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

"When the Han Dynasty arose, although there were three other heroes, this was only one of them. This was because Emperor Gaozu made the 'Three Articles of Agreement' when he entered Xianyang. This move won the hearts of the people of the world, so why worry about injustice in the world?"

"Therefore, I have a saying: He who wins the hearts of the people can win the world."

"..."

interesting.

Chen Xu was stunned for three seconds before chuckling leisurely. "...I do understand Xuande's ambition. As the saying goes, a latent dragon wanders about, only to emerge as a true dragon when encountering wind and rain. Well, if that's the case, I'm willing to accompany you on your outing in two days."

Now that she knew Xuande's intentions, she had her own way to test Xuande's depth.

"?"

Gongsun Zan didn't understand what they were talking about at first, but when he heard this, he quickly said, "I, I, I am willing to go with you."

"No, you can't come with me."

Chen Xu turned his head and glanced at the dwarf. When he saw his angry look, he said softly:

"After we leave Luoyang, you will immediately set off back to Liaoxi. I have prepared three tips for you. If you follow the instructions, you will become the head of the Gongsun family within a few years."

Chen Xu stuffed the three brocade bags he had prepared long ago into Gongsun Zan's hands, then turned to Cao Bin and said:

"Xu has understood it in his heart. I would like to thank Miss Cao for telling me about today's events. In return, I would like to tell you something."

"What's the matter?"

Cao Bin was actually frightened by Chen Xu who was in a serious state.

"Jian Shuo is still alive. If Xu's inference is correct, the 'reward' that His Majesty will bestow upon me later will probably be a promotion in name only, a demotion in reality, and a transfer out of Luoyang. You should make preparations in advance.

Besides, at this point in time, we can arrange for Death Thorn to enter the Jian family to investigate, and perhaps we will find something else."

Crying, you have been touching the fish for two days, and now you are finally starting to make an effort, Jia Xu.

After listening to Chen Xu's arrangements, Liu Bei smiled and said, "Everyone, do as she says. As for Meng De, I will explain everything myself."

There are two most frightening people in the world. One is an honest person who gets angry, and the other is a serious slacker.

The former can cause bloodshed when angry, while the latter can cause chaos in the world when serious.

No matter how well Jia Xu hid his true intentions, when the time, place and people came together, he could not help but feel itchy.

(The following is the author's words)

I was so carried away, how did I get to chapter 68?

Chapter 67: Let's take a bath together, Xuande

into the night.

Cao Cao had finished his official duties for the day and was about to report the progress to the newly appointed Luoyang magistrate when a eunuch came from afar behind him.

He handed the imperial edict to Cao Cao, and then left, presumably to deliver the edict to other people.

Cao Cao ignored all this, opened the imperial edict in his hand and frowned.

After ignoring the empty words like "Your Majesty is wise" and "Long Live the Yan and Han Dynasties", this is actually a personnel transfer list.

Sima Fang, the former Luoyang prefect, had done nothing wrong during his tenure and had made considerable political achievements, so he was transferred to be the Jingzhao Yin... My goodness, this old man just announced his resignation and returned home in tears in the afternoon, and in the blink of an eye, his resignation turned into a transfer?

funny.

This was clearly the condition agreed upon at the beginning. The purpose was probably to deliberately let Sima Fang frame his subordinates in the name of "resigning and returning home", so that Jian Siyuan could safely transfer troops into the palace.

As for why Cao Cao was kicked out...I'm afraid this was also a method of betting between the two sides designed in advance by the old fox Sima Fang.

If the one inside the palace wins, it means he has made a contribution; if the one outside the palace wins, it means he deliberately let Cao Cao go.

"This old fox."

Cao Cao shook his head, then looked down. When he saw his name, his face changed instantly.

He didn't even think about resigning at the moment and rode back to Cao's house at full speed.

After handing the horse reins to the servant at the door, she hurried to the inner palace. When she looked up, she saw her sister and Xuande standing in the corridor, wondering what they were doing.

The former had a blushing face and disheveled clothes, but his eyes were full of affection... The latter had a calm expression, and when he saw her coming, he greeted her very naturally.

"You're back so early, Meng De."

He still spoke in the typical Young Master's tone, but Cao Cao tightly gripped the bamboo slips in his hand and angrily asked, "What were you guys doing just now?"

"Sister, I just..."

"We are waiting for you to come back."

Liu Bei chuckled and continued, "Because I have something to discuss with you as soon as possible, and your sister feels that as the host, it is her duty to accompany the guests, so we will wait for you together."

"is it?"

Cao Cao was still a little suspicious, but in the end he just glared at his sister and handed over the imperial edict in his hand: "Well, the current situation is more urgent, you guys take a quick look."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei and Cao Bin leaned over at the same time to look, their faces almost touching each other, but they didn't show any shy reaction.

Humph.

Cao Cao made a dissatisfied sound from his throat, but he did not make a fuss or beat his own sister. Instead, he put the overall situation first and remained calm.

Of course, they will definitely come to settle the score afterwards.

Liu Bei frowned as he read the record about Cao Cao, somewhat surprised: "Appointed as a county magistrate for his merits... Wait, where is Dunqiu County?"

"No matter where it is, this means I've been transferred away from Luoyang... What's with that look on your face?"

Cao Bin covered his mouth and said in surprise: "Mr. Wenhe, you are actually right..."

"what for?"

Cao Cao frowned.

"Before my sister came back, Mr. Wenhe said that Jian Shuo was still in the court, so your reward is likely to be a promotion in name only, a demotion in reality. You should prepare early..."

"Oh? Does she have any insights?"

"She... Mr. Wenhe, gave me a lucky bag and said that if you return with an imperial decree in a bad mood, she will give it to you..."

Cao Bin tremblingly took out the brocade bag from his bosom and handed it to Cao Cao, who had a face full of suspicion.

"Xuan De, your 'cousin' doesn't seem to be an ordinary person."

Cao Cao deliberately emphasized the tone of this title, but was too lazy to expose it directly, so he just made a slight joke.

"It's really not simple. This means that the fox's belly might not be black, but pink..."

"what are you saying?"

"Well, nothing, just thought of something interesting."

Liu Bei pretended to be in deep thought.

After experiencing the bloody battle in the afternoon, the turtle seemed to have changed his mind and even took the initiative to propose a plan... For now, this is indeed a good thing.

He certainly has no shortage of thugs and scholars around him, but what he seriously lacks is strategists with a sense of the overall situation.

These strategists basically come from aristocratic families, and most of them choose to work as their own family's staff. It will not be until a major chaos in the future that most strategists will join the army of a powerful leader.

As for the current situation, these counselors are either developing in the wild or serving as officials in the court but are unsuccessful.

Jia Xu is a complex character among them.

The Jia family of Wuwei in Liangzhou, whose ancestor is Jia Yi who wrote "On the Qin Dynasty", and today, Jia Xu's grandfather was the governor of Yanzhou, and his father was the general of light cavalry of the current dynasty.

Because of this background, and the fact that Jia Xu was indeed an extraordinary person, her fate was sealed when she was young, and she entered the court as a palace official at an early age.

But it didn't take long before he discovered that the capital was a very complicated place, like ripples in the water, and it had its own set of rules.

Fearing that he would be affected, Jia Xu ran away overnight, resigned from his post and returned home... But he still couldn't stand the impatience in his heart, so he ran to Luoyang to see the situation.

As a result, he noticed Liu Bei.

Just as Lü Buwei thought that Ying Zheng was a "rare treasure" when he discovered him in Zhao State, Jia Xu also thought that Liu Bei was a "rare treasure" worthy of being kept.

He had a similar appearance and temperament to Emperor Gaozu, and even his words and deeds as recorded in the classics were similar, which was fine...but it didn't take him long to win the hearts of Gongsun Zan and Cao Cao for a poor boy from Zhuo County.

Jia Xu thought that even without relying on his own conspiracies and tricks, as long as this kid entered the officialdom, he would be able to easily convince the heroes of the world to work for him.

If this is true, whether the world is in chaos or not is just a matter of his words, right?

It would be better to surrender early and then use your own intelligence and talents to support it.

Why worry about injustice in the world?

Cao Cao ignored Liu Bei, who was lost in thought. He opened the brocade bag and looked at it. He immediately raised his eyebrows and said, "Resigning and returning home... using the Cao family's power to spread propaganda... what's the meaning of this?"

But she quickly came to her senses: "Cao has achieved such great success but was not rewarded. Instead, he was expelled from Luoyang. If other scholars knew about this, they would surely be indignant."

Liu Bei had the thinking of a modern person. After hearing this, the first thing he paid attention to was not the first part, but the "propaganda" at the end.

Public opinion is often more terrifying than real guns and swords.

Liu Bei warned in a deep voice, "More than that, Meng De previously enforced the law impartially in Luoyang and enjoyed considerable prestige among the scholars. If he were to return home at this age, claiming the court was unfair, and with the Cao family publicizing these matters... perhaps many righteous men would be willing to come and serve him."

The Cao family was already wealthy, but because they were descended from eunuchs, everyone in the family was obsessed with "washing their name", and the key to this was the recognition of these scholars.

This is undoubtedly a match made in heaven. Meng De can also build momentum in her hometown. If she can manipulate it properly, her name, Cao Mengde, may become famous all over the world.

"Wonderful."

Cao Cao's eyes flashed with realization, but he was not particularly excited. There was naturally no problem with the direction of this matter, but many details still needed to be discussed with the elders.

However, it is conceivable that if he really became famous through this method, then the elders would naturally not dare to refuse his proposal to marry Liu Bei.

Kill two birds with one stone.

Cao Cao chuckled as he took off his armor and handed it to his still-dazed sister. He said, "I've come back in a hurry. Please send someone to report to the new Luoyang magistrate later and ask for leave for me tomorrow."

After arranging this, she put her arms around Liu Bei quite forcefully, laughed loudly, and walked towards the bathroom.

"Xuan De, let's take a bath together."

"? I'm a man!"

"If you were a woman, I wouldn't shower with you."

"?"

Liu Bei looked at Cao Bin who was gradually walking away with a confused look on his face. Cao Bin gave her a forced smile and waved his hand stiffly to indicate that he had no objection.

Chapter 68: Cao Cao Wants a Good Meal (Watch and Cherish)

Although Cao Cao was born into a prominent family and looked like a graceful young lady, he was actually tough and domineering inside.

Since she had already made the decision, she naturally carried Liu Bei to the bathroom without saying anything and began to take off her clothes without any concealment.

Instead, Liu Bei closed his eyes obediently and said speechlessly: "Meng De, do you know the rules of propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame?"

"Humph, Cao is an upright person. He is always open and honest. There is nothing he cannot do to others, let alone in front of his sweetheart."

"But we've only known each other for less than two days..."

"So what?"

Cao Cao's voice came closer from far away. Liu Bei could feel the heavy weight without even opening his eyes. He immediately turned his head slightly:

"Meng De doesn't know the true nature of things, but only observes the appearance. What if he is deceived by me?"

"Then just lie. I'm willing to do it anyway."

Her tone was filled with indifference and unquestionableness. "Besides, Xuande may be good-looking, but I'm not a superficial person. Appearance is just one aspect of my personality."

Liu Bei thought for a moment and then asked, "If there are ten possible outcomes, how many points does appearance take up?"

"Ten... no, I meant five out of ten. No, it should be eight out of ten."

"???"

"That's all!"

“That’s not all.”

Cao Cao was already sitting on the chair, tying up his long hair while speaking righteously:

"Love at first sight existed in ancient times, and it's no exception today. I've never been in love before, nor have I lost my virginity, but I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. Isn't that okay?"