Lord Yuan

Chapter 115 Meeting with Cao Cao and Cao Ren
It was already early in the morning when Yuan Shao was sent to the northern county government of Luoyang overnight by two petty officials, one fat and one thin.

The clerk looked at Yuan Shao flatteringly and found that he seemed to be very interested in those five-color sticks, and his eyes were always looking there vaguely.

He didn't find it strange, after all, even he would often look at these big sticks when they appeared.

"This is all done by the county captain. With this five-color stick, there has been no case in the north for a long time, and even theft has almost disappeared." The pride on the young official's face was beyond words, as if he was actually involved.

In this regard, Yuan Shao could only express: "Your county lieutenant is really powerful. In Luoyang, you can make the world free of thieves. If the entire Han Dynasty were like your county lieutenant, how could there be thieves, bandits, rats and thieves running rampant?" .”

"Who says otherwise? My county lieutenant is also a great man. He is never stingy. Although he treats us subordinates a little harshly, we still take advantage of it." When the petty official mentioned his county lieutenant, he was serious. He came closer to Yuan Shao and his tone became restrained: "Of course, compared to Yuan Pushe, my county lieutenant still needs to learn more from you. You are already famous throughout the city in Luoyang."

"I dare say that no matter which county house or mansion you go to, everyone who recognizes you will be proud of you. You dare to confront the regular servant at such a young age, which is enough for us to admire you greatly." The fat official did not hide his flattery at all.

Although he had already speculated about his current situation, he never expected that it would reach this level. It was as if he didn't have to pay for a meal, and others even had to pay for him to have drinks out of their own pockets.

Under the imperial city of Luoyang, there were actually unwritten rules regarding the oppression of eunuchs.

The eunuchs in the fish and meat village never considered the livelihood of the common people in the capital of Guizhou. Even though they had their backs to the imperial city, they still chose to engage in blatant corruption and promote the selling of officials and titles.

Counties further away from Luoyang have relatively less influence, with Luoyang being an exception.

As the saying goes, there are no thieves under the emperor's feet.

However, the appearance of those powerful eunuchs is far more harmful than ordinary petty thieves. The money that one eunuch needs to be taken care of by the officials below is a huge amount, and the tax revenue of a county is often not enough. The eunuchs divided it up and down.

As time went by, these Li Shu people who worked all day long and dreamed of not having another day gradually chose to flee far away from home and became refugees and thieves. After all, how could they be good people if they couldn't even eat.

Those corrupt officials and evil eunuchs would never consider these things when they wanted to exploit the common people with a lot of fish and meat. They would only think about where to go to collect money the next day. If the money was not received somewhere, they would go wild on the emperor. Or the Empress Dowager advanced to slander, causing local officials to suffer inhumane treatment, ranging from being dismissed from their posts to being sent to guard the border, or to being imprisoned directly.

Under the influence of such an atmosphere, some officials who were relatively incorruptible had no choice but to go with the flow and suck the blood of thousands of common people to support themselves in the face of the vampire-like behavior above.

It's time for an appearance to shake the unshakable power of the eunuchs. If he keeps being sucked like this, sooner or later this big man will collapse.

Therefore, when someone dares to resist those knights who are extremely hated by the world, the world will be excited and encouraged.

The scholars already control the public opinion and can guide the leading thoughts of the common people in the world. When the scholars start to choose to respect a certain person, that person will rise in an instant, and Yuan Shao is no exception.

Just as several petty officials were circling around Yuan Shao, a burst of hearty laughter suddenly came from the county government.

"Brother Benchu, are you alright?" Cao Cao immediately walked out from behind. Looking at his sleepy eyes, he could tell that he had just gotten up. He didn't even wear the clothes on his body. After starting to yell at Yuan Shao to come to the county government from a distance, Cao Cao woke up with a start, and without caring about his own image, he galloped from the backyard without stopping.

"Sorry for bothering Meng De." Yuan Shao looked at a young man following him. He was also tall and tall, but his childish energy was still on his face.

"This is my brother-in-law, Cao Ren, whose courtesy name is Zixiao. When he learned that I was going to Luoyang to serve as an official, he insisted on following me. I just happened to meet my brother today."

Cao Cao took Cao Ren, who was obviously taller than him, to introduce to Yuan Shao. At the same time, he called for the clerk to get some refreshments, and they went to the back.

Cao Ren, who looked like a young man, looked at the opposite side with curiosity. Yuan Shao, who had always been praised highly by his brother, didn't notice anything different.

Apart from being a bit more handsome, taller and stronger than me, other things are definitely not as good as me.

Must be.

Cao Ren greeted Yuan Shao with a smile.

"Brother Benchu ​​has been in the limelight recently, surpassing many celebrities to climb to the top of Luoyang Circle. Seeing your grace and grace, I feel a little lonely. I stay in this small county house and watch my brother show off his power from a distance." Cao Cao seemed to feel something. He picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp. There were obviously different emotions in his eyes.

"When I learned that Cao Jie was defeated by my brother after being verbally quarreled with him for a while, I knew that my brother's talent was far beyond my imagination. If I had been there at that time, I really don't know if I would have dared. Stand up and confront Cao Jie tit for tat."

"Maybe, maybe not." Cao Cao's tone gradually became lower.

Cao Ren on the side obviously found that since Yuan Shao came, his brother's mood fluctuated violently from time to time, sometimes excited, sometimes depraved, which was strange.

Cao Cao originally thought that as long as he had a passion for the Han Dynasty, a desire to serve the country, and an act of loyalty to the emperor, his reputation as Cao Mengde would eventually remain in the world.

But the reality is that in Luoyang, where officials from all dynasties were walking casually on the street, the people they met could not tell that they were Qianshi officials at home. Cao Cao wanted to fight hard and overthrow those people's inherent ideas about him.When he learned that Yuan Shao had the courage to stand up to Cao Jie, he understood that he could never be as unscrupulous as Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao naturally noticed something strange about Cao Cao, but he knew Cao Cao's thoughts and understood what he was sighing about.

There was nothing he could do about it. Yuan Shao could only pick up a cup of tea and drink it in one gulp.

"Meng De has done very well now. Even if I were in your position, I couldn't do better than you."

"If you continue to work hard here, you will eventually have a place for Cao Mengde in the future, and it will be far beyond what these ordinary ministers can match."

Yuan Shao was in high spirits and hoped to arouse Cao Cao.

"My brother's words have all come true. Now that these words are spoken again, I feel very at ease. If that day comes, I don't know what level my brother has reached. Maybe it is not difficult to be the leader of ten thousand people." Cao Cao told Yuan Shao. He had absolute confidence and never doubted that there was anything wrong with what Yuan Shao said. Even if he had to go up the mountain of swords or go down into the sea of ​​fire, in Cao Cao's eyes, Yuan Shao could always jump over it.

Cao Ren couldn't get a word in at all. He was just a young man now, a young man who didn't understand anything.

He usually surrounds Cao Cao to protect his safety, and from time to time he also acts as a minor official. In Cao Cao's words, he is to experience officialdom in advance so that he can be prepared one day in the future.

Yuan Shao didn't say much, just looked at Cao Ren aside, and suddenly said: "Mengde can train him well, his courage is far beyond compare, if he can be taught by a famous teacher, learn literature and martial arts, he will be a rare talent. "

"Brother, are you serious about what you said?" Cao Cao was very happy and sincerely cheered for Cao Ren.

"Why didn't I see it?" Cao Ren muttered in a low voice, not paying attention to Yuan Shao's words. He himself knows best what he is like. He spent most of his time flying around as an eagle and lackey, and he has wasted so much time. , now it’s too late to think about the prodigal son turning back, and he can’t catch up with those peers who have never let up.

Cao Cao was very close to Cao Ren. When he heard Cao Ren's muttering, he immediately got angry. After finally getting a comment from Yuan Shao, how dare you kill yourself? He immediately slapped him hard on the back of the head. wake him up,

Yuan Shao said he could do it, so he could do it.

Cao Cao felt that Yuan Shao's words must be reasonable, and he would not be aimless.

Suddenly, he was slapped. He felt dizzy and the world was spinning. Cao Ren quickly shook his head and wanted to shake away the little stars in front of his eyes. He cried aggrievedly: "Brother, why did you hit me?"

Cao Cao hated iron and said: "I beat you to make you have a long memory. Brother Benchu ​​is rarely evaluated by others, but what he said is true and there is no deviation. Since he said that you are a pillar of talent, you will Don’t be lazy, when today’s matter is over, you can go back to your hometown, let my father and you find a good teacher, and study hard. If you don’t learn something famous, don’t say he is my Cao Cao’s younger brother.”

Cao Ren's eyes widened when he heard this. He wanted to resist, but recalling the slap just now, it was obvious that his brother was really angry.

He timidly looked at Yuan Shao, the instigator who exposed the two brothers, but saw that he still had a smile on his face and showed no guilt at all. He did not dare to confront his brother, but he was not afraid of outsiders at all.

"Brother Benchu ​​said this, what is his intention? I know best what kind of material I am. You are only a few years older. How dare you say something that even the famous Confucian scholars dare not say."

Before Yuan Shao could answer, he saw a lightning bolt from Bazang strike at the back of Cao Ren's head again.

"Cao Ren, didn't you hear what I just said?" Cao Cao became even more angry. He finally met Yuan Shao and had the opportunity to comment on Cao Ren. He didn't know how to cherish this opportunity. He wanted to reinvent Cao Ren.

He was so angry that he said angrily: "If it comes down to it, brother Benchu ​​is still my candidate, but you are just a descendant of the Cao family. People are willing to speak up for you, but you still have to speak out and question it."

Cao Cao's words instantly stunned Cao Ren on the spot.

what?
Give the Lord a thumbs up.

Cao Ren raised his head and looked at Yuan Shao in disbelief. He was in his twenties at most, only seven or eight years old compared to his brother, but he had already become his leader.

Although he is a little slow to react, he is not stupid.

He understood what it meant for Zhu Zhu, that's why he had such a big reaction.

"If Brother Benchu ​​had not recommended me to the Taifu several times, and even took his own head to swear a poisonous oath for me, how could I have obtained the position of Northern County Captain that I am now?"

Cao Ren nodded and completely lowered his proud head. He respected Yuan Shao from the bottom of his heart for Yuan Shao, who helped his brother a lot.

"Whatever the teacher says, Zixiao will do it." Cao Ren vowed.

(End of this chapter)