Kuangfu Han Dynasty

Chapter 17 I’ve been fighting all my life, why can’t I enjoy it?
Now, no matter Xiahou Yuan wants it or not, Zhang Shao is like a sticky thorn, stuck to Xiahou's body and cannot be easily shaken off or pulled away.

Zhang Shao, on his side, was also saying goodbye to Mrs. Xu and Sister Liu Ruyu in the courtyard of his residence.

Yesterday, at Xu Shu's plea, Cao Cao agreed to let Mrs. Xu continue to live with Liu Bei's two daughters. Anyway, according to the rules of the Cao camp, Xu's mother must be used as a hostage to tie up Xu Shu, and she has no personal freedom anywhere.Early this morning, Xu Shu came to say goodbye to his mother. Mrs. Xu knew that Xu Shu had entered Cao Cao's shogunate, and she thought that her son had completely abandoned the Ming Dynasty and turned to the dark side, and she was even less willing to see him.

Zhang Shao couldn't directly tell Xu Shu that he was currently working as a lurker in Cao Ying, so he could only comfort Mrs. Xu: "Mr. Xu entered Cao Cao's shogunate for a hidden reason, and he can take care of me after he goes to Jiangling."

He added: "Adi still can't speak. Although she and my sister were ordered by Cao Cao to treat each other with courtesy, they are actually still prisoners. They have to rely on the old lady to take care of them." It must always be emphasized that Mrs. Xu takes good care of the Liu family. Sister, the best way the Xu family can repay General Zuo is to prevent him from being humiliated by Cao's soldiers. In this way, there is no need to worry about the old lady being confused.

To Liu Ruyu, Zhang Shaoze asked her in a low voice to take good care of Mrs. Xu: "Sister, I have to keep an eye on Mrs. Xu day and night. I must not let her commit suicide again."

Liu Ruyu accepted the promise and was very reluctant to let go of Zhang Shao's younger brother: "Why did you choose Ah Shao to be the waiter?

She said worriedly: "The thief Cao is a jackal and a tiger, Shao must be careful."

Zhang Shao blinked again and whispered: "Last night, in front of my sister, I hid the whittling knife in the gap between the bricks in the living room. I hope my sister will remember that location!"

He did not tell anyone about his conspiracy with Xu Shu, but he had to give Liu Ruyu a hint so that she could survive this difficult time: "If there is a chance to be rescued in the future, the sharpening knife may be used as an emergency... weapons!"

Liu Ruyu was a little confused, but she still nodded and promised. Of course, Zhang Shao hoped that everything would go smoothly by then and they would not need it at all.

Cao Bing outside the courtyard was already urging them impatiently, and Zhang Shao had almost finished his explanation, so he could only say goodbye to the old man, the young man, and the young girl. They wanted to send them off for a while, but they were mercilessly locked inside the courtyard gate by Cao Bing.

"I just don't know when we will see you again." Zhang Shao thought in his heart. His legs were still a little sore and he was walking with a slight limp. Fortunately, someone was riding a horse waiting for him at the gate of the city.

"Second uncle!"

Zhang Shao was very surprised to see Xiahou Ba. He now felt more and more familiar with Xiahou Ba's face.

It turned out that after Xiahou Ba reported to the Wuwei camp, the first task Xu Chu gave him was to bring the boy Zhang Shao who the prime minister requested.

Sitting behind Xiahou Ba's horse, Zhang Shaoshao couldn't help flattering him that he became more and more heroic after putting on the military guard armor. When he came to the prime minister's side, his official career would be prosperous, which made Xiahou Ba feel happy.

As soon as he was in a good mood, Xiahou Ba took the initiative to teach Zhang Shao something: "A Shao, when you were in Liu Bei's army in Xinye, maybe the etiquette there was rough and there was no limit on superiority and inferiority, but it is different when you are the prime minister."

"As a junior and humble person, when you see my father or have the opportunity to be summoned by the Prime Minister, you cannot call yourself 'I' or 'I', but you should use humble words to call yourself by your name. Remember?" ?”

Zhang Shao was stunned, yes, it turns out that a simple title in ancient times has so many twists and turns, and then said: "I... Shao has remembered it!"

Xiahou Ba laughed: "You and I have such a relationship, so there is no need to be modest. Just keep it as before."

Zhang Shao patted the horse again and said, "It seems that even in the Prime Minister's camp, the second uncle can still take care of my nephew."

Xiahou Ba shook his head and said, "Otherwise, we both have to seek our own blessings. The prime minister's servants will not be under the control of the military guards."

Zhang Shao didn't know these subordinate rules of Cao Ying, so he just said blankly: "Who is in charge of my nephew?"

Passing through the Third Battalion of the Chinese Army, which was ready to go, the busy Prime Minister's motorcade had arrived, and they were preparing to break camp and set off.Xiahou Ba stopped his horse, took Zhang Shao down, and pointed to a little old man in the convoy who was wearing crimson clothes, a black turban on his head, and a dirty Gebu around his waist, and said: "That's the person who cares about you." .”

"The food officer who serves Cao Cao is Wang Hui (hòu)."

……

After Xiahou Ba's explanation, Zhang Shao realized that the so-called Prime Minister's Central Army was divided into several parts.

The first is the three battalions of Zhongjian, Zhongba and Wuwei, supervised by the central leader Shi Huan.The backbone and middle base are combat troops, which guard the prime minister's camp one after another, and are often sent out to attack.The Wuwei camp led by Xu Chu was composed of retinues and guards. Although the number was only [-], they were all carefully selected warriors. Whether they were marching or camping, they would never leave Cao Cao's side.

In addition to the three troops, the prime minister's shogunate where Xu Shu was located was also affiliated with the marching camp. The civil and military officials were very close to Cao Cao whether they were marching or stationed, making it convenient for Prime Minister Cao to summon them at any time for meetings and arrangements.On the contrary, the higher-status court officials were not in the camp.

There are also the entourage who serve Prime Minister Cao in food, clothing, housing and transportation. They belong to the "Servant Cao" and are managed by the Shi Cao.

The Wang He in front of him was the food officer serving under Cao Cao. He was responsible for Cao Cao's eating, drinking, and organizing banquets for the army. Hearing this, Zhang Shao secretly muttered: "Isn't Wang He the one whose head was borrowed by Cao Cao? Then you Is my wife the grain official whom I support? Could this be the same person?"

Wang Jie was wearing a greasy Gebu apron and was instructing his men to move cauldrons, cauldrons and other items to the car. When Xiahou Ba brought Zhang Shao over to greet him, he turned around and said with a dark face: "You are the one New page boy?"

There is a saying in later generations that "the prime minister's slave is an official of seven grades", not to mention that this food official is really of high rank, and he is also a hundred-stone official after all.Therefore, Wang Jie didn't care about Xiahou Ba's identity or whether Zhang Shao was an important prisoner, but he scolded them head-to-head.

"The Prime Minister has already eaten breakfast, and yet he still asks about you when he is cleaning his mouth after dinner!"

"We'll be leaving in a moment! How did we get here? Zhong Quan, this kid is ignorant, you should know the rules, right?"

Xiahou Ba and Wang Jie are old acquaintances. When he was young, he once served as Cao Cao's cupbearer in Sikongxing camp and was also under Wang Jie's charge. Knowing the old man's temper, he could only accompany him and say with a smile: "Wang Jun Don't blame me, don't blame me." He came closer and took out half a piece of gold cake, stuffed it into Wang Wei, and said in a low voice: "From now on, my nephew will be entrusted to Wang Jun."

This was what Xiahou Ba collected from the corpse of a wealthy family when he was cleaning up the battlefield. Wang Jie calmly put the gold cake into his sleeve, and his expression turned gloomy.

After Xiahou Ba left, Wang Jie said to Zhang Shao: "Zhang Shao? You go and take that car."

Zhang Shaofang had just observed that although the Prime Minister's traveling convoy was long, the vehicles were limited after all. Most people, especially the entourage of the Prime Minister's Mansion, had to walk on their own. Without Xiahou Ba's bribe, he would have to trek on foot. .Zhang Shao could only sigh secretly in his heart. His second uncle was really willing to spend money for him. His relatives were reliable.

Zhang Shao thanked Wang Jie obediently and came to the cart he pointed to. He saw that there were many food and wine vessels on it, some of which were copper and some of pottery, all carefully covered with Gebu.There was a child in his early ten years sitting next to the car. His clothes were very clean and his hair was tied into a bun at the back of his head.

Seeing Zhang Shao about to climb into the car, the little boy suddenly became anxious, stretched out his hand to stop him, and shouted: "Who are you? Can you get into this car?"

Zhang Shao raised his eyebrows and pointed his thumb behind him: "It was Wang Jun who asked me to ride in the car. Why, you don't agree?"

The little boy looked at Wang Jie and asked loudly: "Wang Jun, are you serious?"

Wang Jie glared at him and said, "Huandeng, this is the new servant who is here to clean the Prime Minister's utensils. You can teach him the rules along the way."

Huandeng shut up and watched Zhang Shao tiptoeing onto the car and sitting on the opposite side. His expression was very uncomfortable, as if his privacy had been violated by someone else. He only muttered: "The other cleaning boy , you have to walk, how can you take a bus like me?"

Zhang Shao touched him with his toe and took the initiative to say hello: "Brother Huandeng, I am Zhang Shao. I have been well taken care of along the way."

Who is your brother?Huandeng's face was still full of reluctance, and he frowned as he thought about Zhang Shao's last name: "Zhang? Are you from Yanmen or Hejian?"

What Yanmen?What Hejian?Zhang Shao was confused by his question. When Huandeng saw this, he explained triumphantly: "I am a descendant of the Huan family in Pengcheng, and the nephew of the Prime Minister's beloved concubine, Mrs. Huan! I specialize in pouring wine and water for the Prime Minister, so I can ride in the car."

Mrs. Ring?Zhang Shao couldn't remember who this was. Seeing that Zhang Shao still didn't answer, Huandeng continued: "You must also be a son of a certain general, Xungui? Otherwise, how could you be allowed to ride in the carriage by the king? I don't know if you are the gangster general Zhang Wenyuan." , or General Pingdi Zhang Junyi?"

Although Zhang Liao and Zhang He were demoted generals, they had been trusted by Duke Cao over the years and became generals with various titles. If Zhang Shao was a relative of these two men, Huandeng would have to show respect to him.After all, his status is actually quite fictitious. Although Mrs. Huan is favored, she is not the prime minister's wife, and the Huan family cannot even be considered "relatives."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Shao smiled mysteriously: "None of them."

no?Huandeng tried his best to think about which distinguished officials in the court were named Zhang, and Zhang Yan, the Pingbei general who stayed in Yecheng?Darling, he can’t be a descendant of Zhang Xiu’s family, the late Po Qiang general, right?

Zhang Shaohan said with a smile: "Don't guess, it doesn't matter what my last name is. I can enter the Prime Minister's camp and get a ride because of my connections with my mother's family."

"Then who is your mother's family?" Huandeng asked.

Zhang Shao crossed his legs and said proudly, "Ha! I'll scare you if I tell you!"

"It's not another family, it's the Xiahou family of Qiao County!"

"Hiss..." This surname is indeed significant enough. Huandeng took a breath. As we all know, Cao and Xiahou in Qiao County are the prime minister's own family members. They are much closer than generals with different surnames. It seems that he cannot mess with them. From this Shao.

Thinking of this, Huan Deng unconsciously moved his butt to the side to make some room for Zhang Shao. He was already respectful to this kid who was younger than himself.

While the two were talking, the Prime Minister's camp officially set off. The chariot driver they were riding in waved his whip, and two pack horses pulled the chariot forward.As the wheels rattled, Yangcheng was left behind, farther and farther away, until when the sun rose high, Zhang Shao looked back and could no longer see the shadow of the city tower.

The time on the road was quite boring. Huandeng felt that Zhang Shao's background was unusual. He tried to test him one by one, but no matter how scheming he was, he was still a little kid. Zhang Shao should not be too easy to handle.The two gradually became familiar with each other, and Zhang Shao took the opportunity to inquire from him about the details of the camp.

Huandeng was happy to teach him the "rules". It turned out that the carriages in front and behind were under the control of food officials, and more than a dozen followers had their own duties, including those who picked vegetables, fetched water, cut meat, pounded rice, cooked rice, The dishwashers and those who specialize in cooking stoves are all men, presumably to make life in the military easier.

"It seems that Boss Cao's military diet is also very particular." Zhang Shao understood very well. After all, the prime minister is old and has been fighting for a lifetime. Can't I, Cao Mengde, enjoy it?
"Then what does this person do?" Zhang Shao had long noticed that there was a boy in his teens on the side of their car. He had messy hair and tanned skin. He was carrying a robe on his back and was struggling to walk with the car. , looking at the two people in the car with eyes full of envy.

"His name is Ah Hei." Huandeng said with disdain on his face, "He holds an obscene utensil for the prime minister and cleans toilets."

After saying this, Huandeng waved his hand as if to drive him away and scolded Na Ah Hei: "Stay away! Don't let your stench spread to the car and contaminate these food and wine utensils!"

Ahei Nana slowed down and moved from the side to the rear of the car. The dust raised by the wheels and horses' hooves was blown by the wind and fell on his black face.

Zhang Shao saw all this with his eyes and roughly figured out the situation of his "colleagues". When the sun reached three poles, the team temporarily stopped to rest, and he also started his first work.

　Thanks to the leader "Plush Bear" for the reward.

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(End of this chapter)