“…… Li Sheng used military strength as a means of suppression, took advantage of the characteristics of the great clan's heavy profits, tempted his heart with his official position and the benefits of commerce and trade, and threatened him not to obey in the name of 'Tibetan soldiers are rebellious', collected all the soldiers of his big clan, obtained the land of his big clan, and selected more than 20,000 of his elite people to be stationed in the locality, and said: Garrison army, do what I was doing to be tuned. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info" Jia Xu paused slightly, looked at Cao Cao's appearance with relish, smiled slightly, but continued: "After completing the collection of troops and land, Li Sheng divided Nanhai County into two: Longchuan County in the east, subordinate to Longchuan, Meizhou, Shantou, Haifeng, and Heyuan, with Chen Bing as the Taishou of Longchuan; In the west, Guangzhou County was established, subordinate to Huizhou, Guangzhou, Zhongsu, Xiangjiang, Zhuhai five counties, with its naval general Gan Ning as the Guangzhou Taishou, so that 10,000 naval troops stationed there. As for the rest of Jiaozhou, there is no change, but to: Lai Gong is Yulin Taishou, Wu Chen is Cangwu Taishou, Shiyi is Hepu Taishou, Shiwu is Jiaozhi Taishou, Shiyouhuang is Jiuzhen Taishou, Han Xuan is Gao Liang Taishou, Yang Ling is Zhuya Taishou, Yang Lei is Zhuyazhou Governor, each performs its own duties, each leads its own land, and it is the land of pacifying Jiaozhou. Then, on October 20, Li Sheng led 5,000 troops to guard Cangwu County, while he himself led 15,000 troops back to the north and returned to Jingnan. ”

"Oh?" Cao Cao couldn't help but be surprised when he heard Jia Xu finish speaking, frowned and thought about it slightly, but he didn't know Li Sheng's intention to arrange it like this, so he asked Jia Xu: "Wenhe, what changes do you see in Li Sheng's arrangement of Jiaozhou after returning north?" On the surface, it seems that he only changed the administrative area of the South China Sea and installed his own general Taishou, but I always feel that Li Sheng's intention is not as simple as arranging for his cronies to be in Jiaozhou. Not to mention anything else, it would be a bit strange to say that he only left this Gan Ning in the local area. Li Sheng's navy is not as good as Jiangdong, and he lives on both sides of the Yangtze River like Jiangdong, so it is said that he should be very concerned about the development of the navy, but he sent his most critical naval army general Gan Ning to the south. What do you think he wants to do? It can't be that he has a conflict with this Gan Ning. ”

"It's not impossible. But I always feel that this is not as simple as a simple distribution. Looking at Li Sheng's series of actions, it seems that he has a long-term plan to run Jiaozhou. Putting Gan Ning there should also be to firmly control Jiaozhou, so that Jiangdong cannot go south. I've heard that Gan Ning is not a simple naval general. He is not only proficient in water warfare, but also very skilled in land warfare, and can be regarded as a first-class general. Jia Xu thought for a moment and said his judgment.

"That's right." Cao Cao felt that there was some truth when he heard it, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief: "Forget it, don't think so much for the time being." No matter how Li Sheng makes a fuss in Jiaozhou, it has nothing to do with us in the short term, does it? Even if it was a headache, it was Sun Quan's business. Let's honestly focus on what we're looking for. There is Liu Bei in the east and Sun Quan in the west, and these two parties came at the same time, which is really a headache for me. ”

"Sun Quan in the east and Liu Bei in the west, the two sides are complementary and indispensable. Although there is no specific agreement, it is inevitable that they will cooperate with each other. However, it is precisely because of this that the conflict between the two sides is likely to erupt after we leave. Sun Quan is not a good stubble, he doesn't want Liu Bei to develop like this. In Jingzhou, he has already lost first, and there seems to be no chance in Jiaozhou at the moment, if he can't take Huainan again, I'm afraid that he will have no place to expand in Jiangdong. Jia Xu narrowed his eyes with a smile and said. He is in charge of intelligence, and he can't be clearer about the dirty things between Sun Quan and Liu Bei. Although they still work together to fight against their own home, there always seems to be some contradiction between the two sides below. And Jia Xu knows very well where the reasons for these contradictions come from.

"Are you saying that we will retreat and give Huainan to both sides first, and then watch the two fight?" Cao Cao held his chin with his hand and thought for a while: "This seems to be the method that Fengxiao used to deal with the grandson of Liaodong at the beginning, it seems to be feasible!" By the way, let's go and have a few gentlemen, let's discuss it together. Cao Cao said, his heart was a little lively for a while, he was a practical person, but he didn't care much about the infamy caused by his retreat, such as the loss of land and soldiers. People should do the current business, and do not hang their names. "It's his way of doing things, and that's his principle. In fact, the only thing he cared about was not fame or anything like that, but his actual control over the court. He agreed very much with Jia Xu's method, and the reason why he didn't agree to it immediately, and said that he wanted to sum it up, was just to let more people participate in it, so that they could discuss together, how to use this strategy as an introduction, and kill two birds with one stone.

"Understood." Jia Xu nodded heavily, raised his eyes and glanced at Cao Cao, as if he understood something, and stepped aside without speaking.

In an instant, the curtain of the military tent was gently lifted, and Cao Cao passed in a blink of an eye, only to see that the strategists and generals under his command had stepped in under the guidance of his personal guards. More than a dozen generals and literati crowded the huge military tents. Cao Cao saw them like this, and saw that many of them were wearing armor and looking ready to fight at any time, and couldn't help laughing, but he didn't laugh for too long, just showed his teeth a little, and then let everyone sit down, and said all the problems he thought about and Jia Xu's suggestions, and let everyone discuss and solve them together.

When the words spoke, everyone thought in silence. Suddenly, someone said loudly, "How can the lord agree to this plan?" Although as far as we are concerned, there is no big impact on one more piece of Huainan land and one less piece of Huainan soil, but such behavior coupled with the situation that the lord has just been defeated by Chibi a few years ago, I am afraid that if the lord retreats like this, people in the world will regard the lord as a declining person, and people's hearts will be unstable. Everyone turned their heads to look, but saw that the person who spoke was Situ Peng, Chen Qun, who served the imperial history and participated in the prime minister's military.

"Wen Chang thinks this is not okay?" Cao Cao looked at Chen Qun with a smile and asked, "Then how do you think the current situation should be resolved?" ”

"The lord can order the rear sergeants to take the military cantonment in the area of Huainan Shouchun as a capital for the front, and then order General Wenyuan to guard the city of Hefei, and order the tiger and leopard to ride back and forth between Hefei and Shouchun to prevent the enemy from harassing the front line and the rear, so as to be able to hold Hefei. For us, Hefei is the gateway to Huainan and the entire eastern front. Hefei is not lost, then the longevity is safe. If Shouchun is guaranteed, Huainan will be stable. Huainan is stable, and the Central Plains can be preserved. Chibi has already lost for a while, but now it is impossible to retreat, and we need a big victory to regain the confidence of our army. Chen Qun suggested to Cao Cao. Unlike Jia Xu's conspiracy, Chen Qun's suggestion was based on Cao Cao's own strength.

"Oh, you mean to guard the city so that the Sun-Liu coalition army can gain an inch of land?" Cao Cao muttered thoughtfully, still with a faint smile on his face, so that no one could see what he was thinking in his heart. was silent for a while, when everyone's eyes converged on Cao Cao's body with bated breath, and the scorching light seemed to roast Cao Cao himself, Cao Cao slowly said the opinion in his heart: "It is best to be able to hold the land of Huainan." But it seemed different from my other original goal. Those people in Xuchang are restless again, and I want to use this opportunity to beat them up. Otherwise, every time we are fighting in front of us, they will cause such a problem in the back. They weren't bored, but I was scared. What's more, now that it's winter, the other party is obviously thinking about a stalemate. Hehe, what they are looking forward to is spring after winter. At that time, the spring flowers are blooming, and the south wind is gradual, I am afraid that they will think of giving us another Chibi beacon fire. This is a must-seek. ”

"So the lord is thinking about this?" Chen Qun was a little abrupt, and he immediately stopped insisting on his opinion: "Since the lord has a strategy of killing two birds with one stone, then I won't say more." Anyway, this land of Huainan is a flat river, even if it is ceded to the people of Jiangdong, if our army wants to take it back one day, it will not be difficult, but it will just need to spend some more effort. ”

"There's no way, and that's it. We are accepting the setback, and it's a headache. It is because I feel that the integration within ourselves will become more important than the land. The imperial court still has some use at the moment, so I definitely can't let the imperial court fall into the hands of others. Those with bad intentions, it's time for us to clean them up. Cao Cao said that his gaze became more and more firm, and there was an inexplicable murderous aura in it. Obviously, at this moment, he has made up his mind, and it seems impossible to stop him again.

But accidents can happen at any time. Even now, when Cao Cao has already made a decision, there are still people who oppose it: "We also understand what the lord is worried about. But if you want to solve that problem, it seems that there is no need to sacrifice the land of Huainan. I have a strategy, which can not only defend Huainan, but also release the worries of the lord, and even make the alliance of the three families in Jiangnan have problems. ”

"Oh? And such a strategy? It's a big talk, but who said it? After hearing this, everyone looked away with some surprise in their hearts, but saw that the person who spoke was one of Cao Cao's most important advisers, Cheng Yu Cheng Zhongde, who was the general of Zhenwei.

"Keep Huainan, fish also; Clear the hidden dangers inside, bear paws also. I originally thought that I couldn't have both fish and bear's paws, and I wanted to abandon the fish and go to the bear's paws, but I didn't know that Zhongde still had a way to make me have both, and this was my fault. Please also ask Zhongde to speak quickly, so as to solve our confusion. Cao ** Lang smiled and asked Cheng Yu very politely. As a monarch, he knew what kind of posture he was putting on when. Although his current status is extremely high, he can still put down his behavior according to the needs of the situation. Because he knows that sometimes it is easy to win the favor of others by making such a polite corporal appearance.

"The policy of guarding Huainan as mentioned by the chief is the right way, and the lord can act according to the plan. It's just that the war in Huainan is only limited to Huainan itself, and cannot be known to the people of Xuchang. The lord can quietly return to Xuchang, but he does not enter the city, and only camps outside the city. He also sent men to disseminate some unfavorable remarks about our army in the city, and deliberately made statements that our army was weak, so as to induce the enemy in the city to revolt and expose them. As long as the supreme power of the army is in the hands of the lord, no matter how much they mess up, it will be useless. When the lord arrives, he only needs to enter the city quickly, and he can quickly calm everything. Sweep away all the enemies that are exposed, so as to give our army peace of mind. Cheng Yu said his plan calmly, looking very calm.

"It's killing two birds with one stone, and that's right. So how to break the alliance of the three families in Jiangnan? Cao Cao heard that Cheng Yu was reasonable, and immediately nodded in agreement. It's just that he heard Cheng Yu say that his strategy is to kill three birds with one stone, and two of the three birds already have it, and he can't help but worry about the three birds.

"The lord only needs to ask the emperor to issue an edict." Cheng Yu smiled and raised a finger and said: "Jiangdong has great ambitions, but it is a little insufficient in terms of troops, but this is not obvious because of the existence of Zhou Yu and the suppression of Sun Quan, the young lord. Young people are always vigorous, and under the successive victories, he is likely to get carried away, so what the lord is doing now is to make the fire in Sun Quan's heart become vigorous. The lord can decree that Sun Quan should be handed over to the state pastor and reject Wu Chen's request to be the state pastor; Li Sheng was appointed as the pastor of Jingzhou, Zhou Yu was the Taishou of Xiangyang, and Liu Bei was the pastor of Yangzhou, supervising the military and political affairs of Huaiyang. ”

"Oh?" Cao Cao's eyes lit up: "Jiaozhou was brought down by Li Sheng, but you gave the position of the state pastor to Sun Quan." In the northern part of Jingzhou, it was either under the control of Liu Bei or Sun Quan, but you gave the official position of Jingzhou Mu to Li Sheng, and gave the position of Xiangyang Taishou in Liu Bei's hands to Zhou Yu, and asked Liu Bei to supervise Huaiyang's military administration. Hehe, if you did this earlier, the entire Jingyang political situation is about to undergo a big change - it's a mess. Cao Cao said, he thought it was funny, and couldn't help laughing: "Usually people say that you Cheng Yu and Cheng Zhongde have a mellow elder style, but now it seems that it may not be. Just like you made this suggestion now, the ghosts in it are no longer under the text. ”

"Huh." Everyone couldn't help but laugh when they heard Cao Cao joke like this, except for the two people who were ordered by Cao Cao, Jia Xu and Cheng Yu themselves. Jia Xu has such a personality, and he doesn't care what people say about him, he is just a strong wood over there. But Cheng Yu was a little more serious, and he said to Cao Cao solemnly: "Whether it is a conspiracy or a conspiracy, it is all for the great cause of the lord." Why did the lord make such a fuss about all this? ”

That's true. It's Meng Lang. Seeing that Cheng Yu said it formally, Cao Cao couldn't help but bow to Cheng Yu in awe and said.

The plan was thus decided, and the people set about it. On the one hand, after receiving reinforcements and orders from Cao Cao, the Hefei walled city where Zhang Liao was located tightened the front and strengthened the city defense; On the other hand, Cao Cao secretly returned to Xuchang with his own troops, and for a time there were rumors in Xuchang City; In the imperial palace in Xuchang City, the three edicts that had just been written were handed over to the three envoys who had just been selected: it was Man Zhong who went to Jiangdong to proclaim the decree, Chen Qun who went to Liu Bei to proclaim the edict, and it was Cao Peng Sima Yi who had just been promoted by Cao Cao from the horse supervisor to Changsha Li Sheng.

"Zhongda, you are a member of the Sima family in Hedong, and you can be regarded as a child of the family. Although you are very young, I think you are undoubtedly very capable. In this mission, I think you can help me do what I've always wanted to do but couldn't. We know so little about the forces on the other side that are surprising every time, and we need more information about them. Before leaving for Changsha, Cao Cao explained to Sima Yi, who was about to set off, what he wanted to deliver to him: "After you go, you don't need to rush back, but you need to stay there as much as possible, and it is best to be there to establish a considerable network for me, which is also needed for intelligence." ”

"I understand. The ministers will do their best to complete the explanation of the lord. Sima Yi lowered his head, and he was extremely deferential in front of his own lord Cao Cao, and it was so humble that people couldn't associate his absolutely deferential performance with the arrogance of his face.

"Maybe he's such a 'disgusting and kind' person." Many people said this to Cao Cao after seeing Sima Yi's performance. After Cao Cao heard a lot of the so-called "three people become tigers" and "Sima Yi is loyal and can be of great use", he gradually paid attention to this young man who had been repeatedly called and finally volunteered to serve as the chief officer of the horse supervisor. Therefore, Cao Cao planned to give him a chance, and this opportunity was the task of announcing the decree to Li Sheng. Of course, Cao Cao's meaning is not as simple as proclamation, he wants to establish an intelligence network in Changsha against Li Sheng, Jiaozhou, and Jingnan, and he intends to put Sima Yi in charge of this intelligence network at present.

This was a very important task, and fundamentally it was very helpful to Cao Cao's unification plan. But at the same time, it's not very important. Now Cao Cao's side has no intelligence foundation in Jingnan at all, and everything needs to be handled by him Sima Yi from scratch. If it is done well, this matter will be extremely beneficial to Cao Cao, if not, it will be a loss at most such a young official who does not like him very much-this is not a big loss, at least in Cao Cao's opinion, he did not find Sima Yi any earth-shattering talent.

"Zhongda. He was far worse than his brother Bertha. His brother is a talent, but he is still quite mediocre in my opinion. "Cao Cao said this to his subordinates more than once. At that time, some courtiers proposed that Sima Yi should be given a more important position.

“…… Just let him do it. Cao Cao's order, and today's trip. Although these news are very hidden, Sima Yi, as a member of the family, is not unclear. On the contrary, he received similar information shortly after Cao Cao's words were spoken, which was not very exact, but it was enough to serve as a criterion for his judgment. So, when he got the news, he became more and more obedient. It was already obvious to him that something was dangerous.

"When I first joined the company, I made up my mind not to serve Cao Cao wholeheartedly, so that I got into today's situation, which is ...... Is it right or wrong? After resigning from Cao Cao, Sima Yi returned home, and after telling his family about today's arrangements for his father-in-law, he closed the door and hid in the house to think about this problem.

"What kind of attitude you use to treat others, others will naturally treat you with what kind of attitude. With the exception of a few madmen, there is neither gratuitous resentment nor gratuitous love in this world. Your own attitude always determines the attitude of others. "Sima Yi is not a fool, and naturally understands who is the culprit who caused his current situation to be rescued. However, he didn't have much resentment about this, and he didn't have any regrets or anything like that, because in his opinion, Cao Cao was really not a lord who could make his subordinates willing to dedicate himself. He is really a little harsh on his subordinates, which makes the people who work under him always feel a little frightened.

"It's a disgusting feeling." At least, every time I saw the frowning eyebrows on my brother's head, I would resent the word "Chuan" in my heart: "My brother is only thirty-seven." But he already looks like a man in his fifties, and he doesn't have the graceful appearance of the past, and people still say that he is the so-called elder demeanor. Hmph, don't want this kind of demeanor. Sima Yi thought resentfully. Of the eight brothers in the family, he had the best relationship with his eldest brother.

"Do you want to go to the south?" Sima Yi pondered a little. He was not allowed to be reused under Cao Cao, and occasionally the idea of leaving Cao Cao arose. But there had never been a moment when his thoughts had come so violently as they were. Truth be told, it doesn't seem to be impossible either. As a courtier, he can only be regarded as a middle-level official under Cao Cao, even if he receives Cao Cao's task now, he may not be valued much by Cao Cao. In addition, the population of his family is small, and he has only one son at the moment in addition to his wife. If it is done well, it is completely possible to leave quietly like this.

"Hmm, do you want to do that?" Sima Yi pondered, but hesitated. He couldn't make up his mind, and finally decided to talk to his brother.

Sima Lang's official position is the assassin of Yanzhou, and he is regarded as a local real power figure, and he usually lives in the county of Yanzhou, and Sima Yi himself is rare. However, it is now the end of the year, and it is the time when the pastors from all over the country return to their posts, and Sima Lang, who is not far from Xuchang, has also returned to Xuchang early. He had just arrived two days before, and since he had not yet been summoned by Cao Cao, he only stayed in a mansion that their Sima family had bought outside the city.

Sima Yi rode out from the south gate of Xuchang in a carriage, and walked about ten miles along the official road to see the location of his house. A small family in the city and a large family outside the city seems to have become the practice of all people of some status and power in this era. This is also a matter of no choice, after all, when the ethnic group is large, the population increases, and if they all live in the city, it seems that there is not so much land for them to settle. After all, they are not emperors either.

The carriage and horses stopped at the door of the house, Sima Yi got out of the car, and someone approached the house. When he came, it was already the time of Shenpai, although he did not report in advance, but after seeing him, someone still quickly informed the cook in the house: "Prepare more meals, the second young master is here." At that moment, everyone was busy again, but Sima Yi was silent. He silently greeted his brother, sat silently opposite his brother and ate the meal presented by the next person, and then silently followed his brother, who had also had dinner, to the study of the house.

The two walked to the side of the case, sat down on the left and right, and Sima Lang started to make tea. These teas are sold from Changsha in the south, and the taste of brewing is different from the tea that was bitter and had to be mixed with fragrant flower seasonings before, unlike these tea leaves sent from Changsha can not only be stored for a long time, but also can be brewed directly with boiling water to have a faint fragrance. It's a light taste, and you don't feel anything special at first glance, but if it continues like this, it makes people feel quite relaxed.

The two brothers were speechless, just sat like this, raised their hands and tasted a cup of tea. It wasn't until the pot of water ran out, and he didn't know what time it was, that Sima Lang asked his brother's intention: "Zhongda is not here to accompany me to eat and drink tea." ”

"Because I'm confused, that's why I want to ask my brother." Sima Yi honestly stayed opposite Sima Lang and sat upright. Although he makes people feel a little unruly in front of others, he always looks like a good baby in front of his eldest brother, and he doesn't seem to have the consciousness of an adult.

"Oh? Tell me about it. Seeing that his second brother was still facing him with the same old appearance, Sima Lang's face inadvertently had a slight smile, and he stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation.

"Actually, this is the case, the lord asked me to go to Changsha to proclaim the decree...... It may take a long time, but in the early days, I want to ask Chunhua and Shi'er to come to your brother first, please take care of it. Sima Yi didn't say the real reason, but just used a seemingly ordinary excuse. He was also a cautious man, and even if he was in his family's compound right now, he knew that there were some things that could not be said so clearly.

"You want to leave the lord?" Sima Lang is also a smart person, so he naturally heard the meaning of his brother's words at once. He knew early on that his brother was really a little unkind to his lord Cao Cao. He thought it was just because his brother didn't know much about his lord, but he didn't want things to come to such a point. "He entrusted his wife to his brother while he traveled south. If you don't meet a suitable lord, you will naturally come back, and if you like someone you like, you will ask your brother to send someone away. Sima Yi had this calculation, how could Sima Lang not think of it. It's just that although he understands the distress in his brother's heart, because of the people in the family, he also has to admonish his brother: "Zhongda, you have to think about this matter clearly." Now all of our family is serving under the account of the Lord, and with his strong personality, no one will be allowed to be unfaithful to him. If you leave like this, I'm afraid he will be bad for our family. ”

"No, I'm just a little person who doesn't get taken seriously." Sima Yi shook his head slightly, and his face was slightly bitter: "And I feel stuffy here." Maybe I'm not a good fit for a strong lord. ”

"The little people just represent the past? Now that the lord is planning to use you, are you afraid that there will be no chance to soar in the future? Sima Lang persuaded his brother.

"I'm afraid not. I felt that my lord was very jealous of me. He was even going to throw me away. Sima Yi smiled bitterly, looking a little helpless.

"So what's that?" Sima Lang does not live in Xuchang very often, and he is not very clear about the various things in Xuchang City.

"He told me......" Sima Yi directly told Cao Cao and himself to his brother, and then asked him: "Look at this, can I still stay?" In the name of the proclamator, I can't be incognito at all. Under such circumstances, let me be in charge of intelligence gathering, and I can only stay by pretending to take refuge in Li Sheng. In any case, my title of betrayal is a foregone conclusion. If I really plan everything for the lord, I'm afraid that something will go wrong, and I will become a bastard who can't do well on both sides. Sima Yi couldn't help but shout, he seemed very excited at the moment.

"How can this be? How can the lord let the people of our Sima family be meticulous? Sima Lang stood up, his face a little uncertain. He wanted to go into the city and question his lord, but he finally managed to calm down and sit still. "So you've decided to do it?" After being silent for a while, Sima Lang asked. At present, he already knows how his brother is compelled, and he naturally can't continue to oppose it, so he has to confirm it with his brother.

"Yes, that's all I can do. Please take care of everything. Sima Yi lowered his head, and the meaning of entrustment in his words was already obvious.

"Don't worry. The people of our Sima family, I will still protect them. This time, the lord has gone too far. Hey......" Sima Lang said, and finally sighed helplessly.