Cao Thief

Chapter 258 Yuzhou's Danger
Whether you are timid or cautious.

After Cao Peng took command of the Chinese army, he still ordered to stay overnight in Ningping County.It was already midnight when we arrived at the post station in Ningping County!Everyone felt very tired, especially those Qiaoxian Xiangyongs, who secretly cursed in their hearts, blaming Cao Peng for his unnecessary actions.

However, after dawn, when Ningping County delivered hot and sumptuous meals, the complaints of those Xiangyong disappeared.

Cao Peng sent someone to inform Ningping County overnight, and asked Ningping County to prepare meals and supplies.

Nearly a thousand people and horses, the cost of a long journey is quite a lot.This money is generally not paid by the team itself, but by local governments.

Afterwards, after eating their fill, the soldiers were refreshed and set out on the road again.

Cao Peng, Gan Ning, and Kan Ze are in parallel, while Hao Zhao and Xia Houlan are leading the battle.There is Xiahouen leading the way ahead, and the road is quite peaceful.

Ningping County also sent guides to lead the way for Cao Peng and others.

But it can be felt that it is not Cao Peng that Ningping County respects, but the old lady in the car.

But the origin of the old lady has never been told.Cao Peng didn't want to ask, it didn't matter who she was, as long as she could serve her well, it would be a success.

After the convoy was back on the road, the old lady called Cao Nan and Huang Yueying to the car.

Cao Peng and Kan Ze followed behind the chariot, while Gan Ning commanded the central army.

Hearing the cheerful laughter from the car from time to time, Cao Peng also felt very comfortable.

After leaving Ningping County, there is an endless countryside.

"parking!"

The car was driving, and suddenly heard the old lady whisper.

Cao Peng quickly raised his hand and shouted loudly: "Chinese army, station your horse."

Gan Ning in the front and Xia Houlan in the rear gave orders almost at the same time.Cao Peng jumped off the horse and walked to the side of the car. He saw Xia Houzhen and Huang Yueying helping the old lady get off the car, while Cao Nan hugged Deng Ai and followed closely behind the old lady.

Deng Ai is more than one year old, and can babble and call out 'A Niang', 'Daddy' and 'Uncle'.

Chubby, pink, with a pair of big round black eyes, looking around curiously.Seeing Cao Peng, he stretched out his chubby little hand and made a "ho ho ho" sound, as if he wanted Cao Peng to hug him.Cao Peng ignored Deng Ai and came to the old lady.

"Old lady, why stop?"

"Where is the guide?"

Following the old lady's inquiry, as the guide of the three elders of Ningping, she hurried forward.

"Since the beginning of spring, has there been plenty of rain in Chen County?"

The guide was taken aback, and quickly replied: "It's not very abundant... Since the beginning of spring, there have only been two light rains in Ningping, but the rainfall is not too heavy."

"The farming..."

"The sowing is okay, barely able to keep up.

but……"

"But how?"

"Looking at this year's situation, I feel that there will not be too much rain... I am afraid of drought. The last rain was around the fifteenth day, and it has been nearly 20 days. In previous years, there was plenty of rain at this time of year. But this year... I heard people say , the situation in Yilu, Xiangxian, and Xinyang is not very good. Governor Cao is stationed in Chenxian, relying on the Langtang Canal, which is not bad, but other places are showing signs of drought."

The old lady nodded and bent down.

She grabbed a clod of soil from the ground, squeezed it, and it immediately shattered.

Cao Peng couldn't help being surprised, and looked at the old lady in amazement.In his previous life, he also experienced drought.One year, the Xiong'er River stopped flowing, and the fields on both sides of the river were dry and cracked like a baby's mouth.But the scenery in front of me did not show any signs of drought.

Lush and lush, the land has no cracks.

But the old lady can still see the clue at a glance, which makes Cao Peng secretly admire.

"When I was young...Well, it seems to be the fifth year of Yonghe, I was seven years old, and I hadn't entered the palace yet... Hehe, my family was poor at that time, so I often worked in the fields with my mother. The situation in that year , very similar to now. After two light rains in spring, there was no more rain until autumn... Chen Liu had no harvest, and many people starved to death in the fields.

My mother once told me some techniques of qi prediction. You can judge the amount of rain according to the dryness and humidity of the land...

I entered the palace at the age of 14, and nearly a year has passed.I still remember very clearly what my mother said back then.Looking at the condition of the soil, the old man was really worried that there would be a drought like in the old period.If there is a severe drought, Yuzhou will be in turmoil again. "

This old lady Wu is definitely someone with a story.

Cao Peng has heard of the theory of hopefulness.

But most of the time, these are skills mastered by the kind of people in the village who are similar to sacrifices.

Cao Peng didn't know how to hope, and he couldn't even see the various crises hidden under the lushness.However, what the old lady said is correct, if there is a drought, there will definitely be turmoil in Yuzhou.He couldn't help but frowned, lost in thought.

"Ah Fu, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking, if there is a drought, how to solve it."

Huang Yueying thought for a while, then turned around and walked to her carriage, asked Guo Huan to take out a book bag from the carriage, and found a bamboo slip.

She opened it, looked at it, and shook her head slightly.

Cao Peng stepped forward to look at the bamboo slips, and asked suspiciously: "Yueying, what is this?"

"Ah Fu, do you know Bi Lan?"

The name seems familiar, but I can't figure it out.

It was Kan Ze who answered from the side: "Is the Bi Lan that Ms. Huang mentioned, but Bi Lan from the former 'Ten Attendants'?"

"It is this man."

Shi Changshi, I know this!
However, Cao Peng couldn't understand why Huang Yueying suddenly mentioned what Bi Lan was doing.

"Yueying, you're so good, why did you mention the ten servants?"

Huang Yueying smiled slightly after hearing this.

She was about to explain, but she heard the old lady say not far away: "Captain Cao, let's go... Arrive at Chen County earlier, and remind Lian by the way."

Zilian is Cao Hong.

Mrs. Wu called Cao Hongbiao directly in public, which further showed her unusual status.

Cao Peng quickly agreed and let Huang Yueying get in the car.

Afterwards, he got on his horse and directed the convoy to move on.But Huang Yueying returned to her car and never came out again.

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That night, the convoy arrived in Chen County.

It was already dark, but Cao Hong waited outside the city of Chen County with officials of all sizes.

Seeing the battle of chariots, Cao Hong stepped forward on foot, without hesitation to greet Cao Peng, he went to the old lady's carriage and said respectfully: "Nephew Cao Hong, welcome grandma."

"Zi Lian, I'm a lonely old woman, I don't deserve such a great gift.

We don't need these silly things, so I won't get out of the car... Let's go back first, I have something to tell you. "

"Follow the teachings of grandma."

At this moment, Cao Hong did not appear to be delicate or artificial.

Hastily ordered, the welcoming officials dispersed, he got into the carriage himself, and acted as the driver for the old lady.

As for Cao Peng, he took the opportunity to greet Deng Fan.

"Big Bear, is everything okay here?"

"Ha, there's nothing wrong with it, it's not bad."

Deng Fan looked much more energetic.Now, as Cao Shi, the soldier of Chen Jun, he can be regarded as a real power figure.Cao Hong didn't care about the introduction, but Deng Fan still took Cao Peng to introduce Chen County officials for him.Rhodes, no need for introduction!He and Cao Peng were already acquainted when they were in Xiapi.

Now Luo Luo is the Sima of Chen Jun, and he can be regarded as Deng Fan's superior.

The rest of Chen County officials, big and small, met Cao Peng one by one, but they didn't have a familiar name.

After seeing each other, Rhodes and Deng Fan pulled Cao Peng, saying that they wanted to welcome Cao Peng.Originally, Cao Peng didn't really want to go, but he couldn't bear the enthusiasm of the two of them, and he and Deng Fan had been separated for some time, so it was hard to refuse.So, after explaining to Cao Nan and Huang Yueying, he took Xia Houlan and Gan Ning and left with Rhodes and Deng Fan.Kan Ze and Hao Zhao, under the leadership of Chen County officials, protected Che Zhan and entered Chen County.A group of soldiers and servants were all assigned to the Chen County school grounds.

In front of Cao Hong, neither Xia Houen nor Cao Yang had the right to speak.

Both of them stayed in the school grounds, neither dared to act recklessly without orders.

"Big Xiong, we are on the way. I heard that since the beginning of spring in Chen County, there seems to be not enough rain?"

"Ah, you heard that too?"

During the banquet, Cao Peng asked about the drought.

Deng Fan didn't hide anything, nodded and said: "It is said that since the beginning of spring this year, there has been much less rain than at this time in previous years. However, the situation in Chen County is better, and there is a lot of water in the Langtang Canal, so there is no major problem for the time being. But Prefect Cao has ordered to dig canals along the banks of the Langtang Canal to store water... There have been no reports of other places, so the problem is probably not particularly serious..."

"Then what's the situation outside of Chen County?"

"That's not very clear."

Deng Fan asked suspiciously: "Ah Fu, why are you so interested in this matter?"

Cao Peng repeated Mrs. Wu's words on the road, and Rhodes and Deng Fan couldn't help showing serious expressions.

"Presumably, the old lady will mention it to Prefect Cao, but I'm afraid it may not be useful to just dig canals to store water... Canals must be dug, and more must be dug. If there is not enough manpower, you can ask Prefect Cao for orders to let your subordinates The soldiers are dispatched. This kind of thing, be prepared.”

Deng Fan and Rhodes looked at each other and nodded in unison.

"By the way, who is that Mrs. Wu?"

Rhodes was taken aback, "Captain Cao, you don't know the origin of Mrs. Wu?"

"Do I need to know?"

"You are really... old madam, you are Duke Cao's adoptive grandmother."

"A foster grandmother?"

Rhodes lowered his voice and said, "Not too many people know about this matter. After I received the document from Qiao County, I also heard General Duhu mention it unintentionally. You should know about Duke Cao's background."

"Of course I know about the Cao family in Qiao County."

"Then you should also know the origin of Duke Cao's father, Duke Ju Gao."

Ju Gaogong, also known as Cao Song.

Cao Peng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly woke up and understood the meaning of Rhodes' words.

It was mentioned in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms that Cao Song's original surname was Xiahou, and later he was adopted by the great eunuch at that time, the Zhongchang servant, the great Changqiu Cao Teng.

As a result, in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao was repeatedly scolded as the queen of the eunuch party.

In fact, Cao Teng had a good reputation at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and he was not a ten-time attendant.He assisted the four dynasties and became an official during the period of Emperor Huan.He has been in office for more than 30 years and has experienced four emperors without any major mistakes.Moreover, he also recommended many capable people for the court.

Yu Fang and Bian Shao from Chenliu; Yangu and Zhang Wen from Nanyang; Zhang Huan from Hongnong; Tangxi from Yingchuan, Zhao Dian...

These people were all recommended by Cao Teng.

Zhong Hao, the governor of Yizhou, impeached Cao Teng, accusing him of embezzlement and bribery.But when Cao Teng found out, instead of blaming him, he promoted Zhong Hao instead.

From the hands of Cao Teng, there have been two Taiwei.

One is Zhong Hao, and the other is Zhang Wen...

It can be said that when Cao Cao first became an official, he killed Jian Shuo's uncle and governed Luoyang, causing so many disasters, but he was safe and sound, but he was dismissed from office and transferred from Luoyang.If there is no shadow of his grandfather Cao Teng, it may be difficult to retreat completely.

Whether Cao Teng is good or bad can be put aside first.

However, Cao Song's origin has always been a historical mystery.

The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms did not elaborate, but according to the situation at the time, although the Xiahou family had been married to the Cao family for generations, Cao Teng still had an elder brother and a younger brother. Even if he wanted to adopt, it was impossible to adopt someone from the Xiahou family.Cao Song is more likely to be the son of Cao Teng's brother, and then adopted to Cao Teng's side.After all, Cao Cao later had a close intermarriage with the Xiahou family.At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, intermarriage with the same surname was not allowed. If Cao Cao was really a child of the Xiahou family, then he would certainly follow such a rule...

These are gossip.

"You mean, Mrs. Wu is Mrs. Teng's... Mrs.?"

"Oh, exactly!"

An eunuch, who is still married and has a wife?

Cao Peng is a little confused!
But thinking about it again, this eunuch is also a human being, Mrs. Wu lives in the palace, if she doesn't have a backer, she may not be able to survive.

Right food!

It must be like this.

Cao Peng has seen such things as "pairing food" in some literary works.

If you want to come to Mrs. Wu and Cao Teng, they belong to "opposite food".

Later, when Cao Teng became an official, because of his support, it seemed reasonable for Emperor Huan to marry Mrs. Wu and Cao Teng.You know, although Cao Teng's power was somewhat weakened in the later period, he still had a lot of credit in the emperor's heart.Cao Teng was granted the title of Marquis of Fei Ting, and his fief was inherited by Cao Song after his death.It can be seen from this that Cao Teng still occupies an extremely important position in Emperor Huan's heart...

Cao Song was brought up by Mrs. Wu since he was a child. Isn't that Cao Cao's adoptive grandmother?
"I heard from the prefect that Mr. Cao treats the old lady like his own grandmother and respects him very much. The old lady doesn't care much about outside affairs, but if she speaks, Mr. Cao will definitely obey."

Cao Peng understands...

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After finishing the drinks, it's almost time.

Cao Pengxun returned to the post station and was about to go to rest, but unexpectedly found that the lights in Huang Yueying's room were still on.

"Xiao Luan, Miss hasn't rested yet?"

With a blushing face, Bu Luan supported Cao Peng and nodded slightly.

"After the lady got off the car, she never came out of the room.

Even the dinner is served in the room. Sister Xiaohuan and I went to visit, and saw the young lady flipping through a volume of books, writing and drawing. "

Cao Peng scratched his head, and accompanied by Bu Luan, he came to the door of Huang Yueying's room.

Guo Huan was leaning against the door and taking a nap, when she heard footsteps, she woke up suddenly, saw that it was Cao Peng, and hurried forward to salute.

"Son!"

"What is Miss doing in the house?"

"I don't know, Miss told us not to go in outside, saying that it would disturb her."

Cao Peng was puzzled and couldn't figure out what Huang Yueying was thinking about.So he stepped forward and gently knocked on the door...

"Who!"

"it's me!"

There was a sound of footsteps in the room, followed by the door being opened.

"Ah Fu, you're drinking again!"

Cao Peng laughed and said, "Fifth Brother, he insists on pulling me, and I can't refuse... By the way, it's so late, why don't you rest?"

Huang Yueying's eyes lit up, and she grabbed Cao Peng's sleeve.

"Ah Fu, you came just in time, I have something I want to discuss with you.

Hee hee, you must help me with this matter... Well, you must be able to help me, right? "

"What help?"

Cao Peng was confused and was dragged into the room by Huang Yueying.

(End of this chapter)