Wei Ba returned from meritorious service, and with the sentence "Big brother's woman, I don't dare to ask for it, and I can't ask for it", he politely and tactfully rejected Mrs. Zhang's reward. This is a happy result, Wei Yan is proud, and Mrs. Zhang is satisfied; Huan'er rest assured, Peng Xiaoyu is happy.

After a lively family banquet, Wei Ba returned to his long-lost tent, and saw that everything was neatly placed where it should be, the case was spotless, and even his foot bath bucket was cleaned, knowing that Peng Xiaoyu was not lazy these days, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Xiaoyu, I have worked hard for you during my absence." ”

Peng Xiaoyu was busy preparing hot water, and said with a smile: "It's not my credit alone, Miss Huan'er has also helped a lot." ”

Wei Ba sneered: "She? At most, she stood aside and pointed at what else she could help. ”

Peng Xiaoyu pursed her lips and smiled, wiped the sweat on her face with her arm, squatted in front of Wei Ba, and helped him take off his boots. Wei Ba has suffered a lot in the past few months, not only has a smell on his feet, but also has a lot of calluses. Peng Xiaoyu couldn't help but be 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." ”

"You can only feel good when you come home after you have eaten hard outside." Peng Xiaoyu hugged her legs, sat opposite Wei Ba, rested her chin on her knees, and looked at Wei Ba with a smile: "The young master used to wash his feet every day, and he was never so happy. ”

Wei Ba smiled: "You said well, I was comfortable before, but I feel very comfortable today." ”

"Actually, if Sister Huan'er washes your feet for you, you will be more comfortable." Peng Xiaoyu said narrowly: "Don't you feel sorry for the young master? Sister Huan'er is much prettier. ”

Wei Ba said angrily: "Huan'er is my eldest brother's woman, can I want her?" Besides, she has been with Madame for many years, and she is used to being domineering, so I want her to come over, and you will have to suffer in the future. He paused, and then said, "Of course, when she comes to me, she will be the eyes and ears of my wife in the future, so I don't want such a person." ”

"Uh......" Peng Xiaoyu smiled deliciously, lowered her head, looked at the herbs floating on the water surface in the foot bath tub and did not speak.

Wei Ba couldn't see her eyes, and he didn't know what she was thinking, but he felt that she was a little distracted, the water was almost cold, and he didn't know how to add water, so he lifted his foot from the bucket, opened his toes, and made a gesture to pinch her nose.

"The water is cold."

"Oh, I'll add water." Peng Xiaoyu stood up in a bit of a panic and turned around to get hot water. Wei Ba shook his head speechlessly and muttered, "After a few months of idleness, the service level has plummeted." ”

Peng Xiaoyu took the hot water in, carefully adjusted it, and soaked it for a while, then picked up Wei Ba's feet and skillfully massaged Wei Ba. While enjoying the service of the ugly girl, Wei Ba asked, "During my absence, what is the big deal in Chuyang?" ”

"It's nothing, it's just that before New Year's Day, the prime minister was going to send troops, and the personnel were all arranged, but I don't know why, and then he didn't move." Peng Xiaoyu rubbed the Yongquan point on the soles of Wei Ba's feet and said, "I heard from Sister Huan'er that the general was criticized by his wife for this. ”

“weishenme？”

The prime minister arranged for General Wu Yi to lead 20,000 to guard Hanzhong, and let the general lead 10,000 troops to go out with the army. The general said that this was the prime minister's desire to take the opportunity to deprive the Wei family of their interests in Hanzhong, and made a few complaints. Madame said he was not doing it right. ”

Wei Ba frowned: "Then 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 Madame right to criticize it?"

Peng Xiaoyu paused for a moment and moved again. "I think the prime minister definitely means this, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. If the general can obey his orders, the prime minister will give him more opportunities for meritorious service. Otherwise, the prime minister will think that he is difficult to control, and naturally he will have to put more restrictions. As for Madame's criticism, of course, it is also right. Since you can't object, complaining won't help, but will be used by people with intentions. ”

Wei Ba smiled bitterly, his father is indeed relatively incompetent in terms of being a man, and he doesn't understand the truth that even women understand. Maybe it's not that he doesn't understand, it's just that he can't control his mouth.

Woe comes from the mouth.

"Young master, in fact, the general also has the consideration of the general, if you want to make meritorious service, you must have strength. Strength is not only how many soldiers there are, but also sufficient financial support. If you don't have money, how can you afford to raise soldiers, and if you don't completely obey your own private subordinates to serve your orders, how can you make more meritorious contributions? The field manor is the foundation of the family, and it is not easy to let go. ”

Wei Ba didn't say anything. As a person who has a certain amount of knowledge, he knows that Haoqiang, especially the armed Haoqiang, has extremely strong centrifugal force, and Prime Minister Zhuge Liang is also an inevitable measure to limit the strength of the Wei family, but as a member of the Wei family, he can't sit back and watch his family's years of hard work be deprived like this. These two completely different ideas coexist in him alone, which seems to be contradictory, but in fact they are also very unified, depending on which angle you stand on the problem.

Of course, people should value the collective interest, but what if the collective interest harms my personal interests? What if someone uses the collective interest as an excuse to take my personal interests? There is no definitive answer to these questions, it all depends on what the person thinks.

Wei Ba can believe that Zhuge Liang is not the kind of person who pretends to be public and private, which can be seen from Zhuge Qiao's diet, but he can't guarantee that the people around Zhuge Liang are as noble as Zhuge Liang. In fact, there is no difference between picking noble people from among officials and panning for gold from sand. If those people can pursue their own interests, 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, it was still not pure.

Seeing that Wei Ba was thinking about it, Peng Xiaoyu stopped talking. Wei Ba suddenly remembered Zhuge Qiao, and talked about his worries. After being separated for a few months, he still can't seem to get rid of that habit, and he always likes to listen to Peng Xiaoyu's opinion when something happens. Although Peng Xiaoyu was not by his side when he was in Anyang or Fangling, he also made a lot of decisions, and it seemed that the result was not bad, but as soon as he saw Peng Xiaoyu, his habit naturally recovered.

He couldn't tell if this was a stream of advice, or a kind of subconscious lack of confidence.

"Zhuge Qiao does things decently, not good, not bad." Peng Xiaoyu lowered his head and said unhurriedly: "If the requirements are not too strict, he can be regarded as a young man." However, compared to the prime minister, he is too far behind. When the prime minister was his age, he was already famous. ”

Wei Ba was stunned, when Zhuge Liang came out of the mountain to assist Liu Bei, it seemed that he was indeed about the same age as Zhuge Qiao now, and a few years before that, he was already a celebrity in Xiangyang. Compared with him, Zhuge Qiao is indeed too far behind.

It seems that having a smart father is not necessarily a good thing.

Poor Zhuge Qiao.

……

A few days later, Zhuge Qiao returned to Chuyang, confessed his errand, and then there was no more news. The prime minister neither rewarded him nor rebuked him, as if he had only done an ordinary errand, and not the first time he had led his troops into battle, and it was such an important one.

On the contrary, Wei Ba was quickly rewarded. Zhuge Liang spoke highly of his merits, although the conflict with Pan Zhang led to some unnecessary disputes, Wei Ba still made more merit than demerit, received a lot of financial rewards, and obtained the qualification to officially attend various meetings of the Prime Minister's Mansion. From now on, he joined the army as an official prime minister, not just an honorary position.

As the youngest father to join the army in the Prime Minister's Mansion, Wei Yan was very proud. As the youngest member of the Prime Minister's Mansion to join the army, Wei Ba was under a lot of pressure. He has made meritorious contributions, and he has also caused trouble, and it is a diplomatic contradiction, but Zhuge Liang rewarded him lightly, which fully reflected the reward for young people, but thinking about Zhuge Qiao, who had no merit and hard work, did not have any reward, Wei Ba felt very uneasy when he lamented the strictness of the prime minister.

The wood is beautiful in the forest, and 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 will not be loud enough, and he will show off a few sentences on his lips when he has nothing to do, but he doesn't know that this will cause disgust among many people.

With such a mentality, Wei Ba became more and more low-key, and when he attended the meeting of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he tried his best to sit in a corner where no one was paying attention, unless Prime Minister Zhuge named him, otherwise he could not open his mouth. If you have any opinions, you also ask to see Prime Minister Zhuge in private, or go to ask Ma Jian for advice, and pass it on to Zhuge Liang's ears through his mouth, and never talk about it in front of people. His attitude was praised by Zhuge Liang. One night, after the meeting, Zhuge Liang specially left Wei Ba behind and said to Zhuge Qiao, you have to be closer to Ziyu, people are beneficial and friendly, and you will be beneficial.

Wei Ba even said that he didn't dare to be.

Out of the tent, Wei Ba was just about to say goodbye to Zhuge Qiao, Zhuge Qiao took his hand and smiled: "Ziyu, come with me?" ”

Wei Ba was very reluctant, he was uncomfortable when he saw Zhuge Qiao in the past two days. But Zhuge Qiao opened his mouth, and he couldn't refuse, so he had to agree.

Zhuge Qiao and Wei Ba slowly walked out of the camp, speechless all the way, and unconsciously came to the boulder where Wei Ba practiced boxing every day. Zhuge Qiao sat down, facing the large camp that stretched for miles in the valley, and suddenly sighed.

Wei Ba stood behind him, not knowing what to say. Although he did not harm Zhuge Qiao, I have to say that his existence is also one of the reasons why Zhuge Qiao is depressed.

"Ziyu, tomorrow I will go back to Chengdu and become my transfer captain."

Wei Ba was shocked, the so-called transfer captain was the captain of the transportation brigade, that is, the things that Zhuge Qiao had done before. Zhuge Liang stayed in Hanzhong for too long, and the food consumption exceeded expectations, and he had to be transferred from Chengdu again. In the past two days, the Prime Minister's Mansion and his family have held a meeting, and this matter has been discussed the most. Wei Ba privately put forward a proposal to Tuntian in Hanzhong, and Zhuge Liang was also considering it, but far water could not quench the thirst of the near, and it was imperative to transport grain from Chengdu.

However, for Zhuge Qiao, this is a very unpleasant signal. In the past, he was asked to transport grain, but it was said that he was asked to exercise and lay the foundation for the future commanders. Now he has the experience of leading 10,000 people to fight, although the limelight has been stolen by Wei Ba, but his own performance is also remarkable, as the first time to lead the troops, he can do this, which is enough to show his ability.

However, Zhuge Liang also asked him to carry the grain, instead of letting him lead the troops, for only one reason, Zhuge Liang was very dissatisfied with his performance, and decided to refrigerate him, at least temporarily.

"Bo Song, Prime Minister...... It's also well-intentioned, you're still young......"

Wei Ba weighed his words, and thought of comforting Zhuge Qiao, but he was really not a person who could speak well, and he himself was the "culprit" who caused Zhuge Qiao's situation today, no matter what he said, it didn't seem to taste right. As soon as he opened his mouth to say a few words, Zhuge Qiao interrupted him: "Ziyu, you don't have to comfort me, I still don't know about the matter between our father and son?" You sit down, I just want to talk to you, nothing else. ”

Wei Ba closed his mouth and sat down on the stone honestly.

"Ziyu, I want to ask you something."