Of course Yan Liang knew that Cao Pi was not a good guy.
In the past history, in order to compete for the crown prince position, Cao Pi always showed a filial and honest appearance in front of Cao Cao, but secretly used all means to bribe Cao Cao's close officials and create various obstacles for his competitor Cao Zhi.
As a result, Cao Cao was confused by the illusion of Cao Pi's filial piety, and finally chose Cao Pi as his successor.
After Cao Cao died and Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, he soon showed his true colors and pushed his younger brothers, especially Cao Zhi, to the extreme.
As a descendant of the Cao family, Cao Zhang, the most prestigious in the army, died of an inexplicable illness after his military power was reduced.
That's all. The key is that apart from his intrigues, Cao Pi was mediocre and incompetent in both governing the country and using troops.
In the past, when Liu Bei raised troops to attack Wu, Cao Pi not only missed the opportunity to destroy Wu, but was tricked by Sun Quan. Later, he raised troops out of anger, but he defeated Soochow.
Cao Pi had been in power for several years and was unable to achieve military success. Before his death, he appointed Sima Yi as Minister Tuogu, which indirectly laid the foundation for the fall of Wei.
It can be said that Yan Liang did not have a good impression of Cao Pi.
Now that he heard that Cao Pi was fighting within the family, and that Cao Pi had the upper hand, Yan Liang was happy to watch the excitement. He wished that Cao Pi would gain power. Wouldn't it be more conducive to him to destroy Qin?
Therefore, Yan Liang ordered that the armies should not advance for the time being, and let the Cao family fight among themselves for a while longer.
The Chu army stationed troops in Lueyang but did not advance, but Cao Cao did not know Yan Liang's intention. He only thought that Yan Liang simply wanted to wait for food and grass to accumulate before raising troops.
Cao Cao then took a breath and took advantage of this time to build his Weishui defense line day and night.
On that day, Cao Cao inspected the south bank of the Wei River, and Cao Pi accompanied him.
Standing on the bank of the horse, Cao Cao looked at the shameless plain on the other side and sighed: "Both sides of the Wei River are flat and can be crossed everywhere. It is really not easy to defend against an army of more than 100,000 thieves."
Cao Cao lamented like this, naturally because he lamented the lack of strength in his army.
Cao Pi looked like this, rolled his eyes, and took the opportunity to say: "The enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered, which is really disadvantageous for us. There is a way, which may alleviate the problem of insufficient strength of our army."
"What's your plan?" Cao Cao's spirit perked up slightly.
"Most of our troops to resist the Chu army come from the old headquarters in Guanzhong. There are still tens of thousands of troops and horses available in Liangzhou. Why don't my father mobilize the troops and horses in Liangzhou to reinforce Jizhou?" Cao Pi added.
Cao Cao thought Cao Pi had some clever plan, but his expression suddenly dimmed again, and he sighed: "It's not like you don't know the situation in Liangzhou. If I could mobilize all the troops in Liangzhou, I would have already done so."
Because Liangzhou is located in the northwest border, it has been in a semi-independent state since Dong Zhuo's Rebellion, which lasted for more than ten years.
Later, although Cao Cao pacified Liangzhou and strengthened his rule over the state, the years of separatism made Liangzhou's centrifugal force against the imperial court always strong.
Coupled with the large number of Qiang and Hu people in the area, Cao Cao was worried that if he implemented strong rule, it would inevitably arouse the rebellion of the powerful people in Liangzhou. Therefore, although Cao Cao's rule in Liangzhou was limited to paying taxes and donating horses on time to the state,
, and occasionally just dispatched some troops and horses at the discretion of the court.
As for the Liangzhou officials appointed by Cao Cao, except for the governor, the rest of the posts of governor were basically performed by local people in Liangzhou.
Now that Jicheng is in danger, if a small number of troops and horses are mobilized from Liangzhou, it will not have much effect. If a large number of troops and horses are mobilized, the governors borrowed from Liangzhou will inevitably refuse to obey in order to protect their interests. In this way, the transfer The army failed to achieve results, but instead damaged the court's prestige.
It is precisely for this reason that Cao Cao has not considered dispatching troops from Liangzhou since the war began.
Cao Pi said: "Of course my father's concerns are known to me, but the country is in trouble now. If the Yan thieves capture Longxi, they will inevitably invade Liangzhou next. Without Longxi as a barrier, the people of Liangzhou want to rely on their own strength , it is impossible to block Yan Thief's front, they should be very clear about this."
"Go on." Cao Cao seemed to have heard some clues.
"So, I want to go to Liangzhou as a prince, tell the Liangzhou officials about my interests, persuade them to obey the court's orders, and lead the Liangzhou cavalry south to Jizhou Qinwang. If Liangzhou soldiers join, wouldn't my father's counterattack plan be even more serious? It’s a little bit more likely to win.”
Cao Cao's expression moved slightly, and it could be seen that Cao Pi's advice moved him deeply.
After pondering for a long time, Cao Cao nodded and said: "I am really pleased as a father that you can take the initiative to stand up and share my worries at a critical moment. Let's do this, I will make you the prince soon, and you will go to the country as the prince. Let Liangzhou mobilize troops and horses."
Cao Pi was overjoyed when he heard this and looked in disbelief. He knelt on the ground and thanked his father for his kindness.
Cao Cao nodded slightly, with a look of expectation on his face.
Cao Cao's purpose was to let Cao Pi go to Liangzhou as the prince. In this way, Cao Pi's words would have more weight, and he would have a better chance of convincing the officials in Liangzhou.
"Zihuan, the empire of our Qin Dynasty and the foundation of the Cao family all depend on you. You must never let me down." Cao Cao lifted his son up, patted his shoulder, and said with sincerity.
Cao Pi's eyes flashed with generosity, he raised his hands and said sternly: "Father, don't worry, I will live up to your father's trust."
Cao Cao caressed his son's shoulder gently and looked at that loyal and generous face. Cao Cao was greatly relieved, and deep relief could not help but appear in his eyes.
Cao Cao made a big plan, and the father and son returned to Jicheng. Cao Cao went back to the palace to issue an order, and Cao Pi went straight back to his palace.
From leaving Cao Cao's side to returning to the palace, Cao Pi always remained calm and never felt overjoyed at all.
It wasn't until he entered the palace, closed the door, and faced Guo Huan alone that Cao Pi's face burst into ecstasy.
"Haha, haha~~" Cao Pi laughed loudly, so proud.
Seeing her husband so ecstatic, Guo Huan seemed to have seen something, and she was surprised and said: "The king is so happy, could it be that my concubine's plan has been successful?"
"It's done. My beloved concubine's plan is brilliant. How can it fail? My father has approved my invitation to go to Liangzhou." Cao Pi's face was full of excitement.
It turned out that Cao Pi asked Cao Cao for orders to persuade Liangzhou officials to send troops for the Qin Dynasty, but Guo Huan only offered him an escape.
Through this plan, Cao Pi could justifiably avoid going to Liangzhou and watch the war develop in Jicheng, so as to avoid the risk of Jicheng falling and himself being annihilated along with Cao Cao.
When Guo Huan heard that the plan was successful, she was naturally very happy, and her pretty face couldn't help but feel a bit proud.
At this time, Cao Pi became even more excited and said: "My dear concubine, you don't know that not only did my father not have the slightest suspicion about the king, but he also promised Ruo on the spot that he would issue an edict to make me the prince and let me go as the prince. Liangzhou, this is such an unexpected surprise, haha~~"
Guo Huan was overjoyed, but she didn't expect that her clever plan not only enabled Cao Pi to avoid danger, but also enabled Cao Pi to gain the status of prince.
If Cao Pi is the crown prince, then she, Guo Huan, will become the crown princess. Thinking of this, Guo Huan was overjoyed, her face blossomed, and she said happily: "This is such an unexpected joy. I am so happy."
It’s time to congratulate and congratulate the prince.”
The word "prince" made Cao Pi feel elated and had endless aftertaste.
"This is all thanks to your contribution, my beloved concubine." Cao Pi laughed and helped Guo Huan up, but suddenly said worriedly: "Why did the king use this trick to avoid going to Liangzhou, but my beloved concubine, you have to stay in Ji?
The king is worried about the city."
Guo Huan then smiled secretly and said: "What's the difficulty in this matter? One day, the king can pretend to be unwell and say that he will go to Liangzhou with illness. In the name of accompanying and taking care of the king, I will ask your majesty for permission to go to Liangzhou with me."
, Your Majesty will naturally approve it without any doubt."
Cao Pi nodded repeatedly after hearing this, praising his beloved concubine for her unparalleled intelligence.
At this moment, the entire city of Hebei was shrouded in the clouds of war, and the soldiers and civilians in the city felt gloomy and uneasy.
But only the happy couple in the secret room seemed so out of tune with the stormy atmosphere in the city.
…
Three days later, Lueyang City.
Yan Liang was in such a good mood because there was good news coming from the south thousands of miles away.
Wei Yan, his general in the Southern Expedition, captured Longbian, the seat of Jiaozhi County, ten days ago, and completely wiped out the Shi clan that had ruled Jiaozhou for more than ten years. The remaining Rinan and Jiuzhen counties surrendered one after another.
This means that after nearly a year of conquest, Wei Yan finally pacified the separatists in Jiaozhou and incorporated this southernmost border state into the territory of Dachu.
"Okay, Chang Qian is a handsome man, and he has indeed lived up to my trust." Yan Liang was overjoyed and ordered on the spot to grant Wei Yan the title of Marquis of the Countryside and to add 600 households to his territory.
The news of the pacification of Jiaozhou also made all the warriors present feel excited and inspired, and the atmosphere in the imperial tent reached its peak for a while.
"There is also a report about the details of Jicheng. It is said that Cao Cao has appointed Cao Pi as the crown prince and sent him to Liangzhou. I don't know why?" Fazheng reported another piece of information.
Xu Shu smiled and said: "Cao Cao was forced into a hurry and wanted his son to mobilize tens of thousands of troops in Liangzhou."
"Hmph, I think Cao Cao has such intentions. That boy Cao Pi must have bad intentions when he goes to Liangzhou. I think he probably wants to avoid trouble."
Yan Liang's words exposed Cao Pi's true intentions. He knew this boy who seemed to be loyal but was actually very sophisticated.
Xu Shu said: "No matter what the purpose of Cao Pi's going to Liangzhou is, if he can really mobilize tens of thousands of cavalry from Liangzhou, it will indeed cause some trouble for our army."
"What Yuan Zhi said is absolutely true. Our army has rested enough now and has accumulated enough food and grass. In my opinion, it is better to send troops immediately to wipe out Longxi." Fa Zheng added.
Yan Liang listened to the ministers' words, and in his eyes, Xun Xun's murderous intention was already gathering.
He stood up in excitement, waved his hand, and said boldly: "Pass on my decree, tomorrow the army will set off south to wipe out the Qin Kingdom for me!"
