Section 2: Wanghou

Cao Pi rubbed his swelling temples, stretched out his arms and sat up while yawning. A few crisp sounds of wooden clogs accompanied by a silver bell chuckling. Queen Guo came to him with a cup of fragrant tea and gracefully: "Husband is awake."

"When is it now?" Cao Pi said, turning his head and looking at the roving pot next to him, and was surprised, "It's already noon?"

Queen Guo put down the tray, picked up the teacup and brought it to Cao Pi: "My husband has not been asleep all night, drinking countless times, what's so strange about sleeping until noon?" She said, tilting her head and putting the tray aside, slimming her hair bun on her chest, revealing a slender and white neck. Cao Pi was fascinated by the sight, and putting down the teacup, embracing Queen Guo's arms, stretched her hand along the slightly open lapel of Queen Guo's clothes, and kneading her for a while, she quickly felt the two protrusions on Queen Guo's chest. He looked at Queen Guo's blushing cheeks, and on a whim, he turned over and pushed Queen Guo down and pressed it on. Queen Guo screamed in surprise, and half-pushed and half-pressed on the brocade quilt...

In the bedroom, spring is full of joy.

Zhen Mi, dressed up, pulled Cao Rui with an excited face, and whispered and laughed softly as she walked. As soon as she walked up the steps, she saw two maids standing at the door, with a slightly red face and looking at her awkwardly. She frowned and was about to ask, but she heard a gentle moan coming from inside. Then she heard Cao Pi's roaring happily. Her face turned pale immediately. She pinched Cao Rui's little hand and squeezed out with some pain. She was stunned for a moment, and she resolutely pulled Cao Rui and turned around and left.

Queen Guo's face was flushed, and she was as soft as a mud and leaned on Cao Pi's chest, but her eyes glancing proudly at Zhen Mi's hurried back outside the crack of the door, her voice as sweet as honey: "Husband, why are you so brave today?"

Cao Pi smiled and gently swam on Queen Guo’s smooth back: “Hasn’t I always been so brave?”

Queen Guo smiled with a pursed lips. She took the cold tea and pouted her mouth and leaned into Cao Pi. She drank the tea into Cao Pi's mouth. She watched Cao Pi swallow it, and then she smiled and said, "This tea is the most sobering, it's really a good thing."

"Cang Shu made it, of course, it won't be bad." Cao Pi laughed, but it was a little sour. He felt unhappy when his father asked them to wait for Cang Shu alone yesterday for more than an hour before the meal started. He lowered his face and thought for a while, and suddenly laughed again: "But this time, he lost for a while. Queen, do you know, my father wanted Ziwen to make meritorious contributions in the county, but wanted me to give up Guanzhong. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and did not agree to him. Cang Shu thought he was rich and agreed to his father five million stones of grain at once, and said that he would give another ten million stones of grain in the autumn. He didn't think about it. No matter how rich Jingzhou and Yizhou were, he would be exhausted and fished out of the lake. I think he would not want to attack Jiangdong within a year or two."

The more Cao Pi thought about it, the more proud he became, and couldn't help laughing out loud. Queen Guo did not laugh. She glanced at Cao Pi who was proud and frowned slightly. Seeing that her expression was wrong, Cao Pi stopped her smile, supported her body and said, "What? What's wrong?"

Queen Guo laughed, turned her head and put the teacup on the table, and then continued the hot water. Then she turned around and smiled softly: "Husband, the military achievements of Guanzhong are of course not easy, but if you don't have the food and grass assistance from the Prime Minister's Mansion, can you win the battle in Guanzhong?"

"Of course not." Cao Pi burst out laughing, and he laughed loudly: "Before the troops move, the food and grass will come first, why can Guanzhong win this time? Uncle Xiahou's habitual battle with Gu Ran is an important factor, but without the three million stones of grain allocated by his father, he could not buy Yang Qiu and Li Kan's rebellious rebellions, how can I defeat Han Sui and Ma Chao? Their soldiers are fierce and warlike, and their troops are almost the same, so we don't have the upper hand at all."

"Since that's the case, if there is no food to the Prime Minister's Mansion in the future, can the husband win the battle?" Queen Guo said with some concern: "The Prime Minister has stopped the war in Cang Shu, which means that the court's taxes are indeed very tense. Otherwise, Cang Shu would not have stopped at this critical moment and concentrated his efforts to support Mr. Ziwen to fight the rebellion north. Then can he still have food to support Guanzhong?"

Cao Pi suddenly woke up. He thought about it and then argued: "My father asked me to go to war, so I can't give me food, right?"

"Give it is to give it. When is given more and give it less, it is the Prime Minister's decision." Seeing that Cao Pi understood the key points, Queen Guo was afraid that Cao Pi would be angry, so she didn't say anything more. She put on her clothes for Cao Pi and took the tray back. Cao Pi sat in a daze for a while, and the more she thought it was a trap. If the Prime Minister's Mansion no longer allocated a large amount of food, how could she fight in Guanzhong? No wonder his father said that he would fight for three or five years. It turned out that this was what he meant. He looked around a little irritated, and then ordered someone to prepare a car and decided to discuss it with Wu Zhi, who came back with him.

When Wu Zhi heard Cao Pi's words, he frowned. He felt that Cao Pi's decision was obviously wrong. The battle in Guanzhong seemed to be a great victory, but in fact it had become a bad battle. Although the Xiliang army was defeated, their main force was not severely damaged. Now more than 100,000 people scattered in all directions. If Xiliang was to completely pacify Guanzhong, it would be impossible for Xiliang to withdraw from Guanzhong without three to five years. If Cao Pi took advantage of Cao Cao's request to stop, then no matter how the battle was fought, it would have nothing to do with Cao Pi. He had already made military achievements anyway, and

There is no need to take responsibility for possible defeats in the future. It is beneficial but harmless, but if you continue to fight, if you defeat it, the combat achievements will be gone. More importantly, he cannot escape the war in Guanzhong for a while, so in order to compensate Cao Chong, Cao Cao would definitely arrange a good match for Cao Chong in other aspects. Cao Chong was happy and cheap, but he won both fame and truth. As for Jiangdong, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei, the two of them rely solely on Yangzhou, how could Jiaozhou be Cao Chong's opponent? The longer the time delayed, the more beneficial it might be to Cao Chong.

When Cao Pi heard Wu Zhi say this, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious. The more he thought about it, the more upset he became, the more depressed he became. Seeing that he was in a bad mood on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Wu Zhi had to persuade him: "Young Master, don't be anxious. This is just our guess. Maybe Young Master Cang Shu can't let go of Jingzhou and has to go back. The Prime Minister may not keep him by his side."

"What if my father takes the opportunity to keep him by his side?" Cao Pi felt even more anxious when he remembered the rumors that had been crazily spread in Yecheng recently. If Tianzi really made his father the king, he would definitely be a prince. His father has always been inclined toward Cang Shu. He is not in Yecheng at this time, wouldn't he be taken advantage of Cang Shu? Once he loses the position of Cang Shu, what's the use of his great military achievements? Besides, there is indeed a big gap between him and Cang Shu in terms of war. If he dies in Guanzhong, he will lose even more and lose money. Cang Shu will be in vain.

"I'm afraid the matter of being a king cannot be decided for a while." Wu Zhi shook his head, "I'm not sure about the situation in Xu County, but there are undercurrents here in Yecheng. I have heard a lot of opposition. Although they dare not compete with the Prime Minister openly, they bit Emperor Gaozu's White Horse Alliance, and the Prime Minister may not be able to come up with a way to deal with it. In this case in Yecheng, Xu County may be, even stronger. The emperor will not agree to be a king so easily. This is a precedent."

"You mean that the matter of being the king can be done?" Cao Pi was happy and disappointed. What was happy was that Cang Shu could not take advantage for a while. What was disappointed was that if he could not become the king, he would have no chance. This contradictory mentality made him worry about gains and losses and at a loss.

"Why don't your son recommend Mr. Cangshu to go to Xu County to do this?" Wu Zhi suddenly had an idea: "Part of the reason why Mr. Cangshu is so successful is that he is deeply trusted by the emperor and can only be appointed as General Zhennan, representing the orthodox emperor. Therefore, in Jingzhou, Yizhou is in power, and the scholars surrendered with great hope. If he goes to Xu County now and asks the emperor to ask the emperor to be the prime minister, what do you think of him?"

"Why do you think of him? You have the heart to kill him." Cao Pi said casually. As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately understood. Yes, let Cang Shu go to Xu County to ask for a seal. If the seal is completed, the emperor will hate him to death. If the seal is not established, his father will probably not pay much attention to him. It is a bad idea at both ends. "Ji Chong, Gao Ming! Gao Ming! Hahaha..." Cao Pi laughed, and the dark clouds in the sky seemed to dissipate for a moment, and the sky was clear again.

As expected by Cao Pi and others, at the first family meeting after the Spring Festival, Cao Cao announced that Cao Zhang would be the general of the Northern Central Army, the General of the Cavs, and Tian Yu was the deputy to go to the three counties. At the same time, Cao Chong temporarily led the General of the Central Guard and stationed in Hejian with the imperial guards to Cao Zhang. Cao Pi was afraid that Cao Cao would take the opportunity to give Cao Chong the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to Cao Chong, so he immediately proposed to ask Cao Chong to ask for a seal. When Cao Cao heard this, he was a little hesitant. He was worried about this matter. He wanted to test it, but he didn't expect that it would be a deadlock again, just like the last time he was appointed as the Prime Minister. It seemed that there was no suitable candidate except Cao Chong. Of course, he really wanted to know Cao Chong's attitude towards this matter.

When Cao Cao smiled and asked Cao Chong's opinion like an old fox, Cao Chong and his brothers were stunned. Cao Pi felt that things went too smoothly, but Cao Chong felt that the turn was too fast. Cao Cao clearly intended to ask him to take his elite troops to Hejian, but why did he suddenly change his mind?

However, facing Cao Cao's smiling eyes, Cao Chong felt a sense of vigilance and swallowed the objections that were almost at his mouth. He remembered Cao Cao's roar when he was in Wulin, and the remarks he had missed. He knew that it was obviously not a good idea to directly refuse at this time. He nodded and said respectfully: "My father has a fate, how dare he not obey?"

"Cang Shu, is it appropriate to ask for a title of king for your father?" Cao Cao still smiled and turned his head to Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, and Cao Zhi and said, "What do you think?"

"Of course," Cao Pi was the first to say: "My father turned the tide. If it weren't for his father's struggle, the Han Dynasty would have been gone long ago. Who would have been able to be king without such great contributions?"

Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi hesitated. Cao Zhi smacked his lips and said hesitantly: "In theory, it is necessary for his father to be the king of his contribution. However, Emperor Gaozu's white horse's oath is still sound, "It's not that Liu's family will be the king, but the whole world will attack him." If this father is named king, will he become the target of public criticism?"

Cao Zhang nodded and looked at Cao Cao with some embarrassment. Although he did not speak, his eyes showed that he was incompatible with Cao Zhi's opinion. Cao Cao was not angry. He stroked his gray beard and turned his head to look at Cao Chong with no sign of presbyopia at all.

Cao Pi and others immediately looked at Cao Chong to see how he answered.

Cao Chong was a little unnatural when they saw him. He touched his head and smiled, "Look at what I do. I want me to say that it is necessary to be a king. Those Liu's children are raised in the deep palace and raised by women. They cannot fight or govern the people. With their surname Liu, they can be granted a king and a marquis. With such great contributions from his father, he only granted a county marquis, which is indeed a bit inconsistent. However, whether this can be granted a king or not is not the same as my words, it depends on the emperor's will."

Cao Cao squinted his eyes and looked at Cao Chong for a while, laughing. He reached out and patted Cao Chong on the shoulder: "Cang Shu, you are right, this depends on the emperor's holy intention. Just go to Xu County to see what the emperor thinks of this holy intention."

"No!" Cao Chong leaned over and saluted.

…………

"The Prime Minister really wants the title of prince?" Pang Tong and Zhang Song were shocked and looked at each other.

Cao Chong smiled bitterly and nodded.

Pang Tong grinned, shook his head and sighed: "General, I just said that something happened to Xiangyang Academy at the time, but it turned out that something happened. This basket was so big that it was really supposed to kill that Yiji..." He had just complained halfway, and thought that although Yiji was spreading the rumor, the two people who came up with this idea were Ma Su - now Cao Chong's military plot, and the other was his friend Zhuge Liang - now in Xiangyang for the New Year, preparing for the seeds of spring, and neither could be killed, so he had to swallow the words back.

Zhang Song was shocked and soon returned to peace. He gave Pang Tong a blank look and said, "It's good to be a king. At least you can try the emperor's meaning and see the public opinion. This will be done sooner or later, but the timing is not good. Now that things have come to this point, it's useless to repay grievances. Why don't you think about how to get the prime minister to achieve his wish?" He felt that Cao Chong was going to fight for the throne anyway, and if this matter was done well, it would be a waste of time for Cao Cao's doubts about Cao Chong. Cao Pi was really out of the way. It might be a good thing for Cao Chong. Of course, the key is that after the king came, Cao Chong must inherit it, otherwise it would be a waste of time.

"Do you think the emperor can agree to be the king?" Cao Chong looked at Zhang Song, who was full of confidence.

Zhang Song smiled proudly: "Does he have the final say in this matter?"

Cao Chong and Pang Tong were both stunned. Although Zhang Song said this truth, it was too arrogant. Although the emperor had no real power now, if he really didn't give it to him, could you still kill him with a knife? Zhang Song saw them looking at him like this, and grinned again: "Why worry, young master? If there is Shi Yuanzai who is proficient in the art of emperors, what can't be done? What I have to consider now is how the young master takes this opportunity to get some benefits from the Prime Minister, such as that spy team, I think he should come over. Shi Linghan is just a subordinate of Lord Guo, but he has such great ability. Isn't that little Guo a genius, just like Lord Guo?"

"Is Mr. Guo very awesome?" Although Cao Chong knew about Guo Jia's cow, he was honest and always felt that it was a little mysterious. There was no definite evidence that Guo Jia's cow, at least he didn't know.

"Of course, otherwise Sun Ce would die so coincidental?" Zhang Song sighed with emotion, sincerely admiring: "Mr. Guo is comparable to Chen Ping, the three heroes of the Han Dynasty. Unfortunately, they are all secret matters and are unknown. If I have the opportunity to see the copy preserved by the Prime Minister's Mansion and appreciate Mr. Guo's brilliant plan, I will surely understand and enter the house."

Cao Chong said, thinking that you were already secretive enough. If you suddenly understand, you will be unable to survive after entering the house. However, the idea that Zhang Song said was good. Should I also take some benefits for Lao Cao? At least you should take the spy team members in Jingzhou and Yizhou to come over, so as not to be reported by someone when you are not paying attention.

"Yongnian is right. Shi Yuan should think of more ways to do this." Cao Chong waved his hand, blocking Pang Tong who was about to speak, and easily went into the bedroom. Pang Tong had no choice but to glar at Zhang Song: "Yongnian, do you think this matter is so easy to solve? If it is easy to solve, the eldest son would recommend the young master to go? This matter was done simply to offend the emperor and the gang of Confucian scholars. If it cannot be done, it would offend both the prime minister and the emperor. In short, it would be a good idea..."

Zhang Song rolled his eyes: "Didn't you brag about fighting? Is imperial skills your strength? If you have something to do, why are you scared? Could it be that you usually brag?"

"Damn!" Pang Tong was blocked by his words, speechless, blurted out Cao Chong's catchphrase and left, ignoring Zhang Song.

"And!" Zhang Song smiled and replied to a catchphrase that had been popular in the Book of Songs, and also got up and left on his own.

In the bedroom, Xun Wenqian and Cao Chong were discussing this matter. Xun Wenqian felt that Cao Chong looked inconceivable. How could he not take such a big thing seriously? How big is this big thing? How much public opinion will it cause? Not to mention anything else, if his father and conqueror knew that Cao Chong was going to Xu County to ask for a title for the Prime Minister, they would probably vomit blood, but why did Cao Chong look like he was fine?

Could it be that he himself has this idea?

Xun Wenqian was frowning. While watching Cao Chong tease Dashuang and Xiaoshuang in a bad mood recently, she thought about saying something. Finally, when Cao Chong was full of desire for brothers and feet on Dashuang and Xiaoshuang, she lie back to her. Xun Wenqian suppressed the unhappiness in her heart and asked in a harmonious voice: "Husband, do you think the matter of asking for a seal can be accomplished?"

Cao Chong closed the smile on his face and sighed: "I don't know."

Xun Wenqian didn't expect him to answer like this, and she choked for a moment. After thinking about it, she asked again: "Do you want this to happen?"

"I want!" Cao Chong didn't have to think about it at all and blurted out. Xun Wenqian's face changed immediately. Her hand, who was pulling out her hairpin for Cao Chong, froze suddenly. She tried hard to suppress the fluctuations of her emotions, relaxed her body, took off Cao Chong's hairpin, helped Cao Chong lie down, tucked the quilt for him, and then took off her coat, got into the quilt, and snuggled up to Cao Chong's chest: "Do you want to go further?"

"Add to go further?" Cao Chong was stunned for a moment, looked at Xun Wenqian's face, and suddenly smiled, "Be emperor?"

Xun Wenqian nodded nervously, staring at Cao Chong's eyes, staring at him without blinking.

"I haven't thought about this yet." Cao Chong replied in a silence, relaxed his body and gently embraced Xun Wenqian in his arms. Before Xun Wenqian could speak, he said again: "Wenqian, I know that in the eyes of many people, I want to learn from Wang Mang, and the next step is to usurp the throne and become the emperor. But my father has reached this point and cannot help but advance or retreat. If I simply oppose him, then he will naturally find someone else to do it, and maybe things will be worse. Instead of doing so, why not take this initiative in my hands?"

Xun Wenqian's eyes lit up and then dimmed again. Cao Cao had already reached this point, and it was difficult for him to usurp the throne. However, it was unlikely that he would retreat and be slaughtered by others. Now the three brothers Cao Chong are so outstanding. The military power of the Han Dynasty is firmly in their hands. There is really no chance for the emperor to turn the tables. Even if Cao Chong can be loyal to the emperor, it may not affect the overall situation. After all, he is still a member of the Cao family. First of all, he must consider the interests of the Cao family and the safety of the Cao family. Isn't it too whimsical to hope to save the Han Dynasty by using methods that influence Cao Chong?

Xun Wenqian remained silent and lost interest in Cao Chong's caress. Seeing that she had no reaction, Cao Chong felt that she was not interested, so he shrank and fell asleep in the quilt for a while. Xun Wenqian couldn't sleep. She looked at Cao Chong who was sleeping soundly and laughed and cried. This person was open-minded, as if nothing was concerned, but he fell asleep so easily. He didn't care about the major matter of usurpation, and what else could make him feel important?

She tossed and turned, but she couldn't find a way to have both worlds. She was sighing, but Cao Chong suddenly laughed: "Please go to Lingyan Pavilion for a while, so I am a scholar, Wanhu Hou, and be a king and a marquis. Is it really that good?" Xun Wenqian was shocked and listened to it, but only heard Cao Chong's calm snoring. She also smiled: "I'm talking in my sleep again, what is Lingyan Pavilion? What is the famous scenic spot?"
Chapter completed!