In order to avoid embarrassment, Wu Guotai left the mansion early. Even so, Da Qiao did not dare to look up at Sun Shangxiang.
"After entering the house, you must not have second thoughts, you must not be jealous, you must not frame your sisters, you must serve your husband wholeheartedly!"
Sun Shangxiang's voice was a little cold, and she sounded quite like a hostess. Da Qiao lowered his head and couldn't believe it. Is this still the tiger girl from before?
"As commanded."
"Back off."
"promise."
After Da Qiao left, Sun Shangxiang sat in his seat and said nothing. Liu Cong smiled and said, "Madam, I... um... thank you madam."
Seeing that Sun Shangxiang still ignored him, Liu Cong leaned over and hugged her and said, "Madam, my husband has realized his mistake this time. I didn't want to lie to you. Who knew it would make you so sad? This will never happen again in the future."
Something happened, I swear to my husband..."
There were two more fingers on his lips. Sun Shangxiang looked at Liu Cong and said, "I have done something wrong, which has embarrassed my husband. As for the future, I don't have to swear, I believe you."
Liu Cong stared blankly at the charming Sun Shangxiang. She seemed to be less aggressive.
In Chang'an City, Han Sui came to pay homage to Cao Cao in person, and Jincheng was already under the control of Cao Cao's army.
"I pay homage to the Prime Minister. The generals of the defeated army and the bandits on the frontier, please kowtow to the Prime Minister and punish them."
At this time, Han Sui was very wise and claimed to be the general of the defeated army and a border bandit!
Cao Cao looked at the white-headed old man kneeling in front of him, and his thoughts went back to many years ago. Han Sui had been causing chaos in the border areas since Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. He was only subdued by the imperial court, and the world has been in chaos for decades.
"Get up, I will keep you safe in your old age."
"Thank you, Prime Minister."
"Xu Chu, please bring Wen Yue (Han Sui) down to entertain you. Don't neglect us!"
"promise."
Han Sui surrendered, which saved Cao Cao from pursuing him, and Xiliang was completely pacified.
"The prime minister, Wuwei Yanjun, Zhangye and Luan, Jiuquan Huanghua, Xiping Quyan, all sent envoys to surrender!"
In these places, in the Hexi Corridor and even in more remote areas, the Central Plains has been in turmoil for years. The major princes cannot even take care of the Central Plains, so how can they care about these places.
Cao Cao chuckled and said, "Send officials to receive it. I am going to prepare my troops to return to the court."
With just one sentence, Cao Cao would take over these territories without even sending troops. But no one present felt anything inappropriate.
Cao Jun even dealt with Ma Chao and Han Sui in Xiliang, but he still couldn't deal with these small characters?
"I'm reporting this to the Prime Minister. I suggest that the Prime Minister take advantage of Liu Bei's unstable foothold to go south to attack Sichuan and Shu!"
"I agree, Prime Minister, if we wait for Liu Bei to gain a firm foothold, Xichuan will be in trouble for generations to come."
The speakers were Sima Yi and Yang Xiu. After they finished speaking, they looked at each other. Sima Yi did not expect that Yang Xiu would agree to the strategy of attacking Shu, while Yang Xiu was a little proud. Are you, Sima Yi, the wise man?
Since Yang Xiu took refuge with Cao Cao, he has always been closer to Cao Zhi. Sima Yi, Chen Qun and others have been closer to Cao Pi.
The two have always been at odds with each other, and Sima Yi is better off because of his tolerant personality. Yang Xiu is different. He behaves in an unruly manner. Sometimes even if he knows that Sima Yi is doing the right thing, he still holds objections!
What seems to be a dispute between two people is actually a game between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi!
Cao Cao hesitated for a while and then asked Jia Xu, "Wen He, what do you think?"
Jia Xu first looked at Sima Yi and Yang Xiu and smiled, then said to Cao Cao, "Prime Minister, what they two said makes sense. If we can take advantage of the opportunity,"
Cao Cao frowned and said, "What if Liu Xiye takes the opportunity to invade Huainan?"
"Huainan has an army of more than 100,000 men. As long as our army clears the country, defends the city, and harasses Liu Jun's food routes with cavalry, Liu Jun will never be able to capture Huainan no matter how many tricks he uses!"
"Besides, there are Xiahou Yuanrang (Xiahoudun) and others, plus Xun You and Cheng Yu are coming to make plans. We can ensure that Huainan is not lost!"
Jia Xu's words were intended to remove Cao Cao's worries and allow him to attack Xichuan with confidence.
"Prime Minister, I am willing to go to Huainan to help General Xiahou resist Liu Cong!" After Sima Yi said this, he buried his head deeply.
He didn't want to be around Cao Cao. Cao Cao asked him more for his opinions and strategies. He always felt that Cao Cao was very guarded against him!
Who doesn't want to make great achievements? This is not the first time that he has told Cao Cao to support Huainan. The more reason is that Sima Yi wants to leave Cao Cao's side.
Staying by Cao Cao's side, his every move is under Cao Cao's supervision and control.
Cao Cao ignored him, rested his elbow on the table, put his chin on the side of his bearded face in the palm of his hand, and kept tapping the table with the fingers of his other hand.
After weighing the pros and cons of the feasibility of attacking Xichuan, he integrated the defeated armies of Ma Chao and Han Sui, and eliminated the old and weak, but still had an army of 250,000. The morale was high, and Liu Bei had just captured Xichuan, but his strength was insufficient and his foundation was unstable.
If we attack, we do have a great chance to capture Nishikawa.
It would also be good to capture Hanzhong. The terrain of Hanzhong is condescending, Liu Bei can control it, and he can look down upon Guanzhong from here. Cao Cao can use it as a springboard to attack Xichuan.
"Then let's take some more time to prepare, integrate the army, and prepare food, grass and baggage. Let's see how big Liu Da'er has become now."
"The Prime Minister is wise!"
Sima Yi lowered his head and handed over his hands with an ugly expression. Cao Cao never said that he would support Huainan. Why? Why do you want to suppress me?
Cao Jun collected the defeated troops of Xiliang. The people of Xiliang were fierce and the troops were good men who dared to fight. But it still took time to get used to it and gather the troops.
Do not fight an unprepared battle. The ancients have understood this principle for a long time. How could Cao Cao, such a good man, rush into the army rashly?
"Report, Prime Minister, report to the Northern Army!"
A secret agent from the school affairs office came to the hall and knelt down to Cao Cao.
Xu Chu took the military report and handed it to Cao Cao. When he opened it, Cao Cao laughed and said, "The Qiang and Hu are fighting with the Southern Xiongnu. The Qiang sent 80,000 troops to attack the Southern Xiongnu. However, the Southern Xiongnu were defeated. The Shanyu called Chuquan to ask for help from Gu."
The Qiang and Hu are actually not a country, or even a unified tribe, but several tribes united together, known as the Qiang.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the imperial court had no time to take care of the Hetao, so the Qiang people occupied the Hetao. The land of the Hetao was fertile, with luxuriant water and grass. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that the Yellow River is full of harm, but the Hetao is rich.
The Qiang who occupied Hetao developed rapidly and were already stronger than the declining Southern Xiongnu.
In 207 AD, after Cao Cao defeated Gao Gan (Yuan Shao's nephew, who was in charge of Bingzhou when Yuan Shao ruled Hebei), he also wiped out the Xiongnu in the south, completely changing the situation since the late Han Dynasty when Hu Di was in the realm and Zhang Xiong was domineering.
Shanyu Huchuquan bowed his head to the imperial court and asked for annexation. Cao Cao moved some people from Bingzhou to the Central Plains to fill the gap in the population of the Central Plains. He appointed Liang Xi as the governor of Bingzhou to attract talents and stabilize the people's livelihood.
This year, Wen Ji returned to Han Dynasty!
When Liang Xi governed and merged the states, he restored the imperial examination system to attract talents for the government, crack down on powerful men, recruit strong men, and clear away bandits. He also sent troops to conquer the barbarians who refused to obey the king!
Allowing the Southern Xiongnu to annex was Cao Cao's strategy to fill the labor force and resist the Xianbei and Qiang people. Speaking of which, the Southern Xiongnu led by Hu Chuquan were considered vassals of the imperial court.
"Prime Minister, we should send troops to attack the Qiang people!"