Cao Thief

Chapter 255 Xia Houzhen

In the fourth year of Jian'an, on February [-], the dragon raised its head.

On the main road outside Peiguoqiao County, a team of chariots and horses came.

There were about 300 people, including fifty knights, and the rest were all infantry.It is the season when the flowers are blooming in warm spring and peaches and apricots are in full bloom. In the fields on both sides of the road, farmers are hard at work sowing seeds, and many scholars and scholars go out for outings with their families.

"Ah Fu, how far is it to Qiao County?"

A carriage, with the curtain raised, reveals a beautiful woman.

The boy next to the carriage replied: "Sister, Qiao County is ahead, and it is estimated that we will arrive at noon."

"Well, it's finally here!" The beautiful woman looked at Cao Peng, smiled and said, "Ah Fu, my parents must be very happy to go back this time."

"Yeah, I haven't seen my parents for more than a year!"

"I just don't know, your brother-in-law stayed in Haixi alone, no one to take care of him..."

"Sister, my brother-in-law is not a child, why should you worry too much? Haixi is normal now, and there is still a tiger head in Hailing, echoing my brother-in-law. Mr. Dai guards Yandu, and Zishan is now a dignified Hailing captain. , Mr. Wen Gui and Mr. Puyang are helping, and Uncle Zhou is taking care of brother-in-law, so nothing can go wrong. If you want me to tell you, don’t worry about brother-in-law.”

"It's easy to say, how can you not worry?"

The beautiful woman muttered something, and suddenly heard a weak female voice coming from inside the car, she quickly retracted into the car, and the curtain fell.

From the car, there was a burst of laughter like silver bells.

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This convoy came from Xuzhou, and the young man beside the car was Cao Peng.

At the end of the third year of Jian'an, the war in Xuzhou ended.Lu Bu, known as the tiger, was buried at the foot of Geyi Mountain after he was killed in Xiapi.

Xuzhou ended the five-year war.

Later, Cao Cao appointed Che Zhou as the governor of Xuzhou, and officially changed the state of Xiapi to Xiapi County, but did not appoint a prefect.

Because of Deng Ji's meritorious service in farming, he served as the captain of farming and continued to be in charge of Haixi.However, today's Haixi is no longer comparable to what it was a year ago, and its area has more than tripled.It reaches Yilu in the north, Huai River in the south, connects Quyang across Youshui in the west, and directly reaches the sea in the east.

Yilu County was added, and Puyangkai, the former Haixi Cheng, was appointed as the head of Yilu.

Panzhang, the former captain of Haixi County, served as the chief of Quyang as the Sima of another department, and assisted Deng Ji in implementing the law of farming.

Zhou Cang took the post of postal governor Cao Cao in the eastern part of Guangling, and also served as a county captain in Haixi.Its main duty is to patrol the coastal areas of the East China Sea.Cao Fengchao, the former Haixi soldier, was promoted to Haixi county lieutenant, in charge of land security.Deng Zhi, the chief bookkeeper of Haixi, succeeded Puyang Kai and Dai Gan.

Dai Gan served as the head of Yandu and was transferred to Huainan.

This promotion was recommended by Chen Qun, and Chen Deng's consent was sought.

Subsequently, Bu Zhi became Hailing Captain, succeeding Cao Peng's original position.Wang Xu stayed at Hailing, and the original Hailing elite soldiers were sent to Dongling Pavilion to garrison.

However, the most surprising thing is that the post of Nong Duwei is held by Wang Mai.

Originally, Cao Peng, who was most likely to be the Captain of the Nong, did not receive any rewards...

This surprised many people, including Wang Mai.After Wang Mai got the appointment, he rushed to Haixi immediately to ask Cao Peng.

"I recommended you!"

"what?"

Cao Peng replied with a smile, as if he didn't take this matter to heart.

"I did something wrong, so I should naturally be punished. Originally, Mr. Cao was going to let me take the post of Captain of Guangling Farmers, but... But Mr. Cao still asked Guo Jijiu to ask for my opinion, so I recommended you. You were in Haixi, and you have seen the process of farming with your own eyes, and you have been stationed in Hailing for more than a year, so you know the situation in Hailing quite well. With Zishan to help you, it must not be a problem."

"how about you?"

"I... go back to Xudu!"

Cao Peng replied, and then took Wang Mai's hand and said, "Brother Hutou, you have to work hard. It took me a lot of effort to recommend you as the captain of the farm. For this reason, I also visited Chen Prefect, convince him...you stay here, the task is very heavy, not only to cooperate with prefect Chen to make the eastern part of Guangling prosperous again, but also to cooperate with brother-in-law, so that Hailing and Haixi will be united as one soon."

Wang Mai was dumbfounded, "Can I do it?"

"Success or failure, you have no way out now.

If you do well, I will have face. If you do not do well, even your father will lose face.Now that you have sat in this seat, think carefully about how to do it well, and don't think about things that are useful or useless.If you have any questions, you can ask Mr. Zishan. "

Wang Mai hesitated for a long time before nodding reluctantly in agreement.

Now Wang Mai can be regarded as a person who has registered under Cao Cao's account.

Not only because he and Cao Zhen are sworn brothers, but also because his father, Wang Meng, was given the post of five senior officials and the post of Huben Zhonglang for his meritorious service in capturing Chen Gong.Compared with the previous general Huben Lang, he was promoted by two ranks at once, and his official position was only below Dian Wei.

Moreover, Cao Peng tried his best to recommend Wang Mai this time, which made Cao Cao pay more attention.

Wang Mai is 17 years old and can be considered as experienced.

He served as a soldier in Nine Girls City and killed people; he served as Cao Cao in Haixi, and later he was in charge of Hailing when Cao Peng was away.

Cao Peng's evaluation of Wang Mai is four words: quite satisfactory.

He doesn't have any special talents, but he is hardworking and diligent in doing things.

After explaining the matter to Wang Mai, there is no need to worry about it.He will definitely try his best to do things the best...

And this trait is most suitable for Lieutenant Nong.

The main duty of Captain Nong, to put it bluntly, is Tuntian, which is very close to the nature of Captain Tuntian.

After having the experience of farming in Haixi, there is no need for any innovation.What Wang Mai had to do was to keep his duties in order to carry out the farming.

This is exactly what Wang Mai is good at.

In ancient times, there was a good talk about Xiao Gui and Cao Sui, but now Wang Mai cannot be called Xiao Gui and Cao Sui, but he only needs to copy Haixi's model.With the relationship between the two, Deng Ji will try his best to help Wang Mai.If it were someone else, Deng Ji might not be willing to help sincerely.

After all, this person is selfish...

Deng Fan went to Chen Jun with Cao Hong years ago, and served as Cao Shi of Chen Jun Bing.

It can be seen that Cao Hong still attaches great importance to Deng Fan, and entrusted him with important tasks as soon as he passed.The salary of Bing Cao Shi is not high, more than three hundred stones, and the monthly salary is 370 Dou. He is a serious local military post, and he is in charge of Chenjun military affairs.Deng Fan, this salary is considered appropriate.Moreover, like Wang Mai's Nong Duwei, he is also an official position with real power.It can be imagined that his future will be very good.

In contrast, Cao Peng is a bit shabby.

A title of five doctors, plus a vain position of riding captain.

However, Cao Peng didn't take it to heart, but seemed extraordinarily relaxed.

Cao Cao's class returned to Xudu, and Cao Peng should have gone with him.But because of a letter from Deng Ji, he asked him to go back to Haixi, and take Cao Nan and Deng Ai back to Xudu in a few years later, saying that he wanted to reunite with his family.Cao Cao didn't ask about this matter, so he allowed Cao Peng to take a vacation...

In fact, this is what all officials should do.

Tuntian Duwei said whether it is big or small, but it has a lot to do with it.

The most important thing is that the captain of Tuntian can directly intervene in military affairs and control three thousand soldiers and horses.According to the rules, the general in charge must keep his family members in the capital as hostages.But this rule is forgotten by many people.Now that Deng Ji proposed it on his own initiative, it was exactly what he wanted for Cao Cao.It can be seen from this that Cao Peng's family did not have any intention of treason, so Cao Cao was naturally more at ease.

In this way, Cao Peng stayed in Haixi.

After returning to Haixi, Cao Peng lived a good life in the former No. [-] Yamen in Haixi.

Every day, I would go to the market, chat with the nine leaders, or compete with Gan Ning.Spring is here, I took Huang Yueying and two little maidservants with me, and led Hao Zhao and others out of the city to train soldiers and go out in the green, living a very happy and carefree life.During this time, Cao Peng finally broke through the bottleneck of Yijin and entered the realm of marrow washing.The so-called marrow washing is to refine the spirit and return the emptiness.Practice the dark energy to the softest and smoothest, according to the boxing scriptures, the extreme of softness is the end of the dark energy.As a result, it officially enters the Huajin stage and reaches its peak.

The main point of marrow washing is emptiness and tranquility, which lies in cultivating the mind.

The boxing scriptures say: There is no fist in a fist, there is no intention, and the unintentional is the true meaning.

Standing still and not moving, feeling and passing through.Everything was posted unintentionally, just following the other party's wishes...

When practice reaches this point, it is no longer simply 'practice', but also requires 'nurture' and 'enlightenment'.

In Cao Peng's previous life, he only practiced to the stage of Yijin, so after entering the marrow washing, how to practice, how to cultivate, how to understand, there is no experience to follow.Everything has to be explored by oneself.Each individual's situation is different, so even though Gan Ning has already reached the realm of washing the marrow, he can't give Cao Peng the slightest help.If you practice to the extreme, cultivate to the extreme, and realize to the extreme, you can have your own "potential".But all of this can only rely on oneself, and outsiders can give some experience at most, which is of no great use.

In other words, from this moment on, all the experiences of the previous life have lost their effect.

Next, it is up to Cao Peng to understand and master it.

After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Cao Peng took Hao Zhao and three hundred soldiers and set off from Haixi to escort his sister Cao Nan, Huang Yueying and Guo Huanbuluan's two daughters back to Xudu.But before setting off, Cao Cao received a letter asking him to pick up someone when passing through Qiao County.

The person who wrote this letter was none other than Cao Peng's sworn brother, Cao Zhen.

And Cao Zhen, who was entrusted by Mrs. Huan, was called Xia Houzhen.

It actually has the same name as Cao Zhen!
Anyway, Cao Peng didn't have any major issues, it was just a matter of passing by.

The only change is that the path changes.Originally, Cao Peng planned to pass through Pengcheng State, cross Dangshan Mountain, pass through Chenliu, and arrive at Xudu.Now, they can only change the route, enter Peiguo from Xiapi County, and then return to Xudu from Chen County.Qiao County is located in Peiguo.

Just right, I can also visit Deng Fan.

After Cao Peng planned the itinerary, he set off.

After nearly ten days, I arrived in Qiao County.

Qiao County, also the hometown of Cao Cao, is located between Peiguo, Runan and Chenjun.

Cao Cao is now the Sikong, serving the emperor to command the princes, so Qiao County is also rising.Cao Peng didn't know that in more than ten years, this place would become one of the four capitals of Cao Wei.The Qiao County in front of me looks quite dilapidated, and the city wall built with rammed earth is not too high.

The Cao family and the Xiahou family are two big families in Qiao County.

However, at the end of the second year of Jian'an, Lu Bu sent Gao Shun and Zhang Liao to attack Liu Bei, Xiahou Dun sent troops to help, and there was a big battle with Zhang and Gao in Qiao County.Later, Xiahou Dun retreated, and the Cao and Xiahou clansmen in Qiao County also left Qiao County one after another, and most of them moved to Xudu.After Cao Peng came to Qiao County, he ordered someone to notify the magistrate of Qiao County.According to the rules, soldiers and horses are not allowed to enter the city, so Hao Zhao and Xia Houlan led the troops to camp beside the post station outside the city.Cao Nan and Huang Yueying lived together in the inn, and then Cao Peng brought Gan Ning into Qiao County together.

Speaking of which, Gan Ning was at a loss!
In this Xuzhou battle, almost everyone got promoted, only Gan Ning, Xia Houlan and Hao Zhao didn't get any benefits.

Hao Zhao, whose name is unknown, was stationed at the Dongling Pavilion during the Battle of Quyang, so it's okay to say.

But Xia Houlan and Gan Ning were both heroes who participated in the battle of Quyang.It's not that the two of them have no chance, but they are reluctant.

In Gan Ning's view, he was entrusted by Huang Chengyan to take care of Huang Yueying.

So it doesn't matter if you get promoted or not.Anyway, as long as you follow Cao Peng closely, you will have a chance sooner or later.

As for Xia Houlan, she used "I am a general" as an excuse, hoping to continue to work by Cao Peng's side.Judging from the current situation, Cao Peng was punished for rescuing Lu's family members, and his merits and demerits were offset; but it was precisely because of this action that Xia Houlan respected Cao Peng even more.

What Cao Peng did, in Xia Houlan's eyes, deserved the word "righteous man".

These days, people attach great importance to the word 'righteousness'.Cao Peng's deeds are worthy of the title of "Little Bayi" and worthy of his following.

In this way, Xia Houlan is still following Cao Peng as a family general.

Don't look at Wang Xu, Pan Zhang, and the others who have all been promoted to official positions, but the son's virtue and talent will make great achievements sooner or later.As long as you follow the son, are you afraid that you won't have a chance?Besides, Xia Houlan didn't really want to stay in Guangling, and always felt that there was a little desolation there.

Xiahou's family is easy to find. It is said that Xiahouzhen is also a relative of Xiahouyuan.

Cao Peng first visited the county magistrate of Qiao County, and after inquiring about Xiahouyuan's residence, he went directly to Xiahouyuan's residence under the leadership of a servant.Xia Houyuan's house is not too big.But the area of ​​two hectares of land is considered a leader in Qiao County.

High-ranking and wealthy families all show Xia Houyuan's good family background.

Xia Houlan stepped forward, and Pengpeng knocked on the door.

After a while, I heard footsteps coming from behind the door...

The door opened, and an old family member walked out from inside.He opened his cloudy old eyes and asked suspiciously: "Dare to ask, who knocked on the door?"

"I am Cao Peng, entrusted by Mrs. Huan to find a man named Xia Houzhen.

Mrs. Huan asked me to take him to Xudu. I wonder if this Xia Houzhen lives here? "

The old man was startled, then nodded immediately.

"You are here to find Miss Zhen... Please follow me."

Really Miss?
Cao Peng looked confused, Xia Houzhen, is she a woman?

Why didn't Cao Zhen make it clear in his heart?

The old family brought Cao Peng and others to the lobby of the mansion, asked them to wait in the lobby, and then hurriedly left the flower hall.

After about a cup of tea, only the sound of footsteps outside the flower hall could be heard.

A young girl in plain clothes and sackcloth came in.

She looked up, saw Cao Peng and couldn't help being startled, and then blurted out: "Brother Rabbit, why is it you?"

(End of this chapter)