After Zhou Pingxing sat down with courtesy, Yuan Shao asked.
"Exactly, thanks to the sacrifice of my bodyguards, I was able to come here to pay homage to the general." Zhou Ping replied.
"Yuan Hao, can you find out who assigned the assassin?" Yuan Shao asked Tian Feng.
Tian Feng cupped his hands and responded: "It has not been found out yet, there are no survivors, and no one has seen the three dead people. This matter still needs to be investigated carefully. I have spread the word, saying that one person is still alive and is being tortured, and in the surrounding city
We have stepped up surveillance at the door. If anyone escapes Yecheng at this time, he will be suspicious. However... Zhou Wen'an arrived in Yecheng yesterday, and I heard that only Guang Luxun knows about it."
Guo Tu was furious, pointed at Tian Feng and shouted: "Tian Yuanhao, do you mean to say that the assassin was sent by me?"
"Don't argue, don't argue!" Yuan Shao quickly stopped the two of them, "The Emperor is in Ye, and this matter must be investigated as soon as possible. Wen'an, do you know who sent the assassin?"
Zhou Ping cupped his hands and said: "General, I did send someone to find Guang Luxun yesterday. I wanted to ask him to inform the general on my behalf and let me meet with the general. However, the assassin was definitely not sent by Guang Luxun.
."
After hearing Zhou Ping's words, Guo Tu couldn't help but cast a grateful look. At least Zhou Ping helped him clear away the suspicion.
"Oh, does anyone else know that you have arrived in Yecheng?" Yuan Shao asked.
"Yes, Cao Cao."
Yuan Shao couldn't help but laugh, and everyone laughed too.
"If you break out of the city, of course Cao Cao knows you are coming to Yecheng."
"There are many people who know that I have come to Yecheng, but Cao Cao is the only one who knows that I want to present treasures to the general on behalf of Liu Xuzhou." Zhou Ping said.
When Yuan Shao heard that Liu Bei had a treasure to present, he just smiled slightly. He had never seen any treasures from a family like him.
"What kind of treasure is it?" Yuan Shao asked calmly.
Others didn't take it seriously either. The treasures Liu Bei could give were nothing more than rare items of gold and jade.
"The Imperial Seal!"
"What? Are you talking about the Imperial Seal?!"
Yuan Shao stretched his body upward, as if he wanted to stand up, but stopped halfway.
Everyone else also looked shocked at this time.
"Yes, it is the Jade Seal of Chuan Guo. When Dong Zhuo was in trouble in Luoyang, Sun Wentai led his troops into Luoyang and fished the Jade Seal of Chuan Guo from the well. After Sun Wentai died, the Jade Seal of Chuan Guo was obtained by Yuan Jiujiu. The right general defeated Yuan Jiujiu in Wancheng.
I got this thing by chance. When I got this thing, General You once said that the general assists the emperor to stabilize the world, and he should give this thing to the general to present it to the emperor. Unexpectedly, Cao Cao misled the general and raised his troops to attack Xuzhou."
"The right general is loyal to the emperor, fights against the rebels, annihilates Sun Ce, and repels Yuan Shu. These are the actions of the general to help stabilize the world. Cao Cao is afraid that the world will not be in chaos, and he likes to take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble, so he urges the general to raise his troops.
Attack Xu. Cao Cao has arranged for spies to be by the right general's side. Cao Cao has already known about the fact that the right general accidentally passed on the national jade seal."
"So after I broke out of the city from Xiapi and passed through Yanzhou, they had set up checkpoints on all the roads in Yanzhou, just to prevent me from taking the jade seal to Yecheng. I broke through the checkpoints twice in Dongping State, experienced many dangers, and almost died
, to bring this thing to Yecheng. Unexpectedly, he was assassinated by an assassin again last night. It is clear who sent the assassin. Cao Cao tried his best to seize the jade seal, and the general will know for sure what his intentions are!"
Zhou Ping spoke eloquently, and after speaking, he took out the box he had brought with him, walked to Yuan Shao holding it in both hands, and carefully placed it on the case.
Yuan Shao had heard about Sun Jian getting the imperial seal in Luoyang, and of course he believed that Yuan Shu had obtained the imperial seal from Sun Jian.
Now that Liu Bei has defeated Yuan Shu, it is of course reasonable for him to obtain the imperial seal.
Looking at the box on the table in front of him, Yuan Shao felt quite excited.
He glanced at the people below and saw that everyone was looking at him nervously. They were also looking at the box on the case, expecting to see what was in the box.
Yuan Shao stretched out his hands and gently opened the box, revealing a jade seal.
Others may not know the product, but it is impossible for Yuan Shao not to know it.
His eyes widened, he carefully took out the jade seal and looked at it carefully.
Seeing the characters "Ordered by Heaven, Longevity and Longevity" on the jade seal, and the five dragons making new connections, Yuan Shao knew that this was indeed the jade seal passed down to the country.
Guo Tu, Feng Ji Xu You and others craned their necks to look at it. Although it was not a close look and they could not see clearly, they could tell from Yuan Shao's expression that this was indeed the imperial seal.
"Cao Cao knows that Liu Xuande got this thing?"
Yuan Shao looked at the jade seal carefully for a long time before putting it in the box and asked Zhou Ping.
Zhou Ping replied: "Of course he knows. He also knows that I came to Ye this time to hand over the jade seal to the general to present to the emperor, so he tried every means to intercept and snatch it."
Yuan Shao was silent. If this matter is true as Zhou Wen'an said, then what is Cao Cao thinking... He only advised me to send troops, but did not mention the passing of the national jade seal at all. What is he trying to do?
"General, according to the reports from the soldiers who came back from Xiapi, many checkpoints have indeed been set up on various roads in Yanzhou. Each checkpoint is guarded by hundreds of soldiers. Some checkpoints on the road passing Jiyin are even guarded by thousands of soldiers. It seems that they are specially designed to
Check the people coming from Xuzhou to Ye."
Feng Ji remembered this and said quickly.
This is truly a divine assist.
Zhou Ping was secretly happy and continued: "General, Cao Cao must have a grudge against the emperor's move to Ye. He wants to get rid of the right general first and seize Xuzhou, so that he can have nothing to worry about, and then he plans to attack Jizhou and dominate it."
In the world, let the Han people stand on their own feet!"
Yuan Shao just listened quietly without speaking, and neither did anyone else.
Zhou Ping knew that although they were silent, their hearts were not at peace and they were all thinking separately.
They were silent, but Zhou Ping could not stop and continued: "General, Cao Cao is more evil than Dong Zhuo. The people of Xuzhou have been massacred several times. This time they went to Xuzhou with the imperial troops.
The people of Pengcheng were massacred. How will the world comment? They will only say that the imperial soldiers killed the people indiscriminately and showed no mercy to the people. Cao Cao deliberately ruined the reputation of the imperial court!"
"Also, in one year, Cao Cao was able to gather 50,000 or 60,000 troops in an instant. Is this a temporary number? Cao Cao must have been planning for a long time. And why did he plan to gather troops? He didn't just want to
Are you plotting to take control of the world by attacking Xu and destroying Ji? The general treated him kindly, pardoned his life, and still gained Yanzhou, but he repaid his favor with hatred and harbored evil intentions. General, unless Cao Cao is eliminated, the world will be in trouble!"
Zhou Ping said it while Yuan Shao thought about it.
Yuan Shao thought a lot and felt that Zhou Ping was right.
Cao Cao had previously reduced his troops to 20,000, but in the blink of an eye he had 50,000 or 60,000 troops. This would have been impossible if he had not been prepared on a daily basis.
These are 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers and horses, not 50,000 or 60,000 men. They are all capable warriors.
They also massacred the people of Pengcheng.
When Cao Cao first attacked Xuzhou, he massacred the city. Although he sent Zhu Ling to lead troops to help him, at that time Cao Cao was the leader and he only helped.
It's different now. Now the main force is his own soldiers and horses, and Cao Cao is the auxiliary. They are the imperial soldiers and horses in name. While Cao Cao massacres the city, he is the one responsible for the massacre of the people.
There was also the matter of passing on the imperial seal. Cao Cao was far-sighted. No wonder he wanted to attack Xuzhou so urgently. It turned out to be to get rid of Liu Bei so that he could concentrate on himself.
However, is Cao Cao really that kind of person? Would he really treat himself like this?
Yuan Shao had doubts again.
Based on his understanding of Cao Cao, if he knew that Liu Bei had obtained the imperial seal and persuaded him to send troops to attack Xuzhou, he would have told him.
Even if he wanted to seize it privately, he sent 50,000 soldiers and horses to go with him. If Liu Bei was captured and the jade seal was obtained, he would definitely know how he could hide it privately.
Especially for assassins, since Cao Cao has set up interceptors all over Yanzhou, if he wants to assassinate Zhou Ping and seize the jade seal, he should do it on the road. How could he wait until Yecheng to do it.
Well, what Zhou Ping said is not so credible.
Yuan Shao thought a lot, and others were thinking the same.
At this time, no one dared to speak for Cao Cao, but no one advised Yuan Shao to deal with Cao Cao.
These people all understand that it is easy to destroy Cao Cao now, but once Cao Cao is destroyed, Liu Bei's power will definitely increase greatly, and it will be difficult to control him in the future.
Keep Cao Cao and keep an eye on Xuzhou, at least not let Liu Bei develop so fast.
Zhou Ping felt a little anxious and said again: "General, what are you still hesitating about? Cao Cao's troops are all at Xiapi at this time. The general can order General Ju and General You to join forces with Zhang Xiu's troops to destroy Cao Cao."
.At the same time, you can let Chun Yu, the prefect, lead the troops of Dongjun, march directly to Jiyin, and seize Yanzhou. Then you can make General Ju or Chun Yu, the prefect, take charge of Yanzhou. In this way, Ye City will no longer be threatened, and the world will be at peace!"
Chunyu Qiong was a native of Yingchuan, Yuzhou. Among Yuan Shao's people, those who were more suitable to be the governor of Yanzhou were mainly Jushou and Chunyu Qiong.
At this time, Guo Tu's eyes lit up, and he felt that the position of governor of Yanzhou must not be taken away by people from Jizhou, and should be held by people from Yingchuan.
"General, I think what Zhou Wen'an said is very true. Cao Cao has had different intentions and has been preparing a conspiracy for a long time. Now that his troops are going to Xiapi, it is the opportunity for General Ju and General Liu You to join forces to destroy him. At the same time, Chunyu Zhongjian is ordered to lead
Attack Jiyin with troops and appoint Zhongjian as the governor of Yanzhou. In this way, the city of Ye can be as secure as a mountain and no one can attack it!"
Xin Ping followed up and said, "That's what I mean too."
Feng Ji and Xu You also nodded, expressing their agreement with Guo Tu's proposal.
Tian Feng was the only one who remained silent. Logically speaking, if Ju Shou had defeated Cao Cao, he would be the governor of Yanzhou and he would be the one to take the post.
Yuan Shao raised his head to inspect everyone, and was about to speak when a man hurried in. He was an official from the Prefect's Mansion.
The visitor saluted Yuan Shao, then saluted Tian Feng, and said urgently: "General, Lord Tianfu, Cao Ang has left the city."
Tian Feng asked hurriedly: "But Cao Ang, Cao Yanzhou's son?"
"Exactly, he was stopped at the city gate and they were not allowed to leave the city. He was followed by twenty or thirty people. He suddenly drew his sword and killed the soldiers at the city gate, then rushed out of the city and ran away."
Zhou Ping was overjoyed again and said anxiously: "General, the assassin must have been sent by Cao Ang. Now that he has seen what happened, he wants to escape, and Cao Ang must have ordered Cao Ang to act. General, make a decision immediately, otherwise Cao Cao will strike first."
, I regret it so much!”
Cao Ang stayed in Yecheng as a hostage and could not leave Yecheng without Yuan Shao's permission.
Now that he has escaped from the city, you don't need to think about it to know what Cao Cao is worried about.
Yuan Shao no longer thought about it, stood up angrily, and said sternly: "Quickly order Jushu, Yan Liang, and Zhang Xiu to join forces with Liu Xuande to destroy Cao Cao. Order Chunyu Qiong to lead the army to capture Jiyin, and Zhang He to lead 10,000 soldiers
Help.”
"Also, when chasing Cao Ang, we can't let him escape." Yuan Shao added.
Everyone stood up quickly and agreed in unison.
Yuan Shao sat down and saw the box containing the imperial seal on the case. He calmed down a little, then looked at Zhou Ping and said: "Wen An, Liu Xuande's loyalty is known to me, and I will be rewarded heavily!"
"Thank you, General!"
Zhou Ping left the general's palace and sent people to rush back to Xiapi to inform Liu Bei of what happened in Yecheng and asked Liu Bei to prepare to join forces with Jushu to attack Cao Cao.
He also gave special instructions that the city was still tightly surrounded on all sides and that the city could be entered from the south.
If Jushu had received Yuan Shao's military orders, he would have let him enter the city.
Zhou Ping stayed in Yecheng for a few days. In addition to visiting Guo Tu's mansion, he also visited Tai Fu Yang Biao, Shao Fu Kong Rong, and Shangshu Ling Xun Yu.
When he told them about his visit to Ye, the main point was that he brought the imperial seal and gave it to Yuan Shao.
Xun Yu was originally prepared to refuse to see Zhou Ping, but Zhou Ping brought Kong Rong with him, so he had no choice but to accept him.
Regarding Cao Cao's conspiracy, Xun Yu understood that Cao Cao could not be willing to be subordinate to others. It might not be what Zhou Ping said, but it would be similar.
He is now staying in Yecheng, and Yuan Shao treats him very politely. His current choice is not to help each other, but to only think about the emperor and the court.
Five days later, Zhou Ping, Zhang Fei, Xu Chu and others returned the same way.
He had already been to Yecheng, and it was impossible for Cheng Yu to set up another checkpoint for inspection. There was no need for that.
Moreover, Cheng Yu may have learned that Yuan Shao issued a military order, and he should be preparing troops to defend the city to resist the enemy. How could he still have the energy to intercept him.
Outside Xiapi City, in Jushu Camp.
Jushou was a little shocked after receiving Yuan Shao's military order.
He hurriedly sent for Yan Liang, together with Wen Chou, and the three of them discussed countermeasures together.
"The general asked us to join forces with Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei to destroy Cao Cao. We will just act as ordered."
Yan Liang didn't think too much. He would do whatever Yuan Shao said.
"Since Liu Bei wanted to go out of the city to Yecheng to present the jade seal to the general, he could have just said no. Why did he have to repeatedly attack the camp and forcefully break through?"
Jushou always felt that there was something suspicious about it.
Wen Chou said: "If he had said so, we would not have let them go. We would have asked them to hand over the jade seal and we would hand it over to the general."
Jushou nodded, feeling that he had thought too little.
But I always feel that something is not right, but I can't put it into words.
"Since it is the general's order, we have no choice but to follow it and invite Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu to discuss it together. This must be done quickly, otherwise Cao Cao will be on guard when he gets the news, and it will not be easy to attack him again."
Jushu wrote a letter with his own hand and sent someone to call the gate of the city. He wanted to enter the city and deliver it to Liu Bei personally. He also sent someone to invite Zhang Xiu to discuss the matter with him.
Liu Bei received the envoy, read the letter, and his expression changed.
Guan Yu, Mi Zhu, Zhuge Jin and others didn't know what was going on. They just felt that Liu Bei was surprised and happy.
After Liu Bei told the story, everyone understood why Liu Bei was so surprised.
"Lord, is this credible? Could it be that Cao Cao and Ju Shou conspired to deliberately lure us out of the city?" Zhuge Jin asked.
At this time, the person sent by Zhou Ping to report the news had not arrived yet.
Liu Bei and everyone also calmed down. After thinking about it carefully, it was really possible.
Cao Cao couldn't attack Xiapi, so it was very possible that he came up with such a plan.
Liu Bei thought for a while and said: "Zhuge Zhizhong, you go out of the city to see General Ju and check out the situation. If this is really the case, sir, you will send someone back to report it. Only with your letter can this matter be believed."
."
"promise."
Zhuge Jin agreed and prepared to leave the city to meet Jushu.
