The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 279 Pirate Empire Intrigue
Cao Zhang held a Dahan Gazette in his hand, and hurriedly stepped onto the Bronze Sparrow Terrace. The gleaming Bronze Sparrow on the top of the stage stretched its neck to the sky, ready to fly. tweet.

"Father." Cao Zhang took off his shoes at the door and entered the dimly lit terrace.Although the Tongque Terrace is more than ten feet above the ground, and it is much brighter than a house built on the ground, Cao Zhang was still a little uncomfortable walking in from the sunny outside.He took advantage of the time to take off his shoes and stood at the door for a while. After a while, he saw Cao Cao standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back.

Cao Cao stood there without saying a word, leaning on the window sill with his hands, and knocking from time to time. The sound of duk tu was very monotonous, but it was very clear in the silent Tongque Terrace.Cao Rui, who was sitting behind Wei Wei, glanced at Cao Zhang, shook his head calmly, Cao Zhang smiled, and walked slowly behind Cao Cao.

"Ziwen, you are here." Cao Cao seemed to have just come back to his senses, turned his head and glanced at Cao Zhang, saw the Dahan Gazette in his hand, and smiled: "See Sun Shao's upper form? What's the matter?" idea?"

Before Cao Zhang could speak, he smacked his lips first, and said with some regret: "Since he intervenes in this matter, I'm afraid he won't be able to fight."

Cao Cao hummed and listened quietly.

"As soon as the Dahan Gazette arrived in Yecheng, it was sold out. Someone with good intentions posted the Gazette at the gate of the city for people to watch. It spread in a half day, and many people bought paper to copy. The reputation of the King of Yue is now unmanned. I don’t know, everyone knows.” Cao Zhang looked at the Dahan Gazette in his hand, smiled wryly and shook his head: “This Dahan Gazette looks like a piece of paper, but its function is comparable to tens of thousands of troops. Scholars can know that it is not so easy to hide it from them."

"Not necessarily." Cao Cao said lightly: "Writers are people, and people who print articles are also people. It's just that there is no one we can trust in Luoyang now, and Yang Gong and Sun Shao are old friends, so there are many coincidences, so Of course there are more things that are beneficial to Sun Shao. However, Yang Gong is eighty-three years old. Even if he is in good health, he may not be able to last for a few years. The most important thing right now is to think about how to hold that Yinfang in his hands. It is necessary to understand how these Dahan communiqués were produced."

Cao Zhang nodded thoughtfully.

"Ziwen, what do you think of Sun Shao's letter?" Cao Cao turned around, with his hands behind his back, and slowly walked back to the couch, picked up the Dahan Gazette pressed by Jin Hu's paperweight, and gently put it aside .

Cao Zhang pursed his lips and thought for a while, revealing a delicacy and shyness that was far from his appearance: "Sun Shao's publicity about the harvest of Funan this time is quite different from his previous behavior. I think that his intention is not I'm singing praises for myself, but I'm thinking about the battle between Wu and Shu, I just want to say that it's better to join forces to crusade against the outside than to spend time and effort on the internal battle, and the less effort is more profitable."

Cao Cao raised his eyes and glanced at Cao Zhang, whose voice was a little passionate. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. From Cao Zhang's tone, he could hear his envy and unwillingness to Sun Shaohe's military exploits.This son who wants to learn from Wei Huo is probably more excited than everyone else, wishing he could conquer the barbarians like Sun Shao now.

Cao Cao sighed secretly. As soon as he saw the big man's announcement about Sun Shao's conquest of Funan and the establishment of Funan and Borneo states, he knew that Sun Shao had decided to intervene in the war between Wu and Shu, and he had lost his chance to profit from it.He was very regretful. He always thought that Sun Shao's conquest of Funan would not solve the problem within two or three years. He never thought that it took him less than a year to solve it, and he also solved Borneo by the way.Sun Shao's article said that Funan is comparable to Jizhou, and Borneo has a sea area of ​​thousands of miles. In terms of sea area, it is no less than Jiangnan, and even in terms of island area, it is no less than a state. Cao Cao does not believe this. He thinks that Sun Shao is exaggerating. The purpose of the speech is not to boast for oneself, but to exaggerate the benefits of conquering foreign barbarians, and to further lead the hearts of those scholars who are tired of the civil war to the outside.Whether Funan or Borneo, they are all wild lands with vast land and few people. Even if there are some rare things, how can they be compared with the well-to-do Central Plains.Only land, no household registration, isn't that empty talk?
However, Cao Cao knew that not everyone was as calm as him, especially the impulsive young people, and it was definitely not one or two who were tempted by Sun Shao.Scholars of the Han Dynasty have the habit of traveling. As long as conditions permit, they will not immediately become officials after they reach adulthood, but go out to see the world. Nowadays, traveling to Yue and Jiaozhou is the first choice of young people. It is the dream of many young people to take a large ship of Yue merchants and travel all the way south, from Qiantang to Nanhai and Zhuya, to see the ever-changing Yue country.

Compared with the wave of homeless people in the past few years, this kind of scholar wave is what Cao Cao is most worried about.Guizhou chiefs don’t understand anything, and they don’t accept information as fast as literate scholars. As long as they send a letter to the border, even if they get the news, they can’t escape. More people are just too poor to survive. Time to think about it.There have been no wars in the past few years. Cao Cao, like Liu Bei and Sun Quan, consciously reduced taxes, so that the heads of Guizhou could take a breath, so that they would not be attracted by the favorable conditions of Yue to leave their hometown.Scholars are different. They continue to flow to the country of Yue. Many scholars from poor families who are not prosperous choose to become officials in the country of Yue. , But they brought the news of Yue, sometimes worse than staying in Yue.

Scholars are different from Qianshou. Cao Cao cannot simply restrict them by imprisoning them, and he cannot sit back and watch Sun Shao corrupt people's hearts step by step. He must take measures to fight back.This time when Sun Shao went to Funan, Wu and Shu went to war because of a trivial matter. , Unexpectedly, Sun Shao quickly ended the battle in Funan, turned around and wrote to the emperor to ask for mediation, and at the same time released such demagogic news through the Dahan Gazette.

If the people are disturbed, the country will lose the country.Cao Cao looked at Cao Zhang in front of him with a heavy heart.

"However, I think that although Yue's conquest is enviable, it cannot be imitated." Cao Zhang didn't notice the worry hidden under Cao Cao's calm face. He put away his smile and frowned slightly, as if he seemed very embarrassed .

"Why?" The pensive Cao Cao withdrew his mind and asked.Cao Zhang was able to think so, which made him very happy.

"The State of Yue has a navy that can go to the South China Sea, expedition to Funan, and even Borneo, but the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu do not have such conditions. If we, Wei State, want to conquer, we can only go north to the prairie to expel the Xianbei people and Karasuma. People. It is a very dangerous thing to enter the prairie and fight these barbarians. It is possible to injure them severely, but it is a delusion to wipe them out. If it is broken, the northern border will fall into the dilemma of fighting for years, and if something happens in the south, we will be attacked on both sides."

"En." Cao Cao nodded sympathetically, motioning Cao Zhang to continue.

"The state of Wu has the Yangtze River in the north, the state of Shu in the west, and the southeast is surrounded by the state of Yue. Where can he go to conquer foreigners? The only thing he can do is the Shanyue in Yangzhou. Now most of these mountains are going to the state of Yue. He has gone, there are really limited things he can do. And the Kingdom of Shu is not much better, at most they are developing to the south of Yizhou, other than that, there is very limited room for development. Therefore, the Kingdom of Yue can Conquests, but we, Wei, Shu and Wu are all very difficult, and the achievements of the King of Yue, we can only envy, not imitate."

"Hehehe..." Cao Cao couldn't help laughing, beckoned Cao Zhang to his side, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Huang Xu'er has grown up, I am very relieved."

Cao Zhang blushed, glanced secretly at Cao Rui and He Yan behind him, and rubbed his nose in embarrassment. He was a bit shy to be praised by his father for a man in his 30s.

"Unfortunately, there are not many people who can see this clearly." Cao Cao sighed, stroked his beard and said, "The Dahan Gazette is not in our hands. We just want to tell others this, but we can't do it."

"What does the father mean?" Cao Zhang asked tentatively.

"Sun Shao pacified Funan, and this time he entrusted the mediation of Wu and Shu to the emperor. He wanted to pull me to stand behind the emperor and wave the flag. It is the emperor's credit that the matter is completed. The prestige of the emperor will be greatly improved. If the matter fails, we I have to act as a thug for the Son of Heaven, and with him on the sidelines, if I don’t listen, I might become a target of public criticism, but if I listen, I’ll be used as a sword by him again.”

Cao Zhang pondered for a while, but couldn't think of any good way.Cao Cao may be able to work without any effort, but as long as he responds to Sun Shao's call and supports the emperor to mediate the war between Wu and Shu, this matter has actually been accomplished-Wu Shu does not have the strength to deal with Wei and Yue at the same time.

"The Son of Heaven is very grateful for Sun Shao's proposal. If you want to make him a great general, if your sister has not persuaded him with righteousness, I am afraid that the seal and ribbon of the great general will be given away."

Cao Zhang was taken aback, and subconsciously glanced at Cao Cao's expression.Of course he knew that the general is usually the queen's natal family. It is said that after his younger sister Cao Jie became the queen, Cao Cao should be the general. Procrastinate until now.If Sun Shao became a general, wouldn't that be a big slap in the face of Cao Cao?However, Cao Zhang thought about it again, and he couldn't help but feel a little surprised: "Father, the general rank is higher than Sangong, so he must go to Beijing to serve, and Sun Shao will go to Luoyang to be the general?"

"Mr. Yang has already thought of this idea. Taking Zhang Wen as an example, he thinks that the general can also make exceptions."

Cao Zhang raised his head in surprise. Although he didn't understand the deep meaning of it all at once, he knew that Yang Biao's decision was definitely not a simple decision, and there must be other intentions behind it.Cao Cao glanced at him and said with a smile: "If Sun Shao becomes a general, Yang Xiu will probably not be far from the position of Sangong."

Cao Zhang suddenly realized, and then frowned.Yang Xiu, as Cao Zhi's long history, has been in Hanzhong. Since Cao Zhi's stunning battle in Berkshire, he has not done any satisfactory actions, and has become increasingly mediocre.Cao Cao was already a little disappointed with him, and refocused on Cao Pi. Cao Pi served as the deputy prime minister last year. During this time, he worked diligently and achieved very good results.Prime Minister Zhong Yao is old, and once he dies, Cao Pi will become a legitimate prime minister and hold the power of Wei State.In contrast, Cao Zhi's performance was much worse.At this time, if Yang Biao won the position of general for Sun Shao, then Sun Shao reciprocated and would definitely introduce Yang Xiu into the court.As soon as Yang Xiu stayed away, Cao Zhi might have no chance.

"So that's the case, that can't make them too happy."

"Yes." Cao Cao nodded, "Then what can you do?"

"I feel that it was expedient for Zhang Wen to serve as the Taiwei when he used troops in Xiliang. Now that the Han Dynasty is not in trouble in the West, and the King of Yue has conquered Funan, it makes no sense to take the position of a general. If he wants to General, let him go to Luoyang."

"Hahaha..." Cao Cao laughed loudly, the reason was very legitimate, and with Wei's strength, if he objected, the emperor would not dare to force it.Cao Cao smiled and said to Cao Zhang: "Aren't you afraid that Sun Shao will be dissatisfied with you?"

"What am I afraid of him doing?" Cao Zhang curled his lips disapprovingly, then frowned and said, "It's just that, it's impossible for my father to be a great general."

"I don't want to be a general." Cao Cao waved his hand: "I'm old, and I just want to spend the rest of my year in Yecheng, and I don't want to get involved in those right and wrong anymore. Sun Shao and you are of the same generation. If you want to fight him, you have to fight him." Go fight, I don't want to bully him."

Cao Zhang smiled, but didn't dare to say anything, thinking that Zhu Zi is very insidious, you can't beat him, how can we be his opponent.He thought for a while, and then said: "Since the father has no intention of doing this, and the elder brother is the prime minister, it is not appropriate to go far away, then it is better to let Zijian go."

"Zijian?" Cao Cao turned his head to look at him: "Do you think he is suitable?"

"I think he is suitable." Cao Zhang nodded affirmatively: "Although he and Sun Shao have not met, they have been friends for a long time. Coupled with Yang Xiu's mediation, the matter will definitely be resolved properly."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, but still shook his head: "I think it's better to let you go than to let him go."

"Me?" Cao Zhang was dumbfounded, and after a while, he shook his head again and again and said, "I don't want to be a general. If my father thinks that I still have some military skills, why don't you let me be the general of Wei State? I am willing to ride Wanqi across the desert..."

"If you become a general in Luoyang, you won't be able to cross the desert?" Cao Cao curled his lips with disdain in his eyes: "Zhuzi, I just praised you a few times, and then I showed my true colors again."

Cao Zhang rolled his eyes and was very speechless.

"Be a general, and go to mediate the matter of Wu and Shu on behalf of the emperor, and then mention the matter of Wei and Shu's joint western expedition." Cao Cao waved his hand, and said indiscriminately: "Combine the power of Wei and Shu, and then ask the emperor to issue an edict to the Yue Kingdom to support and win the war." The Western Regions is not impossible. Although Zijian is capable of fighting, in terms of combat, he can only be a general under your command at best."

Cao Zhang was embarrassed and didn't know what to say.But when he thought of the possibility that he might lead the combined army of Wei and Shu to conquer Xiliang or even the Western Regions, he couldn't help but feel excited.He hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Can Sun Shao agree?"

"He wants the old man to assist the emperor in mediating, so he must give the old man some benefits." Cao Cao blinked domineeringly and sneered.After a while, he murmured again: "Unfortunately, this old man is getting old, otherwise, I would really be reluctant to give up this opportunity of the Western Expedition to you."

Cao Zhang couldn't help feeling a little sad. He looked at Cao Cao's snow-like hair and sighed secretly, his father is really old.

……

Holding Yu Ruyi in both hands, Zhuge Liang looked at the letter on the case, then at Zong Yu who was sitting opposite, and smiled: "It seems that King Yue knows your identity."

Zong Yu smiled silently: "The King of Yue is very scheming. He knows my official career very clearly. It is not difficult to guess the relationship. However, from my point of view, he has a good understanding of the relationship between General Guan, General Zhang and the king. relationship is also very clear.”

"He is a smart man, how could he not know everyone's temperament?" Zhuge Liang put down Yu Ruyi and opened a brocade box on the case, which was a gift from Sun Shaotuo Zongyu.There is only one ivory book knife in the brocade box, and nothing else. The handle of this ivory book knife is carved into a dragon head, and thin dragon scales are carved on the handle. Although it does not look gorgeous, the ivory Gentle and lovely, simple in style and exquisite in carving, it is first-class craftsmanship at first glance.

Zhuge Liang fell in love with it at first sight.If Sun Shao gave him gold, silver and jewelry, maybe he might not like it, but this book knife is just right for him.He looked over and over again, and praised: "Good knife."

"Has the prime minister seen what iron this is?" Zong Yu said suddenly.

"Iron?" Zhuge Liang was a little surprised. The book knife is used to cut book ropes and cut envelopes. It doesn't need to be too sharp. What special good iron is needed?

"This is Tianzhu iron. In Zhuya, this is called iron." Zong Yu took a step forward, pointed to the pattern on the knife body and said, "Please look, Prime Minister, this iron pattern is quite strange, like a dark flower. It is made of Tianzhu iron." The weapon is very sharp, and it is hard to find a knife. Every time a knife appears in the market, it is immediately collected by people. The king of Yue said that this book knife was specially customized for the prime minister. I am afraid that it is impossible to find a book knife made of this kind of iron. Get the second one."

Zhuge Liang froze, and scratched the envelope lightly with a knife in disbelief, the envelope was torn apart soundlessly, and there was a clear knife mark on the dull surface. "Sure enough." Zhuge Liang nodded again and again, carefully put the knife back into the sheath, inserted it into the belt carefully, touched it again, and then pulled out the letter and began to read.

Sun Shao's letter was very simple and straightforward. He told Zhuge Liang that Guan Yu was getting old, and it might be impossible for him to change his temper.He didn't want Guan Yu to be defeated by Wu Jun, nor did he want them to fight any longer.He would write letters to persuade Guan Yu, hoping that Zhuge Liang would give him some kindness and be patient.In order to repay Zhuge Liang, he was willing to assist Zhuge Liang in pacifying Yizhou.After conquering Funan, he had more than tens of thousands of Funan soldiers under his command. Most of these people were skilled in jungle warfare. If they enter Yizhou to suppress the rebellion, they will definitely get twice the result with half the effort.After pacifying Yizhou, Zhuge Liang had military exploits and opened up the trade route to Tianzhu, which was of great benefit to the people's livelihood in Yizhou.

Zhuge Liang read it word by word, and finally put down the case slowly, picked up Yu Ruyi again, remained silent for a while, and said, "How did he convince General Guan?"

"I don't know." Zong Yu shook his head, "But from his tone of voice and Queen Guan Feng's safety, it seems that he is sure to resolve the conflict between General Guan and everyone."

"Playing with mystery." The corner of Zhuge Liang's mouth twitched, feeling a little helpless.He now knew that the reason why Guan Yu had a lot of opinions on him and picked on him everywhere was because Sun Shao had drugged him.But it was useless for him to know, Guan Yu was so arrogant that even Liu Bei contradicted him, and he didn't give him a chance to explain, besides, he would not take the initiative to explain to Guan Yu.If anyone can persuade Guan Yu, Sun Shao is probably the only one in the world.Sun Shao sent money to send horses, and he was too kind to Guan Feng. These years of military exploits and exploits have given Guan Yu the capital to be proud of him, both materially and spiritually.Of course, under the cover of such a great general as Guan Yu, the merchants from the Yue Kingdom were also at ease in the Shu Kingdom, and everything went well. In turn, these merchants gave Guan Yu more benefits.Although Guan Yu is just a county lord, among all the nobles in Shu, probably only Liu Bei, the king of Shu, is more powerful than Guan Yu.

Zhuge Liang knew that with Guan Yu's military exploits, Liu Bei's relationship with the monarch and his ministers, and a powerful foreign aid like Sun Shao, it was almost delusional for him to counter pressure Guan Yu.He was doomed to wait patiently for Guan Yu to die of old age under Guan Yu's shadow.For a person like him who does not seek wealth, but seeks an opportunity to display his ambitions, such days are destined to be painful.

Now that Sun Shao sent him an opportunity, he had no reason not to accept it, otherwise if Sun Shao and Guan Yu joined forces, he would have no power to fight back at all, not to mention his younger brother Zhuge Jun was still in Sun Shao's hands.He wouldn't believe that Sun Shao would not be able to find out Zhuge Jun's role in it. Sun Shao's killing Zhuge Jun could be said to be as easy as pinching an ant.

Of course, the conditions proposed by Sun Shao are indeed very attractive. As long as they can cooperate, he can win Yizhou County and make contributions, his brother Zhuge is safe and sound, and his elder brother Zhugejin can also be the prime minister of Wu.Thinking that the two brothers are the prime ministers of Wu and Shu respectively, Zhuge Liang was a little excited, besides the excitement, he was also eager to try.Perhaps, this would be an opportunity to test his and his brother's abilities.

"Peace talks are possible. Let Wu Guo agree to send Zhang Yi back and promise that such things will never happen again." Zhuge Liang said, "Deyan, you can go back to Jiangling. I will talk to the king. I don't think there will be any. Too much difficulty."

"Here." Zong Yu agreed, and said curiously: "Prime Minister, do you also believe that King Yue can explain General Guan?"

"Let's just believe it, anyway, except for him, no one can say that he is our great general." Zhuge Liang smiled: "Compared with this, it is actually more difficult for him to make Wu Guoxian retreat. Don't hurt our general's face."

　I’ve been very busy recently, working during the day, listening to a bunch of half-understanding birdsong, reading a bunch of half-understanding materials, I don’t even have time to think about the plot, everything is conceived and coded at night, far worse than the previous paragraph Take your time.

　　I am a peace lover internally. I don't want the four kingdoms of Wei, Shu, Wu and Yue to go to war. The big man needs to recuperate, so Sun Shao has been implementing my policy, unswervingly drawing the disaster to the outside, fighting outside and not fighting inside. After China's internal strife, it will soon advance both land and water, heading west!west!
　　Strange to say, it seems that not only the East was in chaos at that time, but the West was also in chaos. Lao Zhuang tried his best to show the world structure around 220 AD, and hope everyone will be patient.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)