[Three Kingdoms] Carnival

"No, absolutely not! That young lady of the Cao family is already twenty-one, and Jiaer is only 16, how can she marry her!"

Hearing Guo Yan's absurd words, Guo Lin refused without thinking.

You know, he only said that he was saving face for that Miss Cao's family in terms of age.Misses from other aristocratic families were already engaged to get married at the age of 16, but this Miss Cao was never married at the age of 21 because her reputation was really bad.

She was originally engaged to a family when she was young, but she eloped with a servant. Although she was found back in the end, the news had already spread all over the city, and the other party also resigned, so she has been dragged into an old girl.

He was expected to be rejected, and Guo Yan was not annoyed, and continued to persuade him with good words: "My dear brother, why should you refuse without even thinking about it. Yes, Miss Cao is a bit older, but just because of her age, Only then can she take care of others. Jiaer is so romantic, it's easy to feel at ease marrying a well-behaved wife."

"What do you mean?" Guo Purlin frowned, he could hear something in the other party's words.

"Your brother still doesn't know? The stories about Jia'er have spread." It was Guo Yan's sister, Guo Ru, who continued the conversation, "We are too embarrassed to talk about the things with the girl. "

"My dear brother, now Cao Song is very powerful in the court. If he can join the Cao family, even if they are distant relatives, it is a rare opportunity. It is good for you and the Guo family, not to mention Jiaer's reputation..." Guo Yan said Kindly thinking about the family and nephew, he patted Guo Lin on the shoulder heavily, "You should think about it carefully."

After all the people had left, the old servant Wang Steward stepped forward and asked worriedly, "Master, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, I've been used to their appearance for a long time."

"Young master...?" He watched the young master grow up, and he didn't want the young master to marry such a woman in the future.

"Don't worry, Jia'er won't be wronged." Guo Purlin said firmly.

Guo Yan wanted to climb up to Cao's house, maybe it was not only him, but also the old ancestor's intention.It's a pity that they didn't know much about the relationship, and they really thought that the one with the surname "Cao" and Cao Song were a family.

"Go and find out what's going on with the rumors." After hesitating for a moment, Guo Lin said again, "If it really spreads too much, let them settle it."

"Master!" Butler Wang was surprised, "Didn't the master already plan to..."

"Go." Waving his hand, Guo Lin didn't let Steward Wang continue.Steward Wang could only stop embarrassingly, and retreated.

Slumped on the chair, Guo Lin supported his aching head and sighed deeply.

In the past few years, the situation has been turbulent, and he has already started to withdraw from it gradually, no longer asking about those things, and doing business in peace and stability to live his own life.

However, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop. He wants to stop, but he can't stop the people who are always greedy.

This time is a blessing or a curse, let's do it and see.

"Order, let the people below carefully watch every move of everyone in the Guo residence."

"Yes."

In the dim candlelight, Guo Yan's smile was as dark as a ghost.

He didn't believe that Guo Purn would sit back and ignore his son's reputation, so he would definitely take action.

And once the other party takes action, he will have a chance to give clues.

What is that thing that has been hidden so deeply, and how valuable it should be.

He was really, really curious.

"Why are you running here again?" As expected, seeing the head poking in from the gate of the courtyard again, Xiahou sighed, but in fact, he was not as reluctant to the arrival of the person as in his tone.

Seeing the pot of mulberry wine on the stone table, Guo Jia smiled for a moment, and quickly ran over to pour himself a glass, and after drinking it all, he said: "You are the only one who is so pure, why do you still despise Jialai?" You can't do it?"

Originally, Guo Jia planned to stay in the house and read military books to hide himself. As a result, those so-called cousins ​​and cousins ​​came to him every day, which really annoyed him, and finally pretended to be sick. You can use the reason of "taking care of yourself" to keep Xiwu in the house so that she will not meet those evil stars again.

However, there is only one disadvantage of this plan, that is, the whole family eats dinner in the hall every night.He pretended to be sick and didn't have to go, but the food that was brought was very bland because of his "sickness".Guo Jia, who drank porridge for several days and never saw a piece of meat, finally decided to come to Xiahou's other courtyard to eat.

There is wine and meat, and it is still secluded. Is there a better choice than this~?

"Yeah, you came to my place. I couldn't eat a few mouthfuls of food, and I didn't touch a few drops of wine. Do you think I can not dislike you." Xiahou expressed his dissatisfaction at being robbed, and Guo Jia poured another glass , hastily snatched the wine glass over, but not because of reluctance, "Drinking alcohol hurts the body, the doctor is right, you have to take care of your body no matter what."

"Just one cup, just another cup."

Xia Hou saw Guo Jia staring at him with bright eyes... the wine glass in his hand, when he moved his hand, the other party's gaze moved as well, as if stuck to it.Unable to bear the longing eyes, he compromised and returned the wine glass:

"Just this cup."

"Yes Yes."

Seeing the way the other party squinted enjoying a sip of wine, Xia Hou Bujing also smiled along with him.

In fact, he is also a very good drinker, so he naturally understands that alcoholics can't stop drinking.If he can stay here for a long time, it will be a good thing when the young man recovers and sings with others while drinking.

Guo Jia was naturally reluctant to drink the cup in one gulp. After taking a few sips, he reluctantly put down the cup, picked up his chopsticks and began to pick up vegetables.After being forced to be a vegetarian for a few days, he pointed every chopstick firmly at the meat dishes, and Xia Hou couldn't help laughing when he saw it.

Such childishness and personality are completely beyond the knowledge and talents of ordinary people. He really doesn't understand how these two contradictory characteristics are concentrated in Guo Jia.

Many years later, if an upright doctor surnamed Chen knew what he was talking about at this time, he would definitely lament that the temper and death of all kinds of children were not caused by you.

When eating food, the two of them are not the old-fashioned Confucian scholars who abide by the "don't talk when eating, don't talk when sleeping", so naturally they chatted in full swing after a while.Xia Hou told Guo Jia many more things about the court, this time, Guo Jia listened with great interest.

"To be honest, Jiazhen can't understand what those scholar-bureaucrats think." Listening to Xia Hou's talk about the struggle between the nobles and eunuchs in the court, Guo Jia said, "The emperor is young, whether it is a nobleman or an eunuch, they all want power for profit. Who can be more noble? On the contrary, it is difficult for eunuchs to have a family, and their wealth and life are all attached to the emperor, which is more beneficial to the court than those gentry who form parties and cooperate with each other."

"You can't say that because of your family's affairs, right?" Seeing Guo Jia's face full of resentment towards the nobles, Xia Hou asked with a smile.No matter how secluded the place he lives in, he is not isolated from the world. When he goes out, he has heard more or less about the rumors outside and the things in the mansion. "Although those people are indeed domineering, but for a girl, you don't have to do that."

"Okay, okay, even you know. It seems that Jia's reputation is really bad this time." Guo Jia spread his hands, but he didn't take this matter to heart at all.Fame is not a meal for him, and his plan in the future is to live a mediocre life, no matter how bad his reputation is, it has nothing to do with him.

Instead, he was more worried about how that girl Xiwu would marry in the future.

"Jia admits that he is full of opinions on the fact that he has a family, but it is not the main reason." After correcting his expression, Guo Jia turned the topic back on track.

"Jia, I heard from you that many people attribute the chaos of the country to villains' disorderly government, but in the final analysis, it is because the power of the aristocratic families is far higher than that of the imperial power."

"Under the blood relationship, various big families unite to form cliques for private interests, and officials and officials protect each other. If this continues, all peaceful and prosperous times will be illusory, and sooner or later they will usher in destruction."

"Then what if you don't rely on the gentry?"

"So, in fact, Jia sometimes felt that the current emperor is not necessarily such a stupid person." Guo Jia smiled, but put it off.

Xiahou was taken aback for a moment, but after thinking about it carefully, he immediately understood what people meant, and his eyes became completely different, without even the slightest hint of a joke:

"You mean, use eunuchs to contain the nobles?"

Without comment, Guo Jia continued:

"The gentry has long become the foundation of the imperial court, and the various families have long been related to each other. Jia doesn't know whether the Holy Majesty did it on purpose or not, but the appointment of eunuchs is definitely a means of check and balance."

"Isn't it? You mean, there is a better way?" Xia Hou didn't guess the meaning of the other party, and he couldn't say he was uncomfortable.

"The reason why the gentry threatens the imperial power, whether it is the sage or the first emperor, cannot be completely resolved, because the gentry has become the foundation of the Han Dynasty. The aristocratic families in various places are both a threat and a means to maintain the imperial power. No matter how determined the emperor is, However, he can only use methods to check and balance, but cannot determine the root cause, because no matter what, he cannot overthrow his own rule by himself.”

"So, the only way to truly usher in peace is to let the world fall into chaos like the Spring and Autumn and Warring States first, so that we can break through first and then stand up."

Speaking of this step, Guo Jia actually almost said the word "rebellion". It can be said that his words and deeds were not bold, and Xia Hou's face on the other side was already gloomy.

"How can you be sure that the only way to save the world is to destroy and then build? The war has caused too much pain to the people of the country, and how can it be easily implemented unless it is a last resort."

"The Yellow Turban Rebellion is just the beginning." Guo Jia said slowly, but his tone was unquestionably affirmative, "The problems that have been accumulated for a long time will gradually become apparent soon, no matter how hard people try to fill them up, they will never It can’t keep up with the collapse of the building, but their remedial measures make the problem last longer, which may be more cruel than breaking down and then rebuilding.”

Seeing that Xia Hou was still silent, Guo Jia laughed again:

"Why don't Jia make a bet with you? Just bet that within ten years, all the heroes will be separated and the world will be in chaos. How about it?"

Xiahou saw Guo Jia propping his head with one hand and raising the wine glass to himself with the other. It seemed to be such a lazy movement, but because of the indistinguishable smile and the faint light in his eyes, he believed that the other party's every move Not a word of nonsense.

"There's no need to gamble, I believe."

Seeing the other party's unexpected expression, Xia Hou was also secretly surprised. He didn't understand why he would subconsciously believe the other party's words as long as he looked into the other party's bright eyes, no matter how absurd the content was.

Perhaps, it was because what the other party said was exactly what he was vaguely aware of but unwilling to admit.

He still remembered that when he put down the Yellow Turban, although he won in the end, how many good opportunities were missed because of the hesitation of the people in the court.And his retreat this time, is it because he is watching the corrupt scholars in the court, who only know how to talk about war on paper, and protect himself wisely, or else he only cares about competing with the eunuchs, but thinks that the civil unrest thousands of miles away is not worth mentioning.

He believes that compared to Guo Jia, he who has more experience can count more clearly how many moths have grown on the branches of the big man, and the nutrition inside has already been secretly divided by various forces and gradually exhausted.He also knew that cutting down and burning the tree directly was the most simple and labor-saving way to kill the insects.

However, how would he be willing to admit that there is no other way for the big man's century-old foundation than to watch it go to destruction.

"Or, there is another way to solve the hidden danger and keep the Han Dynasty."

Xia Hou was taken aback, and looked at Guo Jia in disbelief, apparently not expecting that there would be more to come.

"That is to use a kind of power, or a person, to use war to uproot the roots of the nobles and destroy all rotten things. However, with the power of King Qin's sweeping power, the world will be pacified quickly. As for the Han Dynasty , You only need to keep the bloodline of the Han Dynasty, empty it in troubled times, let the gentry lose the court stage for forming parties for selfish interests, and then wait for the world to be peaceful and all new systems to be established, and then return the power to the emperor."

In the final analysis, emperors and dynasties are all names, but they are just the last layer of window paper left for some people who refuse to give up their obsessions.

"It's just that people with such great power will willingly give up their own interests and return power to the emperor?"

can you?

Xia Houmo said, but he already had the answer in his heart.

Guo Jia looked at Xia Hou's firm gaze and sighed inwardly.

In fact, he still didn't say a word:

Even if a person who once possessed such great power is willing to return it, how can a person in the position of the emperor rest assured that he will go back to hiding and leave hidden dangers for himself?

In the struggle for power, apart from life and death, where does the true relationship between the monarch and his ministers come from?

The reason why Duke Zhou was able to spend his old age in peace was largely because he was also surnamed Ji.

Naturally, Xiahou couldn't hear what Guo Jia was thinking, so he drank another glass of wine, put down the glass, sighed after thinking about it, and said to Guo Jia earnestly: "Just tell me what you said today, don't tell others."

Speaking so straightforwardly, he was worried that with Guo Jia's temperament, it would be too easy to suffer in the future.

Unexpectedly, it was rare to be considerate of others, but in exchange for it, Guo Jia rolled his eyes: "It's not that Jia is out of his mind, so naturally he wouldn't say such things to others lightly."

"Some things are only really valuable when they are spoken to those who can understand them. Jia really treats you as a confidant, so you can speak freely."

confidant?

After reading these two words, the corners of Xiahou's mouth gradually curled up, and finally turned into a loud laugh.He also couldn't explain why the other party was just a silent young man, but every word he said reached his heart.The calm and watery voice could easily wipe away the restlessness in his heart and clear up the messy thoughts.

Facing Guo Jia, why didn't he subconsciously let go of all vigilance, would talk to others, would subconsciously listen to the other party's opinions, would feel happy when he guessed the other party's meaning, and would subconsciously trust the other party Every word spoken.

This is indeed a confidant.

It's rare to meet someone who suits his temperament so much, he laughed so hard that Guo Jia couldn't help but couldn't hide the joy in his heart.At this moment, he didn't bother to care about whether his identity was exposed or not. After all, if he couldn't be honest with his confidant, then this life would be too sad.

"Since I'm a confidant, I really won't lie to the young master anymore."

"Actually, my surname is Cao, my name is Cao, and my name is Mengde. You can just call me Mengde."

Cao Cao, who was very satisfied with his frankness, heard a "boom" and saw Guo Jia fall directly from the stone bench, his face full of disbelief.

At this moment, Guo Jia kept repeating a sentence in his mind:

I must not have read the almanac when I went out today, God is fucking teasing me.

Fortunately, Guo Jia, no matter how turbulent his heart was, he could still control his expression.Sitting back on the stone bench with Cao Cao's support, Guo Jia took a deep breath for a moment, finally calmed down, and was about to speak——

"Master, it's not good, something happened to the master!"