Han family achievements

Chapter 251
Naturally, Cao Cao understood Guo Jia's words and said with an extremely firm expression: "Feng Xiao, it took three years to destroy Yuan Shu, but it has not been successful yet. Judging from the current situation, I am afraid it will take another one or two years. Then At that time, the princes in the south have risen together, and it may take another three to five years for the imperial court, and another three to five years for Dong Zhuo. When will our great Han Dynasty be able to pacify the world and revive the country again..."

As he spoke, Cao Cao's voice unconsciously contained a hint of anxiety.

Guo Jia suddenly realized that Cao Cao will be 40 years old next year.

"General!"

Before Guo Jia could say anything, Xiahou Dun came galloping over, jumped off his horse and said, "General, Xu Chu can no longer defend it, and Qiao County is about to be destroyed."

Cao Cao stood up suddenly and said, "Be specific."

Xiahou Dun saw other people gathered around him and said, "Guo Si and Zhang Ji have a total of 5000 people. The offensive is very urgent. Xu Zhu can't hold on. The two sides are fighting fiercely."

"Eighteen thousand people?"

Cao Cao's narrow eyes flashed with semen, and he suddenly put the half-eaten rice bowl into his arms and shouted: "Pass my general's order, everyone will send troops immediately to relieve the siege of Qiao County!"

Cao Cao got on his horse, reorganized himself a little, and then led his army straight to Qiao County to kill them.

There are no bells and whistles, the cavalry is in front, like an arrow leaving the string, showing its sharp edge.

Cao Cao's [-]-strong army rushed out and were quickly noticed by everyone in Qiao County.

The middle-aged man looked at the huge flag with the word 'Cao' and was very excited. He pulled Xu Zhu and said: "It's Cao Cao, it's Cao Cao. Cao Cao really came as promised!"

Xu Chu swept down the Guo soldiers who were rushing up with a knife in their mouths with a stick. Then he looked at the army that suddenly appeared not far away, his blood-red eyes gleaming with energy.

Qiao County is now a troubled place. If rescued, Dong Zhuo will definitely be offended, and the consequences will be unimaginable!
Cao Cao sent troops to rescue him at great risk!

At the head of Qiao County, everyone was excited, because with reinforcements, they would not die!

Compared with the joy and high morale at the top of the city, Guo Si and Zhang Ji at the bottom of the city urgently withdrew their troops and retreated quickly.

Guo Si and Zhang Ji joined forces and turned around and ran away without caring about anything else.

Zhang Ji didn't say anything. It had nothing to do with him anyway, so he ran with Guo Si.

On the other hand, the soldiers behind Guo Si were a little unwilling and said: "General Zhonglang, Cao Cao is coming from afar. He must be out of men and horses. Then Qiao County will be destroyed. Why should we retreat? We can definitely fight!"

Guo Bang galloped on his horse without looking back and said: "That's because you don't know. Cao Cao's march is too treacherous. If he dares to show up like this, he must have other traps. Retreat first before trying anything else!"

The soldiers didn't believe it, but they had already retreated, so it was hard to say anything else.

"General Zhonglang,"

A cavalryman rushed up and said: "Cao's army is chasing us."

Guo Bang looked back and said, "Don't worry, he doesn't dare to pursue him too far."

The cavalryman responded, pulled his horse, and retreated.

Zhang Ji was alert now, and said with serious eyes: "Brother Guo, does Cao Cao's appearance in Qiao County mean that..."

Zhang Ji didn't finish his words and stared straight at Guo Si.

Guo Si suddenly looked horrified and said, "Brother Zhang is saying that the imperial court is going to take action against Dong Gong?"

Qiao County is not far from Pei State and Liang State. It is a place where troops can be sent out from all directions!

Zhang Ji raised his head and looked forward, but did not answer Guo Si's words.

Cao Cao's identity is not ordinary. The entire Han Dynasty knows that this man is highly favored by today. He has defeated the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou and the Black Mountain Army in Jizhou. He even entered the Grand Sima Mansion and became a long history, and he was the successor trained by Lu Zhi.

Some people even say that the palace has already decided that Cao Cao will replace Huangfu Song, who has been in poor health recently, and become the next Grand Sima!

Such a special person suddenly appeared in Pei State and captured Qiao County, which was within Dong Zhuo's sphere of influence. The hidden meaning has to be thought-provoking!
Guo Bang felt that his breathing was not so smooth, and he galloped with all his strength.

If the imperial court takes action against Dong Zhuo so quickly, they will be in big trouble.

As Guo Si expected, the pursuing Xiahou Dun and Yue Jin reined in their horses before chasing for fifty miles and began to return.

Peiguo is Dong Zhuo's territory. It would be dangerous to pursue him too deeply.

On the other side, Cao Cao has entered Qiao County.

Looking at the demolished houses in disarray, with wounded soldiers and corpses everywhere, Cao Cao looked sad and sighed: "Zhongkang, Cao is late."

Xu Chu had not slept for several days and nights. When he heard this, he immediately knelt down on one knee, raised his hands, and said in a deep voice: "General Cao can come, Xu Chu knows that it is not easy for the general. He worked day and night to save the Xu family in the most difficult time. Xu Chu has nothing to repay, but is willing to serve as a pawn in front of the horse, and to serve as a saddle for the general!"

Cao Cao quickly stretched out his hand to help him up and said: "Zhong Kang's words are serious. I can't ignore both emotion and reason."

Xu Zhu didn't move and said: "Please take me in, general!"

Xu Zhu's uncle, nephew and others behind him suddenly felt sorry for themselves and knelt down, saying: "Thank you, General, for saving your life. We are willing to follow you to the death!"

Seeing this, Cao Cao sighed helplessly and said: "Zhong Kang is right, the court doesn't know I'm here. Cao Cao is not tolerated by the government and the public. If you follow me, I'm afraid you won't have any wealth and will probably be homeless." ."

Xu Zhu heard the words and said even more solemnly: "I just want a mouthful of food, not wealth and honor!" Guo Jia on the side saw that it was almost done and stepped forward to speak, saying: "General, Xu Zhuangshi and others are loyal and righteous people. General, please save me." It doesn't make sense to ignore it and then abandon it. I remember that there are still vacancies for guards in the general's camp, so why not..."

Cao Cao looked troubled, hesitating, but still stepped forward to help Xu Zhu up, and said: "Zhongkang, how about you surrender for the time being and ride on the captaincy and join me as a guard?"

The so-called "Suwei" is the person who is responsible for guarding Cao Cao's camp at night. This kind of person must be an absolute confidant.

Xu Zhu no longer knelt still, he stood up, raised his hand, his eyes were wide open, blood red and determined, his tone was as strong as iron, and he said: "Thank you so much, general! As long as Xu Zhu is here, no one can get close to the general!"

Cao Cao laughed heartily and said, "With Zhongkang's words, I can rest in peace!"

Guo Jia, Xiahou Dun and others looked at each other and smiled.

Xu Zhu's bravery is famous throughout Yuzhou. What's more, Xuzhou has thousands of young men from the Xu family behind him. In addition, Cao Cao risked great danger to rescue the Xu family, so the news of joining the society spread to all counties in Yuzhou. By then, I don't know how many people there will be. Aristocratic families came to seek refuge.

Talents, come here, young and strong, they are all here!
Cao Cao's eyes were long and narrow, shining brightly, and he was as happy as if he drank honey in June!

"General, we must clean things up as soon as possible to prepare for Dong Jun's coming again!" Guo Jia said to Cao Cao as everyone laughed and laughed for a while.

Cao Cao nodded heavily and said: "Qiao County must not make any mistakes, I will arrange it myself!"

Having said this, he looked at Xu Zhu and others who looked tired, and said quickly: "Zhongkang, you should take a rest. We will talk in detail when you wake up."

Although Xu Zhu was extremely sleepy, he raised his head and chest and said: "General, I am very familiar with Qiao County. Please allow me to stand aside and do my best for the general."

Upon seeing this, Cao Cao said nothing and summoned a group of civil servants and generals to discuss countermeasures.

It can be expected that Dong Zhuo will not let Qiao County go easily, and Cao Cao is likely to face a fierce battle!
And just when Cao Cao was reorganizing his troops, regaining the young men of the Xu family, repairing the city walls of Qiao County, and making preparations for the war, Zuo Li arrived in Anyang, Runan, covered in dust.

"What, Cao Cao went to Qiao County?"

Hearing the news, Zuo Li almost rolled off the carriage.

The guard beside the carriage hurriedly supported him and said, "Yes. After careful investigation, I found that General Cao left in full force and went to Qiao County. It has been several days."

"Confused!"

Zuo Li hurriedly got out of the carriage, his pale face filled with shock and anger.

Although he stayed in Jingzhou for two years, he stayed with Liu Bian for much longer and was well aware of some of Liu Bian's planned plans.

If Cao Cao provokes Dong Zhuo at this time, he will definitely ruin his plan!
But Zuo Li couldn't stop Cao Cao now, and he was so panicked that he didn't know what to do.

Cao Cao ran to Qiao County. Dong Zhuo's two territories, Chen State and Pei State, were both under Cao Cao's military front. Dong Zhuo was definitely shocked and angry, and he didn't know what his reaction would be!
Another investigating military lord trotted over from a short distance away and said, "Noble sir, there is no other news for the time being, and there has been no change from Dong Zhuo's side."

Zuo Li sneered again and again and said: "Either it doesn't happen, but once it does, it will definitely be earth-shattering!"

Others didn't dare to speak. They couldn't understand or understand such a big thing.

Zuo Li was thinking wildly in his mind, but he had no solution. Finally, he turned around angrily and got on the carriage, saying: "Go back to Beijing, don't waste a moment!"

Luoyang, Imperial Palace, Shangshu Terrace.

The Chancellor's Desk, which is usually a little deserted, seemed particularly lively today.

Six ministers, ministers, ministers of nine temples, etc. came and went, in and out.

In Prime Minister Yang Biao's room, everyone was discussing various matters with their faces as dark as water.

Yang Biao flipped through Taicang's account books in his hand, looked at them carefully, and said in shock and confusion: "This year's summer tax is only fifty thousand shi more than last year?"

Xun Yu, Shangshu of Hu Cao, nodded with a tired face and said: "If we add in the losses, it will still be worse than last year."

Yang Biao became more and more puzzled. He moved his buttocks and said, "Why is this? Shouldn't there be a big increase?"

Xun Yu saw Sima Jun, Zhong Yao and others also looking over, and said thoughtfully: "It stands to reason, but judging from the data, the land taxed has decreased compared to last year."

Yang Biao suddenly opened his eyes, and he suddenly understood. He held the account book and said, "Then, what should we do now?"

If such an account book is handed over to the palace, the palace will definitely be furious.

But the reality is that the land has been bought by a wealthy family and they don’t have to pay taxes, so there’s nothing they can do about it.

Xun Yu knew what Yang Biao meant, and instead said: "Prime Minister, the states, prefectures, and counties, plus the money borrowed by the court in the past few years, are almost due one after another."

Yang Biao's eyes widened, his fat face straightened, as if he was sitting on pins and needles.

In the past few years, the imperial court was in extreme embarrassment. Officials at all levels of the imperial court were raising money everywhere. Prime Minister Yang Biao, with his huge reputation as the fourth generation and the third prince, borrowed money for the imperial court again and again.

Now, these loans are coming due.

"How many?" Yang Biao asked, feeling that his mouth and throat were dry, and his voice was even dryer.

"30." Xun Yu said calmly.

(End of this chapter)