Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1593 A Bowl of Old Barley Rice
Yuzhou, Xu County.

Guo Jia was in a daze.

Probably like this (_`)
Now Guo Jia doesn't dare to go out. After all, he said before that when Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought, he won as many times as he lost.

What is the current situation...

If you go out now, you will inevitably be ridiculed.

Yes, most people in Xu County now think that Cao Cao is more dangerous than good.

In this era, wars still mainly rely on manpower and food reserves, and Cao Cao has no advantage in either. The only thing that can be praised is this group of veterans gathered from Qingzhou. Yanzhou had Qingzhou soldiers with new fields, and they tenaciously withstood Yuan Shao's offensive.

However, how long can it last and how long can it resist? Even Guo Jia is a little at a loss.This is not to say that it is really okay to be tough, unless Yuan Shao wants to just have a fling with Cao Cao...

Supplementing soldiers and equipment, repairing equipment, and the arrival of spring, if the peasants cannot be drawn back to cultivate, it means that this year's harvest will be affected again. These various things have already made these Yingzhou people in Yuzhou The Chuan family was very dissatisfied. If Xun Yu hadn't come forward to comfort and comfort him again and again, someone would have jumped out by now.

Anyway, there are people in Yingchuan who are on Yuan Shao's side, right?

Even if Cao Cao is really defeated, Yingchuan can still stand firm, and even take a step back. Speaking of which, there are still people who are conquering the west. Well, it should be the hussars now...

It doesn't matter which one wins in the end.

But Guo Jia can't.

It's not that he's not good in that aspect, but that Guo Jia doesn't have so many retreats like the Yingchuan gentry.

Guo Jia left Yuan Shao because there was not much room for the humble under Yuan Shao. If Yuan Shao won, it would still be the victory of the aristocratic family and the nobles, and the humble family would still have no place.

Unexamined, eating and waiting to die.

However, there seems to be some chance...

"Food!" Guo Jia came back to his senses, suddenly felt a pang of hunger in his stomach, turned his head to see that it was getting late, and couldn't help crying, "Old clock, where is my meal!"

Most of the servants in the family have already been dismissed. Anyway, if Cao Cao wins, there will naturally be a lot of rewards. Guo Jia didn't even need to hire them, and many people came to the door automatically.Of course, if you lose, then you don't need so many servants...

So, leave one or two behind.

The old clock came over with a wooden plate, with a bowl of rice on it, and another bowl was used to hold it, and a stack of side dishes, like pickled vegetables...

"It's wheat rice again..." Guo Jia was a little disappointed.

Old Zhong was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to answer, he seemed a little worried that Guo Jia would be dissatisfied and disappointed, rubbed his palms together nervously, groaned twice, but still couldn't say anything.

"Forget it, it's okay." Guo Jia laughed twice, "The wheat rice is pretty good, but it's just a waste of time to eat... okay, it's good, it's good..." After finishing speaking, he took a bite.

Old Zhongtou felt relieved, smiled foolishly, bent over, and retreated.

Because the wheat rice is from last year, well, this year has not been planted yet, so naturally there will not be any, so it has generally lost the original aroma of the wheat, leaving only the hardness of the wheat, even after steaming, it is still delicious. It's hard, like small stones, eating this is all about grinding...

The rice of the later generations has been finely ground. In addition to the layer of chaff on the outside of the millet, there is also a layer of skin. If this layer of skin is not ground off, even brown rice will be very hard when cooked.This is true of both wheat and millet.

Generally speaking, removing the hulls from millet and wheat grains generally means reducing the weight by [-] to [-] percent. Therefore, in the Han Dynasty, ordinary people were reluctant to finely grind, and just removed the outer shell. Therefore, wheat The grains are hard and chewy.

The so-called Duke of Zhou spitting out his candied breasts was not as unhygienic as people think, or for the sake of self-expression, but that he really couldn't swallow it without chewing and swallowing slowly...

Therefore, it is reasonable for the ancients to pay attention to not talking when eating, but to chew slowly. The food is rough, and it takes a long time to grind a mouthful of rice, so how can they talk?

Guo Jia took a few mouthfuls, put the bowl down, covered his cheeks, and sighed softly.

tired.

If it is freshly ripe wheat, it is very good to steam and eat. Even though it is relatively hard, it is rich in wheat fragrance. After chewing slowly, the wheat fragrance will naturally come out little by little, and you can feel it from your mouth to your stomach. The pure fragrance and light sweetness of food.

However, after a long time, there are some problems.No matter how carefully stored, in the Han Dynasty without vacuum and freezing technology, some damp and mold could not be avoided, so better ones need to be turned out and exposed to the sun when the weather is suitable to avoid mildew.

Every time it is exposed to the sun, it will reduce the taste of a layer, and it will also affect the taste of the wheat, and because of the mold, if a bag of wheat is moldy, other adjacent wheat will often be affected by the smell. So at the end of the day, these barley rice are just...

However, this is already the best food at the moment.These were specially sent by Xun Yu, if Guo Jia were to go to the market to buy them, he would never be able to buy them!
Because of the ongoing war on the front line, the price of goods in Xu County is already ridiculously high, and a bucket of rice even costs [-] yuan!And there is not much quantity, only about ten stones are sold every day, and it will be gone when it is sold out.

"How much is a stone of rice?" Guo Jia held his head and tapped the bowl lightly with chopsticks, "It seems to be two or three hundred yuan? Forget... so this bowl costs at least a few hundred dollars." Money? This is not eating rice, this is eating copper... Reminiscing about the past, I never got drunk when I was fighting wine, but I sigh that I can't eat copper today..."

"What? Why, I still want wine, but I don't have any more..." Xun Yu came from outside the courtyard with a deeply tired face and dark bags under his eyes. It is almost the same as those who were reported by enthusiastic people in Chaoyang District.

Although Xun Yu looked calm in front of others, he was still flustered in his heart. The current fight between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao was not only a matter of Cao Cao's victory or defeat, but also related to Xun Yu himself. It is completely impossible for the Yingchuan family, and even the victory and defeat relationship among the major gentry clans in Yingchuan, to say that there is no pressure and psychological burden.

Therefore, Xun Yu could only take off his disguise and let himself relax for a while when he came to Guo Jia.

When Guo Jia saw Xun Yu coming, he didn't get up to greet him, so he spread it out, knocked on the side of the bowl twice with his chopsticks, and said, "It's just right, it's just cooked, and it's still hot, do you want to eat it?"

Xun Yu glanced at Guo Jia, "Why, you don't want to eat?"

"The toothache on this side..." Guo Jia clutched one cheek, "I can only use the other side, it doesn't work, it's sore..."

Xun Yu nodded, and without being polite, he dragged the plate in front of him, picked up the bowl, and began to eat with a murmur.

Guo Jia rested her cheeks, her eyelids drooped, as if she was about to fall asleep the next moment.

Xun Yu didn't eat fast, but he wasn't slow either. After a while, he finished his bowl of wheat and rice, took water to rinse his mouth, sat down again, clasped his hands together, looked into the distance, and remained silent.

"...Young master's affairs are not your responsibility..." Guo Jia sat up straighter at some point, and said in a low voice, "Even if it's not the eldest son, there are second and third sons... Besides, haven't you already put the Is the protection in place..."

Xun Yu sighed softly: "Actually, I should have thought of it earlier..."

Guo Jia raised his eyebrows and said, "You have hundreds of paperwork in your hands every day, and there are so many things, big and small... Do you think you should think about it in advance? Are you too harsh on yourself? This is fate, the destiny is like this !It’s like on the battlefield, there are thousands of arrows, some people are not hurt, and some people have arrows in the face, who can blame this?”

Xun Yu was silent for a moment, no longer lamenting on this topic, but said: "I don't know what's wrong with the public..."

Guo Jia looked at Xun Yu and shook his head. He knew Xun Yu's personality. He didn't say that it wasn't that Xun Yu had let go, but he was still in his heart. Not saying anything on the surface didn't mean that this matter didn't exist. Still pretending.

This time Xun You was asked to follow, in fact, for alms.

The war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao can generally be seen as a war between Jizhou and Yuzhou. Although Jizhou has experienced several battles before and its vitality has been greatly damaged, Yuzhou is not much better. Xuzhou battle, Yuan Shu Great war, Yanzhou rebellion, etc., which one is not a waste of money, food and manpower?

So speaking of it, Yuzhou is even worse than Jizhou.

If possible, Xun Yu also thought not to fight Yuan Shao so quickly. It would be better to wait for two years to consolidate the rear. At least two more years of grain and grass would be better. , swept through Guanzhong, and pushed into Sichuan and Shu, Xun Yu couldn't sit still, and couldn't wait...

Xun Yu was really worried that he would reserve money and food, so wouldn't Huqi have reserves?
The Qiang Xianbei, who was supposed to hold Fei Qian back, has undergone some changes because of the battles one after another.The Xianbei people in the north of the Yin Mountain have basically been dispersed, and the Xianbei in the Youbei area of ​​Yanmen feel that it is better to take advantage of the chaos in Youzhou to squeeze the soft persimmons instead of gnawing on the hard bones of the Yin Mountain, so it should have been Fei Qian The hidden Xianbei in the north has now all come to Youzhou to plunder...

Although it helped Cao Cao to some extent, it may not be a good thing in the long run.

There are also Xiliang Qiang people who have troubled the Han Dynasty for 40 years, and now they are also...

Ugh.

One peck and one drink is like God's will.

The Qiang people in Xiliang were originally powerful, but after Dong Zhuo failed to enter the capital, they killed each other for a while, Li and Guo killed another group, and Fei Qian and Ma Teng and Han Sui fought again , and then Ma Chao led a wave. After repeated tossing, the accumulated combat power of the Qiang people was exhausted. In addition, several leaders of the Qiang tribe were beheaded one after another. Therefore, the entire Qiang people in Xiliang no longer have any climate.

The Xianbei in the north moved east, the Qiang people stabilized in the west, and Sichuan and Shu entered the south. How can Xun Yu continue to cultivate his life with peace of mind and boldness in the east?
It can only be a risky gamble. If you win, you will naturally be able to surpass Jizhou, Yuzhou, and other places in Shandong, and then you will have the power to resist. If you lose...

Therefore, Xun Yu was also very worried, worried that his plan would be discovered by Fei Qian, and naturally it would be impossible to get any extra benefits from Fei Qian.

But for the current situation, any resources are in short supply. If you can get something from Fei Qian, whether it is troops or weapons, whether it is horses or money, it will be very important for the battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. has been of great help.

But the question is, will Hussar General Fei Qian give it?

Guo Jia smiled wryly, and said: "We are at a disadvantage right now... We will give some at least... Don't worry about the pawns, food, grass and equipment, it should be about the same..."

Xun Yu nodded slowly when he heard the words, and couldn't help but smile wryly.Because if he did it, it might be the same.Giving weapons food and grass is not to allow Cao Cao to win an overwhelming victory, but to allow Cao Cao to continue to stalemate with Yuan Shao...

"So, it depends on Fu Zizhang..." Xun Yu suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness. This feeling has not been felt for many years. It is a feeling that the situation is completely out of control, just like praying in the ancestral hall. , hoping that the situation will get better, but often it may not be able to do so.

Fu Dian is the second insurance prepared by Xun Yu.

If Cao Cao's face is not big enough, there is still the face of His Majesty Liu Xie...

It's just this food...

But I can't take care of it, just like a very hungry person, how can he remember whether he ate well or not?Not to mention other people now, even His Majesty in the palace can only eat a bowl of barley rice, and there is no need to think about servants such as sorghum meat, and the shortage of supplies is extreme.

Guo Jia was silent for a while, then suddenly said with emotion: "Even if the robbery is eliminated this time, what about the other place? Now Hushi has Shangdang Taiyuan in the north, and you can go to Youzhou in Jizhou, and Jingxiang Tonglian in the south, you can go to Yuzhou in Wuguan , there is Hangu Pass and Tongguan Pass in the middle, and the pass is stable...hehe...unless..."

Unless Liu Biao attacked Sichuan and Shu, attacked Wuguan, Cao Cao attacked Hanguguan and Tongguan, and Yuan Shao attacked Taiyuan Shangdang, and all three routes advanced together, no matter how capable Fei Qian was, he would definitely be in a hurry. fate.

But the question is, can the three families of Liu Biao, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao unite?

Guo Jia just expressed emotion inadvertently, but he did not expect that Xun Yu raised his head, stared at Guo Jia with wide eyes.

Guo Jia immediately became alert, and turned to stare at Xun Yu, "What? You actually..."

Xun Yu lowered his eyes, avoiding Guo Jia's gaze, "It's just doing some human things..."

Guo Jia's eyeballs immediately rolled up and down, left and right, and he frowned, "So, it seems... well, there are still some... there are some possibilities... but... what is the benefit of this...?"

Xun Yu looked up at the sky, was silent for a long time, and then said: "Hussars are in the middle of Bingbei Pass, practicing the law of juetian?"

"Juetian?" Guo Jia was stunned, "So that's how it is... But, this is also a new policy, and a new road... Isn't that the evil of a big man..."

Xun Yu was silent for a long time, and said in a low voice, "It's a new road...but there is an old one..."

Guo Jia fell silent.

Xun Yu didn't speak either.

The two sat silently. ,

On the side of the table, there is an empty bowl.

On the courtyard wall, there is a dead branch.

On the stone steps in the distance, the moss is gradually greening, and almost small grasses are protruding from the cracks in the stone. Although it still looks fragile, it is already unstoppable...

(End of this chapter)