The problem of Xiapi is indeed very tricky, and after Wang Yu received Li Shiyi's urgent report sixty miles away from Tancheng, he also had a similar thought as Zhang Xiao.

According to Captain Li's letter, the current Xiapi is almost a replica of the bustling scene in Luoyang after the news of last year's martial arts competition and recruiting relatives spread. All forces sent competent lobbyists to lobby Cao Bao.

Cao Bao is just a trick in the novel, and he hasn't appeared a few times in total, but in fact, this person's status in Xuzhou can be described as pivotal. He is Tao Qian's fellow countryman and confidant, and he is also the number one general under Lao Tao's tent, holding the most elite 10,000 Danyang soldiers in Xuzhou!

Cao Bao's 10,000 soldiers and horses are Tao Qian's last battle, once there is a change, Xuzhou will almost completely fall.

Of course, Cao Bao's loyalty to Tao Qian is beyond doubt. Not to mention the very empty reasons such as affection, with his affairs, if he were to change the owner, it would be impossible for the root to get the trust and status he is now receiving.

Yuan Shu has worked Cao Bao in the past two years, thinking that as long as Cao Bao is surrendered, not only Xuzhou will be at his fingertips, but it will not be impossible to confront the Qingzhou army head-on.

But he has not been able to succeed, although Yuan Shu's situation is indeed better than Xuzhou, but no matter how strong he is, can he be stronger than Qingzhou? Cao Bao was not fooled at all.

However, after the news of Wang Yu's southward journey spread, Cao Bao's mind suddenly changed.

As stated in the intelligence discovered by Qingzhou's secret agents, Cao Bao had no intention of betraying Tao Qian, but he guessed the reason why Tao Qian invited Wang Yu to go south, and he felt apprehensive because of this.

Qingzhou's promotion system does not take much into account qualifications and backgrounds, and is completely based on ability. Among the generals, the ones who have followed Wang Yu the longest time, except for Yu Ban, are Fang Yue and Li Shiyi and others. But the status of the latter few people, not to mention that compared with Xu Huang and Huang Zhong, who joined a little later, even Wei Yan and Pan Zhang, who had just joined, could not be compared.

Li Shiyi has a poor background and a low starting point, so it's okay, but Fang Yue is different, he was Wang Yu who took refuge with five thousand county soldiers back then, and there were only five hundred soldiers and horses in Wang Yu's department at that time!

With such old qualifications, he still cannot be included in the five generals. Cao Bao thought that his martial arts and art of war may not be stronger than Fang Yue, and his treatment after taking refuge in Qingzhou can be imagined.

What's more, his change of banner to the Qingzhou Army is not a merit. Because this is what Tao Qian meant, Wang Yu's affection will only be repaid to Tao Qian's family and descendants, and it has little to do with him Cao Bao.

It is conceivable that his future will be comparable to Gong Tian at most - in order to earn some credit and climb up, Gong Tian will go to the sea with Tai Shici to cross to the east! That's a life-and-death mission!

Cao Baogen couldn't imagine that he and the other party were in the same situation. No matter how he struggled to survive, he could only try not to let himself fall into such a field.

Cao Bao's transformation was first reflected in his attitude towards Yuan Shu's envoys. Although he had done things like beheading and destroying books before, he was not polite to Yuan Shu's envoy. The envoy couldn't see anyone else on the door, and occasionally when Uncle Cao was in a bad mood, it was not uncommon for him to be driven out of the city gate.

However, Yuan Shu got the news that Wang Yu was heading south. When Yan Xiang came to the door again, he was solemnly received by Cao Bao. As a result, the direction of the wind in Xiapi changed suddenly.

Although Wang Yu's southward movement was high-profile, the speed was also fast, and after the princes got the news, they actually didn't have time to respond.

But Cao Bao has been leading the troops for more than a year, and Tao Qian's illness is not a matter of one or two days. The princes who had ideas about Xuzhou left people in Xiapi, always ready to contact Cao Bao and get a piece of the pie from Xuzhou, which was likely to fall into turmoil.

No one is stupider than others, Cao Bao is such an obvious change, it is like lice on the bald head, obviously, several princes who have ideas about Xuzhou heard the wind and moved, and the envoys who were originally guarding Xiapi City were also active, and the Shoufu suddenly became full of friends, and the guests were like clouds.

The timing of the emergence of this variable is not unfortunate, and it also casts a shadow on Wang Yu's trip to Xuzhou, Li Shiyi, who controls the overall situation in Tancheng, does not dare to slack off, and on the one hand, he is anxious to Wang Yu, and on the other hand, he rushes to Xiapi to deal with the situation in person.

It was Zhuge Liang who read the letter, and while reading, he relayed it to Wang Yu, and everyone frowned when they heard it, this sudden situation is indeed a bit tricky. If you consider it together with Zhang Min's assassination, it is easy to draw conclusions......

"There is a conspiracy!" After joining up with Zhangjaw's brigade, Wei Yan rushed up overnight, and after hearing the news, he said his mantra without thinking.

"There is indeed a conspiracy." Zhuge Liang and Wei Yan reached a rare agreement.

The matter is obvious, there are secretly people planning a conspiracy, intending to interfere with the process of Wang Yu's entry into Xuzhou. It is naturally best to get rid of Wang Yu, and if it can't be achieved, you can also settle for the next best thing, trying to delay Wang Yu's trip, so that he can't see Tao Qian's last side smoothly.

As long as Tao Qian dies, Wang Yu's righteous reputation in Xuzhou will be gone, if he relies on the strength of the army, it will be a funeral! The mourning of Tao Qian, who is kind to him, will greatly shake his reputation, and also facilitate the joint confrontation of various forces in Xuzhou with hatred.

is like a pair of invisible hands, from the beginning of Wang Yu's southward journey, it began to affect all forces in Xuzhou, faintly forming a resistance to Wang Yu. The plan is one ring after another, even if it is partially destroyed, it can still be entangled layer by layer, making it difficult for people to get rid of.

"Who is behind the scenes?" Zhao Yun asked this crucial question.

"Could it be that Guo Jia? This person's resourcefulness is indeed superb, and the plan for the battle of Luoyang is also so interlocking. Wei Yan guessed.

"It's hard to say." Zhuge Liang shook his head and denied Wei Yan's statement: "The Chen Palace that stirred up the situation in Luoyang is not an ordinary person, and he pursues the way of combining vertical and horizontal, has the unparalleled ability to argue, and has the convenience of being close to the water, it is easier than Guo Jia to interfere in the situation in Xuzhou." ”

"Perhaps...... It is Jiangdong Zhou Gongjin is unknown. Everyone was talking lively, and Pang Tong also interjected.

Liu Miao was defeated and left Yuzhang, and the war in Jiangdong had come to an end, although there were still Xu Gong, Yan Baihu, Wang Lang and others who refused to give in, but Sun Ce's current priority was to stabilize the existing territory, and wait until the autumn was high and the horse was fat, and then use the sword army.

Zhou Yu is in Sun Ce's army. is responsible for strategic and diplomatic affairs, Xuzhou and Jiangdong are only separated by a river, if Zhou Yu is mixed in the back, it is not impossible.

You must know that before and after Sun Ce crossed the river, he searched for a lot of talents in Xuzhou, including Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong, who Tao Qian invited several times, but could not invite them. In terms of influence in Xuzhou, Sun Ce may not be much worse than Tao Qian.

Wang Yu listened and didn't speak. All of these possibilities existed, but the name that came out of his mind was not.

"If you talk about the building near the water, aren't you all talking about the near and far? Don't forget Liu Bei of Qianjun, as well as Haoqiang in Xuzhou, and Que Xuan, who claims to be the Son of Heaven. Wei Yan glanced at Zhuge Liang. began to stop showing signs again: "If this conspiracy is really a serial scheme, will it be Chen Gong, Zhou Yu and others who can make Zhang Min move?" ”

Wei Yan is not blindly finding faults, Liu Bei and Que Xuan have mentioned in Li Shiyi's letter that these two sides are also trying their best to fight for Cao Bao, and it may be difficult to bring the latter under his command, but it is also a good choice to form an offensive and defensive alliance with him.

"The matter...... It's worrying. "Zhuge Liang didn't fight with Wei Yan this time. He thought about it, and his face became a lot more solemn, "If it is really done by Xuzhou, then some people are very suspicious." For example......"

"Guangling Chen!"

Zhao Yun gently spit out a name, and then questioned himself: "But what is the purpose of his doing this?" ”

After the Gaotang Alliance, Chen Jue once expressed his surrender to Wang Yu, and also sent his son Chen Ying to Qingzhou. As protons. Protons have already been delivered, and they are still messing around behind the scenes. What's this? Zhao Yun found it difficult to understand.

"First of all, Chen Qi has more than one son, and what he values most is the eldest son......"

Zhuge Liang said slowly: "Secondly, the Chen family previously expressed its surrender because Xuzhou was still relatively stable at that time, and there was no gap to take advantage of, and it was impossible to compete with our army by relying on local strength alone. Finally, and most importantly, the Chen family valued their hometown of Guangling the most, and their highest wish was to be the emperor of the soil there, without interference, which was a requirement that Qingzhou could not meet. ”

"That means that we are dealing with Chen Qi, an old fox?"

Zhuge Liang avoided the argument, Wei Yan also reciprocated, and followed Zhuge Liang's tone and said: "Actually, this matter is easy to solve, Chen Qi is now in Tancheng, the lord and take a slow step, Rong Mo will enter the city first, capture and kill him." The snake can't be headless, as long as this planner is solved, are you still afraid that Cao Bao's straw bag can do much? ”

Wei Yan's move went straight to the point, which was very in line with his style of acting, and all the young people nodded when they heard it, this is the easiest way. There are only county soldiers in Tancheng, and they have also been infiltrated by Qingzhou spies, and there may be obstacles for Wang Yu to enter the city openly, but Wei Yan led the team to infiltrate, and there was no problem at all.

Cao Bao is unstable, which is indeed a trouble, but as long as Chen Qi, the mastermind of a certain future, is taken down, even if Cao Bao changes, it will not threaten the security of the East China Sea.

Xuzhou is in chaos like this, and no one can expect to be able to take it without blood. Anyway, sooner or later, the army will have to be pacified, and there are not many enemies with Cao Bao, and there are not many without him.

No one proposed that Xu Caobao should be a high-ranking official, and the rules of Qingzhou for those who are capable and those who can't are have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and even Fang Yue, a meritorious veteran, didn't say anything to complain, how could he break the rules for Cao Bao? Wang Yu's emphasis on the system and laws is already a little paranoid in the eyes of the ministers of Qingzhou, and no one will try in this regard.

In fact, the rules for Cao Bao's situation are being formulated.

In Qingzhou's future planning, the two allies of Xuzhou and Hebei are to adopt the method of peaceful evolution. Among the three major forces, there are some people with little ability but high status, blindly coercing is not the way, and it is not a good idea to make exceptions at will, so it is necessary to formulate relevant rules so that these people can also smoothly integrate into the Qingzhou system.

However, Lu Bujun is not so troublesome, Lu Bu only has generals under his command, and he is quite capable of fighting on the base, after arriving in Qingzhou, as long as there is no problem with loyalty, sooner or later he can be reused.

For this reason, the trial and Tian Feng did not work hard, and Zhuge Liang did not find fault with it, so that as soon as Tian Feng saw his disciple in the official office, he touched his forehead with his hand, and the trial and match covered his face many times and left, for fear of being entangled by Zhuge Liang.

It is not easy to formulate the rules, and the handover of Xuzhou is earlier than the reservation, Cao Bao's problem can only be solved by force, at least let him truly experience the strength of Qingzhou, so that he can surrender without a fight, so there is no way to do it.

Expressing their approval of Wei Yan's proposal, everyone looked at Wang Yu and waited for him to make a final decision.

"Judging from the confession from the long interrogation, the Guangling Chen family is indeed likely to be the mastermind behind the scenes, but this mastermind may not be Chen Jue, and if he rashly takes it down, he may fall into the hands of the planner." Wang Yu's statement surprised everyone.

"Isn't Chen Qi the head of the family? There are still people in the Chen family who are more resourceful, and they can still make a decision like sacrificing Chen Qi? Wei Yan felt a little incredulous.

If it is as Wang Yu said, then his plan is in the hands of the mastermind. Chen Jue was captured and killed for no reason, and everyone in the local area must be in danger, and if someone provokes it, the battlefield in Xuzhou will soon become full of smoke and thorns.

Wang Yu ignored Wei Yan, but looked at Zhuge Liang deeply, and said slowly: "The so-called family is a group of people who take the interests of the family as the ultimate consideration, for the interests of the family, their own lives can be disregarded, is there anything that cannot be sacrificed?" ”

"......" Zhuge Liang felt a tremor surging from the depths of his heart, and he finally understood a little why Wang Yu had been hostile to the family.

Wang Yu's various actions in Qingzhou, in the final analysis, are to twist Qingzhou and even the future Han into a rope, so that everyone has a concept of having a country first and then a home.

Therefore, Qingzhou's new policy shows the concept of fairness and justice everywhere, and Wang Yu has also been instilling the importance of the system and laws and regulations in his staff, and even vowed not to be the emperor to show fairness!

Whatever his purpose in doing so, the existence of the family is indeed contrary to his philosophy, and his words are not only an inference of the Guangling Chen clan, but also a piece of advice and explanation to himself.

There is only one question, is Wang Yu's inference correct? Behind Chen Jue, who is full of Huaisi, is there really such a hidden master who is better than him? If so, is the purpose of this master really as Wang Yu judged?

Zhuge Liang took a deep breath to calm the turbulent waves in his heart, and asked softly: "So, in the opinion of Ming Gong, who is this mastermind behind the scenes?" ”

"Chen Deng, Chen Yuanlong."