In the first month of the spring of 218 AD, which was the fourth year of Long'an, the Jihan court ordered the requisition of materials from various states and counties. A lot of grain and fodder were transported to the Suiyang area, and the governors of each county determined the list of corvee labor in the townships and counties, while the officials and apprentices of Guanxi and Bingzhou, and the blacksmiths
, have also gathered early in Hedong, Pingyang and other places, and began to forge iron and steel day and night to build military strategists. From Longshang in the west, to Zhangwu in the east, to Yuyang in the north, and to Xiangyang in the south, the entire country is preparing for the autumn war. p>
At this time, Chen Chong had already arranged for his eldest daughter's marriage. When the state affairs were busy, he had some free time. Although he was very uncomfortable, Chen Chong did not inquire about or interfere in the country's political affairs. Instead, he opened a small vegetable patch behind the house.
Apart from reading and writing every day, I would either play with some melons and radish in the vegetable patch, or I would invite a few old people to go fishing outside the city. Gradually, I would enjoy myself a little bit. But when I calmed down in the middle of the night, I would still feel a little bit self-conscious.
Self-deprecation: When I was young, I always talked about family affairs, national affairs, and world affairs, and cared about everything. But now, the government and the opposition hope that they will do nothing, which has to be said to be a kind of irony.
However, the son-in-law He Yan criticized this a lot.
He was adopted by Cao Cao since he was born, but in the Eastern Dynasty he was looked down upon by Cao Hong, Cao Pi and others, so he studied hard and wanted to revive the He family business. The hard work paid off, and He Yan found a new way, expounded the classics from Lao and Zhuang, and became a great master
, unexpectedly found a shortcut to talk about mysteries. However, the Eastern Dynasty was destroyed, and he could only start all over again in Luoyang. Now that he had climbed the high branches of the Chen family in Yingchuan, He Yan thought that things had turned around and he had entered the dragon gate, and he was very excited for a moment.
.Unexpectedly, after waiting for more than half a year, Chen Chong had no intention of guiding him, which made He Yan disappointed and gave him a feeling of bad luck.
When the eldest daughter Ah Suo saw this, she felt a little anxious, so she mentioned it to Chen Chong twice in a vague way. Chen Chong lamented in his heart that it was too late for his daughter to stay, but on the surface he pretended to be deaf and dumb. He didn't want to break himself because of this.
The principle. Unexpectedly, this angered his daughter. In the past few days, she neither returned home nor took care of the housework. Instead, she made sarcastic remarks to herself. Chen Chong felt deeply helpless for this.
The second daughter, Ayun, wanted to reconcile the two of them, so she asked Chen Chong privately: "Father, aren't you just looking for a job for your brother-in-law? You know so many people, and my brother-in-law is so talented, just say a few words and it will be done.
What are you so embarrassed about?"
Chen Chong replied with a smile: "If my father were the kind of person who seeks official positions and strives for fame and wealth, he would have sent your eldest sister to the palace to be the queen. How could he let her marry your brother-in-law?"
Ayun said: "I know that my father is not that kind of person. He is doing it for the sake of my eldest sister, but a brother-in-law is a brother-in-law! Of course my father should be fair to outsiders, but he should also take care of the family first in everything. After all,
Now that my brother-in-law is better, naturally my eldest sister will be better too!"
These words were so bloody that Chen Chong was choked up and didn't know how to refute. Should he talk to his daughter about being selfless? In fact, she had reached a sensible age, but she just thought in her heart that this was a lie. In the end, Chen Chong could only smile and said:
"How can a husband and wife care about everything? If your brother-in-law treats your eldest sister badly because of this, then I am mistaken. Look at your mother, when has she ever asked for an official position for your uncle?" Dong Yao also got married and started a business in the past few years. He married a girl with a minor surname, and then bought a piece of land in Gucheng as a horse farm. He sold horses back and forth between Longyou and Luoyang, and the business was quite prosperous. Chen Chong saw that he was self-reliant, and he felt more confident in his heart.
Satisfied.
Unexpectedly, Ah Yun added: "That's because my uncle knew that he had a bad background. He also told his mother in private that if his surname was Chen, he would ask his father for a Luoyang order for fun!" Chen Chong was speechless and could only say: "It's just a joke among adults. Don't take it seriously." But when his daughter left and he was alone, feeling the cold air around him, he felt particularly lonely and alone.
.
Chen Chong thought to himself, why didn't he feel this way a few years ago? He soon got the answer: probably because he was busy with official duties every day and had no time to think about these things. Even if he had leisure, it was just a moment of relaxation.
That's all. A person's long-term self-thinking is indeed like walking on a single-plank bridge, which empties the person's spirit. Thinking this way, he suddenly understood unprecedentedly that for thousands of years, what followed was endless sadness.
.
Dong Bai saw that his mental state was not right, so he reprimanded A Suo in private, and then took Chen Chong to Yishui for an outing to relax. However, most of the people outing around Luoyang at the moment were young men and women, Chen Chong and Dong Bai.
Walking among them, the man's temples were gray, while the woman's charm was still there. In addition, there were guards escorting her around, which made her look quite eye-catching, frequently attracting passers-by's glances and whispers, which were obviously not good things.
This made Dong Bai quite unhappy, but he couldn't get angry. When Chen Chong saw this, he joked: "When Xuande was still here, he said that you were not worthy of me at all. I said that it was actually me who was trying to impress you, but he still didn't believe it. Now it seems that it is indeed
So." Dong Bai replied angrily: "If you and I want to be a good match, I'm afraid we have to wait another ten years."
Chen Chong laughed, he simply got on his horse, took Dong Bai into his arms, then pulled the reins and spurred the horse, galloping against the wind on the galloping road, passing through blooming flowers and flying birds, straight to the top of Longmen Mountain. On the mountain made of white rocks
On the top of the mountain, there was a gentle breeze, there were drifting clouds above the head, and the calm waters under the feet. Such a scene of beautiful mountains and clear waters made Chen Chong feel sad for a moment. He said to his wife in his arms: "When I was young, I also thought about the beautiful clothes and angry horses.
, a beautiful woman with good wine, but this thought was quickly forgotten. I don’t want to fulfill this wish in my old age, thank you, Abai.”
Dong Bai put his ear against his chest, put his hands around Chen Chong's waist, and said softly: "You will forget things that others will never forget, and you will remember things that others will remember. You, I like it."
Is it different? Just like Qu Yuan, I am sober when the whole world is drunk, and I am pure when the whole world is muddy."
Chen Chong was silent for a while and replied: "No, I have understood very early that although everyone is different, they are all the same stubbornness. There is no difference between dirty and pure. I just always have a dream, and there is a dream in my dream."
In a world without pain, I have seen too many joys and sorrows, and too many people died because of me. Every time I think of this, I dare not forget it for a moment."
Listening to his powerful heartbeat, Dong Bai stretched out her slender hand and rubbed away the wrinkles between her husband's eyebrows. She said: "There are things that cannot be done in heaven and earth. Ting Jian, people's hearts are declining, and the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers cannot flow back. This
It's not your fault."
"But right and wrong are in people's hearts, and they won't change." Chen Chong watched the Yishui flow slowly. He turned his horse's head again and followed the current eastward. In this season, carp can be seen jumping out of the water against the current from time to time.
, jumping over a series of gray stone ridges, and there were also a few carp, but they couldn't jump over, and could only circle in place repeatedly. This made Chen Chong a little sad, maybe he had indeed reached the age where he wasted his time in circling.
In the evening, when he and Dong Bai returned home, they unexpectedly found two more horses parked at the door. One of them was a bloody horse sent from the Western Regions. He recognized it as Yunchang's horse and hurriedly walked home. Within a few steps, he saw Guan Yu was riding.
In the backyard, he held Chen Xiu around his neck, playing with a wooden sword in his hand, and was showing off his swordsmanship. Following him was his eldest son Guan Ping, who was sitting upright on one side. When he saw Chen Chong coming back, he hurriedly stood up and approached him.
He said hello.
For some reason, when he saw Guan Yu and his magnanimous expression, Chen Chong's chest seemed to be illuminated by fire, and his sadness immediately dissipated. He stepped forward and patted Yunchang's arm, and asked cheerfully: "What? Yunchang, aren't you supposed to be in the military camp?"
Are you busy with military affairs? You are free today. Can you come and visit me?"
Guan Yu took Chen Xiu off his neck and carefully placed it on the ground. Then he said to Chen Chong: "The Southern Expedition is a national event. How can I not ask you, the prime minister?"
After saying that, the two of them smiled in unison. When Chen Chong became an official, he actually did not discuss it with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Later, the two of them were decentralized. Chen Chong has always felt guilty. But Guan Yu had no grudges about this and kept in contact with Chen Chong as usual.
Now, Chen Chong was very happy that Guan Yu was re-activated. He looked at Guan Yu's tall figure and said, "You are still so tall. No one will ask you whether you can still eat."
"You are still very thin." Guan Yu replied. After the two returned to the house together, he glanced at the poems and books on Chen Chong's bookshelf and sighed: "It's a pity that your Majesty has no intention of using you, otherwise you would be more suitable to lead the army than me."<
/p>
Chen Chong said with a smile: "It's not surprising that Gong Lin wants to be independent. You are the one who will suffer the consequences for leading the army this time!" He poured a pot of tea for Guan Yu and asked again: "I'm afraid you are here today.
Are you here to say goodbye? When are you going to the east?"
"I can't hide anything from you." Guan Yu smiled, and he sighed: "I will go to Suiyang to inventory the supplies the day after tomorrow, and I will start marching probably around the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Chen Chong asked again: "Who did Gonglin assign to you as your deputies? They can't all be newcomers, right?"
Guan Yu counted on his fingers and replied: "Except Zilong as my deputy and Han Sheng as your majesty's personal guard, you also know the rest. They are under my command, namely Guo Boji, Du Bohou, Jia Liangdao, Liao Yuanjian and so on.
I can use the four of them easily, Zhou Buyi, Sima Yi, Huang Quan, Wu Ban, and Yang Fu. Some of them are your acquaintances, but they are all whom I didn’t know about before. Now His Majesty also said that he would let them lead alone.
One army."
"What? You don't have the confidence to win?" Chen Chong asked him.
"A mere Soochow dog, what's there to be afraid of?" Guan Yu replied with a smile, brushing his beard, and then continued: "It's just that time flies, and you and I have reached the age where we can lament that things have changed."
The two of them sat in the study reminiscing about the past, and then lit up the lamp to discuss the strategy of the Southern Expedition. It was as if they had returned to their youth. Before they knew it, it was already late at night. Dong Bai quietly looked outside the door for a moment, and saw that his husband had a smile on his lips and secretly covered it. Close the door curtain.