I will be the master of Xuande

Chapter 802: Envoys Persuading Surrender

Cao Cao has been a little restless these days. He feels confused about his future.

Now, he has lost all his allies and support, and his rear is being attacked by Taishi Ci and Zhuge Liang. Cao Cao himself knows that it is very difficult for him to preserve Jiangnan now.

According to Cao Cao's estimation, since Yuan Shao had been pacified by Liu Jian, although his son and others were still fighting against Liu Jian in Changsha, with Liu Jian's current strength, it would be completely easy and pleasant for him to defeat them.

Now a large number of the wealthy and powerful in Jiangnan have been won over by Zhuge Liang, and the rest may very likely rebel in the future because of Jianye’s trade route problems.

In this situation, what can I use to fight against Liu Jian?
In response to the current situation, Cao Cao immediately summoned his generals to discuss with them what to do in this situation...

In fact, some generals understood what Cao Cao meant... If it really doesn't work, Jiangnan should surrender to Liu Jian.

Now that the war has reached this point, there is no shame in surrendering.

In fact, there is nothing wrong with Cao Cao's idea. He is different from Yuan Shao. He and Liu Jian do not have such a deep hatred. He, Cao Cao, is just a separatist lord.

Since it is no longer possible to establish their own territory, it would be better for them to surrender to the central government. Given Liu Jian's kindness and righteousness, I think he would not make things difficult for the Cao clan.

The Cao Cao today is different from the one in history.

In history, Cao Cao had already achieved a certain level of power in the Central Plains. He supported the emperor and commanded the princes. His power had reached its peak. He had to follow his established path, otherwise he would perish. Especially the emperor and the princes would never tolerate him. Cao Cao had no other choice.

He must dominate the world!
In particular, the contradiction between Cao Cao and the Han Dynasty in history was so deep that it developed to the point where they could no longer coexist.

If Cao Cao had not destroyed the Han Dynasty, the entire Cao family would not have had a good ending.

But the situation now is completely different from that in history. Cao Cao has not achieved such great achievements as in history.

Therefore, he does not have such great ambitions.

The relationship between him and the Han Dynasty did not reach the level of hostility that existed in history. From Cao Cao's current perspective, if he surrendered to the Han Dynasty, Liu Jian would be able to accept him.

In this way, his clan can preserve its lineage and avoid being completely wiped out in the future.

However, after a brief discussion with his generals, Cao Cao found that some people expressed opposition, and these people's opposition would give him a headache.

First of all, the first person who clearly expressed his unwillingness to surrender was Xiahou Yuan.

It was actually expected that Xiahou Yuan would make such a statement.

After all, Xiahou Dun died at the hands of the Northern Army. Xiahou Yuan wanted to swallow Liu Jian up, so how could he express his loyalty to Liu Jian?
Xiahou Yuan immediately told Cao Cao that he would fight to the death with the people in the north, and he would defeat the invading enemies from the north at all costs.

If Liu Jian dared to lead his troops to the south of the Yangtze River in person, Xiahou Yuan would do whatever it took to chop off his head with his own hands.

Although what Xiahou Yuan said sounded like complete nonsense to Cao Cao, Xiahou Yuan was after all the commander of the Cao army. He was not only extremely brave, but also had a very high prestige in the army.

His words also represented the attitudes of many Xiahou clan members. Much of the military power of Cao's army was in the hands of these clan generals.

It would be unwise for Cao Cao to completely ignore their attitude and insist on surrendering to the north.

Once it causes a fight or rebellion within the clan...

Cao Cao felt a great headache.

Cao Cao could only helplessly say: "Since you are so determined to fight, what strategy should we adopt to meet the enemy? Taishi Ci and Zhuge Liang have occupied Wujun, which can be said to be a major threat to us. As long as they are still in the rear, we will not have peace for a day."

Soon, Xiahou Yuan said to Cao Cao, "My lord, I am willing to lead the troops back to eliminate Zhuge Liang and Taishi Ci, the two biggest threats to you."

Seeing that Xiahou Yuan volunteered to return, Cao Cao felt a little hesitant.

"Miaocai, I know you have a deep hatred for the Northern Army. This may make you move forward bravely, but it may blind your eyes. I am afraid that something might happen to you... You'd better not go back. Just stay with me."

But the more Cao Cao said this, the more Xiahou Yuan insisted on leading his troops back.

"My lord, as your direct general, I should share your worries at this critical moment! Wu County is our lifeline and now it has fallen into Taishi Ci's hands. The morale of the three armies is low and we must save them! I heard that Taishi Ci is a famous general in the north and is not to be compared with ordinary people. If I don't go back, how can ordinary people stop him?" Cao Cao hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "In this case, you must be careful."

Then Cao Cao looked at everyone and said, "I heard that after Guan Yu and Zhang Fei defeated Gong Jin, they are heading straight for Jianye along the river! If Guan Yu and Zhang Fei join forces with Liu Bei, they will be a formidable enemy. We must divide our forces to resist them along the river."

At this point, Cao Cao looked at Cao Ren and said, "Zixiao, you and Wen Ze lead the troops to resist. In terms of naval forces, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei may not be our opponents."

Cao Ren and Yu Jin immediately accepted the order.

Cao Cao also issued military orders to other generals, asking them to strictly guard each camp and carefully block the enemy on the river.

Afterwards, he returned to his study in a depressed mood and began to think about his next move.

However, no matter how hard Cao Cao thought, he could not think of a way to break the impasse.

He didn't sleep much the whole night, and only fell into a shallow sleep in the early morning of the next day, but it was not a full sleep.

Until one of his direct subordinates knocked on the door of Cao Cao's study, saying that a messenger from the north had come to Jianye and wanted to meet Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was slightly confused and immediately summoned the messenger to meet him.

After meeting Cao Cao, the man introduced himself and said that he was Liu Jian's fellow apprentice and trusted general, Sun Qian.

After Sun Qian paid his respects, he handed a handwritten letter from Liu Jian to Cao Cao.

When Cao Cao opened the letter, he saw that Liu Jian had described in detail the scene of their reunion in Luoyang, reminiscing about the past, and at the same time thanked Cao Cao for the series of help he had provided to him in Luoyang.

After reading the letter, Cao Cao remained silent and then slowly closed the letter.

He looked at Sun Qian and said, "Liu Deran wrote such a letter to me, not mentioning the current war, but only reminiscing about the past. Why?"

Sun Qian said: "When the Prime Minister and Cao Gong were in Luoyang, the world was not peaceful, but it was not as bad as the current situation of division."

"But now the world's general trend has been determined. The Prime Minister said that after a long period of unity, the world will eventually divide, and after a long period of division, it will eventually unite. It is time to reunite."

"And it's time for the Prime Minister and Lord Cao to meet again in the capital! The Prime Minister said that when he was young, he was able to meet Lord Cao, which was a great blessing in his life."

"The Prime Minister recalled what had happened over the years. Lord Cao did not participate much. To the Han Dynasty, Lord Cao was still a loyal minister."

"Now, Lord Cao, why don't you put down your weapons for the sake of the world, the Han Dynasty, and your family, and meet with the Prime Minister in Chang'an? It would be wonderful for two loyal ministers to jointly protect the Han Dynasty, revive the Han Dynasty, and leave their names in history."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and asked Sun Qian, "So, you are here on behalf of your Prime Minister Liu to persuade me to surrender?"

Sun Qian smiled and said, "I really don't understand what Lord Cao said. Lord Cao and the Prime Minister are both Han officials. We are one family. Why should we persuade him to surrender or not? Prime Minister Liu asked me to come here just to tell Lord Cao that children who leave home will eventually return home, no matter how many years have passed. "

"This great Han Dynasty is the home of us, the people of the Han Dynasty, and the court is the former residence of Cao Gong."

"Lord Cao, no matter how good things are outside, it's time to return home."

Sun Qian's words were both firm and gentle, and they gave Cao Cao enough face and touched Cao Cao's heart.

His attitude also made Cao Cao feel that Liu Jian hoped to return to the court and hoped to cooperate with him to revive the Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao then leaned forward and asked Sun Qian, "If I return to the court, what should I do if the Prime Minister does not tolerate me in the future? After all, I was once a vassal of Yuan Shao."

Sun Qian shook his head and said, "Lord Cao, you are too suspicious. When the Yuan family was at its peak, how many people in the world were not vassals of Yuan Shao? Can the Prime Minister really kill all of them?"

"It's just the situation. Don't force it! Now that the Yuan family has fallen, for the Prime Minister, Cao Gong and the generals in the south of the Yangtze River are all talents of the Han Dynasty. The Prime Minister does not want you to suffer losses due to the civil war again."

"Beyond the Han Dynasty, there are many places worth exploring and developing for us Han people. We Han people should work together and put our eyes and strength on those places. Why do we have to fight against each other?"

"Is Cao Gong's ambition limited to this?"

(End of this chapter)