The three countries are very nuclear

Chapter 639

On the last day of the year-end, Liu Bei hosted a banquet in the mansion to entertain his ministers.

According to Liu Bei's tendency to talk about ostentation, the scale of this dinner was very large. In addition to Xuzhou's important ministers, there were also low-level officials from Tan County, and even the teachers from the Academy.

After all, Taiwei Liu has always been good at having fun with the people. Liu Bei was so excited when he was half-drunk and half-awake listening to everyone blowing rainbow farts...

It's just that he was emptied of his private house money a few days ago, Liu Bei's life is difficult now, and he has to prepare his own money for his wife, so he reduced the scale of the banquet.

Therefore, Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, Guo Jia and other few people attended the banquet tonight.

As for Xun Yu and Tian Feng's rebellious ministers who cheated him of his money, they naturally had no part in it, but when the housekeeper asked if he wanted to invite Lin Chao, Liu Bei gritted his teeth bitterly, and finally notified the culprit.

Ever since, this grand dinner that Liu Bei had carefully prepared turned into an ordinary family banquet.

However, family banquets also have the benefits of family banquets. At least everyone does not have to be too restrained and can do whatever they want.

The happiest one was Guo Jia, without the presence of those annoying ghosts from the inner palace, and when he was drunk and bragging loudly with his arms around Liu Bei, no one would accuse him of disregarding his manners.

Yesterday, Lin Chao took Lu Su to talk in detail, and highly appreciated Lu Su's prudent governance philosophy.

But after Lu Su finished speaking, Lin Chao explained to him the reason why Xuzhou had repeatedly used swords in recent years.

It seems that there are wars every year, but in fact it has no impact on the lives of the people in Xuzhou. The reason is that Xuzhou is very restrained in the scale of each war.

Except for the crusade against Dong Zhuo, which was regarded as an all-out force, even this year's Battle of the Three States only used [-] troops.

Since the Lin Dynasty came to power in Xuzhou, it has tried its best not to let wars and turmoil affect the normal life of the people unless it was absolutely necessary.

On the one hand, Lin Chao sympathized with the people, and on the other hand, it was because the people were the cornerstone of everything.

If the people are not stable due to some reasons this year, then next year the people will not be able to pay the land rent, and then the money and food needed by the state government will have nowhere to go, and they will even have to feed back to the people.

With such a calculation inside and out, the state capital may not be able to survive.

But if left unattended, it will become a vicious circle over time, and it will go back to the old path at the end of the dynasty.

In terms of productivity in this era, a long-term stable regime is not easy to achieve.Even if it is realized, it has to be cared for carefully like a child, and a little carelessness may lead to death.

Don't you see how glorious the Kaiyuan prosperous age under Tang Xuanzong's rule was!

What a grandeur it is to be the ruler of all nations and come to court from all directions!
But just one Anshi Rebellion completely buried the prosperous Tang Dynasty.If it weren't for the solid foundation laid by Li Shimin before, I'm afraid there won't be even the 100-plus years of lingering.

After listening to Lin Chao's narration, Lu Su realized that his previous views were too taken for granted and too scholarly, so he immediately apologized to Lin Chao with shame on his face.

"I don't know the difficulty of governance. It was Meng Lang who was on the recruiting platform before. I hope the elders will forgive me."

"It's okay, people always make mistakes." Lin Chao waved his hands and smiled indifferently, "Zijing has such an opinion before he became an official. In time, he will definitely be a pillar of our Xuzhou, but there is no need to underestimate himself."

No matter how strong a talent is, there must be room to display it.

Even Lin Chao, who has only mastered some advanced knowledge, can manage a state well after these years of training, let alone a genius like Lu Su.

As long as he has practiced for several years, with Lu Su's aptitude, it is not a problem to enter the inner palace and serve as Tian Feng's deputy.

After solving Lu Su's doubts, Lin Chao immediately read Liu Bei's order, and appointed Lu Su as the master book of the Taiwei Mansion, and followed Lin Chao to take charge of the record documents, which can be regarded as learning from Lin Chao for a period of time.

Lu Su readily accepted this position, so when he went to the banquet tonight, Lin Chao took him with him.

Without the funds for the event, the food tonight would not be much better, but considering Liu Bei's recent situation, no one said anything.

After the feast, it naturally switched to the mode of dancing with demons.

Liu Bei held the wine bottle in one hand and put his arms around Guo Jia beside him with the other, but he turned his head and smiled at Guan Yu: "Yun Chang, in the next year someone will marry Zichu's younger sister as his wife. Good things come in pairs, and Yun Chang wants to be together ?”

The rules of this era are inherently cumbersome, especially when it comes to the noble class, there are even more etiquettes that need to be followed.

Therefore, it is not that simple for Liu Bei to want to get married. It takes a long time to wait just for three letters and six rituals.What's more, Liu Bei is still a prince in power, so the wedding naturally cannot lose style, so it will take longer to prepare.

Of course, Liu Bei didn't want to wait for such a long time, but he couldn't take the lead in violating the etiquette, so he asked Lin Chao to find a way to offset his previous sin of betraying himself.

In desperation, Lin Chao had no choice but to ask his teacher Zheng Xuan for help.

In the end, it was Zheng Xuan who came forward, quoted the scriptures in ancient books, and forcibly shortened the marriage period on the grounds that Liu Bei had no heirs.

What, you say this is impolite!
Are you questioning Zheng Xuan's knowledge, or do you want to discuss etiquette with Zheng Xuan?
With the current Xuezong as the guarantee, Liu Bei set the wedding date after the Shangyuan Festival, which is the sixteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar.

But... what does this have to do with Guan Yu?
"This..." Guan Yu said with embarrassment, "My younger brother has a good wife at home, and he doesn't plan to take a concubine recently, which disappoints my elder brother."

Liu Bei scolded with a smile: "Go, go, whoever said that I was with you, someone said it was frank."

Before Zhuge Gui died, he betrothed Zhuge Liang's two sisters to Guo Jia and Guan Ping respectively. The marriage was supposed to be at the end of the year before last, but too many things happened in the past two years, so it has been delayed until now.

Today Liu Bei suddenly thought of this matter, so he thought about getting married together.

Only then did Guan Yu come to his senses, and said with a smile: "If elder brother wants to, let Tan Zhi get married together."

"Then it's settled." Liu Bei said, then turned his head to look at Guo Jia, "Feng Xiao is also here, let's have a happy family!"

Hearing this, Guo Jia immediately changed his expression.

"My lord, Jiashang is still young, why not wait..."

Liu Bei scolded with a smile: "Feng Xiao, how many concubines do you have in your family?"

Guo Jia said weakly: "This...returning to the Lord, there are only eleven rooms."

Hearing this, Liu Bei was stunned and looked at Guo Jia with an incredulous gaze.

How shameless to dare to say that you are young even after taking in eleven concubines!
Could it be that these eleven concubines were all prepared for the old king next door?
"Stop talking nonsense, if someone says we'll get married together, we'll get married together!"

Liu Bei said angrily, and at the same time, there was a hint of envy in his tone.

"As ordered!"

Guo Jia had no choice but to agree.

Lin Chao, who was on the side, paid close attention to this matter, and when he saw Guo Jia surrendered, he couldn't help shaking his head with a look of exclamation.

To actually marry your favorite minister and nephew on the same day, you, Liu Daer, know how to play!

But the next moment, Liu Bei cast his gaze over.

"Zichu, I heard that you also have a daughter named Chen in your family. She was the daughter of your Uncle Chen, and she made a marriage contract with you since childhood. How about taking this opportunity to include her in the house?"

Liu Beiguang said that he was not satisfied, so he got up the next moment and came to Lin Chao's side, whispering in his ear: "Zi Chu, I know that you have always been afraid of guilt, if you don't take this opportunity to take Mrs. Chen into the house, I'm afraid there will be no more people in the future." Here's the chance."

Hearing this, Lin Chao was surprised.

Does this count as eating melons on your own head?
But you, Liu Daer, as a monarch, don't think it's inappropriate to pay attention to these rumors all day long!
I saw Lin Chao sternly said: "Mr. Xuande, the matter of the court's fear of internal affairs is purely fictional. I hope that Mr. Xuande will not listen to some rumors in the market!"

"Zi Chu, don't talk nonsense. Everyone in Xuzhou knows about this matter, so how can it be a rumor?"

Liu Bei quickly retorted, so as to take the opportunity to give Lin Chao the name of being afraid of his wife.

"Mr. Xuande...the court is indeed not a person who fears the inside..."

Although Lin Chao was explaining seriously, Liu Bei would not believe it. He waved his sleeves and said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, Zichu. If you take the Chen family while a certain wife is married, I don't think your younger siblings will object. .”

Good guy, Liu Daer, you are determined to pull some backs, right?
"Mr. Xuande, the court is indeed not afraid of internal affairs, and everyone in the mansion can testify to this matter."

"Don't talk too much, a certain one just asked if you want to take the opportunity to accept that Chen family?"

"want……"

Lin Chao replied weakly.

"Then it's settled."

"Mr. Xuande is wise!"

Hearing this, Liu Bei looked up to the sky and laughed, but when he smiled, his face suddenly darkened, and his expression fell down.

Guo Jia noticed Liu Bei's expression, and asked suspiciously, "My lord, what's the matter?"

"It's the New Year's Eve now, when thousands of families are reunited, but Yide is still sleeping in the north. The brothers are brothers, but they are separated by thousands of miles. Some people are worried about Yide's safety..."

When Zhang Fei was mentioned, not only Liu Bei looked down, but even Guan Yu next to him put down his wine glass and remained silent.

Lin Chao smiled and cupped his hands and said: "Yide has the ambition to expand the territory, and Xuande Gongyi should be happy about it."

"Having said that, Ke Yide is reckless by nature. Although he is brave, he is not a handsome man of the three armies. So I would rather have him by my side than go deep into the bitter cold of northern Xinjiang. If there is a mistake, it will be too late to regret it! "

The relationship between Liu Bei and Guan Zhang is difficult for outsiders to understand. In addition, in this era, elder brothers are like fathers, so it is reasonable for Liu Bei to always miss his younger brother.

Of course, this is also related to Zhang Fei's recklessness.

If Guan Yu had left for northern Xinjiang, Liu Bei would never have been so worried.

This is like the parents of future generations, whichever child is not doing well, they always prefer more.

In fact, Lin Chao wanted to say that this decision was Zhang Fei's own choice, so he had to bear the consequences.

Before leaving, Lin Chao had an in-depth discussion with Zhang Fei, and clearly analyzed the pros and cons of going north this time.At the end of the conversation, Lin Chao waited for Zhang Fei's firm answer.

When a man is born in this world, he naturally wants to make contributions, even if he is shrouded in horse leather, his seven-foot body will not be in vain!
These are the most affirmative and serious words that Lin Chao has heard since he met Zhang Fei.

It was also because of this that Lin Chao made up his mind to entrust this task to him.

This is true, but it doesn't make sense to Liu Bei.

For an elder brother who cared about his younger brother, he only wanted to see that his younger brother was safe and sound, but he didn't want to hear any great truths.

Therefore, Lin Chao could only continue to persuade: "Xin Zhongzhi is a great talent in the world. With his assistance, Yide will surely return safely. Please don't worry about it, Duke Xuande."

"I hope so!"

Liu Bei sighed quietly, but looked outside, as if he could see Zhang Fei's simple and honest smiling face through the thousands of miles of frozen northern border.

……

Northern Xinjiang.

The vast grassland is endless for thousands of miles.

In the severe cold of winter, even the weeds under the feet shrank their heads and succumbed to the cold current.

Compared with the farming civilization of the Central Plains, the nomadic peoples in the north have always lived in no fixed place, grazing along the lush water and grass, and living wherever they go.

Due to the long-term endurance of severe cold and hunger, these alien races have extremely strong resilience, and they also advocate the original law of the jungle.

On the wilderness at the end of the year, Zhang Fei was leading a caravan slowly marching.

Since leaving the territory of the Han Dynasty and entering beyond the Great Wall, he has long since abandoned the fine clothes of the Central Plains, and put on a thick fox fur.

First, this damn place is too cold, and Hanfu, which pays attention to etiquette and contains civilized clothing, is not suitable for living in this uncivilized place.

Two, Zhang Fei was traveling as a caravan this time, and wearing a Hu suit can better make the Hu people take off their guard and blend in.

The climate where dripping water turns into ice is always annoying, especially when Zhang Fei is in a hurry.

After urinating, the hot air can't last long at all, and it becomes scattered ice beads within a few breaths.

"This damn weather is so fucking cold..."

Zhang Fei grumbled, his lower body was already stinging from the cold wind, so he quickly put on his trouser belt, turned his head and walked towards the team.

"Yide, let's go on."

In the caravan, Xin Ping wrapped himself up like a zongzi, and when he saw that Zhang Fei had solved his personal problem, he opened his mouth and said.

Since we want to deceive people, we can't use official titles to address each other. In addition, Zhang Fei and Xin Ping have gotten along very well in the past half a year, so naturally they don't care about such trivial matters.

Xin Ping was born in Yingchuan, and the northernmost place he has been to in his life is only Jizhou, so he was not used to it when he first arrived outside the Great Wall.It's winter again, and it's pretty good if I can resist the disease without falling ill.

Even so, Xin Ping struggled to free his hands to write and draw on a piece of parchment.

"Okay, let's go on."

Zhang Fei nodded, and the caravan continued on its way.

In the past six months, Xin Ping and Zhang Fei visited most of the areas outside the Great Wall as merchants.

From Youzhou to Wuhuan, and from Wuhuan to Xianbei, such a long journey is just to find out three things.

First, the location of these alien herds.

Second, the actual situation of the combat power of these alien populations.

The third is the terrain of the frontier.

For the third point, Zhang Fei and Xin Ping's methods are also different.

Zhang Fei memorized it with his brain, while Xin Ping recorded it carefully. The parchment in his hand at this moment is the best proof.

In such a cold weather, sitting on a horse is not as good as walking with a horse, and it can keep the body warmer.

While walking in the cold wind, Zhang Fei said, "Mr. Xin, we have traveled almost all over the Great Wall in the past half a year, but where are we going now?"

"Walking all over the Great Wall?" Xin Ping said with surprise on his face, "Yide is too naive."

"Isn't it?"

"Of course not. Not to mention a few months, even if it takes ten or eight years, it is impossible to travel all over the Great Wall."

Hearing this, Zhang Fei's face suddenly turned ugly.

Seeing this, Xin Ping immediately smiled and said, "Why, did Yide regret it?"

"How could it be possible, the man kept his promise, and before leaving, he promised Zichu that he would travel all over the Great Wall, how could he go back on his word!"

Zhang Fei shouted, scratching his neck.

"Okay, okay, Yide is a man, of course he won't regret it."

Seeing that Zhang Fei was about to explode, Xin Ping hurriedly comforted him with a smile.

The caravan traveled for another half a day, until the sun was about to set, and there was no barrenness in front of them. Instead, they saw a herd of cattle and sheep, and there were even herdsmen in twos and threes driving their livestock behind.

After walking alone on the grassland for more than a month, he finally saw people. Even though he knew that these were barbarians, Zhang Fei was a little happy.

"Mr. Xin, what kind of tribe is this place? There are quite a lot of livestock."

At this moment, a bright light suddenly flashed in Xin Ping's eyes, and he said slowly:

"Here is the end point of our trip to the west - Danhan Mountain!"

(End of this chapter)