Chapter 91 90 The secret edict in the belt

In the year when Cao Cao welcomed Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to Xudu, Xuzhou shepherd Liu Bei was attacked by Yuan Shu and Lu Bu and failed, so he came to Cao Cao. Liu Bei was born in Zhuo County, Hebei Province (now Zhuo County, Hebei Province), and was originally a descendant of the royal family of the Western Han Dynasty.His father died when he was young, and his family was very poor. He and his mother lived by selling shoes and weaving mats.Later, with the help of my fellow clansmen, I asked my teacher to read a little.But he doesn't like reading very much, but likes to make friends with heroes.Two big horse dealers passed through Zhuo County, met Liu Bei, and thought highly of him, so they gave him money to help him recruit soldiers and horses.

At that time, two strong men came to Zhuo County to apply for recruitment. One was named Guan Yu and the other was named Zhang Fei.Liu Bei saw that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both highly skilled in martial arts, and he shared the same goals with him, so he treated them very kindly.As time went on, the relationship between the three was really closer than that of brothers.Therefore, according to folklore, the three of them once became sworn brothers. After Liu Bei defected to Cao Cao, Cao Cao and Liu Bei went to attack Lu Bu together and wiped out Lu Bu's separatist forces.Back in Xudu, Cao Cao asked Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to designate Liu Bei as General Zuo, and he respected Liu Bei very much, and he wanted Liu Bei to accompany him when he went in and out.

Seeing Cao Cao respecting him so much, Liu Bei felt uneasy, because he had his own ambitions and was afraid of being suspected by Cao Cao. Cao Cao valued Liu Bei on the surface, but he was also guarding against him secretly.He sent someone to see what Liu Bei was doing at home, and he gradually felt relieved when he saw that Liu Bei was planting and watering vegetables in his garden. There was nothing suspicious. At this time, something happened in the court.Because Cao Cao had great power, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty thought he was too bossy, and asked his relative Dong Cheng to try to get rid of Cao Cao.He wrote a secret edict and sewed it into his belt, and then gave the belt to Dong Cheng.

Dong Cheng received the secret edict in his belt, and secretly made an appointment with several of his cronies to discuss how to get rid of Cao Cao.They felt that they were not strong enough, and thought that Liu Bei was a descendant of the royal family and would definitely help them, so they secretly consulted with Liu Bei and asked Liu Bei to do it together.Liu Bei agreed. Not long after, Cao Cao invited Liu Bei to drink.The two were talking and laughing while drinking, and they talked very harmoniously.They talked and talked, and they naturally talked about major events in the world. Cao Cao picked up his wine glass and said, "Look, there are so many people fighting for the world, how many of them are heroes?"

Liu Bei said modestly: "I can't say." Cao Cao smiled and said calmly to Liu Bei: "In my opinion, the only heroes in the world today are the general and I, Cao Cao. People like Yuan Shao are nothing." Liu Bei was in a panic because of his conspiracy with Dong Cheng. When he heard Cao Cao's words, he was shocked, shivered, and even dropped the chopsticks in his hand. At this juncture, a flash of lightning flashed across the sky, and then there was a loud thunder.Liu Bei lowered his body to pick up the chopsticks, and said, "This thunder is so powerful, it scares people like this."

In this way, he finally concealed his panic, so that Cao Cao could not see the flaw. After drinking, Liu Bei repeatedly guessed Cao Cao's words, thinking that Cao Cao regarded him as his only opponent and would not let him go easily in the future.After this, he contacted Dong Cheng and the others to try to get rid of Cao Cao together; while looking for an opportunity to leave Xudu. Coincidentally, Yuan Shao sent his son to Qingzhou to meet Yuan Shu, passing through Xuzhou.Cao Cao thought that Liu Bei was familiar with the situation in that area, so he sent him to intercept Yuan Shu. Liu Bei was eager to leave as soon as possible. As soon as he received Cao Cao's order, he quickly left with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei with his troops.

Cao Cao's counselor Guo Jia and others heard that Cao Cao had let Liu Bei go, so they hurried to Cao Cao and said, "Liu Bei is ambitious, we can't let him go!" After being reminded by Guo Jia, Cao Cao also felt a little regretful, and immediately sent someone to chase him, but Liu Bei had already gone far. Liu Bei defeated Yuan Shu, captured Xuzhou, and decided not to return to Xudu.Xuzhou was originally the place where Liu Bei was the governor of the state, and the nearby counties and counties responded to him and betrayed Cao Cao. When Cao Cao heard that Liu Bei had betrayed him, he was furious.In the spring of the following year, someone reported to Cao Cao that Dong Cheng and Liu Bei had conspired against Cao Cao in Xudu.Cao Cao killed Dong Cheng and his three confidants, and decided to send troops to conquer Liu Bei himself.

At that time, Yuan Shao had already annexed Youzhou (in today's northern Hebei, most of Liaoning) with hundreds of thousands of troops, and threatened to attack Xudu. The generals under Cao Cao dissuaded him and said, "Now you are mainly fighting with Yuan Shao. I heard that Yuan Shao is about to attack, but you are going east to attack Liu Bei. What if Yuan Shao attacks from the north, what shall we do?" Cao Cao said: Liu Bei is a capable person.If we don't eliminate it as soon as possible now, there will be endless troubles in the future. " Guo Jia also said: "Liu Bei just rose up to rebel, and there were not many people who joined him. If he attacked immediately, he would definitely be defeated. Yuan Shao's temperament is hesitant and suspicious. Even if he wanted to attack, he would not be so quick."

Cao Cao decided to keep some of his best soldiers at Guandu (now in the northeast of Zhongmou, Henan Province) to guard against Yuan Shao's attack.He personally led the army to attack Xuzhou. Liu Bei sent someone to ask Yuan Shao for help. Tian Feng, Yuan Shao's adviser, advised Yuan Shao to attack Cao Cao when Xudu was empty, but Yuan Shao refused. Cao Cao's army attacked Xuzhou, but Liu Bei had few soldiers and could not resist Cao Cao's attack.He had no choice but to abandon Xuzhou and go to Jizhou to join Yuan Shao.