In the northwest of Xuzhou, a mixed team of about a thousand people and horses was slowly heading east along the official road.
Sun Jian, who was not wearing heavy armor and only wore a cloth robe, was at the front of the queue, holding a riding whip and pointing: "The city in front is Peixian. It can be seen that we have entered the boundary of Xuzhou. In about ten days, we can return to Xiapi -
-Demo? Why do you look so sad?"
Cheng Pu, who was dressed as a Confucian general, was riding his horse to follow Sun Jian. Hearing this, he responded: "I just remembered that when I left Xiapi, I boasted that I wanted the young master to make contributions that would be enough to rise to the top. Unexpectedly, there were many heroes in this battle, but the achievements were few and far between."
, the young master’s official position remains unchanged, I feel very ashamed.”
"Oh..." Sun Jian was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then said with a smile: "It can't be said that the same place has not been moved. Didn't the imperial court give me a title of 'Yi Lang'? I have the right to monitor and report."
"What's the point of giving a military general a civilian position!" Huang Gai on the other side said angrily when he heard this. After tasting the sweetness twice with the help of his unparalleled "bitter meat", he seemed to gradually no longer take armor seriously. At this time
He was wearing an almost shirtless piece of weird leather armor with only armor protecting his heart and waist. He was carrying... well... a canoe on his back.
"That's exactly what it is. For the position of 'Yilang', the targets of supervision and reporting are courtiers. How can there be any courtiers in Xuzhou?" Zu Mao also agreed.
"Haha..." Sun Jian was speechless for a moment. After thinking about it, he said: "Compared with achievements and rewards, it is more important that these Jiangdong sons I brought are unscathed. If they are damaged, it will be shameless to entrust them to
My parents and fellow countrymen."
"This..." Cheng Pu and Huang Gai had nothing to say for a moment. Although they thought that even if they had to pay some casualties, it would be worthwhile as long as they had enough achievements, but they could not say this clearly.
This time to quell the rebellion in Xiliang, whether it was Dong Zhuo and Huangfu Song who were holding firm, or Cao Cao, Liu Bei who were deep behind enemy lines, their soldiers were all seriously injured. Cheng Pu could see that each of those people had their own goals. In order to achieve the goals of outsiders,
The purpose is unknown, and no one cares how much they sacrifice.
As for the young master Sun Jian, unless he is in a helpless situation such as being attacked or surrounded, he always hopes to achieve the goal at the minimum cost, without thinking about how much the goal achieved will be reduced accordingly.
As for the cause of this kind of character, it is easy to guess. Before the head of the family, Sun Zhong, decided to let his son try to become an official, the relationship between the Sun family and many family generals was like this. They were more like brothers than masters and subordinates. Even the young master
The ruler's actions in governing Na Xiapi allowed the people to develop on their own and only provided legal and military protection. How similar was it to the attitude of ordinary fathers and brothers towards their children?
If the young master can be promoted and govern a county or a state, he will surely be able to keep his house closed at night and not pick up things on the road.
In addition, the foundation of the imperial court today is unstable and precarious. If the Sun family is likely to break apart or aspire for the throne, the only thing within its control is to realize the "family world" mentioned in the classics.
The only problem at present is that the young master now has a lot of confidence in the imperial court and has completely failed to understand the hints of the family master. The teachings and subtle influence of the four generals are also like a mud cow sinking into the sea.
"Zu Mao and Huang Gai led their troops to the military camp outside the city. De Mou, please follow me into the city to pay a visit to the local governor." Seeing that Peixian County was approaching, Sun Jian began to order the resettlement of troops and personnel.
That's all, Cheng Pu thought, the young master will one day give up his illusions about the court because of the important lesson he has learned. He hopes that the loss of that "lesson" will not be too great.
"Lord, where am I?" Han Dang, who had been beside him, asked.
"Uh..." Sun Jian was slightly confused: "Follow me."
————
"But in front of Sun Xiapi?"
In the post house set up in Peixian County, a middle-aged man dressed as a scribe greeted Sun Jian.
"It's Sun Jian, do you have any advice?" Sun Jian replied helplessly.
This method of connecting surnames with official positions probably came from the descendants of Confucius who have been officials in Beihai County for generations. It is okay for them to call them "Kong Beihai", but if there is an unlucky chance, the chiefs of other states and counties will be called "Kong Beihai".
Become a joke.
"I dare not take this advice seriously. I am Zhuge Gui, the newly appointed governor of Taishan County, adjacent to your jurisdiction. We met here by chance, so I came to pay a visit so that we can exchange information in the future." The middle-aged man said with a cup of his hand, with a gentle and polite attitude.
Look, Zhuge Taishan... wait, the county governor is bigger than the county magistrate, right?
"The governor's words are serious," Sun Jian straightened his face slightly: "If there is any need for help from Xiapi, Sun will cooperate."
"What I need is not the help of 'Xiapi'," Zhuge Gui said: "Although Xiapi and Mount Tai are adjacent, they belong to Yanzhou and Xuzhou respectively. If we act in accordance with the laws and regulations, this conversation between you and me will have to go back and forth.
About half a year.”
"Well, indeed." Sun Jian thought for a while and then thought of this. The current situation is not so much that the emperor governs the world, but that the emperor governs the governors of the states. The governors rule the affairs of a state and report to the emperor on time -
—But now the only thing left is to pay.
Two counties and counties belonging to different states, no matter how close they are, prohibit officials from communicating with each other on official matters. Private exchanges and banquets are allowed, but as long as it is official business, each communication request must be reported to the two governors respectively.
, and wait for the two of them to exchange documents and forward them during a routine meeting, which is quite cumbersome and not timely.
This Zhuge Taishan came to propose to himself that when conducting certain cooperation in the future, both parties should bypass their immediate superiors.
"I will seriously consider Mr. Zhuge's proposal." Sun Jian gave a reply that seemed to be evasive, but he had already agreed, and Zhuge Gui also showed an understanding smile.
"Father, the postmaster of the posthouse said -" At this moment, a little boy about seven or eight years old ran in from the outside. He was slightly startled when he saw Sun Jian, and he bowed his hands in a decent manner before running away.
Go and stand next to Zhuge Gui.
"My little boy, Zhuge Jin, is a little naughty, which makes you laugh." Zhuge Gui said with a smile.
"He is already quite well-behaved. I have a son who is about the same age as your son. If someone is not watching, he will dare to go to the house and lift the roof." Sun Jian waved his hand.
Speaking of which, Sun Jian thought, after not seeing him for more than a year, I wonder how tall Ce'er has grown.
————
Xuzhou, Xiapi.
"Ha ha--"
Sun Ce wrinkled his little nose, his facial features almost shrank into a ball, and he looked up at the sky, trying to gather his strength.
"Ha-puff!"
A loud sneeze turned into a muffled sound as Sun Ce's mouth was covered.
"——Bastard Zhou Yu!" Sun Ce, who didn't dare to make any more noise, waved a pair of short sticks in his hand and was about to hit another boy next to him. However, as soon as he raised his hand, Zhou Yu used the long stick in his hand to hit him.
It was suppressed twice.
"If you want to be discovered by Mr. Na Yu Ji, then continue to make trouble." Sun Ce originally planned to resist again, but Zhou Yu glared at him and silently gave up.
At this time, two little boys, about six years old, one naughty and the other calm, were on a low mountain on the outskirts of Xiapi, trying to reach the top of the mountain silently.
"Who do you think this trip is for?" Seeing that Sun Ce was still dissatisfied, Zhou Yu continued in a low voice: "Your mother is pregnant with Liujia and is recuperating in the manor outside the city, and the demon is watching from the top of the nearby mountain. Your father has not left for the battle.
Come back, my father is busy with government affairs in Xiapi again, and the only people who can deal with him at this time are you and me, but you care about the trivial matter of me sneezing?"
"Let it be my fault!" Sun Ce turned his head angrily.
"Yu Ji is a man who is known as an immortal, but he doesn't do good things." Zhou Yu casually threw away the handkerchief he had used to cover Sun Ce's mouth and nose: "It is said that he tried to break up Uncle Sun and Aunt Wu back then, and tried to abduct you several times after you were born.
Leaving you has also had an impact on Uncle Sun's political performance. He also created some chaos years ago in an attempt to secretly replace your unborn brother..."
"Why can't it be my sister?" Sun Ce argued.
"As a result, your brother or sister's birth date has been postponed for... sixteen months now." Zhou Yu ignored Sun Ce's argument and continued: "So, if we don't want him to make another fuss, we will
He must be taken down, do you understand?"
"Of course, I was still young at the time, but now I am no longer a three or four-year-old child." Sun Ce waved the small spinning stick in his hand: "If you don't beat him until his face is full of peach blossoms, he won't know why the flowers bloom.
So red!"
"..." As soon as this was said, the two children were silent for a moment for unknown reasons.
"Anyway, keep moving." "Yes, yes." Shao Qing and Zhou Yu broke the silence, while Sun Ce echoed again and again.
The two children continued to climb to the top of the mountain. The mountain obviously had many dense jungles and shrubs, but it did not hinder their progress at all. During the period, occasionally mountain rabbits and foxes passed by, but they simply ignored the two children.
After about a cup of tea, the two children successfully reached the top of the hill. There was an old man with a goatee and a cunning face standing on the ground on the top of the mountain, looking far down the mountain in the direction of Sun's Manor, not knowing what was happening behind him.
The two children gesticulating in the distance were completely unaware.
Right now, Sun Ce gestured and asked, "Start?"
Start! Zhou Yu also responded with a positive gesture.
"Boom!" The two children's fists that were gesturing together tightened into fists and hit each other in the face.
"What——" The old Taoist Yu Ji, who was looking far away, suddenly turned around in surprise. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were already fighting in front of them.
"You monster——" Zhou Yu struck Yu Ji in the abdomen with a sweep of his stick, beating him until he bent over.
"——Death for me!" Sun Ce's pair of spinning sticks hit Yu Ji's head hard, sending him flying down from the top of the mountain.
"Merlin, you actually——" Yu Ji's voice disappeared quickly after falling from the top of the mountain.
"I guess he won't die that easily, but at least he will calm down for a while before his brother or sister is born." Sun Ce said, rubbing his numb wrist.
"You just took the opportunity to take revenge." Zhou Yu covered his face.
"I didn't—" "[Choke!!]"
The two friends were about to have a routine quarrel when they saw thousands of rays of light lighting up in the air. A five-clawed golden dragon with a red light all over its body appeared from the sky and plunged straight into Sun's Manor down the mountain before disappearing.
When they reacted, they saw another large piece of bright colorful clouds falling towards the manor.
"Uh...this is..." Sun Ce was stunned.
"Congratulations," Zhou Yu said, rubbing the red and swollen face, "Whether you want a younger brother or a younger sister, you have them all now."
