Riding and cutting the imperial pirates of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 605 Sima Yi

On the afternoon when the captives of Qu'a arrived in Shouchun, a group of merchants rode out of the city on horseback. After leaving the city, they galloped at night and headed north.

Their destination was Xudu in Yuzhou.

Xudu, formerly known as Xu County, has existed as a feudal state since the Western Zhou Dynasty. In 481 BC, King Hui of Chu granted Jiang Jie to the monarch of Xu State.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Xu County was set up, which belonged to Yingchuan County. When Liu Xiu established the Eastern Han Dynasty and established Luoyang as the capital, Xu County became the southeast gateway of the imperial capital, gathering a large number of aristocratic families.

Relying on their own political status and economic strength, the aristocratic clans have formed a self-sufficient manor economy with their own armed forces. At the same time, they have set up education and Daxing Confucianism. After a hundred years of wealth accumulation and cultural accumulation, Yingchuan County has become the leading prosperity of the Han Dynasty. Counties and counties have a developed economy and a large number of talents.

In the original history, Cao Cao moved the capital to Xu County after welcoming the emperor, which can be said to be the best solution in the territory (Yanzhou + Xiaoban Yuzhou) at that time.

First, avoid Yuan Shao.

When Lu Bu joined hands with Chen Gong and others to attack Yanzhou, when Cao Cao was in danger, Yuan Shao had already expressed his intention to merge, so Yanzhou, which directly borders Jizhou, must not be considered. The distance is too close, and the strong neighbors are on the side. Insecure.

Second, for development.

Everyone understands the principle that if you do not advance, you will retreat in a world of great struggle. Besides, you want to stay in a corner. Except for Yizhou in the southwest, other prefectures and counties do not have such geographical conditions. If Cao Cao wants to develop, he must first To rule out the northeast, both Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were the most difficult bones to crack at the time. When Xu County was established as the capital, the center was placed in Yingchuan. Ma Teng, or Yuzhou in the southeast, are very convenient.

Third, the geographical conditions are superior.

Not only is Xu County an important grain-producing area in the Central Plains, it is less affected by the war, and it is also located on the east bank of the Yingshui River, where the Ying River flows down to the Huai River. With the Yingshui transportation line, Xu County can easily get the surrounding area Regarding the supply of materials, Cao Cao later adopted Zaozhi and Han Hao's suggestions, and tried out the plan of garrisoning fields near Xuchang, and obtained a large amount of food through military households garrisoning fields, which solved the supply problem.

Moreover, Xu County itself is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the terrain of Songshan, Funiu, and Dabie Mountains can be used to effectively block attacks from Ma Teng, Liu Biao, and Yuan Shu.

Of course, Xu County actually has a fatal weakness.

That is, to the east of it is the plain area of ​​Yimapingchuan. If an enemy invades from the east, once they cross a few counties, they can directly attack Huanglong.

Cao Cao and his advisers did not fail to see this.

The reason why he still chose to move the capital to Xu County in the end is because the east is the Xuzhou forces.

In their view, whether it is Tao Qian, Liu Biao or Lu Bu behind, they are too busy to take care of themselves, so how many possibilities are there for counterattack and westward advance?

The original history is indeed like this. Xuzhou has changed hands several times, but it has never caused any real threat to Xu County.

But now everything is different.
Because Xuzhou fell into Wang Zheng's hands!

If Wang Zheng, who ruled Xuzhou with a strong army and strong horses, marched westward and attacked Huanglong, it would be even easier than Yuan Shao. After all, if Yuan Shao wanted to go south, at least he had to conquer Chenliu, the northern gate.

Thinking about this, Cao Cao can be said to have trouble sleeping and eating, and even gave birth to the idea of ​​moving the capital again.

This is also why Cao Cao is obviously very afraid of Wang Zheng, and he knows that if this son is allowed to win Yangzhou, it will be more difficult to control, but in the end he chose to cooperate with him and attack Yuan Shu together, in order to hold Runan in his own hands Here, heavy troops were stationed in order to take precautions.

At the same time, he was very concerned about Wang Zheng's every move, and spread spies in Shouchun City to search for information, for fear that he would be caught off guard by the other party's surprise attack and directly steal the house.

And this team of "business travelers" who left the city from Shouchun was the latest envoy to report to Cao Cao.

The envoys headed north all the way, passing through several big rivers, crossing several heavy mountains, seeing how many sunrises and sunsets, passing through towns after towns, and passing through patches of wilderness, almost without stopping. , Day and night, finally entered the territory of Yingchuan on the fifth day.

When they arrived at Xudu, it was already midnight, they showed their badges at the foot of the city, and showed the road guides and military documents written by Xun Yu himself.

Because of the reports from the previous messengers, the generals on duty guarding the city also knew that Yangzhou's soldiers and horses had been mobilized frequently recently, and they seemed to be making moves.

When you enter the city, you will be guided by a special person, first sent to the government office in the city, and reported up layer by layer. After a while, a scribe came in from outside.

This person was in his early twenties, although he was young, he had a calm demeanor and a gloomy face. He didn't speak after entering, but first looked around the audience and asked calmly, "Who is the messenger from the south?"

As his gaze passed by, the several messengers made everyone's heart tremble, and they felt that the eyes of the other party were as sharp as a falcon, and they all got up hurriedly, "The villain just wait."

The man nodded slightly, and asked again: "Who is in charge?"

One of the messengers came out and said: "The villain is Li Xiaowei's uncle, and he is in charge of delivering the letter this time."

"Then follow me, the general wants to see you."

The young man turned around after speaking, and walked out with big strides, the uncle quickly followed, just as he stepped out of the mansion, he felt a sudden light in front of his eyes, and then the uncle realized that, at some time, someone came outside Hundreds of cavalry, they stood beside the horses, held up the torches, and turned the night into bright lights.

These people are tall and tall, and they are brave men. Not only that, they stand in the night, each of them stands upright, motionless, and their faces are expressionless and silent. The air of killing blows towards his face.

As soon as the two of them came out, the cavalrymen coincided with each other, turned their eyes to look at the same time, and were swept away by their gazes, even though the messenger was also an old soldier who had experienced many battles, his hairs were standing on end all over his body, and he felt a chill, Soaked into the lungs, he couldn't help shouting: "Could this not be the general's own army?"

"No."

Hearing that, the young man said indifferently: "This is a battalion newly formed by the general, called Tiger and Leopard Cavalry."

"Tiger and leopard ride?"

Uncle Du was startled when he heard the words, and thought to himself: "When I returned to Xu County last year, I seemed to have heard people say that the general intends to select heroes and brave generals from the army. Yuan Shao's euphorbia warriors, and Wang Zheng's Tianzhu camp, could it be this tiger and leopard cavalry?"

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at the young scribe, and thought to himself: "If it is really a strong army composed of a hundred generals, it will become the general's elite division, and it is logical that it must be led by cronies. Isn't this young man Also surnamed Cao? A nephew of a general?"

Anyone with a discerning eye can see Cao Cao's trust in his clan, even ordinary soldiers know that the so-called cronies mean that only "kinship" can "trust".

Feeling that he had guessed the truth, Na Dubo became more respectful.

Although the young man was dressed as a scribe, his movements were very neat, and he didn't need the help of the guards. He got on his horse, turned his head and glanced at everyone, and said calmly: "Let's go."

With an order, a hundred or ten people moved in unison, twenty or thirty cavalry cleared the way ahead of time, two or thirty people retreated to press the formation, and there were two sides, each with one or twenty cavalry guards.Hundreds of riders, shouting forward and hugging behind, slashing and letting their horses gallop, like a gust of wind, galloping like lightning, they have arrived at Cao Cao's mansion in Xudu.

Even though it was late at night, the mansion was still brightly lit, clearly illuminating the inside and outside, then Dubo could see the entrance, there were long bearded chairs on both sides, and dozens of strong men were sitting on each.

From a distance, these people looked like hunchbacks, but a closer look revealed that almost everyone was disabled.Either an eye is missing, or an arm is broken.The most serious of them was completely unrecognizable, with broken hands and arms.I have to put this outside, I am afraid that life will be difficult to take care of myself.

But these people sat there, but none of them looked disabled and depressed. On the contrary, they all looked carefree, high-spirited, and very proud.

Seeing that they were all dressed as servants, Na Dubo thought to himself: "I have heard that five or six out of ten servants in the general's mansion are from the army. All disabled soldiers with outstanding military exploits, If you want, you can come to the general's mansion, the army privately thinks this is 'honored support', and these people think they are 'honored support' pawns."

These big men saw a group of cavalry coming, but they didn't ask any questions. They got up one after another and opened the door of the mansion. There was a leader who looked like a leader, and said to the young man with a smile from a few pedestrians: "Your brother will come back soon."

When facing this person, the young man stopped keeping a cold face and immediately smiled, "How dare you keep the general waiting?"

He said he was smiling, but his mouth was not grinning, his lips were as thin as a slit, as if someone had gently scratched his face with a razor, so there was not much smile in this smile, but it looked cold.

"Is the general still in the study?"

"Yes, the butler was sent out before a cup of tea to ask if the little brother is back."

The young man nodded and said no more. He dismounted and handed the reins to a servant. He immediately waved to the Dubo, motioning to follow him, and walked in.

After passing through three or four large or small courtyards, they came to a single courtyard.This courtyard is not big, with red walls and white tiles, surrounded by bamboo forests, and when the night wind blows, the bamboo leaves rustle.It seemed very quiet.There are two lanterns hanging at the gate of the courtyard.That Dubo knew a few words, raised his head, and saw two words on the gate of the courtyard: "Zhi Ge".

Uncle Du didn't understand what he meant, he thought to himself: "The general is both civil and military, and he can be called a Confucian general. This 'Zhi Ge' should have some meaning, maybe it comes from some allusion?"

While guessing, I heard the young man say: "The general is in the study in the courtyard, just follow me in."

Du Bo hurriedly gathered his thoughts and collected his energy, and respectfully followed the young man into the hospital.

Different from the several courtyards we passed before, there were many servants and servants standing there with hands down, but there was no one in this place, it was very quiet.The wing rooms on the left and the middle had no candles, and were pitch-black; only on the right, through the window paper, a lamp like a bean could be seen.

The uncle didn't dare to take a closer look, and at a glance, he only vaguely saw two figures silhouetted against the window paper. The young man knocked on the door lightly. After a while, there was a voice in the room, not loud, very loud It was Qingya who asked, "Is Zhongda back?"

"Yes, Mr. Xun, I have brought the envoy from Shouchun."

This young man is naturally the future Jin Gaozu Sima Yi. In the original history, he would have been heard of by Cao Cao, the current Sikong, in the sixth year of Jian'an four years later, and took the initiative to send people to conquer him. Seeing that Emperor Xian was already a puppet, and Cao Cao's reputation as a Han thief was far and wide, Sima Yi didn't want to be subdued, so he refused to be an official on the pretext of having wind arthralgia.

But because Guo Jia, who was supposed to succeed Xi Zhicai, switched to Wangzheng, and Cao Cao lacked military strategists, Xun Yu recommended a candidate for the second time, and it was Sima Yi who had just won the championship.

And Sima Yi also made a completely different choice from the history. I don't know if it was because of Cao Cao's reputation at this time, or for some other reason. He didn't reject Wei Wu's first enlistment. General Zuo's master book.

Hearing this, another deep voice in the room sounded: "Come in."

"Yes."

Sima Yi took the Du Bo and pushed the door in. Only then did he realize that there were actually not two people in the room, but three people. It was only because the third person buried his head in the paint that the shadow could not be reflected on the window paper. It was Cao Cao.

Sima Yi bowed and moved away. Du Bo fell to the ground and said: "Little Lieutenant Li's subordinate Du Bo Yan San has seen the general."

"Get up." Cao Cao waved his hand slightly, and then went straight to the point: "The military newspaper, let me read it."

For fear of losing it on the road, Na Dubo hid the military report close to his body. He immediately stood up, took it out and presented it with both hands. Cao Cao caught it and read it intently.

When he was watching, the room was quiet, and none of the people opened their mouths to speak. The Dubo looked at him quietly, and recognized the person on the left as Xun Yu, the attendant, and the other person on the opposite side with an eight-foot long beard. It is Shangshu Cheng Yu.

Both of them are Cao Cao's masterminds, Du Bo naturally knows.

Needless to say, Xun Yu is known to everyone in the world as the number one master under Cao Cao's tent. Strictly speaking, Xun Yu is not a pure subordinate, but a partner in nature, with a very detached position.

But in fact, Cheng Yu's status at this time is also very high, and it is also indispensable to Cao Cao, as can be seen from the fact that he has a series of other titles besides Shangshu:
General Dongzhong Lang, leader of Jiyin prefect, governor of Yanzhou affairs
Especially the last one, the governor of Yanzhou, seems to be the same as Zhang Zhao's Yangzhou governor, with a real high position and weight. Cheng Yu, as a person with a foreign surname, can gain the full trust of Cao Cao, a master of speculation, which is really real It is earned by performance.

For example, when Cao Cao conquered Xuzhou, Chen Gong, Zhang Miao and others rebelled and welcomed Lu Bu into Yan, and the surrounding counties responded one after another. In the end, only Juancheng and Dong'e were left, and the situation was extremely dangerous.

At this time, it was Cheng Yu who turned the tide and helped the building to collapse. First, he went to Fan County to lobby Jin Yun, the county magistrate, and persuaded him to rebel and surrender. Occupying Cangtingjin, making it impossible for Chen Gong's army to cross the river, and then led the officials and the people to resist the city and resist Lu Bu. Finally, when Cao Cao returned, Cao Cao, who survived the near death, was so excited that he almost cried and held Cheng Yu's hand for a long time. Sa, "If it weren't for Cheng Qing's power, I would have nowhere to go."

Later, Cao Cao and Lu Bu fought in Puyang and lost several times.There was also a locust plague, and under internal and external troubles, Yuan Shao sent people to lobby. He said it was a union, but in fact it was an annexation.

At this time, the army's rations were almost exhausted, and Lu Bu was eyeing him like a tiger. Cao Cao had no choice but to agree to Yuan Shao, but it was Cheng Yu who tried his best to make Cao Cao give up this idea.

(End of this chapter)