As soon as Yuan Shao died, Hebei would no longer be a whole, and there would be no opponent for Lao Cao. As for Yuan Shao's two sons, Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, in Cao Cao's eyes, they were as useless as Tao Qian's two sons. Otherwise, Tao Qian would not give up Xuzhou. So, Hebei would fall into the hands of Cao Cao. Thinking of this, Cao Cao could not help laughing.
"I don't know if Military Advisor Guo thinks Xu You is right!" While Cao Cao was laughing, Xu You began to target Guo Jia.
Guo Jia was slightly stunned. He had been slacking off just now. Guo Jia was a prodigal. If he could slack off, he would never think about problems. When Xu You came to Cao Jun, the happiest person was Lao Cao, and perhaps the second happiest person was Guo Jia. Because someone could help Guo Jia share the burden, Guo Jia could have more time to drink wine. Naturally, he was very happy. But he did not expect that Xu You would target him. "Oh, Mr. Ziyuan is right!" Guo Jia laughed and wanted to reveal the truth.
But it was obvious that Xu You did not want to let him go. Xu You came to Cao Cao because he had no future in Yuan Shao's army. He was interrogated and set up, and Yuan Shao was furious. If something went wrong, he would kill Xu You. Naturally, Xu You did not want to stay any longer, so he came to Cao Cao. In the Yuan Shao's army, Xu You was just a dispensable role in Yuan Shao's army. That was because Xu You was greedy and did not want to join the fight between the two brothers. But now that he came to Cao Cao's army, Xu You was very proud of his talent. He and Cao Cao were good friends, so naturally, he wanted to be the first person under Cao Cao's command. Now that Guo Jia was the first person under Cao Cao and the military advisor of the army, Xu You would naturally target Guo Jia. "You still have a lot of shortcomings, I don't know if the military advisor can solve your doubts!"
"Mr. Ziyuan has already done a good job, and I have no other opinions!" Guo Jia was a lazy person. He was too lazy to compete with Xu You and Xu Ziyuan for the civil official's position. Cheng Yu and Guo Jia had done it before, but Guo Jia did not care. If you want it, you can take it. He was eager to be idle, so naturally, he would ask Cheng Yu to do something. Cheng Yu could not stand Guo Jia's casual attitude, so he repeatedly made things difficult for Guo Jia. And Guo Jia! Only when he could not stand it, would he fight back. And every time he fought back, he could make Cheng Yu embarrassed.
"Oh, military advisor Guo, you flatter me!" Xu You looked at Guo Jia very complacently. He just wanted to show in front of others that he was better than Guo Jia. The most important thing was to tell Cao Cao that he was better than Lao Cao, so that Lao Cao could remove Guo Jia's difficulties and let him take the position of military advisor!
But Xu You did not understand Cao Cao. To be exact, he did not understand the current Cao Cao. Cao Cao was no longer the old Cao Cao. Now he was not only Cao Cao, but also a fierce and ambitious person. He would soon be the overlord of Hebei.
What Xu You did not understand was Guo Jia. Guo Jia did not like to compete with others at all. On the surface, Xu You seemed to be suppressing Guo Jia, but people who had been in Cao Cao's camp for a long time knew that Guo Jia's non-competition was actually a big competition. If you fought with someone who did not compete, others would find his concession and your aggressiveness so disgusting. Lao Cao frowned and looked at Xu You's performance. He did not know why he felt disgusted. Xu You was not Guo Jia. Guo Jia could be very casual with Cao Cao, and could even be friends with Cao Cao. This was because Cao Cao knew that Guo Jia was a prodigal. This person did not care about high positions and had no ambition. The important thing was that this person would not show off in front of others. But Xu You was different. Although Xu You was very intelligent, he was very greedy to a certain extent. If he was too greedy, he would be caught by the interrogators, which led to his defection. This person regarded Cao Cao's politeness as admiration. Naturally, Lao Cao would not say much about him. Once he was useless or redundant, then Xu You would be really miserable.
Xu You did not feel Cao Cao's disgust, and Guo Jia's non-competition in front of him was regarded as a concession or a feeling of admitting defeat. This made him feel that he was not far from becoming the first person under Cao Cao, so Xu You let Guo Jia go.
Cao Cao also asked another question in order to let Xu You continue to feel good about himself. "Fengxiao, have you sent the provisions to Shouchun?" Cao Cao's words made Xu You stunned. Shouchun? Shouchun was in Yangzhou. If Xu You remembered correctly, it should be the territory of Lü Bu. This Lü Bu and Cao Cao were once mortal enemies. Why would he send the provisions there? In his memory, after taking down Wuchao some time ago, Cao Cao got more than 200,000 shi of provisions, but Lao Cao took out half of it, 100,000 shi, and sent it away. Xu You thought that the 100,000 shi was sent to Xudu, but now he found that it was a big mistake. It was sent to Shouchun.
"Reporting to Milord! It has been sent there! " Guo Jia cupped his fist and said to Cao Cao. If it was in private, Guo Jia would have sent it over while drinking wine, but now it was in public. Guo Jia gave Cao Cao enough face. This was Cao Cao's favorite counselor.
"Good, that's good, that's good!" Cao Cao nodded. When he got the provisions, the first place he thought of was Shouchun.
"A Man! I don't know why you gave away 100,000 shi of provisions for free! And it's Shouchun, Lü Bu's territory? " Xu You was very puzzled. You said that the hundreds of thousands of grain and fodder were not cheap, and it was barely enough for your own use. But you gave out 100,000 grain and fodder at once. Which Duke could bear such a gift? "Is this what the military counselor did?" Xu You glanced at Guo Jia. Guo Jia was attacked for no reason, and Xu You thought that he was a prodigal son.
"Haha, Ziyuan, Ziyuan, you don't know this! I didn't give away 100,000 shi of provisions for free! "Cao Cao said with a smile while stroking his beard. "They have already paid the price for these hundreds of thousands of shi of provisions!" “
"Is this a reconciliation?" Xu You didn't understand and asked.
"Fengxiao, explain it to Ziyuan!" Cao Cao directly mentioned Guo Jia's name, which meant that he wanted to use Guo Jia's name to damage Xu You and Xu Ziyuan. He meant that Xu You thought that you were more intelligent than others! But you didn't even think of this, how can you call yourself that? "
"My Lord!" Guo Jia was stunned. He looked at Cao Cao's eyes. How could he not know what Cao Cao was thinking? They had worked together for so many years, and he had already understood Cao Cao's mind. He wanted to vent his anger, but didn't he know that Guo Jia didn't want to slap Xu You's face at all? In other words, Guo Jia didn't want to offend Xu You. There was no need to. Cheng Yu had already annoyed Guo Jia, and now Xu You was also annoying him. But Cao Cao personally mentioned Guo Jia, so Guo Jia could only stand up.
"Mr. Ziyuan, you don't know!" Guo Jia said to Xu You, "My Lord said that Lü Bu had already paid for the provisions, and one of them was the Battle of Guandu!" Guo Jia said and glanced at Cao Cao on the stage. His eyes said that he wanted to let him go, because he knew that if he said the following words, Xu You would really punish him. But Cao Cao acted as if he didn't see it, which made Guo Jia speechless. He could only force Xu You to do something beyond his ability.
"Mr. Ziyuan, the so-called 'already paid' is like this!" Since he couldn't refuse, then he would slap Xu You in the face! Anyway, this Xu You was very uncomfortable. Although Cheng Yu was against Guo Jia, Cheng Yu was a stubborn old man. Although he was stubborn, there were many things that were good for Guo Jia, such as drinking. Guo Jia's body was very weak, and drinking would only do harm to him. Cheng Yu banned drinking because he wanted to let Guo Jia recuperate, but Guo Jia was used to it and didn't want to change it. But this Xu You was different. He wanted to step on Guo Jia's head, but Guo Jia didn't want to argue with him and didn't want to waste time. But now that he was forced, he couldn't blame Guo Jia.
"The Battle of Wuchao is actually half the price of the Lvbu's Army in Shouchun!" Guo Jia threw out such a heavy bomb.
"What?!" Xu You couldn't stay calm because he had joined Cao Cao's Army. He was so proud and arrogant because he thought that he had made a great contribution! That was why he was so proud! He still remembered that when Cao Cao heard that he was coming, he came out to welcome him and said happily, "Ziyuan, you're here! Great!" Then he invited him to sit down and talk. Xu You asked, "How long can your army's provisions last?" Cao Cao replied, "It can still last for a year." Xu You said again, "How can it be so much? Seriously! "Cao Cao replied again," It can still last for half a year. "Xu You said," Don't you want to defeat Yuan Shao? Why don't you tell the truth? "Cao Cao said," I'm just joking with you. In fact, the provisions are only enough for one month. " Xu You said, "Today, Meng De is alone with no reinforcements and no provisions. This is a critical situation. Now the Yuan Army has provisions stored in Wuchao. Although they have soldiers, they are unprepared. As long as we send light troops to attack Wuchao and burn their provisions, the Yuan Army will be defeated in three days! "
Such a great contribution, and now this Guo Jia said that it was Lü Bu's plan. Even if you want to lie, you have to come up with a better one!
"Haha, I don't know how you offended the Military Advisor. Why do you have such a bad opinion of me? Even my contribution has become someone else's!" Xu You was a little unconvinced and said coldly. In his opinion, this was just Guo Jia suppressing him because he couldn't stand that he was stronger than him!
"Ah!" Guo Jia shook his head with a wry smile. It seemed that he was going to be the bad guy. Well, well, since he had done it, he might as well make it louder. "Mr. Ziyuan, I can tell you that Wuchao was told to us by the King Of Shu, Liu Mang, when you were still a counselor under Yuan Benchu! But at that time, the Lord and I were not sure, and the arrival of Mr. Ziyuan made us believe in this attack more! " What Guo Jia meant was that they had already known about the sneak attack on Crow's Nest. His appearance only confirmed their suspicions. The real credit did not belong to him at all.
"Haha, Military Advisor, do you think Ziyuan will believe it? Before the confrontation in Guandu, why didn't the Military Advisor say that there is a person who knows the past 500 years and the future 500 years? " Being able to foresee things like a god was just a legend. Even top-notch strategists like them had times when they made mistakes. How could there be someone who could see through the flaws before the battle?
"Mr. Ziyuan, in fact, I don't want to believe it either, but you can ask the colleagues below, and you can also ask the Lord!" Guo Jia waved his hand and said. This Xu You and Xu Ziyuan were afraid that he had not lost enough face and still wanted to get to the bottom of it. After Wuchao was taken down, Cao Cao gave Xu You a lot of rewards, but these rewards were not worthy of Xu You's contribution at all.
"Yes, yes, Wuchao is indeed the one we knew before!" A group of counselors below, as well as several trusted generals of Lao Cao, nodded, but Xu You did not believe it. He thought that these people were jealous of him, or that they were taking into account Guo Jia's position as Military Advisor. He still wanted to hear what Cao Cao had to say. Seeing that Xu You was unwilling to give up, Cao Cao could only slap him.
"Ziyuan, don't be discouraged. This King Of Shu is not an ordinary person. What he can think of, even Feng Xiao can't think of!" On the surface, Cao seemed to be comforting him, but in fact, he was adding salt to the wound. He directly told Xu You that you'd better not compare with others. In fact, you were just a suggestion. You were just a person who drank the soup!
"This, this, this!" Xu You didn't want to believe it, but Cao Cao didn't seem to be lying. Xu You could only clench his teeth and snort coldly. He had always been proud. He had been working hard because he believed that without him, Cao Cao wouldn't have achieved what he has now. Without Xu You, Cao Cao would have fled for his life, or even be seriously injured like Yuan Shao. Cao Cao would have been driven out of Yan Province by Yuan Shao a long time ago. He wouldn't have the vigor and self-satisfaction he has now! But now someone told him that all this had nothing to do with him, and he was just a supporting role. This kind of supporting role really made Xu You ashamed.
"King Of Shu, Liu Mang, King Of Shu, Liu Mang! I'd like to see what kind of person you are! " Xu You secretly gnashed his teeth. Liu Mang did not know that he had unintentionally offended such a first-class counselor. Xu You was too ashamed to stay in the tent. He said to Cao Cao that he had a headache and left.
After Xu You left, Ye City's strategy was also out. Cao Cao waved his hand and let the generals leave to prepare for the capture of Hebei. Only Guo Jia was left.
Everyone left, and only Guo Jia was left. Seeing that no one was left, Cao Cao did not need to hold back anymore. He directly laughed out loud. Fortunately, Xu You had gone far away, otherwise, Xu You would definitely regret that he had joined Cao Cao's army.
"My lord, my lord! You have made Fengxiao miserable! " Seeing Cao Cao laugh, Guo Jia also laughed. But his smile was bitter because he had become an enemy today. According to Xu You's character, there was no possibility of reconciliation between him and Guo Jia. He was completely used by Cao Cao. Even if Guo Jia saw it, he had no reason to refuse.
"Fengxiao, Fengxiao, don't pretend to be innocent. Don't you want to see Xu You's angry face? I don't believe that you are not smiling in your heart! " Cao Cao was also teasing Guo Jia. Cao Cao's words reminded Guo Jia of Xu You's face. At first, it was a normal yellow color, which was the color of arrogance, which was annoying. Then it turned red, which was the expression of shame and anger. Then it turned purple and black, which was the expression of disbelief and impossibility. Finally, it directly turned pale, which was the expression of shame. Thinking of this, Guo Jia could not help but smile.
"My lord, my lord, no matter what, I will not leave if you don't make it up to me!" No matter what, Guo Jia was used by Cao Cao as a knife. Although this knife was very satisfying and Guo Jia was very excited, he was schemed against. Therefore, although Guo Jia would not be angry, he would naturally blackmail Cao Cao.
"How about a jar of aged Du Kang wine!" Cao Cao said as he stretched out a finger.
"A jar, hehe, my lord, I can't walk anymore!" Guo Jia did not directly say whether he could or could not, but directly said that he could not walk anymore. What he meant was that he would not leave and it was up to Cao Cao to decide. Cao Cao smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Two jars should be enough!"
Guo Jia did not answer, but used actions to tell Cao Cao. He directly sat on the couch next to Cao Cao and took off his shoes to rest.
"Three jars, three jars is not enough!" Cao Cao stretched out another finger, but it was obvious that Guo Jia was still not satisfied, "Well, Fengxiao, how many jars do you want?"
"Hehe! My lord, don't be like this. What do you mean by how many jars? This is your compensation to me! "Guo Jia said as he stretched out both hands.
Five fingers on one hand meant five jars, and ten fingers on both hands meant ten jars. "No way, no way. Ten jars? You can sleep here! " Cao Cao also acted shamelessly. This aged Du Kang wine was not ordinary wine. He, Lao Cao, only got some from the nobles. Ten jars were basically all the wine he had.
"Tsk!" Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao with disdain. Sleep then sleep! Others did not know Cao Cao, but how could Guo Jia not know? What was so good about Cao Cao? First, he loved power. Second, he loved literature. Third, he was lecherous! He loved power. Now, Cao Cao was Emperor Han's Minister of Public Works, second only to one person. In fact, Emperor Han could only order him in name. In fact, Emperor Han had to act according to Cao Cao's wishes. He loved literature. Lao Cao was the head of the Seven Sons of Jian 'an. His literary skills were really good, but writing was not something that could be enjoyed. Writing was something that could only be done by chance. As for lecherousness, well, that was the norm of men. But Cao Cao just magnified it a little. It had been months since the Battle of Guandu. In these months, Lao Cao could not even sleep well, let alone women. But now, things were different. He had won the Battle of Guandu. According to the analysis just now, Yuan Shao, his master, was about to die. It could be said that if the two sons of the Yuan family, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, worked together, they could still give Cao Cao a headache. But these two were not harmonious! It was obvious that they were like fire and water. The general situation in Hebei was set. Cao Cao was the overlord of the north. Now that he had taken Chaoge, it was time for him to rest. Lao Cao's lecherous desires were slowly rising. He had been holding it in for months, so of course he needed to release it. Guo Jia could see it! Naturally, there were people in Chaoge who had prepared beautiful women for Old Cao.
If he stayed in the tent, Lao Cao could not possibly have sex with Guo Jia in front of him!
Guo Jia directly grasped Cao Cao's weak spot. Cao Cao would naturally compromise. "My good Fengxiao, my good Guo Jia, seven jars. Just these jars, no more."
"Jars?!" Guo Jia licked his lips. He continued to look at Cao Cao without saying a word. Strategists were the best at psychological warfare.
"If you want more, you'll have to sleep here!" Cao Cao had no other choice. He only had ten jars of Du Kang in total. Guo Jia had no idea where he got the information. Seven jars was his limit. It was not that he didn't want to give more, but Cao Cao had to treat him with good wine during the celebration party! Cao Cao had no other choice but to play along with Guo Jia.
"Fine, seven jars it is!" Guo Jia said with a regretful expression. However, he was overjoyed in his heart. His limit was only five and a half jars. Just now, he raised his ten fingers to remind Lao Cao that he knew Lao Cao had ten jars of good wine, but Guo Jia thought he wanted ten jars. How could Guo Jia not be happy with two extra jars of good wine? This kind of smile came from the heart and could not be hidden. Cao Cao immediately caught it. Cao Cao knew that he had fallen for Guo Jia's psychological warfare. Cao Cao gritted his teeth. "Good, you Guo Fengxiao, you even schemed against the lord!" Cao Cao gritted his teeth but he could not take back what he had said. He could only ask the soldiers to give Guo Jia seven jars of good wine.
"Well, Fengxiao, let's talk about business. How can the Lvbu's Army give us the remaining money for the general provisions?" Cao Cao asked Guo Jia. Although Lao Cao did not hesitate to give out 100,000 shi of provisions, Lao Cao was still very distressed. 100,000 shi was a lot of taxes. However, Lao Cao had no choice but to give it out. He was not a kind person. Would he really give the provisions to the King Of Shu just because of Liu Mang's words? You must be kidding! Originally, in the official history, Xu You mentioned Wu Chao. However, what did Lao Cao give to Xu You? In the end, Xu You was still killed. What was called an ambitious and ruthless character? Only by being thick-skinned would one be able to survive in this chaotic world. Old Cao used the name of the Han Emperor to threaten the Emperor. Liu Bei used the name of loyalty to buy people's hearts. If Old Cao was really a loyal minister, why did he replace the Han Emperor? Liu Bei used the name of loyalty to buy people's hearts. If Old Cao was really a loyal minister, why did he replace the Han Emperor? If Liu Bei was the Emperor's uncle and a loyal minister, why did Liu Bei not lead the army to the north after the Han Emperor was forced to abdicate? Why did he directly proclaim himself as the Emperor in Chengdu?
Therefore, none of these people could really agree with each other. They were all people who said one thing and meant another. Gentlemen had already died in their graves.
Lao Cao gave food and fodder to Lü Bu and funded Shouchun. Did you really think he was a philanthropist? He was guarding against Liu Bei. Although Lao Cao had taken Guandu, it would take a long time to really pacify Hebei. He now had a total of 100,000 troops. It was not a problem for this army to pacify Hebei. However, it was not enough to guard against Yanzhou and Xuzhou. He knew what kind of person Liu Bei was. This time, the three families besieged Lü Bu because they wanted to destroy Lü Bu. In this way, Sun Ce could wholeheartedly fight against Liu Biao and take Jingzhou. Meanwhile, Liu Bei could eliminate the last enemy in the Central Plains. After that, he could occupy Yangzhou and Yuzhou and even attack Xuzhou, Yanzhou and Zhili. He did not want to look back after taking Hebei to find that there was an overlord in the Central Plains. If that happened, how long would it take? Therefore, Lao Cao could not let the Lvbu's Army be destroyed. At least not now. He wanted the Lvbu's Army to delay Liu Bei's Army and Sun Cejun. He wanted the Central Plains to be scattered and not a hard board. Lao Cao did not have enough troops and could not directly send troops to help. He could only rely on food and fodder. He knew that Shouchun had millions of people and what they lacked was food and fodder. Therefore, Lao Cao sent 100,000 food and fodder to the other side of the Huai River.
"Milord, I have already sent people! I believe that Lü Bu will not refuse! " Cao Cao and Guo Jia's hundred thousand shi of provisions was not only to keep the Central Plains in a state of disunity but also to obtain that ballista. Although Old Cao's ballista was not from Lu Bu's army but a simplified version made by Liu Ye, it still made Old Cao extremely happy. It also allowed Old Cao to see the might of the ballista. In the naval battle, Old Cao relied on thirty thousand normal navy to take down Yuan Shao's hundred thousand navy. Although the navy on both sides were half-baked, the ratio of the losses caused Old Cao to be shocked. There was also the scene of the enemy not being able to touch him and being beaten up by him. Old Cao would never be able to forget that scene for the rest of his life. If not for Old Cao's ballista only being able to fire two bolts, they might not have been completely wiped out. It was because the ballista did not have enough bolts that they were defeated in the naval battle. If the ballista could fire multiple bolts, then not only would Yuan Shao's hundred thousand navy be at the bottom of the Yellow River, even Yuan Shao himself would be fed to the turtles!
In the Yangtze River basin, the ballista there was the type that Lao Cao was worried about. If Lao Cao encountered one, then he would be in trouble! The ballista could not only be used for naval battles, but it could also be used to defend a city. That was why Lao Cao urgently wanted to obtain the ballista. Previously, the Lvbu's Army refused to sell it, while Jiangdong's Sun Ce and Jingzhou's Liu Biao guarded against Lao Cao like he was a thief. They held the ballista tightly in their hands and even tacitly sent out water ghosts to collect the ballista after the battle. This way, Cao Cao would not be able to obtain the manufacturing method of the ballista. Now, he could only ask the Lvbu's Army for help.
Everyone said that sending charcoal in snowy weather was better than icing on the cake. Cao Cao had helped the Lvbu's Army in Yangzhou's Shouchun. When the Lvbu's Army was besieged by three parties, they were in dire straits. This was truly sending charcoal in snowy weather. He did not believe that the Lvbu's Army, Shouchun, and Lujiang would not be moved. As long as he gave them the manufacturing method of the ballista, he would make a profit. He might even use the ballista to speed up the unification of Hebei!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
