In the prefect's mansion, Cao Cao was sitting in the middle, looking around at the generals standing below, and said loudly: "This trip to Qingzhou, you all have worked hard and made great achievements, especially Liu Xuande, who convinced most of the counties in Qingzhou with just one word.
The surrender of the county is really the first achievement of the trip to Qingzhou, I wonder what kind of reward you want?"
Liu Bei stood there expressionless, with Guan Yu behind him and Zhang Fei standing on either side. He took a step forward, cupped his fists and said, "Bei doesn't dare to have any extravagant expectations. Everything is decided by the Marquis!"
Cao Cao said: "Oh, if that's the case, then let's do this. You will temporarily take over the post of General Zuo. After I return to Changyi, I will write to the emperor and send someone to Chang'an with a memorial to guarantee that you will be General Zuo. Yuzhou
Mu, what do you think?"
"Yuzhou...Yuzhou Mu? Hasn't Yuzhou been occupied by Yuan Shu?" Liu Bei said in surprise.
Cao Cao chuckled and said: "Yes, although Yuzhou was occupied by Yuan Shu, it will soon become my territory. Yuan Shu is just a withered bone in the tomb. Although he has many soldiers and generals, he has few capable people. Sooner or later, I will
Captured him. Therefore, I first ask you to be the shepherd of Yuzhou. In addition, I hope you can go to Xiapi in Xuzhou to be the governor. I wonder if you are willing?"
Liu Bei secretly thought: "What is Cao Cao's idea? He wants me to be the general of the left and the shepherd of Yuzhou, but he wants me to be the prefect of Xiapi in Xuzhou?"
He couldn't figure out what the purpose of this was, but he still agreed and said, "Since it is the intention of the Marquis, Liu Bei would rather obey the order respectfully. I don't know when to set off?"
Cao Cao said: "Let's set off now and take your men to Xiapi to take office. I will send someone to give you the seal and ribbon."
Liu Bei said: "No, then Liu Bei will say goodbye!"
Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Well, go ahead."
Liu Bei turned around and left the hall, taking Guan Yu and Zhang Fei with him and strode out.
When Cao Cao saw Liu Bei leaving, his amiable expression immediately changed to something ferocious, and he said loudly: "Cao Hong, quickly assemble the tiger and leopard cavalry, take a small road first, and rush to Xiapi. Together with the Xiapi prefect's chariot and armor, wait for Liu Bei and others to arrive.
When we get to Xiapi, kill him immediately!"
Xi Zhicai hurriedly stood up and dissuaded him: "No! My lord, you must not do it!"
Cao Cao said: "Why?"
Xi Zhicai said: "Liu Bei's sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are both enemies of ten thousand people, and Liu Bei has taken refuge with the lord now. If the lord kills him indiscriminately, no one with lofty ideals in the world will dare to take refuge with him in the future."
Lord?"
"If Big Ear doesn't die, it will definitely become a disaster. Gao Fei didn't kill him, I will definitely kill him!" Cao Cao said bitterly.
Xi Zhicai said: "It is not difficult to kill Liu Bei. Now Yuan Shu is directing his troops to Huainan and is competing with Sun Jian for the land of Huainan. My lord and Sun Jian have a close relationship. It would be better to send troops to help. Appoint Liu Bei as a general and give him one or two thousand old and weak soldiers."
, let him support Sun Jian and Yuan Shu as enemies. In this way, the lord can use his sword to kill people."
Yu Jin cupped his fists and said, "What the military advisor said makes sense. Yuan Shu has many generals, money and food, and he also has Ji Ling, Zhang Xun and other generals under his command. How can he resist Liu Bei's one or two thousand remnant soldiers? Ji Ling and Zhang Xun."
, even if he returns in defeat and is not killed by Yuan Shu's soldiers, the lord can still use military law to deal with him. In this way, killing Liu Bei will be justifiable."
Li Dian said: "My subordinates also think this method is feasible!"
Cao Cao thought for a while and said: "Okay, let's use this strategy. Cao Hong, you lead a hundred tiger and leopard cavalry to Xiapi first, take over all the troops in Xiapi, and let the chariot captains secretly select some old and weak soldiers."
Cao Hong clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, my lord, I will definitely kill the big-eared thief. I will take my leave now!"
After finishing his words, Cao Hong turned around and left with a hint of excitement on his face.
Cao Cao immediately ordered: "Qingzhou has just been conquered, and there are many wastes waiting to be done. Someone is needed to guard this place... Yu Jin, as the governor of Qingzhou, you will station troops here and manage Qingzhou for me. When I return to Changyi, I will dispatch some officials.
I come to serve as your staff, so that you, the governor of Qingzhou, can do your job well."
Yu Jin saw that Cao Cao valued him so much, so he held his hand and said: "Yu Jin, thank you so much for the promotion, my lord. I will do my best to govern Qingzhou well."
Cao Cao laughed and said: "Xia Houyuan is in Xuzhou, and you are in Qingzhou. Qingzhou and Xuzhou were conquered by our army after untold hardships. You must manage them well. In the future, Qingzhou and Xuzhou may become the possessions of our Wei army."
The place of foundation.”
Xi Zhicai coughed twice, cupped his hands and said: "My lord, the most important thing right now is to quickly sign an alliance with Gao Fei. As long as the alliance is 10%, our army will have the opportunity to develop Qingzhou and Xuzhou. In this way, our army's
Only with enough food and grass can we have enough food.”
Cao Cao said "hmm" and said slowly: "I don't know where Dong Zhao has gone. He has been gone for so long and it's time to come back."
"Lord..." Dong Zhao stepped into the door from outside and shouted loudly.
Cao Cao laughed and said: "You came here so quickly, tell me quickly, what does Gao Fei mean?"
Dong Zhao paid homage to Cao Cao and said, "My lord, Gao Fei has agreed to make a covenant just as my lord expected, but the time and place are all decided by him..."
"Your Majesty, the Yan Army envoy is here." A soldier shouted, interrupting Dong Zhao's words.
Cao Cao said: "Well done, pass it quickly!"
After a while, a thin man came in, handed over a letter, and said loudly: "This is written by my lord, please read it to Marquis Wei."
After Cao Cao opened it and looked at it, he smiled and said: "Go back and tell your lord that Cao Cao will abide by what is written in the letter."
The Yan Army envoy slowly left, and there was silence in the hall.
Cao Cao took the letter and laughed loudly and said: "Gao Fei actually sent Xu You as the plenipotentiary representative to make the covenant. It is beyond my expectation. But that's fine. With Xu You coming forward, it will be much easier to make the covenant."
…”
"My lord——" He rushed in from outside with a face full of dust and fatigue, his face was exhausted, his body was covered with dust, and he shouted in a panic, "Something bad is going to happen..."
Cao Cao and everyone present turned their attention to Man Chong and asked hurriedly: "What happened?"
Man Chong was out of breath and said: "My lord, Lu Bu... Lu Bu crossed the Yellow River south, defeated the white horse first, and then passed through Chenliu towards Sili. I thought... I thought..."
"Speak slowly, don't be impatient!" Cao Cao said.
Man Chong took a breath and continued: "My subordinates believe that this is related to the imperial seal that disappeared two years ago, and Zhang Ji and Fan Chou of Ma Teng's army have also begun to march towards Luoyang."
After hearing this, Cao Cao burst into laughter and said: "It seems that Gao Fei wants to play with the princes again. The dispute over the jade seal two years ago caused Luoyang City to be burned down by fire, and now he wants to do the same trick again."
But... I, Cao Cao, will not be fooled like this."
When Man Chong saw that Cao Cao didn't believe it, he said, "My lord, don't you want a share of the pie? That's the jade seal passed down to the country!"
Cao Cao said: "The mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole is behind. If it is really to pass on the national jade seal, it is not unreasonable to send troops. However, our army cannot act rashly, at least not now. We can only wait and see what happens."
Xi Zhicai said: "My lord is wise! My subordinates think that they can spread the word about the imperial seal. I believe that several princes around Luoyang will go to snatch it. When they fight fiercely for the jade seal, our army will attack again, lord."
, attacking behind it, we will definitely achieve a lot of achievements. But the top priority is to make an alliance with Gao Fei. Once the alliance is formed, our army can develop with peace of mind. Raising money and food, and recruiting troops are more important than anything else."
Cao Cao nodded and said: "It's just a stone, there's nothing to argue about. This jade seal is a hot thing, and no one who takes it will end well. But I firmly believe that in the end, this jade seal will definitely fall into my hands."
!”
Xi Zhicai, Dong Zhao, Man Chong, Yu Jin, Li Dian, Yue Jin, Dian Wei and Xu Chu all bowed in unison: "My lord is wise!"
Cao Cao smiled and said: "Man Chong, since you have come all the way, I can't let you come in vain. You have been to Yan State once before and met Gao Fei. This time, I still want you to make a trip in person. First go to Pingyuan County and
Xu You under Gao Fei's tent negotiated and reached an agreement before signing the treaty."
Man Chong said: "I understand, but Yuan Shu is already getting ready to make a move. I don't know how my lord should deal with him?"
Cao Cao smiled and said: "Yuan Shu, Liu Biao and Sun Jian are not on good terms. They have been fighting each other for Huainan for almost half a year now. Although Liu Biao has been silent, I think he is also waiting for something. As long as the time is right, he will definitely
Send troops to attack
Yuan Shu. It just so happened that the Imperial Seal appeared this time. I believe Liu Biao will not sit idly by and ignore it. As long as his troops in Nanyang move, Yuan Shu will definitely attack behind them. With Liu Biao and Sun Jian restraining Yuan Shu for me, it should be done in a short time.
There won't be any danger."
"I understand..." Man Chong said.
Cao Cao said: "Okay, Qingzhou will be handed over to Yu Jin. The rest of the people will follow me back to Changyi. I want to wait and see the situation in Sili. If we encounter something that is beneficial to our army, we must attack."
"promise!"
…
Jizhou, Xindu City.
On the school ground, Gao Fei looked at Tai Shi Ci and Han Meng who were training soldiers, and his heart was filled with enthusiasm. One hundred thousand Zhao troops were in the hands of the two of them. After just a few days of training, they became a well-disciplined army.
He felt extremely pleased that he had joined the army.
During the break, Gao Fei's generals, Tai Shi Ci and Han Meng, called to his side and said with concern: "The weather is so hot. It's really hard on these two generals."
Taishi Ci and Han Meng clasped their fists together and said, "It's not hard."
Gao Fei smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to train lazy soldiers to become like this in just a few days. I really admire you."
Taishi Ci said: "My lord, these are soldiers of the Zhao army. They still know the system of the army, so they are easier to train than new recruits. My lord, I wonder when we will start a war against Lu Bu? I can't wait!"
Gao Fei smiled and said, "It's almost time. If we wait a few more days, the whole of Hebei will be in the possession of our army!"