Chapter 16 Hanoi Conspiracy

Cao Cao originally wanted to complete the recruitment in three or four months, but it was already late autumn when he returned to the north.Chen Wen, governor of Yangzhou, gave him 3,000 soldiers, and Danyang prefect Zhou Xin also allocated 1,000 soldiers, but these soldiers were all southerners, and they didn't want to leave their hometown to fight in the north.As Liu Miao expected, the soldiers ran all the way and fled all the way. As soon as they reached Longkang County, a mutiny broke out, and those soldiers even set fire to the tent of the Chinese army.Cao Cao and the Xiahou brothers and other cronies fought against the chaos with dozens of people to stabilize the situation. After some negotiations, only the more than 500 people led by Wang Bi stayed, and the others were dismissed on the spot.

The results of traveling thousands of miles were in vain. On the contrary, Cao Hong successfully pulled in a team of more than a thousand people, all of whom were his former domestic slaves and high-ranking guests who had befriended in Qichun. Cao Cao led these people slowly northward, recruiting men from among the refugees as he walked, and barely gathered 3,000 soldiers to garrison Hanoi. Cao Cao set up camp and rushed to Huai County to meet Yuan Shao.He thought that Yuan Shao would give him a big face, but he didn't know that he didn't come out to greet him at all, only Xu You accompanied Ren Jun and Bian Bing who came first to take him into Huai County in a hurry.

Xu You spoke very politely: "Brother Ah Man, General Cheqi is in mourning, and it is not convenient to come out to meet each other. Please ask the generals to welcome you at the county government." "There is mourning?" "Alas..." Xu You sighed before speaking, "Dong Thief killed all the twenty members of Yuan's family, including his family members and servants, including the imperial governor Yuan Kai and the imperial servant Yuan Ji." Although Cao Cao expected such a day to come, he still couldn't help frowning: the officialdom always pays attention to the superiority and inferiority between the disciples and old officials.Once this evil example is established, there will inevitably be more such incidents in the future, and the trend of punishing the superiors will probably intensify.

"Since that's the case, why do you need to prepare any banquet?" Xu You said: "Since he has this order, we will follow it. Brother Ah Man is exhausted from the journey all the way, so we should relax a bit." Cao Cao nodded and signaled Ren Jun and Bian Bing to go back to the camp, and he only took Lou Yi and Wang Bi, two personal protectors, to go. "Ziyuan, has the war progressed in the past few months?" Xu You shook his head with a helpless expression, and said as he walked, "Brother Ah Man, the battle has not progressed, so let's talk about it after meeting General Che Qi."

Cao Cao heard him call himself by his nickname, but he called Yuan Shao one by one, and he was really unhappy: "Since Dong Zhuo slaughtered the Tai Tuo and Yuan Ji's family, why did he ignore the country's hatred and miss the family's hatred at the beginning? Why don't you stand still?" Xu You heard him throwing out such a big crime of "ignoring national hatred and not thinking of family hatred", he quickly waved his hands and said: "Brother Ah Man, don't say anything, this matter is quite hidden, when he sees General Cheqi, he will personally kiss him." Let me tell you." After he had finished speaking, he thought for a while, and then instructed, "Nowadays there are many complaints, but when you are young at the banquet, brother, don't bring up the war in public."

Seeing his begging look, Cao Cao forced a smile and said, "Okay, I will tell Brother Benchu ​​about this in person." In a blink of an eye, I have come to the county temple, which has been changed to the general's palace.Twenty soldiers and lieutenants lined up on both sides of the gate, with shiny armor and halberds in their hands, with bows and arrows on their backs full of energy. The most rare thing is that these people are all about the same height.When Fang entered the gate, he heard the melodious sound of bells, drums, silk and bamboo. It turned out that there were two bands of musicians in the yard to welcome guests——Yuan Shao, the self-proclaimed chariot general, is quite impressive!Before reaching the hall, a large group of people greeted them.

There are Pang Ji, Zhang Dao, and Chen Lin as advisors, Chun Yuqiong, Liu Xun, and Cui Jun as the leading generals, and in the middle are two young men, both of whom are less than twenty years old—they are Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan. Get along with your nephew.Everyone was very kind when they saw Cao Cao, and Yuan Tan even brought the senior officials to kneel down to pay respects: "My nephew pays respects to Uncle Cao, his family is strict and filial, and it is not appropriate to set up wine to accompany him, so I specially ordered my brother to greet him here." Cao Cao hurriedly smiled and helped him, and everyone gave in. He walked in with everyone, and was invited to be the guest of honor. Yuan Tan even asked someone to send some wine and meat to the soldiers in Cao Cao's camp, and his hospitality was beyond words.Although a banquet is not sumptuous, it has an extraordinary atmosphere.Everyone was extremely polite and courteous, even Chun Yuqiong, who was always informal, was very reserved, but everyone was talking about the past, and they were warm and not hot, and they never mentioned the war against Dong.

Until the banquet was withdrawn, everyone dispersed after paying respects, but no one said anything that cut to the point.Cao Cao felt bored and wanted to leave, but Yuan Tan came up to him and said, "My father is waiting in the backyard, please tell me." Cao Cao smiled slightly, left Lou Yi and Wang Bi to wait, and went by himself happily.Followed Yuan Tan around the backyard, turned two corners, and came to a remote courtyard, but saw Yuan Shao wearing heavy filial piety, wearing a hemp crown, kneeling in a small room, staring at the dense pile of spiritual tablets indifferently.Yuan Tan said please, turned around and left, leaving only the two of them here to talk.

"Brother Benchu, I'm here." Yuan Shao didn't get up, but turned around and said: "Brother Yu is filial and can't welcome you with wine and banquets. Ask everyone to greet you on my behalf. I'm going to slow you down." "Why do you need to be so courteous, brother? How can we use that as a friend for many years?" From He Jin to the present, after experiencing so many changes, Cao Cao really didn't dare to trust others easily.But now he has no place to stand, and Yuan Shao will have to take care of him in the future, so of course he has to be affectionate when he speaks.

Yuan Shao got up to return the salute and asked him to sit down.However, Cao Cao first kowtowed to Yuan Wei and others' spiritual seats, and then sat down respectfully and gently.When the two faced each other, Cao Cao found that Yuan Shao was much thinner than when he was in Beijing, his face was pale and his eyes were sunken, and it seemed that he was really too sad - no wonder, the whole uncle's family was killed, what is this? grief and hatred. "Meng De, you're finally here. I really want to scare Brother Yu." A smile appeared on Yuan Shao's haggard face, "I was the first to think of you on the day when the army was raised. If we had joined forces in one place, why not As for making trouble to this point?"

Cao Cao didn't dare to answer this sentence, he couldn't figure out what Yuan Shao meant.Was it to complain that he refused to come?Is it sincerely welcoming him to come now?Or just whining about the disadvantages of the war?If you are uncertain, don't answer easily, so Cao Cao just nodded and said yes.Talking with people like Yuan Shao is very strict, although he is kind to you, you can't get carried away, there is always an invisible barrier. "Meng De, brother Yu created this righteous army to punish the rebels and save the country, but it is really disappointing today." Yuan Shao sighed, "Wang Kuang is arrogant and arrogant, and his troops were negligent in guarding against danger, which finally led to the defeat of Mengjin. Due to the unknown employment, but you and Bao Xin are involved in the loss of Xingyang, brother Yu is ashamed." Hearing that he took the initiative to get to the point, Cao Cao felt that the heat was almost ready, and said: "The recent incidents are really incomprehensible, my brother. It's all right for the Suanzao princes to be suspicious and hesitate to move forward, but Brother Benchu ​​still has tens of thousands of elite soldiers here. There are more and more gatherings, why did Wang Kuang's defeat shake the whole situation? Now it is not too late to send troops to seize Mengjin and take advantage of the situation to go west, why did brother hold back and let the opportunity pass by?" Yuan Shao smiled wryly for a while: "Brother really has something to hide." "But it's okay to say, my little brother will explain it for my brother." Yuan Shao hesitated for a moment, leaned into his ear and said two words: "Han Fu!" Cao Cao suddenly realized: Although Yuan Shao commanded the heroes by himself as a general of chariots and cavalry, the foundation of his army was only a small Bohai County. In terms of his family prestige of four generations and three lords, soldiers and horses were readily available. But it is a big problem.The food and grass of the armies in Hanoi depended entirely on the supply of Jizhou, while Mu Hanfu of Jizhou himself stayed in Yecheng and did not move.The so-called soldiers and horses go first without using food and grass, and the life and death of Yuan Shao's people are actually in the hands of Han Fu.All the grain and fodder in Henan was plundered by Dong Zhuo, and the city of Luoyang was burned to the ground. It was impossible to collect grain on the spot.Under such circumstances, if Yuan Shao sent his troops to the west to defeat Mengjin, and Han Fu was jealous and played him a "lack of soldiers and food" behind his back, it would be all over. "Do you understand?" Yuan Shao sat down slumped, "Don't look at the generals outside to vote one after another, but every time I come, I worry more. Food and grass can't be self-sufficient, and it will inevitably change over time!" "Is there any deduction?" Cao Cao lowered his voice knowing that there was no one else. Yuan Shao shook his head: "No, but Liu Zihui, the governor of Jizhou, has quite a correspondence with the people in my tent, saying that Han Fu is quite dissatisfied with the supply of grain and fodder. In fact, these days, the grain reserves of the three armies have never lasted more than five days. , every five days he would make a confession, how could I let go westward with such a supply?" "Hmph! I don't have the guts to use soldiers, but I want to be harsh on other people's food and grass. How can such a person make a big deal?" Cao Cao couldn't help complaining. "A few days ago, Zhang Yang of the Bingzhou Department and Yu Fuluoxiu, the Hun, wrote here that they wanted to join our army and fight against the country's thieves, but they have a lot of subordinates, and the need for food and grass needs to increase. I really don't know what to do." Zhang Yang is also a subordinate of He Jinyu, and he and Wu Kuang were first-class figures. He went to Bingzhou to recruit soldiers for the second time in order to intimidate the eunuchs. He didn't want to encounter the Baibo uprising and cut off the road. He had to lead the recruited troops to fight against the Baibo army guerrillas. As a result, many major events were delayed. After Dong Zhuo's incident, he was unable to return to Luoyang and became a lone army of He Jin's remaining troops. Jin was busy killing eunuchs and ignored them. Later, soldiers from Xiliang entered Beijing, and Yu Fuluo was frightened by the prestige of Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan and went into exile again, becoming a tree without roots.These two teams voted in Hanoi obviously to eat food. "Food and grass can't be self-sufficient, and the matter of seeking rebellion is always empty talk." Yuan Shao suddenly looked out of the window and sighed to himself, "If Jizhou is not in the hands of Han Wenjie, how good it would be... ..." Cao Cao absolutely did not dare to express his opinion on such meaningful words, so he quickly changed the subject: "After the death of the Grand Tutor, Dong Zhuo is not familiar with government affairs. I wonder who is in charge in Xijing?" "Wang Yun is Situ, all government affairs are entrusted to him." "Master Wang..." That rigid image immediately appeared in Cao Cao's mind, "He...how should I put it...he has more than enough strength but not enough softness." "He is just a timely choice. In fact, the power of the court is not in the hands of Dong Zhuo alone. It is a pity that the emperor is too young to eradicate the rebellious ministers." Yuan Shao said seriously, "I think the root cause of my big man's frequent traitors taking power and doing evil is that The emperor was too young when he came to the throne, so that things such as eunuchs' chaos in government and foreign relatives' dictatorship gradually deteriorated, and today's changes have taken place." "Not bad." Cao Cao agreed with this point. "Now that King Hongnong is dead, today's emperor is just a puppet set up by Dong Zhuo. He can't be regarded as the real master of the world. We need to establish another emperor." Cao Cao was terrified by these words: "No, no, no! If the name is not right, the words will not be right. This is equivalent to establishing another court. There are no two days in the sky, and the people have no two masters. The people in the world don't know where they belong. Such actions will inevitably lead to chaos." Yuan Shao waved his hand and said, "Don't be stubborn, Meng De. Dong Zhuo's tyranny in Xijing is unpopular among the people, and the emperor he supports will not win the hearts of the people. I have already made up my mind that we will serve as emperor Liu Yu, the assistant chief minister. Liu Bo'an is tall and virtuous, For the benevolence of the government, the thought of benefiting the people, the people of Youyan are all grateful, and the name of fraternity spreads in Xianbei Karasuma. Support him as the emperor, and the people will naturally return to their hearts." Cao Cao shook his head again and again, and said: "Although Liu Bo'an is virtuous, he is estranged from the blood of the master of the time and cannot be recognized by the ancestral temple. I am afraid that if he is the emperor, chaotic people all over the world will rise up, each with the clan and princes as respect, and fight for the emperor. Strong fighting power, when the time comes, it will be out of control." "Don't be afraid of Meng De. I have already discussed with the generals outside and even the shepherds of various families. Everyone has no objection. I think this matter can be guaranteed." Yuan Shao said with a smile, "If this leader is established, the court will rule Create again, the order can be enforced, the prohibition can be stopped, and the power and responsibility of the Ming Dynasty can be clearly defined, so no one can restrain us from hunting for thieves." "What's the purpose of begging for thieves? One is to rescue the people from the fire and water, and the other is to rescue the emperor from prison. If another emperor is established and he talks about King He Qin's rebellion, wouldn't it be helping others to seize the world? This is killing chickens to get eggs!" "Don't be so stubborn, you need to know how to be flexible." Yuan Shao was still very polite, "Now this is not what I personally mean, everyone thinks so." It’s not that everyone thinks this way, it’s that everyone says this way, and now they are swearing so loudly, it’s unimaginable what it will be like in the future... Cao Cao tried his best to control his emotions, but he still spoke firmly: "Dong Zhuo’s crimes are violent all over the world. Waiting for the people to unite with the righteous army, and there will be no response from far and near. This is due to the movement of righteousness. Today, the young master is weak, controlled by treacherous ministers, and there is no provocation of the subjugation of Changyi, but once the change is made, how will the world be safe? Gentlemen face north, and I face west. .” Yuan Shao was taken aback, "Your lords face to the north, I face to the west" is a pun, and a stick sweeps down a large area, which is really shocking.Seeing that he was so determined, he didn't want to say anything else, he just said: "Okay, I will make a decision on this matter later. You can think about it again when you go back, okay?" Do you need to think about this matter again?Cao Cao casually agreed to Yuan Shao, and threw the matter to Yelang Kingdom.Yuan Shao got up and walked to the door, and said casually: "These days, I sometimes think, if the matter of begging for thieves fails, there will be a lot of heroes... I mean, if there is such a day, how can we use troops to stabilize the world?" "What did you think at the beginning?" Cao Cao threw the problem back again. Yuan Shao no longer shied away, walked up to him and said: "When the south is occupied by the river, the north is blocked by the Yan Dynasty, and the people of the Rong and Di are combined, and the south is used to fight for the world!" Cao Cao nodded slightly. This was the strategy used by Lord Guangwu to calm down the world. "What is Meng De's opinion?" "I allow the intelligence of the world to control it, and I can do anything." Cao Cao regretted it when he said this. Such words cannot be said lightly. "In any case, you can come here to give Brother Yu an arm." Yuan Shao took his hand, "Your use of troops is better than Brother Yu, since you can't enter now, help me train my troops here for the big event. " Cao Cao expressed deep doubts about the "big matter" that Yuan Shao said at this moment, but he still bowed his hands humbly and said: "Young brother will serve you." "A few days ago, Xijing sent Dahonglu Han Rong, Shaofu Yinxiu, Jinwu Humuban, general craftsman Wu Xiu, and Yueqi school captain Wang Yu here. Dong Zhuo Jiao ordered us to dismiss us. Righteous soldiers, pay back their duties." Yuan Shao said while fiddling with his clothes, "Fen Luoyang killed the lord, committed such a serious crime, do you still want us to ignore it?" "That's right, of course this soldier cannot be withdrawn!" Cao Cao's words were half-public and half-private. Once the rebels were disbanded, they would all be state and county officials and have a territory. Where would he go?So he was the most opposed to disbanding the army among these people, "Of course the soldiers cannot be withdrawn, so where are Han Rong and Hu Muban now?" Yuan Shao blinked, and said vaguely: "I didn't receive this coquettish edict, I'm afraid they spread it everywhere... Huh! It's useless, no one will listen to Dong Zhuo's nonsense." He thought it was a good idea. After speaking, he added: "Look, now his nonsense is entrusted to the king's order, can we not consider setting up another king?" Cao Cao smiled and didn't answer. He was silent for a while and saw that he had nothing to say, so he got up and left. Yuan Shao grabbed his wrist again, and said slowly: "There is one more thing, Hanoi prefect Wang Kuang has been arrogant and domineering since he led the army, and he has a lot of complaints about the shepherds of the various families. I am afraid that he will do something extreme. De, you need to take care of him more..." "Promise." Cao Cao bowed his head in agreement. "If something goes too far, I must take care of Wang Kuang...do you understand?" Cao Cao heard him repeat it, and felt that his arm was tightly held by him, so he raised his head and looked at each other.Seeing Yuan Shao with a smile on his face and deep eyes that seemed to have murderous intent, he immediately understood what he meant.In an instant, he struggled a bit in his heart, but after all, he is now a vassal of others, and he had to look at Yuan Shao's eyes, so he pretended to be serious and said: "In the face of righteousness, a strong man will not hesitate to cut his wrists." Yuan Shao nodded in satisfaction, sent him to the courtyard, and bowed deeply...