Wandering the Heavens

Chapter 405 New 3 Kingdoms 45

Jiangdong was divided into two factions from then on. On one side was Sun Shao, supported by veteran generals and Kan Ze, who occupied Jianye; on the other side was Sun Quan, supported by Zhang Zhao and Gu Yong, who occupied Chaisang.

Both sides were so angry that they accused each other of being traitors. Given Jiangdong's character, although they didn't like the other side, they would rather forget it if they had to spend money to fight a war to defeat the other side. You can be angry with anything, but never with money.

Therefore, the separatist confrontation in Jiangdong was carried out in the form of a war of words between the two sides. One side wrote a poem to curse the other side, and the other side would write a poem to curse back after hearing it. The situation became more and more lively day by day.

The army also arranged a battle every few days, but when they went on duty, they were so perfunctory. What's the point of fighting for a few hundred dollars a month? For the above reasons, the armies on both sides, from junior officers to soldiers, fought like a joke. When the two sides fought, spitting on each other was considered a bloody battle, and Sun Quan was so angry that he couldn't eat for three days.

This is the case in the south, but the situation in Hebei in the Central Plains is much bloodier, first in the officialdom and then on the battlefield.

Cao Cao was over fifty years old, and after Cao Ang died unexpectedly, he looked down upon any of his remaining sons except Cao Chong.

For example, Cao Pi would cry when he saw himself going out and when he came back.

For example, Cao Zhang is a straightforward person. He is brave and resourceful in fighting, but his IQ in politics is negative.

As for Cao Zhi, except for his good writing, he was not very good in other aspects. The most taboo thing was that he had a good relationship with Ding Yi, and after Cao Ang's death, Ding Yi basically fell out with Cao Cao, and now they are just working but not contributing. If Cao Zhi came to power, given Ding Yi's character, it is estimated that few people in the Cao family would have a good ending.

But Cao Chong was too young, less than ten years old. He didn't have many days left to live, and none of his advisers and generals were easy to deal with, so he had to build a considerable family business before he died, and at the same time, he had to make sure his status was clear to avoid conflicts among his sons after his death.

Based on the above considerations, Cao Cao's claim to the throne was put on the agenda. Before claiming the throne, he had to seize Hebei and Guanzhong, only in this way would he be qualified.

When Xun Yu realized that Cao Cao had the idea of becoming emperor, he simply quit his job. Cao Cao did not expect that this adviser who had always followed him would actually oppose him becoming emperor and say such harsh words.

Cao Cao, who was used to being overbearing, wanted to exterminate Xun Yu's three clans. After holding back for several nights, he finally held back his anger and secretly talked to Xun Yu, asking him to give him some face and not make such an ugly scene. Xun Yu was not moved by the soft or hard words and directly said, "If you have the guts, kill my whole family, otherwise you can only think about becoming emperor."

Cao Cao had no choice but to kill Xun Yu, but he really didn't dare to take action against the Xun family of Yingchuan, so he announced to the outside world that Xun Yu died of illness.

Xun Yu was dead, but there was still one person left behind who did not support Cao Cao's claim to the throne. At this time, Sima Yi stood up and carried out a differentiated purge of Cao Cao's team. After this political purge, Sima Yi and Cao Pi were completely connected, and the two worked closely together to find a way to kill their full brother Cao Zhi and half brother Cao Chong.

Before the two had time to engage in internal struggles, Cao Cao started preparations for the Northern Expedition.

After several days of military meetings, Cao Cao adopted Sima Yi's suggestion to go east first and then west, and to go the easy way first and then the difficult way.

First, he destroyed Yuan Shang in Yecheng, then captured Yuan Xi in Beiping, and finally turned westward to Hangu Pass to destroy Yuan Tan.

Everyone knew that the day Cao's army destroyed Yuan Tan would be the day Cao Cao became emperor. After working together for so long, everyone was naturally looking forward to the achievement of following the dragon, so all the work was progressing quite smoothly.

After careful preparation, Cao Cao assembled an army of 300,000 and divided it into two routes: the left route he led to attack Yuan Shang, while Xiahou Dun led the right route from Qingzhou to attack Youzhou, in order to contain Yuan Xi's possible support.

On the eve of Cao Cao's expedition, Cao Pi was so nervous that he walked hundreds of circles in his mansion, because tonight, under the careful arrangement of him and Sima Yi, his younger brother Cao Chong would die.

The reason why Cao Chong had to be killed under Cao Cao's nose was out of consideration for Cao Cao's expedition.

The old man is over 50 years old, and marching and fighting are high-intensity physical and mental labor, and his psychological stress resistance is also hellish. If he is killed outside this time, the successor has not been determined, which will inevitably lead to internal chaos.

It would be fine if his eldest brother was not dead, but now it should be his turn. Now Cao Pi is determined to take the position of heir.

But none of the younger brothers who caught their father's eyes were easy to deal with.

He couldn't beat Cao Zhang in a fight, couldn't write as well as Cao Zhi, and his brain wasn't as good as Cao Chong's.

The biggest threat at the moment is actually Cao Chong. As long as Cao Chong dies, his two younger brothers will be useless.

What it means that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. The next day, Cao Cao went out to fight. Among a group of sons who came to see him off at the gate, Cao Chong stood among them unharmed.

Cao Zhi didn't feel anything and recited the article he wrote to his father in public with ups and downs; Cao Pi was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, he was sad about his own plan, not knowing what went wrong, but Cao Chong was still alive and kicking.

Sima Yi was also very confused, but no matter how unwilling he was, he had to ride his horse and follow Cao Cao's luxurious carriage to the battlefield. He would have to think of a way to deal with Cao Chong later.

"Gongda, Ziyang. The last time we fought Yuan Shao at Guandu was nearly ten years ago!"

Cao Cao's teeth were no longer strong enough to chew the apple, so he could only look at the familiar scenery on the roadside and sigh with Xun You and Liu Ye.

"My lord, it's been twelve years." Liu Ye's EQ is quite direct.

"Has it been so long? When I first came here, Zixiao and Fengxiao were both here. But now Zixiao is guarding Jingzhou, and Fengxiao... Fengxiao has been dead for several years."

Cao Cao had to admit that he was old. In the last Battle of Guandu, he was surrounded by brave generals. Now he was going to Guandu again, but those counselors and generals were old and scattered.

"My lord, do you miss Fengxiao?" Xun You also recalled the days when he and Guo Jia were having an affair.

"Yes! Fengxiao is the youngest, and I was thinking of entrusting my affairs to him after my death, but...but who would have thought..."

After the defeat at the Battle of Red Cliffs, he led his army to retreat to Xiangyang in a panic. Guo Jia, who was already in poor health, could not withstand the high-intensity march and died on the march.

"My lord, the past cannot be retrieved, the dead are gone." Liu Ye said this indifferently again.

Cao Cao glanced at the disappointed Liu Ye and thought to himself that it would be great if he could bring Zijian out. At this time, he would definitely be able to write a beautiful article that suits his mood.

The group marched forward chatting occasionally. As they got closer to the Yellow River ferry, Cao Cao's mind shifted from reminiscing about the past and returned to the battlefield.

Compared with Cao Cao, the three Yuans are indeed not as good, but this is a different time. Cao Cao is now very old and eager to fight. Guo Jia died of exhaustion in the Battle of Chibi, and the grass on his grave is several feet high today.

Sima Yi was weird all day long, and everyone was very upset about the fact that he had tricked Cao Ang and Dian Wei to death in Jingzhou, so Cao Cao asked him to hang out with Cao Pi.

The only two people he has with him now are Xun You and Liu Ye, but Xun You is a little inferior in strategy, and Cao Cao doesn't like the ideas he comes up with; Liu Ye is a pure science and engineering man, you can ask him to tinker with the engineering machinery and make it look beautiful for you, but when it comes to giving advice on how to fight a war, you'd better take a rest.

As for the Three Yuans, Yuan Tan occupied Guanzhong and had the geographical advantage for military defense. Since the Qin Dynasty, there were only a handful of generals who led troops to attack Hangu Pass; Yan Liang followed Yuan Shang, and Wen Chou followed Yuan Xi, and their military strength was almost equal to that of Cao Cao.

As we all know, Xiahou Dun had fought almost all the battles except the one he won. However, he was beaten badly by Wen Chou, one of Yuan Shao's only remaining senior generals, as soon as he left Qingzhou, and had to retreat to Beihai.