Three Kingdoms

Yuzhou, Xu County.

Guo Jia was in a daze.

It probably looks like this (_`)

Now Guo Jia doesn't dare to go out. After all, it was said before that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao would win more or less in a battle, and it was him...

What is the current situation...

If you go out now, you will inevitably be teased by others.

Yes, most people in Xu County now think that Cao Cao is in trouble.

In this era, the war still mainly relied on the manpower base and food reserves, and Cao Cao had no advantage in either. The only thing he could praise was the group of veterans gathered from Qingzhou. These people had been baptized by the Yellow Turban and then fought in The Qingzhou soldiers, who had new fields in Yanzhou, withstood Yuan Shao's offensive tenaciously.

However, how long it can last and how long it can resist, even Guo Jia is a little confused. This does not mean that it is really okay to be tougher, unless Yuan Shao wants to just have a verbal spat with Cao Cao...

The replenishment of military rations, the replacement of equipment, and the arrival of spring. If the civilians cannot be brought back to farm, it means that this year's harvest will be affected again. These various things have already caused these Ying people in Yuzhou to The Sichuan family was very dissatisfied. If Xun hadn't come forward to comfort and comfort them again and again, I'm afraid someone would have jumped out by now.

Anyway, there are people with Yuan Shao in Yingchuan, right?

Even if Cao Cao is really defeated, Yingchuan can still stand firm. Even taking a step back, there are still people who are conquering the west. Well, it should be the Qiusi side now...

It doesn't matter which one wins in the end.

But Guo Jia can't.

It's not that he's not good at that aspect, it's that Guo Jia doesn't have as many retreat options as the Yingchuan nobles.

Guo Jia left Yuan Shao because there was not much room for the Han family under Yuan Shao. If Yuan Shao won, it would still be the victory of the noble family, and the Han family would still have no place. Even if he was lucky enough to survive, he would no longer be useful.

In a daze, he eats and waits to die.

However, it seems there are still some opportunities...

"Where's the food!" Guo Jia came back to his senses and suddenly felt hungry in his stomach. He turned around and saw that it was getting late, so he couldn't help shouting, "Old Zhong, where's my food!"

Most of the servants in the family have been dismissed. Anyway, if Cao Cao wins, there will naturally be a lot of rewards. Guo Jia doesn't even need to hire them, and many people will come to the door automatically. Of course, if you lose, you won't need so many servants either...

So, just leave one or two behind.

Lao Zhong came over with a wooden tray, with a bowl of rice on it, held in another bowl, and a pile of side dishes on the side, like pickles...

"It's wheat rice again..." Guo Jia was a little disappointed.

Lao Zhong was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to answer. He seemed a little worried that Guo Jia would be dissatisfied and disappointed. He rubbed his palms uneasily and snarled twice, but still couldn't say anything.

"Forget it, it's okay." Guo Jia laughed twice, "The wheat rice is very good, but it's hard to eat... OK, it's good, it's good..." After saying that, he took a bite.

Lao Zhong felt relieved, smiled naively, bent over, and retreated.

Because the wheat rice is from last year, well, this year's rice has not been planted yet, so naturally there will be none, so it has generally lost the original aroma of wheat, leaving only the hardness of wheat. Even after steaming, it is still the same. It's hard, like small stones. To eat it, you have to grind it...

The rice in later generations was finely ground. In addition to the layer of chaff on the outside of the millet, there was also a layer of skin. If this layer of skin was not removed, it would be brown rice and would be very hard when cooked. This is true for both wheat and corn.

Normally, removing the husks from the millet grains generally means reducing the weight by 20 to 30%. Therefore, in the Han Dynasty, ordinary people were reluctant to grind them and just removed the outer husks, so wheat The grains are very hard and chewy.

The so-called Zhou Gongsan spit out his breasts, not as unhygienic as later generations thought, or to express himself, but because he really couldn't swallow it without chewing it carefully...

Therefore, it makes sense that the ancients were particular about not talking and chewing carefully and slowly while eating. The food is rough and it takes a long time to eat a mouthful, so how can we talk?

Guo Jia took a few bites, put the bowl down, covered his cheeks, and sighed.

tired.

If it is newly ripe wheat, it is very good to steam and eat it. Even though it is relatively hard, it is rich in wheat flavor. After chewing slowly, the wheat flavor will naturally come out little by little, and you can feel it from your mouth to your stomach. The pure aroma and light sweetness of grain.

However, if left for a long time, there will be some problems. No matter how careful the storage is, in the Han Dynasty without vacuum and freezing technology, some moisture and mold could not be avoided, so better ones needed to be turned out and exposed to the sun from time to time when the weather was suitable to avoid mildew.

Every time it is exposed to the sun, a layer of flavor will be reduced, which will also affect the taste of the wheat. Moreover, because of mold, if a bag of wheat becomes moldy, other adjacent wheat will often be affected by its smell. So in the end, these wheat rice are simply...

However, this is already the best food at the moment. Xun had specially sent these to him. If Guo Jia had asked Guo Jia to buy them in the market, he would never have been able to buy them!

Due to the continuation of the war on the front line, prices in Xu County have become ridiculously high, with a bucket of rice even costing 3,000 yuan! And there is not much quantity, only about ten stones are sold every day, and they are gone when they are sold out.

"How much does one stone of rice cost originally?" Guo Jia held his head and tapped the bowl gently with chopsticks, "It seemed like two or three hundred dollars? Forgot... So, this bowl should cost at least several hundred dollars. Do you have money? This is not about eating rice, this is about eating copper... I recall the past when I was drinking wine and was not drunk, but I lament that today I am drinking copper but cannot eat it..."

"What? Why, you still want wine, there is no more..." Xun came from outside the hospital with a deeply tired look on his face and dark bags under his eyes. He no longer had the suave appearance of previous years, but They are almost the same as those reported by enthusiastic people in Chaoyang District.

Xun Bie looked calm in front of others, but in fact he was still panicking in his heart. The current dispute between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao was not only a matter of Cao Cao's victory, but also related to Xun himself. He was in Yingchuan It is completely impossible to say that there is no pressure and psychological burden on the winning-losing relationship between families, and even among the major noble clans in Yingchuan.

Therefore, Xun could only take off his disguise a little and let himself relax for a while when he came to Guo Jia.

When Guo Jia saw Xun coming, he didn't get up to greet him. He just spread it out. He tapped the edge of the bowl twice with his chopsticks and said, "It's just right. It's just cooked and it's still hot. Do you want to eat it?"

Xun glanced at Guo Jia, "Why, you don't want to eat?"

"This side of the tooth hurts..." Guo Jia covered one side of his cheek, "I can only use the other side, it can't be rubbed, it's sore..."

Xun nodded, without being polite, dragged the dinner plate in front of him, picked up the bowl, and started eating.

Guo Jia held her cheeks and drooped her eyelids, as if she was about to fall asleep in the next moment.

Xun didn't eat quickly, but he didn't eat slowly either. After a while, he finished a bowl of wheat rice, took water to rinse his mouth, sat down again, clasped his hands in one place, looked into the distance, and remained silent.

"...What happened to the young master is not your responsibility..." Guo Jia didn't know when he sat up straighter and whispered, "Even if you are not the eldest young master, there are still second and third young masters... Besides, haven't you already taken care of the young master now?" Are the protections in place..."

Xun sighed softly: "Actually, I should have thought of it earlier..."

Guo Jia raised his eyebrows and said: "You handle hundreds of documents every day, and there are so many things, big and small... Do you think you should have thought of this in advance? Are you too harsh on yourself? This is fate, destiny. ! Just like on the battlefield, there are thousands of arrows flying, some people are not hurt at all, and some people are hit by several arrows in the face, who can blame this? "

Xun was silent for a moment, no longer sighing about this topic, but said: "I don't know what is fair about it..."

Guo Jia looked at Xun and shook his head. He knew Xun's personality. If he didn't say anything at the moment, it was not because he had let go of Xun, but because he was still in his heart. If he didn't say anything on the surface, it didn't mean that the matter didn't exist. He was still pretending in his heart.

This time, Xun You was asked to follow him, just to beg for alms.

The war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao can actually be regarded as a war between Jizhou and Yuzhou. Although Jizhou has experienced several battles before and its vitality was seriously damaged, Yuzhou was not much better off either. In the battle of Xuzhou, Yuan Shu The Great War, the Yanzhou Rebellion, etc., which one did not waste money, food and manpower?

So speaking of it, Yuzhou is even worse than Jizhou.

If possible, Xun also thought not to fight Yuan Shao so quickly. It would be better to delay it for two years, consolidate the rear, and collect food and grass for at least two more years. But when he thought of conquering the west, well, the hussars were like blazing fire. Sweeping through Guanzhong and advancing into Sichuan and Shu, Xun couldn't sit still or wait any longer...

Xun is really worried that he has money and food reserves here. Could it be that Qiusi has no reserves there?

The Qiang Xianbei, who was supposed to hold Fei Qian back, had some changes due to the battles. The Xianbei people in the north of Yinshan Mountain have basically been dispersed, and the Xianbei people in the Youbei area of ​​Yanmen feel that instead of chewing the hard bones of Yinshan Mountain, it is better to take advantage of the chaos in Youzhou to pinch the soft persimmons, so Fei Qian was originally The hidden dangers of Xianbei in the north have now come to Youzhou to plunder...

Although it helped Cao Cao to a certain extent, in fact it may not be a good thing in the long run.

There are also the Xiliang Qiang people who have troubled the Han Dynasty for thirty or forty years, and now they are also...

well.

One peck and one drink is like destiny.

The Xiliang Qiang people were originally very powerful, but after Dong Zhuo failed to enter the capital, they killed each other for a while, Li Guo killed another group, and Fei Qian, Ma Teng, and Han Sui fought again. , and then Ma Chao led another wave. After repeated efforts, the Qiang people's accumulated combat power was exhausted. In addition, several leaders of the Qiang tribe were killed one after another. , the whole Xiliang Qiang people no longer have any climate.

In the north, Xianbei moved eastward, in the west the Qiang people were stable, and in the south they entered Sichuan and Shu. To the east, how could Xun Xun continue to cultivate his health with confidence and boldness?

We can only take a risk. If we win, we can naturally surpass Jizhou, Yuzhou, and other places in Shandong. Only then will we have the power to compete. If we lose...

Therefore, Xun was also very worried, worried that his plan would be seen by Fei Qian, and naturally it would be impossible to get any additional benefits from Fei Qian.

In the current situation, any resources are in short supply. If we can get something from Fei Qian, whether it is troops or weapons, whether it is war horses or money and food, it will be beneficial to the battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Very helpful.

But the question is, will General Fei Qian give it to him?

Guo Jia smiled bitterly and said: "We are at a disadvantage at the moment... we will give some... soldiers. Don't think about it. Food, grass and equipment should be about the same..."

Hearing this, Xun nodded slowly and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Because if he were to do it, I'm afraid it would be the same. The purpose of providing weapons and food was not to enable Cao Cao to achieve an overwhelming victory, but to allow Cao Cao to continue his stalemate with Yuan Shao...

"In this case, it depends on Fu Zizhang..." Xun suddenly felt a little powerless. This feeling had not been felt for many years. It was a feeling that the situation was completely beyond his control, just like praying in an ancestral hall. Hopefully things will get better, but that often doesn't happen.

Fudian is the second insurance prepared by Xun.

If Cao Cao's face is not big enough, there is still the face of His Majesty Liu Xie...

It’s just this way of eating...

But I couldn’t care less, just like a very hungry person, how could he remember whether the food looked good or not? Nowadays, not to mention others, even His Majesty in the palace only eats a bowl of wheat rice, and the servants don't even think about grains and meat. Materials are in short supply to the extreme.

Guo Jia was silent for a while, then suddenly said with emotion: "Even if the disaster is eliminated this time, what will happen there? Now Huiqi has Shangdang Taiyuan in the north, and can go out of Youzhou in Jizhou, and Jingxiang Tonglian in the south, and can go out of Wuguan and Yuzhou , and there is Hangu Pass, Tongguan Pass in the middle, Guanshan is stable... Haha... unless..."

Unless Liu Biao attacks Sichuan and Shu and attacks Wuguan, Cao Cao attacks Hangu Pass and Tongguan Pass, and Yuan Shao attacks Taiyuan Shangdang, all three directions advance together. No matter how capable Fei Qian is, he will definitely be in a hurry. fate.

But the question is, can the three families of Liu Biao, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao unite together?

Guo Jia just sighed inadvertently, but he didn't expect Xun to raise his head and look at Guo Jia with wide eyes.

Guo Jia immediately became alert and glared at Xun, "What? You actually..."

Xun lowered his gaze and avoided Guo Jia's gaze, "It's just doing some human work..."

Guo Jia's eyes immediately moved up and down, and he frowned, "So, it seems...well, there are still some...possibilities...but...what...what is the benefit of this?"

Xun raised his head and looked at the sky. He was silent for a long time and then said: "Qiao Qi is riding in Bingbei Pass, practicing the law of Jue Tian?"

"Juetian?" Guo Jia suddenly realized, "I see... But this is also a new policy and a new path... Isn't this the disadvantage of the Han Dynasty..."

Xun was silent for a long time and whispered: "This is a new road...but there are also old roads..."

Guo Jia fell silent.

Xun didn't speak either.

The two sat in silence. ,

On the side of the table is an empty bowl.

On the courtyard wall, there is a dead branch.

On the stone steps in the distance, the moss is turning green, and a few grasses have sprouted from the cracks in the stones. Although they still look fragile, they are no longer able to stop...