A major event happened in the winter of the eighteenth year of Jian'an. The matter www.biquge.info was in mid-November, which was about the time when Li Sheng led the army to Yinping to deal with Ma Chao.

Time, it is a wonderful early winter morning, the location is the palace of the Xuchang Palace, the protagonist of the characters is Cao Cao, the largest overlord in the north, Cao Mengde, and the first supporting role is the emperor who feels that he is very nested, the nominal master of the world, the Han Emperor Liu Xie, as for the other supporting roles, it is all the officials who can go to the palace, including Cao Cao's own subordinates.

Some of them are pedantic, some are changeable, some are upright, some are treacherous, some are loyal to Cao Cao, and some are loyal to the Han Dynasty.

On such a cool morning, which was not bad, the gunpowder of their supporting characters was very strong and divided into two sides, staring at each other, and the flames in their eyes were eager to burn each other in an instant.

Of course, the people who support Cao are far above the people who support Han, both in terms of number and status.

The supporting roles are so hard-working, and Cao Cao, who is the protagonist, and the emperor, who is the first supporting role, naturally dare not lag behind.

Although he didn't stare with strong feelings, just looked at it plainly, the majesty on Cao Cao's face was still terrifying.

As the de facto ruler of the northern part of the Han Empire, Cao Cao already had the bearing of a monarch and a hegemon.

He just looked at the emperor like this, and the emperor couldn't stand it.

The emperor, who was obviously inferior to Cao Cao in the Momentum Mountain, dodged Cao Cao's gaze, and only occasionally glanced at the song in his hand, his eyes full of resentment.

Of course, his resentment did not escape Cao Cao's observation, but Cao Cao was dismissive of it, and he did not care about the emperor's hostility towards him.

Because he himself has enough strength to surpass the emperor.

This strength can even dominate the emperor's death, if the emperor is disobedient, and he Cao Cao dares to be desperate.

The controversy at the court meeting continued, and although the protagonist was Cao Cao, Cao Cao did not speak.

With his current status, many things do not need to be explained by himself, but by his courtiers.

Especially in this matter.

Because the matter is related to Cao Cao himself, Cao Cao naturally has to avoid suspicion.

"Your Majesty, the prime minister's achievements are high, but it is rare in ancient and modern times. It is difficult to show only the position of the marquis, and the ministers respectfully ask His Majesty to add the prime minister to give Jiuxi to the Duke of Wei, and allow his sword to go to the palace, praise and worship the nameless, and enter the court. ”

The person who spoke was Dong Zhao.

Although Dong Zhao is an official and is regarded as a courtier of the emperor's cronies, the emperor knows that this minister of his cronies is actually very close to Cao Cao, and he belongs to the kind of person who is very good at icing on the cake.

What he said at the moment seems to be his own opinion, but in fact, he thinks about it, but there is Cao Cao's shadow behind him.

At least the plans that can be put forward in this hall are all approved by Cao Cao, and it is impossible to break away from Cao Cao's grasp.

"The prime minister wants to be a prince? The foreign surname broke through the position of marquis, and received Jiuxi, which seems to be something that has not happened since Wang Mang......"

Thinking of this, Liu Xie's eyes were the same as Cao Cao's, and he didn't see anything from them, but the more he did this, the more he felt Cao Cao's terrible.

Do you want to object?

Liu Xie wanted to do this, but thinking of the queen who had just been killed by Cao ** a few days ago, he felt a little chill in his heart: "If I disobey him here, I'm afraid he will kill me without hesitation, right?" ”

Liu Xie was scared, but he was unwilling to agree in his heart, and a pair of eyes with a request swept over the faces of the cities below him, as if he wanted to find a courtier who could help him from it.

However, he was disappointed in the end, most of the expressions of the people below were numb, except for a few courtiers who were small and small, most of the people in the hall were supporters of Cao Cao, and it was impossible for them to respond to their gaze.

"Sure enough!"

Liu Xiezheng sighed secretly.

Suddenly, he discovered something, and there seemed to be a missing person among Cao Cao's people, and this person was one of Cao Cao's most trusted ministers.

Liu Xie felt strange about this, so he asked: "Is Xun Shangshu in the future?" ”

"Shang Shuling was sick in the house and didn't come."

The people below reported to Liu Xie like this.

"Oh? Shang Shuling has worked hard. Prime Minister, do you think you want to reward Shang Shuling with some medicinal herbs? ”

Remembering that Cao Cao's important ministers had also asked him for medicinal materials when they were sick, Liu Xie simply suggested to Cao Cao directly.

"Your Majesty is merciful, leave this matter to the minister."

Cao Cao arched his hand to Liu Xie and said calmly.

"That's good, that's good......"

Liu Xie sneered, and was about to mess up this matter.

However, I didn't want Dong Zhao to have a very good memory, and he didn't give Liu Xie a chance to get through the trick at all, but he took a step forward again after the dialogue between Cao Cao and Liu Xie ended: "Your Majesty, please also give a reply as soon as possible to the matter of the Prime Minister taking the throne of Duke Wei and issue an edict." ”

He coerced the emperor, and there was not much respect for the high-ranking emperor in his words.

"This ...... I want to think about it, can you? ”

Liu Xie was very naïve and wanted to drag it over, there was no way to do it, there were not many means he could use at the moment.

"Your Majesty, please!"

As if he hadn't heard the emperor's words, Dong Zhao took another step forward, and the threat seemed to be obvious.

"Good...... All right! ”

Liu Xie shrank his body slightly worriedly, and reluctantly agreed, "Let's start an edict." Jin Feng Prime Minister for the Duke of Wei, to Jizhou Ye County for the fief of the Duke of Wei, to give the ceremony of nine tin, Xu Wei Gong sword on the hall, praise the nameless, into the court does not tend to the ceremony. ”

Liu Xie reluctantly agreed, and Cao Cao's subordinate Chen Lin wrote the edict on this hall.

Soon, this edict that had not yet dried up appeared in front of Liu Xie, Liu Xie glanced at the edict with a complicated expression, and then ordered someone to take the seal and cover it heavily, giving this edict legal effect.

The edict was announced to Cao Cao on the spot, and the ceremony was held on a good day a few days later.

When, when the court meeting on this day dispersed, everyone's title to Cao Cao had changed from the so-called "prime minister"

Became "Duke of Wei"

, although Cao Cao did not really go to the country.

This is the end of the day.

Liu Xie was gloomy and sad, while Cao Cao had a faint look of smugness in the blandness.

The fact that he could transcend the limits of the marquis and be made a duke was something he could not have imagined decades ago.

Although it is not unprecedented, it is also said that there are few ancient and modern - Cao Cao does have the capital to be happy.

However, while being happy, he still did not forget that Xun Yu objected to his claim that Duke Wei and today's emperor were particularly concerned about Xun Yu a few days ago.

"Could it be that Wen Ruo and Liu Xie have colluded?"

Cao Cao thought like this, and was taken aback in his heart, and then ordered his family: "Go and give the box on my table to Xun Shangshu." ”

Originally, Cao Cao was somewhat reluctant to accept this matter, but today's emperor's words, intentionally or unintentionally, made him finally make up his mind.

Time passed like this, and several things happened one after another: first, Queen Fu planned to get rid of Cao Cao, but the incident was not secret, and Cao Cao knew about it, and then forced Queen Fu to death; Immediately afterwards, Cao Cao ascended to the throne of Wei and established the country in Yecheng; In the end, Shang Shu Ling Xun Yu was killed by Cao ** because he opposed Cao Cao's claim to be the public.

The climate in Xuchang became really fast, and in the midst of this change, it was clear that Cao Cao had further strengthened his authority and strengthened his voice in the imperial court.

With his external "surname of the highest is located in waiting"

The breakthrough of the regulations, no one in the court dared to oppose Cao Cao openly.

"It seems that Cao Cao won't make a big move this year."

Li Sheng, who returned to the CD with Ma Chao, read all the information sent by Bai Yi in the hall of his state pastor's mansion, but said with a smile.

"Doesn't the lord think that Cao Cao is too ruthless? The queen mother of the country, Cao Cao is so coercive, it is really a loss of people's courtiers. And now it has broken the specifications, Jin Feng Wei Gong, and the country is less than 600 miles away, and its heart of disobedience has been revealed. Although we already knew about this, seeing him step by step like this, it really made us have to lament that this is the misfortune of the monarch of the country......"

Zhuge Liang looked at these case files that recorded intelligence, and said with a sigh.

"If Cao Cao doesn't hate, he won't be able to live. Any monarch who is a little ambitious does not want to have a powerful courtier like Cao Cao under his command. An ambitious monarch wants to get rid of the ministers, and in order to protect themselves, the ministers can only stand on the opposite side of the monarch. If you don't do this by thunderbolt, I'm afraid that there will be waves of opponents of Cao Cao. ”

Li Sheng said.

He seemed to understand Cao Cao thoroughly.

"Then the lord thinks what Cao Cao did is right?"

Zhuge Liang raised his eyebrows a little annoyed, and asked with a little disgust: "Then the lord will do the same when he is in Cao Cao's position?" ”

"Probably not!"

Li Sheng shook his head affirmatively, "I won't do this, because I can't be ruthless." If I had been Cao Cao to set up the emperor, the first thing I would have done would have been to send someone to be the emperor's teacher. The only way to keep your actions free from the emperor's control is to make the emperor think that you are doing the right thing. It may take a long time, but I think it's much better than what Cao Cao is doing right now. ”

Li Sheng smiled and proposed another way.

"Of course, this is just on paper."

Li Sheng added.

"I know, it's doable."

Zhuge Liang nodded, but asked again: "But doesn't the lord hate Cao Cao?" Why did you say good things about Cao Cao after seeing these actions of Cao Cao? ”

"Cao Cao is a great man, and even if we are his enemies, we can't deny it. I can understand what Cao Cao did, and I won't be resentful, but it's a bit of a pity. ”

Li Sheng said this slightly gloomy.

"It's a pity?"

Kong Ming felt even more strange: "What is a pity? ”

He asked.

"It's a pity Xun Shangshu. He was the first to follow Cao Cao's group of advisors. But he was killed by Cao Cao like this, and the monarch and the ministers had to start and finish, which is really regrettable. Cao Cao did a wrong thing in this regard, in fact, although Xun Yu opposed him to the position of Duke of Wei, he just didn't want him to follow Wang Mang's back path, and there was nothing disloyal to Cao Cao. Cao Cao couldn't tolerate him because of this, which shows that Cao Cao not only has the heart of Wang Mang, but has also begun to arrange his own future. ”

Li Sheng said lightly, there are always many mournful meanings in his words.

"It is understandable that Cao Cao has Wang Mang's heart, but it is too ...... to say that he began to prepare for his own future."

Zhuge Liang looked at Li Sheng suspiciously, not knowing how his lord saw this set of things.

"Xun Yu has a talent, talent, and connections, most of the strategists and generals in Cao Cao's early army were good friends with him, and he can be said to be a first-class figure under Cao Cao. Such a character has a lot of influence in Cao Cao's own mind, and he shows that he is not the same as himself, which makes Cao Cao vigilant. 'If I am alive I can still control him, but if I am not there?' Will my children and grandchildren still be able to master him? Such thoughts would definitely rise in Cao Cao's heart, and he would be terrified by it, and he would further do things like guarding against the future. It can be said that he forced Xun Yu to death, but in fact, he was also thinking about his descendants. This can be seen from the dense conquest of the south since the thirteenth year of his Jian'an. ”

Li Sheng explained: "Cao Cao may not be the emperor himself, but he is likely to clear the obstacles for his descendants to become emperor. You see, maybe in a few years he will be king. ”

"It's also possible."

Zhuge Liang nodded lightly when he heard this, and asked Li Sheng: "But ...... Lord, Cao Cao is so called the king and the emperor, should we step up our preparations for war and prepare for war with him? Cao Cao's position is respectful, and his desire for unity is also great, and I am really worried that Cao Cao will send a large army to destroy us. As you know, the lord has just obtained Yizhou, and our grasp of Yizhou is not solid, and the series of policies implemented by the lord in Yizhou have made the big people in Yizhou somewhat resentful. I'm worried that if there is a situation where Cao Cao levies, I'm afraid that Yizhou will be unstable. When the time comes, internal and external troubles will come together, and we may be miserable. ”

"This really needs to be noted, and the deployment of the army will also change accordingly. But I really don't think Cao Cao has that much energy to pay attention to us. ”

Li Sheng said with a smile, "At least in the next two or three years, we will be generally safe." ”

"How so?"

Kong Ming asked curiously.

"Kong Ming, do you say that in Cao Cao's eyes, is it my Li Sheng who is a big threat to him, or Liu Bei and Sun Quan who are a big threat to him?"

Li Sheng did not answer Zhuge Liang's question, but opened his mouth to ask such a question.

"Do you want to talk about that? In Cao Cao's eyes, of course, Liu Bei and Sun Quan were a great threat to Cao Cao. ”

Kong Ming gave the answer in the affirmative.

Liu Bei has always hated Cao Cao, and the Runan he possessed was very close to Cao Cao's Xuchang, while Sun Quan of Jiangdong had just fought a battle with Cao Cao and lost his own governor Zhou Yu and most of the naval army, so it can be said that he was also very hostile to Cao Cao. Imagine that in this case, Sun Liu's alliance should be able to exert tremendous pressure on Cao Cao. ”

Li Sheng analyzed and said: "I have never fought with Cao Cao, and Cao Cao has never known what my strength is. But judging from the fact that I was able to defeat Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang quickly, my ability is above these two. For such a me, Ping Su neither has much hatred with him Cao Cao, nor has he offended his forces, do you think Cao Cao will give up the threat to the Sun and Liu families and raise troops to attack me? The danger in the middle of the river, Cao Cao is not unaware. "So ......?" After listening to Li Sheng's analysis, Zhuge Liang felt that the relationship between his family and Cao Cao and Cao Cao's attitude towards him were indeed the same thing: Cao Cao would not be unwary of himself who could defeat Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang at once, but before he solved Sun Quan and Liu Bei, who were more threatening to him, he seemed not to attack himself, not only would he not attack himself, but he might even have some degree of tenderness towards himself. - Zhuge Liang was very smart to think of this, but as Li Sheng's courtier, he still listened patiently to Li Sheng's words. "Titles, official titles, money, and other things, I think Cao Cao will definitely give me a candidate after he becomes the Duke of Wei. Hehe, Cao Cao also didn't want to fight on both sides. Li Sheng said with a smile. In other words, before Cao Cao gets rid of Sun Quan and Liu Bei, we are still safe? Kong Ming said this, he touched his nose, and said a little uncomfortable: "How do I feel that I am treated by Cao Cao as a former Liu Biao?" "Hehe, that's Cao Cao looking away. We are not Liu Biao, but the king of Chuzhuang. Li Sheng said with a smile: "In two or three years, we can further improve our strength." If you don't fly for three years, if you don't fly, it's just a flight. If you don't sing for three years, it's just a blockbuster. Li Sheng said this allusion very confidently. The lord repeatedly mentioned that there was a time of two to three years, was the lord sure that Cao Cao would be able to solve the situation of the two southeastern heroes and the enemy between two and three years? Listening to Li Sheng's words several times about such a time, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but ask suspiciously. Of course, I hope that the east side will support it for a long time. But Cao Cao is not easy to say. Who knows what tricks he will use? And there is also a rift between Uncle Liu Huang and Wu Hou. Although these suspicions are now covered up by the hatred of Cao Cao from both sides, no one knows when such suspicions will erupt. We can't hope too much for the east. What I call two or three years refers to when Cao Cao dealt with Liu Bei independently, and Sun Quan stood by Liu Bei, Liu Bei could support the time. Judging from Liu Bei's own strength, it is already rare to be able to resist these two or three years. Li Sheng said leisurely. At this moment, he was not as calm as he was at the beginning, but frowned, and there was a lot of regret in his words, he looked at Kong Ming: "If such a situation really occurs, Uncle Liu Huang will be in danger." Can the Shiyuan side in Jingzhou be prepared for this? If Cao Cao attacks on a large scale, we should find a way to give Uncle Liu Huang some support. Only the longer they fight in the east, the safer we will be in Xichuan, and the more we can develop our own strength. "Well, I'll write to Shiyuan about this." Kong Ming nodded as he spoke, and then as if he had thought of something, he asked Li Sheng: "My lord, the generals of our army are all here except for the prosperity of Jiaozhou. There is no general in Jingzhou Shiyuan who can hold his footing, and I think this is very unfavorable to our future layout. Shouldn't a few generals return to Jingzhou to help? "What's this?" Li Sheng thought about it for a while, and arranged it like this: "Since this is the case, let the two generals, Wei Yan and Pang De, go to Jingzhou." Let them cooperate with Shiyuan's deployment, so that there are three generals in Jingzhou, Wei Yan, Pang De, and Zhang Ren, and their strength should be able to be enriched a lot. Wei Yan Shangqi, Pang De Shangyong, Zhang Ren Shangshou, plus a Shiyuan of his own, as well as Zhou Rui, Peng Ling, Xu Ding and others, there is basically no problem on the front in Jingzhou. Well, in addition, Shi Yuan was granted the right to arbitrarily determine Jingzhou, and until I arrived with a special order, Shi Yuan's affairs in Jingzhou could be done in a word. The same is true for Xingba in Jiaozhou. The mountain is high and the road is far away, and it is difficult for us to know the specific situation on their side, and it is difficult for us to confirm the actual situation on our side. Rather than being blindly commanded by our side, it is better to give them actual arbitrary power. In this way, directly set up the "Jingnan Group" and "Jiaozhou Group", and let Shiyuan and Xingba take the heads of these two groups. Tell them that they can do things boldly, and that if something goes wrong, I'm here to take care of them. "Yes! Lord. Seeing that Li Sheng was willing to delegate such great power to his subordinates and give them such trust, although this order was not directed at him, Kong Ming also felt the same way as Li Sheng's order. He looked approvingly at the man who had grown up with him since he was a child, and now he had become his lord, and his heart was full of admiration: "This is ...... It's the work of a master! "He is very sure of this, and can give his subordinates full trust in a way that no one but himself and any monarch in the world can do." Let such a person become our lord, perhaps it is the luck of our courtiers. Zhuge Liang thought like this, and became more and more happy in his heart. On the twenty-ninth day of December in the eighteenth year of Jian'an, the day before Chinese New Year's Eve, Cheng Yu, an envoy from the north, arrived at CD, and he came with the holy decree of the imperial court and received the will of Cao Cao, the Duke of Wei. Because of the "defection" of Sima Yi, the envoy sent by Cao Cao last time, Cao Cao still doesn't know much about Li Sheng's behavior and strength, so Cheng Yu, who came to Shu this time, is still tasked with investigating Li Sheng's situation. It is precisely because of the existence of this task that he couldn't care about his old age, so he hurried all the way from Xuchang to come here and enter Li Sheng's state pastor's mansion. "Fengtian carrier, the emperor edict said: Zhennan general, Jiaozhou pastoral leader Jing Yang military Li Sheng, loyal to his duties, for the country to reduce the number of ministers...... Li Sheng is hereby appointed as the general of the Che Cavalry, Shu Hou, and the Yizhou pastor Jing Yang Yijiao to the military of the four states, and Wang Ru will continue to serve bravely and be loyal to the country...... "Cheng Yu read the edict of the four Li Li, and then handed it over to Li Sheng, which is considered to have completed this task. Next, Li Sheng naturally wanted to entertain this angel, so he held a banquet in the governor's mansion, invited his ministers to accompany him, and held a very luxurious banquet. In the meantime, all kinds of dishes are offered endlessly, which makes people can't help but feast, but along with this ordered dish comes a dancing girl in a light veil, and the songs and dances they perform in Shu make even the well-informed Cheng Yu stunned. The singing and dancing of Shu is not only full of strong local flavor, but also very bold performance, coupled with the gorgeous brocade robe worn by the dancer, it is easy to dazzle people's eyes. Cheng Yu, the messenger selected by Cao Cao, is naturally one of those who can still stay awake. He looked at the expressions of everyone in the hall with cold eyes, and the disdain in his eyes flashed, and then he returned to the indifferent appearance of the old god. Although there is appreciation and liking, there is no stupid appearance of the rest of the people who even want to drip saliva. Looking at Cheng Yu's indifferent appearance, Li Sheng, whose eyes were also a little clear, couldn't help but ask curiously: "Zhongde doesn't like these?" As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and compared the song and dance below. Where? Cheng Yu shook his head and denied: "I have never seen such a song and dance in my life." "He's telling the truth." So why didn't the gentleman show that expression at all? Actually, this song and dance is really good, if it weren't for the fact that I've watched it several times and am somewhat immune to this, I'm afraid I'm not much better than them. This song and dance can make people intoxicated! Li Sheng said in admiration, and he continued to recommend it to Cheng Yu. The general of the chariot is very fond of such songs and dances? Seeing Li Sheng say this, Cheng Yu seized the opportunity to ask this sentence. Oh, yes. I love it. Li Sheng nodded, "I not only like this kind of singing and dancing, but I also like all beautiful things." "The general is really elegant," Cheng Yu praised with a smile, and then asked: "It's a lot of money to enjoy such singing and dancing, right?" "Overhead? Why should you care about overhead? As long as we're satisfied. Li Sheng rolled his eyes and said indifferently. Don't care about overhead? It seems that you are also a mediocre person who likes to have fun and doesn't care about the people. Cheng Yu thought like this, and seemed to be disappointed in Li Sheng's performance in his heart: "Such a person can also calm Zhang Lu and kill Liu Zhang?" Looks like he's in luck! Cheng Yu scolded Li Sheng on the one hand, but he breathed a sigh of relief. He was a loyal person to Cao Cao, so he naturally didn't want Cao Cao's opponents to be wise people. After eating and drinking for a long time, after three rounds of drinking, the conversations between Cheng Yu and Li Sheng became more and more hot. Li Sheng seemed to be completely immersed in the topic, while Cheng Yu remained awake. He estimated that the enthusiasm seemed to be almost there, so he took the opportunity to make a request to Li Sheng: "Speaking of which, I still have a task on my shoulders this time!" Cao Gong attaches great importance to His Excellency the Che Cavalry General, and has the idea of forming an alliance with Your Excellency, so it is obvious that Yu Yu has come here to find out how powerful His Excellency is the Che Cavalry General. I heard that the soldiers of His Excellency General Che Cavalry are known as the strongest soldiers in Jiangnan, I don't know when we can take a look? "Rest assured...... Feel relieved...... I'll show you tomorrow...... Belch...... The might of our army! Li Sheng seemed to be a little drunk, and his tongue couldn't stop knotting when he spoke. Thank you so much, the general of the chariot is complete. Cheng Yu gave up his hand to Li Sheng, and he was secretly happy in his heart. He felt that he had a chance to peek into the corner of Li Shengjun's strength. "Haha, you're welcome...... You are welcome! Li Sheng smiled drunken and waved his hand repeatedly, "Speaking of which, Mr. Zhongde has followed Wei Gong's southern expedition to the north for many years, and he has also seen a lot of strong soldiers, and I also want to ask Mr. Zhongde to compare the difference between my family's soldiers and Wei Gong's soldiers." "...... difference?" Cheng Yu seemed to be a little stunned by Li Sheng's words: "Could it be that the general of the chariot cavalry has the heart to compete for the world?" Otherwise, how could you ask that? "The world? That's not something people like me think. I just want to stay here and have some fun. Hehe, after fighting for more than ten years, I am already tired, and I feel that I should take a rest, and there is no Wei Gong in the matter of conquering the world. Li Sheng waved his hand and said haha. Is that so......? Hearing Li Sheng say this, Cheng Yu believed it a little, and some didn't believe it. He felt that he had to observe Li Sheng more.