Survival Three Kingdoms

Chapter 537 Yedu's Response

This forum was very successful, not to mention the intriguing short stories, the Q&A format was refreshing, although some opinions still need to be discussed, Zhou Cang’s reputation in Xuzhou reached a new high point again.

Although there were no outstanding talents in the tenth year's exam, the overall level of the students has improved significantly. There are fewer and fewer partial subjects, and more and more comprehensive ones. Wide application has become a new bright spot.Of the newly selected candidates, [-] were sent to Jeju to set up Jeju College, another [-] went to Yingzhou to set up Yingzhou College, and the rest were used by various departments and counties.After nearly ten years of accumulation, officials at all levels under Zhou Cang's rule are no longer stretched, and one person holds several positions.

After the big exam is the ten-year celebration. As Zhou Cang said, the celebration lasted for ten days. Almost every day, the square opposite Liaohou Mansion was overcrowded, so Ganchi had to order the guard camp to limit the flow of passengers.On the last day of the trading conference, merchants and big households from various states gathered, making Xuzhou people really make a small fortune.

Xuzhou is doing very well here, Cao Cao in Yedu has his own eyes and ears to tell him, and all kinds of news are also spread in Yedu, and some are surprised and despised.

Every three days, the discussions in the prime minister's mansion were extremely lively, and Xuzhou became the focus of heated discussions.Cao Cao listened behind the scenes for a long time before turning out, and the hall fell silent.

"Why, the conversation was intense just now, why didn't you talk again?"

"My lord, we were just talking about Xuzhou Zhou Weiguo." Yang Xiu replied.

"Well, let's hear it."

"Zhou Weiguo actually chose a woman as his general. Could it be that there is no one in Xuzhou?" Cao Hong laughed.

Dong Zhao and other literati shook their heads: "How decent is it for a woman to be an official!"

Xun You said: "Although Qin has Empress Xuan and Empress Zhao Youwei who came to power, there is also Empress Lu who messed up the government. This is the way to achieve chaos."

"Wenhe, I haven't heard a word from you, what's your comment?"

"Duke Ming, Jia Xu dare not speak rashly." The old guy Jia Xu didn't speak easily.

"Say what you think."

"I just thought, although women have advantages and disadvantages when dealing with politics, why not men are also like this, so I dare not speak rashly."

Cao Cao sighed: "Wen He's words can be said to be moderate. Zhou Weiguo did not follow the example of the ancients, and often did amazing things. There is no conclusion. Why don't we wait and see?"

Cao Cao's non-intervention attitude was surprising, but soon someone speculated that it was Cao Cao waiting to see Zhou Cang's joke.

Dong Zhao said with a smile: "The most ridiculous Zhou Weiguo's so-called ten-year ceremony finally became a place for merchants to barter, full of money."

Xun You shook his head and said, "The last time Zhou Weiguo raised tariffs on our counties, my lord asked us to find out. Although we didn't find out, Xuzhou's agricultural tax has dropped again and again, so the only people who rely on it are commercial taxes and tariffs. In my opinion See, this is not only a way for him to make money, but also a way for him to plunder money from me."

Liu Ye spat lightly: "A gentleman can do nothing."

Wang Lang followed up and said, "It's an insult to gentleness."

It seems that everyone is contemptuous.Yang Xiu changed the subject and said, "My lord, have you ever heard that Zhou Weiguo came to the forum to talk about the princes' new clothes?"

Cao Cao smiled knowingly: "I don't know where he came from so many stories. It sounds ridiculous, but it's very annoying, that is, he is willing to tell it so straightforwardly." Cao Cao has used similar methods too much , didn't take it seriously at all.

Cheng Yu, who hadn't spoken all the time, said with an unfriendly expression: "My lord, I've been thinking about Zhou Weiguo's grandiose activities in Xuzhou. What is his purpose?"

Cao Cao squinted at Sima Yi. "Zhongda, what do you think?"

Surprised, Cao Pi glanced at Sima Yi slightly out of the corner of his eye. This question is difficult to answer.

"Returning to my lord, I think he is just trying to attract people's hearts in Xuzhou, and to attract attention from other places."

"Huh? Is that all?" Cao Cao's squinted eyes hid a little coldness, what a Sima Yi, he still pretended to be confused.After hearing Sima Yi's answer, Cao Pi was determined.

"I think he did this because he was afraid that the lord would attack him." Sima Yi remained calm.

"Huh? Is it just because I'm afraid I'll attack him?" Cao Cao fell into deep thought.

"What Zhongda said coincides with me." Cheng Yu said, "Since the end of last year, Zhou Cang has been gathering troops in Pengcheng and Xiapi counties, and the number has reached nearly [-]. It is expected that once the lord goes against the outside world, he will most likely raise an army."

Cao Hong and Zhou Cang had always been friendly, and said with great dissatisfaction: "If Zhou Cang has objections, we should have taken action when our army marched south. How could we wait until now?"

Cheng Yu glanced at Cao Hong, and didn't bother with him: Our army's morale was high when we went out, and there were still seven troops on guard, so how could he act rashly at that time; after the defeat, the lord quickly returned to Xudu, leaving Zhou Cang with no chance plan.

"Gongda, what do you think?"

Xun You said ambiguously: "Zhou Weiguo's mind is really difficult to discern..."

Liu Ye interjected: "Now that the autumn harvest is coming, it is better to make a decision after the autumn harvest."

After talking about some political affairs, the crowd dispersed, and Liu Ye, Xun You, and Cheng Yu came back together.

"My lord, it's not appropriate to talk about Xuzhou's affairs in public." Liu Ye spoke first.Although Xun You and Cheng Yu thought so, they chose to keep their mouths shut.

Cao Cao was noncommittal: "Zi Yang went and came back again, it must not be for this reason."

"Exactly. I know Zhou Weiguo's cunning for several times, so I have to guard against it." Liu Ye suffered a lot, once in Lujiang, and once as an envoy in Xuzhou.

"So, you all think that Zhou Weiguo has ulterior motives?" Cao Cao asked Cheng Yu, "Have you ever found out how many troops he has in Xuzhou?"

"In Pengcheng and Xiapi there are [-] troops from Xu Huang, Liao Hua, Qu'a, and Wu Gang, and [-] cavalry from Huang Zhong. It is estimated that there are [-] to [-] in Xuzhou, and [-] in Jiangling. As many as nearly [-]!"

"So, Zhou Cang's generals Xu Huang, Qu'a, and Huang Zhong are all in Xuzhou, and Zhou Weiguo is also in Xuzhou." Cao Cao pondered.

"Exactly, according to the news from Youzhou, Pei Yuanshao is in charge of military affairs in Liaodong. This person is just relying on Zhou Cang's brother-in-law, and has not seen any military achievements. Chen Dao is stationed in Jinzhou, and Xuantu's is the yellow scarf. The rest of the party is talented."

At that time, the speed of information transmission was already slow, and Xuantu was in a remote place, so naturally no one paid attention to it, and Bocai's name has been forgotten by many people.

"It turned out to be him. He was the only one who escaped from the battle of Changsha, and turned to Zhou Cang. This person is nothing to worry about!" Cao Cao nodded. There is no general in Liaodong. .It seems that the death of Hua Xiong and Dian Wei had a great impact on Zhou Cang, and there are only a handful of generals under him.

Xun You said slightly worried: "Liaodong seems to be weak, be careful that it is an illusion created by Zhou Cang."

(End of this chapter)