Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 95 Cao Cao wants to bring his father to Yanzhou

Lao Cao is frantically trying to improve his reputation these days, just like he did back then.

It’s just that in the past he did it alone, but now he has a group of people brushing with him.

Just think about it, not long ago, the famous scholar of Yanzhou asked his group of people to scold Lao Cao.

But now, it is still that group of people who praise Cao Cao as if he were a god from heaven. They even drag him around every day, having a small gathering every three days and a big gathering every five days.

At those gatherings, Bian Rang took the lead, shaking his head and speaking eloquently, and exaggerating Cao Cao's achievements one by one.

What about Cao Cao's cleverness in defeating Yuan Shu? That was a brilliant strategy, comparable to that of the famous generals in ancient times.

When Cao Cao governed Dongjun, the government was stable and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

In their mouths, Cao Cao has become a great hero who turned the tide and saved the collapsing empire.

But I have to say, all this bragging is really useful.

At least some of the celebrities who originally had prejudices against Cao Cao had their views of him improved a lot.

In the past, they always openly or secretly called Cao Cao the descendant of a eunuch. Now, fewer and fewer people say such things.

Under the influence of these celebrities, the public opinion in Yanzhou gradually changed, and Cao Cao's reputation became increasingly famous in Yanzhou.

There are exceptions to everything.

Because among the local gentry in Yanzhou, not all of them benefited after all.

There was also a group of local aristocratic families in Yanzhou who had suffered from the Yellow Turban Rebellion and had not gained any benefits from Cao Cao. Instead, the various systems and policies implemented by Cao Cao had robbed them of many benefits.

Naturally, they hated Cao Cao in their hearts and cursed him behind his back.

These people often gathered together secretly, complaining secretly, thinking of ways to find the right opportunity to trip up Cao Cao.

But all this was within Cao Yan's expectations.

The reason why Cao Yan ignored this undercurrent was that, on the one hand, he wanted these people with ulterior motives to come out on their own initiative. Once they showed their true colors, he would have an excuse to catch them all in one fell swoop, so that he could better control Yanzhou.

Secondly, it is to use their hands to complete the task of replacing the entries of Cao Cao and Guo Jia.

Cao Cao's entry quest has two conditions for completion:

1. Rescue three historical figures who were accidentally killed by Cao Cao.

2. When Cao Cao is in dire straits, help him turn the situation around and completely dispel his suspicions about you.

Cao Yan had previously rescued Bian Rang, completing one-third of the first condition.

Allowing the nobles in Yanzhou who were dissatisfied with Cao Cao to gather was to allow them to lure Lu Bu and help him achieve the second condition.

Guo Jia's entry task has three conditions for completion, and the first condition is: Guo Jia needs to rely on his own wisdom and insight to find the key clues and the mastermind behind the conspiracy and thwart the enemy's conspiracy in time.

This condition can also be fulfilled by Lu Bu.

As for the second point: Guo Jia needs to rely on his own wisdom to disintegrate the enemy's alliance and make at least one prince withdraw from the hostile alliance.

This mission condition may have to be used on Tao Qian of Xuzhou, or on Liu Bei to whom Tao Qian gave up Xuzhou!

Now, with the establishment of the three secret spy guards, Cao Yan is more confident.

The Eagle Eyes sent out by the Eagle Guard are responsible for infiltration, surveillance, and intelligence acquisition.

They will keep a close eye on every move of the Yanzhou gentry.

Those evil-minded people will sooner or later be discovered by Cao Yan and Guo Jia, and then their deeds will be recorded one by one and eliminated in one fell swoop.

Under Cao Yan's orderly layout, all forces are developing in the direction he expected.

As long as the opportunity comes, we can take advantage of the situation to push the entire situation in a direction that is beneficial to us and move forward in big strides.

……

In the evening, Cao Yan arrived at Cao Cao's house.

At this time, Cao Cao was lying on the bed with a towel on his forehead, moaning softly.

The servants saw Cao Yan coming and were about to bow, but Cao Yan stopped them with a wave of his hand and asked them to leave. "Brother, are you still awake?" Cao Yan asked.

When Cao Cao heard Cao Yan's call, he quickly sat up and took off the scarf from his forehead.

However, he asked curiously, "Zi'an, why are you standing so far away?"

Cao Yan smiled slightly and said, "Nothing, I just wanted to disturb your sweet dream."

"Come and sit down." Cao Cao patted the bed beside him and said.

Cao Yan came and sat down beside Cao Cao, saying, "Brother, although Yanzhou is facing many issues, it is generally stable. I came here today to report a few important matters to you."

Cao Cao nodded and said, "I've been busy dealing with those famous scholars lately, so I'm sorry that you've been taking care of all the military and political affairs."

"Wen Ruo and the others are here. I just ask about the progress and control the overall situation. It's not too hard." Cao Yan said indifferently.

"..." Cao Cao was speechless, thinking to himself, could you please stop exaggerating?
Then, Cao Yan got to the point and said, "Brother, the location of the Yanzhou Chamber of Commerce has been decided..."

Cao Yan told Cao Cao about all the matters related to the Chamber of Commerce that he had discussed with Xun Yu.

The Chamber of Commerce matter concerned the economic lifeline of Yanzhou. Cao Cao knew its importance, so he listened very carefully.

From time to time, he would raise some of his own opinions and questions, and Cao Yanjie patiently answered them one by one.

After understanding everything clearly, Cao Cao couldn't help but nod slightly and said with a smile: "You've done very well. You seem to be able to stand on your own two feet!"

"As for commercial taxes, customs duties, and road maintenance fees..."

"Tariffs and road maintenance fees are fine, but the profit from selling new paper is huge. You should at least leave some for Wen Ruo and the others."

"No problem. All taxes from the sale of new paper will be turned over to the government treasury. However, 70% of the taxes from the sale of other goods will be left to the Military Affairs Office. How about that?"

"Since you have given all the commercial taxes on the new paper to Wen Ruo and others, you can take the rest, so that people won't say behind your back that your elder brother is stingy!" Lao Cao said in a very heroic manner.

Cao Yan raised his eyebrows when he heard this, thinking that Old Cao might not realize how profitable those things are!

But it's also good this way, I can have more money to make better weapons and armor for my soldiers.

After a brief silence, Cao Cao suddenly said, "Now that we have our own territory and are gradually stabilizing the situation, isn't it time to bring Dad and the others over?"

Cao Yan's heart trembled, and he thought to himself, "Here it comes!"

Cao Yan then replied, "I can take it over... but I want to go there myself, bringing Zilong and the Flying Dragon Riders with me!"

Although Cao Cao was a little surprised, he nodded and said, "That's fine. Dad has always loved you the most. If you go to pick him up in person, he will definitely be very happy."

Cao Yan wanted to go and pick up Cao Song himself. In addition to picking him up, he actually wanted to find two more people!

That's right,

These two people are Taishi Ci and Zhuge Liang!

As the sky grew darker, the light in the house dimmed.

"Zi'an, is the establishment and operation of the three secret spy guards going smoothly?" Cao Cao suddenly asked.

"The three secret spy guards have just been established, and things are still in the process of running in, but they are gradually getting on track. The eagle eyes of the Yingyang Guard have begun to deploy spies throughout Yanzhou to conduct all-round surveillance of those nobles and gentry with ill intentions." Cao Yan replied.

Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction. "This matter concerns the safety of Yanzhou. We must not take it lightly. If any nobles who are dissatisfied with us dare to take any action, they will be eradicated."

"Don't worry, big brother. Feng Xiao and I are keeping a close eye on this matter. Once they reveal more clues, we'll be able to catch them all in one fell swoop."

The two brothers chatted for a while. Seeing that it was getting late, Cao Yan stood up and said goodbye: "Brother, it's getting late. You should go to bed early. I will finish the important matters I have in hand in the past two days and then leave to pick up Dad."

Cao Cao waved his hand and said with a smile, "Go ahead. Please take good care of everything. If you have any difficulties, just tell me."

Cao Yan responded and left Cao Cao's room.

Under the candlelight, Cao Cao's face looked a little gloomy.

He always felt that Cao Yan was hiding something from him, but he could also clearly feel that Cao Yan was doing it for his own good.

"Zi'an, ah Zi'an! How many secrets are you hiding?!"

(End of this chapter)