Chapter 458 Extra 8 (2)
Cao Ang could swear that at the moment the shell hit, his father's action was definitely to escape.
This is obviously not something an ordinary Cao Cao would do.
It was precisely this performance that made Cao Ang suspect that Cao Cao had been replaced by someone else.
But under the heavy military protection of the Qinghai County, this kind of situation should never have happened.
Cao Cao was no longer at the age where his appearance would change drastically after not seeing him for several years.
Although the conditions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are harsh, they are only relatively speaking.
As the commander-in-chief, Cao Cao was more responsible for annexing the Qiang people and bringing them under his rule, rather than personally fighting on the plateau. What's more, conquering the west has always been Cao Cao's wish. Your Majesty can still entrust him with important tasks, and even put him in such a position of expanding territory without having to be idle, which keeps his spirit in a full state at all times and naturally does not show signs of aging.
If Cao Ang were to be believed, judging from Cao Cao's appearance, he looked even younger than the last time they met.
At most... his expression looks a bit haggard.
But this kind of vicissitudes was only fleeting, and was soon suppressed by Cao Cao's calm expression, as if his action of turning around after pulling the reins was just a subconscious behavior due to being unaccustomed to the artillery fire.
Cao Ang also found an excuse for Cao Cao.
He coughed lightly and said, "Father, don't worry about the cannon exploding. The Academy of Sciences has conducted countless experiments, and Your Majesty has never saved money on this. The batch we brought this time is cast in iron molds, water-cooled and self-tightened, and the iron core is covered with a layer of copper. If there are signs of exploding, they will show up on the outside first, and the barrel will not fall apart."
There had been three or two reports of barrel explosions in the early years, and now that it was being used in such a special environment as the plateau, it was no wonder that Cao Cao was worried about something going wrong.
However, in recent years, the mining of copper mines in various places has become more stable. In addition to being used for coinage, the consumption of making artillery is no longer a burden for Dayong, so there is no need to worry about this.
The existence of this cannon is to show that Dayong’s divine army has descended from the sky!
When Cao Cao entered the Tibetan plain from Qinghai County, he actually did not expect that Tang Mao, of which there were sporadic records a hundred years ago, had actually formed a relatively complete national system ruled by queens of different sizes. The Fa Qiang formed the Fa Qiang Kingdom, and the Yak Qiang from Yizhou migrated into Tibet and formed six tribes in the Yalong River Valley.
When the Qiang people in Qinghai County gradually surrendered under Cao Cao's combination of kindness and force, the notice of His Majesty Dayong's intention to recover Zangyuan was also sent to these three places.
But unfortunately, the increasingly perfect national system gave rise to their ambitions and made them unwilling to surrender easily.
Then we can only fight!
The Thirty-Six States of the Protectorate of the Western Regions no longer existed as independent countries as the Western Regions were being managed. Instead, they became true subjects of Dayong with the expansion of cotton fields and the gradual increase of troops stationed in the Western Regions. The two countries in the Tibetan area were certainly no exception.
When that cannon and the four subsequent shells opened the prelude to the war against the Western Qiang, the accident that Cao Cao was distracted by the cannon was probably just an episode at most.
In his sight, Cao Ang, who had long since withdrawn his concern for his old father's mentality, and Cao Hong, who cooperated with him, mobilized this high-spirited team and rushed towards the Qiang natives on the opposite side like a torrent.
Previously, because he didn't know where he was, Cao Cao had somewhat neglected the details around him.
It was only at this moment that he finally avoided Cao Ang's gaze and discovered the unusualness of this group of attacking Qiang troops.
These elite combat horses have distinct characteristics of famous Western Region horses and Liangzhou horses. The horses of the front army's battle-breaking team are also equipped with sophisticated iron armor.
Even if the soldiers were not wearing chain mail for tighter defense, they were wearing thick enough clothes and leather armor, and it was impossible for the Qiang people's stray arrows to penetrate them.
Cao Cao finally realized that because the temperature in this area was colder due to geographical conditions, the clothes worn by the soldiers were not ordinary linen clothes, but another kind of fabric that was unknown to him, as well as an equally unknown filling.
This era was probably more than ten years ahead of his time. In terms of social conditions, it was many years more advanced!
So what exactly is this place?
Who exactly is this "Your Majesty" that Cao Ang mentioned?
More and more questions popped into his mind as he looked around, and none of the counselors he was used to having around him were there to answer his questions.
He knew that he could not ask questions with obvious loopholes at this time, so he could only watch with his own eyes Cao Ang and Cao Hong defeat the enemy's troops head-on with their swords and capture the leading general. Then he saw Cao Ang calmly withdraw his troops and return to the barracks with him.
"Why not just attack the enemy's lair?" Cao Cao asked Cao Ang casually.
Cao Ang smiled, "It seems that my father didn't forget to test me before ordering me to lead the troops. Although I have taken over Yuan Zhi's work in Hanzhong, the southern part of Yizhou also has the General of the Qiang and Barbarians, the two governors of Zhao and Wang, and the governor of Wu to supervise it. I don't have to lead the troops to fight in person, but I also know your majesty's unified attitude towards the barbarians in the border areas."
"In the past, the battle of Gaoping City had to exterminate all the Zhong Qiang people. This was necessary to reverse the century-long Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou. Now, we should still adhere to the principle of controlling the Qiang with the Qiang people first."
"Since my father has already conquered Qinghai County and sent the Baima Qiang to join the war, he naturally shares the same idea as Your Majesty. In addition, the Tibetan area is remote, and it is impossible to relocate our people in Dayong here in a short period of time. I am afraid that we will still have to deal with these Tangmao Qiang, Fa Qiang and Yak Qiang. The right way is to deter them with our strength first, and then try to recover them."
Cao Ang spoke eloquently here, but he didn't know that just these few words caused an uproar in Cao Cao's heart.
Dayong? What Dayong?
Although Cao Cao already had power far superior to that of Liu Xie and had completely eliminated Yuan Shao, his biggest rival in the north, he still did not dare to take the step of usurping the throne and replacing the Han Dynasty with the Wei Kingdom.
But it is obvious that when Cao Ang said that, even if he did not explain further, it was enough for Cao Cao to confirm that in this era, there were probably no great Han people anymore.
The one who replaced it was Dayong!
What is going on here?
Then the Majesty mentioned by Cao Ang was not the emperor of the Han Dynasty, but the emperor of Dayong who replaced the Han Dynasty!
This sudden news almost made Cao Cao stumble. He could barely stand there, and then returned to the tent in a daze.
"Is it my illusion? I feel that although we have won the battle, big brother is not in such a good mood?" Cao Hong looked at Cao Cao's back and asked Cao Ang. "It shouldn't be like this, no matter you're here or our firearms have made new progress, he shouldn't behave like this."
Cao Ang shook his head and replied, "I don't know what happened to my father."
The victory in this battle against the Shangfa Qiang and other tribes was a natural result, which did not exceed anyone's expectations.
The new artillery that appeared in front of Cao Cao also showed extraordinary stability due to the promotion of new technology.
Due to the expansion of cotton planting in the Western Regions, Cao Ang integrated a large amount of materials after passing through Liangzhou.
As they grow older, Cao Pi and Cao Zhang have gradually appeared before Your Majesty.
With all these things happening before, Cao Cao shouldn't have any confusion, right?
But it seemed that his father's abnormal behavior was not at this moment, or it seemed that it was not only at the moment when the cannon was fired. When he first saw his father in the morning, he found that the other party was in a daze, and there was something unnatural in his words and deeds.
Cao Ang suppressed his doubts and said to Cao Hong, "Perhaps he is thinking about something else, such as... thinking about how to build the city of Dayong on this land after convincing Tang Mao to surrender?"
Cao Hong thought for a moment, "That's true. This is indeed not easy."
With a reasonable explanation for Cao Cao's behavior, the King of Wei, who had just arrived in the parallel universe, finally got a temporarily safe space to think about life and digest the information he had obtained.
He should be more grateful that he did not travel directly to the time when Xizhou was pacified and he returned to Luoyang Xindu to retire. Otherwise, he would have run into Qiao Yan directly and there might not have been any chance for him to get the news.
But no matter how "safe" the situation was, Cao Cao could not avoid falling into a long silence after he had completely read the letters in the military tent and looked at the map of Dayong in front of him.
On this map of Dayong with "Yuan Zhao 12th Year Edition" written on it, not only were the thirteen states in the world that he knew of included, the entire Western Regions had been clearly included in the territory of Dayong, and even the Kushan Empire further west was marked with a sign of submission to Dayong.
Looking to the northeast, the Wuhuan, whom he had just sent Cao Zhang and Tian Yu to conquer, had already become a vassal of the Great Yong Dynasty. Even Buyeo and Goguryeo, which were outside the country, were no exception, and even the Three Han and other places across the sea.
Yangzhou and Jiaozhou, which are separated from the north by a large river, are even only part of the southern territory. Even Yizhou on the sea has generals and officials stationed there.
This is a really huge territory!
The most terrifying thing was that on a piece of paper with Leping Monthly Report on the table, there was another map with more distant countries recorded on it, because it was a record of Gan Ning crossing the East China Sea and reaching the other side of the ocean!
The original "Cao Cao" may have placed this item here out of the need to collect maps, but it also brought unprecedented shock to the "Cao Cao" who had just arrived here.
The familiar names that appeared on the map made Cao Cao unable to understand where the changes in this world began.
Was it because the world had not experienced the Yellow Turban Rebellion or the Dong Zhuo Rebellion, or was there a turning point somewhere else that caused the development of the entire world to rush in another unpredictable direction, and there was no north-south confrontation at all?
So much so that at this time, when the situation in each state is stable, there is a possibility of expanding outward.
"It's really a ghost."
Cao Cao muttered to himself as he calculated the year that corresponded to the twelfth year of Yuan Zhao in his world.
Fortunately, when he had finished reading all the books in the tent, he judged from a sentence about the time when Xihai County was established by Wang Mang that this was the twelfth year of Yuanzhao, which, if corresponding to the world he was in, should be the twelfth year of Jian'an.
And this year...
Cao Cao's eyes moved.
He would never forget that Guo Jia also died in this year.
However, the other party is still in the position of Governor of Yanzhou, and it is clearly written on the map, making Cao Cao more and more aware of how much the world he is in now is different from the original historical trajectory.
Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh.
"Even if we figure out the year, it's of limited significance."
This may only prevent him from being completely blinded, but it cannot instill all the developments of this world into his mind.
The changes in the world were so great that they completely exceeded Cao Cao's expectations.
His mind might still be stuck on the progress of Liu Ye's Thunderbolt Chariot, but the Dayong Dynasty had already started flying artillery attacks, and they were completely on a different level.
It’s no exaggeration to say this is a ghost!
And when marching and fighting, no one would put historical materials such as the Brief History of the Development of Dayong and Dongguan Hanji here.
Even if the medium for recording text in this world has become stronger yet thinner paper, such a counterintuitive phenomenon would never exist.
In order to find out as quickly as possible what situation he is facing now, who the Emperor Dayong in power is, and even what level the various technologies in this world have developed to, he must first end the war against the Western Qiang, and then return to the Qinghai County city mentioned by Cao Ang.
Yes, that's it!
But on the second day, Cao Cao learned a piece of news from Cao Ang that was like a bolt from the blue.
The messenger is coming!
An envoy from Luoyang.
"It's not surprising that Your Majesty has made such a decision. Minister Cai came here on behalf of the emperor, and Chief Secretary Jiang is proficient in many languages and is a Qiang from Qinghai County. With these two as envoys, once we win, we can immediately pursue the victory and negotiate surrender with the Tang Mao Kingdom."
"The host of the Tangmao Kingdom is the queen, and the emperor's envoys headed by Cai Zhaoji are much more suitable than us to meet them."
Cao Ang thought to himself, wasn't this the case with the Queen of Jingjue in the Western Regions Protectorate back then?
But the subtext of this news to Cao Ang is completely different from that to Cao Cao.
Chae So Hee...
When Cao Cao suddenly heard the name, his thoughts inevitably drifted to the situation before he came here.
In the 12th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao, because of his early friendship with Cai Yong and his pity for Cai Zhaoji's literary talent, paid a large sum of money to redeem Cai Zhaoji, who had fallen into the hands of the Huns at that time, and married her to Dong Si.
That is to say, in the winter of last year, Dong Si committed a capital crime. Cai Zhaoji rushed to the hall to plead for Dong Si, and saved Dong Si's life with the words "Your Excellency has tens of thousands of horses in the stables and a forest of brave warriors. Why not spare a swift horse to save a dying man?" ①
This made him ask almost subconsciously: "When was she brought back from the Xiongnu?"
However, the next moment, Cao Ang's silence in the face of this question and his undisguised expression of suspicion startled Cao Cao -
Oh no! He said the wrong thing!
In Cao Ang's words, Cai Zhaoji of Dayong was the emperor's representative and an important negotiator. The life she experienced must have been very different from that of another Cai Zhaoji!
"Father," Cao Ang suddenly lowered his tone, "I think you need to give me a reasonable explanation."
"I can no longer convince myself of your strange behavior since yesterday."
——————
It is not just Cao Cao who is facing this situation of being exposed.
In Luoyang, the new capital of Sili, Guo Jia sat in a restaurant along the street, looking at the street below. He shook the wine glass in front of him, looking at the strong liquor in it that he had never tasted before, and blinked in confusion.
Anyone who showed up here after being clearly declared dead would find it hard to recover.
Moreover, it would be fine if he had just received a gift from God and resurrected in a new body, but it is obvious that he is still Guo Jia Guo Fengxiao, and even his age has not changed at all, but both his identity and the environment he lives in have undergone earth-shaking changes.
It was also a change that even his extraordinary mind could hardly imagine!
Cao Cao had the same idea. After flipping through the books in his residence in Luoyang and seeing the development of Dayong, he just wanted to say one thing -
It's really a ghost!
Fortunately, because he had been in Yanzhou for a long time, he only stayed in the residence for a short time when he returned to the capital of Luoyang to report on his work. There were only three or two servants in the mansion here who were responsible for cleaning and drying books. They didn't spend much time with Guo Jia, so he was not discovered by the servants about the abnormality of the master's family at the first time.
In order to avoid the visiting cards handed to him by Xun Yu and Xi Zhicai, Guo Jia slipped out of the door quickly, giving them no chance to observe.
But he is not good at acting.
Guo Jia pricked up his ears and heard the people at the next table talking about the imperial examination to be held in Luoyang in August. When he heard these students recounting the officials in the court of Dayong who were highly trusted by the emperor, and his name was among them, he almost wanted to bury his head in the table.
That’s too much!
Even if you want to change the environment for people, why can't you give them more time to adapt!
Even though he could see the development process of Dayong more clearly than Cao Cao - seeing that the current emperor first made his fortune as the governor of Bingzhou, attacked Liangzhou after Liu Hong's death, supported Liu Yu to ascend the throne and then set about conquering various states, and finally proclaimed himself emperor and sought to seize the foundation of the Han Dynasty - he could be considered to have a background guide, but he still felt that it was full of troubles.
Qiao Yan is by no means an easy-going or easily fooled character, but an emperor who has a keen insight into the world situation and possesses amazing action and courage!
Now that he was in Luoyang City, he had to deal with the other party.
When he thought about the twenty-year-long friendship between Guo Jia and the other party, he felt something was wrong.
The intersection of time was enough for him to have nothing to hide in the other person's eyes.
Not to mention, he had a reason to meet the other party at this moment: he came back to report on the progress of Yanzhou's industrial construction.
The original Guo Jia had already written the report, but... the current Guo Jia had no idea how to present the glass sand and coal mining, as well as the various construction projects of this place as the hub of the Central Plains, in an orderly manner in front of Qiao Yan.
It's really annoying.
He was drinking a wine he had never drunk before and it tasted bland to him. The delicious dishes in front of him did not attract his attention at all.
Then of course it couldn't be blamed that he had to think about how he was going to deal with Qiao Yan first, instead of going to see his lord who was still fighting in the northwestern border as soon as possible.
It was at this moment that Guo Jia suddenly saw a particularly outstanding young man walking among the crowd downstairs, and he subconsciously turned his gaze over.
Although he had never looked in the mirror to see what he looked like now, he had an almost instinctive intuition -
The expression of the man downstairs was exactly the same as his.
And if he had not had a similar experience as himself, this kind of confusion should not have appeared on his face!
What’s even more coincidental is that before this encounter, Guo Jia had met the other person once.
Before going up to this restaurant to daydream, in order to understand his own situation, Guo Jia made a special trip to the Xuanyuan Pavilion in Luoyang and took a look at all the talented people of Dayong in the pavilion.
When leaving, Guo Jia happened to pass by the other party, and heard the introduction of the other party from the scholars passing by outside Xuanyuan Pavilion, and then learned the other party's name.
That is Zhuge Liang, the current second-in-command of the Secretariat, who was transferred back from the position of Governor of Jizhou!
Coincidentally, before he died of illness in another world, Guo Jia had also heard of his name.
Because the circle of scholars in Nanyang and Yingchuan were not too far apart, Zhuge Liang, who could have entered officialdom earlier, chose to work as a farmer in Nanyang and was also known to Guo Jia for a time.
He also knew that it was in the year when he was terminally ill that Liu Bei intended to visit Longzhong and hire Zhuge Liang to be his adviser.
It doesn’t matter whether Liu Bei succeeded or not. In short, now, both he and Zhuge Liang are ministers of His Majesty the Great Yong.
They all seemed to have experienced some miraculous experience of coming here from another world, so they didn't know how to face this situation.
That couldn’t be better!
It is much better for two people to discuss things together than to face the dilemma alone, or even be burned to death as if it were a ghost.
After realizing this, Guo Jia immediately left the money for the wine, told the waiter in the store to keep the seat for him, hurried downstairs, and chased in the direction of Zhuge Liang.
Seeing that the other party was walking in a hurry, as if he was afraid that someone familiar would recognize him, Guo Jia quickly raised his voice in an attempt to interrupt the other party's rapid pace.
"Kong Ming, please stay!"
The author has something to say:
① From "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Dong Si's Wife"
Let me summarize the important information about time:
It is now the twelfth year of Yuan Zhao in the Dayong world, which is 207 AD (the twelfth year of Jian'an). According to official history, Guo Jia died in this year.
207 AD was also the year when Zhuge Liang came out to assist Liu Bei, and when Cai Zhaoji was redeemed from the Huns by Cao Cao.
However, only Guo Jia is the Guo Jia of 207, while the others all returned to the parallel universe in 207 in 218. (Not all members travel through time)
As for why it is set this way, read on.
Of course it would be more interesting if we change talents together. (Your Majesty: What’s the point? Where are my subjects!!!) (I will get it back, I will get it back)
See you tomorrow morning at 9:30.
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