Chapter 28: See you

Cao Chong strode into Cao Cao's room. Cao Pi was kneeling in front of Cao Cao with his head hanging down, tears streaming down.

"Cang Shu, you're here just right." Cao Cao, who was angry, gritted his teeth and strode around, dragging the Qiong stick in his hand behind him, jumping as if he was about to pounce on Cao Pi. The five finger marks on Cao Pi's left cheek were bright and dazzling. Looking at Cao Cao's appearance, it seemed that he had printed another red bamboo picture on Cao Pi's face: "This man actually took his own initiative and married my good granddaughter to the Xianbei people."

Cao Chong suddenly realized that he had been deceived by Zhen's mother and son. They had already asked the old man for love first, and they were afraid that they would not be safe, so they came to him, uncle, to work harder. But it doesn't matter. Anyway, they also need a reason to make a fuss.

"Father, this is Your Majesty's imperial edict. What can I do?" Cao Pi was annoyed when he saw Cao Chong. He raised his head and shouted loudly. Cao Chong realized that there were five fingerprints on his right face. Old Cao's hand was quite strong, and the five fingerprints were clearer than on his left face, and half of his face was swollen. So Cao Pi's tears were not all fake, at least half of them were real, it hurts.

"I had already said that I would do my best. My father took over the Han family's territory and won the world. If that were the case, what else should we have to get along with the Xianbei people? It was you who bewitched my father what new policy to do..."

Before Cao Pi finished speaking, Cao Cao suddenly turned his head, stared at Cao Pi, and shouted loudly: "How do you know about the new policy?"

Cao Pi was stunned for a moment, his face turned pale, and he stammered: "It was said by the emperor."

Cao Chong frowned slightly. Xun Yu said that he had not talked to the emperor about the new policy. How could Cao Pi know about the new policy? In addition to Xun Wenqian and Xiaoshuang in his room, there were only people in Lao Cao's house. He glanced at Lao Cao, but Lao Cao shouted loudly at Cao Pi: "Do you think my Cao family can ignore the Xianbei people if they live in the country? You are a pig's brain. If you really want to do such a big thing, the world that has just been pacified will immediately be filled with war. Even if you can do some rebellions, everything will be settled. At least three to five years, your vitality will be severely damaged. At that time, all the Xianbei people will die?"

Cao Cao became more and more angry, and he was about to rush up with his Qiong stick. He wanted to suck Cao Pi again before he was happy. Cao Pi did not dare to hide, but just stared at Cao Chong hatefully, completely losing his usual friendly appearance. Cao Chong did not see his eyes, and hugged Cao Cao and shouted: "Father, father, please calm down, relieve your anger, it will hurt your body."

"It's better to die, otherwise I'll be pissed off by this beast sooner or later." Cao Cao roared and struggled to break away from Cao Chong. The Qiong stick in his hand was grabbed by Cao Chong. He pulled it a few times and didn't pull it apart. He simply loosened the Qiong stick, took off the long knife from the wall next to him, and rushed towards Cao Pi.

"Father--" Cao Chong was shocked. While he stepped forward and hugged the angry Cao Cao, he shouted to Cao Pi with a pale face: "If you take a small stick, you will get a big stick. If you are still standing stupidly, why are you still standing there? If you don't leave quickly, you will really let your father beat you to death." Cao Pi came to his senses and fully demonstrated his master of the gentleman sword. He moved like a cunning rabbit. He jumped out and disappeared outside the door.

"Super, stop for me." Cao Cao rushed to the door and cursed: "Look, I won't kill you, the priest."

"Father, why are you doing this?" Cao Chong advised with a wry smile, pulling the breathless Cao Cao back to the house and sitting down, while someone cleaned the house. Cao Cao angrily picked up the teacup and took a big sip of tea, but it was scalded by the newly replaced tea. He was even more annoyed. He poured the tea on Song Ji's face, who was cleaning the desk, and shouted angrily: "Do you want to burn me to death?"

Song Ji was so scared that she was trembling all over, and she knelt on the ground with a loud bang, begging repeatedly. Cao Cao stood up, picked up the knife on the desk and turned around Song Ji twice, and said coldly: "Say, who else has seen the draft of the new policy?"

"No, no one has seen it." Song Ji's face turned pale and she shook her head repeatedly. Cao Chong originally wanted to persuade him, but when he heard Cao Cao ask this question, he stopped. He looked at Song Ji's expression carefully, trying to see some clues. Song Ji was very nervous, her teeth clattered, obviously not telling the truth.

"You don't want to live anymore, right?" Cao Cao sneered twice, and suddenly shouted: "Speak quickly!"

"Yes...yes...yes...yes...meji has seen it." Song Ji was so scared that she was disconnected. "I...I...I...I don't want to see it, she...she...will insist on seeing it, I...I just let her... take a look."

"Hmph—" Cao Cao kicked Song Ji on the shoulder and kicked the delicate Song Ji to the ground. Song Ji quickly turned over and knelt down. Cao Cao shouted loudly: "Zhongkang, arrest these two bitches for me and ask who else has seen it."

Xu Qian responded to the sound, and the two tiger soldiers dragged Song Ji, who had been curled into a ball.

Cao Chong looked at Song Ji who was dragged out and frowned. Cao Pi's hand was stretched out very long, and he could actually bury the Anchun next to Lao Cao. No wonder he rushed back from Qingzhou so timely. This Song Ji looked quite calm, and that Mei Ji seemed a little strange. No matter how lively she was, she wouldn't even know the severity of this. Since Song Ji said she couldn't show it to her, she was still watching it secretly, which was obviously not normal.

"Father, please calm down. General Xu will be interrogated and you will soon find out the result." Cao Chong comforted.

"Hmph, I'm very brave, I dare to leak my affairs." Cao Cao walked around the house with his hands behind his back, stood in front of Cao Chong, and asked with a frown, "How is your father-in-law there?"

"He hasn't told the emperor about this." Cao Chong shook his head, thought about it and decided to tell the truth: "The emperor allowed my father and son to enter the palace without having to hand over the halberd and circumcised the neck, but he did not abandon this ceremony, and it seemed that he didn't want to give in."

"What are you going to do?" Cao Cao looked at Cao Chong coldly.

Cao Chong thought for a while and said, "I decided to give him some color."

"Show him the color? What does it mean?" Cao Cao looked at Cao Chong with some confusion. Cao Chong was stunned. Then he understood and explained, "Just show him some power, so that he can know how to advance and retreat."

"What strange thing is it?" Cao Cao burst out laughing and then asked, "What should I do about the marriage?"

"Ignore him." Cao Chong disagreed: "You can marry a marriage, and let the Xianbei people send the woman to my great man to marry him, otherwise there will be no talks."

"Hmph." Cao Cao stroked his beard and smiled: "I'll leave this to you, don't marry my good granddaughter to that broken place."

"Here." Cao Chong quickly bowed and agreed. He turned around and wanted to leave. Cao Cao called him again, stretched out his hand and scratched his eyebrows and said, "Justice just now, the emperor sent someone to issue an edict to me and I go to the palace to discuss and reward the heroes of the Liaodong War. What do you think? How should Zhao Yun and Xu Shu reward?"

Cao Chong hesitated for a moment, nodded and smiled, "They decisively attacked at that time, which played an important role in quickly pacifying Liaodong. It is also a must for him to be rewarded. I hope the emperor will not be too weak for them."

Cao Cao looked at Cao Chong with some surprise, stunned for a moment, and smiled. He thought for a while and said, "Since you think so, I don't object. Zihuan is the general of Zhendong. If he won this battle, he naturally has to reward him. What do you think?"

Cao Chong scratched his head in embarrassment. The reward for Cao Pi was indeed a little embarrassed. With his position, of course it would be better not to be granted, but after all, he made merits and it was impossible not to reward him. How to reward was really a problem. Cao Cao must have thoughts in his mind, but he didn't say it out, but instead came to ask him, which made him difficult to answer. He thought carefully for a while before he slowly said: "Father, I think Zihuan might be better in politics. War is probably not his strength. Besides, in the Pingding of Liaodong, there is no war to fight except the Xianbei people in the northern border. Ziwen is in Dai County, the Zuo General is in Yanmen, and Zhang Liao is in Wuyuan. Xianbei people cannot make a big deal."

Cao Cao snorted from his nose and said dissatisfiedly: "I thought so too. If I retreat, the general naturally wants you to take over. Is the position of Prime Minister? I want to hand it over to Zihuan." Cao Cao said, glanced at Cao Chong, and saw that Cao Chong had no surprise. He continued: "He has done the ninth-rank official law and snatched the hearts of those aristocratic families. Even Cui Jigui (Cui Yan) supported him. With so many people supporting him, it should be okay to be a prime minister. But he felt that he had talent in fighting and wanted to lead troops in one's heart. I heard what he meant. If the marriage could not be achieved, he would still lead troops westward and participate in the battle of the Xianbei."

Cao Chong frowned. He knew something about Cao Cao's words. Cao Cao was old and was about to become an heir. He hesitated between him and Cao Pi, so he solicited opinions from the officials in Yecheng and asked them to write a letter in private to talk about his own opinions. As a result, Cui Yan wrote a letter, but it was revealed, that is, he wrote an open letter and explicitly said that he supported Cao Pi. The reason was very high-sounding. Cao Pi was the eldest son and had always performed well. There was no reason to abolish the eldest son. Although Cao Cao was not easy to say anything on the surface, he was actually very annoyed and had a lot of opinions on Cui Yan's approach.

In fact, Cao Cao's opinion on Cui Yan still needs to be traced to something that happened a long time ago. When Cao Cao just took Jizhou, he was ecstatic with the household registration book of Jizhou. There were millions of people in Jizhou, but the recruited Ding Zhuang was nearly 300,000. He was so happy that he blurted out. As a result, he encountered Cui Yan, who was not engaged in the past, and almost couldn't get out of the way. More than ten years have passed. Cui Yan has been performing well over the years, and Cao Cao has gradually forgotten about this matter. But as the matter of revealing the board, Cao Cao remembered the incident again, and he was quite unhappy.

But Cui Yan cannot move around. This person is too famous. Not only did he and Mao Jie presided over the election of officials for many years and promoted many people, but more importantly, his Cui family is important in Qinghe, Jizhou. He himself is a student of Zheng Xuan, with many classmates and a great influence in the aristocratic family. Officials who are related to him can account for more than half of the Prime Minister's Mansion in Yecheng, and the people involved are even more involved in the Han Dynasty. If he did not make it clear, he could still pretend to be confused and he would have to face it. If Cao Chong was to establish him, Cao Cao would have a reason to convince everyone.

This is equivalent to forcing Cao Cao to a dead end, which is very annoyed.

Cao Chong scratched his head and said with a wry smile: "If he must go to war, let him go. With the help of former generals, Zhao Yun and Zhang Xiu, there should be no problem. Didn't Liaodong be defeated? Besides, Ziwen and others."

"Oh, you..." Cao Cao sighed and pointed at Cao Chong helplessly, looking like he was disappointed. Cao Chong smiled awkwardly, and was about to speak when someone came outside to report the emperor's decree.

"We want us to enter the palace again." Cao Cao said flipped away and stood up reluctantly to receive the order. As expected, after Empress Cao Jie knew that their father and son did not enter the palace under the pretext of etiquette, he specially sent someone to invite him. Now the emperor is also allowed to exempt you from being bound by this rule. The emperor issued an edict and the queen issued an edict. You should give some face and go to the palace. The queen said it was very tactful. If you don't come, I, a daughter, don't come to pay New Year's greetings. Seeing that the New Year is about to come, I have to let me meet my father and mother, and give New Year's greetings.

The emperor can not give his face, but the queen must not give his face. If your Cao family doesn't take the queen seriously, who else will take the queen seriously? Cao Cao had no choice but to bring Cao Pi, Cao Chong, Cao Zhi and several wives to the palace to pay New Year's greetings. The emperor was overjoyed and set up an imperial banquet in the palace to entertain him. The last time Cao Cao saw the emperor was twenty years ago. At that time, the emperor was still a child, and he had just come back from the life-threatening escape day. He looked anxious when he saw everyone. This time, the emperor was already middle-aged, and his words and deeds showed calmness, and naturally had a trace of royal demeanor, and Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh.

When Cao Cao saw that he refused to bow to him, Cao Chong and others couldn't do it. He knelt three times in front of the emperor and kowtowed him, and gave him a great gift. The emperor was very kind and pulled them to talk and laugh, giving Cao Cao enough face. He spoke to the prime minister and the general kept silent. The whole family got along very well.

After the banquet, the queen took her wives to the harem, and the four Cao family father and son sat against the emperor. The emperor drank some wine, his face turned red, and he was in tune with Cao Pi, who had a palm print on his face. Zhang Zhao, Han Song and others who were invited to accompany him also sat behind the emperor. Jin Yi and Wei Feng, the younger generation with low official positions, stood quietly aside, looking at the rare general.

The emperor was kind and respectful to Cao Cao. He smiled gently: "General, this time, in addition to New Year's greetings, there are important matters to discuss. One is the military parade to congratulate General Cavalry. Of course, we will also add the Liaodong victory of General Zhendong - unfortunately, the prisoners of Liaodong did not have time to come to Xu County. This is a rare event in our dynasty since Zhongping. Not only are the officials present, but also the envoys of the vassal states. We cannot be careless. I hope that all my dear friends will support this scene for me at that time. Today's prosperous times are the contributions of the generals and fathers. Without you, no matter how big the ceremony is, it will be tasteless."

Cao Cao nodded slightly: "Thank you for your grace. My father and son will definitely appear at that time to strengthen your reputation for your Majesty."

"Hahaha..." The emperor laughed softly, bowed to Cao Cao, expressed his gratitude, and continued: "The second thing is the reward for the great victory in Liaodong. General Zhendong was planning and won a thousand miles away. He prepared for more than half a year. Once launched, the war in Liaodong would be resolved in less than a month. He was quite capable of using military skills. He is really a general. I want to discuss with the general and see how to reward them."

Cao Cao made a false humble sentence: "Rewarding meritorious officials is the power of Your Majesty. Even though I am a general and a prime minister, how dare I go beyond the ages and make comments? Furthermore, Cao Pi is a minister, and I should avoid suspicion."

"General, Your Majesty and the General have both the monarch and ministerial and the relatives of the father-in-law and son-in-law. If you have any questions, you are also the trust of the General. You don't have to refuse." Zhang Zhao smiled and smoothed out the situation.

"What Mr. Zhang said is very true, the general does not need to refuse." The emperor smiled.

"Since that's the case, I'm better obey my orders than to be respectful." Cao Cao bowed and bowed, and then said, "I'm looking at the merits of Ji's merits. Zhao Yun, the prefect of Zhuo County, and Xu Shu, the chief minister, are the merits. I think that Zhao Yun is good at using troops and is familiar with the affairs of the Hu people, and can be promoted to General of Liao. Xu Shu has a good governance of the people and can replace Zhao Yun as the prefect of Zhuo County."

The emperor nodded: "What the general said is very good. I think Zhao Yun is better at using troops than governing the people. It is appropriate to be the general of Liao. Xu Shu was not known in Xuzhou at the time. After arriving in Zhuo County, he showed his ability to manage politics and was promoted to the prefect of Zhuo County. I wonder what General of the Cavalry, General Zhendong thought?"

How could Cao Chong be dissatisfied? Cao Cao's arrangement was even better than he had expected. Not only did Zhuo County not lose, but there was an additional Liao camp. Zhao Yun's subordinates could increase to ten thousand people, which was of course a good thing for him. He smiled and bowed to respond: "It is all decided by Your Majesty and the General, and I have no objection."

Cao Pi was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "I will discuss it."

The emperor smiled: "The general is indeed well versed in military affairs and has a keen eye to recognize people. The rewards are extremely appropriate. The general, let's talk about General Zhendong's rewards first. He should be the first to be the best contributor, and he was humble and made Zhao Yun the first."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and glanced at Cao Pi who was a little nervous, and smiled faintly: "Your Majesty, the so-called "no father is better than his father". Cao Pi is a little literary and well-off. Although he has no big mistakes in using troops, he has no talent. I think he has the merits of planning and organization in the battle of Liaodong and has no ability to command on the spot. If he had not left Qingzhou because of his physical discomfort, I think with his nature, he would probably not be able to seize this battle and decide Liaodong in one battle."

Cao Pi's face turned pale, and he lowered his head and said nothing. The emperor looked at the father and son curiously, not knowing what tricks Cao Cao was playing. It seemed that Cao Cao was not willing to let Cao Pi take over military power and fight.

Cao Cao continued: "I think that in the battle of Liaodong, the commander-in-chief should be the first in the first place. I would like to reward Zhang Cheng first."

"Oh?" The emperor smiled and looked back at Zhang Zhao who was surprised: "You are talking about Mr. Zhang's eldest son, Zhang Cheng, right?"

"That's right." Cao Cao said with a smile: "Although Zhang Cheng is a Confucian scholar, he is decisive in his attitude, has a proper layout, and is quite talented. I think that although Liaodong is determined, he still needs such a task to be in charge and be in a long-term stability. Therefore, I ask Zhang Cheng to be the prefect of Liaodong."

After a word was made, everyone was shocked. Although Zhang Cheng was talented and his role in this battle was obvious to all, he became the prefect of Liaodong who had become two thousand stones at once, and the speed of promotion was too fast. Although there were often precedents of starting a family of two thousand stones in the Han Dynasty, there were not many. Cao Cao's suggestion really surprised everyone. Zhang Zhao first reacted and quickly attended and said, "Your Majesty, I thank the general for his good intentions. However, the dog son had just made political affairs, and this victory was only due to his success. How could he receive such a generous reward? Please be aware of your Majesty and reject the general's proposal."

The emperor was already confused. Zhang Cheng was Zhang Zhao's son, obviously not on Cao Cao's side. Even if he had a superior and subordinate relationship with Cao Pi, he would be the prefect of Liaodong, and he would be a tyrant who dominated the country. He was not afraid that Zhang Cheng would abandon Cao Pi? Could it be that Cao Pi really fought with Cao Chong's brothers to such a serious battle, and Cao Cao took the opportunity of reward to snatch capable ministers like Zhang Cheng from Cao Pi. Although Liaodong is important, Zhang Cheng went to such a remote place and wanted to help Cao Pi, he would have no chance.

Cao Pi also thought of the same problem. It seemed that Zhang Cheng was promoted very quickly this time, but as the prefect of Liaodong, he seemed to be unable to control him. Unless he became a general or prime minister, it seemed impossible for the general to be impossible. Could it be that his father would give the prime minister to himself in order to let Cang Shu take charge of military power alone? When he thought of this, Cao Pi felt uneasy, three points unwilling, five points of expectation, and two points of hesitation left.

The emperor thought for a while and felt that although this plan might not be beneficial to Cao Pi, it would not be harmful to him. He helped Zhang Zhao up and said, "Mr. Zhang, I think the general is very good about this. Since Zhang Cheng is talented, he should serve the country. It is also the Prime Minister's responsibility to promote talents to the country. This is also the Prime Minister's duty, so Mr. Zhang does not need to worry too much."

"Your Majesty, I think that Sun Guan, the governor of Qingzhou, died of state affairs, should be given a pension and posthumous title..."

"Your Majesty, I think that Zang Ba, the governor of Xuzhou, knew the water battle and was well-versed in military tactics, and should become General Fu Bo..."

“…”

Cao Cao said one by one, and rewarded all the people involved in the Liaodong war according to their merits. The emperor was sure of it. Finally, when talking about Cao Pi, Cao Cao looked at Cao Pi carefully and said slowly: "I think that Cao Pi is not familiar with war, and the world has been decided. He should return to the court to assist the old minister in governing the government. As for how to reward, I am not convenient for me to make a decision, so please let Your Majesty decide." After that, Cao Cao owed the emperor and expressed humility.

The emperor was a little embarrassed. This old treacherous hero finished all the rewards from others. However, the lord Cao Pi did not say anything, but left the problem to himself, and gave him an attribution in advance: If he is not aware of war, if he is promoted to him and still manages military affairs, he will definitely lose face. If he does not do military affairs, then what can Cao Pi do? Will he be the prime minister? Is this old treacherous hero mean?

The emperor looked at Cao Cao, Cao Cao lowered his head, the emperor looked at Cao Pi, Cao Pi remained silent, the emperor looked at Cao Chong, Cao Chong seemed to be asleep. The emperor was anxious and had to look at Zhang Zhao. Zhang Zhao felt the emperor's gaze asking for help. He hesitated and said, "I think that the general is very much. The world has been settled, and there are several important generals in the northern border, so there are not much benefits for the general Zhendong to leave. However, before the troops moved, food and grass were first, and the army was outside, and the baggage was the top priority. The general also thought that General Zhendong was more suitable for the government. Why not take General Zhendong as the governor of Jizhou and preside over the northern expedition of the army to share the worries of the prime minister?"

As soon as the emperor was lit, this method was good. The Jizhou Muslim was Cao Cao. Didn’t he ask for a retreat? He just gave Cao Pi. Cao Pi occupied Jizhou and wanted to please those families in Jizhou, so he had to go with Cao Cao. Cao went further and had more opportunities. More importantly, this plan did not give the Cao family any benefits, it was purely a redistribution of the interests of the Cao family.

"I think this is a good discussion, but I wonder what the general thinks?" the emperor asked with a smile.
Chapter completed!