Han Xiang

Chapter 593 The Invincible Cao

In November of the 12th year of Jian'an, when Liu Bei's three-pronged army counterattacked Liangzhou, Cao Cao's troops arrived at Yishui and lined up to cross the river.

We plan to go to Yecheng via Zhangshui and Qingshui to discuss merit and reward, then go south to Xudu to rest and then attack Liu Bei.

The 10 soldiers and civilians captured from Wuhuan, as well as the expeditionary army, were all destined for Wei County in Jizhou.

After Cao Cao captured Yecheng, he took charge of Jizhou as herdsman and gradually accepted Yuan Shao's political legacy.

He planned to cultivate a force in Hebei to balance the increasingly powerful Central Plains gentry.

In recent years, Cao Cao has cooperated with the Yingchuan nobles and conquered the east and west, with no success.

However, the Yingchuan nobles headed by Xun Zhong, Han Chen, controlled almost everything in the Xudu court.

Militarily, the Yingchuan gentry was not involved, but politically, the Yingchuan gentry was the dominant family.

Cao Cao has been pretending to be Emperor Xian in recent years. Anyone who wants to be an official must go through Sikong Mansion.

It seems that all the talented people have been intercepted by Cao Cao, but in fact they have been screened by the noble group before entering Sikong Mansion.

The sons of the gentry serve as officials to work for Cao Cao, but they serve the interests of the gentry group.

Cao Cao started his army from Chenliu and has been living in harmony with the Yingchuan gentry. From a weak force, it gradually became bigger and stronger, until now it unified the north.

We can share adversity but cannot share wealth. As Cao Cao's strength increased, his mentality gradually changed.

He is no longer satisfied with the status quo, and does not want the nobles to continue to grow.

The military talents that Cao Cao relied on were without exception clan members. They were simple in composition, easy to control, and absolutely loyal. The only shortcoming was that there were too few talents.

The gentry group has an inexhaustible supply of talents. As long as Xun Zhong Hanchen controls the court, all the scholars in the world will fall under their sect.

Once the talent of the Cao clan is exhausted and the military is replaced by the gentry, the country that Cao Cao has worked hard to build will become the wedding dress of the gentry group, and the world will also become the world of the gentry.

Cao Cao had long seen the shortcomings, and the reason why he did not take action to curb it was because he needed the support of the nobles in the early stage, money, food, and tribes to expand his territory.

After taking Hebei, the situation was completely different.

The population and taxation of Hebei are better than those of the Central Plains, but the Cui family of Qinghe and the Wang family of Taiyuan are no weaker than Xun Zhong, Han and Chen.

Cao Cao planned to introduce forces from Hebei to confront the Henan gentry politically, so that the Cao family could reap the benefits.

Out of these considerations, Cao Cao moved hundreds of thousands of people who had been surrendered by the Black Mountain Army and Wuhuan to Wei County, and built a "capital" in Yecheng in advance.

When Cao Cao arrived at Yishui, two Wuhuan Chanyus from Daijun Pufulu and Shangjun Nalou came to congratulate him.

Tadun originally united the two Wuhuan troops to attack Cao, but the battle at Bailang Mountain brought them back to reality.

After hearing the news, he sent an envoy to Cao Ying to beg for surrender. Now he brought cattle, sheep, horses and other gifts to Yishui to welcome him and express his sincere submission.

Cao Cao was very satisfied with the two people's obedience and still allowed his tribe to live in Daijun and Shangjun.

In addition to sending congratulatory gifts, Pufulu also brought a message to Cao Cao. The high officials of the state participated in the rebellion and agreed to help Yuan Shang regain his lost territory.

There was no information about the rebellion of high officials in Yecheng, so Cao Cao was surprised to hear the report.

Originally, he had been on guard against Bingzhou's rebellion, but Gao Gan once sent troops to besiege Guanzhong and showed obedience, causing Cao Cao to temporarily relax his vigilance.

However, Yecheng did not panic, indicating that the matter of high-ranking cadres needs to be verified.

After receiving the tip, Cao Cao showed no emotion and anger, and then crossed the river and headed to Nanpi to rest.

When Cao Cao entered the city, there was urgent news, but it was not that high-ranking officials raised troops to rebel.

Xu He and Sima Ju, the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, attacked and killed Liu Yun, the king of Jinan. At the same time, the pirates Guan Cheng gathered people and raided Donglai and other places many times.Qingzhou was originally Yuan Tan's territory. After Yuan Tan's defeat, it was taken over by Cao Cao. Due to the lack of popular support, there were many rebellions.

Cao Cao originally planned to take a short break to reorganize his newly acquired troops and soldiers, then go south to relieve the siege of Xiangyang, and then break into Guanzhong to eliminate Liu Bei.

However, something happened again in Qingzhou, and Cao Cao couldn't leave Hebei alone.

So he sent Xiahou Yuan, Le Jin, and Zhang Liao to fight against the thieves, and then led the army back to Yecheng.

At the end of the year and the beginning of the new year, Yecheng returned to its previous bustle, and the people in the city were celebrating the New Year.

Cao Cao was still feeling hot when he returned to the city. He also learned that the senior officials had stationed troops in Huguan during his expedition to Wuhuan, and there were signs of attacking Yecheng.

Although the high-ranking cadres did not actually rebel, their actions showed signs of rebellion. Cao Cao would not leave any trouble for himself, so he appointed Cao Ren as the general and led Xu Huang and Zhang He to Bingzhou to interrogate the charges.

Cao Cao used Xu You as an excuse to settle accounts with senior officials.

They say they are asking for guilt, but in reality they are seizing power.

If there is resistance, they will be killed directly.

Although Cao Cao used Xu You as an excuse, Xu You was proud of his merits. Cao Cao had long wanted to find a reason to get rid of him. A high-ranking cadre had done good deeds and still wanted to be blackmailed.

Several main generals went to put down the rebellion, and Cao Cao still had to spend time preparing his troops for surrender, so he postponed his plan to return to Xudu.

When the Black Mountain Army, Wuhuan's surrendered soldiers, and Yuan's surrendered soldiers all camped and gathered around Yecheng, Cao Cao had a big surprise after preparation and selection.

He was surprised to find that the number of soldiers capable of fighting exceeded 20 just by surrendering soldiers.

Counting the counter-rebellion troops in Bingzhou and Qingzhou, as well as the garrisons in Luoyang, Xudu, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou, Cao Cao's total military strength may have reached 40.

40 soldiers are enough to conquer the world.

Cao Cao reviewed the reorganized new army and felt that Liu Bei in Guanzhong was no longer afraid.

I thought that Cao Cao was already invincible. Which prince could stop 40 people?
Considering that after Liu Bei was destroyed, Long Xiang and Sun Quan were going to the southeast, so they built the Xuanwu Pond in Yecheng and started training the navy in advance.

In the late first month of the 13th year of Jian'an, Xuanwu Pond was completed north of Yecheng.

Cao Cao visited Xuanwu Pond in person and saw that many boats were stranded in the deep and shallow waters of the Xuanwu Pond, and the naval officers and soldiers were practicing on the boats as if they were on land.

He frowned and glanced at Cui Yan beside him but said nothing. Instead, he called Yu Jin, who was in charge of the training, and asked in a deep voice: "Wen Ze, the boat is barely rocking. Can such training be used in actual combat?"

"Uh, lord, actually."

Yu Jin was about to explain, but Cui Yan took over and explained:

"Ming Gong, this is not the fault of the general. The water from Xuanwu Pond is diverted from the Zhang River. It is difficult to divert water from the Xuanwu Pond when the water dries up in winter. In addition, the construction period is short. If you really want to punish me, please do so."

"All right."

Cao Cao interrupted Cui Yan, shook his head, smiled slightly, and said mockingly: "Ji Gui, there is no need to rush to take responsibility. You can organize the corvee to be built so quickly. You have already done your best. It is better not to go against the will. You are a little impatient."

Cui Yan cupped his hands and said, "I heard that Guo Jijiu said something before his death that he was sure that Hefei Longxiang was a serious problem. Ming Gong built the Xuanwu Pond to train the navy. Was it to deal with this person?"

"Long Xiang? No."

Cao Cao shook his head in denial, stroking his beard and snorted coldly: "Long Xiang doesn't even have a navy. He's not worth my trouble. The Xuanwu Pond was built to deal with Sun Quan, so that he can go to Jiangdong when the time comes."

"Sun Quan? Jiangdong? Wasn't he captured by Long Xiang?"

Before Cui Yan finished speaking in confusion, a scout suddenly rushed to Xuanwu Pond to report that the envoy sent by Sun Quan had arrived at the post house.

Cao Cao couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this, and thought to himself, what does Bi Yan'er want to do?Do you have the nerve to seek an alliance with me?
(End of this chapter)