Chapter 40: The King

In September of the autumn of the 19th year of Jian'an, Xu County Imperial Palace.

The emperor was frowning and looked at Cao Chongjiebao whom Zhou Yu brought back, scratching his head without any joy. He looked at Zhou Yu with a calm expression and said with some complaint: "My dear, didn't General Zhennan ask you to defend Changsha for a while? Why are you..."

After Zhou Yu received the war report from Cao Chong that he forced Sun Quan to Wujun, he handed over the military power in his hand to Le Jin, and rushed back to Xiangyang with his light chariot. After discussing with Xun Yu for a while, he immediately rushed to Xu County to report the victory, and at the same time sent Cao Chong's memorial. He told the details of the war in Jiangnan, which showed that Liu Bei, who was originally planning to recruit reinforcements, had already died in battle, and Sun Quan had no way out. Now he should have become a prisoner of Cao Zhennan. His implication is very clear, Your Majesty, don't expect it. It's not that I don't work hard, but then again, your idea is a bit bad. Even if these two people don't have internal conflicts, they are not a match for Cao Zhennan, let alone they have no intention of working for you.

As for Changsha, Zhou Yu also knew that the emperor wanted him to hold military power, but Zhou Yu had no intention at all. Even if he had soldiers in his hands, it was like this. Not to mention that those soldiers only had General Zhennan’s Mansion and only General Cao. Even if he could hold these thousands of people, it would be useless. Le Jin was watching from the side. Cao Chong was people from all directions. What else could you think? If there was any movement, you would destroy you. It would be better to hand over the military power and return to Xu County to be his guard.

The emperor felt that Zhou Yu's return this time was completely different from before leaving. He was talking for Cao Chong in his words and outside. He had no resentment and repulsion towards Cao Chong before leaving. He felt a little disappointed. He had no interest in talking to Zhou Yu anymore. After he finished talking about the war in Jiangnan, he waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work, let's go and rest first."

Zhou Yu could understand the emperor's thoughts, and he had no intention of thinking about it here. He took the opportunity to say goodbye and went home to accompany his beautiful wife. Before he left, Xiao Qiao was pregnant and gave birth to a son named Zhou Yin. Zhou Yu was bullying with Liu Bei and others at that time, and had never seen this son. Now what he was most anxious about was to go home to see his son, and then try to have a few more while he was in good health.

The emperor shook his head in disappointment as Zhou Yu's hurried back. He originally wanted Zhou Yu to find reinforcements, but he didn't expect that the reinforcements had not been found, and even Zhou Yu threw himself to Cao Chong's side. This was really impossible to pass. He was very disappointed, a little depressed, and his face drooped and ugly.

"Your Majesty..." Jin Yi, who was accompanying him, couldn't help but feel a little worried when he looked at the emperor's appearance.

"What should we do?" the emperor looked outside the hall gate and said to himself.

Jin Yi was stunned for a moment, his face changed. Of course, he could see that Zhou Yu's mentality had changed, but if the emperor wanted to deal with him, would it be a bit too much? Or, the emperor was saying something else?

"Your Majesty, what to deal with?" Jin Yi asked softly.

The emperor was startled and looked at Jin Yi. He saw a hint of nervousness in Jin Yi's eyes, and was a little puzzled. Jin Yi asked again: "What should Your Majesty deal with?"

The emperor suddenly understood. He smiled and clicked the memorial on the desk in front of him and said, "Although General Zhennan has not captured Sun Quan yet, this is expected. You said he has pacified Jiangnan. How can he reward such a great contribution? I am worried about this."

Jin Yi breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "If you want to talk about this, you really have to step up. I guess it won't take long. Cao Zihuan, who is determined to be the deputy prime minister, is coming to ask for a title."

When Cao Pi mentioned Cao Pi, there were three black lines on the emperor's forehead. In the past two years in Xu County, Cao Pi had many faces to the emperor. He had to show his merits to the emperor if he had something to do or not. After all, he had to show off his merits to the emperor. After all, he had such great contributions, and now he is the emperor's father-in-law, so he should be appointed as a king. In addition, he, the eldest son of the Cao family, was also a person who had won battles in Guanzhong. Should the emperor also be appointed as an official and let him stay in Xu County legitimately, instead of being able to preside over the government affairs of Xu County as he is now like now.

The emperor was so angry that he asked you to come to Xu County to take charge of government affairs and even killed someone. Xu County, which was originally very lively, is now lifeless. I can only hear your harsh screams like a donkey. Fortunately, your girl is quite virtuous. If she is like you, I will give up the throne to your house and hang herself.

He also wanted to be the deputy prime minister, but he didn't look at your virtue. But when he thought that Cao Pi would soon come to the palace to ask for a title again, no matter how annoyed the emperor, he had to think of his own way first. He couldn't deal with it until the time came.

"My dear, what are your tricks?" The emperor looked at Jin Yi as if he wanted help.

Jin Yi smiled and pointed to the memorial on the case: "Your Majesty, when General Zhennan came to ask for a title, Your Majesty agreed to him. If he made another meritorious service, he could be the king. Now that he has recovered half of the southeast, this merit should be enough?"

The emperor was stunned, and his thin eyebrows immediately frowned: "Is it really a king?"

"Can you succeed without sealing it?" Jin Yi asked softly.

The emperor did not say anything. He agreed to Cao Chong at the beginning. Fortunately, Cao Chong was easy to speak, so he agreed to him. Although Cao Chong was driven to Jiangnan by Cao Cao, the emperor finally passed a difficult situation. At that time, he didn't expect that Sun Quan and Liu Bei were so unfair. The combined strength of the two of them could be considered equal to Cao Chong. It was estimated that they could last for another two years, so they would have to wait until Cao Cao died. Unexpectedly, these two were so useless and fought back by themselves. As a result, one died in the battle, and the other was not dead, it was probably soon, which made Cao Chong make such a great contribution in a year. It seemed a bit unreasonable to not be named King, but if he was named King, wouldn't the world be in chaos? He just watched his Cao family take the road of Wang Mang and overturn the country of our great man?

"What should I do?" The emperor's face had become bitter gourd. He had agreed to Cao Chong in person, so he had to admit his account.

"It's easy to deal with." Jin Yi smiled and said, "How did Your Majesty agree to him last time, what will happen this time."

The emperor's eyes changed suddenly, and he felt a little confused. Could it be that Jin Yi is like Zhou Yu, who is looking at the wrong direction and is going to switch to the portal? Isn't this betray me? Before he could express his time, Jin Yi said again: "If Your Majesty does not signify Prime Minister Cao as the king, then his words will become a joke. Your Majesty's prestige will be nowhere to be discussed, and Cao Zhennan will no longer believe Your Majesty in the future. If you sign the Prime Minister as the king, and once you fulfill your original promise, Your Majesty will fulfill your words and will not let others down. And Prime Minister Cao was able to be the king because he made great contributions to Cao Zhennan, and he will definitely eliminate the misunderstanding of Cao Zhennan and will definitely be rewarded. Who will be the position of the prince in the future?"

After hearing what Jin Yi said, the emperor's little head immediately flew around, and he quickly figured it out. Yes, using Cao Chong's merit to grant Cao Cao, the position of the prince will become a contradiction in the future. Let Cao Pi inherit it. Cao Chong is dissatisfied, and Cao Cao will be unwilling to let Cao Chong inherit it. He is not the eldest son, and Cao Pi will definitely not want it. The position of this prince has become a sufficient amount of flesh and bones. They can't help but tear them apart. Cao Chong is relatively strong, but Cao Pi has a legitimate reputation. It must be very interesting to make these two people make a fuss. Maybe he can still get some benefits from it. Of course, if the Cao family is divided into two and their strength is greatly reduced, it will be the best ending.

"Then be called the king?" Although the emperor smiled, he was still a little hesitant.

Jin Yi leaned down and kowtowed: "It depends on your Majesty's Holy Break."

The emperor raised his body and laughed: "In this way, just wait for the good news of Cao Aiqing's attack on Wujun."

The good news of Sun Quan's surrender arrived in Xu County fifteen days later.

Cao Pi rushed to the palace as soon as he received the good news, congratulating the emperor with a smile on his face. His expression was rare and his voice was also rare and pleasant: "Your Majesty, my Cangshu entrusted the emperor's blessing to successfully conquer Wujun. Jiangnan all returned to the court from then on. I congratulate Your Majesty."

The emperor also had a smile on his face. It seemed that the two of them would win the Best Goodwill Ambassador Award in the competition. "I am really happy to ask Cao Aiqing to ask General Zhennan to make such a great contribution. I did not misunderstand him at the beginning. It was indeed a young hero. He pacified Jiangnan in five or six years. He said that he was invincible and invincible. Qin had the twelve Ganluo as prime ministers, and my Han Dynasty also had such young talents, which showed that my Han Dynasty was full of fire and virtue."

Cao Pi's smile was fainted. Why did our family's contributions become evidence of the great Han's fire virtues? Why don't you say that our Cao family is prosperous? Besides, after you say this, it all became your ability to recognize people with keen eyes. That was my father's teaching. He paused for a moment and said, "Your Majesty is very much. When the Prime Minister taught us the art of war, he said that Cang Shu was talented and smart, and had the deepest understanding of art of war, not..."

Cao Pi said halfway, and stopped again. He originally wanted to tell the emperor that although you have a wise eye to recognize people, this is also my Cao family, and it was taught by the Prime Minister step by step. But when he was halfway through, he felt something was wrong, so he quickly changed his words and said, "It's not comparable to ordinary people. With such talent, and with the Prime Minister, you can achieve such success with the wise eye of Your Majesty."

The emperor was very pleased. His hand gently patted his thigh and said, "What I said is so good. The Prime Minister is a god of war. General Zhennan has learned his true teachings. It turns out that he is a tiger father without a dog son. He is only nineteen years old and is not yet in a bad state. He has already been appointed as General Zhennan. This time he has made such a great contribution. I really don't know how to reward him. Is the Prime Minister good in Yecheng? I really want to discuss with the Prime Minister."

Cao Pi's face looked even worse. You ignore me in love. I am now based in Xu County on behalf of my father. If you don't discuss with me first, you have to discuss with the Prime Minister, don't you take me seriously? The tiger father has no dog son, you want to say that I am a dog son.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is in Yecheng, and it is inconvenient to come from afar. If your Majesty has any order, I might as well pass it on to you." Cao Pi said, raised his head, looked at the emperor rudely, and there was no sense of respect in his eyes. He was just waiting to see how the emperor rewarded him.

The emperor has no time to treat him now. He seems to be in a difficult position, but he is actually very happy and hesitated and said: "General Zhennan is already a position of 2,000 stones. If he is promoted to General Zhengnan, it is better to be General Zhengnan. However, it seems inappropriate for him to be promoted to General Cavalry and to be appointed as Marquis of the County. I wonder if my dear minister thinks he should?"

When Cao Pi heard this, he felt that nothing was wrong with him, so he immediately said, "I think it's inappropriate."

The emperor said in surprise: "What is your opinion? Do you think that such a high-ranking title cannot be rewarded for such a great achievement? Otherwise, Jiangnan has been pacified and there is no war to fight for the time being. Why not let him return to the court to serve as deputy prime minister, so that he can see if his government affairs are as outstanding as military affairs, and secondly, he can share some affairs for the Prime Minister so that the Prime Minister can live his life earlier in the future."

Cao Pi snorted, even more unhappy. He just put me aside and prepared to let Cang Shu take over his father's class. He didn't want to bend around the emperor anymore, so he rolled his eyes and said, "Have you forgotten the promise that Cang Shu had promised?"

The emperor also lowered his face and said unhappily: "What does this mean? What do I have to say? Could it be that I am a fat person who broke my promise? I will say it."

Cao Pi sneered: "Cang Shu came to Xu County to ask for the title of the Prime Minister to be the Prime Minister. Your Majesty was reluctant to give up a false reputation and did not agree. He just added a fief and said that he could only be named the king after he made another contribution. Now Cang Shu pacified the south of the Yangtze River, wiped out the two enemies, and made Your Majesty's reputation spread again to the coast of the South China Sea. Is such a great contribution not enough to be named the king? Your Majesty is a dignified emperor, how can you go back on your word? Wouldn't it be disappointing to do this?"

The emperor frowned and said hesitantly, "I said that when the Prime Minister made merit, I could be the king. But now the one who made merit was not the Prime Minister, but General Zhennan. Although these two were father and son, they were still somewhat different." He glanced at Cao Pi, who was about to turn against him, and smiled and said, "Actually, I am fine. It's all about the matter between the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister. Although it is inconsistent with what he said at the beginning, it is not too far from it. But this credit was made by General Zhennan. Should I discuss with the Prime Minister and General Zhennan before making a decision? Cao Aiqing, why don't you contact them first and see their opinions?"

Cao Pi was unhappy, but it was difficult to refute. After all, the credit was not his. If he didn't make a decision without permission, it would be a bit too much. By then, my father would be a king and he might be a little unhappy, and the matter would be inappropriate. Now the emperor has given up and can be a king, so it is not a matter of delaying it for a little time. It would be fine if he waited for two days.

"Your Majesty said so much. I will contact the Prime Minister and Cang Shu. Cang Shu Renxiao, I guess he will not object." After saying that, without waiting for the emperor to nod, he hurriedly turned around and went out.

When his figure disappeared outside the door, the smile on the emperor's face froze, but a hint of sarcasm arose at the corner of his mouth. He looked at Jin Yi, looked at him with his head down and nodded understandingly, got up and brushed his clothes, and slowly walked towards the harem. Under the corridor of the back hall, Queen Cao Jie was being supported by two palace maids, slowly walking. Her lower abdomen was slightly raised, and she had been pregnant for four months.

When the emperor saw Cao Jie, a gentle smile appeared on his face. This queen was good. Although her surname was Cao, she was focused on herself. More importantly, compared with Empress Fu, Cao Jie's vision and decision were obviously more than one level higher, and he spoke with reason and evidence. - unlike Empress Fu, she only knew how to cry like Empress Fu. On several occasions, she made Cao Pi speechless and gave herself a lot of face.

"Your Majesty..." When Cao Jie saw the emperor, he quickly pushed away the palace maid's hand and bowed slowly.

"The queen does not need to be polite." The emperor hurriedly stepped forward to support Cao Jie, and half-jokingly said, "The queen is pregnant, just as a general has armor on his body, and there is no need to be polite."

Cao Jie insisted on giving a tribute for a while, then raised her body and looked at the emperor's joyful look. She pursed her lips and smiled, "Your Majesty, what happy events have you encountered today?"

"Yes." The emperor took Cao Jie's hand intimately and walked slowly into the hall, laughing: "General Zhennan's good news has been heard. He successfully conquered Wujun. Sun Quan surrendered. They were on the way to Xu County. The world of our great Han Dynasty, and now only Xiliang is still in chaos. However, General Zhennan is so talented and so young, Xiliang should be no problem. My great Han Dynasty has General Zhennan, which is really a blessing for my great Han Dynasty." He smiled and sighed, and then added: "It is also the blessing for the queen."

Cao Jie still looked at him with a smile. She knew about Cao Chong's besieging Wu County half a month ago. Taking down Wu County was expected. It should not make the emperor so happy. If the emperor is so excited, there must be something else.

"This..." The emperor felt a little embarrassed when he saw that Cao Jie was not surprised at all, and knew that his thoughts might not be able to hide from Cao Jie. He organized a sentence and said, "I want to give him a heavy reward. But now there is a problem. He is so young and has rewarded too much at once. How can he give Xiliang to pacify? I have no idea, but I am afraid that the ministers will talk about the merits of not rewarding them, which is not good for Cang Shu."

Cao nodded: "Your Majesty is right. After all, he is still too young. It is better to slow down some things."

The emperor sighed, "But he has made such a great contribution, it is not enough not to reward him. If he doesn't reward him, how can he reward his meritorious ministers? This matter is very troublesome. Zihuan just reminded me that he agreed to Cang Shu last time, and when he makes merit, he will be appointed as the prime minister. Now it is a good opportunity. I think those nerds who only know how to study will not talk about it again."

As the emperor said, he roughly described the conversation between him and Cao Pi in the court. Cao Jie's face slowly turned dark. She glanced at the emperor who seemed to be embarrassed but could not hide the smugness, and sighed silently: "Zihuan is right, Cang Shu Renxiao, you will definitely not object."

Cao Pi wrote letters to Cao Cao and Cao Chong separately. In the letter he wrote to Cao Cao, he explained in detail the reason why Cao Chong could not be rewarded. Anyway, it was very high-sounding. It sounded like he was thinking about Cao Chong everywhere, and he didn't want him to become a thorn in the eyes of those stubborn scholars too early. In the letter to Cao Chong, in addition to these, he also talked about filial piety. If you imply, don't argue. This time the credit will satisfy your father and make up for your wish.

When Cao Chong received the letter, it was already early October. The first thing he did when he returned to Xiangyang was to see his precious daughter and his newborn son. Dashuang gave birth to a son in July, and took the nickname Huzi, which became the happiest news in Xiangyang City. Soon it spread throughout the Han Dynasty with a monthly newspaper printed by the Cai family. Cao Cao of Yecheng received the good news before receiving the monthly newspaper. Lao Huai comforted him and sent Mrs. Huan to Xiangyang and sent a lot of things to his newborn grandson. These Sun Shangxiang gave birth to daughters, but they did not get anything. He repeatedly advised and told him that when Cao Chong finished the war and the child captured Zhou, he must take him to Yecheng to see. According to Mrs. Huan, if it were not for the advice of those advisers, Comrade Cao would have wished to take the tiger and leopard cavalry to Xiangyang day and night again.

Cao Chong was also very happy. He hid in the mansion and saw no one. Every day, Doudou's daughter who was learning to walk and his son who had just watched people, and then he played mahjong with me. Of course, there was still a land to farm at night. The most depressing thing here was Cai Ji. She was the first to follow Cao Chong, but her stomach has not moved yet, which made her doubt whether she had any problems. She secretly forced Kuai Ying to take her to find Zhang Zhongjing. As a result, Zhang Zhongjing said, "You have no problems at all, but the time has not come."

If someone else said this, it would be strange if Cai Ji didn't call him a liar, but Zhang Zhongjing said that even if she had questions, she had to endure it. Only when she was fine with Xun Wenqian, who was sympathetic, the two of them thought quietly.

On that day, Cao Chong was holding his son with one hand and holding his daughter with the other hand, and Liu Chan, the silly brother-in-law, biting a candied haw, and he followed him with a mouthful of saliva. Xiaoshuang hurriedly followed him to wipe his saliva for him. Cao Chong was proud of his family's joy. Sun Shao walked over from the outer courtyard and handed a letter to Cao Chong.

"Do you think I have some hands?" Cao Chong showed up proudly, Sun Shangxiang curled her lips from the side and smiled at Sun Shao: "Just show off, Shaoer, read it to him."

Sun Shao smiled, nodded at Sun Shangxiang, and leaned close to Cao Chong and said, "Sir, this may be a bit inappropriate."

"Oh?" Cao Chong saw that Sun Shao's expression was wrong and knew it was not an ordinary letter. He quickly handed his son to Dashuang and carried his daughter into the house. Sun Shao followed. Cai Ji curled his lips: "Hu Zi is still not as happy as Niu'er."

Sun Shangxiang nodded proudly: "That's, our girl, that's what everyone loves, and flowers bloom when they see flowers."

Xun Wenqian laughed aside and threw the handkerchief in her hand on Sun Shangxiang's face: "Okay, don't be proud. After the war this time, your mouth is almost grinning at the ear, and you win that... like a lottery every day."

The yard laughed like a ball.

Cao Chong, who was in the inner room, frowned and took out Niu'er's fingers from his mouth, saying, "Why is Zihuan so stupid? He doesn't know if he is so provoked, and he even acts as a pioneer?"
Chapter completed!