My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 802: Cao Ren and Luoyang City Live and Die Together

Given the suspicion and scheming of a man like Cao Cao, when his subordinates thought that he would definitely defend Luoyang to the death in order to inspire the people.

Then he would definitely not defend Luoyang to the death personally.

If he can fool the idiots below, then is he worthy of being Cao Cao?

After killing the palace maid who delayed Cao Ren from reporting military intelligence in the middle of the night and hanging her head at the palace gate, Cao Cao returned to the palace. He immediately changed his generous and heroic demeanor in front of others, and his whole spirit became a little depressed.

He first dismissed all the palace maids around him, asking them to leave the bedroom, or at least to retreat outside the hall, leaving no one in the room to serve them.

He also knew that he had just killed the leader of this group of palace maids. It was inevitable that they had some friendship with each other. It would be bad if one of them harbored resentment, so he absolutely could not provoke them at this time.

As long as a woman calms down, she will quickly put aside the past friendship and fear, and focus on winning favor again. Then she will be safe again.

On the other hand, Cao Cao drove people away because he really needed to calm down and adjust himself.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, he changed his stern demeanor and gradually revealed a few traces of nostalgic tenderness. He did not dare to look directly in the direction of the palace gate, but his hands were raised in that direction.

This silent action was exactly the same as when he and Yuan Shu fought in Chenjun and he borrowed the head of the warehouse official Wang Hu to appease the army due to food shortage.

"Go with peace of mind. I will persevere."

This time the person he killed was his own woman, so of course there was no need to say things like “I will take care of your wife and children myself, don’t worry”, it was enough for him to just stay alive.

As an emperor, he felt sad for her in private for a cup of tea, which was enough to do her justice.

After it was over, Cao Cao completely calmed down, put away his sadness, and began to think about the next major event.

After reviewing the bad news he had just heard, Cao Cao thought to himself in a very logical manner:

"Since Zhou Yu has successfully crossed the river and captured two counties in the east, and perhaps Hulao Pass, it would be meaningless for me to deploy defenses in the area from Mengjin to Xiaopingjin.

Liu Bei can rush into Henan from Chenggao, and within a few days, he may face the decisive battle of Luoyang. Although Luoyang City is strong, it can be defended for a while. If I personally sit in the city to boost the morale of the army, it is possible to hold out for a year or two.

However, if I stay in Luoyang, Liu Bei will definitely surround it from all sides, leaving no chance for my army to escape when we are exhausted. When the city is broken, it will be the end of all the elite of my army, all the brave generals and counselors.

Even if there are still territories in Guanzhong, Bingzhou, and Hedong, no one will defend them. They will all be taken by Liu Bei. Even if Zihuan succeeds to the throne smoothly, he will not be able to hold Guanzhong. The chances of survival for our descendants of the Cao family will be completely cut off. After all, we are unwilling to accept this."

Therefore, Luoyang must be defended, otherwise it would be too embarrassing to give up.

Cao Cao did not want to destroy Luoyang again, and he did not want to follow Dong Zhuo's example of setting fire to Luoyang and then abandoning it. Although that would avoid aiding the enemy and creating chaos for Liu Bei's subsequent pursuit, Cao Cao always thought that he was much stronger than Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shu, and even if his bottom line was getting lower and lower, he still had dignity.

Secondly, people are nostalgic and reluctant to part with the sunk costs they have already invested.

The reason why Dong Zhuo was willing to burn Luoyang was because he was an outsider and had only lived in Luoyang for a short time and had no feelings for the place. Luoyang was not built by Dong Zhuo himself during its construction phase.

But today, Luoyang was rebuilt from the ruins brick by brick by Cao Cao himself with his own manpower and resources. It is difficult for people to bring themselves to destroy the beautiful things that they created with their own hands.

What's more, Cao Cao lived in Luoyang for many years in his early years. When he first entered the officialdom, he served as the Northern Inspector of Luoyang. He had feelings for the place where he had lived for decades.

Moreover, he had already sent Cao Zhi to Liu Bei with that useless mascot Liu Xi, which paved the way for Cao Zhi. If he destroyed Luoyang again and committed atrocities that indiscriminately killed the people, Liu Bei would definitely execute Cao Zhi.

So, no matter how much debt you have, you don’t have to worry about it. It’s already like this, so it doesn’t matter a little bit.

Cao Cao let Luoyang go with this thought, which determined the fate of Luoyang City.

After figuring out this most critical point, Cao Cao had to consider other issues. Since he couldn't stay in Luoyang and wait for death, he had to decide on a specific person to stay behind.

After much deliberation, he finally decided to give up Cao Ren and let him defend the city to the death, thus taking all the damage on behalf of Cao Cao.

He simply couldn't trust any other generals who were not from the Cao family.

As the capital, Luoyang must have a general of sufficient weight to defend it. Even if he knows he will die, he must fight for his dignity.

……

After deciding on the person to be killed, Cao Cao did not dare to delay any longer and immediately ordered Cao Ren to be summoned to the palace to have a heart-to-heart talk with him. At the same time, he also ordered Cao Pi to be summoned as well.

The uncle and nephew quickly entered the palace. Cao Cao was not shy with his family and announced two things as soon as he arrived.

"Zixiao, I ascended the throne yesterday and only conferred titles on the Queen and the Crown Prince, but not on the other princes. Later I thought about it and decided that this matter should be handled quickly, so I will release the news first, and in three days, I will confer titles on the other princes of the royal family. And your title of prince can be inherited by your descendants, so you should also make preparations early and let your sons follow Zihuan. Let's go to Chang'an in a few days."

After hearing this, Cao Ren was stunned. He was only the emperor's cousin, not a biological brother. It was understandable that he was reused because of his talent and confidant, but it was still a bit unexpected that he was directly made a king.

At this critical juncture, enthroning him as king and pointing out that his throne could be inherited by successive generations without the need to reduce his fiefdom every generation, etc., did have some unusual implications.

Although Cao Ren was not very politically sensitive, he could still hear the hidden meaning. After thinking for a while, he suddenly felt a little scared, but he also knew that it was irreversible.

Hulao Pass and Chenggao were just lost, and right after that Cao Cao crowned him king and emphasized that "the treatment of your descendants will never be reduced after your death". Isn't it obvious that he wants him to do something that will lead to his death!
He knew he couldn't escape it, and he had been used to carrying the burden all his life.

How many times had he carried heavy burdens in Xiangfan and Xudu? He was determined to die, but he managed to escape death.

This time, he would live and die with Luoyang, which was a grand event. Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that his life was so fatalistic, as if he was being suppressed by a divine oracle and was completely unable to resist, nor could he muster the determination to resist.

"Your Majesty, please give your order! Whatever you want me to do, I will complete it until my death!" When Cao Ren said this, a sense of tragedy and grandeur rose in his heart.

Cao Cao knew that he understood, and patted his shoulder with true feelings: "You are a little greedy, but you are honest when it comes to right and wrong. How can I not ensure that your descendants will be as rich and prosperous as possible? Even if the Qin Dynasty is gone one day, even if you flee to the Western Regions and let your descendants hide their names, I will try to make your descendants rich."

Cao Ren was famous for his greed for money. When Ni Heng scolded all the civil and military officials in Cao's camp, he called Xiahou Dun a "perfect general" and Cao Ren a "money-hungry governor."

Cao Cao was sincere enough in what he said. After everyone had talked it out, Cao Cao formally put forward his request:
"So, when the time comes, I will have to trouble Zixiao to help me defend Luoyang, but there is no need to publicly announce that I have left Luoyang.

I just killed a palace maid who interfered in government affairs and blocked people's voices, and announced to the public that it was she who delayed my rescue of the generals. Therefore, in the short term, the generals will definitely believe that I will "help in times of emergency" and will not know my whereabouts.

When I leave Luoyang, I will not make a big fuss. I will just tell the outside world that I am still in charge of the overall situation in the palace. The soldiers in Luoyang can naturally defend for a longer time. In addition, you leave Li Dian to help in the battle.

Among the generals of other surnames, Li Dian is relatively unreliable. After all, he is from a noble family in Shanyang County, and he is not the kind of person who rose from humble beginnings and relied on my grace all his life to rise to prominence.

Now his hometown has been occupied by Liu Bei. If I ask him to leave his hometown and go to Guanzhong for a long time, his heart will be unstable. Let him do his best in Luoyang for the last time. I guess he will not die for my Qin Dynasty after he knows that I am gone. "

Cao Ren did not say anything, but silently accepted the order. After accepting it, he still couldn't help but sigh.

On the other side, Cao Pi did not dare to ask any questions. He just felt a little embarrassed and didn't know how to persuade his uncle.

But Cao Cao saw Cao Pi's embarrassment and confusion, and took the initiative to make it clear:

"Do you think I am afraid of death and that's why I am unwilling to live and die with Luoyang? Isn't it to buy time for the Qin Dynasty to establish its foundation and let everyone get used to its existence? If I pass the throne to you in three days, and then I die in Luoyang, can you keep your seat?"

After hearing this, Cao Pi didn't know how to defend himself. He could only kneel down and bow, and reflect on his own incompetence.

Cao Cao waved his hands in annoyance: "I still have things that must be done personally. This year's reign must be completed by me personally. At the end of the year, I will pass the throne to you, call myself the emperor, and continue to lead the troops outside. Maybe I will personally guard Hangu Pass or Tongguan, leaving you in Chang'an to preside over the internal affairs.

Three days later, you go to Chang'an first. After you arrive in Chang'an, within one or two months, I will issue an order to let you serve as the Crown Prince Regent and handle the government affairs in Guanzhong. At the end of the year, I will pass the throne to you. We can't be too hasty about all this. We have to take it step by step. I must buy this time!"

Cao Pi then realized that his father's reluctance to fight to the last moment was not because he was afraid of death, but because he was concerned about the stability of the transfer of power. Cao Pi was deeply moved and kowtowed to his father several times from the bottom of his heart, not knowing what to say.

Cao Cao's plan was painstaking and he tried his best to make it far-sighted and prudent.

He had already anticipated that if Cao Pi succeeded directly to the throne from the crown prince when he died, then in such a dangerous situation, Cao Pi would not be able to hold out for a year or two, and might be abandoned by his friends and relatives and overthrown by Liu Bei in a few months.

I definitely won't be able to hold on for much longer. My body is already failing, and I've suffered a series of setbacks recently. Liu Bei will definitely not stop hunting me down. I can only try my best to buy time before I die, and make preparations step by step to be the regent and pass on the throne, so that I can go with peace of mind.

The blow and chaos caused by the death of an emperor to a regime are far more serious than the death of the emperor emeritus.

……

After arranging all this, Cao Cao did a lot of supporting operations. For three whole days, he was almost busy all the time.

Militarily, he had to withdraw the troops along the Mengjin line to defend in order to avoid being cut off and surrounded by Liu Bei's army advancing after landing in the field.

Politically, he conferred titles of king on Cao Ren and others, and also made various supporting rewards to motivate the morale of the defenders.

In terms of finance, he tried his best to transport all the gold, silver, valuables and treasury property to Chang'an.

However, he had no time to take those heavy items away, so except for the necessary military rations, he distributed the rest to the soldiers, and even used the surplus food to provide porridge to the people in the vicinity of Luoyang.

Cao Cao's idea was that since he couldn't take it away and didn't want to burn it, it would be better for him to do this favor himself instead of keeping it to win fame and support for Liu Bei.

Anyway, the final effect is the same, that is, when Liu Bei enters Luoyang, he will not find a single penny belonging to the government treasury, and all the money will be distributed to the military and civilians. If Liu Bei wants to rob, he can do so himself, otherwise he will have to accept this result.

As long as Liu Bei accepted it with a pinch of his nose, the economic pressure on him would be very great, as he did not receive any money or food supplies at all from the war in Henan Yin. After conquering Luoyang, he would have to take a breath and recover his blood. The various transportation routes would have a temporary burden on their shoulders, and time would be bought back.

Cao Cao suddenly became kind, not because his nature changed, but because Liu Bei came.

After doing all this, on August 13, which was the fifth day after Cao Cao ascended the throne, Cao Pi, as well as the descendants of Cao Hong, Cao Ren and others, were escorted to Chang'an.

Cao Cao himself also mixed in the convoy in a low-key manner, but he would not go to Chang'an, but would stay at Hangu Pass. In this way, he could still remotely control the battle situation in Luoyang, but he did not have to worry about being surrounded by Liu Bei's army in Luoyang City.

Cao Cao's actions were indeed concealed from outsiders. Most officials and soldiers did not know that the emperor had moved.

Cao Ren was given special authorization to live in the palace. In theory, he was directly reporting to the emperor and was responsible to the emperor, but in fact, he handled many things on behalf of Cao Cao. Since outsiders could not see Cao Cao when reporting military and political affairs, Cao Ren did it for them.

In order to make the performance more realistic, Cao Cao did not even transfer those useless mascot-type civil servants. Instead, he transferred the important and truly talented counselors, civil officials, and military generals to serve elsewhere with formal imperial edicts, so that it could not be considered as escape.

All this takes time, so we have to keep it a secret for as long as possible.

While Cao Cao was doing all this, Liu Bei on the opposite side, after gaining a foothold in Chenggao and Xingyang, quickly launched a full-scale attack.

Zhou Yu and Zhao Yun were the pioneers of crossing the river. After they spent several days capturing and clearing Hulao Pass, they met Zhang Fei and Wei Yan who were standing in front of Hulao Pass and entered the pass.

In the direction of Chenggao, the number of troops led by Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Zhou Yu and Wei Yan suddenly increased to the point where they were marching in unison towards Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)