It is precisely because of the above analysis that Guo Jia immediately thought of Cao Cao when he heard that the person his lord wanted to meet was related to the Southern Expedition in the coming year.
Since being brought to Hebei by Wen Yuan, Cao Cao has been living in seclusion in Daluze for these years. Daluze is twenty or thirty miles away from Yingtao. It is far away from the hustle and bustle and has beautiful scenery. It is indeed a good place. Cao Cao planted several acres of vegetable land here. When he has nothing to do, he goes out to look around to see the new things in the craftsmen's workshops. When he is interested, he goes to Chongwenyuan to listen to the scriptures. For him, Wenyuan has always had enough food and clothing in the past few years. Of course, the necessary surveillance and protection are also provided. Never let up in the past.
The horse's hooves flew quickly, and in the time it took to speak, a mansion appeared in front of everyone's eyes. This mansion was ordinary, with only two courtyards and three rows of houses. Not many people could live in it. If you only looked at this house, who would have thought of it? The leader of the anti-Zhang Liao alliance lived there, Cao Cao.
But although it was just an ordinary mansion in front of me, it was very tightly guarded. There were many sentries placed within a ten-mile radius, and there were four guards standing at the door. These guards had bright eyes and a calm demeanor, and they looked like they were unusual gatekeepers at first glance. The person who protects the home.
"We're here..." Wen Yuan's eyes lit up and he said with a smile. In the past few years when Cao Cao lived in Hebei, Wen Yuan had been very close and visited frequently, and he was quite familiar with the place.
"Mr. Jin, Mr. Jin has returned from the Northern Expedition," the guard at the door recognized the man's identity at a glance and greeted him in surprise.
Wen Yuan waved his hand with a smile, went straight to the entrance, and raised his voice with a long smile from a distance: "Brother Meng De, why don't you come out to greet me when you are an old friend?"
Cao Cao was planting vegetables in the backyard. He had already heard the noise in front of him. When he came out and saw Zhang Liao, he immediately showed a look of surprise. He bowed and saluted: "The Duke of Jin is back. Seeing that Duke Jin is in high spirits, this Northern Expedition must have been a great victory." Well, it’s really gratifying and congratulatory,”
Wen Yuan returned his hand and said, "Thank you so much, Brother Mengde. This victory over Xianbei was all down to the soldiers' sacrifice and united efforts. It is not just my contribution. Besides, this happy event is not mine alone."
Cao Cao also said from the bottom of his heart: "Yes, Xianbei is defeated, and he will no longer dare to raid the Central Plains in a short period of time. This is a great good thing for the Han people who have conquered the two states. Your Majesty the Duke of Jin has such meritorious deeds. I believe that in the future, my name will definitely go down in history and be passed down through the ages..."
"As I spoke, I added compliments again. Didn't we agree that here, we treat each other as brothers..." Wen Yuan looked up and down. Cao Cao was dressed in cloth. He had just come out of the fields. Still stained with mud, Wen Yuan couldn't help but laugh and said: "Brother will hide here for some leisure time. Why, why don't you invite me in to sit down?"
"Please...brother, please quickly..."
Cao Cao hurriedly invited Wen Yuan into the house and ordered people to serve wine and food. After three rounds of wine and greetings, Cao Cao could not help but curiously ask about the Northern Expedition. Wen Yuan did not hide it and told Wen Yuan about this trip vividly. The experience of the Northern Expedition.
The recapture of Murong in Huangniu Valley, the battle against Xianbei at Tianlang Mountain, the burning of 100,000 Xianbei in Benlangyuan, the sacrifice at Danhan Mountain, etc. Wenyuan did not hide these things from Cao Cao, except for the future arrangements for the north and the Western Expedition. .
Cao Cao listened attentively. When he heard that Wenyuan's Northern Expedition killed more than 100,000 people in Xianbei, even though he had seen many strong winds and waves, and Mount Tai collapsed in front of him, he could not help but gasp in shock and was stunned for a long time. Only then did he wake up and muttered "Great victory, great victory" for a long time.
Although Cao Cao was a great man with great ambitions, he was still a Han before that. On the issue of Xianbei, he and Wen Yuan had the same position. After hearing that Wen Yuan had achieved such a brilliant victory against Xianbei, how could he Don't feel happy.
Wen Yuan kept talking for more than an hour, his mouth was dry as he spoke, and finally he finally said in a deep breath: "... Hey, that's the general situation..."
Cao Cao said in admiration: "Wen Yuan is like a god with his troops. There is no need to say anything. Brother Yu lost because he was convinced... But what impressed Brother Yu even more was that Duke Jin always had so many fantastic ideas. Wen Yuan built the Tomb of Heroes' Souls. Not to mention the idea of giving the fallen soldiers a place to bury their bones for future generations to pay their respects to, is even more unconventional. This is the first of its kind in China in the past three thousand years. Forgive me for being stupid, but where did Wen Yuan come from these ideas?"
In fact, Cao Cao has wanted to ask this question for a long time. He has lived in seclusion in Hebei for these years, especially in the mainland area where there are many academies. Almost all Wenyuan's skill tree departments are located here. Cao Cao has seen a lot of new things in Hebei. It gave him a more comprehensive understanding of his former opponents, but the more he learned, the more Cao Cao began to wonder what was in Zhang Liao's mind that he could come up with so many unexpected things.
"Hey, are these, ah, haha..." Wen Yuan said haha, even if he said this kind of question, how could you, Cao Cao, believe it.
Fortunately, Wen Yuan is also a person of status now. If he doesn't want to answer, he has a choice not to answer. He just glances at Guo Jia, who then smiles knowingly and comes to the rescue: "My lord, you are here to see Mr. Meng De, don't you have something serious to say?" ,"
"Oh, look at my brain," Wen Yuan suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Yes, yes, let's talk about business, business..."
Wen Yuan looked solemn and said: "Brother Meng De, now that you have been idle for a few years, shouldn't you also do your best for the world? If my brother is a peerless talent, he is willing to join hands with me to bring peace to the troubled times. Who else in the world is your and my brother’s rival?”
Cao Cao's face trembled, and he asked hesitantly: "Listening to Wen Yuan's tone, is it possible that he is planning to march south in the near future?"
Wen Yuan narrowed his eyes and smiled and said: "Brother is indeed very resourceful. I just mentioned this, and brother can guess my thoughts. Yes, now that the north has been set, I am planning to march south. The weather will get warmer next year. I We will go south to conquer Buchen on a large scale,"
Cao Cao said "Oh", lowered his head and said in silence for a long time: "The first target of Nawen's expedition to the south is probably Quanzi Zixiu (Cao Ang's character)."
It's easy to talk to smart people. Wen Yuan's eyes flashed and he said: "Exactly."
Cao Cao sighed and said: "I understand, Wen Yuan came to see me this time because he wanted me to persuade Quanzi to surrender."
Wen Yuan nodded without saying anything. In fact, it goes without saying that once he goes south to Huaisi, what kind of disadvantages will Cao Ang face? I believe that Cao Cao has already had a cleanup in his mind over the years. He must know that Cao Ang will never be able to stop him. The Jin army was at the forefront.
That's why Wen Yuan visited Cao Cao at this time, hoping that he could come forward to persuade Cao Ang to surrender and seize the land of Huaisi without bloodshed.
Cao Cao sighed, his eyes flashed with kindness, and he murmured: "This kid Zixiu..." As his father, Cao Cao is most familiar with Cao Ang's character. The hope was so deep that Cao Cao entrusted him with important matters when he was in danger.
But at the beginning, Cao Cao and Wenyuan were still enemies. Cao Cao hoped that Cao Ang could inherit his career and continue to compete with Wenyuan for the world. But with everything he saw in Hebei over the years, Cao Cao's thoughts at this moment have undergone a major change from those before.
Knowing how powerful Wenyuan was, Cao Cao already knew that with his defeat in Guandu, no one in the world could stand up to Wenyuan. Anyone who tried to confront Wenyuan would be like mantis trying to fight against him.
With this idea, Cao Cao did not want to watch his son continue to resist and be defeated and die in the end. Not only Cao Ang, but also Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, Cao Zhang, his own flesh and blood in Shouchun City, as well as the Cao family and Xiahou
clan relatives...
Cao Cao is also a person with feelings, and he has reached the age where he knows his destiny. He has lived alone in Hebei for the past few years. He also longs for the warmth of family affection and hopes that his children can be reunited with him...
Moreover, Cao Ang was extremely filial to his parents. Cao Cao believed that as long as he compiled a letter and handed it over to Cao Ang, Cao Ang would definitely not go against his father's wishes...
Hearing Wen Yuan mention this, Cao Cao relaxed his mind. He lowered his head and thought for a long time, then sighed and said: "Well, this world will eventually belong to Wen Yuan... I promise you, I will cheat and write a letter to Quan Zi tonight."
Letter..." After saying this sentence, Cao Cao seemed to have aged ten years and felt weak.
This decision was difficult to make. Although there were so many reasons for him to make this decision, as soon as Zhen agreed to write this letter, it meant completely giving up his ambition to fight for the world. This was very important to Cao Cao, who aspired to the world.
Huge blow.
Yes, the reality is cruel. Cao Cao has been brought to Hebei by Wen Yuan, but Cao Ang is still there. Since ancient times, China has idioms such as sons inheriting the father's legacy and hoping that the son will succeed. Even if Cao Cao cannot succeed, he still hopes that Cao Ang can.
Inherit your unfinished ambition and strive for supremacy in the world.
After Cao Ang took over Cao Cao's responsibility, he did an impressive job. Cao Cao was still very pleased. But once he wrote this letter, it meant killing Cao Cao's last trace of comfort. How could this not make Cao Cao sad?
Wen Yuan also knew that Cao Cao's decision was not easy, and consoled him: "Brother, don't worry, if Zixiu is willing to surrender, I will treat him well. I would like to ask the emperor to make him the governor of Yangzhou. In addition, my brother's wife and several young masters can also be treated as such."
Then Yingtao reunited with his brother and shared a family together."
Cao Cao shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Thank you very much, Mr. Jin, for your kindness. I'm going to fix a letter and give it to Mr. Jin to have someone deliver it to Quanzi tomorrow morning." After that, he bowed his hands to Wenyuan and stood up to leave.
"Brother..." Wen Yuan opened his mouth to say something, but looking at Cao Cao's bleak figure, he did not say anything. Originally, Wen Yuan wanted to ask Cao Cao to come out to assist him. If such a capable minister is here,
Dalu Zepan's life is a waste not only for Cao Cao himself, but also for Wen Yuan and the entire Han Dynasty. But Wen Yuan also knows that it is impossible to ask Cao Cao to serve as an official at this time. Cao Cao has suffered such a big setback today and wants to
If you want him to work for you, you have to at least wait until Cao Ang takes refuge...