Chapter 269: Seeking profit in the middle
He knew very well the emperor's attitude towards Cao Cao.
It was good at the beginning, but as Cao Cao became more and more domineering, the emperor also saw Cao Cao's true face clearly.
As for Yuan Shao, he is among the top five people the emperor hates.
It's just a shame for the little emperor. He obviously hates two things, but he still pinches his nose to comfort them. He is probably dancing in the harem at this time.
"Young Master, Zhao feels that this matter is indeed a good thing for me, Xuzhou."
Dong Zhao suddenly spoke, and Liu Feng was stunned.
The rift between Cao and Yuan is certainly a good thing for Liu Bei, does it need to be said?
Looking at Dong Zhao's half-smiling expression, Liu Feng suddenly realized that this fat black man wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to do something evil.
"The plan is coming?"
"Young Master, Zhao thinks that we must support the general this time."
When Dong Zhao said this, his little eyes looked at Liu Feng's face inadvertently, and he was a little worried that Liu Feng would think he Public revenge for private revenge.
But Liu Feng didn't expect this. He still trusted Dong Zhao. After all, he was a smart man.
“Good idea.”
The more Liu Feng thought about it, the more he felt that Dong Zhao was right.
Now the North has one, two, super powers.
Yuan Shao's strength and potential are still better than Cao Cao and Liu Bei.
Only when Cao Cao and Liu Bei join forces can they compete with Yuan Shao.
Now Cao Cao is asking for money and grain from Hebei. This is the honor of the imperial court. If Yuan Shao does not give it, he will be a traitor.
Liu Bei can also cleverly turn his support for Cao Cao into supporting the emperor. This not only pleases the emperor, but also wins Cao Cao's favor, and does not offend Yuan Shao. The most important thing is to let the strongest person share the cake. come out.
Thinking of this, Liu Feng even wondered if Cao Cao deliberately made things worse.
But thinking about Cao Cao's past crimes in history, I feel that this guy is more likely to be simply inflated and wants to challenge his big brother.
Next Liu Feng discussed some matters with Dong Zhao and listened to Dong Zhao's introduction to what had happened in Luozhong in the past few months.
Originally Liu Feng planned to go to Zhong Yao's house in the afternoon. How to convert his support for Cao Cao into support for the emperor, wouldn't it have to fall on Zhong Yao?
As a result, before he could go out, he received an invitation from Cao Cao.
The person who came to invite Liu Feng was Xiahou Dun. This well-deserved leader of the Cao family actually came to Dong Zhao's house in person to deliver an invitation to Cao Cao.
“My lord was very happy when he heard that the general had entered Luo. He hereby sent Dun to invite him and wanted to hold a banquet to welcome the general.” He was looked down upon at a young age.
Liu Feng actually has a good impression of Xiahou Dun. This meat general is a typical person with high achievements and low reputation. In fact, he is the well-deserved first person in the entire Cao Cao group, both in terms of merit and status. , and even in terms of meritorious service, he is on par with Xun Yu.
You must know that Xun Yu was a Han official from beginning to end, not a Cao official. Therefore, how could Cao Cao dare to leave the rear to him alone?
Not to mention that Cao Cao was suspicious and cunning by nature, even a kind person like Liu Xiu would not dare to do this.
And Xiahou Dun is the Dinghai Shenzhen that Cao Cao left behind.
It was Xiahou Dun who held military power in the rear and participated in government affairs that allowed Cao Cao to never worry about his own expedition.
From this point of view, in fact, the generals under Cao Cao should be resentful of Xiahou Dun. It was this flesh-and-blood general that prevented others from taking up positions.
“Thank you so much, General, for your kind words. Mr. Laofu also came to deliver the message in person. I am ashamed of myself.”
Liu Feng placed himself in the position of a junior, which was obviously a kind of respect for Xiahou Dun.
Xiahou Dun smiled kindly: "Zhengnan is humble."
Liu Feng said: "The prince of the mansion can call the boy Biaozi Zisheng."
Xiahou Dun He smiled even more happily, nodded and said: "In that case, Zisheng will allow me to take the liberty."
The two then chatted for a while, and Liu Feng discovered that Xiahou Dun was engaged in politics, economy, farming, etc. I have opinions on many things, but the military is really not that good.
And compared with the 90% of the force in the game, Xiahou Dun's force is actually not outstanding.
The reason why Xiahou Dun's force was set so high is because when he was young, he avenged his teacher and killed those who insulted his teacher.
But the person who insulted his teacher was also a Confucian scholar, and he didn't have much force. Even ordinary farmers could fight better than him. Xiahou Dun killed the opponent and there was nothing worth bragging about in terms of force.
Half an hour later, Xiahou Dun said goodbye and left. Liu Feng did not try to persuade him to stay. He was also anxious to find Zhong Yao.
If you and Zhong Yao had a breather before the dinner, you would be much more relaxed having dinner with the widow Cao in the evening.
After sending Xiahou Dun away, Liu Feng immediately took Xu Chu out and went to visit Zhong Yao.
People had been sent to the palace to report the news before. When Liu Feng arrived at Zhong Yao's house, the other party had been waiting for him for a long time.
"Why did Zisheng come to Luo this time?"
Zhong Yao asked with a smile: "Is it because of the affairs of the great Sima and the great general?"
Liu Feng followed the other person's words and asked, "I wonder what the emperor's attitude is towards this matter?"
Zhong Yao stopped smiling and said seriously: "Although the emperor is slightly unhappy with the general, the general's proposal is very popular with the emperor. The great Sima is sitting in the four states of Hebei, but he is unwilling to send money and food to the center of the imperial court. The emperor So I am very unhappy."
Liu Feng knew that the emperor's attitude was not beyond his expectation.
Zhong Yao's next voice was a little lower: "The Emperor also asked about the attitude of General Hussar a few days ago. Presumably he hoped to get the support of Zisheng you and Liu Husband. "
Hearing this, Liu Feng nodded slowly and immediately expressed his stance: "My father and son naturally support the emperor. Now that the world is in chaos and disasters are rampant, only those under Da Sima are the most stable, with abundant money and food. If Da Sima can relieve the country's worries, I think the court will be much more stable."
Zhong Yao sighed: "What Zi Sheng said is true."
Nowadays, everything in Luozhong is in ruins. Whether it is recruiting refugees to restore people's livelihood or reclaiming land for farming and planting mulberry trees, a lot of money and food are needed.
Cao Cao really has no extra money and food in his hands. The money and food delivered here in Xuzhou is even more than that of Cao Cao. Even Liu Biao of Jingzhou sent a large amount of food and equipment.
Only Yuan Shao has a lot of money and food, but he doesn't get a cent.
Now that the court is asking for it from him, it is naturally far better than squeezing the other three families.
This has almost become a consensus.
Liu Feng's judgment on the emperor's attitude was very correct, and the emperor and Cao Cao's judgment on Liu Bei and his son were obviously also correct.
However, the emperor and Cao Cao still had a more difficult task, which was how to persuade Liu Bei and his son to express their stance and stand up to put pressure on Yuan Shao.
This is much harder than getting a dry word of support.
"The emperor's intention is that Liu Qiaoqi can directly write to the court to support the court in collecting taxes, money and grain from various places, and persuade the Grand Sima to also express support."
Zhong Yao said this. At the same time, he looked at Liu Feng and paid attention to the changes in his expression.
Liu Feng's expression did not change at all, but he was making calculations in his heart.
Before coming, Liu Feng had considered it very clearly. Now that Cao Cao is on the front line, as long as his father doesn't grab hatred and talks nicely, Yuan Shao will never be able to hate Xuzhou.
But even though Liu Feng had decided to help the emperor and Cao Cao, he was still thinking about whether he could use this opportunity in exchange for some benefits.
Actually, Liu Feng himself is not such a fussy character. In fact, neither the emperor Liu Xie nor the widow Cao are open-minded people. They are both petty and suspicious.
If Liu Feng really doesn't want anything and just helps in vain, it might have the opposite effect.
So Liu Feng decided to help Dong Zhao get some benefits.
"Dong Gong is both talented and virtuous, and he is also loyal to the court. I wonder if he can be promoted to Yushi Zhongcheng?"
Zhong Yao understood that this was Liu Feng's condition, but the condition was not raised at all. Not excessive, on the contrary, very restrained.
Overjoyed, Zhong Yao also gave a clear answer: "The promotion of hundreds of officials naturally depends on the opinions of the emperor and the generals. However, in Yao's opinion, Dong Gongren, regardless of his talent or virtue, The tool is of top quality and worthy of the post."
Zhong Yao's words were a guarantee for Liu Feng, so Liu Feng also smiled with satisfaction and said: "After I return, my father will definitely write a letter to support the court's decision. I will also compile a letter and send it to Yecheng to persuade Da Sima Yier."
"In that case, I would like to thank Liu Qiaoqi."
Zhong Yao bowed down to Liu Feng, and Liu Feng accepted it on his father's behalf.
After a good start, the atmosphere in the room became noticeably more relaxed.
Zhong Yao put on a chatting attitude and asked: "Zisheng came to Luo this time, isn't he really here for the affairs of the great Sima and the great general?"
Liu Feng laughed and then revealed the purpose of entering Luo. Even though Zhong Yao was very deep in the city, he was also shocked by Liu Feng's words.
Liu Bei was actually preparing to go to war with Yuan Shu. He came to Luo to ask the emperor for an edict to remove Yuan Shu's left general Mingjue.
This is really a big deal.
Zhong Yao quickly calmed down and began to think about the whole thing.
First of all, Liu Beijun is indeed not inferior to Yuan Shu in terms of strength.
Yes, whether it is Zhong Yao or the emperor Liu Xie, even Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, in their eyes they will only think that Liu Bei's strength is about the same as Yuan Shu, and they will not think that Liu Bei has an overwhelming advantage.
In terms of territory, Liu Bei's core territories are the severely damaged Xiapi and Donghai counties. Langya and Guangling are considered sub-core territories. Yuan Shu also has the two counties of Jiujiang and Lujiang intact, most of which are intact. Runan, one-third of Pei Kingdom, plus most of Wu County in Jiangdong, although the power is not as powerful as the top two in the world in history, it still looks like a behemoth.
Only Yuan Shu himself understands how big the gap is between him and Liu Bei.
His eight thousand army was defeated by the opponent's four thousand men. They were the elite of his direct lineage, and Liu Bei's army was just a new army going south.
If we follow this ratio, just to deal with Liu Bei's army that is about to move south, we need to prepare three times the opponent's strength.
This is also the fundamental reason why Yuan Shu is eager to ask for peace.
Yuan Shu is a villain through and through, fearing power but not being moral.
It was precisely because of this wrong judgment that Liu Feng concluded that he could get the support of the imperial court and Cao Cao, and even the favor of Yuan Shao.
Because they only think that Liu Bei can probably defeat Yuan Shu this time and seize part of Yuan Shu's territory.
This is also the bottom line they can accept, but these people never dreamed that Liu Bei wanted to completely destroy Yuan Shu this time.
Sure enough, after Zhong Yao calculated it, he felt that Liu Bei and Yuan Shu were equally powerful. Liu Bei was loyal to the court, but Yuan Shu was a rebel. Asking Liu Bei to teach Yuan Shu a lesson would also help improve the court's prestige.
Thinking of this, Zhong Yao decided to deal with the matter: "Tomorrow you and I will meet the emperor together, and I will definitely accomplish this for his promotion."
Liu Feng was immediately overjoyed and said gratefully: "So, thank you Brother Yuanchang!"
The two chatted for a long time. Zhong Yao originally planned to invite Liu Feng to a banquet, but he heard that the latter mentioned that Cao Cao had already sent an invitation, so he also I can only give up.
I heard from Zhong Yao that the changes in Luozhong have been quite big in the past few months. First of all, recruiting refugees has resulted in a lot of cooking smoke inside and outside Luoyang City, and there are also more smoke on the rivers outside the city. A small number of fishermen have made it possible to buy fresh river seafood in Luoyang City.
When Zhong Yao learned about Liu Feng's visit, he sent his servants to buy fish in advance, hoping to treat Liu Feng to a meal of fish and meat.
Liu Feng persuaded him sternly: "Brother Yuanchang, although the fish skin is beautiful, you should not eat too much, and it is best not to eat it at all."
Zhong Yao was greatly surprised and asked. Reason.
Liu Feng told Chen Deng’s experience on a tray, and Zhong Yao’s expression changed greatly after hearing it.
“Unexpectedly, fish dumplings have this problem?”
Liu Feng didn't eat at Zhong Yao's house in the end, but he frightened Zhong Yao.
In the evening, Liu Feng was planning to attend Cao Cao's banquet, but he didn't expect Cao Ang to come to greet him in person.
Cao Ang is not very tall, but his appearance is much better than Cao Cao. In addition to fair skin, his eyes are also bigger.
But if you look closely, you can see that he still looks quite similar to Cao Cao, and you can see the father-son relationship.
"Ang, meet Zhengnan."
After Cao Ang saw Liu Feng, although he was surprised by Liu Feng's youth, he still respectfully stepped forward and saluted.
Liu Feng's first impression of Cao Ang was quite good. After all, the other party was very respectful to him.
"Brother Zixiu, your father and my father are old friends. You and I are also family friends, so why are we so different?"
Liu Feng said politely: "If Zixiu doesn't give up, you can Call me Zisheng. "
Cao Ang did not expect Liu Feng to be so polite. No wonder his father would mention Liu Feng many times in front of him and praise him greatly. Although he didn't use the other party to belittle himself, he told himself to work harder and not slack off several times.
Looking back now, it seems that my father meant what he said at that time.
Cao Ang tentatively said: "Then I will ask you to call me a worthy brother."
Liu Feng responded happily: "Brother Xiu, thank you for your hard work. "
Then, the two of them prepared to go out, and Xu Chu followed them silently with his guards.
Only then did Cao Ang notice Xu Chu, with a look of shock on his face.
After Liu Feng saw it, he smiled and said: "This is Xu Zhongkang, my newly acquired warrior. He is loyal and fierce in character. He is my favorite general. He is currently the Army Sima and is the commander of my bodyguard."
Then, he turned back to Xu Chu and said, "Zhongkang, this is my brother, the son of the general. You can greet me."
Xu Chu immediately bowed to Cao Ang and saluted: "Xu Chu, who is in a humble position, is called the Young Master."
Cao Ang did not hold any official position at this time. His most prominent status was that he was the son of the general. Return.
Cao Ang was not arrogant at all, and actually returned a salute to Xu Chu, and then praised him: "Xu Zhuangshi is really a tiger warrior, just like my father who has the commanding officer Dian Ziman by his side."
Cao Ang chuckled lightly and said to Liu Feng: "Ang previously thought that a brave man like Captain Dian would be unparalleled in the world, but he didn't expect there to be such a Sima in the world."
Liu Ang Feng smiled calmly, "You have never seen it before. That's because you have little experience. If nothing else, my second uncle, third uncle, fourth uncle, Teacher Taishi, Xingba, Wenyuan, Gongming, Xiaofu, which one is weaker than Dian Ziman?" .
Immediately, after the two mounted their horses, accompanied by Xu Chu and other personal guards, they headed to the general's mansion.
In the past few months, the biggest change in Luozhong has been the General's Mansion.
Cao Cao spent a lot of money and food to repair He Jin's former general's mansion.
However, he did not treat the emperor Liu Xie badly. The forbidden palace was also being repaired. However, the project was too big and money and food were tight, so it could only be repaired at the most cost-effective speed.
He Jin's General's Mansion has always been the residence of the Eastern Han Dynasty's generals, and its scale is naturally very large.
Cao Cao did not have the strength to repair all of them, but only selected some functional areas that were not seriously damaged and repaired them first.
For example, the main hall where the general holds meetings is the most important place.
Liu Feng had already dismounted before entering the general's palace, and then walked into the palace. Not far away, he saw Cao Cao standing in front of the palace to greet him.
Liu Feng quickly came forward to pay homage.
"Foreign Minister Liu Feng, General of the Southern Expedition, please see the general!"
Cao Cao laughed loudly and stepped forward, holding Liu Feng up with both hands: "Liu Zhengnan is outside. You have done a great job, and you are entering Luo today, but you have something else to do?”
Liu Feng smiled shyly and replied: “The general is so wise and powerful that nothing can be hidden from your eyes.”
Cao Cao looked Liu Feng up and down, and felt that this son was tall and heroic, capable of fighting, capable of both civil and military skills, and extremely agile.
No matter how you look at it, you feel that Liu Feng is like himself, but this boy is not his own son, but Xuande's Lin'er. Cao Cao can't help but feel a deep sense of regret.
Cao Ang on the side was a little confused and didn't understand why he suddenly felt sad in his heart.
"Let's go into the palace to talk."
Cao Cao actually took Liu Feng's hand and planned to take him to the palace.
Liu Feng naturally would not refuse Cao Cao's kindness. The two walked in front talking and laughing, followed by Cao Ang, and the three of them walked up to the palace one after the other.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, there was the sound of armor clashing behind them.
The three of them turned around together, only to see a strong man who was slightly shorter than Xu Chu but more stocky standing in front of Xu Chu, and Xu Chu was reaching out to push him away.
Both parties did not expect that the other party's strength exceeded their expectations. They exerted force at the same time and froze on the spot.
“Ziman, why are you doing this?”
Cao Cao guessed what happened at a glance, but pretended to be puzzled and said: "Let go first."
This strong man was none other than Dian Wei.
Xu Chu was guarding Liu Feng and naturally organized his troops into the Eredivisie.
For Cao Cao's safety, Dian Wei naturally did not allow Xu Chu, who was fully armed, to follow him.
It is actually normal for two people to conflict.
(End of this chapter)