Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 481 Planning for the future
In the spring of the third year of Jianye's reign, I visited the palace in Luoyang.

The charcoal fire is burning in the palace, and the heating drives away the cold air in the house; medicine is boiled in a cauldron in the corner, and the strong smell of herbs fills the palace.

On the bed, Cao Cao, half lying on the bed with a yellow scarf on his head and a fur coat, covered his head and groaned slightly.

He defeated Liu and Guan and led his army back to Luoyang. Due to the hard work in the army and the anger caused by Cao Ren, Cao Cao suffered a recurrence of the headache. His already poor health began to be afraid of the cold.

Sun Ying brought the medicine to Cao Cao and said softly: "Your Majesty, please take the medicine!"

Cao Cao glanced at the medicine in Sun Ying's hand and said, "This medicine is useless, so don't drink it!"

"This~"

Sun Ying put the medicine on the table and said: "Your Majesty has a recurrence of headache, and you rely on this medicine to cure it. How can you say it is useless now?"

Cao Cao sighed slightly and said: "This medicine is a prescription left by Hua Tuo. In the past, taking this medicine can gradually cure the head wind. However, in recent years, this medicine has gradually become ineffective, and it has become difficult to cure my old disease."

"Where is Hua Tuo?" Sun Ying asked.

He once thought that there were many doctors in the world, but he did not believe that except Hua Tuo, no doctor could cure his headache. Therefore, out of anger, he had Hua Tuo killed for his crime. However, to his surprise, despite his vast territory and tens of millions of people, there was not a single person who could cure a headache. Most of them were incompetent and quack doctors.

Hearing this, Sun Ying hesitated for a few moments and said, "Then what should I do if Your Majesty has a headache?"

When he thought about the status gap between him and Sun Ying, and the reality that what he wanted but could not get, it made Cao Pi feel more and more itchy in his heart.

"Cousin Zhongmou?"

"Your Highness!" The attendant saw Cao Pi distracted and shouted softly.

Seeing that it was the prince Cao Pi, Sun Ying saluted and said hello, then she stepped away and walked away.

Cao Cao smiled bitterly and shook his head silently.

However, more than ten years have passed, Zhen Ji has become old and beautiful, and after living for a long time, Cao Pi has no feelings for Zhen Ji.

"Xuan!"

Looking at the stunning woman walking in front of him, Cao Pi's eyes were instantly attracted to her. The woman's slightly mature style, delicate steps, and round breasts, combined with her tall figure, are particularly eye-catching. Not only that, but what attracted Cao Pi the most was the cold aura between his eyebrows.

"Your Majesty, this is your Majesty's new concubine, the Sun family. She is the cousin of Marquis Wu. She has just entered the palace not long ago." The attendant lowered his head and replied.

Sniffing the lingering fragrance in his breath, Cao Pi asked: "Who is this woman? I have never seen her in the palace?"

Wearing a golden hairpin on her head and jingling emeralds on her waist, she walks slowly and coldly. She is a peerless beauty.

As he spoke, the attendants rushed to report and said: "Your Majesty, the prince has come to the palace to ask for an audience."

Seeing that Cao Cao had something to discuss, Sun Ying bowed and resigned.

As he brushed his sleeves, Cao Pi seemed to smell the light fragrance, which was elegant and charming, making people unable to hold their breath for more aftertaste.

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Let's recuperate for a few days and see if we can get better!"

Cao Pi walked into the hall and met Sun Ying who had resigned.

"nothing!"

Cao Pi stroked his short beard and envied Cao Cao in his heart. He thought to himself: "It's such a pity that such a woman is my father's beauty!"

Cao Pi stopped and looked at Sun Ying's retreating figure. His heart felt unbearably itchy, as if he had returned to the Yuan family's house in Yecheng and the amazing feeling he had when he first met Zhen Ji.

Cao Pi came to his senses, suppressed the distracting thoughts in his heart, and walked into the palace.

When he saw Cao Cao taking medicine under the service of his maid, Cao Pi saluted respectfully and said, "My son has paid homage to my father. How is my father's condition now?"

Cao Cao drank the medicine in the bowl, endured his headache, and said: "Zi Huan must have been intentional, it's just a recurrence of the old headache!"

With that said, Cao Cao leaned on the cushion and said: "Wei Xi deliberately conspired to rebel. Zihuan handled it fairly and kept the center stable. I am satisfied."

The Battle of Xiangfan initiated by Guan Yu initially defeated Cao Ren, but later fell to Jin. Together with the narrow loss of Wancheng, the Central Plains was shaken and Luoyang was in turmoil.

In this context, because Wei Xi's surname was Wei, he believed that "those who succeed the Han Dynasty should be Tu Gao" prophecies, indicating that he could replace the Han Dynasty, so everyone in Yinlian rebelled.

However, before Wei Xi could cause trouble, he was discovered and dealt with by Cao Pi and Sun Quan. In order not to disturb the fighting on the front line, Cao Pi decided to conceal the matter temporarily and secretly investigate Wei Xi and his party members after discussing with everyone.

It was not until the war became clear that Cao Pi told Cao Cao about Wei Xi's rebellion. After Cao Cao learned of Wei Xi's rebellion, he was not only dissatisfied with Cao Pi's concealment, but also satisfied with Cao Pi's approach of taking the overall situation into consideration, so he handed over Wei Xi's rebellion case to Cao Pi.

Cao Cao tapped his head lightly and said, "I wonder how the prince will deal with Wei Xi's usurpation?"

Cao Pi pondered for a while and said: "Your Majesty, the person who conquered the Wei Dynasty is Zhong Tingwei. According to the law, Zhong Tingwei should be dismissed from his official title. However, Zhong Tingwei has worked hard and made great achievements. Now Zhong Ting is dismissed for this matter. Wei, I'm afraid of chilling other people's hearts."

"Humph!"

Cao Cao, who had a swollen head, was not in a good mood and said: "Cao Renshang was dismissed by me because of the defeat, not to mention Zhong Yao? How can we manage the country if the laws are not strict now?"

Cao Cao loved Legalism and had a cold temperament, so he would not take into account the feelings of his old troops like Liu Bei did when dealing with his old troops. Seeing that Cao Pi was about to speak, Cao Cao patiently said, "Now that Zhong Yao and Cao Ren have been talked about by many people, I am ruthless. However, my father is old and sick, and when Zi Huan comes to power, we can promote them. Give grace to all ministers."

"Cao Ren has been in the army for many years, and may not have the rank of a general, but he has deep qualifications. Living in Luoyang can ensure the stability of the central government, and joining the army can make the soldiers obey the generals; Zhong Yao is a wise and talented person. He is a high-level talent in the Central Plains, with a keen sense of insight and many disciples and former officials. . With Zihuan employing two men, the military and administrative affairs will be smooth and unimpeded!"

Cao Cao was not the kind of person without foresight. As time passed, his illness continued to torture him, and he vaguely felt that his death might be coming soon. Therefore, Cao Cao must do something to help Cao Pi successfully inherit the throne.

Under Cao Cao's detailed explanation, Cao Pi understood Cao Cao's intention and said excitedly: "My father is extremely wise, but my son has little talent and little knowledge. It is difficult for me to understand my father's deep meaning. I should ask my father's forgiveness."

With that said, Cao Pi presented the memorial and said: "Father, these memorials are all to implicate officials, who may be close or distant to Wei Xi."

"good!"

Cao Cao opened the memorial, glanced at it a few times, and said: "If any Jingxiang scholar is involved with Wei Xi, he should be punished severely and not leniently. Except for Wei Xi, all Qiao County natives from the old tribe will be punished according to the law. If If there is a death penalty, he will be exempted from the death penalty, and will be promoted and hired by Zihuan in the future."

"promise!"

While Cao Cao was browsing the memorial, the attendant came to report and said: "Your Majesty, all the princes have arrived outside the palace to fulfill the imperial edict."

"Xuan!"

Cao Cao closed the memorial and said, "Prince, please stay with me and listen!"

"promise!"

After a while, Sun Quan, Liu Ye, Jia Xu and others came to Cao Cao's bed and saluted Cao Cao and his son.

Cao Cao waved his hand to everyone to excuse themselves and asked, "Has anything important happened recently?"

"Your Majesty, Ma Chao reported victory, saying that Zhang Fei was defeated by him. The thieves Yao Jing and Zheng Ta surrendered with their troops, killing more than ten thousand people. Zhang Fei's generals Zhang Da and Fan Jiang secretly rebelled and surrendered in an attempt to kill Zhang Fei. Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei was prepared, and Zhang and Fan were killed. Zhang Fei was afraid and withdrew his troops. Ma Chao led his troops to pursue and kill him, and obtained more than a thousand carts of food and supplies."

Liu Ye handed Ma Chao's memorial to Cao Pi and said: "Although our Wei Dynasty suffered a setback in Jingxiang, we made many gains in Longyou. This battle should be a heavy blow to the water thieves. Ye thought that it could be exposed to the world so that the officials could celebrate. .”

Looking at the contents of the memorial, Cao Cao rarely smiled and said: "The horses are strong and powerful. Now that we have made him occupy the enemy's garrison, we can protect the pass and Long without any worries!"

Ma Chao is unruly and unruly, and Cao Cao understands this well. When Ma Chao surrendered to him in the past, Cao Cao had a headache as to how to place him. If Ma Chao is allowed to stay in Guanzhong, he will definitely not be able to stay. Imprisoning Ma Chao in the center will feel like a waste of Ma Chao's sharp knife.

After thinking deeply, and due to the development of the situation, Cao Cao tried to use Ma Chao to deal with Hanzhong, and the results were remarkable. During the last Zhang and Lu expedition to the north, Ma Chao threatened Hanzhong from Yangping Pass and helped Cao Xiu defeat Zhang Fei, achieving a small victory; now Zhang Fei's expedition to Longyou, Ma Chao directly used weak soldiers and few troops to defeat Zhang Fei's troops, and his military exploits were remarkable.

After pondering for a while, Cao Cao said: "I issued an edict to worship Ma Chao as General of the Zuo, leader of Yizhou Shepherd, and title of Marquis of Wudu; to designate his younger brother Ma Dai as General of Zhenxi, Grand Administrator of Wudu, and title of Marquis of Zuoxiang; to grant the title of Surrendered General Yao Jing. He is the general of Fengyi and the prefect of Guanghan; Zheng Ta is the general of Guijie and the prefect of Bajun, and he returns to Ma Chao's tent to listen to his orders."

"promise!"

Regarding Ma Chao, Cao Cao both used him and guarded against him secretly. The official titles awarded to Ma Chao today seem to be honorable and powerful, but in fact they are all empty positions and have no real power.

Putting down Ma Chao's good news, Cao Cao rubbed his temples and asked: "The Southern Han Dynasty is good at boating. When it is profitable, it will advance when the water rises, but when it is unfavorable, it will retreat by boat. Our country has been deeply disturbed by this. In recent years, the country has been sluggish. I want to use troops to boost the country's prestige, but I wonder if you guys have any wise ideas?"

When Cao Cao accepted the concession and founded the country, he originally wanted to take over the three eastern counties to show off his power, but he never thought that he would fall into a trap and be defeated, and even lose Xiangfan. Nowadays, the Central Plains is in turmoil and his reputation has plummeted. Cao Cao can only regain his prestige as soon as possible, gain some ground and win a big victory.

After hearing Cao Cao's words, everyone looked at each other with different expressions. Unexpectedly, not long after Xiangfan was defeated, Cao Cao was anxious to send troops.

"Zhongmou, Ziyang, Wenhe?" Cao Cao named them one by one.

Jia Xu stroked his beard and thought, and said: "Your Majesty, the water thieves rely on the mountains and rivers, the boats and boats are horses, and the rivers and lakes are cities. In the past, we lived in Jianghan to fight, and our army had little to gain. Now that Xiangfan has been defeated, it is not appropriate to use force hastily. As a minister In my view, we should put the cultivation of people's livelihood first, teach soldiers and practice martial arts, and build cities and armies."

Cao Cao remained silent, obviously dissatisfied with what Jia Xu said.

Sun Quan frowned and analyzed Cao Cao's psychology. He seemed to have thought of something and said: "Your Majesty, the water thieves cannot be attacked. It is better to send troops to Liaodong now."

"The name of Liaodong is Shun, but it is contrary. In the past, Gongsun Kang had a great strategy. He conquered Gaoguli in the north, conquered Wuhuan in the west, opened up three Koreas in the east, opened up thousands of miles of territory, and was powerful overseas. However, Gongsun Kang died early, and his heirs were not long, so his younger brother Gong succeeded him. The position governs affairs. Gongsun Gong has no foresight and is dull and talentless."

"Now that your majesty wants to use troops to achieve great success, he can send partial troops out of Liaodong, and separate an army to float in by sea. Travel by water and land, and use money and food to induce surrender. With Gongsun Gong's talents, he will be frightened by the news and beg to surrender."

"At that time, the land of Liaodong was thousands of miles away, and there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Obtaining it would enhance the country's prestige, and occupying it would be a powerful force beyond the Great Wall. The troops in Liaodong were sharp and powerful, and harvesting them would benefit the country's deficit."

Previously, in order to persuade Cao Cao to proclaim himself emperor, Sun Quan had considered letting Cao Cao use force against Liaodong, and then proclaim himself emperor and found the country. However, when he got to know Liaodong in depth, he found that it was not that easy to attack and might easily fail, so he gave up the idea of ​​using force against Liaodong.

But giving up temporarily does not mean giving up long-term. After all, Sun Quan has plans to use Liaodong to build military glory for himself. Under this situation, Sun Quan spent a lot of time understanding Liaodong.

Compared with the Gongsun Kang period, his younger brother Gongsun Gong was far inferior to his elder brother. Not only was he mediocre and weak, he was also infertile due to illness. Due to several factors, Gongsun Gong was unpopular with the Liao people and was considered a weak leader. According to what Sun Quan said, if Cao Cao sends troops to Liaodong, he may not be able to force Gongsun Gong to surrender.

"Liaodong!"

Cao Cao was very moved and looked at Liu Ye.

Gai felt Cao Cao's consulting eyes, Liu Ye thought for a moment, raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the Gongsun family has occupied Liaodong since the end of the Han Dynasty. Officials have inherited it. Du and Kang have great ambitions, with the sea as a belt and the mountains as obstacles. He calls himself "Beyond the Great Wall" to subdue the barbarians. Therefore, it is not advisable for the two of them to make plans in a hurry while they are still alive."

"However, Kang died suddenly, and his younger brother Gong was in charge. He was weak and incompetent, with a tolerant nature and no authority. He had been away from China for a long time. If we attack him now, we can catch him by surprise and send troops to come in person to persuade him to be granted a title. He will be rewarded with money and nobility, but he can do it lightly without using a large army. Definitely!"

Cao Cao thought for a long time, squinted his eyes and touched his beard, and said: "This matter will be left to Zhongmou and Ziyang to take charge, and a detailed plan will be submitted as soon as possible."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)