dtnovels Chapter 317: The Heart of People in the End Times
Chapter 317: The Heart of People in the End Times
Chapter 317: The Heart of People in the End Times
The 'prisoner' in the cell looked at Cao Cao and clearly felt his murderous intent. He showed no fear, but instead struggled to stand up and walked towards the cell door.
He was unusually tall, and even though his clothes were disheveled, his heroic and majestic aura could not be concealed.
He looked at Cao Cao, sneered, and said: "I really underestimated you. Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao couldn't find me, but you caught me!"
Cao Cao held his sword, his eyes full of murderous intent, and said, "I only ask whether you will tell it or not."
The 'prisoner' had a disheveled face and his eyes were hidden in his messy hair. He sneered and said, "People outside say that you, Cao Cao, are loyal to the current emperor, but you secretly imprisoned me here. It seems that you really want to forget about the Han Dynasty."
"For the last time." Cao Cao said indifferently and let go of his sword.
The 'prisoner' saw this, his chest puffed up slightly, and he said even more coldly: "You are braver than I expected. Tell me, what do you want to know?"
Cao Cao looked a little colder and said, "I want to know whether there is such a will."
The prisoner's body trembled slightly, and dust fell from his body. He stared at Cao Cao in a daze, and suddenly laughed out loud, "What a loyal Cao Cao! Hahaha... You really deserve Liu Bian's favor!"
Cao Cao had a blank expression on his face. The plainclothes servant behind him drew his knife and slowly approached.
The 'prisoner' laughed for a long time, and finally stopped. He lifted the hair from his face, revealing a face that Cao Cao was very familiar with - Jian Shuo!
Jian Shuo's face was filled with resentment and unwillingness, and he said, "It's okay to tell you, I don't know."
"do not know?"
Cao Cao stared at Jian Shuo coldly and asked, "Is it true or not?"
Jian Shuo raised his head and looked at the top of the secret room, as if reminiscing, and said, "Before the late emperor died, he seemed to no longer trust us, and he began to be wary of us in many things. He summoned He Jin in private, and judging from what happened later, it should be true."
"Give it to He Jin?" Cao Cao's expression remained unchanged and his tone was unconvincing.
Who doesn't know that the current emperor is the legitimate son of Empress Dowager He and the nephew of General He Jin, and that he handed over an imperial edict to He Jin, passing the throne to Liu Xie?
It's hard for anyone to believe!
Jian Shuo withdrew his thoughts and said, "I said, I don't know. But even if there is one, this will should have fallen into the hands of Empress Dowager He, and it might have been burned to ashes many years ago!"
Cao Cao stared at Jian Shuo for a long while with his eyes like torches, and suddenly asked, "Why does Your Majesty trust me so much?"
Jian Shuo looked at his former subordinate with a slightly strange expression, shook his head and said, "I don't know either. But speaking of it, Liu Bian's favor to you is indeed too much. Cao Cao, you have to think clearly, Liu Bian is the most heartless and disloyal, he even killed his own uncle, and he indulged you wantonly, he must have some ulterior motive, your fate in the future will not be better than that of the Yuan family."
Jian Shuo was once the supreme general of the Eight Colonels of Xiyuan, and Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were both among the eight colonels under him.
Many years have passed in the blink of an eye. The once glorious West Garden has long been abandoned. Of the eight commanders, only Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are still alive.
Every time Jian Shuo meets old acquaintances, he would recall the good old days and feel extremely nostalgic and lost.
Cao Cao pondered for a while and said, "Do you have the imperial seal, imperial edict and other items that Yuan Shu used to usurp the throne?"
Jian Shuo looked at Cao Cao deeply, his smile blooming like a chrysanthemum, and he burst into an unprecedented laugh:
"Cao Cao, Cao Mengde, you are indeed the same, hahahaha, only I, only people like us, will be loyal to the master, you are all treacherous, treacherous..."
Cao Cao did not change his expression at all at Jian Shuo's "impudence", and said calmly: "I don't have that kind of thought. I don't need to deceive myself as I am a dying man like you. After Yuan Shu died, you should have met Yuan Shao. What was he thinking?"
Jian Shuo laughed for a long time, feeling extremely happy, and said: "You people are all hypocrites, you talk about morality and justice, but you are full of thieves and prostitutes! Only I, only I am loyal to Your Majesty, always consistent..."
Cao Cao was indifferent as usual and said, "Except for your inability to commit thieves and prostitutes, you have greater ambitions than us, but you just lack the opportunities. I don't believe Yuan Benchu has such ambitions. He doesn't have the ability or the courage."
Jian Shuo paid no attention to Cao Cao's ridicule and said, "Hahaha, you are right. I met Yuan Shao once, and he actually wanted to be a king of a different surname. He wanted the two states of Jiangdong. Hahaha, that's ridiculous..."
Cao Cao's narrow eyes flashed with a sneer, and he said lightly: "Anything else you want to say?"
Jian Shuo's laughter stopped abruptly. He stared at Cao Cao coldly and said, "I'll tell you a secret. Liu Bian has buried a very important person next to Dong Zhuo. I don't know who this person is, but Liu Bian can kill Dong Zhuo at any time if he wants!"
Cao Cao's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "Really?"
If the palace really had someone buried next to Dong Zhuo, and could kill him at any time, then what about those around him? Was there anyone there?
Jian Shuo smiled coldly and said, "I left the palace too early, and Liu Bian dealt with most of the people in the palace, but this news must be true!"
Cao Cao was filled with fear and his face became even more expressionless. He said, "Do you think you can alienate me from His Majesty by doing this?"
Jian Shuo turned around and walked back, sat on the haystack bed, leaned against the wall, and said, "Didn't you believe it? I said I was lying to you, do you believe it?"
Cao Cao took a deep breath, turned around and left.
Jian Shuomeng's eyes widened in anger, and he cursed with gnashing teeth: "Cao Cao, you will surely die a hundred times more miserably than I did!"
shhhhhh
Before he finished speaking, four servants took out short bows and shot at Jian Shuo repeatedly.
Jian Shuo's body trembled again and again. He gritted his teeth and slowly fell down.
Four servants opened the prison door, cut off his head with a knife, moved the body, threw it into the abandoned well in the backyard, buried it firmly, and left after making sufficient disguise.
They walked out of the yard and had not gone far when suddenly a volley of arrows shot at them. Caught off guard, the four of them died on the spot.
Xu Chu brought a dozen people with him, cut off the heads of four more people, and hurriedly took them away.
It was not until evening that Cao Cao returned to the Xu County government office.
As soon as he entered the door, he was urged by Xiahou Yuan to come to Guo Jia's courtyard.
Guo Jia was looking at a map and when he saw Cao Cao come in, he quickly stood up and greeted him.
Cao Cao was a little anxious. He came straight to sit opposite him and asked, "Fengxiao, what happened?"
After Guo Jia sat down, he pointed at the map and said, "The news from Yangzhou is that Gongsun Zan won a great victory and entered Danyang County. He fought with Zhang He for several days, but there was no clear winner."
Cao Cao was startled, looked at the map, and said with a strange expression: "Gongsun Zan won a great victory?"
Gongsun Zan was transferred back from Youzhou by Liu Bian and then assigned to Lu Zhi. He resisted the invasion of the Huns in Bingzhou, and was then named General Fenwu and transferred to Yuzhou.
He fought with Yuan Shu, but was defeated because he underestimated the enemy. After that, he was kept in Runan and was not used for three or four years.
This use led to a great defeat of Yuan Shao, which reminded people of the former fame of this famous general outside the Great Wall.
Guo Jia saw that he looked strange and said with a smile, "General, have you noticed something wrong?"
Cao Cao stared at the map and said, "Yuan Shao has a large army of 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers, while Gongsun Zan has only 20,000 men at most. Yuan Shao has just defeated Yuan Shu and is in high spirits. He is also in the heart of Jiangdong. No matter how I look at it, Gongsun Zan has no chance of winning..."
Guo Jia drank some wine and said with a slightly cold expression: "I am more inclined to believe that Yuan Shao is feigning defeat to lure the enemy deeper."
Cao Cao raised his head sharply, looked at Guo Jia, then looked at the map again, and said solemnly, "That's probably the case!"
Guo Jia tasted the wine while his mind was racing.
If Gongsun Zan was defeated, the situation in Jiangdong would become more distinct, and several major forces would be formed in the scattered situation.
Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu took Yuzhou and Xuzhou, Yuan Shao occupied Yangzhou, Liu Biao occupied Jingzhou, and Shi Xie's Shi family got Jiaozhi.
With the addition of Yizhou and Liangzhou, the Han Dynasty was truly divided into two.
Half was in the hands of the imperial court, and the other was controlled by the rebels.
However, Cao Cao's importance has become less important after he was ambushed and defeated by Dong Zhuo last time.
Guo Jia didn't want Cao Cao to be so conspicuous, but he couldn't remain silent either.
After thinking for a while, Guo Jia took a sip of wine and said, "General, we can't let Dong Zhuo be idle for too long. Why don't we join forces with Liu Biao and send troops to Runan?"
Cao Cao glanced at the map and said, "Fengxiao wants to take over Runan and then connect with Jiangxia and Jiujiang?"
Once Runan was captured, Cao Cao would no longer be alone, but would be bordering Liu Biao and Yuan Shao.
Guo Jia said: "The most important thing is to test Dong Zhuo. I want to see what Dong Zhuo's next plan is."
Cao Cao seemed to suddenly wake up, squinted his eyes, looked out the door, and said, "Dong Zhuo's next step is to go north or south. If he goes north, it will be Qingzhou or Yanzhou, and if he goes south, it will be Jingzhou and Yangzhou. So what is Liu Bei doing now?"
Xiahou Yuan, who had been unable to get a word in, quickly spoke up: "I asked Yang Dezu before, and he said that Lu Bu had been driven back to Xuzhou. Huang Zhong from Yanzhou seemed to have sent troops to assist Liu Bei in attacking Xuzhou."
Cao Cao was startled and asked, "Huang Zhong has sent out troops?"
Guo Jia was a little surprised and asked, "General, are you leaving the city today?"
Cao Cao did not hide anything and said, "Well, Huangfu Jianshou has been contacted and has assigned a few people to keep in touch with me."
Guo Jia did not think much about it. He drank some wine and explained, "Huang Zhong did send troops. He not only assisted Liu Bei, but also marched into Liang State."
Cao Cao's expression was grim, and his eyes fell on the map in front of him again.
The imperial court sent troops, which showed that the court's attitude had changed from "conservative" to radical. Facing the pressure from the imperial court, what would Dong Zhuo think and what would be his next step?
Go north or go south?
Guo Jia glanced at Xiahou Yuan and said, "General, it's useless to think too much. Just give it a try and you will know."
Cao Cao drew a circle on the map and said, "I plan to issue a proclamation to call on all troops to jointly attack Dong Zhuo. What do you think, Fengxiao?"
"No!"
Guo Jia resolutely opposed it and said seriously: "General, this proclamation cannot be issued, at least not by you! I propose to send troops to Runan, not only to find out Dong Zhuo's background, but also to see the true attitude of Liu Biao, Yuan Shao and others."
Cao Cao raised his head and looked at Guo Jia, and said, "Feng Xiao, are you hiding something from me?"
Guo Jia smiled, drank a sip of wine leisurely, and said, "The court."
Cao Cao seemed to understand something, slowly put away the map, and said, "Gather all the generals to discuss the matter!"
"Yes." Xiahou Yuan responded loudly.
Guo Jia was drinking and looking at Cao Cao. Cao Cao happened to look over at him. The two looked at each other for a long time, smiled at each other, and then walked away without making a sound.
When Cao Cao summoned his generals to discuss battle strategies, Gongsun Zan rushed into Yangzhou from Jiujiang County and chased Yuan Shao all the way.
First, they captured Liyang, and then besieged Moling, ambushed Yuan Shao's reinforcements, defeated Moling, and pursued them to Danyang, Liyang, and all the way to Wuhu.
But after they captured Wuhu, they were surrounded by Zhang He who unexpectedly robbed them of their food and supplies.
Yuan Shao then personally led an army of 30,000 to surround Gongsun Zan in Wuhu.
Yuan Shao rode a tall horse and looked at the top of Wuhu city from afar.
On the top of the city wall, Zhang He led a large army and was attacking fiercely.
Xu You stood beside Yuan Shao and said with a smile: "General, Gongsun Zan has no food and grass. He will be defeated in five days at most."
Yuan Shao grew a beard again. Compared with Cao Cao's full beard, he only had a goatee, which made him look both majestic and handsome.
Yuan Shao looked indifferent and said, "After spending so much effort, if we can't destroy him, how can I explain to the dead soldiers?"
Having been under Yuan Shao's command for quite some time, Xu You keenly discovered that Yuan Shao was much stronger than Yuan Shu. He was respectful to the wise and humble, able to distinguish right from wrong, and was a "wise leader"!
Looking back, he saw Tian Feng, Ju Su, Zhang Dao, Gao Gan, Xin Ping and many other famous scholars. His heart sank slightly, and then he raised his hand and said to Yuan Shao: "General, Gongsun Zan is a famous general outside the Great Wall, and he is well-known in the world. If we can subdue him, not only will you have an extra capable general, but also 20,000 elite soldiers!"
Yuan Shao turned his head calmly and said, "Ziyuan, do you have a solution?"
Xu You chuckled and said, "General, it's a good idea. If it succeeds, that would be the best. If it fails, it will surely shake the morale of Gongsun Zan's army and force him to be defeated sooner."
Yuan Shao was silent for a moment, then said, "Okay. I will write a letter to Gongsun Zan myself!"
"uncle!"
Before Yuan Shao finished speaking, Gao Gan came up quickly and said, "Twenty miles away, a group of soldiers appeared, about 5,000 people, I don't know where they came from!"
Yuan Shao looked up and immediately laughed, saying, "It's not hard to guess, he should be from Liyang, Gongsun Xu."
Gao Gan raised his hand and said loudly: "Uncle, give me three thousand men, and I will report back with Gongsun Xu's head!"
Yuan Shao did not answer, but instead asked Xu You: "Ziyuan, can you forge a letter from Gongsun Xu to Gongsun Zan?"
Xu You immediately raised his hand and said, "General, you are wise. I will go right away!"
As soon as Xu You left, Tian Feng, Ju Su and others stepped forward. Tian Feng said, "General, Gongsun Zan is about to be destroyed. I wonder when you will receive the order to send troops to attack Dong Zhuo?"
Tian Feng was originally forced to serve Yuan Shu, but when Tian Feng refused, Yuan Shu killed his entire family.
Tian Feng was later sent back to the court by Dong Zhuo and then assigned to Yuan Shao.
Strictly speaking, Tian Feng was a well-known member of the imperial court.
Yuan Shao stared at him from the corner of his eye, sat up straight, and said in a deep voice: "Military Advisor, write a manifesto for me. At the end of August, we will gather troops in Runan and fight against the bandits in compliance with the order!"