Since Cao Cao took over Yecheng, he has rewarded all the meritorious officials on their merits. Xu You, who claimed to have made amazing achievements for Cao Cao, has received more rewards than others. However, Cao Cao only satisfied him in material terms, and never gave Xu You any official position in terms of official position. For several months, Xu You's name has not actually had any title.

In addition, Cao Cao almost never asked Xu You to participate when convening the military discussion. At first, Xu You disagreed with this, and even Guo Jia, Xun You and others did not take it seriously, nor did he bother discussing politics with them.

Whenever there is something wrong, he would always ask to meet Cao Cao alone. In order to appease the old ministers of the Yuan clan who had just surrendered, Cao Cao would always accommodate Xu You whenever he encountered this situation and let Xu You speak loudly in front of him.

After a long time, Cao Cao's patience was wiped out by Xu You little by little. Once, Cao Cao and Guo Jia were discussing the detailed combat deployment of attacking Yuan Tan in the study. When he heard the attendant outside the door report that Xu You came to see him, he frowned and threw the bamboo slips in his hand on the desk. He covered his forehead and was very distressed. In desperation, he had to let the attendant reply:

"You go and tell him that I'm not feeling well and ask him to come again next day."

After the attendant replied truthfully, Xu You still wanted to enter the door. He ignored Cao Cao's words to let the attendant tell him, but the attendant reached out to stop him. Xu You immediately shook his sleeves and immediately lowered his face, pointed at the attendant's nose and scolded:

"What are you? I have known your Lord Sikong since childhood. Even Cao Aman dares to treat me like this. You, a mere servant, dare to block me outside the door. Get out of here!"

The servant who obeyed Cao Cao did not dare to let Xu You in easily, so he quickly bowed and blocked Xu You:

"Master Sikong is really in good health now, no one is seen. Please don't make things difficult for sir."

Xu You felt that his face had been damaged, and in a hurry, he held the hilt of the sword and wanted to draw the sword.

Just as he pulled out the hilt of the sword a little, he suddenly felt a force stopping him. When he looked down, he found that Kong Wu's powerful hand was pressing the head of his hilt, and this hand was stretched out from behind him.

Seeing that someone dared to stop him, Xu You was even more angry. He quickly turned his head to provoke the people behind him. However, when he turned his head, he found that the person who stopped him was actually Cao Chun.

Seeing that Cao Chun and Xu You's anger was slightly suppressed, Cao Chun saw that Xu You's hand had left the hilt of the sword, he also let go of his hand and bowed to Xu You, "Why are you angry? You're just a servant."

After saying that, he winked at the attendant and pretended to scold, "Don't retreat yet!"

Seeing this, the attendant quickly stood aside. Cao Chun turned to Xu You with a kind look:

"I happened to have something to ask to see my lord. If you don't give up, you might as well go in with me."

Before Xu You could respond, the attendant quickly said to Cao Chun:

"Mr. Sikong is ill at this time, so please come again next day."

Seeing the servant saying this, Cao Chun quickly said to him respectfully:

"I told my lord to tell you, and said Cao Chun wishes him a speedy recovery and I will come again next day."

After saying that, Cao Chun turned around and left. Xu You felt that he was unable to get out of the market, and he turned away in anger.

What Xu You didn't expect was that Cao Chun did not really leave, but entered through the back door of Cao Cao's territory.

After listening to Cao Chun's narration, Cao Cao laughed and said, "That's what you guys have."

Guo Jia also praised Cao Chun's wit and calmness: "Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu are also quite like generals under your training. At a young age, he commanded the army of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry in the Ba Mansion, and he can be said that strict troops produce high disciples."

Hearing Guo Jia praise Cao Chun so much, Cao Cao couldn't help laughing:

"Although Zihe and Zidan have different ages, they are about the same age. Fengxiao is making fun of him."

"Cao Gong Mingjian, I dare not make fun of Zi and General easily, otherwise the cavalry of the White Tiger Camp would have flattened my home?" Guo Jia also followed Cao Cao's joke. Cao Cao and Cao Chun laughed at the same time after hearing this.

After laughing, Cao Cao quickly talked about the main topic. He put away his smile and said to Cao Chun:

"Zihe, you just came back from Qingzhou. How are Zang Ba preparing now?"

Cao Chun replied: "Report to the lord, Zang Ba secretly followed your order a few months ago to complete the second phase of recruitment and training. Before, I went to Qingzhou to convey your order. Zang Ba mobilized the main force to Jinan and Le'an counties, and has formed a positive surround of Pingyuan and Leling. You can take action just by giving your order."

After listening to Cao Chun’s return, Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction and turned to Guo Jia:

"Yuan Tan is very restless recently. I spent some time to stabilize Jizhong and Jibei before. Now I have freed up my hands and it is time to pull out the nail that is tied to the soles of my shoes."

Although Guo Jia expressed his approval for Cao Cao's dealing with Yuan Tan at this time, he still made detailed inferences after analyzing the situation:

"Although Yuan Tan now occupy several counties in eastern Ji, his foothold is not stable. At this time, we need to consider these issues when dealing with Yuan Tan. First of all, Yuan Xi from the north, who is the most likely to rush to assist Yuan Tan, so we must take advantage of the fact that they have not yet formed an alliance to capture the land of Hejian. At the same time, Zang Ba sent troops from Le'an to the north while consolidating the defense line in Jinan, and went straight to Leling and Bohai."

After looking closely at the map, Cao Chun couldn't help but be amazed at Guo Jia's strategy again: "It's amazing! This not only prevented Yuan Xi from going south from Youzhou to aid Yuan Tan, but also completely surrounded Yuan Tan in Jizhou."

Guo Jia, who was looking at the map at the same time, was not as optimistic as Cao Chun. Cao Chun saw his frowning look. Cao Chun was surprised: "The military advisor has already considered the whole story, and Yuan Tan is already like a turtle in a jar, why is he frowning?"

Cao Cao, who was sitting on the couch, saw Guo Jia’s concern: “Is Fengxiao worried about the senior officials in Bingzhou?”

Guo Jia nodded, and he pointed to Yecheng on the wall map, and then moved his finger to the left and slightly to the Shangdang place where Huguan was located: "The Shangdang, controlled by the senior officials, has always been where he hoarded his heavy troops. He used Huguan as a barrier to hold elite soldiers. Although he surrendered to us at this moment, this person has always been chasing profits. When we launched a large-scale attack on the Eastern Expedition, if he had the idea of ​​sending troops from Shangdang to attack, it would only take a few days to fight to Yecheng. At that time, we would be very passive."

Cao Chun, who saw the hidden dangers behind him through Guo Jia's guidance, reached out and touched his chin, his face not as relaxed as before:

"In this way, we cannot do our best to fight the east at this moment. If we mobilize troops from Yanzhou and Yuzhou to assist in defense, we are afraid that Sun Quan will take advantage of the situation. If it is not for the military advisor to point it out, Cao Chun's superficial view will almost miss the big thing."

Cao Cao, who had been sitting, never expressed his opinion. At this time, he stood up and went to the map:

"If the high-ranking government had the idea of ​​stabbing me in the back, we would be unable to defend the boundary of the thousands of miles of Hebei, but it is not the time to provoke a conflict with him. This threat needs to be properly handled before sending troops."

The reality that cannot be ignored is in front of him. Although Cao Cao occupied the central and western part of Jizhou and completely extended his hand into the Hebei territory, he should not provoke wars on both sides if he had Yuan Tan in the east, senior officials in the west, and Yuan Xi in the north.

Just as they were discussing this matter, the servant stood outside the door and reported to Cao Cao:

"Lord, the young master is looking for a meeting outside."

As soon as he heard Cao Pi standing outside the door, Cao Cao's face began to become a little gloomy, and he said coldly:

"What are he doing? Shouldn't he stay at home with his newlywed wife now?"

The main reason why Cao Cao changed his attitude towards Cao Pi was that Cao Pi insisted on marrying Zhen Mi despite Cao Cao's opposition. Although Cao Cao, who has always had a view of the overall situation, had also accepted widows from other people, such as Du, the wife of Qin Yilu, at this time, he would undoubtedly arouse more hostility and hatred from Yuan Xi.

However, Cao Pi completely ignored Cao Cao's opposition and instead refuted the fact that his father had been widowed, which was against Cao Cao's intentions for the first time. Cao Cao did not expect Cao Pi to be so persistent, and Chen Qun also supported Cao Pi on the side and urged Cao Cao to fulfill his wish, which made Cao Cao finally agree to his request after thinking about it.

He agreed, but Cao Cao was still dissatisfied with Cao Pi because of this matter. When the Grand Historian Kong Rong went to Yecheng to reward him under the order of Liu Xie, he heard that most of the female relatives of the Yuan family were captured by the Cao army, especially the incident of Cao Pi privately marrying Zhen Mi made Kong Rong deeply disgusted with the behavior of the Cao father and son, and even fabricated the allusion that King Wu rewarded Daji to Duke Zhou after he defeated Zhou.

Kong Rong was a great scholar of the times. Cao Cao had no choice but to kill Kong Rong's face-to-face accusations, so he had to swallow his teeth.

Since then, Cao Cao regretted agreeing to the marriage between Cao Pi and Zhen Mi, and the trouble caused to him by Cao Pi's personal behavior has also made Cao Cao unable to let go of it for a long time.

After entering the study, Cao Pi saluted Cao respectfully: "Father."

"What's wrong with Zihuan here?" Cao Cao faced Cao Pi who didn't even look at him behind him. This behavior made the atmosphere particularly strange at this time. Cao Chun and Guo Jia present also felt something was wrong.

Cao Pi is a wise man, so he naturally knows that Cao Cao is dissatisfied with him. He keeps bowing and dare not look up:

"I learned that my father was preparing to fight Yuan Tan in the east, and I came to volunteer to leave the station and make contributions to my father's killing the enemy."

"Oh?" Cao Cao looked at Cao Pi with his eyes:

"For your blessing, the second young master, I am now attacked from three sides and I am extremely irresistible."

The words revealed a sense of resentment, and Cao Pi was prepared and answered calmly:

"The Yuan brothers are Yuan Shao's parents and children, and they will not sincerely submit to us no matter what. Therefore, it is a matter of time before the rebellion. Instead of waiting for it to ulcerate for a long time, it is better to pick it up as soon as possible to release poisonous pus."

Cao Cao, who was originally under the military threat from Yuan Xi and the political mockery of Kong Rong, ignored Cao Pi. When he heard Cao Pi say such words, he couldn't help but turn around and re-examine his son in front of him:

"Did you do it just to force Yuan Xi to rebel..."

Cao Pi smiled and said, "It's not entirely true. This is also a means to test Yuan Xi's reaction. If Yuan Xi has no action, it will at least prove that he is a person who is good at thinking and hesitant to do things. At that time, we can deploy a small number of troops to achieve a deterrent effect. At the same time, we can take this opportunity to quickly advance eastward to eliminate Yuan Tan. If he can't bear the humiliation, he will be sent directly, and I have already ordered Wang Ling's army stationed in Zhongshan to set up a pocket formation, which can capture him in one net."

Those present, including Guo Jia and Cao Chun, all looked at Cao Pi with praise for the deployment made by Cao Pi. Cao Cao's eyes changed when he looked at Cao Pi: "Even so, how should we deal with it if the high-ranking officials sneak attacked Yecheng when we advanced east?"

Facing Cao Cao's question, Cao Pi wanted to speak but stopped, but turned to lower his head shyly:

"I haven't considered this issue carefully yet. I think my father has a long-term plan and will definitely plan something."

Cao Chun and Guo Jia, who came out of Cao Cao's territory, walked together. During the walk, Cao Chun asked Guo Jia:

"The hidden dangers of high-ranking officials cannot be ignored. The lord is currently having a headache about this matter. Even the second young master who has carefully considered the situation in Youzhou is helpless. Can the military advisor have any plans to worry about the lord?"

Guo Jia crossed his hands into the sleeve tube and laughed while walking, saying a meaningful sentence:

"Whether you are Cao or your son, you have no worries at all, so I don't have to worry about it."

Cao Chun was puzzled and was about to ask questions. Guo Jia stopped and looked at him sideways:

"General, it's better not to ask too much. It's not good for anyone to say it out loud."

Seeing Guo Jia say this, Cao Chun couldn't ask any more, so he had to bury this doubt deeply in his heart.

At the same time, Xu You, who was deliberately alienated by Cao Cao, was furious after returning to his home. He was drunk and wandered around the streets. He talked about Cao Cao's childhood stories when he met everyone and even said to cancel the ridicule. Everyone could not hide when they heard his remarks, so Xu You seemed particularly silly on the street.

As he walked, he came to Cao Cao's mansion. He was already drunk and was about to break in. The guard at the door was ordered by Cao Cao to "only stop but not be rude" and did not dare to act rudely towards Xu You. Therefore, Xu You became unscrupulous, pushed the guard away and rushed straight into the door.

Seeing this, the guards didn't know what to do, so they quickly sent someone to report to Cao Cao.

Xu You held the hilt of the sword at his waist in one hand and the wine pot in the other hand. He staggered in Cao Cao's residence as if he was in a no-man's place until he arrived at the door of Cao Cao's study and shouted Cao Cao's nickname:

"Ah! Me! Xu Ziyuan, your great hero is here! Why don't you come out to greet me quickly!"

Xu You, who was already drunk, had a blush on his cheeks. He narrowed his eyes and waited for a while. After seeing that there was no one inside, he stepped forward and kicked the door open with an extremely rude move, trying to find Cao Cao:

"Ah!"

However, after entering the house, Xu You found that there was no one in Cao Cao's study. Xu You, who could have turned around and left when he saw no one, did not leave. Instead, he slowly moved to Cao Cao's table, threw away the wine pot in his hand, sat on Cao Cao's seat, and flipped through the mountains of bamboo slips on Cao Cao's table.

When Xu You was turning the bamboo slips casually, he accidentally found that one of the volumes had the words "Draft of Official Appointment" written on it. Xu You was curious about where Cao Cao would put him, so he took apart the seal and spread it on the table to browse it carefully.

The list above was basically the generals who made significant military achievements, including Zhang Xiu, Zhang He, Cao Hong, Xu Huang and others. Shi Xun You and Guo Jia, who were on par with him, respectively, Cao Cao revealed in the draft that he wanted to ask the emperor to make them wait, which made Xu You feel quite unhappy.

Xu You, who was always looking for his name, finally found himself among the names of the first few people at the end of the scroll. However, when he saw the position after his name, he immediately clenched his fists in anger. At this time, he seemed dissatisfied and turned into anger under the urge of drunkenness, because the official position given to him by Cao Cao was actually the prefect of Nanyang County, who was still under Liu Biao.

Xu You knew very well that this official position was not only a short position for him, but Cao Cao's special position in his hometown was even more a satirical and sarcastic attitude towards him, and even a suppression.

Xu You couldn't control his temper for a moment. He forgot that he was in Cao Cao's study at this time, and even waved his right arm and said that the simplified calligraphy on Cao Cao's desk was swung all the books on the ground.

While gasping loudly, a bamboo slip scattered on the ground attracted Xu You's attention. He walked up to him and squatted down and picked it up. He was surprised to find that what was written on it was Cao Cao's secret order to order Zang Ba of Qingzhou and Zhongshan King Ling to conduct a series of upcoming military operations against Yuan Tan. Cao Cao, written on this bamboo slip, never mentioned half of the word in the official military discussion.

Before Xu You could digest the large area of ​​words in front of him, his sight was attracted by the format of four verses he had never seen before. He rolled the bamboo slips in his hand and held them with his left hand, and instead picked up the bamboo slips with his right hand:
To be continued...