Further north of Xiangyang was Wan City in Nanyang County. Cao Cao's general Cao Ren had stationed 20,000 troops here.
A few hundred miles further north was the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xuchang.
Ever since Cao Cao established his capital, this ordinary county had experienced great development. The city walls were tall and thick, and it had a population of 70,000 to 80,000.
In the east of Xuchang City, there were many palaces with a strict aura. Among them, the Shangshu Pavilion and the three government offices were all here.
Cao Cao welcomed Emperor Xian back to the Han Dynasty. After settling the capital in Xuchang, he was granted the title of Sikong by Emperor Xian and took over the power of the court. The other two dukes only existed in name, and the power of Shangshu Tai also increased day by day.
At this moment, Cao Cao had just pacified Bingzhou and destroyed Gao Gan. In the north, other than the Wuhuan and the remnants of the Yuan family, there was only Gongsun Kang in Liaodong.
The Gongsun family was in a remote corner, so they could protect themselves, but they did not have the capital to fight for the Central Plains.
It could be said that as long as the Wuhuan and Yuan Family were dealt with, Cao Cao would no longer have any worries and could focus on planning how to conquer the Jiangnan region and unify the world.
Thus, although Cao Cao was planning to conquer the Wuhuan, he was also paying attention to the situation in Jiangnan.
In Sikong Manor, Cao Cao sat on the throne with a dignified aura.
At this time, although Emperor Xian of Han was still around, Cao Cao was more like an emperor.
On Cao Cao's left and right were his strategists, Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, and the others. The person they were talking about was Liu Jue, who was far away in Xiangyang.
Cao Cao looked at everyone and said,""Liu Jingsheng, this youngest son, was able to defeat Zhou Yu and seize the four cities of Chaisang.”
Guo Jia pondered for a moment and said,"Chaisang is Jiangdong's barrier. Sun Quan can't be indifferent and will definitely take back Chaisang.”
Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, and the others nodded. Xun Yu said,""If Sun Quan and Liu Biao were to attack each other, it would be a fight between snipe and clam, and we would be the fisherman.”
Cao Cao shook his head and said," I thought so too. However, news has just come from River East. The people of River East have started to riot again."”
When Guo Jia heard this, he said,"At this time, the Jiangdong Mountains are in chaos. I'm afraid that Sun Quan won't be able to attack Chaisang for a while. He might even have to ask Liu Biao for peace."”
The Jiangdong Mountains were in chaos, and Sun Quan couldn't even take care of himself. He was most afraid that someone would take advantage of this moment to attack Jiangdong.
Xun Yu also said," Liu Biao is old and weak. He has no ambition. He will most likely agree to Sun Quan's request for peace. In this case, the two families will not fight."”
At this moment, Cao Cao said," That is not what I am worried about. When I pacify the Wuhuan and Yuan, and when the army crosses the river to the south, whether it is Liu Biao or Sun Quan, they are nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs in my eyes. On the other hand, Liu Biao's youngest son seems to be very capable. He has some of Sun Ce's elegance.”
When Guo Jia and the others heard this, they couldn't help but look surprised. Sun Ce was known as the Tiger of River East, and the entire River East was conquered when Sun Ce was around.
It could be said that Sun Ce was the founder of the future Dongwu regime.
If Liu Jue was really comparable to Sun Ce, then when Cao Cao went south in the future, this person would be a disaster.
Back then, Sun Ce had pacified Jiangdong, and because of his astonishing speed, Cao Cao had no choice but to confer Sun Ce the title of Marquis of Wu.
If Liu Jue were to rule Jingzhou in the future, with the wealth of Jingzhou and the 100,000 armored soldiers, it would be a huge problem for Cao Cao's southern expedition.
Although Cao Cao had many soldiers under him, and even if Liu Jue ruled Jingzhou, he was confident that he could defeat him. However, if he could unify Jiangnan more smoothly, who would find trouble for himself?
Everyone understood what Cao Cao was thinking. Xun Yu immediately said,""Why don't we issue an edict in the name of the emperor and order Liu Biao to send Liu Jue to accompany the emperor's carriage into the court. Then, we can imprison him.”
"What if Liu Biao doesn't listen?" Cao Cao asked.”
Xun Yu replied," If Liu Biao doesn't listen to orders, it means that he doesn't respect the Emperor's decree. Sikong can send General Cao Ren south to attack Xiangyang in the name of crusading against rebels.”
Xun Yu's words showed the benefits of using the Son of Heaven to command the princes.
With an imperial edict, Cao Cao had the final say on whether Liu Biao was an obedient or rebellious minister.
If you don't listen to me, I'll send troops to attack you. If you dare to raise an army to resist, you'll be rebelling against the emperor's rebellious minister.
"If we can successfully take Xiangyang, we can then take Jingzhou, north of the Yangtze River," Guo Jia said. Even if we can't take Xiangyang, we can still damage the morale of Liu Biao's army and exhaust their strength. No matter what, we won't suffer any losses.”
Cao Cao was overjoyed." What Fengxiao said makes sense. Immediately get someone to draft an edict and send an envoy to Jingzhou."”
……
Liu Jue had been back in Xiangyang for a few days. After a few days of rest, he began his own plan to seek talents.
At this moment, Liu Jue was sitting in a spacious carriage. Zhao Long, Zhang Sheng, and eighteen guards were surrounding him. The group was slowly making their way out of Xiangyang City.
Liu Jue's targets were Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong.
At this time, there were many famous people in Xiangyang, such as Meng Jian, Shi Tao, Cui Ding, etc., but Liu Jue's most desired ones were of course the Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Chick.
Whether it was novels like Romance of the Three Kingdoms or official histories like the Three Kingdoms, they all held these two people in high esteem.
The Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Chick, if one of them could bring peace to the world, it was definitely not bragging!
There was no need to say much about Zhuge Liang. He was very famous in history. Longzhong had set a strategy for Liu Bei to divide the world into three parts and made great contributions to the establishment of Shu.
After Liu Bei's death, the Shu Kingdom was prosperous and stable under Zhuge Liang's rule. Moreover, there was a faint upward trend. It could be seen that he was a capable minister of governing the country.
If Liu Bei had not been defeated in Yiling, buried the elite of Shu Han and lost the important Jingzhou, according to Zhuge Liang's plan, Shu Han might have succeeded in the Northern Expedition with Jingzhou and Yizhou.
At the end of the day, it was Liu Bei, this stupid teammate, who had tricked Zhuge Liang.
As for Pang Tong, he was far less famous than Zhuge Liang. Of course, this was also because he died young.
However, it was undeniable that Pang Tong was really capable. Otherwise, he would not be as famous as Zhuge Liang.
In the annals of the Three Kingdoms, Pang Tong was praised as a noble man of Jingchu, comparable to Xun Yu, a minister of Wei.
Who was Xun Yu? He was one of Cao Cao's five strategists and was known as the king's assistant!
Pang Tong himself was also extremely confident in his own abilities. He once said,"When it comes to the secret strategy of the emperor, I seem to have a day's advantage.”
It meant that assisting the Emperor to achieve hegemony was what he was best at.
Pang Tong wasn't bragging. For example, the Jing state's famous scholar, Mister Water Mirror Sima Hui, had once praised him as the 'Crown of the South Region's scholars'.
After Pang Tong joined Liu Bei, he offered a plan to conquer Yizhou. Unfortunately, he was unlucky and died from an arrow while attacking Ruicheng. He died before he could fully display his talent.
To die before success, this was said of Zhuge Liang, but Liu Jue felt that it was more appropriate to say it on Pang Tong.
If he could recruit the Crouching Dragon Phoenix, he would have the capital to resist Sun Quan in the east and Cao Cao in the north.
Because a person's strength was limited. Although Liu Jue knew the direction of history, this advantage would disappear sooner or later. History would change because of him.
Although the system was a powerful cheat, it could not help him plan. At certain critical moments in the future, he would need strategists like Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to help him plan.
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