Kuangfu Han Dynasty

Chapter 33 Feng Ming
Pang Tong stretched out two fingers and said: "If you don't know me, don't comment; if you are already in a high position, don't comment."

Pang Tong added: "Although Tong all knows Han Gong, Kuai Gong, Cai County Sheriff and others, their reputations have long been known to everyone in the state. In addition, they have just been promoted and knighted by the Prime Minister. It is clear to the Prime Minister what their character and talent are. A person of small merit can make up his mind."

"I think that the Prime Minister does not need to hear people praise your virtues again, but wants to know whether there are any great talents who have been buried among the officials in Nanjun, counties and townships, and what remnants of the countryside in Jingzhou have not been conquered. Xian, right?"

Cao Cao nodded: "When I entered the city yesterday, I had a brief look at the county officials, but I didn't know much about the officials at the county level in Nanjun. Are there any notable ones among them?"

This was Pang Tong's specialty. He only thought about it briefly and immediately replied: "There are three county magistrates and magistrates, which can be said to be the best in the whole county."

Pang Tong first mentioned Han Ji, a native of Nanyang County and the county magistrate of Yicheng: "Over the years, Yicheng has been at the forefront, second only to Jiangling and Xiangyang. Han Gongzhi can be called the best county magistrate in the eighteen counties of Nanjun."

Cao Cao agreed with Pang Tong's evaluation. When the army passed by Yicheng, he hurriedly saw Han Jie and had a good impression.Also seeing that Yicheng had developed many water conservancy projects under Han Ji's governance, including water trucks and water drainage, Cao Cao had decided to move Han Ji to the Prime Minister's Mansion as a "Shi Cao" in charge of Tu Gong, Jin Liang, and Zhou Cha.

But Cao Cao did not express his agreement and only listened to Pang Tong talking about the next person.

The second county magistrate whom Pang Tong praised was very familiar to Xu Shu, but it was Xiang Lang who studied under Mr. Shui Jing with them.This man was born in the Xiang family in Yicheng, and was the last among the "Four Scholars of Nanjun". He was appointed by Liu Biao as the head of Linju County. Bandits.

Of course, the other people in the hall who had been in Jingzhou for a long time also knew that Pang Tong had a good relationship with Xiang Lang, so Wang Can sarcastically said: "Pang Shiyuan, you really don't shy away from relatives and friends when you promote talents."

Fu Xun used to be Cao Cao of the East of Zhennan General Mansion, responsible for the removal of officials in the prefecture. He was Pang Tong's superior. He admired this young man quite a lot. Fu Xun had removed Xiang Lang personally, so he defended Pang Tong: " Xun heard that Zhongxuan also recommended your 'good friend' Linxiang Huan Boxu yesterday?"

Wang Can then stopped in embarrassment. This was an interlude. Pang Tong then mentioned the third person: Zigui County Magistrate, Li Yan.

Li Yan was born in the famous Li family in Wancheng. His ancestor Li Tong was an important minister during the Guangwu period. Although he was not among the 28 generals, he was still among the 32 heroes.Li Yan was a county official when he was young. He enforced the law strictly and treated the township party mercilessly. He was known as a cruel official and was considered to be able to govern the county.

Later, in order to avoid the war between Cao Bing and Zhang Xiu, he ran south to Xiangyang and was appointed by Liu Biao as the magistrate of Zigui County in the west of Jingzhou to assist the army in defending the hostile Yizhou. He was always known for his ability.

When Xin Pi heard Pang Tong's praise of Xiang Lang and Li Yan, he couldn't help but feel moved in his heart. He remembered that the urgent report slip that Xu Shu had just given to him also contained the names of these two people, as well as their current situation.

But Xin Pi couldn't guess Xu Shu's intention, so he looked at his subordinate.

But Xu Shu stood with his hands down, as if he didn't notice. Xin Pi was cautious, and saw that Cao Cao was listening attentively, so he didn't speak in a hurry, and just led the conversation without speaking.

After listening to the three county magistrates recommended by Pang Tong, Cao Cao felt quite satisfied, so he added a question: "You can comment again. Jingzhou is still in the Jianghu, and there are talents who have not been recruited or appointed by Liu Jingsheng."

So Pang Tong started with Huan Jie from Changsha, who was highly respected by Wang Can, and even Pan Jun from Wuling who was already the county magistrate. He also talked about Liu Ba and Zhou Buyi from Lingling, and finally Ma Liang from the Ma family of the Guan clan in Yicheng. , Yang Yi, Yang Yong of the Yang family in Xiangyang...etc.

These young scholars from Jingzhou seemed to be the oranges hidden in Pang Tong's sleeves. At this time, he listed them one by one. He was quite familiar with each person's character and talent, as if he was pointing his finger to Cao Cao. .

Cao Cao had already listened and asked Ruan Yu, a member of the recording office, to record all the people Pang Tong talked about. He also deliberately asked Cai Mao, the prefect of Qiannan County: "Degui, many of these people also have Nanjun citizenship. As Pang Shiyuan is a meritorious official in the county, can they?" Have you recommended it to you?"

Cai Mao suddenly felt embarrassed. Since he took office as the governor of Nanjun last year, he has never promoted talents and promoted talents, but he has done a lot to promote relatives and old friends.Pang Tong also recommended talents, but Cai Mao kept the list in a high cabinet. Because the relationship between the Yang family in Xiangyang and the Ma family in Yicheng was not so good with the Cai family, he abandoned Ma Liang and others.

Cai Mao wanted to find an excuse for his dereliction of duty, so he questioned Pang Tong: "The Prime Minister did not know something. Although Pang Shiyuan is known for knowing people, the people he described in the past were often exaggerated and often exceeded their actual talents. I guess today Likewise, the Prime Minister cannot listen to it and believe it."

Cao Cao then asked, "Oh? Pang Shiyuan, is it really what De Gui said?"

"That's right." Pang Tong also admitted directly and explained: "Prime Minister, the world is in chaos today, the elegance and morality are late, there are few good people and many bad people. Tong wants to help the rulers improve their customs and promote the righteous way, so in order to gain a good reputation, talented and learned young men, good Let their reputation make the people of the state admire them and imitate them. Even if they command ten scholars and exaggerate the virtues of five of them, they will still get half of it, which is enough to encourage those who are ambitious to encourage themselves."

Han Song also stood up and spoke for Pang Tong: "Prime Minister, this is the way my master Guo Gong evaluates scholars. He does not make harsh words or rashly belittle scholars. Instead, he is generous and generous in the spirit of cultivating and educating scholars. Although Pang Shiyuan I have never met Mr. Guo, but I know his methods well!"

Cao Cao then refused to comment and just let Pang Tong continue. By this point, Pang Tong had exhausted all the talented scholars from Jingzhou who had not entered the officialdom. He himself said that his mouth was dry and he stopped to touch his throat and asked Cao Cao for help. Take a sip of water.

Cao Cao said to the waiter in the corner: "Zhang Shao, give Pang Shiyuan a glass of wine."

"Wei." Zhang Shao hurried over with the warm rice wine in hand, and was able to observe Pang Tong closely, and found that he was not as ugly as described in the novel.

But the names Pang Tong mentioned just now were a bit out of line for Zhang Shao, who was only familiar with the Romance of the Three Kingdoms... Zhang Shao seemed to have heard of some of the people listed by Pang Tong, but had no impression of most of them.

It's a pity that Pang Tong didn't mention the Fifth Chang of the Ma family in Yicheng, Ma Youchang and Ma Su. Zhang Shao must know about this person!However, Ma Su was only a young boy of seventeen or eighteen years old at this time, so naturally he could not catch Pang Tong's eyes.

"Thank you, Prime Minister, for the wine. Today's cold is gone." Pang Tong didn't even look at Zhang Shao. He raised his ear cup and drank it all in one gulp. Next, it was the turn of the guest talents from other states.

"Wait a minute."

Jingzhou's eldest brother Kuai Yue did not let Pang Tong go. Although both Kuai and Pang were from Guan clan, Kuai Yue had worked with Pang Tong's uncle back then.However, Kuai Yue, who was eager to actively engage with the world, had always looked down on Pang Degong, a self-proclaimed hermit, and he did not even have a high opinion of Pang Tong. He felt that he was mediocre and his reputation was purely promoted by Pangjiadui's resources.

Apart from personal impressions, the reason why he had to frustrate Pang Tong today was because this boy never recommended a descendant of the Kuai Cai family as an official from the beginning to the end!Did Han Song really regard his Kuai Yidu as nothing, and wanted to rely on a mere Pang Tong to so easily seize the right to recommend scholars in Jingzhou?

Kuai Yue then cupped his hands towards Cao Cao and said, "Prime Minister, there is another person from Jingzhou who Pang Shiyuan has not yet commented on."

"Oh, who does Xiandu refer to?" Cao Cao asked.

"It is the famous 'Feng Chu'." Kuai Yue introduced with a smile: "This title was given by Pang Shiyuan's uncle, Pang Degong. Not to mention whether the words of close relatives are fair, but whether Pang Degong's evaluation of scholars is also equal to his. Just like a nephew, will there be any suspicion of overestimation?"

Kuai Yue took up the posture of an elder and said to Pang Tong sincerely: "Shi Yuan, you have been holding the title for nine years. You are also similar in age to Pan Chengming, the magistrate of Xiangxiang County. You are also an official with meritorious service, but compared with the shocking Jiangxia , Pan Chengming, who is famous for governing the county, you only make empty comments about people, but you have no more commendable talents and fame. Why is this?"

"In my opinion, before you judge others, you might as well evaluate yourself first. Does the title of Fengchu live up to its name?"

Cao Cao did not object and acquiesced to Kuai Yue's suggestion.

Pang Tong looked at Kuai Yidu. He was not annoyed at all by Kuai Yue for trying to make trouble, but was extremely grateful to him!
Because the person he just commented on is just the least commendable part of Pang Tong's many talents. It is equivalent to coughing and clearing his throat before speaking, and a long chant before brewing a shocking sound.

And next, is the real Feng Ming!

So Pang Tong raised his hand to Cao Cao and said, "Prime Minister, let me tell you an old story about the Chu region... There was a young phoenix that stopped in the south. It stayed still for three years and set its ambition."

It turned out to be a story about the blockbuster success of King Chuzhuang. Cai Mao, his second brother, asked him: "Pang Shiyuan, what is the ambition of this Fengxiao you are talking about?"

Pang Tong smiled slightly and said loudly: "Of course it is to discuss the emperor's secret strategy, to rely on the most important thing, and to be the king's subordinate minister!"

"Official minister of Wang Zuo? The emperor's secret strategy? Pang Shiyuan, you have such a loud tone!"

As soon as Pang Tong finished speaking, Kuai Yue sneered: "Han Fei mentioned fifteen ancient ministers of the king in "Shuo Sui", namely Houji of Xia, Yiyin of Shang, Gongdan of Zhou, Taigongwang, and Zhi of Qi. Guan Zhong, Qin's Baili Xi Jian (jiǎn) uncle, Jin's Hu Yan, Zhao Shui, Yue Fan Li, Wen Zhong, etc..." Kuai Yue has always been compared to Hu Yan by Liu Biao, and he secretly regarded himself as the most talented Wang Zuo. Liu Biao's most trusted confidant, he could discuss with Liu Jingsheng the emperor's strategies for governing the country and encouraging him to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth in his suburbs; as the chief adviser of Jingzhou, Kuai Yue could absorb the strategies of other staff and coordinate them... This is what Kuai Yue cited Wei Hao's ability could be put to great use if the lord were replaced by Cao Cao, but what is the level of Pang Tong, a junior?Are you worthy of having the same ambition as me?

So Kuai Yue rebutted mercilessly: "These people are all great sages in ancient times, and they are worthy of being called Wang Zuo. Do you, a mere county official, have one-tenth of their talents?"

Facing Kuai Yue, who debuted decades earlier than him, the young Pang Tong was not afraid at all. He responded to his words: "There was no such thing in the past. Therefore, the young phoenix did not fly for three years and learned on Yuliang Island in Hannan. I will enrich my talents with my wings.”

Kuai Yue responded tit for tat: "You have been in the army for several years now, and Sima Decao has died. I guess your wings are full now? But why do you still not sing or fly?"

Pang Tong laughed loudly: "The reason why it has not chirped for three more years is because the young phoenix wants to see the heroes of the world first!"

This sentence aroused Cao Cao's interest. He asked Kuai Yue not to interrupt Pang Tong for the time being and asked: "Pang Shiyuan, in your eyes, what is a hero?"

Pang Tong faced Cao Cao and said energetically: "I believe that a hero must have great ambitions, a good plan, the opportunity to hide the universe, and the ambition to express heaven and earth."

Hearing these words, Zhang Shao was stunned. Wait, the style of painting is not right again. He looked at the steaming hot wine in front of him. How could this be the rhythm of cooking wine to discuss heroes? ?

But I heard Cao Cao ask Pang Tong: "Who in the world today can be called a hero?"

Pang Tong bowed to Cao Cao and said: "Since the end of Zhongping, the world has been in chaos for 20 years. Although there are many Jiehao, none of them are as good as Prime Minister Cao. Since the Prime Minister raised his army, he defeated the Yellow Turban, captured Lu Bu, and destroyed Yuan Shu. , captured Yuan Shao, penetrated deep into the northern part of the Great Wall, reached Liaodong, and traversed the northern kingdom. It can be said that he has made great achievements in the Middle Xia Dynasty and is powerful all over the world. He can be called the number one hero in the world!"

Cao Cao had heard a lot of such good words over the years, and he was even a little tired of them. Pang Tong didn't say anything new, which made Cao Cao's interest disappear.But Kuai Yue caught Pang Tong's last words and asked: "The number one hero? Pang Shiyuan, is it possible that in your eyes, besides the prime minister, there are other heroes?"

Pang Tong ignored Han Song's suggestive look and continued: "However, after 20 years of annexation, to this day, apart from the prime minister, there is only one hero left in the world."

Kuai Yue laughed: "You are talking about Liu Bei who was beaten like a lost dog by the Prime Minister, right?"

Pang Tong answered: "Liu Xuande has an outstanding appearance and a reputation for benevolence and righteousness. He can be called a great man. However, in my eyes, although he has great ambitions, he lacks the good plan to achieve success. That is why he ends up being over fifty years old and has no place to live. He can barely survive." He’s half a hero.”

Liu Bei only counts half?What about the other half?Is Pang Tong talking about Han Sui of Guanxi or Gongsun of Liaodong?It can't be Liu Zhang from Yizhou.

Facing the doubts of Cao Cao and others, Pang Tongyi rolled up his sleeves and pointed to the east: "The other half of the hero is in Jiangdong."

As soon as these words came out, Kuai Yue, Cai Mao and others present all laughed dumbly: "Are you talking about Sun Zhongmou, the Marquis of Wu? A young boy from Wuzhong, a child with a yellow mouth, how can he be so dishonest!"

Jingzhou and Jiangdong are feuding. The two sides have been at war for more than ten years. They undoubtedly know the enemy's new lord, Kuai Yue and Cai Mao very well. They know that Sun Quan is Sun Ce's second brother, and he was appointed to inherit the throne when Sun Ce was assassinated.At that time, Sun Quan was only eighteen or nineteen years old. The people of Jiangdong and the people who were staying at the hotel were quite dissatisfied. There were even voices of opposition within the Sun family, so the situation was turbulent. Sun Quan was busy appeasing the internal affairs and suppressing Shanyue, and finally settled down.

Although Sun Quan began to inherit his late brother's legacy in recent years, he frequently sent troops to Jiangxia, and also killed Jingzhou general Huang Zu and severely damaged the Jingzhou navy.But now that Cao Cao has entered Jing, everyone in Jingzhou has embraced Cao Jun's thick legs. Sun Quan's son may not even dare to send a ship upriver, right?
In Cao Cao's heart, he had always been quite afraid of Sun Ce. Sun Ce was a heroic and brave man who conquered all six counties in Jiangdong within a few years. His temperament was similar to that of Xiang Ji. It is said that he even intended to surprise Xudu when he was in Guandu!At that time, Cao Cao could not help but call Sun Ce "猘儿", feeling that this young man might be a big enemy in the future.

But all this ended when Sun Ce was assassinated and died. Compared with his prominent brother, Sun Quan was so unsurprising.Cao Cao remembered that when Chen Deng, the governor of Guangling, was still there, he resisted Sun Quan's attack in Kuangqi City. The army there was ten times larger than the defenders, but Chen Deng attacked and killed him when he came out of the city. After that, he fought again, but still no one was able to attack him. Return with success.

From this incident, Cao Cao could see that compared with Sun Ce, Sun Quan's ability in commanding troops was as different as clouds of mud.It's no wonder that after Sun Ce's death, Chen Deng had the ambition to annex Jiangdong for Cao Cao. This shows how much he despised Sun Quan.

In addition, the relationship between the Cao family and the Sun family has always been good. They have been married since ten years ago. Cao Cao's second son, Cao Zhang, married a daughter of the Sun family. The two parties can even be called an alliance to deal with Liu Biao of Jingzhou who rebelled against the imperial court.Although he did not accept a hostage, Sun Quan was still able to pay tribute on time, sending some rhinos, elephants, etc. to Xudu Yecheng. The words in the letter were quite humble. How could he be remotely "heroic"?
Just when Cao Cao and everyone else disagreed, Pang Tong smiled and shook his head and said, "The half-hero from Jiangdong whom Tong mentioned is not Sun Zhongmou."

"But Zhou Yu!"

Ruan Yu is not good at military planning. Although Sun Quan is not popular in the eyes of Cao Cao and others, he is the lord of Jiangdong after all. Ruan Yu has heard about it to some extent, but when it comes to the generals and advisers under Sun Quan, Ruan Yu is relatively unfamiliar. After listening to Pang Tong's words, he couldn't help but look at Xin Pi next to him: "Zhiji, who is Zhou Yu?"

Before Xin Pi could answer, Pang Tong began to tell: "Zhou Yu, courtesy name Gongjin, was born in Shu, Lujiang...Although he doesn't know me, I have heard of his name for a long time. The ancestors of the Zhou family have three generations and two sons, and they are the best in terms of family status. Jianghuai. When the Sun family moved to Shucheng as a hostage of Yuan Shu, they lived in the Zhou family's mansion. Sun Bofu and Zhou Gongjin were the same year, and they became friends and had the friendship of worshiping their mother."

"A few years later, when Zhou Gongjin was staying at his father's place as the prefect of Danyang, Sun Bofu crossed the river to attack six counties. He sent a letter to Zhou Gongjin, and Zhou Gongjin immediately sent his troops to meet him. Afterwards, the two of them crossed together to attack Moling, and they fought several times. City, entered Qu'a, expelled Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou from the imperial court, and the Sun family took Jiangdong, and Zhou Gongjin contributed a lot."

"Zhou Gongjin saw that Yuan Shu was doomed to defeat, so he gave up his official position in Huainan and completely defected to Sun Bofu. Since Sun Bofu was a disciple of the Zhou family and had officials all over the Lujiang River, he ordered Zhou Gongjin to guard Niuzhu on the riverside and jointly cross north to attack Wancheng. , pulled it out. Zhou Gongjin also established Yuzhang and Luling for the Sun family, controlled Chaisang in the west, and led the governor of Jiangxia from afar. He had the ambition to enter into Jingzhou."

At this point, Pang Tong stopped talking, looked at Kuai Yue, Cai Hao and others with different expressions, and said with a smile: "I believe what happens next will be familiar to you, right?"

That's natural. Later, Sun Ce was assassinated and Jingzhou thought that its powerful enemy was dead. Sun Quan was young and weak and had no prestige, so civil strife would definitely occur.Unexpectedly, Zhou Yu resolutely sent his troops to the funeral to express his attitude to Sun Quan. He then served as the "Central Protector" and stayed in Wudi to help Sun Quan stabilize the internal affairs.

Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia in Jingzhou, wanted to take the opportunity to switch from defense to offense and took the initiative to send thousands of troops to invade Yuzhang. However, Zhou Yu counterattacked and the entire army was wiped out and the generals were also captured alive.

In the spring of this year, Sun Quan mobilized his troops and attacked Huang Zu personally. With Zhou Yu as the front commander, he commanded the Jiangdong navy. This was a beautiful battle that shocked the people of Jingzhou: Huang Zu, who had guarded Jiangxia for Liu Biao for more than ten years, was killed. Half of the land in Jiangxia County and the harbors along the river were occupied by Jiangdong. In the water battle with Jiangdong, Jingzhou was completely at a disadvantage.

If this pace continues, Liu Qi, who was sent to Xiakou to put out the fire, will be cannibalized by Zhou Yu sooner or later, until Jingzhou completely loses Jiangxia and Jianghan's door is wide open...

But now, hasn't Cao Cao gone south?With the strong and powerful players entering the game, the previous attacks between Jing and Yang seemed to have become a meaningless battle. The two heroes of Jiang and Biao?It's crazy.

Therefore, the fear and worry that Kuai Yue, Cai Mao and others had towards Zhou Yu in the past had long since turned into yesterday's smoke. Seeing Cao Cao's consulting gaze at this moment, Cai Mao pretended to be relaxed and commented:

"I dare to tell the Prime Minister that although Huang Jiangxia is a veteran general in Jingzhou, he is already old and comatose. In addition, the Huang family is greedy for money and profit, which makes the army unable to fight. The boats and war equipment are useless and not repaired. This is why we have The defeat at the beginning of the year was not due to Zhou Gongjin's ability. This is like someone who killed a weak and sick tiger that could no longer walk. How dare he call himself a tiger-killing hero?"

Cao Cao looked at Kuai Yue again, and Kuai Yue replied: "Zhou Gongjin is indeed a hero of the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. He is both courageous and resourceful. He was once a big trouble in Jingzhou, but now the prime minister is here. He is in charge of all the land and water armies in Jingzhou, plus With all the warriors and warriors under his command, how can Zhou Gongjin rule the roost?"

Kuai Yue killed Pang Tong by the way and said: "Pang Shiyuan, don't always set your eyes on this corner of the south. You are like the frog in the well mentioned in "Zhuangzi", sitting in the well and looking at the sky. But you don't know that Zhongxia is a place where heroes gallop. On the battlefield, the Prime Minister, a hero among heroes, is like a dragon in the sea, able to traverse thousands of miles and swim thousands of feet deep. You compare Liu Bei and Zhou Yu, the little shrimps and crabs you see, to 'half-heroes'. Isn’t that ridiculous? You’d better put away your lofty words and don’t embarrass the people of Jingzhou anymore!”

Except for Han Song, Xu Shu and one or two others, everyone laughed one after another. They all felt that what Kuai Yue said was reasonable. Cao Cao also thought that it was okay for Pang Tong to mention Liu Bei. After all, he was an old rival that Cao Cao recognized, but Zhou Yu was a young man. , what's the point?It seems that if what Kuai Yue said is true, this person is so boastful that he can be called a lie. The title of "Fengxiao" is not worthy of the name.

But just when Cao Cao felt that he had tasted the taste of Pang Tong's orange and planned to end the interview early, Pang Tong said something outrageous.

However, Pang Tong bowed to Cao Cao again and warned him earnestly: "Prime Minister, we all believe that Zhou Gongjin is an extraordinary person. He is now the governor of Jiangdong and is training his navy at Poyang Lake east of Jiangxia. When I saw the Prime Minister's southern expedition, Duke Zhou Jin must take action, and the Jiangdong Marine Division can fight against the Jiangling Navy! If Zhou Gongjin and Liu Xuande, these two 'semi-heroes' join forces, they will definitely be the enemy of the Northern Army, and even be able to change the situation in the South, Prime Minister Wang Be on guard!"

"You know, if a deep-sea dragon reaches a shallow shoal, its huge body will be useless. Instead, the claws of a small shrimp and crab will have a chance to break off its dragon scales!"

Who do you curse to have their scales broken off?As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the audience was shocked!Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, Wang Can and others all stood up and scolded Pang Tong for being arrogant. Han Song closed his eyes helplessly... but Xu Shu took a breath of coolness in his heart!Because Pang Tongyi hit the nail on the head and pointed out Liu Beifang's real plan: to unite with Jiangdong.

Zhang Shao, who was warming the wine bottle, was even more stunned, because he knew better than Xu Shu how accurate Pang Tong's "prophecy" was.Whether it is in the novel or in history, Zhou Yu was the main attacker in the Battle of Chibi, with Liu Bei assisting. The two "semi-heroes" killed Cao Cao and retreated...

Zhang Shao could only watch Pang Tong reveal the secret, and exclaimed in his heart: "Pang Tong, have you figured out your own camp? The "Iron Chain" in your hand must be linked to the wrong person!"

At this moment, Xin Pi, who had been silent all this time, also held the wooden slip that Xu Shu had handed him before, stood up from the table, and reported to Cao Cao, who looked sullen: "Prime Minister, I have an urgent report to report!"

(End of this chapter)