Chapter 142 Cao Cao and Yuan Shao

The capital of Danyang County was Danyang County.

After the war, Zhou Xin returned with the reluctant Danyang soldiers.

this day.

When Zhou Xin received the order on Jinmao's military farming system, he was very confused and undecided, so he wrote a letter to Yuan Shao in Luoyang, asking for guidance.

This also caused Danyang County to be indecisive, which made Jin Mao suspicious and wanted to eliminate Zhou Xin.

...

August of the fifth year of Zhongping.

Emperor Liu Hong set up eight commanders of the Western Garden, with the Little Eunuch Jian Shuo as the commander, in order to restrict the military power of General He Jin.

The eight lieutenants are:

The eunuch Jian Shuo, the captain of the upper army, Yuan Shao, the captain of the central army, Bao Hong, the captain of the lower army, Cao Cao, the captain of the commanding army, Zhao Rong, the left captain of the auxiliary army, Feng Fang, the right captain of the auxiliary army, Xia Mou, the left captain, and Chunyu Qiong, the right captain.

Among them, He Jin, the captain of the upper army, also had to obey Jian Shuo's command. Jian Shuo, the captain of the upper army, became the supreme commander of the national army.

Liu Hong appointed himself as the supreme general.

Yuan Mansion in Luoyang City.

Grand Minister of Agriculture Tang Mao brought gifts to congratulate Yuan Shao on his promotion.

This was his second time to come to Yuan Mansion.

The first time he came to meet Yuan Shu, the General of the Tiger Guards, he sought the position of Governor of Yangzhou for Jin Mao.

I thought it was a sure shot.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Shu accepted the gift and took the money, then immediately forgot about the matter.

This caused Tang Mao to lose his composure in court.

Tang Mao will never forget that day in his life.

Before looking for Yuan Shu, Tang Mao had contacted Taichang Zhu Jun.

The latter’s promotion to the position of Nine Ministers was largely due to Jinmao’s wealth offensive.

Zhu Jun agreed to submit a petition together to seek the post of Yangzhou governor for Jin Mao.

At that time, Jinmao had not taken any action in Yangzhou, and Tang Mao was not aware of it.

However, everything was ready, and Tang Mao thought that with Yuan Shu's support, everything would be done.

Tang Mao remembered it very clearly.

That day.

Liu Hong finally went to court, but Tang Mao waited and waited but he never saw the joint petition submitted by him and Zhu Jun.

As the court was about to leave, Tang Mao gritted his teeth and stepped out, saying, "I have something to report!"

At that moment, Liu Hong was anxious to go back to Xiyuan for the party, and said impatiently: "If you have something to say, just say it!"

"Your Majesty, Yangzhou has been in turmoil in recent years, and the successive governors have achieved nothing. Now..."

Liu Hong was pressed for time and had no patience to listen to Tang Mao's long-winded talk, so he shouted, "It's too long! Write it in the memorial."

Tang Mao hurriedly said, "I have already submitted this matter to the emperor together with the Minister of Rites Zhu Jun. Has your majesty forgotten?"

Liu Hong looked at Zhang Rang with confusion.

The latter immediately laughed and said, "Your Majesty, it is true, but didn't the governor of Yangzhou just send Chen Wen? It is not appropriate to change the generals in the middle of a battle."

Chen Wen was Yuan Shao's man, which was why Tang Mao asked Yuan Shu to take the blame.

After hearing Zhang Rang's words, Tang Mao quickly turned his head to look at Yuan Shu, who was sitting upright, pretending not to see anything.

Suddenly, Tang Mao felt a chill in his heart.

In the Beigong Palace, Liu Hong nodded and said, "Father is right, that's it."

"Retreat."

After saying that, Liu Hong got up and ran to the West Garden.

"Withdraw from the court!" Zhang Rang howled sharply, and immediately followed Liu Hong in pursuit: "Your Majesty, slow down, slow down, don't fall."

The court meeting ended in such a dramatic way.

Tang Mao stood up and wanted to discuss countermeasures with his ally Zhu Jun, but he didn't expect the latter to avoid Tang Mao's sight and leave alone.

Tang Mao was furious: "What a bunch of untreatable beasts!"

Seeing Yuan Shu was about to leave, Tang Mao took two steps forward and grabbed Yuan Shu's sleeve: "You promised me, how can you go back on your word?"

Yuan Shu wanted to pull back his sleeve, but found that Tang Mao was holding it tightly.

Seeing that all the officials were looking at him, Yuan Shu didn't care about anything else and kicked Tang Mao in the stomach.

"Humph!"

"Unreasonable!"

After saying this, Yuan Shu walked away amid everyone's surprised gazes.

Tang Mao fell down in the hall and couldn't get up for a long time. No one came to help him. He couldn't help but feel sad.

"I thought that with the help of my son-in-law's power, I would not end up in such a situation."

But only when I arrived in Luoyang did I realize that no matter how strong the military force was, it would be of no use in the remote border of Yangzhou.

"Father is absolutely right!" Tang Mao couldn't help but recall Tang Zhen's teachings: "The noble families are also divided into different levels. The Tang family is a small family and cannot compare with the rich and powerful families. If we enter the capital one day, we must keep a low profile."

One word becomes a motto!
I guess Yuan Shu didn't even consider Tang Mao as a human being.

Then, something even more worrying happened.

Yuan Shao invited Tang Mao to a banquet!
Even though he was mentally prepared, Tang Mao still could not accept being ridiculed by Yuan Shao.

He is the Minister of Agriculture!

One of the Nine Qings!

Who the hell is Yuan Shao?
A dog under the command of General He Jin!

Finally, Tang Mao recognized the facts. The three officials of four generations were not going to joke with him, and he had to endure the ridicule and sarcasm, otherwise, it would not just be an isolated incident.

Later, Zu Lang swept through Yangzhou and destroyed the governor Chen Wen and the governor of Jiujiang County Fu Qian.

Only then did Yuan Shao show his goodwill to Tang Mao and invite him to a banquet.

During the banquet.

Yuan Shao mentioned Yuan Shu many times: "My brother is arrogant and I have offended you many times in the past. Please forgive me!"

The person he was talking about was Yuan Shu. In fact, Yuan Shao was expressing his apology for the last time in a euphemistic way.

At this moment, Tang Mao was once again glad that he had not bet on the wrong horse.

"Why do you say that?" Tang Mao pretended to be ignorant and said, "That was a gift I gave to Yuan Huben willingly. It's not a big deal."

Yuan Shao smiled knowingly, raised his wine cup and said, "If you don't mind, you can call me Benchu."

This is meant to win over Tang Mao.

Tang Mao said happily: "Benchu, then I won't be polite."

The two men were not much different in age, and both were from family backgrounds with extensive family knowledge, so there was no barrier in their communication.

Soon, the two became as close as brothers.

After the banquet, Yuan Shao sent Tang Mao to the gate of Yuan Mansion, which was considered to be a great honor for Tang Mao.

After watching the guests go away, Yuan Shao returned to the banquet. All the singing girls who were absent when Tang Mao was there came on stage, and Yuan Shao and his friends drank and enjoyed themselves happily.

Superficial closeness is not as good as real closeness.

Who are Yuan Shao’s friends?

Cao Cao, Zhang Miao, He Yong, Xu You, Wu Ziqing and others.

When Tang Mao was present, everyone acted like a famous scholar, chatting and laughing elegantly.

As soon as Tang Mao left, everyone turned into a pervert. They didn't even bother to watch the singers dance and were picked up as soon as they came on stage.

And the word "入" is always used when speaking, which is very impolite.

Yuan Shao was the most handsome man among all the people present. Every singer had daydreamed of being favored by Yuan Shao, but he was the one who least liked to play with singers.

Cao Cao is half a head shorter than Yuan Shao. If Yuan Shao is tall, rich and handsome, then Cao Cao must be a street urchin.

At this time, Cao Cao was hugging two charming singers, the type that everyone has played with.

"Benchu, you want to make friends with the Grand Minister of Agriculture?"

Cao Cao had a serious look on his face, but his hands were not honest at all, and the two singing girls were very angry.

"But you just humiliated him last time!"

Yuan Shao glanced at him sideways and said unhappily, "It's all your fault!"

"You couldn't even convey the message clearly, and caused me to cause such a huge misunderstanding!"

"Hehe." Cao Cao said with a shameless face: "I'm just a counselor, how can I hear so clearly? It's good enough that I can pass on the message to you." No one cares about the actual situation.

"You are such a jerk!" At this time, the drunk Xu You pointed at Cao Cao and said, "How dare you be Benchu's friend if you can't even do such a small thing?"

"Ziyuan, how can you say that about Aman?" Yuan Shao said with a half-smile, "This is not the first time for him."

"Thinking back to the time when we were young, that night, Ah Man asked me to rob the bride..."

“Ah, ah, ah.” Cao Cao quickly begged for mercy: “Benchu, please spare me this time!”

Everyone laughed.

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao knew each other for a long time, so they didn't know too much about their dark history.

After some more chatting and gossiping, Cao Cao brought up the old matter again.

"Benchu, do you really want to make friends with Tang Mao?"

"I heard that Yangzhou is vast and sparsely populated, and not much better than Jiaozhou."

Everyone present knew that Jinmao was behind Tang Mao, but what else could that poor and remote area produce except high-quality oil? And Yuan Shao was not short of money.

"Meng De," Yuan Shao said seriously, "Yangzhou has only 4 million people. It is indeed useless now, but it may not be the case in the future."

"Since the former Minister of Rites Liu Yan proposed to restore the provincial governor system, provincial governors will be superior to county governors in the future. If someone becomes the governor of Yangzhou, he will be more powerful than the governor of Nanyang County!"

Nanyang County was the most populous county in the Eastern Han Dynasty, with a population of more than 2.4 million.

County governors are also divided into large and small ones. The larger the population of a county, the higher the status of the governor. The closer the county is to Luoyang, the more likely it is to be so.

After hearing Yuan Shao's analysis, everyone nodded, this was the consensus of everyone.

"Then how can you help him to become the governor?"

Everyone was also very curious about Cao Cao's question.

Yuan Shao said confidently: "Simple."

"I have three plans."

"First, by leveraging Kong Wenju's influence and providing proper guidance, we can help Jinmao gain the upper hand."

Kong Rong has been trying his best to create a good image for Jin Mao in Luoyang. If the Ten Attendants had not been at odds with Jin Mao, Emperor Liu Hong would definitely not have thought that Jin Mao was just a rich man.

Sheng Xian did not mention the feud with Jin Mao in his letter to Kong Rong, because he knew that Kong Rong was a stubborn person and would definitely not help if he explained the situation.

"Second, recommend him to the general."

Yuan Shao is now the aide to General He Jin, providing him with advice and suggestions.

He Jin respected Yuan Shao very much and almost obeyed his every word.

"Third, wait for the right time and follow the trend."

Everyone applauded Yuan Shao for his resourcefulness.

Unexpectedly, Cao Cao wanted to ruin the atmosphere: "Benchu, which strategy do you want to use the most?"

Sure enough, Yuan Shao was in a dilemma. He pretended to be calm, but in fact he didn't know which one to choose.

Fortunately, Xu You came to the rescue in time and said, "Cao Aman, I am just a small governor of Yangzhou, but you keep asking questions and disturbing our fun."

"Three bottles of wine as punishment!"

He Yong and others started to make a noise, Cao Cao stood up and laughed, "It's so lonely to drink alone, let's drink together."

Soon, everyone put the matter behind them.

...

August.

Cao Cao was able to be appointed as the Commandant of the Army thanks to Yuan Shao’s help.

However, the two of them have a good relationship so much that they can wear the same pants, so there is nothing wrong with that.

It’s still Yuan Mansion.

However, the people who came to celebrate Yuan Shao's promotion this time were not ordinary people.

Not only Tang Mao and Zhu Jun came, but also many celebrities such as Liu Yu, one of the Nine Ministers, Gai Xun, the Captain of the Suppression of the Rebellion, and Zhang Wen, the Captain of the Sili Army, came.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the house is full of guests.

At the gate of Yuan Mansion.

Tang Mao was happily preparing to enter when he ran into Yuan Shu, the General of the Tiger Guards.

"Humph!"

"A sycophantic villain!"

Yuan Shu did not interrupt, and seemed to be talking to Tang Mao, but also to the people who came after him.

Tang Mao pretended not to see it and took the lead to step into Yuan's mansion. His followers followed him with gifts in their arms.

"Ouch."

The follower screamed and fell down, with the gifts scattered all over the floor.

Tang Mao looked back at Yuan Shu's departing figure, helped his followers up, frowned and said, "Pack up the gifts and don't say anything!"

Even though he knew that it was Yuan Shu who was behind this, Tang Mao didn't want to cause trouble. Tonight was very important and who knows, the matter of Governor Jin Mao might be settled.

Although the five county governors of Yangzhou jointly wrote a letter requesting Jin Mao to temporarily serve as the governor of Yangzhou.

But the appointment letter was still in the hands of the Ten Eunuchs. Eunuchs just hold grudges and will not let go of the slightest injustice.

In order to avoid any more trouble, Tang Mao decided to give Yuan Shao a valuable gift, a pair of phoenixes carved from jade!

Unfortunately, due to Yuan Shu's interference, the plan failed and the jade was smashed to pieces.

"Tonight, I can only rely on my luck." Tang Mao thought.

The dinner was very grand. Yuan Wei, who had been dismissed from office and was at home, also attended to entertain the guests, which made the guests feel the importance of the Yuan family.

Since Yuan Feng's death, Yuan Wei has become the real head of the Yuan family.

Drinking and drinking each other.

Tang Mao never had a chance to talk to Yuan Shao.

Seeing that Jiuqing had left and he was the only one left, Tang Mao finally couldn't help it and wanted to get up and leave.

"Grand Minister of Agriculture, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

The person who came was Cao Cao. Yuan Shao was very busy and had no time to pay attention to Tang Mao.

"Meet the Commander-in-Chief."

Seeing Tang Mao saluting, Cao Cao said he dared not do so: "You are a high-ranking official, and it is I who should salute you."

Tang Mao smiled bitterly and said, "I am a minister, but I bought my position with money. How dare I compare myself with the military commander appointed by your majesty?"

The two were humble again. Cao Cao stepped forward, took Tang Mao's hand and said, "This is not the place to talk. Please follow me."

Tang Mao's expression changed, and he followed Cao Cao all the way to a garden.

The garden was brightly lit, and you could still see the colors of the flowers and plants. One could only say that the Yuan family was very generous, as they lit hundreds of lights in an empty yard.

This is all thanks to Tang Mao, who brought down the oil price in Luoyang.

"What advice do you have for me, Commander?"

Cao Gong bowed and said, "Excuse me, Grand Minister of Agriculture, but may I ask what the ambitions of Jin Mao, the governor of Yangzhou, are?"

"Do you want to help the world, or to establish your own territory?"

"This..." Tang Mao had no idea what Jin Mao's ambitions were. Judging from his behavior, was he going to farm?

Cao Cao said, "I have heard a little about what the Jin governor did."

"He is indeed a talented clan member."

"But I have a question, why did he refuse when he was transferred to Yingchuan County?"

Tang Mao smiled bitterly and said, "Why should the Commander-in-Chief trouble me? Governor Jin did not tell me about this."

Cao Cao smiled and said, "I am also worried about the Han Dynasty."

"If everyone was like Liu Zongzheng (Liu Yu), devoted to the country, where would the chaos in the world come from?"

Tang Mao deeply agreed with this point, Liu Yu was indeed awesome.

Cao Cao asked again, "You came here tonight, I guess, because of the matter of Governor Jin?"

"Don't worry, it's done!"

"Benchu ​​has already convinced the general, and the appointment document will be issued soon."

Tang Mao was overjoyed: "I don't know how to thank the captain of the Central Army (Yuan Shao)?"

Cao Cao leaned closer and said, "General Yuan will let you know when there is a need."

Tang Mao responded on behalf of Jin Mao.

(End of this chapter)