—187 A.D.——

Yanzhou, Dongjun.

As an "immortal", it is naturally impossible to be an ordinary pirate - except for being soaked, it is no longer possible to continue the previous plan that I don't know what it is.

After Zuo Ci left in embarrassment, the pirate was captured by Dian Wei with one hand.

He originally wanted to resist one or two, but when he saw the fat Xu Chu who looked eager to try, he still bowed his head silently.

After this farce, the reception banquet naturally could not continue, and all the officials of all sizes took their own leave one after another and went to implement the pre-negotiated plan of "seizing Yanzhou".

Since this banquet was originally held in the place where Qiao Mao lent Cao Cao and his party a temporary residence, after ordering the servants to remove the banquet, the pirate was directly interrogated.

As a sailor, the man was obviously very good at seeing the wind and steering, and when he realized that he could not beat anyone present, he immediately confessed everything like a bamboo tube pouring beans.

According to him, his name was "Gan Zhe", and he was a pirate leader who made a living in the East China Sea, and had fought with another pirate force before, and because he was defeated by the other leader "Hong Tang", he was slashed several times and kicked into the sea.

Afterwards...... He seemed to be unconscious, and when he opened his eyes again, he had drifted to nowhere, and when he was puzzled, he saw a fishing line falling from the top of his head, and naturally immediately grabbed it, according to his thoughts, this must be Hong Tang playing tricks on him, so he was "fished" and immediately caught Zuo Ci and beat him.

Seeing that he didn't look like he was lying, and that he couldn't ask for any other information, Cao Cao asked the accompanying sergeant to find a servant's room for him to live in, and take care of him for a while, in case he suddenly wanted to escape.

"From this, it can be seen that the 'Zuo Ci' is really an ingredient obtained from the deep mountains and the open sea, not a trick," Xun Yu said: "If there are such characters who are difficult with Meng De, it will be very detrimental to the great cause." ”

Wen Ruo still refuses to call himself "lord", which shows that although his current achievements have been recognized by the Xun family, he himself is still dissatisfied......

The reason for this is not too difficult to guess, the Xun family has a big business, and scattering the children everywhere is in line with the intention of building a good relationship with all parties to preserve the family, but specifically personally, Xun Chen should have no opinion because he is familiar with himself, and Xun You, just by a short contact, you can judge that he is really a person who admires the Legalists, although it is a bit rigid, but as long as he understands the specific situation in Qingzhou, he must be willing to contribute.

Only this Xun Yu was probably disappointed in the political situation in Luoyang, and came to the orthodox princess of Wannian, but he didn't really take a fancy to his Cao Mengde's ability, he thought that he was enough to seek the country, but not enough to seek the world, so he knew that he supported the continuation of the Liu family's rule, even if it was the empress, there was no problem.

After thinking about this, Cao Cao responded: "This person has opposed me many times, but he has always been unable to arrest him smoothly. ”

"So...... Did Meng De ever think about turning hostility into friendship? Xun Yu asked again.

"Hey, Wen Ruo, don't be deceived by the guy's appearance, when he first saw me and Meng De, he conjured a black dragon and wanted to bite us both to death." Yuan Shao approached Liu Nai, and immediately interjected when he heard the words.

"Oh?" Xun Yu responded in surprise, and then put his hands into his sleeves and began to think.

"Jung-hee and Mr. Cai were also there that day, and if someone hadn't rescued us, we wouldn't have had a chance to meet here." Seeing that Xun Yu seemed to be a little suspicious, Yuan Shao added another sentence.

"Such dangerous people should be exterminated by decree." Liu Nai didn't seem to have recovered from his previous state, so he said casually.

"Decree?" Yuan Shao turned his head to look at her.

"I didn't say anything, you didn't hear anything." Liu Nai covered his mouth.

"With Zhenji's temper, even if I am willing to reconcile, she is afraid that she will not will." Cao Cao ignored the princess and the would-be horse over there, and explained to Xun Yu.

"Hmm...... I see. Because he knew the temper and force of the eldest lady of the Cai family very well, or heard the princess's words of "extermination", Xun Yu did not question anything anymore.

"I think I heard someone say bad things about me?"

"I heard that there are fresh matsutake mushrooms to eat!"

As soon as Cao Cao's words fell, the Cai sisters stepped into the hall, oh, and the alpaca.

————

"How?"

After finding the cook to deal with the matsutake mushrooms and feeding them to Cai Wenji, and stopping Cai Zhenji, who was going to hunt down Zuo Ci, and finally locked up the alpaca that was running around, Cao Cao returned to his room when it was already night, he sat down at the table, made himself a pot of tea, and asked to the air.

Although Xun Yu's "strategy to take Yanzhou" sounded quite feasible, and the reaction of the officials in Qingzhou did not exceed expectations, Cao Cao still asked the "stand-in" to conduct follow-up investigations on relevant people and things, especially after Zuo Cilai made a scene.

Whew—With a breeze that was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible, it shone with golden light, and the clouds and mist of stars rose and converged opposite him, and finally became a "stand-in".

This ability, which was named "spiritualization" by the "stand-in" itself, appeared after seeing "Merlin" disappear that day after being beaten into gold dust by the "Juggernaut". After the "spiritualization", Cao Cao could not see the figure of the "stand-in", and he could not communicate with each other, but he was able to travel back and forth at a speed far higher than when there was an "entity" in the past, and it was extremely convenient to explore intelligence.

"[Hmm, on the whole, it was not Xun Wenruo's expectations,] "Stand-in" said: "[Since this banquet was held all day and was not deliberately kept secret, Liu Dai's spies had already rushed to Changyi to report to him. 】”

"Well, how did he react?" Cao Cao nodded slightly.

[When I learned that the reception banquet was to welcome the 'Qingzhou Thorn Shi Cao Cao', I was relieved, and after hearing that the companions and the 'Princess Liu Nai of Ten Thousand Years', I jumped up directly. The "stand-in" said: "Then, he immediately sent an official letter to the ministers of many counties in Yanzhou. He asked them to go to Changyi as soon as possible to 'report to him', and sent a letter to Luoyang to report the news of the princess's westward journey. 】”

"To whom?" Cao Cao picked up the teacup and asked with his eyes lowered.

[This is not clear, because the letter has no beginning or end, and the content is not visible, and when I told my cronies, I only said 'send it to Luoyang', but the cronies looked like they understood. The "stand-in" stall said.

"Well, Wen Ruo is just speculating that Liu Dai must have a connection with Luoyang, but he can't be sure which faction he is talking to," Cao Cao took a sip of tea and nodded: "But we only need to borrow his hand to pass the news into Luoyang, as for the act of summoning the county guards from all over the country, it is self-defeating." ”

"Stand-in" nodded in the same attitude: "[He probably thinks that you are only slightly wooing your partner and giving some limited benefits, so he is ready to recall all of them back to the county and reward them one by one to improve their loyalty, but he didn't expect that they are all 'internal responses' at this time, at that time, as long as he says that he wants those people to keep a distance from Cao Mengde and the princess or hostile words, he will be taken down directly, and the only thing that can help him is the edict from Luoyang, and if nothing else, Luoyang should have taken care of himself at that time. 】”

"That's right, after Liu Dai passed the news of 'Cao Mengde took Princess Wannian through Yanzhou and suspected of going to Luoyang' to Luoyang, no matter who received this news, they would definitely take corresponding action, and at this time, Luoyang was like a hot oil pot, as long as a drop of water fell into the ...... Hehe. Cao Cao said with a smile.

"And Zhu Jun's department, which has long been lurking in various parts of the division, will naturally not give up this opportunity," "Stand-in" said: "[Whether it succeeds or not, Luoyang will inevitably be in chaos, and we will have sufficient reasons to march. 】”

"Indeed, as Wen Ruo said, the 'planner of the country' and the 'planner of the self-seeker' are like falling on a plate, and the 'chess piece' thinks that he has a shrewd plan, but it has long been expected by others, and this plan is all done by those who seek his life, and there is no need for additional guidance at all." Cao Cao put down the teacup, "So, let's not mention this matter for the time being, how did you investigate that 'Ganzhi'?" ”

"[What he said is true, the contradiction between the two factions of pirates 'sugar cane' and 'brown sugar' is still somewhat famous on the coast of the East China Sea, and the battle between the two did end with the leader being defeated by Hong Tang and being annexed as a whole, but ......]" The "stand-in" paused: "[That battle took place two years ago. 】”

"As expected," Cao Cao said again, "then, you say that his feelings are familiar with you, what do you mean?" Could it be that he is also someone's 'stand-in'? ”

If so, could it be that those who could not be saved and eventually died were all used as "stand-ins" by "Merlin"? But in this way, who is the "stand-in" who has been with me since birth?

"[No, I just said that the essence is similar,]" the "stand-in" said: "[In terms of strength, the gap between me and him is like a hundred-year-old giant tree and a small sapling that has just sprouted - but the essence is 'one tree'. 】”

"Hmm......"

Da, da, da, Cao Cao tapped his fingers on the table and began to think.

A pirate who died two years ago appeared at this time in a state similar to a "stand-in", of course, it was "Merlin", but was this move just to disrupt Zuo Ci's unimportant smear behavior?

No, it's more than that.

Her actions have always appeared in front of others or hidden behind the scenes, although at first glance they seem chaotic, but they are basically for the purpose of saving the lives of others, but only when she treats herself differently, there are several incidents that may greatly damage her career or reputation, but will not lead to her own death, she has helped.

Hehehe...... Jiangzuo Merlin, can you win the world? No, as an "immortal" whose appearance has not changed for decades, how can ordinary people "get it"?

This sentence should be clearly interpreted as "the green eyes can win the world".

Cao Cao and Cao Mengde are the ones who got their blue eyes.