Chapter 213 Great Talents Join Cao, the Two Tigers of Yanzhou [Subscribe]

[Zhong Yao, courtesy name Yuanchang, was from the Zhong clan of Yingchuan, Yuzhou]

[He was an important official of Cao Wei in history, a talented person in the world who should be used but not killed]

Later generations knew Zhong Yao mostly because of his calligraphy.

His calligraphy was learned from Cao Xi, Cai Yong and Liu Desheng, and he absorbed influences from many schools and developed his own style.

He is good at official script, regular script and running script. He has a thorough study of the structure of calligraphy. His calligraphy is clever, delicate, dense and profound, natural and unpretentious, and is praised as the best in the history of calligraphy.

His regular script has been regarded as a model by generations and has the reputation of being the "ancestor of regular script."

Zhong Yao and Wang Xizhi are collectively known as "Zhong Wang".

He was born into a family of filial and honest officials, and served as Shangshu Lang and Huangmen Lang.

In history, he assisted the emperor in returning to Luoyang, mediated the situation, and was deeply trusted by Cao Cao.

After he joined Cao's camp, he made outstanding contributions and was appointed as the Grand Commandant, the first of the Three Dukes. He was then promoted to Grand Tutor and was allowed to enjoy the Cao Wei Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Zhong Yao is only in his early forties this year. He wears a reddish-brown official robe, has a wealthy face, and his eyes are restrained, seemingly without a sharp edge.

There is a strong cultural aura about him, which makes his every move seem inexplicably comfortable.

In Cao Cao's eyes, he could see a kind of luck in Zhong Yao that was a gathering of cultural heritage. It was dark yellow in color and very heavy.

"Yao meets the governor!"

Zhong Yao entered the study and saluted Cao Cao.

It was Xun Yu who recommended him and brought him into contact with Cao Ying.

No one could persuade a man of his level of talent, so Xun Yu personally came forward and exchanged letters with him.

Cao Cao himself also sent letters to him many times.

Zhong Yao initially only agreed to assist Cao Cao, rather than join his camp.

But once you get on that pirate ship, you can't get off.

Xun Yu, Cao Cao, and Cai Yong took turns to communicate with him through letters.

Not only do they discuss current affairs, but they also pass on poetry and explore calligraphy experiences.

Zhong Yao had amazing attainments in calligraphy. He had his own set of criteria for judging people, judging them by their handwriting.

He admired Cao Cao's cursive script and Cai Yong's flying white style very much, and gradually developed a sense of belonging to Cao's camp.

The two had never met before.

But we have exchanged letters many times and we are not strangers.

Zhong Yao came in and was also looking at Cao Cao, the Yanzhou lord who had long been famous throughout the world.

Zhong Yao's attainments in calligraphy have some meaning of using calligraphy to enter the Tao.

He could vaguely sense Cao Cao's aura, majestic and magnificent. Just sitting there, he was closely connected to the world. His face was stern, and his eyes were as sharp as penetrating people's hearts.

When Zhong Yao saw Cao Cao, he was not as reserved as the others and said calmly:
"You sent a message asking me not to go to court today. When the emperor's order was delivered, I claimed to be ill and did not go. Later I found out that you, the governor, were really rude. I also knew Wu Shuo, and you beat him to death in court."

"A villain will not be influenced by your kindness. Conscience is something that is innate. If he doesn't have it, he will never have it."

Cao Cao said calmly: "In troubled times, why should we have so many concerns?"

"If you don't take the initiative, you deserve to be cheated by others."

Zhong Yao changed the subject: "In my opinion, it was Dong Cheng and the Fu family who wanted to take power and instigated Your Majesty to do something.

The Fu family has a stronger foundation, and currently they are mainly observing, and haven't made many moves yet. Previously in the palace, Dong Cheng mainly wanted to use Wu Shuo to test you."

"The Fu family wanted to use Dong Cheng to test me."

Cao Cao used his hands to gesture a series of progressive relationships.

When Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, he used the same tactics he had used on the Qiang people in the northwest to deal with the gentry, and he was doomed to fail from the start.

Now the Fu family, including Dong Cheng, wants to use the experience of court officials in dealing with Dong Zhuo to deal with Cao Cao, but this is also doomed to failure.

Dong Zhuo and all the nobles in the world stood on opposite sides from the very beginning.

Cao Cao dealt with the gentry by attacking some and winning over others.

Many aristocratic families have formed a community of interests with Yanzhou and stand firmly on Cao Cao's side.

Cao Cao's foundation had been consolidated through repeated changes, to the point where killing some of the nobles would not cause any more turmoil.

When he was in Luoyang, he first recruited Xun Yu and then took Yu Qing into his gang.

Looking back, he was planning his relationship with the gentry at that time.

Yu Qing, the Yu family that Xun Yu was born into, and the Xun family were two of the aristocratic families that most firmly supported him in the future.

By now, people like the Fu family wanted to stand against him.

Cao Cao could have easily uprooted it.

All calculations ultimately come down to strength.

The end of literary struggle is physical struggle.

As long as someone shows up, he will be beheaded by the guillotine.

Cao Cao said, "Yuan Chang, I will not stay in Luoyang for long. A war between Yanzhou and Jizhou is imminent. I will return to Yanzhou in three to five days at most.

Do you want to openly join our Yanzhou before the war, or after the war?"

If you join before the war and if Yanzhou is defeated, you will be the target of elimination and will have to take huge political risks.

After the war, because his identity was not revealed before, he could make his choice calmly and would not get into trouble.

In fact, Cao Cao could have directly rewarded Zhong Yao, creating a fait accompli and preventing him from repeating himself.

He asked in advance, not to test her, but to truly allow her to make her own choice.

Zhong Yao said unhappily, "You, Xun Wenruo, and Cai Boyi all wrote to me one after another to pull me to Yanzhou. Now you let me choose for myself. Why did you contact me so early?"

He added: "Since the decision has been made, why wait until after the war?"

Cao Cao did not take it as an offense: "Well, I will ask the emperor to issue an order to appoint you as the Inspector of the Imperial Guards."

The Sili Xiaowei, formerly known as the Crouching Tiger Officer, was an inspector responsible for supervising the capital and surrounding areas. His rank was not high, comparable to that of a 2,000-stone official, but he actually governed a region and had great power, including the power of life and death.

Zhong Yao was somewhat moved: "The governor is too kind to me."

"Be trustworthy when employing people."

Cao Cao knew that Zhong Yao was a man of great talent through Xun Yu's strong recommendation and historical foresight.

Historically, he did not need any soldiers or horses. He relied solely on his accurate grasp of the current situation and his words to convince the warlords of Liangzhou. One man was worth thousands of troops, and he made great contributions to Cao's stabilization of Liangzhou and pacification of Hedong.

"I will station a troop in Luoyang and put it under your command. All matters related to Sizhou and Luoyang will depend on you, Yuan Chang," said Cao Cao.

Zhong Yao came to have a secret meeting with Cao Cao. After he left, Cao Cao received news of various developments in Luoyang one after another.

Dong Cheng left the house that night and began to contact various parties.

Wang Zifu and others were also under Yanzhou's surveillance.

Three days later, the grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors will begin.

Two days passed in a flash, and on the day before the grand ceremony was to begin, Liu Biao of Jingzhou sent a team of envoys to Luoyang in the name of observing the ceremony.

Liu Yan of Yizhou, who was also from the royal family, also sent people to Luoyang to watch the ceremony.

In addition, spies from all parties were working in the dark, keeping an eye on the situation in Luoyang.

"There will be a turmoil on the day of the sacrifice. Let Dong Cheng attract the attention of the Yanzhou army, and we can act in secret!"

Jizhou also arranged personnel to secretly enter Luoyang.

The emperor and Cao Cao returned to Luoyang one after another, causing undercurrents to surge in this thousand-year-old capital, with people from all sides flocking to it.

Yecheng.

The house was brightly lit.

Yuan Shao stayed awake late at night and sat behind a low mat with his clothes on.

Guo Tu sat on his side.

There are countless counselors in Jizhou.

Relatively speaking, Yuan Shao trusted his fellow villagers from Yingchuan and Runan, such as Guo Tu, more.

Instead of Tian Feng, Ju Su and other local people from Jizhou.

Guo Tu was responsible for part of the spies, investigations and other related matters in Jizhou.

"how are things going?"

"All parties gathered in Luoyang under the pretext of watching the ceremony."

"On the first day Cao Mengde arrived in Luoyang, several officials who opposed him were killed directly."

Guo Tu rubbed his eyebrows:
"Cao Mengde's actions were surprising. I didn't expect him to be so direct and kill someone."

"Nothing unexpected. Cao Mengde sometimes thinks things through carefully, and sometimes he just follows his temper."

"It's just killing a few petty officials. Now... who still regards Liu as the emperor?"

Yuan Shao said calmly: "These days, I have been thinking about the reason why Yanzhou has expanded so quickly in recent years and why it has remained undefeated."

"At present, the soldiers and horses of various states and counties are mostly recruited locally and formed by the nobles.

Including my Jizhou tribe, they are also a mixture of local troops and many noble families, so it is difficult to enforce discipline. "

"Only in Yanzhou, Cao Cao's troops, originally Bingzhou troops, followed him to Yanzhou.

After that, he solved the problem of refugees many times and selected personnel from them to form the core of the Yanzhou Army. "

"No noble family can interfere with these troops. They only obey the orders of Cao Cao."

"So he is not afraid of fighting. There are not so many interests involved. The Yanzhou Army will fight wherever he points."

"This is why the several turmoils in Yanzhou have not led to major disturbances. No one can take away Cao Mengde's power."

"The Yanzhou Army's combat power is strong for the same reason."

"The reputation of our Yuan clan is so high that when we recruited people, all parties came to join us, which resulted in numerous factions."

Guo Tu said respectfully: "But we also have areas where Yanzhou is far inferior. Your mind is so broad that few can match it, and you have such a thorough understanding of Yanzhou."

Yuan Shao laughed and asked, "What are our arrangements?"

"There are officials in Luoyang who have secretly surrendered to Jizhou. When the sacrificial ceremony begins tomorrow, we will see the situation and decide whether to take action."

Yuan Shao asked again: "How is the other matter going?"

"It went very smoothly. The advice given by the Grand Tutor this time is indeed a good one," said Guo Tu.

----

Luoyang.

After nightfall, Cao Cao practiced again.

He has been practicing diligently these days.

According to the historical records of this world, after Liu Xiu ascended the throne, his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, catching up with Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Wu.

After obtaining the Dragon Ball, Cao Cao seemed to have found Emperor Taizu Liu Xiu, and had the same feeling as he did when he was practicing.

His practice in the past few days has made great progress.

In addition to himself, Yin's luck was also boosted by him, and the power of heaven and earth was gathered to add to his body, which resulted in considerable changes.

If someone could look inside, they would find that there were faint curse patterns forming on the bones in Yin's body, indicating that it has officially become a spiritual beast.

Xu Chu and Dian Wei also gained something.

Before this, Cao Cao had distributed Lu Bu's military fortune to Dian Wei, Xu Chu, and Taishi Ci, except for himself.

Dian Wei had a breakthrough at that time.

Xu Chu and Taishi Ci also had some feelings.

At present, Taishi Ci and Huang Zhong have led their troops to Qingzhou to prepare for the upcoming war.

In recent days, Cao Cao practiced indoors, and Xu Chu stood at the door, following his breathing.

On this night, he suddenly caused the celestial phenomenon just like Dian Wei did before.

As if lightning struck the night sky, it would be absorbed by him and taken into the acupoints in his body.

Above Cao's mansion, the fighting image of a ferocious tiger emerged.

The power in Xu Chu's body was boiling, with nowhere to vent it, so he ran with all his might, and actually ran all the way out of Luoyang. In the process, the secret acupoints in his body resonated with the heaven and earth, and he broke through the barriers one after another.

At dawn, Yin and Xu Chu also rushed out of the city.

A man and a tiger, they ran and roared, and the tiger roared like thunder.

It was getting light slowly.

The ceremony of offering sacrifices to the ancestors and announcing the relocation of the capital was held in the imperial palace.

Cao Cao left the house and took a carriage to the imperial palace.

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(End of this chapter)