Chapter 78 Chapter 10: Yingzhou Qishi Xu Du Welcomes the Son of Heaven (4)

In the past, King Wen got Jiang Shang, who was over 80 years old, on the banks of the Weishui River.I, Cao Mengde, am now in doubt, when will I be able to eradicate the Qin chaos like Han Gaozu did, and severely damage the country's foundation! "The sun and the moon are not flooded suddenly, and the preface of spring and autumn".Cao Mengde suddenly felt that life is so short and so boring. "A man of letters, it's too easy to recite poems and paint pictures. Only by mastering the ability to govern the country can he be considered a great man." Another voice rang in Cao Mengde's ears again, it was his father Cao Song who learned from him. This theory has been instilled in me since the day I knew how to read and judge sentences.

"Everything in the world knows that it can't be done." Doctor Qu, a scholar, even risked his life to affirm righteousness when Chu was in trouble at home and abroad. Wagging his lips and drumming his tongue with the luggage of benevolence and righteousness, it can be said to be well-intentioned!I, Cao Mengde, carry a three-foot sword on my back and recruit talented people. Am I not as good as a rotten Confucian? Cao Mengde picked up a small stone and threw it into the lake with all his strength. With a "boom", the tranquility of Yanzhou City was broken, but it soon returned to tranquility.

The end of the year, although the people who are waiting to be fed can have a breath of food and clothing for the time being, what about the days to come? "The granary knows the etiquette, and the people are insufficient and can be governed. It has never been heard before." How profound Guan Zhong's words are, those ancestors have faced Farmers who face the loess and turn their backs to the sky, their needs are too cheap, and it is enough to support their families and pass on incense.Once they lost their land, could not eat, and could not cover their bodies, they would pick up sickles and hoes to settle accounts with the rulers.

At this time, Cao Mengde's thoughts were stranded in Yanzhou City again. The little leader of the Yellow Turban Army named Zhang Ergou was tied up in front of Cao Mengde's camp. "Why did you commit the rebellion? Who is your mastermind?" Cao Cao asked. "We illiterate black-faced men never want to fight against the imperial court. The imperial court wants us to abide by the law and etiquette. We can't talk about the law and etiquette with bare buttocks on an empty stomach! We have no mastermind. People in the belly are masterminds." Zhang Ergou glared at Cao Mengde with his head raised.

Cao Mengde looked at this sallow and emaciated farmer, and listened to his simple words, and seemed to be moved with compassion.But Cao Mengde still yelled sternly: "Push and chop!" But then he waved his hands and shouted: "Wait a minute!" Then he walked up to Zhang Ergou, untied him himself, and turned around and told the left and right: "Bring the rice for him to eat." It's too full, I, Cao Mengde, killed a starving ghost, it's too insulting to my dignity." Zhang Ergou wolfed down two big bowls of rice, knelt down in front of Cao Mengde with a plop, and cried, "Thank you sir for giving me a full meal. I, Zhang Ergou, will repay you in the next life!"

Cao Mengde turned his head to one side, and waved his hand vigorously: "It's cut!" His voice was almost out of tune.He chopped off countless heads wrapped in yellow turbans like melons and vegetables. It can be said that every piece of land in Yanzhou has the echo of the word "cut!" he uttered himself.Only this peasant man named Zhang Ergou was so engraved in his memory.On the night when Zhang Ergou was beheaded, he was always plagued by nightmares. He dreamed that a group of headless farmers rushed into his mansion, first grabbed the food, and then tore his young sons.Since that night, Cao Mengde suffered from migraines.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, early in the morning, Cao Mengde sent Xun Yu, Cao Ren and a group of civil and military officials to the Lord's Mansion.I haven't seen him for a few days, everyone saw that Cao Mengde looked very good, he seemed to be much younger, and they didn't know what great happy event happened to the lord. Xiahou Dun first asked: "The new year is just here, I wonder if the lord has urgently called us to discuss something?" Cao Mengde also said bluntly: "I would like to ask you to go hunting in Shoushan Mountain and kill tigers. The hero will be famous all over the world. Although I don't have the heroic courage of Sun Quan, I can still hunt a few hares and pheasants. You can also observe the countryside along the way." Scenery, I don’t know if you are interested in this.”

Cao Ren said: "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I'm afraid..." Xun Yu heard Cao Mengde's implication from the words "pastoral scenery". The Shoushan area was full of starvation, eating human flesh and gnawing human bones. Is that also called "scenery"? Xun Yu had thought of this problem a long time ago. Develop production first, but the issue of how to restore and develop agriculture is still immature. The protagonist is not so much going hunting to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the water and mountains, as he is going to see the rural scene and understand the public opinion in order to achieve a great cause. This is really true. Heroes see the same thing.

Therefore, Xun Yu said: "My lord is very kind. In the cold winter months, rabbits and pheasants are too lazy to move. Maybe there is no need to kill them, and you can catch them with your own hands." Cao Ren muttered, "Go, I'm afraid the pheasants and hares will starve to death." Cao Mengde looked at Cao Ren, then at the calm Xun Yu, and laughed loudly with his beard. The vast wilderness, the rolling mountains, the rolling hills, the desolation after the war, the violent corpses in the wilderness, and the withered cottages are all covered by snow.Occasionally a few dog barks sounded in the empty village, but it was also so desolate.

The iron hooves of war have been swept away several times, and there is no New Year's weather. Cao Mengde and his entourage were dressed in casual clothes and galloped on horses, their hoofs stepping on the snow and ice, making a heavy sound. "Xun Yu, I heard from Cheng Yu about a man named Guo Jia with the style name Fengxiao. Yuan Shu tried hard and soft to force him to be an aide, but he refused, so the father and son lived in seclusion in Donghe. , get along best with Cheng Yu, and call him a confidant, if we can get him, we will be even more powerful." Xun Yu said: "I almost forgot about it, but my lord has a good memory, so we might as well get off the horse and find out."

"The area around the East River is dozens of miles away, and the villages are sparsely populated. The villagers are dying and fleeing. It's not easy to find a single person." Xun Yu said: "Wizards must have extraordinary feats, and we may be able to find them." Cao Mengde was the first to dismount the horse, and ordered everyone to tie the horse in an abandoned stable next to the farmhouse, and gave the peasant woman some silver and asked her to take care of it.Then, a group of people walked towards the smoky courtyard through the snow. It was a huge yard, but it was empty on the first day of the new year, only an old man was silently cleaning the snow in the courtyard dam. "Old man, congratulations on the New Year." Xun Yu stepped forward to salute. The old man didn't know whether his ears were hard to use or he pretended not to hear, but he continued to sweep the snow on the ground. "Old man, can you make some hot porridge and hot soup, we will have dry food to satisfy our hunger, this is a little silver for your old age," Cao Ren said. "There is no hot porridge, but hot soup can be boiled." The old man staggered to the eaves without picking up the silver first, pulled off a few dried sea peppers and entered the house. Cao Mengde also followed the old man into the house. The old man lifted the lid of the pot, and a smell of rotten grass filled the room.Everyone stretched out their necks, and saw that the bark and vegetable leaves were being boiled in the pot, without any oily smell, it was purely a pot of Chinese herbal medicine. Xiahou Dun quickly covered his nose and turned around, but Cao Mengde and Xun Yu were watching intently. The old man put the bark of wild vegetables into a wooden basin, washed the pot, and was about to throw the peppers.