Dahan: A 100-year-old veteran, I will build the strongest family

Chapter 119 Cao Cao apologizes to Li Hong, Xun You, Xi Zhicai, Guo Jia and other counselors are disappointed with the Han Dynasty
Li Chen, a descendant of the fourth generation of the family, brought the news to the court in advance. In the court, Liu Hong not only agreed to his suggestion to spare the lives of the captured Yellow Turbans, but also accepted the suggestion of Liu Yan, the chief of the imperial clan, to abolish the historian and establish the governor of eight states. The news shocked Li Hong.

However, as the Han Dynasty entered its final years, the political situation in the world changed drastically, like a general trend of panic.

Anyone who stands in the way will be crushed to pieces.

First, the imperial court was incompetent, and it colluded with the powerful families to exploit the people, which led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Now the emperor is deposing Shi and enthroning Mu.

Although it seems that the power of the prefectures and counties can be integrated to successfully eliminate the Yellow Turbans in the prefectures, in reality, the implementation of this system in the Han Dynasty after the Yellow Turbans were rampant was tantamount to a move that severely damaged the foundation of the country.

It is no exaggeration to say that this truly sounded the death knell for the Han Dynasty.

However, Li Hong is even more happy to see this happen.

The Han Dynasty cannot be established without destruction.

Be messy.

Chaos ensued, and even ambitious people emerged to trample on the dignity of the Han Dynasty, making it clear to everyone in the world that the Liu family's rule over the country was really over.

It's time for the world to change its master.

That was when the Li family truly began to compete for the world.

Because Li Chen rode his horse day and night, he arrived five or six days earlier than the eunuchs and guards who read the imperial edict.

This day.

The gates of Xu County were wide open, and a team of eunuch guards marched into the city.

In the hall.

Li Hong, along with Mi Zhu, Jian Shuo, Huangfu Song, Zhang Fei, Yan Liang, Jia Xu, Xun You, Xi Zhicai, young Guo Jia, Cao Cao and others, went to welcome the imperial edict.

After reading the imperial edict, Zuo Feng handed it to Li Hong and said with a respectful smile:

"General Li, His Majesty has agreed to your suggestion to banish the Yellow Turbans to Bingzhou, and the court has restored the provincial governor system. General Li has been appointed as the governor of Bingzhou, guarding Bingzhou, and Young Master Li Li has been appointed as the governor of Youzhou, guarding Youzhou. The Li family now has two provincial governors. This is truly a cause for celebration. Congratulations to General Li!"

Zuo Feng congratulated Li Hong, but his words were full of respect. He did not dare to be bossy or disrespectful to Li Hong.

"Restore the governor system? How can this be possible?"

As Zuo Feng finished reading the imperial edict and said about the restoration of the governorship, Jia Xu, Xun You, Xi Zhicai and young Guo Jia in the hall were all shocked all over. They raised their heads abruptly and looked at Zuo Feng, who was pale and beardless and holding the imperial edict. Their faces were filled with shock.

All four of them are among the most intelligent people in the world, and they have a keen sense of the world situation and politics.

When they heard Zuo Feng's words that the court would restore the provincial governor system, the four of them felt a dark cloud in front of their eyes.

Should we restore the governor system at this time?
How dare you?

In the hall, Li Hong glanced at the suddenly changing expressions of Jia Xu, Xun You, Xi Zhicai, and little Guo Jia. Li Hong was mentally prepared and appeared calm.

Looking at Zuo Feng in front of him, Li Hong stroked his gray beard, took the imperial edict with a smile, and said:

"I have received your order. The Li family will devote all their efforts to the frontier of the Han Dynasty. Thank you, Zuo Huangmen, for coming so far to deliver the good news to the Li family. Zuo Huangmen, please follow the servants to the side courtyard to rest. I have prepared some gifts for everyone. Zi Zhong, take Zuo Huangmen to rest!"

As soon as Li Hong finished speaking, the eyes of Zuo Feng and other eunuchs immediately lit up, and they could see the surprise in each other's eyes.

They usually traveled a long distance to read the imperial edict, and naturally asked the other party to show their respect before they would stop. After all, traveling a long distance was hard work, and they were eunuchs, close attendants of the emperor, and could say some good things or bad things about the other party, so it was very common for them to show respect.

However, when reading the imperial edict to Li Hong, Zuo Feng would not offend Li Hong or ask for benefits from Li Hong.

After all, the Li family is now in its heyday. Not only does the Li family hold the title of governor of two states, but Li Hong is also on good terms with the Queen and is highly valued by Liu Hong. Naturally, Zuo Feng would not be stupid enough to offend Li Hong.

Therefore, Zuo Feng was mentally prepared from the beginning. He did not accept any benefits this time and still showed respect to Li Hong.

But, Li Hong said that he had prepared hard-earned gifts for them?
Considering that the Li family was as wealthy as a country, this gift would not be cheap. Zuo Feng was fascinated and a big smile appeared on his face.

"General Li is too polite. Zuo Feng will go down first."

Zuo Feng said respectfully to Li Hong.

Mi Zhu stood up at the side, his face flushed with excitement, and said, "I will lead the way for Zuo Huangmen."

Mi Zhu was indeed surprised. The imperial court restored the post of governor of provinces, and the Li family actually occupied the positions of governor of two provinces. This was truly earth-shattering among the aristocratic families of the Han Dynasty.

The Mi family was a vassal of the Li family. As the Li family was so prosperous, it was natural that the Mi family would prosper.

Mi Zhu was about to leave with Zuo Feng and others. At this time, Xun You, who was originally behind Li Hong, stood up and called out to Zuo Feng.

Xun You bowed and said to Zuo Feng:

"Excuse me, Zuo Huangmen, which minister in the court proposed the idea of ​​deposing Shi and enthroning Mu?"

As soon as Xun You opened his mouth, he immediately attracted the attention of Li Hong, Mi Zhu, Jia Xu, Xi Zhicai, young Guo Jia, Cao Cao and others.

Jia Xu and Xi Zhicai both looked serious and stared at Zuo Feng closely.

Li Hong stroked his gray beard, and did not react when Xun You asked who proposed to depose Shi and establish Mu in Zuo Feng's place.

Although he recruited Xun You, Xi Zhicai and others under his command.

This does not mean that Xun You, Xi Zhicai, Xiao Guo Jia and others are loyal to the Li family.

It's still a little early.

Xun You, Xi Zhicai, and young Guo Jia are all living, flesh-and-blood people with their own ideas. Now that the world is not in chaos, he recruited several people under his command in the name of the imperial court, not the Li family. These people still recognize the imperial court.

Li Hong was not in a hurry about this. As I said before, when everyone in the world believes that the Han Dynasty is hopeless, these people will naturally choose the Li family as their wise leader.

Xun You, Jia Xu, Xi Zhicai, Guo Jia and other counselors looked closely at Zuo Feng. Jian Shuo, Huangfu Song, Zhang Fei, Yan Liang and others also looked at Zuo Feng curiously. They were not beyond the ordinary vision and could not see the situation in the next few years, but the court restored the system of governors, and the Li family occupied two of them, Youzhou and Bingzhou, which still shocked them.

Zuo Feng glanced at Xun You, whom he didn't know.

However, when Zuo Feng saw that Xun You was standing behind Li Hong and Li Hong did not stop him, he realized that Xun You should be Li Hong's man.

To give Li Hong face, Zuo Feng replied with a smile:
"This is not something that cannot be said. The one who abolished the governor and established the governor was Liu Yan, one of the nine ministers in the court. Liu Yan proposed to restore the governor of each state in order to integrate the forces of each state and help General Li to pacify the Yellow Turbans. Liu Yan was also valued by your majesty, so he was named the governor of Yizhou and has already taken office!"

Zuo Feng replied and explained to Xun You with a smile.

"What? It was actually proposed by Liu Yan, the head of the Imperial Clan, a relative of the Han Dynasty. This..."

Zuo Feng's words made Xun You, Jia Xu, Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia all look suddenly changed, as if they knew that this move was pushed by the royal family of the Han Dynasty, which made them all unbelievable.

"Liu Zongzheng's move is a bit reckless. All right, Zi Zhong, lead Zuo Huangmen to rest."

Li Hong looked at Xun You, Xi Zhicai and others whose faces had turned ugly, and said something that left Zhang Fei, Yan Liang and others puzzled.

Mi Zhu went down with Zuo Feng and other eunuchs and guards.

In the hall, Huangfu Song, Zhang Fei, Yan Liang and other generals hurried forward to congratulate Li Hong on being named the governor of Bingzhou and the grand occasion of the Li family being the governor of two states. However, Xun You, Xi Zhicai and others were not interested and even felt indignant.

It has to be said that when several people learned that the move to depose Shi and establish Mu was actually promoted by Liu Yan, the leader of the Han royal family, people like Xun You and Xi Zhicai who still had hope for the Han Dynasty were greatly disappointed.

The Han Emperor was so incompetent that even the royal family members had ambitions to secede?
Xun You, Xi Zhicai and others did not believe that Liu Yan, who had served as a Zhonglang, the magistrate of Luoyang, the governor of Jizhou, the prefect of Nanyang, and finally one of the Nine Ministers, would be so stupid that he could not see the situation clearly and could not judge the current situation of the Yellow Turbans in the world, and only pushed for the abolition of Shi and the establishment of Mu simply to pacify the Yellow Turbans.

Xun You, Xi Zhicai and others were not very interested, and they did not show their disappointment. At this time, Huangfu Song, Zhang Fei and Yan Liang were even more excited.

"Old General, this group of more than 100,000 Yellow Turbans have been divided and blocked in the forest by us. The food they brought has been almost consumed. They are already short of food on a large scale and are starving. Many Yellow Turbans have begun to escape from the forest and tried to flee, but were intercepted by the Beiwei Army. Now the imperial court has issued an order. Should we close the net? Catch all the more than 100,000 Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan in one fell swoop!"

Zhang Fei spoke quite excitedly and asked for instructions.

During the period of waiting for the court's reply, the Beiwei Army's cavalry dispersed to cut off the official roads in Xu County and Changsha County, and trapped more than 100,000 Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan in the mountains and forests. With so many people gathered in the mountains and forests, and a lot of food had been lost before, and there had been no replenishment for a long time, the Yellow Turbans' food had run out!

Zhang Fei asked for orders, and the generals looked at Li Hong excitedly.

Li Hong stroked his gray beard and said with a smile:
"Well, the time is almost up, we can close the net. However, there are still many diehard Yellow Turbans, especially the Yellow Turban leader Bo Cai, who is loyal to the Taiping Dao, and it is not easy to make them surrender."

"In this way, throw a small amount of food to the Yellow Turbans on the official road, use the food to lure the Yellow Turbans to surrender, and trigger internal fighting. Tell the Yellow Turbans that those who surrender can be exempted from the death penalty by the imperial court and have a chance to live. And they can make meritorious deeds. If they catch the Yellow Turbans who are unwilling to surrender, they will be meritorious. Not only can they be exempted from punishment, but they will also be rewarded. If you capture a small leader of a hundred people, you will be rewarded with 20 mu of land and 5,000 yuan. If you capture a leader of a thousand people, you will be rewarded with 50 mu of land and 50,000 yuan. If you capture a leader of ten thousand Yellow Turbans, you will be rewarded with 100 mu of land and 100,000 yuan. And if you capture a leader of the Yellow Turbans, you will be rewarded with 500 mu of land and 200,000 five-zhu coins. I guarantee it with the reputation of the Li family, and I will keep my word!"

In the hall, Li Hong stroked his beard and gave orders to Huangfu Song, Zhang Fei, Yan Liang and other generals.

If the Yellow Turbans have no food to eat, then everyone will be the same and no one will say anything.

But if they gave the other side a small amount of food, it would undoubtedly not be enough to share, and only a small number of people would be able to eat it, which would cause the Yellow Turban soldiers to panic.

They became Yellow Turbans and rebelled just to have enough food to eat.

If they can't even get enough food to eat, many Yellow Turbans may not be able to hold on.

In addition, he gave hope and rewards to the Yellow Turbans who were on the brink of collapse. Under the temptation of land and money, Li Hong felt that it was enough to make him unable to bear it.

In the hall, Huangfu Song, Zhang Fei, Yan Liang and other generals all smiled when they heard Li Hong's order.

"Old general, this attack is very clever. Many Yellow Turbans could not hold on originally, and now they are so divided, there must be countless Yellow Turbans who surrender." Huangfu Song said with emotion.

"Okay, go ahead. I hope to present good news to His Majesty soon!" Li Hong said with a smile, stroking his gray beard.

"Yes!" The generals bowed and hurried away.

Li Hong glanced again at Xun You, Xi Zhicai, little Guo Jia and others in the hall who were still somewhat bored. He stroked his beard and said nothing.

Everyone in the hall stood up and left, but what surprised Li Hong was that Cao Cao did not leave. Instead, he hesitated for a moment and then bowed solemnly to Li Hong.

"General Li, Cao Cao was confused in the past and did some frivolous and inappropriate things, which almost caused a disaster. Cao Cao has reflected on the Li family many times and it is really wrong. Although those things happened a long time ago, Cao Cao still thinks about it and feels guilty. Today, I apologize to General Li and ask General Li to punish me and eliminate the guilt in Cao Cao's heart."

Cao Cao said solemnly to Li Hong.

Li Hong, who was about to leave, was slightly startled and stopped. He looked at Cao Cao in front of him, who was short, fat, but strong and dark, and much more mature and stable than a few years ago.

Li Hong narrowed his eyes, stared at Cao Cao, and suddenly laughed:
"Cao Mengde, why are you suddenly talking about this today? Those things are in the past, but it seems that you are now under my command. Do you think I am treating you differently or unfairly?"

When Cao Cao heard Li Hong's words, he bowed to Li Hong and said:

"General Li has misunderstood. Under General Li's command, Cao Cao did not feel any discrimination or suppression. This is also one of the reasons why Cao Cao felt ashamed of his previous frivolous behavior."

Cao Cao hurriedly explained to Li Hong seriously that, in fact, it was just as he said, he and Huangfu Song were almost killed in the battle when the city of Xu County was broken into, and it was Li Hong who saved them. However, after joining the Beiwei Army, Li Hong did not treat him, Cao Cao, differently, but let him and Huangfu Song lead the Beiwei cavalry to attack the Yellow Turbans without any small moves or targeting.

Thinking back on the past, Cao Cao felt ashamed of all the jealousy he had over women and his dealings with the Li family.

Now, the Li family is at its peak. Li Hong and Li Li are appointed as the governors of Youzhou and Bingzhou, almost guarding the northern border of the Han Dynasty. The power of the Li family makes him feel more guilty and respectful towards the Li family.

"Haha, since I didn't treat you differently or suppress you, then you apologize to me today. Is it because you heard that the Li family has governors of two states and you want to flatter the Li family?" Li Hong laughed, stroked his beard, and said to Cao Cao.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao frowned and said to Li Hong:
"Although Cao Cao was not accomplished in either literature or martial arts, he did not need to fawn on the Li family just because the Li family was prosperous."

"I apologize to the old general today because I see that General Li is so diligent in protecting the Han people. He is respectable and I feel guilty. I have no other intentions."

Li Hong heard Cao Cao's serious words to express his attitude, nodded, and said:
"Because your name is Cao Mengde, I believe what you said today. I used to look down on the Cao family and Cao Cao, but now that you are facing me, I am beginning to look up to you."

After a pause, Li Hong looked at the outstanding politician, military strategist, writer, and calligrapher in Chinese history, a powerful official in the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China, and the founder of the Cao Wei regime, and said meaningfully:

"From now on, I hope that what you do will make me look favorably upon you."

Cao Cao was slightly startled when he heard what Li Hong said. Then, he bowed to Li Hong solemnly and said, "Cao Cao, I will definitely not let General Li down!"

(End of this chapter)