The Collection of The End

——AD 186——

Qingzhou, Beihai.

Cao Cao and his son Cao Ang were riding a carriage back to Jinan. There was another car behind them, and the Cai sisters were sitting in it.

The driver of his own car was Dian Wei. Originally, Xu Chu wanted to drive for the two sisters, but Cai Wan firmly refused, so he had to run behind the car. Thinking about it, once he sat there, it was probably heavier than the carriage itself... …

Cao Cao withdrew his gaze and continued to think about the overall situation in Qingzhou.

The theory that "Jiangzuo Meilin" was killed by the "Sword Master" has become quite credible since the "slain" has not appeared again for more than a year.

Even in Qingzhou, there would occasionally be remnants of the Taiping Dao gang who were unwilling to go to Julu to seek refuge with Zhang Jie, and were unwilling to return to ordinary life, claiming that they were disciples of "Meilin" and wanted to inherit their teacher's legacy.

At first, Cao Cao invited these people to talk with great interest, but how could these guys who just wanted to use their names to defraud tell the reason? It is just based on the time when "Merlin" became famous and her acting style that she is an "old woman with gray hair and a kind face".

After being laughed out loud several times, Cao Cao issued an order to the governor that whenever he saw such people in Qingzhou, he would be captured and sent to reclaim wasteland or build walls for new cities.

Oh, yes, of course, Cao Cao's current official position is [Qingzhou Governor]. This promotion order came out of the blue, and he didn't even ask for the customary "money donation". Probably because "that sword" was too unreasonable, and Cao Cao He had essentially completely controlled Qingzhou, and it was really unsightly for a princess to stay in a princely state, so the court simply gave him a "justifiable name" that did not cost anything. In this regard, the leader of Jinan Kingdom was happy to see it. become.

Cao Cao guessed that this was probably due to the emperor's deteriorating health. As the "Sword of the Emperor", the "Sword Master" could not leave Luoyang, so he had to take some tolerant measures. The evidence is that the kind clearly issued by the emperor, see The orders that look very decent but are still essentially about making money have gradually decreased. Most of them are to appease the governors of various states and powerful counties, as well as a few promotions and transfers that have no apparent effect for the time being.

In addition, the sword master's "sword" that day also caused some not-so-good effects.

For example, in addition to speculating on the battle between Wang Yue and Mei Lin, those rumors also came up with various reasons for Cai Yong's convoy being attacked. One of them said that the kidnapping of the princess was Cao Cao's plan to rebel. In order to avoid being settled by the imperial court, Cao Cao took away his father and teacher's family. At that time, Cao Cao disguised himself and hid at the scene.

This rumor almost made Cao Cao order a thorough investigation of the people who were traveling with him that day, but the "double" came back from a tour and reported that this was made up by a storyteller in a teahouse, and the reason why it reached the ears of the spies was because of that. The spy is absent from work drinking tea...

Another influence is more private. Everyone present that day saw that Mei Lin's appearance was quite similar to Cao Cao's "Mrs. Bian". However, the person who can make the judgment that "the two are similar" has a relationship with Cao Cao. Not far away, at least not far enough to see Mrs. Bian, such as Dian Wei, Xi Zhicai, etc.

Xi Zhicai, who always liked to ask questions, asked Cao Cao a bunch of unrelated questions. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief and walked away without explanation.

As for Bian Ling herself, she soon learned about this, but she was not worried for no other reason. Her child, Cao Cao's second son, Cao Pi, was born. Unlike the quiet eldest son Cao Ang, Cao Pi belonged to that group. Bian Ling was the type who cried when she was not satisfied. Bian Ling was so busy running around that she had no time to be jealous of the "fairy".

————

In addition to the negative effects of this trip to Luoyang, there are also positive effects.

First of all, due to his "fearlessness of power", Cao Cao's "reputation" has been greatly improved. Among those who are aspiring to show their ambitions,

But from the perspective of the poor people who don't want to go to Luoyang and fall into the imperial palace, the name Qingzhou Cao Mengde has already been included in their consideration list along with Liu Biao, Liu Dai, Liu Yan, Liu Yu and others.

Secondly, due to the addition of Cai Yong and Liu Nai, Cao Cao's "value" has also been greatly improved. The immediate effect is that the Cao family and Xiahou family in Qiao County sent many people, but their talents were not enough. Responsible for one side, he only performs auxiliary positions such as partial general, supporting general, chief minister, and engaged general.

In addition, the Xun family of Yingchuan, the Yang family of Hongnong, the Xu family of Luoyang, the Zhang family of Chenliu, the Yuan family of Runan and other high-ranking gentry who had friendship with Cao Cao also sent envoys, bringing some light greetings. This means roughly "We are paying attention to you. If you want actual support, we will make greater achievements." As for whether there are people who can only follow you secretly due to objective reasons, it is difficult to judge.

In the end, the local forces in Qingzhou surrendered. Originally, Qingzhou, Jinan and Beihai were vaguely fighting against each other. Liu Kang, the leader of Jinan, and Kong Rong, the governor of Beihai County, disliked each other. Apart from forming cliques and fighting, they were completely When the governor of Qingzhou no longer existed, and after Cao Cao, who was originally the prime minister of Jinan, was promoted to the governorship, all the opponents except Beihai Kong Rong directly switched sides.

In this regard, Cao Cao just took his sons Cao Ang and Cai Yan to the Confucius mansion in the name of a private visit, and gave his two children, Kong Ji and Kong Xisi, gifts that suited their preferences. Kong Rong He sighed deeply and changed his name to lord - after all, Cao Cao knew the preferences of his children who were only four or five years old and didn't go out all day long. Wouldn't it be easy to deal with him effectively?

In this regard, the "substitute" has been boasting all the way, and Cao Ang looked at the sky the whole time and pretended not to see it - by the way, Cao Pi couldn't see the "substitute", and it was useless to put it on his face.

Speaking of substitutes, after Wang Yue and Mei Lin fought against each other, the "substitutes" also experienced some changes. Although their words and deeds were no different from before, the originally cold lines between the eyebrows and eyes became slightly softer, and from time to time they encountered each other. When it comes time to claim oneself, one will hesitate for a moment.

For example, this sentence he just said: "Hahaha! When we went to Beihai, Ben Chu proposed to Yuan Jia and was rejected again. You didn't see his expression at that time. I laughed to death..."

Didn't he want to call himself "I"? That would be very dangerous. Cao Cao raised his eyebrows: If there is a suitable opportunity, it should be no problem to call him "Gu".

————

Although Yuan Shao successfully abducted "Princess Ten Thousand Years" Liu Nai from Luoyang, his marriage proposals were rejected several times.

Everyone in Qingzhou knew that this princess risked the disapproval of the world and left with Yuan Shao. It was impossible for her to marry anyone else except him, so they just thought that the two of them were having a bad temper and everyone was watching the joke.

Only Cao Cao knew that the key to their marriage was actually in his own hands.

As long as Emperor Ling still reigns for one day, Liu Nai's marriage to Yuan Shao is like "a princess recruiting a consort." Even if Emperor Ling dies and either Liu Bian or Liu Xie succeeds him, the situation will not change. Her identity It just changed from "princess" to "eldest princess".

Obviously, although the "Wushuang Awakening" has greatly improved the status of women, the custom of defining them by marriage has not changed much. If she really agrees to get married at this time, she will never be able to shake off the label of "Mrs. Yuan" Lost.

Only when Emperor Ling dies and the prince succeeds to the throne, Cao Cao uses some means to make Liu Nai one of the "heirs" - even if he fails to succeed in the end - then her marriage to Yuan Shao can be called " The queen accepts the prince's husband."

Therefore, no matter how much she likes Yuan Shao, this decision, which is related to the entire identity of the rest of her life, cannot be changed because of Yuan Shao's sincere attitude, deep affection, and obedience.

Just think of it as a training for the original, Cao Cao thought to himself, anyway, he is not a person who will give up. The longer he persists in this process, when the lovers finally get married, the relationship will also be better.

As for lovers... Cao Cao looked back, but due to the limited viewing angle, he could only see the escorting Qingzhou soldiers and heard the running sound of a fat man.

The little girl who used to always say "I like A Dian" is now thirteen years old and no longer talks about it. Recently, if I ask her who she likes again, she will slyly say "I like Lord Mengde" , when she heard this sentence for the first time, Zhenji picked up the harp that had been strengthened thirteen times and chased Cao Cao through three streets - and then she realized that she had been fooled.

For Cai Yan, who was like a sister and a daughter, Cao Cao and Cai Wan did not restrict her too much, and they never deliberately concealed the bad things in the world. Whenever she had doubts, they would give her fair and objective explanations.

Cao Cao and Cai Wan believed that she was wise enough to judge everything in the world, and they were responsible for providing sufficient force.

Although the alpaca mount she recently acquired also provides a lot of strength bonus.

Regarding this little princess from Qingzhou, major aristocratic families, while being optimistic about Cao Cao, also set their sights on her. Since she was still young, these aristocratic families basically selected some outstanding young people to come to "discuss marriage" with Cao Cao. "Engagement" still has to wait for Cai Wenji to get her hairpin.

Those who would go to Cao Cao were all smart people who were relatively familiar with Qingzhou's situation, but there were still families who were confused about the situation and went directly to Cai Yong, trying to follow his path.

It is said that there was a reckless steward of the Wei family who brought their young master here directly and refused to leave the place where Cai Yong taught after coming to Qingzhou. Then he was kicked out by Cai Wenji who went back to visit his old father—— Well, alpaca feet.

The strong steward fell to pieces, but nothing happened to the frail young master. According to the follow-up investigation by the "substitute", his body, which was originally prone to collapse when the wind blew, became Very healthy, and claimed to join the army.

Cao Cao and the "substitute" naturally knew very well who did this, but Cai Wenji obviously thought wrong. She felt that a little brother was secretly protecting her...

Now if someone asks her who she likes, she will answer without hesitation: "Zhao Yun!"