"Mr. Yan, I have something to ask for!"

"It's okay to say it!"

Although Yan Xing forced Xi Zhicai to leave behind and the thin layer of disguised gauze curtain was removed between the two, Yan Xing's respectful attitude towards Xi Zhicai was still as always, without any change.

"In a market in the west of this city, there is a woman who sells wine in the house. She is an old acquaintance. In the past, she was greedy and had no money left, and she would always come to this woman to buy wine in credit. She owed some money. Although she entered Yan Jun's camp and treated her good wine, the old friends' feelings are always unforgettable. She also asked Yan Jun to accompany me to the house and let me ask Yan Jun to drink my farm wine in Yangcheng. As the saying goes, she also helped me pay back the money I owed in the past, so as not to let the woman who sells wine think that she was owing debts!"

When Xi Zhicai talked about drinking on credit and asking Yan Xing to help him pay for the money, he had no shame on his face. Yan Xing smiled and nodded in agreement. After thinking about it, he asked the carriage and horse to change the route and not enter the city for the time being. He first came to the market west of the city that Xi Zhicai pointed to.

It is called a market, but it is actually a village Juye City formed between several villages outside the city. After all, the market in the city is still too far away for ordinary farmers outside the city, so ordinary daily objects from farmers can be bought in the market in the town.

It is almost noon now, the morning market has been missed, and the crowds in the city have become much thinner. Many farmers who are going to the market are pushing deer carts and carrying goods on their shoulders on their way back. Everyone is in a hurry. Although yesterday's battle to seize the city and the looting of wealthy families happened in the city, the head of Guizhou outside the city obviously heard the wind. The peaceful life was rippled by the horse hooves of the Xiliang soldiers, and there are corpses everywhere under the shrine outside the city, which makes each of them worry.

The location of this rural city is also somewhat remote. Yan Xing's chariot and horses came here and saw that there were few merchants still in the city. However, the wine banners in the wine shop mentioned by Xi Zhicai were floating outside the wine shop. A woman in her thirties stood in front of the wine shop, but she was still in the city.

The woman saw the carriage and horses entering the city, and after slowly approaching, she stopped in front of her winery. She was shocked and hesitated whether to go forward immediately to entertain these uninvited guests who seemed to be noble. After Xi Zhicai got out of the car, she opened her mouth in surprise, but soon reacted and moved towards Yan Xing, Xi Zhicai and others.

"Hey, I still think who it is? With such a big battle, it turns out that he is the opera man in the city. Hey, there is another gentleman. Come on, everyone, please come in and rest!"

Yan Xing looked at this winery and found that it was a simple thatched hut. The woman had just stood in front of the winery and bought wine, but it seemed that the business was not good today. There were only one or two people in the hut. When he saw Yan Xing and others coming in, he followed a few sword guards with him to examine him. He also paid the wine tactfully and quickly got up and left.

Although the woman who greeted her in front of her was mediocre, she was better than her plump figure. She had just spoken, with a soft accent of Wu and accent from Jiangdong. She seemed to be a southerner. Moreover, the woman seemed to be quite familiar with Xi Zhicai and was not at all disconnected when she spoke.

Xi Zhicai nodded, chuckled and said:

"Madam Wu, this is the new Yan Jun I met. I happened to pass by here today. I remembered the farmhouse wax wine you brewed by yourself, so I came here. Hurry up, just press the past wine and dishes, and my belly was empty and I was about to drink with Yan Jun!"

"Okay, please wait, I'll go get the wine now."

"And, by the way, I took over the bonds I owe on weekdays. Today, I simply paid back the money I owe in the past."

"Okay."

The two of them said this, and their eyes did not stop. After Xi Zhicai waited for the woman to leave, he turned around and explained to Yan Xing:

"This Madam Wu is from Kuaiji. She followed her husband to Yangcheng. Her husband died of a plague. In order to cure her illness, her family's wealth had been dissipated. She was lonely and helpless, and she had no hope of returning home. She could only settle down and remarry a butcher in the city. Unexpectedly, the butcher died of illness soon. She was criticized by Lilu and could only move outside the city to live and rely on the skills of brewing wine to make a living!"

Yan Xing nodded when he heard this. It was the time when the epidemic was rampant. When Emperor Huan alone, there were three major epidemics in the world. During the reign of Emperor Ling, the epidemics were even more expanding, and there were five major epidemics in succession.

In the coming years, wars will continue to occur between the states and counties, and this disease will probably rage the world again.

Both husbands of Mrs. Wu died of illness. Although it cannot be said that she killed her, in the eyes of ordinary superstitious people in Qianshousheng, she is indeed an ominous woman who will bring disaster.

The two of them talked one after another. The eldest lady Wu quickly held the lacquer plate in her hand and brought the wine and dishes one after another. Yan Xing looked at it and found that the dishes were common in ordinary farmers' sauna dishes, and the meat was only chopped into thin slices of roasted pork, and the wine looked very thick and turbid, without the aroma of the wine.

Naturally, these wines and dishes in front of me cannot be compared with the fine wines and wines in the wine shops in Luoyang City. However, it is already very good to be able to eat these wines and dishes in the market outside the city of Yangcheng. Yan Xing is not a delicate person. He stretched out his chopsticks and picked up the pork and tasted it. Although it had a faint smell of mutton, the meat was still delicious. After taking a sip of turbid wine, Yan Xing's eyes lit up and asked:

"Is this fruit wine?"

Mrs. Wu, holding a pile of scattered bamboo pieces in her hand, turned a little restrained, and she said a little uneasy:

"I dare not deceive the gentleman. In the past year, the price of grain in Yangcheng has been rising. Although I have the skill of brewing wine, I really can't afford to sell corn to make wine. I can only pick wild fruits in the mountains to make wine with this kind of thing. If a gentleman is not used to drinking it, I will take it down for the gentleman."

"Forget it, this fruit wine is sweet and sour, and has a unique taste. Just use this kind of wine and dish to prepare a serving for my guards!"

Yan Xing said this, and saw the woman selling wine wanting to speak but stopped, and did not respond immediately. He caught a glimpse of the bamboo pieces in her hand. Thinking of the money that Xi Zhicai owed, she asked her to put all the bamboo pieces on the desk. Yan Xing scanned it briefly. These bamboo pieces were obviously not bamboo slips that were specially written in history. The handwriting on the bamboo pieces was still clear, and the handwriting on the bamboo pieces in some time was already blurred. It should be Xi Zhicai's own handwriting. Each bamboo piece said that the money that the wine owed ranged from more than ten to dozens of coins. Because over time, this pile of bamboo piece bonds would probably cost two or three thousand yuan.

"Madam Wu, let me owe you wine for many years. The money is small and the favor is big. I would like to ask Mr. Yan to pay it back twice as much, and it would be a waste of this kind of old friend's affection!"

Looking at the pile of scattered bonds, Xi Zhicai's face was calm. When he said that he wanted Yan Ying to double his debt, he had no shame on his face. Yan Xing also smiled and asked the guards to double the money they owed and today's money for wine. He did not discuss the amount of money for wine. He waved his hand and asked the woman who sold the wine to retreat and prepared food for his personal guards.

When Xi Zhicai saw that his bond had been paid, he became refreshed and raised his chopsticks and began to feast on his feast. Looking at Xi Zhicai who was eating normally, Yan Xing remembered Guo Jia, who acted similarly to Xi Zhicai, and said with a smile:

"I have heard of many talented people in Yingchuan for a long time. I admire you. I also asked you to list the talents in the counties for me. How many of them are so talented? "

Xi Zhicai drank a sip of wine, looked at Yan Xing deeply, and then drank and ate meat constantly, muttering:

"In front of the four chiefs of Yingchuan, the eight dragons of Xun, Chen, Han, and Shentu were all famous people in the country. They were known for their virtues as Yuzhou and county. Later, there were uncles and nephews of the Xun family. Xun Zhongyu had the style of a great scholar. He could speak "Spring and Autumn" at the age of twelve. Zishu of Handan was extremely talented and open-minded. Xun Wen was both virtuous and talented. He Yong praised him as "the talent of Wang Zuo, Xun Gongda and smart people. At the age of thirteen, he could see through evil spirits. For example, Zhong Yao, Zhao Yan, Du Xi, Xin Ping, Xin Pi, Fan Qin, Zao Zhi, Chen Qun, Guo Tu, etc., they were also a hero of the time and the talents of the prefectures and counties. As for the drunkards in the market and poor and crazy people, how could they be compared with these talents!"

Yan Xing listened carefully to Xi Zhicai's comments on the characters, and he nodded slightly. Most of the four chiefs of Yingchuan and the eight dragons of Xun's family have died. Others such as Xun Shuang, Chen Ji, Han Rong, and Shen Tu Pan were also successively recruited by Dong Zhuo to enter the court. Xi Zhicai seemed to have a preference for the characters of the Xun family and specially praised the uncle and nephew of the Xun family, as well as the Zishu of Handan. Yan Xing didn't know who he was. Unexpectedly, in the eyes of Xi Zhicai, he received more evaluations than Zhong Yao, Chen Qun, Xin Pi and others.

"Zi Shu, Handan, has not yet heard of her high reputation. Who is the one who is there? I would like to ask you to tell me about it in detail."

"Zi Shu of Handan is Yangzhai, Handan Chun, who is determined to be clean. He left home and went to Kyoto to study. He became a great calligrapher Fufeng Cao Xi. After years of hard work, he finally achieved success. His calligraphy is especially good at insect seal script, and his talent is skilled and skillful, and he writes in a short time. What's even more rare is that he is good at telling and writing weird and clever things. When he first hears it, he makes people laugh, but when he thinks deeply, he makes people wake up!"

"I see!"

Yan Xing nodded. During the Warring States Period, there were fables such as the Song people who slaughtered the seedlings to grow, the Zheng people who bought clogs, the Chu people who carved boats and asked for swords, and there were also funny people like Dongfang Shuo in the Han Dynasty. It seems that Xi Zhicai praised Handan Chun not because he was a talented man who could compete with Xun Yu and Xun You, but because he was good at telling and writing jokes, which was in line with Xi Zhicai's temperament, which made the unrestrained Xi Zhicai take a look at him.

During the dinner, Yan Xing also wanted to get closer to Xi Zhicai, so he continued to ask according to his wishes:

"Since he has a clever smile, you might as well repeat it to me."

Xi Zhicai chuckled while drinking, and said:

"It just so happened that there was no singing, dancing, or singing, and drinking, so drinking was boring. Here is a joke that you can tell to Mr. Yan!"

"Legendly, there is a man living outside the city in Lu. Once he wanted to enter the city with a long pole, but when he arrived at the city gate, because the long pole was too long, he was blocked by the city gate with a long pole, and he held the long pole horizontally, but was blocked by the city gate. The man living outside the city could not enter the city. When he was anxious, he started to cry at the city gate."

"oh?"

"This person's crying scared the people entering and leaving the city gate. Many people were surrounded by him. There happened to be an old man from his hometown. After asking about his situation, he suddenly laughed and said to him: 'Although I am not a saint, I have seen more worlds. In this case, why is it difficult to find a solution? If you cut the long rod into two sections in the middle, can you go in?"

"this!"

"When the man heard this, it was indeed the case, so he quickly cut the long rod into two pieces and finally transported the long rod into the city. Before leaving, he still praised the old man as a quick-witted man."

After hearing the person holding the long pole praise the old man, Yan Xing finally laughed and said:

"This person who holds the long pole is really stupid, and this old man is also smart. He doesn't need to cut the long pole into two pieces. He just needs to lie down straight down, so he can pass it in. The two are really ridiculous!"

After hearing Yan Xing's words, Xi Zhicai took a sip of wine, smiled faintly, and said nothing.

Seeing that Xi Zhicai didn't speak, Yan Xing remembered his original purpose again. Guo Jia should be a poor scholar like Xi Zhicai. Although it may be a branch of the Guo family in Yangdi, he should be young and not famous now.

So Yan Xing said again:

"The Lord of Handan mentioned by Xi Jun is a talented and open-minded man. However, Xi Jun, I wonder if you have ever heard of Guo Jia?"

"Guo Jia, who is that?"

Xi Zhicai shook his head when he heard this. Obviously, he had no impression of Guo Jia. Yan Xing felt a little disappointed, but he continued:

"I have heard of this Guo Jia, who is a talented man from Yingchuan. Although he is not famous, he has a genius in his heart, so he has this question!"

"I've been immersed in wine all day long and lazy in making friends. I really don't know who he is. However, if Yan Jun insists on finding Guo Jia, I know there are two people, and maybe I know some of the situations of the talent Yan Jun is looking for."

"Which two people?"

Yan Xing heard that Xi Zhicai said that the two of them might know Guo Jia’s whereabouts. He couldn’t help but lit up his eyes and asked in surprise.

Xi Zhicai was calm and stretched out a finger and shook it and said:

"Xun Wenruo, Yingyin, is talented and virtuous, is humble and polite, and can make friends with others. He does not treat others with a noble and low-key look at the world. He is close to many scholars in Yingchuan. If Guo Jia, who was mentioned by Yan Jun, is really a talented and not famous person, then perhaps Xun Wenruo will know this person."

Yan Xing nodded subconsciously, but did not speak. In the process of assisting Cao Cao later, Xun Yu made many achievements in internal affairs, plans, plots, Kuang Bi, Juren, etc. Many well-known or unknown talents in Yingchuan were recommended to Cao Cao by him. This is related to Xun Yu's pride mentality of being kind to others, not from a famous family, and being superior. He may indeed know that Guo Jia is the same.

However, Xun Yu is in Yingyin, and from Yangcheng to Yingyin, he can't bypass Yangdi, which is now heavily guarded by Yangdi. Yangdi is the place where the governor of Yuzhou Kong Qichang stationed his troops. Although Yan Xing knew Xun Yu's talent, it was difficult to make friends with him and asked him, so Yan Xing asked again:

"There is another person, but who is it?"

"The other person is Tian Rao!"

"I have never heard of who Tian Rao is. The monk Xi has just listed the talented people in Yingchuan, but he has not mentioned it."

Xi Zhicai chuckled and said in response to Yan Xing’s doubts:

"Tian Rao was a native of Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period, not a talented man in Yingchuan. Yan Jun naturally didn't know why he knew, but there was still a story to tell him to listen to with Yan Jun."

“——Okay, please tell me!”

"This Tian Rao is a talented scholar in Lu State. He served the king of Lu State, Duke Ai of Lu, but he often did not receive attention. So one day, Tian Rao said to Duke Ai: 'I will leave the king and the threshold is lifted.' Duke Ai couldn't help but wonder and asked: 'What is it?'"

"Nan Tian Rao said, 'Don't you see a chicken alone? The one who wears a crown is a literary person; the one who has enough space is a martial person; the one who dares to fight in front of the enemy is brave; the one who calls each other when they see food, is benevolence; the one who keeps watching the night and keeps trust. Although there are these five chickens, you still rush and eat them day by day. Why? Because the place where they are close, the swan of the scattered swan is a thousand miles away, and you can stop the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the scattered swan of the s

Speaking of this, Xi Zhicai smiled faintly, changed his mind and began to say:

"Duke Ai of Lu came from afar and the chickens were close to him, so he valued the swan and looked down on the chickens. As a result, the swans and both chickens were lost. Tian Rao's words can help people who are unable to find talent in the future. Does Yan know that?"

After Xi Zhicai finished speaking, Yan Xing suddenly fell silent. Xi Zhicai told him at this time that "Tian Rao goes to Lu". Could it be that he was referring to himself in disguise? Although he had lofty ambitions and wanted to assist the country and the people in troubled times and seek help from wise men, he went in the wrong direction.

It is a very unwise move to use prophets, reputation, and then use solicitation or even forced recruitment to fall into Xi Zhicai's eyes.

You must know that "the ten-house towns must have loyalty and trustworthiness. Three people will run side by side, and there will be my teacher." If Yan Xing can restrain himself and gain a reputation and territory, and clearly observe the talents around him, and achieve no omissions, then the talented people in the world will regard him as a wise ruler and go to join him.

Instead of being like Duke Ai of Lu and Dong Zhuo, who either loves swans and light chickens, or forcefully conquers Xun Shuang, Chen Ji, Han Rong, Shen Tu Pan, Cai Yong and others, in the end, those swans will fly away and the chickens will leave. The scholars who forced to conquer are not the same as themselves. Too close to them will make people around them feel neglected, and eventually end up being disobedient, betrayal of their relatives and empty-handed, what can they get?

This thought-provoking statement made Yan Xing, who was still a little happy in his heart after forcibly leaving Xi Zhicai, was warned in his heart. In the chaotic times, if he wanted to compete with Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and others in the Central Plains, he could not rely on such a path of using prophets to take advantage of the tricks. Instead, he should do better than them in hiring people and dealing with things. He traced back to the roots and this is the fundamental reason for fighting for dominance in the world.

He asked about the whereabouts of talented people, but in fact, Tian Rao's "Swan and Chicken Theory" clearly explained the root of talent gathering. No one knew better than him where the talent he was looking for.

Looking at Yan Xing, who was solemn and in deep thought, Xi Zhicai looked at Madam Wu who was in the direction of Jiutan without showing any expression, got up and said he wanted to go to the toilet, and walked towards the feces behind the thatched cottage.

···

After a while, Yan Xing, who was thinking, suddenly felt a sudden slap in his heart. He thought that from morning to noon today, what Xi Zhicai said seemed casual, but in fact they all had profound meanings. The stories of Wei Wuhou and Wu Qi, the stories of people from Lu entering the city with long poles, and the stories of Tian Rao going to Lu, all related to the current situation.

Wu Qi's "The solid mountains and rivers are no longer dangerous in virtue" refers to the overall situation of Dong Zhuo's military troops in Xiliang that are as solid as eight gates and as dangerous as the Wang Han, but their worries lie within the Xiao Wall. The people and the people are not attached to each other, and the offense and defense will sooner or later be different.

It is easy to understand that people from Lu hold long poles and enter the city before and after contacting them. They are talking about eunuchs and relatives fighting each other, and they are inconsistent with each other. The court is in chaos. After Dong Zhuo came, he was like the old man who proposed to cut the long poles into two sections. He secretly occupied the court, criticized the court, and thought he was successful, which is indeed very likely to be successful. As Yan Xing said before, he pulled the Han Empire into the abyss of East-West division.

As for the story of "Tian Rao Goes to Lu", it is a warning to Yan Xing not to imitate Dong Zhuo, who blindly recruits famous scholars and uses talents for himself, and can win the hearts of scholars, govern with clarity, increase reputation, and help. The disadvantages of this are often hidden under the superficial benefits. If you do not cultivate benevolence, righteousness and virtue, even if you try every means to recruit a swan, you will not be able to obtain it by your own way. If you do not follow your heart, you will be able to get it.

"If people don't follow you, you will be gone!"
To be continued...