"The similarities and differences between strong and white are ambiguous, which means that great treachery seems like loyalty, and great deceit seems like trustworthiness." [History of the Ming Dynasty·Yu Shan's Biography]
June 20, the second year of Jian'an.
When he met the emperor in the Qingliang Hall, Mu Shun had already received an order to disperse all the palace people around the hall in advance. Only the court officials such as Huben and Yu Lin in front of the hall were responsible for patrolling. In this way, the emperor and Jia Xu
There is no need to have any scruples when talking to each other, you can speak frankly.
"After Zhang Liao and Xu Huang entered the army, they were not able to make progress, but the situation in Hanoi and Yuzhou can be considered safe." Jia Xu said softly: "The situation in Guandong, now we only look at Yanzhou."
"Yes, Yanzhou!" The emperor exhaled softly and said, "Cao Cao is not having a good life now!"
After last year's drought locusts, the Central Plains once again ushered in a larger scale drought locust this year. The people were very hungry, and a grain of dendrobium cost more than 500,000 yuan. Cao Cao had newly lost Yanzhou, and all military supplies relied on Xuzhou for transportation and allocation.
Liu Bei attacked Yuan Shu in the south and consumed a lot of food and grass. Later, in order to help Liu Bei gain a foothold in Xuyi and defend him against Yuan Shu, Cao Cao provided a lot of assistance.
Now it was Cao Cao's turn to use his own time, but he was a little stretched and had a shortage of food. This is not to blame for him not planning in advance, but because he had planned with Xun Yu and others, and predicted that Zang Hong could be eliminated as soon as possible within half a year.
After all, Cao Cao knew Zhang Miao and others well about their strategies and the level of his generals. It was just that he ignored the weather and did not expect that the locusts from Guanzhong were dispersed to Guandong with such violence.
Unexpectedly, Zang Hong was not good at war, but he was good at defending the city and inspiring the people. Cao Cao failed to take advantage of several strong attacks.
In the spring of this year, Cao Cao selected elite troops to raid Dingtao, but Wu Zi, the prefect of Jiyin who had betrayed him, resisted stubbornly. Before he could capture it, Zang Hong came with his troops. Cao Cao used his plan and set up an ambush according to the location, repulsed Zang Hong and returned.
Killing Wu Zi personally was considered a victory. Now Zang Hong retreated to Juye, Cao Cao could not attack for a long time, and food and grass were completely a problem, so he had to temporarily hold off his troops and try to wait and see the court's movements.
"Yes." Jia Xu replied: "It was originally discussed that the imperial court would have to work for a year before it could make arrangements calmly. This year is also a year of drought, so it is not appropriate to use large-scale military force, so this discussion should be carried out quickly."
"That's right." At this point, the emperor's tone was calm and almost indifferent: "There is a year's time, and there is time to make arrangements calmly. The situation in Guandong cannot be completely left to Zhu Jun. Cao Cao and others are all Cao Cao's thoughts.
It is difficult to decide and needs further discussion; the two are because Zhu Jun has been absent from the center for a long time and cannot pay attention to the court's decisions well. It is a matter of success or failure, so I have to be cautious."
There seemed to be an overtone in the emperor's words, but Jia Xu felt that there was no need to analyze it carefully at this time. It would be bad if he misunderstood the emperor's meaning. It would be better to ask a few more questions: "As for the Guandong affairs, should it be changed by the imperial court?"
Send personnel there?”
"If his status is high, Zhu Jun will be resentful; if his status is low, Zhu Jun will look down on him, so there is no need to consider this candidate. I think you are a suitable candidate, Mr. Jia." The emperor's expression suddenly became relaxed, and he smiled.
Like a joke.
Jia Xu immediately said humbly: "I don't dare!"
"Mr. Xun joined the army in the expedition against Shu last year. Mr. Jia's talent is not inferior to Mr. Xun. This time he should be able to coordinate the response in Guanzhong and make a difference." The emperor calmed down and said: "Jia Gong used embroidered clothes to envoys.
, joined Zhu Junmu as a former general in the military, and joined forces with the military advisor Guo Jia to help Zhu Jun coordinate military affairs in Hejian, Yuzhou, and Chenliu. Then I will contact you about the authority of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and others.
What do you think?"
Jia Xu understood that this was to ask him to use Zhu Jun as a banner and grant him the power to dispatch the generals. Not only that, the emperor also reminded him of his identity in his words. The embroidered messengers should always monitor the generals of Guandong and the uncles. After all, if we want to observe the character of Cao Cao and others for the emperor, we must put aside Xun. Jia Xu is the most suitable candidate. At least he can be unbiased.
"I promise." After thinking clearly about the connection, Jia Xu responded immediately without any hesitation.
The emperor nodded and said: "Cao Cao has not made any public statement now. I don't know if he can really be used by me. Jia Gong is here to test his thoughts thoroughly for me."
Jia Xu was puzzled. In his eyes, Cao Cao and Liu Bei were just local warlords. They were used as pawns, and they were temporarily wooed to check and balance the Yuan family. Why would they want to use them for long-term purposes? In the final analysis, These people are not worthy of careful calculation. The emperor seems to treat people like Cao Cao and Liu Bei too much.
Of course, Jia Xu would only hide this kind of secret slander in his stomach and would not say it hastily: "Your Majesty is wise, people's hearts can change overnight, just like Duke Ju, although he has already secretly defected to the court, But now he is still helping Yuan Xi attack Hanoi. The same goes for Cao Cao. Foreign ministers must not be gullible, not only what he does, but also what he says."
Jia Xu was very protective of himself and always responded to imperial edicts in a tactful and deliberation tone. He rarely said such words with strong instructional meaning. When he said such words, he wanted to get rid of responsibility for the failure of the united front work behind his back. After all, Jushou was contacted by Jujun through Huben Zhonglang; secondly, he wanted to further test the emperor's attitude.
Sure enough, after hearing what Jushou said, the emperor couldn't help but snorted and said: "Jusuke is also very conflicted in his mind. It is best if he refuses to contribute. With him looking forward and backward, recognizing the situation clearly but doing nothing, how can the world still do it?" Is it too much?"
Jia Xu nodded, knowing something in his mind, so he said no more.
He was not the kind of person who would take the initiative to mention something under unusual circumstances. The emperor also knew his habits, so he first said: "Dong Cheng is calm at one moment and impatient at the other. I really can't rest assured that he is like this." ."
"The Taiwei was born in the military, with a violent and changeable temperament. In recent years, he has been in the middle stage, and his daughter is named Changqiu. Although he has not made any great achievements, his loyalty to His Majesty has never changed." Jia Xu Without saying yes or no, he said ambiguously: "If His Majesty hadn't thought of Empress Dowager Dong's upbringing, pardoned and reused her, how could she be where she is today?"
The emperor closed his eyes slightly and said slowly: "At first I thought about letting him walk out of the way first, but I never thought that he would be at both ends. I had an idea in mind. I'm afraid I can't let him accompany me when I go on a personal expedition next year."
This sentence was undoubtedly a dangerous signal. Jia Xu twitched his brows, cupped his hands and said, "Everything depends on your Majesty's decision. I dare not speak nonsense."