After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather gets colder day by day.
The trees in the courtyard are withering and turning yellow at a speed visible to the naked eye, the flowers in the garden are withering, and fallen leaves are covering the entire yard.
The north wind from Siberia roared across the grassland, and after being blocked by the Yanshan Mountains, it blew across the North China Plain, then across the Yellow River, and arrived in the Yanzhou area of Henan, turning the sky and the earth into a gloomy sky as if a heavy rain was about to fall at any time.
Cao Cao sat on his knees in the courtyard and put on a cotton coat. The outside of the cotton coat was sewn with black silk. The style was still very good-looking, but Cao Cao was not in a good mood. He was playing chess with himself alone in the courtyard.
Cao Cao likes to play chess. In history, when Cao Cao was in power, he often played chess with the famous players at that time. Although it often ended in a draw, there was a high probability that these famous players were deliberately trying to defeat him. However, this also fully shows that Cao Cao's chess skills are not weak, and at least he has some seven or eight.
segment level.
But today's chess game is extremely messy, with countless flaws exposed in both black and white. Playing chess with oneself is equivalent to fighting with the left and right hands. The essence is to do two things at once, giving full play to the player's mind.
But the chess game is in chaos, which naturally proves that the player's mind is in chaos. Not a single chess piece is integrated into the chess board. They are scattered like a piece of sand, unable to form a big dragon that can be connected.
At the end of the game, Cao Cao got annoyed and overturned the chessboard. The servants who were serving in the distance were so frightened that they quickly came over and knelt down to apologize.
"It's none of your business, just go out."
Cao Cao was not moody enough to anger an innocent slave, so he waved his hand and let him go out first.
The slave came over on his knees and cleared up the chess pieces on the ground before moving backwards.
The autumn wind was blowing in the courtyard and the fallen leaves were all over the sky. Cao Cao looked at the courtyard and felt for the first time that his future path was so confused.
He has tried very hard to open up the situation and escape from the dilemma in Yanzhou, but this place is like a cage, with enemies on all sides, like a noose, binding him inside, and he can't escape no matter what.
stay home.
When will the dragon return to the sea and the tiger return to the mountains and forests?
Cao Cao lamented in his heart.
"Ming Gong."
At this moment, Guo Jia walked into the corridor from the arch on the side of the courtyard, saw Cao Cao in a daze in the corridor, and called softly.
In the entire Yanzhou, only Guo Jia, Cao Ang and Mrs. Bian could come in directly without notification.
Cao Cao came back to his senses, turned around and saw Guo Jia, and said, "It's because of filial piety."
"Ming Gong, I have two pieces of good news."
Guo Jia laughed.
"oh?"
Cao Cao immediately cheered up and said, "What good news."
"Yuan Shao successfully defeated Xian Yufu and repulsed Liu Bei by cheating death in Handan, and is now reorganizing his army."
Guo Jia replied.
Cao Cao frowned: "This should be considered bad news."
They are now waiting for Yuan Shao to be overthrown and Liu Bei to reveal his flaws. Once Liu Yu dies and Liu Bei attempts to ascend the throne as emperor, he can immediately issue a call to all the princes in the world to fight against Dong Zhuo again.
However, the adviser group has also analyzed that the reason why Liu Bei dared to proclaim himself emperor must be that after Yuan Shao was eliminated, once Yuan Shao died and Jizhou fell into his hands, his power would inevitably expand significantly.
At this time, no one among the princes in the world is his opponent. When Liu Yu dies, Liu Bei will most likely choose to proclaim himself emperor.
First of all, he is also a member of the Han clan, and his surname is Liu after all. Even if he ascends the throne as emperor, although it is not as reasonable as the Miao descendants of Emperor Guangwu, at least he will have the name of a descendant of the Han clan.
Secondly, for this reason, with so much power in hand, it would be difficult for anyone to be unsympathetic to the emperor's heart.
After all, Emperor Guangwu himself proclaimed himself emperor after capturing Jizhou.
Therefore, Cao Cao, Guo Jia and others have already analyzed that Liu Bei is seizing Jizhou and waiting for Liu Yu's death to possibly ascend the throne.
Because this may be Liu Bei's last chance. Once he chooses to be a powerful minister to retain his reputation, choosing a young emperor to ascend the throne and usurping the throne in the future will be tantamount to the second Wang Mang. His personality will collapse, and countless people in the world will rebel.
.
certainly.
The premise of all this is the conclusion drawn by Cao Cao, Guo Jia and others based on Wang Mang's failure.
Chen Mu had already analyzed that if Liu Bei imitated Wang Mang and became a powerful minister, as long as there were no problems in governance, everything would be smooth and everyone would have food to eat, at least it would be Cao Pi and not Wang Mang who would usurp the throne in the future.
After all, Wang Mang usurped the throne because of his bad luck. First, there were frequent famines and the people were displaced. Second, the conflicts over land annexation had reached an irreconcilable point. Third, his too radical reforms touched the interests of the bureaucracy and landlord class.
It's just that although he analyzed the phenomenon and looked at the essence, he knew that if Big Brother chose to be a powerful minister, he would be able to ascend the throne in the future, but that would take too long, so he made some other plans.
Cao Cao and Guo Jia were fans of the authorities. After analyzing for a long time, they felt that Liu Bei's best choice was to usurp the throne during the power vacuum after Liu Yu's death. Therefore, after planning for so long, they were waiting for Yuan Shao to be destroyed and Liu Yu to die of illness at the same time. Everyone knew this
The emperor has been in poor health for several years, and whether he can survive this winter is a question.
Once Yuan Shao was overthrown and Liu Yu died, as soon as Liu Bei started to take action, he would immediately call on all the princes in the world to attack Liu Bei and stage another Battle of Hulao Pass. However, now Yuan Shao defeated Xian Yufu in Handan and repelled Liu Bei.
For Cao Cao, this is indeed not good news.
Because Xian Yufu is a very important part of their plan. If Liu Bei usurps the throne in the future, as a die-hard loyalist of Liu Yu, Xian Yufu will definitely raise the clarion call against Liu. As a potential ally in the future, if he is defeated, Cao Cao will naturally be defeated.
not feeling well.
But Guo Jia smiled and said: "Ming Gong, there is news from Jizhou that although Yuan Shao is very ill and even vomited two liters of blood, he can still hold on. Xian Yufu was defeated. If I were Yuan Shao
, then take over the north immediately. At least for now, if Yuan Shao still occupies most of Jizhou, he can still continue to compete with Liu Bei."
"But we originally thought that Liu Bei would only consider proclaiming the emperor after Yuan Shao was overthrown. Now that Yuan Shao has resurrected, does it mean that Liu Bei's proclaimed emperor is far away, and we are still trapped in this small Yanzhou, unable to move forward or retreat?
"
Cao Cao thought of his current predicament. To the north of Xuzhou was occupied by Qingzhou, and to the south of Xuzhou Lu Bu was lingering on, like an unbeatable little strongman who was difficult to eliminate.
Every time he personally conquered Lu Bu, Lu Bu used the Huaihe River to defend himself, making it difficult to cross.
The Sun family in the south became more and more stable in Yuzhou, and now they forced Yuan Shu to go to Jiangdong and occupied Huainan. It was more uncomfortable to see others getting rich than to lose money. Cao Cao was extremely jealous, but the terrain of Yanzhou was really bad, no matter it was
He could not turn against the Sun family or attack Xuzhou, leaving him in a dilemma and unable to use his fists.
"This is the second good news I have to say."
Guo Jia smiled and said: "There is news from Luoyang that the emperor is very ill and coughs up blood. I don't know if he can survive this winter."
Cao Cao understood it after thinking for a moment and laughed: "It is indeed good news."
Liu Yu died, but Yuan Shao did not.
This was a big blow to Liu Bei.
Because Liu Bei's best chance to become emperor was the power vacuum after Liu Yu's death.
Since Liu Yu's son Liu He disappeared, Liu Yu had no heirs, which meant that there was no heir selected and there was no new emperor to succeed to the throne.
If Liu Bei destroys Yuan Shao, controls Jizhou and Qingzhou, and becomes strong, he may not be far away from becoming emperor.
Just like in history, Cao Cao's power and power reached its peak after occupying Hebei.
But now that Yuan Shao is not dead, but Liu Yu is dead, not only the unification of Luoyang has lost its meaning, but Liu Bei himself will also become unable to get off the tiger.
It would be better to proclaim himself emperor, so Cao Cao ascended the throne and began to fight against Liu.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't proclaim himself emperor. Cao Cao can write to Luoyang to take charge of the new emperor's enthronement.
At the beginning, Guo Jia and others also analyzed that if Liu Yu could successfully hold on until the new emperor ascended the throne, they would be able to serve as the court's foreign aid and take charge of the government.
After all, the imperial court is afraid of Liu Bei. Now Cao Cao still has 50,000 troops, and Sun Jian also has 40,000 to 50,000 troops. The new emperor has ascended the throne. If the imperial court is not stupid, it will definitely choose to unite them to fight for power with Liu Bei.
In this way, the place where the three parties compete for power is in the court, and it is not certain who will be the powerful minister in the end.
So in general, for Cao Cao, it might not be a bad thing for Yuan Shao to at least hold on for now and wait until Liu Yu dies before being eliminated.
"What a pity. Chen Zigui made a good move back then."
Guo Jia sighed: "I'm afraid he placed Sun Jian in Yuzhou just to prevent Yuzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou and other Henan provinces from unifying each other. The three families would compete for hegemony and no one could annex the other. In the end, they only needed to defeat Yuan Shao, and there would be no other places in the south."
People can compete with them."
Cao Cao frowned and said: "The Sun family has now broken the situation. They attacked Huainan from Yuzhou to the southeast, and now they continue to attack Yuan Shu. If they win the land east of Jiangdong, their strength will rise sharply, and then we will be in danger."
"No, in that case, it would be a good thing for us."
Guo Jia shook his head and retorted.
"Why?"
Cao Cao was puzzled. Jiangdong was taken over by the Sun family. Why was it a good thing for them?
Guo Jia smiled and said: "Because we can capture Xuzhou."
"Capture Xuzhou?"
Cao Cao was surprised.
Lu Bu took the Huaihe River as the boundary and occupied the Huainan area south of Xuzhou. Every time they advanced, they were blocked.
It was as if they knew in advance that they were coming, and the fortifications were repaired in advance every time. The two sides often could only face each other across the river, and it was impossible to cross without ships.
Guo Jia said: "Lü Bu is just a brave man. Does Ming Gong think he can govern Huainan? Why is it that every time we attack him, he has sufficient troops, adequate food and fodder, and knows where we are attacking from every time?"
,Ming Gong, don’t you think this is too coincidental?”
"You mean?"
Cao Cao began to think thoughtfully.
Guo Jia continued: "The Qingzhou Military Intelligence Department is pervasive, and there must be hidden stakes in our Yanzhou."
"But not many people know about each action..."
Cao Cao pondered for a moment, and his eyes suddenly showed a hint of coldness: "You mean there is Liu Bei inside the mansion?"
Guo Jia shook his head: "It's hard to say. In fact, war cannot be judged only by internal information. Every time we take action, we must prepare food and grass. As a result, there will be a large gap in food prices on the market. This may also be the basis for the enemy's judgment."
"Then how are we supposed to know whether there is a problem within the mansion or whether they have judged it themselves?"
Cao Cao asked.
Guo Jia said: "Ming Gong can purchase grain and grass and raise grain prices, but he will not send troops. If there is any movement from Lu Bu's side, it proves that there is no internal response in the mansion."
"Um."
Cao Cao nodded, stood up from the corridor, relaxed his legs that were numb from kneeling for a long time, and said softly: "Then continue to watch the changes."
.......
.......
Huainan, Lu Bu is a little drunk this year.
He is already in his forties, and although he still holds the title of Xuzhou Shepherd, he is now like Cao Cao, unable to go anywhere.
At first, he relied on Zhang Yang's more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and finally ended up in Xiapi, Guangling. Although he had a base and gained a little strength, it was only worth 20,000 troops. Every time he defended, he had to rely on "court" intelligence
.
Yes, Wei Jian told Lu Bu that every time Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, he would report it to the court. He also told him that the court "trusted" Lu Bu, so he would inform him every time.
After Champa rice took root in Guangling and solved the food crisis and external crisis with double crops in one season, Lu Bu began to indulge in wine and sex, and became increasingly depressed.
Logically speaking, if Lu Bu behaves like this, Wei Ji and Zhang Yang should be very angry and should persuade him to cheer up.
However, compared to other ambitious princes, neither Lu Bu nor Zhang Yang wanted to dominate the world. They now have one goal in mind, which is to believe in the imperial court. When the world is at peace, the imperial court will definitely recruit them to Luoyang to become high officials.
.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! It is with such a dream that the two of them muddle along in Guangling without fear. After all, in their view, the court is still there, and order is there.
Still, even if Liu Bei gains power in the future, the worst he can do is bow to him.
But they never expected that the imperial court had never planned a plan in Huainan, and that the leader behind the scenes had always been Chen Mu, who was just using them as Cao Cao's stumbling blocks.
On this day, Wei Jian suddenly came to the door and found Lu Bu who was drinking in the backyard. He shouted happily: "General, great news."
"oh?"
Lu Bu was very drunk. When he saw Wei Zhu coming, he asked, "Bo Zhu, what's the good news?"
Wei Ju smiled and said: "Yuan Shao's fall is imminent. In order to guard against Liu Bei, the imperial court is preparing to recruit generals to the capital. When the generals return to Luoyang, it can be said that dragons return to the sea and tigers roar in the mountains and forests. By then, with the ability of the general, he will definitely be reused by the imperial court and be granted the title of Marquis.
General is just around the corner."
"really?"
Lu Bu's eyes lit up. He was really frustrated in Xuzhou. He was pushed to the ground by Cao Cao. Cai Yang in the north was the power of Qingzhou. Liu Bei was so powerful that he didn't dare to provoke him. Yuan Shu was in trouble with him in the south. Sun Jian was also powerful in the west.
If you are better than him, you can say that you can't go anywhere.
Therefore, his only plan was to be recruited by the imperial court and go to Luoyang to become a high official. Although he would still live under others for a long time, compared with the miserable life in Huainan, he was not as comfortable as controlling military power and being unscrupulous in the Luoyang imperial court.
At that time, he asked for orders to go to Guanzhong to conquer the rebels. Although Li Jue and Guo Si had been eliminated by Duan Xuan as early as last year, Lu Bu knew that even if they were eliminated, there were still many forces in Xiliang, and Guanzhong was still in chaos.
After the restoration of governance, there were wars and disasters everywhere, but there was always a place where he could fight on the battlefield.
Wei Jian said: "Of course it is true. The edict has been issued by the Chancellor and will be delivered soon."
Lu Bu laughed and said, "Hahahaha, I can finally leave this hellish place."
After saying that, he stood up and staggered back to the room.
As far as the eye could see, he saw the bronze mirror placed in the room, which reflected his slightly thin face, which looked like a withered one, and he couldn't help but turn pale with shock.
"Why did I, Lu Bu, become like this!"
"No, the imperial court has conscripted me, and I have to go to Luoyang to be a high official. I also have to take Bo Xi with me. Uncle Zhi and the others are so prosperous that I must not stay depressed like this!"
In an instant, he sobered up and his eyes revealed a touch of determination.
However, at this moment, neither Cao Cao nor Lu Bu knew what Chen Mu was thinking in Liang Qi's mind.