Overlord!

Chapter 218 Marriage between Cao and Sun
The envoy sent by Cao Cao was Man Chong, a famous scholar who was always serious and cold, and was famous for his cruelty and perseverance.

Although Man Chong was in charge of the judiciary in the early stage and was a civil servant, he was brave and resourceful, and was an all-rounder in both civil and military affairs.

His significance to Cao Cao was not weaker than that of He Qi to Jiangdong.

During the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao was in great power in Heshuo, and Runan was Yuan Shao's hometown. His disciples and guests were stationed in various counties, supporting troops and refusing to defend.

Cao Cao was worried about this, so he made Man Chong the prefect of Runan.

After Man Chong took office, he recruited 2000 troops and captured more than [-] walls.He lured them to Qushuai, and killed more than ten people while sitting on them. All were peaceful for a while.He obtained [-] households and [-] soldiers, all of whom were ordered to work in the fields.

After that, Man Chong served as the prefect of Runan for more than 20 years, during the three dynasties of Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui. Until the death of the Grand Sima Cao Xiu, there was no one in the Cao Wei clan, and Cao Rui was forced to use Man Chong as the governor to supervise the military affairs in Yangzhou.

The soldiers and people of Runan are in love with each other, follow each other's lead, and run along the road, and cannot be stopped.On the guard's list, he wanted to kill his leader.Cao Rui personally issued an edict to send his favorite generals and thousands of soldiers to follow him, and asked no questions about the others.

Of course, as Man Chong acted as the superintendent of Yangzhou's military affairs, he naturally had to improve his performance on Sun Quan's head.

Sun Quan attacked Hefei three times, but Man Chong used them all to gain military exploits. A total of [-] households were added to the city!

No. 1 in the era of Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui.

If there were no powerful minister like Cao Shuang, Man Chong would be the general with the highest actual military merit in Cao Wei, and the military merit of ten thousand households!

Further down the ranking of feudal lords, it dropped off a cliff, to Zhang He's [-] households and Cao Ren's [-] households.

From this it can be seen that Man Chong's military exploits were outstanding.

If he hadn't beaten Sun Quan all the time, he wouldn't have much gold content. If he had changed his opponent, his records, gains and achievements would have been enough to carry him into the martial arts temple.

During the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, Man Chong was the only one who was granted the title of Marquis of Wanhu due to his actual military exploits, but did not enter the martial arts temple.

No matter how you look at it, it is a bit strange for Cao Cao to send such a resolute and fierce person as an envoy.It feels a bit like Zhuge Liang sending Deng Zhi to the Kingdom of Wu to meet with him honestly, concisely and honestly.

However, the north has looked down upon the southerners since ancient times. In the past, they called the people south of the Yangtze River barbarians. In recent times, the rivers have been mixed together and the Xia Dynasties have prospered. The north no longer calls the south barbarians, but also contemptuously calls the south a rogue, that is, a dog. .

Northerners calling Southerners "raccoon dogs" is part of the regional discrimination of this era.Cao Cao, Guan Yu, and Kuai all fought in this war.

So Sun Ce glanced up and down at Man Chong who was bowing to see him, and was a little confused. Why was Cao Cao willing to take a high look at Jiangdong?Or when did my relationship with him, Cao Cao, get so good?Enough to talk candidly?
Jiangdong's civil and military officials were all gathered together, sitting at attention on both sides of the seats.

But Sun Ce did not let Man Chong sit down, but directly asked: "General Cao and Gu Su have nothing to do with each other, why did you let you come to my Jiangdong?"

Cao Cao, a man of heroic and ruthless character, is the biggest enemy of Jiangdong's unification of the world, so there is no need to be conceited.

If he could benefit both sides, even if Sun Ce called him a wild dog in turn, he would tolerate it and make a truce with Jiangdong.

If there was even the slightest disadvantage to him, even if it was his old friends like Lu Boxe and Xun Yu, he would turn against him and kill him without hesitation.

Besides, if you dote on this person, you probably won't be tactful and reserved.

After hearing Sun Ce's words, Man Chong spoke directly and made an impassioned speech: "The general has the land south of the Yangtze River. He is the hero of the world, and my lord is also a hero of the moment. We have the strength of the Central Plains, and the general has the obstruction of the three rivers. Combined with this Two lengths. Together they are the lips and teeth. If they advance, they can merge with the world, and if they retreat, they can stand on their own feet. This principle is natural."

"Therefore, my lord wants to marry the general in the Qin and Jin Dynasties. He will marry the general's younger brother with his younger brother, and also marry the daughter of the general's clan for Zi Zhang."

Hearing this, the civil and military officials in Jiangdong were in an uproar. Are they really here for marriage?

Cao Cao called Jiangdong people dogs, so what does it matter if he marries a mad dog?
Sun Ce also glanced at Man Chong and could see that Cao Cao's proposal was the most formal request made after careful consideration.

The best way to marry two families is to directly unite the monarch.

Sun Ce didn't mind having Cao Cao's daughter. He, Cao Cao, should have the retribution of having his wife and daughter molested.

However, it is obvious that Sun Ce directly marrying Cao Cao's daughter is not appropriate in terms of the relationship between the two parties. It means that Sun Ce is inferior to Cao Cao by a generation.

Therefore, in order to achieve a marriage, Cao Cao wisely did not choose this proposal and chose to settle for the next best thing.

If Cao Zhang marries a daughter of the Sun Ce clan, there is indeed a suitable candidate among the girls of the same generation as Cao Zhang in the Sun Ce clan.That is, the elder brother of Sun Ce and the daughter of Sun Ben.

However, Cao Cao suffered a bit in this relationship.After all, Cao Zhang's status is still higher than that of Sun Ben's daughter.

In terms of another marriage, Cao Cao naturally wanted to make up for it.

Sun Ce raised his eyebrows and asked, "Who do you intend to marry to my brother?"

Man Chong immediately replied solemnly: "My lord wants to marry the daughter of Cao Ren, the governor of Yingchuan and general, to Marquis Wucheng."

Marquis Wucheng is Sun Ce's younger brother Sun Kuang.

The emperor Liu Xie was smart and wise. In order to show the court's recognition of Sun Ce's tribute contribution, he directly promoted him to the title of Marquis of Wu instead of succeeding his father's title of Marquis of Wucheng.Taking over his father's title is the right that the Sun family should have.It should be a logical reply from the tribute envoy after meeting the emperor.It is not enough to express Sun Ce's meritorious service.Therefore, the emperor overcame all opinions and allowed Sun to choose a son to succeed his father.And directly promoted Sun Ce from Bai Shen to the top county prince in the Han Dynasty to reward his merits.

After the emperor issued an edict, Sun Ce gave up the position of Marquis of Wucheng to his youngest clan brother Sun Kuang, and took the position of Marquis of Wu himself.

If Cao Ren's daughter marries Sun Kuang, then both parties will gain something from this marriage and have equal status.

Therefore, it can be seen that the planners who designed this marriage really put a lot of thought into it.

But Sun Ce refused without hesitation and said: "Liu Biao is a Confucian scholar who is not familiar with military affairs. He is just a man sitting on the defensive, and there is no need to worry about it. It is easy to take it alone, but there is no need to worry about it if you don't take it. As you said, you can advance and conquer the world. , you can stand on your own feet if you retreat. If you can do it alone, why should you swear an alliance with your lord and tie your own hands and feet?"

"On the contrary, your lord, in the Central Plains, there is Yuan Shao in the north, sitting on the river, like Mount Tai pressing on the top. In the west, there is Liu Biao, facing Nanyang, watching with eager eyes. In the east, there is Liu Bei, a lone ally, fighting with you in Pei State, and the war is still going on. If I take advantage of the provocation and advance in, the land of the Central Plains does not belong to the noble master."

"It can be seen that the marriage is of great benefit to your lord, but it is also harmful to me. This is unnecessary!"

"Cao Cao's gluttony and arrogance have hurt and abused the people, and the people's resentment has become more serious. One man raised his arms and the whole state raised his voice."

"The handsome generals and officers came to exhume the corpses in person, broke open the coffins, and robbed the corpses of gold and treasures. It made the holy court shed tears and the soldiers and the people were sad!"

"Therefore, there are bored people in Yan and Yu, and there is resentment in the world."

"Through the history and history, we can see that unethical ministers are greedy, cruel and cruel, nothing worse than Cao Cao."

"Gu Zheng wants to attack the soldiers of a state, raise his weapons and show his power, shake the tiger's steps with thunder, and advance the country. How can he be with Cao Cao?"

It is still difficult to decide whether Sun Ce will form an alliance with Cao Cao, but this does not prevent Sun Ce from showing his attitude first.Only by exaggerating Cao Cao's predicament and making him worthless can he gain the upper hand in negotiations.

When Man Chong heard what Sun Ce said, he became furious and said sternly: "General Sun slanders my lord like this, so he is not afraid..."

Before Man Chong could say anything else, Sun Ce rose up like a tiger and shouted loudly, which shook the whole hall and made countless people tremble with fear. "Slander? You are very fond of Cao Cao, but tell me how you slandered him!"

"Could it be that Cao Cao, the solitary general, told us what he did, including mass murders, cannibalism, breaking coffins and naked corpses, digging graves and robbing hills, etc.?"

"My lord Cao Cao has been alone for a long time! I am about to kill him, so why should I be afraid of him?"

Sun Ce's roar was like thunder, which made Man Chong's ears thunder, making him pale.He looked at Sun Ce who was sitting dangerously with a sword in shock. The Marquis of Wu was so heroic and brave that he was the most brave in the world. He was similar to Xiang Ji. He really lived up to his reputation!He is indeed overbearing.

Man Chong was shocked for a long time, and then stood up and said: "Bai Qi slaughtered 40 Zhao troops, so he used Wu to stabilize the world. My Lord is worried about the country's danger and defeat, and feels the bitterness of the people, so he leads the righteous soldiers to punish the remaining thieves for the world. Wu'an Zhongyuan has high merit and broad virtues, it can be said that they are incomparable!"

All the civil and military officials in the hall looked at Man Chong, but they didn't expect that he was good at sophistry.

Is Cao Cao's massacre similar to Bai Qi's massacre?

Moreover, before Bai Qi died, he drew his sword and committed suicide. He also lamented: "Why did I sin against God to end up like this?" After a long time, he said with emotion: "I deserve to die. In the battle of Changping, the number of Zhao soldiers who surrendered was 10. People, if I deceive them and defraud them all, I will die."

Did you, Cao Cao, lament that what you did, killing hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians, harmed the peace of the world?
However, in troubled times, the princes criticizing each other's personal ethics have no impact on the overall situation.

He had always been cruel and cruel, and he did not care that Cao Cao had led beasts to eat people, so he continued his speech without any hesitation: "How can Liu Biao and his like, sitting here as guests, be the vanguard of my army? I am the commander of a hundred thousand men. Master, if we attack Nanyang personally, we can conquer it in ten days!"

"Now that Nanyang is at peace, the Central Plains will all belong to my lord. Our lord and the general Yuan Benchu ​​have always been allies, advancing and retreating together. If the general raises an army of millions and marches down from Qingzhou, my lord will bring an army of one hundred thousand to come from The Pei Kingdom is advancing eastward and conquering the south of the Yangtze River. Can the general and Liu Bei stop our coalition?"

As Man Chong spoke loudly, all the civil and military officials in Jiangdong were in an uproar, looking at each other in admiration.

It is still the third year of Jian'an, and Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are indeed very close, with no ill feelings.

Especially since the emperor was not in Cao Cao's hands, Yuan Shao still expected to fight with Cao Cao against the Liu family's ministers who were loyal to the emperor.

In this case, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao advanced and retreated together, and the coalition attacked Jiangdong and Xuzhou together.

It is true that our side has not been able to gain the upper hand.

The military generals all looked sideways at the map of the world on the wall. Did Cao Cao mobilize his troops to attack Liu Biao?

That does seem reasonable.

South of Xinye, located in Jingxiang, the climate is milder than in the north. When troops are sent from the Central Plains to Xinye in the middle of winter, the soldiers will be less bitter and cold.

It is not unacceptable to send troops in the severe cold.

However, Sun Ce frowned and asked, "Your Majesty, your lord mobilizes troops like this to capture Nanyang, rather than to harm us?"

Man Chong immediately and categorically guaranteed: "Our lord sincerely joins the alliance with the general and has no intention of harming Jiangdong! To prove the sincerity of the alliance, after our lord conquers Nanyang, he is willing to send troops from Nanyang and Runan to help the general take Jiangxia." place!"

"In this way, I will dominate Nanyang, Liu Biao will cede Nanjun, and the general will control Jiangxia, and the three parties will be at Jianghan!"

Sun Ce immediately looked at the map. Shaxian, Zhu County, and E County south of the Yangtze River in Jiangxia had been taken by Jiangdong and included in Yuzhang County.

This is Wuhan, the thoroughfare of nine provinces in later generations.

To the north of the Yangtze River, there are eleven counties in Jiangxia. Going up the Han River can reach Xiangyang, and going up the Yangtze River can reach Jiangling.

On land, there is only Huarong County between Jingling County and Jiangling in the far west of Jiangxia!

Although this area is swampy and muddy, with a dense water network, there is also a road corridor of dozens of miles, and the road is flat and can go directly to Jiangling.This is the famous Huarong Road.

In the south of Huarong County and north of Xia River, the road is unobstructed. You don't even need to cross the river to reach Jiangling, the seat of Jingzhou.

This is why after Liu Bei captured Jingzhou, he moved his headquarters from Jiangling, north of the Yangtze River, to Gong'an, south of the Yangtze River.It is to avoid the front of the army on land.

If Jiangdong can capture Jiangxia and all the four counties in Jingnan rebel, Jiangdong will form an alliance with Cao Cao, and the north will have no worries.

Then we can gather a large army, advance along the Jiangxia waterway, and seize Nanjun with all our strength.

Liu Biao used Nanjun alone to fight against three strong enemies. Without strong support from outside and no good plans from inside, he could be killed instantly.

In this way, Sun Ce can avenge his late father, and he can unify Jingyang below!
Then use Jing Yang's majestic army to capture the four counties in Jingnan, but the south is not enough to control.

Sun Ce didn't even need to mobilize troops. You must know that Lu Meng defeated the three counties of Jingnan in Guan Yu's hands quickly.

After the Battle of Chibi, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others took Wuling and Guiyang with only a few thousand troops and successfully pacified the counties.

Now Jiangdong has a strong army. As long as Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Tai Shi Ci, Lu Meng and others are given [-] troops, they can quickly pacify Jingnan.

Sun Ce can securely live in Jiankang, and he can be the leader of the southern state!
In this situation, Sun Ce was at least in the situation of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. He could be the founding king of a dynasty, rather than the leader of a separatist regime.

Moreover, this Southern Dynasty was not a political power south of the Yangtze River, but a southern political power covering the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. It could march northward from Xiangyang, Shouchun, and Guangling.

This situation is comparable to the Northern Expedition of Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and others in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Sun Ce turned to look at Wen and Wu in the hall and asked, "What do you think of this proposal?"

Sun Ce did not believe Man Chong's proposal.Cao Cao said that he mobilized troops to attack Liu Biao. This may be explained from a military perspective, but it is full of doubts from a strategic perspective.

It's not that Cao Cao couldn't defeat Liu Biao. Shi Yi also analyzed that Cao Cao's marching target might be Nanyang.

But if he wants to attack Nanyang, Cao Cao doesn't need to mobilize his troops like this!And they braved the severe cold to send troops.

If Liu Biao, a Confucian, could block Cao Cao's army, Zhang Xiu would not have surrendered, and Cao Cao would not have occupied most of Nanyang County.

To capture Xinye, Cao Cao sent Cao Hong, Cao Ren and other side generals. Ten thousand troops would be enough to slowly take over!
After Sun Ce asked, Jia Xu, as a counselor who was ready to ask for advice, stood up first and said: "General, I think Cao Cao's words cannot be trusted. This must be a fraud!"

Sun Ce turned to look at Jia Xu and asked, "How can Jia Sima make this conclusion?"

Jia Xu immediately replied: "One of the tricks is that if Cao Cao takes Nanyang, there is no need to send envoys to contact us. Nanyang is far away from Jingbei, and Cao Cao can easily get it. Why bother to send envoys to appease us? This is a fool's errand. His innermost feelings are empty and true."

Hearing this, everyone in the hall was thoughtful and looked at Man Chong in surprise.

What Jia Sima said is absolutely true.Why did Cao Cao do this superfluous move?

Why did he have to send an envoy first to negotiate a marriage and peace?What's the plot?

(End of this chapter)