Ji Han Liu Zhang

'You want money, General!'

When hearing this nickname, Cao Hong, who was present at the meeting, suddenly began to blush, and in an instant his face turned red, just like steel being burned by high-temperature charcoal fire in a furnace. He was furious and his face turned red in an instant.

But no matter how angry he was, or how uncomfortable he felt, Cao Hong had to grit his teeth and endure it, because Zhang Su's words were sarcastic. He did not directly call him a "money-hungry general" and even praised him for his loyalty to the royal family.

Not only could he not blame or scold the Shu envoy Zhang Su, but he had to show his respect to Zhang Su as a sign of hospitality.

However, Cao Hong was unable to show any sign of greeting to Zhang Su at this moment. He was just thinking that within a few days, everyone in and outside Xudu would know that Zhang Su had given him the title of "General Who Wants Money", and his reputation would plummet.

You know, although he was greedy for money before, he had never had such a disdainful title. Now that Zhang Su, the envoy from Shu, has ridiculed him as a "money-hungry general", and then spread the news, he is afraid that he will inevitably be gossiped about behind his back.

As such, when he heard Zhang Su praising his loyal and diligent Cao Hong, he just sat upright at the table and did not show any modesty or greet Zhang Su in any way because of Zhang Su's praise.

Cao Hong sat as steady as a rock, trying desperately to suppress the anger in his heart. The other people present were also trying to suppress their emotions, but what they were suppressing was the urge to laugh. It was because everyone present felt that the title of 'money-seeking general' given to Cao Hong by Zhang Su was very appropriate, but they just couldn't laugh.

Cao Cao, who was at the head of the group, could not hold back. He clapped his hands and laughed, almost weeping a few tears. At the same time, he said, "It is indeed not appropriate to give my Zilian the title of General Who Wants Money. My Zilian is loyal to the royal family and guards the palace day and night. He has never cared about money... He is a well-known honest and upright gentleman..."

As Cao Cao spoke, he laughed from time to time, and he spoke very happily.

As Cao Cao could not help laughing, the people present, such as Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and others, these scholars covered their faces with their sleeves and chuckled, while Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren and others, who were close to Cao Hong and were military generals in command of troops, laughed uncontrollably.

Seeing the attitude of the crowd and hearing Cao Cao's praise, Cao Hong's face turned even redder, but his blushing was not due to anger, but shame. He was not a honest and upright person at all, otherwise he would not have been so furious when Zhang Su said that the rumor in Xudu called him the 'money-seeking general'. It was actually Zhang Su who hit his sore spot.

After Cao Cao praised Cao Hong like a woman selling melons and boasting about himself, he did not forget to ask people to endorse him. He named them: "Miaocai, Zixiao, do you think what I said is right or wrong?"

"What the general said is true. Zilian is famous for his honesty and integrity. When the elders and children of Qiao County saw Zilian, they all gave him a thumbs up." Xiahou Yuan answered immediately. He brought up the elders and children of Qiao County as proof that Cao Hong was an honest person.

"Yes, yes, yes." Cao Ren clapped his hands and responded, "Zi Lian is not only very 'honest', but also very generous. Last time my family was short of money, I borrowed 50 rolls of silk cloth from Zi Lian, but Zi Lian didn't even write an IOU, and even said that if it wasn't enough, I would go to his house to get more."

Cao Hong, who had been silent and listening to everyone's teasing, could not sit still after hearing Cao Ren's words. He suppressed the urge to stand up and said loudly: "Zixiao, are you confused? The IOU for the fifty rolls of silk cloth I lent you is clearly written... Oh, and the monthly interest, you haven't paid me last month's payment yet... I lent it to you for the sake of brotherhood, don't think of denying it. If others want to borrow from me, I won't give them a penny."

Losing face is a small matter, but losing money is a big matter. Cao Hong stared at Cao Ren like an anxious rabbit.

Cao Hong's words were like a raging wave, sweeping away. In an instant, everyone in the hall burst into laughter.

Zhang Su couldn't help laughing. He had never expected that Cao Hong, who was known for his greed, would disregard his dignity and make a solemn statement for his own loans. He was truly the most greedy person in ancient and modern times.

"Zi Lian." Cao Cao was also amused by Cao Hong for a few moments. After finally suppressing his laughter, he called Cao Hong and suppressed Cao Hong's desire to argue with Cao Ren about the loan. Then he said to Zhang Su, "Gong Cao, let's forget about Fangwu. Come, let's have another drink."

Cao Cao casually mentioned the matter of the seizure of Shu's property and saluted Zhang Su.

"General, please." Zhang Su greeted with a smile and drank a glass of wine.

Zhang Su took the initiative and won the battle. Cao Cao naturally gave in. At Cao Cao's signal, Cheng Yu stroked his beard and said calmly, "Gong Cao, why hasn't Shu paid tribute for so many years? I heard that the former governor of Yizhou, Liu Junlang, has built thousands of chariots in Shu since he entered Shu, which seems to indicate that he is disloyal. I hope Gong Cao can explain the situation to me."

Zhang Su put down the wine glass in his hand. He had already thought of his response to these questions: "Shu has not paid tribute for a long time. It is because the rice thief Zhang Lu has occupied Hanzhong and cut off the valley for many years. In addition, Li Jue and Guo Si have rebelled. The envoys of Shu are not allowed to see the emperor, so how can they pay tribute?"

"As for the former governor of Yizhou making the chariot." Zhang Su's tone turned down. "The former governor of Yizhou made the chariot to rescue the emperor from the bandits and to welcome the emperor to Shu. It was made for the emperor, not for himself. Unfortunately, the former governor of Yizhou had great ambitions, but his two sons were killed and died on the way, causing Li Jue and Guo Si to rebel for many years, and the sun and the moon were covered by dark clouds."

At this point, Zhang Su's tone turned to cheer up: "Now my lord has inherited the will of the former governor of Yizhou, defeated the rice bandits, pacified Guanzhong, beheaded the two bandits Li Jue and Guo Si, and made the former governor of Yizhou rest in peace. This shows the loyalty of the former governor of Yizhou to my lord."

"I wonder if Mr. Cheng still has any confusion. I will help you solve it." Zhang Su looked like he was firing at me. Although his words were plain, his rhetoric was very sharp.

"So that's the case. It's a blessing for the court to have the former governor of Yizhou and the grand marshal as a foreign vassal." Cheng Yu appeared submissive, but there was a hint of unkindness in his tone.

Cao Cao then took over the conversation, following Zhang Su's boasting, "Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu is so loyal and good, and he helped the court to pacify Guanzhong and killed the two traitors Li Jue and Guo Si. His achievements are truly unparalleled and no one in the world can match him."

"Therefore, the court discussed that the great merit of Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu should be rewarded with the title of King, and it was decided to confer him the title of 'King of Shu' to show the court's fairness and grace."

Cao Cao implied that it was the court's discussion, but his tone was very certain, as if the court had already decided that Liu Jiyu would be the King of Shu.

This is the great general of the Han Dynasty, who oversees the court and makes all the decisions.

"To flatter to death?" When Zhang Su heard about the reward from the 'King of Shu', he was not delighted at first, but instantly activated his defensive posture, seeing through the true intentions of the great general Cao Cao in front of him.

Although his wise grandfather Liu Zhang, whether in terms of current strength, prestige, or meritorious services to the court, deserves the title of a king, the title of a king is different from that of a marquis after all. Once he is granted the title of a king, he will inevitably attract the eagle-eyed and wolf-eyed attention of the princes of the world.

As the saying goes, a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; a pile that stands out on the shore will be washed away by the current; a person who is superior to others will be criticized by the crowd. When all the princes in the world were marquises or ministers, his wise master Liu Zhang suddenly ascended to the position of king. The princes were naturally unwilling and would inevitably feel wary of Liu Zhang, which was not a good thing for Liu Zhang's great cause.

Zhang Su's face was calm, neither sad nor happy. He just said politely: "The reward of the king's title is too noble. My master really cannot bear it. I will report to the emperor and give some advice. I also hope that the general will speak for him."

It was a polite remark, but Zhang Su knew that the title of 'King of Shu' was granted to Liu Zhang by the hand of General Cao in front of him. General Cao controlled the court and exercised power on his own, which was very convenient.

"You have determination." Seeing that Zhang Su did not lose his composure, Guo Jia, who was present at the meeting, praised him in his heart. When meeting ordinary envoys, they would be delighted and say a few humble words when they heard about the reward from the king. However, Zhang Su said this modestly without any disturbance. It can be seen that Zhang Su had seen through the trap set by the "King of Shu".

With such ministers, the Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu would surely decline the title of "King of Shu" granted by the court, so as not to become the target of criticism from the princes of the world.

Unfortunately, Guo Jia curved his eyebrows and revealed a sly smile. His strategy of 'praising to death' would arouse the fear of the heroes in the world, no matter whether Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu accepted it or not. Moreover, it was not certain that the emperor would also be worried about him, a relative who acted like Emperor Gao.

As soon as the angel appeared and took the reward of the kingship to Guanzhong, his plan would succeed.

This is an open conspiracy.

"The Grand Marshal has made great contributions to the country and has fought against the enemy. He deserves the reward of the title of king." Cao Cao ignored Zhang Su's words to persuade him to advise the emperor, and he just insisted on accepting the reward of the title of king.

Cao Cao was in the center of the world and had enemies everywhere. In the north, there was Yuan Shao, who was powerful in Hebei; in the south, there was Liu Biao, who was dominating the Yangtze and Han rivers; in the west, there was Liu Zhang, who was like a dragon; in the east, there was Yuan Gonglu, a fierce ghost in the road, and Lu Bu, who was capricious.

Although Cao Cao controls the court, holds the emperor, and holds the righteousness of the world, if he wants to compete for hegemony in the world, he has to try his best to avoid falling into the dilemma of being attacked from two sides so that he can move and have a breather. Now that he is surrounded by enemies on all sides, he needs a prince who can attract firepower for him.

At this moment, Liu Zhang, who has arrived in Guanzhong, is indeed a good target. He is the most suitable one to attract the attention of heroes in the world, especially the most powerful prince at present - Yuan Shao of Hebei.

Cao Cao knew that Yuan Shao had been disloyal for a long time. He had once joined Yuan Shao in the rebellion against Dong Zhuo. When they talked about how to deal with the situation, Yuan Shao said, "I have the Yellow River in the south, Yan and Dai in the north, and the Rong and Di peoples in the north. If I go south to fight for the world, maybe I can help."

"Occupy the Yellow River in the south, block Yan and Dai in the north, unite the Rong and Di peoples, and head south to fight for the world." This is the way Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, fought for supremacy in the world. He first occupied Hebei and Hedong, and then swept away the heroes from north to south, and won the world in one fell swoop.

That is the case. Now, a man named Liu Zhang has emerged, who imitated the path of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang and emerged from Hanzhong and swept across Guanzhong. Things have become interesting.

'One has the shadow of Emperor Gao, Liu Bang, and the other follows the footsteps of Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu. When two heroes compete, one will win.'

Cao Cao intended to act as a middleman between Liu Zhang in Guanzhong and Yuan Shao in Hebei, especially when he controlled the emperor and could make some decisions in the name of the emperor. Both Liu Zhang and Yuan Shao had to look up to him more or less.

During the struggle between Liu Zhang and Yuan Shao, he eliminated the hidden dangers in the Central Plains, including Yuan Shu in Huainan, Lu Bu in Xuzhou, and the bandits in Taishan, and occupied the Central Plains, waiting for the opportunity to act.

Although his geographical advantage is not as good as that of Yuan Shao in Hebei and Liu Zhang in Guanzhong, who were able to block three sides and defend one side, the weather is not as important as the geographical location, and the geographical location is not as important as the harmony among the people. I will use the wisdom and intelligence of the world to control it with the Tao, and nothing is impossible.

No one will know to whom the world will belong in the future.

On the second day, the court held a meeting, and all the ministers attended.

The great general Cao Cao had a golden seal and a purple ribbon, but his clothes were simple and tight. He did not look wealthy, but he had an air of heroism that made all the officials who met his gaze bow their heads.

Even Emperor Liu Xie, who was at the top of the table, was extremely fearful when he saw Cao Cao's figure from behind his crown.

"Your Majesty, now we have Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu who has conquered Guanzhong, pacified the three prefectures, cleared out the Liangzhou bandits in Guanzhong, and killed Li Jue, Guo Si and other treacherous and evil traitors. His achievements are so great that I think there is no reward for him. He should be granted the title of king so that people all over the world will be convinced."

General Cao Cao's henchman, counselor Dong Zhao, spoke first, and everyone was shocked when he spoke.

"Does this mean that he should go to Guanzhong first to be the king?" Dong Cheng, the uncle of the emperor, looked unhappy. Although it was said by the counselor Dong Zhao, he knew that this must be the intention of the general Cao Cao who was sitting in the front seat. As Cao Cao intended to reward Liu Zhang with the title of king, he remembered the promise made by King Huai of Chu when he started his rebellion against Qin - to go to Guanzhong first to be the king. Now that Liu Zhang occupied Guanzhong first, he should be granted the title of king.

"What Mr. Dong said is very true. I hope Your Majesty will approve it."

"What Mr. Dong said makes sense. Your Majesty, please approve it."

Several ministers planted by Cao Cao in the court spoke up again, echoing the words of counselor Dong Cheng.

When the atmosphere was almost ready, Dong Cheng saw General Cao Cao, who was sitting at the front, leisurely and said, "Your Majesty, please approve it."

If the previous ministers still had a tone of request, General Cao Cao did not have any at all, and his attitude was almost one of command.

As for whether there were any ministers who objected, with Cao Cao's confidant Zao Zhi guarding the palace door, and everyone in the palace suddenly hearing the news, no one showed up to object. (End of this chapter)