Three Kingdoms

In the darkness of the night, shrill howling sounds resounded in the backyard, and they became one continuous sound, causing the trees and shrubs that had finally survived the cold winter and were about to sprout buds to wave under the bright spring light to tremble. Tighten the branches when possible to avoid being cut by extremely sharp blades.

After a long time, Lu Bu slowly stopped Fang Tian's painted halberd and stood in the middle of the courtyard, panting.

"Mr. Lang..."

"Madam." Lu Bu nodded, and while handing Fang Tian's painted halberd to the guard, he took the face towel handed over by Xiao Cao and casually wiped the sweat from his face a few times.

Xiaocao said softly: "Mr. Lang, don't call me madam. If madam finds out, there will be another big fuss..."

"That mother-in-law..." Lu Bu sighed and said, "Don't pay attention to her!" Lu Bu's original wife had been dead for many years, and now it was Yan who was married, and she was the wife in Xiaocao's mouth.

Because Lu Bu doted on Xiao Cao at the moment, Yan was a bit jealous on weekdays. Although it was hard to say anything openly, he often showed his favor to Xiao Cao behind his back. After all, in the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty, Xiao Cao was not even a decent person. If you don’t have the surname of Erba Jing, how can you be a dignified and warm-hearted lady like Ru?

The power of rules has been everywhere since ancient times.

Lu Bu once thought that he was a person who could ignore the rules and even break them, but now that he is getting older, he feels more and more powerless.

Xiaocao did not continue to say anything, but took the face towel from Lu Bu's hand, turned behind Lu Bu, stood on tiptoes, and wiped the sweat from the back of Lu Bu's head and neck.

Lu Bu took the tea handed to him by the maid and downed a bowl. Then he took a long breath, motioned to Xiaocao, walked to the small pavilion on the side of the courtyard, and sat down.

The maid came back and forth, placing tea and some pastries on the table in the small pavilion, then bowed and retired.

Lu Bu watched Xiaocao cooking tea soup on the side of the table. He was silent for a long time and suddenly said: "I killed Chen Gongtai..."

Xiaocao shook her hand and almost spilled the tea soup outside. She couldn't help but froze. After a while, she asked with a sip: "This... why is this?" Then he followed up hurriedly, "Lang Jun If it’s inconvenient, there’s no need to talk…”

"There's nothing bad to say..." Lu Bu looked around, but he didn't directly talk about Chen Gong's affairs, but said, "...how are the expenses of the house these days? Is there anything missing?"

"Hmm..." Xiaocao thought for a while, shook his head and said, "There should be nothing missing. It was said that another batch was shipped yesterday... Madam took a long time to count before the count was completed..."

"This woman..." Lu Bu was dumbfounded and shook his head, "She is more attentive to these dead things than she is to a certain person!"

"Langjun..." Xiaocao also covered her mouth and secretly laughed twice, and then defended Mrs. Yan, "Madam also went through a hard time, and it was not easy... Well, Madam also specially gave me a piece of brocade, You said you want to make clothes for me, but I think it would be better to make a robe for your husband... By the way, there is also some Jiuyuan clay mutton, how about making some for your husband to try tomorrow?"

Lu Bu became somewhat interested when he heard this, and said: "Oh, that's fine. As for clothes, I have a robe, just keep it for yourself and buy some more clothes..." Just as he was talking, Lu Bu suddenly thought of something. , after a moment of silence, Lu Bu spoke again, murmuring as if he was talking to himself, "So, Zhengxi... Hey, Zhengxi..."

Lu Bu shook his head.

Xiaocao didn't know what was going on, but since Lu Bu didn't say it clearly, she didn't ask further questions. She was just busy with the tea soup on hand. After a while, she cooked it and gave the new tea to Lu Bu.

Changes in people always happen unconsciously, and the first to notice these changes are often not the people who often accompany you, but long-lost friends or people you haven't seen for a long time.

Lu Bu and Fei Qianqian had not seen each other for several years since they broke up and said goodbye to each other in Luoyang. But now that they have met again, apart from some of the original residual impressions, Zheng Xi can feel it more clearly than anyone else. Various changes in General Feiqian.

When he was still in Luoyang, in Lu Bu's opinion, Fei Qian was just a little brother. He could talk well, drink well, and had some witty remarks from time to time. He was more or less a good friend, and Lu Bu at that time , both in terms of military and position, he was taller than Fei Qian, so Lu Bu didn't feel that he was shorter than Fei Qian, nor did he feel uncomfortable in front of Fei Qian.

Now, everything seems the same, but everything also seems different.

Lu Bu still vaguely remembered that when he was in Luoyang, when Fei Qian was speaking, he still needed to make some gestures and use a slightly heavier tone to express or enhance the strength of his words. But now Fei Qian, the general who conquers the west, has These are no longer needed.

As the saying goes, the spirit of moving nourishes the body, and General Fei Qian conquers the west. After these days of experience in Bingbei Sanfu, and tempering on the battlefield, today's Fei Qian no longer needs any exaggerated movements and words, and his expression always remains. It was calm and the tone was indifferent, but no one dared not listen attentively.

No matter what happens, Fei Qian's smile, which originally made Lu Bu feel a little friendly, has now become incomprehensible. Even the layout of the Taiyuan incident this time made Lu Bu feel that Fei Qian, the general of the expedition to the west, has everything in mind. There was a profound sense of the city, which made Lu Bu no longer dare to underestimate Fei Qian.

This feeling can't be explained clearly. Lu Bu can't say what it is specifically, but he can feel that Fei Qian, the former little brother, has grown into a figure that Lu Bu needs to look up to see.

Such a discovery inevitably made Lu Bu feel a little uneasy. Therefore, after Chen Gong proposed it, although Lu Bu did not completely agree with it, he did not object to it. Strictly speaking, Lu Bu may not have fully realized deep down in his heart that he did not want to control it. Fei Qian, the general of Zhengxi, died because he just wanted to return to the situation where Fei Qian was relatively high in Luoyang...

However, Lu Bu found that he seemed to have punched the air...

This feeling……

Lu Bu let out a long sigh and said, "I won't drink tea anymore. Do you have any wine? Go get some wine!"

Although Xiaocao felt a little regretful that Lu Bu had to change the tea soup she had worked so hard to make for wine after just a few sips, but since it was Lu Bu's wish, Xiaocao never thought about going against it, so she just ordered it. Head, he went down and ordered someone to bring some wine over and pour it for Lu Bu.

"Wait a minute..." Lu Bu pointed to the table and said, "Pour two glasses..."

Xiaocao said coyly: "Langjun, I...I don't drink..."

"Haha..." Lu Bu raised his head and smiled, but there was a desolate tone in his laughter, "It's not for you... Come on..."

Xiaocao didn't know what was going on, but still followed Lu Bu's instructions and poured two glasses of wine on the table.

Lu Bu stared at the two glasses of wine, neither drinking nor speaking. After a long time, Lu Bu picked up one of the glasses, poured it on the ground, put down the wine glass, then picked up the other glass and drank it all...

…………………………

"Congratulations, general!" Cui Jun, who is of a high-spirited nature, chanted loudly, "It can be said that he laughs at the armor-dissolving blade and has a clever plan to calm the chaos. A ruler can determine the danger of the army, and a word can determine Taiyuan!"

Fei Qian laughed twice and said, "Zhou Ping is overly praised."

"General, don't be modest. This clever solution to the danger is really a blessing for the people of Taiyuan..." Cui Jun was really happy and admired him. Although there was some flattery in his words, he was more grateful. And thank you. After all, Cui Jun is now the governor of Taiyuan. Although Cui Jun is not responsible for Lu Bu's rebellion this time, if Taiyuan is troubled by soldiers because of this, Cui Jun will not look good on his face. Not to mention anything else, this autumn alone There are some problems with Sui Fu, so it is really best for Cui Jun to solve it peacefully.

Fei Qian smiled and said nothing further.

Everyone touches different levels and thinks about problems from different angles. The common people think that livelihood is the most important issue, while businessmen may think that profit is the lifeblood. Officials who claim to be clean and honest may have a heart to pray for the people of the world. For careerists, in addition to their own ambitions, , everything else is worthless.

So does Lu Bu still have ambitions?

Fei Qian is not sure.

Although Zhang Liao reported back that Lu Bu killed Chen Gong in anger, Fei Qian believed that the matter was not that simple...

Lu Bu doesn’t know how to maneuver?

Fei Qian still believed that Lu Bu didn't understand these things when he first entered Luoyang, but now, if Lu Bu still doesn't understand at all, this...

Who believes it?

Just like being cut by a knife, there will always be scars. Lu Bu has been driven around by the machinations for so many years. Didn't Lu Bu leave any scars?

So the question now is, should we dig deeper, or should we turn a blind eye?

It seems like the options aren't very good either way.

In the original plan, Fei Qian planned to push Lu Bu further into the predicament and then pull him back. In this way, he could not only still show his willingness to buy bones for a thousand dollars, but also further weaken Lu Bu's strength. However, Zhang Liao's Under pleading, Fei Qian made some concessions.

After all, Fei Qian felt that Zhang Liao was more important than Lu Bu.

But now whether Lu Bu took the initiative or was forced to kill Chen Gong, these are no longer important. What is important is how to arrange Lu Bu...

Cui Jun looked at Fei Qian's expression and said, "General, are you worried about how to arrange Marquis Wen?"

Fei Qian nodded and said, "What can Zhou Ping do?"

Cui Jun said with a smile: "It's wild and difficult to tame, and if you don't want to take its life, just cut off its claws and teeth!"

Fei Qian pondered for a moment and said: "Someone once heard that if a liger dominates a sheep, the sheep will be fierce and bloodthirsty. If the sheep dominate the liger, the liger will be as cowardly as the sheep... If the two compete with each other, the liger will be fierce and bloodthirsty. If you rule the sheep, you can beat the sheep and the ligers... I wonder if Zhou Ping thinks so?"

Cui Jun was stunned for a moment, stroked his beard and said: "It seems to make sense...but..."

"Zhou Ping might as well say so." Fei Qian said with a smile.

"Ligers are born with sharp claws and strong tendons, while cattle and sheep are gentle in temperament. How can they be confused together?" Cui Jun looked at Fei Qian's face and showed no displeasure, then continued, "Ligers are greedy for blood, and cattle are greedy. It is the nature of sheep to seek grass and grass, so how can we change it lightly?"

Fei Qian nodded slowly.

Originally, Fei Qian wanted to keep Lu Bu and become the instructor of the 800,000-strong imperial army. Of course, Fei Qian was definitely not doing it for the Zhang family, but felt that it would be great if some of Lu Bu's martial arts skills could be passed on to others. one thing.

However, Cui Jun's words reminded Fei Qian that a liger is still a liger after all. Even if it can mix with cattle and sheep for a while, no one can be sure that one day the liger will suddenly explode and become wild...

So the best way is to let the liger go where it should go.

Fei Qian now understands that in history, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao both let Liu Bei go. Is it because they didn't know the threat Liu Bei posed? Is it because they don't know that the soldiers "lent" to Liu Bei are just meat buns that will never look back after beating a dog?

Yuan Shao may be stupider, but Cao Cao also did the same thing, which shows that Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are actually facing the same problem, just like the problem Fei Qian is facing now.

Use it, but you dare not use it, and it may not be of much use if you use it. Killing it, it is not easy to kill, and you still need this sign to show your tolerance and generosity...

No matter what, it can only be a moment of separation, and distance creates beauty.

Fei Qian pondered for a moment and then said: "How about sending Marquis Wen to Jiuyuan to regain his homeland?" However, he couldn't ask Lu Bu openly yet. The best way was to let Lu Bu take the initiative.

Fei Qian is actually already doing this, but he doesn’t know when the effect will be achieved...

Cui Jun touched his palms and smiled: "It's wonderful!"

Fei Qian nodded and said: "In this case, if Wen Hou goes to Jiuyuan, Zhou Ping will have to worry about the money and food needed in the early stage."

"This... this is natural..." Cui Jun shook his eyebrows and said, "However, Taiyuan is not a rich place, so we might as well limit it to three thousand soldiers..."

"Okay, let's prepare it in two years..." Fei Qian was too lazy to bargain with Cui Jun. After all, three thousand soldiers is not a large number. If Lu Bu feels that it is not enough, let him find a way. , Anyway, there are quite a lot of horse thieves, barbarians, etc. in Jiuyuan now. Fighting is the only way to support fighting. Considering Lu Bu's martial arts, the problem is not that big.

"Two years?" Cui Jun sighed and nodded, "I will obey the general's order."

Fei Qian looked at Cui Jun and said, "Is Zhou Ping worried about insufficient warehouse resources?"

Cui Jun smiled slightly embarrassed and said: "I dare not hide anything from the general. Taiyuan has not had a governor for a long time, so the warehouse is empty. In addition, Jun arrived for the first time... this..."

Fei Qian looked at Cui Jun and shook his head.

When Cui Jun saw this, he couldn't help but feel a little kicked in his heart. He smiled carefully and asked, "General, what do you have to say?"

Fei Qian pointed at Taiyuan City and said, "Although the mastermind is dead, there are many rebels. How can we forgive him lightly?"

Cui Jun looked as if he was stunned, and immediately handed over his hands and thanked him: "If the general hadn't woken him up, Jun would have missed something important!"

Fei Qian looked at Cui Jun, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said pointedly: "Zhou Ping... you must know that going too far is not enough..."

Cui Jun's face twitched, and he nodded awkwardly and laughed twice.

Although they are not sages, even sages have their own ideas, not to mention Lu Bu and Cui Jun, but as long as they are within the appropriate range, these ideas can still be tolerated...

After all, if the water is clear, there will be no fish.

It is not difficult to be smart, but the difficulty lies in the confusion after being smart.

Forget it, let’s be confused for a while and then talk about it…