[Three Kingdoms] Carnival

The spring is like flying catkins, and the world cannot keep it.When the army returned to Xudu, it was already midsummer.

After years of fighting, there is no money and food for the palace.As the setting sun fell, the walls of Xudu City were covered with mottled traces of time, and the once smooth road surface was also full of potholes and accumulated rainwater not long ago.As the army passed by slowly, the horseshoes stepped through the puddles, splashing small water splashes one by one, leaving little mud stains on the armor of the soldiers.When he reached the gate of the city, Cao Cao reined in his horse, and the water splashed slightly, wet the horse's hooves, but did not stain the red and black clothes embroidered with mountains, rivers, sun and moon.

He rolled over and got off his horse, kneeling on one knee and kneeling on the ground.The army followed closely behind, clasping their fists together:

"Minister Cao Cao, pay homage to Your Majesty!"

"Prime Minister Cao, please get up quickly." Han Emperor Liu Xie hurriedly knelt to help Cao Cao, and the corners of his robes were soaked in the puddles. The prosperity of the Han Dynasty today is entirely due to the merits of the Prime Minister. I am ashamed of the Prime Minister, and I dare not accept this great gift."

Hearing Liu Xie's words, Guo Jia and Xun You secretly looked at each other.If it can be said that Liu Xie stepped forward to help Cao Cao out of politeness, then the following paragraph may be suspected of intentional flattery.Thinking back to Liu Xie, who wished to gnaw at Cao Cao's flesh and drink his blood back then, and look at this man with a gentle demeanor who strongly praised Cao Cao today, but he didn't know if he finally accepted his fate, or...he had a ghost in his heart and had other plans.

Thinking of this, Guo Jia suddenly realized something was wrong that he had faintly felt since just now.After Liu Xie's death, except for the palace guards and servants, there were a group of ministers in Xudu, but among this group of ministers, Xun Yu was not seen.

For more than ten years, Xun Yu has never welcomed the army back to the court in the future.

Sure enough, there was an accident in Xudu City, and it was related to Xun Yu, but he didn't receive any news, Guo Jia couldn't help but feel nervous.Xun You, who was beside him, had already noticed Xun Yu's absence, and his expression immediately sank, but because of the current situation, he had no choice but to suppress his worries.

At this time, Cao Cao had already stood up with the help of Liu Xie.He was also unsure of Liu Xie's intentions when it came to deliberate gestures of favor, and he responded quite well, saying only that "the courtesy of a monarch and his ministers cannot be discarded."When Liu Xie lost his expression, he seemed to ask casually: "Why don't you see Ling Jun coming with His Majesty today?"

Liu Xie's eyes flickered, and he said: "Recently, Shangshutai has been busy with business, and you have been busy with official business at your desk for days. I feel sorry for him, so I may allow him not to come." After a pause, he said kindly, "If the prime minister is worried , I would like to go to the Shangshutai with Qing first, and after meeting with Lingjun, I will return to the palace to hold a banquet for the prime minister."

Cao Cao said: "Your Majesty's kindness is great, and you are sympathetic to the ministers. Why do you not feel relieved?"

"If that's the case, let's follow me into the palace first. The palace has prepared a feast for the prime minister." Liu Xie nodded gently at Sun Ce, "clean up the dust with General Sun and all the soldiers!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The three armies worshiped again, and then got up.The army was taken to the barracks outside the city, and the remaining [-] guards followed Cao Cao and entered Xudu City after the Han Emperor and the civil and military officials.Both sides of the street were crowded with common people, pushing and pushing each other, all holding their heads desperately, wanting to watch the fun and see the might of the generals.As for the imperial chariot at the front, it has become a foil for the army, and few people pay attention to it.

"If you're worried, go and have a look. There, my lord, Jia will help you explain."

Ever since he found out that Xun Yu was not there, Xun You became more and more absent-minded. If Guo Jia hadn't called him back several times, he might have ridden his horse into the crowd long ago.This was really abnormal for Xun You, who usually never showed his emotions or anger, but Guo Jia could understand why, so he said this to him after calling him back to his senses again.

Unexpectedly, regarding Guo Jia's proposal, Xun You shook his head: "Since your majesty has said that my uncle is busy with government affairs, even if there are any accidents, my uncle will not be in serious trouble. Besides, in the current situation, whoever leaves Going to see my uncle is to question His Majesty's words, especially you and me, let alone let others talk about it."

Guo Jia is also very clear about the implication of what Liu Xie said at the gate of the city. The only difference is that he doesn't care about it: "Let's talk about it, let's talk about it. It has reached this point. If he is dying If you struggle, you will die faster."

"It is because of this step that we have to be careful at every step." Xun You looked at Guo Jia with a stern look in his eyes, "Other things are fine, but my uncle can't be anyone's pawn, let alone a pawn. The price of change. Feng Xiao, you understand what the bottom line of You is."

Guo Jia was stunned, then chuckled and said, "Gongda, what are you thinking? Wenruo is so important to Jia, how could Jia treat him as a pawn, and what ability does Jia have to treat the majestic Xun Lingjun as a pawn. And..." He pointed to the imperial chariot at the front with his eyes, "It's not Jia who is using Wen Ruo now."

"So he's going to reap the consequences."

"Tsk tsk, the murderous intent is really heavy."

Xun You's words contained not only the irritability of not being able to visit my uncle immediately, but also the indignation that my uncle was being used by others. Rao Guo Jia felt a numbness in his back, and his gaze towards Yu Ren became more sympathetic .Xun Gongda was never as soft-hearted as he was. If the little emperor had really set his mind on Wen Ruo, then the final end would definitely be worse than death.

However, even if the little emperor does nothing, the end will not be any better.In the torrent, no matter whether he struggles or not, there is only one result waiting for him from beginning to end.

"Octopus really don't know what's going on?" Xun You asked suddenly.

"If the octopus knew, would Jia persuade you to go just now?" Guo Jia replied helplessly.

Xun You didn't open his mouth, which seemed to be acquiescence to Guo Jia's answer.

"Xu Du left quite a few octopus guards, but there were only two in the palace, and Jia didn't see any news from them along the way. If something happened, it could only be something happened in the palace." Guo Jia He explained a few more words, "Don't be in a hurry. As long as something happens, there will be clues, just check it. Or...you can ask your uncle? If Wen Ruo didn't come today, if it has something to do with it, then he You must know what happened.”

Xun You still didn't speak, but looking at his expression, it was obvious that he had listened to Guo Jia's words.

After such a conversation, Xun You was no longer as absent-minded as before, and Guo Jia no longer had to worry about watching the horse for him, and could gossip with Jia Xu when he had time.But after looking around, Jia Xu was nowhere to be seen. After asking a soldier in a low voice, he found out that just outside the city gate, Jia Xu followed Zhang Xiu to lead the troops to the barracks.In this way, you can avoid the open and dark arrows at the palace banquet for a while, and you can go to an ordinary wine shop with Zhang Xiu to have a good time, which really kills two birds with one stone.

"You mean old fox!"

Guo Jia cursed secretly, but he also knew that even if Jia Xu called him when he was hiding, he would not follow.After all, no matter what, Cao Cao couldn't escape and fall into the palace, and without Cao Cao's leisure, it was meaningless to Guo Jia.

Surprisingly, there were no twists and turns in this palace banquet.The eunuchs and eunuchs brought delicacies and wines to the hall one by one. The king repeatedly praised the achievements of his courtiers and generously rewarded all the soldiers. Let's toast together and respect the civil and military officials in the hall.During this period, when discussing how to reward the soldiers, Cao Cao tried several times, and even though Cao Cao's proposed reward was beyond the reasonable range, Liu Xie's response was still a gentle sentence of "just as the prime minister said".

People who don't know will definitely praise the harmony of the monarch and ministers in front of them. Only those who know the increasingly irreconcilable contradiction between Emperor Han and Cao Cao will be more puzzled. The more peaceful and happy the current scene is, the more they feel weird.

After drinking for three rounds, Xun You took advantage of the excessive drinking power to plead guilty and left, apparently to visit his uncle before it was too late.An hour later, Guo Jia also pretended to be unwell and stood up to resign.Regarding this, Liu Xie still had that faint but kind smile, and said in a warm voice: "Guo Jijiu has worked hard with the army all the way, so he should go back and rest earlier."

No matter how he heard it, Guo Jia felt that there was an unusual aura in Liu Xie's words, but he couldn't figure out what the little emperor, whom he hadn't seen for many years, wanted to do.He bowed to Liu Xie, turned around and bowed to Cao Cao, and then exited the hall.

His destination is naturally Shangshutai.He believed that he would definitely get the answer he wanted from Xun Yu.

It was half an hour before Guo Jia arrived at Shangshutai.After hearing his purpose, the attendants lit up lanterns and walked in front of him to guide him. They climbed the steps and walked through several corridors. They came to a room.Guo Jia knocked on the door three times, and after hearing the response from the room, he pushed the door and entered. The attendant closed the door lightly, and left quietly with the lamp in hand.

At this time, it was getting late, and the bright moon sprinkled into the house, casting a clear glow all over the body.The orange lights swayed gently with the wind, illuminating the piles of bamboo slips on the desk.When Guo Jia entered the room, Xun Yu had just finished approving an official document. He put the pen on the shelf, rolled up the wooden slip and put it aside, pointing to the side: "Sit down."

Guo Jiasu was very casual. Hearing what Xun Yu said, he found an empty place beside the case and sat down: "Where is Gongda? You are so busy, why doesn't he stay to help you handle the official documents?"

Xun Yu said: "He has already gone back. He has been away from home for so long, and he also has a lot of things to take care of in his residence."

"Can this reason move Gongda?" Guo Jia joked, "That's right, as long as his dear uncle says it, no matter what the reason is, it can move him."

"That's not the reason why Yu asked him to go back." Xun Yu said, "It's because Yu knows that you will come today."

There was a sizzling sound on the fire, Xun Yu got up and lifted the pot, and poured a cup of hot tea for Guo Jia.

It was summer, and no one except Guo Jia would drink hot tea in this season.Obviously, as Xun Yu said, he knew that Guo Jia would definitely come to Shangshutai to see him no matter how late it was.

"Jia's body is not as bad as before." Guo Jia said, but still put his hands on the teacup, feeling the warmth conveyed by his palms, "Since Wen Ruo knows that Jia will come, then he should also know that Jia is coming." What do you want to ask...Xu Du, or directly in the palace, did something happen?"

Xun Yu sat back to his original place, his faint eyes fell on Guo Jia, just like his calm voice: "Ten days ago, someone entered the palace to assassinate, and the eunuchs tried their best to protect each other, but the assassin still injured His Majesty's left arm." .”

"Assassination?" Guo Jia frowned, "Those princes in the world have already been defeated, who needs to assassinate His Majesty... Has the assassin been caught?"

"The assassin is already dead." Xun Yu continued, "After the palace guards arrived, the assassin was shot with a few arrows and planned to escape. At that time, Yu was entering the palace to give lectures to His Majesty, when he met the assassin who was in a panic, and then—"

"Then……"

"Yu killed them with his hands."

"Wen Ruo, you didn't go to the gate of the city today, is it because you were injured by an assassin somewhere? Is it serious?!"

Xun Yu was taken aback, he didn't expect Guo Jia to ask this first.After a few seconds, he came back to his senses and shook his head: "It just hurt my right shoulder..."

"You hurt your right shoulder and you are still here to approve official documents?!" Guo Jia said anxiously, "You are not the only one who writes official documents at the Shangshutai, where are all those who record the affairs of the Shangshu?! If Wen Ruo ends here today, no matter what Any official document is not bad for this day, and tomorrow Jia will ask Cang Zhu to do it for you..."

"Bong Xiao," Xun Yu abruptly interrupted Guo Jia's words.He raised his eyebrows and looked deeply at Guo Jia, "You really didn't know about His Majesty's assassination before this?"

"……what?"

"After the assassins' bodies were sent to Ling Shi for inspection, tattoos were found on their bodies.

Weetweed tattoo. "

The entire room lost all sound for a moment, and even the breathing was stagnant.Only then did Guo Jia realize that since he entered the room, Xun Yu's voice was not only as calm as water, but also a bit cooler than the night, but he hadn't noticed it all the time.He has always been sensitive to people's hearts, but when facing Xun Yu, he is always very dull.

Guo Jia didn't remember what he said to Xun Yu later, nor how he left from the Shangshutai where he didn't know the way.He just felt that even though it was a hot summer day, he still felt shivering when the wind blows at night, so there was nothing wrong with Xun Yu pouring him a cup of boiling hot tea.Even after talking for so long, the hot tea has already cooled down.

He stepped across the threshold absently and bumped into someone who had been waiting at the door for a long time.

"What are you thinking?" The man's embrace was as hot as ever.

"No." Guo Jia straightened up, looked at Cao Cao, and gently curled the corners of his lips, "Jia is just a little tired and didn't pay attention to the road."

Guo Jia did have a look of fatigue in his eyebrows, but it was completely different from that kind of simple fatigue. Guo Jia could hide this from everyone, and he couldn't hide it from Cao Cao.But Cao Cao didn't point it out, just nodded and said: "Get in the car, I will take you back home."

"Ah?" Guo Jia was stunned for a moment, "Jia thought Duke Ming was here..."

"Since you have already talked to Wen Ruo, there is no need for Gu to ask again. It is so late, Wen Ruo should also rest." Cao Cao said, "The banquet in the palace has just ended, and Gu stopped by to take you home."

The Imperial Palace and Shangshutai have never been the same road.

Guo Jia secretly thought.Seeing the bright moon hanging high in the night sky, it seems that the curfew time has passed.No matter how late the banquet in the palace was, it would not be late for this time. It is conceivable that the "just finished" in Cao Cao's mouth may have been omitted for more than an hour.

But he didn't point it out, and let others pull him into the carriage.The thick curtain was lowered, and at the same time, the cold night wind was isolated from the car.

Leaning on the person and dozed off for a while, Guo Jia opened his eyes, and the loss and tiredness that made Cao Cao feel distressed had faded a lot.He succinctly told Cao Cao the content of his conversation with Xun Yu, and finally sighed: "Those two assassins are indeed the guards, and Jia only left two in the palace. , and... there is no proof of death, I'm afraid I can't tell clearly."

Cao Cao said: "What reason does the octopus want to assassinate His Majesty? Even..." He paused for a moment, and finally said bluntly, "If Wen Ruo thinks that Gu has the intention of arrogating the superior, Gu must be the last person in the world. Something happened to His Majesty."

There are many ways to change the throne. Killing the previous emperor directly is definitely the most stupid way. If a traitor and a traitor with an improper title come over, even if he wins the throne, he will be stabbed in the back for hundreds of years.Cao Cao didn't think he would do such a stupid thing if he wanted the position of emperor, nor did he think that he would do such a stupid thing in Xun Yu's eyes.

"But, Your Majesty didn't die, but just injured his left arm?" Guo Jia said, "If the emperor is dead, then everything will be over. But if he was just assassinated, then Xudu must be thoroughly investigated, and once the investigation is complete , it will involve a lot, and in the end, the search for assassins will become a party against dissidents, and Minggong can just take this opportunity to get rid of those veteran officials in Xudu who still miss the Han Dynasty."

Cao Cao still disagreed: "Then there is no need for Gu to let the octopus do this. Could it be that Wen Ruo thinks that Gu will use you as a price in order to get rid of dissidents?"

"Wen Ruo told Jia that he decided to enter the palace on a temporary basis that day. And if the two assassins hadn't met him, they could have escaped. If they did escape, no one would know that they were Tu. The octopus guards can also give Minggong a chance to thoroughly investigate Xudu. If he wants to act in the heavily guarded palace and has the ability to escape after the palace guards arrive, if Jia is good, he will also choose to use the octopus guards. "

And when Xun Yu finished speaking in the room, Guo Jia suddenly understood what Liu Xie was up to with all kinds of strange actions today.Those praises and unsparing rewards were not due to any conspiracy, but this time the assassination really made the little emperor afraid, so afraid that he didn't even have the courage to make a fuss over the dead body of the oyster guard.After Cao Cao came back, he wanted to try his best to please Cao Cao quietly so as to keep the throne, or even if he lost the throne, at least he could save the lives of himself and his concubines.

But now talking about Cao Cao, Guo Jia felt something was wrong.If Liu Xie had such a cowardly character of swallowing his anger, there would not be an imperial edict in the fifth year of Jian'an, and the queen of Liu Xie would not be willing to watch Liu Xie hand over the throne, and then declare the continuation The great Han of more than four hundred years perished.

But Liu Xie's flattering demeanor today does not seem to be fake, and it is also a fact that he directly suppressed the assassin and did not pursue it at all... Guo Jia vaguely felt that he seemed to have caught a clue, but he couldn't trace it anyway.As for who was responsible for this so-called assassination but actually sow discord, Guo Jia has no idea for the time being.

"Since your majesty doesn't mention this matter, let's let it go." Finally Cao Cao made a decision, "The people behind the scenes can do nothing to testify this time. You won’t just do it this time, and when you do it next time, you will naturally have clues.”

"It's Jia's fault." Guo Jia said, "In the final analysis, this matter will turn out to be like this, or because those two people are really the guards. Jia didn't notice for a while, and someone stretched his hand into the guards. Please Minggong punishes."

Seeing Guo Jia's resolute expression, Cao Cao had no choice but to say, "Then you will be fined with one year's salary."

"What kind of punishment is this?" Guo Jia said with a frown, "Jia's salary is originally Ming Gong..." After saying this, he suddenly paused, and said after a while, "By the way, Jia has forgotten, Ming Gong It’s no longer Sikong.”

"Your official position, I also mentioned it to His Majesty today." Seeing that Guo Jia changed the topic inadvertently, Cao Cao was happy to stop discussing the issue of punishment, "I would like to ask Your Majesty to order you to be the post of Jizhou Mufu Supervisor. .”

Guo Jia was taken aback: "In fact, Jia still prefers official positions such as the prime minister offering wine..."

Cao Cao was helpless.As a subordinate official of the prime minister's mansion, the prime minister Jijiu's status was far inferior to that of Mu Fujian who supervised a state, and his salary was even more varied, the latter was worth two thousand shi.However, as Jizhou shepherd, he didn't really want Guo Jia to exercise the post of supervisor to check and balance the prefectural shepherd's power.Restoring the land of ancient Kyushu to a wider area, and reinstating the post of shepherd and supervisor, is obviously to solve the remaining problems in Jiangdong, but secretly it is directly aimed at Xiliang.

"There can be no exceptions in every state, but I don't want to let many of His Majesty's favorite Mu in Yecheng return to prison."

Guo Jiaben was just joking, so he naturally understood Cao Cao's considerations and had no objection to Cao Cao's arrangement.But still couldn't help but sighed again: "Compared to the two thousand shi's Han family ministers, Jia still only wants to be Minggong's ministers."

Cao Cao said with a smile: "It's hard work to be a lonely subject. You have to travel with the lonely year after year. When you encounter bad times, let alone salary, you can't even have enough food."

"It's okay, it's okay. Jia never eats much, and it's okay if he doesn't get a salary. If he can be a minister of Duke Ming, Jia is willing to pay for it."

"Then how much is Feng Xiao willing to pay for the orphan?"

"A lifetime, is it enough?"

While chatting and laughing, Guo Jia's eyes finally regained their former brilliance, and Cao Cao finally let go of his heart.He hugged him into his arms, and solemnly said in his ear the words that he had kept in his heart when he received the news of the weed in Xiling City:

"Then remember, even if you exchanged your life for Gu's beautiful country, you still owe Gu. As long as you go one step earlier than Gu, you will never pay back the debt. You have to pay Yes, it’s not life, it’s a lifetime, a complete lifetime.”

Then, what if Minggong Bijia left first?

Guo Jia couldn't help but feel a little bitter again.He thought he had accepted that price a long time ago, but every time he thought about it, he still felt a little, a little bit afraid.

Cang Cangqiu and graves, those who have gone have been sparse in the past, not mourning blood and suffering, only hurting bosom friends.But I am afraid that if I climb a tall building in the northwest, with thousands of lights, I will be killed by the autumn wind.

Simply, it has never been his nature to have a life of less than a hundred years, and to worry about a thousand years.So after a moment of dimness, he had already forgotten what would happen many years later.Even though Cao Cao kept looking at him, he didn't notice anything strange.

Because at this time, Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao, and he already showed a brighter smile, and the look in his eyes was even more dazzling, as if the stars were shining all over the sky.

"Okay, Jia promised Minggong. For a complete life, there will be no less day."