Section 6: Advance and retreat

Cao Cao pondered for a long time while stroking his beard, and his head of the jaw should be. He sighed slightly and said, "Cang Shu, the method you mentioned is also a method I have thought of for a long time. It is easy to win, but it is difficult to control it for a long time. Moreover, this tactic requires long-term and stable financial supply. When the country is strong, it can still be done. It is difficult to last for now. I am afraid that the opponent has not yet reached the end of the road and we can no longer hold on. When fighting, we still have the strength to fight. Then we talk about the talents of the generals and the strength of the soldiers. Therefore, Sun Tzu said that the temple is the best in the art of war. In the final analysis, Zihuan can win the battle this time, but it is the credit for your three million stones of food."

He sighed, squinted his eyes and looked at the shaking lights. There was a trace of confusion in his eyes, as if he was talking to Cao Chong, and as if he was talking to himself: "When I was as old as you, I was determined to serve the country, lead troops to fight with my own abilities, make meritorious service, and pacify Xiliang for the country. When I die, I could engrave the tombstone with the 'Tomb of Cao Hou, the former general of the Han Dynasty, the Western Expedition of Marquis Cao' on the tombstone. I had a wish, but now..." He sighed long and turned his head to look at Cao Chong: "Cang Shu, do you think I should advance or retreat?"

Cao Chong didn't expect Cao Cao to put this question in front of him all at once. He looked at Cao Cao in horror. Cao Cao was also looking at him. Although he was smiling on his face, he had no smile in his eyes. His eyes were bright and chilling. His mind was rapidly moving, and he analyzed his possible intentions, and then he said carefully.

"It is impossible to retreat. If you retreat now, you will have no place to stand. Even if your father wants to go back to the bookstore outside Qiao County to live leisurely, he is afraid he will not be able to sleep peacefully. A tiger is not hurtful, and a tiger is harmful to the heart." Cao Chong organized the words while thinking. He had heard some analysis of Cao Cao's mentality in his previous life. Recently, he had been evaluating Cao Cao's thoughts with Pang Tong and others. He was basically a little bit confident about Cao Cao's conflict, so he first came up and told Cao Cao's reason for not being able to retreat to his heart.

Cao Cao's eyes relaxed a little, but he still didn't say anything. He just looked at Cao Chong quietly and waited for him to continue.

"But the time to enter... seems to be not very mature." Cao Chong said as he raised his head and plucked up the courage to look directly at Cao Cao. Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, looked at Cao Chong for a while, and he raised the corner of his mouth and smiled. The seriousness on his face disappeared suddenly, showing a satisfied smile.

"Tell me, tell me what you think, let us discuss it." Cao Cao stretched out his hand and pinched Cao Chong's hand and smiled. His hands were wide and thick. Although they were still very powerful, they had obviously felt the softness of the elderly. Cao Chong felt a sigh in his heart. This powerful and powerful minister was still old after all. From his expression before and after, it can be seen that his mind was hesitant, and he was wandering between being a loyal minister and being a rebellious minister. He could not advance or retreat, which was very pitiful.

He clenched Cao Cao's hand tightly, moved his body, and approached him, and said softly: "This time in Xu County, in order to be the king, I carefully observed the performance of the officials. Although they did not have much real power, many of them still had the Han Dynasty. My father-in-law worked hard for the affairs of the Han Dynasty and vomited blood. Although the Yang family did not come forward, it can be seen that they organized their secretly. Although Xi Gong was devoted to his father, he did not dare to speak lightly in the face of this righteousness. The rebellion in Hejian can be regarded as a posture of the Xun family. Although my Cao family currently has enough ability to quell these rebellions, but really... I am afraid that rebellions will come one after another and cannot be beaten, and Sun Quan, Liu Bei and others will take advantage of the situation. I don't know anything else, at least Jing Yi will soon be in chaos."

"You can't control Jingzhou, Yizhou?" Cao Cao frowned and looked at Cao Chong.

Cao Chong shook his head: "Although I have been winning battles in the past two years, this is inseparable from the support of various major families. I have tried my best to reduce the content of Confucian children among local officials and open Xiangyang Academy. I also strive to cultivate various talents who are not bound by Confucian classics. However, the time is too short, most of the talents are still deeply influenced by Confucianism. I guess they will not be able to move them in three to five years." He paused and said helplessly: "From this year, some soldiers will retire. I have arranged a large majority of them to be officials in various counties and townships to master local military power. A group of people will retire every year in the future. However, too few of these people can read too little, and it will not play a big role in the short time. It will take at least five years to fully control Jingyi."

He had already made a hand and shook it in front of Cao Cao.

Cao Cao blinked and suddenly laughed: "Did you think about this when you recruited Jingshan Army three years ago?"

Cao Chong shook his head: "At that time, I didn't expect the title of king. I just felt that my Cao family had reached this point. Whether it was advancement or retreat, whether it was for public or private purposes, we had to consider the way out. The emperor is a smart person, but he is also an emperor first. From his perspective, as long as there is a slight chance, he will try his best to prevent my Cao family from having unreasonable thoughts. Even if my Cao family can give up the glory and wealth he has obtained, he will deal with my Cao family for stability. Of course, I cannot be without any preparation."

"What are you going to do?" Cao Cao smiled slightly: "Are you going... or retreat?"

"It's hard to advance, and it's not easy to retreat." Cao Chong scratched his head, revealing a hint of a young look, and smiled: "From the current situation, it seems that it's better to maintain the status quo."

"How to maintain the status quo, how to maintain it for a long time?" Cao Cao was a little puzzled.

"I don't know how long it can last, but I'm younger than the emperor and should still have some advantage." Cao Chong smiled: "I'm only seventeen years old this year, and my father is only fifty-eight years old. The father and son are in charge. There should be no problem in controlling the government for another thirty years. In thirty years, the huge difficulties should be able to find a good solution."

Cao Cao slowly stroked his gray beard and thought for a long time. Cao Chong was a little nervous. He unconsciously held his breath and observed Cao Cao's every move. After a while, Cao Cao nodded slightly: "Don't advance or retreat, just wait and see what changes. This method is a solution that is impossible. Thirty years have passed and another generation has been around, so you should be able to find a more appropriate solution. But will the emperor wait forever?"

"As long as my Cao family does not act abnormally, the world will not be in a state of chaos. Even if there are a few people who are ungrateful, they will not be able to make any big waves. What are the fears?" Cao Chong quietly breathed a sigh of relief, stopped for a moment, and said, "But waiting is not a solution. I think it is better to use a legitimate method to limit the emperor's hands and feet."

"What method?" Cao Cao looked at Cao Chong curiously and asked with interest.

"In order to facilitate his actions, my father restored the ancient prime minister system, but some people had ulterior motives and quoted those absurd prophecies that my father wanted to be prime minister in order to respond to the sign that those who seized the Han Dynasty's world were the prime minister. They only knew to pick bones in the eggs and not mention their father's good intentions, but said some inexplicable words, insulting, pointing at mulberry and scolding, and saying things that were shadowless as if they were real." Cao Chong looked at Cao Cao, who was smiling and indifferent. Seeing Cao Chong stop, he waved his hand and smiled, "Those ignorant scholars just dropped a few books, don't pay attention to them. You'd better tell me your way."

"Here!" Cao Chong nodded: "What I think is, since the ancient Prime Minister's system has been restored, why not restore the Huang Lao technique in the early Han Dynasty? Huang Lao asked the emperor to rule without doing anything. We just asked His Majesty to avoid being careless in other people's business, and my father could be justified and on an equal footing with the emperor and discuss the truth."

"Old Huang?" Cao Cao burst out laughing: "This is interesting. It's just that the Han Chinese practice Confucianism and have abolished the school of all schools of thought for hundreds of years. The Confucian power has been deeply rooted. It is probably not easy to restore the art of Huang Lao at this time. I'm afraid the storm will be even more serious than the title of kings."

Cao Chong shook his head and said, "Although Confucianism is deeply rooted in its uniqueness, it is not a solid piece of Confucianism. Modern literature, ancient literature, and current Zheng studies have become a staggering momentum. Huang Lao and the Hundred Schools of the School do not appear as **. Most of them have some Confucian identities. If they serve as important officials in the court, they should not cause conflicts among those Confucians."

Cao Cao thought about it but did not object. He heard Cao Chong say that he also knew some debates about Xiangyang Academy from his own channels. The older generation of great scholars represented by Xun Yue and middle-aged scholars represented by Zhong Changtong, their seemingly deviant critical attitudes towards Confucianism have gradually gained recognition after a long debate. With the issuance of Xiangyang Monthly News, it has gradually spread to many regions. Although the opinions may not be unified, they can still think about these issues calmly.

, not so excited. Of course, there will be debates when it comes to specific interests, but it is an indisputable fact that the Confucian classics are not monolithic, which is an indisputable fact. Cao Cao also understood the latter point that Cao Chong said, although Zhong Yao, Wang Lang, Gao Rou and others have all experienced the influence of Confucian classics, they also pursued part of the Legalist ideas. Liu was a great Confucian scholar in Jingzhou and was proficient in Huang-Lao academics. Similar situations are not uncommon. Pure Confucian scholars are no longer the most popular academic method in the academic world.

"Your father-in-law thinks so too?" After Cao Cao thought about it, he had a temporary solution to the problem of advancement and retreat. He was not anxious, but he had a deeper understanding of Cao Chong's new policy in Xiangyang. He relaxed his expression and asked with a smile.

"In order to solve my father's concerns, my father-in-law suggested that my Cao family marry His Majesty so that my father can be the only one who is a relative of his family. This is also a precedent for our Han Dynasty. The officials should not be too resistant. It is an urgent solution that can be accepted by both the court and the public. I wonder what my father wants?"

Cao Cao had received a letter from Xun Yu and knew what Xun Yu meant. Now he heard Cao Chong say that he would delay for thirty years first. He had an idea in his mind. He would not retreat and be slaughtered by others no matter what, but he was also hesitating on whether to go further. After all, until the time when the army was first raised, he was determined to be a loyal minister. With the change of status in the past twenty years, while he became the most powerful person in the Han Dynasty, he also slowly embarked on a road that could not be turned back. Whether to advance or retreat, he had been on the head.

The problem of pain. Judging from the situation of asking for title of a king, although there is no one who opposes the people who have real power, their power is still not small. Even people like Xun Yu are opposing him, and others can be imagined. Although he took the opportunity to remove Xun Yan's military power, the relationship between the Xun family is far more than Xun Yu, Xun You, Xun Yan, Xun Yue, etc. Among the officials of the court and Prime Minister's Office, at least half of them are directed by the Xun family, and their power cannot be underestimated. Moreover, Xun Yu's role is too great. If it is not handled well and the involvement is too wide, he has to act cautiously.

This made him a little dilemma.

Now Cao Chong proposed a solution to delay this problem for thirty years. He thought it was feasible. With Cao Chong's qualifications, he should have a chance of winning against the emperor. Judging from his layout three years ago and the current implementation, it may be more appropriate to let him solve this problem. In this way, he can not only preserve the reputation of a Han minister, but also take the initiative firmly in his hands, so as not to let the emperor bite him in reverse. Marriage with the emperor is also a good way to solve the current difficulties and an excuse to be open and honest in his government affairs.

"Since that's the case, let's do what you said." Cao Cao sighed: "As for your father-in-law, you can take it to Xiangyang and let Master Zhang treat him well. He has been with me for twenty years, and now he is so tired, it's hard for him."

"Here!" Cao Chong heard from Cao Cao's words that he was neglecting Xun Yu but would not pursue him any more. He was overjoyed and quickly agreed. Seeing that he looked relieved, Cao Cao couldn't help laughing.

…………

In the summer of Yecheng in August, although summer is about to leave, it is still hot at noon. Cao Cao, who solved the problem of his heart, was in a good mood and brought his wife and Cao Chong and other children to Xuanwu Pool to visit. Xuanwu Pool was dug up to train the navy in the spring of the 13th year of Jian'an to prepare for the southern expedition. However, after fighting the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao stopped training the navy here. As soon as Cao Chong won victory in Jingzhou, he now got the Yizhou Navy. Recently, he gathered the Jingzhou Navy in Liu Bei's hands. The strength of the navy was vaguely surpassed that of Liu Biao back then, so there was no need to

He trained troops in Xuanwu Pond. Secondly, he also found that although Xuanwu Pond is not small, it is still just a small pool compared to the Yangtze River and cannot play a role in field drills. In this way, he simply gave up his original function and followed Cao Chong's advice to build Xuanwu Pond into a park, piled up some rockery, planted many trees on the bank of the pond, and built a long dike, leading to the pavilion in the center of the pond, and used it as his own summer resort. In his spare time, he took his wife and children to relax, took a walk on the thick and sealed path, and fished by the pond, just like a casual rich man.

Cao Chong did not accompany Cao Cao to sit in the pavilion. He took more than a dozen younger brothers to play in the pool. Children jumped from the stage to the water excitedly, splashing waves of water, and aroused innocent laughter. The ladies and a few girls were obediently with Cao Cao, some were fanning, some were peeling fruits, and some were around Mrs. Bian, who was playing cards, and they made suggestions. As for the son who was playing water, there were more than a dozen tiger soldiers who were proficient in water waiting aside, and the ladies felt relieved.

Cao Cao was very satisfied with the harmonious scene of the family in front of him. He sat on the recliner sent by Cao Chong with a smile. He was extremely comfortable. He closed his eyes and chewed the fruit carefully peeled by his daughter Cao Xian. Cao Jie was lying on the railing, pulling Cao Hua to point at the bare-butt brother and laughing. Most of the children were wearing small short pants, while two or three children who were only seven or eight years old thought the shorts were troublesome and simply bare butts. Cao Hua, who was just in his early teens, made his face blush.

"Xian'er, you are seventeen years old this year, it's time to get married." Cao Cao opened his mouth and brought a fruit from Cao Xian to his mouth. While chewing, he asked casually: "What do you think? Do you have anybody you like?"

Cao Xian blushed and lowered his head and smiled: "How can my daughter have any ideas? It depends on her father."

Cao Cao opened his eyes and looked at Cao Xian, then closed his eyes. Listening to the excited laughter of his sons over there, he was very relieved and was in a very good mood. He actually joked with Cao Xian: "Xian'er, I wanted to promise you to Zhou Yuanzhi at the beginning, but unfortunately this kid was ungrateful and didn't want to. Humph, he deserved to be driven to Daqin by Cang Shu. He didn't want my daughter such a good one. Wouldn't he be blind?"

Cao Xian paused his hand when he heard Zhou Buyi's name, his face froze, and he was a little dazed. He reacted again for a moment. She secretly looked at Cao Cao. Cao Cao was laughing at the sons who were diving over there, but he didn't notice her. She looked around secretly, and the ladies were watching the game attentively. No one noticed this. Only Cao Jie, who was lying on the railing, happened to see him. When the two of them looked at him, Cao Xian quickly lowered his head in a concealment.

"There is a good marriage now, and I believe you will be very happy." Cao Cao turned his head and smiled.

Cao Xian's expression immediately changed. She had heard her mother tell her quietly that her father was planning to marry the emperor, but she was not sure who it was. She felt something was wrong at that time. She was the oldest daughter in the family. If she married, she would be the first choice. But she had never forgotten the genius boy who could only talk to Cang Shu, although he is now in Daqin, thousands of miles away, and his life and death are unknown.

"What's wrong with you?" Cao Cao was puzzled when he saw Cao Xian's expression was wrong, and half-retted up and asked.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little uncomfortable for a moment. My daughter takes a break for a while." Cao Xian lowered his head and said softly with a pale face.

"Oh," Cao Cao thought about it, thinking that it was another trouble for his daughter's family. Although he was a little disappointed, he didn't care too much. He waved his hand and said, "Go and go."

"Daughter is leaving." Cao Xian hurriedly walked away. Cao Jie came towards her and looked at her with concern. Cao Xian looked back at her in a panic and hurriedly left.

Cao Chong, whose sleeves were rolled up high and half of his body were wet, strode from the long dike, and shouted at Cao Rui who was snuggling beside Zhen, "Yuan Zhong, Yuan Zhong, see what it means to play cards there, come and play in the water, how fun it is, you can see how happy they are."

Cao Rui looked at his mother nervously and shook his hand repeatedly. Zhen Shi smiled and said, "Uncle, forget it, Rui'er is timid and afraid when she sees water. She is not as brave as those younger brothers."

"How is this happening? How can children not like playing with water?" Cao Chong shook his head and smiled at Zhen's beautiful face. He moved his eyes away reluctantly, squatted down, reached out to pull Cao Rui, who was hiding behind Zhen's side and smiled, "Don't be afraid, I'll take you into the water, how about?" He turned around and pointed to the tiger soldiers who were protecting the children in the water and said, "Look, with so many people protecting me, what's there to be afraid of?"

Cao Rui glanced at the lively uncles in the water with envy, then looked at Cao Chong, and shook his head worriedly.

"Uncle, let's forget it." Zhen said with a smile.

Cao Chong stood up and smiled, "Sister-in-law, the man's courage has also been trained, just like I was swimming between his legs and biting two bites on his white feet. The itchy feeling immediately made him laugh out loud.

Zhen watched Cao Rui slowly let go of his hands and feet in the water, and a giggle came. Then she breathed a sigh of relief and let go of his hands that were tucked together. Cao Cao glanced at her, turned over and lay on the recliner, patted his belly and smiled: "Don't worry, with Cang Shu, you will have no worries."

"Yes." Zhen responded casually, his heart moved, and subconsciously turned his head to look at Queen Guo who was leaning against Mrs. Bian. Queen Guo raised her eyebrows and then smiled as usual.
Chapter completed!