Chapter 276: Dominate all parties [Subscribe]

The moonlight is bright and clear.

After nightfall, Yecheng had its second rain of the year.

Cao Cao stood by the window for a long time, motionless.

It has been more than five years, but what happened in Luoyang is still vivid in my mind.

If Zheng Xuannan had not come to welcome me, and if I had not obtained the national seal, and the luck and influence it brought... I would not have let the emperor go so quickly, Cao Cao thought.

The arrival of the national seal further stabilized the situation inside and outside Cao's camp.

It is an indisputable fact that destiny belongs to Cao.

It was time to let the emperor go.

Once Liangzhou is completely under control and the small unification of the north is completed, it will be the best opportunity to openly declare to the world and become king.

Cao Cao thought to himself, "There is a saying that a scholar's rebellion will fail in three years. Kong Rong and the emperor have no knowledge of military affairs, and their escape plan has made many mistakes. I have to personally order them to clean up their messes. If this matter were known to others, it would be a joke."

Yu Qing came over from behind, leaning against him softly, and said softly:
"My dear, I have good news to tell you. I am pregnant again."

Cao Cao turned around happily and picked up Yu Qing carefully: "You have to be careful. Why didn't you tell me earlier? I had to ride a horse just now."

Yu Qing rolled her eyes at him: "You are the horse!"

Luoyang.

The night is dark.

Kong Rong disguised himself as Zhong Yao and brought several carriages to the west gate of Luoyang, demanding that the gate be opened.

The general on duty came out, checked the message, and saw that it was Zhong Yao who came in person. Without asking any questions, he opened a corner gate.

The carriages and horses left the city.

A small team that is willing to follow the emperor in his escape and has his trust.

In addition, concubines such as Fu Shou all changed their attires.

They hid in the secret compartment of the carriage that had been prepared in advance and left the city in fear.

Then head south and board a ship anchored on the bank of Luo River.

After the ship left the shore, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luoyang's defenses are not as strict as I imagined. It seems that I overestimated the King of Wei."

Fu Shou came out and went onto the deck.

The boat was prepared by her Fu family.

This time, her Fuji family gambled everything on her escape.

Once discovered and caught by Cao Cao, the consequences can be imagined.

Because of the great risk, they made careful arrangements in advance and mobilized all of the Fu family's connections.

Including Kong Rong, who used his powerful influence to contact several "famous people" and secretly helped to ensure that the emperor could reach his destination smoothly.

Several noble families who had previously formed cliques with the Fuji family also secretly participated and provided resource support.

The ship left Luoyang and traveled southwest overnight.

"This time it's all thanks to Kong Wenju. If someone else did it, it would be impossible for him to impersonate Zhong Yao without revealing his flaws." Fu Shou, as the queen, personally saluted Kong Rong.

Kong Rong was somewhat moved and quickly returned the gift.

The sage's handwritten book in Kong's possession, the magical powers he possessed, and the perfect incarnation of Zhong Yao were the keys to his successful escape.

The emperor looked at Luoyang City behind him, feeling a little sad: the ancestral foundation, the capital city ruled by previous emperors, will never be lost in my hands. The next day, I will lead a large army and return to Luoyang.

"Mr. Kong, I will always remember your loyalty. The Kong family is worthy of being the descendants of saints."

The emperor said: "Because of loyal ministers like Kong Qing, our Han Dynasty has hope!"

Kong Rong bowed his head and said, "I will not slack off in supporting the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty."

"Yizhou, is there any new response?"

"Have."

Fu Shou and Kong Rong both nodded.

Yizhou is the destination of this trip, and the matter is of great importance.

The Kong and Fu families used their connections to exchange secret letters with Yizhou. Only after they were sure that there were no problems did they decide to act.

Yizhou promised to meet them on the way.

"Mr. Kong is determined not to allow his family to move to Yizhou."

The emperor regarded Kong Rong as his right-hand man and said with concern: "Cao Cao will soon know that it was Kong Rong who helped me escape. If I blame Kong Rong, I am afraid it will be difficult to deal with him."

Kong Rong sneered:

"My Kong family has the strongest foundation in Qingzhou, and our ancestors were admired by the whole world. Cao Cao will not be stupid enough to touch my Kong family. As for me, I am responsible for my own actions, so if he has any problems, just come to me."

"I feel the heavy responsibility of escorting Your Majesty to Yizhou, and I will not regret it even if I die."

Their ship did not approach the pass of Xiong'er Mountain until the evening of the next day.

Here, Fu had already arranged personnel to provide support in advance.

A group of Fu's private soldiers, about a hundred people, equipped with long swords and sharp knives, came out of the mountains to meet them.

We also brought hunters from nearby and took familiar trails, so we were well prepared.

The emperor, Kong Rong, Fu Shou and others all dressed lightly and entered Xiong'er Mountain under the protection of men and horses.

However, when the group actually entered the mountain, they realized that the hardships were far greater than they had expected.

Miasma, humidity, wild beasts, snakes and insects, all kinds of dangers are emerging.

Although the emperor and his companions were moving along the mountain paths and did not need to clear any land, they still suffered successive casualties within a few days of entering the mountains.

After a few days, Fu Shou also started to have a high fever.

The dangers along the way were far beyond our expectations.

However, Emperor Liu Xie gritted his teeth and persevered.

It took them nearly half a month to go through the passage between Xiong'er Mountain and Funiushan Mountain, pass through Song County without entering, and take desolate paths all the way, cross the mountain ridge, and enter the southern slope of the eastern section of the Qin Mausoleum.

Coming down the mountain is the Nanyang Basin.

Everyone still didn't dare show up.

Fortunately, Kong Rong had contacted "people with lofty ideals" in advance, who came to support them and provided them with help and replenishment of supplies.

The people who came also told them that the Xianbei were invading Cao's northern front.

At this time, Cao's army probably had no time to look around.

The emperor and others were collectively relieved when they learned that Cao's army was going to start a war on the northern front.

The emperor was a little puzzled again: "Isn't it that my escape from Luoyang did not cause a stir in the world, and the Cao army did not send people to chase me?" Kong Rong thought: "Perhaps Cao Cao wants to conceal the fact that Your Majesty has escaped from his control. He secretly sent people to chase me and would not announce it to the outside world.

Once we reach Yizhou, Your Majesty will issue an edict to announce it to the world, calling on those who are determined to revive the Han Dynasty to gather together, plot against the injustice, and eliminate Cao Cao. Then the whole world will rise up and respond!"

The emperor nodded slowly.

Like Kong Rong, he had similar expectations.

The group continued their journey southwest!

Because we had received accurate information, we knew that Cao's army was about to start a war, and we had run so far, so we felt that Cao's army should not be able to catch up.

The emperor and others gave up the plan of continuing to take the mountain road and crossing the Qin Mausoleum, and instead took carriages and horses, preferring to take a detour rather than go into the mountains.

Little did the emperor know that his escape was far from secret.

Not only did Cao Cao take the initiative to give them the green light and let them go.

Other forces also got some news.

Including the spies in Jingzhou, they discovered the emperor's escape in time.

Liu Biao had been seriously ill for some time and had been lying on his bed for several days.

He received a report from a spy:
“Fu family, Kong Wenju, has been frequently contacting old friends to raise resources some time ago.

After gathering some information, we speculated that the emperor might want to get rid of the King of Wei and plan to escape."

"Yesterday we received accurate information that the emperor fled Luoyang and took the southern route into the mountains.

We analyzed that if the emperor came out of the mountains, he might pass through the west of Nanyang. If we raise a troop of soldiers from Jingzhou and march to the northwest, there might be a chance to rob him.”

Before Cao Cao held the emperor hostage, few people saw that it was a brilliant move.

After he used it, the emperor became a popular figure for a while.

When Liu Biao heard the news, he was quite excited even though he was lying on his bed.

But at the same time, Cao Cao also sent him a letter:

"If Jingzhou dares to plot against the emperor, I will mobilize all my troops to attack Jingzhou."

After weighing the pros and cons, Liu Biao dared not move.

Cao Cao now has the power to dominate all directions.

Liu Biao put down the letter sent by Cao Cao and asked in a hoarse voice:
"Recently, the world is saying that Cao Mengde has obtained the imperial seal. In the direction of Yecheng, Jizhou, the sky is dark purple, and the emperor's destiny has been nurtured. But is it true?"

"It's difficult to determine its authenticity at the moment, but it should be true." The attendant responded.

Liu Biao took a deep breath.

Three years ago, Cao Cao was still quite concerned about Liu Biao and sent envoys to him many times, with an obvious intention to appease him.

In just three years, Cao Mengde's power increased several times, to the point where he dared not make any rash moves even with just a letter.

Liu Biao was feeling depressed and coughed lightly, and actually coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Liu Xuande has requested to go to the south to help me quell the rebellion several times. Let him go..."

----

Mid-May.

Cao Cao received news one after another that people from the Eastern Xianbei in the north were trying to invade.

He sat in his study, reading the news sent by the spies.

During the half month that the emperor fled, the situation in the northern area bordering the Xianbei suddenly became tense.

Before the winter of last year, the loss of troops and horses by the Eastern Xianbei and the hatred they had created were all expected to lead to an invasion in the spring.

Cao Cao also received another piece of news: the Eastern Xianbei wanted to use the area between Youbeiping County and Yuyang County as a breakthrough point to move southward into the pass.

Cao Cao asked Jia Xu: "What secret information did the spy around Yuan Shang send?"

Letting Yuan Shang go was a conspiracy between Cao Cao and Jia Xu.

To put it simply, there are enemies hiding in the dark, and they are not easy to find. Someone is needed to disrupt the situation and bring out the enemies in the dark.

After all, the Yuan family has three officials in four generations, and it is impossible to eliminate the old power in Jizhou in one war.

Cao Cao has been suppressing the gentry and has offended many people. If he wants to maintain stability and avoid being plotted against, he must strike first.

So Yuan Shang was released to cause trouble and connect these anti-Cao forces.

Then Cao Cao would swing his knife and cut them clean off.

The Eastern Xianbei were dragged into the war by the Wuhuan, which gave Yuan Shang an opportunity.

He spent the whole winter running across the prairie.

Secretly, Yuan Shang also contacted some old noble families who had close ties with the Yuan family in the past, preparing for internal and external cooperation.

The news Cao Cao received was related to this.

"Youbeiping County, the Xianbei people want to come in from there..."

"If we can inflict heavy damage on the Eastern Xianbei once again and take over Liangzhou at the same time, the world will usher in a new era after this spring!"

It was already dusk when Cao Cao and his ministers finished discussing matters.

He left the study and returned to the inner house.

"Husband."

Bian Mei, wearing a light green Han skirt, walked slowly along the corridor to meet Cao Cao.

She walked closer, took Cao Cao's arm, and walked back together.

"Husband, I seem to be pregnant too."

Yu Qing was pregnant, and Bian Mei was also pregnant.

Cao Cao glanced at his wife's belly and teased, "You are pregnant."

He pondered for a moment. According to history, he seemed to have more than twenty descendants?
If history is to be judged, Qingyu should give birth to a boy this time. He will be the most capable fighter among my descendants, a natural born warrior, just like Cao Ang.

That night, a carriage drove into Yecheng and stopped outside Cao's mansion.

Two women, one big and one small, got out of the car.

"Aunt, is this the residence of the King of Wei?"

"Ah."

The two men looked up and looked around Cao's mansion.

After the personal soldiers came in to report, Cao Cao returned to the study and saw two people, one big and one small.

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(End of this chapter)