Dragon of the Three Kingdoms

He was slandering in his heart, but Cao Cao did not directly comment on the matter, but said: "Yes, when Li Yi first arrived in Jingzhou, he made a lot of concessions to Liu Biao. At that time, Cao thought he was planning to retire after success, and then become a hermit. Look at his actions in Nanyang, although there is no conclusive evidence, but Cao can feel that Li Yi must covet the position of state shepherd."

"That's what the lord said!"

Xi Zhong then said: "Also regardless of whether Liu Biao is not worthy of his name, the method he used to take over Jingzhou at that time was obviously not a fool. Even though he didn't know Li Yi's intentions at first, he must be aware of it now, and because of the previous assassination, Although the relationship between Xiangyang and Nanyang seems to be stable, it has become a fire and water situation. From a loyal point of view, there will be a battle between the two, and this battle will not be too late, and the result will probably be separated this year!"

Cao Cao nodded slightly, he agreed with Xi Zhong's analysis, including Xun Yu.

But after nodding, Cao Cao asked again: "Zhicai's words are reasonable, but since Liu Biao and Li Yi are destined to fight, such a move that hurts both sides, why does Cao need to join in this muddy water?"

"Not to mention, sending troops to attack Li Yi is not good for Cao Cao, but will damage his reputation. Wouldn't it be unwise to participate in it?"

Xun Yu cupped his hands and said, "You have the same opinion as my lord."

Although the two people on the opposite side clearly disagreed with him, Xi Zhong did not intend to give up, shaking his head and said: "My lord's words are wrong."

Cao Cao was not angry either, and asked curiously, "Where did Cao say something wrong?"

Xi Zhong said earnestly: "The battle of Jingzhou is not a loss for both sides, only Liu Biao can lose, and it is a disastrous defeat, a quick defeat!"

Cao Cao frowned slightly, and asked, "How can you see that?"

Xi Zhong remained silent, because these were only his inferences, and they were inferences drawn from the general trend and details. It is difficult to provide evidence if he insists on specific evidence.

After a while, Xi Zhong asked, "How does Liu Biao compare to Dong Zhuo in the past?"

Cao Cao was taken aback, and immediately said, "Of course it's far inferior."

Xi Zhong asked again: "How does Li Yi compare with Li Bai in the past?"

The corner of Cao Cao's mouth twitched. At first Li Yi didn't even have an official status. In a blink of an eye, he was already the prefect of a county, and he was also the most affluent Nanyang in the world. The gap is not too big.

Xi Zhong didn't wait for Cao Cao's answer, and said directly: "In the past, the young eagle could devour people, but today the young eagle's wings are growing. How can Liu Biao stop it?"

Cao Cao didn't speak, looked at Xun Yu, saw Xun Yu nodded slightly, obviously felt that what Xi Zhong said made sense.

Cao Cao suddenly felt a little irritable, moved his body, and asked, "Even so, what has he got to do with someone Cao? Not to mention that Li Yi won the seat of Jingzhou. His name is not right and his words are not right. It will not last long. It is already a matter of stability It's not easy, do you still dare to challenge Cao Mou?"

"Why not?"

Xi Zhong asked back suddenly, so that Cao Cao didn't know how to refute for a while.

Xi Zhong turned sideways, bowed solemnly to Cao Cao, and said in a deep voice: "My lord! The world is in chaos today. Although the officials of the four directions seem to accept the orders of the court, they are actually running their own businesses, either seeking to survive in the chaos, or conspiracy Just look at the Eighteenth Army of the alliance back then, among them, how many of them have disappeared?"

Cao Cao's heart was awe-inspiring. No one knew these changes better than him, and even the demise of some people was driven by him.

"Lord!"

Xi Zhong worshiped again, and continued: "The situation in the world is dangerous. Although my lord has won Yanzhou, it is a moment of glory. If you are complacent and stop moving forward, aren't you afraid of following in the footsteps of others?"

What Xi Zhong said was serious, and with Cao Cao's state of mind, he was a little uneasy.

Xun Yu on the side wanted to remind him, but he didn't know what he thought of, so he didn't make a sound in the end.

No one interrupted, so naturally Xi Zhong's words would not stop.

"My lord's situation is good now, but someone has already seen the current situation clearly before my lord."

"Hebei Yuan Shao, or Gongsun Zan, if the two just want to be a stable official, how can they fight to the death like this?"

"Furthermore, there is Yuan Shu in Yangzhou. Many people disdain Yuan Shu's deeds after he was dismissed from the board of directors, but they believe that although Yuan Shu's actions are inappropriate, his vision may not be much worse than Yuan Shao's."

"The rest is Nanyang Li Yi"

Cao Cao couldn't help interrupting Xi Zhong, only to hear him ask: "You said Li Yi, how could he be?"

It is normal for Cao Cao to have this kind of thinking. Regardless of the Yuan family, Gongsun Zan, or Cao Cao himself, they all have good backgrounds and family backgrounds. Only with such backgrounds can they have the capital to do things in troubled times. , but Li Yi was just an ordinary citizen before, so it's unbelievable to say that he has too much ambition in his heart.

"Why not?"

Xi Zhong asked rhetorically again, and then said: "From Sishuiguan to Luoyang, Chang'an, and then to Nanyang, Jingzhou today, Li Yi's deeds seem to be upstream in the cracks, and he seems to follow the trend in the torrent, but No matter what, every time, he got great benefits from it, especially after killing Dong Zhuo, he quickly retreated from Chang'an. This kind of decisiveness is admirable. Zhou Xuan, but in the silent place, he is constantly writing, first to win the hearts of the people, and then to win the hearts of the aristocratic family, in a short time, Liu Biao can no longer underestimate him, the wisdom in this can only be said to be loyal, and he is ashamed of himself!"

Hearing his counselors praise Li Yi without hesitation, Cao Cao was a little jealous. If he changed someone, he might have to put on shoes for Xi Zhong, but although Cao Cao was sour, he had a positive attitude. Yi attaches great importance to him, so while thinking about it, instead of being annoyed, he appreciates Xi Zhong's outspokenness even more.

Xi Zhong sighed softly, and said: "Li Yi is a man mentioned by the poor family, and he is praised a lot, and so is Zhong. With some scheming and good luck, it was a moment of success."

"However, looking at how he has come all the way, and now coveting Jingzhou, is it an ordinary calculation, or can it be done by luck?"

"With all due respect, when Li Yi beheaded Hua Xiong, the plan for Xiangyang was probably already in his mind."

Cao Cao suddenly felt a pain in his heart, and subconsciously wrinkled his face, thinking that Xi Zhong's guess was too much, but after thinking about it carefully, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Xi Zhong's guess was reliable, which made the always bold Cao Cao felt a little cold.

When he was still in vain, he dared to calculate so many things, and he really did it, so when Li Yi becomes the lord of Jingzhou, what else in this world would he not dare to do?

Xi Zhong didn't finish his words, but he continued: "As we all know, after Dong Zhuo's death, Chang'an quickly stabilized after a short period of turmoil. Dare I ask Wen Ruo, if you were Li Yi at that time, what would you do?"

Xun Yu pondered for a while, then said: "Assist the emperor, revive the court!"

Xi Zhong nodded and said: "At that time Chang'an was chaotic, although this move was difficult, but with Li Yi's means, as long as the emperor used the emperor to reconcile the court, and then contact Lv Bu to frighten Dong Zhuo's remaining troops, and then divide Dong Zhuo's remaining troops one after another, this is not difficult to do."

"But Li Yi left Nanyang far away, and as soon as Li Yi left, the court continued to be in turmoil, and even the emperor fell into the hands of tigers and wolves such as Li Jue and Guo Si. Although this was caused by various changes in Chang'an, it was not Li Yi. Are you willing to push?"

Cao Cao and Xun Yu didn't speak, but their faces were much darker than before.

At this time, Xi Zhong's voice changed, and he suddenly asked: "Master, do you still remember Li Yi's master book, Guo Jia?"

Cao Cao had a good memory, nodded and said: "I know, it is the fellow of the two of you?"

"It's Guo Fengxiao!"

Xi Zhong said: "Guo Jia's strategy is not weaker than loyalty, but Guo Jia's nature does not like restraint, he acts willfully, and is not loved by the world, so his reputation is not obvious. But when Li Yi entered Jingzhou, he deliberately detoured and went to Yingchuan in person. Finding Guo Jia was very strange, and it was at that time that Zhong began to suspect that Li Yi's intentions were not pure."

"When I first learned that Guo Jia had defected to Li Yi, I originally wanted to write a letter to persuade him to change to the lord, but after hearing about his passing, I had to stop this idea."

"The lord asked Zhong to be an official, but he came with a letter of order, and Li Yi invited Guo Jia to carry water and chop firewood for his old mother. He treated her like a biological mother with the utmost courtesy. Xin, why isn't he following the example of King Wen in inviting Jiang Taigong? Moreover, in this way, Guo Jia can only serve him to death in this life, and there is absolutely no reason to change to serve others."

A hint of annoyance flashed in Cao Cao's eyes. Although he had never met Guo Jia, he had heard it mentioned by Xun Yu Xizhong a few times recently, and every time it made him feel stuck.

"Looking at what Li Yi has done, whether it's eliminating thieves for the country, or seeking survival for the people, or even seeking talents and talents, every time he acts, he will always get a good name and praise, and gain real benefits afterwards. It is a real double fame and fortune. Accept him, and his methods are so clever that even if someone sees through him, he won't be able to tell him half wrong!"

"so!"

Xi Zhong raised his voice slowly, and said word by word: "Zhong asserts that Li Yi, although he has the name of loyalty, is definitely not a loyal minister. If the lord does not make a plan early, he may be harmed by him!"

"Zhicai"

Cao Cao looked at Xi Zhong, and was about to speak, but felt a cold on the tip of his nose, and when he reached out to touch it, it was wet. It turned out that at some point, a lot of sweat broke out on Cao Cao's forehead.

Xun Yu and Xi Zhong were also a little surprised by this. They didn't expect Cao Cao to break out in a cold sweat. Just as they were thinking about how to help Cao Cao save face, Cao Cao rubbed his fingers and looked up again. He glanced at them, then looked at the two of them again, and said, "This is God's warning to us!"