Chapter 182 Cheng Yu envoys Xu
The three major monopoly taxes of all dynasties, salt, iron and wine.
Only the Eastern Han Dynasty is incomplete. The only wine tax was fought over during the Han Dynasty and Emperor He, and was almost abolished later.
Judging from the current situation, the biggest problem in Xuzhou is the salt tax.
Because the largest iron forging center in Xuzhou was Pengcheng, which had been demolished by Cao Cao for free, and the vested interests were wiped out. The Mi family in Donghai fully supported Liu Bei and his son, and Guangling and Langya were both defeated, so the resistance was quite small.
But we must not delay, because the longer we delay, the resistance will increase day by day, and new interest groups will be reborn and grow so strong that they cannot be contained.
Liu Feng and Liu Bei have already discussed it. Yuan Shao wants to deal with Gongsun Zan at least until the fourth year of Jian'an, which is 199 AD.
Although Liu Feng has changed many realities, most of them are concentrated in the three states of Xu, Yang and Yu, and have little impact on Hebei.
Therefore, five years before Jian'an, Xuzhou did not have to worry about pressure from Yuan Shao.
Cao Cao is a powerful man.
After he pacifies Lu Bu, there is a high probability that he will change the direction of development and may encroach on the territory of Yuzhou, but there is a greater probability that it will develop to Henan and even Guanzhong.
Everyone will pick a soft persimmon, but Liu Bei is no longer a soft persimmon.
Cao Cao will probably only be on good terms with Liu Bei instead of becoming hostile.
After all, the number one enemy in Cao Cao's heart has long been locked in with his top brother, Ben Chu.
After discussing with Mi Zeng, Liu Feng returned to Tancheng the next day.
Counting the days, Cheng Yu should have arrived in Tancheng, and Yuan Shao's envoy Xin Ping should be arriving soon. He really took time out of his busy schedule to run this time.
Sure enough, when Liu Feng rushed back to Tancheng, Cheng Yu had already arrived for three days, but was arranged by Liu Bei in the guest house and did not receive him immediately.
Cheng Yu was very calm about this, without any complaints, and just stayed in the guest house quietly. Even with Xu Shao, who lived in the same house, he only paid a courtesy visit once and never left the house again.
I have to say that people like Cheng Yu are really smart.
He and Jia Xu are undoubtedly the most refined and self-interested people in the Three Kingdoms period.
However, Cheng Yu at least had true love for Cao Cao and regarded Cao Cao as his wise master.
But Jia Xu could not find the right person in his heart, and spent his life just going back and forth between various bosses.
After Liu Feng came back, he immediately went to see Liu Bei.
Liu Bei also summoned him immediately.
"Feng'er, what conditions do you want to impose on Mengde as a father?"
Liu Bei is in a good mood now.
A direct descendant of the Cao family, he was unattainable when he was young.
If it weren’t for the relationship between Lu Zhi and the eldest brother Gongsun, let alone the two members of the Yuan family, even this son of the Cao family would not look at him.
Although the relationship between the two parties became really good later, I also felt that the other party had the same aspirations as myself.
But without brother Lu Zhi and Gongsun, how could Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, or Yuan Shu give themselves a chance to make friends with them.
I can only hate that elder brother Gongsun didn't listen to his advice and insisted on killing Liu Yu. I don't know what got him.
Liu Feng said with a smile: "Even if my father opens his mouth, Cao Yanzhou, a powerful man, even if he holds a grudge, he will only accept it with gritted teeth at this moment."
Cao Cao is an emotional person. Sometimes he is very impulsive, but when he is calm, he is extremely rational and cold-blooded, almost like schizophrenia.
Liu Feng has always suspected that Cao Cao was not good to Liu Bei in the original history. It was completely a compensatory mentality and he projected part of himself onto Liu Bei.
When Liu Bei heard this, he immediately smiled and said: "Then I want Shanyang County, right?"
Isn't this too much?
This is going too far.
Liu Feng didn’t know whether Liu Bei was joking or serious, because the location of Shanyang County is very special. Almost the entire Rencheng Kingdom is surrounded by Shanyang County, just because of Nansi Lake , so Renchengguo and Xuzhou can be connected by water.
But if Shanyang County is also captured by Xuzhou, the entire situation will be further strengthened, which will naturally be very beneficial to Xuzhou.
But Liu Feng himself was extremely opposed to it because it was unrealistic.
Cao Cao was the herdsman of Yanzhou.
Now that Yanzhou has eight counties and eighty towns, and has conquered seventy-seven counties in one breath, Cao Cao can continue to be his Yanzhou shepherd. In addition to being able to fight, it cannot be because he is loved by the people of Yanzhou. ?
So, being able to fight is the only reason for Cao Cao to stand in Yanzhou.
In the past, even if he offered his wife and son to Zhang Miao, he still had to fight with Tao Qian, because Tao Qian occupied the two counties of Taishan and Rencheng in Yanzhou.
Therefore, as long as Liu Bei dared to say this, Cao Cao would dare to risk his life and fight Liu Bei to the end.
Liu Feng could only dissuade him and said: "Renchengguo has probably embarrassed him. If you dare to ask for Shanyang, then Cao Yanzhou will have no choice but to fight to the death with me, Xuzhou."
"Our bottom line is to protect Rencheng Kingdom. Even if Cao Yanzhou has enough leverage to impress us, Rencheng can return it to him."
Liu Feng suggested seriously: "Father, we The strategic direction is Jiangdong, and the foundation of Xuzhou is in Yangzhou. Only Xu and Yang can retreat and stabilize one side, and advance to support the Han Dynasty. In fact, the two counties of Runan and Peijun in Yuzhou are much more important than Rencheng. We took Rencheng to protect Pei and Peng, as well as the state of Lu. But if we fight to the death for Rencheng and Cao Cao, that would be putting the cart before the horse."
Liu Bei's smile was a bit embarrassing, and his son's words were inconsistent. Lu Su, Liu Ye, Xun You and others had exactly the same opinions.
Chen Deng, on the other hand, has a strong character and believes that although Cao Cao is a tycoon, our Xuzhou strength is already twice as strong. Even if a war begins, Cao Cao will suffer even more.
With Cao Cao's wisdom, he would not make such a stupid decision.
After being poured cold water on him by the good boy, Liu Bei also came to his senses: "In your opinion, if Rencheng is the bottom line, what additional conditions can we impose?"
< br>"The most important thing is naturally Hulu County. This is the key point in Nansi Lake and the only lake port in Yanzhou."
Liu Feng raised his finger and said: "If there are more, it will be Consider Feiguo County and Hua County in the Liangshan Valley."
Liu Bei urged: "What else?"
"No more."
Liu Feng spread his hands: "Father, you should know better than me what kind of character Cao Yanzhou is. You should be content if you can keep these benefits in your pocket. If you really want to save Cao Yanzhou, Yanzhou is enraged, it won’t end well.”
Cao Cao is a very clever person. When he killed the three sages with one shot, no one tried to persuade him, but he still couldn’t control Xiao Cao.
When they were in Red Cliff, Cheng Yu and Xun You had a lot of advisers lining up to persuade him to be careful of the southeast wind, but he became more and more convinced that there would be no southeast wind in winter.
In the end, he had to beat him up and cry for filial piety. Cheng Yu and Xun You had to endure their nausea to comfort him.
Therefore, Liu Feng did not dare to equate the other party with the wise and powerful Emperor Wu of Wei in the TV series.
Liu Bei clicked his tongue. After hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded.
The next day, Liu Bei summoned Cheng Yu, and Liu Feng was still sitting next to Liu Bei.
Liu Feng was also quite curious about the legendary ancestor of dried human meat.
When he saw the slim and tall Cheng Yu, he really wanted to ask him if the thing about human flesh was true.
After all, the earliest record of the dried human meat incident comes from the "Shiyu of Wei and Jin Dynasties", and it was already in the Jin Dynasty at that time, and decades had passed since the dried human meat incident. But Pei Songzhi once quoted the records in this book, which shows that he is also partly credible.
Cheng Yu walked into the hall. His height of 1.9 meters was really rare. Even ordinary generals could not reach this height.
After Cheng Yu bowed respectfully, he said: "The foreign ministers pay their respects to Ambassador Liu."
"Your Majesty, please rise."
Liu Bei greeted Cheng Yu accordingly. Please sit down at the table, and then you ask: "Mengde and I are old acquaintances. It has been seven years since we separated in the past. I wonder if Mengde's health is okay?"
Cheng Yu replied seriously: "Thank you very much, Ambassador Liu, for your concern. My lord is in good health. He went into battle in person before and repeatedly defeated the rebels in the state."
Liu Ye looked surprised and answered: "Oh , There is a rebel in Guizhou? I dare to ask the envoy, who is this rebel?"
Cheng Yu sneered in his heart, and this is the only thing that shows his power?
Cheng Yu said disdainfully: "The rebels in the state are just some people who deceive the world and steal their reputation. They are not worth mentioning."
Liu Ye pressed hard and said: "Is this too much for the envoy to say? Meng Lang? I heard that the traitors in the state mentioned by the envoy are actually famous people in Yanzhou, and even the governors of the counties. If they are all traitors, who is your lord?"
Cheng Yu glanced at Liu Ye and asked: "I wonder who you are, sir?"
Liu Ye cupped his hands and introduced himself: "I am Liu Ye, a descendant of the Han Dynasty Miao, now in Xuzhou "Since you work for Xuzhou, you must be a well-educated person"
At this point, Cheng Yu paused, showing a sarcastic expression, and then said. : "In the past, Yang Xiong was a famous scholar in the world, but he bent his knees for a while and wrote a poem for Wang Mang. Isn't he a traitor?" Protect the environment and the people.”
When Cheng Yu got excited, he actually stood up: "But Chen Gong, Zhang Miao and others relied on some false reputations, refused to accept the control of my supervisor, and incited rebellion for their own selfish interests. What is this but traitors? The same is true for Liu Shijun How can Fangzhou Bo, who is in charge of Xuzhou, tolerate celebrities resisting the law and inciting rebellion? "
Liu Ye was speechless for a moment. He couldn't say that Cao Cao, the governor of your state, was secretly granting the favor. , not appointed by the imperial court at all.
After all, Liu Bei’s Xuzhou Mu was given to him privately.
If he said this, wouldn’t he also slap his own boss in the face?
“I heard that your lord has a bad reputation in Yanzhou. How can you compare with my lord?”
The person who spoke this time was Lu Su. He said seriously: "Your lord is in Yanzhou, and he is tyrannizing, and my lord is in Xuzhou, and he is frivolous in corvee and meager in taxes; your lord is in Yanzhou, and the drums are not stopping, and my lord is in Xuzhou, recuperating and recuperating; your lord is in Yanzhou, killing people like this." Damn it, my lord saved countless lives in Xuzhou.”
“How can your lord be compared to my lord?”
Liu Feng just wanted to say that it is you.
To say flattery in such a righteous and convincing way is really worthy of you, Lu Zijing.
Cheng Yu asked Lu Su, "Sir, please tell me your surname."
Lu Su politely replied: "I don't dare to take it. I am Lu Su in Guangling."
Cheng Yu nodded to show his knowledge: "Mr. Lu only knows one, but not the other. Although my lord has mobilized troops for many years, , but he is not warlike, but actually for the people of Yanzhou. Our Lord took over when Yanzhou was in danger. He first defeated the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, then defeated the Black Mountain bandits, and then retreated from Nanyang. The former Fang Bo of Guizhou even occupied Mount Tai. , Rencheng and the two counties. He also wants to go deep into Jiyin and Shanyang, with no concealment of his deception. If our lord cannot afford to fight, can Yanzhou survive to this day? "
"Even if he conquered Xuzhou twice, it was Tao Qian who first attacked our state and then killed my lord's family. How can we blame my lord?"
I have to say, Cheng Yu's explanation still makes some sense.
At least so far, Cao Cao has really not engaged in any aggressive behavior towards external expansion.
Attacking Xuzhou should have been a good move for him to take off, but it turned out to be the trigger of the Yanzhou rebellion. It can only be said that Cao Cao's handling of the Xuzhou issue was too guilty.
Yes, it is a guilty conscience.
Everyone may not believe it.
Before taking action against Tao Qian, Cao Cao not only felt that he was weak, but also believed that his chance of winning was far less than Tao Qian.
The most powerful evidence is that he told his wife before the war that if he died in the battle, let them not go to Yuan Shao, but go to Chenliu to go to Zhang Miao.
From this point we can clearly see how afraid Cao Cao was of Tao Qian at that time.
At that time, Tao Qian was a behemoth with five counties in Xuzhou, one county in Yuzhou, and two counties in Yanzhou.
As for Cao Cao, who was nominally the shepherd of Yanzhou, his actual territory was only one Dongjun, and what’s even more frightening is that this Dongjun’s territory was not completely under his control. There were too many things in it. Yuan Shao's influence.
One very obvious point is that after Cao Cao took over as Yanzhou Mu, he immediately moved the state government to Juancheng.
This place is quite interesting. It is close to the Yellow River and Dongjun is on the other side.
Moreover, the ownership of the city Juancheng was also controversial in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
It is generally accepted that he belongs to Jiyin County, while another group believes that he was transferred from Jiyin to Dongjun during the period of Emperor Huanling of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
No matter which statement is made, it is proved that Juancheng is the southernmost part of Dongjun.
This completely reflects Cao Cao's guilty conscience and his desire to test and control other counties.
With one county fighting eight counties, it is no wonder that Cao Cao was mentally prepared to die in battle.
It is precisely because of this that Tao Qian was defeated with unimaginable ease. Not only did he drive him away from Yanzhou, but he also chased him all the way to Xuzhou.
Although he defeated Tao Qian, he was afraid of Tao Qian's counterattack. In his impression, Tao Qian was extremely powerful.
It was this contradictory psychology that made him make the decision to plunder Xuzhou.
To be fair, if Cao Cao was really confident enough to want to conquer Xuzhou, he would never be so abnormal.
At this time, Cao Cao was like a thief, he couldn't believe that he had successfully broken into the treasury. The huge joy and fear made him only think about making a fortune, rather than taking the treasury as his own.
When he really wanted to take the treasury as his own, he found that he had been on the treasury's blacklist, and in the end he had no choice but to entrust the treasury to Zang Ba.
Cheng Yu’s explanation successfully blocked Lu Su’s mouth, preventing him from continuing to criticize Cao Cao’s cruelty.
If we continue, then who is Tao Qian who took the initiative to invade Yanzhou and occupied Mount Tai and Rencheng, and who is Liu Bei who is also occupying Rencheng now.
Mi Zhu, who got the hint from Liu Bei's eyes, stood up and said, "I don't know why you are here, what do you mean?"
Cheng Yu immediately accepted the offer and saluted Liu Bei: "Special I came here to clear up the misunderstanding between the Yan and Xu families and to get along well with each other. My master, because of his old friendship, did not want to be an enemy of Liu Shijun. Therefore, he was willing to step aside and personally declare that Zang Ba should be appointed as the Prime Minister of the city. Then we will provide Yanzhou with 100,000 shi of grain, so that both parties can achieve stability in Yanzhou and Xuzhou.”
Liu Bei was a little moved by Cheng Yu's honest offer of chips, but this condition only just reached the bottom line negotiated by Xuzhou, and this did not include the 100,000 shi of food aid.
Therefore, Chen Deng stood up and refused: "Zang Zang is now the Prime Minister of the city. Why bother Cao Yanzhou to express his gratitude? Besides, I don't have any extra food in Xuzhou. There have been many refugees in the past two years. My Lord We have to help the victims, how can we still have extra food?"
"I think Cao Yanzhou knows better than us where these refugees come from."
Chen Deng sneered: " My lord is actually repaying the debt for your lord. In my opinion, since Cao Yanzhou is willing to recommend him, why not recommend him to the prefect of Shanyang County on my lord's behalf?"
Cheng Yu's heart sank, as expected. Liu Bei's side is eyeing Shanyang County.
With Cheng Yu's knowledge, he could naturally see this a long time ago, but this is also a condition that Yanzhou cannot accept. This has far exceeded Yanzhou's bottom line.
But since it is a negotiation, of course there is still talk.
The two sides began to bicker and test each other.
Liu Bei sat on the main seat and said nothing.
When Liu Bei wants to speak, he must have the final word, otherwise he will be underestimated at best and his interests will be damaged at worst.
Gradually, Liu Bei also heard something from the other party's words.
Sure enough, just as my elder brother had inferred, Shanyang County was Cao Cao's red line. A Rencheng State Prime Minister was already the bottom line. If he dared to get involved in any county in Yanzhou, the other party would completely turn against him.
However, it can be heard from Cheng Yu’s words that the cession of Hulu County is not non-negotiable.
In the end, the two sides reached an agreement. Cao Cao would personally declare Zang Ba to be the Prime Minister of the city, and cede the three cities of Hulu, Feixian and Huaxian. Yan and Xu would form an alliance, and the two sides could trade with each other. hostility.
In addition, Yingchuan County in Yuzhou was recovered from Yanzhou, while Chen Guo and Liang Guo maintained the status quo.
From this point of view, it can be seen that Cao Cao's next stage of strategy should indeed focus on Sili and Guanzhong.
Chen Guo and Liang Guo happened to cover the abdomen of Yanzhou, and coupled with Yingchuan's blocking, even if Runan was captured by Liu Bei, both sides would not immediately lose the buffer area.
From this point of view, Cao Cao is indeed very pragmatic.
Both Chen Guo and Liang Guo have thorny fruits. Although they look very plump, they can sting their mouths.
If there is no opponent, then forget it.
There is an opponent nearby, and if you try harder, you will probably gain an advantage over the opponent.
On Xuzhou, Cao Cao had already suffered a loss once, so he naturally did not want to fall in the same pit twice.
Generally speaking, Xuzhou is quite satisfied with the agreement reached this time, and Yanzhou does not feel that it is at a disadvantage.
Cao Cao gave Cheng Yu the quota of eight counties, but Cheng Yu only gave up three counties, which can be said to have made a great contribution.
But Xuzhou also made a profit, because the three counties Cheng Yu gave up were actually the three most important counties.
Especially Hulu County, the other seven counties are not as important as him. With Hulu County, Cao Cao can threaten Nansi Lake and the surrounding waters, and there is a possibility of counterattack.
By giving up Hulu County, it is indeed a clear attitude of concession.
(End of this chapter)