Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 646: Hanoi Bamboo Slips
On the Hangu Road, a dozen Guanzhong knights escorted Cao Zhi towards Luoyang.

When we left Hangu Pass and arrived at Dagu Pass, we saw a caravan resting at the pass, preparing to spend the night.

What surprised Cao Zhi was that the guards of this convoy were actually dressed as soldiers from Guanzhong.

At the Dagu Pass, the Xiahou battle flag and the Han army battle flag were still flying.

Even the current Cao army uses the battle flags of the Han army and the Qi army.

Legally speaking, Xiahou Dun was still a Han minister, but his stance was unclear. He could be loyal to the Jian'an court or to the Huangchu court in the southeast.

However, the officials and people in the Heluo area were obviously more accustomed to using the Jian'an era name.

Regardless of which side he was loyal to, Xiahou Dun's position and official position were that of a Han minister, and his troops were under the Han army flag. It was impossible for him to accept official titles from Qi or use Qi's military code.

Therefore, at the Dagu Pass, two Han armies belonging to different groups were buying and selling supplies at the gate of the pass.

The defending army used food to exchange for horses from the soldiers in Guanzhong.

The Guanzhong soldiers and knights who were guarding Cao Zhi also went to the caravan to inquire. Cao Zhi was also full of doubts and entered the Guancheng.

In order to protect his safety, only the Guanzhong knights were the most reliable on the Hangu Road.

If a small group of knights under Xiahou Dun were to provide protection, they might be ambushed and killed by the mountain people.

Han Hao, who was guarding the city, made tea for Cao Zhi and answered his question: "There were thieves in Ji County, Henei, who dug up the tomb of King Anli of Wei. When the Henei garrison heard about it, they took more than 60 carts of bamboo slips, as well as other dragon bones, bamboo slips, etc., totaling more than 200 carts and transported them to Guanzhong."

Cao Zhi understood and wondered, "General Yuan Si, why don't we use ships to transport it?"

Han Hao, who is from Hanoi, was silent for a moment, not knowing which answer to use.

After all, the person sitting opposite him was Cao Zhi, so he said, "These bamboo slips are extremely valuable, and Zhang Sheng is worried that the boat will capsize. So he wrote a letter to ask General Yuan Rang to let them pass. Considering that the prince will soon return, General Yuan Rang ordered me to escort and supervise them along the way."

"King Wei Anli?"

Cao Zhi frowned and said, "How daring!"

Han Hao also nodded slightly. King Anli of Wei was the elder brother of Lord Xinling. There was a legend among scholars at that time that Emperor Gaozu was the son of Lord Xinling and the Han Dynasty was a descendant of the Wei royal family.

Therefore, it is impossible for Zhang Sheng, the defender of Henei, to excavate the tomb of King Anli of Wei. It can only be done by those scholars who are eager to discover the secret methods of cultivating immortals.

Judging from the behavior of some adult emperors of the Han Dynasty, some were as absurd as King Anli of Wei, while some were as wise as Lord Xinling.

Chenliu had long since stepped up protection of the tomb of Lord Xinling, but unexpectedly the tomb of King Anli of Wei under the jurisdiction of Guanzhong was dug up.

Cao Zhi sighed and asked, "General Yuan Si, have you heard about the Yuanshi warship built by the Grand Marshal?"

"I have heard something. To be honest, sir, I am here to escort the troops from Henei on the orders of General Yuan Rang. I have the mission of entering Shaanxi and Tianjin to wait for an opportunity to observe the Yuanshi battleship."

"No need to go and see. When I returned, the Grand Marshal set sail from Chencang in the morning and arrived in Chang'an before noon. I was able to board the ship, and the Yuanshi arrived in Shanjin at dusk."

Cao Zhi sighed with emotion: "The warship has no sails, but is powered by two steam engines. It can travel a hundred miles per hour downstream, as fast as the wind."

"It's so fast?"

Han Hao was surprised and sat up straight: "How many people can it carry?"

"There are more than 200 guards and 200 officials on board, and at least 300 temporary passengers like me. I heard from officials that the maximum number of passengers on board is 2,000, with a month's worth of food and fodder."

Cao Zhi couldn't help but sigh again: "Fortunately, it is difficult to build. Even the Grand Marshal and the skilled craftsmen of the Mohist School took a year to build one."

It took about ten months from the time Black Bear moved into the Chencang Shipyard and watched the Hehuang war to the time this battleship was born in April this year.

Taking into account the two steam engines that had already been built, the actual shipbuilding time was even longer.

Han Hao fell into deep thought. The Grand Marshal was never greedy for large numbers of troops, and the central army he led was no more than three to five thousand.

Not to mention ten warships, just five of them are enough to disrupt the fighting power of Qi and Zhao.

After fighting back and forth for half a year, the two countries were exhausted, and the army from Guanzhong came out in full force, naturally sweeping the country away.

The troops stationed in Yan and Yu states and Heluo were like lambs to be slaughtered and had no power to participate in this dispute.

He could not help but think of the letters Zhang Sheng, a fellow villager, had written to him. Not only were they fellow villagers, but they were also members of the Hanoi Knights Battalion when the imperial court recruited the Sanhe Knights Battalion to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

But Zhang Sheng was unlucky. After the war, he was settled in Jizhou as an official. When Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun rebelled, Zhang Sheng, who was dissatisfied with losing his official position, also joined the rebellion. After being defeated, he fled back to his hometown.

Immediately afterwards, the whole country was in chaos and many heroes fought against Dong Zhuo. People with a dirty record like Zhang Sheng had no chance to become an official at that time.

And now the Grand Marshal has dispatched 60,000 troops to dig Dizhu, and his own side has sent 5,000 people to serve in shifts... There is no need to explain many things too clearly.

In the entire Heluo area, there were a total of more than 30,000 garrison soldiers and troops.

Because of the peace maintained with Guanzhong in recent years, many people from the mountains and wilds dared to return to the plains to settle and farm and participate in production.

If a war breaks out, these people will inevitably flee, and the garrison troops and stationed troops will also fall into chaos.

In terms of military morale, the conditions are no longer in place to confront Guanzhong.

For a moment, Han Hao's heart was in turmoil.

Seeing himself in such a state, he no longer had any hope for the garrison troops and troops stationed in Heluo.

Cao Zhi could only sigh again and then, under the escort arranged by Han Hao, he rode away on horseback to Luoyang.

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There were some things he couldn't communicate with Han Hao, but Xiahou Dun was like his own uncle, so many things could only be discussed with Xiahou Dun.

For example, he welcomed his stepmother, Lady Ding, to live in Guanzhong. After his eldest brother Cao Ang died in battle, Lady Ding lived separately.

On some levels, the existence of Mrs. Ding is a black spot on Cao Cao's face.

As a black spot on Cao Cao, Mrs. Ding's behavior of taking the initiative to divorce Cao Cao, who was the prime minister, was a bright spot.

Mrs. Ding is no longer alone, she has too many relatives who need her protection.

Welcoming Lady Ding to Guanzhong was a way for Cao Zhi to show his filial piety and also a kind of amulet, which was good for everyone.

As for his biological mother, Lady Bian, Cao Zhi could rest assured knowing Cao Zhang was around.

In the past few years, his elder brother Cao Pi died of illness, and his younger brother Cao Xiong had been sickly since childhood. He followed Cao's army to move to Luoyang, and when he went on an expedition to Qingzhou in the east, he could not bear the migration and also died young.

That year, the Grand Marshal and Guan Yu attacked Xu Du and took away Madam Yin and Madam Du.

Madam Yin gave Gan Ning two sons and one daughter, while Madam Du brought Qin Lang and Cao Lin, and was pregnant with another.

Therefore, Cao Zhi cannot just think about himself, he must also support his younger brothers in the future... Who knows, these younger brothers may even help him in the end.

Therefore, his stepmother, Madam Ding, was welcomed into Guanzhong, so that the brothers would have a reason to visit each other in the future.

During the years he was held hostage in Guanzhong, Cao Zhi lived under someone else's roof and grew very fast because he was already very intelligent.

Even though he is lazy and romantic by nature, he has to mature early due to the pressure of life.

Originally he thought that the Grand Marshal treated him well, but in this year's performance evaluation, many officials had no merits but had worked hard. More than 400 people were demoted to Hancheng to serve as criminal officials. This had shattered Cao Zhi's little fantasy.

Each of these more than 400 people had a piece of land, and they all worked hard to cultivate the land and actively encouraged farmers to resume production.

Among the counties in Kanto, it can be regarded as a model of integrity.

As a result, because of their involvement in human lives and negligence in government affairs, they were all demoted to criminal officials, and their families moved to Shanglin Garden to work.

As the son of Cao Cao, the slightest carelessness, or even a false accusation, could lead to his death.

In this situation, how can we dare to be romantic and frivolous?

As for following the heroes of Qi State to sail to Yingzhou... Cao Zhi had already gotten used to the atmosphere of life in the university town, and he really didn't want to leave.

Fear of death is instinctive, but if he cannot live in Guanzhong, he feels that his life will lose its meaning.

This time he can take a ride on the Yuanshi battleship, which may give him the possibility of flying in the future.

Even if there is a possibility of falling to death, he will not give up.

(End of this chapter)