Chapter 4 Fourth, the old man of Wei

"The great Han Dynasty, the red luck is on the rise. The mere puppet Wei will be wiped out in this battle. Destroy this giant bandit and send troops to the east. Restore the Central Plains and unite Kyushu..." The gusts of autumn wind in Wuzhang Plain raised the desolate and passionate songs of the Shu soldiers, drifted over the tents, and dispersed lightly in the dense night. Jin Tuo in the army knocked on the second watch, and Jiang Wei came all the way from the west of the company camp for night patrol.When he passed the big tent of the Chinese army, he stopped his horse and subconsciously looked towards the big tent.Sure enough, the lights there were on as usual, and the thin figure of the Prime Minister leaning against the door was cast on the ground in front of the tent, stretching as long as the thoughts in his chest.

Jumping off his mount, Jiang Wei walked over gently and called out, "Prime Minister." "It's Boyue...it's so late, you still...have worked hard on you..." Zhuge Liang's voice was so weak that it seemed that even a gust of wind could blow it away, but he raised his head stubbornly and looked at the sky, the night wind stirred The big sleeves of his toga swayed slightly. Jiang Wei couldn't help looking up in the direction he was looking up.I saw the moon hanging in the sky like a silver plate, but there were a few weak stars shining lonely and persistently in the northwest sky.

His heart couldn't help tightening suddenly, he remembered that Taishi Ling Qiao Zhou pointed out to him one night that the stars in the northwest sky were the prime minister's natal stars!Judging from today's night, the light of those stars is as weak as a candle before the wind, flickering and flickering, just looking at it makes people worry! "Prime Minister..." Jiang Wei withdrew his gaze in surprise and looked at Zhuge Liang.As if Zhuge Liang hadn't heard it, he still stood there like a statue, staring quietly at the twinkling stars, and didn't move for a long time, letting the light pouring out of the tent make his skinny cheeks look yellow, The sad look on the face and the deep wrinkles are also completely visible!

After a long time, he turned around and faced Jiang Wei.His eyes lost their usual clarity and showed a gloomy look: "Alas! What Sima Yi said is right—the truth is that there is little food but many things, and the body is weak but heavy responsibilities. It really can't last..." "Sima Yi, old man...he's just trying to scare you. He deliberately cursed you, the Prime Minister, so don't take it to heart." Jiang Wei hurriedly explained, "You are as lucky as the sky, so it's because he's jealous Can it be slandered?" "Alas... Sima Zhongda really knows the truth! He may be the person who knows the truth the most in the world..." Zhuge Liang smiled wryly, and slowly shook his head, "The truth originally hoped that during this Northern Expedition I was able to remove him as a big obstacle for you, but it's a pity that the fire in Shangfanggu failed to burn after all... God's will! God's will!"

When he said this, his complexion changed, he suddenly covered his mouth with a goose feather fan, and coughed violently.Jiang Wei quickly stepped forward to support him, and found that his body was indeed very thin, as if the bunch of autumn rice in this row had lost all its green vitality, leaving only dry stems trembling in the autumn wind.He felt sour in his heart, but he didn't notice a faint warmth coming from his fingertips, as if some warm liquid was on it. "It's all right. Boyue, go and rest!" When Jiang Wei helped Zhuge Liang into the inner tent, Zhuge Liang turned his head and said to Jiang Wei, "Tomorrow at the time of day, let's go to the Weihe Riverside to inspect the military camp together."

"Prime Minister..." Jiang Wei looked at him, but didn't know how to persuade him. "Go!" He smiled kindly and weakly. Jiang Wei retreated from the tent, raised his head, and saw the stars in the northwest were still precariously shining, his tears could not help but flow down. With heavy steps, Jiang Wei walked aimlessly through the camp.The soldiers and generals were all asleep, and the sound of rising and falling breathing came from the half-closed tent doors, and merged and drifted in the cool air.A row of vigil torches danced brightly red on the gate of Dazhai.Going further outside, on the bank of the Wei River, is the station of more than 100,000 troops confronted by the Wei State.

Perhaps Sima Yi was also looking up at the same starry sky, looking for the brilliance of the general star corresponding to the prime minister, and watching - the one who watched the prime minister could not last long.Jiang Wei suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his heart, as if the fact that he had avoided for a long time jumped in front of him: the pressure on the shoulders of the prime minister has really far exceeded the limit of ordinary people-a few days ago, the envoy of Sun Quan sent An urgent letter came, claiming that he was flanked by Man Chong, Tian Yu, Wang Guan and other generals of the Wei army, and surrounded by three sides. In addition, the river was dry and the retreat was urgent. He had no choice but to withdraw his troops to the south of the Yangtze River!But this time, instead of burning Sima Yi to death in Shangfanggu, the prime minister also lost hundreds of thousands of stones, food and grass, which made the situation in the army "worse"... Could it be that the prime minister can only be as helpless as the last Northern Expedition? Come back with success?But...but can the prime minister be able to retreat this time?He even gave up his orthodox status as a big man in exchange for a joint attack on Wei with Soochow. How could he go back and face His Majesty and the entire big Han court?Can he bear the "slander and slander" from others like a frenzy?Thinking of this, Jiang Wei felt heavy in his heart.He staggered, and before he could stand still, he caught a glimpse of a black figure running towards the depths of the camp in a hurry.

"Who is it? Stop!" Jiang Wei shouted vigorously, and quickly pressed the handle of the saber with his right hand. The figure seemed to hesitate for a moment, stopped, and slowly turned around.Under the moonlight, Jiang Wei shouted in surprise: "Wei, General Wei!" "Bo Yue?" Wei Yan stared at Jiang Wei, the horror in his eyes flashed past, he hesitated for a moment, or took two steps forward, approached Jiang Wei, and asked in a low voice, "Bo Yue—I'm asking you, Prime Minister My lord, is he a little sick?" Jiang Wei raised his eyebrows, stared back, and did not answer coldly.

Wei Yan always admired Jiang Wei's loyalty, bravery and uprightness, so he continued to ask him carefully: "If the Prime Minister returns to Hanzhong to recuperate, will the army also withdraw? But, Boyue, do you know that there are rumors in the camps right now, It is said that the prime minister can no longer last until he returns to Hanzhong County..." "General Wei! Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, will definitely lead us to the final victory of the Northern Expedition." Jiang Wei said awe-inspiring word by word, "You and Jiang should be convinced of this point."

"Bo Yue, Wei also believes that if the Prime Minister is in good health, the Northern Expedition will be successful." Wei Yan knew that Jiang Wei was an important general in the Northern Expedition, and if he wanted to make trouble, he had to rely on him, so he softened his tone Talked to him, "However, you and I are very aware of the current physical condition of the Prime Minister. Once, once he has a right or wrong, what will the more than a hundred thousand men here do?" As he said that, he leaned his head over to Jiang Wei's ear, lowered his voice and said, "You know what? Wei just went to Dr. Qiao Zhou to interpret his dreams... Just at the first watch, Wei did a strange thing. Dream, dreaming that a pair of branched antlers grew on the top of my head..."

Jiang Wei continued to stare at him lukewarmly, without saying a word. Wei Yan suppressed the latter words even lower: "Doctor Qiao explained to Wei that this is 'a phenomenon that is rare at the first birth, and it must have the luck of sudden wealth'. Boyue, do you know what is 'rapid wealth and sudden wealth'?" Fa'? Wei is now the deputy commander of the three armies, and you should know what the result will be. It seems that it is God's will that Wei will take over the power of Jieyue as the prime minister and inherit his great cause of the Northern Expedition At the end of the day, Yang Yi and the others are no good at all. It would be terrible if they were to lead the three armies. Boyue, don't worry, after Wei takes charge of the three armies, he will never treat you badly!" "General Wei, please don't say any more." Jiang Wei finally interrupted him, and said in a word, "Jiang will act as if he didn't hear anything. At that time, the prime minister wants Jiang to follow Whoever, Jiang will follow. This is all Jiang said. Go back to your account and rest!" Then, under Wei Yan's astonished eyes, Jiang Wei turned around slowly, and walked steadily and steadily towards his sleeping tent step by step. When Jiang Wei was about to undress and take a nap in the tent, he realized that there were some dark red spots on his fingertips, which seemed to have solidified under the dim candlelight.This, this is... Jiang Wei suddenly remembered that when he was supporting the prime minister earlier, his fingers touched his sleeve which was coughing while covering his fan!prime minister!prime minister!It turned out that there were drops of blood he coughed up in his sleeve... In an instant, Jiang Wei's whole body became extremely stiff, and the clothes under his vest were soaked in cold sweat and became icy cold.Two lines of clear tears, without knowing when, had quietly crawled down his cheeks and dripped onto the skirt of his clothes... The cool breeze blew across the wilderness by the Weihe River, and the autumn grass that was blown up to the waist bowed its head one by one.After the wind passed, they slowly stood upright again, waiting for another autumn wind to come.After a few gusts of autumn wind, the dense green grass will turn into yellow grass; after a few more gusts of wind, the grass will recede the withered and yellow stems, but the grass roots will be firmly planted in the ground until the next spring when the ice disappears Sprout again. Zhuge Liang did not take a four-wheeled vehicle for his inspection tour this time, but was accompanied by Jiang Wei and Liu Nuo all the way on foot.On the way, Zhuge Liang covered his sleeves and coughed a few times, and suddenly asked Jiang Wei, "Bo Yue, when I got up this morning, I actually heard that many soldiers were passing on a strange dream that General Wei Yan had, saying that General Wei dreamed that he was the first-born Lin Lin." Horn', it must be a sign of good luck... What do you think of this matter?" Jiang Wei respectfully bowed his head and replied: "I would like to inform the Prime Minister that Confucius never said 'strange power and chaos', and I have never believed in 'strange power and chaos'." "Well... this is the best! This is the best!" Zhuge Liang showed admiration, "However, about General Wei's dream, Truth asked Qiao Zhou just now. Qiao Zhou explained to Truth, "The corner is a character, and it is used under the sword; how is it good to use a knife on the head?" It seems that Wei Yan's self-proclaimed "extraordinary dream" is really deceiving himself and others!" Jiang Wei pondered for a while, then cupped his hands and said: "Prime Minister, I also heard someone say that Qiao Zhou explained to Wei Yan last night that his dream was 'the first born is rare, and he must have the luck of being rich'." Zhuge Liang's figure suddenly became fixed, and he turned his head and stared at him deeply: "Qiao Zhou also told the truth that he deliberately used these words to paralyze Wei Yan." "Prime Minister, I always feel that Qiao Zhou is unpredictable and has some indescribable strange feelings." Jiang Wei frowned, still reporting very seriously. "Qiao Zhou was born as a Taoist sorcerer, so it's normal to have some weird temper." Zhuge Liang waved the goose feather fan in his hand, and changed the topic, "Bo Yue! You must be more open-minded in the future! Remember, to be able to endure the unbearable things in the world, and to tolerate the unbearable people in the world, this is the demeanor of an upright and wise general!" "Yes. I will remember the teaching of the Prime Minister." Jiang Wei hurriedly replied. Zhuge Liang looked at him and gradually softened his eyes: "Bo Yue, you are loyal and courageous, and you really like the truth. In the past six or seven years, you have followed the truth and fought on the battlefield, worked hard and prepared for hardships—the truth I am very grateful! In fact, in Truth's heart, he has always regarded you as his only disciple in his life, or even - as his own son." "Prime Minister!" Jiang Wei couldn't restrain his emotions, tears rolled down his face.Prime Minister, Prime Minister!In my heart, Jiang Wei, why don't I regard you as my dear and loving father! "Alas...it's a pity that time doesn't wait for me! From now on, perhaps, the truth will not teach you anything more. The book "Jiangyuan", you should study it carefully in combination with reality." Zhuge Liang's voice He sank down, and a thin mist appeared in his eyes. "The great kindness of the prime minister, I am..." Jiang Wei choked up, unable to say anything more. Zhuge Liang looked at him kindly, and sighed softly: "In the future... Oh, Boyue, it's really hard for you." The tears that were about to get out of control were all held back. The group of them passed through the field of the Shu army and came to the fields of the residents of the Wei state in Weinan—Zhuge Liang's army was very strict. Ever since he entered the territory of the Wei state, he issued an order to let his soldiers do no harm to the local residents. , Respect and give in to each other, even if the army is short of food and grain, they must not be harassed.His move became a good talk in the Guanzhong area for a while. Therefore, although the old farmer of Wei State who was immersed in watering the wheat field had seen Zhuge Liang and his party slowly approaching from a distance, he was not surprised, and was still doing his farm work calmly. "Old man, please rest for a while." Zhuge Liang walked to the edge of the field, covered his mouth with his robe sleeve and coughed a few times, "Liu Nuo, help this old man with some farm work, the truth is, we want to chat with him here. " "How did this happen..." The old farmer was muttering, but Jiang Wei had already helped Zhuge Liang on the field ridge without knowing it, and Liu Nuo and a few soldiers had already picked up sickles and buckets to help him. He started farming in the fields. "Caomin has met your lord." The old farmer took off the sheep towel tied around his shoulders and wiped off the sweat on his face, then bowed and gave Zhuge Liang a deep bow. The old farmer's tone is plain and pure, like a greeting to an old friend who has been away for many years, neither the panic and gaffe of ordinary people when they see high-ranking officials, nor the vulgarity of a mountain villager.From the bottom of his heart, he regards himself as an extremely ordinary person, and he also regards everyone in the world as an extremely ordinary person.After the ceremony, looking around, he smiled at everyone, it was a smile as pure as a mountain stream. Zhuge Liang couldn't help being infected, and also smiled rarely.It's been a long time since I laughed like this, he thought to himself.How carefree the old man's life is!I really envy him!Twenty-six years ago, the state of mind that Zhenxiang had when he was farming in the thatched cottage in Longzhong, Nanyang, apart from his pride and ambition, seemed to be as pure and natural as the expression of this old farmer today!It's a pity that I'm afraid I won't be able to enjoy such a day in the rest of my life. Shaking his goose feather fan, he murmured in a low voice: "I work at sunrise, and rest at sunset. What does Dili do to me? The old man is so happy!" The old farmer tilted his head and looked at Zhuge Liang for a moment, then said: "Is this lord still envious of the 'qingfu' of our grassroots people? You are really joking..." Zhuge Liang smiled slightly: "What? You don't believe it? Go back to more than 20 years ago, this... this old man is not like you, "face to the loess and back to the sky" crawling and rolling in the field! Although the body is tired I'm a little tired, but I feel very happy! Old man, how is your grain harvest this year? Are you enjoying your life?" "Alas... this year has been in severe drought since the beginning of March until today, how can the grain harvest in this field improve?" The old farmer frowned and said, "Also, our General Sima and your Yizhou Prime Minister Zhuge has been fighting for four or five months and is still inseparable... Tell me, how can we live comfortably?" "That's right! In order to feed the stomachs of his gang of tigers and wolves, Sima Yi will definitely send treacherous officials and cruel officials to force you to pay exorbitant taxes, right?" Jiang Wei asked angrily. "General Sima is not such a person. He is a kind man who loves the people like his son." The old farmer gave him a sideways glance. "His soldiers are self-sufficient in their own farms and manors, and they have never been taken away from the hands of us ordinary people." What a bargain. Over the past few years, he has written to the imperial court to exempt us from a lot of taxes in the name of 'Guanzhong is close to thieves, and the people should calm down'..." Zhuge Liang listened quietly. He originally thought that the people in the Central Plains would live a life of hunger and cold in the Pseudo-Wei where the legalist method was used to establish the country. Now it seems that some of his understanding may be a little bit wrong. When Jiang Wei heard this, he couldn't help becoming even more indignant: "Listening to what you say, the puppet Wei is still worthy of praise? Do you know that this is what the thief Cao used to win people's hearts? The art of 'Yang Yu Yin Yin'. Let's be honest, it's not because our prime minister deliberately came to the Northern Expedition to threaten Cao Wei's rule, Cao thief had to use these small favors to detain you, otherwise you would have been exploited. .” The old farmer stared at him, and said stubbornly: "Sir, I don't know what the situation is like in other places. But under the rule of General Sima, I am happy that I can still be safe and sound. Sit on the ground and enjoy the happiness..." Jiang Wei was about to retort, but was stopped by Zhuge Liang's slap.Zhuge Liang looked at the old farmer, and said leisurely: "Old man, after my great master of the Han Dynasty conquers Guanzhong in one fell swoop, he will definitely apply benevolent policies so that you can enjoy the happiness that is a hundred times better than today!" After hearing this, the old farmer patted the dust on his shirt with a sheep towel in his hand, and laughed: "My lord, are you trying to make me happy? Can Prime Minister Zhuge really bring my old man a hundred times the happiness? I The old man would not believe it even if he was beaten to death! The day before yesterday, a soldier in their army was crying and talking to my old man. His wife wrote an urgent letter, which said, "Husband, there is no farming in the family, no food for the children, and no money for the family." It’s already taken, the poppy is empty, how can it last?’ It made him a man of eight feet, crying like a child..." Zhuge Liang's whole body trembled violently, he coughed heavily, and his eyes suddenly turned to Liu Nuo: "Really? There is such a thing in the army? Why didn't you report it to me?" Liu Nuo blushed, moved her lips a few times, and lowered her head, not daring to lift it up. Zhuge Liang understood everything immediately.He was quiet for a long time before he said slowly: "The people of Yizhou sacrificed so much for the great cause of Kuang Han, and our whole army will never forget it. Our Great Han King Division has launched five Northern Expeditions, which lasted for six years. , It’s really hard for them! In the future, after the great man regains the Central Plains and dominates the world, he will reduce the taxes of the Yizhou people for six years as compensation, maybe this is enough?” Then, he turned his head to look at the old man and said: "I am a big man in China, how can I allow Cao thief to steal his position? As the saying goes, 'If your name is not right, your words will not go well, and if your words don't go well, nothing will happen.' Only I am a big man Only then can it be the place where the scholars and people of the world return to, and only then can we truly turn the troubled times back to peace, old man, don’t you think so?” The old farmer sat on the ridge of the field, hugging his knees with his hands, and laughed a few times: "My lord, what you said earlier was benevolent and righteous, and it was reasonable, but what you said later was a bit unreasonable! If you want to talk about ancient and modern orthodoxy, Nothing is better than the three emperors and five emperors in ancient times. But who would invite their descendants to be emperors today? The Han Dynasty has lasted for more than 400 years. Tracing the source, Emperor Gaozu was nothing more than a mere pavilion chief when he was in Longqian! At that time, who would have expected that he would be the real son of heaven after destroying the Qin Dynasty? During the period between the two emperors Huan and Ling, the emperor was faint and his ministers were sycophants, and the sky abandoned the people. Therefore, the "disaster of the party", "the chaos of the yellow scarf", and the "disaster of the ten permanent servants" followed one after another, which almost made people feel devastated. It is due to the Therefore, since the first year of the Great Wei and Huangchu, there has not been a single uprising in the prefectures of the Central Plains in the name of revenge for the Han Dynasty! Then, my lord, why do you believe that the Han Dynasty cannot be orthodox and the war in the world cannot be ended?" As Jiang Wei listened, his face gradually changed. He was about to explode, but Zhuge Liang seemed to have seen his reaction, and in time he patted the back of his hand lightly with the goose feather fan in his hand, stopping him again. The old farmer continued to speak nonchalantly, "Returning the world to peace and putting an end to fighting in troubled times is the greatest wish of scholars and people in today's world. Whether it is the elders far away in Jiangdong, or the son of Yizhou who is close to the Jiange, this is actually the case. It is true. The hero of the sky and the hero of the world, he can only caress him in the way and follow the trend. Like your Zhuge Prime Minister blindly showing off his ingenuity and ingenuity, under the pretense of revitalizing orthodoxy, he overstepped his position and pretended to be a man for the people. To send them on a bloody road with little chance of winning, isn't it called 'disturbing the world and using the purple to win the vermilion'?" "Where is the madman! How dare you confuse the crowd here!" Jiang Wei couldn't bear it anymore, he yelled loudly, and drew his sword to put it on the old farmer's neck! Seeing Jiang Wei's angry expression, the old farmer was startled for a moment, and then smiled faintly.His smile is peaceful and natural, just like lilies in wild ridges and wilderness, and like a stream of clear springs in deep mountains and valleys, so clear and pure that you can see the bottom.All of a sudden, Jiang Wei felt his chest was empty, and his hand froze, the knife couldn't cut it! "Bo Yue...you let this old man finish his speech!" Zhuge Liang dismissed Jiang Wei, covered his mouth and coughed a few more times, then looked at the old farmer, "Where is the old man? Disrespectful." The old farmer brushed his beard and smiled, and said, "So, my lord, you are Prime Minister Zhuge! I'm sorry. I'm from Yingchuan, with a surname of Hu and Zhao, but the name is the same as that of Prime Minister Zhuge—'Kong Ming'." "So you are Mr. Hu Zhao, a high-ranking disciple of Guan Ning's master in Linglong Valley' Ziyuan Academy?" Zhuge Liang's face changed, "Then, you are also Sima Zhongda's fellow apprentice?" "Not bad." Hu Zhao said with a smile while stroking his beard with his right hand. Zhuge Liang also smiled deeply: "Confucius traveled to the west and met Chu Kuang to meet his father, Qu Zi chanted and met Miluo fisherman——Liang's trip today to meet Mr. Hu is worthwhile!" "Prime Minister Zhuge is a sage of a generation, and Hu's peeking opinion made you laugh." Hu Zhao said modestly. Zhuge Liang raised his head, looked at a ray of white clouds drifting slowly in the sky, and said in a deep voice: "Your words, after the light is on, you will definitely think about them carefully..." Hu Zhao was still smiling, and suddenly he untied two square wooden clogs from his waist, held them in his palms, and said, "Well... I almost forgot, my brother Sima asked me to give you a pair of clogs, Prime Minister Zhuge. The gift——is this pair of soft-material flat-bottomed clogs made for him by Dr. Ma Jun of Wei Guo. He said, Prime Minister Zhuge, if you come across any sharp objects such as thistles when you climb mountains and slopes in the future, you can put them on These clogs should be useful." Zhuge Liang took the pair of soft-material flat-bottomed clogs and twisted them a few times in his hands. He felt that their texture was fluffy, flexible and full of elasticity. Any sharp object would sink in as soon as it was pierced on the bottom surface, but it could not penetrate it no matter what. .A thought suddenly flashed in his mind: this kind of clogs is the nemesis of the "barbed terrier" he invented! His lips trembled a few times, and his eyes slowly lowered: "Mr. Hu, please bring a word to Zhongda for the truth..."