The creek was gurgling, and only a few children were seen with their bare feet in the water, covered in mud.
Suddenly someone caught the small fish and proudly threw it to his friends. The clear laughter could be heard clearly even from a long distance away.
Cao Mao just looked at the scene calmly.
There was a smile on the corner of his mouth, and he felt comfortable inside.
There was a woodcutter singing along the road carrying a heavy load of firewood.
Zhao Ge was impassioned and quite inspiring.
Cao Mao couldn't help but hum along.
"If Mr. Cao likes to hear it, why not capture him and sing it for you!"
Liu Lu couldn't help but said.
Cao Mao glanced at him and said, "If you had been born fifty years earlier, you could have assisted Dong Zhuo."
Everyone immediately laughed.
"We should go out more often in the future. As soon as we left the mansion, Mr. Cao's mood improved a lot. He was not as irritable as he was in the mansion..."
Cao Mao shook his head.
For him, the most precious thing is time.
He also wanted to immerse himself in this leisurely pastoral scenery and enjoy the tranquility, but he still had many things to do.
They did not stay in the suburbs for too long, and soon set off in the direction of their mansion.
The people sent by the temple are not that easy to solve.
Perhaps Wang Su had already sent knights to spread the news to the capital about his refusal to succeed.
What was Sima Shihui's reaction?
surprise? Angry? Disdain?
"Liu Lu! Go buy a bottle of wine!"
"Okay~~"
When Cao Mao swaggered into the house with a drink, Yang Gong, who was lying under the shade of a tree, saw him first.
Then, he shook his head disdainfully and turned away.
But Cao Mao did not stop beside him and walked all the way into the inner hall.
Yang Gong squinted his eyes and waited for a long time, but did not wait for Cao Mao's voice. He took a few peeks and found that the front hall was empty, and he was dumbfounded.
Didn’t you buy that fine wine for me? ?
"Come on, Mr. Guo, don't be busy today and have some wine with me!"
Cao Mao grabbed Guo Zu's hand and walked towards the inner room.
Guo Zi was still in a dazed state at this moment, and was dragged into the inner room by Cao Mao.
Guo Ji is undoubtedly a dedicated and dedicated steward.
Although he had always opposed Cao Mao to make friends with merchants and knights, he really regarded Cao Mao as his monarch.
During this year, he took care of the entry and exit of the Cao Mao Mansion, the filial piety of the merchants, the relief to those in need, and even the placement of the knights.
He is very serious and meticulous in his work. Although his efficiency is not high, he will not make any big mistakes.
"Guo Jun."
Cao Mao smiled and said in a low voice: "I lost my biological mother when I was born, so I was disliked by my father. I am a commoner, and my brothers in the family are not close to me. Although a son should not speak ill of his father, my father He is indeed not a good person, he forced two of his servants to death."
"It wasn't until I came to Yuancheng and met you that I felt that I was no longer alone."
"In the past few years, you were probably the only person in the world who cared about me."
"Thank you for taking care of me during these days! Thank you very much!"
Cao Mao stood up and saluted Guo Kui.
Only then did Guo Zui react and quickly avoid it.
"This is what I should do... Mr. Cao, what do you mean?"
"I didn't mean anything, I was just afraid of leaving any regrets. I should have thanked you long ago."
Cao Mao sat down again and said seriously: "My rejection of Wang Su this time is equivalent to rejecting Master Sima. Not everyone has the right to humble himself three times."
"I don't know if today will be my last day..."
"Then Master Sima still dares to..."
Guo Zu stood up suddenly, as if he thought of something again, and slumped down again like a deflated ball.
"Hahaha, Mr. Guo, it would be great if everyone in the world were as polite as you."
Cao Mao added: "Even if he doesn't kill me, he won't let me go easily. This title may not be preserved, and we won't be able to get along for long."
"Why don't you want to inherit the throne of emperor?"
"Although it is inconsistent with etiquette and law, I know that you are smart, kind, kind, and generous. If you become the emperor, it will be a blessing to all the people in the world!"
Cao Mao took a sip of bitter wine.
"I made a prediction about this matter, and then I clearly saw the future. It was a dead end..."
Guo Ji frowned, "Human affairs are the basis, and the way of heaven is the end. There is no destiny in this world, it is all human affairs!"
"You are right, but the current situation cannot be changed by human power."
"Today, I am like a bird in a cage and a fish in a net! I can only watch the catastrophe approaching step by step, but I can't do anything about it. If I am in the palace, the confinement is even worse, and it is not as good as the people in the wild."
Guo Zui looked at Cao Mao with an unwilling face and was very surprised.
"I didn't know you thought this way!"
"So what exactly do you want to do?"
"I want to get rid of my title and control, go to the frontier, accumulate strength secretly, and wait for the opportunity!"
Guo Zui was silent for a long time.
"Are you going to hide?"
"Mr. Cao, I know you are very capable, but if you give up your status as a clan member, a pavilion chief can arrest you and hold you accountable."
"Today's score is three points. Although we are not unified, it is not like the past when the states and counties were divided and there was no chance for heroes to dominate."
"You just said that you rejected Master Sima. Even if he doesn't kill you, he will never let a clan that resists him escape his control easily."
"What the opposition says is really wishful thinking."
"Moreover, today I am in trouble and the country is in turmoil. You are a member of the clan. You don't want to eliminate thieves for the country and bring peace to the people. How can you think of hiding?"
Cao Mao picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.
"Why haven't I ever wanted to eliminate thieves for the country... It would be great if things were as simple as you think."
"How can I get rid of thieves? Do you know what a hero Sima Shi is?"
Guo Ji was as serious as ever, "If you do it, it might work. If you don't do it, it won't work."
"You all say that Master Sima is a hero. I have never met him, but I think that he is not a very smart person if he can choose Duke Cao as his puppet."
"I heard that death is inevitable for everyone. It may be heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather!"
"Previously you could draw your sword against the county magistrate for the sake of a commoner, but now you can't draw your sword against the Sima clan for the sake of the people of the world?!"
"Why is there the smell of wine here?"
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Yang Zong, who was covered in stench, staggered in.
Guo Zi frowned.
Yang Zong ignored him and sat aside. He reached out and took the wine cup in front of Guo Zi.
Guo Ji stood up and said to Cao Mao: "In today's world, etiquette has collapsed. Powerful ministers are in power, villains are in charge, and loyal and good people are suppressed. Those with ambitions cannot use their talents. Those who are loyal and good are repeatedly persecuted. The house of local wealthy people. There are hundreds of buildings, fields full of anointed fields, thousands of slaves and maidservants, and thousands of tricks, but the people have no place to stand!"
"If you are in Yuancheng, you can protect the people of a city. If you are in Luoyang, you can protect the people of the world!"
"Please think deeply, Mr. Cao. I am already drunk and dare not drink anymore."
He saluted Cao Mao, turned around and left.
Yang Zong stared at Guo Zi with complicated eyes, watching him leave after finishing speaking.
"This guy just doesn't want to have a drink with me."
"Mr. Cao, this Guo Ji is not a bad person, and don't be angry with him. He is just too well protected by his family and cannot see the true nature. He just clings to the bullshit principles he has learned and thinks he is These can save the world.”
Yang Zong took a sip of the bitter wine and said, "Actually, it's useless at all. The saint's principles can't save the world."
"The principles of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, and the principles of governing the world through learning, are all nonsense, and they are all nonsense that restrains people!"
"You don't need to care about what he said. You are right to want to stay away from the chaos of the temple. No one can say anything to you. This is all your own business. Don't care about the world's opinions."
"Seeing as you haven't missed my wine these days, I can teach you how to save your own life."
Yang Zong wiped the drink from his beard and his expression became serious.
"Wang Su will come again. If you refuse this second time, I'm afraid you will be in trouble. Master Sima is not someone who only uses it to gain fame."
"When he comes, no matter what he says, you must pretend to be extremely frightened, and then recommend King Pengcheng Cao Ju to be the emperor, constantly praise King Pengcheng, and ask him to replace you."
"In this way, Wang Su will feel that you are not really against the Sima family, but are afraid of their power, so you dare not take the responsibility. And you were recommended by the Queen Mother. This is equivalent to expressing your stance in the clan and replacing the elders. The Wei clan has chosen a side, so you don’t have to worry about your life.”
"Mr. Cao, please don't think that I am trying to provoke the general. This is the best choice. You are still young, and young people are often passionate and impulsive. When you get older, you will always understand my painstaking efforts."
"As for Guo Zi, you don't have to worry about him. One day, he will understand this too."
As Yang Zong spoke, his expression became dazed. In his mind, the young man with high morale appeared again, his ambition that could never be realized, and his powerlessness against everything.
He painfully picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.
"He'll understand sooner or later."
