The beginning of the Three Kingdoms Cheng Yuanzhi

Chapter 71 Cao Cao is here
Yuan Shu no longer entangled with He Jin's question, but instead said: "My dear brother, I have three things to do today."

"Well, Jizhou Inspector Wang Fen's rebellion failed, His Majesty issued an order today to summon him to Beijing to report on his duties."

"What do you think, brother?"

"He will never come, if he comes, he will die... If he doesn't come, he will die!" Cheng Yuanzhi shook his head, thinking of such a thing.

Wang Fen was one of the "Eight Chefs". During the Emperor Huan's reign, he was affected by the party's imprisonment and went into exile.

In the first year of Zhongping (184), after Liu Hong lifted the imprisonment of the party, Wang Fen became the governor of Jizhou in Dongyue.

After taking office, Wang Fen took in the refugees, pacified the rebellion, managed the army and governed the government, and soon settled down in Jizhou.During his four years in office, the people became more and more prosperous and his political achievements were extraordinary.

In the fourth year of Zhongping (187), Chen Yi, a famous scholar, and Xiangkai, a sorcerer, visited Wang Fen's mansion. Xiangkai said to them: "Recently, the meteors have fallen to the west, and the heavenly dog ​​is eclipsing the sun. The astronomical phenomena are not good for eunuchs. , Shi Changshi, etc., this time it is really doomed."

Chen Yi and Wang Fen were overjoyed, so they conspired with Xu You, Zhou Jing and others to connect with local heroes in Jizhou, seeking to abolish Emperor Ling and make Hefei Hou emperor.

They told Cao Cao of their plan and hoped that Cao Cao would join, but Cao Cao immediately wrote a letter to reject Wang Fen and distanced himself from the relationship.

After Wang Fen ran into a wall at Cao Cao, he then called Tao Qiuhong and Hua Xin, famous scholars from Pingyuan.Tao Qiuhong was about to go, but was persuaded by Hua Xin.

At this time, the arrow is on the string and has to be fired.

Under the circumstances of insufficient manpower and unknown plans, Wang Fen took advantage of the time when Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was patrolling the old house of Hejian State in the north, and wrote a letter saying that the Heishan bandits would attack counties and counties, requesting troops to protect King Qin, in a false plan to destroy Guo.

Liu Hong immediately rejected this suggestion and ordered Wang Fen to strike.After returning to Beijing, he was called to Beijing to report on his work.

So there was the opening scene.

Yuan Shu nodded: "Your brother is right, Wang Fen has committed suicide.

"Your Majesty is not seeing anyone now, and is hiding in the deep palace alone."

"My dear brother, how should I deal with myself at this time?"

Cheng Yuanzhi was silent.

Liu Hong's health was deteriorating, and the underworld was surging. In addition to the rebellions in various places, there were also incidents such as Wang Fen's attempt to abolish Liu Hong and support Hefei Marquis, and Yan Zhong's persuasion of Huangfu Song to stand on his own.

Although they all ended in vain, they touched Liu Hong a lot.

Not surprisingly, after the palace is closed this time, Liu Hong will completely come out of the West Garden enjoyment and work hard to improve himself.

But the time God left for him was running out.

Seeing that Cheng Yuanzhi didn't answer, Yuan Shu said again: "Well, Cao Cao has returned to Luoyang after the year. He just arrived in the city yesterday evening, so he went to Yuan Shao's residence and stayed in the middle of the night before returning."

"Three things, the southern Xiongnu's tribes rebelled, and now they have killed the Xiongnu Shanyu and the governor of Xihe County, causing chaos in the western part of the state. The imperial court has ordered Ding Yuan to put down the rebellion on the spot."

Cao Cao is here? !
Cheng Yuanzhi's eyes brightened quickly, for such an outstanding person, it would be a lie if he said he didn't want to see him.

Four years after avoiding misfortune in his hometown of Peiguo, Cao Cao's ambition at this time must have changed from being a general who conquered the west to becoming a separatist party.

Cheng Yuanzhi did not wait long.

The next morning, Cao Cao came.

He is about six feet tall, with a long beard, thick eyebrows and big eyes, his eyes are piercing, and his posture is bold and heroic when he walks.

"Cao Cao of Pei Kingdom has seen his subordinates."

"Chang Shan Yuan She, I have long admired my name." Cheng Yuanzhi hastily cupped his hands and returned the salute.

He didn't expect Cao Cao to be so polite. In terms of age, he was seven years younger than Cao Cao. In terms of seniority, he was a white man. Cao Cao was already a marquis and had experienced many things in the world.I really can't bear the honorific title.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period, one step has been an honorific, which is roughly equivalent to "you". It is not only a subject to the monarch, but also a person of the same generation. With enough respect.

The two exchanged greetings, entered the middle hall, and sat down as guests and hosts.

Therefore, both of them had no official positions at that time and were not suitable to discuss current affairs. Cheng Yuanzhi said: "I wonder what classics Brother Meng De has managed during his four years at home?"

Cao Cao waved his hands repeatedly: "Searching for chapters and extracting sentences and quoting scriptures are the business of pedantic nerds. They have nothing to do with governing the country. Cao Cao does not do such things."

With just one sentence, Cao Cao brought the topic back to current affairs.

Cheng Yuanzhi had no choice but to follow the topic: "Could it be that Meng De's ambition today is still the general of the Han Dynasty?"

"Of course!"

Seeing Cao Cao's righteous words, Cheng Yuanzhi didn't point his finger at him, and said, "The Han Dynasty is decadent, everyone is in danger, I admire the ambition of one step."

The answer was too polite, and Cao Cao didn't answer it for a while.

There was a brief silence in the hall.

After a while, he pondered: "I heard that my men fought against Wuhuan three times and killed 30 of their young men. Is this true?"

30?Good guy, who spread the word, bragging doesn't pay taxes.

Adding up the three times, a total of 13 Wuhuan people were killed, and less than the rest ran away.

If someone has a horse and sees that the situation is bad, he will run away. Who can stop him?

Cheng Yuanzhi laughed and said: "This is a false statement, the most unbelievable. The matter of destroying Wuhuan is all due to the Shangdang prefect's ability to publicize. I am just assisting from the side."

"Hey, don't be too humble with one step. Why don't you tell Cao Cao, how did you achieve this eight hundred to fifty thousand?"

"..."

However, Cheng Yuanzhi had no choice but to tell the details of the second Wuhuan battle.

During this period, he added oil and vinegar, added more oil and vinegar, and put the credit on Wutuna's aggressiveness. He never mentioned his plan to build a reservoir in advance, but only said that the reservoir was built for the people's irrigation. When Wuhuan came to attack, he used it.

After Cao Cao heard this, he fell silent for a long time.

As someone who has commanded soldiers, he can naturally imagine what it would be like for [-] new soldiers to face [-] Wuhuan elite cavalry in the wild.

Not to mention winning, you don't even have the strength to fight, and it's even more impossible to escape!

But in the end, there were zero casualties, and the group destroyed the opponent.

Well, it can't be said that there were zero casualties...More than 700 horses died.

This battle... If it was really done by this inconspicuous son of the Yuan family on the opposite side, it would be extremely scary to think about it carefully.

Although outsiders said that the three wars against Wuhuan were all due to publicity, Cao Cao was keenly aware of the unusualness.

The prefect of Shangdang Zhang Yang is illiterate, this is something everyone in the world knows.

How much do five thousand soldiers and horses eat in a month?I'm afraid he doesn't even know.

How good can a prefect who cannot read or count be in fighting?

After a long time, Cao Cao came back to his senses and asked again: "What do you think of the current situation of the big man?"

Cheng Yuanzhi shook his head with a smile: "Meng De, I'm white, how dare I talk about government affairs."

Cao Cao dared to speak out about government affairs, but Cheng Yuanzhi was very cautious.

Firstly, I am not even Xiaolian, and secondly, when two people meet for the first time, it is a big taboo to talk lightly.

What if the front foot is bald and the person in power spouts a lot of criticism and is reported the next day?
Have to guard against.

Cao Cao smiled heartily: "To be honest, Cao Cao's visit to Beijing this time was called by His Majesty."

"Your Majesty has been thinking about forming a new army for a long time."

"I don't know if you have the intention of becoming an official, so I wish to recommend one or two."

Isn't he the eighth captain of Xiyuan? Cheng Yuanzhi shook his head and said nothing with a smile.

Besides, I don’t think I need your recommendation to become an official. My godfather Yuan Wei is much tougher than you.

At this time, the troops used by the Han Dynasty to defend the capital were mainly the forbidden troops of the five schools of the Northern Army, including the Tunqi, Yueqi, Infantry, Changshui, and Shesheng battalions.

Each of the five battalions has five school lieutenants as commanders. The superior of the Northern Army is Zhi Jinwu, who is responsible for the security of the capital, and the general is Zhi Jinwu's superior, who controls the military power of the capital and the whole country.

And military power is the most basic guarantee for political struggle.

Not long after Liu Hong knew his destiny, he had the idea of ​​restraining He Jin's military power. It was under this background that the Eighth School Captain of Xiyuan was born.

Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, He Jin was just a Henan Yin. Although he was Empress He's elder brother, he could only be regarded as an ordinary relative with little ability and power.

But He Jin uncovered the conspiracy of Ma Yuanyi, the leader of the Yellow Turban Army, and destroyed the remnants of the Yellow Turban Army in Luoyang.

As soon as this great achievement was achieved, He Jin was immediately made a marquis and served as a general, commanding the world's troops.

During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, He Jin was stationed in Luoyang and led the five schools of the Northern Army to defend the capital.

Since then, He Jin has grown stronger and stronger, causing Liu Hong to worry.

Although Liu Hong is fatuous, his political methods are still very powerful.

At this time, due to his deteriorating health, he faced a very important problem - establishing a prince.

Liu Hong has two sons, the eldest son is Liu Bian born to Empress He, and the youngest son is Liu Xie born to Wang Mei.

Empress He poisoned Wang Meiren to death out of jealousy, and Liu Hong wanted to abolish Empress He in a fit of anger. Fortunately, the eunuchs pleaded with Liu Hong and handed over a lot of money to Liu Hong to keep the queen's position. The reason why Empress He disagreed when Jin wanted to kill the eunuch.

How can people kill their benefactors instead of repaying them?
But then again, Liu Hong liked the Prince's Association, but he didn't like the Prince's Bian. A large part of the reason was that He Jin controlled the military power in the world.

Going forward in accordance with the orthodox rules of establishing a heir and establishing an elder, Liu Bian is the eldest son and will surely ascend the throne, his mother is a queen, and his uncle is a general.

Then this world, isn't it all under He Jin's control?
Therefore, Liu Hong has always been hesitant about the candidate for the successor. If Liu Xie is established, he is worried that General He Jin and Queen He will not be willing, and if Liu Bian is established, he will not be reconciled.

Therefore, Liu Hong came up with the idea of ​​setting up a new army. The purpose was to elevate the status of the leader of the new army and restrain He Jin, so that the leader of the new army could support Liu Xie as emperor.

He has already identified the candidate for the leader of the new army - it is Kong Wuli, the eunuch who has always been loyal to him, Xiao Huangmao Jianshuo.

Uh... it's the little yellow door.

Liu Hong first raised Jian Shuo's status, making Jian Shuo's official position higher than that of General He Jin, and then cultivated Jian Shuo step by step.

Because only by removing the threat of He Jin and He Hou step by step, can Liu Xie be truly established as emperor, otherwise even if Liu Xie is established, this person will not be able to sit still and will be kicked out.

However, Liu Hong passed away seven months after the establishment of the Xiyuan New Army, and the process of making Liu Xie the prince was not completed.

Before Liu Hong died, he told Jian Shuo that he would inherit his last wish and still try to make Liu Xie emperor.

But Jian Shuo was just an eunuch, and his power came from Liu Hong. After Liu Hong died, what would he do if all the major lieutenants under his command wanted to go?
He can only stand alone against He Jin.

Jian Shuo had no choice but to take risks.

He pretended to send someone to call He into the palace for discussion, and planned to take the opportunity to kill He Jin, but his subordinate, Sima Pan, secretly signaled He Jin about this matter, and He Jin immediately escaped from the palace and hid in the army under his control.

In this way, Jian Shuo has no choice but to die.

However, these things have not happened yet and are still brewing.

At this moment, except for Cheng Yuanzhi, no one can see through this puzzle.

Cheng Yuanzhi looked at Cao Cao, thought over and over again, and finally said nothing, and slowly picked up the teacup.

Cao Cao winked very much, and immediately got up and left.

(End of this chapter)