Seeing Cao Cao's puzzled expression, Dong Zhao cleared his throat and immediately began to explain to him.
"Ming Gong, a census of the population of the Liang Kingdom does not mean anything. However, from ancient times to the present, when a general has captured a new land, the most common actions are either to massacre the city to reduce the burden, to protect the territory and the people, or to make good friends.
It can’t be said that there are no nobles who check people’s heads as soon as they come up, but I’m afraid there are very few that are as detailed as those made by pottery merchants.”
Cao Cao knew Dong Zhao's abilities very well, and knew that he would have a great talk next, so he listened quietly.
Dong Zhao continued: "Today's pottery merchants are sending people to have peace talks with Ming Gong, and at the same time they are eager to count the population of Liang State. Their deepest intention is to use the matter of negotiation to bargain with Ming Gong, and they
I took advantage of this time period to transfer the population of Liang State to Pei County, because he knew that Liang State was located between Shanyang County and Chenliu County. If Ming Gong wanted to go back more, he could send troops to take it back at any time, and
With the current strength of the Xuzhou Army, it is really not enough to defend the Liang Kingdom."
Cao Cao suddenly realized what he said.
He lightly patted his forehead with his hand and said: "Gongren is indeed the best person under Cao's command to figure out people's thoughts. He already knows the deep meaning of Tao Thief... That's right! Tao Shang sent Sun Qian here to use his talents.
He negotiated with Cao about the conditions and made some specious demands. It was clear that he was waiting for Cao to bargain with him so that he could take advantage of this opportunity to transfer Liang's people..."
Having said this, a strange smile appeared on Cao Cao's dark and thin face.
"The little thief of the pottery merchant is really cunning. He is just like Cao when he first met him. He likes to play with these little tricks."
Cheng Yu, who was standing aside, was a little surprised when he saw Cao Cao stating this with a smile and appearing unhurried.
He raised his hands and admonished Cao Cao: "Ming Gong, the pottery merchants moved people to expand the population of Xuzhou. Their ambitions are not small. How can Ming Gong still laugh out loud?"
Cao Cao just laughed when he heard this and did not answer.
Dong Zhao explained to Cheng Yu on behalf of Cao Cao: "Gong Zhongde, Tao Shang used Xiahou Miaocai as a cover to negotiate with the lord and relocate the population. Although it can be called a clever move, at this unusual time, he could not
Xunsi united with the generals of Xiliang from east to west to plan for Yanzhou, but he just stuck to this move to save his life. To put it bluntly, it proves that this person is not big and is definitely not a talent who wants to dominate the world. He is definitely no match for Yuan Shao of Hebei.
In comparison... To put it bluntly, I think he is somewhat similar to Liu Biao of Jingzhou. Although he has great talent, he has no ambition to conquer the world!"
When Cheng Yu heard this, he suddenly realized that he admired Dong Zhao's ability to kick someone.
A person like Dong Zhao would not become a military master, but he was definitely a political expert.
Cao Cao stood up and said slowly: "More importantly, if the pottery merchant really wants to move the population back to Pei County, then he must not have any ambitions for Yanzhou. In this way, Cao can do whatever he wants.
, to deal with the internal troubles in Yanzhou and the generals in Liangzhou to the west."
Dong Zhao cupped his hands and said: "Congratulations to Duke Ming. The internal troubles and the generals in Liangzhou will be eliminated. In time, the land in Guanzhong will also be under the jurisdiction of Duke Ming."
Cao Cao smiled and said: "However, we cannot make a premature decision at this time. Let us first send people to Yanjin Ferry to let Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren prepare their troops and horses, ready to quell the disaster in Yanzhou at any time. Cao will stay here and follow Tao
Shang continued the negotiation, firstly to confuse the little thief, and secondly, to take the opportunity to observe him carefully to see if it is really as we suspected."
…
The next day, Cao Cao immediately met with Sun Qian again.
This time, Cao Cao was obviously not as angry as the last time. He pretended to say to Sun Qian: "Your lord, Tao Shang, sent you to come over and state the terms of reconciliation to Cao. Cao thought about it for a long time and didn't want to agree. The hatred between fathers is irreconcilable. Even if my old father’s hatred may not be caused by Tao and his son, my old father’s fate was ultimately due to his death in Xuzhou. Tao and his son will ultimately be responsible for the failure of supervision... However, thinking about the turmoil of the current society and the thieves and bandits from all directions. For the sake of the stability of the country, Cao had no choice but to accept the potter's suggestion."
When Sun Qian heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then bowed deeply to Cao Cao: "Thank you so much, Mr. Cao, for understanding the righteousness so well. Mr. Cao is indeed a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. Having Mr. Cao in the court is really a blessing to the country."
Cao Cao slowly raised his hand and said slowly: "Don't rush to thank me, you haven't listened to Cao's conditions yet."
Sun Qian was stunned when he heard this.
"Conditions? Didn't Mr. Cao just agree to the conditions we proposed?"
Cao Cao smiled coldly and said: "You are quite capable of pretending to be stupid! Who said that Cao agreed to your nonsense? You go back and tell Tao Shang that if he wants Cao to stop fighting, he must do four things. "
Sun Qian's heart skipped a beat and he said, "Please let me know, Mr. Cao."
"The first thing is to send Miaocai Haosheng back to Cao. If Miaocai is missing a hair, Cao will poke him into the graves of the Tao family's third generation ancestors!"
Sun Qian replied: "Of course."
"The second thing is that Mr. Tao and his son must personally open an altar in Xuzhou to hold sacrifices, kneel three times and nine times before the memorial tablets of my father and brother, and repent for their lax governance!"
Sun Qian turned pale and said, "This?"
Cao Cao ignored him and continued: "The third thing, starting from this year, Xuzhou will pay Cao, oh, no! It's the court! Every year, it will pay one million to the court, 300 war horses, and 1,000 cattle and sheep." , three thousand pieces of gold from Lin Zhi, the fourth piece, the Tao family and his son must find the real culprit who killed my father and my brother within two years, and offer the thief's head to Cao Mou!"
After finishing speaking, Cao Cao knocked on the table and said, "If one of the four things cannot be done, Cao will immediately send troops to defeat Xuzhou!"
Even Sun Qian knew from the beginning that Cao Cao would not be sincere. At this moment, he could not help but be speechless and said in surprise: "Mr. Cao, you are too bullying!"
Cao Cao laughed, clapped his hands sharply and said, "Go back and tell Tao Shang that Cao has bullied him this time! What can he do?"
Sun Qian took a deep breath, cupped his hands and said, "Sun will definitely tell Mr. Taiping about Mr. Cao's conditions when he returns, and he will never omit any of them... But, alas! It's a pity that Mr. Tao of my family has great affection for Mr. Cao. , but it is really sad and lamentable that Duke Cao is so difficult for my family."
Cao Cao was not angry when he heard this and said: "The little thief named Tao harmed my father and brother, attacked my country of Liang, and captured my clan's cronies. How can he talk about friendship without friendship? It's ridiculous."
Sun Qian was silent for a while and then said: "Master Tao has been studying poetry a lot in recent years and has written many masterpieces that are enough to be passed down to future generations. However, they have never been made public to the world. Now, taking this opportunity, I have been specially ordered to send them to you. When Cao Gong was appreciating it, Sun Qian heard that Cao Gong loved poetry. When he was in Luoyang, he and my young master each wrote beautiful poems that have been passed down through the ages. They were famous for a while, but now they have forgotten the original intention of our friendship. It is really surprising. Sad.”
When Cao Cao heard this, he was startled for a moment, then he remembered the poems he and the potter had written together in Luoyang. They admired each other and felt very sad.
Time flies by like a white horse and never comes back. In a daze, things have changed and people have changed. Four years have passed.
"Please show Mr. Cao some of the new poems your Taiping Master has written in recent years."
Sun Qian clapped his hands and ordered someone to bring up the box containing the poems.
After Cao Cao opened the box, he saw that there were rolls of thick slips inside, as many as ten volumes.
Cao Cao was stunned for a moment when he saw this, and then seemed to feel nostalgic.
When he was in Luoyang back then, he knew that this boy was greedy for money, cunning, not doing his job properly, and was addicted to strange and obscene skills.
Although he is talented, such behavior is really not what someone who can dominate the world should do.
Now that the world is in chaos and he is bent on seeking hegemony, he still has so much free time to do so many idle things?
Haha, it seems that Dong Zhao's analysis is correct, this person's structure is still not lenient enough.
Cao Cao casually picked up a scroll and opened it to read.
"The sun is shining brightly in the west, and the remaining light shines on my clothes. The returning wind blows on the four walls, and the cold birds depend on each other."
After Cao Cao finished reading, he stroked his beard and thought about it, and said with emotion: "What a boy! After so many years, this boss still hasn't fallen down!"
After saying that, he picked up another volume of slips and looked through them casually.
"I couldn't sleep at night, so I sat up and played the harp. The thin curtains caught the bright moon, and the breeze blew my lap. The solitary horn was playing in the field, and the flying birds were singing in the northern forest..."
After reading, Cao Cao sighed again and nodded in praise: "Okay, yes, what a good boy. If he doesn't become a prince and becomes a writer, I think he will definitely achieve something!"
Cao Cao hadn't been in such high spirits for a long time. He read one volume after another, and looked at the poems excerpted by pottery merchants from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Cao Cao became more and more excited. , the nature is getting more and more high-spirited! He keeps chanting "Okay, okay."
When he was young, Cao Cao picked up another scroll, but he saw that the words in it were densely packed, and it was obviously not poetry. The content looked like a book.
Cao Cao was stunned when he saw this, and looked at the title carefully, but saw three bright big characters written on the title.