A leaf floated down diagonally and landed on Liu Bei's shoulder. This gentle blow made him stop, raised his head, and looked at the tree.
This tree is an extremely tall mulberry tree. It is said that Kong Rong's father, Kong Zhou, was invited to plant it in this pavilion sixty years ago when he was appointed as the captain of Mount Tai. Sixty years is enough for a young man to become senile and enough for a person to forget his memory. Now, there are not many mulberry leaves left on this tree, but Liu Bei also knows that in less than three months, the yellow leaves on the ground will turn into dust and return to the tree, causing this branch to spit out new buds.
Times have changed, things have changed and people have changed. He couldn't help but sigh. Ten years ago, who would believe that he could lead a hundred thousand troops and be famous all over the world? Even he himself was not sure. But now that he is successful and famous, he still misses the beginning. The excitement, longing, and even ignorance at that time can no longer be felt in himself today. The more experiences you have, the harder it is to imagine the future, as if you have walked from a broad road to a single-plank bridge without knowing it. But fortunately, I don't regret it.
When the guard who brought him in saw him standing, he also stopped and whispered: "General, please go in, everyone is waiting for you."
Liu Bei turned his head and looked at the white banner at the entrance of the pavilion. Thinking of his clan brother who died in the battle, he couldn't help but sigh slightly and replied: "Okay."
He walked into the temporary main tent and saw at a glance that most of the military staff gathered here. They came from all over the world and were all famous heroes in the world. They were all standing here, waiting for him to give orders. Liu Bei looked at them, feeling both relieved and a little sad. He couldn't help but lament in his heart: There are really fewer and fewer old faces around him.
But this sentiment lasted only for a moment, and Liu Bei soon devoted his attention to the battle against Sheqiu. In the past few days, Guan Hai attacked the mountain camp three times but failed, which greatly boosted the morale of the Han army. Liu Bei took advantage of the situation and stepped up his attack on Sheqiu. He had basically captured the outer city, leaving only a lonely inner city. It must be that in a few days, the city's destruction would no longer be an empty talk on paper. Therefore, Liu Bei planned to let all his troops take a short rest to recharge their batteries and prepare for the final siege.
Now everything is going so well that Liu Bei is already thinking about post-war matters. According to his and Xu Shu's plan, Cao Cao killed too many people in Yanzhou. At this time, he was about to show his kindness to ease the people's hearts. It would be better to move the prisoners and refugees to Shouzhang Tuntian, and promote benevolent and righteous people in the Black Mountain Army. Liu Bei especially remembered Bai Rao. The plan is to follow Zhang Yan's story and appoint him as the general who will overcome the difficulties.
Everything was arranged, and Liu Bei and the generals breathed a sigh of relief. Just as the meeting was about to end, Liu Bei saw some sunshine coming in from the west, which reminded him that it was almost time for dinner. So he turned to everyone and smiled and said: "You have worked hard for days and days. You will take a rest here tonight. Let's have a light drink and eat a little." Everyone laughed and said back to him: "Good!"
There were so many staff in the mansion that they couldn't even sit down in the pavilion, so they found an open space with a wide view outside the pavilion, spread out straw mats, and placed tables and eucalyptus. Most people sat directly on them, eating red dates, peanuts and other dried fruits. , chatting with colleagues about some interesting things about military acquaintances. Some young people gathered together, pointing at the towering mountains rising in the northeast, and discussing next year's war.
Liu Bei held the wine cup and walked along the table to talk to them one by one. Liu Bei had always been able to see and listen in all directions during the banquet. At this time, he found that a soldier broke in, but there was hesitation on his face, as if he was debating whether to report it or not. After Liu Bei finished talking to the person in front of him, he immediately strode forward and asked his soldiers softly: "Is there something wrong?"
When the soldiers saw Liu Bei coming, they breathed a sigh of relief, straightened their chests and said, "General, some people have come from outside the camp, bringing with them a lot of baskets, food, pots, and pulp. They want to give them to our army. The camp gatekeeper asked me to come." Ask the general what he means."
Liu Bei was extremely surprised when he heard this. Since the Battle of Hekou, wherever the Han army passed by, all the people along the road had closed their doors tightly and did not dare to meet each other. At this time, some people actually brought baskets and pots of pulp? It's really strange. So he asked: "Where did they come from? Is there anything different about them?"
The soldier thought for a while, shook his head and said: "There is nothing wrong, but their leader said that they are from Dongping, and they are old acquaintances with the general!"
"He's from Dongping?" Liu Bei was stunned and quickly asked, "Did you tell me what his name was?"
The soldier replied: "He said his name is Kong Zhen, and his courtesy name is Yi Sheng. The general will definitely remember it."
Speaking of Kong Zhen, Liu Bei's first reaction was that he was familiar with it, and then his mind went into chaos. He thought for a while, and seemed to have gone through a lot of fog before he connected this name with himself, and the image of Kong Zhen in his mind gradually became clear. In the process, a smile slowly appeared on his face, as if he had taken a sip of mellow wine. He nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, yes, I have such a friend, please take me there."
After that, he apologized to his staff and went to the camp gate with his soldiers. While walking on the road, Liu Bei's steps became a little lighter, and many dusty old things in his mind seemed to be quietly revived with the word "Kong Zhen". He thought happily of the years in Dongping. Just these five words reminded him of many people.
At that time, the courtyard of Jikuting was full of apricot trees. In spring, the aroma of apricot blossoms was as strong as fire, and the aroma of the wine cellar opposite the door was even more intoxicating. The wine shop is run by Mr. Wang, and his wife comes out to help from time to time, and everyone likes to make noises next to her. Next to the wine shop is Du Mai's dog meat shop. Du Mai's yellow dogs are extremely fat and taste full of juice when eaten, so he often goes here to buy wine and meat. When the children around the pavilion smelled the meat, they rushed over to get a bite, but in the end they didn't even take a few bites.
At that time, he had some local recruits under his command, and they were all good men who dared to fight. They included Hu Kuang, Fan Gu, Guo Lu, Niu Ming, Liu Gui and others, who followed him to fight back and forth in Qingxu Prefecture. They are not as prestigious as my current account, but they don't have as much red tape. Sometimes, only the simplest actions can express the most sincere affection.
Thinking this, Liu Bei saw Kong Zhen in the crowd. Although he had changed a lot, lost some weight, and was covered in dust, when Liu Bei put the person in his mind together with him, he quickly recognized it.
Liu Bei walked up quickly, took Kong Zhen's hand as fast as shooting an arrow, and asked: "Yisheng, why are you here?"
Kong Zhen was quite at a loss. He called General in his mouth and wanted to bend down to salute Liu Bei, but Liu Bei supported him with his other hand and said with a smile: "Why so many courtesy? The fathers of Dongping are my fathers." , no matter where I am, I will still be Liu Xuande, the captain of Dongping School."
Kong Zhen didn't expect him to say such words. He stared at the person in front of him, and soon the lines at the corners of his mouth softened slightly, and he said as he should: "But the captain looks much richer, after all, he is different. "
Liu Bei said with a smile: "Ke Yisheng, you haven't changed in my eyes yet." He put down Kong Zhen and looked back at the people who came with him. He didn't see any familiar faces anymore, which made him somewhat disappointed, so he turned around and asked: "There are nearly a thousand people in Jikuting, are you the only one here?"
"It was said that there were nearly a thousand people. At that time, less than half of them left with the captain. Later, Chen Jun sent people to pick up their families, and most of them followed. In the past two years, there have been military disasters again, and now there are not many people in the pavilion."
Speaking of this, Liu Bei suddenly remembered that many people in his memory had followed him to death in Sanggan. It is true that many of those familiar faces will never come back. When he thought back a little, he felt that his shoulders were much heavier, as if the souls of thousands of people were pressing on them, or even more.
For the first time, he choked up and said to Kong Zhen: "Yes, I am sorry for them. But because of this, I will never forget them."
After a moment of silence, Liu Bei asked him again like a string of arrows: "How is Prince Dumai doing? When I left, you had just married your wife. Do you have any children now? How is Aqiu Abao Aqi now? It has been seven years in the blink of an eye. , they should all grow up.”
Kong Zhen said: "I'm fine. But not long after you left, Lieutenant, the business of Mrs. Wang's family deteriorated. Later, he couldn't survive, so he moved away, and there was no news for a long time. Du's house was bought by Liu One of the uncles of Shijun (Liu Dai) fell in love with him and wanted to rob him. Lao Du couldn't even give him money. In the end, he killed his whole family. Because of this, I was dismissed from my post and stayed at home for a long time."
"Aqiu and Abao heard about the news that the captain was in Bingzhou, and they made an appointment with each other the year before last, saying that they would go to Jinyang to join the army together. As a result, as soon as they left Wuxiang, they were forcibly recruited by Liu Shijun. After the battle, their bodies have been thrown into the Wenshui River."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Liu Bei quietly, and Liu Bei looked back at him. Liu Bei was almost speechless. When he heard the word "Liu Shijun", although he knew clearly that it referred to Liu Dai, his face felt hot. Isn't the word "Jun" too heavy?
Liu Bei's eyes suddenly became solemn. He straightened his back and said to Kong Zhen: "Anyway, I'm very happy that you can come here to see me. Come in and sit with me for a while. Yide is here too. Wait. After the war is over, I will put the people first, straighten out the administration, and appease the people."
Having said this, he patted Kong Zhen on the shoulder, walked back to the accompanying people, and said loudly to them: "Fellow fellows, you have come from afar, please go in and have a rest! Our army is cooking, everyone eats After this meal, rest in the army for one night, it won’t be too late to go home tomorrow!”
During the cheers, among the crowd in front, an old man with all white hair and beard suddenly fell to the ground. He touched his chest and gasped for air, with a look of agony on his face.
Liu Bei realized something was wrong and quickly walked up to help him with both hands. A cold light suddenly flashed in the old man's eyes. Kong Zhen saw clearly from behind and shouted: "Captain, be careful!"
The old man jumped up. His beard and hair were all white. Just now, he looked like an ordinary old man who was extremely depressed. But now, his beard and hair were flabby. How could he still look old? With his right hand, he pulled out the short knife hidden in his chest and stabbed Liu Bei in the neck.
This knife was as black as graphite, and it was obvious that it was coated with poison. I was afraid that as long as a cut was made, he would die immediately. Liu Bei didn't expect the attack at all. He wanted to grab the Zhongxing Sword at his waist, but it was too late. He could even smell the stench of poison on the black blade.
It's over. Liu Bei's heart went cold when he heard Kong Zhen shouting: "Colonel!" He followed Liu Bei two feet behind Liu Bei. He rushed forward like a meteor, almost exceeding the limit of human beings, and the short sword had almost reached the limit. Liu Bei's face only heard a loud noise. Liu Bei was pushed sideways to the ground by Kong Zhen, and Kong Zhen took the knife for Liu.
When the assassin saw that he had missed the inevitable blow, he panicked. He jumped up and dove into the crowd behind him. The guards at the camp gate were shocked when they saw this, and rushed forward one after another, surrounding Liu Bei. Some people shouted at the crowd, telling them not to move.
Liu Bei stood up and did not look at the moment. He pushed the guards aside and went to find Kong Zhen who was lying on the ground. He saw Kong Zhen holding a poisoned knife in one hand, lying slumped on the ground, his chest rising and falling, and blood flowing out faintly. His lips were already a little white. His eyes were tracking the crowd, and he met Liu Bei's eyes. On.
"Yisheng!"
Liu Bei shouted loudly, climbed to his feet, and picked him up again. Kong Zhen looked at him, the poison knife in his hand trembling slightly, and he asked: "Colonel Lieutenant, are you okay..."
Liu Bei looked around and shouted: "Medical officer! Medical officer! Come and heal him!"
If Liu Bei is struck with this knife at this time, Liu Bei will be completely defenseless. No matter how many guards there are, he will definitely die. Kong Zhen held the poisonous knife in his hand and moved it slowly. He seemed to see the approving eyes of his dead parents, as well as the glory and wealth of his wife and children.
But his hand was pressed by Liu Bei's chest, making it difficult for him to move for a moment. Kong Zhen felt that his strength was slowly disappearing with the passage of time. If he didn't tighten up, he might not even have the strength to draw the sword. Fortunately, Liu Bei was still holding him and had no idea that he was thinking about this.
Liu Bei finally released him slightly and looked at his expression, giving Kong Zhen some space. Although his strength had weakened a lot, Kong Zhen knew that the poison on the knife was really powerful. As long as a small amount was inserted into it, Liu Bei would definitely be poisoned and die. Just as he was about to lift the poisonous knife, his vision suddenly went dark, as if he had returned to Jikuting where the apricot blossoms were blooming. He saw many dead people, all smiling at him, as if all the separation and death had never happened. But suddenly the scene changed, and he seemed to see the dead bodies trampled under the iron hoof, the crying people, and the white bones covering the wilderness like snow. Those cries were tearing at his heart and causing his body, which was gradually losing consciousness, to feel unbearable pain.
He suddenly asked Liu Bei: "Captain, are you telling the truth?"
Liu Bei was stunned and said, "You know me, who would I lie to?" As soon as Liu Bei finished speaking, he saw Kong Zhenlu's painful expression gradually calmed down, and her lips turned from white to black. He is dying. Liu Bei understood immediately and asked Kong Zhen loudly: "Yisheng, where are your parents, wife and children? I will definitely send someone to pick them up and support them as my family!"
The corners of Kong Zhen's mouth moved, and he spoke in a low voice, so that Liu Bei had to listen attentively. He said: "My parents... are buried in the Jingguan in Puyang, it is not important anymore. My wife... is in Linzi , Colonel, you must remember...what you said, I came here just to ask you to withdraw...withdraw..."
With a "ding" sound, the poisonous knife fell to the ground. After all, Kong Zhen did not finish saying the word "soldier".
A gust of wind blew. Liu Bei sat there blankly. He raised his head and saw a few dead leaves falling on the cypress trees in front of the camp. The branches were empty.
Winter finally came again, and he knew that there were still family members waiting for him to return in Jinyang City. But in a family in Linzi, would there be a woman waiting for someone to return?
He was originally an irritable man, but now he shed tears in public.
