Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 306 Zhang Lu: I am a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty

Cao Cao did not expect Chen Gong to have such a big reaction. Although he was a little unhappy, he still smiled and said, "Gongtai, why are you so panicked?"

"Liu Xuande is indeed powerful, and I cannot resist him. But the weather changes, and people change. How can we know that there will not be a storm tomorrow? How can we predict it?"

Cao Cao pointed at the clouds in the sky and said with a smile.

What he didn't expect was that not only Chen Gong said that Liu Bei was unbeatable, but Xin Pi also said so.

Xin Zuozhi, who was valued by him, also bowed his hands and lowered his eyebrows, and humbly advised: "Meng Degong, what you said is wrong. The reason why Jiangdong submitted to Cao was actually because of the help of Yuan. Now that Yuangong's army was defeated in Hebei, the Jiangdong nobles must be terrified, and there are probably quite a few who will submit to the Han Dynasty. Hasn't Caogong discovered it yet?"

"In the affairs of the world, troubles often arise from the smallest things. If we do not first improve our internal politics and then engage in external warfare, we will surely be defeated in the war."

"At this moment, Xiahou Dun, Cao Chun, and Cao Hong have all surrendered to the Liu family. I have also heard that Meng Degong's old friends Zhang Miao and Bao Xin are also serving under the King of Han. Even the three sons of the concubine are all in Qingzhou. Based on these inferences, Cao's army will definitely not have the intention to resist the Han Dynasty..."

Having said this, Xin Pi couldn't help but pause for a moment to see Cao Cao's reaction.

Seeing that Cao Aman was also thinking carefully, he put his mind at ease and continued, "If Duke Meng De openly rebels against the Han family, not only will he alienate his old friends, but even the Cao and Xiahou clans will scorn him."

"Although I don't mind it, what about Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, and Cao Zhi? A hundred years of accumulation are destroyed in an instant. Isn't it a pity?!"

Xin Pi couldn't help but remind him "kindly".

I don’t care whether you, Cao Mengde, want to live or die, but please don’t ruin my reputation.

I was already one step slow, and if you make me bear the label of a traitor to the Han Dynasty, don't blame me for following the story of the assassin Yao Li and eliminating traitors for the world.

Xin Pi silently said in his heart: "Even if I can't beat you, Cao Aman, there will always be a time when we can sleep side by side and drink and fall asleep..."

If it weren't for the last resort, seeing that his wealth and status were about to be cut off, Xin Pi really didn't want to risk his life, and the risk was extremely high.

Chen Gong could not help but look at Xin Pi with new eyes. He originally thought that Xin Pi was just a flatterer who always agreed to everything and had no opinions of his own.

I didn't expect that he would be so bold at this moment and speak directly. It seems that he still has some spirit of a celebrity.

This made Chen Gong feel deeply moved. He then took a step forward, clasped his hands and said, "Lord Cao, your words are as firm as gold and stone. This matter is of great importance and must be carefully considered. Even if the nobles and the people of Jiangdong work together, how can we form a tripod with only four counties? Although Jiangdong has the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, it is easy to rely on others, but difficult to build it on its own."

"Occupying Jingzhou and Jiaozhou is a vast land with few people. What's the point? The southern land is flooded and foggy, and the toxic gas is heavy. Few people who leave can return alive. Nine out of ten people who leave return. There are also many barbarians who are unruly and have been rebelling for years. How can we defend it?"

"At this moment, Nanyang has surrendered to the King of Han. If our army attacks Jingzhou Jiangxia, Liu Jingsheng will be defeated and will certainly ask for help from the King of Han. When we fight the Qingzhou army in Jiangxia, will Cao Gong be confident of victory?"

"Sun Tzu said: Victory can be known, but it cannot be achieved. The spirit is what you rely on in war. The King of Han has great justice in his hands, and his soldiers are unstoppable. They are ready to fight and have high morale. If they lose the battle, they will have no place to stand in the world. Does Cao Gong want to escape to Jiaozhi?"

Chen Gong undoubtedly thought of the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Liaocheng that year. What was impressive was that the Qingzhou army defeated the enemy, which was several times larger than theirs, in a direct head-on battle and crushed it to pieces.

The other side did not play any tricks and could not win in a fair field battle. The Qingzhou army under the command of the King of Han attacked them as easily as a knife or scissors tearing cloth.

Chen Gong had never seen such ferocious Han soldiers, not to mention that last year he defeated an enemy of 100,000 with only 7,000 men. He really didn't want to fight against such a powerful and majestic enemy again.

When Cao Cao heard what Chen Gong and Xin Pi said, he couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Gongtai, Zuozhi, how could I not know how strong Liu Xuande is? He is truly an outstanding person, incomparable to ordinary people. Recently, the head of the Cao family in Qiao County has often written to me, asking me not to forget the kindness of the clan and not to rebel against the Han Dynasty." "But now..." Cao Cao pointed at himself and couldn't help but sneered and said self-deprecatingly, "Ordinary people must set their goals. If they set their goals, they will achieve success. No one in the world, ancient or modern, has achieved success without aspirations."

"As the ruler of Jiangdong, if I don't set great ambitions, I'm afraid people's hearts will be dispersed and the counties will no longer be useful to me."

"Don't worry, if Liu Xuande has a large army stationed in Nanyang County, I will not confront them head-on, but will directly attack Jiangxia. I will only attack Nanhai and Cangwu counties in Jiaozhou first."

Cao Cao explained with a smile.

He was not stupid, so how could he not know that the Qingzhou army was difficult to deal with? But he also knew that Liu Biao was not someone who would easily give up power.

Today we still need to accumulate more strength, assess the situation and adapt to changes.

……

Liu Bei in Luoyang was much busier than others. After sending Zhang Fei and Guo Jia to deal with the affairs of Nanyang without stopping, he summoned officials, gentry and wealthy families from various states to come and pay him a visit.

At this moment, an unexpected official came from Hanzhong to pay a visit and apologize, which surprised Liu Bei a little.

Yan Pu, the Gongcao of Hanzhong County, heard that the King of Han had been established. However, because the rice thief Zhang Lu occupied Hanzhong, he had to change the name of Henei to Hanzhong. After Zhang Lu was defeated in the future, he changed the name of Henei back to Hanzhong.

He was so frightened that he immediately went to lobby Zhang Lu. After a series of presentations on the pros and cons, Zhang Lu realized that his situation was even more dangerous than that of Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou.

At this moment, Nanyang is close to Hanzhong. Although it is surrounded by mountains and rivers, there is no guarantee that the Han army will not attack.

Moreover, his mortal enemy Liu Zhang is also a relative of the Liu family. If the King of Han were to march into Guanzhong one day and retake Chang'an from the bandits in Liangzhou, the next step would certainly be to attack Hanning County. How could Liu Zhang sit idly by?

At that time, they would present Zhang Lu's head to the King of Han as a gift, which would have earned their family enough wealth for several generations, but he would be the only one who died without a burial place.

"You can't do this, you can't do this!"

Many images flashed through his mind, making Zhang Lu shake his head repeatedly. Anyone can become rich and powerful, but not Liu Zhang, who can obtain wealth and power by holding his head as his own.

Zhang Lu immediately said anxiously to Gong Cao Yan Pu: "Take the side road and go to Luoyang to pay homage to the King of Han. I will show you that I am still loyal to the Han Dynasty. The reason I occupied Hanzhong is that I knew that Yizhou Governor Liu Yan had previously built the emperor's carriage in Yizhou and was planning to do something bad, so I broke with him."

"His son Liu Zhang is even more vicious. He killed my relatives and hastily built a carriage and clothes to steal the sacred artifacts. In order to protect Hanzhong, I have no choice but to take him over temporarily. I hope the King of Han will understand!"

So Gongcao Yan Pu rode a horse and a sedan chair and hurried to Luoyang day and night to ask for an audience with the King of Han, asking for forgiveness on his back.

"Your Majesty, every word of this is true. Liu Yan, a member of the royal family, and Liu Zhang conspired to rebel. Liu Yan heard Dong Fu's words and was interested in the benefit of the land. He listened to the words of the fortune teller and asked for marriage with Wu, hoping to make his son the emperor."

Yan Pu cried and kowtowed in the hall.

This caused many officials to look at each other in surprise. They really didn't expect Liu Yan and his son to be so bold.

(End of this chapter)