With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Liu Xie felt that it was the best choice for Zhuge Liang and his wife to go down the mountain together. He thought it would be too inhumane to let Zhuge Liang go down the mountain alone and for the couple to be separated for a long time.

Zhuge Liang called the boy to his side and instructed him, "You stay here and take good care of the house. When the world is at peace, my wife and I will return!"

Seeing Zhuge Liang's reluctant words of advice to the boy, Liu Xie was deeply moved.

After Liu Bei's death, it was said that Zhuge Liang held absolute power, but he was not actually greedy for power. In fact, he had already made arrangements when he left Longzhong.

Once the world is pacified, I will return and live a simple life in Longzhong, enjoying my time like a carefree hermit.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang was not a powerful minister; he simply wanted to do his best to support the Han Dynasty and pacify the world as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, from the day Zhuge Liang left Longzhong with Liu Bei, it seemed as if he had embarked on a road of no return.

He worked diligently throughout his life to restore the Han Dynasty, exhausting himself to the point of coughing up blood multiple times, and ultimately even gave up his own life. In the end, his ideal of restoring the Han Dynasty remained a mirage, forever out of reach.

"Sir, you must come back soon!"

With tears in his eyes, the child held Zhuge Liang's hand tightly, unwilling to let go.

Liu Xie walked over with a smile, patted the child on the shoulder, and reassured him, "Don't worry, I assure you, your master will be back soon, it won't be long!"

Liu Xie also felt a little reluctant. It wasn't that he was reluctant to leave Longzhong, but rather that he wanted to keep a talent like Zhuge Liang by his side forever.

But once the world is at peace, it means that Zhuge Liang will leave him.

With the emperor's assurance, Tong'er wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded vigorously. "Then I'll wait. Sir, please go down the mountain with peace of mind. I will take good care of everything at home."

Longzhong was neither too big nor too small. When the emperor invited Zhuge Liang down the mountain, the news quickly spread throughout Longzhong.

While chatting with some friends, Mr. Shui Jing heard about this and couldn't help but stroke his white beard and sigh, "What a joyous occasion! Kongming has found a wise ruler and the time is just right! It seems that this turbulent world will soon come to an end!"

Sima Hui was very happy today. Although he was seventy years old, he immediately picked up a large bowl of wine and, like a young man, gulped it down into his mouth.

Upon arriving in Xiangyang, Liu Xie introduced Zhuge Liang to everyone. He did not immediately appoint Zhuge Liang to an official position, but simply kept him by his side temporarily as a military advisor.

Zhuge Liang also understood that the emperor was surrounded by talented people, and that if he were to be rashly promoted without having made any achievements, it would be difficult to win over the people.

This is the emperor, not Liu Bei!
Liu Bei did not have any outstanding strategists by his side. He could invite Zhuge Liang again and again and give Zhuge Liang special treatment, but the emperor could not.

Liu Xie is not short of strategists. Ju Shou, Jia Xu, Xun Yu, Xun You, Chen Gong... even young people like Lu Xun and Sima Yi have grown up rapidly.

If Liu Xie disregards the consequences and places Zhuge Liang in a very important position, it will not only draw criticism but also discourage some of his long-time followers.

In life and in business, fairness is essential.

Liu Xie believed that Zhuge Liang would not care about these things. How could someone who had just come out of seclusion and already wanted to retire care about the power and status he had now?
As soon as Zhuge Liang settled into his residence, he approached the emperor and offered his advice: "Your Majesty, I think you should go to the front line at Wulin as soon as possible. This will allow you to better monitor the battle situation, boost the morale of the soldiers, and deter Sun Quan."

Liu Xie nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Even if we can't participate in the battle, staying in Wulin will at least allow us to understand the changes in the battle situation as soon as possible."

Zhao Yun was somewhat worried and advised, "Your Majesty, Cao Cao is constantly gathering troops and reinforcing Wulin. We only have 20,000 men in Jingzhou now. Your Majesty should not go there rashly. Should we send some more troops over?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head and smiled, "General Zilong, 20,000 men are enough. I took the time to observe them, and these 20,000 men are all elite troops. His Majesty will be fine. Besides, Cao Cao is currently burdened by his reputation. Even if he had the greatest courage, he would not rashly attack His Majesty."

If the emperor had few troops around him, Cao Cao might have given it a shot, but to deal with 20,000 elite soldiers, Cao Cao would have had no chance without at least 40,000 to 50,000 men.

However, if Cao Cao rashly mobilized tens of thousands of troops to deal with the emperor, his reputation would be completely ruined once the news spread.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang was very confident that Cao Cao would never do such a thing!

Liu Xie summoned Ju Shou, Chen Gong, and others again and explained his idea. Ju Shou also agreed to go to Wulin. "Your Majesty's going to the front line will not only boost the morale of the soldiers, but as expected, people in Jiangdong will be uneasy. I'm afraid many people will be afraid and write to the court to surrender in advance."

Liu Xie had not yet told everyone that he wanted Cao Cao to be defeated, so Ju Shou also wanted to take this opportunity to intimidate Jiangdong as much as possible.

Upon hearing Ju Shou's words, Liu Xie's eyes lit up. The Battle of Red Cliffs had indeed terrified many people in Jiangdong. Just like before Cao Cao and Yuan Shao went to war, many people secretly wrote letters to Yuan Shao, expressing their loyalty.

Although Liu Xie wanted Cao Cao to be defeated, it was only this once. He still wanted to destroy Jiangdong in the future. If he could get the surrender letters from the people of Jiangdong in advance, it would be equivalent to having a handle on these people.

Liu Xie was always decisive. He immediately set off from Xiangyang and quickly sent someone to deliver a letter to Xun You, instructing him to pay close attention to any letters coming from Jiangdong.

Although Cai Mao and Zhang Yun had already been executed by Liu Biao, Cao Cao still attached great importance to the training of his navy.

Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun were in charge of training the entire army, but Huang Zu and Wen Pin were mainly responsible for training the navy.

Huang Zu was the governor of Jiangxia, and Wen Ping was also a capable subordinate of Liu Biao. Both of them were not only brave in battle, but also skilled in naval warfare.

Cao Cao would personally come to the riverbank every day to inspect the situation. He saw that his soldiers were not slacking off and were intensifying their training. The hundreds of thousands of troops were lined up along the riverbank, creating a magnificent scene. The soldiers were strong and the banners were waving. Cao Cao's confidence was also high.

Cao Cao desperately needed a major victory to boost morale and enhance his own prestige.

To establish authority in front of the emperor and his ministers and avoid being looked down upon, a major victory was clearly crucial.

Guo Jia walked over with a smile and said as he approached, "My lord, His Majesty has arrived!"

Beside him was a strong and powerful young man, who was about ten years old, with a robust and imposing appearance, and who vaguely resembled Cao Cao.

This young man was Cao Zhang. Apart from Cao Ang, who went to Ji Province to serve as the governor of Ji Province, Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang and other young people all followed Cao Cao to Wulin.

Cao Zhang had loved fighting since he was a child. Even at a young age, he had already shown extraordinary courage and strength. He was born with superhuman strength, and Cao Cao liked to keep him by his side, having him taught horseback riding and archery. He was only fifteen years old this year, but he had already been on the battlefield and killed people. Cao Zhang couldn't wait to go to the riverbank. Gazing at the wide river, his eyes shone with excitement. He couldn't wait to fight his way to the other side and have a good, satisfying battle.

Cao Cao looked at Cao Zhang with affection, then at Guo Jia, and said, "I thought His Majesty would stay in Xiangyang, but I didn't expect him to come to Wulin so soon."

Guo Jia smiled and said, "I'm not surprised at all. His Majesty's series of actions were intentionally aimed at you, my lord. He came here not only to observe the battle but also to supervise it! You'd better be careful, my lord!"

Cao Cao's facial muscles twitched visibly a few times, and he snorted coldly, "Let him be. Who told him the winds have already turned in His Majesty's favor?"

Cao Cao turned to look across the river. The surging Yangtze River not only quickly dispelled the frustration in Cao Cao's heart, but also once again stirred up his boundless ambition.

“Fengxiao, times have changed. Now I truly understand how His Majesty felt back in Xuchang, so I will not blame him.”

Despite being repeatedly suppressed, Cao Cao remained remarkably magnanimous.

He sighed, “My son is the governor of Ji Province, my daughter is a noble lady, and I am the prime minister. In fact, His Majesty has been very lenient with me.”

Guo Jia nodded. No matter how many things Cao Cao did that displeased the emperor, he always believed that the emperor would eventually let Cao Cao die a peaceful death.

"Come, follow me to greet His Majesty." Cao Cao composed himself and smiled once again.

When Liu Xie arrived at Wulin, Zhao Yun and Lü Bu quickly led their men to set up camp. When Cao Cao met Liu Xie, he was calm and hospitable, which impressed Liu Xie once again.

A true tyrant is a true tyrant; he always knows how to control himself and his emotions.

That night, a small boat suddenly appeared from the opposite direction. The people on board were acting suspiciously and were very cautious. Yu Jin seized them and took them directly to Cao Cao's tent.

Yu Jin entered the main tent and threw the captured man in front of Cao Cao, saying, "Prime Minister, we have captured a spy."

"Prime Minister, please don't kill me, I'm just here to deliver a message."

Upon seeing Cao Cao, the man immediately knelt on the ground, hastily pulled out a letter from his pocket, and held it above his head with trembling hands.

Yu Jin took the letter and handed it to Cao Cao. Cao Cao opened it, glanced at it, and immediately burst into laughter. "Haha, just as Guo Jia predicted, someone has already begun to curry favor with me."

This was a letter of surrender, something Cao Cao was very familiar with. During the Battle of Guandu, many of his associates secretly wrote letters to Yuan Shao.

Since it's a letter of surrender, it should be signed; not leaving a name would make it seem insincere.

Cao Cao glanced at the signature again, his smile growing even more smug. "Not bad, this is just the beginning."

Cao Cao believed that more and more civil and military officials from Jiangdong would try to curry favor with him, and more and more letters of surrender would be sent.

Before long, Xun You received the news and went straight to Cao Cao's tent.

"Prime Minister, may I take a look at the letter?"

Xun You remained neither humble nor arrogant, and changed his address to Cao Cao from "My Lord" to "Prime Minister".

Cao Cao frowned slightly in displeasure, but considering that the emperor had already arrived in Wulin, there was no need to argue with Xun You, so he handed over the letter.

Xun You took the letter, read it through, and nodded with satisfaction. "As His Majesty predicted, there will definitely be people in Jiangdong who pledge their loyalty to the court. Prime Minister, I think this letter should be given to His Majesty immediately, and from now on, all such letters should be presented to His Majesty. You and I both understand that they are surrendering to the court!"

Xun You stared directly at Cao Cao and pronounced the word "court" very clearly and heavily!
After seeing Cao Cao's handwritten letter containing only the word "kill," Xun You lost all affection for Cao Cao.

Their current identities are simply that of a prime minister and an imperial censor who oversees the prime minister.

Cao Cao nodded. He couldn't refute Xun You's words, because his campaign against Jiangdong represented the imperial court. Therefore, if the people of Jiangdong surrendered, they could only be surrendering to the imperial court.

Standing not far from Cao Cao, Xu Huang witnessed Xun You's aggressive behavior and was genuinely happy for the emperor.

Xun You took the letter and walked out, just in time to run into Guo Jia who had just arrived. The two exchanged a glance, and then Xun You walked past expressionlessly.

Upon meeting Liu Xie, Xun You respectfully handed him the letter.

This was the first letter of surrender from Jiangdong, and Liu Xie was very pleased. He took it and read it, then laughed and said, "Not bad, it really is a big fish, it's actually Yu Fan!"

After reading the letter, Liu Xie handed it to Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang smiled after reading it and said, "Your Majesty, more and more letters of surrender will be sent, and big fish will gradually surface."

Liu Xie suddenly teased, "So, Kongming, do you think your brother might also write a letter to the court?"

These words stumped Zhuge Liang. Even Zhuge Liang had moments of panic, and he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, although my elder brother and I are born of the same mother, we have no private dealings. I hope Your Majesty will understand."

After all, the two brothers belonged to different camps, so Zhuge Liang had to be careful not to arouse the emperor's suspicion that the two brothers were secretly communicating.

Liu Xie laughed, "Kongming, you are overthinking it. My campaign against Jiangdong is against Sun Quan, and has nothing to do with your brother. As for the future, if I successfully defeat Sun Quan, you might as well step forward and persuade your brother, since submitting to the court is the right path."

Zhuge Liang nodded quickly, "Your Majesty is a wise and virtuous ruler, benevolent and loving towards the people, and possesses great talent and strategy. I will definitely persuade my elder brother to follow Your Majesty in the future."

Liu Xie quickly changed the subject, pointing to Yu Fan's letter and asking, "Tell me, if I were to make this letter public now, how would Sun Quan deal with Yu Fan?"

Zhuge Liang immediately replied, "Sun Quan will not only not pursue the matter, but will also kindly appease Yu Fan."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Zhuge Liang explained, “Although Sun Quan is young, he is very magnanimous. Now that a major war is about to break out, the people of Jiangdong are already in a state of panic. If we punish Yu Fan, it will cause more people to distance themselves from Sun Quan and surrender to us. Sun Quan will definitely try his best to show his magnanimity. So even if we make the letter public, Yu Fan will be fine.” (End of this chapter)