—187 A.D.——

Yanzhou, Chen Liu.

Due to the unwise act of Liu Dai, the assassin of Yanzhou, he was directly arrested and placed under house arrest by a group of subordinates, and the county governor Changyi was also controlled by various forces in Yanzhou, and then a large amount of evidence of collusion with Zhang Rang's faction was found from his residence.

It's not strange if you think about it carefully, out of jealousy, the other Liu clan relatives were all released by Emperor Ling, and only he stayed in Yanzhou, which is actually the gateway to Luoyang, if it wasn't for the ten permanent servants who said good things for him, how could it be so?

Then, Cao Cao's army marched to Chenliu without hindrance, which can be said to be close to Luoyang, leaving only the obstacle of the Tiger Pass along the way, if it is urgent and difficult to capture, you can also detour to the south, from the relatively easier to attack Bishui Pass to Luoyang.

However, before the time came, Cao Cao and others had to stay in Chen for a few days, and accept the hospitality of old classmates Zhang Miao and Xu You, during which Xu You seemed to have the intention of voting for Cao Cao, but after talking with Xun Yu, he was ashamed and failed to speak.

Xun Yu said to Cao Cao: "Although Xu Ziyuan is a wise man, he is greedy and uncured, good at great achievements, and impure in character. ”

To put it simply, although he has the ability, he will do extremely harmful things in order to show his ability, so he cannot hold important positions and important responsibilities, just give him a position that can be boasted about in front of others.

Cao Cao thought deeply at the time and said: "Ziyuan can be a speaker." ”

The councillor is an official who can comment and give opinions on anyone and anything when discussing politics, and although he has a high position, he does not have the right to give direct orders, which just meets the requirements.

On this day, a messenger arrived, claiming to be from the Yuan family in Luoyang, Cao Cao did not dare to slack off, and immediately summoned all his subordinates, as well as the princess of Wannian, to come to the discussion.

This envoy was about forty, dressed in a soaphorn scribe's uniform, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a wide mouth, a serious expression, and no smile, even when he saw Cai Wenji riding an alpaca running into the council hall, his eyes did not fluctuate.

He doesn't look like a courier he grabbed at random...... Cao Cao and Cai Wan exchanged glances, but found that no one knew him, so they couldn't take the initiative to call him.

"Mr. Jeongnam?" On the contrary, Yuan Shao, who came in with Liu Nai at the end, recognized him: "Why do you call yourself the envoy of the Yuan family?" I remember that you are the long history of Taiwei Chen Qiu? ”

"I've seen Princess Wannian," the messenger first saluted Liu Nai, and then said to Yuan Shao: "The family teacher has been laid off a few years ago due to the Jizhou earthquake. ”

"What? What happened to Captain Guan after the earthquake? If you want to cut it, it's also a big Si Nong! Yuan Shao, as always, was off track.

"Ahem!" Cao Cao, whose father was the Great Si Nong, coughed to stop Yuan Shao's nonsense, and said to the judge: "So, the judge is Bo, I don't know what the message from the Yuan family is?" ”

Due to the tension between the parties in Luoyang at this time, ordinary messengers were bound to be searched for letters, and only the unparalleled warriors who could avoid the search, and the literati who could completely write down the news to be delivered could be regarded as messengers.

"Due to the leakage of the news of Princess Wannian's arrival in Yanzhou, He Jin and Zhang Rang caught fire, and they have killed him, and his remnants are being purged." The first sentence of the trial made everyone in the hall change color.

"Ah...... I said that the people in the General's Mansion in Luoyang have been arrogant a lot recently, and the forces of the Ten Standing Servants are only trying to protect themselves,]" The "stand-in" made a sudden realization: "[I was not present when the fire happened, and all parties remained silent afterwards, so I can't find out the reason? 】”

This is also one of the reasons...... Cao Cao nodded secretly, although the speed of the "stand-in" himself was fast, but the act of collecting intelligence itself was not fast, at least he had to listen to the conversations containing intelligence completely, so that the events that happened in other places at the same time could be ignored.

"It's strange, the two factions of relatives and eunuchs shouldn't want me to go back, why did they fight by themselves after getting the news?" Liu Nai is still dressed in a green jacket and red dress, but today she has an extra pair of butterfly crowns tied on the back of her head.

"I guess one of them will be able to gain some kind of advantage by the princess's return to Luoyang, while the other side is trying to stop them." Cai Wan said.

Xun Yu thought about it and didn't give an opinion, as if it was because there were too few known conditions to deduce the result.

"So, what does Yuan Sikong think about this?" Cao Cao thought about it and was convinced that this judge should not be here to pass on this matter that had nothing to do with him, so he asked.

"After that, Hongnong Yang's family, Hedong Wang's family and other important ministers of the local wealthy clan, took advantage of the defeat of He Jin and Zhang Rang to capture He Jin, and at this time they were confronting the 'Diao Chan' under the queen and the remnants of the Ten Standing Servants." Judge the way.

"[What-]" The "stand-in" put on a look of "I actually missed so many big things", and then brushed the floor and disappeared on the spot.

"Lord Sikong sent me here to ask Gongzi Cao and Dagongzi Yuan what position they are going to choose in this chaos in Luoyang, so as to avoid contradictions between the two sides," the judge did not wait for everyone present to question, and quickly continued: "By the way: Yuan Dagongzi's younger brother, Yuan Shu, the second son of Yuan, is preparing to lead troops to raid the palace and take down the queen. ”

“……”

There is not much information told by the trial, but the simple movements of those forces contain countless games, and when everyone present thinks about the position that Cao Cao should choose at this time, it seems that no matter how he chooses, it seems that no matter what he chooses, he is wrong.

"Huh...... Wen Ruo, it seems that it is indeed as you said, Luoyang is 'pulling a hair and moving the whole body' at this time, after Liu Dai transmitted the information back to Luoyang, the situation has become a little incomprehensible," Cao Cao thought about a few plans, then gave up again, turned to Xun Yu and asked, "I don't know what you think of the situation at this time?" ”

Among the people present, only Xun Yu did not think about it for too long, obviously he had a conclusion on this matter, and when he heard Cao Cao's inquiry, he just smiled slightly: "Meng De can't make a decision, just because Meng De's own 'position' has not yet been clarified, and because of Meng De's own 'leadership temperament', the 'positions' of the people gathered under his banner are also different, which leads to a sense of restraint when making a choice, but at this time, as long as Meng De answers one question, how to choose does not need to think too much." ”

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, and replied solemnly: "Wen Ruo, excuse me." ”

"Yu takes the liberty of asking, Meng De wants to be Jiang Shang? Zhou Gong? Or...... Wang Mangye? ”

“……”

The hall was quiet again, even quieter than when the details of Luoyang were told before, and even the alpaca was too frightened to continue chewing.

Indeed, at this time, Cao Cao mastered Qingzhou and Yanzhou, influenced Xuzhou, and actually controlled Yuzhou, with tiger and leopard cavalry, Qingzhou soldiers and many good generals and ministers.

But other people, out of long-term trust or kinship and interests, can't open this mouth, then, only Xun Yu, who has just joined and has made great contributions, but has not yet clearly called the "lord", can ask.

"[Hmph, I see~]" In the silence, only the "stand-in" who had just rushed back could speak at will: "[I can't see that Xun Yu Xun Wenruo, a guy who looks like he has a bad stomach, is actually a staunch supporter of the Liu family. 】”

What do you mean by that?

Cao Cao, who was thoughtful, cast an inquiring glance at him covertly.

[Hmph, look, he first mentioned Jiang Shang and Zhou Gong, and then even if he didn't talk about Gaozu, he had to talk about Qin Shi Huang, right? Suddenly jumped to Wang Mang, who definitely couldn't choose, what's going on? The "stand-in" said in a mocking tone: "[This can only show that he thinks that this big man should continue, even if Liu Hong is not saved, you can also be Jiang Shang to support the Wannian princess Liu Nai, or be Zhou Gong to assist Liu Wei or Liu Xie, but if you want to be Wang Mang and replace him, he will have to resign and leave.] 】”

So, how should we answer? Cao Cao asked again with his eyes.

"[If it were me, I would reply to him, 'It's not Wang Mang, but Liu Xiu', and see how he reacts. "The stand-in answered.

"Hehehe~" In a suppressed dead silence, Cao Cao let out a pleasant laugh and walked towards Yuan Shao.

"Huh? Mengde, what's wrong? Yuan Shao naturally didn't silence because he understood the seriousness of Xun Yu's question, he followed blindly because everyone else was quiet.

"Originally, we were brothers, right?" Cao Cao patted him on the shoulder.

"That's right, brother!" Yuan Shao immediately straightened his chest and responded.

"So, it's reasonable for me to call the princess 'sister'?" Cao Cao asked again.

"Uh...... I don't count if I say this......" Yuan Shao turned his head to look at the princess.

"Hehe, my little sister has seen my brother." Liu Naiti bowed.

"I can't be 'Duke Zhou', I can only be a 'Zhou Hou'," Cao Cao turned to Xun Yu: "Wen Ruo, are you satisfied with this answer?" ”

Zhou Hou, surnamed Ji Mingfeng, is the second "great man" of the Zhou Dynasty after the Duke of Zhou, at that time, because of a series of coincidences, his sister Ji Yue became the queen of the Great Zhou, in order not to let the sister who is not good at handling political affairs be in a hurry, he himself concurrently served as a national teacher, prime minister, general and a series of positions, the entire Great Zhou governance is in order, the princes from all walks of life are obedient, even natural disasters have not happened, there is nothing to worry about the queen.

Although some people in later generations said that he was blackmailing his sister to order the princes, his sister himself had no opinion, and others were not easy to say.

"Huh...... Very good," although this answer was not in Xun Yu's plan, he was obviously satisfied: "Then, the next strategy is simple." ”

"Hey, are you serious? "The only thing left to have an opinion about this is the "stand-in", "[I heard that Zhou Hou's son ran to become a monk because he always didn't care about his family, and Ang'er and Pi'er were in danger.] 】”

"Closed ...... Mouth ......" Cao Cao kept smiling, squeezing out two words from between his teeth.