Chapter 395 Cao Cao returns the palm
“Can’t this matter be changed?”
Zhong Yao couldn’t help but ask.
Although he knew how tenacious a young hero like Liu Feng was, if there were not other sufficient reasons for the decision, how could it possibly be changed because of his plea.
But when Zhong Yao thought about the consequences of Captain Sili falling into Cao Cao's hands, he couldn't help but ask.
"Okay."
To Zhong Yao's expectation, Liu Feng agreed immediately.
But before Zhong Yao could feel joy and doubt, Liu Feng continued to speak: "How about changing to the prefect of Wu County?"
Zhong Yao's body trembled, and a wry smile flashed across his eyes.
It turns out that this is the change.
At the same time, this is also Liu Feng's formal recruitment of Zhong Yao.
The prefect of Wu County is certainly not the prefect of a large county in the Central Plains, but he is also the first county in Yangzhou.
It can be seen that the sincerity of the incoming Yangzhou Shepherd Liu Feng is quite sufficient.
After Zhong Yao hesitated for a moment, he fell silent.
********
Early the next morning, Liu Feng suddenly petitioned for the removal of Sili Colonel Zhong Yao and appointed him as the prefect of Wu County. At the same time, Liu Feng also petitioned Manchong to be promoted to Sili Colonel Zhong Yao.
As soon as the news came out, the emperor was certainly panicked, but Cao Cao was so lucky that he couldn't help but be happy.
Afterwards, Liu Feng led a large group of troops out of the city, left Luoyang, and headed for Gong County.
After receiving the news, Cao Cao smiled happily and said: "Liu Zisheng is really a believer."
Liu Feng ignored the bloody storm in Luoyang City behind him and walked with Dong Zhao, the fat black man. On the way to Gong County.
"Gongren, please follow me south this time."
Now that he has decided to leave the court and the emperor to Cao Cao, a great talent like Dong Zhao will definitely not be able to stay in the court.
Before, Dong Zhao was needed to balance the situation in the court, help Zhong Yao secretly help the emperor, and restrict Cao Cao.
Now that this demand has disappeared, Dong Zhao's continued stay in Luozhong will not only fail to play the previous role, but may also be regarded as a thorn in Cao Cao's side and a thorn in his flesh.
Although Cao Cao is very close to him now, once he isolates the emperor, Cao Cao's attitude will naturally change.
If you want to continue to enter Luo in the future, you won't be as free as you are now.
Liu Feng would not dare to enter Luo lightly again without heavy troops.
"The lord has an order, and Zhao will naturally obey it."
Dong Zhao chuckled and said, "I just don't know how the lord plans to arrange his subordinates?"
Liu Feng thought for a while: "What about the prefect of Kuaiji or Yuzhang?"
Kuaiji and Yuzhang are both large counties, with a population of one million, and a vast territory. If it were not for the harsh climate and the numerous jungles and jungles in the mountains, they would definitely become the largest counties in the world.
In fact, a thousand years later, Kuaiji and Yuzhang have indeed become a land of plenty and one of the great granaries for later generations.
However, Dong Zhao is now a minister. This transfer can be regarded as a level transfer at best, not a promotion. Dong Zhao must be compensated for his other contributions.
"Then the governor of Kuaiji."
Dong Zhao didn't choose, and chose one at random.
"The emperor is still too impatient."
Dong Zhao shook his head and sighed. He mentioned the changes in the emperor in his previous letter to Liu Feng.
It was just that the emperor would dare to suppress Liu Feng without finding new support. This was really beyond the expectations of Dong Zhao and Zhong Yao.
Dong Zhao suddenly thought of something and chuckled: "Maybe the lord is to blame for this."
"What?"
Liu Feng was confused and didn't understand why Dong Zhao said this.
Dong Zhao explained: "It is my lord who was too 'loyal' in the past. I'm afraid the emperor really regards you as a foolish and loyal minister."
"This..."
Liu Feng was also stunned, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that Dong Zhao's words made sense.
Perhaps the impression I gave the emperor before was too good and too loyal, so that the emperor felt that it was okay to aggrieve him appropriately.
After all, honest people are best bullied.
Dong Zhao burst out laughing: "I'm afraid the emperor didn't expect that my lord, an honest man like you, is so hard to bully."
********
< br>Just as Dong Zhao guessed, the emperor Liu Xie was furious in the palace and broke several ornaments in succession, but he still could not pour out the anger in his heart.
Liu Xie couldn't understand why he just wanted to take back the real power of Yangzhou, which made Liu Feng so dissatisfied, and even directly colluded with Cao Cao.
Could it be that Liu Feng's previous loyalty was all fake?
But it's too late now.
As soon as Liu Fenggang left the city, Man Chong, the newly appointed official, rushed into the Taiwei's mansion with Cao's soldiers who looked like tigers and leopards, and directly arrested Yang Biao and took him back to Luoyang Prison. middle. Yuan Shu, who was in prison, was also picked up by Manchong with the general's token.
The next day, Cao Cao also stood up and dismissed Taiwei Yang Biao on the grounds that Yang Biao had colluded with Yuan Shu and had evil intentions.
Cao Cao's offensive was in full swing. With Yang Biao's imprisonment, the backbones of Yang's party were also arrested one after another. Among them were Shizhong Taichong, Shangshu Feng Shuo, Yilang Houqi and others.
The situation in the DPRK changed drastically in an instant. The emperor's ministers were trembling, while Cao Cao's ministers were proud.
Cao Cao not only arrested members of the Yang Party on a large scale and tortured them to extract confessions, but also ordered the major gates of Luoyang to be sealed, and only people allowed in but not out.
For a moment, people in Luoyang City were panicked, and many people thought of Liu Feng.
But when they came to visit, they found out that Liu Feng had left Luoyang a few days ago.
At this time, Liu Feng was less than half a day away from Gong County and stayed in Yanshi County.
Yanshi County, together with Gong County, is listed as the gateway to the east of Luoyang.
If you want to take the east road and drive directly to Luoyang, you must first capture Gongxian and Yanshi. These two cities are both fortified cities and are only half a day's journey from each other. They can effectively support each other. .
It is the most important gateway pass behind the revolving door in the east of Luoyang.
That night, Liu Feng held a banquet in Yanshi County to entertain Dong Zhao, Zhuge brothers, Pang Tong and Zhang Liao.
During the banquet, under the guidance of Liu Feng intentionally or unintentionally, everyone discussed Yang Feng and Han Xian.
After the two men join forces, they still have a strength of six to seven thousand people, and they are a force that cannot be underestimated in Luozhong.
To be honest, among the six or seven thousand people, more than half of them are elites who can fight, and the other half are not too bad, at least they are qualified soldiers.
It’s just that these people all have one thing in common, that is, military discipline is extremely poor, and they are all soldiers.
It was precisely because of this flaw, coupled with the somewhat profit-seeking personalities of Yang Feng and Han Xian, that made Liu Feng very hesitant. For Liu Feng, Yang Feng and Han Xian were very similar to useless at the moment. The best part of them, Xu Huang's troops, had been eaten by Liu Feng, and the rest made it difficult for Liu Feng to choose.
Therefore, he wants to listen to the advice of those around him.
"My lord, Liang once heard Sun Tzu say: Therefore, we know the discipline of the army, and victory or defeat lies in the right. Therefore, the order is based on literature, and the literature is based on force. This means that we must win."
Zhuge Liang He opened his mouth to admonish: "These people are brave enough to fight privately, but timid in national wars. What they gain must be lost, but what they lose is no regrets."
Liu Feng nodded slowly, Zhuge Liang said it was exactly what he said The most worrying place.
These soldiers are not good at fighting, but they are good at fighting in the nest.
Once these people are allowed to enter their own military system, they may lead to the destruction of other soldiers.
Previously, Liu Feng wanted to select the elite of the entire army and organize them into one or two independent battalions. In fact, the essence was the same as his current concerns.
When a warrior stays with ten Bingyouzi, the warrior will either be consumed without objection, or he will be corrupted by the Bingyouzi and become a new Bingyouzi.
But when a warrior stays with ten other warriors, even if you charge with all your strength during the attack, as long as you are not the fastest one, you will be ridiculed by the other warriors.
In this way, the brave will become braver and the strong will become stronger. This is the style of an elite ace.
Dong Zhao then said: "My lord, Yang Feng and Han Xian have been in Luozhong for a long time. The relationship between them and the general has been quite subtle in the past six months, especially Han Xian. It is even more fiery. At this time, if you want to bring If they go south, they may not be able to win their support."
Dong Zhao's words were a bit cryptic, but Liu Feng understood the general meaning.
It’s just that Cao Cao has been trying hard to win over Yang Feng and Han Xian over the past year.
Before, the relationship between the two parties was bad and had no effect, but in the past six months, the attitudes of Yang Feng and Han Xian have softened, especially Han Xian, who may have hooked up with Cao Cao.
If Liu Feng wants to bring them back, he may have to pay a lot of price, and these prices are extremely unworthy in Dong Zhao's eyes.
Following Zhuge Liang and Dong Zhao's advice, Pang Tong also persuaded Liu Feng to value his troops more with more skill than with more.
Liu Feng was already very hesitant. After listening to their suggestions, he immediately decided to give up Yang Feng and Han Xian.
The next afternoon, Liu Feng came to Gong County.
Yang Feng and Han Xian went out of the city five miles to greet each other. The atmosphere between the two sides was very harmonious.
Although Liu Feng has given up on these two people, he still has to do the superficial work, and Yang Feng and Han Xian may have considered it the same way.
"I haven't seen him for many years. Zhengnan's style is even better."
Yang Feng's smile was not as warm as Han Xian's, but it was much more sincere.
Liu Feng still delivers 30,000 shi of grain, 20 shi of snow salt, 100 jin of frosted sugar, and other financial materials to Yang Feng every year.
Firstly, it was used as money for Xu Huang and his subordinates to sell themselves, secondly, it was to win over Yang Feng to maintain a certain influence in Luozhong, and thirdly, it was also for Yang Feng to continue to help him Gather the Knights of Three Rivers, recruit warriors, and purchase war horses.
Although Yang Feng is greedy for profit, he has a better bottom line than Han Xian.
Taking advantage of Liu Feng, he has not betrayed Liu Feng so far.
But with Cao Cao's deliberate flattery, the relationship between him and Cao Cao has been greatly improved, and is no longer as tense as before.
"General Yang is still as elegant as ever."
Liu Feng said politely, and was then welcomed into the city by Yang Feng and Han Xian.
The situation in Gong County today is completely different from before. Large tracts of fields outside the city have been cultivated, and the city walls of Gong County have also been repaired.
The county government compound in the city has also been expanded, which shows that Yang Feng and Han Xian have not been idle in Gong County for more than a year. It’s just that all their energy is focused on the luxury and beauty of their homes and their pursuit of pleasure.
That night, Yang Feng and Han Xian hosted a banquet for Liu Feng in Gong County.
Seeing the luxurious life of Yang Feng and Han Xian, Liu Feng couldn't help but secretly marveled. In just one year, Yang Feng and Han Xian had even raised a troupe of dancing girls.
Surprised, Liu Feng also knew that Yang Feng and Han Xian were trying to please him, and they must have entertained him with all their favorite things.
“Is there anyone who can catch the eye of the South Conqueror?”
Yang Feng asked in a drunken state: "I will stay here tonight, and whoever I like will sleep with me."
Liu Feng laughed loudly: "I know the general's good intentions. , but I am still young, so let’s leave this matter aside for now.”
To be honest, after seeing Feng Fangnu’s beauty, these dancers in front of me are simply unsightly.
After politely declining, Liu Feng turned to ask about business matters.
Yang Feng suddenly became energetic: "In the past year, the Mongolian expedition to the south has been very generous. I have raised more than 700 war horses and more than 200 Sanhe knights."
Nowadays, the drought situation in Hedong has improved, but there is still a shortage of food. Overall, the price of horses has risen a lot.
After Liu Feng made some calculations, he immediately gave Yang Feng justice: "In that case, I will pay you 500 shi of grain for each second-class horse and 1,000 shi of grain for the first-class horse. The general may accept it. ?”
Yang Feng and Han Xian were overjoyed immediately.
This is an additional price increase and does not include the original price.
Besides, about half of these horses were harvested during the severe drought in Hedong, but the price increase given by Liu Feng was the same. How could this not make Yang Feng and Han Siam smile?
In this way, they did nothing but received at least another 200,000 to 300,000 shi of food subsidies. Excluding the cost of rising horse prices, the net profit was as high as more than 30%.
Liu Feng did this on purpose, so that he could reunite and part ways with Yang Feng and Han Xian, and leave a sense of friendship.
This friendship may not be of any use, but once it is used, it is really indispensable.
Everyone returned home happily that night.
The next day, Liu Feng received the horses and knights, which was considered to have completed the mission.
But Liu Feng was not in a hurry to return to Luoyang, but stayed here in Gong County.
Yang Feng and Han Xian also sensed that the situation was strange. They started to insinuate Liu Feng, trying to find out what happened.
Liu Feng revealed some information half-truthfully and half-falsely. As a result, Yang Feng and Han Xian sided with Cao Cao without hesitation.
It can be heard from their complaints and complaints that the emperor is still too neglectful of the warriors.
Liu Feng could understand that the emperor's life in Hedong was not comfortable at all. On the contrary, it almost became a dark history in Liu Xie's memory.
But Yang Feng and Han Xian were still in front of him. The emperor's displeasure with them was genuine. Even if he endured it for a while to contain Cao Cao, it was not a long-term solution.
As time goes by, contempt and disdain will be revealed inadvertently during interactions, and this is precisely the pain point of Yang Feng and Han Xian.
Compared with the emperor, Cao Cao seemed to be ambitious and meritocratic. He did not value the other person's moral character, but focused on the other person's ability and value.
In addition, in terms of the overall situation, Cao Cao's status, power, and influence in Luozhong are constantly growing. Yang Feng and Han Xian are not fools, and they can naturally see it.
In this way, it is quite reasonable for Yang Feng and Han Xian to turn to Cao Cao over time.
While Liu Feng stayed on the other side of Gong County to watch the fire, a horseman also stole from Luoyang and galloped towards Gong County.
(End of this chapter)