In late November of the thirteenth year of Jian'an, more than ten days later, Jizhou, Yecheng.

Cao Cao took Yecheng last year, and then moved his Sikong Mansion to Jizhou, leaving only a few officials in Chendu to watch over Liu Xie, and almost the entire imperial court moved to the north.

Since the decree of the north came from Yecheng.

In history, he completed this progress in the ninth year of Jian'an, and now he has already stationed troops in Wulin, and he will be burned to Chibi next month.

But now that he has just taken Yecheng and begun to sweep the north, it also means that he is at least four years slower than this point in history, and it may not be as smooth as in history.

Because in history, he was able to go north to destroy Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi safely, and then kill all the way to Liucheng White Wolf Mountain, and the prerequisite for the raid on Badun was that he had no enemies in the north.

At that time, the Yuan clan only had the three counties Wuhuan who were friendly with the Yuan family, and Gao Gan had been eliminated by him the year before, although Guanzhong was not yet peaceful, but Han Sui Ma Teng was not at peace internally, and Liu Biao and Sun Quan in the south were also at war, and no one could threaten him.

Therefore, in the twelfth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao could swagger and lead his troops north to Liaodong, and even dared to raid White Wolf Mountain, running thousands of miles, slashing and completely cutting off the border troubles in the north.

And now?

Although there was civil strife in the south, the protagonists of the civil strife were not Liu Biao and Sun Quan. It's Liu Bei, Liu Qi, Shen Chen, and at most one more Sun Quan.

But Cao Cao didn't think that Sun Quan would be Liu Bei and Shen Chen's opponent.

Therefore, once Liu Bei, Liu Qi, and Shen Chen get Jingzhou, Cao Cao is afraid that he will have to toss and turn and can't sleep.

At that time, not to mention personally leading the army to eliminate Bunton, even whether to go to the west of Youzhou and attack Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi will probably have to be considered.

So now Cao Cao has indeed been paying attention to things in the south.

Including now that Yuan Tan has fled to the Bohai Sea, Cao Cao only sent the generals Xiahou Yuan, Yu Ban, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, and the newly formed elite cavalry led by Cao Chun.

He himself has been in Yecheng.

Today's sky in Yecheng is gray, although there is no snow, but just like last winter, it is rainy and rainy, the moisture in the air is much more humid than in previous years, and the temperature at night is also kept at a few degrees below zero, and the rain that falls can even freeze the next day.

When the cold evening breeze blows slowly into the hall, the wind chimes under the eaves outside the corridor sway with the wind, tinkling and ringing. Cao Cao sat at the table in the small hall of the Yazhu Mansion in Yecheng, carefully reviewing the documents from all over the country, and giving instructions on the latest official documents from all over the country.

There are some important instructions that need to be sent to Xiahou Yuan Yuban and others on the front line, some diplomatic documents to be sent to princes all over the country, and some military orders to be conveyed to border generals such as Chendu, Yingchuan, and Runan.

Now Cao Cao's main energy is indeed in the north, not only to grab territory, but also to defend territory.

In addition to the more important military, diplomatic, grain and grass situations in various places, small and large trivial matters such as people's livelihood, government affairs, and public security all fall on his shoulders.

In the past, he didn't need to worry about these things, and Xun might help him do it well.

But for half a year, he just wanted to deal with government affairs every day.

As long as you can not let yourself be idle, even if you read a few more official documents, it is much better than staying alone and doing nothing.

Therefore, Cao Cao often asked people to send Shangshutai's documents to Sikong Mansion, even if Xun or had already made the documents for the instructions, he would often give instructions a second time, or even several times.

It's not about grabbing power.

But......

"Cangshu ......"

Cao Cao criticized and criticized, and suddenly threw the brush in his hand on the table, and cried sadly among the eucalyptus.

Half a year ago, Cao Cao's favorite son Cao Chong died of illness.

And at that time, it was when Cao Cao led his troops to fight outside, and he didn't even see his son for the last time.

Upon learning of Cao Chong's death, Cao Cao, who had almost eliminated Yuan Tan at that time, hurriedly called off his troops and came back, but after all, it was useless, and when he came back in a hurry, he could only see Cao Chong's cold corpse.

The white-haired man sent the black-haired man again, which became the second regret in his life after Wancheng killed Cao Ang.

For this reason, Cao Cao didn't think about tea and dinner every day for half a year, and burst into tears, so he had to bury his head in government affairs to numb himself, but every time he recalled his beloved son's face late at night, he cried so much that he moistened the pillow.

Now that he thinks of Cao Chong again, Cao Cao's tears can't stop flowing.

I cried for a while.

A servant who had been instructed by Mrs. Bian to deliver a bowl of hot chicken soup at night walked out of the hall.

As if hearing footsteps, Cao Cao raised his head and suddenly saw the slave, who seemed to have never seen Cao Cao's fragile side, and looked at him with a little surprise.

What kind of face was Cao Cao at this time?

He was dressed in a thick silk down black satin robe, a gray fox coat over it, his hair was disheveled, his face was full of vicissitudes and pain, his cheeks were full of snot and tears, and his chest and right arm were wet with tears.

"Division..... Sikong. ”

The servant hurriedly lowered his head and held the tray in his hand, and was about to say that Madame Bian had sent him to deliver chicken soup.

As a result, Cao Cao shouted angrily in the next second: "Someone! ”

"Sikong!"

Outside the door, the guards came in.

"Drag it out and kill it with a cane!"

"Huh?"

The slave was dumbfounded at that time, and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed like pounding garlic and said, "Sikong spares his life, Sikong spares his life!" ”

But the guards ignored this and dragged the slaves away, and soon screams could be heard outside.

found an excuse to kill someone with a rod at will, and Cao Cao was in a much more relaxed mood.

He took out a silk handkerchief, wiped the snot and tears from his face, and tidied up his loose hair a little.

"Huh?"

When Cao Cao was tidying up his sideburns, he noticed that his hair was already black and gray, and his white hair was thick, and he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.

I'm already old.

"Father!"

At this moment, a respectful voice sounded outside the door again.

Cao Cao quickly tied his hair and adjusted his mood before he said in an incomparably majestic voice, "Come in." ”

A tall figure appeared at the door.

This person is about twenty years old, slender and good-looking, somewhat similar to Cao Cao when he was young, he is Cao Cao's second son Cao Pi.

"Father."

Cao Pi walked in without squinting, and the chicken soup was still on the ground, but he didn't look at it, and came in seriously to salute Cao Cao.

Cao Cao looked at him and said coldly, "What's the matter? ”

Cao Pi said respectfully: "Just now, a front-line document was delivered to the mansion, and it happened that the child was talking about Jingyi with Chen Changshi, thinking that it was getting late, and Chen Changshi was about to be on duty, so I helped him send it to his father." ”

As he spoke, he held the document in both hands, walked all the way to Cao Cao's table, and put the document on the table.

Cao Cao glanced at him, but did not look at this document, but said in a deep voice: "Since you are talking about the scriptures with Chen Qun, I don't know what the scriptures are?" ”

Cao Pi was slightly stunned, and then reacted quickly and said: "Talking about the Analects, Chen Changshi has been writing "On Semantics", he said that the words of learning without being ashamed are because they learn in themselves, use them by the mandate of heaven, and people do not know them, and they cannot use them. ”

"Well, that's wonderful."

Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction, then rubbed his hands, dispelled the cold air between his palms, reached out to take the urgent paperwork, and skillfully pulled open the silk rope on the outer bundle.

Cao Pi, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief and stood aside respectfully without speaking.

Since Cao Chong died of illness half a year ago, Cao Cao has been moody, every time Cao Pi went to comfort him, he was also scolded by him, and even said that Cangshu's death was his Cao Cao's misfortune and your Cao Pi's luck.

This sentence made Cao Pi feel like he was on pins and needles, and he was very uneasy.

However, this uneasiness was quickly dispelled, and Cao Cao only temporarily disliked Cao Pi for a while because of Cao Chong's death, but he was a rational person and would not be angry with the remaining heirs because of Cao Chong's death.

Among the sons, Cao Ang and Cao Chong were the best, and after their deaths, only Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were left to choose from.

So Cao Cao began to vigorously train the two, for example, he valued two young juniors very much, one was called Yang Xiu and the other was Sima Yi, so he recruited Yang Xiu as Langzhong, let him accompany Cao Zhi, and recruited Sima Yi as Cao Peng, and let him accompany Cao Pi.

At the same time, he occasionally called Cao Pi and Cao Zhi to come over and take them to deal with political affairs together.

The reason why Cao Pi came to deliver the document at night this time was that Shi Chenqun, the new chief of the air department who had a good relationship with Cao Pi, guessed that this document should make Cao Cao very happy, so he immediately called Cao Pi over and asked him to send it, which was regarded as brushing up his favorability in front of Cao Cao.

Although it is far from the time for Cao Pi and Cao Zhi to compete for inheritance, in fact, it has begun to sprout a little, at least Cao Zhi is showing himself every day, hoping that Cao Cao can value him more.

At this moment, Cao Cao opened the paperwork and glanced at it, and sure enough, his face gradually showed joy, which made Cao Pi, who had been observing words and feelings, breathe a sigh of relief again, and his mood was also a lot more relaxed.

Although Cao Pi and Cao Zhi have not yet started to compete for succession, Cao Cao's words and Cao Zhi's outstanding writing also made him feel a lot of pressure.

Therefore, pleasing Cao Cao has become a very important strategy for him.

"Father."

Cao Pi saw that he was gradually smiling, so he pretended to be curious and asked, "Is the war on the Bohai Sea going well?" ”

Cao Cao said with a smile: "Miaocai attacked Nanpi for five hundred miles on the third day, Yuan Tan was caught off guard, was defeated, and when he fled north, he was killed by the quilt and the tiger and leopard riders under his command!" ”

Cao Pi hurriedly said: "Congratulations to my father, in this way, Hebei will be completely pacified, and only Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi of Youzhou are left, as well as the senior cadres of Bingzhou." ”

"This generation is young, don't worry."

Cao Cao waved his hand, his mood became more and more comfortable, and he said with a smile: "In less than a year, I will be able to pacify the north, and when the time comes, I will have the land of eight states in my hand, and the rest are only Xiliang, Yizhou, Jingzhou, Jiaozhou and Yangzhou." ”

Thirteen states of the Han Dynasty, Henan has Yan, Henan, Xu, Qing four states, Hebei is Jizhou, Yandi is Youzhou, Jin is a merger of states, and now Guanzhong Chang'an He has actually controlled a part, and Si Li is also in his hands.

Therefore, as long as he destroys Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi Gaogan, and gets Youzhou and Merge Prefecture, at least in terms of territory, Cao Cao does control eight of the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty, and his strength is very strong.

What's more, these places are also centers of population and high-quality land resources, and a few years of recuperation will swell his soldiers and horses to unimaginable proportions.

"Father."

Cao Pi immediately hit the railway while it was hot: "Recently, there are often people in the court who say that although Sikong is one of the three princes, he can't be weighted and has some mistakes, and wants to persuade his father to add him to the prime minister. ”

"Hmm......"

Cao Cao groaned, in history, he had not only been added to the position of prime minister at this time, but also was about to be burned by the fire of Chibi.

But now he has been delayed because his progress has slowed down a lot.

There is no pacification in the north, how dare you be the prime minister?

However, although it has not yet been pacified, Yuan Tan is dead, and the entire territory of Qingzhou and Jizhou is included in his hands, and now there are only Youzhou and Merge Prefecture, and it is only a matter of time.

Therefore, the voices persuading him to become the prime minister have also increased recently.

Behind this, of course, it is not those people who are making their own decisions to make trouble, but Cao Cao himself is building momentum for the addition of prime minister.

After all, he is in his fifties, and no one knows how long he can live at this age, so he still hopes to be able to bless his power.

Of course.

At least not yet, he is still in the thinking stage.

The main reason is that the situation in the south has been unstable, which makes him hesitate whether it will cause a backlash from internal forces if he establishes himself as prime minister.

After thinking for a while, Cao Cao still shook his head and said, "Forget it, after the peace of Youzhou and the merger of states, let's talk about the prime minister." Now Liu Biao died in the south at the beginning of the year, although Liu Cong and Liu Qi are infighting, but Jingzhou still has 200,000 soldiers and horses, and the trouble of my henchmen cannot be calmed, the high bank is the valley, the deep valley is the mausoleum, and the great chaos is ......"

"The child knows."

Cao Pi hurriedly kept this matter in mind, and waited until the next time Cao Cao killed the high-ranking cadres Yuan Shang Yuan Xi and others, he brought it up again to please his father.

As he spoke.

The guards outside shouted, "Report! ”

"Come in!"

Cao Cao answered.

The guards came in, knelt down on one knee and said, "Chen Changshi asks to see you." ”

"Let him in."

Cao Cao glanced at Cao Pi, and it seemed that a new official document had been sent to the Changshi Office in the Foreign Mansion.

In history, after Cao Cao appointed himself as prime minister, Chen Qun participated in the prime minister's military.

But now Cao Cao has not yet become the prime minister, and it just so happens that the original Sikong Changshi Liu Dai was killed by Shen Chen, so Chen Qun was promoted to Sikong Changshi and was in charge of the Sikong Mansion documents.

The documents of the Han Dynasty were generally sent to the state by the statistics of the Shangji Peng, and the state government sent someone to Shangshutai, and the Shangshu Lingxun or came to dispose of it.

Naturally, important documents were presented directly to Sikong Mansion and transferred by Chen Qun to Cao Cao.

At this moment, Chen Qun came over, and he could only have a new document.

Soon Chen Qun entered the hall and bowed to Cao Cao: "Sikong, Sun Quan of Jiangdong sent someone to send a letter to Wen Tingshi, and Wen Tingshi did not dare to slack off, and sent someone to Yecheng quickly. ”

Although the country is in turmoil now, Cao Cao still sent assassins to various places, such as Liu Fu, who was stationed in the area of Lujiang and Jiujiang in Huainan.

Later, Liu Fu died of illness, and this year Cao Cao sent his original chief bookkeeper Wen Hui to succeed him as the assassin of Yangzhou, so if Sun Quan wants to communicate with Cao Cao, he must first find Wen Hui.

Knowing that it was an urgent letter sent by Sun Quan, Cao Cao knew that something was wrong in the south, and immediately said, "Submit it." ”

Chen Qun hurriedly handed over the box containing the letters.

Cao Cao opened the box and saw that it was not bamboo slips, but a stack of papers.

It can be seen that Sun Quan has a lot to say, and he is afraid that there will be too much bamboo writing and trouble, so he sent it with precious writing paper.

Cao Cao picked up the letter and read it quickly.

His brow furrowed quickly, and the expression on his face changed as he read the paper.

It seems to hesitate, it seems to hesitate, it seems to frown, it seems to be annoyed, it seems to hesitate, it seems to be angry!

"Summons Guo Jia, Xun You, Cheng Yu!"

Cao Cao raised his head, his gaze was already extremely stern, and he squeezed out a few words from between his teeth and said, "Let them come quickly!" ”

Cao Pi and Chen Qun immediately glanced at each other, and both realized the seriousness of the matter.

Fear....... The South has changed a lot!