Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 71: The arrogant and arrogant Li Er, Chen Gong: I can’t lead him, I really can’t lead him

After talking about Liu Bei, let’s turn our attention to Cao Cao.

Ever since Guo Jia made the plan that day, Cao Cao had been organizing his troops and preparing for the eastern expedition against Yuan Shu.

Unexpectedly, before he set out on the expedition, he received a letter from the envoy Wang Xi.

As mentioned earlier, in order to mobilize Sun Ce to send troops, Cao Cao specially sent an envoy, Wang Ju, to the south.

This march southward was not just to allow Sun Ce to send troops, but also gave him a lot of benefits.

Just like he increased Liu Bei's fiefdom, Cao Cao recommended Sun Ce as the Cavalry Commander, who inherited his father's title of Marquis of Wucheng and concurrently served as the Prefect of Kuaiji.

As a result, before the messenger arrived, Sun Ce in the south heard the news and directly sent someone to inform Wang Ju that this matter could not be done!

It turned out that since Sun Ce went south three years ago, he had been fighting continuously with only a thousand soldiers and horses. He first defeated Liu Yao, then broke Xu Gong, and later defeated Wang Lang.

Now he has occupied Wujun, Kuaiji, parts of Yuzhang and Danyang, and has an army of 60,000 to 70,000.

According to the rules, Sun Ce should at least be named a general like Liu Bei, Lu Bu and others.

But now Cao Cao was stingy and gave him a military position as a cavalry captain.

What kind of position is a cavalry captain? It's not even as high as a school lieutenant!
Sun Ce naturally couldn't stand it given his violent temper, so he sent someone to tell Wang Qi that the position they gave him would make it difficult for me to do my job, so he should handle it himself.

Wang Qi was just a counselor, so how could he decide such a matter? Naturally, he reported the matter to Cao Cao.

After Cao Cao read Wang Xi's letter, he summoned Xun Yu and Guo Jia to discuss the matter.

"This boy is arrogant and far more arrogant than his father. I'm afraid it will be difficult to control him in the future!"

Cao Cao still remembered Sun Jian's bravery and did not dare to appoint Sun Ce to a high-ranking official position for fear that he would not be able to control this young man in the future.

Unexpectedly, Sun Ce had a worse temper than Sun Jian and couldn't stand any grievance.

We can do this now even though our territory is not that big. It will be even easier if we occupy Jiangdong in the future.

Xun Yu and Guo Jia also felt a headache after listening to this.

He thought that none of the people around him were easy to deal with. Lu Bu and Liu Bei were ready to make a move, Yuan Shu was plotting to usurp the throne, and Sun Ce in the south was also a big problem.

But considering that Liu Bei is now more dangerous, Guo Jia said:

"In today's situation, Liu Bei and Yuan Shu are a threat. Although the beast is difficult to control, we can use him first and deal with him later!"

Xun Yu gave a solution:

"What Sun Ce wants is nothing more than the position of general. The title of a general should not be given lightly. You can give him a miscellaneous title of general to calm his mind first!"

"Now that the envoy has gone south, it will be difficult to send another envoy. You can ask Wang Xi to let him take over the position of general temporarily and give the seal later."

After hearing this, Lao Cao thought that this was indeed the case. Sun Ce was just acting like this because he was young and arrogant, so he just needed to be appeased.

After dealing with Liu Bei, we will then find a way to deal with Sun Ce!

He immediately sent a messenger south to have Wang Xi inform Sun Ce to temporarily replace General Ming Han.

As soon as the messenger arrived, Cao Ren came to report that after Yuan Shu led his troops to Runan, he ordered troops from all places to gather together, and now they were deployed on the Pingyu line.

Hearing that Yuan Shu had come to him, Cao Cao was overjoyed. He immediately assembled 80,000 troops and marched eastward.

As a result, when they were halfway there, they heard from the messenger that the imperial edict had been announced, but Liu Bei, Lu Bu and others had not mobilized their troops.

When Cao Cao heard the report, he became furious and summoned Guo Jia again to discuss the matter.

When Guo Jia arrived and read the letter, he stroked his beard and smiled at Cao Cao:
"Although they have received the emperor's order, they each have their own concerns. Our army must move first!"

"Let Liu Bei go. Lu Bu will not dare to disobey when he knows that our army is dispatching."

"You can send an envoy to urge him directly. If Lü Bu moves and Liu Bei does not, then report to the court to accuse Liu Bei of his crime!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao knew that Lu Bu was the kind of person who would not do anything without a profit. And since he just wanted to restrict Liu Bei, he simply agreed to Lu Bu's request for the position of Governor of Xuzhou.

He immediately submitted a memorial to the imperial court, recommending Lü Bu as governor of Xuzhou.

He then sent a messenger to Xuzhou to urge him.

The messenger left Cao's camp and headed towards Xuzhou, all the way to the outskirts of Xia Pi City.

At this time, in Xia Pi City, Lu Bu was gathering everyone to discuss matters.

The main issue is whether to send troops.

In fact, Lu Bu wanted to send troops.

Even though Lu Bu had just looted a large amount of money and grain from Huainan, he never had too much money and grain.

But the problem is that now that Zang Ba has seized Ju County, it is equivalent to tearing a hole in Lu Bu's back.

Because Lu Bu now occupies Xuzhou, not the entire Xuzhou.

Needless to say, most of Guangling County was under the command of Yuan Shu. Although Chen Deng was sent south, Chen Deng's influence was limited to the northern part of Guangling.

Except for Guangling, the State of Pengcheng had been devastated by Cao Cao.

The only territories that Lu Bu truly controlled and were useful to him were Xia Pi State and Donghai County.

After Zang Ba captured Ju County, his next step would be to head south to Donghai County and threaten Lu Bu's old nest, Xia Pi.

Therefore, now, Lu Bu's subordinates are divided into two factions: civil and military!
One faction, headed by Chen Gong, strongly advocated that Lu Bu should not send troops. If Cao Cao wants to attack Yuan Shu, then attack him. Let's take care of our own business first.

One faction was led by Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, who believed that the imperial edicts must be respected.

I saw Chen Gong standing in the hall, with a serious face saying:

"Cao Cao wants to attack Yuan Shu now because he is a traitor. Although Yuan Shu is hateful, we still have the threat of Zang Ba behind us!"

"For this reason, our army cannot send out troops."

"Besides, Liu Bei now occupies Pei State. Even if our army takes Huainan, it will be difficult to defend it."

"If we go south like this, we will definitely be taking the city for others!"

"So no matter whether this was planned by Cao Cao or Liu Bei, our army must not send out any troops!"

Chen Gong is a clear-headed person. He knows that he cannot see the overall situation clearly.

But he knew very well that no matter what you planned, if I didn't accept it, I wouldn't be tricked!

Especially after being tricked by Qin Zhen last time, he reflected on it and realized that it was ultimately Lu Bu's fault for accepting the trick.

So this time, he couldn't let Lu Bu take the attack no matter what.

As soon as he finished speaking, a burly general stepped out and said:
"Marquis Wen, we have received great favors from the country, and we should repay the country. Now that Yuan Shu has usurped the throne, our army has received the emperor's order and should immediately march south!"

"Although Zang Ba has soldiers and horses, he is unlikely to become a great man. He is not to be feared. We can just send one general to stop him. Why should we talk about him as a threat?"

"Besides, Lord Cao is serving the emperor in Xudu. What can he plan to do by asking for permission to attack the enemy?"

These generals were none other than Zhang Liao and Zhang Wenyuan, who served under Lu Bu.

Previously, he was appointed by Lu Bu as the Prime Minister of Lu, and led troops to the north to guard against Zang Ba and others. Later, when Yuan Shu went north, Lu Bu recruited him to his side, which gave Zang Ba an opportunity to take advantage of.

As soon as he finished speaking, a man over seven feet tall stepped out and said:

"General, what Wenyuan said is correct. The emperor has issued an edict and we should march south."

This man was Gao Shun, Lu Bu's loyalist. He had previously ordered him to station troops in the northern part of Pei County to guard against Cao Cao's troops.

Although the two were foreign generals, they held extremely high positions under Lu Bu.

And both of them have one thing in common: they don’t like Chen Gong.

Gao Shun, in particular, hated Chen Gong very much.

In his opinion, Lu Bu was a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, while Chen Gong was two-faced, first betraying Cao Cao and then playing tricks with Yuan Shu, which was truly hateful.

Therefore, when he saw Chen Gong persuading Lu Bu to disobey the emperor's edict again, he was naturally unhappy.

Faced with the debate between the two sides, Lu Bu was also conflicted.

If he doesn't send troops, it will not be good for his reputation. If he sends troops, to be honest, he is a little scared of Liu Bei now.

Because Liu Bei is a bit weird now, and he has learned his lesson after suffering a great loss last time.

While I was thinking, I saw a soldier coming over and said:
"My lord, there is a messenger from Cao Cao outside the city!"

When Chen Gong heard that a messenger was coming, his heart trembled.

The messenger again? He was not afraid of anything now, but the messenger!
When Lu Bu heard that it was Cao Cao's messenger, he did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly invited him into the city to meet him.

After a while, seeing the messenger coming, Lu Bu asked:
"Where does the envoy come from?"

The messenger was a minor official in Cao's army. He said as soon as he heard it:
"I have come to tell you the good news, General!"

"Lord Cao has appointed you as governor of Xuzhou, and has sent me to inform you!"

"This is a letter written by Lord Cao himself. Please open it yourself, Lord Wen!"

When Lu Bu heard that it was Cao Cao who appointed him as the governor of Xuzhou, he was very excited and stood up and said:

"Show me the letter!"

The messenger hurried forward and handed it to Lu Bu, who read it at a glance.

The letter first contained Lao Cao's cordial greetings, and then a very kind inquiry.

The general meaning is: I, Cao Cao, am now going to war for my country. When you heard that you haven't sent out your troops yet, are you blaming me for not giving you the title of Mu of Xuzhou?
Now I know I was wrong, and I have recommended you to be the governor of Xuzhou. I hope you will also put state affairs first and send troops as soon as possible, my friend!

I have to say that Lao Cao's writing skills are first-class.

The letter was written very vividly, like a greeting from an old friend. Seeing it, Lu Bu felt warm inside and couldn't help laughing:

"Why did Lord Cao do this? With the current national affairs at stake, there is no reason for Bu to refuse!"

"Even if there is no letter, we should send troops. Why are you sending another letter to urge us?"

After saying this, without even looking at Chen Gong, he directly said to the messenger:

"Go back and tell Lord Cao not to underestimate me, Lü Bu. I am here not for the position of pastor, but for the sake of state affairs. I will send troops today. I hope Lord Cao will not worry!"

When the messenger heard this, he knew his mission was accomplished and wanted to say goodbye and leave.

But when Chen Gong saw that Lu Bu had agreed, he quickly stepped forward to stop the messenger and said:

"Wait a minute, sir!"

Standing in front of the messenger, he looked at Lu Bu and said:

"Zang Ba is still causing chaos in the northern border. How can our army send troops?"

Hearing this, the messenger blinked and looked at Lu Bu:
"General, the north is in trouble. Why can't you send troops?"

When Lu Bu saw Chen Gong like this, he got angry and shouted:
"Chen Gongtai, why are you so nosy?"

"Zang Ba is only a minor nuisance, how can he be compared to the traitor Yuan Shu?"

"Right now, getting rid of the thieves is the most important thing. You can put this matter on hold for now!"

Chen Gong listened and thought to himself, how come you, Lu Bu, only care about eating and not about fighting?

Have you forgotten how Cao Cao beat you in the first place?

The more this is the case now, the more it proves that there is something wrong with Cao Cao!
But at this time, in front of Cao Cao's envoy, it was not easy for him to express his opinion directly, so he fell into his old habit again and didn't know how to refute.

But most things in this world are coincidental. As he hesitated, another soldier came to report:

"My lord, Zang Ba sent an envoy to seek peace, saying that he does not want to fight with our army and is willing to withdraw from Ju County!"

Upon hearing the news, Lu Bu was overjoyed. He slapped the table and said with a smile:

"It can be seen that Zang Ba is also afraid of the power of our army. How dare such a petty thief cause trouble?"

He smiled and looked at Chen Gong again:
"Now, what else can Gongtai say?"

When Chen Gong heard Zang Ba's request for peace, his eyes suddenly became dull and he was completely dazed.

His intuition told him that something was wrong!
There's something wrong with Cao Cao, and there's something even more wrong with Zang Ba!

Cao Cao is fine, but what about Zang Ba?
It doesn't make sense for them to come and ask for peace before sending troops!
There must be some plot behind this.

But who was behind this? What was he planning now?
He still can't figure it out.

Looking at Lu Bu's smiling face, Chen Gong felt only despair in his heart.

He can’t carry it, he really can’t carry it!

With the collusion between the two families, Lu Bu certainly could not escape the fate of being sent to fight.

In order to respond to the call of the imperial court, Lu Bu personally led more than 10,000 troops, ordered Chen Gong, Gao Shun and Wei Xu to guard Xia Pi, and he himself led Zhang Liao, Wei Yue, Song Xian and other generals to go into battle.

But this time, it was not that Lu Bu did not want to take Chen Gong with him, but that Chen Gong asked to stay in Xia Pi.

Chen Gong had his considerations for doing so.

In his opinion, the enemy must have other plans this time, but Lu Bu should not be in danger.

On the contrary, the danger is most likely Lu Bu's lair.

Therefore, he had to stay in Xia Pi to look after Lu Bu's hometown.

Lu Bu had no objection to Chen Gong's suggestion. In fact, he was tired of Chen Gong's nagging.

Seeing that Chen Gong was not going, he simply took Wang Kai and Xu Si with him to join the army to give advice.

Just as Lu Bu was sending his troops, a messenger also arrived at Sheyang City in Guangling.

(End of this chapter)