In July 191, Yuan Shao gained control of Jizhou not long after.
There was a Black Mountain in the Central Plains, where the Black Mountain bandits Yu Du, Bai Rao, Sui Gu, and others were active. They led more than 100,000 bandits to invade the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and occupied most of the Wei and Dong counties in Yanzhou.
The original Governor of Dongjun, Wang Gong, was appointed by Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou. He was mediocre and incompetent, unable to resist the invasion of bandits. At this time, the Yellow Turban Army entrenched in Qingzhou advanced to Hebei, showing signs of joining up with the Black Mountain Army.
If the two armies were to successfully meet up, not only would the Central Plains once again fall into the flames of war, but Jizhou would also be under serious threat.
In order to ensure the safety of Jizhou, Yuan Shao listened to the advice of his advisors and sent Cao Cao to Yanzhou to quell the rebellion. Cao Cao did not disappoint him. He first defeated Bai Rao in Puyang and then launched an attack on the Poison Tribe, severely injuring them in Dunqiu and Neihuang. This eased the crisis in Yanzhou and allowed Yuan Shao to focus on dealing with Gongsun Zan in Youzhou.
In recognition of Cao Cao's achievements, Yuan Shao recommended Cao Cao as the prefect of Dongjun.
Cao Cao accepted the order and moved the prefecture from Puyang to Dongwuyang, turning it into a base camp.
At this time, Lady Bian's eldest son, Cao Pi, was four years old, Cao Zhang was two years old, and her third son, Cao Zhi, was already three months old.
Cao Cao happened to have time to accompany Lady Bian in the garden to admire the flowers, but he received a servant's report,""General, there is a letter from Qiao County."
At this moment, Cao Cao was not the same Prime Minister Cao who had won the Battle of Guandu. He was still concerned about the Han Dynasty and liked to be called General.
"A letter from Qiao County? Send it up."
Cao Cao's eyes flashed as he waved his hand.
After a while, the letter was brought back.
Cao Cao opened it in front of Lady Bian and smiled,""It's a letter from second brother. It's been hard on him to guard the family in Qiao County.”
"Let me see what he brought, huh?”
Seeing the contents of the letter, Cao Cao's expression changed. He said to the servant who had not left,"Send Xun Yu and Xi Zhicai to my study.”
"Yes!" The servant took his leave.
Right now, Cao Cao was only a prefect. He had many capable subordinates, such as Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, and so on.
However, as for the civil officials, only Xun Yu, the "king's assistant talent" and the opera talent, who was good at planning, could be used.
"Furen, I will be back soon."
After comforting Lady Bian, Cao Cao returned to the study.
Not long after, Xun Yu and Xi Zhicai came together and cupped their hands in greeting."My lord!"
"Wenruo, Zhicai, no need to be so polite.”Cao Cao waved his hand and handed over the letter.
"This is a letter from my younger brother. He said that he had originally sent Zhou Ang, the prefect of Jiujiang, to take over the post of governor of Yuzhou. His younger brother, Zhou Yu, had accompanied him, and Gong Lu had also sent the Yellow Turbans and Zhang Ziyu of Feng County to attack Qiao County.”
Hearing this, Xun Yu and Xi Zhicai's expressions did not change. Xun Yu took the letter and read it before handing it to Xi Zhicai.
After the two of them finished watching, Xi Zhi took the lead and said,"The fight between the two Yuan is within expectations, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly.”
"Not bad." Xun Yu echoed,"Yuan Gonglu has just stabilized his position in Nanyang, and he has sent Sun Jian to send troops to Dong Zhuo. He is also eyeing Jingzhou covetously.”
"Since Yuan Benchu is in Jizhou, it is understandable that he has some plans for Yuzhou.”
"What should we do now?”Cao Cao asked.
"My lord, we don't have to intervene in Yuzhou too early. We should prioritize Yanzhou.”Xi Zhicai cupped his hands." Our army is now very famous in Yanzhou. We can use this opportunity to recruit more Black Mountain Army soldiers and accumulate our strength."”
"Yuan Gonglu will make a move against Yanzhou.”
"I, second the motion!" Xun Yu nodded slightly and then added," The Qingzhou Yellow Turban should also be taken seriously, or they might bring us an opportunity.”
As expected, Xi Zhicai and Xun Yu lived up to their reputation. Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's actions could faintly predict the future situation.
In a few months, Yuan Shu would send troops to suppress Yanzhou. The governor of Yanzhou, Liu Dai, sent troops to resist, but the Yellow Turban Army of Qingzhou took advantage of the situation and killed them on the spot. Cao Cao also ordered the governor of Yanzhou at that time.
"We still need to discuss the details."
Cao Cao nodded and discussed with Xun Yu and Xi Zhicai for a long time.
When the meeting was about to end, Cao Cao asked,""My younger brother mentioned in his letter that he was speaking up for Zhang Ziyu.”
"Yes!" Xi Zhicai stroked his beard and said," Zhang Ziyu is famous for his talent and benevolence. This time, he has abandoned the darkness and joined the light. My lord has put in a good word for him. We can obtain his good intentions and perhaps we can use him as foreign aid in the future."”
To Cao Cao and Xun Yu, the matter they were discussing was at least related to the gains and losses of a prefecture or even the entire world. Cao Bin's letter was most important because Zhang Mu had sent a letter to Yuan Shao, but it was not taken seriously by them.
Jiujiang was currently too far away from them. Whether it was Zhou Ang or Zhang Muzuo, they were both within Yuan Shao's sphere of influence and had nothing to do with them. It was not bad to get to know them and sell them a good deal. Perhaps they could obtain unexpected benefits in the future.
"Wen Ruo, do you have any suggestions?" Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu.
"This subordinate has no objections." Xun Yu pondered for a moment and said," Since you want to sell it well, you can praise Zhang Mu more when you write a letter. Let him feel that the position of prefect is related to you and not just remember Yuan Benchu."”
"Good!" Cao Cao nodded in agreement and started writing.
Xun Yu and Xi Zhicai left the study together. The latter suddenly asked,""Wen Ruo, is there anything special about Zhang Ziyu?”
When he said that he wanted to put in a good word for Zhang Mu, he sensed Xun Yu's hesitation.
Xun Yu pondered for a moment and said," Ever since Feng Xiao left Hebei, he has been staying by Zhang Mu's side. Zhicai, do you think this matter is related to him?"”
Xun Yu voiced his fear.
No one knew better than him how terrifying Guo Jia was.
He was honest and upright in his administration, and Xun Yu believed that he was not inferior to anyone.
However, Guo Jia's talent and strategy made him wary!
Hearing this, Xi Zhicai was shocked.
"That Zhang Mu can actually make Feng Xiao recognize its master!？”
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