Chapter 5: Trouble

Cai Mao's expression changed drastically when he heard this: "Cangshu, there are many barbarians in Yizhou, and they have never returned to the king. If there is a rebellion, they will take the opportunity to disturb the matter. You might as well rush back to Chengdu as soon as possible. Yizhou has just been obtained, and the people's hearts are unstable, so don't let people take advantage of the loopholes."

Cao Chong did not respond immediately, raised his hand to scratch the end of his hair, blinked his eyes and said, "Don't worry, the few barbarians can't cause any major troubles. With Shi Yuan, Xiaozhi and others in Yizhou, Yizhou cannot be in chaos."

Cai Mao was confused, but he did not see the content of the secret document. He only heard Cao Chong say four words, and he didn't know what the chaos in Yizhou was like. Moreover, he was very confident in Cao Chong. Seeing that he was so relaxed and comfortable, he didn't take it too seriously. He smiled and said, "That's why I'm too worried."

Cao Chong smiled, turned his head and looked at the hot debate when Xiangyang Academy outside the window, and stood up and said, "It's getting late. I'm going to meet Liu Zichu, so I won't be here to watch the show with you."

When Liu Cong heard this, he stood up and smiled, "Then I'm leaving too. I don't have the time to listen to what they say here. There is still some work in the workshop. I can do something while there is still some time before the meal." He and Cao Chong went out side by side, and saw Wang Su standing aside with a little unhappy. He smiled, bowed to Cao Chong, smiled at Wang Su, turned around and left.

Cao Chong smiled at Wang Su and said, "Ziyong, I just had an emergency military service. I'll forgive you for being neglected. Today, I heard you explain the origin of Spring and Autumn Annals in this complete way. I really benefited a lot. I'm busy with military service and don't have time to do a good job in learning. How about it? Are you interested in following the army to be a secretary? I'd like to ask you for some knowledge from time to time?"

When Wang Su was happy, he was coaxed by a tiger soldier. He felt very unhappy. He felt that he had suffered aggrieved and lost face in Cao Chong. He was angry at the door. He was waiting at the door and wanted to stab Cao Chong with some spring and autumn brushwork to find some psychological balance. Unexpectedly, Cao Chong apologized to him first, but instead made him embarrassed to say something. Now Cao Chong invited him into the curtain again, so he was naturally full of joy. Although Cao Chong was one year younger than him, he was already the governor of Yizhou in General Zhennan, but he was the beloved son of the prime minister and the young talent the emperor valued. It was all natural. Although he was full of poetry and books, he was just an ordinary official. Generally speaking, he could not become an official under the age of twenty. Now that he had such a good opportunity, he suddenly became a person around General Zhennan. How could he not want to do so?

However, Wang Su was influenced by Confucianism for more than ten years, and even when he fled, he did not forget the etiquette. He suppressed the excitement in his heart and bowed to Cao Chong and said, "The general has an order, and he should obey the order, but he has not yet reported his father, so he dared not accept it in a hurry. After I asked my father, I will give the general a reply."

Cao Chong nodded with appreciation: "It's okay, there's no rush. I'm still in Xiangyang for a while. You go back and report to Lord Wang first. I'll send the document to you. It's not too late to talk about it at that time."

"Then thank you, General." Wang Su was worried that Cao Chong would feel unhappy, and he was furious and stopped playing with him. Now seeing him being so reasonable and grateful, he quickly bowed and retreated. Cao Chong watched him go downstairs, and then turned around to look at Xun Wenqian who was smiling and silent and said, "Although this boy is not yet in his prime, his knowledge is really profound. When he reaches our army, he should be the first in the level of classics. I am afraid that even if Yuan Zhi comes back, he will not be his opponent."

Xun Wenqian smiled sweetly: "Even my uncle was unable to convince you, but this prince Yong touched you. It seems that Wang Jingxing's Lin'er should not be underestimated. He just followed you in the army, I'm afraid you can't do any profound knowledge."

Cao Chong laughed, reached out to hold Xun Wenqian's jade hand, walked downstairs slowly, and said as he walked: "Madam, I let him be in the army, and I may not have just turned to believe the classics and techniques he said. Confucianism is pedantic and unreasonable, which has been proved by seven hundred years of history. Although Dong Zhongshu established a new Confucianism, and abandoned all schools of thought in our Han Dynasty, and respected Confucianism alone, the problems of Confucianism are still difficult to correct in the past four hundred years of situations. I let him be by his side, on the one hand, cherish his talent and bury his head in this old pile of papers, which is really not worth it. On the other hand, I feel that it is necessary to understand the Confucian thoughts well, so as to choose its essence and remove its dross, and not to pour the children in the bathtub with the bath water. Although Cong Bo has profound knowledge, he is old and cannot follow me, and Wang Ziyong is young and healthy, which is suitable."

Seeing that his metaphor was interesting, Xun Wenqian couldn't help but smile. Just as she was about to speak, Sun Shangxiang, who was following him, said: "This scholar has a very stubborn temper. I'm afraid he may not be able to get along with others when he comes to the army. Don't be beaten like a pig's head by then."

Cao Chong turned around and looked at her. Seeing her stern face and looked very unhappy, he couldn't help laughing: "I'm not worried about others. They are not worried about me. Even if they feel a little unhappy, they can only hide it in their hearts. At best, they stay away from it. If you want to say that you can hit people, I think you are Hu Niu. Do you think he has refuted your opinion and is not as good as others in your mouth, so you want to get back your face from your fists and feet?"

Sun Shangxiang was touched by him, but she didn't think there was anything wrong. She curled her lips and said naturally: "What's the matter? Their saint Kong could not say that he was a little Zhengmao, so he just moved his knife. Even if I wanted to move my fists and feet, it was still far behind the saints. I still thought of the wise and thought about it. What's wrong?"

Cai Ji burst out laughing. She took Sun Shangxiang's arm and said affectionately: "Sister, you are the one who treats others with the same way. You can understand the theory of your husband the best. This is what husband and wife follow you."

Sun Shangxiang likes to hear this the most. Her little face turned red, she laughed dryly, and pinched Cai Ji's little hand: "My sister has been too rewarded. The so-called "those who are close to the vermilion" are red, and those who are close to the ink are black. I have no knowledge, so I can only learn some fallacies."

Cao Chong laughed, and did not look back. He pulled Xun Wenqian out of the door and got on his carriage. After entering the carriage, he stopped smiling and handed the urgent document to Xun Wenqian. Seeing that his face was serious, he was not as relaxed as before, he was quite surprised. Knowing that the matter was not as simple as he and Cai Mao said, he quickly took the urgent document and took it and took a look, and couldn't help but frown: "So, is this just a temptation?"

"The storm is coming, and the wind is filling the building." Cao Chong nodded silently, and sighed for a long time: "In the country of Yizhou, there are not only one or two people who covet, and they all want to occupy Yizhou to be a local rich man. Now that I have easily obtained Yizhou, I naturally become a thorn in others' eyes, a thorn in the flesh, and a quick object to get rid of it. This little storm is just a sign before the storm comes."

Xun Wenqian rolled up the urgent item and carefully stuffed it into the envelope. After pondering for a moment, he said: "In this way, my husband didn't tell the truth to Governor Cai just now, which is a safe move. These big families are best at changing their minds when they see that the situation in Yizhou is unstable, and they may have to retreat one foot to see the direction of the wind. This is harmful to Xiangyang's new policy."

Cao Chong nodded. He took Xun Wenqian into the carriage with only Xun Wenqian, but took Cai Ji and Sun Shangxiang to ride the carriage for this reason. He was not worried that Cai Ji would leak what he said, but after all, this matter is quite important, so it would be better to be careful. Even if Cai Ji didn't tell others, she would inevitably have some concerns when considering the Cai family's business. Her concerns could be learned by those elite families. Once two times proved, even if they didn't know the truth, they would guess three or five points.

"Mr. Zichu is from Lingling and knows a lot about the situation in Jiangnan. When you go to see him, you might as well ask him for advice." Xun Wenqian raised the curtain of the car, glanced at the wine flag flying by the roadside, and smiled softly.

"This is natural." Cao Chong also looked at the bustling street scene outside and responded with a slight smug look.

The carriage briskly passed through the most lively street in Xiangyang City and came to the gate of the Nanjun Prefect's Mansion where Liu Ba worked. Liu Ba was originally the chief clerk of the General Zhennan Mansion and had always held the official seal of the Nanjun Prefect. He was not convenient for him to leave Xiangyang and go to Jiangling, the original county governor, so he simply moved the county governor to Xiangyang. Now he has become the real Nanjun Prefect, and his name has been changed. His office location is still the same palace, and even the decoration was done by Cao Hong when he was in charge of Xiangyang, without any change.

Cao Chong looked at the old threshold at the door, shook his head gently, leaving Xun Wenqian and the others sitting in the car, and he only brought Dianman and a tiger soldier into the door. There were many people in the prefect's mansion, and the officials holding official documents were all in a hurry and trot. When they met, they just said a few words and left in a hurry. Cao Chong and the other two entered the mansion, but few people looked up at them. The guards in charge were all the soldiers drawn out by Cao Chong from the army. They had long recognized Cao Chong and didn't have to come up to check, so Cao Chong went into the inner courtyard so straightforwardly.

"It's obvious that he is greedy, but he is still very ruling and saying something about natural disasters. I don't know which rain in Nanjun and 17 counties this year. When did you encounter a storm in Zhijiang? You dare to play tricks in front of me, come and drag it out and take thirty pounds."

As soon as Cao Chong entered the inner courtyard, he heard a angrily scolding from inside. Then he saw two guards standing at the door rushing in. In a blink of an eye, he dragged an official who was calling out to the sky and the earth into the courtyard like a wolf. One lifted up his clothes, and the other swung the bamboo stick in his hand and hit it hard. Before the three sticks reached the staff, blood was seen. The blood blew across the silk clothes, and it was very red. The official was in pain and his screams were even more shrill. However, a large number of people waiting to go in to report on the work were looking at him. The occasionally glanced at him was also a hint of disdain. Everyone looked at the official documents in his hands, muttering words, just like the students who were about to take the exam in Cao Chong's previous life.

Cao Chong smiled knowingly, bypassed the execution guard, slowly climbed the steps, and stood under the eaves and looked inside.

Liu Ba sat among the hills of official documents, quickly flipping through the pages of official documents with his left hand, holding a pen in his right hand and writing a few words from time to time, and constantly assigning tasks. Several civil servants knelt in front of him, recording his orders quickly. After recording, they immediately got up and went out, and asked those waiting outside to come in to report on the work. The hurrying crowd surprised Cao Chong.

As soon as Cao Chong stood at the door, the officials outside did not dare to move. They held the official documents in their hands and looked at the young general standing at the door with his hands behind his back. The officials who were reporting on work in the door also felt the strange atmosphere outside. When they turned around, they stood up and let them beside them.

Liu Ba didn't raise his head and said with a little displeasure: "What are you doing next when you come in? If you have something to do, come in and say it. If you have nothing to do, stand aside and don't block the way."

"Mr. Liu is so hard, why not take a break?" Cao Chong smiled, raised his legs and entered the room, sat down in front of Liu Ba, and said calmly. Liu Ba heard the voice was wrong, and looked up and saw that it was Cao Chong. He quickly put down the pen in his hand and turned over to salute Cao Chong. Cao Chong hurriedly supported him: "No need to be too polite."

"Didn't the general have breakfast at the Cai family restaurant? Why did he come to me?" Liu Ba smiled while asking someone to serve tea: "I was about to deal with this matter and then go to see the general, but I didn't expect the general to come first. It's really rude."

Cao Chong smiled and waved his hand: "Why do you have to be so polite, Mr. Zichu? We have not been together for a day or two. We know each other's tempers. I won't be polite to you, so don't tell me these official scenes."

Liu Baha smiled and turned around and sat down: "What the general said is, then I'll forgive me for being rude. I'll drink a sip of water first. I'll talk all the time in the morning without drinking water. I'm really a little thirsty." He said, and raised the cold tea cow next to him and drank it. Then he licked his lips, put down the cup with satisfaction, picked up the teapot and continued the water, and smiled: "The general's success in Yizhou this time is extremely smooth. However, the Yizhou Han and Yiyi places are very strong, and the general's rule of Yizhou should be paid attention to. For those barbarians, they are too tight and they will rebel if they can't survive. If they are too loose, they will be arrogant and illegal. This standard is quite difficult to grasp."

Cao Chong smiled. He picked up a briefing from a pile of documents next to him and looked at it. He put it down again, picked up the tea and took a sip and said, "How is Nanjun like this year?"

"It's similar to what the general expected last year, and it's up 20% today compared to last year, up nearly half of the year before. The situation is good." Liu Ba smiled happily. Just as he was about to speak, the guard who was executing the execution strode in and bowed: "Sir, the execution has been completed, the prisoner fainted."

"Well, carry it out and let his people take it away." Liu Ba looked outside with some disgust, turned his head to Cao Chong and said, "General, Nanjun is rich, but there are too many greed for me. The county has only been halfway through the plan, and the scum like this is already the third one."

"This is normal." Cao Chong disagreed. "The wealth is touching. There are always people who want to try the law with their own words. We have the words first. They are willing to fall into the trap, so they can let them. I don't believe that just their little tricks can be hidden from Mr. Zichu."

Liu Ba shook his head with a wry smile: "The general is too proud. No matter how smart I am, I can't bear to see so many officials. There is a place I can't see. These scums are thinking about taking advantage of loopholes. I don't know what they think. Is this money more valuable than life? Fortunately, Yang Weigong (Yang Yi) brought some newly graduated students to help, otherwise I wouldn't be able to bear to them anyway."

"If it's really too much, just kill two." Cao Chong waved his hand and said lightly: "Some people just don't cry without seeing the coffin. If you kill two, others will know the pros and cons, and maybe they will restrain themselves."

Liu Ba was stunned, looked at Cao Chong thoughtfully, thought for a while, nodded and said, "The general said, it is indeed necessary to capture two of them as a demonstration."

"Well, you should be the prefect of Nanjun, don't do everything yourself, otherwise you will be exhausted. You should let go of what you should let go, and your main energy should be focused on major matters." Cao Chong looked at Liu Ba, and saw that he had a thin face, and said with some distress: "You are over thirty years old, and it's time to get married and get married. It's good to have a woman take care of you."

Liu Ba's face turned red and nodded repeatedly. He looked at Cao Chong secretly, and Cao Chong also looked at him with a playful look, and he couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. The two looked at each other for a while, and each smiled meaningfully.

Seeing Liu Ba’s embarrassment, Cao Chong reached out and took out the urgent article from his arms and pushed it in front of Liu Ba: "Zichu, you really told me about the matter in Yizhou. This is an urgent article just sent by Yongnian. Wuling Man has caused trouble. This time it has been a big deal and he actually snatched Yujing. You are from Lingling and are familiar with Wuling Man, so see if you have any good suggestions."

Liu Ba glanced at the urgent matter, was silent for a while, frowned, and pushed the urgent matter back to Cao Chong: "General, this matter is probably not that simple. Although Wulingman is good at fighting, they do not have to pay taxes. This year, Jiangnan can be considered a good weather. They can support themselves. Why do you have to take such a big risk and invade Fuling to grab the Yanjing? Although Yujing is not far from their mountain village, it is nearly a hundred miles away, and there are mountain roads. Besides, Yanjing is guarded by soldiers and is very strict. It is not easy to capture it. Even if Wulingman is crazy, he usually does not have the idea of ​​digging the Yanjing. If they lack salt, wouldn't it be easier to directly grab the Wuling official government? Why should he go far and rob the Yujing across the border?"

Cao Chong nodded: "I think this is a coincidence, so I came to discuss it with you."

Liu Ba thought about it and said, "Yujing should have been distributed to the big clans in Fuling. If they snatched Yujing, those big clans would naturally go to the government to ask for protection and compensation. If this matter is not handled well, it may cause conflicts between the big clans in Fuling and the government. The general should inform the meritorious clans as soon as possible and let him handle the matter properly."

"This is not the most urgent thing." Cao Chong shook his head: "What I think is strangest is why these Wuling Man suddenly entered the Fuling Realm to rob, and could avoid the levels along the way, and caught the guards of Yujing off guard. This seems to be not a meticulous job that those barbarians who rush hard can do. I always feel that someone else is making trouble behind this."

Liu Baha smiled: "Is this more than anything? It must be caused by Liu Bei's people. He originally wanted to seize Yizhou, but the general took the lead. The Longzhong verdict that Kong Ming had imagined for him was completely lost. Although he seized the four counties in Jiangnan, there was Sun Quan in the east, the general in the west, the Baiyue in the south, and the Yangtze River in the north, he was sandwiched in the middle and could not move. With his personality, coupled with Kong Ming's wisdom, how could he not think of the benefits and interests of this? Sun Quan was an ally in the river.

The east has been for three generations, and it is not something he can shake, but the general is New Yizhou. The people of Yizhou are still in doubt and the people are not attached to them. When he makes trouble, the people of Yizhou will naturally feel dissatisfied when they see that the general cannot protect the country and the people will have a chance. Besides, even if the matter is not done, they will not suffer any loss anyway. Instead, using the general's hand to cut off Wulingman, a force that is not subject to education, is also a good thing for them."

Cao Chong smiled and said, "That's right, I think there is something wrong with this. I didn't expect to go with Mr. Zichu. Since the teacher also thinks so, is there any way to teach me?"

Liu Ba smiled faintly: "General, don't be nervous. With Shi Yuan and Xiaozhi in Chengdu, I think Yizhou will not be too chaotic. Although Wulingman is fierce and warlike, he is still slightly inferior to the Jingshan Army, Wudang Army and Baihu Army under the general. If they can attack Yujing, I am afraid there will be someone to give advice from behind. The general might as well take this opportunity to transfer the troops to the Nanzhong counties and wait and see what changes."

"It's reasonable." Cao Chong thought for a while and said with a smile: "But we are not barbarians, so we can't be as knowledgeable as those barbarians. We should send an envoy to meet the head of the Wuling barbarian. Mr. Can you tell me the habits and hobbies of that head of the head, we should prepare some gifts as well."

Liu Ba heard what he said, haha, "If you have time, I might as well tell you about Shamoko, the leader of Wuling Man. He is also a weird person, so you can listen to it as a strange thing."

Cao Chong immediately became interested when he heard this. He looked at the hourglass next to him and smiled: "Since the gentleman is so elegant, why not follow me to the Cai family restaurant to have a drink, so that he can avoid talking in some documents and let his subordinates see it and think that the gentleman is showing off."

"Hahaha... I, Liu Ba, are you afraid of people talking? Anyway, there are not only one or two people in Nanjun who hope that I will die early. I still don't care about some gossip." Liu Ba smiled heartily, got up and patted her clothes: "General, please take a step first and ask Zunyue for two jars of good wine. I'll change my clothes, and then come. Today I will not return with the general without getting drunk."

"That's great." Cao Chong also laughed, got up and said goodbye to Liu Ba, took Dian Man and others back to the carriage, turned the front of the car, and returned to the Cai family restaurant. He got out of the car in front of the restaurant, and turned around and saw Sun Shangxiang and Cai Ji getting off the carriage with a gaze of grace. His mind moved, waved and called them to the front and said, "Xiao Yu'er, go find your father-in-law, ask him for two jars of thirty-year-old husk, and ask him to arrange some dishes to get some, and then say I want Lord Liu to have dinner. Hu Niu, you have been away from your sister-in-law for many days, and take this opportunity to invite her to relax, so as to avoid being stuck in the house every day, and facing Sun Shao's little tiger is boring enough."

Sun Shangxiang curled her lips disapprovingly. Just as she was about to speak, Cao Chong winked and stopped quickly. Cao Chong said again: "Just say I miss Sun Shao's little tiger too, please come and see him."
Chapter completed!