In Chenliu Commandery, within the yamen.
After finishing the daily paperwork for Yan Province, Cao Cao was chatting with Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan.
"Now that our grain and provisions are abundant, the people's hearts are stable, and the morale of the three armies is high, our situation in Yan Province is gradually improving. Haha…"
Cao Cao chuckled with great satisfaction.
Cao Ren nodded in agreement, saying with a smile, "Indeed, Big Brother has initially accomplished Lu Yu's concept of 'cultivating land to accumulate military resources.' By the way, Big Brother… yesterday our Mojin Xiaowei dug up a Marquis's tomb, which was incredibly rich… we've made a lot of money again!"
Incredibly rich! Made money again?
For some reason, upon hearing such news, Cao Cao's heart no longer stirred. He had grown accustomed to it!
If one didn't do it, who would know that this thing really brought in money quickly!
Cao Cao simply changed the subject. "What has Lu Yu been doing recently? Is he still forging those tomb-robbing tools?"
Cao Cao had known about the Xinglong Camp's construction of a forging workshop from early on.
After all, with Zhu Yu at the forefront, Yu'er had brought him too many surprises…
Cao Cao had figured it out: as long as Yu'er was invested in, he could often obtain tenfold, even hundredfold returns.
Therefore, Cao Cao strongly supported the forging workshop.
As for the procurement of high-quality refined iron, he immediately sent people to deliver it to the Xinglong Camp.
"Lu Yu that kid recently…" Xiahou Yuan suddenly remembered something. "He had the soldiers of his Xinglong Camp bring their families to Yan Province. Especially Wen Lie (Cao Xiu), Lu Yu asked him to bring his elderly mother all the way from Wudi!"
Ho…
This is an act of "benevolence"! Cao Cao's eyes darted. Although Yu'er was physically weak and not adept at commanding armies, he had a firm grasp on the hearts of the soldiers. Bringing their families meant that his armored soldiers would have no worries about their rear and would be even more loyal to him.
Good, very good! Cao Cao praised himself inwardly.
Wait a moment…
Suddenly, Cao Cao thought of something.
From this, Lu Yu knew to bring the parents of the armored soldiers. Why hadn't he, Cao Cao, thought of it?
Now that the people's hearts in Yan Province were stable and the soldiers and provisions were sufficient, it was time to bring his father, Cao Song, over. And his good brother, Cao De.
Hiss…
As soon as this thought appeared, for a moment, Cao Cao intensely missed his father and brother…
Father Cao Song was a strict father who had been very demanding of Cao Cao since childhood, but… deep down, he still cared for Cao Cao. If not for this old father, the young, "reckless" Cao Cao, whose talent was maxed out, would have likely perished long ago!
As for his younger brother, Cao De, Cao Cao was also grateful to him. It could be said that… Cao De's birth had diverted the strict father's attention from Cao Cao, allowing him to feel as if he had been "released like a hawk"…
Of course, there was a small interlude in between. To this day, Cao Cao could not forget that when he committed murder in his youth, he was severely beaten by his father.
His stepmother, Madam Zou, had secretly and earnestly advised him, "A'man, you must persuade your father to have another child. That way… he won't have time to beat you anymore."
At that time, Cao Cao found this advice quite reasonable, but… thinking about it now… it was all a well-laid trap.
However, trap or not, Cao Cao truly, sincerely missed his father, brother, and stepmother… those relatives…
"My father is still in Langya Commandery, Xuzhou…" Cao Cao sighed meaningfully. "It's time to bring him to Yan Province to enjoy his twilight years."
Cao Cao's eyes turned to Xiahou Yuan. "I will immediately write a letter. Miaocai, you are fast. Personally deliver it to Father and ask him to come to Yan Province… just say…"
At this point, Cao Cao's tone faltered slightly. "Just say, 'Your son misses you'!"
The moment these words were spoken… even Xiahou Yuan's heart was stirred.
Speaking of which, among Cao Cao's many cousins, he, Xiahou Yuan, was the closest to Old Master Cao.
This was still due to the murder committed by Cao Cao in the past…
Xiahou Yuan took the blame for Cao Cao and went to prison. It was from that time that Cao Song and Xiahou Yuan became almost like family!
Even later, during the marriage alliance with the Ding family, wealthy merchants from Luoyang, Cao Song took the lead, with Cao Cao marrying the eldest daughter of the Ding family, Ding Hui, and Xiahou Yuan marrying the younger daughter, Ding Xiang, thus strengthening the family ties!
It was no exaggeration to say that Cao Song's affection for Xiahou Yuan was like that of a father and son!
Hearing his elder brother wanted to bring the old gentleman over, Xiahou Yuan was naturally overjoyed. "Big Brother, why don't I directly lead a troop to Langya Commandery, Xuzhou, to escort the Old Master to Yan Province?"
Xiahou Yuan was anxious. He wished he could bring the Old Master over sooner, but… the crucial problem wasn't here.
"Miaocai, this time you can only go to Langya Commandery alone!" Cao Cao waved his hand and said earnestly, "Xuzhou is not our territory. If we bring troops there, it would be tantamount to declaring war on Tao Qian, the Governor of Xuzhou."
"Moreover, officially, we belong to different factions from Tao Qian. If we bring troops… it's likely not just Tao Qian, but Yuan Shu's forces from Nanyang will also become restless…"
"Yan Province's overall strategy is still focused on 'cultivating land to accumulate military resources.' We cannot provoke unnecessary trouble!"
Cao Cao's grasp of the overall situation was extremely precise…
The entire world, nominally, was divided into three major forces: the Xiliang warlords led by Li Jue and Guo Si;
The 'plastic brotherhood alliance' led by Yuan Shao, with Cao Cao and Liu Biao as subordinates;
And the 'scheming alliance' led by Yuan Shu, with Sun Ce, Gongsun Zan, and Tao Qian as subordinates!
If Cao Cao dared to dispatch troops to Langya Commandery in Xuzhou, then… not to mention whether Tao Qian would resist, but Yuan Shu alone would definitely launch a fierce counterattack.
This fellow couldn't wait to stir up the waters in the Central Plains even more turbulently!
Seeing Xiahou Yuan furrow his brow, Cao Cao patted his shoulder.
"Miaocai, don't worry… although Tao Qian's faction is different from ours, he has always adhered to the principle of 'I don't offend others, and others don't offend me.' If Father returns, he certainly won't obstruct, and might even send escorts along the way to do us a favor!"
"Big Brother's consideration is indeed thorough." Xiahou Yuan cupped his hands in acknowledgment… "Then I will depart tonight…"
"Miaocai, I trouble you!" Cao Cao patted his shoulder one last time… and watched Xiahou Yuan leave the yamen.
Lu Yu's matters had been discussed, and his father's affairs had been arranged properly. Next…
Cao Cao thought of another matter, or rather, he thought of a person – Bian Rang!
That's right, it was this "great ranter," "famous scholar of Yan Province," and "soon-to-be dried bone in a cup."
Cao Cao was a man who held grudges. He wondered if this guy had reached Chang'an yet? Had Li Jue and Guo Si killed him?
With this thought, Cao Cao asked loudly, "Zixiao, do you know where our envoy to Chang'an has reached… have they arrived in Chang'an?"
This…
Cao Ren's eyes darted. By rights, they should have arrived in three months. But the key problem was that the journey was not easy. The official roads were dilapidated due to years of disrepair, which was secondary. There were bandits and vagrants everywhere… making it necessary to be extremely cautious when traveling.
According to recent intelligence… it seems…
"Big Brother, it seems they have just reached the region of Henei, which is the territory of the Prefect of Henei, Zhang Yang…"
Hmm? Zhang Yang?
Cao Cao recalled such a person… He was once a subordinate of General-in-Chief He Jin, and Cao Cao had served in the same court with him.
Speaking of which, although this fellow was burly, he wasn't malicious at heart, so it was unlikely he would obstruct them!
With this thought, Cao Cao nodded… "They have already reached Henei. Then… it should be another month to reach Chang'an…"
What Cao Cao wanted to say inwardly was, Bian Rang, oh Bian Rang, you were quite pleased when you scolded my son back then, weren't you? Your death is only half a month away!
However… this time, Cao Cao was mistaken.
This "great ranter," Bian Rang, had already perished, and he had perished completely, and it had just happened!
What made Cao Cao even more unexpected was that a grand conspiracy was already unfolding.
The saying goes – heroes contend, and the Central Plains is the chessboard!
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