"Second brother, why are these commoners so respectful to you?”Cao Zhang asked curiously.
"Ziwen, remember that those who win the hearts of the people will win the world. Therefore, you must treat the people well at all times.”Cao Zheng explained.
Half a month later, Cao Zheng's army finally reached Xuchang.
For this expedition, Cao Cao had mobilized a total of 150,000 troops. 100,000 troops were personally led by Cao Cao to set up defenses along the Yellow River. The remaining 50,000 troops were led by Cao Zheng to attack Xu Prefecture.
After Cao Zheng took down Xuzhou, he had received more than 50,000 surrendered soldiers from Lu Bu. However, after Cao Zheng's reduction of troops, there were only 20,000 elite troops left. They were led by the newly surrendered general, Zhang Liao. Therefore, Cao Zheng had a total of 70,000 troops under his command. Subtracting the casualties, there should be more than 60,000 injured.
On the other side, Cao Cao had already retreated to Xuchang City half a month ago. When he heard that Cao Zheng had returned, he personally brought people out of the city to welcome him.
The first thing Cao Cao saw was a child beside Cao Zheng. Seeing that the child looked a little like Cao Zheng, he thought that it was Cao Zheng's illegitimate child!
However, when Cao Zheng got closer, he realized that the child was his son, Cao Zhang.
"Greetings, father." Cao Zheng dismounted and bowed.
" Get up," Cao Cao looked at Cao Zheng and said gratefully.
"Thank you, Father." Cao Zheng stood up and said.
"Ziyi, why is Ziwen with you?”Cao Cao asked curiously.
" Father, it's actually…" Cao Zheng had no choice but to tell Cao Cao what had happened.
"Ziwen, come here." Cao Zheng said to Cao Zhang, who was hiding at the side.
Cao Zhang saw Cao Zheng waving at him and walked over.
"Father." Cao Zhang shouted pitifully.
"Little brat, you're getting more and more promising.”Cao Cao pointed at Cao Zhang.
Cao Zhang saw Cao Cao's anger and quickly hid behind Cao Zheng for protection.
"Father, Ziwen is still young. Let him off this time.”Cao Zheng pleaded.
"Ziyi. This matter has nothing to do with you. Your mother misses you and tells me every day that she wants to see you.”
Cao Cao said to Cao Zheng.
"What about Ziwen?" Cao Zheng asked tentatively.
"Don't worry, I won't beat him up. You go first.”Cao Cao said.
"Alright then." After Cao Zheng finished speaking, he went home to see Madam Ding.
At this moment, Madam Ding was chatting with Dong Bai and Cheng Lin, who was two months pregnant.
"Mother, your son is back." After Cao Zheng returned home, he knelt down and said to Madam Ding.
"Son, you're finally back." When Madam Ding saw that Cao Zheng had returned, she quickly came out of the room and hugged Cao Zheng's head as she spoke with tears in her eyes.
The mother and son chatted for a while before Madam Ding left with Cheng Lin, leaving the room for Cao Zheng and his wife, who had reunited after a long time.
On the other side, Cao Cao kept his word and ordered Xu Chu to send Cao Zhang home. Then, he went to receive the honored guest, Liu Bei.
Three days later, Cao Cao brought Liu Bei to court. As the General of the Flying Cavalry, Cao Zheng was the leader of the generals.
In the main hall, Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, had been sitting for a long time, but he did not have the final say on the time of the court meeting. If Prime Minister Cao Cao did not arrive, the court meeting would not begin.
At this moment, seeing Cao Cao arrive late, not only did everyone not have the slightest emotion, but they also bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Sikong!"
Such a grand scene made Liu Xie's face pale. During this period of time when Cao Cao was not in Xudu, he was so numb that he forgot the fear of being controlled by Cao Cao.
Liu Xie watched as Cao Cao walked up to his seat and sat down. He lowered his eyes to hide the dissatisfaction in his heart.
Cao Cao's seat was below Liu Xie. After he sat down, he asked,"Do you have anything to report today?" If you do, tell me quickly!"
Everyone was silent. They knew that they could not steal Cao Cao's limelight today.
"Since there's nothing to say, then I have something to report!”
"This time, there are two people who have made the greatest contributions to the suppression of the rebellion in Xuzhou. One is Liu Bei, and the other is the commander of this battle, Cao Zheng, the general of the hussars.”
After Cao Cao said that, he looked at Cao Zheng with a faint smile.
At this moment, Cao Zheng also noticed that Cao Cao's words were filled with ill intentions.
Wasn't this pushing him out to give this little emperor a taste of his own medicine? Liu Xie carefully looked at Cao Zheng's appearance. His face was indeed somewhat similar to Cao Cao's. The last time he saw Cao Zheng was when Cao Zheng defeated Yuan Shu and returned. At that time, Liu Xie had rewarded Cao Zheng according to Cao Cao's instructions, so he hadn't looked at Cao Zheng carefully. Moreover, Cao Zheng was the commander of the army that had pacified Lu Bu.
Needless to say, this person was definitely in cahoots with Cao Cao. If that was the case, then Cao Zheng was just as detestable!
Liu Xie deliberately ignored Cao Zheng and turned to Liu Bei.”
Hearing Emperor Xian call him, Liu Bei hurriedly tidied up his clothes and went forward to kneel in front of Liu Xie.
Liu Xie stared at Liu Bei and asked,"Since your surname is Liu, who are your ancestors?"”
Liu Bei lowered his eyes and said,"I am the descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan, the great-great-grandson of Emperor Xiaojing, the grandson of Liu Xiong, and the son of Liu Hong."”
"Men, bring the clan genealogy to verify!”
Liu Xie actually immediately ordered people to get the clan genealogy. Such a method immediately made everyone think.
At this moment, Cao Zheng, who was a bystander, saw it very clearly.
Wasn't this acting?
Liu Xie had probably prepared everything before Liu Bei entered the capital.
The truth was just as Cao Zheng had thought. After the clan pedigree was verified, Liu Xie immediately ordered someone to read it out loud," Emperor Xiaojing had fourteen sons. The seventh son was Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan. Liu Sheng gave birth to Liu Zhen, Marquis of Lucheng Pavilion. Liu Hui gave birth to Liu Xiong, Fan Ling of Dongjun. Liu Xiong gave birth to Liu Hong. Liu Hong was not an official. Liu Bei was Liu Hong's son.”
According to history, Liu Bei was Liu Xie's uncle.
Liu Xieshang's excitement was overflowing with words. He said,"It turns out that my beloved minister is my uncle. Then I can call my beloved minister my imperial uncle from now on!"”
"Promulgate the decree, Liu Bei will be the Left General and the Marquis of Yi City!”
Liu Bei was flattered and hurriedly thanked him.
From a straw sandals seller to today's Great Han Imperial Uncle, he had completed a complete change in his identity. Since then, he had more capital to stand on.
Cao Cao coughed and said,"Your Majesty, Cao Zheng, as the commander, has made the greatest contribution in capturing Lu Bu. Please reward him."”
Liu Xie knew that he couldn't fool Cao Cao. Cao Cao wanted him to personally reward Cao Zheng.
However, he was not willing to let Cao Cao get what he wanted today.
Cao Zheng only needed Cao Cao to nod his head to gain more power. It was just a humiliation to be rewarded by the emperor.
In the eyes of the officials, Cao Cao was domineering.
" Minister Cao has made great contributions this time, I naturally know…As for the reward, I'll leave it to the Prime Minister to decide…"
"Today, Zhen has to acknowledge Imperial Uncle. This is a rare happy event. We should hold a banquet to celebrate.”
After saying these words, beads of sweat appeared on Liu Xie's forehead. Today, he had only violated Cao Cao's will once. For him, he had already carried out countless psychological struggles.
His meaning is that Cao Cao doesn't need to act anymore. You can do whatever you want, but I'm not willing to cooperate with you.
Holding a banquet to entertain Liu Bei and shelving Cao Zheng's reward without saying a word, Liu Xie deliberately showed two completely different attitudes.
Cao Zheng already felt that Liu Xie was courting death. Since he insulted him like this, he couldn't blame him.
"Your Majesty, this humble subject has not only taken down the six prefectures of Xu Prefecture, but my subordinates have also made great contributions. The soldiers fought bravely to revive the Great Han Dynasty. Your Majesty, you can't let down these brave soldiers, right?”
Cao Zheng's words were threatening. He was clearly telling Liu Xie that he knew his own status. If one's wings hardened and wanted to fly away, that would be a dream.
It's up to you whether you reward me or not. If you don't do it, you'll be letting down the soldiers. If there's a mutiny, Cao Zheng won't be able to care. Cao Cao looked at Cao Zheng with admiration.
Liu Xie also regretted his decision. He could only bite the bullet and say,"My dear minister, you have contributed greatly to the recovery of the six prefectures of Xuzhou. You will be granted the title of township marquis and 2,000 households will be added to the food city.”
After hearing Liu Xie's words, Cao Zheng knelt down and said loudly,""Thank you, Your Majesty."
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