Although the eighteen princes threatened to raise troops to resist Yuan Shao, most of them were just talking about it. Only Cao Cao, Bao Xin, Sun Jian, and Gongsun Zan really wanted to resist Yuan Shao.
However, they were alone and unable to achieve success, so the issue of raising troops was delayed again and again.
Until the spring of the third year of Zhaoning, the idea of the heroes raising an army was still far away - their reasons for raising an army were too far-fetched.
Even though Yuan Shao led his troops into the palace for his disobedient act, strictly speaking, it was actually to kill the eunuchs, so it can be considered excusable.
In addition, Yuan Shao never dethroned the emperor, never killed ministers indiscriminately, never made a fuss, and still respected Liu Zhu as the emperor. In terms of justice, he could still stand firm.
As for the scheming and insidious plotting against everyone behind the scenes, it can only be regarded as a loss of personal ethics and does not give the heroes a reason to rebel.
However, the heroes still clamored every day to raise troops to clear the emperor's side.
Under the advice of his uncle Yuan Wei, Yuan Shao quickly understood the meaning of these Guandong heroes, and used them to seek officials and power in order to obtain a higher degree of autonomy.
So Yuan Shao took appeasement measures, sent groups of envoys to various places, and granted corresponding marquis titles and rewards to all those who caused trouble.
The heroes of Guandong quickly calmed down and no longer clamored for rebellion.
After this incident, the prestige of the imperial court was greatly damaged, and the governors of various places, Zhou Mu, supported their own troops. The imperial court represented by Yuan Shao only maintained its control over the areas around Sili, and the Han Dynasty almost existed in name only.
Yuan Shao's first fight with the heroes of the world ended in a draw.
But everyone who understands Cao Cao's character knows that Cao Cao will never give up, and the next battle will not last long.
The changing situation inside and outside the court will not affect Ma Su's daily life for the time being.
After the weather warmed up, he took his sister Cai Yan to the Luhun Mountain area in the middle reaches of the Yin River.
Because of his military exploits in pacifying the northwest, he was named Lu Hun Ling and Longmen Pavilion Marquis. He had to go to Lu Hun County, 150 miles southwest of Luoyang, in the middle reaches of the Yin River to take office.
Luhun County is relatively large, and its territory is dominated by hills. The plains are mostly distributed in the open areas on both sides of the Yin River. Its jurisdiction covers most of the later Yinchuan County and Song County, with a population of about 300,000.
As soon as Ma Su took office, he implemented a number of drastic policies, easing taxes and reducing corvee labor, encouraging people to generate income and do business. He also used the money he had previously obtained from the Cao family to build a large city on the plain below the Luhun Reservoir. He also ordered
Zhu Heng recruited soldiers to fight against banditry.
Of course, there was no reservoir in the Luhun area at this time. The area where the reservoir was located was a deep and wide ditch that extended further.
After starting one county, Ma Su was already very satisfied.
In this life, he doesn't want to fight for hegemony in the world, nor does he want to get involved in right and wrong. He just wants to find a stable place to live in troubled times and live an ordinary and real life.
It just so happens that Luhun County has a special "C" shaped landform. The C-shaped exit happens to face Luoyang in the northeast, so this place presents a semi-isolated state, which just meets everything he wants.
Require.
It is somewhat similar to Zhongnan Mountain outside Chang'an City. Although it is quite close to Kyoto, it is quite far from the temple.
However, things often do not change according to human will.
…
On this day, Cao Cao came.
Ever since he surrendered to Lu in Guanzhong, Ma Su's cool and aggressive tactics left an indelible impression on Cao Cao. From then on, he never dared to look down on this nine-year-old child again.
After the failure of the army, although Cao Cao relied on the relationship between the great hero and the Cao family and did not suffer any retaliation, it was equivalent to a showdown with Yuan Shao.
Cao Cao was a man who was wary of danger in times of peace. He knew that someone like Yuan Shao, who was determined to retaliate, would never let him go. Therefore, he was always vigilant and cautious in everything he did, lest he might arouse Yuan Shao's wrath and be retaliated against.
Yuan Shao not only held the emperor in his hands and held great righteousness, but also had 200,000 troops and horses in his hands... In addition, Luoyang was adjacent to Yanzhou, so a quick horse could reach it in a day or two.
Such a close distance and such a powerful opponent really made Cao Cao feel uncomfortable and could not sleep at night.
He urgently needs to reverse the current unfavorable situation.
But he thought about it and couldn't think of a way to fight Yuan Shao, so he rushed all the way from Yanzhou to Luhun County Yamen to ask Ma Su for advice.
"Youchang, help me!"
As soon as they met, Cao Cao got straight to the point and told what he wanted.
"How do you want me to help you..." Ma Su looked at the anxious Cao Cao, smiled slightly, and sat back on the main seat in the county government hall, "Do you want a civil fight or a physical fight?"
"What do you say Wen Dou? What do you say Wu Dou?"
Cao Cao hesitated for a moment, but decided to ask clearly before speaking. However, Ma Di noticed that when he mentioned "fighting", his eyes suddenly became extremely sharp.
Ma Su nodded, wrote four words on the eucalyptus table, took it in his hand, and walked to Cao Cao, "Wen Dou is to praise Yuan Shao to death. He first secretly spread the news that Yuan Shao had deposed the emperor and usurped the throne.
In order to confuse his mind, and then ask people to come forward and ask him to be crowned a prince, in order to confuse his ambition. If this happens over time, he will definitely do something disobedient, causing all the princes in the world to attack him!"
"As for fighting..."
"I think these four words should be enough."
Cao Cao took the copybook from Ma Su's hand and looked at it. He was horrified. He quickly raised his head and looked at the nine-year-old child's face in shock. A flash of lightning seemed to flash through his heart.
The four characters on the copybook are [Chen Liu Wang Xie].
Cao Cao understood what Ma Su meant in an instant, and thought about it a lot. With these four words, all difficult problems can be easily solved.
Yes, Yuan Shao holds the emperor's crown and holds great righteousness, but if the emperor suddenly dies...
Then the only person in the world who is qualified to inherit the throne is the smart and studious Chen Liuwang Xie.
Cao Cao, who was originally feeling melancholy, suddenly became enlightened after receiving these four words. He reached out and patted Ma Su on the shoulder, laughing and saying: "I am so lucky to have a friend like Youchang...
…”
"Haha, it's been my misfortune to have a friend like you..." Ma Di cooed in a low voice.
Cao Cao didn't seem to hear this, or maybe he was in a good mood and didn't care if he heard it. He suggested, "Youchang, would you like to come to Yanzhou to help me?"
"I don't want to."
"Why."
Ma Su shook his head and did not answer the question. Instead, he put on a sanctimonious and sage posture, shook his sleeves, and said proudly: "Cao Cao, it's time for you to go."
Cao Cao nodded and found a step for himself: "That's right. You are still young. It's not too late to talk about this later."
However, looking at Ma Di, who was only nine years old but was playing music like a master, Cao Cao suddenly couldn't help but want to stimulate him and see what he was like when he was panicked.
So, he changed his voice and said calmly: "Youchang, I plan to propose marriage to Duke Cai and ask him to betroth Cai Yan to me..."
"you dare?!"
As soon as he said these words, Ma Su was immediately furious. He raised his hand to take the sword hanging on the wall, pulled it out with a clang, pointed it at Cao Cao, and glared angrily.
As long as the latter dared to continue talking about this topic, Ma Su felt that he had to stab him to the core with a sword.
Cao Cao's expression did not change at first, but after a while, he looked up to the sky and laughed, and walked out quickly.
