Seeing this, Li Ru continued: "I not only know this, but also regulate the trend of the past three years for the princes of the world. Do you want to listen to it, Mr. Cao?"

Cao Cao raised his glass and drank himself a cup and said, "Wenyou, let's talk about it, but listen to the truth to see if it makes sense?"

Li Ruyin said to himself: "Li Huiyi in the north is already the dominant family. Mr. Cao can only resist with his two Lius. It is best to join Sun Ce."

"Li Huiyi is going to go to the north, and half of the targets for sending troops may be Liu Bei. If he takes Xuzhou, he will have a tiger's eye on Duke Cao's territory. At that time, Duke Cao may not be able to spare his hands to deal with other princes."

"But if Liu Bei is kept, then someone can share some of the pressure, and Duke Cao can take advantage of Xiliang's prestige and destroy Yuan Shu."

"Taking Yangzhou may anger Sun Ce, so Mr. Cao should think of a perfect plan, otherwise Li Huiyi may find an excuse."

"As for Liu Biao, Duke Cao can use it as a granary for the army. If he does so, Li Huiyi will not be able to leave the north, and Duke Cao can slowly conquer him among the princes."

Combining vertical and horizontal is really good. After all, Li Huiyi in the north is too strong. If he is accidentally allowed to leave the north, he might be like a vicious tiger out of its cage, and bite anyone it sees.

Li Ru can speak so carefully when he is drunk, I am afraid that the meaning is not superficial.

Cao Cao glanced at it, and when he was about to ask, Li Ru suddenly lay down on the table and snored.

Seeing this situation, Cao Cao summoned soldiers outside the tent to help Li Ru up and send him to rest.

After the soldiers left, Cao Cao's face turned straight, completely different from just now, apparently pretending to be drunk.

"This Li Ru, the truth must be under his command, otherwise he will feel uneasy."

Xun You agreed: "Yes, from what he said just now, it is not difficult to see that this person's talent is not inferior to mine."

Cao Cao said in embarrassment: "But, he doesn't want to be an official. This is a problem."

Xun You shook his head and said, "You thought that he had the intention to become an official, but he was just testing the Lord, otherwise he wouldn't be able to analyze the affairs of the world so clearly."

test?There is this possibility.

Chapter 472

What Xun You said was not unreasonable. After Dong Zhuo's demise, Li Ru must have suffered a great blow in his heart, and he must be cautious when he votes for a new leader.

Cao Cao moved his eyes and said, "If it's true, then it's easy to handle. Gongda has worked hard all the way, so let's go down and rest early. I've already made up my mind."

Hearing this, Xun You got up to leave. After all, he had been traveling all the way, and he drank some alcohol. His head really hurt and he needed a good rest.

After Xun You left, Cao Cao thought about it for a while, and took a rest by himself.

As for Li Ru, who was sent back to the tent, after confirming that the soldiers had left, he slowly opened his eyes, which were also full of light, obviously pretending to be drunk.

After many years of living in seclusion, Li Ru has long been tired of living an ordinary life, and he is very satisfied with Cao Cao's performance today, so he will tell the situation he calculated.

At the banquet, Li Ru was quite satisfied with Cao Cao's performance, knowing that he had successfully demonstrated his value, and then he just had to wait patiently.

……

…………

After a night's rest, Cao Cao set off his army early in the morning and hurried to Wancheng to prevent Zhang Xiu from suddenly regretting it.

When the sun was already in the sky, Cao Cao finally led his army to Wancheng, and Zhang Xiu got the news early in the morning, and led his civil and military officers to wait at the gate of the city.

After a surrender ceremony, Wancheng was formally brought under the rule of Cao Cao.

And Cao Cao is also generous, doing everything according to Zhang Xiu's requirements, and he is not as smug as history.

After a few days of handover, after confirming the officials of Wancheng, Cao Cao discussed with Zhang Xiu, transferred [-] defenders of Wancheng, promised the post of General Yangwu, and left in a mighty way.

Taking Wancheng without bloodshed, Cao Cao's power has grown a lot, but compared with Li Huiyi, he is still weaker.

In order to achieve the planned goal in a stable manner, Cao Cao sent people to negotiate with Liu Bei, and the two parties formed a temporary alliance to jointly resist Li Huiyi.

And after several months of waiting, the envoy to Xiliang also came back and brought envoy Ma Teng, his eldest son Ma Chao.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Xie immediately summoned Cao Cao to come and summon Ma Chao together with him.

In the backyard of the palace, Liu Xie and Cao Cao were sitting and waiting. It didn't take long before they saw a man with regular facial features and exuding masculinity, walking quickly under the leadership of the eunuch.

"Ma Chao, Ma Mengqi, the son of General Andi, has met His Majesty and Prime Minister Cao."

Liu Xie said with a serious face: "Get up, General Andy is in good health, why don't you come here in person?"

Ma Chao stood up, glanced at Liu Xie, saw that it was a ten-year-old child, and felt a little contemptuous in his heart at the time, but when he saw Cao Cao's sharp eyes, he couldn't help being surprised.

"Returning to Your Majesty, Father is busy with business and cannot come in person. The special envoy has shown his loyalty. The Ma family has been stationed in the frontier for generations. If they return to the court as officials, I am afraid that they will disappoint His Majesty's high expectations."

Ma Chao's meaning is very simple, that is, the Ma family does not want to be an official in the court, but they can send their son as a hostage, which has shown their loyalty.

Liu Xie raised his eyebrows and said, "It is a good thing to be an official in the court, why does Ma Aiqing refuse?"

Ma Chao said neither arrogant nor humble: "My father is a military general. If I don't garrison the frontier, I'm afraid I won't be able to use my ability. I hope Your Majesty will take back the holy order."

Liu Xie did not give up and said: "Ma Aiqing's talents can be reused there. As long as he comes to Xuchang, I will be named the third prince."

San Gong, in the past, was indeed very tempting, but now, he is just a famous name, not comparable to the frontier history with a large army in his hand.

Ma Chao replied: "My father doesn't care about the size of the official position. He just wants to do his last meager effort for the big man, even if he is a partial general in the battlefield."

It is useless to promise an official position. It seems that when Ma Chao came, he had an explanation. Liu Xie looked at Cao Cao helplessly.

Received a look of help, Cao Cao said, "What is Meng Qi's year, and where does he live now?"

Hearing Cao Cao's question, Ma Chao paused and didn't understand what he meant, but he still replied respectfully: "Nineteen years old, and now I'm a partial general."

"En." Cao Cao nodded and said, "You are a general at such a young age, it seems that you have a great talent, and it is not impossible to take over Shoucheng's position."

Hearing this, Ma Chao was shocked. If his father became an official in the court, he could take over his father's position logically, and he would no longer be restricted by his father in matters in the army.

Ma Chao's face was moved, but he said modestly: "Prime Minister Cao is too serious. I am still young, and I am afraid that I will not be able to take over the overall situation."

Cao Cao smiled and said: "No, no, the truth is that you are about the same age as you, and you are already an official in the court. Meng Qi should be fine too."

"If Meng Qi agrees, His Majesty will issue an imperial edict to formally appoint you as Shepherd of Xiliang to lead the various ministries of Xiliang, and then call your father to Xuchang for appointment."

Cao Cao's drastic move made the young Ma Chao very excited.

It has been Ma Chao's dream since he was a child to bring all the ministries of Xiliang under his command. Now that this dream is within reach, he suddenly lost his mind.

Ma Chao asked seriously: "What the prime minister said is true, not a joke?"

Cao Cao nodded and said, "If Meng Qi doesn't believe it, can he ask His Majesty?"

Hearing this, Ma Chao cast a fiery look at Liu Xie, hoping to hear an affirmative answer.

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