Chapter 35: Whatever You Do, Don't Say You've Seen Me

  Zhou Buyi was a strange person in the Three Kingdoms, first of all, his name is very strange. The Han people liked to have single names, throughout the Han Dynasty, especially the Eastern Han, two-character names were extremely rare, Zhou Buyi was obviously an exception.

  Zhou Bu's articles are well-written, with clear intentions and a fondness for writing about imaginary realms, strange folk tales. Not only can they be used to follow the elegant tone, but ordinary literate people can also understand them, and there is interest in reading on.

  Jing Xiang's famous scholar Liu Ba once taught him, but after only a few days, Liu Ba sighed that he couldn't teach him and publicly said that his talent was not as good as Zhou Yu. However, Liu Ba was a historical celebrity, and later almost all the documents of the Shu Han regime came from his hand.

  At a young age, Zhou Yu's name was already well-known in Jingnan. This reputation wasn't something that Liu Biao's Eight Steeds could match. The things written by Liu Biao were incomprehensible to the common people who debated under the oil lamp, and they didn't even want to look at them.

  If Zhou Yu had only literary talent, he would be on a par with the likes of Yang Xiu, Chen Lin and Wang Can. In 216 AD, Cao Cao's army was attacking the Wuhuan, but was blocked at Lucheng. At that time, they were far away in the wilderness, and all their supplies had been left behind in Beiping. Food was cut off, people had nothing to eat, horses had no fodder, and Cao Cao's officials and generals were all at a loss.

  Just as the entire Northern Expedition was about to end in failure, with a huge expenditure of money and grain yielding no results, Zhou Yu appeared and came up with ten plans for Cao Cao, each one capable of breaking through Liu Bei's defenses. Cao Cao chose one at random, and Liu Bei's city fell immediately. All the civil and military officials were shocked, and Cao Cao himself sighed in admiration, saying that Zhou Yu was a rare talent indeed.

  If it were merely so, Zhou Yuyi would be nothing more than a talented assistant, and could not be considered extraordinary.

  Before the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao invaded Jingzhou and Liu Cong surrendered. Zhou Yu was also taken to Xuchang by Cao Cao as a study partner for Cao Chong, another child prodigy. The two child prodigies were together, and it's needless to say how happy they were. Cao Cao looked at them with great comfort.

  Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Cao Chong fell seriously ill and died at the age of 13. From then on, Cao Cao's attitude towards Zhou Yu changed. After Cao Chong's death, there was no one who could be as close to Zhou Yu as Cao Chong had been. Whenever Cao Cao saw Zhou Yu, he couldn't help but think of his deceased son and decided to send someone to assassinate Zhou Yu.

  Cao Pi thought Zhou Yu was a man of great talent, and after Cao Chong's death, his own chances of succeeding to the throne greatly increased. He wanted to keep Zhou Yu for himself, so he went to persuade Cao Cao. As a result, Cao Cao severely reprimanded Cao Pi: "If Chong'er were still alive, it would be fine, but can someone like you handle Zhou Yu?"

  Cao Pi, Emperor Wen of Wei, was also a wise and capable ruler. He was well-versed in the art of governance and politics. Cao Cao even entrusted Sima Yi to him, yet he openly stated that Cao Pi could not control Zhou Yu, who was neither a member of the imperial family nor held any military power or official position. In terms of reputation, Zhou Yu was not even a match for the famous scholars of his time. Yet, Cao Cao feared that Zhou Yu would usurp the throne of the Cao family and sent someone to assassinate him.

  Who is Cao Cao? He's a tyrant who kills whoever he wants, whenever he wants. He kills people in his dreams, while drinking, and at any time he pleases. Yet, he still sent assassins to kill Zhou Yu, showing how intimidating Zhou Yu's abilities must be.

  Now Zhou Bu Yi is just a little kid from Jingnan who everyone thinks is strange, Zhou Bu Yi doesn't have a teacher, but he himself doesn't want to waste his studies, so he goes around visiting masters everywhere, three religions and nine streams, stealing and cheating, he can find anyone to be his master, at the age of seven or eight, he can cook, tell lies, weave baskets and cast swords.

  This time he came to Zhang Zhongjing again to learn medicine, but after studying for a few days, Zhang Zhongjing insisted on going to Yizhou, and Zhou Buji had no choice but to follow.

  Two men were eating noodles, and four peasants came to the next table, ordered a plate of sausage, a dish of peanuts, a dish of broad beans, and called for two jars of rice wine to drink while chatting.

  "Hey, have you heard? Our governor killed over 2,000 people in Jiangzhou this time. All the corrupt officials who bullied others are dead, and those wealthy families that thought they were above the law... oh my, it's a river of blood! I heard people in Jiangzhou don't dare go out at night, and people near East City can hear ghosts wailing at night."

  "Oh, really? That's scary! No wonder Master Wang returned the iron plow to my house yesterday and kept apologizing." said Farmer B with wide eyes.

  "If I must say, this is a case of good being rewarded and evil punished. In the past, when I took my dates to Jiangzhou to sell, I wasn't cheated by those big shops, but those officials in Jiangzhou extorted more than half of my date money. After running such a long distance, I only made a few dozen coins, and from then on, I never went to Jiangzhou again."

  At this time, Zhuang Jiahan Ding said: "I also heard that Jiangzhou is holding some kind of four-section civil service examination. Those who have a special skill in literature, martial arts, medicine, or craftsmanship can go to take the exam. Registration is free, and if you pass, you can even get a reward of silver. Is it true?"

  Zhuang Jiahan took a big swig of wine, smacked his lips and said: "Yeah, my neighbor's daughter next door is great at embroidering mandarin ducks, she's gone to take the exam too. I wanted to go with her, it would be a good chance to deepen our relationship. Unfortunately, I'm almost thirty years old, and besides farming, I don't know how to do anything else."

  "Huh? Then won't this skill of mine in raising pigs be put to good use?" asked Ding, the farmer, with a delighted expression.

  Listening to several villagers chatting, Zhang Zhongjing nodded and said: "It can't be seen that this Yizhou Mu Liu Zhang is still a person who only values talent, but it's too cruel."

  Zhou Bu-yi sipped his soup while saying, "Talent is what gets you promoted, but I think he's heading for self-destruction."

  Zhou Bu Yi couldn't help but think that when those powerful men rebelled, these few pig farmers could do nothing to help him. At the same time, a hint of doubt flashed through his mind. Zhou Bu Yi was also from an official family and had some concern for the situation in the world. When did Liu Zhang become so fierce and decisive?

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  When they saw Liu Zhang's token, the magistrate of Fuling County specially set aside a courtyard for Xiang Fu Rong and others to recover from their injuries. This was a single-family courtyard, relatively quiet, but since Aguda arrived, it became a bustling market. Those big-footed doctors and busybodies rushed over from all directions, surrounding the small courtyard so that water couldn't leak through. The nearby villagers immediately saw an opportunity, carrying out eggs, peanuts, pastries, and fruit to set up stalls.

  The common people made a ruckus day and night, the yamen runners couldn't drive them away, causing Xia Furen and the others to be at their wit's end. Sha Moke glared with his piercing eyes, several times wanting to take out his iron rake and kill his way out, but was held back by Xia Furen. Sha Moke's eardrums were aching, he took his iron rake and wildly hacked and smashed in the small courtyard, flowers, grass, and stones were all smashed beyond recognition.

  Xiao Furan's eyes watched as Ye Wuti's poison grew heavier day by day, the outside was noisy and restless, Samo Ke was anxious and uneasy, her heart was even more suffocated, every day except for taking care of Ye Wuti, she was alone in a daze.

  On this day, the barbarian guarding the door suddenly came to report that someone named Zhang Zhongjing was visiting. Xiao Furan immediately showed joy and welcomed him out, just walking into the courtyard when Aguoda suddenly darted out from one side.

  This Ah Gu Da was short and stout, with a robust physique, his whole body muscular and powerful. He had a grass basket on his back and a three-leafed knife in his hand for gathering herbs. As he approached, he said to Xiao Fu Rong: "Young Master, has Zhang Zhongjing arrived? Whatever you do, don't say you've seen me, I'll leave first."

  Xiao Furong hastily shouted: "Where is Eldest Brother Aguada going? You've healed Father's external injuries, I haven't even had a chance to thank you yet, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

  "What's there to thank?" Aguda said in terror, "It's all because of that Han official who called me a divine doctor. If Zhang Zhongjing really asks me, what can I say? When the time comes and I'm exposed, not only will my face be lost to my ancestors, but also, who knows, Zhang might not save your father in his anger, what then?"

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