Chapter 2204 Waiting for the New Year
Even the assassination of the general could not stop the people''s desire for the New Year, so an extremely strange phenomenon occurred in Xu County. The lower-class people began to prepare for the New Year''s celebrations and excitement, but the upper-class gentry families were in a strange situation. In the emptiness that cannot be brought to the ground, whether it is the officials in the court or the ordinary nobles, they all seem to be in a state of stagnation with ulterior motives. Everyone is watching and waiting.
This is the original habit of the Han Dynasty, the habit of the children of these noble families.
Even Emperor Liu Xie is waiting.
They are used to waiting.
Waiting for the wind to stop, for the rain to fall, for the thunder to sound, for the heads to fall to the ground.
They pride themselves on being calm and will not make any move until the last moment.
??Just like when Emperor Huanling was imprisoned, the scholars angrily denounced them, just like when the Yellow Turbans overthrew Wubao, the scholars roared and rallied...
?Of course, for most people, when they can’t see clearly, waiting for the dust to settle is naturally the safest, but it will also make the situation eventually evolve out of control.
If you want to make arrangements in advance, you must make predictions in advance.
This kind of prediction requires wisdom.
?Cui Yan believed that Cao Cao was not dead, and that his injuries might even be fake.
?So the upcoming Jizhou operation is obviously carried out with Cao Cao''s acquiescence, and even with Cao Cao''s behind-the-scenes push.
Although it is now heard that Cao Pi is sitting in the main hall of the General''s Mansion and temporarily acting as agent for some affairs, Cui Yan believes that Cao Pi has not yet reached such a high reputation that he can suppress all the generals of the Cao family and the Xiahou family...
At least not yet.
Therefore, even if no news was conveyed from the general''s palace, Cui Yan believed that Cao Cao''s death was unlikely. So Cao Cao''s so-called purge of assassins and killing of rebels this time was actually to compete for more benefits, that is, land.
This is not the first time this has happened.
?When he was in Yanzhou, Cao Cao cooperated well with Zhang Miao and others at the beginning...
The Yanzhou nobles needed a thug, and Cao Cao just fit this position. Unexpectedly, Cao Cao attracted so many yellow turban remnants from Qingzhou in the blink of an eye!
The Qingzhou soldiers, old and young, naturally needed land to resettle them, and the land could not fall from the sky out of thin air. Therefore, Cao Cao had a direct and irreconcilable conflict with the Yanzhou nobles.
The Yanzhou nobles were unwilling to give up their land to the Qingzhou soldiers, and it was impossible for Cao Cao to give up the soldiers he had finally obtained. So in the end, both parties had Cao Cao kill Bian Rang, threatening and seizing a large amount of land for resettlement. Qingzhou soldiers, and later Cao Cao was almost homeless on the streets because of this incident, which led to the Yanzhou Incident.
?So this time, is history repeating itself, or are there any new changes?
The flickering candlelight was not extinguished all night long. It was not until dawn that a few people came out of the house, and then hurriedly left, rushing in all directions as soon as the city gate opened...
…m9(`Д)…
?There are dark clouds rolling in the sky.
The ladder was pushed up the wall, arrows flew like locusts, and the shouts shook the sky and the earth.
?? Cao''s soldiers were under Wubao, claiming that the owner of Wubao was involved in the conspiracy to assassinate the general, and demanded that the people inside Wubao open their doors and surrender immediately. Speaking of assassinating the general, Wubao naturally felt extremely wronged, but before he could say a few words, Cao Jun had already launched an attack.
?? Wubao is naturally a very difficult defense system for ordinary bandits and thieves, but how long can it last in front of regular soldiers without systematic training and organization and coordination?
Therefore, it is no surprise that Wubao was captured on the same day without much disturbance. Soon, Cao Jun found very important "evidence" in Wubao, including the letter from the owner of Wubao contacting the assassin, and the weapons prepared for the assassination. Swords, guns, bows, arrows, crossbows, etc...
December 26th was supposed to be a day of peaceful waiting for the New Year, a time for ordinary people to prepare New Year meat, but it became the beginning of the death of big families in Jizhou.
?Well, from a certain perspective, there seems to be nothing wrong with killing pigs twenty-six times...
??Cao Jun stepped on the blood-stained footprints, raised his sword high, and spread the breath of death in southern Jizhou...
The killing continues.
The outcome of death has not changed, but the process of death has.
"What? The dock door is open? 』
?While Cao''s army was marching and preparing to attack the next Wubao, the scouts sent back a special message.
??The master of Wubao sat alone in the courtyard, looking at Cao Jun who was coming with murderous intent, and sneered.
quickly and without mercy! But Raoer will not die! 』
Xiahou Dun''s three sons and Xiahou Gu stood still, holding their swords, looking at the old man in the courtyard, and shouted coldly.
??The Lord of Wubao laughed strangely twice, his beard and hair spread, he cursed Cao Cao, cursed Xiahou, and before Xiahougu could take action, he stabbed himself first and killed himself.
"not good! There''s a fire! "A Cao Jun shouted while pointing at the rising fireworks.
Xiahou Gu was stunned for a moment and said quickly: "Retreat quickly!" 』
??Cao Jun hurriedly evacuated Wubao, and the original murderous spirit and majestic momentum disappeared for a while.
"Tsk..." Xia Hougu looked at the raging fire, "The old immortal also made kerosene... If you say that you didn''t collude with the assassins, huh, who would believe it?" 』
“Captain, what should I do with the prepared things?” ” Xia Hougu’s confidant asked.
"Well... you go and make a mark on the book of sinners... Just say that this old immortal feels that he has sinned so much that he has no face to live in the world anymore..." Xia Hougu snorted, "Anyway, he did commit suicide himself, didn''t he?" Let''s go, whole team! Get ready for the next one! Kill these pigs and dogs and still have to wait for the New Year! 』
…(＾－＾)V…
Changan, the residence of the Han Hussar General.
The gentle sound of the piano is like a naughty elf in the Louxie courtyard, laughing and jumping around. Even the brilliance seems to turn into flowing water with the music, swaying and rippling in the peace, and then It is blended with the elegance of writing and the jingle of the ring.
“Oops…” Cai Yan stopped playing the piano and touched his belly, “He kicked me…”
Fei Qian stretched out his hand and placed it on Cai Yan''s swollen belly, feeling the rhythm of life. "The little guy seems to be quite happy... You''re tired too. Just rest for a while." I''ll make you tea. 』
?Cai Yan smiled and nodded.
??Just a few personal maids came, holding the harp, holding the harp, withdrawing the case, and then brought a complete set of tea sets.
Fei Qian looked at it, pointed at the tea bowl and tea tray, and said, "Change the set and change the pottery." 』
What is brought up now is a red and black lacquer tea set inlaid with gold and silver. Although it is gorgeous and the lacquer has been made into lacquerware, basically it will not cause allergies, but you still have to be careful. After all, Cai Yan is pregnant. It''s the last period of time again, and any slight illness is very troublesome.
?Cai Yan smiled slightly and looked at Fei Qian, obviously very satisfied with Fei Qian''s care.
"Well, these tea leaves are from Sichuan..." Fei Qian smelled the tea leaves in the jar, "The taste is not bad, this kind of tea has a fragrant fragrance... but it is not as easy to store as tea bricks... so they are all for one year. After drinking it for a year and keeping it for a long time, it is inevitable that it will absorb some miscellaneous flavors... In the early days, everyone liked to fry it first. In fact, it was because the tea had been kept for a long time, so there was no need to fry it over charcoal fire, which would give off the smell of mold. It’s too heavy and it mixes up the flavor of the tea…』
The sound of water on the fire began gradually.
"The earliest batches of tea leaves can only be stored for half a year at most. Even if the outside is sealed with wax, the inside will be prone to corruption. Later, we can only improve it again..." Fei Qian said casually while removing the kettle from the stove. Lift it up, pour some into the teapot, and then rinse the tea cup and so on. "The last thing is the tea like this...the tea leaves need to be dry...the tea can also needs to be clean. If there is a little debris and water stains in it..." It breaks easily... As it is now, it can be stored for about a year and a half, and then there will be no tea flavor. If it exceeds two years, it will still break..." Fei Qian arranged the hot cups and put the tea leaves into the teapot. Then pour boiling water and wash away the tea foam and dust. "No matter how good the tea leaves are, they have been passed through human hands. The first pass is tea with sweaty hands... Some special teas... Hmm, forget it. Generally speaking, I don''t drink the first drink." For tea soup...look, these bubbles...you can still see some powder...』
?? Cai Yan blinked, as if a few small question marks appeared on his head, but he was soon disturbed by Fei Qian, and his attention was transferred to the tea soup.
"The brewing time for the second tea soup should not be too long..." Fei Qian counted silently in his mind, and then poured out the tea from the teapot. "Now some conditions are not quite met, so I just use a teapot like this to make do." , in the future, when the world is settled, we may not have to change it again... This teapot is not bad, the main thing is that the tea leaves will be stuffed in it..."
"Please have tea, madam..." Fei Qian gently pushed the tea cup towards Cai Yan.
??The corners of Cai Yan''s mouth were slightly raised, and he was obviously in a good mood. He picked up the saucer, then picked up the tea cup and took a sip.
From some perspectives, perhaps carefully prepared synthetic sugar drinks can deceive human tastes and make humans feel delicious. However, in terms of actual effectiveness, these drinks made from pure nature may not be better. .
Fei Qian himself took a sip, and then asked: "How is it?" 』
"Today I drank the tea brewed by Xiuqi himself, and it was like drinking fine wine... It is fragrant and sweet..." Cai Yan looked at Fei Qian, the light in his eyes was flowing, and after a moment he smiled, "Well, it seems that Xiuqi''s tea ceremony His technique is quite advanced... I must have practiced a lot..."
"Um? Fei Qian suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck.
But was I right? Cai Yan said, then wrinkled his nose and snorted softly.
Fei Qian burst out laughing, "Practice, that''s not necessarily the case... But drinking tea is also related to your mood. If you are in a good mood, the tea will taste sweet after all. If you are in a bad mood, the tea will be bitter... Come on. , this is the second bubble..."
Two people sit together, chat casually, and sometimes quarrel, but they look more like a couple, as if they respect each other as guests, and are polite at all times, sometimes more like showing it to outsiders.
『It’s another year…』
Fei Qian finished serving tea to Cai Yan, put down the teapot, and looked at the surrounding pavilions.
In order to welcome the arrival of the New Year, the New Year''s cleaning and decoration has already begun in the General''s Mansion. Now all the corners have been swept and wiped, even the moss in the corners has not been spared. On the pond wall in the corner of the courtyard, some old blistered wall skin was also removed, then the wall was repaired, and then chalk was added.
Everything seems clean and new.
In this kind of behavior, it seems that it is also full of expectations and longing for the new year...
"Husband, you came to my place...do you have something to do..." Cai Yan smiled and put down the teacup, "When I got up early, I heard that there was some chaos in the front yard..."
Fei Qian was stunned for a moment, and then did not deny it, "Yes, I just feel that this place is clean, so I came here to escape..."
??Cai Yan said curiously: "What kind of thing is it that makes the hussar have to temporarily avoid the edge?" 』
?Fei Qian laughed and said, "There''s nothing special...just that kid Xu Zhongkang..."
A few days ago, Huang''s workshop presented Fei Qian with a set of the latest improved standard armor. It can be regarded as an improved version of the previous general''s armor. It has made some lightweight designs and strengthened the defense in some key parts. It is moderate. It adds some comfort etc...
It can be considered a relatively big improvement.
Especially the style of the new armor is quite special...
Fei Qian himself didn''t go to the front lines very much. He knew a little about armor, but he wasn''t very proficient in it, so he simply gave the armor to Xu Chu and let Xu Chu wear it to experience it, and then planned to ask afterwards to see what improvements were made. It''s better, but some of them still need to be adjusted and so on.
This is originally a normal thing, right? Fei Qian asked Cai Yan.
Cai Yan nodded, "Yes, there''s no problem with that..."
??Fei Qian sighed and said: "But I forgot to explain it specifically... Then these people came... Then Pang Shiyuan, the boy, ran away immediately when he saw that the situation was wrong..."
??Cai Yan was stunned for a moment, and then burst out laughing, "Oh, I understand." 』
Han people especially like to get together and show off.
?No, Xu Chu got new armor. When he was sleeping, he not only found someone to compete with, but also wore the armor specially, and then shook it so hard that the armor plates rang...
In addition, the improvements this time are relatively large, and there are some major improvements compared with the previous armor, especially the two larger integrated steel plates on the front chest. Although it is not as cool as the one-piece plate armor of later generations, it is It is basically close to the armor of the Tang Dynasty, so when Xu Chu appeared in front of Xu Huang, Zhang Liao and other generals, he was wearing this new armor, shaking two bright bras... er, breast shields, etc. How seductive...
Fei Qian felt that the aesthetics might be a bit weird, but Xu Chu, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao and others knew about this multi-layered structure and how strong the defense of the latest fish scale armor was. He also heard Xu Chu boast about this. The armor was so rare that they were preparing for a new armor upgrade, so they couldn''t hold it back and came to the general''s mansion.
?Xu Huang and Zhang Liao came, and then more people came, all in the name of paying Fei Qian New Year greetings, so naturally there was a bit of chaos.
This is also normal, even in later generations.
For Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, they would not come to Fei Qian to ask for a set of armor for personal reasons, but if it was for the replacement and upgrade of the entire army, then Zhang Liao and Xu Huang would be red-necked on the spot, spitting, rolling up their sleeves and beating them. Everyone has to fight for it and grab it...
The key is that at this time, Xu Huang and Zhang Liao were both having **** **** with each other. Even if Fei Qian said no, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang would not believe it. Even if he believed it, they would not leave immediately, otherwise they would wait for him to turn around and leave, and then someone else would When new equipment arrives, all your subordinates can do is look at it and swallow their saliva? How embarrassing!
??So Fei Qian is hard to say or scold, so he can only hide for a while.
“What are you going to do, husband?” ” Cai Yan chuckled, as if he felt that seeing Fei Qian deflated was something that made people take pleasure in his misfortune. No, it was a happy thing.
Fei Qian said: "Let it dry first, they may not be able to listen now... The armor will not be available until after the New Year, there is no point in hurrying..."
After all, most of the craftsmen have gone home for the holidays at the end of the year. Can’t they be called back because of this? Even if we really call all the craftsmen back, we still have to restart the furnace and smelt it, which is not something that can be made in three days and two nights.
?Cai Yan nodded slightly. She can understand this.
Because the same is true in the backyard of Jiangjun Mansion. Although she and Huang Yueying don''t have much of an antagonistic relationship, her maids and servants always act consciously or unconsciously because of this or that. No matter how big the issue is, we have to fight for it...
"Well, my husband will stay here..." Cai Yan joked and patted his chest, "Let me see who dares to come and chat..."
?? Cai Yan was quite good at first, and now he eats a little more mellowly than before, so when he slaps his chest like this, he suddenly feels a little moved.
??Cai Yan covered it with his little hand, then gave Fei Qian a rolling look, "What are you looking at?" 』
"There is quite a lot of food and grass reserves..." Fei Qian said with a smile.
"Yeah..." Cai Yan was a little embarrassed and angry. He couldn''t help but stretched out his hand to pat Fei Qian, but Fei Qian held it backhand and struggled a bit. Then Cai Yan laughed out and couldn''t help but touch Fei Qian''s shoulder. He leaned closer and sighed quietly, "It''s so good..."
"What? Fei Qian asked.
??Cai Yan shook his head, "It''s nothing... don''t move, let me lean on you for a while..."
Although Fei Qian didn''t quite understand Cai Yan''s sudden surge of emotions, it didn''t stop him from sitting down and letting Cai Yan lean on his shoulder.
Autumn passes and winter comes, and another year comes.
With the harp and harp at your disposal, it is best to be quiet.
(End of this chapter)