Chapter 358 Spring Drought Has Arrived
Is Han Xin considered a Han minister?
Even the death of Han Xin has caused controversy as to whether he was involved in treason, so Cao Cao's question is really interesting.
Judging from the records preserved in the treasury of the early Han Dynasty and the records left by Sima Qian, it has been confirmed that Han Xin had the intention of rebellion.
Regardless of whether there was any actual rebellion or whether his agreed plan could be implemented, at least one thing was clear -
Han Xin still maintained his understanding of the Warring States period when people were divided into kingdoms, and felt that he deserved to be the King of Qi based on his own merits.
He wants to be the king of a different surname!
This eventually led to a rift between him and the Han court.
What Cao Cao was asking was whether Qiao Yan had any intention of usurping power, or whether, having already conquered more than half of the world, she intended to emulate Han Xin's request to be crowned king?
She shouldn't have such thoughts.
In the records of the Han Dynasty, Han Xin was a rebel who attempted rebellion but failed, and his entire clan was exterminated and the informer was granted the title of marquis with 2,000 households. The Han Dynasty's restriction that only those with the surname Liu could be made kings was also formally implemented in the form of the White Horse Alliance as the kings in the early Han Dynasty were demoted to marquises or executed.
The White Horse Alliance was strictly observed except for the period when Empress Lü was in power, when Wang Mang usurped the throne, and when Emperor Guangwu restored the country.
So as for now, will it be torn apart by Qiao Yan?
After asking this question, Cao Cao looked at Qiao Yan's face carefully, but did not see any unusual signs.
She seemed to be only tasting the glass of wine in front of her to see if the taste had changed due to transportation, and she had already opened her mouth to reply: "It's just a saying that the more the better, but you want Cao Yanzhou to hold on to its origin and involve me in whether I have imitated Han Xin?"
"It's no wonder that Gongsun Bogui died last year and was sent to Chang'an. I just told the truth about my subordinates' military achievements, and I was questioned whether I had fabricated their military achievements."
"From this point of view, Cao Yanzhou and Wang Situ have some common topics. Why not go to Chang'an to have a chat with him? Perhaps he is more suitable to be your tablemate than me."
Cao Cao smiled and said, "I am just a little interested in what is recorded in the history books, and I want to take this opportunity to ask a few questions. There is no need to involve everything in persuading you to surrender."
Qiao Yan's roundabout answer to the question did not surprise Cao Cao at all.
If she had said something directly like "Han Xin plotted treason and cannot be called a Han minister, and I have no intention of imitating him", or "The Grand Marshal has already reached the highest position among officials, there is no need for him to take one more step forward and overturn his reputation in one day", let alone whether this move was showing cowardice in front of Cao Cao, even if she really said so, Cao Cao might not believe her conclusion.
On the contrary, what she said about Han Xin and persuading him to surrender was something she should say as the Grand Marshal.
She even followed up with a sentence, "But Cao Yanzhou is really joking. When did I say that I must persuade you to surrender? Conquering Yanzhou and Yuzhou, leaving you with no place to stay, and then sending you to Chang'an is also a way to make you meet Wang Situ."
The words she uttered slowly contained a fighting spirit that could not be ignored.
When Chen Gong went to Yecheng to explain to Cao Cao the reason for coming to meet Qiao Yan, he mentioned that Yanzhou needed to show a strong enough attitude to ensure that it would not become the target of Qiao Yan's attack first and become a member of Xuzhou's footsteps. However, judging from the current situation, Cao Cao has not yet shown a strong enough attitude, and Qiao Yan has already shown an aggressive stance.
But if Cao Cao would lose his composure because of her words of challenging him to a fight, then he would not be Cao Cao anymore.
He asked in return: "As Qiao Bingzhou said before, there are signs of natural disasters this year. Luoyang intends to attract refugees from all over the world. If a war breaks out between Sili and Yanzhou, will it go against the expectations of these living people?"
If she really wanted to take in as many Luoyang people as possible, she would never have had the opportunity to lead a victorious army and escort them back to Chang'an.
The principle of giving up something in order to gain something will not change because of Qiao Yan's strong behavior. It is an objective truth.
Cao Cao also had to admit that Qiao Yan had elite soldiers and generals under her command, and could ensure that each side had garrison personnel, but this did not mean that the supplies in her hands could sustain such a high consumption during the changes in offense and defense.
Therefore, this is not only contrary to the goal of "living people", but also something that is difficult for her to accomplish.
But after hearing Cao Cao's objective judgment, she just shook her head and replied: "You are not entirely right. If I want my soldiers to have meat and vegetables, good weapons, and medicines on hand before they go out to fight, and to invade the enemy's territory with a winning momentum, that is indeed not enough."
"It's not just this year that is not enough. Even if we accumulate experience for several more years, it may not be enough."
"But the current situation is that the way of fighting is changing with each passing day. A few years ago, I defeated the enemy in Liangzhou with the crossbow. But within a year or so, Yuan Benchu and you, Cao Mengde, have made the same progress under their command. Now I have taken out something like this in Yangzhou. Even I can't guarantee that you won't gain something from it."
When he heard her mention Yangzhou, Cao Cao was stunned for a moment.
There seemed to be some changes that he didn't know about, but at this moment Qiao Yan obviously had no intention of explaining it to him. Instead, he continued, "Time is running out. If I can sacrifice a small thing for a big thing, I won't hesitate."
"The land of the world is vast. If it is divided into two, no court can be called the master of the world. The expenses for supporting the army and court officials must come from the production of the half of the land. Although I want to reduce taxes, I must not exhaust myself to support the enemy. If paying a price can make the country peaceful, without internal and external troubles, and the people can enjoy long-term peace and happiness, why wouldn't I do it?"
There is nothing wrong with what you said.
Although this is somewhat contrary to Qiao Yan's approach over the past few years, if Cao Cao were to make such a decision in her shoes, he might not hesitate to sacrifice a few people in exchange for a beneficial outcome in the long run.
In Qiao Yan's determined gaze, he also saw an attitude of confrontation that could not be compromised.
No friendship could hinder her plan to march eastward.
No one could try to make her show any sign of surrender.
Cao Cao then knew that he no longer needed to come up with any other excuses.
He ended the conversation at Hulao Pass with just a few brief words about the weather and his experience in supporting the people.
However, when Qiao Yan was about to leave, Cao Cao did not rush to stand up, but still kept holding the wine cup and said to Qiao Yan: "Ye Shu, I want to ask you again, are you still a Han minister?"
This sentence changed the address, and compared with the previous way of referring to Han Xin, it sounded more like a question between friends.
Some people believe that Qiao Yan's campaigns in the past few years were a result of her doing her utmost to save the Han Dynasty, as she was isolated and powerless. However, some others believe that this was an act of usurpation.
People might think that she is the most loyal and capable general in the world and a good official who works for the people because of the favors she has bestowed. However, when she is compared with people who are also playing the same game as her on the political stage, many of her actions will be criticized.
The fact that the various states had no time to report to the emperor for a decision while suppressing the rebellion, so she had to execute the order first and report later might be a reason, but it is not a reason that can convince everyone.
All these accumulated dissatisfactions and suspicions would sooner or later erupt at a certain opportunity, so that even if she possessed a political EQ far superior to Han Xin's, she could not guarantee that she would not become the target of liquidation like him.
At that time, would Qiao Yan follow Han Xin's old path of "after the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked", or would he choose to rise against the wind and completely break with the Han Dynasty just to save his life?
Qiao Yan paused for a moment.
Unlike her previous answer, she said, "My grandfather warned me in the past because I was smart. It is human nature to seek personal gain in a chaotic world. But if the Han Dynasty does not let me down, I will never do anything that would hurt the Han Dynasty. Nothing has changed in the past ten years."
"If Brother Meng De asks me as a friend, then I can only say -"
"I hope so."
She wished she was a Hanchen.
But what if someone insisted on letting her end up like Han Xin?
The answer was not revealed in Qiao Yan's words.
Cao Cao was unable to make a judgement based on the situation at that time.
Emperor Liu Yu lived in Chang'an for a long time and was rarely seen by outsiders, let alone Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou in the Yecheng court.
He did not feel as clearly as Liu Bei, who was in Chang'an at the moment, about the dilemma and internal friction facing Liu Yu. He could not know that Wang Yun, who was once mentioned in Qiao Yan's words, was not only deeply dissatisfied with her for conferring military merits on his subordinates, but had also secretly contacted Liu Yang and had a deeper obsession with eradicating Qiao Yan.
He just became more and more aware of a fact as he looked at Qiao Yan's departing back.
The meeting in Yanxili in Luoyang city in the fourth year of Zhongping has completely changed today.
He felt melancholy for a moment, then he pulled himself together and rode his horse back to the east.
As soon as he walked in front of his subordinates, he saw Cao Chun let out a long sigh of relief.
Obviously, even if the teams on both sides were ready to provide support in the middle at any time, Cao Chun was still worried that Qiao Yan would choose to attack Cao Cao directly when he only had a few opponents left.
"After all, the Lord and the Grand Marshal are rivals. If she were to capture the leader first and then launch a large-scale attack while Yanzhou is leaderless, even if it would cause some criticism, it would be a necessary step to restore the country." Cao Chun said as he escorted Cao Cao to the carriage for the return trip, "If there is such an invitation next time, the Lord should be more cautious."
"There won't be a next time," Cao Cao replied, "The next time we meet will be on the battlefield."
From the fact that Qiao Yan had given up trying to persuade him to surrender, and had not mentioned Cao Pi at all during the meeting, and had shown no mercy in treating the refugees entering Luoyang, it was not difficult for Cao Cao to be sure that unless he chose to side with Qiao Yan at this moment and bring Yanzhou and Yuzhou under the rule of the court in Chang'an, the only outcome would be war.
Just as Qiao Yan said, a short pain is worse than a long one, and this process of merging the two will not be delayed for too long.
However, the answer she gave about the future of the Han Dynasty during this meeting did not actually satisfy Cao Cao.
While he had not yet experienced the difficulty of holding the emperor's throne and the status of truly having power over the world as in history, the cognition of the Yan and Han dynasties for 400 years was still rooted in his mind, making him still puzzled about Qiao Yan's current actions and the choices she might make.
However, what surprised Cao Cao a little was that shortly after he returned to Dongjun of Yanzhou, he received a letter sent from the direction of Hulao Pass in Chenggao.
The person who wrote this letter was none other than Qiao Yan himself.
In the letter, she wrote that Luoyang was no longer the capital, and it was indeed not appropriate to have more people there. She would limit the number of people entering Luoyang from the end of the month to May or June. How many people Cao Cao could keep depended on his ability.
Cao Cao held the letter and pondered for a long time.
The problem of Luoyang being overpopulated and prone to unrest was not apparent to Cao Cao at all, as Qiao Yan maintained a strong attitude during the meeting at Hulao Pass.
On the day after the meeting, he learned about the bombing of the small building by the river through the news brought by Guo Tu on his way back to Yecheng from Yangzhou. It was obvious that the weapons reform mentioned by Qiao Yan was true.
It seems that it is not because Qiao Yan is lacking in ability that he made such a concession, but perhaps it is because -
"Your Majesty, do you think that Qiao Yeshu decided to restrain his actions in Luoyang because of your reminder? That's why he sent you this letter?"
Chen Gong, who had just returned from Yecheng, was called by Cao Cao to inquire about this matter. He looked at Cao Cao's expression and asked.
Cao Cao replied, "From Gongtai's point of view, is this really possible?"
With one question asked as an opponent and one expressed concern as a friend, is it possible that Qiao Yan would appropriately restrain his original intention of swallowing up everyone in Luoyang?
Perhaps Cao Cao's words also prompted her to think of her deceased grandfather. After all, Qiao Xuan's lasting wish before his death was to be buried on the frontier to ensure the stability of the Han border forever.
In the face of this inheritance, her actions, which had already crossed the line, were framed back a bit, as if they were not something that could not be explained.
Chen Gong thought about it and replied, "Then we'll have to see what her next move is."
If this was just a deception to confuse Cao Cao's judgment, there would always be some signs in her next move.
But a few days later, Cao Cao and Chen Gong received the following news:
After Qiao Yan made some inspections and visits in Luoyang, he set off and returned to Chang'an.
Whether it was because she had to personally report to Liu Yu on the battle situation in Xu and Yang states, or because she had indeed been away from Chang'an for too long, the result before them was the same.
The Grand Marshal returned to the capital.
"Perhaps, this is indeed a concession she made to you?" Chen Gong was a little confused about what Qiao Yan meant.
However, regardless of whether she was awakened by Cao Cao's warning, another reality has been placed before them, leaving them no time to consider whether there are any other hidden meanings in Qiao Yan's actions.
The spring drought has arrived.
If Cao Cao, who holds two states in his hands, wants to retain the people in his territory, there is no chance for him to be distracted!
In the face of this merciless weather, no one was given special treatment.
You can only try your best to fight for a way to survive!
When the convoy that Qiao Yan was riding in entered the territory of Chang'an, they saw that the estuary of the Wei River, which was one of the dangerous obstacles in front of Tongguan, was flowing at a speed several times slower than last year.
There is no joy of spring at the end of this month. Only the dynasty she supports, which is on the decline, is taking another breath in a difficult way.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
