Chapter 263: The whole world celebrates, and the gifts are so much that they are outrageous [Subscription Request]

study.

Cao Cao put pen to paper and wrote down the names of civil and military officials such as Guo Jia, Xun You, Zhao Yun, Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan, etc.

And then wrote:

Guo Jia: Dare to take risks and make good use of them. Make decisions promptly, win by surprise, accurately predict things, and be a genius in military strategy.

Xun You: He has many ingenious strategies and tactics, and he is always ready to help. He has defeated enemies before and after, and he is capable of acting on his own. He is a talented strategist!

Zhao Yun: A Confucian general of the time, strong and brave, full of courage, he could defeat an army of thousands as if he were in an empty space.

Cao Cao was writing about the merits and achievements of his civil and military officials to give them credit.

It is used when conferring a title on a general.

Each civil and military official also recorded his or her specific achievements and the impact they had.

This is a very solemn matter, and only Cao Cao is qualified to write it.

Wen Ji was on the right, responsible for transcribing the evaluation he wrote.

Diao Chan was grinding ink for Cao Cao.

After receiving the message, Guo Jia strolled in from outside the door.

He first greeted his boss, then bowed to the two women: "Jia greets the two ladies." His eyes swept across Diao Chan and Wen Ji, thinking that the women of the prefect's family were so beautiful and outstanding that they were truly rare in the world.

Cao Cao asked, "What brings you here?"

Guo Jia craned his neck to see what he had written: "Everyone knows that Duke Wei is writing an evaluation for us. Let me take a look."

"When the time comes to reward civil and military officials, I will let you know."

Outside Cao Cao's study, civil and military officials stood in a row. There were many brilliant generals and good ideas from civil officials, as numerous as clouds.

When these influential scholars and warriors stood together, it felt like they were waiting for the teacher to grade their homework and wanted to know how many points they got.

Inside the room, Cao Cao pursed his lips at Wen Ji.

Wen Ji showed him the page of attributes about Guo Jia that she had copied.

Guo Jia took it and read it twice: "Am I good at taking advantage of risks? All the suggestions I made were well thought out, and the probability of success is very high."

No clue, just like Jia Xu.

He still thinks he has never come up with any vicious plan.

Before the Battle of Guandu, after discussing ten defeats and ten victories, Guo Jia proposed to Cao Cao a grand strategy for pacifying the north, which strengthened the determination of Cao's troops to win.

Although Cao Cao did not bring Guo Jia with him on this expedition against the Wuhuan.

But before the war, he had already made suggestions and plans for the northern attack on Wuhuan.

In terms of strategy and tactics, Cao Cao was in actual control and commanded the troops.

But although Guo Jia was in Yecheng, his heart had flown to Wuhuan. He contacted Cao Cao eight times a day through the communication beads to discuss plans.

Cao Cao also trusted him enough, and many of his plans were the result of discussions with him.

Guo Jia played an indispensable role in conquering Wuhuan in such a short time before winter.

Cao Cao wrote it very clearly in the details of his evaluation criteria for merit.

As for his statement that he was useless, Cao Cao ignored him.

I continued writing, Cheng Yu: Good at making decisions on major issues. He had a tough and violent personality and often got into trouble with others.

Cao Cao's evaluation of Cheng Yu is that he is as brave as Ben Yu, capable of governing a region with his literary skills and commanding troops to fight thousands of miles away with his military skills. He is both a good strategist and a good general. He is loyal and brave, fierce and resolute.

Cheng Yu was indeed the number one ruthless man in Cao’s camp.

After Cao Cao finished writing, he put down his pen and saw Guo Jia was still waiting beside him. He eagerly took the list of attributes written by Wen Ji and went over to take a look.

"Duke Wei is a man of great talent. He knows how to use people well, is accurate in his evaluation, and can see through people's hearts." Guo Jia praised.

"What on earth do you want to do here?"

"I heard that the Xianbei also sent a team of envoys to congratulate Duke Wei on his wedding?" said Guo Jia.

There was indeed a Xianbei tribe that came south to visit. It was not the Eastern Xianbei that they had fought before, but the strongest Xianbei tribe in history, located in the middle of the grassland, which was the Xianbei later led by Kebi Neng.

Cao Cao has sent a message to the North Gate, asking them to let them go south to see their intentions.

Since they were not the Eastern Xianbei, Cao Cao saw an opportunity that he could exploit.

The other side was moving south from the prairie in the cold winter of February. One can imagine the risks and obstacles they faced.

There must be something important, and Cao Cao also wanted to take the opportunity to hear about the developments on the grassland.

"I want to go north to meet this delegation and observe their intentions." Guo Jia volunteered.

Cao Cao thought to himself that Fengxiao understood what he was thinking and they had the same idea.

"I have sent someone to go. The north is bitterly cold. It is not appropriate for you to go north to meet them."

Subtext: It’s cold, you’re very weak, and you’ll get sick from the cold.

Guo Jia curled his lips: "I'm not that weak, it's no problem for me to walk north."

You have some urge...

Cao Cao: "If you have nothing to do, go back to sleep and get more rest. Or you can go to Zhongjing and Yuanhua to help out and smell the medicinal aroma. It will be good for you and Zhicai."

"Let those waiting outside go. It will take a while to finish writing the attributives, and there will be deletions and adjustments."

Guo Jia took his leave.

Someone from the inner house came to call Diao Chan and Wen Ji to go back and try on their wedding dresses, and the two women left happily.

Outside the door, Dian Wei and Xu Chu saw that there was no one around, so they both went into the house.

"You two have something going on too?"

Dian Wei: "I see that all the generals are very concerned about the adjectives written by the governor, and I want one too."

"Me too." Xu Chu.

Cao Cao wrote it in one stroke, Dian Wei: I can kill generals among thousands of soldiers and eat donkey meat.

Xu Chu: Fierce as a tiger, loves to hear praise.

Dian Wei took it and looked at it carefully: "There is a word 'donkey' in it. Is our evaluation related to donkey?"

Xu Chu frowned: "Why is my evaluation so short? I didn't even praise myself enough."

Cao Cao almost laughed.

He gave a different evaluation to Dian Wei and Xu Chu, and his evaluation of their merits was quite high, but he couldn't show it to them now.

"Go out for a walk." Cao Cao was tired of sitting and decided to take a stroll.

"Prefect, where are we going?"

"Walk around town."

----

Du Xiu Niang could hear from the small courtyard where she lived that the city was busier than usual these days.

She was raised here and usually didn't go out. She was somewhat resigned to her current life, and sometimes she comforted herself that it was good to have a powerful man to protect her, and she would live in peace and stability.

But humans are social animals after all, and sometimes we just want to go out and see the world, and go to places where there are many people.

She told Granny Wu, who was in charge of the household, that she wanted to go out.

Granny Wu sent the message up, and about an hour later, she received a reply saying that she could go out.

Du Xiu Niang changed into her most beautiful clothes, a pink top and skirt, and a cobalt blue, light blue long skirt.

In this era, a skirt dyed with two colors would cost seven or eight times more than an ordinary long skirt, and the embroidery was also good. Du Xiu Niang knew that she would easily attract the wind when she went out, so she asked for a hat with a gauze brim to cover her face, and then she went out with a group of people.

As soon as he went out, he saw a constant stream of traffic and soldiers coming and going, wearing armor and holding sharp weapons.

There were so many carriages and horses on the main street of Yecheng that they were shoulder to shoulder.

Most of them are chariots pulled by tall and powerful horses, which are obviously not civilian vehicles.

"How come there are so many soldiers, horses, and vehicles..."

Du Xiu Niang asked, and Mrs. Wu beside her whispered, "They are all Duke Wei's soldiers. Madam, you have only seen the beginning. I heard that Duke Wei now has 500,000 soldiers under his command?"

Du Xiu Niang didn't know what five hundred thousand meant.

In fact, Mrs. Wu didn't know either.

"Is Yecheng so prosperous? It seems like people from all over the world have come here..." Du Xiu Niang said again.

"Madam is right. These carriages and horses come from all over the world. Some of them have traveled thousands of miles just to pay homage to Duke Wei." Mrs. Wu said again.

Du Xiuniang curled her lips, not quite believing it. She knew that Cao Cao was very powerful, but he would not allow everyone in the world to come to see him.

However, when Mrs. Wu led the way and came to the vicinity of Cao's mansion to take a look, Du Xiu Niang believed it.

Outside Cao's mansion, carriages were lined up waiting, and there were countless people of all kinds.

Each carriage had at least four or five people, and sometimes dozens of people. They were not ordinary people.

Du Xiu Niang was secretly shocked.

When she walked on the street, even though she was wearing a veil to cover her face, her figure alone attracted a lot of attention, and some people even followed her from a distance.

Du Xiu Niang was not very brave and felt that the street was not safe. After a quarter of an hour, she returned to her own courtyard.

She dismissed the maid and entered the bedroom, where she was suddenly startled.

The man who broke into the yard and tried to rape her last time is back again.

"How dare you come?"

This time Du Xiu Niang learned her lesson and blurted out, "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up."

Cao Cao said a classic line: "You can shout, but no one will come to save you even if you shout your throat out."

He used a little trick so that the sound could not be heard at all.

Du Xiu Niang stood at the door and took small steps back.

"You are being kept here and have no freedom in your whole life. How about I take you away?" Cao Cao said.

Du Xiu Niang said angrily: "How dare you! It's none of your business whether I have freedom or not."

Cao Cao laughed. Just one sentence revealed that she was really imprisoned in this concubine's room without him realizing it.

Cao Cao came over and intended to reveal his identity and take Mrs. Du back.

Du Xiuniang was originally the mother of his child and one of his concubines.

But he changed his mind and decided to keep her outside first, using her identity as a thief to tease her when he has time to see when he can abduct her.

At this moment, Du Xiu Niang suddenly ran out of the door: "Someone come!"

When she came back with her people, Cao Cao had left the room.

But he left a note: "In April, the grass is green and the warblers are flying. The willows on the river bank are swaying in the spring breeze. Go out more often."

At the end it says: See you next time.

Du Xiuniang was stunned, wondering what was wrong with this thief, as if this was his own home.

She was a little worried about being targeted by thieves, and said anxiously: "Isn't it said that the defense here is very strict? How come this thief can always get in?"

Cao Cao returned to his mansion.

There were already three old men sitting in the study: Cheng Yu, Dong Zhao, and Jia Xu.

Among these three, Jia Xu had the shortest lifespan, having lived to almost eighty years old in history.

During the Han Dynasty, it was considered a long life.

The other two can survive longer than him.

Cao Cao sat in the main seat.

Several people offered a plan to Cao Cao, taking advantage of the wedding to fleece the nobles.

In the name of years of war, he demanded food from the nobles.

You have to know that except for Jizhou, Bingzhou, and Qingzhou, where Cao Cao had just killed a wave of gentry, there were still many gentry in other places.

More than half of the world's grain was controlled by the nobles.

Cao Cao issued an imperial decree in the name of the emperor, summoning these nobles and asking them to supply food, which was legitimate.

Anyone who refuses to pay grain, or pays less grain, will be further investigated.

This strategy also has the effect of removing the fuel from under the cauldron.

Food supply is the real foundation. When each aristocratic family provides food, they will be weakened accordingly, which is conducive to Cao's control over the local area.

One is strong while the other is weak, so while suppressing the gentry, it strengthens itself.

The prerequisite for this strategy is to have sufficient strength and a solid foundation and not be afraid of backlash from the nobles.

This strategy is just right for now.

Time flies, and in early March, Cao Cao's wedding day has arrived.

"Lord Wei, this is the gift list from each family. Those who have been passed down for more than three generations can be called a 'clan'. There are a total of 1,079 families, and they have sent gifts."

On this day, Xun Yu came personally to give Cao Cao a list of gifts.

"Li family in Guanzhong sent 500 pieces of silk and 20 pairs of gold ingots.

"The Liu family of Wuwei sent two hundred horses, the Xu family of Bohai County sent four pairs of sea pearls, a thousand pieces of silk, and ten pairs of gold for horse hoofs... Did this family do something wrong to send so many?" Cao Cao laughed.

He was actually a little shocked.

Just looking at this gift list, there is no sense that the times are still in turmoil and the various factions are fighting for their own sovereignty.

The amount of money sent by more than a thousand nobles was so much that even Cao Cao was surprised.

"The governor looks down."

There was also a group of nobles in the rear who compiled the total amount of gifts.

There were over a hundred pairs of South Pearls alone, and nearly a thousand horses in total, all of them top-quality horses.

There were a hundred kilograms of gold, and thousands of other kinds of collectibles, calligraphy and paintings, exquisitely crafted items, and bronze ware.

There were more than 50,000 pieces of brocade in total.

Every time Cao Cao got married, each family took the opportunity to send him gifts in order to get closer to him.

By now, even the most obtuse of the nobles could see that Cao Cao had the potential to become an emperor and hold power over the world.

The gifts they gave were to the future emperor.

Cao Cao sighed, "I regret it. It would be better if I married Qing'er, Wenji, Diaochan, Qingyu and the others separately. I will marry them every time we need money to raise the army."

Everyone laughed.

But these nobles are really rich.

Two days before Cao Cao's wedding, envoys from the Xianbei tribe came to Yecheng.

Now everything is ready and the wedding is imminent.

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(End of this chapter)