In the dead of night.
Located at Yuan Shao's army camp on the east side of Nangong County, the Chinese army's main camp tent was brightly lit.
In the camp, Yuan Shao was holding a scroll in his hand. He seemed to be reading it with gusto, but in fact his mind was not on it at all.
His eyes were wandering, looking towards the door from time to time, as if waiting for someone to arrive.
If you observe carefully.
It can be seen that not only the lights are brightly lit in the tent, but also a soft cushion is placed opposite the table where Yuan Shao is sitting. At the same time, something is heating in the heater on the table.
This lasted until midnight.
There was a sound of footsteps outside the camp, and then soldiers were heard preaching.
"Master Fu, General Cao is here to see you!"
"Invite him in quickly!"
The moment he heard the soldier's report, Yuan Shao responded immediately.
Just about to stand up and greet.
But something suddenly occurred to him, and he hurriedly sat back down, still staring at the letter, pretending not to care about the visitor.
After a while.
"Uh-huh!"
With the sound of the curtain at the entrance of the camp being lifted, a gust of cold spring evening wind also rushed in, causing the candles to flicker.
"Hey, uncle, it's so late at night and you still can't let go of the book. Take care of yourself!"
The visitor arrived in Nangong County in the evening. After setting up camp, he personally led his troops to visit Cao Ang of Yuan Shao.
I heard Cao Ang's words that seemed to be concerned, but were actually a little light.
Yuan Shao was furious.
Simply stop pretending.
He threw the letter in his hand aside and said angrily.
"Zixiu, you can make me angry and shorten my life by a few years just by doing some tricks behind my back. Compared to that, what does studying late at night mean?"
Yuan Shao made it clear what he meant.
Cao Ang didn't answer.
He just smiled and sat down opposite Yuan Shao, and then without Yuan Shao's greeting, he took out the hot wine that had been warmed from the heater.
"My uncle seemed to have expected that I would come to visit tonight. He even prepared warm wine."
The corners of Yuan Shao's mouth curled up slightly.
He showed a rather ironic smile.
"No matter how predictable I am, I never expected that you, Cao Zixiu, would act like this, or that you would get involved with the Korean Festival!"
…
This is quite straightforward.
It is impossible for Cao Ang to continue to pretend to be stupid.
He had no choice but to serve Yuan Shaoman a glass of warm wine and then chuckled softly: "There is indeed such a thing. Han Zhoumu invited him warmly and offered a large price for it. Naturally, my nephew had no reason to refuse. "
After listening to Cao Ang's narration.
Yuan Shao felt relieved for no reason.
In this way, Cao Ang and Han Fu have not been completely bound together, but Han Fu used his interests to attract the greedy boy in front of him.
That's good. If others can use their interests to lure him, then he can naturally use his interests to pull him back.
Of course, even if you think so in your heart, you can't express it too obviously, otherwise you will be treated like a monkey.
"snort!"
Yuan Shao pretended to be snoring coldly.
He picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp.
"Bang!"
Then it hit the table hard.
"Han Wenjie paid for the land of one county in Wei County in exchange for you leading the troops north to help. I admit, this is indeed a big deal, and anyone who comes will be moved by it."
"But have you forgotten the covenant I made with your father and you?"
"I also spent a lot of food and grass for this. At one time, even Bohai County itself was a little short of food. Some of the war horses I obtained had to be sold directly to your Cao family."
"And now that you are doing something that violates the covenant, isn't it true that you have no regard for your integrity? Then what about the grain, grass and horses that I gave to your Cao family in the first place?"
…
Yuan Shao may be really angry.
Or maybe he wanted to use this method to test Cao Ang's attitude, so as to further decide his next policy and strategy.
However, when faced with Yuan Benchu's behavior of slapping the table, blowing his beard, and staring.
Cao Ang just widened his eyes.
With eyes full of confusion and confusion, he asked Yuan Shaodao pretending to be confused.
"Why did uncle say this?"
"Han Wenjie invited me to go north with the land of Weijun and one county. His request is to save his life and keep his official position as Jizhou Mu."
"And if my nephew remembers it correctly, the content of the covenant you made with my father was that when Gongsun Zan attacked Bohai County, he would send troops to help you, not only to protect your Bohai County, but also to prevent Gongsun Zan from seizing Jizhou. plot."
The original covenant was repeated verbatim.
Then Cao Ang said meaningfully while Yuan Shao looked slightly embarrassed.
"There seems to be no conflict between helping Han Fu and helping you. The common enemy is Gongsun Bogui!"
"Then I dare to ask my uncle, how can this be considered a violation of the covenant and a breach of trust?"
"Unless from the beginning, your purpose was not just to protect Bohai County, but a bigger plan. That's why you were so anxious and excited when you saw your nephew being invited by Han Fu!"
Yuan Shao: "..."
…
If we really want to talk about it.
In this matter, Yuan Shao was indeed unreasonable.
After all, when he sent Wen Chou to Jinxiang County to ask for an audience with Cao Cao and his son, what he said was the above, and he did not mention his own thoughts about Jizhou.
So now he comes to blame Cao Ang for not getting involved with Han Fu. The logic is untenable.
certainly.
Defending Yuan Shao with words and rendering him speechless was not Cao Ang's purpose, but his method.
So I saw Yuan Shao sitting there without saying a word.
From time to time, he moved his lips, as if he wanted to speak, but he was worried about something, making him hesitate to speak.
Cao Ang immediately gave him a push.
"Uncle, don't worry, my greatest strength is my loyalty and trustworthiness. As long as I promise something, I will never go back on it."
"In the next period of time, whenever you have a conflict with Gongsun Zan, I will stand by your side to help. If he dares to go to war with us, then I will definitely lead his troops to teach his Youzhou cavalry!"
"But if you don't need your nephew's help, it doesn't matter. I will send a letter to my father and ask him to return part of the grain, grass and war horses that he accepted."
"In that case, I will just stand on Han Fu's side and won't ask about anything else."
threaten!
This is a clear threat!
The meaning is simple and clear.
Didn't you say I was treacherous?
Well, I will fulfill the original covenant and do nothing more.
On the other hand, I can return all the things to you, but in that case, you may have to face me, Cao Ang and Han Fu, including Gongsun Zan, beating you together.
It just depends on whether you can bear the beating or not!
…
It's come to this point.
Yuan Shao knows one thing, that is, it will do him no good if he continues to be secretive.
Therefore, his expression simply changed.
He patted the table lightly with his palm, then stared at Cao Ang with his eyes, and said solemnly every word.
"Now that things have happened, I won't hide some things from you. I, Yuan, do have a bigger plan."
"Securing Bohai County and repelling Gongsun Zan are just casual things. What I want in my heart is to further capture the huge land of Jizhou!"
"I wonder if Zixiu would be willing to help me?"
Cao Ang lowered his head slightly, facing the table, with a faint smile on his face.
This is the effect we want!
"Snapped!"
Cao Ang clapped his hands lightly and said to Yuan Shao with a relaxed and happy face.
"Uncle, you could have said no earlier. Why have you covered it up till now? If I had known you had such great ambitions, why would my nephew have accepted Han Fu's invitation in the first place?"
"It is also true that you did this unethically. When you sent General Wen Chou to Jinxiang County, you only said that you would fight against Gongsun Zan and defend your territory, but you never mentioned the matter of obtaining Jizhou for your own use. "
"Your idea is indeed a brilliant one. You spent a small amount of money, but you accomplished a big event. If my nephew hadn't accepted Han Fu's invitation by mistake, I'm afraid you would have accomplished this!"
Listening to the slightly accusatory tone in Cao Ang's words, Yuan Shao couldn't help but have veins popping out on his forehead.
The hands hidden under the desk were clenched into fists, obviously filled with anger.
You Cao Zixiu!
But how dare you, a junior, to be so pretentious? Your father and I are brothers, and now you are blaming me?
…
But the anger in my heart is anger.
But on the surface, he still had to pretend that nothing had happened.
After all, the current situation is stronger than people.
Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were in a strategic stalemate, and they might even have the upper hand if there were no outside forces to join them.
Then he would probably fight Gongsun Zan and lose both sides. Even if he wins, it will be a tragic victory.
How can we get Jizhou?
Therefore, even if Cao Ang's words were not pleasant to the ears, Yuan Shao could only hold his nose and admit it.
Compared with one's own grand ambitions, what is this trivial matter?
So after a few breaths of silence.
Yuan Shao still remained calm and asked: "Regardless of what happened before, now I just ask my nephew, will you help or not?"
Cao Ang nodded heavily.
He waved his hand.
"help!"
"Just because you and my father are old friends, I will help you no matter what."
"It's just that in this way, your affairs will conflict with what I promised Han Fu. You can only choose one of the two. This will invisibly give me a reputation of treachery."
"And the alliance established at the beginning is no longer appropriate now. There is a big difference in difficulty between helping you defeat Gongsun Zan and helping you get Jizhou!"
to be honest.
Need more money!
…
Now that he has decided to get help from Cao Ang, Yuan Shao will naturally not talk nonsense anymore.
He just asked in a calm voice: "My dear nephew, there is no need to beat around the bush with me. Whatever conditions you have, just ask and I will listen!"
Cao Ang did not answer immediately.
Instead, he picked up the wine pot again, filled Yuan Shao with a glass, and then spoke happily.
"First of all, uncle, you have to recognize the ownership of Wei County. This is not a condition I set, but only by acknowledging this can we continue to talk."
Yuan Shao's expression did not change.
Although what he wanted was a complete Jizhou, Wei County was now controlled by Cao Ang. No matter how hard he argued, he could not get this land back anytime soon.
Besides, Wei Commandery was originally given to Cao Ang by Han Fu and had nothing to do with Yuan Shao. How could he deny it?
It's better to be a favor and give the subsequent negotiations a good start.
"Okay, it's as you say!"
Hearing Yuan Shao nod in agreement.
Cao Ang chuckled softly, but quickly concealed his smile. Instead, he seriously laid out the conditions he really wanted to negotiate with Yuan Shao.
"Besides, I want Qinghe Country!"
Originally, Yuan Shao was still thinking that if the conditions proposed by Cao Ang were not so excessive, even if they were a little out of line, he would be able to tolerate it.
After all, get the big things done first.
However, Cao Ang had just finished speaking.
Yuan Shao's expression suddenly changed.
He waved his hands decisively and categorically rejected: "No, this is absolutely impossible!"
…
"There are nine counties in Jizhou. Now you have acquired Wei County, and you also want Qinghe Kingdom."
"Nine out of nine, even if I become a Jizhou shepherd, what will I leave behind in the end?"
"What's more, the Changshan Kingdom and Zhongshan Kingdom in the northwest of Jizhou are still raging with the Black Mountain Army. The Hejian Kingdom is still Gongsun Zan's territory."
"If you continue to calculate like this, in the end, I may not own as many counties as you have in your name. So, did I become the shepherd of Jizhou, or did I help you in vain?"
Yuan Shao frowned.
There was no room for negotiation.
He was quite dissatisfied with Cao Ang's lion's big mouth. If he hadn't still wanted to bargain with Cao Ang, I'm afraid he would have invited Cao Ang out by now.
However, faced with Yuan Shao's attitude.
Cao Ang didn't care at all.
He just described it to Yuan Shao: "My uncle's words are wrong. You only own Bohai County and one county now. Without my help, what are your chances of winning and defeating Gongsun Zan and taking over the entire territory of Jizhou?"
"Ten birds in the forest are worse than one in the hand. Instead of planning more in the future, it is better to capture Jizhou in the hand now."
"What's more, my nephew is a man of faith. He promised to help you get Jizhou and he will never break his promise. What you get will be countless times more than what you paid for!"
Even if Yuan Shao is very reluctant to admit it.
He also had to decide in his heart that what Cao Ang said was correct.
So even if you were reluctant in every possible way before.
Now I have calmed down a little.
Especially Cao Ang's last sentence seemed to mean something.
This made Yuan Shao raise his eyebrows and couldn't help but ask: "It's better to have ten birds in the forest than one in the hand, but how are you going to help me?"
…
Cao Ang suddenly stood up.
He quickly walked to the map hanging in the camp, and then pointed at Yanzhou in the south of Jizhou.
"If you agree, uncle, then I will immediately send people to Changyi County and ask my father to send his generals to lead the troops north to assist you!"
Hearing that Cao Ang was willing to let Cao Cao join the melee in Jizhou, Yuan Shao's expression changed slightly.
The emotions are more complex.
But overall, the joy outweighs the worry.
Now Yanzhou has been completely controlled by the Cao family. Unlike Jizhou, which was in chaos, Yanzhou is currently experiencing peace.
Cao Cao, who was in a long state of recuperation, could mobilize at least 20,000 troops. This was definitely a force that could not be ignored.
If you add in the soldiers and horses of yourself and Cao Ang, the three parties combined have an army of nearly 80,000.
Is this Gongsun Zan going to fight him with his head?
After seeing the change in the expression on Yuan Shao's face, Cao Ang knew that this old boy was somewhat tempted.
Strike now while the iron is hot.
He continued to encourage Yuan Shao: "As my uncle said, two of the nine counties in Jizhou will be lost, but Ning Da need not limit his vision to Jizhou alone."
"After our merger, our strength will double, and we can defeat Gongsun Zan in just a matter of seconds."
"Then why can't we go one step further and drive Gongsun Zan out of Hejian Kingdom, or even counterattack his foundation in Youzhou?"
"If you include his territory in Youzhou, then uncle, not only will you not lose money, but you will make a lot of money. That is a land rich in war horses in the north!"
…
Use things that don't belong to you to make a fool of others.
This is a move that Cao Ang has always been good at.
But unfortunately, along the way, many of the leaders of forces he encountered fell into this trap.
Because the pie is too big, and the shape and aroma of the pie are all told to you, it sounds like it has a great possibility of being realized.
So who is immune to temptation?
Yuan Shao is no exception.
The moment he heard the words "Counterattack Youzhou", Yuan Shao's eyes couldn't help but burst with excitement, and his eyes flashed violently a few times.
"Zixiu means what he said. Are you really willing to cooperate with me and go north to capture Youzhou?"
Cao Ang nodded heavily without hesitation.
He patted his chest hard and said categorically: "Uncle, you know me. I am a man of unparalleled integrity. If I get a piece of money, I will do something for the money, and I will never be wrong in the slightest!"
When Yuan Shao heard this, he nodded.
He just thought that what Cao Ang just said was fart.
What about "unparalleled trust and loyalty"? It's all for outsiders to see. He has dealt with Cao Ang so much now. Can he tell what kind of character this kid is?
They are only interested in profit and will not let go until there are benefits.
But there is something good about such a person.
That is, after satisfying his appetite, he will also help you do things seriously.
People who do things after receiving money are often much more pleasing to the eyes than those who talk about benevolence and morality but never offer to help.
…
At this stage.
Yuan Shao was actually basically persuaded.
Anyway, the Qinghe Kingdom is not in his hands now, so what if it is promised to Cao Ang directly?
The benefits you get are yours!
If you can use the power of the Cao family to defeat Gongsun Zan and seize the entire Jizhou, you will become one of the heroes in the north.
Then he further forced Youzhou, completely wiped out Gongsun Zan, and took possession of his territory in Youzhou.
He will instantly be promoted to become the overlord of the entire north. If he can follow this development path, even with the strength that the Cao family currently possesses, they will never dare to compete with him.
At that time, there was no need to worry about the Cao family rebelling.
certainly.
To be conservative.
Yuan Shao asked one more question.
"Zixiu, with all due respect, if I don't agree, will you choose to sit back and watch, or will you turn around and get involved with Han Fu and drive Gongsun Zan and I out of Jizhou?"
Suddenly I heard this question.
Cao Ang was stunned for a moment.
Then he smiled heartily at Yuan Shao, looking sunny and cheerful, but what he said next made Yuan Shao shudder.
…
"Han Wenjie is so virtuous and capable. With his meager skills, even if I join forces with him, I will definitely not be able to drive you and Gongsun Bogui out of Jizhou."
"So if you veto this matter today, then my nephew will probably withdraw from the negotiations in Nangong County first. After you and General Gongsun have both suffered losses, I will come out to clean up the mess."
"Or you can turn around and cooperate with General Gongsun, and give him the conditions offered to you unchanged. I believe he will think about it carefully."
"Anyway, there is no way to mediate between you and Gongsun Bogui. The two tigers are fighting, and only one can win. No matter what choice my nephew makes, it is convenient for him!"
The counter plan was explained in an understatement.
This made Yuan Shao feel shocked.
This kid...is threatening himself!
The purpose is naturally to hope that one can agree to this condition, or not to regret after agreeing to the condition.
Whether he withdraws from the chaos in Jizhou and watches on the sidelines, or goes to cooperate with his enemy Gongsun Zan.
This is not good news for Yuan Shao.
So things have come to this.
It can be said that Yuan Shao has no choice.
So I thought about it again and again.
Yuan Shao patted the table gently with his hand and said decisively.
"Okay! So what if I give you the Qinghe Kingdom, but there is one thing. Before I serve as the shepherd of Jizhou, I will not be appointed to the official position of the Qinghe Kingdom!"
After both parties added a few layers of insurance to each other.
At this point, the negotiation has basically been declared successful.
But Han Fu and Gongsun Zan are still kept in the dark about what happened.
…
Wait until some more details are discussed.
Cao Ang quietly left Yuan Shao's camp.
However, on the way back to the base with his troops, Cao Ang looked at the bright moon hanging in the sky and felt the cold moonlight spreading on his body.
A smile couldn't help but appear on his face.
Yuan Benchu, Yuan Benchu, little do you know that you are also a chess piece in my palm!
That's right!
Cao Ang came to negotiate with Yuan Shao today and put forward a condition for Qinghe Kingdom. In fact, it was all a pretense.
He had no intention of letting Yuan Shao become the shepherd of Jizhou!
This was done just to relax Yuan Shao's guard and make him think that he was still a profit-seeking person, so that he would not immediately focus on himself.
After putting on such a face of acting only for profit, Yuan Shao thought he had stabilized Cao Ang and got the help of the Cao family.
He would choose to concentrate all his strength and concentrate on dealing with Gongsun Zan.
From another perspective, under Cao Ang's control, isn't this a good way to make Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan continue to fight to the death, with both sides hurting?
certainly.
Cao Ang will take action when necessary.
If Yuan Shao loses in the fight with Gongsun Zan, he will definitely send troops to help and destroy the momentum of the white horse general.
Let the two sides maintain a balance of power.
and constantly weaken each other.
He can exploit both sides and profit from them. When these areas are completely destroyed by him, he can take advantage of the situation and take Jizhou into his arms.
Isn’t it beautiful? !
…
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
(End of chapter)
