Cao Cao rode away from Dongping Mansion and galloped all the way. Just after noon, he had returned to Yanggu.
On the bank of the road outside the county town, there was a temporary camp set up by Qin Ming and others. Outside the camp, a few idlers were climbing on the big trees. They stretched their necks and looked straight. When they saw Cao Cao from a distance, they were so happy that they shouted: "Brother Wu is back." also!"
When Cao Cao's horse arrived, Qin Ming and others were already waiting in front of the camp to greet him.
Cao Cao laughed and dismounted: "Brothers, why don't you enter the city? Instead, camp outside the city."
Qin Mingdao: "Most of us are strangers and there are many people. We don't need to disturb the people, so we wait outside the city for my brother to return."
"I'm interested." Cao Cao nodded: "Erlang stayed in Fucheng and became a deputy general. He originally wanted to keep me, but he resigned specifically to accommodate you and others."
He looked up at the sky and said: "This is not the place to talk. You guys will come with me to the city to drink. For the rest of the brothers, I will have people prepare wine and meat."
Immediately, he called a few leading idle men, took out the money, asked them to buy pigs, sheep, wine, and find a good cook to cook in the camp. He led Qin Ming and the other five people directly into the county town, and went to the Lion House to order a meal. An elegant room.
The wine and food were served, and everyone devoured them. After eating, they ordered the banquet to be removed and replaced with tea, and the waiters were dismissed. Cao Cao then looked around at the few people and said: "Since brothers are willing to come to Yanggu with me, I should treat my brother with my heart and belly." Tell each other what you say, and if what you say is inappropriate, just say it clearly."
Qin Ming and others all clasped their fists and said, "We are all ears."
Cao Cao picked up the tea cup and poured it. The tea water flowed all over the table. He dipped his fingers in the tea water and painted on the table. The people looked at it for a while. Qin Ming was surprised and said: "Hey, isn't this the map of the Song Dynasty?"
Cao Cao nodded while drawing: "Look, the Song Dynasty has Dali in the south, Liao in the north, Xixia and Tubo in the west. It can be said that it is a strong neighbor. However, the pattern has been established. Although there are occasional provocations, it is still It’s hard to cause catastrophe.”
As he spoke, he drew a circle in the northeastern part of the Liao Kingdom and said with a heavy finger: "This is the Jin Kingdom founded by the Jurchens. A few years ago, in the battle of Dagang, 20,000 Jurchen soldiers defeated the 700,000 Liao army. The benefit has never been heard of since ancient times."
Qin Mingdao: "I heard about this two years ago, but I couldn't believe it. Could it be that the Jin people were bragging?"
Cao Cao shook his head and said: "This battle is the battle to establish the Jurchen country. If the Liao people hadn't been so shaken, how could they have established the country so cheaply?"
Huang Xin sighed: "It's really an army of tigers and wolves. Fortunately, we are not with Song Dynasty."
Cao Cao sneered and said: "The sun is rising in the Jin Kingdom, but the Liao Kingdom is sinking. In my opinion, the Liao Kingdom will be swallowed up by the Jin Kingdom in five years or ten years."
As he spoke, he smeared it with his hands, uniting the territory of the Liao Kingdom with the Jin Kingdom, and suppressing the Song Dynasty from top to bottom.
Huang Xin frowned and said: "If this is the case, I am afraid that the Song Dynasty will also suffer from it."
Cao Cao glanced at him with admiration: "Brother Huang is absolutely right. Both the Liao and Song dynasties were in a state of glitz, drunkenness and dreams. If nothing happened in the world, they could still live in peace for a while. But if something happened, it would be a huge disaster."
He stood up and slapped the table: "The world is peaceful, heroes die of old age in springs and forests, chaos breaks out in the world, heroes rise from the grass! Wu is not talented. Since he has anticipated the world situation in five to ten years, he has to anticipate it. We have to plan and protect one side at all costs, and we must not teach my children of the Han family to be the beasts of the foreign race again."
Even the big bosses in the DPRK may not dare to make a conclusion on what the situation will be like in five to ten years. However, Cao Cao seemed to be explaining what the future will be like, and his decisive attitude made Qin Ming and others feel heartbroken, and they couldn't help but shudder. Qi Qi clasped his fists and said, "It all depends on my brother's orders."
Cao Cao said: "To win a war, there are nothing more than two things. The first is good soldiers and brave generals, and the second is abundant money and food. These two complement each other and are indispensable. I mean, brothers are still working on these two things. .”
"There are more than seventy idle men in the county who are willing to follow me. I will leave ten more flexible servants, and the rest will be considered soldiers. Among the brothers brought by Lu Fang and Guo Sheng, I will select the best among them and serve as soldiers. Qin Ming and Huang Xin will serve as the main and deputy instructors and the training will be strict. Do brothers Lu and Guo have any objections?"
Lu Fang and Guo Sheng said cheerfully: "The people I'm waiting for are my brother's people, and they can be at my disposal."
After some calculations, they found that they had about 220 strong men under their command, plus the idle men in Yanggu and the subordinates who had surrendered with Qin and Huang, the total number was 315.
Qin Mingdao: "My brother asked us to lead troops. He trusts me and I, so he will do his best. But these soldiers are not official troops. If they are stationed inside or outside the county, they may cause trouble."
Cao Cao praised: "Brother, you can see that I have already considered this matter. Ninety miles east of Yanggu County, there is Shi'er Mountain, which is eighty or ninety feet high. There is a naturally flat land on the mountainside, covering more than ten acres. The place is round, and even a thousand people can be accommodated there. You two take the soldiers to the mountain to build a stronghold, train every day, and live in peace without disturbing the people. As soon as you use it, I will send it to you. "
Qin Ming and Huang Xin looked at each other, clasped their fists and said, "I will obey my brother's order!"
Cao Cao added: "The most fearful thing about raising soldiers is a lack of money and food. Although Wu has some possessions, how long can he support these hundreds of people? Therefore, we still need to source money."
He said to Zheng Tianshou: "I have purchased several stores in the county. Because of the good supply and reasonable prices, the business has always been good. Now these stores are managed by their own people. I would like to ask Brother Zheng to be the general manager and familiarize himself with the business at hand. Then slowly open stores to major cities to make money. At the same time, buy land and grow food. If you have enough money and food, you can recruit troops and horses."
Zheng Tianshou was overjoyed when he heard this, clasped his fists and said, "Brother has entrusted me with such a big thing, how dare I not try my best?"
Cao Cao then said to Lu Fang and Guo Sheng: "You two are both merchants, but I rely on you to open up trade routes. The goods I sell now rely entirely on the heroes from the north and the south. After all, it is better to open up the business myself. I have already been determined to do this before. We have no choice but to separate ourselves. Now that we have you two, we can do things. Brother Zheng is the business manager, and you are the business managers. Please follow me around for a while and get familiar with the roads, and you will be able to do what you want."
The two of them were very excited after hearing this: "I am about to go to the Jianghu with my brother to meet those famous heroes!"
After talking about everyone's responsibilities, Cao Cao bought a lot of good wine and went out of the city to have a feast with the minions below. After some encouragement, he announced the agreed mission. Early the next morning, Qin Ming and Huang Xin Then he took more than 300 people and headed for Shi'er Mountain.
Cao Cao arranged for Zheng Tianshou and others to rent a house in the county for resettlement. He also ordered them to purchase grain, grass, clothing and quilts as soon as possible and transport them to Shi'er Mountain for delivery as soon as possible. He went to the county government to hand over the order.
The county magistrate was quite sorry to learn that Shangguan had left Wu Song as general. However, his transfer order was also issued. As soon as the new official arrived, he would go to Shangxian County in Jiangnan to take up a post. After paying ten taels of silver, Cao Cao was allowed to go down.
Cao Cao bid farewell to the county magistrate, left the county office, and walked home slowly. He saw the door of his house closed from a distance, so he walked over and knocked on the door gently: "Is there anyone at home? I'm coming back!"
There was a sound on the stairs inside, and someone flew downstairs without touching the ground. He opened the door, and a scent of fragrance rushed into Cao Cao's arms. He cried loudly: "Enemies, how come it takes so long to come back? The slave family. I want to harm you."
Cao Cao laughed loudly, picked him up with his legs crossed, and kicked the door shut: "Come on, come on, let me check to see where I miss you..."
