Times and people's hearts have changed.
Cao Cao picked up the wine cup again and saluted the bright moon in the night from a distance, but his heart was extremely dark. He couldn't help but recall the scene when Xiao returned in triumph when he was a child. At that time, there were crowds of prisoners, mountains of soldiers, swords shining brightly, and mysterious armors like rocks. All the people in the capital were happy and crowded, crowding around the soldiers who had returned from recapturing Liangzhou.
At that time, Cao Cao was fifteen years old and was a well-known absurd dandy in the capital. But that day, he looked up at Duan Jun beside the crowd. Duan Jun was wearing red armor and riding on a green-maned horse. The long-established Liangzhou general took off his armor. Ten years of fighting had made his temperament vicissitudes, and he showed a pair of tired and sad eyes. He did not see the welcoming crowd in his eyes, only looking at the rows of Han flags flying above the Eastern Capital.
Cao Cao's soul seemed to be penetrated at that time, and it was washed from top to bottom. He made up his mind to be a figure like Duan Jiong, no longer a well-known eunuch and a playboy in the capital. Everyone looked at him with admiration and thought He is the future pillar of the country. Sikong Qiaoxuan was once surprised by his changes and sighed: "Today there will be chaos, but it is you who can bring peace to the people?" This made Cao Cao feel quite complacent and selectively forgot about Qiao Sikong's change. The first half of the sentence.
It’s just that times have indeed changed, and the change is in people’s hearts.
Thinking about the affairs of the court in the past few days, Cao Cao suddenly looked depressed. He swallowed a sip of wine and was speechless for a long time. His wife Ding noticed this, put down the wine spoon in her hand, and asked her husband with concern: "Ah Ma, what's the matter? It's because the wine is bitter." ?”
Cao Cao put down the cup in his hand and sighed to his wife: "I am worried, and no matter what wine I drink, it will not taste good." He picked up his chopsticks, knocked on the cup and sang:
"There are owls in the northern mountains, and their wings are unclean. They fly in the wrong direction and cannot sleep at rest. When hungry, they can see the trees, and when full, they lie down in the mud. They are gluttonous and corrupt, and their food is stinky and rotten. Their intestines are full of crop, and their appetites are endless."
Cao Cao was not tall, but his tone was heroic. Singing Zhu Mu's "Poetry on Breaking Up with Liu Bozong", each word became more urgent and every sentence became faster. But in the middle of singing, he suddenly seemed to have someone stuck in his throat. He stopped at this sentence, and he reluctantly held up the cup again and said to his wife: "It's full."
After pouring wine for Cao Cao, Ding smiled and said, "Ah Man, why are you half-reciting the poem?" She then continued with a melodious singing voice: "It calls out to the phoenix for a long time, saying that the phoenix has no virtue. The phoenix's tendency is to be in a foreign land with you. From now on, we will work hard together." Only her singing voice echoed in the backyard, like the chirping of a warbler, which was endearing. Ding then stroked Cao Cao's hair and asked, "Do you think you can't be called a phoenix?"
Cao Cao shook his head, drank the warm wine in the cup, and replied: "If the phoenix is not a phoenix tree, it will not live there, if it is not the morning dew, it will not drink, and if it is not the practice, it will not eat. I, Cao Mengde, is indeed not such a person, but it is not worth regretting. I will achieve great things." It is difficult to stick to small details. Looking forward and backward is just in vain and misses the opportunity."
When the words stopped here, Cao Cao suddenly stood up and said: "Prepare your horse, I want to go to Benchu." Ding collected the dishes and chopsticks for him and asked: "Going now? It's already Youshi... ."
Cao Cao acted vigorously and resolutely, and went as he was told. He changed into his regular clothes, took out his steps, lowered his head and looked at it, and said: "I have been friends with Benchu for many years. I know his habits. He lives in seclusion and only has people looking for him, not him. Except for the invitations from the general and others, the banquet is always He won't go, and as a general and planner, he thinks about the situation of the court all day long, and will not rest until he is here."
So he tidied up, but when he went out, a cold wind filled Cao Cao's room. Cao Cao hurriedly went back to his house and put on a fox fur coat, then rode Jueying again and rushed directly to Yuan Shao's residence.
As the general's staff, Yuan Shao lived not far from the general's mansion. To the east of Zhuolong Garden and to the north of Yong'an Palace, you can see Taicang and the arsenal in only two quarters of an hour's journey. It can be said that it is the most important place in the city. Cao Cao was already familiar with the road, and there were few pedestrians at night. Within half an hour, he saw the lintel of the Yuan Mansion. There was a black horse tied in front of the door, leaning against the doorpost and licking its mane.
That was Xu You's mount. Cao Cao was used to seeing it. He turned over and dismounted. A man with a blue head immediately came up to him and said, "Captain Cao, my master is discussing with Mr. Xu in the side compartment. Just go and see him directly." Cao Cao said. He had been here so many times that even Cangtou of Yuan Shao's family was familiar with him, so he even skipped the reporting procedure.
Cao Cao then walked to the side compartment, and along the way he saw Mrs. Liu who was packing up the food table and going out. Mrs. Liu put down the table and saluted him and said, "Do you have something to discuss with your wife today, Mr. Cao?" Cao Cao hurriedly helped Mrs. Liu up and looked at her. She has a graceful appearance, her eyebrows are like water, and she felt that Liu's lotus-rooted arms were warm and plump. She couldn't help but feel a surge in her heart, and said with a smile: "With my sister-in-law here, can't I, Cao Cao, have nothing to do to talk to me about my origin?"
Mrs. Liu withdrew her wrist and replied with a polite smile: "If Mr. Cao continues to joke, I'm afraid I won't let you in tonight." After saying that, Tingting walked away, and Cao Cao stopped to look back at the figure for a moment. Just then he shook his head and smiled to himself, and walked straight to the side compartment.
When I entered the door, I heard someone talking inside: "Now that there is a war in Bingzhou, Liu Junlang's talk about being a shepherd will probably be unstoppable. According to the general, your majesty has agreed to this matter, and the candidates have been decided."
"Benchu." Cao Cao called Yuan Shao when he entered the door. When he saw Yuan Shao lying on his side and slumped down, the words he just said were exactly what he said. Cao Cao frowned and asked: "Who are the people chosen by the shepherd of the state?"
The power of the state pastor is much greater than that of the governor. There are checks and balances between the governor and the county governor. However, the state pastor directly controls all the military and political power of a state and becomes the direct superior of the county governor. He can be said to be a real frontier official. Therefore, although Liu Yan had been advocating the Mu Bo theory for a long time, the court was still unable to pass it. However, now that the war in Bingzhou has resumed, and Qingxu Huangjin has taken action again, even if he loves power like the emperor, he cannot hold on anymore. Cao Cao sighed in his heart, but once the state pastor was established, it would not be a blessing to the court.
When Yuan Shao saw Cao Cao coming, he only waved to him to sit down. He was still lying on his side, and he closed his eyes and replied: "Initially, there are three people, Liu Bo'an from Youzhou, Liu Junlang from Jiaozhou, and Huang Ziyan from Yuzhou. I guess it won't change much in the future. At most. The area guarded by several people has been changed."
Cao Cao frowned and said: "The war in Liangzhou lasted for several years, and now the war in Bingzhou has started again. If there is an urgent need for a shepherd to guard them, these two states need a shepherd the most. But now they are ignoring these two states. Aren't they afraid of arousing criticism from everyone? ?”
Yuan Shao pondered for a while, but Xu You replied: "Now there is no possibility of a short-term end to the Liangzhou rebellion. Even if the rebel army is severely damaged for a while, it can only appease the third auxiliary capital. Setting up a shepherd is just a cover-up. Why not consider the present situation first?" Select the general to counter the rebellion."
Then Yuan Shao sat up and slowly continued: "After the military report from Bingzhou was received by the court the day before yesterday, Meng De, you should also know that the court may have no available troops. The Dongping Army, which was originally scheduled to set off to join the annexation in February this year, Now we are still quelling the rebellion in Qingxu, but what will happen to Qingxu once the Dongping Army is mobilized to invade?"
Cao Cao replied in a deep voice: "Qingxu Huangjin, Qingzhou is the most important and Xuzhou is the lightest. You can choose a good person to be the governor of Xuzhou, appease the refugees, and stationed in Mount Tai. Although it cannot put down the Qingxu rebellion, it can temporarily stop the moth thieves." At this point, he couldn't help but raise his voice and said: "Bingzhou is the north screen of the capital, and Liangzhou is the west screen of the capital. Now that the Huns are rebelling, if they collude with the chaos in Liangzhou, the overall situation may be changed overnight. Bad, original, must not be underestimated!"
Yuan Shao raised his eyelids slightly, poured Cao Cao a glass of green wine, with a few apricot peels floating on the surface of the wine, and said in detail: "Bingzhou is bounded by the desert to the west, the royal palace to the south, and Taihang to the west. The imperial court only needs to guard the east of the river and add troops to the party. , no matter how serious the war in Bingzhou is, what embarrassment can be caused to the capital? Meng De, you have said it before. In my opinion, it is better to send envoys to appease the Xiongnu after making such arrangements and withdraw Chen Tingjian and others. The chaos in Bingzhou It can be dissolved."
Cao Cao was choked for a moment and could not speak. He drank all the wine in one gulp and said in a cold voice: "Benchu, after you make the arrangements, I am afraid that it will be difficult to merge the prefectures and counties into the national possession. The annexed prefectures are thousands of miles away, and the mountains and rivers outside and inside are all. Don't let us be so corrupted! Not to mention the soldiers of Bingzhou. As Tingjian's military report said, the soldiers of Bingzhou looked at the court's reinforcements and saw blood in their eyes! Hundreds of years later, how will future generations treat us! We must not repeat this Make the same mistake as Liangzhou!"
Yuan Shao remained calm and refilled Cao Cao's supply, and said calmly: "Meng De, I'm afraid we don't have time to do this now. The court has more important things that we should do."
"Is there anything greater than the war on the border..." Before he could finish his words, Xu You recited leisurely at the side: "It is the most ominous thing in the world when a husband abolishes an establishment. The ancients had the right to succeed or fail. Yi Yin and Huo Guang are the ones who act based on the importance of things."
After reading this, Xu You paused, smiled at Cao Cao and said, "Mengde, you rejected it too neatly. Do you really want to stop thinking about it?"
Cao Cao froze, feeling that Xu You was holding his lifeline, and all the anger in his heart was swept away, leaving only cold sweat, so that he could hardly breathe. He looked at Yuan Shao with incredible eyes and asked: "This is my letter rejecting the king's decision to depose the emperor. How do you know the words?"
Yuan Shao smiled and said nothing, just leaning on the sofa to drink. Xu You stood up, walked to the corridor door and looked up at the clear light in the sky. He just explained: "Mengde, I was the liaison between the Governor Wang and me in this matter. Not only you, we also contacted Hua Xin and Tao Qiuhong. Zhou Jing, as well as many heroes in Jizhou, and the Marquis of Hefei have also agreed. It can be said that everything is ready.
You are a wise man. You should know that the current chaos in the country is frequent and the signs of decline are becoming increasingly apparent. These are all caused by the emperor's lack of virtue. Even if we try our best, the emperor treats us like straw shoes. What can we do? If we can't rectify the source and support the artifact, even if we put down the rebels ten times and a hundred times, what's the use? Are you serious about not participating in this incredible achievement? "
Cao Cao was as silent as gold, but looked at Yuan Shao, his childhood friend, with an unbelievable look. Seeing him sitting like a mountain, An Su was like ice, and he couldn't help but make a conclusion in his heart: It's so chaotic and happy.
Yuan Shao suddenly sighed: "Your Majesty still has Chen Tingjian in his heart. He has already ordered that no matter how young Xu Huangjin is, he will first mobilize the Dongping Army to join the annexation. Once Liu Bei leaves, Xuzhou Governor Gu Qian will not be able to stay any longer. Ziyuan, Mengde What you said is not unreasonable, who should we recommend as the next governor of Xuzhou?"
Xu You pondered: "That can only be drawn from the current three auxiliary defenders. In my opinion, Tao Gongzu may be the best. He has a reputation for being a virtuous man, and he is very popular in planning and planning in the army. He has always relied on us. It’s very close, so there shouldn’t be any objection from the general or the emperor.”
Yuan Shao nodded in agreement and said, "Then it's Tao Qian." The candidate for the governor of the first state of the empire was decided in this side room. Cao Cao looked at this scene and thought it was ridiculous. However, he was finally a little excited after receiving the news that Chen Chong still had reinforcements. However, he still didn't know how the war in Bingzhou was developing now, which made him still unable to relax.
At least for a month, Chen Chong would still have to fight alone.
