In the summer of the eleventh year of Jian'an (AD 206), the world has been in chaos for seventeen years. Yuan Shu, Lu Bu, Gongsun Zan, and Yuan Shao, who once ruled the roost, were defeated one after another. The rebuttal of the Central Plains overlord.However, as soon as the generals are successful, thousands of bones are destroyed, swords and soldiers are everywhere in the world, and blood flows into rivers. In addition to disasters, plagues, and hunger, the registered population in the world is only one-tenth of the original population, and countless lives are annihilated in the smoke...

However, the land of Kyushu is very vast, and there are also corners that cannot be affected by the war. Xuwu Mountain in Youbeiping County, Youzhou (now east of Zunhua City, Hebei Province, belongs to the Yanshan Mountains) is such a place.This place is located at the junction of Youbeiping County and Liaoxi County. Due to the turmoil in the Central Plains, Karasuma, a minority ethnic group in the northeast, took the opportunity to expand and usurp Liaoxi County. Therefore, Xu Wushan is actually the border of Han and Hu.And just north of this mountain range is the Great Wall stretching from east to west.

The Great Wall of Youzhou was nominally built by the Qin Dynasty, but its foundation is the Great Wall of Yan during the Warring States Period. It has a history of more than 400 years. Nowadays, no one is stationed and lacks repairs, and it looks dilapidated.As for the mountains that set it off, there are many mountains and valleys, and the dense forests are lush and thorny, making it even more remote and lonely.In peacetime, no one would care about such remote places, but the current world is chaotic, if you plunge into the mountains and forests, you can find some comfort and tranquility.Especially in the midsummer season, the clear springs in the mountains are rushing and flowing, accompanied by the chirping of birds, just like a beautiful song; there are unknown wild flowers everywhere on the rocks, graceful and fragrant, making the boundless dangerous mountains full of beauty. It feels a bit gentle... But what is unexpected is that there is a village hidden in the mountains and valleys. There are orderly rice fields and smoke from the kitchen. The villagers live a peaceful and peaceful life, and the chaotic fighting outside is like a different world.

This village happened to be hidden between two big mountains, and there was a gap at the mouth of the valley, so it was not easy to find.The farmland in the village is either in the valley or on the mountainside, scattered but well arranged.On the foot of the mountain are neat vegetable beds and fruit trees, and at the bottom of the valley is a large area of ​​thatched cottages, which are simple but orderly.Roosters bark, dogs bark and children play among the houses, villagers drive cattle and sheep through it, and there are even schoolhouses that read loudly. Of course, this village is not the work of nature, but Tian Chou, a famous scholar from Youzhou, led the whole family, old and young, to live in the village. It took several years for this seclusion to be repaired little by little.If you observe carefully, you will find that there are guard posts hidden at the entrance of the valley and on the surrounding hills. Many strong men are always on guard with guns and sticks.

Just at this time, a man was riding a little donkey along the narrow path.The visitor was in his thirties, with a handsome appearance. Although he was wearing coarse cloth and only had a scarf on his head to tie his hair, it was still difficult to hide his outstanding temperament.It may be because of the heat from the journey, he opened his clothes to reveal his chest, which complemented the long flowing beard under his chin; he was beating a bamboo stick in his hand, humming a little song, and riding the little boy with pink nose and round eyes. Black donkey - really free and easy. The village guard had already seen him, and instead of stopping him, he went to help him off the donkey: "Mr. Xing is back! Have you worked hard all the way?" The man just nodded and smiled, and led the donkey leisurely into the valley.

This gentleman's surname is Xing, his name is Yong (yong), and he is a native of Mao County in Hejian. He also read a lot of books in his early years. The majestic Xing Ziang".However, the world was in turmoil and wars were endless, so he cut off his wish for an official career. He didn't even accept the conquest of Situ Zhao Wen. He lived a secluded life with Tian Chou, a famous scholar in Youzhou.Years passed by like a shuttle, hearing that the Yuan family was declining and Cao Cao was prosperous, and the world was expected to be stable. Xing Yong, who had been idle for many years, gradually couldn't bear the loneliness, so he went out to inquire about the news.

As soon as Xing Yong entered the village, many villagers immediately attracted many villagers. Some asked him about the situation outside the mountain, some asked him what he brought back, some brought him water to quench his thirst, and some children played around the donkey.Xing Yong hesitated to answer a few words, took out a few mustard cakes to share with the children, and squeezed out the crowd to go deep into the village.Going straight to a fenced yard, he tied up the donkey and patted the soil on his body until he tidied up meticulously, then gently pushed open the firewood door: "Brother Zitai! I'm back!"

He called twice in a row, and a stalwart hermit turned out from the hut.This man is nearly forty years old, eight feet tall, with broad shoulders and a round waist; a large face with a well-defined outline, dark complexion; a dark brown beard, with temples and cheeks; a pair of piercing eyes with deep sockets It is sunken, with a clear nose, water chestnut mouth, and big ears facing the bosom; although he only wears a rough gray dress and only dead branches on his head, his whole body exudes a proud and noble air.When this person saw Xing Yong, he didn't hesitate to open his mouth, and first bowed in a polite manner—it was Tian Zitai, who was once engaged in Tian Chou in Youzhou.

Tian Chou is a person from Wuzhong County, Beiping County, not far from here. He became famous very early and was a rich man.When Dong Zhuo entered Beijing, the world was in chaos, and Liu Yu was respected as the Great Sima by the imperial court, so he sent Tian Chou to Chang'an to meet the emperor.At that time, Yuan Shao and Heishan in the land of Heshuo were fighting against each other, and Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were fighting for the front in the Central Plains.When he rejected the imperial court's bestowal of an official and returned to his hometown, he realized that everything was beyond recognition.Liu Yu had been killed by Gongsun Zan, and the rest of the old troops defected to Yuan Shao.He came to Liu Yu's tomb and wept bitterly, and was thrown into prison again. Fortunately, many state and county officials pleaded with Gongsun Zan to save his life.After escaping from prison, Tian Chou swore to the sky to avenge Liu Yu. He led hundreds of relatives of his family and fled into Xuwu Mountain to open up wasteland and gather grass and grain for more than ten years.

"How is brother? My little brother has something to tell you..." Seeing that Tian Chou was no longer reserved, Xing Yong wished to tell him what he saw and heard when he came out of the mountain this time.But Tian Chou didn't seem to care about the changes outside the mountain, he just said softly: "Your brother has worked hard." Xing Yong was eloquent: "My little brother has found out about the affairs of the outside world. Now Cao Cao has collected all of Yuan's land, Yuan Tan and Gao Gan have successively conferred heads, and Cui Yan, Wang Xiu, Qianzhao and others have all surrendered. Jizhou Land Rent The income per mu is only four liters, which is praised by all the scholars! After the surrender of our Youzhou Department, Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan were conferred the titles of Marquis of Guannei. Yan Rou, who claims to be Captain Karasuma, has changed to work for Cao Cao..."

Tian Chou still had a blank face, and asked his family to prepare chicken and millet wine.The two drank wine one by one, Xing Yong talked eloquently and happily; Tian Chou remained silent, looking outside the fence, his thoughts wandering. "Is brother listening to me?" Xing Yong finally couldn't help asking. "Oh? I'm listening..." Tian Chou came back to his senses. Xing Yong has learned a lot from the mountain this time, and he has some plans: "In my opinion, let's abandon this barren mountain early and go back to our hometown." "Going home?" Tian Chou turned his eyes to the outside of the courtyard again, his eyes full of confusion, "Yuan Shao sent someone to invite us to return home when he cut off Gongsun Zan, and he wanted to hire Brother Yu as a follower, but luckily I refused. Look at Yuan's family Where is karma now? The sun and the moon have permanence, and the stars have their travels. Success or failure is but a flash in the pan.” "My elder brother's words are wrong. Mencius said: 'The world has been born for a long time, and there is chaos and order.' Cao Cao is different from Yuan Shao. He worships the emperor and asks for no ministers. Now that he has captured Hebei, there is no strong enemy in the four seas. If he goes south If Jingzhou takes Jiangdong again, peace in the world will be just around the corner!" Xing Yong was full of hope. "Taiping?" Tian Chou smiled wryly—when he brought his relatives to Xu Wushan for the first time, he originally planned to recruit troops to fight against Gongsun Zan.However, due to the disparity in strength and lack of food and grass, we can only open up wasteland and farm land first.Later, the situation outside became more and more chaotic. Many people fled to the mountains with their families and begged to be taken in. Tian Chou agreed with all his kindness. The population in the mountains increased, and finally reached more than 5,000 households.With so many people, food and clothing are all problems, so why talk about marching and fighting?More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, not to mention Gongsun Zan, even Yuan Shao and his son have been defeated, who can avenge Liu Yu?Ambition has become a thing of the past, and Tian Chou is disheartened. Now the people in this mountain live and work in peace and contentment, so why go back to that chaotic world? Xing Yong had seen through his mind, thought for a moment and turned serious and said: "Brother Zitai, don't you only care about the comfort in front of you, and don't care about the safety of my fellow citizens?" "Huh?" Tian Chou's dull face showed concern, "Why did you say that?" Xing Yong sat upright and pointed to the northeast, and only said two words: "Karasuma!" Tian Chou suddenly realized that Wuwan was originally a branch of the Donghu tribe. It was named after the earliest activities in Wuwan Mountain (now the Xilamulun River Basin in Northeast China), and belonged to the Xiongnu.In the fourth year of Emperor Yuanshou of the Han Dynasty (119 BC), Wei Qing and Huo Qubing defeated the Xiongnu and expelled the Xiongnu from Monan. Karasuma became a subject of the Han nationality and monitored the activities of the Xiongnu for the great Han.When Wang Mang usurped the Han, he once rebelled, and when Guangwu Zhongxing returned to him again, Emperor Guangwu ordered them to move to the ten prefectures of Liaodong, Liaoxi, Youbeiping, Shuofang, etc., and lived with the Han people since then.Since then, conflicts between the Han Dynasty and the Qiang and Xianbei continued, and Karasuma vacillated between fighting and surrendering. Even in the later period of Emperor Ling, he colluded with Yuyang prefect Zhang Chun to launch a rebellion, which was suppressed by Gongsun Zan.After Liu Yu went to Youzhou, he adopted a soft policy. Therefore, although the Central Plains was chaotic, Karasuma and the Han people lived in peace. The leader of a large tribe is Shan Yu, and he is also married to the daughter of the Yuan clan.This series of Huairou made its power gradually grow; in addition, the Xianbei in the north also had civil strife, which gave them an opportunity to occupy a large number of territories in Youbeiping, Liaoxi, and Liaodong, and usurped local governance.Now Hebei belongs to Cao Cao, and Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi took refuge in Karasuma. They gathered all the troops to the west of Liaoning, under the guise of avenging the Yuan family, they took advantage of the fire to loot everywhere, burned, killed, raped and looted... Thinking of these things, Tian Chou was hard-pressed. My heart throbbed again. After all, I am a man of the people, and I once took the world as my responsibility! Xing Yong kept watching Tian Chou's expression, saw his face twitch slightly, and hit the iron while it was hot: "Karasuma has been raging for a long time, only if it is tamed, the people of Youzhou can live in peace, and the frontier of our big Han will not be destroyed." There is trouble! If the older brother is seventy or eighty years old, the younger brother will not say these things. But you and I are both in the prime of life, and it is not too late to make contributions. It is the duty of a scholar to serve the country. If you offer advice to Cao Cao to eliminate the troubles of Karasuma, it will not only benefit the country and the people , if you are lucky enough to get a part-time job, you can serve the country as well!" Tian Chou heard that he was interested in an official career, his eyes dimmed again, and he silently drank a bowl of wine: "It's fine to become an official. Brother Yu has been idle for a long time, and I have no such idea..." "Brother, don't think about yourself, you have to think about the people here. Nesting in this deep mountain forest, when will it be the end? The old man can't return to his hometown until he dies, and the children still don't know what's going on outside the mountain If you can't go out to serve the country and benefit the people, what's the use of teaching them to read and understand? People always want to go out, and this small valley can't lock them up for a lifetime!" Tian Chou's expression is extremely painful - this mountain is really wonderful, when he first came here, he just wanted to go back and take revenge, but as the years changed, he began to be attached to this place, and even began to be afraid of the outside world.But Tian Chou also understands that this kind of day will come to an end sooner or later, no corner can block the outside world, and the day of facing reality will come sooner or later... "Your brother is right, there will be such a day sooner or later. You are the forerunner of the people." "Have you agreed to leave the mountain?" Xing Yong tried his best to convince him, "In this case, pack your bags quickly, and we will go to Yecheng to pay homage to Duke Cao tomorrow! Let the villagers..." "Don't worry." Tian Chou waved his hand, "Yuan Shao, Yuan Shang and his sons have conscripted me, I heard that they are arrogant and did not agree. It is expected that Cao Cao is now a strong soldier, and he treats people like this. It is better not to act hastily." "Brother's prejudice. Yuan Benchu ​​thought that the fourth generation and three princes separated Hebei, but Cao Mengde was the emperor's minister, and he worshiped the emperor to win over his ministers. I heard that he was courteous and corporal recruiting talents. If you and my brother go, they will be reused by the court in the future." "Imperial court?" Tian Chou couldn't help sneering, "How can there be an imperial court in today's world? When Yuan Shao was alive, he relied on his military power to make himself a majestic fortune. Now Cao Cao has also come to this point. From ancient times to the present, official positions and power are the most powerful. Who can really be humble and respectful for the rest of their lives? Let’s take you as a virtuous brother. I have lived in seclusion with Brother Yu for many years. I thought you were indifferent to fame and fortune, but now you don’t want to seek a higher level of status?” Xing Yong was speechless for a while choked by him. At this time, the sky has gradually darkened, and the deep valley is even more dim, and the huts on the rice paddies have melted into a haze.Tian Chou picked up the chopsticks, knocked on the earthen pot on the desk absently, and said for a long time: "Well, I will trouble my brother to work hard again, first go to see Cao Cao, and see what kind of person he is. Discuss. The ancients said, "You don't eat from a tiger when you are hungry, and you don't live from a wild sparrow at dusk." If Cao Cao is a virtuous corporal who loves the people, brother Yu will go there; if he is arrogant and arrogant, brother Yu would rather die in this mountain than offer advice to him Suggestions. I, Tian, ​​cannot help cruel and heartless traitors!" Before the words were finished, a sharp howling of wolves was suddenly heard in the distance. "Not good!" Tian Chou stood up suddenly, looked up at the dark forest, "The pack of wolves that were chased away last month came again. Hurry up and ask the villagers to light the torches, and organize the strong men to go up the mountain to fight the wolves!" The village suddenly became noisy, and many young men were ready to go out with sticks.Xing Yong shook his head again and again: "This ghost place, fighting with wolves, tigers and leopards twice in three days, when will it count? It's better to move out as soon as possible." In the darkness, Tian Chou's expression could not be seen clearly, only his deep voice replied: "wolves, tigers and leopards are not scary, what is really scary is the human heart. Although people in this world are born decent, but after taking off the disguise, they are better than beasts." More vicious!"