Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 384 Cao Cao: If I had a foundation...

On June 198, the third year of Jian'an (), the broad Yangtze River was gurgling, the wind was shaking the reeds on the river bank, a thin mist in the distance covered the hills on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and the morning light was faint in the east.

An official ship had already been waiting on the shore by the river.

Bao Xin looked back at Cao Cao, Cao Ren, Chen Gong, Cheng Yu and others who had come to see him off, and said goodbye with a farewell gesture: "After traveling a thousand miles, we are finally going to say goodbye. Meng De and you all, why don't you stop here?"

After he and Cao Zihuan received the letter from the King of Han, they rushed all the way to Jiangdong to persuade Cao Mengde to return to Han.

Unfortunately, after the two men talked for dozens of days, Cao Cao still avoided the topic and said vaguely that his heart was with the Han Dynasty. He said that he could make a copy of the Jiangdong household registration, the number of cultivated fields, taxes, and water conservancy lists and send them to Luoyang to prove that he had no intention of separatism.

This was so because the eunuchs had caused trouble for him back then, leaving him no chance to realize his ambitions. He worked hard but gained nothing. Who could understand that situation?

Now is the time when we are no longer constrained by others. We should seize this opportunity to accomplish something great so as not to be looked down upon by the world.

Faced with Cao Cao's sincere explanation, Bao Xin was skeptical. Although the two often slept on the same bed with their feet touching each other when they set foot in Jiangdong, and many military and political affairs of the counties were not hidden from him.

But Bao Xin always felt that what Cao Mengde said was insincere. It was not that the King of Han was unable to grant officials real power. If Mengde really wanted to serve the King of Han, shouldn't he have surrendered the four counties earlier?
Now Liu Jingsheng is a lesson learned. He wanted to surrender but didn't, and was hesitant all day long. Finally, he asked Zhang Xian, the prefect of Changsha, to raise an army to attack him. Under the attack from multiple forces, he had no choice but to surrender.

At this moment, his status in Luoyang is not as high as that of Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. At least the other party can be tried as the prime minister of Liang State in Yuzhou when there is a shortage of officials.

The short-sighted Liu Biao could only be ranked alongside Zhang Yang and Liu Dai of the past. He settled in the suburbs of Luoyang with his three sons, Liu Qi, Liu Xiu and Liu Cong, and became an ordinary rich man. His status was even lower than that of his nephew Liu Pan.

Does Cao Mengde also want to follow in Liu Biao's footsteps?
Bao Xin looked behind everyone and saw Cao Ang, who was still carefully instructing Cao Pi. He couldn't help but sigh, "Meng De, I know you have ambitions, but you should also think more about your descendants. Don't be too eager for quick success and follow Liu Jingsheng's example, and become a laughing stock in the world..."

"If you go to Luoyang as soon as possible, you can still leave a way out for Zixiu, Zihuan, Ziwen, and Zijian, so that the descendants will not suffer disasters."

Cao Cao walked towards them holding Bao Xin's hand. At this moment, he finally let go and said with a loud smile: "Yuncheng can be said to be a good teacher and helpful friend to me. He has worked hard for me for many years. I don't know how to thank him."

"Even though I am far away in Jiangdong, I have heard about Liu Jingsheng's affairs. According to Cao, apart from the heroes who abandoned the King of Han, the rest of the clan members, such as Liu Yu, Liu Dai, Liu Yao, Liu Biao, and Liu Zhang, are all mediocre people with no ambition and no strategy. Even Cao Mengde can defeat them."

"If Cao Cao had this foundation in hand, he would have put Liu Biao, Liu Yu, Liu Zhang and other people who stole the throne without doing anything to gain the upper hand ...

When it comes to the relatives of the Han royal family, it is hard for Cao Cao not to ridicule these people. Isn't it because of their good family background that they can achieve a little success and become warlords who rule a certain area?

If he was also a relative of the Han royal family, even if he could not defeat the King of Han, he would be far superior to all the mediocre and incompetent people in the world.

But Cao Mengde was the descendant of a eunuch, and it was difficult for him to even reorganize Jiangdong. The aftermath of the demise of the Yuan family in Runan could shake Jiangdong three times a day. It was obvious that it was difficult to accomplish great things by relying on this place, and at most he could only survive in a corner.

Moreover, at this moment, Jiangxia prefect Zhou Gongjin integrated the navy of Jingzhou and stationed troops in Jiangxia, eyeing Jiangdong covetously. After just a brief battle, Zixiao, who commanded the Jiangdong navy, was almost defeated.

This made Cao Cao, who received the battle report, clap his hands with emotion and sighed, "I didn't expect that Cao Zixiao, who had conquered Liu Zhengli, fought Sun Lang, and conquered King Lang of Kuaiji, and made great military exploits for Jiangdong, and was called 'General of Heaven' by the soldiers, would be defeated in a naval battle by the insignificant Zhou Yu?!" Even Cao Ren, the most capable and skilled warrior under his command, was no match for Zhou Gongjin, who could only play the piano and listen to music, not to mention Zhang Yide of Xiangyang, Le Wenqian, Zhang Wenyuan, Guan Hai on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and Chen Yuanlong, the prefect of Guangling County in Xuzhou, and Li Dian, Gao Shun and others.

Cao Cao was stunned to find that he could gain no advantage from anyone. If he had to send troops, any of these people could fight him back and forth.

If all these generals and governors came together, he would not be able to resist at all.

At this time, Jiangdong was surrounded and had no choice but to surrender.

Although Xiahou Yuanrang led his troops to wipe out the Shanyue tribes entrenched near Wujun and Danyang counties, which not only expanded the population but also enabled them to cultivate farmland and produce much more rice than before, what was the use of these measures in just four counties?

In the end, he had to surrender Luoyang and become a vassal of the King of Han.

Cao Cao looked a little dazed. He didn't expect that after so many twists and turns, he would still have to surrender to Liu Xuande. If he had known this, he would have opened the gate and surrendered directly in Puyang City. Now he would at least be a commanding general.

It's not like now. It took several years and hard work to manage Jiangdong in an orderly manner, but in the blink of an eye, we have to give it up. The feeling is hard to describe.

Seeing Cao Cao looking somewhat disappointed, Bao Xin did not forget the King of Han's trust and immediately struck while the iron was hot and said, "Meng De, the general trend of the world is unstoppable. We can only go with the flow to avoid drowning, just like the mighty Yangtze River pouring down, and all the grass and trees along the way will be washed away by the water."

As Bao Xin spoke, he pointed to the Yangtze River. Cao Cao heard him and looked in the direction of the sound. He clenched the whip in his hand and couldn't help laughing and said, "What Yuncheng said is very true. All rivers have different sources, but they all flow into the sea. This is what everyone wants and the general trend. How can I not understand this?"

"Although I am old, I am still mentally competent. The reason I am unwilling to give up my post as governor is that I have great ambitions to conquer the world and to establish meritorious services in the frontier counties in order to gain fame!"

"If the King of Han could be sincere to me, how could I not throw myself into the grave?"

"Since ancient times, the king has chosen his subjects, and the subjects can also choose their kings. If Cao Mengde treats the King of Han with all his heart and never doubts him, he will sacrifice his heart and soul to repay the Han family."

Cao Cao did not hide anything at this moment. He spoke directly to Bao Xin and expressed his demands with an open heart.

What he wanted was not wealth, but consistent trust, and no one had ever given him this kind of trust.

If Emperor Xiaoling, General He Jin, or Yuan Benchu ​​could be loyal to him and listen to his advice, there would not be so many disasters in the world.

Cao Cao's words made Bao Xin slightly distracted, but he quickly reacted, laughed and shook his head, pointing and said: "Meng De, Yuan Benchu ​​has been dead for a long time, I didn't expect you still remember what happened back then."

"Don't worry, the King of Han is sincere and fair, and treats everyone with sincerity. He is open-minded and generous, and does not care about trivial matters. He is similar to Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu."

(End of this chapter)