Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 305 Cao Cao: The Past Days Were Hard

Compared with the two neighboring princes, after Liu Bei became the King of Han, he was beaten by the Qingzhou army and cried for his parents.

Relying on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, Cao Cao defeated Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou sent by the imperial court, in the first year of Jian'an. Considering that Liu Yao was the younger brother of Liu Dai and Liu Gongshan, Cao Cao did not kill him even though he captured him alive.

Instead, he sent him to Jingzhou, pointed at him and said with a smile: "You like to pursue empty reputation and pursue a style of idle talk, you are no match for me, Cao Mengde. The reason why I don't kill you today is because I remember your brother's employment in Yanzhou. Go to Jingzhou to find Liu Jingsheng and tell him that if he dares to invade Jiangdong again, I will lead the army to fight him personally."

It took Cao Cao several months to completely integrate Yuzhang County, defeat Cai Mao, and eliminate Liu Yao's forces.

Then he received news that Yuan Shao led an army of 140,000, and his entire army was wiped out in Yue County. He himself rolled off his saddle while fleeing and died on the spot.

Cao Cao was incredulous at first, but when he came to his senses, he sighed and said, "Yuan Benchu, Yuan Benchu, after all these years, haven't you learned how to escape and stay alive?"

He thought of how Yuan Shao had scolded him in his early years for leading tens of thousands of soldiers in Liaocheng, but was defeated in a battle with Liu Bei's thousands of people, and also called him a brave but foolish mediocre man.

I wonder if Yuan Benchu ​​thought about this when he was defeated?

In his grief, Cao Cao couldn't help but want to make fun of his old friend, but unfortunately Yuan Shao could no longer hear him.

When I was thinking about Yuan Shao, I also thought of Xu You.

He was so upset that he temporarily handed over the military affairs to Cao Ren. Cao Cao, along with Chen Gong and Xin Pi, walked to the bank of the Yangtze River in Pengze. He climbed the slope and looked at the rolling and flowing river. He could not help but sing with emotion: "Singing to the wine, how short is life? It is like the morning dew, and the past days are full of suffering..."

As Cao Cao sang, he recalled the fun he had with Yuan Shao, Xu You and others in the past. He looked toward the north with a look of nostalgia in his eyes. He clapped his hands and said sadly, "I should be generous and heartbroken, and I can't forget my worries... How can I relieve my worries? Only Du Kang can do it!"

As the sun sets, the lush grass is shrouded in the afterglow of the sunset on the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Hearing the calls of birds returning to their nests in the distance, his eyes fell on the tree trunks whose leaves had fallen and no new leaves had yet grown, his eyes filled with loneliness.

Cao Cao stood on the slope and looked out for a long time. Seeing the migratory birds flying north on the river, he couldn't help but sigh.

After calming down, he turned to Chen Gong and Xin Pi and said with a smile: "I was moved by my feelings and wrote a song. It is not a groan for no reason, but a long song with the intention of crying. I hope Gongtai and Zuo Zhi will not laugh at me."

"How dare I, how dare I, Lord Cao is concerned about Lord Yuan's affairs, such a broad mind and friendship should be praised by the world, how dare I laugh at you."

Before Chen Gong could say anything, Xin Pi, who was standing next to him, immediately came up to him and spoke politely.

The fawning smile and obsequious look made Chen Gong, who was standing behind, frown.

This guy is too obsessed with licking carbuncles and hemorrhoids, and he is unworthy of being a famous scholar in Yingchuan.

Seeing this scene, only Cao Cao couldn't help but smile and pointed his finger, saying, "Why do you have to be so flattering, Zuo Zhi? Are you trying to offend me so that I will let you go back north and serve your old master, the Yuan family?!"

"Yuan Benchu ​​died, and the rest of the disciples were at a loss as to what to do. They were not strong enough to make a decision, so they were at a loss as to what to do. They were defeated by Liu Xuande within half a year!"

"Besides, Hebei no longer has a wise leader, so why should Zuo Zhi rush back to die? Now that Jiangdong has been pacified, we should forge ahead bravely and follow Cao to conquer Xuzhou, pacify Huainan, attack Liu Biao, and occupy Jiaozhou, so as to accomplish great things. A real man has ambitions for all directions and is not bound by his children. He has ambitions to travel thousands of miles, so why should he refuse to work hard?!"

Cao Cao smiled and advised Xin Pi. Ever since he left him in Jiangdong, he had often thought about escaping. Later, when he saw that his followers were always with him day and night, he became very flattering and fawning, speaking sweet words, hoping to disgust Cao Mengde and drive him away.

Xin Pi could only smile bitterly at this. He was horrified when he heard about Yuan Gong's defeat. Although he felt a little regretful, he was more lamenting his own misfortune.

Originally, he had secretly defected to Lord Xuande, and was thinking of turning darkness into light. Even if he couldn't catch up with the Xun and Guo families of Yingchuan, at least he couldn't let the Zhong and Chen families overtake him by a large margin.

But now, he came to Jiangdong to lure the enemy for the envoy, but ended up being imprisoned. The Yangzhou Mu Cao Mengde was forced to stay in Jiangdong, and in the blink of an eye, he had gone from the second year of Xingping to the second year of Jian'an.

Lord Xuande has been promoted to King of Han and is about to pacify Hebei.

It was a pity that Xin Zuozhi could only look at the river to the south and sigh, and had no chance to make achievements for the King of Han.

As the old saying goes: It is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox.

It can be guessed that Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, Xun Qi, Xun Yin, Chen Qun and others from Yingchuan were persuading Duke Xuande to ascend the throne, while Xin Zuozhi of Yangdi Xin clan could only hold his sword, look at the river and sigh from time to time, feeling ashamed to be the Queen of Ox.

This is all thanks to Cao Mengde!
Xin Pi couldn't help but curse Cao Cao in his heart. He had wasted so much of his time. If he was slow at one step, he would be slow at every step. If he wanted to be one of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers in the future, he would have to spend at least ten years more than others.

Cao Mengde, Cao Mengde, you made my Xin family lose ten years.

"George, why don't you say anything? Are you still thinking about Yuan Benchu?"

"Although Liu Xuande is now in power, he has not yet conquered Hebei. Moreover, Youzhou and Bingzhou are inhabited by Xianbei, Xiongnu, and Wuhuan. They have often rebelled over the years. If someone disobeys the Han Dynasty and brings his tribe to raise an army, even a strong man like Liu Bei will be restrained and have no time to look south."

"Cao can take advantage of this opportunity to capture cities and territories. If Yuan Shu is destroyed, he can attack Liu Biao and Liu Zhang. With the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, he will be able to establish his rule."

Cao Cao glanced at Xin Pi and said thoughtfully.

Although Liu Biao and Liu Zhang are members of the royal family, they are just guard dogs. They have occupied the powerful state for many years without being moved. They are far inferior to King of Han Liu Xuande. It is not that he underestimates these two people. In terms of their adaptability and military strategies, Cao Mengde can easily capture them.

This time, before Xin Pi could answer, Chen Gong took the lead and bowed earnestly, saying, "Lord Cao, this is a different time. We should not attack the royal family rashly. The King of Han is the hope of the world and has the destiny to restore the Han Dynasty. The ownership of the sacred artifact is determined by fate and cannot be sought by wisdom."

"If we attack Liu's relatives by force, and the King of Han blames us, and we march south with our army, how can we defeat an army of one million with only the four counties of Jiangdong?"

"What's more, the ancestors of the nobles in the counties of Jiangdong were all ministers of the Han Dynasty. How could they help Cao rebel against the Han Dynasty? The Cao family is not the descendant of three ministers for four generations, but the descendant of Prime Minister Cao who helped Emperor Taizu Gao to pacify the world. What prestige do they have to lead the people to rebel against the Han Dynasty?"

"If you carry out this strategy, you will bring disaster upon yourself. It may bring ruin to the Cao family in Qiao County. Lord Cao must take this into consideration."

Chen Gong anxiously bowed to Cao Cao and gave advice.

Don't think that just because you have been following Yuan Shao for a long time, you can think of your family as a family of three generations of officials with disciples and former officials spread all over the world.

You must know that your father Cao Song was the adopted son of Grand Chamberlain Cao Teng. In the eyes of the gentry, he was the descendant of a eunuch and had no moral integrity. If he dared to rebel against the Han Dynasty, he would be completely finished.

(End of this chapter)