Can Liu Bei beat Xu Rong?
In Cao Cao's understanding, it is probably impossible.
After all, in the Battle of Bianshui, Cao Cao fully understood what the Luoyang Forbidden Army was and what it meant to be an elite in a hundred battles, which was far beyond what his newly recruited soldiers could match.
Liu Bei defeated Yang Ding before because Yang Ding was eager for quick success and sought death.
If you really want to talk about it, Cao Cao believed that Liu Bei's army should be stronger than himself in combat effectiveness, but it was only too strong. If he stayed in the city, he might be able to wait for his reinforcements, but if he left the city to fight in the field, he would definitely lose.
But the scene at this moment was like a big slap on his face.
Seeing that Liu Bei was unscathed and all his soldiers were in high spirits, Cao Cao knew that Liu Bei had won again, and it was a big victory!
He defeated the Luoyang Forbidden Army with dignity and dignity in the field battle. What level is Liu Xuande at?
Cao Cao was happy for Liu Bei's victory, but he also felt a little sad in his heart.
Okay, I'm not too late again, right?
After the two sides entered the ceremony, Liu Bei took Cao Cao and told the story of the entire battle with excitement on his face.
The victory over Xu Rong was not bad. Cao Cao was mentally prepared just now, but after hearing Liu Bei say that he had captured Xingyang, Cao Cao couldn't hold back at all!
Xingyang, that's Xingyang, the throat of Henan Yin, the key county, and you actually captured it?
Moreover, only Zhang Liao was sent, and the city gate was easily deceived!
For a moment, Cao Cao seemed to have found a lot of lemons, and at the same time he deeply realized the fact that he seemed to be a waste.
Well, after removing two words, it seems to be true.
Looking at the tall man behind him, the Cao family and the Xiahou family, they all looked embarrassed and silent.
Xu Rong, who beat himself up and fled in embarrassment, was beaten by Liu Bei in front of him and his entire army was annihilated. What else could he say?
After the depressed mood lasted for a while, Cao Cao finally asked the most critical question.
"Brother Xuande, where is the thief general Xu Rong?"
Cao Cao hated Xu Rong.
Cao Cao hated not only his failure, but his skills as inferior to others, and he had nothing to say.
He hated that Bao Xin's younger brother Bao Tao and Wei Zi, who sponsored his army, died at the hands of Xu Rong. This was something Cao Cao could not accept. He had to kill Xu Rong with his own hands in order to vent his hatred.
"this……"
Liu Bei naturally saw what Cao Cao was thinking, and he looked a little hesitant, hesitating whether to tell Cao Cao the truth.
"What's wrong with Brother Xuande?" Cao Cao asked curiously.
The army has been recruited by you, Xu Rong will definitely not be able to escape, so you can just say something.
At this time, Zhang Heng stood up, cupped his hands towards Cao Cao and said, "Mr. Cao, Xu Rong is gone."
Hearing this, Cao Cao immediately snorted, "That guy Xu Rong is so slippery that he ran away. Next time I see him, I will cut him into pieces."
Seeing that Cao Cao had wrongly replied, Liu Bei was about to explain, but Zhang Heng preempted him and said: "Mr. Cao, it's not that Xu Rong escaped, but... I made an exchange with him and let him go."
With that said, Zhang Heng told the story of his conversation with Xu Rong in detail. This would avoid unnecessary estrangement between the two parties in the future, so Zhang Heng did not lie to Cao Cao.
After listening, Cao Cao's expression became a little strange, with anger mixed with doubts, and regret mixed with relief.
Logically speaking, he could completely understand Zhang Heng's approach. It was the right way to exchange Xu Rong's escape for a bloodless victory.
Angry, he can't take revenge for the time being.
As for his doubts, Liu Bei and Zhang Heng were too pedantic.
Since ancient times, soldiers have never been tired of deceit. They first pretended to agree to Xu Rong. After gathering his troops, whether Xu Rong, the thief, is killed or detained is not your decision.
Finally, Cao Cao figured it out again.
This battle was won by Liu Bei, and he had no merit at all, so he had no right to comment.
After all, you have to avenge yourself!
After a long time, Cao Cao sighed: "If you let this thief Xu Rong go, he will still become our enemy when we meet on the battlefield in the future. Mr. Xuande is too kind."
Zhang Heng saw Cao Cao's series of emotions, and until the moment he finally felt relieved, Zhang Heng also had a smile on his face.
As expected of a hero in troubled times, Lao Cao’s mentality is really good enough!
"Mr. Cao, if we can defeat him once, we can defeat him a second time, so there's no need to worry." Zhang Heng said with a smile.
"Ziyi, what you say is too much. Don't you hear the Art of War..."
Cao Cao wanted to refute, but Liu Bei had won consecutive battles since his departure. On the contrary, he was the defeated general, so he had no shame to show off his military skills in front of others, so he was embarrassed in the middle of the sentence.
At this moment, Liu Bei asked: "But I wonder if Brother Mengde will harvest wild jujubes here?"
Speaking of this, Cao Cao's depression just disappeared, and a smile appeared on his face, even mixed with a trace of pride.
"Brother Xuande, do you know how much food and grass you got from this?"
Liu Bei quickly complimented and said, "How much?"
Cao Cao stretched out a finger and said, "A hundred thousand stones!"
"so much!"
Liu Bei was really shocked now.
Are the princes of Guandong so generous?
"That's still a small number." Cao Cao snorted slightly dissatisfied, "In terms of status, we are all part of the Guandong princes. In terms of merit, Brother Xuande, you have won consecutive battles and destroyed Yang Ding, Xiajuan County, The defeat of Xu Rong and the attack on Xingyang can be said to be the greatest achievement. Although Cao Cao is not talented, he has the merit of wiping out the bandits along the way. Why don't they give us food and grass!"
Anyway, Cao Cao was very unhappy with those Guandong princes, and even if he got the food and grass, he still looked down upon them.
"What Brother Meng De said makes sense. With our efforts, one hundred thousand stones of food and grass is indeed not much." Liu Bei also nodded.
Cao Cao smiled again and said: "In addition, Cao also obtained an official position for Brother Xuande."
Hearing this, Liu Bei also became excited, with a vague look of expectation.
He now has tens of thousands of elite troops under his command, and his strength is comparable to that of a prince. All he lacks is his status. After all, Gaotang Ling, an official with a rank of thousands of stones, really couldn't be compared with a real county chief.
As he said that, Cao Cao took out a roll of silk from his arms. On it was a memorial jointly signed by the princes of Guandong recommending Liu Bei as an official.
But the official position is General Fenwei!
After seeing this memorial, Liu Bei's eyes became round, with undisguised desire and yearning in his expression.
After struggling for many years, what he wanted was a position as a county-level officer. Now that it was suddenly in his hands, Liu Bei had an illusion in a trance, feeling that everything was so unreal.
Liu Bei had great ambitions since he was a child. When he was a child, he pointed to the crown of the huge mulberry tree in front of his door and said boldly: I will definitely ride in this Yu Bao covered chariot!
But when he grew up, he found that the gap in reality was really difficult to bridge.
How many times he joined the army to suppress bandits and pacified the Yellow Turbans, but how many times he was only awarded the rank of county magistrate or county lieutenant.
Now, I finally made it!
Liu Bei held the recommendation letter tightly in his hand, and the excitement in his heart was indescribable.
The official system of the Han Dynasty was actually very interesting, simple and efficient.
What's more interesting is that the emperor is not the entire collection of imperial power, or even all users.
Strictly speaking, the imperial power of the Han Dynasty was divided into two parts. One part was in the hands of the emperor, and the other part was executed by the prime minister. Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty restructured the system and established an internal dynasty in order to reduce the power of the prime minister. This was the prototype of the Eastern Han Dynasty's Shangshutai.
When the time came to the late Han Dynasty, a large part of the entire country's government power system was concentrated in Taichung, the minister of state.
But Shangshu Ling, the highest official in Shangshutai, is only a minor official with a rank of thousands of stones.
Just as a governor with a rank of 600 shi is used to supervise a county governor with a rank of 2,000 shi, the Xiaodaxiang system is the most stable power system, and the Shangshu Ling has become a lowly but powerful official position.
Later, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the eunuchs and their relatives took turns to intervene in politics. They wanted to actually control the Shangshu table, but were unwilling to serve as a minor official like Shangshu Ling, so they came up with a new trick called Lu Shangshu Shi.
This is a non-permanent official, usually held concurrently by powerful ministers who hold the power of both the government and the public.
In other words, whoever has this authority will control the political power of the entire Han Empire, and even control the ability to export most of the imperial power, just like the prime minister in the early Western Han Dynasty.
This is the so-called Shiguitai Pavilion!
And Liu Bei, the Fenwei general, is actually a type of general.
Don't be fooled by the miscellaneous name. The so-called general is actually the highest-ranking general in the imperial court, with the same rank as Jiuqing.
Because there were no permanent generals in the Han Dynasty, except for the generals who were above the Three Dukes, all other general positions were temporary appointments just like the ministerial affairs.
The highest military officer positions in daily life are Zhonglang General and Xiaowei.
Often when it was necessary to go out to quell chaos, in order to convince the public, the court would give the title of general to the general who was responsible for commanding the army, and then take it back after the war.
Even Lu Zhi, the general of Zuo Zhonglang who oversaw the army's expedition against the Yellow Turbans, did not get the title of a general during the expedition, which shows how precious it is.
Of course, that was during the Taiping period. In today's troubled times, wars are fought every day, and there are more and more meritorious generals, which require various rewards. The gold content of generals is gradually depreciating.
As for whether the princes of Guandong have the right to appoint Liu Bei as General Fenwu, in fact, they do.
The Han Dynasty adopted the imperial examination system, that is, the chief in charge of a certain department could recruit subordinate officials on his own, although they were still nominally recommended.
As for officials of the same level, they also have the right to recommend, and generally they will not be rejected by the emperor.
After all, the power of government affairs and personnel appointment lies with the Chancellor, and it is impossible for the emperor to know the abilities and character of every official, so the source of officials is the recommendation of colleagues.
Over time, a convention has been formed. Once an official recommends another person to be an official, it will most likely be done.
The princes of Guandong recommended Liu Bei as General Fenwei. Even before the appointment edict was issued, Liu Bei could already call himself General Fenwei.
That's why Liu Bei is so happy.
But Zhang Heng quickly discovered Hua Dian.
If I remember correctly, Cao Cao's current official position seems to be General Xingfenwu.
Now he has brought General Fenwei to Liu Bei. The difference between the two official systems is only one word...
Hiss...it's scary to think about it, it's scary to think about it!
Could it be that Lao Cao is interested in Liu Daer?
