villain

Chapter 281 Cao Mengde's Concession (seeking monthly ticket support)
Changyi in March is particularly vibrant.

Since the end of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Sanyang County has been extremely peaceful.The flames of war did not reach here, and even the death of Yuan Yi, the prefect of Shanyang in Chenggao, did not arouse too many people's ideas.After all, for the common people, the wars that have erupted have nothing to do with them, the most important thing is being able to survive in these turbulent years.

During the spring plowing season, there is a bustling scene in the fields.

The green branches and stretched green leaves seem to show people the moving beauty of spring.

From the beginning of February, the weather has been smooth.

People in Shanyang said that it was because they had a good prefect, a gift from heaven.

This prefect is Cao Cao who has just been appointed by the court.

Shanyang is adjacent to Pengcheng State in the south, Jiyin in the west, Lu State and Langya State in the east and northeast, and its geographical location is very important.

Many people still remember that Dong Bi attacked Shanyang twice.

After Cao Cao came to Shanyang, relying on his identity as a native of Shanyang from Yi, he quickly got in touch with the local rich.

However, at this moment, the newly appointed prefect of Shanyang felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

In the hall of the government office in Changyi, a seven-foot-tall scribe with a slim figure was sitting in the hall holding a white silk folding fan.

Cao Cao said with a warm smile, "Gong Tu, you are here under my rule this time, what advice do you have?"

This scribe is exactly the envoy sent by Yuan Shao, Feng Ji.

Fengji was from Hejian, Jizhou. He had attached himself to He Jin in his early years, and later made friends with Yuan Shao.

This time Yuan Shao killed Han Fu, the governor of Jizhou, and was busy strengthening his control over the entire Jizhou.Jizhou is a vast land, with three counties and six countries under its jurisdiction, and many of them are royal relatives. It will take a long time to control it.

And precisely at this time, Dong Zhuo appointed Cao Cao as the prefect of Shanyang, stabbing Yuan Shao's weakness at once.

why?

It is Dongping Kingdom, which is adjacent to Shanyang. Although it is independent in name, it is actually in a very embarrassing position.

To the north of Dongping is Jizhou, and to the southwest is Hanoi.

It happened to be stuck between the two places, making it impossible for Yuan Shao to connect the two places together.

And Dongping Kingdom is under the rule of Yanzhou, attached to the rule of Shanyang County.Yuan Shao's foundation in Jizhou was not yet solid, and he didn't dare to send troops to Yanzhou rashly, so as not to arouse the resentment of the princes from all over the country, and he would really become a critic by then.

Yuan Shao knew Cao Cao's ability well, so he was suspicious.

Feng Ji and Cao Cao worked together in the General's Mansion, and they are also considered acquaintances.

Seeing Cao Cao's question, Feng Ji smiled and said, "Meng De, I haven't congratulated you yet on being the prefect of Shanyang... Hehe, my lord was very happy when he heard that Meng De was the prefect of Shanyang. He said that Meng De was here. It became so much easier all of a sudden.”

Cao Cao is not a fool, how could he fail to hear the objection in Feng Ji's words?

I couldn't help but secretly smiled bitterly in my heart: I already knew that the prefect of Shanyang was not easy to be, and sure enough...someone came to make trouble before my buttocks sat still!

If you ask Cao Cao is afraid of Yuan Shao?

That's bullshit!

Cao Cao was not afraid of Yuan Shao, but Yuan Shao occupied most of the land in Jizhou, with many soldiers and generals, his power increased greatly.However, Cao Cao suffered a disastrous defeat in Xingyang, and ten pavilions of the troops brought from Peiguo lost more than nine pavilions.Hu Che'er and Cao Hong died in battle, and Xi Zhicai, the mastermind, died of illness in the city of Xingyang.If we talk about the 22 princes, apart from those who died in battle, Cao Cao suffered the most casualties.

However, Cao Cao also followed the broken opportunity and gained a good reputation.

The princes were all grateful to him, so when Cao Cao returned to Chenliu, Tao Qian and others sent Cao Cao nearly ten thousand horses.

Then according to Xi Zhicai's recommendation, Cao Cao found Guo Jia.

It didn't take too much effort, not only to recruit Guo Jia, but Xun Yu was also recruited together.

Xun Yu's talent, in Cao Cao's words, is comparable to Xiao He among the four heroes of the early Han Dynasty.And Guo Jia became his Zhang Liang.

But even so, Cao Cao has no ability to offend Yuan Shao!

He smiled immediately and said: "Gongtu was joking. I am new to Shanyang, and I am not familiar with everything. I only know that there are many bandits in Shanyang County. I haven't thought of a solution yet. It's a headache."

The implication is to say to Feng Ji: Brother, please tell Yuan Shao that I still have a lot of troubles of my own, and I don't have time to follow Dong Zhuo's orders.So, you don't have to worry, I'm too busy here, so I won't make trouble.

Feng Ji is also a smart person, how could he fail to hear Cao Cao's intention of giving in.

Rolling his eyes, he smiled and said, "My lord also knows that things are complicated for you, Meng De. How about this? You can ask my lord to send troops to station in Dongping. In this way, if you have any troubles, Meng De, you can have someone to help you." Take care."

This is helping, it is clearly to annex Dongping country.

If Yuan Shao really stationed troops in Dongping, then Cao Cao's troubles would really be serious.

How can you be at ease with a tiger sleeping soundly in front of your house?But Cao Cao also knew that if he refused...

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Cao Cao laughed.

"Gongtu's plan is very good. From my point of view, it will be done like this. With Benchu's help, Shanyang will have no worries!"

Feng Ji chuckled, "In that case, I will tell my lord what Meng De meant."

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Feng Ji got up and said goodbye.

Only then did Cao Cao summon all his subordinates to discuss matters in the meeting hall.

After repeating what Feng Ji said just now, all the generals under Cao Cao's command were furious and furious.

Today, the generals under Cao Cao's command are also full of talents.

Although Xiahou Dun injured one of his eyes, after treatment, there was no serious problem. On the contrary, he became more stable, and even his martial arts seemed to have improved a bit.Cao Ren and Xia Houyuan are Cao Cao's cronies, Xu Chu, Li Dian, Le Jin and the newcomer Yu Jin are also loyal.In particular, Cao Ren also recruited a capable person from his own clan for Cao Cao, which made Cao Cao even more happy.

This man's name is Cao Chun, and he is good at military affairs. Although he is not as brave as Xiahou Dun and Xu Chu, he is not inferior to Li Dian in music.

In addition, under the city of Xingyang, although Cao Cao was defeated, he received a general.

That is Tai Shici from Donglai County, who was originally Kong Rong's subordinate.Because he admired Cao Cao's high righteousness, after the first battle in Xingyang, he simply took refuge in Cao Cao's command.

Xu Chu said angrily, "My lord, why did you agree to Yuan Shao's invasion of Dongping? Yuan Shao is incompetent and exhausted, and our army was defeated, and now he is bullying him again. If I don't kill this man, it's hard to get over my heart."

Cao Cao ignored Xu Chu, but looked at the scribes beside him.

Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu, and Yi Ji have now formed the think tank under Cao Cao's command.

Guo Jia had a smile on his face, Xun Yu remained calm, and the rest of the people also looked thoughtful and said nothing.

"What's Feng Xiao's opinion?"

Guo Jia shook the silk fan with a snap, and said with an indifferent smile, "My lord has already made a decision, so why ask me?"

"Guo Fengxiao, what's your attitude? Don't you worry about Yuan Benchu ​​occupying Dongping?"

Xu Chu had a loud voice, pointing at Guo Jia and yelling.

Cao Cao hurriedly said: "Zhongkang, don't be rude."

Guo Jia and Xun Yu looked at each other, and then said: "Yuan Shao is scheming and unresolved, and he values ​​his fame. My lord has known him for a long time, so I must know Yuan Shao very well. If this person can be rampant for a while, sooner or later he will I want to be defeated. My lord is using retreat as a strategy to advance, temporarily avoiding the edge. Even if my lord agrees with Yuan Shao's army in Dongping, thinking about Yuan Shao, it will not be like this."

Xu Chuhuan stared, "Why?"

Xun Yu said: "My lord is quite prestigious in the four prefectures of Qing, Yan, Yu, and Xu. If Yuan Shao really does this, I am afraid that the princes will not agree. He has not yet established a solid foundation in Jizhou. How dare he provoke the princes?" Look, he will definitely not send troops to Dongping, on the contrary, he will try to make friends with us... Dongping Kingdom, hehe, is a forbidden land."

Xia Houyuan listened intently, pondered for a moment, and then understood what Xun Yu meant.

"That's right, Dongping Kingdom is a forbidden land, not only Yuan Shao can't move, we can't occupy it either."

After all, he looked at Guo Jia, "Feng Xiao, but in this way, is it possible that we will be trapped in Shanyang County?"

Obviously, the generals did not trust Guo Jia.

He was too young, and if Xi Zhicai hadn't been appointed by Xi Zhicai on his deathbed, no one would agree that he was Cao Cao's mastermind.

Guo Jia could naturally hear the meaning of school examination in Xia Houyuan's words.

He got up and ordered someone to present a map, then gently shook the folding fan, pointed to various places on the map and said: "Shanyang is the place where the Fourth World War was fought. Although the land is fertile, it is not suitable for our current development. Therefore, we cannot offend Yuan Shao for the time being." To the northeast is the country of Lu; to the east is the country of Langya; Get it, especially Pengcheng Kingdom. In this way, it can be integrated with Peiguo and Chenliu, so that it can enter Xu and Henan in the future."

"But Pengcheng belongs to Xuzhou. Is it possible for us to turn against Tao Qian?"

Guo Jia laughed and said: "Of course not, we are not qualified to turn against Tao Qian yet. I have a plan to get Qing and Yan into the hands of the lord, and at the same time let Tao Qian beg us to enter Pengcheng. In this way, We opened the door to Xuzhou."

When Cao Cao heard this, he quickly asked, "What's Feng Xiao's plan, tell me quickly!"

"My lord, do you know if you love this person?"

"Man Chong?" Cao Cao was stunned, nodded and said, "But is Man Bo Ning just straight? I've heard of this man... It seems that he is also from Shanyang, but he disappeared after the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Feng Xiao, Why are you mentioning Man Boning all of a sudden?"

"Because if the lord wants to occupy Qingzhou, he must borrow the hands of this person."

Yi Ji is also from Shanyang, so he naturally knows Man Chong very well.

"Feng Xiao, do you know the whereabouts of Man Boning?"

"My lord, do you still remember our meeting in Luoyang back then? Wen Ruo and Changwen, I, and I traveled to Jizhou after we left Luoyang. I met Man Boning very unexpectedly...but he is not very proud now, and he is mixed with the remnants of the Taiping Road Together."

Yi Ji lost his voice and said, "How could Man Boning get mixed up with Taiping Road?"

Guo Jia let out a long sigh: "It's a long time to say this. I have to start from the time when my little brother moved to Qingxu. Back then, he entered Luoyang to cover the teacher, and he attacked Shanyang Taiping Road twice. Man Chong killed Man Boning's parents and family members... In a fit of anger, Man Chong took refuge in Taipingdao and vowed to seek revenge from Dong Xiping. Unfortunately, Zhang Jiao lost, and Man Chong became a sinner, and the leader of Taipingdao Guan Hai led his men and horses to hide in Montenegro."

At the mention of Dong Bi's name, the faces of Xiahou Dun and the others in the hall turned red.

It was a great shame and shame that the four of them joined forces and failed to defeat Dong Pi, and even turned Xiahou Dun into a one-eyed dragon for no reason.

On weekdays, Xu Chu and others try to avoid talking about Dong Chuan, so as not to irritate Xiahou Dun.

This is also one of the reasons why Xu Chu, Xia Houyuan and the others have always been hostile to Guo Jia. After all, he is Dong Pi's senior brother.

Xiahou Dun's cheeks twitched for a moment, and suddenly he looked up to the sky and laughed.

"What are you guys doing? If you lose, you lose, not to mention losing to the Tiger and Wolf General, it's not a shame. I'll wait until I lose this time, at least I'm still alive, and I can continue to work hard. I will seek revenge from Dong Xiping in the future. You don't have to be scruples about a filial talent, just say it. Although I can't beat that Dong Xiping, I'm not a character who can't afford to lose."

As soon as these words came out, Cao Cao nodded repeatedly.

At least, Yuan Rang has untied that knot, so he doesn't have to worry about it anymore.

Tai Shi stood up benevolently, and cupped his hands towards Guo Jia, "Mr. Feng Xiao, please don't blame us for being rude earlier!"

Guo Jia smiled and waved his hands, "They are all working for the Lord, so you don't need to worry about it. It's just my little brother..."

Speaking of this, Guo Jia couldn't help but feel a little melancholy in his heart.

Seeing that the atmosphere was somewhat gloomy, Cao Cao hurriedly said, "Feng Xiao, I just said it was about Man Boning, let's continue."

Seeing that Guo Jia was unwilling to speak, Xun Yu immediately said, "Man Chong is not very happy about the current situation. Especially when Yuan Shao was defeated at that time, the Black Mountain Army was in very bad condition. Yuan Shao is in charge of Jizhou, and he will definitely fight against the Black Mountain Army." Crack down again...their space will become smaller and smaller by then, why don't my lord take this opportunity to recruit the Black Mountain Army, and get a general."

Cao Cao frowned, "Wen Ruo means..."

"It's not my idea, but Feng Xiao's plan. You can send one person to Jizhou secretly to meet Man Chong. Then let him lead the Black Mountain Army to send troops from Jizhou to harass Qingzhou. In this way, Qingzhou will inevitably be in chaos. Shao Kongrong, will definitely ask the lord to send troops to help. Take this opportunity to swallow Qingzhou in one fell swoop. The lord occupying Qingyan can deter Xuzhou, spy on Yuzhou, and deter Sili... In less than ten years, the lord will be full-fledged and rejuvenate the Han Dynasty , just around the corner."

Cao Cao couldn't help but fell into deep thought.

After a while, he asked softly: "Who can convince Man Chong?"

Yi Ji stepped forward, "Since I have served under the lord's account, I have not made any contribution so far. It just so happens that Man Chong and I are from the same hometown. I would like to go to Jizhou and persuade him."

"Uncle Ji is out, so I can rest assured. It's just that Jizhou is in turmoil now..."

Cao Cao thought for a while and said, "Ziyi, I ask you to bring a team to cover Uncle Ji to Jizhou. Make sure that Uncle Ji is careful."

Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci got up and cupped his hands, "Taishi Ci will definitely fulfill his mission."

"Then Xuzhou..."

Cao Chun stood up and said, "My lord, this matter is not difficult. I would like to lead a team to pretend to be bandits and harass Pengcheng."

Cao Cao nodded again and again, agreeing to Cao Chun's request.

But there are still some regrets in my heart.Ever since he saw the power of the troll troll cavalry of Dong Yu, he wanted to form an army of the same kind.Cao Chun is good at military affairs and is the best candidate.It's a pity that Dong Bi covered the troll's situation very carefully.Although Cao Cao spent a lot of money, he was still unable to find out the news of the armored riding equipment.

It would be beneficial to let Cao Chun go out and practice for a while.

Cao Cao and the others were discussing other matters. At this time, someone came to report, and the spies sent to Luoyang had something important to report.

"My lord, there is news from Luoyang!"

The person who came to report was Cao Cao's staff, the newly recruited Mao Jie from Chenliu Pingqiu.This person was recommended by Cheng Yu. He was known as a man of integrity and magnanimity.Therefore, Cao Cao appointed this person to work for him.

But when Mao Jie came in, he didn't look calm at all.

Holding a stack of documents in his hand, he staggered into the meeting hall.

Cao Cao's expression darkened, "Xiao Xian, why are you panicking?"

"My lord, this is news from Luoyang...a list is said to be what Dong Xiping said in the court, and there is also a countermeasure, which was also written by Dong Xiping to the court, called the Three Strategies of Pingliu. The matter is very important. , please forgive me, my lord."

"Bring it up!"

Cao Cao took the document from Mao Jie, first picked up the three strategies of advection, and read it carefully.

His expression kept changing, and after a long time, he suddenly looked up to the sky and let out a long sigh: "I knew that Dong Xiping was only good at military affairs, but I didn't expect..."

"Why is my lord panicking?"

Looking at Cao Cao's appearance, everyone had a premonition that something was wrong.

Xun Yu took over the three strategies of advection from Cao Cao, glanced at them hastily, and could not help but gasp.

"Dong Xiping, do you have such insight?"

Xun Yu's face was pale, and he felt panic in his heart.

"Wen Ruo, you are..."

"This is a strategy for farming, this is a strategy for farming..." Xun Yu suddenly stood up, turned around and ran out of the hall.Even though Cao Cao and others shouted, Xun Yu did not agree.After watching it, Guo Jia couldn't help being startled, and subconsciously glanced at everyone, then closed his eyes, and didn't speak for a long time.

Why does Guo Jia have such an expression?

The three strategies of advection can actually be applied everywhere.

Earlier, Xun Yu was still thinking about how to appease the refugees in Shanyang.

He, Cheng Yu, and Guo Jia thought hard for a long time, and only yesterday came up with a way to farm the fields.The specific regulations had just been drafted, but Luo Yang had already come up with a more perfect method.In particular, using work as a substitute for relief was undoubtedly a breakthrough in thinking for people in the Eastern Han Dynasty.It wasn't that Xun Yu and the others were incompetent, but that they didn't think about it at all.

Guo Jia handed Cheng Yu the three strategies of advection...

"My lord, what's on the list?"

At this moment, Cao Cao's complexion was as pale as a piece of white paper, without a trace of blood.

He was holding the list, his hands were shaking constantly, and his heart was even colder.

Call for merit!
I only seek their abilities, not their virtues; I can use all my talents...

This sentence definitely touched the weakest chord in Cao Cao's heart.Suddenly, Cao Cao looked up to the sky and laughed.

The smile is extraordinarily happy.

The more he laughed, the happier he was, until tears flowed from his eyes, and everyone present looked at each other in blank dismay.

"Dong Xiping who knows me, Dong Xiping who knows me..."

As Cao Cao said, he threw the list to Guo Jia, then looked at Mao Jie and said, "I heard that Marquis Wu Zhong took a concubine. I don't know when?"

Mao Jie didn't understand why Cao Cao asked about this suddenly, and even changed his address.

Back then, Dong Bi killed Cao Cao's family brother. Although there were no eyes on the battlefield, no wonder there was no one.But in Cao Cao's heart, there was always a slight resentment.Therefore, he never called Dong Bi's title, but directly called his name.Unexpectedly, after reading the announcement, even the name has changed, which is really weird.

Mao Jie said softly: "My lord, according to the spies' report, Wu Zhonghou will get married in seven days."

Cao Cao nodded, "Zhongkang, go to Madam and tell me that I want the Tai'e Sword that I bought with a lot of money earlier."

"Here!"

Xu Chu also left Monk Zhang Er confused, and left in a hurry. After a while, he came back holding an ancient and clumsy sword.

Cao Cao caressed the sword case, and after pondering for a moment, handed it to Mao Jie with some reluctance.

"Xiaoxian, send someone to take this sword and rush to Luoyang. You must present it before Wu Zhonghou's wedding. Tell Wu Zhonghou that he killed Zi Lian, and I will not forgive him; but Cao Mengde and Dong Xiping are confidants in the end."

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There is one more before ten o'clock...

(End of this chapter)