Three Kingdoms

When people reach middle age, every day is a struggle. They may be able to fight against fate, but they cannot fight against time. When a person reaches middle age, it is a time to be funny. At first, he has to please the boss, and at next, he needs to be a role model for his children. He also needs to pay attention to his wife's face and be aware of the dynamics of his colleagues around him. When people reach middle age, they are in the world. For the sake of family, face, power, and money, they always have to play both sides. On the one hand, they want to keep their reputation of loyalty, but on the other hand, they have to put down their body and be a good actor.

Liu Biao looked at himself in the bronze mirror and felt that if he were an actor, he would be the most handsome one. But an actor is an actor, no matter how handsome he is, he cannot be on stage.

Anyone who can be on stage must be more than just an actor.

Originally, Liu Biao didn't have many cards in his hand, so he was always being dragged around by the Jingxiang nobles, but he didn't expect that the set of Gan Ning Gan Xing Ba cards he accidentally sent to his hand was so big!

It's so big that it can kill everyone!

At least that's the case around Jingxiang. This gave Liu Biao more confidence.

If a boss doesn't have a few good double-roller red flowers, can he be called a qualified boss?

After Liu Biao tested Gan Ning's quality, he handed out the rewards as if they were free of charge, and forcibly promoted Gan Ning from an ordinary military prince to General Weinan.

"Weinan", of course the meaning is very clear.

Liu Biao looked at his figure with satisfaction, then tried his best to shrink his increasingly protruding abdomen, and Shi Shiran walked forward to the front hall.

In the front hall, Yi Ji and Fu Xun were sitting. When they saw Liu Biao coming, they quickly got up and went forward to salute.

Not to mention Yi Ji, Liu Biao was the first to follow him, and Liu Biao was also considered a confidant. Fu Xun had a magnificent appearance and extensive knowledge. He used to be a minister in the imperial court. Later, due to the chaos in Guanzhong, he came to Jingzhou and became a guest of Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou. Yi Ji is one of his own. Fu Xun has no foundation in Jingxiang and can only rely on Liu Biao, so he can enter the front hall today.

Liu Biao sat down, then waved his attendants to retreat far away, and then slowly exhaled and said: "I have received news that General Yuan has arrived in Yijing! General Gongsun committed suicide by setting fire to the ground!"

Yi Ji and Fu Xun both looked surprised.

Liu Biao couldn't keep this news secret for long. After all, although he had the news now, it didn't mean that others had no additional information channels at all. Such a major matter would be known to others sooner or later, and what Liu Biao could do What we do is to see if we can stand in a more favorable position and gain more benefits before the news spreads.

"So far, I have not yet learned how much damage has been done in the Battle of Yi Jing..." Liu Biao said slowly, as if to give Yi Ji and Fu Xun some time to think. "However, after this battle, Ji You will One body, Yanqing with wings..."

Fu Xun is in his forties, with a thin build, high cheekbones, sharp eyes, and a solemn demeanor. He looks unsmiling and a bit intimidating. He was from Niyang in the north, and from Liangzhou. He was good at writing official script and was famous for his study of "Zuo Zhuan Chunqiu". He entered Luoyang as a young man and was elected as a filial and honest man when he was in his twenties. But he refused to resign, and was eventually recruited into the general's mansion by General He Jin, and later served as Shangshu Lang.

After the death of the general, Fu Xun lost his foundation. Coupled with Dong Zhuo's arrival in Beijing, life was also very difficult. So he escaped while the capital was being moved and came to Jingxiang. Liu Biao's suggestion in Feiqian When it came to carrying out the affairs of Jingxiang Imperial Academy, Fu Xun stood out. He first served as a doctor of the Academy, then became Liu Biao's guest, and now serves as the Dong Cao.

"Now the power of the general is at its peak..." Fu Xun stroked his beard and said slowly, "Jingxiang is the hinterland of the Central Plains, and there are four battles. My lord has the world in mind, and he also has the ambition to help the Han Dynasty. We should assess the situation and proceed with caution. , Only then can we achieve great things."

Liu Biao glanced at Fu Xun but said nothing.

As an old man who had followed Liu Biao for many years, Yi Ji naturally understood what Liu Biao was thinking, so he directly followed up and said, "It's true to say that we are friends. But the situation is like this, how should we deal with it?" Everyone knows the truth and can tell it. No one looks worse than the other, but the question is whether they can do it well during the specific operation, or how to do it correctly?

Fu Xun nodded and said, "Did Mr. Ming have any contact with General Pingdong?"

"General Pingdong?" Liu Biao frowned. Perhaps because General Yuan Zhuyu was in front of him, Cao Cao did not change his general position after taking over the Han Emperor Liu Xie.

Liu Biao didn't fully agree with Cao Cao's private sending of troops to greet Han Emperor Liu Xie, so he didn't approve of Cao Cao either. Since Cao Cao had always been a lackey under Yuan Shao's family, when Fu Xun said contact him When General Dong was defeated, Liu Biao naturally felt a little confused.

Fu Xun looked at Liu Biao's expression and roughly guessed what Liu Biao was thinking. As the relationship with Liu Biao gradually deepened, Fu Xun also gradually realized the true nature of Liu Biao.

It can be said that Liu Biao's identity as a clan member of the Han Dynasty is still very confusing. However, when Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty was in Luoyang, Fu Xun repeatedly persuaded Liu Biao to go north to provide support to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, but Liu Biao shied away with various excuses. Even though these excuses and reasons do exist, for Fu Xun, he naturally knew that Liu Biao's respect for the Han Dynasty was actually just following his own Han Dynasty.

Perhaps it was because General Zhengxi had previously held a Zen ceremony in Yinshan Mountain that stimulated Liu Biao. In the winter of last year, Liu Biao took Wenwu and used it as an excuse to worship heaven and earth in the suburbs of Xiangyang in the name of auspiciousness.

As for that auspicious sign, it is nothing but three-headed ears of wheat growing out of heaven and earth.

Regardless of whether the three-headed wheat ears were real or not, just the matter of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth was dissuaded by Fu Xun and others, with Han Song being the most vehement.

But Liu Biao still persisted, even a little bit intolerant of explanation.

If you were an ordinary person, you might not care much, but for people like Fu Xun and Han Song who pay attention to etiquette, Liu Biao's behavior exposed his true ambition.

Sacrifice may have gradually faded away in modern society, but in the Han Dynasty, this kind of thing was not careless at all...

She Ji, "She" refers to the earth god, and "Ji" refers to the grain god. Ancient monarchs all worshiped She Ji, and later "She Ji" was used to represent the country. This shows the importance of sacrifice in ancient times. Since ancient times, China has had the belief of "respecting heaven and ancestors". In the eyes of ancient ancestors, heaven and earth nurture all living beings and are the highest gods. Therefore, offering sacrifices to heaven and earth is a form of communication between man and heaven and earth. In all dynasties, the emperor personally presided over the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.

It is written clearly in "Gongyang Zhuan", "Why is it disrespectful in the suburbs of Lu? The emperor sacrifices to heaven, and the princes sacrifice to earth."

If you are truly loyal to the Han Dynasty, why sacrifice to heaven?

So from that moment on, although Fu Xun remained normal on the surface, he actually had a huge discount on Liu Biao in his heart.

Of course, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are not good people. This has been shown from the beginning, so Fu Xun nodded and said: "Now that the Han Dynasty has collapsed, only Duke Ming and General Pingdong care about the court... But the court The situation we are in today is all due to the quarrel between the Yuan brothers. If the quarrel between the two of them lasts for a long time, life will be ruined, there will be no one left in a hundred, and the Han Dynasty will also be in danger!"

Speaking of this, Fu Xun's meaning is very clear.

The little brother of Jianghu is so stumped that he is willing to be the little brother for the rest of his life? If you want to stand out, if you want to stand alone and be named Wanli, sit in a restaurant and collect money, but you are blocked by two big bosses and can't move, what should you do? And the key point is that after these two big guys finished eating the meat in their mouths, they naturally stared at the bowls on the table...

If you kill one of them, won't there be room and a position? And under such circumstances, even if Liu Biao didn't cause trouble, he would be able to get away with it?

Yi Ji thought for a moment and said, "The words of public relations are the right way to go."

Something must happen!

You may not be able to live if you make trouble, but you definitely won't be able to live if you don't make trouble!

Liu Biao raised his head and touched his long beard that he was proud of, feeling a little sad in his heart. He is obviously a handsome man, and he originally hoped to be reasonable, but reality forces him to become a bitch...

The mistress wants to get the upper hand, but she doesn't know how to fight!

Liu Biao said in a deep voice: "In the name of public friendship, who is the envoy?"

"A man of high moral character is modest, knows etiquette and observes integrity, and is knowledgeable about the past and present. I think it is the best." Fu Xun gave the answer without hesitation.

Yi Ji glanced at Fu Xun and blinked, as if he wanted to say something, but as soon as he saw Liu Biao's expression, he swallowed back what he was about to say...

Bystanders can tell, with Gan Ning, will he have the strength to compete with the Jingxiang gentry? Yi Ji doesn't think so. The concession of the Jingxiang gentry in front of him may not be a good thing. It's just that Liu Xian is so complacent that even if he says it, he may not be able to listen...

…………………………

Cao Cao touched his waist and grimaced in discomfort. Last night he and Mrs. Huan developed some new postures, but in the end, he was unable to do anything and reached his waist.

Don't blame Comrade Cao Cao for being a little crazy. It is indeed because the period since taking over the Han Emperor Liu Xie has been much smoother. With the banner of the Han Emperor Liu Xie, it is almost impossible to regain Yanzhou and these gentry heroes. It's just as easy as letting Mrs. Huan manipulate her. She can manipulate her however she wants. It's completely different from before.

In the past, it was Cao Cao who asked for money and food, but now it is different, he has to pay the imperial food!

Not paying?

Could it be that he is planning to rebel?

The long live long live long live slogans of China since ancient times are not in vain.

So the nobles here in Yanzhou quickly gave in and kept their heads down, just like little wives, which made Cao Cao feel good...

But happy time is always short-lived, and unhappy time always comes inadvertently.

In the battle in Youzhou in northern Hebei, everyone expected Gongsun Zan's final defeat, but they didn't expect it to be so fast, and Gongsun Zan's defeat was so complete...

Compared to Liu Biao, Cao Cao, as the person standing in front of Yuan Shao, naturally obtained more information. After Yuan Shao captured Yijing, he immediately took advantage of the momentum of victory and without stopping, attacked Liaodong and Qingzhou...

Which way to attack Liaodong, according to Cao Cao's analysis, it is mostly oppression and containment. After all, the cold winter is coming. Everyone knows about Liaodong, so the battle in Liaodong will not be too long, and it may be over soon. will end. It is very likely that Yuan Shao and Gongsun Du will tacitly create a no-man's land in the Liaodong area, and then each will return to their respective homes.

As for Qingzhou, it is the focus of Yuan Shao's next campaign. As for Gongsun Zan's branch that has lost its foundation in Qingzhou, how long can the Qingzhou governor Tian Kai survive under a single tree?

So after Qingzhou, who will be Yuan Shao's next target?

Although Cao Cao really wanted Yuan Shao to turn his attention to the west and not embarrass himself, the question is, who can guarantee that Yuan Shao will be willing to be a forward? Overcoming obstacles to clear the way for the younger brother?

On the contrary, Cao Cao believed that it was more likely that Yuan Shao would in turn instruct him to serve as a pioneer!

Isn’t that what Yuan Shao is doing now?

Could it be that when Yuan Shao gains momentum, he will become more hands-on and consider everything for his younger brother?

Therefore, when there is no guarantee that Yuan Shao will definitely attack westward, how to avoid becoming Yuan Shao's pawn crossing the river in the next step has become something that Cao Cao must carefully consider at the moment.

Yuan Shao's subsequent attitude determines Cao Cao's future destiny, whether there will be a war in the Central Plains, and even whether the Han Dynasty can continue to exist...

Putting all his wealth and life on one person's thoughts, this extreme sense of uncertainty made Cao Cao feel as if there was a sword hanging above his head every day. If he was not careful, this sword would strike like thunder. Down!

Therefore, when Liu Biao's envoy arrived, Cao Cao saw a glimmer of hope while groping in the dark.

The situation that Cao Cao was afraid of, Liu Biao was also afraid of. If Cao Cao succumbs to Yuan Shao's big stick, how long can Liu Biao hold on alone?

So from a certain perspective, Liu Biao did not want Yuan Shao to become an unshakable behemoth. If Yuan Shao really expanded his power to that extent, then no matter what Liu Biao had done before, it would eventually become Yuan Shao's meal. Therefore, Liu Biao had to wink at Cao Cao, hoping to stay together and stay warm...

Facing the woman Liu Biao brought in front of him, oh, charming eyes, Cao Cao was naturally in a happy mood. In principle, he naturally agreed, but just like if you need to erect an archway, pretending to be innocent can always sell for a good price. Although Cao Cao was completely convinced, he still did not immediately reply to Liu Biao's envoy Han Song. Instead, he pretended to be aggrieved and reluctant, and secretly summoned Xun Yu and Guo Jia to discuss the follow-up. How it should be done.

"Alliance but not alliance..." Xun Yu said slowly, word for word, "This matter is..."

While rubbing his waist, Cao Cao glanced at Xun Yu and pondered, feeling a little dissatisfied, feeling that Xun Yu was talking nonsense. He and Liu Biao must join forces, and they must not let Yuan Shao know about it. Just think about it and it will be clear. If Yuan Shao knows that his little lover Hongxing is cheating on her, starts to hook up with outsiders, and even publicly declares that he will always be together with others, Can Yuan Shao endure this?

Therefore, it must be a secret conspiracy. Just like the envoys sent by Liu Biao did not dare to claim that they came to see Cao Cao, but said that they came to pay tribute to Han Emperor Liu Xie...

However, Xun Yu's next words almost made Cao Cao jump up!