When Wei Ba returned from his service, he politely and tactfully refused Mrs. Zhang's reward with the words "I don't dare to ask for my eldest brother's woman, and I can't ask for it." This was a happy result for everyone, Wei Yan was proud, and Mrs. Zhang was satisfied; Huan
My son is relieved and Peng Xiaoyu is happy.
After a lively family banquet, Wei Ba returned to the big tent where he had been away for a long time. He saw that everything was neatly placed where it should be. The table was spotless, and even his footbath bucket was cleaned.
He had to be clean. Knowing that Peng Xiaoyu had not been lazy these days, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Xiaoyu, you have worked hard during my absence."
Peng Xiaoyu was busy preparing hot water and said with a smile: "It's not just me alone, Miss Huan'er also helped a lot."
Wei Bapu sneered: "She? She can only stand aside and point fingers. What else can she do to help?"
Peng Xiaoyu pursed her lips and smiled, wiped the sweat from her face with her arms, squatted in front of Wei Ba, and helped him take off his boots. Wei Ba had suffered a lot in the past few months, not only did his feet have Xunren's
It smelled bad and had a lot of calluses. Peng Xiaoyu couldn't help being stunned when she saw it, and then put it into the water.
The water temperature was adjusted just right, and Wei Ba groaned comfortably: "It's better to go home."
"Only when you have worked hard outside can you feel good when you go home." Peng Xiaoyu hugged her legs, sat opposite Wei Ba, rested her chin on her knees, and looked at Wei Ba with a smile: "Young Master used to wash your hands every day
My feet have never been so happy."
Wei Ba chuckled: "You're right, I felt comfortable before, but I feel particularly comfortable today."
"Actually, you will be more comfortable if Sister Huan'er washes your feet." Peng Xiaoyu said hurriedly: "Don't you regret it, young master? Sister Huan'er is much more beautiful."
Wei Ba said angrily: "Huan'er is my eldest brother's woman, can I have her? Besides, she has been with my wife for many years and is used to being domineering. If I want her over, you will have to suffer in the future." He paused.
After a pause, he added: "Of course, when she comes to me, she will be my wife's eyes and ears from now on. I don't want such a person."
"Uh..." Peng Xiaoyu chuckled, lowered her head, and looked at the herbs floating on the water in the foot bath bucket without saying anything.
Wei Ba couldn't see her eyes and didn't know what she was thinking. He just felt that she was in a trance and the water was almost cold. He didn't know how to add water, so he lifted his feet from the bucket, spread his toes, and made gestures.
Go and pinch her nose.
"The water is cold."
"Oh, I'll add water." Peng Xiaoyu stood up in a panic and turned around to get hot water. Wei Ba shook his head speechlessly and muttered: "After a few months of idle work, the service level has plummeted."
Peng Xiaoyu brought hot water in, adjusted it carefully, and soaked for a while, then picked up Wei Ba's feet and massaged Wei Ba skillfully. Wei Ba asked while enjoying the ugly girl's service: "
Is there anything important going on in Mianyang during my absence?"
"It's nothing. It's just that before New Year's Day, the Prime Minister was planning to send out troops. The personnel were all arranged. But for some reason, he never left." Peng Xiaoyu said while rubbing the Yongquan point on the soles of Wei Ba's feet: "I heard
Sister Huan'er said that the general was criticized by his wife for this."
"Why?"
"The prime minister arranged for General Wu Yi from the left to lead 20,000 troops to defend Hanzhong, and asked the general to lead 10,000 troops to go out with the army. The general said that the prime minister wanted to take the opportunity to deprive the Wei family of their interests in Hanzhong, and made a few complaints. The wife said that he
This is not right."
Wei Ba frowned: "What do you think?"
Peng Xiaoyu raised her head and glanced at Wei Ba: "What do I think?"
"Does the Prime Minister mean this? Is Madam right to criticize?"
Peng Xiaoyu paused for a moment and started moving again. "I think the Prime Minister must have this intention, but it is not necessarily a bad thing. If the general can obey his orders, the Prime Minister will give him more opportunities to make meritorious deeds. Otherwise, the Prime Minister will think that he is difficult to control.
, naturally we need to impose more restrictions. As for Madam’s criticism, of course it is right. Since we can’t object, complaining will not help, but will be taken advantage of by people with malicious intentions.”
Wei Ba smiled bitterly, thinking that his father was indeed relatively incompetent in terms of being a human being. Even women understood the truth, but he didn't understand it. Maybe it wasn't that he didn't understand, but he just couldn't control his mouth.
Trouble comes from the mouth.
"Young Master, in fact, generals also have general considerations. If you want to achieve meritorious service, you must have strength. Strength is not just how many soldiers you have, but also sufficient financial support. Without money, how can you raise soldiers and not completely obey your orders?
How can he possibly make more meritorious deeds if he serves his private subordinates? Land and estates are the foundation of a family and cannot be let go easily."
Wei Ba did not say anything. As someone with certain knowledge, he knew that powerful people - especially armed powerful people have extremely strong centrifugal force. It was inevitable for Prime Minister Zhuge Liang to limit the strength of the Wei family, but as a member of the Wei family
, he couldn't just sit back and watch his family's years of hard work be deprived of him. These two completely different ideas coexisted in him. They seemed contradictory, but in fact they were very unified. It just depends on which perspective you look at it.
Just a problem.
Of course people should pay attention to collective interests, but what should I do if collective interests harm my personal interests? What should I do if someone uses collective interests as an excuse to usurp my personal interests? There is no precise answer to these questions.
The answer depends entirely on what the person involved thinks.
Wei Ba can believe that Zhuge Liang is not the kind of person who pretends to be a public servant. This can be seen from Zhuge Qiao's diet, but he cannot guarantee that the people around Zhuge Liang are as noble as Zhuge Liang. In fact, noble people must be selected from among officials.
It's no different from digging for gold from the sand. Since those people can seek personal gain, why should I give up my interests?
Wei Ba knew that such thoughts were not pure enough, but if the price of purity was death, then it was better to be impure.
Seeing Wei Ba's thoughts, Peng Xiaoyu stopped talking. Wei Ba suddenly thought of Zhuge Qiao and talked about his worries. After being separated for several months, he still couldn't seem to get rid of that habit. Whatever happened, he always
I like to listen to Peng Xiaoyu's opinion. Although Peng Xiaoyu was not with him when he was in Anyang or Fangling, he made many decisions and the results didn't seem bad. But when he saw Peng Xiaoyu, his habit became natural.
's recovered.
He couldn't tell whether this was following advice or a subconscious lack of confidence.
"Zhuge Qiao's work is quite satisfactory. He can't be said to be good or bad." Peng Xiaoyu lowered his head and said unhurriedly: "If the requirements are not too strict, he can be considered young and promising. However, I want to compare with Prime Minister Yu.
That said, he is too far behind. When the prime minister was as old as him, he was already famous in Jingxiang."
Wei Ba was stunned. When Zhuge Liang came to assist Liu Bei, he seemed to be about the same age as Zhuge Qiao now, and he was already a celebrity in Xiangyang a few years before that. Zhuge Qiao was indeed far behind him.
It seems that having an extremely smart father may not be a good thing.
Poor Zhuge Qiao.
…
A few days later, Zhuge Qiao returned to Mianyang, handed over his errand, and then there was no news again. The prime minister neither rewarded him nor blamed him, as if he just did an ordinary errand, not his first time.
Leading troops in battle, and such an important battle.
On the contrary, Wei Ba was quickly rewarded. Zhuge Liang spoke highly of his merits. Although the conflict with Pan Zhang caused some unnecessary disputes, Wei Ba's merits outweighed his faults and he received a large financial reward.
And got the qualification to officially attend various meetings of the Prime Minister's Office. From now on, he is a formal military member of the Prime Minister's Office, not just an honorary position.
As the youngest father to join the army in the Prime Minister's Office, Wei Yan was very proud. As the youngest person to join the army in the Prime Minister's Office, Wei Ba was under a lot of pressure. He made meritorious deeds and got into trouble, and it was a diplomatic conflict, but Zhuge Liang rewarded him lightly and punished him lightly.
, fully reflects the rewards for young people, but then thinking about Zhuge Qiao, who has no merit but hard work, but no reward. When Wei Ba lamented the Prime Minister's strictness, he felt very uneasy.
If a tree is beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy it. Wei Ba understands this truth, not to mention that he also has a father, Wei Yan, who is afraid that his reputation is not famous enough. Whenever he has something to do, he will talk about him and show off, but he doesn't know what will happen.
It caused resentment among many people.
With this mentality, Wei Ba became more and more low-key. When attending meetings in the Prime Minister's Mansion, he tried to sit in a corner where no one was paying attention. Unless Prime Minister Zhuge called his name, he would not speak. If he had any opinions, he would do so in private.
He asked to see Prime Minister Zhuge Li, or asked Ma Di for advice, and conveyed it to Zhuge Liang through his mouth, without speaking in front of others. His attitude was praised by Zhuge Liang. One night, after the meeting, Zhuge Liang specially asked Wei Ba to stay
, said to Zhuge Qiao, "You should get closer to Ziyu. If you are a good friend, you will make progress."
Wei Ba repeatedly said that he did not dare to take it seriously.
After leaving the tent, Wei Ba was about to say goodbye to Zhuge Qiao. Zhuge Qiao took his hand and said with a smile: "Ziyu, will you come with me for a walk?"
Wei Ba was very reluctant. He felt uncomfortable seeing Zhuge Qiao these past two days. But when Zhuge Qiao opened his mouth, he couldn't refuse, so he had to agree.
Zhuge Qiao and Wei Ba slowly walked out of the camp, silently all the way, and unknowingly came to the huge rock where Wei Ba practiced boxing every day. Zhuge Qiao sat down, facing the miles of huge rocks in the valley.
Ying, suddenly sighed.
Wei Ba stood behind him, not knowing what to say. Although he had not harmed Zhuge Qiao, he had to say that his presence was one of the reasons why Zhuge Qiao was depressed.
"Ziyu, I will return to Chengdu tomorrow to be my transfer captain."
Wei Ba was shocked. The so-called transfer captain was the captain of the transportation brigade, which was what Zhuge Qiao had done before. Zhuge Liang stayed in Hanzhong for too long, and his food consumption exceeded expectations, so he had to transfer again from Chengdu. These two things
Prime Minister Tian's office held a meeting, and the most discussed matter was this matter. Wei Ba privately put forward the suggestion of farming in Hanzhong, and Zhuge Liang was also considering it, but water from far away could not quench the thirst of the near, so transporting grain from Chengdu was imperative.
.
However, for Zhuge Qiao, this is a very bad signal. He was asked to transport grain before, but it was said that he was allowed to exercise and lay the foundation for commanding troops in the future. Now he has the ability to lead thousands of people in battle.
Although Wei Ba took away the limelight due to his experience, his performance was also remarkable. As a first-time leader, the fact that he could achieve this level is enough to illustrate his ability.
But Zhuge Liang also asked him to transport grain instead of leading troops. There was only one reason. Zhuge Liang was very dissatisfied with his performance and decided to put him in cold storage - at least temporarily.
"Bosong, Prime Minister... you also have good intentions, you are still young..."
Wei Ba carefully considered his words and tried hard to think of words to comfort Zhuge Qiao, but he was really not a eloquent person, and he himself was the "culprit" that caused Zhuge Qiao's current situation. No matter what he said, it seemed to be wrong.
As soon as he started to say a few words, Zhuge Qiao interrupted him: "Ziyu, you don't need to comfort me. I can't understand what's going on between our father and son? Sit down, I just want to talk to you."
Talking has no other meaning."
Wei Ba closed his mouth and sat on the stone obediently.