On the twelfth day of the first lunar month of the eighth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao and Guo Jia and their party returned to Xuchang under the escort of more than a thousand light cavalry of Xu Huang.

After receiving the news that Liu Biao was assassinated and died on the same day, Cao Cao was both happy and worried. What he was happy was that Liu Biao died suddenly, and Jingzhou would inevitably be in chaos, and it would not be able to pose a threat to Cao Cao for a while.

Cao Cao was gathering a large army to fight against the Xianbei tribes in the northern border. The Xianbei were all cavalrymen, and the battle was fierce. Tens of thousands of cavalry often came and left, which was quite difficult to deal with.

In order to eliminate the dangers of northern borders in one fell swoop, Cao Cao used tricks to differentiate the Xianbei from the inside, while promising to instigate the Huns to disturb the Xianbei behind their backs. At the same time, he personally led a large army to fight with the Xianbei. However, the situation of the war was still in a stalemate.

What Cao Cao was most worried about at this moment was not whether he could defeat the Xianbei, but whether Liu Bei would take the opportunity to advance north to attack. Liu Biao's assassination was tantamount to Cao Cao.

But after the joy, greater worries occupied Cao Cao's mood.

Once civil strife in Jingzhou, with Liu Bei's ambition, it is impossible for him to miss the opportunity to seize Jingzhou. With Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and the generals of Xionghu, such as Xu Shu, no one in Jingzhou can stand out as the leading position of Liu Bei's army.

If Jingzhou is really gained by Liu Bei in the end, it would be like a disaster for Cao Cao.

Among the Han Dynasty, Jingzhou was famous for its wealth. Moreover, during the more than ten years of war between the princes, the rest of the states were all suffering from life, with nine out of ten families, but the local areas of Jingzhou and Yizhou were almost not destroyed by war.

Today, Jingzhou is definitely the most populous and richest state in the world. If Liu Bei had Jingzhou, it would be like a tiger to add wings.

Out of this concern, after defeating the Xianbei attack twice in a row and dispelling the arrogance of the Xianbei people, Cao Cao temporarily handed over the war in the northern border to Xiahou Yuan and Cheng Yu, and he and Guo Jia left for Xuchang.

Xuchang, Prime Minister's Mansion

After learning about the latest progress of the situation in Jingzhou with Xun Yu and Xun You in detail, Cao Cao immediately fell into deep thought. Because Xuchang's journey to northern Xinjiang was long, the message was very inconvenient.

Cao Cao only knew that Xun Yu sent an envoy to Xiangyang to mourn Liu Biao and tried to provoke civil strife in Jingzhou. As for the subsequent updates, Cao Cao knew nothing. At this moment, he could not help but be surprised to hear that Cai Mao had already supported Liu Cong to succeed the throne and provoked civil war.

"Wenruo, Gongda, you did a good job in this matter!" Cao Cao pondered for a moment. He nodded and praised, "Cai Mao was a talented person, and he was very good at controlling Jingzhou.

If you can make some thoughts in the future, you may also provoke the war between Jingzhou and Liu Bei!"

"But the question is whether Cai Mao can eradicate the Kuai Party? The two heroes of the Kuai family are far-reaching and have a deep prestige in Jingzhou. Once he escapes, he will use Liu Qi as a banner to raise his arms.

I am afraid that more than half of the officials and soldiers in Jingzhou will abandon Cai and surrender to Kuai. "Xun Yu gently stroked his long beard under his chin and analyzed in a deep voice.

"If the two parties of Cai and Kuai fight each other, Jingzhou will inevitably lose its strength. Isn't this a good thing for the father and minister?" Cao Pi, who was sitting and listening, said. As Cao Pi grew older, Cao Cao also intentionally cultivated his ability to participate in political affairs.

Allow him to express his own opinions when discussing matters.

"What the young master said is not bad!" Xun Yu nodded and said with a smile, "But if the civil strife in Jingzhou suffers a great loss of strength, the most benefit is probably not the prime minister. But Liu Bei.

Liu Bei could take this opportunity to seize Jingzhou in the name of supporting one of them."

"Since Liu Bei was able to seize Jingzhou in the chaos, then his father could have taken Jingzhou for himself?" Cao Pi thought for a moment and raised his own objection.

Cao Cao looked at his son with relief and laughed: "Zihuan, you have made great progress recently!"

"Thank you for your praise!" Cao Pi knew that his father didn't like the arrogant people, so he hurried and humbled.

"Yeah..." Cao Cao nodded and said with a smile, "Although you said it right now, it is still not the best time for me to go south to Jingzhou.

First, because the war in the northern border has not yet settled, the land of Hebei has not been determined; second, because the water and soil in the north and south are different, the Hu Ben in our army is all the northern heroes, and they may not be able to adapt to the water and soil of Jingzhou for a while; third, because Liu Bei is coveting it.

If you go south rashly, not only will you not be able to seize Jingzhou, but you may even end up defeat. Therefore, instead of causing chaos, it is better to support Jingzhou, who will kiss me!"

"Oh..." Cao Pi suddenly realized. After pondering for a while, he stood up and bowed to Cao Cao and said, "Thank you, father, for answering your doubts!"

Cao Cao waved his hand with a smile, signaling Cao Pi to sit down, then turned his head to Xun You and asked, "Gongda, do you think Cai Mao is sure to eradicate the Kuai family?"

"You should be 70% sure!" Xun You replied with a brief thought, "Among the nine counties in Jingxiang, Jingbei counties have the strongest military strength (Jingbei borders Cao Cao and has more troops), and most of these counties are controlled by Cai Mao's relatives and friends.

Moreover, Huang Zu, the commander of the Jingzhou Navy, was also a party of Cai Mao. Cai Mao ordered Huang Zu to block the Yangtze River, and the Kuai family's journey to the south had been cut off.

In addition, Cai Mao asked Shangyong and Ma Chao for help. In this case, no matter how intelligent Ren Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue are, they may not be able to make the situation come true."

"Then why do you only say that you are 70% sure and the other 30%?" After hearing Xun Youdi's analysis, Cao Ren asked in confusion.

"Now, only Liu Bei has the ability to rescue the Kuai brothers. If Liu Bei could send troops to expel Huangzu's naval army in time, it would be impossible for the Kuai family to retreat south!" Xun You said calmly.

"Yeah..." Cao Cao nodded slightly, thought for a moment and said, "Wen Ruo, have you ever noticed that there is any abnormal movement in Liu Bei?"

"There is no abnormal movement in Shouchun!" Xun Yu shook his head and said, "But if Liu Bei really wants to rescue the Kuai family, he must be using Jiangdong's troops. At present, there is no news about Jiangdong yet..."

"Gongda has made some mistakes!" Guo Jia, who had not spoken, suddenly said something inexplicably to everyone.

Cao Cao, Xun Yu and others all turned their eyes to Guo Jia, and Xun You asked in confusion: "Where is the mistake of filial piety?"

"Cough cough cough..." Guo Jia coughed a few times and said with a faint smile, "Gongda really shouldn't instigate Cai Mao to invite Ma Chao to the army..." The battle in northern Xinjiang for many days was also a great test for Guo Jia's health.

"What does this mean to worship filial piety?" Even Cao Cao was a little confused.

"Gongda originally wanted to use this to weaken Ma Chao's military power, but he ignored one thing..." Guo Jia's eyes flashed with wisdom, and he analyzed harmoniously, "Ma Chao is not the kind of person who is willing to be inferior. He had a quarrel with Han Sui on the same day because of fighting for power and profit.

Although he is dormant now, how could he be willing to stay in the underworld for a long time? Cai Mao’s invitation was to give Ma Chao a good opportunity. In his opinion, Ma Chao is very likely to attack Cai Mao suddenly and take the opportunity to seize the power of Jingzhou.

As the Prime Minister said, Cai Mao is a person with great ambitions and talent, and he is afraid he will not be prepared for Ma Chao. If Ma Chao takes Jingzhou seriously, who will his next target be?"

"Han Sui and...Prime Minister!" Cao Ren said.

"That's right!" Guo Jia nodded and recognized Cao Ren's answer, "Han Sui is far away in Xiliang, and Ma Chao is difficult to reach. Therefore, the Prime Minister is his first target of attack.

With Ma Chao's martial arts and the human and material resources of Jingzhou, it is not easy to resist!"

"Huh~~!" Hearing this, many people in the hall couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. The situation of Ma Chao sweeping across the two states of Yongsi that day still vividly remembered it.

Even Cao Cao had to admit afterwards that this battle with Ma Chao was one of the most difficult battles in his life.

"I heard Fengxiao's words and woke up from my dream!" Xun You sighed and said blamingly. "You thought he had a plan, but he didn't expect this plan to be quite harmful to the Prime Minister!"

"Haha..." Cao Cao smiled heroically, waved his hand and said, "You don't have to blame yourself, even if you don't have any suggestions. Cai Mao may not have turned to Ma Chao for help.

And if Ma Chao is willing to seize Jingzhou as an opportunity to revenge, he will take the initiative to find an opportunity to intervene in the war in Jingzhou!"

"For the current plan, I am thinking about how to prevent Ma Chao and Liu Bei from seizing Jingzhou..." After a pause, Cao Cao stroked his beard and said, "Do you guys have any countermeasures?"

"Jia has four strategies, please ask the Prime Minister and the Dukes to cooperate with each other..." Guo Jia said calmly without thinking, "First, he immediately sent a meticulous work to sneak into Jingzhou and spread rumors, saying that Ma Chao intended to seize Jingzhou and avenge his father.

This will attract Cai Mao's attention. As long as you are wary, with Cai Mao's strength in Jingbei, you may not lose to Ma Chao. Secondly, the Prime Minister can send an elite army to attack Shangyong. Shangyong is the fundamental part of Ma Chao's current situation. Once attacked, Ma Chao will definitely pay attention to it.

If it retreats, then the ownership of Jingzhou will be unfavorable. If it does not return, then the Prime Minister can take the opportunity to capture Shangyong. Shangyong stole the throat of the western part of Jingzhou. If the Prime Minister wants to advance to Jingzhou in the future, Shangyong is an important stronghold."

"Although these two strategies are wonderful, they are all used to prevent Ma Chao from taking Jingzhou..." Cao Cao nodded and asked afterwards, "Can you have any strategies to prevent Liu Bei from filial piety?"

Guo Jia continued calmly: "Thirdly, the Prime Minister ordered the general to lead heavy troops to suppress Shouchun, which puts great pressure on Liu Bei.

Create a situation that once Liu Bei sends troops to Jingzhou, Shouchun will inevitably be attacked; fourth, it is still spreading rumors, and it is said that Liu Biao was assassinated because Liu Bei wanted to seek Jingzhou."

"When Liu Bei's envoy Zhuge Liang went to Jingzhou in the previous period, he had already cleaned up Liu Bei's suspicion of assassination mastermind. Now that rumors are spread, they may not be effective..." Xun You said.

Cao Cao, Guo Jia and others had just returned to Xuchang and knew something unknown, so they asked Xun You a little curiously about what Zhuge Liang had "defended" Liu Bei.

"Although Zhuge Liang is not well-known, he is definitely not an ordinary person from these remarks!" Guo Jia thought for a moment and said to Cao Cao seriously.

"Has Gongda ever asked about this person's origin?" Cao Cao closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, and asked Xun You.

"You have noticed this person!" After Xun You learned about Zhuge Liang's defense remarks from Cai Mao that day, he also cared about it. He ordered people to collect some of Zhuge Liang's situations, "Zhuge Liang, formerly from Langya, Xuzhou, moved to Longzhong, Xiangyang with his brother Zhuge Jin, and studied at Lumen Academy. He became a teacher at the Hongru Pang Degong of Jingzhou. He was twenty-three years old and is now the right Sima of Liu Bei.

”

"Twenty-three years old... Right Sima?" Cao Cao was also surprised when he heard this. Liu Bei was always wise and Zhuge Liang was not an ordinary person to take up the important task of Right Sima at such an age.

"By the way, Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei's military advisor Xu Shu were from the same school. It is reported that Pang Degong's evaluation of this person is even better than Xu Shu!" After a pause, Xun You said something that shocked Cao Cao and others.

"What? Is it even better than Xu Shu?" Cao Cao sighed lightly, his face becoming extremely solemn. In the past two years, Cao Cao has fully understood Xu Shu's talent and is definitely a man who can be called a national scholar.

Now that he heard that Liu Bei had another wise man who was even more powerful than Xu Shu, how could Cao Cao not be surprised?

"What a great scholar this Pang Degong is to be able to teach such a disciple!" Guo Jia was not surprised by Zhuge Liang's talent, but was a little fascinated by Pang Degong.

"When it comes to Lumen Academy, Yu thought of something!" Xun Yu stroked his beard and thought for a moment, and said, "A scholar from Runan came to serve him a few years ago, and this person seemed to be a teacher who also left Lumen!"

"Oh~?" Cao Cao immediately became interested and asked anxiously, "Wenruo, who is this person's surname? Where is it now? What's the talent?"

"..." Xun Yu thought for a moment and replied, "This person's surname is Meng and his name is Jian, and his name is Gongwei. He is now a general of literature with a facial features and is quite talented. He is in Xudu. Can the Prime Minister meet him?"

"Okay, pass it quickly!" Cao Cao was full of interest and nodded immediately.

...

.

After about two cups of land, a young scholar who was 27 or 8 years old and had a unique and ancient appearance was taken into the meeting hall. It was Meng Jian.

In the conference hall, except Cao Cao, they were all important officials and generals. Although Meng Jian’s position was inferior to everyone, he was not afraid and had a proper attitude.

Cao Cao carefully looked at Meng Jian for a moment, asked about his origins and confirmed that he was indeed from the school of Pang Degong and was classmates with Xu Shu, Zhuge Liang and others, and then he slightly tested his talents.

As a result, Meng Jian responded well and learned from one example.

Cao Cao was very happy to find a genius, so he immediately decided to promote Meng Jian to be a sacrificial priest, and then asked him about the situation in the area of ​​Xu Shu, Zhuge Liang and others.

“…There are two people with the highest talent under the mentor.

One is Zhuge Kongming, and the other is his mentor, nephew Pang Tong and Pang Shiyuan. Both of them have talents that are powerful and powerful. Even Xu Yuanzhi is inferior to him..." Meng Jian did not boast of his talent, nor did he despise others, and answered truthfully.

Cao Cao, Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others looked at each other and saw the other's surprise. Although there was a saying that "there are many talents in Jingxiang", Cao Cao would never have imagined that there would be so many and powerful talents.

"Pongwei, where is Pang Tong now?" Cao Cao was known for loving talents and thirsty. How could he not be moved when he heard that he had such a great talent? Zhuge Liang had already surrendered to Liu Bei, and Cao Cao did not have much hope, so he turned to Pang Tong.

"Shi Yuan had previously been to become an official in Sun Quan, but later the officials were not sure of their whereabouts!"

"..." After hearing Meng Jian's answer, Cao Cao sighed silently. The Sun family has been destroyed. If Pang Tong really succeeded in Sun Quan, he will either die or turn to Liu Bei.

Thinking that Liu Bei's talents were becoming more and more powerful, Cao Cao was very troubled...

"Where are there anyone with outstanding talents like Gongwei under the sect of Pang Gong?" Cao Cao asked unwillingly.

"Second minister's classmate Cui Hong Cui Zhouping, Shi Tao and Shi Guangyuan are of extraordinary talent and knowledge. They are now living in seclusion in Jingzhou!"

"Okay!" Cao Cao slapped the table and said happily, "Send someone to take the emperor's edict to invite Cui, and Shi two Xian to the court as officials..."

…………………………………………..

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month is the full year of Baoer and Xingcai. The lights and colors are decorated inside and outside the General's Mansion in Pingnan, and people come and go, and it is very lively.
Chapter completed!