Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 169 If Yangzhou did not exist
The cold November breeze blew gently, and the drizzling rain made the river more rippling.

Cao Cao in Wanling County, Danyang, Yangzhou was in a good mood. There were many bandits and powerful people in Danyang County, who often obeyed his orders on the surface but disobeyed them in secret.

There were even people who dared to laugh at his background. Cao Cao just laughed and didn't get angry, but quietly memorized the man's appearance in his heart.

Later, he led his army to defeat Yuan Shu and Liu Yao twice, which greatly increased Cao Mengde's prestige in Jiangdong.

Taking advantage of the allegiance of the four families of Zhu, Zhang, Gu and Lu in Wujun as well as other powerful families, Cao Cao decided to go all out. On the way back to Danyang with his army, he set up a trap and ordered Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan to kill all the powerful families who had resisted before one by one.

The 300 carts of money, grain, silk and cloth obtained were put into the government treasury, which instantly solved the problem of having no money or grain rewards for the soldiers after winning the battle.

The extermination of more than ten powerful families in Danyang made the administration of government in Wu and Kuaiji counties much smoother. Killing one person as a warning to a hundred made people dare not disobey the orders anymore.

Cao Cao raised the wine jar and said with a smile, "When I was the governor of Jinan, I also dismissed many corrupt officials and executed the tyrants who broke the law and discipline. Only then did the government and education flourish and the county was peaceful."

Many officials at the banquet in the hall applauded Cao Gong's actions.

"If Lord Cao hadn't come, Yangzhou wouldn't have been peaceful and prosperous. Yuan Gonglu's greed for wealth has ruined many people's lives. It's all thanks to Lord Meng De that he repelled Yuan Shu and stopped his tyranny."

"Congratulations to Lord Cao!"

"We congratulate Lord Cao!"

Cao Cao couldn't help but smile with his eyes narrowed. When he was defeated in Dongjun, he had nowhere to go in the world. He took the title of Yangzhou governor he asked Yuan Benchu ​​for, and took Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun and others with him, and established himself in Danyang with difficulty.

At that time he was oppressed by many powerful and wealthy people, so that he could not have everything he wanted. Now, by eliminating the powerful and wealthy people, he not only gained 1,800 hectares of fertile farmland, but also a large amount of millet, cloth, servants, slaves and craftsmen.

With the eighty carts of money borrowed from my father, I can recruit more soldiers, pacify Yuzhang County next year, and then go north to take Lujiang and Jiujiang, and control the entire Huaiyang area.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao stroked his beard and sighed, "Several counties in Yangzhou are places where military power is needed. To the west, there are Liu Biao and Liu Yao, two members of the royal family, who harbor evil intentions and are eyeing all places covetously. To the north, there is Yuan Shu, who has been a minister for four generations and is insatiable in his pursuit of power. If there were no Cao Mengde in Yangzhou, I don't know how many bandits would be rampant and how many robbers would wreak havoc."

Zhang Hong, who was wearing a scholar's cap, smiled when he heard this and said, "Today, the world is in turmoil and the court is in decline. Many officials gather their tribes to seek personal gain, and few have the heart to help the people in need. Cao Gong has a reputation as a hero who defeated Dong. Although he stopped his troops at Sishui, he still dared to denounce Yuan's move to establish a new emperor. Let the world know about this, and he is worthy of being the descendant of Prime Minister Cao."

Then Zhang Hong stood up, clasped his hands and said, "Recently, there is a children's song often sung in Jiangdong: The one who will replace the Han Dynasty is Yuan Gonglu. The intentions of this thief are obvious. In the past, the Zhou Dynasty declined, and Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin rose one after another to suppress the rebellion and stabilize the Zhou Dynasty. Duke Cao can also emulate the heroes of ancient times, lead the troops of three counties to first conquer Yangzhou, and then lead the army to the west to seize Jingzhou. Taking advantage of the Yangtze River, recruit talented people to assist the Han Dynasty, punish the evildoers and fight against Yuan Shu. Your achievements will be no less than those of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin."

Cao Cao thought about it, shook his head and sighed, "Zi Gang, you don't know that Liu Xuande thinks he is a member of the royal family. He announced to the world that he would recover Luoyang and worship the ancestral temple, but he did not send troops to Guanzhong to rescue the emperor from danger. This shows that he is not a good minister to the emperor."

"Now that the Heluo area is completely in his hands, even if Cao has Jing and Yang provinces, it will be difficult for him to cross Sili and lead his army to welcome the emperor and revive the Han Dynasty."

Cao Cao heard that Zhang Hong's words vaguely meant for him to submit to Liu Xuande, but he had finally gained a foothold, and how could he be willing to hand over the foundation he had built to others?

Moreover, he had a feud with Liu Bei over the East County of Yanzhou, so it was good that he did not secretly join forces with Yuan Shu to attack Xuzhou. Unless it was really impossible to do anything and the world had already belonged to Liu Xuande, he would not easily submit to any princes. When he had no place to stand in Yanzhou, he did not go to Jizhou to join Yuan Benchu. Now that he had taken the three counties and defeated Yuan Shu and Liu Yao repeatedly, why should he live under someone else's roof and depend on others?

Zhang Zigang, a senior official under my rule, actually dared to be indecisive and loyal to Liu Xuande.

These scholars would come to join the powerful when they see one, and leave when they see one is weak.

We suffered at the hands of these aristocratic and powerful families in Dongjun back then. If we had killed a few of them early on, why would all the counties surrender so easily?

Cao Cao suddenly felt unhappy and put the wine jar down heavily.

As they were seated far away, Zhang Hong did not hear the noise. Only Chen Gong and Cheng Yu, who were nearby, heard it most clearly and knew that Cao Gong was already feeling resentful.

Chen Gongtai quickly signaled Zhang Hong with his eyes to stop talking.

Zhang Hong frowned slightly. When he heard the sound of stringed instruments in the hall, he suddenly felt a little annoyed. He looked back at the musicians for a few times. When the sound gradually died down, he bowed and said, "Lord Cao, Lord Xuande raised an army to punish the rebellion. I have often heard about it in Jianghuai. What Zhang Hong did can be called a hero of the time. Lord Mengde should not ignore the greater good because of a slight misunderstanding."

"If Yuan Shu is rebellious, Cao Gong can work with Xuande to fight against Yuan Shu and show his willingness to support the Han Dynasty..."

Cao Cao's face suddenly darkened and his eyes became fierce.

Chen Gong came out quickly and grabbed Zhang Hong's sleeve, saying, "Zi Gang, you are drunk. Come back with me to rest."

Zhang Hong also noticed that Cao Cao had a bad look on his face and was a little surprised. Didn’t Cao Gong say that he would be happy to hear criticism?

The Yuan family of Runan has been placed on the edge of an abyss by Yuan Shu. As long as he dares to take one more step forward, the Yuan family will fall into the ditch. Even Yuan Benchu ​​of Yecheng, Jizhou, will become infamous if he does not quickly distance himself from the family.

The position of Governor of Yangzhou was sought by Yuan Shao, who was on bad terms with the neighboring envoy Liu, as well as Yuan Gonglu and Liu Zhengli. If it were not for the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, the enemy would have already laid siege to the city.

Now we can take advantage of Yuan Shu's actions and unite with Duke Xuande to fight against the Yuan family and assist Liu in the revival of the Han Dynasty. How can we continue to stand on the side of the Yuan family in Yecheng and list Duke Xuande as our opponent?

Among all the princes in the world today, Liu Bei is the strongest, followed by Yuan Shao, and then Yuan Shu. If the two Yuans can work together, with their reputation as disciples and former officials of four generations of three officials spread all over the world, Liu Xuande will surely be attacked from all sides, and then the two Yuans will decide the winner in the battle for the world.

Unfortunately, the internal strife between the two caused many nobles and powerful families to not know who to rely on for a while. Seeing that both Yuans had been defeated and only Liu Bei was unstoppable, many nobles decided to bet heavily on Liu Xuande.

At this time, the Liu clan was the most powerful in the world, and no one could match them. The Yuan clan of Runan gradually fell into disadvantage, and the lower-level officials and the noble families were all in a state of panic.

Zhang Hong thought that his plan was correct and that an alliance with Liu Bei to destroy Yuan Shikai was the general trend, but Cao Gong was too narrow-minded to use it.

(End of this chapter)