Jianye three years, spring, Luoyang Palace.

The charcoal fire in the palace burns, and the heating drives away the cold in the house; The cauldron in the corner decoction of medicine, the strong smell of herbs filled the temple.

On the bed, Cao Cao tied a yellow scarf on his head, wrapped in a wool jacket, half lying on the bed, covering his head and moaning slightly.

Since repelling Liu and Guan, he led the army to retreat to Luoyang. Because of the hard work of the army and Cao Ren's anger, Cao Cao relapsed into a headache, and his already bad body began to be afraid of cold.

Sun Ying held the medicine to Cao Cao and said softly: "Please use the medicine for Your Majesty!" ”

Cao Cao glanced at the medicine in Sun Ying's hand and said, "This medicine is useless, don't drink it!" ”

"This~"

Sun Ying put the medicine on the table and said, "Your Majesty has a recurrent head stroke, and it is cured thanks to this medicine, how can you say that it is useless now?" ”

Cao Cao sighed slightly and said, "This medicine is the prescription left by Hua Tuo, and the head wind can be gradually cured by taking this medicine in the past." However, in recent years, this medicine has gradually become ineffective, and it is an old disease that is difficult to treat. ”

"So where is Hua Tuo?" Sun Ying asked.

Cao Cao smiled bitterly, but shook his head silently.

He once thought that there were many doctors in the world, but he didn't believe that there was no doctor who could cure his head stroke except Hua Tuo, so he killed Hua Tuo for his crime in anger. However, to his surprise, even though his territory is thousands of miles and there are tens of millions of people, there is no one who can cure the head wind, and most of them are incompetent quacks.

Hearing this, Sun Ying hesitated a few times and said, "Then what should Your Majesty do?" ”

"Nothing!"

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Let's recuperate for a few days to see if we can get better!" ”

Between the words, the attendant stepped forward to report and said, "Your Majesty, the prince has entered the palace to ask for a meeting." ”

"Xuan!"

Seeing that Cao Cao had something to discuss, Sun Ying saluted and retired.

Cao Pi walked into the hall and staggered with Sun Ying, who had retired.

Looking at the stunning woman walking in front of him, Cao Pi's eyes were instantly attracted. The woman's slightly familiar style, Qianqian's fine steps, round chest, with a tall figure, are particularly eye-catching. Not only that, what attracted Cao Pi the most was the cold atmosphere between his eyebrows and eyes.

Wearing a golden hairpin on her head, wearing jade on her waist, she is cold and cold, and she is a peerless beauty.

Seeing that it was the crown prince Cao Pi, Sun Ying greeted him politely, and then withdrew his sleeves and left.

Between his sleeves, Cao Pi seems to smell a light fragrance, which is elegant and charming, and people can't help but hold their breath for more aftertaste.

Cao Pi stopped and looked at the back of Sun Ying in the distance, his heart was itching unbearably, and he seemed to have returned to the Yuan Mansion in Yecheng, and he was amazed when he first saw Zhen Ji.

However, more than ten years have passed, Zhen Ji is old and decrepit, and in the long-term life, Cao Pi is no longer indifferent to Zhen Ji.

Sniffing the lingering fragrance in his breath, Cao Pi asked, "Who is this woman, I have never seen it in the palace?" ”

"Back to Your Highness, this is Your Majesty's new concubine Sun, the cousin of Wu Hou, and Fang entered the palace not long ago." The squire replied with his head bowed.

"Cousin Zhongmou?"

Cao Pi stroked his short beard, envious of Cao Cao in his heart, and secretly said: "It's a pity that such a woman is the beauty of my father!" ”

When he thought of the identity gap between him and Sun Ying, the reality that he wanted but couldn't get it, it made Cao Pi's heart itch more and more.

"Your Highness!" Seeing that Cao Pi was distracted, the attendant shouted softly.

Cao Pi came back to his senses, forcibly suppressed the distracting thoughts in his heart, and walked into the hall.

Seeing Cao Cao, who was taking medicine under the service of the maid, Cao Pi saluted respectfully and said, "My son visits his father, how is his father's condition today?" ”

Cao Cao drank the medicine in the bowl, endured the headache, and said: "Zihuan is more intentional, and the old disease of the head wind has recurred!" ”

As he spoke, Cao Cao leaned on the cushion and said, "Wei Wei deliberately rebelled, Zihuan dealt with it fairly, and the center was stable, which should be satisfactory to me." ”

The battle of Xiangfan initiated by Guan Yu broke Cao Ren at the beginning, and then fell to the ban, plus the narrowly lost Wancheng, the Central Plains was shaken, and Luoyang rioted.

In this context, Wei Yan because of his surname Wei, thought that 'those who represent the Han Dynasty, should be Tu Gao', referring to the proverb that he can replace the Han family, so the Yin Alliance everyone rebelled.

However, without waiting for Wei Wei to start an incident, he was discovered and dealt with by Cao Pi and Sun Quan. In order not to disturb the war on the front line, Cao Pi decided to conceal the matter for the time being, and secretly investigated Wei Wei and his henchmen.

It wasn't until the war was clear that Cao Pi told Cao Cao about Wei's rebellion. After Cao Cao learned of Wei Wei's rebellion, he was dissatisfied with Cao Pi's concealment, but he was also satisfied with Cao Pi's approach of taking the overall situation into account, so he handed over the case of Wei Wei's rebellion to Cao Pi for disposal.

Cao Cao tapped his head lightly and said, "Wei sarcastically usurped the matter, I don't know how the prince will deal with it?" ”

Cao Pi pondered for a while and said, "Your Majesty, the one who conquered Wei is for Zhong Tingwei." According to the law, Zhong Tingwei should be dismissed. However, Zhong Tingwei has worked hard and made great achievements, and now he is dismissed because of this matter, and he is afraid of chilling the hearts of others. ”

"Humph!"

Cao Cao, whose head was swollen, was not in a good mood, and said: "Cao Renshang was dismissed by me because of the defeat of the army, not to mention Zhong Xuanhu? Now that the law is not strict, can an army govern the country? ”

Cao Cao loves Legalist doctrine, coupled with his cold temperament, he will not deal with the old ministry like Liu Bei, taking into account the feelings of the old department.

Seeing that Cao Pi wanted to speak and stopped, Cao Cao was patient and said: "Today, Zhong Xuan and Cao Ren, everyone is ruthless. However, if the father is old and sick, and the son Huan is on the throne, the two can be promoted to show grace to the ministers. ”

"Cao Ren has been in the army for many years, or he has no strategy as a general, but he has great qualifications. Juluoyang can ensure the stability of the center, and the army can make the soldiers obey the generals; Zhong Xuan's wisdom is to break the hole, which is a high-quality material for the Central Plains, sensitive and prescient, and there are many protégés and former officials. Zihuan uses two people, and the military and politics can be unimpeded! ”

Cao Cao was not the kind of person who had no vision, and as time passed, illness continued to torment him, and he faintly felt in his heart that his death might be near. Therefore, Cao Cao had to do something to help Cao Pi succeed to the throne.

Under Cao Cao's detailed explanation, Cao Pi understood Cao Cao's intentions, and said excitedly: "My father is wise and famous, and my son is shallow in his education, and it is difficult to understand his father's deep meaning, so I should ask my father to forgive me." ”

Saying that, Cao Pi presented the song and said: "Father, this sparse is all for the purpose of implicating officials, and the relationship with Wei Wei is close or far. ”

"Good!"

Cao Cao opened the song, glanced at it a few times, and said: "If the Jingxiang scholars are implicated with Wei Wei, they should be punished with severe punishment, and they will not be spared. In addition to Wei Wei, all the people who are from the old department of the county will be punished according to the law, and if there is a death penalty, they will be exempted from the death penalty, and they will be promoted and hired by Zihuan in the future. ”

"No!"

Cao Cao browsed the interlude, and the attendant came to report and said, "Your Majesty, the edict of the princes has arrived outside the palace." ”

"Xuan!"

Cao Cao closed the music and said, "The prince can listen to it on my side!" ”

"No!"

After a while, Sun Quan, Liu Ye, Jia Xu and others walked to Cao Cao's couch and saluted Cao Cao's father and son.

Cao Cao waved his hand to signal everyone to be exempt from courtesy, and asked, "Is there anything important happening recently?" ”

"Your Majesty, Ma Chao played a good report, saying that Zhang Fei was broken by it, and the thieves led Yao Jing and Zheng He to surrender and beheaded more than 10,000 people. Zhang Fei's generals Zhang Da and Fan Jiang secretly rebelled and wanted to kill Zhang Fei and surrender. Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei was prepared, and Zhang and Fan were killed. Zhang Fei was afraid and withdrew, and Ma Chao led his troops to chase and kill, and obtained more than 1,000 carts of grain. ”

Liu Ye handed Ma Chao's recital to Cao Pi and said: "Although my Great Wei was frustrated in Jingxiang, he has made many gains in Longyou, and he is a water thief who has been severely injured. Ye thought that he could expose the world so that the scholars could celebrate. ”

Looking at the content of the song, Cao Cao rarely showed a smile and said: "The horse is strong, and now he is ordered to be the enemy, but he can protect Guan Long without worry!" ”

Ma Chao is unruly, and Cao Cao has a lot of experience. Xima Chao surrendered to him, and Cao Cao had a headache about how to place him. Let Ma Chao stay in Guanzhong must not be able to stay, and imprisoning Ma Chao in the center will be a waste of Ma Chao's fast knife.

After deep thought, and due to the development and change of the situation, Cao Cao tried to use Ma Chao to deal with Hanzhong, and the results were remarkable. In the last Zhang and Lu Northern Expedition, Ma Chao threatened Hanzhong from Yangping Pass, helped Cao Xiu break Zhang Fei and won a small victory; Today, Zhang Fei attacked Longyou, and Ma Chao directly used the weak soldiers to break Zhang Fei's department, and his achievements were remarkable.

After a little silence, Cao Cao said: "Under the edict, worship Ma Chao as the left general, lead the Yizhou herd, and seal the Marquis of Wudu; worship his brother Ma Dai as the general of Zhenxi, Wudu Taishou, Fengzuo Xianghou; The general Yao Jing was the general of Fengyi, and the Guanghan was too guarded; Zheng He was the general of Guijie, and Bajun was too guarded, and he was ordered by Ma Chao. ”

"No!"

For Ma Chao, Cao Cao used it and secretly guarded against it. At present, the official who rewarded Ma Chao seems to be honorable and powerful, but in fact, it is all a false position, and there is no real power.

Putting down Ma Chao's good news, Cao Cao rubbed his temples and asked: "The Southern Han Dynasty is long in boats, and when it is profitable, it will take advantage of the rising water, and if it is unfavorable, it will retreat by boat, and my country will be deeply disturbed." In recent years, the country's situation has been sluggish, and I want to use troops to boost the country's prestige. ”

Cao Cao was allowed to establish a country by Chan, and originally wanted to take the three eastern counties to raise his prestige, but he never thought that he would be defeated, and he also lost a Xiangfan. Now that the Central Plains is shaking and the momentum is plummeting, Cao Cao can only regain his prestige by finding the field as soon as possible, laying down some land, and winning a big victory.

Hearing Cao Cao's words, everyone looked at each other, each with their own expressions. Unexpectedly, not long after Xiangfan's defeat, Cao Cao was in a hurry to use his troops.

"Zhongmou, Ziyang, Wenhe?" Cao Cao is famous one by one.

Jia Xu pondered and said: "Your Majesty, the water thieves rely on the mountains and rivers, the boats are horses, and the rivers and lakes are the cities. In the past, we lived in Jianghan and fought, and our army was outnumbered and profited. Xiangfan was defeated at the beginning of this year, and it is not appropriate to use force in a hurry. In the opinion of the ministers, the cultivation of the people's livelihood should be the first, the military training should be stressed, and the city should be repaired and the armor should be governed. ”

Cao Cao was silent and did not answer, obviously dissatisfied with what Jia Xu said.

Sun Quan frowned and analyzed Cao Cao's psychology, seemed to think of something, and said: "Your Majesty, water thieves can't be hastiled, it's better to use troops to Liaodong today." ”

"Liaodong is famous and secretly rebellious, the former Gongsun Kang has a big strategy, the northern expedition to Gaojuli, the western expedition to Wuhuan, the east to open the three Koreas, open thousands of miles, and shock overseas. However, Gongsun Kang died early, and the heirs were not long, and his younger brother Gong succeeded to the throne. Gongsun Gong has no vision and is mediocre and talentless. ”

"Now Your Majesty wants to use troops to make meritorious contributions, you can send a partial army out of Liaodong, don't divide an army into the sea. Water and land are parallel, money and food are lured to surrender, and with Gongsun Gong's talent, he will be frightened and beg to surrender. ”

"At that time, there were thousands of miles in eastern Liaodong, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, and they could raise the prestige of the country and occupy it. Liaodong's soldiers are sharp, and the harvest can benefit the country's deficit. ”

Previously, in order to persuade Cao Cao to become emperor, Sun Quan had considered letting Cao Cao use force to Liaodong, and then called the emperor to open the country. However, when he had a deep understanding of Liaodong, he found that it was not so easy to attack, and it was easy to fail if he did not do it, so he gave up the idea of using force against Liaodong.

But giving up temporarily is not a long-term abandonment, after all, Sun Quan has plans to use Liaodong to establish military merits for himself. Under such circumstances, Sun Quan spent a lot of time understanding Liaodong.

Compared with the Gongsun Kang period, his younger brother Gongsun Gongyuan is not as good as his brother, he is not only mediocre and weak, but also unable to have children due to illness. Under several factors, Gongsun Gong is not popular with the Liao people, and he is the lord of weakness. As Sun Quan said, Cao Cao's use of troops to Liaodong may not be able to force Gongsun Gong to surrender.

"Liaodong!"

Cao Cao was very moved, and looked at Liu Ye.

Gai is feeling Cao Cao's gaze, Liu Ye thought a little, and said: "Your Majesty, the Gongsun clan has been based on Liaodong since the end of the Han Dynasty, and the officials have inherited from each other. Therefore, the two of them are alive, and it is not appropriate to rush to the picture. ”

"Ran Kang's sudden death, and his brother Gong was in charge, his weakness and incompetence, and his leniency and authority have been from my China for a long time. If you hit it today, you will be taken by surprise, and you will send troops to come in person, so that you can persuade you to be sealed, and Qian Jue will be rewarded, but you can not work the army and settle it lightly! ”

Cao Cao pondered for a long time, squinted his eyes and touched his beard, and said: "This matter will be presided over by Zhong Mou and Ziyang, and it will be submitted as soon as possible." ”

"No!"

(End of chapter)