My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 232 Dividing the Cake
This was the first time Liu Feng had ever seen Cao Cao so flustered, and he felt a mixture of anger, resentment, and fear.

"Where did you get this information, Uncle? And when did it happen?"

Liu Feng remained quite calm. Firstly, he knew that Yuan Shao would never actually come to welcome the emperor. For Liu Feng, it was better to doubt the reliability of Cao Cao's information than to doubt Yuan Shao's intentions.

Secondly, even if Yuan Shao really came, it might not necessarily be a bad thing.

Judging from Cao Cao's current reaction, it's clear that his little brother has been suffering under Yuan Shao's thumb for a long time.

Aside from Cao Cao, was Zhang Yang truly loyal to Yuan Shao? Yuan Shao controlled a third of Hanoi, otherwise Yuan Shao wouldn't be able to sleep well in Ye City.

If Yuan Shao really dares to come, the emperor will be furious first.

If things go wrong, they might not end up welcoming the emperor, but instead welcoming an anti-Yuan Shao alliance.

Cao Cao composed himself, sat down in front of Liu Feng, and replied, "News just came from Hanoi. At the beginning of this month, Guo Tu led 5,000 troops across the border and stationed them in Ji County."

Liu Feng secretly marveled at Yuan Shao's influence in this era. He had only slightly stretched his arms, yet Cao Cao was already on pins and needles.

"Uncle, I don't think Guo Tu came for the sake of the emperor."

After listening, Liu Feng gave an unexpected answer.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao immediately perked up: "Oh, what do you mean?"

Liu Feng remained silent until the servants finished serving tea and left, then he spoke again: "Guo Gongze is a trusted confidant of the Right General. At the end of last year, he led 5,000 troops out of Ye City to join our Guandong loyalist army heading north. However, at the beginning of this month, he was still on the border of Hanoi, and had not even crossed the state border. What do you think is the reason, Uncle?"

Cao Cao began to understand.

He also knew that Ye City was less than ten miles from the border of Hanoi, so Yuan Shao had long since taken actual control of a small part of Hanoi that bordered Ji Province.

Starting from Ji County, including Gong County, Chaoge County, Dangyin County, and Linlu County, a total of five counties had long been occupied by Yuan Shao's men, and Zhang Yang had no control over them.

Even so, Guo Tu didn't dare to cross the state border even half a step, which was indeed extremely strange.

If we really want to wait and see, wouldn't it be more convenient to move into Ji County as we are now?
The only explanation is that Yuan Shao did not want Guo Tu to cross the border.

Yuan Shao even suppressed Guo Tu's crossing of the border; how much of his intention to welcome the emperor could he possibly have?
Realizing this, Cao Cao gradually calmed down. He glanced at Liu Feng with a complicated expression, recalling his earlier loss of composure and Liu Feng's calmness. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Big Ear really has a good son."

After pondering for a moment, Cao Cao asked again, "If that's the case, why did Yuan Shao allow Guo Tu to cross the border again?"

"Is Uncle testing me?"

Liu Feng replied with a smile, "If this is the Right General's intention, why would Lord Guo stay in Ji County?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao nodded slowly.

As Liu Feng said, if Yuan Shao was interested, Guo Gong should have marched straight in, or at the very least entered Zhi County. This hesitant advance of several dozen miles to enter Ji County is not comparable to entering Zhi County at a critical moment.

Zhixian is a crucial strategic point that controls the connection between Hedong and Hanoi.

Cao Cao nodded and added, "It seems that Guo Gongze himself decided to take up a post in Ji County."

"Uncle's insight is brilliant."

Liu Feng nodded: "My nephew shares the same view."

Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that Yuan Shao had not launched a large-scale westward invasion to seize the emperor.

For him, the bottom line was that the throne must never be given to Yuan Shao.

The emperor can be enshrined in Luoyang, or he can be moved to Yingchuan as agreed with Xuzhou, or even completely ceded to Xuzhou, but he cannot be taken away by Yuan Shao.

Cao Cao was very clear-headed. Despite the potential risks and crises of serving the emperor to command the disobedient, the combination of the emperor and Yuan Shao was truly terrifying.

He believed that Xuzhou would feel the same way, otherwise Liu Feng wouldn't have been so calm just now.

After calming down, Cao Cao realized that Liu Feng's composure was not only because he saw through Yuan Shao and Guo Tu's actions, but also because he had prepared for the worst.

This means that Xuzhou was willing to go to war with Hebei for the sake of the emperor.

This was undoubtedly good news for Cao Cao.

"Since you're here, Uncle, I happen to have some questions I'd like to ask you."

Liu Feng said solemnly, "Now that the Emperor has joined our entourage and is about to return east, I wonder if Uncle has any thoughts on what will happen after the Emperor assumes the throne."

Cao Cao narrowed his small eyes, secretly marveling. Could it be that Liu Bei had even delegated such authority to this kid?

After a moment of silence, Cao Cao tentatively asked, "What do you think?"

Liu Feng smiled and said, "I intend to recommend you, Uncle Shi, for the position of Grand General. What do you think, Uncle Shi?"

"Don't joke."

Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to refute, "What virtue or ability do I have? How dare I covet this position?"

The position of Grand General held extremely important power and status during the Han Dynasty, especially in the Eastern Han Dynasty, where it was a symbol of being the second most powerful person in the country, ranking above the Three Dukes and possessing the authority to assist in governing.

Cao Cao said he dared not covet the position, but in his heart he was actually extremely greedy for it.

Historically, Cao Cao even couldn't resist trying it out himself, appointing himself as Grand General and then appointing Yuan Shao as Grand Commandant.

This angered Yuan Shao, who refused the title.

Left with no other choice, Cao Cao had to resign as Grand General in a sorry state, transferring the position to Yuan Shao, while he himself took on the role of General of Chariots and Cavalry, thus gaining control of the court.

Many people believe that Cao Cao was pragmatic and pursued empty titles, valuing real power over empty fame. Yuan Shao, on the other hand, pursued empty titles and neglected the real ones, only caring about the empty title of Grand General, without firmly grasping the emperor's power.

This view is actually wrong.

The emperor is already in Cao Cao's hands. Unless Yuan Shao immediately raises an army to march south and fight against Cao Cao, the title of Grand General is the best way to check and balance Cao Cao.

Moreover, at the time, Yuan Shao's actions were almost a triple win.

First, by obtaining the title of Grand General, one gains the power to assist in government affairs, can establish a private government and set up a personal retinue, and has a legitimate reason to oppose the imperial court.

Secondly, Yuan Shao completely outmaneuvered Cao Cao, causing Cao Cao's reputation to plummet. The title of Grand General was forced to be relinquished simply because Yuan Shao was furious, and Cao Cao's reputation was practically trampled into the ground by Yuan Shao.

Third, it flexed its muscles, demonstrating its formidable power—that even though the emperor was no longer in its hands, it still wielded enormous influence over the government.

It can be said that the title of Grand General once caused Cao Cao a great deal of trouble, to the point that he later preferred to dig out the title of Prime Minister from the dusty archives rather than accept the title of Grand General.

At that time, Cao Cao married several of his daughters to Emperor Xian of Han, one of whom became empress.

At this time, it was most appropriate for Cao Cao to be appointed as Grand General.

But Cao Cao resolutely refused, probably because he had been thoroughly disgusted by Yuan Shao in the past.

"Uncle, I am not joking."

Liu Feng replied earnestly, "If it is my uncle who is to take on this position of Grand General, then Xuzhou will support him."

Cao Cao felt his heart pounding so fast that his mouth went dry: "Nephew, please don't joke. Brother Yuan Shao is a powerful figure in Hebei, with many soldiers and generals, and countless strategists. How can he sit idly by and let us decide important matters with a single word?"

Liu Feng said, "The Right General is indeed a big problem. He is definitely eyeing the position of Grand General and will never give up easily."

Liu Feng's words greatly disappointed Cao Cao.

Unbeknownst to them, Liu Feng had already stirred up Cao Cao's emotions.

This is not because Liu Feng was smarter than Cao Cao, nor because he was more astute than Cao Cao.

Cao Cao needed something from them, there was an imbalance of information between the two sides, and the position of Grand General was extremely important, so Cao Cao couldn't help but be obsessed with it.

Even so, Cao Cao still tried to calm himself down and said, "In my opinion, Brother Yuan Shao is determined to get the General. I really cannot compete with him. Boy, don't try to sow discord."

Cao Cao said that Liu Feng was sowing discord, but his expression didn't show much anger, which shows that he actually looked forward to this provocation.

"Uncle, why are you humiliating me like this?"

Liu Feng protested, "If that's the case, Uncle, please allow me to explain in detail. If what I say is true, Uncle, are you willing to take a gamble?"

"Oh?"

Liu Feng's confident words piqued Cao Cao's interest: "What do you have to say? Speak quickly. If your words are substantial, I will reward you handsomely!"

“Excellent! Uncle’s reward is already in my pocket.”

Liu Feng clapped his hands and laughed, "Uncle, the Right General's desire for the position of Grand General is not for the title, but because he is unwilling to be subordinate to anyone. Therefore, as long as we start from this point, the position of Grand General will surely belong to you, Uncle."

Cao Cao suddenly realized, and upon closer reflection, he found that this was indeed the case.

For Yuan Shao, official rank was not important; what mattered was not being subordinate to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao suddenly thought of something and tentatively asked, "You mean..."

"Indeed! This is the position of Grand Marshal!"

Liu Feng sneered, "Li Jue is nothing but a traitorous minister. What virtue or ability does he have to hold this position? I can petition the emperor to dismiss Li Jue and appoint the Grand Marshal to the Right General."

The position of Grand Marshal was originally one with that of Grand General, but it was gradually separated into two positions. The famous sage Wang Mang once held this position.

In the Han dynasty system, the Grand Marshal was second only to the Grand Tutor, slightly above the Grand General, and had the power to assist in governance.

After the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wu Han was appointed as Grand Marshal by Liu Xiu. After Wu Han's death, Liu Xiu took the opportunity to cancel this position.

From that day until He Jin's death and Dong Zhuo's take control of the government, the title of Grand Marshal was revived and bestowed upon Liu Yu, the Governor of Youzhou.

After the chaos and infighting in Liangzhou escalated, Li Jue forced Emperor Xian of Han to bestow upon him the title of Grand Marshal, a position he still holds to this day.

At this point, Cao Cao understood all of Liu Feng's thoughts. After careful consideration, he felt that what the other party said made a lot of sense and was quite feasible.

However, there was one last point that Cao Cao hadn't figured out.

So, what did Liu Feng want after doing all this?

However, Cao Cao did not ask directly, but instead laughed heartily and said, "The younger generation is indeed formidable! The younger generation is indeed formidable!"

“I have a famous horse named Jueying. It is a fine Ferghana horse, extremely fast, and has the appearance of leaving no trace, hence the name Jueying.”

At this point, Cao Cao pointed at Liu Feng and said, "Today, I am honoring my bet, so I will give you this horse. But I wonder, besides this horse, what other rewards would you like, my dear nephew?"

Liu Feng was somewhat surprised. Wasn't this one of the famous Three Sages?
Cao Cao was quite magnanimous; he actually gifted the Jueying sword directly to Liu Feng.

Liu Feng was quite satisfied with the reward.

As for the second half of the sentence, it was clearly implied.

Very well, Liu Feng had no intention of hiding anything anyway, so he spoke directly: "Uncle, you are the Grand General, and my father is willing to serve as your assistant, General of the Cavalry."

Cao Cao nodded; this was something he had expected.

Yuan Shao has become Grand Marshal, Cao Cao has become Grand General, and Liu Bei doesn't even have the title of one of the Three Dukes General. How can they sit at the same table together in the future?
Moreover, the General of the Cavalry is a general of the Three Dukes, whose rank is comparable to that of the Three Dukes, and who naturally has the authority to establish his own government, so there is no need for additional appointments. At the same time, he is also bound to be the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

This is just the most basic requirement, not enough to warrant recognition.

"Prefect Guo is qualified to be one of the Three Dukes."

Liu Feng then put forward a second condition, which was to ask Guo Gong for an official position, and he immediately asked for one of the Three Dukes.

Cao Cao pondered for a moment: "You may choose to place him either as Minister of Works or Minister of Education."

Liu Feng then revealed his true intentions, saying, "My family still needs the power over the three provinces of Yu, Xu, and Yang."

Cao Cao shook his head immediately: "Impossible. It's fine for Yu and Xu, but Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou, has done nothing wrong. How can he be dismissed? Besides, the situation in Yangzhou is chaotic. Dismissing Liu Yao now would only make Yuan Shu happy."

Cao Cao coveted Yu Province, wanting a piece of it at all; he couldn't let Liu Bei swallow it all in one go.

Cao Cao wasn't truly unwilling to grant Yangzhou control. Liu Bei and Liu Feng wanted Yangzhou, no problem, but they would have to exchange it for the territory of Yuzhou.

Liu Feng held up two fingers: "Yingchuan, Hanoi."

Cao Cao clicked his tongue and countered, "Add Liang Kingdom to the deal."

"Uncle is too greedy."

Liu Feng shook his head and refused: "There is absolutely no possibility with Liang. At most, I will hand over Chen to you."

In fact, Liu Feng of Yingchuan didn't want to give it up. Who wouldn't want a perfectly intact Yuzhou?

But if Cao Cao is to be pushed out to counter Yuan Shao, then Yuan Shao must at least be wary of him, so Cao Cao's strength cannot be too weak.

At the same time, if Yingchuan is not given to Cao Cao, the emperor will have no foothold and will head straight for Xuzhou, which will disrupt his entire plan.

"Chen State..."

Cao Cao weighed the options and concluded that, in terms of sheer size, the State of Chen was roughly the same as the State of Liang, only not as strategically important.

However, precisely because of Liang's important position, he knew that Xuzhou was possible, but he would never give it to Liang.

"Alright, then it'll be Chen State."

The two sides had made a verbal agreement beforehand, demarcating their spheres of influence.

This time, however, the division was clearly more formal and involved the central government, so Cao Cao did not treat Liu Feng like a child at all, but instead took it extremely seriously and meticulously.

Cao Cao nodded in agreement, then asked, "What else would you like, my nephew? The governor of Yu Province can provide it immediately, and I can submit a memorial to the emperor after he returns to Luoyang. However, Yang Province will have to wait a bit longer. I suppose you need time to make arrangements, nephew?"

Cao Cao was right. Transferring Liu Yao away now would only benefit Yuan Shu... no, more accurately, Sun Ce.

Once the Xuzhou army is ready, he will be granted the title of Governor of Yangzhou, along with the positions of Prefect of the two counties north of the Yangtze River.

Liu Feng was confident that he could destroy Yuan Shu within two years.

After all, no one knew that Liu Feng still had reinforcements to help him overcome the drought.

In response to Cao Cao's question, Liu Feng also stated his next requirement: "General Who Guards the East, concurrently serving as Governor of Xu Province."

At this time, Cao Cao was not yet the General Who Guards the East. This title was given to him after he welcomed the emperor to Luoyang and then quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Yingchuan. It was currently vacant.

Although this position is not as high as the Three Dukes General, nor is it a formally titled general, it is considered one of the higher ranks among miscellaneous generals. In addition, with the title of Governor of a prefecture, this can be considered the standard configuration for a trusted and important minister under a feudal lord.

Liu Bei's power had expanded to four provinces, and he controlled three of them. However, Liu Bei alone could not directly govern all three provinces.

Therefore, while Liu Bei was establishing the General of the Cavalry's office, he could also begin assigning important officials to govern the various provinces.

Moreover, since the governor and the prefect are enemies, there is no need to worry about the governor having too much power, and the title of general can command the military affairs of the region, which can be described as a perfect match.

Liu Feng's plan was prepared specifically for Second Master and Chen Deng.

History has proven the Second Master's loyalty and ability; he deserves this treatment.

Therefore, Liu Feng planned to have his father serve as General of the Cavalry and Governor of Yu Province, stationed in the Central Plains, while his second brother would serve as General Who Guards the East and Governor of Xu Province, stationed in Xu Province.

The position of governor of Yangzhou was reserved for Chen Deng, and the southward migration of scholars from Xuzhou to the Jianghuai region was a plan that Liu Feng had long ago prepared.

People from Xuzhou filled the territory of Yangzhou, people from Yuzhou filled the territory of Xuzhou, and people from Yangzhou entered the Central Plains.

There are several advantages to promoting Chen Deng to the position of Governor of Yangzhou. First, as the first member of a prominent aristocratic family to support Liu Bei, Chen Deng is an irreplaceable trendsetter.

Secondly, Chen Deng himself greatly admired and was extremely loyal to Liu Bei, and appointing him as the governor of Yangzhou was a worthwhile investment.

Third, Yangzhou already had two governors in Liu Bei's hands, Danyang was in the hands of the Zhou family, Kuaiji Commandery was controlled by Wang Lang, a famous scholar from Xuzhou, and Wu Commandery was controlled by Xu Gong, a local strongman with a large number of retainers.

Therefore, the space available for Chen Deng to expand his power in Yangzhou was actually quite small. Moreover, with Yuzhou, personally led by Liu Bei, and Xuzhou, where Guan Yu was stationed, nearby, Yangzhou was almost certainly not at risk of spiraling out of control.

In this way, Liu Feng seems to have gained nothing, and has only made this trip to support the emperor for Guan Yu and Chen Deng.

In reality, Liu Feng was far too young, and it would not be a good thing for him to take office so hastily.

Moreover, Liu Bei was only thirty-five years old, which is the prime of a politician's career. Historically, Liu Bei lived to be at least sixty. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Liu Feng had plenty of time to take over the position step by step.

Therefore, for Liu Feng, the most important key point is to build and continuously expand his own team while enhancing his influence, rather than rashly taking over.

Liu Feng's goal was to obtain the rank of general, and at the same time, he had to do his best to secure the authority to establish his own government.

In this way, he could openly employ his personal subordinates, and these people were all his personal recruits. According to the Han Dynasty system, they were to be loyal to Liu Feng personally.

"can."

After considering it, Cao Cao nodded in agreement.

Despite his seemingly easygoing nature, Cao Cao was actually extremely cunning.

The reason he acted so amiably was simply because Liu Bei had taken too little, which made him suspicious.

There was no other way; Liu Bei had sent the most troops and suffered the greatest losses in this campaign to defend the capital from the east.

Even if Liu Bei genuinely wanted to serve the emperor, restore the Han dynasty, and revive the Han dynasty, would Cao Cao believe him? Would Yuan Shao believe him?
Do Guo Gong and Zhang Yang really believe it?

In this way, Cao Cao and Liu Feng reached a preliminary consensus, confirming their respective bases.

Both sides seemed completely unscrupulous, exchanging imperial titles and ranks at will.

But in reality, it's really not a big deal.

Take, for example, the four generals of the White Wave Army in Hedong. Yang Feng, the General of Xingyi, was capable of handling the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel and overseeing the government.

Of the other three, each held the title of General of the Four Expeditions, possessed the authority to establish their own government, and ultimately each was assigned a governorship.

In the original history, Zhang Yang was so lucky that he even became the Grand Marshal, a prestigious position.

Of course, he will never have such an opportunity again in his life.

If the White Wave Bandits and Zhang Yang could be so prominent, is it too much to ask that Liu Bei and Cao Cao, whose strength far surpassed theirs, be expected to achieve such prominence?

(End of this chapter)