Three Kingdoms

The year of turmoil and worry will eventually pass, which may make some people feel happy and some people sad, but when facing the New Year, there is often some hope.

Just like Kong Rong.

Fighting was not Kong Rong's specialty, but talking was.

On this day, near the dusk of the New Year, Kong Rong invited Wang Can, who stayed in Xu County, to dinner.

A few days ago, Cao Cao's classmate spread the news about his war in Jizhou to Xu County. On the one hand, it was to show off that Cao Cao had won a great victory, and on the other hand, it was natural to calm people's hearts on the occasion of the New Year. The role of Cao Cao means that although Cao Cao himself is not in Xu County, he still cares about it.

Of course, there is also an implicit meaning of "Don't move, I will be back soon"...

Speaking of which, Cao Cao's war in Jizhou went very smoothly. The main reason was that the three brothers of the Yuan family were too rough, which disappointed many nobles and powerful men in Jizhou. So when Cao Cao came to the city with his troops, he often I accepted it half-heartedly. Anyway, from a certain perspective, Cao Cao can be regarded as Yuan Shao's brother.

Don’t the barbarians have a rule of brotherhood?

Is it appropriate to put it here with Cao Cao?

Ever since, many people had flattering smiles on their faces, and then secretly slandered, ridiculed, and despised Cao Cao.

After a month or two, Cao Cao has expanded his power to most of the southern areas of Jizhou, and has seized the time to build pontoons on both sides of the river, repair ferries, etc. The purpose is to strengthen the connection between Yanzhou and Jizhou, and also to stockpile water in key locations. He stationed troops and horses and closely monitored the movements of Heluo and Shangdang's troops and horses at all times.

After Cao Cao took control of Jizhou, Yuan Tan was basically on the sidelines, but his life should not be in much danger for the time being. After all, Cao Cao also needs a cover to cover his hairy mouth, don't ask why.

As for Youzhou in the north, because of its relationship with Xianbei, it has never affected Cao Cao's military operations. Everything seems to be going smoothly...

Dinosaur, uh, Kong Rong wasn't necessarily very optimistic about Cao Cao, but after losing his prime minister Beihai and losing his wife by the way, looking around, it seemed that Cao Cao's territory belonged to him, so he had no choice but to go to Xu County.

Kong Rong originally thought that he would be favored by Cao Cao, and that he would be able to show off his reputation to a certain extent. He could spend five large coins on drinks and meals to show his prestige, but he didn't expect that Cao Cao didn't pay much attention to him at all. He was not cold. Not hot, not up or down.

The reason is actually very simple. Classmate Lao Cao still knows how to distinguish. If he is a real talent, he will naturally reuse him. However, for Kong Rong, classmate Lao Cao said that he only has two words, haha.

Of course, this is an appearance.

But everyone always has strengths and weaknesses, so they can naturally find uses for it. Even a simple-minded person can still move bricks, right? Isn't it possible for someone like Kong Rong to use it purely as a bachelor?

Therefore, there was another very important reason why Cao Cao did not use Kong Rong, but it was not easy for Cao Cao to publicize it in court, so he had to say that Kong Rong was too ambitious and talented to be reused.

As the 20th grandson of Confucius, Kong Rong was a famous scholar in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Dong Zhuo excelled in power and successively served as Prime Minister of Beihai and Governor of Qingzhou. He suffered repeated defeats and battles. In his early years, he betrayed his high arrogance and aspired to peace. It is difficult to express his ambitions. After arriving in Xu County, he discovered that the Han Emperor under Cao Cao was not much better than he was under Dong Zhuo. He could not help but feel a little dissatisfied, which was revealed in some words, such as mocking Cao Cao like Dong Zhuo. , controlling the court, etc., naturally made Cao Cao hate him to death.

At the same time, Kong Rong was also a staunch royalist.

This is not surprising. After all, Confucius respected the Zhou Dynasty and Kong Rong respected the Han Dynasty. The word "orthodoxy" has always been an important part of Confucianism. Therefore, the derived "monarch, minister, father and son" and even more stringent laws... …

After drinking for three rounds, Kong Rong said: "Brother Zhongxuan, I wonder if General Hussar would like to go east..."

Kong Rong asked very calmly, just like asking whether to eat barbecue or spicy hotpot for dinner today. But being calm doesn't mean that people won't find it strange, just like an exhibitionist who often confesses his balls.

Wang Can felt a little surprised, but after a moment he suddenly realized it, so he shook his head slightly and said: "Kong Gong, it's not that the general is unwilling, but that he can't..."

When Kong Rong heard this, he took a long breath and sighed: "The country is in trouble today, but the monarch and his ministers are not able to work together, causing the people to hang upside down, like water and fire. It really hurts me!" 』

Wang Can laughed.

The two were silent for a while, and Kong Rong suddenly asked: "If the wise brother were a hussar general, how would he deploy it?" 』

Wang Can frowned slightly and said, "What does Mr. Kong mean by this?" A certain person is not a hussar, nor is he familiar with battle formations. I really don’t know what to do..."

Kong Rong waved his hand and said: "In this case, regardless of the present... Let's talk about Dong Zhuo's affairs in the past. If someone had soldiers and horses at that time, he should protect His Majesty, send troops to defend Dong Zhuo, or order other troops to cross the river to the east and west to harass. Later..."

Kong Rong generously said that although he did not know much about military affairs, it was still okay to talk about it. Even if it was difficult to talk about it at the moment, there would be no problem in crusading against Dong Zhuo, right? Let’s go back in time together and discuss the situation back then. This can be said, right?

Not long after Dong Zhuo took control of the court, the princes from all over the country were also dissatisfied and organized troops to gather in Suanzao, but in the end it was still nothing. This was a bit puzzling and regrettable for Kong Rong, who always felt that... If the princes from various places were more powerful, it would be a different scene.

"When the late emperor died, power fell into the hands of He Tu. However, He Tu had no knowledge of civil affairs and military affairs, so he turned to outsiders. When Dong Zhuo came to Luoyang..." Talking about the situation at that time, Wang Can couldn't help but feel a little sad, "Poor Your Majesty... alas... the Northern Army in Luoyang was wiped out in an instant. No one inside or outside could support each other. Luoyang was destroyed and the court was in darkness..."

Kong Rong pressed the wine baron and nodded.

Although both of them are talking about Dong Zhuo, they are actually not talking about Dong Zhuo.

"Although Yuan Benchu ​​was born in the Three Dukes, he was not loyal. He led his troops outside and refused to patrol..." Wang Can continued, "Dong thieves burned Luoyang and retreated to Guanzhong. The people cried, the officials mourned, and His Majesty was panicked. This is true. The great man's sorrow! At this point, the Dong thief is in the audience, Yuan Benchu ​​invades Hanoi and northern Hebei, and Yuan Gongdao entrenches Yuzhou and Yangzhou. If the two Yuans are harmonious, they will suddenly become an east-west state..."

Standing on the long river of history, looking down from a high position, it is naturally very good to use hindsight. Naturally, I can see everything clearly now, and I can speak clearly and logically, but when I was in it at that time, who could see it clearly and explain it clearly?

"The Yuan family..." Kong Rong also sighed, "First, two Yuans were at odds, and then three Yuans turned against each other... Haha, this is really..."

Yuan family is so traditional!

Thinking back to the time when the fourth and third sons of the Yuan family had a huge family property, what a good form, they were popular in the world, the land was rich, and there was almost no one to resist. As long as there was one thing, brotherly harmony would be enough...

Wang Can nodded and said: "That's what the so-called brothers quarrel with. As the saying goes, what goes up leads to results... Back then, I heard that some scholars from Jizhou tried to persuade Yuan Benchu ​​to welcome the emperor to Ye, but to no avail..."

"What a pity..." Kong Rong sighed, "If Yuan Benchu ​​was loyal to the country. With Your Majesty in mind, how come there are so many troubles? 』

Both of them felt a little sad.

When Heng Ling was alive, although the world could not be said to be very peaceful, it was still a basically unified and relatively stable dynasty, and the power of the central government was obviously stronger than the foreign army. In the later period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turbans After the chaos, the power of the central government was basically exhausted...

"That's why the emperor is covered in dust and the country is in chaos!" ” Kong Rong patted the table, causing the bean plate on the table to jump, “The universe is corrupted! Chao Gang is gone! 』

Wang Can was silent.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

Kong Rong didn't know at first that Cao Cao wanted to hold the emperor in his hands as a power. He thought that Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo were different, so when he came to Xu County, he somewhat expected Cao Cao to take over the important responsibility of assisting the emperor. , to help the emperor reorganize the Han Dynasty and restore the glory of the Han Dynasty. It was a pity that it was not until the Dong Cheng incident broke out that Kong Rong fully understood that in fact, in some aspects, there was not much difference between Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo.

Kong Rong thought that Wang Can represented the Cavalry General, and the Cavalry General also wanted to defend the Han Dynasty, so he sent Wang Can to Xu County. During the conversation, he also heard that the Cavalry General was not a firm loyalist to the emperor. The faction may be better than Cao Cao, but to what extent Wang Can is not sure.

Obviously, General Hussar took advantage of the chaos in Shandong and then suppressed his efforts to develop in Guanzhong. This was obviously a better move and even more in line with the needs of the entire Shanxi political group. Since Emperor Guangwu, Shandong has been suppressing Shanxi. Now that Shanxi Group has finally got up, how can it come over and kneel at Shandong's feet again?

Therefore, it is natural that the Cavalry General showed this kind of contradictory, somewhat ambiguous and unclear attitude, which is a kind of necessity, which both people can generally understand...

But it’s still the old saying, understanding is understanding, support is support.

The most critical point is that although the General Hussar has behaved so far as respecting the king and being loyal, people will change after all. What if one day the General Hussar can't think about it, or has thought about it?

"In the past, the former Qin Dynasty was in Guanzhong, closing Han Valley and rejecting Shandong..." Kong Rong sighed in a low voice, "Now the Qin Dynasty has captured Hanzhong, and has also accepted Sichuan and Shu. It is almost here..."

The place in Guanzhong is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, the Hu people who were originally a big problem for public security have now been driven out and naturalized. The Di and Qiang tribes who originally rebelled and surrendered are now mostly submissive. After all, the Xiongnu in the south were basically internalized, and the Xianbei in the north had no time to look south. They were almost in a relatively safe and stable environment.

At the same time, the same is true strategically. The Qin Dynasty was constantly fighting with Zhao and Wei, mainly for the Shangdang area, because whoever controlled Shangdang would take the initiative to attack from the flanks. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, after many large-scale battles, the Qin Dynasty finally took Hedong and then occupied Shangdang, which was equivalent to sealing the side door. As a result, no matter how hard the six countries tried, they could not break through the letter. Guguan...

The only shortcoming compared with the former Qin Dynasty is that the time is shorter.

After all, the Qin Dynasty has been accumulated through the continuous efforts of several generations of Qin kings, and it has only been two or three years since the hussar generals entered Guanzhong.

Kong Rong chanted: "The country is in trouble, the sound of sorrow spreads, and the court officials are dirty and separated from each other!" In the past, the Duke of Zhou came to save the world, but who can bring peace now? 』

When Wang Can heard this, he was silent for a long time, stood up, bowed to Kong Rong, and said, "When I see Mr. Kong today, I should know that Zhongni is not dead!" 』

Kong Rong quickly straightened his clothes, returned the courtesy to Wang Can, and said, "Brother Zhongxuan is so complimentary!" Today I can see my good brother, and he will be restored to life with such a beautiful face! 』

(Author's note)

……(._.)_(._.)……

"Is Zhongni not dead?" Yan Hui is reborn? 』

Wang Can's every move in Xu County naturally made people concerned, especially Xun Yu, so the words of Wang Can and Kong Rong were quickly sorted out and then delivered to Xun Yu's desk.

Strictly speaking, these two sentences seem to have some problems, but precisely because they are problematic, they are more intriguing.

Appreciating Kong Rong's "Zhongni is immortal" seems to sound good, but because Kong Rong is the official descendant of Kong Zhongni and has a ranking in the genealogy, this sentence is a bit weird. It seems we won’t say “You are as if your ancestors are not dead”…

There are also problems with "Yan Rejuvenation". Kong Rong called Wang Can his wise brother. The two of them had no master-disciple relationship with each other. They were friends at most. But when his friend boasted that he was like his ancestors who were immortal, he then responded by saying that you are like my ancestors' disciples...

There is only one generation difference...

If someone else said it, it might be a joke, or he might have let it slip and not notice it. But for Kong Rong and Wang Can, it was obvious that they didn't mean to say that, or they said it wrong.

"Fengxiao, what do you think?" ” Xun Yu asked Guo Jiadao.

Guo Jia laughed twice and said, "It's not what I think, but what you think... It's not, it's what the lord thinks..."

Xun Yu was silent and didn't speak for a long time.

"Zhong Ni, Yan Hui..." Guo Jia rolled up his sleeves, "They are all dead people... Don't try to hide it, just report it to you..."

Xun Yu still didn't speak.

Guo Jia frowned and said, "They are Kong Zhongni and Yan Ziyuan, but they have nothing to do with you. Don't think of yourself as Ran Boniu... Do you really think about Ran Boniu?" Even if you don't report this matter, someone will report it. Do you believe it? 』

Xun Yu threw aside the record of Kong Rong and Wang Can's words, and let out a long sigh. His voice was not loud, but a little firm: "It's just bragging to each other, not worth mentioning..."

"you! "Guo Jia was a little anxious, but finally sighed, "You have to think about it..."

Xun Yu lowered his eyebrows, "I only said these two sentences to brag to each other, which is disgusting..."

Guo Jia was stunned for a moment and said: "Maybe this is okay, but if it happens... forget it, it's up to you..."