This kind of official whose demeanor is not as suave as others and whose behavior is not as good as that of other countries will definitely not be tolerated by Liu Biao. When Cao Zhi is surrounded by countless senior officials from himself and Jingzhou, this person can still stand out from the crowd.
It actually made Cao Zhi take a second look.
After the person Cao Zhi spoke to stood up, he asked Kuai Yue beside him and found out that this person was called Wang Can. He had taken refuge with Liu Biao five years ago, but had never been reused. Probably because of his appearance, Liu Biao paid more attention to it.
External.
In fact, this unattractive man named Wang Can was a famous writer who was famous during the period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. He was also one of the future "Seven Sons of Jian'an". Because of his outstanding literary talent, he was praised as the "Crown of the Seven Sons" by later generations.
people.
When Cao Zhi heard that this person was called Wang Can, he exclaimed: "Oh, you are the prince who "came out to greet" Cai Gongbo (Cai Yong), right?"
When Wang Can heard that Cao Zhi even knew the anecdotes about his fame, the smile on his face became even brighter. Wang Can felt that he was valued and reused, and that the time to succeed was not far away.
Wang Can became famous when he was in his teens. When he went to Luoyang, Cai Yong, the then Zuo Zhonglang general, was surprised to see him. Cai Yong was a literary giant and leader at that time. He was talented and well-known in both the government and the public. Cai Yong was famous because he was
He was recognized as a literary figure at that time. People all respected him, and his home was often crowded with guests. One day, Wang Can went to visit him. Cai Yong had already heard of Wang Can's name. When he heard that Wang Can was coming, he hurriedly went out to greet him, even his shoes.
It was worn inside out. After Wang Can entered the house, the guests saw that he was just a boy in his teens, short and thin, with an ugly and weird appearance. They were shocked and couldn't understand why Cai Yong valued Wang Can so much. Cai Yong understood everyone's feelings.
In his mind, he said to everyone: "This is the prince's grandson. He has special talents and can never forget things. I am not as good as him. All my books and articles should be given to him before they belong to their owners."
From then on, the two became close friends.
Compared with Wang Can's fame in Luoyang, after defecting to Liu Biao, he was only appointed as an ordinary staff member by Liu Biao. It only gave the young Wang Can a place to stay, but he was unable to fully display his talents.
Wang Can was born into a family of upper-class bureaucrats in the Eastern Han Dynasty. His great-grandfather, King Gong Shun, was an official to Taiwei, and his grandfather, Wang Changling, was an official to Sikong. They were all high-ranking officials and very accomplished people. But when he came to Wang Can, due to the
He made a mistake in his choice and went to the wrong Liu Biao, who valued appearance, which made him depressed and frustrated.
But fortunately, he finally met the more powerful and wiser Mingzhu Cao Zhi.
Cao Zhi also heard about this man's reputation, so he immediately appointed Wang Can as his concubine in the General's Mansion and gave him the title of Marquis of Guannei.
Cao Zhi's repeated appreciation relieved the long-suppressed feelings of Chen Xian, Huan Jie, He Yi, Han Ji and other officials in Jingzhou who had been ignored by Liu Biao and were not valued by Liu Biao.
At that time, the cruel image he had heard about Cao Zhi was swept away, and he fell in love with him even more, and he felt that he was finally the "Ming Lord".
Then, through the introduction of Wang Can, Cao Zhi met the calligrapher Liang Qian, who was still a commoner, and other famous people. They were either appointed as local officials in Jingzhou or taken into the shogunate, which made these knowledgeable people in Jingzhou officially serve as officials.
, and has a place to be used.
Cao Zhi comforted Jingzhou's surrender at Yu Fei Tower and recruited this hermit and righteous man who produced celebrities with various talents. After the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves, he was in a good mood, so he called Liu Cong again and said: "Liu Zhou Mu, I think this Yu Fei Tower,
Let’s change the name today! How about calling it ‘Shayou’ Building?”
"Okay, the general changed it very well!" Liu Cong, Wang Can and others gathered around Cao Zhi and praised him one after another. Although Cao Zhi's change of name was somewhat appropriate, the officials who praised Cao Zhi at this time were somewhat disappointed.
It means flattering.
"Haha..." Cao Zhizhi's triumphant laughter echoed between heaven and earth. Cao Zhi turned around and cast his eyes to the southeast of Han River outside the city, and gradually stretched and submerged deep into the long clouds.
That night, the first floor of Xiangyang, which was renamed the "Puyou" Building, once again staged a grand banquet for hundreds of officials. However, the host and officials at this time were very different. Compared with Liu Biao's banquet, which had the purpose of a meeting,
, Cao Zhi's so-called "New Jingzhou Work Opening Dinner" has no purpose. It is purely to let everyone relax and eliminate the feeling that their homes are being invaded.
During the dinner, while Cao Zhi appreciated the culture of Chu, he also met Du Kui, a contemporary musician. After performing a piece of folk music for Cao Zhi, he not only amazed everyone with his skills, but also impressed Cao Zhi with his new understanding of ancient music. Du was
Cao Zhiren served as a sacrificial wine for the army and presided over Xudu's "Shen Tai Leshi" in the future, which was equivalent to the position of modern music director, but he was at the national level.
When Cao Zhi was in Xudu, he had many opportunities to banquet officials anywhere, but he was different from when Cao Cao was alive. Cao Zhi never got drunk.
He dodges.
Although Cao Zhi's habit of avoiding drinking often disappoints his subordinates, Cao Zhi still adheres to his principles. Several times of drunkenness in his life have caused him to make unforgivable mistakes. Cao Zhi once had a relationship with Qiao Ying.
After that drunken sexual intercourse, he vowed not to drink too much. Because every step Cao Zhi takes from now on is not just to follow Cao Cao's footsteps. Cao Zhi must avoid the mistakes he knows Cao Cao has made, walking on thin ice.
Okay, take every correct step from now on.
Due to Cao Zhi's explanation, they were tired of traveling and leaving the banquet early. The Jingzhou officials were in low spirits, and they all dispersed after having a banquet for a while.
Zhuge Liang, who had been attending various public events since Cao Zhi took control of Xiangyang as a special guest, saw Xu Chu coming on horseback with his men when Xu Shu was escorted to the transfer house. He said that Cao Zhi had invited the two of them.
The gentleman went to his residence to discuss matters.
Today in the "Sales Excellence" building, Cao Zhi recruited celebrities and granted official titles, including almost all talents from Jingzhou. Even Cui Zhouping, Shi Guangyuan, and Meng Gongwei were appointed to official positions by Cao Zhi, but they are still the only two
Guests, civilians.
"We are not his subordinates, discussing matters? What are we asked to discuss?" Xu Shu shook his head and asked in confusion. Then he looked at Zhuge Liang and smiled bitterly, got in the car, and followed Xu Chu.
The place where Cao Zhi lives now is not the Liu Mansion, nor the state capital. He did not accept Liu Cong's kind arrangement, saying that he would not disturb the Liu Mansion's ongoing funeral, nor occupy any official place in Jingzhou. He would settle the place himself.
.
Cai Mao's villa in the east of the city is the temporary residence of Cao Zhi, the first person in the empire, who is currently in Xiangyang, the seat of Jingzhou. Cao Zhi chose this place to protect the face of Cai Mao, an important surrender during his trip.
Another quiet moment.
When Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu stepped into this small courtyard, they happened to meet Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, Jia Xu, and Kuai Yue who had just come out. The four of them walked away without saying anything. They had obviously just finished their discussion with Cao Zhi.
Important military and political affairs were in a hurry. Three of these four people were surrendered ministers of Jingzhou. They were not the most outstanding people in today's "Sales Service" upstairs, nor did they talk to Cao Zhi the most. But Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu had already seen that this
The three of them were the officials Cao Zhi relied on most in ruling Jingzhou before and in the future.
Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu had already realized that Cao Zhi's purpose in going south was not just to capture Jingzhou. After that, he would definitely make bigger moves. On the way here, they thought of the main reason why Cao Zhi sent troops this time.
The purpose is Jiangdong.
It's just that they haven't had the opportunity to come into contact with such core things. But to talk to them for "discussions" is probably a pretense, right? They both sensed that Cao Zhi had been testing them, and was ready to eliminate their conflicting signals.
This matter should be discussed with these old and new confidants. We should chat with them and have fun!
When Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu met Jia Xu, Cai Mao and their entourage, they just looked at each other, smiled, nodded, and passed by without saying anything. There was no interaction between them. Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu continued to follow.
As Xu Chu walked into the middle hall, Xu Shu whispered to Zhuge Liang intentionally or unintentionally, "Guo Jia is missing!"
Of course, Zhuge Liang saw that Cao Zhi's military advisor Guo Jia did not come out with this group of people. It is impossible to say that he did not participate in Cao Zhi's small meeting. But he did not leave with the others, which means that Guo Jia was still under Cao Zhi's control.
Invited "meeting" hall.
As soon as Zhuge Liang and the two stepped onto the steps of the middle hall, their suspicions were confirmed. Guo Jia sat quietly on a low stool on the left side of the hall, sipping tea. When he heard the footsteps, he looked at where he was standing.
The three people at the door glanced at each other, and then nodded friendly towards Zhuge Liang and the two.
But what attracted the two of them the most was not the Confucian-style Guo Jia, but the large map on the right side of the middle hall, which almost covered the entire wall and extended to the corner.
Zhuge Liang and others were no strangers to maps, but they had never seen such a large map. Moreover, after a quick glance at it, they could see clearly that this was a map that included the entire territory of the Han Empire, and even some remote areas that they had only heard of.
The wild lands are all marked in detail on this map.
This should be a military map specially drawn by Cao Zhi. Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu were surprised at how much Cao Zhi spent on this. They were also impressed by Cao Zhi's diligence. They just suspected that Cao Zhi came to them for entertainment.
My heart was also swept away, replaced by incomparable curiosity and expectation.
It turns out that this person left the table early on the excuse of a long journey, not for a comfortable rest. Looking at Jia Xu and others who had just left, it was obvious that they had just finished a meeting with him, and now he was still being held up by an attendant tirelessly.
Light a candle and stare at a certain part of the map carefully.
The current most powerful official of the Han family looked at this map so seriously that Xu Chu, who led the people there, shouted three times: "Lord, brother..." He just heard it.
"Oh! Let them sit!" Cao Zhi said casually, only glanced at the three of them, but did not turn around and continued to draw something on the map.