Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 385: Ministers of Jiangdong: Go home and write the biography of Cao Man!

"What's more, the King of Han also values ​​the Cao and Xiahou families of Qiao County very much. He has repeatedly employed Zixiao, Zihe, Yuanrang, Miaocai, and even Zixiu."

"From what I've heard, among all the princes in the world, only your Cao family has such an honor. No one else has this honor. Do you know how many people envy this?"

"The descendants of the wealthy Xu and Zhu families in Qiao County are extremely jealous of this. Meng De heard that you were an old friend of the King of Han in your early years. Perhaps that is why you are receiving such preferential treatment."

Hearing Bao Xin's words of comfort, Cao Cao did not respond. Instead, he recalled the past. He was startled and recalled: "I met Xuande in Luoyang in the past. At that time, I thought he was a good-looking man. I didn't expect that his talent and strategy were not inferior to Guangwu."

Human affairs are unpredictable and difficult to predict. Who could have known that Yuan Benchu, who was already famous all over the world at that time, would actually lose to Liu Xuande, and the same was true for Yuan Gonglu.

But if you think about it carefully, the King of Han did treat Cao quite well. He was not the kind of person who was never satisfied with his wealth or refused to retire from his position.

If they continue to push their luck, not only will it be difficult to resolve the situation, it will also bring disaster to the Cao family of Qiao County, as well as Zi Lian, Zi He, and Yuan Rang.

"Zihuan, please come forward."

Cao Cao then called the eleven-year-old Cao Pi to his side, lowered his head and stroked his hair, smiling and admonishing him, "My son, go back and remember to look after your mother. If you see Ziwen and Zijian playing with the crown prince, you can find an excuse to go with them."

"After all, in a few years, when you get married, you may not have such a good opportunity anymore."

"Also, you should not neglect your horseback riding and archery. This is also a way for a scholar to establish himself. Read more of the military strategies left by your father-in-law. If you have any questions, you can write to ask your uncles."

Hearing Cao Cao's words, Cao Pi's eyes lit up instantly, and he said with a folded hand: "Thank you for your teachings, sir. I will remember them in my heart. But I would like to ask, are you referring to Uncle Chun or Uncle Dun?"

Cao Cao was a man who immediately discovered the implication of Cao Pi's words. He wanted to say something bad about Cao Hong in front of him, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "This kid is actually quite like me..."

So he asked knowingly, stroking his beard and said, "Why didn't you tell Zi Lian?"

Cao Pi immediately hesitated, and finally revealed the truth under Cao Cao's questioning. He said angrily: "My mother hired a teacher to teach us, so our family was in financial difficulty. I heard that Uncle Hong was also the Supervisor of Posts in Beihai, Qingzhou, so I wrote a letter to borrow 10,000 yuan, but was rejected by my uncle."

"So, how dare I bother you again..."

"Does your mother know about this?" Cao Cao asked.

He interrupted Cao Pi directly and asked the key question.

Cao Pi's face turned pale, and he didn't dare to look up again. He stammered and explained, "I didn't know before..."

But Cao Cao didn't want to listen to his explanation anymore, so he waved his hand to stop him, and said to Cao Ang, who was a little flustered, "My brother's misbehavior is my fault."

"Over the years, you have followed Aweng to Jiangdong to fight against rebellion. Although you have made contributions, you have neglected to discipline your brother, so that he can no longer move forward, sit when he should not, and speak when he should not."

When Cao Ang, who was wearing the Jinxian crown, heard the adult speaking so sternly to him, he immediately knelt down, kowtowed and apologized.

His face flushed red, but he did not dare to explain himself to absolve himself of the crime. Instead, he took the blame, kowtowed and said bluntly: "I did not know that it was my fault for not teaching me. Zi Huan is still young, so you can punish Cao Ang."

Cao Cao laughed in anger, raised his horsewhip and pointed it at Cao Ang, and said: "Zi Xiu, this is what you said. Come! Bring a bamboo whip and whip him hard." Cao Ren, Chen Gong, Cheng Yu who were present, as well as Zhang Hong, Xin Pi, Gu Yong, Zhu Huanran and others not far away, including Bao Xin were all frightened by Cao Mengde.

Everyone bowed their hands and tried to dissuade him. Even Bao Xin could not help but step forward and use his hand to press down the whip that Cao Cao was pointing at. He anxiously said, "Meng De, why is it so necessary to be so angry? Zihuan is young, and Zixiu is far away in Jiangdong. How can you discipline your son? How can you blame him for this? Let's just forget about it."

"Mr. Meng De, what Governor Bao said is absolutely true!"

"Lord Cao, you have lived in Jiangdong for a long time. How can you discipline my younger brother? I hope you can understand clearly."

"Brother, Zixiu has just conquered the Shanyue and made great contributions. He should not be flogged severely."

Facing so many people anxiously persuading him, Cao Cao was slightly stunned, then his eyes fell on Cao Ang who was kneeling on the ground, and he could not help but sighed: "Well, since it is because you are far away in Jiangdong that you cannot discipline Zihuan, then I will spare you the beating today, but this matter cannot be exposed."

"The Han family believes that loyalty and filial piety are the foundation of life. You are twice as old as him, so you have the responsibility to teach him. From today on, you will be in charge of Zihuan until he reforms."

Cao Cao glared at Cao Pi, who was also frightened, and pointed with his finger.

"I will definitely discipline Zihuan well, so that you don't have to worry."

After hearing clearly the instructions in Cao Cao's words, Cao Ang stood there in a daze. It took him a few breaths to react and immediately understood Aong's good intentions.

Although he wanted him to go to Luoyang in the name of an elder brother disciplining his younger brother's moral character, rather than going to Luoyang as the son of Cao Mengde, the governor of Yangzhou.

However, this move also showed the Cao family's attitude to the King of Han, and prevented the Jiangdong nobles who were dissatisfied with the land allocation from gossiping openly.

When Cao Cao said this, the faces of many people around him changed suddenly. Some became gloomy in an instant, while others were overjoyed.

Chen Gong and Xin Pi smiled brightly, while Cao Ren and Cheng Yu remained indifferent.

Only the officials from Jiangdong Wu County, including the Gu, Lu, Zhu, Zhang, Lei, Chen, Xiong, Xu, and Gongsun families, had uncertain expressions.

They were different from the scholars who came to Jiangdong to avoid disaster. Their clans had a lot of land, soldiers, and servants. The soldiers, in particular, were trained very hard to guard against the Shanyue and thieves.

Moreover, during the period of cooperation with Meng Degong, the more Shanyue tribes they destroyed, the more troops and slaves they received.

If the King of Han asked them to hand over their troops, release some slaves, and pay taxes, who could bear it?
The more followers and slaves a clan has, the more disadvantages it will suffer. Wouldn't it be a waste of money to conquer the Shanyue barbarians?

Bao Xin, who was ordered to go to Jiangdong to persuade Cao Cao to surrender, had no such concerns at all. He immediately said happily: "This is very good. The elder brother is like a father. Meng De is governing Jiangdong and cannot go there easily. Zixiu will go to Luoyang to discipline Zihuan, Ziwen and Zijian on behalf of your father."

"Last year I returned to Luoyang to report on my work. I saw that Cao Ziwen had become more and more naughty. At a young age, he boasted to everyone he met, saying that he would become a general of the Han Dynasty in the future, conquer the Xianbei and Wuhuan for the king, and make meritorious deeds outside the Great Wall, and be granted the highest title of marquis."

Whenever Bao Xin thought of this funny thing, he would shake his head and laugh. In addition, the fruitful return from this mission to Jiangdong undoubtedly put him in a good mood, and he immediately brought up the matter of Cao Zhang to make fun of it.

Cao Cao, Cao Ren, Chen Gong, Cheng Yu and others looked at each other in surprise, then they all stroked their beards and laughed.

(End of this chapter)