[Three Kingdoms] Seven steps into wetness

Cao Zhi generally knew about Mrs. Bian's banquet.He can't stop it, after all, he has several younger brothers who are ready to marry.I had no choice but to find an opportunity to ask my mother if she had a candidate.

Mrs. Bian laughed and said, "My son is impatient?"

Cao Zhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "No... what I mean is that I don't want to go so fast."

Mrs. Bian is also in her fifties, and now she has wrinkles on her face, one by one, full of traces of time.But even though she is no longer young and beautiful, her demeanor is still so graceful and luxurious.

She just looked at Cao Zhi lovingly, and then smiled in an extremely gentle tone: "Zijian, Yu'er can't live without a mother."

"Yu'er's mother is Cui."

As soon as these words came out, Mrs. Bian's hand shook suddenly, and the bamboo slip in her hand fell to the ground with a snap.

She feels sad.

Since childhood, Cao Zhi has always been the most worry-free of all her children, and the only accident was that time when he fell off the horse.Afterwards, even though Mrs. Bian found that Cao Zhi's hobbies, personality, and habits had changed compared to before, she thought he was still young and uncertain, so he changed.

Cao Zhi was still worry-free as always.

This peace of mind means that she can shift her attention to other things, and it also means that she tends to ignore what Cao Zhi is really interested in.

It wasn't until Cui's death that Madam Bian admitted that she didn't understand Cao Zhi's hidden nature at all.Even because of some misunderstandings, her seemingly well-behaved children were reluctant to go home, making Cui depressed and unhappy for a year after they got married.

Mrs. Bian even felt that she was actually the one who harmed Mrs. Cui.If it weren't for her proposal, Cao Cao would not have agreed to order them to get married.

There is no mother who does not want her children to be happy. No matter how the court is, the Bian family only hopes that there will be someone in the backyard who can make Cao Zhi happy.

But obviously, Cao Zhi was rejecting the matter.

Cao Zhi picked up the bamboo slips that Mrs. Bian had dropped on the ground, and said calmly: "Mother, what my son means is that now that I have Yu'er, I don't want to marry another woman I don't like—not to mention delaying it any longer. A woman's life."

Madam Bian took a deep breath and quickly calmed down. "You mean, you want to marry the woman you like?"

"Yes."

"So, are you someone you like now?"

"No," Cao Zhi paused, but his face was smiling like a spring breeze: "As long as there is a woman he likes, I will definitely tell my mother and ask her to look at it."

Mrs. Bian sighed slightly when she heard it.She rubbed the center of her brows, and said wearily: "...So, let's leave it to you for now."

Of course, this matter is insignificant, only a ripple in the court.

As far as Cao Zhi is concerned, it is just a reminder.

Now it is Mrs. Bian, as long as she knows it with affection.What if it was Cao Cao in the future and ordered him to marry another person?

Sure enough, a surefire plan is needed.

In January of the 20th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao returned to Ye.

Not long ago, Cao Cao solved the legacy of the Fu family. Cao Zhang and Gongsun Kang were still at a stalemate in this matter. In February, Cao Cao wanted to send troops north again.

Before going north, he convened everyone to discuss the matter.

Xu Chu took the lead and said loudly: "My lord, this subordinate is willing to go!"

Zhang Liao, Yu Jin and others also stepped forward to ask for orders.

Cao Cao neither agreed nor refused. Instead, he sat leisurely in the superior position, obviously waiting for someone to recommend himself.

Cao Pi quickly stepped forward and bowed: "Father, my son has benefited from studying military books recently, and I hope to go north to verify it."

"Tell me about how to conquer Liaodong."

Cao Pi smiled confidently: "The weather in Liaodong is cold, which is not suitable for our army. The county is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The third brother lacks siege equipment, so it is inevitable that he will not be able to attack for a long time. As long as the third brother can lure Gongsun Kang's army out of the city Come on, Liaodong is nothing more than something in my father's pocket."

Cao Cao nodded slightly, and said to Cao Pi: "What you said is very reasonable, but Gongsun Kang is like a tortoise, how can you lure him out of the city?"

Cao Pi said: "Father, my son has a clever plan!"

Cao Cao laughed loudly, stood up and sat down, and patted Cao Pi on the shoulder: "After studying for a year, talking to your father, you have learned how to be tricky?"

Cao Pi smiled without saying a word.

Cao Cao ignored him, turned around and asked Cao Zhi, "Zijian, what about you?"

Cao Zhi bowed and said modestly: "I also very much hope that I can go north to help my third brother. It's just that I have taken charge of the Eastern Wei County for the time being, and I don't have time to take care of other things. I'm afraid that if I go north this time, I will have more energy than I want. I hope my father will forgive me." .”

Cao Cao said clearly: "In this way, you will be at ease."

When Cao Pi heard this, he thought about Cao Zhi's intentions for a while, and then he heard Cao Cao say again: "Zihuan, you go this time."

Before Cao Zhi's words fell, Yang Xiu's face changed; when Cao Cao finished speaking, Yang Xiu's slightly drooping eyes were full of dissatisfaction.

He is naturally dissatisfied!

After Cao Cao waved and ordered everyone to leave the hall, only Cao Pi was left behind.He stared at Cao Pi, and said gently: "Ten years ago, my father left thousands of old, weak and disabled soldiers to order you to garrison Xuchang. You did a good job. Zihuan, I hope you will not disappoint my father this time!"

Cao Pi was overjoyed in his heart, but he didn't show anything on his face, he just bowed slightly and said calmly: "Yes."

Cao Cao looked at him for a long time again, with a little satisfaction on his face, he patted his shoulder again and said, "Okay, let's make some preparations."

"Yes," Cao Pi replied.After he paused for a moment, he took advantage of the situation to express his spontaneous thoughts, "Father, I want my son to accompany Sima Yi to go north with my son."

Cao Cao paused upon hearing this.

He tilted his head, looked carefully at the longing and vague admiration in Cao Pi's eyes, and said calmly and slowly, "Why?"

"My father ordered Sima Yi to accompany my son to study these days. Only then did my son realize that Sima Yi's reputation is well-deserved in terms of literary talent and wisdom. This trip to the north will certainly be useful to him."

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and remained silent.

He just continued to stare at Cao Pi with scrutiny. After so long that Cao Pi was covered in cold sweat, he said calmly: "Although Sima Yi is knowledgeable and knowledgeable, it is my luck to be of use to me. But these In the days and nights, if you see him as a father, you can't give him military power, and it will be a catastrophe for the country for a long time!"

Cao Pi's face turned pale, and he opened his mouth to explain something, but seeing the unquestionable coldness in Cao Cao's eyes, he just wiped his cold sweat and bowed to leave.

After the crowd dispersed, Yang Xiu invited Cao Zhi to have a talk.When Cao Zhi arrived, the first sentence he said was sarcasm: "I think the fourth son handles government affairs very easily. Could it be that this year's leisure has dampened the fourth son's ambition and made you unbearable for the cold in the north?"

Cao Zhi was half happy and half helpless.

In his heart, Yang Xiu is a good teacher and even a good friend. He has never doubted it these years.Therefore, he can tolerate Yang Xiu's many bad tempers one by one, but the more he tolerates, the more Yang Xiu pushes forward, which is not what he expected.

He slowly frowned, staring at Yang Xiu for a moment.

Among these people in these years, Guo Jia is the only one who can understand everything with a single thought. The second one he knows best is Cao Pi, and the last one is Yang Xiu.

Yang Xiu's character is not so much arrogance because of his talent, it's better to say that he doesn't like the people he hates to be happy.Yang Xiu is indeed very smart, and he is very transparent in thinking about problems.But this kind of personality is like a ticking time bomb, which will detonate without knowing when.

——Because of Yang Xiu, I hate Cao Cao.

Cao Zhi has always had this feeling, so that Yang Xiu is sometimes nice to him, sometimes annoyed, and often ridiculed.In the past, he didn't care much, including when Guo Jia said to him in the past, he didn't care too much.

Now I have to care.

He smiled, but his tone was very light.He said: "Sir, did you make a mistake? It was the father who ordered the second brother to go to the army, not the student."

Yang Xiu suddenly became more angry when he heard Cao Zhi's unsalty words.He said in a more indifferent voice than Cao Zhi: "If you hadn't refused, how could such things fall on the Second Young Master?"

"Could it be that father can let me go if the student asks?"

"You don't want to go at all, so how do you know that Duke Wei didn't want you to lead the army? Heh, I think it's because you're so caught up in some people's hypocrisy that you even forgot what you're going to do now!"

"enough!"

"..." Yang Xiu paused for a while, then sneered, "I don't know what to do."

Cao Zhi laughed lightly.

But there was a cold light in his eyes, not the slightest bit of happiness, but an indifference that Yang Xiu had never seen before.He said: "Sir, do you know why my father ordered me to be in charge of Wei County, and also ordered the third brother to send troops to Wuhuan, and then ordered the second brother to go to the rescue?"

why?Isn't this Cao Cao's desire to choose an all-powerful heir among them, and these are just tests?

Yang Xiu frowned and said nothing, just staring at Cao Zhi indifferently.

But I didn't expect Cao Zhi to shake his head and said indifferently: "Sir, you are wrong."

Yang Xiu laughed back angrily: "Where did I go wrong?"

Cao Zhi didn't explain, but said, "Sir, do you still remember what happened after the Battle of Guandu?"

After Guandu?When will it be after Guandu?It's just that the Yuan brothers are fighting... All of Yang Xiu's ridicule suddenly choked in his throat.

He heard Cao Zhi's slightly indifferent voice: "After Guandu, Yuan Shao made his favorite youngest son, Yuan Shang, his eldest son, but ordered his eldest son, Yuan Tan, to guard the distance. After Yuan Shao's death, Yuan Tan sent troops to Qingzhou to fight against Yuan Shang. This gave my father an opportunity to capture Qingzhou in one fell swoop."

Yang Xiu's complexion suddenly changed.

He already knew what Cao Zhi was going to say.

Sure enough, he heard Cao Zhi continue to say: "This result is certainly due to the strength of my father's army. However, if there is no competition between Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, it will take at least three years for my father to get Qingzhou?!"

"Brothers fought against the wall, but what they ruined was the foundation of the country and their own lives. We naturally like to hear it, but one day my father will pass away, and then my second brother and I will embark on this road. Isn't it Liu Bei and Sun Quan who are happy to see it?"

"Sir, have you ever thought about what my second brother and I mean in the eyes of outsiders compared to Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang in the past?"

"What about the father? Since the students can think of it, the father can't think of it?"

"Even though my father thought about it, but still did it, what does it mean?"

"Does it mean that my father is sure that my second brother and I will never be Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang in the future? Does it mean that my father has already chosen someone in his heart, and one of my second brother and I is just a stepping stone for the other? "

Cao Zhi said these words in a row, and every sentence was very important.These are tacit understandings that he and Guo Jia have never announced, but they have nothing to do with Yang Xiu.

Now he only said this, a few words, enough to make Yang Xiu's face full of horror.

a long time.

Cao Zhi stared at Yang Xiu coldly, and said almost word for word: "Yes, I hope that sir will not act rashly."

Yang Xiu's frown deepened.

Cao Zhi looked at him like this, worried that he would dislike his almost persecuted tone, and then changed back to a gentle tone, and replaced the wine with tea and said sincerely: "Mr. .If the student has been offended before and the student does not know it, I hope that the master will be magnanimous and forgive the student. Now the student is struggling, sir..."

Yang Xiu's face turned pale.He interrupted Cao Zhi's words and smiled.Except that his face was a little pale, his expression was the same as usual: "Hey, you don't understand your personality as a teacher?" He paused, and then suddenly said, "It's just that these words are what Zijian wanted to say to me. , or Guo Jia?"

"...Ah?" Cao Zhi was going to say some nice words to persuade Yang Xiu, but he only blinked blankly when he heard this, and he didn't understand why Yang Xiu asked.

It's a pity that Yang Xiu's expression was still indifferent, and Cao Zhi couldn't figure out whether Yang Xiu felt that he had lost face by his student's suggestion or something else, so he tentatively said: "Actually, the student didn't realize this, is it Only after Mr. Guo reminded..."

Yang Xiu's complexion suddenly changed.

He stood up coldly, turned around with a flick of his sleeves and said, "I know all these things. I see that it's not early, Fourth Young Master should go back."

Cao Zhi: "..."

Not long after Cao Zhi talked about this with Guo Jia, his face was still full of suspicion.

He told Guo Jia about the matter, looked at his smiling face, and asked helplessly, "Sir, is there any misunderstanding between you and him?"

"Misunderstanding?" Guo Jia's voice was three parts chuckle, three parts leisurely, and four parts teasing.Seeing Cao Zhi's unresponsive appearance, he raised the corners of his lips and smiled, "Don't you know?"

Cao Zhi suddenly felt embarrassed: "... I should know the magic horse?"

Guo Jia raised his eyebrows: "You really don't know?"

"..."

"Hehe," Guo Jia said cheerfully, seeing Cao Zhi's stupid and dazed appearance, "It's okay, you don't need to know. When Dezu figured it out, he won't be like this."

"..."