Soon after Cao Shuo returned to Shouchun, a team set out from Xudu and headed for Shouchun.

At the head of the line was Cao Cao.

Accompanying Cao Cao, in addition to Xu Chu and Xun You, there were also Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Cao Pi and others.

"Zihuan, when you arrive in Shouchun, what are your plans?" Cao Cao asked Cao Pi, who was following him.

"Back to my father." Cao Pi said very respectfully: "When I arrive in Shouchun, I plan to ask my brother for advice on the strategy of governing the place, and I also plan to ask for the strategy of leading troops to fight. ”

"Strategy can be consulted, but strategy can only rely on yourself." Cao Cao said: "Zirong has led troops to fight in recent years, and has made great contributions to the Cao family, and his territory is getting bigger and bigger. Today's Huainan, even without the support of the Cao family, can still maintain a place in the world. You should learn from him. ”

"Fathers teach, children remember." Cao Pi hurriedly responded.

"How many years do you think it will take to take Hebei?" Cao Cao suddenly asked Cao Pi.

Cao Pi replied: "The child thinks that in two or three years at most, Hebei will fall into the hands of his father. ”

"Two or three years?" Cao Cao looked at him and said, "The vitality of the Yuan family in Hebei has been greatly injured, do you still think that we will not be able to break through it in two or three years?" ”

"Exactly." Cao Pi said: "Although the vitality of the Yuan family has been greatly damaged, our Cao family has also suffered a lot of losses. My father was sending people to harass Hebei while starting to expand his armaments. After two or three years, Cangli is rich and strong, and he will definitely be able to defeat the Yuan family in one fell swoop. ”

His eyes fell on Cao Pi's face, and Cao Cao smiled after a while: "Just like I despised Zirong at the beginning, I actually underestimated you." What you said was exactly what Tian Yuanhao and Fu Zhi suggested to Yuan Shao to deal with our Cao family. If Yuan Shao had listened to the two of them back then, he would not have ended up in today's situation. ”

"Yuan Shao is in Shouchun, my father is going to ...... this time" Cao Pi said to Cao Cao: "Should you ......?"

"How should it be?" Cao Cao asked.

"The grass should be cut down and the roots should be eradicated." Cao Pi said: "Yuan Shao is alive, in case he cultivates eyeliner between Shouchun and Hebei, once his instructions reach Hebei, we will have many constraints when we attack the Yuan family." ”

"Yuan Shao is Zirong's father-in-law." Cao Shuo said: "He also used to be a minister in the same palace as me, and now he is a prisoner of Zirong, how can I bear to harm him?" ”

"If my father can't bear it, I'll go." Cao Pi said: "As long as my father doesn't ask, it's fine." ”

"Presumptuous!" Cao Cao glared at him: "Shouchun is the realm of Zirong, how can you be allowed to come there?" ”

Cao Pi lowered his head and said nothing.

But he heard something from Cao Cao's tone.

"Cao Gong." Xun You, who also heard something, said to Cao Cao: "What the second son said also makes sense, but I still think that in Shouchun, it is best not to do anything to Yuan Shao." ”

"I'm not going to do that." Cao Cao said: "Huangkou Xiaoer is talking nonsense, Gongda doesn't need to pay attention to it. ”

Cao Cao said this, of course Xun You couldn't say any more, so he could only step aside.

"How long will it take to get to Shouchun?" Cao Cao asked everyone.

"Return to Gong Cao." Xu Chu said: "At most, in seven or eight days, we will be able to reach Shouchun." ”

"Did you send someone to inform Zirong?" Cao Cao asked Xu Chu.

"A messenger has been sent a long time ago, and Childe should have gotten the news by this time." Xu Chu responded.

Cao Cao was still on his way to Shouchun, and the messenger he sent had already entered Shouchun City.

In Cao Shuo's study, the messenger stood facing him with his fists clenched.

"Who did your father bring here?" Cao Shuo asked the messenger.

"Those who followed Cao Gong to Shouchun were ...... in addition to the second son," the messenger replied.

Before he could finish speaking, Cao Shuo had already waved his hand to stop: "Okay, if you don't say it, I can roughly guess who the others are." ”

"How many days will my father be able to reach Shouchun?" Cao Shuo asked again.

"Counting the journey, it will only take seven or eight days at most." The messenger replied.

Probably knowing the day when Cao Cao came to Shouchun, Cao Shuo instructed Cai Ji: "Arrange for him to stay first, and entertain him with good wine and food, and there must be no slackness." ”

Cai Ji replied and said to the messenger, "Please come with me." ”

"Childe Qiyu, I can't keep Shouchun." The messenger did not leave immediately, but said to Cao Shuo, "Cao Gong is still waiting for my reply. ”

"Then eat something, prepare some dry food and go." Cao Shuo said: "My father is still on the way, and he is not in a hurry. ”

"Thank you, Childe!" The messenger made a big bow and followed Cai Ji away.

"Why do you think my father came to Shouchun?" Cao Shuo asked Tian Feng and Chen Gong who were sitting in the room.

"Cangting won a big victory in the first battle." Tian Feng said: "Now that I have half of Qingzhou, it is reasonable for Cao Gong to come to see his son and inspect the place. ”

"But I always feel that this time my father will cause a lot of trouble." Cao Shuo said: "The messenger also said just now that Zihuan came to Shouchun this time. ”

Tian Feng and Chen Gong glanced at each other.

Both of them don't know Cao Pi, and they don't know why Cao Shuo attaches so much importance to Cao Pi's arrival.

"Gongtai, keep an eye on it." Cao Shuo said to Chen Gong: "Let people keep an eye on my second brother, and he will report to me at any time on his every move in Shouchun." ”

Chen Gong first received the order, and then asked Cao Shuo: "Gongzi seems to be very defensive of the second son, is it difficult to ......?"

"You still don't know my second brother." Cao Shuo said: "Although he is only 14 years old, he has an ambitious heart. When he is full-fledged, sooner or later he will give me some stumbling blocks. This time I came to Shouchun, maybe there will be some trouble. So it's better to be on guard early. ”

"I think that when the second son comes to Shouchun, he will not blatantly stumble on the son." Tian Feng thought for a while and said: "He may secretly do something that makes Childe unhappy, but on the surface, he will still obey Childe." ”

"I'm afraid of what he's doing in secret." Cao Shuo said: "My father must have brought him here to learn something from Shouchun. I had no doubt that he would learn, but I didn't intend to teach him. ”

"What is Childe going to do?" Chen Gong asked Cao Shuo.

"In front of my father, I still have to tell him some big truths that don't hurt or itch." Cao Shuo grinned: "You haven't heard me say a big truth, in fact, I'm really good at it." If you don't feel pain or itch and encourage people to move up, you don't have to be responsible, and others still feel refreshed when they hear it, but in hindsight, it seems that you haven't learned anything. This is the true art of language! ”

Cao Shuo's words made Chen Gong and Tian Feng full of black lines.

The Yuan family brothers' rivalry is already on the bright side.

The Cao family, which is calm on the surface, is quietly unfolding a battle.

(End of chapter)