Chapter 112: The world is shocked, and all parties react [Subscribe]

After entering the city, Cao Cao entered the former Yanzhou Governor's Mansion, now the Provincial Governor's Mansion.

"The families of Governor Liu have all returned to their hometowns," said an accompanying official.

This place is much more spacious than the previous Chenliu Prefecture Mansion. The interior decoration and layout can be roughly compared to the original mansion in Luoyang.

Judging from the area alone, it may be even larger.

The front hall is where the head of a state works.

Cao Cao did not rest. The war in Yanzhou had just been settled, and issues such as how to deal with the aftermath needed to be dealt with urgently.

When he came back, he began to discuss with a group of officials.

The chaotic wars and turmoil caused all things in the world to wither.

Talent and a large number of soldiers are the two most precious things.

The 800,000 surrendered soldiers made everyone who knew the news feel nervous, the enemies were frightened and the friends were delighted.

In Chang'an, Yuan Wei was the first to receive the news and learned that the Qingzhou army had been defeated and surrendered.

In the newly built Shangshutai, Yuan Wei stared at the clerk who came to report: "After defeating the Qingzhou army, how much did Cao Mengde suffer?"

"He adopted the strategy of shrinking the defense line in the early stage, and many cities in Yanzhou were damaged.

But Cao Mengde's troops suffered little loss."

"Later, when he fought against the Qingzhou army, he used the strategy of dividing and attacking the enemy, using cavalry to weaken the enemy."

"The Qingzhou army was contained and eventually pursued, and surrendered along the Jishui River."

"Are there really 800,000 surrendered soldiers?"

"Our spies in Yanzhou said that from a distance, there were people kneeling for more than ten miles, so many that they could not be counted.

Among the Qingzhou troops, only the commander Guan Hai fled with several thousand of his own troops, while the rest all surrendered.

"When those people gathered along the Ji River and shouted to surrender, the clouds in the sky were blown away by the sound waves, and the river surface was turbulent."

"In the past few days, all the generals at all levels of the Qingzhou Army who have committed many evil deeds have been ordered to be executed by Cao Mengde."

"The news sent said that the Jishui River has been dyed red with blood."

"Other refugees were registered, pardoned, given land and seeds, and allowed to stay in Yanzhou to farm."

"Cao Mengde was using both deterrence and appeasement, killing and rewarding land."

Every time the clerk who reported the incident said this, Yuan Wei's face turned even gloomier.

Cao Cao accepted the surrender of 700,000 to 800,000 people, which made Yuan Wei feel dizzy as if his eyes were blacking out.

The most populous province at present is Yuzhou.

There were two million people in the Nanyang County alone.

However, this time Cao Cao took over almost half of the population of Nanyang, and the proportion of young and middle-aged people was even higher.

When Yuan Wei supported Cao Cao to leave Luoyang, he never expected that in just one year, Cao Cao would make the leap from being in charge of Chenliu County to controlling Yanzhou.

Like Yuan Wei, Dong Zhuo also received the news.

Dong Zhuo became even fatter, and his body became as plump as a mountain of flesh.

After he moved to Chang'an, he recruited a large number of people from the surrounding counties to populate Chang'an.

The renovation of Chang'an City has been ongoing, and it has only just begun to take shape.

Dong Zhuo also mobilized a huge amount of manpower and material resources to build a fortress as tall as a city wall, which was later called Meiwu.

The height of this bunker is equal to the width of the city wall, both are seven zhang, and it is heavily guarded inside and outside.

Dong Zhuo stored a large amount of grain there.

This was the retreat he built for himself, also called Wansuiwu.

He said to his relatives: "If the situation is favorable, I will go out and dominate the world. If it is unsuccessful, I will hide back in Meiwu. I don't believe that anyone can break through this fortress."

After Dong Zhuo built Meiwu, he used it as his residence and stayed in the fortress most of the time without going out.

When he had to go out, he would put on heavy armor, and wherever he went, he would be accompanied by armored guards, who would never leave his side.

Dong Zhuo was also paying attention to the situation in the world.

Many heroes emerged, and each side was trying to develop and almost become independent.

When he received the news that Cao Cao had defeated the Qingzhou army and taken control of Yanzhou, he was stunned for a while.

"He took control of Yanzhou and obtained 800,000 surrendered soldiers..."

Half a year ago, Cao Cao wanted to join forces with Sun Jian to deal with Dong Zhuo.

Now, to what extent will Cao Cao's strength expand after he has accepted the surrender of 800,000 refugees?
While Dong Zhuo was shocked, he also felt a chill that he was unwilling to admit.

Also in Chang'an, Lu Bu received the news.

He served as General of the Central Army under Dong Zhuo, and his power did not increase but declined compared to six months ago.

After arriving in Chang'an, all of Dong Zhuo's relatives also came.

The Dong clan vied for credit in everything and united to exclude Lu Bu and his Bingzhou army, regarding them as outsiders.

Dong Zhuo committed countless evil deeds and killed too many people. He became increasingly suspicious of the people around him and trusted no one.

A few days ago, Dong Zhuo woke up and Lu Bu went to meet him.

At that time, Lu Bu had just helped Dong Zhuo to suppress a group of people who opposed him, and the murderous aura was still on his body.

When Dong Zhuo saw this, he grabbed something and threw it at Lü Bu, saying that Lü Bu was full of murderous intent and intended to harm him.

Although Dong Zhuo later said that he had just woken up from sleep and recognized the wrong person.

The relationship between the two men was restored on the surface, but Lu Bu felt very uncomfortable.

There was an underlying reason why he was willing to follow Dong Zhuo and rebel against Ding Yuan, which few people know.

Dong Zhuo had no children, so when he was trying to persuade Lu Bu to surrender, he revealed that he was willing to accept him as his adopted son.

When Lu Bu changed his words and called Dong Zhuo his adoptive father in Chongde Hall, it meant that Dong Zhuo was fulfilling his promise.

Dong Zhuo had no son, so he adopted Lu Bu as his son. The meaning of this is self-evident.

In a sense, Lu Bu wanted to inherit Dong Zhuo's political legacy of the Liang Province Army.

Dong Zhuo also revealed a similar intention when he advised him to kill Ding Yuan. Adopting him as his adopted son was a fulfillment of his promise.

But when he arrived in Chang'an, Lu Bu was ostracized by the Dong clan members.

Dong Zhuo's reliance on him and the Bingzhou army was far less than when he was in Luoyang.

The original expectations have become a luxury.

Now he heard that Cao Cao was in charge of a state and became the governor. This sharp contrast made Lu Bu feel heartbroken.

There is a saying that goes, "I worry about my brothers not living well, but I worry even more about my brothers living too well."

The latter sentence also applies to enemies. When Lu Bu saw Cao Cao's fame, he felt a pain in his chest and could hardly breathe.

Zhen Xin happened to come in from outside. Seeing that Lu Bu's face was distorted, as if he had a serious illness, she was shocked and asked with concern:
"My husband, are you feeling unwell? Why are you like this?"

Lü Bu said sadly, "Jinxuan, Cao Mengde became the governor of Yanzhou and accepted the surrender of one million people. People all over the world are praising his name. I... I think of Lü Bu, who has been wandering for half my life and has never had the opportunity to become famous.

Cao Mengde is already known to everyone and holds great power. "

Zhen Xin was also jealous: "My husband is in command of a large army and is the bravest man in the world. Everyone knows that. Why should you take it to heart if he is not happy for a while? There will always be a time when you can surpass him."

Lu Bu shook his head: “No, everyone in the world is scolding me.

I originally thought that the winners are the kings and the losers are the bandits. A good man should not be under someone else for long. Ding Yuan does not understand me. Kill him if you want. I will not regret it. Who would have thought that Cao Mengde would now control an entire state?

There are only thirteen states in this world."

The more Lu Bu spoke, the sadder he felt, and he almost shed tears.

In Jizhou, Yuan Shao also received the news.

Cao Cao's becoming the governor of Yanzhou was a mixed blessing for him.

From the moment he was born, everyone he came into contact with regarded him as the leader.

Including Cao Cao, who had previously been dependent on him and needed his help and support.

But now Cao Cao seemed to be ahead of him, and Yuan Shao couldn't help feeling disappointed as he was surpassed by someone who was not as good as him in the past.

However, although the two were drifting further and further apart, they had not yet fallen out.

Jizhou and Yanzhou are adjacent to each other, and Cao Cao controls Yanzhou, making him very suitable to become an ally of Yuan Shao.

During this period, Yuan Shao also raised a banner and recruited heroes from all over the world.

His reputation and appeal are still the strongest in the world.

Cao Cao has only expanded rapidly in recent years, but Yuan Shao has always been a role model for the world.

He used his appeal to raise a big banner in Jizhou and recruit talents. There were so many people who came to join him.

Cao Cao's reputation gradually grew, but his reputation was more directed towards the common people and the middle and lower classes.

The real aristocratic families actually looked down on Cao Cao.

In the eyes of most of the aristocratic families in the Han Dynasty, the family background of the descendants of eunuchs was a stain that Cao Cao would never be able to wash away in his lifetime.

Families like the Xun family, the Yang family, and the Yuan family invested more resources in Yuan Shao.

There were even many famous scholars who were proud to be recruited by Yuan Shao.

This is not an exaggeration; it is also true in history.

At this stage, Yuan Shao already had the services of his cousin Xun Chen, who was of the same clan as Xun Yu but had a higher reputation, and Guo Tu, who was of the same clan as the genius Guo Jia and had an equally higher reputation.

Yuan Shao was not far from taking control of Jizhou.

During this period in history, Yuan Shao, in order to win over Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, and form an alliance with him, arranged his wives and concubines to live in Liu Dai's house, implying that he had complete trust in Liu Dai and regarded him as a close friend to whom he could entrust his family.

It also means using wives and concubines as hostages to show one's sincerity.

The two neighboring states formed an alliance to deal with the situation surrounding them.

Right now, Cao Cao controls Yanzhou, which is beneficial to Yuan Shao.

So he was mixed with worries and joy, and wrote a letter to Cao Cao, proposing an alliance.

Four days later, Cao Cao received a letter from Yuan Shao, which was sent by an express horse over a distance of 800 miles.

The sky was a little cloudy and it was drizzling.

In the afternoon, Cao Cao was in the study of the governor's mansion, checking Yuan Shao's letter.

He had moved to Changyi and was living in the newly renovated governor's mansion.

Diao Chan was also in the study, kneeling beside him, helping him sort out the letters on the low mat and then peeling the fruit.

During the war, it was difficult to eat fresh fruits.

Only in the home of the head of a state can one see the grapes that were brought from the Western Regions during the reign of Emperor Wu and spread throughout the country.

And dates.

The girl was wearing a sky blue dress. Her eyes fell on the fruit in her hands. Her expression was focused and her long eyelashes flickered from time to time. Her fingers nimbly peeled off the grape skin and put the crystal flesh into the bowl.

Break the dates apart, take out the cores, and place them in a small bowl.

After reading Yuan Shao's letter, Cao Cao thought: Yuan Benchu ​​trusts me quite a bit. He proposed an alliance but did not, like the alliance with Liu Dai in history, require me to send my wives and concubines as hostages.

As he was thinking, he turned his gaze to Diao Chan, looked at her for a moment, and couldn't help but smile.

The crabapple tree, despite its rouge color, stands alone in the drizzle.

It is drizzling outside the window and the world is in chaos, but Diao Chan is like a touch of rouge, blooming quietly in the troubled times, more beautiful than thousands of other beauties.

Diao Chan noticed that he was looking at her, so she picked up a fruit and gave it to Cao Cao to eat, narrowing her eyes slightly: "Is it sweet?"

Seeing Cao Cao nod, she stood up, washed her hands, and sat back beside him.

Cao Cao reached out and pulled her closer, sitting her on his lap.

Diao Chan whispered, "It would be bad if someone saw it."

The two of them slept together in the same tent, and their relationship became closer. Diao Chan would not object to Cao Cao's somewhat inappropriate behavior.

But she was afraid of being caught if they were intimate in broad daylight.

Cao Cao skillfully took off her shoes and socks, reached out to play with them, and pushed the hem of her skirt up a little, revealing her calves that were so smooth and smooth that they seemed to glow, and as delicate as porcelain.

He held Diao Chan's waist with his other hand, moving her up and down slightly, which was even more wonderful.

Diao Chan trembled slightly, bit her lip and said unhappily: "Provincial Governor..."

Cao Cao heard the sounds of Xun Yu, Jia Xu and others approaching the study room under the guidance of attendants.

Following Jia Xu and Xun Yu, Bian Mei also came.

Cao Cao helped Diao Chan put on her shoes and socks, and she hurriedly fled from the study before anyone came in.

There was a tiger outside the window, lying on the window and looking into the study.

"You can go with Diao Chan, there's no need to stay here." Cao Cao reached out and patted the huge tiger head that was sticking in through the window.

Yin is one year old, which is equivalent to a six or seven-year-old human, and is still a young tiger.

But the beast is big and powerful, and is extremely intimidating.

Before Xun Yu and others came in, Cao Cao glanced at a piece of bamboo slips on the low mat.

It said that the long-sought-after Xu Chu had been found, was in Qiao County, and was being contacted.

Taking their eyes off the letter, Xun Yu, Bian Mei and Jia Xu entered the study room one after another.

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(End of this chapter)