Yecheng, Wei Palace.
In the hall, Cao Cao read the report from Youzhou, his brows furrowed and hard to relax.
He asked about the border issues of Sanzi. He was not making things up out of thin air, but there were serious problems on the border between Youzhou and the two states.
Regardless of Cao Cao's unification of the north, in fact the merger of the two states was not peaceful. Compared with the heyday of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the territory had shrunk, and Cao Cao was also committed to restoring the previous territory.
For example, Daijun in Youzhou was divided by the leaders of the three Wuhuan tribes. The prefect was almost ignored, and Daijun disappeared in name only. Yanmen County in Bingzhou is not Han territory at all, and the only border guard is Mayi City, which Cao Cao rebuilt a few years ago.
Compared with Bingzhou, which has weak control, the governance of Daijun in Youzhou has to be given top priority. Daijun is located to the north of Changshan County in Jizhou. If Daijun exists in name only, Hebei will lose its vitality.
Previously, Cao Cao went on an expedition to western Liaoning, killed Wuhuan Tadun, and shocked the northern part of the country, and all Wuhuan tribes surrendered. However, as time passed, Wuhuan gradually became more powerful, especially Wuhuan in Daijun, who occasionally plundered Han people.
If Daijun is not dealt with, when Wuhuan becomes more powerful and unites with Xianbei outside the Great Wall, it will be a disaster for the Central Plains.
As for how to solve Wuhuan in Daijun, it is another question worth pondering.
"Your Majesty, Peicang Cao wants to see you!"
"Xuan!"
After a while, Pei Qian walked into the hall and knelt down to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao looked up at Pei Qian and praised: "As the magistrate of three counties, the people in the places where he was appointed are safe and the bandits have dissipated. This is your contribution!"
With that said, Cao Cao put down the document and asked, "Do you know what I mean today?"
Pei Qian shook his head and said, "Forgive me for my lack of talent and lack of knowledge. It's hard to understand the king's deep intentions!"
Cao Cao stood up from the couch, put his hands behind his waist, and asked, "Do you know if you are Daijun?"
Pei Qian pondered for a while and said: "Daijun is a frontier fortress and a barrier to Hebei. Nowadays, most of them are occupied by Wuhuan. The Hu people are willful and arrogant, and the county guards are difficult to contain them. They should be a danger to Hebei!"
"Exactly!"
Cao Cao paced in the hall and said: "Wuhuan in Daijun is unruly and unruly, and it is difficult for the governor sent by Gu to control him. Gu wants to send Qing out to control Daijun and supervise the army to attack the barbarians. I wonder why Pei Qing is acting like this?"
"No!"
Pei Qian pondered for a long time, raised his hand and admonished, and said: "Your Majesty, the Daijun is a mixed bunch of Han people, with a household registration of Yin people, and men and women who are good at shooting. If Wuhuan is forced to rebel, tens of thousands of people will be mobilized. Wuhuan Shanyu, since I know that if I have been unruly for a long time, I have displeased the king, and my heart is filled with fear and uneasiness."
"Now that I see a soldier going out for an expedition, he will be afraid and occupy the territory. He will send out his frontier cavalry to fight, and secretly communicate with the Xianbei bandits. If he cannot win with a small number of soldiers, it will increase the enemy's morale. If he has more soldiers, he will be able to defeat them, but it will make the Daijun exhausted. Use stealth. If you want to see something, you should use strategy to plan it, rather than force it with force."
"A plan?"
Cao Cao frowned slightly and thought.
"Having gained the power of the king's troops, he beheaded Tadun at Bailang Mountain, and the tribes of Wuhuan have been surrendered for many years. Wuhuan, the prefecture of this generation, has never rebelled with his troops. It can be seen that the Shanyus of the tribes are still afraid. Now we use strategies to plan it and slowly control it. , it’s not impossible!” Pei Qian said.
"Since you have a strategy, do you dare to take up the post of governor of the county?" Cao Cao asked.
"I am willing to obey the king's edict!" Pei Qian knelt down and accepted the order, cupping his hands and saying.
"good!"
Seeing Pei Qian receiving the order, Cao Cao asked with a gentle tone. "Your appointment as the prefect of the county does not require soldiers and horses to conquer the Hu. I wonder if you can ask for anything else?"
"Your Majesty, a bicycle and two servants are enough!"
"color!"
Cao Cao laughed and applauded, and said: "You are so brave and brave, you should be a man. I am alone in Yecheng, waiting for you to return from your meritorious service, and I will reward you for your merits."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
When Pei Qian bowed his hands, Yang Xiu entered the hall excitedly, walked to Cao Cao's ear, and muttered a few words. But Cao Cao glanced at Yang Xiu with a suspicious look on his face.
Waving his hand to signal Pei Qian to retreat, Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is what Dezu said true?"
Yang Xiu was quite confident and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, Xiu dare not tell lies. Chaoge ordered Wu Zhi to secretly communicate with the second son. He left his post without authorization many times and sneaked into Yecheng to plan for the second son. Yesterday, Wu Zhi hid in the bamboo. Cover it with silk, carry it in a cart and sneak it into the house."
"Today, Wu Zhi repeated his old tricks and hid them in a bamboo sash and carried them into the palace in a cart. Xiu saw it with his own eyes and came here to report it to the king. The king sent his trusted sergeants to intercept the vehicle and search it carefully, and he will certainly be able to capture Wu Zhi. "
"Your Majesty, Master Yang is the only one who speaks about this matter. If we can easily search the Second Young Master's vehicle, it would be good if we capture Wu Zhi. If nothing is found, it may alienate the Second Young Master from your Majesty and ruin the relationship between father and son."
Sun Quan's face suddenly became nervous, and he spoke to Cao Cao, saying, "I hope your Majesty will think again!"
"Um?"
Cao Cao glanced at Sun Quan, and he felt more and more suspicious that there was something fishy going on.
Seeing Sun Quan's reaction, Yang Xiu seized the opportunity and said, "How dare Xiu harm the relationship between father and son? What Wu Zhi did violated the laws and regulations set by the king, so Xiu has no choice but to report him."
Cao Cao looked murderous and shouted: "Where is Zhong Kang?"
"The general is here!"
"Lead Hu Benwei out of the palace, stop all the vehicles sent to Zihuan's house, and check carefully to see if Wu Zhi is hiding among them. At the same time, he ordered the palace gate attendants to temporarily block the city gate and not allow the palace people to leave the palace to avoid leaking the news. ."
"promise!"
Xu Chu's face straightened slightly and he backed away.
Yang Xiu stroked his beard and looked at Sun Quan deliberately. Seeing that he looked nervous and restless, the corners of his mouth could not help but raise, and he felt quite proud in his heart.
"Zhongmou!"
Cao Cao sat on the couch and called Sun Quan's name. Seeing that Sun Quan was absent-minded, he said dissatisfiedly: "I heard from my servant Gu Chang that you and Zi Huan have a close relationship. Is this possible?"
Sun Quan lowered his head, cupped his hands and said, "I dare not deceive the king. It is true. Quan was born in Jiangdong and was humiliated by Liu Biao. Fortunately, he was rescued and promoted by the king, and he is able to achieve the glory he has today."
"The second young master is a virtuous and respectful man. Quan entered China. When he first arrived in Yecheng, he had no place to establish himself. Only with the help of the second young master could he have a house to live. As he lived in Yecheng for a long time, Quan not only gradually developed friendship with the second young master, but also with the third and fourth young masters. The young master also interacts with each other.”
"Quan gave the second young master a candy bar, the third young master an original copy of the ancient book, and the fourth young master a sword of Chu. However, Quan never had any other intentions. He only treated him with a sincere heart. I hope your Majesty will see clearly!"
Cao Cao looked at Sun Quan who looked respectful and saw that what he said was true and he had mentioned these things in the past. He relaxed and said: "Zhong Mou, don't let me down!" "
"Don't dare!" Sun Quan replied.
Sun Quan stood beside Cao Cao, looking mockingly at Yang Xiu who was not far away.
Seeing this, Yang Xiu, who was full of confidence, suddenly became panicked for some reason.
Time passed bit by bit. Compared to Sun Quan's calmness, Yang Xiu became more and more nervous and raised his head to look outside the palace.
An hour later, under Yang Xiu's expectant gaze, Xu Chu walked into the hall wearing armor.
Cao Cao held the brush, raised his head and asked, "Zhongkang, is there any trace of Wu Zhi?"
Xu Chu saluted Cao Cao and said, "Your Majesty, I have led my sergeants to search the vehicles entering and exiting, but only silk and bamboo belts were found, but Wu Chaoge was not found."
"this!"
Yang Xiu's expression changed greatly. He walked down the stairs and asked, "General Xu, can you carefully check the people transporting them? Or is there a small number of silk horses?"
Xu Chu shook his head and said: "A certain sergeant has repeatedly checked and found that the number of silk pieces is consistent with the size of the bamboo hairpins, and there is nothing abnormal. As for the people escorted, Chu also ordered people to torture them severely, and all the things sent were silk pieces. "
"how so?"
Yang Xiu looked shocked and could no longer understand.
After thinking about the flaw, Yang Xiu seemed to come to his senses and looked at Sun Quan, who was sneering at him, and fell into shock.
"How to explain this?"
Cao Cao looked unhappy, threw the brush in his hand on the desk, and asked: "You have sworn that Wu Zhi was secretly communicating with Zihuan, and often hid silk carriages in the house. Now that the search has yielded no results, how should you explain it?"
Yang Xiu looked horrified and knelt down to worship him. He didn't know how to respond and completely lost his usual quick responses.
After a while, Yang Xiufang regained some composure and said, "Your Majesty, there may be a mystery in this, which needs to be investigated carefully. Now I am sending someone to Chaoge to torture the county officials, and we may be able to find traces of Wu Zhi."
Cao Cao sneered a few times and said, "What if we can't detect it?"
"This~"
Yang Xiu wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Sima Yi.
Sima Yi glanced at Yang Xiu who was kneeling on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, it is already known to everyone that General Xu is leading his troops to search for Wu Zhi. If someone is sent to investigate Wu Chaoge's traces, Yi is afraid that foreign ministers will be uneasy, or perhaps There are voices of criticism.”
"After all, it is unconvincing to torture your subordinates based on only one side of the story. If this is done, rumors will spread. I hope the king will take Emperor Xiaowu as a lesson and not allow outsiders to express the love between father and son."
What does Sima Yi mean by "taking Emperor Xiaowu as a lesson"?
That is, the witchcraft rebellion caused by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in his later years, which led to the murder of the prince, chaos in Chang'an, and rivers of blood. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty woke up, he massacred the ministers who had framed the prince, causing turmoil in the court.
Cao Cao looked around at the people in the hall and saw Xu Chu holding a scarf in his hand, but he stopped talking.
"Zhongkang, are there any other abnormalities?" Cao Cao asked.
"have!"
Xu Chu presented the scarf and said: "For your information, Your Majesty, when I led my sergeants to inspect the vehicle, I said that the servant of Master Yang had surrendered. What he said is all on the scarf. I have imprisoned him in prison. Please wait for your Majesty’s disposal.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Yang Xiu, who was kneeling on the ground, looked frightened and confused. The situation was now out of his control.
"Um?"
After reading the servant's confession, Cao Cao couldn't help but widen his eyes, and looked at Yang Xiu coldly and said: "Yang Xiu, it is a good method to teach your son Jian to answer military and political questions!"
"this?"
Hearing this, Yang Xiu looked up at Cao Cao with a horrified look on his face, and cold sweat broke out on his head.
Seeing Yang Xiu's reaction, Cao Cao knew that this was true!
Cao Cao raised the scarf in his hand and said in a cold voice: "Zi Huan and Zijian are both orphans. You framed Zi Huan out of thin air, but you offered your words to Zijian. How should you explain this trivial matter?"
"Your Majesty~"
Yang Xiu hesitated for a moment and then cried out: "My servant did offer me advice for Prince Jian, but to frame Prince Huan, Xiu Duan didn't dare to do anything!"
Seeing Yang Xiu defending himself like this, Sun Quan almost laughed. In fact, Cao Cao was mostly doubtful about the contents of the servant's confession. He just wanted to deceive Yang Xiu, but Yang Xiu was so frightened that he exposed the truth.
"snort!"
Cao Cao handed the towel to his attendants and said, "Come here, take Yang Xiu to prison and keep him under strict supervision."
"promise!"
(End of chapter)
