Jingzhou was peaceful, and neither the gunsmoke of the Central Plains nor the flames of war from Jiangdong had ever affected here. Xiangyang www.biquge.info as the capital of Jingzhou, has become more peaceful due to the protection of the Jiangxia garrison in the east of Jingzhou and the Wancheng garrison in the north. The Jiangxia garrison has 50,000 infantry troops and 100,000 naval troops, and the Wancheng garrison has 30,000 Zhang Xiu's troops, plus 60,000 defenders of Xiangyang, and the entire capital is equal to being guarded by 240,000 soldiers and horses, which can be regarded as the safest place in the world.

Such security and peace are undoubtedly very attractive to people in war-torn places. A large number of displaced people from the northern states poured into Jingzhou, and they all wanted to find a new life suitable for themselves in this safe land. Although most of them were ordinary ordinary people, Liu Biao, who was known for his reputation for "benevolence and righteousness", still accepted them very politely. Let them go to the counties in the north of Jingzhou to cultivate new fields.

At that time, the center of gravity of the whole world was in the north, and although Jingzhou in the south also had some development, the intensity of development was not comparable to that of the north. Liu Biao accepted these homeless people firstly to gain fame, and secondly, for the sake of these people themselves. To develop, we need manpower and money, and the current money in Jingzhou is almost the same, and the difference is the so-called manpower. And the displaced people from the north just made up for this gap. Most of the people who were able to come to Jingzhou during the long journey were young and strong. After all, the long journey is a very hard thing, and those who can't endure this kind of hardship are ruthlessly eliminated in the journey. The law of survival of the fittest always shows its cruelty when the environment is at its most severe.

At that time, the most frequent conquest in the world was Xuzhou, which was the richest place in the world a few years ago.

Liu Bei, who was originally appointed as the pastor of Xuzhou after Tao Qian's death, was betrayed by Lu Bu, the world's first fierce general he took in, and ran to Cao Cao. Cao Cao ordered Liu Bei to be the pastor of Yuzhou, and he actually took up his post. Later, Cao Cao ordered an edict to Lü Bu in the name of the emperor to reconcile with Liu Bei and withdraw from Peidi, which originally belonged to Yuzhou. Since Cao Cao had established the Han Emperor and was regarded as the spokesman of the central court, Lü Bu did not want to fall out with Cao Cao and fall out of the name of rebellion when his strength was weak, so he agreed to return Xiao Pei to Liu Bei. Of course, this is not without quid pro quo, what Lu Bu finally got was the official position of Xuzhou Mu, and the so-called traitor became the official appointment of the lord of Xuzhou by the imperial court.

It's undoubtedly a deal. At first, Lu Bu also thought that this deal was a good deal, after all, it was only a loss of an "insignificant" small town, but it was recognized by the imperial court and a temporary ally, so that he could free up his hands to deal with the affairs of Taishan in the north. However, after gaining Mount Tai, Lu Bu thought that he had lost. Because he had no target to attack.

To the north of Xuzhou is Yuan Shao, who has three states, and his strength is regarded as the first by the people of the world, and Lu Bu naturally does not dare to fight his idea. And to the south of Xuzhou is Yuan Shu, who called the emperor. Although his strength is slightly weaker than Yuan Shao, it is not something that Xuzhou can support at the moment. There were not many generals under Yuan Shu, there were many soldiers at that time, and the Huainan he occupied was a place of ointment, which was far better than the dilapidated Xuzhou occupied by Lu Bu at the moment, and it could support a long-term battle, so Lu Bu didn't dare to fight his idea.

Since neither the north nor the south could fight, Lü Bu had no choice but to expand westward. Because of the precedent of the defeat of Puyang, Lu Bu did not have the courage to attack Cao Cao directly. So with the qualifications of a beast, he looked at Liu Bei, who occupied Yuzhou, with his coveted gaze. He decided to regain the little pei he had lost.

Xiaopei is located about one hundred and twenty miles northwest of Pengcheng Kingdom in Xuzhou. If he captures there, Lü Bu can rely on Mount Tai on his right and take the Yellow River valley directly. The ultimate goal of the group of heroes, the Central Plains, is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. For Lu Bu, this is certainly what makes him salivate.

Xiao Pei is in Liu Bei's hands, and behind Liu Bei is Cao Cao, who claims to be the imperial court. Attacking Lü Bu would also mean tearing up the alliance with Cao Cao. Faced with Cao Cao, who had already captured Sanfu, Lü Bu thought that he did not have the strength to compete with him alone, so he found Yuan Shu, who had wanted to ally with him, and the two sides agreed on a covenant conditional on marriage.

Lü Bu and Yuan Shu joined forces to save him from the pain of being attacked on his abdomen and back. So, he sent Gao Shun and Zhang Liao to attack Liu Bei. In September of the second year of Jian'an, Peicheng fell into the hands of Gao Shun. Liu Bei didn't even have time to take his family with him, and fled back to Xuchang alone. On the way, he gathered his two righteous brothers and Sun Qian, Jian Yong, Mi Fang, Mi Zhu and other generals and advisers, and asked his protector Cao Cao for help and sent troops.

Cao Cao sent troops at Liu Bei's request to attack the land he had wanted to get again. Although Xuzhou's population and economy have been greatly reduced due to continuous wars, Cao Cao believes that as long as Xuzhou is given a stable time, Xuzhou's re-development is certain. He was very optimistic about this, so this attack was almost full force.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei's allied army had a large number of military generals. Under the triumphant advance all the way, the coalition army broke through Lü Bu's Pengcheng defense line, forced Lü Bu to retreat to Xiapi, and launched a strategic battle in Xiapi.

Lü Bu's advisor Chen Gong initially advised Lü Bu to stay in the fortified city and hold on, but Lü Bu did not listen and went out of the city to meet Cao Cao's army, only to be defeated and return to the city. In such a situation, Chen Gong suggested that the army be divided into two, and Lü Bu led an army to garrison outside the city, and the army in the city should be combined with the outside, so that Cao Cao's army from afar would be exhausted and then defeated.

This suggestion made Lu Bu very excited, and he was ready to implement it according to the successful plan, but he was opposed by Lu Bu's wives and concubines. Because if the army is divided in two, the general defending the city is Gao Shun, and the strategist will of course stay in the city, and Chen Gong and Gao Shun have always been at odds. Lü Bu's wives and concubines were worried that Shoucheng's situation would be worsened by the conflict between the two of them. Besides, Chen Gong and Cao Cao were old friends, and they were afraid that Chen Gong would turn against Cao Cao.

There was no way, Lu Bu could only sit in the empty city, watching Cao Cao and Liu Bei's men and horses surround his Xiapi City.

"It's dangerous." Lu Bu's beast-like intuition meant his situation. Like a beast besieged by a trap, Lu Bu did not want to give up hope of survival. He heeded the advice of his men and sent people to break through the siege and ask for help from his allies in Huainan. Although the relationship between this ally and him has broken down.

Lu Bu is the kind of person who gets carried away easily as soon as he has any achievements. He was very greedy, and he always felt that there was something in the world that he should have attained the Tao but did not get. For the sake of this unobtainable thing, it is easy for him to give up his principles of being a human being. At the beginning, he wanted to attack Liu Bei, so he joined forces with Yuan Shu and made a covenant on the condition of marrying a daughter. However, after capturing Xiao Pei, Lu Bu betrayed the covenant of this marriage girl. He never sent his daughter to Yuan Shu's side. This made it difficult for Yuan Shu, who had always been very self-assured, to accept it, he felt that he had been slapped hard, and he had no face at all.

"If Lu Bu doesn't marry his daughter to my son, of course he will lose. What are you still doing here? Facing the messenger sent by Lu Bu to ask for help, Yuan Shu looked quite cold.

"Once Wen Hou is defeated, Cao Cao's troops and horses will approach here. Your Majesty, you need to know the way of cold lips and teeth. The envoy desperately lobbied Yuan Shu. Because Yuan Shu has now proclaimed himself emperor, the envoy calls Yuan Shu in the name of His Majesty.

"Lu Bu is capricious, if you want me to send troops, please send my daughter over first." Yuan Shu coldly put forward his own conditions. Of course, he didn't understand the truth of what the envoy said, in order to find out the situation and prevent Cao Jun from crossing the line, and also to accept Lu Bu's possible trip to send his daughter, Yuan Shu was not without movement. He mobilized all the soldiers and horses along the Huainan and Northern Lines to launch a series of postures on the border to contain Cao Cao's army.

At this time, Lü Bu's best friend, Hanoi Taishou Zhang Yang marched to Dong City, Yewang County, and there was a statue of rescuing Lü Bu, but he was killed by his subordinate Yang Chou halfway through. Yang Chou wanted to lead his troops to join Cao Cao, but was killed by another general, Zheng Gu. After that, Zheng Gu led the army to join Yuan Shao's army.

The defeat of his best friend Zhang Yang reached Lu Bu a few days later. He knew that no one would come to his rescue in the future, and he suddenly sat on the edge of his seat and was anxious. He's not a very calm person, he's the kind of person who has a lot of emotions and sorrows. For more than a month when Cao Cao and Liu Bei's combined forces surrounded Xiapi and entered the city to carry out water attacks, he was very irritable and often reprimanded his subordinates for some trivial things. Such an act of rage caused his men to turn away from him, thus selling the root of his own demise.

At the end of the third year of Jian'an, Lu Bu was captured and killed by Cao Cao and Liu Bei's combined forces on the Baimen Tower in Xiapi. The years have passed, ushering in the four years of Jian'an.

In the spring of that year, a man who claimed to have taken refuge from Xiapi carefully described the scene in the name of Xiangyang, which was in peace, in the city market. Dozens of listeners surrounded him tightly, including Zhuge Liang, Li Sheng and Xu Shu, who came to the city.

"Lu Bu has the so-called eight strong generals under him, and one of them is called Hou Cheng." The man began his own story: "This General Hou Cheng has a special love for horses. Once, his famous horse was parted, which made him lose his soul and make him a little unpopular when he saw it. But a few days later, the famous horse quietly ran back. He was so happy on the spot that he invited his fellow generals to celebrate. Hou Cheng is a person with a heart, and his relationship with his master Lu Bu is also good. So, he thought that now that there is good wine and food to enjoy, why not take some district filial piety to the general Lu Bu? He thinks it's good enough to share it with his lord. It was kindness, but his kindness was not rewarded. When he brought the wine and food to Lu Bu, Lu Bu kicked him over and scolded him for being a bloody dog......"

"Why is that?" An old man in the front row asked as he twisted Banbai's beard.

"There's nothing more to say about that. For General Lu Bu, the most important thing at that time was how to repel Cao Cao, and he was already planning about it, and he had long since stopped drinking. Originally, he was also a lover of wine. But the love is so deep that he hates it, and he is angry when he sees the wine offered by Hou Cheng. It's not so much about sparkling as it is about people who drink sparkling. Because of what he had done before, he hated betrayers. In such a most dangerous time, he was afraid that others would betray him, and the fear in his heart was extreme. He scolded Hou Cheng angrily at that time: 'Don't you guys have to drink and discuss how to betray me?' Hou Cheng was scolded inexplicably, and his heart was also full of fire. The man explained with a wry smile.

"It's no wonder Hou Cheng is angry." The old man nodded, and then asked, "What happened?" ”

General Hou Cheng was so arrogant that he saw through Lu Bu and turned around to encourage his colleagues not to follow this kind of person anymore. Hou Cheng's friends and their generals were originally dissatisfied with Lu Bu, so they felt the same way as Hou Cheng's words. They said to Hou Cheng: 'Since General Lu Bu himself suspects us, it is very likely that he will kill us on an inexplicable charge in the future. We are in danger right now. Instead of being scared all the time, it is better to give him a real one. Hou Cheng's face suddenly turned pale when he heard this, and he was silent. There was a constant battle in his heart, and he finally decided: 'Okay, then give Lu Bu a real one!' So they got into action. The man said. When he told Hou Cheng and his subordinates about the discussion in the accounts, he said it very seriously, as if he was Hou Cheng.

"Action? What action? The old man asked with a bitter expression.

"This is what you should all guess, that is, to take refuge in Cao Cao. We little soldiers were called together to do something. That is, I am going to give a meeting gift for these adults to meet their new masters. The man's eyes narrowed as he spoke.

"What greeting?" The old man couldn't wait to ask.

"Although they are going to take refuge, these adults always think of something that is impressive. The most wonderful of them is to kill the master Lu Bu. But everyone thinks that this is an impossible thing, because after all, he has the title of the world's number one fierce general, and we are all a little afraid of him. So I had to settle for the next best thing. We decided to capture the military advisor Chen Gong and his subordinate Gao Shun alive and use them as a greeting gift. And that's it! The man continued.

"And then?" The old man urged him.

"The rest of the story is less clear. We grabbed the army and the generals and went to Cao Cao's side, and then we heard the news that Xiapi Chengpo and General Lü Bu had been killed. I'm now Cao Cao's soldier, but I've always found it pointless to go on like this. The man's words seemed a little lonely here: "I am a human being, and I can think." I've been wondering how long I'm going to do something like this. Ever since I picked up my saber, I've never had a good rest, I'm in the middle of a fight, and there's nothing to be happy about. I never knew who or what it was for? Perhaps, thinking about these things is simply not happening at all. After all, there are wars going on everywhere right now! War has become the most commonplace. But I'm already disgusted. I was asking everywhere where there was no war. I heard that there was a peaceful place in Xiangyang City, and although it was a little far away from where I was at the time, I still walked over step by step. Now I'm a deserter. But because I am a pawn myself, no one has come to hunt me down. After coming to Xiangyang, although I am still a soldier, I am very lucky. Because he invested in the command of a master who doesn't fight. ”

"So, then there's no more?" The old man still looked a little unsatisfied.

"It's gone." The man's slightly flat nose said: "I escaped, of course I can't see what will happen in the future!" ”

"Oh!" The crowd of onlookers showed their original appearance, and gradually dispersed.

After leaving, Zhuge Liang, Li Sheng, and Xu Shu walked on the bustling street, as if they were thinking about something. At this time, Xu Shu opened the conversation: "Ah Liang, do you have any opinion of the person just now?" ”

"Someone just now?" was suddenly asked this, the tall Zhuge Liang couldn't help but be stunned, and after thinking for a while, he understood: "Are you talking about the person who claimed to have fled from Xuzhou?" ”

"Yes! He's from the house next door to you, what do you think of him? Xu Shu said, looking up at Zhuge Liang. It's been two years, and the time he has spent together for two years has made him have a deep understanding of these two classmates of the Zhuge family. He knew that Li Sheng was just a person who had stayed in Xuzhou for a while, and if he wanted to talk about his hometown, he was still his fellow countryman. And Zhuge Liang is the authentic Xuzhou person. So he didn't ask Li Sheng, but asked Zhuge Liang.

"It feels weird." Zhuge Liang frowned and held his chin with his hand. As he grew older, a beard grew faintly on his jade-smooth face. It's a sign of maturity, though. After some trimming, a mature temperament different from that of a young boy was revealed, and with his tall figure, no one regarded him as a ghost anymore. Now he walks on the road with Li Sheng, and people often regard him as an elder brother and Li Sheng as a younger brother. Li Sheng still looks very childish.

"What's the weird way?" Xu Shu asked.

"He said so much in official dialect, only occasionally mixed with some Xuzhou dialect. It was really awkward, and it always made people feel that he was doing it on purpose. Zhuge Liang said his judgment calmly and calmly. He now seemed very confident, and no longer blushed shyly when asked to say what he thought.

"That's right." Li Sheng smiled happily and narrowed his eyes, every time he was happy at the observation of the tall brother next to him. Because Zhuge Liang can always see those subtle things and distinguish all kinds that are difficult for ordinary people to notice. In Li Sheng's eyes, Zhuge Liang is the kind of person who pays attention to details, and he always looks very meticulously in analyzing problems, which is completely different from himself who always looks at the big picture.

"He's really strong, much better than himself." This is the true thought in Li Sheng's heart. Because he knows that Zhuge Liang does not only pay attention to details, he is also outstanding in grasping the big aspects. He's an all-rounder, and he's the kind of all-rounder who has a lot of background in every aspect.

"Is this the first time you've heard this?" Xu Shu asked with a smile.

"yes. What's wrong? Li Sheng and Zhuge Liang looked at him puzzled.

"I've heard it once. It was a few days ago, and the man was talking the same thing by the Red Flower House on the embankment. The old man with the white beard was there. At the time, they spoke more awkwardly than for a few days. It made me, Zhou Ping, and Guangyuan feel a little embarrassed. Although they were doing a drill, it was really bad. Xu Shu pretended to be calm and said. It's just that as soon as his voice fell, he laughed.

"They can't have done it spontaneously. There must be someone behind them pushing around, as if using the event to make a statement. Li Sheng quickly grasped this.

"Hmm. Exactly. Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu nodded in affirmative. They didn't ask who the person who was pushing was. Because, that's something you can imagine.

This is Jingzhou, and it is the territory of Liu Biao and Liu Jingsheng. What big moves to do here would be impossible without the permission of Lord Liu Biao. Moreover, the final conclusion of the man who spoke also made it clear: "After coming to Xiangyang, although I am still a soldier, I am very lucky. Because he invested in the command of a master who doesn't fight. ”

"The master who does not fight", Liu Biao is proud of this, because he believes that the reason why Jingzhou is peaceful is entirely because of him.

"This is Lord Liu Biao's heart-to-heart battle!" Li Sheng muttered.

"It's just that this heart-to-heart battle is not clever." Xu Shu was slightly disdainful of this.

"It doesn't matter whether you're smart or not, because this kind of attack can only be aimed at ordinary people, and we don't count us gentlemen at all. After all, there aren't many people running around like us. Zhuge Liang's conclusions are always so objective.

In Xiangyang, they could hear people talking about the war, but as soon as they returned to the solemnity of the countryside, all they could hear was the wind and the birds. It's so tranquil that it feels like it's away from the world. Such a life may be suitable for a reclusive old man who has already experienced a lot of worldly events, but it is undoubtedly a dull thing for a young man who aspires to a career. In order to alleviate the unhappiness caused by this dullness, Li Sheng and Zhuge Liang often walked around Xiangyang City to experience the excitement of the legend.

They are like this, and so is Xu Shu. He came more often than Li Sheng and Zhuge Liang, so he got more things than the two.

"Do you know what happened? About Lu Bu's fate? Xu Shu asked with a smile squinting his eyes. This is a very fascinating question, after all, Lu Bu's martial arts are the best in the world, and his defeat is both in people's imagination and beyond people's expectations. No matter who didn't know anything about it, they would be interested in Lu Bu's death.

"I guess he was strangled to death. No bloodshed, no severed heads, seems to be a kind of tolerance for him. Zhuge Liang said lightly, "I heard that the rebels had left, and he only took the remaining personal guards and dozens of horses to climb the White Gate Tower. He was loyal to his subordinates: 'Cut off my head to see Cao Cao, and you will be valued.' That's what he's heard from others.

At such times, Li Sheng was mostly silent. Although he knew everything, he didn't want to tell what he knew. He is now living with Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Liang must know what he knows. So he couldn't explain why he knew these things. In order not to let people see himself as a monster, he could only shut up and wait for Xu Shu's statement.

"Probably no one is going to cut it, right?" Xu Shu smiled mysteriously and strangely.

They all followed Lu Bu to the end. If you really have the heart of betrayal, you would have followed Hou Cheng to join Cao ****, where would you stay until the end? However, ......" Zhuge Liang's words paused slightly, and there was a slight look of worship on his face: "If you can't give your subordinates' heads, that's really brave enough." ”

"Hehe, that's what it looks like. But the real situation is always frustrating. Lu Bu, the world's first martial artist, does not seem to be as courageous as the legend. After he was brought to Cao Cao, he seemed to want to live. Xu Shu said in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh? He still wants to surrender to Cao Cao? Zhuge Liang and Li Sheng were both surprised. It's just that Zhuge Liang's surprise is real, but Li Sheng's surprise is real.

"Yes! When he was tied up and brought to Cao Cao, guess what he said? He said: 'The world is in order. Xu Shu said with a sigh, he was imitating Lu Bu's tone at that time.

"The world's major events are decided?" Zhuge Liang repeated what Xu Shu said, and there was a hint of a smile on his face: "Lu Bu is about to say that the biggest threat to your Cao Gong in the world is not Yuan Shao in the north, nor Yuan Shu in the south, who is called the emperor, but me Lu Bu." Now that I, Lu Bu, have been caught and executed by you, there will be no one in the world who will resist your Cao Gong's Feng Ying. Alas, this Lu Bu is really confident enough. Saying that, Zhuge Liang made up his mind.

"It's confident, but it's not what you think." Xu Shu shook his head and said.

"What does that mean?" Zhuge Liang had surprise and curiosity in his eyes.

Xu Shu smiled and opened his mouth to explain. But he caught a glimpse of the smile on Li Sheng's face. "Could it be that he thought of it too?" Xu Shu felt strange, so he looked over to Li Sheng and said, "Zixu, you must have guessed this thing, so please tell me about it now." "The fact that Li Sheng has a word before he reaches the crown is well known to his classmates, and they all call Li Sheng directly by words.

"Huh?" When he was suddenly asked, the smile on Li Sheng's face froze suddenly, and he pouted and whispered, "How can you give me such a troublesome matter." ”

"What do you say?" Xu Shu's tone suddenly became stern, and he seemed to hear Li Sheng's whispered complaints.

"No, nothing!" Li Sheng waved his hand in a panic and denied. Seeing that this matter really couldn't be avoided, he had no choice but to speak with a straight face: "Lu Bu's real meaning should be to say: Right now, I, Lu Bu, surrender to your Cao Gong." You Cao Gong will command the infantry army, and I, Lu Bu, will lead the cavalry. Together, no one in the world will be able to stop us. ”

"What? Is there such a meaning? This was indeed unexpected by Zhuge Liang, and he asked curiously: "Then what does Cao Cao think about this?" Lu Bu said this, and seemed to look down on Cao Cao. He thinks Cao Cao can't command the cavalry! I think Cao Cao will be angry about this! ”

"No, I heard that Cao Cao laughed. When Lu Bu saw that Liu Bei was also present, he said, "Xuande, you can talk about it for me." Xu Shu still imitated Lu Bu's tone and said.

"It's a bit of a strong man!" Zhuge Liang and Li Sheng said in unison, and both of them had a wry smile on their faces.

Three years ago, Lü Bu attacked Xiapi, Liu Bei was defeated, his family was captured, and he had to surrender. Lu Bu appointed him as the assassin of Yuzhou, and Lu Bu seemed to want to get back the favor. But in Liu Bei's opinion, he and Lu Bu have never had any grievances, and it was he who took Lu Bu in a nowhere when he was at the end of the day, but he was attacked by him later for no reason. Although when Liu Bei and Incentive were at war, Lu Bu came to mediate and seemed to have a personal war against Liu Bei. But Lu Bu immediately attacked Liu Bei next, and Liu Bei went to Cao Cao. Carefully weighing the whole process, Liu Bei seems to have suffered more from Lu Bu.

After beating someone for no reason, and beating someone miserably, and then saying the words within "I forgive you", how can the person who was beaten be grateful? Lu Bu actually regarded this matter as his kindness to Liu Bei, which shows how extremely self-centered he is.

"Lu Bu's implication is that I didn't kill you, of course you have to beg for my life." Li Sheng looked at Xu Shu, who nodded slightly.

"Then what did Liu Bei say?" Zhuge Liang asked.

"At that time, Cao Cao was smiling, and he said: 'It's dangerous if the tiger is not tied tightly!' and asked Liu Bei if he wanted to loosen his ties for him. It is said that Liu Bei only said one sentence: 'Has Gong Cao forgotten Dong Zhongying and Ding Jianyang? Xu Shu imitated Cao Cao and Liu Bei's tone again.

"What a wonderful answer!" Li Sheng and Zhuge Liang clapped their hands and laughed in unison.

Jianyang is Ding Yuan's character, and Zhong Ying is Dong Zhuo's character. Lu Bu Zeng Shi was subordinate to the two masters of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, but killed them one after another. What Liu Bei meant by this: "Do you dare to use such a tricky character?" ”

"'That's right.' Cao Cao nodded approvingly and ordered Lu Bu to be executed. Lu Bu suddenly struggled, and he shouted at Liu Bei: "You big-eared bastard is the most unreliable!" Xu Shu raps Jujia to describe the scene for Li Sheng and Zhuge Liang.

"Big-eared bastard?" Li Sheng and Zhuge Liang both asked in surprise.

"It is said that Liu Bei's ears are surprisingly large. What does it say about big ears in terms of human appearance? Xu Shu said, lowered his head and pondered. Li Sheng and Zhuge Liang also learned from him. After a moment, as if they had thought of something in a split second, the three of them burst out laughing at the same time.