Kong Ming's departure from the mountains laid an indispensable foundation for Liu Bei's founding of the state, and his theory of dividing the world into three parts is the theoretical premise for constructing the pattern of the three kingdoms. As a proud disciple of Sima Hui, Kong Ming has a talent for the evolution of history.

From this chapter onwards, we will focus on Zhiming's experiences and officially get into the real theme of this story. The mystery of the White Tigers will be unveiled by the Son of the Holy Sword himself.

After a long journey, Zhiming and Xu Shu finally came to Xuchang.

"Wow, it's spectacular!" was Zhiming's first sentence after entering the city.

Xuchang is nominally the capital of the Han Dynasty, but in essence it is the capital of the Wei State, because the person who holds the real power is Cao Cao, not the Son of Heaven. As the capital city, Xuchang has a very dense population, on the one hand, due to the low taxation in Kyoto, and Cao Cao's implementation of the tuntian system, so that every family has land, the people live under less pressure, and do not need to worry about money, food, etc., on the other hand, the war forced many outsiders to immigrate here. Today, Xuchang is a sacred place that symbolizes peace and prosperity. However, peace is only superficial, and open and covert struggles still exist, and there is no end to the struggle between officials and officials, between the government and the people, and between the people. With the decline of the Han Dynasty, the contradictions between people gradually intensified, but thanks to the harmonizing effect of the holy sword, the Han Dynasty was able to survive to this day.

The buildings in Xuchang seem to be more ornate and popular than those in Xiangyang, which is Zhiming's first feeling after entering the city.

They led their horses down the street. It's morning, and it's crowded with people, shouting and selling, one wave after another. Xu Shu had no intention of enjoying the scenery, and wanted to see his mother.

"Strategist, have you ever been to such a lively city before?" asked Zhiming.

Xu Shu stared blankly ahead, silent. Zhiming knew that he was in a bad mood and didn't ask.

After a while, Zhiming said again: "Strategist, let's find an inn to stay in first." ”

Xu Shu came back to his senses and said, "What? Stay at the guest house, I'll go directly to Cheng Mansion." ”

"In such a hurry, do you want to finish lunch before leaving?"

"General Lei, you have to understand my feelings. The mother is in hell, how can the son not be in a hurry!" Xu Shu said, tears flowed out unconsciously.

Zhiming clearly remembers that he cried a total of six times on the way, and his filial piety was testified by both people and gods. He comforted: "Military advisor, Lingtang will be fine." As soon as he sees you, Cao Cao will definitely treat you mother and son well. ”

"Thank you. Xu Shu wiped away his tears and said, "General, it's your first time in such a big city, right?"

"I've been to Xiangyang before, and it's also very prosperous, but it's still a little worse than here. ”

"I've been to Xuchang and know that there is a good place that I can introduce to you. ”

"Really? That's great. Zhiming didn't worry about money, Liu Bei gave him enough funds.

"There is an inn nearby called 'Chijin Inn', which is the largest inn in the city, and it can be divided into gold, silver and bronze rooms according to the room class. The general can choose the silver room, which is more affordable and has a good sanitary environment. ”

Xu Shu took him around a few alleys and came to the famous Chijin Inn in the local area.

Zhiming looked up and was really shocked: this inn was six stories high! it was the tallest building he had ever seen in his life.

The general was not surprised that this inn was opened by Wei Hong, the richest local merchant, and was the largest and most luxurious inn in the city. Xu Shu pointed to the height of the inn and said, "The sixth floor above is the gold room, where you live there you can see the whole city, the fifth to the third floor is the silver room, the second floor is the bronze room, and the first floor is the teahouse." How about it? If you can, go in and register. ”

Zhiming nodded. Xu Shu called a guy out and led the horse to the backyard to settle down.

The shopkeeper was a kind old man, and when he saw the two of them coming in, he greeted them with a smile on his face and asked, "Guest officer, do you want housing?"

"Yes, a silver room. Xu Shu said for Zhiming.

"The fifth floor is already full, and there are still the third and fourth floors, which floor do the guest officers want?"

"Third floor. Zhiming said.

"Please register first. The old man pulled out a thick booklet from the counter.

After registration, Zhiming paid the deposit. The old man took a bunch of keys from the wall behind him and asked the man to take them to the silver number seven room.

"There are quite a lot of people here!" Zhiming said when he saw the people coming and going in the inn.

"Yes," said the fellow as he opened the door, "it's full almost every day, so you're early, guest officer." ”

"Who are most of the people living here?" Zhiming asked.

"Generally, they are some passing merchants, occasionally government personnel from other places, and some people on the rivers and lakes, dragons and snakes are mixed. The man opened the door and led them in.

"Is that old shopkeeper the boss here?" asked Zhiming.

"No, our boss's surname is Wei, he is just a shopkeeper, a relative of the boss. ”

"Your boss has a good relationship with Cao Cao?"

"Yes, back then, Boss Wei spent a huge amount of money to help the prime minister recruit troops and horses to defeat Dong Zhuo, so the prime minister was very grateful to him and said that he would definitely escort the business of the inn. I remember one time, a group of bandits refused to give money for accommodation, and they happened to meet the guards of the Prime Minister's Mansion drinking morning tea on the first floor of the inn, and they were taken away by the guards on the same day. Since then, no one dares to cause trouble. "The guy was chatting while tidying up the room.

"The guards of the Prime Minister's Mansion still care about these things?" Zhiming was a little unconvinced.

The guy smiled and said, "Guest officer, don't believe it, the prime minister has personally come here for morning tea." Everyone in the capital knows that the Chijin Inn has a backstage in the court, so the locals don't dare to cause trouble here, and only people from other places who don't understand the situation will make trouble. ”

"What a broken prime minister, to put it bluntly, he is a thief..."Xu Shu inadvertently said something emotional.

Zhiming hurriedly covered his mouth and said to the guy: "It's okay, we are outsiders, don't be surprised." ”

The guy's emotional intelligence is also quite high, so he shouldn't hear it. After everything was arranged, the guy handed over the key to Zhiming and left.

Zhiming opened the window and inhaled fresh air. It's morning and the air quality is higher.

Xu Shu walked to the window, pointed to a mountain forest outside the city, and said, "Have you seen that mountain forest?"

Zhiming followed his finger and nodded.

"There is Wuhu Mountain, noon at noon. On the top of the hill is a walled city, which is the headquarters of the White Tigers. But I've also heard that the general can go to the bottom of the mountain and ask. Xu Shu sighed after speaking.

Zhiming understood what he meant and said, "Don't worry, I will do it myself." ”

"You still call me a military teacher, really. General, I'm leaving. Xu Shu took his luggage and said, "Although we haven't known each other for a long time, I will remember you." Please take care, there will be a date later!"

Xu Shufei also left. After seeing him leave, Zhiming regretted for a while, felt a little sleepy, and lay down to rest.

At noon, he got up and locked the door and went to the first floor for lunch. While the guy was placing an order, he began to look around. There are quite a lot of people here, all kinds of people, and the overall atmosphere is okay, and there is no sign of war at all from here.

"There is peace in troubled times, and everything in the world is divided in two. He thought.

Xu Shu hurried to Cheng's mansion. Cheng Yu heard that his old friend had arrived, so he hurriedly tidied up his clothes and came out to greet him, saying, "Yuan Zhi, I haven't seen you for a long time, are you okay?"

"Zhongde, my mother wrote to me and said that you brought her here. First of all, I am very grateful to you, but the polite words are excused first, you tell me first, where is my mother now?" Xu Shu was anxious to know the whereabouts of his biological mother.

Cheng Yu said with a smile on his face: "Don't worry, Yuanzhi, my godmother is just being served by me in the backyard." She's doing well, I'll take you to see her now. ”

Xu Shu was puzzled for a while: Didn't the letter say that she was tortured by Cao Cao and was so immaculate?

Suspicious, he went to his mother's quarters. Cheng Yu didn't even dare to enter the room, and said, "Yuan Zhi, the godmother is inside, you guys have a good gathering." I've got something to do, see you later. I took my leave. ”

When she saw her own son, Xu's mother's face was not joyful, but surprised.

"Mother, the child is here!" Xu Shu finally saw his biological mother, and tears came out of his eyes.

Xu Mu asked strangely, "Yuan Zhi, why are you here?"

"Didn't you write to call me, mother?" Xu Shu thought she had lost her memory by Cao Cao's torture.

"When am I writing to call you here?" asked Xu's mother rhetorically.

Xu Shu observed that his mother did not look like she had been tortured, but her body was much better than before. He quickly took out the letter and showed it to her.

After reading the letter, Mother Xu recalled the scene of Cheng Yu's gift before, and suddenly realized, she was so angry that she couldn't speak for a while, and coughed all the time.

Xu Shu wanted to help her beat her back, but she refused, and said angrily: "Don't touch me! You are still my own son who has been raised by me for so many years, and you don't even know your own mother!"

Xu Shu was puzzled. Mother Xu returned the letter to him and said, "See for yourself!"

Xu Shu looked at it carefully again, but still didn't find any mistakes.

Mother Xu coughed twice and said, "You still don't understand! You take a good look at it, when did I call your brother Kang'er? I have always called him Yuan Shun since I was a child! This letter is clearly fake!"

After his mother said it, Xu Shu had an epiphany and shouted that he was deceived.

"Fool! I have raised you for so many years, and I have acted so rashly! Even if you can't see it, you should know who I am! Am I the kind of person who is greedy for life and afraid of death?!" The more Xu Mu spoke, the more angry she became, and the more angry she became.

"I... I..."Xu Shu also knew that his mother was not greedy for life and afraid of death, and he only blamed himself for saving his mother, which led to a mistake in judgment. He had nothing to say.

"I'm really surprised to hear that you followed Uncle Liuhuang, but... But you turned to the darkness, you... Defiled the ancestors, live in vain! Cough... You... You kneel!" Xu Mu was angry and beat her chest.

Xu Shu immediately bowed to the ground, his face pressed against the ground, and he didn't dare to raise his head.

After Xu Mu scolded, she turned around and went into the room. Xu Shu didn't dare to raise his head for a long time, he kept blaming himself in his heart, and at the same time hated Cao Cao and Cheng Yu.

Mother Xu didn't come out for a long time, and the coughing suddenly stopped. Xu Shu hurriedly rushed in to take a look, oh my God, his mother had already committed suicide by hanging from the beam! He hurriedly ran out and called someone.

The family members rushed to hear the news and worked together to untie Xu's mother from the sling. Xu Shu hurriedly stretched out his hand to probe his pulse, but there was no pulse, and his mother had no surgery. He felt as if the whole world had turned gray. He couldn't think about it all of a sudden, and wanted to commit suicide by hitting the wall, but was stopped by everyone.

"Let go of me, don't stop me! I'm going to atone for my mother!" Xu Shu struggled desperately, and had already put life and death aside.

The family members were desperate to stop him. One of them hugged his leg and said, "Sir, please think twice, even if you die, Lingtang will not be resurrected!"

"Leave me alone!!!" Xu Shu shouted hoarsely, wanting to apologize with death.

"Yuan Zhi!" At this time, a voice appeared at the door, it was Cheng Yu.

"Cheng Yu, why are you lying to me?" Xu Shu no longer had his old friend in his eyes.

"Yuan Zhi, what are you talking about?" Cheng Yu pretended to be stupid.

Xu Shu handed him the forged letter without saying a word.

"It's... I didn't write it!" Cheng Yu didn't dare to admit it, so he had to lie, "I don't know who made up this kind of lie! I originally wanted my godmother to enjoy her old age here, but I didn't expect to kill her! I can guarantee that it will never hurt her heart! Yuan Zhi, you have to cheer up and mourn and change!"

"Did I say you wrote it?" Xu Shu said, staring into his eyes.

"This ...... Anyway, I don't know at all, someone must have leaked the news, I... I will investigate this matter strictly!" Cheng Yu knew that he had slipped his mouth, but he had no choice but to deny it.

Cheng Yu's non-self-confession made Xu Shu more convinced of his judgment, but there was no proof of death, so he could only accept his fate. He blasted Cheng Yu out and calmed himself down.

Cheng Yu instructed his subordinates to be optimistic about Xu Shu and never let him leave the mansion for half a step; Xu Shu also knew in his heart that he was already in prison. He regretted that he didn't bring his mother to Xinye early in the morning, and even more regretted that he didn't take good care of her back then.

Later, Cao Cao sent people to forcibly bring Xu Shu back to the Prime Minister's Mansion, and at the same time ordered someone to use a coffin to contain Xu's mother's body and transport it to Xiaoci Mountain, ten miles outside Xuchang City, for burial. Cao Cao personally put three pillars of incense in front of the tomb, but these actions did not eliminate the anger in Xu Shu's heart, and he knew very well that what Cao Thief was doing was just acting, with the purpose of deceiving him of his loyalty. He swore that he would never contribute any strength or wisdom to it in his life, even if the other party forced him by force, he would never give in.