Whoever wins the crouching dragon wins the world

Kong Ming was extremely efficient, but within a week, he made a detailed plan to attack the North and South Palaces.However, before that, he insisted on taking me to visit the downtown area of ​​Luoyang.

"After today, Luoyang will be reduced to ashes." He said seriously, "Even if we revisit the old place, we will never see today's Luoyang again." People set fire to the mansions of the major officials in the city to harass them. Even if the fires that break out don't burn down the entire city, it will definitely hurt Luoyang's vitality and people will be different.

I can't help but feel sad: "The most innocent people are the common people." After today, how many more displaced families will be added, how many poor families will be separated, and their families will be destroyed.

Kong Ming held my hand and said comfortingly: "Break it first and then build it. With the great wisdom of the prince, the common people will never be sacrificed in vain. The pain we suffer today will be rewarded with a hundred times better life in the future."

I nodded silently, followed him through the streets and alleys, and went to the busiest market in the city.

Speaking of which, although I have lived in Luoyang for several years, I don't have many opportunities to visit the market.This is an important place for common people to buy and sell daily necessities. Most of the items on display are utensils, bowls, spoons, needles, thread brains, rouge and gouache.Now that I live in Luoyang, I have no need to buy, but I still read all the way with great interest.

"Girl has a good eye. This bronze mirror is the treasure of our store. It is exquisitely carved and lifelike. You will definitely not lose money if you buy it." The salesman smiled and tried to sell it. The little shop with the words "" is a bit dumbfounding - the pattern on the bronze mirror of his town shop is clearly not clear whether it is a pig or a dog, and it is a pity that he can shamelessly make a "lifelike" evaluation.

Putting down the mirror, I think eating is more suitable for me. The master is among the people, and China on the tip of the tongue will never disappoint my stomach.

"I want to eat glutinous rice noodles, twisted crisps, sweet and salty cakes, meat skewers, and a smile..."

Kong Ming blinked: "Buy, buy, buy!"

Naturally, he learned this from Liu Xi.Just in time for the meal, the food stall was set up on the other side of the square market. With a smile on his lips, Kong Ming pulled me forward in the wind and not far away, and the tempting aroma flew towards his mouth and nose.

"Crayfish?" I hesitated.I have no particular preference for this kind of creature with teeth and claws, but Liu Xi has always been a loyal lover of crayfish before traveling. He used to grab me for tooth sacrifices every now and then, so even if it’s been ten years, I still remember its taste. still fresh.

"What's a crayfish?" Kong Ming asked puzzled, "This is a spicy shrimp. It's a new dish that has become popular recently. It's very popular. Do you want to try it?"

The diners at the next table were feasting. I moved my eyes to the plates in front of them, and found that although the color was oily and the smell was spicy, the ingredients were common river prawns in Luoyang, which were far from Liu Xi’s favorite crayfish.However, the presentation is excellent.

Since I haven't eaten it, let's try it, I nodded slightly.Since I was pregnant, I have been quite adventurous in eating, and I am very keen to try new dishes.

Kong Ming’s food taste is light, and he doesn’t like oily and spicy food, so he only ordered a plate of shrimp to try something new. In addition, he asked me to order rice sticks, open smiles, etc., and asked the boss if he had any special dishes to recommend .

The boss said modestly: "The specialty dishes are not counted, but there are some popular food in the same boat, do you want to try it?"

This name is unheard of, so I couldn't help asking: "What is the same boat food?"

"Here, this is it!" The boss lifted up the ladle in his hand and put it in front of our eyes.

"This is..." It turned out to be a plain noodle cake, and Kong Ming and I looked at each other, "What kind of stuffing is there?"

"It's wild vegetables." The boss laughed, "Guest officer, don't underestimate this food in the same boat. It was invented by the general! In recent years, the world has been in bad shape, there have been wars and locust plagues, and the emperor wants to increase taxes. People made this same boat food, took the lead in quitting meat and meat, and lived on wild vegetables and white noodles every day, saying that although life is difficult, they must share weal and woe with the people."

"That's it." I couldn't help frowning.The general in the boss's mouth refers to Cao Pi. The general guarding the city knows that saving money and sharing the hardships of the people is a good quality worth advocating, but it is too much to direct the disaster to the puppet emperor who has no autonomy under the banner of taxes. Shameless.On the one hand, Cao Cao cried to the court about being poor, on the other hand, he was greedy for ink and taxation to fill his private pockets. While collecting people's fat, he also set up a memorial archway for himself to fool the people. He took all the benefits and left Liu Xie with no way out.

However, many people who were kept in the dark didn't know the truth, and they still thought of the Cao family.

Just like Cao Pi, who is still in the stage of keeping a low profile at the moment, his writing is not outstanding, and he has no military merits. Just because he is the son of Cao Cao and knows how to show kindness, he is like a fish in water in Luoyang, and has an excellent reputation.The boss praised him like a flower: "The general is the son of the Cao family, a real nobleman, but he can put down his dignity and say the words 'share the suffering with the people', which is commendable."

I took a hard bite of "Tongzhou Food" and found that the dough was stiff and the fillings were bland. Except for the novelty of the name, it was not as good as the common biscuits sold on the street. It felt like I had been fooled.

Because of Cao Pi's gimmicks, this "Tongzhou Shi" is worth four hundred and five baht, which is enough to buy a dozen sesame seed cakes.

"Don't think so." My complexion turned black, but Kong Ming smiled and said in a very happy mood, "At least Tongzhou Food has stuffing in it, and the biscuits only have one piece of dough. The cost of the two is incomparable." .”

"That's not so much worse!" I glared at him, but I also knew that it was unreasonable to lose my temper on him.Even though Liu Xie and I don't have a deep connection, we have experienced the most turbulent period of childhood together, and even a stone has feelings.The Liu Xie in my impression is a very gentle person. Although he grew up in the harsh environment where his husband loved him and his mother hated him, he miraculously did not grow crooked. Cultivate a submissive personality, but advance and retreat in a certain way, be modest and polite.When he was in the palace, he took good care of me and Liu Xi, two idiotic younger siblings, and would even play with me when he had time. , never show me face.

At the beginning, Cao Cao insisted on marrying me to Cao Pi, but Liu Xie was the only one who opposed it in such a big court. He said: "Sheng Yang is mentally retarded, and the future is already difficult. I just ask her to find a kind and generous husband. Tranquility is enough."

It's a pity that although he is an emperor, he has no real power in his hands, so he can only accept my marriage with hatred in the end.Liu Xie regarded this as a disgrace. On the day the edict was issued, it rained heavily in Luoyang. Liu Xie came to the dormitory alone to look for me. When we met, he didn't say anything. He just stood at the door from a distance and watched me pretend to be crazy.I don't think I will ever forget the expression on his face at that time in my life. It was a complex expression entangled with guilt, self-blame, remorse, and pain.

Before the marriage decree was issued, Liu Xie was just my elder brother in name, no different from the maids and eunuchs I deal with every day, and I could fool around at will, but after that, he became my relative, a person from the bottom of my heart. Recognized as the object of affection.

Cao Cao's eyeliner is everywhere in the palace, so I can't do anything, I can only walk over gently, hug him, then smirk, and talk wildly: "I caught you, you idiot, come watch me dance How is it? I just learned a very beautiful dance, and the ground is so beautiful."

Liu Xie nodded, but I turned around and left him, and climbed to the head of the bed to play bungee jumping alone.

When I woke up the next day, the court lady showed me some colorful clothes and coaxed me in a low voice: "This is the dance dress that the emperor gave you, as well as dance clothes and shoes, do you want to try it?"

What to try?Didn't you see that I was in a hurry to play with the peony in Jianyu Garden?I frightened the maid with scissors, but I remembered Liu Xie's intentions in my heart.

If Liu Xi and I hadn't been alone, there would have been at least two younger siblings in the palace who could advance and retreat with Liu Xie, so we wouldn't be so lonely and struggling like we are now.He married Fushou, the daughter of Unexpected Marquis Fuwan, who was just a concubine and gave birth to a son. Although he recognized his wife, Princess Yang'an, as his mother, he had not received much education since he was a child, and he was more ambitious than scheming.She is a woman who tends to go to extremes, and she has never been able to correctly assess her situation. Either she was stimulated by the queen's halo and couldn't find her way out, thinking that the world was so big that she could do whatever she wanted, or she was frightened by Cao Cao's tough methods, and wished she could I buried my head in the quilt and shivered every night until dawn.Even if Liu Xie was tolerant and open-minded, facing such a queen, he could only sigh.Although he understands that it is difficult for her to live in the palace, it is impossible to respect his wife and believe that she can work together with him to overcome difficulties.Moreover, Empress Fu did not stay with him for long in history. She died at the hands of Cao Cao in 19 years in Jian'an. The behavior of the three sisters Cao Xian, Cao Jie, and Cao Hua sent to the palace is very likely that Cao Cao's move was to pave the way for his daughter. Soon afterwards, Cao Jie was made queen, and the two sons of Fu Wan were also killed by Cao Cao. .

In fact, Liu Xie has been working hard to be a good emperor, a good brother, and a good husband. Unfortunately, the luck is not good. No matter in history or in this life, God has not given him this opportunity.However, life and death depend on wealth and honor, and Liu Xie's life is difficult no matter how difficult it is. With the title of emperor, he can always live comfortably with fine clothes and fine food every day.And these people in Luoyang, even if they work hard all day long, can't get rid of the curse of "death, the people suffer; prosperity, the people suffer".

On August 14th of the [-]th year of Jian'an, Luoyang, which was once prosperous for a while, turned into a sea of ​​flames. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed.Since then, fewer and fewer people have mentioned Luoyang, and more and more people have given it a nickname—Fire City.