Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Fourth Suspicious Person
"It is better to be difficult in choosing a person than to accept it lightly without trusting it." [On appointing people's qualities, it is not doubtful Zha Zi]
Peiguo, outside Peixian County.
General Pingdong, who was in charge of Yanzhou's military affairs, Cao Cao, had ordered a banquet to be hosted by Zhou Huan, Wang Duan and his party.
Cao Cao stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his hands. His appearance was not unusual, but his movements were indeed majestic. He was particularly eye-catching among a group of scholars who were either elegant or stern.
"Liu Xuande said he was coming?" Cao Cao chuckled and turned to Chen Gong and said, "Isn't he afraid that this is the Hongmen Banquet?"
Chen Gong said: "The angels are here, what else is Liu Bei afraid of?"
"That's not necessarily the case." Cao Cao's eyes changed slightly, and he said playfully: "Is the Hongmen Banquet stopped because of the Righteous Emperor?"
"Ming Gong, don't make this joke." Chen Gong's expression changed, his eyes quickly glanced towards the tent door, he leaned close to Cao Cao, and whispered: "Fortunately, Wen Ruo is not here, otherwise we would have to waste words again.
"
Cao Cao chuckled lightly, turned to look at Chen Gong, waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter that Wen Ruo is here. He has a broad mind and cares about the entire court, not an emperor. If not, he would not be Xun Wen Ruo."
Chen Gong squinted his eyes and nodded with a smile: "What Ming Gong said is that I am narrow-minded after all."
Xi Zhi, who was present, let out a "haha" smile. His eyes were bright and clear, as if he had seen through all the sophistication, but he said nothing.
"You all say that Liu Bei's garrison in Peiguo is like a thorn in my back and a thorn in front of me. I have to get rid of it." Cao Cao held his sword hilt with his left hand, pacing, turned around and walked in front of the two men.
Looking carefully, especially Chen Gong, although he had a calm and calm look on his face, the slight flash in his eyes when he and Cao Cao looked at each other made Cao Cao feel measured in his heart. Thinking like this, Cao Cao relaxed.
The hand stroking the hilt of the sword had a faint smile on his lips: "Is this really necessary?"
"The imperial court is now strong, with hundreds of thousands of troops. They are stationed in Henei and in southern Henan. They are invincible and the thieves are afraid." Xi Zhicai suppressed his smile and replied seriously: "At this time, in addition to being strong,
Like the Yuan family, tyrannical like Gongsun, and the rest like Uncle Fang, who dares to use swordsmanship? Who doesn't have a strong army and waits to see how the situation changes? The Duke of Ming Dynasty just stopped fighting with Xuzhou soon. If he sends more troops to flood the country, he will become more and more at odds with the imperial court.
Disengaged."
Tao Qian's revenge against Cao Cao for killing his father, even with the forced intervention of the imperial court, can only be a temporary reconciliation, but it cannot be settled once and for all. The reason why Cao Cao stopped fighting Tao Qian was not only due to his own shortage of food and fodder and unfavorable weather, but also because he did not want to offend him.
The imperial court was also another important reason.
When the imperial court was once weak, the chaos in Guandong was actually a struggle within the Yuan family. One faction was headed by Yuan Shao, with Liu Biao, Cao Cao, and Zang Hong as allies; the other was headed by Yuan Shu, with Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, and others.
Allied factions. The two brothers used their family reputation to make friends at a distance and attack each other. This was the beginning of the troubled times in the late Han Dynasty, and many clan members such as Liu Yan and Liu Biao; or careerists such as Yuan Shu and Gongsun Du
I came up with the idea of profiting from chaos.
But things are different now. The court's revitalization seems to have the momentum to nip the troubled times in the bud. The court's attitude towards the Yuan family and the game that unfolds with it directly affects Cao Cao, where Liu Biao and others should go. Just like Xun
Yu, as Xi Zhicai once said to Cao Cao, the general trend of the world is no longer the internal fight between the Yuan brothers, but the struggle between the imperial court and the Yuan family.
If the Yuan brothers are willing to take the initiative to stop their troops and return to the throne to pay tribute, then Liu Biao and Cao Cao will follow, and everything will return to the time of Emperor Xiaohuan and Emperor Xiaoling.
But at the moment, not only does the Yuan family have no such intention, but the imperial court has also not shown any substantive intention to seek reconciliation. It only sent people to make some comforting statements. In this way, Cao Cao and others will face only one problem.
, that is how Cao Cao and others should choose sides when the seemingly estranged relationship between the imperial court and the Yuan family is torn apart.
Xi Zhicai's words were truly for Cao Cao's sake. Cao Cao kept them in mind, looked as usual, nodded and said, "This is the theory of no attack."
He pointed out the key point that Xi Zhicai deliberately concealed: "But it is not the reason for not cutting down."
Xi Zhicai then said: "Ming Gong has learned enough to know, so there is no need to elaborate further."
Ask yourself, whether it is psychologically or actually, Cao Cao is still leaning towards the court at this moment, especially after receiving the suggestive letter from Yuan Shao, he strengthened his position.
You cannot stand on the opposite side of the imperial court. This is something that Xi Zhicai and Cao Cao have already discussed.
The purpose of asking this question at this time was to test Chen Gong's attitude.
"Ming Gong, Zhicai, what kind of hidden language are you talking about?" Chen Gong asked with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao and Xi Zhicai looked at each other without saying anything, and both laughed loudly, which made Chen Gong deeply confused.
After giving Chen Gong an excuse to leave, Cao Cao suddenly sighed and said to Xi Zhicai: "Chen Gongtai didn't say anything, but in his heart he still blamed me for killing Bian Zhicai!"
"By letting this man despise Ming Gong and be arrogant based on his talent, he already had a reputation of being a disgrace to his elders. Later, he died because of sitting on the job. How can he blame Ming Gong?" In this matter, Xi Zhicai also did not
It was hard to say anything specific, so he could only sigh and said: "Chen Gongtai has a relationship with him as a teacher and friend, so it is appropriate to feel sad and resentful for this."
"Zhicai, you don't need to say these words to forgive me. In fact, you also know that I have selfish motives for killing Bian Rang." Cao Cao waved his hand and said: "If Bian Rang hadn't disobeyed me and looked down on me as a descendant of an eunuch, it wouldn't have been a bad one.
If he wants to unite a group of Yanzhou celebrities and follow Tian Fen to suppress me, how can I kill him? In terms of love, Chen Gongtai should blame me. If he doesn't blame me at all, then I really have to doubt his thoughts.
Is it impure?"
"Ming Gong, you mean that Chen Gong is just in a temporary mood?" Xi Zhicai frowned, not believing it.
Cao Cao thought for a while, nodded and said: "Chen Gongtai and I had a close relationship. Bian Rang's death may make my future friendship with him no longer what it used to be. wwBut I believe he still has the intention to do something for me."
Xi Zhicai raised his hand to Cao Cao and said seriously: "After all, Chen Gong was born in a powerful family in Yanzhou. Previously, he recommended Minggong to Yanzhou not only because he saw that Minggong had the ability to govern the world, but also to stabilize the country. Now he has made a concession.
Afterwards, his heart will change, so he must be careful."
"Hmm..." Cao Cao muttered. As one of the counselors he followed to start his career, Chen Gong was a bit selfish, but his status in his heart was equal to that of Cheng Yu. Cao Cao had always been reluctant to employ people he was close to and trusted.
Suspicion; only when a person's words and deeds are abnormal and worthy of doubt, he will always keep a vigilant and probing mind. Finally, when it reaches a certain level, he will become suspicious. Therefore, although Cao Cao still believes in the relationship between Chen Gong and him
However, after hearing Xi Zhicai’s words, he could not take it lightly.
"Let's do this. After this year, let him stay in Juancheng and stay in Dongjun with Yuan Rang to watch over Tian Fen for me."
This idle and refrigerated arrangement relieved a little of Xi Zhicai's inner worries. Although he still had something to say, any further words would sound like strife and antagonism among his colleagues, so he had no choice but to nod and say: "But let's talk about it."
At this time, Chen Gongtai wants to attack Liu Bei in the south. To the imperial court, this is tantamount to starting a war and not paying attention to the imperial court's intention of reconciliation. It can be seen that Chen Gongtai intends to make Duke Ming vote for the Yuan family."
"The Yuan family is powerful, and he has always had the idea of temporarily relying on others and secretly growing stronger." To vote for the imperial court or to vote for the Yuan family, these are two distinct views in Cao Cao's camp. Cao Cao only regarded Chen Gong and himself as playing a role.
Zhicai had a conflicting opinion and did not think deeply: "I used to think so too, but now the thinking has to change with the changing situation, and so does Chen Gongtai."