Chapter 26 5. Choice

"It's like the exercise of a pine, like the knot of a bamboo. Keep the way and never regret it. Beams and pillars are broken, and philosophers are withered! The pure minister of the Han Dynasty will be famous for a hundred generations. The world is difficult, who am I to be with you?..." Xun Yu murmured the eulogy he had written to Kong Rong (an article in mourning for the deceased), and slowly picked up three quietly burning incense sticks from the black lacquered tray on the case, and gently It was inserted into the three-legged golden incense burner.Then, with his eyes slightly closed, his palms folded together, he silently bowed his head to the three sticks of incense sticks and saluted three times, mourning for Kong Rong's spirit in heaven for more than a quarter of an hour.

"Master Uncle... the dead are gone, their souls return to the heavens, and finally find their place. But you still shoulder the great responsibility of helping the Han Dynasty and helping the world. The future is long and full of dangers. You must mourn your sorrows and take care of your body!" Xun You Finally couldn't bear it anymore, and solemnly persuaded him. Xun Yu turned around slowly and sat upright on the seat.He was silent for a while, collected his mind, and asked, "You have suggested to Cao Cao that when he marched south to Jingzhou, he would sneak troops between Ye County and Wancheng to attack Liu Biao and Liu Bei unprepared—then , what was Cao Cao's reaction?"

"Prime Minister Cao thought this strategy was very good, so he adopted it on the spot." Xun You replied respectfully, "According to my nephew, it was mainly a sudden news that prompted Prime Minister Cao to decide to adopt this strategy..." "Uncle Yu knows what this sudden news is." Xun Yu didn't need to pretend to be polite in front of Xun You, and said straightforwardly, "But Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, is dying and dying?" Xun You didn't expect that his uncle, who stayed at home these days, still knew all the important things in the world. He couldn't help but secretly admired him, and replied respectfully, "Your uncle expected it well. According to the top-secret news from Jingzhou's eyeliner , the officials of the Jingzhou government haven't seen the Jingzhou shepherd for more than half a month, and the daily state affairs are handled by his wife and brother, Sima Caimao of the shepherd's mansion. I heard that he summoned Liu Bei a few days ago to show his support Liu Bei somehow didn’t accept it at the time. Prime Minister Cao decided to use his nephew’s humble plan to sneak ahead quickly because he was afraid that things in Jingzhou would change suddenly after he knew about it...”

"Yes! When Prime Minister Cao heard that Liu Biao was critically ill, he thought it was a godsend opportunity. Cai Mao, Kuai Yue, Zhang Yun, Wang Can, and Han Song had long been secretly bought by Prime Minister Cao. Once Liu Biao died of illness, as long as Liu Bei failed to seize the opportunity to jump out and turn against the guests, so Cai Mao, Kuai Yue, and Wang Can will definitely hand over Jingzhou." Xun Yu looked at the light smoke from the three-legged golden incense burner, and his voice was as calm as water, " This time, he decided to launch a surprise attack with a sneak attack, because he wanted to catch Liu Bei by surprise, and before he marched, maybe he had secretly agreed with Cai Mao, Kuai Yue, Wang Can and others to take the opportunity to attack Liu Bei with him... My nephew, yes no?"

"Uncle, you are really good at predicting things!" Xun You sighed deeply, "Prime Minister Cao wrote a secret letter to Cai Mao and others agreeing to attack Liu Bei, and it was just sent out yesterday afternoon at a speed of 800 miles." "Well... As far as the strategy is concerned, Prime Minister Cao's coup of surprise, cooperation from inside and outside, and leveraging strength is naturally quite beautiful, and it is possible to achieve temporary success..." Xun Yu nodded, and suddenly frowned secretly He frowned, "However, from the perspective of the overall strategic layout of the Southern Expedition, Prime Minister Cao still deviated quite a bit. First of all, the Southern Expedition to Jingzhou will definitely cause Jiangdong Sun Quan to worry about death, and arouse his vigilance and vigilance—— Under the circumstances, Prime Minister Cao should not only focus on an enemy like Liu Bei, but also incorporate the forces of Jiangdong Sun Quan into his overall plan to prepare for a rainy day; 1. Sufficient combat preparations, sitting in the center of Chaisang, one part of his army guarding Echeng in the west, and one part serving Hefei in the east. Prime Minister Cao gathered the army all the way to approach Jingzhou, which would inevitably leave the wings of Kansai and Hefei empty. If...if the two wings of Kansai and Hefei were suddenly confronted with wars - Prime Minister Cao would be unable to take care of both ends. "

When Xun You heard this, he couldn't help but move his eyes.No wonder Uncle suggested that His Majesty should take Ma Teng as a Weiwei by his side. It turned out that it was a wonderful move for His Majesty on the front line of Kansai!As long as the time comes, His Majesty can use this wonderful move to make Prime Minister Cao suffer secretly... He understood all this in his heart, but there was no abnormal expression on his face, he just listened quietly and didn't say much. "Of course, Prime Minister Cao may not know that his layout is inappropriate, but he is too afraid that Liu Bei will turn against the enemy in Jingzhou when Liu Biao dies of illness and take the lead, and secondly, he underestimates Jiangdong Sun Quan's wisdom and courage too much. , I just want to take Jingzhou in one go, capture Liu Bei alive, and then use the power of victory to force Sun Quan to surrender without a fight. Alas... Liu Bei is so cunning, how can he be captured so easily? Sun Quan is so cunning, how can he? To be easily intimidated by him? Prime Minister Cao is afraid that he will suffer a big headache during this campaign to the south."

When Xun Yu said this, a bitter smile suddenly appeared on his face: "Oh! Uncle Yu has always told Prime Minister Cao everything and can't stop talking. Now at this critical moment when the Southern Expedition is approaching, Uncle Yu But seeing his mistakes and not remonstrating, this is probably the first time that Uncle Yu has fought side by side with Prime Minister Cao in more than ten years? The ups and downs in Uncle Yu's heart are hard to describe..." Xun You's face was gloomy, and he sighed deeply: "Unfortunately, Prime Minister Cao did not end his festival, and finally abandoned his lofty ambition of 'supporting the Han family, being loyal to the emperor and helping the world'. I can't blame my uncle."

"Having said that, I still feel very uncomfortable...very uncomfortable! In fact, I have always hoped that everyone will work together to pacify the world as soon as possible and reproduce the peaceful rule of the prosperous age of Yao and Shun! If Prime Minister Cao wins a complete victory in this Southern Expedition, the world The unity must be restored, and the people must return to peace and prosperity. Mencius, the sub-sage, said: "The people are the most important, the community is second, and the king is the least." Shun's marvel, if he pushes himself into the inner ditch, he will be the most important in the world." After reading these two words, Uncle Yu really has no face to see the scholars and people in the world!"

Xun Yu murmured to himself, reached out and took the silk script of Cao Cao's "Songs to Wine" on the desk, and watched it quietly, with tears in his eyes. At this moment, his eldest son, Xun Yun, knocked on the door of the study, nodded to Xun You, and approached the desk to give a deep salute: "Sir, father, sir." Xun Yu's eyes moved away from the silk book in his hand: "How did you go to the shanty town in the south of the city to help the poor?" "Father, please forgive me for being unfilial! Your salary of two thousand shi this month has already been distributed to the poor people on my own initiative..." Xun Yun had tears in his eyes. My son and the two grandsons of Uncle Wu's family will be conscripted by the government to serve as slaves for the Southern Expedition. They are all crying like tears. I am afraid that they will never see each other again after this difficult journey. When the people there heard that the imperial court was going to use troops to fight again, they couldn't help but panic. Their lives are really hard, and they have only had a few days of peaceful life."

Before he could finish his sentence, he raised his eyes and couldn't help but stop hastily.I saw that my father had already heard the tears streaming down his face, and the teardrops were hanging on his beard and beard, shining brightly.He panicked and shouted: "Father, you..." "No...it's nothing." Xun Yu choked up his voice, slowly lowered his face, covered his chest, and could no longer speak.He looked out from an open window in the study, as if he had passed through the thick and tall city walls of Xudu, and looked far into the vast land. The continuous mountains are winding and undulating, the rushing rivers are criss-crossing, the lakes are clear, the fish and shrimp are swarming, the forests are sunny and singing, and the fertile fields are covered with green rice. "Work at sunrise and rest at sunset," the farmers and village women sang joyful songs, plowed and harvested, and the gray-haired master held a booklet in the school and taught the children to recite the articles with a childish voice. Ci Fu... What a picture scroll of prosperity and prosperity!

All of a sudden, a thunderous iron hoof "dong dong dong" fell from the sky and crushed all the beautiful things: the earth seemed to be trembling and moaning in the turmoil, and there was no quiet corner in thousands of miles; mountains collapsed, rivers flooded, and the earth shook. , Pieces of good fields and fertile fields were crumpled and torn like straw paper.Villages were ignited with raging flames, and castles were reduced to ruins amidst the deafening clanging of swords and swords... The poor people were like panicked ants struggling, fleeing, crying for help, and wailing in the blood and flames of war. Cursing, cursing——Scene after scene of tragic scenes came layer upon layer, flooding Xun Yu's entire field of vision... His tears flowed down both sides of his cheeks like a clear spring: "Hey... I can't go on like this! How innocent are the people? How innocent are the people! Between heaven and earth, the people are the most precious! I...I want to go to the Prime Minister's Mansion .” He muttered to himself as he sat up abruptly. "Father, what are you... what are you going to do?" Xun Yun panicked, and hurriedly reached out to help.Xun You was at the side with sharp eyesight and quick hands, and stepped forward to help him steady: "Master Uncle, you...you are truly benevolent and have a 'Bodhisattva heart'..." "If we conquer Jingzhou in the south, if we win all the battles and appease them, the world will be settled. After the world is settled, the peaceful and prosperous age will surely reappear, and the people of the world can no longer suffer like this. I...I want to help the prime minister Completely win this battle of the Southern Expedition, so that the world will return to peace and the people will regain peace!" Xun Yu wiped away the tears from his cheeks, and once he straightened his face, he wanted to put on his clothes and put on his crown to stand up. At this moment, a servant from outside the study stumbled in, bowed his head to him with a "thump", and his voice was full of panic: "Report...Report to Master: Your Majesty...Your Majesty is here..."