Midnight has fallen, but the candles in the room are still burning tenaciously.

The door creaked, and Zang Ba walked in wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat.

Henry Zhang, who was inside the house, raised his head and wanted to see clearly the face under the hat, but could not see the shadow clearly, "I have seen General Zang..."

Zang Ba took off the bamboo hat, then handed the coir raincoat to the guard on the side, then sat down and showed a smile: "It's easy to say, easy to say... These days, the wind and snow are getting heavier and heavier..."

Zhang Xuan is the son of Zhang Hong, and he followed his father to the south to avoid trouble.

Zang Ba and Zhang Xuan were originally incompatible people. If there had not been the previous turmoil in the court and the turmoil in the country, Zang Ba might have been a ranger or a fugitive in Hua County, Taishan forever. And

Henry Zhang will live freely as a noble son in Guangling's home...

And now, the war is sweeping across the country and has changed many people.

"I have heard about General Zang for a long time, and I am truly lucky to meet him today..."

"The Zhang family in Guangling has many virtuous names, and they are indeed well-deserved..."

"Seeing that there are many brave men in General Zang's army, it is enough to know that General Zang has a good command of the army and a good command..."

"I heard that the Lord of Jiangdong calls my father "Eastern", which shows how much he values ​​me..."

"This...general deserves a reward..."

"Haha... easy to say, easy to say..."

The two people were complimenting each other with a smile, just like a prostitute and a prostitute who deliberately said some words to get closer to each other or alleviate their own guilt before the official start.

.

For example, the prostitute is under the guise of rescuing someone who has fallen into trouble, and the person who sells his or her body naturally wears a mask of being forced by life, and then each takes what he or she needs. Of course, in the end, it is difficult to tell who prostituted whom...

It's like right now. I don't know who is whoring whom.

The meeting between Zang Ba and Zhang Xuan was originally not in line with the rules.

After all, Zang Ba was a subordinate of Cao Cao, and although Zhang Xuan did not officially serve as an official with Sun Quan, his father was highly regarded by Sun Quan, so it cannot be said that there was no political connection at all. Now the two of them have chosen this

It is not normal for them to spend a midnight blending with each other and testing their respective strengths and weaknesses.

However this is normal.

Normal physiology... bah, political needs.

The fundamental reason why Zang Ba is willing to meet with Zhang Xuan is still the dissatisfaction of the entire Xuzhou Group with Cao Cao. This dissatisfaction is like an undercurrent under the pool. Although it is not obvious on the surface, if you talk about the depth

, it is turbulent and moving...

Although the Xuzhou Gang has several people in the Cao Wei Group who have reached high positions, whether it is the Three Dukes or the Minister, of course, the one who most impresses most is Wang Lang, but in history, Wang Lang is dead

Yu's death has nothing to do with Zhuge.

On the whole, the position obtained by the Xuzhou Gang was not really due to the talents of Xuzhou people, but a helpless balancing act by Cao Wei in the later period. After all, the Yingchuan faction and the Jizhou regiment were too powerful, and Xuzhou

Helping so many three-legged cats can only be used reluctantly and balanced. Therefore, except for Wang Lang, several other members of the Xuzhou Gang, in the biography of Cao Wei, although they have been in charge of Cao Wei's center and have high status,

But they are not very famous.

The same problem also occurred in Jiangdong.

Sun Quan called the two Zhangs differently from others. Zhang Zhao was called "Zhang Gong" and Zhang Hong was called "Dongfang". They were just names for others, which naturally reflected their status, which was very different from that of other ministers.

But the problem is that Sun Quan also has his own purpose. Because both Zhang moved south to Jiangdong and have no roots in Jiangdong, Sun Quan's intention is very obvious. He wants to use Er Zhang to suppress and suppress the faction of Jiangdong nobles.

What a pity, everyone wants to be a smart person, not a fool.

Therefore, when Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Xuzhou help these three monks come together, it is inevitable that there will be no one to carry water...

They all felt that they were at a disadvantage.

The candle flickers.

In the dark room, the two people tested and groped each other, looking for each other's weaknesses, trying their best to hide their own weaknesses...

Finally, Zang Ba fell silent. He was not good at this kind of thing, so he felt irritated first. After a moment of silence, Zang Ba added some tea to his tea bowl, then held the tea bowl and said: "Xuzhou

Things cannot be decided by you and me. Now that the war between the East and West has stopped, the ownership of Jiangdong is the focus of attention. Although things are not decided yet, once it is determined, no one will let Jiangdong go... This point, according to Zhang Xiandi

It shouldn’t be hard to see how smart you are, right?”

What Zang Ba said now was cold and serious, and what he said at this moment was two completely different concepts than what he had said when he was chatting with Zhang Xuan before.

Since Zang Ba has touched Henry’s vital points, Zhang Xuan will naturally have to seize Zang Ba’s weakness...

Henry Zhang's eyes lowered slightly, "What if Jiang Dong... joins forces to go north?"

"Join forces?" Zang Ba's eyes suddenly focused.

Diplomacy at a distance and attack at close range were originally the only methods of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, so Zang Ba could not veto this possibility.

Henry Zhang paused and said, "In a few years, maybe within a few years, something will inevitably clash again..."

As soon as Henry Zhang said these words, Zang Ba couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, his eyes became more solemn, and he didn't put down the tea bowl in his hand for a long time.

Zang Ba took a breath and said: "Brother Zhang Xian... you might as well tell us in detail..."

Henry Zhang smiled and said: "At this time, I can only say that we should prepare earlier... The sages have said that if you predict things, they will be successful, and if you don't predict them, they will be ruined."

The room was quiet for a moment.

It's like the first round of confrontation has consumed a lot of physical energy, and now each of them is recovering.

"Now the Hussar..." Zhang Xuan said, "It has already assumed the power of the Western Qin, like the Japanese. This time the general invaded Jingzhou and took an unexpected position. The Hussar was not prepared, so he got the current situation... If

... I was born in Guangling and grew up in Xuzhou. Due to the war, I had to avoid the disasters in Jiangdong. Now I am worried that if the war disaster comes again, my hometown will be completely destroyed! The disasters in Juling and Xiaqiu in the past are a lesson for others!"

Zang Ba hesitated for a moment and said, "If we are not careful in this matter... Xuzhou will also be in ruins..." In fact, what Zang Ba said was nonsense, but it was also true.

As Zang Ba, and the gentry who stayed in Xuzhou like Zang Ba, whether they are big households, as to why they can unite, it is because their goals are relatively consistent, which is to protect localism. Throughout

The people who stayed in Xuzhou in history, including Zang Ba, Chen Gui, Chen Deng, etc., were all typical outsiders, always moving in the direction that was more likely to protect Xuzhou itself.

Zang Ba was instinctively afraid, but he was also worried that if bad luck really struck one day, Xuzhou would suffer another disaster.

So Zang Ba stood up, then looked at Henry Zhang, put on his coir raincoat and bamboo hat from his trusted guard, and when he was about to walk out of the room, he said: "Words are unfounded, seeing is believing..."

』

As soon as the door opened, the wind and snow rushed in. Zang Ba walked out amid the swaying candlelight, leaving only Henry Zhang alone in the light and shadow, dangling like a rootless duckweed.

……?(????)???……

Whether people are willing or not, time always passes quietly.

In the early morning, in the backyard of the newly rebuilt Zuixian Tower in Chang'an, the hotel clerks who got up early had already cleaned the snow in the courtyard, and then greeted each other in the not-so-bright sky.

Drunken Immortal Tower, Drunken Immortal Wine, all immortals are drunk, let alone humans?

With the introduction of Zuixianjiu, the business of Zuixian Tower has become extremely booming, and such excitement has also led to the prosperity of some other industries...

What?

Hu Nu’s belly dance?

This... there is also this, but those who came to the backyard of Zuixian Tower early today were not those bearded girls with their white bellies exposed and walking as if they were trying to lift up their skirts.

But a storyteller.

Storytelling can be found in written records. The so-called period when it truly took shape was probably the Song Dynasty, but it does not mean that there were no storytellers in previous dynasties.

The word "storytelling" was first seen in "Mozi·Gengzhu": "Those who can talk and debate talk about debate, and those who can storyteller tell stories." Of course, most of the storytellers at this time were just storytellers, without any artistic component of performance.

in it.

After the Han Dynasty, storytelling began to be close to the people, and most of the elements were performances. In order to attract more people to listen to the story, some simple musical instruments were also introduced, such as snare drums and so on.

These storytellers in Zuixianlou are basically at the forefront of the times, because they not only have musical instruments such as snare drums, but also storybooks specially created for them to better tell stories.

"Good morning, everyone..." A man came out of the house and greeted the storytellers in the backyard, holding a few pieces of paper in his hand.

"It's getting late... If Brother Wang doesn't come out, I might have to go in to look for Brother Wang..."

"That is, if I don't have any new stories to tell today, I'm afraid my stern mouth will be smashed..."

"Stop talking nonsense, if you have any useful information, bring it quickly!"

"That's right..."

There were some sharp-tongued people in the yard who would talk quickly when they met. They didn't give the latecomer a chance to say a second sentence, so they simply stopped talking and just put the paper in their hands.

Only after each person was given a piece of paper did these storytellers shut up. "Look at it, everyone, let's put it right..."

Not long after, some people finished reading and looked at each other, a little excited, a little hesitant, and a little confused...

"Brother Wang, this story today..."

In the restaurant kitchen, breakfast preparations have begun, and the unique aroma of the food has begun to fill the air again. The rich and leisurely nobles pursue high-end ingredients such as Zuixianjiu, while ordinary people are looking forward to a bowlful portion.

Just enough soup cakes.

The two ingredients are naturally very different, but they have the same function and the same essence.

"I know that most of what you talked about before was about gods in the sky, ancient sages, or stories about the Spring and Autumn Period, heroes on the battlefield..."
To be continued...