Chapter 14 1. Four obstacles of the Cao family

"Today I gave a beautiful speech to Cao Mengde in public, I didn't expect Cao Mengde to know the etiquette of reciprocating favors." Sima Fang glanced at the table in his bedroom, pouted, "Finally, he gave I brought two bowls of carved jade chess pieces and a rosewood chessboard for my father..." Sima Lang and Sima Yi raised their eyes to look at the table, and saw two silver chess bowls glistening on the shiny red sandalwood chessboard.One bowl contained crisp white jade chess pieces, and the other contained black black jade chess pieces that were as bright as ink.Moreover, what's even more ingenious is that the color of the white jade chess piece is slightly yellow, and the color of the black jade chess piece is slightly green - no matter how long you stare at them, you will never feel dazzled.Based on this alone, these two bowls of jade carving chess pieces can be regarded as rare treasures.It can be seen from this that Cao Cao took a lot of painstaking efforts to win over Sima Fang.

"It's ridiculous that Cao Cao is small and easy-going, and he still has the unlearned and incompetent nature of the descendants of eunuchs. He immediately became proud and arrogant after hearing his father's praise..." Sima Lang smiled coldly, with a trace of disdain in his tone, "Father is so kind to such a successful villain like him, my child is very unwilling!" "Unwilling! Why are you unwilling?" Sima Fang glared at him, and scolded in a cold voice, "Cao Cao today is indeed a flying bird, with a reputation far and far away. It is not comparable to when he was his father's subordinate. He not only Holding the power of the whole country, and with the help of Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi and other sons, the grace and luck of God can be said to be concentrated in his Cao family-this may hinder our Sima family's general plan of "emerging from a sudden and attacking later". Already!"

"That's right. With such a self-proclaimed boy, seeing his third son Cao Zhi today, I can't help but feel admiration from the bottom of my heart." Sima Yi also lowered his head slightly, and said politely, "Han Song blatantly praised Cao Cao's majestic achievements and successors, which is certainly not a compliment." Sima Lang frowned: "Then, how should our Sima family respond to this situation?" Sima Fang's eyes froze, and he shot straight at Sima Yi: "What's the matter? Yi'er, even you are a little afraid to retreat?" "Father, my son is just describing this fact, so that our Sima family can know ourselves and our enemy, and win every battle." Sima Yi's tone was very calm, as if he felt that there was nothing shameful in admitting that others were stronger than himself. Father's insightful eyes already have a deep insight into the future plans of the Cao Clan."

When Sima Fang heard this, he couldn't help being slightly surprised. He stared at Sima Yi for a moment, then slowly sat down behind the table, took out a white jade chess piece from the silver bowl on the right, and lightly touched it on the rosewood chessboard. Let go, and said slowly: "That's right. Through today's grand meeting in Zhuquechi, my father can vaguely see a little clue of his Cao Mengde's family's plan to conquer the world—— "If the father's guess is correct, the first step of their Cao family is to be managed by Cao Mengde in the front, and he will try his best to wipe out the princes of the four directions one by one, and seize the whole world in his hands!"

"That's right. Cao Cao is now fighting north and south without getting off his saddle, and that's exactly what he's doing." Sima Lang nodded deeply. Sima Yi just stared at the white jade chess piece quietly, and didn't say much. Sima Fang looked at the two of them, picked up another white jade piece, placed it lightly behind the previous white piece, and said: "The second move of the Cao family is to have Cao Mengde's incomparable power, his hand holding the tremor The prestige of the lord, imitating Wang Mang of the puppet new dynasty, ascended to the position of Zhou Gong, then cut off all dissidents, monopolized the power of the world, and laid a solid foundation for the future when Cao Daihan was replaced by Han."

"Baby's opinion, Cao Cao is now 'although he doesn't have the name of Duke of Zhou, but he has the name of Duke of Zhou'." Sima Lang nodded again. But Sima Yi spoke slowly: "Cao Cao has not yet become the Duke of Zhou—he has just acquired Dong Zhuo's power and status. Cao Cao is still a long way from being the Duke of Zhou! In today's world, Jingzhou is not peaceful. , Jiangdong Weiping, Kansai Weiping, Yizhou Weiping...these are a few hurdles that Cao Cao has not yet crossed." Sima Fang looked at Sima Yi with a hint of approval in his eyes. After a while, he picked up another white jade piece and placed it behind the second white piece on the rosewood chessboard, saying: "The Cao family The third step is that after Cao Mengde purged the world and unified the world, he followed the example of Xibo Jichang and passed it down to the third son Cao Zhi. He came to Zen to replace the Han Dynasty. Relying on his reputation of wisdom, wisdom and benevolence, he covered up the usurpation of the Cao family. All kinds of ugly deeds at that time consolidated the foundation of long-term peace and stability for the Cao family."

When Sima Yi heard this, his eyes lit up: "No wonder Cao Cao publicly said today that 'Zhi'er is the best person to establish a great cause with him'! It turned out that he had secretly promised his third son to be his foundation and build a business in the future." , A wonderful move to establish the universe!" Sima Fang stared at the three white jade pieces on the chessboard that lined up and shot straight forward, and said with a faint smile: "Lang'er, Yi'er - now this 'knowing the enemy' kung fu has already been done eight times for you two. Nine is not far from ten, that's 'confidant' kung fu, you two should come up with a countermeasure and show Weifu..."

"Father's analysis is really penetrating and exquisite." Sima Yi gave a deep praise, turned his head and extended his hand to Sima Lang, and said, "Brother is in the position of senior minister in the prime minister's mansion, so he must be very familiar with the situation inside and outside the Cao family. ——Just show me how the Sima family will respond to the Cao family's strategy!" "This..." Sima Lang looked embarrassed and stammered, "It's true that Brother Wei is now in the key position of Xiangfu... It's just that Brother Wei has a lot of work recently, and he has to go up and down to take care of it all day long. I was so busy that my feet never touched the ground—Second brother, you have seen it yourself. It seems that such a comprehensive coping strategy should be offered to your father, second brother. I know that you actually have a plan for the second brother. of……"

After hearing what he said, Sima Yi murmured: "Forget it. My son dared to make a fool of myself in front of my father and my elder brother—but, if there are any inaccuracies in my son's coping strategy, please ask my father and my elder brother to make a fool of myself." Brother, teach me a lot." After finishing speaking, he straightened his clothes and straightened his face. After saluting Sima Fanggong, he sat down opposite him. He reached out and took out a black jade chess piece from the silver bowl on the left side of the table. On the palm, Chao Sima Fang said very humbly: "Father, there is a saying: "Instead of looking at the past, then to test the present; instead, to know the past, and then to know the present; instead, to know the enemy, and then to know yourself... There are things. On the contrary, those who are restored, the meaning of the sage, must be observed.' "Huangshigong·Three Strategies" has a cloud: "The end is not seen, and people can't know. The gods of heaven and earth move with things. Changes are impermanent, and they are transformed by the enemy. No For the sake of advance, move and follow. Therefore, we can map the boundless, support the sky, rectify the eight poles, and keep the nine barbarians in secret.'——You allow the child to finish the kung fu of "knowing the enemy" slowly. According to the child's See, the Cao family's three-step strategy for conquering the world you mentioned is indeed clear and full of opportunities. However, if the Cao family wants to realize these three-step strategies, they will inevitably encounter four layers of resistance. This first The first layer of resistance is—" He lowered his right hand and placed the black jade chess piece on the right side of the first white jade chess piece, "the inner court and the prime minister's government began to really separate each other and hinder each other."

"Oh? How did you see that?" Sima Fang asked softly. "The inner court headed by Xun Lingjun was able to support Cao Cao to wipe out Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Lu Bu because they believed that Cao Cao was sincerely loyal to the Han Dynasty. Therefore, even in the sixth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao seemed so reckless when he killed Dong Cheng's party. In the end, they still helped him deal with Yuan Shao with all their strength. At that time, Yuan Shao was a big traitor on the surface, and besides relying on Cao Cao to fight against him, Xun Lingjun and the others really had no other choice at that time." Sima Yi said eloquently, "Now that Cao Cao has blatantly abolished the 'Three Lords' and monopolized the power, and the traces of disobedience have been revealed, I am afraid that at this time, Xun Lingjun and the others have secretly changed their minds. Not only will they not continue to support Cao Cao, lest his power expand and threaten the Han Dynasty——but also They will use all kinds of means to contain Cao Cao. Without their full support, Cao Cao will face hardships and hardships every step of the way in the future.”

"Well... the second brother is right. This time, Prime Minister Cao made a memorial to increase the tax and grain payment of common people in the world by 10%, but His Majesty and Xun Lingjun jointly rejected it—" Sima Langruo He nodded thoughtfully, "Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Prime Minister Cao's increase in the official land tax and grain payment of the common people at this time is actually to expand and reserve military funds and military rations for conquering the princes of the four directions. Now that I think about it, this It can also be regarded as the first step that the inner court has begun to secretly curb the expansion of Prime Minister Cao's power." "That's right. The inner court's restraint on the Prime Minister's Mansion is indeed the first layer of resistance to their Cao family's great cause." Sima Fang also nodded, and asked slowly, "Then, what about the second layer of resistance?" Sima Yi pondered for a while, then took out a black jade chess piece from the silver bowl, slowly placed it on the right side of the second white piece on the chessboard, and said slowly: "The second level of resistance is Xu Du's court loyalty to the Han Dynasty. The righteous men and Cao Cao began to go hand in hand with Cao Cao, and it was inseparable! Don’t forget that the famous scholars, bureaucrats, civil servants and military generals who rushed to Xudu from all directions to serve as officials, most of them responded to Cao Cao’s call to "respect the Han Dynasty and cut off the rebellious party". And devote himself to serving the country! Otherwise, with Cao Cao’s background as an eunuch, how could he have recruited so many talented ministers? These virtuous officials are exactly the ‘double-edged sword’ Cao Cao used to clean up the world and seek supremacy—— On the one hand, relying on the name of "respecting the Han and suppressing chaos", they will help Cao Cao to eradicate Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao and other traitors successively, so that Cao Cao's power will grow day by day; He will immediately turn his sword back, resist Cao Cao everywhere, fight against Cao Cao, and fight back! In my opinion, there must be a second and third person like Dong Cheng and Wang Zifu who will come out to meet Cao Cao in the future At this time, Cao Cao’s advantages in morality and etiquette will disappear—everyone will regard him as the rebirth of Wang Mang! If he doesn’t handle it properly, Dong Zhuo will be his lesson!” "That's right! Once these famous scholars and bureaucrats understand Cao Cao's great conspiracy of 'using the emperor to win people's hearts', they will definitely not pretend to him anymore, and they will definitely make things difficult for him. Now Kong Rong is one of them A prominent figure." Sima Fang caressed the silver beard that was drooping down his chest, "Today at the grand meeting in Zhuquechi, Kong Rong was extremely capable of ridiculing Cao Cao, making Cao Cao unable to step down everywhere. Although he has good intentions, but this method is too clumsy, it is really dangerous, it is extremely dangerous!" "That's right! That's right! This Kong Rong is seeking his own death!" Sima Lang also nodded and echoed, "Cao Cao is so easy to offend? My child also thinks that he is too frivolous and adventurous, simply desperate. " "Father, but my son doesn't think so." Sima Yi picked up the third black jade chess piece from the silver bowl and flicked it back and forth in his palm, his eyes flashed brightly, but his tone was as deep as Gu Yuan, "My son always I feel that Dr. Kong’s jumping into the light and embarrassing Cao Cao this time is by no means as simple as it seems on the surface. He is a "golden signboard" used by Cao Cao to deceive the people of the world in the name of "respecting the Han and calming chaos"—— Now this "golden signboard" is actually turning against customers, forcing Cao Cao to constantly take out the practical actions of "being respectful and self-defensive, respecting the superior and the inferior" to express himself... This is really enough for Cao Cao to drink a pot of dull wine." "By the way, why did that Jia Xu have a verbal argument with Dr. Kong at the Zhuque Pond event today? His few words seem to have hidden secrets!" Sima Lang frowned and asked Sima Yi suspiciously, " Jia Xu has always been a man of few words, and he appears to be courteous on the surface in his dealings with others. However, when Gu Pan behaves, there is always a hint of eerie aloofness that makes it difficult to get close. My brother has always felt that he is the most courteous person in the court. The eccentric, and most elusive of…” "The elder brother mentioned Jia Xu, and the younger brother is also very interested in him. Could it be that the elder brother can't see that Jia Xu's performance at the Suzaku Pond event today is 'thinking in silence', and he began to completely rely on Prime Minister Cao for himself. Seeking glory and wealth?" Sima Yi pondered and said slowly, "He cleverly accused Kong Rong of attacking Cao Cao rashly in public, one seemed to be thinking of Kong Rong everywhere, and the other was actually fighting for Cao Cao "Back to the face and self-esteem that was lost in public... Cao Cao must be very grateful for the intangible support he sent to him when he was alone. Jia Xu is really not simple. The essence of Huai Huai, and the sense of proportion to deal with the drastic changes of the current situation are in place, which is beyond the reach of ordinary strategists!" "Second brother, his statement 'Jade is neither adornable nor shatterable - it can only be used as a ritual vessel in the ancestral temple' is a bit vague." Sima Lang continued to ask, "What do you think the second brother thinks?" "Brother, how do you understand this?" Sima Yi smiled lightly, and asked his elder brother gently. "Oh...my brother's understanding is that Jia Xu is secretly persuading Prime Minister Cao to treat Kong Rong as a sacrificial offering in the ancestral temple. Although politeness exists, it is secretly discarded." Sima Lang didn't hide anything, and expressed his understanding bluntly. out. "That's right. Jia Xu's words do contain such a meaning." Sima Yi said, "However, there is more than just this hidden meaning in what he said—from my point of view, what he said There is a deeper meaning in it, which is to secretly advise Cao Cao to sweep away the dead things that Kong Rong turned into a "Hulian weapon" from the court, and move them into the ancestral temple and discard them forever." "Dead thing? Sweep it out of the court?" Sima Lang was taken aback. "Could it be that he is actually admonishing Prime Minister Cao to take down Kong Rong..." "That's right. So, my younger brother has always believed that this Jia Xu is definitely not an ordinary person. On the surface, his words of advice seem ambiguous and specious, but in essence they are extremely ingenious and flawless. On the one hand, he can It prompted Cao Cao to understand the hidden murderous intent in these words in the first time and made up his mind; on the other hand, he made the kind-hearted Xun Lingjun and other famous scholars and officials in the Han Dynasty only hear the smooth and smooth side of his words. I don’t bother to contemplate the deepest meaning of his words with the heart of a villain, so as to escape their verbal criticism..." The expression on Sima Yi's face was filled with a faint excitement like solving the mystery of the "Book of Heaven", "Oh! Like Jia Xu Such a strategist who uses his three-inch tongue to kill people invisible is the most terrifying! He played it so cleverly, he is like Chen Ping reincarnated... To be honest, in the court of Xudu, you can encounter such a strategy as Jia Xu Wizards, what a lucky little brother!" "Second brother, it's true that Jia Xu can be called 'Chen Ping reborn'. However, don't exaggerate his level too much. Whether Prime Minister Cao will listen to his words of advice, in my brother's opinion, Whether it is possible or not." Sima Lang frowned slightly and shook his head, "If we really want to get rid of Kong Rong, Prime Minister Cao may not be worth the loss." "However, brother, judging from the current situation, Prime Minister Cao has already plotted to kill Dr. Kong—and even a cunning counselor like Jia Xu has pointed out that Dr. Kong must be the only one. Are you clear about this? In my younger brother's opinion, Prime Minister Cao is just choosing the most appropriate time to make a move." Sima Yi didn't just talk casually, but still expressed his opinion directly. "Well... from this point of view, Jia Xu is ready to completely surrender to Cao Cao and become an enemy of the Han Dynasty... Yi'er is right. With his resourcefulness and means, this Jia Wenhe (Jia Xu's word Wenhe) will definitely He will become the confidant of Chen Ping and others around Cao Cao." Sima Fang said, "Jia Xu is a man of sinister and unpredictable ways, and our Sima family should try our best to win over him and make friends with him, and we must never confront him unless it is absolutely necessary. Confrontation." "Yes. The children all remember it." Sima Lang and Sima Yi agreed in unison. "Yi'er, why don't you continue to explain to your father what the third layer of resistance Cao Cao encountered in his three-step plan to conquer the world?" Sima Li stretched out his fingers and tapped the rosewood chessboard lightly, and looked at Sima Yi. glance. "Okay. Father, is this the third layer of resistance..." Sima Yi gently placed the third black jade chess piece on the right side of the third white jade chess piece on the rosewood chessboard, and said unhurriedly "That is, the princes of the Quartet, each with their own troops, united and fought against Cao Cao. Sun Quan in Jiangdong, Liu Biao and Liu Bei in Jingzhou, Liu Zhang in Yizhou, Han Sui in Kansai, Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, etc. are all a few of Cao Cao's power expansion. Important opponents. Among them, Jiangdong Sun Quan, Jingzhou Liu Biao and Liu Bei are the most troublesome for Cao Cao. If they unite and form a group, Cao Cao wants to dominate the world and dominate the world in his lifetime, which is really hard to achieve. " "Liu Biao and Liu Bei in Jingzhou made Prime Minister Cao very headache, but Sun Quan in Jiangdong is still a young boy with yellow hair and blue eyes. How can he be an enemy of Prime Minister Cao? He is at best a middle-aged man like Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan in Jizhou That's all!" Sima Lang shook his head disapprovingly, "What's more, Zhang Zhao, who is really in charge of Jiangdong, is a civil servant like Hua Xin and Wang Lang. How many of Jiangdong's Confucian officials are good at fighting with soldiers? Look at Hua Xin and Wang Lang are two famous scholars, when they sit down and talk about the Tao, they speak eloquently and eloquently, but when they stand up and practice the Tao, they throw away the city and pond, and flee in a hurry." "Brother, I really don't know much about Sun Quan's real situation in Jiangdong. But judging from the performance of the special envoy he sent this time, there are actually many outstanding people in Jiangdong." Sima Yi said seriously, " That Lu Su looks serious and simple, but in reality he is shrewd and introverted. When he saw Cao Cao, he tried his best to provoke him to attack Jingzhou first. That set of tricks where Li replaces peaches and blames Jingzhou is really extraordinary! This man is good at observing changes, Keep an eye on Xu Du's movements, maybe he will change his face after returning to Jiangdong, and immediately persuade Sun Quan and Jingzhou to join forces to fight against Cao Cao. In short, Jiangdong is the most worrying. Big brother, you still have to take over the prime minister's mansion in the future Send all the information and secret reports about Jiangdong here to the little brother to check and think about it..." At this moment, Sima Lang no longer deliberately argued with him, but just nodded silently. "Okay, you don't need to say more about the details of the third level of resistance." Sima Fang waved his hand, and continued to ask, "What is the fourth level of resistance that Cao Cao finally encountered in his three-step plan to achieve the world? ?” Sima Yi focused his eyes on the red sandalwood chessboard, and a deep smile appeared on his face: "Confucius said: 'I am afraid that Ji Sun's worries are not in Zhuanyu, but in Xiaoqiang.' ——The fourth layer of resistance is inside their Cao family!" "Inside the Cao family?" Sima Lang couldn't help but asked in bewilderment. "Oh...I understand for my father. What Yi'er means probably means that the Cao family may repeat the same mistakes of Hebei's Yuan family's heir struggles and civil strife..." Sima Fang nodded slowly as if he had realized something, " Yi'er, do you suspect that if Cao Cao makes his third son Cao Zhi his heir, his eldest son Cao Pi and his second son Cao Zhang will feel dissatisfied and seize the heir?" "That's right." Sima Yi turned his gaze and asked Sima Lang, "Brother, you have been in the prime minister's mansion for a long time, so you should know something about Cao Cao's sons. Do you think the eldest son Cao Pi, the second son Cao Zhang, and the third son of the prime minister's mansion Young Master Cao Zhi, what are the personalities of these three Young Masters and how are they related to each other?" "Well... Cao Pi, the eldest son of the prime minister's mansion, is capable of writing and martial arts, and his poetry is good, but he has no other shortcomings, except that he is a little narrow-minded, and his mind is not open-minded enough... Once Simpi gave a speech to everyone in the prime minister's mansion. The young master distributed the jade silk and baht money for monthly expenses, as if he had given him a piece of jade, and he insisted on forcing Simpi to make up for it quickly. Of course, according to Brother Yiwei, he is not Coveting such a piece of jade, he himself said it plausibly-"Jade is a small matter, but the shortage of things is also a problem of unevenness, so the unevenness is a big deal!" Anyway, he doesn't like others to neglect him and his friends. Neglect him." Sima Lang recalled for a moment, then slowly said, "The second son, Cao Zhang, has been working in the ranks since he was fourteen or five years old, and he has the air of a general, with an upright and upright personality. Second brother, you have seen his talent and demeanor with your own eyes at the Zhuquechi event today. I am afraid that it is not an exaggeration to call him a "perfect man of the generation". According to brother's daily observations, the relationship between the second son Cao Zhang and the third son Cao Zhi The most harmonious, but the relationship between Cao Zhang and the eldest son Cao Pi is a little distant, probably because Cao Pi thinks that his second brother has only the courage of a man and despises him." "Well... very good, very good." Sima Yi dropped his right hand, and with a "snap", he placed the fourth black jade chess piece directly in front of the third white jade chess piece, intercepting it like a divine soldier descending from the sky. Knowing the direction in which Bai Ziqi is going, he instantly "reversed" the situation on the chessboard. "From this point of view, the fourth layer of resistance that the Cao family encountered is precisely a great opportunity that our Sima family can take advantage of! , and also afraid of being hacked and broken from the inside'..."