Cao Cao stood up at Mao Shi, his ears filled with the echo of ticking and knocking. He put on his silk robe and propped up the wet windows. The dim skylight, the pungent water vapor, and the sound of rain washing the bricks and tiles filled the bedroom for a while, washing away all the remaining sleepiness of Cao Cao.
Mrs. Ding rubbed her sleepy eyes, lay on her side on the pillow, and called her husband in small words: "Ah Ma?". Cao Cao looked back at his wife. She was showing her lotus-rooted arms in the pajamas. Her jade face was lightly frowning, and her graceful figure could be vaguely seen in her clothes. He sat back on the bed, gently stroked Ding's collarbone, and said with a warm smile: "I have been doing this for the past few days." I have a headache, the rain is heavy, and I really didn’t sleep deeply.”
Speaking of this, Cao Cao looked out the window at the rainstorm again and frowned: "Before last year, there were successive droughts in Suizhou and County, and the farmers were miserable. This year, there was a sudden heavy rain, which lasted for several days. In my opinion, the heavy rain will not last for ten months." Stop, the flood of rivers may return to Sanhe Land, I am really worried about it."
When Mrs. Ding heard this, she hugged her quilt and asked her husband, "Are you going to Xianyang Garden today?" After receiving the answer, she put on her obscene clothes, hurriedly wrapped herself in several layers of gauze skirt, took out her military uniform and printed the ribbon, While dressing her husband, she called her maid to go to the storeroom to get a new raincoat. After dressing Cao Cao, she warned him: "You are giving advice to the general. If the general cannot use his tactics, don't be so angry that you give him advice!"
Cao Cao loosened his breath slightly and said with a smile to his wife: "I don't know why, but I'm just doing my best." After saying that, he took the Heavenly Sword and put it on his waist, went out of the room and put on his raincoat, took the bamboo hat from the maid's hand, and took two more Cang Tou had prepared a chariot in front of the house. Cao Cao walked to the door and was about to board the chariot. Suddenly he saw his eldest son Cao Ang coming to say hello in the rain, so he also stopped in the rain to wait for him. .
Unlike the middle-aged Cao Cao, Cao Ang's appearance was majestic and his face was full of vitality. Even the heavy rain could not cover the passion in his eyes. He asked his father, "Sir, are you going to the shogunate today?" Cao Cao was because of this. His biological mother died young and cared for him the most. She put the bamboo hat in her hand on his head and said with a smile: "In these extraordinary times, my father is not as good as Yuan Benchu, but I am still a confidant of the general. How can I have free time?"
Cao Ang held the bamboo hat in his hand and asked his father: "Sir, Ang recently heard that the general is planning to kill the regular servants. Is it true or not?"
Cao Cao's expression suddenly changed. He turned around and saw that there was no one around him. He dragged his eldest son into the car and shouted in a low voice: "How can this be said here! Zixiu, where did you hear it?"
Shaking off the rainwater from his body, Cao Ang put the bamboo hat in the corner of the box and said to his father: "Ang heard it among his classmates at Taixue. This month, it suddenly spread among the classmates. Everyone said that now the general is ruling the shogunate. , re-appointing party members, the leader is Jian Shuo, and then he must eliminate harm for the country and rectify the source. Sir, is this really happening?"
Cao Cao was speechless for a moment. He tapped the wall of the compartment with his finger and said to Cao Ang: "What happened today is just a whisper between you and me, father and son, and should not be spread outside."
Seeing Cao Ang nod, Cao Cao continued: "After your uncle Yuan captured Dong Chong, he made several suggestions to the general to kill Chang Shi. But in my opinion, the general had no intention of doing this. He is now living in Yi. In the position of Huo, his words and deeds are scrutinized by the world. However, he was born as a butcher. At this time, he was very satisfied and wanted nothing more. He just wanted to show his kindness to others. Among the regular servants, Guo Sheng and Han Kui repeatedly made friends with the general. , the general will not want to be in trouble with them, he will just kill one or two people, how can he kill them all?"
At this point, Cao Cao's expression softened, and he sighed: "Although the general is lenient on the outside and taboo on the inside, and doesn't know how to employ people, he lacks courage. It is also a good thing for the current situation. After all, the ruler of a young country is suspicious, and everything needs to be worked out together." It won’t cause chaos.”
The eldest son, however, objected. After hearing what his father said, Cao Ang looked downcast, held Cao Cao's wrist and said urgently: "Sir, this is ridiculous! Since the general has no intention of killing the regular servants, how can he make such a fuss? We will wait for him. Now that I have heard the news, the regular servants of the two palaces must also have heard the news. What do they think? Someone must be stirring up trouble secretly! If you want to stir up trouble, if the general is suspicious for a long time at this time, bad things will happen!"
Cao Cao was stunned for a long time. He thought of Wang Fen's incident, and then sweat dripped down his forehead. Cao Ang looked worried on one side. He advised his father: "My lord, you must protect yourself while you are in the shogunate! Don't get too close to the general. Since the general recruits famous people from all over the world, you can make good friends. If Even if the situation is not good, we can return to our hometown safely and avoid right and wrong."
After hearing these words, Cao Cao looked at Cao Ang for a moment and said with a smile: "Zixiu, you have become a talented person. If your father makes mistakes, your son will not defeat his family. I am relieved that you have such knowledge at such a young age." At this point, Cao Cao signaled him to go back to his room first. When Cao Ang got out of the car, he asked casually: "Is there any other rumors about Taixue?"
Cao Cao asked casually, but Cao Ang stopped in front of the carriage to think for a moment and replied to Cao Cao: "Longshou's disciples, like Wang Xibo (Wang Xiang), Wen Zhongye (Wen Pin), Xu Weichang (Xu Qian) and others, He was particularly dissatisfied with the general's governance, saying that he had no political agenda and was ruining the government. People around Luoyang were divided. Xu Weichang collected a folk song in Ping County, which satirized the current affairs and said: A Hou is not a Marquis, and a king is not a king. Thousands of horses are riding north. Mang."
After saying this, Cao Ang hurried back to his home.
Cao Cao then ordered the driver to start. Listening to the sound of jade beads outside the car, he began to think about Yuan Shao's intentions. He originally thought that Yuan Shao and Wang Fen were in tandem because they were dissatisfied with the late emperor. When the late emperor saw through the conspiracy and the coup failed, Cao Cao was also afraid that the court would find out that he was involved in the case, so he did not think deeply about Yuan Shao's plan. It's just that now that the late emperor is in power, Yuan Shao is highly valued by the general and is appointed as the Sili Xiaowei. His power is second only to the Three Dukes. The so-called regular eunuch is now nothing more than a chicken and a dog. What else does he want to do? San Gong? General? Or...Wang Mang?
Cao Cao was startled. He had never thought of these two words, but at this moment, like the guidance of a god, this thought came to his mind naturally, making it difficult for him to forget it. But he couldn't believe it. He and Yuan Shao were childhood friends who sat in the same car and did a series of ridiculous things, which made him ashamed and deeply missed.
More than ten years ago, the two of them were watching a wedding and sneaked into the master's garden dressed in black clothes. At night, they were lying in the corner. Cao Cao shouted to Hu Yun at the top of his voice: "There is a thief!" which attracted everyone in the garden to go out to look for him. He then entered the house with a knife and robbed the bride, and fled the garden with Yuan Shao. The two ran too fast and lost their way in the dark night. They fell into the thorns and Yuan Shao was caught in his clothes and could not walk. Cao Cao shouted again: "The thief is here!" Yuan Shao was frightened. As soon as he jumped out, he tied up the bride and ran back to the private house.
When they were young, they loved trampling on their dignity and took absurd pleasure in doing so. More than ten years later, the two men changed their past and became famous all over the world. Cao Cao re-examined this friendship, but he didn't know when the estrangement between the two developed. He decided to go and see it again today.
Arriving at Xianyang Garden, Cao Cao went straight to the main hall. The raincoat at the entrance of the palace was thrown on the floor, and when he walked into the palace, Cao Cao found that the general had not yet gotten up. Yuan Shao, the captain of the Sili School, was sitting in the chair, having a heated discussion with an old man, while many of the surrounding aides, Cao Rong, turned a deaf ear and buried their heads. He wrote vigorously in the documents.
"Dong Zhongying has been stationed in Pubanjin since March, and it has been nearly three months now. Captain Yuan, for so blatantly disobeying orders and treating the king and father as nothing, must be severely punished! Otherwise, where is the majesty of the court?" The old man who spoke spoke in a generous tone. , Cao Cao knew that it was Lu Zhi, Lu Shangshu. When he came back from Bingzhou, he would give advice to the general every day, but unfortunately the general accepted very little.
Yuan Shao held the official's seal and patted the case impatiently and replied: "How could Lu Shangshu make such pedantic remarks? The situation in the imperial court is uncertain now. The Changshi and the shogunate are on the same page, and Dong Zhuo has private soldiers, and everyone is a veteran. If we force Dong Zhuo to rebel and he turns to the Huangmen's regular servants, it will cause a big disaster! Why don't we appease the crowd first and wait until we clear out the regular servants before making any plans."
Lu Zhi categorically rejected this, and said angrily: "Why is the country like this? The Western Rebellion has its own checks and balances from Huangfu Song, Northern Xinjiang has Liu Chen to guard it, Yanyu has Huang Ziyan (Huang Wan), Jiangnan has Sun Wentai (Sun Jian), You Yan has Liu Bo'an (Liu Yu), but there are more than tens of thousands of Sanhe Knights in the counties of Gyeonggi Province? Yuan Xiaowei, please don't be alarmist. If Dong Zhuo colludes with Chang Shi, he will drown himself in fire!"
Yuan Shao was extremely impatient. When he saw Cao Cao coming in, he casually comforted Lu Zhi and said, "This is not for Shao Neng to decide. Since Lu Shangshu insists so much, Shao will report it to the general." Then he turned to Cao Cao and said: "Mengde, you came just in time. I have something important to discuss with you."
Lu Zhi saw that he was so perfunctory and had no intention of talking to him. He looked at Cao Cao for a few times, then put on his bamboo hat and left. Cao Cao smiled bitterly and stepped forward to Yuan Shao's side. Yuan Shao complained to him about Lu Zhi and said: "This man is really pedantic. Dong Zhuo was born as a rafter official of the Taifu, and the garrison in Hedong was approved by the Taifu and the general. Yet he comes to find trouble with me every day." .”
Cao Cao looked at the palace gate and saw that Lu Zhi had gone away, so he said to Yuan Shao: "Now that Huangfu Gong is fighting in Lianjie, Dong Zhuo is not needed in the Liangzhou war. Logically, he should go to Bingzhou and take up the post of Bingzhou pastor."
Yuan Shao sat back at the desk, arranged a seat next to Cao Cao, shook his head and said, "Dong Zhuo didn't even come to Bingzhou in April, and he won't be able to go this month."
"What do you mean?" "Liu Xuande and Chen Tingjian defeated Xianbei, beheaded nearly ten thousand people, and restored more than ten cities in Bingzhou. They were famous among the armies." Yuan Shaotai sighed and handed the victory report to Cao Cao, and sighed: "The chaos in Bingzhou has been calmed down. What to do if you merge the state’s pastoral ministry!”
Cao Cao took the good news, read it hastily, and couldn't help but smile to Yuan Shao: "Huangfu defeated the enemy in the west, and then Liu and Chen drove the enemy to the north. The country is gradually prospering. It's worth getting drunk tonight! Did the general say when the reward will be given?"
Yuan Shao frowned and said, "Just wait until the late emperor enters Wenling. The ministers should be in mourning for three months, so the reward will be announced in August."
At this point, he looked directly at Cao Cao and emphasized: "Meng De, the top priority is to kill the eunuchs. If the eunuchs are not eliminated, the court will be uneasy! The opportunity is precious. If you wait a little longer for your majesty, and then listen to the evil words of Chang Shi, Jian Ning Yuan The disaster of the year will happen again. The party has been in prison for more than twenty years, and the country's chaos is still vivid in our minds. Who among the righteous people in the world does not feel sad for it? I have persuaded the general to kill the regular servant, and I have entrusted you with a heavy responsibility. Don’t refuse!”
Not long after, Cao Cao left Xianyang Garden. When he got on the carriage again, Cao Cao looked at the edict in his hand to recruit troops. He recalled Yuan Shao's sincere expression and couldn't help laughing.
When he returned to his mansion, he took off his raincoat and said to Mrs. Ding: "You pack your bags first, and in a few days you will take Xiu and your brothers back to your hometown. There is a lot of trouble in the capital, and it is no longer a place where we can stay for a long time."
