Kuangfu Han Dynasty

Chapter 16 Xu Shu enters Cao Ying

Zhang Shao was complacent there, but Xu Shu was really sweating for him.

Before meeting Cao Cao in person, Xu Shu had a basic understanding of the Han Prime Minister: Duke Cao is a jackal and a tiger!After finally seeing him today, this impression has not changed much. Although Cao Cao showed kindness to his generals, this was just because everyone was submissive.

To those who are disobedient, Cao Cao will never be merciful and merciless.I heard that when Kong Rong was killed, his daughter was only seven years old and his son was nine years old. Although they were young and weak, they were still captured and killed.

So Zhang Shao was joking with Cao Cao in the tent, and Xu Shu seemed to be watching an ignorant baby playing next to the sharp teeth of a jackal and tiger, as if the next moment he made Cao Cao unhappy, he would fall into the tiger's mouth...

Fortunately, Zhang Shao's response was quite tactful. Cao Cao was happy instead of angry and even made him a page boy.

So Xu Shu's worry turned into admiration, and he said to himself: "A Shao is surrounded by jackals and tigers, but he is at ease, just like a civet cat or a puppy in a play."

It seemed that after going to Jiangling, she would still have a chance to spend time with Zhang Shao. Thinking of this, Xu Shu actually felt a little comforted in her heart.It's not a good feeling to be alone in the enemy's camp. What he is doing now is a matter of death. Zhang Shao's existence always makes Xu Shu feel that at least there is someone who shares the same moral principles and thoughts with him.

Although that person is just an eight-year-old child...

Now that Cao Cao had finished arranging military affairs, he was quite tired, so he went to the county temple in Dangyang City to rest. Most of the people in the tent followed Cao Cao, and the rest of the civil and military officials either went to set up camp with Cao Ren and Xia Houyuan, or gathered together to discuss It was time to march tomorrow, but for a while no one paid any attention to Xu Shu.He had to stand awkwardly at the door of the tent. Occasionally, people passed by, but they completely ignored such a big person like him.

The shogunate's subordinates intentionally or unintentionally isolated Xu Shu, including the marching commander Shi and Yuan Ba ​​from Chen County, and even avoided him.

There was only one person who was particularly enthusiastic about Xu Shu, and it was his theoretical immediate superior, Yi Cao Xinpi.

"Yuanzhi!"

Xin Pi called Xu Shu familiarly and pulled him out: "I have something important to discuss with Yuan Zhi."

Outside Dangyang City, Xia Houyuan ordered to kill all the Liu Jun soldiers who refused to surrender. They roared before they died.

These cries were heard in Xu Shu's ears, which made him heartbroken.He basically knew these people. They were either veterans who had followed Liu Bei all the way from Qingzhou or Xuzhou, or they were Jingzhou men who he had recruited and selected for Liu Bei in the past six years, but Xu Shu still had to keep his spirits high. , to listen to Simpi’s words.

"Since the first year of Jian'an, when the Ming Dynasty appointed Sikong to run the government, the shogunate has been established for more than ten years. The earlier Sikong government had less than a hundred people and only had twelve cao officials under its jurisdiction. Today, the prime minister's shogunate has 400 people. , the number of Cao Cao has also been expanded to nineteen Cao Cao!"

Although Xin Pi had something important to do, he was not in a hurry to mention it when he and Xu Shu were walking in the busy Cao camp. He only patiently explained to Xu Shu the composition of the shogunate and their responsibilities in discussing Cao.

The reason why the size of the Prime Minister's Office expanded so rapidly is because Cao Cao took all the power of the country into his own hands. Every additional power equaled one more Cao.The Jiuqing and Shangshutai of the Xudu court were just staff. No wonder some people joked that Cao Cao's prime minister's shogunate was the real "inner dynasty" of the Han Dynasty.

"However, most of Cao's officials stayed in Yecheng to handle government affairs, and only a quarter went with the prime minister."

"The military advisors offering wine and their subordinates, soldiers, subordinates, and military officers are regarded as military officials. They must provide advice to the prime minister and govern the military affairs. Their battlefields are on the map, between the Zhezun and Chongtu."

Xin Pi pointed at himself and Xu Shu: "As for Cao Shibei's consultation, he is the same as a literary official like the chronicler, literature, and director. He also collects documents and handles some minor government affairs for the prime minister."

As he was talking, he happened to walk in front of several baggage trucks loaded with slips, paper and ink. Xin Pi patted them and said with a smile: "So our battlefield is on the slips, writing military orders for the prime minister, or busy in the county. As for chores, Yuan Zhi, do you think this position is humble?"

"How dare you." Xu Shu said hurriedly: "Xu Fu is a defeated army, but the prime minister not only did not execute me, but also allowed me to join the shogunate. It's too late for Fu to be grateful, how can he dislike me?"

He thanked Xin Pi again: "Thanks to Xin Yipu for speaking up for Fu, otherwise Fu would be hated by Du Zixu and would not even have the opportunity to serve as a minor official."

Xin Pi shook his head when he heard this: "The reason why I spoke out is because I am dedicated to serving the public good. I can't bear to see great talents like Yuan Zhi being excluded from the shogunate because of personal grudges."

Really?Xu Shu didn't believe it, so he quickly sorted out the information he knew about Xinpi: The ancestor of the Xin family in Yingchuan was Xinxu, the captain of Dunhuang and the Marquis of Fuyi during the Guangwu period. He was originally from Longxi and followed Dou Rong to Shunguang Empress Wu. , moved his family to Yingchuan County, and settled there since then.

The Xin family has been quite prosperous for more than 100 years. The prefect has repeatedly produced two thousand stones. Xin Pi and his brother Xin Ping are also outstanding young scholars in Yingchuan. Xu Shu heard about them when he was in the county.

When Dong Zhuo entered Luo, the Xinpi brothers realized that Yingchuan would be affected by the war, so they moved their family to Hebei and attached themselves to Jizhou Mu Hanfu.Later, he persuaded Han Fu to cede Jizhou to Yuan Shao, which made great achievements. Naturally, he became Yuan Shao's adviser and was highly used.

After Yuan Shao's death, his two sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fought over the succession rights, and Yuan's advisers were divided into two. Generally speaking, the locals in Jizhou supported Yuan Shang, while the Xinpi brothers and other Yingchuan people supported Yuan Tan.In the eighth year of Jian'an, Yuan Tan was defeated by Yuan Shang. When he was desperate, Xinpi persuaded him to ask Cao Cao for help.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to go to Xudu as an envoy, Xinpi proposed to Cao Cao a strategy of sending troops to Hebei and taking all Jizhou. Cao Cao appreciated it, so he broke away from the Yuan family and submitted to Cao Cao.

So Xu Shu thought: "Xinpi and I were both advisers to Cao Cao's sworn enemy. After his defeat, he surrendered. He must have been ostracized by other subordinates at first. Could it be that he felt that we had similar experiences and were in the same situation, so he spoke for me? ?”

In this case, Xu Shu should also climb along the pole to make Xin Pi trust him more.

So Xu Shu bowed his head and said: "No matter what, Mr. Xin is so virtuous, Xu Fu will definitely be rewarded with a ring from now on, no matter what Mr. Xin does."

After receiving this promise, Xin Pi nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Yuan Zhi is a smart man. From now on, you and I should be of the same mind and work together to assist the prime minister."

Xu Shu indeed guessed correctly. Although Xin Pi was reused by Cao Cao, his situation in the shogunate was not very good.I remember that when I was still in Yingchuan, Xinbi was young but smart, and he was as famous as Zhao Yan, Chen Qun, and Du Xi in the same county. At that time, it was very popular in Yingchuan to criticize the scholars. The good people would judge the four scholars based on their family background and talents. The numbers for them are: Xin, Chen, Du, Zhao.Xinpi ranks first!

But today, more than ten years later, the situation is completely different. According to the official position and trust of the four people under Cao Cao, the ranking has become Zhao Yan first, Du Xi second, Chen Qun third, and Xin Pi Instead, he became the last one.

Who asked him to surrender to Cao last?The newcomers were naturally isolated. Cui Yan, a scholar from Hebei who also submitted to Cao Cao, in turn regarded him as an alien from Yingchuan who "betrayed Jizhou" and did not associate with Xinpi.

What's even more tragic is that his brother Xin Ping and most of the Xin clan were wiped out by that damn Shenpei in Yecheng.As a result, Xin Pi had no one of his own who could support and appoint him, so for several years, Xin Pi could only be Cao Cao's "lone minister". He was originally upright and dared to give advice, but in order to survive, he had to flatter himself.

After all, to outsiders, the Yingchuan scholars under Cao Cao seemed to be monolithic, but little did they know that factions were infinitely divisible.According to the time and batch of people who defected to Cao Cao, circles with clear boundaries were formed.The most central ones are undoubtedly the earliest batch of ministers such as Xun Yu, who accompanied Cao Cao through the most difficult years of the Yanzhou era; the second ones are the Yingchuan people who joined after Jian'an, Zhao Yan, Du Xi, Fan Qin belongs to this group. These people returned north together with Xun You. They were recommended by Xun Yu and are currently doing well. As for Xin Pi, they belong to the old tribe of Yuan Shao who is stubborn and stubborn. If he had not chosen to betray Yuan Tan at the last moment, , I'm afraid he will end up like Guo Tu, unable to escape being killed, but Xinbi can only hang out in the outer circle.

Now that Xu Shu had joined the party later and was from a humble background, he could not even join the fringes of the Yingchuan sect, and people from other sects would not like him even more.

For example, the marching commander Shi Yuanba was the younger brother of the former military advisor Yuan Huan. The Yuan family in Chen County also came from a prominent family. The whole family had been having a headache for a long time about the inseparable relationship between Yuan Huan and Liu Bei.During this southern expedition, Yuan Huan refused to attack his leader for Cao Cao, which frightened the Yuan family in Chen County so much that they quickly made amends afterwards. Yuan Ba ​​took the initiative to plead with the army to express his family's attitude, and he became the commander of the march.With this past incident, how could Yuan Ba ​​still be willing to have a single conversation with Xu Shu, a minister under Liu Bei's command?
Seeing that Xu Shu had no place to gain a foothold, Xinpi immediately came to his aid. He really wanted to be kind to Xu Shu and make him a "comrade". Later, when everyone in the shogunate was fighting openly and secretly, the two lonely ministers could at least be back-to-back. Help each other.

Since he was "one of his own", Xinpi treated Xu Shu even more affectionately and said, "Yuanzhi doesn't have to be humble and call me 'Jun', just call me Saji!"

Xu Shu was also very wise and immediately said: "Wei, I want to pay my respects to Brother George!"

Xin Pi was very happy and comforted Xu Shu: "Although discussing Cao's history is mostly a sinecure, after all, I can meet the prime minister, so I can occasionally participate in confidential matters."

"Now that the Prime Minister has captured Jiangling in Xiangyang, the Jingnan message can be determined, but Liu Bei has not been destroyed. When dealing with him in the future, the Prime Minister will inevitably ask Yuan Zhi. After all, you know Liu Bei well, but..."

Xin Pi smiled and said: "I'm afraid that the Prime Minister still has doubts about Yuan Zhi and cannot be completely trustworthy."

Indeed, today Xu Shu could clearly feel that Cao Cao and his subordinates were wary of him. If he wanted to achieve a major anti-Cao mission, he must reverse this situation.He then said with sincerity and fear: "My brother is indeed sincere in his submission. God can tell you! If the prime minister still doesn't believe it, I can only take off the official uniform I just put on, say goodbye and go back to my hometown to work in the countryside."

"Why is Yuan Zhi doing this?" Xin Pi persuaded him and lowered his voice and said: "If Yuan Zhi wants to explain the Prime Minister's doubts about you, it will not be difficult."

Xu Shu hurriedly said: "Oh? What a wonderful idea. I hope Brother George will teach me."

Xin Pi then leaned into his ear and arranged Xu Shu's first job after joining the company.

"Yuan Zhi might as well write down the names of Liu Bei's army's advisers, generals, the number of remaining soldiers under his command, and the clan names of those Jingzhou scholars who betrayed the prime minister and chose to follow Liu Bei!"

"When we arrive at Jiangling, Yuan Zhi and I will present it to the prime minister! This will not only show your loyalty, but also allow the prime minister to know the enemy and your friends, so that we can fight without danger."

When Xu Shu heard this, his heart inevitably skipped a beat. Xin Pi wanted to pass on his experience of betraying Yuan Tan to himself.

But he only hesitated for a moment, and then he immediately bowed to Xinpi and said, "Thank you so much, Brother George! You don't have to wait until Jiangling, I will write it overnight!"

……

The corpses of several slain soldiers of Sergeant Liu were buried indiscriminately in the newly dug pit together with the two piles of Jingguan. They were unyielding warriors, but more prisoners chose to live in obedience, and nearly a thousand of them who submitted were included. They were broken up and assigned to various departments of Cao's army to work as laborers.

There was still a steady stream of troops from the north heading south, and Cao Cao led a large number of troops. In addition to the three battalions of the Chinese army supervised by the central commander Shi Huan, two more local armies arrived in Dangyang after dark.They are the Yanzhou soldiers under the command of Fenwu general Cheng Yu, and the Runan soldiers under the command of Runan prefect Man Chong - these two troops are not a "first army" with only 4000 people, but as many as [-] to [-] people. More than ten troops!Formed the main force of Cao's army.

The small city of Dangyang could not accommodate so many soldiers. Fortunately, Xia Houyuan had already forced the strong men of the people to work day and night. After laying the foundation of the camp, he could set up camp directly outside the city.If Xu Shu climbed up to the tower, he would see countless campfires covering the surrounding areas, as bright as the stars and the Milky Way in the sky. Even if he could count the rising sun, he would not be able to finish them.

But this is not all Cao Cao's army. Before Cao Cao went south, he left Hengye General Xu Huang to garrison Fancheng and Zhechong General Lejin to garrison Xiangyang. These two generals each had their own troops. In addition, there were seven armies in the rear, still in Xinye and Wancheng in Nanyang County. In Zhangling County, Sui County and other places, all the generals are famous: General Huwei Yu Jin, General Zhang Liao who destroyed the bandits, General Li Dian who broke the barbarians, General Zhang He who Pingdi...

In addition to the three cavalry units of Cao Chun, Cao Ren, and Xia Houyuan, two armies and one school, as well as other miscellaneous troops not included in the calculation, Cao's army in the southern expedition to Jingzhou was at least 10,000+, not counting the Jingzhou soldiers who surrendered.

And what about Liu Bei?When Xu Shu was "ordered" to write about Liu Bei's army's falsehoods for Xin Pi, he carefully calculated it for his lord. The remaining soldiers were no more than two armies, and with Liu Qi's troops in Jiangxia, he couldn't even make up [-]. The gap with Cao Cao was still too big. .

"Kong Ming, why do you believe that this can turn things around?" After witnessing the efficiency and strength of Cao's army with his own eyes, Xu Shu couldn't sleep that night. It wasn't until dawn and the horn of Cao's forward troops pulling out of camp sounded that he got dressed and left. He got up and hurried to Dangyang City to say goodbye to his mother.

The good news is that Cao Cao's 10,000+ army is scattered in various places, especially along the Han River, making it easy to supply and eat through waterways.Prime Minister Cao only planned to take the cavalry, the Chinese army, Cheng Yu, and Man Chong to Jiangling.Because the barbarians in Wuhuan in the three counties were really not decent, they asked Cao Ren to take the rear, and only ordered Xiahou Yuan's Dian army as the temporary vanguard to set off first.

Although the mount is still very tired, after feeding it with beans and wheat, it can finally cheer up. The knights of Sanhe are all high-spirited: "It is an honor for us to be able to lead the way for the prime minister."

Xiahou Yuan was very satisfied when he saw his subordinates with their armor in order, and his son Xiahou Ba had also taken off the equipment of the Three Rivers Knights, put on the outfit of a military guard, and was about to report to the Prime Minister's Army.

Young Master Xia Houyuan had to give his son a few more words: "After entering the Wuwei Camp, you can always be at the Prime Minister's side. You must learn more from Xu Zhongkang, the captain of the Wuwei School, talk less, listen more, and see more!"

"promise!"

Xia Houyuan added: "There is also Cao Wenlie (Cao Xiu), the military commander who supervises the tiger and leopard cavalry ceremonial guards. You should treat him as a brother."

"It's worth it."

"Your younger brother Junlin was taken away from Master Huan by his brother Boren last year, and he was also arranged to serve as a team leader in the Wuwei camp. Junlin is a vain person, but after all, he is a relative of the fourth server. As a Tun The boss has a higher position than him, so I still have to advise him if there is an opportunity."

Xiahou Ba was almost impatient, so he just said: "Wei Wei..."

He couldn't wait to set off, but was stopped again. Xia Houyuan's face changed several times and he explained: "As a military guard, you will often see the guards in the camp, and Zhang Shao, as a boy, is also among them. You have to give them advice from time to time. Don't If you let this son lose his temper in front of the Prime Minister, it will not only harm my family, but also himself!"

……

PS: According to the Tongdian, the second department is the school, with 800 people, and a captain is established.The second school is the assistant, with 600 people, and the general is established.Er Pi is the army. "Three thousand, two hundred people, including generals and deputy generals.Of course, this is not a dead standard. During the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, the number of an army was almost 200 to 5000, so the number of soldiers in the Seventh Army after the ban was only more than 3.

(End of this chapter)