"Respect the king? Cai Anzhen wants to pretend to be the Duke of Qi Huan. ＂

In the face of the report from Donglai, many of Cao Cao's staff members sneered in their hearts. The slogan of "respecting the king and fighting the king" sounds righteous and awe-inspiring, but after all, it is just picking up the wisdom of the predecessors. What's more, Duke Qi Huan is the head of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, and Cai Ji pretends to be Duke Qi Huan, making it clear that he wants to divide one side. It's just more fig leaf than Liu Biao, Sun Ce, Liu Bei and others. In terms of mind, it is not comparable to Cao Cao, who takes it as his mission to dominate the world.

Compared with the disdain of the strategists under the account, Cao Cao's expression at the moment was extremely cautious. Although he has not had much contact with Cai Ji, through what Cai Ji has done over the years, Cao Cao can keenly feel that the other party has the same heart of peace as himself. Therefore, Cai Ji's proposal of "respecting the king and exalting the king" may be taking the opportunity to pass the buck in order to sit and watch him fight with Liu Biao. It may also be like Qi Huangong's vain attempt to "seal Mount Tai, Zen Liang's father". More likely to be both. Cai Anzhen is absolutely unusual, what Qi Huan Gong failed to do does does not mean that she can't do it.

Thinking about this, Cao Cao raised his hand to interrupt the whispers of his staff, and turned to Xun Mouzhu, who was sitting on the right hand side and had not spoken, to ask, "Gongda, what do you think of this matter?" ＂

Xun You pondered for a moment, and then arched his hand and said, "Back to the lord, the top priority is to find out whether Yuan Tan really colluded with Xianbei to go south?" What about the troops? Can anyone else be attached? ＂

Cao Cao nodded thoughtfully, and then asked Shi Liu Ye, the marching commander in charge of intelligence gathering, "Ziyang, is there a battle report from the two states?" ＂

"Back to the prime minister, there is no war report in these two states. When Liu Ye said this, he seemed to remember something, and then added, "The high-ranking cadres of the state pastor have reported that there is a desire to migrate to the state and merge with the state." ＂

"Pausai Hunemi? Hum. Make matters worse by attempting a coverup. Cao Cao snorted coldly, and a murderous intent appeared in his eyes for a moment, "Ziyang, order the Yuan Chang to watch Gao Gan closely." ＂

Seeing that Cao Cao just asked Si Li's lieutenant Zhong Xuan to watch Gao Gan closely, Chang Lin, a strategist on the side, couldn't help but step forward and reminded Cao Cao, "Prime Minister Mingjian, the battle of Jingzhou is imminent, and Yuan Tan Zhen is really as Cai Anzhen said to lead the Xianbei people south, so wouldn't Wang Shi have to suffer from the enemy on his back?" Therefore, Lin thought, regardless of whether this matter is true or not. The prime minister can send a confidant general to lead the troops to sit in the town and annex the state. In this way, it can not only stabilize the hearts of the army and the people, but also knock on the mountain and shake the tiger. ＂

Chang Lin's words won the unanimous approval of most of the staff present, but Xun You and Liu Ye did not express their position. It's no wonder that there are not many people in this world who can calmly deal with the news that 100,000 aliens will invade their territory. Even if you know that the other party's claimed army of 100,000 may only be 20,000 or 30,000, as long as you think of the barbarian's temperament of burning and plundering. It's enough to make people fidget.

But who knew that Cao Cao raised his head and looked around at the scene, and said disapprerovingly. "There is Cai Anzhen sitting in the secluded union. Why do you need to divide your troops to the north? ＂

"Why did the prime minister say this! Cai Anzhen took the opportunity to annex and annex the state, how can it be good! Another young strategist, Wang Xiang, exclaimed.

Wang Xiang and Chang Lin before him were the first batch of talents selected by Cao Cao Tongguò to open a science and take a scholar. Not only are they both from Hanoi, but both come from poor backgrounds. In particular, Wang Xiang's parents died when he was a child, and he was sold into a large family as a servant. But he was unwilling to be a slave who had herded sheep all his life, so he eavesdropped on his master's lectures in private to teach himself. Finally, one day, Wang Xiang peeked at his master's book collection and was arrested. After hearing the news, the owner wanted to beat Wang Xiang severely, and at this time, Yang Jun, a local celebrity, happened to pass by. Yang Jun saw it and praised his talent. He immediately ransomed Wang Xiang and helped him marry and settle down. Wang Xiang continued his studies under Yang Jun. This time, Cao Cao opened a branch in Yecheng to obtain a scholar, and Wang Xiang actively took the examination and obtained the qualification for the palace examination. Although his ranking in the palace examination is not high, he is not as radiant as Yang Xiu, who won the first place. But with an inspirational experience. Wang Xiang was eventually selected by Cao Cao as a staff member, and his mentor Yang Jun was recommended by Cao Cao as a county magistrate.

It is not easy for a student like Wang Xiang, who is not even from a poor family, to get all the way to where he is today. Compared with the strategists from famous families, Wang Xiang and others have a much worse view of the overall situation. At least Wang Xiang and Chang Lin didn't see that Cao Cao's current strength could not support the battle on the northern and southern fronts.

Compared with the vast and sparsely populated and scarce prefectures, Jingzhou not only has fertile land and prosperous people, but also does not have to be harassed by Xianbei, Xiongnu, Wuhuan and other Hulu from time to time like the two prefectures. Once he took Jingzhou, Cao Cao would be able to have a stable granary and sufficient manpower, and the expansion of the expedition would no longer be a problem. In addition, it can also take Jingzhou as a foothold, go south to destroy Wu, enter Shu in the west, and take Hanzhong in the north. In short, for Cao Cao, the importance of Jingzhou is far greater than that of merging states.

Of course, this kind of words that increase the prestige of others and destroy the morale of one's own family cannot be said casually. But I heard Liu Ye excuse Cao Cao in a disapproving tone, "It depends on whether Cai Anzhen can calm down the peace of mind one step ahead of the prime minister." Hu Lu is cruel and cunning, capricious, and cannot be determined overnight. On the other hand, Jing Yang, Liu Biao is sitting and talking, Sun Ce is anxious and scheming, and Liu Bei is clumsy in using soldiers. These three families each have ghosts in Jingyang, and when the prime minister waves his army south, they can be broken one by one. ＂

Cao Cao glanced at Liu Ye and didn't say anything. Indeed, this time in the southern expedition to Jingzhou, he pressed the treasure on Liu Biao, Sun Ce, and Liu Bei. plans to exterminate Liu Biao first, and then defeat Liu Bei and Sun Ce one by one with a great victory. In the meantime, Yuan Tan, Gao Gan and Xianbei people can delay Cai Jina for the best. If these three people are vulnerable and Cai Ji is lightly merged, Cao Cao will also settle accounts with him after taking Jingzhou. Anyway, from the day Cao Cao settled in Xudu, he was ready to deal with the enemies of the Quartet.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao raised his head and said proudly, "Even if Cai Anzhen turns against him, Lone is not afraid to fight with him!" ＂

In March of the seventh year of Jian'an, Cao Cao had the worst plan to garrison Nanyang County to govern Wancheng, and sent Cao Ren as the vanguard to attack Runan counties in order to form a flank with Wancheng. In the face of the menacing Cao army, Liu Biao did not actively respond to the battle, but on the one hand, he strengthened the wall and cleared the wilderness, and on the other hand, he gathered a large number of soldiers to build high walls and dig deep trenches on the front line of Xiangyang Xinye, leading the Han water around the city, intending to fight a war of attrition with Cao Cao with water divisions and walled cities.

And just when Cao Cao and Liu Biao were dispatching troops according to their respective styles, the Longkou scientific expedition far away in Donglai had already been released. Since Cai Ji showed the slogan of "respecting the king and destroying the king" in public the day before yesterday, this year's countermeasures simply used this as the topic to let the candidates who took the exam express their opinions.

Speaking of "distraction" is a very old problem. The attitude of the Chinese nation towards non-Chinese nationalities has always been constantly changing between "hugging" and "harmony". In the pre-Qin period, the Chinese people used geography to distinguish different ethnic groups, and there was a saying that "China is four people, and the people of the five directions", that is, China located in the Central Plains is Huaxia. The four directions of the Central Plains are Yi, Man, Rong and Di. At that time, the Chinese believed that only "Yidi" could "Peaceful China". Therefore, after Qin Shi Huang unified the six countries, he took the Xiongnu in the south, the Great Wall in Wuling, and the Great Wall of Wuling, and had the posture of completely expelling the four Yi from the country. However, years of foreign conquests eventually shook the foundation of the Qin Empire and led to the death of Qin II. Later, the Han Dynasty learned the lessons of Qin and adopted a policy of supplementing the Siyi with peace as the main policy.

Taking the annexed state where Cai Ji was about to go north to "defend" as an example, some of the Xiongnu surrendered to the Han Dynasty when Emperor Xuan of the Western Han Dynasty. It was placed in the grassland area north of the Great Wall, and was known as the Southern Xiongnu. In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, with the permission of the Han Dynasty, the Southern Xiongnu moved to the south of the Great Wall and moved south year by year. Up to now, the Southern Xiongnu have moved to the Fenhe River Valley, that is, south of Taiyuan City in later generations. However, the southward migration of the Xiongnu in the Eastern Han Dynasty was not the result of a violent invasion. It is due to the sharp decline in the self-cultivation of the Han people in Bingzhou. According to the statistics of the last years of the Western Han Dynasty, the population of each county in the state was about 450,000 households and 1.92 million people. And nearly a century and a half later, in the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The population of the same area is recorded at about 110,000 households. 690,000 people. After the unification of the Western Jin Dynasty, the population of Bingzhou was recorded as less than 60,000 households, and according to five people per household, it was less than 300,000.

Two thousand years later, the Han Chinese, with a population of more than a billion people, may imagine that they will one day become a minority. But at the end of the Han Dynasty, this was a reality that was really staged in the You, He, and Liang states. The number of Han Chinese yeoman farmers in these prefectures and counties decreased year by year, and the Han court accepted immigrants from the Qiang, Di, Xiongnu and other tribes to move inland in order to ensure tax revenue. Under the trade-off, the total population of the Han people is still superior. However, it has become an ethnic minority in the three prefectures of You, Bing and Liang. The contradictions between Huayi have also become more and more acute. Therefore, when it comes to "Zhanyi", the scholars from the north are all murderous, and they can't wait to kill the Xianbei people who invaded from outside together with the Hu inside.

In contrast, because the climate and water and soil in the south are suitable for the development of agricultural peoples. At this time, the Han people were expanding in southeast and south China. For example, Sun Ce of Eastern Wu has sent troops to conquer Shanyue many times. Therefore, when it comes to refuge, Sun Quan still advocates the combination of peace and punishment. Especially after listening to Cai Ji's introduction to Buddhism in the Western Regions that day, Sun Quan became deeply interested in using religion to control Yidi, which made his strategy quite unique among the many examination papers. However, it was this maverick strategy that made Sun Quan come out on top, not only becoming an enviable champion, but also obtaining the qualification to drink tea and discuss Taoism with Qi Hou.

On this day, Sun Quan came to the Qihou Mansion early. The akane robe and emerald belt make him bright like a swaggering golden rooster. Cao Pi, who came to greet him, felt quite uncomfortable.

But the discomfort is not the discomfort, Cao Pi still led Sun Quan all the way to the Hou Mansion to listen to His Excellency Tao, and politely bowed to the other party, "Qi Hou is on the top floor." Please ask Sun Langjun to go upstairs by himself. ＂

Sun Quan looked up at the five-story Tingtao Pavilion, and after thanking Cao Pi, he walked up the stairs. The Eastern Han Dynasty people like to build high-rise buildings, the square pavilions of three or four floors are extremely common in the rich and noble, and each floor has the eaves supported by the bucket arch, and the balcony is placed on it, not only the lighting is good and the ventilation is good, but people can also enjoy some rare scenery on weekdays. Like Sun Quan, who was on the top floor at this moment, there was a faint sound of waves in his ears.

"But Sun Zhongmou's son? ＂

The sudden roll call made Sun Quan, who was slightly distracted a second ago, suddenly startled on the spot. But he soon realized that his identity had been exposed, and that he was on top of a five-story building, and that any quibbles, resistance, and struggles were in vain. Thinking about this, Sun Quan relaxed his mood instead, walked to the center of the pavilion and bowed down to Cai Ji, who was wearing his identity, and said, "Sun Quan of Eastern Wu sees the Marquis of Qi." ＂

Cai Ji looked at Sun Quan's change from panic to calm to down-and-out in a moment, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the other party was worthy of being the famous Emperor Wu in later generations. Since Sun Quan admitted his identity so calmly, Cai Ji would not be stingy enough to pursue Sun Quan's concealment of his identity. After all, according to Duan Emei's surveillance, Sun Quan and Lu Su have not found any substantive information in Donglai in the past few months. Lu Su was also tricked by Duan Emei in the salt field. So at this time, Cai Ji also acted as if nothing had happened, and raised his hand to serve tea to Sun Quan, "Childe, please take a seat." ”

Sun Quan was not afraid that there would be problems in the tea, so he picked up the teacup and tasted it casually, "Good tea." ”

Cai Ji congratulated Sun Quan as if facing an ordinary scholar, "Congratulations to Childe for being at the top of the high school list"

"It is an honor to be appreciated by Qi Hou." Sun Quan put down the teacup and owed flattery.

Cai Ji didn't eat that set at all. Anyway, she is about to go north to join her, and it is not okay not to deal with the second son in front of her before leaving. I saw Cai Ji pretending to be sorry and ordered to evict the guest, "It's a pity that the son is the pillar of Wu, this time Prime Minister Cao Cheng pointed at Jing Yang, and the son is afraid that he will return to Eastern Wu in the south to help Brother Ling." ”

"Dongwu Wu has a brother in charge, and Wen is assisted by Zhou Gongjin, so why do you need to return to the south." Sun Quan waved his hand. Half of what he said was pretending, and half of it was what he really thought. In Sun Quan's eyes, his brother Sun Ce is the object he cannot surpass. Of course, he never thought of replacing his brother. It has always been Sun Quan's long-cherished wish to assist his brother in laying a foundation for the Sun family. It's a pity that as he himself said, Sun Quan's essay on martial arts is not outstanding. Now when I return to Soochow, I will not necessarily be entrusted with important tasks by my brother. On the other hand, although Cai Ji formed an alliance with Cao Cao, he refused to participate in the southern expedition to Jingzhou under the pretext of "respecting the king". It can be seen that his relationship with Cao Cao is not as close as rumored by the outside world. If he can match the Sun and Cai families at a critical moment, and even turn Cai Ji and Cao Cao against each other, it will be more helpful to help his brother than fighting on the battlefield. In line with this idea, Sun Quan immediately became cheeky and asked Cai Ji, "Quan wants to stay by Qi Hou's side and learn the way of Anbang, I wonder if Qi Hou can agree?" ”

Cai Ji didn't expect Sun Quan to choose to stay, and while holding up the teacup to hide his surprise, he warned him in a deep voice, "Gu and Cao Cheng have an alliance by marriage. If Cao Cheng asks Gu for a son, it is inconvenient for Gu to refuse. ”

"Right to know." Sun Quan bowed ambiguously and said, "Qi Hou should be one more proton." ”

Seeing this, Cai Ji couldn't figure out for a while, whether Sun Ce deliberately sent his younger brother to show favor to him, or whether Sun Quan had other plans for his own personal affairs. However, it is not necessarily a bad thing to be able to connect with Soochow. So Cai Ji took a sip of tea and said, "Then please go to the seclusion with the lonely and go for a while." (To be continued......)