood and mud, making it look black.Ah Sheng asked Tao Qian's body to be wrapped in a straw mat and placed in an abandoned shop nearby, and then dragged her towards the State Shepherd's Mansion at still slow pace.

The news of her coming to this city seemed to be carried by fluttering snowflakes, and it floated into thousands of households in a short while.Those who fought in the streets, looted, and ransacked their homes could not help but stop, and walked along the streets and alleys to both sides of the main road, looking at the legendary figure who started the war.

She walked with difficulty, in the eyes of countless enemies.It seemed that the wound was affected, and even her lips, which were originally bright red from the cold, gradually lost their blood.

"Ah Sheng——" Cao Cao heard such explosive news before his butt was warmed up in the State Shepherd's Mansion, and ran out in a hurry, even wearing a cloak to hug his troublesome younger sister. "You nonsense! You were lying in bed half a month ago and couldn't move. Don't tell me you're all right, I don't believe it!"

Ah Sheng knelt down straight: "I beg Mr. Cao to take back his order."

Cao Cao's brain froze for a second: "What is fate?"

"The fate of massacring the city." Ah Sheng closed his eyes, she couldn't speak too loudly, but in this environment where everyone was watching, everyone heard what she was saying. "I heard that elder brother swore with Tao Gongzu, saying that he would slaughter Tancheng, and he would have trouble sleeping and eating. Although I was on the verge of life and death, I was alive after all. I can't accept that innocent people really died because I was still alive. , I am afraid that in the next few decades, I will have no face to see the world, so please take it back, brother."

Cao Cao bowed his head and remained silent.

"Brother, we talked about the law when we were young. You and I thought that sitting down was a first-class violent law in the world, and it should be discarded by future generations. Do you remember?" Her dark eyes reflected the sky, and there was something in it. The snow flakes swayed, as if they could illuminate hexagonal crystals.

"Asheng," Cao Cao sighed, and stretched out his hand to support her, "Get up, get up. I'll follow your orders, don't slaughter the city."

"The people are innocent."

Cao Cao glanced at the flag with the word "Mi" hanging beside the street, a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes, but he continued following his sister's words: "The people are innocent."

That night, the snow suddenly fell heavily, and it no longer looked like it was about to accumulate.The next day, Tancheng became a white world. The blood on the ground, together with the scorched marks on the city tower, were covered by snow.

The bloody end is gone.

Three days later, the bodies of Tao Qian and his family were buried in a reasonably good tomb outside Tancheng.Ah Sheng didn't go to the funeral, she sat on a warm couch in the former Tao Mansion, looked at the crystal clear world outside, and said sorry to the old man in her heart.

He is a good protagonist and a hero with backbone.

With this snow, winter comes.

It was a good winter, and the snow was just thick enough to freeze the insect eggs in the fields without causing snow disasters.

Because of the exacerbation of his illness caused by a trip to Xuzhou, Ah Sheng's figure disappeared from everyone's eyes again.She didn't even show up when Cao Cao mobilized grassroots officials from the Nandao line to various counties and counties in Xuzhou.

Yanzhou officials were not used to it at first, but immediately they found that their colleagues from the South Island were much calmer than them.

"Could it be that you can't work without Duke Zhonghua around?"

"Now is the time for us to share our worries for Mr. Zhonghua, where is the time to be confused?"

Gradually, Yanzhou got used to the life without Cao Zhonghua, and Xu County Academy also got used to the life without Master Cao.One month is enough to get everything on track.The world will not stop turning without anyone, and a mature political system will not stop running without anyone.

Ah Sheng sat on the couch by the window and spent afternoons wrapped in snow one after another.There are endlessly roasted orange peels and longan shells on the incense burner. This kind of life is very good, as if she is an ordinary person.

In the blink of an eye, the first day will arrive.

The new year is also the first anniversary of Emperor Han's death.Cao Cao led all the officials to the mausoleum to worship Liu Xie, and then there was a common question: what should I do with the reign name?How to name the official position?Even, should Cao Cao proclaim himself emperor?

Cao Cao refused, "I want to serve the first emperor as a filial piety for three years." Then he pretended to want a family banquet, ran home and closed the gate, leaving behind a group of people who wanted to get their hands on the dragon.

The courtiers looked at each other outside.

"Let's go." Guo Jia was the first to laugh, and slipped away with a flagon. "The rafters in the early years are rotten first, and the children understand the truth. The world is not peaceful, why bother to ask for trouble?"

Then the members of the Xun family left with a relaxed face, and then Jia Xu.

The most intelligent counselors in the camp all have such an attitude, and there is something that others don't understand: it is not yet time to proclaim themselves emperor.So the crowd dispersed.

When Cao Cao heard that there was no sound outside, he secretly opened a crack in the door and looked out.Seeing that there was no one there, he breathed a sigh of relief, took off the latch, shook his hands, and straightened the crooked crown.

"These people are trying to burn me." He shook his head, then walked towards the back house with frivolous steps.He was going to find a chance to talk to people one by one.

If you ask Cao Cao if he has the intention of proclaiming himself emperor, there must be some small flames. After all, he now has four states, which is more extensive than Yuan Shao who did not win Youzhou.But the idea of ​​proclaiming emperor is just a small flame. After all, his background is here, and the resistance can be imagined.

At least, Yuan Shao is immortal, he will not proclaim himself emperor.

Even, Cao Cao thought, he would never become emperor in this life. He was a courtier of the Han Dynasty, and received the grace of being promoted by the Han Ling Emperor and the instructions of Tuogu.Maybe only Aang went to proclaim himself emperor.

He privately shared this idea with those close to him, which caused Guo Jia and others to applaud him.Xun You also agreed, saying that Cao Cao's idea was right and he didn't need to worry about it.On the contrary, Xun Yu was a little silent, but who could fail to understand the current situation.He finally toasted Cao Cao at the banquet.

It was the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, and the banquet was quite grand, except for these close counselors and generals, even Ah Sheng, who had just recovered from serious injuries, came out while the dishes were being served.Cao Cao set his sister's seat next to him, and then poured her a bowl of warm rice milk very enthusiastically.

Cao Cao's children, starting with Ah Zhen and Sun Ce, Cao Ang, Cao Shuo, Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Jie, Cao Zhi, Cao Chong, toasted her one by one.Ah Sheng substituted rice soup for wine and accepted them one by one.

After drinking for three rounds, the barbecue and pear cream came up.Like a child, Cao Cao picked the fullest bowl of pear paste, put it in front of his sister, and helped her slice several slices of tenderloin, dipped it in honey and put it on the plate.Cao Cao was happy to watch her eat. He took a leg of lamb, sprinkled it with cumin and pepper, and gnawed it relished.

There were all his favorite food in front of him, and Ah Sheng was also very relaxed. For more than 30 years, they have grown from little kids after eunuchs to wealthy princes all the way.But Cao Cao still treats her sincerely, which is very valuable.Perhaps it is rare and valuable throughout history.

"What's your plan for the new year?" Cao Cao touched his wine glass with his sister's rice soup bowl.

Ah Sheng took a sip of the warm sweet rice soup and replied, "I'm going to continue recuperating."

"Ah, I don't believe it!" Cao Cao showed an expression of "I believe you a ghost", "You can't stay idle."

Ah Sheng almost fell down on the food table laughing, she lazily propped her head on her hands: "I promise the students to write a copy of "Optics". And the drafting of "Yan, Qing, Henan, Xu Sizhou General Law" only finished half."

Cao Cao tapped his finger on the table, and suddenly asked, "Ah Sheng, do you want to adopt a child? The youngest of my family is weaned, so you can take whoever you like, and I have no problem with it!" "