Whoever wins the crouching dragon wins the world

As the sky was getting dark, Zhou An lit a dim oil lamp and spread a long scroll on the table.

"Please take a look at the princess." His attitude was still respectful, but due to days of hard work, his voice couldn't hide his exhaustion, and his face was pale and dull under the dim light.

"Sit down and talk about it." It's only been a few days since we moved into Luoyang, and he has tossed like this.I couldn't help turning my gaze to Kong Ming. Half a quarter of an hour ago, he was still emphasizing to me that he was in good health and full of energy. , He fell asleep on the back of the chair, and didn't even notice that the brush in his hand fell to the ground.

"Let's keep our voice down, don't wake him up, let him sleep for a while." Sighing silently, swallowing all the blame, I lightly put the thin blanket on his shoulders, only There is a wry smile.Kong Ming is a stubborn person. He recognized Liu Xi's great trust in entrusting him with the task of going north.This made me feel very frustrated, even if I gave up my face to act like a baby, his perfunctory attitude towards me was full of coaxing like comforting a wayward child: No matter how good the promise is in words, it is impossible to connive in actions.

I can't do anything about it.

Kong Ming's trip is indeed a heavy responsibility.According to reliable information from Xizuo, Luoyang is currently the largest private granary of the Cao family. Tens of thousands of dan grains are stored somewhere in the North and South Palaces. All it takes is a fire to turn everything into ashes.

The premise is that our people can successfully sneak into the North and South Palaces.

Since Cao Cao coerced Liu Xie to move the capital to Xudu, the North and South Palaces have become the Cao family's private forbidden area. The gates are closed and heavily guarded. If there is no seal of the Cao family, even if they stay at the gate for a moment, they will be killed as spies.It took Liu Xi a lot of effort to find out that there was food in the Jiade Palace with the hidden stake planted in Cao's house. If he wanted to go further, he had no way out.

"Princess, please look, this is the Jiade Palace. Due to the humble status of the slave, I have never had the opportunity to enter the palace, so I only focused on the appearance of the Jiade Palace and several palaces near it." Considering the sleeping Kong Ming, Zhou An deliberately lowered her voice, and pointed to a corner of the painting with her slightly swollen fingers.

Jiade Hall is a palace used to formulate etiquette system in Nangong. It is not far from the main hall of Nangong. It is so lifelike, so it is also called the Nine Dragon Hall.However, more dragons does not mean that God will give more blessings.On the contrary, the Jiade Hall is the most murderous building in the Nangong Palace.In the sixth year of Zhongping, my father in this life, Emperor Lingdi Liu Hong, died of illness in the Jiade Palace, and then my grandmother, Empress Dowager Dong, was also killed by Liu Bian’s birth mother He in the Jiade Palace. Yoyo's mouth.In retribution for reincarnation, after a few months, Liu Bian's uncle He Jin conspired with Yuan Shao and others to kill the eunuch, Zhang Rang, who preempted the attack, chopped off his head with a single knife, and blood stained the Jiade Palace.Therefore, there has long been a saying among the people that "Guardian is not good, and Kowloon is a cage".

Like most of the ancient buildings in China, the Jiade Hall is made of wood, and wood, grain and grass are all combustibles, which is to our advantage.However, setting fire to the enemy's territory is a highly technical challenge, and if you are not careful, you will burn yourself. Therefore, Kong Ming has repeatedly deliberated on the plan of arson in the past two days, almost exhausting his energy.

"you're awake?"

After Zhou An left, I marked the distance between the palaces on the scroll from memory, and as soon as I was done, I saw Kong Ming's brows were slightly wrinkled, his eyes were still closed, but his body had stretched out. "What time is it?" He opened his eyes and saw me under the lamp, his voice was muffled and hoarse, and he tilted his head in a rare silly way, "I'm fast asleep? Where is Zhou An, why didn't you wake me up."

"You only slept for half an hour." Why don't you sleep a little longer, he really needs to rest.I looked at the dark sky just now with some regret, and asked, "You missed your meal, you should be hungry now, shall I ask Xiaoer to deliver the meal?"

"You haven't eaten yet? Nonsense, how can a pregnant woman go hungry!" Even after he had just caught up on his sleep, Kong Ming's eye sockets were still blue, and the blood in his eyes hadn't diminished in the slightest. He wanted to stand up, but his hands and feet softened, and he bumped directly into the corner of the table.

"Be careful!" I was taken aback by him. If he hadn't reacted in time, I'm afraid my head would have been hit by this time. "Why are you so careless!" Although there was no danger, I still couldn't help complaining .

"It's nothing." Kong Ming didn't take it seriously, he collected himself, and his eyes fell on the picture scroll I just added, "Is this the map of the North and South Palaces?"

"You eat first!" He has too many precedents of forgetting to eat and sleep. I covered the scroll and made up my mind to prevent it from burning.

"What's the reason for this?" Kong Ming was stunned, "The meal needs to be prepared by the cook..." The implication is that he can take advantage of the cooking time in the kitchen to look at the pictures.

"Yesterday you also said that you would only watch for a short while before going to bed. What happened? I woke up and you still had the lights on. I will never trust you again." Fang fell down twice, "Eat first, I won't show you until I finish."

"I'm not a three-year-old child." Maybe my tone was too serious, Kong Ming was taken aback for a moment, and he actually frowned and smiled very nicely, "Although you are a golden branch and jade leaf, but if you coerce your husband like this, if it spreads ...Kong Ming's husband is weak."

"It's a man's responsibility to love his wife... uh... it's a man's responsibility to love and pamper his wife." I glared at him, maybe because I got used to his jokes from time to time after I went to the north, and I didn't feel ashamed at all. The machine taught him, "It is a sign of incompetence to suppress a woman and play prestige. A real man is a good husband who knows how to listen to his wife."

Kong Ming nodded kindly and humbly asked for advice: "For example?"

I'm choking.Chicken Sichen has not been a good word since ancient times. Counting from the Three Kingdoms, there is no dynasty that respects women's rights.I don't read much, and I don't know much about the lives of historical figures. I know only a few big figures such as Shang Zhou and Zhou Wu Wang, and none of them are famous because they are good to their wives.Thinking about it carefully, I don't even have the impression of how many wives they have married.

"Anyway, this is the truth." I said with a guilty conscience, "According to me, a man can have three wives and four concubines, but women must stick to the same one. It's not fair. Don't do to others what you don't want. Since men require women to be chaste, then You should also cleanse yourself."

"Three wives and four concubines are for spreading branches and spreading leaves—" Kong Ming has obviously noticed the disapproval on my face. With his intelligence, he should understand that this is a sensitive topic that is likely to cause quarrels, but he still does not change his original intention. Said, "'Concubines who buy together, because they are inferior to public property.' The housework is cumbersome, the children and grandchildren are important, and the main wife will inevitably be exhausted. The concubine's room will assist, which is like a maid and servant. This is the case in the world. Why do you and the prince Extraordinarily contradictory personality?" Since he and Liu Xi made a three-chapter agreement, we haven't found an opportunity to discuss this issue in depth.From the point of view of an ancient man, even though Kong Ming has promised to marry me only in this life, he is full of doubts about Liu Xi's request.

He frowned and his expression was extremely serious, which showed that he had been troubled by this question for a long time. For the first time, the gap of 2000 stood between us so abruptly that I didn't know how to answer it.His stern expression prevented me from even blaming him, because, as he said, "everyone is like this".Born in a feudal society, even with wisdom like Zhuge Kongming, he was unable to escape the framework of the times.

Just like the first time I made glutinous rice balls for everyone to eat during the Lantern Festival in the thatched cottage, both Kong Ming and Zhuge Jun showed a dazed look.Fengcha didn’t know why and asked me: “Shouldn’t Yuanxiao drink bean porridge? Why do you cook rice balls?” Later, I asked Liu Xi and found out that glutinous rice balls were only a food in the Song Dynasty, so even though Kong Ming praised its taste Absolutely, he also disapproves of me replacing bean porridge with glutinous rice balls, just because it is not suitable for the occasion.

"No woman is willing to share her husband with others." I tried to explain to Kong Ming, "If a woman has devoted all her affection to her husband, of course she also hopes that her husband will only have him in his heart, making her the only one for him."

"Of course the wife is the only one." Kong Ming said firmly, "A concubine is like an object. You can buy or sell it. How can you share it? For example, the scrolls of sages take up a lot of time for men to read, but they are just tools. How can we talk about them? Share your husband with your wife?"

"How can it be the same?" I retorted, "Concubines are human beings, and when we get along day and night, there will always be feelings."

"Even if there is love, it is different from a husband and wife." Kongming gave an example, "I get along with Fengcha day and night, and have a deep friendship as a master and servant, but it is always impossible to raise eyebrows with him, and the same is true for concubines. Since you don't mind serving tea, why do you mind concubines? Waiter?"

"The concubine can add incense, warm the bed and explain the language, and can also inherit the incense. Whatever the wife can do, the concubine can do." I said in a muffled voice.How can such a simple truth not make sense?

"Wives, three mediators and six recruits, husbands and children, and housekeepers in the government. The concubine's room is not on the table, can not preside over the sacrifices, and manage the middle class." Kong Ming's voice is gentle, and the handsome side face is flickering with dancing candlelight, "Both They are far apart, so how can they be confused? Although there are concubines as wives, they are against the norms, and they are despised by a gentleman. Concubine-born children must be raised by their aunts before they can become great. .”

Different from the Zhai Dou Wen that prevailed in later generations, in the Three Kingdoms, wives and concubines in most families can still coexist peacefully.Many concubines take the initiative to take concubines for their husbands, and they have never even felt sour and jealous in their hearts—as Kong Ming said, they treat their concubines as a hen that can lay eggs, and they look at it from a human perspective. Chicken, no matter how beautiful and favored this chicken is, she is still just a beast, and the power of life and death is all in the hands of people, and people can't afford to lower their status to compete with a beast for jealousy.

But after 20 years of education on "all beings are equal", I can't do as the Romans do: "Anyway, I don't allow you to take concubines. If you dare to cheat on me without telling me, I, I will definitely let you go around."

"Since I have made an oath, I will never break my promise." Kong Ming rubbed the corners of his brows and sighed softly, "I just don't understand why you and the prince are so against taking concubines. The prince has a high position and power, and he is more likely to go further in the future. If he also insisted on 'a couple for life', the royal family's blood is weak, and it may not be a good thing for the country and the family."

The so-called emperor is not in a hurry to kill eunuchs, and Liu Xi has not yet married, which has already made many veterans loyal to the Han Dynasty jump their feet.Some thoughtful politicians scrambled to present beauties, but unfortunately all of them were returned by Liu Xi.It is said that when Liu Xi was drunk, he once made great wishes to Qian Chao and others not to take concubines. At that time, no one took it seriously, but after several years passed, there were still no women around him, and the ministers gradually believed that he was not joking.

The ancients paid attention to many children and many blessings, especially the royal family standing at the top of the pyramid, and the affairs of descendants were particularly eye-catching.Kong Ming's refusal to accept concubines is just a family matter, even if his concession is out of accommodating rather than genuine approval, as long as he makes up his mind and persuades Zhuge patriarch to turn a blind eye, no one will be able to comment.But Liu Xi is a person whose goal is to be the king of a country, and his heirs are related to the lifeline of the country, so they can already be counted as state affairs.

Kong Ming couldn't help worrying about this matter.After all, swords and guns have no eyes on the battlefield, and Liu Xi likes to lead the way. If the shroud of horse leather is ignored for a while, the great country that has been built so hard will face the dilemma of no one to inherit it.

But after all, this is something that has not happened yet. To this, I have only one answer: "Brother Huang has his own measure." Liu Xi is not a reckless man. Absolutely not at risk.

However, it was clear that Kong Ming didn't believe in Liu Xi's ability to avoid risks. In his opinion, Liu Xi didn't need to go out in person to conquer Liu Zhang, and sending a few generals was enough.Especially when the news came that Liu Xi had sneaked into the enemy's hinterland with a small group of cavalry one month ago, Kong Ming was even more restless, and wrote a letter to warn him: "A gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall, and the son of a prince's daughter should be in the middle of a strategic plan." In the middle, the decisive victory is thousands of miles away, rather than going one's own way and insisting on taking risks."

But all his fists hit the cotton.Yesterday, Liu Xi's letter was returned, and under the eloquent pages of advice, there was only a pitiful two-word reply: "I have read it."

Kong Ming was speechless, but I smiled at the letter.Could it be that seeing Kong Ming's helpless appearance, Liu Xi's ability is so great!