Chapter 208 Promotion, Gold Seal and Purple Ribbon [Subscription Request]

There were more than twenty people who came, and they were brought by Cao Cao's personal army.

This is a team of envoys, led by three people.

The person walking on the far left is Fu Ping from the Fu family.

The middle-aged man beside him had a pale face, long yellowish beard on his cheeks, wore a wide cross-collared robe, and walked with the steady steps of an official.

This man's name was Zhong Ji, and he was a close minister to the emperor.

The other man was tall and thin, also wearing an official robe, and his name was Wu Shuo.

The three of them came from Chang'an.

They dismounted and looked around.

Cao Cao was accompanied by seven or eight local officials, and his personal troops, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, were stationed nearby.

Fu Ping, Zhong Ji and Wu Shuo exchanged glances with each other.

Zhong Ji whispered, "The governor of Yanzhou is now considered to have great power, but he is actually cultivating the land?"

"Maybe it's just for show." Wu Shuo said.

"No, who is he pretending to be for?"

Fu Ping smiled and said, "Maybe he really likes farming."

"Does the governor of Yanzhou like to work barefoot in the fields filled with the stench of manure?"

Zhong Ji glanced at Cao Cao in the distance and said, "It's really not decent to like to scoop manure and water the fields."

The three of them were whispering and teasing each other. They were very far away from each other and were surrounded by people, so they didn't worry about being heard. However, Cao Cao had sharp ears and heard everything clearly.

[Zhong Ji, courtesy name Chuji, was a close official of Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty. He served successively as Shizhong and Changshui Xiaowei]

[Wu Shuo, courtesy name Dezhong. He was a secretary and counselor in the late Han Dynasty, a close minister to the emperor, and a close confidant of General Dong Cheng]

Cao Cao's eyes flashed over the entries of several people.

When Cao Cao saw their identities and names, he knew what these people were here for.

They were involved in the anti-Cao forces in Chang'an and the Yidaizhao Incident in history.

"Congratulations, General Cao. His Majesty has issued an order for us to announce it."

Cao Cao squatted there, grabbed a handful of seedlings, and talked with several county officials around him.

On the other side of the ridge, Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai were sitting.

They were also rolling up their trouser legs, barefoot and taking a break after having just finished their work.

Cao Cao said that they were in poor health, and that practicing cultural cultivation and nourishing their qi to respond to heaven and earth were mainly spiritual aspects and would not have much impact on their physical health.

Cao Cao asked them to go to the fields and exercise.

Guo Jia saw several people coming from Chang'an and said, "The young emperor has sent an edict."

Xi Zhicai gasped:
"You won't know until you try it, this tillage is really tiring, my God."

"What have you gained from watching Jia Xu these days?"

"That guy was too cautious. I made some arrangements and he avoided it quietly." Guo Jia said.

At the edge of the field, Fu Ping and his men saw that Cao Cao did not respond, so they raised their voices and said:

"General Cao, His Majesty has issued an order to confer a title and reward. Please accept the order."

Dian Wei and Xu Chu took a big step and jumped in front of the three men, with gloating looks on their faces.

The next moment, Fu Ping, Zhong Ji, and Wu Shuo felt as if they were riding on a cloud, and were grabbed by the neck and thrown to the ground, landing in front of Cao Cao.

The three of them quickly got up:
"General, what do you mean?"

Zhong Ji held out an imperial edict with both hands:
"General, please accept the order. Your Majesty will appoint you as Sikong, with a rank of ten thousand stones, a golden seal and a purple ribbon. He will also be promoted to Marquis of Wuping."

The Eastern Han Dynasty used the Shangshu Ling system for a long time, which meant that all government affairs were under the jurisdiction of the Shangshu Tai.

The chief official, Shangshu Ling, belonged to the Shaofu in the system and had a rank of only 1,000 stones. However, he was actually directly responsible to the emperor and had overall authority over all matters.

When Dong Zhuo rebelled, some of the powers of the three officials were restored.

When he took control of Luoyang, the first thing he conferred on himself was the title of Sikong, which allowed him to take over all court affairs and set up a government office.

The emperor appointed Cao Cao as Sikong, putting him in charge of state affairs, which seemed to be a huge trust in him.

But Cao Cao knew that there were other involvements behind the scenes.

He stopped talking to several county officials and asked, "The position of Sikong is worth 10,000 dan. Does the court provide a salary?"

Zhong Ji and Wu Shuo looked embarrassed immediately.

There is no money in the court to provide salary to the wealthy Yanzhou governor.

Instead, they had to rely on Yanzhou for support for all kinds of supplies in Chang'an, and regarded Yanzhou as their parent for food and clothing.

Not only does he not offer any money, he also wants my governor to work more... Dian Wei stood aside, looking very disdainful of the emperor.

The dog emperor has brought disaster to the world, and now he turns around and asks us governors for money and things. He can only survive by relying on Yanzhou, but he is not willing to give me a donkey hair for an empty official position... Dian Wei and Xu Chu both had mixed thoughts.

"Your Majesty promoted me for no reason. Tell me, what's the matter?"

"There are indeed some things, but for the governor, it's just a piece of cake."

Zhong Ji said: "Your Majesty wanted to move the capital, and you asked the general.

But Yang Feng, Han Xian and others were arrogant. They also controlled some soldiers and horses to protect the Chang'an Palace.

Your Majesty wants to ask the general to deploy troops, and asks the general to go to Luoyang after moving the capital to calm the minds of those who are making unrest. "

The meaning is to let Cao Cao demonstrate his military power, lead his troops into Chang'an, eliminate the villains, and help the emperor complete the relocation of the capital.

You have to know that the few remnant soldiers gathered around the emperor are also divided into different factions.

Dong Cheng and the Fuji family are currently one faction, while Yang Feng, Han Xian, Shizhong Tai Chong, Shangshu Feng Shuo and others have formed another faction.

The two parties fought for power in Chang'an around the emperor.

In a sense, this was the result of Cao Cao's deliberate connivance.

If the emperor is having fun around him, he will have no energy to do anything behind his back.

Therefore, the Yanzhou troops only blocked the outer perimeter and strictly controlled the defense around Chang'an.

But inside Chang'an, people were being beaten to pieces, but Cao Cao didn't care and just watched coldly.

These people were the ones who the emperor wanted to seize power some time ago, so he took the initiative to issue an imperial edict and gathered them around him.

As a result, Liu Xie soon discovered that none of these people were loyal and he could not control them.

Yang Feng appointed Xu Huang as the general in Chang'an, and joined forces with Han Xian and Shangshu Feng Shuo to seize the military power of Chang'an.

The emperor, Fu Jia and Dong Cheng discussed that they wanted to be closer to the core states and counties and participate in some things, so they decided to move the capital to Luoyang.

However, Yang Feng did not dare to go to Luoyang.

Because Luoyang was too close to Cao Cao's Yanzhou, he was afraid of being crushed to death, after all, he was once a member of the Liangzhou Army.

It's far away from Chang'an, so I can do some selfish things.

Going to Luoyang means being right under Cao Cao's nose.

Yang Feng was unwilling to move the capital.

The emperor was stuck in Chang'an and couldn't get out.

He asked someone to use the opportunity of announcing the imperial edict to ask Cao Cao to send troops to clean up his mess. Cao Cao took the imperial edict and said to Zhong Ji, Wu Shuo and Fu Ping without making any statement, "Start working. You are responsible for finishing plowing this piece of land."

The three of them looked dazed?
"I don't know how to till the land."

Cao Cao walked to one side, and Dian Wei, who was left to supervise, punched Zhong Ji on the shoulder and said, "I'll teach you how to farm."

Xu Chu hit Wu Shuo with a hammer, then turned around and hit Fu Ping.

One person, one time, fair and reasonable.

This punch is called a show of force.

In prison it is called a killing stick. After being beaten, the prisoners will become obedient and do whatever they are told to do.

The three men were each hit by a punch, their stomachs churning and they felt as if all their bones were broken.

A quarter of an hour later, a strange sight appeared on the ground.

The three of them first dug the ground, then sowed seeds, covered the soil, and carried water.

Then Dian Wei asked them to carry manure and apply fertilizer to the fields.

Wu Shuo and Fu Ping were slightly stronger in build, so Dian Wei went to fetch a plow pole and put it on the two men. He then took a small whip from behind and urged them to go faster.

The three men worked so hard on the land that they burst into tears.

The two men pulling the plow shed nearly two kilograms of tears and sweat.

You have to experience how hard it is to till the land to know. Opening up wasteland and pulling the plow are not the most tiring part.

If Cao Cao asked one person to plow half an acre of land, it would cost three people half their lives.

Guo Jia held a grass stalk in his mouth and talked about farming with Xi Zhicai:
"Last year, we cultivated land and led refugees to open up wasteland. The eight counties of Yanzhou obtained more than one million bushels of grain. Although there is no surplus grain, it has initially reached the per capita edible amount."

"When you say everyone can eat it, you mean our Yanzhou army."

Xi Zhicai said: "In fact, it's not that optimistic. We can just barely survive. Take Xuzhou as an example. It's not a place with a big disaster. It's not uncommon for people to eat bran to survive.

Walking on the street, you can often see people with swollen skin. "

"About ten years ago, the population of the six counties of Xuzhou was nearly six million. Now, it has dropped sharply to 4.6 million, a million less.

These people were either captured by local tyrants and forced to serve in the army, died in battle, or starved to death or became refugees.

Cao Cao came back after washing his hands and feet and asked, "What is the estimated production in Yuzhou this year?"

"Yuzhou is using refugees to fill the land and reclaim wasteland this year. The exact estimate of production has not yet been released, but the expected increase in revenue is at least 1.5 million hu."

Several people around smiled.

They worked together to do something, and it is always worth being happy to see the results.

The goals of the current Yanzhou civil and military officials are becoming increasingly clear.

The goal is to turn the chaotic world into an orderly one as soon as possible and to have a unified political system.

Whether they can turn a peaceful and orderly world into a prosperous one will test their abilities as civil and military officials to repel foreign invaders and maintain domestic stability.

"Let's go west."

"What should we do with these people?" Dian Wei asked regretfully, somewhat reluctant to part with his new 'coolies'.

"Let them get on with it."

The group left, but left behind a soldier to look after Zhong Ji, Wu Shuo and Fu Ping, who worked hard.

The three of them worked until the evening of the next day.

They only rested for two hours and ate steamed cakes mixed with wheat bran.

Things that were difficult to swallow in the past are now devoured.

After eating, even my fingers would be rubbed, not allowing any residue to be wasted. In fact, there was only one meal a day, and such a huge physical expenditure made me very hungry.

When they barely finished the work, the three of them fell asleep on the edge of the field.

Cao Cao and his companions headed westward to Yanzhou Dongjun to check the defense of the south bank of the Yellow River.

On the other side of the river is Liyang County, Jizhou.

It has become the front-line position, with troops, horses and baggage gathering from all over Jizhou and Youzhou.

War mobilization and allocation of various materials in the era of cold weapons were big problems.

In the event of a large-scale war, it may even take a whole year to prepare.

Jizhou and Yanzhou are currently making active preparations.

However, compared with Yanzhou, Jizhou mobilized more manpower and supplies.

They were waiting for the autumn harvest to increase their food supplies so that they could launch a full-scale war.

In the battle with Jizhou, Cao Cao did not intend to launch the main attack.

The location of the war he chose was Guandu based on historical circumstances.

Two main reasons.

Yanzhou is now capable of launching the main attack and starting a war in Jizhou.

But Cao Cao was not prepared to fight like that because of consumption.

The battle started at Guandu on the south bank of the Yellow River, very close to the Suanzao camp where Dong Zhuo was defeated.

For Yanzhou, material consumption in this area will be greatly reduced.

On the contrary, it will increase the length of Jizhou's battle line, food supplies, baggage and other consumption.

If Yanzhou uses a large army, they will cross the river and fight.

After this battle, Yanzhou’s consumption will be unprecedentedly huge.

Just like the previous battle between Jizhou and Youzhou, which lasted for three years.

Therefore, Ju Su, Tian Feng and others had previously suggested that Yuan Shao take two or three years to recuperate before fighting for Yanzhou again.

Cao Cao planned further.

After defeating Jizhou, he had other plans and could not use all his energy and supplies on Jizhou.

So he chose the method with the least consumption, constantly teasing Jizhou and letting Jizhou take the initiative to pounce on him.

Yanzhou has deployed multiple defenses along the Yellow River.

Cao Cao transferred Yu Jin, who was strict in military discipline, to serve as the military supervisor in charge of deploying troops on the front line.

Cao Cao came to inspect and visited the battle sites such as Wuchao and Guandu, and inspected them repeatedly.

After autumn...a war may break out at any time.

Cao Cao did not arrive at Daye Lake until late August.

At the same time, at the request of the emperor and under the command of Zhang Liao, the Yanzhou troops approached Chang'an, preparing to help the emperor move the capital to Luoyang.

Chang'an is about to face a big storm.

In Daye Lake, Jia Xu and Guo Jia walked into the study together.

When the two met, they were both stunned. Then they pretended not to see each other and went about their own business.

Guo Jia first handed a scroll to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao took it and looked at it: "There's me on top, too. Am I ranked first?"

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(End of this chapter)