Although Du Shu, who had an upright temperament and had offended Sima Yi's fifth brother Sima Tong, had a tense relationship with the Sima family, he did not like the arrogant general Cao Shuang.
But his younger brother Du Kuan and Du Wushu happened to be Cao Shuang's disciples.
Last year, Du Kuan, who was only 42 years old and in his prime, was ordered by Cao Shuang to divide Hedong County. Just when he was carrying out drastic restructuring, he suddenly contracted a serious illness at this time.
Du Shu will never forget the look in his eyes full of reluctance and regret before he died, a brother who was quiet and mysterious, sensitive and fond of ancient times, dedicated to learning, and who entrusted the hope of the whole family.
That look simply broke Du Shu's heart.
Among the three brothers, Du Shu believed that he was the least promising. Not only was he straight-tempered and stubborn, but his talents and learning were inferior to those of his second brother Du Li and his third brother Du Kuan.
The second brother became famous at a young age and had the ability to discern secrets, but he died young more than twenty years ago! That year, the second brother was only twenty-one years old.
The third brother was eager to learn and had great ambitions. He was originally the hope of the family, but now he has passed away.
Of the three brothers, only Du Shu was left alone.
Last winter, when his second brother Du Kuan was dying, he held the hand of his elder brother Du Shu with tears in his eyes and once again tried his best to express his ambition:
"No one can die, I am not afraid at all, but my ambition has not been fulfilled, I can't... see with my own eyes the day when the reform is successful..."
Du Shu, who loved his brother, had already burst into tears. At that moment, even if his brother asked him to go to the nine heavens to find a feather, he would definitely agree without hesitation.
In this way, Du Shu finally made up his mind. No matter what, he would try his best to fulfill his brother's last wish-to help complete the reform and restructuring!
At this moment, a vigorous young man in his twenties or fives came to the main hall. Seeing that Du Shu was in sorrow, he comforted him:
"Father, but you think of your second and third uncles again? I am so worried and sad, and I would like to express my condolences on Father's Day. My father is going north this time. The journey is long and Youzhou is cold and bitter. My son specially prepared some winter clothes and put them in his father's car. .”
It turns out that this young man is Du Shu's legitimate son, Du Yu and Du Yuankai, who are both civil and military.
Du Shu felt a little better when he saw his son entering the hall.
Although Du Shu had always warned his disciples not to form cliques, he had long known that his son was very close to Sima Zhao.
Although Du Shu was upright, he was not confused. He naturally chose to turn a blind eye to his son's friendship with the Sima family. My son has extraordinary talents. No matter which family he follows in the future, he will definitely be a pillar. This is also the reason why Du Shu dared to support General Cao Shuang's reform.
As long as you don't put all your eggs in one basket, the family won't be completely destroyed.
"In advance, tomorrow my father will go to Youzhou. You must take good care of your family affairs. Tomorrow, my father will say goodbye to several friends in Changting. Remember to prepare some fruits, vegetables and wine."
"Yes, father, the child has remembered it."
That night, Du Shu had some heart palpitations for no reason. He who always slept well actually suffered from insomnia. Du Shu inexplicably began to recall many things in his half life.
Ever since he came to Beijing to serve as the prefect of Hongnong, he has been known to be upright and upright.
In those years, Du Shu encouraged farming and mulberry farming, purged officials, and managed Hongnong County in an orderly manner. However, he also offended many people because of his uprightness.
Even so, the local people were very nostalgic for Du Shu, which made Du Shu determined never to collude with corrupt officials.
A few years later, he was transferred to the State of Zhao, but he was made seriously ill by a group of gangsters. In a rage, Du Shu was indeed sick from the anger, so he simply resigned from his position and returned home to recuperate for two years. .
Later, Du Shu recovered from his illness and once again served as the governor of Hedong. General Cao Shuang's restructuring also happened to be implemented at this time. While the Du Shu brothers vigorously promoted the policy of dividing the large counties, Sima Yi insisted on arranging his own arrangements. He returned to the imperial court again and served as the censor Zhongcheng.
After many years, Du Shu still had the same bad temper, which also made Du Shu's popularity in the court very bad.
In a word, Du Shu cannot live in peace in the world.
One of the reasons why General Cao Shuang arranged for Du Shu to be appointed to Youzhou this time was because there were too many important officials impeaching and suppressing Du Shu, and it was really difficult for him to deal with them.
Du Shu's thoughts were disturbed, and it was not until midnight that he finally fell asleep slowly.
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"Father, I have been thinking about it all night, and I always feel that it is very dangerous for you to serve as the governor of Youzhou this time. Although my father is also the general of Jianwei and the captain of Wuwan, and has the power of envoys and governors, Cheng Xi and Cheng Shenbo, my father is really indispensable. Be on guard!"
Du Yu's energy level didn't look very good at the moment, and it seemed that he didn't sleep well last night.
Although Du Shu had an upright temperament and offended many people outside, he was very concerned about his son Du Yu. He said softly:
"You have a neck disease. The doctor told you to rest on time. Why didn't you follow the doctor's instructions?"
Du Yu was moved after hearing his father's concern. He continued to persuade:
"Father, there is no need to worry about the child's minor illness, but you, father..."
When Du Shu heard this, he directly interrupted Du Yu's words:
"You don't have to worry about it, as a father will deal with it himself."
Du Shu got into the car and soon arrived at the pavilion outside Daxia Gate in Luoyang.
My friend Xun Yu, who was about to be appointed as the governor of Dongjun, as well as his friends Li Feng and Shangshu Yuan Kan, had already been waiting in the pavilion.
Several people ordered the retinue to take out the fruits, vegetables, wine and meat they had brought with them and sit down at the banquet. They all knew in their hearts that after they said goodbye today, they would not see each other again until some time or another. They were reminiscing about the past, talking about the current situation, and drinking from full bottles. Unknowingly, they were already a little tipsy.
Du Shu was slightly drunk at the moment and his face was slightly red. He held up a bottle of wine and came to Li Feng's table and said with a smile:
"Brother An Guo, the fact that you are here to see me off today shows that you still care about me, an old brother. I feel very happy. I wonder if the grudge between Brother An Guo and me has been resolved now?"
When Li Feng saw that Du Shu, who had always been stubborn, was willing to lower his stature today, the little resentment in his heart had long since disappeared without a trace.
I think back then, Du Shu's father Du Ji and Li Feng's father Li Yi were both officials in the capital. They both grew up in Luoyang, the capital. Therefore, they knew each other as young people and had a mutual friendship. Later, when they both grew up, Li Feng had the same name. Du Shu has a calm temperament and does not care about fame and fortune, so there is a different meaning in it.
Later, Li Feng was well-known in the capital, but Du Shu was not. One day when Li Feng was traveling, he heard someone talking about famous people in the world, and they happened to talk about Li Feng and Du Shu.
Li Feng listened attentively, but unexpectedly heard the comment that "the reputation is too great, but I will be praised by the brown jade".
At that time, Li Feng had a very similar name. After hearing this, he was naturally very angry. Not only that, he almost broke off all relations with Du Shu because of this!
In this way, the two young friends had no contact with each other for many years.
It was not until Du Shu was about to leave for Youzhou that Li Feng, who had long wanted to apologize in person but had been unable to save face, seized this opportunity.
At this moment, the two friends finally finally opened up the knot that had been accumulated for many years.
"Congratulations to you two for finally burying the hatchet. Come, let's have a drink together to congratulate you!"
Yuan Kan and Xun Yu were naturally very happy when they saw that their two friends had finally reconciled. The four of them raised bottles to drink together, and suddenly felt that the heroic clouds in their chests when they were young were rising again. This feeling made the four of them extremely happy.
Before leaving, Yuan Kan, who had always been calm and careful, took Du Shu's arm and said:
"Brother Wu Bo, Cheng Shenbo, the general who conquered the north, was in the reign of the late emperor. When he was serving in Qingzhou, he almost let Tian Guo surrender and his reputation was wiped out. Although brother Wu Bo holds great power now, Cheng Shenbo is very scheming and difficult to deal with. Now, We share the same city with my brother, Brother Wu Bo must be careful and don’t create any quarrel with him!”
"Thank you, Brother Yuan, for reminding me. Please pay more attention."
Du Shu was not afraid of heaven and earth, not to mention that he was half-drunk at this time, when his pride was not gone? Therefore, he only agreed with his mouth, but he didn't care in his heart.
After they drank a bottle together for the last time, Du Shu headed north and Xun Ma turned east. The two of them faced the cold wind of winter and embarked on their own journeys.
[Note 1: "The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms: Du Shu Biography" contains the seal of Du Shu's participation. There is a sentence in it: "Recently, Kong Xianpi, the captain of the Sili School, was the rebellious younger brother of the general, and there was Si Heer, who looked forward to the wind and hoped for directions, rather than accepting subordinates." Pei Songzhi's note said: "Chen Song's case, the general, is also King Xuan of Sima. The Book of Jin states: "The fifth brother of King Xuan, named Tong, worked for Sili. "I am suspicious of those who are arrogant and contrary to what Shu said." "Book of Jin·Biography of Du Yu" records: "Yu, named Yuan Kai, was born in Duling, Jingzhao. ... Father Shu was the governor of Youzhou. ... In the early days, his father and Emperor Xuan was unable to do so, so he died in secret, so he could not be adjusted for a long time." Based on this, the author conceives the plot of Du Shu's support for the reform and restructuring. 】
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Before you know it, it’s the New Year’s Eve festival again.
Throughout the city of Luoyang, there were the sound of firecrackers, sweet herbs, peach charms, and the aroma of Tusu wine and Jiaobai wine wafting from every house.
The brazier in the palace was burning brightly, and Tai Lecheng directed the musicians and dancers to play elegant music and dance fish, dragon and fish. The whole city was filled with joy and excitement.
[Note 2: Firecrackers during the Three Kingdoms period were simple firecrackers made by burning bamboo. 】
The emperors, generals and ministers back then have already entered Beimang, and the group of children who used to play chess and play in the palace are now nearly fifty years old, living in different parts of the world.
While General Cao Shuang commanded Honglu Temple and was busy arranging the banquet, Cao Xi, the leader of the Central Army, and Sima Division of the Central Guard Army also commanded Cao Xun, Cao Ze, Cao Wenshu, Zhen De, Guo Jian, Sima Jun, Guo Zhi, and Bian Lin. The Forbidden Army under the command of , Zhen Yi, Zhen Chang and others strictly patrol and enforce public security everywhere.
Cao Shuang also specially arranged a Thousand Fish Banquet this year.
Fish in winter were extremely difficult to find. He Yan advised Cao Shuang, but Cao Shuang insisted on rewarding the civil and military officials who had been busy for the restructuring for a whole year, so he arranged this expensive feast of thousands of fish.
Although there were not a thousand kinds of fish at the banquet, Cao Shuang arranged for twenty of each of Songjiang perch and steamed Wuchang bream with lotus root slices, which are very rare in the north, which shows how thoughtful this banquet was.
The Cao Shuang brothers worked hard for most of the day, and it was not until late at night that they finally returned to the mansion. The banquet etiquette in the palace was complicated, and the Cao Shuang brothers were naturally not full. At this time, they returned home, just in time to have dinner with their families again.
The family gathered together for a rare New Year's Eve dinner.
Brothers Cao Shuang and Cao Xi naturally did not forget their seventh brother Cao Ai, who was far away in Longhu Mountain in the south of the Yangtze River. As early as a month ago, Cao Shuang ordered Xun Xu to specially arrange elite school affairs and brought a dozen northerners to Cao Ai. A famous chef, now the Taoists on Longhu Mountain can naturally eat Jiao Er from the north.
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Yongzhou, Chang'an, conquer Xifu.
Before we knew it, it was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of another year.
Months ago, although Xiahou Ba failed to prevent King Hu from entering Shu, he defeated Jiang Wei's so-called fierce Tiger Infantry, which greatly boosted the morale of the Yongliang army. The prestige of the Xiahou clan in the northwest army was finally raised to unprecedented heights.
Xiahou Xuan even arranged a grand celebration banquet, which further brought the relationship between Xiahou's uncle and nephew and the Yongliang generals closer.
At this moment, the prestige, status, and strength of Xia Houxuan and Guo Huai in the Yongliang army have finally reached a point where they are comparable.
During the dinner, former general Guo Huai kept drinking wine in a depressed manner and didn't say much.
Not long after, the banquet dispersed. After Xia Houxuan ensured that dozens of his reliable Xuanjia guards sent the drunken generals safely to their apartments one by one, he returned to the backyard of Zhengxi Mansion. It happened to be ten o'clock that day. During the Fifth Festival, Huigu had already prepared the bean paste items for sacrifice. After Xiahouxuan returned home, the couple completed the festival rituals of offering sacrifices to the door and household, to the Silkworm God, and to welcome Zigu, and paid homage to the gods and ancestors. , and then he and Xiao Xia Houyun admired the moon together.
"Dad, mother, I haven't met my grandmother and brother yet. I don't know when I can see them."
Little Xia Houyun, who is already over two years old, has much clearer speech at this time.
After hearing the child's words, Xia Houxuan felt a sense of affection in his heart. He touched the child's head and said with a smile:
"Jiang Boyue is watching with eager eyes. The situation in the northwest is uncertain. Dad can't leave now. When Dad defeats Jiang Boyue's Tiger Infantry and Wudang Flying Army in the coming year, he will definitely request an order from His Majesty to return to Beijing, take Yun'er with him, and go to Luoyang to visit Grandma and brother, do you agree?"
Xia Houyun said with a naive smile:
"Okay, okay, then daddy will defeat Jiang Boyue as soon as possible!"
"must!"
