Although under the banner of "respecting the king", Cai Ji's real purpose in going north this time was to inspect the counties of Heshuo. In her opinion, Youzhou has Zhang Liao and Pang Tong in charge, and their military strategy and resourcefulness are more than enough to deal with Yuan Tan and Budugen. On the contrary, it has only been more than a year since several counties and counties in Jizhou were annexed, and the local sectarian parties are deeply entrenched, and a large-scale rebellion can break out if they are not careful. It must be known that Cai Ji and Cao Cao are still in an alliance, and the powerful sect party in Heshuo will not let Cai Ji stay out of the matter because of the sentence "respect the king". At least the siege of Cao Pi by the Longkou Beings had already given her a glimpse of the other party's methods.

Therefore, Cai Ji went north this time with great pomp, and along the way, he successively met with many local powerful sects. But such a combination of grace and power alone is not enough to deter those earthly snakes. As the so-called county officials are not as good as the current management, Tai Shici, who sits in Nanpi, is also the key to stabilizing the Dìng River.

After the Battle of Guandu, Cai Ji sent two generals, Tai Shici and Gao Shun, to be stationed in the two cities of Nanpi and Liyang. Gao Shun, who was stationed in Liyang, was mainly responsible for the defense of the Yellow River, aiming to guard against Cao's army north of the Yellow River. It must be known that Liyang has been an important place for soldiers since ancient times, and according to the course of the original history, this place should have been the place of the decisive battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Tan. It was only because Cai Ji forcibly intervened in the city that it did not fall into Cao Cao's hands. If Cao Cao suddenly turned against Cai Ji now, Li Gaoshun, who was stationed there, would cut off the north-south connection of Cao's army from the Yellow River at the first time, preventing Cao's army from Jizhou from moving south to attack Qingzhou. So it is not difficult to imagine that Cao Cao at this time is afraid that he wants to take Liyang into his pocket in his dreams. It is precisely because of the extremely important position of Liyang that Cai Ji did not assign him additional tasks while appointing Gao Shun to sit in Liyang. Now most of the military and political affairs in Jizhou are actually under the control of Tai Shici, who is sitting in Nanpi. This makes Tai Shici's own ideas directly affect the stability and direction of Jizhou.

In fact, there are many people in the market who think that Cai Ji is too child's fun to give half of Jizhou to Tai Shici, who has no relatives and no reason for her. All kinds of rumors of discord and slander about the relationship between the two have never stopped. But no matter how rumored by the outside world is that Tai Shici's prestige in Jizhou far exceeds Cai Ji, Cai Ji has never wavered in his trust in Tai Shici. This is because she knows Tai Shici's character very well. The second is that Cai Ji firmly believes that loyalty comes from like-mindedness, not blood ties.

Cai Ji, who is familiar with history, knows very well that relying on the blood relatives of a family alone cannot compete in the world. Whether it is the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, or the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion of Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. None of them are mainly blood relatives. Liu Bang also relied on Xiao He, Zhang Liang, Han Xin, Peng Yue, Yingbu and other heroes from different backgrounds to defeat Xiang Yu and dominate the world.

"Life is emotional, and who will be famous", Wei Zheng said the most ideal relationship between monarchs and ministers. Cai Ji does not have the luxury of "who will regain his fame" in the martial arts, but he really hopes that he can "feel the spirit of life" with his retainers. To achieve this, Cai Ji first needs to be able to communicate with his retainers. Just like Guo Jia and other strategists need to find out Cai Ji's position before they can give her advice and strategize. As the lord, Cai Ji can't ignore the voices of his retainers and insist on going his own way. So on the second day after arriving in Nanpi, Cai Ji made a separate appointment with Tai Shici in the state capital.

The world is full of fragrant flowers in April, and the peach blossoms in the mountain temple are in full bloom. It was Mengxia, and the peach blossoms in Nanpi City were blooming. Cai Ji who sat on the same bed with Tai Shici. Looking at the pink petals flying in the wind, falling on the smooth painted lacquer case from time to time, I couldn't help but sigh, "I think of the past years and you met in Huangxian, lonely and small." Prime-fruited. If it weren't for the righteous help of the sons, I am afraid that it would be a dry bone in the grave early. Where did it come to be today. The flowers are beautiful, and the marquis is honored. ＂

"The Lord is wrong to say this. If there is no Lord to know what to do, I am afraid that I am still wasting my life and do not know where I am going. Tai Shi Ci shook his head with the wine cup in his hand.

Tai Shici's words were not polite, but his personal experience over the years. If he hadn't met Cai Ji in Huangxian County, Tai Shici thought that he was very likely to go south to seek refuge in Liu Xuan, the assassin of Yangzhou at that time. Now Liu Miao has long been in the hands of Sun Ce. And the defeat was extremely miserable. If Tai Shi Ci really fell under Liu Xuan's account, then he would either have died as a martyr, or he would have switched to Sun Ce's command. No matter what the result is, it can't compare to the scenery of the current leader Heshuo.

Of course, Cai Ji knew that because of his intervention, Tai Shici's entire life trajectory had undergone a heavy change. According to the original historical process. At this time, Tai Shi Ci should have been appointed by Sun Quan to the south of Eastern Wu to lead the six counties of Haiduan and Jianchang, and the generals would reject Liu Biao's son Liu Pan. Although it is not clear whether Tai Shi Ci will die at the age of forty-one, without Tai Shi Ci's support back then, Cai Ji's current achievements would not have been possible. Therefore, Cai Ji did not regard himself as Tai Shi Ci's benefactor, but picked up the wine cup and saluted Tai Shi Ci, "No matter what, without Ziyi, there would be no loneliness today." This water and wine, the lonely first to do it as a respect. ＂

Seeing Cai Ji tilt his neck and drink all the water and wine, Tai Shici's eyes had a warm smile. Broad-minded, affectionate and righteous, both the delicacy of a daughter and the heartiness of a man, this is his current lord of Tai Shici, and Cao Cao, Sun Ce, Liu Bei and other heroes compete for the lord of the world.

Regardless of the mixed reputation of the outside world, there is only one cup of wine, and Ci has no regrets - Tai Shici, who is hot in his heart, also drank the water and wine in the cup.

After a glass of water and wine, Cai Ji, who felt that the atmosphere was much more harmonious, immediately put down the wine cup and asked solemnly, "This edict has caused a stir in the Central Plains, I don't know what Ziyi thinks about it?" ＂

Tai Shi Ci saw Cai Ji asking about the edict of the clothes and belts, and couldn't help but hold the wine cup and muttered for a moment, and then said thoughtfully, "Ci thinks that the edict of the clothes and belts is not a false edict. However, Cao Mengde and Liu Jingsheng both have ill intentions, and it is understandable that the Lord will stay away from such an unjust war on the grounds of respecting the king. ＂

Cai Ji heard a hint of compromise from Tai Shici's words. Obviously, Tai Shici was very dissatisfied with Cao Cao's actions, but he also accepted Cai Jizun's slogan and his decision not to intervene in the Cao Liu war for the time being. But this time the dispute is not something that can be stayed out of the matter without participating in the Cao Liu War.

Just as Cai Ji lowered his head and pondered, Tai Shi Ci suddenly put down the wine cup and said, "Lord, Ci has a matter, I don't know whether to ask or not?" ＂

Cai Ji replied with a bow, "Ziyi, excuse me, I know everything." ＂

"Does the Lord really plan to save the Son of Heaven from fire and water? Tai Shi Ci raised his head and asked in a deep voice. Regarding this issue, Tai Shici wanted to ask Cai Ji about it as early as after the Battle of Guandu. But at that time, everyone was busy receiving Ji and Youerzhou and chasing the remnants of the Yuan family, and Tai Shici never found a chance to ask Cai Ji in person. At this moment, since Cai Ji personally mentioned the edict of the clothes belt, Tai Shici naturally took a little less care and directly asked the question in his heart.

Cai Ji seems to have been prepared for this question for a long time. But seeing that she lifted the wine jug and poured a cup of water and wine for herself and Tai Shici, she asked, "Ziyi thinks that after Gu rescues the Son of Heaven, how should the Son of Heaven be placed?" ＂

"When the Son of Heaven enters the dragon's mouth. Tai Shici blurted out without thinking. Bringing a seven-foot sword to ascend to the rank of the Son of Heaven has always been Tai Shici's long-cherished wish. In his opinion, since Cao Cao has lost his holy favor, he should choose another merit to assist the Son of Heaven in the Han Dynasty. As for the virtuous ability in Tai Shici's mind, of course, it must be Cai Ji.

However, Cai Ji listened to what Tai Shici said, but put away the wine jug and smiled bitterly at him, "Wouldn't that lonely be Cao Mengde in the female middle school?" ＂

Tai Shi Ci wanted to refute. How could the Lord treat the Son of Heaven as nothing as Cao Mengde did, but he still didn't say it after all. Because Tai Shici also vaguely realized at this time that if Cai Ji really welcomed the Son of Heaven into the dragon's mouth as he said, most of the final result would be to put the Son of Heaven on the shelf, at most, he would be more respectful than Cao Cao in his attitude.

Of course, there is another option. That is to let Cai Ji break the marriage contract with Cao Pi and tie the knot with the Son of Heaven instead. But the Son of Heaven has long since been established. Cai Ji wants to sit in the main palace. It must be abolished first. What happens after the abolition is a matter of importance. Fu Hou's father, Fu Wan, was the seventh grandson of the great Situ Fu Zhan, and the lord was "not the marquis", and the official worshiped the auxiliary general. Her mother is the eldest daughter of Emperor Huan, Princess Yang'an. Fu Hou is not only from a noble background, but also a chaste and virtuous person. If Cai Ji is forcibly abolished, the evil consequences may not be less than this Cao Cao's killing of Concubine Dong's mother and son. Tai Shici has always admired Cai Ji. Of course, I don't want my own master to bear such a notoriety. So he didn't even think about it after entering the palace.

Cai Ji saw that Tai Shi Ci beside him was silent, and he knew that he had realized the trouble of "serving the Son of Heaven to order the princes". Tai Shi Ci is not a martial artist, nor is he a pedantic person. Once some things are exposed, their advantages and disadvantages are self-evident. The contradiction between Cao Cao and Liu Xie is essentially a thousand-year-old struggle between China's monarchy and relative power.

Before the advent of the three-province six-ministry system, China's prime minister power was so highly centralized that it was able to compete with the emperor with a single minister. Of course, when encountering strong monarchs such as Emperor Qin and Han Wu, the power of the prime minister is often suppressed to the death. But a dynasty cannot guarantee that every monarch will be a Qin Emperor and a Han Wu. Compared with the relative power selected according to talent, the monarchy inherited by bloodline is destined to be inferior from generation to generation. When the power of the monarch is unable to suppress the power of the minister, the minister appears. If the ministers are still in awe of the royal family, it is Duke Zhou and Huo Guang. If the ministers don't take the royal family seriously, then dramas such as Li Si killing Fusu and Wang Mang usurping the Han will be staged one after another.

However, before the Three Kingdoms, except for Wang Mang, most of the powerful ministers did not cross the bottom line of usurpation. It was Cao Cao, Cao Pi and his son who really routineized the usurpation of monarchy. From the father and son of the Cao family, to the three generations of Sima Yi's ancestors and grandchildren, to Huan Wen, Huan Xuan, Xiao Daocheng, Xiao Yan, Chen Baxian, Yuwentai, Gao Huan, and even Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui, the entire Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties continued to stage: the reincarnation of holding military power, worshiping the prime minister, sealing the country, giving Jiuxi, sealing the king, Chan rang, and changing the dynasty.

If the Wuhu chaos is the external cause of the chaos between the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, then the usurpation of the monarchy by the prime minister is an internal trouble. It is important to know that the king is autocratic, and the minister is also autocratic. What's more, a country that changes its dynasty every fifty or sixty years, or even twenty or thirty years, can talk about expanding its territory and spreading civilization. Since Cai Ji is determined to prevent the tragedy of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties from happening again in this time and space, she must also cut off the vicious circle of usurping the monarchy while resisting the Wuhu Chaohua.

However, according to the official system of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Ji will inevitably follow in Cao Cao's footsteps if he wants to resist foreign enemies and change the central official system. Cutting off the prime minister's dictatorship is a paradox at first glance. Cai Ji knew that there was indeed someone in history who broke this paradox, and that was Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui. At the same time, Yang Jian ended the 400-year turbulent era of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and unified China again after the Han Dynasty.

Can Lone achieve Yang Jian's exploits in advance as a woman in this time and space? If you follow Yang Jian's route, you will inevitably become a king first, so how should the orthodoxy of the Han family be handled? After the Battle of Guandu, Cai Ji would often ask himself in his heart in the dead of night when there was no one around. Obviously, after nearly eight years of troubled times, Cai Ji has realized that the path she has chosen is not only full of thorns, but also full of contradictions.

After a long silence, Cai Ji once again picked up the wine cup and smiled at Tai Shici, "I remember that Ziyi once decided to bring a seven-foot sword to ascend to the rank of the Son of Heaven. ＂

Tai Shi Ci saw Cai Ji mention his early ambitions, and then thought of the scene when Cai Ji first confessed his identity as a woman to him, and couldn't help but smile, "The Lord still remembers this." ＂

Of course, Tai Shi Ci did not mean to pursue Cai Ji. In fact, even if Cai Ji didn't quote his mantra back then, Tai Shi Ci would still help that slightly naïve and passionate girl. Because Tai Shici had never seen that prince would have nothing like Cai Ji, but he dared to gamble with his own life for a chance to save the common people. But after so many years of following, especially Cai Ji's attitude towards welcoming the Son of Heaven into the dragon's mouth just now, Tai Shici has more or less realized that his master may no longer take the Son of Han to heart. After all, today's Cai Ji is no longer an orphan girl in Huangxian County, but the Marquis of Qi who sits in the land of Sizhou, and it is not surprising that he will have the heart of separating one side.

So Tai Shi Ci sighed lightly and said, "This is indeed Ci's ambition in his early years. ”

"Does that Ziyi still have the heart to ascend to the rank of the Son of Heaven now?" Cai Ji looked at Tai Shi Ci and asked again. It is true that she quoted the sentence "When her husband is born, he should bring a seven-foot sword to ascend to the rank of the Son of Heaven", in order to persuade Tai Shici to stay and help her. But as long as Tai Shi Ci recognizes her as the master, then Tai Shi Ci's dream is her Cai Ji's dream. Because since the day he set up his ambition to compete for the deer, Cai Ji has already had the consciousness of carrying the dreams of all his followers.

Facing Cai Ji's bright eyes, Tai Shici seemed to see the little girl who said in front of him that "there are only people who retreat, nothing that cannot be done". So he no longer had any reservations, and bluntly admitted, "Yes." ”

Cai Ji listened to what Tai Shici said, immediately smiled, raised his glass and swore an oath, "The ambition of Ziyi is the ambition of loneliness." One day, Lone will order Ziyi to bring a seven-foot sword to ascend to the rank of the Son of Heaven. ”

There are two main entanglements in ―――――――― Liuding some time ago, one is the problem of the high concentration of power in the Han Dynasty today, where the power is in a broad sense, not just the prime minister. I thought that I could use the power of the monarch to balance the power, but after reading the history of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, I found that according to the official system before the Sui Dynasty, this matter was unreliable. At the same time, I also admired Yang Jian even more, no wonder he was so admired by the West, he solved the world problems of the same era. The other one will be said next time, in short, these two articles made Liu Ding change the outline, O(∩_∩)O~ (to be continued......)