Section 3: To be captured

In the 20th year of Jian'an, in March of spring, willows swaying on the official road south of Yecheng, two rows of knights with bright armor stood upright on the agile horse like a dragon, watching the movements around him vigilantly, and more than a dozen carriages hummed cheerful little songs and walked slowly on the flat official road.

Cao Chong and Pang Tong sat opposite each other with their knees, leaning against the shaking car wall, and whispering and laughing.

"Young Master, there is a long pavilion in front of you. Do you want to take a break?" Dian Man asked gently on the wall of the car.

"No need." Cao Chong said, lifting the small window on the car wall. Dian Man's black face covered in sweat came into his eyes. Cao Chong suddenly changed his mind: "Send the order, rest in front for half an hour, everyone drink some water."

"No!" Dian Man replied, and then arranged it. When the tiger soldiers, who were sweating all over by the late spring sunshine, became more energetic when they heard this, their backs were straighter, and their speed of movement suddenly increased a lot.

"Young Master, this place is still thirty miles away from Yecheng. We walked so slowly that we couldn't rest for too long, otherwise we would delay entering the city." Pang Tong reminded, "Do you send someone to inform the Sima of the city gate first and report to the Prime Minister's Mansion?"

"No need." Cao Chong shook his head and said, "The Prime Minister is in Xuanwu Pool. Let's go to Xuanwu Pool to see him directly. I won't go to Yecheng today."

Pang Tong smiled. Xuanwu Pool was only twenty miles away from here. There was no problem with arriving before sunset at the current speed. No wonder Cao Chong was so sure. Prime Minister Cao would enjoy it now. It was late spring and it was not the hot time, but he had moved to Xuanwu Pool to work. If Pang Tong hadn't known his far-reaching eyes and ears and ears as far as Jiangnan, he would have thought that this 60-year-old man was enjoying his old age.

"The Prime Minister wants to see his grandson, but I'm afraid he can't wait." Pang Tong joked.

"No, although I asked me to wait until Hu Zi was one year old before bringing him back, I always asked a few questions every time I wrote, so I simply brought him back for him to see." Cao Chong smiled and said, "I don't know when I will go back again, so I asked my mother and others to bring him back together, so I asked them to live in Yecheng for a while. Shiyuan, do you think I will go back to Xiangyang?"

Pang Tong smiled and said, "It's hard to say that the war in Jiangnan has ended. The general does not need to rush back to Jingzhou. This is also reasonable. With Kong Ming in the mansion, I think the general can rest assured."

Cao Chong smiled, smiling proudly. After talking to him for a long day and night, Zhuge Liang happily came out and served as the chief secretary of the General's Mansion in Zhennan. He was in charge of government affairs. He was in charge of military affairs with the military Sima Fazheng and the officer Pang Tong, who was in charge of the discussions, and officially formed his three chariots. Now he is taking the subordinates of the General's Mansion, with Zhang Song's cooperation, rectifying the government affairs of Jingyi and the four prefectures, focusing on cleaning up those greedy clans and assisting Liu Ba in promoting the new policy to the four prefectures. In a short time, he formulated a complete set of methods for those major clans. After reading it, Cao Chong was satisfied and asked Liu Ba, Xun Yu and others to discuss it together. Even the scheming Xun Yu frequently asked this young man in his early thirties.

"Kong Ming is called Wolong Feng Chu. Of course I feel at ease with him as a deacon in the mansion." Cao Chong smiled and said, "However, I can see that his ambition is not something that a chief minister can satisfy. I plan to wait until the matter at hand is over, and I will let him go to Nanyang County to be the prefect. Chen Shuzhi is good at governing the army, but it is not easy to manage the government affairs. It is better to draw him out to manage the army."

Pang Tong smiled and nodded and said, "Nanyang is the imperial town. Although there are not as many relatives as Emperor Guangwu, there are still many large families. It is said that it is difficult to manage it. It is just right to let Kong Ming go. Let's see if the Legalists he admires can work."

Cao Chong smiled and said, "That's exactly what it means."

As the two said, the Changting in front arrived, and the convoy slowly stopped. Cao Chong got out of the car, rushed to Mrs. Huan's car and helped her get out of the car, then took her daughter out, and then took her son in her hands and got out of the car. Mrs. Huan looked at her son with satisfaction and entered the Changting surrounded by her wives. The head of the pavilion had already received a notice and directed the servants to greet her, knelt on the ground, and said a lot of pleasing words.

"Get up." Mrs. Huan happily said: "Reward."

Cai Ji responded, someone came forward with his purse and sprinkled some five-zhu coins into everyone's hands. The pavilion commander and the servants thanked each other and led everyone into the door to sit down. Mrs. Huan had the good wine that Cai Ji brought. The pavilion commander put some rural side dishes, then retreated, busy preparing water and food for the others.

Mrs. Huan tasted two side dishes made of wild vegetables and praised her. She looked around and pulled Nuo'er to her side, took a little to her and sent it to Nuo'er's mouth. Nuo'er chewed while saying in a speech: "Thank you grandma!"

Mrs. Huan was very happy. She hugged Niu'er in her arms and looked at her wives with satisfaction and smiled: "Look, look, how polite Niu'er is."

"That's because my mother taught me well." Cao Chong said intriguingly, and then looked at Sun Shangxiang who was smiling. Sun Shangxiang was the manager of the hand. After giving birth to a daughter and broke breastfeeding, she ran to the battlefield to fight and threw the child to Xun Wenqian and the others. After the war, Niuer couldn't remember who she was. She was not so heartless that she thought it would be better to avoid pestering her and making her have an unhappy time. In her words, anyway, the children of the concubines have to call their own wife and mother. As the right wife, Xun Wenqian has to be a biological mother, of course she has to take responsibility for her.

"Cang Shu." Mrs. Huan hugged Niu'er with one hand and dipped chopsticks in the other hand to let Niu'er taste it. It made Niu'er shake her head and smiled: "I have been to some places with your father, but I have never been to stand by and serve. I never thought that one day I would be served by so many people, including sons, daughters-in-laws, granddaughters, and grandsons. I am content. I don't have to spend more days like this. If I have another ten years, I will die and have no regrets."

"Mother, okay, what are you saying?" Cai Jijiao smiled and leaned over to her: "You only have a grandson and a granddaughter. How can this be enough? In a few days, you have more grandsons and granddaughters. I'm afraid you can't carry them. Besides, one of your younger brothers has not yet married, and the other has not yet grown up..."

"No, Xiao Yu'er is already pregnant. Seeing her like this, she is afraid she is a kid." Sun Shangxiang laughed loudly and said, "I'm afraid my sister can't catch up with her. As for her two younger brothers, she's even more out of reach."

"You're just talking too much." Cai Ji blushed, and slapped Sun Shangxiang, carefully sat next to Mrs. Huan, and served Xiaoyi.

"Don't worry, as long as you have it." Mrs. Huan's eyes were thinner, but her eyes were still agile. She swept around Cai Ji and Xun Wenqian's slightly bulging abdomen, and then said to Cao Chong: "Don't just laugh, Xiao Shuang is not pregnant yet." Cao Chong, who was browsing with Xiao Shuang, was embarrassed when he heard this, and said a few more gossips and hurriedly retreated, leaving Xiao Shuang, who was flushed, and was interrogated by the women.

Pang Tongyi, who was sitting outside the pavilion chatting with Cao Ju and others, saw Cao Chong retreating with a smile, quickly stood up and smiled and said, "Why are the generals not here to accompany the old lady to be happy, what are you doing?"

"Hehe, their women are happy to speak, but it's not convenient for me to be inside. Besides, the powder is so angry that I feel a little uncomfortable, so I come out to breathe." He glanced at Cao Ji, his eyes fell on his waist, the smile on his face suddenly faded, and a hint of majesty was added to his voice: "Zi Ding, where did you come from?"

When Cao Ju heard him ask about the knife, his face changed and said awkwardly: "I...I like this knife, and Xiang Ziman asked... for a borrowed one."

"What's the use of asking for it? Do you want to fight?" Cao Chong's face was a little bad: "These knives have quotas. If you take it, there will be no one. The tiger soldiers are responsible for the heavy responsibility of guarding, how can there be no knives in their hands? Didn't you tell you that you will match it later when the knives are approved. I can't wait for these months?"

The tiger soldiers of Cao Chong's personal guard camp used divine swords made by Pu Yuan of Hanzhong. These swords were very sharp, but the cost was also high. Except for the military positions of the lieutenant or above in each army, only Dianman's 200 tiger soldiers were equipped with all staff, and even the Iron Armored Army could not do a single hand. Cao Ju liked it very much, and wanted to have one to show off after returning to Yecheng, so he privately asked Dianman to borrow a bite. Unexpectedly, Cao Chong saw it and criticized him for not leaving any face.

"I'll go and pay it back." Cao Chong shouted with a calm face.

"No." Cao Ju had a sad face and trotted all the way with his head hanging down.

Pang Tong kept watching the two brothers talking, and when he saw Cao Ju walk away, he smiled and said, "General, he is your brother after all. He borrowed a knife to make a tremendous and proud person when he returned to Yecheng. He wouldn't have to compete so much, right?"

Cao Chong shook his head and said unhappily: "It's okay for Zi Ding to have something else, but it's a bit vain. It's not true that Yuan Ming (Qin Lang). Look, Yuan Ming got into the army and got into a group with the soldiers, and there was no special thing. But Zi Ding often put on airs in the army and wanted to do something extraordinary. It's true that he is my brother, but because of this, he needs to knock him so that he won't be proud of him."

Seeing that he was speaking seriously, Pang Tong stopped for a moment and asked thoughtfully: "General, this time you go back to Yecheng, do you still have a brother to deal with it. I wonder if the general has a certain plan?"

Cao Chong sighed: "What should be come, you will always come." He turned around, looked at the direction of Yecheng, and was silent for a while: "Shi Yuan, let's talk about it later when you get in the car."

"No." Pang Tong nodded with a serious expression. Along the way, although he had told Cao Chong a lot, Cao Chong never mentioned how to deal with Cao Pi. Last winter, Cao Pi wrote to Cao Chong, saying that the emperor wanted to make Cao Cao king with his merits. Pang Tong saw that the fight between their brothers was about to be brought to light from secret to open. Although Cao Chong had also said a few words to him, he had never arranged a time to have a good talk with him. As a chief in charge of staff discussions, especially for such private matters that are not suitable for discussion with many people, Pang Tong had no choice but to know what Cao Chong planned and then decide how to make a decision. However, Cao Chong did not mention it, and he avoided this topic intentionally or unintentionally. Naturally, he was not good at mentioning it. Seeing that there was still half a day before the confrontation was about to happen, he could not wait any longer, so he had to take the lead in writing Cao Chong's words to scold Cao Ji.

Fortunately, Cao Chong did not avoid him again this time.

When the convoy started again, Cao Chong and Pang Tong sat face to face. He was silent for a while before saying, "Shi Yuan, the emperor used the pretext of being the king and the title of the prince as bait to let my brothers fight each other. Although it is simple, it is very effective. Zihuan was afraid that he had already prepared his words at this moment. The matter of being the king is my father's wish. I cannot and cannot stop him. However, this prince, whether to fight or not, or how to fight, I really have no idea. I don't know what Shi Yuan has to think. I might as well tell him."

Pang Tong smiled, opened the folding fan with a "wow" sound and suffused it twice. After thinking for a moment, he closed the folding fan with a "wow" sound, and gently tapped his left palm: "General's two questions, I don't need to mention the previous question. I think the general himself has made a conclusion. Now it is not a question that you want to fight or not, but a question that you have to fight."

Cao Chong was stunned for a moment and nodded.

"So what the general is considering now is the second question, how to fight. To talk about this issue, the first general must first hesitate and be lucky. The general likes history books, and must be very familiar with the disputes between brothers, so I don't need to persuade him." Pang Tong's face was very serious and he didn't have to smile at all.

Cao Chong was also very serious, frowned and said nothing. He originally thought that he could be considered an overwhelming military achievement compared to Cao Pi, and this time Cao Cao was able to be named king because he pacified Jiangnan. Cao Cao should have made him the prince for granted. However, what unexpectedly happened was that Cao Cao had never made it clear and did not even mention the establishment of the prince. He was 61 years old this year. Although he had never heard of any abnormality in his body, under such circumstances, he was not sure about the king.

The candidate for the prince is obviously confusing. He has been thinking about Cao Cao's thoughts, and the people sent by Zhang Song to Yecheng have been collecting information from all aspects. From all aspects, since the decree of being the king, Yecheng has long been debated about who will become the prince. What Cao Chong felt incomprehensible was that many important officials of the Prime Minister's Office, such as Cui Yan and Mao Jie, were favored by Cao Pi, because he was the eldest son, and General Zhennan, who had outstanding military achievements, was excluded because he was not the eldest son.

This was undoubtedly a question that confused Cao Chong, who was full of confidence. While he felt unacceptable, he also shook his confidence in winning. It seemed that the thinking of the Han Dynasty was indeed not something that he was a time traveler.

Cao Chong's doubts fell in Pang Tong's eyes, which was shaken, unsteady of will, and had hopeless brotherly feelings in his heart. This was obviously quite dangerous for him, so Pang Tong frowned slightly and said, "If the general retreated, then you have to retreat to Jingzhou, look at the eldest son Shi Wei, watch him stabilize half of the country, and then turn the struggle between brothers into a national dispute. The general has the four prefectures of Jingyi and Yangzhou, and the eldest son has the remaining nine prefectures, which is comparable to the strength. No matter who wins, it will cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands or even millions of people again."

"Even if the general is willing to give up the fight, the eldest son will not let you go. With the general on his side, how can he sleep peacefully?" Pang Tong took the tea cup handed over by Xiaoshuang and took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and said, "After the general is defeated, the people who follow the general will not have any good endings. My Pang family is a big clan in Xiangyang. At worst, they can change the party immediately and transfer to the eldest son's side. I think even if there is no glory in the general, it will not be much different, but the Cai family will definitely not have any good endings, and the Liu family, the Sun family, the Xun family..." He glanced at Xiaoshuang who was listening and said in a very gloomy tone: "I'm afraid there will not be a good ending. If the other two families don't say it, just talk about the Liu family. If there is anything wrong with Mr. Liu, I'm afraid that Zhuo County will be in chaos."

Cao Chong was shocked, distorted, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He suddenly realized that he was indeed a little hesitant and a little weak, but if he was still weak at this time, it might be fatal. He was not just himself, but a large group of people. At least the four families represented by his five wives were already tied to him. The Cai family was united with him because of economic interests. Although Cai Mao had a son recently, he had no daughter to get in touch with Cao Pi anymore. The Xun family turned against Cao Pi because of him, and the defeated Liu family even placed all their hopes on him. As for the Sun family, Sun Quan would change direction at any time and throw himself into Cao Pi's arms.

"Shi Yuan is right, I really can't retreat." Cao Chong straightened his body, took the teacup in his little hands and drank a sip of tea, calming his mind: "Tell me, what should I do now?"

Pang Tong breathed a sigh of relief and shook his hand and smiled: "General, don't be nervous. The Prime Minister has not announced who the prince is so far. Although it is a bit surprised, it is not a bad thing. Yongnian said that many people in Yecheng thought it should be the eldest son, but the Prime Minister did not make a decision. This means that he is still hesitating. Perhaps it is not a bad thing for the general to make a decision after returning to Yecheng."

Pang Tong then said: "The general's record and government affairs have not been at a disadvantage so far. What he lacks is the identity of a legitimate son. Although the eldest son is now the eldest son, he was not the eldest son. Mrs. Bian was originally a concubine. After the general's eldest brother Cao Zi died, his wife, Mrs. Ding, left home. Mrs. Bian helped the official, and Ding did not have a son, so the eldest son became the eldest son. If the Prime Minister was limited to the identity of a legitimate son, he only had to find an excuse to abolish the Bian's status and change the old lady to the right wife, and the general naturally became the legitimate son. So this reason seems to be valid, but in fact it is vulnerable. The general doesn't have to worry."

"Then what you mean is..." Cao Chong was a little puzzled by Pang Tong's words.

"The Prime Minister wants to choose a suitable heir. He is still investigating you, not only the generals and the eldest son, but also others, such as Cao Xiaoqi."

"Are you talking about Ziwen?"

"I just said it's possible." Pang Tong smiled and said, "It's even possible that Mr. Zijian is Mr. I heard that he is now quite famous and is very popular with the Prime Minister."

Cao Chong frowned.

"General, don't care. This is just a guess. From all aspects, the possibility of both of them is not high. General Xiaoqiu is brave, but he doesn't like government affairs. Mr. Zijian is good at writing, but it's just a good article. Besides, they have a good relationship with the general and will not hinder the general."

Cao Chong also smiled, feeling that he was really nervous. Although it was not impossible for these two people to do, with Cao Pi and him, the possibility of Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi was basically zero. He thought about it and asked, "What should Zihuan do?"

"I think the eldest son must be very anxious and angry now." Pang Tong said leisurely.

"Why?"

"He asked the title of King for the Prime Minister and made a contribution consciously, but the expected prince of the king has not been able to take it for a long time. Now the general returns to Yecheng with unparalleled merits. This is obviously not a good thing for him." Pang Tong smiled relaxedly: "Although he asked the title of King in Xu County, it is based on the general's merits, and anyone with discerning eyes can see this. All he has now is just the identity of the eldest son, and this identity - we said just now is actually very unstable. In the final analysis, it is still a contest of the abilities of the two of you. If you want to talk about military achievements, the so-called great victory in Guanzhong cannot be compared with the general's pacification of the four southern states. If you want to talk about government affairs, he did not make a new policy like Jingyi. His reliance is too small, and his chances of victory are insignificant, so it would be strange if he doesn't get angry."

Seeing that he was talking interestingly, Cao Chong laughed out loud. Thinking of Cao Pi's anxious look, he felt very happy.

"If I were the eldest son, there are two ways to reverse the situation." Pang Tong said mysteriously: "One is to make a great contribution by himself, and the other is to let the general experience a great defeat."

Cao Chong was shocked and immediately understood what Pang Tong meant. If Cao Pi made great contributions and his identity as the eldest son, even if Cao Cao was biased, he would not be able to disqualify him without reason. But if he was defeated once, all his previous military achievements would be discounted, becoming less real and greatly reduced.

"Are you talking about Guanzhong?" Cao Chong thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Well, Guanzhong, and Xiliang." Pang Tong nodded and said to Cao Chong with a smile: "General, don't underestimate Guanzhong, don't underestimate Xiliang. It was the Qiang people in Xiliang who dragged our Han into the mud of war. Duan Jiming, one of the famous generals of our dynasty, fought for two years, more than 180 battles, beheaded more than 40,000, and spent 4.4 billion to destroy the Eastern Qiang tribe. It only barely maintained a few years of stability. In a few years, the Qiang people fought to Guanzhong again. It was really helpless for Taiwei Cui to give up Xiliang."

Cao Chong nodded with a smile and interrupted Pang Tong's words: "Shi Yuan, I know you are afraid that I will take it lightly, but I am very concerned about the war in Xiliang. I won't talk about it before, even the war is not good now - Xiahou Miaocai is not unable to fight, Xu Gongming, Zhu Wenbo and others are not mediocre talents, even Sima Zhongda is also a rare talent - the battle is so due to the special situation in Xiliang in Guanzhong, Guanzhong is long, with large distances, drought and little rain. Many places are barren lands, and even quicksands are thousands of miles away. The population of the entire Liangzhou may only be the population of a county in Hanzhong. I can easily take Yizhou, but not necessarily Liangzhou. Even if I win, it is not easy to take long-term peace."

When Pang Tong saw Cao Chong’s argument, his psychological worry was gone, and he showed that he felt sympathy: “What the general said is very much. But no matter how desolate Liangzhou is and how difficult it is to fight, it is the territory of my Han Dynasty, not to mention that there are also the vast Western Regions outside Liangzhou. Besides, even if the general doesn’t want to go, he may not be able to do it. I just mentioned two methods. The former method is probably unlikely, but the latter method is quite feasible. The eldest son is not sure about Ma Chao and Han Sui who pacified Xiliang. He will definitely recommend the general, and he will find some credit in other places and find some trouble for the general according to the opportunity." He smiled and said, “Doesn’t the general often say that destruction is always easier than construction.”
Chapter completed!