Cao Cao left the hut and was not in a hurry to hurry up. Due to the weather, coupled with the lack of people and horses, Cao Cao was hungry and cold, and almost killed the horses with one knife to satisfy his hunger.
With the last piece of cake left on his body, Cao Cao curled his lips, took a small bite, and then stuffed the remaining cake into his arms.
Cao Cao is currently wanted. Although he has some jewels on his body, he suffers from Dong Zhuo's troubles, many people fall into banditry, and the food harvest has been poor year after year. Even if Cao Cao has money, he can't buy anything to eat.
"I thought that I, Cao Cao, Cao Mengde, had lived for thirty-four years, and today I was forced into such a situation. Dong Zhuo, the old thief, will definitely fight against the thief when I return home."
Cao Cao chewed the piece of cake in his mouth bitterly, and he was so busy that he choked.
"Ahem..." Cao Cao coughed several times before swallowing the mouthful of cake.
"Hey!" Cao Cao raised his head and looked at the sky.
It was already late at night, but there was not a single star in the night sky.
That night, Cao Cao used the sky as his quilt and the earth as his bed, and spent a miserable night...
The next day, Cao Cao was awakened by the chirping of birds in the forest.
Taking advantage of the morning dew, I wiped my face hastily, got on my horse, and ran forward.
Coming to a fork in the road, Cao Cao hesitated.
The forked road is divided into three. The first road is the official road, which is relatively flat and closest to Chenliu County; the second road is a bit detoured and not easy to walk. When he was still in Luoyang, Cao Cao sent someone to explore this road.
; and the third one is a flat road, passing through Zhongmou County, and the journey is neither far nor near.
"Well" Cao Cao got off his horse and thought about it, not knowing how to choose.
The first path is definitely not possible, and the current choices are focused on the second and third paths.
While he was playing a chess game undecided, a farmer came up.
Cao Cao stepped forward to stop the farmer and asked, "Excuse me, how should we go to Chenliu from now on?"
The farmer stopped, put down the firewood on his back, and said: "The first official road leads directly to Chenliu and is the closest. You can take the first one."
"This..." Cao Cao couldn't express his difficulty, so he could only continue to ask, "What about the second and third items?"
The farmer glanced at Cao Cao and said, "This second road is so rugged that even horses can't walk on it in some places..."
The farmer did not say what the third way was, and Cao Cao was not stupid enough to understand what the farmer meant.
"Old man, you mean, I should take the third way?"
The farmer chuckled, picked up the firewood, sang a little song and walked away.
Cao Cao was stunned until he couldn't see the farmer's back, then he shook his head, mounted his horse and walked towards the third road.
Zhongmu County is located between Zheng and Bian, and its strategic position is very important. In the past, Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, defeated the Qin general Yang Xiong in Quyu and gathered in the eastern part of Zhongmu County.
Cao Cao rode his horse and entered the county town quickly.
Just after passing the county gate, I heard a few literate scribes gathering together and chatting.
"I heard that Cao Cao and Cao Mengde tried to murder the emperor. This Cao Cao is so bold..."
"No, Cao Cao is one of the eight captains of Xiyuan. In the past, he defeated the Yellow Turban Army in many places and plotted to kill the emperor? It doesn't make sense."
"I see, this is just the old thief Dong Zhuo who is jealous of his talents..."
"Shh, keep your voice down, do you want to be beheaded?"
"..."
Cao Cao frowned, dismounted, grabbed a handful of dirt, and wiped it on his face.
When he arrived at an inn, Cao Cao was so hungry that he felt dizzy and had no choice but to stop and enter the inn.
"Store, if you have anything to eat, bring it up."
The store owner glanced at Cao Cao lazily and said angrily: "The food has been confiscated by the government. If you want to eat, go and ask the government for it."
After hearing this, Cao Cao was furious. It was already pitiful for him to live in the open, but he thought about how he had been a captain in the Dian Army before. Now in order to escape for his life, he couldn't even eat. How could this not make Cao Cao furious?
"Bold, as a shop owner, don't you think I can't pay?"
The shopkeeper was not afraid of Cao Cao, and waved his hand and said: "How can you have money? Don't tell me that you are using the newly minted money. I'm sorry, the shop won't accept that money."
Cao Cao was so angry that he reached out and took out a gem from his arms, and slapped it on the table: "Look clearly, what is this?"
When the shopkeeper saw the gem, his eyes lit up. He quickly grabbed the gem and looked at it carefully.
"Oh, dear guest, come, come, come. We have a good talk. Please come in and sit for a while. The food will come. The food will come."
Cao Cao snorted, rolled his sleeves, and entered the inner hall.
When the store owner saw Cao Cao entering the inner hall, he quickly called a waiter and said secretly: "Go to the county government and find my brother-in-law. If my brother-in-law asks anything, just tell him something important."
The waiter responded and ran out.
At a corner of the inn, there was a young man sitting. This young man seemed to be carefree and not doing his job properly.
"Huh? That man can actually get gems? Hmm..." The young man stood up and walked to the store, "Boss, the money for the drink belongs to my father."
Before the store owner could speak, the young man had already walked away.
"Hey!" the shopkeeper sighed, "Boshe's kind-hearted man actually raised such a son. How sad..."
Before it was time to burn incense, the store's brother-in-law came.
"Brother, why did you call me here in such a hurry?"
The shopkeeper put his right hand to his mouth as a sign to speak quietly.
"What's wrong?"
The shopkeeper said: "In this chaotic situation, the man in the inner hall was able to find a gem..." The shopkeeper said and handed the gem to his brother-in-law.
The shopkeeper's brother-in-law took the gem and secretly glanced at Cao Cao in the inner hall along the bamboo curtain.
"hiss"
Seeing that his brother-in-law's expression was abnormal, the store owner quickly asked: "What's wrong? Is something wrong?"
The brother-in-law thought for a moment and said: "There is nothing wrong. They are just down-and-out nobles. Brother, please treat them well." After that, the brother-in-law returned the gem to the store and left in a hurry.
After leaving the inn, my brother-in-law thought to himself: Isn't that Cao Cao? No, I have to tell the county magistrate about this.
...
After Cao Cao had eaten and drank enough, he could not help but feel sorry for the gem. You must know that it was taken from the Seven-Star Sword. He had already given away two of them in order to escape from Luoyang. Now he had to spend one meal and spend another.
One drop of this thing, one with less than one drop, really made Cao Cao heartbroken.
Cao Cao burped, stood up, said thank you to the shopkeeper, and walked out the door.
Arriving at the stable, Cao Cao found that his horse was missing. When he turned around, he found that several officers and soldiers had already pressed their halberds against his chest.
"That's all, you have been exposed after all!" Cao Cao closed his eyes unwillingly and allowed the officers and soldiers to take him down.
After being taken to the county government, the officers and soldiers did not take Cao Cao directly into the cell, but first took him to the county magistrate.
"You all go down!"
Several officers and soldiers bowed their heads and said: "Yes!"
The county magistrate stood in front of Cao Cao and walked around several times.
Cao Cao felt guilty and did not dare to raise his head.
"You, raise your head!"
Cao Cao was heartbroken and raised his head.
The county magistrate was stunned, and then whispered in Cao Cao's ear: "Cao Cao, Cao Mengde?"
Cao Cao rolled his eyes and said, "Your Excellency, you have recognized the wrong person."
The county magistrate laughed and said, "Although I don't know you Cao Cao, my meritorious officials do know you. Ziliang, come out and see Cao Cao."
As soon as the county magistrate finished speaking, a man came out from behind the screen. This man was none other than the brother-in-law of the previous store owner.
The county magistrate, whose courtesy name is Ziliang, currently serves in Zhongmu County and serves as an official of Cao Cao. Why he met Cao Cao was because Cao Cao had defeated the Yellow Turban Army... In short, Cao Cao's
From that moment on, the appearance was deeply imprinted in Zhang Ziliang's mind.
"Sir" Zhang Wen bowed to the county magistrate.
"Well, Ziliang, let's get to know him. Is this person Cao Cao?"
Zhang Wen approached Cao Cao and circled around Cao Cao several times.
"Sir, this person is Cao Cao, Cao Mengde!"
When the county magistrate heard this, his eyes lit up and he shouted: "Come here, please take Cao Cao into custody..."
Before the county magistrate finished speaking, Zhang Wen interrupted: "Sir, wait a minute!"
The county magistrate hummed and looked at Zhang Wen in surprise: "Ziliang, do you have a problem?"
Zhang Wen rolled his eyes slightly and said: "My lord, although the wanted notice of the imperial court has been issued, Dong Zhuo is currently causing trouble in the imperial court and hundreds of people in the world are living in poverty. It is really unfair to kill such an outstanding figure in this world."
The county magistrate asked: "Do you think this Cao Cao is a hero of the world?"
Zhang Wenyi cupped his hands and said, "Have you forgotten your previous conversation with Mr. Lu?"
The county magistrate was silent after hearing this.
After a while, the county magistrate asked Zhang Wen: "What about Cao Cao?"
Zhang Wen said boldly: "Have you ever seen Cao Cao with your own eyes?"
The magistrate shook his head.
Zhang Wen asked again: "Have you ever received a wanted document from the court?"
The county magistrate was stunned, and then shook his head knowingly.
Zhang Wen struck while the iron was hot and continued: "Sir, you have arrested the wrong person. This person is just a down-and-out nobleman."
The county magistrate was not stupid. After listening to Zhang Wen's words, he nodded quickly and said: "Brilliant plan, clever plan, Ziliang clever plan. Come on, let this guy loose!"
Two officers and soldiers came in and loosened Cao Cao's bonds.
Cao Cao heard clearly the previous conversation between Zhang Wen and the county magistrate, but Cao Cao suddenly became very interested in Mr. Lu as mentioned by Zhang Wen and the county magistrate.
Cao Cao stepped forward and raised his hands, asking: "May I ask you two gentlemen, where is Mr. Lu whom you mentioned now?"
The county magistrate smiled and said only one sentence: "You have seen it before!"
When Cao Cao heard this, he was stunned and chewed in his mouth: "Have I seen it before?"
Before Cao Cao could figure it out, the county magistrate shouted again: "Come, see the guests off!"
Cao Cao was just pushed out again. When he went out, the county magistrate specially changed a horse for Cao Cao.
Cao Cao didn't think much, got on his horse and ran towards Chenliu.
...
Zhongmu County Government.
The county magistrate tapped the desk rhythmically with his hand and asked Zhang Wen: "Ziliang, didn't you play with that thing that Mr. Lu said he had been looking for a few days ago?"
Zhang Wen shook his head: "Yes, that thing is so magical. If you hold it up to the light for a while, it will reveal words that I can't understand."
The county magistrate asked: "Where is that thing?"
Zhang Wen shook his head: "My home was robbed two days ago and it was lost."
The county magistrate chuckled: "It seems that Mr. Lu is late. By the way, Mr. Lu left a drawing of the style of that thing. Please keep a copy."
As the county magistrate spoke, he reached out and handed Zhang Wen a white scroll. What was drawn on the white scroll was none other than the solar recorder that Ma Xiaoquan was looking for when he returned from time travel this time.
Zhang Wen took it and looked at it and said: "This picture is exactly like the sheepskin picture in my home."
The county magistrate asked: "What about the parchment?"
Zhang Wen pouted: "It was stolen together with that strange thing."