Chapter 25 Thousands of miles a day

In the summer of the third year of Chuping (AD 192), Cao Cao was favored by God again. Because Qingzhou Huangjin once again invaded Yanzhou and caused chaos, Liu Dai, the governor of Qingzhou, went out to fight rashly and was defeated and died. Yanzhou fell into a situation where the dragons had no leader.Chen Gong, Cao Cao's subordinate, saw this opportunity and went to Puyang to lobby the officials in the prefecture: "Today the world is divided and the prefecture has no owner. Caodong County is a talented man who lives in the world. If we welcome Muzhou, we will give birth to the people." Liu Taishou Zhang Miao, Jibei Minister Bao Xin, and Taishan Taishou Ying Shao all gave their full support - so Cao Cao became the governor of Yanzhou after less than half a year as the governor of Dongjun.

Because there was neither an appointment from the imperial court nor a so-called performance from Yuan Shao, Chen Gongsheng was afraid that things would change for a long time, and if he went back and forth to Wuyang again, there might be troubles, so he simply suggested that Yanzhou rule Zhongwanqian, and don't drive Bi Chen to go to the East with him. The county greeted Cao Cao. Bao Xin was very concerned about this, and he also led his troops to protect Chen Gong and others along the way. Facing Wan Qian and Bi Chen who came to greet him, Cao Cao was so happy that he was about to jump into the room, but he had to pretend to decline: "I have a bad background and meager talents. How can He De be able to take up this important position. Let's use the power now." On behalf of the day, in the future, if there is someone who is talented and virtuous, I will take my place."

Don't drive Bi Chen to blink and blink: This is a bit too fake. Who doesn't know that you snatched Wang Gong's Dongjun prefect as soon as you arrived in Yanzhou. If Liu Dai doesn't die, it's inevitable that you won't fight him one day , leaning against the big tree of Yuan Shao, with Bao Xin and Zhang Miao backing you up, how could you spit out the fat in your mouth again... Zhizhong Wanqian was a little older. When Cao Cao was the magistrate of Dunqiu County, he happened to be the magistrate of Dong'e County. Both of them were known for their love for the people. They had exchanged many official documents, but today was the first time they met.Wan Qian had a surly temper, and when he saw Cao Cao's words, he was angry, so he immediately interrupted: "Cao Shijun, now is not the time to speak nice words, the yellow scarf thieves in the east of Yanzhou are making a lot of trouble, since you are willing to be the governor, you should immediately Deployment to quell the chaos. If the yellow scarves are Dingzhou county officials, they will be willing to obey you, otherwise it will be useless to say anything!"

Cao Cao choked on these few words, he never expected the famous magistrate Wan to be so dumbfounded when he spoke, he hurriedly saluted, "I've made a mistake, please forgive me, Brother Wan." "It's useless if I forgive or not. The most important thing is to send troops to wipe out the thieves as soon as possible, and to stabilize the state border." Wan Qian muttered, "Liu Gongshan refused to accept his bad words and was defeated. Don't follow in his footsteps." "Yes, yes, yes." Cao Cao was a little apprehensive seeing his unhealthy expression, and turned to find a friendly topic, "Brother Wan, I remember that there was a young talent named Cheng Li in Dong'e who once worked for the county. People with extraordinary insight, don’t know what’s going on now?”

As soon as he heard Cheng Li mentioned, Wan Qian's resentment subsided a bit: "Cheng Zhongde... He did a lot of work when Zhongping made troubles about the Yellow Turban. It's a pity that he is shutting himself at home and not asking about world affairs. Liu Gongshan tried to blame him several times. He even refuses to agree to it...Buying the unicorn in the field...It's a pity..." He shook his head endlessly. "I also want to ask him to come out to help." Cao Cao stroked his beard and said. "Okay, Mr. Cao worked with him, maybe he can be hired." Wan Qian said with a pleasant expression, "I will go to his house in person someday, and sell my old face." Chen Gong said Seeing Wan Qian smiling at the side, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his hands and said: "I think you two must have worked hard when you came from a long way, and my lords have to deal with a lot of business before leaving. Please go ahead, my lords. The middle school has already prepared a banquet, please go to eat and rest first, and the official business in the coming day is over, and we will discuss in detail about the appointment. Xu Shuzuo, please lead the way, and take the two adults there. "

"Oh, what time is it now, the common people can't fill their stomachs, and they still want to spend money on banquets, it's a waste of money..." Wan Qian complained endlessly with his mouth curled up. "Brother Wan, please don't say a few words." Bi Chen couldn't see it anymore. Xu Tuo helped Bi Chen back and forth, and finally persuaded Wan Qian to leave. As soon as they left, Cao Cao couldn't restrain his joy, and bowed deeply to Chen Gong: "Gongtai, you really did a great job for me!" "Don't dare, it's because the general's reputation for beating thieves for the country has spread far and wide, and this is what happened today."

Cao Cao was still interested: "Finally, according to Wen Ruo's words, I can win the favor of people in Yanzhou and consolidate the importance of the Central Plains." "General, I have a few words to remind you. Although they are willing to welcome you, there are still some officials in the state who are unwilling..." Chen Gong considered the wording for a while, "There are still some officials who are a little bit critical. Xue Lan, generals Xu Si, Wang Kai, etc. are not very..." "I could have expected this," Cao Cao said with a flick of his sleeves, "Isn't Wan Qian nagging in front of me, isn't it reconciled?"

"Wan Qian is fine. This person has a strange temper and doesn't fit in with others. He has always been like this. It's those people who look respectful and don't want to, who really need to be careful." "Well, it's natural to be careful. I plan to promote a few people and gag their mouths. I have to wipe out the yellow scarves as soon as possible and sell some strength." Cao Cao also knew the seriousness in his heart. No reputation and no qualifications, it's all because others are willing to come out to cheer.The prefects of all the counties have stayed in Yanzhou longer than him, and some people in the state are Liu Dai's cronies, so undercurrents are inevitable.

"General, Commander Bao is coming." Xi Zhicai and Xun Yu let Bao Xin in with a smile. "Meng De, you and my brothers can finally fight side by side!" Bao Xin rushed over and hugged Cao Cao's shoulders, "How about Yuan Shao's wine?" "Hahaha... the south of the big river, you really awakened me, the man in my dream." "Don't flatter me. I just talked to Wen Ruo and Zhicai for a long time. You really got two talents!" After Bao Xin finished speaking, he bowed to them again. Cao Cao nodded deeply: "Brother Yu is as strong as he is today, it really depends on everyone's help... Come, come, sit and sit."

"That's right!" Bao Xin pulled a middle-aged man with a simple and dignified appearance behind him and said, "This is my friend, Mr. Li Gan from the Juye Li family." "Oh, I'm sorry for being rude." Cao Cao didn't dare to neglect, and bowed to him politely. The powerful Li family can be described as the most dominant in Yanzhou. They have lived in Juye County for generations. However, since the Zhongping of the Yellow Turban, the powerful Li family has integrated more than a thousand families from the township party in order to protect themselves. The fortress is self-respecting.Since then, the world has been in turmoil, and the trend of supporting soldiers has intensified. Now its power has developed to the neighboring Chengshi County and Lihu County, and even openly occupied the county temples.The previous prefects of Shanyang were afraid of his prestige and didn't dare to control him, so they had to turn a blind eye and let him do what he did. Even the governor had to hire a few people from the Li family to do things with peace of mind.

"There is no need to hide what Meng De has to say. This Mr. Li is my best friend. In the past, I was ordered by He Jin to go back to my hometown to recruit soldiers, and the Li family helped a lot." Bao Xin was not surprised. Cao Cao smiled slightly, and thought to himself: The Bao family was actually a local tyrant in Mount Tai. In the past, the four brothers of the Bao family were domineering in the village, just like the old Li family.It would be too embarrassing for me to make friends with local tyrants if I didn't meet my staff when I entered Yanzhou... You can think about it this way, but it's hard to refuse on the surface. Li Qian's appearance is very honest and mature, and he spoke boldly: "I think the general is kind, so let's just say it straight. It's really helpless for my Li family to come to this point from Juye. Personal wish." He sighed and said again, "After all, we are not officials, and if we are not officials, we will be bandits today. There will be a thief father and mother, and a thief son and grandson. Will there be any good results. I heard from Bao Erlang that you are so brave and have a heart for the country, that you will be able to revive the Han Dynasty sooner or later, so I think... I think..." Bao Xin took over the question: "What's so hard to say, he wants to invite you, Meng De, to recruit the Li family's soldiers into the army, and you will receive the imperial salary in the future!"Cao Cao twirled his beard: "This matter is good or bad. The centipede is dead but not stiff. It is not easy to eliminate the power of the Li family. Those village braves are used to them. Presumably even if they are recruited, they will still be killed." It is necessary to use the Li family to lead.I'm not familiar with this Li Gan, is he playing tricks on me and trying to get an official from me?No, Bao Xin will never harm me... "This matter is not in a hurry," Li Qian understood his difficulty, "to tell you the truth, although I am the head of the family, many things need to be discussed by the family members. It is my personal point to be able to return to the court Long-cherished wish, but people in the clan have different ideas. I have a younger brother Li Feng who is working in the state, and he has some criticisms about this matter. My nephew Li Jin has always been very aggressive and refused to obey easily. ..." "In that case, let's discuss this matter later." Cao Cao interrupted him with a smile, "However, it is inevitable that the ten fingers will not be aligned. The side incidents made everyone unhappy. Now that the yellow scarves are raging in the east of Yanzhou, if you can lead your troops to contain the enemy and cooperate with the army, I think the court, the state officials, and the people will all be grateful to the Li family." Stop what you have to say. Li Gan is also a smart man. When he saw Cao Cao's offer, he immediately nodded and said, "I understand what your lord means, and I must go back to prepare troops and horses to assist the general in the battle." "Okay, okay, it's settled!" Bao Xin was quite open-minded, and he looked at everyone in the room carefully, "Now there are no outsiders, so I can speak directly if I have something to say." Cao Cao knew that he wanted to analyze the situation in Yanzhou, and seeing that he didn't regard Li Qian as an outsider, and he couldn't stop him, he smiled and said, "What are you waiting for, I'm thinking about it day and night here, and I'm just waiting for your high opinion." Bao Xin flicked his forehead with his right index finger, and said slowly: "There are eight counties under the rule of Yanzhou. I am in Jibei, and Zhang Mengzhuo is in Chenliu. Needless to say, I have always supported you. Rencheng Prime Minister Zheng Sui died. No need to mention it. You are the prefect of Dongjun, I don’t think you will be so stupid as to oppose yourself.” He felt ridiculous as he spoke, “As for Ying Shao, the prefect of Mount Tai, he mentioned in his letter that you helped him back then, Is there such a thing?" Cao Cao thought for a while: "Oh... When the eunuch changed, Wu Kuang killed He Miao and wanted to kill all his subordinates. Le Yin had already been killed, and I rescued Ying Zhongyuan." "That's all right. How is life-saving grace so common? Ying Shao will definitely support you." Bao Xin said a little excitedly, "Ying Zhongyuan is a remarkable person! When the Qingzhou bandits invaded the border last year, he led Civil and military fought with thieves, beheaded thousands of people, and captured more than 10,000 old and weak people. Moreover, this man was very knowledgeable. He wrote a "General Customs" and annotated Ban Mengjian's "Han Shu". He can keep his hands on the book, he is really an all-rounder in civil and military affairs! My second son, Bao, has martial arts but no literature, but he is not as good as him." "When I am in the army, I can't put down the paper. I have to learn this, even if I pay attention to the art of war." Cao Cao couldn't help nodding, "When I see Zhong Yuan, I will have a good talk with him. From now on, there will be many things to rely on him. .” "Taishan County is not a problem, but the remaining three counties of Jiyin, Shanyang, and Dongping are hard to say." Bao Xin became serious again, "Wu Zi, the prefect of Jiyin, started his career with military exploits, so he didn't buy much at the beginning. Dai's account, I'm afraid you won't accept it. Shanyang prefect Yuan Yi went north to join Yuan Shao, Liu Dai changed to Mao Hui, this person is grateful to Liu Dai and should not be shaken. There is also Dongping prefect Xu Xi, he is Liu Dai's confidant , these two people may be the most dissatisfied with your coming." "It doesn't matter, I just treat them sincerely, people's hearts will change." Bao Xin added: "As for the officials in the middle of the state...Xu Si and Wang Kai are Liu Dai's generals. Be careful with these two people. It is best to release their military power after arriving in Puyang. Then there is Xue Lan. , he is the son of Xue Yan, the former Prime Minister of the East China Sea, and he has an intricate relationship there, and his son Xue Yong is under Mu Taoqian's tent in Xuzhou. Then there is..." He looked at Li Gan. Li Gan was a little embarrassed: "Then there is my clan brother Li Shujie. He has studied some books, and he doesn't have much contact with people in the clan, and he is relatively estranged from me." Cao Cao secretly wrote down the names of these people, Xu Si, Wang Kai, Xue Lan, and Li Feng. After a moment of silence, he said: "It doesn't matter, as long as I confide in my heart, it will be fine after a long time." Turning back, he asked Xun Yu and Xi Zhicai, "The two of you can communicate with them more in the future. If we want to achieve great things, we still need to make friends with as many people with lofty ideals as possible." When Xun Yu heard him say that he wanted to seek great things, he suddenly remembered the matter of Xijing, and said, "Dong Zhuo is dead, and Situ Wangyun is now spreading the call to all the county guards to come to Xijing to pick him up." Cao Cao seemed to have a look of regret on his face: "Dong Zhuo...this old guy doesn't know what is going on in the future. He originally wanted to be Huo Guang, but in the end he almost became Wang Mang. He is willing to degenerate and die." Chen Gong was not as devoted to the emperor as Xun Yu was, and said with a wry smile, "Even if Dong Zhuo is dead, so what? At this moment, no one can take care of the emperor. Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fought inseparably, and Liu Biao and Sun Jian killed each other to the death. , Liu Yan and Yuan Shu are busy being the emperor of the land... We are the most pitiful, with hundreds of thousands of yellow scarf thieves in front of us!" Everyone sighed, Cao Cao slapped his thigh: "I have decided not to enter Puyang for the time being, and go to repel the Qingzhou thieves first!" "It's not quite...not appropriate, if there is a change in the state..." Chen Gong was in trouble. "I did this to prevent changes in the state." Cao Cao got up and walked excitedly, "How many pairs of eyes are looking at me now! Since I have become the governor of Yanzhou, I have to do my best to show everyone, so that I can It wins the hearts of the people! If I can send troops to defeat the Yellow Turban Bandits, then not only the state and county officials will be convinced, but even the common people will be convinced." "Okay! I'll fight this battle with you." Bao Xin echoed, "Let's take Wan Qian and Bi Chen together and let them see your majesty Cao Mengde. I'll write a letter to my Sima Yujin right away, Tell him to bring the big troops here as soon as possible." Li Gan also quickly expressed his opinion: "Since I have agreed to the envoy, then I will also go back to Juye to organize Xiangyong." "Okay, the day after tomorrow... No! Tomorrow I will send troops to Shouzhang County, to reach the enemy's front, and try to break them up in a single battle." Cao Cao made a decision, "Your troops can go directly to Shouzhang. "Bao Xin and Li Qian echoed, but Chen Gong looked distressed: Although the Yellow Turban Army is a mob, how can hundreds of thousands of enemies be defeated easily?It's good to win in this way, but why can't you contact the ministries in the middle of the state first?Abandoning the central part of the state will deepen the conflict... Xun Yu whispered, "Brother Zhicai, for some reason, I feel quite restless. It is good for the general to have the ambition to destroy the bandit army first, but haste makes waste. Isn't this too extreme?" Xi Zhicai nodded, but said helplessly: "This is a pot of raw rice in Yanzhou. There is no other way to do it now, but to burn it. Whether the general can be accepted by everyone depends on the destiny."