It's mid-January, this winter is dry and rainless, and the wind is extremely cold.

Liu Qing sat on his horse Jin Ge and stood at the city gate, watching the people and horses in the distance approaching gradually.

From a distance, Liu Qing saw Cao Cao waving his hand and greeting him warmly.

Liu Qing smiled, without putting on any airs, and directly rode up to greet him.

"Hahaha, Mengde, Xuande, I've been waiting for you to come!"

"I've seen King Bohai!"

When Liu Qing arrived in front of Cao Cao, Cao Cao actually bowed his head and led all his subordinates to salute Liu Qing. With just a casual glance, Liu Qing felt that Cao Cao's team had indeed grown a lot.

"Liu Bei, Prime Minister of Pingyuan, has met the king!" Liu Bei introduced himself seriously and saluted. Behind him, the two generals Guan and Zhang also saluted. Compared with Cao Cao, the troops and horses led by Liu Bei can be seen to the end at a glance, and only two or three can survive.

Thousands of people, a bit shabby.

In this era, how many soldiers and horses can be recruited and commanded depends entirely on financial resources. Cao Cao's ancestors still have some shadow. Although they are not as good as the Yuan family in Runan, the Yang family in Hongnong, and the Xun family in Yingchuan, they are still

The math is in the middle, my father is the most powerful official

Si Nong, in charge of the central finance, had many opportunities to "contribute" to the Cao family, and with the help of the Xiahou family, Cao Cao himself would also take charge of Jinan's national affairs. He would recruit sergeants and allocate materials for reasons such as protecting the country.

In this regard, Liu Bei is too honest. He will not embezzle public funds, even for the sake of pacifying the Yellow Turban. This may have something to do with his getting the official position. He was recommended by Liu Qing, and the nominal owner of Pingyuan Kingdom is Liu Qing's uncle.

, there is another reason, behind Liu Bei, there is no noble power to provide money and food.

Expanding the army does not just mean that it can be expanded. You must have money to purchase military supplies and food to support it. Otherwise, let alone recruiting new soldiers, the veterans will simply run away if they are hungry.

"Okay, okay! The two generals have worked hard, and all the soldiers have worked hard together!" Then he turned to Chen Gong and said: "Gongtai, I will send someone to help with the camp setup! And send some meat to the two armies!"

Chen Gong looked confused, but agreed.

Liu Qing didn't panic at all. He ate whatever sheep or pigs he could. He had already ordered someone to send a batch over from Jizhou. If there wasn't enough from Jizhou, he would transfer it from Bingzhou.

Liu Qing led Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and a group of subordinates to the royal palace, where King Liang was already waiting for him.

On the way, Cao Cao couldn't wait to inquire about the current situation from Liu Qing. Yuan Shao established King Chen. When Cao Cao heard the news, he couldn't believe it for a moment. If he said that Yuan Kai established Liu Bian, there was still an excuse to stand up.

,

But after Yuan Shao's actions, the Yuan family never looked back. Although he was still the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, apart from a group of supporters, how many people would support the Yuan family? Anyway, he, Cao Cao, was against it.

of.

Therefore, Cao Cao was willing to respond to Liu Qing's call because of this.

He did not approve of Yuan Shao's move to establish emperor.

"According to intelligence, Yuan Jun is recruiting troops from various counties and counties in Yuzhou. He has recruited tens of thousands of new soldiers. Counting his original strength, there may be nearly 100,000. Moreover, I have received news that Yuan Shao has close contacts with Yangzhou Governor Ba Zhi.

If we fight, I’m afraid we will get support from Ba Zhi.”

"Ba Qi is an honest and frugal official. Rumor has it that he doesn't even light public candles. Will he support Yuan Shao?"

Like Cao Cao, Liu Qing had also heard of Ba Zhi's reputation for being frugal for a long time. However, frugality was frugality, and his relationship with the Yuan family was extremely good.

If Ba Zhi thought that what Yuan Shao was doing was right, then he would support him. Standing and moral character have always had little to do with each other.

Cao Cao frowned and said, "If Benchu ​​really gets help from Yangzhou, I'm afraid the difficulty of this battle will increase a lot!"

"Oh? Why did you say that?"

"I wonder if your Majesty has ever heard of Danyang Soldiers?"

"What Meng De is talking about is the ones under Tao Qian's account? This army fought with Wenyuan several times. Although they were defeated by our army, this army is extremely resilient and rarely breaks up. This is why I have not captured anyone yet."

Tao Qian’s reasons.”

"My brother Cao Ren once went to Yangzhou to recruit troops. The place where Yangzhou produces elite soldiers is not just Danyang. There are still many barbarian tribes there, and there are many brave and aggressive people. If Yuan Shao uses them, I am afraid it will be a big trouble." Cao Cao explained.

road.

Liu Qing waved his hand and immediately asked, "What can we do about it?"

"Your Majesty, Ba Zhi is from the Bohai Kingdom and a citizen of the Great Prince."

"Is this happening?" Liu Qing was quite surprised.

If so, is it possible to contact me?

Even if you can't win over them, you can at least keep them neutral and not get involved in the dispute between the Central Plains.

"If what Meng De said is true, I will send a letter to Yangzhou to advise him not to dip into the muddy waters of the Central Plains." Liu Qing said.

After talking along the way, several people arrived at the door of Prince Liang's Mansion. Liu Qing explained: "Everyone, please don't be formal. Just do as you like here, just like in the camp!"

Although Cao Cao and Liu Bei both smiled and agreed, they knew clearly that they would not disregard etiquette.

Arriving in front of the palace, Liu Qing introduced Liu Mi, and Liu Mi also keenly sensed that King Bohai's attitude towards these two people was different from ordinary people.

This difference seems to be particularly valued, and it seems to be intended to elevate and get close to them. It seems that King Bohai never mentions his identity in front of them, but they are obviously just a state minister, and King Bohai has countless subordinates.

The ten governors and prime ministers should not be like this.

Liu Mi was puzzled and continued to observe carefully. On the banquet, Liu Qing paid tribute to everyone one by one, looking extremely heroic. A kind of civil servants and military generals also drank happily. It was obvious that he did not have such an opportunity in ordinary times. Whether it was Liu Qing's subordinates

Dian Wei and Zhang Liao were also unfamiliar generals under Cao Cao and Liu Bei. Not only were they drinking, but they were also shouting. Liu Mi felt as if he was in the army.

After he was done drinking, Liu Qing suddenly stepped forward and asked Liu Mi: "How are the arrangements for Quanyang?"

"Your Majesty, it's ready." Liu Mi replied.

"Let's go and talk in the backyard!"

Liu Qing's so-called back courtyard is the place where whole sheep are roasted. In the courtyard of Prince Liang's Mansion, there is a pavilion named Diecui.

Liu Qing stepped forward, picked up Cao Cao with his left hand, and Liu Bei with his right hand, and said to all the officials and soldiers: "Everyone, have a drink to your heart's content. I and you two will go and have a private chat, hahaha!"

Liu Qing pulled the two of them and left laughing heartily.

After leaving the warm palace, the cold air suddenly sobered up the three of them.

Liu Bei asked: "Your Majesty, where are we going?"

"The front hall is noisy and hard to talk about."

Liu Bei understood instantly, and felt vaguely that it was anything but ordinary.

Cao Cao, who had always talked a lot, became silent after hearing these words. He squinted his eyes and followed Liu Qing to Diecui Pavilion.

The palace waiter then brought over a small stove with a large vat of wine on it. The wine was steaming slightly, obviously it had been heated.

The two of them looked outside the pavilion again and saw two lamb chops on a fire. A man was turning them over and sprinkling spices from time to time. After a closer look, they saw that the man was the King of Liang.

Cold wind and hot wine, Liangwang barbecue.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei suddenly felt a little uneasy in their hearts. What did King Bohai want to talk about when he arranged such a scene?

"Mengde, Xuande, come on, let's drink a glass of hot wine to ward off the cold!"

The two of them raised their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

Liu Qing continued: "We haven't seen each other for a long time. Today, the world is changing much faster than I expected. Han Sui defected to Yuan, Yuan Shao established himself as emperor, and now Dong Zhuo has raised a large army to fight in person. I have a vague feeling that this battle will

, will set the pattern for the next few years! I don’t need to say more about the pros and cons, but what do you two think? You can talk about it freely!"

After Liu Qing finished speaking, Cao Cao and Liu Bei first looked at each other, then both fell into deep thought.

It wasn't until King Liang ordered someone to bring the cut meat up that Cao Cao seemed to feel something. He looked at Liu Qing and said: "Your Majesty, Cao Cao thought that since the dispute between elder and younger, the authority of the imperial court has disappeared, and many scholars have disobeyed him.

Luoyang surrendered to Ruyang, and Yuan Shao made King Chen his emperor.

Later, the remaining prestige of the imperial court was discredited. Although Dong Zhuo reached the rank of general, he was isolated. Dong Zhuo's Xiliang army was indeed powerful, but how long could this power last? Perhaps this was because he was angry and anxious.

Let’s look at the reason for destroying Yuan.”

"Alas, the world is in chaos, the imperial system is out of control, and there is a war, but the people are the ones who suffer!" Liu Bei sighed.

"Xuande, in your opinion, what is the outcome of this battle between the three parties?"

Liu Bei smiled awkwardly and replied: "Your Majesty, Bei is a humble man who has never led more than ten thousand troops. How can he see such a complicated battle situation clearly?"

"What do Meng De think?"

Cao Cao frowned and was still thinking. After a long time, he spoke: "Your Majesty, Dong Zhuo's success or failure in this battle depends on your Majesty. If the army is willing to help Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo will win. If your Majesty doesn't help Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo will come from afar.

, it may be difficult to win quickly, but the longer it is delayed, the more disadvantageous it will be to Dong Zhuo's army. I wonder if your Majesty is interested in helping Dong?"

Cao Cao asked back.

"I promised the people of the Liang Kingdom to defend the Liang Kingdom and protect their homeland, so I summoned all the soldiers to come here. This is also the reason why the two of you asked for help. Facing Yuan Shao, who is eyeing the Liang Kingdom, it is not easy for me to protect myself. How can I help you!

"

Liu Qing was telling the truth. Even with the help of the Mi clan, there was still a severe shortage of food and grass. Now that Cao Cao and Liu Bei are here, they have more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and the food consumption has increased a lot.

"Your Majesty, in this case, Yuan Jun must fight against the lord and Dong Zhuo at the same time. The chance of winning is very low. However, based on Cao Cao's understanding of the origin, he must be strong. He will not fight at a disadvantage. If he starts a war, he will have a backup plan!"

Liu Qing did not delve into this topic. Uncertain things could not be discussed with a definite result, so he changed the topic again.

"You two think, after this battle, if Yuan Shao wins, where will the world go? If Dong Zhuo wins, what will happen to the world?" There was another question, and Liu Qing hid himself.

Cao Cao thought for a while and replied: "Your Majesty, if Yuan Shao wins, the Han Dynasty will be in danger! Not to mention that the king does not agree with the king of Chen he appointed, even Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Liu Yan of Yizhou, and Liu Yu of Youzhou will not
To be continued...