"Yuanlong," Ding Chong, who accompanied Cao Cao to meet Chen Deng, saw the awkward situation and had to find a way out for both parties. "The general does not intend to hold the entire Xuzhou firmly in his hands, otherwise he would not have supported it before. Liu Xuande took control of Xuzhou, but it was a pity that Liu Xuande failed to seize the opportunity."
Cao Cao sighed and said: "The people of Xuzhou are fierce and strong, and no outsider can control them... To govern Xuzhou, we need Xu people!"
Chen Deng's heart moved. Isn't the most powerful among the Xu people the Chen family of Xiapi?
However, he did not immediately pat his chest and want to be Cao Cao's "Xu man" to govern Xu. Instead, he shook his head and said: "General, this dynasty has the 'Three Mutual Laws', and locals cannot be the local officials in charge."
Cao Cao said: "But Yuanlong is from Xiapi, not Donghai, Guangling or Langya!"
This means that Xuzhou Mu cannot give it to Chen Deng, but the Prime Minister of Donghai, the Prefect of Guangling and the Prime Minister of Langya can let Chen Deng choose one!
Chen Deng thought for a moment and said, "I am willing to regain Guangling County for the imperial court."
Guangling County is now controlled by Yuan Shu's Wu Jing, but Wu Jing's strength is limited and he has no foundation in Guangling. Once Yuan Shu commits suicide and proclaims himself emperor, it will be easy and justifiable for Chen Deng to take Guangling.
"Okay!" Cao Cao said with a smile, "Then I will ask the emperor to ask for the title of Guangling Prefect for Yuan Long! But... the court is short of money now!"
"Can you use silk, salt, and ironware to pay for it?" Chen Deng said, "Xuzhou is rich in salt, iron, and silk. I can donate salt, ironware, and silk worth 20 million yuan!"
"This is better than giving copper coins!" Cao Cao said with a smile, "The emperor must be asking for it!"
"What about Lu Fengxian's Xuzhou Mu or Xuzhou Governor?"
Cao Cao laughed: "These tens of millions of money... I don't want this, the emperor wants it!"
...
The little emperor Liu Xie finally met two Chunyu who came from Yecheng when he went to the imperial court today. One was Chun Yujia who went to Yecheng to sell his official position, and the other was Chun Yuqiong, Yuan Shao's envoy.
Because he knew that he was going to meet Yuan Shao's "general representative of official buying", Liu Xie rushed to court today. Yuan Shao was a big patron, and there were more than 20 governors and ministers in Sanzhou. Yuan Benchu himself had to buy a Taiwei or a minister. Da Sima, ten "small goals" are not expensive!
"Your Majesty, the right general said that his Runan Yuan family is the fourth generation of the Three Dukes. Now he has the land of Ji, Qing, and the three states, and will soon defeat Gongsun Bogui and take possession of Youzhou!"
Above the main hall, Chun Yuqiong was speaking. When Liu Xie heard him mention Youzhou and Gongsun Zan, he immediately took out an abacus and plucked it twice. Then he smiled and said to Chunyu Qiong: "Chunyu Xiaowei, I have already calculated it. Gongsun Bogui can at least do it again." Hold on for two years! However, if Benchu wants to buy the official position of Youzhou Mu in advance, I am also willing...as long as Benchu is willing to pay tens of millions of dollars!"
Chunyu Qiong was stunned when Liu Xie said this. Isn't this little emperor very good at doing business? And why didn’t the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty try to persuade him? Are there no loyal ministers in the court?
Thinking of this, Chunyu Qiong said to Liu Xie righteously: "Your Majesty, how can General You, who has such a status, be placed under General Cao? General You now controls three and a half states, and has hundreds of thousands of soldiers under his command. How can the pillars of the imperial court and the pillars of the Han Dynasty be placed under Cao Mengde? In the past, Cao Mengde was still a subordinate of General You!"
Too small? When Liu Xie heard this, he felt happy - it's better to be too small. The bigger the official, the higher the price! Let me think carefully, what kind of official should I sell Yuan Shao to, the prime minister of Dong Xiangguo, or the grand master of Dong Taishi?
"Your Majesty," Cao Cao stood up and spoke at this time, "I know that it is difficult to be a general, so I am willing to give the post of general to Yuan Benchu!"
let? How to calculate the transfer fee?
Liu Xie is not happy now. Why is there a "secondary market" for selling officials?
If this official position can be transferred to each other in the secondary market, then the official position will become an asset that can be passed down to children and grandchildren! You spend 20 million to buy a county governor and you still want to pass it on to the world. Am I being taken advantage of?
"No, no, absolutely not!" Liu Xie quickly shook his head, "How can the general give up his official position to others? That is for me to sell... How can the official position I gave you be transferred? Meng De, don't do it anymore Mention this!"
Cao Cao also didn't expect that his general would "break his hand". In fact, he didn't want to be a general all the time - the position of general belonged to the "Shang Gong", who was older than the Three Dukes. In the Han Dynasty, it was usually held by the leader of a relative. Cao Cao was not a relative, so it was not suitable for him to be an official. He would be resented by relatives such as Fu Wan and Dong Cheng.
Moreover, when he became a general, it would be difficult for Yuan Shao to arrange it. There was no official in the Han Dynasty greater than the Duke. The reason why he accepted before was that he wanted to temporarily overpower Yuan Shao to show that he was no longer Yuan Shao's subordinate.
Now that this goal has been achieved, just transfer the position of general to Yuan Shao and let him attract the hatred of his relatives.
But I didn't expect that the emperor would be unhappy. Could it be that... the emperor wanted to accept the orphaned fat girl as a noble?
When Cao Cao was thinking about whether to let his fat daughter eat less, the emperor Liu Xie had already thought about which official he wanted to "sell" to Yuan Shao, "Chunyu Xiaowei, I plan to appoint Yuan Benchu as the Taifu, and the Taifu will be ranked high." Sir! My former Grand Tutor Yuan Ciyang was the uncle of the Right General Yuan Benchu. Now Yuan Benchu’s nephew inherits his uncle’s legacy. Isn’t it a good thing? The family lineage of the Fourth and Third Duke of the Yuan family in Runan can also be continued by Yuan Benchu. Keep it going.”
Let Yuan Shao "inherit" Yuan Wei's official position, which Yuan Shao cannot refuse! Because this "inheritance" is equivalent to Liu Xie, the emperor, endorsing Yuan Shao's position as the head of the Yuan clan in Runan.
In fact, the successor of Yuan Shao's generation, the head of the Yuan clan in Runan, is neither Yuan Shao nor Yuan Shu, but Yuan Ji, who is placed between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. He is the eldest son of Anguoting Marquis Yuan Feng. He not only attacked the marquis, but also After returning to the official position, he became a royal servant, and his status was obviously higher than that of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. After Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji were killed by Dong Zhuo, it became controversial whether the boss of the Runan Yuan family, the "first family of nobles", should be Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu.
If Yuan Shao can "inherit" Yuan Wei's official position, then the dispute over who is "more Yuan", Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, will have the final result!
So Yuan Shao should be satisfied with this arrangement.
Just when Chunyu Qiong was thinking about thanking Yuan Benchu, Liu Xie asked for money: "But... the imperial court has just returned to the old capital, and Luoyang is dilapidated like ruins, the people are displaced, the fields are deserted, and everything is waiting to be renovated. , it’s time to use money. Yuan Benchu is rich in four states and has plenty of money and food. Shouldn’t he contribute more to the country? "
Foolish king!
Chunyu Qiong cursed in her heart, then suppressed her anger and said to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, Mr. Yuan is indeed ready to contribute to the country!"
When Liu Xie heard this, he nodded and said, "Benchu is indeed a loyal minister! I wonder how much effort Benchu is prepared to contribute?"
"Mr. Yuan asked Zhang Xiu to be executed in Wancheng!"
What? Kill Zhang Xiu? Liu Xie was stunned: "How did Zhang Xiu offend Mr. Yuan?"
"Your Majesty, Zhang Xiu was also an accomplice when the Dong thieves killed dozens of Yuan clan members!" Chunyu Qiong said plausibly, "Moreover, Zhang Xiu also assisted his uncle Zhang Ji in robbing His Majesty when he moved eastward, killing countless ministers. , It is truly a heinous crime! Such traitors will not destroy the three tribes, so how can they uphold the principles of the government, uphold justice, and inspire people's hearts?"
"But... Zhang Xiu is currently stationed in Wancheng, with more than 10,000 troops. How can the imperial court kill him?"
As soon as Liu Xie finished speaking, Cao Cao said loudly: "Your Majesty, I also feel that this traitor Zhang Xiu must not be retained. I am willing to lead a large army to conquer Zhang Xiu in the south!"
Chunyu Qiong immediately said: "If the general is willing to send troops, Mr. Yuan will help with troops and food!"
Ah, you are colluding, right?
When Liu Xie saw Cao Cao and Chunyu Qiong singing harmony, he immediately understood what was going on.
But he didn't want Cao Cao to go conquer Zhang Xiu - Cao Cao was leaving, and I'm afraid it would be difficult to come back soon. Luoyang seemed a bit dangerous! That Yuan Shao... looks like he has evil intentions!
Thinking of this, Liu Xie waved to Cao Cao: "Meng De, come forward and speak."
The last time Cao Cao came forward to speak, he gave Liu Xie the look of "an emperor". Now that he was asked to come forward again, he suddenly felt a little numb. However, the emperor kept waving, so he couldn't hold back, so he finally had to bite the bullet and go to Liu Xie.
Liu Xie looked at Cao Cao and smiled: "Meng De, do you really want to attack Zhang Xiu?"
Cao Cao smiled and nodded: "Your Majesty, Xiliang warriors like Zhang Xiu are capricious and cannot be allowed to stay in Wancheng, otherwise the court will never be stable!"
"What's Liu Jingsheng's explanation?" Liu Xie asked, "Liu Jingsheng has already recruited Zhang Xiu."
Cao Cao said: "Report to your majesty, Liu Jingsheng's Chunyu Zhongjian will take the letter from the highway and tell him. Liu Jingzhou has also received favors from the Yuan family and will not protect Zhang Xiu."
"Oh..." General Liu Xie was doubtful and turned to look at the Northern Army Lieutenant Commander Liu Qi, then waved to him, "Boyu, you also come forward to speak."
Liu Qi quickly stood up, carried his robe to the main hall, knelt down beside Cao Cao, and saluted Liu Xie.
"Bo Yu, Yuan Benchu wants to kill Zhang Xiu. Your Majesty...will you think so?"
Liu Qi said: "Your Majesty, my father recruited Zhang Xiu just because he didn't want the people of Nanyang to suffer further misfortune. If the general can promise not to kill the people of Nanyang, then my father will not object to the general avenging the Yuan family in Runan."
"General, what do you say?"
"Your Majesty, don't worry," Cao Cao said, "I will definitely make no mistakes when I go to Wancheng!"
Liu Xie nodded, "What will happen to Luoyang's defense after the general leaves?"
Cao Cao smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will make sure everything is properly arranged."
"Okay then! Let me do the math for you..." Liu Xie picked up the little abacus that "settled the world's affairs" again, flipped it twice, then pretended to be surprised and looked up at Cao Cao .
"Your Majesty, what have you calculated?" Cao Cao asked, "Can I win this battle completely?"
"It's possible...but it's also dangerous!" Liu Xie said calmly, "If I'm not wrong, the general can enter Wancheng! But...the general must remember that after entering Wancheng, he must Stay away from the widow!”
"Far, far away from...the widow?"
Cao Cao's round face turned red and he thought to himself: Does the emperor also know that Gu likes to get close to young and beautiful widows? But there is no harm in being close to the widow, in fact it is a virtue! In today's troubled times where natural and man-made disasters are rampant, even strong men may not be able to support themselves, let alone a helpless widow? What a noble act it is to care for them in isolation and let them live a life without worries about food and clothing... Could this also lead to disaster? Is the little emperor using his words to tease me?
When Liu Xie saw Cao Cao's suspicious face, he knew that the rumor of "Meng De's good widow" was true, but he was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see Zhang Ji's widow Zou being tainted by Cao Cao. Of course, such a secret cannot be leaked too much. If it is leaked too much, it may not be effective...
Thinking of this, Liu Xie said to Cao Cao mysteriously: "Mengde, this is a secret. I can't reveal too much. Just remember the four words 'stay away from widows'!"
"Okay, I will definitely remember it." Cao Cao nodded and agreed.
Liu Xie waved his hand and ordered General Cao and Liu Qi to retreat to their seats, but he still felt a little uneasy...Cao Cao is so treacherous, can he be obedient?
