My Three Kingdoms is not right

Liu Xun had long anticipated that Cao Cao wouldn't be so easy to talk to, and continued to try to persuade him: "General Cao, you are overthinking it. You are extremely loyal, and everyone in the court praises you. Anyone who dares to criticize me will be the first to object."

"Replenishing the Imperial Guards is a major event for the court. If we can get General Cao's help, my elder sister will be very pleased and will trust the general even more."

"Thank you for your protection, Your Highness." Cao Cao cupped his hands and said calmly, "Your Highness has asked, and I should not refuse, but our army did not bring many weapons with us when we entered Luoyang this time."

"Moreover, Yanzhou has just been pacified, and there is a shortage of military equipment. In addition, Lu Bu and others are eyeing it covetously, so it is really difficult to allocate them."

"As for the generals, most of my men are from my hometown or clan. They have no strategy in battle and rely solely on their courage. They may not be of any benefit to the Imperial Guards."

That was a perfectly watertight statement.

There was no room for negotiation.

Liu Xun's smile remained unchanged.

Since that's the case, we'll have to resort to "that one trick":

"I am willing to exchange something with General Cao."

Cao Cao raised his eyebrows slightly, and suddenly the image of that young man who had taken off his clothes and made the entire palace pale in comparison appeared in his mind.

Her gaze fell on Liu Xun's face, and her eyes lit up: "What does Your Highness wish to exchange for it?"

"It's a secret." Liu Xun smiled slightly.

Cao Cao was slightly taken aback.

Liu Xun then spoke up: "I know General Cao's secret—you are preparing to move the capital to Xu County."

Upon hearing this, the air in the hall instantly plummeted to freezing point.

The bamboo slip in Cheng Yu's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

Cao Ren's hand was already on the hilt of his sword.

Cao Cao's pupils contracted slightly, then he threw his head back and laughed loudly:

"Hahaha!"

"Where did Your Highness hear such a claim? It's utter nonsense."

"Whether it's nonsense or not, General Cao knows perfectly well," Liu Xun said calmly, watching her performance with a smile. "But General, there's no need to worry. I'm willing to keep your secret and cooperate with your actions."

Cheng Yu sneered, "Your Highness's words are absurd. Even if we concede that the court is entirely dependent on my lord, could the emperor possibly refuse if the capital were to be moved?"

"Of course you can refuse."

Liu Xun spoke calmly: "General Cao is not the only loyal and righteous man in the world who is devoted to the court. If the emperor were to issue an edict to enfeoff the sons of the governors of various provinces with titles and official positions, the roads leading into the city would likely be blocked by envoys coming to offer tribute."

Cheng Yu was speechless.

Liu Xun was not making things up.

Now that the Han dynasty is in decline, the various warlords have become independent in many places. However, their biggest challenge is the legitimacy of their successors.

Various warlords ruled their respective regions under titles such as governor, prefect, and governor, and the imperial court indeed had no say in the matter. However, these official positions were not hereditary, and upon the death of the holder, it was highly likely to lead to infighting among their sons or a power grab by local gentry.

If the imperial court directly endorses their successors, it will not only eliminate the feudal lords' worries about the future but also gain the support and endorsement of their successors. This will inevitably greatly improve the court's situation.

"Hmph!" Cao Ren, seeing Cheng Yu's discomfiture, put his hands on his hips: "Whether the imperial court is willing or not, they should at least ask the thousands of strong women in the city!"

Liu Xun smiled calmly: "I have always admired General Cao's soldiers, who are well-equipped and battle-hardened."

"But let's not even talk about Yang Feng's army blocking Liang County." He changed the subject, "If rumors spread that General Cao is coercing the emperor, causing Yuan Shao to emulate his campaign against Dong Zhuo and regroup the eighteen warlords..."

He paused, glancing at Cao Cao, whose lips were tightly pressed together: "I'm afraid he won't be easy to deal with either?"

silence.

Cao Cao stared at Liu Xun without saying a word for a long time.

Her beautiful eyes were filled with a turbulent mix of emotions: surprise, apprehension, admiration... and a hint of something else that was hard to define.

"Your Highness, why is that?" she asked.

"I want to reorganize the Imperial Guards as soon as possible to protect my elder sister," Liu Xun said frankly. "At the moment, only General Cao can help me."

"That's not what I'm asking about," Cao Cao shook his head. This time, she did not refer to herself as "your subject."

"My question is—since Your Highness knew I was going to move the court to Xu County, why were you willing to cooperate with me? Why were you willing to help me conceal it?"

Not only her, but Cheng Yu and the others were also full of doubt.

The handsome young man before them was a royal prince, the emperor's younger brother, and he kept proclaiming his intention to restore the Han dynasty.

So why did she help Cao Cao, who clearly knew he wanted to move the capital and undermine the court?

Liu Xun faced Cao Cao without the slightest hesitation:

"General Cao needs to leverage the imperial court's legitimacy. And doesn't the imperial court also need the support of a powerful warlord?"

"Although in the eyes of many, General Cao's reputation was not as good as Kong Rong's, his power was not as great as Yuan Shao's, his bravery was not as great as Lü Bu's, his cunning was not as great as Liu Zhang's, and his closeness to the imperial family was not as great as Liu Biao's..."

Seeing Cao Cao's displeasure, Liu Xun smiled slightly and stopped his scathing remarks: "But I believe General Cao is the most talented and strategic person!"

"Moreover, the general's ambition is by no means a selfish desire, but a great ambition to bring peace to the world and restore order to the nation."

Cao Cao looked at the confidently smiling young man in front of him, his face expressionless, but his chest was inexplicably pounding, and he unconsciously clenched his fists.

There really is such a man in the world!!

Liu Xun did not notice her unusual behavior and continued, "If the court must choose a powerful minister from among the feudal lords, I hope that person is General Cao."

All eyes turned to Cao Cao.

But then I saw her phoenix eyes lowered, her eyelashes trembling slightly, as if she was thinking about something.

After a long while, when he looked up, he had a relaxed smile on his face:

"Armaments," she began, her voice much softer than before, "I agree to allocate them to Your Highness."

"My lord!" Cheng Yu couldn't help but exclaim.

Cao Cao raised his hand: "No need for further words, my mind is made up."

Liu Xun was overjoyed and was about to express his gratitude when he heard Cao Cao continue, "However, even if I were to assign officers to Your Highness, Your Highness might not feel at ease."

Liu Xun wasn't too disappointed; the trip had been quite fruitful.

But then a glint flashed in Cao Cao's eyes: "Since Your Highness is determined to command the Imperial Guards, why not learn military strategy from me?"

Liu Xun's brain went blank for three seconds.

Learn military strategy from Cao Cao?

His eyes widened, thinking he had misheard.

"General Cao means..."

"What I mean is," Cao Cao stood up, walked to him with his hands behind his back, and looked down at him, "If Your Highness is interested, you may come to me every day, and I will personally teach you military strategy."

She leaned slightly closer, her bright, pretty face appearing more prominent, her eyes reflecting Liu Xun's image: "How is it?"

Cao Cao!

Liu Xun was so excited when he thought of her extremely high leadership stat in the game that he almost agreed!

However, he quickly realized what was happening.

That scheming woman is definitely up to no good!

Her face was so close, her eyes filled with a strong desire to conquer, and her sweet breath tickled Liu Xun.

Could it be that she's lusting after her own body?

A beautiful teacher instructing her students...

Liu Xun's Adam's apple bobbed.

Faced with the beautiful young woman before him, he didn't mind sacrificing his looks.

Fortunately, reason reminded him in time that he was far inferior to Cao Cao in terms of skill level, and he would probably be outmaneuvered by her until he was nothing but bones.

Moreover, in the not-too-distant future, a situation will emerge in which the emperor and Cao Cao are in opposition.

If he had an ambiguous relationship with Cao Cao at that time, he would inevitably lose the complete trust of his elder sister, Liu Xie.

Then the task of restoring the Han Dynasty would be impossible to accomplish.

"Thank you for your kindness, General!" Liu Xun sighed regretfully. "I'll have to figure it out myself."

……

After Liu Xun left, Cheng Yu finally couldn't help but speak:

"Welcoming the Emperor to Xu County was a matter of great importance and was top secret. It is truly astonishing that Liu Xun was able to uncover it."

"In my opinion, he is the biggest variable in our plan." She raised her head, a cold glint in her eyes: "We should find a way to eliminate him."

Cao Cao shook his head: "Zhongde's words are wrong."

"As Liu Xun said, we and the imperial court are currently allies who are mutually exploiting each other."

"Are we supposed to kill the smart people in the court and ally ourselves with the fools?"