Countless Han troops stood on the top of the city and were waiting, their spears reflecting a little scattered light under the scorching sun.
This is the last city in Xuzhou that has not fallen. This war that broke away from Ji Shu and Zhou Yu's plan will finally end here.
It smells good?
Ji Shu looked around and saw sparse bushes on both sides of the road. Looking up into the distance, there is a patch of vermilion that cannot even be blocked by the towering city walls, like a flower crown covering the top of the city.
A few miles away, I could actually smell a faint mellow aroma.
"What kind of tree is that on the city?"
"Teacher, that should be Dangui."
Lu Xun's tone was not very confident, but he still answered Ji Shu's question.
Dangui?
Ji Shu couldn't help but think of the golden ocean outside Jianye City. Now is the time to drink a glass of osmanthus wine under the osmanthus tree.
Looking at the city head again, Ji Shu could imagine the nervous and tragic expressions on the faces of the soldiers on Xiapi City. Ji Shu felt that he could understand them. If it were the Chu State and they were beaten to the gates of Jianye City, leaving only one city in such a huge territory, how desolate it would be. That’s why Chu people hate him even more.
But in the past few days, the Chu army probably had no plans to attack the city immediately.
Sun Ce's army and Zhou Yu's elite who had moved to the east met here. Many matters were waiting to be summarized and discussed, such as the number of wounded, the handling of surrendered troops, and the families who had come to Xuzhou to seek refuge. But these have nothing to do with Ji Shu for the time being. He enjoys a long-lost leisure.
"The king has ordered us to camp on the spot!"
Just as he was thinking about it, suddenly an orderly soldier rushed past from the side, and the army stopped abruptly at the sound of the sound.
It's time to find a better campsite. Ji Shu touched his chin and said to Lu Xun beside him.
"Let's go."
······
Time passed, and in the evening the army had set up camp, and wisps of smoke rose.
Ji Shu and Han Zong laid out three side dishes, and they sat down facing each other and were about to eat when Ji Shu held up his chopsticks and ordered Han Zong in a gentle voice.
"Zong'er, after dinner, you go back to the camp and make good preparations. Although the war won't start right away, neither you nor Boyan can relax their duties and don't come over to accompany me again. Fight this battle well and don't lose us. The majesty of the Yulin Army. Don’t worry, my eldest brother will just be sulky with me for a few days, and nothing serious will happen.”
Han Zong glanced at Ji Shu in surprise for some reason, then immediately lowered his head to look at the food on the table, nodded slightly and replied softly.
"is teacher."
To be honest, Ji Shu didn't know what the two of them were worried about. They had to take turns staying by their sides these days. Did he really think that Sun Ce would kill him?
Ji Shu was about to eat the food when a man suddenly walked in from outside the tent. He was wearing a turban and a Confucian robe and was extremely elegant. He held a jar of wine in his hand, raised it up and shook it, and said with a smile.
"Zi Yuan, look what good things I brought to see you?"
Ji Shu was stunned for a moment, why did this scene seem so familiar?
Han Zong immediately stood up, cupped his fists and saluted.
"Meet the Second Military Advisor."
Zhou Yu Shiran came over, looked around, and said to Han Zong.
"You go back first, your master and I have a lot to talk about."
Is this because of my lack of status? There are things I shouldn’t know? Han Zong sighed in his heart, and subconsciously glanced at Ji Shu from the corner of his eyes. Seeing that Ji Shu didn't say anything, he respectfully resigned and left.
As soon as Han Zong left, the two people's expressions seemed to become much more relaxed.
"Second brother, sit down. The set of bowls and chopsticks across from you haven't been used yet."
"Then I feel sorry for Han Zong, I haven't even had a chance to have a bite of food from you."
Zhou Yu chuckled, put the wine jar on the table, and immediately sat down where Han Zong had been with a wave of his sleeves. He pulled out the seal, and the fragrant fragrance suddenly spurted out, intoxicating the heart and mind. He first poured a bowl for Ji Shu. The wine was clear and transparent with a faint golden luster.
"Osmanthus wine?"
Ji Shu was slightly surprised. This was not wine prepared by the army. The best wine in the army was probably the one he gave to Xu Shu a few days ago. No wonder this situation seemed so familiar. Ji Shu laughed, picked up the wine bowl and took a sip.
"Yeah! Good wine!"
It tastes sweet in the mouth, and a fragrance flows from the mouth to the stomach, and from the stomach to the nose. It makes people's eyes light up, and they don't know where Zhou Yu got it. Ji Shu couldn't help but take another sip.
Zhou Yu was pouring wine by himself when his face suddenly turned dark and he said in a deep voice.
"Why, aren't you afraid that this wine is poisonous?"
You put all this effort into poisoning me?
Zhou Yu is usually good at everything, but the occasional hint of dark underbelly always makes people feel more cute.
Ji Shu laughed a few times and his shoulders shook a few times. After drinking all the wine in the bowl, he placed the bowl in front of Zhou Yu to indicate that it was full.
"This wine is like poison, even if you drink it a thousand cups."
"Hmph, the poison won't kill you!"
After all, Zhou Yu couldn't hold back his laughter and filled up Ji Shu again. Putting the wine jar aside, Zhou Yu put away his playful smile and spoke to Ji Shu seriously.
"It's been hard on you these past two months. I've been waiting for Ziyi's good news. I'm afraid you've often stayed up all night."
Ji Shu's hand trembled slightly, and a bitterness seemed to come out of the deepest part of his body and into his throat. After taking a sip of osmanthus wine, Ji Shu squeezed his cheeks and forced a smile.
"Second brother, you're going to expose me right now. When I was bragging to Xu Shu a few days ago, I said that I was sure of winning."
"Come on, I don't know about you yet? Every time you make a plan, how many nights do you get to sleep? When do you not rehearse it over and over until late at night?"
Zhou Yu smiled brightly.
"It's me, how dare I say it's foolproof?"
The two of them didn't speak, and just drank in silence for a while.
Zhou Yu turned the wine bowl in his hand to the left, then to the right, and repeated the cycle. He stared at the wine in the bowl and muttered.
"Ignore that idiot. You protect him wholeheartedly, but he still blames you for not trusting him. You are an idiot. I have scolded him for you, but I still let him ignore you in public. Don't complain. he."
Shang Jun made the law, and those who broke the law must be punished. The people knew that the law could not be violated.
If even such behavior as deceiving the emperor is not punished, then the country will be in trouble. However, it is rare that Sun Ce's temper did not change immediately. I think he was persuaded by Zhou Yu. After all, Sun Ce still wanted to deal with Ji Shu seriously.
Ji Shu was still thinking before that the two armies had just reunited today and there were a lot of things to deal with. Why did Zhou Yu come to him for a drink so quickly? But now it suddenly dawned on him.
"Thank you, second brother."
"Thank you. The situation is urgent and I'm not around. It's my turn to thank you."
"Second brother, I'm serious. As long as it's for Chu State, what's the point of dying?"
"Third brother!"
Zhou Yu suddenly shouted, making Ji Shu tremble. Seeing Ji Shu looking at him, Zhou Yu's face showed a hint of pain.
"Oh, I knew this would happen. You are indeed extreme."
"······"
Ji Shu didn't speak, but looked at Zhou Yu slightly confused.
"Zi Yuan, have you forgotten what you said to Bo Fu in the palace?"
"I haven't forgotten."
Seeing Ji Shu's matter-of-fact answer, Zhou Yu said even more angrily.
"Then you can die?"
Ji Shu looked at the wine on the table blankly, reaching out to pick it up and take a sip, but in the end he just gently touched the edge of the bowl with his fingers.
"I, I was afraid of letting Liu Bei and Cao Cao attack from behind, so I asked Zhou Tai to break up the rear."
"I swore in front of everyone that the Wei army would never fight with our army again. In fact, when I sent Huang Gai, I was worried that Cao Cao would repeat it and make another sneak attack."
"I knew that rumors would make people displaced and their families destroyed, but I did it anyway."
"I know if Jingzhou..."
"enough!"
Zhou Yu interrupted Ji Shu, feeling angry, annoyed, bitter and sad.
"Third brother, why are you so hard on yourself?!"
Zhou Yu drank a bowl of wine and sighed.
"Zi Yuan, I have always known that you are very talented, and you will definitely become Bo Fu's right-hand man. But I also know that you are not suitable for leading an army. Your heart is too kind."
"Ideals can save this country, but they cannot save ourselves. The world is always inconsiderate towards people of good intentions."
"Because that's it. Even if he speaks ill to a well-intentioned person, he will not insult you; even if he stumbles upon a well-intentioned person, he will not hit you; even if he frames a well-intentioned person, he will only I will defend myself sternly. No harm will come from a malicious person."
Zhou Yu was so angry that he stood up, danced and roared.
"Why do you want to take the casualties caused by Liu Bei's betrayal of the covenant on yourself? If Zhou Tai continues to be the queen, there will be Zhou Da and Tuesday to go. There must be someone to cut off the queen!"
"Is it all your fault that Cao Cao repeated, Zhuge Liang spread rumors, and Zhang Ren made a sneak attack? They were all for victory! They didn't blame themselves! What do you blame yourself for?"
"In this troubled world, wars are happening everywhere! People are dying every day!"
"What you should feel is not self-blame, but anger!"
"anger!"
"Otherwise why did we aspire to pacify the world in the first place?"
"Is it for crying?"
"If we don't want to surrender to a bastard like Dong Zhuo, we have to pick up the sword and use iron and blood to realize our ideals!"
"If it had been me at that time, I would have let Zhou Tai die. If we could win this battle, let alone let General Huang take the risk, I would not hesitate even if he died! Tell Huang the truth Old General, he will not hesitate!"
"But you have to remember, you can't die!"
"You are a chess player. The chess pieces can be changed, but the chess players cannot die. Every chess player is the king of this chessboard."
"The world is like this. So pure goodness cannot control the giant beast of the country. It must have goodness, but it cannot only be good. Ziyuan, only after you understand this can you enter our world."
Ji Shu was speechless, he had no words to refute. In that world where people cannibalize people, in that world where their daughters are used to perform honey traps, wasn't it just to break them that Ji Shu embarked on this path?
It was a smooth journey and the Chu army was invincible. Why did I feel confused after just one setback, immersed in self-blame and unable to extricate myself? The world is really a mirror. The more you understand it, the more you recognize your cowardice and disgusting self.
"Second brother, stop scolding me. I know I was wrong."
Zhou Yu stared at Ji Shu's eyes carefully, as if he could see a pool of autumn water.
"Is Zhenzhi wrong?"
"True knowledge is wrong."
Zhou Yu smiled lightly.
"My sister-in-law gave birth to a daughter in Jianye. Mother and daughter are safe. Congratulations, you are a father."
Ji Shuru was struck by lightning and was completely stunned.
Zhou Yu ignored him, drank his bowl of wine and walked out of the tent. After leaving the door, Zhou Yu looked back and murmured in a low voice.
"Zi Yuan, I'm sorry. It's my second brother's lack of ability. I always wanted you and Bo Fu to stay there."
After a long time, Ji Shu came to his senses. There was no one on Zhou Yu's seat. He looked at Zhou Yu's wine bowl and said softly.
"Second brother has a good drinking capacity."
Shukeju reading website:
