A fast horse brought an edict from Yecheng to Xu County and Cao Cao.
Zang Hong rebelled when he occupied Dongwuyang. Yuan Shao personally led a large army south to suppress the rebellion and ordered Cao Cao to cooperate.
After reading the edict, Cao Cao had a headache.
The title of him in the edict was not General Zhendong, nor the governor of Yanzhou, nor even the governor of Yanzhou, but the prefect of Dongjun.
This is the position given to him by Yuan Shao at the time.
In short, this is Yuan Shao asking him to make a choice between him and the court.
If he chose the court, it would be an enemy of Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao's target would not only be Zang Hong from Dongwuyang, but also Cao Cao, and the entire Yanzhou.
He had just conquered Yongqiu and captured Chenliu. The other counties had not yet had time to pacify, but Yuan Shao only needed a letter to take over most of Yanzhou.
The prefect of Jiyin, Wu Zi, the prime minister of Chen, Yuan Si, the prefect of Jibei, Yuan Yi... At present, the ministers of the counties and states in Yanzhou are almost all supporters of Yuan Shao, or they are directly members of the Yuan family.
Between him and Yuan Shao, those people would choose Yuan Shao without hesitation.
All the court could give him was edicts and seals.
Cao Cao is one head and two big.
After thinking about it, Cao Cao did not come up with a solution, so he had to summon his subordinates to discuss matters and test everyone's intentions.
As he expected, after reading Yuan Shao's edict, most of them changed color, indicating that the strength of the two sides was very different and they were unable to fight.
If you refuse, you will inevitably be burned.
Seeing that everyone was verbally trying to surrender, Cao Cao was disheartened and even wanted to die.
He missed Cheng Yu very much.
When Yuan Shao wanted to force him to send him a conscription, only Cheng Yu firmly opposed it.
Unfortunately, Cheng Yu is now the Prime Minister of Dongping, in Fan County, not Xu County.
At this time, Guo Jia stood up, walked to Cao Cao, took the edict from Yuan Shao, and tore it hard.
With a "hiss", the silk book was torn in half, and the sound was crisp.
Everyone's eyes turned around and looked at Guo Jia in surprise.
Some people have disdain in their eyes.
Guo Jia didn't look at them, and slowly tore the edict into pieces and threw it into the brazier.
"Fengxiao, you are..." Cao Cao was puzzled.
Guo Jia shook his hand. "Lord, our army has just recovered Yongqiu, and the food is cut off. How can we have the spare energy to attack Dongwuyang? Moreover, Zang Ziyuan (Zang Hong) was originally a former subordinate of Yuan Benchu, but now he rebels in the city. Yuan Benchu should go to pacify him. Why do you need the lord?
Do your efforts? Will Yuan Benchu return Dongwuyang to his lord after taking Dongwuyang?"
Cao Cao smiled bitterly.
Dongwuyang was originally a county of Dongjun, but it was north of the river. Lu Bu entered Yanzhou, and Dongjun also rebelled, leaving only the three counties of Juancheng, Dong'a and Fan in Henan. Yuan Shao sent troops to help him quell the rebellion.
Among them is Zang Hongjin's occupation of Dongwuyang.
After Zang Hong took Dongwuyang, he did not leave, obviously he had no intention of returning it.
Now that Zang Hong is occupying Dongwuyang and rebelled, Yuan Shao led his troops to fight in person. After conquering Dongwuyang, can he return Dongwuyang to him?
Obviously, it is not possible.
Therefore, even if he was willing to bow to Yuan Shao, the prefect of Dongjun would be just a humiliation.
It’s not that he doesn’t understand this truth, he just doesn’t have the strength to turn against Yuan Shao.
"Since the lord is unable to help, there is no possibility of reclaiming Dongwuyang, why should he do it? If Yuan Benchu can take Dongwuyang, then he will take it himself. If not, what is the difference between this edict and the rag?"
Cao Cao nodded without saying a word.
Someone stood up. "The priest tore up the edict of the leader Yuan's edict. How can the lord reply to the leader? If the leader sends an envoy to ask for the crime, what should he do?"
Guo Jia smiled. "I tore the edict, everyone can see clearly. If Yuan Benchu sent an envoy to ask for punishment, I will naturally bear it on my shoulders. You don't have to worry. In fact, I did this for Yuan Benchu. If Yuan Benchu was wise enough
, it will definitely be able to understand."
Cao Cao was puzzled. "Why do you say so when you worship filial piety?"
Guo Jia raised his eyebrows. "Lord, does this edict have a year name?"
After hearing this, Cao Cao suddenly realized.
Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
The emperor established the capital in Anyi and changed the reign to Jian'an. The edict had been sent to various prefectures and counties. Xu County had already received the edict, and Yecheng naturally also received it, but Yuan Shao's edict used the Jian'an reign title.
Since the Jian'an reign title was used, it means that Yuan Shao recognized the imperial court.
Then Yuan Shao claimed that he had a problem with the edict.
In the past, the emperor was made by Li Jue and could not do anything. Yuan Shao did not recognize the imperial edicts of the court, and regarded himself as a general of chariots and cavalry, and accepted the edicts. It can be said that it was a temporary measure. If the son escaped from danger today, he did not have a clear edict authorization, Yuan Shao would still
It is naturally not in accordance with etiquette to regard oneself as an edict.
Although everyone knows that this may be Yuan Shao’s intention to test, if Guo Jia says this, you can’t say he is wrong.
Anyway, Guo Jia is willing to take responsibility. Even if Yuan Shao asks for guilt, it will be enough to ask Guo Jia, it has nothing to do with them.
They are more concerned about Cao Cao's reaction.
If Cao Cao and Yuan Shao turn against each other, it will inevitably affect their interests.
Guo Jia immediately proposed that Cao Cao would not need to send troops to assist, but would just farm in Xu County and wait for the changes.
Judging from the current situation, even if Yuan Shao can gather the power of Yanzhou, it is not an easy task to defeat Dongwuyang.
It has never been easy to attack the city, and Zang Hong is not an ordinary person. If it weren't for this, Yuan Shao wouldn't have let him lead troops to Dongwuyang.
But no one expected that Yuan Shao shot himself in the foot, and Zang Hong turned against him.
Of course, we can support Yuan Shao verbally, after all, we are all ally, and Zang Hong's rebellion was because Cao Cao attacked and killed him.
Everyone thought this plan was feasible.
As long as Cao Cao does not turn against Yuan Shao, their vital interests will not be affected for the time being.
After the meeting ended, Cao Cao left Guo Jia behind.
Guo Jia’s previous move only solved the superficial problems and was not a root cause.
Guo Jia did not hesitate to ask Cao Cao a question directly.
"Lord, who do you choose between the emperor and Yuan Shao?"
Cao Cao twisted his fingers and didn't say anything for a long time.
If he wants to choose, he will definitely be willing to choose the emperor.
The emperor appointed him as the general of Zhendong and led the governor of Yanzhou. The meaning of respect was obvious, even if it was just a temporary measure. Yuan Shao called him the prefect of Dongjun, and did not intend to really let him be the prefect of Dongjun, and the intention of coercion was very clear.
Even if he was willing to surrender, Yuan Shao would not take him seriously.
The question is, can the emperor defeat Yuan Shao and pacify the world?
If you can't, you still have to surrender to Yuan Shao in the end, so why bother to do this?
"Master, isn't it easy to choose?"
Cao Cao said, "Is there any good way to be filial?"
"wait."
"wait?"
"Wait for the emperor to be beautiful and quell the rebellion." Guo Jia's eyes became sharp. "If the emperor can really use three thousand elite cavalry to quell the rebellion of the Huns, then the destiny of the Han Dynasty has not yet been eliminated and there is still a possibility of revival. The lord should serve the emperor and fight with Yuan Shao for the sake of the emperor.
Heng will be the best of Yuntai in the future. If the emperor fails to suppress the rebellion, the Han Dynasty will be exhausted, and the lord should plan other plans."
"Is there any plan for him?"
"Yes." Guo Jia exclaimed. "Yuan Shao loves his youngest son, and the people of Jizhou are unwilling to support Yuan Tan. There will be civil strife in the future. Even if Yuan Shao replaces the Han Dynasty and unifies the world, the lord will still have a place to move."