Chapter 240: Add a divine general and go out incognito [Subscribe]

Sima Yi...Cao Cao slowly raised the corner of his mouth.

Sima Yi was from Wen County, Hanoi.

He was a powerful official after the Cao family established the Wei regime during the Three Kingdoms period. He was also a politician, military, and strategist, and the founder of the Western Jin Dynasty.

Sima Yi was intelligent and ambitious since childhood, knowledgeable and well-informed, and devoted to Confucianism.

In the 13th year of Jian'an in history, after Cao Cao became prime minister, he appointed Sima Yi as a literary official.

Sima Yi gradually won Cao Cao's trust.

Cao Cao was named King of Wei and Sima Yi was appointed as the Prince's Secretary to assist Cao Pi and help him win the battle for the throne.

When Cao Pi was dying, he appointed Sima Yi, Cao Zhen and others as regents to assist Emperor Ming Cao Rui.

Sima Yi was then promoted to important positions such as general and grand marshal.

After Emperor Ming died, he entrusted the young emperor Cao Fang to Sima Yi.

After Cao Fang succeeded to the throne, Sima Yi took advantage of the fact that Cao Fang was away from Luoyang to offer sacrifices at the Gaoping Mausoleum to launch a coup and take control of the capital Luoyang.

From then on, the military and political power of Cao Wei fell into the hands of the Sima family, which is known in history as the Gaopingling Incident.

Sima Yi was good at using unconventional strategies, made great contributions in many military campaigns, and twice resisted Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions.

It made significant contributions to the development of agricultural economy such as military farming and water conservancy.

But...all of that is as insignificant as a feather compared to what the Sima family did after coming to power.

Cao Cao stared at Sima Yi's name for a moment.

In history, Sima Yi outlasted three generations of the Cao family, seized power from the Cao family, and eventually the three families returned to the Jin Dynasty and gained control of the world.

He is also a ruthless person.

Cao Cao was ready to turn back this period of history and return the Jin dynasty to the Cao family.

He put the list down and placed it together with the imperial edict on the other side, and scanned back and forth between the two.

"It's almost July. This year, there was a locust plague in Yanzhou and Yuzhou." Cao Cao asked.

"Yes."

Xun Yu sat below him and said, "Thanks to your foresight, Governor, you took precautions several years in advance and maintained strict control for many years.

The locust plague that occurred this year did not cause a major disaster.”

Cao Cao: "We must not neglect the locust plague for even a moment. We must supervise it every year."

"How is the summer grain output in Jizhou, Youzhou and other places?"

Xun Yu's subordinate was Cheng Yu, who had returned from the south more than ten days ago.

Opposite him was Xi Zhicai who had returned from Youzhou.

Xi Zhicai was responsible for the population census of each state and county.

When Cheng Yu came back, he was also entrusted with an important task.

"In the areas of Ji, You and other places under the Yuan family's rule, most of the good farmland is controlled by the noble families.

If ordinary people want to have enough to eat, they have to join the nobles and become slaves. This has been the case for generations and cannot be changed. "

Xi Zhicai continued:
“I asked local officials to conduct a population census, but they found that many people concealed or missed the report.

Take Wei County, 300 miles east of Yecheng, for example. It was a large county, but the reported population was less than 34,000 households, so at least 10,000 people were concealed. All of these concealed people became vassals of the Ma family in Wei County, were incorporated into the slave register, and became private property.”

Even Cao Cao was surprised.

In an area of ​​one county, he dared to secretly hide tens of thousands of people to serve his family.

Several years earlier, Cao Cao intended to rebel and asked his father Cao Song to station a large number of troops in Qiao County.

Cao Song tried his best to gather a few thousand people.

In comparison, my dad is as honest as a model student.

This kind of aristocratic family, who brings a large population and land to the local area, poses a huge hidden danger and may cause local unrest at any time. They must be eliminated.

One family or one clan holds the power of life and death in the local area, just like local tyrants, doing whatever they want and daring to do anything.

This was the situation of the gentry at the end of the Han Dynasty. Their influence and actual power in the local area made even those in power very cautious.

The meeting ended and everyone left.

Cao Cao also stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked out.

Dian Wei and Xu Chu followed beside him.

"Send a message to lock up Tian Feng, Ju Shou and other captives first, and don't rush to interrogate them."

Cao Cao learned lessons from history and decided to suppress the captives in Jizhou for the time being.

Those who should be killed should be killed, including generals like Qu Yi who was captured after being seriously injured at Guandu.

But among them there were a few people whose talents Cao Cao admired and he wanted to try to recruit them for his own use.

For example, Tian Feng was executed after being defeated by Yuan Shao in history.

However, Cao Cao was now chasing them across the Yellow River, and before Yuan Shao could react, Tian Feng and others were released when they retreated, and they gathered with him in Zhongshan.

After Yuan Shao's death, these people were captured one after another and became prisoners.

The rest of the important officials of Jizhou, as well as a small number of them, followed Yuan Xi and fled to Wuhuan.

Cao Cao was thinking about something and went to the backyard.

[You are the leader of Caoying, you have the reputation of all the people, and you are in charge of the military luck. There are generals under your command who are about to break through and can attack the barrier of the gods. You can promote the military luck, bless them, and help them break through.]

The term pops up.

To be rated as a god general by the plug-in, one needs to have a military strategy or personal force value of ninety.

Who under my command is about to break through?

----

Dai County at the junction of Youzhou and Jizhou.

Taishi Ci sat on his warhorse and slowly pulled the longbow in his hand.

Ever since Cao Cao allocated Lu Bu's military luck to him in Xuzhou, he has accumulated and practiced for nearly a year and has now reached the point of a breakthrough.

As the longbow was pulled, all the orifices in Taishi Ci's body lit up and the power of his cultivation gathered.

He clearly sensed that if this arrow could defeat the enemy, the subsequent force might be able to reach a new level.

At this moment, in the dark, Cao Cao used the plug-in to mobilize his military luck, get the cooperation of heaven and earth, and also bless Taishi Ci.

Suddenly, Taishi Ci released the bowstring.

laugh!
The arrow seemed to tear a crack in the void.

In the distance, Han Meng, a veteran general of Jizhou, who was leading the remaining troops to flee under the pursuit of Cao's army, waved his spear.

The spear and arrow both exploded.

But Han Meng immediately fell off his horse in response to the bow.

The armor on his body was pierced by Taishi Ci's second arrow, and he died instantly. Taishi Ci's body was filled with a surge of energy...

----

In front of Cao Cao, the entry prompts kept refreshing.

"Meng De, you have been conferred the title of Duke of Wei, so why don't you hold a banquet to celebrate?"

Cao Cao came to an inner courtyard of his own mansion.

Yu Wen, Cai Yong, Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing and others sat opposite each other in the courtyard, drinking slowly.

"It's just a title of nobility, there's nothing to celebrate." Cao Cao said.

The breeze is gentle.

The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the lake not far away, and the waves were shimmering.

The kitchen brought up all kinds of food, including dumplings stuffed with donkey meat, various side dishes, and hot wine.

Cao Cao invited Dian Wei and Xu Chu to eat together.

The two sat down and were about to start eating when Cai Yong said, "With the good wine in front of us, we should compose a poem to cheer ourselves up, and then we can eat."

Zhang Zhongjing, Hua Tuo, Yu Wen and others all praised it.

Only Cao Cao said nothing and moved a plate of dumplings in front of himself.

Cai Yong thought for a moment, came up with a poem, and recited it in a rhythmic manner.

"Bo Ji has great talent for poetry!" Yu Wen exclaimed.

Cai Yong felt a little smug. He turned around to prepare to eat, glanced at the food and wine on the low table, and his chopsticks stopped in mid-air.

Yu Wen, Hua Tuo, and Zhang Zhongjing turned around and were also stunned like Cai Yong.

There was nothing on the low mat except empty plates.

Dian Wei and Xu Chu smacked their lips and ate until they were half full.

They devoured the food and wine in no time.

What poem should you recite while eating?

"I……"

Cai Yong and others looked at each other and laughed.

After the sun went down, some food came up, and several people drank and talked, and the atmosphere was lively.

Yu Wen, his mouth full of alcohol, said to Cao Cao: "My dear brother, when I first met you, you had not yet been appointed as the governor of Chenliu. Now, in just three or four years, you have led Yanzhou and have the momentum to sweep across the world. If we talk about the heroes of ancient and modern times, you must be one of them."

"I thought Qing'er had a hard life, but I didn't know that after all the hardships, there would be happiness. Now that I have a virtuous brother as my son-in-law, I have no regrets.

Come on, brother, let's have a drink together."

Cao Cao blinked. He was both my good brother and my good son-in-law?
Yu Wen got drunk and promoted his son-in-law to the position of a good younger brother.

On the other side, Cai Yong also held up a cup, shook his head and said to Cao Cao: "My dear son-in-law, you are no longer my dear brother. Come, my dear son-in-law, let's drink a cup too."

Cao Cao thought to himself, "You call first, I will go find Wen Ji later and ask her to call him back."

As the night deepened, the banquet ended.

Ever since he acquired the physique of a true dragon, Cao Cao always felt that the nights were too short and his visits to other places were too frequent.

Under the cold moonlight, he came to Wen Ji's courtyard.

Cai Yong called him son-in-law, and the lost seniority was regained from Wen Ji.

In the early morning, he moved to Bai Ke's place.

Bai Ke danced gracefully, performing for him her unique secret dance of Jade Girl Picking Lotus and Double Moons Hanging in the Air, which was wonderful beyond words.

Early in the morning, Cao Cao got up from Diao Chan's bed.

The beauty beside him was as beautiful as jade, curled up in his arms, sleeping soundly, breathing evenly.

That afternoon, Cao Cao brought Dian Wei and Xu Chu.

Wei Xu accompanied him and drove.

Jia Xu and Wang Yue followed secretly.

The group left Yecheng and headed east.

Cao Cao was going to make a secret visit to various parts of Jizhou to check on the farming situation and see how powerful the local gentry were!

Yecheng is close to the Zhang River, with rich surroundings and beautiful mountains and rivers along the way.

The carriage moved at a leisurely pace.

Two days later, they arrived at Wei County, 300 miles east of Yecheng.

The car was driving on the road, and when it passed a valley with low hills on both sides, it suddenly heard shouting.

A group of bandits rushed down from a low hill beside the official road and blocked the carriage from front and back.

The bandit leader, riding a skinny old horse, shouted:

"If you have any valuables in the car, please hand them over and I will spare your lives."

"Are these real bandits, or are they a trick played by the nobles to rob people passing through the border?" Cao Cao asked.

"In the vicinity of Wei County, any carriages and horses from other places, as long as they are not a large group, will often disappear for no reason. When the local authorities report it, it is attributed to robbery by bandits." Jia Xu replied.

Cao Cao realized that some noble families in Wei County kept bandits as a means to cover up their looting of the population.

"Let's go to Wei County. Xu Chu, you stay and take down these bandits."

Xu Chu agreed, and his bones exploded like popping beans.

They came all the way here in casual clothes.

Cao Cao, Xu Chu, and Dian Wei all put on some disguises and looked like ordinary people.

Xu Chu and Dian Wei used their internal energy to shrink their bodies.

At this time, he let go a little and jumped towards the bandits.

Cao Cao and his companions continued to move forward. Twenty miles ahead was the largest Wei County in the surrounding area.

Its walls are high.

Outside the city gate, people are coming and going.

In a mansion in the city, in the evening, someone walked quickly into the lobby and reported to a man in his fifties, dressed in fancy clothes:

"Master, Xu Qing and his gang were robbed outside the county, but were defeated by the other party.

Xu Qing was beaten to death on the spot. Those who escaped brought news that the other party had a carriage and two guards.

I didn't see the people in the car, but I'm afraid they have some background, like they are just passing by. Should we let them go or stop them?"

"Let someone find out whether they have settled in the city. If they have, arrest them and send them to the north. Who cares if they have a history?"

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(End of this chapter)