My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 393 Memorial to the Marquis of Wu
"Brother, is Liu Zisheng really only fourteen years old?"

Following behind Cao Ang, Cao Pi's eyes held suspicion and a hidden resentment.

Cao Ang, walking ahead, couldn't see Cao Pi's expression behind him, but simply nodded: "Yes, he is indeed only fourteen years old, but..."

"Brother."

Cao Zhi, also curious, interjected, "But what?"

Cao Ang recalled his several exchanges with Liu Feng and shook his head with a smile, saying, "It's just that when you interact with him, you can't help but forget his age and treat him like a grown gentleman."

Cao Pi and Cao Zhi both showed surprise. At this moment, the two young men were completely overshadowed by Cao Ang's brilliance and had no intention of competing.

Cao Ang was the eldest son of the legitimate wife, possessed outstanding talent, and was recognized by Cao Cao and the entire Cao clan as the heir apparent. He also had the support of his wife, Lady Ding, and her family as powerful relatives. In contrast, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were only sons of concubines, and were too young to compete with him.

At this time, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi greatly admired Cao Ang and were proud of their elder brother.

Hearing Cao Ang praise Liu Feng in this way, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were quite dissatisfied.

The difference lies in the fact that Cao Pi kept his dissatisfaction to himself, while Cao Zhi directly argued: "Liu Feng is nothing but a military man. Although he is good at fighting, he has never written any famous works. Moreover, I have heard that he is not familiar with the classics and has little literary talent. How can he compare with my elder brother, let alone our father?"

Cao Ang glanced back at his younger brothers, feeling a warm glow in his heart, but still scolded them, "Liu Zisheng's martial arts are extremely outstanding, highly valued by Father, who always praises him highly. How could you possibly slander him? Do not speak recklessly in the future."

Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were reprimanded by Cao Ang, but dared not argue.

Cao Cao was away on campaigns for many years, and Cao Ang was more than ten years older than Cao Pi and Cao Zhi.

It can be said that Cao Ang practically raised Cao Pi and Cao Zhi from childhood, and he was like an elder brother to Cao Zhi.

Cao Pi and Cao Zhi not only feared Cao Ang, but also obeyed him greatly. Upon hearing this, they immediately lowered their heads and replied in unison, "Yes, elder brother."

********
The next morning, Cao Cao was the first to enter the palace.

Upon hearing that Cao Cao was requesting an audience, Emperor Liu Xie, who was still in his palace, was stunned.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Xie instructed, "Invite the Grand General to the palace. I will go shortly."

The eunuch obeyed and left, while Liu Xie quickly changed his clothes.

The fact that Cao Cao rushed into the palace so early in the morning must mean something big. Although he was filled with doubt and uncertainty, he dared not delay.

As Liu Xie changed his clothes, he asked, "Has any news been sent from the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers?"

Of the three high officials, Yang Biao and Zhao Wen are staunch supporters of Liu Xie, while Guo Gong, the Minister of Works, is not one of Cao Cao's men.

Most of the Nine Ministers were also inclined towards the emperor. The existence of Liu Bei and his son protected minor warlords who were close to the emperor, such as Yang Feng, Han Xian, and Zhang Yang. The existence of these minor warlords, in turn, restrained Cao Cao, preventing him from openly carrying out purges.

In this way, the Nine Ministers maintained their original core group and, overall, remained on the side of the emperor.

Liu Xie's situation is much better than that of the same period in the original timeline.

"Not yet."

The eunuch Zhao Xi quickly shook his head.

Liu Xie was even more puzzled. After changing his clothes, he immediately went to the palace.

Cao Cao was sitting alone in the palace at this time. When he saw the emperor appear, he immediately got up to greet him.

"General, there's no need for such formalities."

On the surface, Liu Xie was very friendly to Cao Cao, but deep down he harbored a deep disgust for him.

Over the course of more than a year, Liu Xie and Cao Cao inevitably had various conflicts.

The young emperor was eager to emulate his ancestors, to seize power for himself, and to control the world.

However, Cao Cao was equally eager to cultivate his own faction and usurp the emperor's power.

The fact that they can maintain a semblance of peace is already a result of both sides being hesitant to act rashly.

"Your Majesty, I have come here specifically to discuss the matter of the General Who Conquers the South's southward expedition to attack Yuan Shu."

Cao Cao, with an upright and dignified expression, said, "I have heard that the Secretariat has yet to come up with any reward measures, and it has been almost a month. I am both surprised and suspicious. Such delays by the Secretariat may hurt the feelings of loyal ministers and damage the reputation of the people."

Liu Xie's heart skipped a beat, realizing that something was wrong.

Just as Liu Xie was about to say something, Cao Cao stood up and kowtowed deeply to Liu Xie: "Your subject, General Cao Cao, hereby presents a memorial regarding the merits of General Liu Feng's southward campaign. Liu Feng personally went to the front lines, overcoming all obstacles, marching 400 li in three days and two nights, launching a night raid on Shouchun and capturing 60,000 men, capturing Yuan Shu in Huaibei, capturing Sun Ce in Jiangdong, pacifying the local areas, calming the rebellious people, and recovering Yangzhou. This is truly a great achievement."

"I recommend General Liu Feng, who is in charge of the Southern Expedition, to be promoted to General of the Left, appointed Governor of Yangzhou, enfeoffed as Marquis of Wu, granted the authority of an imperial envoy, and given the privilege of opening his own office with the same rank as the Three Excellencies."

Cao Cao shouted, "If it is not done this way, it will not be enough to repay Liu Zisheng's merits. I humbly request Your Majesty to grant my request so as to satisfy the hopes of the people and the hearts of the scholars and commoners."

Liu Xie felt his whole body tremble for a moment.

It was both fear and anger.

How dare Cao Cao do this!?
What about Liu Feng?

Did they collude with Cao Cao?
Liu Xie's mind was filled with all sorts of doubts, his hands and feet were ice-cold, and he was trembling uncontrollably.

Liu Xie's suppression of Liu Feng this time was primarily due to two factors. Firstly, Liu Bei and his sons were too powerful, and it was no longer advisable to allow them to continue expanding. Secondly, there was also the influence of Cao Cao.

Originally, Liu Bei and his son were implicitly opposed to Cao Cao, and the point of contention lay with the emperor.

Liu Bei and his son were loyal ministers and close to the emperor, so they naturally suppressed Cao Cao's pursuit of power.

However, during that year, due to Yuan Shao in Hebei and his own strategic shift south, Liu Feng and Liu Bei, who were influenced by him, tended to be closer to Cao Cao in their attitude towards Yuan Shao, and even directly supported him.

This certainly deterred Yuan Shao, but it also emboldened Cao Cao in his struggle for power and aroused the suspicion of Emperor Liu Xie.

Liu Xie had to consider the consequences if Cao Cao and Liu Bei joined forces.

Undoubtedly, Liu Xie never dreamed that such a disastrous consequence would come true.

But Cao Cao's current behavior makes Liu Xie feel that he has messed up, and that terrifying scene may very well come true.

"This...this, Great General..."

Cao Cao looked up at Liu Xie, whose panic and anxiety were now impossible to hide.

Cao Cao's lips curled slightly, but he respectfully asked, "Your Majesty, I am here."

Liu Xie was speechless, and a deep resentment towards Yang Biao arose in his heart.

********
The inner palace of the Han Dynasty is now almost completely open, with drafts coming in everywhere.

Soon, news of Cao Cao's visit to the palace spread, including Cao Cao's commendation of Liu Feng. Upon receiving the news, it is said that Yang Biao nearly fainted and rushed to the palace to request an audience, but was refused by the emperor.

Upon receiving the news, Liu Feng couldn't help but chuckle.

Cao Mengde really knows how to exploit loopholes.

But it's all good. Now that Yangzhou is under our control, we're confident we can become the most powerful warlord.

In this way, their own needs for the emperor would be different.

Previously, the hope was to use the emperor to counterbalance Cao Cao, and Cao Cao to counterbalance Yuan Shao.

Now, Liu Feng's attitude has changed.

An emperor who makes too many small moves and gets in the way is actually less convenient than having Cao Cao take the throne.

That very evening, Liu Feng personally went to the residence of the Grand General to pay his respects to Cao Cao.

"General, I have come here to ask for your help."

Liu Feng behaved quite politely, completely unlike his previous arrogant and unruly self.

Looking at Liu Feng's respectful demeanor, Cao Cao couldn't help but wonder if Liu Zisheng was just as obedient and docile in front of Xuande.

“Zisheng is now a renowned general, and he has also pacified Jiangdong. He has accomplished both civil and military affairs, established order and discipline, and relieved the people. What else could he possibly need my help with? Luozhong is in dire need of rebuilding, but its finances are like water without a source. I can only make do with what I can and barely manage to hold on for the time being.”

Cao Cao was secretly pleased, but he kept his mouth shut, leaving no room for the other party to complain about being poor and miserable.

Liu Feng felt disdain upon hearing Cao Cao preemptively play the victim.

Cao Cao is so ignorant. I came to repay a debt of gratitude, but he treats me like a thief. He is so petty and has no demeanor whatsoever as a great general.

"The General has misunderstood his subject."

Liu Feng respectfully explained, "This time, I went south to pacify Jiangdong, but I have repeatedly heard that Jiaozhou is unstable. The other day, my important general Zhao Yun sent an urgent report that Zhu Fu, the governor of Jiaozhou, was killed by local powerful figures. Now Jiaozhou is in turmoil, and rebellions are breaking out everywhere. The court urgently needs to send a capable minister south to pacify the region."

Cao Cao, upon hearing the song, immediately understood the implied meaning and realized that Liu Feng was repaying him. He then smiled broadly.

"Oh!? I see."

Cao Cao was immediately invigorated. Although Jiaozhou was far from the Central Plains and a poor province, its population was said to have exceeded two million, and its resources were quite abundant, but the transportation costs were too high.

But in any case, this is the territory of an entire state.

The fact that Liu Feng so readily expressed his support shows that he too was angered by the emperor.

Cao Cao was more interested in Liu Feng's resentment towards the emperor than in the position of Governor of Jiaozhou or even the Governor of Jiaozhou.

Cao Cao was unaware that Liu Feng's attitude toward the emperor and his demands had changed. At this moment, he was still pondering whether it was possible to use this conflict to completely pull Liu Feng to his side and then completely sideline the emperor.

As long as Liu Feng expresses his agreement, Cao Cao can deal with Yang Biao's faction and the more than one thousand Imperial Guards under the Emperor's command without the other party even having to take action.

Cao Cao pondered to himself that because of Liu Feng's presence, Cao Cao's manpower in this timeline was much scarcer than in the original timeline, and many people had been intercepted by Liu Feng in advance.

At that time, Cao Cao had only four capable men under his command: Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Xun Yu, and Cheng Yu.

Xiahou Dun and Xun Yu definitely cannot leave.

The former was to replace him as the general commander of the headquarters, while the latter was his Xiao He. He couldn't very well send Xiao He three or four thousand miles away to handle logistics.

Both Cao Ren and Cheng Yu are capable of serving as governors of Jiaozhou, both in terms of ability and prestige.

However, Yanzhou cannot do without Cheng Yu, and Yuzhou is currently being guarded by Cao Ren. Yingchuan County is about to be reclaimed, and this county is a crucial strategic point and barrier in the south of Sili. It is impossible to manage it without a trustworthy and important general.

After counting them, Cao Cao realized that he did not have a suitable candidate to take over the position of Governor of Jiaozhou.

This is really a problem.

After hesitating for a moment, Cao Cao said, "This matter is of great importance. Zisheng, please allow me to think it over."

Liu Feng immediately nodded obediently: "In that case, I will await the General's instructions."

This kid is way too submissive.

Seeing Liu Feng's submissive attitude, Cao Cao was both surprised and suspicious, and felt very uncomfortable.

Fortunately, he managed to keep the spoils for himself, and Cao Cao wanted to say something to appease Liu Feng.

So he said, “Regarding the matter of Yangzhou, Zisheng, you need not worry. I will do my best to help you. However, the emperor is now misled by treacherous officials, favoring petty men and distancing himself from loyal and virtuous men. I fear that I cannot support the emperor alone. If you have any friends in the court, you may try to reach out to them for assistance.”

Liu Feng narrowed his eyes. "You Cao Heizi, you truly are a cunning and ruthless man. Even at this time, you still want to kill two birds with one stone and take the opportunity to probe your own inner workings in the court?"
That evening, Cao Cao hosted a banquet for Liu Feng, and only allowed him to leave late at night.

After the banquet, Cao Cao returned to the hall, and while drinking a hangover soup, he asked Xi Zhong and Man Chong, "Zhicai, Boning, you have both heard about it. What are your thoughts?"

Cao Cao was naturally asking about the governorship of Jiaozhou.

Xi Zhong and Man Chong exchanged a glance and fell into deep thought.

Man Chong comes from a powerful family in Yanzhou, so he should naturally join forces with Cheng Yu.

However, he usually acted like a lone official. Although he had the appearance of a cruel official, he was also very emotionally intelligent. Overall, it was quite unusual for a man from Yanzhou to have a decent relationship with the Yingchuan faction.

After glancing at Xi Zhong and finding him still deep in thought, Man Chong decided to speak first.

"My lord, I think Liu Zhengnan's attitude is somewhat suspicious."

"oh!?"

Cao Cao took a sip of the hangover soup, and upon hearing Man Chong's words, he immediately perked up: "What do you mean by that? Bo Ning, could you explain in detail?"

Man Chong put down his soup bowl, straightened up, and bowed to Cao Cao, who was seated at the head of the table, saying, "My lord, Jiaozhou is a remote and inconvenient place, and has long been isolated from the Central Plains. This is Jiaozhou's disadvantage. However, Jiaozhou is also a vast territory, governing nine prefectures and fifty-four counties. Although it is a poor prefecture, it is rich in resources. In addition to rice, it is also rich in silver and copper, as well as spices, silk, pearls, shells, glass, jade, tortoiseshell, rhinoceros horn, parrots, elephants, peacocks, and other rare treasures. It's just that they are difficult to transport into the Central Plains."

“Please continue, Berning.”

Cao Cao listened intently, nodding repeatedly and even urging the others to hurry up.

Encouraged, Man Chong quickly continued, "My lord's hesitation stems from the remoteness of Jiaozhou and the difficulty of communication with the Central Plains. However, for Liu Zhengnan, Jiaozhou is his neighbor, and he also benefits from sea transport, making his communication with Jiaozhou far superior to ours. I have a comparison: if I gain one share of the benefits from Jiaozhou, then Liu Zhengnan would gain five, or even seven or eight!"

Cao Cao nodded emphatically: "I wholeheartedly agree with what Bo Ning has said!"

Man Chong then revealed his true intentions, saying, "Such delicacies, yet Liu Zhengnan showed no interest whatsoever, so easily delegating them to our lord, without even the slightest reluctance. I believe there must be a reason for this! Although it may not be a trick, it certainly has its drawbacks."

Cao Cao was startled and alarmed.

(End of this chapter)