With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 268, Presenting a Topographical Map of Xichuan
The wedding of Zhao Yun and Ma Yunlu suddenly enlivened the soon-to-end banquet, with Lü Bu, Taishi Ci, and others cheering happily.

Cao Cao nodded and said to Guo Jia, "I didn't expect His Majesty to attach such importance to Ma Teng's arrival in Xuchang."

Guo Jia said, "Yes, I heard that His Majesty also intends to send Ma Xiu and Ma Tie into the military camp to train them in advance, and he will surely entrust them with important responsibilities in the future."

"In Xuchang, His Majesty has set up a special training camp for generals. All soldiers with good aptitude will be gathered together for special training. People like Lü Bu and Zhao Yun will take turns training them."

"Oh? There's such a thing?" Cao Cao stroked his beard, lost in thought.

Guo Jia was in charge of Cao Cao's intelligence work, and he was often the first to receive information about many things.

"This officer training camp is truly innovative. This move must have come from His Majesty's own hand. It is a special selection of people with potential, to be trained and cultivated in a unified manner. In time, the number of talents cultivated will surely increase exponentially."

Guo Jia exclaimed sincerely, "I never imagined that training generals could be done in a way that brings people together for unified training, just like in an academy."

Guo Jia could only sum it up in two words: terrifying!
Cao Cao remained silent for a long time. Based on his experience, the generals in the past were all selected.

Cao Cao had never imagined that his generals could receive unified training.

Guo Jia continued, “In the past, His Majesty only endured things and could not express his ideas even if he had them. But now it’s different. He makes all the decisions himself, from the palace examination to going out to war and training officers. No matter what he does, His Majesty can do it at will.”

"Take Tianwu Pavilion for example. They conduct research and development there every day, and many of their products are astonishing. Liu Xun of Yizhou was completely convinced after seeing them just once."

Cao Cao sighed, "Every time I see His Majesty, I can feel that he has grown up and become stronger. You are right, it seems that we really cannot go against His Majesty."

Cao Cao turned his gaze to Liu Bei and smiled with narrowed eyes.

Dealing with His Majesty would make Cao Cao feel very passive, but dealing with other people would make him feel no guilt at all.

Guo Jia chuckled softly, “Your Excellency is a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, established by His Majesty. As long as there is a suitable reason, whatever you do is perfectly legitimate and no one can criticize you.”

Cao Cao finally realized the benefits of being a loyal minister. He quickly made up his mind: "After the New Year, we must pacify Youzhou as soon as possible and firmly control the three places of Jizhou, Bingzhou and Youzhou. As for Jingzhou, you should take good care of it. If there is any disturbance, report to me immediately."

Guo Jia leaned closer to Cao Cao and lowered his voice even further, "As expected, in the first half of next year, we will pacify Youzhou, and Liu Bei will naturally take over Jingzhou. As for the second half of the year, well, that depends on your decision, my lord. In short, Liu Bei's life, death, honor, and disgrace are all in your hands."

Liu Bei strolled around the banquet, chatting and laughing with his other officials. Seeing him so pleased with himself and enjoying the moment, Cao Cao sneered, "Liu Bei, just enjoy this moment of glory. You won't have another chance like this in the future."

After the banquet, Liu Xie returned to the inner palace. Tonight, he stayed at Fu Shou's place. His son, Liu Xi, was already two months old. Every time he saw Liu Xie, he would blink his big eyes and look at him curiously.

Historically, Liu Xie's eldest son was named Liu Feng, who died young. Therefore, although Liu Xie's child came later in this life and could not follow the same fate as in the previous life, Liu Xie still decisively abandoned the name Liu Feng.

He always felt that the name was unlucky. Even though Liu Xie was a time traveler, the thought of Liu Feng's early death made the name a taboo in his mind.

After coaxing his son for a while and whispering to Fu Shou for a bit, the two lay down. Liu Xie was in his prime, and Fu Shou was gentle and charming, so they naturally couldn't avoid some intimacy.

After an unknown amount of time, things finally quieted down. Fu Shou's cheeks were rosy, and she looked happy.

“Your Majesty, my father asked me to ask you something. Your Majesty has firmly established yourself on the throne, and the situation in the court has become more stable. According to past practice, some young women should be selected to enter the palace every year. However, since Your Majesty came to Xuchang, this matter has been put on hold.”

Liu Xie pulled Fu Shou into his arms tightly and gently shook his head. "I think we should just forget about it. What's the point of selecting so many concubines? I am the emperor, that's true, but I don't have time to take care of them."

“But His Majesty is the supreme ruler, how can he only have us sisters by his side? This concerns the continuation of the Han dynasty, how can we be negligent?” Fu Shou wanted to persuade him further.

Liu Xie shook his head. "Does being an emperor mean having many women and many offspring? I am content as long as the country is peaceful and prosperous."

If Liu Xie had dozens or hundreds of women around him, favoring one every day and being a groom every day, that wouldn't be the life he wanted.

He was indeed an emperor, but he wasn't a stud!
He came to unify the world, not to mate!

"Your Majesty, please do not mention this matter again. I will announce it during the morning court session tomorrow."

With more women, there are bound to be more troubles, and jealousy and rivalry are inevitable.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning at court, Liu Xie was helped up early by Fu Shou. Not only did he get up early, but Zhao Yun also arrived early.

Liu Xie couldn't help but tease him, "Zilong, you're newly married, is your new wife willing to let you attend court?"

Zhao Yun blushed slightly and smiled, "Your Majesty, the affairs of state are of utmost importance. Let alone attending court, even if it means going to the battlefield, I would not hesitate."

Liu Xie nodded with satisfaction, and the two went to Chengguang Hall together. Liu Xie remembered what Fu Shou had said the night before, and took the lead in bringing up the matter of the imperial concubine selection in public.

"Let's not mention this talent show again. We should all work together as ruler and subject, and prioritize the affairs of the state."

Everyone knows that the emperor is always very opinionated, so since the emperor has rejected the matter, no one will continue to oppose it.

Liu Xie then mentioned another matter, “Although I have become emperor, I am still young and I still enjoy reading. I have heard that Guan Ning is currently in Xuchang. I would like to invite him to the palace to teach. I will also select some talented young men to come to the palace to study with me and serve by my side.”

Liu Xie had been wandering and displaced for many years, and no one had ever properly taught him any knowledge. Although he was a time traveler and knew a lot, Liu Xie still felt somewhat inadequate in many ways. Besides, even an emperor needs to maintain his image and needs to recharge and learn.

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes. He didn't think things would be that simple. The emperor wasn't a teenager anymore; he had already come of age. Whether or not someone was teaching him was no longer that important.

Liu Xie did not want to appoint any particular person as his teacher; he simply hoped to invite renowned scholars to give lectures and broaden his knowledge through this method.

After thinking for a while, Cao Cao guessed the emperor's true purpose: he wanted to use the pretext of finding study companions to win over some people to his side.

Sure enough, the first list was soon released, including Xun Yun of the Xun family, Cao Zhi of the Cao family, Luo Tong of the Chen state, and Zhuge Jun, the third brother of Zhuge Liang.
Cao Zhi was intelligent and talented from a young age, and could compose poems on the spot.

Xun Yun was Xun Yu's eldest son. He was of good character and possessed both virtue and talent. He was deeply influenced by his father from a young age and loved reading. Liu Xie even wrote a poem, "Exhortation to Learning," for him to study hard.

As for Luo Tong, he is only ten years old this year and is the son of Luo Jun, the prime minister of Chen State.

Cao Cao would naturally not stop such a thing. Even if the emperor recruited his son, he would be happy from the bottom of his heart.

Cao Cao wouldn't object to his son being chosen for special training and potentially even being courted by the emperor. Xun Yu was genuinely happy. He had grown accustomed to everything in Xuchang and had no intention of getting involved in the power struggle between Cao Cao and the emperor. He was naturally pleased that his son was being given special training and would have a bright future.

"Your Majesty, there are three people outside the palace requesting an audience."

Just as the court session was about to end, Xiahou Lan rushed in.

Who requests an audience?

“One is named Cui Jun, one is named Meng Jian, and one is named Shi Tao.”

Liu Xie smiled and waved his hand, "Please come in quickly."

These three people were all friends of Zhuge Liang; all of them except Xu Shu came.

Xu Shu was also fortunate enough to come to Xuchang with Liu Bei, and it was a rare occasion that he was also able to attend the court assembly today.

Upon hearing that his three friends had arrived, Xu Shu couldn't help but feel excited. He had also wanted to come to Xuchang to assist the emperor.

When Cui Jun and the other two entered the main hall, Liu Xie got up to greet them, which surprised all the ministers, who thought that some important figure had arrived.
Cao Cao also looked over. He had never heard of these three people before. He never expected that the emperor would lower his steps to greet them with such courtesy.

Liu Xie genuinely valued talent. Zhuge Liang was a good friend of Zhuge Liang; even if he was not the best, how bad could he be?

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together.

Liu Xie approached the three men, smiled, and chatted with them. He then shook hands with each of them and immediately announced, "Shi Tao will be the Prefect of Guangling, Meng Jian will be the Prefect of Runan, and Cui Jun will be the Prefect of Pingyuan."

The three were extremely grateful and knelt down to express their gratitude.

Xu Shu was genuinely happy for them and was also impressed by the emperor's extraordinary courage. Deep down, he even felt a slight sense of regret.

Because he had also been tempted to come to Xuchang, but he missed the opportunity.

Compared to his three friends, Xu Shu felt somewhat disappointed.

The three men arrived as prefects, all powerful regional officials, while Xu Shu, though a strategist, could only offer advice and perform auxiliary tasks for Liu Bei.

In an instant, he was outshone by Cui Jun and the others.

Liu Xie made the decision directly and appointed the officials without consulting anyone.

His decisive style was already familiar to the ministers, so naturally no one objected.

Cao Cao couldn't help but marvel at how the emperor was becoming increasingly adept at managing the court, attracting a large influx of talented individuals.

…………

Yizhou, Chengdu!
The New Year holiday had just passed when Fa Zheng, Meng Da, and Zhang Song, three close friends, gathered together to drink, chat, and discuss the current situation.

Zhang Song was the Prefectural Governor of Yizhou, so he knew the most and was the most well-informed.

Zhang Song picked up his wine cup, drank it all in one gulp, and said, "Ever since the eldest son returned, the lord's mind has completely turned to Xudu. I heard that the lord intends to completely hand over Yizhou to the court to show his determination to submit to the court."

Fa Zheng nodded. "That's not hard to understand. After the eldest son returned, he praised the emperor's benevolence and wisdom to everyone he met. The emperor even granted him a marriage. Compared to Liu Biao, the emperor not only did not punish our lord, but also rewarded and appeased him. In particular, the eldest son's attitude was clearly influenced by the emperor, which indirectly affected our lord's attitude."

Meng Da snorted and angrily downed a cup of wine. "Judging from this, we'll soon be under the control of the imperial court. I've heard that the emperor is very shrewd. After we submit to the court, will we still be as secure as we are now?"

Fa Zheng narrowed his eyes and sneered, "You like stability, but I don't. This stable life is making my body rust."

Zhang Song added, "Judging from what my lord says, he has been persuaded by the eldest son and plans to send someone to Xuchang to present the 'Topographical Map of Western Sichuan'."

"What's the use of the 'Topographical Map of Western Sichuan'?" Meng Da asked疑惑地.

Fa Zheng glanced at him and explained, "A topographical map represents the military secrets of a place. The mountains and passes are all marked on this map. Once this is presented to the court, it means that the entire Yizhou will no longer keep any secrets from the court. My lord wants to show his loyalty to the court in this way."

"Ugh……"

Zhang Song sighed, "I am now the Prefect of Yizhou. If Yizhou returns to the imperial court, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my position. The imperial court will definitely send someone over."

"However, since we are assigned tasks from above, no matter what decision our lord makes, we have to obey orders since we are paid."

Fa Zheng shook his head at Zhang Song's attitude, not quite agreeing with it, but also feeling rather helpless.

Because the return of Yizhou to the imperial court was an inevitable trend, the three of them simply couldn't stop it.

Time flies, winter has passed and spring has arrived. Soon it was time for lush greenery to flourish. Cao Cao had already left Xuchang. He planned to advance in two directions, one from Bingzhou and the other from Jizhou, both heading east at high speed, with their target Youzhou.

As for Cai Zhaoji, Cao Cao also sent someone with a letter directly to the Southern Xiongnu royal court in Pingyang.

Cao Cao sent his general Xu Huang, who presented Cao Cao's letter directly to the Left Worthy King.

Cao Cao's letter was harshly worded and utterly unkind. He not only severely reprimanded the Left Wise King but also demanded that he immediately send Cai Zhaoji to Xuchang and sincerely apologize.

Snapped!
After reading the letter, the Left Wise King also became angry. His eyes widened and he slammed his hand on the table.

Xu Huang stared at him coldly, his face ashen and unmoved.

The Left Wise King snorted coldly and stared directly at Xu Huang, "Prime Minister Cao is far too arrogant. He doesn't even take me seriously."

(End of this chapter)