Three Kingdoms King of the North

"Heated kang?!" Cao Cao repeated the word, and asked inexplicably, "Tinghou, please forgive Cao for his lack of knowledge. He has never heard of this kind of heated kang."

As long as you haven't heard of it, Han Zhan said to himself in his heart: In front of me, you are just an old hat.But on the surface, he still politely said to Cao Cao: "Prefect Cao, this is just an object developed by the Marquis on a whim. It's not worth mentioning, it's not worth mentioning."

When Cao Cao heard what Han Zhan said, he immediately felt that the other party was unpredictable, and his evaluation of him was a little higher in his heart.Even thinking to himself, even if he can't be friends with the other party, he can't be an enemy with him when his own strength is not enough.Liu Biao and Yuan Shu in the south have been eyeing their own territory, maybe they will attack at any time, and maybe they will need to borrow troops from him to rescue themselves.

Seeing that Cao Cao was still standing in the middle in a daze, Han Zhan greeted him quickly: "Prefect Cao, you don't have to be cautious here, just treat it as your own home, please sit down wherever you want."

Chapter 0163 Cao Cao's confusion

Looking at Cao Cao sitting at the bottom, Han Zhan felt unreal, as if he was dreaming.A bold idea suddenly popped up in his mind, should he arrange a group of knives and axemen, and let them rush in and chop Cao Cao into a pulp in the name of throwing a cup later, so as to get rid of a future man? Seriously.

Seeing Han Zhan staring at him with a smile and not speaking, Cao Cao couldn't help feeling hairy.In order to alleviate the embarrassing situation in front of him, he quickly raised the wine bottle in his hand, and said with a smile: "Tinghou, you can lend food to Dongjun, which is a timely gift. On behalf of the soldiers and civilians of Dongjun, I respect Tinghou One bottle. Do it first and be respectful!" After finishing speaking, he drank it all in one gulp.When Han Zhan saw that Cao Cao had already drunk the wine, he also smiled and picked up the wine bottle and drank the fine wine in the bottle.

While drinking the glass of wine, Han Zhan made a final decision in his heart. Cao Cao could not die at the moment. Although his current strength is not very strong, because he is good at winning people's hearts, his subordinates are loyal to him.Once there is something wrong with him here, he will definitely send troops to avenge him.When two tigers fight, there will always be a wound. If Yuan Shao comes to reap the benefits of the fisherman and annex Dongjun when both sides are exhausted, his strength will increase greatly. It will not be so easy to deal with him.

It was precisely because of this consideration that Han Zhan decided to give up his plan to kill Cao Cao for the time being, and to form an alliance with the other party first, so that he and Yuan Shao could restrain each other. After he had the land of four states and unified the north, he would slowly It's not too late to clean him up.

Han Zhan stood up, took the jug from the servant, walked up to Cao Cao, filled a glass for him, and said with a smile, "Prefect Cao, I have admired you for a long time, and today I can see you. I am lucky." He turned around and walked to the table, picked up the wine bottle placed on it, and said to Cao Cao, "I respect you for a bottle."

"Hold on, Marquis Ting!" Cao Cao heard Han Zhan say this, with a suspicious expression on his face, and asked curiously: "It's the first time I meet Marquis Ting, so when I talk about admiration, where did I start?"

Han Zhan said with a smile: "When the Marquis heard that Dong Thief was in control of the government, he trusted the prefect Cao quite a bit, but you put righteousness first and assassinated Dong Thief in the name of offering a knife. It's a pity that Dong Thief should not die, otherwise There will be no such thing as burning Luoyang, and the Holy One and all the officials will go to Chang'an."

Chen Zhen at the side heard that Cao Cao had assassinated Dong Zhuo, so he couldn't help but "ah", and then asked nervously, "Meng De went to assassinate Dong Bandit, how did he escape from danger?"

Hearing Chen Zhen's question, Han Zhan said with a chuckle, "Xiao Qi, it's a long story, and I'll tell you about it slowly. Governor Cao learned that a certain minister wanted to get rid of Dong Zhuo, and then let me know." Quickly, he volunteered, came to the Prime Minister's Mansion with a treasured sword, and asked the servants of the Prime Minister's Mansion: Where is the Prime Minister?

Because Governor Cao is deeply trusted by Dong Zhuo, the servants often come and go freely in the prime minister's mansion, so they didn't stop him, but told him: in the small pavilion.

Cao Taishou entered the prime minister's mansion and came to the small pavilion.I saw Dong Zhuo sitting on the couch, and his adopted son Lu Bu Lv Fengxian was standing beside him.Seeing Governor Cao come in, Thief Dong asked, "How late is Meng De coming?"

Cao Taishou replied, "Ma Lei was late."

After hearing this Dong thief turned his head and said to Lu Bu: "I have a good horse coming in from Xiliang. Fengxian can personally pick one up and give it to Mengde."After receiving the order, Lu Bu left the small pavilion.

Seeing Lu Bu leave, Cao Taishou secretly rejoiced: This thief is dead!That is to say, he wanted to draw his knife and stab him, but he was afraid of Dong thief's strength, so he didn't dare to move lightly.

Dong Thief was fat and couldn't sit for long, so he fell down and lay down, turning his face inward.

Seeing this situation, Cao Taishou thought to himself again: This thief should stop!He hurriedly held the treasured sword in his hand, just as he was about to stab him. He didn't want Thief Dong to look up in the mirror of his clothes, and saw Cao Taishou drawing his sword behind his back. He hurriedly turned around and asked, "What is Meng De doing?"

Cao Taishou wanted to do everything he could to assassinate Dong thief, but unexpectedly Lv Bu had already led his horse outside the pavilion.Cao Taishou saw that the assassination was difficult to succeed, so he became wise in a hurry, knelt down with a knife and said, "you have a precious knife, and I offer you kindness."

Dong thief took it and looked at it, and saw that the knife was more than a foot long, inlaid with seven treasures, extremely sharp, and it was also a precious knife; so he handed it to Lu Bu to accept it.Cao Taishou unsheathed the cloth.

Dong thief led Cao Taishou out of the pavilion to watch the horses. Cao Taishou thanked him and said, "I would like to take a ride."Dong thief told Lu Bu to hand over the saddle and bridle to Cao Taishou.Cao Taishou led his horse out of the prime minister's mansion, and then he galloped his horse and looked southeast. "

Although Han Zhan explained the entire assassination process in a very brief manner, Chen Zhen broke out in a cold sweat after hearing it.He looked at Cao Cao and said, "It's really dangerous. Fortunately, Meng De has a good life, otherwise he will be murdered by Dong Thief."

When Cao Cao heard the story told by Han Zhan, he showed a shocked expression on his face. Although the content and the actual situation were somewhat different, they were not far from each other. He looked at Han Zhan and asked in an unbelievable tone: "I don't know. Where did Marquis Ting know about this?" He even wondered in his heart whether it was Chen Gong who told Han Zhan about this.

From the expression on his face, Han Zhan knew that he was suspicious of Chen Gong, so he said with a smile: "Prefect Cao, don't look at the three of you who were there at the time, but after the eighteen princes jointly attacked Dong Bandit, Chang'an will There are such rumors. This Marquis also learned about this matter based on the detailed narration of his subordinates. Governor Cao is really a hero!"

As soon as Han Zhan finished speaking, the surrounding subordinates also said in unison: "Prefect Cao is really a hero!"

"Ashamed, ashamed!" Cao Cao raised his head and smiled, bowed to the surroundings, and said seriously: "You guys are overjoyed. If I hadn't been indecisive at the time, Dong thief would have died long ago. Once Dong thief died, there would be no fire to burn Luoyang. The suffering of officials happened."

After Cao Cao took his seat again, Han Zhan looked at him and said, "In the spring of next year, Benhou and Yuan Shao will have a big battle. I wonder what Cao Cao can teach me?"

Unexpectedly, when Cao Cao heard Han Zhan's question, he said modestly: "Tinghou is too famous, I have little talent and learning, how dare I teach Tinghou. Although Tinghou is young, I admire him for his meticulous and thoughtful handling of the world. If you want to talk about advice, I should ask Tinghou for advice."

"Old fox!" Han Zhan cursed silently in his heart, and then changed the topic: "After Yuan Shao was defeated by our army and Gongsun Zan's coalition forces, he fled to Yecheng. Later, he gathered [-] troops from Wei County to attack the museum. Tao, the result is also a failure. If the Marquis estimates are not bad, Yuan Shao will fight our army in the spring, and if he fails again, he will surely go south and capture Dongjun. Governor Cao must make preparations early!"

Cao Cao was startled by Han Zhan's words, but he still pretended to be calm and asked: "Dare to ask Tinghou, if Yuan Shao's army goes south to attack me, where will the battlefield be chosen?"

"White Horse," Han Zhan said to himself after saying the place name without hesitation: If Liu Guanzhang is under your command when you are fighting Yuan Shao, maybe Guan Erye can perform a scene of beheading Yanliang like in history A good show to punish ugliness.However, Yuan Shao already has two of the four court pillars under his command. Once Yan Liangchou dies, Yuan Shao probably won't have any decent generals. "According to Ben Hou's analysis, the two of you are bound to start a big battle in Baima."

Just as Cao Cao frowned and thought, someone from outside came to report: "My lord, the grain and grass outside the city have been handed over. Mr. Chen Gong is waiting outside the city for the return of the prefect Cao."

"Tinghou," Cao Cao, who was restless, was considering how to get out. After hearing the report, he quickly got up and said to Han Zhan, "Since the food and grass have been handed over, I will not stay here for a long time, so I will leave!"

"Wait a minute, Governor Cao," Han Zhan saw that Cao Cao was in a hurry to leave, so he stood up and said to him, "This Marquis will accompany you to the outside of the city."

From leaving the prefect's mansion to leaving the south gate, Han Zhan and Cao Cao, who walked side by side, didn't say a word, but each thought about their own situation.

Seeing a group of men and horses coming out of the city, they immediately rushed out from the grain truck parked outside the city to meet Han Zhan and others.Han Zhan looked at the people who came and saw that he was a military general in his thirties, with a helmet and armor on his top, and a three-pointed two-edged knife in his hand.

When Han Zhan saw the weapon in the hands of the visitor, he couldn't help but turn pale with fright, and said to himself: Why did Ji Ling become Cao Cao's subordinate? Could it be that history has been deviated because of his appearance?Pointing at the galloping riders with his whip, he asked Cao Cao curiously, "Prefect Cao, is it Ji Lingji Fuyi, Yuan Gonggong's general here?"

"Where did Ji Ling come from?" Cao Cao had a confused expression on Han Zhan's question, and quickly explained, "This is Yu Jin Yu Ze, the captain under my command."

It turned out to be Yu Jin. Hearing that the person who came was not Ji Ling, Han Zhan felt much more at ease.If Cao Cao really colluded with Yuan Shu, his layout would be affected.

When Yu Jin came to pay respects to Cao Cao, Cao Cao said to him, "This is the Marquis of Zhangshuiting, come quickly and pay respects!"

Hearing Cao Cao's order, Yu Jin hurriedly bowed on the horse's back and cupped his fists to salute: "School Captain Yu Jin, pay homage to Tinghou!"

"Lieutenant Yu is free!" Han Zhan saw that Chen Gong was also riding his horse towards him, so he smiled and said to Cao Cao: "Prefect Cao, I will send you here. Take care all the way, we will meet later!" After finishing speaking, He bowed to the other party, turned the horse's head and went back to Guantao.

Cao Jun escorted both sides and returned to Dongjun along the snow-covered official road.Cao Cao intentionally rode to Chen Gong's side, and after dismissing the idlers, he said, "Gongtai, I have something to ask you."

"Mr. Cao," Chen Gong saw Cao Cao dismissing the people around him, so he knew that the other party had something important to tell him.However, he thought that Han Zhan knew a lot of secret things and had to report to Cao Cao as soon as possible, so he hurriedly said, "I have something important to report to you."

"My business is also very important." Cao Cao said directly: "When I was having a banquet at the prefect's mansion in Guantao, I heard the little boy of the Han family talk about my assassination of Dong Bandit in Luoyang. Although what he said is different from the actual situation There is a discrepancy, but it is not far behind. I want to find out, how did he know about this?"

Seeing Cao Cao staring at him intently, Chen Gong knew in his heart that the other party must be suspecting that he was talking too much and said something he shouldn't have said to Han Zhan.But he didn't care about explaining, but said to Cao Cao in a low voice: "Mr. Cao, this Marquis of Zhangshuiting is really unfathomable. When he was in Jizhou a few days ago, besides talking about his subordinate abandoning his official position, he went to Qiao with you." The matter of the county. He even asked about Lu Boshe's extermination of his family."

When Cao Cao heard this, he nearly rolled off his horse.He asked tremblingly, "Gongtai, how did he know about this?"

Chen Gong shook his head, and said: "Please make atonement, Mr. Cao, my subordinates don't know how he knew about it."

After a long time, Cao Cao murmured: "If it is said that I assassinated Dong Bandit, it may have been leaked by the servants of the Prime Minister's Mansion. But what about Lu Boshe's matter, after all, only You and I, how could he know about this, could it be that he met a ghost?"

"Please don't worry, Mr. Cao." Seeing the murderous look in Cao Cao's eyes, Chen Gong quickly persuaded him, "When he asked about Lu Boshe the other day, his subordinates prevaricated him, saying that when we arrived at Lu's village, there was a lot of trouble in the village. All the people were dead, maybe they were killed by thieves. But you and I didn't dare to stay in order to avoid suspicion, so we went to Qiao County in the starry night."

"Gongtai," Cao Cao felt a little more at ease when he heard what Chen Gong said, and he bowed his hands towards the other party: "Thank you for covering up this matter for me, your kindness, I will always remember it in my heart."

Cao Cao made up his mind in his heart that when he returned to Dongjun, he must send more detailed operations to let them sneak into Jizhou, monitor the prefectural pastoral mansion, and see who was coming and going, so as to find out where the source of Han Zhan's news was.

Chen Gong turned his head and glanced at the endless convoy, and said to Cao Cao: "Mr. Cao, the Marquis of Zhangshuiting is a generous man. When he heard that we wanted to borrow grain, he agreed to give us [-] hu of grain without hesitation. Wait for this batch When the grain and grass arrive in Dongjun, we can solve our urgent needs."

When Cao Cao heard what Chen Gong said, he couldn't help laughing bitterly: "If I had known that the young man of the Han family was so generous, I wouldn't have just asked him to borrow 20 hu, but [-] hu. These grains and grass are only enough for Dongjun for two months. Next, we may have to go to Yuan Gonglu to borrow food."

"Ask Yuan Gonglu for a loan?" Hearing what Cao Cao said, Chen Gong quickly persuaded him, "Yuan Gonglu is narrow-minded. When he was attacking Dong Bandit, he had a quarrel with you. If you want to borrow food from him, it's no different. To seek skin with a tiger."

"Yuan Gonglu can't borrow food, so we can still borrow it from Yuan Benchu." Cao Cao said disapprovingly, "Gongtai should have heard what the Han family said. They will fight Yuan Shao in the spring of next year. If Yuan Shao sends troops to attack Guantao, He has to be worried that we will take the opportunity to send troops to capture Yecheng, so he must make good friends with us in order to relieve his worries. If I send someone to borrow food from him, maybe he will get what he asks for."

Regarding Cao Cao's thoughts, Chen Gong said worriedly: "Mr. Cao, we asked Yuan Benchu ​​to borrow food in private. If the Marquis of Zhangshuiting found out about this and sent someone to question him, how should we respond?"