Chapter 270 Night Banquet at Cao Mansion
After listening to the explanation, Cao Cao glanced at Xu Chu and praised Liu Feng: "I don't want to see such a fierce warrior under Zisheng. From what I can see, he is not as brave as Ziman." "
Liu Feng looked complacent and nodded in response: "The general is ridiculous, but Zhong Kang's courage is indeed not inferior to that of Captain Dian, but he is my loyal general. He was too cautious but not flexible enough. He only knew how to guard me and never left me, which made the general laugh. "
As he said that, Liu Feng said to Xu Chu hypocritically: "Zhongkang, this is the general. The mansion is heavily guarded and very safe. You can go to the side hall to rest first."
Xu Chu is a smart man. How could he agree? He just said in a low voice: "I don't know where this is, I just know that I can't. Leave the Lord's side."
Liu Feng smiled bitterly at Cao Cao.
Cao Cao was thoughtful. He had seen clearly just now that Xu Chu was no less powerful than Dian Wei.
There are countless brave men in his army, but none of them can match Dian Wei in terms of force.
I didn’t expect that Liu Feng could win people so well.
He had not forgotten the generals such as Xu Huang, Pan Zhang, Tai Shici and others he had seen before, and he couldn't help but feel deep envy in his heart.
"Zi Man, since Xu Sima is Zi Sheng's confidant, he will naturally not harm me. You can rest assured."
Cao Cao immediately made a decision: "Xu Sima can be integrated into the palace together, and there is no need to disarm."
Liu Feng secretly praised Cao Cao's heroic spirit, but he was very sharp and not as stable as Liu Bang and Liu Xiu.
When everyone came to the palace, the banquet had already been prepared. After learning that Liu Feng was coming, Cao Cao had already given the order and specially prepared barbecue and fish.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the first-class entertainment among nobles was barbecue and fish meat, which is also the origin of the idiom "popular".
Cao Cao spent a lot of money on this meal, after all, there were a lot of people in the palace.
Liu Feng saw the first person on Cao Cao's right hand at first glance.
This man has a handsome appearance, a majestic appearance, and is surrounded by incense.
Isn’t this Xiao He who was Cao Cao for most of his life, and finally turned into Han Xin’s Xun Lingjun Xun Yu.
Xun Yu was also looking at him at this time, with a gentle expression and jade-like eyes, with appreciation and admiration hidden in his eyes.
Liu Feng took the initiative to take two steps forward, saluted Xun Yu, and said hello: "May I ask, sir, after Xunzi of Yingchuan, the grandson of Shenjun, the son of Balong, and the son of Xun Jinan, why is it that Mr. Boqiu praised Xun as the most talented king? Sir? "
A strange look flashed in Cao Cao's eyes behind Liu Feng, while Xun Yu in front of him had already stood up to return the salute.
Xun Yu first returned the courtesy, and then replied: "I am none other than Xun Yu. I didn't expect that Zheng Nan would know so much about my origins. I am ashamed to deserve the reputation of Mr. Boqiu."
< br>"Hahaha! Unexpectedly, Zi Sheng also knows what Mr. Wen Ruo is capable of."
Cao Cao laughed and stepped forward, first nodded to Liu Feng, and then said to Xun Yu: "Mr. It's because of Xiao He that I really can't leave him for a day. Without my husband in charge, Cao An can live in the temple and be loyal to the court."
It's no wonder that Cao Cao wanted to interrupt. Liu Feng's words just now were indeed quite brilliant. It can be said that he started to praise Xun Yu's ancestors. His grandfather and father all praised him.
Although this seems to be information that can only be obtained by Baidu in later generations, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was not possible to obtain such complete information without spending a lot of effort in investigation and inquiry.
In Cao Cao's eyes, Liu Feng was no different from a little thief now. He actually dared to please his mastermind in person. What did he want to do?
Xun Yu was also a little surprised. He didn't expect that the other party even knew that his father had served as the Prime Minister of Jinan. Although this show of goodwill was unlikely to impress Xun Yu, the fact that he was so interested in Liu Feng also made Xun Yu have a better impression of him.
When Xun Yu started, the person sitting was extremely tall and thin, it was Cheng Yu.
As soon as Liu Feng came in, Cheng Yu's eyes fell on him, and he happened to meet him at this time.
Liu Baofou looked happy and took the initiative to salute Cheng Yu: "Mr. Zhongde, we meet again. We said goodbye to Xuzhou in the past. I admire your talent very much. It's a pity that you are loyal to the general. , even if he is misunderstood by the villagers as being different from what he is, you still want to follow him?"
When Cheng Yu heard this, his heart moved slightly. He naturally knew that Liu Feng was talking about Cheng Yu's face. Yanzhou governor Liu Dai's conquests and Cao Cao's conquests showed completely opposite things.
But Cao Cao didn't know, and looked back and forth between Liu Feng and Cheng Yu with a confused look.
Liu Feng was very generous and gave Cao Cao the whole story, and then said with envy: "Mr. Cheng is full of resourcefulness, extraordinary talents, and is both civil and military. How can a general be so loyal to Mr. Cheng?" , It’s really enviable.”
Liu Feng was absolutely right. Many people only knew that Cheng Yu was a strategist and outstanding in politics, but few knew that this guy was actually a military commander.
Although he has no more than a thousand men under his command, he is a real military commander.
In the later period, as his status became higher and higher, he withdrew from the rank of military commanders and transferred his troops to others.
After all, the future of being a general in the Cao family is bleak, and there is no comfort like being a scribe.
Although Cheng Yu looked calm and composed, he was really surprised in his heart. He couldn't understand how Liu Feng knew so much about his hometown at such a young age.
Cao Cao was even more surprised and confused, but fortunately, Lao Cao's acting skills were very good and he could endure all the doubts.
However, Cao Cao did not dare to let Liu Feng have any more random relationships, and quickly pushed him to his seat.
Liu Feng's seat is on the upper left side, next to Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren and so on.
Just seeing the people and things here, Liu Feng judged that Cao Cao wanted to run Luozhong.
Not to mention anything else, Xiahou Dun, as Cao Cao's top horseman, is also the de facto first official. The location where Xiahou Dun is located is Cao Cao's most important base.
"Come, come!"
The person sitting in the main seat is naturally Cao Cao, and the person sitting in the secondary seat to his right is Cao Ang.
"Everyone wins."
It must be said that Cao Cao is good at activating the atmosphere. He easily mobilized the atmosphere of the scene, even better than Liu Bei. and.
Soon, the wine passed three rounds and the dishes passed five flavors.
After everyone got drunk and went into the alley, Cao Cao's temptation began.
"Zi Sheng entered Luo this time, so we know that something big happened in Luo."
Cao Cao suddenly asked Liu Feng, a pair of small eyes hidden inside, staring closely Liu Feng's reaction.
Liu Feng put down the wine glass calmly and replied seriously: "Is what the general asked about the matter of the great Sima?"
Cao Cao sighed, shook his head and smiled bitterly. Said: "Brother Benchu is no longer the passionate young man he once was. When he first expelled the eunuchs, he hesitated, so that the former general was killed by the eunuchs. Later, when he dismissed Dong Zhuo, he acted carelessly, which made Dong Zhuo dominate Luozhong and bring disaster to the world. ”
"Although the emperor is young, he is very wise, respects the wise, cares about the people, and wants money and food to help the people, restore people's livelihood, and revive the Han Dynasty."
The more Cao Cao said, the more angry he became: "But Da Sima only cares about the people." For his own selfish interests, he did not care about the difficulties of the central government, and he was not willing to deliver money or food at all. How could Da Sima shoulder the heavy responsibility of being the head of the officials? He is an important general of the imperial court, and the Hussar is the pillar of the country. The general wants to collect wealth for the central government, not for his own selfishness, but for the sake of the emperor and the refugees in Luozhong. It is a pity that the general is isolated and helpless, but he is rejected by the general. False accusations, although fortunately the emperor is wise and is not deceived by him, the court is still short of food and goods, and it is difficult to survive. "
"Everything Cheng Jiyin said is true, and this is true for everyone in Luozhong. Something you know. Chong Zeng has seen Qiao Qi. He is actually a hero in the country, a clan member of the Han Dynasty, and a loyal minister of the emperor. He has many benevolent deeds and is well known to all. He will not sit back and watch the court being humiliated and remain indifferent. If you don’t accept it, please ask Zhengnan to persuade Hussar to help the general.”
The person who spoke was Man Chong, with a look of sincerity on his face: “From the emperor to the refugees, I must appreciate the virtue of the hussar together with the general.”
Good guy, you are trying to kidnap me morally.
Liu Feng sneered in his heart, Yuan Shao is indeed a rebellious minister, but how can you, Cao Aman, be any better.
Your dream of conquering the West as a general has probably washed into the sewers long ago.
At this time, all Cao Cao wanted to do was expand his territory, increase his army, and gain the strength to compete with Yuan Shao.
“Feng has heard about this matter.”
Liu Feng's face became serious, and he replied righteously and sternly: "Although Feng is a soft-spoken person, he also knows the great righteousness. Tomorrow when I go to the palace to see the emperor, Feng will do his best to repay the emperor's kindness, which is the hope of the general."
Liu Feng's statement put a slight smile on the faces of Cao Cao and others
"But Feng also has a heavy responsibility when he enters Luo this time."
Liu Feng said After finishing the beautiful words, the conversation suddenly changed: "The Grand Sima and the Grand General are just fighting over each other. It is expected that they are still loyal to the emperor. But General Jiang Huai Zuo has quite the opposite."
" General Zuo holds a high position in the imperial court and has been favored by the emperor many times. He has been blessed by two generations of emperors, but he has no intention of repaying the favor. Instead, he regards the emperor's territory as private land. He even detained Taifu Ma Rixi for several years and defrauded him of his wealth. His scepter entrusts his confidants, which can be said to be a sign of rebellion."
"My father is not talented. He wants to raise his troops and go south to attack General Zuo, capture his head in front of the palace, and hand it over to the emperor."
Liu Feng Dayi said solemnly: "I came to Luo this time for this very reason! I hope the general can help me to persuade the emperor to depose Yuan Shu and accuse him of being a traitor, and tell the world to increase the emperor's power!" Cao Cao and others' expressions changed slightly. They didn't expect that Liu Bei had defeated the Yingchuan Yellow Turban at the beginning of the year. Half a year later, he actually targeted Yuan Shu again.
Yuan Shu is not comparable to the Yellow Turban Thief. His strength is so powerful that he is really a behemoth.
Although the current Yuan Shu is far from as powerful as the complete body in history, he is definitely qualified to compete for the top two in the world, and even firmly occupy the third place in the world.
Even anyone with a discerning eye knows that Cao Cao is stronger than Yuan Shu, and even Yuan Shu himself was discouraged by Cao Cao.
But most people feel that Yuan Shu's strength is superior to Cao Cao.
Because Yuan Shu’s territory is too large.
At this time, Yuan Shu's core power was the two counties of Lujiang and Jiujiang. At the same time, he also relied on his influence to occupy the southern part of Runan, the southeastern part of Peiguo, and the northeastern part of Nanyang County.
Coupled with the Wu County occupied by Sun Ce, it can be regarded as a tiger in the southeast, spanning three states and six counties.
Although it is not as terrifying as the entire four states and eleven counties in history, with the current capital, who in the world except Yuan Shao dares to say that he can surely defeat Yuan Shu?
In fact, even Cao Cao, who beat Yuan Shu to the point of fear, was not as confident as Liu Feng.
Because only Liu Feng knows that the Skeleton King is just a skeleton, and his real strength is far worse than his paper strength.
This stems from the ruling structure of Skeleton King. Unlike other warlords who strive to implement influence and dominance, Skeleton King is really big-hearted. He adopts a policy of restraint, but when it comes to money and food, It's the marrow-pulling and bone-sucking.
Therefore, in the area ruled by the Skeleton King, the worst offenders are the low-level civilians and the small wealthy families, who have almost no way to survive.
But these people are the basis of rule.
In addition, the Skeleton King is notorious and notorious, so that there are almost no talents under his command. However, Yan Xiang, a rare and available talent, could not be trusted and reused by Yuan Shu because he was loyal and outspoken.
It is conceivable how much Yuan Shu's true strength must be discounted.
According to Liu Feng's estimation, Yuan Shu's real strength is at most 40% of his paper strength.
Once Liu Feng was able to convince the emperor Liu Xie to remove Yuan Shu from his position as General Zuo, Yuan Shu's strength would plummet by 10%.
Because Yuan Shu's system of restraints and restraints was too much for the imperial court.
The large and small forces he controls are still subject to the title and prestige of the imperial court, and at most the reputation of the Yuan family in Runan.
Once Yuan Shu loses his reputation in the court, he will only have the reputation of the Yuan family that has been damaged by his notoriety.
The increasingly derogatory reputation of the Yuan family alone cannot support Yuan Shu's rule.
This is also the fundamental reason why Liu Feng went to Luo to seek the emperor's edict.
This plan can cut down the troops and have the effect of 10,000 troops.
Cao Cao hesitated for a long time and asked: "What are the benefits of Xuande's battle?"
Liu Feng smiled in his heart, but respectfully replied: "It's actually Runan and He Yangzhou."
"Oh?"
Cao Cao was surprised: "My dear nephew, would you like to explain it to me in detail?"
"Wei!"
Liu Feng immediately explained: "Although Yuan Shu is rebellious, he has a large number of soldiers and a lot of food and grass. My father said, this thief is not a short-term gainer."
< br>As soon as Liu Feng said this, not to mention Cao Cao, but Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Man Chong, Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren and others on the side also nodded slightly in agreement.
When Liu Feng saw this, he was secretly happy and continued to lie: "Runan has a large population and rich products. It has been expropriated by Yuan Gongdao for a long time, and the local people and nobles are all living in poverty. My father thought that if we send troops at this time, It can be used to rectify and combat violence."
Cao Cao stroked his beard and nodded, comparing his feelings with others. If he had been given the authority of Yuzhou Mujia to oversee everything in Yuzhou, he would definitely want to capture Runan County first, even if he was given the power to control everything in Yuzhou. If you can't take it all at once, you can take as much as you can.
Who makes Runan County so popular? This was the second county in the world in the past, but now it is the first county in the world, not to mention the many celebrities in Runan.
Thinking about Runan in his mind, looking at Liu Feng's impassioned speech, and then looking at the stunned Cao Ang who was listening, Cao Cao felt as if he had eaten a lemon.
Suddenly I feel that my big boy is no longer attractive!
Liu Feng continued to deceive: "Yuan Shu's tiger general Sun Bofu repeatedly used strange strategies to sweep across Wu. He forced Xu Gong, the prefect of Wu County, to cower in a corner, and Liu Yao, the herdsman of Yangzhou, was trapped in Niuzhu. My father. I heard that Yuan Shu would give Sun Ce 20,000 more troops and order them to take Jiangdong. "
"My father sent troops to Runan to attract the main force of Yuan Shu's army and relieve the pressure on Yangzhou Mu Liu Yao."
Liu Feng's words are well-founded and very credible.
Even Cao Cao, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and others have already believed six or seven points.
Sometimes things in the world are so ridiculous, and lies are more realistic than the truth.
If Liu Feng boldly stated that he wanted to destroy Yuan Shu in one fell swoop and take Jiangbei, I am afraid that Cao Cao and the others would suspect Liu Feng's intentions of deceiving them.
Liu Feng thinks he is an upright person, but unfortunately this twisted world always forces him to lie.
"That's it."
After hearing this, Cao Cao roughly understood what Liu Bei and his son wanted.
He was very relaxed at this time, because what Liu Feng and his son wanted was too simple.
To a certain extent, Liu Feng's willingness to ask Cao Cao for help was actually giving him face.
Because the emperor hated Yuan Shu very much, let alone the grievances between the Yuan family and the emperor. When Yuan Shu was in Nanyang, he had already colluded with Li Jue and Guo Si, and the two sides even formed an alliance for a time. .
For this reason, the emperor hated Yuan Shu deeply.
Not to mention that Yuan Shu has never had anything good to say about the emperor, and even up to now, he has never sent anyone to visit Luo Shen. This shows his arrogance and disrespect.
Liu Feng said that he was a traitor and a traitor, and he was absolutely right.
Therefore, Cao Cao knew very well that with the strength of Liu Bei and his son, coupled with the attitude of the emperor.
As long as they play to the emperor, the little emperor will definitely play it accurately.
There is no need for Cao Cao to do anything, this matter is a sure thing.
Being willing to speak to him is not only respecting his status as a general, but also showing goodwill to him.
For Liu Bei and his son to be able to do this, Cao Cao could only appreciate it and couldn't even say no.
"This is easy to do. Yuan Shu has been without the imperial court for a long time, and Cao Cao is deeply ashamed."
Cao Cao immediately expressed his position: "I will report to the imperial court together with Xuande and Zisheng to depose Yuan Shu. Mingjue refers to him as a rebellious minister and a traitor."
Liu Feng immediately expressed his gratitude: "The general is aware of everything and is fair in dealing with things. Feng is grateful."
Cao Cao burst out laughing, maybe because of his good impression of Liu Feng, or maybe because of Liu Feng's identity. Liu Feng's praise always made him very happy.
After a while, Cao Cao became concerned about the specific actions of Liu Beijun's move south.
"Zisheng, what are Xuande's chances of winning when he goes south this time?"
Cao Cao also drank a little too much at this time, and spoke much more relaxedly, even a little casually.
Xun Yu and Cheng Yu looked at each other and felt that it was necessary to persuade Cao Cao to drink less.
This is not the first time that my lord has caused trouble while drinking. All the counselors have experienced this.
"The odds of winning are not good."
Liu Feng was surprised when he heard Cao Cao's question, then shook his head and said solemnly: "Yuan Gongli has 780,000 troops in Jiangbei. There are always some. Ruyin, Shenxian, Shouchun, and Hefei are all strong cities. They have sufficient food and grass and well-equipped soldiers. They cannot be underestimated."
(End of this chapter. )