The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 110 Missing You But Not Seeing You

Guo Si was speechless.

"Do we have to rely on Dong Min?"

"Dong Min was so short-sighted that he made such a fool of himself just to keep his title of 'General Zuo'!"

"The title of General of the State may not be as important as the title of 'General of the Left', but it is a position that allows one to directly manage the army after all!"

"Dong Min gave up his military power for fame and fortune, which proves that he has no regard for us warriors. He fought for justice for Hu Zhen and said that he wanted to correct the morale of the army, but it was just for his own wealth and fame. How could he really care about our lives?"

"On the contrary, it was the emperor who distributed land to the soldiers with the policy of 'equal distribution of land'. That was truly caring for the soldiers! Although you and I were saddened by Hu Zhen's death, who among our soldiers cared about Hu Zhen's life or death? On the contrary, as soon as they heard the news of the land reward, they all rushed to us to ask about it. Isn't this enough to explain the problem?"

Not only is Dong Min stupid, he also lacks sympathy for his soldiers.

If such a person wants to rely on him, wouldn't that be harming himself?
Guo Si nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

"The emperor is more reliable than Dong Min in any case, and he is in the right position, so he is indeed a good backer."

"In the past, the emperor had no reputation, and we never even gave him a decent gift... It just so happens that this time, we can take advantage of the opportunity to express our gratitude and make friends with the emperor."

As he spoke, Guo Si himself started laughing.

"And in my opinion, this reform of the Fubing system is really good! It's a great reform! Otherwise, if we still follow the previous rewards, you and I will only be able to get the position of Zhonglang Jiang, how can we get the title of "General"?"

"It's still 'General of the State'! Doesn't it sound more impressive than Dong Min's 'General of the Left'? I really don't understand why Dong Min would make such a fool of himself. It's ridiculous!"

Li Jue also laughed loudly: "That's right! Poor Dong Min has lived for decades and has been with the Grand Tutor for so long, but he still doesn't see things as clearly as you and I!"

"People as smart as us are a minority after all!"

"That's true!"

……

Hangu Pass.

Xu Rong, who was stationed here, was not surprised when he heard that the court was going to promote him to General Zhuguo. He just thanked the emperor normally and asked the angel to take the two gifts he prepared back to Chang'an, begging him to give them to the emperor and the prime minister.

The military officers and the garrisons in places like Huayin had different thoughts.

Especially when they heard that Dong Min was stupid enough to give up the post of General Zhuguo, their minds became active.

Among these people, Zhang Ji is the most urgent!
"In this battle of Hedong, I did not achieve the same military exploits as Li Jue, Guo Si, and Xu Rong."

"But my nephew Zhang Xiu has the merit of saving the emperor! He was even praised by the emperor as a "tiger general"! With this merit, I may be able to compete for the last "pillar of the country"!"

Not to mention that Zhang Xiu is now in Chang'an! He is close at hand!

"Look, I'm going to write a letter right now and ask my nephew to fight for me!"

Zhang Ji is full of expectations——

"My wealth and honor will all fall on my nephew!"

……

For a time, generals from all over the country sent gifts to Chang'an.

The only difference from the past was that previously only one gift was sent to Chang'an and delivered directly to the Grand Tutor's Mansion, but this time, two gifts were mostly sent together to the Weiyang Palace.

Unfortunately, the gifts from these generals this time were destined not to attract the attention of Liu Xie or Dong Zhuo.

Because there is a little ancestor lying in the Weiyang Palace now, who would pay attention to the gifts sent by these generals?
"Grandfather, I'm fine."

"No, you're not okay."

"My stomach doesn't hurt anymore!"

"No, I feel your stomach aches..."

Dong Bai's physical condition was not beyond Liu Xie's expectations. After drinking a large amount of egg white and water, he immediately became full of energy again.

But Dong Zhuo would not let Dong Bai go out to play no matter what, and forced her to live in the palace and not go out.

Fortunately, Cai Yan came to keep her company, otherwise Dong Bai would have probably ripped off the roof of the palace!
"Sister Zhaoji, I want to go out and play."

Dong Bai looked pitiful and tugged at Cai Yan's sleeve.

"Really? If you don't believe me, I'll give you a side kick! I'm really fine now!"

Seeing that Dong Bai was really going to an open area to do something for her, Cai Yan was frightened and quickly grabbed Dong Bai: "Weiyang Jun, don't be naughty, your health is more important!"

As if coaxing a child, Cai Yan gently said: "How about I tell you another story?"

"I won't listen! Sister Zhao Ji, you may have read a lot of books, but at the end they are all preaching moral principles, which is not fun! I won't listen!"

"But reading makes one wise!"

"A book is a book. Once you've read it, you've read it. Why should I be so smart?"

Cai Yan finally felt the helplessness of her father when he taught Dong Bai.

There are a lot of wild and unconventional ideas and twisted logic.

If Cai Yan had dared to speak to Cai Yong like this when she was a child, she would probably have been beaten so hard by Cai Yong that her palms would have swollen.

But Dong Bai couldn't be hit or talked to.

The heaviest punishment was nothing more than copying...

Sometimes Cai Yong stipulated that Dong Bai could not eat until he finished copying, but Dong Zhuo could not stand it and secretly brought food to Dong Bai, so that Dong Bai would copy while eating, mixing his tears with his meal.

Cai Yan was helpless, but when she glanced, she caught a glimpse of a bamboo slip.

What was written on the bamboo slips was actually a love poem written by an emperor.

Cai Yan had an idea in her mind and said, "Let's not talk about the big principles. Let me tell you the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl."

It seems a little too early for Dong Bai to learn this kind of love poetry.

But Dong Bai didn't want to listen to anything else. If Cai Yan didn't tell Dong Bai about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, would she tell him about the treacherous palace?
Dong Bai immediately widened his eyes and looked like "I'm very curious".

Cai Yong never wanted to teach Dong Bai such things.

For some unknown reason, Dong Zhuo did not want these things to reach Dong Bai's ears.

So even though this was a very clichéd piece of writing, Dong Bai actually had tears in her eyes when she heard it.

"The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are so pitiful! They can only see each other once a year!"

When Cai Yan saw that Dong Bai had really calmed down, she breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next moment, Dong Bai's words almost choked her to death -

"Are Sister Zhaoji and the Emperor like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl? They haven't seen each other for a long time. How pitiful!"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

What nonsense are you talking about, kid!
Whatever is scary comes from it.

Suddenly a palace maid came to report that the emperor had arrived.

Since Dong Bai was poisoned, both Liu Xie and Dong Zhuo have come to Dong Bai frequently, so it is not surprising.

Cai Yan quickly grabbed Dong Bai and put her finger on Dong Bai's lips: "Don't mention this matter in front of the emperor later, understand?"

Do not understand.

But respect!
Dong Bai nodded several times, with a reassuring expression that said, "Don't worry, Sister Zhao Ji."

Cai Yan then loosened her fingers, feeling a little annoyed that she had chosen to tell the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl to Dong Bai.

I just hope Dong Bai doesn't let anything slip and cause any more criticism.

When Liu Xie entered the palace, he saw Dong Bai had a ruddy complexion and was full of energy. He immediately praised him, "It seems that Lord Weiyang has recovered well!"

Dong Bai finally couldn't hold back anymore, and in front of Cai Yan's stunned eyes, she did a beautiful somersault and landed steadily -

"That's natural!"

"Good job!"

Liu Xie praised.

It's good that the child is tough! After Dong Bai's beautiful appearance, Liu Xie finally saw Cai Yan who was quiet and gentle behind him.

"Is Mr. Cai here too?"

Still wearing the same mourning clothes.

However, I don’t know if it’s because she had enough rest these days, but Cai Yan’s complexion is obviously much rosier, not as pale as before, as if the peach petals finally have that touch of pink, catering to the vitality of spring.

"I have met His Majesty."

Although she wanted to look, Cai Yan didn't dare to and kept her head down from beginning to end.

Dong Bai looked at Liu Xie and then at Cai Yan, as if he suddenly understood his mission!
If the emperor and Cai Yan are the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, then what should I be?
Of course it’s the old ox in the story!

No, no...

Dong Bai felt a little disgusted with Huang Niu because he was too stupid and not worthy of being a smart woman like herself.

It should be the magpie that built the bridge for them!
That's right!

Dong Bai quickly grabbed Liu Xie and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Sister Zhaoji just told me a poem, and I am now like the magpie in it..."

Dong Bai, who was overwhelmed with a sense of mission, completely forgot the agreement he had just made with Cai Yan!

"I am discussing the classics with Lord Weiyang!"

Cai Yan herself didn't know where she got the courage from. She just shouted these words out in the heat of the moment, abruptly interrupting Dong Bai's words.

Classics, history, philosophy and literature?

Fortunately, Liu Xie did not notice anything unusual about Cai Yan. Instead, he looked at Dong Bai with suspicion.

Even I can't understand those things, how could this little thing possibly understand them?

"Has Lord Weiyang learned it?"

"no!"

"That's right! There's no point in learning those things."

"That's it!"

Liu Xie and Dong Bai, two ignorant people in Confucian classics, smiled knowingly at each other and showed expressions of great tacit understanding.

"His Majesty."

Cai Yan had no time to rejoice that she had escaped danger. She looked at Liu Xie with resentment.

What does it mean that the classics, history, philosophy and literature are useless?
So what have I learned over the years?
Your Majesty said that the classics, history, and literature are useless. Does that mean you are disgusted with yourself for being useless?
Liu Xie also realized that he had said something wrong, so he quietly avoided the topic: "If a woman cannot learn, then she need not learn. Lord Weiyang can learn whatever he likes."

Dong Bai heard: "Really?"

"really!"

Dong Bai is Dong Zhuo's granddaughter. She can learn whatever she wants and not learn whatever she wants. Who can stop her?

"Then can I learn how to fight?"

However, Dong Bai swallowed the words as soon as they were spoken.

"I don't want to learn how to fight. Fighting exposes you to the wind and sun. I just walked outside a few days ago and I felt that my eyebrows were getting tanned. What will happen if I stay out for a long time?"

Dong Bai thought for a moment and said, "I like stories, all kinds of stories. But they can't be stories with great morals like those that Sister Zhaoji told me before, like the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl."

Liu Xie smiled and said, "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay! Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I'll tell you a few more good stories today."

"Don't you have any sense?"

"Absolutely no big talk!"

Liu Xie cleared his mouth——

"Once upon a time, there were two snakes..."

……

"Once upon a time, there were two butterflies..."

……

Like The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, The Legend of the White Snake and Liang Zhu are both timeless love stories without any profound truth in them.

To Liu Xie, the two stories were obviously boring.

But for Dong Bai, and even for Cai Yan, it was completely different.

If the two were able to suppress their sadness when they heard the white snake was suppressed, tears immediately welled up when they heard the two butterflies flying.

Dong Bai burst into tears: "I thought the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl were miserable enough, how could there be people more miserable than them!"

"That wizard named Fahai is so bad! All monks are bad! I'm going to destroy their broken temple!"

Buddhism had already been introduced to the Han Dynasty, and there was a White Horse Temple in Luoyang. Chang'an also had buildings such as pagodas and temples.

Although Liu Xie didn't like Buddhism very much, he still reminded Dong Bai: "Don't smash it! Weiyang Jun! Don't smash it! And don't dig up other people's pagodas! There are no white snakes or green snakes underneath! This is just a story!"

Dong Bai twitched his nose: "But there are Cowherd and Weaver Girl in the sky!"

……

Forget it, if you want to smash it, go ahead, the Grand Tutor can afford it anyway...

In fact, Liu Xie did not expect that these two old stories would have such a strong impact. Dong Bai cried and cried, and finally she cried until she had no strength left. She covered her eyes and fell asleep on the bed.

Cai Yan also cried.

But after all, she is more stable than Dong Bai, and her eyes are only red now, not as unbearable as Dong Bai.

Liu Xie looked apologetic and said, "These are just two legendary anecdotes that I heard from others. I didn't expect to make Mr. Cai sad for no reason."

"Mr. Cai is still in mourning, and hearing such a tragic story will inevitably bring back memories of the past."

Cai Yan wiped away her tears gently and said: "I am not sad, I just think these two stories are touching."

"Although the White Snake was suppressed, her son was selected by the court as a filial and honest official and became a high-ranking official. In the end, he rescued his mother and the family was reunited."

"Although Liang Zhu died, they turned into two butterflies and can accompany each other for a lifetime."

"But in the mortal world, there are too many men and women who want to be close but can't... Compared to the rest of the world, they are actually quite complete."

?

Liu Xie scratched his head. How could these two things be interpreted in this way?

Cai, are you serious?
Liu Xie didn't quite understand what Cai Yan said, so he felt a little embarrassed.

As we all know, when people feel embarrassed, they pretend to be busy.

Liu Xie stood up and paced around the room, flipping through this and that, no one knew what he was looking at.

Until Liu Xie's hand touched some bamboo slips...

"Don't move!"

Cai Yan shouted quickly, but was still a step too slow.

Liu Xie has already opened the bamboo slips.

"I live at the head of the Wei River, and you live at the tail of the Wei River. I miss you every day, but I can't see you. Let's drink the water of this river together."

"When will this water stop flowing? When will this hatred end? I only hope that your heart is like mine, and I will never let you down."

……

Poetry is familiar.

Even the ink marks are extremely familiar!
Isn’t this the poem that I wrote personally on Hongtai that day?
Somehow, Liu Xie suddenly understood what Cai Yan meant by "There are too many men and women in the world who want to get close but cannot."

(End of this chapter)