Seeing a group of young men leaving the hall, Cao Yu, the Duke of Luyang, who was only more than ten years old, could not sit still.
"Second brother...Your Majesty, please tell me that I also want to go out with you young masters for a walk."
Cao Pi looked at his younger brother who was old enough to be his son and smiled warmly. He smiled and waved his hand:
"Go to Peng Zu (Cao Yu's nickname is Peng Zu. Royal nobles do not have to be crowned at the age of twenty, but can be crowned and chosen in advance). Take good care of those children for me."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I'm leaving." Cao Yu was very happy to see his second brother agreeing, and left the table in a hurry.
The ministers couldn't help laughing when they saw His Highness Cao Yu, who was as ignorant as a junior.
As soon as they left the palace, the children changed their calm attitude and became lively.
"Cousin Mo, please tell me about your and uncle's experience in Chang'an." Xia Houxuan asked excitedly when he saw Cao Shuang.
"Cousin, it's better not to call me by my nickname in the future!" Cao Shuang didn't give Xia Houxuan a good look. He said this and went up to talk to His Highness Cao Rui about the past.
"Axuan, don't take it to heart, my brother is like this." Cao Xi saw his eldest brother scorning his cousin, and was afraid that Xia Houxuan would be unhappy, so he hurriedly comforted Xia Houxuan.
Xia Houxuan seemed to feel that his eldest cousin had become a different person after living in Chang'an for a few years.
Since the fire pit in the palace was burning on the first day of the year, the children would not feel cold even if it snowed heavily.
In the pavilion, Cao Rui, who was tired of shopping, suggested playing chess here.
The accompanying young men also happened to be a little tired from shopping, so they all clapped their hands and praised it without any objection.
After a few games, it was Xia Houxuan's turn to play chess with Sima Shi, the eldest son of Sima Yi's family.
The two fought first in the four corners, and then in the Central Plains, and the situation gradually became stalemate.
"Looking at the situation, it seems that Young Master Xiahou is going to win." Cao Rui looked at the chessboard for a long time, nodded, and then said: "Brother-in-law, Changsi (Cao Zhao's nickname is Changsi), what do you think?"
"Yuan Zhong, I, I'm not very good at playing chess, hehehe..." Cao Yu scratched his head and smiled: "Actually, I'm less than two years older than Yuan Zhong. Yuan Zhong can just call me Peng Zu."
Cao Rui was noncommittal and said with a smile: "I know, Peng Zu."
"I think that Young Master Xiahou may not win, Your Highness, look." Cao Zhao looked at it carefully for a while, pointed to the chessboard and whispered: "Young Master Xiahou just made a wrong move..."
"Brother Xuan, my father often taught me that the art of chess is like military warfare, like politics, and like the human world." Master Sima's face was like still water and his heart was like a flat lake. He held the black drop and said, "There can't be any mistakes."
Sure enough, after Xiahou Xuanluozi, Sima Shi sealed up a big dragon belonging to Xiahou Xuanbaizi within ten steps, turning the situation around.
"I lost." Xia Houxuan thought carefully about Master Sima's words and inspected the chessboard for a long time. He was stunned for a moment and then said in admiration: "Brother Sima's chess skills are indeed very good."
Brothers Cao Shuang and Cao Xi all remembered that their father once said that this chessboard with vertical and horizontal traffic is like a battlefield and even more like an officialdom. If you are not careful, you will lose everything.
"I want to play too, I want to play too!" Five-year-old Cao Zhi saw everyone having fun and started shouting.
"Xiao Caozhi, when did you learn Go?" Cao Rui smiled and touched the round back of his little cousin's head.
"I...I actually don't know how to do it..." Cao Zhi seemed to realize this suddenly, his eyes widened, and he muttered sheepishly.
"It doesn't matter." Cao Rui couldn't help laughing when he saw his cousin's stupidity. He touched the back of Cao Zhi's head and said with a warm smile: "Brother is here to teach you. Look, there are thirteen lines on this chessboard, just like the world. The roads and rivers..."
"Well..." Cao Zhi's round eyes opened wide and he nodded in understanding.
A group of children had a great time playing. Maybe they still don't know that the world in the future will be their chessboard.
————
In the Jianshi Palace, Emperor Cao Pi said that he was too drunk, so he arranged for several reliable chamberlains and imperial guards to take care of the ministers and Nuanting princes, and then went back to the palace.
The remaining ministers, with the emperor's permission, could continue the feast.
However, there are also some ministers who are not good at drinking and are afraid of losing their temper after drinking, so they go home early. When Sima Yi, the servant, saw the emperor leaving the palace, he also got up and went out.
Not long after, many civil servants had returned home to sober up. In the main hall, there were only some military attachés who were good at drinking and lively, and a group of princes and kings who had been living in their fiefdoms all year round under the supervision of the country's visitors.
"Bo Ren, I haven't seen you for many years. I didn't expect that you are already a high official in this land." Cao Zhang, the Marquis of Yanling, was already tipsy. He raised a glass of wine unsteadily and walked to Xia Houshang's seat and said. : "Come here, I will respect you!"
"Your Majesty, you are serious." Seeing Cao Zhang's drunken appearance, Xia Houshang felt a little pity in his heart for this nominally superior brother of the emperor and the sovereign of the country. He is obviously a talented general, but he can only live in a small fiefdom, subject to the supervision and bullying of the imperial guards.
Thinking about how high-spirited he and Cao Zhang were when they defeated Wuhuan in the north, but now, he, who is not as talented as Cao Zhang, has become a feudal official, military and political official of the empire, and the talented Cao Zhang has fallen into this end. .
The reason for all this is precisely because Cao Zhang is the direct brother of Emperor Cao Pi. How can this make Cao Zhang happy?
"Junhou, don't say much. Today, Shang will have a drink with you. Come!" Xiahou Shang said, pouring a full glass of wine.
"Okay, Boren, drink with me, come on, do it!" Cao Zhang also filled up a glass, and the two of them held up the giant glasses and drank three glasses of wine.
"I put wine in the high hall, and relatives and friends came to visit me. The central kitchen prepared a rich meal, cooked sheep and slaughtered fattened cattle." Cao Zhi, the Marquis of Zhencheng, was also full of emotions. At this moment, he was composing a poem and raising his glass to drink with the two of them: "Qin Zheng How generous, so harmonious and gentle."
"Bo Ren, with your limited drinking capacity, how can you stay with these two princes? Come on, Wen Lie and I will help you drink two glasses of wine!"
Cao Zhen saw that Xia Houshang was a little drunk, and knew that with his sister's temper, she might not be able to spare her brother if he let Boren get drunk and didn't care.
"Hahaha, okay!" Xia Houshang was already drunk at this moment. He laughed loudly and said, "It's been a long time since I had a drink with Zidan and Wenlie!"
I saw a general in purple terry clothes with long eyebrows smiling at the table. He followed Cao Zhen and raised his bottles to the side of Cao Zhi, Cao Zhang and Xia Houshang. This was Cao Zhao's father, Cao Xiu.
"Although my drinking capacity is not as good as yours, but since Zi Dan and Bo Ren invited me, and the two princes are so generous to me, how dare I not risk my life to accompany you? Come on, come on, I won't be drunk tonight!"
"Come on, do it!"
"Wish me the great Wei Dynasty and eternal inheritance!"
"Great Wei for ten thousand years!"
Everyone drank heartily, and their emotions were aroused. They couldn't help but sing the movement "Ding Wu Gong" together:
"Define martial arts and help the Yellow River.
The river is flowing, but there are no cross current waves.
The Yuan family is declining, and the brothers are looking for a fight.
When the Zhang River is cut off, the water flow is turbulent.
Sigh, the city is like a drifting fish, who can take care of the family again?
After exhausting all plans and considerations, I seek to make peace.
From time to time, I feel sad.
The thieves collapsed, and the king and his ministers fled north.
When the city of Ye was moved, the state of Wei was on the verge of death.
The king's career is difficult. Looking at the past and present,
It can be a long sigh. "
Many years ago, they had followed the previous king, defeated the Yuan family, conquered Hebei, fought fiercely in Jiangnan, and competed in Mobei.
In the past, they didn't have to worry about all the red tape. They were still the same young people who laughed and cursed.
Everything is so memorable and nostalgic.
Many years later, no matter whether they died or were bloody, they never forgot the dream of prospering the Wei Dynasty and stabilizing the world.
A dream is more important than the world.
————
Cao Pi had just returned to his dormitory when a chamberlain came to report that Sima Yi, the chamberlain, had something important to see him.
Cao Pi's eyes narrowed, and after pondering for a moment, he nodded: "Tell Sima Yi to wait in the front hall. I will come as soon as I can change my clothes."
"Yes." The chamberlain received the emperor's order, bowed and exited the hall to deliver the order.
In the front hall, a minister with slightly furrowed brows, who looked smart and capable but also seemed to have an aloof expression, and was wearing a royal uniform with a crest, was waiting with his bow.
This person is none other than Sima Yi, the minister in charge and the Marquis of Anguo Township.
He is still as respectful and calm as he was when he was young, even though his heart is already turbulent at this moment.
"Ahem, I kept you waiting for a long time." Cao Pi arrived at the hall at some unknown time. He waved his hand: "Come, I'll give you a seat and watch tea."
"I'm scared." When Sima Yi saw Cao Pi, he immediately knelt on the ground and said, "I'm here today because I have something important to report to your majesty."
Cao Pi frowned, understanding that what Sima Yi said today must be of great importance.
"You all stand down."
The maids and chamberlains in the palace followed the order and avoided it.
"Your Majesty." Sima Yi raised his head at this moment, looked at the emperor's seemingly cold and decisive eyes, and said word by word: "The things I said are, firstly, for Wenze, for banning the old general, and secondly, for the Marquis of Linzi and the Marquis of Yanling. , two princes."
When Cao Pi heard this, his brows twitched inadvertently, and then his frown became even more serious.
The past experiences of General Erhou and the current tragedy are indeed inseparable from him.
The human heart is like the water of a lake, easily moved by the wind and easily moved by the throwing of stones.
The king's heart is like the sea, where the wind blows and throws stones, and when it moves, it roars wildly.
————
In the residence of Marquis Yishou Ting, the relationship between father and son, who had been separated for many years, was no longer as tense and harsh as it was many years ago.
"Father, there is something I have always wanted to ask you."
Yu Jin smiled, showing kindness and kindness that Yu Gui had never seen before.
"Is there anything you can't say between father and son?"
"Father, who is buried in the Chang Cemetery you often took me to when you were a child?"
When Yu Jin heard the words, his white eyebrows lowered and he was silent.
"His surname is Chang, taboo. He is my brother and the benefactor who once saved Gui'er... Yes, my Yu family owes too many people..."
After a long time, Yu Jin said this with a lot of emotion.
