The Manchu civil and military forces of the Xudu court, which accounted for a large part of the courtiers, were all old ministers of some previous dynasties.

Of course, these old ministers are not really very old, they are generally between forty and sixty years old. It's not a very famous courtier in history, but in general, they are all on the phone.

They used to be the courtiers of the court when Emperor Liu Hong was alive, and later, when the young emperor ascended the throne, he "helped" the young emperor. Later, the young emperor was deposed, and when Emperor Xian ascended the throne, he supported some courtiers of Emperor Xian. Of course, they were held hostage by Dong Zhuo as a whole and went to Chang'an.

Originally, after Dong Zhuo was stabbed to death by Lu Bu, Chang'an was in chaos, and these "old ministers" in the court should have returned to Luoyang to join the Luoyang court, but why did they pass through Luoyang from Chang'an instead and go to Xuchang? This, speaking of which, I'm afraid it's really long.

That, speaking of which, it is not that those old ministers of the old dynasty are unwilling to belong to the new Han Dynasty, but that the new Han Dynasty cannot accommodate them.

At the beginning, when the young emperor was still alive, Liu Yi had already seen it very clearly, and the ministers in the court at that time were basically some insects stationed in the court, holding the court's money, but they couldn't do things for the court, and they were all mediocre talents for their own interests. The courtiers who were a little talented and wanted to really do something practical for the Han Dynasty were either collectively suppressed by them, or because they came out early, they were killed by the original Ten Standing Servants and later Dong Zhuo. Therefore, the rest are just mediocre talents of the Manchu Dynasty, and they can't get into Liu Yi's eyes at all.

In addition, at that time, when Dong Zhuo abolished the young emperor and established the emperor, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty did not dare to say a word, if at the beginning, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty could stand on Liu Yi's side. is not afraid of Dong Zhuo's power and resolutely opposes Dong Zhuo's abolition of the Young Emperor and the establishment of the Emperor, then Dong Zhuo may not be able to drive the Young Emperor and Liu Yi out of the Luoyang Palace.

Therefore, at that time, Liu Yi was already very disappointed in the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty.

In fact, at the time. When the New Han army entered and occupied Chang'an, many courtiers who had not had time to leave Chang'an expressed to the New Han army at that time that they were willing to return to the Luoyang court and continue to serve the young emperor. However, Liu Yi had already made it clear that it was impossible to let those old ministers of the old dynasty re-enter the Luoyang court. What virtue do they have, and how can they re-enter the Luoyang court as officials? What's more, the court of the New Han Dynasty at that time. All officials must have a capable ability, be able to assume certain responsibilities for the new Han Dynasty, and be able to make achievements for the development of the new Han Dynasty.

Therefore, it just so happened that Cao Cao was snatching food at that time. From the hands of Lu Bu, he got the emperor and wanted to establish the imperial court. Cao Cao also had to use the reputation of the old courtiers to ensure that the court he established had an orthodox legitimacy, so he would recruit those old courtiers of the old dynasty into the court, restore their official positions in the court, and promise a lot of benefits, so. The old ministers of the old dynasty have arrived at the Xudu court.

At that time, Liu Yi was not easy to kill all these old ministers of the old dynasty, so he let them go to Chang'an. Even. Some old ministers of the old dynasty, when they transferred their respective family wealth and property to Xudu, Liu Yi did not forcibly intercept them, and they were spared. Of course, under the circumstances at that time, Liu Yi couldn't do too much, after all, the New Han Dynasty had not been established for a long time, and he couldn't control everything in the Luoyang area or Chang'an area. There is also a reputation issue involved, if Liu Yi suppresses those old ministers of the old dynasty, with the prestige of those guys in the Han Dynasty, they will definitely be able to sing black Liu Yi. Therefore, Liu Yi basically opened his eyes and closed his eyes to the court of Xu Du, and did not care much about them.

As far as Liu Yi knows, almost all of the old ministers of the old dynasty at that time were representatives of some famous and wealthy families in the Han Dynasty. is like Yang Biao, who voted for Liu Yi early. If you don't say that you may not know, the world only knows that the Yuan family is the fourth and third dukes, but Yang Biao's Yang family is also the fourth and third dukes, and it is the famous family of Hongnong. Well, when it comes to Yang Biao, I have to mention that his son Yang Xiu is indeed extremely smart, and now, he is one of the younger generation of bachelors in the Xinmin Academy of the New Han Dynasty, and is responsible for the research of some secret projects that Liu Yi gave him. Of course, in Yang Xiu's body, Liu Yi has not yet found that he has any embodiment of "being arrogant", and he can be regarded as one of Liu Yi's courtiers.

Saying so much, it is to say that in Cao Cao's Xudu court, those court veterans, no matter which one they are, are actually very backgrounded, if you really want to talk about it, I am afraid that each of them may be a person from a famous family in a certain place in the Han Dynasty, or a descendant of a person whose ancestors were once prominent. Perhaps, by their time, they are all mediocre talents, but it is undeniable that Cao Cao's development is indeed inseparable from their support in ordinary times. Relying on the dead man's wealth that Long Chu looted for him is only one aspect of the large group that supports Cao Cao, and these old ministers in the court also contributed a lot to Cao Cao.

Now, Cao Cao had ordered his army to prepare for a final battle with the New Han army. If he is not in Xudu, if he does not stabilize these old ministers in the court, once something happens, Cao Cao is afraid that he will lose control of this court, and when the backyard catches fire, he will not have to fight this battle with the New Han Army.

Therefore, the day after Cao Cao ordered to prepare for the final battle with the New Han army, he invited the emperor early and summoned all the ministers in the court to listen to the court's deliberations.

At this time, Emperor Xian, who was in his twenties, was already a heroic young man. However, his face was not good, slightly pale, and his eyes were no longer as clever as when he was a teenager, slightly sluggish, and there seemed to be a little panic underneath.

Therefore, at this time, although he is wearing a royal robe, he lacks a sense of majesty as a king, which makes people feel a little strong and frivolous.

"Prime Minister...... I don't know what important things need to be summoned to the court to discuss? In fact...... If you have something to do, you can ......"

Emperor Xian wanted to calm himself down, but what he said to Cao Cao showed that he was not confident enough.

In fact, Emperor Xian knew something in his heart. He knew very well that the New Han Army was about to kill Xu Dulai, and now Cao Cao's situation was completely unfavorable. Cao Cao's court discussion this time is probably inseparable from these topics. In the heart of Emperor Xian, it was joy, surprise and hope. Happily, the sooner the New Han army kills Xu Dulai, the sooner he may be able to get free. You don't have to live trembling under Cao Cao's surveillance every day. Surprised, he was afraid that if Cao Cao was defeated, it would be unfavorable to him. Hope is because there is still a trace of hope in his heart, hoping that Taifu Liu Yi has not forgotten the promise he made to him when he was young, and that Taifu Liu Yi will finally come to rescue him. Let him truly get out of the sea of suffering.

And the ministers in the court were also panicked at this time, and they were also trembling in the court during this time, for fear that the next day, the new Han army would hit this capital. They are very worried about their future fate and are afraid of losing everything they have now.

However, there is one point, they have similar thoughts to Cao Cao. That is to refuse to surrender to the New Han Dynasty from the bottom of his heart. Because they also know very well that in the court of Xudu, they can still become vassals, once they surrender to the New Han Dynasty, their current status will definitely not be guaranteed, and their vested interests may also turn their wealth into water, and it will be difficult to ensure their glory and wealth. So. In fact, they also hoped that Cao Cao could defeat the New Han army. Even if they can't defeat the New Han army, they hope that Cao Cao can ensure that Kyoto is not lost, and that they can have a place to continue to enjoy their glory and wealth.

After the big waves, the current Xudu court is really a courtier who has a certain sense of loyalty to the emperor and the Han Dynasty. It's already a rare existence. Even if there is, he doesn't dare to show it easily, for fear that sooner or later he will become Cao Cao's ghost.

Cao Cao's face was gloomy, standing under the throne facing the ministers of the court, and heard the words of the emperor. He turned around and casually arched his hand to Emperor Xian, although he seemed to be giving a gift to Emperor Xian, but it showed his contempt and disdain for Emperor Xian.

"Your Majesty! You are the Son of Heaven, you should work hard for the community, how can you entrust everything to your subordinates? The matter discussed this time is related to the fortunes of our imperial court, so I also ask the emperor to listen to it. Cao Cao spoke, but he spoke to Emperor Xian in a tone of lesson.

"Prime Minister Xie taught ......"

Emperor Xian's eyelids jumped wildly, and he lowered his head as if he was being taught.

Among the courtiers, some courtiers were dissatisfied with Cao Cao's attitude towards Emperor Xian, but they were silent, and no one dared to criticize Cao Cao. In fact, this kind of thing, as long as Cao Cao is in power, will happen, and they are all used to it.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Cao Cao didn't say much to Emperor Xian, but directly faced the courtiers and said coldly: "I believe you all know that the current situation in the world is becoming more and more unfavorable to our dynasty. Although the soldiers of our army fought bloodily on the front line, they were still able to resist the advance of millions of troops of the New Han Dynasty. Now, the soldiers of the New Han Army are getting closer and closer to our capital of Xudu. This cannot be blamed on the ineffective fighting of our soldiers, because our enemy is too strong. So, we have to prepare for the worst. ”

There was a coax, although all the ministers in the court also knew that the war situation was not conducive to their court, but Cao Cao had always behaved lightly and never said a word of discouragement. But now, Cao Cao is in the court, personally admitting that the situation is unfavorable to his court, and personally admitting that his court is difficult to resist the soldiers of the New Han Army, which makes them explode all of a sudden, and they don't care about Cao Cao's prestige, and they suddenly turn heads and talk with each other.

"That's it!" Cao Cao snorted coldly, quieting down the court.

He ignored the panicked courtiers one by one, and said coldly: "The prime minister told you the news, not to let you wait in the court to discuss and shake the hearts of the army. But I want to tell you that no matter what, our army will swear to defend the capital to the death, protect the emperor, and ensure the safety of your lords. ”

"But, but the prime minister, then the new Han army is about to kill Xu Du, I don't know what else the prime minister has to deal with?" Finally, a courtier had the courage to question Cao Cao.

"The nature is naturally in the chest!" Cao Cao coldly glanced at the courtier who spoke, straightened his chest and said, "I believe that your lordships will also know that sooner or later there will be a decisive battle between our court and the New Han Dynasty. This battle will affect the fate of our court, and will determine whether our court can truly reign over the fate of the world. Now, although our court has lost everywhere, fortunately, the army of our court has not suffered too much loss, and it still has the strength to fight with the New Han army. ”

"However, due to the situation, and also due to the fact that the strength of our court is indeed not as abundant as that of the New Han Dynasty, our army will be restrained everywhere." Cao Cao paused and said: "Therefore, Cao decided that we should take the initiative and take the initiative to seek a decisive battle with the main force of the New Han Army. In this battle, our army must win, and it will inevitably win. Moreover, when the decisive battle is due, it is now. This time I summoned you to the court to tell you that the time has come for a decisive battle between our court and the New Han Dynasty. ”

"A decisive battle? Right now? Prime Minister Cao, please forgive the official for saying bluntly, I don't know how the prime minister can fight a decisive battle with the New Han Army under the current situation that our army is subject to the New Han Army everywhere? ”

"That's a good question!" Cao Cao nodded at the courtier who questioned loudly, and said, "You can tell you like this, in fact, the strength of our dynasty has lagged far behind the New Han Dynasty from the beginning. Therefore, Cao had expected it a long time ago, and he had long expected that our army would definitely fall behind everywhere when it first engaged the New Han Army. Therefore, Cao also ordered the officers and men of our army to preserve the strength of our army as much as possible in the process of fighting with the New Han Army. Now, the Xinhan army is dividing up and constantly attacking our territories in the Central Plains. In this way, the strength of the New Han Army was dispersed. However, our military horses, consciously or unconsciously, seem to be invincible to the advance of the various armies of the New Han Army, and have quietly gathered in the towns not far from our Xu Capital. ”

When Cao Cao said this, his face was gloomy and cold, but he looked a little complacent, and said confidently on his face: "Hmph! Liu Yi was too arrogant, he thought that by dividing the New Han army into several ways to invade our court, he could surround and destroy our court? He is also too naïve, they don't know that our army's shrinkage in the center of Xudu is equivalent to making our army form a clenched and powerful fist, at this time, we concentrate on punching out, and we will definitely be able to give the opponent a fatal blow. There may be some people in the DPRK who are very clear in their hearts about the strength of the various military horses of the New Han Army. With the strength of each of them, there are millions of troops, but our current strength in Xudu is far more than a million elite troops. At this time, as long as our army concentrates on attacking all its way, it will inevitably be able to break the encirclement of the New Han Army. At that time, the encirclement and oppression of the New Han Dynasty to our court will be relieved. ”

Cao Cao really deserves to be Cao Cao, and he can actually say that what is unfavorable to him is intentional for him...... (To be continued.) )