Liu Xuande would never be a succubus of the Eastern Han Dynasty!

"Zhou Yi of the Zhou family of Lujiang pays homage to the Northern Commander of Caobei."

"Oh... what a bunch of ignorant idiots! One day I will definitely kill them all... Oh..."

Cao Cao stopped talking before he finished speaking, turned his head to look at the newly appointed "chief", shrugged his shoulders, and said:

"Greetings? Ha, Luoyang Ling, you're joking. Well, everyone is waiting for you to take over, so go in quickly."

In terms of identity, Zhou Yi is the elder of the Zhou family, and in terms of official position, Zhou Yi is the future Luoyang magistrate, so there is no question of "paying a visit" or not.

Cao Cao was obviously disgusted by this set of rhetoric, so he bowed casually and was about to leave, but he heard a voice behind him.

"…Wasn't Lieutenant Cao Bei going with him?"

"As you can see, Cao is an ignorant child, unworthy of attending such a high-class banquet."

Cao Cao smiled, but beneath this smile lay a deep mockery and disdain.

She continued, "Besides, if you all go to host a welcome banquet for our Lord Luoyang, wouldn't that leave Luoyang City completely defenseless? Since I am the emperor's employee, I must enforce the law impartially. No more words, and I'll take my leave."

"..."

After saying this, Cao Cao turned around and left quite rudely without waiting for Zhou Yi to respond.

Seeing this, the latter hurriedly shouted: "My daughter's birthday is coming soon. The invitation has been sent to the Cao family. I hope Meng De can bring Xuan De to come..."

"Xuan De? Have you spoken to him?"

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, but quickly spread his hands and said, "I heard your daughter's name is 'Zhou Yu', right? Haha, I'll definitely reply when I get back. Farewell."

"..."

"Meng De and Xuan De, one stands apart from the crowd, the other possesses a divine presence. Haha... these two are truly fascinating. Well, the world is becoming increasingly chaotic these days, and a good ruler is probably hard to find. If Xuan De's character is decent, perhaps he could be chosen as a good husband for my daughter in advance."

Zhou Yi withdrew his gaze and looked into the inner room, but sighed again.

He knew that in the current officialdom, if one was leaving office through the normal process of resigning, rather than being charged with a crime, the subordinates would first hold a banquet together. Then, if the superior had friends and family present, another banquet would be held. Then, the superior would have to host a banquet for everyone alone...

Such an extremely complicated process would take from the middle of the year to the end of the year, and if Shangguan wanted to streamline it, it would take several months.

The elders who promoted you will have to come to your house with gifts to say goodbye, and the younger generations you promoted will also come to your house to give gifts and cry.

And your best brother wants to get drunk with you, and then your best brother's elders and the ones promoted by their families...

cough.

However, His Majesty's transfer order this time seemed very hasty, and there was no prior news, which was obviously abnormal.

This group of officials were basically promoted by the Sima family. They must have planned to "collectively skip work" under the pretext of a banquet to put an end to the heat of this parachuted-in official.

As for if something really went wrong in the area under their jurisdiction...

All he had to do was pay a fine and he would be acquitted, and he wouldn't even lose his official position.

At most, they would punish a few leaders just for show.

However, Sima Fang, that old fox, has always attached great importance to his reputation. How could he do such a cunning thing... Did he notice something?

Zhou Yi had not yet officially entered the Luoyang officialdom, but he had already felt tremendous pressure.

-

"...Sima Fang looks quite respectable. I didn't expect he likes to grow flowers. Hmm, these peach blossoms are quite nice."

Cao Cao walked straight towards the carriage. On the way, he saw some beautiful peach blossoms on the branches. Under the slightly displeased gaze of the Sima family servant, he forcibly broke them off and took them away.

"Xuan De, sorry for the wait."

Liu Bei had actually been looking over here the entire time, so he naturally saw Cao Cao's rude behavior and said with amusement:

"Since Meng De wants flowers, there are flowers everywhere. Why does he have to pick flowers from others?"

"I can't help it," Cao Cao said, glancing at him. "I've only known you for two days, and you haven't sent me any flowers to express your feelings. So I'm really jealous."

"Haha, I've seen Meng Desu has great ambitions, and I mistakenly thought that Meng Desu doesn't like the things that normal women like."

"I really can't say I liked it that much before I fucked."

Cao Cao shrugged without comment. After getting on the carriage, he casually pinned the peach blossom in Liu Bei's hair, and then said slowly:

"It's strange that after meeting Xuande, I suddenly realized the beauty of flowers."

"Oh…"

Liu Bei touched the flowers in his hair, his eyes slightly bright, and without much hesitation, he suddenly said, "If that's the case, then after a hundred years, we can choose a sea of flowers to be buried together."

"Don't give me that, it's so corny."

Cao Cao shook his head in amusement and denied:

"I just want to ride my cavalry and crush the foreign tribes, return home wrapped in my horse's hide... or die anywhere on the battlefield. But I don't think I have the leisure and elegance to do so in this sea of flowers."

"But that's what you think."

Liu Bei also laughed: "If I were to say, Meng De is the person in this world who is most worthy of this elegance and the one who is most worthy of owning flowers."

Cao Cao glanced at him sideways, remained silent for a long time, and then said: "If that is true, then I might have received the flowers yesterday."

"Oh? What kind of flower is it?"

"His name is Xuande."

"?"

Chapter 45: The Unpredictable Human Heart

Where did you learn these cheesy love words, Senior Sister Gongsun?

Liu Bei laughed awkwardly twice and said, "I am not a flower, and the flower is not me. If Meng De really likes me, I will send him off."

"Well, I will see you off myself."

Cao Cao was bad but not stupid. Although he was young, he was experienced. He naturally saw Liu Bei's embarrassment from his expression and immediately curled his lips.

"You are young and full of vigor. Cao has tempted you several times, but Xuande remains indifferent. Could it be that he thinks Cao is ugly?"

When she said this, she straightened her back deliberately, which made her look heavier and showed off her graceful figure to the fullest.

Those long legs fit tightly together, and no matter how you look at it, they are very suitable for "The King of Qin Walking Around the Pillar".

Now she pretends to be sad, but gives people the feeling of a melancholy older sister.

I want to bury it completely.

Liu Bei just looked up, then bowed his head politely and said in a deep voice:

"I'm neither a sage nor a fool, so naturally I have a love for beauty. But as the ancients said, 'A gentleman's emotions are based on propriety.' Furthermore, given the situation, is it possible that Meng De's mind is solely focused on matters of love and romance?"

These words immediately stunned Cao Cao.

The confusion in her eyes slowly faded away, and she sat up straight again, but she quietly put away the lust in her heart and sat upright.

That was close... If he had really been trapped in it, wouldn't Cao be no different from Jie and Zhou?

Cao Cao has always had great ambitions, and he knows that the word "love" is like an abyss. If he rashly falls into it, it is very likely that Liu Bei will forcibly invade his heart and turn him into a red weapon who only thinks about matters between men and women.

Fortunately, Liu Bei was not a treacherous person. What he wanted was a comrade-in-arms and wife who shared the same ideals as him, rather than firearms that were heavy in his arms but empty in his mind.

After Cao Cao figured this out, he slowly came to his senses, but there was still a hint of resentment in his tone:

"Xuan De's words are so cruel. With just a few words, he has tormented the girl's heart. It seems that Xuan De often bullies young girls."

"Girl? Where is the girl?"

Liu Bei glanced around mercilessly, then stopped at Cao Cao, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Oh~ Could Meng De be talking about me?"

"..."

"Smelly man."

Seeing he couldn't win the argument with Liu Bei, Cao Cao raised his hand and patted his thigh. He glanced at him and said, "It's cold, and my thighs are cold too. I wonder if Xuande could come forward and warm them up a bit."

"...Where did you learn this nonsense?" Liu Bei was silent for two seconds, then sighed, "Be more normal. You're the only one who came out since none of the others came out. There must be some twists and turns, right?"

Cao Cao teased her several times right from the start, which was obviously different from her usual confident appearance. She must have been upset in the inner room, so she wanted to "act coquettishly" to him to seek comfort.

It's a pity that Cao Cao's character is too strong. He has never acted coquettishly or cutely to anyone since he was a child. Now that he has a man, he wants to act coquettishly or cutely but because he doesn't know how to do it, it becomes seduction.

"...Xuan De really has a good eye."

Cao Cao's eyes moved slightly, and seeing that Liu Bei was unwilling to come forward, she took the initiative to move forward, put her cheek against his shoulder, and leaned against it gently.

The carriage was moving and the road was bumpy. Liu Bei subconsciously reached out his hand through the back of Cao Cao's neck and supported her chin with his palm to prevent her head from bumping.

"Nothing much. It's just that those idiots heard that the Luoyang Magistrate was going to step down, so they started crying and talking about holding a banquet... I was annoyed by what I heard, so I just cursed them a bit."

Cao Cao even had the leisure to laugh at this moment: "Later, you know, I was kicked out."

"Luoyang Magistrate resigns?"

Liu Bei frowned slightly. He didn't have a deep understanding of this historical episode. After all, most people focused on the period from the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the Three Kingdoms period. As for the period before that, there were very few records.

But, I always feel that things are not that simple...

Seeing him lost in thought, Cao Cao continued, "Perhaps Xuande has already figured it out. Yes, it seems that Your Majesty is behind this incident."

Liu Bei's frown deepened. "That Zhou Yi just now clearly came from somewhere else. Could it be that he's here to take over... But that doesn't make sense. If Your Majesty really wants to clean up the aristocratic families, he wouldn't trade one for another, would he?"

It is true that the Sima family is a powerful and aristocratic family, but the Zhou family that was replaced is also a famous and prominent family. If Your Majesty wants to deal with the aristocratic family, you should place a eunuch in office... preferably a relative of Jian Shuo.

In this way, even if the matter is exposed or fails, Your Majesty can hand over Jian Shuo in time to appease the anger of the aristocratic families.

"That's possible."

Cao Cao knew that Liu Bei had little intelligence and could not make an accurate assessment of the situation, so he immediately added:

"These officials were basically promoted by the Sima family. Seeing their 'master' suddenly forced to resign, and a new leader from outside the area suddenly appear, what do you think they will do?"

A word to wake up the dreamer.

Liu Bei immediately showed a look of realization: "Could it be that Your Majesty... is deliberately pitting the Zhou and Sima families against each other, waiting for both to suffer losses?"

This is the most basic tactic, which can be summarized in one sentence: If you want to eliminate a group without using force, you only need to use one side to fight the other.

The most classic and oldest example - Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors.

"Of course, if even an outsider like Cao could easily see it, how could Sima Fang and Zhou Yi, who have been in officialdom for so many years, not recognize it?"

Yes.

As the elders of the Sima and Zhou families, even if they were unable to figure out the pros and cons for a while, when they returned home there would naturally be counselors and think tanks who would step forward to answer their questions and even offer countermeasures.

The ancients were just born early, not stupid.

Human beings began to scheme against each other as early as ancient times, and this continued until the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period... After the Qin and Han Dynasties, everyone is now more ruthless than the other.

The royal family has the art of controlling people, and the aristocratic families also have the art of controlling their superiors.

Liu Bei suddenly thought of something and said to Cao Cao, "Could it be related to the Jian family?"

"Oh? Why does Xuande say that?"

Liu Bei's expression was strange at this moment. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "I just combined the existing intelligence and deduced it from the results, but there is still a lack of substantial evidence."

"That's fine. You can speak freely in front of me."

"The Jian family seized control of military affairs yesterday, and now they've replaced the garrison officers. Then there's the sudden replacement of the Luoyang commander... causing all the defense officials to remain here. Is this the goal itself, rather than the prelude to further trouble?"

Cao Cao's expression became uglier as Liu Bei spoke. She grew up in a noble family, so naturally she always looked at things from a global perspective, but now she was fooled.

in this case……

She exclaimed: "What on earth do the Jian family want to do?!"

Chapter 46: Dilemma and Solution

The day was long and there was a sense of silence inside the carriage.

Liu Bei and Cao Cao were obviously thinking of something, their faces looked unhappy, and their eyes were full of surprise and doubt.

But in contrast, there were constant footsteps and screams from many people on the street outside...it was a mess.

Cao Cao was already in a bad mood, and now his brows furrowed even more. He poked his head out from behind and asked the groom in front of him, "It's not time for the market to open yet, is it? Did something happen up there?"

She already had some vague guesses in her mind, but unless she saw it with her own eyes, she still couldn't believe that the Jian family would be so bold.