The news of Yuan Shao's death soon spread to Xu Du, Cao Cao was happy, but when he arrived in the mansion, he thought quietly after tea and dinner, but he was still a little sad in his heart.

It's as if people who were once well known are passing away one by one.

"Yuan Shao and I, friends for many years, if it weren't for the troubled times, we should be the most powerful partners in the court, and I also admired his brilliance and open-mindedness."

In the evening, Cao Ang went to the courtyard of his home and listened to Cao Cao talk about the past.

In the courtyard, the leaves have turned slightly yellow, and the wind blowing into the courtyard is not too warm, but slowly turning to coolness, which means that summer has quietly passed, and autumn is about to come.

This year, all the realms under Cao's command should have a good harvest, just because Tiangong did not embarrass the big man this year, and the rainy season in various places is relatively stable, and the heat is not too harsh.

Cao Ang, who sent the news, was humbly taught, and on the right side behind him, there was also the second son Cao Pi in the same attire, who was also bowing down to listen, he was not young, Cao Cao was consciously cultivating a few years ago, but he was not a son, but a minister of internal affairs to cultivate.

After Cao Cao paused for a moment, he continued: "I still remember that Yuan Shao lived in Luoyang for ten years after the party, but he was able to get officials and nobles to live in Luoyang, and the celebrities of the scholar clan secretly visited, so most of the people he made friends with are people who shine today, but it is a pity that he made friends with many people from the scholar clan back then, and there were not many children of the poor family. ”

"However, it really made Yuan Shao secretly smell in the princes' house, and this painstaking management of the network is not something that anyone can do."

"Later, the plan to take Luoyang, except for the eunuchs' schemes, are all perfect, if it weren't for the fact that Dong Zhuo couldn't control it, Yuan Shao would have become the one who after the death of Emperor Ling, except for the eunuchs, the relatives, the first minister in the world, he has been the prime minister of a dynasty so far, maybe the world is Yuan's, and there will not even be such a chaotic world."

"So I admire him, he is only one step away from winning the unification of the world and achieving the immortal cause of the Yuan clan fifteen years ago."

"Now that Yuan Shao is dead, I am grateful for his exploits for the Han Dynasty, no matter whether I am an enemy of him or not, I should also go to the Son of Heaven, ask for a rich burial for him, and posthumously be crowned as a public, so that the martyrs of the Yuan family will know that there is a heroic figure in his family."

Cao Cao was slightly sad and said solemnly.

Cao Ang is older, and now he can best understand his father's thoughts, when there were many old people, looking back at the fierce enemies everywhere, such as Tao Qian, Yuan Shu and others are all defeated generals now, and they have all been killed, and now Yuan Shao is also gone, as if he is missing an old friend.

"My son will play the Son of Heaven today."

"Er thinks," At this time, Cao Pi, who was standing behind Cao Ang, suddenly gave up his hand to speak, his expression was a little wooden, but the light of his eyes was a little smart, "Er feels that his father's move can indeed shock the world." ”

"What do you know about the world?" Cao Cao looked at him with interest, beckoned Cao Pi to come closer, took a deep breath and asked patiently: "Pi'er, tell me how to determine." ”

"Yuan Shao is an extraordinary talent in heroic martial arts, and his majestic posture shook the northern Xinjiang, but now he is not defeated by his father and died, which shows that his father is more powerful, and he should be buried in a beautiful manner, showing his father's heart, so that people in the world can remember better that Ming Gong is like Yuan Shao, not his father's opponent."

Cao Pi was still childish, his eyes were wandering, as if he was looking back and forth at Cao Ang and Cao Cao in a panic, and he finished his words uncertainly.

Cao Caozai looked carefully, and he couldn't see the pretentious posture, but he always felt that these words were not true, but he was not happy and moved by the content of the words, just squeezed his shoulders slightly, and said in a deep voice: "Pi'er, you remember." ”

"I don't know who taught you to do this, but you don't have to be like this in front of me in the future, you and my father and son should have true affection."

Looking at his father's serious gaze, Cao Pi was stunned for a moment, and then his tone was very tough, and he looked up and said, "Father, my son really thinks so." ”

"Although Yuan Shao is a family of the fourth and third princes, he has always been sought after by the people of the world, and he has been in the land of the four states for so many years, and these children have heard of it when they listened to Xun Lingjun's teachings."

"I heard today that Yuan Shao once plotted to seize Luoyang, and he almost succeeded, this strategic mind is naturally rare in the world, and my father was able to defeat him in Guandu, doesn't it also show his ability?"

"Hmph."

Cao Cao smiled contentedly, "That's a good point, but in Guandu, it is your brother Bowen who has contributed so easily, and the military report that Yuan Jun's grain and grass are hoarded in Wuchao is also given by him, which is accurate." ”

"Even the guard general Chun Yuqiong knows."

"How does my brother know?"

"I don't know," Cao Cao smiled dumbly, "he said it was calculated." ”

Cao Ang couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this, he was too familiar with this sentence, and he had studied with Xu Zhen for two and a half years.

I was stunned that he didn't learn this "calculation", and he still doesn't understand whether it is a calculation or a fortune telling.

"That's it! I will personally go to see the Son of Heaven and inform the court of this matter, so that the old ministers who have an old relationship with the Yuan family can write a letter of condolence on their own, and this time they will not be punished. ”

"Father is magnificent, and my son will go with you." Cao Ang said that he wanted to go with Cao Cao, and it happened that Cao Pi also heard this, and he was excited to go together, but he was stopped by laughter.

In the afternoon of the same day, the news was sent to all parts of Xudu, and all the officials in the city knew about Yuan Shao's death, and they also heard that Cao Cao allowed the officials to write letters of condolence on their own.

So it is also called Cao Cao benevolent.

The Son of Heaven immediately agreed to Cao Cao's request, and asked Shangshutai to posthumously seal Yuan Shao's merits, write a table and recite a chapter to praise his merits, and let the people in the territory remember his kindness.

As a result, the definition of Yuan Shao's life is no longer the biggest thief who is against the Son of Heaven and vainly tries to usurp the Han, at least much better than his brother Yuan Shu.

This seal and the practice of releasing condolences won the hearts of Yuan Shao's old generals and the 70,000 captives who surrendered to Chengcheng, and also made hundreds of thousands of people in the opposition cry bitterly after the first battle of Guandu, and return to Jizhou to serve the people with peace of mind, or prepare to join the army again to serve the Cao army.

However, a few days later, there was still news that made Cao Cao cry and laugh.

Above the main hall of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Xun You, Xi Zhicai, Cheng Yu and others are all there, and among the generals, Cao Chun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Zhen and others are here, discussing the need to increase troops to the north after the autumn harvest and discuss the need to start another war.

But at this moment, Guo Jia and Xu You quickly came from outside the door, walked up the stairs and walked quickly to the main hall, and after looking at everyone one by one, Guo Jia approached Cao Cao and said: "Lord, there is a military situation, and no one will accept this posthumous edict, and they will pass the buck to each other." ”

"In the end, it fell in Jizhou, or Bowen accepted it in Qinghe County, and then commended Yuan Shao, so that the local old department of Yuan Shao mourned, and ordered the officials to burn his life in bamboo slips, and wrote a rough biography to seal it."

"However, the people of Jizhou were very sad when they heard this, and they were grateful, and now they have settled down a lot, and they took the initiative to donate a lot of money and grain for the treasury."

Looking at Guo Jia's relaxed expression, everyone understood that this was undoubtedly a solution to some of Xu Zhen's problems, although not all of them could be solved, but at least the people's requirements were reduced, and the money had also increased, so it was very rare to have one or the other.

However, what is really surprising about this incident is that Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang are not subject to this posthumous seal.

"For this reason, Bowen gave a letter, which returned with the messenger and sent it to the lord in Xudu."

Cao Cao smiled, "Take it." ”

His smile was very shallow, almost just to appear soft when he spoke, and soon became a little sad, mainly because after hearing the news that he was not being sealed, he felt sad for Yuan Shao.

In this life, he has been running around all his life, not to mention that it is all for his son to save the family business, but at least half of it is for them, but I didn't expect that there is no one with a proper name when he is old.

Isn't it sad to think about.

Cao Cao looked at the letter, and after glancing at it, he probably understood what Xu Zhen meant.

In the past, the letters written by Xu Zhen when he was in charge of government or marching to war were not too complicated, and there was a distinct style difference from other people, for example, Xun Yu would embellish himself with rhetoric for a long time, and methodically show the things described one by one.

But Xu Zhen will only say things concisely and quickly, and basically will not waste pen and ink on decorating useless words, which does not mean that he will not, on the contrary, Xu Zhen's talent should actually be very high, not comparable to ordinary strategists.

It can only be said that the style is like this, so that Cao Cao can see the meaning that Xu Zhen wants to express at a glance, he finished reading the letter, looked up at Guo Jia and Xu You, and said: "In addition to Yuan Shao's pursuit of the seal, what other information is there?" ”

Guo Jia said: "I'm admonishing, don't attack anymore." ”

Cao Cao smiled unexpectedly and said, "Why?" Bong-hyo talk about it. ”

The rest of the strategists were also silent, looking at each other and feeling a little sorry, but they couldn't say anything.

The generals were quite disappointed for a while, but of course the military adviser's words were inevitable, and the plan could be changed at any time.

Guo Jia said quickly: "There is no need to invade Bingzhou and Youzhou. ”

"These two states are the weaker territories under Yuan Shao, Youzhou is governed by Yuan Xi, it took a lot of effort to quell the rebellion over the years, when he took over Gongsun Zhan's city territory, there was no unity in all places, because of the years of war and the loss of money, but also lost too much money and food and fertile soil, it will take several years to repair, but at this time, Yuan Shao and we went to war and lost, Youzhou had a lot of civil strife."

"And the annexation of the state, itself is a complex and multi-ethnic land, the Qiang clan is the majority, although they surrender to the Han Ke but have bad intentions, these people are afraid that they only submit to the strong, and they are bound to make chaos again."

"And Yuan Shao's remaining two sons are not in agreement, and even their father's posthumous seal is not to blame each other, and they want the other party to accept the thanksgiving, and then celebrate the ministers, this is why no one intends to pay."

"Yuan Xi lives in Youzhou, and Yuan Shang has to live in Jizhou and merge with the state, and the two of them may have to fight inwardly."

When Guo Jia said this, Xu You then said, "Not bad." ”

"Not only that, there are some things that you don't know, but in Jizhou back then, you know the grievances and grievances."

Cao Cao's face moved, and he changed his posture with great interest, "Ziyuan, please speak." ”

"Yuan Shao's third son, although the eldest son Yuan Tan is stubborn and self-serving, but most of the time he learns the essence of his father, does things with grace, and wins the hearts of the people.

"Yuan Shang looks very like Yuan Shao's youthful charm, and his appearance, demeanor and voice are very similar, so he is deeply loved."

"In addition, there are too many factions of strategists under Yuan Shao's command, each of them supports Gongzi, so it has formed a disorder between the young and the old, originally if he was alive, he could suppress the three of them, so that the three sons could compete with each other and continue to grow."

"Now that I'm dead, no one can hold it down."

"Among the ministers, they each support the prince, compete for power and profit, and want to hold a piece of territory to develop and grow, and then annex the other side, there can be hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses plus countless civil and military forces, and of course it is not a problem to govern a state."

"If the lord is unfair, they will swallow each other, and if the lord marches at this time, it will unite the two."

Xu You said sincerely, he also said this tentatively, it was all something he knew in his heart, and he didn't know if Cao Cao could listen to it, but no matter what, if he was in a hurry to attack now, of course he would win, but it was not the best time.

"Well," Cao Cao nodded thoughtfully, "The elder and the young are disorderly, this is indeed Yuan Shao's mistake, no matter how stupid a person is, he will not sit back and watch his own heirs fight." ”

"It's really stupid for an adopted son to fight for power and profit."

After Cao Cao pondered for a moment, he said: "Fengxiao, Ziyuan, what you said is extremely true, Bowen's letter also advises me not to attack, let the two sons fight, sit on the profits of the fisherman, and take advantage of this opportunity to become rich and strong and secure the people." ”

Guo Jia and Xu You suddenly became convinced, they originally guessed that this letter was also to mention the chaos in Northern Xinjiang, what they were afraid of was that Xu Zhen wanted to use his merits to loot money and grain at the moment in exchange for the rapid restoration of Jizhou, but they didn't expect Xu Zhen to be so calm.

This man's heart is indeed unexpected.

"Okay, don't attack Youzhou."

Cao Cao made a decision, but he still smiled and said: "However, I must take precautions, I still have to increase my troops to Yecheng." ”

"And I want to invite Ziyuan to go back to Jizhou and help him under Bowen, what do you think?"

Xu You was stunned for a moment, and then his heart became complicated, and after weighing left and right, he saw that the eyes of the full hall of civil and military were quite cold, and he suddenly nodded and said with a smile: "Of course this is good, things are people, and I am not afraid of being scolded." ”

"Hahaha! The words are serious," Cao Cao hurriedly waved his hand, "Ziyuan doesn't have to think about it, the main thing is that I think that with you, Bowen should be better behaved." ”

"If you can help, you will do your best."

Xu You secretly breathed a sigh of relief, at least he could say a few more words to Xu Zhen, in his old friend Cao Cao...... His power is really getting stronger day by day, unpredictable, and can't see clearly, and it is no longer a scheming that people and ministers can have.

Like a tiger, it is unsettling and uneasy.

……

Jizhou, Qinghe County.

In a grass hut outside the inner city.

Dressed in white, his long hair was scattered, his long shirt reached the floor, he was reading a book with a scroll in one hand, and the other hand was behind his back, his wide sleeves hanging down and fluttering in the wind.

With his back to the outsider, he said coldly and resolutely: "Xu Bowen, you don't have to come to me again, no matter what happens in this world, I will not take another step." ”

Xu Zhen stood still, leaned back slightly, took a deep breath, and nodded: "Then, I'll be relieved." ”

"Let's tear it down!!"

He shouted back.

Frustrated Zhu suddenly turned his head back and stared at him incredulously: "You demolish, what are you demolishing?!" ”

"Demolish the ancestral house of the Fu clan and sell it, and the books will be confiscated, your land...... Sell it too! Sell it separately!! ”

Xu Zhen couldn't hide his excitement, and pointed frustratedly: "Don't come out!" The big husband has to count when he speaks. ”

"Xu! Uncle! Wen!! Frustrated, his eyes widened, stared at him, and said angrily: "If you dare to demolish it, I will hang myself in this grass house!" ”

Xu Zhen stared at him for a long time, and suddenly said, "Then the grass house and this lake in front of you will also be sold." ”

(End of chapter)