Eight hundred and sixtieth IX repeated interruption
With Cao Zhi's current status, Emperor Xian indeed has no official position or status to promote him, and his title is already very high. If he is to be rewarded, he should be granted the title of Duke or King.
However, the surname outside the clan was rarely granted the title of king in the past dynasties. Emperor Xian proposed to grant Cao Zhi a county fief, and then grant him a duke or king title. However, as soon as Emperor Xian said this, it immediately aroused heated discussion in the court. The main thing is
Everyone thought that it was not appropriate to make Cao Zhi a duke or king, and that the reward for Cao Zhi was too high. There were even secret voices that thought this was unreasonable and violated the ancestral etiquette and was absolutely unacceptable.
Although there were constant objections to Emperor Xian's proposal, there were still very few people who dared to speak out and criticize Cao Zhi. These voices only formed an undercurrent, resisting Emperor Xian's granting Cao Zhi the title of Duke or King.
Xun Yu's letter said that later Emperor Xian saw that this matter was difficult to handle, so he proposed a compromise method, promoting Cao Zhi to the post of prime minister, which had been abandoned by the dynasty but was restored by Dong Zhuo.
This position can be regarded as a reward for Cao Zhi's victory in Xuzhou, or it can also be regarded as a reward for Cao Zhi's victory in this battle.
In fact, with Cao Zhi's current real power, there is really no need to imitate Dong Zhuo and become prime minister. After all, that would not be good for Cao Zhi's reputation.
In his letter, Xun Yu also advised Cao Zhi to express his position as prime minister, and even asked him to refuse any rewards. It was not that Xun Yu did not want Cao Zhi to climb to the peak of power, but now was not the time. According to Xun Yu's idea, even if Cao Zhi
To restore the prime minister system, we must completely abolish the current three-member system, and then restore the prime minister system to monopolize power. As for those who are granted the title of Duke or King, it is a symbol of status and glory. Slowly improving it will better reflect Cao Zhi's honor.
One way is to confer a public title or a king too quickly, which will leave a bad reputation in history.
When Xun Yu imagined this future development direction for Cao Zhi, it was really painful and difficult. Xun Yu not only wanted to assist Cao Zhi to become a powerful minister who would be famous throughout the ages, but he was also worried that when he reaches the peak of supreme power, just as Cao Cao predicted,
Greedy for power, in the end the Cao family will fall apart and even kill each other. And if he, Xun Yu, is not dead by then, he will be caught in the middle and die, or be killed by one party for the sake of profit.
Bloody massacre.
Now every time Xun Yu helps Cao Zhi take a step closer to the pinnacle of power, this ambivalent mentality has been haunting him. Xun Yu even dreamed of the tragic ending that he would not die well, but at this time Xun Yu still had a hope
Fantasy, he is older than Cao Zhi, and he hopes that this situation will not happen in his lifetime. If he wants to achieve an imperial career, it will be difficult to take shape without twenty or thirty years of operation. Maybe it will happen.
When Cao Zhizhi proclaimed himself king and emperor, Xun Yu had already passed away, so the problems that Cao Cao left for him no longer mattered to him.
Faced with Xun Yu's dilemma, Cao Zhi listened to the content of the letter conveyed by Guo Jia. After a burst of impatient laughter, he waved to Guo Jia and said: "Reply to Xun Yu and ask him to write a letter to the emperor for me, saying that I, Cao
Before Zhi has conquered the Central Plains, I dare not ask for any extravagant rewards!"
After Cao Zhi said his bold words, he turned around and got back into the carriage. He didn't give a damn to Guo Jia, who had just stretched out his hand and was about to dissuade Cao Zhi from coveting beauty, but was leisurely neglecting political affairs.
As Guo Jia, who is determined to be a loyal minister, a wise minister, and a famous minister, it is his duty to advise his lord Cao Zhi. When Cao Zhi gets carried away, it is his duty to say some loyal words that are offensive to the ears. Guo Jia can give examples in one breath.
There is a famous loyal minister like this in history. The famous minister was naked, but Cao Zhi didn't give him a chance. After he finished speaking, he ran away.
"Yes, I will obey the Lord's orders!"
After Guo Jia weakly agreed, he turned around and mounted his horse, while muttering to himself: "Who doesn't know that you have a new concubine, but there is no need to be so anxious, we can't waste a moment to stick together, hum!
"
After muttering, Guo Jia got on his horse and left Juechen, hurried back to his exclusive compartment in the rear, and replied to Xun Yu.
Cao Zhi, who got back into the carriage, immediately encountered Du Shi's fiery red lips, looking up to the sky, looking angry.
Cao Zhi chuckled and slowly approached Mrs. Du, took out a clean handkerchief, shed tears at Mrs. Du in front of him, and said with a smile: "Just now, was it delicious?"
"Oh, you are so bad..."
Following Du Shi's charming smile, the carriage fell into darkness again, and in this darkness, breathing became rapid...
"Report..."
"Lord, there is an urgent... urgent message from Yangzhou..."
At a critical moment, Cao Zhi was ruthlessly interrupted again. Cao Zhi vowed to hold these people responsible for any sequelae caused to him physically due to repeated interruptions like this.
"What are you doing?... Guo Jia, it's you again, what's wrong?"
The first report that Cao Zhi heard was indeed an order for the troops to come and report. The second report was from Guo Jia who met the Yangzhou messenger on the way and returned.
"Letter, urgent message from Deng Ai, something happened in Yangzhou..." Guo Jia breathlessly shook the letter in his hand and said intermittently.
"Yangzhou? Deng Ai? What's wrong with them?" Cao Zhi, who realized that the situation was serious, got out of the car while getting dressed, took the letter from Guo Jia's hand, and started reading.
Yangzhou is Cao Zhi's base camp and the place where he started. It should be said that in terms of staffing, military strength, and financial situation, it has always been the best among the states under Cao Zhi's rule. Except for the drought that started in Jiujiang last winter, it affected two or three people in Yangzhou.
In addition to causing considerable losses to several counties, Cao Zhi could not imagine what big things could happen to Yangzhou before reading the letter.
"What? Mi Heng disappeared, Lei Gong and the entire transport team were killed..." Cao Zhi held the letter and hurriedly read a few lines, and kept exclaiming.
"Everyone has stepped up their vigilance within 100 meters and no one is allowed to come near!"
"yes!"
Guo Jia was able to calm down in time and issued orders to the personal guards around Cao Zhi. He did not read the letter, but he had learned from the messenger that Mi Heng's cross-border transportation team to purchase important supplies had been attacked.
Heng was also among them, but he disappeared afterwards. It is unknown whether he is alive or dead.
Although Mi Heng is the governor of Yuzhang and a direct retainer of Cao Zhi. Whether he is alive or dead actually has no importance to the entire rule of Cao Zhi and the overall situation of the Yangzhou region. But his other identity, or in other words, Cao Zhi has always entrusted him with tasks.
Another secret job, but it plays a vital role in the strength of Cao Zhi, Cao Zhi's entire ruling team, and the entire army. In this regard, he is an absolute heavyweight.
That is the secret weapon that Cao Zhi relied on to become famous on the land of China and shake up Kyushu - gunpowder.
Apart from Cao Zhi, there is only one other person in the world who knows the formula and production process of gunpowder, Mi Heng. Even Deng Ai, who is actually the number one in Yangzhou, and many of Cao Zhi's immediate family members do not know gunpowder as well as Mi Heng.
Formulation and manufacturing.
Everyone around Cao Zhi knew that the disappearance of Yi Mi Heng was not a trivial matter, but a premeditated action by an enemy or potential enemy. Mi Heng, an arrogant and unruly person, if
If his mouth is pried open by someone with intentions, all the situations that are favorable to Cao Zhi in this world will no longer exist, and even the balance that originally favored Cao Zhi will immediately tilt towards the enemy.
But at this time, everyone knew that this matter could not be made public, and Guo Jia was even more aware of the horror of spreading rumors. Many people in Xudu were waiting to see Cao Zhi and his team fall apart and decline. In Guo Jia's opinion, the most important thing now is
To be calm, not only does he need to be calm, but he also needs to dissuade his lord. Cao Zhi needs to be calm. If Cao Zhi is confused at this time, or takes drastic actions immediately, it may lead to irreversible wrong decisions, which may lead to immeasurable consequences.
Loss, even a small mistake may be fatal in Cao Zhi's life.
However, Cao Zhi, who had been struggling in the storm for many years, did not disappoint Guo Jia. Cao Zhi did not appear very excited. He impulsively rushed to give orders and take measures. Instead, he took the letter and continued to read it carefully until he was sure
I read it word for word and found nothing missing. Then I slowly raised my head and said thoughtfully, "How much does Huang Zu know about our gunpowder production base in Yuzhang?"
This question was obviously asked to Guo Jia. Guo Jia lowered his head, thought for a moment, and immediately replied: "I don't think I know much!"
"Then why did he suddenly take advantage of Mi Heng?" After Cao Zhi handed the letter to Guo Jia, he took two steps ahead and continued to ask Guo Jia while deep in thought.
This time Guo Jia was not in a hurry to answer. He also quickly browsed the letter that Cao Zhi handed him. Only by understanding the matter as clearly and in detail as possible can he proceed with the next step of analysis and response.
"This matter still needs to be discussed. Huang Zu has always followed Liu Biao's policy of not taking the initiative to become our enemy, so he should not take the initiative to kidnap your prefect. But many times it is a coincidence, or someone deliberately wants to provoke friction between us.
It is possible for the fisherman to gain profit, so my lord, it is better not to make a decision early..." Guo Jia handed back the letter and bowed.
"Yes! What the military advisor said makes sense. We should block the news in advance and reply to Deng Ai to pay attention to Huang Zu's movements. At the same time, he will send someone to track down Mi Heng's whereabouts and spare no effort to rescue him!" Cao Zhi ordered with his hands behind his back.
But when Guo Jia was ordered to turn around and leave, he stopped him and said, "Oh, I also asked Deng Ai to quickly transport the gunpowder stored in Yuzhang and Danyang to Xudu, and then put it in Yangzhou. I don't trust you!"
"Yes!" Guo Jia was stunned, then bowed and responded. As far as he knew, the supply of gunpowder, the raw material for their most powerful weapon, had been cut off. Why did Cao Zhi order him to transport the gunpowder stored in Yangzhou?
It turns out that due to the lack of raw materials and the extremely difficult production of gunpowder, the supply was indeed cut off some time ago. However, under Cao Zhi's repeated urging, Mi Heng made every effort to organize production using the raw materials smuggled from Jiangxia. So he rushed to produce it.
Hundreds of kilograms of gunpowder were produced, but they failed to catch up with the Battle of Xiapi in Xuzhou.
It was only after Cao Zhi captured Xiapi City that he received a secret letter from Mi Heng, telling him that they had gunpowder again.