Overlord!

I heard Zhang Hong say that Cao Cao's collusion with senior officials may not be detrimental to the unification of the world.

Sun Ce was slightly surprised and asked, "What do you mean by this?"

Zhang Hong explained: "Most of the information about the imperial court is now clear. Cao Cao combined soldiers and farmers to raise more than 30,000 soldiers. The Zhao family collapsed, and Zhang He led more than 30,000 people to join the emperor."

"In the seventh month, Cao Cao killed Zhang He and annexed his troops for the crime of treason. Today, Cao Cao has as many as 60,000 troops on foot and cavalry."

"It colludes with high-ranking officials and has an alliance of 100,000 troops. How can it hold on to a corner of Kansai?"

"With more soldiers and less food, it will not last long. If the high officials rely on the imperial court and the Han Dynasty for foreign aid, they may have to annex the state treasury and send taxes to Luoyang. This will cut off the foundation and dig their own graves."

"As soon as the Han Dynasty's troops passed through Xiongguan and left Guandong in the east, the land collapsed."

Hearing this, everyone in the palace was filled with emotion.

I feel a little sorry for Zhang He's death.

This should be regarded as the most good general in Hebei who is good at fighting. Unfortunately, as a general, he alone leads an army of 30,000 people and is destined not to be tolerated by Cao Cao. However, he was strong in military affairs and weak in political strategy. He was definitely no match for Cao Cao. He could only die in a foreign land and his body was in a different place.

The political struggle is undoubtedly very cruel, which does not allow Cao Cao to be ruthless.

Zhang He has 30,000 elite soldiers, and his combat power may be even greater than that of Cao Cao!

It has been a taboo in politics since ancient times to order people from many places.

In particular, Sun Ce was adding fuel to the fire. In fact, Cao Cao did not want to kill Zhang He.

He followed Dong Zhuo's example and transferred Zhang He out of the army by imperial edict and was promoted to the city gate captain of Luoyang.

The captain of the city gate was called a captain, but he was completely different from the low-level officer in the minds of later generations. This was one of the most important forces in the central guard system of the Han Dynasty, constraining each other with Zhi Jinwu and the Northern Army Zhonghou.

It can be regarded as an existence at the same level as Zhijinwu, and the military strength it controls is roughly equivalent to the collection of the five schools of the Northern Army.

It's just that the five schools of the Northern Army often go out to fight, while the Chengmen School Lieutenant guards the capital.

Zhang He thought that the emperor wanted to reuse him and gave him the most important force in the imperial guard system to assist the government against Cao Cao.

Therefore, like Huangfu Song, he put down his army and went to Luoyang according to the imperial edict.

Cao Cao took over the army with his relatives Fuwan and Yilang Dong Zhao, and at the same time, his eldest son Cao Ang served as the central guard and commanded the entire army.

Nominally, this army was in Fu Wan's hands. In fact, Cao Ang replaced a large number of middle and low-level captains, and the supervisory army took charge of the military.

Cao Cao was also concerned about Zhang He's reputation and the impact on his own reputation after indiscriminate killing, so he did not kill Zhang He.

He and Zhang He are now colleagues of the Han Dynasty, and they work together to support the Han Dynasty. Even if Zhang He took control of one of the Forbidden Army troops and made Cao Cao feel like a cold light on his back, Cao Cao would endure it.

It is unlikely that the emperor would massacre him, a general who was loyal to the Han Dynasty and wanted to turn the tide and support the building and its collapse.

He, Cao Cao, planned to command the troops himself and fight abroad, while Zhang He and others commanded the imperial army to stay in Luoyang, so that the two sides would not invade each other.

But the problem is, it is impossible for Sun Ce to do what he wants.

As the highest-ranking official in the Han Dynasty, who was the Grand Sima, Recorder of Secretariat, Assistant to the Government, and Governor of internal and external military affairs, after hearing that Zhang He had surrendered to the Emperor, Sun Ce sent a document of canonization in the name of the imperial court, praising Zhang He for abandoning the dark side and turning over the bright side, and setting an example for others. With intelligence and uprightness, he does his best as a minister; as a king with great achievements, he lives by advancing and retreating, obeying the motto of the sage.

Therefore, he was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry, Captain of the Ling Dynasty, Kaifu, Yitong Sansi, and Marquis, and was granted the title of Ten Thousand Households. As soon as the decree came out, this was something Cao Cao couldn't bear!

The general of chariots and cavalry ordered the Taiwei to open the palace. This completely made Zhang He the second force and leader of the faction in the Han Dynasty. With this official position, no matter what, there would be Han ministers close to the Taiwei.

Moreover, he is not a lieutenant in vain, he also has the title of general!

In the Han Dynasty, the Taiwei did not command the army, but the general had absolute military power. According to the system, the general of chariots and cavalry was the general who commanded the soldiers and horses of the world. Now with the addition of the Taiwei Mansion, it can be said that it is logical for him to command the Han army. .

In addition, Zhang He had 30,000 Hebei elite troops under his command before, and his influence in the army was very strong.

The military and political orders he issued cannot be ignored at all.

Having multiple political responsibilities is a taboo for any force, and it is also the most effective way to dismantle a force.

Just like the military governors after the mid-Tang Dynasty, as long as the imperial court felt that any military governor was a little domineering and difficult to control, it would promote him to be a military governor within his territory, and he would immediately go out of his way to break up the rebellion.

At this time, it doesn't matter whether Zhang He has any ambition to compete with Cao Cao for power.

Cao Cao must ensure that he has complete control over the Luoyang Dynasty. If a powerful minister cannot control all the power and another powerful minister competes with him, he will die soon.

A wise man like Zhuge Liang had to exile Li Yan first before he could feel at ease during the Northern Expedition.

Therefore, Cao Cao could not allow another powerful minister to control the emperor, so he could only kill him.

The crime he planted for Zhang He was colluding with the Hebei rebellion. But the irony is that it is difficult to say whether Zhang He colluded with the rebellion. After Cao Cao killed Zhang He, he was really connected with the biggest remnant of the Hebei rebellion, Gao Gan. !

However, Zhang He's death was actually insignificant to Sun Ce.

Promoting him to the position of Three Dukes was just a casual move by Sun Ce. It's good to be able to contain Cao Cao, but it doesn't hurt if he fails.

If Cao Cao did not die in the civil war, he would definitely die on the battlefield.

This is because this battle is too dangerous for Cao Cao.

Sun Ce said: "No wonder "Sun Tzu's Art of War" says that soldiers are important matters of the country, the place of life and death, and the way of survival. They must be observed."

"If they station a large number of troops within the territory, they can still be safe and at peace with us. Once they raise troops on their own initiative and are defeated and overthrown, their power will surely fall apart."

"Looking at it from a solitary perspective, Cao Cao plans and then moves. He may not easily march eastward. He must first develop a winning strategy."

Sun Ce's evaluation undoubtedly gave Cao Cao a very high evaluation from a strategic perspective.

But sometimes it is difficult to defy the odds with manpower, and the general trend cannot be changed by clever tricks.

Under the current circumstances, both sides are very cautious in fighting and have implemented the core essence of "The Art of War".

But the problem is that in today's world, Sun Ce already has nine out of ten.

Both sides are careful in using their troops. The longer it goes on, the more beneficial it will be to Sun Ce.

This year Sun Ce is still worried about Cao Cao raising troops, but next year Sun Ce will be as stable as Mount Tai. The year after the two sides meet at war, Sun Ce can decide what to do. If three years later, Sun Ce may be waiting day and night for Cao Cao to raise troops.

Zhang Zhao replied: "Both sides now have no intention of a decisive battle, so they are seeking breakthroughs on the flanks at the same time. All of Cao Cao's hopes are directed towards Hanzhong, hoping that the situation can be opened up from here."

Thinking of the direction of Hanzhong, Sun Ce immediately remembered what he was more concerned about and asked: "Where is Guan Yu now?" (End of Chapter)