In March of Yangchun, in the southwest of Zhuo County, on the upper reaches of the Yishui River, General Wei Gongsun Xun and his eldest son Gongsun Ding were riding together. They had just crossed the small bridge on the Yishui River and were walking slowly southward on the mountain flowers all over the mountains and plains.

Among them, the former is riding a particularly majestic white horse, while the latter is riding a particularly vigorous half-sized green horse.

By the way, the little green horse is also a white horse in a certain sense. This is because except for albinism, most white horses in the conventional sense actually evolved from the little green horse with both black and white hair in adulthood... As we grow older,

, the black hair of many green horses will gradually decrease and the white hair will increase. At this time, the green horse or white horse at its peak, coupled with a skilled knight, constitutes the world-famous white horse follower.

On the other hand, since white horses are so rare, the organic white horse troops themselves represent a huge reserve of war horses and cavalry power, not just good-looking colors.

These two 'white' horses were just paid tribute by Murong's tribe, less than a month ago... After Gongsun Xun withdrew from Jieqiao, he mainly inspected spring plowing in Zhao and Zhongshan, two places where he had personally governed.

He participated in the Spring Society sacrifices and paid condolences to the local elders and old officials. In February, he turned to Daijun and Shanggu in the north. It was there that he met the people who heard about the great victory in the south, and then left Gaoliusei and others.

He went to the fortress to pay homage to Mohu Zang and others.

It may be because the Yuwen Department is obviously coming from behind, or it may be because there has been no chance to see Gongsun Xun since the war in western Liaoning. It may also be because there is such a great victory ahead, and Hebei is determined for Gongsun Xun... In short, Mohu Zang is here.

After paying tribute to the sacred white horse and congratulating him, he did not rush back. Instead, he offered to lead his knights southward and accompany the general on patrol to show his loyalty.

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Xun not only agreed, but also asked Mohu Zang to summon a total of 3,000 cavalry from the headquarters outside the Great Wall and from Zahu who were attached to the Great Wall, and then turned east to inspect the Changping area.

But after the general received him in Changping, expressed his condolences to Zao Zhi and other officials who had worked hard in the fields, and received a letter from his wife Zhao Yun who went to Liaodong to urge troops to send troops, Gongsun Xun went directly south to Yishui.

By the way...only when they came to Fan Yang and gathered 2,000 Zhang Bai's cavalrymen from the direction of Taihang Mountain, they did not rush south to the Hejian front line. Instead, they suddenly asked about the whereabouts of their teacher Lu Zhi.

The local officials did not dare to neglect and directly pointed out the location of Lu Zhi - it turned out that this former official in the central government, Cao Shangshu, a great scholar at home and the common mentor of the three Gongsun brothers, several of his older sons had various reasons.

After his death, he abandoned his family's property, house, and property, and took his only surviving young son alone to the wild valleys in the upper reaches of Yishui River to cultivate farmland and cultivate his own self-sufficiency.

And Gongsun Xun was equally speechless... He actually led 5,000 cavalry, 200 followers, and a son, left the road south to Hejian, and came directly here to find his teacher.

"You, don't always care about the strength of the army or the weakness of the army," Gongsun Xun was riding on his horse, chatting and laughing with his eldest son. "How can we only focus on soldiers and horses when fighting for the world? And although the strength of soldiers and horses is useful, it is always

It is temporary. For example, when a strong army encounters plague and famine, it will collapse without a fight; when the cavalry encounters rivers and swamps, it will be difficult to move; even at the boundary bridge before, if we had not gone there on our own for the shield formation

Fence, then Xu You rushes over and asks the vanguard to throw in a handful of hay and a fire. How can we, father and son, joke around here today?"

"My lord...what should be discussed in the world?" After spending several months alone with his father, Gongsun Ding became a lot bolder.

"This is too much to mention, but in this season, the biggest reliance and foundation is of course food." Gongsun Xun answered with a serious look, holding the reins in his hand. "Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the world's farming has been getting worse day by day.

Emperor Ling added land tax, powerful annexations, and officials plundered. As a result, the common people who farmed seriously found that no matter how hard they farmed, they would starve to death, so they abandoned their land and became bandits. Although there was less oppression in the mountains, they also

How much food can be produced in the valley? So they have to plunder again, which makes the surrounding people who are good at farming unable to farm... With such a large population, the total number of people who originally farmed food together is also so large, and then

Suddenly the food becomes less and the people remain the same...what should I do?"

After all, Gongsun Ding grew up in Youzhou, so he simply blurted out: "I will starve to death!"

As soon as these words came out, Zhang Sheng and Mo Hu, who were deliberately a few steps behind, both changed their expressions, but remained speechless.

"That's right!" Gongsun Xun nodded without hesitation. "They will starve to death... I don't know who it is, I don't know where they are, and at what time of year, but anyway, someone will starve to death! And in order not to starve to death, these people

People will rob other people's food, so that others can't plant land, so the food will become less and less, and the world will become more and more chaotic. The world is so bad... Ever since the Yellow Turban incident... You were only three years old that year.

Years... The world is getting worse every year. There are millions of Taishan Yellow Turbans in the Central Plains, millions of Taihang bandits in Jizhou, Baibo bandits in Hedong, Quanzhou rebellions in Xiliang and Jiaozhou, Huns in Bingzhou, and Wuhuan in Youzhou.

People all rise up to cause chaos, why? Maybe those who stir up trouble are really ambitious, but since they can gather so many people, in the final analysis, from the perspective of the whole world, without food, everyone will not survive if they act according to the rules.

Go down!"

"Is that why your Excellency will leave behind the war and come back to supervise the spring plowing? Because having food is the basis for Your Excellency to defeat others?"

"That's right!" Gongsun Xun glanced at his son and couldn't help but laugh. "Having food is the key to defeating others... If he hadn't gathered so much food in Changping, let alone Yuan Benchu, he would have defeated Dong Zhuo before.

I’m afraid it’s just like a flower in the mirror, it’s already a big deal to get to Taiyuan, where so many things happened?”

"So to fight for the world, we need to collect food and then raise a strong army?" Gongsun Ding finally came to a conclusion that seemed very logical.

"It's not bad to be able to talk about this level." Gongsun Xun smiled helplessly. "Of the princes in the world, some are as stupid as Yuan Shu and warlike as Sun Jian. They can't even collect grain. One just relies on looting, and the other just relies on looting.

Others provide for you and you sit back and take nothing... You are already stronger than these two people, but you can't just stop there."

"Please give me some advice!" Gongsun Ding was praised, but he became more and more reluctant to end the communication with his father.

"How can the world be so simple?" Gongsun Xun sighed for a moment. "The essence of fighting for the world is to fight for the hearts and minds of the people, and then to unite the hearts of the people for war and win them in battle... But the hearts of the people are too difficult. Now the world is in collapse.

At the darkest time, everyone can't even eat, so if you can provide food at this time, you can win the hearts of the people the most, but what if you are full? You have to wear warm clothes, right?"

"So we still need cloth?" Gongsun Ding looked surprised. "No wonder the gentlemen in Changping School said that farming and weaving are the foundation of the country. My grandmother also said that we must seize the food and cloth channels in Liao. In this way

Nothing will happen to Liao Di..."

"What your grandmother means...pretty much!" Gongsun Xun, who was riding on the horse, looked a little embarrassed, and then quickly returned to the topic. "But what about after having enough food and clothing? Where is the human heart?"

"In..." Gongsun Ding raised his head and thought, but was confused for a moment. He was still too young after all.

“After having enough food and clothing, I naturally hope to have a house to live in and furniture to use, and then have a bite of meat during the Chinese New Year and a glass of wine during the Spring Festival. After I can enjoy these, I also hope that I won’t encounter robbers when I go out to visit relatives.

, can have pavilions, charity shops to rest...this is the basic necessities of life."

Gongsun Ding nodded hurriedly.

Gongsun Xun knew that his son was still young, and his attention had begun to wander at this point, and it was difficult to keep up with his thoughts, but he still couldn't help but say a few more words: "But after basic necessities, food, housing, and transportation, it doesn't end here.

Because those who have enough money in the family can't help but want their children and grandchildren to go to school and be more successful than themselves in the future; and those who have studied and become officials always want to study the subtle words and great principles of the saints and discuss what is the meaning of governance.

Reason; even a young man like you, don’t you always want to put on silk and satin, jade ornaments and golden sculptures, and ride such a strong pony... Don’t excuse... This is a human being

It's only natural! In fact, don't talk about you, it is the Mohu who gave you the horse after your death. When there were just a few hundred tribesmen and they were still wearing dirty sheepskin jackets, they couldn't help but take the best one in the tribe.

The horse was exchanged for a Bu Yaoguan that could not be eaten or used... Why? It looks good! The little girl we met in the village community before we went to Tundian got a piece of gauze from her mother and couldn't help but go to the wild to find it.

The wild flowers are dyed into a red cloth that will fade in two days, and then tied on the head. Why? It is also beautiful! And this is also the human heart! Competing for the world is to compete for the human heart, but the human heart is the most complicated thing in the world.

You may not get one or two in your life."

"But you don't have to win people's hearts, do you?" Although Mohu Zang couldn't help shouting "Sir" all the way, Zhang Sheng next to him frowned every time he opened his mouth. "Compared with you, Sir,

Yuan Shao's troops are weak; what about Sun Jian, Yuan Shu doesn't even know how to collect food... As for my lord, for so many years in Youzhou, he gathered refugees to accumulate food, opened mines and built forts, and had strong soldiers and armor, and he controlled almost all the horse channels in the world.

So many schools have been built, so many trading companies have been opened... Compared with adults, those princes in the south are like children playing with wooden swords! How can this world not belong to adults? Let me tell you, those princes

, it seems to be noisy for a while, and the territory is vast, but if you face the adults, you will end up like Yuan Shao at best. Once defeated, it will be difficult to get up again!"

"Father...is that so?" Perhaps because he had been deprived of the right to be called 'adult', Gongsun Ding regained some of his attention.

"Yes and no." Gongsun Xun didn't even look at Mo Hu's face, but smiled to himself. "The princes in the world are not just people like Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao, and Sun Jian. There are also heroes like Cao Mengde and Liu Xuande... Moreover,

Even people like Sun Jian are temporarily confused because of their background experiences. If they are serious, they will realize their mistakes over time and gradually correct them."

"But... isn't that Yuan Shao what Mo Hutou said?" Gongsun Ding couldn't help but scratch his head on Xiao Ma. "It seems that there are so many soldiers, but they can't help fighting at all, and he can't help but

He didn't know that his mother had gone to Liaodong and that his grandfather would send troops from Liaodong; he didn't know that we had stored so much food in Changping and hid so many soldiers who could be recruited at any time; he didn't know that Mr. Cheng had exchanged so many letters with his father...

…”

"Yuan Shao is a special case." Gongsun Xun could only say this. "I just noticed that he is arrogant, stupid, and has low self-esteem, but on the surface he pretends to be outstanding and can easily fool others, so I specially selected him as my opponent.

’s... I prepared for five or six years. From that time, I asked your grandmother to help build ships in Liaodong. But as for him, it was less than a year from the time he made up his mind to go to war with me after seizing the territory. This kind of person can

Why not lose? Why should I not win?"

Gongsun Ding put down the hand scratching his head and stopped talking for a moment.

"What do you want to say?" Gongsun Xun didn't care.

"I just want to ask your lord," Gongsun Ding couldn't help but ask seriously. "Although this Yuan Shao is incompetent on the inside, according to what his father said, he is also a majestic person on the outside. Moreover, people along the way said that he is the greatest prince in the world. Now he can't even

He was defeated by his father and handed over to Hebei. Then who would dare to be an enemy of you in the future? Can we send a letter like we did in Daijun and ask all the tribal leaders who are swaying outside the wall to come to them?

Do you kneel down?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone around them laughed... Gongsun Xun laughed uncontrollably, Mo Hu Zheng laughed sarcastically for a moment, and Zhang Sheng, who was tall and thin, laughed as if he had remembered something. It was Zhang Ji and Yang Xiu

, Fazheng and others were also snickering.

Gongsun Ding blushed a little from the laughter.

"Ah Ding!" Gongsun Xun reined in his horse and smiled. After a long time, he turned his head and asked seriously. "Have you ever seen anyone who is not afraid of death?"

"Young man has seen a lot..." Gongsun Ding thought for a moment and then answered sincerely. "If nothing else, there were so many people lying in wait by the Sunjie Bridge. None of them were afraid of death!"

"Yes!" Gongsun Xun sighed as he looked at the picturesque mountains and fields. "There are too many people in the world who are not afraid of death. Not only is Gao Shun an outstanding soldier, his soldiers are willing to die, but there are also rangers who risk their lives for a promise.

Really? We have a lot of Yandi!"

"Young man, I've heard of these things!" Gongsun Ding's eyes couldn't help but shine.

"And not only the rangers, but also the common people of Li are not afraid of death... I have seen tens of thousands of Li Shu commit suicide together and are unwilling to surrender!" Gongsun Xun's voice became louder and louder, and many of the cavalry and infantry soldiers who followed behind him also began to stop.

Waiting for each other, the followers listened attentively. "Not just the common people, I have also seen officials who are not afraid of death, Confucian scholars who are not afraid of death, and even bandit leaders who are not afraid of death, evil people... Then I ask

You, if these people are not even afraid of death, then why are they afraid of me? Because I control half of the world?! I control the world, how can I still kill them twice?!"

After asking back, Gongsun Xun couldn't help but speed up his horse and move forward slightly, because he had already found a slightly inhabited place on the side of the valley in front of him. It was very small, only a few households... I guess it was Lu Zhi.

The place of seclusion is over.

"But sir, why aren't they afraid of death?" Gongsun Ding quickly grabbed the pony under his crotch and tried to catch up. At the same time, Yi Cong who had not yet stopped behind him started to move again, while the five thousand cavalrymen accompanying him were

At Zhang Ji's signal, he stopped here and prepared to set up camp.

"Didn't I say that?" Gongsun Xun couldn't help but laugh when he heard the questioning. "Because their human hearts! Because their human hearts don't belong to me! And if their human hearts don't belong to me, don't say that they only have Hebei in their hands. Believe it or not, since
To be continued...